Maybe it was just more likely in the industries I've worked in with lots of expatriates (Information/Tech focused work, Game development, Oil Industry) or in certain regions.

Lots of my friends working internationally refer to themselves as expats and not immigrants - people of all ages still use the term.

To my understanding 'expats' choose to settle or work for an extended period in the other country but retain their original country's citizenship, where immigrants come to live permanently and might seek citizenship in the new country.

Not just the clothing - but that whole background (from the china & collectible plates, the clock under the glass dome and the hutch that smells like lemon pledge ) says 1969.

I just saw a YouTube video about lab made opals which would let you do two different colors of opal. Fusing two stones from a gem cutter might be your best result or create a stone w epoxy resin and powdered gemstones to whatever mix and ratio you want. I think your idea is romantic but don’t try for the impossible and miss the focus of the gift on pursuit of your quest

Cool to combine a short-throw style 4K projector into a ceiling light fixture - I couldn't tell from the product information - but does the spatial mapping mean there is a camera on the android-powered interenet connected device? - or does it use some other technology?

So well put bradland - and describes an ongoing issue with modern media in general. The more moderate and interesting discussion is often farther down in the thread.

I don't think it is too dark, the potential for the 'metaverses' of the future to be social and intellectual prisons of our own making is a very real threat. The platforms currently vying for the walled garden that is the device that replaces our phone and the internet will all talk about openness (for awhile) but ultimately every one of the digital land barons wants the territory for themselves with as big a moat as the law will allow.

First try the 'focus mode' that your phone has pretty much already. Allow critical numbers to ring through. Turn off the ringer. Like with most 'technological addiction' the problem isn't the internet or the device it is that you don't have enough interesting stuff going on in your real life - you can focus on improving that too...like get a physical hobby, exercise, etc.

Really good link I wasn't aware of - sometimes even just knowing the name of the principle is enough to dig in deeper. Thanks OP.

And all the cameras were broken except for one and the quality of that was so bad it was deemed to be unusable.

It's a game we call "Feeding with friends"