That's why they all consider themselves to be alphas. Because they aren't functional or stable enough to be release candidates.

Ah, Summernats. I used to work at a servo in Canberra. That time of year was nuts.

Usually I was the only staff on site, but we'd have four staff on for nats. One would basically be handling the car wash exclusively. Two would be constantly restocking food and drinks. We'd get a shipping container of extra stock dropped off to keep up.

The bus home would have to go through a cloud of tyre smoke, and half the passengers would get off at the north side brothels and strip joints.

I never actually went to the festival itself, but I feel like I got most of the experience.

Plan some rest stops in advance, about every two hours. A few minutes of looking at the scenery and fresh air can help a lot with alertness. Even better if it's quiet enough for a power nap.

There was something about the infinite emptiness that struck an emotional chord with me. That's gone now, for the better overall, but I'm glad I experienced it.

SA2 just wasn't as satisfying for me. There was too much rail grinding, which isn't much fun when overused, because you're barely controlling anything.

My brother in Christ, you are the violence that will not be tolerated.

I'm surprised they didn't sneak in a swipe about open source being a socialist conspiracy to undermine American ingenuity.

Also allergic to dying of salmonella.

You just reminded me that pineapple upside-down cakes were a common thing in the 80's. At least where I was. What happened to those?

Typically just fried on the grill with the patty, bacon, and onion.

I hope everyone turns up in clown costumes.

Thanks for confirming I'm not alone in this, and sorry you've experienced the same.

People tend to think marriage breakdowns happen for obvious reasons, like infidelity, laziness, just losing interest. It's scary to think that you can tick all the right boxes but it can all fall apart anyway, because we as individuals can fall apart.

We need to do so much more for mental health support.