90% of anything is crap

OK, real quick, grab a copy of Krita (don’t worry, it’s free) and remake this exact image. Shouldn’t take you more than five minutes, right? The computer basically does all the work, after all.

Probably not. Access to phone calls is heavily restricted on modem smart phones. It’s why call recording apps are almost impossible to make now, despite many jurisdictions being one party consent (meaning only one person involved in a conversation needs to know that it’s being recorded).

Congratulations. First off, relax; the fact that you’re the kind of parent your son felt comfortable coming out to means that you’re already doing it right. The worst thing you can do right now is panic and try to change everything about how you parent; your kid is clearly grateful to have the parent they have.

Next up, don’t push. This is their journey, you’re just a passenger. Be there for them, listen, ask questions, but let them go at their own pace.

And in that same vein, as a supportive parent, understand that sometimes they won’t want you to be supportive. Your instinct is going to be too fight like hell for your son, and you have to understand that there are going to be times when they just want to keep their head down and not make waves. It might feel satisfying to demand to speak to the manager just because the cashier misgendered your son, but if it’s not what they want then you’re just doing it for your own gratification. Be absolutely clear with him that you will fight like hell for him, any time he asks you to… But be ready to stand down when he tells you to stand down.

Finally, understand that everyone’s gender journey is different. Don’t let your son feel pressured into being certain things just because they’re “manly” or whatever. If he wants to be the kind of guy who wears dresses and paints his nails, then that’s the kind of guy he is, and if he wants to be the kind of guy who drives a truck, slams whisky and hunts bears in the woods, then that’s the kind of guy he is. There’s no right way to perform gender, and being trans isn’t about how you perform gender. It’s just something you know inside. Again, you’re just a passenger here. Let him decide where he’s going, and then do whatever you can to help him get there.

But most of all, just keep being you. You’re already off to a great start. More than anything right now, your son probably just wants his life to stay recognizable and normal. So do some normal things with him. He’ll talk about the big stuff when he’s ready.

Also surprisingly effective.

A lot of “AI systems” are literally just a dude in India. Outsourced human labour is cheaper than building and running a proper AI driven system, but companies want to say they’re “incorporating AI” because it makes shareholders dicks hard.

“Talk to a human”

Repeat these words over and over. Most automated phone systems are programmed to bail out when its clear the customer is just flat out unwilling to engage with their bullshit.

Yeah, this is gonna be the comment that sends me into a despair spiral today.

Look up “right to repair” laws. There are efforts all across the world to get them passed, and many of them have been successful. This is absolutely a thing that you can in fact make a difference on.

Absolutely 100% unironically: Not with that attitude.

That is so very not the problem here. Everyone has things they enjoy that other people think are frivolous.

This should be a part of all right to repair legislation.

Oh yeah. Let’s hand aviation safety to the technology that thinks deathcap mushrooms are delicious and healthy.

Ah yes, let’s just make everyone’s financial transactions public record. That couldn’t possibly be an insanely dangerous thing to do.

This is the biggest problem; you’re basically funneling kids towards those sources least likely to comply with the law.

If some company made a plastic dick that squirts water, kids would be enthralled. They wouldn’t even think it was anything sexual; as far as they’re concerned they’d all just be shooting pee at each other.

I bought a “lifetime premium” for something like $30 USD I think

Same

I think you mean “Control Years 5 Later”

But use Airsonic instead, it’s a fork that’s free in both the beer and speech sense.

There’s also Navidrome, which is a unique backend, but works with existing Subsonic clients. Check out both, see which one you like better.

If someone has the resources to simulate a universe, they probably have the resources to stimulate an arbitrarily large number of universes. This also assumes that any civilisation within the stimulated universe reaches the level of technological advancement required to make a universe level simulation. We’re talking, probably, whole networks of Matrioska Brains, that sort of thing.