Whole family is stuck in a made up reality where my birth father isn't an abusive sociopath and excuse his actions by circling the wagons. I was able to see the truth and get out, but my siblings are all stuck in the cycle of abuse and likely won't ever leave.

Some further evidence from playing just now. My friend was sailing the ship and the wind was at our backs, he had to take a phone call so I took over and the moment I sat down the wind abruptly spun around 180 degrees and is blowing in my face. Aaaaaaaaaa

Oh I know about tacking and do that as much as I can, but still find it curious that the wind is always the exact opposite of my intended course lol

I love my work, my boss is great, I have flexible hours and make excellent money doing something I genuinely enjoy. I would still rather not work and just tend to my animals/pets and house all day, cook good food, and play games with friends because that would be far more fulfilling

I wish the lower weapon skills in Morrowind didn't outright miss and make an unsatisfying "swish" sound. Maybe just reduce the damage or something, the early game is so rough because of this.

That's encouraging to hear. I'm just worried about moving across the world to a place I really loved only to get crooked looks from neighbors when they see my partner and I together, which is exactly the sort of thing I want to get away from. I'm a software developer so I'll likely need to move to a city to find work regardless, but really do enjoy the more rural settings. Thanks for the insight :)

The last film of the new trilogy as a whole. I've watched it three times now and I can not for the life of me remember the plot. There was a dagger thing and then Palpatine is in the end on a spooky crane and then they kiss and it's weird. That's seriously everything I can remember off the top of my head.

I was in this boat all while living in a major city during peak pandemic. I was even the designated errand runner and grocery-getter while mask mandates were still all over the place and never caught it.

3 years later and we've moved to an isolated rural farmhouse with no neighbors and few interactions with other people at all end then I get it lol

I think he has a point that fixing the US is somewhat hopeless. There are many pieces that go into the puzzle that is the United States and its citizens and together they create such a hostile and undesirable place that is adamantly resistent to change. Not only were our cities literally demolished to make way for the car, the whole idea of driving and what that means is deeply engrained in our culture and identity.

This isn't just about removing stroads and designing some cutesy livable spaces and parks in cities. This is about changing the identity of what it means to be an American. Do you think you could convince even a portion of Americans that the European old way of living is better than the American way?

You know I went to Europe for the first time thinking I was hopeless when it came to foreign languages. But after spending a week in Germany I could use basic greetings, numbers and was starting to understand some common phrases; a very fun experience honestly. I regret not continuing to learn formally, but if we commit to Germany then I'll have a few years to take lessons beforehand.

Ideally I want to live rural and work remote, same situation I have here, but I understand that is a rare privilege and hard to find everywhere.

Of all the things that could be said about 2020, Biden coming into an unusually good situation is the most disingenuous, even if you are just talking about the economy.

Trump and Republicans blew an insane amount of money and had nothing to show for it among the general population, covid-19 was handled incredibly bad by Trump leading up to that point, and the lame duck president of the United States had just attempted a coup to stay in power.

Framing this time as anything but unprecedented and tumultuousis does not do it justice.

Not the 3rd or 4th time you were a prisoner, but the 2nd.

PHP really is such a forgiving language and easy to understand and get in to. My favorite part is that every time I have a seemingly very niche and specific use-case, there is a function that just does that thing perfectly and is already included in the base library.

You said it and I'll reaffirm: the documentation and online library of SO questions/answers is absolutely priceless. Most of the older versions are still compatible with the latest version, so upgrading is simple and usually just means there are more features you can use now.

It's much the same here, although some cities are more welcoming than others. The hard part is finding a rural or semi rural area that is also accepting but near to a city that isn't also white suburbia

I've tried to write several responses defining how Americans talk to each other and it's just so sad and hard to explain. "Small talk" is the phrase that comes to mind: obligatory, cliche, repeated statements with expected standard answers. It's miserable

Honestly I'm fine with the frosty attitudes and being ingored compared to the super fake and passive aggressive bs from folks here in the US. Thanks for the insight

I went from north to south on my trip originally and I think I encountered exactly one German local who didn't speak at least decent English the whole time. Also good to know about the accents! I thought I had learned how to say excuse me quite well but tried it in the south and got weird looks lol

Figured I would try another take at a common answer. Correct!

I suggest just finding whatever used kits are for sale near you and picking one you like within your budget, but definitely try to get at least: kick drum, snare, hi-hat and one cymbal; that will be plenty to get started. Drum kits are modular so if you get really lucky and find an amazing set that someone just wants to get out of their garage but feels a bit overwhelming to look at: just buy it and use the few pieces you need to start, then you'll have stuff to grow into if you like it. Honestly if you have the space for a kit and your housemates have the patience to hear the horrible sounds you'll be making, that is like 90% of the hurdle to learning to play drums lol

You'll want to watch some videos or read up on how to tune drums and make them sound better. Sound is subjective so there is no right or wrong way to tune and dampen things IMO: I used to use wadded up paper towels and duct tape as a kid. Just mess with it until it sounds good to you.

How you learn is up to you, but my suggestion is to find what is fun. If it isn't fun then you may not stick with it. Drumming requires a lot of awkward coordination that doesn't come naturally to most people, so it will take some time to establish basic muscle memory. If you have a friend who wants to learn an instrument then get together and jam! It will sound absolutely horrible but if you both suck then it will be fun and you'll learn pretty quick. If you can afford a teacher then they will have their own ways of teaching that may or may not work for you, and there are a million resources and videos online now so I'm sure you can find something that is your speed. Good luck!

I really wish there was some ethical way of farming dairy cows, but have come to the conclusion that it just isn't with current methods and knowledge. I have some land and love cows so considered getting one or two for hobby-farming and just so I could have my own "cruelty free" dairy. Here are some things to consider about dairy farming:

• Only female cows produce milk.
• Female cows only produce milk for a brief period of time after giving birth.
• Every single cow requires at least one acre of grazing.
• You only need one bull on a dairy farm to provide sperm.
• Baby calves want to be near their mothers and will drink their milk.

The only way to fit these pieces together in any economical way is to: (a) forcefully impregnate cows as often as possible, (b) limit the amount of time calves can be with their mothers so they don't drink all the milk, and (c) slaughter male calves for veal. This is cruel no matter how you slice it. If you are born a cow you are taken away from your mother and given food you don't like and isn't as good for you as the milk that was produced specifically for you. If you are unlucky enough to be a female cow you will spend the next several years of your life being forcefully impregnated and having your own children taken away from you every year. If you are a male cow you'll only know life on earth for a short while before being put out of your misery. In the end, regardless of gender or age, you'll be sent into a long line of other confused and panicked cows to be slaughtered for your meat and organs at a factory staffed by strangers in scary masks you've never seen before with the smell of death and terror all around you. There is no such thing as ethical dairy and any company proclaiming otherwise is not being honest with you or themselves.

Edit: I should say that there are better ways of doing most of the steps in dairy farming that aren't as cruel. But unless consumers are okay paying something along the lines of $20 for a gallon of milk, capitalism will never permit those practices to actually happen.

Also wanted to say that I'm not necessarily against animal products. I have chickens. They are as happy as can be and give us delicious eggs every day. I feed them well and treat them like family and they don't mind me taking their eggs. I really don't see an issue with this exchange because there is no cruelty and both parties benefit. There are numerous examples of this with animals and animal products. However, I believe that dairy is one of those cases where there isn't really an ethical solution. Even if you take the unnecessary cruelty out of the process, you are still left with at least a little cruelty. Where do you draw the line?