Entertainment
Acting Like You Care Is As Important As The Real Thing
By Robert Scucci
| Updated
It’s 2026 and everything sucks. The cost of living has gone up exponentially, and quality of life has dipped right along with it. Lines are longer, everything is automated, nobody’s paid enough to care, and I don’t blame them. When you’re stuck renting from people who treat the concept of a home as an investment opportunity, don’t have a lawn to call your own, and pay a third of your income in taxes before getting taxed again on every purchase, it’s really easy to stop caring. After all, what’s the point? The average person can’t get ahead, and when they do, some medical emergency or unexpected financial hurdle sets them back three years.
It’s really easy to not care. But here’s the counterpoint nobody tells you: it’s really easy to pretend that you do care. In fact, acting like you care is a skill you should always be fine-tuning because it will change everything for you.
From McDonald’s To The Corner Office
I rarely eat fast food anymore. The value just isn’t there, and getting the correct order feels like a coin toss. It’s a shame because fast food is supposed to be convenient and engineered to be delicious. I’d probably hit the drive-thru more often on a busy day if it wasn’t easier and cheaper to cook at home. Which is unfortunate, because there’s nothing better than a burger and fries after the day escapes you.
The last time I got McDonald’s, I was coming home from a gig, hadn’t eaten all day, and was dreaming about a Quarter Pounder like a cartoon character hallucinating a roasted turkey in the desert. I reached into the bag to do a quality check before leaving. My hand, the burger box, and the bag itself were soaked, like the whole thing had been dunked in a grease trap and served anyway. “No biggie, I’ll just go inside and get this fixed,” was my thought.
When I asked for new food that wasn’t drenched to the point of falling apart, the response I got was “that’s just the grease,” followed by blank stares. After about 10 minutes of trying to get my food and go home, my hangriness kicked in and I said, “I’m not asking you to give a sh*t, but could you at least pretend you do?” Which, honestly, is something we could all do better.
Mistakes happen. That’s fine. But the general sense of malaise I’m sensing, not just at McDonald’s but everywhere, is palpable. On one hand, I get it. The graveyard shift sucks, and I probably caught someone on an off day. But a simple “sorry about that, your concern is valid, we’ll fix it” goes a long way. Acting like you care costs nothing.
During my tenure as an office drone, I ran into high levels of not caring on a daily basis. So much so that when my fellow supervisors and I had to distribute annual performance bonuses, we often favored the employees who acted like they cared. They weren’t always killing it all the time, but they showed up, owned their mistakes, vowed to do better, and were generally pleasant to be around. The higher performers who outwardly didn’t care, on the other hand, brought everybody down with them because not caring in this kind of setting is rightfully contagious, making everybody else miserable and less productive in the process.
When I epically messed up an account thanks to my own carelessness, I’d hear the client out, explain what went wrong, and assure them safeguards would be put in place so it didn’t happen again.
The reality was I didn’t really care. We were all overworked, underpaid, and constantly reminded how expendable we were. But when I got pulled into a corner office to get chewed out, I treated the issue with urgency, smoothed things over, and moved on. The people who were past the point of saving would get defensive and combative, not realizing how quickly things could escalate against them.
Actually Caring Is Better, But We Can’t Do That All The Time
Anybody with young kids will tell you they have a sixth sense for unloading on you when your mental bandwidth is maxed. You’ll be on the side of the road changing a flat tire while they’re talking a mile a minute about their favorite Paw Patrol episode or one of their 25 classmates in excruciating detail. In those moments, you may not care at all, but you do care about your kids. That’s the difference. Getting on their level and letting them know they’re seen and heard is all it takes. Acting like you care when you have much more pressing issues in front of you still counts. It actually means the world to them. They just want to know you’re present and listening.
I’ve been driving around for a month with a rotten pinecone sticking out of my center console because my 4-year-old son gave it to me. I hate that pinecone. I want to throw it out the window every time I start the car, but every time we buckle up, he’s so proud of it and beyond happy that I kept it. Even though I’m pretty sure it’s moments away from releasing spiders.
The secret nobody wants to tell you is that showing up is 99.99999 percent of everything. Whether you’re in a band, a bowling league, or just roped into bringing something to the dinner party you were dragged along to, putting in even a small amount of effort and acting like you care gets noticed. That particular something you showed up to means something to somebody. Stepping outside of yourself is a superpower because it’s so easy to cancel plans. We’ve all done it. And we all should sometimes.
You can’t always be on your A game. That’s impossible. There will always be days where you couldn’t give a rat’s ass about anything. But acting like you care, even when you don’t, has a ripple effect that makes the day-to-day grind more tolerable for everyone around you. And more often than not, it ends up working in your favor too because people notice.
Entertainment
How to watch Germany vs. Finland online for free
TL;DR: Live stream Germany vs. Finland in a 2026 International Friendly for free on ZDF. Access this free streaming site from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
Preparation time is almost over. The 2026 World Cup kicks off next month, meaning participating sides need to build momentum and gain clarity on their best 11. That’s the situation Germany find themselves in as they face off against Finland — it’s all about coming into this summer’s tournament with confidence.
If you want to watch Germany vs. Finland in a 2026 International Friendly for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
When is Germany vs. Finland?
Germany vs. Finland kicks off at 2:45 p.m. ET on May 31. This fixture takes place at the MEWA Arena.
How to watch Germany vs. Finland for free
Germany vs. Finland is available to live stream for free on ZDF.
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ZDF is geo-restricted to Germany, but anyone can access this free streaming service with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Germany, meaning you can access free live streams on ZDF from anywhere in the world.
Lve stream Germany vs. Finland for free by following these simple steps:
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Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
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Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
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Open up the app and connect to a server in Germany
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Visit ZDF
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Stream Germany vs. Finland for free from anywhere in the world
$12.99 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee)
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Germany vs. Finland without actually spending anything. This clearly isn’t a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream select games before recovering your investment.
If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming sites from around the world, you’ll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.
What is the best VPN for ZDF?
ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on ZDF, for a number of reasons:
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Servers in 105 countries including Germany
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Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more
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Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure
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Fast connection speeds free from throttling
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Up to eight simultaneous connections
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30-day money-back guarantee
A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).
Live stream Germany vs. Finland for free with ExpressVPN.
Entertainment
Until May 31, get Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT for life for $70
TL;DR: 1min.AI gives you lifetime access to AI models like GPT, Claude, and Gemini, but instead of charging you every month, it’s only $70 for life if you buy before May 31 at 11:59 p.m. PT.
Most AI tools do one thing well. The problem is that most workflows need more than one thing, and paying separately for a writing tool, an image editor, an audio platform, and a video tool adds up to a lot of monthly bills fast. 1min.AI new all-in-one AI platform that gives you access to the same popular AI models like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude, but instead of paying for them every month, you can get them all for life for $69.97 (reg. $540).
1min.AI gives you access to a wide range of AI models so you’re not locked into one tool’s strengths or blind spots. On the writing side, you’ll get access to AI for blog generation, keyword research, rewriting, summarizing, paraphrasing, grammar checking, and social media comment generation across LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
Mashable Deals
Image tools go well beyond a basic generator, with editing and manipulation capabilities that cover tasks even a professional designer would reach for a separate app to do. Audio handles voice, music, and translation work. Video covers both creation and editing, including tools specifically for YouTube content. Documents can be chatted with, translated, or turned into presentations without leaving the platform.
The Advanced Business Plan includes 4,000,000 credits per month, which works out to roughly 1,112,500 words, 1,186 images, or 37 videos monthly. On top of that, you can earn up to 450,000 additional free credits per month through daily logins, reviews, and referrals, and those credits never expire.
Stop paying every month for apps you can get for life.
Mashable Deals
Through May 31, it’s only $69.97 to get a 1min.AI advanced Business Plan.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
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Artificial Intelligence
Entertainment
Sexting in 3D: A beginner’s guide to AdultFriendFinder’s Live Action streaming features
The major standout feature of AdultFriendFinder isn’t their millions of users or their free-wheeling stance on nudity, nor is it their massive, searchable database of kinks. What truly sets them apart, in fact, is their Live Action tab, where AFF users can communicate in real-time across webcams and chat rooms.
In this area of the site, accessible to both paying and non-paying members, users can communicate in real-time via both text and video, and things definitely get wild. Here are the four main sections of the Live Action tab, and what you need to know about them:
Credit: AdultFriendFinder
Member Webcams
The first of four sub-tabs, Member Webcams is the place AFF users go to let loose on camera, for an audience. The camera feeds appear in a grid format, organized in order of viewer count, and as with the on-site dating profiles, you’ll be able to see, at a glance, who has a verified account or who is a paying member. Other details visible immediately include the model’s age, gender and location.
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AdultFriendFinder
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readers’ pick for casual connections
Tinder
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top pick for finding hookups
Hinge
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popular choice for regular meetups
If you can’t find what you’re looking for right away, you can start to apply filters: Men, Women, Couples, Trans, as well as Nude or Non-Nude. You can even use the Sort By button to arrange the models in order of their proximity to you.
Best of all? This entire section of the website is accessible to free accounts, although if you want to actually interact with the models, either via public-facing comments or by sending gifts or emoji reactions, you will need to upgrade your account.
Mashable Trend Report
And pro tip: if you come across a particularly attractive model or manage to have a good conversation with someone, click the Star icon in the upper right-hand corner of the webcam feed to Favorite them, which will make it easier to find their feed when they next come online.
Pro Models
The Pro Models section resembles a bigger-budget version of the Member Webcams area, except instead of camming for the love of the experience or to make new connections, the Pro models are explicitly there to make a bug.
Free users are able to view these cams, but if you want to chat, tip or engage a model in a private, one-on-one cam session, you’ll need to pull out your credit card.
To our mind, this is the least interesting part of the AFF Live Action experience, and the most transactional. Their Pro Models section doesn’t offer anything that competing adult webcam sites don’t, and most of the competition offers more models and a better interface.
Chat Rooms
If you’re not necessarily looking for visual stimulation but happy to use your words to titillate, check out the Chat Rooms area. Here, you can enter into chat rooms based around specific interests and topics, or look to join a regional chat room based in your country or state.
While words, stories, and shared experiences form the basis of this section, people often do also share photos. Best of all, there are very few restrictions on non-paying members in these areas, so you can build a following or interact with other people without having to create a paid subscription.
Activity Feed
The Activity Feed is the fastest way to catch up on what’s trending on the site, usually populated by new images and videos uploaded by members. The default view is Global, showing you the hottest content from members across the world, but you can also sort by Near You to find more local posts, or even restrict the list to your Friends & Hotlist, helping you keep up with what your mutual friends or followers are doing on the site.
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