I need a digram…

People WANT to make things and profit has nothing to do with that desire. In our grind culture we often can’t help but think how we could turn a profit from our hobbies but that’s a perversion driven by capitalism. People make art, clothes, food, games, movies, music, we innovate with ways to save time or make something easier or more accessible, we solve problems in creative ways, and we do it all without a profit motive. Making things isn’t a problem capitalism solves - it extracts value, it drives greed, it demands growth.

So clearly I take issue with the question of how to get people to make things. I don’t have an easy answer for how we motivate people to do garbage collection or brain surgery without money but I also think we could figure it out if we had any amount of time where we weren’t consumed by trying to make more of it.

I came to the comments to see what people don’t measure and it’s basically just microwave discussion. Made me realize that not having one might be unusual. I haven’t had one for decades - intentionally got rid of it because it primarily enabled eating junk. Extra kitchen space is a solid bonus too.

Learning how to make stove top popcorn was actually the nail in the coffin for my microwave. Couldn’t give up popcorn but making it on the stove is surprisingly easy, cheap, and better than microwave popcorn. Takes a few extra minutes but well worth it.

I knew an older guy that would always tell me, “Be good. If you can’t be good be careful”. He also phrased the OP statement as, “One crime at a time”.

This was specific to calculus homework but it has turned out to be very good advice, “when you don’t know what to do, do something”. Often decisions can be paralyzing or problems can feel insurmountable but doing nothing is a choice. Very rarely is it the best one.

Can you just put casters on your coffee table? You’d need something that either has a really heavy base or has a really large footprint (or both) to keep something like that from tipping over. So, why not the coffee table? If you are OK with something a little janky then I think putting wheels on an existing desk/table and mounting a cheap stand to it would be doable for pretty cheap. You could also easily add weights to a lower shelf of a coffee table for stability.

I don’t know that the base of an office chair would ever really be stable - you need some weight down as low as possible. If you don’t want the whole coffee table on wheels then maybe start with a furniture dolly. Mount your post to that with a flange (this needs to be beefy so the post can’t wobble at all or it will come apart) and then figure out the desktop/monitors. Add weight to the dolly however you can. This sounds generally unstable and likely to wobble apart but could maybe be made to work. Definitely wouldn’t make it any taller than absolutely necessary though.

If you want a custom piece of furniture that isn’t janky you will need some wood/metal working skills and tools. If you don’t have that already then honestly, 1k is probably cheaper than making your own… I tend go overboard but heavy duty casters (50-100) + steel base out of 1/2 in plate or something (idk, but probably measured in hundreds of dollars to have made) + steel post (50) + wood for a desktop (50 or higher, you could spend WAY more here depending on what you want) + monitor stands (50-100) + finishes (paint, stains, powder coating, 20 or way higher depending) + hardware (how does everything connect together, hugely variable depending on if it’s custom made VS off the shelf parts). Obviously a VERY rough outline of costs but it adds up quickly.

Edit: Another idea, use a hand truck - the two wheeled red type. Just mount the monitors to that and put something really heavy on the bottom.

Prions. Misfolded proteins that manage to get into your brain and just wreck shit. I don’t handle anything that would be contaminated or anything but just the idea of this non-living thing that will just replicate and cause havok - horrifying.

I do. They were here when I moved in and are common in the area. Animals, including my pets, aren’t interested in them and they aren’t a problem if you don’t eat them. Since I learned what they are I do wash my hands after handling them out of an abundance of caution but I’m not getting rid of them because they grow well and look awesome.

What you described exists. What I wish they had was the opposite - I want regular or story difficulty with only a single save.

First, I want to say that everyone should enjoy games how they want. That out of the way I want to make the argument for just rolling with the dice in bg3. Are there things you will miss out on - certainly. Will you make bad choices or get unlucky sometimes - for sure. But that is part of what makes it great, every choice, error, or unlucky roll will still result in the story moving forward and it will be your story. If you follow a guide and save scum you’ll miss out on the adventure (you can’t have adventure without risk). You’ll also spend a lot of time reading and watching guides instead of just playing. Anyway, at least consider just going for it.

I really wish honor and difficulty were separate toggles - honor mode is awesome because it forces you to roll with things but I would not recommend it for a first playthrough due to the increased difficulty. IMO honor mode (for the honor part) is the only way the game should be played.

I’ll also acknowledge that I do have a couple of things I would save scum on if I thought I’d only play once. But my couple things aren’t universal and if you start taking everyone’s advice on those you’ll end up needing to save scum nearly everything.

Good luck, have fun!

Transportation keys (car or bike locks) are each on their own key ring and I take the one I need. All the rest go in my wallet.

Deep breaths, it’s gonna be OK. You are saying that all games should include a toggle/slider. I don’t agree. Devs should make games they want to make and I’ll play them if they appeal to me and you should too. But don’t get bent when they don’t have a feature you want.

Eh, fun isn’t the only thing people want from entertainment but even if that were always true there isn’t any reason niche games shouldn’t exist. Who am I to tell someone what kind of game they should play. Lots of games out there that I won’t play because I know it’s not for me - sometimes that sucks cause I like the art or the concept and wish the mechanics were what I want but they aren’t and I move on.

Catering to “most” also results in games that tend to be homogeneous in some way and that sucks for those that want niche. Also sucks when niche exists and gets ruined to appeal to “most” but that’s just how it goes.

And if this is the case for a business they should plan for it because people will be late. Pretty easy to overlap schedules and be prepared - but that costs money. So obviously we can’t do that because the shareholders are the only thing that matters.

Malapropisms - learned a new word today and it’s a fun one. I do the same thing in my head when I read, any name I don’t know how to pronounce becomes something I do know how to pronounce and stays that way for the rest of the story.

Any recollection of what the obscure ones you had were?

I don’t know how many varieties are really an option from the grocery store. Farmers markets are probably better but I didn’t realize how many options there were or how different they can be till I started growing them. Definitely recommend slicer varieties for sandwiches but honestly they have been my favorite for everything.

I recently bought some msg. Tasting it by itself reminds me of tomatoes - like a tomato with no sugar and no juice. Haven’t really used it at all yet but based on that I might try mixing it with mayo or even just sprinkling it on a sandwich (with or without tomato on it).

Anecdotal evidence is evidence though. And I think the point of the above post is valid, commercial food service should be held to the strictest guidelines to eliminate as much risk as possible. At home, for myself, I’m not going to worry about it beyond basic common sense and trusting my own senses. I also think it is good to be aware of guidelines and generally exercise caution.

All that said, I am always forgetting to put food away and eat it for lunch the next day anyway - have never had a problem in decades (vegetarian).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penalty_(Mormonism)

It is part of Mormon temple rituals. They don’t phrase it like that but it’s what they are doing. Luckily I got out before I participated in any of that.

Years ago I had “pantomiming_suicide” and someone created one about calling the suicide hotline. It’s actually a Mormon reference that I just thought would make a funny name but I can see how that wasn’t obvious now.