This was my gripe with the write up as well. Like everybody, I’m interested in the least expensive option with similar features to the $130 option. Surely there’s something in the $20-30 range they could’ve studied?

Sure, I’ll take one

Own it!

Haha, I can definitely understand this feeling. It can be difficult to overcome! It doesn’t always “work”, and sometimes you will just stand there awkwardly. The good news is that nobody is going to care or remember. Seriously. You’re basically an NPC to people you don’t know. I’ve been to hundreds of parties in my life and have zero tangible memories of other people’s “awkward proximity”. Nobody cares about you as much as you do, which is slightly sad but majorly liberating.

Since I didn’t see any responses that directly answered the question of what do you DO, I’ve prepared a short guide for a generic social gathering. This guide may be inappropriate in some contexts such as a dinner party or event/tv show watching party, etcetera:

1. Show up

• Not at the exact start time, but at a minimum of 15-20 minutes “late”
• Bringing an unopened bottle of wine or a 6-pack of beer, or another drink of choice is almost always a classy move.
• If you drove, don’t park like an asshole. Consider the neighbors.
• If you’re standing on the doorstep and you can hear music, it’s probably safe to just walk in (make sure you’re at the right place!). Otherwise, knock/ring doorbell.

2. Party!

• Get yourself a drink and/or a plate of food if snacks are out
• Find friends and say hi! You should probably know at least one other person. How else would you have been invited?
• Explore! Hosts expect people in their house so it’s generally okay to look around, admire artwork, investigate the music, go into the backyard, etc. Don’t go anywhere that’s obviously closed off, unlit, or otherwise not a party locale.
• Talk and socialize. Meet new people! Ask your friend(s) to introduce you to their friend(s). Lightly eavesdrop on convos for something interesting you can talk about. Listen in general. Ask people what they like to do. Share stories about yourself! Pro tip: the length of your stories should be proportional to how well you know the person you’re telling it to. Just met the person? Suuuuper short stories. “No way! That reminds me of the time my cat was in the bathroom when she got hit by a car! The vet said she was very lucky to have a good friend!” (Confession: I used autocomplete to write that story)
• Dance!
• Find the host and complement their place, the party, the music, food, whatever. Just be nice. Offer to help if they look at all stressed.
• Play party games like beer pong or whatever.

3. Leave! Say thanks. Take your stuff. Cleanup whatever plates/glasses you’ve used. Don’t drive drunk. Don’t overstay your welcome.

This was probably too much info. I have insomnia. I hope someone reads this.

The answer might be impossible or impractical like a Dyson Sphere.

Tutor people trying to get better at solving coding puzzles?

I’m going to make a solar powered, battery backed, portable power supply that’s beefy enough to power an Amcrest wifi security camera 24/7. The front gate entrance to my house is pretty far away and I’d like to point a camera at it that I can view on my local area network.

Yeah, Neanderthals were famous for their efficient large-scale manufacturing capabilities

Governments are one of the few entities that are able (and occasionally willing) to spin up a mass production endeavor without the profit motive necessarily present.

Sometimes they essentially do this themselves via federal employees, or contractors. Sometimes they achieve the ends indirectly by incentivizing private companies with subsidies and the like.

Regardless of how it gets done, everyone shows up for work in the morning motivated by something. In the Soviet Union this was often the fear of imprisonment or other such violence, which was a really shitty situation for a lot of people to be in. In the modern world, it’s typically the hope that the money made will pay for food and housing and such.

Without the motivation to make a profit, few entities are both willing and able to engage in the considerable expense, risk, and effort required to spin up a mass production line.

Well now I’m gonna watch it even harder!

Wow that voice is amazing! I got goosebumps when she went all guttural for a second there

Wow, this sounds terrible! The new gold standard for en$hitification!

I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong, but haven’t they long disproven the efficacy of subliminal messaging? It’s good fiction but nothing else.

Just finished my 300+ hour play through of BG3, so something short and snappy to fill the void sounds perfect!

Basically the same thing…

I’m gonna guess pacemaker

I also have a degree in economics (and computer science, fwiw). We agree that the incentive structures in the United States are fucked up. I was just answering the question in the meme with regards to manufacturing decisions and how/why they’re made. Discontinuing our perverse car-centric subsidy schemes would be a great way to steer demand and supply away from cars.

Because planned economies are a terrible idea. We would be doing this efficiently and organically if the demand for bikes and public transportation was higher and the demand for cars was lower.

Why don’t we uproot all our vegetable crops and grow cherry trees? Cherries are delicious so this is obviously a great idea!

The only reason you have food on your plate is because economies adjust incrementally from the ground up, not all at once from the top down.