My mom keeps investing in diamond jewelry. I’ve tried explaining to her that diamonds do not hold their value, but she won’t hear it.

If they are quality (or even relevant) shares or content then it’s a good thing. Well, for us as content consumers, maybe not a healthy thing for them to be constantly online - but who here is going to cast that first stone?

I mean, I have a Pixel 9 Pro running Graphene, but sure this isn’t like my Pine phone (which is fun to pay with but a slog as a daily driver).

I think it started with TV being regulated. At first we were strict about only giving her access to ‘educational’ shows, so a lot of PBS Kids shows like Daniel Tiger, but we also did YouTube channels like Super Simple Songs. We avoided anything too commercialized or designed to sell toys (Paw Patrol), but that caused issues when she went to preschool and didn’t know any of the shows and characters the other kids knew, so we relaxed a little, but treated Paw Patrol as a treat (she’d be limited to 30 minutes of it, but could then switch to something on PBS). And even PBS screen time was limited to certain times of the day. It never really became an issue because she never knew any other way.

For the phone, a few years ago on Google Fi it was actually the same price to have 3 lines as it was to have 2 lines, and I had an extra phone and so it just made sense to activate it so she had a phone to use in the car while we took a 12 hour car ride. It worked really well, and she knew that ‘her phone’ would always go right back in my pocket when she wasn’t using it. We also got her some Bluetooth headphones and we’ve taught her that her phone should not make any sound that anyone else can hear when we’re in public. We’re trying to find that balance between making sure she has the skills needed to use technology, but also doesn’t become dependent on it like the rest of us are. I’m not sure it will work in the long-term, but I do know that my family won’t be the ones behind you in a restaurant with the kid playing a loud game on her phone.

I was providing context to your question about how long it’s been normalized and when kids get their first phones.

And yes, as a parent I know that I won’t be able to control everything my kid does as she ages, however I think by creating good habits and setting healthy boundaries it will help her make the right choices later in life.

Just because a kid has a phone, it doesn’t necessarily mean they have full access to it. My daughter has had her own phone since she was 3 years old, she is now 8 and still rarely gets access to her phone - maybe an hour a week on Saturday mornings or if we’re going on a long drive. There’s never any fights when she has to put it away, and she’s learning good device usage habits.

But … there are other billionaires out there who are not going into hiding because they are billionaires.

For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book

Revelations 22:18

Out of curiosity, is there a reason that this couldn’t be an Android app? I would think that there should be some way to check a cable’s functionality by plugging it into a phone and a computer.

I had video but no audio.

I’m in the Indianapolis area and just got off the phone with my home owners insurance company about damage to my roof. They are attributing it to Hurricane Helene.

I’m in the Indianapolis area, and we do have public transit… though I don’t know why.

I’m loving the juxtaposition of the headlines:

it’s important to master blood magic and necromancy, so you can make use of the whole body

Isn’t this the main tenant of Christianity?

I refer to them all as ‘The Library’.

Did you know you can borrow movies, books, music, and TV shows from The Library? It’s awesome!

You should make a general post about this to promote it. I just installed it, along with the blocklist Nikelui posted below and I’ve seen a huge difference in my search results. Thank you!

I saw a similar thread on Reddit about 12 years ago and one of the suggestions near the bottom that didn’t have any comments on it is something I’ve incorporated into my daily life and it has made a huge difference: Adjust your car mirrors so you have no blind spots.

Most people have their side mirrors adjusted where they can see a portion of their own car in the mirror. This leaves you with large blind spots. To adjust them where you have no blind spots, sit in the driver’s seat and lean your head over to the left as far as you can (basically putting your head on the window), then adjust the driver’s side mirror to where you can just barely see your car in it. Then lean your head over to the passenger side about the same amount and adjust that mirror.

When adjusted properly if you can see a car in your rearview mirror, you shouldn’t be able to see that car in your side mirrors, but as soon as a car is no longer visible in the rearview mirror it should be visible in one of your side mirrors. Then when it is no longer visible in your side mirror it should be in your peripheral vision.

It takes some getting used to, but once dialed in and you’re used to it then it makes changing lanes a breeze. It also helps at night if someone behind you has bright lights because you’ll only see them in one mirror instead of all 3.

If you don’t want to pay for a pool then don’t move into a neighbor that has a pool. If you don’t want to have an HOA, don’t move somewhere that has one. If you don’t like how the HOA is run, volunteer to help run it.

What you don’t do is hold up the rest of the neighborhood that actually wants to take care of things properly.

The change to the dues required a change to the bylaws, which required 100% participation in voting, and required 60% approval. The change passed with over 85% approval. Most HOA dues in our area are $600 - $1000 per year, and many of those don’t have a pool. There are also many places around that don’t have an HOA.

Then don’t move into a neighborhood that has an HOA and a pool?

Mostly the neighbors who don’t pay their dues or needlessly hold up needed improvements.

Our HOA board does a great job, they are volunteers who live in the neighborhood. Our dues used to be $100 a year, plus $150 if you wanted to use the pool. Then the pool needed to be replaced (it was 45 years old) and we didn’t have the money for it, so we changed the dues to $250 and everyone gets access to the pool. That still didn’t raise enough money, so they tried to get everyone to agree to a one-time assessment of $1000 but too many people complained. So they’ve now raised the dues to $350, likely going up to $450 soon.

The good thing about the higher dues is we will now be able to afford a lawyer to go after the 10% of the homes that aren’t paying their dues. And maybe even force the people who are hoarding cars in their yards to have to move them.

Edit to add from a follow up comment;

The change to the dues required a change to the bylaws, which required 100% participation in voting, and required 60% approval. The change passed with over 85% approval. Most HOA dues in our area are $600 - $1000 per year, and many of those don’t have a pool. There are also many places around that don’t have an HOA. The HOA was created at the same time the pool went in, anyone already living in the neighborhood who didn’t want to use the pool didn’t have to join the HOA, we still have a few ‘grandfathered’ homes and I have no issue with them, it’s the people who moved into the neighborhood knowing there’s an HOA and a pool and refuse to pay their share.