Sadly, they don’t seem to me to be the type to drive from state to state

I’m also curious - where do people come down on things like oysters and clams?

“Happened” is past tense. While we have had massive asteroid strikes before, I’m not aware of any since any power grids have been established

Yep - they’re established, so it’s ladder-pulling time!

He can always move in if he wants

Never really got this part - you don’t just move in if you want, you have to unhouse a family first.

Maybe it’s just because I’ve been on the wrong side of that…

It’s still my go-to username! (Usually 5t00)

Star trek! Vulcan mind melds (not to mention betazoids and other telepaths) are absolutely psychic

And conversely, learn to appreciate periods of stillness!

(I’m not disagreeing with you, both are valuable!)

My kids both go to a Kansas school. One is lactose intolerant, so we often pack his lunch - yogurts and cheeses figure fairly heavily into the meal options. My other kid usually grabs whatever’s being served, which includes hot options along with things similar to what you listed.

They have a school-issued card that they scan whenever they get the school lunch, which is linked to an account we top up online. I believe that qualifying families get either reduced pricing or funds for the account. Our kids actually keep assuming everything is free, because they just go through and get to pick so much from this station, so much from that station, etc.

I don’t think this has been the state of society for millenia.

Tolkien had Frodo break down in front of Sam in Lord of the Rings. Sam literally carried him after. This was written not even a century ago, and wasn’t seen as all that remarkable or groundbreaking. Hell, it wasn’t unusual that they held hands, it was just a thing bros did.

The current level of toxic masculinity is a new phenomenon, it’s not a feature of a stable society

I like a good story, with interesting characters, multiple coherent worldviews, and interesting conflicts. The sci-to-fi spectrum certainly grabs my attention and holds it while I learn about the characters and world, but ultimately, it’s about compelling people, from James Holden and Jean-Luc Picard through Cassian Andor to Taylor Hebert.

I do enjoy when the science is accurate, but it feels more like an impressive artistic flourish to me. I realized a while back that if I insist on accuracy in my media, I’ll miss out on a lot of good, fun, even classic entertainment. It irks me when something isn’t internally consistent, but a miss on scientific accuracy is more like spotting the boom mike in a shot - mildly annoying, but usually worth focusing on what they’re trying to say.

The moment you start selectively deciding who is and isn’t a thief is the moment the justice system starts breaking down.

Isn’t this exactly what a jury of your peers is intended for? So people - the members of the affected community - can decide who is and isn’t a thief, after ensuring they’re provided with all the facts of the case?

I think I’m mapping the negations of negations correctly - that link says not only is it still current, but seems to be very nearly universal?

Eh, it feels to me like the dumb kids are as dumb as always, but the smart kids are smarter than they used to be

One of my kids freaked out the other day when he realized it was July and we still hadnt gone to the pool! My wife and I had barely noticed, our weekends have been busy, but the summer is already 1/3 gone!

We went Saturday

Some of the older people do that. Others are 85-year-old wal-mart greeters.

…huh. That’s kinda exciting, but I’m curious if that’s still accurate.

…then again, I’m also hanging out at the bottom right now :p

Hell, the xenophobia goes away when populations are mixed. People who look different are a lot less scary when they just look like Carl down the street.

Guess who controls who can buy into what neighborhoods!

I feel like capitalism and free market are a lot more intertwined in people’s minds than they should be.

Capitalism is some people owning property that generates resources, and those people pick where those resources go (usually aiming for whatever makes more money).

The free market is allowing goods and services to be sold to the highest bidder, with varying degrees of oversight.

A free market can optimize resource distribution, with several caveats (hence the oversight). It can be argued when and where it’s ideal, but I think what’s being complained about here is proper Capitalism - that the ownership class is in charge of distribution. The free market is just their excuse, as there are cases (such as renewable energy) where the most profit-optimal choice is ignored in favor of whatever is more palatable to the ownership class.

You can have a happy ending! Just wait until a nice moment, and declare it’s the end!

Anything happening after is a separate story :D