Cylusthevirus

If you’ve got a better idea for what to do with pension contributions we’re all ears.

One of the scariest things about parenting is how little control you really have over outcomes for your kids. I have watched my kid make bad decisions and there’s just fuck all I can do but hope she learns from the experience and isn’t too badly hurt by it while giving her all the love I can.

I’m not talking about falling down the stairs of course; certainly nothing safety related. But decisions with friends, academics … you can model good behavior, your can inform, you can supply incentives, and consequences, but end of day, it’s their life.

I mean my mom is a raging Qanon, Trump loving, anti-vax (recently), evangelical and I’d happily vote for Bernie and got my last round of boosters a few days ago, so it goes both ways I guess.

Sometimes I wonder if the admin is just … waiting for the Israelis to finish it. Like, they’ve decided that this is going to be an eternal conflict until someone decisively “wins.” Unfortunately the winning condition for both Likud and Hamas appears to be 100% enemy casualties.

Everyone’s backed into a corner here. The various Arab nations that have hated Israel since its’ modern inception and hated Jews for a LONG time before that want Israel gone, Likud seems to want Hamas and most Palestinians gone.

There’s no way out of this until everyone agrees everyone else gets to live.

If the US just washes its hands of the whole thing tomorrow we might have another regional war that could escalate unpredictably. If they pressure Israel to cease-fire, the various PACs start throwing money around (though I think they have less power than politicians are afraid of, honestly - money can only do so much).

I have no idea how you even begin to negotiate with Hamas or whoever’s running the show in the West Bank. The whole thing is a massive clusterfuck and anybody with a neat, simple solution is either a genocidal maniac or delusional.

Oh God, that’s the “calculating attack vector” face. I bet the tail is twitching.

lashing out

This is soft selling war crimes. Shame on you.

I was more thinking about immediate effects on people (analogous to the meme) but this is … terrifying. Great. This is fine. It’s all fine.

How would you be “pushed?” Who would do it?

What does a random surgery being “pushed” on you have to do with this conversation? Did it have anything to do with gender? What do you mean by this?

I’m asking all these questions in attempt to discuss this in good faith.

Really? BPA is an issue for sure but I’ve not seen anything about Microplastics specifically. It has to do something…

I see this as an absolute win.

Nobody ever mentions Africa is what’s weird to me.

Dorn as an alarmingly competent Weasel was pretty nuts.

I can’t speak to a lot of these subgenres but power metal? Hehehe.

Dragonforce - Through Fire and Flames. Not just a meme, actually a great song and very technical.

Powerwolf - Blessed & Possessed. Werewolves that work for the Catholic Church? I have no idea how that’s supposed to work but I’d read the book.

Sabaton - To Hell and Back. Sabaton writes a lot of songs about historical battles.

Powermetal has rather a lot of narrative ballads in it.

Oh, I’ve got a good folk metal band too:

Eluveitie - The Call of the Mountain. I love all the different instruments they use.

Alestorm - Drink. How the hell did I forget Alestorm? Who wants pirate metal?

Bloodywood - Dana Dan. Indian folk metal rap/rock … with a lot of English? I don’t know what’s going on here but it’s such a unique blend.

Someone mentioned Nightwish and here’s my favorite song of theirs:

Nightwish - Nemo

Experimental Goats Up Display

So what does this conflict have to do with Islam, exactly?

My local huge park, pool, and sports complex is .7 miles. I have multiple stores and restaurants .5 miles away. Our library is also about .7 miles away. My burb is relatively walkable and perfectly bike-able.

Our grid has its own problems and is completely unsafe for cyclists a lot of the time. I know; I work there. My city has removed lanes from streets to create space for bikes and people still get killed by idiots in cars. Still inadequate public transit. Only more walkable than my own burb in certain, hyper expensive neighborhoods. Cheaper areas have homeless problems (warmer climate) resulting in tons of property crimes (mostly stolen bikes and break-ins). Many encounters with bonk-shit crazy guys yelling at stop signs (and people). Some of them have large, aggressive dogs. Oh, and then there’s the fires they start by attempting to cook or warm themselves and then getting high or drunk.

Frankly I would be stoked to live in a townhouse or condo or something on the grid. All my favorite restaurants are down there, lots to do, etc. But it’s shit for kids and the schools are rough as fuck.

If we started now, we’d be ready in a couple decades in all but the most compact metro areas. And that’s after we build the requisite political will. The US fucked itself hard leaning into cars as transport.

But that’s reality for most of us living in the burbs where the schools are better and the neighborhoods are better for kid stuff.

If you’re being fiscally responsible there’s no way to buy most new cars. People are too used to living well above their means. How these Army recruits straight out of boot camp are dropping 80k on a truck that’ll never even see a sheet of plywood or drywall assuming the bed is even big enough is beyond me.

I haven’t paid more than 18k on a car and even that felt like too much. And I’m well above the median household income for my region.

Frankly I wish I didn’t need a car at all, but it’ll be decades before our infrastructure can support that lifestyle if ever. Unless you’re willing to give up an additional 2 to 3 hours per day on travel … and I’m not.

They’re still in Europe, and I said Europe, not the EU. Also Brexit was in 2020 and I’m relatively certain those pipes were there before that.

Dad stop.

You obviously don’t understand

I assure you I am fully aware of the many ways lead has made its way into water in both Europe and the US including literal lead pipes. Actual lead pipes have been banned in the US since 1986 as per my link but of course many remain.

Denmark appears to be ahead of most of Europe, but it’s not just former soviet countries that struggle. England and Wales have lead pipes running to an estimated 25% of households and don’t expect that problem to be cleared up by 2040 or later.