Harry and D’Arcy dated for a few episodes (maybe only one or two, I don’t recall clearly). There was a bit of teasing that Asta and Harry would be a thing at some point but thankfully that never materialized.

There were definitely romantic relationships with side characters - Sheriff Mike had a couple, obviously the mayor and his wife, Harry and the bird lady, Liz had a boyfriend (though he rarely appeared or was even mentioned), plus D’Arcy tried a few times to find love and Judy… had several flings?

JFC take a breath. You went from 0-100 with absolutely no justification. Nobody is defending them, in any way, nor did anyone even imply that what they did was OK.

What in the fuck are you talking about?

Stations didn’t actually close, but it did hurt.

Trump’s Move to End Federal Funding for NPR and PBS Was Unconstitutional, Judge Rules | Chicago News | WTTW https://news.wttw.com/2026/03/31/judge-blocks-trump-order-end-funding-national-public-radio-and-public-broadcasting

The cutbacks took effect last fall and have had a variety of impacts on local stations across the country, as well as the national PBS and NPR operations. Some stations have laid off staffers and cut back on programming.

But the networks have remained on the air, despite Trump’s remark in January that “they’re sort of gone now, I guess, I heard they closed up. They were terrible.”

Which division? parent comment appears blank…

Board games and remotes are also fairly easily found at thrift stores

It happens during training, too,so I don’t really see a distinction.

Vermeer was a master at that

I’m going to propose a different speculation from the other answers -which have some truth - but I don’t think it’s that deliberate.

My guess is that it’s because prisoners are adults that can sue, claiming “cruel and unusual punishment”, and win. Kids generally won’t. We’ll maybe now they would, but less so back then.

Another issue is that despite the basic principle that they both involve “corporal punishment”, there’s a world of difference in methods and purpose between them. Guards weren’t using a paddle to sternly swat prisoners’ bottoms, and teachers in school (generally) weren’t using billy clubs and fists to beat the shit out of kids. Guards use it for instant compliance and control, teachers use it as (harsh) corrective instruction. Obviously there were exceptions but overall that was the case.

It’s a common stereotype (I can confirm anecdotally) that whenever a woman goes to the doctor for any reason, the doctor will do one or more of the following:

1. ask when their last period was, regardless of the presenting issues
2. tell them to lose weight
3. order a pap smear
4. dismiss their distress as insignificant due to period/hysteria/any-BMI-higher-than-a-supermodel/just being a woman.

This happens a lot. I don’t know the stats but it’s happened enough times to women I know to actually cause them to avoid medical treatment.

Not necessarily.

You didn’t provide any further context, so I will not bother providing further explanation.

Dude, you’re almost starting to understand what I’m saying, but obviously not there yet.

I forgot I had all the power and was the president of the world right now.

So, it would be simple and easy if an impossible and unrealistic condition existed. Not helpful.

I can get my own solar panels […] I can lobby my community

That’s a good start, and not hard. Maybe even simple, and/or easy. But it really doesn’t solve the whole problem - it only solves a tiny, tiny part of the problem.

You just need the people with power to actually push for the things I am saying

And how exactly are any of us going to get this to happen? Is it simple to get the people with power to do something? Or easy? Don’t you think there are millions of people who would love for exactly that to happen? Once again, if it were simple or easy, why hasn’t it been done?

It is simple

Oh man, I thought you were starting to understand.

It is not simple. It is not easy. Of course we need to get the people in power to make change. But that is absolutely not easy or simple. It’s like saying, “just cure cancer, duh!”

I do understand what you’re saying. I’m saying you’re wrong. It may be easy for one person to do certain things, but it’s NOT easy or simple to get many people to do enough to effect real change.

I get the impression that you want these things to happen. I agree that doing these things would improve the situation.

If they are easy and simple, why haven’t you done any of them?

• Renewables are not everywhere; why haven’t you done that?
• Silver spooned babies who just feed corporations more power keep getting elected; why haven’t you stopped that?
• Unions are still not as ubiquitous as they could or should be; why haven’t you formed them?

None of this shit is rocket science and you are floundering in learned helplessness like our situation actually IS insurmountable. It is not, not by any means of the word.

Great! What’s your plan?

Because merely identifying another near-insurmountable cause and saying it’s “simple” or “easy” is pointless and dismissive. That’s my point. You’ve offered no solutions or even suggestions for how to find a solution.

If it’s so easy, why don’t you do it? You don’t feel like it?

Its obfuscated on purpose by the wealthy

Why would that matter? You said it was easy.

get rid of the billionaires and stop making clown laws. It is actually this simple.

There is no part of that that’s simple.

If you want to solve the energy problem, invent and mass produce a cheap, non-polluting, zero-point energy generator. It is actually this simple.

I remember this ad in one the computer magazines I had as a teenager. Don’t ask me why I remember it so vividly.

I actually never completely close it, unless I’m cooking. Once done cooking, I leave it open to cool, clean it, and the leave the lid propped partially open.

It’s still protected from precipitation, but if I close it all the way wasps inevitably build a nest in there. I don’t like my hamburgers that spicy.

But yes, I do this after every use. How much effort is it to just cover it? Why wouldn’t you?

I was on the Lincoln in the 90s during some operations in the Persian Gulf that prevented us from docking anywhere nearby for over 2 months.

Yeah, we ran low on some of the fresh veggies and milk, but we never came close to this level. We did underway replenishment several times from supply ships. We even got mail. Aren’t they doing UNREPs?

What I think is odd is that AFAIK, only the carriers and subs have nuclear power; the smaller ships that are part of the battle group - that are responsible for protecting the carrier - are diesel, and require refueling. Resupplying things like food, toiletries, and other consumables happens at the same time, from the same ship that provides fuel. They’re obviously refueling, so why aren’t they getting other supplies?

Whatever the fuck is going on here is a major supply failure, and the public and Congress need to know about it. WTF.

Maybe not family computers so much any more, but shared devices, absolutely.

It still needs to be per user, per app. If I hand my phone to my kid or my niece, I don’t need them looking up or accidentally seeing adult content because the apps don’t ask anymore.

If the apps stop asking the user, and instead just query the OS, there’s no longer any connection to the current user. So porn sites, for example, or any app that might have adult-only content, would still have to ask. In which case - what’s the point of the OS age requirement? This is in no way more secure than the apps or websites just asking the user.

What about servers? I have several devices in my house that serve content to the rest of the house or provide other services. Would they need my birthday, even though my kids use the services? What about gaming consoles, or TVs? IoT devices? Does my thermostat, garage door opener, living room lamp, or washing machine need my birthdate?

This whole thing is truly a slippery slope that hasn’t been thought through, at least on its face. Unless, of course, the whole point of this legislation has nothing to do with “protecting children”.

For me it’s the pace. I know it’s not that simple, but we’ve been to the moon already. The first unmanned Artemis mission was almost 4 years ago, and now this one, and the next one - which will include landing on the moon…again…won’t be for another 2 years at least. We won’t even begin to build a base until the 2030s.

Even the moon base is just a “stepping stone” to Mars, and we already know that long-term colonization on Mars is unrealistic, given current tech. We don’t yet know how to even survive on Mars (or the moon, for that matter) for more than a few days.

And even if we solve these problems…then what? We also know that even if we figure out how to keep a few people alive for just a few years on Mars, there’s just no reason to try to keep a large number of people on Mars. It’s just too damn hostile.

I don’t know. I agree that this doesn’t have the same romantic feeling of awe and discovery and exploration that I feel like I’m “supposed to” have.