I only ever played the first one! My dad picked up the CD somewhere while working on a busted computer, I think? I replayed it like 12 times because I thought it was so interesting as a kid.

It's Megan! I'm going insane!

Honestly, this whole thing has a cohesive vibe to it (or maybe that's just the mood I'm in). Either way, I like it!

I've considered it before, but maybe I should look into it a bit more concertedly! Every time I've gone into a doctor for a long term condition, they inevitably tell me to take B12 for 2 months and come back, and by that time I've usually lost my motivation for doing something about it. 😆

My spouse: I was promised flying cars, and I don't even get a conversation pit!

They're not technically a non-profit, but there is a co-op doing exactly this named, very creatively, The Drivers Cooperative. They're only in Colorado and New York (and I think specifically NYC) right now, but it's exciting to see that happening.

I was actively taught in high school that "unions were nice, but not necessary any more, they get in the way of all our very cool free trade!"

Obviously, my thinking on that has changed a whole lot, but both my partner and I got fed that kind of rhetoric straight out of text books.

The wiki just says they're married. I know it's not "official", but it's official in my heart.

Yup, and that's mostly what I was looking for. I just kinda assumed it was an autism-related sensitivity thing, but it's nice to have confirmation. Thanks for sharing!

That's a very interesting way to think about it, and as I think about an actual intense physical response like that, this kinda feels like a constant, low level version of that. Thanks for the articles! I definitely want to go dive into those.

Yeah, that's kinda the vibe I get. It's definitely a receiving instead of initiating thing for me, too. I don't know that it's worse (because skin on fire sounds awful), but it's kinda different.

To the Moon was great. It's made with RPG Maker and it shows, but it hits hard.

I have an irrational fondness for it. The stat leveling mechanic is real double-edged sword, though.

Unless we're talking about 2/4 (with Cecil as the main character), in which case that one's just an absolute banger, no notes.

We think sand clocks have only been in use since the middle ages, and the reason they were invented is pretty interesting. (At least in Europe; I've looked into this before and couldn't find any other sources, but I may just not have looked hard enough).

For reasonably accurate time keeping, people had been using water clocks since at least the 16th century BCE. Basically the same idea as a sand clock, but water, which was slightly easier to feed into a reservoir. We don't think sand clocks really saw any use until the 13th or 14th century CE. Mostly, people needed to keep more accurate time on ships as oceanic voyages became more common, but the movement of the vessel messed up a water clock too badly to be useful, and pendulums had the same problem. So, enter a sand clock! Basically the same idea as a water clock, but way less prone to errors from the ship's movement.

(edit: some spelling)

Fun fact: we're pretty sure this is why hourglasses (or sand clocks in general) were invented! They flow at a pretty consistent rate even on board a ship, and were basically just a tweak on the design of a water clock.

Oh, definitely. It's also worth noting that he definitely wasn't a geologist, despite having an interest in it. I was mostly just mentioning it because there were theories trying to explain the similarities across landmasses before plate tectonics. We may not always be right about why, but we're really good at noticing stuff like that (even when it doesn't mean anything).

FWIW, seconded. These look basically identical the grape hyacinth bulbs in my yard.

You can check by making a tea out of them. I don't recommend drinking it (it's mostly just "green" flavor), but it works as a pH indicator. If you add a bit of lemon juice, it should turn pink!

Darwin believed one of the more popular explanations of his time: expanding Earth theory. Basically, the planet was like an expanding dough ball. It decently explained why things looked like they fit together. Darwin even went out to Patagonia to investigate some cliffs, and basically "confirmed" the theory.

Creating an endless torture mansion (finally got around to Sexy Brutale)

That honestly sounds like the way to go, and I'll probably look into it when I have more time. I'm more a software person than a sysadmin and I'm not wildly confident that I won't accidentally close us down for a few days without a lot of prep. 😆