I generally agree about the bus in my community - it's free, is usually on-time, and is clean and safe. But it only goes once an hour and doesn't have many direct routes to anywhere but a few major stops (e.g., a grocery store, the hospital, and downtown), and doesn't run on Sundays; and getting anywhere outside of my local town requires a transfer, and, ugh, you can spend all day just trying to get around on the bus. I prefer a bicycle as I can burn a few calories and go when and where I want. But most people don't seem to want to bike or take the bus.

How much noise are we expecting Kodak to make about selling a different type of film in an incredibly niche market?

Rear-view cameras and their installation cost manufacturers less than $50 per car. Consumers say that back-up cameras are worth at least $300 in value to them, and historically there have been almost 300 back-up deaths per year, a huge portion of which is parents backing over their own children (many of which could be prevented with cameras), plus additional costs from injuries or other damages from back-up accidents (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-benefit-cost-analysis/article/rear-visibility-and-some-unresolved-problems-for-economic-analysis-with-notes-on-experience-goods/E23D2791A6A365D827A82B0AF468049C).

I'll happily pay $50 toward a car if it means it decreases the chance I, or one of my neighbors, will back over a child.

Why? There's no middle class, and the poor can't afford even an affordable car. So basically it has become either buy a luxury car or take the bus.

I miss Netflix's Blu-ray / DVD by mail. I was a subscriber for 15 years and only had 2-3 discs that wouldn't read. Pretty good for around 200 movies rented through them. They had an incredible back log of movies and great list of new releases, although near the end there was often a long wait for the more popular titles. They made money until the end, from what I recall, although it wasn't "enough" profit, so they shut it down. Maybe there's a market for something like that again? Although you'd have to start by getting people to buy the players, as many of them have broken and people aren't replacing them as much.

With the low rate per stream paid, it seems the electricity, programing, equipment, and other costs ("salaries") would be more than the value of the fraudulent streams. Or is it actually not playing somewhere, just simulated playing?

On a related note: Is Billboard going to retroactively change their "top played songs of the month" to reflect removal of the bots? It's always been a bit shady how the "Top 40" is selected, but now with obvious fraud there's no way the top songs have been accurate.

When was the last time you received a telemarketing call from a real person based in the U.S.?

Oh, for sure, there can be horrible parties on all sides of divorces, and my comment isn't gender specific in any way. If this was happening to me or to a friend (of any gender), my advice would be the same, which is to find the $$ and get a lawyer to address this immediately because it is likely only the tip of the iceberg.

This is almost certainly a violation of the custody agreement. Call the lawyer, throw the book at him. Because if he is allowed to get away with this abuse, certainly others are happening / will happen, too. Start a GoFundMe if you must. Changes to technology settings won't solve the problem, this requires a courtroom and a judge who will call him out and hold him accountable.

So sorry you are in a difficult situation. I agree, our communities need to be better for everyone, not just the rich. And there's a long way to go in most places. As society, we have made tremendous progress but the job isn't done.

The stigma that is often attached with the low-income or unhoused fails to acknowledge that the situation is often caused by the environment and by chance, not by any choices made by the individual. But for my own good luck and good environmental circumstances, there go I.

The way the U.S. treats many people with mental health disorders or challenges, and the way it treats unhoused people is simply shameful and horrible. But it's not the case everywhere in the U.S. and many communities are working hard to provide the support and resources to help people live better lives. I hope you do not give up and keep looking until you find a community that will provide the the support and resources you need. Because it is out there and we've all been there, and there is a way through.

Huh? Often you would rapidly just die, or some communities would expel people who were sick from the community. There's not much to rally around when you're just dead.

In the U.S., if you have a shit disease, you can walk into any emergency room in the country and they are required, by law, to give you the best care they can give you. They can also connect you with numerous non-profit patient advocacy groups who work hard to provide connection and community for people with various diseases. Now, the hospital may bankrupt you, but that's a different discussion. 100 years ago, you get a shit disease, you died on the street, often on your own.

There are lots of harms of social media and online communities, but there are lots of benefits, too. People who historically have struggled to find community, particularly LGBTQ+, often can find a home in an online community. They can also find abuse and people telling them to kill themselves online, too.

The choice to step back from community engagement and participation in in-person activities and clubs was a big mistake, and many people are reversing that trend by finding communities where they can belong.

Whoa, let's pump the brakes here a bit. Let's take a least a slightly more historical look at what life has been like for most of the ~100 billion people who have been on Earth.
For most of the existence of the world, 50% or more of people born died before reaching age 15. 50%+.

Take a look in your refrigerator. Oh, you have a refrigerator? With a couple pieces of fruit that are way out of season that traveled 800+ miles to get to your home? You have it better than 80%+ of people who have ever lived on Earth.

Do you have a car? Access to a commercial airline flight, at least occasionally? Then you have better transportation options than the richest Pharaoh and Kings of the past.

Should I go on?

Look, life is tough. No doubt. And some people are really struggling. But as humans, the progress in quality of life we've made in the last 120 years is remarkable, shocking, and stunningly amazing. Yes, lots of work to be done, but we also need from time-to-time to take a look back and see how much humanity can accomplish and improve when we really work at it.

So the next time you want to be outraged about the latest Starbucks cup or a delay in the bus or that annoying co-worker, just take a breath, gaze up at the beautiful fall sky, and remember how lucky you are to have been born at this time, in this place. Because we've got it better than nearly everyone else who has ever lived on the planet.

Saxophone isn't even a real instrument! Haha.

I don't recognize the name and he doesn't seem to be listed as one of the original members, but the band is still around and over its ~70 year existence I am certain they've had many great musicians perform with them? I saw them in the Frank Foster era, and nearly all of the members of the group that time had a 'day job' and did the Count Basie band as a side-gig.

I thought the announcement said it was a 25-year agreement to purchase electricity from the re-opened plant (https://www.thegazette.com/news/nextera-google-agree-nuclear-energy-from-iowas-duane-arnold-energy-center-will-go-to-ai/)?

And the remaining energy would be purchased by the Central Iowa Power District, but surprisingly Iowa is already a leader in renewable energy, at one point had a higher percent of its electricity produced through renewable sources than any other state (https://www.thegazette.com/energy/iowa-ranks-first-in-renewable-energy-use-according-to-new-report/, not sure if this is still true in 2025 but certainly still top 5). In a red state, this still surprises me, except for the fact that the economics of renewable electricity is hard to beat. A farmer can give up a tiny amount of land, put in a windmill, and watch the money flow in easy-peasy every month. I have a farmer friend who is going to convert a sizable portion of his fields to solar panels and have a decent, reliable income every month with no effort (other than owning the land and occasional mowing).

As a result, Iowa has become a target of the data center and AI industry, which is increasing the cost of electricity and adding to the battle over access to clean water (finding clean water in Iowa is a problem). The state and its communities have to be really careful that they don't get blinded by "jobs jobs jobs" and get exploited by an industry that has zero shame and no integrity whatsoever.

Making them find their own electricity sources and forcing them to commit for the long-term, with zero tax breaks or easing of (the few remaining) environmental regulations, is a critical start.