Zink

I don't know which all aircraft were involved at different points, but there was absolutely a shoot-down by an F-22.

I don't know anything about this website but it was one of Wikipedia's sources. I remember seeing the pictures/videos with the F-22 clearly visible, plus the noteworthy stats like being the first f-22 kill, being the first engagement over US territory since WW2, and that it was probably the highest air to air kill.

https://www.twz.com/f-22-shoots-down-chinese-spy-balloon-off-carolinas-with-missile

Yeah this about tracks. I bet a bunch of happiness and quality of life related stats all moved downward together over the past few decades.

But the sex and time with friends ones are great bottom lines to look at, because spending time with our people is good for us, and our society is not structured with individual personal well being as a priority.

And I say this as an extremely introverted person who loves being a recluse and especially lives having an empty house on the weekends. The effects of good positive relationships are undeniable, and lacking them can leave somebody in a negative feedback loop that really sucks.

I know other comments already went into the "if conservatives want the country to have more babies maybe they should make life conducive to raising a family instead of getting billionaires an 8% CAGR return rather than only 7%" thing, but i've got to acknowledge it here too. We have the whole damn country caught up in the rat race.

Yeah you are absolutely right. I do just check it on my phone or PC now.

But having it constantly visible for the months or years I had it on my watch face etched the habit into my ADHD brain. It also gave me a feel for how weather and time of day affect it. But not in a way where I try to vibe measure the UV index. It reminds me to check the weather data. :)

In all fairness to smart watches, mine is what turned me on to regularly checking the UV index. That's an important thing for all people, but especially me because I have an increased skin cancer risk due to unrelated medical stuff. And it was extra-extra important this year because I have done a ton of good work outside this summer.

And to be more specific about my watch situation, there's more going on than just avoiding notifications. I have been minimizing the amount of stuff I keep on my person in general, right down to finally getting my wedding ring tattooed on this year. There are various reasons ranging from abstract introspective life improvement stuff to the practical where that outside work I mentioned was constant and pretty rough on anything on my hands/arms.

So even if I wore a nice mechanical watch, I'd probably still be going with the double bare wrists right now.

I think I am just done with the whole concept of the convenient prepackaged tech product, and especially staying "connected" with them.

For example, I stopped wearing a smart watch this summer and it's been a positive. I was the type to wear it 23 hours a day and track my sleep with it and everything. It turns out that not instantly seeing every notification or knowing the exact minute of the day are not a big deal, sans are even good for me.

Part of what I've also done is use my phone a lot less and my linux desktop a lot more. I use it as a mobile communication device and not my computer for everything. I guess the next time I need to replace it I'll either get an iphone since everybody in my family has one, or I'll see where these wonderful Linux phone projects end up.

I was partnered with that guy for one class in grad school. We were working on a master's degree in software engineering, and the assignment was analysis and changes to an actual code base, and this mofo was asking questions and/or blanking on things like what you mention. I can't remember the specifics but it was some basic building block kind of stuff. Like what's an array, or what's a function, or how do we send another number into this function. I think the neurons storing that info got pruned to save me the frustrating memories.

I just remember my internal emotional reaction. It was sort of "are you fucking kidding me" but not in the sense that somebody blew off the assignment, was rude, or was wrong about some basic fact. I have ADHD and years ago I went through some pretty bad periods with that and overall mental & physical health. I know the panic of being asked to turn in an assignment you never knew existed, or being asked about some project at work and just have no idea whatsoever how to respond.

This was none of those. This was "holy shit, this guy has never done anything, how did he even end up here?"

You can't both resist a system and then demand to be able to enjoy the fruits of the system you are resisting.

I've spoken with some folks who might arrrrrgue with that.

His dad programmed him to do what he's told.

Well THAT sentence caught my attention. My wife and I are very much in an "It Ends With Us" mindset when it comes to that kind of indoctrination. Which, by the way, often comes from otherwise loving and well-meaning parents who are indoctrinated themselves.

My son seems to have a lot of the same tendencies as me, and a life full of anxiety over all the rules around you is not what I have planned, to say the least. It's quite possible to be the awesome fun parents and also raise a person who isn't an asshole, as long as you remember to prioritize those things and put in some effort. (the word "effort" sounds negative there, but the secret is that spending that time on your kid will almost always be the best choice for your own future well being. Close family relationships are a big deal to our brains, turns out)

NAZI@Home would be pretty apt, plus visually similar in text.

People might not be thrilled at installing something with that name though, lol.

Could it stand for something plausible? The Non Anonymization of Zionists Initiative?

The day I read about the association between ADHD and Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria it was like time froze while my brain recompiled all my memories with the new flags, and I saw the pattern in the chaos. Hooooly shit.

Oof, now that is some stinging truth right there.

At least I had my moment to dream about it yesterday.

Yeah, I am not going to contradict any doctors when it comes to the risks, but for my ears and the way I do it, I haven't ever hurt myself and my PCP says my ears are completely clear at each checkup.

I think I'm fortunate to have pretty light thin wax though.