elephantium

As others have said, congrats on the new build :)

I assembled a desktop* for myself in 2021 after a long run on an ol' Dino Laptop. I had similar feelings - a LOT had changed. I was able to avoid RGB for all the internal components, but it did take some looking.

RGB lights on memory, etc. look nice if you have a window in your case and keep it on your desktop - doubling as artwork. I've seen some very pretty-looking builds out there!

*Deskbottom would be more like it. I keep the case on the floor under my desk.

What would you call it? What's your objection to the term "employee benefits"? You sound like you have an axe to grind, but I don't get your angle.

I don't think you can blame it all on Obamacare. I vividly remember wondering "How TF do people with families afford this?!" when looking at the individual vs. family insurance at a job back in 2002. Premiums were skyrocketing then, and they've been skyrocketing ever since.

Exacto

I've loved "we'll burn that bridge when we come to it" ever since a character in Robert Asprin's Mythadventures series used it. Fun books.

Use the force, NegativeNull!

Bears don't have spots, you're thinking of leopards.

Quark is a beauty, and that's the plain unvarnished truth!

Efficient at confusing people, perhaps. Personally, I have no idea what you're on about.

I give it a perfect 5/7

I read the wiki page. Pretty barebones, but it did link to https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34705968

In theory, I could entertain an argument about having criminals repay some of the costs of dealing with them, that's not what's going on here.

The sum that is able to be collected doesn't go straight into the county coffers, either - the jail contracts with a company

The jail gets 30%, the company gets 70%.

It really just looks like just another way to exploit prisoners for profit.

Eh, that's different. Police officers choose the profession. Trans folks aren't choosing the trans life, they're discovering who they really are (maybe I should have just quipped "...the trans life chose them", ha).

There's nothing wrong with trying to avoid assholes, but when you start painting with a broad brush like that, well, it does smack of bigotry. Same energy as racists who memorize arrest statistics and then say things like "It's not racist if it's true!"

Also, to be clear: I don't mean to accuse you of anything. I just see some uncomfortable parallels.

Personally, I don't have a lot of experience in this area. I've really only been acquainted with two trans people, and I don't/didn't know them very well (I say didn't because I haven't seen the one person since before covid). Both were friends-of-friends type acquaintances that I'd see at game nights and the like.