Ya know, the Appalachians are old enough that they’re split across the Atlantic Ocean.
The international Appalachian trail is a thing.
Plus, there’s sections of the Appalachiana in the south that ended up being “settled” by people from where the biggest section of be Appalachians in Ireland exist. There’s a major Scots-Irish population in my neck of the woods.
“Settled” refers to the fact that there were already people in the area as a whole, so saying that the Europeans that took the land settled it is a a matter of not having a better word to use that wouldn’t also require an explanation.
I agree! Hearing people being very enthused and happy about something is very comforting to me.
As others have pointed out, there are exceptions – flat earthers, religious fanatics, violent people – but even then, it’s not the hearing part that’s the problem – it’s more the problematic content itself
Reading this thread reminded me of my mother often ignoring what I said as a child. And one specific time when she said she didn't want to hear about a video game I was excited about.
Not huge injuries, there is certainly far worse that can happen. But it does shape who you are to be shut down like that. Shit parenting, as gen x is used to.
I hope I have never done that to anyone. Just listening without criticizing is not difficult.
Maybe try like a sandwich. Listen to them talk, tease them about it, then listen some more. That way you are still learning and letting them share while not bored.
I think there was some sort of anxious period where people thought if they are sitting down and listening to someone they saw it as a ‘waste of time’ rather than quality time to connect with someone.
Those injuries are worse than many people realize, I think. Dismissing your kid’s enthusiasm basically sucks the joy out of their life. Kids literally need recognition and validation from parents. Encouragement is a big deal. When you share exciting things and get shot down, you either stop sharing with anyone, stop being excited, or both.
If we can’t ever be enthusiastic about anything what’s supposed to be the offset to all the misery life throws at us, periods of numb ennui? Lol
My parents often responded to any enthusiasm with some kind of negativity. I don’t recall any shared excitement. I’m also gen x, if you couldn’t guess lol.
I got to admit it is difficult pretending to be interested in whatever K-Pop thing is going on, I have daughters. Do make an effort. Bet you didn’t know that Black Pink broke up.
This post made me think to recommend the series ‘Connections’ by James Burke if you vibe on the strange relationship between odd events and inventions in history that lead us…here.
Caveat: it was filmed in the 70s so enjoy polyester and bell bottoms, but also scary prescient predictions, some of which have already come to pass.
I want to recommend the podcast Go Fact Yourself . It’s a trivia podcast with minor celebrity guests as contestants. The trivia questions asked are from one of three categories which the contestants provide ahead of time as something they are an expert in outside of their field of work. You get to meet some interesting people, and the experts they bring onto the show to judge the final answers really make the show and creates some very interesting conversations. It’s basically a show letting people talk about some of their favourite things.
That’s what I did, because it’s something I actually want to financially support, and there are plenty of other good shows on the service as well… but not enough for more than a month. That said, if you prefer to sail the seas I can point you in the right direction…
Most of the time I hear, “Oh, yeah? That’s cool.” End of conversation. I still like my interests and tons of other random people on the internet do too, but my interests don’t generally align with my IRL co-workers unless we’re talking about our kids.
It’s very depressing to ask someone about their weekend and the answer is always nothing more than TV and sleep.
I know somebody who maintains a gas powered go kart that his son races with. I don’t know much about it, and I’d never be into it, but at least hearing about what he is up to is interesting.
That’s the unfortunate part of modern society. Many people are barely able to make a living to get by that when they do have time off, all they want to do is sleep and do nothing. It’s not that they are necessarily lazy or unmotivated, it’s that they are tired and need the rest.
People don’t create, or get into a hobby unless they have enough free time and money.
If all your free time is spent on trying to get a bit more money to live … any bit of time you have to just sit will be spent either sleeping or watching TV.
I have been lucky enough to watch every season of the Simpsons since 1989 as it increased and slowly decreased in quality. I have seen Seinfeld, The Office, Breaking Bad, The Wire, Friends, Anime like Neon Genesis Evangelion/Berserk,One Punch Man/Death Note, countless documentaries featuring David Attenborough. Top Gear, The IT Crowd, Mr Robot, The Walking Dead and even all six seasons of Game of Thrones.
You’re right, we are very fortunate and it is a golden age.
What’s ironic is that so many are doing TV and sleep on their weekends because they are depressed and exhausted from the week, with only two days before starting it over, less in many cases
This was me for a while. I’ve found that when I’m depressed, taking the first step out the door can feel like an insurmountable task.
Also related, I’m actually in a conversation with a discord friend right now about how hard it is to feel connected to something as we get older. It’s still possible, but it takes a concerted effort. Add things like depression and exhaustion to the mix, and you’ve got the ingredients for a downward spiral.
There are so many people out there who I’d love to give a big mental hug. So many people hurting.
I can definitely relate, then my dog has to stay on routine …. I love her almost like another kid and am so happy she can share our family. I’ll spend as much time as I can, etc, etc. but there are weekend days when I. Just. Need. Sleep. but she has to make sure we all get up in time as if it were work/school
The thing is, is that if somehow you get the energy to get out the door, whatever you have planned is (nearly) always a good time. It’s just so hard to remember that when depression takes hold.
I don’t have any energy to do anything else. I hate being asked about my weekend. Why do I have to entertain? They can just tell me about their own weekend instead and I’ll offer my own information if I have something to tell.
I don’t assume people are asking for their own entertainment. I think they are trying to connect. Conversation is one of the way people connect to each other. If it’s just for entertainment It’s so much easier to just get entertainment from a phone rather than go the effort to interact with people.
It’s funny because the people who are like ‘no one wants to hear it’ will launch into a diatribe about garden hoses or something like they don’t realize that is a niche interest. I had to catch a relative out about that. I think she’s gotten a bit kinder since.
Did you know, all four of the "gas giants" in our solar system have rings; Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune all have rings, only Saturn is most famous for its rings being more often studied.
Some model trains operate on a system called DCC, or Digital Command Control. As an alternative to DC, or Direct Current-driven models, it’s a commonly-held misconception that DCC runs on an AC, or Alternating Current circuit. In reality, it’s still using direct current, but combining it with PWM, or Pulse Width Modulation, to embed digital signals at slightly higher voltages than the regular operating voltage. These signals can be used to address individual models and send commands that allow for a model to have more functions than a DC model would be capable of, such as more sophisticated lighting, finer motor controls, sound features, consists, speed matching, automation, and a lot more.
Wow… I love electronics but I’ve never dabbled with model trains, had no idea they’ve gotten that sophisticated. I thought it was all about the miniature making etc. lol, PWM in the tracks is amazing.
Oh DCC has been around since the 80s, I think, but nowadays we can use Arduino boards as base stations in place of the more turnkey units that cost a lot more.
When you love someone, you can’t hear enough about their current hyper fixations. “Would you shut up”, “Nobody cares”. These are things I heard a lot as a kid. I had to reach my 30s to finally feel the magic of “Please tell me more”.
I can geek out about 40K, Dune, ASOIAF, Dark Souls. And my girlfriend smiles at me and is happy I am getting exited like a child. It really is something when you give a 20 minute lecture about Necron history and get questions about the specifics. Just yesterday, when we went to bed, she wanted me to talk about Rincewind and Discworld. FREAKING RINCEWIND! When can you talk about him?! She loves to listen to me and I love to listen to her.
Don’t let shit people spoil the fun for you. You are beautiful, your weird hobbies and fixations are beautiful. Go find a good person who will be weird together with you.
I am a software engineer, my wife lets me ramble about all sorts of development and other nerdy things related all the time without a single complaint.
She is my rubber duck, which I apologize to her for :D
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