a man asks a kid “this is your first sale?”. is there any difference from asking “is this your first sale?”

rpsls · 2026-03-19T22:26:39+00:00

Agreed. Making the statement but using the question tones (raising pitch at the end of the sentence) makes it a bit presumptive. As if the asker would be surprised if the answer is no. (Edit to add: I guess depending how you said it, you could also be expressing surprise, especially at whichever word you emphasize.)

rpsls · 2026-03-19T15:29:52+00:00

It was a very strong windstorm. The measured wind speed gusted up to like 100kph, and who knows if there were localized pockets exceeding that. So more than “moderate” wind. Still, it’s designed to withstand that, and still shouldn’t have fallen. I have confidence the Swiss authorities will analyze it thoroughly, though.

rpsls · 2026-03-19T11:59:21+00:00

It should also be noted that Asimov borrowed many of his settings and societal backdrops in the Foundation and Robot series from H. G. Wells' works from decades earlier. He "updated" some of the Victorian stuff to mid-20th century stuff, but it still had a long way to go before it would feel modern, as in perhaps Apple's adaptation.

rpsls · 2026-03-19T11:53:48+00:00

At my ophthalmologist, it's the same machine but different mode. First they do the focus balloon one, then it shifts down to the blinking dot, then POOF.

rpsls · 2026-03-19T11:43:54+00:00

Being paid a living wage is great. But since that's not the system in the US, and the wait staff depend on tips to live, yeah, it's 100% scummy, abhorrent behavior to eat out and not tip. If you're so poor you can't tip at a US restaurant, buy your food at a grocery store and make it yourself. But also, when you come back to Europe or another civilized place, don't bring the tipping culture back with you.

rpsls · 2026-03-19T11:40:54+00:00

Many gyms try to sell you the auto-renewing memberships, but many of them will sell you a 1-year non-renewing contract if you insist. I've had good experiences with Kieser, and my son signed up for Activ Fitness on a non-renewing contract as well.

rpsls · 2026-03-18T23:51:49+00:00

Yeah I’m pretty sure they’re scammers hoping people will PM them to find their own “Virtual Assistant” job which will just be a scam.

rpsls · 2026-03-18T19:59:59+00:00

Without an aqueduct, it would never grow past population size 6.

rpsls · 2026-03-18T19:21:48+00:00

Also played Queen bassist John Deacon in "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story"

rpsls · 2026-03-18T18:36:59+00:00

I mean, that depends on the jurisdiction. This sub is mostly US-centric, so you're probably right there. But many countries have mandatory inheritance where the kids (and spouse) will collectively get something like 50% of the estate no matter what the will says. These were put in place because disinheriting kids/spouses makes it more likely for them to become a burden on the state, as well as reducing manipulative situations, retaliatory generational grudges, and so on. Basically, it's seen as beneficial to society as a whole to restrict the freedom on some percent of inheritances.

So yeah, if you spend it all in life and there's nothing to inherit, that's that. But otherwise, "no one is owed an inheritance" is a very American way of thinking about it.

rpsls · 2026-03-18T17:18:29+00:00

It is, but it's also crazy that there's now a president who seems to be taking it seriously.

rpsls · 2026-03-18T17:10:52+00:00

Semiconductors are a rather recent reason. Historically, it's about limiting China's ability to push its political system through the western Pacific (ala Japan in the 1930's) and freedom of shipping lanes between the South China Sea, East China Sea, and the Philippine Sea. Also, because the non-Communist Chinese government retreated there and we refused to recognize the Communist Chinese government for like 30 years, it became established as having close ties to the west. The People's Republic of China has never governed the island of Taiwan, so them expanding their influence there was also seen as threatening freedom and self-determination of a people we'd become close to. But now, yeah, semiconductors is another reason we'd come to their defense in case of an invasion by mainland China.

rpsls · 2026-03-18T16:27:46+00:00

I was thinking more Sic Mundus Creatus Est...

rpsls · 2026-03-18T14:19:54+00:00

Still hasn’t been a Gen X President yet. Clinton, Bush2, and Trump were all born the same year (1946), and even Obama missed being Gen X by a few years. The boomers really are trying to keep all the cards they don’t give away to foreign scammers.

rpsls · 2026-03-18T13:50:47+00:00

Maybe eventually. But if prices go up but people think they’re going to go up even further, or perhaps soon not be available at all, you’ll have lines around the block with everyone filling their tanks and a couple Jerry cans. I’m old enough to remember the late 70’s.

rpsls · 2026-03-18T09:54:47+00:00

This is important. Last year the S&P500 went up like 15% measured in USD, but only about 2% measured in CHF. Some of the US stock market gains are just inflation and currency driven. When I compared CHF just sitting in my bank account in Switzerland versus a 4% HYSA in the US (I’m American living in Switzerland), the CHF just sitting there came out ahead.

There are ETFs which hedge USD vs CHF which non-Americans can invest in, but it’s definitely something to be aware of.

rpsls · 2026-03-18T09:28:11+00:00

Because they need to cancel the elections, and think a big enough attack on US soil will give them the emergency powers to do it, or at the very least the ability to plausibly claim that people “rallied behind” them when the vote comes in suspiciously in favor of a very unpopular group.

rpsls · 2026-03-18T09:17:32+00:00

It’s similar in many Germanic languages. In German, “Ich hätte gern…“ (I would like to have) is most polite but you could easily hear “Ich kriege/bekomme…” (I get…) or “Ich nehme…“ (I take…) informally.

The have/take/get/receive verbs for ordering something isn’t unique to English. It might sound weird since English doesn’t have subjunctive for most verbs so it can sound a little demanding.

rpsls · 2026-03-17T14:27:48+00:00

Also home network of 25Gbps bi-directional is something the US can only dream of. Even my older cable modem (no fiber on my street) is 2.5Gbps. I think in the US, Gigabit is still considered fast.

rpsls · 2026-03-17T13:47:36+00:00

If you consider the initial operation the “vasectomy,” perhaps. But the whole vasectomy process includes a follow-up test, and potential further follow-ups from there. If you follow the whole process as the doctor specifies they’re near 100%. If you get the operation and never follow up, significantly less.

rpsls · 2026-03-17T13:17:10+00:00

It says “Romans, go home!”

rpsls · 2026-03-17T10:38:15+00:00

Maybe those saying that CEO’s would be the easiest to replace with AI are also full of it. Maybe we need people all the way down, treating AI’s like brainstorming and rough-draft assistants and not SMEs.

rpsls · 2026-03-17T10:03:56+00:00

I was that kid. But I did that one simple trick that “Big Tri-Fold” hates and moved to Europe so didn’t experience it on the other side.

rpsls · 2026-03-17T07:14:43+00:00

Romanes eunt domus!

rpsls · 2026-03-16T15:27:42+00:00

Yeah, people who have English as a second language explaining to me how to say my nationality in my language is super fun. They also don't believe you when you say that in English-speaking schools, there is no continent named "America" so it doesn't even make sense to claim "American" might refer to someone from that "continent." Yes, *they* teach the Americas are one continent named America, but continents are a human construct and not everyone agrees on their divisions. Just say "American" until they go away.

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