Because they want to read stuff that they both agree with, and want others to agree with also.

This is the way to go. Seeing an actual professional do this shit is an experience like no other.

Up until quite late in my teens I often felt that I would make friends with people that had similar interests.

I started going to more rock and metal gigs, and bars that played the same music. I’d also talk to people that were into the same games as me, and engaged them in a friendly manner since, you know, we like the same stuff - we should be friends, right?

It was a shock to the ol’ belief system that someone that likes the same bands you like might also be a huge cunt, or that dude that likes the same anime as you is also really fucking racist. I found all that out in one night after talking to two dudes that had a Thrice shirt and one dude that mentioned he was a huge DBZ fan. I found myself growing closer to people that didn’t necessarily like the same stuff I did, and my closest friends like a varied range of music, sports, and shows. That realisation allowed me to stop changing myself for others, to stop gravitating towards people that simply like things I like, and to just be open and friendly to everyone.

For me it’d be Better Than That by Sub-Radio.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qPIrWtlpCSA

Those that have spent a few years on Reddit might remember them doing live shows back when they were less known. As a band, they’re basically just pure pop-punk joy, and I think people could use a little joy lately.

It’s a bit abstract, but…

If something feels off or wrong, trust your instinct.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is watchable within a few days, if you’re dedicated

Chernobyl can be watched in half a day, but might need some time to take in.

Ted Lasso is a nice watch that’ll last you through isolation, and will make you feel good.

English Mustard is a beautiful condiment for a beef sandwich, but it packs a punch. Imagine a concentrated American mustard at around 3-5x the strength.

I once watched a Canadian guy absolutely slather it all over a ham baguette once, and the poor guy had tears and snot running down his face. They were kinda happy tears, but years nonetheless.

I’ll defend the meal deal forever.

It’s not good food. No one is pretending that it is. It IS a convenient and cheap meal that someone can pop out and get in a few mins.

The problem, like with fast food, is that the £3 meal deal is now the £5 meal deal, and with smaller portions that meal deal is creeping towards £7-10. At a given point, you may as well get a proper nice sandwich or meal elsewhere.

They do not have to be implemented. Each country in the EU is open to interpret a directive as they wish, as long as they reach a desired outcome that doesn’t fly against the directive. As such, directives are often referred to as “soft laws” because they’re loose enough that direct opposition is challenging. An EU regulation, on the other hand, needs to be added to national law.

I agree that EU bureaucracy works really well, mostly because it’s loose enough to avoid countries directly challenging it. Ireland being considered a low tax haven is a good example of this, in that a directive allowed them to meet tax requirements while also ensuring that they can house many F500 companies in a relatively small area of Dublin.

It’s sad that these arguments are still being shared. It was the same arguments years ago from people that would just assume that a free cert was inherently unsafe.

There is a delegated act on the way that may find its way into law, but it’s likely that it won’t get that far (like many EU laws) because they move a lot slower than local laws, and because not all countries agree (or agree to a larger extent). It’s also worth noting that the EU != Europe, so there will be several counties in and out that will have their own vested interests in passing/not passing this as law. Ireland is a big one, as they heavily rely on tech investment, whereas France will likely go above and beyond anything the EU will cook up. I believe Belgium in particular beat everyone to this.

I highly doubt it, since any European with sense will know that some countries have far different attitudes towards work than others, and complicated relationships between eastern and western Europe in regards to skilled trade work and immigration…

Haha, the second I wrote it I thought “I bet there’s a Kingston in NY”, right after I was looking at places to rent in NY…

I really wish that Americans didn’t lump an entire continent with their own laws, cultures, and customs together.

Yes, the American attitude towards work sucks, but comparing Germany and the UK is like comparing New York with Kingston…

Is it web scale?

While I definitely agree, enough momentum going both ways, alongside perhaps people choosing to leave Mastodon and Threads to go to the “winner of the alternatives” could sway this to a point where BlueSky is no longer the minnow here. Given that we’re only weeks detached from Trump’s win, I can only see it getting worse for Twitter, to the point where I can see Elon just selling it and moving on - perhaps even to BlueSky if Jack wanted a cut price deal.

Eh, BlueSky seems to be actually gaining some traction now, enough so that celebs and brands are jumping ship, so maybe just give it a few months and let it rot.

Honestly, the number of lonely people is probably far greater than you can imagine. I remember reading a statistic from a local male suicide prevention group that said a third of all men have no close friends either nearby or at all. Include people with friends that are still feeling lonely, and obviously other genders, and you’re easily looking at most people being lonely.

Many of my close friends moved away for work, and I’ll be doing the same soon. Most of them don’t even know that I have a child now, let alone regularly speak. It’s quite sad really, and it only seems to get worse when you get older.

You’d need to explain how this helps the average person.

Bearing in mind that these employers have hundreds of thousands of people working for them, you would need to somehow ensure that people aren’t voting for a spike in unemployment.

FWIW I don’t disagree at all, but how would this be implemented in practice, and how would it be framed as a good thing for those employed by those companies?

Ah, well if you’ve done or know some grappling you’ll have a great base for BJJ, especially Sambo since there’s a lot of overlap. Even if you just do some drilling or stay on bottom to work escapes you should get enough exercise and social interaction that you might not get elsewhere.