Yeah I’m not sure exactly. I know in my country - Australia - we only started our compulsory retirement fund, superannuation, in 1992. Which is 12% of every paycheck goes into a retirement fund.

So the first generation who have had that their whole working lives hasn’t actually retired yet! That would be some gen x’s and all working millennials.

Theoretically, millennials + who have worked consistently should build up a decent super fund by the time they retire. But of course a lot happens in the world since the inception of super and it’s now a thing that people can access it early to buy a house - which was never the point of superannuation, it’s supposed to be locked away as a retirement fund.

So I really don’t know how it’s going to work long term. I know boomers who have retired with a great amount of super and yeah, the plan was that the upcoming generations should be even more better off because boomers would only have had super for like half their working life but y’know, economy changes.

A lot changes in 30 years. Hopefully for the better at some point!

I still hold my fingers in the L shape like I was taught as a kid to figure it out a lot of the time!

Haha as a lesbian, same. I prefer none or very little for both myself and in an attraction sense. But that’s just a preference and it’s no different than idk, preferring blondes over brunettes or something. And just like I wouldn’t point out someone blonde for being blonde instead of brunette, I wouldn’t with body hair 😅 there’s no shame in it just because some people have preferences!

The other thing is it just seems so ridiculous to me because of all the things, you really don’t see someones armpits very much 😂 like it’s really not a big deal either way but it’s not even something that is in your face. I can’t say I notice peoples armpits on a regular basis, y’know?

I don’t think it’s the removal of body hair that is seen as “new”. It’s the way it’s ridiculed like in this post when there’s a tiny bit of stubble lol and it’s worth mentioning.

Though I wouldn’t say that’s new either, it’s just more and more widespread the wider the communication methods have become. But this isn’t “new” even in the modern world for Hollywood, it’s online now with the wider reach but this stuff has existed for as long as we’ve been photographing celebrities lol.

The thing is body hair has a purpose but aesthetics has taken over that. I don’t think it’s weird either way to keep it or shave/wax it. Everyone has it because it’s the way the human body is designed and like everything else on our bodies, we get to choose what to do with it 🤷‍♀️

Ah okay yeah, I barely use steam these days. Can’t remember the last time I bought anything there, I just occasionally play very old games I already have on there haha.

Yeah i love a few Nintendo classic titles but $$$ 😭 kinda a good thing that I don’t like the direction they’re taking pokemon because it removes the temptation to upgrade to the switch 2. Not sure I’ll bother unless I somehow get free money to throw around haha.

Nice! Are you Irish yourself? Yeah I started with Duolingo which I still use - I’ve looked at Sionnach but I don’t love the interface though I like the concept. I used duocards for a while too. I think they both have different methods of learning than Duolingo but neither quite has the easy, smooth interface yet! Also did a local online class for a couple of months but the teacher wasn’t very engaging unfortunately so I didn’t carry on 😭 I want to get some 1:1 tutoring at some stage, I think that’s the best way but obviously $$$ 🙄

I have a coworker and friend who is Irish (but not fluent in Irish) and I love getting to practice it with her and leaving her notes in the office in Irish haha. I think getting to use it is the key which is why I’d like a tutor. I’m Australian so no “need” for it here, I just enjoy it and find Ireland fascinating.

Yup my kobo libra colour. It was pretty pricey but well worth it. Had a Kindle for about a decade or so before that so it was a big upgrade.

Love that it’s easy to borrow from the local library on it (couldn’t do that on Kindle where I’m from) or yeah, books from anywhere. I quite like the colour e-ink, I don’t read much in it but the occasional illustrations in books is cool to be able to see in colour.

I do annotate a fair bit so the different coloured highlighters help there too.

And I love having the notebooks. I’ve been writing creatively so much more now that I have it. I missed handwriting but I have so many physical notebooks I would buy and then not use or use once or twice lol. Having the kobo with me all the time is great because I have all my notebooks on it for different things. It’s helped my productivity a lot!

There’s only one thing that I came across recently that I wish I could do and haven’t found a way. I transferred some of my typed poetry to my kobo and I wish there was a way I could throw it in with my handwritten notebooks rather so I could keep editing there rather than having to switch to the pdf version in the other section. But that’s really only a pretty minor thing in terms of e-readers!

Yup. Autistic and noise cancelling headphones help me in all kinds of environments I wouldn’t be able to deal with otherwise. Including the airport!

I still need to find some good NC earbuds though. The Bose quiet comfort are fantastic but unfortunately known to stop working repeatedly (I’m about to get my 6th pair replaced through warranty over about 18 months!)

I’ve been learning Irish for a few months now - incredibly difficult language but fascinating.

Also getting back into poetry and learning different techniques around writing. Not sure I always like some of the very rigid “rules” but it’s interesting to learn. I’ve never been particularly technical with my writing but it has opened my mind to trying new styles.

That’s a great idea, love that. Out of curiosity does your ward have a good selection then? I’ve been to the psych ward (patient) and there was a shelf with games/books, etc but maybe 20 books and eh 🤷‍♀️

I think it’s a great idea for psych wards (and honestly other general wards too) to have a small, varied library and ideally, a quiet space to read.

You say cart - is yours a mobile library? That’s a very cool idea too.

Yeah indies usually have pretty decent demos! I actually haven’t even looked at the switch store lately but I don’t remember the bigger titles having demos?

And idk where everyone else is but the big games here (Australia) are still what I consider expensive (USD$45 minimum without a sale). Typical price is around USD$60. Even on sale they don’t get much below that for the big stuff - zelda, pokemon, Mario, animal crossing, etc. Curious how comparable that is to elsewhere.

True. Just depends on device and how committed people are to doing that lol. As a casual gamer (PC barely ever anymore and Nintendo switch, then I have emulators with a bunch of Nintendo classics) I wouldn’t bother. I don’t even know how to do that for a Nintendo switch.

So yeah it’s an option but in terms of the discussion about Gen z people not shelling out for video games, I think part of the decline has been from casual users who aren’t either shelling out $ and aren’t interested in enough to pirate 😅 I’m a millennial.

I assume to pirate and transfer to a Nintendo switch (I don’t have 2, just the original) there’s an initial set up cost?

I tend to stick to the emulator my brother got me with all our 90s(ish) childhood games lol. I don’t know if those exist yet for more modern games - or at least not at the cost of the classics!

So then protect the cards without excessive restrictions that aren’t put on other cards. Freedom of movement is a human right so to restrict someone’s essential payment method state to state seems like a breach of that.

So if these machines are skimming all cards numbers/pins then surely the answer is to restrict everyone’s cards, credit, debit, everything to their own state?

Why is it your logic that only the poor people need to be restricted because other people are stealing from them? Where’s the logic in going after the victims of fraud?

Ah of course it’s the poor that are ruining your country - that makes sense 🙄

This actually, sadly, makes sense to me. I require written communication at times due to my disability and it’s like pulling teeth trying to get it at all, let alone trying to get effective written communication.

This is a concerning issue for all kinds of reasons, one of them being accessibility.

I think that’s kinda the point of allegories - they are timeless and open to interpretation. People read animal farm and can apply it to various parts of society, politics, philosophy. If it was too detailed and specific it would be MORE like a history book and just about the Russian Revolution. Which would likely not have had such a wide reach as it continues to have.

I’m autistic and I don’t think I fall into this way of talking but I do know that autistic people have been saying that they are getting flagged as AI more often than non autistic people. It’s only anecdotal but it will be interesting to see if it is really happening!

My question is do people have supervisors that they never see (in a meeting, even on video?) or talk to on the phone? I know a lot is done through text based communication now but I didn’t realize there are people who ONLY have text based comms with their bosses.

Especially video games. Honestly as a casual gamer I get it. Games are expensive and they are a gamble. I’ve bought games in the past and played them for half hour and realized I hate it lol. I rarely buy games now, especially if it’s not a franchise I already know and like, because I can’t afford the gamble. If I do I buy a physical copy so I can sell it on.

At least with streaming services you can check and know there’s a few hours of shows you will definitely watch. It’s still tol expensive and I’m cancelling mine but it is less of a gamble than video games.