The term “flashpoint” has nothing to do with assigning blame. It just defines an event/place where things kicked off into something way bigger. If WW3 started due to a strike on Taiwan it would be accurate to refer to Taiwan as a flashpoint, because the conflict in Taiwan would be the origin. I don’t see how any of that takes away from China being the aggressor, or why the conflict would happen.

I get wanting to make it clear China is the problem here, I agree, but we have terms that refer to things objectively for a reason. You don’t have to say everything at once with every sentence.

I agree with pretty much everything you said. I do feel the need to add that your owl story reminds me of Joe Pesci firing off rounds in My Cousin Vinny the first time he hears an owl. Thanks for that!

I second this. I barely know fuck all about Lemmy, and I still manage to have small community. They kinda just manage themselves, but I’m there too.

I think it’s just something people are sensitive about, and understandably so. Most obese people (by choice; i.e. self admittedly just have a bad diet and sedentary lifestyle) I know are never really offended by memes and consistently express a desire to do better. Fact is fixing the problem is genuinely difficult once you pass a certain point, as it requires a dramatic lifestyle change. Anyone who says that is easy is full of shit.

I avoid jokes like that mostly because it feels like punching down on people who are not happy with their health/weight and struggling to fix it. Especially when it’s the typical low hanging fruit, it’s just not fun when the joke makes me feel like kind of an ass.

Ibuprofen all the way for the flu. I think its a more effective antipyretic, and it will help with the inflammatory response that causes the body aches.

It’s honestly wild, and ranges from stuff that I can only assume is due to people playing on their phones and half-watching, to a level of ignorance about storytelling that basically requires the plot being exposition dumped for them to grasp it. I genuinely don’t get it, and it can make recommending good shows/movies difficult.

This is one of those weird family connections I’ve known about for a while, but have to keep reminding myself its real. My brain refuses to associate those two people.

I can’t be the only one that remembers this

They don’t, they just get ready to clutch their pearls and say “well, I never…” when it happens again. These people are from the same stock that let Hitler rise to power, and thought appeasement was the best way to deal with aggressive authoritarians. Anything short of full liberation of Ukraine’s territory only encourages Russian belligerence.

You want to save lives? You make it clear to Russia this kind of shit will only leave them bloodied and empty handed.

“Man, my job pays horribly and the benefits barely cover anything, but they have a ping-pong table so it’s honestly a tough call.”

I struggle to understand how someone could seriously write something like that question without a lack of self-awareness so dire that a walk to the kitchen would come with a near-death experience. It just can’t be real.

Never, ever become a nurse’s assistant if you can’t handle horrible smells :)

This cannot be overstated. It can be rough. It’s important to know what you’re getting into. The worst places I’ve been have CNAs that are not cut out for the job, and straight up hide during shifts to push the gross/arduous tasks to already heavily-burdened nurses. That is no bueno and it ends with burnt out nurses and much worse patient care.

At the same time, good CNAs are an absolute godsend. Literally could not do my job as well as I do without CNAs kicking ass, so much appreciation for you guys.

Came here to say this. I’m able to easily handle much of the gross side of medicine/care, but that smell sticks with you. First time I was assigned a patient with c-diff I went in thinking I was prepared. Such arrogance…

Theres some truth to this, but a lot of people do use this as a shield against the general cultural acceptance that piracy is stealing or otherwise morally underhanded. I do it, but I don’t have any illusion I’m one of the activists. I just get indignant and refuse to pay someone for content or entertainment who I think is damaging to the medium or predatory in general. I feel like if I really wanted to make a statement, I just wouldn’t consume their work at all – but life is short and I want to have my cake and eat it too.

I think Starship Troopers is 16 max currently, based on a few extractions that showed that number.

Just hit early access so it’s only got the one map with day/night variation, but man I’ve been having fun with it. Good lobbies almost feel like MAG games where squads are working independently on different objectives while still coordinating as a larger group. Always fun to be locked down at ore extraction and hearing the base squad losing their shit because some Tigers show up. Also sending out a squad to exterminate a plasma bug that’s shelling your base from a distance. The game has a lot of potential, just hoping the developers can show up.

Only thing it desperately needs right now (that I haven’t seen mentioned as a planned feature) staged reloads. Gunner class gets slaughtered during long ass reloads that have to start completely over when interrupted.

Either way, solid start to game. Hope it turns out as well as it seems it can.

Kind of rude. Farts can be funny, and they don’t deserve to be disparaged like this.