For most things in life I generally follow Adam Savage's advice: "Buy cheap tools until you know what you really need from that tool, then buy the best version you can afford."

However, when it comes to things that are related to safety or protect you from harm the more expensive/high quality they get, that advice goes out the window. Case in point, PC PSUs. You probably don't want your newly built PC to burst in flames because you skimped on it to buy a poorly rated PSU.

Does abandonware count? If yes, then absolutely lol

My childhood was spent playing abandonware because our home pc wasn't strong enough for modern games at the time, so this is basically just reliving that while getting paid lol.

If abandonware doesn't count, there's still enough stuff that's ended up in the public domain to make it worth it (books and movies).

Weirdos of the world unite! I'm all for equal-opportunity horniness lol.

I guess it's unnatural for a large group of people, since a lot of people aren't sex positive due to upbringing or some other factors.

I'm personally mostly okay with how the game handles sex and romance, and I also have friends who are completely okay with the game's nudity as well (heck we even have a multiplayer character running around naked in camp lol). But I do have some other friends who were taken aback when character customization came up and genital customization was a thing.

Same thing with Japan! Some people even live inside cafes. Internet cafes will still have a niche and function to fulfill, even if they aren't the same as what they were originally in the 90s.

To be fair, Raul is an actual Hispanic name. Rortugal has no excuse though lol

You and me both. Also means giving up certain comforts, but that's kind of the point. Maybe that's why the secular monastery doesn't exist- it'd be a huge sacrifice for those who would participate in it and still require some cooperation/consent/aid from others in the community/society (as much as self-sufficiency would be ideal). I'm thinking about how much people (and governments) already don't want to fund universities which give tangible benefits, and how much worse it'll be for secular monasteries.

But hey, I also want this, and it'd be interesting to see what insights would come from a place of thinking unconstrained by the trappings of modern society.

(Or it could basically just be libraries and being a librarian but more extreme lol)

To add a more recent film to those on the list, Silence (2016). It deals with Catholic missionaries in Japan during the years of the Shogunate. It asks questions about the moral dilemmas of faith and sacrifice, and is pretty dark, both in theme and cinematography (the colour palette of the movie is very very grey) which isn't something a lot of modern Christian films ask or do.

ShareX. The ability to screenshot or record a video of practically anything onscreen with any shape or form, assign hotkeys to certain tasks, and the ability to automate all of that and attach to other applications/processes for a smoother workflow? For free? Count me in.

I echo this sentiment so much. A lot of folk my age or older like to place the blame on the younger ones for issues beyond their control (like generations before them lol) but I do see the younger ones being a lot more outspoken about issues. I feel like its up to us older generations to ensure that they can actually achieve those dreams and make a change, rather than just blindly criticizing them.

I had the same observations as well! Not sure if it's just my confirmation bias, but it does seem like reddit feels a lot more toxic right now. I feel like it really is compounded by how relatively welcoming lemmy has been for refugees recently, alongside it still being fresh. I feel like I can be more open here as well, and many others probably do so too.

Personally, I think it's less that centralization is a law of the universe and rather, things are cyclical. Atoms smash together to form molecules and amino acids and living organisms, and those organisms also break down eventually into smaller things again.

Likewise, with social networks and social hubs online, we've seen the cycle of centralization and decentralization of social networks, from disparate forums to web 2.0 social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit, and now an attempt to decentralize social networks once again. Maybe it will last? Maybe it won't? But at least we have this space right now, at this moment in time. (Also even subreddits decentralize, e.g. subreddit about topic "x" and subreddit about same topic but named "true x")

Or maybe all of this is just my late night ramblings lmao

This is such a nice mentality to have. Believing in the value of things of your own accord also helps you become resistant to marketing tactics such as planned obsolescence! Instead of being told that something is of no worth anymore and keeping on buying the latest things, you end up appreciating the things you have for what they're worth, leading to a more sustainable outlook of life and more conscientious consumption.