One of the abiding childhood memories of hugging my mother is that it felt like hugging a tree. She obviously didn’t like it but wouldn’t reject the hug and it never prevented me from doing it but it struck me as odd, even as a ten year old. My dad would hug us normally and hold hands. Later on I realised that we’re probably all autistic and have sensory issues. These days I love hugs with my daughter and she always seeks my hand to hold.

You can torture me as much as you like, I won’t talk.

That’s a good idea, I like that.

I would imagine most drug use is recreational and I’m not implying anything about your usage pattern. I do like drugs and getting high from time to time but the habitual use of drugs was a bad sign that I ignored for years. Addiction is a problem, especially if we hide, deny or condemn it. We’re all imperfect and yet deserving of love and respect.

Making something nice out of junk and repairing things is immensely satisfying. Lately I’ve turned a fallen tree into wood shingles to clad an outbuilding and installed a reclaimed ornate window.

Getting into cooking, which is most rewarding when done with family and friends. Today’s recipe is spinach and ricotta pasta.

I love programming and there are endless things to build in that world. Currently making a log burning stove control system using an Arduino, sensors and servos.

The rest of my recreational time is spent gaming on a pc, World War Z right now, love a co-op.

I smoked a lot of weed as a young adult. Looking back on that time I believe that I was escaping from the endless intrusive thoughts. Focusing my mind on any sort of work was difficult and I used all sorts of substances to get by. My typical usage profile is to find something appealing and use the shit out of it until it becomes a problem, spend time recovering and repeat with the next chemical. After recovering from heroin addiction it became obvious that it was not normal behaviour and I sought medical advice. They diagnosed ADHD and many of the past events started to make sense. I use routine to bring order to my life. I meditate to calm the mind. The medication allows me to focus and prioritise tasks. I think of my life in two starkly distinct chapters, pre and post diagnosis. I feel happy and the thought of taking substances seems like a strange thing to do.

Good call. I can’t remember if kahneman talks about it in the book but there is a fascinating experiment on people who have had a procedure that severs the connection between the left and right hemispheres (epileptics). They exhibit the impulsive tendency to explain away sensory evidence that contradicts their previous statements. The theory is that speech centres inhabit the left brain and in the absence of a measured analysis by the right hemisphere they just make something up without apparently thinking it through.

Short answer: you wouldn’t buy this game, given your valid criticisms.

This type of extortionate pricing policy speaks to the general user base being nobs, die hard try hards and probably a toxic gaming environment. Having a barrier to entry in any activity prevents total idiots from entering. Consoles have made it easier for people who don’t understand how to operate a PC to play games but that necessarily means those games will be replete with obnoxious people. The advent of smartphones has done that for the internet.

I bought a plasma cutter and a GPU. In the past I would get used GPU from eBay because it’s cheaper but the demand for them has made the market a little crazy and there’s very little price difference new vs used (UK). The price performance sweet spot seems to be AMD 9070xt (£550, ouch).

The plasma cutter is an old three phase machine that no one wanted because it’s 400V. However, looking at the circuit diagram there’s very little difference between single and 3-phase configuration so the plan is to convert it to a domestic supply or cannibalise the internals and torch assembly.

I mostly got fired for being a bad employee but my employers were no angels either. One of my first jobs was repairing computers and the money was garbage. Eventually learned that I was the lowest paid in the dept so put a sign on my desk with my salary. It was embarrassing for the manager when clients came to visit so they gave me more money.

It’s ofcom but my phone desperately wants it to be Offcom for some reason

Offcom has been drinking, came home in a blackout and committed domestic abuse of 4chan. Does Offcom even internet? Alternative plot twist, Offcom is trolling 4chan.

I wanna say that Offcom is doing a good job and trying to protect British people in good faith but I feel like they are being used as a cudgel by the British ruling class to advance an anachronistic agenda. Don’t forget, they fired their expert drugs advisor for telling them that MDMA is comparable to horse riding in terms of safety. They want certain things to be true, regardless of the scientific accuracy.

Set up the guillotines

But is it better than a big carrot? You can’t snack on silicone.

In the UK we have a public petition that triggers a parliamentary debate when the petition attracts 100k signatories. I believe there are similar systems elsewhere.

Haven’t felt the need to block anyone but it’s nice to have the functionality

Would you get the least worst candidate? I would try it.

Another scheme is random selection of a citizen, like jury duty. You have professional civil servants but the leader is randomly selected and if the leader is doing badly it triggers a new selection.

Dildos

I didn’t know it had a name but marginal utility sounds like the concept behind the early form of eBay, before it became a corporation. You can still find people giving stuff away on there but that sort of exchange has now moved to places like Freegle, Freecycle and Facebook Marketplace, to a lesser extent. What people value has always been a mystery to me, I would be horrible in business. Most of my decisions are pretty much utilitarian, aside from food and drugs. I am happy in a junk yard, salvaging materials and components, that stuff feels under utilised and valuable to me.

Just torrent that shit while the streaming platforms get their house in order. It’s not acceptable to be racist to Linux.

It feels like you’re asking what value is. Value is a sentiment that depends on many factors but it eventually decomposes to some utility factor. You could argue that water is not valuable because it is abundant but that depends on context. In the desert it becomes extremely valuable for people to live. It’s difficult to make a numerical assessment of value and measurement implies a level of precision and universality that is inappropriate. We estimate value based on contextual factors such as supply and demand. It’s not a great way to assess it but better than nothing.

I’m always pleased when I buy stone construction materials because they deliver 1000kg of material and it only costs £20. I don’t know of any other material that is seemingly so abundant, inexpensive and useful. I’m not convinced I would feel the same way about a tonne of gold, aside from the scarcity. Maybe I would make a gold toilet and get x amount of fame on social media, that’s apparently extremely valuable.