Obviously they'll never hit a ceiling. They can just increase the subscription every 8-12 months indefinitely, blaming inflation and/or the state of local news subscription membership. But... local news is valuable. And I'm financially stable enough that even $60 is manageable.

Not sure what to do about it at this point. Again: local news is vital, local reporters deserve a good wage, but obfuscating the cost and charging people different amounts doesn't seem like a very good system for bringing in the money.

Also frustrating because I'm fairly sure that McClatchy has one of those subscription algorithms where if I go in to cancel, it'll offer me a lower rate to keep me on board. I hate that stupid enshittification dance so much.

That comes to a smidge over $40 a month. That's a 26% increase over the amount I've been paying since March 2025 ($6.91 per week), and a 56% increase over the initial $13.96 subscription.

After a few months on an artificially low introductory rate ($2 per month), they bumped me to $13.96 per month in January 2019. After several price hikes over the years, I just got an email today informing me that they're raising my subscription to $9.22 per week plus tax.

I think local news is vital and worth paying for, but unfortunately I also think it's too expensive for most people. I've paid for an online-only Durham Herald-Sun subscription since late 2018.

An update: the turkey seminar was very informative. Gobbler physiology is fascinating. Waddles and snoods are for thermoregulation and courtship display. No certainty on why they have beards, though, so it usually gets chalked up to sexual selection. 201 session is tonight! I'm hype.

I've never even thought about making venison pho. That's such a fantastic idea.

🙃

Hank Shaw’s Hunt, Gather, Cook was an early catalyst for getting into it. I need to check out his new cookbooks.

AI people are so fucking dumb they made a response to that post using homelander jesus christ it should be illegal to be this dumb

12 Steps to Avoid Disappointment this Holiday Season “Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts.” —Janice Maeditere The holidays can be a most wonderful time of year. The season is often marked with family, tradition, and...

Reading this list is my annual tradition. And I always try (and often fail) at following all of the very good advice within. This year, I'm focusing on not pushing my expectations on to others, and offering forgiveness quickly.

Just watched an Opera GX "quest" on Discord. The concept of a "gaming browser" sounds so idiotic on the surface, but even if it IS a good idea (limiting CPU/RAM usage so it doesn't impact a running game app), that ad sure didn't make me want to investigate any further!

Always impressed with how you explain your stances on these things, Rodney. Thank you so much for using your influence to stand up for trans rights. 💖

I wanted to share a few thoughts recent discussions around CGE’s decision to partner with JKR for their upcoming @codenamesgame.bsky.social game have prompted. Thankful to those who spoke early to this issue (Marceline, Tiffany, @nopunincluded.com et al) for helping this get the needed attention.

Wow. It’s absurd when you count the years.

Was the internet truly better back then, or are we just doing the thing that people do when they get older?

There's a scene in episode 4 of The Pitt where Dr. Robby is fighting a panic attack in the bathroom and he remembers that he has to pee, has had to pee for nearly an hour, and he finally does. Visceral to an ADHDer like me with massive executive dysfunction. I felt that relief so hard.

Arthurian April | Day 2 — All About Arthur YouTube video by Natania Barron

And Day Two us also up, wherein I follow the threads through the past to talk about how we started talking about Arthur in the first place.

youtu.be/WJ92afGitXI?...

Regardless, glad we were there to commiserate. Hopefully the accompanying #dnd sesh was cathartic. ❤️‍🩹

Today’s hot take: romance books are for anyone.

Everyone wants there to be a grand scheme behind all of this but the terrible truth is that extremely stupid people are in charge and they have a fanatical devotion to wrong, childlike concepts of society and economics cooked up by right wing radio hosts in order to sell tainted dietary supplements

A very floofy, very sleepy golden retriever totally splayed out on a bed.

50% golden retriever, 50% muppet. 100% the best boy ever.

RPG tip: Let players roll all their dice even if you know it's a fatal blow. Don't take away their fun with the math rocks.

#dnd #ttrpg

Yeah, they make 'em that way. They're a little unwieldy, though. It's like rolling a golf ball.

Outside of Breakaway/Dingo Dog tonight. 😝

SagaBorn Dice: An Icosahedron D100 Making a d100 roll as well as a d20.

Do I need more dice?

No.

Do I need a d100 set that uses icosahedra instead of decahedra?

Also no.

But I'm still backing this Kickstarter, because it's $10 and I need all the little joy I can find. Maybe you'll want to back it, too?
www.kickstarter.com/projects/mic...

Of course. It's just a great example of how impossibly high those numbers are. Your true point--that he could do a heck of a lot of good with his immense wealth, but is instead doing... ::gestures angrily::--still stands.

Math on Elon Musk’s money doesn’t add up When Tesla owner Elon Musk agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion dollars, many social media users offered their thoughts

This comes up a lot. See www.politifact.com/factchecks/2...

Just further evidence that humans basically cannot comprehend the levels of wealth that dudes like Musk have. Which works in their favor.