paultimate14

Bread, pasta, tortillas, chips, rice, etc. They are all just vehicles for sauce.

I can't find that Sonos has ever made hearing aides. They make wifi-based "smart" speaker and, more recently, headphones that are part of that ecosystem.

1. They're way overpriced for what they are, similar to the Apple model. Just charging really high prices and trying to create an aura of "premiumness" to justify it. Not the most egregious offense, but annoying

2. The app launch. The app now takes forever to open and I often have to retry opening it around 4-6 times anytime I want to do anything. Considering these are speakers, and that often means that I want to pause, play, change the track, or change the volume. Those are all usually functions where having to wait 60-300 seconds is an unbearably long time, especially when you need to lower the volume. Worst of all, I have my living room TV going into the Line In on one of the speakers, and the entire section of the app called "Sources" where I can select that just disappears entirely ~80% of the time. So if I go to watch TV or play videogames or whatever and my wife was listening to music earlier now I've got to wait several minutes of reloading the app to be able to just use the direct line-in.

They also removed the feature to play audio files that were on the controlling device. Other users have complained of other features like alarms that got removed or broken, though I didn't use those.

The old version of the app was not particularly great, but the replacement was a clear downgrade and made previously purchased hardware worse.

3. A bit ago they had another controversy where you could "retire" of devices you didn't want anymore. What did this feature do? Why, it just bricked the device and turned it into e-waste no one can ever use again! What could go wrong?

4. More of my complaint for my specific speakers because I don't know if they're whole lineup is like this, but really annoying that only 1 of my 2 speakers even has a line-in, and neither of them have Bluetooth options. I've got to just hope everything i want to listen to is on a specific supported service, or find a way to get the audio to play on the TV if that isn't in use.

They were gifts from my in-laws. I was kind of skeptical about it but they weren't too bad until the app change. I was even considering maybe getting another speaker to fill out the house before all this. But now I'm looking to get out of the ecosystem- maybe just build my own home theater speaker system for the living room and get a plain old Bluetooth speaker for the bedroom.

I think there were two underlying assumptions that needed to be addressed. 1. Are videogames addictive at all? And 2. Is this problem changing over time?

#1 is controversial and depends on what you really mean by the word "addictive". The American Psychiatric Association does NOT recognize videogame addiction, or other so-called "psychological addictions". The World Health Organization DOES recognize videogame addiction. It's important to note that both of these organizations have different structures, operate in different spheres, and have different goals, and both have been criticized for their stance on the issue.

The WHO is a part of the UN, with representatives from 194 member states. It is a fundamentally political organization, and they handle not only purely physiological issues like viruses, but also socioeconomic issues like food security. The APA on the other hand, is a professional organization. While technically specific to the US, the US is such a cultural, scientific, and economic influence in the world that such organizations tend to have outsized influence in their global industries too. Neither is perfect and both are of course subject to politics or other influence. The APA may just be saying "we don't want to be the ones to deal with this" with regards to psychological addictions (which makes some sense as they are Psychiatrists, not Psychologists).

So it kind of depends on who you ask and why. Similar to gambling addiction, sex addiction, or a variety of other things that might be better treated as "compulsive behavior", which is very different from chemical substances creating cycles of physiological dependency. Heck, there's a strong argument that THC is not an addictive chemical. This is the kind of thing that people call "addiction" in casual conversation, but in professional medical contexts that may not be appropriate.

Either way, have games becomes more compulsive over time? Or perhaps less so? That's the kind of thing that is much easier to measure with substance addiction, where researchers can control dosages, compare to a control group, make observations and take surveys over time and even just analyze the substances to see how things are changing over time (how is it being sourced, cut, and distributed and is that changing addictive properties on the street?). For compulsions, the individual personality is a key component.

For example, my rudimentary understanding is that with substances like nicotine and caffeine, they WILL cause symptoms of addiction if you take "enough", and that amount changes based on things like height, weight, metabolism, etc. You could go back in time and test it on a Roman vs a Mayan vs an Abbasid and I would expect pretty predictable results. Psychologic addiction could depend heavily on the society, culture, circumstances, and mindset of the individual.

If you could somehow prove that players were suffering from compulsion to play videogames at a higher rate today than 30 years ago, is that because the games have changed? Or has the player changed? The very screens themselves have changed- could it be as simple as LCD's vs CRT's, and do we see similar upticks in general screen viewing?

Or could it be the increase in marketing- we are constantly assaulted today by billboards, pop-ups, product placements, ad reads, and various other interruptions constantly trying to influence our behavior to consume more. Should we blame the products we are consuming, the people doing the consuming, or perhaps the billions of dollars going into the advertising industry to harvest our data and trick us into consuming as much as possible?

And does it make sense to evaluate all videogames similarly? Is it fair to compare Elden Ring to Raid Shadow Legends? BioShock Infinite to Candy Crush? Heck, I only mentioned gambling addictions in passing, but could the real heart of things be the loot boxes and other gambling elements taking shelter in "gaming" like they have for thousands of years? I haven't even mentioned Fantasy Football- does that count as a game for this conversation?

Is it wrong to enjoy something too much? Is it somehow morally evil to stimulate our senses too much? That's something that's been explored in a lot of sci-fi and fantasy- off the top of my head I remember reading "The Giver" in middle school which had some similar themes.

Where I land is that there does need to be some responsibility and accountability. Parents need to pay attention to what children are doing (it would be nice if we lived in a society that had the economic freedom for more stay-home parents, but alas we seem to have lost that for good). Gambling clearly needs some regulations in all forms. But if some adult wants to dedicate a lot of their time to playing videogames.. why not? There's a lot worse you could be getting up to.

All media has always been a target for those seeking power. Pretty much all religious texts have archaeological evidence of editing over time. The most famous modern example is probably the King James Bible. Political leaders always want more ways to control what ideas the people have- plays in ancient Greece, the very first newspapers, the distribution of books, movies, television, videogames, and now the Internet. And there's always the resistance to change and just general animosity older generations have against younger- I think about how Belle from Beauty and the Beast was ostracized in her village for literacy as an example. So I think it's important to ask- is there REALLY a concern about "addiction", or is it just the people in power looking for more? If someone wanted to spend all of their free time plotting ways to exploit the working class we encourage that, but playing some videogames is really that bad?

Among other criticisms, "using technology" does not mean something is "digital". The example on the rock seems to be analog from everything in the post above.

So I'll start by saying I may just be wired differently. I have friends who struggle with severe ADHD and chronic depression, and I can confidently say I have neither.

There is definitely some component desire or temptation inherent to humanity. Every religion I can think of has at least sone sect that focuses on this. You could look at the snake tempting Eve in the garden of Eden or ascetic Buddhist monks that deny themselves the pleasures of the flesh. Often this is as much about people in power trying to control others as it is about anything else- a well-documented recent example would be the way the Islamic State used sexual denial to make their recruits more violent and less rational, using an afterlife of sexual reward as an incentive. It does not have to be religious, but when you dive into the history of most groups advocating for self-deprevation theres usually a strong religious component. Mormons don't drink, Jews have Kosher restrictions, Muslims have Halal restrictions, and smaller groups like the Millerites, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Scientists, 7th Day Adventists (like Kellog), etc. Heck, Alcoholics Anonymous was founded with absolutely zero science or academia- it's a 12 step program because Jesus has 12 apostles. And studies on its efficacy have had... Let's say mixed results. You also see groups advocating for moderation and balance, although I'm struggling to think of many examples at the moment.

On a personal note I have two approaches that have helped me. The first is to get in the habit of considering as much information as you reasonably can for your decision making. This is easier said than done, and decision-making fatigue is a very real thing. I'm an accountant, so for me it's about fully understanding the transactions I make. If I want to grab a beer, I'm thinking about not just how it will taste and make me feel in that moment, but how much it cost me to buy and how I'm going to feel the next day- my sleep will be worse, I will have consumed more calories and carbs so I'll be in worse shape, my eyes will probably be tired, my joints will be inflamed (look forward to aging lol). Plus opportunity costs- I have my own boundaries and rules that I follow for drinking (no driving, power tools, ladders, working, etc).

And it's not just drinking. If I get an ad for some neat gadget or doodad that I'm interested in, I'll start to think about how many hours of work it takes to earn the money to buy it. Where is that item going to live in my house? Does it need charged, and where is the charger going to live? How long is this going to last?

Which brings me to my second piece of advice: set yourself up for success. Proper sleep and nutrition are really important for fighting decision fatigue. That's why it's often a good idea to "sleep on it" before making decisions. Post-nut clarity is a bit of a meme but also has some validity. Don't go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. If you're freshly trying to stop or cut back on something like alcohol, drugs, or playing a videogame, maybe you need to take a break from hanging out with friends who are doing that. Or ask them to do something else instead. Block ads or stop going to websites that are bad about that.

And also recognize that's it's okay to not be perfect. If you focus on the same of failure that can often lead to just a downward spiral. Moderation is often a lot healthier than cutting things out entirely. Just taking the time to think about your decisions is huge. Impulse buying and eating a chocolate bar when you're on a diet or a budget is bad, but planning ahead and saying "this Friday I'm going to treat myself to this nice chocolate bar as a bit of a break, a bit of a reward" can be fine. It depends on who you are and what you're dealing with: that may not be fine if you're 600lbs.

I rewatched the first one a couple years ago and thought it had aged pretty well. I don't remember any of the jokes being mean or really punching down on anyone.

I could be forgetting something and I haven't watched the sequels since they first came out though. My guess would be that Fat Bastard is probably the part of the franchise that aged the worst. Even when he was introduced the whole joke was "hey it's a fat guy!", which was one of the weaker jokes.

I also watched The Pentaverate when it came out and thought that was great. It's a Netflix miniseries sith very similar humor where Mike Meyers plays like half the characters. It's a parody of conspiracy theories like the Da Vinci Code, not spy movies, but still pretty good.

Junior year of high school, I was starting to get myself together and start interacting with girls in my class. Ended up becoming good friends with one who ended up being single a couple months before prom.

So I ask her to prom and she says "yes". I buy the tickets for both of us (a couple hundred bucks- good thing I had a job). She bought a dress and I rented a matching tux. My plan was to ask her to start dating AT prom.

But in the time between me asking her to prom and the actual prom, some underclassman just asked her out on a date. And she said "yes" to that too. And they started dating and were BF and GF. At this point where I've dropped a ton of money on this prom, made plans with her friends and all their BF's, etc.

I stand my ground. Prom happens and we have a decent time- her BF does not go. He joins us at a restaurant afterwards and it's an incredibly awkward night.

That summer the two of them broke up and I asked her out. We dated through senior year, went to different colleges and broke up halfway through our freshman years. She had tons of guy friends who were clearly trying to date her that she always humored. She claimed they were just friends (a lot of them were ex's) but she clearly loved the attention they, and I, gave her trying to compete for her. I'm not the jealous type but that was exhausting. In retrospect her dating another guy while in the month leading up to that prom was a huge red flag and I should have ran then.

I guess I'm confused about what you're proposing then. Why would anyone - consumers, Microsoft, or Nintendo/Sony - want an Xbox operating system on a non-Xbox console?

Not worth bothering with for me.