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(Had to, sorry)

I’m not a vape user, but the model is the kind of thing that just makes me so angry.

In a world that makes sense:

• small, mostly metal vape chassis
• rechargeable, replaceable battery
• built-in glass reservoir with charging valve
• vape juice sold in medium to large recyclable cans with standard interface to the charging valve

In a world where Profit is God (the real world):

• disposable chassis
• disposable battery
• if it’s refillable at all, it’s via non-recyclable, mixed material, mostly plastic, proprietary cartridges and you can save 5% if you subscribe online for refills, 10% if you pay yearly, $5 credit if you refer a friend on social media using hashtag #smoovape
• probably gives you turbo cancer because the juice is made in a repurposed Freon plant that was inadequately converted and they just don’t answer the phone when the FDA or EPA call

Criminally overlooked and underrated.

Yes, but Republicans do what they want with no consequences, so check and mate.

First thing that popped into my mind: Galavant. It’s a prime time network fantasy comedy from a writer of Cars and Tangled, teamed up with the composer from Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid.

It’s like if The Princess Bride was two seasons of musical television with songs from the golden 90’s era of Disney. In a just world, it’d have six seasons and a movie.

I love this energy.

Instead of watching whatever the hell this ends up being, just read this ancient and hilarious screenshot Let’s Play. I guarantee it’s more entertaining, especially if you remember early 2000’s internet, before it turned into <gestures at everything>.

https://lparchive.org/Oregon-Trail-(by-Chewbot)/

It’s like Max Payne 1, only better in every conceivable way. It’s the perfect sequel.

Edit: I envy you getting to experience it for the first time!

Number three…

The larch.

Max Payne 2 is one of my favorite games of all time. It’s the only game I ever finished, then beat 2-3 more times in succession on increasing difficulties just to get a different ending.

Absolutely. It definitely takes some delightful liberties with WHY Blackbeard takes a liking to Stede and why Stede leaves his family in the first place, but the overall arc is based on a true story.

Stede Bonnet was a wealthy landowner who walked away from his family to buy a boat and become a really bad Pirate of the Caribbean. Blackbeard ran into him, took his ship, decided for some reason he kinda liked the guy, taught him a few things about piratin’, then went his own way. Bonnet did better after that, but he was eventually captured and hanged.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stede_Bonnet

Were you looking for a story of inspiration and success instead of history’s worst midlife crisis? If so, oops.

Bet you’re fun at parties.

Yes. The writing is on the wall, I think. Between Valve and Microsoft, I think the line between console and PC is about to blur, hard.

Valve starts selling a new generation of Steam Machines, Microsoft develops a handheld and pivots the Xbox brand to be a PC gaming label standardized to a handheld and set-top form factor, and suddenly Sony and Nintendo are swimming in a much smaller ocean. The PlayStation 6 not being PC-compatible suddenly makes it “a weird non-PC” instead of a category leader, and the Switch 2 by all accounts just becomes an echo of the previous generation, treading water on Nintendo franchises.

There are several Apple Watch apps and such that rather than use a timer, use various biometrics and movement sensing to try and identify when you’re out of REM and start a vibration alarm that increases over time across a 30-minute window. Depending on what smartwatch you use, there might be something.

Edit: on Apple Watch I have an app that does this called AutoWake (it has a companion sleep tracking app called AutoSleep) but I don’t wear the watch to bed anymore.

The option to sleep an extra half hour when you don’t want to get up is key. I recommend it for anyone. It’s so worth it.

I vote this. The 90 minute REM cycle is no joke.

My personal sleep therapy approach:

1. Deduct 30 minutes from when you need to wake up. Set one alarm for this time, one alarm for your normal time. If you do nothing else, do this. It’s awesome, trust me.
2. Deduct another 30 minutes then figure out how many 90-minute periods fit between now and that time. Go to bed at the beginning of one of those periods.
3. If you need to go to sleep 30 or 60 minutes earlier for some reason, add another “snooze” or two at the end.

What this does:

• Prevents getting up in the middle of REM, which is what causes you to feel like death even though you got enough sleep
• Gives you a 30-minute window to fall asleep first
• Wakes you up 30 minutes early in case something messed with your cycle and you feel like crap. Hitting snooze on your alarm clock gives you a bewildering 9-minute, 11-minute, or other arbitrary bit of extra sleep, but giving you a consistent 30-minute snooze period starts your morning with a reliable power nap instead of just gambling on your timing. You always wake up feeling good from a power nap.

Example: it’s 9 pm, I have to be up at 6. I set alarms for 5:30 and 6:00, then go to bed at 9:30 so I have 30 minutes to fall asleep, followed by 7.5 hours of sleep, which is 5 cycles. I wake up at 5:30, immediately kill the alarm, then wake up again at 6 and start my day.

Note: In general, I wouldn’t have three 30-minute snoozes. I’d just go to bed later. I try to avoid stacking two or more power naps at the end, but sometimes I will if I’m not going to be getting much sleep otherwise, like if I go to sleep NOW, I might get 3 hours.

He just needs to stick to Knives Out and stay away from other franchises.

Be that guy! Part of being part of a storied franchise is staying in your lane. TLJ deliberately went out of its way to set itself apart, which is NOT how you’re supposed to do it.