I actually have a Wii. And I have RE4 for PS2. Unfortunately my PS2 is dead so I actually bought RE4 digitally this morning for PS3 and was surprised in the process that the PS3 storefront still exists. I appreciate that Sony still sees the tens of us who still play this way lol

I bought this can opener after watching a Technology Connections video, and I kinda love my can opener.

My laptop doesn’t have dust filters, but the fan almost never runs anyway. Like the heatsink is way overbuilt for the CPU it’s attached to. It’s actually quite nice. I’ve never seen it hit 70 degrees. I’ve cleaned it maybe three times since 2016. It really only spins the fan up when I’m watching 60 fps YouTube videos or playing games. And even then, it kicks hard for a very short time and shuts off again.

And again, I bought this thing nine years ago. It’s just a little Acer. And it’s not even a nice one. I paid like 500 bucks for this thing.

Now, my wife’s MacBook that she games on…yeah, I need to figure out how to get the back off so it can get a proper dusting. Fuck you, Apple. Let me work on my stuff, dammit.

This is gonna be in my view history on our shared account, and my wife is gonna ask if I’m okay lmao

I bought The Sims 3 when it was new. My bedroom was already like a nautical mile from the access point so download speeds were gonna be crap anyway, but I had to run an extension cord into my closet and disable all power saving options so it could sit in the back of my closet for the better part of the week and download my game. I think it was probably 3½ days all in lmao

My old college buddy has HughesNet and says he hates them, but it’s better than the alternative down there. Which, yeah, was a family-owned telephone company that did some dial-up on the side in the '90s and never saw a need to upgrade their equipment. The only reason it got better was because they sold out to an actual ISP. When I moved to Weatherford to finish my bachelor’s degree in 2012, you were required to have landline service to get internet access. The parent company removed that requirement on Day 1, afaik.

I have physical copies of GTA IV and Skyrim on PC because it was soooooo much faster to install them from DVDs, but God help you if you need to download updates. Back then, a 300 MB download was a commitment.

Cox also rules Oklahoma County and its neighbors, but like I said, we have OEC fiber in our neighborhood. I appreciate them being local. When we bought our house, we had a little cash left over from the sale of our old condo. We thought about going with OEC right after move-in, but it was going to be $800 worth of work and they had us scheduled a month out. We needed internet immediately because it was mid-pandemic and neither me nor my wife had anywhere to go to work for a month. The mortgage don’t pay itself lol

I kinda regret having to stick with Cox. I’m squirreling away some cash here and there so maybe we’ll finally jump ship this summer.

If I could do it again, I’d probably stay in Oklahoma because my wife is an amazing person. She moved here from Mississippi. It frequently sucks being a couple of blue dots here. If I had it my way, we’d sell all but the essentials, load my Hondas on a trailer, and pull them with my wife’s truck all the way to the PNW today. But all her family just moved up here a few years ago and she hasn’t been able to see her parents regularly since 2013. Her sister has kids and she doesn’t want to be unable to be involved in their lives. Can’t fault her for that.

I’d steal those kids and run off to the PNW anyway where they’ll actually get an education, but the cops say that’s kind of illegal or something lol idk ianal jk jk or am i

Good on ya for escaping this place. Maybe one day I will too.

Oh, and my great-grandmother, born in 1923, had dial-up as late as 2017. I still cannot believe anyone was still offering it that late in the game, but there she was lol She had email. She got her first email address when she was in her late 70s, but she never learned to type. What a legend that woman was lmao

I grew up in the armpit of SW Oklahoma. My parents’ Internet was 256 kbps in 2009. Today, they get a blazing 20 Mbps and it goes down all the time. My brother signed up for a satellite internet company that’s a bit more reliable and gives him something like 50 Mbps, but iirc, his data cap is something like 250 GB and then it’s overage charges. And I think he pays $120 a month for that plan.

My wife and I live in the Oklahona City area and get 250 Mbps, and only because that’s all we need. We were running 500 for a while, but we almost never needed that much. We have a 1 TB data cap and pay $50 a month.

We’re going to upgrade to fiber in the next few years. A local company is in our area and offers symmetrical 1 Gbps internet for like $80 a month. But there are upfront costs associated with getting it set up in the house that I don’t want to swing yet. But I’m thinking more about it lately because I’d love to self host something like Nextcloud and get off of Google Drive.

Anyway, yeah, internet in cities is mostly pretty good. Once you’re out in the sticks, well, good luck.

Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to come across aggressively. I get a little fired up at the thought of crossing a huge, fast road, and it doesn’t help that cars are way bigger and drivers seem way worse these days.

No question bikes are the best way to get around in a densely populated area. My wife and I stayed in a condo in a building that housed a Target (Newmark Tower) when we vacationed in Seattle a couple months ago. If I could afford it, I’d buy that condo and live that way. We rented a car while we were there, but we barely drove it. It was genuinely liberating not needing it. We rode the monorail. We took the bus from time to time. We climbed a stupidly steep hill to get dinner one night. It was awesome.

But man, I live about a mile and a half from the grocery store and I refuse to bike there for the simple fact that there are way too many fast, wide roads to have to cross to get there, and there are zero bike lanes along the way. Unless you’re on the college campus, everything here is built for the convenience of the car at the detriment of literally everyone else.

And if OP also lives in the burbs, I reckon their situation is pretty similar.

Again, sorry that I came across aggressively. I didn’t intend to get so riled up about it.

Big talk Unfortunately, that’s a huge ask if you’ve never crossed a six lane stroad on foot. The American transit system is often downright hostile to anyone not in a car. It can be goddamn terrifying. Adding: If OP can get around safely and feasibly on a bike, this is great advice.

Otherwise, there are ways to cut down on car costs if you need one. What car you own matters. Get something extremely common that never breaks. A 1998 Camry or Corolla are probably two of the most solid cars money can buy and junkyards are full of them. Parts are cheap and available.

Learning to do your own basic maintenance will also save you lots of money.

• A dealer might charge sixty bucks to swap a cabin air filter. It takes one minute and a replacement for my Honda Civic is eight dollars on Amazon. Same story with the engine air filter.
• Check your oil and transmission dipsticks every once in a while for level and condition.
• Check your brake fluid level and clarity.
• Tire pressures are on the inside of the driver door jamb. Learn how to properly inflate your tires, including the spare.
• If your car came with a scissor jack, a tire iron, and a compact spare, you can rotate your own tires in 30 minutes without buying any tools.
• On an inline four cylinder engine, spark plugs are often on the top of the head, below a cover, and are insanely easy to replace. Just be aware of torque specs, especially on an aluminum head. A torque wrench can be yours for ten bucks at Harbor Freight.
• Check your lights and blinkers every once in a while and learn how to replace bulbs. This is important on older cars that use halogen and incandescent lamps. A tail light is a few bucks, takes 15 minutes to replace, and will probably save you from a ticket.

Learning how to replace some parts is also a big plus and parts stores will often lend you small tools for some jobs free of charge.

Many states also offer discounted rates on yearly registration for older cars. In Oklahoma, it costs me $26 a year to tag my '97 Honda.

Finally, get a dash cam and the cheapest insurance you can, and drive like you’re on probation and on thin ice with your parole officer.

Some relatively unknown French microbiologist is rolling in his grave right now.

cat@feline:~ wigglebutt
wigglebutt: Denied. Root access required for launch calibration.
cat@feline:~ sudo wigglebutt
[sudo] password for cat:
cat is not in the sudoers file. This incident will be reported.

deleted by creator

Jellyfish Jam of course.

What song is that?

I reeeeeeeally envy y’all for that flag. The design is dope.

My house district represented by a Dem so it’s not that surprising to see Harris-Walz signs, but it IS surprising to see so many. As someone who grew up in the butt crack of Jackson County in DEEP Republican territory, it’s just such a breath of fresh air to be able to live around neighbors who aren’t crazy goobers.

Hello, fellow Okie.

I know how this state is going to vote. It’s been a given every year for nearly six decades. But I’m still gonna vote, as I have in every election since I turned 18. Change doesn’t happen if those who want it get discouraged and sit their asses at home.

What has really inspired me this year is the overwhelming majority of Harris-Walz signs in my neighborhood. I stopped counting, but I reckon there are at least thirty of them. I’ve seen a grand total of five Trump-Vance signs, and three of them are at the same house.

Also, you get much rain last night? It was so good to finally hear thunder again. I had six tenths in my rain gauge this morning!

Update: I stood in line for an hour and a half and cast my ballot. Next time around, I’ll remember to request my mail-in ballot on time lol

It’s the State tree of Oklahoma. When my neighbors’ redbud starts making pods, I’m gonna snag a bunch, refrigerate them over winter, then scarify and try to get a few to germinate the following spring. It takes probably 5 or so years to start getting flowers, but I really love everything about these trees, not just their awesome flowers. The heart shaped leaves they develop in summer are so cute.

Yo, the Mk III is genuinely my favorite. The Mk IV gets all the love for being in F&F, but the Mk III is just the best looking imo. Like the middle class man’s Testarossa.

I don’t drive the Lude at night specifically because today’s lights are so bad. That, and people drive with their lights off after dark way too much. If I’m out after dark with my Prelude, I probably lost track of time running errands. Unless I’m in proximity to an older Civic or Miata, I just assume I’m completely invisible. Even more so when the sun is down. It’s red so at least it stands out in broad daylight.

The things we deal with to drive the cars we love.

All that said, my other car is a '12 Civic. It’s just boring. But it’s also just light enough that you can kinda chuck it into an on-ramp. I think if I can one of these days, I’d love to buy another just like it, but with a stick. I kinda hate driving the Sequoia. It’s great in a straight line, but it handles like a skyscraper lol

I drive a 1997 Honda Prelude.

I always park waaaaaaay in the back because there’s no way otherwise. My car comes up to my waist. It’s tiny by comparison. I park it in the garage by my wife’s 2010 Sequoia, and the juxtaposition is hilarious.

I remember this from a high school science class. There was a girl in my class who was absolutely disgusted and mortified with the idea that grasshopper parts could be in bread. Maybe I’m wrong, but I reckon there’s probably a difference between cooked prepackaged foods and fresh raw foods.

The idea of bug parts in food doesn’t bother me much. Just a little protein. When I was a teenager during harvest, I’d climb on the trucks and stick a handful of wheat germ in my mouth when we were finished harvesting a field. I love the flavor and texture of wheat germ. Naturally, my favorite breakfast cereal is bran flakes.

Side note: if you do this, make sure they’re golden brown, not pink. The pink ones are covered in poison.

The journey to the center is pretty intense. She loses her wings on the way in and dies after laying her eggs.

iirc, the figs sold commercially were selectively bred to self pollinate. I think the FDA or USDA would have a major problem with dead animals in fruit, even if they’re supposed to be there naturally.