In Derbyshire, UK, we have three bins with different colour lids.

Green- domestic waste, generally bound for landfill, sometimes waste to energy. Anything can go in here but we are deterred from putting toxic material such as batteries in this bin.

Grey- recyclable material such as paper, metal and glass. Some have separate containers for glass.

Brown- garden waste. This one is optional and there is an additional £40 annual fee to use the service (the others are included in the council tax).

Appliances can be left by the roadside and a privately operated metal recycling company will eventually find these. Many scrap yards will buy cars and pay by the kg for the metal. I got about £200 for my 1996 Volvo V40 (~1400kg). Anything else can be disposed of at municipal waste processors which is free for domestic users and charged for commercial waste.

Probably a lot of noise coming from the incels.

5G causes Corona virus is a favourite. Most of the biblical claims but those are too obvious. Excluding religion and conspiracy theories, expensive speaker cables produce sound quality that is superior to cheap cables. Turning a phone off in an aircraft improves safety. My daughter’s teacher confidently informed me that bicycles are more dangerous than cars. That was probably the most depressing and stupid.

One of the abiding childhood memories of hugging my mother is that it felt like hugging a tree. She obviously didn’t like it but wouldn’t reject the hug and it never prevented me from doing it but it struck me as odd, even as a ten year old. My dad would hug us normally and hold hands. Later on I realised that we’re probably all autistic and have sensory issues. These days I love hugs with my daughter and she always seeks my hand to hold.

I would imagine most drug use is recreational and I’m not implying anything about your usage pattern. I do like drugs and getting high from time to time but the habitual use of drugs was a bad sign that I ignored for years. Addiction is a problem, especially if we hide, deny or condemn it. We’re all imperfect and yet deserving of love and respect.

Making something nice out of junk and repairing things is immensely satisfying. Lately I’ve turned a fallen tree into wood shingles to clad an outbuilding and installed a reclaimed ornate window.

Getting into cooking, which is most rewarding when done with family and friends. Today’s recipe is spinach and ricotta pasta.

I love programming and there are endless things to build in that world. Currently making a log burning stove control system using an Arduino, sensors and servos.

The rest of my recreational time is spent gaming on a pc, World War Z right now, love a co-op.

I smoked a lot of weed as a young adult. Looking back on that time I believe that I was escaping from the endless intrusive thoughts. Focusing my mind on any sort of work was difficult and I used all sorts of substances to get by. My typical usage profile is to find something appealing and use the shit out of it until it becomes a problem, spend time recovering and repeat with the next chemical. After recovering from heroin addiction it became obvious that it was not normal behaviour and I sought medical advice. They diagnosed ADHD and many of the past events started to make sense. I use routine to bring order to my life. I meditate to calm the mind. The medication allows me to focus and prioritise tasks. I think of my life in two starkly distinct chapters, pre and post diagnosis. I feel happy and the thought of taking substances seems like a strange thing to do.

Good call. I can’t remember if kahneman talks about it in the book but there is a fascinating experiment on people who have had a procedure that severs the connection between the left and right hemispheres (epileptics). They exhibit the impulsive tendency to explain away sensory evidence that contradicts their previous statements. The theory is that speech centres inhabit the left brain and in the absence of a measured analysis by the right hemisphere they just make something up without apparently thinking it through.

I bought a plasma cutter and a GPU. In the past I would get used GPU from eBay because it’s cheaper but the demand for them has made the market a little crazy and there’s very little price difference new vs used (UK). The price performance sweet spot seems to be AMD 9070xt (£550, ouch).

The plasma cutter is an old three phase machine that no one wanted because it’s 400V. However, looking at the circuit diagram there’s very little difference between single and 3-phase configuration so the plan is to convert it to a domestic supply or cannibalise the internals and torch assembly.

I mostly got fired for being a bad employee but my employers were no angels either. One of my first jobs was repairing computers and the money was garbage. Eventually learned that I was the lowest paid in the dept so put a sign on my desk with my salary. It was embarrassing for the manager when clients came to visit so they gave me more money.

It’s ofcom but my phone desperately wants it to be Offcom for some reason

Offcom has been drinking, came home in a blackout and committed domestic abuse of 4chan. Does Offcom even internet? Alternative plot twist, Offcom is trolling 4chan.

I wanna say that Offcom is doing a good job and trying to protect British people in good faith but I feel like they are being used as a cudgel by the British ruling class to advance an anachronistic agenda. Don’t forget, they fired their expert drugs advisor for telling them that MDMA is comparable to horse riding in terms of safety. They want certain things to be true, regardless of the scientific accuracy.

Set up the guillotines

But is it better than a big carrot? You can’t snack on silicone.

In the UK we have a public petition that triggers a parliamentary debate when the petition attracts 100k signatories. I believe there are similar systems elsewhere.

Haven’t felt the need to block anyone but it’s nice to have the functionality

Would you get the least worst candidate? I would try it.

Another scheme is random selection of a citizen, like jury duty. You have professional civil servants but the leader is randomly selected and if the leader is doing badly it triggers a new selection.

Dildos

Identify a problem that you can solve using code. Use ai to help with syntax and code structure. Chip away at the problem a little bit each day.

I didn’t know it had a name but marginal utility sounds like the concept behind the early form of eBay, before it became a corporation. You can still find people giving stuff away on there but that sort of exchange has now moved to places like Freegle, Freecycle and Facebook Marketplace, to a lesser extent. What people value has always been a mystery to me, I would be horrible in business. Most of my decisions are pretty much utilitarian, aside from food and drugs. I am happy in a junk yard, salvaging materials and components, that stuff feels under utilised and valuable to me.