In Oklahoma, if you can trace your ancestry back to someone who was on the Dawes Rolls, you can apply to be a member of the Cherokee Nation regardless of your percentage of native ancestry. So there are a lot of people who are effectively white, but are part of the Nation and consider themselves part Cherokee.
This is distinct from the “part Cherokee” or “descended form a Cherokee princess” claims that were used to try and legitimize white supremacy in the south.
Most of those things were products of earlier times, when our economic system and industries were more regulated and had a larger number of competitive entities. “Innovation” now is just more cupholders in the RV to put your chicken fries in. All flash, no substance. Everything is an AI wearable tacked on to something else we’ve already had for years.
EV battery tech, there’s some decent work being done there. A few other niche cases like that. But the rest is one big fucking con game. It’s all a race to find out how much money you can gouge out of people before the system just breaks.
I feel that the majority of innovation occuring in modern capitalism is confined to two key areas:
Regulatory capture and market control.
New ways to mindfuck people into overpaying for goods and services.
Seconded.
I’ve got a pair of Skullcandy Mods. The sound quality is decent but not stellar, battery life is good, charge time is good and they feel pretty solidly made. Pretty good deal for $40 on Amazon.
I previously had some of their ANC overears that while not spectacular, were much better than I expected given the price point.
This. I just want to write something I’m somewhat satisfied with and have people appreciate it.
I usually recommend Mint, Zorin, MX Linux and Pop OS starting out. But since Linux is free, all it costs you is time and energy if you want to shop around. DistroWatch.com has an expansive database of distributions.
There’s a lot of good reading material and tutorials out there. And while you might find some folks who can be dismissive or elitist in the community, genuinely helpful and friendly people are out there too, so don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Mint is pretty good at “it just works” thing and has a very friendly UI. It also comes with a few very handy tools developed in house by the Mint team (though these can be installed on other Debian/Ubuntu based distros). It’s usually high on the list of recommended distros for people new to Linux or who just need general purpose computing without a lot of fuss.
I have a few servers that I’ve put together, both towers and rack mount, that are fairly old in IT terms but would still sell for thousands used.
I pulled most of the parts out of the trash.
Forrest got it.
What were we warned about back in the prime Facebook/Twitter era? Short term dopamine driven feedback loops or some such?
This is the result of not heeding that warning.
You’re right that blaming phones is dumb. The phone is a tool, just like a hammer. You can use a hammer to build something, or destroy something. It’s all about how it’s used.
Kilts are the answer.
Think of what a power move it would be to stand there flexing your bare calves as you nail a presentation to the board on a Thursday afternoon.
More seriously, they can look good dressed up or down, and are super comfy.
I’ve worn a kilt to participate in Scottish heritage festivals and the Highland Games. It’s a far, far better garment than pants or shorts in hot weather and super comfy in general. Pants are great, but for just hanging around and casual wear kilts are amazing.
Utilikilts (the ones with pockets) are awesome, but with a traditional kilt you can accesorize with a nice belt and sporran (the little pouch in front).
All in all, I’d be really happy to see more kilts and similar garments in day to day men’s fashion.
“Cherokee” is a common family legend in the South East, much like having Wyatt Earp’s illegitimate child in the family tree in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.
I was always taught that the claim of having a Cherokee princess in the family tree was often used to give nativism and white supremacy more credibility through self-Indigenization, which is what helped it spread and survive to the current day. And as others have pointed out, it was also used as a way to hide race mixing. It’s likely that a lot of people aren’t aware of this, and just think they’re sharing a fun but if family trivia.
And, as I pointed out in another comment, the Cherokee Nation has no requirement for any percentage of native ancestry, so there are a lot of people in Oklahoma and the surrounding area who are more or less white, but are legit members of the Nation under it’s bylaws. Which can add some confusion to the issue.