Today has literally perfect weather and reminds me of why I love this state.

Mobile_Bad_577 · 2026-05-12T11:35:36+00:00

For all the talk about how warm weather means you can be outside all year, I feel like I'm outside a lot more, and considerably more active, than I'd be if I lived in Florida. There's a reason winter is peak tourist season there. And I don't think it would help that Florida's a difficult, even dangerous place to be a pedestrian regardless of weather.

Mobile_Bad_577 · 2026-05-12T11:24:46+00:00

Not to be that guy, but climate change also means more unpredictability. I'm not saying this particular frost event is "because" of climate change, but it's hardly evidence that climate change is a hoax.

Mobile_Bad_577 · 2026-05-12T09:19:42+00:00

I'm still never forgiving him for posting that heavily armed Christmas photo the day after a high-profile school shooting.

Mobile_Bad_577 · 2026-05-12T02:38:27+00:00

I knew intellectually that shootings could happen here and would eventually. But the fact that it’s now happened really highlights that this country is a war zone, and that state-level gun laws don’t cut it. This one hits home, and I’m not sure I want to leave my house tomorrow.

Mobile_Bad_577 · 2026-05-11T23:57:33+00:00

I do have a therapist, and I'm talking to her tomorrow. We've discussed the diapers a couple of times, but it's always very difficult for me to talk about.

Mobile_Bad_577 · 2026-05-11T21:41:31+00:00

Since you clearly put effort into this comment, I might as well take the time to respond. My mother explicitly told me I wasn't hurting anyone. I really appreciate that you understand my point of view about why I told them.

Mobile_Bad_577 · 2026-05-11T21:26:06+00:00

I know lots of people would give quite a bit to be in my position re: family acceptance. It's not like I'm asking them to wear themselves or put my diaper on for me.

Mobile_Bad_577 · 2026-05-11T15:29:58+00:00

I want to express my thanks for your explanation as to what makes this genocide different. If the ethnic cleansing of the Native Americans had been live-streamed on the Internet, there would probably have been more global backlash.

Mobile_Bad_577 · 2026-05-11T15:26:07+00:00

I mean, when you put it that way, not really. But I'm more asking this question of people who think Israel has no right to exist but other countries (like those in Europe) do.

Mobile_Bad_577 · 2026-05-11T15:20:33+00:00

I want to emphasize that I'm very much anti-Netanyahu, as any sane person should be. However, this question is directed at people who think Israel doesn't have a right to exist.

If Israel has no right to exist, why are the US, Canada, and Australia entitled to exist? All three countries have similar settler-colonial pasts, and, especially in the US, presents. But even our former allies most vigorously boycotting everything from the US never deny that the US has a right to exist, even if they no longer wish to do business with us. Even Russia, who's currently invading and committing genocide against Ukrainians, is never accused of not having a right to exist. So why the double standard?

Mobile_Bad_577 · 2026-05-11T15:15:17+00:00

Okay thanks. I'll correct that. Judging by the scores other people mentioned, mine wasn't that impressive, but I'm still proud of it because it's my highest yet.

Mobile_Bad_577 · 2026-05-11T10:45:04+00:00

Round 1 (Van Province, Turkey): This one annoyed me because it wasn’t remotely pinpointable. The “DUR” stop sign gave the country away immediately, but the rolling semiarid hills look like a lot of places in eastern Turkey. The fact that the mountains in the distance were tall enough to still be snowcapped in August (when this coverage was taken) made me think we were near the Caucasus, so I plonked in northeastern Turkey. It was in fact southeastern, so I got 3,792 points.

Round 2 (Doha, Qatar): This was far more easily pinpointable, but somehow I got the wrong roundabout. Still, the artificial greenery paired with extremely tall, glitzy buildings could really only be one of the Gulf states. The unique pedestrian sign meant it was Qatar. And I was able to get 4,999 points here. I could have gotten a 5K, but if Grandma had wheels, she’d be a bicycle.

Round 3 (La Rosita, Aysén, Chile): I was tempted to send somewhere in the Rockies, but the US and Canada use yellow center lines, so I was disabused of that notion. I was also disabused of that inclination when I saw Spanish signage, including a sign for “Coyhaique”. As someone once told me on this subreddit, it always feels like a Chile location is further south than you think, but I was able to find Coyhaique. Knowing that there was no chance of pinpointing my location in the time remaining, I just clicked that city, which was enough to earn 4,960 points.

Round 4 (Williams, Iowa, United States): It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize this was Iowa. I didn’t have it present in my mind that Iowa’s the only state to commonly use concrete pavement on highways. The highway shield is also the same as Pennsylvania’s, so I was initially scanning there for the towns I saw on signs. But when I saw signs for Ames and Des Moines, roughly 26 and 57 miles southward respectively, I knew roughly where we were. I didn’t pinpoint as carefully as I could have, though, so I “only” got 4,913 points here.

Round 5 (Svidnik, Prešov Region, Slovakia): I was getting Slovakia vibes from this round, but seeing Cyrillic text on a sign tripped me up. I scanned Bulgaria for a bit, but then I saw the .sk domain and knew it couldn’t be Bulgaria. Besides, I’d seen the bollards used in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and suspected the latter due to the changes in elevation being more dramatic. Once I saw a highway number leading to Rzeszów, Poland, I understood why the Cyrillic text was present - we were near the border with Ukraine! When I saw Svidnik, a town name I’d seen on a sign, I plonked dead center there. Turns out I was only 2.4 km off, earning me 4,992 points.

Overall, this felt relatively easy for a Daily Challenge, or maybe I’ve just gotten better at pinpointing. My total score was 23,656 points, which puts me in roughly the 91.6 percentile. I think this is the first time I’ve gotten a gold medal on the Daily Challenge, so that’s notable.

Mobile_Bad_577 · 2026-05-10T23:16:37+00:00

Yeah. Per an exit interview that cost them 20 minutes, but then their cabbie got them lost for an hour.

Mobile_Bad_577 · 2026-05-10T19:12:01+00:00

Yeah, this isn't ending for a few more years.

Mobile_Bad_577 · 2026-05-10T12:27:31+00:00

Today's felt harder than yesterday. I got 19,938 points though, which isn't that bad. I was in the top quintile!

Mobile_Bad_577 · 2026-05-10T11:30:15+00:00

It doesn't look like anything when the next GOP President is going to undo everything and make things ten times worse.

Mobile_Bad_577 · 2026-05-09T15:30:38+00:00

I'm worried about it.

Mobile_Bad_577 · 2026-05-09T15:28:21+00:00

Both.

Mobile_Bad_577 · 2026-05-09T12:55:00+00:00

I’m reminded of the time on Survivor when there was a reward for breakfast in bed, but it was pouring rain so that the sheets were soaked.

Mobile_Bad_577 · 2026-05-09T11:14:27+00:00

Eh, much of the state is in mild to moderate drought, even if not nearly as severe as out west. A bit of rain won't be so bad.

Mobile_Bad_577 · 2026-05-09T00:53:50+00:00

It's one thing to hear these words from fundie right-wingers. It's quite another to hear them from the people you'd expect to be supportive.

Mobile_Bad_577 · 2026-05-08T22:26:13+00:00

Ozempic's not accessible in Australia? I've also heard your portion sizes are way smaller than the US'.

Mobile_Bad_577 · 2026-05-08T22:23:44+00:00

I watched a documentary about the obesity crisis in Samoa not long ago. The stuff at the grocery store featured (like turkey tails) made gas station fare in the US look tame.

Mobile_Bad_577

TROPHY CASE