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Thoughts on the selfless sharing of knowledge. | I've been spending some time on TED.com which you should totally check out if you haven't already.
The videos are summaries of many years or research and learning done by the very intelligent contributors to TED, now these people have done years at school, etc. Their lives are learning, spending years studying [Baboons](http://www.ted.com/talks/robert_sapolsky_the_uniqueness_of_humans.html) and thinking for a living. Knowledge is their strength and yet they share their knowledge to the world without hesitation. Compare this to someone whos strength is in their money, they don't share with the world they take it to their graves or pass it down to their children to devour it until it's gone and then the cycle repeats.
It strengthens my faith in humanity that knowledge is so freely available and it's up to us just to take it in.
edit: I think the edibles have found me.
**Double edit:**
I was just thinking.
If the theory of the big bang is true then everything in the universe we know through science came from a single point. All the matter of everything we know has originated from the same place, it is all the same. If you bake a loaf of bread, as the ingredients expand, the bread at the top of the loaf doesn't become anything different from the bottom of the loaf. it is the same thing but there will be slight differences in structure throughout caused by outside forces. That's where we find ourselves. The culture stemming from the first humans has believed us as important and that our world is important above all others.
We are important but because we are a part of everything. We are just a product of the universe, we are the universe and it is us. We are all one because we are a part of everything, and that everything stemmed from oneness. If all the planets and particles of the universe are the same then what makes us feel that we are anything apart from this.
It doesn't matter what anyone thinks though, it doesn't change it. We are important as a species because we are part of the recipe. The ingredients were in the mixture for us to exist, does that mean there is a 'god' and we were created? Or does the universe have a huge quantity of ingredients that through trial and error make something pleasant to eat.
edit3: That being said, perhaps we are the first time the ingredients have come together and produced a good combination. The experimentation can be seen in the diversity of nature. If our species is so successful why aren't all animals on earth like us? There is no control, just action.
To summarize; Everything is one, it has just become bigger. | 20 | [
{
"body": "I've never looked at it like that. Your comparison between those who find strength in money and those who find strength in knowledge is insightful, to say the least. \n\nIt strengthens my faith in human knowledge that people like you can think to freely. \n\n",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "this is why /trees is so good we have so many cool people who open up and share their awesome thoughts :)",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "While in Alaska for the summer I had become a big fan foraging so I could pack less on long hikes and supplement along the way (for free). I had been told about a certain plant that I could make a tea from but I had never seen one. I posted to reddit.com a photo of a plant that I suspected was it but wanted to be safe and know for sure. I was amazed that with such a small group of people answering a question, a speedy answer could be delivered. Even those who had no knowledge of the plant were able to aid the conversation merely by trying search terms I hadn't thought of in Google and coming up with new results. Within hours reddit had found an exact match and I was able to verify that the tea I was about to make was a safe natural edible food and not a poison.\n\nI pondered about how grateful I would be if I were lost in the Mountains, within cell range but cold and without food. How fast could you all save my life? How quickly would a site aggregator like Reddit identify a plant nearby that I could eat or a traditional native method of insulation/heat or fire making I could utilize? Why does it work? Why do people volunteer services, advice, time to total strangers?\n\nReddit brings us a degree closer to tapping into the commonwealth of our unifying field of knowledge. This is especially prominent in questions about health or drugs. Even if the right to that knowledge is censored by profit motives, millions of free culture minded people are assisting others in ways to be healthy and safe in their physical, mental, psychological, or spiritual needs.\n\nEarlier this year a ‘Redditor’ who suffered from severe acne and acne caused depression for 13 years and found a 7 day cure. He found a solution that worked for him which involved a fresh clean pillow case each night. I'm sure will be tried by others which means within weeks our common knowledge might have a peer reviewed confirmation. Imagine the thousands of people's pain this Super Hero may have ended. Giving knowledge freely is healing.\n\nEarlier still an amateur astronomer with a small telescope found a big storm on Jupiter... before the bone fide astronomers did. This shows us that, as useful as specialized equipment and research teams are, a million amateur telescopes can cover a lot more local space. Free knowledge and fast communication leads to mankind befitting from random personal passionate pursuits.\n\nI look forward to the day I can have my superhero iPhone App. One that knows my strengths or areas of study and will ring a big orange envelope (not the red phone, it's reputation is tarnished) when someone has a question within my areas of interest and I can instantly provide what I can, or help find it with my limited range.\n\nImagine your at a party with friends and an orange envelope arrives on your phone with your theme song playing. Someone’s car has broken down and they have sent out the cry for help on their app. GPS in phones means that the Super Heroes closest to the scene are called first to assist, and if none can help the cry is sent in a larger radius. Based on your profile (You’ve listed “basic car maintenance”) you were called to help jump start the car. You and other mechanic “sidekicks” wishing to help are put in a Google Wave in case you need assistance remembering what order to put the cables on.\n\nJust as you finish, your Superhero tone starts playing again, another orange envelope in the area. This time however, you hear a second ring playing another theme song.\n\nThe driver you helped out is, of course, also a super hero. We all are. The cry for help is from just a block away… from the same party you were at. The driver you helped out lists \"DD\" as one of his super hero traits.\n\nHe answers his envelope which puts him in a Google Wave with all other DDs in the area and it shows a map of where everyone is and where the intoxicated person needs to go. The best candidate accepts the mission.\n\nThis idea combined with Google Wave also allows for “sidekicks” to take the calls. They may have expertise they can lend to the situation even if they are not in a reasonable proximity. (ie. A mechanic might get a photo of the engine you’re looking at and circle the area you need to unscrew)\n\nIf you’ve ever been on Reddit… this gives a whole new meaning to the term KARMA POINTS or REPUTATION POINTS. ",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Proper spelling of fff...uuu..., graphed [PIC] | Full grid:
http://imgur.com/wn3OI
(by number of search results estimated by Google)
Nontrivial (f's and u's > 1) winners are, in order of popularity:
- fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu (7/12: name of the subreddit)
- fffuuu (3/3: rather terse, really!)
- fffffuuuuuuu (5/7: overdoes it without overdoing overdoing it)
- ffffffffffffuuuuuuuuu (12/9: a popular variant, perhaps unexpectedly)
Then there's some clustering around similar numbers of f's and u's.
One 'f' is popular too, but I consider than a degenerate usage, along with one 'u' cases.
Not much is going on for more than 12 f's or u's. | 27 | [
{
"body": "Here's a lazy text-based fffffffuuuuuu cartoon for you, if there's anyone still out there:\n\n* Submit a small handful of okay links to reddit over a year that nobody noticed or liked.\n* Be curious about fffffuuuu spellings & write a Python script\n* Take the trouble to put the results on Reddit\n* Oh look! Actually got a couple upvotes. Maybe my link karma won't be 1 any more.\n* Oh, its a self post. No karma.\n* Ffffffuuuuu, I suppose. ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "The graph is doing some neat 3D optical illusions on my monitor. Or I'm drunk. Upvote regardless. ",
"score": 3
}
]
|
I thought I was over her, so why do I feel this way? | I come from an Asian culture, and so I was talking to a girl last year of the possibility of getting married. We've known each other for many years. She ended up getting married in 2007, and got a divorce shortly after because her husband was leading a double life with another woman.
Shortly after an engagement of mine broke up, we began talking on the phone and clicked again. I began thinking that she might be the one. We were going to meet, but there were a couple of false starts (cancelled flights and other emergencies).
When we finally met last year, I thought we'd hit it off, but things fell apart as the weekend progressed. I told myself that we'd never work out and thought I had moved on.
Well, today I got an e-mail from her to me and some other friends saying that she met another guy and that they got married a couple of weeks ago. I don't feel jealous exactly, I think I'm more wistful about it.
I know that we never would have worked, but it still doesn't lessen the hurt and sadness I feel right now. | 9 | [
{
"body": "Are you single at the moment? Maybe it's just amplified feelings of loneliness if that's what you are currently feeling. I know that I often mull over the girls I have previously been with when I am single.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "I know this is hard to hear but this woman did you a huge favor. It sounds to me she is very immature and doesn't take marriage or relationships seriously at all.\n\nAnd you sound like a very compassionate person who deserves much better. \n\nRejection hurts at first but you will look back and see where this is one of those times where getting what you wanted was not what you needed.",
"score": 4
}
]
|
DAE feel like they're friends with some people just because of history? | My so-called best friends are from back in the middle school days. As of late they've unimpressed me to the point where I don't think I'd even associate with them if I hadn't known them for so long. It sounds cynical I know, but I'm sure others feel the same. | 72 | [
{
"body": "I think of it the other way. It's interesting how people you have nothing in common with are good friends of yours, whereas you meet someone on the street, think \"oh, I have nothing in common with them\", and that's that. Why can't we treat everyone the way we treat friends? Why do we have some requirement for familiarity and understanding before we treat strangers the way you'd treat friends?\n\nI've got a ton of friends from way back who are now into the spiked hair, studded jacket kind of punk thing. That's about the opposite of me on the ends of the musical spectrum, but I still appreciate them and enjoy hanging out with them. Why am I such an ass to random yobs? Why do I treat them like we'll never get along?\n\nI guess it's part of human nature to look for differences, not similarities.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "I just departed from my group of friends of 23 years. People grow apart. The only thing that bonded all of us was our past and that wasn't enough for me to keep up hanging on. I guess I got sick of all the BS. Now I'm considered the loser, the outcast because I parted ways...so plan your escape carefully.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "It's an interesting point. I have some friends I've known since the first grade. About two years ago I said to them, \"You know, we are all completely different than we were a few years ago, let alone when we first met. But we all still get along and enjoy each others' company.\"\n\nWe definitely have our rough patches and can get on each others' nerves. But it's more than our history that keeps us friends.\n\nIf your friends aren't making you happy, for whatever reason, it might be time to reevaluate why you are friends with them in the first place, history be damned.",
"score": 6
}
]
|
I want to move out of my parent's house, but I'm not sure how. How can I do this? | So basic info. I'm 17(turning 18 in April). I live in southern California. I have a part-time job serving coffee at minimum wage(8$/hr). It makes me average 500$ a month. I currently live with my parents and for various reason(wanting more independence, ongoing relationship problems, wanting to be closer to my jc of choice, etc) I want to move out.
I'm planning on going to a junior/community college this fall for 2 years then transferring to finish at a 4 year. Going to a 4 year right off the bat is not an option as I haven't taken the SAT because transferring has been my plan all along and I can't get accepted this fall w/o it(plus I'm undecided still and would rather mess around at a jc then at a 10k a year uni).
I can get some support from my parents since I am becoming a full time student during the fall, but I don't know how much as we are facing some financial woes just like everyone else.
What do I need to do/know in order to have a successful plan for moving out and becoming a full time student?
(Also, if I left out any information that would be helpful please mention it and I will gladly provide it.)
| 3 | [
{
"body": "Contact the JC and see if the have a dorm system. Some do. Moving directly into an aartment on your own will not be possible with your current income. \n\nOnly sign a lease to share an apartment/house with people you know and trust AND who have some kind of finacial plans to actually pay their part of the rent. \n\nSee if you can get into a co-op house. Co-op houses usually have a good screening process so deadbeats are less likely. \n\n",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Hello /r/TO! Please tell me your favorite computer shops. | I am looking to buy some computer equipment for the first time in the city, and I've heard of certain stores that people swear by. Please let me know your best spots to grab computer components. Thank you! | 7 | [
{
"body": "There is a canada computers and several small computer and electronics shops around college and spadina, I used to just walk west on college on the north side of the street, then walk back east on the south side of the street checking out all of the computer stores on my way to compare prices, write down the store name and the cost and the shop owners are usually willing to bring their prices down slightly to get your business.\n\n\nMore recently I have been shopping at [NCIX](http://www.ncix.com/) since they price match to any Canadian computer store with a link to verify the price and even after shipping they are still cheaper, and there is only 5% tax to anyone outside of BC. They also have some really good surprise sales and shipping promos.",
"score": 12
},
{
"body": "Go to College and Spadina. My friend took me there to get some parts, he haggled among the 15 or so shops and got everything essentially half off.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "newegg.ca is good a good website. \ncanada computers is probably your best bet for a store...theyre all over the place...though theyre also pretty busy and it can take a while to get help.\nive used pricenetwork.com to compare prices of things in the past, but im not sure of its quality anymore....just seems to be comparing the same few stores....\ni used to use tiger direct before discovering canada computers(woodbine and 7....north of the city)",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I usually wind up buying general parts at Tiger Direct, either one of the brick 'n' mortar stores or http://www.tigerdirect.ca. When I need performance stuff I sometimes patronize Premier Computer Canada http://www.pccanada.com/ or PC Village http://www.pcvonline.com/\n\nThe last time I bought all of the components for a new computer, I used TigerDirect. But if you want to buy just one or two specific pieces then you should definitely shop around and find the cheapest store. Sometimes the big-box stores like Future Shop & Best Buy can have a crazy good deal. I remember finding a GeForce 8800 GT 512 at Future Shop for less than pretty much anyone else had it.\n\nNote that smaller shops (e.g, those in the College & Spadina area, near U of T) will sometimes tack on an extra fee if you use VISA. I prefer to buy using my VISA card since it means I get an automatic extended warranty.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Ok, Reddit- what kind of awesome regional foods are in your area? | I'm sure someone has done this before, but I'm kinda new here, so here goes: if I came to visit you tomorrow, what kind of interesting or unique food would I *have* to try? Please tell me not only the name, but what it is comprised of.
Bonus points for a pic of you eating it! | 3 | [
{
"body": "In Ireland I am, but I presume popular in the UK too and many other countries. \r\n\r\n[Black Pudding!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_pudding)\r\n\r\nConsists of pigs blood and cereals. Tasty stuff!",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "The state of NJ is best known for its diners but more specifically the specialty is taylor ham, egg, and cheese sandwiches.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Holy fuck, a chance to pimp venezuelan cuisine!\n\nWell... we have arepas. It's like bread, but awesomer and, eh, uhm, flourier I guess? We have some awesome cheeses though.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
DAE feel that token sex scenes take away from a movie's appeal? | I'll make this simple.
Whenever I see a movie, particularly a historical drama/action movie, the first thing I check for after the plot synopsis is whether or not it has nudity and/or sex scenes in it.
If I'm watching it alone it's not much of a problem; but it makes watching it with friends and, especially, family very annoying. You know ahead of time that there is going to be a scene of softcore porn and the people around you are going to aware that you're watching it. Worst by far is if you're the one who recommended it.
Outside of the public embarrassment factor, I'm still annoyed by the concept that even in non-Romantic stories the majority of them still find time to put a sex scene (nudity or not) into the story even if it's out-of-context or disruptive to the overall pace.
Anyone else have this issue with movies? | 66 | [
{
"body": "I agree totally. Somehow I think these scenes are a a result of studio pressure or not enough faith in the script. Its so sad when a movie has an unnecessary sex scene.\n\nIf The Incredibles was not Disney and live action, it would probably have a sex scene.\n\nAlso, there can be a sex scene without nudity. In the past sex was suggested. Its just more classy that way.",
"score": 10
},
{
"body": "There's a time and a place for them, and in the right time and place there should be no embarrassment at all. Sex scenes for the sake of sex scenes are just annoying.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "I felt this way when I went to go see Watchmen. That 10 minute sex scene set to \"Hallelujah\" by Jeff Buckley was sooo excessive. ",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "I agree but for different reasons. For me it doesn't add to the film. It's just kind of there and I think it's tacky. ",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "depends on the movie.\n\n I remember going to see a french movie at the local indie theater with my french class. Only the girls showed up, so it was me and 14 high school girls. It had several scenes that made me squirm in that company. But, although it was uncomfortable it was a part of the story, pushed the plot.\n\nI saw a recent movie; i was thoroughly enjoying it (i can't for the life of me remember what it was), but there was a completely useless sex scene in the middle.\n\n Nobody should pay for porn, and thats what it feels like when they add that crap.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "It was really out of place in 300. They just added it so you wouldn't think Leonidas was gay. But people thought that anyway so useless scene.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "This happened when I recommended Office Space in middle school to watch with a friend and his parents. Forgot the TV version was cut. Not much shown, but still.\n\nFunny thing was, the one he wanted to watch was even worse. His mother told me not to tell my parents, haha.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "[This](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2OjnUFbuCA) is the only sex scene I have found pertinent to a movie's storyline.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
2010 - The Year of Marijuana? | First medical marijuana in New Jersey then hopefully real end of prohibition in California. Perhaps Trees can also snag Community of the Year on Reddit.
The success is most mind-boggling. But just like you can't count chickens before they're hatched... you also can't harvest until the buds are ready. Keep strong, Trees. | 79 | [
{
"body": "> Perhaps Trees can also snag Community of the Year on Reddit.\n\n\n...and you can get mod of the year, as well! Ya been good tuh us, boss. The fact that everyone here is so riled up about this community of the year business shows that.\n\nEDIT: Formatting",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Wai- this is the year of the Linux desktop.....\n\nbeside that, yeah it's looking real positive for mary J this year, if those places that it's already more legal provide a good example then maybe the freedom will spread...\n\n",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "We are all waiting to see what Cali is going to do. If the Cali bill passes and Cali is able to recoup at least 300 million on taxes on Marijuana I think a lot of states will be hard pressed not to follow.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Looking to expand RAM, but DDR2 pricings make me a sad panda. | Currently I have a [Kingston hyperx 2gb single channel](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104007), way back when it was dirt cheap.
I should have bought more, but I didn't. Now I'm kicking myself in the arse for not doing so, but I feel the need to do a memory upgrade/expansion to 4gb or more.
Buying another one of these is not very reasonable in my eyes right now. Is there a different RAM product that anyone recommends to use alongside this? (or possibly replace)
I've tried to mix the above chip with an old 1gb ram with different voltages, but that failed as I expected. Wishful thinking I guess.
Or, should I just wait it out until DDR2 prices go down... | 21 | [
{
"body": "From what I recall, DDR2 prices probably won't go down. DDR3 is in full swing, with both camps (Intel and AMD) supporting it in their latest incarnations, so DDR2 is essentially out. Memory makers are ramping up DDR3 production since demand for DDR2 has gone down.\n\nIf you want to add another stick, it has to be of the same type that is in your computer right now, aka the one you linked in your post.\n\nIf you're looking for a decent 4GB dual channel DDR2 kit, [here is a good one](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231207). Otherwise, I would wait out until you can afford a new cpu, mobo, and ram. And you would need a 64-bit OS to fully utilize the 4GB of ram, anyways.",
"score": 13
},
{
"body": "DDR2 is damn expensive, I bought my 4GB kit [for ~$29](http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/1223/42983062.jpg). *(had a ~$10 coupon code)*",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Think thats bad... DDR prices are more expensive than same size DDR2. Its a huge scam, and prices wont ever come down in any sizable amount.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
What is your best jury duty story? | I've never been on one (I'm too young) but I have heard some incredible stories from teachers and parents. What are yours? | 6 | [
{
"body": "during one of my sessions on jury duty....after sitting through a half-hour orientation where the court reps explain the whole process and then answer any remaining questions, some woman turns around asks me, \"So, what are we all doing here?\". i quickly realized that she wasn't joking and i had to give here a grade school lesson on the American justice system.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Have you ever seen \"12 Angry Men\"? Mine was kind of like that, except on the first jury vote I was the only one whose vote was \"Guilty\". Over the next four days I managed to talk the other 11 people into convicting the guy.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Men of Reddit: How many of you have mustaches that don't connect to your beard? | No matter how long I let either my beard or mustache grow, they won't connect. My beard also refuses to connect to my hair at the sideburns. | 57 | [
{
"body": "My goatee will not connect to my sideburns, nor will my mustache connect to the rest of my beard. My goatee also doesn't grow more than halfway up my chin. Also whatever does grow in is fairly sparse even after many months' worth of growing. This is a professional artist's rendering of how my grown-in facial hair looks: http://imgur.com/HUWh9",
"score": 20
},
{
"body": "I have the same problem. I've been growing my beard and mustache for nearly two years. I trim my beard every week, yet my mustache refuses to grow more than two millimeters or into my beard. Having a blond mustache and dark beard doesn't help.",
"score": 19
},
{
"body": "I have a fantastic beard/moustache combination, but for the love of god, the 2mm gap between my moustache and beard will NOT fill in. My beard even reaches UP towards my moustache, but they never quite connect; it's like having the goddamn Creation of Adam rendered on my face in hair.",
"score": 13
},
{
"body": "My moustache trickles down into my beard. If you're not looking closely, the moustache looks like its own entity but really it's just a cheap charade.",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "Mine don't connect, but seemingly unlike everyone else here who doesn't grow any hair in that little strip I couldn't care less.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I had the same problem so I came up with a simple solution. I just let the whiskers on the sides of my mouth to grow long so it looks like a connection is made. Unfortunately I had to shave it all off for a job interview yesterday. RIP facial hair. :(",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "My beard touches everything, whether I want it to or not.\n\nhttp://imgur.com/p7GWr\n\nhttp://imgur.com/VAIDn\n",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I feel ya, brother. While the individual hairs in my beard are nice and thick, it is patchy and the mustache doesn't connect with the chin hair at all. I really want to grow a beard (and keep it trim), but it just doesn't look good. Oh well.\n\nI grow hair on my chin and neck like nobody's business, but that's about it. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "A plethora of beardly posts on reddit lately... could only be a sign of one thing: *The Moustache Wars have begun!*",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Sorry. I could grow a full beard since I was 17. In fact, I've had either a full beard or goatee since mid-2005.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I'm 26 and have useless pre-teen facial hair. I don't grow anything out, but if I did my mustache would be separated from from everything else by at least an inch of bare skin. Nothing connects to anything. I should just get it all laser removed. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "My stache doesn't connect with my goat. I HATE THAT. \n\nMy brother said he had the same problem until he was about 30.\n\nI'm now 37 and it still doesn't connect. FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "yep, i kinda let my mustache grow out at the ends so it kinda looks like they connect. but not 100% :(",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Let's have a linkfest: What are your favorite trans-related blogs and resources? | Most of the links to blogs and resources get posted because there is one specific article that people ought to read, but sometimes it's good to know just where the good places are. That's what this topic is for. Give the URL to some cool site, **and** include something about what it is about and why you like it.
I'll start with some of mine:
* [Questioning Transphobia](http://questioningtransphobia.wordpress.com/) — Awesome for trans-related news, thoughtful personal stories, a great set of Trans 101 links in the sidebar for people trying to understand, and a long blogroll of links to other trans-related blogs.
* [T-Central](http://t-central.blogspot.com/) — A meta-blog of trans blogs. If you want to see an overview of trans-blogging, this is probably the place.
* [A Gender Variance Who’s Who](http://zagria.blogspot.com/) — If you want to get a sense of the modern history of trans experience by knowing who the players were and are, this is a great place to start.
* [Transsexual Road Map](http://www.tsroadmap.com/) — A massive resource site mostly directed at trans people and their allies. Pretty well known.
That's four to be going on with, but I'm asking for *yours*.
| 18 | [
{
"body": "Off the top of my head (all of these are great):\n\n* [FTM Mentors](http://ftmmentors.org/)\n* [MTF Mentors](http://mtfmentors.org/)\n* [TransFamily](http://transfamily.org/)\n* [TransBucket](http://trans-health.org/)\n* [SOFFA Mentors](http://soffa.transmentors.org/)\n* [Yay for Queers chat](http://ftmichael.transboys.info/yayforqueers.html)\n* [Trans Youth Family Allies](http://imatyfa.org/)\n* [Trans Kids Purple Rainbow](http://transkidspurplerainbow.org/)\n* [Why Don't You Tell Them I'm a Boy?](http://safeschoolscoalition.org/whydontyoutellthem.pdf)\n* [PFLAG's Transgender Network (T-Net)](http://community.pflag.org/Page.aspx?pid=266)\n* [Worldwide therapist listings on T-Vox](http://t-vox.org/index.php?title=Therapists_by_region)\n* [Online support group listings on T-Vox](http://t-vox.org/index.php?title=Online_Support)\n* [Kids T-Net](http://groups.yahoo.com/group/njkidst-net/) - for Trans folks 18 and under\n* [Worldwide support group listings on T-Vox](http://t-vox.org/index.php?title=Support_groups)\n* [Ten-minute YouTube on coming out as FTM](http://youtube.com/watch?v=vPBLYBIo0uw)\n* [Gender Odyssey conference](http://genderodyssey.org/) in Seattle, WA\n* [Trans Health conference](http://trans-health.org/) in Philadelphia, PA\n* [Southern Comfort conference](http://sccatl.org/) in Atlanta, GA\n* [Teen Transman](http://groups.yahoo.com/group/teentransman/) - for Trans guys 25 and under\n* [T-Vox](http://t-vox.org/) - resource/info central. The Trans Wikipedia.\n* [TransMasculine](http://transmasculine.com/) - FTM-specific version of TransBucket\n* [Camp Aranu'tiq](http://camparanutiq.org/) - for Trans and gender-variant kids aged 8-15\n* [Gender Spectrum Family conference](http://genderspectrumfamily.org/) in Seattle, WA - for Trans kids/youth and their families. \n* [Mom, I Need To Be a Girl](http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/Evelyn/Evelyn.html) - available in English, العربيّة, Deutsch, Español, Français, עברית, and Português.\n* [Gender Spectrum](http://genderspectrum.org/) - for Trans kids/youth and their families. Check out their fantastic book, *The Transgender Child*.\n* [PFLAG's Transgender Network](http://community.pflag.org/Page.aspx?pid=413), where you can buy the amazing *Trans Forming Families* and *Our Trans Children*\n* [*TransGeneration*](http://amazon.com/TransGeneration-Raci-Ignacio/dp/B000CRR3I8) (Ignore what Lucas says in the first episode about hormones being 'very dangerous' - they're not, not if you get them through a competent doctor and have regular - which usually means annual - bloodwork, and that was irresponsible of him to say.)",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "FWIW, my question comes out of my being “away from the community” (community? ha!) for well over a decade, before getting drawn back in, largely by reddit (especially by the [lgbt](http://www.reddit.com/r/lgbt/) and [transgender](http://www.reddit.com/r/transgender/) subreddits).\n\nAfter so long away, I decided to try to try to find what was out there on the interwebs. The process was quite simple; begin with some trans blogs and sites, find links to other sites, collect them, repeat. I ended up with over two thousand sites talking about trans-related issuse (admittedly some just blogs talking about particular trans news items). From that list, it was easy enough to version of Google's pagerank algorithm and work out which ones were the most linked to and the most central ([Questioning Transphobia](http://questioningtransphobia.wordpress.com/) is easily the most popular, whatever your metric).\n\nI actually have the top 100 listed on a blog somewhere, but I'd like to know what other people are reading too.\n",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Discounting mind control and holo decks, what would it take for something to convince you they are a god? | Guess this depends on people's personal definition of a god, but I think you understand what I'm trying to get at. | 4 | [
{
"body": "A being could convince me that they are immensely powerful and worthy of respect along those lines. I might call such a being god for sake of utility. A being worthy of the classification of 'god' could probably show me the actual act of creation. Make me a universe, complete with life of your own design, and I'll call you *a* god with zero hangups.\n\nThat said, I would then have to judge that god on their own merits. Identifying the entity as powerful or even believing it to be my creator would not be enough to earn my worship.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Nothing. Nothing can convince me that there is anything supernatural. You might be able to move mountains and make the sun and moon disappear, I still don't believe. Just because you've somehow demonstrated an illusion which I cannot explain, I don't assume you have magical powers. \n\nThe whole notion of \"supernatural\" is bogus anyway. It's all just the natural world. There may be other dimensions and phenomenon which we can't even imagine, but at some level there is an explination, and it is a rational one. Somehow, someway there is a mechanism at play that explains how it works. We just might not understand what that is yet. \n\n",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "i spent a long time in this discussion a couple of days ago, and my conclusion is: there is no evidence which would be accepted by science",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Jehovah appearing in a pillar of light at the [Atheist Convention](http://www.atheistconvention.org.au/) and saying \"You're all **WRONG!**\" would probably do it for me.\n",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "One specific and true miracle. A god who was capable of uniting all human religions and convert all their followers to one unified faith. If some being could achieve that and flex some supernatural powers, I'd accept it as a god.\n\nAs for worshipping said god, it would first need to justify the mess it allowed on earth before its arrival, then stand trial for all the attrocities such as genocide and murder and other crimes against humanity it caused (committed in its name), then found a religion not destructive to the planet or to the minds of believers and not causing believers to harm those outside the religion, and so on. In other words, I wouldn't automatically respect and revere such a being. it would need to be worthy of respect. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Making England win the World Cup. \nThis would truly be a miracle of astronomical proportions.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "If a being appeared before me and said that in exchange for worshipping it I would be granted the power to cause any person considering posting a question on reddit that asks what it would take to convince me of a god's existence to suddenly become so sexually aroused that he or she closes reddit and watches porn instead, I'd seriously consider the offer.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
I wanted to remind everyone about our channel in Eve. | I ended up joining it by chance (figured I'd try it) and since there's only been one post about it a few weeks ago I figured I'd remind everyone that there's a channel in Eve dedicated to this subreddit.
To get into it, there's a small speech bubble icon at the top right of your chat windows. Click that and enter 'Reddit' and hit join. | 26 | [
{
"body": "we are all generally nice there, and you can usually get decent advice/knowledge from ppl if you're a noob! Reddit in-game channel FTW!",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Should I go to my younger girlfriend's high school prom? | She's a senior in high school and I'm a second year student in college. There's a year and a half age difference, which isn't that big of a deal. I'm scared I'll look like the creepy old guy and she's going to look like the skank who brought her boyfriend who's too old for her. We've been dating for half a year and I really care about her.
She asked me about it today and I had no idea what to say. I want her to have a good time and I don't mind being the old guy at prom because I don't know many people at her school. I told her to give me time to think about it, when in actuality I needed the time to ask reddit. So reddit, any advice? | 11 | [
{
"body": "if it means that much to her, suck it up and go. no matter how bad you think it might be, it'll be 10x worse if she wants to go and you let her down",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I am 3 years older than my girlfriend. I took her to my junior prom when she was a freshman then we separated and she took me to her senior prom. We had a fantastic time and are still dating even now (almost 2 years). Take her, you will have tons of fun and it will be something you will be able to talk about and look back upon for many years.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Is anyone else going to FOWA Miami 2010? | Hey web_design,
I'm going to [FOWA Miami](http://events.carsonified.com/fowa/2010/miami) in February, and since [Steve Huffman is speaking](http://events.carsonified.com/fowa/2010/miami/speakers#stevehuffman) (co-founder of Reddit) I was wondering if any other web_design redditors were going. Maybe we can get a beer or hang out at the Barcamp before the conference.
So, which of you can I expect to see there? | 8 | [
{
"body": "Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad idea. I'm about 3 hours north. I think I'll try to get there. Thank you for the heads up. ",
"score": 3
}
]
|
What was the last act of kindness have you done to a complete stranger or a homeless person? | I have been unemployed for 52-56 weeks already. Today I received a call from an agent from a staffing agency who invited me to come-in for an interview. Immediately after the interview I went to this small deli/convenient store and ordered hotdog and a piece of fried chicken. As soon as I have the chance to sit down and start eating, I saw a group of three homeless middle-aged people sitting close to my table. They are just loitering and not really eating anything. I could tell that they were watching me eat and whenever I catch them looking at me, they look away. I asked the cashier/manager if he could accompany me out of the store so I could privately ask him a question. I asked if he could offer this group food (1 chicken piece, 1 hotdog, 1 soda). I told him that I would pay for it. And so he did.
The group accepted the offer and profusely thanked me. When the orders were served, I paid $18 and headed my way out. At that time I was confused of my feeling. I feel good that I was able to execute an act of kindness, and at the same time, I feel depress thinking about their situation. I also thought that the $18 I spent for them could have been my dinner for tonight and tomorrow.
Reddit: What was the last act of kindness you have done for a homeless or total stranger, and how did it made you feel? | 9 | [
{
"body": "**TLDR:**\nDespite being broke, I spent $18 for strangers' food and ended up with mixed emotions (feeling good, and at the same time: depression and sadness)",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Gave a lady $100 who was having a really tough time.\n\nAlso, you made those people's day. There is no better way to spend $18 IMO, unemployed or not.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I was on the bus home from work tonight when a woman in a wheelchair got on. She was having trouble manoeuvring her chair through the doors, to which I was the closest passenger.\n\nI spared her the embarrassment of having to take the pitying help of a stranger, surrendering her own independence, by pretending to receive a text message on my phone.\n\nOnce she was settled in and the bus moving again, I looked up and our eyes met. We smiled and I knew I had made the right decision. Her gratitude said it all.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I donated a little money to P-Dub but now I'm getting all kinds of spam from Redditors, shame really that there about a dozen hitting reply all to talk about their lunch. \n\nquick edit: I have no regrets on helping his mother out, I'm just embarrassed for the redditors that are taking advantage of her accident in not BCCing us all and just using CC. They really should be ashamed of themselves. But I still feel good about the $50 I gave her. ",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Found a guy down at the park by my house, shirtless, shoeless, bruised and in tears saying telling me how his parents had abused him and he had enough and had been sleeping rough for the last three days. He had just got into a fight and they had taken his shirt, hoody shoes and money. (this was in the middle of winter)\r\n\r\nI went back to my place grabbed a bag and chucked a load of clothes in there, grabbed about a hundred bucks cash for him and drove him to the shelter, I often wonder what happened to the dude",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I rolled a college chick over that had passed out on the sidewalk in front of my house. I made sure she was breathing and if she was going to puke she wouldn't choke and die. I picked up her cell phone she had dropped, scrolled through the address book to \"mom and dad\" and called them at 5am to tell them their daughter had passed out walking up the road in front of my house and had pissed her pants. Still took them an hour to get there to collect her. I was sitting in a lawn chair reading the paper and drinking my coffee when they arrived.\n\nWhen they were picking her up off the sidewalk I asked them if they still thought it was a good idea to have kids. It made me feel great I don't have nor will ever have kids.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
So what's the longest time between starting a game and finishing it that you've ever had? | I picked up Skies of Arcadia Legends back when it was released in 2003, played a little bit of it and never got around to completing it. I think the battle with the Red Gigas stymied me. Anyways, last summer, a full 6.5 years later, I managed to finish the game.
The longest stretch of continuous play I had was with the GOTY edition of Fallout 3. I got it in October, and finally finished Broken Steel last night. | 4 | [
{
"body": "Oblivion for me. At this point I still haven't finished it. If I keep this rate up the time between me starting it and me ending it will end up being ∞.",
"score": 6
}
]
|
1I need help with a shady car mechanic who ruined my oil pan. What are my options?
| Hey all,
I spend quite a bit of time on the road for work, and a couple months back (Oct 22) I had to get my oil changed in Crossville TN, a town I was passing through. They changed my oil fine, but when they replaced the plug, they "cross-threaded" it, which stripped it and ruined the oil pan.
I had it replaced today at my local, and trusted, mechanic in North Carolina. They informed me that beyond a doubt it was done by the last person who changed my oil (which was in TN). After a lot of calling around, I finally got ahold of the owner of the TN shop, he told me that they spoke to my mechanic who told them that my mechanic tried to rethread it. Which (according to the owner of the shady place) means that they are not liable.
I talked to the GM of my mechanic today, and he told me that they didn't try to rethread it, but I needed to talk to the manager in charge tomorrow morning to make sure.
I'm out 300$, and I am not well off enough to write that kind of money off.
I need a couple things, can some people who know cars explain to me exactly what happened? And can some people tell me exactly what I should say to get my money back?
The owner of the shady place told me he would call me tomorrow between 11-11:30 AM. And I am going down to my mechanic tomorrow at 7 to get in writing exactly what they did.
Thanks for your time. | 12 | [
{
"body": "Explaining what happened ... The oil drain plug is the most frequently turned 'bolt' on your car. It is removed and replaced every 3-5000 miles. Because of this, it is very easy to damage the threads on the plug and/or the pan if the plug is over-tightened, or if the plug has dirt/grit on the threads.\n\nIf the plug was cross-threaded, basically it means the plug was not correctly seated into the threads of the pan when it was tightened. Here's a crude MSPAINT drawing I made: http://i.imgur.com/C7iSI.png\nBasically it just means the plug didn't go straight into the hole, damaging both the drain plug and the drain pan on the way in.\n\nThere's two ways to fix this. First, you can buy a new drain pan, which will require a new gasket as well as a new drain plug. This shouldn't cost more than a few hundred dollars plus labor (honestly, it's usually pretty easy if you want to try it out yourself). Actually, you can probably get a new after-market oil pan from NAPA for under $100 depending on your car. Gasket should be less than $10, and the pan should come with a new drain plug.\n\nThe second way to fix it is to re-drill the pan and fit a larger-diameter drain plug. This should NOT cost $300, and if this is what you are being charged then you are getting raped. This should cost less than $50 to perform this service.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Hey, I'm cross-posting this from AskReddit. I'd really like to know how to talk to this guy without sounding like a fool.\r\n\r\nI appreciate your help.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Are you sure that it was cross threaded? I was a mechanic for a few years, and I have seen oil pans that have a nut welded into the inside of the oilpan which the drain plug screws into. I have seen the welds break on this nut, which would not allow you to tighten the plug because the nut inside is spinning around. That would not really be the mechanics fault.. now if they torqued it too much, that would be a different story.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
How the hell do universities get away with selling new editions of "first year" calculus (or any math) textbooks every year? | Every year my university sells new editions of textbooks for "first year" calculus courses, and pays nearly nothing for the return of last year's books. This is completely ridiculous, the material is not changing, and the curriculum definitely is not changing fast enough to warrant the sale of a new edition every year.
I used my father's late '70s calculus textbook for my first calculus course, and it was perfectly sufficient. And, given the fact that most professors do not use questions from the textbook for assignments (at least at my university), I just don't see the need for having all these new editions.
- I'm assuming this happens at every academic institution, or am I wrong about this?
- Are the publishers/universities/professors doing this solely to make money; is there some other justifiable reason?
- Am I missing something here?
- What do you think about this?
Note: I understand the reasons for new editions every couple of years: to correct mistakes, add relevant examples, include sections on Maple/Matlab, etc., but again, it's the fact that it's every year that "grinds my gears".
**tl;dr**: Universities (mine in particular) sell new editions of first year math books every year despite the material and curriculum remaining the same. I think it's bullshit. What do you think?
Edit: wording.
| 15 | [
{
"body": "I didn't catch on until my last couple semesters, but I found I could get by in many classes without buying the books or getting better deals. Don't buy the books right away. Spend a week or two in the class and get a feel for how necessary the text is. At my university, I had a lot of professors that would accommodate older versions (which, as many others have pointed out, usually meant accounting for different problem numbers). Additionally, some classes, usually the lower level ones, don't cover anything that isn't freely available somewhere. If you can get homework problems from a friend or the library's copy, then Wikipedia and other, better sources are fine for getting through many classes. That could easily save $100-$200/semester. Lastly, don't forget that you can often pirate scans or digital copies of required texts.\n\nI haven't seen anyone else mention it, but the current incarnation of this scam is books that come with \"online\" components which your professor may require. This basically forces you to get the text so you can get the code to create an account to access their bullshit bonus material or do some fucking assignment that only exists to ensure you bought the book. If your professor goes along with that game, complain to them about it and, what might be more effective, make sure to bring up the issue when you do their reviews at the end of the semester.\n\nEdit: Obviously, never buy books from the campus book store. Find it online somewhere.\n\nEdit 2: More often than not, I found my professors were fairly cool about working around textbook requirements, but I'm sure that varies from place to place.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Professors write the book to supplement their income as professors. It can get a good 50-60k a year by rearranging some chapters, adding some new pictures, and slapping a different cover on it.\n\nSometimes they require you to buy the book every year because they wrote it, or their colleague at a different university wrote it and they are throwing them some cash. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "in this day and age a competent calculus book should be sold for $30 at the most. i could understand $150 book on quantum theory however.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Dear Gaming Reddit: Hypothetically speaking, if OnLive worked the way they're marketing it to work with FPS' to Racing games, and ISP's didn't cap your bandwidth, would you get the console? | It seems that there are a few things people say about OnLive:
a.) it won't work with anything beyond racing/casual games (no FPS') because of the latency issues
b.) ISP's will cap the bandwidths so you wont get to enjoy the full HD gaming anyway
c.) you'll have lots of lag no matter what and it's all a bunch of marketing hype and the system can never work.
So, since the system isn't out yet in the public market, none of really know for sure, so, I figured maybe we could just suspend our disbelief for a minute and say that hypothetically the system works as advertised. Would this be your next console? Would you play more using the broswer plugin or the microconsole? Would you re-purchase games you already own to play on OnLive?
I was of a very small minority that I knew of who thought that the Wii would have the winning formula. Forum after forum I went around trying to hear others arguments and try and civilly discuss my counterpoints. In the end I was right, at least that time.
I have done similarly with OnLive, though I am more informed as to the technicalities of why this might not work than I was with the Wii, so I am more cautious/weary with OnLive than I was with the Wii's launch. I however, think that OnLive will work as advertised from FPS to 3rd person platformer, and that ISP's won't cap your bandwidth if you have OnLive (maybe finding an OnLive workaround??? i have no idea what I'm talking about. not saying they wont cap other-than-onlive-bandwidth, but anyway.)
So, I am truly just curious, arguments for or against aside, if it worked, would you use/like/enjoy/buy it? | 3 | [
{
"body": "I might after the service had been running profitably for years and showed Steam levels of reliability, stability, and future prospect. \n\nOther than that no, especially not early adoption of the technology.\n\nAnyone who buys a game system when it first comes out deserves what they get.",
"score": 7
}
]
|
Hey Reddit: I've decided to move to the USA, and will go wherever people decide for me. For starters: west coast or east coast? | The background is posted at [***Important decisions, vote #1***](http://ee8800.com/post/329428021/vote-1-where). I've already got a great response from my [***Twitter followers***](http://twitter.com/ee8800), and now I'm asking you. I'll tally the results in a few days, and that will be the first of the decisions made.
West Coast, or East Coast?
Thanks for your help. | 11 | [
{
"body": "East Coast. So much history and sites to see, especially the northeast. Not to mention if you're here from September-November, New England falls are great. ",
"score": 13
},
{
"body": "That's a pretty easy decision to make...\n\nIf you listen to 2Pac move to the West Coast.\n\nIf you listen to Biggie move to the East Coast.\n\nProblem solved!",
"score": 12
},
{
"body": "**DO NOT MAKE YOUR FINAL DECISION WITHOUT FIRST VISITING THE PLACES YOU'RE CONSIDERING.** Also, good excuse for a roadtrip. My sister's fiance did exactly that.\n\nWhen making your decision, you need to consider the necessity of an automobile in many parts of the United States.\n\nAlso, there's a lot of talk about quality of life vs cost of living.\n\nKeeping in mind these 3 factors (quality of life, cost of living, and the need for a car) I would recommend Portland, Oregon. That said, I've heard that the job market isn't so great there; I've been hearing that since 2007, and I can't imagine that recent events have improved matters any.",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "East coast. We have beaches, skiing, beautiful nature and world class cities that are all close to each other. California has horrible unemployment right now. Portland and Seattle are their own little bubble where it rains all the time. The culture, cuisine, pace of life and cost of living are all better on the East coast.\n\nYes, I have spent plenty of time in all major west coast cities, as well as East coast cities. New York is hailed as a magical place for a reason; come and find out! ",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Depends - do you want to spend a lot of money in urban areas or actually experience what the majority of the US is about? Even on the coasts you can do the later but it is somewhat harder due to the population density. \n\nWhat time of year will you arrive?\n\nThere are 4 (at least) coasts in the US. The east and west coasts change massively in culture as you move north to south. \n\nSo you gotta give us more to go own.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "West coast. I'm in the Bay Area, after moving from the Midwest. I've lived in many places here, and visited many more. There is *nothing like California climate*. I love it here, despite it being so expensive. Everyone is so fucking chill, there are many demographics mixed up, and not too terribly much racism. \n\nThat being said, I will probably not move elsewhere unless it is out of the country. I love it here. \n\nGood luck my friend. ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Wilmington, NC\n\nEDIT: [Pirates motherfucker!!!](http://www.nhcgov.com/AgnAndDpt/LIBR/LocalHistory/Pages/HistoryoftheLowerCapeFear.aspx) If it good enough for Blackbeard, it's good enough for anybody!",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I cannot help but stand up for my home state.\n\n\nmove to Texas, it's awesome, just ignore the politicians.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Dear Reddit, can you help me loose weight? | I currently 19 years old and about 215-220 lbs
One of my resolutions is to lose weight (my goal is about 40 lbs by mid april-that might be kind of a stretch though)
I'm currently am in college and have access to a gym (dorm fitness center as well as actual gym)
for the last week I've been spending 30-60 minutes on the elliptical burning about 350-700 calories a session
In terms of dieting, I've been eating a bit better than before new years (though its somewhat difficult at college)
My plan was to eat every 4 hours... some instant oatmeal for breakfast (about 190 calories per packet)...maybe some stir fry for lunch/dinner (just veggies and chicken w/ hot sauce)..sometimes a wrap.
I also bought a big box of nature valley granola bars (about 190 calories in two bars)
I've been drinking nothing but diet soda and water
I've also considered starting weight training,, but my goal is to lose wieght not bulk up?
also has anyone had any luck with some type of diet supplement? I've considered hydroxycut. | 3 | [
{
"body": "1. Go to /r/fitness.\n\n2. Weight lifting is **extremely** important. You don't want to lose weight. If a lower weight is all you care about, I'll cut off one of your legs, and *ta da*, lower weight. No, you care about losing *fat mass*. Now, if you're eating fewer calories than you use in a day, you'll lose weight - but if you're not weight training properly, half of that weight you lose is going to be muscle mass. This will *destroy* your metabolism, so when you finally end up at your goal weight, you'll have much more trouble maintaining it long-term.\n\n3. Calculate your BMR and TDEE, set your daily caloric goals about 750-1000kcal below the TDEE number. This should allow you to lose 1.5-2 lbs of fat per week. That will allow you to hit your (aggressive, but not impossible) goal of dropping 40lbs by April.\n\n4. No alcohol. If you *must* drink, limit it to one night a week. Alcohol, aside from being full of calories, also seriously screws with your metabolism and fat-burning.\n\n5. Do interval cardio. It's simply better, and has been shown to burn 9x more fat per calorie than steady-state endurance cardio.\n\n6. You need to crunch the numbers. You can't just say \"I'm eating better\". You need to figure out what you're putting in, and what you're burning. You won't have to do the meticulous counting forever, but you need to learn what proper portions of a given food item are.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "Loosening weight consists of wearing a belt that you constantly jiggle. This effectively loosens up the fat by jiggling the lipids loose from other connections and \"mushing\" up the substance.\n\nHaha just messing around, but I think the term you're looking for is \"losing.\"\n\nI'm not an expert, but it's commonplace logic that you must burn more calories than you consume. The less-than-simple part is the mental challenge. One time I challenged myself to eat next to nothing for a week, and the only encouragement I can give you is that it becomes easier after a while. \n",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Question on Legalization. | I am extremely happy for California after hearing the news. With that said, why is a state allowed to overturn a federal law like this one? I've read that it's in the constitution, but the exact reason would be great to know. I love /r/trees. | 7 | [
{
"body": "Technically the federal government has the right to enforce their laws and arrest people in California if they want to. However, Obama has already stated that it is his position that he will not arrest people who are complying with their state laws, and this has been confirmed by Attorney General Eric Holder.\n\nI believe this is the case, somebody correct me if I'm wrong\n\nedit: found what I was looking for, the Supremacy Clause\n\nThis Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding. ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "In political science and in America's political history, there is something called Nullification. Nullification is when a state overrides federal law on the grounds that they believe it is unconstitutional. The validity of nullification has been constantly debated throughout our history(partially responsible for starting the Civil War, Civil Rights issues, etc).\n\nTheoretically, a state could legalize MJ on the grounds of nullification, arguing on the grounds that they were overriding unconstitutional federal Prohibition. Many a political science tome has been dedicated to arguing whether it is constitutional to nullify a law, so not sure how that state's laws would fare if challenged by the Supreme Court. ",
"score": 5
}
]
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A question of probability and games. | This is a based on a simple board game in the graduate lounge in my building called "Racetrack." The game is for two players (each represented by a peg), and consists of a circular 'track' of (N+1) peg-holes (labeled #0-N).
Each player starts with his peg at position #0 and they take turns. Say player 1 is first: to advance by one peg, he must correctly call a coin toss. He continues advancing as long as he is correct, and when he fails it becomes player 2's turn. The game is won by landing on position #N.
Now, here is the catch: if a player (say player 1) lands on a position occupied by player 2, then player 2 must move his peg back to start (position #0), and player 1 continues his turn.
Here is the question: how many turns, on average, will the game last?
Edit: clarity | 13 | [
{
"body": "Here is the main loop to test your hypothesis:\n\n (* ocaml to represent a game of 'racetrack' *)\n let toss_coin () = Random.bool ()\n let rec racetrack_round round n player_num player_pos =\n let winner ray i = ray.(i) = n in\n while toss_coin () && not (winner player_pos player_num) do\n player_pos.(player_num) <- player_pos.(player_num) + 1;\n for i = 0 to (Array.length player_pos) - 1 do\n if i = player_num then ()\n else if player_pos.(i) = player_pos.(player_num) then\n player_pos.(i) <- 0\n else ()\n done;\n done;\n if winner player_pos player_num then round\n else begin \n let next_player = (player_num + 1) mod (Array.length player_pos) in \n racetrack_round (round+1) n next_player player_pos \n end \n\n (* start a game of racetrack with winning condition at peg n, and p players *)\n let start n p = racetrack_round 1 n 0 (Array.init p (fun _ -> 0))\n\nthis is a run with n=4, p = 2 and trials = 10,000 \n01 -- 660 \n02 -- 568 \n03 -- 992 \n04 -- 970 \n05 -- 1082 \n06 -- 931 \n07 -- 917 \n08 -- 790 \n09 -- 644 \n10 -- 540 \n11 -- 460 \n12 -- 348 \n13 -- 242 \n14 -- 221 \n15 -- 134 \n16 -- 125 \n17 -- 83 \n18 -- 78 \n19 -- 64 \n20 -- 40 \n21 -- 27 \n22 -- 13 \n23 -- 15 \n24 -- 12 \n25 -- 14 \n26 -- 8 \n27 -- 10 \n28 -- 4 \n29 -- 1 \n30 -- 1 \n31 -- 1 \n32 -- 3 \n35 -- 1 \n36 -- 1 \n",
"score": 11
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"body": "Okay, here's a python program that will compute the expected turns for any n:\n\n from numpy import matrix\n from numpy import linalg\n\n # n >= 3\n def transition_matrix(k):\n n = k-1\n list = []\n list.append([1] + [0]*2*n)\n for i in xrange(n):\n list.append([-1] + [0]*2*i + [1, -0.5] + [0]*2*(n-i-1))\n if i == n-1:\n list.append([-1, -0.5] + [0]*(2*i-1) + [-0.5, 1])\n else:\n list.append([-1] + [0]*2*i + [-0.5, 1, 0, -0.5] + [0]*2*(n-i-2))\n return matrix(list)\n\n # n >= 3\n def expected_turns_vector(n, vector):\n t = transition_matrix(n)\n x = linalg.solve(t, vector)\n if n == 3:\n return x\n y = 0.5 * x[0:2*n-3]\n y[0][0] = 1\n for i in xrange(n-2):\n y[2*(i+1)][0] = 0\n return expected_turns_vector(n-1, y);\n\n # any n\n def expected_turns(n):\n if n <= 0:\n return 0\n elif n == 1:\n return 2\n elif n == 2:\n return 5\n else:\n starting_vector = matrix([[1]] + [[0]]*2*(n-1))\n return 5 + expected_turns_vector(n, starting_vector)[1,0]\n\n\nThe first few expected values are:\n\n n E(#turns)\n --------------------\n 1 2.0000\n 2 5.0000\n 3 8.4286\n 4 12.0559\n 5 15.7881\n 6 19.5823\n 7 23.4169\n 8 27.2795\n 9 31.1625\n\n\nThe algorithm runs in O(n^4), and it starts to get slow around n=200. Using some kind of iterative linear solver method would probably make it faster.\n\nEDIT: Also, asymptotically, it looks like bobjane is kind of right. The values get relatively closer to 4N as N gets larger. Interestingly, though, they get further and further from 4N in absolute value.\n\n n E(#turns) 4n - E(#turns)\n --------------------------------------\n 1 2.000 2.000\n 5 15.788 4.212\n 50 193.791 6.209\n 100 393.363 6.637\n 500 1992.543 7.457\n 1000 3992.247 7.753",
"score": 3
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{
"body": "> Here is the question: how many turns, on average, will the game last?\n\nlisatomic: Can you clarify whether you are asking \"how many *turns*\" or \"how many *flips*\"? And if \"turns\", what counts as a turn -- if it is my turn, and I correctly guess twice in a row, is that two turns or one?\n\n",
"score": 3
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{
"body": "I'm not sure what constitutes a \"turn\", so I will count expected flips instead.\n\nThe expected number of *flips* is at least 4N - O(sqrt(N)) and at most 4N.\n\nFor a lower bound, consider the game modified so neither player ever resets to 0 (if they land on the same position, nothing special happens). The number of flips for the original game is more than the number for the modified game. To analyze the modified game, suppose each player always guesses \"heads\". This doesn't change the game. Then each head advances the current peg, and each tail changes to the other peg. With very high probability, after K flips, there will be K/2 (plus or minus O(sqrt(K))) heads, and each player will have advanced about K/4 (plus or minus O(sqrt(K)) heads). Thus, with high probability, the modified game will end when the number of flips K is about 4N plus or minus O(sqrt(N)). Thus, the original game requires at least 4N - O(sqrt(N)) flips with high probability (and, with some additional work, in expectation).\n\nFor an upper bound, consider an argument like instantcoffee's. Let Q be the expected number of flips for the leading peg to advance by 1 position (and regain or keep its turn), given that it is currently the leading peg's turn. With probability 1/2, the leading peg guesses correctly and advances by 1 position in 1 flip. With probability 1/2, the leading peg guesses incorrectly, in which case the expected number of flips before it is again the leading peg's turn is at most 2 (1 plus the expected number of flips until the other peg guesses incorrectly, which is 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8 + .. = 1). (\"At most\" 2 because there is also the case that the trailing peg catches up to the current peg, in which case it becomes the leading peg and it is its turn, before it guesses wrong.) Thus, Q = 1/2 + 1/2 ( 1 + 2 + Q ) which implies Q = 4. Since the expected number of flips for the leading peg to advance by one position (and regain or keep its turn) is at most 4, the expected number of flips for the leading peg to advance by N positions is at most 4N.\n\n**edit:** above should be Q <= 1/2 + 1/2 ( 1 + 2 + Q ) which implies Q <= 4.\n\nThis bounds the flips. To count \"turns\", I'm not sure what a \"turn\" is defined to be. If a \"turn\" means when a player has a chance to flip and advance, then each flip is one player's turn, so the number of flips equals the number of turns. If a \"turn\" means a series of (possibly zero) correctly guessed flips, then I guess the expected number of turns equals the expected number of flips, because in each turn there is in expectation 1 flip.",
"score": 3
}
]
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I want a prenup. Girlfriend doesn't. Why is it such a big deal? | She and I have been dating for about 5 months now but we have known each other since childhood. So you can guess we're getting pretty serious, pretty fast. I am a fairly honest, realistic guy and she knows it. However, recently we began discussing about prenuptial agreements and she went apeshit ballistic.
A little background, she already received her professional degree and I'm working on mine. She will be the primary breadwinner of our hypothetical family for a good 5 years and then I will start working as a physician from then on. However, she has expressed to me that she wants to be a housewife. I am frugal and would rather be minimal in my lifestyle but also enjoy buying her gifts and taking us on vacations. (I've never let her pay for anything while we were together) I felt like we had an understanding of mutual respect and honesty and that I've never warranted such suspicion of threatening divorce to screw her over. But I guess I don't understand something?
My stance was that I am being financially prudent. I guess she thought of it as a possibility of divorce? Older/wiser women and men of reddit, should couples get prenups or not? And how do I go about getting dealing with things of this nature (financial) in the future?
**Edit:** Would it be fair to conclude that women are upset by it because we're not emotionally invested and men agree to it because they are thinking objectively (which women don't like)? | 20 | [
{
"body": "Without knowing you or your Girlfriend, what I see reading your post is:\n\n* You never let her pay for anything\n\n* She wants to be a Housewife.\n\n* You are going to be a Doctor (with the income that goes with it)\n\n* She is against having a Pre-Nup, in fact went \"apeshit ballistic\"\n\nSeriously dude, you can't see what is potentially going to happen after your Married?",
"score": 59
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{
"body": "It is an awfully touchy subject, since it does imply the possibility of divorce. That said, I'm not sure she's ready to deal with the hardships of married life if she can't even think about divorce without flipping.\n\nThe only advice I can give you is to give her a day or so to cool off before you approach the subject again. Remind her that marriage is going to be full of hurdles, especially money issues, and that this will be good practice, if nothing else.\n\nETA: I'm saying all of this with the assumption that the pre-nup is so that both parties get a fair deal should the relationship go south; if the pre-nup is designed to make sure he doesn't get \"screwed,\" i.e. keep his wife away from \"his\" money, **she** should run far, far away from him.",
"score": 11
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{
"body": "Have you not heard of the precedent that women who put their doctor-husbands through medical school are entitled to part of their future earnings when they divorce?",
"score": 10
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{
"body": "My soon-to-be ex- (after 14 years) and I had a prenup . At the time we got it, it was my idea (I had a lot more money than she did), based on financial advice shows, and she wholeheartedly agreed. We did it on the reasoning that (1) she wasn't marrying for money, (2) We agreed that the husband often gets screwed by the courts, and (3) We wanted to agree what the ground rules would be if we should one day divorce.\n\nIt worked out well for me (Not as well for her, since without it the courts would have screwed me to her benefit).\n\nI suggest that you get a prenup if you have different asset or earning potential, have kids or think that it might not work out (which could be thought of as the triumph of cynicism over hope).\n\nThe prenup shouldn't say she should get nothing in event of a divorce, but it should spell out what each party should get/give. You might also consider a sunset provision.\n\nI have a few other suggestions:\n\n- Get a lawyer who does these things regularly. There are several pitfalls (in NY law at least), and if its not done right, its worthless. (and I'm not a lawyer).\n\n- Get it done well before the wedding (If your lawyer doesn't recommend this, get another lawyer)\n\n- You can't specify how children/child support will be handled in a legally binding way (that's a right of the children, not the parents).\n\n- Make sure she has money to get her own lawyer (pay her to do it, and keep the canceled check).\n\n- In NY, even if you have a prenup that's air tight and equitable when written, it is not enforceable if the current situation is \"unconscionable\". Thus, a rich doctor with a prenup that gives the unemployable housewife nothing will potentially found invalid even if everything was done correctly up front.\n\nGood luck, and may you never need to use it if you get it.",
"score": 10
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{
"body": "You fool! Everybody knows you don't have the prenup conversation until Month 10 of the relationship!",
"score": 8
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{
"body": "Just curious, when you say she 'wants to be a housewife,' are you saying that she wants to stay home and raise your children? Or just not work?",
"score": 5
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{
"body": "My wife and I did a pre-nup for these reasons:\n\n- It was a way to hash out expectations\n- Divorce isn't the only situation where it matters what is and is not community property, anybody can get hit by a bus\n- It matters to the people we inherit from, they want to be sure that certain assets stay in the family, and yes some of this can be done with testamentary trusts but those can not specify people that do not exist at the time of death\n\nWe also have seperate bank accounts with different banks, seperate credit cards, credit ratings. Might seem like paranoia but it is cheap security.\n\nMarried 11 years, two kids, and counting.",
"score": 5
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{
"body": "I can understand why a man would want a prenup, but I can also understand why a woman would feel uncomfortable with one. With a prenup, there is a pretty decent chance that if a woman ends up a housewife, a prenup could end up leaving her completely out in the cold with no support unless the divorce goes over well. The reason that assets are divided is to ensure that both people leave the relationship with the ability to take care of themselves until they get on their feet again. \n\n\nHowever, I can understand why someone would want one as well, especially if one partner makes more than the other. Your protecting yourself, and that's not wrong either. \n\nI think you two just need to try to understand each other's logic here. There are both good reasons to be offended and supportive of a prenup. Only by having an active and respectful discussion can you decide what is right for you. Let her know that if you get a prenup, she can get involved in it's specifics and you will make sure it's fair to her. \n\n\nAnother thing to consider is that from the sounds of it, you both want different things. She wants to live an extravagant lifestyle and at the same time, give up her job. You want to keep working a lower paying job and live a small life. Just think about these things before you take it further. \n\n",
"score": 4
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{
"body": "Getting a prenup doesn't just imply the possibility of divorce. It's saying that you already expect her to screw you over, and are already trying to defend yourself. \n\nThink of it this way: how would you feel if she took an armed bodyguard with her on every date you guys went on, just on the offchance that you tried to rape her? Oh, it's nothing *personal*, I'm sure you probably won't - but can you really blame me for not taking any chances? \n\n",
"score": 3
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{
"body": "I suggest you first make sure that the two of you have similar views on how money should be spent. If that is so, fine, otherwise, you should come to agreement on those issues prior to marriage.\nSecondly, if the two of you are brining more or less equal wealth and skill sets to the marriage, why would you not want to simply split everything down the middle should you later separate. If this is so, why do you need a prenuptial agreement? I wonder if you are being honest with yourself about why you want a prenup.",
"score": 3
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{
"body": "Yes, it is insulting to a woman's ego that the man she is about to pledge her life to is already planning how to make sure she doesn't financially screw him in the divorce. It would also be insulting if a woman was asking a man to sign a pre-nup.\n\nThis is just my personal take, but if you think you need a pre-nup, then you don't need to be getting married right now. Marriage is supposed to be a serious, life long commitment undertaken with a great deal of trust. If you can't muster the trust, then just don't get married. What's the obsession with getting married to people you think might screw you in the divorce?\n\n",
"score": 3
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{
"body": "Why are you getting married? I presently see no benefit and there seems to be some possible instability in the foundation of this relationship as it stands. Just move in together and see how it goes first. You can try the whole marriage thing after you are a physician.",
"score": 3
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{
"body": "Fact - pre-nup agreements are for the day when you two are NOT friends anymore. A pre-nup protects you (to some degree variant on state laws) from whatever batshit crazy things might come up years from now when you two in fact do not love each other anymore. Also, keep in mind that a pre-nup does not have to be in the commonly understood form of \"You get NOTHING\" - it can be an agreement detailing how/what finances will be dealt with in the event of a split. It could just as easily be used to establish a doomsday procedure such that two people who can no longer stand each other behave fairly under the unfortunate circumstance. When proposed this way its hard to think of a rational reason for either party to dismiss the idea. Its not necessarily about her taking all of your money - it could cover how the children's expenses will be handled (college, trust fund, etc). I'm not a lawyer but this has been my experience with friends. ",
"score": 3
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{
"body": "Remember that the court system is biased against men. Not an opinion, but a fact. As long as you aren't being a jerk about it (you sound like a reasonable guy), stand your ground. Better safe than sorry.",
"score": 3
}
]
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Scared of leaving religion - scared of going to hell | Hello Redditors.
I am a 19 year old Arab Muslim born in the UK and lived here all my life. My family are very religious (moderate). I've been religious all my life. Most of my best friends are religious Muslims as well. I've been having doubts on and off all my life but in the end, I'm just really afraid. I've lived with the fear of hell all my life so I'm just too scared to do anything about it. Coupled with other issues like "what if God is blinding me from the the truth that is Islam, because I sinned while I was Muslim" - which is something that God says he would do to sinners in the Quran. I really do find these superstitions and religious people including Muslims annoying and irrational, but I'm just too scared to leave.
Rationally, what are the chances of God existing and sending atheists to hell, v.v.low? But an o.k. life and an eternity in heaven is an infinite number of times better than a free life and an eternity in hell. So comparing the relative probabilities and relative outcomes, the better bet would be religion, right?
Anyway some of the personalities and stories in Islamic history also make you wonder - it's hard to believe it's made up.
TBH I really wish I was ignorant and a happy religious Muslim. Now I'm just miserable. And if I do become an atheist, I'm not sure how I would feel about this life being it and us going into nothingness after.
What do you think - not about religion - but about my situation? | 40 | [
{
"body": " “Why should I fear death? If I am, death is not. If death is. I am not. Why should I fear that which cannot exist when I do?”\n\nEpicurus",
"score": 51
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"body": "What about all the other religions you're not a part of? And the punishments for not following them \"correctly\"?",
"score": 27
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"body": "Have a good look at [this picture](http://atheistclimber.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/hubble_ultra_deep_field_black_point_edit.jpg)\n\nThis picture was taken by the hubble space telescope. \n\nIt is only a tiny fraction of the night sky and it contains thousands of galaxies, each containing mllions (or billions) of stars and no doubt planets revolving around at least some of these stars.\n\nIf there was a God powerful enough to create all of this, do you really think he would pick one pedophile in one small desert tribe to pass on his glorious wisdom?\n\nAnd do you think the wisdom of such a lofty creature would be to kill one another for the most trivial of things?",
"score": 12
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"body": "If it makes you feel any better, I'll admit that I am terrified of hell. There is absolutely no rational basis for my fear and as I grow older (I'm 23) the fear subsides more and more.\n\nMy fear of hell began somewhere between the ages of 6 and 8. My mother's husband was insane. He would show me videos about people dying, about good people doing acts of charity and being tortured in hell (yes, tortured) because they didn't believe in the \"one, true God\". I would have severe panic attacks every night. They started when the videos started, i.e. when I was 6-8, and continued through Middle School (in the US that is typically for children aged 11-13) and part of High School.\n\nWhile I was in High School the nightly panic attacks became less frequent. By college they were extremely rare. Through this period (elementary school - college) I had chronic nightmares of people being butchered and dying otherwise grisly deaths.\n\nI think part of the reason my fear was so intense is because I could never believe in the Christian view that my mother's husband was so vehemently pushing on me. I could believe it was no more true than Santa Claus (which I disproved when I was 5).\n\nMy childhood was destroyed by what ifs. What if my logic was flawed, what if I was wrong and I would burn for it? What if logic was irrelevant and all the crazy \"contradictory evidence is a test of faith\" nonsense was true?\n\nI share my story with you because I still, occasionally, have panic attacks about death and eternal suffering. I know they are illogical and every day it gets better. I know that part of my mind is the trapped emotions of a very, very scared child. I would imagine that for you it is similar. Your matured/maturing adult mind cannot rationalize the reality that religion presents to you, but the other parts of you are scared beyond their wits that you are wrong.\n\nAll that said I am not a miserable person. I do not think that the universe could conceivably be any more beautiful if it was the result of divine creation. I feel that the universe is all the more beautiful because a string of cause-effect lead to everything we see. I do not believe that there is \"nothing\" after we die, even if we are not consciously aware. We are all energy/matter. The material in our bodies was at one point being created in the hottest places of the universe and was everything from dinosaur piss to butterflies. Once we die the material will be used to give other life its chance to experience the universe. I think that is just awesome.",
"score": 11
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{
"body": "Ah, Pascal's wager.\n\nSo, here's my god for you, which if you accept Pascal's wager, you must believe:\n\nImagine a god very like the one you sort of believe in, but much worse. If you disbelieve, not only do you go to hell for infinite torture, so do all your friends and relatives - in fact anyone you ever liked. And all their descendants... forever. He sent some angel who came to me in a dream last night and made me write all these laws down. What a pain that was.\n\nThis god is thousands of times worse than only earning punishment for yourself, right?\n\nOkay, so the chances this god is real and will do this horrible thing is \"v.v.low\", right? But by your own logic, believing this god would be the better bet.\n\nSo either you believe your own argument regarding Pascal's wager (in which case you MUST, by your own words, believe my god over your old, much less evil one), OR you don't believe in your argument regarding Pascal's wager, in which case we can now assume you're atheist, can we not?\n",
"score": 8
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{
"body": "You seem like a brave young man.\nI'm a 28-year-old Spanish woman, I was raised Catholic and opened my eyes to the world at about your age. I can assure you we are organic material, when we die, our brains will shut down and our bodies will rot. Enjoy this life because it's the only one you have, make the most of it. Explore, laugh, love, cry, swim, dance, be curious, let yourself go, read, know people from other cultures, travel, be open and sincere with yourself. Just live. And do it now, there's no \"later\". ",
"score": 6
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{
"body": "First you have to ask yourself why you think Hell might be a real place. Go over all the reasons for why you hold that belief, and eventually you'll see how silly it is. Critically examining your beliefs is like turning on a light and watching the roaches scatter away. It's hard to believe in supernatural or superstitious stuff when you just start thinking rationally and logically.",
"score": 4
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{
"body": "1. Take the religion's claim that god exists as true.\n\n2. Accept the associated assumption that this god created humans.\n\n3. Accept that this god created humans with the condition that knowledge of his/her existence is relevant, even essential, to what it means to be human. \n\n4. As their creator, accept the assumption this god created humans in a way that they produce knowledge in both rational and irrational ways.\n\n5. Accept from rudimentary observation that humans witnessing the same things come up with widely varied reports, that as these reports are reproduced over time the change in details, and over long periods stories change in almost unrecognizable ways.\n\n6. Accept that, when taken as a whole, one thing all religions share is that they purport to explain the world humans live in and how they should act in it.\n\n7. Accept that, when taken as a whole, all these various religions vary widely in their claims, origins, details, number of gods, and explanations of what happens after death.\n\n8. Now, using the rationality that you accept that a god gave you, ask yourself, \"Do I really, really believe that god revealed himself in a way that only exposed the truth to the small sliver of ancestors into which you were born? And, if you believe this, do I REALLY believe this god lied to all other peoples she/he created across all time and place? Do I REALLY believe a god exists that created humans to experience Heaven or Hell depending on when and where their parents had sex (or other forms of impregnation)? REALLY? \n\n9. Do you REALLY believe the proper interpretation of all these events exists in books written by iron-age desert dwellers and that the stories these mostly superstitious and illiterate people told each other have bearing on our world today?? \n\nIf you really believe all of this...really, really believe it, then, yes, you might want to consider worrying about hell. And even then, the origin of that doctrine is in dispute.\n\n\n10. However, OR, DOES IT MAKE MUCH MORE SENSE, to see \"hell\" as a way religion developed a mechanism for societies to use to encourage members not to do certain things? \n\nIf you find the above sequence of issues and questions illogical, nonsensical, ridiculous, then...pour yourself a bourbon, lay back, and enjoy your evening and sleep well my friend.\n",
"score": 3
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{
"body": "> \"My family are very religious (moderate).\"\n\nThis makes no sense. Are they very religious or are they moderately religious? Given your current state of mind, I think the latter is rather improbable.\n\n>\"Rationally, what are the chances of God existing and sending atheists to hell, v.v.low? But an o.k. life and an eternity in heaven is an infinite number of times better than a free life and an eternity in hell. So comparing the relative probabilities and relative outcomes, the better bet would be religion, right?\"\n\n(This argument is better known as Pascals wager, look it up if you're into philosophy.)\n\nWell, what if the Greek gods exist? What if Taoism is right? What if another Islamic sect is right? It doesn't matter how you twist or turn the argument, if you look at the logic of hell, the only conclusion must be that if the god of Abraham exists, you **will** go to hell even if you follow the religion you currently are involved with given the vast amount of different religious dogmas that all claim eternal fire for the unbeliever. The chances of escaping eternal torment in hellish fire are ridiculously low. Luckily for you (and the rest of the world for that matter), the chances of the Arbrahamitic god actually existing are even more so.\n\nAnother point to consider:\n\nSuppose that your religion and your sect is right. That means that the god that you choose to worship willingly sends about **5-6 billion human beings** (think of that number for a second) to eternal, everlasting torture. Why? Because they weren't geographically close enough to get the books he wrote. Or they were simply born in the wrong family. Again, think about this. If your god exists, that means you would be morally corrupt to worship him. It would be treason to the entire human existence to simply give up to his supposed wishes. If you are a moral person you must see what a terrifying thing this would be.\nCan you really say that a reality without god would be worse, or that you would be less miserable if this was true?\n\nThe comfort in this insight is not that you could save others by salvation.\n*The comfort in this insight is that the mere idea is, in itself, absurd.*\n\n>\"And if I do become an atheist, I'm not sure how I would feel about this life being it and us going into nothingness after.\"\n\nCarrying on from my previous argument, I think it would be pretty clear that eternal nothingness is infinitely better than eternal torture. \n\nBut this point aside: how you feel or what you believe has absolutely no impact on how the world really is constructed. Many people are afraid of death. Indeed, it has been the most feared thing for most of the human existence. It is perfectly fine to be afraid of death. There are many reasons not to be, though. eyeoft got you a perfect quote. But what is important to realise is that there are also very good reasons to fear death. After all, a man who truly fears death is not one that becomes a suicide bomber or a 9/11 hijacker. \n\nNot believing in an afterlife is also a very good thing, because it gives your life a meaning other than just being a means of buying yourself a ticket to the next plane. If this is all there is (which is the only thing you could, if such a thing is possible, truly know), then logically what you see or observe are the only things you can be certain of to exist. If this is true, then only in such a world would your life, here and now, really matter. Only in such a world would your love and caring for others be of any importance at all. \n\nIf you don't buy this, you should at least recognise that as the length of your existence decreases, the importance of every moment and action you take increases. \nTo illustrate this, just consider how your life would change if you were to be informed that you only had two months left to live. Wouldn't every hug, every meal and every satisfaction be of significantly higher value?\n\nEDIT: Formatting.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "The Quran was written by mortals, not Gods. Anything you read in it, was no different than something written by Stephen King if he said he was inspired by a God. \n\nThis life is it, buddy. What you need to do is make the absolute best of it, because you only get 1 shot. When you're not free, you're not living a full life. When you die, you become part of the earth again, which in turn fuels other life so in that way you could say you \"live\" forever.\n\nI'd much rather be intelligent than ignorant, and you seem the same. It's been a long cycle of believing in BS for everyone, and it will take time to get over it. Remember how the earth was flat, the sun revolved around us? Take comfort in science and knowledge. Try reading, \"The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a candle in the dark\" by Carl Sagan. It's an excellent book, and might help you out a bit figuring out the truth. Here is a particular story from it: http://www.newspeakdictionary.com/st-drag.html",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Reddit we need your help! Prank ideas please | Hey Reddit I'm turning to you because I know you won’t let me down. We (my awesome project team members and I) are looking for non-destructive and non-illegal prank ideas.
Context: The chair of the department parks his red Volkswagen Golf outside one of our team member’s house off campus. Why? I don’t know. Maybe he’s too cheap to pay the parking fee for parking on campus. We are looking for a fun non-destructive and non-illegal prank. I know that significantly cuts down on the amount of pranks we could pull, but we are all in our fourth year of engineering and we would like to graduate without getting expelled. A bit of background: he teaches mostly fluids and aerodynamics courses. He is almost always on campus so we would have a good few hours to pull off a prank during the day/evening/night on his car. We have access to a lot of the mech / aero manufacturing facilities on campus if we needed to make stuff.
So I turn to you Reddit for ideas! I know you guys/gals won’t disappoint me.
| 6 | [
{
"body": "Erect a metal fence around it, and mark it as being electrified. You could also say that it's quarantined because of plague, or maybe \"Caution: Wild Volkswagen\". ",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Wrap his car in A LOT of saran wrap. Get the big rolls from restaurant supply stores. Five or six should do the job.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Vaseline on the door handles. \nNot just once, but every couple of days at random intervals. eventually he'll start parking somewhere else, to really win, you need to keep it up even then.",
"score": 4
}
]
|
Let's de-sensationalize some Reddit headlines | The game is you take a Reddit headline and de-sensationalize it so it seems boring while still technically accurate.
> *"Bank of America seizes wrong house, changes locks and turns off power. When sued, BoA claims suit "has no merit." Would they say the same if one of their banks were seized?"*
Corporation commits error, seeks a legal means to avoid paying for it.
> *"FLASHBACK: Abracadabra! $12 billion in actual U.S. cash vanished in Iraq"*
Tracking crates filled with paper a difficult task in warzone; some were lost.
> *"Texas school board upholds suspension of 4-year old boy for having long hair: "Students who dress and groom themselves neatly, and in an acceptable and appropriate manner, are more likely to become constructive members of the society in which we live.""*
Texas enforces majority rule in hairstyles
> *Kids, Your Mother Is Ready To Start Fucking Again*
An Onion article uses a swearword in the title
> *This fall, authorities rounded up 3,000 wild rabbits and then burned them for fuel at a heating plant in central Sweden.*
Novel solution for rabbit overpopulation discovered
> *Cameron's blockbuster offers a chilling metaphor for European butchery of the Americas. No wonder the US right hates it*
Some North Americans feel insecure about distasteful historical events | 24 | [
{
"body": "Also, no more using \"Breaking\" unless it actually is the first post of the story to reddit. Due to the margin of error, this means *no more using \"BREAKING:\" ever*.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Is the Canon 50mm f/1.4 worth it? | I've gone through two of the f/1.8s because the build quality is so bad, and the focusing motor keeps going out. The build on the f/1.4 is supposed to be much better, so investing is investing the money in that extra stop and better build quality worth it? | 13 | [
{
"body": "I think you've answered your own question. You clearly get enough use out of the focal length to make the investment cost effective.\n\nThe f/1.4 isn't really much sharper than the 1.8, but it does have better bokeh (texture of out of focus background). Also, the build quality is quite a bit better.\n\nIf I used my f/1.8 daily, I'd probably upgrade to the 1.4, too.\n\nUpdate: I stand corrected on the sharpness issue.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Get the 50mm 1.4, man, it'll be one of the best investment you'll ever make. Upgraded to the 1.4 three years ago, never looked back. Used it mostly for street and portraits, here are some samples:\n\n[Street Sample 1](http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/4391/tamu003.jpg)\n\n[Street Sample 2](http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/2387/tamu006.jpg)\n\n[Portrait Sample 1](http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/6884/ella001.jpg)\n\n[Portrait Sample 2](http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/7936/farah001.jpg)\n\nGood luck with the purchase !",
"score": 3
}
]
|
I just got raped. I have no idea what to do. Please help me. | Yesterday I was sexually abused by my girlfriend. Let's get the obvious "jokes" and "cliches" out of the way already. Yes, I am a guy, supposedly the one who is supposed to rape her, and I got sexually abused by my girlfriend. Every person I've told this to has either laughed, called me "lucky," or dismissed what I said. Reddit is my last resort. I feel I have to talk about it, but no one in real life takes me seriously.
Bit of a background information: I always wanted to "keep" myself for my marriage. I realize this might look ridiculous and that this choice is not very popular these days, especially amongst men, but this is what I believe(d) in. Yes, I am a hardcore Christian, and I have my beliefs. I had seriously hoped to find, meet, date and marry an exceptionally smart woman who thinks the same way I do.
My girlfriend is stronger than me. This is the one thing that bothered me for most in this relation. She is physically stronger than me - able to restrain me, push me around, etc. I am pretty weak physically, have always been, and everything I've done to improve my strength - even training - hasn't helped much. Her, in opposition, is a trained athlete (soccer). Being weak has always bothered me. I've never really done any sport, except physical education in high school, and sucked pretty much at it. My personal strength is intelligence, not strength (currently in college, going well, I spend most of my time studying).
She and I had been dating for six months. She was well-aware of my beliefs and up to this day (monday), respected them. I loved her, and I think she loved me as well. Why she did this to me is nonsense, and cruel. The details are still fresh, but I do not feel like telling them all. We were just in room, kissing - she started to remove some of my clothes, and some of hers. I tried to stop but she continued and I let it go - perhaps too far. Finally, she started to rub against me and I clearly told her, many times, to stop. I tried to push it away, but she kept going. For those of you wondering how a female might "rape" a guy, you now know. You don't always control every part of your body. She took me, and it happened. I tried to resist, pushed me, but was easily able to restrain me physically. I just couldn't move, or push her away. I felt weak, stupid, etc. I realize we did not use protection. It's another reason for me to feel scared, and betrayed.
Please don't laugh. There is nothing funny about it. A man being sexually abused by a woman is nothing to laugh about. Nodoby, I guess, spend the time to think about it. We expect all guys to be strong and nobody would think in their mind this could happen. Even I did not. As stupid as it might seem, I did the best I could to restrain my tears because I did not want to appear even weaker.. After she was done, she had the audacity to ask if I liked it. I wanted to puke.
Every person I've told this story to has either laughed, called me "very lucky", or asked more details, perhaps by curiosity. Even my own parents (also christian) didn't take me seriously and figured I was blaming her for my poor decisions (i.e. putting the blame on her). I didn't know what to say, or do. The only person who believed me, a good friend, ended the conversation with "It's nothing. Grow up." It's nothing. Yay.
I've been thinking about going to the police but to what good? Who can help, what can I say, what can I do? What will the police say? What proof do I have? Will they even bother investigating, will they call me a prankster, will they prosecute ME instead??? All questions I've asked to myself. Or am I simply overreacting? I've been called "lucky" so often I've been starting to think I was wrong all along. Maybe a male's virginity is nothing? Yet I feel humiliated, and that I lost a part of who I was. It's hard to explain in words - the feelings, and also the fact you realize you are so weak. The feeling that you are nothing and that everything you believed in is nothing as well. The feeling that you are one of the few in this situation. That you are not really a man. That you are all alone in that situation and that she... I can't go on. Maybe I'm wrong altogether, overreacting... I remember talking to friends who "couldn't wait" to lose their virginity. I've never felt this way. Perhaps I should have? I realized I could have resisted more - I could have hit her eyes, her throat. Maybe a part of me wanted it??
Reddit: Please help me. I'm totally lost. I don't know what to do. Thank you.
**EDIT:** I spent the last hour talking to my (now ex) girlfriend. It was a lot of tears and apologies. She really did not think I was serious and she thought I did wanted it, and that I was playing an act. It was only after many minutes of arguing on the phone that she understood the harm she had done to me. Apparently to her all men want sex, right here, right now. She did not even understand what she had done until I explained it many times.
I have also called a help hotline and gained more support than I expected. I am considering calling the police and filing a report/charge.
Thank you all for your support. You have been very helpful! I have been thinking about this whole story non-stop, still unsure of what to do. I wish nobody lives this. Male rape definitely is real. I'm at a loss for words now. I can answer some questions if you want. I suppose appearing to be weak, the shame, is the worst. | 45 | [
{
"body": "Well, for starters, you should go to the police abd file a report. If the police officers laugh at you, file a report on them for harassment. The system works for you if you know how to work with it. Sexual abuse done by women to men has surprisingly large numbers, it's just that those numbers are rarely ever reported for aforementioned reasons in your post). You shouldn't be made to feel embarrassed because your beliefs were violated against your will. That is basically the definition of tyranny, and (i'd like to think) that that isn't the kind of world we live in. Straight up, I wholeheartedly disagree with your feelings on what happened, but I respect them because you're not me and you can believe whatever the fuck you want to believe. Do what you feel a woman would do in a similar situation, and if anyone tells you you're a pussy, fuck em, because they are not you. ",
"score": 101
},
{
"body": "I'm upset that people are laughing at this. Rape is rape. I'm a secular humanist and a feminist, and while I don't have the same beliefs as you, I certainly have no problem respecting them and admitting that I don't totally understand them. Having said that:\n\n* talk to someone in your faith, perhaps a minister or priest. They have likely dealt with this sort of situation before (at the very least with a guy raping a girl) and can help you get resources and counseling.\n\n* talk to the police. you can't say that they would dismiss you without trying. at the very least you will have a report on file. rape of men is underreported these days and (this would make me feel better at least) be helping to make more people aware of it so steps can be taken by the professionals to prevent it.\n\n* you should see a doctor. is your girlfriend a virgin? do you know if you may have caught an std from her? this is something you need to look into.\n\n* you need to get away from this girl. she is not someone you should trust and she clearly does not respect you whatsoever. despite what she says, as far as i can tell, she does not care about you if she can't even respect this issue and frequently physically overpowering you.\n\n* this may sound ridiculous, but i think you may want to post in /r/women. many feminists are trying to bring equality to gender issues, which includes not letting women get away scot free with rape.\n\nThis is obviously your personal belief, but I don't think you lost your virginity that night. To me, virginity is something you save to give to someone you love when you feel the time is right, not something someone takes from you. You still have a chance to give your virginity to someone who cares about you (at least in my opinion).\n\nPlease seek professional help regarding this. This was a very traumatic experience for you and despite how \"weak\" you may feel, you need to get help for your physical and mental health.",
"score": 71
},
{
"body": "If this is real, I'm sorry this happened to you.\n\nI wouldn't go to the police straight away. I would, as Chiasma suggests, call a crisis center to see what they have to say, first. Besides, you really need to ask yourself whether you want to press charges against her or not. If not, the police are irrelevant.\n\nThe most relevant to you, it seems, would be to talk to your religious leader, as BackBack suggests. Since this is something that happened against your will, your religious leader will probably assure you that in God's eyes, you haven't sinned. In other words, you're still saving yourself for marriage, because this is something you give willingly, not something that is taken from you. What happened was not sex or love-making; it was rape or assault or some other thing. I don't think you have any reason not to consider yourself still a virgin.",
"score": 49
},
{
"body": "[STOP WASTING TIME WITH US AND CALL THE MOTHERFUCKING HOTLINE DEDICATED TO DEALING WITH THIS.](http://www.rainn.org/)\n\n1.800.656.HOPE.",
"score": 31
},
{
"body": "> The details are still fresh, but I do not feel like telling them all.\n\nYou need to write them down, now, in the best detail you can muster. If it comes to court, this will be important. Your memory of an event fades and changes after the event happens, like radioactive decay. Use that fresh written description to jog your memory when it's important, months later, before a judge.",
"score": 24
},
{
"body": "don't listen to those that say this is ridiculous. if this was posted by a woman the response would be completely different. i understand that it's difficult to prove, and that your options are limited. but i'd suggest going to talk to someone- therapist, counselor, etc. as soon as you possibly can. \n\nyou're not overreacting. rape is a real thing, regardless of sex. and it isn't simple- you need to talk to a professional about this. they'll have more information on whether pressing charges is the best way to go about things. but i can't urge you enough to do this as soon as you possibly can- there is no statute of limitations on rape but being a man of your age the rules unfortunately change... \n\ni am so sorry this happened to you. \n\nedit: reformatting ",
"score": 17
},
{
"body": "I'm trained on this topic. PM me and we can talk more in private if you'd like.\n\nWomen can rape men. It sucks your friends don't believe you but that's not what matters. The important point is that you seek help and go to the hospital for a rape examination. Just because you got an erection does not mean you consented to sex, don't worry about that. You can get an erection mechanically. Erections happen and it doesn't mean you enjoy it.\n\nYou are not overreacting. What happened to you was significant and don't listen to anybody who tells you otherwise. This is a value you took to heart and she took that control away from you. Wanting to keep your virginity is nothing to be ashamed of. We all have different values and priorities in life. Just because one is in the minority/majority does not make it wrong/right. \n\nThe fact that you resisted is significant. Even if you didn't, often times in rape situations people don't fight back because they're too taken aback or scared. Don't take your girlfriend's apology to heart. What happened to you cannot be apologized for. She should have taken proper steps to obtain consent and she didn't.\n\nMy first recommendation is go to a hospital. They will give you a rape examination and check for STDs. The rape kit can be held for a long time (the hospital can give you exact length of time) so you don't have to press charges immediately. This kit will let you preserve evidence.\n\nThe next step is obtain counseling. Rape has long-lasting effects most people aren't aware of it and will affect your subconscious. Counseling can significantly reduce the healing time.\n\nOnce again, PM me if you'd like to talk further.",
"score": 16
},
{
"body": "I don't know if someone has mentioned this, but I did just want to let you know that if you file a police report, then at least if she is pregnant and tries to get you for child support then you can point the file out to the judge. Go to the police. File a report. File a harassment report like aeonblack mentioned. \n\nI'm very sorry what happened to you. That is very uncalled for on her part. What a bitch.",
"score": 14
},
{
"body": "Hello, What you wrote here is basically almost identical to what i went through--yea i even had the same beliefs as you, was saving myself for marriage, was pretty dedicated to God, the church and what not... and then it all went crashing down... I wanted to die, not merely because of what happened physically, but honestly, i felt like something else was raped, like my person-hood, if that makes any sense? like he raped my mind and my soul, or whatever it is that makes me conscious... i was pretty traumatized, and he was supposedly a trusted \"friend.\" I was angry for a long time and entertained violent and vindictive thoughts every time i'd remember, it made me bitter, and hateful. Well the reason i say all this is because i don't want you to lose part of your life being bitter, depressed, and angry because of this person. This person will go on and live her own life and you don't deserve to suffer during it all. Somehow you have to try your best to come to terms with it, cause i didn't and it made me waste precious years. Whether coming to terms with it is through counseling, confrontation, or filing a report, or turning to God, just do your best to do so. ",
"score": 13
},
{
"body": "You are not overreacting -- rape is rape, no matter who is doing the raping to whom. \r\n\r\nIgnore the people who are calling you \"lucky\" -- if you didn't want it, then you aren't lucky.\r\n\r\nAs far as being Christian, if it didn't happen by your choice then it doesn't count. I can't think of any way this could be held against you.\r\n\r\nPlease go for counseling around this, from someone very experienced in rape crisis counseling -- one danger is that you can close up sexually to other partners or have other emotional problems around sex. Many time this stuff pops up as PTSD months later, so even if you don't think you are having problems around it, that doesn't mean that you are.\r\n\r\nHaving a police report on this will also help if she turns up pregnant later on. I strongly suspect this might be part of another power play against you. \r\n\r\nI would get her to admit doing it in a recorded conversation. That way you have proof for the police report and if she tries to go after you for child support, etc. if she is pregnant around this. \r\n\r\nGood luck!",
"score": 10
},
{
"body": "First of all, don;t expect any help from authorities, clergy, etc. It is a total double standard, but pretty much everyone will tell you to \"grow a pair\"\n\nSo, grow a pair. Dump that bitch already. If you made your feelings clear, and she forcibly took what she wanted against your will, this woman is obviously a bad person. Kick her ass to the curb and never talk to her again.\n\nForget going to anyone else for actual help. You may get some psycological help from a therapist or whatever (which might not be a bad idea), but the police will def. laugh at you and ignore you, unless she beat you senseless and you have physical evidence of that. More or less, you're on your own, and will have to heal on your own. Sucks, but that's manhood.\n\nTo summarize: Dump the bitch. Concentrate on yourself. \n\nedit: You made the right choice in not resorting to violence against her. People laugh at men as rape victims, but if there is even a hint that you have beat her, YOU will become the villian, no matter the actual circumstances / physical differences.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "You didn't want it. You didn't ask for it, this is not your fault. If I could hug you right now, I would. You wanted to wait, and that was important to you, and she took that choice away from you. She knew you wanted to wait, but used coercion and force to take that from you.\n\nLegally, I don't know if there's much you can do, or much that you want to do. I guess listen to other posters on that point, as they have better suggestions. I'm most worried about you emotionally. Please, please, please talk to a counselor or therapist about this. If they tell you it's not a big deal, go see someone else. You actually might try talking to somebody at a women's center to see if there's help for you they can offer. I know that generally speaking, we think of women's centers as being only helpful to women, but as people who are trained to deal with consent issues, they may have some helpful advice/referrals for you.\n\nThis is not nothing, and you didn't ask for it. You deserved to have a choice.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "Rape is horrendous regardless of genders.\n\nI'm so sorry. I wish I had more to offer you than condolences. Just know that some people understand.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "Step one: stop trying to blame yourself. As you can see, even in a place like Reddit, where conforming is seen as a character flaw, the temptation to judge you against what people think the normative ideal is can be overwhelming. Don't do it to yourself too. It doesn't matter if I agree with your values or not, and it doesn't matter if they are based on a well-thought-out system of beliefs or not. This isn't about whether you are right to want to keep your virginity, it's about the fact that you had your right to your own body and your own decisions violated by force. Anyone who isn't secure enough in their own masculinity is going to fall back on accusing you of not being a \"real man\". This is usually because they've never been in your situation and it makes them uncomfortable to imagine they ever could be, so they have no interest in trying to empathize. Ignore these people. They can't help you.\n\nStep two: [go here.](http://www.aest.org.uk/survivors/male/) Understand that you are not alone in this, and that for all the derision you're going to encounter there are people who do understand, who take this seriously, and who want to help.\n\nStep three: understand that you are going to be angry for a very, very long time. Manage that anger. Acknowledge it, deal with it, and don't let it consume you or run your life. You *can* get through this, but if you aren't very careful you will bury it and try to ignore it, and doing that may change you for the worse.\n\nGood luck.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "This strikes me as fake.\n\nIt seems like you were thinking about how a guy could get raped and decided to come up with some convenient details and write a \"plausible\" story on how it could happen. Yes, there is a double standard, people usually laugh at the idea of a guy getting raped, but I still wasn't convinced. \n\nIt sounds almost as if you had no physical desire to have sex, is this true? I can understand wanting to wait because of beliefs, but your body is still going to have the desire anyway and it takes willpower to stop yourself. Did at least one part of you want to do it? Did part of you want to do it to make your girlfriend happy? Were you conflicted between the temptation to have sex and please your girlfriend and to follow your religious beliefs? Did that conflict make you sort of give in or not resist as much as you could have and now you feel guilty and used?\n\nIt sounds as if you had no sexual desire, said no, were 100% helpless to stop her. Which to me sounds one sided and highly unlikely.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "After reading the OP and a lot of comments here, I think this might be fake but I still think it's a very useful discussion that brings up a lot of poignant issues. This discussion has a lot of merit and people are tackling it with a great deal of maturity and sensitivity for the most part.\n\nI hope that anyone that is sincerely in this position will reflect on the helpful advice in the other comments here, because the only people that deserve this are people that *lie about or exploit this inequality*.\n\nAnd yes, I do believe that: If you lie about being raped you deserve to suffer the immense physical and emotional torment that you're lying about and exploiting at the expense of people who have actually suffered it. Rape is only slightly more disgusting than lying about it.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "No, what you need to do is ask yourself if that is how it *really* played out. I'm not trying to be insensitive here but you left out A LOT of detail and the small paragraph explaining what happened leads me to believe that she was getting mixed signals from you. \n\n*\"We were just in room, kissing - she started to remove some of my clothes, and some of hers. I tried to stop but she continued and I let it go - perhaps too far.\"*\n\nYou admit that you let it continue, allowed things to go further. I figure you initially protested because of your beliefs but couldn't necessarily think straight because of what was going on. You were probably somewhat if not totally erect at this point. Then she climbs ontop of you and you say you protest again, try to push her back, etc. Given what had happened before when you protested, I'd say she probably assumed it was OK and it went from there. You mention not using protection. Did you cum inside of her? What happened after the \"rape\"? Did either of you say anything? Did she just leave afterward?\n\nThere are a lot of details missing and that leads me to believe that while you probably regret what happened, it wasn't actually rape. If I'm wrong please forgive me because I know how serious rape is... But to me this entire story just sounds a little fishy. \n\nOnly you and her know what really happened so my advice to you would be to go over the events very carefully, and very thoroughly, before making any decisions. If you did consent in the heat of the moment you should just accept that fact and move on from it. Pressing charges is a really serious thing and you will ruin her life if you choose to do so. If you believe you gave her clear signals that this was something you did not want to happen, then I would say to go ahead and call around to see what you can do about this. You probably want to speak with a therapist first because if you do decide to press charges they will be able to help should you go to court.\n\nAnyway, best of luck to you. ",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Try [RAINN](http://apps.rainn.org/ohl-bridge/).\n\nPart of me suspects this is a shock pieces, given the focus on the politics of it all. (If it's not, please, disregard the following, and my best wishes for your recovery.) I do support raising awareness about male rape, and this is perhaps a good way to go about doing it. That said, please be careful; I've seen a lot of people approach this topic looking to discredit women's experiences because they see the subject as not \"fair\" or \"equal\". ",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "> We were just in room, kissing - she started to remove some of my clothes, and some of hers. I tried to stop but she continued and I let it go - perhaps too far. Finally, she started to rub against me and I clearly told her, many times, to stop. I tried to push it away, but she kept going. For those of you wondering how a female might \"rape\" a guy, you now know.\n\nSo was your dick inside of her or did you just come while dry humping?\n\nEdit: Why the downvotes, it's an honest question?",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": ">If a girl doesn't struggle but keeps saying \"no\" and guy still has sex with her anyway, **she can report him for rape.**\n\n\n\n\n\n>If a guy doesn't struggle but keeps saying \"no\" and a girl still has sex with him anyway, **he can report her for rape.**\n\n\nThis is a very simple concept to understand. I thought redditors were enlightened enough to grasp this?",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Just on a side-note. If your ex get convicted be aware this criminal record will fuck her up for life. She was stupid, but it seems she honestly didn't mean any harm...\n\nOnly a pointer, nothing else.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Something happened to me once... With a girl I loved. We had been sexually active, though, it still bothers me after 4+ years. I woke up to her climbing on top of me... I asked her not to, several times, but she was insistent and I just didn't know what to do about it.\n\nEDIT: thank you to the few messages of positive support I've received in private.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I'm probably going to get slammed for this, but...\n\nThis is *technically* rape, but it may not *seem* like rape to an outside observer. Reporting this to the police will not help anyone. It can't get your virginity back. It won't make your girlfriend any more remorseful about what she's done.\n\nYou need to SERIOUSLY consider the consequences of reporting this to the police. It sounds like your girlfriend made a serious mistake in judgement, as did you. You didn't do anything wrong, and to some extent, neither did she. Not wanting to have sex is a very valid argument... but at your age and experience level, sexual interaction can be a giant unknown.\n\nBy filing a police report, you will embroil yourself and your girlfriend in a lengthy, expensive criminal proceeding. If she is convicted as an adult, this may mean that the charges stay on her record for an extremely long time. It may impact her chances of getting a job or going to a good college. It will cost both your families thousands of dollars in legal fees.\n\nThe questions you have to ask yourself are \n- Can you understand where she was coming from? Was she doing it because she really, genuinely wanted to make you happy by fulfilling your (presumed) sexual desires? \n- Is she genuinely remorseful? Does she understand now how you felt about the situation?\n- Do you feel as if she were honest? When you say \"she thought I did wanted it, and that I was playing an act.\" ... do you really believe that?\n\nPressing criminal charges is a deadly serious matter. Juvenile criminality and jail time **will ruin a person's life**. I understand you're hurt, probably scared, and a bit emasculated. But striking out in anger will not restore your virginity, it won't teach your girlfriend a lesson, and it sounds to me as if it will only cause more pain and unncessary suffering.\nYour time and money would be much better spent in therapy.\n\nMy advice is to talk things out with your girlfriend, work through your mistakes, and let it go. As a Christian, you may be familiar with the concept of forgiveness. From my POV, this is a good time to work things out, not take vengeance. I hope you will let this experience strengthen you, rather than lashing out in anger and trying to ruin her life over what seems to be a genuine mistake, rather than an act of violent aggression (rape and assault) or sexual predation (such as date rape or taking advantage of an unconscious victim)",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Dear Reddit: When I was 14 I was systematically raped by a 30 year old woman who was supposed to be my guardian. The abuse went on for the better part of a year.\n\nIt took me years of therapy to deal with the impact of the experience. One of the biggest problems I faced when coming out to people that I'd had this experience was that they would not understand it, would belittle it, or would somehow think it was a good thing. Usually, I would have to give them an example switching genders before they could see that it was wrong.\n\nAs males, we are imprinted by society with the idea that we're supposed to have a lot of sex, and are supposed to want it all the time. That a woman could be the aggressor in this type of incident is inconceivable to many people for two major reasons. One, because aggressive females are a sexual fantasy for many, and two, because we look at women as caregivers and nurturers, and subconsciously we find it offensive to have to adjust that perspective. We just don't think they're capable of it.\n\nI'm here to tell you, Reddit, that female-on-male sexual abuse is real, and is one of the most chronically under-reported crimes. Rape isn't about the sex, it's a power crime. Men don't want to report that this has happened to them because it means publicly admitting their powerlessness, which is as deeply humiliating as the abuse itself.\n\nWhat bugs me is not whether OP is a troll or not, but the number of people either denying that female-on-male rape is possible, or eroticizing it.\n\nGrohnew, if you're not a troll, then you're an exceptionally brave person. Coming out, even anonymously like this, is a big step. You should definitely report it, although be prepared for the fact that the law enforcement officers you speak to may be idiots. Don't go alone.\n\nEven more importantly, you should consult a therapist as soon as possible. It may not seem like it now, but you can totally get through this.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "i'll agree with backback, you can try to go to the police but honestly, they aren't actually that much help in the easier to prove female rape category i've observed, but you definetly need to get rid of her, break up with her, never see her again as much as is possible for you. get help mentally, you can talk to a doctor, therapist, or your religious official (who i suspect would be able to help you the most in your circumstances with your beliefs).\n\nI honestly dont share your beliefs regarding religion or sex personally, but i do think that everybody is entitled to their own beliefs and morals and to force, particularly physically, anything different on them is absolutely wrong, i'm sorry this happened to you my friend, please do what you need to to get help.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "The number one protection against getting raped is to shit yourself. If they are still raping you after you shit on them, WOW.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I'm going to play devil's advocate since I'm curious about the girl's mindset. I read all the comments and haven't seen this perspective so please read on.\n\nPerhaps she was confused by your behavior and asked around, and was told the following:\n\n* All people want sex (false, but fairly close to the truth)\n* [There](http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/aovpw/i_just_got_raped_i_have_no_idea_what_to_do_please/c0io27w) are [people](http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/aovpw/i_just_got_raped_i_have_no_idea_what_to_do_please/c0io53b) who fetishize this\n\nThere are many other reasons why she might imagine you were secretly wanting sex with her but were unwilling to say so. People are afraid to be open about this kind of thing. She missed the part where she absolutely needed your consent, which is a **huge** deal, but it's somewhat better than maliciously seeking to have sex with you against your will.\n\nIf she really loves you she may have had your interests in mind. Please talk to her and figure out **exactly** what she was thinking. Tell her how you felt, and how she hurt you. Break up with her, at the very least. Make sure to do it in a place where she cannot physically intimidate you, like online. Involve the police if you think her intention was to have sex with you with no regard for your desires.\n\nEDIT: added links to other posts",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "THANKS FOR THE NEGATIVE COMMENT KARMA. NEXT TIME SOMEONE NEEDS ADVICE I'LL JUST TELL 'EM TO FUCK OFF BECAUSE I WOULD GET NEG REPPED EITHER WAY.\n\nLong time reddit lurker, first post ever. I honestly have never been motivated to help a redditor in need until I saw this post. If I come off as abrasive or something, I'm just trying to help.\n\nDude, I feel for ya. Several years ago I was in a similar predicament. Don't call the cops, they will not take you seriously. The thing about it is, If you see yourself as \"unclean\" or \"no longer a virgin\" you are way far off and I think in that respect you are overreacting. I'm a christian as well and honestly I believe one's \"virginity\" (relative term IMO anyway) is a complete state of mind. What I'm trying to say is you ARE still a virgin. You said yourself and told us you didn't want it to happen but your teenage sex-drive or possibly emotions towards your g/f (hopefully ex soon, honestly) let you go too far into a situation in which your g/f thought you were both past to point of no return. She can say that she \"thought\" you really wanted it all she wants to cover up her story, but from what I know your g/f is a stupid selfish whore who has little to no interest in YOUR well being. \n\nOkay I'm rambling so the moral of the story is yes you were sexually abused. If I were you I would just move on from the relationship, YOU SERIOUSLY CANNOT TRUST THIS GIRL. Trust me when I say that. Just be glad you were raped by a girl because otherwise you would have had a giant cock in you butthole. Seriously. Imagine how traumatic THAT would have been?",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "In all seriousness I wanted to wait til I got married too. I remember on my 17 birthday we were having a party at my friends huge house. I go in the room where my gf is staying and I get in and she's naked ready to fuck. Caught off guard and drunk I tell her I'm not ready(mostly afraid of getting her pregnant.) \n\nA week later I snap to and fuck her. Best decision I ever made.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "You asked for it by getting a hardon.\n\n(Please read sarcasm in the parody of how men say women ask for it by how they dress.)",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I am disgusted by the number of people reading this post who think that this is a reasonable time to question the OP's faith. \nFaith may not be your choice of lifestyle, but that doesn't mean that it's not valid, and frankly, OP needs all of the support right now that he can get. \nFrom a philosophical standpoint, faith is pragmatic, if nothing else. It surrounds an individual with a support community and gives them a sense of hope. I don't think that there's anything stupid about a person finding a reason to live and love and hope.\n\nWhat I do think is stupid, however, is telling a rape victim that his faith is invalid, and then claiming to be more intelligent than him. Intelligence is more than rationality: if you want to show yours right now, then show this person your empathy, not your hatred.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "That's horrible that people laughed at you. I agree, it is not funny at all. I'm so sorry this happened to you. Good for you for calling a help hotline. You should definitely talk to the police too.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "This stinks of troll. Seriously, your chick was horny and you weren't giving her what she needed. You've been together for 6 months, fuck the girl already.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I know this comment will be lost among the sea of comments that is already here, but I still would like to add a few thoughts.\n\nReading over this thread, I simply cannot make sense of idea why I keep thinking that OP is overreacting and that he should just let it go, but that I would not think the same if a girl was in his situation. I keep trying to explain why I think this way, but there is no good answer. Two ideas came up:\n\n- the people on this earth, and the beliefs they hold, can be _really fucking different_ . Even though the OP and I are both Westerners who post on Reddit and can watch MuchMusic and eat McDonalds and flush our toilets on demand, our views on some things - like sexuality, or religion, or the value of a physical act, can differ _so much_ .\n\n- being forced to have sex as a female is different from being forced to have sex as a male, from a physical point of view? could this reflect the existence of the oft-mentioned double standard?\n\nMan, I'm confused.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Wow this has every stigma of raped males on it. The reaction of some posters is utterly disgusting. \"Forced to have sex\" absolutely fits the description here. This is rape.\n\nIf this is real I hope the poster gets all the support and help needed.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I know you feel. Nobody takes a man seriously when we say we're raped.\n\nI was at a bonfire with some friends a few years back. It was getting really late, but my ride wasn't ready to leave yet, so I ended up falling asleep down by the shore. I wake up underneath the overwight, mentally ill prostitute that had been stalking me all night.\n\nEverybody I tell laughs at me, but don't understand how much hell I went through in the next six months. Nearly weakly trips to planned parenthood to get tested, wondering if the whore had given me herpes, or worse. Freaking out at every itch, wondering if it was finally surfacing, afraid to sleep with other women, in case I did have something and would pass it on.\n\nIt was all pretty horrible, and people just don't understand. It's just another one of society's double standards.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Seems to me this is really simple: do you want to report this to the police as a crime or not? Do you want to make this into a criminal matter. If yes, then fine. If no, then you need to think very seriously about why you believe at once that (1) it was rape and (2) why you do not want to treat this as rape (i.e. as a crime). \n\nBeyond that you need professional help -- of the non-clerical variety, I might add. Perhaps you should start with a rape hotline and see where that leads you.\n\nhttp://www.rainn.org/get-help/national-sexual-assault-hotline",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Go. Now. Call a crisis line. Call RAINN. Get *help*. Get away from her. Go to the police if you can.\n\nGo. Now.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Rape is a serious crime , you should get a rape kit done so they will have DNA evidence. \n\nWhat a sick individual! She needs to go straight to the sex offender list..",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Error: Does not Compute\n\n>Yes, I am a hardcore Christian, and I have my beliefs. I had seriously hoped to find, meet, date and marry an exceptionally smart woman who thinks the same way I do.\n",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "i think this is kind of interesting because i was raped by my conservative christian boyfriend who also had planned to wait till marriage. i would urge anyone who has felt violated sexually to press charges if only for your own piece of mind and knowing that should that other person ever do something like that again their name will pop up in police records. \n\nthat being said i think there a bigger issue here that deals with our sexuality. it sounds like your now ex didnt really know what she was doing was wrong or throught at least you werent serious. my now ex i know felt the same way. after the first time i said no and was ignored i went along with any sexual activity however unwanted and he had no idea. he never really knew or rather understood what he was doing was wrong. at the time i even thought it was ok because we were planning on getting married and i was doing what i would be doing as his future wife. now i realize all that was wrong. i still believe in God and Jesus and living life as Jesus would to a large degree but my ideas abot sexuality have changed ALOT. Im sorry for youre having to go through this experiance tho. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I'm sorry to hear about what happened to you. \n\nThe odds are that you are going to want/need counseling. Hopefully the hotline can help with that, or you may want to contact a local rape victims support group.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "First off, reading this made me very angry. The way you have been treated, up until the few positive edits you´ve made, is appalling. The fact that you are male does in NO WAY reduce the violence you experienced. You have the right to choose, that right was taken from you. In the most horrible way you can imagine. I hope this doesn´t affect your future relationships. -Or affect the way you view women. There aren´t many people who find it ok to forcefully engage another person in sexual acts, I´m pretty sure a guy like you will find the \"perfect woman\" to spend your life with. Just remember not to put one iota of blame on yourself. ",
"score": 3
}
]
|
[TOMT] Japanese tale that is a relatively small book about a young boy and his relationship with his mother who beds sailors [book] | the only scene i remember vividly was when the boy hides in his mother's wardrobe and watches her through a peephole while she gets very intimate with a sailor...i think their house was close to the harbour...and it's all set in japan. that's all the info i've got, i'm afraid.
**update: The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea** | 5 | [
{
"body": "Perhaps [this](http://books.google.com/books?id=nm4a5d7BjNkC&pg=PA121&dq=When+Noboru'+s+mother+takes+up+with+the+sailor+Ryuji&cd=6#v=onepage&q=&f=false)?\n\nIt's either \"The sailor who fell from Grace with the sea\", Or \"Kinkakuji\" by Mishima.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "> In The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, Noboru, a teenager, spies on his mother’s sexual behaviors and her later affair with a sailor.\n\n[source](http://www.atypon-link.com/GPI/doi/pdfplus/10.1521/jaap.30.2.241.21952?cookieSet=1)",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "A Cautionary Tale by the Decemberists? It's not very Japanese, and it's not exactly the same, and it's a song, not a book, but it's a good song about your mom getting plowed.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Twonky Mobile + PS3 == Pure Awesome. | I just downloaded Twonky Media Server on my N1 and it's *kickass*. Watching videos on my plasma that are streaming off my phone is just pure nerdgasm.
Edit:
Twonky is a UPNP/DLNA server for your phone. It lets any UPNP/DLNA client view pictures/movies and listen to music that are streamed directly off the phone via WiFi. | 7 | [
{
"body": "That's a pretty lousy review there, friend.\r\n\r\nBy that I mean that you have provided me with essentially no relevent information apart from the fact that the application exsists.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Why is gay marriage a higher priority than divorce? | Jesus said, "But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery."
Maybe gay marriage was so outlandish at the time that He didn't even consider saying anything about it. But the bottom line is that Jesus goes out of his way to denounce divorce on a "irreconcilable differences" basis, and yet we have Christians (yes, even some Catholics!) getting divorces all over the place.
Almost no one chastises them as sinners. So how do religious folks justify preventing gay marriage as being such a high priority in their lives, when so many of their brothers and sisters are breaking Jesus' decree so openly?
The strongest case for Biblical condemnation of homosexuality is buried somewhere in the Pentateuch, while God's stance on divorce is pretty clearly highlighted in the NT. | 21 | [
{
"body": "Because *other* people are gay. Those people, over there, the bad people. Gay is something they decided to be. Shame!\n\nBut divorce is an unforeseen, unavoidable tragedy that sometimes happens to good Christian people. It's totally different, and entirely understandable.\n\nAnd don't go quoting Jesus' explicit condemnation of remarriage, you mean judgmental legalist.",
"score": 34
},
{
"body": "Because more Christians are straight adulterers than gay. The Bible doesn't have anything to do with it.",
"score": 15
},
{
"body": "By sound principles, it's not. In fact, by sound principles Christians shouldn't be judging anyone outside the Church. Only once you are in the Church can a person be expected to abide by Christian principles. Yeah, that means we should be setting an example by not getting divorced. That said, we also should not be allowing gay marriages in our churches. Unfortunatly the harsh reality is that things aren't perfect.",
"score": 11
},
{
"body": "I'm baffled by why the church wants to have a say in contracts: who can contract with who, what rights they can assign to that contract.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Because arguing to make divorce illegal at this point is a lost cause. It has already been accepted as a norm in the culture.\n\nBoth homosexuality and divorce are scorn upon by God along with lying, murdering, stealing, anger, etc. It's just that one is more easier to fight for than the other (sadly).\n\nI really do wish more stress would be placed upon Christians getting a divorce and understanding the value of marriag.e",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Do you need to be a scientist to be a philosopher and vice versa? | In order to be a philosopher, does one really need to be a scientist? Or alternatively does one need to be a philosopher in order to be a scientist? | 8 | [
{
"body": "Absolutely not. Although science is really a subset of philosophy, most scientists are naive realists who almost never ask the metaphysical questions of \"why?\" or \"what the nature of?\". They're basically philosophical mechanics, only vaguely familiar with Popper's principle of falsification.\n\nWhen it comes to investigating the essence of things (rather than their forms), it's the philosophers who do the heavy lifting. And although analytic philosophers do indeed have a science envy, being a scientist is really a disadvantage rather than plus in the field of philosophical inquiry, which encompasses far more than just analytic fields.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Kuhn, the Sokal Hoax, Heidegger, nazis, Popper, falsifiable, jargon, \"not even wrong,\" metaphysics, Calvin and Hobbes cartoon, postmodernism generator, evolution, Feynman's grandmother, the French, social construction of reality, \"if you don't believe in science, then jump out a window,\" God, math, evolution. \n\n...There. Add a few verbs and some insults, and you now have every debate about philosophy and science on the internet ever. \n\nThat ought to save us all some time. Maybe we could spend the rest of the day doing something more productive like debating intellectual property rights and Google's role in China. How about this Conan thing? Crazy, huh? ",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "What do you mean exactly when you say \"philosopher\" and \"scientist\"? What do these terms mean to you?\n\nIf you plan to study academic philosophy in a college/university, it is unlikely you will need study science in order to understand philosophy unless your specific field of philosophy requires it (Philosophy of Science, philosophy of mind, etc). Likewise, if you plan to study one of the many disciplines of science (biology, neuroscience, physics, etc), it is unlikely you will need to study academic philosophy in order to understand your field of scince. If you plan to be a serious scholar (science or philosophy), it would certainly be beneficial if you knew about both. \nThat said, a person who studies academic philosophy/science is not necessarily a scientist or a philosopher. I know many people with science degrees who don't identify themselves as \"scientists\" and I know plenty of people who call themselves \"philosophers\" but they have never completed any formal training in philosophy.\n\nIdeally, a scientist IS a philosopher of some sorts but that would depend where you draw the line between science and philosophy. Keep in mind, the entire discipline of science was called - for the most of intellectual history- natural philosophy and the scientists who performed the various experiments would have easily identified themselves as \"philosophers\". In our contemporary times, a \"philosopher\" is synoymous with \"professor/student of philosophy\" and only people who are formally trained in academic philosophy feel comfortable calling themselves \"philosophers\". Whether that should be the case is quite debatable. \n\nI could rant further but I'll cut myself short and leave things open for discussion..",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "You might be interested in Lee Smolin's _The Trouble with Physics_. Near the end, he discusses that in \"revolutionary\" periods, people interested in the history and philosophy of science become more useful, but are harder to find within the physics establishment because they weren't so useful during \"normal\" periods.\n\nSo maybe the amount of philosophy a scientist might desire to know could be related to the stage of her science's evolution, her personal inclinations, institutional constraints (will a certain approach make it harder for you to get you a job), etc. (Dunno how well this generalizes to other sciences.)",
"score": 4
}
]
|
Exempt users with sufficient karma from the spam filter. | Title is pretty much self-explanatory... I think there should be a threshold karma point after which users' submissions no longer have to go through the spam filter (or perhaps be analyzed with more leniency, if that's possible). | 6 | [
{
"body": "We can't just give you a pass based on karma because it is just too easy to get karma. If you are spammer, you can just make a reddit and get a bunch of your spammer friends to upvote your submissions. And now, with all the karma parties, it is even easier still.\n\nThat being said, your overall karma is used in spam filter calculations. It is one of the tokens that is passed in for evaluation. However, again, because of the karma parties, that token has become less useful lately, and therefore less powerful in getting posts from high karma users through.",
"score": 20
}
]
|
DAE think that if networks used DVR data in ratings calculations TV wouldn't suck ass? (Bonus Conan rant) | I think the Leno/Conan issue is a perfect example of an issue that has been crappifying TV for a decade now.
I know that Nielsen has some DVR tracking methods, but they are subpar at best and networks still seem to live and die by how many people actually tune in to a program when it airs.
This is the reason they value Jay Leno so much. Who actually still tunes in religiously to a program at its airtime? Old people, technologically impaired people, Jehovah's witnesses, etc. Leno's audience. These skewed numbers make it look like Leno is a ratings monster and CSI is the best show on television.
Look on Reddit and other websites and no one is getting behind the Leno shift, but our voice doesn't really matter because we don't watch TV like it's 1995.
A network show makes money based on ad revenue minus budget. The amount it can charge for ad time is directly related to its Nielsen rating.
I can count on my fingers the number of shows I've watched as they air in the last five years. I am supposed to be exactly the demographic these networks seem to pursue so aggressively. They claim the male 18-35 demo makes or breaks a show, but how many of this demo actually watches TV on the networks schedule? Basically the demo they are really going after is males 18-35 who watch TV as it airs. That's a pretty small audience.
So here we are with a programming schedule completely defined by old people and very fringe parts of other demos.
This is why TV sucks. | 14 | [
{
"body": "I rarely watch programs as their airing live. If it wasn't for DVR, I probably wouldn't be watching most of the shows I watch regularly.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "This is absolutely correct. I've been trying to explain to my relatives in the entertainment business that a lot of viewers don't care whether Conan is on at 11:35 or 12:05 because they're just going to Tivo it or watch it online anyway.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Are there any other Redditors like me who are on the No-Fly list? Share stories inside.. | I posted about this before but it got like 0 upvotes so I wanted to try one more time. Basically, in 2003 I found out while on vacation with my family in Europe that I was on the TSA's No-Fly list. I'm 22. At the time I was just out of school and on my way to college. Not that it should matter but I am white, no criminal history, no trouble of any sorts. It has been a considerable pain in my ass every time I have had to fly since (I have tried to get off through official channels).
So they say there are about 4,000 names on that list.. seems very low to me. Anyone else on Reddit have an experience like mine?? | 136 | [
{
"body": "Your not on the list, your name is.\n\nBy the way you can get off the list quite quickly - change your name.\n\nA canadian guy did it and no longer has a problem:\nhttp://www.boingboing.net/2008/09/12/canadian-man-changes.html\n\nDONT LET THE TERRORISTS KNOW USING ANOTHER NAME GETS THEM ONTO PLANES, LETS HOPE FAKE ID IS NEVER INVENTED\nEND SARCASM",
"score": 53
},
{
"body": "I have my own no fly list. I am the only one on it and i have enforced it 100%.\n\nIt is not because i am afraid to fly. I have flown across the Atlantic four times and up and down the east coast. I am 6'4\" and the seats are cramped. You can't smoke (which i agree with, but for me it is tough), and after 9/11 i saw no reason to add the hassle of going through an intrusive security inspection which would just prolong the overall discomfort already in place.\n\nNext time i go to Europe i will row if necessary.",
"score": 25
},
{
"body": "How did you get on it? How exactly did you find this out? Do you know why you got on it? What happens when you try to fly? If it's called the \"No-Fly List\", I would have thought that meant that you weren't allowed to fly. \n\nIf there are only 4,000 names on it, what are the chances there will be another redditor on it?",
"score": 13
},
{
"body": "same here, I've got a terribly generic name. A super-easy fix is to use your middle name when purchasing tickets. I haven't been asked to \"just hold on one second...\" in 2 years.",
"score": 11
},
{
"body": "I take it you've tried googling your name. Id be curious, however unlikely, to see if the reason your name is on that list is transparent at all, if not newsworthy.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Someone with my name was on the \"watch list\" about 6 years ago. I'm white, with no record and a very common Anglo-Saxon name. Basically every time I flew the auto-ticket kiosks would say \"please see attendant.\" So I had to wait in line, get to the ticket counter, show 2 forms of ID, and then wait 20 - 30 minutes while the person at the counter sat on the phone, scanning over my documents. I imagine someone was watching me all the way to the gate.\n\nSo to get out of it, I had to contact the TSA on my own time, request a 6 - 7 page form document that I had to fill out, copy all my birth records, ID's, proof of address, SSN, etc. etc. etc. \n\nIt was a huge pain in the ass, but I don't get flagged anymore.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "there are about **400,000 people** on a combined watch-list according to an official [TSA count](http://www.tsa.gov/approach/mythbusters/tsa_watch_list.shtm) count. No-Fly list is a subsection of this list. Unless you are an authorized Govt employee there is no way to determine which specific list you are on. ",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "My Dad was on the no fly list for a few years. He travels often, but everytime he checks in at the counter he gets \"o I'm sorry sir there is a problem with your ticket\", and the agent disappears for 15 minutes. One time the woman admitted that they make a phone call to the FBI, who have to decide if it is ok to allow that person on a plane. \n\nHe also got \"random screening\" notes on his ticket a lot. This would usually be done by placing a small \"f\" on the ticket (we found out by comparing his tickets with ours), and he would get the standard pat down. It really wasn't a huge problem, just an inconvenience.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I would like to have an ex boss added to the no fly list.\n\nAnyone have an idea how to do that?\n\nHe has an Irish name, so he could be a member of IRA.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Has anyone had their Yahoo account arbitrarily de-activated before? | I've had a Yahoo account for close to 10 years.
I use this account a little for email, but mostly for Yahoo Groups.
I've owned or moderated about a half dozen Yahoo Groups forums going back all the way to 2001. I also use it for other things on occasion, like the Fantasy sports leagues I've been part of (baseball / football) going back over 5 years.
Yesterday I try to login, and get a message that my account has been deactivated !?!? I immediatly fill out their help form thing, and get this automated reply from Yahoo telling me I'm fucked...
_______________________________________________________
**We reviewed your case, and decided that your account is not eligible for reinstatement.**
**Once an account is disabled for a violation of the Terms of Service, thesubscriber to the account will lose the ability to log in and access theaccount and its contents (including email and content stored with anyother Yahoo! service). The account also will not be reactivated.**
_______________________________________________________
Case? what case? why is there a case? What terms did I violate? WTF! So I write them again, and get another auto-reply...
_______________________________________________________
**We appreciate your inquiry. Yahoo! may, in appropriate circumstances and in its sole discretion, remove or edit any content and/or terminate the accounts of users who appear to have violated the Terms and Conditions.**
**Any action taken is confidential. We will not release this information unless required to do so by law or under other similar circumstances. We are unable to make exceptions to this rule.**
**We invite you to visit the Yahoo! Terms of Service and Yahoo! Community Guidelines. These documents can be found at...**
________________________________________________________
And so now I've written them again. It's obvious I'm playing email tag with an autoform email thing. Has anyone had anything like this happen to them on Yahoo?
This is rather devastating. I have multiple Yahoo Groups now that I'm guessing are moderated by no one. With Burning man starting to ramp up, how the fuck am I supposed to add more people to my camps email list? What happens to important emails I've archived? What happens to my years of league records in my fantasy leagues?
This is surreal, no reason given, blamo... your screwed.
I'm writing them, once again, but I'm sure that will in turn lead to another autogenerated email.
Anyone have any advice?
| 8 | [
{
"body": "Yahoo support sucks. An extremely old account of mine was hacked not long ago, and my attempts to recover it were repeatedly denied because I did not know the birthday (Despite knowing previous passwords, the recovery questions, and all other account details). It was obviously an account I made when I was like 9 years old and entered a fake birthday for, which they wouldn't accept.\n\nThankfully, it couldn't have much sensitive data in it because it was so old, but the shitty and slow way in which they handled my case made me make sure anything valuable had accurate information.\n\nThe thought of losing all my email over a TOS violation I didn't commit and they wouldn't explain terrifies me.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Any interesting Podcast recommendations?
| I just got my first music player which I primarily use to not get bored on subways, if I'm not reading, or working out. I listen to Quirks and Quarks on CBC but would you recommend any interesting podcasts?
They need not be science related. Music, sports, entertainment anything interesting! Or any audio book recommendations?
Thanks in advance.
**EDIT:** Could you recommend any podcast downloaders?
**EDIT:** Great, thanks for all the replies! | 5 | [
{
"body": "I'll probably be downvoted to oblivion for saying this, but my favourite podcast by far was the Russell Brand show. Him and his writing partner Matt Morgan were the funniest people in radio and were probably the best bits of comedy over the past couple of years.\n\nHonestly, if you haven't listened to it before, do! I found that it peaked at around March in 2007 so most of the episodes from there are fantastic. It's not on any more because of a prank phone call made to Andrew Sachs where his partner on the show at that time (Jonathan Ross) told him that Russell had had sex with his granddaughter, that ended up with him having to resign from the BBC.\n\nhttp://www.russellbrandpodcastarchive.com/",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Does anyone at Adobe actually check the bug tracker? | It drives me nuts whenever I bump into a bug or undocumented limitation of the Flash Player. I fill out bug reports, but I feel like they get dumped into a black hole. Not only do I waste time discovering bugs, but the time I spend reporting them seems to be for naught.
Contrast this to Google, who actively reads and updates their bug reports, even the stupid ones. | 14 | [
{
"body": "I used to work actively with Flash at my previous job, and our team of 10 animators would easily generate 50-100 bug reports a day (this was after upgrading to CS4 - man, what an epic upgrade). \n\nCan you imagine the amount of bug reports Adobe receives each day? I heard is is more than the sum of all the information contained in the whole universe. ",
"score": 9
}
]
|
Should I pay for part of my girlfriend's IUD? | My girlfriend would like to get an IUD and is asking that I pay for part of it since "I enjoy the benefits of it." I would be paying monthly and the IUD costs between 170 and 200 dollars with insurance. (Paragard IUD: http://www.paragard.com/paragard/index.php)
Background information:
My girlfriend and I have been dating for two years but had a really tough break and afterward she pursued a sexual relationship with another man. We were long distance at the time, and we've been back together for about half a year since and she's thinking about getting a non-hormonal IUD.
We both love each other very much and are in the same college for the next 2 to 3 years depending on the course of study but I may take a semester to study abroad next fall. We would not be in a relationship during this semester.
Birth control makes her break out in acne and she has tried several types of it, the past two methods being Loestrin and the NuvaRing (which gave her a bad yeast infection as well). I care about her and don't want her making any decisions where she sacrifices for my benefit. The sexual benefits for both of us are that when she is off hormonal medications she is much hornier and wetter, and we can have sex anywhere any time. The benefits for her are that she loses the acne, and feels more mentally sharp and generally energetic. Downsides for her are worse periods, more loss of blood.
There's a solution that lies in both of our interests (unprotected sex and less acne) which is the IUD. I've paid for the condoms/lube in the past, her parents have paid for the birth control because it has been for the really bad menstrual cramps she got when she was younger. She has a rigorous course of study and realistically doesn't have the time for a part time job.
So reddit, what would you do?
throwaway account obviously.
Also, email transcript for girlfriend's perspective:
"Right now I [her parents] pay 17 dollars a month for birth control pills. The price depends on my insurance, I don't know if my parents will find out, but they will know that I'm only using it for birth control, since there are no hormones involved. You can pay per month that we are together if you're worried about paying and then we break up. But it really is a lot of money to ask me to pay, especially where you get a lot of benefit. :(
I think this is an area where the guy is supposed to be a bit chivalrous and at least pay for half. I mean, sex is a two person job, so why should I be the only one paying for it?"
**TL;DR, My girlfriend thinks I should pay for half or part of the IUD when she has paid for birth control in the past and I have paid for condoms. Should I?**
Thanks reddit!
Edit: Thanks for all the help Reddit, I've made my decision.
First, I love my girlfriend very much. She's great, and she actually helped write this and has monitored the AskReddit to see people's opinions. I'm not supportive of her getting an IUD at her age and given her medical history so I will not pay for any part of it. In fact I'm hoping she won't get it because it sounds dangerous and unnecessary at her age and our financial disposition.
So, screw it. We'll use condoms, seems like that's the only method for now. If the relationship is more serious and committed later on then we may try to switch to something else. Thanks, reddit! | 6 | [
{
"body": "I have no idea why people are saying no to this. I would in a heartbeat. Condoms suck. Taking pills are unreliable. For 200 bux you get sex the way it should be, anytime you want it with basically no chance of children. You'd be foolish not to drop the coin on this. You spend more in internet connection charges, cellphone plans, and gasoline in 3 months. That IUD will last as long as you can keep her or about 10 years, what ever is sooner.",
"score": 21
},
{
"body": "Yes. Dude, unlimited access to sex with a female who doesn't have those birth control mood swings is well worth it. Not to mention the absence of the worry of unintentional fatherhood. Pay for it, then live it up, my friend.\n\nEDIT: Maybe I should revise. \"The *possibility* of unlimited sex......\"",
"score": 14
},
{
"body": "I think it's a fair deal, and if you can't afford to pay half why not offer what you are able to contribute?\n\nEdit: Wow, after reading some of your responses, I'm not sure you're mature enough to be involved a sexual relationship. Even so, I stick to my aforementioned opinion.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "You need to stop having sex. \n\nSeriously. If you're asking strangers on the internet whether or not you should invest $250 in birth control that is statistically as good getting a tubal litigation... you're in no way emotionally or financially secure enough to take on the potential burden of a child. \n\nBesides, you don't really care about this girl and I think you know that. You don't go to the internet for half-ass advice from strangers regarding people you care about... you just do the right thing and take care of them. \n",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "You had a break and she immediately went and had sex with someone else... yet you're trying to figure out how to have unprotected sex with her at all costs? You should use condoms with her because she doesn't seem particularly committed to monogamy, the protection against pregnancy is an equal bonus.\n\nI'm not judging. Monogamous or not, your sexual partner has shown she is perfectly comfortable sleeping with someone other than you. Thus, you should take precautions to protect yourself and use condoms. Be realistic and protect your own health. ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Yeah, that sounds reasonable if you guys are in a committed relationship. Even if you break up when you go abroad that's still only $100 for 7ish months of birth control. And if you stay together after that, then 5-10 years. Also, I am totally getting one of these after reading this post.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "If you don't pay it what will happen? Weigh up those consequences alongside what will happen if you do pay it.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Atheists: Do you still say "Oh My God" during sex? | I just saw a post in which someone asked if atheists still say "Oh my god," but no one mentioned whether they say it (or some sort of theist variation) during sex/orgasm. I guess I've always wondered. | 3 | [
{
"body": "\"Oh my god\" is just a vernacular. A colloquial relic. Most of the time it's uttered, nobody is thinking about a deity.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Frankly, if you are that concerned with what comes out of your mouth during sex...you're doing it wrong.",
"score": 4
}
]
|
I think my sister may be in an abusive relationship... | I don't have any solid proof, but my sister and her boyfriend often get into huge fights. These fights often end up with him telling her that they're breaking up and that she should move out (they live together). They inevitably make up and everything is OK until the next time they fight. Normally, I'd say this is just a relationship problem and she needs to figure out how to improve her situation on her own, but there are a few things that worry me.
1. They fight very regularly - they have these kinds of fights almost every month.
2. What really got me worried - last time they fought my sister immediately started blaming herself for the fight. Granted, she was partially at fault, but the way she did it was concerning. "I shouldn't have done that, it was really stupid of me.." etc. She just sounded defeated and unlike herself. Especially when you consider what they were fighting about - she woke him up at 2am to show him a website that she had made herself - it seems like maybe she shouldn't have woken him up, but to get that mad?
3. I have an inkling of an idea that he may have even hit her in the past, but again, I don't have proof.
I'm not sure what I should do, especially considering that I'm currently living in a different country from them.
Anyone have any ideas? The rest of my family is in the US, but in a different state.
**Edit:** I have confirmation that he has in fact hit her before... | 15 | [
{
"body": "Keep in touch with her. Depending on how close you two are it might be okay to broach the subject directly. \"Is everything okay with you and [boyfriend's name]?\" Or \"When you start sounding defeated I worry because it's so very out of character for you. Can I just check...\"\n\nIf when you check with her she says nope there is no abuse. Let her know you are very glad to hear that and list all of the reasons: she would deserve better than that, she's your sister and you love her, ... etc. Maybe follow with \"I know [boyfriend's name] isn't abusive but I just wanted to make sure you know that if you are ever with a partner who is abusive and you need support to get out I am behind you 100 percent in any way I can.\"\n\nIf you have room for her where you are maybe make the offer of your sofa if she ever needed to leave an abusive relationship. \n\nTell her nice things about herself. Compliment her on things that she's done well. Regardless of what she says (in terms of the abuse you think may be happening). One of the ways abuse works is it wears you down. It eats at your self esteem and self confidence until you become convinced that you deserved it. You blame yourself. When ever appropriate give her self esteem bursts. \n\nIf she says yes that she's being abused. Help her get in touch with a family member she can stay with. Or find information about local women's shelters. Keep in mind she may not leave right away. Help her create a safety plan. Also if she admits to being abused or describes abusive behaviours and starts invalidating herself right afterwards help give her context \"<Sister's name> if <insert female friend / family member she's protective of / cares a great deal about> just told you the exact same thing you told me what would you think?\"\n\n",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "Give her a chance at first to see if she wants to open up about it. Ask her if there's anything she wants to tell you a couple times, making sure to let her understand that you're *there* for her, for anything she may be wishing to express.\n\nIf she doesn't want to come off that point, progress it a little further to something like \"Is there anything you want to tell me about_____ (boyfriend)?\"\n\nOf course, there's also the chance that she would deny anything and, in her abused state, maybe just have the illusion that everything is amazing (like you said) and not have any reservations of her own left. At this point, you might want to consider some more assertive questioning of her relationship, making sure to imply that you're just looking out for her.\n\n\n\n\n\nGood job on being a good brother",
"score": 3
}
]
|
web_design, I have some questions about server side scripting | Alright. So I'm working on designing/managing a clothing store, and I am planning on have multiple pages that change daily. I have looked into SSI (Server Side includes) and used it on some previous sites. But the problem with SSI is that it apparently **needs** a .shtml extension on all the pages, and it slows down the page loading (enough to where it actually affects the browser's speed when clicking the links)
any other kind of coding or open source application that I can manage my navigation menus (or anything else) without having to edit every single page that involves it? | 4 | [
{
"body": "This is probably not the best place to ask this question. This is a programming question and you're asking designers.\n\nTo get you started you should just change your extensions to .php and use <? include('header.php'); ?> to include your header, footer, etc.\n\nAfter you get the hang of this then you can move onto a CMS or something similar.\n\nBe careful who you listen to on this board. I''m seeing many people you pointing you in the wrong direction.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Society continues to ruin my life. | I simply need to vent.
So I got called in to work for Sutherland Global Services 2 months after I submitted to them my resume. I came in, took a 2 hour assessment which seemed like some kind of min IQ test. I scored well and was offered the job which I accepted, and then they drug tested me. Normally I thought I would have time but alas that was not the case.
They did one of those mouth swab tests. I tried to keep the swab from getting wet and what not, but realized I was fucked. They told me that if I hear back from them within 24 hours, I wouldn't have the job. I didn't hear back so I assumed I was clear. Then I get a call a week later telling me the test came back and blah blah blah.
Tell my g/f about it who is a teacher and she keeps her nose clean, I don't, clearly
I then proceed to get brow beaten over the whole ordeal, but nicely. Not compared to the beating I gave myself.
My g/f doesn't agree with it, shes never tried it but from what I know, her parents grew up in the 70s and thought the pot heads were stupid, but somehow the alcoholics weren't. GAHHHH!
It just irritates me how ass backwards society is and now while I'm looking for work, I'm gonna have to keep my lungs clean so to speak, and I fear indefinitely if I ever decide to work for the state dept (kinda my desire but at this point I am very irritated by the govt and doubt I want to do that after all. ) | 9 | [
{
"body": "No job drug testing in canada. Also, it's not the US. But you guys are much closer to legalisation now than we are :( (we were winning until 2003 then the Mistake happened). That Mistake being our current mini-Bush government that continues to fuck our country 3 ways from sunday with Texas-North (aka Alberta) liking his balls and telling them they taste like candy. So in short, canada - slightly less fascist, but only about 3 years behind the US.",
"score": 4
}
]
|
Remember that post a while back about supporting Thorium funding? My senator called today! | One of my senator's staff members called today to inform me that they received my letter about support Thorium research, particularly the Thorium Energy Independence and Security Act. They told me that they appreciated my comment, and that they supported Nuclear. Senator Sessions is on the US Senate Committee on Energy, so who knows? Maybe we will get some support from him? BTW, we're talking about Senator Jeff Sessions R-AL :) | 139 | [
{
"body": "Wow, sessions actually up to something good? Nice... I too am in Alabama, and for once I'm not completely embarrassed. Sessions does realize that thoium reactors are nuclear right? I'm hoping he's not confused, thinking that they create energy from burning black people; I'm just not used to him supporting something that isn't completely fucked up.",
"score": 10
},
{
"body": "My guess is they have a form letter for most conceivable topics. They saw 'energy' on your letter, and sent you a copy of 'Topic:Nuclear' thoughtfully customized with your name and address. Don't let that stop you from being active, though. Their policy has to come from someone, and that someone is much more likely to be you if you keep speaking up. Post the letter?",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "> BTW, we're talking about Senator Jeff Sessions R-AL :)\n\nI don't care what their party affiliation is, as long as they're getting results and actually trying to solve the problems we are facing. I don't support individuals or groups, I support the ideas that I find to be productive. I will disagree with a democrat who says something I don't support, and I will agree with a republican when they *say* something I do support. \n\nEdit: I always the whole thing. ",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Have a question about the expanding universe, need your help. | Ok, so here's my question:
Physics says that the universe is expanding at an ever increasing rate. If we observe an object that's 13 billion light years away (near the beginning of the universe), it's said that we are only seeing that object as it existed 13 billion years ago because it took that long for the light to reach us. However, 13 billion years ago the universe would have been much smaller and this observed object would have been much closer to us; its light would have already reached us and moved on. To see light from 13 billion years ago would require the universe to expand faster than light, and if that were the case, we would never see that object, since we're moving away from it faster than the speed of light. Am I missing something here? | 16 | [
{
"body": "Imagine you and your twin brother are (simultaneously) born at 12:00am, Jan 1, 1970, and he is immediately put on a spaceship that rockets away at 99.9% the speed of light.\n\nAt 12:00am, Jan 1, 1990 ***your time***, he will be very far away from you. By your measurements, he will be 19.98 lightyears away. His ship's on-board computers will read 2:35am, Nov 23, 1970. ( [Time Dilation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_dilation) ) He is still an infant. \n\nHis ship's on-board computer can transmit a photograph of him at that moment back to Earth. That transmission will reach Earth on Dec 24, 2009, at about 4:48pm. You will receive that photograph of your twin brother *as an infant* about a week before your 40th birthday.\n\nSeeing images of distant stars traveling in different rest frames works in about the same way.",
"score": 18
}
]
|
Help us plan a trip! Details inside. | Hi my girlfriend and I are planning a 10-14 day trip in late April from St. John's Newfoundland Canada (Airport YYT) to destination unknown. We have a budget of ~$2000 each and are looking to do a little exploring/relaxing. I come to you /r/travel to help us design a trip that will fit our budget and worldly needs. We were thinking of a "All-Inclusive" trip to Cuba, but that's more-so a 1 week drunk on the beach.
Edit: As per disco_biscuit's request, more details about us:
>Do you want fun in the sun, or skiing?
We are most certainly looking to get away from snow during this vacation, major sunlight is a must
>Are you a camping person or do you need five stars?
We are camping people, that being said, we don't plan on going camping during this vacation, 2-3 stars is fine with us.
>Are you looking to spend the whole time relaxing and/or drinking?
Nope, we are hesitant about the All-Inclusive trips because it is purely relaxing and drinking, that being said, *some* down time on a beach getting hammered is nice.
>Do you want cultural / historical things to see and do?
Very much so.
>Do you care about a hefty dining and bar budget?
I'm quite frugal I wouldn't allow myself to waste a significant amount of money on food and beer.
We plan on going to Australia/New Zealand later in time so we'll save that part of the world for another time(Asia aswell) | 8 | [
{
"body": "Nice budget for a 2 week trip! What are you into? Cities? Hiking? Sightseeing? Adventure? Food? Culture? Hard to make recommendations on just the time frame and the budget!\n\nThat said, you could take turns in making the decision on the destination. Like let her pick the hemisphere, you pick the continent, she picks the country, you pick the city. With $4000, you should be able to get almost anywhere and have enough to enjoy the place.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
An invitation to all Libertarians from /r/PoliticsPDFs | Today I created [/r/PoliticsPDFs](http://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticsPDFs/), and I think it might be uniquely appealing to the readers here.
It's dedicated to PDF releases from think tanks and advocacy groups. As you probably know, Libertarianism is well represented in the world of think tanks, and the libertarian Cato Institute is among the most well known think tanks in the country.
Right now, there are already a few Cato submissions, plus a few non-Cato submissions of interest. For instance...
* [Drug legalization in Portugal](http://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticsPDFs/comments/aorpk/cato_drug_decriminalization_in_portugal_by_glenn/) (by Cato)
* [The impact of 'Obamacare' on young adults](http://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticsPDFs/comments/aowbi/cato_obamacare_a_bad_deal_for_young_adults/) (by Cato)
* [Obama largely inherited the defecit](http://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticsPDFs/comments/aoqh3/cbpp_president_obama_largely_inherited_todays/) (by Center for Budget and Policy Priorities)
* [Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform](http://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticsPDFs/comments/aotp3/capipc_economic_benefits_of_comprehensive/) (by Center for American Progress)
And there will be lots more interesting stuff in the coming days.
We all have our opinions, but I think quality of discussion is elevated when you can ground those opinions in the context of hard factuality supplied by an in-depth position paper.
So I'm inviting you to (1) [stop by](http://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticsPDFs/), and (2) to comment on the idea itself. | 11 | [
{
"body": "Is Cato a libertarian organization or simply one of several safety valves for when people become disenchanted with the two mainstream parties?\n\n\n.\n\n\nI like the idea itself. I wonder if you could get a willing politician to have a staffer cc all of the congressional research service papers which are ordered by members of congress and post them up... since taxpayers foot the bill for them.\n",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Some additional justifications for this subreddit.\n\n* PDF position papers are chapter length, but not book length. News articles tend to offer too little context for a genuinely convincing argument to take hold. PDF position papers IMO give you the maximum return on investment.\n\n* TV pundits operate under time and space constraints; it is their custom to give vague overviews and they probably couldn't give an in-depth analysis of an issue even if that had enough time. But if you just read one pdf, you will be more informed about that issue than Chuck Todd will ever be.\n\n* More often than not, *they are right*.\n\n* Let's face it, on reddit you can only disagree on politics with someone for 2 consecutive comments before the other person starts diagnosing you with mental disorders. I think this is a concrete way to encourage higher quality politics talk on reddit.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Any advice on looking for an apartment? | Hey T.O Redditors. After a long job search I'm finally coming back to Toronto( I hope to make it to next months meetup). I'm staying with a friend for the first month or so to get myself settled but was wondering if anyone had any advice in terms of apartment hunting such as particular buildings/areas to look or not look at and any other sort of useful info.
Some additional details: I'm going to be looking for a one bedroom/bachelor in about the $800 monthly rent range. My work is near University and Adelaide so the closer the better ( although I know I won't find anything affordable in the core)
Thanks for the advice/suggestions!
**Edit** Wow all of the advice so far is great! Thanks guys! | 7 | [
{
"body": " + Yes, you can still get a bachelor for less than $800. Not right downtown, but far enough North in the Annex or far enough west (skip Dufferin & Landsdowne these days) in High Park area. I had one at Gerrard and Jarvis for $750 that was great... except for the neighborhood. Still, 5 croissants for 99 cents and 2x1L for $3 chocolate milk right across the street! I just forgot why I moved.\n\n + Love the village as we all do, *do not live in an apartment building there*, they are mostly overrun with bedbugs, easily the biggest scourge of apartments in Toronto.\n\n + Viewit.ca is mostly useless.\n\n + 31 Princess street has a great superintendent.\n\n + If you need cheap furniture, there's a bunch of Indian-run furniture stores between Landsdowne and Dufferin on Bloor that have decent deals. Also, Canadian Tire has cheap bookshelves and wire racks sometimes. You have to watch the fliers.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/hhh/\n\nhttp://toronto.kijiji.ca/f-housing-W0QQCatIdZ34\n\nhttp://www.viewit.ca/vwhomeGTA.aspx\n\nAre your friend...\n",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Does anyone else think that Pop-Ups would be more enjoyable than Director Commentary voice-overs? | I find Director Commentary to be almost unwatchable, especially since half the time, nobody doing the voice-over has anything interesting to say, and it's almost impossible to enjoy the story line, so essentially you're getting the worst of both worlds. I'd much rather just watch the movie, and then go read about it, so wouldn't combining the two activities work in theory?
I used to love VH1's Pop-Up video. If that sort of thing will work for music videos, why not for feature films?
Does anybody know of any DVD's that do use this?
Edit: Yes, I understand that you're not meant to watch with the director's commentary on the first viewing, my point was that, *in addition* to not being enjoyable in and of itself, the director's commentary *also* prevents the viewer from enjoying the movie. It was an obvious point, but I made it anyway and I stand by my decision.
| 10 | [
{
"body": "Absolutely not - are you crazy?\n\nMost director's commentaries are crap, but I live for the occasional Gem like David Fincher on the Fight Club & Seven DVDs. They're especially valuable for people who are in the film industry.\n\n[edit] Also, if you're trying to enjoy the movie while a commentary is playing, *you're doing it wrong.*",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "No.\n\nWatch the movie by itself first so that you know what's going on when you watch it again with the director's commentary.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
How can Fox still claim to be un-biased news station now that they have two former GOP Presidential candidates as their news anchors? | I happen to enjoy fox news. I spend a lot of time yelling at them and disagreeing. Its an anger management thing. Any how I consider myself republican.... er conservative, and I can not fathom calling fox news un-biased. It obviously swings more neo-conservative right then CNN swings Marxist left. My question is posed to other conservative/republicans. How can Fox still call themselves unbiased while employing two former GOP candidates as their spokes people and why can't we get a true conservative agenda portrayed by those who are not pin-heads like Bill, Beck and now Palin! Our party is lost to bone heads. What say ye?
Edit: GOP Presidential cndidates as their 'Commentators' they not News Anchors as I claimed. | 88 | [
{
"body": "It's because they've still got people buying into the ridiculous notion that the rest of the media is liberal.\n\nRepublicans seem to take that as rote.",
"score": 40
},
{
"body": "I'm not fan of fox news - but to be fair, the republican presidential candidates are not being being billed \"anchors\" but \"commentators.\" Commentators are *supposed* to be biased one way or the other.\n\nThe problem is that 90% of what gets called \"news\" is actually editorial, but that's a different complaint.",
"score": 32
},
{
"body": "It's called \"marketing\". News is no longer a source of education, it's a commodity like Tide laundry soap or those really good crackers called Twigs which you can't find anymore for some reason. They were good crackers too. I miss them even more than I miss good journalism. At least you could dip them in a good garden vegetable dip while watching the news. ",
"score": 19
},
{
"body": ">My question is posed to other conservative/republicans.\n\nI'd bet five pretty pennies that most replies won't be from conservatives/republicans.\n\nAs to the question: Everyone has a bias. The worst bias in news reporting is the one that isn't obvious. For example, when Monsanto publishes a study that lauds its own crops, people generally know to think twice about it. But when someone already in favor of Monsanto publishes a favorable study, people have a harder time realizing that bias.\n\nWill the GOP candidates say more good things about Republicans than about Democrats? Probably, yes. That bias is going to be plainly evident to anyone who thinks for a second. They will also have more insight into the political process than an outsider, so perhaps their inclusion will be informative to the public.\n\n\"But what about people who don't recognize the bias?\" That's an excellent question. My ultra-conservative former teacher once talked about a complaint he often received from students. Students would say that the teacher shouldn't interject politics into his course because some students might not recognize the bias. \"Typically liberal,\" he would say. \"I know they're liberal because they are trying to protect others by forcing me to stop doing something instead of letting the others deal with my talk.\"\n\nI hated that teacher greatly, especially for his presumption. At the same time, I think he made an interesting point. People knew his political slant was conservative - he said it many times. He also had a lot of insight into the local political arena because he worked yearly in it. So though he was a biased source, his bias was obvious and his knowledge was fruitful.\n\ntl;dr: Their bias isn't so bad because it's obvious.",
"score": 12
},
{
"body": "> Our party is lost to bone heads. What say ye?\n\nYour real issue seems not to be a complaint against Fox News, but a problem with the direction that the Republican party is going.\n\nWhat say I? You have five choices:\n\n1. Take a strong enough stand inside your party to wrest control away from these charismatic but crazy leaders.\n2. Leave your party for another political party which aligns more closely with your views.\n3. Leave your party and create a new political party which is more to your liking.\n4. Take a weaker stand, making your complaints known publicly (like with this post), and hope that someone else does 2 or 3.\n5. Do nothing.\n\nPick one.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "CNN is Marxist left? Without Fox News off in looney-land to compare them to, they'd come off as the corporate cheerleaders they are.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Bill, Beck, and Palin aren't reporting the news. The regular news hours don't really appear to lean that far right. These guys bill themselves as opinion journalists or commentators for a reason. Shepard Smith, during his news anchor hours, doesn't appear to lean that far right at all.\n\nYou could say that same thing about any network, if you look at their opinion journalists. Lou Dobbs may have questionable views, but I still trust Wolf Blitzer to deliver the news to me.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "So, I haven't had cable or satellite television for a long time. Could someone please tell me who the other former candidate is on Fox News besides Palin?",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "When are people going to start putting their money where their mouth is and boycott Fox's advertisers? Let Fox's advertisers know that you won't support them until they stop supporting Fox.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Because the only people who take Fox seriously at this point have passed the point of no return. If they still think Fox is legitimate there's no chance they will ever realize it's not. I've had many exhausting arguments with family members about this.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Wait, they're an actual news channel? I thought that it was just a bunch of comedians hopping on the stephen colbert bandwagon!",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Ask WATMM: Theory Help. | Can someone please explain to me simple and compound time, and the difference between them? I can't seem to grasp it, any help would be appreciated, thank you! | 5 | [
{
"body": "It is confusing. Especially [the Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meter_%28music%29), which seems like a complete nightmare unless you have a basic grasp of what's it's on about already.\n\nTo the best of my understanding, it has to do with how bars can broken up into sections based on which beats are stressed.\n\nGenerally, each bar is divided into several sections (usually 2 or 3, called 'duple' or 'triple' meter respectively), with the first beat in each section being strong and the others being weak. In simple meter, the number of beats in each section is just one or two. If there are three beats in each section, it's said to be in compound meter instead.\n\nExamples of simple time:\n\n 2/4: S S (2 parts with 1 beat each)\n 3/4: S S S (3 parts with 1 beat each)\n 4/4: S w S w (2 parts with 2 beats each)\n\nExamples of compound time:\n\n 6/8: S w w S w w (2 parts with 3 beats each)\n 9/8: S w w S w w S w w (3 parts with 3 beats each)",
"score": 3
}
]
|
r/buddhism: What are some things we can do to have a greater sense of compassion? | Lately I've felt a deep sense of compassion towards others and in the past few days it has slowly diminished. I literally felt connected to others and for the most part I would feel much happier giving things away knowing it brought others joy than keeping it myself. Over the past few days this feeling has diminished until sometime yesterday it pretty much left me completely. I still have a desire to help others, but I don't *feel* it if you know what I mean.
I'll add more to this later, I can't fully flesh this idea out. Since this has left me I feel as though my mind has become very foggy and I cannot think as clearly. | 15 | [
{
"body": "Compassion is not something you TRY to get =) \n\nIt's something that comes along with realizing that every other being in this world is going through the same cycles of suffering that you are. \n\nWhen you see a friend, a homeless person, a cat, a flying bird, your teacher,a stranger by the side of the street just remember that behind the side that they show to you, they all have another story that is full of all the trails and tribulations of life, just like everyone else, and if you can really \"see where they are coming from\" - that natural empathy is also known as compassion.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Compassion, I think, is the realization that nothing separates you from anyone else. For example, I like to look at people on the train in the morning. A sleepy office clerk, a taciturn construction worker, a gaggle of excited teenagers. I recognize myself in all of them. \n\nOddly enough, by giving things away knowing it brings others joy could make you feel separate from others. Compassion does not mean feeling sorry for others, or feeling particularly charitable. It means that there is no separation between you and others, like there is no separation between you and your nose. When your nose hurts, you hurt. ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "You can always do compassion meditation. Sit and practice feeling compassion towards all sentient beings. It'll at least train you to generate more compassion when you need it.\n\nYou do have to remember that all feelings (even really good ones) are impermanent and changing, so it wasn't going to last.\n\nI think maybe the best way to train compassion is exchanging self with others. Basically, that's a fancy way of saying imagine yourself in their shoes. :) But the [Bodhicharyavatara](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra) (Way of the Bodhisattva) goes into this in quite a bit of detail.\n\nYou can get an excellent english translation [here](http://www.namsebangdzo.com/Way_of_the_Bodhisattva_Shantideva_p/6062.htm), and for even more depth, a very detailed commentary [here](http://www.namsebangdzo.com/Nectar_of_Manjushri_s_Speech_p/15010.htm).",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "item 1\n\nYou can renew your purpose, and practice compassion in the real world.\n\nFor example: you can also coordinate with other efforts promoting compassion\n\nsee [this presentation by the 2008 Ted Prize Winner](http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/karen_armstrong_makes_her_ted_prize_wish_the_charter_for_compassion.html)\n\nSee also\n\nhttp://charterforcompassion.org/\n\nItem 2\n\nYou can review times where you acted in a way that diminished compassion, and examine these in detail.\n\nYou can then decide how you could have acted differently to maintain your compassion. \n\nso this is looking at it from two sides, practicing compassion, and learning where you went off the rails.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Compassion went away because you were holding onto an idea of compassion (attachment), and an experience of compassion (clinging). It went away, because everything changes - day to day, moment to moment. Compassion arises in the experience of the here and now. Do not plan to be compassionate, just live your life in a compassionate way when the opportunity presents itself. *Awareness* is the key, see people as they really are. Expand your awareness to those around you each moment. Your calm love for others will become compassion when the need arises. Love others, love yourself too.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Don't latch on to the emotion, you have to ride it like a tidal wave and let it subside when its done, if not you are just trying to grab onto the wind and rain, utterly useless. Manifesting your true nature, with no self, and no attachment to what you would like to be will let you manifest compassion naturally. ",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Ok Foodit, I've got a 1 1/2" thick, 5 pound, 7 bone chuck roast, and a new enameled dutch oven. Anyone got a good recipe? | I've searched the web and can't find anything that stands out. Now it's time to turn to Reddit. Anyone want to post a good recipe for this. BTW, I swear cooks.com is the WORST site ever for recipes!
-Thanks everyone. Ya'll are awesome. I love Foodit. | 5 | [
{
"body": "Edit: I wrote this after glancing through the suggestions but before I saw your insistence on a true braise. Good for you! A proper braise has TONS more flavor than those stewing methods deliver. \r\n*****\r\nYou are going to properly braise that puppy, in a Provencal style. Yes, you are. Trust me. You can call it pot roast if you wish - that's what I call it. \r\n\r\nPut the oven on a medium to medium high burner. Dry the meat with paper towels. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Add a small splash of olive oil (I use extra virgin for almost everything) to the pan and __brown__ the roast on all sides. Don't poke or prod or fiddle too much, just let it sit to develop a lovely dark brown crust. That's flavor happening, baby. And I do mean __all__ sides - use tongs or forks to stand it on edge so you get that Mailliard reaction going on over the entire piece. Remove the meat to a platter and lower the heat to medium. \r\n\r\nAdd another drizzle of olive oil and saute about 1 cup each chopped carrots and onions. When the onions are starting to brown, add an enormous pinch (or a small handful?) of _herbes de provence_ by crushing the herbs between your fingers. Deglaze the pot with a big glug of dry red wine. Since you're doing it all in one pot, you don't need to work hard at scraping up the _fond_ (the browned bits stuck to the pot) but it doesn't hurt to give it a good once over with one's wooden spatula. \r\n\r\nReturn the meat to the pot and add more wine (for 2 or 3 cups total). Pour in enough beef broth (low sodium, canned is fine) so the liquid comes about 1/2 way up the sides of the meat. Now add ... let's see, this is winter... a large can (about 1.5 - 2 cups) drained italian plum tomatoes. Oops - almost forgot: smash a mess of garlic - five or six large cloves for me, ymmv - and toss it in there. Don't bother to dice/chop whatever; just smash the cloves with the side of a knife or something. By the time this baby's done those cloves will have all but melted. \r\n\r\nIf you have the goods, make an herb bouquet by wrapping half a dozen parsley sprigs (stem and all), 10 peppercorns, a couple-three whole cloves, 3 or 4 allspice berries, a teaspoon dried thyme and one or two bay leaves in cheesecloth. If you don't have those things, or just don't want to bother, judiciously add small amounts of whatever dried / ground items from the list that you do have. \r\n\r\nBring the pot to the simmer on top of the stove then cover and (carefully) transfer to a preheated 325 F oven. Ideally you'll baste and or turn the meat every hour for the next three hours. I rarely do it more than once, if that. \r\n\r\nThree hours ought to do it. It's done if a carving fork goes through it fairly easily. You can cut off a small piece and check that way - it should be slightly chewy but tender. \r\n\r\nRemove the meat to a cutting board or plate. The pros would tell you to strain the braising liquid through a sieve into a sauce pan. Pah - too fussy. I scoop up the veggies in a fine-meshed spoony thing (same thing I use for sprinkling powdered sugar, whatever the hell it's called), pressing them with a table spoon to extract the juices. Degrease the liquid as best you can. I tip the pot and carefully skim off grease using a small gravy ladle or serving spoon. For my money, I wouldn't put __too__ much effort into this step either. \r\n\r\nReturn the pot to a simmer on the stove. Correct the seasoning (It will probably want salt, espcially if you've used extra low sodium broth - your homemade stuff maybe). Now whisk in a slurry of 2 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbsp of that red wine, or (cold) beef stock reserved from earlier. Simmer, whisking gently for a couple minutes until the sauce thickens to _nappe_ (coats the back of a spoon). If it's too thin, add another spoonful of cornstarch/liquid slurry. \r\n\r\nSimple sides are best - mashed potatos or, my favorite, egg noodles. Also a steamed green veg. \r\n\r\nbon appetit! ",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "Tried Beef Bourguignon? Basically Beef, onion, garlic, mushrooms reduced in red wine. Would be perfect for a dutch oven as well.\n \nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beef_bourguignon\n \nDamn I'm hungry now",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Can we give the Reddit Alien a Conan hairdo to show our support? | It's pretty obvious that Reddit is with CoCo
*Edit*: Thanks for all the support, and if you check the upper left-hand corner, we've succeeded. There have been a lot of other great submissions too. | 2,140 | [
{
"body": "Did you hear this? Have you heard about this? Reddit wants to give the Alien a Conan Hairdo. That's so stupid, it sounds like something PARIS HILTON came up with!",
"score": 1193
},
{
"body": "Am I the only one that sees the Conan hairdo already on the alien? If so I need to lay off the after work beers...",
"score": 36
},
{
"body": "Right, seriously what the fuck is going on?\n\nWho is Conan / CoCo?\n\nWhy the hate for Jay Leno all of a sudden?\n\nI'm British, which is why I don't know.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "[Here's the logo.](http://www.reddit.com/r/logo/comments/aox30/20100112_support_for_conan_obrien_as_he_leaves/)",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I'm going to remember these threads the next time everybody on reddit lambastes other sites for focusing on meaningless celebrity drama.",
"score": 4
}
]
|
To the Men of Reddit: Do you guys prefer bigger breasts or a bigger butt on women?
| Im not saying personalities dont matter, im just wondering what most guys would deem attractive in a woman. If you prefer neither, thats cool; but if you prefer both...
For me, I like how my girl has an average bust size but a HUGE ass
(and she has the personality of a saint)
lol sorry if I offend any women on reddit | 17 | [
{
"body": "Everything *in proportion* (i.e. either T or A can look disastrous in one girl and *oh-so-Right* on another). \n\n\n",
"score": 51
},
{
"body": "We get a choice?\n\nI didn't know we get a choice. \n\nI've just been taking whatever's attached to the brain. ",
"score": 27
},
{
"body": "Are you guys serious?!?\n\nI'm scrolling through and only seen a couple butt replies. \n\nAss all the way. \n\nTits are nice but you need an ass to grab on to during the ride, for safety reasons obviously.\n\nFuck it, I'm not going to bullshit anymore. I started watching black porn for this reason alone. I love ass, I'm actually getting excited just talking about it. ",
"score": 15
},
{
"body": "I'm a leg man. The first time i met my wife she had no breasts, late bloomer. By the end of high school she finally got a pair. I didnt notice, all i saw was her legs. Now shes got DD's and it's still the legs i go for first.",
"score": 11
},
{
"body": "I will go with Butt, have you seen girls that are skinny with big boobs and no butt? doesn't look that great. ",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "\"average bust size but a HUGE ass (and she has the personality of a saint)\"\nThat pretty much describes my girlfriend. Big tits are great and all, but if it comes with a white-girl flat booty, it takes the exitement down a few notches.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Offend us? You just told us you like our butts even if we don't have huge boobs to match. Awesome!",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "To be honest, it's not about *bigger*. While existent is always a plus, if either are too big to match the form it's just... awkward.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Don't care either way. Just tall, preferably with a small waist. I have no idea why I find this attractive.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "My ideal woman:\n\n* Big boobs\n* Natural redhead\n* Glasses, preferably black\n* Pale skin\n\nBonus points for any of the following:\n\n* Any sort of English, Irish or Scottish accent\n* Atheist\n* Working knowledge of, or interest in chess\n* NCAA football fan, specifically SEC\n* Gourmet cook\n\nBut anyway.. Big boobs.\n\nYeah.\n\n",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "big boobs + big ass = awesome\n\nbig boobs + small ass = awesome\n\nsmall boobs + big ass = :(\n\nsmall boobs + small ass = awesome",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Leave it to reddit to worship decent-to-large breasts and then fill a page with \"I like small boobs.\" ",
"score": 3
}
]
|
How do quicklight coals work? | My friend and I ran out of good coals and had to resort to quicklights. We were hypothesizing but couldn't figure out how the darn things light so quickly.
Anybody know? | 3 | [
{
"body": "It's some sort of chemical accelerant that gives the shisha a terrible glue flavor, but if that's all you've got then what the heck.\n",
"score": 3
}
]
|
At 10 Years old my dog suddenly hates riding in the car. Any help would be appreciated. | She used to love riding in the car. I'd take her with me all over the place until a couple months ago. My family rents a cabin every year for a mini family reunion. My dog rode with my Dad up there and she was happy and playing the whole weekend. On the way back though she was in my car and she wouldn't stop pacing the entire two hour ride, she was panting heavily and visibly shaking. I originally though it might be because I was moving pretty fast in thick fog on a curvy road but she had been in the car while I did doughnuts in the snow before so it seemed unlikely. Ever since then she behaves the same way in the car. Plus more recently she refuses to get in the car, the only command she has disobeyed in years. I tried just not taking her in the car for two to three weeks but that didn't make any difference. | 7 | [
{
"body": "I don't know if this will work but maybe you could get someone to drive your car and you can sit with your dog and pet her and sooth her on a short drive and see if she reacts to car rides like she used to. \n\nMy dog has a blanket in the car. He is a little guy and he won't sit in the car unless he is on my lap, which I get nervous over but am used to it. I have tried to find a seat or something to put him in but nothing has worked. If I don't put his blanket or a pillow on my laps he gets antsy. I think it might be a thing that 'it is what we do in the car and if it doesn't happen something is wrong'. ",
"score": 3
}
]
|
I have fenders. How about BRAKES that work in the rain? | I live in Seattle, and I started commuting on my bicycle last year. Been able to avoid the really rainy days so far (okay, I drove my car for most of December).
I'm back in the saddle now, and the good-in-the-rain brake pads that the local cycle shop recommended **suck** in the rain. I need a recommendation for some brake pads for standard side-pull calipers that **will** work in the rain. | 9 | [
{
"body": "Just get KoolStop salmon pads. I use them road biking; they work fine to slow my fat ass (188lbs) on descents at 40mph, so they will work on your commute. \n\nIf you're worried about the cost, just use the salmon pads in the front, stick with the usual set in the back, as you're not going to need as much braking power in the back anyway.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Try these [koolstop pads](http://www.koolstop.com/brakes/index.php). They work very well in the wet, although they do wear a bit quicker. But hey, you want to stop, right?",
"score": 3
}
]
|
I'm looking for puzzles. | That's pretty much the gist of it, but I'm crafting a campaign involving a lich taking over the world, the party hunting for a magic item that can easily defeat him but only be obtained by crossing the desert that can't be crossed except by getting the magic item hidden in an ancient Viking king's tomb that will guide them through the uncrossable desert through the maze of illusions (a la Girdle of Melian) into the faux Arabic kingdom with the library that might contain a book detailing the possible location of the first magic item.
The puzzles are for the Viking king's tomb, which will have no monsters, seeing as it's been impenetrably sealed up for the last few millenia by a great stone door that is itself a puzzle, the answer to which is lying under a reef in the proximate lagoon.
I think I may have overdone on the description.
EDIT: Thanks, /r/rpg. Yall kick ass/rock/whatever the kids are saying nowadays. I think I'm pretty much set. | 11 | [
{
"body": "Ok, trying not to rant BUT as a long time GM/player please try to look at the tomb from the perspective of the people BUILDING it, rather than as a video game \"push the blocks to advance\" thing. Tomb puzzles where crap is locked away for no other reason than to have players mow through is a bit ridiculous and sadly cliche.\n\n\nFirst, an aging Viking king is dying and holds some secret information that will somehow be useful to future generations if things all go to hell. How does he have this information, especially if said lich is far away in time and space? Might be useful to know. In any case, King Ulthor is unwilling to take the approach of telling his sons, so he instead has the bright idea to build into his own tomb a test for anyone who needs this information. His concerns are going to be =worthiness=, =need= and =time=. Whoever is coming along in the far future to get the whatnot of information must be worthy of that information, has to actually NEED that information and might be in a hurry.\n\n\nAll tests should recognize that the King was a Viking.\n\n\nTo test for worthiness: Feats of individual strength (summon spirit/creature) . Feats of wisdom/knowledge. Possibly even a feat of sacrifice. Are you willing to lose an eye, as Odin did, to learn this great information? Maybe you don't have to go to that extreme, but if it's THAT important.\n\n\nTo test for wisdom: Classic puzzles are fine to a point, but understand that these should be based on an understanding of Viking lore AND possibly even the family/life of the King. Make them do some research on king Ulthor, make them track down his latest heir. Make them assemble his true family crest or place the animals he killed in order. \n\n\nAs a final option, look through viking lore for creatures like Dvengar and possibly have one in service of the King, waiting to show up and test people. He's annoyed at having to do this menial task and in no mood to hear the bitching of your players that they reeeaaaallly need this information. They do the tests and tasks or they can leave him to his work for another few hundred years.",
"score": 10
},
{
"body": "Well, if you're going for a theme dungeon, you need to really concentrate on the theme. Take a good look at Viking myths to see if you can find some pointers. \n\nBest I can come up with right now is a bridge that disappears if you don't walk on the right colors as you go across. Bifrost was the bridge between Midgard and Asgard, so players will hopefully remember to use the rainbow sequence ROY G BIV to get across.\n\nMaybe a well that has to have an eyeball placed in it to show the way to a secret area (Odin sacrificing his eye to the well of knowledge)? Or a room full of statues, and the secret key/door/lever/whatever is under the cat statue (Thor trying to lift the Midgar serpent when it was disguised as a cat.) \n\nMaybe something to do with the World Tree, or the Valkyries? Like I said, bone up on your Viking legends, or on the equivalent legends in your world. If you do stray from the real legends, you need to make sure to give the characters knowledge checks that are easy enough so they succeed. A puzzle really sucks when your players don't have enough information to solve it.",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "I've sung their praises before, but I like these two articles:\n\nhttp://www.treasuretables.org/2007/06/four-key-elements-of-a-good-rpg-puzzle\n\nhttp://www.treasuretables.org/2007/06/four-types-of-rpg-puzzle\n\nThey're a little more conceptual (i.e., they're not a list of puzzles), but I think they can really help out in the long run.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "OK, some more thoughts...\n\nSomeone mentioned constructs and/or undead. These are excellent for adding some real adrenaline to the crypt. Puzzles that you can solve in your own sweet time are good for making sure your characters don't get locked out of the room they absolutely must get to, but they don't engender a lot of suspense. \n\nOne thing that is good for suspense is a timed puzzle. If it isn't solved in a certain amount of time, something bad happens, from the puzzle being permanently locked, to damaging the party, to making them go around some long way that they could have short circuited. Timed puzzles come in two basic varieties, and it pretty much depends on your group which is better. If your group likes to have the players do the thinking, get some props. The old forged puzzles like [these](http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&rlz=1C1CHNG_enUS348US348&um=1&sa=1&q=iron+puzzle) are great for this type of puzzle. Hand the players the puzzle and turn on your egg timer. Give them some description that lets them know they have a time limit (\"The walls begin to slide together...\") and let them loose. If, instead, your players don't want to think too hard, but want the characters to be geniuses, use game time. Set up the room on your miniature board, or just on paper. Tell them they have a certain number of rounds to solve it, and maybe give them a hint of how. 10 rounds are a minute, so give them however many rounds you think are appropriate, and make sure the puzzle A: can be solved in that time frame and B: can't be solved in less than half the time frame. Pure INT checks can be required for some parts of the puzzle, but maybe a Knowledge (Religion) check will get better results... Don't be afraid to make some parts of the puzzle require Strength and Dexterity checks, or better, skill checks than can be done untrained, but really give one character a chance to shine if he's got the appropriate skill. In this type of puzzle, you will want to be well versed in the rules for Aid Another, as well as whatever spells, bard songs, etc. give boosts to skill checks.\n\nIn either case, keep the pressure on with occasional descriptions of the time running out. (Time is half used up: \"The wall are steadily approaching, and as you look, you now see sharp spikes beginning to emerge from the stones...\") If you have NPCs on hand, pick one to make remarks about the situation. (\"Will you hurry up already! I'm about to become a lot thinner than I wanted to be!\")\n\nA good way to lead into these is the unsolvable puzzle. Something that looks like a puzzle, but no matter what your players do, something bad happens. The bridge over the bottomless canyon breaks, and it doesn't matter what strange markings you stepped on, or what order. Don't let them know it was hopeless, of course. Roll the dice, consult your notes, and tell them it was a close call... but they'll have to go around. It's not a good idea to have a lot of these, but at least one early in the crypt will help your players to understand that they can still get in even if they mess up once in a while, and still give them a reason to think that the puzzles are worth doing their best on, if only to save themselves a long walk.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "My favorite puzzle ever: Players walk into a room with only one door and no exit. There is a single lever/button/switch on the wall. As they enter the door shuts closed behind them. And a count down mechanism is activated, this should be observable by the PC's, like a hourglass slowly emptying, a digital countdown clock, an audible beep quickening its pace. As a DM, you should have some kind of countdown clock on hand. Like a stopwatch or something. They will scramble to figure something out and try all sorts of stuff. Nothing they try seems to have any effect, however, when they trigger the switch the count down resets. They key to getting out is to let the countdown timer run down. The countdown is only to the opening of the door, nothing more. A good justification is the room is a safe room for whoever own the dungeon. Or just a funny thing to do to the players.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
ok reddit, i'm at least a [10] right now... | my eyes may be bleeding (i don't think so though), (but i'll check now that I thought of that... ew)
i was coughing REALLY HARD after smoking this joint that i found in my jacket and didn't know where it came from and it was huuuge and i just am above the universe right now... | 5 | [
{
"body": "[0] If you're able to type, if you're able to even so much as operate your hands to work a computer, I'd say you're nowhere near a 10. I don't even know if I've reached 10 yet, but I'll say when I've come close it's been an event where I sure as hell ain't movin' to work a keyboard.",
"score": 6
}
]
|
Should we go back to having the runner up in the Presidential contest winning the Vice Presidency? | Prior to the 12th amendment, the vice president was the person who got the second most votes in the presidential election. Off the top of my head, I can think of several reasons why this was a pretty good idea. Did the framers get it right, and should we change back?
- If Gore or Kerry were next in line of succession, would impeachment have been so swiftly 'taken off the table'?
- With an opposition party member in place, looking over shoulders, with a vested interest in taking over the presidency, wouldn't that lead to a lot less shenanigans ?
- Wouldn't it be a good idea to have someone from outside the President's amen corner who has unlimited security access to keep an eye on things?
- To prevent an absolute power situation due to coattails, it would seem prudent to have someone of opposing views presiding over the Senate.
.
Whatcha think?
| 4 | [
{
"body": "Won't work with a two party system that are so antagonistic towards each other.\n\nMaybe if they grow up a bit then it it work. But maybe if your are talking electoral reform, and instant runoff system would be better as it opens up things to independents (rather than the current winner takes all approach).",
"score": 3
}
]
|
/r/Music, any suggestions for some awesome Middle Eastern music? | I'd love to listen to submissions from all genres but am specifically looking in the rock/metal genres. The reason is because I've grown tired with the American and European melodies in rock/metal; however, when I heard Kurdish singer Aynur Dogan's song [Keca Kurdan](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TGq65DupiI), I was blown away. I looked around some more and found the awesome (Palestinian?) band Khalas [Hebbena](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdSJer1OzCA). (Ignore the dancer, unless it fits your fancy) Thanks in advance for any suggestions. | 13 | [
{
"body": "surprised at no mention of [Nusrat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nusrat_Fateh_Ali_Khan) he is the elvis of \"middle eastern\" music\n\nas far as metal goes [Orphaned Land](http://www.myspace.com/orphanedmyspace)",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Jimmy Page and Robert Plant perform many of Led Zeppelin's classics, reimagined with a middle Eastern flavor, and with the backing of an orchestra, on their [No Quarter](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Aa86gtq0znu4a) album.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Round Three with [f]ive more pictures! | [One](http://imgur.com/UrEDy.jpg)
[Two](http://imgur.com/xXhkE.jpg)
[Three](http://imgur.com/ss0XU.jpg)
[Four](http://imgur.com/s5lxe.jpg)
[Five](http://imgur.com/2WoYJ.jpg)
Enjoy! :) | 108 | [
{
"body": "You are hot. These are **not** bad life choices, as your username seems to suggest. Please keep the hotness coming.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "very very nice, Watch the jewely if you are trying to remain unknowen to anyone you know.\r\n\r\nWould love to see more of you, the pictures were great. ",
"score": 3
}
]
|
IAE much better at writing than they are speaking? | Pretty much all my life I've sucked royally at speaking to people in order to communicate complex points, unless I was extremely well versed on the subject, and even then I make horrific grammatical and other errors when I get excited. Sometimes people think I stutter when I'm speaking, but it's more that I say something that isn't quite right, forget that I'm communicating in real time, and attempt to go back and edit. Additionally, from speaking to me you'd think that my sense of humor is either non-existent or based on performance art depicting painful awkwardness.
Conversely, I'm apparently an excellent writer, according to friends and family (all of whom are quick to point out when I'm less than excellent anywhere else so I have no reason to doubt their claims) and the odd random person who happens to read stuff over my shoulder. I very rarely feel that I have failed to communicate my point and I almost never feel self-conscious on paper.
Anybody else like this? | 267 | [
{
"body": "Yes. It's even harder to speak about complex things using only 'speaking words'. I think it would be easier for me to have intelligent conversations if I didn't feel like I had to use simple words. I hope that doesn't sound arrogant, but it's so much easier to make succinct points when you can use words like 'succinct' without looking like a dweeb.",
"score": 26
},
{
"body": "I'll break it down for you:\n\nWhen you're in a conversation the ideas are more dynamic, they're changing, being lead and leading based on the instant feedback you're getting from the other person. That's dialogue. The reason writing is easier is because you're expressing ideas that are able to be, for the most part, static. You have time to flesh our and explore the idea, and more accurately translate that into words that are less confused and more easy to understand than the words you'd use if you were quick firing a response in dialogue.\n\nIn conversation not only are the ideas constantly changing due to the necessity to solve a rebuttal, or explain a tangent that wouldn't ever appear in a letter about the same topic, but you also have to track for more expressive variables in order for exactly what you're trying to communicate to be exactly accurate and not misconstrued. There's tone, inflection, facial cues, eye contact, other body language cues. And while it's all subconscious and for most and entirely natural experience it is more difficult to keep track of than when you're managing only single, static brain to text translations.\n\nThat's why it's easier to argue through instant messaging, even though that conversation takes place at a pace closer to a natural conversation than say... texting (the easiest form of dynamic communication) it does give you more time to think, flesh out ideas, there's no vocal tone, no body language, emotions come across but they're the difference between CAPS LOCK and Case, one exclamation point and seven. It's much easier, and much quicker for the subconscious to read.\n\nIt explains many similar things, like having conversations in your head a few times before you have them, or even if you never end up having them at all. That's the brain taking a thought you've had and working on a way to express it dynamically because while it's not the best way of expressing it, and expression is massive to humans, it is the most common way it happens. Same thing for when you finish a conversation and you start to recall all the great comebacks you couldn't think of while you were in the middle of it. Now that you're out of the mix your brain's made the conversation static again, it happened, it's not happening, and it's caught up to it.\n\nIt's also why four years of speech and debate courses and tournaments can train your brain into being just as fast or faster at dynamic conversation than static. It's just a matter of practice. Put enough time into it and your natural neuroplasticity will speed up the translation and reaction.\n\n/breakdown",
"score": 24
},
{
"body": "You tend to have more time to think about what you're going to say when writing.\n\nIts why all pick up and go motivational speeches in movies are bullshit. Fuck you COMS 103, you taught me nothing.",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "A lot of people call me a smartass for the way I speak, but I just think it'd be more accurate to call those people dumbasses.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "For me, it's like this:\n\nWith writing, you can erase all your mistakes until you have it right.\n\nWith speaking, there is no delete button. Either you plan everything you have to say beforehand or talk *painfully* slow to word things right. You can always say \"Whoops, I meant to say...\" but if you are in an argument or trying to explain something, it tends to null what you say since it seems like you aren't knowledgeable.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I like writing because I'm able to take the time to carefully plan out what I'm going to say. I generally don't speak much in real life because by the time I'm ready to say what I've been thinking about, the topic has changed multiple times already.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Reddit I need your advice... | I'll start with a bit of background. My friends and I play a good bit of halo, and doing so we meet the occasional player and pair-up with them for subsequent rounds. Well, about four months ago I did just that with a guy named "Henry". He plays a *lot* of halo and so we would often play together. It quickly became obvious that he doesn't have many friends and doesn't much enjoy his life. After playing often for a month or so, we (my roommates and I) found out that he's planning to kill himself when he gets to 10,000 EXP (meaning 10,000 games won... quite an accomplishment). Upon first hearing it we thought he was joking, but he had a very serious tone to his voice.
My question is this: right now he's about 200 wins away (anywhere from a week to a couple weeks) from 10,000 and I really don't know what to do. We've become good friends (often chatting on facebook and such) so I care that he's okay. I've tried talking to him about it, but he doesn't seem receptive to anything I say. He lives many many states away, making an in-person anything out of the question. What should I do?
EDIT: I'm going out for the night, but will be back in a few hours. Thanks in advance for all the help | 10 | [
{
"body": "I don't have much experience with this but try [/r/suicidewatch](http://www.reddit.com/r/suicidewatch)\n\nThough if you ask me, the best thing to do is to convince him his suicide would have a negative impact on eveyone he cares for including you, his friends. Also, make him worry about who's going to have to find him, and deal with the funeral costs. Does he want to put that kind of burden on his family?\n\nActually. Looking back on that, those all seem selfish reasons that don't deal with the problem. Definitely try suicide watch.",
"score": 11
},
{
"body": "either \n1. he is doing it purely for attention with absolutely no intention of harming himself, or\n2. he revealed this information possibly with the small glimmer of hope that somehow it would result in the opposite-- a tiny, last, cry for help. And if nothing does help, he may actually do it. \n\nIn cases like these you have to assume #2 no matter what. And you have to do your best to be that help, and to divert him from his plan (whether it be by calling other aid or his parents, which i'm not sure would be the best idea) BUT IF he ends up doing the deed, it is NOT YOUR FAULT. ",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Is anyone else addicted to information, but never does anything significant with it? | After sorting through [this thread](http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/aocvm/hey_reddit_what_are_your_personal_projects/) about some really cool projects by redditors, I got to thinking.
I'm sure that many of these projects took hundreds of hours (over weeks, months, even years) to complete. However, as I spent some more time surfing reddit, I started to feel a nagging sense of guilt.
I've always been addicted to information. I always preferred short, bite-size articles (magazines, short articles, etc.) when I was a kid. I also developed a habit (which continues to this day) of dreaming up the most elaborate, creative ideas for projects (e.g computer programs, business ideas, writing books, etc), but my interest quickly fades away.
The way I see it, if I actually devoted all the time I spend gathering information to a substantial project, well, I could probably make a pretty cool project. I've also noticed that I'm much happier when I'm doing something substantial, but I don't even know where to start...bla bla, finding your passion, etc. etc.
I mean, being well read makes for good fodder for conversation, but how many times will that random article you read on Wikipedia come up in a conversation?
I figure there are a few more information junkies out there as well, so maybe advice?
maybe it's just the quarter-life crisis hitting me...
tl;dr- I have a short attention span
(and yes, I'm aware that an almost [identical question was asked some months ago.](http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/8e0ho/is_anyone_else_addicted_to_information/)) | 1,589 | [
{
"body": "How odd, I was just thinking about this.\n\nWe have so much. The internet is a sea of information and I am drowning. I want to drink it all at once. But the only way to truly learn is to do it meticulously and slowly. Reading our daily helping of pop psych articles isn't going to give us any real knowledge. We say we love information, but we want bullet points and tldr'ed summarizations. We want the supersense. We crave the informational equivalent of a big mac. Hollow calories for an empty brain. And with this sea unfurled before us, we just sit here. Dip our toes in it. Pick up the shells on its shores; hold them up to our ears and pretend we hear something on the other side. Do I want to learn or do I wish to pretend? Do I seek intellectual depth or trivia to wear like merit badges for impressing my mates and buffing my ego? The truth is that while we wish we could have real wisdom, we only have the will to gather up a few loose scraps with which to play dress up. \n\nWe are lazy. We compromise. Ultimately, we are satisfied with verisimilitude.\n\n*tldr: until my involvement in a physical altercation, I lived in west philadelphia.*",
"score": 241
},
{
"body": "I heard something on the radio about this.\n\nHumans are wired to want information. When we don't have the means to satiate this hunger, we tend to actually get shit done. When we can sit around and collect information, we do.",
"score": 224
},
{
"body": "I think I'm addicted to reading which then shows up as an addiction to information. If something has words on it, I'm reading it. Cereal boxes, napkins, menus, signs, t-shirts (this is the worst - I'm not checking out your cleavage, I'm trying to read that distorted text), etc.\n\n",
"score": 69
},
{
"body": "I am the same way my friend.\n\nOddly, I've found that the best use for random knowledge is in creative writing. I don't get writer's block as much as most people because I have the background knowledge to take a story in any number of ways while still feeling that I know what I'm talking about.\n\nYour post was fairly articulate- I'm sure you have some writing talent. Give it a shot.",
"score": 65
},
{
"body": "Sometimes I'm reading something on wikipedia (not the most accurate, I know, I know) and I keep jumping from article to article (chain reading?) and before I know it, the rest of the day disappears into a black hole or something.",
"score": 52
},
{
"body": "You're not alone. I want to comment further, but I have no idea where to begin.\n\nTwo suicide attempts and a lifetime of dissatisfaction and disillusionment is the perspective I'm speaking from.\n\nI had an appointment with my psychologist today, and I'm still reeling from it. Your post hits true to home, and I'm having trouble collecting my thoughts. So I'll just give you an upvote for now, and hopefully I'll get my shit together later so that I can contribute properly.\n\n[EDIT: The thread is long-since-dead, but this link is perfect, and I only found it today.](http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2009/12/how_to_create_motivation_for_2.html)",
"score": 34
},
{
"body": "I highly recommend you read this:\n\nhttp://www.theoildrum.com/node/5519\n\nTHE MODERN MESOLIMBIC DOPAMINERGIC REWARD SYSTEM IS EATING YOUR BRAIN!",
"score": 32
},
{
"body": "You're asking people on *reddit* this? Isn't that like asking someone at a NAMBLA meeting if he likes to have sex with young boys?\n\nAll the same, yes, yes I am addicted to information that I pretty much never do anything with. ",
"score": 31
},
{
"body": "Yep, I checked to see if the username was evil-me for a moment there...\n\nI've found I'm addicted to *organizing* and *sorting* things more than anything else. I have an elaborate storage system in my garage for all sorts of things that are categorized and sorted in boxes (electronics, PC components, lighting, house wares, camera equipment, cabling, adaptors, bubblewrap, that's just the first few random things I thought of).\n\nI have a freakin' \"present box\" where I prepare for people's upcoming birthdays and christmases by buying presents randomly, when shopping and I see something, then storing it in 'The Present Box' for years in advance. Hell, all of my screws, bolts, etc. are all categorized and sorted and labelled in drawers that keep track of the gauge, length, head type, coating, etc....\n\nand I find I'm the same with anything else in my life. I want to sort, categorize, and find and improve *processes* for everything I can.\n\n**smacks forehead**... good god, I just realized I'm a bureaucrat.",
"score": 22
},
{
"body": "I started this personal project to collect and archive all the technical/development ebooks that I could find online. I must have collected over 3000 pdfs so far in the past 3-4 years. But rarely read any of them. Even though I have a ebook reader now just for that purpose. \n\nMy goal was to expand my technical knowledge to include other platforms and languages. \n\nEDIT: After reading OrthogonalThoughts' comment below - I have to admit that I've also collected books on various other non-technical topics like survival guides, fitness , cooking, learning foreign languages, investing/finance, math and even books on useless things like origami and making balloon animals (no kidding).\n\n",
"score": 18
},
{
"body": "Honestly.\n\nI take in so much damn information. I work with the media. So news goes out all around me. Even then, I am sitting at my desk listening to philosophy day in and day out. Redditing on the side... searching for more and more information.\n\nI BOUGHT A KORAN ON SUNDAY... just because I feel the need to understand what others seem to. \n\nGod I am an information whore. It's past nonsense.\n\n/rant over\n\nEDIT: I realize I didn't help you with your question at all.\n",
"score": 18
},
{
"body": "Sure I am, but I think that's just as much the fault of those bite-size articles you were talking about as it is our lack of personal initiative. I find myself less satisfied and more annoyed by a task that requires actual mental 'work' than ever before, and if I can't distill a webpage into its main points within a few minutes I bookmark it, slap a 'to read' tag on it, and commit it to an ever-growing archive of things I probably won't ever get around to exploring. Hell, I had a conversation with my girlfriend a few weeks ago in which we both realized that if a video is more than five minutes long we generally don't watch it. No matter what that says about my modern attention span, it's pretty sad.\n\nPeople far more eloquent than me have tried to explain the problem that you, I, and many millions of Internet denizens encounter on a daily basis, so I won't try to tackle it. All I can say is that I'm looking forward to really committing myself to some sort of project, and I would urge you to try something 'slower' as well. ",
"score": 13
},
{
"body": "I'm the same way... sometimes I think I could be happy for the rest of my life living in a 300sqft room as long as it had a good internet connection with lots of stuff to read. ",
"score": 11
},
{
"body": "I'm in the same boat. Sometimes I can actually pull myself together and get working on something that I'm proud of, but most of the time I just like to learn random information. I actually do find myself bringing up many random facts I've learned in conversation, and Reddit posts make good dinner conversation ;)",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "Also addicted, but eventually the information you have starts finding links with other information you have. You make a new connection (figuratively and brain chemistry literally) more and more often and start thinking \"out of the norm\". This is the realm of thinking great for innovation and soon you'll think of combining concepts in a way that you are passionate about and will do something amazing with it.\n\nI info junkied for 3-4 years and it only finally led me to where I want to focus but I'm thankful for all the time I spent in the addiction and proud of where it's taking me now.",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "If you are happier with coming up with ideas, come up with ideas. Create models (blueprints not planes), organize concepts into Venn diagrams **just because you enjoy it** and because you can contribute to humanities better understanding of the universe. This is me. \n\nLet other people do the actual building ",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "I feel exactly the same way. I start thinking of projects and have ideas, but seldomly follow through with them, if I pick it up at all. I have several ideas for websites I could create. I've got a vserver and a few domains registered, but nothing I put up, actually stays up or gets much attention from me. I can also understand your disappoint quite well, as it relates to my feelings as well. I feel like I do half ass jobs and find myself lacking in abilities. But then other people tell me I'm a huge critic when it comes to me and that I knock myself a lot. When the right project comes along, you will know. Every now and then I actually sit in fron of something _intently_. This goes to the point of where I'm working in some sort of productivity rage that goes on for a few days where I'm doing nothing but working on this project, even forgoing meals because it feels great coming one step closer. This happens way too seldomly though. I think a lot of us are kept from doing truly awesome projects because of the obligations we have. There is always this looming \"obligation\" of having to do this and this and getting to bed for work. When the right project comes along, you will know. And don't be afraid to take a longer look at yourself and find something that you do do often. You'll see that you probably already have a project you do well.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "I can relate to that. During college, I would constantly just read random stuff. Then all this stuff would come out of the blue during conversations with friends. My friends would say I could give background information to some random topic. Eventually they started calling me Wikipedia.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "I am addicted to information, and have never even thought about doing anything usefull with it. People are mostly either too stupid, or do not care. I feel your pain, and am going through the qlc as well.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Sometimes I feel this way about reading, which I suppose is a form of gathering information. I just wonder how much actual benefit I'm getting out of that last Neil Gaiman book I read. Mind you, I like to read and I try to read frequently, and I realize that reading expands your mind, is an excellent form of escape and allows you to better understand the world around you...but I just wonder whether my knowledge of still suits, the travels of eric newby, piere's experiences in the war against the french or eb white's dachshund fred is really doing me that much good. ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Having started some projects, let me tell you that it quickly gets boring. It only works for certain personalities who enjoy the mind numbing work in the middle of the project in between the excited planning and end game.\n\nFor many, it's easier to latch onto another person's project and help them out. Try looking for something that's already going that you can participate in. Then you can put your limited attention span to good use.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Man, this is me all over. I find I rarely listen to music anymore and just have a steady stream of podcasts... TED, Stuff You Should Know, RadioLab etc filling my head with fascinating rubbish. \n\nThis pretty much sums me up these days http://bit.ly/7Mef3m",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "You sound a lot like an INTP. If you find it hard to sustain your interest on a subject, perhaps consider taking a short course on something you are interested in? That might motivate you into completing things, instead of just starting them.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Tech geeks are over-represented on Reddit, compared to the general population. Males in technical/engineering occupations, etc. have the highest concentration of Asperger's syndrome (i.e., mild autism). This is my theory for why you are and why so many in this thread are validating your comments. Reddit offers social contact, but not direct contact, provides myriad facts that are perfect for the Asperger brain. A safe haven for the mildly autistic.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Yep, right there with you. I've had multiple business ideas, ideas for gay-ass blogs, books, bands, you name it. I'll dive into something for a few days, and loose interest shortly thereafter. \n\nI enjoy it.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": ">I also developed a habit (which continues to this day) of dreaming up the most elaborate, creative ideas for projects (e.g computer programs, business ideas, writing books, etc), but my interest quickly fades away.\n\nYou are what I call an \"idea person\". All you have to do is to meet your other half, the person who is good at bringing ideas to market (doesn't have a short attention span) and you will have fortune.\n\nEver wonder why there is so much shit being sold? Its because those who do things like bring products to market are usually not good at coming up with the ideas.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I find that being an information junkie is a distraction from being either lazy or a coward. It extends the idea of being a permanent student and seemingly makes it OK to not be doing something of significance. It's an illusion\nI am an information junkie because I'm lazy, I am lazy because being an information junkie tricks me into thinking I'm doing something.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Depends on your prospective. I have friends who read gossip magazines, watch TMZ all day and tivo Jersey Shore. I have friends who read the wall street journal daily, tivo bloomberg, c-span and other new oriented broadcasts and know exactly what is going on in Yemen. Sadly, it's the gossip related news that gets talked about more. People care more about Simon Cowell leaving American Idol than American's being held in Iran. Plus, nobody gets in heated arguments over Kate Gosellin's hairstyle but people lose friends while discussing Israel and the Palestinians. But, me personally...I'd rather know what's going on around the world in terms of politics/business/health/science than where Brad Pitt was last spotted.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "History major. I love information. I love learning about history. For no other reason then to know it. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I used to read the warning labels on cleaning supplies when I was a kid. The only thing that I do with most of the stuff I read is start sentences with \"did you know that\". I hope I don't come off as a douche. It seems to bewilder my girlfriend, though. Bewilders her right out of her panties.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Wow... that is exactly how i am, for some reason i feel the need to think of some project to do, but when it actually comes down to doing it i loose the motivation, i would say since i have actually used a computer ( which is now more than 13 years ) i have only followed through on very few projects mainly, i wouldn't say its because i can't, its just because i loose interest and find a new project to involve myself in. But if there was a contest for knowing the most random information, i would probably be one of the finalists. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "You know, if all of us who were just like you (and I'm sure there's quite a few of us) could get our things together and team up to just create stuff, we'd be unstoppable. Oh well, brb, grabbing another bag of chips.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "This is exactly me, except I don't even dream up specific ideas for projects. I just have desires to do general things, like program, or create gadgets, but I don't work towards them. And I gobble articles and news-reports up too. I have started to critically examine things around me recently, but that doesn't end up in me producing any thing too!",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "No. I always use the amusing bits of information I collect from reddit to entertain pretty ladys at partys I never attend. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Wow. Amazing how pervasive this phenomenon is. I usually have between 10-20 books with marks in them around the house, and the ones I do not finish outnumber the ones I complete by a factor of four or five, which somehow makes me feel slightly guilty. Now, if I could only afford [one of these...](http://media.digitaltrends.com/digital-trends/ces-2010-hands-on-with-plastic-logics-que-proreader/)",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Many scientists are. They're all about gathering data, trusting future scientists to figure out what the hell to do with it all.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "For me, I box it up and sell it. If you can develop a niche of information collection and find the right people that care about your niche (analysts, investors, businesses) you can turn information into intelligence where someone can make a decision. That usually leads to $$ and a feeling that your information hoarding went to something good. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "For me this is closely linked to procrastination. Sure, you can be confused about what it is you want to accomplish in life, but surely you can think of some small goal you'd like to achieve today other than collect information.\n\nThis could just be another method of procrastination but:\n\nI've created a [subreddit](http://www.reddit.com/r/TIW/) for us so we can actually submit short-term goals and provide each other with support.\n\nTo prove I'm serious about this, I'm logging off for a few hours and getting to work. Wish me luck. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I have poor will control and can be easily distracted, so I've only found one reliable solution. Block reddit. On linux, the best solution I've found is to write a script to regenerate my hosts redirect file, which you can then put in your crontab. During hours you should be working on stuff, it'll redirect reddit to somewhere else (usually i pick my own website project page so that i'm reminded i should be working on cool stuff). Then you can have it change your redirects to let you use something like reddit. On windows (which I haven't used in years), you can write batch scripts and put those into the scheduler to modify the HOSTS file (this commonly does not already exists, but there are some guides around) to achieve the same effect.\n\nBy restricting time, i've found i fall into two sets of behaviours. Either I'm looking to take a break from working on stuff and will peruse general stuff, or I limit myself to a narrow band of things related to what I'm working on.\n\nTo help put your usage in perspective before doing this, I recorded my time, and then at the end of the day would write down every topic i remember reading, then compare it to my browser cache. I think you'll find that while you spend tons of time absorbing information, because it is shallow and not inter-correlated you probably remember maybe 20-40% of what you read tops. I've been as low as 8% before. Reddit can convince you that you're learning things, but most of it is just sunk time you could have been doing something cool. Easily every 2 out of 3 hours you spent on reddit may just be wasted time.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Yes. Especially being a high school drop out that never attended college. I enjoy outshining my college graduate friends from time to time in the intellect and current event's department. Feels good man.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "studies have shown that people consuming bits of information online - i.e. clicking an article, then moving quickly on to the next actually involves the dopamine sensors in the brain, [brain scan while performing the activity I believe, dopamine receptor areas show activity through mri, etc]\n\nspecifically, getting the next piece of info [read: reddit article/link] facilitates the next bit of dopamine, hence you get stuck in the cycle. \n\nit's not about the content of the information, it's about getting any new piece of information\n\nedit: this link discusses the matter, and links to a scientific american article about it, as well as a related medical news post: http://humanantigravitysuit.blogspot.com/2009/10/addicted-to-information.html",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "My solution: Become a librarian, then you don't *have* to do anything with the information, you just give it to other people to do something with. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I have a folder in my bookmarks called \"Reddit Saves\". Everytime I like something, I just save it. I don't think I'll ever actually read any of them again, but I just feel good knowing that I have it. I'm like a digital packrat for information.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "YESSSS! all the time. \nI'm starting to learn (though haven't actually implemented this life philosophy) that there's too much to learn and do in this universe in one lifetime. I tend to want to try everything and be good at everything, but my attentions are spread so thinly that I don't reach my full potential in any one area. \n\nMy advice, keep learning. any knowledge is good but you need to pick a topic and apply that knowledge rather than just looking for info for info's sake. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "This is my entire life. I've always been a high achiever academically. I breezed through high school and through a double major in college, not because I'm a genius, but because I spend all of my time collecting information about everything. Classes aren't so hard when I've already covered most of the information in the textbook while browsing the Internet. \n\nEveryone always told me, \"Wow, you're going to be so successful!\" No, I'm not, because I don't have any desire whatsoever to actually do anything. Yeah, getting a degree in biochemistry was fun, but as I got near the end I started asking myself questions. Do I want to do research? Nah. How about medical school? Not really. I also got a degree in math, and some programming experience. Why not put the two together and write software for medical purposes? Nah, not so interested in that.\n\nI'm a hard worker and have accumulated a pretty good amount of knowledge, and I even have a piece of paper to prove it, but I'm just not at all motivated to do anything except learn even more. If I won the lottery, I would just keep going to school for the rest of my life.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Anyone know BLAST implementations in higher level languages? | I'm looking for an implementation of BLAST in either Python or R (which I know is slow and inefficient). It need not be equivalent to the full modern BLAST implementation. | 6 | [
{
"body": "Context would be helpful: what do you need it for? I find it pretty unlikely that there's a professional quality implementation of BLAST in either of those languages because I think the resulting program would run too slowly to be useful. If you want to learn more about how it's implemented, I can recommend a good book. ",
"score": 5
}
]
|
Any theories on what my neighbors are doing? | They appear to be a normal family of four but recently it struck me that for as long as we have lived next to them there has been something strange happening at night. In our house my room is directly opposite the toilet, and at night there is a light shining through the toilet window to my room. Usually i simply close the toilet door and forget it. But a while ago i looked to see what that light was, and it was coming from our neighbors house. At first i thought maybe that they were having people over and catching up late or something like that. Its been a month now and i have seen that light on at times ranging from approximately 9pm anywhere to 3am. It seems to me that its on all night. I have never really looked at that room in the day to see what it is (and at time time of writing this the blinds are closed), so i would now like to open the floor to any and all theories.
edit: fixed peaked to piqued (thanks for that rjg232 & charliedayman)
P.S i know its none of my business what my neighbors do, but this has piqued my curiosity :) | 3 | [
{
"body": "I would guess that they are brain-sucking aliens and are simply waiting for the right time to suck *your brain* out of your head.\r\n\r\nWhen they approach you with their brain-sucking device, which glows, they know that you will have been desensitized by the light they have left on at night, and will not wake, alerted to the glowing brain-sucking device.\r\n\r\nEither that, or *you're* a nosey, slightly paranoid neighbor.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Older kids will stay up all night, especially if the're told not to. Playing \"the box\",or lurking online. Mine does it all the time, he might even be here now! Michael ?!!, turn that thing off and GO TO BED! \nGet A Job!\n",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Dear Frugal, suppose you start earning $1 million a year. Will you still shop at the cheapest grocer? | I visited a distant relative in Denver recently and I know for sure that they are just about living ok(mortgage, children with daycare, 4-5 hour daily commute).
But inside their house they have 'rich' items - a new flat screen for Christmas, new laptops and they shopped only at high-end grocers.
My question: If you became rich tomorrow, will you abandon your cheap grocer/store for high end ones? Will it become a 'status' issue?
Personally, I have shopped at the costliest supermarket and the cheapest supermarket(Walmart, Aldi's) and I have found that the quality is not so different that I have to shop high end.
Will you shop at a cheap grocer even after you become a millionaire?
PS: If you live in a [proper] city like New York this may not be possible, but still.. edit: What I mean to say is the biggest of the big cities like New York city may not have Walmarts.. | 22 | [
{
"body": "I don't know about \"the cheapest grocer\" (cheap does not necessarily = frugal) but I'd absolutely still be very frugal. For me, frugality is about wasting less and saving money is icing. ",
"score": 21
},
{
"body": "If I had a million dollars I wouldn't change a thing. I would shop exactly the same. I would live exactly the same. I would save exactly the same. I would FUCK IT WHORES COKE BOATS NOM NOM NOM NOM",
"score": 19
},
{
"body": "Groceries or not, if I started earning a million a year, I would live the same as I do now for about 10 years then just retire and see the world for oh, say, the rest of my life.",
"score": 11
},
{
"body": "I wouldn't shop at Wholefoods, but you wouldn't catch me dead in a Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is only cheap if you don't factor in externalities :)",
"score": 10
},
{
"body": "of course. it took me a friggin year to memorize where all my stuff is at. i have to breeze thru in 30 minutes so i can catch the return bus, and i only go to the grocery once a month. i have it down to a science and i don't think i'm quite ready to change that routine. ",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "I couldn't possibly care less about status issues. People who worry about what others think of their grocery shopping habits need to reevaluate their priorities. \n\nHowever, it would be refreshing to not have to worry about finding the best deals when I shop. I'm frugal out of necessity, and it would be liberating to just be able to go to a store and buy whatever I want, instead of whatever is on special. \n\nAlso, there's something to be said for higher-end grocery stores: they're typically cleaner, have newer carts, have a wider selection of specialty items, and don't have mothers with three screeching children trailing them.\n\nPS: It's insulting to claim that places smaller than NYC aren't \"proper.\" A lot of great people live in a lot of great places that aren't your idea of a \"proper city.\"",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "In all honesty if I made $1 million a year, I wouldn't be grocery shopping period. I'd buy wine/beer from the liquor store, and then eat all my meals out at restaurants.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "I realize you're all posting on the /frugal/ subreddit... but COME ON PEOPLE. \n\nIf I pulled down a million take home every year, I wouldn't even do my own fucking grocery shopping--I'd have better things to do with my time than pick out the cheapest eggs at Sir Saves a Lot. ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Mostly no because I'm quite content with Kroger Signature, but I would likely adopt a butcher to improve my meat options. \n\nBut as I think about it, it's probably equally important to just be able to say \"Got XX and XX *from my butcher*!\"",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "If I Had a million dollars\nWe wouldn't have to eat Kraft Dinner.\n(But we would eat Kraft Dinner. Of course we would, we'd just eat more.\nAnd buy really expensive ketchup with it.\nThat's right, all the fanciest Dijon Ketchup. Mmmmmm.)",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "Let's say I will be frugal compare to other people with the same revenue. I won't waste time pinching a penny there and there and I would spend a lot of it traveling but I probably wont go all crazy buying sports cars, ridiculously priced clothing and gold plated toilets.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "No.\n\nWith 168 hours in a week, expect to spend 70 hours (10 per day) doing what most other people do (sleeping, showering). Let's say I spend 50 hours/week earning my shocking salary. \n\nLet's say regular expenses and a 2 week vacation total $500,000 per year together. (I can set whatever regular expenses make me happiest).\n\nThat leaves 48 hours per week to enjoy $500,000 per year over 50 weeks, or $10,000 per week, or $208/hour.\n\nThere is *no way* that I can save more than $208/hour (the value of my time) by shopping frugally. It is far more economically advisable to hire someone to shop for me. It would even be cost effective to pay someone $208/hour, kick back, and read reddit, if that's what I prefer to shopping. \n\nThe frugal answer is to value my free time, and spend my money to get more of it. One way is to pay someone else to get my stuff for me. Another is to go to a high end grocer that caters to my tastes (It may give me what I want faster, or I may simply like spending my time in that environment better).\n\n",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "actually the only stuff you will probably find different from high end supermarkets to cost-cutting ones is in the produce dep't, and the deli/bakery.\n\nThe higher end supermarkets stock pristine fruits/veggies because wealthy people complain about stuff, where in poorer neighborhoods people don't.\n\nFor example take a kroger/fred meyer from a rich side of town, and everything looks better than a kroger from a poorer side of town.\n\nI don't think i'd change where i shop, as food is food.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "In many cheap stores you trade time for money.\nI will not stand in line twenty minutes to save $3.50.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "A million bucks a year?! \r\nI'd probably have a \"standing order\" type list where there's a shitload of things that \"may not be missing from the storage pantry at any time\". (Think: \"WWIII is tomorrow and I have enough to live on comfortably for a year\" amounts)\r\n\r\nMy butler or maid would make sure it keeps filled to capacity, regardless of me using any and going to restaurants. \r\nA rich man's time is too precious to be spent in supermarkets. \r\n\r\nAlthough I guess in my case this would mean the liquor cabinet would be at least double the size of any kitchen cabinet.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I shop at both of them. \n\nIt isn't an apples to apples comparison though. \n\nI don't care for the fresh produce or meat from the less expensive stores. The quality isn't what I'd like.\n\nFor produce and meat we mainly buy through a CSA, i.e., directly from a farm. For meat and produce that we don't buy through the CSA I go to the high end store. When I'm at the high end store I try to only buy things there that I can only get there.\n\nFor items that I can get anywhere, e.g., canned goods, toiletries, etc, I go to the less expensive stores. \n\nThere are two lines of thought with this strategy: \n1) we want to eat the most healthy food that we can. Saving money buying cheap food is not a frugal decision. The cost of consuming cheap unhealthy food will hit on the back end in medical bills. \n2) by keeping the shopping lists smaller we buy less things that we didn't plan for and don't need.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "For a million a year I'd probably be fabulously busy and not have time to be frugal any more. Frugality is only worth it when your time is cheap.\r\n\r\nOTOH if I won the lottery or some high profile lawsuit (either of which is pretty much the american dream) and never had to work again, I'd probably be frugal out of boredom.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Nope. At that income level, you ask yourself \"Why am I saving money? I'm financially secure.\" I would be working on minimizing my stress and maximizing the time of me doing things I enjoy. So unless you enjoy saving money (some rich people do, which is why they're rich) ...why do it?\n\nPersonally, I'd probably wouldn't be shopping at the cheapest place, I'd be shopping at the **closest** place (I hate dealing with traffic), or the place I thought had the best service. I might even just have everything delivered to my house.\n\nOn a side note, a new flat screen, new laptops and shopping at high-end grocers doesn't necessarily mean they're rich. That might only be a $10k a year difference, and they might just not be saving for retirement.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I'm not gonna lie, I would be at WF for every last item. Price is the only thing that's barring me. If you know how to shop they have some good priced stuff (365 brand) but if I could, I would. Why? Because many of the items are better quality (cheese, meat especially) and because the service and atmosphere are superior. Right now I should probably shop at Wal-Mart, but I don't, because I can't stand going there, I want to kill myself after I go there.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Calling all Halo 3/MW2 players! | So I'm new to actually posting on the site, been a reader for over a year now so I decided to be a little more involved if possible. A little background about myself in gaming I have been competitively gaming for over ten years now, and if any of you know MLG I have been a coach for several years now. I love gaming, but unless you've coached a competitive team, it completely changes the game and is a different level of fun and intensity.
When I'm not at a tournament or events, I'm usually gaming. I play MW2, Halo 3, Forza 2 and thats about it right now. I typically give lessons (I charge paypal or MS points usually) in Halo 3 and MW2 for "noobs" because I honestly enjoy teaching, especially coaching. One of my goals in life is to become a professional/collegiate football coach.
Anyways, on to why I'm here! I know redditors come here to find like minded people to play with. I hate going into matchmaking and whatnot alone and not only having terrible team mates but also the ones that like to scream their heads off and have no concept of competitive gaming period. I'm extending an invitation to reddit gamers of all ages/sex/race/skill levels to send me a f/r! If you want lessons, I'll give 'em to you for free! If you just want another buddy on your friends list and you just want to play thats fine too! Hopefully is some reddit FPS talent. My gamertag is ESPN SeveN
Just so you know, this is legit, I'm not trolling at all. I really do give lessons regularly, and if you send me a f/r and message me saying you are from reddit I will help you in any way I can! Also, I already get about 5 friend requests per hour from randoms so my list is constantly filling up even when I clean it out daily. So if my list somehow becomes full before I can clean it out again tonight please send me a message, stating you're a redditor! I will delete people and add you myself. Each and every one of you. Reddit has been great to me and I'm trying to give back! | 11 | [
{
"body": "My xbox is down for the time being, but am gettig back into gaming, and will ad you in a few weeks. My gamertag is: bones sauce.\n\nQuestion: it seems like MW2 would be way more fun if it were more organized. Is it true? While I can enjoy team slayer on Halo, team deathmatch isn't as fun in MW2, and I'm thinking that's why",
"score": 3
}
]
|
It's time to share my feelings (sorry, long post). | I'm female, 24, and I feel liked I've reached a point in my life where I don't want to carry on anymore. I have had bouts of depression since I was 15 and have had fleeting thoughts of suicide but never felt 'suicidal'.
Last year I was off work for several months due to a rather extreme period of depression - I became totally isolated and couldn't cope with leaving the house a lot of the time. The months leading up to this had been traumatic at times - I work in mental health and had dealt with drug overdoses, threats of violence and more seriously had found someone dead. I carried on as normal for some time after this but I guess it caught up on me. I am engaged and living with a wonderful guy and wouldn't have survived this without him.
Knowing my vulnerability it may have been sensible to leave my job but after a gradual recovery from the depression I felt I needed to prove that I could do it. Unlike my previous periods of low mood this had led to a huge interruption in my functioning and I really felt tainted and ashamed. I returned last June and have been struggling on, trying to redevelop my confidence and recover from the long period of isolation.
The thing is, although I don't feel hopelessly depressed anymore, I don't feel like I have ever returned from that dark place. I have no motivation to get up in the morning or to move on with my life. I feel incapable of holding normal conversations and being there for my clients has been a push. Even when around friends, I can laugh and joke but feel like it's all false. My family know what I went through but never really mention it.
The only person I feel I can be myself around is my fiance. I love the bones of him and he is so supportive and gives me a lot of happiness. I also enjoy alot of moments each day and have many interests. Despite this, I just don't want to continue anymore. I feel tired with life and I can't take full advantage of the good things because of this.
While feeling less depressed than I have for a long time, I feel more suicidal. I don't cry because of my mood, I cry because I know that I can't kill myself because of the pain it would bring to my fiance. He is what stops me from ending my life, but that doesn't stop the desire to do so. I have researched methods of suicide and have decided how to do it. I have researched methods for him to cope if I did it. Yet I know he wouldn't cope and that makes me feel all knotted up inside.
I told him a few weeks ago that I was having these thoughts. He thinks if I leave my job all this will go away. I know that this will always be with me. I have even gone as low as to try to get him to leave me so that I can do it. I have thought about running away and waiting for a few weeks until he has started to move on before doing it. You might say I've obsessed about this. | 22 | [
{
"body": "Do you think you could be experiencing some shade of PTSD? I'm not a professional but it seems you've immersed yourself in other people's problems to the point they've become your own.\n\nI've had depression off and all my life, but mine seems to be specifically situational. I'm just not a person that handles other people's stress well because I really do absorb it as my own. I've found I'm happiest alone. But I'm much older and don't recommend it as a plan of action for you. Just that sometimes, when you finally get to know who you really are, you can make adjustments to your life to live it as well as you can. \n\nJust remember there is no shame in having depression. ",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "Since there is already a lot of good advice, I'm not gonna try and overload you with even more. I'm just gonna say, that whatever you're going through you don't deserve it, stay strong, and hopefully you can make it through. Good luck. :)",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "It's true that what you've seen during your job will probably never leave you. My close friend worked as a lawyer for the city of Chicago for years before switching to a family law practice, but tells me that she saw and heard some of the most horrible things you could imagine, and that it took an incredible toll on her. But she said that while what she saw and heard will never leave her, she is better able to *cope* in a situation that's much less stressful. Maybe your fiance is right; maybe you should consider leaving your current job and taking some time off from work (if that's financially viable) or finding a job that doesn't put quite so much of a strain on you. There certainly is no dishonor in that. \n\nOtherwise, I and the rest of /r/SW are here to listen to and talk to you. Let us know what we can do to help. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "While I don't think leaving your job will make it go away; I do think you should at least take leave. Being in an environment like that is probably not going to help you keep sane; but more importantly you won't be able to anyone else unless you first take care of yourself. That is the number one rule. Helping clients is important, but helping yourself takes priority. \n\nIt doesn't have to haunt you forever. You can seek help. As a mental health worker you should know that there are people that can help you. \nIt is alright. If the things you have been through have been too much, you can always start again. You have too much potential to be happy, you have too much future ahead of you. Talk to your husband more. Try to explain what you're going through. Talk to your doctor and look into a therapist.\n\nYour husband obviously cares about you. You owe it to him, but more importantly to yourself to push through this. *Nothing is permanent.* There are people who can help. Reach out to them.\n\n",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Keybinds, how do you do it? | I have been playing WoW forever and have many high level characters. I have gotten to the point where I can't play without keybinds. I feel clumzy when attempting to click on a skill.
My question is, how do you guys keybind? I currently use
1,2,3,4,5
Q,E,R,T,F,C,X,Z, ~
Shift + ~, 1,2,3, E
Ctrl + ~,1,2,3
As well as 2 mouse buttons bound.
Do you guys do anything differently? | 8 | [
{
"body": "I use E, S, D, F instead of W,A,S,D for movement. Then I use all the keys around that. 1,2,3,4,5,w,q,a,z,x,c,v,b,g,t,r for key abilities, as well as using shift, cntrl, and alt modifiers to never have to mouse click any of my abilities. ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "edit: Apparently, the majority of people here PvP and do arenas. I stay far away from both, and only do PvE content (groups and 10/25 man raids).\n\nBefore I got my G13 gamepad, I used WASD to move (A & D for strafe, Q & E for turning) and my main abilities on 9, 0, -, = and Backspace, although I switched back to using the mouse to look around when I could. I kept my fingers on 0, - and = and moved them to 9 and Backspace when needed. I also kept a second set of abilities on Shift plus the above keys, and the rest scattered around 1 through 8 and some other bars. It wasn't really the best system, but it worked.\n\nNow that I have with my gamepad, my key bindings look like this: http://imgur.com/l1eAc.jpg\n\nI also have a Logitech G9 mouse but I only use the back button for autorun currently... I really need to map more stuff to the buttons on there (misdirect and tranq shot, not sure what else off the top of my head... I've got 5 buttons not being used).",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Everything is keybound, but these are my most used ones:\n\n` = PW: Shield\n\n1 = Circle of Healing\n\n2 = Flash Heal\n\n3 = Greater Heal\n\n4 = Prayer of Healing\n\nctrl+`= Renew\n\nctrl+1 = Prayer of Mending\n\nctrl+2 = Binding Heal\n\nF1 = Shadow Fiend\n\nF2 = Dispel (used for offensive dispelling, like nether power on lord jaxx)\n\nF3 = Mass Dispel\n\nF4 = Guardian Spirit\n\nF5 = Divine Hymn\n\nF6 = Hymn of Hope\n\nshift + LMB = Dispel\n\nctril + LMB = Cure Disease\n\n**Num Pad:**\n\n 7 = Desperate Prayer\n\n8 = Health Stone\n\n9 = Fade\n\n5 = Levitate",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "1 2 3 4 5 6, + Shift for these\n\n15 mouse keybinds\n\nv, g, t, r, shift + space for my Rogue, and I also use c, x, shift + e, a, and d on my Shaman\n\n` key is vent\n\nwqes to move (no turn left or turn right bound)\n\nNOTHING USED DURING COMBAT IS CLICKED",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Am I the only one who remembers One Must Fall: 2097? | I grew up playing OMF:2097, and played the [sequel](http://omf.com/) a fair bit too. Every day it gets less likely that OMFBG will get released on Steam. Maybe some Redditors can get the attention of Rob from Diversions? | 34 | [
{
"body": "You now have [THAT THEME SONG](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdVnKYcYi3g) stuck in your head!\n\nAbsolutely, besides Tribes, this was the game that defined my childhood, I remember setting up a boot disk just to play it from the command prompt. Making a totally unbeatable robot in the tournament was so satisfying, so was that code that made every hit dish out extra nuts and bolts.",
"score": 10
},
{
"body": "Did you miss the submission in this subreddit about the game a few weeks ago?\n\nhttp://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/akt39/great_moments_in_multiplayer_gaming_one_must_fall/",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "OMF 2097 is now freeware as per http://omf.com/faq/misc.html and the sequel, OMF Battlegrounds, can be purchased from Amazon.\n\nPeople who want to play 2097 need DosBox.",
"score": 6
}
]
|
FYI: It is freaking impossible to get American food in Argentina | Everyone here cooks, and they cook regularly with fresh stuff. So frozen dinners? You're out of luck. Breakfast food? No dice. Pop-tarts? Never heard of em here. Microwavable breakfast sandwiches? Not a chance. Toaster Strudel? Yea I wish.
Anyway, it's been a huge annoyance for me, so I decided to bitch on reddit. | 5 | [
{
"body": "Wait, what?\n\nHere you can get a lot of that \"good stuff\" at Disco (if you are in Buenos Aires, Capital, try the Recoleta and Palermo supermarkets, they have higher quality supplies than the rest), Falabella (has a decent amount of illustrative American food, like canned beans) or most Wineries at Retiro, Recoleta, Palermo, Belgrano or Nuñez neighbourhoods.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
What's your opinion of tattoos, Reddit? | It seems that only the most extreme and wtf tattoo links make it to the front pages of reddit. (such as the guy with the wayfarer tattoo on his face) Tattoos that are way out there tend to receive a lot of negative feedback.
I'm sure there are a lot of tattooed folk on here, as well as non-tattooed. What are your opinions on tattoos and why? What parts of the body do you consider to be "off-limits" for ink?
| 3 | [
{
"body": "I'd love to get a tattoo, but if I'm going to get something put on me permanently, I want it to have special meaning. So far, I haven't found anything that symbolizes/means that much to me. I guess it bothers me when people get tattoos of random meaningless objects that have no story behind them. I probably wouldn't get a tattoo on my leg or upper arms, my back is the most likely place. ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I can take a tattoo on a guy. On his arm. One. But tattoos on girls are a big turn-off. They look tacky and cheap. And there's always this goofy explanation: it helps me remember something important in my life...yada, yada, yada. This is the crap we get when we live in a culture addicted to celebrity mores.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I like art as a tattoo. People who are passionate about the art of it and wear their tattoos as a representation of who they are.\n\nTramp stamps on the lower back or anything that is a tattoo that they got because they thought it was cool to have a tattoo, I don't like.\n",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I like the ideas of tattoos in theory. \n\nHowever, nearly all that I've seen have been (what I'd consider) awful in practice - mostly they look like something clipped out of a newspaper comic. Smudgy, badly-drawn crap that you need to peer at in order to make out, more or less randomly positioned, asymmetrical, with totally non-sequitur symbolic/semiotic content. \n\nShow me something big, bold, simple, clean, that looks like it's *meant to be there* and part of the design rather than random graffiti, and I'll be all over it. \n",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I love tattoos. Good ones, anyway. \n\nA good tattoo should flow with the lines of your body, have some significance to you, and above all, it should *complement* you. Shitty tattoos are alternately boring and garish, but they can be done right.\n\nOn my right arm, I have a pretty regrettable 18th birthday piece of crap. On my left, though, I have a half-sleeve (easily covered when I need to be presentable) that I still get pumped up about, even six years after having it put on. I thought about it for a long while before I got it, and I've never been unhappy with it. My girlfriend loves it, my grandma likes it, and I'm pumped up about it. But you knew that.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
i think my sister may be in an abusive relationship (from askreddit) | it was suggested that I post this here...
I don't have any solid proof, but my sister and her boyfriend often get into huge fights. These fights often end up with him telling her that they're breaking up and that she should move out (they live together). They inevitably make up and everything is OK until the next time they fight. Normally, I'd say this is just a relationship problem and she needs to figure out how to improve her situation on her own, but there are a few things that worry me.
1. They fight very regularly - they have these kinds of fights almost every month.
2. What really got me worried - last time they fought my sister immediately started blaming herself for the fight. Granted, she was partially at fault, but the way she did it was concerning. "I shouldn't have done that, it was really stupid of me.." etc. She just sounded defeated and unlike herself. Especially when you consider what they were fighting about - she woke him up at 2am to show him a website that she had made herself - it seems like maybe she shouldn't have woken him up, but to get that mad?
3. I have an inkling of an idea that he may have even hit her in the past, but again, I don't have proof.
I'm not sure what I should do, especially considering that I'm currently living in a different country from them.
Anyone have any ideas? The rest of my family is in the US, but in a different state.
Someone from the other post also asked about her background and I posted this:
She's generally a very strong willed and minded person which is at least initially why I assumed they fought a lot. She and I also get into arguments although usually philosophical ones.
They've been having these kinds of huge arguments for a very long time (more than a year?) but they always sounded like a clashing of personalities. She's highly educated, but lately when it comes to him it seems like everything she's learned about society goes out the window. Instead, she blames herself and with an intensity that I find uncomfortable.
What else is relevant? She's not young anymore and she's overweight (not crazy obese or anything) so she might also be worried about ending up alone.
**Edit:** I have confirmation that he has in fact hit her before... | 34 | [
{
"body": "First of all, I'm really sorry. Your sister isn't in a place right now to apologize for the hell she's putting her friends and family through, but as someone who has been in her shoes, I will. I know this is really hard for you, and you're being as good to her as anyone can by being concerned for her. \n\nThis is a pretty classic abuse scenario, especially the blaming herself for all of it part. It took years for me to move past that. Sadly, there's not very much you can do until she's ready. \"Outsiders\" can't convince someone to leave an abusive partner, and if you push her too hard on it, she's going to shut you out. When she comes to you feeling bad about one of these fights, you can shift the blame, though. Try to get her to see how he's just as much at fault as she is. And try as much as feels honest and realistic to you to get her to see that she is a wonderful person, who is deserving of being loved by someone who, well, isn't this guy. Because a lot of abused people feel like they have no other options and that no one else would ever love them. Don't feed that. \n\nThat said, if you fear for her safety, or see him hit her, you can in good conscience call the police and have his ass thrown in jail. My wakeup call came when a neighbor called the police on my ex. I declined to press charges at the time, and she may do the same, but it was the beginning of the end. \n\nWhen she gets out of this hellhole, she's going to really need you. I'm sorry you'll have to be an emotional crutch for a while, I know that's not easy, but it will help her greatly to know her family and friends still love her. Good luck. And if your sister needs to talk to someone who's been there, I can give you my email. As hard as I leaned on the people in my life at the time, the least I can do is help take some of that weight off for someone else. ",
"score": 22
},
{
"body": "I actually dated a guy that made me do the same thing as your sister except I knew that he was wrong but I did question myself a lot. I am typically a strong-willed woman but have always tried to put myself in the other persons shoes. I am not sure why my ex even wanted to date me because he prefers super submissive women (which I did not know when I met him) to the point where I was getting the \"expectations of a wife speech\" when we were talking about marriage. I think part of the fun for him was to break down a strong woman into submission. Either way, he was verbally and emotionally abusive to me and if your sister's boyfriend is flipping on her over simple stuff like waking him at night then there is no doubt in my mind that she is at least experiencing those 2 forms of abuse. Whether he is beating her or not is, at this point, sort of just the icing on the cake, she is being abused in other ways so ABUSE IS ABUSE whether it is verbal, emotional, physical, or combination therein. Go visit her and see if she wants privacy when changing or seems jumpy, you will know right then. ",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "I think that you should be a good, caring, and supportive sibling. Wait till she comes to you with a cry for help. You're not going to convince her of her abusive relationship till she's ready to admit to it. And anything negative that you say about him will only cause your sister to dislike you for saying anything.\n\nBest of luck.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
At the Risk of re-Stating the Obvious; ThinkGeek has the BEST Customer Service I've Ever Dealt With. Hoping for Front Page to Show Tim R. Some Love | **Edit** Just wanted to let everyone know that the shirt arrived yesterday. Once again my very big thanks to thinkgeek!
-Customer for life
**/Edit**
To not be a karma-whore, I've created a throw-away account to post this.
My brother bought me a Wi-Fi detector shirt from ThinkGeek .com, and (after removing the electronics) I washed it and put the shirt in the dryer. The shirt shrunk. So I emailed their Customer Service asking if I could purchase the shirt separately since I had shrunken mine. The exchange went roughly something like this (by which I mean, I'm quoting it exactly here):
*Me:* Is there a way to order the Wi-Fi detector T-Shirt with ONLY the shirt? I washed mine and it shrunk, but the detector stuff is still fine. Thanks.
**Tim R at ThinkGeek:** Thanks for contacting ThinkGeek. We don't carry just the shirts but if you tell me the size you need I can see if we get one in the office that I can send you?
*Me:* It's an extra large. If you did happen to get one in, that would be awesome. :)
[shocking that a redditor and Wi-fi Detector T-Shirt wearer would be an XL, I know]
**Tim R at ThinkGeek:** I'll keep an eye out but it may take a while for one to come through.
Exactly 4 hours and 33 minutes later...
**Tim R at ThinkGeek:** We ended up finding one today. What address would you like it sent to? I've left the electronics for this one on the shirt in case you need extra parts.
*Me:* Tim, you are too awesome for words! (So is ThinkGeek, but mostly YOU!) While I haven't had luck getting stories to the front page of Reddit, rest assured that I'll be telling this one there, and to anybody who will listen... ever... ever.
So as a big thank you to Tim R. and the entire ThinkGeek staff, here's hoping this makes it to the front page of reddit. | 234 | [
{
"body": "I think this is an excellent example of the power of good customer service. Some customer service rep went out of his way to help 1 customer. Now that 1 customer will help drive hundreds of people to their website, all for the cost of a $20 T-Shirt + S&H. \n \nI've also heard nothing but great things about the service at Amazon.\n\nI'd list the bad Customer service stories I've heard (and companies I will therefore avoid), but that list would be too long.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Dear r/sex: My girlfriend wants me to go down on her...how? | So I've gotten really close before but I've never mustered up the courage to take the plunge. It doesn't smell great and when I look at it, there's something white in there that looks like dried fluid. What can I do to give her that kind of pleasure and not gag in the process?
Edit: Thanks for the responses! I found some good links that are on the same subject, both from Reddit.
[Link 1](http://www.reddit.com/r/sex/comments/ao6f6/my_boyfriend_has_never_initiated_oral_sex_is_it/) [Link 2](http://chelseakinne.tumblr.com/post/238748533/men-suck-at-eating-pussy-not-because-they-dont)
| 10 | [
{
"body": "...................................................................................................\nTake a shower with her first - fool around and finger/clean her, apparently she's not doing it herself.",
"score": 16
},
{
"body": "I never lick an abnormal smelling pussy. There's a difference in the way a normal vagina smells/tastes, and the way a creamy vag lined in white crusty dried fluid tastes/smells.\n\nGirls generally have no interest in going down on a guy after he's been on a week-long camping trip and started to form a squishy, blue-cheese like substance on his balls,...so why the fuck should you go down on her if she's either got bad meat or good cheese in her pants?\n\nTell her to clean her twat and then you'll lick on it. Make her take a bath, let water in there to rinse it out, scrub the exterior, dry it off, etc. ",
"score": 10
},
{
"body": "Awesome. I came in here thinking of posting a link to a video that might help you out, but the description of your girlfriend's special place made me laugh so hard that I pooped myself. Excuse me while I go clean myself up.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "For your sake and hers: don't.\n\nIf you're not into it, it will just suck for both of you. You're obviously not into it, so just tell her no. And understand her if she decides she's not into providing oral sex, either, because you know what, not everybody is into it, and that's okay.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "really? how? dive in, bro. eat it up like the cure's in there. if you can't take it - go take a shower and return to bed thereafter. people have been doing it for ages without formal schoolin. That being said - some people need a little base. Try the book [\"She Comes First\"](http://www.amazon.com/She-Comes-First-Thinking-Pleasuring/dp/0060538252).",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Dude... wow. No girl's junk should be bad tasting or have strange white stuff if they take care of themselves properly. Considering it isn't toilet paper from wiping herself clean (as you said it looked like dried fluid), it could be a couple of things. Yeast infection would be the first thing that comes to mind. There is a certain pH balance/bacteria amount that the vagina/uterus is supposed to keep. She should avoid douching. \"Many women suffer if they douche after menstruation or intercourse, it may actually worsen vaginal discharge because it take away healthy bacteria lining the vagina that are there to protect you from infection.\" She should also \"eat yogurt with live cultures or take Lactobacillus acidophilus tablets when on antibiotics to avoid a yeast infection.\" I don't know if thats the case, but she should be educated about these types of things anyway.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Yeast infection could be one of the top reasons for discharge. Could also be a STD. Or her body is just shedding white blood cells. Some women are just dischargey. It doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong but she should definitely go get checked! If there is some sort of infection down there and it doesn't get taken care of she could have long term complications. She also sounds like she needs to get a feminine wash (don't douche but just a external wash) for that area. Good hygiene is the key to oral!\n\nAs others have suggested, take a shower together and if she doesn't take the initiative to wash down there then you should help her! After a shower, everything is clean and free of discharge. But just to be safe, use a flavored lube to mask any unwanted tastes.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Entropy: What is it? | I am taking a gas dynamics course right now and I realize I don't really understand the concept of entropy. I can use the second law of thermo to solve problems, but I don't really know what entropy is or why it works. Could someone please explain entropy in a nutshell. | 29 | [
{
"body": "Entropy is (roughly) the number of different ways a system can be organized. If the number is small, the system is highly organized (there's only one way to sort a deck of cards) and if the number is large, there are many ways. There are plenty of examples - there is only one way every gas molecule in a room can be in one corner of the room, but many different ways the gas can fill out the whole room.\n\nThe reason entropy always increases is due to probabilities - sure, a system *could* go from a disordered (large entropy) state to an ordered one, but since there are sooo many more disordered states, it'll probably go to one of those, instead. \n\nNow, saying *which* specific disordered state is also unlikely or hard to predict. Draw 5 numbers from 0 to 9 out of a hat. The odds of getting 11111 are the same as getting 18539, but the odds of getting any number other than a pretty one (not 11111, 22222, 33333 or 12345, etc) are much higher than a pretty, symmetric one.",
"score": 25
},
{
"body": "Are you looking for an explanation of entropy in thermodynamics or in the context of general physics? If in thermo, my prayers are with you and I have nothing great to contribute. ",
"score": 3
}
]
|
DAE not enjoy the covers on hard back books? | They're awkward in handling the book while reading, and if you take it off temporarily it's just a piece of clutter sitting around. I understand that they protect the book and allow the author or publishing company to display images and text, but it seems like a waste of time. | 21 | [
{
"body": "Yeah, dude. I can't really stand them at all. That's usually the first thing I do when I get a book. Either that or use the little flap that goes in between the inside of the cover and the first page as a book mark, depending on if it fits or not. ",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "If the images are printed on the book itself then it is awesome. If they are on a paper jacket then it just plain sucks.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Honestly, I think they were originally intended as a form of advertising. They're like a wrapper that you're supposed to throw away, but they're such a pretty wrapper that nobody ever does. Kind of like how people keep the bag that comes with a bottle of Crown Royal.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I use the flaps that go inside the cover and back as bookmarks. Front flap for first half, back flap for back half.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
A recurring theme in modern films | http://i.imgur.com/9wWNB.png
Saw the commercial for this flick and was reminded of similar flick types from the past. An example that comes to mind is:
http://i.imgur.com/2fx9V.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/TAhZv.jpg | 11 | [
{
"body": "Here's my comment from another thread on the same topic:\n\nThis relates to the commentary/content ratio of media. Action movies in this case are the content. Action movie spoofs are the \"commentary.\" A medium can only thrive as long as the ratio remains low. If the ratio gets too high, then the genre eats itself. Modern art did this years ago--that's why no one gives a shit about modern art but other artists. Or look at it this way--you can only listen to Weird Al parodies so many times before you get bored and want to hear original music again.\n\nSince the 80's, action movie stars typically follow a career arc whereby they establish themselves as action heroes, and then later in their career, trade on their action hero image to make ironic spoofs or children's movies. The arc has been shortened so dramatically that newer action stars like Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson can only make one or two action films before they are pressured to crossover to spoofs.\n\nWhat it means is that action movies are a moribund genre, fit only for nostalgia and straight-to-DVD kiddie flicks.\n",
"score": 13
},
{
"body": "Coming soon, to a child-filled theater near you... \n \nJackie Chan in... [The Spy Next Door](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3920137728/tt1273678)",
"score": 7
}
]
|
How do I help a chronically single friend? | I have a friend who's older than me (I'm 20, he's 26-27) who tells me he hasn't had a steady girlfriend in ten years. I listen to his problems, but I haven't found a meaningful way to contribute beyond that.
The best he's able to find is a girl he met on an internship in another state who he spent tons of time with. She had a boyfriend who she broke up with soon after my friend moved back to his home state. Now he's incredibly hopeful about getting into a relationship with her, even though she's very bad about responding to emails, phone calls, or sent flowers (he tells me she is "introverted"). He's hoping if he gives her time, maybe when he goes back for another internship a relationship will blossom.
He lives in the country, 2 hours from the college he attends and far away from most civilization. So much of my admittedly tepid advice about going to meet new people is countered with this fact.
I don't have anything useful to contribute besides listening. Everything I know about women I know from dating my lady, who is one of the very few women I talk to on a regular basis (it will not surprise you to learn I am an engineering major q:). How can I help my friend? | 5 | [
{
"body": ">she's very bad about responding to emails, phone calls, or sent flowers (he tells me she is \"introverted\").\n\nFrom lots of experience, 95% of the time this is the girl avoiding saying \"no.\" I'd suggest telling your friend this and saving him lots of grief.\n\nI know you say you don't know many women, but suggest maybe trying to set him up with one of your female friends/acquaintances. ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": ">He lives in the country, 2 hours from the college he attends and far away from most civilization.\n\nYou've identified the main problem right up front. Finding a woman in the country is no problem if you're in your 40s & up; lots of divorced country wives. If you're in your 20s, you need to move to the big city; that's where all the single women fled to as soon as they were able.\n\nAs my friend says: \"fish where the fish are\".",
"score": 3
}
]
|
What's with Apple and OpenGL? | I've been wanting to try using a Mac as my primary system at home and have been learning more about it before buying one. Graphics programming is one of the main tasks I do and I was shocked to know that currently OS X only supports OpenGL 2.1. Why is this? I can understand OS X OpenGL support trailing a bit behind OpenGL versions because Apple releases them instead of the GPU vendors but OpenGL 2.1 is 3.5 years old! Did Apple (atleast initially) not like the direction in which OpenGL 3.0 went?
How do graphics developers on OS X put up with this? Also, while OpenCL was pushed heavily by Apple, its very surprising that there seem to be no major applications using it (yet) and they are still not keen on using the latest GPUs for better OpenCL feature support. What gives? | 9 | [
{
"body": "[This just happened recently](http://www.macrumors.com/2010/01/12/apple-progressing-toward-full-support-for-opengl-3-0-in-mac-os-x-10-6-3/)",
"score": 10
},
{
"body": "Most everyone who doesn't work on CAD software didn't like the direction that OpenGL 3.0 went, not just Apple.",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "3.0 support is in the works according to http://www.9to5mac.com/opengl-3-0snow-leopard-10.6.3-653944",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "I suspect the delay has to do with a combination of Apple implementing their own OpenGL stack and GPU companies putting Windows and Linux at a higher priority when it comes to fixing bugs in their drivers/firmware.\n\nAs for OpenCL, as far as I know, there aren't many tools to debug it on the GPU, making it annoying to develop more than just demos. SnowLeopard also hasn't been out for long, it will take a while before companies start shipping major applications that use OpenCL or GrandCentral. \n\nThat all being said, I think the build quality of MacBook Pro line and their ability to run the big three operating systems make them an ideal system for development.",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "> How do graphics developers on OS X put up with this? Also, while OpenCL was pushed heavily by Apple, its very surprising that there seem to be no major applications using it (yet) and they are still not keen on using the latest GPUs for better OpenCL feature support. What gives?\r\n\r\nApple retargeted from tools for power graphics users to commodity slick like the iPod and iPhone. State-of-the-art graphics are no longer near the top of the list of priorities. Adequate mobile graphics are.\r\n",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "Developing OpenGL 2.1 with 3.2 in mind is not that hard, as the 3.X series is more about deprecation and consolidation than completely overhauling the entire system. Most of what's present in 3.X was already there in 2.1. I'm working on a project right now that is almost entirely forwards compatible and I'm shoving it between my Ubuntu desktop running beta Nvidia OpenGL 3.2 compatible drivers and a MacBook running Snow Leopard. Probably the biggest difference is a little bit of syntax in glSlang specs.\n\nSeriously, having only OpenGL 2.1 but restricting yourself to the style and non-deprecated parts of OpenGL 3.2 is not that hard and you aren't really losing anything. This highly useful extension which is a part of 3.x but not 2.1 http://www.opengl.org/registry/specs/ARB/vertex_array_object.txt has been supported in Apple stuff for a while I believe.",
"score": 6
}
]
|
My apologies to those in the Los Angeles area. | To Los Angeles, it was just a day like any other. The traffic riddled city was hidden mysteriously behind the smog. Tensions were, as always, high in this densely populated metropolis. Drivers on the 405 freeway felt the overwhelming urge to commit unspeakable, heinous acts of inhumanity towards their not-so-fellow drivers. One driver in particular found himself in the midst of a crisis to make it to his 4 P.M. evening class on time. Obstructed by the ubiquitous traffic, this driver found release of stress in several forms, but specifically screaming at the top of his lungs with the windows down, holding his hand on the horn for up to 30 seconds at a time, and all together disregarding the formalities of his turn signal usage. He also shocked residential drivers as he made his way through a local neighborhood by laughing loudly to himself and screaming "Of course! OF FUCKING COURSE!" in lieu of the light changing red upon his slow approach to the intersection.
For this and more that man apologizes.
That man,
nonseven7 | 12 | [
{
"body": "I fail to see what you have done that is abnormal for driving on the 405, but good on you for admitting to it.",
"score": 7
}
]
|
Young men and women of Reddit. I want to find out if the Internet has changed the way people have sex | I have a theory that because the Internet has naturalised porn to a fair extent people might be more likely to have learned from what they've witnessed on the net and taken those behaviours to the bedroom. It wasn't that long ago, in many countries, that porn was really hard to access. Nowadays everybody can easily access porn. Are young girls watching it and deciding that this is the way they should bonk?
I wonder if chicks are spitting on guys cocks and allowing them to ejaculate on their faces. I wonder if swallowing semen has become the norm.
Has the world of porn, due to the ease with which young people can access it, entered the bedrooms of the real world? | 12 | [
{
"body": "I ascribe the attitudes of current youths towards public hair to the ubiquity of Internet porn. Only ten years ago pubic hair was minimally maintained but nowadays it seems like a woman having anything more than a landing strip is gross and guys are asking reddit whether they should shave or wax the hair on the base of their shaft. I'm only half a generation removed from that age group, but in my mind hairless cooters are for porn stars and prepubescent girls. But apparently the under 25 crowd thinks that's normal and desirable. \n\nedit: spelling",
"score": 15
},
{
"body": "The Kama Sutra describes 64 types of sexual acts, first translated to English in 1883. Tijuana Sex Bibles were very popular in the early 20th century and contained alot of filthy shit. Your grandfather was probably doing dirtier shit than you think. None of this stuff is new, it's just the way we're getting that information is different. I do think there is more people seeing dirty shit on the internet than there ever was with either of the previously mentioned sources, but that doesn't really change how people act. People do what they want to do, seeing different things just lets them know it's out there. \n\nThat being said, the internet (and moreso the mass marketing and globalization of the porn industry) has helped improve the techniques people have.",
"score": 11
},
{
"body": "I don't think I'd ever want to have the kind of sex that's in a lot of porn... They way they do things is for the audience's enjoyment, not their own physical pleasure, they just seem to play everything up. It's kind of terrifying at times. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "The internet hasn't changed the *way* we have sex, but it's changed *where* we have sex.\r\n\r\nWe used to have sex in front of a VCR. Now we have sex in front of our computers.\r\n\r\nWait... we're talking about self-inflicted orgasms, right?",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Dear Reddit, I need some simple games to play with my students. | I'm teaching English in Hong Kong at a private tutorial center, and I have about 30 minutes at the beginning of each class to play games in English. (woo!) My students range from 4 to 14, and they're small classes (6 students max). I've exhausted UNO and Go Fish, and I'm wondering if you all have some more ideas. Thanks in advance!!
p.s. - The kids' level of English varies, but they catch on pretty quickly regardless. | 17 | [
{
"body": "I have two young children. I like playing variations on the \"memory\" game with them. \n\nI'm sure you're aware of the classic where several pairs of cards are arranged face down and each person takes turns turning over two cards at a time. If a person finds two cards that match, then they take the pair. If the two cards don't match then they are turned face-down again. It scales nicely by adding more cards depending on the age of the children.\n\nI like making my own cards out of index cards and having picture/word pairs. For example, one card with a picture of a boat and another with the word \"boat\" on it. \n\n",
"score": 6
},
{
"body": "* Fruit Salad\n* Heads Down, Thumbs Up\n* Chinese Whispers \n* I Spy \n* 20 Questions \n* Simon Says \n* Charades \n* Pictionary\n\nAre these the types of games you're looking for, or are you after board/card games? If you're allowed to go outside, then Duck duck goose, Octopus, What's the time Mr. Wolf.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Here's a good one:\n\nEach student will need about 6 small sheets of paper (each piece about a quarter of regular printing paper).\n\nNow, get the students to number them from 1 to 6.\n\nNow tell each student to write something on the first piece of paper. ANYTHING. It can be a common phrase, something about another student, a single word, anything at all. The only restriction is it can be a maximum of one sentence, or two small ones, just nothing unreasonable. No paragraphs or short stories.\n\nNow, they pass their stack of papers to a classmate, who must now read what is on the paper, and draw the meaning of what was initially written. They cannot use any words in their drawing, it must be completely drawn. The goal is to draw a picture that will (hopefully) reflect the initial message in it's entirety.\n\nNow the second student passes their picture on to a third student, who must try to phrase what they think the picture is telling them. They may not look at the first piece of paper with the initial message on it, they may only use the picture as a basis to pass the message onto a fourth student, who will then have to draw what the third student wrote and depict that meaning.\n\nYou do this until the the sixth student is finished and then each student shows the class how intact (or utterly destroyed) the initial message is.\n\nThis is actually a pretty fun drinking game too. Oh, and post some of the better results, in my experience there will be a couple doozies.\n\n\nAnd another fun game to try is \"Apples to Apples.\" Another fun word association game that all the adults I know have hijacked it for a drinking game.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Hey Reddit, what's your favorite documentary? | And why? Because I'm in the mood for one, but don't know where to start! Topics covering history or science would probably be the most awesome.
Thanks!
*Edit: A lot of good suggestions, I'm wiki-ing them all right now! | 78 | [
{
"body": "Planet Earth\r\n\r\nEDIT: Or if you are a stoner like me, Planet Earth with Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon dubbed over the top!",
"score": 78
},
{
"body": "Far too many to list... \n\nScience\n\n* The Elegant Universe, Brian Greene (PBS Documentary) http://www.btmon.com/Video/TV_shows/The_Elegant_Universe379039586656.384.torrent\n\n* The Quantum Activist http://www.btmon.com/Video/Movies/The_Quantum_Activist_2009_DVD_Rip.torrent\n\n* TechnoCalyps\nPart 1 - Trans Human http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7141762977713668208\nPart 2 - Preparing for the singularity http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2258529707984107504\nPart 3 - The Digital Messiah http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8945702810854373085&hl=en\n\n* Visualizing 4th Dimension, http://www.dimensions-math.org/Dim_E.htm\n\n* Holographic Universe Video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnvM_YAwX4I&feature=related\n\n* Who Killed the Electric Car http://www.btmon.com/Video/Movies/Who.Killed.the.Electric.Car_2006_DVDrip_Eng_XviD-i0.torrent\n\nMoney\n\n* The Corporation http://www.theyliewedie.org/ressources/videos/videos-en.php#corporation\n\n* Money by Isaac Isitan http://www.ifiwatchnet.org/?q=en/node/2526\n\n* I.O.U.S.A. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=O_TjBNjc9Bo&feature=related\n\n* Maxed Out http://bestdocumentaries.blogspot.com/2007/10/maxed-out-full-documentary.html\n\n* Wal-mart: The High Cost of Low Price http://www.amazon.com/Wal-Mart-High-Cost-Low-Price/dp/B000BTH4K4/\n\nHealth\n\n* Super-Size Me http://www.amazon.com/Super-Size-Me-John-Banzhaf/dp/B0002OXVBO/ref=pd_sim_d_img_1\n\n* Fast Food Nation http://www.amazon.com/Fast-Food-Nation-Wilmer-Valderrama/dp/B000MEYKAU/ref=pd_bxgy_d_text_b\n\nConsciousness\n\n* The Primacy of Consciousness - Peter Russell, http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7799171063626430789\n\nMusic\n\n* Before the Music Dies http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-856606244008931882&ei=ifIeSqPOCqrcqAP75bCBDQ&q=befor+the+music+dies\n* http://www.truveo.com/before-the-music-dies/id/825313702\n\n* \"Frontline: The Way the Music Died\" http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/music/\n* http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/music/interviews/crosby.html\n\nNature\n\n* Earthlings http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthlings_%28documentary%29 http://www.torrentz.com/c33478f85d5e773f2a86f70f82db1e632604f105\n\n* The World According to Monsanto http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=The+World+According+to+Monsanto\n\n* Planet Earth (_amazing_ in BluRay)\n\n* Baraka (_amazing_ in BluRay)\n\nConspiracy\n\n* The Mystery of the Sphinx (John Anthony West) http://www.btmon.com/Video/Movies/The_Mystery_of_the_Sphinx_Xvid.torrent\n\n* Ufo The Greatest Story Ever Denied http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5980990221766439646#\n\n* Evidence: The Case For NASA UFO http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1209347384905688996\n\n* The Disclosure Project (400+ government officials) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vyVe-6YdUk\n\n* Michael Tsarion - Architects of Control Program http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7MUGZ6JuRI\n\n* The Arrivals http://www.torrentz.com/d0c621e4f3e93a030b2cc13be9e91ac0a164a870\n\n* America: From Freedom to Fascism http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA81NCN1CtE\n\nYou should be able to find most of these on http://www.youtube.com or http://www.torrentz.com/\n\nEnjoy !\n\nEdit: Can't believe I forgot Sphinx. A lot of conspiracy stuff is based on Fear and as such I am not interested in propagating old paradigms - I have only included the few that I found to be uplifting, informational & interesting.\n\nEdit: Technically, Baraka is not a documentary, but for a movie with no plot, dialogue, or story, its Themes and Visuals are still breath taking.\n",
"score": 50
},
{
"body": "[Helvetica](http://www.helveticafilm.com/). It's a documentary about typography (fonts, typefaces, etc.) and graphic design in general. And it's surprisingly interesting. And it made me recognize the Helvetica typeface all around me all the time :D\n\nI believe it's up on Netflix's instant streaming too.",
"score": 13
},
{
"body": "Dark Days\nIt's a documentary about homeless people living in the subway tunnels under NYC, with music by DJ Shadow.\n",
"score": 11
},
{
"body": "a few of mine (with torrent links)\n\n[Koyaanisqatsi](http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/3280188/Philip_Glass_-_Koyaanisqatsi)\n\n[Deep Water](http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/3941805/Deep.Water.2006.LiMiTED.DVDRip.XviD-LPD)\n\n[Fast Cheap and Out of Control](http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/3392931/Fast__Cheap__amp__Out_of_Control_a_film_by_Errol_Morris)\n\n[anything by Louis Theroux](http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/3590375/Louis_Theroux_Mega_Pack)\n\n[Burden of Dreams - Herzog](http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4046793/Burden_of_Dreams_-_1982_-_Les_Blank)\n\n[http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/3630845/Planet_Earth_4](Planet Earth)",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "[Brian Springer's \"Spin\"](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7344181953466797353&ei=iWBNS-jOFabuqAPx0djwAw&q=Spin+documetary&view=3#) is a bit slow, but it's a really unique (and quite voyeuristic) peek behind the scenes of the birth of satellite news and the politics of that time. Also, [this conversation](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7344181953466797353&ei=iWBNS-jOFabuqAPx0djwAw&q=Spin+documetary&view=3#14m23s) between Larry King and Bill Clinton ranks about a 9.4 on the creepiness scale.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse - it chronicles how production problems including bad weather, actors' health and other issues delayed the film (Apocalypse Now), increasing costs and nearly destroying the life and career of Francis Ford Coppola.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "[Life](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_%28BBC_TV_series%29). It is quite possibly one of the best nature documentaries ever made.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I don't know if it's my favorite ever, but I finally got around to seeing Man on Wire and it was really cool. It's more about art and passion than history or science, but I still found it riviting. As a bonus, it's available on Netflix watch instantly.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "[What We Still Don't Know](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7044753105944203252&ei=eVBNS6SVBtqBlgftjb3qAg&q=What+we+don%27t+know#) is a really fascinating 3 part series about the nature of reality and the universe, cosmology, physics, etc.\n\n[The Staircase](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5188227902435442973&ei=2U9NS5P-Kpa6lQe78bCVDg&q=The+staircase#) is a really compelling look at a murder case. It's got 14 parts, so covers *much* more detail than crummy TV crime shows.\n\nEdited to add: Check out [this thread](http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2690944) at the SA forums. Over 46 pages of recommendations and links for some really amazing documentaries. Most can be found on youtube or google video, even if the links are outdated.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "I haven't seen many Documentaries, but this is a brief list of some of\nthe ones I remember had enjoyed:\n\n* [A complete History of my sexual failures](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Complete_History_of_My_Sexual_Failures) I keep wondering why no one has talked about it, it's a must for any single person giving up on love.\n* Revolution os\n* [Download a History of the Internet](http://science.discovery.com/tv/download/download.html) A must for any Web 2.0 Entrepreneurs.\n* Supersize me \n* The corporation\n* [History Hacker](http://www.wired.com/underwire/2008/09/history-hacker/) Great show about Tesla by Bre Pettis\n* The elegant universe\n* Cosmos\n* District 9 (hehe, not a documentary but I fell for it when I watched it for the first time)\n\n*Edit: Formatting error",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "[Enron, The Smartest Guys in the Room](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Smartest_Guys_in_the_Room)\n\nIt's very interesting how fucked this company got, how they made money, cheated reports, made shell companies.. \n\nSeriously, watch it!",
"score": 3
}
]
|
"Dear God, Please bless us, for you just destroyed our homes with an earthquake. Amen" ...Idiots... | I just want to make it clear that I think the recent devastating earthquakes that shook Haiti to the ground were horrible. I was looking through some photos of the devastation via a [facebook group](http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=252988675717) and couldn't help but notice (pretty much every damn comment or wall post) all the offers of prayers, and requests that God bless them all.
I understand the sentiment, but the logic... *If* the god in question (obviously the Christian god in this case) did in fact exist, and was able to do what he is touted to be able to do (hear and answer prayers), why would you pray to him for blessings and aid when **the very same god they pray to is in fact** (by their own notion of an 'all powerful' god) **the one responsible for the damn earthquake in the first place**. What baffles me is the way in which the believers so easily hold paradoxical beliefs, even when the fact is put in front of them. Yet another example of the power of delusion and imagination.
I know none of this (apart from the earthquake of course) is new, but I decided I wanted to vent, and thought it would be in very bad taste to pose the question to any of the commenters wielding the mighty axe of God commenting.
Comments? | 27 | [
{
"body": "It's like [battered person (formerly wife) syndrome](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battered_person_syndrome). Seriously religion is BPS. You're told from a young age that you're bad and that without the religion's specific god you're worthless. And whenever something bad happens it is because you're not good enough. You caused it. You didn't make the sandwic...err I mean... pray hard enough so you're getting punished. It is indoctrination and constant reinforcement that you're nothing without your god. ",
"score": 15
},
{
"body": "While i technically agree with what you are saying... these people are under duress right now. Please, give them a week or two. I studied natural disasters in college, and this quake is going to be utterly devastating, tomorrow morning there will probably be large fires, no water, people will be dying in the streets from relatively minor injuries, possibly riots and looting. I hate to be the debby downer here... but as a strident atheist... this not the time for outgroup hostility. Whether or not they embrace illogical superstition.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Update in Regard to my experience with the window film in an older home. | I just wanted to let you guys know my observations after covering several windows.
I have 13 windows in my home. 1 of them is new. Several are in unused rooms with sealed vents.
I wanted to increase the temp in my master bedroom and my basement. So I covered the 2 large windows in the basement, leaving one smaller one uncovered and one in my room (of the 4 in my room) the first night.
Almost immediately the temperature went up in the basement (finished) significantly.
Since it was so effective I went and covered the other windows in my master bath and master bedroom. Now they are all covered in my room. My bedroom has increased in temp, but not as significantly as the basement. Maybe a 2-4 degree increase. My master bedroom is still the coolest room in the home.
1) I haven't gotten a heating bill, but if it drops 30 bucks it will cover my costs plus some.
2) Its noticeably, at least 5-8 degrees warmer in my basement. I am wearing shorts, thinking about lowering the thermostat from 68.
3) Its starting to get warmer in my room, so maybe after a few days it will warm all the way up.
4) Most importantly, my heater probably kicks on about half as frequently as it did prior to the installation. I'm expecting a significant drop in my bill because of this.
It only cost me 1.99 per window for 6 windows in all. The kits included double sided tape. The only supply I needed was one I already owned, a box cutter.
Also, with Menard's deal, by using their re-usable bags, I got 15% off, which brings the grand total of my investment to about 11 bucks.
Good: Its warmer
Bad: I now know how badly I need new windows eventually. | 24 | [
{
"body": "Most plastic films are thermoplastic and will shrink when heated. For the windows that I don't care about being crystal clear, I use clear box tape and overlap, and then hit it with a heat gun. ",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Need help contacting brother in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. | UPDATE2: He was interviewed on PBS. You can hear it here. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/01/reporter-in-port-au-prince-no-communication-from-the-government-period.html
For future updates, his website will probably be the best source. http://www.mediahacker.org/
Interview with CNN http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FM3SnVi4Vk
UPDATE: Got an email saying
The following email is being sent to you by U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince on behalf of the above person.
Ansel Herz says “I am OK and will contact you later.”
_____
My brother recently graduated from college, and went to Haiti to be a journalist. He has been living in the suburbs of Port-au-Prince in a two story house. Since the Earthquake none of my family had heard from him, and his cellphone doesn't seem to be working. The power and landlines in the area are out. Does anyone have any advice on how to contact him? Or is there a redditor in Haiti that could help / give advice.
I have his address, but I don't want to give it out over reddit without knowing it's needed.
edit: His name is Ansel Herz.
Here's a photo from his balcony if that helps at all. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mediahacker/3952282198/ | 208 | [
{
"body": "Try [SATERN](http://satern.org). The Salvation Army has a group of amateur radio operators who will try to reach their counterparts in the disaster area to answer health and welfare questions. You can fill out a request form online.",
"score": 18
},
{
"body": "I can't offer any help for you, unfortunately. But I just wanted to reach out and say that I'm \"praying\" (in my non-organized religion, generally spiritual, sending vibes out into the universe kind of way) for his safety. \n\nBest of luck, man. ",
"score": 12
},
{
"body": "I know Ansel Herz! Did some activism with him in the past and listened to his radio show all the time. \n\nI am so glad to know that he is ok!!! ",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "Unfortunately, my only advice is to stick to news sources and see if there are any websites reporting. There might be twitter or a website set up already for people to \"check in.\"\n\n",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "Wish I could be of help, but wanted to wish you luck just the same. Reddit regularly helps to restore my faith in humanity with stuff like this.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
What's a good way to spend the upcoming 3-day weekend in Chicago? | I'm looking to get out of the usual activities like going to bars or museums. Any cool winter daytrips? Fun things to do? | 9 | [
{
"body": "Day-trips? Like...*outside of Chicago* day-trip? I don't get it. I mean...I guess you could go skiing or something. Chestnut is about 3.5 hours away and it's actually pretty nice for an Illinois ski-hill. It looks out on the Mississippi & trains go by and whatnot. Other than that, naw, there's nothing outside of Chicago.\n\nI can't tell if you're from Chicago or not...? Are you saying you've already done the typical tourist stuff? I've found that most people actually haven't, they just think they should do something more unique. I guess you could ice skate at the park if you think your girlfriend would dig that. I don't know how it is during the winter, but the Lincoln Park Zoo is free. But, I mean...it's not like we've got a secret theme park under Lake Michigan or something. If you've got the money, I'd spring for some kind of real tour. I've never even done that. Chug down the river and shit; look at architecture; good times. If it's a clear day, the top of the Sears Tower (aka the Willis Tower) isn't a waste of time. If you have any chance at all, driving down Lake Shore Drive at night is pretty rad. Or find a stop elsewhere with a nice view.\n\nSomething slightly out of the norm might be going to a good blues bar. Kingston Mines and B.L.U.E.S. are both within a block of each other on Halsted. You should also go to an improv show at Second City. If you're from some shitty place that doesn't get good movies, you should look up some of the better movie theaters in Chicago for something unique: the Music Box is pretty rad. Landmark also gets good movies. The Brew & View does cheap double features where you can scream and shout. Or there's a brand new fancy-pants movie theater off the Roosevelt red line stop that has a bar and frozen yogurt and shit. \n\nWhich reminds me...you'll have to eat stuff a bunch of times. So search this subreddit for food posts. I'd say Kuma's for burgers; Hot Doug's hot dogs, Jim's Original Maxwell Street Polish Sausage, Portillo's Italian Beef, Fontano's Subs, somewhere in China Town would be good; etc., etc. If you're a vegetarian, just follow a bike messenger to the end of the rainbow.\n\nOh. Yeah, I guess if you have a bike you could ride that along the lake.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Gary, Indiana has done it's best impression of a post-zombie apocalypse. It'd be worth a day trip to see the horror left behind in the wake of Thriller. Also, Michael Jackson grew up there and they have a partially destroyed theater.\n\nMilwaukee has some brewery tours - Lakefront and Miller to name two. Don't drive drunk though. Bad for business. The art museum is pretty dope there. They also have the Harley museum and a decent history museum which gets some big exhibits (not sure what is current but the semi-recent Titanic exhibit got great reviews).\n\nOtherwise, I'd say explore for info on \"Secret Chicago\" or whatever that PBS show is called. Lots and lots of suggestions for things to see and do around Chicago in that.\n\nEDIT: Forgot the best one...a tour of the Jelly Belly factory is only about an hour from the city, just into Wisconsin.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "although its touristy, if you have the time, get to the Signature Room in the Hancock building (95th floor) early before sundown on a clear day. Then chill and watch the sunset; the whole room is lit up for like 1/2 hour when the sun is like level with the room.",
"score": 3
}
]
|
Have you ever gotten yelled at for making a modern site design, only to be ordered to follow a site that was designed in 1999? | Short version: My site design which was in the spirit of [Leica USA](http://us.leica-camera.com/home/), Distinct.ie, GetFinch.com, (por other clean sites like this](http://inspiredology.com/keep-it-simple-stupid-48-super-simple-clean-websites/)) didn't impress her although it literally did for her entire company. Tasteful fonts were hated by her as she thought Helvetica was "bad" and that I should use Arial. I already pushed her by making up technical excuses on why flash splash pages were bad. In the end she said I should emulate [Strategic Thinking Group](http://www.strategicthinker.com/about_stg.htm), a website designed in 1999.
Has this happened to you?
**Edit:** Fixed some spelling and added some links to more better specify what I meant. Generally story is solid.
**Reply:** Yes she even wrote an email about how she was happy with the site only to do a full 180. My design was based off example sites she gave and that we talked about over the phone. Much earlier she told me she liked a similar site to the ones I described earlier and so I began in that direction. I am still trying to figure out how STG looks anything like a clean & modern website. | 11 | [
{
"body": "Actually, I have been yelled at (for something that was not a part of my responsibility and which I had no control over). My response was a very calm, \"Listen, I will not be talked to that way. I don't need this gig and I don't need your money, so if you would like to continue our business relationship, you will maintain a professional tone with me, or don't call me again.\" \n\nI love freelancing. ",
"score": 13
},
{
"body": "The graphic company my work hires convinced my boss that he needed a flash splash page, even though me and our web designer showed him we could do everything they were doing with javascript.\n\nThey kept describing it as 'tasteful' and 'sophisticated'",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "Emulate the web site, and one-up it. It'll be a piece of cake and you'll impress whoever \"she\" is. It might be a hit to your pride, but you'll save face. Just leave it off your portfolio if you aren't happy about the end result.",
"score": 4
}
]
|
What are your darkest, craziest, most unattainable fantasies? | First of all- I've been a lurker for a while here. I love the community you guys and girls have going. This is my first post of any kind on this subject, I'm generally pretty shy about this. Tonight, though, I feel talkative.
Now then, to business.
We all have them. Those ideas and fantasies that make amazing daydream fodder, but are just too involved to make happen, or might be too extreme for you in real life. Maybe something your social life or job prevents you from acting on. You get the picture.
The point is, we've got some anonymity here, and I think it'd be fun to share the fantasies we may not even be comfortable admitting to ourselves.
I'll start.
1.) I think a lot about being forced to serve at a party. I have a terrible foot fetish, a taste for humiliation, a love of bondage, and a deep-rooted desire to please. There's nothing hotter to me than the idea of being the only sub at a party of doms and vanilla folk, where I would alternately be the center of attention (ie; serving people, performing er...favors for the women who desired it, being bound and punished/made to do things for the guests while struggling against the ropes) or totally ignored, made to serve as a doormat, footstool, chair, or coat rack.
2.) I also love the idea of total helplessness. I'd like to spend a long while in a sleep sack or a vac bed at some point, until I lose all track of time and enter sub space. At that point, I'd like to be freed of the confinement, but left hooded. I am fascinated by the idea of remaining blind for hours, even days on end. Over time I would like to be forced to perform tasks of increasing difficulty, until I am pleasing my mistress as well blind as I could sighted. Not only would the experience of doing this be sexy as hell to me, coming out of the darkness would lead to a new appreciation for my everyday life.
So, reddit: your turn! | 30 | [
{
"body": "OK, here is a serious fantasy I have, and which I fully intend to pursue one day. It would require a hell of a lot of prior planning, and may actually terrify him beyond what is appropriate, but this just sounds amazing.\n\nMy bf has told me that he fancies abduction, which I would be so up for, and I have this beautiful fantasy in my head. We're in bed; we hear a kerfuffle at the front door. I go down to investigate, and let in the group of men who will conduct this abduction. I get back into bed, telling him it was no-one - next door's cat knocked over a wheelie bin outside. I get on top of him and start playing with him. He'll keep protesting. \"What? I'm sure I heard a voice. In fact, I'm sure I heard you speaking to someone.\" \"Sssh, you must still be half-asleep,\" I'll say. To distract him, I handcuff him to the bed and kiss his neck, which is when the men come in. Still on top of him, they tie and bind him, and, wearing a hood over his head, I drag him on his knees downstairs and bundle him into the van. \n\nMyself and the men drive to a secret location. Not a word is said during the drive, to increase the tension (he has no idea how many people are there, whether I'm still there, etc.) The silence disorients him; the drive might only be twenty minutes, but he has no idea. Maybe he passed out. Maybe we've been driving for four or five hours. My bf is still in the back, naked except for a hood, tied with ropes and cuffs. He would scream, but he's gagged so tightly that all he can muster are pained, muffled grunts. We stop abruptly, in the middle of nowhere, at a barn. As we open the back of the van, he is kneeled on the floor, quivering and drenched in sweat. I can hear his pathetic sobs as I once again attach the leash and drag him into the barn, which contains nothing but a hanging lantern, ropes hanging from the ceiling, and a comfortable seat for myself. \n\nStill wearing the hood, we tie him to the ropes, suspending his arms from the ceiling, his feet barely touching the ground. Finally, we remove the hood. His eyes red from his tears, he takes account of his surroundings, and finally realises what's happening - myself and these men have kidnapped him, and he has no idea where he is. I'm wearing a leather dress and big, high knee-length boots. The men are all dressed in black suits. We remove the gag and he gasps for air, before beginning to scream. \"No-one can hear you out here,\" I say, and we all laugh at how helpless and pathetic he is. I put the gag and hood back on, and we begin the interrogation.\n\nThe men have been told to ask him questions. These are questions that he will not know the answers to. Questions involving the whereabouts of various people, where he was on random days years ago. He will claim he does not know the answers, does not know these people. He is told, \"your girl here has been working with us for years. We know you know the answers.\" At this point, he wonders whether this is for real or not - am I some sort of government mole, or is this just a fantasy? For every question he does not or cannot answer, he will be faced with physical and mental torture. He will be cropped, whipped, and slapped. A gun (fake, obviously) will be pressed against his head. Light knife play and electrotorture will be used. Freezing water will be thrown onto his cold, naked body, and he will beg us to stop. However, he still has not answered our questions, and we will not stop. This interrogation will continue for hours. His arms will be sore, his eyes sore from the tears. He is thirsty, cold, tired and confused. If he tries to say a word, he receive even more pain.\n\nEventually, the men begin to grown weary of his non-cooperation. \"You told us he knew the answers,\" they'll say to me. \"I thought he did, I don't know why he won't tell us.\" \"Well, you're both going to have to pay for this now.\" His hood is taken off. \"You're going to love this, aren't you? Maybe once we've fucked your girlfriend in front of your face you'll start giving us some answers.\" I protest. \"This wasn't part of the deal, I never said I'd fuck you.\" They grab the remainder of the rope and tie my hands back. I try to fight back, hitting and kicking them, but there are too many of them, and they are just too strong. I am powerless, and my boyfriend is powerless. If he thought this was all part of a role-playing fantasy, he'll stop thinking it now that he hears my protests, hears me trying to fight them off. They pin me down and one begins to fuck me. I can hear my bf's protests and vain attempts to help me. Then he starts to hear something else apart from my tormentors' grunts - my own sounds of pleasure. \"Are you seeing this?\" I shout over to him as I cum. One by one, each of the captors fuck me, while my boyfriend remains powerless. After they're done, they go back to my boyfriend. \"Maybe if you'd given us the answers in the first place,\" they say, \"we wouldn't have had to do that. And we wouldn't be having to do this either.\" I walk over, and take off the gag. I kiss him, and with a smile say \"I'm sorry babe. But we have to do this\" and slip a pill into his mouth. The pill is, of course, merely a sleeping pill, but as he feels himself slip into unconsciousness, he'll have no idea what's going on. \n\nWhen he wakes up the next morning, lying in bed with me by his side, he'll wonder whether it was a dream. Then he'll see the scars all over his body, and realise it was the greatest sexual mindfuck of his life.",
"score": 18
},
{
"body": "Some of my most extreme fantasies, that I'll hopefully never realize:\n\n* **Carry my sub around in a luggage**, for example for traveling in train. A petite girl can fit pretty easily in a large suitcase (tried!), and as long as air is provided can stay there for hours. I'd love to lock her naked in a luggage, and take her out, for example take the train to somewhere. I love to imagine her locked, naked, hearing all the sounds and people around her, without having any idea of where I'm taking her, waiting helplessly to be released. And I love the idea of arriving in a hotel room, opening the suitcase, and take out a completely disoriented naked girl out, throw her on bed and start to use her right away.\n* **Have another female dom with me**, who'd be even more sadistic than me at times, and together we'd have a cute in-house slave girl sub, that we'd torture and use selfishly to spice up our own sex life, she'd be our toy/pet for us to play and experiment with. There's an amazing dynamic in such a setup, that makes my imagination go wild :)\n* **Training a normal girl into a completely submissive slut**, using mind tricks, punishments and treats. To begin with, I might shave her completely, lock her naked alone in an empty room for one week with bright light, just a mirror and a mattress, in order to psychologically crush her. After one week of total confinement, I'd gradually give her more attention (she'll be craving for it), such as saying a few words and allow her to spend some time in the rest of the apartment. For any little mistake she's punished. After a few weeks / months of training, she'd be the best perfect sub any dom could ever dream of, and I'd be very proud of her (and make her feel it).\n* **Have a full time captive cumdumpster / slave girl**, treated like an object and possession, that I keep locked in a cage in my basement most of the time, only taking her out to *use* her, then throw her back in the cage without any consideration. I'd never talk to her. Whenever I'm angry or stressed I'd take it out on her, beating her. I'd throw her leftovers of food once a day, and I might let some friends use her once in a while. When I get bored of her or her health degrades too much, I'd just sell her to some old creep, and buy a younger, fresh one.\n\n* **An cute amputee girl**, who for some reasons got her legs and arms cut off. I'd have to take care of her, she'd be completely helpless and dependent on me for everything, even things as simple as feeding, going to toilets and dressing up. She'd always be next to me in a kind of little crib :)\n\n...I'll maybe add more when they pop up my mind :p I have loads of other fantasies, but since they're \"unattainable\", they don't have their place here.",
"score": 13
},
{
"body": "I've always wanted to play out a rape scene and have forced sex. The idea of saying no and fighting back... and losing... really turns me on. I want to be physically and emotionally overpowered. I want him to bruise me and smack me and choke me as i try to squirm away from his grip, only to fail as he continuously fucks me with all he's got. No bondage or toys or anything, just pure manpower. I want to feel the humiliation of enjoying what i'm trying to avoid. I want to feel that inner battle inside my head of \"get away\" and \"oh yes!\" \n\nI had an experience SORTA (but not really) like this years ago, and it was amazing and is what spurred the fantasy for it to go even further. I was younger and tinier, and the guy i was dating with 6'3 and built llike a linebacker, he was huge. He came in, and before i could even say no or realize what was happening he picked me up, pinned me against the wall, and had his way with me all about the kitchen. I fought against him the entire time because not only were neighbors walking through the hallways, but i HATE being picked up. I thought it was over, but he then picked me up even higher, put my onto his shoulders with my crotch in his face, and went at it until i was crying. \n\nIll be damned if another person ever picks me up again. and i've developed a fear of heights since then, so that only makes me hate it even more. Also, i doubt i'd ever be with someone of that physicality ever again. But forced sex sure is a turn on. I would love for this to happen again in my lifetime (but with slapping, choking, and getting spit at as i scream no of course). But i'd like it to be with someone i love and who, after leaving me used and alone and a fucked mess afterwards for...say... 15 minutes, comes back and pets me and tells me I'm his good girl. ",
"score": 10
},
{
"body": "My most unattainable fantasy, which probably isn't that unattainable, is serious group sex. Anonymous group sex, being blindfolded and then fucked by many, many different guys. Something about helplessness, and being completely used. Hot.\n\nMy bf and I have talked about this, but I would like to cause him serious harm. As in blood play, knife play, scarification, branding. I want him to wear the scars I've given him for the rest of his life.\n",
"score": 9
},
{
"body": "Well, I'll share this against my better judgement. This is my favorite story. I prefer to describe it this way, as it sounds kinda gross if I don't.\n\n\"I show up at your house like you ask me.. and you lead me into a back room. Once there, you shut the door and order me to remove all of my clothing. I object, and you grab my nipple and twist it and promise there will be much more in store for me if I don't obey. I slowly remove my shirt, and you tear my bra off of me. I hesitate, and you grab me by the hair. You ask me what I'm waiting for, and I remove my pants while close to tears. Once naked, you smile and place a collar around my neck. You fondle my boob for a moment, and then you tell me to get down on all fours. I obey, and you start to lead me around the house. At first I am fine, but you lead me by the big front window and I get scared that people may be able to see me from the street. You can tell that I am nervous, so you head to the back of your house. We get to the back door, and I immediately object after seeing how open your backyard is. You force me outside, and you lead me to the center of the backyard. You order me to go to the bathroom outside, like the bitch that I am. I squat and urinate in the grass. I pause for a moment, and you yell at me, is that all? Do you need some help? I get scared, and I try to squeeze a little poop out. It doesn't work at all, my ass feels empty. You throw me down back on all fours, and you get behind me. You push your cock into my ass, and you slowly stroke back and forth. Then you push yourself all the way in, and say, I'm going to fill your ass with piss, don't let a drop of it out. Then I feel this uncomfortable filling feeling, and you fill me with more piss then I ever thought was possible. You slowly begin fucking my ass again, and it feels like it's going to explode. Then you pull out, and yell at me when a few drops escape. You force your cock into my mouth, and make me clean all of the ass and piss off of it. Then you fuck my mouth, and I can't hold in the piss anymore. I let it go, and you push my head down real hard on your cock. You gag me and fuck my mouth until it's filled with vomit and you don't stop. After I am so throughly fucked that I'm just dry heaving you lead me back inside. You walk me over to the doggie bowl, and you leave a huge amount of cum in it. You tell me to lick up every single drop, and I eagerly lick it till it's clean.\"\n\nTl;dr: I think it would be hot.. mostly just to watch though, another girl be forced to take pee in her ass. I'm pretty sure I would never actually do this though.",
"score": 8
},
{
"body": "Slightly off topic. \nAfter reading through here I have to say we have some members with great imagination and even better writing skills. \n\nI am going to ask that you put those artistic creative skills to good use. We (Bondagegirl, OddQuestionGirl, oh_i_say ) also moderate /r/bdsm. Write out your fantasy, fiction, non fiction, whatever there. Basically I want to see some good stories hit /r/bdsm. \n\nA simple rule. It must be your writing. ",
"score": 7
},
{
"body": "I wish having to go to the toilet, and getting damn itchy (and getting really thirsty - I always drink loads of water and have a bit of a fear of dehydrating, so I hate that when I'm tied I can't drink without asking for it), weren't issues so I could remain tied up for really extended periods of time. I often fantasize about the idea of being kept tied up for god knows how long ... occasionally I'll be moved to different places/apparatus and re-tied accordingly, but not actually freed. \n\nI imagine my boyfriend as abductor figure teasing, punishing & having sex with me in whatever way, then leaving me bound and feeling exposed whilst he goes off and does something (or just watches me secretly), then returning for more. I imagine myself gagged a lot of this time but it's taken off from time to time - eg when my mouth is needed for other purposes, or if he wants to make me ask for something, or hear me screaming. Probably blindfolded from time to time, at least in the left-alone periods. Using me as he pleases. \n\nSo it'd be nice if this was practical and safe (I guess repositioning and tying would stop limbs from freezing in place or completely dropping off but they'd still go a bit dead as I like being tightly bound). \n\nOh, and I want to be tied to railway tracks, true damsel in distress style, and ravished. But I don't want to be run over by a train (or seen by a trainful of people whilst being ravished). But it's not so scary if you know a train isn't coming. Hmm. Also like the sound of any similar imperiled scenarios, perhaps being tied to something with a rising water level and some sexual tortuous shenanigans inflicted on me for example. ",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "It's not that extreme but...\n\nThere is this big snow drift next to my boyfriend's house and recently I can't stop thinking about him ripping off all of my clothes while I struggle and try to stop him. He then throws me in the snow and fucks me senseless, all while I'm protesting. The thrill of him just taking control and that people might see me naked in the snow is really exciting to me.",
"score": 5
},
{
"body": "I'm not sure why but I really like the idea of being sold to someone :P\n\nI'd guess it has somehting to do with objetification but still....\n\nAlso, the idea of being the only sub in somewhere like a party full of doms, oh my imagination goes wild... ",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "I like this category of fantasy, crazy and unrealistic. Here are some things that I have fantasized about, but would never want to go through with for real, for obvious reasons.\n\nThe first is humiliation in front of teenage girls. I think it's that they would be surprised that someone could let themselves be in the position I am. But I can't put my finger on it. I'd like to be forced into doing embarrassing or degrading things, such as masturbating for them, maybe dressing up, maybe being forced to beg them for permission to come.\n\nThe next is being blackmailed. I don't mean movies-blackmailed for money. I mean kinky blackmail. I want to be blackmailed with humiliating pictures or other proof of my perversions. And I want to be blackmailed into doing sexy things I wouldn't normally do. Being blackmailed into pushing my limits to the extreme. Being blackmailed into doing even more humiliating things, and then without warning having them take a picture or video of me doing those even more humiliating things and using those to make my blackmail even worse. There is something wonderfully complete about this, a sort of never ending fantasy pushing forward.\n\nThis last one is fairly taboo, but I'm drawn to taboo. This is also one of those things that, at times, I think hey that would be gross or horrible, but at other times I'm drawn to it. It's bestiality. I don't mean me penetrating an animal, but being penetrated by the animal. A dog is probably about the right size. You can be certain he would be enjoying it, and I'd know that I am being used. It is raw and carnal. When I fantasize about it I am tied up and held in place while being raped in the ass. Even in my fantasies I know I wouldn't be able to do it any other way. This is probably part of what interests me. No way I could lay there and take it, I know I'd back out before it happened. I'd be kept hard by someone while being fucked to make it even more humiliating, degrading, and everything else under the rainbow of my slutitude. \"Look how hard you are, you must be enjoying it,\" etc.",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "Probably being a full time slave. All the time. I wouldn't do anything unless ordered to. I'd even have a cage and I'd always be wearing my collar. \n\nPractically it just wouldn't work. We both have things we have to do but it's still fun to think about.",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "This is not something you can ask a dom. \n\nIt's easy to talk about the extreme things you want done to *you*. But there are adverse consequences to publicly talking about extreme things we want to do to *someone else*. ",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Bondage and breathplay. I can't say it's unattainable though since I've messed around with it plenty, it's just hard to find like-minded people though. ",
"score": 3
}
]
|
The role of a man in marriage | Hi fellow Christians. I've been thinking a lot about the role of a man in a relationship.
From what I gather, women and men are both equally important, but crucially different - this is what makes relationships so exciting, trying to understand the other half of who you are.
I have three questions in general:
1) **All members:** how do you feel about the idea that man and woman are inherently different, but both equally important?
2) **Females:** When you look for a man of God, what exactly do you want from them? Are you looking for a strong leader in faith?
3) **Males**: How are you the spiritual leader in your relationship? I'm especially interested in those that have especially outspoken wives. How can you be respectful of her, yet still lead her spiritual journey?
I hope this leads to some good discussion! | 5 | [
{
"body": "1. Of course they're equal... [unless you're selling them as slaves](http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/lev/27.html#3). Okay, seriously... of course men and women are very different, but each has their strengths and weaknesses. I don't think morality/spirituality is something better handled by one side. \n\n2. N/A\n\n3. You shouldn't think of *anything* in a marriage as leader/follower. You are partners, make the journey together. ",
"score": 3
}
]
|
DAE get kind of irked when a normal person refers to themselves as a geek or nerd? | Sorry... I know it might be a bit elitist, but I am relatively proud of my geek status, and it annoys me when people call themselves a geek or a nerd and can't even have a basic conversation about technology. I figured Reddit might be a good place to find some people who share my pain.
Agree with me. NAO. | 7 | [
{
"body": "There were nerds way before there was technology to be nerdy about. I was the girl with big glasses and tangled,messy hair, who was terrified to speak to her classmates, always turned in her tests first, got excited about extra credit and sat around reading biographies about Franklin Roosevelt. \r\n\r\nIf that's not a nerd, I don't know what it is.",
"score": 7
}
]
|
On Friday, I'm hearing a talk and Q&A by Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales. What should I ask him? | Top voted gets asked (assuming it's not something super-offensive, of course). And I plan to open the question with the explanation that "I couldn't think of any good questions, so I decided to crowdsource my question...so this question comes from Reddit.com." | 7 | [
{
"body": "(I'm horrible at wording but maybe something along these lines) Wikipedia is often held as an unreliable source of information (maybe cite some important news media to comically emphasize the point). Does this bother you, and if so, have you any plans/strategies of changing this, and what are they? ",
"score": 3
}
]
|
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