Nah we are here, just staying out of the drama I guess. Busy working. My guess is we aren’t enough of a market - not the desirable-to-marketers 18-30 age group, and not a huge group with money like the boomers. So we are not targeted as much.

Oh no. I would hate this need, I’m not good at teaching, but let me take cooking. Not home ec in general, no. But culinary I could handle getting a curriculum together and teaching it, and it would be helpful.

Yeah I have said I want a transmissible immunity to sexually transmitted disease, that would save a lot of suffering, and be a lot of fun to get the immunity going out into the world but all disease? Is that advisable? There may be some need for it to keep evolution going, or some effect we can’t predict. I like the way you are rolling it out here.

A Jubilee year should happen regardless. Yeah.

I would take it but it would be quite a job to manage that. If literally infinite, and not an amount, it would break the idea of money, right?

I’m not sure society can be fixed from the top but would be interested to see what happens if grants are directed in ways that grow the bottom part of the economy, could it be made vibrant, can the value be circulated around not exploited? Can the land be restored? The oceans? How do you audit to prevent fraud, to keep it from making things worse?

I would be very happy to not have to worry about my personal budget but to have the responsibility to try to fix the world with money seems like an impossible task. Money could fix my personal situation, but can it fix everything? Probably not.

I do think I would try though, yeah.

Depends. If it’s something I must say to someone, I say it.

If it’s something I can’t control, running is the best way to handle it for me. Exhausting the body calms the mind.

Cars do cost a lot. Which puts pressure on the used car market and pushes those prices up. But - in 1994 I got a used car, not great, but driveable, for 5k USD. Inflation would put that at $10,550 today. So that is not worse. The problem (at least where I am) is lack of supply even at that $10k.

(I got the $5k by taking out a student loan as I was a student and could, I didn’t have it laying around. It didn’t overextend me, was close to graduation and it was easy enough to pay off.)

I don’t know where you are or what your situation is - we couldn’t afford another car in my household, the insurance is so high here; I got an electric bike instead. Very expensive for a bike but much less than a car, a joy to ride, and insurance $20 a year.

The owner we bought from had been divorced and was so depressed he neglected the yard and house. I am grateful they didn’t change the insane layout, so it didn’t sell, because apparently nobody else saw the potential - we changed it when we moved in, and dealt with the yard, once the bamboo was out (that was a struggle) it was huge, and while house is not fancy and will doubtless be a lifelong project it is so nice now for us, and getting better all the time and I love the basic layout of it now.

A lot. 4 that I had plus 5 I married into, some of those 5 my husband had adopted, some he’d spawned. Some were already grown when we got together though, so we didn’t have them all in the house (or car) at once.

It’s nice now they are grown because the kids have a good network of siblings and boyfriend/girlfriends, they hang out together and get along, help each other.

It’s so funny, my kids split out exactly half and half, one half of them I could have driven to Miami before they realized we weren’t headed to school, and the other half, if I took a different route would scream “you are going the wrong way!”

I value:

Interesting work, good pay, flexible hours.

Don’t care about:

Moving up a ladder, job title, other recognition or appreciation except in the sense of keeping my job.

I am scattered and more creative than organized in most ways but like the work of accounting and systems much more than “creative” careers. Generally speaking at any job I evolve into the universal backup and people come to me for help with their work, can often see solutions others can’t.

I am literally incapable of doing something I don’t understand, so sometimes slow at the start.

And if I didn’t have to work for money, could live a full and happy life without a job. It’s not something I need, but I don’t mind working either.

ETA: also, most productive and also physically strongest from about 14:00 to 19:00. Not an early bird or a night owl, an afternoon person.

And I guess should also add - I am Very sensitive to commute time. Don’t really like working from home but don’t want to travel by car more than 10 minutes, must also be on a bus line no transfer (transfer takes too long here) or walkable/bikeable without being flattened on some big road. I have managed this for at least 35 of the more than 40 years I have been working because it ranks very high in my list of wants for a job. I don’t want to be stranded if my car breaks and don’t want to be doing hours of unpaid commute time.

Based on my experience and that of my own kids, what worked and didn’t:

Kids are all different so there is not one plan that will suit them all! In general though - K-6 should be half day of academics, half day of electives and free time, they just need to learn to read and do math comfortably, understand the idea of variables and some basic science about the physical world. Grades 7-12 should have science, literature, maths, art of some sort (kid choice - dance, music, visual art, creative writing, something that makes them think in a different way) and some learning about the world in a cultural sense - political geography, history, government styles. Some sort of physical education too - dance or sport for those able, health and gentle movement education for those who are not able, everyone should learn to maintain their bodies not just their mind, they are connected.

The kids of mine who went through the “IB” here got by far the best education of my offspring, but they were also the most naturally academic of the lot so it suited them, understand? The others would just collapse in the face of a program like that! You can’t just force everyone into the same shape.

Here when there is a big line like that, usually they will temporarily rent more licenses. So it will say 38th in line for one of 8 copies, not just 38th. If it’s a popular new book they do that. I read mostly sci fi and fantasy, occasionally smut, it’s been solid for those categories. Have found many enjoyable reads and those sorts of books are great to read on the device. Stories. Informational/resource books less so, for me it is easier to go back & forth with a paper book.

ETA I don’t know why someone would down vote you for sharing your experience, that’s silly.

Books, though? If I had to buy every book I’ve read, I would be destitute and need a hundred storage units. Even with a concerted effort not to buy books I have a whole shelf of them.

Where are you? My wait here (mid size city in Florida) is usually 0-3weeks, unless they don’t have it at all, then I request and it can be 6 weeks to infinity. But they will send hard copy books around between libraries not even in our county, and the electronic collection is huge too.

Good food can be so indulgent and still healthy. When my kids were little I’d get a small container of raspberries at the grocery and eat them in the car to be selfish with them. Just didn’t have much for myself at that point in my life. Those honeycrisp apples are so delicious.

My mornings are indulgent because my days are busy.

No alarm to wake, husband wakes me gently.

Sex every day.

Coffee for work, often from the Cuban place up the street, and slow commute in by e-bike.

I also buy fancy cheese because I love that stuff, and have a large collection of liquors, liqueurs, and some wines, I don’t drink every day and honestly don’t drink enough to bother with anything I don’t love. Less and better is the way.

Sure, but it’s certainly the first thing to try. Get up when you need to, go to bed when you get sleepy. And I do think there is some “7:00” for everyone, some earliest time that can feel good, unless you have a literal sleep disorder, in which case asking the internet doesn’t seem like the best strategy.

How early? When I had to get up at 5, it just sucked no matter what. At 7? Just do it for a couple of weeks until you can be sleepy at 11pm, it will work itself out.

Down here we just have heat pump systems, often without any dedicated heating elements. So in the summer they work by displacing heat out of the house, and in winter are doing the opposite. But can’t work to get the house actually warm if it’s freezing outside, just warmer than outside. And in summer, can’t make it cold inside, but again, makes it colder than outside. It’s enough for most days of the year.

Anyway - these units need twice annual maintenance, plus regular repairs, devices that heat or cool just have to work so hard so much of the time. You can’t neglect that maintenance. Either hire someone or learn how to do it, because it has to be done.