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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 15th, 2023

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  • Cats that don’t know any better can live inside just fine. But I adopted a cat from the shelter that was only allowed to go to a place where he can go outside. And he REALLY wanted to go outside. Usually you have to keep them inside for at least 6 weeks to accomodate before you allow them outside. He escaped through a tiny bathroom window after 2 weeks. And he came back the next morning wondering why I was stressed out. Since then I let him outside. Since then, he also became a lot more chill inside. No whirlstorm on my bed at 4 in the morning, no attacking my feet out of boredom, and he generally seems a lot calmer. Keeping him inside would drive both him and me crazy. So do we have to euthanise all cats like him? Cause locking them up inside is just cruel.


  • For the people unaware why EU4 is hard:

    Take risk (the board game)

    Now split the provinces till you have more than 3000 provinces. Then add variables to each region for culture, claims, trade good, trade power, buildings, development (in 3 aspects), the region they are part of, the trade node they are part of, religion, autonomy, unrest, devestation, temporary effects, and many many more.

    Do the same for armies.

    Add complicated politics, with royal marriages that allow countries to inherit other countries, war goals, casus belli requirements, etc.

    Add colonization mechanics.

    Add government mechanics (with many different variants for different governments ofcourse).

    Add a compex Holy Roman Empire system and a complex system for the Chinese empire.

    Add mechnics for different religions, including a pope and a religous war that can bring all of europe into a giant war.

    Add a pool of diplomats, merchants, generals, and missionaries.

    Now realise that I haven’t played the game for ages, and this was just mechanics from the top of my head, and without what they added in the last few years.

    EU4 is not hard due to required reflexes, muscle memory learning, or rythm feeling. It is just a lot of things to learn and to keep track of, woven into a super complicated simulation.


  • The puzzling part is fun, because you are constantly learning new ways to use your body. See how to balance, how to move around, etc. I have found that dancing gives a similar learning challenge. Especially the more free-form dances like salsa and bachata. It’s fun learning new moves every week during the lesson, and then try to see if you can put them to practise during a party.

    And don’t worry about beeing to stiff. If you can balance around boulders, you can get your body to move around for dancing too. Just takes some practise. I currently do both, and feel like I lack dexterity more for the climbing than for the dancing.

    And unlike most of the hand-friendly options mentioned already, you do have to use your hands and arms a lot. Just not in a way that puts any stress on them.







  • My physiotherapist stuck a needle in my muscles, instantly relaxing them. That was certainly not a placebo effect, as I didn’t really feel the needle, till the muscle suddenly spasmed into a relaxed state.

    He only did it in two or three spots, so it’s not acupuncture in the sense that you become the pincushion for a quilting enthousiast. But it certainly is sticking needles into your skin for a medical reason. The proper medical term is dry needling.


  • Point 1 has to be chosen when the cat is young. Forcing an outside cat to suddenly only be inside often doesn’t work.

    I adopted a 7-year-old cat from the shelter, and after a week of having to be inside all the time, he got more and more frustrated. After a week and a half, he escaped during the night. In the morning, while I was panicking, he came strolling in as if nothing was wrong.

    Since he apparently comes back, I allowed him outside from then on. Since that moment, his behaviour inside has improved a lot. No more random play attacks on my ankles and hands, and generally much calmer.

    He has also come back home with mice several times. He always eats them. So I think he is very used to living outside. Maybe been a stray, or a farm cat.

    Forcing him to be inside would feel cruel.


  • Where I live, the places that do blood donations, also do plasma donations. The process is longer, but is otherwise a similar experience. And since plasma is extracted from blood, it is not entirely wrong to argue that people can get paid for blood donations in the US. It is not accurate, but I would argue the statement is probably based on a truth.