Yeah, the doggy door bell turned into the "Attention" bell instead of the "Outside" bell for a while for us.

Then when she realized we made her go out every time, she stopped using it and went back to a little wuffle.

Nah, all the cool kids want Lee Carvello's Putting Challenge

Just to let you know, the whole thing where you look back on every little thing you do and cringe won't magically go away when you're an adult.

That's a self-esteem thing, not a teenager thing.

I guess what I'm saying is that this is one of those things that can get better, but won't just magically get better on its own. It didn't get better for me until I got some control in my physical health (stuff that would affect my perspective) and took agency in my mental health.

If you're in the situation to do so, check out what kind of therapy resources are available to you. You can just try a bunch until you find one that really clicks, and a lot offer free brief consultations.
Many employers offer 4-10 free visits for any immediate family members/offspring, too!

I'm sorry you feel so critical of yourself all the time. Its so draining to live like that.

Xena fan events still happen multiple times a year, btw.
They like new people.

Some of my favorite people are huge fans and I'd go if I could.

I mean, just play Palworld, Princess Maker 2 and Hatoful Boyfriend and you basically got the desired experience.

I mean, I assume.
I think I'm too ace for this.

I mean, you're not wrong.
IIRC the hospitals are not spread out in ideal locations for this scenario, and I can't see Baltimore pulling an infrastructure miracle to compensate for the collapse any time soon.

Well, its kinda like how dogs can be treated with a lot of cancer drugs people can't- its largely a matter of longevity and personhood. Just load 'em up with stuff that'll cause all kinds of crazy side effects in a decade or so, if they're at least six, even in longer lived breeds. (assuming its a bad form of cancer in the first place)

Sheep don't have to worry about the things people have to worry about when they aren't going to have to use the same body for the better part of a century.
So yes, they do get sick, but its not regarded as the same level of devastation because its an animal, you can use harsher treatments, and you're not looking at the same level of magnitude of suffering or life lost.

We also work a lot harder to keep a lot more physically frail individuals alive whom would otherwise just be dead if they were sheep. For example, I had a doting mother who got me medical attention for my frequent dehydration as a child, and I am now able to advocate for myself when I have those episodes.
A sheep who couldn't tolerate something foul on some grass would have likely died as a lamb and have just been a sad statistic before they even developed enough to graze.

If we had much shorter lifespans, we'd honestly be some pretty rugged creatures. Our stomachs are only .5 less acidic than some carrion birds. More acidic than most carnivores.
No worries about preserving teeth or joints, eat what you want, its literally Yolo!

Our brains, vision, bipedalism and weird vomiting thing are pretty damn sensitive though.
A lot of animals don't have such a vomit issue. Rats literally can't vomit, iirc.

One of the most fascinating responses to trolls I've found to DM trolls back in the day was "What happened to you to make you act like this?"

It was amazing how just one question was enough for these jerks to do a 180° and trauma dump, explaining exactly why they were so desperate for attention.

Not that it excuses their behavior, but boy did those trolls really just need a hug now and a single decent adult back in their childhood. Maybe that's just the nature of the ones who wanted to talk, though...

My local discount zoo of a store was selling cold brew tea for a dollar so now I have twenty-four boxes of cold brew Watermelon Lime Zinger.
But seriously, for $1 that's crazy economical and I am on some medication where it is paramount that I stay hydrated.

My more normal snag is produce crates. The local asian market literally gives them away and they're incredible tools for organization! They stack, you can take wire cutters to the plastic grill on side to make them into stackable cubbies, and they help organize the trunk of your car.

If I'm doing better in the spring I'd like to ise them to make raised beds for growing some veggies.

This seems like such a wretched inevitably. I mean, I guess we're living it with phones, but it seems so unnecessary with cars.

Is there really no market for the same boring car, with minor efficiency tweaks, for, like, ever? I coulda lived with my 95' Accord forever if the parts hadn't been too expensive.

Do es the market really not want that, or do the manufacturers prevent it from happening?

Any Automancer please explain, I'm not car enough to understand.

Happy cartoons!

I'm sure you've heard of Bluey by now. Its so good, wholesome, and heartfelt. Everyone's watching, regardless of age.

Here's one of my favorites for happy feels: Kipper the Dog
Its a Pre-K show that's just super chill and pleasant. Feels like a warm blanket and cocoa. This one is definitely more for children, but its ok to indulge your inner child and tell it that things are okay.

For a more sophisticated palette, Hilda is the most criminally underrated animated mainstream cartoon in recent memory... that somehow got a full run regardless!
Three seasons and a movie on Netflix. Its beautiful and kid appropriate but definitely for all ages, and pretty damn serious a lot of the time. But its still rather uplifting in how a lot of things aren't problems, because Hilda is so spirited and determined in a way you can truly believe in.

My little Pony, new and old, really does the trick for me, but its not for everyone, of course. Pound Puppies and A Pup Named Scooby Doo also hit that vibe, though of the old shows mentioned, its probably the best written. (Never got into Care Bears, but it could probably work too, if you're looking for Sunshine and Rainbows)

They definitely do feel like they've spent too long in their self-described "Academic Zoo."

Having not been in academia for years now, I absolutely agree with you on this- nothing drives reading comprehension and general attention span quite like a real incentive.

In a way, I kinda think you're both right, but the article's approach is all wrong. They want to treat the symptom, not the disease.

The "Ruling class" is incentivized to inspire the kind of apathy that just happens to inspire poor literacy, and instead of focusing on haranguing people about reading, we just need to give them reasons to give a shit about, you know, anything.
A zest for life in general.

People who feel passion will write and read- you see it simply by the fact that fanfiction went crazy the moment the internet got a decent volume of users.