I hope that I am wrong about this, but I am not optimistic about Talarico.

He said all the right things to position himself as not just a progressive candidate, but as a christian candidate. White, male, middle aged, handsome, well spoken, seemingly levelheaded, and gives off strong Mr. Rogers vibes. Those things make him comparatively more palatable than most other democratic candidates, especially in Texas.

However, the democrats have had more than a handful of bad actors and turncoats in recent years. Candidates that talk the blue talk and walk the blue walk, but once they take office they quickly turn face. Sinema, Fetterman, Gillibrand, Robin Webb; not an exhaustive list of democrats that turned their backs to the rhetoric and policies that got them elected, but their the ones that spring to my mind first. Schumer, Jeffries, Pelosi, and a host of others could be rightly accused of actively aiding the republican-led undermining of the rule of law (and civil rights) while in office.

The Streisand effect has a long history of backfiring on public officials, so much so that it’s not too far of a stretch to wonder if the administration banked on the FCC debacle to elevate Talarico. To be clear, I’m not entirely pessimistic about Talarico; I want to believe that there are still good people who want to get into public service for the right reasons. I’m just not optimistic because he’s almost too good. Running a sleeper candidate against one of the stronger progressive voices in congress (who frequently and loudly called out the GOP’s bullshit) is exactly the kind of thing that the far-right think tanks would do.

Some American grocery stores already tested the waters by posting armed guards in its stores. This article is a few years old, but the precedent stands.
https://retailwire.com/discussion/hy-vee-creates-its-own-armed-security-squad-to-deter-crime/

Hy-Vee last week announced the introduction of an in-house armed security team to manage theft and in-store disturbances.

The Midwest grocery chain said in a statement that it has long worked with third-party contractors or off-duty law enforcement that work in a security capacity. The goal of bringing it in-house is “to create a consistent look for the security team and consistent approach to customer service and security across all [its] stores.”

I can’t speak for OP, but in my case I could tell how “bad” a day was likely to be based on small clues that most people wouldn’t see. Tiny things like a slight increase in the pitch of a parent’s sigh, how quickly keys were put down as they came through the door, the position of their shoulders as they picked up a dinner fork. How the almost invisible deepening of the creases around their mouth and eyes matched the increasing tension in the air. Instantly knowing by the timbre of the footfalls climbing the stairs if I needed to pretend to be asleep.

Growing up in an abusive, trauma-inducing household fosters a talent to sense the proverbial “blood in the water,” and how likely it is to send the sharks into a frenzy.

I’m 99% sure the narration is AI-generated using Watts’s voice, and I don’t think it was quoting Watts directly. The on screen text needed quotation marks to show what, if any, words were taken directly from Watts. Misleading, yes, but I don’t think intentionally so.

Entire too relatable. I grew up in much the same way. Having that feeling as my baseline, my “normal”, made everything else feel wrong, but I could never fully put my finger on why. I developed a sense of stoicism so that I could get through each day showing as little outward reaction as possible. However, I confused that stoicism for calmness and stability; inside my mind everything still roiled as my instincts and senses were always watching and waiting, preparing for the next time things became dangerous.

Decades of living with that level of hypervigilance paired with the effort needed to put forward a stoic exterior has worn me down. The physical symptoms of chronic mental and emotional exhaustion are debilitating; the body really does pay a toll for the mind’s wounds. Maybe if twenty years ago I had the knowledge and resources that I do now, I could have done something to stave off what I’m going through.

All this to say: if you aren’t already, please seek counseling as soon as possible. Don’t make the same mistake I did; just like the smoker who denies that their habit it harmful, if you don’t work to heal your psychological wounds now, then it will eventually catch up to you. Be well, and take care of yourself.

It’s true. I’ve stopped using sounds and songs that I enjoy as my alarm because of this. I haven’t used an actual alarm clock in years, but the sound of a circa-2000 electric alarm clock buzzer going off instantly activates my fight or flight mode.

I meant to reply the other day but, well, everything is a distraction.

I checked out Black Vomit and really enjoyed it! That’s the kind of noise-as-music that I like. It is equally background and foreground; melts into my environment while I’m focusing on something else, but interesting and attention-grabbing in the moments when my focus waivers. Excellent recommendation, thank you!

I wrote down your jazz recommendations and am slowly getting to them (lately I haven’t been much in the mood for jazz, but the mood always comes back around eventually). Free Lancing was a hell of a ride, and I loved every track. Shared it with a friend of mine who also likes experimental/eccentric guitar-focused music and they also liked it. I’ll add your other recommendations to the list and will definitely give them a listen in the coming weeks. Thanks again! :)

Oooh! What is the album? I’m a sad fool for noise-as-music. The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation and Black Boned Angel are some of my favorite backgrounds.

I think this room is a vestibule of sorts; the railing outside the window is the type that’s usually installed on a raised walkway/ramp, which means that window likely a door where deliveries are made. Depending on where this was photo was taken, local regulations might require entryways and vestibules be kept clear.

We’ve had one, yes. But what about second telescope?

My guess is some sort of SEO to correlate those terms to this post.

This is a great article that breaks down land use.

https://ourworldindata.org/global-land-for-agriculture

44% of habitable land is used for human agriculture. Most of that is used for livestock. One thousand years ago, only 4% of habitable land was used for human agriculture. Humans are the leading cause of habitat loss, which has lead to the fastest decline in biodiversity and ecological stability in history. Modern agriculture is one of the largest contributors to our climate and chemical problems, too.