I only played it late, after they basically gave you free legendary stuff, so I can definitely see that being a dealbreaker

Had a lot of fun playing it with friends for a few weeks. People are haters.

Journalists too. Not too long ago it was quite taboo to kill journalists, especially foreign ones, but the taboo seems to be gone altogether there is no outrage.

Philosophy is excellent food for thought, working through a MOOC course (MIT/Yale?) and doing the prescribed readings might strike your fancy. Happy to give more specific recs if you have some existing curiosity about a topic. Side note that it’s difficult to find people to talk to online about serious philosophical topics, the options I’ve seen (discord groups, facebook groups) usually aren’t very engaging but the reading and lectures and contemplation are engaging on your own imo.

Watch ancient history documentaries like the Fall of Civilizations or History with Cy channels on youtube (Fall of Civilizations is also/originally a podcast if you prefer). Whenever I am feeling empty of interesting thoughts this is my go to. When I watch frequently I constantly find my thoughts combining and recombining history with my current experience in a way that feels awfully close to intellectual stimulation. I also find it gives some mildly comforting perspective on current events.

Built to purpose gadgets. Getting into arduino or similar as a hobbyist can be intellectually engaging. The process of identifying something in your space you could enhance then drafting and executing a plan (including some basic programming) is kind of like a puzzle. Building things you don’t need like an LED based checklist for chores that resets every day, a pedestal that spins to give a house plant even sunlight, or a solar powered bird house might be a fun challenge.

Edit to add that if you live near a university professors will usually let you unofficially audit their class if you’re interested in a topic and have time during the week.

Find a nice waterfall and build a hut by it

Flow charts or bullet lists as visual aid. The higher position your interlocutor is in the simpler you should try to keep your point. If you need their input on a project only bring them one A vs B decision at a time.

Double pets, I approve of this workaround

Welcome, Paco! Give him 3 firm pats on the head from me.

I forget the title but there’s a sci-fi story where there’s a galactic council between sentient creatures but they don’t invite newly discovered sentient species to the council until they survive the milestone where most sentient species nuke themselves out of existence

Worth noting that you’re going to have a lot more Zionists in Israel than in the general population.

At least 1/3 of the protesters that show up for Palestine in my woods are Jewish Voices for Peace folks.

Israel is an antisemitic project.

In the beginning, I paid basically nothing for the properties. A roommate’s monthly rent at the city house covered that house’s mortgage, and a renter of one of the cabins covered most of the rural property’s mortgage, with my disabled single mother’s meager amount of government assistance just about covering the rest.

This guy sounds like a gem of a human

That must feel soul sucking to build :(

Oh I see, thanks! The sentence structure was confusing me

“Israel’s policy is clear: no humanitarian aid will enter Gaza, and blocking this aid is one of the main pressure levers preventing Hamas from using it as a tool with the population.”

“It” is Gaza itself? Hamas shouldn’t “use” Gaza as a tool “with the population?”