Q The Misanthrope

As a child, the house we grew up in had a very large tree in our back yard. I had a memory of burying some skeleton keys near it but couldn’t remember where. The house was old enough that we’d find skeleton keys occasionally and also as a kid they are special.

I searched for days, weeks, months… Digging holes all over the yard and under the tree. I recruited neighborhood kids and friends.

For two summers we searched for buried treasure. Never found them. Might have been a dream I had of burying the keys. I still think about it occasionally and wonder. The tree is long gone and the truth is I’ll never know for sure.

No chapstick but Eli uses cat oil and says it works the same way.

The year is 2034 and 96% of the population is unemployed because they are all forced to “do their own research” on literally everything and there’s no time to work. We all must research every niche topic to fully understand it before using it or the other 4% calls us stupid and lazy.

No longer are we allowed to just buy a shower head, or bike or sign up for email without sources cited and proof we know everything about said thing.

Have kids? Do their research too, no chocolate milk unless I’ve proven why it’s good.

Elderly parents? Don’t let them touch that Roku remote. I need a research paper on all the options I explored.

Sorry for all the sarcasm. I fix my house, I work, I mow the lawn and shuttle children to sports, and my friend says check this bluesky thing out, 30 seconds and I’m signed up and have a friend and a discover tab and a search that works. Life’s chaotic and I don’t want to be defined as stupid because I can’t spend hours figuring something out in place of something I think is more important.

All this not directed at you specifically but I guess it hit a nerve.

You’ve started this at least twice in this thread. People aren’t like that, just in general. Heck, I understood it and still had trouble picking a server for Lemmy and mastadon.

Do I want a single topic or domain to define me? Will a small server have popular posts? Will it have popular people? I can’t find this popular account because I’m typing in username instead of user+domain.

I created and deleted at least 5 before I gave up and just picked one. Is that what most people would do?

I don’t think you’re wrong, but I think you are not putting yourself in the shoes of most users who want to follow a celebrity or a train station or space agency and can’t even find their account.

I know all the reasons I should be on Firefox, but I just love Vivaldi so much.

I’ve been using it for years and have it tuned perfectly for anything I do. It’s feature rich, and fast.

Occasionally there are apps or even tools in life where you are like holy shit, this is exactly made for how I want to do a task/job.

My gestures are so ingrained in me, sometimes I catch my hand moving the mouse to perform an action in another unrelated app. My brain notices instantly but can’t stop my hand from trying to do it anyway. It makes me laugh.

Green olives?

I have no idea what this will taste like but I’m intrigued.

The dispensers are still around, just all empty. So frustrating. I’m not worried about covid but I don’t want a cold or the flu either…being sick is not fun. Let me keep my hands clean!

I do not still wear a mask, but I really loved having my face covered when I went places during covid. I just felt free. I don’t know why as I don’t have a problem going anywhere or doing anything normally, but covering my face felt good (except on 100 degree days in summer).

Have you seen the housing market? Sometimes you have to deal with a roommates bad habits, even if he is a spirit.

At least he doesn’t leave dishes in the sink.

I hear a loud bang as if from another room. Like a trash can falling over, or a someone dropping a bag with about 10lbs on a hardwood floor, or a pushing a wooden chair into a dining table too hard. It’s enough to think “what just fell?!”.

It does not sound like a door closing, or stomping, or something fragile moving or falling.

I startle awake, realize I’m the only one awake, and that there aren’t anymore sounds so it must have been my brain and I pass out fully.

It’s pretty strange and I think it’s funny how I never really thought about it until now.

I don’t know what I expected. Nothing can just be fun anymore.

I come into a comments section to read and maybe find something interesting and we have police brutality jokes, political bullshit, mean comments.

It confuses me that people are thinking about this stuff all the time and trying to jam their misery into everything.

Downvote me, up vote me, I don’t care but I am just so tired of being forced to think about all the bullshit in the world every day all at once. It’s inescapable.

Love this idea. It’s an idea that’s easy to break down to children as well, help them narrow down their options when someone is talking to them.

This is one that will stick with me for sure.

I actually do not remember where I heard this, but I was unhappy at one of my past workplaces, and I felt like nothing made sense anymore. The purpose of my job, the product, the people… I would ask why or seek deeper understanding and received nothing back.

The advice was “when no one has your back, it’s time to move your back”.

It stuck with me because it applies to friends, family, work, and life in general. If you do not feel supported and able to give support back mutually then it’s time to place yourself in a situation more beneficial for you and those around you.

It doesn’t place blame, it’s simply a validation statement - you feel x, so do y.

I don’t know that they deserve favorite because of what they are, they don’t even have much of a smell! But there is just something about them I love, and maybe it’s memories or how “wild” they look as they grow in bunches. It reminds me of wildflowers in a field.

Black-eyed Susan. They grow in big bunches and expand outward each year in a ring where the seeds fall. Just a simple flower that stands out in late summer in my area and lasts through fall. It’s low maintenance too.

I really tried, a few times and I just can’t make it exciting. I find it so boring to search for people and tags I wantto follow. That said, I wasn’t a huge Twitter user before, and i don’t have bluesky. I’m just hoping one day, mastodon clicks with me.

I want to like mastodon but I don’t want to do the leg work of finding accounts. I like the algorithm to some extent, I want help to find things.

I also have trouble deciding how to support the post. Liking doesn’t do anything and tooting or whatever puts it on my page. I don’t feel part of the community boosting topics I like.

I like voting things up and down.

Maybe I’m doing it wrong but I try and get instantly bored because I have to hunt for everything. I really tried.

It’s a commuter backpack, momentum 30. Has a front pocket to fit a bike helmet, I never use it for that but a big stretch pocket on the front is so useful.

Overall, it just always seems to fit everything I’m carrying with me to most places.

I’ve got a few other smaller travel bags too that I used to store computer accessories and toiletries when I travel.

Confirmed here too. I HATE my shark vac bot. So many reasons and I have two of them unfortunately, each with different problems.

My Garmin Fenix watch, it was during the first month of wearing it that I realized my life and fitness can be like a video game and I get badges and points for doing things. It drives me to move and even after 4 years, it still is making me motivated.

A nice wallet, I looked for a long time and ended up with a Trayvax wallet. I just love the damn thing, it’ll last me forever and it’s unique and functional. Each time I pull it out of my pocket, I appreciate it’s look and feel and form.

My osprey back pack. I’ve carried it to and from work, on boats, kayaks, walking, for camping and to my friends houses. It is just so functional and comfortable in a way that a less expensive one isn’t. It’s made to be comfortable AND hold things.