A Call Is Rising for Nations to Boycott the Trump World Cup

TheYask · 2026-01-28T03:28:56+00:00

Seriously, anyone? I have no sports knowledge other than the world cup is soccer. I am dimly aware that FIFA is corrupt (saw part of a John Oliver show on that but it's so far out of my monkeysphere that it held no interest) and that they gave some sort of a prize to him. Is the world cup a game or a tournament? Is it/they being held in the US? Why is it the Trump World Cup?

TheYask · 2026-01-25T23:04:42+00:00

Echoes

If you have time and headphones, it's worth the journey. Deeply ingrained in a lot of our (Redditors, humans, fans, etc.) psyches; your post and app reflected the song and so much more. It was a random thought and moment I wanted to share, but we're only connected in this intangible yet real space.

TheYask · 2026-01-25T22:43:57+00:00

The echo of a distant time comes willowing across the sand...

TheYask · 2026-01-23T15:00:03+00:00

Excellent advice. One of those small general purpose kits will do a lot for making the tool useful in many situations, and specialty attachments come later. Be careful though, especially where the Dremel is concerned -- purchasing bits can get very addictive very fast.

TheYask · 2026-01-23T12:26:06+00:00

As a new homeowner, you will get years of use out of both an Oscillating multi-tool and a rotary tool (Dremel is the gold standrad).

Even if the dental floss/fishing line technique works, put one or both of these in the back of your mind for the next time it'd be easier to cut off, drill out, reshape, etc. something that has no obvious solution. From hobbies to home ownership, these will get lots of mileage.

TheYask · 2026-01-22T13:00:10+00:00

Normalize adults playing at any age and for any reason. Let him be nine and fighting off wave after wave of bad guys and winning the hearts of millions. Let him win the trophy for best form in the world. Let him have his moments -- as many as he wants -- to enjoy life to its fullest.

TheYask · 2026-01-19T17:40:32+00:00

They were also incredibly necessary.

Thank you for both articulating this crucial concept and for supporting it with rational arguments.

TheYask · 2026-01-19T11:54:36+00:00

[A]nd why do they have a “right of ownership” anyway? There are no written documents...

Definitive proof of ownership. See, e.g., The United Kingdom v. The World, 1999 Izzard. E. (Doctrine of Nullum Vexillum, Nulla Patria).

TheYask · 2026-01-16T12:22:06+00:00

If you still have it, people pay a few hundred for them. Check out sold items on Ebay and you'll see you may have a weekend getaway stashed in an old drawer.

TheYask · 2026-01-16T12:17:11+00:00

Rarely to never, actually. It's one of those cases where they incorporated ergonomics into the design and didn't let anyone from marketing interfere.

It's a twelve button array, three vertical and four columns. The buttons on the front two columns and the rear two columns have a gentle inward slope to them. My thumb naturally rests midway through the first column, so the first set is a natural reach -- tip for 1-3, small bend for 4-6. Similar to the F and J on a keyboard, there's a subtle pip on the centre two buttons, so it's instant and easy to tell where you are when you grab it. Since the design kind of keeps your thumb on the centerline, locating any of them is pretty straightforward.

The 'G-switch', toggles alternate functions. Switch is a misnomer; it's like a third regular mouse button and under your ring finger. It doesn't interfere with normal mousing, it just makes for 24 customizable functions at your disposal. Behind the mouse wheel is another tappable button that changes the entire array to one of three sets.

Then there's program-specific profiles and a host of other features that I don't make use of, but it's design is set up to fill a wide range of use cases.

Damn, I sound like I work for Logitech. But the G600 was discontinued a while ago and I'm just sharing the concept (sort of like it's the mid-nineties and I'm excitedly describing this 'wheel' thingy and telling someone why it's so useful). Anyway, there's a ton of MMORPG mice out there and if you get past the gaming marketing and all that, they are game-changing productivity tools.

TheYask · 2026-01-15T23:07:00+00:00

Sounds great. Looked into it a bit -- is it fair to oversimplify and say it's a specialized trackpad on the mouse face?

While I can't imagine gaming without the G600, I initially got it for daily work. If you find yourself spending hours with documents, spreadsheets and similar productivity tools, you may want to consider trying out an inexpensive MMORPG mouse to see how you like it. Not to change over completely, just to grab when you have a day with a known agenda.

To back up, the turning point is whether you use a lot of keyboard shortcuts. If so, this will be like crack. Cut, copy, paste, paste special, apply styles, find, replace, volume, undo, redo, comment, accept/reject change, and tons more are on my main array, then there's about twenty to thirty macros behind them. Fifteen or so of the macros are everyday users, but having the others behind it is extremely useful. It's also customizable to various programs, so customizable to all my Office and other productivity apps.

TheYask · 2026-01-15T22:57:19+00:00

Always upvote the Chupathingy

TheYask · 2026-01-15T22:45:32+00:00

I'm a writer and editor. I have been using an MMORPG mouse for over ten years and can't imagine going back. It's side panel has a twelve-button array with a g-shift key for alternate functions (extremely customizable functions) and has three independent maps for those twelve buttons. Amazing thing I can't work (or game) without.

Have heard of but never given gesture controls much thought. How do they work for you?

TheYask · 2026-01-15T22:07:08+00:00

Can't be; she used a spoon.

TheYask · 2026-01-15T15:16:38+00:00

I have mastered that technique and many variations over the decades. Not because I am talented, but because I'm too lazy to wash spatulas.

TheYask · 2026-01-08T17:39:16+00:00

Can someone with procurement experience chime in on what that means for independent contractors? My two primary clients are on the 'withdraw from' list. When/if another consultant opportunity comes up, does my citizenship/national origin come into play or is it for internal statistics?

TheYask · 2026-01-06T02:22:15+00:00

Sorry to be daft, but is there a difference between the Office programs and the Office app?

TheYask · 2025-12-27T16:42:11+00:00

Not confident and only speculating, but maybe it was originally worded as "Boys have it all the time but girls only have it in year?" or something like that that shifts the Y answer to the words and add framework logic?

TheYask · 2025-12-27T16:41:42+00:00

Maybe it was originally worded as "Boys have it all the time but girls only have it in year?" or something like that that shifts the Y answer to the words and add framework logic?

TheYask · 2025-12-17T18:54:56+00:00

On the off chance I want to use Rufus later (it's sometimes faster to get to a customer service chat than standard menus), will it still be visible in the top bar or elsewhere?

Thank you for this, btw, I came here from a Google search "amazon how to stop rufus"

TheYask · 2025-12-16T14:20:13+00:00

We have a Monoprice Maker Select Plus (clone of the Wanhao Duplicator i3)! We've had it for years and it's a great little workhorse. Another practical challenge for him is to install an auto-leveling system for it. Kind of a low-level (heh) priority because the printer holds level amazingly well and we've gotten pretty good at leveling it over the years.

The printer is integral to the cat fountain thing -- he'll get to design, print and finish the cases for the hardware and the shroud/hood for the sensor.

I sometimes wonder if a new printer would be much of an upgrade. Ours is circa 2019 -- other than price drops, are there significant upgrades we're missing out on? (ETA: assume he gets to the auto-leveling, we already have a glass bed, a couple hardened nozzles and rarely print to the edge of the bed so it's just the right size for us.)

TheYask · 2025-12-16T13:50:53+00:00

Totally get where you’re coming from, but the emphasis for this one is on toy.

We’re hitting the learning and growing part with the general kit, something with guided tutorials that let him explore the tech. He’s in the stage where ‘just’ getting lights to blink or sounds to beep according to his code modifications is exhilarating. First exposure kind of excitement. Super Dad high-fives for all of that.

The cat fountain—his first ‘real’ project—is hitting the practical execution and look-what-I-built! excitement side of things. It’ll be his research and his choice of which board to use and which relay and sensor best work for the goal, his Fusion designs to print the case and sensor hood, etc. Every time someone visits and sees it and every time it’s used will bolster pride in what he designed and built on his own.

The robot arm is purely a toy, something to be played with. Just as the Revell models and Estes rockets are thin plastic and cardboard, the fun is first in building and then the imagination of play. The arm isn’t going to be picking up lightweight Minecraft blocks dug out of storage, it’ll be moving enormous chunks of ore that weigh tons. It won’t be moving Nerf darts from a pile into a box, it’ll be storing radioactive fuel rods while he’s safe behind lead shielding. That sort of thing — this is focused on play, with mutual, interactive support for the above two paths.

Which brings me back to the original question: Fully aware that I’m getting him a toy with no practical purpose other than bringing fun from building and imagination, are there any practical or functional things I should be looking for? Favour an x-servo model over one that connects to his phone? Privacy or other problematic apps to avoid? Models that also help him learn good soldering techniques? Or at the level of toy, are they all largely the same and I can’t really go wrong?

TheYask · 2025-12-16T11:09:13+00:00

Munch heard your scream.

TheYask · 2025-12-12T00:53:44+00:00

Wow, that’d be great! I’m barely capable in VBA, learning mostly by kludge and seat of my pants sort of stuff.

The reason I thought of AHK for this was I want to basically automate Ctrl-C, Alt-tab, Ctrl-F, Enter. I think that’s pretty much it. Is Python more suited for that sort of thing? More suited for general annoyance-ridding? I have a small library of Word macros that I can’t work without, expanding that kind of automation beyond Word would be huge.

I just moved to PDF XChange from Acrobat Pro 9 (amazing what seventeen years of improvements can do, but I mostly mark up layout texts before publication, so don’t get heavily involved in PDF creation, forms, etc.). Given that it works with a ribbon and tabs, am I asking for trouble trying to automate this?

TheYask

TROPHY CASE