Especially when your first distro is literal goddamn Arch with a few bells and whistles

Today, I use MPV to handle the most screwed video files

In my opinion, there are two key could issues with it: societal attitudes and desperation.

Society clearly discriminates sex workers, especially women, as sex work is associated with promiscuity and little limits. Ex-sexual workers are more likely to be harassed and face unwanted sexualized interactions. They have issues finding a long-term partner and may have to hide their past from everyone.

Another issue is that many people choose sexual careers not because they want it, but because it’s one of the few ways to make money quickly. This experience can be heavily traumatic, not only because of the aforementioned societal attitudes, but because of violation of intimacy and losing agency over own body.

So, legalization of prostitution is, at best, harm reduction at this stage.

Important nuance: there absolutely are people who enjoy working in the sex industry. Ideally, healthy incentives and shift in social attitudes would allow them to work in this sphere and others not to. But as things stand, we’re very much not there yet.

Sounds fair

I wonder what exactly makes it okay for animals, but not for humans, though

For all I know, all modern versions are available

Pretty sure pirated Minecraft will still have all that. The more reasons to switch to the dark side…

I don’t think the point is about present.

More like, “back when these things were built, government had to build the most resource-efficient and mass-constructed housing, responding to a surge in demand for urban living due to industrialization”

It was either this or leaving people without any place to live.

Sure, modern situation is different, and we can have nicer homes.

I live in Russia nearly all my life, and I can tell it really is a matter of proper maintancnce. Many cities do a very poor job keeping these buildings in a good shape, but when they do, it looks fairly good. Look through the comment section for examples, they are real, I’ve seen quite a few.

Not to mention European neighbors where they are still common, but due maintenance makes them look actually good.

The sound issues are fair, but there are ways to limit them.

Moving to a countryside can give you both decent enough isolation and teach you to reconnect with others in a more healthy way

Also part of why it looks depressing is because it’s old and poorly maintained.

Just a touch of renovation and the houses start looking way better:

Crusts like this generally require a lot of steam in the oven

Fair enough!

And shaping/forming a loaf that stays tall when being baked on a flat surface takes skill, lots of practice and experience.

Or a fairly inexpensive machine that will do it for you. Of course though, there’s a special pleasure in making a truly artisan bread with your own hands. But hey, it’s not that hard if you know what you’re doing. Best to see it in action.

But then again, I speak from the side of low-scale industrial baking. For a home baker, all this machinery will be an overkill.

Lol, yes, it can be done, but it needs to be packed or cut from one side only, otherwise it will likely fall apart.

(Also it’s an ungodly abomination and there are certainly better options to do this with)

Baking in a rectangular shape allows you to make a space efficient bread that you can easily stack and transport. Also, it is very predictable, can fit neatly into your toaster, and can be cut in triangles.

Making bread on a flat surface allows you to minimize costs of entry (not only don’t you need the forms which are relatively cheap, you can go with simpler/cheaper ovens), and this kind of bread has a more pronounced crust, which many people like.

Also, rectangular bread is harder to leaven for a long period of time as it comes with numerous technological complications down the production line. This affects the aroma composition, making rectangular bread less attractive for those who want the traditional “bread” taste.

Baguette, as I already mentioned, has a unique crust and crumb texture defined by the shape and baking conditions. Many people like it that way.

ELI5: dough can take any shape you give it.

You can load the dough into a metallic shape and close it with a lid, and you’ll get picture 1.

Or you can make a ball out of it and leave it be on a flat surface, and it will naturally expand to look like picture 2.

Side question: narrow shape makes baguette have a more crispy texture, which many people like. It’s also usually produced using a special kind of sourdough, which makes it have unique and rich taste. People eat it as is (just biting it from one end to another) or make small open sandwiches by cutting it in slices and putting all sorts of toppings on top of them.

Beautiful answer!

A small point from someone working alongside bread industry - small bubbles in toast/sandwich bread are not due to the type of yeast used, but due to intentionally low time for second stage mixing and, as you mentioned, low time for resting and leavening. You can absolutely create huge bubbles using the very same yeast, though, if that’s your goal.

It’s also not a cube!

It is 12x10,5x15 m.

Everyone talks about the drug part, but not the rest. So, filling in on this one.

The black thing right there is The Kaaba, the holiest place of Muslims. People on the background are completing Ṭawāf - holy pilgrimage to The Kaaba, which ends in going around it seven times in a counter -clockwise direction.

People there normally wear special clothes and chant holy phrases as they go around. For Muslims, it’s a very serious and spiritual event.

The dude poses in a way that says “hey, I’m gonna get spiritual with THIS” while completely disregarding every rule about being there.

(Muslims and other knowledgeable folks are welcome to correct me)

Happy birthday!

Back then I was in elementary school. It was fairly cozy, and life was quite a bit more predictable - classes with friends, extended curriculum, family evenings, lots of play and fun. Coming to visit grandparents on the holidays. When family needed anything at all, my grandmother has always been there, and she is why our family is still so close together, despite her passing many moons ago.

I also got my first ever phone around this time - an old used black-and-white Sony Ericsson, with buttons and 2G mobile connection. Was nice to get my first personal piece of tech. Played around with it like crazy, lol.

Overall, a lot of things have passed since then, some for the worse, some for the better. But I had a good childhood.

Now, how do you feel about turning 18?

Also differs person to person, but I think there is a useful highlight in here.

Traditionally being the “dominant” gender, men are expected to show signs of attention towards women to “earn” their affection (which the meme is essentially about).

But when it comes the other way around, it both breaks the social script and gives men something they severely lack - feeling that they matter, that they are worthy of attention, that they can be loved for who they are and not for what they do. And when someone is ready to break traditional norms and actively wants to give you something you never even hoped to receive, it lets the guard down pretty rapidly.

Overall, the solution to both, in my eyes, is for women to show more of such behavior, normalizing women initiating relationships and showing their affection from the start.

The reason men often go after women despite being refused is that culture often mixes “no as no” and “no as playful yes”. If women would be casually able to initiate relationships, signals would get much clearer, sparing everyone a ton of discomfort and allowing to actually build the culture of consent. Also, there would be less space for manipulation through abusing people’s needs.