CMLVI

I think this has added to the divisiveness more than people realize. We aren't arguing over facts anymore, we're arguing over the validity of the information in the 1st place. It kinda ties back to what the person you responded to said; social media and news sources are being merged and combined and continually consolidated, arguably in an attempt to further control the narratives. It's probably amazing for (both) the DNC and GOP that they can easily point to a news network and say "everything here is wrong, we're right", as it tacitly gives their base permission to dismiss the other sides talking points. If the parties can't even agree on facts, compromise can't happen. Political lines grow deeper, and meaningful change and compromise becomes harder, so you end up with the chest beaters who are loud and make people feel good winning elections, while the doers and level headed fade away.

From my perspective, it seems like Israel knows what they have with Trump; a willing patsy who will enact their agenda, as long as they stroke his ego. So you have US-Iran talks making some level of headway, then Netanyahu whispering in his ear about how this makes him look week on terror, goading the US into action. And because Trump is Trump, he's going to do what he thinks makes him look good and earns him and his billionaire friends money, which is wartime. So while the war itself seems pretty unpopular domestically across most political spectrum, this allows him to fulfill his own vain purposes by Israel continuing to stroke his ego, he gets to feel like the big heroic man he wishes he was by saving the world in his mind, and his echo chamber cabinet won't go against him, so everyone says this is the right thing to do.

And then also what everyone else says; this distracts from Epstein Files, this is part of his lead-in to trying to take over the midterms and reduce election viability through restricting mail in and electronic voting (were gonna have 2 million people vote in a single precinct in New York, LA, Chicago, etc) while rural red districts breeze on through? It's all a ploy to keep GOP in power. It's the most thinly veiled coup ever, and half the nation is eating it up simply because it's "their guy".

Who is "some" thay are saying these things? Is it people who make a living off of engagement? And here you are, engaging wholeheartedly, and seeking others to engage? Weird feedback loop.

Oh this is cool af. I did. Or know this...hmm.....

I've had this issue too. Always wore large, now they're too short. I've had friends take little jabs, cause I'm a little bit heavier than I was, but that hasn't elongated my torso or spine. My middle didn't get longer, and I don't think my shoulders are 3-4" more beefy than they were. Now, I get a Large and it fits like I expect for a wear or two, and then it's immediately a medium. It sucks, cause I don't buy clothes often, so I'll go to a sporting event and get a shirt, buy a L, and then it shrinks to unwearable size.

If it wasn't just reality TV centered around F1 and actually delved into the sport beyond just "look at the drama" then it'd be much more palatable. It's hard to sit through an episode in hopes that I get what I want, especially when I can get that fix on YT.

It seems like he supported it; "they said they were going after the worst of them" seems like justification for supporting it. I don't support it, and I wouldn't say that. I do admit you have to assume some, but I'm not a jury and I'm not sentencing him to anything, so I'm not holding myself to the highest standard here.

We have been playing Fall Guys and Party Animals a bit, but we're kinda mixed between console and PC right now, so we're limited. We were also playing Kart Rider: Drift, but I think it got taken off Steam and is now on another Storefront? Idk. It's a fun little Mario Kart clone. Chained Together is a blast for a little while, if not just to rag on whoever sucks the most. Left 4 Dead but modded always looks fun, Golf with your Friends is a favorite of mine. Ultimate Chicken Horse looks like it'd be a good time as well (or any of those short form course building games). RV There Yet is a PEAK style game (or whatever you'd call it) that I'd say looks a little more varied in activities that looks like a blast as well.

Fediverse and Linux have to be the most unholy tech union in existence.

So this is interesting, because I do fantasy racing in another sport (Motocross and Supercross) and they have had a hell of a time figuring out something that sticks. A pitfall that they generally run into is that you just pick who finishes 1-5 and then a random position between 7, 9, 11, 13. This is fun for about 3 weeks, and then you're picking the same guys repeatedly. Some of the better fantasy options have gotten around that by doing what I'll call "handicap racing". Lower tier guys who usually finish outside the top 10 are given a position handicap; so if a guy has a +8 handicap and finishes 11, he pays out points equal to 3rd. The handicaps are dynamic and change week to week; on what, I'm not sure of the specifics, but I imagine combo of most recent 2 or 3 finishes and current championship standings. The kicker is that, if the handicap rider finishes inside the top 10 after his handicap, you score double points, so value is there in picking the lesser known riders. Supercross in particular has a fun qualifying system; there are usually about 50 or 60 riders trying to qualify at any given event. Only the top 40 in qualifying make the "night show", which then pares down even further into the top 22 for the main, based on heat races. 20 guys each, top 9 advance. Remaining 24 after that go to a Last Chance Qualifier, and the top 4 make the main. So there is a real possibility a guy you pick with a high handicap doesn't even make the main; picks are due between qualifying (~3pm EST) and the start of the night show (7pm EST).

What the handicap racing has done, at least in this context, has made the racing in the middle/back of the pack stupidly fun and entertaining for us when we play. For F1, everyone already watches the leaders, and the manufacturers at the front are still probably going to be the top 4. But the intrigue now becomes what happens in the 10th-16th range, where stuff really gets mixed up. Due to the handicaps, one position could be the difference between like...12 points and 36 points. Big swings off of passes that probably don't even make the broadcast. It also really helps carry the less entertaining races too.

All that really just to offer you some insight on what could be done. Fantasy Racing is something I really like, obviously, and while you may not be in it to make a premium product, or rake in ad revenue or something, this could help set you apart and add some additional fun to the setup over the traditional "rank the drivers 1-10 based on qualifying".

I've been seeing more and more "homegrown" fantasy stuff pop up recently and I love it. I signed up, will try to remember to make lineups. I'm not a huge F1 fan, I just love following racing, but I'm trying to get more into it. It's just difficult with the start times being all over the place!

Involuntary celibacy

As others have said, it's just not great for the car. Will it damage it if you hit one? Probably not. But if it's your work route or other commonly taken route, you're gonna hit it 260x in a year, and you'll own the car for multiple years. It adds up quick. Plus, they aren't always smooth to the ground or free of other pot holes and square edges. If you hit it hard enough or if it's too sharp, jagged, or deep, you can damage the wheel, the suspension, and the tire itself, easily in the thousands of dollars to repair, along with not having a vehicle for up to a few weeks.

Don't get me wrong, they shouldn't really be swerving all over the road, but dodging em when you can is nice.