BananaTrifleViolin

No because time is just time. Time in the moment is a perception of enjoyment and pleasure. That is a choice to be present and take enjoyment in what you’re doing. You don’t need to trade time for time you already have, you just need to use the time you have in the way that makes you enjoy it.

My guess would be the unrest in Iran and the regimes attempts to shut down the internet in that country to prevent organisation?

I game on Linux but these are all FOSS and multiplatform:

• DosBox-X - For my older Dos/PC games
• UAE - For old amiga games
• ScummVM - for my old Adventure games (preferred over Dosbox)
• Wine/Proton - for the vast majority of my gaming on Linux now
• RetroArch - a good all-in-one tool; it uses Libretro as a backend which is basically a distribution method/API to give access to other emulators like Dosbox, ScummVM etc.

There are also dedicated open source engines for old games like OpenTTD for Transport Tycoon Deluxe, and OpenMW for Morrowwind

My rebuttal is “your mom is a b***h”. Cut contact as soon as you can; you don’t need someone like that in your life. She doesn’t value other human beings, and she doesn’t have empathy for the suffering of others. She sounds like a nasty person to be around and all she will do is bring you down - either through her constant negativity or though her hatred of others.

You don’t need to rebut her words - she is an adult and has made her choices - you just need to accept she is not a good person and move on as soon as you can.

It’s not about the item whatever it is, it’s about your reaction to it. This was something your spouse got you to show you that they love you; they bought something they thought you would want and need because they see you using this item all the time. It doesn’t matter that they know you like using old things - for them the thing they got you is an expression of their love for you, and your reaction (lets return it, I don’t want it) is like rejecting their love and is insulting.

I don’t know how you said it to your spouse but the way you’ve described it here your reaction sounds like it was entirely factual and emotionless. It may not be what you’re saying but how you said it that is the issue. Did you acknowledge how kind and thoughtful the gift was? Did you acknowledge what it means to get a nice gift from your spouse before saying that actually it’s not something you’d use?

Instead of seeing it as a tit-for-tat exchange and the same as you gifting t-shirts, you need to understand that this was a personal gift from your spouse. You also need to acknowledge you’re difficult to get gifts for because you like old things. You’re not the bad guy for wanting to return the item, you’re likely the bad guy for how you’ve gone about it and hurting your spouses feelings in the process. It may be that you’re not an emotional person or have difficulty reading other people including your spouse - that’s fine but you may need to acknowledge that you’ve hurt their feelings even if you didn’t realise or mean to, and apologise - that may help a lot. It would also be helpful to tell them how your mother-in-laws gift has sentimental value and you didn’t want to replace it. It may still be that you end up returning the item - but it’s far less important that your relationship with your spouse.

The a specious quote. That implies that all gain can only be at a cost for someone else. Instead of the conservation of mass, we’re talking the conservation of misery. It’s nonsense.