Outdoor cats are the number one killer of native species. They have contributed to the extinction of numerous species. Not to mention there are coyotes, cougars, bears, and hawks that can harm or even kill your cat. Outdoor cats also are a vector for diseases and parasites that can seriously harm them, or humans.
Pets should be kept indoors, for their safety, for the safety of the environment, and for your safety.
There are lots of reasons. Some people want answers for questions that we don’t have scientific answers for yet, or that science can’t possibly answer.
Some people want to use a framework to justify their behavior.
Some people are scared or disgusted by the implications of our knowledge, and they want it to be something different.
Some people want to manipulate others.
There are many religions because there are many reason why they exist.
We’re talking about a vacation this summer so we can plan ahead. My mother (who will pay for it) said she’d love to go to Yellowstone, but it looks like it’s about a 24-hour drive for us. Still, I like the idea of going to a national park. We’re in Indiana, so this image shows about the limits of where we’re willing to...
GSM is a great choice! There are a few mountain-side tunnels you have to drive through in the park, very short, maybe 50 yards at most. Hope your daughter is okay with that.
Shame about the caves. I know it probably won’t help comfort her, but more people are going to die in car wrecks in Indiana today than have ever died from cave-ins at Mammoth cave.
Clingman’s dome at GSM is (or was) the highest point in the Appalachian mountains. Def visit in the evening if you want amazing views. Cades Cove usually has bears and is a driveable trail. We saw 2 bears and a bear cub, plus some deer and Elk on the drive.
I saw in another post that your fam like aquariums, there is the Ripley’s aquarium in Gatlingburg, which was a little expensive IMHO, but it is a decent aquarium.
Skybridge is a ton of fun, but very touristy.
There is a little GSM trail at the edge of Gatlinburg that my wife and I walked at night. We frequently do this in parks. Bring red lights to preserve your night vision, and a black light because there are tons of centipedes that glow a ghostly blue when hit with a blacklight. We also blinded the shit out of a few mice. Try not to do that…
Also, depending on the time of year, do some road cruising in the morning or early evening. You’ll see lots of wild turkeys, deer, and snakes. Please be careful not to run over the snakes.
My partner and I have a goal to visit all the national parks, so we’ve done almost all of these recently.
Mammoth cave is by far my favorite, but I’m a computer nerd, and a giant hole in the ground is my natural environment, so there may be some bias.
Gateway arch is okay, but not worth a long drive in my opinion.
Got springs was very neat. It has a different feel than the other parks I’ve been to. It is a bit “touristy”.
New River Gorge is amazing. Be aware that any hiking there is going to take a lot of vertical travel, a 1 mile trail there is more like a 3 mile trail in a flat area. That being said, it has a lot of wildlife, picturesque views, unique structures (big ass bridge) a cozy little town (Fayetteville reminds me a lot of downtown Bloomington) and plenty of activities (hiking, rafting, zipline, tree top obstacle course, history, shopping). Easily a top recommendation.
Congaree. Probably the most wildlife I’ve seen at a park. Snakes, salamanders, pigs, owls, fish, skinks and a shit ton of fuzzy caterpillars. Very buggy, but honestly the mosquitoes weren’t as bad as everyone said they would be. Also highly recommend. The park has a long boardwalk as it’s “main” attraction, which is very accessible. Saw lots of wheelchairs while I was there. I’d recommend taking a kayak tour as well.
Great Smoky Mountains is a great choice as well. Has that authentic “National park” feel. Very big (for an East of the Miss. park) Gatlinburg is nearby for lodging and other activities. You could easily spend a week here between the two. I like more unique “unique experiences” but GSM would be an awesome choice if your family isn’t very adventurous.
Don’t forget some state parks while driving through. Red River Gorge in KY is one of my favs, and easily worth the trip on its own. You’ve got Natural Bridge State Park right there, and the skylift is the best way to get to the top. Shout out to Daniel Boone coffee shop, best breakfast burrito I’ve ever had, but the line goes out the door, so be prepared to wait a little. FYI, this area had a bad fire last year, not sure about the extent of the damage.
All in, I’d say do GSM. Solid pick, easy to get lodging, lots to do if the weather doesn’t cooperate. On your way over, hit up Red River Gorge on the way if it’s not too far out.
Ad-Hoc wireless networking. I miss it, was useful back in the day if you needed to share files with multiple people without a wireless router at a location. Most laptops don’t support this anymore. To be fair, I’ve only really wanted to use it maybe twice in the last 10 years.
Stop buying stuff. My wife grew up poor, probably poorer than I did, and she still buys tons of junk. If fucking Amazon is showing up to your house on a weekly basis, STOP, you are buying shit you don’t need.
Don’t buy something because it is on sale. If you don’t want it bad enough to buy it at full price, then you don’t need it. This does not mean ignore sales/discounts, but don’t let fear of missing a sale or discount force you to buy something.
Kohl’s is a fucking scam, stay the fuck away from them. All their shit is price jacked 60-80% so they can advertise 40% off, give you “Kohl’s Cash” and still make a profit. The number of times my partner has told me we have to shop for clothes because our $40 dollars of Kohls cash is expiring, and we walk out with $200 dollars of clothes and another 40 in Kohls Cash is way too damn fucking many times.
Apple is expensive junk. Avoid if you can. Fuck it, Windows/Microsoft is expensive junk too. I’m paying 150 a year for office, and I hardly use it. My partner “needs it” because they can’t write a document or use a spreadsheet in Google’s free office suite. The Surface is fucking terrible.
Just stop buying stuff. Try it for a week, don’t buy anything except groceries, and maybe gas if you drive. You’ll survive.
Waiting for the engine to warm up a bit? Centering myself and dealing with distractions before I drive. Mapping out my egress routes and bailout locations after eliminating the parties specified in the verbal contract? All normal things you are supposed to do before you drive.
The funny thing is, electric cars help with the tire/brake dust and mined materials issue. Regenerative braking reduces the wear on brakes, and electric motors provide smoother power delivery, which reduces tire wear. As for the mined materials, electric cars generally take more material to make, but they are also easier to recycle, and the batteries themselves are able to be recycled in to even better batteries that they were when brand new.
do you find it difficult to get into games? I’ve got Epic Games and Steam Games libraries chock-full of classic top-tier games along with many other newer games like Stray or 2077, and a bunch of indie titles. I just can’t be bothered to download and install them, much less try to get into the characters and storylines. Used...
I feel like new AAA title games are all about being “more” than the last game, instead of being fun. Everything is having a Call of Duty/Avengers syndrome, the bad guys have to be bigger, the music louder, the textures larger. Even games that don’t succumb to the annual release cycle still have to compete with the hype those games create. In the end, you end up with games like Fallout 4, instead of New Vegas.
Never forget? In some states it’s downright illegal to teach kids that complex, sophisticated and civilized societies existed here before white people showed up.
"Outdoor Cat vs Indoor Cat" by Sarah Andersen (lemm.ee)
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Reblog if youre american (lemmy.world)
Put me in the trash can at the park. (lemmy.world)
Why in the year 2024 and with all the knowledge humans have now do people still believe in religion?
When your crush walks into class but you're homeschooled... (startrek.website)
I’ll be using ancestry.com instead of Tinder.
It can't be stopped (startrek.website)
The Krusty Krab was rigged from the start (sh.itjust.works)
Also, the doors actually open. (lemmy.world)
Gotta stay grounded. (lemmy.ml)
What are some tech predictions for 2024 that actually could happen?
Which of the U.S. national parks in this image do you think is the most worth visiting? There are three exceptions. (lemmy.world)
We’re talking about a vacation this summer so we can plan ahead. My mother (who will pay for it) said she’d love to go to Yellowstone, but it looks like it’s about a 24-hour drive for us. Still, I like the idea of going to a national park. We’re in Indiana, so this image shows about the limits of where we’re willing to...
What is a nifty little feature modern gadgets have lost? (lemmy.world)
For me it’s the notification light you used to find on older phones, was particularly good to know if your phone was charged without picking it up
What are your "poor person" money life hacks?
Let’s get a list going. Like with a Target debit card you can get $40 cash back and it takes 1 to 2 days to be withdraw from your checking.
Yeah, very sorry that this app is Windows only, would love to switch to Mac (feddit.de)
Stolen from Deltachat
The logic is absolutely without flaw (literature.cafe)
Not if the lack of grammar and education gets you first... (lemmy.ca)
People of Lemmy that take more than 5 seconds to start your car and drive, what are you doing?
As the title says…what are you all doing?
Please, not again. (lemmy.world)
Edit: good to see I woke the shills
Yes, also Teslas (media.mastodon.scot)
This is literally the internet nowadays without an adblock (discuss.tchncs.de)
I cannot understand how some people are living with this. It is unbearable
Gamers who have gamed for a long time
do you find it difficult to get into games? I’ve got Epic Games and Steam Games libraries chock-full of classic top-tier games along with many other newer games like Stray or 2077, and a bunch of indie titles. I just can’t be bothered to download and install them, much less try to get into the characters and storylines. Used...
Choose your vehicle (lemmy.world)
History (lemmy.ml)