And I say heeeyyy-yey-yey-yey-yey!

The bike lane:

That sound like so much fun!

For the last few years I have been heavily involved in scouts due to my kids. It’s the first time I have had a volunteer role that felt semi-professional: I’m organizing other adults, managing money, planning events weeks or months in advance, etc. I didn’t initially want to be so involved. I gradually volunteered for one role after another because shit needed to get done and nobody else was willing to do it. I feel like I’m flying by the seat of my pants, but everyone seems happy with my work so I guess I’m not screwing up too much.

Previously I did a handful of “warm body” volunteer jobs where I just had to show up on schedule and follow instructions. Fixing kids’ bikes was the most fun, but serving the poor was the most rewarding. The best volunteer role was delivering and serving dinners at a tent city hosted by a local church. We would join them for the meal and talk around the table. That was eye-opening. I went away with a lot more compassion for the homeless, and a lot more disdain for all the little ways my country makes their lives unnecessarily hard.

The Tactical Velcro Opening Secret

It works really well sitting around a campfire with kids.

And for those people using IRC: which network(s) do you use? I have fuzzy memories of EFnet and DALnet being big, but I’ve been away from IRC for a long time.

Edit: Holy shit, I just logged into a DALnet channel I frequented in the late 90’s and a bunch of the same users are still there! It’s like a time capsule!

KEXP 90.3 Seattle / KEXC 92.7 Alameda-San Francisco

It’s a non-profit radio station with eclectic programming and live DJs 24/7 (meaning no automated playlists, ever).

I don’t know if there’s anything unique about aging. The shittiest part of aging IMO is the random life-changing medical events you cannot foresee or prevent. It could be as simple as stumbling on uneven ground and tearing your ACL, or as extreme as being diagnosed with some unusual cancer.

!superbowl@lemmy.world is indeed superb!

Woosh

Even as a white guy with citizenship, coming back into the US was a pain in the ass 10 and 20 years ago. And my friends with student visas and green cards were occasionally hassled for no clear reasons. I can’t imagine how stressful that experience would be now, especially for anyone without a US passport or who lands on the wrong end of the color card in that Peter Griffin meme.

Product R&D engineer here. I have a product manager who only knows how to give one piece of feedback: make it smaller and slimmer. What requirement is driving this? Can’t say. What user need are we trying to address? No idea. But smaller=better for some reason.

I have been enjoying sparkling water flavored with hops. It’s distinctly different from non-alcoholic beer, and much better IMO.

Unsweetened iced tea and cold brew coffee are also standards in my kitchen during summer. My significant other likes kombucha enough to make it at home sometimes, but I never liked the stuff myself.

Articles of Interest. It’s nominally a fashion podcast, but they tie it into lots of other topics: history, culture, identity, religion…

clubs here are filled with MAGAs and plastered with Republican propaganda so I don’t feel as welcome as I used to.

As a kid, my dad and I occasionally went to the local gun show just to look around at interesting stuff. The collectors selling antiques, fancy custom pieces, and guns with historical interest were always fun to chat with. But at some point it turned into crazy town. I don’t go to those events anymore.

Hot!

Getting an engineering degree is generally a good thing. Demand and pay tend to be above average. A certificate can be helpful, but I have watched people hit a “paper ceiling” in their careers; people stuck with the title of “designer” doing an engineer’s work without an engineering degree, and never getting an engineer’s salary for it.

Whether a bachelor’s degree is beneficial for you personally will depend on a lot of things, not all of which are within your control. 20 years ago a BS in computer science was a golden ticket. Now the industry has shifted and the job placement rates for new CS grads are awful. It’s hard to predict the future.

I agree with the other commenter that going to university is good for the whole self. I was exposed to people, ideas, and experiences that I would never have encountered elsewhere. That alone made the effort worthwhile.

Wrong community. You need to ask in !perchance@lemmy.world

The top three priorities of a true libertarian are I, Me, Mine.

All of the self-styled “libertarians” I know are simply looking for an excuse to not pay taxes.