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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: November 29th, 2023

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  • I’d certainly love a good show like that. We used to have a lot of those back in the 80’s and 90’s. They’d test all sorts of gadgets and gizmos that weren’t available yet to consumers in Europe, much less your actual city. You’d see them test the latest camera that might be available ‘summer next year’ or something to that effect.

    It drove stores up the wall back then, trying to keep up with stuff people saw on TV that simply wasn’t and wouldn’t be available there.


  • Statistically, rural users always lag behind in pretty much every metric.

    For example, globally, 83 percent of urban people have access to the internet, 49 percent rural. In the US, 83 percent of urban people have a smartphone. 65 percent rural. Urban people also use their phone more. And that’s not even taking into account cultural differences between urban and rural settings. They simply aren’t as plugged in as you and I.

    Farmer Bob isn’t going on tech forums to read up on new phone releases. But his TV will show him that phone exists and entice him to buy it.

    Point isn’t about the phones as such, it’s about some things simply not reaching that rural bubble.


  • I’m definitely in favor of a ban of advertising in public spaces. Spaces that are owned by the collective ‘us’ should remain free of it. Like public squares, roadways, public transit, etc. Those should be commercial free.

    A total ban would be wildly difficult and impractical. It would also widen certain gaps like the rural-urban divide. How would someone in a rural area know an iPhone exists, if the nearest store is a hundred miles away? Or other products that might be beneficial to them?

    I live in a city of 160.000 people. And even here, we simply don’t have every store or every product available. Advertising broadens that horizon considerably.






  • I’m always amazed cat owners let them roam. You’re putting a LOT of trust in both the animal as well as your greater environment. Just the other week I read a message from our local animal shelter. They had found a cat which had gotten poisoned. Either intentionally or unintentionally, that couldn’t be determined.

    They had to put it down before the owner was found, it was that sick. I’d feel pretty guilty if that was my cat.

    Cats can get run over, abducted, get hurt, etc. Even ignoring the fact that it’s a living creature, it’s also an expensive piece of property and vet bills aren’t cheap either.





  • It’s magical, right? It’s what got me interested in aviation - the physics, the science, the engineering to make it work. And we’ve gotten so good at it, air travel is now available to most people, it’s safe and convenient.

    I’ve flown exactly three times in my life: a hot air balloon, a helicopter and a DC3. Each was magical in its own way. I’ve also done a fair bit of plane spotting. Seeing an Airbus A380 landing right in front of you is amazing. It really is the size of a large apartment block with wings. Truly awe inspiring.

    Aviation is fucking awesome!


  • Most people are incredibly lazy when it comes to writing.

    Over on Reddit, there’s a subreddit where you needed to write a 500 character text post to accompany your picture. That’s to prevent it from becoming just another photo dumping ground. After all, it is a DISCUSSION forum. DISCUSSION, for emphasis.

    Well, that rule - which had existed since the sub was formed - got more and more criticism the past few years. It was deemed ‘too difficult’, ‘elitist’ and other such nonsense. And of course, with people’s terrible reading comprehension, that’s a barrier as well.

    For reference, 500 characters is less than two tweets. So most people should be able to write that.

    God, I miss the early internet when people put actual effort into writing posts.