dejected_warp_core

Well that certainly gives nullification teeth. Interesting. Thank you.

And we’ve got generations of people who think that’s what music is supposed to sound like.

There was an article on Hacker News a little ways back, about this very phenomenon in China. Basically there's now a generation that has profound nostalgia for the absolutely awful and dirt-cheap playback tech available over a 30 years ago. To the point that "music doesn't sound right" on newer tech, and may well be outright un-listenable without crappy hardware in play. By this, I think we can predict that "Bluetooth audio emulation" on newer and better devices, is absolutely going to be a thing eventually.

The end result is that I don’t feel like I truly own my phone

You kinda/sorta don't. Manufacturers saw an opportunity to create a closed environment around the tech, not unlike gaming consoles, and made sure it happened that way. It may also be a side-effect of smartphones emerging from the same manufacturers that made far less capable and less open devices in generations prior (think old flip phones and 1st gen cell phones). Just like with game consoles, DRM (coupled with DMCA advantages) and the attached walled-garden retail environment are the prime motivators there. Marketing and financing help make sure it stays this way.

At the same time, providing a watered down platform for the masses did accelerate all the things OP is talking about. Phone/tablet apps make user interaction insanely^1 easy to do without any understanding of the platform its on. In contrast, PC's do a great job of requiring some amount of tech literacy before you start. So most people that would be stymied by the complexities^2 in a Windows system or Mac can easily do all kinds of internet-enabled things, for cheaper, on their phone. It's not a root cause by any measure, but I really do think that the commodification of software services in this way, has thrown gasoline on whatever fires were already burning.

1. Note: not "insanely great".
2. I know what you're thinking, dear reader. You would be surprised.

In my experience CXX folks were all about being seen and having something tangible to show off to potential partners and customers. It's one thing to give people a tour of your facility. It's another to meet up at a co-working space and settle in for a PowerPoint presentation full of abstract numbers and graphs about your "virtual "company. I'm not saying that's right, and I'm certainly not arguing for RTO, but it helps explain that motivation and total lack of confidence in WFH.

It's still a "primitive ape-brain" thing to do though.

I am not a lawyer.

Nullification is when the jury hands in a verdict of "not guilty", even though there's a preponderance of evidence that the law was indeed broken by the defendant. They basically ignore the Judge's instructions to weigh the evidence and do something else instead. This would trigger an appeal by the prosecution on the basis of mistrial, since the optics on that situation look like something procedural is way off.

I'm not well-versed in these matters, but I am intrigued by what would happen if this went to appeal. If it went all the way to SCOTUS, or even some appeals court with a crooked judge, that might not go so well for the defendant.

We're going back

Awesome. Another high-quality graphical Rogue spinoff? I'm there.

In the meantime, check out Torchlight 1&2 if you need something to tide you over. They're on the old side, but IMO scratch that itch.

Not to come off as a raging cynic, but I for one am not.

All one needs to do is work retail or food service on Sundays. Moral licensing is absolutely a thing, and it's awful. Such interactions can leave one with the impression that there's a huge mob of people out there that are more concerned with narrowly avoiding hell than ensuring their place in heaven. Nevermind trying to be good people.

That and absolutely nobody wins.

Tactical ballistic pizza? Count me in. Sounds reckless and delicious.

I think the balcony edge curves out into the room. The second pic from the loft bedroom kinda/sorta looks like it. Looks like crap with that straight railing though.

Invest in people.

Barring that: move to somewhere that is better for investing in people.

Doing better with only a focus on money, within a capitalist framework, will absolutely challenge your morals and ethics from time to time. Investing time in people, and community in general, has no such downside. Also, you'll need both to ascend Maslow's Hierarchy and be a well-rounded and healthy person around here. Succeeding in this area will also shift your viewpoint away from purely financial matters, or worse yet, basing your self-worth on your financial value to the market.