I couldn’t answer the nuke question.
I’m not answering it; because, given a month’s notice, I’d damn well have done something else in the meantime. Besides which, what remotely sensible adversary, or even what entirely insane one, would give a month’s notice? Nearly every country on the planet would be trying their best to do something else in the meantime.
If we had been hit unexpectedly with a massive pre-emptive strike, no, the survivors shouldn’t set their missles off. Whether they would or not is another question, as they’d hardly be in a rational state of mind at the time; so I don’t see how any attacker could count on it. (Didn’t we already identify that story quite some time back on the identify-a-science-fiction-story thread? I’ve forgotten the title and author again already; but I sure remember the story.)
We had “relatives’ gifts” we opened on Christmas Eve and “Santa’s gifts” – the bicycle or pony (not based on a real incident) we’d find on Christmas morning.
I am a firm agnostic and voted Libertarian until the greater of two evils became wa-a-ay greater, so there’s a data point.
Right now we do
Something you want
Something you need
Something you wear
Something you read
We wanted to get away from consumerism on Christmas so that’s all he gets from us. Of course he gets a ton of stuff from his grandparents so I don’t know what difference it makes. But we open our gifts slowly over the course of the day or days. This year we withheld some gifts until New Year’s and his birthday (March.)
Santa is not a factor. He’s either disinterested in or doesn’t understand stories so I’m not sure how I would communicate it even if I wanted to. He does like the original Grinch cartoon. I haven’t felt the need to insert Santa into our family thing. I want him to know the things he has come from us and his other loved ones.
The nuke thread needs a “Strike first” option.
I’m 65. I’m a strong atheist who believes in Santa. Makes total sense, and works for me and my family.
Regarding the Nuke thread. Given only the two options, I went with Nuke 'em.
Honestly though, I’d have tried everything else under the sun first, from an assassination, to pointing out to all and sundry that this blackmail applies to every other nation as well, and launching a coalition conventional attack. I will also inform my enemy that they’re wrong, and we will be counter-launching, despite what their experts are telling them.
But when it comes down to it, if they’re launching, the world is already doomed. Either everyone else capitulates to a nuclear tyrant, or one of them will also say “Whelp, we’re all fucked anyway, so let’s give them the finger in return.” Again, the worlds climate is going to be worsened no matter what per the OP. That means world-wide famines, which is going to cause countless deaths anyway. Which is why I suspect that the other nations would aid my (non-nuclear option).
But this is the trolley problem writ large, the only way to win is not to play.
Do they brew it with the goats instead of that terrible plant-based beer?
Re WildaBeast’s poll: I’ve never watched any of those shows. In fact, I’ve never even heard of two of them.
That’s lovely! Maybe I’ll start doing that with the other grownups with whom I exchange gifts.
So … a T-shirt !
A T-shirt with those four sentences on it! (Plus some Christmasy iconography)
I’m also an atheist but I feel like a strong Christian case could also be made against Santa.
It’s good for me too. It forces me to have a little self-control around gift giving. I tend to get a little carried away!
I don’t know yet about the glass shelves. Ask me again if they’re still intact in ten years.
I do seem a little less likely to lose stuff in there; I can see through them better.
I like the glass shelves because if something leaks, it doesn’t go dribbling onto everything below it.
Also, every once in a while you run across a fridge item that wobbles between the wires on a wired rack.
mmm
I hate wire shelves anywhere…not just the refrigerator. We’ve had glass shelves for forever, and we’ve never broken one. They’re also easier to clean. I hate cleaning wire anything.
I’m an old. My first Doctor Who was Jon Pertwee, so I hold a certain fondness for him. My top fav is Tom Baker, though. Just saw Greg Wise kill him in Towards Zero last night.
Can we please avoid polls with only a bunch of names that we may or may not use to be able to figure out what is being polled. I really don’t know what to do with a list that looks like: Jones, Finkle, Ruben, Davidson, and Albany.
Whittaker was a good Doctor, unfortunately Chibnall was not a good showrunner. I also had a problem with Moffet as a showrunner. He writes great stories, but his series tend to get muddled.
“What is a law firm that has never been in my kitchen?”