WearOS has a built-in media control that you can configure to pop up automatically when the phone is playing music or video. There are also multiple apps that act as remote controls for the phone’s camera. Mine also displays the camera view on the watch, which can be very handy.

The third-party media players often provide more detailed controls. They handle a broader range of formats (particularly VLC). And some of them perform better.

To be honest, though, the main reason I use third-party players is because I’m familiar with them. It’s similar to the advantages of using a third-party launcher. You have a lot more control over when and how you upgrade your UI experience.

And, on a side note, one of the best things about having a smartwatch is being able to control my phone’s media players without taking out my phone.

I use MX Player, PowerAmp, and VLC for various things.

My city plows the bike paths at the same time it plows the emergency routes. We’re in Wisconsin, but a startling number of people still commute by bike all year long.

Maybe you should add a bit of lithium with the detergent.

The best therapist I’ve known had a neat little cross-stitich on her lobby wall that said:

“Normal is just a setting on your washing machine.”

Every mode of human thought and behavior is represented by a spectrum. There is never a clear boundary between normality and mental illness.

This is definitely good news. The diamond industry has been a pit of human misery for most of its existence.

Taking an absolute stand may be comforting, but it has not and will not actually accomplish anything.

Our existing system is broken. Our current choice is between continuing with it, and trying to influence, or exchanging it for an authoritarian government run by a vindictive child. In the long run there may be other options, but right now you aren’t going to get a third choice. One or the other of those outcomes is going to happen.

Trump has said, at various times, that he would enact violence against protesters, have them arrested and held without due process, or have them deported. How effective do you think your efforts to push for more progressive government policies are going to go under those conditions?

Burning it all down sounds good in theory, but nothing happens in a vacuum. If we allow the current system to fail it is not going to be replaced with an idealized new system. It is going to be replaced by whatever existing movement is in a position to assert itself. Right now, that is will be the right-wing authoritarians.

You’re seeing only ideals and not reality. I’m all in favor of applying pressure toward better goals to both parties. That does not change the fact that a candidate of one of those two parties is going to win the election and run the country.

False equivalence is another problem with ignoring practical results in favor of pure ideology. There is a vast difference between Biden and Trump. It’s obvious from looking at what they’ve done already. It become even more stark if you pay attention to what Trump is saying he intends to do if re-elected. Trump genuinely wants to destroy our system of government, eliminate democracy, and rule as a dictator. He badly wants to persecute those who have offended him or who disagree with him. And he now has detailed plans for how to go about those things. When someone tells you who they are you should believe them.

Biden will run things the way he has been, which does not make me happy, but provides an opportunity for change within the system. How do you expect to enact progressive changes under a right-wing autocracy?

Even if your only concern is the Gaza genocide, Biden and Trump have significantly different positions. Biden has making a weak and unsuccessful attempts to rein in Israel. There is reasonable hope that he does have a limit for how far he’s willing to go in that direction, as evidenced by his temporary halting arms shipments. Trump has said that he supports what Israel is doing, but thinks they aren’t going far enough. He has, in the past, suggested using nuclear weapons to resolve situations like this.

It all comes back to false equivalence. We are not talking about two of the typical business-as-usual candidates. We are on the verge of becoming Nazi Germany. If you aren’t doing everything you can to prevent that, whatever efforts you make toward other goals are going become irrelevant.

Do you honestly think that Trump would be better? Have you read what he has to say about this subject?

I’m disgusted with Biden too, but sometimes choosing between the lesser of two evils is the responsible thing to do. Ethical choices are often the most difficult. One-topic voting is almost never ethical. The ultimate results do matter.

The world would be a happier place if everyone did.

This is just an attempt to keep their bots motivated.

It’s a nice option. I normally want it at max, but I turn it down if I’m going to sleep with it on my wrist.

Some smart watches allow you to adjust the intensity of the vibration. (My Samsung Watch6 does.) See if your will let you experiment with that.

Thanks for the explanation and for the link!

Any given sub is only hosted on one instance, although moderators can be on other instances. I don’t know how moderation changes propagate across other instances. I hope someone else will explain that.

I don’t think anyone can delete posts except for the poster and the moderators.

But, unlike reddit, you have a lot of options here. If you don’t like the way a community is moderated, start your own. If you don’t like the way a server is moderated, switch to a different one or start your own. The platform is no longer tied to a particular instance and the whims of whoever manages it.

I tend to agree with you, but as someone who has been on both sides of interviews, sometimes what nice things they say about you can provide useful information.

At many companies, the hiring process is designed to identify people who are capable, but also highly willing to be exploited. There are also a few companies that use their decent treatment of employees as a hiring tool, and rightfully so.

Capitalism, especially late stage capitalism, works strongly against the interests of individuals who are not billionaires in every aspect of life. Hiring is just another of those areas. Unions are pretty much the only tool within the system that can help non-billionaires.

The advice about turning off the water from inside is the best solution. Having said that, I don’t always do it. The weather has been so variable over the last few years that turning the water on and off got to be a hassle. I do shut if off when we hit the main stretch of winter, but I use covers to guard against the unseasonable freezes that happen on either side of that. I have not had any problems over several years of this, so I think I can say that they work.