This and the fm transmitter.

Was really nice to be able to throw your phone on when you didn’t have access to a device with Bluetooth. At an Airbnb, in an older car, on the beach with a portable radio, etc.

I think the camera will eventually be hidden behind the screen.

I have no clue what technology will enable that but I bet it’s coming.

As another commenter rightfully pointed out - you don’t get to be independent and isolationist at the same time.

Indigenous island tribes may have had this luxury for a time, but once your nation is known by another nation, it’s compete or die.

China and various other countries would immediately start filling the power vacuum. Your standard of living would drop immensely and your grandchildren would be consuming Chinese culture within a decade or two at most. The American dollar, America’s total dominance in science/culture/medicine, the spread of the English language - these could all be wiped out fairly quickly if America just threw up its hands and said we were done.

What you’re suggesting would be like Apple saying they’re going to take it easy and just stick with the iPhone 15 for good. The result would be an immediate power grab and some other company would pull ahead, leaving Apple so far behind they’d never catch up again.

As a devout lefty who thinks America and capitalism need a lot more checks and balances, I have to somewhat disagree with you.

When we talk peace, we are talking relative terms. And I suppose I should also add prosperity into the mix.

I think the West has enabled a period of relative peace and prosperity never before seen. And I think it’s getting, overall, better every day. Technology and capitalism, for all their evils, have lifted billions out of poverty and saved billions of lives.

Depends. He seems pretty out of it right now and I don’t know how much he would really accomplish. He’s also pretty old and unhealthy.

But if he comes back angry and the people around him are effective, then yeah we would start looking for other places to live. I’m not trying to live in a Russian-style handmaid’s tale.

I don’t think it’s dramatic to suggest Trump may actually put an end to our democracy though. Another Lemmy commenter summed it up best. They pointed out that we on the left may have disagreed with McCain or Bush, but we never once feared that they would seize power or leave NATO. We trusted them to at least keep the ship afloat and respect the basic tenants of our free and democratic nation.

With Trump, we don’t have that. All bets are off because he’s an unhinged narcissist. He would leave NATO and risk the Pax Americana that has stabilized the world for almost 100 years now. And he would do it for money, for negative attention, or just because someone told him he couldn’t. America has some pretty major faults but China and Russia are not ready to take the reigns. Say what you will about the West but we at least endeavor to protect human rights. I think anyone who isn’t trying to build on the current Western peace is incredibly dangerous in a very scary way.

Hardflip blunt to fakie

Maybe some placebo for some people? But there have been times where I couldn’t figure out why I was so energetic, only to remember that I had an extra cup of coffee or drank it later than normal.

I think most regular coffee drinkers know the simulant effect is very real. And I also think that, because of the sheer number of coffee drinkers over the last several hundred years, any significant placebo would have been rooted out by now.

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I hope I can say this nicely and that you’ll only take it how I mean it. But you haven’t been out of the house in a decade and you can’t stand a single person at your job - it sounds like you might have some issues with people in general and maybe some anxiety, anger, or something else. No judgement here and I don’t know your situation.

I will say this: there are indeed really shitty, toxic, selfish, and narcissistic people out there. But most, probably the majority, are people just like you. They have their own anxieties, fears, doubts, idiosyncrasies, etc. They make mistakes and try their best to be happy and stay safe.

I guess I would say just cut them some slack. Be someone they can feel safe and happy around. Don’t judge them too harshly. “Lest ye be judged yourself” and all that.

Good luck though. I hope you find at least one good friend at work.