how long then would mice be supposed to live? (squeaky noise, here)

but uh, yeah, we’re aware that our country is collapsing in front of the world in real time and it’s embarrassing to say the least, horrifying more like.

I’ve a huge confidence in the USA, even sick to the chore by illiteracy and by raging money-grabbing-rapacity—because it’s not just capitalism anymore talking, it’s something rabid and uncontrollable and so intoxicated, that doesn’t rely on hard work anymore. Something without a name that you now seem to have turned against yourself, and against your allies. That should worry everyone, as should the unbelievable wave of proud idiotism (if it wasn’t, it’s now officially a word) that’s also going on in the USA. Still, I refuse to doubt the USA have completely lost it.

That said, for the time being it doesn’t look pretty at all to witness the most powerful of ‘us’ happily re-elect such an illiterate racist buffoon (also the instigator of a failed coup); while at the same time watching him spit in the face of most if not all of its allies (doesn’t matter much if that was deserved or not); while lowering his pants in front of its enemies; while the whole country looks like its slipping into a state of quasi civil war; while a few persons of power are quickly dismantling/gutting all safeguards that were supposed to prevent any grab of power; while more and more of its population start acting like a mob of proud illiterate and ultra violent absolute idiots. Don’t get me wrong, we have our own fair share of shit going on around here, its just that the USA was supposed to be the leader and role model.

Well, all that combined is not reassuring and will not help appease those unfriendly feelings expressed by so many other countries around the world. Most of them also having started to imagine a future without us, that would instead orbit around Russia and China (and India?) I imagine.

Pessimistic me thinks that, whatever is bound to happen, it likely wont be pretty.

Less pessimistic me also don’t worry too much about the issue. We’ve already been trough some real hardship in the approx. 2000 years the ‘West’ has been a thing. But there is that little detail: we are in a unprecedented situation where we (not just you the USA, most of us) are insisting on electing the more incompetent people (and the stupidest ones) to deal with whatever major crisis is bound to happen, while seeking refuge and solace behind the most stupid and naive ideas being so sure we can’t be wrong ever because yeah, it’s us! Meanwhile, other countries seem to do the exact opposite kind of choice… and we can mock them all we want and say they’re retrogrades, clueless, or whatever so far I would say they’re not the ones demonstrating they’re clueless, quite the contrary. And that could cost us dear.

Sorry for the rant. Sadness of an old grumpy dude talking, nothing more obviously.

Thx. I was an idiot too. I was just a pretentious and vocal idiot. I still probably am one today, just less vocal.

I know lots of married couples that would wish for such a connection.

My spouse and I have been together for almost 30 years and counting and we’ve gone through some real rough time that would have broken many other couples. Like with friendship, we view our couple as a privileged space where we can and should be honest, even when it hurts but at the same time as a place where we don’t judge ever and when needed can forgive a lot—she has forgiven me much more than I will ever have to forgive her on that matter… She is the one that should talk about forgiving, much more than I.

Depends what discussions you’re reading. I avoid like the plague politics (like I avoided it on Reddit, mind you: it was the same hateful filled shit back there as it is here) and all ‘drama’.

And I can assure a large chunk of the content I participate in, or even that I simply read, is ‘positive’ or like I would qualify it myself: very interesting.

Edit: food for your thoughts: why did you frame your own question in such a negative way? ;)

You’re right (and I did not get it the first time ;)

This is a good list, many things we already do…and some things I can try…first, I’m jealous of your local baker.

One of the advantage of living in Paris is that, among (too) many industrial bakeries, we still have quite a few real bakeries (and restaurants) and I would add ours is real talented—it’s rare people don’t queue—willing to bet your kids would love it ;)

and my kids wont eat it, b/c sadly they’re conditioned on the soft, preservative filled industrial bread.

Yes, that’s a real issue. I was already impacted as a kid, but not to the level it has reached in those last decades. Our kids are becoming overweight younger and younger. It’s frightening and, imho, if our species doesn’t vanish in a poof of smoke because of its own stupidity/rapacity, I’m afraid overprocessed food will be as detrimental to younger generations health as the cigarette was to my and my parents generations, as well as it was to older generations. Maybe even worse. Maybe not as dramatic as their phone addiction could be for them, that I can’t tell.

and what’s not is more expensive

It is here too. We had to change our habits and reduce our spending on quite a few things.

So even our ingredients… hell even the SPICES now come in plastic instead of glass jars

Maybe there is still a place that sells them in glass jars or in bulk, alas I think it’s become very difficult to be certain of that because, what not a surprise, small local business are seldom efficiently promoted by search engines instead they will put forward shit on amazon and the likes.

Like you, we’re trying our best but I’m pretty sure things won’t get better any time soon and our options will dwindle down. Even more so now that the EU and America are not BFF any longer (and that the rest of the world hates us) and now that our undoubtedly incredibly extremely smart leaders are competing to decide who has the biggest… tariffs—you’re richer than we are and you have Walt Disney, so you obviously and easily win there but here in the EU we have the good old Parthenon and those unique French cheese so we win here and by a landslide if I dare say so myself because, obviously, our cheese are so yummy (and not plastic wrapped). Could we now be BFF again and stop that craziness? ;)

More seriously, thx for starting the thread. It’s an interesting discussion. I hope others will share their ideas too.

Making friends is not easy (it can be frightening too) and takes time & patience.

Also you need to differentiate between true friendship (which is probably rarer than true love) and acquaintance. My best friend and I have been friends since we were 14 (we’re well into our fifties, now). We know and appreciate a few other people, but there is only one of us for the other and that is despite meeting a few very remarkable persons in our respective lives (and living away from one another), friendship is very rare. Don’t try to force it.

It also require a lot of trial and errors. Friendship is rare which means simply means that often it will not be friendship. No matter how nice the person is. And then one day, without them or you being bad persons, your relation will come to an end. They’re aren’t friends, that’s all.

And then there is that… Remember my best friend? Our first encounter back in school where he just landed and where I was considered one of the smart-ass, we almost fight together because we were, and all those years later still are, at the complete political opposite and we both wanted to prove the others who was the smartes-ass and, surprise, we both were punished for that by the school which let us chose between being expelled for a few days (it was a strict school) or spend a couple hours locked in classroom and talk together, calmly and under distant surveillance. We decided we would talk—our teachers back then were smart and I wish for any kid to be taught by the same kind. We talked and we talked more and, despite our differences or maybe because of them, we realized we could learn a lot from the other and that we kinda appreciated the other’s being there. So we kept on talking after the punition was over and… never stopped.

All of that to say, don’t be afraid to try to go towards people whose company you would not think you could enjoy that may be worth a try ;)

Like suggested, hobbies are also great way to meet people. Younger, I was into model making (little planes and tanks). I met a few real nice people, a few assholes too. I was (and still am to this day) into history which was another opportunity to meet like-minded people. Any hobby will do.

Also, if you’re anything like me making friends is difficult because, well, I’m so fucking shy. I will literally blush when someone I don’t already know greets me (and I’m almost 60 dude, tall, bald and build like… someone that never had much to worry about roaming outside late at night). If you’re timid, be fine with it. It’s part of what make you who you are.

Last thing, don’t think you need to be with people your age. I know it has become kind of the norm for younger generations but it was not for me and it is still not. As a kid, I was much more at ease with adults (I could talk with them like I was never able to speak with kids my age). That may be something else you may want to experiment with. The same when I was at uni.

If you read my rambling until here, thanks. I genuinely don’t know any more.

Thx for reading mine, then ;)

I regularly see younger people feeling lost and, more worryingly, ashamed or even afraid to dare admitting they don’t know what to do about this or that. Be it about friendship or anything. Asking is a nice step in the right direction, if you’re asking me.

Public education.

I tend to not bother much with my past and what may have happened to me personally—a few bad stuff happened to kid-me but I decided long ago they were not worth wasting the remaining of my life ruminating over them or on how unfair the world can be, that I’m fine to say.

I’m much more interested in our history, as I’m interested by our future (can’t get one without the other) ;)

Not sure to understand what you mean?

We’re not eco-warrior or anything like that but we

• Buy in bulk and buy fresh.
  We buy all we can in bulk, including rice and noodles, meat and fish and, obviously, fresh fruits and vegetables. I can’t recall the last time we purchased wrapped vegetables or fruits. Coffee, tea, spices, herbs,… all purchased in bulk and put in paper wrapping before being stored long term in metal or glass ones.
• We also favor shops that are eco-friendly that

1. will sell as much locally produced food (less shipping);
2. won’t overwrap stuff and
3. that are not afraid to sell fruits that don’t look perfect (they taste as good) and are not drowned into pesticides.

• As much as possible, we shop local (walking distance or using public transportation) and bring our own bag(s).
• We do as little delivery as we can, that includes not using Uber much—we have used it a single time since it has been available and I doubt we will ever use it again.
• We never buy ready-made/industrially processed food, nor pre-packaged sweets. We cook ourselves. Any pastry/sweet we eat will be fresh from our local artisan baker, his the bread (he make them all by hand). Or we prepare them ourselves (my spouse does the pastries, as if I like cooking a lot I have zero patience for pastries).
• My spouse is also kinda nerdy, she has calculated that we could save a little plastic (really not much but still) by purchasing 5L bottles instead of the standard 1L5 ones. And other little changes like that.
• We quit drinking soda. That was a lot of plastic less in our life, and a lot less of shit in our body too.
• We buy our better in semi-paper wrapper (pretty sure those are not eco-friendly) and we store it longer-term in one of those china/porcelain butter cup holder thingy.

The only thing we have yet to find alternatives to are yogurts and, how do you call that in English: fresh cheese? Fromage blanc, in French. Those are almost always sold in plastic containers.

Older dude question here: are students so wealthy nowadays they can spend that much money every month for a single service? Heck, back in my 20s I could not afford most books I was required to read for university (I love you, libraries & used book stores). I also befriended the girl selling the tickets at the cinema, so she would let me in for free (plus, she was a cool gal too, I was not that hypocritical ;)

Also, if we are to adopt EU AI instead of the US-based ones shouldn’t they try their hardest to get more customers by lowering their price? Even more so in regards to younger customers, aka potentially very long-term customers. Or did I miss something?

To me, those so called ‘reduced’ pricing are more like a worrying sign there is a growing disconnect between some businesses and their customers.

Am I just being kinda overly critical and paranoid or are others noticing this?

Hard to tell without knowing the product and the company. the final product may be assembled here, and some ‘local’ touch added to it, for which some warehouse should be enough, but I would imagine all parts/components are being manufactured somewhere overseas where labor is cheaper.

And it won’t change overnight, not even after our leaders suddenly have realized it may not have been the fucking brightest idea ever to get rid of our production capacities (and worse, to get rid of our skilled workers and our expertise). Those can’t be recreated from scratch by political discourses. It will take a lot of time, will-power and efforts from all of us, and a lot of money. All things it looks like we’re in short supply of (contrary to political discourses, those we have plenty alas nobody want to buy those ;)

Maybe get a glass case? I have one (two) in my messenger bag, never broke my reading nor my sunglasses, no matter how badly I treat my poor bag ;)

There are hard case and soft ones, depending your usage.

Have you tried analyze why you break so many? Maybe there is something you could do that would be even cheaper than buy cheap sunglasses?

Nice, thx for pinging me. Just joined.

+1 to that, you may also want to reach a few other related communities—II will be adding yours to the sidebar at [email protected] community, I think of few of the ones already listed may be of interest ;)

It’s nice that both parties are discussing here.

I read all of the discussion, I think it may be useful to point out that here are two different issues at hand here:

1. The debate around the question: should we not have or not have multiple similarly-themed communities since we severely lack users to make them thrive. That’s technical consideration that’s easy to debate, imho.
2. The other one is more related to a question of ego (No blaming here, my own ego is the size of the Eiffel tower ;), and is about deciding if it’s ok to ban someone because they’re doing something you don’t agree with but technically is not against the rules AND AT THE SAME TIME it’s about deciding if it’s ok to keep bothering the admin/mods of another and similarly-themed community once those mods made it clear to you they prefer you stop doing it but you think they’re wrong?

Those two issues should be dealt with separately, if anyone is hoping to reach any agreement.

Could the two communities thrive? Maybe, maybe not. They could both die, too.
Could they merge? I think so (because I don’t see large enough differences between them).
Should they merge? I think so but not if one of them doesn’t want to merge, it’s simple. It’s called freedom and respect.
Should they discuss a merge even if they don’t appreciate each other, instead of banning and/or spamming? I think so too. At least in the interest of the two communities. Failing to do so would only reflects we’re not better than some of those elected clowns we call our representatives… And seeing how crass stupid some of them are, I’d rather try my hardest to never look like them :p

A few more general considerations, keep in mind they’re coming from an old fart that probably doesn’t understand much:

• If I go to some place and the owner tells me they don’t like I what do at their place. I will either stop doing it, or stop going there depending the situation.
  If I really think they’re wrong, I may ask other persons around me but if none agrees with me, well I’m back to square one and I will either stop going there or stop doing whatever I was doing.
• As a member of both communities, I find it a pain to have two similar communities even more so when both post the exact same content because it creates more noise in my feed and because it forces me to waste my time and energy deciding where I will read said duplicated content and maybe post a comment. The solution is obvious: I will unsubscribe from one (for the time being, I still follow the two communities).
• Fediverse is about networking and non-centralization. It should not be about owning and dictating what one should or should not be allowed to do… which is what Reddit turned into and why I quit using it entirely.
• I know it’s somehow trendy ‘to be right’ and to present the other dude as being ‘the bad guy’ the one that is wrong and that should be punished. At best, it’s naive. Simply put, no one is the asshole because we all are at one time or another—and if anyone needs help understanding that, consider the following: we all need to poop and once we’ve pooped we all need to wipe our dirty ass clean. So, yeah, not only we’re all assholes but(t), no matter how briefly, at one time we also all have our ass dirty. What matters is not that it’s dirty it’s how we clean it.
• We don’t own communities or their members. If we’re anything special it’s their janitor, trying to keep it working and clean.
• I’m old enough that I’ve learned to not give a crap about sensibility, be it my own or other’s.
  I try to not be mean but I will also say what I have to say and I’m fine with some people not liking it (or not liking me) as I’m fine with me me not liking what they say.
• I’m not fine with people insisting on convincing me I should change my mind and I should (dis)like what or who they (dis)like. My answer to that behavior is to block them. Am I wrong or excessive in doing so? I could be, sure, but why would i want to waste my time discussing with someone that doesn’t want to discuss and only want to convince me I’m wrong and they’re right?

However, there’s lots of assholes who are negative towards other AI Developers because they’re envious because they suck.

You seem to be on a great starting point here.
May I ask your opinion on why you think some people don’t like bananas? Is it because these people suck or are envious (of the much better people that do like bananas, I suppose), or may we propose the daring idea that they simply don’t like the taste of a banana? Asking for a friend that doesn’t like bananas and is not even ashamed of admitting it. He doesn’t like AI much either, I must say.

I wonder how much more bullshit the majority of Reddit users will accept to swallow before they decide it’s enough, if they ever realize that, and that they should be searching for an alternative to share their content which, btw, is the only thing that makes reddit worth anything.