Let’s not forget that they are subject to taxes yet lack any representation.

I’m pretty sure I remember a country that was pretty pissed off about that in the past…

Polls are not the mechanism parties use to “pick” candidates. That’s just not how the process works. Pollsters aren’t arms of the DNC or the RNC. They’re independent firms measuring name recognition and voter preference at a given moment, and the only way to do that is by giving respondents a fixed list of relevant, high visibility figures. It’s a methodological constraint, not a political command.

The real issue is subtler. Media ecosystems amplify a handful of names, donors flock to whoever looks viable, and voters often gravitate toward whoever they’ve heard of. That creates a feedback loop where the visible become even more visible. But polls are downstream from that loop, not upstream. They reflect the landscape; they don’t choose it.

If you want to critique the system, aim at the actual gatekeepers. Ballot access rules, debate thresholds, fundraising networks, and media exposure do far more to narrow the field than a Rasmussen questionnaire ever will. Blaming the poll is mistaking the thermometer for the weather.

Cats can associate negative experiences with events, but they do not learn rules or specific behaviors from punishment the way people hope they will. Their learning window is only a couple of seconds, so anything aversive that happens after that just feels random to them. What they actually learn is that the person or place involved is unsafe, not that the behavior was wrong.

That is why punishment often leads to fear, hiding, aggression, or avoidance instead of fixing the problem. It damages trust faster than it changes behavior.

Positive reinforcement, environmental management, and redirection work far better because they match how cats naturally learn. Reward the behavior you want, set up the environment so the unwanted behavior is less appealing, and guide them toward better choices.

In practical terms, aversive training with cats is almost always counterproductive. Positive methods are both more effective and more humane.

I was in the same situation a few months ago. I wanted to try Linux but had no real experience with it. To experiment safely, I built a computer from old parts and installed Linux Mint. I then swapped it with my Windows machine and committed to using Mint exclusively for a month. That hands-on approach helped far more than reading guides. I now use Mint on my primary system.

Here is what I learned along the way. Mint has excellent documentation because it is one of the most popular Linux distributions. When I ran into problems, I could generally find reliable answers through the official forums, community wikis, or by asking ChatGPT for step-by-step instructions. So far, there has not been a single issue I could not eventually fix with some experimentation.

If you are coming from Windows and want to game, there are several points worth knowing upfront:

1. Steam on Linux is straightforward

Steam has a native Linux client. Most Windows games work through Proton, which Steam handles automatically. For many titles, you simply install the game and press play. Performance can be very close to Windows.

2. Expect some trial and error

Although many games work out of the box, some require you to switch Proton versions or install small compatibility tools. It is usually not difficult, but it is different enough from Windows that patience helps.

3. Modding takes more effort

My most recent challenge involved getting game mods working. Tools like Proton, Wine, and mod installers sometimes interact in unexpected ways. It took me a few hours of reading and experimenting, but I eventually got everything running. Once you understand where games store their files and how Proton prefixes work, modding becomes much more manageable.

4. Linux teaches you how your system works

If you are willing to tinker, Linux rewards you. You learn how your files are organized, how applications install dependencies, and how to fix problems yourself. That knowledge makes troubleshooting less intimidating over time.

5. You can always dual-boot

If you are nervous about switching completely, you can dual-boot Windows and Mint. That way you can learn Linux without losing access to anything critical.

If you are starting from zero, the biggest advantage is the size and friendliness of the Linux Mint community. You do not have to figure everything out alone. With a bit of persistence, you can build a fully functional gaming setup that performs well and is easier to maintain than you might expect.

The Godmonster of Indian Flats.

You could pause the movie after any scene, try and guess what will happen next, and always be wrong.

Technology Connections just dropped the most thorough argument for renewables.

https://youtu.be/KtQ9nt2ZeGM

Watch till the end.

This argument persists because it is easier to believe that everything is rigged than to engage with the complexity of political institutions. It provides an emotionally satisfying shortcut, but it collapses under even a minimal amount of empirical scrutiny.

People can give solid advice even when they are struggling or even when they failed in the same area. A smoker can tell you smoking is bad. Someone whose marriage ended can still recognize unhealthy patterns. Someone who made financial mistakes can warn you about the traps they fell into. Two things can be true at the same time.

A useful skill is learning to tell when advice is grounded in reflection versus when it is shaped by unprocessed regret. People often speak from a mix of past experience and current emotion. Some insights are helpful, some are fear driven, and it takes a little judgment to sort out which is which.

So instead of accepting or rejecting advice automatically, it helps to look at where it is coming from. Are they sharing something they have actually thought through, or are they reacting to their own past? The value of the advice depends less on whether their life went well and more on how honestly they have understood it.

I’ve yet to encounter a problem with mint I haven’t been able to solve with some googling and chatgpt. I love it.

GLP-1 drugs were originally developed for diabetes. A side effect was weight loss.

Most drugs with fun side effects get marketed for the fun side effect.

“Everyone should read more.”

I grab everything on Epic and use playnite to browse my collection.

I recently started playing Gravity Circuit and it is great!

I wish they would put an offer in for my state…

In my line of work, anything more than 24 hours feels like a vacation.

I took that as being part of the point.

I want to focus on the structure of the proposal rather than on defending Israeli state policy, which I oppose in many respects.

As written, the proposal does not clearly define Zionism so much as treat a particular interpretation of it as self-evident, namely that Zionism is inherently a form of settler colonialism. That is a position many people hold, but it is also a contested one, and the policy depends on that premise without unpacking it.

If the core concern is behavior such as genocide denial, dehumanization of Palestinians, or the repetition of propaganda talking points, those are concrete harms and seem like appropriate moderation targets on their own. Framing the rule around an ideological label instead of specific conduct risks conflating belief, state policy, and online behavior, which are not always the same thing even when they overlap.

I also share some of the concern about how “pro-Zionist” would be determined in practice. When enforcement depends on interpreting intent or identity rather than observable actions, it increases the risk of inconsistency and misclassification, even with good faith moderation.

I am not arguing against taking a clear moral stance in support of Palestinians. I am suggesting that the policy would be stronger, clearer, and easier to defend if it focused explicitly on the behaviors and arguments that cause harm, rather than relying on a broad and disputed definition of Zionism to do that work.

Imagine being so ideologically primed that a comment about a browser requires inventing a leftist to argue with.

As someone who recently made the switch with zero Linux experience, I completely agree.

The same thing happened to me a few years ago!

He’s 5 now and my best friend.