If I can’t determine what lies beyond the veil, then nothing much changes, does it?

If I’m presented with a beautiful utopia, or just another world that’s not a hellscape that lies beyond our simulation, and then am thrust back into the simulation, then I guess I’d be less afraid of death. If I’m presented with a hellscape, then I guess I’m more scared of death.

However, if I could somehow be convinced that this is all just a simulation, but can’t see what lies beyond in what is actual reality…then that’s just like…knowing there’s an afterlife, but not knowing if it’s better or worse than this plane of existence, so it’s practically worthless information.

Everybody reads Brave New World, nobody reads Island. Island was supposed to be Huxley’s answer to the problem presented in Brave New World…and it’s beautiful…and tragic. The man was more prescient than most.

But Linus said he was never approached by the US for a backdoor. He was so sure of it, lol.

Make a beeline for the location of a billionaire CEO.

Very.

Playing tabletop RPGs with my friends. Or just hanging out with them and playing video games.

Install solar panels and plant local flowers (drought resistant in drought prone areas).

Pretty much all the games of my childhood. With a few exceptions, I don’t replay most games I enjoyed. I play once, usually say “that was cool.” And call it enough for a lifetime.

They can be tiny I guess. I can’t really say, I disable like/dislike counts.

Thunder for Lemmy on Android.

Tusky for Mastodon on Android.

I rarely use either Lemmy or Mastodon on desktop. If I do, it’s just through the web client.

I was in art school around then and a good portion of us were pirating windows 98 or windows NT. And we were running pirated Photoshop and pirated Illustrator on it…a lot of us pirated everything.

Yeah I feel this OP. I am always forgetting birthdays, even my own sometimes tbh. I do randomly get gifts for friends and family, but its never for the usual holidays.

I…don’t have many friends, lol. But the ones I do have all understand my stance on holidays and celebrations. It’s just not for me.

Lemmy has become my main social media outlet. For better or worse, Lemmy’s just my kind of place. I’m off of all mainstream social media except LinkedIn, which I barely use, but keep around for work related reasons.

I do still peruse Reddit, mainly for TV shows and niche subjects I can’t find here. But I haven’t logged in or posted since the first major exodus over the API pricing, and have no plans of returning.

I do post on Mastodon from time to time, but the format is just too geared towards short form content, and ultimately just isn’t my cup of tea.

So yeah. I’m generally happy to be here with you all shooting the shit about politics, Linux, etc. Long live Lemmy!

Mobile:

Desktop:

I’ve been depressed…hell I still am, though I cope better than I used to.

I’m guessing its not just the holidays that gets you down. There’s two ways out, and I suggest doing both.

1. Conform to some of the social norms that basically means take some of the classic advice you’ve already seen on here. Get out of the house and participate in activities that you might not initially enjoy, but hold some promise of you at least getting a bit of enjoyment out of, or at least stick around for the socializing. Think of it like taking your vitamins, you don’t have to like it, but its probably good for you and therefore you should consider doing it.

2. Find things you enjoy doing in your solitude that are nondestructive/neutral or even healthy (depends on the context if its avoidance/addiction or not). Listen to podcasts, read books, learn a new skill, listen to music, meditate, exercise, etc. Just something. We can give you ideas all day, but just choose something and stick with it for at least a couple weeks before trying something else.

The harsh truth is that without some kind of existential raison d’etre, life is just a series of activities we use to distract ourselves from our own loneliness or avoiding ruminating on other topics like death.

The world right now has made it hard for people of all walks of life to connect authentically, and so don’t blame yourself entirely for the situation you’re in. That said, when you’re down in the shit, there’s only two choices, you either wallow in it or you clean yourself up and do what you can to make your way up and out of it.

And I hold no judgments on what you or anyone decides to do here, life is hard and yeah, it can suck. But I personally look at it that I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t. But I already know what it’s like being damned if I don’t… might as well find out what it’s like being damned if I do.

Take it or leave it, that’s all I’ve got for you or anybody. Good luck out there.

Oh Elon, are you planning on doing the TikTok treatment on Bluesky next?

Girl, I will wear whatever socks you want, but… pulls out my own gun. We’re reading this damn book instead.

That a blowjob involved the act of physically blowing air on the penis. When I found out it actually involved sucking, I was like, “Oooh…yeah that sounds much more pleasurable.”

“Though the grease burns out of the torch, the fire passes on, and no one knows where it ends.” -Zhuangzi

Brilliant rundown. No notes. 👏