I’ve been in the home automation business for over 25 years. Can confirm that smart lighting is the absolute best investment.

I’ve installed and programmed lighting systems for over $100k but have personally spent less than $250 for Ikea devices for my apartment. Just the ability to dim and set the color of the lights at certain times of day is key for me.

Controlled Lighting isn’t only about convenience, it’s about setting a mood. You can set a warm dim scene to be more calming or a bright white scene for cooking or cleaning.

Not sure why you think this.

You just reiterated what I said.

If you were to rip a Bluray to your computer, you’re legally not permitted to watch that movie if you’re no longer in possession of the disc.

=

You can legally rip a Bluray for backup purposes. If you sell or give away the Bluray, you have to delete the backed up copy.

Technically, if the FBI were to ask you to prove ownership of a digital copy and you had lost the disc, it would be illegal to retain that digital copy.

Bypassing DRM is illegal because the DMCA explicitly prohibits the circumvention…

Yes. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a law that covers copyright protections.

Everyone should generally assume that unless you have something tangibly in your hand, you either do not own it or you may very easily and/or suddenly lose access to it. You could test this by trying to access the content without having to sign in to something.

All these streaming and subscription services should be considered ease of access conveniences. In other industries, you pay a premium for something to be prepared for you to consume. In the subscription industry, you’re paying less because you’re not paying for the content but for a license to temporarily consume the content (and probably because your info is being sold to advertisers).

Fun Fact: If you were to rip a Bluray to your computer, you’re legally not permitted to watch that movie if you’re no longer in possession of the disc. This is because you’re not purchasing the content of the disc but the license to view the content. Decrypting DRM is illegal not based on whether you own the content but because the DRM encryption itself is separately copyright protected.

If it’s your understanding that Bush’s invasion of Iraq in 2002 “had nothing to do with 9/11”, you are grossly mistaken.

https://www.congress.gov/107/plaws/publ243/PLAW-107publ243.pdf

That is not what I recall. What I do recall was both republicans and democrats having serious concerns that the government knew something we didn’t and that we were attacking a country for the president’s personal vendetta. This is based on my personal interactions with friends, family, and coworkers, as well as national and local news and newspapers. Granted, I’m from central NJ so perhaps we on higher alert and more “purple” than the rest of the country.

batshit insane morons

Was it birtherism or just Sarah Palin?

I think we can say most of our modern conspiracitardacy was fairly quiet till the social media wave.

I fully agree that social media has made things worse in this, and almost every, regard. Though, I’m trying to understand the mindset of Americans in 2001, not today, not post 2008.

The conspiracy around 9/11 was that the government knew more than they were telling us. That perhaps they were well aware of the event, possibly took part in it, and/or used it to manipulate public sentiment for invading Iraq for no other good reason or perhaps (ok, this I admit is crazy) setting up a new world order where we give up our rights for the sake of “national defense”. There would be no Wikileaks if there was no 9/11.

I admit this are a bit fringe-sounding but we were all aware of this back then. Didn’t most people believe there was some plausibility in these theories?

Don’t most people today believe the government knows more about 9/11 than they’ve told us?

The only person you’re fooling here is yourself.

Are the dudes fragile looking or not? Do they look dehumanised or not?

This is not for you to tell others what they should or should not look like.

Adding the fact that you’re so obsessed that you’re reading the comments from girls who want to date them is a very clear sign that you do have some issues to address. This is not healthy or normal.

It seems like you are the fragile one, or at least your ego is. You feel that your masculinity is threatened by the amount of power held by others whom you perceive to be weaker than you. You’re insecure in yourself when everything you believe to be what a man is supposed to be is perhaps working against you. The matter is that what’s actually working against you is your toxic presumption of what a man is supposed to be. I’m sure there are plenty of women (and men) who find you very attractive and appreciate the masculinity you can bring to a relationship. These people probably aren’t fans of Kpop stars so you have nothing to worry about.

It’s very, very odd that you’re fixated on this.

I dunno man, if you are a girl wouldn’t you a dude that, yeah, he’s attractive but also that looks manly? That can physically protect you? And that does not has a doll face?..

It’s a band. Not a dating game.

If anyone’s obsessed with something, it appears you’re obsessed with things you claim not to enjoy. Sounds more like you have some personal insecurities you should be addressing.

I don’t understand the obsession with Taylor Swift. Although, other than “Shake it off”, I wouldn’t recognize any of her songs. I’m a middle aged straight guy and have every one of Billy Eilish’s records. I think she’s talented and I like her vibe. My 77 year old uncle was the biggest Cindy Lauper fan I’ve ever known. My 80 year old uncle is super conservative and loves broadway musicals. My white suburbanite senior mother basically only listens to black jazz and R&B music.

To offer some sort of reasonable answer though, a lot people just do what other people are doing. I’ve never watched most of the popular tv shows like Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad or Sopranos. Most of the people I know watched these shows so they were able to bond as a community to reflect on a shared experience. Moreover, I do not understand the obsession with Donald Trump or how anyone could ever consider electing hims as president one time, let alone a second time.

The fact that you believe any woman is interested in a musician who could physically protect them is just bonkers. Believing “manly” is defined by a person’s ability to be protective is also concerning. There’s more important and fulfilling things to direct your attention towards in life. If you’re unable to move on from this, I would suggest you may need to discuss this with a therapist to see if you have something troubling you.

By permitting advertising.

“Normies” are not “microbloggers”. Most people just want to follow what their friends and family and news organizations and “influencers” are posting.

My biggest gripe with the fediverse (indirectly) is that all the information I would get on Twitter about my city is not available to me - concert announcements, restaurant specials, road closures, major news, hobby meetups, etc. They’re posting on Facebook and Instagram (which is IMO the worst of all social platforms) and slowly adopting Threads. My issue with these platforms is mostly regarding the algorithm deciding what it thinks you want. This is driven by advertising.

Twitter didn’t really pick up steam until celebrities and news outlets were posting and engaging on the platform. Then they pushed hard for ads to increase revenue and expand features and stability (for better or worse). Then they just got greedy. Then they were sold for the dumbest amount of money in the history of sales.

Getting normies here means getting influencers here. Influencers want to make money for being assholes. If you don’t want influencers and ads here, don’t ask for the normies to come. Accept the beauty of this micro micro blogging platform. If you want to share outside the open fediverse, embrace cross posting to the closed platforms. That’s kind of the whole point of it. You can post in your tiny little corner while still engaging with the more popular platforms.

TL;DR: be careful what you wish for.

Because it’s not flipping, it’s reflecting.

Prioritizing my ToDo list over socializing or relaxing.

Exactly. Promises that he’s verifiably uninterested in putting any effort towards because: see above.

The people who want to elect DT are either extremists, cult followers, uninformed / misinformed, or corporate or political anarchists. There is no one of sound or informed mind who would ever vote for him. He has proven to be bad for the people, the economy, the nation, and the world.

We live in a time where instant access to ideas dilutes and twists reality. The majority of people don’t really know what they’re voting for nor do they really care what the ramifications of their decisions mean.

I live in a “blue” east coast city. I read news from generally unbiased sources and I engage with others in forums like this. I can’t tell you the number of people I’ve come across, mostly but not exclusively from outside my city, who have unwavering opinions about something they’ve proven to know very little about (this is not exclusive to MAGA or republicans). I had a conversation with someone I’ve known most my life about Dr. Fauci. He thought he should be sent to prison. When I asked why he thought that he didn’t really have a coherent response and ended with, “well I guess I don’t really pay that close attention to the news”.

Today’s politics is more similar to a sporting event than it is about the democratic process. It’s more about engaging with your team’s fans on social media than it is understanding the philosophies and mechanisms of government.

That is not the definition of helicopter parents; quite the opposite. Helicopter parents would have been overly attentive of you and ensuring you were doing all the things you should be doing, or doing them on your behalf, even if you fought against them.

You had neglectful parents. Frankly, I wouldn’t refer to these people as “parents” at all if they didn’t teach you how to bathe yourself.

I’m sorry this was your life and hope you’ve considered therapy.

OP deserves someone participating in the conversation who can honestly answer the question they’ve asked. Your speculation only adds to the ignorance others already have. You are enforcing an echo chamber and being disrespectful.

If you’re not someone who doesn’t vote and you’re simply speculating, I would suggest you delete this comment.

I’m curious where this is coming from.

What exactly is it that you’re unsure of regarding bathing or eating? Are you questioning the source of your guidance thus far? Have you had no guidance? Are you an AI or alien trying to learn more about humans?

“Allowed to run”: There are shockingly few requirements to be president in our constitution. You just need to be a natural born citizen and at least 35 years old. There are some nominal requirements that vary state by state to get on the ballot.

However, this is the funny part, we’re still (I think, I may have lost track of all his court cases) trying to determine if a sitting president who engages in insurrection is able to run for president. This would seem to conflict with the constitution’s fourteenth amendment. And it would seem to conflict with the supreme court’s decision that suggests engaging in insurrection is an official presidential act.

You’re not helping to describe the use of “would” by adding extra words to negate the intent. “I would, but I won’t” is two statements. You’ve instead described the use of the word “but”.