AnyList. I’ve tried many list apps and this one is easily the best. Not FOSS disclaimer. The free version has very minimal ads, it has a great, intuitive UI, you can create custom list types and item categories, it has built in quantity and unit of measure fields, and you can share/sync a list with others by email address. The amount of features included in the free version is uncommon in the market without getting more harassed by advertisements. I hope it doesn’t change in the future; it’s remained relatively unchanged for the 3 years I’ve been using it!

Screensaver?

Made me write SQL updates that had to be run by someone in a different state with pretty much no knowledge of SQL.

Optimization feels a lot less optimal when it leads to enshittification. I have worked on the tech side of accounting systems in the US for the last 10 years and can say that American companies have largely embraced this category of innovation as well.

Massive historical significance, miniscule aesthetic value (in the present day). If Egypt had to engage in “interpretive mowing” to emphasize the pyramids, they would also be overlooked by tourists.

I used to work in a restaurant.I got paid $2 less than minimum wage and split tips with the rest of the staff, guaranteed to make at least minimum wage. What would have MAXIMIZED my income would be getting minimum wage as a base pay + tips. All this system does is subsidize the cost of labor for restaurant owners. I get it, running a successful restaurant is tough business if you’re not loaded. Running ANY successful business is tough. Tipping systems favor the business owners primarily over staff and consumers.

I’m living the inverse of your experience right now. Just started a new job that requires 3 days in the office after having worked several years fully remote. I sit next to a full wall-length window and yet am being battered by soul-crushing overhead fluorescents. Time to figure out where the controls to the lights near me live in the breaker. I hear the COO likes all of the lights on so he can “feel like there are more people in the office.” Bully for him.

Classic, it’s a good one.

I dig it, cool song!

Yeah, that’s one of my favorites too! Got any good examples you like? One of my favs is “Ivory” by Polyphia. It hits right towards the end of the song and always gets me good.

I like it when a chorus gets built up more on each repetition, either with the addition of more instrumental parts, new harmonies or background vocals, or a beat change that brings up the intensity.

Similarly, I like when that same effect happens within 2 halves of a chorus. Example of one I heard recently is the chorus of the song “Breathing” by ELLEGARDEN. The 2nd half adds a higher vocal harmony + a picked lead guitar line that open up the sound a bit and just give it a nice little emotional boost.

That is a great way of putting it and totally compatible with my view as well. The boundaries of the system dictate the pathways in which greed flows.

Indeed:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34196258/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7289730/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7287029/

I propose that human greed leads to the corruption of both capitalist and communist systems in actual practice. The difference is that in capitalism, greed is publically encouraged and publically rewarded, while in communism, greed is publically discouraged and privately rewarded. Inequality is present in both practices ostensibly (with few historical exceptions). Whatever economic systems are implemented by humanity, some people are winners and some are losers.

The question of what system is best cannot be settled by only historical anecdotes. Historical record is too biased towards its own context, though we can look at patterns that have emerged through recorded history to try and achieve a more objective understanding; we have to examine a system as it exists right now. We must accept that no system will be exempt from human greed and focus our efforts on policies that fight against it wherever possible. This is not an enlightened centrist position; this is the position of someone who wants to maximize the number of societal winner and minimize the number of losers.

Indeed, was quite a shock! This was in the US, state of Nebraska, about 15 years ago.

Thanks for the kind words. 0/10 experience, do not recommend.

It really is gut-wrenchingly hard! I have lots of good mementos of him and (sorry if this is creepy) have kept his ashes. I went on a months-long roadtrip/move earlier this year and his urn was along for the ride. He hated the car, lol.

In my case, I only stayed for one night and left the next day. It was an acute ward, meaning that it was intended for people having immediate mental health crisis. The hospital and staff were all fine. I had gone in for an evaluation at my doctor’s recommendation in the morning. I spoke with a doctor there, who brought a police officer into the room at the end of our conversation, who told me I could either check myself into the hospital or spend the night in jail. I opted for the more comfortable of the two options. To be released the next day, I had to convince the doctors that I wasn’t an active threat to myself or others.

The experience overall did further damage to my mental health and trust in the medical system. At the time, I was having thoughts of suicide without the intention of acting on them; they were just becoming more intrusive. I was honest about this with the hospital staff and I believe now that was a mistake. This was many years ago and I am in a healthier place these days, but it took awhile to get here and I doubt I’ll ever speak as honestly with a mental health professional again.

• The night I had to put down my cat (he was the best boy).
• Dealing with the aftermath of a family member’s suicide.
• The day my twin first moved far away from me.
• The death of my grandmother.
• The time I was hospitalized against my will for a mental health issue.
• The first panic attack I experienced and the subsequent fallout.

All said, I have lived a pretty lucky life and am a successful person (by my account). But even so, life is full of this type of stuff for pretty much everyone. Fun question, OP!

Tough to choose, but I think it would be interesting to see what the heck was going on with the dancing plague of 1518.

If your soup or sauce sparks a little bit next time, you’ll know, lol.