Multiple times.

• Driving to the wake for a recently deceased friend, had been stopped at a light. Light goes green, and as I put my foot down to move, I hear her voice yell STOP. I take my foot off the gas, driver behind me honked as a truck blasted through the intersection, easily going double the speed limit. I went through the intersection, pulled over and had a small panic attack. The car that honked was someone also going to the wake, their been telling the close call story as I pulled into the parking lot. They maintained the truck came out of nowhere, had I not stopped I’d have been t-boned from the driver’s side.

• Travelling solo around Europe. I was in Germany, and due to go to the Netherlands to visit family. I’d given them my itinerary, so they knew my arrival time and didn’t have to worry. (Oma was delightfully fretful for me travelling alone.) When I got the train station I was uneasy waiting for my train and after a bit of indecision I hopped a train that went left earlier and took a longer, more scenic route. Arrived at my Oma’s to a full house of aunts, uncles and cousins. My originally chosen train had derailed.

• Driving the highway southbound on Vancouver Island, leapfrogging with three other cars. Had the sudden urge to get off the highway, and found this delightful little place where I had some lunch and relaxed. Got back on the road, and traffic was barely moving. After a while, drove past a three car wreck, the cars I’d been leapfrogging with earlier. It was ugly and I learned later there were fatalities.

If I have a sudden urge to do something other than what was planned, I listen. It’s served me well over the years.

I was working in a photo lab when it came out as well. The movie accurately portrayed (imo) how uncomfortably close to how involved one could feel when dealing with long time customers, even in a high volume lab where we rarely dealt with the customer. We’d see first dates engagements, weddings, kids being born, and so forth. Plenty of stories of ‘I saw Customer at the mall, had to stop myself from waving and saying hello and asking after Event’.

It’s not really much different from today’s social media and how involved some get in the lives of people they’ve never met or don’t even know they exist.

It made me double take on Robin Williams. I’d always seen him as Mork from his early career. I expected him to be over the top and funny, so watching him be serious and frankly disturbing was as confronting as the movie itself.

I was in danger of having sympathy for a lawyer, then this brought me back.

Way to take a serious matter and make it comical.

Why not?

(It’s not really something I’ve ever thought about since I started using the term. It kinda just is.)

I prefer Neo-Luddite. There’s a few aspects of modern tech I eschew - AI/LLM bring one of them.

With vaping, and self mixing your own juice, you can control the nicotine content. I found it very useful in weaning myself off cigarettes, primarily the nicotine. I also found it helpful in not eating sweet junk food. Was well on my way to also ditching vaping when the Australian gov’t decided to blanket ban Vaping. I’m back at square one, craving sugar and nicotine. sigh

I did agree with some of the controls put in - not in public/shared spaces, not for kids, etc. But a total ban? That only creates a black market and a shiny for kids who want to rebel.

No where. There’s only so many times I can be ignored and be okay with it, or have my hand slapped when I reach out.

I learned to type on one of these. I still can’t unlearn the habit of having to use actual force to type - my neighbours can hear my typing on my mechanical keyboard. :D

I did unlearn the two spaces after a ‘.’ so that’s a win at least.

Zeeeero!

Foot

Origami and handmade cards are very thoughtful. :)

Keep trying with the folds, one day you’ll forget to check the videoguide!

I have, many times, and nothing changes, always an excuse, they forgot or were distracted by something more important. Hence why I have completely given up trying to plan anything. Like talking to a brick wall. Things only happen when I take the initiative. Special days, house repairs, appointments…

Dud. After years of having to remind, plan and remind the other half again and again, I gave up and said nothing last year. Nothing happened. Nothing happened again this year. Next up - Mother’s Day, which I expect to be equally nothing, just like last year.

I can’t wait for the complaints that I planned nothing for birthdays or Father’s Day.

I’ve always added a carrot.

First I was asked politely to not swear, even if I was not a customer facing employee.

Second time I was cautioned was because I’d switched to swearing in another language. Manager thought it was hilarious, but they still knew I was swearing.

I spent the next five years being increasingly creative with how I swore. A temporary (and loud) revert to English swearing when I was in a workplace accident was kindly ignored due to circumstance.

There was no third warning.

Too right. Hawai’i is far above him.

I should have been more detailed in my criteria. Uninhabited, no vegetation, maybe even only an inch above sea level.

I do like the raft idea. Drop him off with the flat pack, he can assemble it himself.

We don’t want him. Surely there’s an island in the middle of the ocean he can be sent.

ASKA, Satisfactory, and No Man’s Sky. Occasionally a bit of Pax Dei thrown in in case my building scratch is itchy.

There was a place like this in Vancouver, no idea if it is still there.

The Elbow Room. “Food and service is our name, abuse is our game!”

One of our group asked for water, he got told his legs worked and he could get it himself. The food was amazing, although we did get told off for not finishing our plate.

I have so far managed to avoid threads, but Insta is filled with ‘Comment forcedengagement to get the pattern/recipie/cureforthecommon cold’ or stolen videos with facts about some shitty car.

I block them, but that appears to count as interest, so I end up with more of that shit shoved at me.

I’m only there because the crafters I want to see are there, and none of them want to join anything federated. :(