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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: July 2nd, 2023

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  • Lol! That is true and I’d be in a totally different place in my life had I done that. I am grateful for those experiences for sure and wishing won’t change the past. One thing I keep coming back to though is maybe I should try to reconnect with some of these people that I once knew, because I have this habit of not keeping up with people that aren’t in my immediate social circle (out of sight, out of mind and all that) so I haven’t talked to alot of people I once considered friends for years. I get anxious at the thought of talking to them again and I know that’s irrational. Have you ever gotten back in touch with old friends that you did this to, how did they take it when you tried to contact them?


  • I think for most Americans who want to leave it’s going to be hard or unattainable. This is a VERY broad generalization and anecdotal, but any time I’ve looked into moving to other countries (primarily European countries), it has seemed that you need to be a skilled worker or have a lot of capital to support yourself while you work through the visa process to stay as a student or an entrepreneur or whatever. Having only a bachelor’s degree in German and International affairs (and that degree has aged 10 years), that doesn’t include me; I’m not a Doctor, not computer scientist, nor an engineer, or any other type worker that could be described as skilled and I don’t have a lot of spare cash either.

    Sorry I’m about to rant, but I need to get this off my chest so skip if you don’t care to read this: Currently, I can’t afford to go back to school, so I’m hard-pressed to figure out how I could make it happen. I interned in Germany for a year way back and I’m kicking myself that I didn’t use my time while I had the residence permit to better myself and try to get an in by applying for a master’s program at nearby universities or seeking further employment with NGOs, non-profits, or companies willing to bring me in. Instead I treated the experience as a vacation and while I have lots of good memories and I learned a lot and I now speak the language well (and I still do after a decade) I keep coming back to how I could have done more. I did not get a permanent place in the company I worked with and I did not build my network, it makes me sad that I did this to myself. I want to go back to Germany for my own reasons that have nothing to do with today’s politics, I just felt like I fit in there. I don’t feel entirely hopeless about my prospects of returning, but I’ve increased the difficulty substantially by letting so much time pass without taking further steps. Now I’m just confused and don’t know where to begin (again.)

    In any case, that was only my experience; your milage may vary as they say and if you did read the last paragraph, then I appreciate you listening. I would actually be interested to hear other people’s experiences as to how they made it abroad and how they did it and what trials the experienced along the way. If any of you are considering moving to another country, whatever the reason, I sincerely hope achieve that goal. Living abroad is an experience that I would encourage anyone who can manage it.

    Edited for grammar and spelling




  • I hope it’s not for a long time. I grew up seeing my great grandmother age gracefully and finally pass in peace in her favorite chair reading John Grisham novels. I admired that woman so much, despite the fact that she lived alone, her life partner long gone, she enjoyed her humble life in her cozy home.

    I hope to do the same, for my heart to just stop beating in my advanced age. I’ve told my family that I don’t think I’ll mind even if I’m the last to go, I want to see how it all ends. I want to see the good and the bad of everything. I want to live as long as I possibly can.









  • There’s plenty of reasons to be fearful or suspicious: corporations who develop all the new tech we use today have shown already they don’t respect our privacy. Our smartphones, computers, and other Internet connected devices are always harvesting data to advertise to us, so it follows that any brain-implanted device could be used to harvest data for similar purposes. Not everyone gives a shit about this one, but there are plenty who would at least like to be paid for the data that is collected from them and used for profit; barring that we should have the right to forbid data collection without consent.

    There are, of course, more sinister applications for brain-implanted devices that can interface with the Internet (and if they don’t now, they surely will in the future). I think a lot of us immediately think of the science fiction book and movie, “Minority Report” wherein law enforcement has access to the private thoughts of citizens and arrests and convicts those who have contemplated crime but have not yet perpetrated the crime. Any sane person would never allow the police access to one’s private thoughts, let alone a corporation.

    Elon Musk has said his ultimate goal with Neuralink goes beyond merely restoring function to injured parts of the body; he wants to make it possible to save and load memories and with those two functions we may also be able to delete memories too. Imagine someone hacking your memories, it could fundamentally alter your perception of yourself and your reality. You could become a prisoner in your own brain, subjected to the censorship of a corporation or government.

    These are worst case scenarios and I’m not saying we are there yet, maybe not even close to that level of technology, but we should be aware of what kind of control we may be giving away to a company or authority by allowing such implants to be installed. I hope that we will use it as a means of improving people’s lives, but I’m very cautiously optimistic as well.


  • To me such language signals that the author’s purpose is not to enlighten or dispell ignorance, but to get the upper hand, be the one who is “right” and the opponent is made “wrong.” It’s not only a lazy way of thinking, but it prevents anyone from actually learning anything. Instead we just get to be self-righteous for being “smart.”

    Any time I see an article that attempts to bash, slam, destroy, demolish, etc, etc. I cannot take it seriously because the author has convinced me from the start they are not interested in inspiring honest dialogue about a social issue. They just want to draw you into their own limited, biased way of thinking.