Hurlshort

The baker sells cakes. He can't pick and choose who he sells cakes to because of race or religion. He can say "I don't bake chocolate cakes." If someone comes into his shop and starts screaming obscenities, he can refuse to do business with them. If Facebook starts banning people based on race or religion, or even political party, then there is a lawsuit potential. But that isn't what is happening.

Entertainment is a double edged sword. You get the exposure to reach the masses, but you are also exposed to the masses. Personally I'm not all that invested in what actors are doing. I tend to wrote the lot of them off as narcissistic. Of course, there will be exceptions to that rule. Brandon Lee is an interesting character. I'd say it is pretty clear his father's early death adds to the dramatic factor. It all played out on a very public stage. It played out like a tragedy. Athletes and musicians do something very difficult on the biggest stages. Some of them even sacrifice their health to do so. It inspires, but I also wouldn't want to change places with most of these people.

When a young artist passes away, it is always going to be a bit of a emotional blow to those who enjoyed that artist. One, it is a very visual reminder of our own mortality, and two, there is a sense that we've all missed out on their greatest work. I'm not sure why anyone feels the need to belittle that. It often becomes a sense of inspiration. They are frozen in time as well.

X4 - I managed to build a dock on my base, which was a bit of a process. The game has me looking up stuff online, but there does seems to be a lot of interesting options. I'm super cash poor and haven't had much luck making money. So far I just wander around fixing satellites and finding lost luggage. Still, my base looks neat now, and I like that you can land on anything. I just need to buckle down and invest in a better ship.

Yeah, not going to miss standardized tests one bit. We need to re-think how we assess learning in the modern world. It's way too easy to regurgitate information nowadays. In the past you had to hit the card catalogue, do some in depth reading, and really dig. Now we have easy access to all the information. I'm way more concerned with how a student processes that information than how much of it they've memorized. So yeah, we need modern assessments that value processing and critical thought over access to information and test taking skills.

Hmm, I don't remember you using the fancy fiance title before. Congrats on your engagement!

It seems like it would be healthier to just hope that things get better soon in both the US and Belarus, instead of trying to turn it into a competition.

The major difference I saw there is the riot police didn't spray tear gas everywhere and they didn't hit anyone, and then they seemed to retreat when things escalated. So maybe stop excusing the riot police in the US.

I managed to fix my X4 startup issue by downloading some sketchy beta drivers for my onboard GPU. Let's hope that doesn't come back to haunt me. I started the Young Gun scenario, so I'm a British chap in the seat of a ship that is basically a big engine in the back, a big gun in the front, and me squished in the middle. Currently running through more of the help tutorials because there is a lot to learn. But so far it is easier to navigate than Elite Dangerous and has more personality and life than No Man's Sky.

Yeah, it amazes me how many married couples I know who spend little time with one another. A lot of them get lost in the kids once they are born and forget to keep the marriage as a priority. This whole situation magnifies everything.

So X4 has a problem running on my pc. Basically I have to disable my onboard video card to get it to run, because it won't recognize my nice new fancy Nvidia card otherwise. I can re-enable it afterwards, but every time I reset the computer, I have to redo this process. The game itself seems fun and I enjoyed the tutorial. I am not quite sure where to start after the tutorial. Do I just choose a scenario?

If Muslim ban doesn't do it for you, maybe **** grabbing will? I don't understand how anyone can vote for a guy who talks like that.

Huh, didn't realize Ireland uses Soccer.

Ok, I finally bit on X:4. I bought the whole shebang, so it better be good.

Not as far fetched as you'd think... https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/The-London-Beer-Flood-of-1814/

Whatever, baseball is better than soccer.

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey is out and on sale for $20 on Steam. I picked it up, looks like an interesting survival evolution game.

I actually force my family members to adopt a diverse skill set in real life so they make a better party in RPG games.

It is interesting to compare the Ferguson protests, as well as the Occupy Wall Street movement, to the current situation around the country. I remember Obama getting a lot of flak for supposedly 'escalating' the tensions and situation.

I usually just use my family as a template for the 4 person party. Before the wife and kids, I'd put myself in with my favorite hockey players.

MedicineDan is Eldar/Cantousent. He's been around for a long time and has been pretty consistent in terms of beliefs. He's also shared a lot of his personal story over the years and is very likely a real person. SonicMage/ComradeMaster is just looking to get a reaction out of people with every post, and he speaks in meaningless pejoratives. Personal background story is fairly flimsy. Honestly could just be a bot.

You can swap left for right here. Did you miss all the stuff that happened in Portland? The Trump administration is just as keen on taking away your freedom as a potential Biden administration.

This is my 17th year teaching, and I can't figure out if it is a reprieve or a terrible anomaly. I mean, it is a huge boost to get a year off from commuting. I am probably gaining close to 10 hours a week back just on that. I also get to spend a bunch of time helping my own kids navigate the year, so that is a plus. But there is also a huge disconnect with my students, I am stressed about planning, and at the end of the digital classes I don't feel anywhere near as good as I do during a normal year. So yeah, I hope the next 14 years after this one are back in the classroom. Then I can retire and travel the world with Grommie and get free drinks in Australia.

Speaking of HBO, I am watching The Swamp and it is a good political documentary.