Oregonian here. There’s currently over 100 fires burning across our state. 5 of them currently considered mega-fires.

Our state-level firefighters, as well as the federal-level are seriously, seriously underpaid. If you’re the letter-to-politician-writing type, please help advocate for better pay and benefits for our firefighters

Right on, thanks for the info!

Oh damn. Was coolroms part of that too? I’ve used emuparadise and coolroms a bunch over the years. Kinda makes me want to stock up just in case

I’m OOTL, which ROM sites got shut down?

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I remember that line too

Nothing as profound as what you described there…
But… The Last Of Us was an experience for me…

I hadn’t played a “new” game in about 8-10 years at that point, so the huge increase in development was mind blowing to me.
But really, the intensity of the story is what really did it for me. I legit got teary eyed in the intro, and then the burning restaurant scene made me ball my eyes out…

Phenomenal fucking game

Or, to bring it back to my youth… The Illusion of Gaia was probably the first game I played that made me feel things. That was so long ago, and I was so young when that came out that being specific about it is hard. But I think I really related with the main character, and I remember really feeling things during the lost-at-sea raft scene.

I might need to go find the ROM now…

**Or, to go a bit further back, Dragon Warrior.
That was the first game I ever played that really captivated me. It was the first RPG I ever played, and even tho the storyline is incredibly basic and cliche, it was the first time I experienced a story at all in a video game. It’s definitely the reason that I prefer fantasy RPGs over every other type of game

The author was an absolute wingnut. But in the best way

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You should really read Robert Anton Wilson’s Prometheus Rising

You will love it.

Moving to Portland was when I realized it was actually S.A.D. and not just being miserable from the harsh winter weather I grew up with.

My first winter in P-town was amazing - there wasn’t any snow or sub-freezing temps! My 2nd winter there I was cripplingly depressed from the lack of sun…

Like clockwork, every year. Usually happens 2 or 3 weeks both before and after the winter solstice.

I try to make sure I’m getting plenty of vitamin D. And I try to make sure I’m getting outside for a bit everyday. Exercise helps a lot too - anything that’ll get your blood flowing and heart pumping.

I also make a rule for myself that I’m not allowed to make any big decisions or big commitments during that time of year because the depression can cloud my judgement. Not making commitments is hard with the holidays tho, so if I have to I also leave myself a way out of them if needed. I’ve become an expert at giving a “definite maybe” in response to commitments lol

Veggies have never been a problem for me. Fruit always has been tho.

My solution for that is making a smoothie every morning while I wait for my coffee to brew.

You’re welcome to join us on slrpnk.net. We’re a safe and inclusive space, and also we’re defederated from most of the shittier instances by default.

Most of us are here! If you’re just joining us, Welcome to the Party!

“I’m fine.”

It was in one of them state’s that believe if you’re getting tipped, then your hourly wage should only be a fraction of the state’s minimum.

Someone I worked with did something similar. This was close to 25 years ago, at a popular drive thru corporate coffee chain. I took no part in these shenanigans myself, but I got a cut each night we worked together just for looking away as it happened.

Basically, her whole hustle revolved around the fact that the cash register at the drive thru window had been broken and not working for ages. She had memorized the prices for every single item sold there. So when someone ordered at the drive thru, she would tally up their whole order in her head, but then go around to the main counter’s register and ring the entire order up as just a small coffee. She’d then take their money, give them the change that was due, but put the difference into the tip cup.

This went on for about a month until I just couldn’t stand the overall work environment. It’s still to this day the only service industry “job” I’ve ever had. I hated it so much that even all that extra free money couldn’t keep me there.

Hating that one month so much is also the reason I tip service workers as best I can, still to this day.

Baraka and Samsara are both amazing films

This is a great comment, and I believe the best addition to the thread.

I think you may really like this 4 part music/art video series.

Filastine - Abandon
From the description: Abandon bridges video art, documentary, and music to explore how we sell our time on earth, and how we could imagine to get free. Each of the four episodes profiles a unique personal revolt against low-valued work: an Indonesian miner, a Portuguese maid, American office workers, and Spain’s scrap metal salvagers.