Oh I definitely wasn't throwing shade at you! I love that your little buddy is all bundled up! I just hate the sentiment in general of people being snarky over dogs in clothes or shoes. Just had to get the rant out of my system is all!
Edit: dog tax
My response to "wolves don't wear sweaters" is "apes don't wear coats, yet here we are". Both are equally stupid. Just because a distinct other species that evolved with/from/alongside doesn't do something doesn't mean we shouldn't if it is advantageous for us.
I put boots on my dog in snow or the little turd gets snowballs frozen between his toes, chews them out, licking his feet, making them wet so snowballs attach bigger and faster, until his feet are ice balls. All this because it feels weird to him when the ice balls push on his toes so he removes them. He gets boots so the balls never form and he can run around like an idiot and enjoy the snow!
The unfortunate part is the two counties in KS most affected currently are two blue counties. They're the more densely populated part of the state being part of the Kansas City metro. Sucks 😔
Depending on the type, my grocery store is anywhere from $5-9 per dozen. Baking is getting expensive yo!
As an elder millennial I struggle to see the problem honestly. When cell phones first came out and teenagers started getting them when I was in high school, the policy was you could have the phone in your bag, but if the teacher saw it during class they would take it away and your parents would have to come get it at the end of the day.
I am not sure when schools started allowing phones to be a free for all, but going back to the original phone rules I had seems like the easiest solution no? Kids still have the phones in case of emergency, but they cannot use them during class. Is the concern about the confrontation of taking the phone from the kids? That's the only argument I can see, but if they resist, send them out! I'm genuinely confused here.
I think people who do sports with their dogs are likely to be able to see these preferences easier. I do agility with mine and there's a lot of time spent watching their feet and seeing where and how they start and land jumps and such. He tends to favor his left and will typically lead with it. When we're doing scentwork he also raises his left paw to signal as well. He uses both paws for all sorts of things, but I believe he does favor his left!
Eggs are also used in a lot of baked goods. If you're cooking at home and making a lot of things from scratch, eggs are common ingredients. In addition to that they're also an excellent source of protein that doesn't require any forethought or planning to just make in minutes. My husband and I go through a dozen every 7-10 days depending on what I'm making. That's not a ton, but considering most grocery prices are up it's frustrating. I can cut back on a lot of things, and I can make alternative recipes that don't include eggs for a lot of things, but then those things have a different texture, less protein, or can't exist at all. I'm already cooking nearly everything from scratch at home to save money as it is. Not buying eggs is a bigger sacrifice than many realize, especially for someone that loves to bake.
While I don't disagree that it engages different parts of the brain, reading audio books is still beneficial, and no studies have shown a demonstrable difference in a person's comprehensive ability using physical vs audiobooks. In fact, some groups like the National Literacy Trust have shown that audiobooks can be beneficial for engagement in education and if used properly, beneficial to the learning process in general. Humans (and our precursors) spent millennia conveying stories, culture and history entirely through verbal storytelling. As a species we have spent more time listening to stories and absorbing them that way than physically reading them.
While there is certainly a difference between reading and listening to books, I absolutely would not criticize anyone who chooses to pick up an audiobook vs not consuming books at all. Seeing words spelled out and the punctuation within the writing is helpful, especially for those learning to read or learning the language. But audiobooks are still books and as far as I'm concerned you "read" the book if you listened to the audio in full.
Boy would I like to live in the America that you think exists lol. Nearly 20% of US Hospital beds are at religiously affiliated hospitals. According to the Catholic Health Association 1 in 7 patients in the US are cared for in a Catholic hospital
They're not a "drop in the ocean" - they're prolific and everywhere. This is especially a problem in rural locations where they are the ONLY hospital. Even places that are metropolitan outliers, like a place I lived in high school, have issues because it may be a 30-45min drive to another hospital, that may or may not be covered by your insurance.
You think you understand the problem, but it's way bigger than you realize.
The irony is the state government in many instances has defacto prevented it in many states, even before the overturning of Roe. In a lot of states the governments passed laws making it so egregiously difficult, both logistically and financially, for small clinics to provide even simple abortion pill services, that every clinic was forced to close. This leaves only the larger hospitals, which are, you guessed it, religious institutions.
The long and short is, our country is a shit show. That said, I still do not think people should be able to deny medical care or government services (like marriage licenses) to others based on religious beliefs unless there is someone else immediately available to provide them instead.
Back many moons ago when I smoked I preferred unfiltered Lucky Strikes. I generally put them in ash trays anywhere I could find one, but if one wasn't available in the vicinity I had no qualms with dropping it and giving it a smash and twist with my whole to put it out and effectively destroy it. One rain, or even just a good fog, and it no longer existed. I agree I think this habit was continued when filters came into fashion and it's just not equivalent at all.