Yeah I’m pretty far down the comments here and am just dumbfounded, as a 40+/m. I’m married, so maybe my perspective is skewed, but I’m anxious, introverted, and also don’t feel like dating would be that much of a challenge if I found myself in that scene again.

For one, rejection isn’t personal. They’re doing me a favor if they decline or ghost me because I’m not going to waste more time on that relationship. I figured that out in my early 20s. I may need a couple weeks or months between because I don’t have an abundance of social energy, but it’s not that big of a deal either.

And then having hobbies is a great way to meet like-minded people. The more people you encounter with similar interests, the more likely you’ll encounter someone with whom you may connect on another level. It’s more difficult online, so I’d probably spend more time doing my outdoor things (birding, photography, surveying frog calls, etc) rather than gaming. They’re mostly solo hobbies, but I do often find myself meeting people who want to chat about it while I’m out and about.

I thought I was one of the most socially inept people I know, but I can’t relate to what I’m reading here. Maybe we need to work on our personal boundaries more and understand ourselves better before we’re pursuing relationships.

The book bans are a war on romance fiction. I think I live in a state where it’s the most egregious though, so maybe this isn’t as wide spread yet as the porn bans.

Or use it as a product search engine, then go to the supplier or an alternate online store to buy the one you want. I don’t have it on my phone but do go to it in browser occasionally for that.

The UK vs EU and the states vs the USA is not apples to apples. As I understand it though, we’re actually approaching 20 US states requiring such verification. Iowa is trying to pass something similar. This is a trend across the country, which is why I generalized the USA.

https://www.ipvanish.com/blog/us-age-verification-laws/

I moved a couple states away from my family to minimize any interaction. It’s not just politics. Their politics are, however, and indicator that they’re not the type of people I want to associate with, so the extra distance facilitates less contact.

Of course, I moved to Iowa, which has since shifted from purplish to red. At least I’m on a blue city.

They’ll ultimately just have to cut off the US Internet from the rest of the world, right? As long as we can access other countries with more freedom, we can enjoy that level of freedom on the Internet. Or am I not understanding how the Internet works (entirely possible)?

He has a very low bar by most of the developed world’s standards, but he refused to lower it further for maga, so he’s history now.

Back-office college financial aid at a larger state college. Financial aid mostly disburses by batch process, so my job is to audit that. Some things, like external scholarships, are manual and require a quick reassessment of the financial aid package to ensure the student is still eligible for everything (if anything, loans need reduced sometimes per regulations). Some things require “professional judgement,” like when a student is not yet 24 but claims to be independent due to unusual circumstances. There’s more, but it’s really just an accumulation of batch work, queues, and audits which require a reasonably good working knowledge of regulations.

I still have it but only follow niche and local subs for which there isn’t enough engagement here yet.

It’s the Swedish bakers dozen so you can eat 3 raw eggs + shells on the way home and still have a dozen eggs to put in the fridge. It takes three eggs to equal the calories found in a small donut which is why the bakers dozen eggs is 15 instead of 13.

Cars with oil filters like that always roll in when you’re not busy, so they don’t get to cool in the lot, and you get to watch your skin melt when you accidentally touch metal. Good times.

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Can we just call it the Quwitter?

Except Comic Con is rare, and they don’t have to take down their “gun show this weekend!” signs here in Iowa because that’s every weekend, or so it seems.

Agreed though. I was actually worried about what maga might do if Harris won, so I made my first purchases before the election. I had to provide ID, enter some personal identifiers into a website and be approved by a federal agency. It took an extra 30 minutes or so.

Yeah Mullvad is coming in pretty steady on that front.

My primary use is photo editing for a photography hobby. I shoot wildlife and upload photos to iNaturalist. I shoot sports for a local junior college and an adult baseball league.

I don’t watch a ton of movies, but it also serves as my Plex server. I leave it off unless I want to watch something though.

There are games on it, but I rarely get that itch anymore. In my teens and 20s, 1000 hours a year would have been a slow year. It’s probably more like 0-100 a year now.

But then I have to pay and care for a dog. I’ll just not put myself in either situation.