Depends on the cat. If they're simply going with tapping the roll to spin it, that may work for a bit. I've found that rolls accessible to a cat tend to morph into big balls of clawed unusable pulp.
Samsung? We got one used and it's great for the drying part, but when I went to research how to change the "melody", and I'm being generous here, to a chime or something else...nope. You get that, or silence. So we use silence and listen for the sound of it stopping. That song is terrible, and for there to be no options at all in a modern appliance...why was this a good idea on the drawing board?
Spore made a huge impact, not only in mainstreaming the idea of an evolving game but in the ability to control characteristics and shape interactively and easily. Plus being able to share creations online was huge, even though so many of them ended up in certain shapes (humans being humans). Where I think Spore failed is in trying to rush through the first stages and get to the "civilization" parts. It would have better if it had a slower pace staying within the animal world. They also failed when they dumbed down and sanitizing the original game, which was much more violent (see the demo with Robin Williams)...but that's how nature is.
Thrive is very impressive, but it might be too realistic in its complexity and trying to include everything and that will keep it from getting popular. If I remember you can dial it back some, but it's still very technical compared to the simplicity that made Spore work. Maybe there can't be a good middle ground.
Not really any spoilers, and a couple of the reviews also mention the tachyon transporter.
Using an example in the plot that won't really give anything away...what if you could instantly jump from one place to another, particularly when in danger, but couldn't be sure if when you teleported that you would be the version that was safe, or the one that wasn't. Maybe it doesn't matter, since you are in both places...but it sure matters to the one that didn't get away.
Janeway made the right call, even though it was a terrible one. The only argument I've ever seen that might counter it is the opinion that Tuvok and Neelix died in the accident so aren't a consideration, but this would only hold true if the separation would have failed. Kind of makes you hope the transporter in any scifi form doesn't get invented, as they all seem to have their philosophical issues. I loved the problem presented in the Saga of Cuckoo series by Frederik Pohl and Jack Williamson, where faster than light teleportation sends a copy but you walk out of the origin booth. Not always the greatest thing, depending on your viewpoints.
I'd agree I'm cynical, but it's just my opinion based on everything I've read and seen over decades, not some attempt to brainwash people into inaction. We should absolutely do anything we can to change our ways both individually and overall now that we know the damage we do, but that doesn't guarantee a fix.
It's very difficult to discuss the state of things today without being accused of being too negative and now even claimed to be "the problem". If you want to continue thinking that we could have had a modern society with high living standards and constant growth, then go ahead. It's simply not realistic to me knowing we have a finite world. The bacteria in the beaker analogy is well known to everyone.
We crossed the line maybe with the industrial revolution, but certainly with learning how to use chemical means to provide far more food than naturally possible (Haber process). I fail to see how we can ever get back to that line now, especially since it and everything else we do is heavily dependent on petroleum that's also finite. Hence my comment on restructuring society - unlimited growth is not sustainable, yet it's a cornerstone for us for centuries.
I did think we could fix things long ago, but after a while you begin to see the pattern of hope and promises and realize we're experts at fooling ourselves.
Small changes never were a viable solution, but for a while they could be sold as one. Especially the ones where the consumer became the problem and one to take action (recycling et al.) Only a complete restructuring of society would do much of anything, and now it's even too late for that because of both the time and the population. Yeah, it's pessimistic and doomerism, but it's also reality.
No surprise. They ended up agreeing that he was guilty of impeachable offenses too, but were okay with it and didn't want him to be kicked out or made non-electable because of them. "One of us", literally.
I don't think any judge wants to be the one who throws a Presidential Candidate in jail
The political backlash would be difficult, but a judge being able to state "in my courtroom no one, NO ONE, is above the law" would be a great career thing.
The objective method is to put one of them in parentheses. But that removed the shock effect that they're going for with the second sentence. I don't really use Celsius and have to remind myself what's what, but I think it's pretty common to know that 100C is boiling water, and half of that is pretty bad.
I vote Picard for one main reason - we've seen him in far more different situations than any of the others thanks to the spread out period of TNG in series and movies. Other captains tend to have a more constrained image due to the plot they're in. Riker would be best second in command for the same reason.