System76 is banning AI-generated content from contributions to the COSMIC desktop. Some GNOME sub-projects also restrict AI-generated contributions, but one developer is urging them to make an exception for vulnerability reports. The COSMIC desktop project has changed its contributors' guidelines. The latest version now has a clear no-AI rule, insisting that contributors declare: "I have not included any LLM (also known as AI) generated content in this PR, including code, comments, and descriptions." In other words, you can teach yourself using AI, you can find bugs with AI, but if you want to submit your code for inclusion in COSMIC, you can't use AI to write the code, its docs or notes, or even the submission requests. This position is in keeping with some other desktop projects. For instance, the GNOME Calendar guide to contributing says: "This project does not allow contributions generated by large languages [sic] models (LLMs) and chatbots." GNOME Extensions also restricts AI-generated submissions, although it permits AI learning aids and code completion. Its review guidelines spell it out: "Extensions must not be AI-generated." COSMIC is one of the newest complete Linux desktop environments, but even so, it's been under development for years. The Register first reported on the effort nearly five years ago, meaning that it's older than ChatGPT, which debuted in late 2022 (it only feels so very much longer). COSMIC does use some GNOME components, and its default config looks not unlike GNOME, with a top panel and a dock-like launcher at the bottom. There are good reasons for that: the original System76 desktop called "COSMIC" was based on GNOME, quite heavily customized with GNOME extensions. Saying that, though, this new COSMIC is a very different beast. Its first stable release shipped with Pop!_OS 24.04 in late 2025. Although it looks similar, it's an entirely new, ground-up effort, written in Rust using the Iced toolkit. COSMIC itself is Wayland-only. GNOME is much older, larger, and more complicated. The project was announced in 1997, the year after the KDE project announcement. KDE 1.0 came out in 1998, and GNOME 1.0 in 1999. In part, GNOME was a response to KDE. KDE is built on the Qt toolkit, which was not fully open source. As such, in KDE's early days, Red Hat refused to include it in Red Hat Linux. Qt is aimed at C++ developers, so KDE was built in C++. Linux, like Unix, is built in plain old C and many Unix traditionalists scorned the much more complex C++. So GNOME was built in plain old C, using GTK, the toolkit built for the GIMP. In 1998, Red Hat Linux 5.1 included a preview of GNOME, and by Red Hat Linux 6.0 in 1999, GNOME 1.0 was the default desktop. GNOME is still the default desktop in RHEL to this day, and many GNOME developers' day jobs are at Red Hat. As we noted back in March, Red Hat management is noticeably enthusiastic about AI – although six months later, it was capping developers' AI spend. GNOME is largely written in C, which lacks automatic memory safety guarantees, although other languages feature too: GNOME Shell combines JavaScript and C, and some components are written in the GNOME-centric Vala programming language. Michael Catanzaro, GNOME developer, just published a blog post titled "The Era of Software Quality, or the Era of Ostriches?" which argues that the GNOME project must accept AI-generated bug reports. This is not a new subject for him. His post links to an earlier one from June, "Please Do Not Ban AI-Assisted Issue Reports." The following month, he announced a reduction in the disclosure deadline for issues reported to GNOME Security, from 90 days to 30, effective August 1. We recently reported on the 1,313 CVE identifiers listed in Debian's latest Linux kernel security advisory. AI is resulting in the discovery of vast numbers of bugs in the equally vast codebases of modern FOSS. GNOME is one of the biggest desktops in the Linux and BSD world, with much of its code written in memory-unsafe languages. As Catanzaro says: "No matter how much we try, GNOME developers will fail [to] write secure code when using unsafe languages like C, C++, or Vala: it's just too hard for even experienced developers to do properly." We are not arguing that Catanzaro is wrong. Given the stance toward AI of GNOME's biggest sponsor, it is entirely in keeping, and he makes a strong case. All we are noting is that this could in time prove to be the thin edge of a wedge with the weight of Red Hat behind it. First the project allows AI-generated bug reports. From there, it would not be a huge step to allowing AI-assisted triage. From there, to AI-assisted fixes. Once you're letting AI-assisted code in, then AI-assisted extensions may not seem so extreme, then core components, and in time, to the desktop itself. It would be wildly controversial, just as it already is in the KDE project. That doesn't mean it won't happen – in either project. Debian decided to allow it, and of course, the kernel itself does too. ®

The role of meeting rooms is changing. Traditionally, they were formal spaces built around a large central table and inflexible physical setup, reserved primarily for board meetings, client presentations, or official status updates. The rise of hybrid work and advances in collaboration technology have made that approach increasingly obsolete. Employees now come into the office to connect, collaborate, and brainstorm with colleagues rather than to undertake the solo, focused work they can do better at home. The upshot is that many meeting rooms have transformed into fluid, digitized, data-enabled hubs. With modular partitions, movable furniture, and casual seating, they are designed to adapt to whatever task is at hand. As digital nodes, they also bridge the gap between remote and office workers, so remote and in-person participants get a consistent experience regardless of location. That shift is only possible because of the convergence between IT and audio-visual (AV) equipment, explains Yannic Laleeuwe, marketing director for Barco's ClickShare visualization, collaboration, and networking platform. Cameras, microphones, and wireless conferencing, collaboration and presentation tools, such as ClickShare can now connect to enterprise networks. That allows management through centralized cloud-based systems, so IT teams can monitor, update, secure and tune these systems in ways they could not before. "Historically, meeting rooms have sat in a gray zone between facilities management, AV and IT," Laleeuwe points out. "They were physical spaces first with technology added into them over time, so they were rarely managed by IT departments with the same level of telemetry as laptops, servers or network infrastructure." The impact of reactive tech support IT professionals could often tell whether a device was connected to the network, but struggled to see how the room was being used or whether it delivered a reliable user experience. That lack of visibility explains why meeting room tech support has often been reactive, with staff only intervening once something breaks. "A room was assumed to be working until someone complained that a call wouldn't start, the audio was poor, a display failed, or remote participants couldn't follow the conversation," Laleeuwe says. "Without reliable data on usage, performance and failure patterns, IT had limited ability to predict issues, prioritize investments or optimize rooms before users were affected." The situation had knock-on effects at various levels. For employees, faulty technology creates immediate friction: meetings start late, participation becomes difficult, and unsecured personal devices get pressed into service as a fallback. An additional challenge in a hybrid world is that meeting room technology acts as a bridge between remote and in-office colleagues, so when it fails, the meeting fails with it. For IT teams, poorly maintained technology produces operational inefficiency. Rather than working to make collaboration environments more effective, they end up firefighting individual incidents. For the business itself, a lack of activity data makes facilities planning considerably harder. "Some spaces may be over-engineered with technology that's barely used, while others are under-equipped for the way people actually collaborate," Laleeuwe points out. "This leads to wasted investment, inconsistent user experiences, and missed opportunities to design rooms around real behavior rather than just assumptions." The value of telemetry Endpoint monitoring technology, such as ClickShare's XMS Cloud Management Platform, changes that picture. Organizations can measure occupancy patterns and how their meeting rooms are used in practice, track equipment uptime, connection quality, and software and firmware status, and follow adoption levels alongside the volume and type of support incidents raised. The data helps IT professionals judge not only whether a room is operating effectively in a technical sense, but whether it is delivering the experience employees expect. As Laleeuwe explains: "Telemetry changes meeting room management from a reactive discipline into a proactive one. Instead of waiting for users to report problems, IT can identify patterns, spot underperforming rooms, detect device issues, plan maintenance and make investment decisions based on evidence." In other words, meeting rooms can be treated as managed endpoints, with IT monitoring, patching, securing, supporting, and assessing them against clear performance indicators. That matters because meeting rooms are now hubs where business-critical work happens, not just spaces where calls take place. "They influence productivity, employee experience, meeting equity, collaboration culture, and return on workplace investments," Laleeuwe adds. "When IT has better visibility and control, employees get more reliable rooms, IT teams reduce support overhead, and the business can make smarter decisions about workplace design, technology standardization, and future upgrades." IT shapes organization-wide collaboration While the benefits of such technology are clear, the approach requires IT teams to develop a broader range of skills than traditional device support. Endpoint management, networking, security, and lifecycle management all remain essential, but that expertise must now be combined with AV knowledge, an understanding of acoustics, data analysis, workplace experience design, and change management. This mix of skills "changes IT's role", Laleeuwe indicates, because teams are no longer just fixing what has broken. "They're helping shape how collaboration happens across the organization," she explains. "That means interpreting room data, understanding user behavior, working more closely with workplace, HR, facilities and sustainability teams, and influencing standards for how meeting spaces are designed and used." These skills are best developed through cross-functional collaboration and closer partnerships with AV specialists and vendors, Laleeuwe advises. Rather than regarding room analytics as isolated device data, she recommends treating them as part of a broader palette of workplace intelligence. That makes it easier to improve business performance by understanding how physical spaces, digital tools, people, and their daily tasks interact. AI takes meeting rooms to a new level The introduction of AI-driven meeting environments is expected to reshape meeting room experiences further still. Laleeuwe explains: "AI is moving beyond novelty features, such as basic transcription, and becoming part of the operational layer of collaboration. In the room, this can include intelligent camera framing, noise reduction, audio calibration, live transcription, translation, automated notes, action item tracking, room diagnostics and performance optimization." The real value of the technology is that it reduces user friction while improving outcomes. Better audio and video input, for instance, makes AI-generated summaries and follow-up actions more accurate. Room-level intelligence helps meetings start more quickly and become more inclusive, while giving IT teams insight into where collaboration is working well and where it is breaking down. Return on technology, Laleeuwe advises, is better measured through outcomes than by counting the number of AI features a particular room can boast. Those outcomes include adoption rates, employee feedback, fewer support requests, improved uptime, time saved, and meeting effectiveness. Another consideration is that AI can support organizations' sustainability and "doing more with less" agendas by turning room and device data into a tool for practical decision-making. IT as a key source of ESG intelligence That is because meeting room analytics reveal which devices consume resources without delivering value, where standardization could reduce duplication, and whether longer lifecycle planning could avoid unnecessary replacements. In other words, sustainability becomes more measurable. "Instead of relying only on high-level ESG [environmental, social and governance] commitments, organizations can look at concrete indicators, such as energy-related behavior, consolidation opportunities, and the environmental impact of technology choices across many rooms," Laleeuwe says. "AI can help surface patterns that would be difficult to see manually, giving IT and workplace teams a stronger basis for decisions that reduce waste, extend product lifecycles, and improve operational efficiency." She believes AI and telemetry will strengthen the strategic position of IT leaders in ESG discussions. As connected devices, collaboration platforms, and workplace systems generate more sustainability data, "IT becomes one of the few functions able to connect operational technology choices to measurable environmental outcomes", Laleeuwe says. That in turn creates a political shift inside the organization. IT is no longer viewed as an implementation function that simply responds to procurement, facilities management, or business requests, but as a key source of ESG intelligence. That intelligence will help executives understand how everyday technology decisions affect energy use, device lifecycles, electronic waste, workplace efficiency, and long-term resilience. It will also push IT leaders to work more closely with sustainability, finance, workplace and procurement colleagues to turn insight into strategic outcomes. As Laleeuwe concludes: "Their influence will grow, but so will the expectation that technology investments are justified not only by performance and cost, but also by measurable contributions to both business and sustainability goals." Sponsored by Barco.

In Drenthe wordt weer olie opgepompt. Het dorp Schoonebeek dankt haar voorspoed aan deze winning, maar niet iedere inwoner is verheugd over de hervatte exploitatie. Zo wordt gevreesd voor vervuiling. „Wat laten wij achter voor onze kleinkinderen?”

Hoe dichter jij bij je partner wilt komen, hoe meer die afstand neemt. Of andersom. Herken je jezelf hierin? De kans is groot dat je opvoeding meespeelt.

Je ligt 's avonds op de bank en je partner reageert al een uur niet op je appje. Binnen een kwartier ben je in gedachten al klaar met de relatie. Of juist het omgekeerde: je partner wil 'even praten over ons', en jij springt op en bedenkt opeens dat je dringend moet sporten.

Hechtingstheorie

Zitten zulke reacties in je karakter, of komt het ergens anders vandaan? Volgens de hechtingstheorie leer je al als kind hoe liefde en nabijheid werken en dat neem je mee in je volwassen relaties.

De theorie komt van psycholoog John Bowlby en is verder uitgewerkt door onder anderen Mary Ainsworth. Het idee: als baby en kind ontdek je of je op je ouders kunt rekenen als je verdriet, angst of honger hebt. Reageren ze liefdevol en voorspelbaar, dan leer je: ik mag er zijn en anderen zijn er voor mij. Zijn ze afwezig, onvoorspelbaar of afwijzend, dan trek je andere conclusies. Je brein past zich aan om te overleven en dat patroon blijft vaak jarenlang hangen.

De vier stijlen, in gewone taal

- Veilig gehecht. Je vindt nabijheid fijn, maar kunt ook goed alleen zijn. Ruzie is niet het einde van de wereld.

- Angstig gehecht. Je verlangt naar nabijheid en bent bang om verlaten te worden. Je zoekt bevestiging en leest snel afwijzing in kleine dingen, zoals een korte reactie of een stilte.

- Vermijdend gehecht. Je hebt geleerd dat je het beste op jezelf kunt rekenen. Te veel nabijheid voelt benauwend en je trekt je terug als het spannend of emotioneel wordt.

- Angstig-vermijdend (ook wel gedesorganiseerd). Je wilt liefde en vreest die tegelijk. Dat kan zorgen voor een wisselend patroon van naderen en afstoten.

Let op: dit zijn globale beschrijvingen, geen diagnoses. De meeste mensen herkennen zich in meerdere stijlen, en je stijl kan per relatie verschillen.

Het gevaarlijke duo: de klever en de vluchter

Een bekend patroon is dat een angstig en een vermijdend gehecht persoon elkaar aantrekkelijk vinden. Dat lijkt toeval, maar het is vaak herkenning: voor beiden voelt het vertrouwd.

En dan begint de dans. De angstige partner voelt afstand en gaat zoeken naar nabijheid: bellen, appen, vragen of alles goed is. De vermijdende partner voelt zich opgejaagd en trekt zich terug. Die afstand bevestigt weer de angst van de ander. Beiden voelen zich onbegrepen; geen van beiden doet iets fout. Ze volgen allebei een oud overlevingsmechanisme.

Het goede nieuws: je zit niet vast

Je hechtingsstijl is geen levenslang vonnis. Onderzoek en therapeuten wijzen erop dat mensen hun patroon kunnen veranderen, bijvoorbeeld door:

- Je patroon te herkennen. Weten waarom je zo reageert, haalt al veel kracht uit het automatisme.

- Een veilige partner of vriendschap. Betrouwbare, consequente mensen om je heen kunnen je 'leren' dat nabijheid veilig kan zijn.

- Het gesprek aan te gaan. Benoem wat er in je gebeurt, zonder de ander te beschuldigen. Bijvoorbeeld: "Ik merk dat ik onrustig word als ik niets van je hoor" of "Ik heb even ruimte nodig, maar ik loop niet bij je weg."

- Professionele hulp. Een psycholoog of relatietherapeut kan helpen, zeker als je patroon je leven of relatie flink in de weg zit.

Je ouders hebben hun best gedaan of juist niet, maar je bent er niet voor veroordeeld. Wie begrijpt waar zijn of haar reacties vandaan komen, kan er bewuster mee omgaan. Houdt dit in je hoofd, de volgende keer dat je partner niet terugappt en jouw hart sneller gaat kloppen.

Meer weten?

Nederlands Jeugdinstituut (Nji)

Positive Psychology (NL), hechtingsstijlen in relaties

Toen Dilan Yeşilgöz op 14 augustus 2023 Mark Rutte opvolgde als partijleider, was de VVD nog in redelijke vorm. Het was niet meer de partij die in 2021 34 zetels haalde, maar ze stond in de peilingen nog op 22 tot 28 zetels.

Sindsdien koos de partij steeds weer een doodlopende weg.

De deur naar Wilders

Op 18 augustus 2023, vier dagen na haar aantreden, zei Yeşilgöz dat ze de PVV niet op voorhand uitsloot. Het idee erachter: als grootste partij zou de VVD de formatie bepalen, met Yeşilgöz als premier.

Het liep anders. Een stem op Wilders was ineens geen stem meer die in de oppositie zou belanden. Dat Yeşilgöz in de laatste campagneweek zei dat ze "op dit moment" niet zag hoe ze met de PVV kon regeren, hielp niet meer.

Op 22 november 2023 haalde de PVV 37 zetels en de VVD 24. Weg premiersdroom.

Zigzaggen in de formatie

Twee dagen na de uitslag zei Yeşilgöz dat de VVD niet in een kabinet zou stappen. Gedogen was "het hoogst haalbare". Begin 2024 draaide ze bij. De VVD wilde toch meedoen, maar dan in een extraparlementair kabinet waaraan de vier partijen zich even sterk zouden binden.

Zo ontstond het kabinet-Schoof. Het trad aan op 2 juli 2024 en viel op 3 juni 2025, toen de PVV uit de coalitie stapte. De partij voor wie Yeşilgöz de deur had opengezet, sloeg hem zelf weer dicht.

Een tweet te veel

In de aanloop naar de nieuwe verkiezingen ging het opnieuw mis. Op 29 juni 2025 beschuldigde Yeşilgöz zanger Douwe Bob op X van Jodenhaat. Hij was vertrokken bij een Joods voetbalevenement voor kinderen.

De zanger stapte naar de rechter. Op 11 augustus bood Yeşilgöz excuses aan en verwijderde ze de tweet. Zo wil een liberale partijleider een campagne niet beginnen: met de erkenning dat ze een burger ten onrechte publiek heeft beschuldigd.

De meesterzet die het niet was

Op 2 september 2025 koos Yeşilgöz voor een helder profiel: niet meer met de PVV, maar ook niet met het GroenLinks-PvdA van Frans Timmermans. "Ik zie dat echt niet werken."

Op 29 oktober 2025 haalde de VVD 22 zetels. D66 en PVV werden met 26 zetels de grootste partijen. Timmermans trad dezelfde avond af. Yeşilgöz bleef GroenLinks-PvdA ook onder Jesse Klaver uitsluiten: "Het ging niet om de heer Timmermans, maar om de inhoud."

Een plek in de regering kwam er wel. Sinds 23 februari 2026 is Yeşilgöz vicepremier en minister van Defensie in het minderheidskabinet-Jetten van D66, CDA en VVD. Die drie partijen hebben samen 66 van de 150 zetels.

Terug op het dieptepunt van 2008

De rekening komt nu binnen. In een peiling van begin oktober 2026 staat de VVD op 12 zetels. Dat is net zo laag als het dieptepunt uit 2008.

Had het dommer gekund? Op zichzelf was elke keuze te verklaren. De PVV niet uitsluiten zou rechtse kiezers trekken. Gedogen zou verlies van verantwoordelijkheid voorkomen. GroenLinks-PvdA uitsluiten zou duidelijkheid geven. Maar samen leverden ze telkens het omgekeerde op van wat de bedoeling was.

De vraag is niet meer of de VVD de premier levert, maar hoe diep de partij nog zakt.

Meer weten?

• Parlement.com – Tweede Kamerverkiezingen 2023parlement
• NOS – VVD laat alleen gedogen los en zet stap naar voren in formatie nos
• Maurice de Hond – VVD evenaart dieptepunt van 12 zetels uit 2008

There are moments of shivering joy as the protagonist of two enduring classics, Jack Sawyer, returns – but this time his journey feels endlessly repetitive

Bear with me, because there is some backstory to get through before we can talk about the book I am actually here to review. Back in 1984, Stephen King and Peter Straub collaborated on the fantasy novel The Talisman. Like all the best King stories, it follows a young boy: in this case Jack Sawyer, 12, whose mother, Lily, is dying. Jack learns that a magical object called the Talisman might save her – if he can find it in a parallel world known as the Territories. Straub and King followed this up in 2001 with Black House, in which an adult Jack investigates a series of child murders that turn out to have disturbing links to the Territories.

The books are very different: one a coming-of-age cross-country quest, in which Jack flips back and forth between two versions of the US; the other a fantastical and horror-inflected murder mystery. Both are brilliant and enduring classics which will always have a place on my bookshelves – I reread both of them, all 1,800-odd pages, to prepare for Other Worlds Than These and was as swept away and delighted as the first time round.

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Clinics and hospitals in affected areas lack staff, power and medicines, with supplies redirected to the Russian military

Earlier this summer, the once bustling corridors of the district hospital in Hola Prystan, a city in the Russian-occupied Kherson region of Ukraine, were ominously quiet. At times, it was plunged into darkness during power cuts lasting hours.

Much of the hospital’s medical equipment and supplies had been stolen and redirected to the military, and many experienced staff had gone.

Continue reading...

Roman Manfredi took to the Neopolitan streets to photograph intimate portraits of locals who live outside binary gender expectations

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Bovenstaand zegt Trump ongeveer dat er 'heel binnenkort een telefoongesprek met Poetin gepland staat en Amerikaanse inlichtingendiensten waarschijnlijk morgen iets meer over de zaak kunnen zeggen'. Tóch spannend, want volgens Russische media is er sprake van een tweede dode in labstad Irkutsk, waar de oorspronkelijke UITBRAAK plaatsvond in het Irkutsk Antiplague Research Institute, en 28-jarige lab-medewerkster Darja Sjipilova overleed na een gebroken testbuisje. De Telegraaf schrijft: "Nu melden Russische media dat er een tweede persoon is overleden in het ziekenhuis van Irkoetsk, vermoedelijk na besmet te worden met de pest. Volgens lokale bewoners lopen er in de omgeving mensen rond in beschermende kleding, waaronder pakken en maskers." Het is onduidelijk of deze persoon een van de zo'n 200 mensen in quarantaine was, of dat het buiten de quarantaine plaatsvond.

Waar je wel van op aan kan is dat het Kremlin het altijd nodeloos spannend maakt door plaatselijke mediaberichten te censureren. Liniebreed vakblad de Daily Mail schrijft: "Berichten over de pest in Rusland zijn naar verluidt uit de nationale media verdwenen, waaronder een bericht van de Moskouse zender Channel 5 en een van het landelijke dagblad Kommersant. Het onafhankelijke Russische medium The Insider meldde op 2 oktober dat ook de federale televisiezender REN TV alle vijf zijn publicaties over de pest in de regio Irkoetsk heeft verwijderd."

Volgens het onderstaande bericht van WHO-voorman Tedros heeft Rusland ondanks een nadrukkelijk verzoek nog geen verdere details gegeven over de 'onbekende longontsteking'. "De WHO heeft om meer informatie gevraagd om de oorzaak van de ernstige longontsteking, de ziekteverwekker die aanleiding gaf tot de maatregelen voor de volksgezondheid, en mediaberichten over een tweede medewerker met een longontsteking waarvan de oorzaak onbekend is, op te helderen."

We blijven kijken.

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Mogelijke, ongeverifieerde beelden Irkutsk

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Love seafood but hate its short shelf life? One company is boldly addressing fish sticks’ disposability problem with a game-changing innovation: Gorton’s Seafood is now selling a $500 fish stick as a “buy-it-for-life fish stick built to last.”

Incredible. If you know you’ll be eating fish sticks in the long-term, this is a pretty sensible investment!

This week, Gorton’s Seafood dropped the ‘Zest Of Time Lemon Garlic Fish Stick,’ the most durable, long-lasting fish stick the seafood industry has ever seen. According to Gorton’s, each fish stick is “100% Made In America, hand-crafted by world-class fish stick artisans using stress-tested wild Alaskan pollock fillets with a weather-proof, high-grade breadcrumb coating.” With a price tag of $500 and packaged in a fish stick-sized 2″ x 5″ full-grain leather case featuring the company’s name in raised, gold leaf lettering, Gorton’s ‘buy-it-for-life’ fish stick is marketed towards serious seafood enthusiasts who understand how costly and wasteful it is to buy brand new fish sticks week in and week out. 

“Historically, our company has catered to casual fish stick consumers, but we recognize the economic challenges facing people who eat a lot of fish sticks, and designed a buy-it-for-life fish stick to offer maximum value for serious fish stick eaters,” wrote Gorton’s Seafood CEO Kurt Hogan in a statement accompanying the Zest Of Time Lemon Garlic Fish stick’s release. “Anyone who eats fish sticks on a regular basis knows how expensive it is to buy fish sticks over and over again in the long haul. Now, your next fish stick purchase can be the last one you’ll ever need to make.”

Gorton’s is operating on a whole other level. This is a big bet on the die-hard fish stick demographic!

Would you shell out for a fish stick you can pass down to your kids in the future as long as you take good care of it? Let us know in the comments!