r0ertel

joined 9 months ago
[–] r0ertel 15 points 3 weeks ago

The joke here is that he has no idea who this girl is and yet he still signed her key. This is dangerous, because he is vouching for her identity. If he is mistaken, this could result in a serious loss of credibility on his part.

https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/364:_Responsible_Behavior

ExplainXKCD...because I'm not smart.

[–] r0ertel 2 points 3 weeks ago

I've been in earthquakes, tornadoes, a hurricane and a few floods. Also, ice and hail storms, many blizzards, thunderstorms and straight line winds. The tornadoes are always the most frightening.

The bigger of the earthquakes was just enough to move the dishes around in the cupboards so that when I went for a cup, a bunch fell out. The closest tornado hit a few streets over from where I lived and bounced, destroying every other house down one side of a street. The hurricane just blew sand around and covered the car in a sand dune. I lost several cars to floods and had to be rescued once.

I should probably go check out a tsunami some time to fill out my disaster bingo board.

[–] r0ertel 2 points 3 weeks ago

Good point about our perception of reality. If we have drugs available to us that can make us perceive reality as not that bad (or even good), then what if it's just a defect in our bodies that makes us feel like life isn't worth living? If our bodies are simply defective in producing the mood balancing hormones, then depression or other mood disorders can be treated with medicines, no different than taking a Tums when we overindulge on Thanksgiving.

[–] r0ertel 1 points 3 weeks ago

Knowing what I know about this house, I don't think i'd ever trust the wiring enough to try something like this.

[–] r0ertel 2 points 3 weeks ago

I've read your post a few times. The phrasing is a little confusing to me, but I think I get it.

First off, you're not alone in feeling this way. Maybe not the specifics, but I feel like the core stems from some sort of self-hate. If that's true, there are a LOT of people who feel this way and you may never know it.

Second, regarding the people who appear to be the source of your frustration, there are good people out there, but they're usually muted by the rest. It takes skill to see them, but once you do, you'll see that they were always there.

Finally, if you're really feeling like ending it all, find some help. Probably a therapist. If it doesn't work, find another. The good ones are out there, but they're usually all booked up. Maybe find one of your same race and gender because maybe they'll understand more deeply what you're experiencing.

[–] r0ertel 5 points 3 weeks ago

I don't know what vegan milk is, but I prefer soy milk in my coffee since it has a fattier mouthfeel without the calories. I guess it's like whole milk taste with skim milk calories. My spouse prefers oat milk for the oatiness. Choices are good for customers.

Also, you don't have to be vegan to enjoy non cows milk. A great many of us "alternative" milk drinkers are simply actually allergic to milk.

[–] r0ertel 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

That's all? I would have thought it'd be much more than that. I guess if you buy a lot of the processed plant based foods, the difference may not be as much.

[–] r0ertel 28 points 4 weeks ago (6 children)

Despite all the hate, I do have one of these. I used to have a box next to my furnace with a male end, wired up to the switch so that if the power went out for a longer duration in the winter, I could plug the furnace into the generator with an extension cord and heat the house. When the furnace was replaced, I was too lazy to wire up another. A friend who's dad is a master electrician told us that in an emergency, you could flip all the breakers in the box to off including that mains, use a male to male cable to plug the generator into a wall outlet and flip on the furnace breaker and the breaker where the generator is plugged in and power the furnace that way (so long as both circuits were amp rated the same).

Of course, it came with a disclaimer that he'd deny telling us this to the insurance company and a warning that "bad things would happen" if we somehow enabled the mains to the power company.

[–] r0ertel 2 points 4 weeks ago

Fear is a key driver (period). I just heard this on the radio. They analyzed what pulls people in and it's fear. Fear also keeps people lingering longer. I didn't hear enough to explain it (I got to my destination before the show was over). Putting it together with other things I've heard, the algorithms that are tuned to keep people engaged on the site skill natually choose things that stoke fear and that is probably the same thing that the facist propaganda is promoting, too.

[–] r0ertel 3 points 1 month ago

How is it a troll for attention? What kind of attention? Does it really matter on the internet?

True or not, it's really only a relatively new problem and only in western cultures (to my limited knowledge.) It wasn't that long ago in Europe where kids, specifically girls, had a mate chosen for them, especially in upper classes. In India, it's still a prevalent tradition. It's really only western cultures that have the "love conquers all" ideal. Personally, I find it fascinating to talk to people who are successful and happy in an arranged marriage.

[–] r0ertel 6 points 1 month ago

I'd be mostly ok with it because of noise canceling headphones, but when the neighbors rev it up and down and up and down, the headphones can't keep up. When the other neighbor's lawn service comes, they use it on high speed for 7.5 minutes, then go away and I barely hear it.

[–] r0ertel 3 points 1 month ago (2 children)

This is a pretty good read and explains that it's not a supply issue.

https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/24/i-dream-of-gini/

A paradox: in 1970, everyday Americans found it relatively easy to afford a house, and the average American house cost 5.9x the average American income. In 2024, Americans find it nearly impossible to afford a house, and the average American house costs…5.9x the average American income.

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