Depends on how you define “civilization”
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I watched this just last week. Really good perspective on the size of our galaxy, let alone the universe. https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/13nd8d3/i_spent_a_year_making_a_video_about_the_milky_way/
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I love Reddit!
“To an electron, you are a galaxy”. Fantastic.
That’s very cool. More of this, firework display people.
I hate fireworks and wish regular people couldn’t buy them. I remember being a teenager way back in the early 80s and having bottle rockets and indiscriminately shooting them off. Same with Roman candles. I don’t want some teenager (or his wannabe teenager dad) burning my house down.
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Man, I thought I was the only one who thought fireworks are overrated as anything out there.
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I have long thought that fireworks shows were boring and dumb.
They get in between you and the clouds you’re yelling at?
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I love clouds, I haven’t seen one for days.
Firework shows are a sad use of public funding and the oohs and aahs are the sounds of poor imaginations.
And get off your lawn.
My dog is terrified of fireworks.
If I catch you shooting them off in my urban neighborhood, you better hope you can outrun me and whatever blunt object I have handy.
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I liked fireworks as a kid. But now, as a dedicated cat-dad, I hate them. I wouldn’t be so bad if it was just one night, but you get the week before and the week after whatever night they’re being used to celebrate.
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Not sure where else to put this, but we’ve talked natural disasters here in the past…
Most of you have probably been reading about the terrible wildfires in Maui this week. My aunt and her daughter, my cousin, live in Maui, my aunt in Lahaina, the hardest hit area. My dad finally spoke to my aunt yesterday, and thankfully she and my cousin and her family are fine and their homes were not destroyed. But she said the destruction is unimaginable and heartbreaking. My aunt and cousin have been volunteering helping distribute food and water and finding shelter for those displaced. A good many of those displaced are native Hawaiians who have nowhere else to go. It’s not like they can just go stay with family in another place, they’re all in the same situation. They are trying to clear out tourist areas so they can at least have shelter for those whose entire lives were destroyed. It’s going to be a long road ahead, so non-sarcastic thoughts and prayers are requested, from those so inclined.
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I’m relieved to hear about your family, HH/Matt.
I fly to Hawai’i at least once a week, and it’s become one of my favorite places on earth. The people are wonderful, the scenery is amazing and it’s got a unique vibe.
That all being said, flying past Lahaina the morning after the fires started and seeing it burning as we flew past it helplessly was incredibly saddening. The situation there is bad and there was a palpable feeling of anxiety, worry and tension when we were loading up for the return flight to the mainland. Sadly, one of our customer service agents in Kahului/Maui airport hadn’t heard from a family member and another lost their home.
It truly is a horrible tragedy unfolding there and with my last 2 trips of August having Maui layovers, I’m preparing for it to be quite different.
I’ll most assuredly be making contributions for thr relief efforts, and my heartfelt thoughts, good vibes and love go out to the people of Hawai’i 
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You have mine, Matt.
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Glad to hear that your relatives are safe. We visited Maui and Lahaina 5 or 6 (can’t believe it’s been that long) years ago and I’ve been thinking about and praying for the folks there since reading about the fire. What a beautiful place - it is so sad to see devastation.
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I have a friend who was in Lahaina as the fires swept through. Each summer, he volunteer fights wildfires in California and has done so for 20 years. He said in all those years he’s never seen a fire move that fast. He said the people did not stand a chance. The north side of a tropical storm at that distance is 1) exceedingly dry and 2) in an area of something called subsidence so, downward sinking very dry air, moving at 45 to 50 miles an hour sustained. It was just a perfect storm of conditions.
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The winds were ridiculous on our approach into Honolulu Tuesday, gusting up to 50 knots at times. Needless to say, it was, “sporty” coming in.
The Kahului airport in Maui is usually windy this time of year, but as you aptly pointed out, those winds coming down hill on the western side of the island into Lahaina coupled with the mighty dry drought like conditions gave the city and people no chance.
It’s heartbreaking.