I had been feeling the same thing in Eastern Pennsylvania. Used to see lots of both, but last few years the lightning bugs were hardly noticeable and I hadn’t seen a rabbit in quite a bit when they used to be a regular sight in the neighborhood. But the last week or 2 there have been some nice lightning bug shows, though not as great as when I was a kid, and I’ve notices some bunnies grazing by the entrance to my road again.

I think it’s just less talked about because it seems to be going on so far from most English speaking places.

I’m not super familiar on any details, but of course there is a wiki for Buddism and Violence and there is plenty of current day stuff going on.

People are always going to eventually act their worst when enough refuse to back down on their personal beliefs, no matter their religion, or lack thereof for that matter. It’s sad seeing all the discrimination in the comments.

That French taco doesn’t sound too bad. Sounds like a crunchy kebab.

I’ve made Canadian style donair with the traditional garlic sauce fries, and this reminds me somewhat of both of those, only put together.

I think there’s a few levels of problems with policing.

First, what is the job of the police? If it comes down to protecting people vs government/property, what is the priority? At what point does it switch from protecting a suspect vs stopping a crime? When does a situation go from upholding the law to breaking it? It feels there is a lot of grey area that should be more well defined.

Secondly, should police be policing all the time? If cops are out there seeing nothing but suspected criminals all day, every day, how could that not end up influencing their view on the people they encounter negatively? Maybe we should give police some positive experiences with their community, participating in things for healthy and wellbeing of their fellow citizens? Get them involved in social work, recovery programs, therapy programs with inmates or addicts so they learn why people end up going down the roads they do, food banks, etc. Give them time to see these people as fellow humans with dreams, flaws, and to understand the decisions they face that lead them to the positions they’re in. Also let people on the other end see cops the same way.

I think a lot of hate and violence comes from not understanding people we only briefly encounter, especially when one or both parties is already coming into things with negative views. But subjecting even the nicest cops to nothing but the dark underbelly of society is going to change them negatively. If we want to have good cops, I think we need to make being a cop a better job. Not just offering unlimited overtime to numb the pain of seeing terrible things, but evening out the good and bad experiences with the people you are policing.

There’s still a ton of other things we could get into about just the culture of violence, the incentives of privately run prisons, etc, but all that is a bit darker than I feel like getting into now.

We usually get things like the chocolate covered cashews or sea salt caramels. They occasionally have some peanut butter or maybe cashew butter cups and those I remember being really good.

Aldi has such awesome chocolate! Thanks for pointing out the reason.

I vote Nay.

While land doesn’t vote, if you look at a county election map, anyone seceding is not going to just walk away with current borders intact, and even if you establish a new border, you’re going to be in the middle of enemy territory no matter which state we’re talking about.

Yes, so I am overwhelming myself with good stuff so I don’t have as much time to let that stuff bother me.

I joined an animal rescue that I work at every Sunday and busy my butt there. I also started participating in community events with other people through my music teacher, so I’ve always got new songs to work on. These national protests also have a more uplifting vibe than I’d expected, so I’d like to participate in more of those too.

So I’m feeling better about my own actions, developing more skills, helping my environment, giving entertainment back to my community, and seeing hundreds of other people that also want this place to be a bit better.

Sure the news is still a total buzzkill, but I can only dwell on it so long. I put off doing these things for so long saying I didn’t have time or energy, but now they are wonderful healthy distractions, and even if we do pull out of this tailspin, I’d love to keep doing all these things anyway.

Don’t let jerks keep you down. We can’t stop all of it, but we can all find some way to be useful and successful, and other people seeing you carry on will keep them motivated too!

The conversation there looked great, so I kept finding myself there, so I just sucked it up. I always saw them politely ask people to respect the rule, but I know it’s gotta get old repeating themselves every time. Guys got literally every other community! Let them have one in peace. They know where to find us fellas if they really need us. 🤣

It’s like eves dropping on a group of people in public. Yes, they’re talking where anyone can listen, but it tends to make people uncomfortable if you lurk there obviously or chime into their conversation, so it’s polite to move on or ignore them. I just blocked them, out of respect, not frustration. It just removes the temptation while not affecting them in any way.

The best part is, as another person said in this post, is any questions you do have that are female related, you can ask in another community and those same nice ladies will answer you. 😁

Hah, I figure I do bother some people with my block of posts, but 1) I put all my posts up and breakfast so people have all day to ask me questions and I have all my down time at work to answer them so you get quick replies before you forget you even asked something, and 2) if seeing 3-5 owl photos is a row is that big a deal, congrats on having no real problems! 😜

I really do feel that way I do it is an advantage for anyone who develops a real interest in the content. It works for me in a way that it isn’t a burden to do it every day, and you get my mostly undivided attention to reply to you.

It does meander a bit, as it’s more a reflection of the author’s history with Petty on the one year anniversary of his passing that just happens to eventually settle on a tale about coffee perfection.

I like it overall as a tale about simple pleasures and what will people remember most about us after we’re gone rather than a guide on how to achieve the perfect cup. I have reservations about if I’d agree that was the best cup ever if I had been there with them, but that was what reminded me of the story while I was reading about you having a mug of instant coffee with your family. 😊

I didn’t drink coffee for half my life because I was usually always around burnt, bottom tier coffee.

After moving largely away from whiskies and runs due to medicine I was on, I wanted a complex beverage to fill that void and gave some decent coffee a shot. It was of course worlds beyond most of what I’ve had anywhere else, and now I try different single origins every month.

But the real wild thing, is now I apply that tasting ability I’ve developed to diner coffee, and now the particular funk of a Waffle House cup gives me the memories of old road trips. The coffee from the local diner reminds me I’m home. Now that I can pick out one cup of low grade from another, it lets me appreciate the times I do go low on coffee.

Your comment made me think of the semi-famous Tom Petty coffee story from Rolling Stone. In searching for the article, I saw something claiming his daughters refuted the claims of his brand of choice, though still others claimed Mr Petty had personally verified it with them, so who’s to say for sure at this point. But anyone who likes coffee, Tom Petty, or some food storytelling should like this tale of a man and his quest for the perfect cup. For anyone that hasn’t read the story, I really enjoy it and think it’s a fun read and a reminder of simple joys in life.

IceRaven on mobile mostly. Was diehard for Kiwi, but it’s stopped development and is being absorbed into Edge. Tried all the current stuff, and IceRaven was the most like what I was used to.

I don’t get why people try to hide freckles. They’re so unique!

Glad to help! I always kinda wanted one but wasn’t convinced I’d use it, but I borrowed a real basic one from my brother and found so many uses for it. Now having one with pulse vacuuming and the hose attachment, I do even more things! I may just love pressing buttons though. 😁

For my coffee stuff, I typically make Aeropress ($40) with a metal filter for the lady and use the OXO pour over ($18) for myself.

I like manual brewing so I can regulate all the ratios and temps to my liking. It isn’t as fun to do both of those right after waking up though, so I make them at night into mason jars. Now I got a jar sealer attachment for my vacuum sealer ($10) and the coffee stays dang near at original quality until morning, so I just pop the top and have nice chilled pour over every morning. They make standalone jar sealers for cheap, but I have a spendier tabletop unit to do bags and jars.

I seal the beans in vacuum sealer containers as well now and they seem to be maintaining potency longer. I’m on week 3 of the current bag, and it still smells almost brand new every time I open it compared to my old airtight but not vacuumed container. The special jars are pretty cheap or a pound of beans should fit in a 32 oz mason jar.

So if you’ve already done the basics, think about checking out vacuum sealing. I use it for bunches of things. Pre-chopped veg for recipes (diced onion in 1/2 onion portions, 2 chopped celery and 2 chopped carrots for soup/stew, etc), wild game, make big batches of long cooked tomato sauces so we can have weekend meals during the week, resealing chips, cookies, and crackers so they don’t get stale. All kinds of stuff.

In the scenario given, this is my opinion as well. OP described the situation as one where there is some authority and code of conduct over their behavior there, so that needs to apply to everyone.

Also by OP’s own words, they were specifically trying to antagonize someone to get them in trouble, which would probably be pretty transparent to someone observing the interaction.

In a more general sense, I can see some empowerment of words only you and your group can use, but at the same time, I don’t know how one can say they’re reclaimed if other outside people using them would still be hurtful or inappropriate.

I’m straight and white, but my best friends are gay, and my work buddies are all non-white. I have no desire to use any derogatory word, around them or not, because I’d be pissed if anyone would call them those things, so I still see them as insults.

My gay friends don’t often use those words around me at least, and I don’t think ever in reference to themselves. If they would, that would be their choice, but I’d still not really be thrilled hearing those words used in reference to them. They’re my favorite people in the world, next to my SO and my brother.

With my work friends, one is black and the other Hispanic. They both use the N word around me freely and with no animosity. I am not used to Hispanic people using that word in reference to themselves, and that took some real getting used to. The black coworker has never acted bothered by it, and they’re not one to shy away from expressing displeasure, so I let them do their thing. Again, it wouldn’t be my choice of words for them to refer to themselves, but that’s their call. They know (for the most part) not to talk like that in more public settings though.

So while it’s not really my business, I’d prefer people not to do it, especially if it is in a provoking manner like OP’s situation because I feel it’s not respectful or self-respectful, and especially if I was a boss or someone in authority over the environment, I think a near zero tolerance approach in appropriate, since while you may be cool with it, it’s a leader’s responsibility to make everyone feel accommodated.

I love me some corvids. I’ve built up my relationships with my local clan of Jays from when I was WFH, and we have a bunch of them in the clinic now, along with a crow and a raven.

They’re all wonderful, but I’m still biased toward the owls and raptors.

It’s not the size of the brain, it’s how you use it! 🤪