My sims computer was built in 2012, it's had some new hard drives but that's about it! It's a legend in my house.

My laptops have mostly reached around 5-7 years old, and the desktop one did started failing after around 8-ish years, but they've all been heavily used and travelled with (even the desktop one, which had to endure some rounds - quite well packed, as I kept the original box and all for that purpose. The screen cables got the worst of it, so I always had to adjust away the ghost images )

EDIT: Seems the issue I had with the laptop was fixable, and it also got a cleaning job while they were at it, so hopefully it lasts for a bit longer . It had its first trip outside the house in a somewhat improvised backpack setup (can't find a cover for the thing, too big) and the weather was kinda iffy, so I was just hoping it wouldn't rain (just a few drops, nothing got wet).

EDIT again:
Wasps! Was making dinner and noticed something tickling my arm. Swatted it away, thinking it was a fly. Then mom yells, "Wasp!" and I panic, and run out of the room (I have this thing with small flying critters that potentially can sting... Actually, most small flying critters, really :/) - anyway, we try to use a vacuum cleaner to get at the thing. Suddenly it's gone. We peek in. The stupid buzz-ball has drowned itself in the frying pan (yuck!) . We fish it (and some surrounding stuff) out, and carry on with the dinner. Suddenly I see a streak of black from the corner of my eye, again thinking "fly", but this time being a bit more cautious. Again, it turns out to be a friggin' wasp. It meets its end in the vaccuum cleaner (one wasp in the dinner is enough, and the window gets closed immediately, because our dinner is clearly smelling better than flowers outside . About 15 minutes later we take a walk, and - I'm not even joking - another wasp decides to try and ruin our evening (but at least it flies away after buzzing around for a bit). I swear, if I never see a wasp again, it's too soon

The whole Internet censorship thing is starting to get out of hand. Especially on YouTube.

I have ended up developing a truly distasteful foul mouth from this morning's discovery of people saying "the Internet as we know it is going to die..."

The whole thing of using "think of the children" is just another way people can impose oppression by using children as a figurative shield, a scapegoat...I find it to be an exploitative move.

Unfortunately, I am pretty angry 😤 especially since I have had my fair share of mishaps when it involved a bank card. I would never give it such information.

Especially after that time the LifeLock guy posted his Social Security number on a bill board to prove he was safe. (He wasn't)

Censorship is 99,9% made up by people who want to control other people's lives, and not people who want to "protect the children". It's just an excuse for their own end goals. Most of the time they haven't read/seen/understood the media or literature they want to ban, they just do it because it touches a subject they find difficult, regardless of whether it's a "good" or "bad" piece of media, or a factual school book, or a perfectly innocent children's book that slightly touches on a theme they find "difficult".

There are however one or two pieces of literature that could need some heavy censorship, because they've caused a LOT of trouble over a looong stretch of time, and doing so probably would solve quite a lot of other issues too. There likely wouldn't be much left of them, which in my opinion would probably be for the best .

As for what people post on the internet - some people should probably post less, in regards to their own safety.

---

Anyway - had some stuff left over that needed to be used up, so made waffles (yummy!)

Been cleaning/tidying some old stuff, so feels like I'm half covered in dust...

Agreed on the issue of censorship. Usually the control is out of people trying to control those who have no influence.

The mentioning of the card, was due to YouTube saying, once enacted, they'll ask for your personal information of a photo ID, credit card or selfie if they suspect you aren't "acting your age" in terms of what you search, which will do more harm than good as they are using a 3rd party firm and an AI (I have my doubts with the AI). That alone could involve an identity theft issue for those who comply.

But I guess I am curious now about those waffles. I have been really hungry about that. Actually, I don't eat waffles as much.

I just woke up and I am kinda hungry.

The ID issue, yeah. I don't think it applies to where I live, but it does sound like an identity theft risk waiting to happen.

The waffles were made with lots of eggs and more oat flour than wheat, plus I didn't put any regular sugar in them (just a couple teaspoons of vanilla-infused sugar - it's more for the vanilla taste), so they're at least kinda healthier than plain waffles.
I have this thing with waffles and pancakes where I generally don't bother with recipes because the batter is usually very forgiving, especially for waffles, I just make something that seems like it will work, test it out, and adjust if something isn't right. I've experimented with putting various stuff in the batter, too - grated apples or carrots, bananas, coconut flour instead of regular flour, leftover vanilla custard, sour cream, cinnamon, other spices, cheese, probably other things as well - not everything at once, though. Either sweet, plain or savory - and in most cases they turn out pretty decent. Plus, it's a super way to use up leftover eggs or milk products (milk, cream, sour cream, etc.). They can easily be a healthy "cheat" breakfast if you put a lot of healthy stuff in them.

I'm going to play devils advocate with this whole censorship thing. I would never hand over a credit card or my ID just to access something on the internet and would never advise anybody else to do so.

That being said, this has been a topic in the video game industry. Most people didn't blink a eye to the idea. Upon doing a quick search, there are weirdos on Reddit that are celebrating it. I wonder what their intentions are.



https://www.gamedeveloper.com/busin...ge-verification

Andrew Wilson ( CEO of EA) has talked about this. Not much of a surprise since he's on the board of the ESRB. Also not a surprise that TS4 keeps getting a pass from companies such as Visa and Mastercard ( they are denying sales of games they don't like. A whole other issue...) even though TS4 has incest and pedophilia in it. Granted, if a young child was playing the game, they wouldn't know what was happening, but regardless. It is there, Maxis knows it is there and they're okay with it being there.

Does anybody really believe that these companies are going to delete photos? I've got a bridge for sale if they do. Roblox is known for being a site for pedos to hang out on. Do people really want their kid's pictures on a site that has the reputation for that?

My point: I find it interesting how the masses are okay using ID for video games, but when it comes to gooner content, it's "Get your hands off my content!"

For those that want to circle the credit cards vs Valve rabbithole: https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/03/m...ifferent-story/

I wouldn't even want my own picture on any of those sites, certainly not pictures of anyone's kids, even if it's just the face. Delete the pictures? I doubt it. They probably keep them around for at least 10 years, for "reasons". Feels like there are other more nefarious things going on behind the scenes...

Face ID belongs on things like passports and driver's licences, maybe on phones (although as far as I've gathered it only works in optiomal lighting conditions, and not for everyone if you've got darker skin or a very young-looking face, or anything else the face ID has issues reading because it's been poorly trained on one-note stock images), and not as "not particularly secure buy passes (AKA AI stock image training for potentially nefarious purposes)" for video games.

"Oh, but we are *cough* collecting all the precccciousss data, collecting yesss, and maybe usssing and ssselling data, and sssends targeted adsss *cough* I mean, protecting the children, that's it! Protecting the children! Yep. Just doing that. Nothing else. Pinky promise!"

A update on the Mastercard / Visa issue:

A executive order was signed stating that banks cannot dictate how consumers spend their money.

I'd link to said executive order, but then people are going to bitch about how it is a political post even though it has nothing to do with politics other than shoving banks back into their place. Gooners across the US should be thrilled...

Just when a person thinks the world of banking can't get any worse...

For over 4 years now we've been using our credit card like a debit card. We do this because we've been burned by too many banks when using a debit card. The debit card ends up with fraudulent charges, then there is a fight to get the money back. Using a credit card instead means there are no other accounts attached. Meaning if somebody puts fraudulent charges on our debit card, they're not going to get much as I don't leave more than $100.00 or so in there. When I have to pay bills, I shuffle money around. It is a pain in the ass, but having the mortgage company breathing down my neck because a payment is late is a even bigger pain in the ass as is fighting with the bank to get our money back.

Our bank 'upgraded' their system with the story that it is for consumers protection. They did such a good job that I can no longer use my credit card like a debit card. I'm completely locked out of our account because I have a $76.00 overage on our credit card. This would be okay if I only owed $76.00, but I don't. I have groceries to pay for, a Chewy order as the dogs needed flea and tick stuff and the company that compounds one of Chica's meds sent out her refill early due to "unusual demand". Whatever the frick that means.

The bank is claiming that this is a payment processor issue. They can see how I've been using my card for 4-plus years. There hasn't been a issue until now. I should hear back in a couple of days what Visa's excuse is. In the meantime, the card is locked and we won't be using it. As charges clear, I will pay them. What few charges there are, they can sit around being annoying from anywhere to 2-5 business days.

It is a bit much of a coincidence that Visa and Mastercard have been all over the news regarding their attempts to dictate what people can and cannot buy and being locked out of my account over a fucking $76.00. Visa alone is a multi-billion company that is worried about my overage? Really? I don't think so!

https://www.marketwatch.com/investi...od=mw_quote_tab

Wasps.
Was mowing the lawn, and the evil spawn was everywhere - following me, in my face, behind my back, zipping out from nowhere, on the lawnmower, in the trees, in the bushes, on the road...

I honestly don't even know what they were doing in the lawn, because that part of the lawn has no wildflowers or anything that seems even remotely interesting for buzzing critters, apart from a place to sit for five seconds.

And it's the first time (I think?) I've been stung by one. Still stings a bit.

Anyone has a lawn-sized fly swat? Or at the very least a beekeeper suit for rent? (Probably a bad idea in 25 C weather, but still... I'm glad I was as covered up as I was. The sting only happened because my jacket slipped down a bit - I wasn't even swatting after the evil little bugger - I'm more of a "cover/tuck in everything, turn and move away (somewhat) calmly from area" kind of person. Just moved away and then out of nowhere felt a sharp sting).

The circulating air system at the office didn't get repaired which surprises absolutely nobody since we know the move is in less than 6 months and maintenance has been minimal. It's actually mildly concerning that we're even allowed to be in the building at times lol. So yeah its been sauna like conditions all day everyday for the last week which is tiring and obviously not very fun. Luckily on a snack/drink/walk break (adventure!) we pilfered an ancient fan from a cupboard we came across (also not on our floor) The only place it could be plugged in was near my desk too!

Not a fan of summer in general. The only good thing about it is less wind, better tasting fruit and veg, and more ice cream places open