You can see this man’s brainshape. There’s no way you can’t see it.

Piece is a paid cow account.

There are 20-30 people killed by cows in the US alone every year.

Globally only 5-6 people die every year from shark attacks.

Those cows are trying to get you to let them stealthily engage in mass murder. Keep the bells on!

Thanks for reminding me of this, I’m gonna be paranoid stretching next couple of times.

Make sure you get enough potassium, calcium, and magnesium, along with hydration.

The rich kid solution. Just SMH when I play against some super-low level player with all the skins and kit that normally take months to acquire - if they can even be earned in the first place, some items are cash only. Usually huge tryhards too with other “skill assists”.

Being pro-union and having a family member deeply embedded in Labor rights the stories of Blair Mountain, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, and the Homestead Strike are all very familiar.

I am always surprised at how few people know of these and other events that changed the lives of the working class. People fought and died for the rights we have today, and wealth is trying to take away or render ineffective as many of those as they can.

History isn’t an arc bent any direction except towards shortsighted greed. It’s human nature. That’s why we face things like the climate crisis or bubbles in financial markets, and it’s a perpetual battle that has no end to try to push that arc the other way.

Is there a stone wall under it with a rock that has no business being there?

Won’t anyone think of the poor datacenters?

“We stole other countries foods and made them ours.”

Pop them in a museum and you’d complete the picture.

As long as you don’t piss off your patron.

By constantly complaining they’re broke.

I’ve lost count of the number of people I know tangentially who complain about not having any money yet talk about constantly ordering DoorDash for some cookies or other frivolous crap.

Slots (or gambling) are ok as long as the user understands that you’re gonna lose, you go with a set amount of money, and once the money is gone you’re done.

Then you’re ok, you’re paying for the “entertainment” of the game and the chance of the win, again, if once the money is gone you’re done.

No fretting over the loss. It’s a reasoned choice, and doesn’t hurt anyone.

But like alcohol or other drugs it can turn bad for some people.

If you very much dislike the idea of dumping money into that form of entertainment and would rather spend it on shows, nice food, and experiences like that, great! That’s what works for you, and for most of us is far more satisfying choice.

It’s “intermittent” or “unpredictable reward” coupled with the addict’s brain wiring. The thrill and relief of a win is addictive.

If you’re not wired that way you simply aren’t going to “get it”, same as not really understanding any other addiction - at least in any way other than intellectually.

That’s a fantastic version, too.

Was thinking about this the other day for a modern song that has really stuck around. Not a power ballad or a big rock song by any stretch, but:

Fade Into You - Mazzy Star

Late edit: these, too:

What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong

Hallelujah - Rufus Wainwright’s version of Cohen’s original

Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwoʻole

If dinosaurs were made of fiberglass and plastic.

Pff. I used to wash motor parts off with leaded gas and no gloves when I was young. I’d probably be a goddamn Einstein if it weren’t for that.

You’re right, lol. I completely forgot. “Smoking or non?” was a completely normal question when entering a restaurant, and bars or whatever didn’t bother asking. A night out meant smelling like cigarette smoke when you got home.

How quickly we forget.

No shit. The question was “what was life like?” Not “what changed everything?”

I’m well aware of the things I mentioned because they’re different than today which is what the question asked for.

Everyone’s saying what was better.

Bullshit, lol.

We were still people, and we still had all the people problems. Misogyny was worse, racism was worse, homophobia was really bad still, and “trans” was just a guy who liked wearing women’s clothes. Not that any man would ever admit that. Schools were super clique-ish, bullying was public and not prevented. Rapes were swept under the rug even worse than today. Pollution was really bad. I don’t think anyone born after 1990 has a clue how shitty the air quality was in cities back in the ‘80s and earlier. I can personally vouch for how amazing the environmental laws are and have improved air quality. Want to buy something that wasn’t available at a local store? Plan on waiting a month or more for it to arrive on order. Cars were more unsafe, often only had lap belts, and wtf is an airbag, lol. Car seats for kids were all but nonexistent. Air travel was crazy expensive, too.

All that said, yeah, there were some good things. We weren’t tied to screens all day. If someone stayed in and watched TV all day all the time you thought something might be wrong with them. We weren’t “on-call” 24-7 with cell phones. Basic jobs were easy to get. All my first jobs were walk in and ask if they needed anyone or just word of mouth, show up, and start working. Mass shootings weren’t the thing they are today. You actually owned the music or games you bought. Local stores had a huge variety of stuff and hadn’t been crushed by walmart and big box stores (I actually remember when big box stores were new and touted as sources of better variety for consumers. Lol, that worked out great). Concert tickets to top bands were less than $10. Local radio was great, your DJ told you about local events, and we had Dr Demento and Casey Kasem on weekends. Nobody was forcing you to pay subscriptions for everything, homes and cars were more affordable, so was education, and health care hadn’t gone nuts yet. You could actually talk to your political opponents, you wanted the same things mostly, it was just how you wanted it to happen was different. Crazy wingnuts were just that. Crazy wingnuts and not mainstream. Nobody gave them platforms unless it was “The National Enquirer.”

So yeah. We had plenty of problems. But there was a lot of good shit too.

Explanation invites argument.

A mod who is an ass is generally obvious, as is a commenter who gets banned/deleted.