A one weird thing is that Russia surprisingly didn't push this issue very hard. I expected a lot of Russia-sponsored propaganda and finger-pointing in the German mediaspace, but there wasn't that much.
I have a Fuji X-E3 with some nice lightweight lenses like XF35mm f/2, but even such combo is still far from pocketable. It's also not great for immediate processing and sharing.
There are some 1 inch sensor compact cameras (Sony RX100), but they are pretty expensive and the IQ difference gets smaller compared to highend smartphones. In the end, my smartphone is the only device I consistently carry everywhere ...
If the book is interesting, I will remember something - good world building, plot twists, interesting characters or ideas, atmosphere, how the book made me feel... But from the culture books there wasn't much worth remembering. The feeling I have associated with reading it is "meh".
Wagner is not a PMC and wagnerites not real mercenaries. Most of them are ultra-nationalists and that's their primary motivation to fight. There are some weird Nazi/cult elements. Prigozhin has built up that cult, he's not easily replaceable.
Energy drinks often contain a bunch of other stuff - e.g. Taurine, which isn't necessarily bad per se, as it eliminates some of the caffeine side effects (jitteriness), but that may arguably make it more addictive.
Cheap smartphones are an incredible value. My wife bought a 180 EUR Realme 7 about 3 years ago, and it's still working great, it's plenty fast for everyday things (she's not a gamer), has 8 GB RAM ...
One thing you really need to compromise on are the cameras. But the problem is that I'm a sucker for cameras, so I keep buying expensive flagships ...
That reminded me how a local wanna-be influencer did a smartphone detox for a week, immediately after the completion she posted an FB story: Part 1 - Reflection, how eyeopening the experience was, how much time she suddenly had for the things that truly matter etc. Subscribe to not miss the Part 2!
Yeah... I always suspected it was Ukraine, since what would Russia gain from destroying it?
Weirdly enough, I think it might have benefited Germany by removing the insane option to bow to Russia's blackmail. Just the debate might destabilize the government / society. With NS gone, there wasn't any question.
A word of dissent, I've read Use of Weapons and Player of Games and I believe one more culture book and I've found them very forgettable. I wanted to jump on the hype train, but it never clicked.
I've also read The Wasp Factory and The Song of Stone. The last one stayed in my memory (even though it's the first one I've read) and for me the only one worth the read. (not sci-fi, but some kind of alternate reality).
Andreas Eschbach is quite unknown outside of the German speaking world, but I can recommend e. g. his The Carpet Makers. It's more of a soft sci-fi, dealing with a society on one quite strange world.
As a counterpoint I can recommend the Metro series by Dmitry Glukhovsky, who is an anti-war Russian, recently sentenced (in absentia) to 8 years in prison.
A one weird thing is that Russia surprisingly didn't push this issue very hard. I expected a lot of Russia-sponsored propaganda and finger-pointing in the German mediaspace, but there wasn't that much.