planetaryprotection

One year my school had a 3.5 inch floppy disk as part of the school supplies we were supposed to get. Mine was orange and you can tell a kid not to use it as a fidget toy, but they're absolutely gonna use it as a fidget toy. I don't think a single disk survived that year.

I also remember when my school got a fancy new "computer lab" that had all the colorful iMacs. There were still a few of the beige machines that read off of 7 inch floppies kicking around also.

Congrats! Check hop water if you haven't already!

I got LASIK earlier this year. It's an expensive solution to the many small inconveniences that glasses have, but totally worth it imo.

I went from -5.25 with mild astigmatism to 20/15 eagle vision basically overnight.

Ah, for some reason I thought you were referring to a Roku stick/box, not a smart TV, my mistake 👍.

How does it stream things/what's the point of a Roku if it's not connected to the Internet?

I like this sentiment, but giving the US intelligence apparatus what amounts to a veto for elected/appointed officials feels like a recipe for disaster.

The only way I see that being workable is if the clearance grantors are transparently beholden to elected officials or the people directly. Which are essentially what elections and the congressional confirmation process are supposed to be. But both of those processes feel like they've been subverted. (Elections by the two-party system and the fact that half the population seems intent on electing a dictator, and the other by the senators/representatives that come out of that electoral system).

This is simply not true. Starvation isn't the only thing that kills people - they die of easily treatable medical issues all the time because of lack of health insurance. Unhoused people die of exposure every summer and winter.

Not trying to defend Jeff here, but generally these kind of space megaprojects rely on manufacturing materials in space. I.e. capture an asteroid and use its material as the radiation shielding. Not that that's currently anywhere near feasible ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In 2021 there was some planning/writing done for a prequel, but I don't think anything came of it.

That film is having a bit of a cultural comeback, so there's still hope.

The Grand Canyon! Must seem even grander to an ant

Is "research chemicals" a euphemism or are you literally referring to chemical substances/precursors purchased and used by laboratories that are also available to the public?

Power cut