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So me and my roommate were having an argument about pasta... | I was making some meat sauce and I told him that I had to get some spaghetti noodles. He insists that it really doesn't matter what kind of pasta you use, no matter what kind of sauce it's going with. Can anyone give me a good reason why it matters what pasta I use? | 3 | [
{
"body": "I cannot give a single viable reason. You can serve any kind of sauce with any kind of pasta. You can even top lasagna noodles with just alfredo sauce if that blows your skirt up. It all boils down to personal preference. Were you told that bolognese *has* to go on spaghetti noodles or you'll burn in hell? You can get as creative as you want when cooking, don't let a silly little thing like noodles hold you back :) ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "One issue is the ratio of sauce to pasta, and that can be very dependent on the shape and size of the pasta. I wouldn't use angel hair spaghetti noodles with a thick heavy sauce. I probably would not use a light watery sauce with a large noodle. The different shapes can also provide different sensations of \"al dente\" (to the tooth). \n\nThere are many different kinds of pasta as well as shapes. Egg, cheese, carrot, spinach and so on that are blended into the dough.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I tend to go for 'scoopy' shapes if I'm making something with mince, like bolognese, because I find that spaghetti ends up just seperating from the meat and sauce. Penne is my all time favourite, mostly 'cos it's mechanically easiest to eat.",
"score": 3
}
] |
How do I calmly get my rats in their cage? | So we have 2 female rats in our apartment who are still a little skittish (they are about 5 months old) but they are getting more used to coming out of their cage and playing and running around our apartment. We lived in a different apartment when we first got them, and they weren't able to run around much (except the couch), but now they really enjoy climbing out of the cage, climbing on their cage, exploring the living room, etc. My question is, how can I lure them back in their cage since they are so skittish?
I often have to go to class and can't rat proof my entire living room, so I need to put them back in their cage before I leave, but often they are so skittish when I try. Just a flinch of my hand might make one of them scurry off. I've tried putting treats in their cage which they can smell, and it works for my larger, more shy rat, but not for the smaller and more adventurous one.
I'm afraid that luring them to my hand with treats and then picking them up will make them not trust me :( and I don't want to corner them and pick them up if I don't have to. What is the best way to get a rat back into its cage when playtime is over? | 5 | [
{
"body": "I don't let my rats run free until they've learned to come when they're called.\n\nFind a treat that they really love (I find frozen peas work really well), then make a high pitched noise that's easy for you to make (I click my tongue), and make it until they take the treat. They will associate the noise with getting the treat, and eventually with you wanting them to come. Try this first with them in their cage, and then when you're holding them, and then when they're running free.\n\nAfter a while, they'll come whenever you make the noise (assuming they want to. They're a bit like cats in that regard. But, they'll at least know that you're calling them).\n\nI found that as long as I gave them a treat about 70% of the time I called them, they'd come every time I called (unless they were sleeping, or doing something really exciting). \n\nAlso, are your rats really afraid of you, or do they just hate being held/being put away? If they really are afraid, you might try forced socialization. Google it. Although, 5 months might be a little old. Also, I've had some rats who were really skittish, who I thought didn't like me that much, but whenever they were hurt, they'd come right to me for help, it was just that they wanted to do their own thing 99% of the time.\n\n",
"score": 6
}
] |
I've just had a huge realisation: I can control my own thoughts. I can choose which thoughts to attach meaning to. This changes everything. | For so long, I've suffered as a prisoner in my own head. I had fallen for my thoughts, hook, line and sinker. I believed that thoughts were solid, rock-like constructs that would inevitably alter my state of mind. I accepted good and bad moods without really questioning my own thinking. When I had a thought such as 'I'm lonely and will be single for ages', I believed that I SHOULD be feeling bad, and feeling bad was a punishment for being lonely. Because the thoughts were there, I saw them as natural and perhaps more importantly, as *necessary*.
I realised today that it's completely up to me which thoughts I attach meaning to and turn from transparent clouds to rocks. The emotion generated in my head is a by-product of taking every thought that arises seriously. So it's now a choice I can make there and then.
I want to develop this to the point where I can note the unhelpful thoughts, but not 'engage' them and attach meaning to them. Am I on the right lines? | 271 | [
{
"body": "It is much more appropriate to just watch ALL your thoughts. Be beyond picking and choosing. Using western therapeutic approaches, what you end up creating is a huge shadow complex of disowned aspects of your self. Becoming aware of how you put meaning on your thoughts can increase your cognitive capacity, especially your capacity to take other perspectives. This of course leads to a dramatic increase in compassion. Is it better to pick some thoughts you like, and try to disown the ones you do not like, or to become aware of and free of all your thoughts? The latter is pure bliss, the former just a more complex samsara. ",
"score": 50
},
{
"body": "You're on the right line, but I must ask which one of your thoughts will decide which other thought is worth more attention? There is no I to control. Only I relative to you and them. So it is good you realize the ephemeral, illusory nature of the thoughts, but I think you should further examine what is controlling.",
"score": 14
},
{
"body": "woohoo! Congratulations! I made this discovery in therapy 15 years ago, and it completely changed my life:) \nAre you reading some good books? I highly recommend all the basic Dalai Lama books. Also, Pema Chodron is very good at walking you through the \"beginner's mind\".\nBest wishes, and remember, when you start to be hard on yourself again, that you are awesome and perfect:)\nAlso, if you are in an open place right now, you might want to listen to some Abraham Hicks on youtube:)",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Great! The content of that realization is not different from the content of awakening.\n\nNow to discover the illusion created by *all* thoughts — the illusion of good and bad, helpful and harmful... the illusion of \"me\" and \"my thoughts\"... the illusion of a world populated by \"things\".\n\nWhat lies beyond thinking? Or maybe more accurately, what lies *before* all thinking? What is your experience in the space between thoughts? This investigation becomes ever more subtle as you uncover and see for yourself the different layers and functions of thinking. Sometimes thinking is very clear and definite, as when a strong opinion has been formed. Sometimes thinking is very diffuse and difficult to notice, as when a vague dullness pervades; or it is so omnipresent that it proceeds without being noticed, as one's deep-seated experience of the world as a collection of nameable, knowable objects (\"that's a tree; that's a car; that's my friend Joe\", and so on).\n\nWhen you really unknow everything, and have no resting place for the mind, then that will be a profound and authentic expression of Dharma.\n\nSome methods seek to replace negative thoughts with beneficial thoughts. These methods are good when one's attachment to thinking is so strong that it unbalances the mind, and efforts toward letting go and settling are constantly thwarted. But this is only a temporary measure; the more pure practice is not to focus on the thoughts but rather on the space before thoughts, the space from which they emerge. This is called \"turning the mind back to the source\", \"self-inquiry\" (i.e., always seeking *who* is doing or experiencing the thinking), \"Unknowing\", or \"before-thinking mind\".\n\nThe space before thoughts is luminous and alive and always effortlessly aware. It can be said that this is who you really are, and your life just unfolds within that space; but that's just a description and opinion — what we're after is getting or actualizing that aware space itself.\n\n>*To hit the mark completely means you have no new nest in which to settle.*\n\nZen Master Dogen\n\n~\n\n>*The truth is ungraspable and inexpressible. It neither is nor is not…All Bodhisattvas should develop a pure, lucid mind that doesn’t depend on sight, sound, touch, flavor, smell or any thought that arises in it. A Bodhisattva should develop a mind that alights nowhere. The mind should be kept independent of any thoughts that arise within it. If the mind depends upon anything, it has no sure haven…When I attained Absolute, Perfect Enlightenment, I attained absolutely nothing. That is why it is called Absolute, Perfect Enlightenment.*\n\nThe Diamond Sutra",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "In my experience, thoughts and meaning are spontaneous/a part of causality chains. \n\nThe way I investigate this is by observing if I can guess my next thought, or cause a thought which I am not experiencing right now (obviously repeating a word does not count as a next thought).\n\nSo thought control is fiction, thoughts happen without my choosing. \n\nSelf-investment or self-identification is what I am focusing on. \n\nI can see thought stream as a roulette game in a casino. I am standing by the table and watching it happen, out of my control. I can, however put chips on the table or not. If I do put my chips (self-identification) on the table, I am invested, in the grip of my thoughts (or clinging to them).\n\nAnd then there's the question: When did I choose to identify with a certain thought? Where's the one identifying with thoughts?\n\nI'll leave that one to you.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I think this is an important step, but it's a step you take over and over for the rest of your life. If you aren't constantly waking up to your independence from your thoughts, you will quickly become attached to them again.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Good step. But don't \"choose which thoughts to **attach** meaning to.\" Instead of telling you why, here's a story (and there are many, many similar stories):\n\nAjahn Sumedho, when he was young, got mad at another monk who was criticizing other monks. So he held onto these emotions and constantly thought about it, saying WTF is wrong with that monk right? Later, Ajahn Chah smiled to him and said \"Good morning\" in English (he rarely spoke English) then Sumedho felt pleasant and happy, and got *attached* to Ajahn Chah's words and sincerity. That night when Sumedho was alone giving Ajahn Chah a foot massage, Ajahn Chah kicked him to the ground. Sumedho was bewildered. Chah says, because of words, you went from angry to happy. Watch your mind. Don't ever let people's words affect your mind. \n\n\nSo don't attach to any thoughts, \"good\" or \"bad.\" In the end, there is no good, there is no bad. But this doesn't mean abandoning your thoughts. If you experience \"bad\" thoughts, sure cry and bawl your eyes out but make it a point to ultimately do watch your mind. Practice doing it. When you experience \"good\" thoughts, okay, be happy as shit *but watch that.* Practice doing that.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I remember learning this when I was a kid, and later in my teens. Thanks for reminding me. \n\nFor me it came in the form of 'transcending' destructive thoughts. As a kid it was learning that i couldn't force aside scary thoughts, but i could dissolve them and let their clouds reform into more positive forms. As a teenager it was similar; it was almost like sinking below my thoughts... realising that 'i' was a silence at the core and that the noise was almost something external that i could choose to engage in or not.\n\nI like my thoughts. You're spot on though... It's an amazing skill to cultivate.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Read A New Earth by Eckart Tolle. This will help you immensely. Learn your ego. Watch it. Analyze it. Detach from it. ",
"score": 3
}
] |
Welcome out newest Mod! GameTechGuy! Thanks for being so helpful and awesome! | We're also looking for someone interested in creating a custom CSS for /r/cade. Please let me know if you're active in this subreddit and interested!
Thanks everyone! | 12 | [
{
"body": "Thanks to everyone for the kind words. \n\nJust trying to help and do my part to preserve arcade history. If you grew up with arcade games you know they were a special part of your life. One of the things that saddens me sometimes is that kids today don't really have the same experience (and as great as they are, modern consoles are rather impersonal and don't come close to the old days of walking into an arcade and seeing a game you never even knew about before).\n\nOk, I'm rambling now, thanks again to everyone and especially likwidtek.\n",
"score": 3
}
] |
Warhammer or Warhammer 40k | So I've noticed that there are two sub reddits, this one, Warhammer, and also Warhammer 40k. However it seems that there is not much distinction in their content, both discuss 40k (except this subreddit has more subscribers).
Am I missing something, or is it just a redundancy? | 8 | [
{
"body": "This subreddit has Darkjediben as a mod, the other does not. This one is also more rules heavy about the content you post as a defense for shitposting.",
"score": 12
},
{
"body": "Things are more active here, but I frequently look at both together(/r/warhammer+warhammer40k) as they are fairly similar in content.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Basically, DJB is a nasty son of a bitch but, if you don't like being told \"your a lazy idiot, do some research\" when you post things such as \"IM NEW, AND I LOVE DA SPESS MAREENS. WHAT SHOULD I GET?!'\" then don't post in a subreddit that's so... well, strict. I've had a couple of posts deleted, But I'm not running around telling DJB he's a fuck. With a mod such as he, I know when i come online I'll only being seeing the shit worth seeing.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Here is the real difference: People who post on /r/Warhammer lurk on /r/Warhammer40k, but never post there. Transversely; people who post on /r/Warhammer40k lurk on /r/Warhammer, but never post there. There is a third, smarter sect of people who do /r/warhammer+warhammer40k and don't post anywhere. ",
"score": 3
}
] |
[Thanks] GemcityTiffany! My spice grinder has arrived! | [I didn't want to put it in an image because then it's a big ass picture of a grinder hah.](http://i.imgur.com/BepMH.jpg)
Thank you so much! It's so cute and nice quality for the spices that need grinding ;) I actually have quit particpating in spicey activities for the time being but my Moms birthday is next week and she loves her special spices if ya know what I mean, so this will be an awesome present for her. Thanks so much :))) | 23 | [
{
"body": "I wonder...does it really have a use as a grinder of spices? I'd like freshly ground spices...I'm being literal as well.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Are there any common mathematical methods for quantifying how similar two functions are over a certain domain? | So if you have f(x,y) given and you have a bunch of guesses for g(x,y), how can you tell which guess is closest to f(x,y)? Are there several different methods? | 3 | [
{
"body": "I'm not sure what the question is. I mean, given two domains of R^2 there are LOTS of norms for functions going from one to the other, it all depends on what matters in the problem you're looking at.",
"score": 3
}
] |
ELI5: Why do people suddenly become lactose intolerant? | As a person who LOVES dairy this occurrence baffles me... Also it hits close to home since I believe it is happening to me. Is there anyway to combat the pain since (to my girlfriend's dismay) I probably won't stop?
Cheers to a great subreddit! | 39 | [
{
"body": "In general, people don't *suddenly* become lactose intolerant.\n\nLactose is the main sugar in milk. Since we all start out on a diet of nothing but milk, all humans can digest lactose from birth. To do this we use a particular enzyme, made by the body, called *lactase.*\n\nIn *most* mammals, including most humans, the body stops producing lactase as the young critter's diet shifts from being exclusively milk-based to other foods (what we call *weaning*). It's not entirely clear what the cause-and-effect relationship is between weaning and the cessation of lactase production. It's possible that the transition off milk and onto regular foods cues the body to stop making lactase … but at the same time, it's possible that the body just naturally ramps down the production of lactase gradually, and this is what motivates weaning in the first place.\n\nBottom line, though, is that the *normal condition,* if you like, is for mammals — including humans — to lose the ability to digest lactose gradually as they grow up, until by adulthood the ability is basically lost entirely.\n\nBut some humans are weird. Some humans continue producing lactase their whole lives, and can happily digest milk and things made from milk just like they digest anything else.\n\nThe reason for this is actually *really* interesting. See, about 10,000 years ago, a relatively small, relatively isolated group of humans in Northern Europe started domesticating animals, particularly cows and sheep. They didn't domesticate these animals for their milk, but for other reasons: cattle as work animals mostly, and sheep for wool and meat. But having these animals around provided these humans with a steady supply of milk.\n\nOf course, most of the adults couldn't drink the milk. But *a few could,* because lactase persistence — as it's called — rarely but sometimes comes up naturally, through random mutation. And over a long period of time, many generations, the people who had this mutation tended to have more children than the people who didn't. Being able to drink milk gave them a steady source of calories and nutrition, and also contributed to things like bone health that reduced the incidence of broken bones and such in adulthood. So people who had easy access to milk — because of domesticated animals — and who could digest it in adulthood had a *very slight* advantage over everybody else.\n\nOver time, those people passed their rare mutation on to their children, which is why today about nine out of ten people of Northern European descent are lactase-persistent … while about nine out of ten of the rest of the people aren't. It's simple natural selection.\n\nSo while it's possible that your genes code for lactase in adulthood and you're developing a deficiency for some other reason, the *most likely* explanation is that you simply lack the gene for lactase persistence. This is unlikely but possible if you're \"white\" — if you have Northern European ancestors specifically — and very likely if your distant ancestors lived somewhere else.\n\nAs for what you can do about it … probably not really much of anything. The body can't absorb lactose directly (it's too big, molecularly speaking), so it has to be broken down into glucose and galactose by lactase. If you don't have lactase, the lactose passes farther into your digestive system where bacteria have a go at it, essentially fermenting it. This process releases a lot of gas, which makes your stomach hurt, and if you consume a lot of lactose it can also draw excess water into your colon. The effects of both of these processes should be … you know. Obvious.\n\nIf you're well into adulthood — in your thirties, say — and this really has been a recent development, you should talk to your doctor. Rarely, lactose intolerance is a side-effect of something else going wrong in your body, making it a symptom that merits investigating. But if you're young, and particularly if you're young and your ancestry isn't Northern European, then it's far more likely this is just normal for you.\n\nThere are various ways to aid the digestion of lactose through dietary supplements. Lactase-like enzymes can be harvested from fungi and refined into pills you can take with lactose-bearing foods. In most places, these pills are available over-the-counter. But you have to use them a bit carefully. They should be taken *immediately* before consuming lactose. Because they're enzymes, they start working right away as soon as they hit your digestive system, but only if the pH is exactly right. Too much acid (if you take the enzyme on an empty stomach, say an hour before eating) and it doesn't work. And if you take it *after* you eat, then the lactose will already be on its way downstairs to make trouble for you by the time the enzyme gets into your gut. So while it's an option you might consider if you have primary lactose intolerance, in general it'll be less inconvenient to just be careful about avoiding lactose in your diet. You can save the supplements for special occasions, like when you *really gotta have* some cheese. Cause sometimes, we all gotta have some cheese.",
"score": 40
},
{
"body": "As someone who became lactose intolerant a year ago it really does suck. My friend told me about a month ago about Lactose Free Milk which is the best thing ever, now I can enjoy cereal again!!",
"score": 3
}
] |
What is something you still do that you know you're absolutely too old for? | I sat in a kiddie pool the other day and had a damn great time.
I enjoy carousels at the mall.
Also, I love candy. Particularly lollipops/suckers. It feels ridiculously obscure as a grown woman to be walking down the sidewalk with one, though.
What are some things you do that you probably should have outgrown by now but still happily partake in? | 4 | [
{
"body": "I buy a pepperoni pizza Lunchables every now and then while I'm out at the supermarket buying *real* food. \n\nI'm 25. \n\nSo I buy it and bring it home, and I sit there creating these pizzas that I know are shit, piling the cold \"sauce\" and \"cheese\" and \"pepperonis\" onto these \"crusts\" that are smaller than the palm of my hand, and I eat them joyfully. They are fucking delicious. Then I poke the straw into the fruit punch Capri-Sun that comes with it and finish that bitch in 6 sips. Then I crack open the Fun Size Crunch bar and pop it into my mouth. \n\nThen I go about my day without a care in the world.",
"score": 4
}
] |
Anyone know a place where I can buy a t-shirt with the movie version of the SHIELD logo? | My job is doing a series of events next month and one of the days is themed around Avengers. I wanted a simple shirt that has the SHIELD logo that's shown in the movie.
[picture for those who don't remember it](http://www.adamlevermore.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Shield_Logo_Modern.png)
My searches through google have turned up less than pleasing results, so I come to you good people in hopes of finding a solution. | 18 | [
{
"body": "Hey, if you're into DIY, that looks like it'd be an easy stencil for shirt bleaching/spray painting. I was planning on doing the swoopier bird version for my next shirt, honestly. Just make sure you get the spray adhesive to get the crisp lines.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Can someone explain to me how you use stainless steel mesh as a wick without it shorting out the coil? | I have rewicked/recoiled many heads, but I usually use cotton wick and have been pleased with the results. That said, I hear people rave about SS wick so I figure I should try it out. But I can't wrap my brain around it. Doesn't the SS just short out the coil? | 8 | [
{
"body": "You **must oxidize** the SS wick before wrap it with coil. \n\nBy **oxidize** it (burn it in flame, torch flame preferred, although I have success by using kitchen stove, put it in the water, burn it again 5-10 times) you create layers of \"insulator\" around the SS wick. Once the SS wick oxidized, it will not short out the coil.\n\nEdit, add video/how to references:\n\n* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2pjHVZlF0M\n* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2pjHVZlF0M\n* http://www.vaporwall.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=156&t=409",
"score": 3
}
] |
Going from blue to a different shade of blue, do I bleach out the faded colour first? | So I've been using Punky Colour Lagoon Blue for my hair for a couple months, and at first it's perfect like [this](http://i.imgur.com/3qInP.jpg) but then pretty much after the first wash it fades to a [tealy green](http://i.imgur.com/3qInP.jpg) (this actually like a month of not dying it, so it's more grey greeny looking), which isn't bad, just not what I want.
I hear that Punky Colour Atlantic Blue lasts longer and fades closer to the colour I want, so I want to switch to that, but I don't want to bleach my hair again to lift out the old colour. Would it be okay to just try and wash out as much as I can with just shampoo and then dye it, or will it make the new blue fade to green as well? | 3 | [
{
"body": "Even if you bleach it, you're still going to have underlying traces of green, unless you're really brutal with it. \n\nI'm going from nuclear red to purple, and I'm not bleaching (it was originally bleached, though). Just washing out and re-coloring every week or so. It's really gradual, but it's becoming more and more purple, and along the way it looks awesome. I'm a living gradient!",
"score": 3
}
] |
The Foreign Relationship Between Quebec and Canada should Independence Occur/Les relations internationaux entre quebec et canada si l'indépendence est realisé (im sorry my written french is actually horrific, i fully understand you guys though) | (just so you know i understand french perfectly, i'm just really shitty at grammar and would rather not butcher your language anymore then i already have)
The thread discussing Independence has had me thinking, what do you think Canada/Quebec relations would be like? I'm almost thinking after awhile it might be nice to have someone other then the United States as our neighbours, though quebec will probably always regarded as family rather than neighbours.
Can you imagine the Quebec/Canada hockey rivalry? Thats going to be... good god. People thought soviet/canada was intense... Can you imagine: the gold medal game in some far off olympics. Canada V.S. Quebec. I almost want you guys to seperate solely so i can watch that game.
There's a lot of pretend hared between quebec and canada, the emotions brought up by feeling as if your country is being split apart, or the feelings of not having YOUR OWN country can bring out the worst in people. I think if/when Quebec realises its own destiny, we will have truly the closest relationship of any 2 countries out there.
| 12 | [
{
"body": "I always tought that Québec and Canada would remain like a family. After the shock of independance would pass, i think we would rediscover our common values. Independance would improve the relation of our two countries. And hockey would be awesome... Like you said, olympic final, Québec vs Canada... Holy shit... that's a game i would like to see.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Two words: Money talks.\n\nIn today's context of globalization, any animosity that may emerge between Canada and a hypothetically independent Québec would largely be supplanted by matters of economic necessity. Ontario exports some 40%+ of the things it produces to Québec. These producers will want to continue doing business with QC, regardless of political status and as peacefully as possible.\n\nIf anything, very little would change and all parties involved have zero interest in hampering the flow of goods traveling from one side to another.",
"score": 3
}
] |
PSA: There IS no Failing in Meditation | With the amount of questions being fielded here about "am I doing this right", "my mind is wandering I hate it, I'm not doing it right", etc, I have come across some sage advice in my time, I would like to share.
The issue here is people expect to meditate perfectly, i.e. keep their attention on their object of focus without fail. The issues here is this will not be the case. Perfection is a realtive concept, sensation will come up and thoughts will too, you won't kill them, you won't stop them, the only thing you can do is let them go when they arise.
I heard someone say meditators beat themselves up when they lose their mindfulness, they get sucked into a thought or a stream and feel bad that this happened. You can be gone for 5 minutes in thought, but the moment you notice, that you strayed, you have reestabilished mindfulness, so there is no problem. Just keep practicing. | 149 | [
{
"body": "I think this is such an underappreciated fact. It goes for *any* practice of anything. You're *supposed* to fail and bluster and feel awkward in the beginning (and that's a long time for any serious skill). There's no other way. Yet somehow we all pick up the proverbial guitar and find that, well, surely it's not supposed to be *this* awkward? But — yes! It is!",
"score": 35
},
{
"body": "Well, you *could* argue that if you never actually make an attempt to actually do it, *then* you are failing! :)",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Thanks for posting this. I been stumbling and thinking I not been doing it right.. now i realize , in a way,I have been doing it right and just need to keep going",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "furthermore, thinking, \"man, i'm really doing well at this meditation thing\" also serves to defeat the purpose of meditation.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "This is not a simple question. People are concerned about \"am I doing this right\" because they have not had proper guidance from an actual hands on teacher. In order to put those questions to rest it's imperative to spend time getting proper training or you will always be lost in that question. Also most people are practicing self hypnosis that they learned from a book rather than actual meditation and they don't even know it. For example, the word \"mindfulness\" is really meaningless. It's New Age speak compared with specifically describing your personal experience in relation to an event in your practice. \n\nI also disagree that there is no failing in meditation. This is not some hippie lovefest. This is fucking life and death hard work that can mean the difference between illness or health. The difference between fantasy or clarity... prison or freedom. Simply catching yourself being distracted isn't enough. You must go one step further and return your attention to your original focal point, whether it was your breath, abdomen or whatever or else you might as well be shooting up. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "If you fail to put enough effort into your meditation you probably won't achieve anything, but if you work hard on focusing there really is no going wrong.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I just let my thoughts/mind wander and observe them. If it's something interesting or appealing then I entertain the thought and give it a little more attention/emotion, if it's something I don't like, then I ignore it and imagine the thought fading out to black. I envision my thoughts as if I'm sitting in a 3D movie theater, and I'm watching all of these thoughts like an immersive video in my mind. If it's something pleasant, then I add more details and sensory information such as colors, emotions, etc. if it's something that I don't want to think about then I remove color, \"freeze\" the image, and fade the \"screen\" out to black and wait for another \"thought\" to \"appear\" on the \"screen\". Sometimes I just \"stare\" at various colors or shapes and patterns in my mind's eye. I see a lot of cool stuff and CEV's. One of the greatest realizations I've ever had in my life is the understanding that a person can have psychedelic-like \"trips\" without taking any sort of substances whatsoever.",
"score": 3
}
] |
I need some help on turning guys down bros | So I met this guy on grindr from my university and he's in the building next to me. Anyways he chatted me first and I responded because he looked pretty handsome. After exchanging numbers we texted most of yesterday and last night which may or may not have involved some drunken sexting. This morning we met for the first time for breakfast and hes a lot bigger and effeminate than he made himself come across as and how he appeared in his photos. How do I politely tell him I'm not interested, without sounding like a shallow prick? Because he's nice and all, he's just slightly overweight and girly which are major turn offs for me because I really like a masc man. | 9 | [
{
"body": "Don't you just fucking hate that. It's even worse if the guy is super hot but squeels like a little girl. :-/\n \nI would just slowly cut down on texts/interaction until he gets the hint. \n\n \nOr flat out tell him he's not your type. Up to you.",
"score": 12
},
{
"body": "Honestly if he asks you out or anything just say no, if he asks why just tell him the truth. \"I don't find you attractive\" \"We wouldn't make a good couple\" \"We'd be better friends honestly\" Anything that doesn't sound totally dickish. It's better that way. Quick like a bandaid!",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Honestly I've been rejected loads of times and it only ever hurts my feelings when I'm not told. I'm a big boy. Rejection doesn't phase me.\n\nJust man up and tell him. It's the right thing for both of you nerds.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Favorite router bits? | I'm going to be taking a trip to a town with a Rockler brick and mortar store this weekend, and was given a 100 year loan on a router from a relative. The sum total of the bits I have is the 1/2 round over that was in the router when he brought it to the shop.
Other than a couple sizes of straight and round-overs, what bits should I snag? Are there any particular brands that are more durable \ cleaner cutting? | 7 | [
{
"body": "Besides the 1/2\", 3/8\", 1/4\" radius roundovers, I use a 1/16\" for breaking corners on large runs. A smaller bearing will let you use them for beading bits too. A 45^o chamfer is handy.\n\nI keep a couple long flush cutters and pattern bits handy in 1/4\" and 1/2\" shank (PC 7518 in the table, PC 690 for jobsite) - these get a ton of use. \n\nShort flush and angled trim bits for laminate and more. \n\nA 1/2\"x1/2\" rabbeting bit is a good start, one of the kits that takes multiple bearings for different depths is a good addition. Mortising bits are handy (for doors with a trim router mostly for me). Down-spiral cutters make for good dados and grooves in plywood (up-spiral might be better for solid stock?)\n\nI don't get a lot of use out of my ogee bits and other misc edge-forming bits, usually buy them locally for the job at hand. The same goes for door sets.\n\nI get fair use out of 45^o lock-miter and drawer-lock bit.\n\nBrand-wise, CMT, Whiteside and Amana are awesome. Freud, Grizzley and Makita are decent (but thinner carbide: less sharpenings). I'm not impressed with Oldham, Hickory, Bosch (only used a few of their rabbeting bits for rough work).\n\nFWW [test](http://imgur.com/BHy1Y) results\n",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "I might have to check the manual, but I think the 1 and the 0 are the only bits my router will accept. YMMV.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "I find myself, using my [upspiral bit](http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=18734&site=ROCKLER) quite a bit, along with a 1/4 straight edge and 3/4 straight edge.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I would get at minimum:\n\n* a 1/4 in round over\n* mortising bits get at least 3 sizes \n* a 45deg chamfer bit - get a sizable one and adjust up/down \n* 2 flush trim bits - 1 bottom bearing 1 top Bearing - 1/2in is a good size\n* a fluting bit - 1/2 make flutes or signs \n\nThe main piece of advice I can give is don't purchase anything at rockler unless you have checked the prices elsewhere. Rockler can be a total rip off on some items. Also sign up for there email lists so you can get the coupons they send out frequently. 20% off any one item is common. \n",
"score": 3
}
] |
IAmA Request: Someone whose job was featured on Dirty Jobs | * Is Mike Rowe as cool off-screen as he is on-screen?
* Was there a noticeable increase in sales/revenue/visitors to your business after the show aired?
* How did you submit your job to be featured on the show and how did that whole process work?
* Did you/your business/place of employment receive any kind of compensation for being featured?
* Did Mike Rowe seem to have a genuine interest in your work, or is that just faked for TV? | 22 | [
{
"body": "Even better: [camera man for dirty jobs](http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/vr6lj/iama_camera_operator_you_may_know_my_work_from/)\n",
"score": 3
}
] |
Looking for metal bands with female lead singers | I'm trying to broaden my horizons, who are some of your favorite metal bands with female leads? Favorite songs? | 18 | [
{
"body": "Cerebral Bore, goddammit.\n\nAnd a band isn't special, and you're not broadening your horizons, just because one of the members is a girl. ",
"score": 26
},
{
"body": "[Witch Mountain] (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4vaKsdvUsw)\n\n[Royal Thunder] (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PK8v8QwEE8w)\n\n[Agoraphobic Nosebleed] (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3rLhiYlhNU)",
"score": 14
},
{
"body": "2 bands that have yet to be named here:\n\nUnexpect:\n\nAvant-garde metal, with alot of theatrical/circus influences. The female vocalist, Leilindel, shares vocal duties with the two guitarists. Expect clean operatic singing, screams, growls, whispers, etc. coming from all three voices.\n\nDiablo Swing Orchestra:\n\nSwing metal. Mostly operatic singing. Really fun band.\n\n",
"score": 10
},
{
"body": "There are a bunch of female fronted bands in the symphonic metal genre like:\n\n* Nightwish\n* Within Temptation\n* Epica\n* After Forever\n\nAs a previous poster mentioned, you can go much heavier and listen to the melodeath band Arch Enemy. It may not sound like it, but their vocalist is female.",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "Huntress is fun, they play up the fact that they have a hot chick singer a lot though. Royal Thunder kicks ass but they kind of border hard rock/metal.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Check out these albums:\n\nAcid King - III\n\nBlood Ceremony - Blood Ceremony\n\nThe Wounded Kings - In The Chapel of the Black Hand",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Alright, here's a list of female retro occult 70s rock/doom (or, what is tentatively known as Vest Metal)\n\n**FEMALE**\n\n* [Jex Thoth](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCQTpUinZIU) - Psychedelic doom with the lovely smokey voice of Jex.\n\n* [Sabbath Assembly](http://sabbathassembly.bandcamp.com/) (Vocals by Jex, but not in the upcoming album) - A bunch of christian cultish hymns transformed into hypnotic psychedelic gospel rock.\n\n* [Blood Ceremony](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hFaH7Ey0oQ) - Female flute-tinged witchy doom.\n\n* [The Devil's Blood](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nHGlKJj0XEo) - Female occult rock\n\n* [Jess and the Ancient Ones](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofI2heJhcOc) - Female vocals. More NWOBHM than doom, at least on this track.\n\n* [Black Moth](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMovV2obOfs&feature=related) - Female occult rock/doom from UK.\n\n* [Cauchemar](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf6thTTdcgE) - Female. Retro doom. French.\n\n* [Second Grave]( http://secondgrave.bandcamp.com/) - Female doom-tinged heavy metal/hard rock. Newly formed, one EP.\n\n* [Deadmask]( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM9TFHpCZV0) - Female occult doom/70s rock. \n\n* [Occultation](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMDn-kExA3s&feature=related) - Echoey gloomy doomy psych rock. Unlike the hippy vintage rock with occult lyrics like Jex Thoth and the rest, these guys sound seriously haunting.\n\n* [Ides of Gemini](http://idesofgemini.bandcamp.com/) - Haunting doomy weird stuff. Somewhere between Jex Thoth and the avant-garde atmosphere of Worm Ouroboros.\n\n**OTHER FEMALE BANDS THAT DON’T QUITE FIT:**\n\n* [Witch Mountain](http://witchmountain.bandcamp.com/releases) - Female Doom with melodic soaring vocals. Wasn’t retro-70s enough for the main section.\n\n* [Christian Mistress](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YsM1zml0W60) - Female classic heavy metal. I think they've achieved a bit of popularity too.\n\n* [Castle](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmXAMPJ5gtY&feature=relmfu) - Female thrashy dark doom. [4 star review in AMG.](http://www.angrymetalguy.com/castle-blacklands-review/)\n\n* [Royal Thunder](http://royalthunder.bandcamp.com/) - Female dark rock. Kinda stoner metal with alt vocals.\n\n* [Serpentcult](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2TISSJS-PY) - Female thick, groovy doom. \n\n* [Subrosa](http://profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com/track/whippoorwill) - Beautiful sludgy female doom with violins and a bit of psychedelic rock.\n\n* [Windhand](http://windhandva.bandcamp.com/track/winter-sun) - Female trad doom with atmospheric vocals. \n\n* [Rituals of the Oak](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na62KRSSjEk) - Female epic doom. This song may be the only one of theirs that fits in the topic, the rest is straight up trad/epic doom.\n\n* [Wooden Stake](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMW7hZDsOUg) - Female stoner doom with a few tasty growls.\n\n* [Spiders](http://www.myspace.com/wearespiders) - Female Psychy retro metal. Sweden. Not occult.\n\n* [Rose Kemp](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff7xSsLdhS0) - Dark melodic female alt/folk rock. Supported Porcupine Tree on a tour.\n\n* [Crystal Viper](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKz2nlqMYBM0) - Female classic metal.\n\n* [A Sound of Thunder](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTlfKiDyy3g) - Female classic metal.\n \n",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "If you are into the power metal thing then may I suggest:\n\nEpica\n\nAfter Forever\n\nAncient Bards\n\nGwyllion\n\nWithin Temptation (older stuff)\n\nNightwish\n",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "For folk metal, Dalriada is, in my opinion, as good as it gets.\n\nArkona is fantastic as well (someone already mentioned them); way better live than on their albums though IMO.\n\nBoth of these women use a mixture of harsh vocals and clean singing. I do think that Laura Binder from Dalriada is a bit of a better *singer* than Masha from Arkona (thus my preference).",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I've really gotten into The Agonist recently. First two songs off Lullabies for the Dormant Mind give a good idea of her death singing, and Waiting out the Winter from the same album has more clean singing. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "no one named In This Moment ? Maria kicks ass\n\n[Prayers](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAo3Nefox2w)\n\ndon't forget L7 .. the greatest all female metal with a punk attitude band EVER ! They just didn't care and that's why i love them !\n\n[Shitlist](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wES60h58vs&feature=related)",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "[Kylesa](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgdqizS5wCA)\n\nIt's not exactly female lead, but Laura genuinely kicks ass. She does a fair amount of vocal work and lots of guitar. ",
"score": 3
}
] |
[Form Check] - Deadlift - 280 / 265 lbs | * 6'0" 170 lbs
* Videos are right around my 3-5 rep max
My goal for the day was 280x5, but as you can see, I only got 3 reps with (I think) bad form, and I got a pain in my upper back on the third one. Fortunately, it faded after a few minutes.
[Deadlift 280 lbs x 3](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeOtkClkXrw)
I then lowered the weight to 265 and did another set. I failed at 3 again, but I think it was because the 280 set hit me so hard. I feel like my form was better here.
[Deadlift 265 lbs x 3](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ3rMirNoCg)
I was surprised 280 felt so heavy because I've been hovering around 275-280 for several weeks now, and thought I was going to make some progress that day. This may be because I had just read the [Cues for the big lifts](http://www.reddit.com/r/weightroom/comments/o6t57/checklists_for_lifts/) thread and was concentrating on keeping my lats engaged. I feel like doing so helped me keep the bar closer to my body, and maybe didn't let me use some of my body's compensation tactics for when I'm lifting too heavy.
Anyway, how is my form in both videos? And what weight do you think I should be lifting at next session based on them?
Thanks in advance! | 7 | [
{
"body": "i think something might be wrong with your setup. [your back is approaching horizontal](http://i.imgur.com/O8YKr.png), and your shoulders are probably too far out in relation to the bar (angle makes it a bit hard to tell). you seem to for the most part [initiate the lift with your butt](http://i.imgur.com/msZcF.png), ending up with what appears to be [an unfortunate back angle](http://i.imgur.com/uqaic.png) (which is also right after the point where you do that knee jitter thing).\n\nwork with your angles, your timing, and next time you submit, do it in shorts =) better view of knees that way ;)\n\n",
"score": 4
}
] |
Does "reverse"-tethering exist for iPhone? | Sorry, I know all recent posts are iOS6 and iPhone 5, but I'm on iPhone 4 and I'm curious about reverse tethering. I feel like I've done my due diligence on Google looking for this, but with nary a (working) solution.
I'm looking to share my *PC's connection with my iPhone* since I get neither 3G nor Wifi at work. It would be via USB since my PC doesn't have a wireless card either.
Anyone had any luck with this? (edit: I am jailbroken)
Edit: So I got this to work. I inserted [this USB wireless adapter](http://amzn.com/B005CLMJLU), right-clicked my **Local area connenction**, went to the **Advanced** tab, checked off "Share this internet connection" and selected new "Wireless Network Connection" from the following drop-down menu. Then I right-clicked on the Wireless Network Connection, clicked **Properties**, went to the **Wireless Networks** tab, and clicked **Add...** under *Preferred networks*. Give your new network an SSID, encrypt it with WEP, give it a password, *uncheck* "The key is provided for me automatically," and *check* "This is a computer-to-computer (ad hoc) network; wireless access points are not used." You should see the new network in "Wireless connections are available.." on your *desktop computer*. Connect to it. Then you should see the wireless network from your mobile device. | 7 | [
{
"body": "You can grab a cheap USB wifi adapter and use ad-hoc networking (I think iphones can connect to them, not 100% sure though).",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "lol i made this thread 2 weeks ago: http://www.reddit.com/r/jailbreak/comments/zefb9/looking_for_a_way_to_utilize_my_desktop\n\nif i were a jb developer, i'd be looking into this for profit...",
"score": 3
}
] |
[Monk] Won Khim Lau + MH weapon damage | Does anyone know if the +lightning damage modifier applies to OH/MH weapons with +lightning damage?
I use WKL as my offhand but my current MH is just plain non-elemental damage. If I get a comparible (or even slightly worse) MH that has +lightning damage would that provide a big boost?
thanks | 6 | [
{
"body": "Nope.\n\n\"Adds X % Lightning Damage\" takes all your physical damage (and physical damage **only**) and adds X% of *that* as lightning to your overall dps. \n\nIf you use a weapon with only physical damage, this acts as a flat 5% weapon DPS increase. \n\nIf your weapon has any elemental damage (including lightning damage) the elemental portion of that weapon's damage will *not* be increased, so you end up with a bonus much less than 5%.\n\nFor example, a weapon does 100 total DPS. It says \"+10 lightning damage\". This means that 90 damage is physical, and 10 damage is lightning. Your won khim will only add its X% to the 90 dps that is *not* elemental. That's clearly very simplified, but a 900 dps lightning offhand? You're only getting a 5% bonus to like 750 of that weapon dps.\n\nThis is why it is best to pair won khim with a high dps non-elemental weapon.\n\nAnd \"lightning skills\" are just that: skills. TC, Cyclone — not weapon elemental damage.",
"score": 4
}
] |
[Economics] What would happen if you only regulated profit percentages? | I was considering last night what would happen if the major regulation on companies was profit percentage. This would be the profit calculated after materials, labor, and possibly overhead.
So far, I see the benefit being that there is no real reason to exploit cheap labor and use poor quality materials, since you actually make less money that way.
Potential negatives would be artificially inflating the cost of overhead to increase profit. Also, would there be any way to regulate based on supply and demand? Would you be able to increase price, provided an increase in worker salaries or the extra profit being spent towards expansion or innovation? Maybe different profit percentage tiers based on product type? Or increased percentage for so many years for innovative products?
I'm aware this isn't likely to happen, I'm just curious about the theoretical idea. What do you think are potential positives or negatives of this kind of system?
Clarification: This would also simply be a maximum. Not a set percentage that everyone gets regardless. It doesn't have to be a low percentage either, it would simply be a deterrent from exploiting labor and poor materials and charging the same price as the competition. | 11 | [
{
"body": "Besides creating a ton of additional of inefficiency relating to defending your costs (you already see a lot of this in regulated industries like public utilities), you'd basically put a bullet in the head of innovation. Particularly things like small cost-cutting measures which make the economy more efficient, but are extremely difficult to develop/enforce at a regulatory level. \n\nIt would be a huge boon to lawyers and big consultancy firms, however.",
"score": 10
}
] |
This may be a dumb question, but when I turn off my lights, where does all my stuff go? | I've noticed that when I turn off the lights, everything in the room seems to vanish and I can't see any of it. Where does all that stuff go? | 684 | [
{
"body": "This is far from a dumb question, it's actually a very good question. Light is a form of energy, but when you turn the light off, the light goes away, so where does the energy go?\n\nThe short answer is: it gets absorbed by your stuff as heat.\n\nThe longer answer needs a bit of a more detailed mental picture. Your stuff is probably solid, which consists of a (fairly) regular structure of atoms. Just imagine a grid of hard spheres laying against each other. This is the surface of your stuff. At absolute zero, these atoms do not move and are simply at rest, one just touching the next. Having a temperature means that your stuff contains ~~heat~~ *thermal energy*. This ~~heat~~ *thermal energy* is a random motion of the atoms around their equilibrium point, they're basically vibrating. Such a vibration can travel rather far through the lattice in the form of a wave. One ball pushes the next, which pushes the next, which pushes ... etc. Such a wave is commonly called a 'phonon', because it is also the way in which sound can move through solids.\n\nNow think of the light. Light consists of tiny particles called photons, not to be confused with the phonons in your stuff. Each photon is a tiny packet of electromagnetic energy and momentum. If such a photon hits (an atom of) your stuff, its energy and momentum is absorbed. Since these photons are hitting your stuff and are converted into ~~heat~~ *thermal energy*, your stuff uses it for warmth, much like lizards and other cold blooded creatures. \n\nIf enough photons get absorbed, this will result in your stuff warming up slightly. So the light gets converted into ~~heat~~ *thermal energy* in your stuff.\n\nWhen the ~~heat~~ *thermal energy* goes away your stuff needs to seek other forms of heat. Lizards are typically capable of burrowing into the ground to conserve their energy; but your stuff lacks claws that cold blooded creatures use to burrow so it must find ~~heat~~ *thermal energy* from other sources. The most abundant source of ~~heat~~ *thermal energy* in your dark room is typically found in the feet (though more concentrated in the pinky toe or stubulus proboscis) so your stuff will attempt to come into contact with your feet as much as possible while trying to avoid expending too much energy in movement. The key for them to come into contact with your feet more easily is to use camouflage with the rest of your things to confuse you (much like their cold blooded relative the chameleon).\n\nIf you want your things to stop absorbing your ~~heat~~ *thermal energy* then I suggest plugging space heaters and blow driers into your electrical sockets near your stuff to provide it the necessary ~~heat~~ *thermal energy* to keep through the night without using you. I hope this helps!",
"score": 68
},
{
"body": "If your house is anything like mine, even though you may not see it, somehow it's always right in the way of where you want to walk.\n\nTry walking around barefoot, I bet your pinkie toe will be able to locate something.\n\nIt should be noted, while scary and inconvenient, this is actually a GREAT method for finding missing Legos.",
"score": 35
},
{
"body": "It's simple, my friend. The thin membrane separating our dimension from the Shadows breaks down in the absence of light, so your stuff is actually sucked into an alternate dimension. When the light returns the Shadows start to feed off the light, and return your stuff back to our realm.\n\nSource: I'm a fucking doctor!",
"score": 22
},
{
"body": "It becomes Dark Matter.\n\nScientists claim that 84% of the universe is made up of dark matter. Most of this is just stuff in unlit rooms. And lost socks.",
"score": 22
},
{
"body": "Just like a computer has temporary memory (your RAM) and long term memory, (your hard drive), so does your brain. Turning off the light is like turning off your computer. You have all the stuff saved in long term memory, but you can no longer see it. You have to turn the computer/the light back on in order to get your stuff back",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Tachyon backdraft. Photons move forward. Tachyons have much less energy than photons. When you turn off the light, the photons turn into tachyons and move back where they came from (which is why calling dark suckers \"light bulbs\" is incorrect). \n\nSince E=MC^2 states that matter is just really densely packed energy, that energy deficit has to go somewhere, which is why Tachyons carry your stuff back into the light bulb. When you turn on the light bulb, the extra energy from the electricity tubes helps the photons carry your stuff back into place (this is because of the law of conservation of matter). This is why you should make sure to never shatter a switched off light bulb in the dark, there will be a huge explosion of furniture. Always make sure it's light when you unscrew it and break it.\n\nAlso, the excess energy given off when the photons turn into tachyons is transformed into dust bunnies.",
"score": 6
}
] |
depressed boyfriend | Using a throwaway.
My boyfriend is very depressed and I just don’t know how to handle it anymore. It’s really all started about a year ago—in which he described feeling crummy, not having the same joy in pleasurable activities, etc. I’ve encouraged him to see a doctor, which was dismissed up until recently. He’s waiting for the appointment, which is awesome. But I’m just at this point where I don’t know what to even say to him when he starts talking about how miserable he is. Before I’d stress seeing a doctor, how that had helped me when I was really depressed and know that this is going to be a long term thing to fix and counter negativity with positive statements. Now, I just can’t stand it! It seems that no matter what I say, it’s just brushed off. I also feel that it’s starting to take a toll on me emotionally, almost like it’s second hand depression.
I really want to be there for him, but I’m just not sure how much more I can take mentally. 2X, Do any of you have experience with this/advice? I just don’t know what to do.
| 15 | [
{
"body": "When he starts talking about being miserable just listen, you don't have to give him feedback, he's not entitled to it. Now, remember to encourage him, but not specifically during the time he is talking about being depressed or down on himself. Also remember to live your life, don't get too focused on his depression it's something he has to deal with that try as you may you cannot fix, but you can help. The bottom line is be there for him and listen, live your life as well and remember if it starts to take a severe toll on you emotionally take a break from the relationship.",
"score": 12
},
{
"body": "[This is a really good book](http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Feeling-Good-Handbook-David-Burns/9780452281325-item.html) for working through anxiety and depression issues. It's based on CBT and challenges you to really examine your own thinking. I would recommend it to anyone experiencing either of those things. \n\nIf you really cannot be supportive, which is understandable, you need to have a frank discussion with him and perhaps break up. If you're depressed and in a relationship, having a partner who is not capable of being supportive and understanding really adds another whole layer of guilt and shame onto the depressed person and all that time he is spending feeling guilty about holding you back and not being awesome, he could be spending on recovering and working solely on himself. \n\nDepression is really fucking hard. ",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "Keep living your own life, start new hobbies that will keep you occupied, and do NOT be bogged down by him. Let him figure these things out with his doctor - it's great to be supportive, but there's only so much you can do without getting totally sucked in yourself :)",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Make sure he seeks some sort of talk therapy as well as medication when he goes to the doctor. Anti-depressants will not treat the cause of the depression, or teach him effective coping skill, they will just regualte his brain chemicals. \n\nI can omly imagine how tough it is for you to support him, especially when you have previously struggled with depression yourself. I work in mental health, and I would suggest using the empathy model used at most crisis lines to help support him. Listen to what he has to say, and empathise with what he is going through - try to recognize his emotions and be there with him. You don't need to offer positivity or solutions, just let him vocalise what he's feeling and reflect these feelings back to him. Words like \"bleak\", \"hopeless\", \"helpless\", \"low\", \"empty\" and \"hollow\" come up a lot when people are suffering from depression. \n\nIt is incredibly important that you get support for yourself as well. If counselling is not an option, I would recommend calling a crisis line for an opportunity to get it all of your chest and get some extra resources to help your boyfriend. ",
"score": 4
}
] |
How do you keep yourself committed to your town? | So i've owned both Animal Crossing original (Gamecube) and City Folk and my biggest problem is that I tend to just quit on the game after a month or two, normally because I feel burnt out. I love the series and am super excited about the upcoming game, but i'm worried i'll have a similar experience.
Long time players, how do you keep yourselves interested? Do you just play a little bit at a time? Do you only play a couple times a week? Every day? Time travel? What keeps you committed to your town? | 6 | [
{
"body": "Goals- I just achieved perfect town. I also really want to be able to finish my museum in this life time!\n\nAlso, I love seeing the seasons pass in my town. Playing animal crossing chills me out like nothing else.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "I've had the same town since the game came out. A decade ago.\n\nIt's the villagers that keep me coming back, man. I've had Sydney, Rosie, and Lobo since the very beginning. 2002... holy shit.",
"score": 5
}
] |
Noticing rust colored stains in clothing, how do I prevent and get rid of the stains? | I'm noticing more and more that my clothes can end up with rust colored stains. I'm not sure if this is from my deodorant getting on the shirt as I put the shirt on or if it's from the washer/dryer. Can deodorant cause a rust colored stain (I'm using a clear gel type that probably contains aluminum)?
Second question, how do I get these stains out?
P.S. - if there's a more appropriate subreddit for this let me know and I'll post there. | 3 | [
{
"body": "We just recently solved this same problem. Turns out our hot water heater was shot - rusted from the inside. Initially, we tried Oxiclean and a couple other things (bleach and others) and nothing worked. Then I flushed the hot water heater a couple of times and our clothes were still being stained. Eventually, the landlord replaced the hot water heater and it's been fine since. Not the easiest fix, but the only one that worked for us. ",
"score": 3
}
] |
(MTF) Did anyone else's endocrinologist prescribe just estrogen, without an anti-androgen? | I just got back from my endo appointment, and I have the one prescription of estrace being filled. I asked my doctor about spiro, and he said it would be better to introduce one drug at a time, and the spiro might not even be necessary. I trust him, and he definitely knows what he's doing, I was just wondering if anyone else's doctor did that.
For reference, my testosterone levels are 655 ng/dL (172.5 pg/mL free) and my estrogen levels are 210 pg/mL, all pre-HRT. | 7 | [
{
"body": "You would have to take a truckload of e to suppress that t without an aa. Definitely push for a legit script of Spiro, if you start diying you'll be screwed because your bloodtests will come back showing lower t levels.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "Mine did this. My T was half yours and it was not a good experience. I tried it for three months before I asked him to add an anti-androgen. Hot flashes suck.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "This is normal as E is enough to supress T in many people. Lots of doctors follow a treatment protocol involving just using E at first. If your endo is doing their job right, they will test your blood in three months to check your hormone levels, and make a decision about whether you need spiro based on that. Don't take spiro unnecessarily - it's not a great drug to be taking and will put a strain on your liver.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I have always been on both blockers and estrogens, i started on spiro however that spontaneously stopped working one time and my T levels returned to male normal, i was then put on cyprotone, then i was taken off all blockers entirely and thats where i am now.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": ">he said it would be better to introduce one drug at a time\n\nThen he should start with the spiro the ignoramus. Despite what fallax implies about us here, many trans* people are more well versed in trans related HRT than endocrinologists who have never dealt with trans* people before. \n\nMy endocrinologist has a minor speciality in trans related care, meaning he's more educated on this than most endocrinologists, and he never prescribes E without lowering your T levels to satisfactory levels with an AA first. You have a typical T level for a male <50 years (range is from 290-1300 ng/dL) and suppressing that with E alone would take dangerous levels. There's a good reason AAs started being used when they became cheap and readily available.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Developing your own "sound". | This is something that I've been thinking about a lot since I finished school. Now that I'm a somewhat experienced Jazz player I'm trying to develop my own sound. You can only get so far from listening and transcribing other players. I know there isn't a direct method for discovering it, but I'm just trying to figure how this is going to come about. Does anyone have anything to say about it? | 9 | [
{
"body": "The players who I find develop their own sound the best and the most distinctively marry a lot of influences that other people just don't.\n\nBrad Mehldau, when he's alone, reminds me of Bach. This was the same thing that Lennie Tristano and the people he taught (Warne Marshe, Lee Konitz, et. al) tried to go for but whose completion I hear in Mehldau. The way he is thinking about improvising is not the same as how other people are thinking about it, and that means that Brad can play any tune and people will recognize it as him.\n\nA lot of unique sounds come out of the way players approach chords, too. Woody Shaw vs. Dizzy Gillespie vs. Miles Davis vs. Ambrose Akinmusire, or John Coltrane vs. Sonny Rollins vs. Joe Lovano vs. Steve Coleman. If you can think of a way to find beauty in changes in a way that other people might have never thought of, you find find your sound in that.\n\nYou might make your mark with timbre, like Albert Ayler or Chet Baker, or you might just be so good at the physical instrument it couldn't be anyone else, like McCoy Tyner or NHOP, or your tunes might be shockingly unique like Thelonious Monk or Vijay Ayer.\n\nThe moral of the story is that to develop your own sound, you have to be a genius, and every genius is the person who is most like himself. \n\nBut you also got to consider that there are facets of one person in every other person, so try and understand what everyone is doing and WHY. Monk's thing is obfuscating the simple. So what does that mean? It means a lot of his tunes are triadically based, it means that he uses symmetrical scales (simple) to confuse the chord beneath (also generally simple, usually dominant). It means that clusters are a huge and memorable part of any Monk solo. It means that his comping is sparse but timed down beneath the sixteenth note to add tension and complication.\n\nTyner's thing and Trane's thing in his second period was to explain all the possibilities inherent in a chord change. Miles' thing was to reduce a structure to a few key notes, and never the first few that came to mind. Art Blakey's thing was to create a groove so powerful and compelling that it made everyone sound better and listen to each other harder.\n\nWhat's your thing? And what does it mean?\n\n",
"score": 13
}
] |
John Michael Mamaril? | Can you find John Michael Mamaril from the moment you enter Sanctuary? Or do you have to get to a certain point past there for him to appear? | 6 | [
{
"body": "I just spent the last 20 minutes doing Michael speed runs through sanctuary. Found him every time. My route is as follows. Start at the fast travel location, look for him outside the black market on the way to roxxxis. Check in the side room, then head to scooters. On the way, look left in the second alley. Sometimes he is in scooters garage. Then on up to claptraps stash. He sometime is on the doorstep to the right of it. Then into to HQ, where he is straight inside. The last place I look is down by Marcus. He shoots the shit down there every now and then. \n\nGood luck fellow vault hunter!",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "On this note, does anyone know if he is still there after [Sanctuary goes airborne?](/spoiler) I've searched and searched and haven't seen him since.",
"score": 3
}
] |
[TRADE] Morris for Ridley | I've liked Ridley as much as Doug Martin since the season started, and the guy I'd be trading with has him bench riding under Rice, Murray, and Richardson. He even said "...since I'm not using him right now."
However, its occurred to me that the Redskins might have an easier schedule than the Patriots, giving Morris better chances. Any thoughts? | 9 | [
{
"body": "Ridley is the better fantasy player IMO. Both guys will get a decent # of carries and yds.\n\nPatriots offense = easy TD's.\n\nRedskins offense = Evan Royster could be named the starter 5 minutes before kickoff.",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "Take it, Morris could be relevant for the rest of the season or he could be benched starting next week. Ridley is the starter and will be for the rest of the year, and is definitely the safer choice.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Questions unanswered, possible spoilers. | So I've been going and watching key episodes from the previous seasons:
*End Of Time*
* Who was the lady that kept showing up to Wilf, the one that the leader of the Time Lords stated "was shamed in the position of the angels of old"
* what did the master's ring say in galifreyan (just learned that it was more than just circles)
*11th Hour*
* Why did this crack open and show the atraxi eye?
* Is prisoner zero relevant? He seemed to know about the silence and what caused the crack
*Other Episodes*
* Why did the Tardis explode? We see the crack on the monitor twice (once in the 11th hour, then again in a future episode) and we know the silence can get on board the Tardis
* How did Melody get from Florida to Manhattan? Did she regenerate to a black girl after seeing the black homeless guy? How then, did she get to England to grow up with Rori & Amy? I think S07E05 will answer all of these because Angels are in Manhattan. *hint hint*
* Will the Doctor revisit River saved in the library? He still needs to give her his sonic and send her off, which I think will be saved for the near end of this season when 'the question is asked'
**Theories**
* 'lost time' seems to be a very prominent arc with the ponds from the very beginning with the doctor, then rori's 2000 years and Amy's waiting in that hospital.
* Angels play a key role for Moffat and we know Angels play a key role in the pond's last episode. I don't think they die, I think Amy is sent back in time by an angel and is the aunt we meet at the 11th hour that took care of amelia once her parents vanished | 18 | [
{
"body": "* The lady's identity is unknown, but Russell T Davies believes it to be the Doctor's mother.\n\n* The ring isn't translatable.\n\n* The crack was one that acted as a space-time shortcut, leading to the Atraxi prison.\n\n* Not necessarily. Atraxi were members of the Alliance and so it may have been aware of some of the details. The Teselecta was also aware, so it may have also been a matter of public record.\n\n* This has not yet been explained. What evidence has there been of Silents entering the TARDIS?\n\n* Six months had passed, so maybe she'd been travelling in the mean time, either on her own or with Kovarian and the Silents. She regenerated into Mels, but not black necessarily because she saw the homeless man. This may indeed be explained in Episode 5; I think so too.\n\n* Unknown if he'll revisit the Library, considering that it's now swarming with Vashta Nerada. A future version of the Doctor has already seen River at Darillium and given her the sonic (see: *Last Night*); whether we'll see that again is unknown.\n\n* [skipped]\n\n* The Angels seem to be using their timeshifting ability in Episode 5; theories are already out as to how the story will play out. Amy has been seen approaching an Angel in the graveyard voluntarily.",
"score": 17
}
] |
Going to be honest here
| I'm not a fan of self post fridays. I said it. I like coming on to r/trees and seeing pictures of fellow ents pieces and smoke spots, but on fridays i cant do it. I feel like self post sunday or something would make more sense, as people are just chilling on sunday rather than toking up and going out on fridays. Also with self post sunday you could tell all your bitching stories from the weekend. Think someone might have already said this tho.
tl;dr: Self post friday should change to self post sunday. [5]
Edit: Didnt expect this to get so noticed, thanks to everybody for reading my opinion and actually providing legit responses. Uptokes to all of you | 619 | [
{
"body": "Friday was chosen because it's the lowest traffic day for this sub. Or so I've heard. From this perspective, it makes sense. ",
"score": 83
},
{
"body": "sundayy bluntday\n\nself post sunday, \n\nfriday's the way\n\nto my payday vacay\n\nhit the bong once or twice\n\nwatch some tv an eat a slice\n\nfrom the local pizza fixture,\n\ni wanna just see a *weed related picture*!",
"score": 37
},
{
"body": "I look forward to it. Reading peoples stories make my day at work wat better. Looking at pieces and smokespots gets old.... Ready funny/interesting stories that i can relate to is a far bettet experience for me.",
"score": 11
},
{
"body": "I truly love this day;it's a switch up from the normal routine. I like pictures of truly unique pieces and super chronic HD pictures. I don't enjoy seeing the same mass produced pipes and jane. It's kinda disappointing. More mature people have a chance to post a truly unique story or question which generates a lot more chance for COMMUNICATION :D\n\n(I disagree, but will not downvote you because i'm a friendly ent)",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I totally agree because I'm more likely to be high on Friday compared to Sunday and when I'm high on Friday it's really hard to read all these posts",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I didn't like it at first, but then I realized there are sooooooo many reposts that adding personal stories is a nice little change. ",
"score": 3
}
] |
Some NHL players - list overseas. Help? | Sorry for the crappy formatting, please add players.
Ovechkin -- Dynamo Moscow
Pavel Datsyuk -- CSKA Moscow
Kovlachuk -- SKA St. Petersburg
Malkin, Gonchar -- Mettalurg
Jaromir Jagr / Tomas Plekanec -- HC Kladno of the Czech Extraliga
Jason Spezza -- Rap-perswil-Jona in Switzerland,
Rick Nash / Joe Thornton -- with HC Davos
Logan Couture -- Geneve-Servette of the Swiss League
Kopitar -- agreed to join brother Gasper with Mora in Sweden
| 4 | [
{
"body": "PS to watch some KHL games:\n\nhttp://www.laola1.tv/ Archived games\n\nLive games, (don't download anything, just stream)\n\nhttp://www.sportlemon.tv/c-3.html",
"score": 3
}
] |
Does the DA2 DLC ever go on sale for the 360? | Hey guys. I was wondering if the DA2 DLC ever goes on sale for the 360. I've been holding off on the DLC for months now.. I have 800 MSP sitting on my xbox live account and i've wanted to play both Legacy and Mark of the Assassin for a while now, but they always seem to be regular price. Do they ever go on sale? Thanks. | 10 | [
{
"body": "Not really. If you have gold, you might keep an eye on the [deal of the week](http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Promotion/dealoftheweek) (changes every Tuesday). It's pretty random, but I did get all the ME2 DLC for half off once. ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "They offered Legacy on sale for 400 once - maybe around ME3 release?\n\nMotA has never been on sale as far as I know.\n\nLegacy was OK - felt more original DA than DA2, but it was rather short. \n\nHaven't picked up MotA - mostly because I sold my copy of DA2 right before ME3 came out.",
"score": 5
}
] |
[DH] How will 1.05 change your build? Items/skills? How will you farm the higher monster levels? | Right now I'm a glass cannon build and can solo act3 easily, but will be thinking about getting into more defensive skills, and more LOH and res into my items I already have pretty high defense items and life about 35 - 45k depending on gems different quivers etc, not sure if I should make a tank if that will allow me to farm the higher monster settings for the greater rewards. ( more legendaries, I'm trying to collect them.) | 17 | [
{
"body": "I would love to try out the capabilities of sentry.\n\nMaybe make some kind of build that revolves around sentries, and traps?",
"score": 3
}
] |
Which is your favourite version of Cortana? | So it just occurred to me that with the release of Halo 4 we will be with our third iteration of Cortana's design and I was just curious as to which one you guys preferred. | 11 | [
{
"body": "I've always preferred the Cortana that stops you in your tracks and makes you run slow while she talks.\n\nnote the sarcasm",
"score": 13
},
{
"body": "Honestly after seeing the new design my favorite may be the updated version! Although the original was good I for one liked the sex appeal added to the newer games",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "Personally I've always been a fan of the first version, while there is nothing wrong with the design for Halo 2&3 I was irritated that they tried to sex her up. I just felt it to be unnecessary.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Previously, I like the Halo 2 version. Very similar to the Halo 3 version, but her face was slimmer and she was more purple than blue. I like the purple. Loved that they made her purple again in Reach. Don't remember if they changed her model at all in that one.\n\nDon't much like the Halo 1 version. Odd hair, lifeless eyes. 3 is better than 1.\n\nFrom what I've seen, 4 is the best yet. The one thing that bugs me is how dark and solid her hair now looks. Doesn't really match the rest of her glowy self. It would be nice to see a few lines of purple code flowing through her hair to break up all that black, as in past designs.\n\nOther than that, the new design is the best. \n\n4>2>3>1",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "I liked her Halo 3 body. I didn't know she was supposed to be naked for the longest time and just assumed she was in a full body spandex suit. Kind of like Star Trek. I like her new face in Halo 4 a lot. It looks like she'll be able to express a wider range of emotion.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I actually like where they are going with Cortana as time goes on. I think they are constantly improving on her human aspects. As far as her unexplained attractiveness remember that she is the mirror image of doctor Catherine Halsey, who is often described in the novels as a very attractive woman.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Version 1.1.0 released! | ##Download
* [Windows/Linux](https://launchpad.net/chunky/1.1/1.1.0/+download/Chunky-1.1.0.zip)
* [OSX](https://launchpad.net/chunky/1.1/1.1.0/+download/Chunky-1.1.0.dmg)
##Release Notes
This release fixes some issues with water rendering. There is still work left to be done regarding the water rendering however.
Other fixes include minor rendering issues in both the 2D map view, and 3D rendering.
##Change Log
* The Moved By Piston block is not rendered
* Unknown block types are not rendered (used to be rendered as
question mark blocks)
* Increased the maximum sun intensity for the sun intensity slider
* Improved vine rendering: draw top vines
* Improved underwater rendering & various water rendering issues
* Fixed ice block rendering issue
* Fixed error causing cobblestone stairs to render with the smooth
stone texture
* Fixed crash when viewing chunks with certain blocks in the map view
* Don't treat water as part of a cave in cave view
* Added benchmark mode
* Deleting chunks now correctly updates the map view | 21 | [
{
"body": "When i try to benchmark it says: Could not load world: C:/Users/Jesper/Appdata/Roaming/.minecraft/saves/benchmark",
"score": 3
}
] |
Anyone else have the same porn ratio preference? (More info inside) | I was wondering if anyone else can really only fap to Tgirl stuff over conventional straight porn? I just feel that Tgirl porn is more interesting and fapworthy even though I am straight in reality. And to build off of that, I am also wondering why that is the case? Thanks! | 32 | [
{
"body": "Im the same, im straight and after watching tgirl porn and hooking up with quite a few, i just find cock sexier than a pussy.\n\nYou would probably really enjoy this: \n\nhttp://www.moviefap.com/videos/d5b203d2a0c94b6613bb/shemale-therapy.html",
"score": 10
},
{
"body": "i have no idea what my sexuality is at all. as a dude i like to fuck girls, but i like to watch tgirl porn because i like to imagine myself as the tgirl. if i had the balls to change myself to a tgirl id probably like to get fucked by dudes, but still have sex with girls. its really confusing :/",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "my tgirlfriend (so hot even after being together for 3 years) and i watch tgirl porn together. my life is amazing.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "I prefer tgirl on girl, and tgirl on tgirl, in that order. tgirls and guys don't cut it for me. It's probably just the obnoxious guys. If there were tgirl videos with the production quality and similarity of X-art, I'd be all up in that shit.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I've tried to watch \"straight\" porn, but I have no interest in it. I don't know why, I just really like tgirls.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I fap to pretty much anything, I think it just went in cycles, I have a fetish for blowjob/deepthroat and have had that fetish since I was young. So I think I was kinda bound to realize that I like dick as well as pussy, because I just have a huge sexdrive. I also started with hentai more often then not, and did not really fap to \"real\" porn for a while (i.e. Bible Black... gooooood shit).",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I primarily watch t-girl porn. I don't like the majority of it as I prefer the more traditionally feminine looking tgirls. ",
"score": 3
}
] |
Anyone here know C++? | "A year with 366 days is called a leap year. A year is a leap year if it is divisible by four (for example, 1980), except that it is not a leap year if it is divisible by 100 (for example, 1900); however, it is a leap year if it is divisible by 400 (for example, 2000). There were no exceptions before the introduction of the Gregorian calendar on October 15, 1582 (1500 was a leap year).
Write a program that prompts the user for a year and computes whether that year is a leap year."
I am confused at how to weed out non-integers in order to find out which years are leap years. Thing is, we haven't learned anything even remotely similar to carrying out such an action. Does anyone know how this program can be written? Here is my attempt, but I couldn't go very far without doing what I just said.
http://i.imgur.com/oZzAC.png
EDIT: Thanks everyone. Got it to [work](http://i.imgur.com/PNAxf.png). | 3 | [
{
"body": "Use mod. It's the percent symbol. It returns the remainder. For example, 16%4 = 0. 16%8 = 0. 13%9 = 4. 7%2 = 1. 131%100 = 31.\n\nRead in Yearnum. Then, if (yearnum%400 == 0), print it is a leap year. Else if (yearnum%100 == 0), print out it's not a leap year. Else if (yearnum%4 == 0), print out it is a leap year. Else print out it is not a leap year.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Whatever happened to the brony commercial? | [](/twiponder)I haven't heard anything about that in quite awhile. Isn't it supposed to premier around the same time as season 3? | 6 | [
{
"body": "[](/cadance) I haven't heard anything, nor do I want to. I think it's a...*silly* idea.\n\n[](/twiponder \"Yeah, 'silly' is a nice, safe word.\")",
"score": 14
},
{
"body": "I would hope that it's dead in the water, but I've a bad feeling that it's not. I agree with Insegredious , it is a rather silly idea.",
"score": 10
},
{
"body": "I've been wondering about this for a while too. I know for sure that it's going ahead because they got in touch with the..... Pony...people? and it got greenlighted. I guess now we just need to find out when Season 3 airs..",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I heard that it was still going through. I heard it was gonna be out in October. Then I blinded myself so I'd never have to see it. God have mercy on our souls.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Part of me wants to see this out of weird curiosity but at the same time I really hope this project suddenly goes bankrupt or something.\n",
"score": 3
}
] |
Getting kicked out. Need help | I'm getting kicked out of my house. My uncle doesn't like me here, for disrespecting him by not having his house spotless, and drinking obviously. I'm Flying to NM tomorrow. Am looking for a place to crash for a night until I can get a ride home. My moms a ca, but her phone I think got shut off today, and my dad is hunting , so his phones off. Any of you fucks live in albuquerque that can help me. Or suggestions?
Edit I got this shit figured out. Gonna goto datil, nm. Fencing, firewood and booze. | 17 | [
{
"body": "Not trying to be a dick but, you should get your own place be independent and never worry about this shit. Stop mooching places to stay, your life will be better. ",
"score": 5
}
] |
What would you like to see added to World vs World? | I'm interested in reading what other people would like to have added to WvWvW, specifically stuff like like new siege weapons, another type of tower/keep/supply camp to capture etc.
I would prefer to keep this post free from balance discussion of the current WvW as I'm sure there are plenty of topics which are discussing that already. | 26 | [
{
"body": "Forced waypoint revival after 5 minutes of lying down dead. I'm sorry, we are at war here, but some dead body is spying on our equipment.",
"score": 67
},
{
"body": "A way to communicate and maybe even ally with one of the servers just temporarily. \n\nAnd the commander system to revamped mainly in two ways:\n1. Make it more political. People can apply for candidacy and then the server can vote/agree upon a commander they like. Not really fond of the current \"bought my way to commander status.\"\n2. Repurpose the commander. Give them more than just an icon for all to see. Random easy things like they can draw on map for every one to see. A title on the chat screen when they talk \"(Commander) *PlayerName*: \". \n\nA way to implement my first idea (cross server communication) is via commander. Give them a trade agreement interface and they can send offers to opposing server commanders and an in-game truce status can be met if accepted. Or maybe even some supply trade and the likes. \n\nOverall change how a commander is chosen and give them more helpful tools to function as an actual commander.",
"score": 22
},
{
"body": "I personally would like to see something like a \"Scouting Kit\". I will often like to go around WvW scouting the enemy groups and try to communicate this in /team as communication is key in any battle, sometimes this will involve quite a bit of spam in team or even get missed by other people's spam.\n\nSomething I would like to have is a purchasable \"Scouting Kit\" from a merchant inside WvW which is a 1 time use unless you buy it again and is dropped when you leave the kit to use your normal weapon. This kit would replace your weapon abilities with 5 skills such as:\n\n1 - your first ability would allow you to mark the map with a flag and maybe input some text such as \"20-30 Eredon Terrace inc to Dreaming Bay\", the flag would show up on map and the text shows when a player hovers over the flag while looking at map.\n\n2 - second could be something like the ability to reveal enemy siege weapons so they show up on map, this could help with teammates trying to aim mortar's or trebs to take out enemy siege weapons.\n\n3,4,5 - these could all be abilities to help the \"Scout\" stay alive with things such as a Stun Break/Stability, condition removal, swiftness or any others.\n\nThis would be nice for people who enjoy the scouting aspect rather than fighting as well as add another option for lower level players to have something to do, this also helps with communication between random players in WvW compared to guilds as it will make it much easier for people to communicate where defense is needed without having to use a program like Ventrilo.",
"score": 15
},
{
"body": "New siege tools, stuff like what we see in Orr, like the Charr Tanks, Sonic Cannons, Asura mega lasers and the like.\n\nAlso a water themed map, coastal fortresses, ships acting as capture points (supply ships for supply points, battleships as smaller versions of towers) which should hopefully open the doors for more interesting siege options. Underwater objectives, like underwater labs or something.\n\nMore visually different upgrades to existing siege, like how the Omega siege golem looks different from the Alpha to a degree, make the superior rams look more badass, or the superior catapults bigger or something. (Not sure if there are any visual differences atm, haven't noticed) This also can be an interesting cash shop offering, siege skins that when used can alter the look of siege, not sure how it could work, perhaps make them cheap enough so that you just apply it to existing blueprints.\n\nWith the PVE mobs in WvW, make them matter more, not so much as wandering mobs, but make them make random attacks on points every once a while. Not just the mercenaries you can get like the Ogres or Dredge, but like the Ascolonian ghosts attacking the garrisons gates or something. Make it a bit more dynamic.",
"score": 14
},
{
"body": "Ladder blueprint. Can only be placed at walls (else people would exploit for jumping puzzle and vistas). Enemy can push it down or attack/destroy it. Like siege weapon, only 1 can use at a time, to prop it up or scale to top.",
"score": 12
},
{
"body": "Get rid of the current commander system, and replace it with something more meaningful. Maybe even a tiered system.\n\nSay I want my own squad, but I don't want to be a commander. Call me a Sergeant, or Lieutenant or something. Maybe base this on ones WvW activity.\n\nAlso, make a guild like screen for the whole server, so borderlands, or battlefield can coordinate and assign roles more efficiently, such as defenders, raiders, siege ect... Not to mention share spending responsibilities, so it isn't always falling upon one person (often me), to upgrade and purchase siege equipment. We could all donate to the server gold pool, and spend it as we deem necessary.\n\nAlso allow option to kick out the people that do nothing but idle at the spawn point.",
"score": 11
},
{
"body": "**Siege Repackaging**\nI would like to see undamaged siege be repackaged by its owner on a 10 minute cooldown (after 10 minutes). This way were not setting up siege at a keep or castle to have it sit there for a week. Doesn't make sense. Put a timer icon on it allow one movement per peice of siege, once its moved it cannot be moved again. It also doesn't get repacked in your inventory you simply have to carry it in box format. It does not automatically set back up, it again requires full supply to refinish. #dontwastemymoney\n\n**Siege Placement Movement**\nGive us the ability to nudge three \"nudges\" in any direction within the first 1 minute of placement. Many great peices of siege have been lost to buggy walls, many ballistas have fallen pray to the invisible parapet. #dontwastemysiege\n\n**Siege Item - Belfry**\nOne cannot have a siege without a belfry! This would be well beyond the cost of Golem and it would be narrow enough to only allow 4-5 players scaling it at once. The structure would need to be very squishy all players falling off the structure when it is destroyed take fall damage and get knocked down. Can only be placed on damageable walls. This would require people to actually guard fortified structures.\n\n**Siege Item - Caravan**\nI want to bring 200 supply to my keep, I buy a caravan for 20 gold. Its destroyable and essentially has 2 dolyaks pulling a cart that is destroyable. The Caravan has to be setup at a supply depot and cannot depart until it is full. Once it is full it two dolyaks spawn and pull it at dolyak speed to the nearest keep. Therefore to have a caravan setup you need to be in a supply you own, next to a tower you own and have 200 supply in it. The supply is delievered to the depot in the tower or keep.\n",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "I'd like to see a way for the losing teams to be able to make a comeback. Its not fun when my server has crushed both of the opponents that they just give up for the rest of the week. ",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Overflow.\n\nDon't make anything \"count\" towards anything. You only get in when your server is queued up. Give same message to stay or leave when your spot on the other server opens up. Resets daily. Teams are auto balanced by random seed when you are put into the game.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I would like to see some sort of tutorial for it. Currently right now I stay away from it because I have no idea what to do in there. There needs to be some sort of explanation besides just follow the zerg.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Jumping puzzle areas being PvE areas. I am sorry, but it is no fun to get attacked by some people that want to ruin your first run at a jumping puzzle. I am yet to complete the puzzle in the eternal battlegrounds, because there are always some guys that stand there just to kill others trying to do the puzzle. I am fine with the integrated traps that other players can control; those are part of the puzzle.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I want Doylak upgrades. Like roller skates adding 50% speed boost to caravans, Doylak Mounted Cannons so they can be used as mobile siege weapons, and Decoy Doylaks that explodes when attacked! \n\nBut joking aside, I think the current arsenal does it's job well enough, I'd rather have all the technical and mechanical kinks sorted out before even thinking how to expand on the current formula. One thing I'd love to have however are binoculars/spyglass to spot things form the distance, maybe some makeshift barricades/defenses on supply camp that are currently overly easy to capture (when there is no one around I can solo them as a Guardian).\n\n",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "i want them to position the firing point of the ballista a little bit higher. make it so that if you are a regular sized human then the ballista would fire at about your head level. \n\nthat way if you build on top of a wall and not on the edge of the wall then the ballista bolts won't just fire directly into the ground. if you build on ground level then the full reach of the ballista can still be achieved. also i want the ballista's anti siege bolt to do noticable more damage to seige then it currently does. right now it's on par with a regular bolt, because of its cool down it should do at least twice that. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Some of these ideas are good others I don't understand but I am shocked with as many old DAOC players there are out there how come no one has asked for Alternate Advancement? Why can't we have raid groups to where we can see everyone who we are working with. Why is there no WvW Ranking system? Why is the Commander Icon 100g and sucks? \n\nThere needs to be some reward for spending tons of money and hard work and time to make this feel worth it. Sure bragging rights are fun but it doesn't keep players wanting to stick around after the newness has wore off. \n\nThese are all things I'd like to see Arena net improve on or change...or sadly they will lose their WvW Player base.",
"score": 3
}
] |
I'm allergic to Benadryl. If I take two doses, will the second dose prevent the allergic reaction of the first dose? | Allergies are killing me and everyone keeps saying to take some Benadryl. It sounds like goo stuff but I don't want to die. How can I take it safely? | 33 | [
{
"body": "Are you taking it orally? If so, that could be the problem. Allergic reactions are initiated when airborne or food borne allergens embed in the lining of your stomach or lungs and block the absorption of nutrients. The body is unable to reject them and begins to shut down. If you have an allergen in your stomach, oral Benadryl will weight down these embedded particles and increase the adverse reaction, which can easily be mistaken for a Benadryl allergy.\n\nIt's simply gravity!!!\n\nThe solution is simple. (Carefully) stand on your hands and head, using a wall for support. Have a close friend insert the Benadryl into your rectum. There, the medicine can be absorbed without interference. It will eventually make it to the blood vessels of the stomach and *push the allergens out from the inside.* Please don't forget to not use lubricant - it can disrupt the absorption.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Simple, easy to do changes that helped me lose 85lbs over 15 months! | In March of 2011, after getting over the sudden dumping by my fiancee, I weighed myself for the first time in years. Junk food, lack of exercise, poor sleeping habits, and bit too much alcohol intake had caused me to balloon up to 270lbs on my 6'5" frame. Here is what I did:
-I changed my diet to one with lots of fruit and vegetables with a serving of meat less than four times a week. I (mostly) avoid all junk food, never drink pop, juice, sports drinks, or most anything other than water, black coffee, unsweetened almond milk and pure coconut water. Desserts are now an occasional treat instead of a nightly occurrence.
-I sleep 6-8 hours a night, always between 11pm-7am.
-I now only drink alcohol on special occasions, and never to excess.
-I run. A lot. It started off as a cheap and quick way to burn calories and has become my favourite hobby. I've started with zero endurance and now I've finished a 10k, 2 half marathons, and just two weeks ago came in 3rd (for Men 20-29) at a 10 mile race. I'm running a 30km trail race next month and a full marathon next spring.
-When traveling around my city, I drive less and bicycle more.
As of this spring I weigh 185lbs, what I feel is a healthy and maintainable weight. I've never counted calories or adopted a strict diet. I've never seen a personal trainer or had a gym membership. Other than running and cycling, all my other exercises can be done at home with minimal equipment (planks, push-ups, chin-ups). I've only made small changes that are sustainable for life.
For everyone out there, you can lose it, and keep it off for life!
**EDIT**
Before/After pics added:
http://imgur.com/a/CSLwp | 364 | [
{
"body": "While some of the suggestions you made will not work so well for me, I think you did an awesome job. I will be using some of your suggestions to improve upon my routine. I stick with high protein meats and veggies. I use fruit as snacks during the day. The almond milk and coconut water sound like nice additions.",
"score": 25
},
{
"body": "This is really my favourite post in days. As I am trying to incorporate running in my lifestyle, I find it easier every time I step out. I guess what you ease into is what you stick with. Congratulations!",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "It's amazing how many bad habits we gradually adopt to such excess. I lost a bunch of weight simply by changing my diet, and I kept crediting all the spinach I was eating, but it also probably had as much to do with ***not*** eating double cheeseburgers *every single day*.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "As a person of the same height and almost the same starting weight (265 pounds). I love your story. I've managed to lose the first 65 pounds with ritalin, boxing, running and fitness. I've gotten bored with running but I picked up crossfit a couple of weeks ago. I'm curious of what you look like, because it sounds pretty light.\n\nBut most of all, good job and good luck with your marathon.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "While I think you did an amazing job losing that 85 pounds, those changes aren't simple and easy for everyone. People with food addictions don't find it easy to switch their diets as you did, because they get an endorphin rush from eating junk food. I'm one of those people, and while I've done my best with /r/keto, I still struggle every day with what I'm eating. But really, truly, good for you. I'm happy for you.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I think it is amazing that you took such a sad and terrible thing and made it a turning point. Keep running, you are chasing the best version of yourself and catching it.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I've learned to live on flaxseed and oats for breakfast and about half my total calories... working good so far",
"score": 3
}
] |
I've got an idea about downvoting.... | On r/politics, I have seen countless well-written, well-reasoned articles downvoted. Why? I'm sure you can guess. Because they either defend Romney, criticize Obama, or question the media's reporting of the presidential race, while umpteen articles about Romney's gaffes, how wrong the GOP is, how Paul Ryan has no idea what he's talking about, get upvoted to the top.
I'm not saying none of that is true, but there is another whole side to this thing that is not getting shown.
Please, be mature and only downvote if you think a post does not contribute in any way to the site or the discussion. That doesn't mean downvoting because you disagree with what is being said. It's r/politics, not r/liberalpolitics or r/conservativepolitics. It should be both sides equally, to give readers a better understanding of both sides.
**Request**
If you downvote this post, please give a reason in the comments. | 6 | [
{
"body": "Or maybe instead of simply downvoting posts you don't agree with, make an argument to the contrary to promote intelligent thought and discussion. What's the point of this sub if we're just going to treat it like r/politics.\n\nThis is /r/politicaldiscussion, after all...",
"score": 14
}
] |
J. Maclin OUT Sunday - What does it mean for D. Jax? Must start? | Should get more balls thrown his way which is a major asset in PPR leagues but still playing a tough Arizona defense. Thoughts? | 28 | [
{
"body": "It also might mean that no Maclin equals Patrick Peterson on Jackson all day. Peterson might be the only db in the league faster than Jackson and he is a good cover corner. Just a thought for discussion.",
"score": 13
},
{
"body": "He'll struggle. Here's why--Arizona has one of the best corners in the league (Peterson), but he almost never shadows the opposing team's #1 receiver. Why? Because on the right side of the field they've got William Gay, a top 10-15 corner, and he's plenty good enough to hold his own against top receivers. With Maclin out, Arizona will be rolling safeties to D. Jax wherever he lines up. He's likely to face double coverage the entire game. \n\nCelek might have another solid day, though.",
"score": 8
}
] |
Large v-shaped UFO with no lights over Phoenix on 9/21/12 | My fiance says that last night she thinks she saw a UFO. She was walking our dog and she looked up to see a very large v-shaped flying object flying very slowly. There were no lights, and she says she could barely see it. The only reason she saw it at all was that it passed near the moon and the light helped make it visible.
She says it moved very slowly, which raises some questions for me. She says the thing was BIG. If it was moving at a speed fast enough to fly like a conventional plane, then it would have to be far away from her to look to her like it was moving slowly. That would mean that it was HUGE, because it still looked big to her. The other alternative is that it was closer, but was moving slow. In which case it was utilizing some alternative technology.
A woman she works with says Luke Air Force Base runs drills at night with planes running with no lights. She says that many of the planes are very large, and are v-shaped. This is definitely a plausible explanation, but I wanted to shoot it out onto this subreddit to see if anyone had any thoughts/experiences. Does anyone have any possible pictures that I might be able to show my fiance to see if it looks like what she saw?
One last thing, she said it was silent. No noise at all. This could be because it was too far away to hear, but I thought it was worth mentioning. Thanks! | 40 | [
{
"body": "Yeah this sounds very similar to eyewitness accounts of the ship that flew over Phoenix in March of 1997, now known as the famous \"Phoenix Lights\".\n\nCheck out [The Phoenix Lights documentary](http://www.ufo.methodi.us/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=52&sid=b739f9e2b0ac52a1991a9f7d3a14af6d) if you haven't seen it yet. It contains eyewitness accounts that your girl might find similar to her experience. I posted all 8 parts of it at the [UFO forum that r/UFOs recently started up](http://www.ufo.methodi.us/index.php) (feel free to sign up or look around at the other media posted there.)",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "I saw something vaguely similar in Missoula, MT about 11 years ago. It was around midnight with no clouds. A huge, silent, slow moving and non lit V shaped/triangular craft flew right over mine and a friends view, directly overhead. The only reason we saw it was because we were looking up at Jupiter as it was especially bright. From our perspective it was about the size of a passenger jet but moving at about 5 miles an hour. We were able to run underneath it and keep up. One odd feature it had was a dimly glowing circle in the middle of the craft. It almost looked like glowing fog. It was very similar to the one in this [picture](http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/168697/168697,1273627512,1/stock-photo-an-isolated-dark-triangular-ufo-on-white-background-52881427.jpg) minus the 3 perimeter lights. It was also slightly more rounded and not so sharp looking. ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Thats probably the same ship from the Phoenix lights incident, moving around war cargo for the man.\n\n(notevenkidding)\n\n[Even the Discovery Channel knows](http://www.itspp.com/dimension_zone/images/NG_phoenix_lights.png) \nThis tells me it's mainstream news, and your mind is being subverted.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I have heard stories like this out of Phoenix. Just MASSIVE. One witness said it was three football fields long.\n\nWish I could remember the place I saw that. ",
"score": 3
}
] |
Hey guys. My first housing deal fell through because of a stroke of luck. What's the luckiest bad news you've gotten around real estate? | I was pretty excited that my first house purchase was going well. I put in my offer, being sure to note that everything advertised in the new construction was in the offer (soundproofing and triple-paned windows being the big ones).
The counteroffer removed all those items, with a side note that there was no point in listing them off, and that we weren't allowedthey weren't worthwhile. I thought it a bit sketchy, so we put them back in and sent the counteroffer back. Eventually we decided to meet with the builder to get the scoop, because details of the house changed every time we sent the contract back and forth ("Soundproofing insulation on all walls! Soundproofing on one wall! Spray foam insulation on one wall! Spray foam on all walls!" Triple paned on all walls! Triple paned on one wall! Double paned on all walls!").
Eventually the builder and I decided to meet up to hash everything out. The guy basically wanted to drag me to the job site early in the morning to berate me and tell me I was worthless. But instead of feeling bad, I realized that if this was the guy's attitude (combined with his previous... issues with offers), why should I trust his work?
I looked in the garage area after he left (and called me a "punk ass kid") and saw a pile of single-paned windows stacked on the floor. Bullet dodged!
So let's hear 'em! | 13 | [
{
"body": "2005, I signed a contract to purchase a pre-foreclosure property. Right before closing, the seller suddenly stopped answering my phone calls. \n\nWhen the title search came back, I found out why the seller had disappeared. She had quit-claimed the property to another buyer -- a real estate broker.\n\nI sued the home owner for failing to convey and the real estate broker for interfering in business. \n\nIn 2007, we settled in arbitration. The broker had to pay me $76k.\n\nIn 2008, the market tanked. The property was so upside down that the broker let it go in foreclosure.\n\nTL;DR sued slimy broker for fun and profit",
"score": 12
},
{
"body": "Nothing \"lucky\" like that for me. But I will pipe in and say that when you do look younger, you tend to get treated differently; hence the disrespect you received. It's shocking, because you think there would be some more respect for the money you are bringing to the table and just plain good customer service. Glad they showed their true colors and you were savvy enough to get out of there before you became their next sucker.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "After seeing all of my friends make a killing on real estate for a decade while I rented, I finally caved and decided to buy property in 2008. Unfortunately, since I live in Manhattan, there was no way it was going to be a primary residence, so I searched for high growth areas to buy investment property. I ended up paying $300k for a 4-family uni that was going to be built to specifications - in McAllen, TX - outside of San Antonio.\n\nI put $5k down in good faith money for the building, but there were timeframes in the contract that the builders needed to meet. They didn't meet the dates, and I was so frustrated with their (and the agent's) complete lack of urgency that I just backed out of the deal. I tried to get all the money back because they missed the deadlines, but they fought it. I threatened to sue and was only able to get half of it back. Lost $2,500.\n\nBut then I lost my job about 3 months later and it took me about a year to find another job with solid pay so I would have been totally screwed covering the mortgage for the $300k place.\n\nThen, and the market fell apart. Looking at google maps, the sub division is still half undeveloped, and it looks like the the half that is developed is abandoned. \n\nI've looked to see any of the places are for sale, and they are selling for at least 25% less than I bought it. And I would imagine that the units are - at best - half rented. \n\nI have a feeling in an alternate world, I would have lost about $100k had the deal gone through.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "What a jerk. \n\nYou probably saw regular double paned insulated windows there. It is next to impossible to find \"single glazed\" windows anywhere. Still, if you want triple pane, ultra low E windows, you should hold out to get them.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Not sure how lucky this is, but my first house was on the market for about two years (it was rented for about six months during that time,) and I finally received an offer.\n\nTheir offer was only few thousand less than asking price, so I took it.\n\nThe day before closing, everything fell through. The story, as I was told, was that the person who was buying my house had their house on a contingent offer as well. The buyer of their house had the same. The buyer, first in the chain, had something happen and could no longer obtain financing at the last minute.\n\nIt was interesting to try to figure out -- I had to draw it out on paper to make sense of it all.\n\nAny who -- the next week I had a quick close offer for asking price. I went for it, and got more money.\n\nNothing major, but interesting chain of events.",
"score": 4
}
] |
With 3 aggravated robberies in the last 3 days during daylight hours, what is being done? | Does the Houston or Campus police have a plan or initiative already set up to catch these criminals? If not, what can students do to let the police and faculty know this is *not acceptable* at a tier 1 university? We have been promoting UH as a mainstream, tier one, award winning school and yet our students are getting held up at gunpoint *in broad daylight*! What can students do? | 21 | [
{
"body": ">what is being done?\n\nThe Texas Legislature is going to revisit Concealed Carry on college campuses in 2013. This is the best thing being done about the situation.\n\nEDIT: Holy fucking ball-sweat, it is my cake day!",
"score": 14
},
{
"body": "In my 3 years at UH, I've come to realize UHPD is a joke. They're lazy, they don't do their job correctly and they never follow up on police reports. I had a $800 laptop stolen from me my Freshman year, gave a solid description and the officer even told me they knew who it probably was. No updates, no calls, nothing. \n\nUHPD really needs to step it up, especially considering this influx of robberies on campus.",
"score": 12
}
] |
German or Russian . . . ? | I have to take a language course for my major in university and I can't decide between Russian and German. I already know very little German, because my parents and sister took German in high school and college, but my accent is horrible. My Russian accent is decent, but I know absolutely nothing of the language. | 3 | [
{
"body": "If your native language is English, I would say that German would be easiest for you. German is rather similar to English and you don't have to learn an entirely new alphabet like you would have to for Russian. However, your interest in the language is really more important - if you aren't interested in German, no matter how similar to English it may be, you won't learn it very easily. \n\n(I'm a little biased because I'm learning German myself, and I absolutely love it, so take this with a grain of salt)",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "I took both German and Russian in college. I am going to be a little biased here because I am majoring in German. \n***\nGerman\n***\nPros: Close to English, a long tradition of Literature (Luther, Goethe, Schiller, Mann, Nietzsche, Hesse, etc..), big economy...\n\nCons: Most speakers of German know English, German literature can be a little too philosophical, strange case system...\n\n***\nRussian\n***\nPros: A lot of Native speakers, spoken throughout Eastern Europe, amazing Literature (Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Pushkin, etc.), different...\n\nCons: Complex grammar, different alphabet (which isn't that hard to learn), Russian is cold! \n***\n\nI started with German and because of that, learning Russian grammar was a little easier for me. Honestly I love German but I find that Russian Literature is so much better; however, it is going to take longer to be able to read a novel in Russian than it is going to be to read one in German. Hope this helps!",
"score": 4
}
] |
How do you think a morph cube would go? | I've been thinking about one for a while and it seems like it could be fun. I'm thinking of putting in custom cards that work well with morph and things like that. | 3 | [
{
"body": "That's actually an interesting question.\n\n[There are 126 cards with morph in the rules text](http://magiccards.info/query?q=o%3Amorph&v=card&s=cname). Roughly 20 in each colour with the exception of blue, which has 42. Colour balance is achievable.\n\nThe environment is going to be loaded with combat tricks, and lots of 2/2 (duh). You won't be needing to look for any 3-cmc creatures, you'll have to fill out your curve in other ways. 2 damage is going to be your baseline for burn spells (so lightning bolt isn't a necessary addition, and gut shot is going to be largely useless, etc.)\n\nEven working with only real cards, this would be a fun cube to tweak with. Not sure about how it would play, plenty of bluffing and maximizing the use of combat tricks, that's for sure.",
"score": 7
}
] |
How would you handle your bf telling you he was raped? | Being more specific, if he was raped when you were together but was too ashamed to tell you or anyone else until enough time had passed.
I just saw this on /r/AskMen, and wanted /r/AskWomen's take.
| 24 | [
{
"body": "Being a rape victim myself: I'd try to be as supportive as possible. I understand the need to tell people on your own time, so I'd try not to take it personally that he didn't want to tell me when it happened. I'd strongly suggest he seek therapy because rape is something that's extremely difficult to deal with on your own.",
"score": 27
},
{
"body": "Well, being my husband was molested as a child... When he told me, he thought he was broken. I held him, I let him cry, and I was there for him. Even though he has forgiven the person who hurt him, I still have a deep rage towards him. Towards my husband, I never ever blamed him or played \"what if\" mind games. He was entirely without fault, and if I am tempted to put fault on anyone who was not his attacker, it would go towards his parents who should have noticed. I don't think it would be any different if it had happened yesterday. The emotions would just be rawer. \n\nUnfortunately, I seem to be a magnet for rape survivors so he wasn't the first person I helped (that was in the 6th grade) and he hasn't been the last. After we talked it out and got to a point he was comfortable with it, we both started volunteering as rape/molestation counselors. We've done it for over a decade and he specializes in dudes and I specialize in girls with dissociative disorders. 5 years ago we were certified as foster/adopt parents to special needs children, specializing in sexual assault cases. We've had 5 foster kids and adopted 3 of them in 2009. \n\nFor each one of them, I have that deep rage towards the person who hurt them. I'm a little overprotective and a little blunt as a result. But these people who are now my husband and brothers and sisters and children are part of me. I carry their stories and pain with me and I try my best to use it for good purposes. For instance, one of the girls I worked with early on is so like my daughter. Because of her being able to communicate as a teenager what she went through and how she processed it as a child, I have much better tools for helping my daughter. I don't know if I'll ever tell her that (even though she knows about my daughter) but its true. ",
"score": 25
},
{
"body": "Oh God, endless hugs, fear, hope, referring him to www.rainn.org, just in general trying to make sure he was ok. ",
"score": 16
},
{
"body": "Probably like finding out anyone I loved was raped with perhaps some added rage for this happening to my romantic partner and that they felt they should be ashame or were some how complicit. Also, (somewhat irrational) disappointment in myself for not noticing they were dealing with some sort of emotional trauma. Some guilt mixed in with that as well.\n\nTo be truthful, there would be a part of me that would be really upset that they felt like they couldn't tell me sooner. I could see that definitely affecting our relationship and would likely be seeking counseling not only for my boyfriend but for us as a couple as well.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Also, as a guy who's had...similar experiences, I would tell him to stay away from r/srs whenever he hears about it. Some people there believe it's impossible for men to be raped, or so close to impossible that it doesn't happen.\n\nEdit: This is assuming he checks out reddit once in a while because of his awesome redditing girlfriend.\n\nEdit 2: Hey everyone, you realize some members there link to stories of men being raped and then act like the supreme court of rape and decide whether their story is true or not, right? One of the harder parts of being a rape victim is when you're told your story is BS. That's why male rape victims shouldn't go curiously lingering into there. It slows the process of recovery.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "I would ask him if he reported it, and try to support him as best I could. I would probably try to get him to go to therapy or talk to someone, as well. ",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Well, I suppose that'd be as good a time as any to reveal my own, so he'd know how much I understand, and to support him and let him know it will be okay eventually.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I'd just try to listen and be there for him if he wanted to talk. Others have mentioned encouraging him to go to therapy, and I might suggest it, but I certainly wouldn't push him to do anything he wasn't comfortable with.\n\nMy ex actually did have an incident just after we broke up during which he was pressured to do more than he intended. While perhaps not technically rape (depending on how you define it), it was certainly sexual coercion. At the time I just told him his feeling were valid, that he had a right to feel violated and hurt, and just tried to be there for him. \n\nUltimately, I think that's all anyone can do. And I know, having gone through it myself, that just hearing \"it's not your fault\" is HUGE.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I had a boyfriend who was raped before we'd gotten together, so I know I deal with it well. I listened to him, and reassured him that there was nothing wrong with him at all and his rapist was at fault, not him. I've been friends with two other male victims that I know of, too. \n\nI think I'd probably notice it though, if my husband was raped, just because I'm a rape victim myself, and because I work in crime academia. I wouldn't bring it up until he did though, because pushing a rape victim to do it on your terms is harmful. \n\nI wouldn't actually expect him to tell me right away - it's too big a trauma to cope with, and the majority of victims wait 36-48 hours before they tell anyone at all. Hence why rape has such a low conviction rate - and accusations of making stuff up.\n\nI'd do all the things I know work for rape victims, like giving him the opportunity to reaffirm his control over stuff. So I'd support him by deferring to what he wants to do, and what he wants to say. As such, I can't formulate a specific plan. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "My first thought was \"oh, sweetheart....I'm here for you.\" \n\nBeyond that I'd try to make sure he knew that I want to do whatever necessary to help him cope, make sure he knew that it doesn't affect my perception of his masculinity one iota (because I know that's a real fear and part of the shame for men who have been raped) and try to help him find some resources and support networks outside of just me. I might love and care for him deeply, but I'm NOT the most knowledgeable about the topic, and if he can talk to others who've been where he was, it's probably better. ",
"score": 3
}
] |
I'm shooting a wedding tomorrow and if you folks can give me any last minute tips I would very much appreciate it! | I'm not a professional photographer. This is more of a favor I'm doing for family friends. They know where my skill level is and probably won't judge me too harshly.
Yet, on the other hand, this is someone's wedding and I want to do the best I can with what I know. I'll be shooting with another photographer, but I'm the one doing digital.
To say I'm nervous is an understatement. So, anything I should know to prepare for tomorrow? Thanks in advance. | 5 | [
{
"body": "I say this every time this thread comes up...**If you are waiting until 18 hours before the wedding to seek help then you have waited to long**\n\nI know you say that there will be another photographer there, but why did you wait until now to ask? If you truly were worried about what to do, you would have sought help long ago. I don't care if you say it's just for a friend. I don't care if they won't judge you too harshly. If you want to do a good job, be prepared. Do you wait until the night before a final to study an entire book or do you attend class and pay attention through the semester? If you were nervous, why wait until the night before to ask for help?\n\nTake extra batteries, two bodies, and some remote flashes. Bounce whenever possible and shoot at 1 stop below your maximum aperture when you can. I like to keep an 80-200 on one body a 50mm on my other body and then throw a 17-35 in my pocket.",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "Here's some advice for when you present them with your pics: Only present the pictures that you feel are the very best of the bunch. If you have 2 similar pics that are of equal quality, select only 1 of them to present. \n\nSeriously. If you take 300 pics and only 40 of them make the cut, the couple only sees these 40. Never show them the bad ones or multiple shots of the same shit even if they're great. Ever. Pretend they don't exist. To be clear, you shouldn't hand over any picture that you're not 100% behind - this also means holding onto the pics until you're completely done w/ the post-processing because you don't want you're unprocessed pics going out to the public when you haven't put your stamp of approval on them. \n\nThe quality of your work will be judged not only by the couple but by much of the family. If you've got 5 fantastic shots of the bouquet, give them only 1. \n\nThe reason: Aunt Mable didn't see a single picture of her in the entire set but she saw 5 pics of that bouquet... that will count against you, buddy. Odd right? It's true. Don't make this mistake. ",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "get there early (or today if there is a rehearsal) and figure out what kind of light you are working with - what you need to be at for shots at certain times - routes to get from left/middle aisle/right without walking around the front of the ceremony - blah blah blah\ndid this my first time a few weeks ago and certainly glad i got there hours(4) early to make sure everything was still working/get an idea of working light and set up flashes for group stuff-figure out exposure for that",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Photograph like you have to show someone who was unable to attend every single last detail of the wedding to the point they feel as though they were present.\n\nIn other words, get closeups of decorations and other details, as well as full on panoramas/wide-angle shots of the venue as a whole as well as capturing standard bride and groom rubbish. It'll make reliving the event easier for your clients, and they'll looooove you.\n\n**EDIT:** Also, I wouldn't necessarily photograph guests WHILE they are eating unless requested by your employers. Wider angle shots are fine, but getting in their faces may be a little uncomfortable. Wait 'til the toast or before/after meals.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "1) Have a bag of 'must have with me gear' and a bag of 'zombie apocalypse gear'. The must haves will be your main camera body and 2-3 main lenses along with a speedlight or two and a backup body. Your zombie bag is for backup lenses, gear that you don't normally use but might have to in case you fall into a pit of saltwater and ruin everything else.\n\n2) Keep evaluating the light everywhere. Find the best light and use it to your advantage.\n\n3) Be the bride and groom's paparazzi for the day. Get all of the moments that other people miss. Sometimes you have to slap on a zoom lens or crank the ISO to get something.\n\n4) have the balls to do what is necessary to get a good shot. if the bride says it's OK then DO IT. not many people will tell the bride no. having a camera in your hands turns you into a superhero and very few people will make it a point to get in your way. if they do, slap them and call them names.",
"score": 5
}
] |
Anyone doing the Golden Gate Park XC Open this weekend? | I'm looking for advice on pacing, where to push, and surfaces (I wear pretty minimal shoes so warnings about gravel are appreciated). Should be pretty awesome - I hear we get to jump over hay bales! | 3 | [
{
"body": "It's two identical 2k loops. Run one during your warmup to get a sense for the pacing that suits you. It's a loooong down followed by a loooong up, both are gradual. The long up is a real grinder, especially the second time around.\n\nWear some flats. I've raced it in spikes, and they help on the gradual up, but they're not necessary and there are some rocky sections that can be a bit unpleasant.\n\nBe ready to hurdle a fallen log twice!",
"score": 3
}
] |
Shooting for an overclock of 4.6/4.7, need a little help. | I'm currently at 4.5GHz very stable, 1.265V (is that higher or lower than normal for my current overclock) 60c Full load.
I've tried all the way up to 1.310V for just 4.6 and it usually boots up then blue screens with various errors. | 5 | [
{
"body": "You might just be hitting a voltage wall. There is no guarantee that every chip will overclock that far.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I'm prime stable at:\n\n4.5GHz\n1.260V Real\n1.281V Bios (+0.045 Offset)\n\n4.6GHz\n1.296V Real\n1.315V Bios (+0.080 Offset)\n\nI wouldn't go over 1.3V for 24/7 usage. \n\n**In the following order, do these things to see if they help:**\n\n-Dsiable C3/C6\n\n-Disable EIST/C1E\n\n-Enable CPU PLL Overvoltage\n\n-Increase/Decrease CPU PLL (MAX 1.89V) (MIN 1.6V)\n\n-Increase CPU VTT (MAX 1.081V)\n\n Otherwise you're probably out of luck. Still, 4.5 is a great overclock.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Two vastly different experiences in WvW | Right now I'm on Northern Shiverpeaks, which is at the bottom of the rankings, but absolutely dominating the others in that tier.
The previous night I popped on and met a fair bunch of n00b types, who had no idea what was going on. I said in map chat "any enemy contact?" and got some reports, went "OMW" and suddenly had some new players asking if they could follow along since they had no idea what was going on. Even a level 80 formed up.
We repelled the Kaineng invaders, traded hero's lodge a few times back and forth, did some skirmishes, lost supply, counter-attacked supply, stared down at the vista, taunted one another across battle lines, rushed, and communicated, communicated, communicated. When a keep dropped to zero supply and things were getting desperate, someone would run for it. If someone was down, we'd assess the feasibility of rezzing them under fire, and if not, they'd respawn. Even though we didn't have as many people fighting against Kaineng, we did well. I /saluted and logged off, happy that NSP had got its stuff together.
Then I logged on last night. Someone with a commander badge was on. "Oh wow" I thought. "He must know what he's doing." So we zerged. And zerged. And zerged, around the map, using our superior numbers, but never scouting or taking any risks. Still, at 100% map domination, it seemed like the way to go. So I popped over to the Divinity's Reach borderlands, since that looked like it wasn't total wipe for us.
Oh God, what a mess. Three people all trying to attack different targets. I would pop in Map saying "hey, what's the plan" and I'd hear "kill them all." Or I'd hear three different plans. Nobody was running for supply, nobody was communicating.
So anyway, retaking the garrison, our golem got wiped by well placed ballistas. The reason? "We didn't have enough people." Not "We didn't bother to cut off their supply" or "we didn't report the ballistas before we rushed in." No. The zerg wasn't big enough.
After that total loss, we were down the garrison and a tower and a keep. I had heard about an attack on the garrison northwest gate, so I swept into join, and found no one. I tried to launch an attack on the north gate thinking players would soon be inbound, setting up balista and almost single handedly eliminating all their siege gear and NPCs. Of course, the Divinity's Reach (Edit: Devona's Rest, my bad) players aren't dumb and they started rallying at my location. I kept calling out on map chat for assistance, someone... anyone... and nothing. Absolutely nothing. Someone said that "oh yeah, they never actually breached the walls."
*facepalm*
Needless to say, the attack failed. Hell, some of the guys hitting the gate didn't even notice when I said in chat that our siege was under attack. We fell back to the tower, and they took that too because we had no backup and no supply. Finally I said "ok, guys, what's the plan of action here?"
"Zerg and kill em all." I check to see who said that, and he's one of the people with a commander's badge. Buh and what?
Screw it. I went back to the borderlands.
Surprise surprise, I found my old n00b group again! They recognized me. I asked for the Sitrep. There was a siege going on for one of the keeps that Kaineng had taken. We came in. I ran supply. Other people ran supply. They killed our catapult with a trebuchet, we built our own trebuchet, we choked off their supply line, broke the wall and took the keep.
Aside from one guy who had an annoying habit of saying "bluebriar" without telling numbers or direction, which we eventually cured him of, it was great. The players were unskilled and we got killed a lot, but we eventually took back what was ours. And, most importantly, it felt like a team, not an uncoordinated mess.
NSP is going to absolutely die when we move up the rankings if the muppet fuckers who fancy themselves commanders think we can just zerg our way to victory. And it worries me that the people who could afford the 100 gold don't understand even the most rudimentary elements of tactics or communication. My understanding is that there are some guilds who use voice chat mostly -- which would be a godsend -- but not everyone does that.
That said, I checked the map before I left, and it looked like the other players did, indeed, zerg their way to victory. I think it's going to take a few losses before we learn.
And if anyone knows a good, highly voice coordinated team on NSP which does WvW, ping me. I'm in the PST timezone and mostly play weeknights. | 50 | [
{
"body": "Surprise, giving commander status to people with gold and not necessarily experience isn't the best plan.",
"score": 57
},
{
"body": "You aren't alone. When no commander is on, during our matches, we do pretty well, sometimes better with the commander. But it all depends on whos name is under that Icon. \n\nWe have several commanders on Sanctum of Rall, I think I've seen close to 8 different commanders, and maybe 3 of them are any decent at leading. When the other crappy ones are online, it quickly degenerates to zerging everything and never holding captured points.\n\n I believe we had it once where several guilds worked together, and each would claim an objective based on their size. Small guilds would take and hold a camp, larger ones focused on towers, and the zerg would go for big targets. If you managed to capture said objective, you stayed there to defend. Sadly, this never happened again.",
"score": 7
}
] |
Mario Badescu on Hautelook! | I noticed there have been a few posts about the samples everyone has ordered and just wanted to give a heads up that they were on sale on Hautelook if you liked them! I have yet to receive my samples so am curious as to how they were?
[Referral Link](http://www.hautelook.com/short/3Gupr)
[Non Referall :\(](http://www.hautelook.com) | 6 | [
{
"body": "Mine were wonderful...I ended up ordering a lot of full sizes. Very creamy and made my face feel super smooth. I really recommend.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I have been really happy with the result of the buffering lotion I bought at Ulta a few weeks back. Just a FYI.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I wish the shipping cost for Hautelook wasn't so high! $8 s/h is pretty steep for one small product. :/",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Got my samples two days ago, and I actually really love it all. I've ordered some powder, and I definitely see more purchases in my future..",
"score": 3
}
] |
Please. Someone read this and help me. I'm so scared. | nosleep, I've been a long time reader. Immersing myself in stories scarier than my own experiences. And I don't know how else to start this other than the cliche "I need help" but I'm at a loss as to what to do. I hope someone, anyone, reads this. I'm terrified of what's going to happen if I keep going and nothing changes to make this stop. And I know this is extremely hard for anyone to believe to be actually true, but I swear on any religious item, any family member, anything in this god forsaken world that everything I'm telling you is true. And I need help.
When I was 17, I was in a very bad car accident. I'm not sure this is where it all started but it has to be. It didn't start right after this but this is the only thing I can think of that might have...triggered it? It has to be. It has to be.
My friend was with me. Her name was Nicole. We'd been friends since 6th grade. I remember the first day we'd met. She had thick sandy blonde hair that she always kept up. Blue eyes. Tan. Tall. I envied her so much. I was short and pale. Dark brown hair that had a mind of its own. Glasses. I was sitting alone at the lunch table for the umpteenth time. I never had many friends. I was quiet and shy. Never stepped a foot out of line. The child my parents always dreamed of. She walked up to me and just sat down. Right in front of me. I was sure she was there to bully me or poke fun at me like all the other blonde haired "populars" did. I sat there like a mouse in front of a hungry cat. But she didn't say anything. She sat her lunch tray down and started eating. She looked up at me after a minute and just smiled. I wasn't sure about this whole situation but I smiled sheepishly back. She introduced herself, said she always saw me sitting alone and figured she'd just come and talk.
God, I miss her. I miss having someone to talk to who believed me.
I'm sorry. Sometimes my mind wanders off and I guess it's just me trying to focus on anything other than this. Anything but this. I guess, I try to remember good memories in my life and make them a temporary happy place? I don't know. I don't know anymore.
Screaming. I remember screaming. I remember looking at the map when I felt the car start to swerve. We were headed to Colorado. Our friend had moved there the summer before and we figured we'd surprise her for Spring Break. The plan was for Nikki to tell her mom that she was sleeping at my house and for me to tell my mom I was sleeping at hers. It had worked. Our parents trusted us enough that no phone calls were ever needed. We'd tried this one other time. That's how we knew it would work. We went to the beach. Drove all night to get there. We tried to get a hotel but, of course, we weren't old enough. So we drove onto some deserted area of the beach and parked facing the water. Fell asleep in our seats with the moon and stars above us and woke to the most beautiful sunrise coming up over the water. It made the ocean look like golden rolling seas. So peaceful. So quiet.
I did it again. I'm sorry...it's like my mind starts to wander and my fingers just type.
Maps. I was looking at a map. We had just crossed into Colorado. I'm not sure the name of the town we were about to drive through but it was small. Nikki was just happy to be there after 13 hours of non-stop driving. I remember seeing the speed limit sign as I glanced out my window. It was 75. I remember thinking that was a bit higher than our normal speed limits back home. I looked at her speedometer. She was driving and going faster than the speed limit. But it was a straight empty road. I'd gone faster than that on the highways back home when I was dared to. I remember telling her we were a few hours away. She yelled, "Wooooo!" and sped up even faster. And then she swerved.
Have you ever played that game in the car? You're with your friends. You're not going that fast. So you tilt the steering wheel to the right, the left, right, left, faster, faster. It makes the whole car shift side to side and everyone laughs and tells you to stop.
I didn't have time to tell her to stop. One second we're happy, she's driving, I'm looking at that damn map. The next second, she's playing that game with the wheel. Going over 90. Stupid. Stupid. STUPID. The second after that, I feel the car swerve but this time, it's too much. I can feel the tires start sliding. I can see her out of the corner of my eye. She's over correcting the wheel. She's not smiling anymore. I can feel my stomach lurch. And I know something awful is coming. The car is sliding. I hear screaming. I can't tell if it's me or her. The car is moving towards a deep grassy ditch. I'm still holding the map.
The doctors say I can't remember anything because I hit my head. I hadn't been wearing my seatbelt. They say my face smashed into the dashboard which either caused me to black out or lose those brief few seconds. I just remember seeing the grass coming very close, very fast, to the windshield. That's it. The only memory. Grass.
Until I wake up. Nikki said I was thrown around the car as it flipped over a distance of two football fields. I guess, according to the cops, from where the tire marks on the road started to where we stopped rolling, that’s how far we went. She said on the last flip, I rolled out the back window and fell into the grass, the car landed. When she crawled out her window, my head was by her back tire and had the car rolled a quarter of a turn more, I wouldn't be here typing this. She said she tried to wake me up, kept shaking me, calling my name until a car drove by 10 minutes later and stopped. She ran over and told the woman to call 911. 30 minutes later we were picked up. I was in and out of consciousness by that point. I kept feeling them cut my clothes off, poke me with needles, put a mask on me. Cat scans, x-rays, MRI's at the hospital. Strapped down to a board with a head/neck brace on.
The thing is, when Nikki ran to the woman who pulled over at the accident, she said I was out cold. But I remember waking up. I remember opening my eyes and feeling something wet and sticky all over my nose, mouth and chin. I could feel the blood from my busted nose already start drying. That's how I know for sure I was awake, even if for a second. And I saw someone. It was a man. He was in a suit or something dark. Everything was a bit out of focus from the trauma but when I looked at his face, I couldn't see it. I knew he had features and I could see the shadow of them but it's like my eyes couldn't focus and it was just a big pale blur.
Then again in the ambulance. I saw someone. Between the chaos of hearing the communication from one ambulance to the other, the needles in my arms, feeling the sudden chill of being stripped down to my underwear and still not being able to wake up entirely, I saw a woman. Sitting near the back of the ambulance. But something was off about the brief glimpse I got of her. Again, this persons face was blurred as well but her clothes looked...old. Rotten. Dirty.
I kept seeing different people the entire time at the hospital up until my family got there. Once in the corner of the room while they were sitting me up for an x-ray. Again in the doorway while they were poking and prodding while I was on the stretcher. Once more at the foot of the hospital bed when I woke up hooked to an IV. All for only a split second before I drifted off again. All different people, looking dirty and old. All with pale blurred faces.
Look, I know this sounds ridiculous. And a few years ago, I would have chalked all that up to just having my face smashed and being tossed around a rolling car like a fucking rag doll. I was disoriented to say the least. It was my head messing with me. I couldn't think right. I mean, nothing happened after that! I finally woke up in the hospital and my mom, dad and older sister had flown in and were all asleep in my room. I didn't see anything after that!
For a whole year afterwards, the only problem I had was that I had a broken collarbone that had to be set and fix itself with a backpack-like brace and I had to have surgery on my nose to fix it. I went to therapy for my arm after about 2 or 3 months. Everything was going back to normal. I mean, as normal as they could be. Nikki and I didn't talk much. She blamed me for the accident. My parents got more controlling and protective.
Then one night, the teeth grinding started. I woke up one morning and my jaw was unbelievably sore. I didn't know why at first. I would wake up like this every once in a while. Then once a week. Then every night. It felt like I clenched my jaw all night as tight as I could and when I woke up I would have to slowly open my mouth and relax the muscles. Spoke to my dentist about this a few months later, he fixed me with a mouthguard which made sleeping impossible. The mouthguard helped with the clenching but I felt like I was being suffocated. So I just dealt with the clenching instead.
A few months after that, I was still having trouble with my jaw but now I would wake up and felt like I hadn't been breathing. I would literally gasp for breath and my neck would be sore. Like I had hands wrapped around my neck for hours.
Then I started waking up sometimes in the middle of the night because I felt like a freaking semi crashed into my chest. Ok. Fine. Maybe that was the feeling of what actually happened at one point while I was flipping in a car.
All of this I could chalk up to aftermath of the car accident and maybe some kind of post trauma I was going through.
But now? I hear things.
I wake up sometimes because I could have sworn I heard someone scream. A man. A man screams this long torturous angry sound at me. Now I even see this blurred face before I open my eyes. I can't ever make out the features or who it is but I can see the shadows of eyes that are shut tight and a huge gaping maw of a mouth. Just screaming at me. It gets closer and closer every time I see him. But it always stays out of focus.
About a month ago, I started hearing more things. It's always when I'm asleep. I'll hear someone whisper right by my ear. I couldn’t make out what they were saying but I could almost feel my hair tickling my face from their breath. And then I wake up gasping and...there's nothing.
I should mention that I live in a second floor apartment (that only has two floors) with a dog who sleeps in bed with me. She's kind of my alarm system. If someone knocks on my door, she barks. If someone is outside talking, she barks. One night, I woke up because I swore I heard this huge BANG against my bedroom wall and felt the apartment shake. But when I looked at my dog, she was sound asleep. So for a while I thought it was just nightmares. Just really awful vivid nightmares.
A few weeks ago, I stopped believing that. I was holding my dog in my lap in bed and she sat up, looked towards my bedroom door and started growling. Three different times, she's just looked up and growled at my door. I've seen her stare up at a corner in my room. Just stare at it with hear ears perked up. I've been laying in bed trying to sleep and I hear footsteps on my roof. Like I said before, I live on the top floor of a two story apartment. There's some kind of door, I guess, on the ceiling right in front of my bedroom door which must mean I have an attic or something. But again, my dog doesn't even notice the footsteps. I know, I know. It sounds like something out of a cheesy horror movie, but I swear to God, it's true...
I'm waking up every night now with either the agonized screaming from a blurred face getting closer and closer or something whispering in my ear or the banging on the walls. Every night, I still clench my jaw and wake up gasping for air. Every night, my neck and throat hurt more and more. And Im getting scared that one of these nights, I might not wake up at all. I'm so scared. I don’t even sleep at all some night because I'm terrified of what will happen if I do. But everyday I'm getting more and more exhausted. There's times during the day while I'm at work that I'm fighting sleep. I’m struggling to keep my eyes open. It's like my body is trying to force me to sleep.
I called Nikki yesterday. We stopped talking after a year or so after the accident. But I wanted to know if she was experiencing any of the same things. She said she isn't and that maybe I need to see someone for some help. She thinks I'm crazy. I tried talking to my parents and they said it's just nightmares and I needed to grow up. But I know now it's not just nightmares. There's something else. Something...happened...after that accident. Something that I can't explain. And I need help from people who might have something to say other than I'm crazy. Help from people who will believe me when I say that I’m truly terrified. Please. Help me.
Because the whispers are getting louder. I can hear what they're saying now.
They're saying, "We're here."
EDIT 9:31 PM: I wanted to thank everyone for all your suggestions and messages. I feel a bit of hope knowing there are people here who will help me through this before just dismissing this as rantings from a lunatic. I know a lot of you have suggestions as to what I should do but I think for tonight, I'm going to stay at my mothers house and see if that helps. Maybe I'm lucky and I just happen to be having bad luck with the places I move...though I doubt it. I'll keep everyone updated tonight.
EDIT 8:28 AM: I'm beyond terrified now. I didn't think I could get anymore scared. I did what a lot of you said and stayed somewhere else last night. I went to my moms and now I wish I hadn't. I know a lot of you wanted me to keep you updated so [I made a new post in case some of you don't check back here.](http://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/10ao43/update_please_someone_read_this_and_help_me_im_so/). I think I need help now more than ever... | 312 | [
{
"body": "Maybe the people you're seeing are other people who died in crashes along that same road? It seems like they might be angry at you for surviving when they didn't, and now they're trying to fix that.",
"score": 56
},
{
"body": "Just wow. I am not sure how to tell you to deal with this, or what I could advise you. Do you have religious beliefs of any sort? Maybe prayer or a self-protective sort of meditation surrounding yourself with white light would help? \n\nHonestly, talking to them and telling them what you will and will not accept helps me the most. I have forbidden anything other than living humans and my cat into my bedroom. If you want me talk to me in the living room. It works, mostly. \n\nI have had a lot of experience with the \"paranormal\" since I was small. I also had a near-death type of experience. I had never even considered that as as a potential cause of my \"interactions.\" I have dealt with mine so long it doesn't *usually* freak me out so bad. \n\nI generally accept that \"they are here.\" All around us. From my experience I believe that there are a great deal of things around us the majority of people cannot see. For some reason some of us are more sensitive. I believe that since we can see them they are drawn to us. \n\nI think sensitivity runs in families, and that maybe like you and I, it can be caused by being brought so close to that dimension via our nearly crossing over to that body-less state. \n\nI've dealt with this sort of interaction for a long time. I don't fear their presence. Weirdly enough, I have come to think of this sort of interaction as (somewhat) normal and is nothing to be truly afraid of. \n\nSorry for rambling, but you really made me think about how and why I'm so sensitive to these same incidents you are talking about. ",
"score": 14
},
{
"body": "Hmmm.\n\nWell, your neurologist might have said, \"Everything looks fine,\" but that was years ago. It might be a good idea to have another talk with them, or at least your GP.\n\nAs for your breathing, that's probably a little more down-to-earth. You probably have [sleep apnea](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_apnea). It's *very* common, and seeing as you broke your collar bone, you could have residual damage that has altered the way your body sleeps. This is especially true if you've gained any sort of weight.\n\nSee your doctor and explain the symptoms you're having. Mention the nightmares to keep them aware of your suffering, but in this case, I wouldn't ascribe too much of the metaphysical to the problem. Not yet, anyway.\n\nYour doctor will refer you to an Ear-Nose-Throat specialist who will do an exam and work-up, then refer you to a sleep clinic. That's actually a lot of fun, and the beds are oooohhhh so soft! They paste electrodes to your scalp, chest, wrists and ankles, but they use a harness that's very comfortable. You won't even notice it.\n\nThey might wake you up half-way through the study to hook you up to a [CPAP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_positive_airway_pressure) machine. It might take a little getting used to, but I tumbled off into Dreamland a few minutes after putting it on, and I haven't looked back one single night since I got it.\n\nIf you have physical damage from the accident, then they might suggest corrective surgery? But they don't like to do that unless success is 99% assured. They like non-invasive CPAP much more.\n\nIf after the study, no apnea problems are found, then it's time to speak to your GP again about the nightmares. Yes, you *can* suffer from nightmares so severe that you stop breathing.\n\nAlso, be aware that based on what you've told us so far, you *are* at the age where various forms of [schizophrenia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophrenia) start to manifest. That you've been through a severely traumatic event may have altered the time in which it manifests, or even it's severity.\n\nDon't be put off by this. Having schizophrenia does **NOT** mean you're going to be in a straight-jacket and chewing on the furniture, for Heaven's sake. It just means that your neurons got shaken, not stirred, and what managed to settle out of the jumble is just a little more interesting than the rest. \n\nIt's important to consider this as a possibility, because it means **IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT!!** \n\nIf you're hearing voices, and you suspect you might have schizophrenia, then you have the ability to *disregard what they're saying*, and get help.\n\nNow then. If after all of this, things don't improve and they're still getting spooky?\n\nYeah. Might wanna look into the metaphysical. Or you can do both, which is actually a good idea.",
"score": 14
},
{
"body": "I believe you completely my dad was in a bad construction accident when he was younger and he was \"unconscious\" during the whole thing or so the doctors say. He remembers voices that weren't paramedics. And now every once in awhile he wakes up feeling like someone is sitting on his chest and wrapping their hands around his neck. He's a large guy now but before he's woke up with bruising and swelling and gasping for air..no explanation. I hope you find help before these voices and things actually really start harming you.",
"score": 12
},
{
"body": "Nikki blamed you for the accident? I was like \"GURL PLZ\". She could have injured you by shaking you after being thrown from a car. You should go see a doctor about this before calling the pope or whoever. Since you were in a major car accident, your brain could've suffered some injuries that might have been missed. Update us on anything, okay?",
"score": 10
},
{
"body": "That Nikki is kind of a brat, sorry. \nShe chose to swing the steering wheel into the accident and she should be the one to blame.\nHighspeeds are nothing to fuck with...\nPeople don't want to realize...",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "A nice story, but let's break things down a bit. You have a car crash at 90mph where you smash your face into the dashboard so hard that you break your nose. Then you start seeing and hearing things, along with other medical symptoms like a sore throat and waking up gasping for air. Have you seen a doctor about any of this? You might have some kind of obstruction or brain damage or both. Why jump to the supernatural? Just because the things you're seeing are terrifying to you doesn't mean that they couldn't be simple hallucinations.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Firstly, I'd recommend you immediately surround your bed with a circle of coarse salt and fumigate your home with sage (walk counterclockwise, start east if possible). (Should the sage not work and your sleep still be disturbed, do the same with Dragon's Blood incense. Open your windows, the smoke is toxic).\n\nAfter that, get a professional to help. A Magus would be best (all-rounders ftw), a good Wiccan, Hoodoo practitioner or shaman would work too.\n\nFirst you should look through the phone book (probably no hit, but you never know), then do a Google search for your area, after that just look for a big occult shop in your area and loiter around there and ask some people for help, you might get lucky.\n\n\nA few questions: Since these incidents began, have you felt yourself getting weaker? Mental changes?\n",
"score": 3
}
] |
Importance of alcohol in far-faring cultures. | I need some help busting a myth. Is true that all sea-faring cultures (except some in tropical areas) kept alcohol in various forms on their vessels? Are there any cultures that covered long distances and didn't have any dependency on alcohol? I have gotten into an argument with someone that, almost all sea-faring cultures north of the tropic of cancer, were dependent on alcohol for distant journeys, in case of a dry spell, as unlike water alcohol didn't 'spoil'. | 3 | [
{
"body": "I can't speak for ALL sea-faring cultures. There are a whole lot of them. However in all European seafaring cultures alcohol were an important part of voyages. They represent a great deal of caloric intake - 4000 calories a day sometimes (Simon Schama, *The Embarrassment of Riches*) and represented a way to keep potable water around as well as keeping up crew morale (Alan Gurney, *Below the Convergence*). I think a lot of this relates to the lack of drinkable water in big cities where ships were outfitted as well. Drinking beer or distilled spirits was simply more safe, and also of course, sailors love to drink.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": ">I need some help busting a myth.\n\nThis is not a myth. Alcohol was vital in the preservation of potable water. Admittedly, the beer/wine/liquor they drank was not as potent or concentrated as these beverages are today- it was mainly used to mix with water for the antimicrobial effect.",
"score": 5
}
] |
Hard part of parenting an only child: Answering the "just one?" question | 22% of kids in America are only children, and not all of them are spoiled. Sassy retorts to people saying "you have JUST one child?" and a mom's request that you not ask about uterus within 5 minutes of introducing yourself. | 5 | [
{
"body": "I have a delightful means of making them mildly uncomfortable by telling them I gave the first one up for adoption. ",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "I respond with - I have the best of both worlds: I have my daughter, who I love, but I still have some free time and money.\n\nI may steal the antiphobia answer though...",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I have one daughter, who I adore. I couldnt come up with a reason to have another. As someone stated... You get the best of both worlds with just one. But its changed. My Grandma, died yesterday. My mother was surrounded by her 5 sisters... I realized.. I dont want my daughter to go through life without a friend. I want her to have people she grew up with, remember with ,and no matter what..they are family.there for you forever. I want her to experience that. I have a twin and two older siblings. I loved every bit of childhood and now with them. So I changed my view. I hope this helps..",
"score": 3
}
] |
Does anyone use digital log books? | There are quite a few services out there. I could see how they would be useful as a back up.
Is there any that stand out against the rest? Any bad experiences with this method of logging? | 10 | [
{
"body": "I use LogTen Pro for the Mac and iPhone by Coradine Aviation. I've used Logbook Pro before, but that felt just like a fancy Excel spreadsheet. LogTen Pro has a nice interface and I can even pre-load my schedule if I choose. \n\nI log leg-by-leg and can just put in the Out/Off/On/In times from the FMS right into my phone after each leg and wirelessly sync with my Mac when I get to the hotel that night or when I get home. I highly recommend it.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Terrified this STI test just killed the relationship... Is there anyway to rebuild the trust? | EDIT: Throwaway because I don't want to risk spreading her business but I seriously need advice.
Edit 2: Getting tested on Monday, just scheduled it. Hopefully this will stop that suggestion from resurfacing anymore than needed. This much I know so I can get treated assuming I did pass it to her.
Edit 3 9/22/12 @ 5:45PM: She's taking a few days to try and sort things out in her head. I don't know what this will mean for me. I scheduled the test before realizing I'd want to invite her to come and she can't join me for work. It's up to her now I guess...
I'm a 26/m. She's a 22/f.
We've been together about 2 months, and it started off as a casual thing for her and she made that clear after the first time we hung out, which was when I asked her out on a date. We got into things fairly quickly after that and despite that we both were trying to just be casual it turned into more fairly quickly. A few weeks later we decide to me Exclusive but without a title and that's how we've stayed.
We hang out as often as we can, and have gotten to a point just recently where we were hanging out and it was at no point about sex just chilling and cuddling. We are very much into each other and extremely happy with each other. Despite the origin and the lack of a title we are happy and cute and whatever.
A few weeks ago she was experiencing serious pain and went to a Doctor that originally suspected PID. He gave her a full range of tests to diagnose the vaginal distress and EVERYTHING came back negative. Great. She was out of work though because of it and had to go for a follow up to be released to work, they ran tests again(This is techincally the third time for STIs, some how). It's been 3 weeks to a month since the first test and we've continued sleeping together.
She just tested positive for chlymidia. Which since she's only been with me in the time since than puts me squarely to blame. The only thing is... I haven't been with anyone in the two months since we got together. And she swears she hasn't either.
I want to stop right here and say that I truly haven't been with anyone other than her since we got together. I adore her and I don't want anyone else. Cheating isn't in my nature and she keeps me completely satisfied anyway.
So I just got off the phone with her. And of course she had to ask me if I've been with anyone else. I told her I haven't but she has legit scientific proof that says I likely did. She says she asked as many questions as she could think of to try and cove me and she wants to believe me but it's hard with the evidence right there. She stated she has pretty much made up her mind not to leave me at this time, which is great, but I know this has shaken her trust. This is exactly how she found out that her Ex(THE EX, everyone's got one) cheated on her and he was a habitual cheater.
I just don't know how I can prove to her I'm not lying and truly haven't been with anyone else. And I don't know enough about the tests to say if a False Negative is even possible twice. Or if it's possible I've had this for two months and it just didn't pass to her until recently. Of course on a level I want to question her and her habits but I am way more concerned with her trusting me. I don't think she's done anything and even if she had she could have easily found a way to say so without me being upset. But hearing her try to say that the reason she can keep herself around and not upset is because she has no right to be mad cause we aren't dating or whatever kills me.
I have no idea how to fix this and save/rebuild her trust. I'm tempted to try and write an email detailing as much as I can over that three week/month long time but my memory is shitty and I feel like I'll look like I'm trying to cover.
**tl:dr - No label on our 2 month relationship. She tested positive 3 weeks/1 Month after a former test. She's blaming me but I didn't cheat. How do I get her to trust me?**
| 42 | [
{
"body": "It's possible you had it but were asymptomatic for a while (or that she had it and was also asymptomatic until now), which goes for a surprising number of STI's. This is definitely something the both of you should talk to doctors about, since the internet gives terrible medical advice, but it's entirely possible neither of you cheated in this relationship. ",
"score": 112
},
{
"body": "First thing, go to a doctor and get YOURSELF checked. With that out of the way, just chill. Somehow I believe you and I'm sure she will as well. If you're truly the guy you say you are, the trust issue will fade. ",
"score": 14
},
{
"body": "Is it possible she cheated? Lot of times people will blame others out of guilt. She didn't want a committed relationship either so its not like she had some duty to you. To me, it looks like she messed around and is feeling guilty and acting out. ",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Were you tested before the relationship started? It's possible that you had chlamydia before you started sexing her and had no idea because you were asymptomatic.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Can you clarify your timeline for me? \n\n How long exactly (within a day or two) since have she agreed to be exclusive?\n How long ago exactly did she first start exhibiting symptoms?\n \nThe incubation rates on Chlamydia have quite a bit of variance, so the timeline is important. \n\nEdit: Also it is common for about 50-70% of women to remain asymptomatic for long periods of time. Not so much for dudes. \n\n Also make sure you are both tested for gonorrhea as those two STI's go hand in hand about 46% of the time. ",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "All she has proof of is that she picked up a disease. Get tested, if you are cleared, it is definitive proof that she didn't get it from you. She might be a liar.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "EXCLUSIVE IS A TITLE. \n\nYou have a label. She is your girlfriend. Treat her as such. Communicate openly and honestly. If she remains distrustful of you, c'est la vie - you've done everything to can within the confines of your relationship. ",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Okay, first: [Chlamydia - STD facts](http://www.cdc.gov/std/chlamydia/stdfact-chlamydia.htm)\n\nEspecially focus on this part right here: \n\n> Chlamydia is known as a \"silent\" disease because the majority of infected people have no symptoms. If symptoms do occur, they usually appear within 1 to 3 weeks after exposure.\n\nThis is why you should get tested before every new partner. \n\n*edit since I didn't actually answer your question about rebuilding trust:\n\nIf she can't accept that it's potentially something you were asymptomatic for, or that she was carrying previous to entering her relationship with you, there's not really anything you can do. Two months in, it could go either way. If she's not willing to believe that you haven't been with anyone else, even taking into consideration all the facts out there that show you are just as likely being honest as you are a cheating scumbag, then she's not worth staying with.\n\nHowever. You seem to be pretty sure she's worth staying with, so do some research of your own, get thee to a doctor (I know you said you're on that ball already), and get her to look into the facts with you. STIs are scary, and it throws people for a loop when they first show up - initial reaction is to say \"omg, you made me dirty, this is your fault!\" Once people have a chance to settle down and think things through though, it becomes less of a big deal. \n\nBasically, don't act shifty because if you didn't do anything shifty, there are no shifty consequences to be afraid of. Common sense will prevail as long as girlfriend is a reasonable type. \n",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Okay, lab tech here. I've never personally run a Chlamydia screening test but am familiar with some of the processing, and lab test jargon, so I did some googling to see if I could shed some light on how good Chlamydia screening tests are.\n\nFirstly, I'd like to note that in my research, chlamydia is notorious for being asymptomatic in men particularly for months or years. It can also be asymptomatic in women but up to 40% (in some studies) of women develop PID from untreated Chlamydia infections. What I'm saying is, she had a negative screen from a month ago, but what about you? It's entirely possible that you did not cheat, but got Chlamydia a long time ago and just haven't had symptoms. That would account for her negative test and your not cheating. Also, from a CDC Study of Chlamydia testing methods (which I'll link below) \"All tests, including culture for C. trachomatis, occasionally generate false-positive results. For these reasons, all positive tests are considered to be presumptive evidence of infection\". Did she have additional testing, or a second confirmatory test done? One more possibility to throw out there, that the first Chlamydia test she had done a month ago was a false-negative, and this most recent test caught it. But I digress, to the testing.\n\nThere are several ways to test for *Chlamydia trachomatis*, the doctor could have collected for any one of them depending on if he has a contract with a certain lab, cost, turnaround time, etc. Some tests require the organism still be viable (alive), which would mean the sample would need to be processed in a certain window of time. If the people collecting it didn't adhere to this time but submitted it anyway that could cause false-negative results. There are newer methods of testing that do not need the organism to be viable, but those older methods of testing, though not preferred, are still definitely used. Also note here any number of errors made my the collector (it's usually a endocervical swab done during a pelvic exam) could lead to false negative.\n\nThen there's test sensitivity. Of the numerous methods available, nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) are considered the most sensitive to date, and can be done on endocervical swab or urine (and is the test I'm most familiar with). These have shown to have a sensitivity of 86% and 77%, respectively. What that means is, when testing a known positive, 86%/77% of the time it will say positive. This sensitivity is not excellent, but is considered acceptable. Also note, the other methods of testing before NAAT have lower sensitivity rates (I'm not going to go into all the specifics here though). The good thing about NAAT testing is if a sample has Chlamydia, it basically amplifies it to a level that's high enough so that a test can pick it up, so someone can have very little bacteria (read- just have been infected) and it does a good job of catching things early. There is a risk of false-positive here though, also NAAT testing is considerably more expensive than other methods, so if it's not covered on insurance, a person may choose a cheaper, less-sensitive method.\n\nFinally there's the processing of the sample. Technician error is the number one cause of lab errors, usually lack of attention to detail. There's a number of things they try to put in to prevent this, automated systems, barcodes, results automatically crossing over from the analyzer to the computer, but things are still run by people, results are verified by people before finalizing, and people make mistakes. After everything, the sample being appropriately collected, in the appropriate tube/media, transported in a timely manner, and processed correctly through several steps by a competent technician, and be for nothing if they type \"negative\" instead of \"positive\" into the computer.\n\nWow, this is so long.. What I'm saying is, laboratory testing is not yet an exact science, the test is not perfect, and it's not performed by perfect people. Testing should be coupled with the clinical picture, and false-positives and false-negatives are a reality with EVERY test. I would say since her doctor suspected PID before, and that testing was negative, a good reason for redoing it a month later is to rule out a false-negative, which it quite possibly could have been. Since she's already showing symptoms of PID, that suggests (again, not a doctor, just going off research and what I've read) that she's had Chlamydia that's been untreated for a little while. I'm just saying, thinking that \"well her test a month ago was negative, even though symptoms are showing, so she MUST have been negative and someone cheated\" is really not accurate. Maybe if you show her/tell her about some of this, it will help ease her (and your) mind.\n\nhttp://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5115a1.htm\n\n**TLDR:** Lab testing is not perfect, false-negatives and positives happen, lab tests should be used WITH clinical picture, not just on their own.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "You can go to the Dr and get tested, but if you're in the US you can get treated REGARDLESS of your test status because you are a contact to the disease. Your girlfriends dr may even be able to get you the prescription for the meds. It's an antibiotic. It's either one dose, or 2 doses a day for a week depending on the actual medication. \n\nPeople can have chlamydia for months or years and never experience symptoms. Are you using condoms with this girl? Because until you get tested, you should be using them and this is the reason why.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Rant: The worry of bottle prep. | I love my husband and I know he tries hard and means the best for our kid, but tonight I was in paranoid tears. He went to go make a bottle and I noticed he didn't wash his hands. He had just smoked and was just eating with his fingers. I came upstairs and replaced the nipple with a clean one and started getting upset, then I noticed the cup that comes with the formula out on the table and had gotten wet. I told him the scoop cannot get wet. I am very paranoid about poisoning associated with formula feeding. He asked me, "why are you getting all pissy?" I told him I was not and how I didn't insult him or get angry. I am extremely anal about the bottles and food and left the room in tears. As I walked out he said to me, "what am I doing wrong?!" I had to just walk away. I sure I'm over-reacting and just being paranoid but I felt disrespected on this, and feel like he wasn't doing his part as a dad. thanks for letting me rant.
Edit: Throwaway | 6 | [
{
"body": "It depends on the age of the baby. When my son was a newborn, I was really paranoid about this stuff. Now that he's almost 5 months old, eh...not so much. Not always washing his hands? Unless he had just changed a diaper, I wouldn't worry about it. My kid tries to eat the cat at least once a day. After eating with his fingers? I eat OVER my baby all the time. I can't tell you how many times I've dropped food on him, and I can safely say that he does NOT have a peanut allergy. \n\nThe scoop getting wet? Fine. Tell him he has to wash it and dry it *completely* before it goes back in the can or else it will get moldy. If you say you're worried about the baby being poisoned, he'll tune you out completely and think you're just being crazy. Mold he understands. Not mixing the formula enough? Explain that if he leaves any clumps, no matter how tiny, they clog the nipple, which makes baby suck harder. She's either going to get frustrated and angry or suck so hard that she clears the clog and then chokes on all the formula coming through.\n\nMy husband thinks I just make up these things arbitrarily or I'm just being nitpicky until I explain exactly *why* things need to be done a certain way. Then he gets it and does what I ask. ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I think you're both at extreme ends of this situation, honestly. He is very caviler with sanitation and you seem to be very obsessed over risks. \n\nHandwashing is a good idea if you've recently handled something that could contaminate. My SO and I always wash our hands after using the bathroom. If we just changed a diaper or had been cleaning or playing with our cats, we wash our hands. If we were just chilling in front of our PC? Not so much. \n\nWe both always rinse out bottles before use, but things don't get sterilized all the time. Supplies are regularly cleaned with dish soap and hot water. We use filtered cool water, but we don't boil it or buy distilled nursery water to mix formula. We don't leave the formula scoop laying out, but sometimes the container gets left open (those middle of the night, half asleep feedings) and it's not the end of the world. So far the baby seems to be doing fine. \n\nHonestly, your husband just sounds lazy. Do you regularly clean up after him? Does he ever cook and clean for himself or for you as a couple? It seems like he was never properly housebroken (for lack of a better term) and the thought of basic sanitation doesn't seem to enter his mind. \n\nAt the same time, just wash the scoop, the baby will be fine. ",
"score": 3
}
] |
VLC and .Avi/mp4 movies. Using directx as your sound output increases quality? | I noticed when I used the default option that explosions and shit are really loud, but dialogue is really, really low in the mix. I switched over to directX and it sounds great on all levels.
Any reason for this? | 5 | [
{
"body": "You are talking about dynamic range, and it has nothing to do with sound quality. in some setups a high dynamic is desirable (home cinema) other setups require a low dynamic range (laptop speakers).\n\nThe effect you are describing might be caused (this is just a wild guess) by something like a brick-wall limiter in the DS graph right before the DAC to prevent clipping of loud signals. What's your volume setting in vlc?",
"score": 3
}
] |
[Official] 9/21/2012 FRIDAY FEEDBACK THREAD - Comment with a track from your soundcloud or bandcamp, give feedback to other musicians. | [Read Before Posting]
If you are looking for a subreddit specializing in only links to user-made music, try posting to /r/ThisIsOurMusic
A few simple guidelines for the feedback threads:
* If you post your music here, give three other comments with some honest, constructive criticism and remember each person has their own style. Help them cultivate that, not your own style.
* [Listen] posts are only allowed in the feedback threads, posted monday and friday. If you're late, look for the most recent post, as they are likely to die off each time a new thread is posted.
* Don't drop your link and gtfo on us. Post what kind of feedback you are hoping to receive (mixing advice? snares working? is this listenable? etc.) and reply to someone if they take the time to comment on your music. This is common sense.
* Posted your music recently? Let someone else post today. Avoid spamming.
One, two, a-you know what to do.
*[Hint]: At the top of the comments section is a "sorted by:" option you can change from "best" to "new" if you want to view the submissions in the order they were submitted in.* | 128 | [
{
"body": "Semi-related meta question: Does anybody know why people who use this thread don't upvote it? Visibility is probably my number one complaint (I rarely get complaints, I get more thanks for the thread) and it would help for people to see it if it goes up higher on the page.\n\nI don't want to tell people how to vote, I am just curious.",
"score": 12
},
{
"body": "http://soundcloud.com/cityfires/everyone-everywhere\n\nThis is an 8bit/electronic track with some orchestral elements. It's a newer style of 8bit music than I've ever written with before, and I think it's leaps and bounds better in audio quality and general structure than my older stuff.\n\nSo if anyone wants to give it a listen and let me know if you enjoy it, what could be improved, what you feel didn't work, weak elements of the track, etc., I would very much appreciate your input. I'll be sure to go through the other tracks in this thread when I get home from work!",
"score": 12
},
{
"body": "[dreampop song i'm workin on](http://soundcloud.com/jonatron/demosceneyuppie). The beat kinda blows, but it's temporary. Trying to get the mix right, especially on the low end.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "First attempt at recording/mixing a whole band, with strings and stuff.\n\nwww.soundcloud.com/youngchinua/tracks",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "This is my stuff... [Raise Hell Over The Summer] (http://raisehelloverthesummer.bandcamp.com/album/twin-canals). It's psychedelic indie rock stuff I guess. I recorded/wrote everything. ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "This is my bands newest recording, its still missing a couple vocal tracks, but I'm looking for advice on mixing. http://soundcloud.com/lotusslide/moonchild/s-oqgkg",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Hi reddit! [Here](http://soundcloud.com/dptkby/explorer) is a track I'd like some feedback on. I don't know in what genre to place it, except it's electronic and it starts kind of ambienty, then goes somewhere else... \n\nThis is the first track I've (more or less) finished except for a few guitar-based things and I know it's far from perfect but I'm a bit stuck from working on it for so long. I'm grateful for any constructive criticism on the composition, production, mixing... you name it! How do I make this better?",
"score": 3
}
] |
Fellow SRSMen, how do you deal with breakups? | This was inspired by [this thread](/http://www.reddit.com/r/ShitRedditSays/comments/108l53/effort_a_female_commits_the_heinous_crime_of/) in SRS. Maybe I've had different relationship/breakup experiences than most of SRS, but there were some posts that I didn't think deserved to be called out in there. With that in mind, I'm curious - what are everyone else's philosophies for dealing with breakups?
Assuming it didn't end really badly, I like to stay friends with my exes, because obviously there was something there once even if the relationship didn't work out. However, I really do need some time to completely cut off contact first (a mindset that seemed like it was getting bashed in SRS). Maybe some people can switch from "romantic" to "platonic" modes with no trouble, but I sure as hell can't. In my experience, there's been the least amount of drama and hurt feelings when I say "look, I'd like to be friends eventually, but we need some time 100% away from each other to adjust".
Of course, there are also relationships I've ended where I have zero desire to ever see that person again, in which case "fuck her, let's get a sandwich" (pulled from the SRS thread) seems like an appropriate thing for a friend to say - not in a "all women suck" kind of way, but a "forget about her, she sucked, let's go hang out" kind of way. | 19 | [
{
"body": "As someone not terribly experienced in relationships or, by definition, breakups, I think the short answer is \"badly\".\n\nNot \"hatred and bitterness\" badly, but \"negative thought, failure to take proper emotional care of myself, and talking to them too much\" badly.\n\nI rely a lot more on the support of my friends than I normally do. I broke up with my most recent partner, perfectly amicably if rather painfully, a month or so ago, and as a result of that I now have an incredibly close relationship with one of my friends. It's funny how things work out.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "I was very attached to my ex when the relationship ended. Long story short, I would not talk to her for a couple of months, then we'd talk for a few days on MSN or whatever, then it'd be another few months. Eventually I just removed her because I really don't want those old feelings to come back and I think we're both better off just going our own ways for good. I don't think I hate her, but that time of my life is tied up with mental illness as well and I need to move on from that and not think about that time anymore.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "I haven't had many relationships, but I definitely tend to stay friends. It annoys me a little, because I'm a very even person, and I have this idea of more passion that, in my mind at least, would involve more stormy relationships. I imagine that something more intense that ends in a bang is overall better than a less dramatic relationship that ends more reasonably, but maybe that's just a case of the grass being greener on the other side.\n\nSRS is funny sometimes. It's of course perfectly understandable if you want a break before resumign a relationship as friends. Who are they to say it isn't for you? Having negative or ambivalent feelings towards one woman you broke up with isn't anything like having them towards all women.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Generally, what I try to do after a breakup are things like acknowledge that a painful thing has happened to me and that it's okay for me to feel bad about it, focus on self care sort of stuff (going to the movies, going to the gym, reconnecting with old friends), think about what went wrong with the previous relationship & try to figure out strategies to avoid falling into the same traps, try to assess where I'm at and figure out when I can go out and start dating again without it hurting me or other people. \n\nWhat happened in the OP was some guy posting about his sadness and vulnerability in a difficult situation, and then the brohorde showing up to make sure he knew that the *correct* way to respond to having your feelings hurt by a feeemale is with rage and hate. I feel like this is shitty for women but that it's shitty for the OP too, because he's essentially being told that it's not okay for him to just be sad about losing a relationship that mattered to him.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Will campaing bracer/belts have moddable slots? | was just asking myself if the campaign bracer/belt I already have, will transform to moddable versions with proper armorings etc. | 4 | [
{
"body": "No. As far as I can tell, belt/bracers are not involved in the offhand conversion for 1.4 (I have several belts/bracers that were not converted). All that I've noticed so far is that Dread Guard belt/bracers come pre-modded (and have unbound armorings I think!). I have not yet seen a Hazmat belt/bracer drop, so I can't say if those are going to be pre-modded.",
"score": 4
}
] |
ELI5: Why didn't the Romans have an industrial revolution? | I've wondered this on and off for years, and recently did some more searching but mostly came up with "alternate history" fanfic stuff. I know the Romans had advanced metallurgy, had steam power, and lived in a world where calculating engines had existed for centuries. They produced enough carbon emissions that there is a record of short-term climate change in sediment cores and tree rings that only ended when the Empire did. Can anyone pinpoint for me what prevented them from making the leap? When was their closest point to actually getting there? | 403 | [
{
"body": "Your assumptions are a little off. The Romans *didn't* have steam power; they had [geegaws](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeolipile) that, in retrospect, work by the same principle (if you squint) as steam engines. Even if someone had tried to hook an aeolipile up to machinery, it wouldn't have worked.\n\nUseful steam engines have to build up high pressures, and that takes tight fittings (which usually means threaded bolts, but there are some other ways of doing it) and gaskets, neither of which the Romans had much experience with.\n\nAs for the metallurgy, Roman metalworkers were good, but not Bessemer good. They had no real need to be- it wasn't until European countries started competing to see who could make the best cannon (by that, of course, I mean shooting one another with cannons) that metallurgy really took off there, and it was three hundred years before it brought results that, in turn, enabled mass manufacturing.",
"score": 298
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"body": "I'll be basing this on ideas better developed in Acemoglu and Robinson's \"[Why Nations Fail](http://whynationsfail.com/)\"\n\nThe Romans didn't necessarily develop an intricate trading system with its neighbors. From there, [Mercantilism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantilism) was not able to develop in force, and subsequently, [Capitalism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism) did not develop. This isn't to say that mercantilism is a pre-requisite for capitalism any more than say, a solid foundation in math/logic is a prerequisite for programming. It does allow that progression more easily however. Other factors that prevented the advent of capitalism is the lack of Advanced markets, and the lack of an incentive system. \n\nAs another reply noted, the Romans made use of slave labor. Slavery inhibits progress in many ways, as individuals aren't given enough incentive to improve. Slaves aren't given enough incentives for technological or economic advancement, and the upper class has every incentive to maintain the status quo. This isn't to say that being in the uppoer class excludes the possibility of advancement. That said, technological progress often results in the '[creative destruction](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_destruction)' of the previous technology/economic system. [how many of you ride a horse to work while you listen to your records?]. In this manner, the Cartmaker and horse breeder is in danger of losing his business to the steam engine. If a farm can suddenly produce twice as much food due to fertilizer developments, suddenly Rome has no need for half its farmers; etc.\n\nA lack of incentive to progress inhibits any sort of industrialization. Capitalism and the industrial revolution is characterized by risk-taking and innovative entrepreneurs. In a rigidly-classed society there is little incentive to improve your social situation, or for the elites, partake in anything save to stave off boredom. Why risk your industry, your livelihood so that society improves?\n\nIn a society with limited markets, there is no great wealth to be had. In a society without printing presses, its very difficult to effect an empire-wide patent or innovation-award system. Even if you come up with a good idea, you won't be rewarded for it very much.\n\nThe industrial revolution was characterized by many small technological advancements, by the use of innovation to dominate and create markets, and above all, the constant development of capital, especially human capital by means of incentives.\n\nSlave labor and the lack of trade inhibits this capital development, especially considering that humans are reduced to a static capital valued only for the labor that is forced out of them. \n\nI'd say, that for Rome to have an industrial revolution, it would need a sort of enlightenment where human rights are developed in favor of understanding incentives AND an economic golden age where wealth can be amassed by any member of a competing group. [Historically this was accomplished through trade or by creating a new market.]\n\nCertain prerequisite technologies would help this a LOT, like the printing press, better ships, actual amounts of wealth to work towards, etc.\n\n**TL;DR : Rome + Trade/Big Markets = Mercantilism. Mercantilism + Incentivization = Capitalism. Capitalism + Incredible risk/reward = Industrialization. Rome didn't have any of this.**\n\nEDIT: Further more, Rome didn't have Paper(Information), Potatoes(Food), Coal(Energy), Steel(Structural), Caravel(transportation), etc.\nEach of these developments bettered on the order of magnitude the industry or process they're associated with.\n\nHumans had a HUGE running start to jump into the industrial revolution. The fact that China, for example, isn't industrializing faster is only because it is so huge, and because it has many inhibiting institutions.",
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"body": "**Just because they had steam engines, does NOT mean they should have had an industrial revolution**\n\nAn industrial revolution happened when:\n\n- People moved to cities to get work.\n\n- Farms where not independently owned, but owned by a larger group.\n\n- Steam engines were USED in FACTORIES.\n\n- Cities got more crowded and houses were closer built together\n\n- Many more diseases and viruses went around in the city because of how closely packed all the people were.\n\n- Children worked just like adults.\n\nThere are many few more reasons why it was called the **Industrial Revolution** but it wasn't called that because they just got steam engines.\n\nThe steam engines LEAD to the revolution but it wasn't necessarily the only cause, the Romans might have had them, but they didn't use them to replace humans.",
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"body": "There's not so much a \"why didn't they.\" It's not like the Industrial Revolution was inevitable and something held it off for eight thousand years. Mechanization in general — which was a major, but not the sole, contributing factor to the Industrial Revolution — isn't obvious. It took clever people to come up with the idea and more clever people to make it work in real life.\n\nSo it's not that the Romans should've but something stopped them. It's really just that they *didn't.* Nobody did, until somebody did.\n\nIt might sound trivial or obvious, but it's rather an important point when you think about history. People have a natural tendency to think of the present as having been inevitable. Everything led up to this moment, et cetera. That's really not true in most cases.",
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"body": "I don't know the full answer to your question, but steam power was a big factor in the industrial revolution. While the Romans technically had a steam engine it was mostly a novelty and not practical for doing useful work. \nSteam engines capable of driving machinery didn't really come around until the 1600-1700s.",
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"body": "There are many reasons why they didn't have an industrial revolution, even though they did have some of the necessary technology. A short list of reasons goes like this:\n\n1. They had slaves. Slaves could do all the hard work, and there was no real incentive to innovate. Romans were not very innovative, although they did come up with a lot of culture and some inventions.\n\n2. Population was smaller, and most people still lived outside of cities, and agriculture tied up a lot of the workforce.\n\n3. They did not have all the necessary resources nor the technology. Coal is one of the main reasons why Britain was where the industrial revolution started. They didn't have advanced steam engines, machines or systems built. Innovation was not specially rewarded, and information spread slowly. Even if someone had the a great idea about industrialization, you can't make it happen without powerful people, and if they don't hear about it, nothing happens.\n\n4. There were not very many large scale factories. Rather, most products were made by craftsmen, who basically did all the parts of the work. I don't think they would have appreciated mass production, as their profession would have been in danger. Also, hand-made products have always been more respected. \n\n5. This is tied to #1, but the culture is a major factor. For example, free trade, and capitalism in the form we know it today didn't exist yet.\n\nFinally, as someone pointed out, it just happens that no one came up with the idea. No one came up with the idea of creating advanced machines to mass produce products. No one came up with the idea of splitting the work stages to many different people. No one came up with the idea of creating large scale manufactories for a specific product.\n\nThe question is actually quite interesting. The industrial revolution started in England, but there is no real reason why it couldn't have started in China.\n",
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"body": "Well a economists take on it is that for there to be a true industrial revolution, the working people have to be emphasized. If you follow the course of history, the economy grows when there is a surplus. During the Roman times, this surplus was used for making war, most of the time. Now what changes what the surplus goes to usually accompanies some sort of feudalism. In Feudalism people compete against each other. This means that leaders want everyone to be better, and they want to be better because it enhances their social status. They use this surplus to make better things. Until the 1800s Hobbes' Leviathan (which said you need a strong ruler) was the general consensus then came Adam Smith who said that powerful leaders are not needed, but you can have a functioning society by having people trade goods. Now back to that surplus if you can make people better by upgrading their tools the society is better.\n\nTL;DR The ideas were not in place for a society to be an industrialized nation.",
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"body": "The lack of really solid property rights would have been a huge drag on the concept of IP (intellectual property) rights. Roman society was dominated by a system of patronage. Each person typically had a patron right on up to the top. So if some guy came up with something cool like the screw or a better steel it would be near impossible to keep his invention his and profitable to him unless his patron had some serious pull. \n\nThe most likely scenario if you came up with a world beating invention and didn't share would be that other more powerful people would force you (through your patron) to just hand over the goods.\n\nSo if you were a modern Mechanical/Chemical/Engineer/Geologist and time traveled back into Rome; took over a blacksmith shop; and started making revolvers then you would be facing an entire society structured to take away what you had and give it to the wealthy. \n\nThey would not see this as unfair in that they were righting a wrong and just restoring things to their proper order. \n\nOne of the main reasons they killed Julius was that he was upsetting the natural order of things. But in his case he had opened a pandora's box and showed people that these greedy bloodsuckers who were running Rome stood on pretty shaky ground.\n",
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"body": "The industrial revolution in Britain was a mix of lots of factors coming together. \n\nThe renaissance had arrived and people were anxious to be seen to appreciate learning for its own sake. The Royal Society brought nobles together to discuss new discoveries. The UK had a clergy system whereby spare younger sons of good birth would get a theological education, then left alone in their parishes to study all they liked. They studied 'God's creation' and developed the natural sciences. The scaffolding of modern [scientific method](https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method) was put in place. Schools were more widespread and more secular than ever before. \n\n[Enclosure acts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclosure_Acts) forced subsistence farmers off common land, leading to extra people in the cities, eager for work.\n\nThe UK had had the beginnings of [agricultural revolution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Agricultural_Revolution), meaning more food and again more people. Enclosure made new methods of farming more feasible.\n\nSomeone invented a method of refining coke from coal, which made the [blast furnace](http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/launch_ani_blast_furnace.shtml) possible, in 1709, so suddenly the British could make more iron.\n\nA British man had invented the [screw turning lathe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screw-cutting_lathe) in 1775, which was used to make more accurate lathes, so suddenly really, really precise machinery was possible - including the tight seams, joints and pistons needed to make steam engines produce useful power. And the UK had more iron because of the blast furnace.\n\nThe UK had coal, vast holdings in India and a supply of cotton from there and America. It pretty much ran the slave trade from Africa, and used those slaves to produce raw goods in quantities previously unimagined. It also had a market for cotton goods. The Empire was at its peak, so many people wanted to travel, and faster ways of doing so got investigated, aided by the fashion for learning.\n\nTea from India became popular in the UK and allowed larger populations in cities, because boiling water makes it safer to drink. The UK also had water for canals, steam engines and the right humidity in Lancashire to mill cotton really, really well, as well as water to power the early mills and to wash the cloth.\n\nGunpowder and screw turning lathes meant good weapons, which meant more land and more people and more markets and more raw materials. \n\nSo, basically, the Industrial Revolution had all these factors in one place: lots and lots of spare people, bigger cities than before, water, cotton, a wide empire, coal fields, coke, enclosed land, spare food, gunpowder, a worldwide market, a fashion for learning and tea. Everything that happened led to everything else, in a sort of perfect storm of innovation enabling innovation, social changes leading to innovation leading to social changes, all powered by the vast quantity of raw goods enabled by empire and by the slave trade.\n\nIf you ask what Rome was missing, I'd say probably it was missing tea, enlightenment (i.e. a culture of learning and discovery), gunpowder and coke. And the screw-turning lathe, and cotton. And land enclosures. And a subset with a religious reason to investigate how nature works. And the blast furnace. ",
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"body": "The Romans did not nurture the study of theory and math the same way the Greeks did or those who came later in the Middle Ages. Take the statement about Roman's not using labor saving devices enough in the below passage with a grain of salt because I have heard some debate on this matter and the book I cite is from 1979 (I don't know if the Romans used labor saving devices to the extent they could of and i could not get an answer from /r/Askhistorians as they didn't seem to know the answer as well since archeology is always revealing new things)\n\n-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\"Greek theoretical mathematics received no reinforcement from native Roman intellectual traditions, with the result those few Romans who learned this subject made no contributions to it\"\n\n\"The development of mathematics in medieval Europe from the sixth to fifteenth century shows clearly how mathematics depends on the cultural context within which it is pursued\"\n\nPage 187 Science in the Middle Age By David C. Lindberg\n\nhttp://books.google.com/books?id=lOCriv4rSCUC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false\n\n-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\"Rome itself was a paradox, producing no universally acknowledged theorist, and excepting the apparently accidental discovery of cement, behaving with relative indifference towards labor saving devices. Yet the extent of it's practical successes were unparalleled. The thinkers to a man were the compilers of others ideas: they substituted erudition for original investigation. Yet Roman dams, plumbing, irrigation, surgical tools, postal services were unequal down to the Renaissance. Natural philosophers were not wholly absent: Lucretius atomism were admired by the pioneers of modern physics and Pliny still furnishes archeologists with there only classical account of flora and fauna. But the most forceful expression of Roman attitude towards science is not found in the imitations of Greek science. It is better reflected where it was thought about less: in the melange of gossip, hardheadedness, and superstition of Cato's agri cultura, or in art- the realistic touches in portraits, the accurate floral decorations of sacrophagi, and the frequent scenes of everyday life in later imperial mosaics and wall paintings. Here one senses the imperial world is fading imperceptibly into the Middle Ages. For despite an avowed admiration of Greek learning, at heart the Roman had little time for theory.\"\n\nPage 4 Science in the Middle Age By David C. Lindberg\n\nhttp://books.google.com/books?id=lOCriv4rSCUC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false",
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"body": "First of all, when you are talking about technological or pre-scientific advances of the Romans what you are really talking about is the Greeks. At first the Greeks were an independent state and the Romans just stole their culture, then the Romans took Greece over, and therefore they were basically the \"pre-scientific culture\" *within* the Roman Empire.\n\nThat said, they were *really close* to the spawning their own industrial revolution. The reason they didn't is because **something stopped them**.\n\nThe key stop point comes with Diophantus. He was on the absolute teetering edge of inventing algebra. He had a notation, and wrote this huge treatise demonstrating that he can basically solve any arithmetic problem involving at most a quadratic calculation and one unknown variable. But he hadn't *quite* got it. He hadn't conceptualized the idea of an equation and balancing two sides with equivalent operations that simplify to isolate the unknown. He was just a hair's breath away though.\n\nThe point of this being that, you need competent algebraic manipulation to do a general study of physics and implementation to engineering. The Greeks were already doing quite well without algebra, but each invention and philosophical idea required astounding feats of genius to get over the arithmetic difficulties. They were also using the Greek (or Roman) number systems which make things hard enough.\n\nNow all the Greeks needed was to take it to the next level. They could have gone any number of directions -- digital adding machines (the machines they used were basically analogue), pure algebra, positional based numbers. They already had a great appreciation of physics, and had numerical astronomical models. Their use of Euclid's axioms and reasoning should have helped pushed them right to the use of algebra.\n\nThe point I am trying to make is that the Greek were so damn close it's actually inconceivable that they couldn't have proceeded straight to early enlightenment and industrial revolution based thinking. They were not stupid or in any kind of decline. They really should have taken the next step.\n\nBut during the late 1st century and early 2nd century CE, something gripped the entirety of the Roman Empire. Something that changed their way of thinking utterly, and pervasively throughout the empire. That something was called Christianity. This is neither an exaggeration nor a false accusation.\n\nRemember, that the Christians attacked and killed Hypatia for being part of the same pagan philosophical tradition as Diophantus. They destroyed the Serapeum at Alexander, and their temples (and schools) were slowly but surely shut down. If we ask, what advances in science or philosophy were made by the *Greeks* after Diophantus, we are hard pressed. There was nothing -- after such a consistent record of advances in philosophical thought, there was a sudden stop. It wasn't gradual. Christianity was openly hostile to Paganism and the Greek culture in general. Paganism effectively ended in 570 CE, after being severely weakened starting in the 3rd century CE.\n\nThe reason we know that the lack of development of algebra is a key indicator here is because it was developed as soon after the Arabs developed an intellectual culture of their own. The delay between Diophantus and Al-Kwarizhmi is due almost entirely to the time it took for the Arabs to become an intellectual culture. Before Al-Kwarizhmi, the intellectual culture of the middle east was concentrated in Persia (Iran) in a place called Jundi Shapur. They translated works from Chinese, Indian and Greek scholars into Pahlavi (ancient Persian). Al-Kwarizhmi was one of the early philosophers at the \"House of Wisdom\" which essentially translated the Pahlavi archives into Arabic for further dissemination throughout the Caliphate. And Algebra just popped out of that exercise.\n\nThe Arabs were quite brilliant, but they were not quite at the level of the Greeks. Had the Greeks been given their chance to continue to flourish, I am sure they would have reached renaissance levels of intellectual achievement. And thereby left the Roman Empire without the intellectual basis required to enact something like the industrial revolution.\n\nSo we have a theory with plenty of supporting facts at this point. 1) After centuries of intense discovery and philosophy culminating in Diophantus achieving a level of mathematics not an inch away from algebra, then suddenly no advancements in mathematics in Greece/Medieval Europe for 1000 years. 2) When the Arabic caliphate take over where the Greeks left off, they trivially discover algebra -- the foundation of real mathematics. 3) The achievements in the Caliphate are constrained because they don't inherit *everything* that the Greeks discovered before them. 4) Christianity is documented as openly hostile towards the Greek culture between the years 200 CE and 570 CE after which Greek paganism is no longer found.\n\n**tldr: The rise of Christianity put a stop to the ancient Greek intellectual culture.**",
"score": 3
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"body": "We like to think of technology as \"just happening\", but throughout history there have been advancements that only worked because it become cheap enough to try, or because some other piece of equipment was available, or because some crucial fact or technique was developed, or because you simply had a big enough economy that someone could start doing it.\n\nFor example, you can't make a powerful steam engine without building it out of strong metals that don't corrode too quickly from the steam. Perhaps all your current ovens and smelters are too cool to melt the metal enough to mix it properly. Perhaps you don't even have the recipe for the alloy yet, because nobody has tools to accurately measure the purity and mixes of the metal ores. In fact, maybe your local area doesn't even have the ores you need, and you need to first establish regular trade with a country which does...\n\nIn-between every obvious advancement there are lots of people quietly working to collect knowledge and create engineering improvements, and if they hadn't done their work, no matter how long you wait the Next Big Thing probably would not have happened. ",
"score": 3
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Clinton makes an awesome point last night on Stewart about how ideology distorts facts, but then he says the taxpayer made money back on TARP. That statement is a distortion of fact. | Anyone who Googles "has TARP been repaid" and ignores all links to the White House and all links that are obviously from conservative hacks will know that Clinton's statement is driven by ideology and wishful thinking. Check out this source, for starters: http://projects.propublica.org/bailout/. | 13 | [
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"body": "Clinton signed NAFTA which resulted in the loss of American jobs and displacing tens of thousands of Mexican farmers. Clinton led the way in deregulation, and ended traditional welfare. He also bombed Iraq many times.\n\nWhy can't democrats see that they are so similar to republicans? They disagree on such stupid issues. Such as Obama willing slightly raise taxes on the rich, bringing it back to the previous historic lows until Clinton. Or Obama willing to make slight reforms in healthcare. A reform, I might add, that the republicans first proprosed over a decade ago. ",
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"body": "It's actually an outright lie. We're expected to lose about $32bn on the deal when it's all over. \n\nI hate TARP as much as the next Occupier, but [many of the banks have actually paid back their TARP money](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubled_Asset_Relief_Program#Participants). Only Citi, AIG, GM, and Ally Financial (formerly Ginnie Mae) have funds left to repay. This **does not** excuse the bailout or the moral hazard it perpetuated. The same risky behavior continues at every firm, which led to QE2 in 2010 and QE++ only days ago.\n\nYou can't print jobs and you can't print a better economy.",
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"body": "Did you click the link you provided? \n\nThe only major outstanding program is the \"bailout\" of Fannie and Freddie. Of course taking control over an entity is extremely different from \"bailing them out\". The banks got a bailout Fannie and Freddie were *bought* out...\n\nFrom the Wiki article on FNMA:\n\n>Lockhart also dismissed the firms' chief executive officers and boards of directors, and caused the issuance to the Treasury new senior preferred stock and common stock warrants amounting to 79.9% of each GSE. \n\nThe government literally owns 80% of FNMA and you therefore have to deduct the value of the equity from the money disbursed to determine the extent of the governments outstanding \"debt\" to them.",
"score": 3
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Car dealership lied about having to purchase the extended warranty for the new car I bought, saying that the bank required it, which the bank denies. What do I do next? | My wife and I were purchasing a new car, and at the very end the financing woman offered the extended warranty(service contract). I knew it was a ripoff and my wife asked to see the monthly payment without it. The lady replied, "The bank requires it, it was one of the stipulations of going with this bank." So I took the woman's word for it. After I get home and do some research I find out that no bank can require this of you. So I called the auto loan bank and they confirmed that no, they did not require ANY extended warranty. My wife then called the lady at the dealership with the phone recording(we are in a one-party consent state). My wife asked something to the effect of 'what was the reason we had to purchase the extended warranty?' the woman replied with an explanation of WHAT it was. My wife asked again. The woman replied "The bank requires it." My wife then told the woman that was all she need and hung up the phone. I'm sure, if I call the dealership and tell them I know they are lying, I can just cancel the service contract(well, i think i can cancel for any reason). But do I really want a company that lied to me(twice) to get any money from me? On three occasions different people told me I would get a survey in the mail, and to make sure I gave them all 5 stars, and if I could not leave all 5s then call them so they can make it right. This was pretty upsetting, I just don't know if something COULD make this right.
Edit: I may not have been perfectly clear, we already have a recording of the phone call where she states "The bank requires it" | 7 | [
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"body": "Your state attorney general handles consumer protections, so contact his/her office asap. BBB won't do shit - businesses pay for their good ratings with them. ",
"score": 3
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How it feels to fail | "It's 3am. And I'm washing bottles. It shouldn't be like this" I thought for probably the millionth time. It wasn't so much the bottles that bothered me, it was what they signified. Failure. I had failed. I had one job, and I couldn't even do that.
After the horrible C- Section and even worse recovery, I had tried everything to breastfeed. I fought with the hospital to be able to breastfeed. I had CPS called on me because I chose to breastfeed my daughter, she wasn't a patient at the hospital, was under 18 and that meant she was a visitor and had to follow the visitor policy (no one after 8pm, they had told me).
I don't know if anyone has ever told you, but breastfeeding in general is hard work. You're exhausted, you have sore nipples, your boobs explode with milk and invariably you either have a flow that is too slow, a flow that is too fast, a baby that is too fast or a baby that is too slow. It's never as magical as people would make it seem. You see a woman breastfeeding in a restaurant and all you see is beauty, what you don't see is when she was crying at 5am because the baby bit her, AGAIN.
You always hear that breast is best, and as a mother we all want to do our best. So I wasn't going to budge. But after the 5th surgery in less than 6 months, my daughter decided she was done. And I was devastated. She was only 5 months old. We tried an SNS, I pumped, I put her on the boob for everything. And it didn't work.
I sighed as I placed the bottle on the counter. "Why couldn't I do it? What's wrong with me?". In all the despair and pain, there was one saving grace. I spent my free time looking for breast milk. You read that right, I spent most of my time getting in touch with organizations full of women that donated breast milk. Yes, there are milk banks. It takes a prescription and then costs about $600 a month. They actually make a profit off of women who are pumping and spending their time in order to help a baby. Why not just cut out the middle man and help each other? I email and post and beg and plead for milk. So many times I hear how I should give up and offer formula, that formula isn't poison. And it's not. But it also doesn't help soothe the wounds of breastfeeding failure.
Once the milk is heated through, I head upstairs. She's getting bigger, and is just so smart. She's standing in her crib, screaming for food. I pick her up and she grabs the bottle greedily. I cuddle her, knowing it's not the same, but get comfort in the fact that she is getting what's best. Even if I didn't make it myself.
TL;DR- Support your local milk sharing networks if you can! | 30 | [
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"body": "Wow, I wouldn't call that failing mama. I see you there all full of win. Your daughter is a very lucky girl. Go a little easier on yourself for both your sakes. ",
"score": 20
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"body": "Consider this: Formula use was the norm until the last 20-30 years or so. This means there are plenty of people out there - probably including Nobel prize winners that were raised on formula and formula that wasn't even as good as today. You did your best and your baby will still thrive.",
"score": 7
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"body": "That's not failure! What you managed was downright heroric! ....and I have nothing kind to say about a hospital.that wont make an exception for a breastfed baby to stay with its mother. What they did to you was downright barbaric. No wonder you struggled!",
"score": 6
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"body": "No official milk banks will take donated milk from Hawaii (I'm guessing it's the shipping cost and time) but I'm happy to have milk shared through Human Milk 4 Human Babies. Great program, but I know how hard it must be for a mother to take milk from a stranger and hope that it's safe.",
"score": 4
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"body": "oh momma. there weren't nearly as many obstacles to overcome with my first baby, and reading your story makes me cry because i remember what it was to have to finally say \"i can't anymore.\" \n\nmy second baby was easier, but he was full term, and i had spent the previous 8 months learning all i could, so when challenges popped up we could deal with them. we finally weaned at around 15 months.\n\ni've got lots of positive energy about the baby i'm carrying now. ",
"score": 3
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"body": "These are heroic measures. There is no failure here at all. I agree with other posters that your daughter is one lucky girl. \n\nI'm a lactation consultant. I see, everyday, women beat themselves up for any and all issues they face with feeding their babies. And none of it is necessary. \n\nYou may feel like a failure, but to me, that is the furthest thing from the truth. Bravo to you. You should be proud of all the work you've done to make sure your daughter gets breastmilk. ",
"score": 3
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Dirty golf joke (semi NSFW) | Stolen from a joke thread somewhere on Reddit...
After a tough round a crusty old golfer trudged into the clubhouse, looking for a drink and a bite to eat. Looking at the bar he sees the following:
Draft Beer: $5
Cheeseburger: $8
Handjob: $50
Behind the bar is what looks like an in her prime Sofia Vergara - beautiful, busty, just oozing sex. She's watching him with a knowing smile on her face and saunters over, swaying as seductively as a only a gorgeous woman can. She leans over the bar, busting out of her low v-neck tank top. In a breathy voice she says, "Can I help you?"
Old guy looks at her and says, "Are you the gal that gives the handjobs?"
She winks and says, "The one and only!"
He looks at her and says, "Okay, make sure you wash your hands good, cause I want a damn cheeseburger." | 15 | [
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"body": "the only golf relation to this was that you said he was in the club house, this could've been a fuckin wendys for all we know",
"score": 25
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IAMA birthmother who made an adoption plan for her 1 1/2 month old baby boy AMA | I made an open adoption plan for my son and it has been the most challenging experience I've ever been through. While it has been really hard, there have also been many unexpected blessings. I noticed there was not a lot on reddit for birthmothers and I wanted to do an AMA while the experience was still fresh and I could be the most accurate with all of my emotions. Feel free to ask anything about my experience and the adoption process from the birthparents' persepctive.
Edit: After re-reading the title, this might be misunderstood! I had made the adoption plan while I was pregnant so I surrendered him when I left the hospital after he was born. He is currently 1 1/2 months old! | 10 | [
{
"body": "One of my best friends is a birth mom. She gave up her son when she was 19 and the parents cut off contact even though it was supposed to be open. The child is now 19 and they recently reconnected via Facebook and she is having a hard time coping with the experience over all. She did marry and have two children about 10 years after the adoption. She is a fantastic mother and a brilliant person. She has to have therapy during her second pregnancy. Do you have any therapy or support group that you're attending? Is this something you think you might consider? I am in awe of your courage and forethought. I wish you all the best! ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "It takes a mature and self-less person to sacrifice their own emotional (and physical) well being for the sake of their child. Kudos to you. It must not have been an easy decision to go through with the pregnancy under the circumstances.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Going to be straightforward-\nWhy did you get pregnant?\n\nAre you going to make it so you can keep in contact with him? How are you feeling knowing you may be giving him up soon?",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I don't want to sound like a judgmental asshole when I ask this. I think you had to make an incredibly tough decision that was in the best interests of you and you baby. A lot of people aren't ready to have a baby and raise a child, and they're not such great parents and sometimes they build not-so-great kids.\n\nBut do you feel like once you give the baby to this other couple, it's not your baby anymore? And do you feel like you'll be prepared to accept that during your twice-a-year visits? Do you think you'll be able to withhold judgement when the new parents don't necessarily raise the kid in a way you would.\n\nIt seems to me that while the twice-a-year visitations would help initially with giving up the child to adoption, in the long run it might make it harder to let go of the kid as well. Thoughts?",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I just want to say it seems like you made the right decision and I am very glad for you. It seems that many women who are not ready for a child still decide to keep it. They don't realize that what's best for the baby may be giving it up to a family that can give the baby a lifestyle it may not have had. You have also blessed a family with something they could not do on their own, and they are going to give that child so much love because of this.\n\nI was adopted and surrendered at birth. My parents had to go through so much in order to be approved, then they had to wait to see if my birth parents chose them (they had 3 to choose from), and then they had to wait until I was born! By the time everything was finalized, they were so very ready to be parents. Now, I know that this is an open adoption so the lifestyle will be a little different. I think an open adoption is awesome. But I beg you to please not get caught up in emotions and say something you may not be able to fulfill later in life. When I was 3, my birthmom wrote me a letter saying how much she loved me, that it was hard to put me up for adoption but it was the best decision, and that when I was of age she wanted to meet me. Now that I'm 22, she has a family of her own and I don't even think her children know about me. She has not tried to contact me again since that letter and it breaks my heart. My birthdad, however, remained in the same state that I was born in and we see each other on a regular basis; we started writing letters to each other when I was 15 and we met at 16 or 17 because we both realized we were going to be on the same plane!\n\nI don't have anything to ask, but I love that you are doing this and I wanted to give you a perspective on your child's end of this.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Have you felt that people judge you more for your decision because you gave the baby up for adoption after keeping it for a while?",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "One of my siblings gave up her daughter for adoption at birth to a very loving couple who are wonderful people. Like yours, the adoptive family and my sister have set up an open adoption. My sister doesn't visit, but the family sends e-mails back and forth sometimes and sends pictures on the big milestone occassions. It's nice to see the pictures and know that my biological niece is doing well out there somewhere.\n\n\n\n",
"score": 3
}
] |
[Ideas/Concepts] Improved Fishing System | So, as most of you realize right now, fishing is super boring. Aside from gathering food and taming ocelots, it's also basically useless. So what should be considered is something to make fishing more fun/rewarding.
Idea List:
* Rare chance to fish up an aquatic boss/mob (use your imagination)
* Rare chance to fish up loot (Potions, Minerals, Books, etc.)
* New Potion/Potion reagents that can only be fished
* Regionalized fishing (Taiga biomes contain Sturgeon, Forest Biomes contain Carp, etc.)
* Bait (to speed up fishing time)
* Different tiers of fishing rods
This is just a set of concepts that I thought up, but there's much more that can be done with the fishing system right now. Feel free to drop some ideas, and I'll add them to the list. | 4 | [
{
"body": "I've always like the idea of fishing but found it to boring. So koodos to you I would also like to see more water mobs that you could pull out? Maybe",
"score": 3
}
] |
So I emailed Urban Decay and asked why they don't ship to Canada. For anyone interested, here is their response... |
>Hello Kiauyan,
Thank you for your inquiry. Unfortunately, Urban Decay does not ship orders internationally. In an effort to prevent identity theft, we must adhere to strict security guidelines for account verification. At this time, we are unable to verify information for international credit card accounts. Additionally, UPS has certain shipping restrictions that will not allow us to ship some of our products internationally.
We are currently looking into system options that will allow us to ship to select countries outside of the United States. However, there isn’t an expected date for this. If you haven’t already done so, please sign up for our Newsletter (see the link after my signature). We will be notifying our customers via the Newsletter when there’s a change in this process.
Our current international locations include the Canada, France, Italy, Ireland, Maylasia, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Spain, United Arab Emirates and the UK. We add new retail partners and locations all the time, so check back soon.
We have international retail partners that sell many of our most popular products. Click here for a current list of store locations.
http://www.urbandecay.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-UrbanDecay-Site/default/Stores-Find
We appreciate your interest in purchasing products from Urban Decay. If you need any further assistance, please don’t hesitate to let us know. That’s what we’re here for!
Thank you,
Sivonna
Urban Decay Customer Service
| 25 | [
{
"body": "I am not in the makeup industry, but I am a buyer and I deal with international shipping quite a bit. While the reason they provided is valid, a lot of companies just don't want to deal with the hassle of shipping internationally. You don't just ship the item out, you need forms, certifications, brokers, etc. Some companies just don't see the benefit in it.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "This will probably get buried, but Sephora.com has the vintage Urban Decay eyeshadows for $6 and they do ship to Canada. :)",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "I feel like us American members of this sub should set up a registry of addresses that international members can use a proxy. It would be shipped to us, and then we ship to them. I don't know what the logistics of this would entail, but it's a thought. \n\nEdit: or we could set up a P.O box that some members keep up, and we all donate money to keep it running.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "How is it possible other companies can ship internationally but Urban Decay says UPS has restrictions that will not allow all their products to go through? If that's the case why can't they just not sell THOSE particular ones to international countries? Missed out on a good sale :(",
"score": 3
}
] |
In the event of a full season lockout, can someone upload a full NHL13 CPU vs CPU season to YouTube? | I'd still like to pretend.
Edit: It looks like most people would like it to be streamed. Most streaming sites have the option to save the save the videos as well, so that'd be just as good, if not better, than YouTube. Discuss. | 157 | [
{
"body": "I could just imagine the real players tweeting and talking about how good their virtual version is doing.",
"score": 39
},
{
"body": "If the mods were onboard, they could get someone to record it, make sure the whole video is flawless, and broadcast it live on a streaming site for people to watch together. It could be pretty cool as an event. At the end of the regular season we could even have a playoffs. Schedule could be hard to manage, unless we just use the one that was already released (I don't know if the entire schedule was released).",
"score": 16
},
{
"body": "We could run a fantasy league around the results from the simulated games.... a fantasy fantasy league.",
"score": 12
},
{
"body": "[Here's the full schedule of the what would have been the 2013 season, if you guys are serious about this.](http://www.nhl.com/ice/schedulebyseason.htm)",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "Instead of throwing it on Youtube it should be live streamed on like ustream or something, that way we can all watch the games live!",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "In /r/nfl they had the \"[Madden Clone Tournament](http://www.reddit.com/user/norseman23/submitted/)\". The community seemed to love it. \n\nIf you're into video game simulation, you should definitely check it out.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "It would be pretty cool to have an full NHL13 season tournament with each subreddit representing it's own team and nominating a person to play each game. It would probably be tough to set up logistically but I imagine that the end result would be pretty awesome.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "I could do it for one team. 8 minute periods on the highest diffculty in True Broadcast mode. Me not playing any games. Anyone intrested? If so, what team?",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I'm seriously down for doing this. It would be hard for one person to do the whole thing, but I'd be willing to take on some of the duties. If you get things together, let me know. I'm on board.",
"score": 3
}
] |
I feel like it's really close. Help me out non trich scope people. | Pretty much all cloudy trichs with 10%ish amber starting. Flushing for 5 days so far. I'm looking at a chop date of around the 24th-26th which would put it close to 70 days flowering. I was hoping to get the opinions of some of our growers that go by the overall look of the plant rather than the trichs to see what you think. I'm interested in learning the signs you look for.
[BC Blueberry](http://imgur.com/9Q5WC) - Day 62 of 12/12
Thanks for your opinions!
[Here's a random lights out bud gallery](http://imgur.com/a/HenlW) if anybody wants to see some of the others. They're all pretty damn close. Yes I burnt some. That MTF is gonna be crazy, only a month in and that's just one cola, it has a twin and several siblings. | 8 | [
{
"body": "**Flowering Tent Setup**\n\n* [4'x4'x7' Lighthouse Hydro Tent](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0078P34A8/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00) (using 3x4 as grow space, 50w per sq ft.)\n\n* [600 watt Lumatek Ballast](http://www.hydrogalaxy.com/growing-lights/ballasts/600w-120-240v-hps-mh-e-ballast-generator-ready/)\n\n* [6\" Yield Master II classic hood](http://www.hydrogalaxy.com/growing-lights/reflectors/yield-master-classic-ii-6in-reflector/)\n\n* [600 watt Maxlume HPS Bulb](http://www.hydrogalaxy.com/growing-lights/hid-bulbs/maxlume-600w-h-p-s-90-000-lumens/)\n\n* [400 CFM 6\" Hydrofarm Inline Fan](http://www.hydroponics.net/i/133758)",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Before I hopped on the jeweler's loupe train, the only real indication to me was swollen calyxes. Once they look like they are about to burst, it's about time.\n\nYours is definitely close, but always follow the rule: \"If you think it's done, wait another week.\" Some old guy said that, and old people are smart.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Wanted thoughts on Brand: Dunlop | I have a used set of graphite Dunlop Clubs, and to be honest, I'm starting to really like them. I'm planning on slowly building a new set by buying the clubs one at time, or if the timing/price is right I'll buy a complete set.
I've found [Dunlop's online shopping site](http://store.dunlopsport.com/). I've been looking around on it today, and as you can see, it's all in Euro's. So I've got a Euro to American Dollar converter up and running, but I'm still a bit surprised at the seemingly low prices.
Which begs the question: **Is Dunlop a *cheap* brand for Golf Equipment?** Not in just the price, but all around generally? | 4 | [
{
"body": "As much as I like golf clubs. The golf clubs do not in anyway make the golfer. They can be more forgiving, and if properly fitted they can work better for your swing. But if you are liking your clubs then by all means dunlop is the right brand.\n\n\nWhat I would watch out for is going out and spending more money on Dunlop because its all you know. I would go to a golf store and try out more brands. \n\n\n\n",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Whatever works. For a few years I used fake callaway irons and I hit them great. Clubs definentely don't make a golfer.",
"score": 3
}
] |
That word...I do not think it means what you think it means. | So I recently started working in tech support, although I have been in customer service for pretty much my entire working life. I had heard stories, but I was not prepared for this one...
I received an e-mail from a customer who was having trouble logging into our site. Nothing too terribly unusual, except for the way she worded things:
"...I logged on using my FB account... and then gat caught in a massive circle jerk and couldn't get out."
Cue hysterical laughter. But it gets worse (better?)...
"I had tried using one of my Google accounts, but got caught in another circle jerk there, too."
And now I'm rolling on the floor in hysterics. Man, if that's the type of service we're providing, we should be charging *a lot* more money. | 611 | [
{
"body": "Memo to IT:\n\nMy computer apparently does not have Facebook Circlejerk Mode enabled. How do I change it?\n\nTIA.\n",
"score": 54
},
{
"body": "Ironically, I logged onto reddit 2 1/2 years ago and have been stuck in a massive circle jerk ever since.",
"score": 13
},
{
"body": "[That word](http://i.qkme.me/3obupn.jpg)\n\nSomeone had to link it. At least I used the right image for the right quote.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Am I cut out for this? First sem at a uni, first test back | Maybe I'm just stressing out over nothing; maybe this is a real concern. I spent my first two years at a community college, emerging as an engineering major with a 3.4 (very good extracurriculars and tough ass teachers...wasn't too disappointed).
This is my first sem as a uni, and I know not only does my GPA need to be on an upward trend, but that this first semester is important. I got my first OChem test back today; an 83%. (coupled with perfect lab grades this section to like an 86%). I studied for this; not incredibly hard, but running through each of the problems twice, doing and reviewing the old tests, going to all SI and such sections, and I thought I had done better on this test.
What do you guys think? I know I basically need an A in this course with my subpar GPA and the fact it is my first science, premed course at a uni.
Edit: I've had a couple comments regarding curve; this is my curved score, converted back into an overall percentage. | 3 | [
{
"body": "B isn't so bad on a first organic test, get help if you don't understand the concepts and study a lot. Go see your professors, they may be able to help you with study techniques that are unique to orgo. You can do it!",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "I got a 77% on my first OChem exam, but I finished the course with a solid A. For me it was just a matter of getting use to my teacher, how he formatted the exams, and figuring out the best way to study. Don't worry, you will figure it out too!\n",
"score": 6
}
] |
Thinking about switching to Android... but know nothing about it and need help. | Hey guys, my contract with AT&T is ending in October and I'm pretty much deciding whether I should upgrade to iPhone 5 or go with the Samsung Galaxy S3. I have barely played around with an android, and would really love to get some advice on it from you guys.
What are your honest pros/cons about droids?
I love the idea of being able to customize so much more, but how confusing is it to set everything up, and do I need to root my phone (and how does rooting affect the phone?)
One of my friends is able to run an emulator on his phone, and things like that really intrigue me because I'd like to be able to do something like that on my current iPhone but I don't believe you can. I like the idea of it mostly because I hate being bored in an area with only my phone and no internet. I want to be able to do more on my phone in those situations.
How are the updates/are there any software problems at all?
If a person uses their phone just for calling, texting, and internet, would you suggest sticking with the iPhone or going with droid anyways?
What do you say to the people who say androids feel like cheap plastic?
One big concern of mine is what happens when the next line of phones come out, say the S4. Would I be able to sell my current phone and then buy the S4 and have everything port over? I'm assuming I'd have to pay the retail price since I won't have had my phone long enough.
Sorry for all the questions, and I appreciate any and all answers, even if it is only to one of my questions. I've looked around online, but I'd rather trust the opinions of the people here. Thanks so much!!! | 4 | [
{
"body": ">how confusing is it to set everything up\n\nI think with most you just sign in with your gmail account and go.\n\n> do I need to root my phone \n\nNo, unless you want to.\n\n>How are the updates/are there any software problems at all?\n\nBiggest annoyance is that they don't come very often, or for some phones never. But this may be changing for newer phones.\n\n>If a person uses their phone just for calling, texting, and internet, would you suggest sticking with the iPhone or going with droid anyways?\n\nDefinitely Android. Android phones that can do all these things are sold for less than iPhones.\n\n>What do you say to the people who say androids feel like cheap plastic?\n\nOkay, pet peeve time. When people say this, they're actually talking about Samsung. That's because more people have owned a Samsung Android phone than any other. Psychologically, people want their expensive electronics to \"feel premium.\" Plastic, they think, is for cheap crap from China.\n\nFirst of all, plastic phones come forth from the same factories in Guangzhou as the iPhone. Second, I own one such phone and it _was_ cheap: free on contract. Third: plastic bodies and plastic screens ain't pretty. They're also way more durable than anything else. And cost-effective, at that. Take care of it and good plastic will never scratch and never break. After a year mine has a few chips around the corners if you squint. That's it.\n\nBut that said, if plastic isn't your thing, there are Android phones made from other materials.\n\n>Would I be able to sell my current phone and then buy the S4 and have everything port over? \n\nYes. Your purchased apps are remembered by Google Play. All your contact information is stored in the cloud as well as the SIM card now. You can sync bookmarks too if you desire. \n\nFinally, PSA: \"Droid\" only refers to a Verizon brand. A lot of people saw their commercials so it got confused with Android in general.\n",
"score": 9
}
] |
ELI5: Frame rates and resolutions. | Howdy! Beginning filmmaker here. I just got myself a camera (Panasonic GH2) and some lenses and I'm ready to shoot. However, the decision to shoot at certain resolutions and frame rates is overwhelming. Particularly:
- Why shoot at 24p, or 25p, or 30p, or 60i, and so on? How will the frame rate affect the picture as a whole?
- How will an interlaced frame rate affect the picture as opposed to a progressive frame rate? How will it affect the editing process?
- If I shoot at 24p, is it generally accepted that my resolution should be 720p? If the frame rate is 30p should it be 1080p or 1080i? Why? Why not? Does it even matter? What is the overall effect?
I know that a typical 5-year old probably isn't editing video, but the sheer amount of information and technical jargon out there is impermeable. | 14 | [
{
"body": "> Why shoot at 24p, or 25p, or 30p, or 60i, and so on?\n\nWe can skip things by omitting almost all of that. The only reason to shoot 25 (or 50) is if you live in a PAL country *and* you're shooting for television. If you aren't shooting for television, you aren't locked into the 50 Hz timebase, meaning you aren't stuck with 25 or 50.\n\nYou should never shoot 30p at all. The reasons are technical and complex, but the short version is that shooting 30p robs you of all the virtues of shooting frames instead of fields and makes life really inconvenient later. The 30p format (more properly called 30psf if you want to read up on that) is a misbegotten derivative of regular 60i, and should be avoided in all cases unless you've got a *really outstanding* reason to use it, a reason that outweighs all the massive inconveniences.\n\nThe 60i format looks like a soap opera. Nobody likes it.\n\nSo shoot 24p, is your answer. If you don't have a *very good reason* to shoot another format, shoot 24p.\n\n> How will an interlaced frame rate affect the picture as opposed to a progressive frame rate?\n\nBadly. Interlacing is something that should be avoided. In actual television production, we never work in an interlaced format. Interlaced formats are required for broadcast, so we convert the 24p master into an interlaced 60i deliverable at the last minute by doing what's called *pulldown insertion.* In fact, often these days broadcasters ask for the original 24p master so they can insert pulldown themselves. But when they don't, we still stay in 24p until the absolute last second, because working in 60i is just needlessly finnicky and annoying.\n\n> If I shoot at 24p, is it generally accepted that my resolution should be 720p? If the frame rate is 30p should it be 1080p or 1080i?\n\nNo, neither of those things is true.\n\nWhether you shoot 720 or 1080 is a matter of personal preference. Obviously 1080 gives you a higher-resolution picture, but there are times when you might not want that. Some people prefer to shoot 720 and then blow up to 1080 because it gives a slightly softer finished product, and that slightly softer image is aesthetically pleasing; the really high resolution of a 1080 frame in perfect focus can detract from whatever story you're trying to tell. On the other hand, the slightly softer image that you get by shooting 720 and blowing up can *also* detract from your story. So it's a creative choice. If you don't know yet what the differences are, just experiment. Shoot a scene at 720 and again at 1080 and compare them. You'll soon start to develop a sense of artistic taste that tells you when you want a sharper image and when you want a softer one.\n\n(However, you really ought not mix-and-match. On a given project, it's best to settle on a style and stick with it consistently. Drastically changing the look from one scene to the next can be distracting. There are times when it's called for, but those times are really few and far between. Just like how you *could* switch from color to black-and-white from one scene to the next. When you need something like that to tell your story, you really need it … but in general you don't need it.)",
"score": 6
}
] |
Mass effect MP comics | Well I searched this reddit for these because i didn't want to repost them but I didn't find them which was suprising (so if you want me to remove them, let me know and it will be done).
All of these comics are from DeviantArt, credits to their respective authors and Bioware for Mass Effect.
Anyway here are some comics:
[Behind the Names](http://zombiehood.deviantart.com/art/Behind-the-Names-288258376)
[Show Us Your Skillz!](http://zombiehood.deviantart.com/art/Show-Us-Your-Skillz-289461711)
[Important Intel (Possibly *NSFW*)](http://zombiehood.deviantart.com/art/Important-Intel-294343480?q=boost%3Apopular%20mass%20effect%20multiplayer&qo=27)
Also another type:
[ME Multiplayer Team - Kishock](http://katakanasta.deviantart.com/art/ME-Multiplayer-Team-Kishock-312095685?q=boost%3Apopular%20mass%20effect%20multiplayer&qo=11)
[ME Multiplayer Team - Vanguard](http://katakanasta.deviantart.com/art/ME-Multiplayer-Team-Vanguard-310606932?q=boost%3Apopular%20mass%20effect%20multiplayer&qo=33)
(Think there might be 2 more of the last one, but these were the better ones.) | 55 | [
{
"body": "It's like a buddy-cop movie; an angry former upper management turian, and what seems to be an ex-convict drell putting aside their differences and using their combined forces to cut a swathe through the reapers.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Just got my own weekly 2 hour time slot on my college radio station! requesting some artists to look at | I have 2 hours every wednesday morning and I am SO excited to start. I have quite a collection of music myself but seeing as I'm going to have to play 2 hours of music every week I'm gonna need to expand my library! Just came to /r/music to look for some suggestions. The show is free form so **it can be any genre**. The only other requirement is that is **underrepresented music! nothing that's playing on the top 20/40 stations!**
thanks for your help reddit! | 24 | [
{
"body": "Hey ~~man~~ female,\n\nI work for KXLU 88.9 FM Los Angeles. It's an indie/eclectic station in LA. Hit me up if you want and we can bounce ideas off each other. I've been at it for two years myself, and I'd love to share any experience I have with you.\n\nMy show: (www.facebook.com/a.fistful.of.vinyl)",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "I'll go with that other user who listed a bunch of bands and songs as well. Just a few though. \n\nMurder By Death - [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_By_Death_(band)) - They just released a new album (which sounds, IMO, a bit different from all the preceding albums). For the most part, these guys are indie rock(ish) and \"spaghetti western\" sounding. [Ex 1](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrevNXs-9vQ), [Ex 2](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAF2Lq8eRGA)\n\nHusky Rescue - [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Husky_Rescue) - These guys make this electronia, dreamy, pop music. The lead guy Marko decided to take the band in a new direction recently so although the music so far sounds the similar it may not further down the road. [Ex 1](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO6QAmXCKDY), [Ex 2](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPX9G3GwlwQ)\n\nVideoing - No wiki, [Website](http://videoingsound.com/wplogin/) - This is kinda indie, rock, lofi(ish). A relatively small band from somewhere in Texas I think. Go ahead and use them to show off how much of a \"hipster\" you are. [Ex 1](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P18on25gEZw)[Ex 2](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H24G_LHtEg)\n\nBeat Ventriloquists - No wiki [Website](http://beatventriloquists.com/) - Electronic duo. Their songs vary a bit so I won't try to describe them so much. I will, however, give you my favorite song as an exampe! [Ex 1](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4of16vR3m8)\n\nI could go on...but when these posts get too large they can get ignored. \n\nGLHF",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Some underappreciated rock n' roll:\nALO (Animal Liberation Orchestra),\nThe Mother Hips,\nTea Leaf Green,\nAnders Osborne.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Coral Thief - http://www.coralthiefband.com. You can snag our EP \"I Before E\" for free at music.coralthiefband.com and enter $0 in the price. We're Reggae/Rock in similar fashion to The Dirty Heads, Slightly Stoopid, Sublime, etc. Thanks! Hit us up if you end up using it or want to do a radio interview. PEACE!",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "[Animal Collective](http://grooveshark.com/#!/artist/Animal+Collective/4029), [POLICA](http://grooveshark.com/#!/artist/POLICA/2107180), [Yeasayer](http://grooveshark.com/#!/artist/Yeasayer/7085), [Bombay Bicycle Club](http://grooveshark.com/#!/artist/Bombay+Bicycle+Club/27331), [Architecture in Helsinki](http://grooveshark.com/#!/artist/~/401447), [Beat Connection](http://grooveshark.com/#!/artist/~/1494290), [Cut Chemist](http://grooveshark.com/#!/artist/Cut+Chemist/52015), [D.Veloped](http://grooveshark.com/#!/artist/D+veloped/1831627), and [Wugazi](http://grooveshark.com/#!/artist/Wugazi/2001620)",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I think [Ray Lamontagne](http://youtu.be/aHmNEQYc3js) deserves more exposure. He has great potential to be a classic. \n",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Frightened Rabbit\nThe henry clay people\nthe swellers\nHands like houses\nGrieves \nXavier Rudd\nEmarosa\nElliott Smith\nSenim Silla\nInput",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "DoomTree is an amazing group of people. And the coolest thing about the group is since its a collective, they all have great solo careers as well.\n\nedit:\n\nhttp://www.doomtree.net/",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "GREETINGS FRIEND\n\nMy band [THE HAWKS](http://www.thehawks.ca) just released a new EP (and our first EP) called Eclipsed, we've only been together for 5 months, but I think your listenership would dig what we have going on!",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "http://www.reverbnation.com/avioletsun This is my brothers band... very good progressive/rock/indie. I can send you thier songs or cd if you like",
"score": 3
}
] |
18-[m].followed some advice, got a haircut. | I really like my hair shorter and i think it works out.
What do you guys think?
Here's [me!](http://imgur.com/a/e3aK0) | 3 | [
{
"body": "Well, you are balding, so that won't work.\n\nYou are also too fat.\n\nAnd negative tilt on eyes.\n\nWeak eyebrows.\n\nAbsent cheekbones.\n\nWeak jaw.\n\nSorry.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "I can't really see a difference. It looks like you used gel which makes the second picture look better.\n\nYour main goal should be losing weight. Just for the love of god don't use any fad diets or 5-meals a day bullshit.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I just want to say that while losing weight would probably bring out your better features, you have a very sweet look about you. I wouldn't say you're ugly because you have the appearance of having a good heart. ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "All the other comments suggest weight loss...which would be good for health reasons and for your confidence. But on the whole I think you look nice. Judging by the hint of a smile in the top picture I think a bigger smile and some confidence would go a long way! I think you're really nice looking. I didn't see you before but I like the short hair.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Hello, hetero gents! I have a question for you all about consent. | So there was [this thread](http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1071mz/whats_the_funniest_thing_youve_done_to_avoid/) in /r/AskReddit yesterday about the craziest things people have done to *avoid* having sex. Now, don't get me wrong; I found many of the stories to be hilarious, and I get that in several cases, the guys responding were drunk and therefore not necessarily "in their right mind."
But I also noticed what struck me as a disturbing trend of men feeling unable or unwilling to directly decline an aggressive yet misguided woman's sexual advances. Instead of just outright saying "no, this makes me uncomfortable" or something to that effect, a lot of guys seemed to feel compelled to figure out an "escape plan" or otherwise protect themselves (and their genitalia) from said women. For several of the anecdotes posted, I switched the genders around in my head and reread them and they suddenly seemed less funny to me. At the risk of sounding like a buzzkill, the whole thread left me with a worrying impression that at least some straight men feel like they couldn't "just say no" to unwanted sexual advances from women.
So, straight guys: would you feel uncomfortable (for whatever reason) with explicitly declining sex in such a situation? When discussing rape (usually with women as the presumed victims) we often say that "no means no," and this is certainly true. But several of the women in that thread's stories didn't seem to want to take no for an answer. Is the fear that by rebuking the woman's advances, you might inadvertently "hurt" her (physically) and thus risk being seen as a perpetrator of violence (e.g. If you literally have to shove a woman to get her away from you so she turns around and, I dunno, tells her friends you assaulted her)? Or is it more a matter of simply not wanting to hurt the woman's feelings?
I guess I just feel like we (rightly) encourage women to be clear about what they are and aren't comfortable with in terms of unwanted sex with men, but it seems to me like some straight dudes might not feel as comfortable being equally clear in terms of unwanted sex with women. Am I totally off the mark here? Did I just read too much into these humorous anecdotes? Have you ever felt like you couldn't "just say no" for whatever reason? | 167 | [
{
"body": "As a whole, society subconsciously believes men cant be raped except by other men, and men would never NOT want to have sex. If you say no you're a \"faggot\" or are a dickless wuss. We're not allowed to have emotions, or feelings, or be anything other than brainless sex obsessed macho neanderthals.",
"score": 112
},
{
"body": "I actually have two past experiences with something like this happening and it is awkward.\n\n One time an ex gf of mine was drunk at a party and wanted to fool around when we were alone. I told her no and she went into a bathroom and punched herself in the face repeatedly. When she came out somebody asked her what happened and she said that I did it. I of course started saying no I didn't and almost had to fight 4-5 guys. Somebody else at the party spoke up and told the guys that I had been sitting taking to them when she said it happened and she finally came clean about what happened. I realized pretty quick that she was nuts and broke up shortly after.\n\nAnother time not that long afterward I was living with a bunch of guys and a couple of girls in an old farmhouse. Most of us worked different shifts from each other so we never saw each other. One night when most of us were home we had a party and I ended up getting pretty drunk. I found one of the empty bedrooms and passed out. I was woken up sometime later by a female roommate giving me head. I woke up just as I was finishing. I knew that she had a crush on me and we had flirted a little but I had a gf at the time and felt incredibly awkward after. I moved out shortly after that.\n\nIf I were female I would probably filed charges but I didn't feel comfortable bringing it to anybodies attention until years later. I don't think I was emotionally scarred or anything like that but it did illustrate to me that bad decisions and aggressiveness aren't just male qualities.\n\n",
"score": 95
},
{
"body": "I have definitely tried to pressure guys into having sex with me. I didn't think of it that way at the time, and I am repulsed to admit it, but not taking no for an answer, immediately, and leaving it alone after that, is the very definition. I won't force somebody into doing something they dont' want to do, but I am hella guilty of not gracefully accepting a 'no' when it is offered. \n\n\nUgh, gross. I am totally ashamed right now. ",
"score": 40
},
{
"body": "Sorry this isn't responsive to your question, but I wanted to thank you for addressing this specifically to the \"hetero gents.\" Often this would just be asked \"Hello, men,\" making the assumption that all normal men are straight. That's pretty annoying to us homos.\n\nSo thanks!",
"score": 29
},
{
"body": "Some women truly will not take a simple \"no\" from a man. Society has made many women believe that all men and their dicks are ready to stand at attention when called upon. \"No means no\" is almost always associated with female consent - it's a given that men are always in \"yes\" mode and we're all just waiting for a woman who will bang us. Not the case.\n\nI've been in this situation myself with a former FWB who flipped a shit when I wanted to go to bed instead of fucking. I caved after arguing for nearly half an hour, and felt kind of shitty about it later - like I didn't stand up for myself.\n\nThis isn't the only time a woman hasn't taken no from me very well. I was once kicked out of a bar for telling a girl that I wouldn't take her home, that I had a GF. I guess she didn't believe me, so she had her bar-tender friend kick me and a friend of mine out. It was really bizarre. She was very attractive and straight up told me she'd go home with me... I guess she wasn't used to rejection (welcome to the club!)\n\nThere are also some (actually *many*) men who are just big ol' pussies and would rather avoid a situation than being communicative and saying no (I see this is a common problem in American society). Stories from that thread reflect both of these conundrums.",
"score": 26
},
{
"body": "I'd have no problem with just flat out telling a girl no. I don't want to be intimate with someone who can't respect my personal boundaries.",
"score": 16
},
{
"body": "> Is the fear that by rebuking the woman's advances, you might inadvertently \"hurt\" her (physically) and thus risk being seen as a perpetrator of violence (e.g. If you literally have to shove a woman to get her away from you so she turns around and, I dunno, tells her friends you assaulted her)? Or is it more a matter of simply not wanting to hurt the woman's feelings? \n\nNeither. The very first reason why I would hesitate to decline sex is because it makes me feel like a faggot or dickless idiot. I \"*get so little sex that I must be crazy to decline any advance, I should consider myself lucky that somebody sees me as a sexual being*\" even if it is from someone I don't want to have sex with.",
"score": 13
},
{
"body": ">Hey do you want to have sex?\n\n>No\n\n>WHAT ARE YOU A FAGGOT? I AM GOING TO TELL EVERYONE YOU HAVE A TINY PENIS AND TRIED TO RAPE ME. ",
"score": 12
},
{
"body": "I doubt I'm representing a majority position here, but I would need no more than the offer to feel uncomfortable - unlike declining which would not make me feel uncomfortable; it would make me relieved.\n\nI'm blessed in that I'm sufficiently unattractive that I've never had to fight females off with a stick, although I have on at least one occasion had to get fairly irate with one who believed - erroneously - that my ass was her personal toy without thinking that getting my consent might be a necessary prerequisite for playing with it. I try not to put myself in positions where it's likely to become an issue, and so far with fairly good success.\n\n",
"score": 10
},
{
"body": "Back in college I was able to say no if I needed to, rarely happened. If the no was due to condom issue or something like that it usually went easier than a straight up rejection.\n\nBut one night at a house party a female friend told me her friend really likes me. I let my friend know I wasn't in to her friend and I expected that to be the end of that.\nLater that night while passing this girl who liked me in the hall she jumps on me and starts making out with me. She was attractive so natural reaction caused me to make our for a few seconds before realized what was going on. So I am about to stop when some of my friends(male and female) saw it and started encouraging us/her. Due to the social pressure from that I ended up having sex with her that night.\n\nI would never consider that rape since I didn't say no, but I still am not thrilled that it happened.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "Not too long ago, I was briefly dating someone who (for the first time in my experience) had a significantly higher libido than me. \n\nAt first, it was awesome. But as I tired of it, for a bit I did feel like I'd be less of a man or similar if I didn't go along, and didn't even say anything. As I eventually lost more interest in her (for other reasons as well), I finally did verbally tell her no. And, to her credit, she didn't press the issue. She was obviously disappointed, but didn't try to pressure or force me into it. It was a rather revealing insight, having so often been on the other side of that exchange before.\n\nI think, ultimately, regardless of gender, you simply need to be clear and forceful with your intentions if you're not interested in sex. And, conversely, if you suspect your partner may be afraid to admit he/she's not interested, ask.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "This has happen to me several times. I have a hard time saying no because I don't want to let them down. I feel like they will be hurt because it was something they wanted so bad. \n\nAnd from my perspective, it's not really that bad to fuck a girl to make her happy. For instance, let's they I am right, and they really would be let down. Well, sex isn't really asking that much in the grand scheme of things, it's not like they are asking for 1000 dollars, or something that I couldn't give them. \n\nSo, feeling guilted to fucking isn't really much considering the actual sex is fun, free and it would make them happy. \n\nAnd as far the difference between how a woman would handle it, versus how I would, I don't give a fuck. Hell, I've been raped by a female, and it didn't bug me as much as it seems to bug women. I suppose females are more hung up on their choice of sexual partners than males. I don't get offended or angry when women want to fuck me. And I feel bad when I say no. \n\nIt's not the same when I'm taken, though. Then I don't feel bad because that's infidelity. But when I'm single, sex isn't much of an issue.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Hell, I can't even tell my wife \"no\" without a hassle. Men are not allowed by women to not be in the mood. ",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "When you straight up reject a girl they generally take it badly and call you gay (as if that is something bad even if it isnt true) or spread rumours about your sexual prowess/inability to get it up. ",
"score": 5
}
] |
Looking for a “holy shit-inducing” metal song | I was wondering if anyone can recommend me any really insane metal songs. What I mean by “holy shit-inducing” is a song that will have me saying “holy shit, this crazy” for the entire length of the song. I don’t want a song that has any calm parts at all. No climactic buildups, cool-down periods, or anything of the like. Even the few Judas Priest songs I know and like have disappointed me. Painkiller has the cool-down part after the guitar solo where the backup singer sings (forgive me, I don’t know his name), the tempo slows, and the tempo at the end slows as well. Metal Meltdown slows down at the end. Through the Fire and Flames by DragonForce is kind of what I’m looking for, but if the moaning part before the main guitar solo was taken out, it would be a perfect example of what I am looking for. As far as metal subgenres go, I’m fine with anything, but please try to steer away from nü-metal. Let me know if I need to explain any better. | 4 | [
{
"body": "Overkill - [ELECTRIC RATTLESNAKE!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zU1LNg-6aQ&feature=relmfu)\n\nMetal Church - [Merciless Onslaught](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTorA22QNhE)\n\nQueensryche - [Queen of the Reich](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_WUaMci6qo) (remember to turn up the volume!!!)\n\n\n",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Well, if you don't mind harsher songs here are some: \n\n- [Cryptopsy - Slit Your Guts](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkNbTS7uhLE) \n- [Anaal Nathrakh - I Am The Wrath Of Gods And The Desolation Of The Earth](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCTXqi7NObQ&feature=fvst) \n- [Dragged Into Sunlight - Buried With Leeches](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yedkKccl2wc&feature=related) \n- [Portal - Swarth](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmeRlIhPdUc) \n\nI have more if anyone is interested, I guess.\n",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "[Brain Drill](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEywYigygnk)\n\nI am not a huge fan, but I think it goes along with what you're looking for.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zff1uzm0xGw When I first say these guys live randomly I was thinking holy shit the whole time. ",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "> No climactic buildups, cool-down periods, or anything of the like.\n\n[Noise Grind Power Death](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlMFyxgpGK8) is pretty much an earfuck from start to finish.\n\nNot sure if it counts as real music though.\n\nThey also play grindcore: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUSMQlNFbKY",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "[Who needs a god when you've got Satan?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLFtQ90H6O4)\n\n[More Goatwhore](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybKifd3J0NI) (in fact, all of their newest album is pretty much pedal to the metal except for one interlude in the middle)\n\n[Until 3:45, this song is pure balls to the walls](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nORrIVk7uc)\n\n[Has a couple of seconds of \"cool-down\" but if this song doesn't kick your ass halfway to next Sunday, something's wrong](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jiizfl9exHM)",
"score": 3
}
] |
Question about dowloading | Hello, I'm about to move to Spain for school. I currently live in Canada, where I have no problems at all when it comes to downloading movies/music from either torrent or link sites (rapidshare, etc).
Will I have any problems when I get to Spain? What precautions should I take?
Thanks in advance. Cheers! | 4 | [
{
"body": "Not problem at all. Downloading movies It's not illegal if is for personal use. It's illegal if you try to make money. :-)",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I know that torrents were actually legal to download in Spain for quite some time, however I think that was recently changed, since the first part of this year. Not entirely sure, but maybe. However, where I was living, I was using internet that didn't have my name on it or whatever. I downloaded tons of torrents and had no problems. I was in Barcelona, and overall the Internet there was very iffy. If you can find a good connection, you shouldn't have a problem. Even if it is technically illegal now, I don't think it is actively prosecuted or accounts suspended like in America. Or at least, I've never heard of it there. Spain tends to be rather progressive in terms of internet privacy and file sharing type of stuff. Just seems that lately some pressure is being put on them to NOT be so lax, however I don't know if it is actually having an effect yet or not. I downloaded every show and song I wanted to while I was in Barcelona though. Good luck!",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Hi! If you want to be safer you can use a private vpn but you should not have any problems downloading stuff as a normal user. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "As others have told you, there's nothing to worry about. Downloading, torrenting, etc. is perfectly legal as long as you don't sell the data or profit out of it in any way.\n\nThere have been some laws passed lately, but they have been directed to bypass the separation of powers for the closing of webpages (now done from the government without a previous judicial process), not affecting the pre-existent private copy laws.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Everyone downloads a shit-ton of stuff and I'm yet to hear rumours of someone hearing about someone's cousin getting a small fine or anything.",
"score": 3
}
] |
This is what the response should have been to the disrespectful video and pictures of Prophet Muhammad.
| "The servants of the Beneficent Allah are they who walk on the earth in humbleness, and when the ignorant address them, they say: Peace." (Qur'an 25:63) | 11 | [
{
"body": "Many \"Muslims\" are not educated about Islam. I put Muslims in quotes because many Muslims should not be calling themselves that.",
"score": 4
}
] |
Is there any GOOD introduction to Object Oriented Programming? | I have heard so many horror stories from people who are just getting into OO at my school and right now I am in my first OO class (Using C++) and it's annoying the hell out of me.
I think I have a good grasp on C, but I just can't get my head around C++. I'm looking for some kind of help. | 3 | [
{
"body": "No. There's no clear definition of what OO means, and there's no real consensus on how to do it right, and the general attitude of people towards \"doing OO right\" differs between language communities somewhat, too.\n\nIf what you're looking for is a good introduction to the mechanics of how OO *works* in C++, that can probably be found - I'm pretty inexperienced in C++ so I can't help there myself. But to learn how to do it well (which, IMO, a \"good\" introduction should teach you), you're going to be mostly on your own.",
"score": 5
}
] |
How would you guys feel if I started a website where it would host tournaments for certain elos, eg.1200-1400 | Hello my name is Rusty and id like to propose to you the idea of having weekly tournaments that are specific to each elo.
My thought process behind it is that too many teams are disheartened by the fact it is almost impossible to win as most tournaments have no elo requierments. Therefore putting elo caps on tournaments means that small teams now have the possibility to win.
I would create the website and tournaments ASAP, if I get a good response from reddit. SO spread the word peeps
Also if you would be so kind as to fill this survey ( to do with the tournaments) I would be very appreciative http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GDTFMC9
Post any ideas and suggestions in the comments :P. Have a good day
-
-
-
EDIT: Dont worry guys, i have a lot of ideas in mind to stop smurfs.
| 526 | [
{
"body": "this is a bad idea tbh, your talking about classefing teams by their elo\nbut you didnt take into account the smurfs out there which breaks your plan into pieces.\n\nalso no offense cash (riot points) prizes are deserved to the people who win tournies by skill, the \"unskilled\" or call it less skilled people get prizes through riot calls to give out free stuff when they want.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I would love something like this. I am in the 1200s and I would love to play some decent ranked team games.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Overall ranked team elo or solo ranked elo?\n\nAlso people of higher elo can just play with lower elo accounts and carry the team to win the prize.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Why are some conservatives against "ObamaCare"? | The Heritage Foundation, a large conservative think tank and advocacy group, supported ideas found in ObamaCare in the 1990s, like the individual mandate (i.e. everyone has to pay in).
I consider myself a conservative and I like most of ObamaCare. I don't understand why more conservatives don't like it, so I am posting here.
Here is my point of view: everyone will get sick or hurt in their life and will require time with a doctor, but a lot of people choose not to pay in to the system. They don't pay in, get hurt, and then ask a hospital to fix their broken arm and leg (at a cost of $10,000) but don't pay for it. This $10,000 cost is now past on to me, through the higher health insurance premiums I have to pay every month.
This pisses me off. Why should I do the responsible thing and pay hundreds of dollars a month for health insurance I rarely use while someone else pays nothing and still gets care? **That person should have to pay in to the system too.** (whether it is a "tax" or a "required fee" or whatever, I don't care)
I think my point of view is the "conservative" point of view, but I have been told by some that it is not. What am I missing here? | 3 | [
{
"body": "If you're asking a legitimate question then i'd be happy to have a conversation with you.\n\nA true conservative does not advocate that the Government intervene and force anyone to buy something from a private entity \"or else\".\n\nYour issue, as you put it, is that you're paying into health insurance that you rarely use, so why shouldn't someone else be forced to?\n\nIf I may, and I mean no offense, just pointing this out to you, but that sounds very liberal of you.\n\nHealth Care is not expensive because some people don't have health insurnace. That's simply a farce.\n\nHealth insurance isn't expensive because some people don't have it. That's just a farce.\n\nThere are many reasons that make Health Insurance so expensive...to name a few:\n\n>State Mandates on insurance policies (open the borders, and let people buy where they want, and watch those prices go down 30-50%)\n\n>Overuse. People who go to the doctor every time they have a tinkle in their throat are making rates climb very high. \n\n>It's being used for something it should not be. The whole idea of health insurance started as a \"oh shit, im having a heart attack\" type of insurance. you know, the really expensive stuff, and \"we the people\" over decades of stupidity and greed, have demanded more and more be added to our plans.\n\nNow our plans are full of so much different stuff, copays, in network, out of net work, prescription, mental health, etc, etc...and we expect that all to be FREE???? C'mon, health insuranc ecompany's are in business to make money. If you want something added to your plan, you're going to pay for it, and the more we abuse those little things, the more it costs us all in the long run.\n\nA conservative viewpoint would say that Government should have NOTHING to do with it. That if you want to have Health Insurance at a reasonable price, then you should be able to shop wherever you want for it.\n\nCurrently, Government does not allow that. If you live in New York and want insurnace from someone in Utah, tough shit. you're stuck with providers in New York, and those providers are lambasted with new Yorks state mandates that drive your insurance premiums THROUGH THE ROOF.\n\nLobby the Gubment to lift those restrictions and watch the prices go down.\n\npeople don't \"not have health insurance\" because they dont like it\npeople don't have health insurance because they can't afford it\n\nand FORCING them to buy health insurance isn't going to change the fact that they CANT afford it.\n\n\nAll Obamacare does is legally require us, under threat of tax penalty, to buy private goods from Obama's big business buddies. Do you *REALLY* think that the Insurance company's who KNWO that you DONT HAVE A CHOICE to NOT BUY THEIR PRODUCT are going to LOWER the price?\n\nHell no. Theyr'e going to do the wise business choice and make as much freaking money off of this as they possibly can.\n\n\nAnd anyone who believes Obama when he says the tax penalties won't be enforced is just plain stupid & gullible. If you don't pay those taxes, you will go to prison. Mark my words.",
"score": 13
}
] |
For the Benefit of those who today enter this Subreddit for the first time, let us try to summarize the appeal of this show in a Sentence or less. | Here is my summary , it is only two words:
CHARACTHER DEVELOPMENT.
now an explanation:
Very few shows ( and no " children's show") spends as much time developing its characters as this show does. In most shows you are lucky to get 3-4 developed characters. Here we have at least 10. what is more, the plotlines of the show are built around the characters, their strengths and weaknesses and the way they relate to each other.
A great example of how MLP :FIM differs in its approach when compared to other animated shows is the episode " Sonic Rainboom" , which is often considered the best " first" episode for a non brony to watch.
This is the Plot of the episode: Rainbow Dash, an athletic hyerpcompetitive flier whose dream is to join " the wonderbolts ( a stunt flying team) is entering the " best young flier competition". If she wins she gets to spend the day hanging out with said wonderbolts ( and probably come to their attention for recruiting purposes in the future)
How would a normal animated show handle this plotline? Well Rainbow Dash would get to the competition and there would be another competitor, a bullying character or someone from her past, who was determined to win and was employing dirty tactics. In other words there would be an external conflict, and we would cheer Rainbow Dash on as she defeated the " bully competitor".
That is not how MLP : FIM does it. Rainbow Dash gets to the competition and her biggest enemy is.. herself and her own insecurities. The other competitors are not major players in the plot line ( and when they appear they are depicted in a neutral to positive light) It is all about Rainbow Dash finding the courage inside her , especially when a freak accident ( itself caused by a personality flaw of another major character) makes it really important for her to act bravely. All of the conflict is internal.
What this does is that it allows viewers to really get to know and identify with the characters. As a side benefit, it is one of the reasons that the average quality of the fanfics in this community is higher than in any other fandom i have encountered. A perceptive brony will know exactly how any given character will react in a situation, thus freeing us to create epic adventures without sacrificing characther development.
| 60 | [
{
"body": "My Little Pony, Friendship is magic took an unexpected developmental leap which propelled a previously girly and worthless franchise into one that introduces concepts and references that anyone of any age can relate to, all while using industry leading animation, art, and music.",
"score": 14
},
{
"body": "[](/twistare \"They aren't even here yet.... and if they were, I doubt they'd browse the new queue... Oh.... I get it now...\")If you've ever liked a Pixar film consider (most of) the reasons you like it; those are applicable to MLP.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "[](/grannysmith) That far more than one sentence.\n\nListen, I don't know if this is the best way to explain the show to an outsider, it's rather long. *Brevity is the soul of wit*, and as such, I think this would be a better, more understandable explanation:\n\n>The reason people like the show is because it's good. It's got a lot of the same people from Dexter's Lab and Powerpuff girls working on it, and they know how to make a good cartoon.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Less than a sentence?\n\n[](/ppcute) I'm not sure that chanting sentence fragments at our antagonists is going to do great things for our reputation.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Think of a cartoon or show from your past that you still like after seeing an episode recently and MLP:FiM would be THAT cartoon or show.\n\n\n\nNow, explanation time.\n\n\n\nFor the younger audience, it's fun and engaging. There is always something interesting happening that will catch your attention. That's the portion you like as a kid. Have a character that is similar to you? You might make them your role model.\n\nAs an adult, you appreciate the story telling, the character development, the progression of the MLP universe (pay careful attention to this, it's easy to miss the first time), the attention to detail, the jokes and double entendres, the references to pop culture and famous examples of old shows and even video games. You appreciate all of that and how it's quite effectively presented in a form that is easy for children to understand, but is deep enough for an adult with good analysis to appreciate. \n\nIf you watched older cartoons like Spongebob Squarepants, Rugrats, Powerpuff Girls, Ed, Edd, and Eddy, Dexter's Lab, or something similar, MLP;FiM is the equivalent of those shows. Newer cartoons have that \"random\" aspect to them to keep the attention of the younger audience and sometimes, it gets a little too annoying for us to bear. The best example of this is the newer set of Spongebob Squarepants episodes, especially ones that have Squidward deal with Spongebob. Older episodes where Squidward had to deal with Spongebob and Patrick were clever in how they clashed Patrick and Spongebob's carefree and lively personalities with Squidward's more restrained and heavily moderated personality. Now, it's just Spongebob and Patrick being downright annoying with no rhyme or reason. MLP;FiM doesn't do that (or if it does, it's rather rare).\n\nOh and lastly, we don't fully grow up mentally anyways. There are times for us to be serious, but there are times we would like to go back to our childhood days when we did not know so much and weren't so worried or apathetic.\n\nDamnit I failed so hard to explain that in one sentence.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "My little pony: Friendship is magic brings you [back to those days] (http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m43kltDwTU1r2yxdzo1_500.gif)\n\n[](/joy)",
"score": 3
}
] |
Dog-related colloquialisms | I'm in my 3rd week of studying German, and I like to practice while I walk my dog. Are there funny or cute things German people say to their dogs? German expressions regarding dogs? How do you say "I'm walking my dog" or "Hey dog, let's go for a walk"? | 10 | [
{
"body": "Lass uns Gassi gehen! (Let's go for a walk. (to the dog))\n\nIch gehe mit meinem Hund Gassi. (I am walking my dog.)\n\nWer ist ein guter Hund/Junge/Mädchen, ja wer ist ein guter Hund? (Who's a good dog/boy/girl?)\n\nHol das Stökchen! (Fetch the stick!)\n\nBei Fuß! (heel!)\n\nSitz! (sit!)\n\nPlatz! (down!)\n\nHier! (come!)\n\nHopp! (jimp)\n\nSuch! (track!)\n\nFass! (bite!)\n\nAUS! (let go!)\n\nGib Laut! (bark!)",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "Yeah, I wouldn't mind knowing some common commands like 'heel' or 'fetch'. Is their an equivalent for 'who's a good girl!?' because if I translate it directly it seems... odd. ",
"score": 5
}
] |
[TOMT] [Word] A word that means 'would-otherwise-be-non-existent' | My friend is trying to find that word so he can put it in his essay. The preceding sentence is;
'With populations already increasing exponentially, it is doubtful that society would benefit much from the infertile zombies in our midst rising from the grave and flooding our streets with their would-otherwise-be-non-existent offspring'
Thank you very much in advance. | 10 | [
{
"body": "If they're infertile, why would their offspring be \"otherwise non-existent\"? Wouldn't offspring be non-existent whether the zombies rose from their graves or not?\n\n",
"score": 3
}
] |
21/f - i've always been really insecure and thought myself too fat to get a decent guy...what do you guys think? | I've had some serious self esteem issues ever since I was little and I have this mentality that i'm too ugly to get a guy, i'm trying to dispel it but it is proving rather hard.
full body: http://imgur.com/HZs8B,0XNaH,jQW2E,SxEEB,EFnVR,IRDZe#2
http://imgur.com/HZs8B,0XNaH,jQW2E,SxEEB,EFnVR,IRDZe#3
Close up: http://imgur.com/HZs8B,0XNaH,jQW2E,SxEEB,EFnVR,IRDZe#1
I've debated chemically straightening my hair - people tell me i'm better looking with it so here is me with straight hair what's your opinion:
http://imgur.com/HZs8B,0XNaH,jQW2E,SxEEB,EFnVR,IRDZe#5
http://imgur.com/HZs8B,0XNaH,jQW2E,SxEEB,EFnVR,IRDZe#4 | 4 | [
{
"body": "Though I am not your target audience, per say... I think you are very pretty and would gladly go out with you. In fact, I even like the curls better than the straight hair. Weight is something that can change if it bothers you, but I find confidence is way sexier in the end than any \"perfect\" body. You look fun, which in turn makes you attractive. Just the opinion of a bi chick that thinks you have nothing to worry about. :)",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "If you think you're too fat, work on losing weight instead of playing the victim. Obviously this is easier said than done, but it's not impossible. You aren't immensely overweight, so with a proper diet you could slim down pretty quickly. Everyone suggests /r/keto and that's because it works. You should give it a try!\n\nI think you'd look better with longer hair. I personally would not chemically straighten it (which sounds funny because I get my hair chemically straightened) because your curls could look very nice if they don't have a shit ton of product in them. I'm partial to straight hair, so I do think you look better with it straight, but just having a flat iron handy should be enough. You look good with curls and should allow yourself to have the option to wear it straight or curly.",
"score": 7
}
] |
How Can I Get Cosplayers To A Comic Show? | Hey r/Cosplay, I need some advice/assistance. I'm putting on a comic and collectibles show in December in the Chicago suburbs, and of course we'd love to have people in costume there. I've contacted the 501st Legion about getting some storm troopers, but I'd really like to have as many different types of costumes there as possible. I already have the policy of anyone in costume gets in free, but can anyone recommend any forums or events I can advertise at to get the word to cosplayers to come out? | 7 | [
{
"body": "Well, first I'd suggest maybe crossposting to /r/chicago \n\nSpeaking as a Chicago local, I wouldn't mind showing up at all. Hell, I have a foam Master Chief costume I'll show up in...I'll take any excuse I can to wear that damn thing.",
"score": 3
}
] |
Hey can you give me some beta? | Ok, so I have this v15c boulder problem that I've been working on. Its a figure 4 to dyno to figure 4 first move, and I just can't seem to stick the move after. Obviously my shirt is off and I have 2 prana beanies so I can dramatically throw one off mid climb and still have the other on to keep my send factor high. Anyway, I decided to top dog it because some guy at my gym sprained his ankle on it and rated it X. After the hang at the second figure 4, what's the beta? I know there's a second hang a couple feet up but I can't quite get past the first. Tell me about your project too because other people need to know how hard we send. | 14 | [
{
"body": "check out these techniques they might help, you should probably look into attempting an assisted dyno: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsAiOYXC-k0",
"score": 13
},
{
"body": "I sent that thing last week and down graded it to vE10. After the second figure four, just egyptian pixie kick dyno to the mono gastocling sloper and highstep dropknee bathang the double hueco crimp with the bomber thumbcatch. ",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Dude beta is totally figure 4 dyno to figure 9. Not to figure 4. Give it a shot and you'll be getting ALL the yoga pants!",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "bro, you got to have at least one gaston in there. It is v15.\n\nRight now i'm working this killer problem that has like this pinch sloper mono to an above your head right foot smear that goes into an inversion with a right hand and left hand 1/4 pad crimp monos. I mean, that's the start, but the crux is actually getting through the iron cross back to this nar bathang. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "What's your powerscream like? I noticed you didn't mention using one. How can you ever expect to send anything above v4 is you're not yelling during every move?",
"score": 3
}
] |
What songs get you PUMPED UP before hockey? | I like some of the old school songs
* TNT, Hells Bells, and Thunderstruck - AC/DC
* Welcome to the Jungle - Guns N Roses
* Crazy train - Ozzy
What are yours?? I'm making a playlist :D | 8 | [
{
"body": "**SKATING OUT**\n\n* Awaken - Dethklok\n* Danger Zone - Kenny Loggins\n* If You Want Blood - AC/DC\n* Trashed and Scattered - Avenged Sevenfold\n\n**GOALIE**\n\n* Pretty much anything by Muse\n* Scott Pilgrim Soundtrack\n* Jonny Lang",
"score": 5
}
] |
KERX and CPRX - When is it time to sell? | Hello Everyone,
I'm kind of a young student whose trying to get into investing. I'm trying to get a hang of the finer points. One thing I can't seem to figure out is knowing when it is time to sell. I bought 500 shares of KERX a while back at 1.95. The shares are currently trading around 2.88. I bought 500 shares of CPRX at 1.45 and it's currently around 1.88. Both companies will be releasing the results of clinical trials soon. I'm currently looking at pretty good profits. Is it likely the stock price will continue to increase or should I back out now? | 3 | [
{
"body": "Why did you buy KERX? Hopefully, you made a list like:\n\n* Their P/E is XX, below the average of the industry's XX.\n* They are projected to grow in earnings by XX% next year with margins remaining the same, so they should be worth $XX in 12 months.\n* They are releasing the results of clinical trials soon, and historically a new drug will increase earnings by $X B, giving the company a valuation of $XX.\n\nOnce these things stop being true, sell. Basically, don't look at it as a \"should I sell?\" logical question. Ask yourself, \"If I didn't own this position, should I buy?\" If you can't make an argument for buying it, didn't you just explain why you should sell?",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "A good strategy in general is to take half of your holding out. Basically, once a stock has doubled, take out you profits and leave your original investment in. Ive done it several times. In fact, I've done it multiple times with the same stock. Granted, if I hasn't done it, I would have double doubled eventually, but cutting your gains like this is a way to minimize risk and lock-in at least a guarantee of your original investment. \n\nTo reiterate: when in doubt, consider taking your profits and leaving your original investment in. ",
"score": 3
}
] |
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