If it helps, Washington D.C. and Colorado are the only “green” ones.

I don’t see anything represented by the “<20%”, “45%-50%” or “50%+” colors. Not sure why they’re even included.

Social media rises and falls just like any other fad or fashion. It’s a never-ending churn, as people (particularly, young people) inevitably crave something novel. There’s little use in fighting the cycle, just as there’d be little use in fighting the trendy choices of a teenager.

It’s frustrating to watch people en masse continue to make choices that don’t make sense. It turns out that a lot of people are much more driven to follow the crowd than to have (let alone stand by) personal principles or rational decisions. Thankfully, we’re not obligated to be like that. There’s always some sort of counter-culture that bucks the main trends, and honestly? That’s where the most interesting people tend to be.

If you feel driven to educate people on the futility of trends, then by all means, go for it. I just know it can be draining, and not everyone is going to be receptive. On the plus side, you sound like a rational person who actually thinks about their decisions - in a world full of followers, that can be pretty powerful.

Good, I’m glad for him. With the upcoming tariffs/trade war coming our way, I can only imagine how much higher the cost of living in Hawaii is about to get.

I made a Twitter account in the early days when I was a teenager. The sole reason I made it was because one of my favorite bands had an account. Their posts would be sent in an SMS to my phone, and the cool thing about that was how it felt like they were texting me personally.

I have no idea when I last logged in, let alone when I last posted. When the SMS feature was dropped, so did my interest.

At least they’re are trying. That’s more than can be said for a lot of people. Is it better to be with someone who’s got an understanding of their issues and wants to resolve them, or be with someone who doesn’t acknowledge their issues and/or who leans into maladaptive behaviors because of them?

I’ve dated people in both camps. I’ll take the psych major any day. By a long shot.

Obviously you’re kidding. You said you drive in Appalachia. Yet, you are so clearly a seal. Driving by the beach, okay maybe I could see that, but mountains? Is there even anything for seals to do in Appalachia?

Oof, poor kitty. And isn’t that just what this trip needed - more uncomfortable tension in the air. Is your brother the type of person to find comfort from talking about a recently-deceased pet? Or will it just make things more awkward?

My brother (and his wife) practically house a menagerie/farm. Not that they care about animals in some particular way, I honestly don’t know why they do anything they do. But I know that for them, life just rolls on.

Best of luck, friend. That’s a good thing you’re doing for your mom. I, too, have a troublesome brother in a southern state, and even my own family members have told me, “If you ever visit him, for the love of god, get a hotel. Do NOT stay at his house.” I’m glad you have friends that you can stay with instead. Hopefully you’ll arrive back home with more fun memories of friends than anything else.

Unfortunately, the fact that they don’t take many pictures of themselves can be really obvious. I try not to turn a guy down because of a bad profile picture, because I know there’s a technique to it and that requires practice.

At the same time, we’re in a digital era - you can take 100 pictures and only upload your favorite one. There’s no reason for an average guy’s profile picture to resemble a mugshot.

It’s not just cognitive. We lose taste buds with age, and the ones that remain shrink and lose sensitivity.

It makes sense if you think about it. Bitterness is associated with a lot of poisons. Sourness is associated with spoiled foods. Having a strong aversion to these tastes during childhood compelled our ancestors to avoid dangerous foods during their most fragile stages of life.

Then of course, sugar is a quick source of energy. It should be a given why a quick source of energy benefitted our ancient ancestors (for whom food was much more scarce.)

In short, that increased childhood sensitivity allowed our ancestors to survive until adulthood.

So parents - next time a kid complains about their dinner being too bitter, take comfort in knowing that if they were ever exposed to actual poison, they’d avoid it with the same urgency.

For critically-panned movies that are arguably good, I recommend a scroll through this thread: [Meme] Which movie was this for you?

It’s interesting to see what everyone’s opinions are. I’ve already downloaded a few of the suggestions out of curiosity.

It sounds like we’re on the same page. I didn’t mention foreign influence, only monied influence, which is the same thing you’re saying.

My point was that these influences previously existed in the U.S. long before now. They didn’t materialize out of the blue. Anyone who’s been explicitly anti-fascist prior to the past decade knows that there was already an undercurrent pulling people in that direction.

I appreciate hearing your perspective, and you’re absolutely on point. One thing I know for sure is that things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.

pretending that this neofascism is some kind of external infection is tantamount to covering one’s own ears.

See, I think it’s mixed. You’re absolutely right that people voted for this. At the same time, years of propaganda by monied interests have led us up to this point. Authoritarianism has been low-key popular at least since the 90s (maybe earlier, but the 90s was when I started school, and learned by experience that fascism is how the school system operates.) People are scared to rock the boat against their “leaders,” and given enough time, this is the result.

I wish I had time right now to write more about this, because there is some deep psychological manipulation that’s embedded in the fabric of this country. It doesn’t excuse people’s behaviors, but knowing how and why they operate is crucial to understanding the big picture.

Yeah, this isn’t unusual for a religious school.

I remember, as a little girl, playing the part of the angel Gabriel… except I thought the character was named Gabrielle. The only reason I tried for the part was because I thought it was the only explicitly female role, besides Mary (and my unpopular ass wasn’t about to complete for the role of Prima Donna.)

It was a huge let down to find out that Gabriel was yet another male character in the perpetual sausage-fest that is The Holy Bible. Combined with how practically nothing was written about how Jesus would’ve been as a child, I never understood how I was supposed to relate to anything in that book.

My workplace (which isn’t a preschool, but has preschoolers) floated the idea of doing a “trunk or treat.” But my manager nixed it with the explanation that it was “cringey.”

I don’t agree with her on much, but I agree with her on that. Instead we decorated the doors in the center and had the kids practice trick-or-treating the proper way.

Some people in the complaints believed they were talking directly with Musk, a sadly common story that has popped up in news reports before.

I remember when I thought I was talking directly to a celebrity online… when I was 13. It didn’t take long to realize how stupid that idea was. To be a grown adult and still think there’s a chance a celebrity is sending messages to random people is mind-boggling.

I cringe at the memories now, but at least I can take comfort in having learned about catfishing long before I had money to lose from it.

It’s all cyclical anyway. No social media company will reign forever. We’ve already seen a number of them rise and fall. It’s kinda like how different civilizations gained and lost dominance throughout history.

So instead of just making an appointment for say October 30, you have to wait until October 23rd, call in, try to get set up for the following week (if available) and then you get a confirmed date. Also, if you miss an appointment and don’t make a new one within a week they will discharge after another 7 days.

Holy crap, that’s downright sadistic. That’s like putting the physical rehab center on the top floor of a multistory building that only has stairs.

Changing insurance and moving locations means I haven’t got a PCP either. That’s another chain of phone calls I still have to do. 😐

I began and gave up this process several times in the past few months. Ngl, I was close to crying at a few points during this phone chain. But you know what spurred me this time? Thinking about how much money I pay for health insurance, knowing that some company was raking money off my every paycheck regardless of if I got care or not. That resentment gave me the push to keep dialing.