CharlesK

I agree with the others hosted before me where I think it's inevitable, already I almost never use cash (only credit cards or now Samsung Pay!) so I'm already living as a 'cashless' citizen. When I lose my smartphone, I freak out LOL. So much of what we do is tied to our digital identities, and it's moving in that direction whether we agree with it or not

This goes back to the eternal debate of 'nature vs nurture'. How much of your destiny is prewritten for you based on your parents, your upbringing, even the neighborhood in which you go to school. There are a lot of determinants and factors that influence and strongly shape you, but one of the best aspects of humanity is our own free will - we can and do break free of these bounds when we want!

Yes! One of them has become an amazing friend - I met him totally on accident while we were playing a MOBA game together, had no idea he lived in my local area, and we still sometimes grab lunch.

There's definitely a sense of therapy and escapism when playing video games, and I think it can be soothing when done in moderation. The danger when you play too much, or it starts to intrude upon your normal life

Helldivers 2 has taken the gaming community by storm, captivating players with its intense gameplay and striking similarities to the Warhammer series. Released to much anticipation, it quickly climbed the charts, garnering positive reviews for its challenging gameplay and immersive universe. Players take on the roles of elite soldiers in a dystopian future, tasked with defending humanity from an array of monstrous foes. The comparison to Warhammer, a franchise known for its deep lore and hardcore following, has only bolstered its reputation, drawing in fans from that franchise as well. Recently, a popular streamer encapsulated the community’s sentiments by saying that this game is more Warhammer than any other Warhammer game he has ever seen.

Sometimes I think it's good to step away and 'detox' yourself from gaming. I've met some great online acquaintances, but over time, we've lost touch or they've stopped playing the same game, which is sad, and I always come back to my real world friends who are always there for me 🙂 )

Definitely an ugly home in a beautiful neighborhood. If you know real estate, you'll learn that it's not what YOUR home is worth - it's what OTHER homes are worth, which is what determines your home's worth. You can be one block way on the other side of the tracks and have totally different home comparables. It's definitely much better (at least in the real world) to have a smaller home or uglier home in a neighborhood filled with larger, prettier homes because their home price per square foot will raise yours up.

But wouldn't they know that in advance and not even go down that hallway / alley / dark corner where you're hiding?? 😁

Finance In schools, if you go to a college of business, they teach you corporate finance and macro-economics as if you're going to be running the economy one day LOL. But they don't teach you actual everyday human finance like mortgages, credit cards, FICO scores, budgeting, taxes, etc.

Marvin Gaye is awesome! For relaxation music, I usually do some lo-fi beats

This is a spicy topic! At the core of politics and religion is a certain ethos. That ethos often overlaps (whether it should overlap is a different question; the reality is that it often does overlap). This is why American is often referred to as a Judeo-Christian political system: our founding ideals and documents were rooted in divine Providence ... principles like: Reliance on the Providence oof God Law of God forms basis of good human laws Religion and Morality form basis of Liberty The equality of Man And so on.

"You take your Steam games with you to the grave IG, LOL" Thsi is the reality of our modern paradigm of ownership, where you don't actually own anything, you license the right to play the game (over your lifetime!). Also, I will add, if you're worried about your Steam games in your will, maybe you ought to worry about some other things in your life. Maybe?

This was a mismash of a lot of creative ideas, and they're all very futuristic but it's interesting. For example, from what I saw in the video, they had everything from a 3D simulated environment, handheld devices, billboards, an entertainment park, etc. I think the ones that are most likely to come ot consumers are the wearables, handheld, and thin-devices. They're the same things as what we have today with our controllers, smartphones, glasses, and more, but thinner and easier to work with.