Update for Everyone VIII: He who laughs have the last laugh

[Conservatopia]

I'm in London right now, and even though I've been here several times before, this is my first time being here alone. My parents and I have pretty different travel philosophies, so for the first time I've finally been able to just get lost and wander for hours on end in a city that's already one of my favorite in the world. I've averaged over 14 miles of walking per day for the last 4 days. I ended up stumbling upon Camden Town, which is an area I had never been to and knew nothing about. That's a really amazing place that really doesn't get its deserved accolades. I would seriously consider moving here if I had any job prospects and the visa process weren't sure to be a nightmare. To any Londoners on Atlas, your city has a lot to be proud of, even in 2021.

London's amazing.  Go up the O2 if you get the chance.

[Battista Minola 1616]

Today I reached a new personal highest point in altitude! I went to the summit of the Cime de la Bonette, a peak of 2860 m above sea level in the French Alps. The mountain is quite easily accessible because just below there is the mountain pass of the Cime de la Bonette; from there a loop road around the mountaintop comes out and reaches 2802 m which apparently makes it the highest asphalted through road in all of Europe; and finally from there a short footpath leads to the very summit.
This beats my previous record (Col d'Agnel / Colle dell'Agnello) by around one hundred metres.

[President Johnson]

I have completed my move to Vermont. But don’t fret, the D-NYC avatar will be back on an on and off basis!

Congrats, so you can finally live under the rule of Emperor Phil.

[Hope For A New Era]

The last few months, I've been becoming a more spiritual person. This is a reversal of a steady trend that continued for over nine years.

Just spiritual, not religious or theistic. I still don't believe in a higher power, and I doubt I ever will (other than perhaps a vague Carl Sagan-style "maybe the Universe itself is in a way conscious" sort of thing). But my worldview has changed - it has become a lot more of an "all things are connected" sort of way of thinking.

For an example, I used to sum up my opinions about morality as "morals don't exist outside of human minds." Morals exist only as a result of the interaction between psychology and the environments organisms find themselves in, and psychology is shaped by evolution, which comes from chaos (as does the natural environment). The reason most humans believe murder is wrong is because all the humans who believed murder was right killed each other off millennia ago.

I've now "gone a step higher." Evolution is influenced by the nature of Earth, which is influenced by the nature of the Universe (which is, mostly, chaos). So actually, human morality is sort of universal, or at least descended from a universal thing. And if you think about it, human morality is for the most part pretty consistent - it generally directs people to try to increase order and decrease disorder, however the relevant society may view those things. Which makes sense, because the relative orderliness of Earth and of life compared to the vast incomprehensible chaos of the Universe is pretty remarkable, and so is worth preserving.


I'm going to be honest with you here, the whole generational theory thing was a not-insignificant part of this change. It really is a very spiritual thing, in a way that I didn't understand when I first got into it. It truly is a book that only could have been written by Boomers (well, a Silent could have written it, but wouldn't have).

There was also some LSD involved in this. Because of course there was.

[Battista Minola 1616]

I am back home in Italy. The French - and Monegasque - vacation was really nice. Among things I had not mentioned on here yet, I visited the city of Lyon, I gazed at the starriest night sky I had ever seen around Barcelonnette, and I took a stroll on the famous (or infamous since 2016...) Promenade des Anglais.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

I might be the biggest idiot ever.  Last week, I wasn't feeling well, and on the third day of my symptoms, I had some minor symptoms that suggested a covid breakthrough case.  I assumed I had it and decided to just stay home and not get tested.  By day 5, I was feeling totally better, so I decided to order an at-home test kit.  Today (day 7), it came, and I tried to test myself.  Initially, it came back positive.

But, then, I got to thinking, and I realized that I never mixed my sample with the detection liquid.  I rewatched the instruction video, and it turned out that I never actually tested myself.  But, the more strange part to me is why in the world the detection liquid would test positive without ever coming into contact with my sample.

Maybe I'll be able to get a test tomorrow for clarity for myself, but, either way, tomorrow would be day 8, so there might not be that much point to it.

[Don Vito Corleone]

I’m moving into my college dorm in about 12 hours! I’m extremely excited!

[100% pro-life no matter what]

I might be the biggest idiot ever.  Last week, I wasn't feeling well, and on the third day of my symptoms, I had some minor symptoms that suggested a covid breakthrough case.  I assumed I had it and decided to just stay home and not get tested.  By day 5, I was feeling totally better, so I decided to order an at-home test kit.  Today (day 7), it came, and I tried to test myself.  Initially, it came back positive.

But, then, I got to thinking, and I realized that I never mixed my sample with the detection liquid.  I rewatched the instruction video, and it turned out that I never actually tested myself.  But, the more strange part to me is why in the world the detection liquid would test positive without ever coming into contact with my sample.

Maybe I'll be able to get a test tomorrow for clarity for myself, but, either way, tomorrow would be day 8, so there might not be that much point to it.

I decided not to bother to get another test since I'm now on my fifth day since I last had symptoms.  I'm going to ride out today and tomorrow just in case, but it will remain a mystery whether my illness last week was covid or just a cold.

On a side note, are there any antibody tests that can distinguish between vaccination and infection if I wanted to try that in a couple weeks?

[America Needs R'hllor]

Yesterday I finished a long process of several months and became an official officer in the IDF. I learned a lot, got a lot more confident and earned a lot of new friends. I'm also going to start a MA in Public Policy, so my life is generally in good progress. Time to get back to work!

[PSOL]

Yesterday I finished a long process of several months and became an official officer in the IDF. I learned a lot, got a lot more confident and earned a lot of new friends. I'm also going to start a MA in Public Policy, so my life is generally in good progress. Time to get back to work!

You have two options; retire peacefully but totally prissy as an emigrant in London or retire in Tel Aviv after couping the Yair-Kahanist neckbeard Junta.

[America Needs R'hllor]

Yesterday I finished a long process of several months and became an official officer in the IDF. I learned a lot, got a lot more confident and earned a lot of new friends. I'm also going to start a MA in Public Policy, so my life is generally in good progress. Time to get back to work!

You have two options; retire peacefully but totally prissy as an emigrant in London or retire in Tel Aviv after couping the Yair-Kahanist neckbeard Junta.

Important to mention I'm a budget officer, the only thing I can coup is an earmarked fund form

[HillGoose]

i am such an absolute failure in life

[Conservatopia]

i am such an absolute failure in life

You're actually not.  Like seriously you've managed to get married, move state and probably do a ton of things most of us here haven't.

[bagelman]

i am such an absolute failure in life

No, I am a failure in life. You're fine lol.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

I've never dabbled or really even believe in Tarot card readings, but I lent my phone to this guy who downloaded an app to my phone that generates random daily cards and readings. Thought I'd click on it and say, hey what the heck. Well, one "shuffle" of the deck and two of my three cards were, out of all of them, both The High Priestess and The Hierophant (masculine equivalent of The Priestess, or simply The Pope in Tarot).

Now the interpretation wasn't exactly charitable to me, but if that itself is not some kind of sign... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Virginiá]

[bagelman]

I've never dabbled or really even believe in Tarot card readings, but I lent my phone to this guy who downloaded an app to my phone that generates random daily cards and readings. Thought I'd click on it and say, hey what the heck. Well, one "shuffle" of the deck and two of my three cards were, out of all of them, both The High Priestess and The Hierophant (masculine equivalent of The Priestess, or simply The Pope in Tarot).

Now the interpretation wasn't exactly charitable to me, but if that itself is not some kind of sign... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Did you get the Happy Squirrel also?

I'm of the elitist opinion that if it was possible to practice divination with Tarot, you need a physical deck of cards.

[President Johnson]

Got a new glasses and sunglasses yesterday. Now I have the same sunglasses as Joe Biden. Lmao.

[Hope For A New Era]

i could probably use a break

[HillGoose]

things are so extraordinarily not ok

[Boobs]

I just received my package in the mail today!! I love my gift and I'm so happy to find out that my Santa read my letter carefully and sent me something that I've been wanting. I love the little mini bottle of whiskey and love using it to top off my homemade brownies!! Thank you so much! Merry Christmas!!

[Never Made it to Graceland]

I just received my package in the mail today!! I love my gift and I'm so happy to find out that my Santa read my letter carefully and sent me something that I've been wanting. I love the little mini bottle of whiskey and love using it to top off my homemade brownies!! Thank you so much! Merry Christmas!!

What brand of whiskey?

[Boobs]

I just received my package in the mail today!! I love my gift and I'm so happy to find out that my Santa read my letter carefully and sent me something that I've been wanting. I love the little mini bottle of whiskey and love using it to top off my homemade brownies!! Thank you so much! Merry Christmas!!

What brand of whiskey?

Woody reserve and Glenfarclas 

[Never Made it to Graceland]

I just received my package in the mail today!! I love my gift and I'm so happy to find out that my Santa read my letter carefully and sent me something that I've been wanting. I love the little mini bottle of whiskey and love using it to top off my homemade brownies!! Thank you so much! Merry Christmas!!

What brand of whiskey?

Woody reserve and Glenfarclas 

Ooooooh very nice. Your secret Santa knew the good stuff.

[certified hummus supporter 🇵🇸🤝🇺🇸🤝🇺🇦]

I guess this is the right thread for this

...I just registered to vote!