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[i2amroy]

So this is sort of like the "forgotten the name of the game" question but it's for a short story. I'm trying to track down a specific short story that I read somewhere online years and years ago. Here's the basic plot that I remember:
A man is in Ireland (I think), sometime in the near future. He complains about the cold, because since global warming was getting out of hand the world put up an orbiting satellite to block a significant portion of the sunlight that would hit the earth. This saved the people at the equator, but had the side effect of making it much colder up north in Ireland (too cold, in his opinion). The man goes to a bar (or someplace similar) and while he's there he gets addressed by the devil. Apparently he's done so many bad/selfish things in his life, winning the devil so many other souls by his actions, that the devil owes him a last wish before he gets to take him to hell. They talk about it for a while and (IIRC) they might have discussed some possible limitations of the wish. Eventually the man looks up and points at the orbiting satellite and wishes that it would break so it would be warmer. The devil complies and then is annoyed to realize that because he did so the man sentenced billions of people at the equator to death, and now the devil owes him tons more wishes because of it so he still can't take him to hell.

I read the short story at least maybe 7-9 years ago, so it's nothing too immediately recent, and some of the details are a bit fuzzy, but it's bugging me that I'm not able to track it down. If anybody can remember running into a story like that it would be a huge help.

[sprinkled chariot]

What is the definition of social state?
When the idea of social state appeared?
Which countries can we call social states?

[Helgoland]

- It's the same as welfare state, as far as I can tell. The state assumes some degree of responsibility for the material well-being of its ordinary citizens.
- As a German, I'd say with Bismarck's Sozialversicherung, but it may have been different in other countries.
- All the European ones, I think. Canada, maybe? The US probably also falls under the definition, but it would be unusual to call it that.

[Frumple]

Eh, the states are definitely a social democracy, insofar as that goes, so it'd likely count. It just really doesn't like people calling it that,* and it's arguably one of the less effectively implemented ones. Australia would likely be in there, too, and probably some smattering of ones in south america/africa/etc. that no one (in western countries) knows about.

*There's a fairly significant -- if often very shallow, and limited to labeling more than anything -- stigma against anything that can be associated with socialism in the US. Cold war, Red Scare, McCarthyism, etc., etc., etc.

[TheBiggerFish]

**Unless you're Bernie Sanders.  Most of the time.

[Rubidium]

I wonder, should I keep my avatar ()?
If not, should I change it into , , or ?

[TheBiggerFish]

Just stick all of them in.

[Yoink]

But make them naked first.       

[Frumple]

Pit sounds like a good idea. You should totally use the original NES/famicom sprite, though.

[My Name is Immaterial]

But make them naked first.       

Yoink, how drunk were you when you posted that?

[scrdest]

Rip just the star-thing outta this one.

[Rubidium]

Rip just the star-thing outta this one.

You want ?

[Yoink]

But make them naked first.       

Yoink, how drunk were you when you posted that?

Not at all, actually. If I was drunk I probably would have replied to the previous post with a "That's what she said!"
At least, I'm guessing that's would have done, since it seems like a pretty genius idea right now.    

[Calidovi]

How do I change my name on here? I plan to make the switch of Calidovi.

[Frumple]

PM Toady and ask for it.