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ryan ryan @the.coolest.zone

I admin the.coolest.zone, the coolest site on the net for online social engagement.

Posts 23
Comments 305
It's very important
  • Maybe if you remembered to put Jupiter back where it belonged after you were done with it, it wouldn't be lost now, hmm?

  • How did you lose weight?
  • Calorie counting through MyFitnessPal. I am unable to accurately gauge how many calories I'm consuming just by eyeballing it, and this is especially difficult given my TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is about 1350 calories. (I'm short.) The only way I've been able to manage my weight is by turning it into concrete understandable numbers.

    I have a 3,312 day streak of calorie counting now. It's the one habit I've managed to keep up, and while my weight has gone up and down I've kept track of it all. At my starting point, I weighed 150lb (obese by BMI), and I'm currently down to 118 (high end of normal by BMI).

  • Real talk
  • Some of my earliest memories are watching The Next Generation with my parents. I never stood a chance! I was always destined to be 🤓

  • Real talk
  • Real answer: these are actually real languages! They're just conlangs, or constructed languages, instead of natural languages. The major problem with conlangs generally ends up being the limited vocabulary, but the grammar foundations are usually solid.

    I actually really like Klingon as a language because it was intentionally designed to be alien, and specifically to be very Klingon. Most languages are Subject-Verb-Object (like English and other Western languages) or Subject-Object-Verb (like Japanese or Hindi). Klingon, however, is Object-Verb-Subject - it's very direct with the emphasis placed on the target of the sentence, which makes sense with the Star Trek world and Klingon culture.

    Fun fact, Klingon has at least one native speaker - some guy raised his daughter to speak Klingon as well as English. (I'm not a fan of this - on one hand, learning multiple languages from an early age is a huge leg up in being able to learn more languages in the future, but on the other hand Klingon is entirely useless as a primary language given its structure and the few other people who speak it.)

  • Queer.af mastodon domain has been seized by the Taliban
  • Unfortunately, I think due to the way ActivityPub works, the domain name is inexorably tied to the instance. Trying to migrate to a new domain name would break a lot of federation to my understanding.

    It looks like someone posted an attempt at a workaround here (latest reply): https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/5774

    But it does require the self-destruct button because the old domain name has to be erased from other servers.

  • There is no point in trying to escape the simulation; Odds are, we don't exist outside it!
  • How long until someone discovers an arbitrary code execution exploit in the simulation?

  • Man who spent 8 years building replica Eiffel Tower out of matchsticks has record rejected for using the wrong kind of matches
  • Guinness is bullshit anyway. Someone get that man a "World's Largest Eiffel Tower out of matchsticks that was also rejected by Guinness for bullshit reasons" plaque.

  • Still fun though
  • if camping's so great, why did man invent House? 😏

    (I've never actually been camping. I think I would like to one day though, both for the general experience and the ability to actually see stars, which I think would be neat.)

  • I truly don't know how to explain this to anyone who wasn't around then.
  • For me it wasn't a video game but adjacent - I saw Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within in 2001 and thought "well, that's it, computer graphics have achieved photorealism and nothing could possibly ever be better."

  • I love you ❤️
    • you <3
    • caffeine
    • caffeine
    • if I don't get my coffee I will either die or kill
  • 139 passengers, crew sickened during gastrointestinal illness outbreak on Queen Victoria cruise: CDC
  • I had norovirus once, got it from the salad bar at a Disney World restaurant. Absolutely awful, the only silver lining was that it only lasted a day or so.

    Dealing with it on a cruise with those tiny little bathrooms? Ugh.

  • Mozilla slams Microsoft for using dark patterns to drive Windows users towards Edge in a new Research Report
  • you WON'T BELIEVE what MOZILLA said about MICROSOFT 🚨 (watch to the end)

  • I live every day in fear that dark gary will one day return
  • There is a Light Gary on your right shoulder and a Dark Gary on your left. They don't provide any great moral advice, but damn do they love to argue about the best hiking trails.

  • Trolley Problem Solution
  • Y'all kids and your speedrun strats. Some of us have poor reaction time and need to perform safety setups.

  • Trolley Problem Solution
  • I've never understood why people have such a hard time with the trolley problem. Obviously, if you pre-emptively move that lone guy over to the rail with the five, you can hit all six at once to maximize your score. Just requires a bit of setup.

  • Can network engineers (I know we have some here) confirm?
  • Though the network engineer cries out, the parents do not come back to take care of the hatchling. The newborn must climb down the cell tower on its own and immediately begin searching for food, shelter, and a job in the telecommunications industry. The rapid fledging cycle of the network engineer means that only a handful survive into employment.

  • Has anyone used MLA format outside of high school ?
  • High school (and all primary schooling) is 50% teaching you useful facts and knowledge and 50% teaching you skills like concentrated work effort, sitting and listening, taking instructions and following them, and applying critical thinking to transform knowledge. MLA falls into the latter category, in my opinion.

  • Who deals with autistic inertia?
  • I always thought this was my ADHD talking, but from some googling... It could be this as well, or instead of. I'm definitely very monotropic and I also recognize the symptoms of Pathological Demand Avoidance in myself.

    Unfortunately, at work I manage three different tracks which each have their own roadmaps and deadlines, so constantly shifting attention is required. It's taken a decade of practice to get where I am -- forcing my body and my brain past perceived obstacles and discomfort. It's possible to train your brain out of certain desire paths with enough effort, but it's not easy, and I wouldn't say I'm cured to any measure. I'm just better at managing my symptoms and getting things done than I used to be.

    I hate to say "it's a bootstrap thing" but frankly there's no magic cure, only increasingly difficult iterative steps that you achieve through a ton of practice. I do hope my neurodivergent compatriots here have been able to find jobs that work with their unique skills and brain structures, rather than against as I have found myself.

  • Amazon clearly lying about "ownership" on Prime.
  • 🥸 well you see, you own a digital license to watch the movie so long as we have it available, have you read our terms of agreement--

    Agreed that this is scummy marketing, though. The only real way to own media (legally) anymore is through physical copies, and even then maybe there's some provision that makes a DVD illegal due to license shenanigans... but no cop's gonna bust down your door for owning an illegal DVD of Aquaman.

  • *Permanently Deleted*
  • By observing the HTML of the about:preferences#privacy page, we can find that the checkbox "Cookies" has a preference value of network.cookie.cookieBehavior, as does the dropdown next to it, so that's the preference value that is changed.

    You can see in the console of about:preferences that if you type in Services.prefs.getIntPref('network.cookie.cookieBehavior') it will return a 1. You can also see this if you have about:config open as you are toggling the preferences dropdown - the value will change there.

    Hope that helps!

  • Best of Blind @the.coolest.zone ryan @the.coolest.zone

    Blind has a new way to make money

    Direct from Blind:

    > We take anonymity seriously here at Blind. We understand you might not want to participate in some discussions because you want to keep some things private or avoid inadvertently revealing yourself. We hear you, which is why you can now hide your company name when you write a post, comment or reply. > > Here’s how it works: > > - Update your Blind app to the latest version. Tap My Page on the bottom menu and select Store. > - Buy (post) Hide Company with B Money. You’ll need one Hide Company credit for each post you want to write without your company name. (We believe purchases help prevent abuse.) > - Activate Hide Company when you write a post, comment or reply to hide your company for that post. > - You won’t need to use Hide Company if you work at a startup and want to post, comment or reply in the Startup Lounge. You can always hide your company name in the Startup Lounge. > - Your company name won’t be visible for the entire post, including all comments and replies.

    One "Hide Company" credit costs $3.99. Please take special note of the fact that it hides your company and not your username. If someone recognizes your username from another thread, boom, anonymity lost. You have to change your username (which also costs money). Amazing work, Blind.

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    Best of Blind @the.coolest.zone ryan @the.coolest.zone

    Blinder buries the lede

    GF slept with more than 20 men!

    > > > Yesterday I came to know that my gf has slept with 20+ guys (mostly hookups). She said that after her first break up she wanted to forget about her ex and her though process was “to forget someone you have to go under someone”. > Then she got some psychotic episodes. And she started sleeping with many men. She even dated a 32 year old guy when she was 21. > She said that she thought if she sleep with someone they might love her back. But they just used her. > > > > Then come to Jan 22 when she met me. And we started going out. I had just one gf before and that was puppy love. I never slept with anyone before. > Then after 9 months me and my current gf had sex. Then I realized that she was also texting some hot guy and kinda cheating on me. When i asked her she said that she was used to jump from guys to guys and wasnt sure that our relationship will last or not. So she kept backup. > > > > I feel for every problem she has lot of excuses. > But for last 7 months she has been super loyal to me and shown signs for love. > > > > I do love her alot but dont know what to do at this time. > > > > I was nice to her. Bought her presents, date nights. And i feel because of all that she got attached. > > > > I jusr don’t understand how can i ever be special to her. And how can i ever trust this woman. I feel there is nothing left for me from her physical perspective. > > > > Is it possible for her to ever love me? > >

    Buddy, the problem isn't the people she hooked up with before the relationship, it's what happens during the relationship, and keeping a backup sounds like a red flag to me 🚩

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    Best of Blind @the.coolest.zone ryan @the.coolest.zone

    Jealous Blinder concerned about wife's high school reunion

    Wife wants to meet ex-bf

    > > > We're married for 10 years now and my wife wants to go to her high school reunion where her ex-boyfriend will be. I told her she shouldn't go, and she says that I have trust issues and that she's not planning to do anything. I don't understand why she wants to go see her ex-boyfriend from high school. Is this something that people are cool about? > >

    Maybe... She just wants to go to her high school reunion? Sadly, no TC mentioned - we need both his and the ex-bf's to make an informed decision, of course 🙃

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    Best of Blind @the.coolest.zone ryan @the.coolest.zone

    Blinder wants to open his relationship

    Been with gf for 5 years, how to ask for open relationship?

    > > > I've been with my girlfriend for 5 years, and I love her to death. But lately, I've been feeling bored. I'm not sure if it's because we've been together for so long, or if it's something else. But I've been thinking about asking her if she would be open to an open relationship. I know this is a big ask, and I'm not sure how she's going to react. I know this is a lot to ask, but I'm hoping someone out there can give me some advice on how to tell my girlfriend about this, I don't want to lose her, but I also don't want to stay in a relationship that's making me unhappy. > >

    Notable comments:

    > > > Like this: "I think we should break up ❤️😭" > >

    > > > This isn't reddit, wrong app > >

    > > > Tc? This is actually an important factor here. If your portfolio is sub 5m dont even think about asking unless youre ok with the relationship ending > >

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    Best of Blind @the.coolest.zone ryan @the.coolest.zone

    Blinder needs that double income. Get to work, wife!

    Wife cant break into tech and that depresses me

    > > > I am coaching my wife to getting into tech. She cant seem to find a job after bootcamp in this market. Meanwhile other dudes whose TC are much less than me are doing much better financially because their household income is more than mine. I work way too much and its unsustainable . I dont blame my wife but I am depressed > > > > The only difference is their wives started bootcamp earlier and 2021 companies were hiring any one that has a pulse, we missed the boat > > > > It almost seems like whether you succeed financially in Bay Area solely depends on you have double tech incomes. Might need to get out of this place. > > > > TC 540k > > > > PS: a lot of you are fixated on the 540k. i already said I cant keep this work up, will try to get something with less stress and less pay soon > >

    (For reference: yes, the Bay Area is expensive, but people do manage to live here quite comfortably with even half that income.)

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    Best of Blind @the.coolest.zone ryan @the.coolest.zone

    Blinder is burnt out

    This one isn't funny, but I feel it's a sentiment that is reflected in quite a lot of people. Individual contributors are more productive than ever, meaning we're juggling more tasks and have more responsibilities in work than generations past. The human brain wasn't meant to handle this level of constant multitasking stress, and some people handle it better than others.

    Godspeed, anonymous Blinder. Hope you find your way through that hole to the other side.

    Can't anymore

    > > > It’s endless. The harder you work, the more responsibilities you get. I hate taking ownership of things. There’s too much learning to do. Too many problems to solve which increase in scope and take a toll on your mental health. The brain should not be working this hard, all the time. I don’t love SWE, but SWE loves me; the money has me hooked. How can I possibly take a 150% paycut? Plus, I have no other employable skills. Every morning I wake up and open my laptop and see the queue of messages and emails, I feel stressed and trapped. > > > > I want happiness but I also want to continue buying things and going on vacations without looking at the price tag. I don’t budget; the money is just there, always, and there’s lots of it. Not enough to retire though. > > > > I’ve tried taking a break - didn’t make a difference. It’s not burnout, it’s a hate with SWE and tech industry as a whole. > > > > I always thought of starting my own company though. It might be a stupid idea given my stance on work, but I still feel like that’s the solution. > >

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    Best of Blind @the.coolest.zone ryan @the.coolest.zone

    Blinder doesn't understand women (and probably never will)

    I'm 32 and still don't understand women

    > > > Can someone actually legit tell me how to treat women if my goal is to be respected and not have a sexless marriage? No trolling please, I’m being dead serious. > > > > I’m 5’8, nice body, good face, but very unsuccessful with women long term. I’ve had some short term one night stands (10-15) and one relationship for 1.5 years all of it was through online dating apps, which are purely superficial and I truly have no social skills with women. All of my “success” has been completely superficial based and I’m completely fcked if I want a normal marriage. > > > > I’m seeking advice with how to actually treat women. I was at the casino talking to this girl at the roulette table and then her fiancé showed up and was a complete asshat to her but she got closer to him and seemed like she liked being treated like a dumbass. On the other hand maybe she wanted me to hit on her. It got awkward when her fiancé showed up at the table. I assume fiancé since I saw the ring on her right hand. > > > > I’m starting to think it’s entirely dependent on the woman. Like women who sleep around a lot, very promiscuous and don’t have a lot of money tend to like guys treating them like shit. Women who have no self esteem and think they can’t do better. Women who would cheat. Idk > > > > Can someone explain it to me like you’re my father and I’m 10 just learning about girls for the first time. I’m being dead serious. Assume I’m on the spectrum and have no idea what I’m doing. Shape my mind like I’m a kid > > > > Thanks > >

    Notable comments (combo of useful and yikes):

    > > > Please watch videos on "dating red pill", "fresh and fit" Youtube channel to understand what is the current dating landscape and how it has changed in the last 20 years. As you are shorter than an average man, you've your work cut out for you. Better to educate yourself to understand what is the landscape is like, where you stand, what current women your age are looking for, etc. > >

    > > > Stop asking over and over your best bet is google and YouTube. No one should help you possibly breed. If you can’t figure out basic relationship dynamics at 32, then your genes should be removed from the pool and you should agree. No one is coming. Help yourself or be happy alone with yourself. > >

    > > > There are many women in their 30s looking for a great partner. I feel like in my 20s it was more single men, now it’s more single women. No time like the present to find a great wife. > > > > So what works? Be authentic. Be you. Pursue your interests. Most of all, when you meet someone be very upfront about what you want. Kids? Career? House? Hobbies? > > > > Also, avoid casinos and bars or places where the vibe is more casual hookups. Take a painting class or a yoga class. Go to the gym! Go skiing. Hiking. That kind of thing > >

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    Best of Blind @the.coolest.zone ryan @the.coolest.zone

    Meow.

    Girlfriend took great offense to me buying her cat ears

    > > > She thinks it's a disorder and called me crazy > > > > I (25) bought my girlfriend (32) some cat ears because I thought it would be fun for her to be a cat girl but she got very angry > > > > For context I am white and she is from south Asia > > > > Am I AH? > 200k > >

    1
    Best of Blind @the.coolest.zone ryan @the.coolest.zone

    Blinder has an addiction

    But thankfully, he has an eye-popping TC to make up for it...

    spent $25k on OF, adult content and escorts last year

    > > > I don't know how to overcome this but I'm addicted to adult content. I looked at my yearly expenses and I spent $25k last year on only fans, cam shows, adult content and escorts and on track to do that again this year. What can I do to get help? > TC: $600k > >

    Notable comment:

    > > > Osho says do a lot of something until you're bored of it. Have a habit you wanna kick like smoking... smoke 20 cigarettes a day until you can't stand the smell of it anymore. And it makes you vomit. Same goes for sex. Get it all out of your system. Do an escort marathon until you are tired of them. Then focus that energy on Something else. had a similar problem. The excess testosterone is best used in exercise. > >

    The rest of the comments range from "genuinely helpful" to "misogynistic", of course.

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    Best of Blind @the.coolest.zone ryan @the.coolest.zone

    Blinder doesn't understand stock vesting cliffs

    TC went down.l am screwed

    > > > TC went down from 500k to 250k next year due to 4y cliff and amazon changes in comp. Single income family with 2kids living in San Jose. Promo unlikely to happen next year. Should I leave. I havent done leetcode in many years. > >

    1
    Best of Blind @the.coolest.zone ryan @the.coolest.zone

    Shopping for a wife like you shop for a house

    This comes from a Blinder who works for Zillow:

    Traditional wife vs modern wife

    > > > What are the pros and cons of each? Would love a traditional woman to raise my children, cook, and clean. Would also love double income big shot high roller career woman, travel, wild sex, etc that comes from a more liberal woman so in conclusion what are the pros and cons of a traditional wife vs a modern wife and where are the best places to meet each type > >

    Notable comments:

    > > > If you want a live in housekeeper/nanny, hire one. We quit doing the slavery long ago > >

    > > > Go Mormon and have both > >

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    Best of Blind @the.coolest.zone ryan @the.coolest.zone

    A Blinder copes with normal bodily functions

    If you fart in front of your partner is it actually worth apologizing to them?

    > > > I know it's awkward and gross from a child-like perspective, but do we constantly have to apologize for farting? > >

    The poll currently stands at 80% No to 20% Yes. Godspeed, gassy Blinders.

    1
    Best of Blind @the.coolest.zone ryan @the.coolest.zone

    Might as well date other maladjusted TC-obsessed Blinders, right?

    Women looking for a date in NY area?

    > > > (Before you call me cringe: I've matches on dating apps, but I'm not feeling that spark there anymore. 'd love to try from Blind pool which think is way more interesting.) > > > > 33 Male here. 5'8" inches tall. Indian. > Above average looking. Healthy, hygienic, fit. > Non religious, ambivert. > > > > DM me if interested. > TC: 300K > >

    Tagged are Microsoft, Google, and Amazon employees.

    Notable comment:

    > > > You planning to date at 33? Bhai shaadi karle > (Translates to "bro, get married") > >

    0
    Best of Blind @the.coolest.zone ryan @the.coolest.zone

    Are... Are you okay, Blinders?

    From the Mental Health forum, posted by a JPMorgan Chase Blinder:

    Do you look forward to death sometimes?

    Current results: 52% No 48% Yes

    Notable comment:

    > > > My friend works at jpmorgan, after looking at his life. felt really depressed man. Less like a job, more like a corporate sweatshop > >

    0
    Best of Blind @the.coolest.zone ryan @the.coolest.zone

    Life just isn't fair, is it?

    Life is not fair here in the Bay Area

    TC: $1.2M (not at Snap) Household TC: $1.5M NW: $7.5M Age: Late 20s

    > > > Why is life so tough in the Bay Area? We can not even think of retiring any time soon. Heck, we're not able to afford a house. > > > > It feels like this grind is never ending. I can "remotely'" think of retiring only after $20M in investments, three $4M houses (fully paid off), $2M in 401k, $4M for kids' education and other expenses like grand wedding. This would take 20-30 years more. > > > > Why is life so difficult and unfair to us middle class? Anyone else around who going through the same tough situation? > >

    0
    Uncategorized Cool Posts! @the.coolest.zone ryan @the.coolest.zone

    Installing kbin on Docker (as of early July)

    Installing kbin on Docker (as of early July)

    Steps are valid for Ubuntu 22.04

    Update and Upgrade Existing Packages

    • apt-get update && apt-get upgrade
    • reboot
    • apt autoremove

    Create the kbin system user and give it a home directory

    • mkdir /opt/kbin
    • adduser –system –home /opt/kbin kbin
    • chown kbin /opt/kbin

    Optional: install byobu so you can switch between kbin user and root user

    If you don't do this, then whenever I'm talking about root vs kbin you'll need to switch in and out of impersonating kbin.

    • apt install byobu
    • byobu-enable
    • Close SSH session and re-open it
    • Use F8 to rename current screen to root
    • Press F2 to create a second screen and F8 to rename it to kbin
    • Use F3/F4 to navigate left and right between these

    In the kbin screen:

    • sudo -u kbin bash
    • cd ~

    This basically impersonates kbin and brings you to its home which is /opt/kbin

    Install dependencies and suchIn the root screen:

    • curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash - && sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

    This installs nodejs and npm - no need to install npm separately

    You should check https://github.com/nodesource/distributions#debinstall to see whether there is a later version

    • npm install –global yarn
    • sudo apt-get install git

    Download kbin and begin setting up

    In the kbin screen:

    • git clone https://codeberg.org/Kbin/kbin-core.git
    • cd kbin-core
    • mkdir public/media

    In the root screen:

    • cd /opt/kbin/kbin-core
    • sudo chown 82:82 public/media
    • sudo chmod -R go+rx public/media/
    • cp .env.example .env

    Edit .env

    If you are using an SSH client like mobaXterm you can just double click it to open, else you can use either vim or nano like:

    • Option 1: vi .env # esc + !q + enter to exit
    • Option 2: nano .env

    Some things you will want to check and possibly edit:

    • SERVER\_NAME: This is your domain name (which you have presumably already purchased and is pointing to your server). Leave the caddy:80 alone, that needs to be there

    • KBIN\_DOMAIN: Your domain name

    • KBIN\_FEDERATION\_ENABLED: probably want to leave this as true unless you are going full isolated instance

    • KBIN\_REGISTRATIONS\_ENABLED: I am not providing any instructions on email setup etc - if you want open registrations, you will have to sort some of that out.

    • KBIN\_STORAGE\_URL: this should be your.domain.name/media – the example says media.your.domain.name but I found this did not work correctly in relation to the SSL certificate, so instead use /media

    • REDIS\_PASSWORD: set a new password

    • POSTGRES\_PASSWORD: set a new password

    • RABBITMQ\_PASSWORD: set a new password

    • CABBY\_MERCURE\_URL: set this to your own domain name + /.well-known/mercure

    • CADDY\_MERCURE\_JWT\_SECRET: set a new secret, this has to be 32 characters long

    Once you are done editing .env, have saved it and exited it,

    • sudo chown kbin .env
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    The testing mag! For all things testing! @1001.coolest.zone ryan @the.coolest.zone

    This is a testing post.

    👻

    8
    Best of Blind @the.coolest.zone ryan @the.coolest.zone

    Blinder asks for the sex ed they never received in school

    How many of you have successfully pulled out?

    > > > Went raw last night. Pulled out in time but worried ab pre cum pregnancy. Scared ab pregnancy still, am too way way way too young to deal w a baby and esp from a rando. What are the odds she's prego? Am I stressing too much > >

    0

    The fifth TNG movie that never was

    memory-alpha.fandom.com Undeveloped Star Trek projects

    Many projects have been partially developed for Star Trek, beginning in the 1970s. There have also been deleted scenes for completed projects. The God Thing (1975) Star Trek: Planet of the Titans (1976-1977) Star Trek III (1980) Star Trek: The First Adventure (1989) Star Trek: IMAX (1997) Star Trek:...

    Spiner himself explained,

    > > > One of the ideas that John Logan and I had about what the next film would have been was a Justice League of Star Trek. Something would bring all the great Star Trek villains together, from Khan to Shinzon, and Picard is the only person who could stop them and he actually has to go through time and pluck out the people he needs to help him. He goes back to the moment before Data blows up and takes him back to get Kirk and Spock, and go even further back and get Scott Bakula's character, Archer. > >

    I can't imagine it would have been good, but boy do I wish I existed in a universe where this movie had been made.

    36
    Best of Blind @the.coolest.zone ryan @the.coolest.zone

    🦐🦐🦐 from the Today I Learned community

    TIL: I must be a shrimp

    > > > How would you feel if you had your heart in your head? You would feel like a shrimp. Remember this next time you're eating those lil fellas. > >

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