It’s not just cognitive. We lose taste buds with age, and the ones that remain shrink and lose sensitivity.

It makes sense if you think about it. Bitterness is associated with a lot of poisons. Sourness is associated with spoiled foods. Having a strong aversion to these tastes during childhood compelled our ancestors to avoid dangerous foods during their most fragile stages of life.

Then of course, sugar is a quick source of energy. It should be a given why a quick source of energy benefitted our ancient ancestors (for whom food was much more scarce.)

In short, that increased childhood sensitivity allowed our ancestors to survive until adulthood.

So parents - next time a kid complains about their dinner being too bitter, take comfort in knowing that if they were ever exposed to actual poison, they’d avoid it with the same urgency.

My family had a healthy idea of limits, closer to the “free range” philosophy, before such a term was required.

Our neighbors across the street, however, were the prototype for helicopter parents.

While my sibling and I gained confidence and navigational skills by biking around our confusing neighborhood before the days of GPS, the neighbor’s kids weren’t allowed to go down the street unsupervised. My siblings and I stood alone on the corner bus stop, but the neighbor’s mom sat in her car and only released her kids when the bus had arrived.

At the time, my parents made fun of theirs for holding such a tight leash. We also pitied the kids because they panicked about being “lost” when my siblings brought them on a walk around the block.

But now I see kids sitting in cars at bus stops as the norm. And of course, stories like the above article go to show that the helicopter style has won (for the time being.) The people who were raised to fear everything outside their front yard are now parents themselves.

Elon Musk is a once in a generation business leader

That’s not a compliment, that’s a prerequisite to becoming everything Musk currently is. If “a generation” of people had been afforded even one percent of the privilege he’s received, Musk would’ve been outshined by more competent people long ago.

I learned this word in a rather unusual way. One day as a bored teenager, I was sitting around thinking of funny sounds that could pass as real words. “Moot” came into my head and, out of curiosity, I decided to look for it in a dictionary.

Needless to say, it became a new favorite. Moot. Moot. All these years, and it still sounds funny to me.

Although that may be effective to some, that format is too dry and science-y to tap into the people who need to be reached.

We need the power of a human being’s impassioned words, presented in the context of a natural conversation, converted into a meme-able format. The simplest way would be to copy/paste the original comment and start sharing it on other platforms. If there is a way to make the message more succinct, without losing that crucial human touch that inspires people to relate to the message, that would be ideal.

I know tensions are high and we all want to play the blame game, but doing so won’t solve our problems. I’m angry about the same things, but I know that attacking someone who’s ostensibly on our side does nothing but cause further division between us. That’s what the fascists want.

Right now, it’s okay to grieve. We’re all dealing with intense emotions that can overwhelm our better judgement. But OP is right - in order to look forward, we must first look out for each other. The establishment has failed us. We are all we’ve got now.

It sounds like we’re on the same page. I didn’t mention foreign influence, only monied influence, which is the same thing you’re saying.

My point was that these influences previously existed in the U.S. long before now. They didn’t materialize out of the blue. Anyone who’s been explicitly anti-fascist prior to the past decade knows that there was already an undercurrent pulling people in that direction.

I appreciate hearing your perspective, and you’re absolutely on point. One thing I know for sure is that things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.

pretending that this neofascism is some kind of external infection is tantamount to covering one’s own ears.

See, I think it’s mixed. You’re absolutely right that people voted for this. At the same time, years of propaganda by monied interests have led us up to this point. Authoritarianism has been low-key popular at least since the 90s (maybe earlier, but the 90s was when I started school, and learned by experience that fascism is how the school system operates.) People are scared to rock the boat against their “leaders,” and given enough time, this is the result.

I wish I had time right now to write more about this, because there is some deep psychological manipulation that’s embedded in the fabric of this country. It doesn’t excuse people’s behaviors, but knowing how and why they operate is crucial to understanding the big picture.

Other parts of the planet. One area that’s received a disproportionate amount of precipitation this year is the Sahara. In Morocco, “two days of rainfall in September exceeded yearly averages in several areas that see less than 250 millimeters (10 inches) annually.”

maybe they will germinate and grow a new chip plant.

And that, children, is where baby potatoes come from.

Incidentally, there’s a condition called Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome that relates to this property. For someone with AIS that has XY genes, their appearance can range from phenotypically male, to phenotypically female, and anywhere in-between. This happens because their cells don’t respond properly (or at all) to male hormones, such as testosterone. As a result, the unused testosterone gets converted into estrogen, which their cells usually can respond to. For someone with complete AIS, they are usually born and raised as female, only finding out about their condition when they get to puberty and never have a period.

A quick note: excess estrogen can turn into testosterone, too. And yes, there is also an Estrogen Insensitivity Syndrome, but it’s extremely rare (fewer than 10 reported cases.)

Some people in the complaints believed they were talking directly with Musk, a sadly common story that has popped up in news reports before.

I remember when I thought I was talking directly to a celebrity online… when I was 13. It didn’t take long to realize how stupid that idea was. To be a grown adult and still think there’s a chance a celebrity is sending messages to random people is mind-boggling.

I cringe at the memories now, but at least I can take comfort in having learned about catfishing long before I had money to lose from it.

Thank you. I don’t see that in the article, so I appreciate you including that update!

I’m happy he survived and all, but…

By the third day, he sent his dog, Freddy, to find his way home.

I’m gonna need some closure on what happened to that dog.

Congratulations to you both!

Ooof, that racist “slip” and the quick attempt to cover it. Minutes 4:38-4:46

Look at all the … illegals comin’ in here. Takin’ over our … white job-uh, black jobs, Hispanic jobs…

I got the same vibe. From the kid’s expectations and reactions, to the parents’ own words on the incident:

“I don’t think Rotschy [the company] failed my son in any way,” Derrik’s dad said. “All these events culminated into this accident.”

The kid is on defense from the moment he tells his mom that something bad happened to him, then his dad absolves the company of any wrong-doing. Healthy, loving, supportive families don’t react like that. If his parents aren’t chugging the kool-aid, I’d be astounded.

It’s all cyclical anyway. No social media company will reign forever. We’ve already seen a number of them rise and fall. It’s kinda like how different civilizations gained and lost dominance throughout history.

This article looks like someone “wrote” it using speech-to-text and didn’t double-check their work.

tossing a hard driving

the whole thing could be for not (instead of “the whole thing could be for naught.”)

and of course,

In a statement to Whales Online

Of course, if it turns out that whales have banded together to make their own website, I’ll stand corrected.

Yes, but it’s included in the proportion to which you buy those things. So if you’re spending a lot less on other things, but more on housing, it’s a wash for your overall expenses.

I may be misunderstanding, but doesn’t spending a greater percentage on housing necessitate spending less on other things? Someone who spends 50% of their earnings on shelter has to make more careful budgeting decisions than someone who only spends 30% on shelter. With a smaller portion of income to spend on anything else, people will put off purchases that they can’t afford. Using that proportional difference to claim “it’s a wash” sounds like circular reasoning. At least, it doesn’t seem to account for all the purchases people would have made if they weren’t putting such a high percentage toward this one basic need?