Forget Sandy Loam. I want to know more about this "silly clay."

When you think about it, it's pretty unreasonable to expect the entire population to become educated and engaged about everything involving running a modern society. Modern government is incredibly complicated. It's no wonder that tribalism wins over nuance. Who has time for nuance when they're worried about their jobs and families?

That's why I'd like to see some form of sortition tried. Draft a jury to do nothing but learn about a single topic for a period of time. Make all of their contact with the outside world public record to ensure nothing shady is going on. Let representatives from all sides of the issue address them. Then let them make their decisions and go back to their normal lives. No campaign donors or political careers to worry about.

I'm going to say outdoor.

The "door" part doesn't really have any significance. No one would say camping under the open sky is an indoor activity, even if there's a fence with a door around the campsite.

I think it makes more sense for the deciding factor be whether you're in a controlled or uncontrolled environment. And while part of the cave might be controlled if there's an artificial entryway or home, that's not what you're there to see.

Ah, hm... I guess that makes sense. Bringing people to the office raises the value of surrounding retail, which in turn raises the value of the office. Thanks, that explanation clears it up.

Huh. I always thought the song was meant to be sarcastic. Like, the singer is friends with someone way more famous/popular than him, and people only pay attention to his friend when they're together. "They must think we have the same name, because they never say mine!"

This comic is still around? I haven't thought of it in years!

I've heard too much humidity is a bigger problem. Keeps your body from being able to cool itself down with sweat, making you likely to overheat. With desert heat you're probably fine if you have water and shelter from the sun.

Is it a common trope in Westerns? Maybe it was there as an homage.

unless you were an actual celebrity

That didn't matter, because without video there was no easy way to prove it.

Neat! Can you do it the other way around?

By the way, there is a Daystrom Institute: https://startrek.website/c/daystrominstitute

I was about to say I'd like to see something similar to Ask Science Fiction, but with more easy-going mods. It's fine for the sub to focus on the in-universe perspective while still allowing an out-of-universe comments where they enhance the discussion.