This is my solution. I’ve said it before, but think it should be repeated. The global population was half of today’s when I was born. 4 billion instead of the current 8+ billion.

That means if half the population disappeared today, we’d just be back where we were in 1975.

Not having kids is the best thing I can do for both the environment, and myself.

Has the added benifit of leaving me as a passive observer who doesn’t have a biological need to care about the future.

I went into one of the larger local shops to buy some risers or something to try and adjust my old setup. Older sales guy about my age took one look at my gear and said “Your knees must hurt like hell”.

I had the money, so I just went full in on new gear, and came away with something I would never have picked for myself.

Not only did he size everything proper for me, he made sure all the pieces were right together. For the first time in my life toe and heel line up exactly with the edge, and where they belong on the pressure points. I’d always riden too small a board and had far too wide a stance to make up for it.

I was still skeptical, but he told me if I didn’t love it he’d do a full price exchange.

Even though it’s about the longest board I’ve ever had, the banana camber makes it feel half the size. Took about three runs to actually trust the board, and I was completely sold, you couldn’t pay me to ride the old gear again.

True, but at least where I ride they have 100% snow making covered. Solution to man made warning is man made snow.

Joking aside, the season in the midwest sure has shrunk since I was a kid.

It’s like going from moms station wagon to a high end sports car. Do I need the performance sports car? Usually no, but those few times you push it, it’s ready for all that and more.

Thermal form boots are a must, though I guess that tech is more than 15 years old in ski boots at least. I no longer cringe and grunt when I put on my boots, they are as comfortable as any footwear I’ve owned.

The flexibility in modern plastics means the straps and bindings themselves are stiffer where they need to be, and have give where they don’t. Combined with the boots there are no more pinch points at all, and all the force you put into riding goes where you want it.

I ride almost exclusively in the midwest US, so hard, rough, icy conditions that most people wouldn’t consider snowboarding in are the every day. A board with reverse camber, often called banana, and magna tractions, serrated edges for holding grip on ice, are a must.

“Turns ice into powder”, well I dont know if I’d go that far. I can lay into turns in the worst conditions and completely trust the edge to hold. When you get that horrible downhill edge that wants to catch and slam you into the ground, the newer complex curves in the camber means more often than not you will pivot out instead of hanging up. I can’t count the number of times I’ve felt that edge wanting to catch and end my day, only to slip around switch and get away with it.

I’m sure there are more now, but a product called 3DO gel was the first I saw. Flexible and soft normally, it turns ridged under force. I have pads of that stuff basically all over my body, knee and elbow pads, but also tail bone, forearms, and in the liner of the helmet. Saw a demo where they were hitting a guy with a shovel and instantly thought “That’s for me”.

If I had to pick one, a board with C2 or C3 gen camber from lib tech, or its equivalent makes the biggest difference. The over all package of a new setup bought and sized together for my cough, um, “modern” weight requirements, took riding from a painful and nervous experience, and made it relaxed and enjoyable again. Due to many old injuries, I used to ride an hour, maybe two, and had to quit. Now I can ride a full evening, and feel good about doing a few hours the next day as well.

The advances in material science and manufacturing in sports equipment in the past 15 years has been amazing.

That means boots, bindings, and a snowboard that would have seemed like alien technology to me when I started riding. Same goes for all the saftey gear, knee pads, helmets, integrated wrist guards in gloves.

The performance, comfort, and saftey offered by modern equipement means I can still enjoy my favorite sports at 50. The thought of getting on a hill with gear I had just 15 years ago makes me shudder.

My earliest gaming memory is my dad taking me to a local hotel bar to play Pac-Man when it came out, which suggests spring of 1980.

I know I played pong, river raid, and pitfall on home consoles as well, not sure which was first.

One xmass we got an Atari, but when my dad realized it came with a poker game he returned it a few days later.

First system I had actual private access to was a TRS-80.

No, I don’t think that would work for me.

Vert skating in the Olympics

Over all I agree, with the one major exception being playing a new Fromsoft game. It’s only so often I get to explore a new souls game blind, and that is something I take the time to savor, so long as I can avoid spoilers.

Elden ring was the first one that my girlfriend and I got to play new / blind together, and it was one of the best times I’ve ever had gaming.

We are doing that again with the DLC now and having a great time.

Had it pretty bad once while in the military, and this sums up how I felt exactly. Dumb people in a dumb situation almost ended up with me in a lot of trouble.

And small blue creatures from alpha centuri where real small blue creatures from alpha centuri.

I’m old enough to remember when both released and I don’t have a good answer to this, assuming you mean the pink floyd movie and not some other I’m not aware of.

The two consessions I’ve made are Teams, and the MFA software.

I am often running around to various sites and being able to use a quick chat is better than pulling out my laptop, and I turn it off when I’m off the clock.

The office is 3 day a week onsite, w Mon and Fri remote.

I have to be on site Tue - Thur to support the users.

I go in most Mon and Fri because it’s the only time I know I have physical access to the systems.

My support work is largely “remote”, in that I can manage my systems 99% of the time better from my office than in the room, and I really like my setup.

Aside from physically rebooting hardware that’s too frozen to reboot remotely, or replacing defective hardware, I can work 100% from anywhere I have internet.

Thing is, I love the company I work for, the end users and various IT and facilities staff that support my work are all great people.

The only close friends I have all moved far away decades ago, so the “water cooler” is the only real social interaction I get.

I do spend a ridiculous amount to live 15 minutes from the office so the commute isn’t a concern.

George Carlin said it best, yes a receding hairline is annoying, but no where near as bad as an advancing hairline.

Who would want to have to shave their forehead?

I do like those, but can add my own easy enough.

Always wanted a Volvo, my sister in law raced an V70 R for a while.

Requirements for a car. 1: All wheel drive 2: Small station wagon 3: Manual transmission 4: No touch screen 5: Does not connect to internet

Yup, looks like 2014 is the newest car I can buy.

Get your shit together car companies and maybe I’ll be interested in you products again.

Home office has a single ultra wide plus my laptop screen under it. Work on the big screen, YouTube and teams on the laptop.

At work I have an ultra wide with a 16:9 portrait display (turned 90 degrees) on the side. That leaves the big space for work, and the side one for teams, YouTube, and any documents I have to reference.

First time using a portrait display, and it is so much nicer for reading PDFs and the like.

I just found out last week factorio is on a system that I own. Turns out there was a major addiction missing in my life.

As a programmer, I knew I would enjoy it. What I didn’t realise was that in just a week it would literally make me better at my job.

I’m playing the game, and solving problems for work, I’m working, and solving problems in the game, in a huge feedback loop.

Can a video game make you better person? I’m not sure, but if they can, this and Kerbal Space Program are the ones to do it.