That damn search bar was the only reason I ever started looking at launchers. I used LG and Samsung phones for years and wanted a more streamlined interface closer to stock android, so I got a pixel.

And the very first time I turned it on, I was incredibly disappointed to see this giant Google logo nailed to the bottom of the screen, existing only to provide functionality that I don’t want.

So into the launcher rabbit hole I dove.

A population of 90 million people is irrelevant to the question of military capability. It is absolutely relevant to a discussion about the insurgency and guerilla warfare that would inevitably follow the conventional war, but I think you and I already agree that there’s no way for the U.S. to win that (nor should we try).

But I don’t think the bits of relatively small damage Iran has done to U.S. forces in the region is convincing evidence that they’re capable of taking on the full brunt of U.S. capabilities, even without going nuclear. Launch enough drones and missiles and a few will inevitably get through. But we’ve also been using our own drones for more than 20 years now, longer than most other countries. Most importantly though, we have significantly more resources poured into everything that would follow the drones in a full-scale invasion.

And just to reiterate: I don’t think any of this is a good idea, and I don’t support any of it. But when you’re talking about the significance of damage and casualties caused by Iran, you can’t ignore the fact that the U.S. is holding back so far.

Your description of the differences between Iraq and Iran is good, as well as your explanation of the current situation.

However, it would change significantly if the U.S. decided to stop half-assing it. If the douchebags running the show decide they want to commit to a full-scale invasion with all available assets, I think you’d see a situation more similar to Iraq. We could absolutely roll Iran’s formal military if we committed to it.

But the subsequent occupation and attempt to maintain control would be doomed to the same failures as Iraq, Afghanistan, and all those before it, but on an even larger scale. All forward progress would stop once the Iranian military’s command and control falls. There’s no way we could win the asymmetric warfare that would follow, and I’m not at all saying we should even try. It’s all a pointless pile of shit that never should have been started.

What the hell just happened? You admitted you had incorrect information and accepted the correction in a mature and civil manner?

Nah, you’re supposed to dig in and argue for hours. Maybe go through my post history to inspire some ad hominem attacks. Throw in some slurs if you’re feeling feisty.

I guess I’ll just go back to work if you’re going to help foster an environment of constructive dialogue like that.

That is how it works, I was in the U.S. military.

The choice your brothers were given at the end of their four years was whether or not to sign up for another four years of active duty. Their initial contract was almost certainly actually for eight years, including four years active duty and four years IRR.

People don’t talk about the IRR because there are nearly zero requirements during that time, it’s not the same as the active reserves. No reporting in, no fitness, medical, or training standards, etc. It just means you’re among the first on the hook if ol’ uncle sam “needs” more people ASAP, and they can legally recall you to active duty without instituting a draft.

There are exceptions for some job roles and other circumstances, but that’s how the standard enlistment works.

They can still fuck with a lot of people without a draft though.

Most U.S. enlistment contracts have a period of four years in the inactive ready reserves (IRR) after the normal four years of active duty. Not to mention the active reserves and national guard.

That’s a lot of people leading otherwise normal, mostly civilian lives, that could get called up. Granted, that’s not the same as a straight up draft - all of those people choose to sign up in some capacity.

But we have a lot of bodies on tap to churn through the human meat grinder before a draft.

Isn’t that exciting and reassuring?

You should consider reading the article before “just sayin.”

But now the surveillance capabilities of both the state and large corporations have been ramped up to infinity and beyond. I’m expecting a partnership announcement between Micron and Raytheon any day now, where Raytheon gets free DDR5 and Micron gets armed and autonomous security drones.

Kind of \s, kind of not

I don’t think most of them will.

1. They will use enterprise editions internally, where their IT team will have much more control over behaviors they don’t like at the group policy level than home users do.

2. The executives at the big software conglomerates have the same AI boners that Microsoft does. They’ll be looking for ways to integrate new Windows features and use them as selling points for their own products.

3. They don’t care about the privacy nightmare Windows has become because they implement and benefit from the same telemetry and data collection practices with their customers.

Not concerned about porch pirates at all

Not everyone has been blessed with the same gift of blissful ignorance that you have.

I agree that people shouldn’t order Ring, it’s a shitty product for the reasons laid out in this thread and article. But “just be nicer to everyone around you” is not a viable alternative, and suggesting it is dismissive of the realities other people are living.

If you’re still talking about getting shit stolen off your porch, anyone within driving distance could be responsible for it.

Do you really think it’s possible to try to become friends with or “help out” every asshole within a 10 minute drive of where you live? Or even identify everyone in that range who might have sticky fingers?

In the past the dangerous morons sent their kids to die in war, and the people who stayed behind were the ones who were more peaceful

Historically, the number of people who have been offered a choice about whether or not their children would participate in a war is vanishingly small compared to those who have not.

…attracting criticism from lawmakers, who warn it could…

Oh my, if only there were someone with the resources and authority to do something about it.

Are we talking t-bone or ribeye?

…why not just use the CC on Amazon?

I think it’s because people think giving pure cash is thoughtless and basic.

This idea needs to die. I’d rather have $10 cash that I can stash away to save up for something that I actually want than a $25 gift card that locks me in to a single store.

I’m at a stage in my life where I can generally buy little things when I want to. But my wife and I don’t make enough to regularly drop hundreds or thousands of dollars on non-essentials, and my other family members can’t do more than $25 or maybe $50 for birthdays or Christmas.

It took me years to convince my parents and wife to just give me cash. When I finally did, it enabled me to save up for a $1k guitar over several years.

I’d much rather have one awesome gift every 5 years than a steady stream of $35 gift certificates to various stores and restaurants.

Not giving someone what they’re actually asking for is far less thoughtful than cash.

I got a Dunkin Donuts card a few years ago too. The nearest location to me is about 600 miles away. Awesome.

I’m more concerned with the transformations from customers to product.

“Hey, buy our expensive shit but also give us all your data so we can also sell it to other companies.”

A lot of unpopular “features” and behaviors used to have DISM, policy, or registry workarounds. And MS seems to love to kill those workarounds during later updates.

If MS isn’t letting people uninstall it, there’s a reason for it, and I’d be willing to bet that users will one day find that it has been magically re-enabled by an update.