Well said. I sometimes moan about my kids when colleagues who don’t have kids ask about it. Perhaps that’s unwise, as I don’t want to put them off. It’s just that there’s no way to tell them how profound and amazing being a dad is. It just doesn’t feel right to tell that to people who haven’t - and indeed may not - experience it. It’s seems almost cruel.

I got skills!! Just can’t draw for shit 🤣

I honestly can’t. They tell me drawing, like playing an instrument, just takes patience and time. I can play multiple instruments, but my drawing skills have been the same since I was about 8.

I once drew a picture of Judge Dredd, that came out half-decent when I was 12. However it was mostly traced and took me hours.

Had one on my sisters wedding day. Made my face hurt. Probably not as nice as the one pictured.

Saasermaet. It’s like a square sausage-like thing, similar to Lorne sausage (popular in parts of Scotland), but way tastier. I have no idea what’s in it.

My iMac is 11 years old. Use it to WFH two days a week and it’s running on Windows 11 (Rufus build that skips all the hardware checks). Have to use that OS as it’s a domain joined device using the work VPN. Works great.

Land ownership. We just have to accept that most of the earth is ‘owned’ by people who have no natural right to it whatsoever, they just happened to be born wealthy and so part of the planet that we all have to live on belongs to them.

There are people where I live who are now wealthy because the unfarmable strips of wasteland they’ve somehow inherited have recently had wind farms installed them, who pay them rent. Through no innovation or intelligence of their own, they are now rich. How is that fair?

Alien 3 hate is curious to me. I had it on VHS, back when you could only watch what you had on tape, so like all kids with limited movies they would get re- watched a lot, regardless of quality.

As a result, I can quote nearly as much of that movie as I can the first two (which, of course, are infinitely better).

So what I’m saying is I’ve got a soft spot for it. I’ll also defend the characters, who were well acted and portrayed. The overall atmosphere of a hostile planet was also pretty well executed.

Killing off Hicks, Newt & Bishop was a terrible start, but if you overlook that massive narrative fuck up, what else do people really hate about it?

Truth is, regardless of how fucked that platform is, I still resent being banned and the insane extent to which they prevent you returning. The use of throwaways was entirely normal back in the day, now it’s called ‘ban evasion’. It’s nearly impossible (or at least super-tedious) to get back on once they kick you off. It just seems like such an extreme over-reaction. Permanent bans are insane. I’ve seen people get barred from pubs after drunken violence, but that’s usually only for a year or so. This is basically forever.

I was on there for over a decade and posted in multiple communities all the time. Had a load of karma and rarely got into any aggressive arguments. Then one day I upset a mod for complaining about a removed post, that apparently contravened some petty rule. I’m banned from the sub. I use another account, they found out it was me I’m permanently banned. 12 years of contribution just forgotten, all because of some vindictive little basement dwelling prick.

I think I just got a slight chubby looking at a cartoon of a pie. That’s deeply concerning.

The enshitification of Reddit, especially the auto-mods and the prevalence of site-wide, permanent bans for minor infractions.

Plus, when accessed through your fave app, it feels like older Reddit, but I obviously way quieter and, in my experience, nicer people.

They don’t compare… RATS!

I never kill flies. I just feel bad. I do, however, trap them in a glass beaker and release them outside. It’s super-easy, you just go slow. Once they settle, slowly lower the glass over them. Then slide a bit of card between the glass and the surface and transport them outside.

Honestly, I have no idea why I do this. Maybe I subconsciously hope these small acts will balance my karma and somehow negate my illegal IPTV subscription.

Edge. It’s called Edge now. I have no idea why.

I’m actually pretty comfortable in my skin, and with my family at this stage in my life. A few bumps on the road to get here, but never been as content as I am now. Of course family brings it’s own worries. I very much need to start working on myself health wise. The reckless almost nihilist attitude I had as a younger man has taken its toll. Hopefully I can correct things, but I’m leaving it pretty late at 48.

Not all. Kudos to those who are, and deep condolences to those in this thread that have had such trauma that they seek it. But at 48 I’ve never felt more at ease with the world, and I simply don’t want to go.

That said, I’m a fucking idiot. I drink too much most weekends, I overeat and I’m a light smoker/vaper.

Yes I exercise, but nowhere near enough. I need to change, I know it. But I always retreat into excuses.

Depends entirely on the person I’m talking to.

An incompetence

Adding ‘This’ll be a doozy’ doesn’t exactly sign-post a willingness to enter into an open-minded discussion, bud.

Out of curiosity, what would you recommend?

Spotify costs very little and is installed in 3 separate households, but if you’ve an alternative then I’d delighted to hear it.

Amazon prime photos just works. I’ve a Synology NAS that I was using with Plex but it’s clunky AF. We’ve got firesticks simply to access our IPTV, but it also means we can view those photos easily.

Starlink - there’s literally no alternative where I live.

YouTube - had premium, but through an Indian address so cost me £2.99 per month.

Audible - no justification, just a subscription to a service we used.