The Indifferent Stars Above It’s a book about the Donner Party. Unfortunately all lost people learn about is “people eat each other” but the actual story so much more intriguing and that one little anecdote really minimizes the whole thing. It’s a string of bad luck coupled with greedy speculators, classism, hubris, and plain stubbornness.

The crazy thing to me is how close they almost made it to not being stuck in the mountains, one day. They sent a group out to try and get to California and alert people to their plight, that story is harrowing in its own right. Add to that, many of the survivors settled in some of the most beautiful and now expensive land in California and it’s just a wild ride from beginning to end.

Jokes on you barber, I’ve been bald since I was 25. I couldn’t get a different haircut if I tried.

. It largely depends on how they are investing in it. Gold is a commodity just like lumber, gas, cotton, or livestock. You can invest in them like you would a stock or a mutual fund. Just like those other investments, the price will change daily based on the market. Gold is a weird one because everyone knows it was valuable historically and many people have physical versions of it. People use gold in their investment portfolios to hedge against some of their risk because typically the value of gold would go up when stocks would go down but our money was also tied to gold 50+years ago. The physical versions will change price too but they change differently.

• Gold coins? Unless they’re old or rare, they’re only worth the face value.
• Gold jewelry? It has value if it’s solid and not plated and then you need to get it appraised to know a fair value.
• Bullion? Probably the best form to have it in because that’s what countries and people that want to transfer physical gold will use.

In the event of total societal collapse, gold won’t matter other than it’s a shiny metal. They are better off investing in something more useful like the lumber.

My favorite was “Halloween” in Halo 2 multiplayer, kind of a knock off “hide-n-seek” but with a twist.

No shields, no radar, the only weapons were a sword and a pistol, and you only had one life. One player was “Michael Meyers”, that player had the sword and chased down everyone else. All the other players hid while Michael picked you off one by one. Once one player was left, that person became Jamie Lee Curtis and could try to take down Michael Meyers. (To be fair that person should be Dr Loomis or Laurie Strode but it was more fun to use the actor’s name than a character.)

The twist was the music. In Halo 2, you could hear enemy team chatter through the tv speakers and it got louder as you got closer to the enemy. Using that, Michael Meyers would have the Halloween theme song playing so you knew when he was close but you didn’t know where he was. It was truly thrilling, you hear the music, you know he’s close, but not where, the music would get louder and louder as he approached….and then he would walk right by your hiding spot. Or, you’re walking around as the music builds so you know he’s close, you think you’re safe because you have an idea where he is, and suddenly he’s right behind you with a sword in your back.

This is my simple history as some who never lived there but has a degree in history.

In the 1800s, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho were part of the Oregon territory. In the middle of that century, white settlers began to move in and they hated slavery and didn’t want it but they hated free black people even more than slaves. They eventually passed a few laws that banned “negroes” and “mullatos”. The area also had a large influx of religious fundamentalist and separatists in its early history.Those laws were eventually repealed but created the majority white population of that area.

The early/mid 20th century saw other issues like the KKK but those were minor compared to what comes later. Cut to the 1970s and the Aryan Nations and other white nationalist groups began to move there. Those groups grew and encouraged more like minded racists to move there in hopes of setting up a whites only homeland.

Sometimes people like things that you don’t. If don’t like it, don’t waste your time trying to figure it out. Move on and let others enjoy things they like.

Anything that helps people with health care is a win but this is another tiny band aid on the leaking dam of American health care. Plus they’re adding stipulations on eligibility.

Spindrift is the brand but it’s basically what you described, unsweetened fruit juice with sparkling water. I think the ratio is a little different but exact same idea. I like the flavor of beer but I just need the tartness and the bubbles to be happy.

I don’t know if you can get it in Australia but I like Spindrift seltzer/sparkling water when I want a beer substitute. Obviously it doesn’t taste like beer. I was someone who hated seltzer for a long time, none of it tasted right and too fruity but also somehow not enough since its just sparkling water. Someone recommended Spindrift since they use real fruit so it has some real flavor but it’s still low in calories. I’m partial to the grapefruit flavor because it’s the most tart/crisp.

No worries, in Voyager it’s in Settings and under General and you just toggle the switch to “always use”. If you’re on a PC and using a browser, each browser has reader view in it somewhere but you may not be able to use “always on”. You can always use https://archive.is/ too, copy the website address and paste it there and it’ll typically bypass most pay/login walls.

Most browsers have a “Reader” mode and that allows to bypass many login and paywall prompts. I use Voyager to browse Lemmy and I have to set up to automatically bring up Reader view for all websites, I didn’t even know there was an issue until I saw your comment.

Some of them will never get it, even if it’s spelled out right in front of their face.

Randall has known Binod for more than 16 years. A self-described conservative constitutionalist Christian, he blames Joe Biden for Binod’s deportation. “Biden was completely responsible for it. Trump wasn’t,” he said. In Randall’s view, Trump was “just fixing the border”, cleaning up after Biden’s failure to control immigration, and Binod was collateral damage.

I’m not sure where this picture was taken, but if it’s in Rome, then this still probably built by Romans. Just not the ancient ones.

It’s amusing how much time and energy the GOP is wasting on one race that was just a mayoral race. Aren’t they elected representatives of large swaths of people who aren’t in New York City? Don’t those people have problems and issues that need addressed? How does Greg Abbot’s snarky comment help the people of Texas? How does any Senator/Representative wasting time on Zorhan Mamdani help get the government open again?

All volumes of the Uncle John’s Bathroom Readers. My brain is mostly just useless trivia.

Whenever theytry to make Pvt Bonespurs look “manly” it always looks so sad and desperate

Love this bit

But there is something different and unsettling here: It’s people being able to use my face (easily) to create content for potential sexual gratification without my consent.

But she did consent when she allowed people to use her face. I’m not saying what those people are doing with it are morally right but she consented when she clicked the box allowing cameos.

Estrada came to my mall reopening in like 2011, my buddy and I were the only dudes in line and we brought our Sealab DVDs for him to sign. “ His comment was “Oh, Sealab…that was a trip”

It was a long time ago but I remember it being difficult for me. That door of the cell closes behind you and then it’s just you and your time. My cell was totally empty except for the bed but it was comfortable enough. The slit of light through the window was my only companion for the duration. They gave me enough time to think about what I did and I knew that I when I was finally free, I never wanted to go back again. I vividly remember when I was finally released, my mom opened the door the spare bedroom and said “Your thirty minutes are done.” And I was free to go.