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I mean Ben Stein would have some serious competition for the Clear Eyes commercials in the 90s

There’s a long list of incidents where his visor (or sunglasses) are removed

Not yet

checks again

Still not yet

checks again

You’ll be happier not knowing

I can kinda understand that but I’ve taken week-long overseas vacations so giving border control extra work verifying a visitor isn’t returning home “too fast” seems counter-productive

For countries not on the list, a transit policy allows eligible citizens to enter for 10 days if they depart for a different country they arrived from.

Cool cool cool… Why?

I distinctly recall thinking inner monologues were a “neat idea” after seeing them on TV as a child and thinking it would be a useful skill to learn. I never did though

I was surprised by this comment…

Unfortunately, sometimes that’s all it takes, especially when not diluted by opposing viewpoints, but let me–without any knowledge of the specific contents–take a crack at countering the negativity bias of those narratives:

• 30% of the global energy generation comes from renewable now

• Social media is bringing the demand for better public transit to a fever pitch

• Trump 1 has a lot of news sources careful to investigate claims before platforming whatever a US president says because “who would abuse that power?” (anecdotal and European bias here but many of these outlets are accessible online for free)

• America may finally be joining the modern world with HSR between Canada HSR, that California project and the one connecting LA to Vegas (some rumblings about importing the Shinkansen to connect the Texas Triangle, too)

If these sound relevant to what you’re used to seeing, I’d recommend asking yourself if any of the communities can acknowledge improvement, in other words: if you’re following a (hypothetical) community called “Don’t Kick Puppies” because who wouldn’t support that cause, well not only did you just sign up for a stream of puppy kicking content but one moderated by somebody invested in convincing people the issue is a pressing concern regardless of what the data indicate

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“I have a good life[…] The world is so terrible” screams “I engage with social media toxic to my mental health” to me but my context of your existence is 3 sentences so…

Take that as advice or criticism but the world has never been perfect and certainly will never be as close to perfect as the funnel of negativity online echo chambers and recommendation algos can be

Neat!

picks up pollut-o-matic and starts firing into the air

Is that all?

turns off switch

Siberia, Russia or Svalbard, Norway

You were planning on going to rural Alaska, right?

Correctly, smugly and pretentiously

True but I wanted a literal shower thought

“just as good”? No, I feel it is (and has been for years) vastly superior but I mostly use it to find documentation or Stack Overflow answers so consistent UI and concise summaries are high priority to me. Take that as you will

I don’t think anybody can dethrone Google Maps yet but that’s another story

And now I suppose I have to read that in a sarcastic voice because of the “/s”? /d

(/d = dead serious)

Yep. Low bar to clear

The challenge isn’t finding counter examples, it’s limiting the narrative of history to have a simple “good/bad divide” but here are some selections of underdogs one may consider the greater of two evils:

• The confederacy (US Civil War)
• Caesar’s army crossing the Rubicon
• Imperial Japan post Pearl Harbor
• Pakistan’s complicated history with India
• King Leonidas and his men (Persia was arguably more equitable)
• Austria-Hungary (WW1)
• Fascist Italy (WW2)

As for David and Goliath, keep in mind David was using a sling, a weapon that can hit with the same force as a modern revolver when used properly. It’s entirely possible that story is an allegory and/or propaganda of the value of properly equipping one’s armies; it probably shouldn’t be viewed as anymore impressive than a rampage killer fatally wounding somebody twice their size