Project scheduling programs. Primavera, Microsoft Project, Asta Powerproject. All of them are uniquely awful in their own way, and yet I still have to pay for them in order to work in my field.

I didn’t reflect on all of this until my 20’s. I coach girls from around 8-18 years old, and the standards for interacting with kids nowadays means you have to take a lot of abuse training courses. That coupled with watching the girls I coach try to navigate social media and coming of age made me realise how abnormal my own upbringing was.

Its crazy how protective I feel about these kids that aren’t even my own. But looking back on the dangers lurking in the corners, I know how important it is to keep kids in the loop. Not to scare them, or try to keep them isolated. But safety starts with communicating freely with the safe adults in your life. I think things are trending towards more quality information about sex being readily available. Most (non religious) parents seem to realize they need to raise confident kids that they have an open dialogue about important things with.

My mom peaked in my room and left me with the American Girl book about hygiene and female anatomy. I don’t think it said anything about sex. Just had to navigate that part of life armed with (mis)information from whispered conversations with friends over sleepovers.

I think back on how many experiences I had growing up that could have gone wrong. This was all happening just as AIM chatrooms and chat roullette were popular. And there were so many creeps that my friends and I talked to because we were curious. No normal adult was giving us the information, but plenty of adults online were happy to talk and ask for favors in return. Shivers down my fucking spine.

I am so thankful that I was too nervous to do anything and usually ended conversations quickly. But the risk of genuine harm was right there, and our parents had no idea. We laughed whenever we saw a penis appear on chat roullete and clicked away, but we were not mature enough to know how fucked up it was. It was our parents’ job to guard us from that. Not by putting blinders on us. But by affording us the respect of an important conversation.

I am so passionate about people having this discussion with their kids. Kids are curious. The fact that the subject is taboo makes it even more exciting for kids. It is such a crucial moment in the transition to adulthood. Ignoring the conversation endangers them by making the subject seem exotic and inticing.

Have the conversation with your kids or someone else will. And you will have no control over how and when that happens.

Never ate liver and onions until I was married. My own mother was grossed out when I told her I ate liver. But it is so flavorful! I’m sad I missed out as a kid because my parents thought it was gross. I promised myself I will not do the same to my kids.

My phones autocorrect has been garbage recently. I feel like a few years ago, it was much better at predicting what I meant to type, and I could easily edit on mobile using the suggested corrections. But now it is worse. Even with words or names I use all the time.

Italy and mechanical engineering. I know that Italy has its own issues with young people leaving for better opportunities elsewhere. But every single place I have worked or vacationed in Italy has been more interesting and usually beautiful compared to where I am now.

Also, mechanical engineering just seems like there are lots of career paths to choose from. With some networking and determination, I think it could be a cool combination. Civil engineering or mine engineering would be cool in Italy too, can you imagine working at one of those marble quarries in Tuscany?

He campaigned against high-speed rail development in California, saying he could invent a better system. Then, he admitted to his biographer that he had no intention of building the “hypet loop.” He stands to benefit if our public transportation is crap because he owns a car company. Especially in a state like California, which is banning the of gas-powered vehicles in the near future. Of course he wants to ruin Amtrak, he is sabatoging the competition. That way, more money goes in his pocket.

The sleeves from gastric bypass surgery. Lots of other medical devices have an obvious function, thinking of steel hip replacements or screws to bend badly broken bones. But the sleeve might perplex someone thousands of years from now.

This question is tough because I feel that our society has documented everything. Even the smallest item has articles written about it. But if a lot of that info was lost, things like bluetooth headphones might cause confusion. If technology doesn’t endure, will future generations think everyone had them to limit surrounding noises when in reality we introduce sound wirelessly.

Was it a religious thing? That had me in tears. Honestly, no more and no less strange than most religious traditions.

It has been several years since I watched the series, so I forget some of the ‘lore’. But as I remember the finale, there are 2 timelines or realities going on. The island good vs evil and the church reunions.

The church is a reunion of people who have lived and died on the island. The plane crash still happened, the events on the island still happened, it wasn’t some collective fever dream or purgatory that the passengers were living. The church just shows the characters after they died, but they are reunited with people they bonded with on the island. For example, Charlie is reunited with Claire. Those two people wouldn’t know one another if they did not survive the plane crash.

If someone has seen it more recently, maybe they could provide a better example? That’s the best I can describe it.

I think in hindsight, the ending is not that bad. Especially when you compare it to disasters like Game of Thrones and Pretty Little Liars. I haven’t seen the series in a few years, but I think watching it now on streaming is a completely different experience than tuning in every week.

I found it hard to follow the mysteries and plot week to week. To be fair, I was young, my attention span was short, and I didn’t participate in any discussions or forums which would have been helpful for understanding.

A lot of people didn’t understand the plot in the church was a sort of alternate reality where people were reunited in the afterlife. So people were upset that they were dead the whole time and that was too obvious. But that is not the plot, it’s just how people misremember it.

Love it or hate it, I think the ending wrapped up enough of the plot to be respectful to the audience that fell in love and watched all those seasons. I personally kind of appreciate that some things felt unanswered. It made the whole tv show seem more mystical without being tied up in a perfect bow. But I am not prone to poking too many holes in the fiction I consume. I find it relaxing to just suspend my disbelief and enjoy.

Foam mattress promising to be extra firm. It arrived in a convenient little roll, but 6 months later, it is absolute shit. Fell for the marketing and now my back is paying for it.

It made me irrationally mad that every significant character in the books was a seeker. Like Rowling’s shorthand for a worthy adversary or ally was just they play seeker. Harry, Draco, Cedric, Cho, Ginny, Krum, Charlie, Regulus. I know we get to know other members of the Gryfindor team, but aside from that everyone of note is so impressive because they were a seeker.

This was my first thought. Terrifying! Claustrophobia has entered the chat.

I love when rules exist as a clear response to someone’s gross behavior. I imagine this sign was posted after a person ‘loitered’ for a suspicious amount of time, then did not choose a dvd…but everything was sticky afterwards.

Abstract - break down of disasters and crimes with excellent narration and very interesting topics

Rare Earth - highlights uncommon locations (speaking as a Westerner) and the often horrific histories that framed their civilization/cities/people

Micerah Tewers - super talented maker that sews copies of red carpet looks and other fun custumes with some home decor. Not instructional at all, just fast paced and entertainingly wholesome

Ask a Mortician - really fascinating deep dives into what happened to the bodies of famous people, or people who died in extreme circumstances. She has recently highlighted a few infamous shipwrecks…which brings me to

Oceanliner designs and Part Time Explorer - both nautical history buffs that articulate the grandeur and sometimes horror of ship travel

Miniminuteman - archeology videos featuring a lot of lesser known sites that are fascinating. Articulate dismantling of psuedo-archeology bullshit and refreshingly modern understanding of science communication

LadyKnightthebrave - discussing the emotions that film and tv can make you feel. Honestly just cathartic if she talks about a movie you feel strongly about, like the articulate friend you wish you had to decompress with after an emotional movie

Contrapoints - incredible everything from set design to arguments. Long form, in depth explanations about a lot of topics some people would consider taboo, or that people are close minded about.

Atun Shei Films - known primarily for Check Mate Lincolnites which is a comedic sketch that dismantles lost cause myths from the civil war. Lots of interesting historical and film stuff.

Lindybeige - every video feels like an eccentric history professor’s impassioned tangent on a subject he deeply cares about, so it entirely derails the original subject of the lecture.

We have similar taste in youtubers! If you enjoy those disaster related videos, I recommend Abstract (formerly Real Horror). Great production value and storytelling. She does all her own work as far as I know, so she doesn’t have a huge playlist to watch sadly. But the narration and setup really add a gravitas to the disasters that I feel the other youtubers are missing.

https://m.youtube.com/@Abstract

ಠ_ಠ

Watched from my kitchen window as my dad and my dog were chased by a skunk. It was exactly like a comedy sketch. First it was dog barking at skunk with dad yelling from the side door. Then it was skunk chasing dog, dog chasing skunk with dad chasing dog. Then the tables were turned, and my dad was being chased by the skunk.

It was glorious. I remember it taking ages before they could get safely inside. My dad was pissed at the time. They both were partially sprayed, but I don’t remember it being that bad of an aftermath. We laugh about it now.

I like your taste in youtubers!