Posts by Michelle Palmer6

It’s already getting chaotic.

But hey, at least there's no real damage—besides, those islands are absolutely packed with New Yorkers right now anyway.🤷

Paul Sanders5 said:🤣

Man, let's just wrap all this nonsense up by the end of the month already. I am so done wasting my summer on this crap.

I'm standing by and ready to go! Just send over the content you need me to work on, and I'll get started right away.

I’ve been following this discussion closely, and honestly, I have some thoughts! It feels like we’re finally getting to the heart of the matter, and I am absolutely here for it. The way everyone is weighing in is just fascinating. You see people throwing out theories left and right, and while I love the energy, we really need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. It isn't just about one single factor; it's the combination of everything happening in the US right now that makes this so complex. I was reading what urbanhawk17 had to say earlier, and I have to agree—there is definitely a layer of nuance here that most people are overlooking. We can't just jump to conclusions without looking at the data! And while I know some of you are itching to settle this once and for all, let's keep things civil and thoughtful. I truly believe if we dig a little deeper, the answer will become much clearer to all of us. Let's keep the conversation going! kaže:
Ever since you stopped hanging out under the showers at the Convention Center, things just haven't been the same around here! A lot of stuff has been totally thrown off balance without you. ☕

Wait, wouldn't that just solve the whole thing?

The wind just picked up, and honestly? It’s the perfect setup for a massive bonfire!

urbanhawk17 said:I just got up to pee, crawled back into bed, and then everything started shaking. That first tremor was brutal. Honestly, you just sit there praying the whole building won't collapse on you... It lasts maybe ten seconds, but it feels like an entire year passed...

During the second one, I heard a dog barking outside. I told my wife, "Here comes another one," hoping against hope it wouldn't happen. I guess dogs can sense it somehow, because right as I said that, the ground started moving again...

Just finished skimming a morning article about a little girl who died. She had to be buried twice today.🤦

So, prostate issues, huh?

Honestly, we should just bring football back just so we can watch all the idiocy pile up on Reddit instead.

That's some solid logic right there!

Seriously though, what on earth are you guys doing?

Merry Christmas!

Amanda Evans2 said:The Church as a pillar of global peace🤣
Which specific church, if any, can truly claim responsibility for maintaining peace in the world?

Well, I think she’s partially right! Even the earliest civilizations had religious systems in place. It wasn't just about trying to make sense of how the world works or explaining existence; religion serves as an incredibly powerful tool for embedding moral standards across an entire population. Laws are often just ink on paper—they change constantly and are ultimately enforced by fallible people. In comparison, religion and the concept of a higher power carry much more weight.
The real issue is that, over time, organized religion became a tool used by certain people to manipulate those very same populations. That inherent rigidity—which was originally its greatest strength—eventually prevented it from adapting to a changing world and new scientific discoveries.

I'm not quite sure I follow what you're asking! If you're looking for a definition or just trying to start a conversation, feel free to clarify. I'm all ears and ready to chat! ☕

Amanda Evans2 said:I find myself really missing Morales77...

For the hacks?

Peter Thompson4 said:No way, that’s just not how we do our hiking at all.
Our version of "hiking" is basically just "grabbing a beer," eating some meat, and adding a little something extra to the mix (you know, lubricant and stuff like that).
We hit up a brewery at every single turn, chill out for half an hour, and then keep moving, and so on.
The highest peak we've ever bothered to climb was probably some random hill near town. Most of the time, we just roll up in shorts and sneakers (well, not today, since it's actually warm out again).

Nah, we aren't going there. 😁

I don't want to cross the border, I have a few reasons for that.

*grams

It’s truly wonderful to see such high-quality music being pushed out from the Iberian Peninsula!
There’s definitely hope for modern America.

Yeah, seriously!

Jessica Gonzalez said:It probably depends on where you work. I suppose if you're working a government job, I agree that you probably won't get those perks. But I know some private companies have started handing out decent models to employees making around $60,000 net. Of course, management usually gets the flagships, but for someone like me who just uses a phone for messaging, Reddit, and news, I don't really need anything fancy. Maybe I'm living in a parallel universe, but over the last 5 or 6 years, I've spent about $167 on phones and laptops—including buying back a company laptop (a high-end model that cost $1,600 before tax, but I got it after three years for about $75). So, when I hear that people actually shell out thousands of dollars for phones, it feels a little strange to me.

To be more precise, I don't work in a position where I'd qualify for those perks. If I were just sitting around doing nothing at a federal agency for underwater fossil research, I wouldn't be surprised if they handed me at least a decent Samsung.

Yep, heading back home now!

I don't have any like those.
I think Amanda Evans2 is probably the closest to what you're looking for. As she puts it, it's either "go big or go home"!

Look, I honestly believe you might end up with a slightly better value if you went for a higher-end used model instead, but personally, I think making that choice would be pretty tough given the reasons I mentioned earlier.
Admittedly, seeing how badly I’ve trashed my last two phones, maybe I should just grab a Nokia 3310 and save myself all the headache.

Matthew Young35 said:Well, I actually have a phone with a top-tier camera.

I'm not saying it isn't a good app—I haven't tried it myself—but RAW is complete overkill for the average user, and honestly, even for those looking for something a bit more advanced.

Look, I’m talking about the native camera app on the phone, not Open Camera.

And yeah, I agree, it's a massive overkill.
You aren't going to get a shot that looks like it came out of a professional rig, and the file sizes are absolutely mammoth. Who is actually using raw mode on a smartphone?

I just noticed that the photos turn out incredibly well.

Ah, my bad! I misunderstood you; I thought you were referring to that other app.
I assume you can just disable saving in RAW and stick to standard JPEG.
Of course, the image looks great when you're starting with ten times more data than a typical mobile shot. It's just that for the kind of stuff people usually snap on their phones, it's basically useless.

Matthew Young35 said:Hold on... wait a second...
North Chicago has actually become quite elite lately.
Well, provided you're on the right side of town, of course.

My advice? Pick up a used flagship from a year or two ago... maybe a Huawei, an HTC, or a Samsung (but stick to the S series or the Note line), or even some of the lesser-known brands.
I was actually comparing phones with a friend today; his three-year-old Sony flagship still pulls better benchmark scores than the recently released Mate 30 Lite.
The gap between a true flagship and the mid-range stuff that follows it is massive.
If you buy something a year or two old, you might actually come out ahead financially.

To give you a better idea of what I mean—I was looking at the GSMArena Redmi Note 7 comparisons against
any flagship from two years back (like the S8, U11, or XZ1). Most of them are nearly twice as fast in benchmarks.

But it's all up to you.

Honestly, I think most people find buying something brand new much more appealing—both for the excitement of the release and the convenience. First off, there's the warranty (even if getting them to honor it can be a headache), and second, it's hard to know how the previous owner treated a used device; you can't always see the wear and tear from the outside. Plus, people tend to feel—and probably have a point—that tech has a natural lifespan, and a used phone is already closer to the end of that cycle.
From what I can tell, you're more of a tech enthusiast who enjoys diving into the details, so having easy access to support for any glitches is a breeze for you. For the average user, dealing with any kind of technical hassle is just too much of a pain.

Matthew Young35 said:Now, my device actually features a raw mode within the native app, and I have to say, the shots turn out absolutely fantastic regardless of whether it's broad daylight or pitch black... But man, a single photo ends up being fifty megabytes.

But really, who needs RAW mode? 🤷Honestly, 98% of people wouldn't even know what to do with it, let alone have the patience to sit around editing them later. If you're serious about that level of photography, you're either going to grab a flagship phone with a killer sensor or just pick up a dedicated DSLR.
I'm not saying the app isn't great—I haven't personally tested it—but for the average user, RAW is total overkill. Even for enthusiasts, it's a lot to handle.