As another commenter mentioned, longest period of time without electricity for me would be about two weeks in Algonquin Park, Ontario Canada. A couple of our canoe trips were ten days at least… the drive back to civilization is always a bit strange, 40 km/h feels really fast at first, it’s a bit scary getting onto the highway and the lights everywhere are very distracting for the first couple of hours.

Longest period of time at home would be about two weeks without power during the 1998 Ice Storm. We had a wood stove, so we did okay for heat and managed to cook on the flat metal top. It hit in several rainstorms over the course of about a week, and took years to clean up afterwards. Power went out on the first night and didn’t come back on until at least ten days later, not sure exactly now.

I remember being 8 years old, watching the rain come down in waves, gently, onto bent over tree branches that were sparkling as they swayed back and forth in the wind, thousands of gems on the tips of the branches, reflecting orange glow from the streetlight beside.

By the third day of that, there was cannonfire in the back fourty. Branches were breaking under the weight, falling to earth with a thundering “boom” as they made the 2” sheet of ice over the snow vibrate like a giant’s drum. A tinkling sound, like tiny bells, would follow as the shards bounced upwards and settled across the surface.

Strange times. Lots of candles. Gets boring at night when you start running out. Wasn’t allowed to go outside for a long time because of the falling branches.

When we finally did go outside, I almost died because we went sledding. Turns out plastic “crazy carpets” go, well, crazy fast on that kind of ice. Luckily I went through a patch of small trees instead of smashing into one of the big ones. In retrospect, we picked a really bad spot to go sledding. Learned pretty quick that just sliding down on our bellies like otters worked better. Didn’t go back to school until almost the end of January so we had lots of time to practice, it was great.

The bush was a mess for years afterwards. Just a tangle of fallen branches and small trees shooting up between. The rabbit population exploded as a result, it was perfect habitat out there for them. I found a patch of snow at the end of June that year, hidden away under a whole pile of pine branches. We tapped the trees that spring but shouldn’t have even bothered, we only got about 5 litres of maple syrup instead of the usual 20 to 25

“Toe the party line” To align with the interests of a political party; to get in line with the agenda of the leader of a political party

“Tow the party line” Something to do with tugboats

Whosaburger

Whataburger

Whereaburger

Whenaburger

Whyaburger

Howaburger

I’m sad that our timeline only has one component of the Infinite Burger Mystery. Happy that we don’t live in the Whosaburger universe though

I remember watching TV as a kid and deciding that, when I grow up, I want to be just like:

A) Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,

B) that hot Mountie from Due South, and

C) The Littlest Hobo

They couldn’t make Mrs Doubtfire in this day & age - no one would believe Pierce Brosnan and Sally Field make enough money to afford a live-in nanny.

Also, they couldn’t make Mrs. Doubtfire 2. Full stop. There will never be a sequel to that magnificent gem.

Why do cows wear bells?

Because their horns don’t work

Hmmm, not necessarily all that bizarre. The title on the Lenny link states that 15% of ALL Reddit content is corporate trolls trying to sway public opinion - now that this gentleperson has kindly provided the link to a non-paywall version, I can see that this is 2 studies, one from 2018 and one from 2020, one of which states that 15% of the top 100 subreddits may have experienced corporate trolls and/or bots posting content at some point, but they don’t say how much.

Huge difference between the title and the substance of the article, they buried the lede in a somewhat clever way. Chances are the author (and editor) are well aware that most of their audience doesn’t have an account, and aren’t going to create an account - therefore, by posting a misleading title (or letting others exaggerate the claims in the title through links on other platforms) they can reach a far larger audience, and sway public opinion more effectively, by burying the actual context behind the paywall.

I mean, I don’t know that that is what’s happening, but it makes a lot of sense and kind of rhymes with the whole point of the article, so yeah - I don’t trust their motives either, and I can definitely see the logic behind distrusting paywalls on principle.

No, he did not. Luke didn’t start the war, that’s the literal plot of Andor. And, by the way, Cassian Andor is not a good person, the show and movie both make that quite clear. He is a protagonist, yes, and, in my opinion, at his core a good man; but he and those he assists do some terrible things in the name of freedom.

And Luke gets dragged into it when jackbooted thugs burn his home, kill his family, and eventually take one of his hands.

How many innocent Palestinian children’s stories does that man’s path parallel? There are thousands of orphans, thousands of underage amputees currently not getting enough to eat, and still you call for more punishment. Shame on you. Down with the Empire. Long live the Rebellion.

Mooneys Bay, Ottawa ON

Holy forking shirtballs great tip OP, thanks for the heads up. Thought it might not be visible within the city lights but turned out to be a fantastic show down by the Rideau River at Mooneys Bay. I went full double rainbow, started laughing and crying at the same time, it was awesome.

“Can I be frank with you?”

“Sure! You be Frank and I’ll be Ernest”

And where else are we going to go? This country is just three monopolies in a trench coat masquerading as a fair and competitive market. We don’t have any choice. Galen knows this.

From Loblaw’s website:

We serve local communities with stores from coast to coast. Our family includes: Atlantic SuperstoreTM, Dominion®, Loblaws®, Maxi®, No Frills®, Provigo Le Marché®, Valu-MartTM, Real Canadian Superstore®, Wholesale ClubTM, Your Independent GrocerTM and ZehrsTM.

From Shopper’s Drug Mart website:

2014

Loblaw Companies Limited acquires Shoppers Drug Mart Corporation for $12.4 billion in cash and stock, bringing together two iconic Canadian brands

Far right column, fourth one down from the top. I like that it’s a visual pun on the Japanese flag; the little red dot on a white field inside the larger dot effectively depicts a little Japan inside the larger nation, a microcosm of the nation itself.

It’s a very effective vexillological distinction of a part within a whole, while still maintaining the effect of the original flag design.

I also find it funny that it seems to be a flex on all the other prefectures, this flag subtextually implies, “We’re the most Japanese prefecture that has ever been, we are the essential core of this nation and our absence would leave a blank empty void. Don’t fuck with us.”

My lock screen image is cropped from a collection of James Webb Space Telescope pictures of the month. I love the surreal orange-y photonegative effect, the hexagonal focus lines, and the black circles where the stars overloaded the sensors. If you’re looking for backgrounds, that currently my main resource for beautiful and mind-bending images.

One that particularly stands out in my mind is the image they released highlighting one single galaxy cluster that appears in 3 different spots, because its light got deflected by a couple of massive gravitational sources along the way - the 3 different spots vary by about 1000 years in the time elapsed since emission, it’s wild

On my eggs, of course

Fell asleep on the TTC (Toronto subway) one time while we were travelling along a particularly old part of the tunnels.

I was dozing and staying kind of peripherally aware of my surroundings. Late at night, old model of subway car. One or two people at the other end of the car, in one of the cars far down the line away from the driver, second or third from the rear car.

Going through a section of tunnel, in the dark between one light and the next, I suddenly felt… surrounded. My eyes were closed, and for a second or two I distinctly felt the sensation of hands. All over my body, like I was passing through a crowd of people all grabbing at my arms, my legs, my hair. Cold, like holding your hands in your armpits on a winter day when you forget your gloves. Reaching, grasping like pickpockets. Desperate somehow, like the eyes of a scared animal.

The sensation fled as swiftly as it arrived, either a result of passing beyond an area of influence, or a symptom of leaving a particular state of mind. I opened my eyes, and it was gone.

I don’t know how many lost souls search for answers along those tracks, hoping for relief, warmth, company, safety. I’ve seen many homeless folk that catch a few minutes of sleep on those cars late at night; I wonder how many others travel unseen.

I never fell asleep on the subway again.

One of the trickiest things about Reddit (and social media in general) for me is the homogenization of tone. Each comment is an individual person, a unique voice & perspective, accents from around the world, but the medium of text, combined with the listing of comments leading to consumption of dozens/hundreds/thousands of viewpoints, leads to a blurring and obscuring of the uniqueness of each commenter.

These comments, they feel like a consistent person - I think that’s part of what people are talking about when they refer to the “hive mind”. These highly upvoted expert opinions, they begin to slot into the “trusted authoritative voice” in your mental categorization, regardless of whether they’re actually experts or not. The wisdom of the crowd, the inclination to trust the source of those upvotes, it’s pernicious.

I didn’t think I could last without Reddit after July 1st, but the truth is I’m fucking thriving. I really only ever lurked on Reddit, wasn’t much of an active commenter, and the continual absorption of fairly minor amounts of toxicity and negativity was exhausting. Relying on my own voice, my own perspective, it’s important. When the power goes out and your phone dies, when the world turns mad around you, when all seems hopeless, there you are. No matter where you go, there you are. Yes, it might be true that everyone on Reddit seems to be miserable. That’s their choice, it doesn’t have to be yours

If you’re curious about how to recognize this species out in the wild, here’s the method I use:

Do their ears hang low? (No, except when upside down) Do they wobble to and fro? (Yes) Can they tie ‘em in a knot? (No) Can they tie them in a bow? (Knot that I’m aware of, no) Can they throw them o’er their shoulder like a continental soldier? (???) Do their ears hang low? (Again, mostly no)

Usually works best for distinguishing between this type of owl and beagles

There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle owl