I am now deeply curious about the deleted comments. All countries have their flaws and past mistakes, Canada’s no exception, at the end of the day. The thing is what we’re doing now to improve and reflect on these mistakes of the past going forward.
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For what it’s worth, I’m 100% a nihilist, it’s absurd to me that there is some inherent meaning in life. Who tf am I to say I know the meaning to life??? BUT I also recognize that I’m alive, as is everyone able to think that thought, and we might as well do something with it despite this. I think everyone contrives meaning in their own lives, and THAT. IS. OK. That itch for meaning needs to be scratched, I live as a rule utilitarian primarily, even though I accept this worldview as one I’ve contrived for myself rather than something inherently right. If you’ve got a kitchen full of ingredients, and there’s not outright purpose to the “right” thing to cook, it still seems to make more sense to scramble an egg or two, than to demolish the kitchen over the notion of a lack of inherent meaning.
I achievement hunt in video games, sure as heck not because it’s the most enjoyable way to play a game (some are annoying and hard) but because I also struggle with feelings like yours, and when I get that little ding, it feels like I’ve done something (I know I haven’t!) but it feels like I did, and that’s nice to scratch that little “I did a thing” itch. It’s okay that it feels nice, even if deep down I know it means nothing. Crap, so what? Same thing when I finish a book, finish a puzzle, watch a new movie, etc. Everything else means nothing too! But it doesn’t do me much good to dwell on that, and so I plod along for my next little ding. Sometimes that ding is the thought that “damn, this subway sandwich, is fucking bangin”. Sometimes that ding is getting a chuckle out of how stupid life is (I recently won a costume contest at my work I joined over Zoom. I planned to just watch, and as a dry stupid joke I pulled the lampshade of my lamp, plunked it on my head, and said I was a lamp. I promptly won a vote, and a gift basket to the chagrin of everyone who actually tried on their costume. If that’s not some stupid good shit to live for I don’t know what is.)
Sometimes that ding (and get this) ISNT EVEN FUN. That’s also okay. I often say satisfaction, is more important to my mental health than actual happiness or fun. THIS IS NOT THE CASE FOR EVERYONE, GIANT DISCLAIMER but this is the case for my particular brain. When it’s hard to be happy, or smile, the feeling of “hey, well at least I beat that hard level today” sometimes is enough to feel satisfied that I did something today even if I was banging my head against a wall a bit to do it.
My hobbies aren’t important, there isn’t an inherent meaning in my life, and perhaps I’m not important (who tf decides anyways though?). But I’m here, and I’m going to at least scramble a god damn egg, because someone built the kitchen so I might as well get cooking and see what happens.
I hope you open that fridge and scramble some wicked fucking eggs man.
I held on to physical media for a long time, and the legal ownership implications are scary for digital media, BUT the argument of avoiding creating plastic waste at one point outweighed this for me, and I’ve been all digital ever since, but to each their own. Definitely pros and cons either way.
“The intent is to provide players with a sense of pride and accomplishment”
No, there isn’t.
Do the actual ethical thing and buy a used car. You’re putting money back into the hands of actual working Americans instead of companies, contributing dramatically less to climate change by reusing an existing product, you’ll get a dramatically nicer vehicle, and save money too.
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I know I’m not answering this question persay, but I do certainly touch on some benefits of not owning a car, and why this isn’t true for everyone.
I don’t want anyone dismissing this as some “pro-car” post. It’s not.
I live in the northern most city in North America with over 1 million people (Edmonton, I technically live in an outlying community, but still). Edmonton is unique in a few ways.
So simply what are the advantages? I would die in the winter first of all. That’s not an exaggeration, if you don’t live in a climate like this in the winter, you just don’t understand. Being outside for upwards of 15 minutes is dangerous.
Moreover, families in my line of work would suffer. Even with amazing public transit, the weather here is bad enough, and the city is spread out enough, that it would not be doable to safely visit everyone in a day or make it on time since they’re often across the city. Notably since Edmonton is so spread out (unlike say, a Toronto), traffic and getting around quickly on roads is pretty good and we don’t see the same level of slow moving traffic as most major cities.
Now with that said, for the naysayers out there, who think I’m biased: first of all, we all are in one direction or another. Secondly, if you suggested reducing how spread out my city is, and massively increasing public transit and train funding (which again, remember is tricky here, because just hanging out in a train or bus shelter, if not heated here is genuinely dangerous to your life), I would be all for it! I think the biggest thing is city planning, zoning rules that make living places so far away from your purchasing needs like grocery stores is the real bane here and in many areas in North America. But the fact is that, again in my (admittedly unique) situation, even if the city suddenly didn’t become dangerously cold in the winter, magically more dense, and amazingly more transit friendly, I need a car for my daily employment, and many do (you can’t haul construction equipment, bring large medical devices, etc.) on a bike or bring it onto a train or bus with you.
I think the “fuckcars” argument is simplistic and WILDLY privileged. This attitude towards places in difficult climates, with limited funding for public transit in poorer countries, where taking any job, even one that needs a vehicle to drive around is a necessity, when coming from a European metropolitan perspective if wildly biased. Should all cities be as bikeable and transit centric as it is in Europe, again, YES, I agree with this wholeheartedly. But such an aggressive stance as being angry at car owners, making arguments that it indicates some political leaning (I’ve literally seen in the subreddit that cars are inherently right wing, like get over yourself and politicizing EVERYTHING), and literally naming a subreddit “fuckcars” is not exactly solution focused, and doesn’t take the complexity of the living situation many are born in, into account. While I am priveleged in my own country and city, my whole life is here and I would challenge anyone saying “just bike” to make the 50km bike ride across sheet ice in -40 (-40 F) here and not also argue for necessity of a car here.
For the record for anyone who might otherwise dismiss my view on some erronious basis, I am a left wing environmentalist, vegetarian for environmental reasons, have owned a Smart Car and other “eco” vehicles, detest the giant truck and SUV culture that is awful to basically everything here (while understanding that a fairly small minority actually do need a truck), I own an E-bike and love in my small outlying town (population 4000) that I can bike to everything I need here, and would also use this when I lived in Edmonton at times.
Did some searching, it looks like there was something called “Buycott” but the app seems abandoned and no longer works on newer versions of Android.
I would be very interested in an app like this in general that helped you purchase ethically in general, I have to many other things to remember besides all of Nestle’s subsidiaries.
As a Canadian it really depends whether I say Zee or Zed. Looking online I was surprised to see that it has apparently been Zed in Canada for a long time, but I distinctly recall being raised on Zee until about the mid 2000s then everywhere in the curriculum it was Zed and I started hearing it more. Probably the biggest influence on whether I say Zee or Zed just depends on pop norms, and what sounds better.
Some examples:
At least the British and Americans are consistent, I don’t even know what the heck I’m doing here!
I haven’t read The Martian, but Shipwreck by Charles Logan is one of my greatest hidden gems. Not well known at all, I have never heard anyone talk about it. I picked it up for 25 cents at a senior’s home garage sale, on a whim and loved it.
The basic plot is that Tansis crash lands on a planet in deep space, the others have died in the accident, and the book starts shortly after the last crew member but him dies. The planet is hostile, filled with a specific plant that has dominated with no signs (at first…) of animal life, and the atmosphere at first doesn’t seem safe to breathe. It’s a story of isolation, trying to survive, trying to escape, and coming to terms with one’s situation. It feels very real, without being extravagant, engaging writing style, and I never quite knew what would happen next even right up to the satisfying (but perhaps not for everyone!) ending.
I really hope you read it, but if not that’s okay :)
Car fires from ICE’s are magnitudes more common and cause more damage every year because of this. If you spent half a second to search this you’d find that reports indicate that per 100,000 vehicles sold in their respective powertrains in their lifetime, 25 electric cars catch fire, and 1,530 gas vehicles catch fire. While searching this, something that caught me off guard and surprised me was that hybrids are even higher, 3,475! The more you know.