God yes. Back in 1995, the web felt like a little village. You knew everyone in your particular digital neighbourhood so to speak. Lots of great forums, lots of little niche websites… nothing was really commercialised yet:

And frankly, I liked that it was a nerdy thing as well. Everyone shared at least some level of knowledge and understanding of what the web was. And we were all some level of nerd, whether it was Star Trek, Star Wars, LOTR, trains, flightsim, Sci-Fi or whatever niche interest you had.

We lost all that when we made the web too accessible to the general public. We should’ve kept it to ourselves.

There are people who dislike that??

I always think it’s wonderful when you and an animal can communicate. It might not always be as effective, but it’s an important part of connecting with someone. Human or animal.

I’m not on any side, merely stating the arguments used.

In general, I agree with you. If that region chooses to separate, they should be allowed to do so. Much like the Brexit.

But like Brexit has shown, separation also brings some complex issues. And we are talking about something that impacts at least the 8 million people living there, a lot of whom don’t WANT to separate.

There really should be an independent, internationally monitored referendum to settle this matter and let the people decide what they want, without interference from outside the region.

Catalonia is a Spanish region, but there’s a movement that really wants the region to be independent. To basically become its own country.

There have been numerous referendums, protests and all manner of political intrigue.

Now, some people will of course be very much against this region separating from Spain for any number of reasons. It would create economic uncertainty, and adds new barriers. Even within the region not everyone is a fan of independence.

So yeah, that poster might feel particularly strongly about wanting to keep that region, or just a particular dislike for them.

You’re welcome, enjoy your odd new fact :D

Stuff like this is why I really enjoy The West Wing. It often has interesting real world arguments that it plays out smartly. A bit too optimistic in our current political climate, but still fun to watch.

We absolutely, positively, one hundred percent need adult only spaces as well. Especially when the goal is to relax.

A lot of parents simply aren’t doing proper parenting. As a child, I was taught not to be a nuisance to others. And those others would also correct said behaviour in kids. But these days? Kids apparently have the right to be as annoying as they can be, and god forbid you tell them to knock it off… the parent actually gets offended!

So parents are really doing this to themselves. And that’s not even mentioning the fact that we have a TON of actual child friendly vacation options. Let the adults have a proper place as well.

And if child free vacationing being on the rise bothers you? Maybe look at your parenting style.

It was very much a real discussion back then as well. The writers didn’t invent this argument.

People have been complaining about maps in general since we first started making them. The Gall-Peters projection that they mentioned traces its origins back to 1855 when James Gall first introduced the concept.

In the 1970’s, Arno Peters made this projection well known. He specifically argued the point the show makes: other maps distort our perception of the world and it fosters problems with how we treat some countries.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gall–Peters_projection

Well sure. But that’s also because everyone else learned how to use English to communicate. So it FEELS like we’re all American. It’s a common thing in online spaces.

Maar als we allemaal terug zouden gaan naar onze eigen taal, voelt het hier een stuk minder Amerikaans.

I’ve literally had lengthy English conversations with other Dutch people online where we only figured out we were both Dutch twenty comments later :D

Honestly, I’m not a fan of that sort of censorship.

I grew up in the Time Before Internet, and played all of the earliest online games. Trash talk is simply part of the experience as far as I’m concerned. On Team Fortress Classic, you had to abuse a motherfucker through text chat. And we loved it: everyone was enjoying that novel experience.

Back in the day of early COD on Xbox Live, lobbies were wild. Heck, even Uno subjected you to everything from ‘teach me slurs in your language’ to ‘random dude masturbating on camera while smoking a joint’.

I still play the occasional online game, but they’re boring and soulless. Very few people are on comms, as most seem afraid to actually talk. And with good reason; any sort of mildly spicy talk would get you banned on games. So instead of fostering a friendly atmosphere, from my perspective it ended up killing the entire vibe.

Let folks talk trash. Give as good as you get. And if that’s not for you? There’s other games to play.

I’m a bit of an aviation nut. While it’s not a new plane, it’s certainly not the oldest one flying by far.

Aircraft have a rigorous maintenance schedule. Some components are replaced based on hours used, others are on a calendar schedule: replace it regardless of hours. There are also so-called C- and D-checks: the plane basically gets completely taken apart every 6 to 10 years.

IF DONE CORRECTLY - this means the aircraft will be in excellent condition, even if it reaches that age.

Now, this being Russia in wartime, I wouldn’t be surprised that proper maintenance wasn’t performed. Especially since the AN-24 has an excellent reputation as a rugged, dependable plane. They probably used those resources elsewhere.

Of course, even the best maintained planes can crash. We’ll see what any investigation reveals.

As someone born in the early 80’s, just for once I’d like a nice, boring decade. Pretty please.

Saw the fall of communism, the Balkan wars, 9/11, the rise and fall of the internet, the dotcom bust, the 2008 financial crisis, Arab Spring, Brexit, global pandemic, war in Europe again, US politics, middle-east still fucked as usual. And then there’s climate change to fuck over everything in general.

So yeah, I’d love a decade where nothing happens. Heck, I’ll take a boring six months at this point. Gimme a fucking break.

It’s pretty ball-sweatingly hot here in the Netherlands as well. Expecting 35c tomorrow and 36-38 on Wednesday.

Problem is, few houses and buildings are equipped to deal with heat like that. Everything’s well insulated, but built more for cold winters rather than hot summers. Every year, more people get air conditioning. Because you need to. It’s that or be miserable for two weeks straight. Anything above 20 makes me want to hit people.

I’m right where I’m supposed to be ❤️

The narwhal shall forever bacon at midnight, even if its home has turned to shit :(

It all comes back to community. Back in those days, forums and platforms like IRC were great. They had a human scale; you quickly learned about the regulars, their personalities, likes and dislikes. Heck, on most forums that I visited, plenty of people used their actual name - including myself. The internet felt like a nice, safe community, like its own digital suburb.

Sometimes that was even literal. I used platforms like Cybertown and later on Second Life. Those let you own actual houses and and build stuff on there. In Cybertown - we usually just called it CT - I knew every resident on my block. I hosted house parties, had giveaways. We’d even have commemorative digital statues as gifts for guests. I still kept in touch when CT died. I still miss it.

We’ve made tech way too accessible - and now we’re paying the price for it.

Back in 1995, we got our first family PC. Dad was never able to use it; despite our efforts to teach him. Couldn’t grasp left and right mouse button, much less concepts like directories, installing software, drivers, etc.

But on his iPad? He can do almost everything: e-mail, Facebook, watch TV, YouTube. And get subjected to boomer brainrot. Just like a toddler.

Is he more tech literate? Absolutely not. In fact, he’s regressing if anything. But we’ve made it so easy, even my completely tech illiterate dad can now argue with strangers on Facebook or post dumb shit on YouTube.

And it fucking shows. The amount of goddamn complete idiots online is shocking. I miss 1995, when you had to be a nerd to get online. It filtered out a lot of folks who simply shouldn’t be online.

The Netherlands also shipped a large amount of anti-tank, air defence missiles as well as a hundred sniper rifles and 30.000 rounds of ammo to Ukraine. And that was just the start.

You need to walk a fine line in international politics as a country.

But here, just you and me talking: as a Dutchman I remember those victims. And I hope every single one of those 30.000 rounds finds a loving home in the brain of a Russian. Fuck the lot of ‘em. You invade a country, you deserve to get a Dutch-sponsored surprise lead injection.

Yup. I’m not going to actively hang out with shitheads just to try and change them. I will however steamroll over them if they come into MY space and do it.

You haven’t seen that before? It’s not that uncommon. The handles give a really nice, secure grip. It’s also perfectly safe for the dishwasher, doesn’t fade, doesn’t deteriorate, etc. We’ve had ours since the early 2010’s and they still look brand new.

2 if I had to pick from that drawer, but the actual answer: Victorinox Swiss Classic / Swiss Modern cutlery. Absolutely love the large handles, sharp knives and large spoons. Very nice feel in hand and mouth.

https://www.victorinox.com/de-DE/Produkte/Haushalts--und-Berufsmesser/Besteck/Classic-Besteck-12-teilig/p/6.7233.12

I enthusiastically support punishing Russians in every way, shape and form.