This is always my reaction to this theory as well. If someone asks “How did life on Earth start?”, surely we can assume they actually mean “How did life start?”

It’s like if a kid saw a baby, and asks their parents “Where do babies come from?”, and their reply is “Oh that baby lives next door, it came from that house”.

My Linux box seems to have audio issues, weird things that sound like since kind of gated compression that I can’t quite figure out. Will this help?

Personally, I think the dumbest person would be the one that took the time to be snarky about a comment someone wrote about a screenshot of something dumb.

Long standby shift at a hotel (think Hilton style). My employer (not the hotel) had a storage room that was just an old hotel room with all the fittings taken out- No bed or couch, just storage racks. I got super bored, took a nap in the old bathtub.

The staff bathroom of an abandoned diner on top of a mountain in Japan. I was cycle touring, didn’t want to put up the tent if I could just go inside. The big windows and proximity to the road meant I didn’t want to be using a flashlight inside, so I went into the staff bathroom, no windows. Also no toilets or anything, just a bare tiled room. Weird place to sleep, but I went into the main area to make breakfast, it was an amazing view. Bonus for not getting the tent wet.

It starts with understanding what you’re spending money on. You can’t control what you don’t measure. Get some idea of what you are buying, be aware of the cost of things.

Even if you don’t set down a full budget, you want to be able to go to the grocery store, say ‘x dollars is all I need to spend’ and then come out having spent less than that. If you don’t know how much you spend on an average shop, that won’t ever happen.

Second to this is any purchase that is a ‘want’ above ‘y’ dollarydos, sleep on it. Steam sale? Put what you want in your cart. Is it more than twenty bucks? Ok, no problem, I’ll buy it tomorrow. Half the time you wake up and forget you ever wanted it. Sweet, money saved. Nice pair of shoes at the shop? Cool, I’ll come back tomorrow and try them on. Gives you a chance to find it elsewhere, cheaper.

Is data on when I turn the oven on, and how long I run it for, even worthwhile? Or do you think it’s sniffing out other info from my network?

The Tenacious D guy? What did he say in Australia?

What’s the battery life like? Without actually doing much research, I always lent towards dedicated eReaders. I just assumed that a tailor made, super simple OS would save a lot of needless processing, therefore power.

I charge my Kindle about once a month, I guess.

This is one of the arguments I have around the decision to not have children of my own. The world is pretty fucked, do I really want to create someone who will not only have to endure the shit to come, but also will undoubtedly add to that shit?

The counter argument, of course, is to raise the child in such a way that they make the world a better place. Ultimately, though, the problem is too many humans- why add to that?

Being an uncle is great. You get all the fun of kids, and can give the bloody things back when they start screaming and shitting everywhere.

I’m a similar age, and similar point in life. I like kids, but I really don’t want to have any of my own. I really enjoy being an uncle to many children, though- not related, just made it clear to my friends that I would love to keep my connection with them, and build a connection with their child.

People don’t want to impose their child on others, but if you have a genuine conversation with them about being ok with kids, you’ll get to see your friends more often, and if you’re into it, they’ll fucking live and appreciate the free babysitting.

I’m still not sure I understand. You’re saying because one guy is a bit of a dick, we shouldn’t put anything in space?

This satellite was owned by Intelsat, a company created by John F. Kennedy, an American; built by Boeing, a company created by an American and currently run by an American; and launched by the European Space Agency, on a rocket built by a company from France, headed by a Frenchman.

I’m sure there’s South Africans involved somewhere along the way, but I don’t think the person you are spitting vitriol about had anything to do with this satellite.

Thousands of years in the future, our descendents will return to Earth, to visit museums of ancient culture, and marvel at the Tungsten Cube of Dickbutt.

I thought it had more of a ‘doing your own thing’ vibe to it. As in, you could use it to describe someone spending a vast amount of time perfecting an unusual skill.

I still don’t understand what this means.

None!

There should be no guilty pleasures in music. Especially dating. It’s much more attractive to have a wide range of tastes and be comfortable with what you like.

I am very grateful to my DM for allowing me to play as a gelatinous cube that had absorbed a headband of intellect. Such a fun character to play!

Are you a Pratchett fan? I think you’d like his take on elves, I think the first Discworld they’re in is Lords and Ladies.

I have a theory as to why people in my country discuss US politics more than our own. People want to talk about something more ‘important’ than the latest reality talent show, but don’t want to risk talking about local politics. US politics is square in the middle, splashed across our feeds constantly.

I just can’t wait until elections continue their downward spiral, and presidential candidates need to sing country songs to Snoop Dog so they don’t get voted off the island.