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My wife wants to have a threesome, what next?
|
My wife and I are looking to have another threesome (with a woman). Our first was a few years back in Amsterdam with a professional and it was OK. Now we would like to share another experience, but not sure how to find a third without hiring someone. We have had a few friends express interest, but we're not sure if a close friend is the way to go, or if we should have someone who is a more casual acquaintance. Any advice from people who have had good/bad experiences?
EDIT: One thing that we did not like about the last threesome in Amsterdam was the transactional nature of things. We want to be able to take our time and enjoy ourselves. Also, we have joined and tried swinger websites, but my wife isn't into swapping (which would make this a LOT easier). I have no double standards when it comes to seeing her with another man.
| 21 |
[
{
"body": "True story. A friend of mine asked his wife if they could do a threesome. She was hesitantly agreeable and they decided it should be with someone of her choosing, since she was just doing it to please him. She selected someone. They all liked it and it worked out so well that they made it a regular occurrence. \n\nAll was good until a few months later when his wife informed him that she really, really enjoyed being with a woman, *a lot*, and had decided she would probably be far happier if he were out of the picture completely. Their marriage didn't survive and last I heard his ex-wife was happily living with her new girlfriend (not the threesome gal).\n\nHe told me that it was fun while it lasted, but that his ego took a huge hit when the breakup happened. It was about 10 years before he trusted a woman enough to have a long term relationship.\n\nGuess what I'm trying to say is be very, very careful in selecting the person who will join you two. (The one that joined them was just a casual acquaintance from her work.)",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "Maybe your wife just wants another European vacation and this is her way of proposing it. *Take me to Europe and you can do two chicks at the same time.* Win-win all around.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Depends on what kind of threesome you want.\n\nNo strings, no emotion = sex/swing clubs (reply your location and I will send you the best ones)\n\nEmotion = Close friends. My girl and I prefer it this way, but still do the other way to get more girls to become \"close friends\". (We are really good)\n\n",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "I guess the question you need to ask yourself is \"will a threesome potentially make seeing this person too awkward?\" The thing you need to be careful with is the potential loss of a close friend.\r\n\r\nI personally would chose a relatively casual aquaintance, but someone you feel you can trust. It's the best of both worlds, if possible. Then again, the close friend could result in the threesome happening more often...\r\n\r\nJust be careful and thorough with your decision.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "> I have no double standards when it comes to seeing her with another man.\n\nWow - you a are a far less jealous man than I. Hats off to you.",
"score": 3
}
] |
So what kind of music is trees into?
|
List an album/artist/youtube song or whatever. No haters :D.
Here is what I am really into right now:
Edan (The beaty and the beat album). This song is so sick (espeically when listened to in the full context of the album but even alone the break is wild):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBnbosEgZxc
| 36 |
[
{
"body": "[Thievery Corporation](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4v6tlcnvSw)\n\n[Ratatat](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64liF2VuLxI&feature=related)\n\nPink Floyd\n\nMarley\n\n[Sound Tribe Sector 9](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywJsVDj-_us&feature=related)\n\nI was at that Sound Tribe show :)\n\n\n",
"score": 17
},
{
"body": "Im a metal head, lately i've been more into melodic metal bands like In Flames or Dream Theater...never count metal just cuz there's a lot of screaming, there's some trippy shit to be experienced here",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Lately I've been listening to the blues band \"The Black Keys\" side project [Blakroc](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vtWNDI_EOI)\n\n\n\nmore:\n[On The Vista](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKLToXOdv9E)\n\n[Coochie](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTd2qoWEylw)\n\n[Dollaz & Sense](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGI5GjcEGZk)\n\n[Stay Off The Fuckin' Flowers](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft4NNsPIoYI)",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "I am largely into [progressive music](http://www.reddit.com/r/ProgMusic/) of all sorts that I created a subreddit for... :)\n\nMy favorite band of all time is Opeth but I have been listening to a lot of folk / blues / rock and I also really enjoy industrial / electronica at times.\n\nAvett Brothers, My Morning Jacket, The Black Keys, Iron & Wine etc.\n\nCheck out my [last.fm](http://www.last.fm/user/selusa)\n\n",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "I vacillate between electronica (dubstep, drum and bass, trip hop, Shpongle) and bands like Phoenix, Cage the Elephant, White Rabbits, Owl City, InnerPartySystem, OkGo, Marina and the Diamonds... really all over the board when I think about it. \n\nBut my holy grail is The Beatles :]",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "- Beck\n\n- Bob Marley \n\n- Damian Marley\n\n- Buckethead\n\n- Lots of Houston's underground gangster rap (Z-ro, Trae, many others)\n\n- Jimi Hendrix\n\n- Immortal Technique\n\n- Nas\n\n- The Mars Volta\n\n- Tool\n\n- Nick Drake\n\n- John Butler\n\n- Zakir Hussain (+ Tabla Beat Science & Global Drum Project)",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Pink Floyd \n\nImmortal Technique\n\nOuterspace\n\nSystem of a Down\n\nAcid Witch\n\nDeath\n\nOrphaned Land\n\nBob Marley\n\nJ Dilla\n\n\n",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Doom metal and stoner rock.\n\nTry out: Black Sabbath and Spiritual Beggars.\n\nSB: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSNMYNpxXIo",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "[Wu Tang Clan - Da Mystery of Chessboxin](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl6jwab3HWk)\n\n[Thievery Corporation - A Gentle Dissolve](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abhMCPe5FkY)\n\n[Justice - Phantom Pt II](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxsu2-xcvNs)\n\n[Passion Pit - The Reeling](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVstHPhaJ6M)",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Industrial, IDM, EBM, Metal\n\nKMFDM\nCombichrist\nPsychlon Nine\nSuicide Commando\n\nIf you've never listened to 'em, try it high, it's great.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "ive recently been into animal collectives new ep (fall be kind)\nand the flaming lips's rendition of dar side of the moon. crazy shit",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "i like a lot of music at the moment but here is a few songs that im into at the moment that i think you might like :)\n*1[morcheeba (triphop)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yViHGA_AJmk)\n*2[metaphi (dubstep)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv_NcAkSmno)\n*3[sabrepulse (chipbreak/8bit)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CDoRc338tw)\n*4[max tundra (old rave style)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzL6O0Eqha8&feature=related)\n*5[less than jake (ska punk)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krXG307d4k8)\n*6[zebrahead (pop punk rap)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElbONuzeHW4&feature=related)\n*7[zebrahead (poppunk rap)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0yBI131B4s&feature=related)\nhope you enjoy :)",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Band called Jakob... post rock, really chill. This vid goes excellently with the song too.\n\n[Jakob - Safety in Numbers](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gZDm8oKmAg) - Gets awesome at around the 2:15 mark.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Mostly metal. Bands like Death, Nevermore, Dying Fetus, 3IOB, Behemoth, Naglfar etc. Then there is the classics like Simon and Garfunkel and Rush. And I have a guilty pleasure of some rap, Tech N9ne, King Gordy and Krizz Kaliko are my favorites. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "i have a taste in music utterly incongruous with the rest of my life. (except for the pot smoking and drinking, i guess) me 6 months ago would be my profile at last.fm.. top 10 is\r\n\r\n1. 2Pac \t\t \r\n2. Notorious B.I.G. \r\n3. The Killers \t\t\r\n4.Eminem \t\t \r\n5. Franz Ferdinand \t\t\r\n6. Hilltop Hoods \t\t \r\n7. The Kooks \t\t \r\n8.Dr. Dre \t\t \r\n9. Death Cab for Cutie \t\t\r\n\r\n\r\nedit: removed #10, admitting I listen to 50 cent requires context\r\n\r\n",
"score": 3
}
] |
Do badges not update automatically?
|
I quit Nov 22, and my badge went, I think, from 2 to 3 without any input from myself. But now it is out of date.
btw, I don't really miss cigarattes at all. Virtually all of my friends still smoke, and one of them is struggling to quit. I genuinely feel empathy for smokers.
| 7 |
[
{
"body": "Hey! This is my fault, it appears you weren't on the calendar. I have no idea how I managed to update you without being on there .... but you are now. :D\n\nTo answer your question, no I have to manually update the badges. So any mistakes are *entirely* me. If anyone sees any other issues please let me know and I will fix them.\n\nBTW, you've been fixed! Congratulations on making it this far!",
"score": 3
}
] |
I was the guy who submitted the post advising atheists not to tell their parents. I found this quote in the Bible yesterday: "...or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine." Matthew 10:37
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments/alma7/if_you_are_a_young_closet_skeptic_of_religion_you/
In 10:34 Jesus plainly admits he wants to pin your family against each other with himself as the cause.
Just fantastic advice, Jesus has this peculiar skill in which for every person he unites, he destroys another. But no worry, if you are the Gentiles, Samaritans, or not a person of Israel, Jesus won't even bother with giving you the gift of hearing the good news. Matthew 10:5-7
| 19 |
[
{
"body": "There's also Deuteronomy 13:6-11:\n\n>If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, \"Let us go and worship other gods\" (gods that neither you nor your fathers have known, gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him. You must certainly put him to death. Your hand must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people. Stone him to death, because he tried to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.\n\nAlthough it only really applies if you try to proselytize your family and you count science as a deity.",
"score": 3
}
] |
What shows weren't you allowed to watch as a kid?
|
Inspired by [these](http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/amad2/what_was_your_most_favorite_tv_show_that_was/) [threads](http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ambx3/what_was_your_favorite_cartoon_as_a_kid/).
For me, it was Beavis and Butthead. I later found out that my parents didn't have a problem with the show really. But they were afraid of getting angry calls from teachers and parents if I repeated what was said in the episodes.
| 4 |
[
{
"body": "My mom never wanted to watch The Simpsons, because she always associated it with Bart being a bad influence, back when he was the star of the show.\n\nFunny thing is, we'd frequently make her watch it anyway, while we had pizza Sundays, and she's laugh her butt off :D Then she'd go right back to hating it to save face ;)",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I wasn't allowed to watch captain planet, my dad was a farmer and he felt it was hippy environmentalist bull crap. ",
"score": 3
}
] |
I suffered from Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) when I was 13, AMA
|
When I was 13 one day in september 1977 I woke up with numb fingers. 24 hrs later I was in hospital almost completely paralysed. To this day (I'm 45) I still have residual symptoms in the peroneous muscles.
| 8 |
[
{
"body": "I had GB with Miller Fischer variant at a young age as well. I hope you can fully recover. It has been almost 15 years since i was diagnosed. The doctors did not know or have a clue what was wrong with me. I suffered from double vision, numbness in my legs and couldnt move my face or show any expression. Quite terrifying at such a young age. I wish you the best.",
"score": 3
}
] |
What do you do when your girlfriend/wife stops trying
|
I think my partner has always been a tad on the lazy side sexually. While in the past she could even be considered promiscuous.. she wasn't the initiator, ever. She hardly ever comes on to me, and when she does it's such in a silly way i'm hardly turned on and don't count it as "coming on to me" or "initiating sex". I've received oral very few times (under 10) in 3 years. She describes this attitude as her personality and ingrained into her sexuality and is not likely to change.
Starting out, a lot of her insecurities got in the way. She wouldn't get in certain positions (on top) b/c she didn't want me seeing her stomach (which is completely fine IMO). Even on her back, missionary, she'd leave her shirt on. We eventually worked past this.
Now, I can tolerate some insecurities, i can tolerate the 'normal' non-initiating aspect. But i guess the last straw is that she's completely given up trying to be attractive. Now excuse me for pushing gender roles, but typically we both fall very well into norms. We both are open to others being and doing whatever it is they want, but we fall into the status quo in this regard.
She's constantly worried about her weight, she's constantly shopping for clothes and boots and skin care and hair care products and she loves doing her nails and buying makeup and purses and shoes. But everything she buys is for her own enjoyment. When we first got together, and before me.. at night going out, she dressed sexy. She wore skirts, she wore hose, she wore tight shirts or low cut blouses that fit her very well. Now she never wears sexy shoes. If she wears anything cute in terms of footwear she wears pants so long it hides them. All of her tops make her look bigger than what she is and she completely covers up. She wears jeans that makes her ass look awful. She dresses for comfort and function nowadays more than she does to be cute.
Now our partners are not our dolls, who are to dress the way we want. No doubt, we're each individuals with our own freedoms.
But the problem seems to be getting worse. And it's not exactly fair. If it were up to me, i'd be growing a winter beard right now. I'd wear shirts around the house with holes in them b/c they're comfortable, i'd wear shirts and pants that i know she hates instead of going through the effort and doing laundry early b/c all i have left is the shit she doesn't like. it just seems incredibly unbalanced.
I workout 5-6 days a week. 2-3 days doing cardio, 2-3 doing weights and i watch my diet. I keep my hair shaved, i keep my face shaved, i still dress in a way that i hope she likes a great deal. I put a lot of effort into my looks. I'm not vain or narcissistic, i wouldn't even want to try to rank me about where on the attractive spectrum i would fall, but the point is... even years into our relationship, I'm still trying to attract her. I do so with my jokes, my conversation, by showering her with compliments and hitting on her, by my dress, and by me ALWAYS making the first move.
She doesn't make the first move, seems to only dress for herself. And if i note any particular item of clothing is sexy or cute or would look good on her i get a barrage of complaints about how it isn't comfortable or how she doesn't like it at all (fair enough). But there just doesn't seem to be a happy meeting ground.
If i'm going to be the initiator, i have to have something try to turn me on enough to make it worth my while. how would you approach this? IMO, it's hard to broach the subject without sounding like i want to pick her daily outfits, which is surely not the case. It just seems her individual expression in her appearance, be it for comfort, laziness, insecurity, whatever it may be seems to suck every ounce of femininity out of her.
To make this worse, she's gone as far as telling me to "be a man" and "take what i want", or to even infer that i'm not a very sexual guy (which i'm a very sexual, horny, pervy, and able guy) but i feel b/c she doesn't initiate and now doesn't even try to attract that i have no energy to really feed off of to fuel my own sexuality. In fact it makes me hesistant and insecure to approach her b/c i feel like i'm going through the motions and trying to force myself to be turned on.
Oh, and do not give me the de facto reddit response of "dump her". I'd rather exhaust all options before letting go of something we have put so much time and effort into that has brought both of us tremendous amounts of joy. She is my best friend and I love her dearly, this issue aside. I haven't seen her look cute for any event in over a year easily. I kept hoping this was a phase or something, but it's not. It's like she's content to be this way.
She's a very hot lady, with a wonderful body. She's a great person. But this sucks.
| 19 |
[
{
"body": "Sounds like you are describing my girlfriend for most of that, so I understand the feeling. Unfortunately, there is no advice I have for you. We're on the verge of breaking up over the issue and there is little I can do, as I refuse to budge another inch because she has been unwilling to do so for a year now. I understand that people have insecurities, but after being with someone for a year (3, in your case) it's time to let that go. No one can honestly say that they'd be comfortable being with a person for the rest of their lives but they're not comfortable being seen with shorts on. And just to qualify this, my girlfriend is 115 pounds, at the very low end of the acceptable BMI range. ",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "It sounds to me like approaching this subject with her directly might not be the best thing to do (which I think you understand).\n\nHave you considered talking to her about things like \"chemistry\" and \"romance\" rather than how you both dress or the sex issues? Tell her that you really miss those parts of the relationship, and you'd like to find ways to bring them back. \n\nI'd also suggest trying to find ways to show her how much you care about her in a non-sexual way. If she feels like you think the sex issue is all you care about, it's going to be counter-productive. Have a special date where you go out some place nice, dress up TOGETHER, and have a good time. Then explicitly tell her that it's not about sex, it's about how you feel, etc.\n\nFrom my experience, I've never been sooo turned on and interested in my partner than when he actually said it was okay if I didn't want to have sex and that he was really really enjoying just walking around campus (this was college) at night with me. \n\nThe point of it would be to help subtly build up her confidence and trust in you as a good partner and friend, and not just a boyfriend/husband/sex partner. This is about both fixing insecurities and building something new between you.\n\nAnyway... if this sounds like it's too much effort, then my guess is that the lack of chemistry between you will be the doom of your relationship. :) Good luck!",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "You should put together a power point presentation. Make sure you take it to get bound so she can follow along and make notes. Also send it to via email to her friends and family for their input. I think she would respond positively if she saw it all presented nicely.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "I got no advice for you. My wife is like that; I'd dump her bitch ass in a heartbeat if we didn't have kids. I'm a bitter asshole now, but I used to love her madly and work incredibly hard to be the best man I could be. Well, none of my effort meant shit to her so I turned into the bitter hate-filled son of a bitch I am today.\n\nIf you *can* get out, seriously start to think about doing so. Yes, you'll miss her, but you'll be missing the person you *want* her to be, the person you *thought* she was, and not the person she *is*, because the person she *is* apparently doesn't care about you, or not enough, not as much as you need and DESERVE, considering how much effort you are willing to put in.\n\nConsider: if she said she was considering leaving you because of (whatever), wouldn't you immediately work to address (whatever) so she'd stay? Because you love her and want her and want her to be happy?\n\nSo, tell her (don't threaten) that you're unhappy and you're considering leaving. Will she leap to the occasion and try to work things out? Or will she blame you for things, act hurt, and give up? I'm betting the latter.\n\nNow, really, what does that tell you? If you're not important enough to her for her to fight to keep you, then let her go.\n\nYou'd work. You'd fight. You'd change if you had to. All you want is for her to be willing to do the same. If she isn't, then it doesn't matter how beautiful she is, how funny, how great it is to hang out with. That's fine for friends, but not PARTNERS.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "> she's gone as far as telling me to \"be a man\" and \"take what i want\"\n\nHuh. Well, sounds to me like you should give her what she asked for.\n\n> If it were up to me, i'd be growing a winter beard right now.\n\nShit man. I want to know what kind of relationship you have where she can tell you what kind of fucking BEARD you can grow, but you can't bring up the fact that she is being lazy about your entire sexual relationship.\n\nThere's nothing wrong with telling her what you want. She's not a mind-reader, and she's actively inviting you to step up. There's no way to make it easy- just lovingly inform her that you want her to step up her game.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "> I love her dearly, this issue aside.\n\n\"this issue\", if your description is acurate, is that she has little to no consideration for who you are and what you need. She's shown some ability to be sexual for long enough to attract a male, but as soon as that male looks securely attached, she drops the mask. She can do it for her (getting into a couple), but not for you (keeping you happy).\n\nSo I won't give you the \"de facto reddit response\", just rephrase what you know: her partner, if he has a typical male libido, will never have this libido satisfied, except maybe for the initial stage where she's conquering him. Up to you to decide whether you accept this situation, or whether you have better options and want to exert them.\n\nA few random additional notes:\n\n* \"dump her\" is the de facto standard sex.reddit response, because the standard sex.reddit request is written by someone who looks for the courage to move on. We just oblige. \n* Many girls work like yours, and many men accept that their wife work like that. Many people's life suck.\n* I've already been in such a couple where the girl's libido dropped as soon as she felt that she \"secured\" me. Today I believe it's a no-return evolution. Since then, I always made it clear that I choose my partner because of some key character traits, and that sexual compatibility was one of them. Change this key element, and the whole relation is jeopardized. It probably filters out girls who know their libido is not sustainable, and it keeps others aware that a couple's harmony is something that must be actively maintained (this last point is true in both directions).\n",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "The root of all this is probably that she feels very insecure with her body right now and possibly also is down on herself generally. It likely has nothing to do with you or her willingness to please you in that way, but when you don't feel sexy, it's hard to show that side to other people.\n\nBecause of this, if you mention how she isn't dressing to turn you on anymore, it could potentially make matters worse. She would likely be more self conscious, and it could add to how she feels she fails at being attractive. \n\nIf you want to solve this, it has to be for her, and not for you. You have to be on her side. I doubt that she likes feeling like she looks like crap, either. Basically you have to assure her whenever you can that you like the way she looks. Make her believe that she is a beautiful person. Not that she would be a beautiful person if she worked out and dressed better, but that she is beautiful right now, as she is. Only if she believes this will she want to dress up in the first place (and really, getting your wife to like her body should be a more important goal for you than her looking good for you, not in the least because it's probably causing that to begin with).\n\nOnce she feels comfortable in her own skin, she will feel like she can show it off more, but this is hard to do when you feel like an unsexy blob. So please, if you ever see her as becoming this, do not show it, it will only make things ten times worse. Before she can dress up for you, she has to feel like she is dressing up for her, and for her own personal sexyness.\n\nAs for initiating, whenever she does initiate, even a little bit, (or in a silly way) make her feel as though you are extremely grateful for this, and happy about it. If she comes on to you in a silly way, and you reject her, she'll feel as though there's no point in trying again, because perhaps she doesn't know any other way of initiating. Perhaps if it's in a way that does not turn you on at all you should at first be grateful that you are getting effort on her part, and then find ways to work with it (ie what if you tried this - or you could take over the initiating at that point).\n\nTo summarize:\nNo one is going to make an effort if they feel unattractive, you must make her feel like she is an attractive person first if you want her to be sexier/initiate more instead of focusing on her flaws.\n\n",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Communicate with her? Just turn the \"tolerate\" bits around so they sound a bit better and less bitter.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Maybe you should react to her passivity by being more aggressive which she's directly asked you to do? I'm not saying there this is surefire, but sometimes the answer is right under our noses. She says \"be man\" and \"take what you want,\" well... why don't you? If you start treating her like she's irresistible then she may respond to and feed off of that. Or maybe not.",
"score": 4
}
] |
Discussion: Should prostitution be legalized?
|
WFS is asking in its new issue if prostitution should be legalized in India:
[WFS Current Features](http://www.wfsnews.org/current.php)
Ignoring the variables unique to India for a second, this brings up a frequent ethical dilemma. I haven't studied the question as much as I would have liked, but right now, I'm in the camp against legalizing prostitution for five reasons:
1. Sex tourism brings criminal tourists. Eastern Europe and other areas have suffered from sex tourists who raucously take advantage of their locales, causing vandalism, fights, thefts, and other petty crimes.
2. It reinforces gender roles. The women are having sex to survive; the men are having sex as free agents searching for pleasure. Prostitution also plays into the idea that sexually active men are to be respected and admired, while sexually active women are reprobates and morally frail.
3. Because sex tourists are often first world citizens going to third world brothels, colonial attitudes and ideas of racial and national superiority are potentially reinforced.
4. Sex tourism promotes underworld activities, as criminals and the mafia are traditionally the operators of prostitution and sex slavery rings. The underworld is already entwined with it. If it were to be legalized, it is probably that underworld racketeering and control would go on and be sustained by prostitution outside of the most heavily regulated districts.
5. It is often a symptom of poverty, which forces women to sell their bodies to survive. This derails their lives from what would have been a different preferred course. Some women who depend on prostitution to survive and earn a living may desire a monogamous relationship after they no longer must sell sex to work, and working for sex may cheapen the private value of sex for them (especially if they suffer abuse or rape while working as a prostitute) and lessen their self-worth. There's a human cost here.
The best counter-argument I have is that, if prostitution is going to exist anyway, it might as well be regulated to minimize the damage. I concede that this might be apt for some situations, but to work properly, it needs regulation by a government without corruption, and with legal bases, supports, and enforcement for women's rights. What do you think?
| 10 |
[
{
"body": "all five of those \"reasons\" seem to be effects of illegalized prostitution rather than arguments against legalizing it.\n\nof course it should be legalized. if it involves consenting adults, why not? porn, anyone? once legalized, measures can be taken to unionize and protect the workers. good fun all around - and we might even get some extra tax revenue out of it (like marijuana legislation too. /me crosses her fingers in hopes).",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I've worked on prostitution decrim in San Francisco, and am not sure about the issue of India, which does have a lot of extra things happening involving poverty and imperialism. I could give you the talking points for decrimin.. but I kind of don't want to...I'd love to see pros and antis talk in a detailed and informed way from a feminist perspective with pros and antis talking to other. \n\nFirst, to get some more intitution about who's doing sex work, sex workers here include\n\n- people working off craigslist, escort ads, ads in the back of the alternative rag, ads a variety of places. My impression is these are usually independent workers\n\n- workers for the strip clubs turning tricks in private booths... in San Francisco this has been defacto legalized, for better or worse. The strip clubs do have labor problems with the owners, high stage fees. These workers have successfully sued under normal workers compensation laws. SF also has a women owned and run strip cooperative. \n\n- professional BDSM workers, probably more dominants than submissives, also defacto decriminalized in much of the US because some case law argues it's not real sex\n\n- workers in houses working for some boss. these arrangements vary pretty wildly... a lot of the madames are female, and a lot of times, because it protects the house owner, they operate a lot like independent contractors sharing space\n\n- street workers. Street workers fit the stereotype, lots of collatoral problems like homelessness, addiction, a lot of the people doing this are the poorest, and they're subject to the most police harassment too\n\n- trafficked workers... some women working with clearly no consent involved... now it's also clear that in many cases prosecutions of asian sex workers gets described as trafficking even when it's much more like someone working in a house, but lets assume it happens sometimes in the world. Probably more trafficked workers are not doing sex work, but stuff like working in sweatshops, it's good to remember, and both are slavery in a definitional sense. \n\n- \"mistresses\" for want of a better word, people who blur the boundary between significant other of a rich person and sex worker, probably something that also is defacto decriminalized\n\n- there are of course male sex workers in all of these situations, primarily but not entirely working for men, just like the female workers\n\n- there are people who are being damaged by sex work doing it, also people paying for college degrees\n\n- you can debate the quantity of them, but there are clearly articulate, feminist sex workers who can articulate the arguments in favor of legalization quite well, who you can probably find by googling San Francisco prostitution initiative and looking at who's making the quotes. Any theory you have should involve why it's a good thing to arrest those people, and you should refine that theory by looking these people in the eye and explaining it to them. \n\n- any theory also has to address the shitty things that exist in the sex industry\n\n",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "If it were to be regulated, and safety standards are enforced (for the worker, John's, and Jane's alike), then yes, I think it should. The prostitute, though, should be in control of their life, not their employers. Perhaps a union would suffice?",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I'm all for legalizing prostitution in Western civilizations where the corruption is not as large an issue, and where women have actual rights instead of whatever people decide to give them that day.\n\nI think that if prostitution was legalized as a profession (as it is in some European nations) prostitutes would have the ability to be trained in STD's and protection, health risks and how to address them, safety, and rules of engagement, as well as licensing would be handed out from the state under workers rights and unions could form to represent the prostitutes against the \"johns\". I think it would clean up the surrounding crime associated with prostitution and elevate it out of the gutter to give these people the common decency we all enjoy (or that currently only \"escorts\" enjoy). It would begin to eliminate the stigma of sex as \"dirty\" and women as the purveyor of dirty acts.\n\nAnd also, don't think prostitution is a men on women gender thing. There are male prostitutes out there and women who hire them. The door swings both ways and I feel a lot of generalized repression could be eliminated through legalizing it.\n\nHowever, in countries such as India where the regulation wouldn't exist and rights wouldn't exist, I don't see that being a good thing as choice would still not enter into the equation for these women. Culturally, a woman who sells their body for sex, legally or otherwise, is damaged and has NO place in society. They are ostracized and once used, are left to beg for the remainder of their lives. Include the cultural value of young brides in this culture too and you have a recipe for child sex workers (who can't consent willingly at all) being legalized for tourists to take advantage of. \n\nNo, the societal pressures would make true consent impossible even with legalization...",
"score": 3
}
] |
What's on the other side of a black hole?
|
I know you're not Stephen Hawking, but take a stab at it. Educated guesses are welcome, but unnecessary. Use your imagination.
| 6 |
[
{
"body": "We've never had a chance to examine a black hole (there are still some physicists who think such things don't exist) but if black holes are anything like they're described in theory -- matter crushed to such a compact state that the gravitational field around it is strong enough to prevent light from escaping -- then I'd say there IS no \"other side\" to such a thing. There's \"outside the black hole\" and \"crushed into quarks or something\" INSIDE the black hole.\r\n\r\n**Edit** to finish the sentence, because I hit Enter by mistake.\r\n\r\n**Edit 2** to add this: If worm-hole functionality is part of the black hole device, then \"the other side\" is I-know-not-where, although I suspect you'd not survive the trip.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "There is no other side because black holes are not flat. There is infinite gravity to a singular point.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Tacion World. Which is essentially a world totally complimentary to ours. Everything there is made of anti-matter and light is the slowest thing in that universe.",
"score": 3
}
] |
IAMA Request: A mugger
|
A while ago there was that ludicrous post about the counter-mugger and what that got me thinking about is that I'd really like to peek into the world of actual muggers and the opportunity to ask them questions about how or why they work. Anybody on Reddit got a history of armed or unarmed robbery of complete strangers walking down streets? I think you should open yourself up to a lot of questions.
| 12 |
[
{
"body": "Mugging has a terrible risk/reward ratio and thus attracts desperate, stupid junkie types. I doubt you'll find any redditers for an AMA.",
"score": 6
}
] |
anybody with remedial/good photoshop skills?
|
I don't. could somebody switch these heads, hair, or something funny with this picture? I can't offer you anything but my gratitude, it'd really make my day. Thanks!
Edit: crappity crap. apparently I don't even have remedial Reddit skills.
I don't know how that happened, but here's the link:
http://i.imgur.com/Jgk0p.jpg
| 5 |
[
{
"body": "[I don't have Photoshop, only paint. Here's one try](http://i.imgur.com/xh2dT.jpg)\n:)\n[and another - on which I spent about 4 more minutes](http://i.imgur.com/FhEhr.jpg)",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "I'd say I have sub-remedial photoshop skills. Let me do that for you. [Here you go](http://imgur.com/bhOpr.jpg)",
"score": 5
}
] |
[4] If you smoke often, buy by the ounce
|
I did some financial calculations and decided that i couldn't afford to not buy an ounce, and picked up a mixed zip of Plattinum Bubba OG and Pure Kush, best decision ever. I scale myself out eighths that i force myself to make last a week or more, and only open the main jar once in a while.
If you can get the cash together, buy an ounce. It saves you so much in the long run.
| 19 |
[
{
"body": "Unless you live in a state where possession of an O is a felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison and $5k fine. ",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "I've also found that a one-hitter conserves a lot. I use a dug-out.\n\nAlso, if you're keeping it in mason jars, be sure to burp the jar once a day to cure it. You never know if the grower finished the curing process and, if not, it could lead to mold.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "The most I can ever buy at a time is 1/4. I could potentially pump it up to a half, but there is now way I could ever buy an O. The amount of money, and the amount of smell, would just be terrible. \n\nOne day I dream of buying an O at a time. ",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I hate even buying halves of the same bud. After a while I won't stay high for as long, like I get used to the strain I guess.\n\nSaves money but doesn't get me as high, so is it really saving that much?",
"score": 3
}
] |
Springfield .40 -- XD v. XDm -- Gunnit, which one is a better investment?
|
I'm looking at the Springfield Armory .40 -- 4" XD v. the 4.5" XDm. Tradeoffs include:
* XD = 12 rd v. XDm = 16 rd
* the XD, being smaller is slightly more concealable
* XDm has a match grade barrel and interchangeable backstraps
* XD is ~$200 cheaper
Capacity v. cost is probably my biggest dilemma -- I can afford the XDm but I dont want to waste money either. It would be nice to have the extra 4 rounds, but..."if you cant hit it in 12..." I intend to carry it, but mostly in the car, briefcase or messenger bag rather than in a belt holster (im not a big guy, so even the 4" would probably print).
Gunnit, your thoughts?
| 14 |
[
{
"body": "I had to make the same choice over the summer. I ended up getting the XD, and am very happy with the choice. A backstrap and 4 bullets isn't worth an extra $200. Also the barrel on my XD is quite capable of a 3 inch group at 25 yards.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I have a XD .40 and if you're thinking of carrying concealed at all I'd suggest the subcompact. In all configurations I've had the length of the grip prints quite a bit and having that a bit shorter would be great, especially since you can get the mag extender to give it a full length grip when you want it. As far as XD vs. XDm, I didn't find the upgrade to be worth my extra money and I like the ascetics of the XD better as well, especially in two tone.",
"score": 3
}
] |
My dog will not go up stairs any more :( Any help would be greatly appreciated!
|
Hey all! I recently adopted (about a month and a half ago) a 2 year old male Lhasa Apso/Poodle mix from a dog rescue center. The first month he did just fine in my house; he would run up and down the stairs with no problem. A little over a week ago he stopped going up the stairs. He will run down them just fine and when I pick him up and put him on the stairs he runs all the way up as fast as he can. I took him to the vet and he doesn't seem to have any physical problems so I'm at a bit of a loss :( I tried leaving a trail of food up the stairs and even that wouldn't make him budge. Any insight or suggestions you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You
| 4 |
[
{
"body": "Very thinly sliced hot dog. Kneel a couple of steps up with some slices of hot dog and call him to the bottom of the stairs. When he shows some interest, give him the first bit (maybe half a slice). Then get another piece out and pull it away from him until he puts his feet up on the first step, then give it to him. Then make him go up a full step, then make him do a few steps for each piece. Within 20 minutes he'll be going up the steps no problem.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Non U.S Redditors, what do foreigners to your country most often get wrong?
|
For instance, in Germany you start counting with the thumb instead of the index finger. British people seem to have a different word for everything... lorry/truck, pants/underwear, crisps/chips, etc.
So what gestures or mannerisms (or anything really) will give away non locals instantly to you guys?
| 3 |
[
{
"body": "Let's say you're in Canada and you're in a relatively crowded area and someone is walking towards you. As you brush past eachother or turn sideways to squeeze by, it is always customary for BOTH people to say 'sorry' as they pass. It's just how we do things.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "they don't understand \"DONT DRINK THE TAP WATER\" even when explicitly stated in their native language. moctezuma's revenge ensues....",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Aussie here:\n\nUS tourists say 2 of our cities incorrectly, Melbourne and Brisbane, or perhaps they say it correctly and it us who mispronounce. Also how US tourists pronounce g'day is always worth a laugh. I guess our Aussie accents have flattened and shortened the pronunciation. ",
"score": 3
}
] |
IAMA 24 year old dude with man boobs or "gynecomastia." AMA.
|
I'm not sure if anyone is interested in speaking about this or not, but I figured I would give it a shot since I have not spoken to anyone else who has this "problem." Additionally, I've only told one person about this, so I figure I might as well express my deepest fears to the internet.
To make a long story short, I have man boobs. I've been various body shapes and weights in my life to confirm the "ever-existing" condition of man boobs. When I weighted more, the boobs were much more obvious. This condition has pretty much mind-fucked me my entire life and made me ashamed to place my self in quite a number of situations. This includes social activities at the beach, pools, some sports and even romantic situations. My confidence has been lowered by this, although it has improved in recent years. I haven't let it entirely control/ruin my life, but the manboobs have definitely had an effect on my attitude, my decisions and my social life.
| 25 |
[
{
"body": "Hey man, just wanted to give you my experience:\r\n\r\nI too suffer from gynecomastia. It's fucking haunting in a way that the average male cannot comprehend. I'm a little out of shape now (5'9/165), but when I was in high school I was very athletic and slim, but no matter I did if I was wearing a t-shirt I looked like a 13 year old girl. I can't tell you how many fucking purple nurples I've gotten in my life. \r\n\r\nWhen I got to college I decided to start working out because I no longer was playing organized sports. Up until this point I didn't know what was wrong with me- maybe it was just me having a flabby chest? After a semester of working out I saw considerable difference in my arms/legs/core etc., but my chest was still flabby on top and strong underneath. I can't even begin to describe to everyone here how difficult it is to live with this...outside of my chest I am an attractive guy, life of the party, athlete, etc. but I will not go to the beach, I will not wear t-shirts, nothing. It's just AHH.\r\n\r\nSO, during the summer going into my soph. year I finally confronted my Mother about my situation after I realized what my problem was and that there could be corrective surgery for it. She was very warm and kind of like, well why didn't you tell me earlier? Six months later I had surgery (which is roughly 6 grand fyi) performed by a reputable surgeon in my area. Surgery was a success according to the surgeon, but I knew that it wasn't perfect even after a couple days. \r\n\r\nToday, a few years later, I sit here with a much better off chest than the one I had then, I will say that. However, it is far from perfect *and* according to the doc, I had a fairly minor case of gynecomastia to begin with. Basically if I'm wearing a t-shirt and it's not cold outside, my nipples are puffy and stick out a little, almost as if you squeezed slightly above and below. \r\n\r\nIt's just so stressful and I wish people were more understanding. I've only told a couple people in my life and most of those were after too much alcohol. I've never had a problem getting girls, but it makes me very self-conscious in bed. I have so many excuses for not going swimming or to the beach it hurts my head. And I love the ocean, so, so much. My friends want to go to the caribbean in a few months for a week and I'm more than likely going to cop out somehow. It really sucks just thinking about it. \r\n\r\nBut anyways, to the OP, I hear you man. Seriously. PM me if you want anymore details, have any questions about surgery, or just some support. Just know you're not alone out there. And to everyone reading this, I always assume the best of redditors because we are a very accepting community, but the next time you or your friends go to make fun of a guy for having man boobs remember that while some guys are lazy (don't have much sympathy from me), there are a good number of us who are just very unlucky and have a genetic problem that we can't change on our own.",
"score": 35
},
{
"body": "Man, this thread is sad; so sad. Why is it sad? Because people are discussing surgery for being blessed with having sensual, sexual organs. Girls want to deaden them by having them enhanced, and males want to have them removed. My story? I'm nearly 50 and have had very noticeable man boobs since at least the age of 15. When I say noticeable, I'm talking A-B cups that very with weight. I'm not talking about a couple of puffed nipples that can be hidden with a shirt, I'm talking about actual breasts, with quite a bit of supporting tissue between the ribcage and skin that make them pronounced enough that they're very obvious even with a tee shirt and a button down shirt over top. At 16 I grew a full mustache to help in differentiating myself from the girls. At the time, I was slender, had a very full head of hair and could have probably passed for either gender with very little work in either direction. It was about that time or maybe a little earlier, that I noticed that my breasts hurt. They were very sensitive to being squeezed, punched or twisted, which as others here have observed seem to be what happens to males with breasts that are obvious in the locker room. \n\nAs I aged, it was clear that I was going to be a pretty average, kinda chunky guy. ( I did not say hunky. I'm never going to be that, no matter how much I exercise or try to fall into the roll of the mainstream follower society. Fuck that, anyway. ) But more importantly, my breasts are a part of my sensuality. Seriously, having them stroked or rubbed turns me on and I've had no problem finding 30 years worth of girlfriends that have absolutely no problem with that whatsoever. Frankly guys, there's a whole subset of women out there that are flat turned off by all the machismo bullshit surrounding the puffed out chest and washboard abs look that much prefer something cuddlier and more to their own way of being. There is somebody for everybody out there. Don't think you have to have surgery to conform to some ridiculous norm just to \"compete\". Competition is for losers. Explore the advantages of what you've got. I LOVE my breasts and only wish they were bigger, and I'm a hetero white guy in a serious long term relationship with a woman who loves to fondle them. ",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "I have these. I remember that around 12 or so, my nipples were kind of sore for a few months if they were pressured- first time I noticed this I was in detention (lol, still hate authority) and I had rested my head down on the desk on my crossed arms and the edge of the desk pushed into my nipples and I was like \"ow\". I had no idea what was going on but I guess it was the start of moob.\n\nI was also a late bloomer in other ways, maybe my body just began the whole male-ing process a little later. Everything else worked out very fine male-wise ;)\n\nI am a little embarrassed when topless at beaches or pools but I've chosen not to make an issue of it. Like most other minor bodily imperfections, it's really only a problem if it affects your self-esteem. I've dated plenty of hot women and nobody cares or has even brought it up. I just assume they figure it's my unique shape. Women (at least post-college) have a waaaay higher tolerance for misshapen men in my experience as long as they are confident, honorable, funny, intelligent, and have a career.\n\nIt might have also helped that I lived through a few bastions of tearing-each-other-down maledom: 4 years in the USAF and 3 years in a fraternity. EVERY dude was ripped on there for any reason. You get somewhat of a thick skin after that. Moral of the story: Don't rest so much of your ego in how you look (especially as a guy).\n\nYou're gonna get older, and moobs will start to be the least of your worries as you fight off the onset of pounds in competition with other demands on your time.\n\n**EDIT** I will admit that I have had to accept that I will never be able to achieve the classic topless male \"ripped\" look, with millimeter-thick skin over the pectoral muscles (even with an expensive operation). Funny story though, the first time I remember being jealous of a guy with this look was in late high school, a guy named Manny. Fast forward at our 10 year reunion, and Manny was 100 lbs heavier than me and the only way I could recognize him was via his eyes. Moral of THIS story is: If you totally had it without working for it, you will take it for granted and likely lose it, but if you were denied it all along, you will spend the rest of your life trying to get as close as you can to it and end up better off :)",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "I don't suffer from it, but I do have an extremely concave chest and I've not worked out in a long time, so it appears that I have huge man boobs also. My nickname for 5 years was Bigboobs.\n\nI feel your pain.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I feel like we are the same person...I share every fear/insecurity you listed, and have allowed it to change my entire life.\n\nI just recently lost 15 lbs over the course of a few months, and the feeling is gut wrenching when you look in the mirror and see everything smaller except your chest. Devastating.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Why are there so many Dungeons?
|
Why are there so many Dungeons?
I asked this same question, more or less, on the WOTC forums and got a whole bunch of answers like "dungeons make it easier to control the characters - there's always a limited number of choices", or "because it's called dungeons and dragons". It took me awhile to realize that I wasn't asking it from a game or metagame point-of-view, but from a worldbuilder POV. So I'll ask it here.
Has anyone ever thought through and tried to come up with a reason as to why underground development is so prevalent in the "Dungeons and Dragons" world? Not from the game POV, but from the worldbuilding POV. Is there a reason that, time and time again, races and monsters would go through the HUGE amount of effort to build an underground complex. Caves, masoleums and basements can only account for so much. Think of it in the reverse - why don't we build huge underground complexes? Because wood and stone are cheaper, and excavation hard.
I spent a little time and I thought that perhaps scrying (remote viewing) might be limited through stone, thus making building underground a way to ensure privacy from spying wizards. And to expand that perhaps it only works in certain type of ground, that with a certain level of metal called privatite. With this reason there would be a logical purpose of the mad wizard building his laboratory underground.
which brings me to some other questions that came to mind. In DnD 4E, the world is described as ancient, with many civilizations having come and fallen before. Ruins dot the landscape. Why do these civilizations collapse on (seemingly) a consistent basis? Why has "technology" not advanced beyond magic and swords? As to the first, there is always "the balance" of good and evil to fall back on. I haven't though much about it. As to the second, my feeling is that technology can only advance so far because the physics of the universe are different. I think of it this way: since magic permeates everything, most chemical and physical reactions (almost of necessity) have to have some "magic" component in them as well. So building rockets and guns and engines would be impossible.
then there is of course the lack of magic in "everyday" life. I would think there would be a huge pressure for magic to be used and useful for "the masses". Instead of just being bound up in mage spells and swords, I would think that if ANYTHING was remotely useful to the common folk that it'd immediately be used everywhere. But I find this is a hard one to wrap my brain around. A very big worldbuilding question.
So I guess what I'm asking is - have any of you worldbuilders ever thought about these kind of issues? What solutions (if any) did you come up with?
| 16 |
[
{
"body": "If there were a bunch of damn dragons constantly flapping about and burning things, I'd want to live underground too!",
"score": 15
},
{
"body": "> Has anyone ever thought through and tried to come up with a reason as to why underground development is so prevalent in the \"Dungeons and Dragons\" world? \n\n1) A lot of races live underground. 2) It's easier to hide under the ground than it is above it. \n\n> Why do these civilizations collapse on (seemingly) a consistent basis?\n\nHistorically, civilizations collapsed all the time. \n\n> Why has \"technology\" not advanced beyond magic and swords?\n\nBecause they have magic. Not only does this mean the smartest people would simply go to magic school to solve their problems, but the mages would have an intense desire to ensure that their power is unbroken. \n\nI'm not sure if early engineering guilds would be able to defend themselves from mages who can teleport at will, time-freeze the combat field, and drop meteors on everybody. \n\n",
"score": 10
},
{
"body": "Actually you don't need a whole lot of dungeons for a good fantasy world, even for a D&D campaign. The longest D&D campaign I ran lasted three years, meeting once a week or so. The campaign only had two 'big' dungeons outside of the occasional cave lair or enemy castle, a tomb and lost city. Keep the adventures and game plots based on characters and character interactions and you'll find a lot more neat stuff for the characters to do in towns and civilization than there is exploring dank mega-spider holes. \n\nThat being said, there's a lot of good reasons why a medieval civilization might dig underground. It does offer better insulation against the elements, offer better defense (sieging a castle is hard, sieging an underground complex is insanely so), might give access to creatures and civilizations which exist under the ground in fantasy worlds, and so on. It might be worth the investment, especially if there were magicks that could make doing so cheaper than it was with using only medieval tech. Heck, in your world, you could set up a guild of magic users that specialize in spellcraft that makes underground excavation relatively cheap and fast, which in turn would lead to a proliferation of underground complexes as kingdoms and other factions took advantage\n\nAnd actually, the modern world does build underground a lot more than people think. Subways, sewer systems, building foundations, etc. Under every major is a huge complex underground world that has been painstakingly built up decade by decade. Every major tunnel or dam has side tunnels for maintenance and ventilation (and they all have to be human-sized for easy access.) So right there you have modern examples of 'dungeons complexes..'",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "I would say most dungeons are left over from long lost civilizations (obviously assuming they are abandoned by their original creators, and most seem to be). So, maybe the reason they are all underground is simply because underground complexes survive longer.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "> Has anyone ever thought through and tried to come up with a reason as to why underground development is so prevalent in the \"Dungeons and Dragons\" world? Not from the game POV, but from the worldbuilding POV. Is there a reason that, time and time again, races and monsters would go through the HUGE amount of effort to build an underground complex. Caves, masoleums and basements can only account for so much.\n\nTo one degree, isn't this the point of underground races like Dwarves? That they are as naturally predisposed to the requirements of living in that environment, as the humans and elves are to living above ground. I don't know about you, but I like the idea of underdarks like that in the AD&D Dungeoneers guide, or under Ptolus where the Delver's Guild goes in Ptolus.\n\nRegarding the incursion by surface dwellers. Magicians can use magic to facilitate the creation of underground complexes, whether for themselves or for which they were contracted. Or they might be complexes of under dwellers, that have been discovered and adapted by surface dwellers with minimal effort.\n\nGiven a world that fits in reasoning like this, it seems fine to me. \n\n> ... With this reason there would be a logical purpose of the mad wizard building his laboratory underground.\n\nI imagine that just because underground locations are more commonly known, doesn't make them more common. What about cloud kingdoms or other equally fruity locations. Floating islands. Underwater bubble complexes. Etc. Surely there's enough mad wizards with unique predilections going around.\n\n> Why has \"technology\" not advanced beyond magic and swords?\n\nThis reminds me of Jack L. Chalker's Well of Souls novels. The world in it is divided into sections which represent types of planets and civilisations that were seeded into the universe. In some technology works and magic doesn't. In others, magic works and technology doesn't.\n\nPersonally my preference is that a certain level of technology just does not work in a fantasy world.\n\n> then there is of course the lack of magic in \"everyday\" life. I would think there would be a huge pressure for magic to be used and useful for \"the masses\".\n\nIf it were anything like this world, it would be ruthlessly commercialised at the expense of the common good. The lobbyists for the magic industry would use underhanded methods to legalise the use of questionable and unproven spells, artifacts and potions. While of course limiting their own liability, should there be any side effects, like mass poisoning, accidental shape changes and so forth. And don't forget the subsidies! Hmm, this sounds like a good idea for the game world in my MUD.",
"score": 5
}
] |
IAmA carpet cleaner, AMA
|
I'm running a family carpet cleaning business. I've seen some pretty nasty stuff and pretty neat stuff. I've been in houses that were huge and fancy and houses that are real tiny. Any questions?
| 35 |
[
{
"body": "what do you recommend for ashes and carpet burns? My roommate smoked a lot of pot and would often drop his joints into the carpet or while he was ashing his bong the ashes would go in the carpet and he wouldn't notice and walk all over it. Would a normal carpet cleaning get this out?",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Before I moved into my flat, a cat peed on the floor. It's an orange carpet and it's not really nice to see. Can I remove it even after 2 years ?",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "What's the best way for me to give my carpet and good and proper cleaning? I hired out an \"industrial\" carpet cleaning machine and I'm less than impressed with the results.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I paid a guy 65 dollars right before Christmas, to clean 2 small rooms and a small hallway. He has a van run cleaner, but was here for a VERY short time. He didn;t move any of the furniture out of the way, and just did the exposed areas. He sprayed a little stuff before he used his cleaner, but his hooking up the equipment outside FAR outlasted his actual carpet cleaning. Did I get ripped off?",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Do you own a Dyson vacuum? What do you think about them? Do they do as good of a job as your professional service?",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Is it true that the residue left behind by carpet cleaners actually causes your carpet to attract and hold dirt more quickly? I had heard that while a cleaning will make your carpet clean, residual soap and chemicals make dirt take their toll faster and thus your carpet looks bad fast; thus better to clean with just hot water which eventually evaportates and leaves no residue.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Do you do commercial? What would you charge for your typical IHOP or Golden Corral? \n\nWhat does it take to get started in the industry? Can you just buy some equipment and be done with it or is there a certification process? ",
"score": 3
}
] |
A day's food for a man in 1922
|
I just got a bunch of old cookbooks, and here's what one of them says:
>A man of average size, who is moderately active, is likely to be well fed on a diet which includes the following:
>One pound or a little less of bread or cereal food, such as wheat, corn, hominy, rye, oatmeal, barley, buckwheat, or rice preparations.
>Two ounces or 4 tablespoons of fat, such as butter, oleomargarine, corn oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, olive oil, meat drippings, etc.
>Two to 3 ounces or 4 to 6 tablespoons of sugar, syrup, corn syrup, molasses, maple sugar or syrup, honey, etc.
>About 1/2 pound of meat as purchased, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, dried peas, beans, lentils, cowpeas, peanuts, etc.
>One pint of milk. This may be in the form of a beverage, or in milk dishes.
>About 1/3 pound of potatoes or root vegetables,
>About 1/3 pound fresh vegetables or greens, or fresh fruit in season. If fresh fruit is too expensive, dried fruits should be substituted.
I thought this was interesting, anyway. Also, what on earth are cowpeas?
| 30 |
[
{
"body": "Seemed like a lot. It is; 3118 calories.\nCalorie content from wolframalpha:\n\n Wheat: 1411 \n butter: 407 \n sugar: 268 \n 8 oz meat (average chicken and beef): 520\n milk: 316\n potatoes: 130\n vegetables: 66\n",
"score": 11
},
{
"body": "Cowpeas = [Black-eyed peas or beans](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/BlackeyeBean.jpg)",
"score": 4
}
] |
DAE have a hard time discerning between female laughter and crying?
|
I swear I will often hear high pitched sounds coming from females and have a hard telling if they are laughing or crying.
| 8 |
[
{
"body": "When she got extremely upset about something, a former girlfriend of mine would attempt to cover up her imminent bout of crying with forced laughter. The result would be an extremely eerie combination of whimpering/crying and this strained laughter. It was one of the weirder things I've seen.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "My wife will sometimes start laughing hysterically about something, and in the middle suddenly change to crying because she thought of something depressing for some reason. ",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Actually, yes. It doesn't happen very often, because I can usually read facial expressions and take hints from context, but if I just heard the sounds themselves I would have trouble distinguishing. ",
"score": 3
}
] |
The weirdest story from my life. What do you think?
|
This is not some Bel Air or other bullshit. I wouldn't waste your time like that. This happened about twenty years ago, and I've thought about it a lot since then.
I was in San Francisco, and I was basically sleeping in Golden Gate Park at night. I was "homeless" there for a couple months...but, I was really just a fucked-up kid screwing around I suppose. That part's not very relevant to the story.
Anyway, I met tons of kids when I was out there, and they were mostly a pretty interesting, fucked-up bunch of people. We used to hang in the park and drink some Blue Bull, and there were a lot of punk rockers on the scene. It was a lot of fun.
Anyway, I hooked up with this fucked-up blond runaway girl one night. She gave me a tour of the park and was talking all kinds of crazy bullshit about how lots of acid was dumped in the pond and how there are people (whom she called shift changers) who were capable of changing into animals. And, according to her, there were people (whom she called hunters) who were trying to kill the shift changers.
Anyway, I thought she was wacked-out from probably doing too much acid, but, you know...I wanted to fuck her. So, I pretended to believe her, but she could tell that I didn't. So, she says, "I'm going to find Firefly and prove it to you."
So, she starts taking me all over the park that night, and we approach this guy with a beard who's got saliva dripping off his chin. We're at the edge of the woods, and he's lit up by the moonlight. I'm now nervous, because I think I might be getting set-up to get jacked.
The girl says to Firefly, "This is my friend, and he doesn't believe. Will you show him?"
Now, I'm definitely thinking this is a sketchy fuck of a situation, and I sort of patted the tear gas canister in my pocket to make sure it was there.
This crazy fuck of a Firefly gets up in my face, and I see the drool dangling. He's got on a short-sleeve tye die t shirt and he sticks his arm out.
"Believe in shift changers," he says. "Believe in shift changers."
I look at his arm, and I swear I see his arm transform into a hairy, animal limb. That freaked my mind out good and proper. I said, "I believe you man." I bailed. I didn't see either one of them any more after that.
Since that experience, I've doubted what I saw many times. I still do. But, I did see it.
This is not bullshit. I'd like to hear serious responses to this if you want.
| 42 |
[
{
"body": "This is the weirdest story of my life:\n\nIn late December, 1998 , I was in my sophomore year at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. School had been out for a while for intersession break. The campus was dead. I don't think anyone was supposed to be in the dorms at that point, but no one told us we couldn't be- so, having no place else to go, I stayed.\n\nI was sitting in my dorm room, in the late afternoon. It was already starting to get dark out. My dad had just called me, so we were shooting the shit. He and mom were out enjoying tropical paradise on Maui (Hawaii's most gorgeous island, apparently). They were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary over there- otherwise I suppose I would have been hanging out with them at our home near Boston.\n\nI said goodbye to my dad after about 5 minutes of pleasant chit-chat, and I walked over to put the phone in the receiver (I didn't start carrying a cell phone on me for another couple years or so). As I set the phone down in its cradle, something caught my eye through the cracks in the venetian blinds.\n\nI separated the slats of the blinds, somehow cutting my finger in the process. I peered out into the darkening quad and saw an what looked like a wiggling train of fireflies.\n\nI turned off my dorm room light, and looked outside again. Now, without the glare on my windows, I could see clearly a procession of what looked like three dozen people, all walking single file, and all carrying lit candles.\n\nMy first thought was that this must be a vigil or something for a student that died. It had the look and feel of a memorial. But then on second glance I decided that those weren't students at all. They were walking slowly and they didn't have the gait of young people. They were skinny, terribly skinny. Each of them wore a black robe with hoods pulled up over their heads, and each robe flowed all the way to the ground, trailing several feet behind them. The sun was down behind the hills, and I was having trouble making out any details at all beyond the black robes and flickering candles.\n\nIt this point I was really getting curious. It was also at this point that I noticed that my finger had been sliced open on the blinds, and was oozing a surprising amount of blood. \n\nI stepped out of my room- once again sensing just how empty and eerie the hallways were. Strange how the mind plays tricks on us- I could have sworn I saw a shadow going around the corner just as I step into the hall. I stood still, but heard no footsteps. I shook my head and laughed at my paranoia.\n\nBeing careful not to let the door close behind me, I walked to the communal restroom and rinsed my finger under the tap. I soaped up my hands and felt the sting of it on the cut. I grabbed a paper towel, but thought that it might not be the most sanitary thing to put on a wound, so I went back into my room, looking for a bandage.\n\nI saw that I had some sort of ace bandage that looked like it was made for wrapping up sprained joints- but I figured it would do the job. I hastily wrapped my finger and did my best to tie off the bandage. For a relatively small wound, the bandage was comically big.\n\nWith my minor emergency out of the way, I pondered what to do with myself. If I was smart, I could get a jump on the calculus textbook before next semester- but the idea held no appeal. I decided to have a little adventure instead. I would go and catch up to the candle-bearers and figure out what was going on.\n\nGrabbing a stylish-but-much-too-light-for-the-weather coat from where I had casually flung it on my bed, I rushed out of my dorm room. Hearing the lock snap in place behind me, my blood went cold for a moment. I'd been so careful before not to let the latch shut! Was I locked out? I quickly patted the outside of my coat, trying to see if I could feel the keys in my pocket. Ahhh... there, left coat pocket. I didn't even have reach in to to confirm, I heard the keys jingle as I patted them.\n\nI clomped quickly down the stairs and out the dorm's front door. 3 paces out, dashed back, wedging a rock into the door frame. If my student ID badge wasn't going to let me in over the holidays, I certainly didn't want to find out tonight. It was bitter cold.\n\nAbout an inch of clean snow had accumulated on the ground, and though I saw no more of the robed parade, I easily found their footprints- or rather the long snake-like pattern that was carved out by their dragging robes.\n\nI jogged along the snaky path until it disappeared into the woods. I paused. \n\nThe woods were dark, abut the snow on the ground, and the moonlight above made it possible to see quite a bit better than I'd been expecting. I stepped cautiously into the woods, and after about 10 steps, got spooked and turned around. I walked towards the break in the trees, when behind me in the woods I heard a the distinctive sound of dozens of hand clapping once in unison- and there was a chanted word spoken simultaneously, but I couldn't make it out. The held the word, in a song-like fashion. Then another group clap, then silence.\n\nRealizing how close I was, now, to finding the answer to this mystery, I trudged back into the woods. As I followed the path over a small mound of earth, I saw the unmistakable glow of a bonfire not too far ahead. I approached slowly.\n\nWhen I got near the fire, I saw the robed figures- large men, all of them... and fat... all of them fat... they didn't make sense, I was sure when I'd seen them earlier they'd been noticeably thin!\n\nI stayed out of sight, not wanting to interrupt the ... ritual- yes, they were performing some sort of a ritual! They were standing, all of them, in a circle around the bonfire. The were all linking their hands with one another- NO... NO... There hands were bound together with leather straps! In unison, the would approach the fire, and raise their hands, the step back and lower their hands, all as one- like... like some sort of pulsating sea organism.\n\nAfter they had repeated this cycle for a few minutes they all stopped- I wondered how they all knew to stop at once- I hadn't heard or seen anything to organize them to act in concert. They shook their arms until the leather straps that bound them all together slid to the snowy forest floor. Then they all clapped in unison- just as they had before. \n\nThe chanted the word again. I still couldn't make it out, it sounded like- well... no it couldn't be... but it sounded like they were all saying \"SSSSsssaaaaaaaaa\" - (satan?) but they were sort of chanting/singing it in an odd and unpleasant chorus. But what I saw next, chilled me to bones...\n\nAs they chanted, their bodies vibrated... slowly at firsts, then violently.... and they were.... *swelling*.... just becoming bigger and bigger... no not taller... just fatter. Their black robes stretch and their disgusting distended bellies contorted and pushed against the fabric. It was almost as if something was growing inside them- and trying get out.\n\nI inhaled sharply at the shock of it... and became acutely aware of what a stupid thing that was to do... I didn't know what was going on here, but I knew I didn't want to be seen by these... *people*??\n\nThey stopped their chanting and vibrating, and re-bound their arms to one another. The processes was starting again. The started swaying in and out from the fire- except now I could see that the fire was growing higher and higher each time they moved inwards.\n\nI wanted to run then, but as they moved in and out from the fire, they were so quiet... they would surely hear me, and I didn't want to think about what that meant. I felt something warm and wet on my arm... blood from my cut finger was saturating the bandage and flowing down my arm. Somehow I knew it was because of the ritual.\n\nThey stopped their pulsating dance, and let the leather straps fall once more. The clapped, and again chanted their word.... \"Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaa......\" they started again to vibrate.... \"..aaaaaaaaa...\" ... and grow.... \"..aaaaaaaaaa...\" ... and now at last, their robes could no longer stand the strain... the seams ripped, exposing bloody red underneath... \"...aaaaaaa...\" ... the chanting chorus grew and reverberated- now all the robes were bursting off the engorged bellies .... \"\"...aaaaaaaaAAAAAAA ...\"\n\nAnd then I finally understood... the robes, now only tattered ribbons of fabric sank to the ground. Underneath, they all stood. Black boots. Red pants. Black belts. White gloves. Red coats with white trim. They finished their chant \"...AAAAANTA!\" They clapped in unison. Dozens of Santas, chubby and red. My jaw dropped.\n\nThe all looked at each other- the transformation complete. They let out deep belly-laughs... the \"Ho! Ho! ho!\" we've all come to love.\n\nThen, one of them raised his arms in a sharp gesture. They all stopped laughing, and stood perfectly still. \n\nThe Santa that had stopped it all threw his head back and started sniffing the air deeply. He kept this up for about 30 seconds before he stopped and said, \"blood.\"\n\nHe turned and looked directly at me- his eyes were as cold as death. \n\n\"Blood,\" they all said in unison. They just *said* it... coldly... calmly.\n\nThey all turned to face me now. And I ran. I ran like I've never run in my life. I didn't know where I was going except *away*... away from the fire, away from the echoing laughter I heard in the distance...\n---\ntl;dr: I inhaled sharply at the shock of it... and became acutely aware of what a stupid thing that was to do... I didn't know what was going on here, but I knew I didn't want to be seen by these... *people*??",
"score": 99
},
{
"body": "I've got a similar story.. staying anon to protect my family. \n\nWhen I was 13 my parents sent me to Manitoba for the summer to spend time with my uncle's family and my grandparents. The family owns a cattle farm in the middle of nowhere with acres and acres of land (land is cheap there, I'm told). It was a huge, beautiful farmstead home with an awesome old styled wood stove in the kitchen. The first few weeks I spent at the farm I was pretty bored, but as the summer wore on I grew to enjoy the daily routine of chores, awesome country food, and getting to know my family better. \n\nI had never really spent much time with them prior to this, so it was the first time as a teen that I'd gotten to really converse with them and learn about them. One of the first thing I noticed about my family was that they had a very serious nature - everything was very down to earth and serious with them. They had little use for idle chat, jokes, and foolery. I don't mean to give the impression that they weren't nice people, quite the opposite, they were just very honest and down to earth. The whole community actually shared a similar vibe. These were people who were not prone to \"flights of fancy\". \n\nAnyhow, after the first month or so my older cousins began to find tracks of a large animal around the pastures. Neither them, my uncle, or my grandfather were able to identify what the animal was and I remember thinking that it was odd that they were making such a big deal out of these footprints whenever we would come across them. They didn't seem overly concerned, and I didn't think much of it at the time.\n\nA few weeks later while I was outside reading one afternoon, one of my cousins came tearing back from the pasture on his quad. A minute later he and my uncle came running out of the house, my uncle brandishing a rifle. They took off on the quad again as my grandpa joined me on the porch. I asked what was wrong and he indicated that an animal had gotten one of the cows, and they were going to try to track it before it got too far away. Finally, I thought to myself, some excitement!\n\nThey came back after a few hours and were unsuccessful in their hunt. A few nights later a calf was found dead and partially eaten by the watering pond. This was enough for my uncle, and he and my cousins set off to round the cattle up to be penned until they could find whatever was killing them. This, incidentally, led to several sleepless nights as sleeping within a mile of hundreds on hundreds of penned cows is not an easy task for a city kid. \n\nMy uncle had called in some wildlife officials to have a look and to be compensated for the dead animals. They spent what seemed to be hours at the deadstock pile looking at the killed cows, taking pictures, and talking. Eventually an RCMP car pulled up and they too took pictures and measurements. My uncle seemed happy at the end as he was going to be paid for the animals, and the wildlife people were going to send men out to look for the animal responsible for the killings. \n\nA few nights later while trying to sleep in the midst of the noise of hundreds of cows moving, mooing, breathing, and shitting, I heard something unusual.. at first a faint rustling sound, but it quickly grew into the sound of a stampede. The cows were running around in the pens, something had spooked them. I heard my uncle and cousins getting out of bed quickly, and they came flying down the stairs. My uncle grabbed his rifle and my cousins grabbed shotguns and they jumped on quads and took off to the pens. \n\nMy grandpa had come town to the livingroom where I slept and sat with me, not saying much at all. After about 15 minutes we heard a gunshot. Within a few seconds we heard another.. then another.. then another. Half a dozen shots within a minute were heard.. then silence.\n\n10 minutes later we could hear the engines of the quads getting closer. The group of them arrived together and my grandpa went out to meet them on the porch. I heard them speaking muffled through the door in a quick, low voice. My grandpa came back in and instructed me to go upstairs with my grandmother. The look on his face told me that this was not a time for discussion, so I went upstairs. \n\nBefore I went into my grandmothers room I stopped in the hallway for a few minutes where there is an air vent from the main floor to the upstairs that opens right beside the kitchen. I could hear them talking in quick whispers, not quite able to pick up the words. Eventually I heard what sounded to be my uncle sobbing, and then someone vomited. I was scared and not sure what was happening so I ran into my grandmas room and jumped into bed with her. \n\nThe next morning my uncle slept late which was VERY unusual. My grandfather and my cousins refused to talk about what had happened at all, and any inquires I made were quickly met with a stern \"mind your own business\". Later on that day they were dragging two cows to the deadstock pile and the animals were absolutely mutilated - guts hanging out, limbs gone, etc. \n\nFor the next two weeks until I left my uncle and cousins wern't talking much and my grandpa kept me very busy with chores so I didn't have a chance to talk to anyone about what had happened.\n\nFast forward about 10 years later, my grandpa passed away and my parents and husband and I went to Manitoba for the funeral. We stayed for a week and I finally had a chance to talk to my cousin about what had happened. At first he wouldn't talk about it, but then one night after dinner and drinks we were sitting on the patio and he opened up about it. \n\nThe events as described to me: When they drove off to get the animal that was spooking the cattle they split up, my uncle on one quad and my cousins on another. They both went around opposite ends of the pen in case the animal ran off. My uncle got off of his quad to be able to approach quieter and he saw it first, it was on top of a cow eating and it began to run off when my uncle got close. My uncle fired once and hit the animal, and it collapsed outside of the pen. My cousins then got closer and with the headlights of the quad they got a fairly good look at it.. they said they couldn't tell if it was a bear or a wolf, but it was hairy and about 5 feet long.\n\nThey all approached the animal slowly as it wasn't moving, and when they were within 10 feet of it it suddenly jumped up.. on two legs.. and darted off into the night. They all opened fire a few times after it. Not knowing what it was they wanted to make sure it was dead. They all got back on the quads to track it.\n\nThey followed the animal for a few minutes and found it again down on the ground seemingly dead. Only what they found wasn't an animal. It was a naked young girl with a bullet hole in her abdomen, seemingly dead. \n\nAt this point panic set in, my cousins wanted to collect the girl and bring her to the house and get a doctor, by my uncle began screaming at them in a frenzy to leave it alone and go home. My cousin said this was the first and only time they heard my uncle use the f-word. They obeyed and headed back to the house, stopping short to wait for him if they heard anything else. 10 minutes later my uncle reached them and told them to go inside. My grandpa met them on the porch, and my uncle exchanged words with him and at that point they both instructed my cousins to not speak a word of what happened to anyone ever. \n\nThe next day he said that the body of the girl/animal was no where to be found, but the tracks and killings stopped from then on. He also said for about 3 months my uncle wasn't quite his usual self but he eventually came around. My cousins never had the courage to bring up what had happened that night with my uncle or grandpa again, but they talked about it between the two of them occasionally and are still quite freaked out and confused by what they saw.\n\nI don't know what to make of it personally, but I know that what I did see that night matches up with the story my cousin told. My husband was also seriously freaked out when my cousin told this story as he'd heard my side of it before, and my cousin had this serious/frightened look on his face as we spoke about it.\n\nSo, maybe I can believe you strangestory. I honestly can't say that I don't. \n",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "She/they just used suggestion to get you to think you saw what your imagination conjured up. Reality is just our brains overlay of what is in the physical world. Our brain can interpret it any way it wants to. If you get into a suggestive state - very tired, hypnotised, fugue state, etc. you brain can mess with the interpretation of the world and you do in fact see things like you saw. That does not mean it was real. Just that your brain helped you see what they were selling. pretty cool when you think about it.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Reddit, other than ONE person, you will be the first to hear this. This is a bit more funny than weird, but it was probably pretty weird for some of the other people.\n\nAnyway, one summer some girl talked me into going to \"Nurse camp\" for a week at a local community college. I did it. It was stupid, yeah, blah blah blah shut up. But I digress.\n\nSo we get there, and this is the point where I find out that I am disgusted by innards of any kind. For example blood can sometimes make me nauseous. It is a little pathetic really.\n\nAnyway, there is this manikin lying on the table and they're probably talking about the circulatory system or something because there are biologically accurate tubes comming out every which way.\nI feel a little bit of vertigo, so I decide to look out the window.\n\nBig mistake.\n\nThis school is in the middled of a city. Cities have tall buildings. Looking down from a window of a tall building isn't the smart thing to do if you are trying to cure vertigo.\n\nIt is at this point I pass out. At least I assume so, because I certainly don't remember lying down on the ground.\n\nThe first thing that hits me as a wake up is how light headed I still feel. Head hurts a bit. The sharp corner of the table probably didn't help break my fall much. Then I realize that I'm folded like a chair, with my legs crumpled up behind my back so that my feet are at the small of my back and that I am still in the same corner between the table the manikin was on, and the window.\n\nAnd there is this girl staring at me. Like she just saw a dead man wake up.\n\nNow before I go on, you have to understand something. I am more ridiculously out of it than you can imagine. I mean I cannot think strait to save my life. Everything is very surreal and dream like. Nothing really made sense, so I did what I always do when things don't make sense. Keep a low profile.\n\nThis is where things start to get funny. Remember that girl I mentioned? It is at this point she starts to stutter the words \"T-t-teacher... I think someone is down here.\" The attendant or whoever it was sort of brushed off the question \"Oh, its probably another manikin, just don't worry about it\". She was obviously annoyed that someone was trying to detract from the learning environment.\n\nThe girl insisted that I was a real person.\nThe teacher insisted I was not.\n\nKeep in mind I have been laying down this entire time, where no one can see me except the girl. It is at this point I decide to get up. I stand up pretty slowly and you can see this girl's eyes are getting mother fucking huge. Like she was about to scream or something.\n\nIt was about this same everyone started to cycle to the next station or whatever the deal was because they started to leave. The girl stared for a bit longer, and then bolted the fuck out of there.\n\nEverything sill very dream like and surreal, I didn't really think much of it. I brushed myself off, and left.\n\nI don't really remember how I got home... But I do know I never went back.\n\nEDIT: Changed some for clarity, and fixed typos.\n\n\ntl;dr: for one fleeting moment, I got to be a zombie for reals.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "About three years ago I was hiking by myself in the mountains near Santa Barbara. There's a summit that people hike to as kind of a stopping point for reaching and then making their way back. Anyway, there werent many people out that day and (like a fool) I got a late start. I reached the summit just fine and started making my way back down and started to worry a bit since it was getting dark and I didn't have a flashlight. \n\n\nWhen I was what I thought was about halfway back, I saw what appeared to be a shortcut that involved doing some medium-difficulty cliff scaling. The path had definitely been used before because it was cleared and there was footing carved out. I started scaling down and everything was going fine, when all of the sudden the weight of my backpack threw off my balance and I backwards summersaulted, falling/rolling down about 30 feet on a 45 degree slope. When I hit the bottom I hit my head and got knocked out.\n\nHere's where it gets weird. When I came to, it was pitch black, I was sitting upright leaned against a rock wall rather than sprawled out where I thought I landed, and I had *no* pain anywhere in my body. My arms were scuffed a bit but not dirty, as if whatever scrapes were cleaned. I sat there freaking out for a bit, obviously as I couldn't understand why I wasn't feeling any pain in my head and because it was pitch fucking black. I opened by backpack and sure enough, my cell phone was dead so I couldn't call for help, though I doubt I would have gotten service anyway. I didn't have a watch or any other way of telling time than just my cell phone so this didn't help to calm me. Eventually I took some deep breaths and started to make my way back at a snails pace in pure darkness, hearing plenty of bone-chilling movement in adjacent shrubbery the entire way down.\n\n\nFor the first ten minutes or so after I got on my feet I was absolutely scared shitless. But after awhile, I just stopped being scared. I kind of took on this predatory mindset like, \"Fuck it, *I'm* whats to be afraid of out here\" and just kept charging on. Another 15 minutes and I was back to the clearing, in my car, and then back home.\n\nI went straight for the kitchen to check the microwave clock to see that SIX fucking hours had passed, it was a little past midnight. I went to the bathroom to try to look at my head but it appeared totally fine, no swelling, nothing - still no pain anywhere in my body.\n\n\nTo this day I still don't know what the hell happened. Why did I have no pain upon awakening? Why was I leaned against the wall, as if someone had positioned me? What the fuck.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "This is a awesome tale and i believe you, i want to go find these people and see if it possible to acquire this powers.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Carl Sagan appreciation thread!
|
Astronomer... Physicist... fellow marijuana user... I say we start a nice appreciation thread for this amazing man hmm?
Here are some of my favorite pieces by/with him... please add your own!
[Cosmos Intro](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7n71pm0K04) - Intro to Carl Sagan's show "Cosmos"
[Sagan on Marijuana - Mr. X](http://www.marijuana-uses.com/essays/002.html) - Essay written by him describing how Marijuana increases our awareness of the world around us.
[The 4th Dimension](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9KT4M7kiSw&feature=related) - On a more sciency note, Sagan describing the 4th dimension in perfect understandable english.
[Symphony of Science](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGK84Poeynk) - Awesome autotuned video w/ him, Bill Nye, and a few others talking about the universe.
| 50 |
[
{
"body": "One of my favorite passages from his essay -\n \n\"I can remember one occasion, taking a shower with my wife while high, in which I had an idea on the origins and invalidities of racism in terms of gaussian distribution curves. It was a point obvious in a way, but rarely talked about. I drew the curves in soap on the shower wall, and went to write the idea down. One idea led to another, and at the end of about an hour of extremely hard work I found I had written eleven short essays on a wide range of social, political, philosophical, and human biological topics.\"\n\nI just love how casually he states \"oh, well, i just drew some gaussian graphs, and then wrote 11 essays in an hour on an extremely complex social topic...\" haha. Guy was pure awesome.\n\nedit * I also can't forget to add \n\"the illegality of cannabis is outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity and fellowship so desperately needed in this increasingly mad and dangerous world.\"",
"score": 13
},
{
"body": "Try the [Symphony of Science website](http://www.symphonyofscience.com/downloads.html) - a few absolutely epic tunes, and some incredible remixes of A Glorious Dawn, all for free. Bloody fantastic.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "I finished watching Cosmos a while back, and gotta say it was the best thing ever. Very humbling... \n\nhttp://imgur.com/Ze6D3 ",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "A friend and I like to get any one of Sagan's books, open it up to a random page and just start reading. It's always something super smart and awe inspiring. Try it sometime! (also recommended is reading the books whole ;)\n\nThe universe misses Carl. The world needs more incredibly intelligent, optimistic people like him. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "The last paragraphed kinda makes me sad when he said, \"I hope that time isn't too distant,\" with regards to legalization. His essay was written in 1969. Sucks he didn't live to see it become legal.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Your dumbest moment at work.
|
I just had the dumbest brain fart moment at work that I've ever had.
$ mv /* *
Yeah.
What's yours?
EDIT - It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't lost connection just before I could /direct/path/to/bin
| 36 |
[
{
"body": "true story: i work full time at a billion dollar financial firm in IT. I was in a meeting with 2 execs and 2 salespeople (1 male and 1 female) from a vendor and we were making a decision to purchase their product for 1M+ ... very professional meeting. My cell phone started to ring and ... well.. lets just say I changed the ringtone a couple days earlier as a joke for my friends.The song was completely out of character for me-- hence how funny it was. I usually keep my phone on vibrate so I was slow to switch it back to the default ringtone. For some reason, and I forget why (yard work I think), that day my blackberry was at 100% volume. The meeting stopped and everyone looked at me. my colleague smiled and the women looked mortified. this was that song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDvi1z_04EQ&feature=related\n\nI tried frantically to silence it before the other shoe dropped: Towards the middle I dubbed my voice over the song saying \"YEEEEAAHH BIATCHESS.. YEA YEA YEA\"\n\nOf course because I was so nervous I COULDN'T find the phone in my suit pocket in time. I'm black. You could have seen me turn red.\n\nWORST DAY EVAR.",
"score": 51
},
{
"body": "ok, this is the late 90's and I am responsible for 80+ windows servers. I learn from a Microsoft course that the fastest type of disk partition is a FAT partition as long as it is 400MB or less. So I have this awesome idea to make it our new standard when building servers to create a system volume (C:) that is a 400MB FAT partition. There will never be any company data on a C: drive so there's not security issues. And we still use NTFS for any other partitions. This idea worked well just long enough to get a lot of servers deployed to multiple cities before we started having space issues on those servers.\r\n\r\n\r\nLast I heard there are still people at that company who hate me for this.",
"score": 31
},
{
"body": "I designed a gear train to spin a brush that would scrape excess material off of a product before shipping. Due to time constraints I didn't have time to do a dry fit before we were schedule to install. Maintenance guys showed up on a Sunday to install it when we discovered that I forgot to change everything from nominal dimensions to a toleranced fit - a 1.502\" shaft doesn't fit well into a 1.5\" exact hole. \n\nAlso (same project even), I ordered a hardened shaft and asked the shop to cut a 12\" keyway. That...didn't go well. Lots and lots of rework on that project... \n\nAh, the little things that they don't teach (or emphasize) in school. No wonder so many people hate the \"just graduated' engineers. \n\nEdit: Damn, didn't see this was r/programming. Oh well, I'll leave it.",
"score": 27
},
{
"body": "I was the I.T. department for a medium sized business. At the end of the day one of my mirrors broke on a NT4 server (our file server). The main hard drive was failing. I turn of the server remove the failing drive and boot the computer. Things get kind of fuzzy at this point. I think Windows recognized the the mirror was broken and asked me to initalize the disk, I did that. I then had my drive letter with no data on it, I think i accidently formatted the drive. So I pretty much figured I was fucked.. erased all the company data (accounting, shipping/receiving, programmers folders, etc.) so I went home and tried to explain to my girlfriend how bad I messed up and that I will probably be fired tomorrow.\n\nI went to work a little early to see if I could do something... The programmers were already there and they said they couldnt get to thier files on the server. I was like... thats weird.. let me look into it.\n\nAt that point, I realized when I was moving hard drives around I had disconnected the functioning mirror drive and connected the failing drive back up. So basically I removed the good hard drive the night before.\n\nI shut down the server connected the correct hard drives and rebuilt the mirror.\n\nI was probably only 21 at the time... there was no disaster recovery plan and that was probably the worst I had felt in a long time...",
"score": 24
},
{
"body": "This wasn't for work, well... it was a school project.\n\nI sometimes get a lot of #filenames.x# because I am not paying attention to already open files.\n\nWhich, can be cleaned up using:\n\n rm *#\n\nBut I was doing this enough, that I decided it would be a good idea to throw it in the make file....\n\nWhich, being a make file, the # became a comment.\n\nWiped out my whole project I had spent virtually every free hour the previous week on. No backups, which was absolutely my fault. \n10pm the night before it was due.\n\nSo... I pulled an all-nighter and rewrote the program. But it ended up being much more clean/concise than my previous version.\n\nWas a good thing to go through, learned a lot that night.\n",
"score": 19
},
{
"body": "Was supposed to pull the power on dev server A. Instead pulled the power on production server B. OH SHIT. Quickly replaced the power to B and pulled the power on super-high production server C.\n\nThis was less than a month ago. I've been there over 10 years.\n\nAt that point I told the new guy that I was too tired and that he should pull the fucking power. He was terrified. :)",
"score": 16
},
{
"body": "Nothing disastrous, but back in about '92 I had a colleague doing some work in Europe - he had some compressed files but no way of unzipping them. So he called me and asked me to email over a copy of winzip. I zipped up a copy of winzip and sent him the zip file.",
"score": 12
},
{
"body": "I accepted a project to do alone, meaning I get all the blame and support calls if the server, network, database, or anything else goes wrong. I get this responsibility forever/until I leave.",
"score": 10
},
{
"body": "Staring at this for an hour wondering why the hell its wasn't looping\n\n for(int i=0 ; i<somethingOrOther(); i++) ;\n {\n do something\n }\n\nIts the only times I've ever facepalmed myself.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "First one that comes to mind: debugging some VME bus signals on a fairly expensive (~$10K) digital IO board using the old \"solder long wires to the backplane so I can clip scope leads to them\" method. During debugging, one of the wires jumped out of the scope clip and hit the uncovered 110VAC terminal on the power supply.\n\nI learned a lot of lessons that day.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "A stupid classic I've done - ssh'd into a remote server, I am playing around with sshd configs. I need to restart sshd. kill <sshd pid>. Oh fuck. ",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "I was freaking out over a bug where a method seemed to always return true while the returned variable *inside* the function was false. It turned out I had forgot a pair of parenthesis.\n\n if(MyObject.MyFunction)\n\nvs.\n\n if(MyObject.MyFunction())\n\n\n\n:-P",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "One of my servers at work ('mine' as in no one else uses it) had an init crash, so SSH and the hardware console wouldn't work at all. Easy to fix, just needed to reboot it. After holding in the power button for 4 of the 6 seconds required for a hard shutdown, I realize I'm pushing the button on the server below mine in the rack.\n\nLuckily, the QA guy who owned that box wasn't testing on it at the moment. :)\n\nEdit: I can English gud.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "I worked in television production for a fairly large station for a couple years. I was covering for the normal person in charge of graphics for the news, and displayed the day before's lottery numbers. They mentioned the correction for a week on the news cast.\n\nI still cringe just typing this.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Back in '99 I discovered that the Netscape webserver had a tiny little bug: if you left off a closing quote on one of the config lines, it would throw a titanic fit on startup. I saved the file, typed the restart command, and my ssh session promptly closed. I don't know what the hell went on under the hood, but not only had the webserver crashed, it somehow managed to do take down the Solaris server it was running on. Down went www.juniper.net.\n\nI stood up, looked around the cube farm, sat back down, waited until I started getting pings returned, logged in, found the problem line, fixed it, and went outside for a breather. Didn't tell anyone for a week...",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I've made so many mistakes, but this is the only one which comes immediately to mind. Thank goodness for backups.\n\n`$ mysqldump empty_staging_db | mysql production_db`\n\n\"Oh hey my staging environment didn't come up. FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUU\"",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I do all my development on a powerful, remote machine accessed through remote desktop. This machine has a \"Local Area Connection 2\" which is always in the state \"Network cable unplugged\", and this shows up in the notification area as an X. Because I am a pedantic idiot, I got annoyed at this and tried to find a way to get rid of the silly unplugged cable icon. This is Windows Server 2003 though, so it doesn't have the option.\n\nI decided to just disable that network adapter. So I right click it, click disable and think \"stupid Windows UI is blocking again\" while I wait for feedback. After a few more seconds I realised my screen was not updating because _I had just disabled the wrong network adapter_. I couldn't do any more work until a tech logged in physically to re-enable my network adapter :(\n\nNow I leave the icon visible to remind myself that the machine is remote...",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I'm a magician and during a taped show I was to close the lid on an empty container and then open it and it was to be filled with candy. Then pour it out and do it again. I went to put the lid on and it barely worked. then the second time it wouldn't work at all. ooops",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "So I was working with this embedded linux ARM board called the TS-7250 (great system BTW) and I was trying to use the standard serial port. We had been using the secondary port without any issues and I just wanted to switch to the main one (since it had a DB9 connector). For some reason this keeps locking the system, hard. Kills ssh connection, ping, everything, only thing to do is hit the reset button. Spend a few hours googling and working on the issue narrowing it down, then I finally stumble upon a post with the perfect description of my issue. It describes the problems I was having in detail and a workaround of the issue. Great, issue solved, \"yay internet\" right? Well kinda, the opening to the post was: \n>*** As I worked on this email I found the solution but I am still\nposting this so that anyone else who finds this problem wont have to\nfigure this out ***\n\nWho was the genius who found the solution? It was me, I had gone through the exact same set of steps before to solve the same problem and forgotten entirely. At no point that day did I even get the suspicion that I was redoing work, even as I read my own email. It wasn't even like it was years later, it was less than 2 months before, i'm too young for that sort of memory lapse.\n\n[post in question](http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ts-7000/message/12392)",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "As a student employee with desktop support, I was tasked with assembling a new Pentium 4 PC from scratch. I plopped the CPU in and pulled the lever, and assembled everything. The computer would not turn on. Turns out I put the CPU in incorrectly and flattened the pins. Boss ordered a new motherboard and CPU, but I felt like an idiot.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I misread a performance profile a few months back as indicating that changing a particular thing would be a ~20% speedup. This almost led to several engineers across 3 or 4 teams making risky changes for what turned out to be (at most) a 0.5% speedup. Luckily I noticed my mistake before things really got started.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I knocked a ceiling fan off the ceiling of a restaurant (while mopping) the first day of work at a restaurant. This was when I was a scrawny, self-conscious teenager.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "fiddling around with the production server for a fairly major IT website, I needed to stop and start the network connection. Right-click, Disable...oh fck. Remote server, and my terminal services connection was gone. Proprietor of said website was NOT happy.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Question about anarchist graffiti.
|
I like to scrawl on public walls, money, etc. particularly well spoken quotations or slogans that embody the anarchist spirit. Maybe it will make people think, maybe not, whatever. My question is, since anarchism is so widely misunderstood, does it help or hurt to include anarchist symbols with these thoughts? For the people who recognize their own unconscious principles in these thoughts, will an anarchist symbol associate these principles with our movement, or will it make people dismiss the thought because of preconceived notions of anarchism? Another question would be the medium of the messages, since many people see these actions as vandalism/destructive/counterproductive behavior. Will this hurt the message, and is it in contradiction with any anarchist principles? Interested to hear your thoughts...
| 12 |
[
{
"body": "Well, you'll certainly have the old folks wondering if we need more cops. And they are the ones that always vote.\n\nIf you can change one person's mind with a bumper sticker (or graffiti in your case) then that person's mind probably isn't worth much.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "A lot of the old [May 68 graffiti](http://www.bopsecrets.org/CF/graffiti.htm) has anarchist influences.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I think flags and symbols are highly subjective whereas well-articulated ideas are self-explanatory. I go back and forth with including them and excluding them. But, in general, I like the prose to speak for itself.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I would simply put the quotes and let the ideas come through. Like you said, people are more likely to dismiss them because of their preconceptions with anarchism.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I do the same dude, though I probably won't use the anarchy A symbol again, just the quotes, neat quips about money or political struggles which do in fact make you think, (I live near a university) so this kind of shit always gets thrown up by students. Our community is against it and put horrible black squares over any kind of graffiti, even if it has had time spent on it and isn't an eyesore.\n\nAll in all, It should be us who decide as opposed to a minority of city council official fucks who have no idea whats up from down.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "If you're looking to spread the anarchist message, I would think pamphlets would be more ideal form of propaganda and would undoubtedly be met with less resistance. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I think the optimal solution would be specifically crediting the anarchists responsible for quotes, and putting other, *very* iconic anarchist slogans with any somewhat broader slogans.\n\nThis allows the quotes to be linked to the anarchist movement without being immediately recognized as anarchist. A person who would dismiss a given quote because it had the Ⓐ next to it wouldn't be able to do so, but would have to think when confronted with the fact that the quote is from an anarchist, and thus supports anarchism, not whatever ideology they hope it could be assigned to. \n\nThis only works if the people who see the graffiti pursue further understanding of it; if that doesn't seem to be likely, just throw a Ⓐ next to it or something to make it clear that this is the \"anarchist party line\", and you'll probably only lose a small portion of those who would agree with the un-Ⓐ'd quote.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I rarely use the Ⓐ, my intentions with street art are to provoke thought. What those who read it, appreciate it, and are (hopefully) inspired by it politically label themselves as is irrelevant to me, really. ",
"score": 3
}
] |
Does anyone else not even bother replying to posts that have 500+ replies, knowing that your reply won't be read or seen?
|
I'm pretty sure most of us just see the "best" comments first. Honestly, when it's an AskReddit post asking about a personal anecdote or whatever, I don't even try when I get to the bottom of the replies and I see "load 1000 more replies." To me, it'd be just as valuable to keep it in my own head
EDIT: to fight the aforementioned woes, why don't you start off by reading this post sorted by "new"!
| 115 |
[
{
"body": "If the topic of discussion is something I feel very strongly about, I go ahead and add my $0.20 to the post anyway, because to me, reddit is all about speaking out...Even if my voice is lost in the cacophony of the multitudes. \n\nThe upside is that if and when someone does notice and respond to my comment, thats just the best feeling!\n\nNote - The thing I dont like about posts with 500+ responses, are the multiple people who create 'cascade replies' of puns/one liners for the highest upvoted comment/thread. More often than not, it just degenerates into banality. It's like a competition to see who can carry on the thread without getting downvoted into oblivion.\nI mean C'mon people! We all know you just want to get noticed, but puhleeze!",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "If the AskReddit has more than 500+ replies, typically my reply has already been posted. I don't repeat it, but simply upvote what I was going to say. If it still has not been said after 500+ replies, I would reply. I would have thought to myself, \"What if my reply would be the \"reply\" the submitter was looking for?\".",
"score": 4
}
] |
So, Is Bayonetta Actually Worth Buying?
|
Here's the thing. I enjoyed Devil May Cry 4, but never completed it... got up to the point [spoilers?] where you trade Nero for Dante then kind of lost interest.
This in mind, is there anything for me to like about Bayonetta?
| 9 |
[
{
"body": "If you like playing games where you pretty much never stop screaming \"holy shit\" or \"what the fuck?!\" then pick it up without hesitation. The action is so frenetic that to an outsider observer it seems like total chaos, but the controls are so tight and responsive you can actually make these absurd things happen on purpose. \n\n It's basically a combination of Viewtiful Joe Devil May Cry and God Hand, which makes sense because it's from the director of all three.\n\nEdit: upon further inspection Shinji Mikami directed God Hand, but it's still the same dev company Platinum Games (formerly Clover) so it borrows a lot of gameplay ideas and Personality from it",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "It's awesome, and this is the kind of game that is getting high reviews because it is *good*, not because it is hyped. In fact, it will likely receive considerable backlash around here because of its rather over-the-top Japanese styling. \n\nI'm not an action game fan at all (I hate God of War), but this one is dead on. It oozes style, the combat is super-satisfying, and it is actually quite long. I'm at 9 hours and only about halfway through. ",
"score": 5
}
] |
Hey Reddit, I got a mix CD from a fellow Redditor today, thought I'd share it with you!
|
A couple of weeks ago, **sxm** posted [this](http://www.reddit.com/r/Music/comments/aif0v/dear_rmusic_ive_been_making_some_mix_tapes_cds/) on /r/music. I thought it was a pretty cool idea, so I requested one of his mixed CDs. I was extremely excited to see it in the mail today! It's a great mix, so I thought I'd share it with everyone. Here's the list of tracks:
*EDIT* **muzscman** was kind enough to turn this list into a [Grooveshark playlist](http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/playlist/Reddit+Mixed+Tape/22557899) (tracks #9 and 18 couldn't be found), so thank you for that!
1. Q and not U - Little Sparkee
2. Deerhoof - Perfect Me
3. Les Savy Fav - Knowing How the World Works
4. PJ Harvey - Harder
5. Unwound - Murder Movies
6. The Secret Machines - Nowhere Again
7. Faraquet - Cut Self Not
8. The Promise Ring - Is This Thing On?
9. French Miami - God Damn Best
10. Braid - First Day Back
11. Ex-Models - Sex Automata
12. Death From Above 1979 - Pull Out
13. Cansei de Ser Sexy - Alala
14. Interpol - Evil
15. The Black Heart Procession - It's a Crime I Never Told You About the Diamonds in Your Eyes
16. Lake Trout - Say Something
17. Midlake - Young Bride
18. Taks, The Boy Disaster - Paris
19. Dirty Three - Great Waves
20. Nick Drake - Pink Moon
21. The Shins - Kissing the Lipless
Here's a picture of the "album artwork", I thought it was neat =p
http://imgur.com/2r2VH
Thanks again, **sxm**, it was a great idea, and much appreciated!
**edit**: http://www.reddit.com/r/Music/comments/ami1u/rmusic_mix_tape_exchange/ - /r/Music mix tape exchange?
| 26 |
[
{
"body": "Cut Self Not is a great track. You should check out their current band, Medications, if you like it.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Attention /r/Politics! Want to make history?
|
Here's your chance!
The New Jersey State Senate has just announced it is voting this Thursday, January 7, 2010 on the marriage equality bill. We need each of you to join us for this most momentus day in our lives.
We ask you to meet us in front of the State House in Trenton Thursday at 10:30 am, when we will march from the State House to the State House Annex, and then talk to legislators before the vote.
You may meet us in front of the State House earlier than 10:30 am Thursday to help us organize. We will be there earlier whenever you arrive. The address of the State House, for GPS and MapQuest purposes, is 125 West State Street. Park at the Trenton Marriott garage, 1 West Lafayette Street.
Thursday afternoon, immediately after the Senate vote, Garden State Equality will hold a news conference and a free member reception at the Trenton Marriott Ballroom, 1 West Lafayette Street. We ask all of you, members and journalists, to be there.
-Garden State Equality
If you can't make it, that's okay, you can still make a difference! Please contact your represenative to show support for the marriage equality bill!
Thanks guys!
P.S. If you're not from NJ, that's okay! Please upvote this, so those that can help will get their opportunity to help.
| 10 |
[
{
"body": "I don't live near there, but I upvote you and wish you all the best of luck. Its about time we amended these bigoted marriage laws. ",
"score": 3
}
] |
Obligatory UI show-off thread.
|
You know the drill. Feel free to critique, suggest improvements, etc.
[My UI, in a rare moment at its most cluttered.](http://imgur.com/F2Lkw.jpg)
Edit: And no, this wasn't a good attempt for us.
| 20 |
[
{
"body": "[This was mine](http://www.flickr.com/photos/ketsugi/3082490480/) before I took a break from May to November. My current one is very similar but I'm using X-Perl instead of Pitbull at the moment if only because I didn't feel like spending the necessary time to configure it.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "http://imgur.com/FLQeO.jpg\n\nI use a modified version of [DegausserUI](http://www.wowinterface.com/downloads/info13842-DegausserUI1680x1050.html)\n\nIt's really simple and uncluttered. ",
"score": 3
}
] |
What Cooking Tricks Did You Wish You Knew When You Were Younger?
|
I recently learned how to cut a pepper properly, in 4, without going through the middle, so you cut down the risk of seeds being mixed in. I feel stupid for getting it so wrong before.
| 77 |
[
{
"body": "When you're shredding from a block of cheese, mist a little bit of cooking spray or oil on the grater. It keeps the cheese from getting jammed up.",
"score": 67
},
{
"body": "Don't put the garlic in at the same time as the onions. Garlic cooks much faster than onion, and will burn by the time the onions are done.",
"score": 48
},
{
"body": "Always take meat out of the fridge so it comes to room temperature before cooking. Cooks better, sticks less.",
"score": 28
},
{
"body": "Cooking steak to rare, medium or well done. \r\n\r\nPoke the steak with your finger, if it feels like your poking your cheek it is rare, your chin medium and your forehead welldone.",
"score": 24
},
{
"body": "Coming from an Irish Family, this [potato peeling method](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4W0qIPJmoo) would have saved me lots of time considering I had mashed potatos every day.\r\n\r\n\r\n",
"score": 17
},
{
"body": "When making a stew, pat the meat dry before browning it, and do it in batches so the meat's not crowded in the pan.",
"score": 17
},
{
"body": "Steaming is always better than boiling. The food looks better, tastes far better, and cooks faster (because it takes so long to get a big pot of water boiling) and is more nutritious. It's win-win-win-win.",
"score": 17
},
{
"body": "I wish I had known how to make buttermilk out of regular milk. I never have buttermilk on hand, and I use recipes from time to time that call for a little. You just add about a tablespoon of lemon juice to about a cup of milk. Let it sit 5-10 minutes. Instant buttermilk for recipes!",
"score": 11
},
{
"body": "Cook scrambled eggs over low heat and take them out of the pan just before they seem finished. Same goes for bacon.\n\nThis may be common knowledge but for some reason I could never figure out how to get scrambled eggs like I did at the diner I went to until I saw Gordon Ramsey's scrambled eggs video. ",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "Do not fear butter.\r\n\r\nFor years I tried to use \"healthy\" substitutes to reduce the calories in a dish. I've discovered that I personally tend to eat much larger portions of a lower fat food, and smaller portions of buttery fat foods because the fat from butter is so filling.\r\n\r\nButter tastes better, gives a better texture and is more filling (to me, at least) I use butter in everything, yet am at my lowest adult weight. ",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "Another great one I learned was to peel tomatoes by scoring them with an x, and then dropping them in boiling water so the skin peels away itself. \n\nThese might seem really obvious, but they were a revelation to me when I first heard them.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "If your dish calls for potatoes and you're in a pinch, poke a few holes in them and put them in the microwave (on high) for a few minutes. This will greatly expedite the cooking time.\n\nSimilarly, different vegetables cook at different times. If you're sautéing different vegetables together, start with the most-dense first. For example, if I'm starting with a \"holy trinity\" (French, Italian, etc.,) I put the carrots in a good few minutes before the celery and onions go in - that way they all come out with relatively the same texture. This all depends on the size, slice, personal preference, etc.\n\nAlso, between Good Eats and Cooks Illustrated, you're golden. The cold-start deep-frying method that Cooks Illustrated has for french fries is *fucking genius*.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "I posted earlier, but here's something that I think deserves its own post: conversions. Knowing the following:\n\n* 3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon\n\n* 2 tablespoons = 1 [fluid] ounce\n\nThis has saved more dishes than I can remember. Also, simple math. Some of the simplest things seem to be the most-easily forgotten. Three 2/3 cup measurements equals two cups, for example. Along the same lines, a cup of water is virtually the same when measured in a dry or wet measuring cup. This helped us on our camping/road trip last May, as we only had to bring along a dry measuring cup.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Buy only professional quality tools. They will last you a life time. Start with a 12-inch castiron skillet. Will it to your grandchildren. ",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "To peel garlic and pit olives all you have to do is lay them on their side, place the flat part of the blade on top and firmly hit the knife with the palm of your hand.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "beef: it cooks different. \nlike low and slow vs roast properly vs hamburger vs steak sear. dry the meat off to brown it and STOP USING TEFLON SHIT",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Before pan-frying meat, season the pan by sauteeing an onion with a little salt and pepper. (The save the onion, if you want, and make a kickass sauce with wine, pan scrapings, and butter.) ",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "From Alton Brown, I learned that you should never push down on a cooking hamburger with your spatula. It pushes all the juices out, and dries out the burger. Makes total sense, but I see it all the time in diners and at people's homes. I think the temptation to make the sizzling sound is just too much for some people, and they smash the hell out of it. Shame, really.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Frying something doesn't mean \"crank the heat up to high\". Most stuff I end up frying is best around 5-7 on the scale of ten",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Here are a few I'm glad I know now:\n\n-Learn how to make a roux (great for soups and sauces)\n\n-Always keep onions and garlic in the house\n\n-Sauteed Brussels sprouts are awesome - cut in half and saute with a pinch of nutmeg\n\n-Heavily salt your boiling water before adding the pasta\n\n-Always use kosher salt for everything\n\n-Subscribe to a cooking mag (Bon Appetit is good but far to fancy for everyday cooking)\n\n\nSo many more - maybe I'll drop more hints later...\n",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I wish i had known how great cast iron cookware is. I have a skillet and a dutch oven and am currently in the market for a small baking/roasting pan.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Keep your cutting utensils well maintained by sharpening and honing the blades regularly.\n\nNothing worse than having to push your way through something you are trying to \"cut\" \n\nAlso, make sure you are cutting correctly in the first place so that you don't ruin your blade on the cutting board.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "if you're cooking a piece of meat that seems stuck to the pan, don't mess with it. it will magically unstick itself when it's the proper time to flip/turn it.\n\nedit for clarity.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Meat sticks in the pan because you haven't cooked it for long enough. Leave it for a bit longer, and it'll brown deliciously, and come up easily.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Wish I'd known the importance of:\n\na. a chef's knife (even a shitty one is better for it's shape alone as long as it's sharp)\n\nb. cooking with gas vs electric\n\nc. good pots n pans\n\nd. salt\n\n",
"score": 3
}
] |
What do y'all think of Austin's pedicabs (otherwise known as rickshaws, bike taxis)? I love them.
|
Safe, unsafe? Reckless? Useful, or not? Clogging the downtown streets at night? Nah, I think they're pretty safe on the whole, they're emissions-free, and fun to ride. Interested to hear other folks' take.
| 12 |
[
{
"body": "I would like to hear from people who have used them for something practical. I've always wondered what situation would ever compel someone to use that form of transportation. Has anyone ever actually used a pedicab to get from point A to point B?",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "How much are you supposed to tip them? I always want to ride one but chicken out because I don't know how much to pay. :|",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "One night we were coming home from Vinny's and hadn't realized that the ACL fest was going on so we got stuck in the traffic of it getting out. There was one rickshaw that had three people on it, and the rickshaw was equipped with drums and other instruments and the three passengers were banging away. It was uber annoying. But regardless of that, the girlfriend and I still wished we were the people in that particular rickshaw.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "a friend of mine does this, and some nights makes like 200 dollars. he flirts with the groups of girls as he rides by and they love it. this is how he gets most of his rides.\n\nGiven the insane cost of parking downtown (10 bucks), i guess these things are quite useful from ferrying folks from bar to bar.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Does anyone else see society as fundamentally flawed?
|
I may be looking at things in different manner than most people but I see society as being quite flawed.
The tool of choice we use maintain order, primarily law is left in the hands of those who have little understanding of what they are doing and often refuse to take the advice of those that do.
When someone is accused of breaking the law they can often go free or be imprisoned based on how well their lawyer can argue rather than facts. I don't even know why we have an adversarial judicial system it seems open to far too much abuse.
It seems the vast majority of people are not interested in reality but in what they want to be true. Most political "hot button" issues are actually quite straight forward, but because people have a vested interest in keeping things the same, or changing things it becomes a cluster-fuck.
Each time something bad happens, knees start jerking and laws get enacted or restrictions get put in place that will have little effect on the situation.
No matter what, if people die or are hurt someone must take the blame - even if it is a mere accident or natural disaster someone must be forced to be responsible.
How many other people see all of this as mostly a waste of time and effort, with money and time being thrown at minor but flashy problems and not being spent on the real problems.
| 8 |
[
{
"body": "[YES ! ](http://www.reddit.com/r/anarchism)[YES ! ](http://www.reddit.com/r/mensrights)[YES ! ](http://www.reddit.com/r/equality)[YES ! ](http://www.reddit.com/r/feminisms)",
"score": 3
}
] |
Is this much muscle soreness normal?
|
Like everyone else in the world, I resolved to hit the gym and cut down my belly fat. My office has a gym, so I decided I would start going three times a week before lunch. So Monday was my first workout.
I haven't worked out in a good 2-3 years, but I tried doing stuff I was comfortable doing back then. Lats, incline situps, dumbbell curls, cable flies, leg presses. I scaled everything back by about 30% of what I was working with back then, but I wonder if I pushed myself a little too hard.
It's been two days since my first workout and while everything's still real tender, it's my abs that are almost abnormally sore. They hurt when I cough, laugh, breathe, and in pretty much position except sitting slouched.
It also hurts to move. At all. Any joint motion causes pain in the areas I worked two days ago. For the most part it doesn't feel like injury pain, it feels like exercise soreness, though I do have a bad strain in the right front of my neck.
I tried to do another round of incline situps today and I got halfway back when my abs gave out and I fell hard to the bench, my abs screaming all the way down. I decided to work other muscle groups instead (toe lifts, lunges, bench presses, tricep extensions, and more lats, though I had to scale the weight WAY far back this time).
Am I just being a baby and this will go away, or should I be doing something else?
| 11 |
[
{
"body": "Go slower and cut down on volume. Take some fish oil. Advil if its bad. \n\nWait till you are recovered then go. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Yes it's normal.\r\n\r\nFor me it hurts the next day, hurts BAD the 2nd day and it KILLS the third day after a very intense workout after having been off for a long time.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Reddit used to be mostly an adult community. WTF happened?
|
I wish there could be an age filter on reddit so the rest of us wouldn't be subjected to comments from those who've not yet graduated high school. From recent age polls, we can see that the adults (which in my opinion don't include post-adolescents) are greatly outnumbered. I hate the pages upon pages of pedantic spewing I have to scroll through to get to anything meaningful or truly entertaining. Am I alone here? It seems like anything cool on the interwebs becomes soiled much too quickly these days.
Sorry kids, but seriously. Your parents should pay more attention to what you're doing with your free time.
*THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO YOU BY MY GRUMPY ALTER-EGO
EDIT: 21:15 EST I'm glad this post stirred up so much discussion. As you've concluded, I'm obviously an old man so I'm going to bed early as we old men do.
| 78 |
[
{
"body": "I'm 62 and an active Redditor. I say let everyone participate, young and old. We can all learn from each other.",
"score": 122
},
{
"body": "You make a good point, but you're ignoring the fact that us \"kids\" do make *some* valid contributions.\n\nI understand that I lot of redditors in my age group (I'm currently a junior in high school, if it matters to you) post stupid shit. But that's not to say adults don't. But I do my best to make positive contributions to reddit. I left digg because of their immaturity. I love reddit. The reddit community is awesome. I don't think that I need to go into detail about that. But reddit has improved the quality of my life.\n\nI don't troll. I don't repost memes and copy pasta and all that. That's what 4chan and digg is for. And I really couldn't care less about them.\n\nI find your post to be condescending with its sweeping generalizations. Generally speaking, generalizations are bad.\n\n***Edit:** Also, I endorse the point made by [_theDead](http://www.reddit.com/user/_theDead)*",
"score": 54
},
{
"body": "The only thing I found useful is to get into more subreddits. The more I get into the more I can find myself picking and choosing better posts to have solid conversations in. ",
"score": 27
},
{
"body": "I don't think it's the younglings who are ruining reddit so much as it is the stupid people. I have found that they come in all-ages. I don't think everyone who loves Ron Paul is under the age of 22, nor are meme-lovers all necessarily looking forward to when they can drink legally in the U.S.\n\nIf we're just going to come out and attack certain demographics here on reddit, I say we blame the foreigners. Damn foreigners, always using up America's Internets.",
"score": 25
},
{
"body": "I apologise for being the cancer that is killing reddit. Actually... that's quite telling in and of itself, because that's a /b/ meme right there; so I'm doubly to blame.\n\n*However*: in my defence, I would like to point out that I am, in fact, 23 (*ancient*, right?). SlurmsMackenzie, I have worked a job, paid taxes, and experienced things outside the realm of high-school. I've got a hell of a long way to go, I don't deny that. And hell, like Tyler said (now he's talking about Fight Club, what a fucking man-child): *we have no great war*. I don't have any life-defining experiences, I have no drastic and dramatic childhood-adulthood transition to contemplate. I'm just a teenager who's almost 25. (disclaimer: I do not, however, wear skinny jeans or sport an ironic moustache; I can't fucking *stand* hipsters.)\n\nSo I'll do my best not to upset the status quo. I'll do my best to enjoy the existing community and contribute to it only if I feel like that contribution is worth *your* while - and I say that without a sense of irony or sarcasm; because people like you made this site what it is. If a bunch of 4chan rejects jump on this bandwagon because 4chan itself is now full of trolls and 12-year-olds, then Reddit is next for the shit-can.\n\nI'll do my best not to be a part of that. I'll do my best to love Reddit as my own.\n\nYou have my word, and you have my upvote.",
"score": 20
},
{
"body": "I wish everyone on Reddit thought exactly as I do, so that I could validate my opinions and feel superior like the guys that watch Fox News. Then when I post a comment, I get 400 upvotes and no downvotes, and I can feel superior and correct, because I have 400 people drinking my kool-aid. Yeah! /sarcasm",
"score": 16
},
{
"body": "I agree. I don't like reading about the political views of someone who has yet to work a job, pay taxes, or experience anything outside the realm of their high school.\n\nOh yea, and kids don't like it when you make fun of them either. What else would strangers on the internet do? I too am a grumpy alter-ego.",
"score": 11
},
{
"body": "Adult is not always as much a measure of age as it is of behavior. I suspect much of the juvenile showing here is by +30s, and, occasionally, some maturity comes out of the -20s.\r\n",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Age has little to do with it. There is a [Laffer curve](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laffer_curve) for most networks where the more people that join the worse the network becomes.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Not yet graduated high school is silly, the whole idea of reddit is to share an opinion. If a 12 year old comes on acting like a brat, he will get downvoted and learn something from it. Perhaps a high schooler would come on and find a community that he can easily blend in with. It is not age but rather mentality, maybe if we can filter out stupid people that would solve your problem.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I'm 25 and I'm justifiably scared of submitting anywhere but the pictures section because of this very reason. \n\nI feel there's enough high-qual content in terms of news and front-page, so I keep my dirty paws away from there :)\n\nHaving said that, I also have felt the sting of immaturity on one of my posts before - it angers me to no end.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I think reddit needs a 'troll' button. If enough users clicked it for childish/insulting replies, eventually only they and other trolls would see their comments.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I read this right after I read/watched this:\n\nhttp://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/am8m2/video_the_daily_show_mocks_glenn_beck_sean/\n\nthe parallels are hilarious.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "This is directly related to the guy complaining about kids from Ohio coming to NYC and acting like they own the place. =)",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": ">I hate the pages upon pages of pedantic spewing I have to scroll through to get to anything meaningful or truly entertaining.\n\nWelcome to **THE INTERNET**. We obey [Sturgeon's Second Law](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon's_Law) here.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "My guess? You definition of \"adult\" has changed as you group up, and reddit has approximately the same age range and distribution it used to.\n\nIn fact, since younger kids are more technologically inclined, AND have more time on their hands, it would not surprise me much if as reddit has \"grown up\", we have gathered a better old/young ratio.\n\nThat said, I do think reddit is going down hill intellectually. That has more to do with the reddit culture and acceptance of \"norm\", than it does with the age of its population.\n\n*He writes, from the 25-30 category*",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I'm glad this post stirred up so much discussion. As you've concluded, I'm obviously an old man so I'm going to bed early as we old men do.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "It pisses me off when I click a Youtube link and I see nothing in the comments but \"REDDIT FTW lol\" and the like. Stop pointing the YouTards this way!",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Okay, well maybe it's not all adolescents that are lowering the overall maturity of Reddit. Maybe it's people leaving comments like \"Nobody gives a shit about this goddamn idiocy\" like you did just 9 hours ago. Or how about \" It's probably due to most of reddit being fucktards.\" left 5 hours ago. Really? Really? And you're blaming people that don't leave trolling comments, you're just judging people on age. Your 4 comments on other posts are perfect examples of how it's not the younger generation that is making Reddit a less mature place, it's people like you.",
"score": 3
}
] |
My girlfriend broke up with me. It's weird.
|
We had been together for three years, with a couple of small breakups in the duration. She is my first girlfriend, and we met in college. This semester she entered grad school, and some new problems arose. She's always been a workaholic, and now that she's been teaching classes as well as taking them them and took up the responsibility of new pets, she became less interested in a relationship.
She doesn't want to put a lot of work into a relationship. She's more likely to stop talking about a problem instead of working it out if things were frustrating or I became irritable (which is a problem I have, amongst many others). It came down to me picking fights and in general not having quite the amount of respect I should have had for her.
I'm a self-absorbed person who doesn't quite care about anybody else. Unless you're close to me, I want nothing to do with you. That said, I grew very attached to her, fucked it up, and she cut it off. We both have changes to make, me probably more than her, but since we broke up I'm not quite as devastated as I thought I might be. Maybe it hasn't sunk in and maybe it's the not having to work at a relationship anymore, but it's very weird. I'm still broken up about losing her.
I'm wondering if this is something I should try to save. I am in the middle of trying to work a few things out, and with or without her there are lifestyle changes I'm going to make. But if this were to continue, it would be work on both our parts, and not having experience in these things I don't know what's worth working for, and what's me trying to change myself to fit somebody else's parameters. If you read this far, thanks for listening to me whine.
Edit: Sorry if any of this is unclear. I just kinda spat it out.
| 16 |
[
{
"body": "> She doesn't want to put a lot of work into a relationship. She's more likely to stop talking about a problem instead of working it out if things were frustrating or I became irritable (which is a problem I have, amongst many others). It came down to me picking fights and in general not having quite the amount of respect I should have had for her.\n\nThese sound like enough reasons to let her go. But it can't hurt to ask her if she wants to try and work things out. If she doesn't, find someone who will put the same effort into a relationship that you will.\n\nBeing dumped sucks. Change can be hard at first, but with time you'll be fine.",
"score": 18
},
{
"body": "I dated a girl for 6 years who the entire time we dated never worked, never had a car, and rarely left her house or dorm room unless I was picking her up. I spent four years driving to her college to see her, and she never saw it as her responsibility to become a real adult. I never pushed the issue and basically did all the work for her until life stress made it too much to deal with and started resenting her and stopped going to see her, which meant we stopped seeing each other very often. I told her I wasn't going to do all the work anymore. \n\nI'd still go to see her occationally, but she kind of turned into my online / phone girlfriend, and I let it go on because my life was too fucked up to just let her go, or even fight with her about the issue.\n\nWent on for about a year and she broke up with me, I was pretty tore up at first but now I realize how fucking insane that was. My job and life was killing me inside and she thought \"her part\" was sitting at her parents house and waiting for me to fix everything while she watched TV. She was 25. \n\nShit takes two people man, don't blame yourself. If she wasn't doing her part then you can't fix it for her.",
"score": 12
},
{
"body": "I also think its kind of disturbing how you know yourself to be self-absorbed and yet make no effort to improve yourself. If your ex knew that about you, I wouldn't be hardpressed to find that she isn't really interested in you anymore either. And for you not to feel hurt about it is kind of telling about your self-esteem. Take this time for yourself to reflect on the person you are right now, and the person you want to be. Make a goal of it, and you will find a type of romance to accommodate and satisfy your lifestyle and character.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "The hardest part about ending relationships is not seeing when it's right for both people to move on. As humans, we naturally want to see the things in which we invest our time and energy to come to fruition, to develop according to some ideal or goal. Often times the outcomes we achieve fall short of this, and refusing to accept our failures can lead to a futile attempt to put even more effort into something that will never be.\n\nThat's how I spent a year of my life. Firstly, I can tell you that yes, The Other Side is out there, and it is truly a thing of immense beauty. Moreover, the lesson I have learned is this: two people can be great together and for each other during one time in their lives, but not another. The greatness of the former is something that people rarely forget, and of course you want to recapture and live that again...but alas, it's become memory.\n\nSometimes, that's where it needs to stay. There's a funny thing about staring at the past, though: it only ever stares back at you. Take the time to hurt while you need to, but keep your eyes on the path ahead, for that is where you will find happiness.",
"score": 3
}
] |
HAE become frightened by the fact that everyone is on the computer more and more often, and that free time is becoming computer time?
|
I mean, not to sound hypocritical since I'm on one right now, and I use my computer a LOT. It's a sort of love/hate thing. As much as I love being on the computer I loathe myself for being so slothful and staring at a screen all day.
| 15 |
[
{
"body": "I and everyone I know are on the net pretty much all the time, and have been for the last 10 years (granted, we're all geeks). It's not scary, it's just a evolutionary transition. Now that we're going more mobile, and the net is merging more with everyday activities and \"reality\"... there won't be a difference between being online and being offline. The two will merge in the next 10 years.",
"score": 4
}
] |
"We come here to learn about spirituality. I trust the genuine quality of this search but we must question its nature. The problem is that ego can convert anything to its own use, even spirituality. Ego is constantly attempting to acquire and apply the teachings of spirituality for its own benefit."
|
This title is from *Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism* by Chogyam Trungpa. [A long excerpt from it is here](http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/tib/cutting.htm).
The Wikipedia page for "[spiritual materialism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_materialism)" summarizes it well:
>Spiritual materialism or spiritual narcissism are terms used to describe mistakes spiritual seekers commit which turn the pursuit of spiritualism into an ego building and confusion creating endeavor. This is based on the idea that ego development is counter to spiritual progress. . . .
>Conventionally, it is also used to describe capitalist or commercial efforts such as "new age" bookstores and wealthy lecturers on spirituality. Also it might mean the attempt to build up a list of credentials or accumulate teachings in order to present oneself as a more realized or holy person.
[Trungpa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%B6gyam_Trungpa) is good to know of in his own right, as well.
I found out about this book (which came from a series of lectures in 1970-1) from seeing him mention it repeatedly in a later book, *The Myth of Freedom*, which I recommend highly.
More from *CTSM*:
>It is important to see that the main point of any spiritual
practice is to step out of the bureaucracy of ego. This means
stepping out of ego's constant desire for a higher, more spiritual,
more transcendental version of knowledge, religion, virtue,
judgment, comfort or whatever it is that a particular ego is
seeking. One must step out of spiritual materialism. If we do not
step out of spiritual materialism, if we in fact practice it, then
we may eventually find ourselves possessed of a huge collection of
spiritual paths. We may feel these spiritual collections to be very
precious. We have studied so much. We may have studied Western
philosophy or Oriental philosophy, practiced yoga or perhaps studied
under dozens of great masters. We have achieved and we have
learned. We believe that we have accumulated a hoard of knowledge.
>And yet, having gone through all this, there is still something to
give up. It is extremely mysterious! How could this happen?
>Impossible! But unfortunately it is so. Our vast collections of
knowledge and experience are just part of ego's display, part of the
grandiose quality of ego. We display them to the world and, in so
doing, reassure ourselves that we exist, safe and secure, as
"spiritual" people.
Finding this perspective made a huge difference in my search for words of wisdom, whether their source may identify wisdom as religious, spiritual, existential, philosophic, mystic, gnostic, pragmatic or what-ever! I have found it very useful to consider whether a practice (meditative, prayerful, mindful, ritual, what-ever) is ego-building or otherwise. It's usually an easy question to answer, and this can help with confusion and false starts! (I happen to think there's nothing terribly wrong about building the ego in pragmatic ways, but then, I am not a practicing Buddhist.)
(edit, formatting)
| 17 |
[
{
"body": "Another example is the use of the word 'Ego'. So easy to use. So difficult to define... yet so convenient to put the blame on. Like a spiritual terrorist. I ask you: what is Ego.\n\n\n(great quote btw)",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "tl;dr: Trungpa says: 'The main point of any spiritual practice is to step out of the bureaucracy of ego.' Then he suggests, however, that If *stepping out* is a product of the ego's bureaucratic activity/tendency, then how to really *step out*? What kind of activity can I do which is non-egotistical?\n\nThank you for taking the time to post this.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Building the ego in any way requires some sort of attachment. I don't think Buddhists see anything wrong with it, as such, it just might lead to more suffering if for whatever reason that pragmatic ego building is compromised. Bitterness or guilt or something.",
"score": 3
}
] |
What movie has everyone, except you, seen?
|
I can seriously go on and on:
* Star Wars (pathetic I know)
* Rocky (all of them)
* Braveheart
* Scarface
What about *you*?
| 10 |
[
{
"body": "The Big Lebowski.\n\nthere i said it. i do not know what the fuck half of you are talking about half the time.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Rocky and Scarface are way overrated, IMO, especially scarface. Its way too long and if you've played GTA3 Vice City you know enough.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "The 6th sense.\n\nIt was on TV last year and I was all set to watch it. As I was leaving my friends house I mentioned the film was on TV and my friend said \"Is that the one where it turns out the guy is dead?\"\n\nD:\n\nI'd managed to get to 2009 without anyone giving away the ending. Don't see the point now.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "- Memento (only seen parts, cant remember much)\n- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (have only seen it backwards)\n- Groundhog Day\n- Groundhog Day\n- Groundhog Day\n...\n- 12 Monkeys (I think I have to go back and see it)",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Lord of the Rings II and III (yeah, I don't even know the titles)\n\nHarry Potter movies (All of them)\n\nTwilight\n\n\n\n",
"score": 4
}
] |
IAmA fashion designer AMA
|
I have a childrens wear label for a big advertising company and have worked internationally for couture designers and knitwear companies.
| 19 |
[
{
"body": "What's the idea behind fashion runway shows?\n\nExamples: [1](http://www.style.com/slideshows/fashionshows/F2006CTR/CDIOR/RUNWAY/00200m.jpg) [2](http://static.blogr.com/tenants/com/sites/wo/worstblogever/media/00340m-Christian-Dior-Runway.vga.jpg) [3](http://iwantigot.geekigirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/20070301_diorfall2007-5.jpg) (You can thank Dior for these). \n\nI am into fashion way more than the average Redditor so don't take me for a croc-wearing neckbeard, but I find these events somewhat useless. The outfits they show are ridiculously impractical and downright retarded. I would like to see actual outfits that you could wear day to day, not some ridiculous fantasy outfit that you would almost never wear in the real world. The ready-to-wear stuff (which makes it to stores) is great, why not just show that to give people a taste of what they can actually buy?",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Ok I have lots...\r\n\r\nWhy do plus sized designs favor loud colors and brash patterns? Is that what fat people have been shown to prefer? \r\n\r\nAlso, is designing plus sized wear like...depressing for a true designer? A waste of their talents?\r\n\r\nAnd what are the three most important things in childrens wear design (and why are so many little girls clothes so psuedo-slutty?)\r\n\r\nThanks!",
"score": 3
}
] |
DAE feel/think they do not fit the mold of a typical Redditor?
|
I feel like most Redditors are obsessed with video games, random internet memes (ENHANCE!), and Digg-bashing. Although I enjoy most of the content on Reddit, I can't relate to what Redditors stereotypically cherish (with the exceptions of logic and rational thought). I sometimes feel like an outside observer watching a bunch of nerds/dweebs/geeks having a ball online. DAE feel this way?
| 12 |
[
{
"body": "While I'm a fan of bacon and enjoy eating it, but I don't understand the obsession some people seem to have for it. I think some people have such unfulfilling lives that they jump on whatever zeitgeist they can find in hopes that it will give them meaning or purpose. ",
"score": 4
}
] |
So Indie Developers/Gamers, what sites do you visit?
|
What are the best sources out there for gamers that would like to learn about upcoming Indie games, and for developers trying to ply their skill? I'm curious.
I designed Monopoly and Duke Nukem in VB [duke nukem was with two other classmates], and I think I want to continue creating small-scale games. Suggestions?
| 24 |
[
{
"body": "Both the [TIG site](http://www.tigsource.com/) and [their forums](http://forums.tigsource.com/) are excelent resources. The forum is a great place for questions, tutorials, or for when you want a lot of indie developers to test your games.\n\nI also like [Gamasutra](http://www.gamasutra.com/) they sometimes post quite interesting articles about making a business out of game development.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Links not already posted:\n\n* http://indiegames.com/blog/\n* http://jayisgames.com/\n\nThe first link was previously a gold mine for indie games; it mostly provided Game Maker or 2D games; they had top-20 lists describing the best Indie games in a category, but haven't seen one this year for some reason. The second was also useful, and places more focus on commercially sold indie games. \n\nTIGSource (mentioned already) also encourages authors to write games as well on their forums, by holding periodic competitions. The current one is an assemblee competition, where programmers now have to finish up combining already provided art assets into their game. \n",
"score": 4
}
] |
What is the farthest a band has fallen in your opinion?
|
Example: I've currently listening to the Black Eyed Peas first album, and it is absolutely [awesome](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8kS7atmTis). Incomparable to the current dreck that they pump out.
What other bands can you name that have fallen this far from what they once were?
___
Edit: Wow, wasn't really expecting this many responses. I'm going to throw another one of mine out there (I think someone else may have said it).
The Offspring. Good good. Smash is a modern classic, and I loved Ixnay on the Hombre. But dear bob almighty. It's not just that they're latest offerings suck, it's how much they suck compared to the Offspring I used to know and love.
| 198 |
[
{
"body": "I used to love Weezer, but they're ungodly horrible now. I was pretty young when I got into them, however, so part of the falling was due to refining my music tastes as I've gotten older (not that I still don't like their earlier albums).\n\nThe other day I was thinking about bands whose front dies. Would my generation still idolize Nirvana if Kurt Cobain had lived and started making shitty music? What about Sublime, would we feel the same about them if that one guy had lived? And would Weezer t-shirts be cool if Rivers Cuomo had died before \"Beverly Hills\" came out?",
"score": 212
},
{
"body": "Eminem, his first two albums were really different and interesting, Eminem show was good for me at the time but I don't think it's aged well. ",
"score": 111
},
{
"body": "Oasis. Fucking hell, **Oasis**.\r\n\r\nSpectacular descent into musical mediocrity aside, the main factor's Liam Gallagher's gradual loss of any singing talent. \r\n\r\n[A comparison of Liam's voice from 1994 to 2008- you'll physically cringe when he gets to Lyla and 2005's gloriously coked up version of \"Live Forever\".](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTqnq8bv5ms)\r\n\r\nThe greatest berk in Britain now has [his own fashion line](http://www.prettygreen.com/gallery/). ",
"score": 83
},
{
"body": "Muse\n\nAbsolution (awesome) -> Black Holes (kind of poppy, a failed experiment) -> The Resistance (a war is coming and we will FIGHT. with GLITTER.)",
"score": 81
},
{
"body": "Guns 'n' Roses. Even if the extended joke that was Chinese Democracy has finally come out, Axl still treats the band's name as his own ego-boost. Not to mention how horrible he looks. Compared to some of their epic videos featuring the whole band, Guns 'n' Roses is just an unfortunate joke now.",
"score": 78
},
{
"body": "U2.\n\nThey were once a band with conscience and meaning. Now they are a bunch of ad-whoring, RIAA-supporting twats that care about money more than their fans.\n\nTheir music has lost much of its meaning as a result.",
"score": 76
},
{
"body": "Not exactly a band, but Chris Cornell. His last album was such a commercial piece of crap. It was the first time any album really upset me.",
"score": 70
},
{
"body": "incubus...their early work was really great. With the release of make yourself things started getting, well, a bit girly. now, its just shit. ",
"score": 53
},
{
"body": "Genesis. They used to be an awesome prog rock band from 70-75 with Peter Gabriel. Most just know them as the shitty pop band with phil collins afterwards. ",
"score": 48
},
{
"body": "Most people won't want to admit they ever had a height, but I've gotta go with Yes. They slid from the most popular prog group on the planet (and one of the best) to making mediocre 80s pop to a series of increasingly incomprehensible and self-indulgent vanity reunion projects.\r\n\r\nSometimes it's not just the height of the fall, but also the length. ",
"score": 46
},
{
"body": "Against Me! They used to be a fantastic folk punk band, now they sound like Franz Ferdinand. Also Rancid has gone spectacularly downhill.",
"score": 41
},
{
"body": "The Misfits. Seeing Jerry Only butcher their catalog with Donnie Ramone at Warped Tour was heartbreaking and so terrible it made my balls hurt. Even a few years before that, shortly after Famous Monsters came out, they were still putting on a hell of a show. Once Jerry Only took over vocals from Michael Graves it was all over, a largely mediocre band became truly awful.",
"score": 41
},
{
"body": "The Cure, everything following Disintegration.\n\nU2, after they initially went from one-word album titles (Boy, War, October) and played around in multiple word titles (Unforgettable Fire, Joshua Tree,) tried to reverse course with Zooropa, then just gave up and turned to crap.\n\nI was a concert security guard for a year after high school and had the unfortunate experience of experiencing the Grateful Dead backstage. They all came and went from their respective, very separated trailers, did not speak to one another, and were generally boring and dull. Quite a letdown.\n\nA few years before that, I caught John Lee Hooker at Seattle's Bumbershoot festival. He was over an hour late, a helper walked him to a chair on stage, sat him down and got his guitar. Two or three rocking songs, then he spent 5 minutes retuning for slide. Another great song, then he went back to picking, but never tuned back... To his credit, they'd hired deaf folks to run the mixing board, so you couldn't hear anything above 300Hz or so, but still..\n\ns,d.",
"score": 37
},
{
"body": "Aerosmith. Early in his career, Steven Tyler was an amazing singer. He and that band could rock out, but they could also get funky or sing the blues.",
"score": 36
},
{
"body": "Korn. Holy shit, KORN. I used to love Korn, and I still listen to their older albums, but nothing newer than ten years old (Issues was enjoyable, and that cam out in 1999).",
"score": 35
},
{
"body": "Red Hot Chili Peppers. Californication would have been an ok end to the band, but they just kept digging into the pop hole. Blood Sugar Sex Magic was definitely the high point for me. One Hot Minute was pretty awesome too, but it is kinda sad to not be able to listen to a group that you grew up on. Or to have kids only know the new stuff. I know everyone has their preference, but for people to prefer new RHCP is weird to me. It is like saying The Division Bell was a greater album than Dark Side Of The Moon.\n\nRant over. ",
"score": 33
},
{
"body": "I once had a high opinion of a band. Then, that band tried something new, and I didn't like it as much as I liked their older stuff. I immediately started to talk about how \"Their old stuff is better\".",
"score": 33
},
{
"body": "A few...\n\nSmashing Pumpkins. Mellon Collie and Siamese Dream were awesome. Adore wasn't bad, but they went downhill after that.\n\n311 was great until From Chaos and now they what they are putting out is beyond shit.\n\nThe Offspring were a great band when they didn't sound so manufactured (their latest release).\n\nOasis is also another pick (I know they recently broke up, but am counting them). I don't know many bands who put up two brilliant albums like Definitely Maybe and Morning Glory and then followed it up with a bunch of shitty albums.",
"score": 31
},
{
"body": "Gwen Stefani. To go from No Doubt with songs like Sunday Morning and Spider webs to a Solo career with Hollaback Girl and The Sweet Escape :(",
"score": 31
},
{
"body": "Everclear\n\nThey used to rock. Then tried to go commercial and Art took over completely and fucked it all up. But damn they used to be great.\n\nAlso, The Misfits. Used to be badass, now they are basically a gimmick band. ",
"score": 28
},
{
"body": "Say Anything. Is A Real Boy remains one of my favorite albums of all time. Their newest work contains such gems as, \"Even scientologists / know there's more to all of this\". ",
"score": 28
},
{
"body": "Barenaked Ladies. Their early 90s stuff had some memorable songs but everything after Stunt is dreck.",
"score": 26
},
{
"body": "The Proclaimers. Man, the Sunshine on Leith album was the greatest thing. I mean, come on, \"I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)\". That's like the anthem, man.\r\n\r\nThere next 5 albums though...they just couldn't bring it.\r\n\r\nThey should have brought Joey Lawrence in, really hit up the US demand for sexy smooth artist, but they kept it Scottish...kept it real.\r\n\r\n/WTF did I just type",
"score": 24
},
{
"body": "Hootie and the Blowfish.\n\nHere's the deal: I was a live sound guy in the 90's. I ran sound for literally thousands of bands, including HatB at one gig. They, like so many touring bands, suffered the dreaded **First Album Syndrome**.\n\nI've seen this happen to bands MANY times and there is no better example than with HatB. Here's how it works:\n\n1. Band gets together.\n* Band writes a few songs.\n\n* Band tours and plays songs for audiences.\n\n* Band notices what songs audiences like and plays them more than the songs the audience doesn't like.\n\n* Repeat steps 2 - 4 for about 5-10 years.\n\n* Get signed.\n\n* Shoot your wad by putting all the good songs you've written on your first album.\n\n* Enjoy wild success for about a year.\n\n* Try to record a second album by writing new songs which haven't been vetted in front of an audience or \"fleshed out\" by countless performances and practices.\n\n* Go on tour. \n\n* Become completely humiliated by the fact that your album isn't selling, people aren't coming to your \nconcerts, and people confuse you with Cuba Gooding Jr.\n\n* Play Golf for a few years.\n\n* Put together a reunion tour in which you promise to only play the popular songs.\n\n\nThere are rare exceptions: the bands that can consistently write good songs. Led Zeppelin, Beatles, Stones, etc. It also doesn't apply to \"manufactured\" bands that have almost no control over writing, recording and production.\n\nedit: formatting.",
"score": 23
},
{
"body": "Our Lady Peace. Three solid albums (seriously, take a listen to [Happiness... Is Not A Fish You Can Catch](http://mp3.rhapsody.com/our-lady-peace/happiness-is-not-a-fish-you-can-catch)), then their guitar player (the soul of their musical style) left the band. *Gravity* came out shortly after.",
"score": 21
},
{
"body": "Probably none of you consider them to be music, but some 40 years ago the Rolling Stones put out some pretty good music. But Sticky Fingers was the last good album and It's Only Rock and Roll was their last good song. But they had a real run their for a few years where the put out amazing stuff.\n\n",
"score": 21
},
{
"body": "I still like U2's current music (downvotes expected) but it's NOTHING compared to what they put out in the 80's. Listen to \"Like A Song\" from War and the raw emotion they put out is unequaled. \n\nThey went down after Achtung Baby (yes I'm aware Achtung is from the early 90's but that is their best album imo).",
"score": 19
},
{
"body": "I saw Depeche Mode touring in support of \"Violator\" in 1990. They did a tight, long show, packed with all their best songs, with very little posturing or time filler. Somewhere between then and \"Songs Of Faith And Devotion\" in 1993, Dave Gahan went to LA and decided he wanted to be Rage Against The Machine crossed with David Lee Roth; the next time I saw Depeche, he was strutting all over the stage, humping the mic stand, and constantly thrusting the mic at the audience and yelling \"SING IIIIIIIIT!\" Dave, I don't want to SING IIIIIIIIT. I paid my thirty bucks to hear *you* SING IIIIIIIT.",
"score": 18
},
{
"body": "DMB has been shit since \"Before these crowded streets\". It was the last time they used Steve Lillywhite. Someone should let them now that no one likes the crap that they've done since. ",
"score": 17
},
{
"body": "Ice Cube. Went from a gun toting gangster to this... \n\nhttp://plumblines.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/are-we-there-yet-large.jpg\n\nmakes all of his early music just seem so fake...",
"score": 14
},
{
"body": "The Clash. A good example of the Raw -> Good -> Lush -> Shit progression.\n\nThe Clash. Raw and angry, not quite in control but with tons of potential.\n\nGive 'Em Enough Rope. Hitting their stride. They've got control of their instruments now and lots of good stuff.\n\nLondon Calling. Hitting the peak. One of the best albums ever in any universe.\n\nSandanista. Good stuff, but really self-indulgent. One of the finest examples of an artist needing someone with a mallet behind them to tell them that it's time to stop.\n\nCombat Rock. Oh dear.",
"score": 11
},
{
"body": "As a fan of Trance music, **DJ Tiesto** completely fell off the map with his newest album, \"Kaleidescope\".\n\nI have listen to some boring ass, soulless trance before, but that album was one of the few CDs that have become Frisbees. \n\nAlso, I know people on Reddit do not like them, but I have to add **Linkin Park** to the list. Within the span of one album, they went from, IMHO, awesome, to WTF?\n\nWith their third album, they turned from an electronica group with live instruments (Mike Shinoda stated once that members of the band had individual jam sessions by themselves, recorded what they each came up with, spliced it together with Reason, and then they went and practiced the spliced together beats, hence my prior comment), to a run of the mill whinny, rock band indistinguishable from all the other whinny indistinguishable rock bands out there because they hired Rick Rubin (who had done amazing things with other bands)to help them, and he ended up making them into a \"real rock\" band, with \"real rock\" jam sessions.\n\nAnd if their standalone single, \"[New Divide](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysSxxIqKNN0)\", is any indication of what direction they are going in...sigh\n\n**YOU ARE AN ELECTRONICA BAND, NOT A ROCK ONE!** Get back to that.",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "Snow Patrol. *Songs For Polar Bears* is a really great album, but nobody believes me because of the dull stuff they churn out these days.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "not that i liked their music, but [Milli Vanilli](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milli_Vanilli) pretty much takes the cake ",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "Megadeth. I've never been a metalhead, but their album Rust in Peace made me want to go out and break things. I heard a little of United abominations, and I wanted to vomit. Heard their newest album is good, but haven't got around to listening to it yet.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Nickleback actually *started* on the bottom, and somehow managed to figure out how descend into the black pits of eternal damnation.\n\nOr something.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Paul McCartney. One of the greatest pop songwriters of all time also wrote some of the worst crap in the 70's and 80's. Did he know? Did he care?",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Agree on the Peas.\n\nFor my money, it's actually Phish. Their early studio stuff is like quirky jazz-inflected pop.\n\nI went and saw them live last year just to say that I had done it, and I honestly kind of wanted to go on stage and ask them stop what they were doing to music.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "In Flames for me. They used to be kinda brutal back in the day but now they're like pop metal or something. Such a shame",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Guns & Roses:\n\nAppetite for destruction through Use your Illusion --> The Spaghetti Incident --> Chinese Democracy.\n\nAnd the band was a mere shell of it's former self.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Butthole Surfers\nWent from being a badass band filled with acid drenched maniacs that would show videos of surgeries in concert to ripping off Beck. ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "The Mars Volta. Deloused and Frances are tough albums to live up to, but the new one is pretty goddamn boring. ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Rod Stewart. Rod Stewart fell so far, so significantly, that most people I meet don't even realize that he was ever cool. Now he's such an abomination that he even manages to tarnish the reputation of the Faces. Check out the Faces live clips on youtube - I'm Losing You, Miss Judy's Farm, Maybe I'm Amazed, Gasoline Alley, and others. ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "If anyone doesn't make the connection between this thread and the Jon Stewart making fun of the Fox News Crew's collective idealization of American Utopias of past decades. I've got no faith in humanity. ",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Wilco has fallen quite a bit in my opinion. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is one of my favorite albums, but they've spiraled down since Jay Bennett left and died. Sky Blue Sky and Wilco (The Album) blow.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Tool.\n\nI first got into Tool when I heard \"Sober\" as a teenager. I bought the album, found out they had an EP (Opiate) that I hadn't heard of before and bought that, then bought Ænima, got knocked out at their concert in '97, waiting YEARS for them to release Lateralus, love it, waited even MORE years for 10,000 Days, and .... stopped.\n\nI can't even listen to the early stuff I loved anymore. Tool has dropped the most out of all my favourite bands.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "NOFX is still amazing. Still and they've been together since 1983!\nI'm not good with computery things but i would link to a song from one of their last two albums both of which are good in my opinion.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Boston. Their debut album kicked ass, and they never came close to that again, though the 2nd and 3rd albums had a few good moments.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Gary Numan\r\n\r\nAll the Tubeway Army stuff, Pleasure Principle, and even Telekon were fantastic. Then it went downhill.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Aerosmith, man. These guys can't seem to stay out of the hospital in the last couple years. Shit is real shaky between Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. Like Tyler hanging up on Perry, and avoiding him shaky. Plus, with Tyler's most recent injury where he fell off the stage and broke his shoulder and I think a cheekbone, he's been out for a long time. There's speculation Tyler's back into drugs and alcohol. Apparently Aerosmith is looking for a new lead singer, too.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Tori Amos for me. I was a huge fan of her first few albums. They were raw, edgy compilations with incredible musical ideas and deep and difficult subject matter. Incredible stuff. Then she moved into dull, easy-listening, metaphysical crap.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Metallica.\n\nAlso, I was in Thailand and the van that gave me a ride from the airport to the bungalow had this DVD of The Scorpions, but they were doing some kind of softly lit yuppie nightclub thing with people in the audience wearing turtlenecks and smiling blankly while the band played light jazz versions of their songs. It was horrifying.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Starship (remnants from Jefferson Starship) - We Built This City On Rock & Roll - Written by Bernie Taupin and Peter Wolf, etc. How could such talented people create something this bad?!!!",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Based on how amazing incubus used to be and what they are today I would have point my finger at them with great displeasure. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "There are those that say the world ended around 1972 when Peter Green left *Fleetwood Mac*. We are just living in an unconvincing simulacrum.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Metallica - \"...And Justice For All\" (the song) to suing Napster, then topping it off with St. Anger... 'nuff said.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Deftones.... I love Adrenaline, Around the Fur, and White Pony was epic. Chino has fallen off. He's a legend. But he's fallen off.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Yes...Close To The Edge...One of the finest compositions in history\n\nOwner of a Lonely Heart...Mindless pop trash",
"score": 3
}
] |
By request: IAMA professional editorial photographer.... AMA.
|
I was directed to this request through a friend, who suggested I respond.
**Photography has been my sole-source of income since 1999.**
The request was for an editorial fashion photographer — which I have plenty of experience with — but I have expanded into larger (read: more profitable) segments.
Feel free to ask me anything. If there is enough interest, I'd be happy to provide a link to my site.
**EDIT:** Here is a link to my site: [Joe Schmelzer](http://www.joeschmelzer.com) Please note that because I have identified myself, this will greatly limit the type questions I can answer, so think before you ask!
| 14 |
[
{
"body": "Hi Joe, thanks to you and your friend for the AMA!\n\n1. How big was your regular team, what roles were there?\n2. What was/is your biggest expense?\n3. How much organisations was required for each shoot, did the client expect you to do everything from sourcing the models to locations?\n4. What was the average budget for each shoot?\n5. What percentage of time do you spend shooting?\n6. Besides post-production what is the biggest time consumer?\n7. Creative freedom, how much were you given?\n8. Were you agency represented?\n9. Main method of getting shoots, contacting designers, magazines?\n10. You mentioned profitability, what sort of percentages?\n11. How stable is the job? Was there always work available, did you have a strong financial cushion?\n\nThere's probably too many questions here, if you could answer any I would really appreciate it :) Thanks!",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Given the over-saturation of photographers out there (and especially the amateurs who are interested in one day becoming a pro photographer), what are some of the attributes that made you successful? How did you differentiate yourself from all the other guys/gals? Was it luck? I ask this because I too am I photographer, but decided not to pursue it professionally. ",
"score": 3
}
] |
I'm having pet rat troubles and am in need of advice.
|
I have two female albino rats that I've owned for about four months now. My boyfriend and I keep their cage in our bedroom, which generally isn't a big deal until they decide to wedge their food bowl under their wheel at night.
This is what happened last night when I had just crawled into bed. When they run on the wheel with the bowl wedged underneath, it makes a loud and annoying scraping noise which can make sleep a difficult thing to accomplish.
So I got out of bed, *in the dark* to open the cage and move the bowl. As I was opening the latch, one of the rats (I couldn't see which one, as it was almost completly pitch black) bit my thumb. It was a very very deep bite that bled profusely for about an hour and probably could have used stitches- but that didn't happen because I'm poor, uninsured, and was half asleep at the time.
So the real problem is that now, my boyfriend wants to get rid of the rats (and take them to the humane society to have them put down). This isn't really a viable option to me, especially if it means that they have to be euthanized.
They've never had the best disposition since I bought them, and one of them, the one I suspect bit me, has always had a tendency of nipping, but never drawing blood- none the less biting me this badly. all the same, I don't think that that warrants a death sentence.
So does anyone have any advice on how to deal with them? How to curb biting in the future, or if worse comes to worse, some way I could give them away or something *without* giving them a death sentence? I really do love and care about the little buggers a lot, and I know that she probably didn't know better.
| 8 |
[
{
"body": "How much out of cage time do they get? Are they spayed? How big is their cage and what sort of entertainment do they have in there?\n\nRats get bored pretty easily, as they're very intelligent and very social. If these needs aren't getting met, they can lash out due to being cranky. \n\nSome rats get nippy over territory issues (male and female alike) so if they've never nipped outside of their cage, it really should not warrant them being put down. Try to never feed them through the cage or feed them directly as it might help cut down on them thinking fingers can be related to food. If their wheel is annoying, I suggest getting a cage-mounting one and moving their bowl away from it or simply placing their lab blocks (I HOPE you are feeding them lab blocks) elsewhere, like in their hammock or bedding. \n\nIf surrendering them becomes necessary, please find a rat rescue. There are a surprising amount of small animal rescues that will do everything they can to rehabilitate and find good homes for your little buddies. Where are you located? Feel free to PM me if you want some more info on anything.",
"score": 4
}
] |
No one ever talks about how to design an attractive and professional intranet application. Anyone have any advice or examples?
|
I'm working on a fairly large web-based application that is used by every one of my company's 100 employees. The existing application is horribly ugly, inconsistent from page to page, difficult to use and navigate, etc.
The inconsistency comes in from making small steps with every new/upgraded page to do something a little nicer but with no proper designer, we've got a lot of really disgusting looking pages created by developers who mostly have no concept of how to make an attractive presentation of their application.
A web site and application are functionally very different beasts. Most web sites are either some form of advertising/content publishing that need a flashy way to display their information, or you have applications like facebook or last.fm that are definitely more data-centric but still much more about displaying various data rather than entering it.
So where does one go to get ideas to create a nice interface for a web-based database application? What are good and bad practices a designer should be aware of? Obviously the things that apply to basic Windows development apply but web pages require a little more pizazz just by their nature.
I'd love to hear input and hopefully see screenshots of well-designed corporate applications.
| 12 |
[
{
"body": "There's an install profile for [Drupal](http://drupal.org/) called [Open Atrium](http://openatrium.com/) that is custom-tailor for intranets. I think the out-of-the-box theme is attractive, and it features a bunch of cool, professional features you'd expect an intranet to have in 2010.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Okay, this is one that I've run the gamut through, and learned some really hard lessons along the way. It's long-winded... I'm sorry... but I think it's worth the read:\n\nI was placed in a position where I had to create an intranet site for the customer service department of a Fortune 500 company. My budget was zip-zero-zilch, the only tool they gave me was FrontPage, and the corporate IT policy was so insidiously restrictive that they didn't allow any dynamic web content whatsoever. \n \nI could tell you stories about MS-Paint that would curl your hair - but they're probably not relevant to your situation. Here is what you do need to know:\n\n---\n### Poll Your Users \n\n---\n \nThis is the first, and last, and most important lesson you can possibly learn for an intranet design. Your end-users need a certain bit of information, and they need it fast. Time is money. The more clicks it takes to get that information, the more time it takes... and, thus, the more it costs the company. In order to meet their needs, you need to know what they will be using your intranet for.\n\nFirst, talk to the people. Get a feel for what they use the current system. If they seem nice, ask if you can shoulder-surf while they use it, so that you can get a feel for it.\n\nNext, make a questionnaire, listing every intranet task that you can think of. (i.e., \"On a scale of 1 to 5, how frequently do you use each of these features...\") The goal is to find out how **often** they use each feature, **not** how important the features themselves are. That's critical. Put it in bold on the questionnaire, and mention it to everybody for reinforcement.\n\nThe questionnaire can be anonymous, but it should have the user's department or job function on it.\n\nCollect the results, add them all up, and then analyze the data (by job function). I guarantee you will find some surprises. \n\nNow, you need to create a hierarchy. The stuff that gets used most frequently rises to the top, and the stuff that is used less-frequently gets buried down (i.e., requires more clicks to get to).\n\nThe stuff at the top of the hierarchy ends up on the front page - and on that front page, the most frequently-used stuff should be upper-left. Try to find logical ways to group things - you\n\nIf you see useless crap like \"Mission Statement\", or photos of the CEO or whatever - bury it. Even if management loves that stuff. Justify your decision with the hard data that you collected from that poll. Useless crap like that just kills an intranet, because it takes away screen real-estate from the valuable stuff that people actually need to do their jobs. If they must have a self-effacing shrine to their managerial circle-jerking prowess, then give them a single link at the bottom of the page somewhere discreet.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Hey Reddit, what is the best/ most intriguing short story you know of?
|
I love stories! Please share with us the best ones you know. Horror, sci-fi, comedy, action, adventure, campfire...anything, really. Extra points for plot twists!?
| 18 |
[
{
"body": "Nabokov's *Signs and Symbols* http://www.angelynngrant.com/nabokov.html \nChekhov's *The Lady with the Dog* http://www.online-literature.com/anton_chekhov/1297/ \nJoyce's *The Dead* http://www.classicreader.com/book/356/1/ \nSalinger's *A Perfect Day for Bananafish* http://www.freeweb.hu/tchl/salinger/perfectday.html \nKafka's *A Hunger Artist* https://records.viu.ca/~Johnstoi/kafka/hungerartist.htm \nGilman's *The Yellow Wallpaper* http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/wallpaper.html \nMarquez's *The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World* http://www.scribd.com/doc/7180660/The-Handsomest-Drowned-Man-in-the-World \nBorges' *Library of Babel* http://jubal.westnet.com/hyperdiscordia/library_of_babel.html \nHemingway's *Hills Like White Elephants* http://www.moonstar.com/~acpjr/Blackboard/Common/Stories/WhiteElephants.html ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Here are a few I've enjoyed:\nAnything by Neil Gaiman, specifically Snow, Glass, Apples. It's a twist on the Snow White story of old. A lot of other good short stories in his books \"Smoke and Mirrors\" and \"Fragile Things.\"\n\nStephen King has a lot of amazing short stories as well. My favorite was \"The Long Walk\" which depicts an America not to far in the future that is enthralled by game shows [sound familiar?] and one ran by \"The Major\" which involves 100 boys... you guess it, walking. Huge twist on that though, but I don't want to ruin the short story for you.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "There was a story with a moral in a feature film that the bbc and hbo did in 2002. The film was called Conspiracy (lots of stars in it kenneth branagh, stanely tucci, colin firth etc) and was about the meeting to decide the final solution. The story goes like this: There was a man who lived with both his parents, his mother was a gentle, caring and loving person whom the man adored and loved in return. His father on the other hand was a nasty hateful man who used to beat him. As the years past the man built up a resentment for his father who didn't care for him at all. Anyways his mother dies young in her fifties and at her funeral he can't cry, he couldn't shed a tear there was no real emotion on his part. The years grow on and his father lives on well into his eighties and when he finally passes away at the funeral the son is over come with emotion, he is inconsolable. The son can't believe that he is showing so much emotion and he feels so empty.\n\nSo that was the story, but the analogy of it was that the germans hated the jews and were hell bent on destroying them, and if this was their sole purpose that everything was put towards then finally when the jews were gone they to would feel empty and have nothing left since they were so consumed with a purpose that had now vanished. I thought it was a touching way to describe the german ideology at the end of the film.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Short stories are a passion of mine, so here's my list of the best.\n\nHorror\n\n* An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, by Ambrose Bierce. (Vonnegut once said that Owl Creek Bridge was the most perfect short story every written.)\n* The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman\n* The Monkey's Paw, by W. W. Jacob\n* Desiree's Baby, by Kate Chopin\n* All Summer In A Day, by Ray Bradbury\n* The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas, by Ursula le Guin\n* Harrison Bergeron, by Kurt Vonnegut\n* A Rose for Emily, by William Faulkner\n* The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson\n* The Devil and Daniel Webster, by Stephen Vincent Benet\n* The Fall of the House of Usher, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Purloined Letter, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, and The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe \n* The Shadow over Innsmouth, and The Call of Cthluhu by H. P. Lovecraft\n\nHumor\n\n* The Ransom of Red Chief, by O. Henry.\n* The Open Window, by Saki (pen name of H. H. Munro)\n* Why I Live at the P. O., by Eudora Welty\n* Charles, by Shirley Jackson\n* The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, by James Thurber\n* Bernice Bobs Her Hair, by F. Scott Fitzgerald\n\n\nDrama\n\n* Him, Katherine Anne Porter\n* The Jilting of Granny Weatherall, by Katherine Anne Porter. In fact, do yourself a favor and go find a copy of The Collected Short Stories of Katherine Anne Porter. She is a master of the format.\n* The Gift of the Magi, by O. Henry\n* The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky, and The Open Boat, by Stephen Crane\n* The Use of Force, by William Carlos Williams\n* A Worn Path, and Ladies in Spring by Eudora Welty\n* The Girls in their Summer Dresses, by Irwin Shaw\n* Hills Like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway\n* Split Cherry Tree, by Jesse Stuart\n* The Luck of Roaring Camp, by Bret Hart\n* A Good Man is Hard to Find, and Everything That Rises Must Converge, by Flannery O'Connor\n* The Most Dangerous Game, by Richard Connell.\n* Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville\n* The Necklace, by Guy de Maupassant\n* The Story of An Hour, by Kate Chopin\n* Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates\n* Paul's Case, by Willa Cather\n ",
"score": 3
}
] |
Out of those who have jailbroken, who HASN'T changed the look of their springboard (custom icons/transparent dock/custom wallpaper etc.)?
|
I tried out a few wallpapers and a few themes, and after I reverted back to the standard look I discovered I just can't be stuffed having my eyes look at flashy wallpapers/icons/widgets when at the springboard.
Does anyone else think the same?
| 21 |
[
{
"body": "Most themes are indeed utter crap, and way too flashy. There are some gems. [Suave](http://dl.dropbox.com/u/89768/Mobile%20Photo%20Jan%206%2C%202010%208%2038%2001%20PM.jpg) is one of them. (Pardon the JPG.)",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "I didn't skin it because I felt Winterboard noticably slowed my phone down (I have a 3GS) and Backgrounder killed the battery like crazy. The only MobileSubstrate addins I have are ultrasn0w, Yourtube, and QuickReply. ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "The only reason I've jailbroken is to unlock the phone and allow tethering. My telco wants to charge $10 per month for me to be able to use the data allowance I've already paid for, tethered. I've not really found any apps that I feel I need through Cydia, and am quite happy with springboard as it is.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I've done a little altering, but only minimally so. [here's](http://imgur.com/mtzX1) mine. \n\nPersonally, I've found about 99% of the thremes available to be eye bleeding crap. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "You should check out iLlumine. It's a fantastic theme, very elegant, and has a ton of custom icon sets.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I was running a skinned iPhone for a long time but soon realized how much Summer/Winterboard was slowing my phone down. I miss how awesome it looked, but I prefer the performance bump.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Nope. I only use jailbreaking to let me do the things that apple/the telco artificially restricts, like SIM unlocking (blackrain), tethering w/ PDAnet, 3G unrestrictor, file transfer (ssh,afp) etc. I tried playing around with the extra stuff like themes and intelliscreen, but all it seems to do is my make iPhone slower and less stable. I do use SBSettings although, it's quite useful. I have an iPhone 3G, where the available amount of ram is always around 40MB at the very best, and usually 5MB. 3GS have something like 200+MB, so multitasking and such is alot more practical. Maybe we'll see an official multitask once the 3GS becomes the \"cheapo model\" and a large majority have a 3GS.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I jailbroke my (factory unlocked and tetherable) 3G for SBSettings, BiteSMS and 3GUnrestrictor. Never had any urge to replace Springboard though - it looks fine as it is IMO. ",
"score": 3
}
] |
I'm sick. I spend all day, every day stuck on the toilet. Does anyone know what's wrong with me?
|
This has been going on for nearly two years now. I'm 21 years old, male, fairly healthy. Every day for me is pretty much the same. Wake up. Two hours on the toilet, get off and not a half hour later, I'll feel some leaking, so then it's back on the shitter. This goes on for the rest of the day, and tapers off somewhere in the evening. Not completely, mind you. It just slows down a bit.
If I do try to leave the house, liquid seeps from the back of my pants and stains my underwear. I've had to quit my job. I can't have any real relationships. My friends don't know about this, and have all moved on with their lives. The exception is one close friend who I've told, but I barely even get to see. Luckily, I live back with my mom, so I have a place to live rent free, and I'm able to go under her health insurance for now. But I'm tired of being a burden on her. I constantly snap at her because I'm so frustrated.
I'm losing my goddamn mind. I can't take it anymore. This has only been getting worse and worse. Weed used to help, but only really delays the problem. I recently quit, because I could no longer afford it. I've cut out practically everything from my diet, dairy, red meat, fatty foods etc. And as it is now, I barely even eat.
I've seen doctor after doctor and had test after test, and they never know what's wrong. I've tried every fiber supplement and natural remedy, pills, probiotics. I've been tested for parasites, glucose and lactose deficiencies. I've had blood and stool tests, abdominal scan, colonoscopy, upper GI, and several more, all to no avail. I can't fucking deal with it anymore. I literally have no reason to live. I just want to be able to live a normal life, be able to walk around in public, have a regular job. For Christ sakes, I'm only 21 years old. If this is what the rest of my life is going to be like, then I don't see the point in continuing.
The reason I'm posting this on reddit is on the off chance that someone on here might have had a similar problem. I become quite fond of reddit, having spent so much time on the toilet with my laptop. I know its a long shot, but I know this is a helpful community and maybe somebody might have a solution I haven't heard of.
EDIT: Wow. Thanks for the help and support, everyone. I honestly thought I had heard it all. I have a lot of stuff to bring up to my doctor next week.
To those wondering about my diet. For the past month, I've been on the diet in the book "Eating for IBS" by Heather Von Vorou. This basically consists of a diet heavy in soluble fiber, no dairy, no red meat, no high fat foods, coffee ,sodas or alcohol. Specifically, I would eat lots of rice, bread, pasta, chicken, small salads after meals. This hasn't really helped me so much, but if you're suffering with IBS, its worth a shot. Based on these comments, I'll be starting the gluten free diet today, and see if my symptoms improve.
I DO have some abdominal pain, probably should have mentioned originally, but it's not that intense, mostly in my lower stomach, and on the left, just below my ribcage.
As far as my poos look, they are usually light brown. I haven't had a solid log in years. Mostly its bits and pieces, liquidy or solid chunks, sometimes in long strands. It's on and off constipation and diarrhea. Whether or not I have constipation or diarrhea, I'll still have the leaking, which is often clear and mucousy, occasionally with bits of poo. I've had some blood, but not often. I thought it was due to me wiping so much.
| 134 |
[
{
"body": "I'm 20 years old and have had the same issues since I was 5. I know how much this can fucking suck. My parents and every doctor I saw blamed me for my problems until a year ago, when I finally found a doctor that gave a shit. Still haven't gotten a colonoscopy, but I doubt anything will turn up.\n\nMy situation's gotten slightly better in the past year or so, but I know what you're going through. Unfortunately, I haven't found anything that helps... I'm considering going on a gluten-free diet on the off-chance that it helps, but I don't hold much hope for that either.\nMy only advice is, don't give up. I thought I could never live a normal life either, but I'm getting closer. If you keep trying, things will start getting better.\n\nI don't think that I can help you any in terms of solving the actual problem. But I hope it helps to know there's someone else you there that has experienced the same thing.",
"score": 90
},
{
"body": "Have you ever tried to stop eating gluten? I had some of the exact same symptoms, just not as bad. It totally went away when I cut gluten/wheat out of my diet. Give it a try for a couple weeks, see if you notice a difference. \n\nIt might take a bit for your intestines to fully heal, but you should notice a difference pretty quickly.\n\n[Celiac disease](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coeliac_disease)\n\n",
"score": 32
},
{
"body": "I'm no doctor but the first thing that came to mind was Crohn's disease. Check it out \n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crohn%27s_disease",
"score": 30
},
{
"body": "Answering NotKumar's questions would be helpful.\r\n\r\nSome possibilities:\r\n1) Celiac sprue is quite possible, but the doctors probably would have seen blunting of small intestinal villi if they took a biopsy during your upper GI exam. Also, this is so common that I can’t imagine multiple doctors missing it. Nevertheless, try a non-gluten diet; it can't hurt.\r\n2) Ever travel someplace exotic? Tropical sprue is a possibility.\r\n3) You're young for Whipple's disease, but you can ask about it. There’s a test for it.\r\n4) Pancreatic insufficiency. Without the proper enzymes from the pancreas, you get a malabsorption syndrome and thus diarrhea. It sounds like this wasn’t tested for.\r\n\r\nGeneral suggestions:\r\n1) Contact your clinic and ask for the paperwork to request releasing your medical records to yourself. Then you can really see the results of biopsies, exams, and what the doctors were looking for. This gives you the opportunity to read about various conditions. You can also take these records to other doctors, which is sometimes really appreciated.\r\n2) It depends on your insurance, but some insurance plans, like my own, will let me self-refer, so I can make an appointment with a specialist without a referral from a primary care physician. If you can do this, or if you can afford to just go to a specialist, go to a gastroenterologist, preferably at a university (as they are more likely to diagnose you if your condition is rare and isn't obvious, assuming that a common doctor would likely catch the common conditions, such as celiac disease, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's, lactose intolerance, etc.).",
"score": 20
},
{
"body": "you have what is called [Habba Syndrome](http://www.habbasyndrome.com/). it is caused by an overactive gallbladder. go see a doctor and have them test you for it.",
"score": 20
},
{
"body": "I don't have any real help to offer you, just my sympathy.\n\nI really hope you are able to get this figured out. \n\nHave you told the doctors that weed was helping? This may be helpful to them to prescribe something, perhaps even weed depending on where you are, that may be helpful. \n\nGood luck and hang in there. Something will happen to make this situation better eventually. Please don't do anything rash, just keep trying to figure out what's wrong.",
"score": 13
},
{
"body": "Pernicious Anemia often imitates celiac disease. The addition of a vitamin b12 supplement to your diet may be a quick and cheap way to rule out this condition. Many people who claim to be celiac actually have pernicious anemia.",
"score": 11
},
{
"body": "You say \"I barely even eat\" but I'd be curious to know what you _do_ eat. Do you have a food journal or something? Some of the things you say you cut our (meat for example) seem like they are unlikely to contribute to the problem. It could be something specific like an allergy to an additive or something.",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "What kind of doctor are you seeing? If it's just a normal doctor, get a gastrointerologist. If you're already seeing a GI, and he/she hasn't figured anything out yet/improved your quality of life yet, get a better one.\n\nThis is a battle for your quality of life. You're going to have to learn a bit about your digestive system to get it back. You can't take what your doctors say at face value, you can't take the first test result at face value. \n\nFirst step: Get all of your test results since you've been sick. All of them. Blood tests, imaging, if they'll give you whatever notes your doctor has made, get those too, but those are less important. When you get imaging (this is xrays, mris, ct, etc) you want both the actual images (usually on disk) as well as the report from the radiologist. You're going to keep all of this data, so that when you switch doctors you have all of your medical information, and only some things need to be repeated, and when things have to be repeated anyway, they can compare how things have changed over time. Keep doing this-- every time medical professionals create new data on you, do your damn best to get a copy. \n\n\nGet better/more extensive allergy/intolerance/sensitivity screening. There is more than one way that your body can fail to process wheat correctly (iirc), and not every test tests for it well. You might want to cut all gluten out in the meantime, just in case. (seriously, what do you have to lose, at this point?)\n\nIn the meantime, while you're on your laptop on the toilet, be proactive. Start learning. Just about everyone else who spends as much time on the toilet as you do also has their laptop with them at this point. You can learn more about allergies and sensitivities, about Crohns and IBD, about what blood tests you have and have not had, what your insurance does and does not cover, and then you can be a more effective advocate for yourself. No one else is gonna do it.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "Your symptoms sound like you may have Celiac Disease. I was sick constantly until I was 18 with a variety of symptoms, and finally reached a specialist (Gastroenterologist) who immediately said \"sounds like you may have Celiac\". I have felt so much better since going gluten-free after my diagnosis. One thing I wanted to point out to you was that my blood test came back negative, while the biopsy indicated that I was very suspect for Celiac due to atrophy of the villi in my small intestine. Keep in mind full recovery depends on the individual, but can take several months to a year. I felt so much better within days, and think most others do as well. \nIf you decide to go gluten-free, research and make sure you are not ingesting hidden sources of gluten. You may want to check to see if your insurance will pay for you consulting a nutritionist (mine did). Also if you indeed have Celiac, and are consuming gluten, the villi in your small intestine are most likely atrophied. This not only means that you are not going to absorb nutrients very efficiently, but also that you will not be producing enough lactase, (which is produced on the tips of the villi) making you lactose intolerant. Lactase is essential for the proper digestion of lactose, so until the villi recover lactose should also be avoided. A good gluten free multivitamin is also important to help with nutrition aspect.\n\nHere is a link to a great starting point of foods to avoid:\nhttp://www.celiac.com/articles/182/1/Unsafe-Gluten-Free-Food-List-Unsafe-Ingredients/Page1.html\n\nI wish you the best of luck in finding out what is causing you to feel this way. Don't give up. I'm 21 also and know how it feels to be young and feel terrible; and when there is seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel. ",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "Be thankful you're living in a modern civilization that can support your survival in this condition. \n\nBack in the day you would've died easy. Don't use it as an excuse to just give up on life.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Damn sounds like IBS. I think there is no cure, just management. Cam'ron has the same thing, he doesn't eat or drink until he's back at home. ",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Hi.\n\nMy condolences, seriously, this is terrible.\n\nI understand how you feel with this, I went through a long period of something similar but not as severe and it was diet.\n\nIn your case though, have they looked seriously at [Fecal Incontinence](http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/fecalincontinence/)\n\nThat's what came to mind as soon as I read your post, the \"leaking\" is a pretty severe symptom.\n\nIrrespective, there is solution out there, it will get better, don't write off the rest of your life based on now.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I have Crohn's disease and the symptoms your suffering from are very familiar. The liquid may be coming from a fistula. When I first started getting sick I was running to the bathroom all of the time and I had just started college which made it especially awkward. I eventually stopped eating almost entirely because every time I would I'd be in the bathroom. I ended up going to three different doctors before getting an answer to my problem. The third doctor who ended up diagnosing me with Crohn's, put me on Remicade and it has made a world of difference, my life is back to normal again.\n\nHope this helps, I know how much it can suck.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Years ago I had a clostridium difficile infection that caused me to shit 80 times per day for two weeks. Couldn't pee without my ass leaking. It's a bacterial infection that I got via food poisoning. Took my doctor two weeks to figure out what it was. I found out from a message on my answering machine, \"Hi Regibald. This is your doctor and your tests came back. Start taking those antibiotics I prescribed you immediately.\". The very next message was \"Hi Regibald this is the County Board of Health. We need a list of every restaurant you've visited for two weeks before you got sick.\". Every one I named had a health inspection the next day. Good luck man I know how unfunny this situation is. Hang in there - it got better for me.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Sure it could be a problem with your gallbladder, or Celiac...But I'd recommend a biopsy. Until it's ruled out, irregular sphincter control may be a possibility...those muscles may be relaxing too much, resulting in leakage. A peripheral nerve exam might not be a terrible idea, just to hopefully narrow the possibilities. I would also recommend finding a specialist in the pertinent field, and going to him. Good luck man, I really hope you find the peace you deserve! ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "There appears to be an inordinate number of posts saying \"coeliac/celiac\" - which is a perfectly reasonable and probable explanation - but I hardly think we need 40 people saying that. It just clutters the thread rarefying alternative hypotheses.\n\nSince everything else has already been covered, I'll offer a somewhat exotic theory: Hyperarousal of the locus coeruleus-hypothalamic-adrenal axis or somehow decreased sensitivity of mu-opioid receptors in the relevant regions of the body or any other pathologic condition that would result in increased peristalsis of the intestines.\n\nHave you been abusing opioids? Opioids can cause severe constipation due to central nervous system depression / suppression of adrenergic signaling, and during withdrawals diarrhoea is virtually guaranteed due to the desensitization of the receptors for which opioids are ligands: the MORs (Mu-opioid receptors). \n\nThis applies to a lesser extent to other CNS depressants, too. If you suppress any biologic activity consistently and long enough, negative feedback mechanism will begin to renormalize biologic function (technically negative feedback mechanisms work more or less instantly but typically only have noticeable effects when some activity is enhanced or inhibited for a considerable period of time; exceptions tend to be for receptors whose endogenous ligands are polypeptides). This is referred to as homeostasis.\n\nBenzodiazepine, alcohol, opioid, quinazolinone, and barbiturate withdrawals could all be expected to - and do - give rise to diarrhoea. Opioid withdrawal is especially likely to cause this, however.\n\nLikewise, anything that strongly stimulates the central nervous system, like amphetamines, will drastically increase peristalsis and thus the frequency of defecation and the likelihood of diarrhoea. If you're taking ADHD medication or certain antidepressants, such as dextro/amphetamine, dextro/methylphenidate, reboxetine, duloxetine, des/venlafaxine, milnacipran, isocarboxazid, phenelzine, tranylcypromine, moclobemide, etc... (there are far too many medications that could cause this to list here) you might try abstention for a short period to see if that does anything.\n\nDo you eat foods containing a lot of fat? Consumption of fat triggers the release of cholecystokinin which stimulates the gall bladder into releasing bile. If your diarrhoea is green/yellow, that would be indicative of overproduction of bile.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Let me begin by offering you my utmost my deepest sympathy and understanding. You've been in a state of living hell for a long time now and I commend you for doing as well as you have. \n\nPlease, no matter, what, I implore you do not give up the fight. You must be the biggest advocate of your own health at all times (hard as that can be some days, I know - I'm in my mid-20s and have been chronically ill with several severe chronic conditions since I was 18) and persist in continually trying to find the answers that you're seeking (and which you truly deserve).\n\n\n-Prior to the onset of these life altering symptoms, did you ever have an surgical procedures in the rectal/sphincter region? The reason I ask this is because sometimes a potential possible side effect of such procedures (for example, lateral sphincterotomy) is that they can result in varying degrees of short (or even) long term anal incontinence. I had a lateral spnicterotmy preformed nearly two years ago in response to a very serious anal fissure I had developed (it had been resistant to all other forms of treatment) and discovered through my own research that anal incontinence could be a possible side effect (in my case it didn't prove to be and the procedure did eventually allow my fissure to heal, thankfully).\n\n\n-You stated that you've had a colonoscopy done, which while more thorough in many regards, is not exactly the same thing as a different diagnostic procedure called a [barium enema](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_gastrointestinal_series) (aka, a lower gastrointestinal series). If you've not had this test done, it may be worth considering.\n\n\n-Clearly you're been through a battery of food allergy related tests, but it may be worth testing for allergies to other substances that your body commonly comes in contact with. Theoretically it's possible for a person to be allergic to virtually anything on earth (from sunshine to water) - and to experience a very broad range of potential symptoms stemming from their allergies. While it would be impossible to test for all possible substances, perhaps testing for certain common household and environmental allergens (such as mold) would be worthwhile (look at it as one of those \"why the heck not\" situations).\n\n\n-Have you ever been tested for the bacterial infection [Campylobacteriosis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campylobacter)?\n\n\n-I am not a doctor or medical professional, but I wanted to suggest that you talk to one about starting you on an anti-seizure (you would likely need something stronger than your run-of-the-mill antispasmodic) medication (such as [Gabapentin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabapentin)) immediately.\n\nAs someone who has had severe IBS-D (characterized mainly by frequent bathroom trips, more than problems like cramping) for many years and has likewise had many tests done to determine the cause of the issue and tried numerous things to help it (the adoption and ongoing strict adherence to an IBS friendly diet has helped a bit, but not enough), I can tell you first hand how powerfully helpful going on an anti-seizure medication was for my IBS symptoms (the medication was prescribed for a different condition of mine, but ended up primarily helping my IBS).\n\nIt is thought that one of the reasons anti-seizure medications work on certain GI conditions (as well as various other medical issues) is because they they were designed to help prevent or decrease the severity of spasms (in this case those that may be experienced in the intestines by the diarrhea plagued patient). Here is the summary of a [study](http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118696648/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0) that looked at the potential benefits of using Gabapentin to help treat IBS. \n\n\n-Lastly (and here I really do feel the need to stress that I'm not a medical expert in these regards), as an absolutely last resort type of possibility, have you ever contemplated the idea of having a [colostomy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colostomy)) put in?\n\nI realize that this is not something doctors preform willy-nilly (or something that would would ever want to approach without giving the matter serious consideration - and research - beforehand), but on some of my worst IBS days the thought has occurred to me before that it would be (again, if only on those truly \"worst\" days) more bearable to empty my fecal matter from a pouch on my abdomen periodically than to live in the washroom 24/7. (Of course if one did have a colostomy for the sake of IBS or IBS-like condition, they may still continue to have related symptoms like cramping, pain and bloating in addition to ongoing diarrhea, which would now be collected in their colostomy pouch/bag.)\n\nI can't say as thought I would ever actually have a colostomy (in regards to my IBS), if the option was a viable one that is, but I just thought that (if only for the sake of discussion) I would add the idea to the myriad of others that have been shared so far. (Note that some colostomies are temporary and can be used as a means to let the colon \"heal\" for a time before attempting to resume normal anal deification.)\n\n\nPlease again, never give up the fight. I am routing for you and believe that there must be something that can be done to help aid your immense suffering.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Read about **Ulcerative Colitis**. I had *exactly* the same symptoms. Coincidentally, I also have Celiac (get tested for both). Celiac just made me feel bad all the time. The colitis interfered with my life. It could have cost me my job if it hadn't been diagnosed right away. But it got to the point where I quit eating.\n\nBTW, the doctor is everything. I had one doctor who ran all the tests, and somehow managed not to find what was wrong. After him, I found a real doctor of medicine who knew wtf he was doing, and suggested the only test that wasn't performed--for celiac. I was positive.\n\nIt took years to get diagnosed with that.. and years later, I got sick again--like you--and found I had also had developed ulcerative colitis. Get yourself a real doctor. You life very well may depend on it.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I have those symptoms. I've had them for eighteen years. Started when I was sixteen. Doctors tried me for celiac disease (gluten related), lactose intolerance, and food allergies. We finally settled on the IBS catchall diagnosis. Here's what I found after 18 years of torture.\r\n\r\nIt's the food, stupid. I know how that sounds, but it really really is down to the food. There are certain foods that you cannot eat. All of the diseases listed above involve ingesting a food that the afflicted cannot consume. Celiac patients cannot eat gluten. Lactose intolerant patients cannot consume milk. Etc. etc.\r\n\r\nSo the trick is finding out what foods you cannot eat and eliminate them from your diet. To do this, you must go on what's called a reduction diet. Start with plain lamb and rice and water. This is all you get to eat for a week straight. Lamb meat and rice are supposedly the easiest things for the body to digest. After that, you get to add one new food a week. **You must keep a log!**\r\n\r\nSo what's happening here, and why so long in between foods? Certain substances are causing a reaction in your body that isn't healthy. I don't know much about celiac disease, but for the other two (Lactose intolerance and IBS) what's going on is this: when you eat something that contains a substance your body can't tolerate your intestines get inflamed. While your intestines are inflamed, they have trouble digesting the food. And the inflammation can take a few days to go down. But more importantly, it can take a few days for the inflammation to *start*. What this means is that you may end up with diarrhea from something you ate *a couple of days ago*! This is very important because it will lead to misidentified food culprits. For example: I cannot have coffee. However, I can have a cup of coffee perhaps once a month and be completely fine. If I have a cup of coffee two days in a row then I suffer a return to the symptoms you're having now. But that's coffee. If I have something with mustard on it, I'll be in the bathroom in about an hour.\r\n\r\nNow, I want to give you a short list of foods I cannot have, but before I do I feel I need to preface this list with the following statement. **Every single person will have a different list.** Your list may or may not resemble mine in any way. Do not think that you can take my list as your own. *You must make your own list!* My list is for example only:\r\n\r\n* Mustard\r\n* Coffee\r\n* Beans\r\n* Alcohol (<--I break this one pretty regularly)\r\n* Anything with vinegar in it (including ketchup, balsamic vinegar, nacho dip, etc.)\r\n* Chocolate\r\n* Oats\r\n* Wheat\r\n\r\nThe list is in descending order of importance. Meaning, I can get away with having a bowl of cereal, but I should not under any circumstances have a bowl of baked beans. Especially if I have anything important to do the next day (or even that afternoon).\r\n\r\nIt will take you a long time to figure out what your body needs and doesn't need. But if you stick to this and have an accurate log book, you'll be back out there dating chicks in no time.\r\n\r\nThere are things you can eat that will help you. I stick to salads without salad dressing. Plain meats. Lots of fruits and veggies. I've come to love foods with ingredients I can pronounce, and have come to distrust anything with preservatives or food additives.\r\n\r\nAdding fiber to your diet will help. But there are three kinds of fiber, and I can only eat one kind. You'd think that something like oatmeal would be great! Nope, not for me. Pectin (like from apple skins) works for me. I take fiber tablets on a regular basis. And until I got a better grasp on what I could and could not eat, I just supplemented my diet with fiber tablets after every meal. But again, it took a while to find the right kind of fiber tablets, because not every kind of fiber tablet works for me.\r\n\r\nAlso, become a fan of yogurt. Especially yogurt with active probiotics in it. It can help recovery time. Again, you'll have to experiment with different types. Some yogurt is less yogurt and more food additive. The reason yogurt is important is because the bacteria in your gut loves it. My theory on what's actually happening is that your body is for some reason missing a few types of the bacteria that lives in all our guts. Since you're missing this type, you cannot digest certain proteins. And thus, the body doesn't know what to do with it and expels the substance before it inflames your gut lining too much. Read the Wikipedia article on lactose intolerance. I think it's a great example of what I'm referring to here. The body can't digest the lactose sugar anymore, and so it just expels it whenever it's encountered. Keep an eye on Fecal bacteriotherapy. I think this will ultimately cure us.\r\n\r\nHere's some info you're going to need years from now. You will suffer anxiety probably for the rest of your life. It's debilitating. Just be strong, avoid the foods you cannot eat, and don't take any long bus rides. Trust me on the bus rides deal.\r\n\r\nYou're also going to get sick a lot. I catch absolutely everything that comes through work. Sniffles, a cough, fevers, you name it. If I come within a 20' radius of someone sick, I'll catch it. I've heard that 70 percent of the antibodies in your body are produced in the gut. Since my gut spends so much time in damage control mode, I don't get the same immunity response as others do. Now this doesn't mean that I have trouble getting rid of colds. I think my immune system is fine, it just has trouble getting started (whatever that means, I don't know).\r\n\r\nAlso, here's a weird one. After you start eliminating the big culprits in your diet, your body is going to start healing. You'll enter a phase where your bowel movements will become solid again. This is both good and bad. Good because it means your body is able to digest the food it takes in, which means you'll be getting more resources from your food (you don't get many resources from food you eat and immediately shit out, you can literally be starving yourself while eating five meals a day). But then you go and eat something you weren't supposed to. What happens is the body tries to get rid of the food it can't handle. It does this by evacuating the bowels as fast as possible. But with a solid bowel movement in the way, you end up with this \"gun\" scenario, with the offending matter pushing the solid poop at high speeds out the anus. I'm trying to put nicely the fact that it's going to be very easy for your butt to rip.\r\n\r\nI can't stand it when that happens. I have this complete and terrifyingly traumatic thing with this scenario. I hate looking down in the toilet and seeing it filled with blood. Feeling it drip off my ass-cheeks is horrifying. And no matter how you sit, lie, lean, etc., it won't ease the pain. Those days suck.\r\n\r\nAlright, I think I've written enough on this. Good luck to you, and come back here again if you have any questions.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "For what it's worth... Right after I graduated high school I had a seizure, and then several more shortly after. For 5 years I'd go through a pattern of seizures, and then none for a couple months. Went to several doctors without any luck, tested for tons of things, etc, then when I was just about done with it all, my sister convinced me to go to one more. Guy nailed it in an hour, got me on a prescription and now 3 years later I haven't had any symptoms. It sounds like your situation is worse, but, at least for me, I'm glad I kept looking. I hope you find your answer, give it a little more time, you may get lucky.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I'm sure you've answered these questions to multiple doctors, but I feel like we're missing things needed to better grasp your situation.\n\nDoes anything make it better? Worse?\n\nIs there pain? Or just leaking?\n\nWhat is the volume of average leakage?\n\nWhat is the leakage like? Is it oily? Watery? Are there chunks?\n\nHave you tried taking any drugs for it?\n\nHow much fiber are you eating? Does eating more help or make it worse?\n\nWhen you do eat, what are you eating?\n\nI see this has really affected your social life, how is your mom dealing with this?\n\nIs it worse when you're especially stressed?\n\nRegarding doctors, I'm assuming you've been seeing GI specialists, what did they say that it could be?\n\nAgain, thanks for being brave enough to post your problems on reddit, maybe some doctor will be reading.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I'm no doctor, but it sounds like it could be a few things. I would see an allergist first, see if you are allergic to any major foods like dairy, soy, peanuts, that sort of thing. \n\nIf everything comes back negative it could also be anxiety related. Many doctors ignore that anxiety is often causes stomach symptoms. The fact that this happens in the morning suggests anxiety. Do you get nervous about having to leave the house? Are there days when this doesn't happen or is it every day?",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Sucks, man. I have similar issues but in the other direction. I can't eat anything without getting constipated or bloated beyond belief. Mild laxatives work but I need them all the time if I want to feel 'normal', and the problem has gotten progressively worse. I have changed my diet, quit self-medicating out of fear of over-medicating (seems like a lot of people do this), been tested for parasites, given various drugs for motility...I am functional, but unhappy and irritable. And I do not see it getting better, which makes me MORE unhappy whenever I think about it, which is...constantly. I know how this can take over your life, and it is awful.\r\n\r\nI still have a life, but it's increasingly limited. I get so angry about the problem I think my brain may be making things worse. The stomach responds to the brain, so be careful about anxiety and issues like that. Still, anal leakage is obviously not 'in your head.'\r\n\r\nSometimes you need tests done more than once, and you need to be properly prepared for them. This goes for celiac tests (seriously, try not eating gluten for a month or so - it really, really sounds like you might have that, and you're at the right age for onset) and parasite tests. There are lots of false negatives in those. Other stuff, I don't really know. \r\n\r\nDon't give up. Also, try and find something you can do even when you're forced to use the toliet. Reading, laptop computer, etc. And, yeah, you might think adult diapers are ridiculous, but if they let you actually do things, consider it a useful stopgap. Life is ridiculous sometimes, but it's always worth living.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "The two things that I thought of from your stated symptoms were:\n\n1.Pernicious anemia: as has been said a few times already. Its quick and easy to check for, but I'm thinking they have already tested you for it if they have done a full workup on you. You never know though so check it out and ask your doctor.\n\n2. Some kind of bile duct abnormality: Theres a condition (I cant think of the medical name) where your liver over produces bile to the point that the gallbladder cant hold onto it any more and it basically shoots out into the intestines and causes horrible diarrhea. I wish I could think of the name.\n\nOne more thing that you need to remember is that doctors are not infallible. You need to be your own advocate when you speak to a doctor, you need to find a doctor that will listen to you and take your case seriously. I dont know how many times I've seen doctors at my hospital act like they are the hand of god and think they can do no harm. There is no reason why this should be going on for such a prolonged period of time without you knowing why. \n\nLike I said be your own advocate, go into your appointments with your own research. Some doctors frown on this because they think they are the ones who should be figuring it out because of their education. One of the doctors I work with had a patient come in after not getting better with some sheets she had printed out on what she thought was wrong with her. The doc looked if over and thought she may be right and treated her for it, and guess what, she got better. They are not all knowing, and if you cant find one who will work for you, move on and find a different doctor until you get better.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Read into the Specific Carbohydrate diet. It was designed to treat the symltoms of Crohn's, ulcerative colitis, and unremittant Celiac, which - regardless of diagnosis - you report to a T. I have the latter, which is how I found it. \n\nI started it after two utterly strict gluten-free years following six years of incapacitating illness, still feeling generally awful. It's been the difference between my functioning, going to school, and grabbing life by the nuts - and not leaving bed. Yeah, it's a huge lifestyle overhaul, but fuck! You had to quit your job, you say you have no relationiships, you spend your life in the bathroom. Your life sounds like it fucking sucks, and if a huge overhaul is what it takes, I say try it. \n\nFor the record - your docs, well-intentioned though they may be, are not omnicient. They don't know everything, and just because they can't tell you what's wrong doesn't mean you shouldn't take steps to fix it. \n\nFeel free to PM me if you have questions, I'd be happy to help. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "sound like a $hit situation... have you tried the paleolithic diet? I feel it would work wonders... the extra protein *should* help bulk that up some. best of luck, man, that sucks.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Ask /music: I just got myself a guitar and where should I go to begin to learn the basics
|
I know the basics of music but I have never played the guitar (seriously before). Also, I have an acoustic.
| 11 |
[
{
"body": "I'm in the same boat. I've been following Justin's lessons on [justinguitar.com](http://www.justinguitar.com/). He's great - has a video explaining nearly anything you could think to ask. Start with the Beginners Course.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Which songs did you kinda like until you actually listened to the lyrics?
|
I remember hearing "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia for the first time while running on a treadmill and thinking, "What a great song to run to... lots of energy, the beat is just right for a run." Then I paid attention to the lyrics... yikes, depressing!
I recently got the same from Hey Monday's "How You Love Me Now." First time I heard it I was like "Nice melody, kinda cute and fun." Then I caught the lyrics. :|
Which songs threw you for a loop once you made out the lyrics?
| 10 |
[
{
"body": "Santeria by Sublime. Cool, catchy tune but the lyrics are something else! I still like the song, though.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Don't Trust Me, by 3OH!3. I heard it on the radio and thought it was a catchy song. Actually listened to the lyrics, and lost all interest in them.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "\"Sometime Around Midnight\" by The Airborne Toxic Event. I'm thinking, great song, catchy, band's name is a literary reference, awesome!\n\nThen I listened to the lyrics, and lines like \"she's holding her tonic like a crux\" made me realize that they're trying way too hard.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Asking /r/photography! First porn-ish shoot advice.
|
Greetings photographers! I am getting ready to shoot my first nude shoot with a friend of mine and I am looking for a little advice. Nothing technical (I think that I have that base covered) just looking for a few words of advice from others on good things to do/not to do on a first shoot. This is not an art-nude shoot, more like the kind of thing you would see in the legalteen/nsfw reddit (but still a little classy ^_^). This was her idea, so I know that she is comfortable with it, but this is her first as well.
PS: I'm a dude shooting a woman, if it matters...
EDIT: Great advice here guys. Thanks!
| 27 |
[
{
"body": "Having shot several hundred nude models...\n\n1. Don't take photos until you get a signed release. The first photo should be a shot of the model's legal picture ID that has her face, name, and age clearly displayed... held up next to the model's face. No ID = no shoot.\n\n2. Don't touch the model without permission and without explaining what you're doing and why. I'm talking about adjusting a pose or moving a few stray hairs out of her face... not grabbing her butt or boobs. Never molest your models. \n\n3. It's ok to tell a model that you like her outfit (what there is of it) or her hair and makeup... but it's not ok to make any comments that might be considered to be lewd. She might have a hot ass but you should keep it to yourself. \n\n4. If you want to ask your model out, wait until after the shoot when she's clothed. Better yet don't do it at all. Shooting nudes sometimes creates an artificial intimacy between a model and a photographer. It's often helpful for a shoot... but it will pass.\n \nShooting nudes and erotica can be great fun and yield great work as long as you're a professional about it. Have fun! ",
"score": 30
},
{
"body": "Just a few tips. I'm sure others have more to offer.\n\n* Make sure your shoot location is private and the windows are blocked off. People look in and call the cops. No lie.\n* This is standard for any shoot but for the love of Pete make sure your lenses are cleaned. Oh the hours I spent cleaning dust specs off of areas that get lots of attention in these kinds of pics...\n* Have the model bring music she likes and make sure she can hear it while you shoot.\n* Keep the suitcase pimp busy with something. Anything but overlooking the shoot.\n* Even if she says she's prepared, plan for about two hours to go down the drain between the time she arrives and the time she even begins to think about shooting\n* Craft service is a bit ridiculous but have some (non-alcoholic) drinks and snacks around, just in case.\n* If there's a theme, make sure all props/decorations are ready before she arrives\n* Remember to tell her she looks great. Except when she doesn't. In times like those, tell her to change position or something.\n* If this shoot is to end up online somewhere make sure all paperwork is on hand to be signed. Not fun having to track down the model and get her to sign something weeks or months later...\n\nMost importantly: Have fun. She trusts you to shoot her, so make it a good time for the both of you.",
"score": 14
},
{
"body": "I'm just throwing this out there, but make *yourself* look as professional as possible too. Don't wear jean shorts and your 1994 Green Day tour shirt. I exaggerate, yes, but wear nice clothes to give the 100% impression that you are, in fact, a pro at this (even though this is your first time).",
"score": 10
},
{
"body": "Some advice they give you in med school before you perform your first pelvic exam -- No giggling, rehearse until you can do it without being nervous because being nervous is contagious, and DON'T be creepy (you need to look at all the pieces, but don't stare at any of them. Don't make stupid jokes.)",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "I think the only thing not mentioned already is to make sure the room is hot enough. I'd also suggest you start the shoot with her in full/most clothes, and work slowly from there, rather than diving straight into nude shots at the start.\n\nEdit: If you don't mind, can I turn this question upside down? Have a friend I do lingerie/semi-nude photography with, but would love ideas and technical advice.\n",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Soft light. Avoid harsh shadows. Contrast enhances lines, wrinkles, and features that would look masculine, like jawlines.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Keep an eye out for folds of skin caused by bending forward. Perfectly normal under certain conditions, but looks like flab. Have her counter-arch or twist to avoid the folds.\r\n\r\nFacing straight toward the camera is unattractive, very square ... good for a football tackle, but not when the message is supposed to be \"feminine\" & \"sexy\". Have her face slightly to the side of the camera, assuming you aren't doing a profile anyway. Twisting the hips further than the shoulders has a slimming effect. Just tell her hips square to camera makes her look like she has a fat ass, you can be sure she'll avoid that.\r\n\r\nHaving her face facing lower than the camera gives her a good jawline, while having her face facing above the camera gives her no jawline ... and has the camera looking up her nose. Once her face is looking down, she can move her eyes to look at the camera, or anywhere else.\r\n\r\n\r\n",
"score": 5
}
] |
[request][offer] Letters?
|
Okay, so part of my grand list of 'Fifty Things to Do in 2010' includes sending a letter to and receiving a letter from each continent. I figured the best place to find people on each continent would be reddit! So here's the deal:
* I need at least one person from North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia. (I excluded Antarctica for simplicity reasons, but if there's anybody on here from Antarctica, that would be fucking awesome!)
* If I already have someone from the continent you're from, but you're from a different country, I'm still willing to do a trade. For monetary reasons, at this point I'll only take up to five people from each continent.
* It's up to you whether you'd rather send the letter first, or if you want me to send one first. Just let me know in a PM.
* Your letter can be written however you like, it's totally up to you, but please make it a bit more substantial than just a short note. :( The only other thing I request is at least one picture that you've taken- I'm a huge photography fan! (I'll be including a few photographs in my letter to you, for sure.)
* It's also up to you whether this stays a one-for-one swap, or an ongoing penpal thing. I'm happy either way- always looking for new penpals, but sometimes just a one-time swap is enough. :)
* Oh, I guess I should also mention that I'm from the United States, in Ohio.
So PM me if you're interested. :) I'm trying not to say a lot about myself here to save it for the letter, but you can find some stuff about me reading back through my comments for sure. I will say I'm super interested in other languages (taken 5 years of French, 1 of Japanese, and some self-taught Korean), so if you speak another language, writing a paragraph or two in it would be awesome. Um. Yeah, that's it. If you know of a better place for me to post this (/r/penpals is kind of slow...), let me know. I figured this would be the best place to start!
(Note! Unless you've already posted in this thread, please nobody else from North America... I already have plenty of people from there at the moment. D:)
Confirmed by PM:
NORTH AMERICA
* emmadilemma
* pootacat
* Matt872000
SOUTH AMERICA
* argod
EUROPE
* afrael
* len69
ASIA
* Zvan
AFRICA
* eclipsegum
AUSTRALIA
* trouble
| 11 |
[
{
"body": "How bizarre! \n\nThere's an out of business Woolworths down the road, so I can supply a W, O, L, R, T, H or an S. They are about two feet high. \n\nI'd a like a nice Q if you have one.",
"score": 3
}
] |
My stepbrother, a marine, just got back from a 8 month tour in Afghanistan protecting a small village. AMA
|
My step brother is a 1st lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. His duty was to protect a village from enemy assaults. He brought back over 2000 photos, which i would gladly share to someone if asked.
He lost one man, a father to an unborn twin, and one of his men got his index finger blown off.
Ask me anything.
Here are some of the photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46260184@N05/
There are over 2000.
| 14 |
[
{
"body": "Did you notice any sort of PTSD setting in after his return? \n\nAlso, glad to hear he's safe (although others weren't =( ), my dad was deployed to Afghanistan last year. ",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "so, what did he think of the war before going, and what does he think now? \n\noh, have either of you seen the movie [brothers?](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1239427/)",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I don't really have any questions, but I would like to see those photos if they're uploaded somewhere. Thank him for his service for me!",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Those are some lovely pictures. I'm really glad to see some images of the US military's humanitarian actions. Not enough of those for sure.\n\nGive him my warmest thanks and regards for his service!",
"score": 4
}
] |
My girlfriend just broke up with me. I think.
|
Background: I've been going out with this girl for a year. Our relationship for the first few months was amazing. Then the drama set in around the 7month mark. You see, we lost our virginities(?) to each other on her birthday around the 6 month mark. It was great. But then she began to think, I was only dating her for the sex, which was totally not true and convinced her it wasn't. From then on our relationship has been real rocky, fought a lot, made love a lot, etc. But then recently we broke up a couple times, only to get back together the next day. The reason we fight is because she keeps telling me to change, which I honestly don't know what to do because she always goes, that since we've been going out for so long, I should know by now, when, she never told me. And today it all came out how she doesn't love me anymore and I think we're done for good. The thing is, I still love her. i don't want it to end. What the hell do i do reddit?
note: i know this is a throwaway account. i'll explain later why
| 7 |
[
{
"body": "Ouch. Been there.\n\nWhen my first girlfriend broke up with me, I was destroyed. \n\nTelling you that she doesn't love you anymore- well that's just fucking cruel. I've never said that to anyone I've broken up with. Mostly because it just isn't true for me- I go on loving people, even if I know I can't build the life I want with them.\n\nAnyway, there is no ambiguity in that breakup. The girl is gone. The best thing you can do is ignore her. Here's why:\n\n1. Believe it or not, you will get over her. 100% totally over her. This is coming from a guy who spent 2 years being a fucking wreck after his first breakup. I thought I would never heal. Today, I can't even make myself upset when I try to think about her. She's just a part of my past, and I've been with so many better girls since then, I can only be grateful that she left when she did.\n\n2. Even if your goal was to go win her back- the best play is just to ignore her. Give her nothing but cold indifference. Nothing will make her feel your absence from her life more. If you try to beg her to come back, she'll only think of you as pathetic. You'll never ever forgive yourself for that when you later come to your senses.\n\n3. I bet you've got a lot of female friends that have been waiting on the sidelines for you to be available again. Call one of them up immediately and tell her you need someone to talk to. Spill your guts to her, and then make sweet, sweet love to her. Why? Because you definitely want to be out there fucking people again before your ex-girlfriend does. Nothing in the world is harder than sitting alone on a Friday night like a loser, knowing that the ex is out there getting as much loving as she wants.\n\nRemember, you're an awesome dude. As much as you respect your ex, you should respect yourself even more.\n\nI **promise** this will stop hurting someday, totally and completely.",
"score": 43
},
{
"body": "If they're trying to change you then they're probably not the one for you. Doesn't mean you can't still be friends.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "You still being in love with her is fine and all, but if she wants to change you that means she only loves what she wants you to be and not who you really are. Do you want to be in a relationship like that?\n\nPersonally i think you need to find someone who truly loves you for who you are.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Yea man, you're not the first heartbroken virgin out there. I was the same way when the girl who popped my cherry left. It's all good dude, you'll find someone else, and from what it sounds, she'll be a lot less crazy than your last girl.\n\nEDIT: Go watch Swingers. You are so money, and you don't even know it.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Has anyone else noticed a plethora of people claiming it's illogical to be atheist because a being which humans *might* call "god" could possibly exist somewhere?
|
There seems to be a concerted effort on the part of users sometimes identifying themselves as neither theist nor non-theist who attempt to argue that since a being which *might* be considered a "god" may exist somewhere that it is illogical to define oneself as atheist. It's irrelevant as far as I'm concerned because atheism (and agnosticism) are terms which wouldn't need to exist if religious adherents weren't demanding everyone identify themselves as believers or otherwise.
I lived for thirteen years before a theist forced me to examine the nuttiness of religion and eventually proclaim myself atheist. What a wonderful decade or so that was! .... but I digress.
Some of my recent encounters with such folks are here:
* http://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments/am3nj/i_think_i_just_found_an_excellent_argument/c0iaeur
* http://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments/ak4gs/the_bullets_are_real_your_god_is_not_pic/c0i0t5r
* http://www.reddit.com/r/religion/comments/ajaer/a_serious_question_for_religious_adherents_how/c0i01jz
I admit I have little patience for such nonsense. Thoughts or similar experiences to share?
| 3 |
[
{
"body": "This made me think of Clarkes 3rd law. That any sufficiently advanced technology will be indistinguishable from magic. In this sense the argument becomes mute. While labeling them \"god\" could be appropriate, it is just a label that belies ignorance. Upon revealing these \"gods\" for what they are, the term atheist would become useful again. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Wow, you sure do have a short fuse.\n\nAlso it doesn't really look like any of those people are arguing the same thing.\n\nBut no, I haven't seen this trend. I do basically agree with you that it's a stupid argument, though; one can believe something to be true (that there is no God, in this case) without being 100% closed off to every other alternate possibility. And in any case a \"being which *might* be considered a 'god'\" is very very different from an actual god with supernatural powers. If it can't do anything that couldn't be replicated by a sufficiently technologically advanced alien race, it's not a god.",
"score": 3
}
] |
I'm a little surprise my wife likes this. What sex thing does she do/like that surprises you?
|
What sex thing does your wife (or girlfriend) do or like that surprised you a little? I'll start ... my wife really likes watching herself and us in the mirror when we do it. The only mirror around is the big dresser mirror across the room, and sometimes when she's riding me, she'll watch herself and it obviously gets her really turned on.
Not sure why, but I find this surprising.
Occasionally she has half-jokingly said she'd like that get one of those cheesy hotel rooms with mirrors on the ceiling so she can watch me do her. Sadly I have not found any such hotels (any recommendations?).
I have often wondered how to nurture this little fetish of hers into something bigger; like getting her on a TV screen or recording her, but there's something about the camera on her that freaks her out. I've often wondered if there's anyway to creatively position mirrors in the bedroom, or maybe get some kind of removable ceiling mirrors but no luck there either.
Any suggestions for how to proceed? And what does yours do that is surprising?
| 30 |
[
{
"body": "My bf's into male chastity. Like, *really* into it.\n\nHe's wearing a CB-6000 right now. He loves the thought of me being entirely in control of his pleasure. Being the keyholder, he gets absolutely no pleasure unless I specifically decide to give him some.\n\nIt surprises me how hot it makes me, too.",
"score": 11
},
{
"body": "I would take her to a fun house, one that has a room full of mirrors, and rail her there up against one of them.\n\nI am a little shocked how much my girl *LOVES* anal. She had never done it before me and now likes it a lot more than I do. Only girl I ever met that could orgasm from JUST anal. ",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "My gf told me she wanted me to dominate her.\nI obliged and bought some handcuffs and toyed with her and had sex with her using them. Then she told me she wanted something more intense. Turns out she wants me to order her around, have kneel on the ground, naked, while I do something completely unrelated (tv or reddit) Last thing I did which blew her mind is I took her collar and leash, tied her under the desk (in doggystyle) , sat at the computer chair, and made her do all the work while I watched porn. It was like masturbating, except instead of me moving my hand it was her moving her body.\n\nI later found out that the floor was somewhat dirty there and she was stuck in a pretty cramped place. Apparently thats what she likes.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "Funny you mention that about the mirrors. My bathroom has a very large mirror that takes up the whole wall, and a few months ago my guy and I were getting into the shower but started having sex before getting in and I could see our reflection in the mirror. I was surprised at how much I liked watching us like that. Sadly it hasn't happened again. ",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Perhaps she's worried about being recorded. Feed the video into a TV but don't have the camera recording anything.\n\nJust a thought.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "My wife recently learned of golden showers - and she keeps joking about it/bringing it up. She said that she would laugh too much if she tried to give me one \"but I could probably get one\". Again kinda joking tone but I think there might be some actual intrest in trying it - and that is very surprising to me indeed.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": ">I'm a little surprise my wife likes this. What sex thing does she do/like that surprises you? \r\n\r\nWell I don't know what your wife likes that would surprise me, but I'm into mockrape (which might be somewhat surprising).",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Honestly, I'm mostly just surprised at how much my girlfriend gets turned on by *my* fetishes... for all the sex she's had, she never seemed to get into anything kinky until I came along o.O",
"score": 3
}
] |
Drip coffee maker Recommendation
|
I'm looking to buy a drip (filter) coffee maker that has a timer function and makes at least 4 cups at a time. I don't want to spend more than $50 and I live in Canada.
Does anyone have any recommendations for me?
| 4 |
[
{
"body": "For $50, it doesn't really matter what coffee maker you get, they'll all be about the same.\n\nIf you want a drip coffee maker that brews coffee at the proper temperature and distributes the water correctly, get a Technivorm.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Yes. My mother discovered this deal and I have since passed it on to 3 friends who have done it. \n\nI am not 100% sure if this works in Canada but it is worth a try. \n\nGevalia will give you a free drip coffee maker that is one of the best in terms of looks (stainless steel appearance) and quality, plus it has an automatic timer function. \n\nYou sign up for their coffee subscription program (their coffee is okay, nothing special). After you get your coffee maker and first shipment of coffee just call their customer service line and cancel the subscription. If they need a reason why, you can just say they have a lot of competition (starbucks, seattle's best, peets, the coffee bean and tea leaf, etc) and you weren't overly impressed.\n\nEveryone I know who has done this has cancelled without a problem. \n\n",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I have a cheap Mr. Coffee with a timer. It was a gift, and it only makes good coffee with a crap load of grinds. If I were you, I would get a French press (which I also have an enjoy more). Sure, no timer, but the quality is great. ",
"score": 3
}
] |
How do you meet women as a computer engineering student?
|
FIRST OFF, I know this has probably been posted many times before. However, reddit search sucks. Anyways...
I'm an ECE major at a somewhat large school. Almost all of my classes are computer engineering, and although they are large lectures... there's practically no women. Also, I live off campus, so there's not really a chance there as there would be in a dorm. I'll occasionally meet girls weekends at parties... however it seems they're usually looking for more of a one night thing than a relationship or even friendship. And while you may say that's great and all, I'd much rather have at least one actual relationship in college. I am in a liberal arts type class this term, so hopefully something may come of that... but I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions / success stories they'd like to share.
tl;dr yet another ECE major that can't meet women, advice wanted.
**edit: just wanted to thank everyone for the great advice**
| 17 |
[
{
"body": "Female networking student here. Once this guy came up to me in my workplace (I work in a video game shop) and asked if he could take me out sometime. I'd recently broken up with a long term relationship and didn't want to really get into anything too serious, but I gave him my number anyway - we went out for a few drinks and I've been with him happily for nearly two and a half years. Apparently he had been thinking about asking me out for a while but never had the courage - and when he finally did get the courage he had to wait in line three times to be served by me...\n\nBut anyway, the moral of the story is; if you see something you want, just go for it! It's not all about finding somewhere to go pick up girls or meet people, just keep yourself open and be confident ;]",
"score": 10
},
{
"body": "As an engineering student, I used to have this problem too. Then one day this girl pushing her bicycle across campus walked up to me, took off all her clothes, and said \"take anything you want.\"\n\nI didn't think her clothes would fit me, so I took her bicycle.\n",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Just carry on with your life and the opportunity will present itself. \n\nE.X. you pop in to the coffee shop/library/etc... and there is a girl there. \nThe trick is to recognize that opportunity and go for it. Harder than it sounds i know. But that is where the fun is. Good luck bruv.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I am a computer engineering student, as well. I used to get frustrated being in your situation. First thing's first. Don't go fishing in the department. While there are some cool chicks, most can be far too awkward. I know a few guys who date within the department, but the women they date are not usually the coolest girls on campus.\n\nYour best bet is to go to some spots on campus that a lot of students frequent, and introduce yourself to some cute girls. Give yourself extra time to take paths that you wouldn't normally go down, so that you will get a chance to run across lots of different girls. There's nothing wrong with taking a few minutes out of your day to say hello to an attractive girl or two.\n\nGood luck, ECEer!",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I know exactly what you mean, I'm a biomedical engineer/electronic engineer doing my masters and its the same story.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I wish someone had sat me down and told me what I'm about to tell you when I was a CompSci undergrad.\n\nThe beautiful women are all hanging out in the Psych/Sociology/Education departments. I recommend signing up for a Psych or Sociology class for your next semester. I didn't discover this until the last semester of my senior year. But alas, at that point it was too late. ",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Find a friend in a different major, go to one of his classes sometime. I'm a CSE/Linguistics double major.\r\n\r\n45 students in my CSE class. 3 girls. 52 students in my ling class. 6 guys.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Long distance relationship tips?
|
My boyfriend (also a redditor) and I have been dating for nearly two years now. For the past seven months we have lived three hours apart and only have to the opportunity to visit each other about once or twice a month. To keep close we speak to each other on Skype every night and watch movies/tv shows simultaneously. However, since we are going to continue living apart until who knows when I was wondering if anyone could suggest some fun things for us to do despite the distance.
| 6 |
[
{
"body": "Play an MMO together, like WoW or Aion Online. I'm in the same boat with my BF (pretty much exactly) and this has helped some. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "if you don't play WoW or something... you can play chess on yahoo games... me and my boyfriend (We're like 10 hours apart... i think? idk, I always fly to see him) do that sometimes, and we're also going to start reading a book together. Mostly it sounds like you're doing everything you can do!",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I'm in the same boat, my boyfriend and I have been dating for 2 years and have spent since September apart. We lived together before he decided to go to school 5 hours away, and when he moved I felt completely devastated. It took me until just recently to get back my once empowering independence and I find that the time apart gives us time to focus on ourselves. \nAt first I wasn't sure if I could ever see myself in a long distance relationship, but we became so close I could never let him go. We usually text message a few times a day and when we have time, usually in the evening we'll go on ichat (basically Skype for Apple computers)\nIt's really difficult to have a relationship with someone you can only see once in a full moon but when you do see each other it's non stop talk, dates, kisses, need I say more?\n\nMaybe you could plan something special for Valentines! And, if you think of something let me know (I'm still thinking of something :S)",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Sometimes a skype strip-tease can be nice. My boyfriend use to like it. When you are far away its so hard to keep a relationship going. ",
"score": 3
}
] |
"He even named the plants. One was TNT, and another was Diesel"
|
News story about a dude getting his grow busted. Cops use a phony ransom note with savvy lingo, but don't recognize the names of some of the most popular and prominent strains? Salient quote in the last paragraph of [this story](http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/01/06/florida.marijuana.bust/index.html).
| 14 |
[
{
"body": "Who the hell is reporting something like that? A passerby sees marijuana plants growing in the woods and runs to the cops? I'm sorry but that person needs to get their priorities in order, neither the man nor the plants had done any harm or injustice to them.",
"score": 15
},
{
"body": "Charged him with selling? Shouldn't they charge the cops with selling? The Dude was obviously BUYING 6 plants for $200.",
"score": 12
},
{
"body": "Shitty story and laughable error on the cops, part...but seriously, what the fuck.\n\n\n\nWho in god's name would respond to the ransom. Effort, etc. aside....it's an obvious set-up. Guy got too greedy.",
"score": 6
}
] |
[4] "Purple" is an understatement (Macro Shots)
|
Most of the time when someone says they have "purple" there may be a slight tint around the bottom of the buds, or a few purple spots. This was something special, and totally unexpected. Unfortunately, I didn't take enough shots to stack them into one single macro.
close: http://imgur.com/91A88.jpg
closer: http://imgur.com/gxyTo.jpg
closest: http://imgur.com/vqkLe.jpg
| 22 |
[
{
"body": "It's official. Everyone on trees gets better stuff than I do. The crap I find around here is like 50% seeds and stems. I don't even know what different strains are even called, because my choices (on a good day) are between greenish-brown... and all brown.\n\nBut anyway... that stuff looks amazing.\n",
"score": 10
},
{
"body": "beautiful bud shots man...i'm jealous. I'm going to go spark up a bowl and pretend I have that and not some crappy mids.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Purple Haze? I smoked some in Amsterdam a few weeks back and if my friend's room goes well I will again! Did you grow? Did you introduce colder air during dark cycle or did it just happen?",
"score": 3
}
] |
Do any of you think Islam is worse than Christianity?
|
I mean look. I am not going to stand up here (i'm sitting and typing) and say that Christianity is in anyway a moral compass for how the world should work. I do feel however that after studying both the Bible and the Qu'ran, that Islam is not only a more violent religion, but is actually more fucked up in most aspects. We all tear into Christianity, I think that is because we have to live with it on a day to day basis (in America anyway).
Islam was started by a misogynistic pedophile. There are over a billion people ready to die for that same pedophile. There is a lot of evidence that Muhammad actually lived, and that he wrote the Qu'ran. Jesus may or may not have existed , but there is no record of him fucking a 9 year old. Muslims practice "thighing" which is where a man can fuck a toddler as long as he just pushes their thighs together. This is encouraged behavior in Islam. Islam teaches that its followers do not have to follow the laws of man no matter where they are.
I am ranting but really i want to start a discussion. As religiously unaffiliated members of reddit, who is worse?
| 21 |
[
{
"body": "Islam is about 700 years younger.\r\n\r\nLook what Christians were doing 700 years ago and it's about the same.",
"score": 19
},
{
"body": "i'd say islam is worse, but i don't have to deal with islamists on a daily basis. islam does ratchet the crazy up a notch or two.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "because we don't wanna go around saying that islam is bad because someone will likely kill someone somewhere who does not relate to me at all. after the Muhammad cartoon incident christians around the world who were totally unrelated to the comic were killed in horrible ways. that in itself should answer your question.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "If you compare just the books together then Islam might indeed be worse- but most people who are against christianity don't sit there and defend Islam.. generally we just know less about it so there's less to criticize. ",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "It depends on the time and place. There are occasions where both beliefs have helped people act responsibly and times when both beliefs have prompted atrocious behaviour. A big problem is the belief systems not being compatible with each other, therefore redundant and obsolete. (edit spelling)",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": ">As religiously unaffiliated members of reddit, who is worse?\n\nNeither one. Islam is on the violent swing currently, before that it was Christianity's turn. After Islam calms down again we'll probably be in for another Spanish Inquisition or something.\n\nBoth siblings are equally bad, and they're equally as bad as their parent Judaism.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I'm not convinced that debating relative merit is helpful.\n\nWe might as well ask \"Which is worse, Santa or the Tooth Fairy?\"",
"score": 3
}
] |
Just watched all 14 episodes of Firefly and the Serenity movie almost nonstop. How in the hell could the best science fiction ever put on TV get cancelled?
|
I think I am in love with Kaylee too by the way. Does anyone know if there are plans to make any more shows?
| 240 |
[
{
"body": "Because it took you years later to watch them...rather than watching them during their original broadcast.",
"score": 157
},
{
"body": "Is there anyway to cancel this thread from appearing every week? It's like there is one box set of firefly that's being handed around to people who haven't seen it. Then that guy or gal gets online to complain. \n\nIt was canceled because no one watched it while on the air. Fox didn't believe in the show and moved it around to different time slots and showed the episodes out of order. The fact that you and thousands of other people are just now watching it is the answer to the question on why it didn't survive. ",
"score": 82
},
{
"body": "Fox. The same studio that canceled *The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr*, *Arrested Development*, *Family Guy*, etc, etc, etc.",
"score": 33
},
{
"body": "I've made it my personal duty to prevent people from watching Firefly. It's not because I don't like the show, I just don't want others to go through the same despair so many of us already have suffered.",
"score": 27
},
{
"body": "Kaylee is the cute geek, I'd expect her to be the reddit favorite. I also have this theory that her parallel in Buffy is Willow, and that the same people tend to get crushes on both. What do you think?",
"score": 23
},
{
"body": "Can someone explain to me why reddit and others seem to love Firefly so much? I thought it was enjoyable but I didn't think it was particularly great.",
"score": 19
},
{
"body": "Can someone explain what is it you see in Firefly? I seem to be almost unique in thinking it was OK but nothing more. I love sci-fi generally.",
"score": 12
},
{
"body": "> How in the hell could the best science fiction ever put on TV get cancelled?\n\nBattlestar Galactica wasn't cancelled. It exited gracefully after 4 seasons.",
"score": 11
},
{
"body": ">How in the hell could the best science fiction ever put on TV get cancelled?\n\nWell, without the important lead characters, like David Duchovny's, viewership declined. It might have been temporary, but the Lone Gunmen spinoff did badly, and then after 9-11 the writers claim it was harder to just use the stock themes they always had. So their ratings declined greatly as the 9th season premiered.\n\nNow you should ask about Firefly, because I have no fucking idea what FOX was thinking when they canceled that.",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "Easy. They moved it around a lot, and showed it out of order. \n\nThe original pilot, you know, the one with the image of River in the box that was used in the opening? That was aired last.\n\nThey never even broadcast *Objects in Space*.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Same like Arrested Development, people like it, it has a strong fan base. Why they got canceled? the producers put their faith and hopes into marketing strategies and predictions like the ancients did for the oracles. When the producers see that that intended target falls short of the prediction/expectations they cancel the show, without caring for that portion of strong fan base that will watch the show all over again, buy dvds and gadgets.\nJericho had the same faith, it was a nice show, smart and somehow new, but they cut the rope.\nMarketing is fucking up everything.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "No. No new plans. There are no plans because after years of screaming and yelling at the top of our lungs from the highest peaks of the interwebs non-stop about how great Firefly was, our efforts have largely been in vain. \n\nStill though, glad you liked it ... many years too late :(",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Short answer: it's cheaper to make another series of *Family Guy* / *American Dad* / *Cleveland Show*.\n\nIn fact, this reminds me of that one time <80s montage featuring the A-team and an appropriately retro breakfast cereal mascot>",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "My daughter's name is Jayne. My dog's name is Zoe. My cat's name is Simon. Someday I WILL get a picture of all of them with my friends Malcolm and Kayleigh. They will be washing a book in the river. I think that is all I need to say about how I feel about Firefly.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I'm going to Browncoat hell for saying this but. Firefly, as we knew it, will never be back, again. It was a pretty major miracle that Serenity was made. Firefly is NOT coming back, period. \n\nThis is not a criticism of the show that was. It was awesome but it is done.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "The better it is, the faster it gets canceled, apparently. i think this is because each episode advanced the story too quickly.\n\nMeanwhile shows that use 'filler' episodes - you know, the ones where the story doesn't progress - go on forever.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Remember Redditors: next one of us to get mega wealthy for whatever reason immediately buys the rights to it and puts down the cash to hire the original writers, cast and production team. You must make five seasons minimum. \n\nThe only real question is: do we treat the movie as non-canon for killing off certain characters?",
"score": 3
}
] |
[request] Can someone translate this Thai paragraph for me please?
|
The text is on a tag attached to a wooden buddha figurine I bought years ago. The other side of the tag has no info except for a very faded stamp where you can read "museum", and nothing else. Trying to get any info on it. Thanks!
http://imgur.com/fOYA5
| 8 |
[
{
"body": "This is probably imperfect--my contact warned ahead of time that her english wasn't good enough to translate it exactly--but here's what she said:\n\"No. __9__ .,\nThe Fine Arts department permitted out of the Kingdom\nas it said in this paper\npass no. __859/29__\"\n\nSorry, that's the best I can do.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "hello, i can translate this for you (however, theturbolemming post was pretty accurate)\n\nthe first line demarcates the number in the form of \"number _____\"; it merely states it's number nine.\n\nthe second and third lines state that the arts counsel grants permission for this piece to leave the state /country by way of permit number 859 /29.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Think I might have endometriosis or something. Help TXC!
|
I have always had some problems with my gear, painful cramps, tilted uterus, slightly uncomfortable sex. Lately, my problems with sex have exacerbated. It takes a long time for me to get any sort of wetness when my boyfriend and I are going at it. Also, my sex drive is almost nonexistent, the sex is at times extremely painful (mostly after), and I end up regretting trying. I recently switched from Loestrin 1/120 to Seasonique Lo. (This has tremendously helped my cramps and moods)
For the past two weeks I have been getting pinching right by where my ovaries are and right under my belly button. My sister has ovarian cysts so I am worried I might be developing them.
My next appointment for the gyn is in March so I will be bringing these problems up to her but in the mean time, do any of you have any similar situtions? Thanks for letting me rant!
| 3 |
[
{
"body": "I had bad (I passed out) cramps all my life. I had a horrible pain on my left side. Went to the doc, he ordered an ultrasound. I had an 8 cm cyst on my left ovary. Hurt like hell, burst, and I bled for 2 weeks. I'd go sooner than March. You could have a twisted ovary, a hormonal imbalance, endometriosis, PCOS (what I have), eptopic pregnancy, etc. ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I've had similar problems in the past and even though my gyn didn't find anything wrong with me, I think you should go check it out ASAP. Good luck.",
"score": 3
}
] |
What worship songs give you chills?
|
I was thinking about some of the songs that really give me chills or get me emotional in a spiritual sense over the years. The first song that came to mind is "There's A Stirring" by Annie Herring. Another is "Song of Love" by Rebecca St. James.
What worship songs really do it for you? If nothing else I'd love some suggestions...
| 23 |
[
{
"body": "*It Is Well with My Soul*.\n\nAnd after learning [when and why it was written](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Spafford), it has always angered me to no end to see worship bands try to jazz this one up. I don't care if you do it for God of Wonders or How Deep the Father's Love For Us - turn Amazing Grace into a square dance if you want - but **DO NOT EVEN *THINK* ABOUT TOUCHING** a song written by a man **whose children had all just drowned**.\n\nIt's *supposed* to be solemn. *Please*... don't f\\*\\*\\* it up.",
"score": 24
},
{
"body": "Lets see off the top of my head...\n\n* [Amazing Grace](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT88jBAoVIM)\n\n* [In Christ Alone](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENtL_li4GbE)- Newsboys\n\n* [Inside Out](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-afZJ9_TIM)-Hillsong\n\n* [Hosanna](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQGJdTpMUcU)-Hillsong\n\n* Jesus I my Cross Have Taken (couldn't find a quality link)\n\n* [Presence](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g36GP_PDvCw)-Newsboys\n\n* [Indescribable](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yTqVNI8Vu0)-Chris Tomlin\n\n* [Thrive](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOhToUPBxus)-Newsboys\n\n* [Better Is One Day](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhtSQOu5G2E&feature=PlayList&p=551D08168FDBA34D&index=0)\n\n* [God of Wonders](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CBNE25rtnE)-Thrid Day\n\n* [I Need Thee Every Hour](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzGYVD8JvaE)\n\n* [Nothing But the Blood](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtsxdtEN_G4)-Matt Redman\n\n* [You Never Let Go](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FWj7yqf6oM)\n\nNot songs I have heard used in worship but I still find uber emotional and worship to by myself:\n\n* [All Around Me](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN0FFK8JSYE)-Flyleaf\n\n* [All The Heveans](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmmubqQm7B4)-Third Day\n\n* [Need](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upzVDetlAEw)-The Benjamin Gate\n\n* [Redeption, Passion, Glory](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5zMdWgDYAE)-Dizmas\n\n* [As I Lift My Hands](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJMyevMBhfE)-Philmore\n\n* [Pieces](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3U6BCUQqG8)-Red\n\n* [Cloud Cover](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVxPdVLEcO4)-This Beautiful Republic\n\n* [Overjoyed](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT4L9YueuNg)-Jars of Clay\n\n* [Flood](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfAhpX_wIBk)-Jars of Clay\n\n* [The Thirst Is Taking Over](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghIS57pS7m0)-Skillet\n\n* [Simply](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXJovQCqSf8)-Pillar\n\nGod has used most of these songs to communicate His love to me. When I listen to them I feel at peace in God's presence and am so warmly reminded of His love for me. God has also used these songs to keep me coming back to Him when things are rough. I hope you enjoy them!",
"score": 11
},
{
"body": "O Come Emmanuel, mostly because the music reflects the longing of the world for the coming Savior. It is somber and introspective.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "I can't say any worship song have ever given me chills, but check this song out: [Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans](http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/playlist/Seven+Swans/22559241). It's an absolutely chilling first person narrative of the rapture.\n\nEdit: Make __sure__ you listen all the way to the end. The last part is worth it.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "* O Come All Ye Faithful\n* The Hallelujah Chorus\n\nI am in a men's chorus and get to sing these (and several others) every year in front of an audience of a thousand or so. Life is good. :)",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "The first time I heard [\"Jesus paid it all\"](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brVIlXlJRkQ) I got chills and it is still one of my favorites.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "[Be Thou My Vision](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Be_thou_my_vision). Hull's translation is pure heavy metal. The music resonates with my Celtic blood.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Dear Reddit, I'm bored out of my skull. What TV shows are worth watching online? What's your favorite series of the last 10 years or so?
|
I recently watched all five seasons of LOST on Netflix / TV Shack over a two month period and really enjoyed it. Can anyone suggest a new show I might enjoy? I don't watch much TV so pretty much everything is on the table.
Edit: I already watch Castle (mostly for Mal) and Chuck (because we're all geeks like him at heart). And Firefly... come on, who on Reddit HASN'T seen it yet?!
I'm kinda torn over Arrested Development and Dexter. I would be more interested in Sopranos, The Office, or BSG if I didn't already know much of their final/current plot from loudmouth fan friends.
**Follow-up: I went with DEXTER, it looks promising so far! I think The Office will be next.**
| 9 |
[
{
"body": "House is overall pretty great. The episodes are usually all set up the same way though, so that might get old if you marathon them all. ",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Spaced is pretty awesome and available on Hulu. From the folks who brought you Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.",
"score": 5
}
] |
TIL that an intoxicated Hitler tore his school certificate in four and used it as toilet paper.
|
[Here's](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler) his wikipedia link: ctrl+f 'toilet paper' for the bit about his antics.
| 20 |
[
{
"body": "> ... he and his friends went out for a night of celebration and drinking, and an intoxicated Hitler tore his school certificate into four pieces and used it as toilet paper. When someone turned the stained certificate in to the school's director, he “... gave him such a dressing-down that the boy was reduced to shivering jelly. It was probably the most painful and humiliating experience of his life.” Hitler was expelled, never to return to school again.",
"score": 19
}
] |
A question about rail and ship travel...
|
Hi /r/travel I know it's possible to travel coast to coast on Amtrak in the US and then across the atlantic on a freighter... but is that a comfortable way to travel? Does anyone have experience taking the train in the US... or a freighter? I've heard some people say they love the train but mostly I've heard nothing but bad things about Amtrak.
| 14 |
[
{
"body": "Are you looking into this as a way to save money? If so, stop. Train and Ocean travel are much more expensive than air travel these days. If you just really want to spend 8 days on a cargo ship crossing the atlantic with nothing to do onboard, wikitravel has a decent article to get you started. http://wikitravel.org/en/Freighter_travel",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "I like the train, you have lots of room, you can get drunk at night and meet other travelers. You can plug things in like you would in a house and if you get a private room you have a bed. You can also have tons of carry on stuff, there's pretty much no looking through your bags so you can have whatever in there. Me and my friends took the train down to Miami, it was pretty awesome we took a cooler which was basically a full bar and we had tons of food we hooked up the laptops and played music and got drunk and watched movies, there were lots of other people going down for spring break so it was pretty much a party and we even had our own car at night and we could pass out wherever. The ride back was pretty bad though, everyone was hung over and it was Easter and the train was completely packed. We had to sit in our seats for hours. The bathrooms are also pretty nice. ",
"score": 5
}
] |
Reddit, what are some really awesome Text Adventure games that I should get?
|
Ideally I would want them to be science-fiction and/or post-apocalyptic. Any ideas?
EDIT: Thanks for all the replies. I made a list and intend to do *every* game. :)
| 11 |
[
{
"body": "Easy choice for me .. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy .. BBC recently remade it and put it online at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/game_nolan.shtml",
"score": 12
},
{
"body": "Well, the series Zork is a must. A Mind Forever Voyaging, Trinity, Planetfall and Stationfall, Bureaucracy (Also by Douglas Adams) ... hell, nearly anything from Infocom.\n\nText adventures are still alive and well to thanks to the Inform library and compiler and other like projects. Check out Emily Short's 'Galatea', Foster and Ravipinto's 'Slouching Towards Bedlem' and Cadre's 'Varicella'. \n\n",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I'm a fan of [Spider and Web](http://wurb.com/if/game/207). I'd also suggest looking at the [XYZZY Award](http://www.ifwiki.org/index.php/XYZZY_Awards_2008) winners and finalists, they're all good.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "[Adam Cadre](http://adamcadre.ac/if.html) writes some of the most bizarre and innovative text adventures ever. give one of his short games a try - moving stuff.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Dear Reddit: What's one illness you REALLY wish you won't get?
|
Mine is colorectal cancer. I have seen its effect and treatment, and what your life looked like after. Oh my god. Any other illness you REALLY wish you won't get Reddit?
| 9 |
[
{
"body": "Epidermodysplasia verruciformis - like the \"[Tree Man](http://www.hemmy.net/images/bizarre/treeman04.jpg)\" on TLC.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Amnesia/Alzheimers/etc. I would rather have any sort of pain than loose the people I love and be unable to recount my life.",
"score": 3
}
] |
I am having surgery tomorrow and need mental support.
|
Dear Reddit,
Tomorrow I am having revision surgery on my chest. I am not FTM, but rather, born with Kllinefelter's syndrome. Every time I have a surgery like this I feel like my masculinity is stripped from me. I am already very insecure about my "maleness," so in general the surgeries just make it worse (at the time). I want to keep a positive attitude about this both for my mental health as well as my physical health, but am having a hard time not obsessing over every little thing. I suppose this is me asking for words of wisdom, or support, or...anything really.
EDIT: Thanks everyone for the posts. the comics were good to see again. as to a response to a poster below, it feels like "stripping" me of my masculinity, because "normal males" don't have to go through surgery to look male, but I do. I'm starting to feel a little bit better about the whole ordeal, but know that I will still probably obsess about it until I sleep.
UPDATE: So I had my surgery. Unfortunately, it got off to a bad start :( There was some sort of miscommunication between the front desk, me, and the doctors, and I had had a glass of water that morning when I was apparently not supposed to eat or drink for 8 hours before hand. So instead of being IV sedated, I was under local only :( . That being said, the plan was to do skin removal instead of deep tissue removal (this would be scheduled later :( ). Overall though, while I was laying there awake being sliced open I was generally happy/fine. Also, I think I can see the improvement already in my chest after this revision, so things are looking up. thanks again everyone for the kind words and the support.
| 23 |
[
{
"body": "**Words of wisdom:**\n\nAlways carry these items in your wallet, they prove useful:\n\n* Slip of paper\n* Mini-pencil\n* Needle\n* Paperclip\n* Kitchen match\n\nAlso, learn to pick locks. Best skill I ever learned.\n\n**Support:**\n\nDon't worry, everything will go fine. The doctors know what they're doing. :)\n\n**Anything Really:**\n\nHere are some cartoons you might find humorous:\n\n[One.](http://imgur.com/9zL8y.jpg)\n\n[Two.](http://imgur.com/dxchf.jpg)\n\n[Three.](http://imgur.com/5uxFr.jpg)\n\n[Four.](http://imgur.com/jyKdx.jpg)\n\n[Five.](http://imgur.com/qhxMF.jpg)\n\n[Six.](http://imgur.com/q7PNu.jpg)\n\n[Seven.](http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/5145/1257703505352.jpg)\n\n[Eight.](http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/2585/1257797421543.jpg)\n\n[Three-thousand eighty-two to the power of pi.](http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/8631/1262369196931.jpg)\n\n[Ten.](http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/9712/1257033102860.jpg)",
"score": 14
},
{
"body": "Take it easy, be good to yourself. The period before surgery is always worse than the surgery itself. There's a lot of anxiety and a lot of fear, but I know you're in good hands of people who do this day in and day out. Besides, once surgery begins your part is easy, just lay back and relax. I've found my mind always makes it scarier than it really is.\n\nAlso, if you're on the operating table and they put the mask on you, play a game. Count how many breaths before you go under. I've had a lot of surgery, but my record still stands at 1.5.\" See if you can beat it.",
"score": 5
}
] |
Please give advice on eating a healthy diet at a college cafeteria!
|
My diet in the past has consisted of processed carbs, cheese, burgers, cream soups, soda fountain, and soft-serve machine. It's an endless-buffet style situation, but I can only go 18 times a week.
There's probably a way to eat wisely at this cafeteria if I'm creative about it. There is a vegetarian booth, but they use a TON of oil. Think deep fried polenta and stuff. Also a salad bar, deli, soup station, and a coffee station.
Currently 5'11" & 230 lb. Also going to start using the free rec center multiple times a week. Help a recovering WoW addict get healthy!
| 6 |
[
{
"body": "Honestly, a healthy diet is a healthy diet. Doesn't matter where you get your food from, as long as you choose wisely. \n\nMy office building has a cafeteria that is similar to what was at my college. I usually stick with putting together my own salad or getting something from the deli section. The meat probably isn't of the highest quality, but at least I can pick exactly what I want. Try to lay off anything that is pre-made because you can't really see what ingredients they used to make it. \n\nBe smart about it. The healthy food is there, you just gotta find it.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Screw the cafeteria. Get yourself a crock pot to keep in you dorm room, and just slow cook whole, fresh, foods.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I would make sure to pick up a good serving of fruit and veggies and try to eat those before whatever your main course is. Also, whenever I couldn't find something appetizing, they usually had a whole bin of hard-boiled eggs and I would just eat a ton of the whites as filler. I'm trying to cut a lot of calories, so I try to eat a whole carrot, broccoli, handful of cherry tomatoes, or cup of melon with a glass of water before I begin my main course.",
"score": 3
}
] |
I need to know... does anyone make blocks of cheese with bacon in it?
|
I just got this idea and I was like, "holy wow, that's awesome." It'd be like a bacon and cheese sandwich, but without bread and with the bacon inside the cheese. Like if you layered cheese with bacon, melted the cheese so that it went around the bacon, and let it resolidify or something, I don't know. Anyone make this? If not, well... Reddit, you know what to do.
| 10 |
[
{
"body": "The preservatives and salts in the bacon would kill the bacteria required for cheese making. At least that's what I'm thinking, someone **has** to have thought of this already.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "[Kraft has](http://www.foundshit.com/pictures/food/easy-cheese.jpg).\n\nWell, it's not a block. But it IS a can, which is the block of the cylinder world.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "[Heini's Amish Cheese](http://www.heinis.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=1_40)\r\n\r\nI have been there, and the bacon cheddar cheese is fantastic.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Do we want tf_use_fixedshotgunspreads enabled?
|
See here for /r/tf2 discussion:
http://www.reddit.com/r/tf2/comments/amfgy/tf2_update_january_6th_2009/c0ibrqb
We're a pretty fun server IMO, not full on serious business ಠ_ಠ but a few people are serious with their stats...so what are your thoughts? Skill or random? Or is this such a tiny issue that I'm merely using to waste time at work and you don't care?
| 5 |
[
{
"body": "I *was* going to say that I would be happy with it either on or off, but after booting up tf2 and trying it out, I have to say that I don't like [the look of it](http://imgur.com/qPNrQ.jpg). I mean, yes -- technically speaking it makes it more skill-based? -- but there's also damage spread and crits to consider. I can see this as an obvious inclusion if we were SRSBSNS and turned those off, but as it is? I wouldn't bother.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Personally, I say no. At a guess, ozfortress will want it on, so we can chuck it into the tournament config.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I'm probably the only person who thinks like this. But I think if you are going to play seriously, then the server should be close to default as possible. That means random crits and everything.\n\nYou're changing the nature of the game otherwise.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "We shouldn't be SRSBSNS. I'll be taking my tf2 business elsewhere if the servers become SRSBSNS. \n\nI love this acronym.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Leave it off. Shotguns are meant to work like that.\n\nBesides, it's not like we have -crits -dmgsprd, so people shouldn't complain. If they do, we don't want them on the server pretty much.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Favorite Video Game by Genre
|
Hey Reddit, I need some new game ideas. I was hoping to break down people's favorite games of all time by genre.
SPORTS (NHL HITZ)
PUZZLE (Peggle)
RPG (Super Mario RPG)
ACTION/ADVENTURE (Shadow of the Collosus)
FPS (Call of Duty 4)
RTS (Warcraft 3)
RACING (Burnout 3)
FIGHTING (Marvel vs. Capcom 2)
Thanks!
| 3 |
[
{
"body": "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvB-lIcHHPQ\n\ntactical role playing. final fantasy tactics. Well, that was the only one to be complicated enough to be fun. Kill shit to level and get better shit, rinse lather repeat is no fun.",
"score": 3
}
] |
What class is best for a new player?
|
Is there any, or should I just try them all and see what I like? (I'm probably going to start playing this weekend)
| 3 |
[
{
"body": "Surprisingly nobody has said medic thus far, which is the most popular choice for new players. Running behind and healing another player lets you get a feel of how other classes play while being very beneficial to the team.",
"score": 23
},
{
"body": ">Is there any, or should I just try them all and see what I like?\n\nYou should probably try all of them and see which you like. That being said, you needn't try all of them in rapid succession; if you find that you like a class, feel free to spend more time as that class before moving on to the next one.\n\nSoldier is probably the easiest class to pick up and play, with the heavy, pyro, and medic not too far behind. The soldier, ironically, also has one of the highest skill ceilings, so it's not something that people are likely to look down on you for playing; soldiers are useful at all levels of play. Soldier, demoman, and medic are the main classes worth learning, since they are generally the most versatile. Scout is another staple as well if you play on 5 CP maps like Badlands and Yukon. You can get by without ever touching sniper, spy, engineer, and pyro; teams rarely (if ever) need more than one of each of these classes, and oftentimes they are not needed at all. (You could make a case for playing multiple engineers on defense, but teams suffer from an overabundance of engineers more often than from a lack of them.)",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Heavy, tell them the basics. Left Click shoots, Right Click spins up your weapon which makes you shoot start shooting faster but run slower. If you run out of ammo or they get to far pull out your shotgun.\n\nThen follow them around as medic yourself.",
"score": 3
}
] |
I am a CEO of a 5mil per year consulting firm. AMA
|
The company makes around five million dollars per year. I went to college and majored in finance. I then worked as a temp during business school. The firm is based in New York, New York.
| 6 |
[
{
"body": "A temp while in school? Firm is based in NYC?\n\nAre you [Ryan Howard?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Howard_(The_Office\\))",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "How do you find clients?\n\nEdit: This is a serious question that is the big challenge for smaller firms (like the one where I work!)",
"score": 3
}
] |
What's the best theft/recovery/tracking app for android phones?
|
My Nexus One (my first Android phone) will be arriving tomorrow and I would like some peace of mind.
| 9 |
[
{
"body": "I've heard that Mobile Defense is what you are looking for.\n\nHowever, I tried it myself and it didn't work (it wouldn't register with my phone for whatever reason). But perhaps you will have better luck! Regardless, it's free, so it's worth a shot.",
"score": 13
},
{
"body": "What ever you do, DON'T turn off background data. I made that mistake and all of my GPS/locating apps were useless and now my Droid's Gone.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "I am using [Lookout](https://www.mylookout.com/), which does over the air backups, antivirus, a make my device scream function and also a locate my device. It doesn't seem to have a lockdown feature.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I'm using wavesecure. http://www.wavesecure.com/\n\nIt doesn't do gps tracking but makes the phone useless to someone else. ",
"score": 3
}
] |
Any redditors going to play Star Trek Online?
|
The missus and I are completely tired of the clones available at the moment. Warhammer: capped and geared, WoW: jaded and won't play it again, Age of Conan: Capped and geared, Aion: Capped and geared (for the most part). They're all pretty much the same.
I was getting ready for some MW2 the other night and saw that STO (Star Trek Online) was launching soonish and they had the preorders up for purchase on Steam. I thought it was vaporware and stopped following it a while back, even though it looked quite interesting. Regardless, I've picked up 2 deluxe editions for launch.
From what I can tell, it's a lightweight Eve Online, but with the ability to take away teams to the surface of planets and space stations. After a little more reading, it seems quite massive in size and the engine it's running on is quite powerful. While not all the features they want (or the community wants) are going to be out for launch, they have a lot "on the horizon" that they wish to get out. The IP, engine and Genesis content engine give the game a wealth of non-linear expansion opportunities.
The team who's developed it so far are sticking around afterwards to continue content too. Which is a good thing.
It's episodic PvE a little like Lord of the Rings Online, but also has procedurally generated content like Diablo 2/3, which makes for unique stuff. Explore and discover (and name) planets/stars, create your own race or play one of the Federation races - or battle against them as a Klingon.
I'm not sure if my wife is going to like it, but it certainly has me interested. My wife says she may like it simply because she's sick of being in a fantasy game and this looks a hell of a lot different than anything she's played before. It'll take a lot for me to not like the game since I'm a Trek fan, space sim fan and 3rd person gaming fan.
I don't think it'll be a massive game, but I don't care. So long as the jocks from WAR, WoW and Aion don't come flocking (which, I doubt they will. I don't think this is their cup of tea) it should hopefuly have a tight-knit community.
Any fellow Redditors planning on take a shot at the game? It'd be good to get a few names to keep an eye out for in game. Open beta starts on the 12 Jan I believe, Feb is launch time.
| 23 |
[
{
"body": "Cryptic has really screwed up Champions Online, and I think it's fair to prejudge STO on what they've done with Champions.\n\nBased on everything I've seen so far, STO will be shallow, combat-heavy and completely lore-breaking. It will be a by-the-numbers MMO with nothing in common with the movies or TV series. I guarantee the typical STO quest will be along the lines of \"kill 10 rats.\"",
"score": 16
},
{
"body": "i'm in closed beta. The game is awfully boring. It might suit you taste but it is sllllllllow. I gave up within 2 hours",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "I played in closed beta for both Cryptic's Champions Online and STO. Cryptic as a company has a bad reputation for underdelivering. Champion Online's beta was a complete disaster, the game underwhelming. \r\n\r\nI honestly thought STO was going to be the same way when they released a 10gb patch on closed beta day which caused half of the beta testers not to be able to play due to download times. HOWEVER, they immediately followed up with an apology and scheduled another test the next day. 4 days later, they released another patch, and scheduled another closed session. The changes were amazing. I've never seen a game change that drastically in 4 days -- many GUI fixes, menus, mission bugs, etc were all fixed (although there are still many bugs to work out).\r\n\r\nSo far (as a long time Star Trek fan), I'm very pleased with the progress, gameplay in both space and on away missions, and the pace at which I've leveled (leveling isn't as straight forward as \"1-50\"). I think they could add a bit more mission variety, but that will come in time.\r\n\r\nBiggest gripe I've heard of so far is lack of non-Federation faction content. The Klingon faction is extremely PvP oriented, and therefore doesn't have much content due to lack of PvE rewards, etc.\r\n\r\nEdit: Formatting, Spelling",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I'm very interested, but I'm not prepared to jump into any MMO at launch again. I feel like the wait a year and see how things shake out is a better use of my time and money. That said, I really want this game to succeed as it sounds like it could eventually offer me the kind of gameplay I've wanted from an MMO.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Already have my copy reserved. I've played Eve and it was either be a miner or a pvp. I'm fairly good at working stuff out but the design and construction systems were terrible. I've been waiting for a long time for something else in an MMO other than fantasy or anime.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Wow, a lot of negativity in this thread... I'm in the beta and I've been having fun so far.\n\nPro\n\n* Having both space ship and ground combat is neat.\n* Your gear and skills are simplistic, but you handle skills and gear for you AND your bridge officers. I was very excited when I realized I could adjust the skills of my Security / Science / Engineering officer.\n* I've seen a few quests that were magnificently done... they followed the standard episode format. Warp in to investigate... short space confrontation... beam down and do something... back to the ship for the final confrontation.\n\nCons\n\n* The game does seem rushed. The game is fun but you eventually notice certain tasks repeating.\n* Too much space combat and not enough ground missions.\n* Klingons seem to only have PvP content.\n\nI'm debating whether to buy it or not... It has a lot of potential, but it feels like it needs a bit more work (but it IS a beta after all... maybe the fixes are coming... maybe new content later on will be awesome).",
"score": 3
}
] |
2 years ago, Neil Broadley went missing. There has been no help from Japan(Where he was last known to be.) - I come to you, reddit.
|
**Update:** He's been found, and is doing well! Thank you, reddit. :)
Hi reddit. A friend has asked me to post this. Her son moved to Japan a few years ago, and after a bit he suddenly vanished. His mother has tried contacting his place of work, and the consulate, but no one is willing to help. He's been missing for two years. Here's all the information I was given...
Picture [here](http://imgur.com/PG4oD.jpg).
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 185-220
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown (although he once dyed it blonde)
Skin coloring: Fair
Moles: One rather prominent mole on his hairline ?right temple (can’t recall right or left)
Glasses: Most often wears contacts though, as pictured, will sometime wear glasses
Last know address:
Solcrest Ochanomizu 205
2-3-1 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo, Japan 101-0021
Last known home phone:
81-33-253-3770
Last known mobile phone:
81-90-852-48-085
Last known emails:
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Last known closest friend:
Shigerori Oyaizu(Around the age of 32.)
Please.. if anyone can give any answers, clues.. anything, please do.
Thank you for your time.
| 33 |
[
{
"body": "My sympathies for your situation.\n\nYour best bet is to call the Chiyoda-ku Ward Office and explain your situation. Strictly speaking, I don't think they have to help you -- they don't have any particular legal obligation to pry into his affairs to assuage your worries, and there are actual laws which prohibit disclosure of some of the information you're going to ask for. However, the law doesn't matter in Japan nearly as much as your ability to convince a low-level bureaucrat. If we was living there for a non-trivial period of time, he was legally required to register with the Chiyoda-ku ward office, and they'll be able to confirm whether his alien registration was transferred to another place in Japan, (possibly) whether he has renewed it, or (probably) whether he left the country.\n\nYour other option is to speak to the Immigration Bureau, which has higher resolution data on the renewal and leaving questions. I'd expect them to be less helpful than the Ward Office.\n\nYou will get MUCH MUCH MUCH better cooperation with your requests if you can find yourself a Japanese attorney to make them on your behalf. You will also get better cooperation if you have an official purpose for locating Neil, as opposed to \"mother is worried\". Pro-tip which you didn't hear from me: a lawyer attempting to make contact with a prodigal son with regards to his inclusion in his mother's will should get plenty of cooperation. Any sort of official looking paper, request, documentation, etc you can drum up makes it more likely that they'll help you in the routine course of business rather than triggering total panic about Random Foreigner Wants An Exception Made For Them.\n\nThe Ward Office: http://www.city.chiyoda.tokyo.jp/\nThe phone number for the desk in charge: +81-3264-2111 ext. 2362",
"score": 9
}
] |
My son was diagnosed with autism. What are your thoughts on autism spectrum disorders?
|
I'm new to reddit, so I'm not sure how to go about this. I have noticed that redditors seem to be made up of mostly intelligent individuals. I just want your opinions on autism. I would appreciate any info on the matter. I'm learning about this shit as I go along, so any ideas?
| 6 |
[
{
"body": "My son also has Asperger's and he can be a bit exasperating to deal with sometimes. The biggest struggle for me is remembering to be patient.",
"score": 5
}
] |
Reddit, what was the worst movie of the decade?
|
I was browsing and saw a blog post arguing that [Crash](http://trueslant.com/saralibby/2009/12/23/worst-movie-of-the-decade-crash/) is the worst movie of the decade. So, essentially, the question is, "What popular and critically acclaimed movie did you DISLIKE?" Or you can simply respond with an awful, no good film (but we probably haven't heard of it).
| 6 |
[
{
"body": "I'm not sure if this is the worst movie of the decade or just the most disappointing, but Ass Blaster 7 was really hard to watch. I mean, Ass Blaster 1 is a classic, we can all agree on that. 2 was also good. It was 3 that many consider to be a true classic in every sense of the word. I mean 3 had so much going for it! 4, I admit as a bit of a let down but that's only because 3 was so incredible. But if you watch 4 first, you really can see the artistic integrity and care they put into making it. 5 was a very solid film and 6 was really funny. I love 6.\n\nBut Ass Blaster 7?! WTF were they thinking? How many of us just felt totally jipped after watching this? Yeah, I understand they were going in a \"different direction\", but seriously ... a mule? What was that all about?!",
"score": 4
}
] |
Pen Aficionados: What Pen or Pencil do you recommend/use?
|
I'm looking to buy a nice-ish pen (around $30 is my budget) to use with my moleskine. What do you recommend?
As a pencil, I use Zebra's .5mm pencils
| 7 |
[
{
"body": "If you are good about not losing pens, I highly recommend the Space Pen. While it writes more or less like a normal (cheap) pen, it's compact as hell, can write on walls and upside down, and even underwater (given the right kind of paper). Also, despite it's compactness, the ink capsule lasts for over 6 months, using the pen exclusively (was in college at the time, too). It also, as a bonus, looks damn cool!",
"score": 3
}
] |
Where's Bozarking when you need him?
|
I mean seriously, this is circlejerk. This is important that he says something witty right here... and that everyone knows I'm the one who summoned him.
| 7 |
[
{
"body": "Bozarking is a stealthy one. Only appearing when someone needs rescuing, to fight crime wherever he might find it, and make a long-winded drawn out smart ass reply to something that actually makes perfect sense and he gets 1000 points of karma for it!\n\nYes...the Bozarking can teach us all so much.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Hey reddit, what's your favorite city?
|
What's your favorite city on earth? Feel free to throw in some details about why (maybe you lived there, maybe you have a good story from there, etc..)
Also, is it where you currently live?
*****************************************
Here's mine:
My favorite city would have to be Atlanta, GA, USA, and I currently live there.
People come here expecting "the capital of the south" to be another NYC or another LA (and some are disappointed when they find out its not...) but in reality, it's neither. It's a very different type of city. Also, at a population of just over 5mil, it's definitely in the city range but not to where you feel congested all the time
I will concede though, anything relating to transportation (subway ssytem, road planning, traffic) all suck. But if you can get past that, it's pretty good.
| 6 |
[
{
"body": "New Orleans, before the hurricane. God I miss those 4am hot sausage poboys with a glass of guiness. Also, a once a month drive to the French quarter to people watch. Also, randomly coming across a homeless guy pooping behind a tree while taking a romantic walk in the scenic city park. ",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Vancouver. I only visited there briefly (about a week) but my stay was excellent. Even though I was ripped off by one person; I found most people to be very friendly. The city was very clean and had a lot to offer culturally. I would definitely move there if it wasn't so damn expensive.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Vancouver- The city is bursting with life and culture. Some areas may be unsafe to visit, but it is a large city, it happens. This winter the Olympics will be coming to the city and hopefully the world can see how amazing our country really is from the people that are in the area. The relationship to the ocean and the physical environment that surrounds the city is unmatched worldwide. I currently do not live in Vancouver but I will hopefully one day when I finish undergrad.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Reddit, how many of you are frustrated by teaching in universities?
|
I learned far more in my high school AP Calc BC class than in my university's multi-variable calc class.
I've graduated college so this is a non issue for me but I still want to remember it and change the system. (Just like that drinking age thing).
Good researchers, academics, theoreticians DO NOT NECESSARILY MAKE GOOD TEACHERS! Why did I pay $50,000 a year for a class of 100 people where the professor speaks in an accent I don't understand and faces the board the whole time he speaks?
Oh I forgot - the name recognition! Silly me. I thought I was paying for the education.
| 7 |
[
{
"body": "Agreed. Many of my friends in university complain about having profs that they can't understand (due to accents, or just poor teaching style). A lot of them end up skipping class and just teaching themselves. It doesn't make sense for us to be paying thousands of dollars when we're getting so little out of the system. ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "the edu system has always been trash, especially the public one. High level colleges hire teachers that are renown are more likely to be able to get research grants and have authority in the fields rather than good teachers. Schools don't really train a mastery of anything, just busywork so they know you can get up early and do random tasks of mild complexity for 20 years with some consistency. You're branded A+ quality for companies that need consistent sheeple, congrats on graduating! The textbooks are also decided by retards who got lobbied by fucktards who really don't give a damn about quality.",
"score": 4
}
] |
/r/Music mix tape exchange?
|
Hey everyone! I posted [this](http://www.reddit.com/r/Music/comments/amfzh/hey_reddit_i_got_a_mix_cd_from_a_fellow_redditor/) earlier, about the mix CDs *sxm* was sending out. Another redditor, *littlemissemperor* asked if there had ever been an /r/music mix exchange.
I was thinking, it would be really cool if we could set up something similar to the Secret Santa, except for a longer period of time, just for sending CDs to each other. However, I've got no idea how something like this would be set up. If any of you like this idea or have any suggestions as to how this would work, feel free to comment!
* If you want to **participate**, just click [HERE](http://www.reddit.com/r/mixcd/comments/amj1f/post_your_countrytastesetc_here/) and leave a comment including your:
-Last.fm account, Grooveshark, etc., or let us know if you want a "dealer's choice" mix,
-Whatever country you're in, and if you'd like to be paired up with someone close to you, or someone from a random country
* **Rules** can be found [HERE](http://www.reddit.com/r/mixcd/comments/amivi/rules_of_the_great_mix_cd_trade/). They're simple enough, so please try to follow them so everyone has a good experience!
* Anything you *don't* want on your CD? Post your preferences over [HERE](http://www.reddit.com/r/mixcd/comments/amj0a/anything_you_dont_want_on_your_mix/), and hopefully your match will check it out and make sure not to include it
**Deadline** - littlemissemperor has proposed that we'll put a deadline on this round of exchanges, for **Friday, January 15th at midnight EST**. A couple of days after that deadline, you'll find out who you're sending your mix to. Then, you'll have **three weeks** to get your Redditor's address and mail out your mix!
This is a fantastic idea from *brotherbear*:
"Perhaps something that could take it to a more intimate level is the inclusion of liner notes with the mixes. Why the songs were chosen, they first time the mixer heard the song, etc. I think that could add a memorable facet to what otherwise could be just a physical reproduction of /r/listentothis."
I'd definitely encourage everyone who's participating to consider doing this, it'd add a lot to the CDs!
**/r/MixCD** has been created. Post whatever cool ideas you have for making your CD stand out from the rest, or anything else relating to this project!
| 46 |
[
{
"body": "Ok, here's what I'm thinking:\n\nEveryone interested comments with their last.fm/music preferences or \"dealer's choice\" by a set deadline.\n\nPost deadline, everyone is given a user to make a mix for, and it's up to them to get the address from the person they're sending the mix for. Another send-out deadline, maybe?\n\nDoes that make sense?",
"score": 5
}
] |
What do you say to the Bible-thumpers who come to your door?
|
As a new transplant to the bible-belt, I wonder if any of you have any fun, interesting, or humiliating stories about what you have said to the evangelical fundies that come to your door. They usually start with "Do you believe in Heaven..."
| 12 |
[
{
"body": "\"Do you believe in Heaven...\"\n\n\n/gaze into his or her eyes.\n\n\"Do you believe in love at first sight?\"\n\n/rub crotch furiously.",
"score": 28
},
{
"body": "I had a group of 3 teenagers chaperoned by an older woman. About 50 I would say. One of the boys told me what church they were from and then asked me if it was okay if they talked to me about the Lord. I told them \"Thank you but no, I'm an atheist.\" They just stood there dumbfounded for about 3 seconds and so I said \"Seriously, I'd rather not but thanks anyway.\" They turned to walk away and took about 3 steps when the woman turned and said \"We'll pray for you.\" Well I couldn't just let that slide so I said \"Okay, let's talk.\" Well I proceeded to school them on what I thought about the atrocities of their God of the old testament and then started asking them questions that they had no good answer for. I asked to borrow their bible and then showed them how Genesis 1 and 2 have contradicting accounts of the creation of the world. I made them look foolish and made myself look like an ass. The woman said, \"sir, there is no reason for you to be hostile toward us.\" I just reminded her that it was them that wanted to talk and I was willing to get on with my life but she felt it necessary to \"pray for me\" and I find that highly disrespectful of me and that if they would have simply left, we wouldn't have had to have this conversation and these boys would not be questioning their faith right now. \"I think it best that you leave now.\" Then I closed the door. I peaked through the blinds and watched as they bowed their heads and prayed at the end of my walkway. I fought the urge to open the door and ask them not to do that in front of my house but then thought better of it. I tried to avoid the confrontation but she just had to get that \"We'll pray for you\" in and I wouldn't have it. I was not disrespectful and never raised my voice. I doubt she gets the urge to say that the next time someone tells her no thanks, I'm an atheist. ",
"score": 21
},
{
"body": "When I visited a relative's home in Colorado for a little over a month, we got this twice. The first time, my aunt answered the door and claimed to belong to a church, but she made up the name and they didn't buy it. The second time, I was playing GTA 4 with my younger cousin, and the door rang, I went to answer it and he asked me who it was as I opened the door, I said \"Its the people from the church again.\" He shouted (loud enough for them to hear) \"Well, hurry up and get rid of them so we can go back to killing hookers.\" I turned to the nice people and asked them if they could excuse me so I could deal with something, and shut the door in their faces.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "\"Great! Come in! I'd love to hear about jesus! [What's he up to now!\"](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR7DBTUIJIk#t=4m13s)",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I had a roommate who told some Jehovah witnesses proselytizers to come back @ a specific time, then he called the Mormons to come over @ the same time for a \"Battle Royale\" ",
"score": 3
}
] |
A little guidance from experienced riders needed!
|
Hi all, long time lurker first time poster. This is a quick life story and some advice required so hope you can help.
I'm 36yo, 5'9" tall and over 100kg. Was around 90kg for 10 years or so until I badly broke my big toe and got up to nearly 110kg. Have been that way for nearly 2 years now.
Really wanting to lose the weight and get much more fit. I tried doing some fun runs last year but I just can't run for nuts. So riding seems to be an exercise I can do reasonably well. I've got a hybrid/MTB, its not cheap crap but not the greatest either, I plan to change it to slicks from nobblies once the time comes but for now it will do.
Since New Years Eve I've done around 80km, mostly in rides of 16km or so duration. Starting this week I've ridden to work twice, which is a 32km round trip, with fair hills to contend with. I did this ride the first time in 90 minutes, please don't laugh! Second time I did it in 75 mins, but I had a headwind. So I am improving, but I want to improve more.
What tips could anyone offer in the way of some training tips, especially recovery, I was sore for a few days after the first ride. I think given my shape I'm pushing myself pretty hard but as long as I can finish I am happy.
My problem is, I want to improve, quicker than I am...
| 12 |
[
{
"body": "Lifelong commuter, 10 years racer here.\n\nYou can't rush fitness. Don't push too hard or you will likely injure yourself. Gains are fast at first due to increased blood volume and other, longer lasting, effects such as compensatory hematopoesis, mitochondrial expansion, and limited muscle fibre type switching take a couple of weeks to a few months to achieve.\n\nAs other posters have mentioned, you should pay attention to your cadence, and try to keep it around 90 rpm or so; this means that you will likely have to spin an easier gear than you have been so far. It might not stress your muscles a whole lot, but if weight loss is what you're primarily after, it's the fat burning and cardio aspects you want to focus on rather than muscle building. You want to be working hard enough to speak short sentences, but not so hard that you're panting for breath. Your overall average speed may also increase a bit as your muscles won't be as destroyed in the latter stages of the ride.\n\nRecovery is important. Rest if you're tired. At first this could mean 1 day on and 1 day off, in time you can reduce the rest days to once or twice a week. Recovery can mean staying off the bike completely, but it would be better to take the bike out for half an hour or so to spin the legs and get the blood flow going, but not enough to really perspire. When you say you were sore, you don't explain in what way. Muscle sore? Butt sore? Your muscles should feel heavy and tired but not ripped apart like a weights workout. If your butt is sore, that's to be expected when you're starting out. It will get better in time as you adjust to the saddle and it adjusts to you. Speaking of your butt, do you have shower facilities at work? If not, buy some baby wet naps and wipe your taint before you start work or saddle sores could make a quick end to your project.\n\nHydration: for rides of this duration, water is sufficient. When it gets hot out you might include some gatorade for rides over an hour since studies have shown that isotonic solutions are more readily absorbed by the GI tract, but I'm assuming it's not really hot where you are right now.\n\nIf you want to make any equipment changes, I would recommend toe clips. If you like the feel of your feet attached to the pedals (keep them loose at first until you overcome your fear of falling over while attached to your bike!) you can think about upgrading to clipless pedals and rigid soled shoes with a cleat. I would recommend the SPD system as you can still walk around in the shoes without looking like a duck, and you can still ride the pedals in normal shoes. If you contact a cycling club you may find someone who is willing to sell you some second hand pedals. Serious long-time cyclists often have multiple sets of everything!\n\nOther than that, enjoy the ride! I stopped racing 8 years ago but still love getting out on the bike and enjoying the freedom.",
"score": 16
},
{
"body": "Go to a shop and ask them to fit you on your bike. It can help with soreness. Besides that, remember that more difficult a gear you push, the harder your muscles work; the faster you spin, the harder your cardio is worked. Find a good balance for you. I prefer to lean towards cardio. \n\nAs for recovery, just stretch (seriously, do it) and eat healthy. ",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "During the first month of cycling, you'll probably improve the fastest. You'll start eating a shit ton, if you're riding enough. Also, you muscles aren't used to the strain, so they will be very, very tired after easy rides. As you get more used to cycling, so will your body. If you are doing hard rides, think about 1 or 2 days per week of \"rest.\" This can either mean no riding, or maybe 45 minutes of easy riding. Another way to improve is by going for distance over intensity. I found that I could adapt to that easier than going balls out for 30 minutes.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Rest a day or two per week--give the muscles a chance to recover. Eat right, don't ride to justify bad food. Cross train, do something else: perhaps on the day or two you don't ride, go for a light jog or do some pushups, play soccer (or \"football\", since it sounds like you come from a country that is not the United States) or tennis or something. Don't forget about the rest of your body.\n\nOn the bike? Spin the hills (low gear, high cadence (pedal faster), if that works for you). Spin the flats (get to where you're pedaling very quickly, one or two gears up from bouncing around in the saddle). Bomb the descents, possibly at high/tall gear (low cadence) to gain speed. Change it up and hammer the hills, hammer the flats, coast the descents. Stand on the pedals every so often. Drink plenty of fluids--one bottle every hour, especially when it's warm out. Eat something every so often.\n\nI should take my own advice...",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Hi, I am older a bit taller and 90kg and live in Aus. My knees are stuffed from playing Australian football when I was younger so cycling, swimming and stretching keeps me in good shape. \n\nI started riding on a flat bar road bike, probably very similar to what you are riding now. In a relatively short time I sort of maxed out riding on my own and was doing the sort of distances you are. I thought I was going ok until... I bought myself a proper road bike (they can be a lot cheaper to buy than you might expect and there is a very vibrant second hand market) and joined a club. \n\nWell, thats when my cycling life took a turn for the better and better by a long long way. In a club environment the enjoyment factor, distances and fitness went through the roof. Cycling clubs are made up of an incredibly diverse range of fitness levels, read you can always, and I mean always find a group that moves at a pace you feel comfortable with. And the great thing is that there are always faster groups that you can try as your fitness levels improve. The social aspects of cycling are fantastic and almost every cyclist I have met has been a good person. \n\nIf you proceed as I did you will look back at these days and laugh at what a noob you were (no offence). I did a hills session this morning in Sydney that would have been impossible only 6 months ago. My fitness level is really really high and I can sustain very high intensity for long periods, and I am still a noob by road cycling standards. Cycling seems to one of the few sports that you can continue to improve as you age. In fact I have been smoked on roads by guys well into their 60's. Your body becomes harder and more fit with each week. In addition most club rides happen very early in the morning so your exercise for the day is usually over before about 7:15 on a weekday and as late as you want on the weekend.\n\nI can honestly say, having played almost every sport known to man, that road cycling is by far the best sport I have ever done. ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "can i just suggest an immediate relief for sore parts; gloves and cycling shorts. life changer. (unless you have them anyway, in which case disregard this)",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "If you want to lose weight, you'll want to get your ride in while your blood sugar is low, like after you wake up, so that your body will go straight to your fat stores for energy.\n\nSave eating breakfast until you get to/near work.\n\nMeal replacements like Met-RX are convenient. ",
"score": 3
}
] |
How did you reference something from Reddit today?
|
My Mum and I were talking about Transexuals, so I told her about the [instructions on how to tape down your penis](http://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/alov2/japanese_how_to_tape_your_penis_down_instructions/). This made me wonder how other people use things they see on Reddit in conversation.
| 6 |
[
{
"body": "The setting: A nice quiet morning in BETTERBADGER's kitchen. BETTERBADGER is sitting at an oak table, eating corn flakes and drinking a beer.\n\nMOTHER enters, stage left.\n\nMOTHER: oh, betterbadger, you better not be eating what I think you're eating.\n\nBETTERBADGER: [sheepishly] uh... it's just corn flakes.\n\nMOTHER: Just corn flakes... and my last domestic beer. \n\nBETTERBADGER: I'll pick more up at the store today, after karate practice, I promise.\n\nMOTHER: That's what you always say. But then I get a call from you in the afternoon saying that you're going to be out late playing with your little friends. By the way, how is Melissa doing? Such a nice young lady.\n\nBETTERBADGER: She's okay I guess. I mean, she just had her vaj pierced.\n\nMOTHER: BETTERBADGER! Mind your manners! What did I tell you about that kind of behavior?\n\nBETTERBADGER: What? Why 'cause I said vaj? You say it all the time.\n\nMOTHER: I was talking about your elbows. Keep them off the table! Now what were you saying about Melissa's vagina? She pierced it?\n\nBETTERBADGER: Totally. She has a wicked tattoo down there too.\n\nMOTHER: You know who else had a wicked tattoo down there? That transsexual who stayed over with your father and me.\n\nFATHER (offstage): Did someone call me?\n\nMOTHER (yelling to FATHER): No, dear! We're talking about the transsexuals! \n\nFATHER (offstage): Yeah that guy was *hung*!\n\nMOTHER (to BETTERBADGER): You're father isn't kidding. I was sore all week.\n\nBETTERBADGER: That reminds me! Remember how you were asking if there was any way to tape down dad's dick? Well, I've gotta send you to this link I found on reddit!\n\nMOTHER: Alright dear. We'll talk about it later. Now go on and catch your school bus so that you don't flunk out and have to repeat 6th grade!\n\nBETTERBADGER exits, stage left. We hear the sound of a bus stopping and driving off.\n\nFATHER (offstage): If he's gone, get your sweet ass back up here, the German is waking up, and the goat is getting impatient!\n\nCURTAIN FALLS. End Act II.",
"score": 53
},
{
"body": "Interesting conversation to have with your mother. I'm sure you talking about the instructions horrified her and now she will be wondering if you are dressing up when she's not around.",
"score": 3
}
] |
I was stood up on a first date at Starbucks... along with 5 other guys there too apparently
|
So, I started getting into online dating and met a girl. She said she preferred meeting people to talk to them, rather than sending emails back and forth, so she asked if I could meet her at a Starbucks the next day.
I thought is was weird she would want to meet a stranger so soon, but figured why not. Maybe she really does like meeting people in person right away. Well, I get to Starbucks at the designated time and immediately notice something is odd. First of all, no girl there. In fact, no girls in the entire Starbucks, except those working behind the counter (none of which were the person I was to meet). Even odder, I see about 5 guys sitting at a table by themselves, and I just get the sense they are sitting there waiting for someone. In fact, one of them already had purchased a second coffee and placed it at the second seat at his table.
I am like, okay she is not here, and there are a lot of guys here and they all seem anxious, but I plop down on a couch, take out my laptop, put on my mp3 player, order a green tea, and get some programming work while I wait for the inevitable.
Surprise surprise, she never shows up. To make things weirder, the people the other guys were waiting for apparently also didnt show, because for the entire time they sat there by themselves, getting more distressed looks on their faces as time progressed, the light inside them growing dimmer by the minute. Eventually, starting about a half hour after I arrived, they began to leave the coffeeshop, one at a time, either looking depressed or upset. They all left by themselves; even the guy with 2 coffees left with both coffees.
The cynical side of me assumed it right away, and the silly side of me found it kinda funny. I think we were all setup by the same person as some sort of prank. While all the other guys sat there and tapped their fingers as they watched the door, waiting for a girl to show up, I worked on my programming and chatted with the guy sitting nearby on another couch; the only other guy who apparently wasn't waiting for a girl to arrive. Of course I was upset just like all the other guys there, but guess what, THATS LIFE! Ya gotta take the bad things with the good things and sometimes find the silly things in the jumbled mess that arises. Oh well.
It is weird, I feel bad for those guys who sat there, waiting for no one to come. I realized it right away, actually, but I do not know if they did. I do not feel bad for myself, but I do for them. I feel bad for that non-existent girl too, because now she will never know how nice of a guy I am.
She hasn't replied to my follow up message to her, which I think adds credence to the fact we were punk'd. Its a free online dating site, so anyone could pose to be anyone else; even those who think its funny to mess with people.
Yay for life experiences!
| 146 |
[
{
"body": "I've seen this done, but its done best when she asks the guy to wear specific clothing, because then you have what you got, plus all the dudes dressing the same.",
"score": 83
},
{
"body": "\"I was stood up on a first date at Starbucks... along with 5 other guys there too apparently\"\n-\nAnd then you guys all joined up, rented a house together, and made a sitcom/reality show out of it?",
"score": 35
},
{
"body": "Oh my god, this is so crazy. Two of my girlfriends friends were just telling her that they do this some nights when they're bored. They set up an account on dating sites and use their friends facebook pics and get like 5+ guys to all meet at the same place, same time and stand them up. Some of these poor guys drive over an hour out of their way just to get humiliated. I guess last time they did this they went to the Chilies where they told these guys to meet them and they watched them all sit at the bar and wait. They guys started talking and eventually shared with each other that they were all meeting the same girl. They started to text these girls because they were dumb enough to give out their actual numbers. How obvious does it look when 2 attractive young girls are in the booth across the restaurant on their phones texting these guys who are 15 feet away from them. Apparently some of these guys even asked if they were the girls sitting in the booth and I guess they booked it right after that.\n\nHow sick and pathetic is this?! I am so glad my girlfriend felt the same way and decided not to participate in this. ",
"score": 19
},
{
"body": "If I owned an independent coffee shop and sales were slow, I think I'd hit up the dating sites and set up situations such as yours. Do five or six guys a day... Profit.",
"score": 16
},
{
"body": "You should have said something when the first guy left. \"Hey, was anyone else supposed to meet a lady today?\"",
"score": 10
},
{
"body": "What I've heard you do in this situation is to wait a couple of days and then send her a message saying \"Hey, sorry, I forgot about Starbucks.\" Then see if she starts acting all indignant like you stood her up.",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "There probably never was a girl. Probably some poor basement dwelling kid that thinks what he's doing is funny.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "That's a sad story. And very lame of that girl to not show up. Did you contact her again? Did she make any kind of excuse for not showing up? \n\nAnyway, I used to spend a lot of time on okcupid and I just have to say that most sane girls who are genuinely interested in a relationship or a hookup (and are not just internet attention whoring) will ask to meet up pretty early. I definitely tried to meet a guy pretty early on because there was well... a lot of eligible guys on the site in my area (not trying to brag here. seriously. I live in silicon valley where the guy to girl ratio HEAVILY favors girls, which means girls have to narrow things down somehow.) And like I said, if a girl is sane and actually looking, she'll ask to meet up rather than emailing for weeks and weeks and leading you on. \n\nYay for life experiences. I hope you don't go too hard on this girl and that the next girl you meet is great. I'd be interested in an update if you hear from her again.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Tired of trying and inevitably failing
|
I know that failure is a way to learn but when it's all you come across you stop wanting to try.
I just lost my 3rd job in the last six months. To be fair, the first job was shit anyway (who wants to shovel horse manure six hours a day!?!?), the second job was only temporary and now, this third job. I really liked this last job but they cut their budget and because I was the last person hired, I was the first person fired. They assured me it wasn't personal but I can't help but think that it's just me and that I can't keep a job.
I am finally off my meds but today I am beginning to feel that I may need to go back on them. I really don't want to do this. I try to be independent. And I know I need to ask for help. Not many of my friends understand what depression is like and they sometimes chastise me for being "lazy and unmotivated" Right, cuz I want to spend my life living with my parents/with friends and being broke all the time.
I am so frustrated and angry. I just need to know I am not alone in this...that others have gone through/are going through something similar.
At this point, I'm going to have to take my parents up on their offer to pay for weekly counselling because I really don't want to go back on meds.
| 9 |
[
{
"body": "You're definitely not alone- I've been there more than a few times in my life (including the horse shit, although I loved that job), and it is frustrating. It doesn't sound like your job problems have anything to do with you- usually if a company has to do layoffs they do it in order of seniority, so don't blame that one on yourself. And the job market sucks almost everywhere these days- don't blame yourself for that. \n\nI would definitely take your parents' offer and go and see a therapist- if nothing else, they can help you learn some coping skills so that you're able to see that your situation isn't all your fault, and different ways of thinking so that you can get through times like this more easily. Meds are a different story- some people need them and some don't, but don't shy away from them because you want to be 'independent'. For some people meds are the only way that they can function without being crushed by depression, and there's nothing wrong with that. A good therapist or doctor will be able to help you make that decision, but I wouldn't rule them out completely if that's what they suggest. \n\nI'm sorry that your friends don't understand- you're always welcome to come here and talk, because a lot of us (probably most) have been where you are now. \n",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "You are not alone. Jobs come and go, sometimes...\n \nAlso - taking meds would not be an issue if you were epileptic. This is also a brain-chemistry problem. Willpower or behavior does not always do the trick.\n \nToday's dilemmas will not last.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Those who apply Pascal's Wager should ask to be buried with gold coins on their eyes...
|
... in case they need to pay the toll to cross the River Styx. It takes less effort than believing in God and it's equally as likely to be important. I'm sure you can think of more examples.
| 10 |
[
{
"body": "So in an effort to appease a ceremony from a second religion you should make a gesture proving your lack of faith in the Christian god, committing a mortal sin and damning yourself to hell?\n\nChristianity is an all or nothing thing, so if you're on board you're a one-god kinda guy.",
"score": 5
}
] |
Any good (local to) Houston beers?
|
Dear beerit,
I'll be traveling to Houston on business next week. Any local/microbrews/craft beers specific to the Houston area that would be worth checking out?
| 3 |
[
{
"body": "St. Arnold is in Houston though they aren't Houston only. But they make some good stuff, especially the Elissa IPA. Avoid the Lawnmower.",
"score": 3
}
] |
my front page reddits are screwed up :( HELP
|
Somehow my settings are all messed up. Right now I have Hockey, Zombies, Cannabis, American Government, Brisbane, Nudist Beach, MMJ, Android, Elbridgegerry....what???
I have so much stuff that is showing up on my front page I am missing the stuff I really want to look at. Is there a way to reset the settings to normal or something?
| 3 |
[
{
"body": "Try setting/resetting your language preferences. There once was a bug that did something alike when you had your preferred language set to anything than \"All\".",
"score": 3
}
] |
Question about math.
|
I'm in a bit of a freakout / panic. In about a month I have to take an aptitude test for a potential job as an electrician apprentice.
The test involves some algebra type questions. I plan on Googling and finding some tutorial sites but maybe some of you smart folks have some sites you like and could recommend.
I was never good at math and it's been many, many years since I've had to deal with it.
As an example, a sample question goes as follows:
"Consider the following formula; A=B+3(4-C)
If B=5 and C=2 what is the value of A?"
It says the answer is 11 but I come up with 16 because
if I sub in the variables I end up with
A=5+3(4-2)
A=8(2)
A=16
This is probably so basic that I'm fucked on this test.
What am I doing wrong here?
**Edit: Facepalm, of course. Thank you. Do you have any tutorial sites you like or recommend? I'll Google for it as well.**
| 3 |
[
{
"body": "PEMDAS = Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction\n\nA = 5 + 3(4-2) -- Solve inside parentheses first, multiply by 3, then add to 5",
"score": 4
}
] |
I'm trying to teach myself Java in school.
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I'm a senior in high school, and its my last semester until I graduate. This semester, I have a free period in the middle of the day in which I have absolutely nothing to do for a hour and a half. I want to use this time to do something productive, and I really want that to be teaching myself how to program in Java.
I have no programming experience, although after reading the first few chapters of several programming books, I feel like I understand many of the general and basic concepts behind it. I've also decided that Java would be the most logical to learn, as I'll be taking a few Java courses my first year of college.
Can anyone help me out with this? As in, recommend any books or online resources for beginners, etc?
Edit- To clarify, you can pretty much consider me a **complete** beginner.
| 13 |
[
{
"body": "This [Stanford course](http://see.stanford.edu/see/courseinfo.aspx?coll=824a47e1-135f-4508-a5aa-866adcae1111) is available online and is quite good as an introduction to programming/Java. It would work well with 1.5 hour blocks too.",
"score": 12
},
{
"body": "Check this out: [http://eclipsetutorial.sourceforge.net/totalbeginner.html](http://eclipsetutorial.sourceforge.net/totalbeginner.html)",
"score": 11
},
{
"body": "If you feel you are up to it at the end of the year, try and take the AP CompSci test. Its all Java.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "I learned java from the Core Java books by Cay S. Horstmann and Gary Cornell. I thought they were pretty good. I would get just the first book since you are just staring out. You can get the first book of the 7th edition used on amazon for about $12 shipped. The older edition is fine since there really haven't been any major changes since Java 5. Later you might want to look at something like Effective Java.\n\nIf you can, try to find someone that can mentor you. When I was in high school my friend's dad, who was a professional programmer, taught me some C++. Sitting down with a real person will be much faster than just working through a book.\n\nOh, also you might want to download the Java API Docs or at least bookmark them.\n\nAnyway, good luck :)",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Is Bruce Eckel's 'Thinking in Java' free online? Most of his other books get given away eventually. Personally I'd go for some online tutorials though. Try the Sun Microsystems java website. I think it is java.sun.com.\n\n//edit - try this. Maybe look at downloading the Netbeans + JVM package from the Java website.\n\nhttp://java.sun.com/new2java/",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Do yourself a favor and learn C instead. The universities are worthless these days teaching kids Java as though they'll really learn the inner workings of a computer that way. There's a whole lower level to the computer that Java isn't the best at giving you access to.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Learn at least a little C first. It doesn't have to be comprehensive; get a copy of Kernighan and Ritchie's \"The C Programming Language\" (doesn't matter which edition) and read it cover to cover. Try out the sample code and don't get too stressed out if you don't get some concepts. Just get through the book. Then go get a copy of \"Head First Java\" or \"Thinking in Java\" or whatever. C is a mother language in a sense. Learn a little C and you'll find Java a lot easier.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "If you are a complete beginner I would start out using [bluej](http://www.bluej.org) as your IDE instead of Eclipse. It allows you to visualize the objects you are working with and look at them as actual functioning pieces rather than chunks of text. You'll probably outgrow it quickly but it's free and worth a look.",
"score": 3
}
] |
How many people here are sick of people refusing to call "global warming" by its more accurate name, "climate change"?
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This gets under my skin. This is shaping up to be an unusually cold winter; of course FoxNews and conservative leaders are giggling to themselves, saying "what ever happened to global WARMING har har!"
I haven't heard a reputable, scientific source call it global warming in years. Hell, even the Day After Tomorrow explains that climate change can cause cooling in some regions, and Rupert Emmerich went on to direct a movie about a bullshit Mayan apocalypse. The term is "climate change": any drastic changes in climate should raise alarm, not just warming.
This might just be a pet peeve of mine, but I was curious if anyone else felt the same.
| 6 |
[
{
"body": "So you're blaming people for using the very term under which the concept was first widely popularized? Tough luck now, they should have thought about it before calling it \"global warming\" in every news story for over a decade.",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "Hilarious. The poor people wanting to predict doomsday got it wrong with Global Warming, and had to start calling it Climate Change. Warming period in the 1500s? Ignore it. Heating up on Mars too? Ignore it. Tree ring data does not match? Hide it. 2008 was supposed to be the biggest hurricane season ever too. The fact is, it's all BS, and it's all for grant money. Those of us that work in the scientific community see it all the time.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "The founder of the internet, Al Gore said it was all about global warming. That's why people call it global warming. If you have a problem with this name take it up with him... sheeple",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "> Hell, even the Day After Tomorrow explains that climate change can cause cooling in some regions, ...\n\nSeriously? A Hollywood movie as a reference?",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "The \"Climate Change\" issue is intentionally over-complicated to divide the populace and serve as a political tool. There are only a few simple facts we can definitely ascertain:\r\n\r\n- Climate patterns on Earth are slowly changing just as they always have and always will as a result of complicated biotic and abiotic interactions we are just beginning to understand. Occasionally, change is abrupt.\r\n- There seem to be approximately 100K year glaciation cycles containing ~ 80K years of Ice Age and 20K years of Interglacial warm periods. Glacial cycles have not always been around, this suggests there are multiple \"equilibrium\" states in which Earth might transition into given a significant enough push.\r\n- Anthropogenic influences effect climate to some degree but the jury is still out. The science is just not there yet.\r\n- The dire and frightening predictions of climate change come from computer models which are only as good as the data they work off of. Human subjectivity and accidental errors are inevitable as related scientific data can be subjectively interpreted.\r\n\r\nIt is my opinion that it is too early to base drastic politcal change on poorly understood science. For now, we should focus on reducing pollution and practicing good science. In short, we do not understand Earth system interactions well enough to make reliable predictions.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "And we should start calling the polar ice melt by it's proper name; Polar H2O phase change. That ought to clear things up too.\n\nDon't confuse weather with climate.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "So the Earth is actually *not* warming?\n\nEveryone knows that climate changes. We just don't know which direction it is going now, nor how fast, nor to what extent, nor why.\n\n\"Climate Change\" is completely ambiguous, and can mean anything you want it to. The question is, are humans causing the planet to heat up with our CO2 emissions, and if so, will the overall effect be deleterious to our environment?\n\nNo one knows the answer to that, and at this point we can do nothing more than speculate.\n\nI personally have a hard time understanding why it is necessarily a *good* thing when oceans freeze over and formerly productive farm land gets covered by vast sheets of ice or turns to permafrost.\n",
"score": 3
}
] |
I think I might have a Pilonidal cyst and I am scared to go to a doctor, WSID?
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According to wikipedia and other medical sites I have a Pilonidal cyst. It has been on and off for a while now and I am scared to see a doctor. Is there anything I can do myself (e.g. treat it with alcohol or polysporn to disinfect)?
| 4 |
[
{
"body": "My dad had one, and I broke my tail bone at an early age so I feel your pain, there is **nothing** you can do by yourself. If you don't get it lanced it will only hurt worse and worse, please for your sake go see a doctor.\n\nThe procedure is fairly straight forward, but the recovery can be a pain in the ass (no pun intended). For my dad he had a \"hole\" there for a month or so and had to take baths to clean it out but eventually it got better and hasn't come back in the twenty or so years since it happened. \n\nGood luck.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "One day I woke up, couldn't breath out of my left nostril; thought it was just allergies and let it go for a month; as I wasn't getting better and instead, my right nostril was getting clogged up, I finally called the doctor; turned out I had a tumor growing in one of the sinuses, which was easily removed before it got any bigger; sure, I didn't want to go to the doctor, but who knows, a year from now, I could have easily been dead. As scared as i was, glad i went to see and got this thing taken care of.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I had one 2 years ago. It was pretty embarrassing being bent over at the proctologist while the doc took care of it. I then got several Hidradenitis suppurativa cysts in my armpits, a sty in my eye and several mrsa sores on my arms. I started eating right, avoiding soap and detergent products with perfumes and dyes and tried to take care of myself. Slowly, everything went away. After your incision, the doc will probably tell you to soak twice a day to clean the sore. My advice, clean your tub really well before you use it. Chances are, your tub is gross like mine. If you are told to soak twice a day, you will get caught up in your reading :).\n\nOh, one more thing: If the doc packs the incision, pay attention to when he tells you to remove the packing gauze. My doc said 2 hours. I waited 2.5 hours and experienced the worst pain of my life while trying to remove gauze that had clotted to the wound. It was awful.",
"score": 3
}
] |
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