Ask Lemmy

2 questions, feel free to answer one or both.

Happy Ides of March everyone! According to the Romans, it is the unluckiest day of the year, with it being cursed (I'm even taking breaks on certain things due to it, as one might notice with the icons). What in your life do you most associate with it?

I’ve seen some friends that keep their places like caves; all curtains and blinds closed with maybe some lights on. Some even going so far as to put up foil and completely blocking out light. I like having blinds and curtains open with maybe just a sheer curtain to diffuse the light but I enjoy it being bright. So how do you like your space lit with natural light?

I love Southern fried chicken, and I'm pretty fond of waffles (savoury with bacon and maple syrup, or sweet) but I cannot imagine the combination as working at all.

They're both a little dry on the outside and soft on the inside. It feels like they really don't complement or contrast with each other. I'm sure I'd eat it if I had so alternative, but I can imagine how it is a classic American paring. I'd much rather have fries, slaw, or potato salad which all seem to offer a creamy or crunchy contrast.

Am I missing something? People who like it, what's good about it? Is the secret lots of maple syrup? Are the waffles different that usual? Is it not actually that popular? I'm a decadent European, so I can't just go somewhere and try them myself.

Today I was attending a lecture about blockchain and cryptocurrencies and the lecturer said that freedom and safety don't go together. You can have more freedom by abandoning safety. Would you agree?

There's a lot of musicians who are huge in Europe, but not in the US. Robbie Williams, Anastacia, most of Eurodance,... What musicians are the other way round?

I'm about to start my 12 week paternity leave next week thanks to a state program and almost everyone that I've told has had their jaws on the floor that I would even want to do that.

Today I witnessed a group of coworkers almost bragging how little time they took after their kids were born. I've heard stuff like "Most men are hard working and want to support their families so they don't take leave".

To me it was a no brainer, I'm getting ~85% of my normal pay and I get to take care of my wife, our son and our newborn for 3 whole months. and for someone who hasn't taken a day breathe in the past 3 years I think I deserve it.

I'm in the US so I know it's a "strange" concept, but people have seemed genuinely upset, people it doesn't affect at all. Again, it's a state program available to almost anyone who's worked in the past 2 years, I've talked to soon to be dads who scoffed at the idea and were happy to use a week of pto and that's it.

I feel like I'm missing something.

And no, the microwave is not a valid option.

As in, channels where the presenter is laid back, calming, and the content is slower paced and chill. My go two examples are LGR for retro computer stuff, and Hainbach for experimental tape music.

Sorry, I'm sure this has been asked recently but I can't find it while searching.

Are there any web based lemmy clients (like alexandrite) out there that allow post filtering by keyword? I'm not as concerned about filtering comments, but that would be nice as well.

And if it has to be an app, any suggestions for a linux desktop?

I don't really like discord, but my gaming group have been using it for rpg stuff. Chat channels, video calls and easy to setup bots have all been really useful.

But I get the feeling the enshitification is going to get worse, so I was looking for somewhere else to migrate to. The video stuff isn't as important, we could switch easily to other services. But before I start a new campaign, and spend time setting up bots with routines for rolling dice and calculating tables, I'd like to do it somewhere that isn't in talks for an IPO.

I'm not really up on stuff like this, so I don't know if there's some obvious similar choices or an alternative medium that I haven't considered.

So I've been working in retail for a while and seen my share of odd and rude customers, but today I had my very first "Karen", and he was american also. (I'm not, and I'm in Australia).

The store I work for doesn't give their bags for free, we charge for them. This guy picked an online order and then threw up a tantrum and demanded to speak to a manager when I refused to give him a bag for free. Another team member (more experienced) just gave him the bag and he just left.

That does it I guess, but it's giving in to rude demands what sustains this kind of behavior imo. I'm not trying to protect the interests of the corporate I work for- it's just a stupid bag ffs, perhaps ask nicely? I've been called off both for giving away bags for free before as well as calling for the manager to deal with "minor issues".

So I'm asking, in general, how do you deal with these types of customers?

I have a few blogpost rss feeds that I like to follow. And a few news podcast rss feeds. I would like a few more written news feeds (ideally one that is not super spammy)

So what topics do my fellow lemms like to keep tabs on that support rss?

I'm in my late 20s. In the last years, I've moved a few times and tried out a bunch of things. And discovered I have a hard time getting close to people.

I used to think I just need to go out more. But I found out that most people I meet just don't seem to "fit" with me.

Let's say I meet some interesting people, who are funny, smart and have shared interests with me. We make a bit of small talk, hang out, and then I go home exhausted, feeling like I just came out of a work meeting that should have been an email. And given from how they rarely invite me back, I guess the feeling is mutual.

Someone told me I am quite cold towards people I don't know well. Part of that might be that my usual way of talking is a bit emotionless. Another part could be a consequence of me basically going through the script in my head. "How is work these days? Cool. Yeah, me too. Yup." I don't want to be this way. But I also don't want to go into full sales presentation mode, because that feels really wrong.

I used to think I would just become misanthropic. But there are people where I just click with. Talking to them is not a chore, but something I look forward to. And they seem to enjoy my company as well. Some events seem to have a lot more of "my people", some less.

If you read my rambling until here, thanks. I genuinely don't know any more. Am I becoming the old sod sitting on his porch yelling at kids? Or am I just spending time on the wrong people? Have you experienced something similar? And how could I change this?

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Do you have the impression that alcohol consumption that was pretty normalized a few years back on every social occasion is getting questioned lately? What do you think about it?

I've been thinking about this especially as tariffs are set to make non-plastic even more expensive, and we're going to see EVEN MORE products that traditionally were glass/aluminum become plastic...Not just from an 'ecowarrior' thing but micro/nanoplastic pollution, what are your tips to avoid plastic packages as it seems increasingly the 'only' option for so many products now... even 75% of veggies at my local super are plastic wrapped with no alternative!!! Yes, I use the bulk section... what other tips/hacks do you have, if any?