I did that and broke off another piece, but I’m having trouble getting that piece out now. We’re getting ever closer to calling a plumber :).

It might be lime or calcium. The German word is Kalk, but it’s basically the hard water, as you say. Yes, we were doing exactly that (the water is very hard here), and tried to remove the aerator in order to clean that too, which we hadn’t done before, and that’s how it all broke.

I’ve now made progress in breaking off another piece, but we’re getting closer to just calling a plumber.

I just started Cult of the Lamb. I’ve tried so many roguelikes and struggled to enjoy them, but this one hits right. It’s not too too hard, and I like the style a lot.

I’ve beaten the first two bishops already, and am working my way towards the third.

I’m a huge fan of soda bread, which does not require sourdough (or yeast). You can go from “I have no bread” to “I am eating bread” in about 40 minutes.

The rising is done via buttermilk and baking soda.

I’ve been using it for years, but I agree that it’s almost too configurable. Start small, and don’t ezplore the menus too deep :).

I purchased my current phone (Fairphone 4) in January 2022. And that was because my last phone’s battery was dying, and the screen was very cracked.

I decided for a Fairphone because you can easily replace the battery (already done once) and the screen (not yet broken).

As of now, I still have no plans to buy a new phone.

I remember renting Surf Ninjas on VHS back in the day. I would prefer not to think about how long ago that must be now.

Meat. I’m vegetarian, my wife is not. When we go out to eat, if she orders meat, there’s a good chance the meat dish will get put in front of me.

We were at a Christmas market on the weekend, and one booth had a sign that said “Make your husband happy”, and it was of course a butcher stand.

I believe learning languages is generally a net good. But to answer your question, it would help to know: why do you want to learn Russian?

If you just find the idea of the language interesting, then yes! Start leaning it. If you have motivation, that will help.

Is there specific media you’re looking to consume in its original language, Russian? Then yes, absolutely :).

Are you just trying to learn “any Slavic language”, to extend the language families you have knowledge of? You already have some Polish, so what is it about Russian that attracts you? Is there another language that might have more resonance or utility for you?

As far as I am aware, mostly sue to Soviet influence, Russian is probably the most-widely-understood Slavic language, so this does offer some advantages. I have spoken with Ukranians and Georgians who now don’t like speaking Russian, for obvious reasons, though I don’t know how widespread this feeling really is. And at least here in Germany, I feel like Croatian, Czech, or Slovakian would be a more useful day-to-day or holiday language, but itball depends on your goals.

And, as a dentist once told me in regards to dental floss, but it applies here too: The best language to learn is the one that you will actually learn. If there’s a language you’ll actually stick with, that’s good.

I absolutely love these sorts of things :).

I assume we are all familiar with User Inyerface? https://userinyerface.com/

Hrm, I wasn’t aware of that difference. In Germany, the “fastest” roads are called “Autobahn”, and they have no speed limit by default, and have no traffic lights. The next level down are called “Bundesstraße”: they have a default speed limit of 100 km/h, and sometimes run through towns (lower speed limit), and sometimes have only one lane in each direction.

I love explaining the Autobahn to my foreign friends. “It’s just the word for highway”. “All highways are called autobahns”. “Yes, sometimes there is a speed limit”. “Even where there’s no speed limit, we won’t be driving that fast”.

Another one-off suggestion, but Pumpkin Time fro the World/Inferno Friendship Society scratches that itch for me somehow: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qqrF1BLWuK0

Obligatory mention of “Atheists don’t got no songs”: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xmwAD7nHqaY

I’m with you on Clair Obscur (I need to check tbe spelling literally every time I write that). I usually don’t risk the money on new games or things not-on-sale, but after all the positivity, I decided to go for it. And what a game! I’m still in Act 2, and I am loving it so far.

I’m playing Wylde Flowers. It’s a farm sim game with witchcraft, but I mostly like it because it is extremely low-stress. No inventory management, no time pressure to do things, just building a farm and talking to / romancing people.

I picked it up after I got to the point in Subnautica where you have too much contact with leviathans, and I need something calm and relaxing. Maybe I’ll make more Subnautica progress soon, though :).

Edit: Spelling

When I toured the concentration camp at Dachau some years ago, the tour guide was very clear on this point: people did elect the Nazis.

In 1932, the Nazi party became the largest party in the German parliament, with 37.3% of the vote. It is true that it was not mandatory to make Hitler chancellor, but as the head of the largest party, it would have been expected.

The Nazi party received massive support in democratic elections, where the expectation of the voters would have been that if the Nazi party gained enough seats, Hitler would become chancellor.

This is an important point to me, as it shows that it is possible for democratic elections to result in a fascist government that dismantles democracy. Ignoring this historical example prevents us from applying the lesson to new situations.

Hah. I tried doing some research about what this kind of drain is called, but I have no idea. I’ve never had a drain like this before, but I guess it must not be too rare?

In my case, the issue is that it starts to stink a lot. We had a plumber out a few years ago, and he opened that thing up and used a plunger to remove a ton of hair. He then suggested we wash it out every now and again, but I haven’t been able to do it for a while now, since I can’t get that thing open.

Not at all a silly question! I have tried, yes. Also, I’ve been able to remove it before, but the last time I put it in, I really jammed it in, I guess. There are no threads, so the turning is really just about generating force.

This looks very promising! Have you used something like this before? Most references I see online use this to remove the entire drain, not simply to turn the little thing inside. Is that accurate?

As St IGNUcious said, proprietary software is the sin. Using vi the penance.