I’m a huge fan of soda bread, which does not require sourdough (or yeast). You can go from “I have no bread” to “I am eating bread” in about 40 minutes.

The rising is done via buttermilk and baking soda.

I’ve been using it for years, but I agree that it’s almost too configurable. Start small, and don’t ezplore the menus too deep :).

I purchased my current phone (Fairphone 4) in January 2022. And that was because my last phone’s battery was dying, and the screen was very cracked.

I decided for a Fairphone because you can easily replace the battery (already done once) and the screen (not yet broken).

As of now, I still have no plans to buy a new phone.

I remember renting Surf Ninjas on VHS back in the day. I would prefer not to think about how long ago that must be now.

Meat. I’m vegetarian, my wife is not. When we go out to eat, if she orders meat, there’s a good chance the meat dish will get put in front of me.

We were at a Christmas market on the weekend, and one booth had a sign that said “Make your husband happy”, and it was of course a butcher stand.

I believe learning languages is generally a net good. But to answer your question, it would help to know: why do you want to learn Russian?

If you just find the idea of the language interesting, then yes! Start leaning it. If you have motivation, that will help.

Is there specific media you’re looking to consume in its original language, Russian? Then yes, absolutely :).

Are you just trying to learn “any Slavic language”, to extend the language families you have knowledge of? You already have some Polish, so what is it about Russian that attracts you? Is there another language that might have more resonance or utility for you?

As far as I am aware, mostly sue to Soviet influence, Russian is probably the most-widely-understood Slavic language, so this does offer some advantages. I have spoken with Ukranians and Georgians who now don’t like speaking Russian, for obvious reasons, though I don’t know how widespread this feeling really is. And at least here in Germany, I feel like Croatian, Czech, or Slovakian would be a more useful day-to-day or holiday language, but itball depends on your goals.

And, as a dentist once told me in regards to dental floss, but it applies here too: The best language to learn is the one that you will actually learn. If there’s a language you’ll actually stick with, that’s good.

I absolutely love these sorts of things :).

I assume we are all familiar with User Inyerface? https://userinyerface.com/

I never really thought of it as science fiction (see her MaddAdam series for something more SF-y), but I love the book and think it does a great job of extrapolating from various political trends into where parts of the “western world” could end up going.

I’m also not surprised it’s a candidate for being banned, either from people who think it paints religion or conservativsm in a negative light, or people who think it might make anyone under 18 uncomfortable. Is it appropriate for 5 year olds? Probably not. 16 year olds? Seems reasonable to me.