Wife and I agreed that we needed to save during this summer, only to immediately have to buy a new bed for kids, get expensive dental work done, and repair the bathtub fixtures.

I’m grateful we’ll manage but it’s like it literally waited for us to want to save.

There’s an evolutionary reason we and other animals prefer to sleep facing the opening(s) of our rooms (for humans that actually means the top of the head is not same side as door).

That said, somehow bets are off as to which side we face once laying down; I prefer to face the wall I think because enclosed spaces make me feel safer, like a cat. Or maybe it reduces stimuli, or something.

Though lately I think my body likes sleeping on my right side since that side has more muscle, even though I’d rather sleep on my left for acid reflux reasons. Both are better reasons than the wall.

Actually there is some valid advice on dressing up a little because it helps with the work/life separation. I never did it because I like work and life blending (I enjoy teaching and doing research and I have zero decorum anyway) but psychologically, cues like your clothes can help set the mindset.

The same is true for location, too. Don’t work from bed unless you want that shit keeping you up at night.

My 4yo says she keeps candy in her candy pockets. I hope that remains the case long into adulthood.

That was my exact thinking too; I update because it’s red and not green. That, and pacman goes waka waka waka.

I have that same mental disorder but I kind of reframed it and stopped burning out as much as I used to. It’s not that I enjoy the grind, but multitasking, hanging with friends, and keeping short term goals make it more fun. I’m getting a lot more 100%s and chronicle the min/max I use to help others, too.

Used to be that China was on par in that regard say… 10? 15 years ago? I remember seeing a comparison, it was more neck at neck, but I think they reduced it and the US massively increased it, so it’s high but not US high.

Similarly something about military spending; same US ballooning in the past few decades.

Until you hit knew high, then you’re giving off an entirely different vibe.

I don’t care; I heard the orange man is to give out the trophy and man it’d be great if Mexico won.

Oddly enough, he only voiced Spyro once or twice and Tom Kenny ended up doing the remake and a couple games. Spyro has had way too many different VAs, lol.

Can confirm 1, dad grew up on TV dinners and canned food; and somehow Grandma thought it was ok to add ketchup to make spaghetti sauce. That second one might be 2, too, actually.

Reminder that it’s not just paying for infrastructure; it’s the amount of force applied due to trucks and other heavy vehicles. Americans generally have heavier vehicles, which results in more potholes compared to places with more compact cars.

My city very much pays for pothole repair but the number of trucks and full size SUVs/vans are pretty high so we’ve got potholes o’ plenty. It mostly just means every other day this major street I live on seems to have a crew doing a repair.

Frustrating that I can’t tell. Typically if something is absurd with proper proportion, it’s AI, but in this case, it’s not even that expensive or hard to pull off. Any other telltale signs? Lighting? Inconsistent stuff?

It’s a lemmy.ml community, so don’t be too surprised. The ml in lemmy.ml is literally marxist-leninist, even if it’s just a meme community, lol.

If it helps, lane changing is one of the main reasons for congestion so if you’re only making a short trip (e.g. same city) you might as well keep right-ish.

In heavy traffic it’s usually not even much slower, and sometimes even faster, so I often stay in the right two lanes if I’m just going downtown or something. I usually also help with the flow of traffic by letting people in and out for the three or four exits I’m passing, since I try not to tailgate.

I’ll concede it’s good at pizza reheats. We don’t do that often but it’s much better than microwave and about the same quality but faster than oven.

Depending on the size, it might not be that useful for secondary dishes but that’s mostly cause mines just slightly too small for my standard casserole dish. At some point it’s just a mini convection oven, which I have used before for Thanksgiving and it’s admittedly a godsend (although I’d only borrow it. I very much do not have the space for one).

Mines also both sides heat, but I think it’s a little different still as only one side will have hot metal pressed against the bread. You get a little different taste/texture with both sides pressed against the hot metal. I suspect it’s also more energy efficient, too. Suffice to say it’ll still be S tier for the standard toast case.

Beg to differ, I traded my S tier standard toaster for my dad’s toaster oven because he liked mine so much when I stayed with him during COVID times. The toaster oven is top notch but the added utility of preloaded toppings is offset by the counter top footprint. It also only really toasts one side properly.

The kicker is, most of the best applications are better done on a real oven. That’s how I do garlic bread, for instance. The only advantage is if I want to make something quick and sad, such as a pretend grilled cheese sandwich for the kids while I’m sick, I can slab cheese on each slice of bread and put them together at the end. Luckily little kids have no taste, so they don’t mind.

NPR yesterday mentioned quite clearly in an interview with John Bolton that economic sanctions are the biggest factor in Iran, and very much on purpose. It is a US strategy, even pre-Trump.

He acknowledged the cultural upheaval that’s been going on years ago, too, and also that negotiations with their regime is a “waste of oxygen.” But sanctions were definitely central.

Though I suppose NPR isn’t really sensationalized… you wouldn’t interview John Bolton if you wanted sensational news.

Almost all of my clandestine spy tactics started with… 🌽.

Volume mute. Family members schedule memorized. Escape route established. Contingency windows tab ready after alt F4. Several alibis established. Elaborate excuses on the ready. Disguises and new identity ready in case my position is compromised.

You basically described the economic concept of consumer surplus. When a product is entirely dependent on the price a consumer is willing to pay because the supply is infinite, the natural result is… this.

Except they shouldn’t be price discriminating; it’s easier and more effective to just offer tiered pricing structures (e.g. collectors editions) and eventual sales (e.g. 50% off after a year) to hit people at different places on the supposed consumer surplus curve. As you note, the undermines your confidence in the prices but you’re likely a little lower on the curve compared to the “must have on day one” crowd.

That said, the whole theory also explains why freemium is so attractive. When there’s no price minimum, the optimal price is 0 and you work your way up with features and perks (while also raising the price people are willing to pay by getting them hooked). It’s all nasty business, lol