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There is NOTHING I find funny on the front page of /r/funny right now. What happened to that place?
A graph about the "Kung-Fu Fighting" song, a Yogi Bear "joke", this shit: http://imgur.com/oy9ZA , etc... It's just terrible. When I first started lurking around here (before I made an account) pretty much everything was humorous and original. Is it just the kids on summer break? Or is /r/funny really going down the shitter?
5
[ { "body": "I completely agree, it is the same joke told 60 different ways. Forever Alone, wrong number text message, etc. The thing with the bullet going through the Nokia? wtf? Why is that in /r/funny?", "score": 3 }, { "body": "I feel the same way. I see you and I have both been on reddit for about 4 months. When I first joined reddit I thought r/funny was brillantly hilarious, but now I find myself getting bored of it quite quickly. Maybe we both have just grown tired of the repetitive jokes that saturate r/funny. Maybe r/funny didn't change and we did.", "score": 3 } ]
Request, someone who can understand Russian and translate the gist of what is being said in videos in this subreddit.
Im thinking along the lines of what u/NSFL_explained does for gore. It would be swell, just think of the karma!
11
[ { "body": "I have a website ( http://redhotrussia.com ) in which I translate viral stories and videos from Russian internet. \nIn September I plan to add the page in which will specifically translate videos \"from Russia's roads\" (1-2 videos per day).\nMany of the videos featured in this subreddit will be used :) ", "score": 3 } ]
Proposed: Spending money on the elderly who no longer serve any useful purpose in society is inefficient, as the money could be put to use by the younger generations, thus helping our society proliferate.
Spending money on the elderly who no longer serve any useful purpose in society is inefficient, as the money could be put to use by the younger generations, thus helping our society proliferate.
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[ { "body": "[](/con)I'd argue that the contradiction in \"[living people] who no longer serve any useful purpose in society\" is self-evident given a second argument that I'd defend: that society exists to allow humans to be alive (and with some measure of contentment). Thus simply being alive *is* a useful purpose.\n\nOne could argue that there are additional fiddly bits about how to measure \"usefulness\" in an elderly person, such as incarceration, vegetative states, lack of people who care about you and whom you can influence, etc. I do not think that simply being elderly makes my argument fiddly, however, as it meets the basic criterion of being alive. Without additional criteria I'd say it's an inadequate basis for determining someone as not being alive-enough for society.", "score": 14 }, { "body": "[](/con) So your conclusion may very well be accurate that directing more funds to younger people might allow our society to proliferate further, but I would want to challenge the apparent assumption that this relies on, namely, are we sure at this point in our history that further proliferation of 'our society' is a desirable thing?", "score": 10 }, { "body": "[](/con) Who says the elderly serve no purpose in society? It's a slippery slope away from saying once people stop working we should just kill them in the lest expensive way.\n\nEconomically, what about the things they purchase? Socially, what about their lifetime of experience?", "score": 10 }, { "body": "1. You don't have a definition of what \"serve no use\" is. Beyond absolute invalids, seniors serve a purpose, even if it is just being the elder generation in families/society. There is knowledge to pass on, and at the very least it is mentally and emotionally important for the young to have a relationship to those who came before. \n2. At what level does society have an obligation to assist the elderly to be productive? I am sure there are many who are wasting away now who in previous times would be trusted with child care and teaching. What is society's duty to them?\n3. Social security is an insurance scheme, even if it is poorly managed. The young pay in because they see the old well cared for, theoretically.", "score": 6 } ]
Making a Google Calendar type of application, what js framework?
I'm gonna make an app that looks sort of like Google calendar. * Single page app * It's gonna have a view with days or weeks. * Events that can be placed on a specific hour of the day. * Events hold specific data that decides when and where they can be placed on the calendar * Drag n drop events. * Paginate between weeks/months/days Given these "specs" what js framework would you use? Have (very) shortly played around with backbone and ember, but don't want to decide anything without asking for reddit's opinion first! edit: Clarification, take the "calendar" part lightly. I don't want a normal calendar. It's not a regular calendar, my data just happens to be shown on a calendar-ish type of view. What I want is the tools to make that kind of representation in a solid and structured way.
20
[ { "body": "Use what google uses: https://developers.google.com/closure/\n\nif you need an MVC on top of the closure library then there is http://todomvc.com/labs/architecture-examples/plastronjs/", "score": 3 } ]
[Discussion] What's something that grosses you out/scares you/etc that others usually find odd?
For instance, I hate butterflies. Yep, they actually scare me. Bugs in general are pretty freaky to me, but butterflies are like imposter bugs; and my fiance hates the skin on peaches and refuses to eat one unless it's peeled. So what's something you get called 'weird' for? :)
15
[ { "body": "Feet. I hate feet. They are gross and weird looking and freak me out and I hate being near them and seeing them and UGH SO GROSS/shudders.", "score": 5 }, { "body": "FURBIES OH GOD. You know, the horrific, demon-possessed mechanical nightmares of toys from the 90's/early 2000's? I hate them with the fire of a thousand suns. Other things that I vehemently despise include elevators, blue LED Christmas lights, and Topstik (a super strong double-sided tape used in theatre to attach fake moustaches and beards. I HATE it.)", "score": 5 }, { "body": "Strawberrys.. They seriously freak me out! It's the seeds! http://imgur.com/SkRcx To me they look like little eyes! ::Goose bumps::", "score": 4 }, { "body": "Velvet grosses me out. I can't touch it, it just gives me the heeby jeebys and I kinda freak out. The feeling is just horrible.", "score": 3 }, { "body": "I hate bananas, smell, feel, the stringiness, the texture in my mouth, everything, I can't have smoothies with them in it, just grosses me out", "score": 3 }, { "body": "People rubbing their hands or feet on carpet. Even just wiping their shoes on the doormat. Or sometimes, people will sit and absentmindedly rub their hand on their jeans. It makes me physically cringe. To the point that it makes my teeth hurt. Ugh. ", "score": 3 }, { "body": "The dentist scares me, my biggest fear. It's odd because i have been so many times and had so many wonderful dentists, but i've have 4 major horrible experiences that ruin all the rest. I mean the type you see in horror movie experiences. I'm on my way to the dentist right now and i'm trying to be brave. I know it's a common fear, but i get physically sick before appointments, cry the whole way through and can never make myself relaxed enough (without nitrous, which i don't have insurance and can't pay for, plus this dentist doesn't have it and it's the only i can afford). Also, I can't get numb that plays a big part, but I know one of the main reasons I probably can't get numb (and they've tried everything) is due to anxiety and fear. SO here goes, i'm leaving now to go to dentist. Sometimes i'd rather get my leg cut off then go get a filling :(", "score": 3 }, { "body": "I have an unholy fear of sentient computers. Portal, while I loved it so, terrified me to no end. My SO also works on Mac's a lot and he has them set to read error messages out loud. To make matters worse, he customizes his error messages so they say things like \"Check your input again, idiot!\" Or \"I need to be plugged in, I'm getting tired!\"\no_O I am not amused. ", "score": 3 } ]
Viewing files inside an N64 ROM?
I've always been curious as to how a ROM is actually put together. Is it an archive file, like a ZIP or WAD? Is there any way to view these files? Perfect Dark is my favorite game of all time, and while a bit of cutting-room floor content can still be viewed in the game, I'd like to dig deeper into the files and see what else I can find. Can anyone recommend some good software to help me do this?
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[ { "body": "It's not remotely that simple. A lot of data in console games are in custom or proprietary formats and are also compressed, again in custom or proprietary formats... so the chance of you opening up the rom with something like 7zip and discovering anything new is zero. If you really want to get deeper into the game, you're going to have to learn assembly language and have general hacking skills.\n\nIt's a good thing the game's been pretty deeply mined for everything unused already anyways though: http://tcrf.net/Perfect_Dark", "score": 6 } ]
I'll send a free 30 day supply of Neuro1 to an active member of the nootropic subreddit.
I'll send a free tub of Neuro1 to anyone who is willing to do a 30 day log on the product and give honest feedback (good or bad). I am always looking to improve our formulations, and would like an experienced nootropic user to give feedback. I'll pick the user based on experience with Nootropics, past products used, current stack, etc.
6
[ { "body": "I'll give it a try. \n\nI have experience with a wide array of nootropics. I also have knowledge of their pharmacology (kinetics and dynamics). current stack is aniracetam, focus xt, noopept with ocassional pramiracetam/oxiracetam and choline. \n\nI'll test out your product for the 30 days and might purchase a supply of it if I find the product worth continuing.\n\n", "score": 5 }, { "body": "I'd be willing to do it. I have tried too many to list but here are some that I've tried:\n\nPiracetam\nPramiracetam\nOxyracitam\nAnaracetam\nAdderall\nModafinil (Provigil and Nuvigil were prescribed)\nMany brain drugs from vitamine shoppe.\nNicotine\nCaffeine\nAlpha Brain\nFocus Factor\nSulbutiamine\nKratom\nTyrosine\nTheanine\n\nand a lot more.\n\nI was actually looking at Neuro 1 the other day and was wondering if it was any good.\n\nI am an internet marketer and one of my students just did a 30 day video journal (one video a day) on Alpha Brain. His page is here: youtube.com/user/TheHealthyNinja No doubt he has brought a ton of business to them. I'm sure he'd be willing to test it also as well as create some videos.", "score": 5 } ]
I guess Wolverine isn't so special anymore. Talking about auto regeneration in games.
I'm actually growing tired with the auto regeneration in all modern games, it takes away every little bit of immersion in games for me. For example in Uncharted games you take HUNDREDS of bullets in every stage and the characters shows absolutely no marks when the cinematic shows up. I would've thought that by this time they would've done something already. I got really excited when i saw that The Last of Us is using a health bar. I guess it's not that hard to add some healing systems, like health packs, first aid kits, food, bandages. The one that best explains what i want developers to do is Snake Eater (MGS3) bullets inflict permanent damage if you don't remove them and treat them. And it wasn't even hard to do these things, they taught you in like 2 minutes. This can be applied to TONS of modern games that are based on real scenarios with real People (Uncharted, GTA, FPSes, God of War clones, Infamous, etc) Do you guys honestly think that auto regen is the best system? Or is that part of making the gaming community more friendly for newcomers? I know that some of the games i mentioned have health bars and different representation of health packs, but you know what i mean, hot dogs don't heal bullet wounds. EDIT: I am not asking for EXTREME realism, i'm talking about little things. Like the defibrilator in BF3, different cuts treated with different items. I know one cannot defibrilate someone after being ran over by a tank. EDIT:Grammar.
10
[ { "body": "The main benefit of regenerating health is that it allows for every enemy encounter in the game to be exciting because the player can enter every situation with full health and can take steps at any point to refill their health. This makes it easier for a developer to make exciting and challenging situations without putting the player up against an insurmountable obstacle as a result of poor health/health pack management. \n\nLook at Half-Life 2. Their placement of health and shields is very smart. They don't just do the \"big stock of gear before big fight\" thing, they put them in logical places. Of course a Combine base will have first aid in a storage room. They also put them in places that encourage exploration and puzzle-solving. You see glimpses of hidden stashes that give you a natural reason to explore the game world. Non-regenerating health also let developers craft more intricate encounters, maybe you enter a situation with less health which ups the tension, or perhaps you made the right choices and entered a difficult fight with more health than normal. These sort of things can make the game more dynamic.\n\nWhy doesn't every game do this? Because it's really hard to do well. Valve is argaubly the best in the biz and it would be hard to live up that level of quality. So a developer wants to make a good game with exciting combat so they use regenerating health.", "score": 18 }, { "body": "Halo: CE had the best approach imo. A permanent health bar that can be refilled via health packs and a recharging shield. Best of both worlds.", "score": 13 }, { "body": "I think auto-regeneration is the best idea to become common in video games for a long time. I have a feeling this may be an unpopular opinion, but this is my reasoning:\n\n\n* No health regeneration can make me feel like I am being punished for a mistake I made 30 minutes ago.\n\nIf I barely scrape by a hoard of enemies with a fraction of my health left only to be mowed down by a single bullet from the next hoard that frustrates me as a player. I feel like I succeeded in the last encounter and didn't even get a chance at the next. I'm failing the level even though the game told me I had a passing grade. If my health regenerates enough between encounters it keeps up the flow without me having to backtrack to find health packs.\n\n\nThis obviously varies from game to game, and can depend on what TYPE of experience you are going for. But the reason regenerating health is common in games these days is because it really helps things flow in fast paced shooters. Slower paced survivalesque games it would be out of place. It's all about context.", "score": 11 }, { "body": "While I want realism in games I don't think everyone wants the level of realism you necessarily want. If you play any mil-sim you are familiar with what real bullet damage is. In a game you are rarely presented with true health.\n\nIn regards to the best way to do it to appease players, the reason we moved away from health packs was to get away from pickups. As for why regenerating health, in games where the protagonist is meant to be larger than life it makes sense, like in the later Halo games, but obviously in something like MW you won't see that. Then again, it is meant to be a larger than life representation of war. \n\nI guess the best answer is auto regen is a good system if you don't want to get overly real and avoid having to pickup health. Also having a system where you stop to repair tissue damage could get slow and tedious. I think developers want to keep the tension and action up, and not force you to stop to randomly yank bullets and other projectiles out of you.", "score": 5 }, { "body": "It feels like every game with autoregen plus cover plays the same:\n- Get into cover\n- Peek out, shoot as many bad guys as you can before screen turns red\n- Get down and wait a few seconds\n- Repeat until you win\n\nYeah, they try to make it more interesting by making enemys try to flush you out with grenades or flank you etc., but at this point it feels like they're trying to fix something that's inherently broken.\n\nOkay, there might be people who like this, but I just don't. Which is a shame because I really like some games who use this system for other reasons (like Uncharted).\n\nI get that autoregen is convinient for developers. They don't have to bother with balancing the placement of healthpacks and they can balance every encounter based on the assumption that the player will have full health. They don't have to bother with making enemies beatable without taking damage because, meh, the player can just take it and regenerate. Which is kind of lazy.\n\nAm I the only one who feels like this makes the fights also more bland? Every challenge is...well, \"just right\". You don't get rewarded for performing exceptionally well in one fight, by having more health than you're \"supposed to\" in the next. You don't have unexpected tough challenges because you screwed up earlier and now have a battle where every hit could oneshot you (which I admit can be frustrating, but also rewarding if you overcome it).\n\nAnd that feel when you're sneaking around a level while being near death constantly, checking every corner you can find, fearing every encounter even with basic enemies...and then stumbling into a secret room with a +100 health pickup. I miss it...", "score": 5 }, { "body": "You know what? It isn't about realism. The problem with regenerating health isn't that it's unrealistic, it's that it removes half the tactics from a game. If there's no consequences for getting shot other than having to hide behind a wall for six seconds, then what's the point of any play style other than full Rambo?", "score": 3 }, { "body": "I liked Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath method of regen and how it interplayed with the bounty system. I'll detail a bit.\n\nIn Stranger's Wrath you have health. The ONLY way to heal is to shake it off; you will stand up, totally out of cover, and start pounding yourself to get those pesky bullets out. Unrealistic? Yes, but you have to remember this game has you shooting \"live\" ammo as in beetles, squirrels, and giant fuzzballs.\n\nThe Stranger's fights usually takes place in gigantic areas and the vastness is not that tough to cover since he will run like the dickens when he wants.\n\nSo if you have lots of damage, it's quite easy to run away, shake off the damage where there are no enemies, and be back firing your guns.\n\nSeems lame? All the fights are easy then because you can just recover all damage whenever you want back up to full.\n\nIf it was just that mechanic in a vacuum, I would agree but alongside the bounty system it is quite brilliant.\n\nEvery sentient enemy (ie everything that will curse you out) has a bounty out for them to some agree. Bosses, more so. You can take them in dead or alive but they are worth WAY more if you get them alive. From the top of me head, it's something large, like 3 times the amount. On bosses, it's a minifortune.\n\nHow you capture someone alive is to either knock them out, set a trap, or just flat out capture when they are distracted. When you capture an enemy, they will make a giant ruckus, let everyone know you are hear, and they will swarm on you (unless you use a spider ammo to spin them in a web to shut their mouth to stop them from alerting.)\n\nAfter awhile or if a fellow enemy is close by, they will get up. So the challenge that comes up a lot is \"Do I want to KILL this guy and run away to heal up, or can I risk getting killed to knock them all out at once?\" \n\nYou cannot run away if trying to take someone alive because they will recover quickly or someone will come help them. You need to control the shoot out so no one will be able to get them up and that means you won't be able to heal during that.\n\n", "score": 3 } ]
What's the best way to smoke weed that uses the least amount for a good high?
Recently started smoking trees and have a question. If I'm sat at home and want to toke up, just to a nice [5] or so, what's the best way to do it without wasting weed? I live with parents, so joints are nice and easy as I can stick them in my pocket, 10 minute walk, job done - a bong would be a pain to sneak in/out the house and sit in public using. But whenever I smoke a joint I feel I'm wasting so much weed!
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[ { "body": "vape>one hitter>bowl/bongs/bubblers>joint>blunts\n\nthis is the order not wasting trees, not my preference. i love all forms and rolling j's the best.", "score": 36 }, { "body": "If you're short on cash the best piece of advice is to buy a bowl, some glass screens, and go slow. I know it's tempting to pound bowls but most people can get reasonably high, between [5-6], on just one bowl. Hope that helps.", "score": 9 }, { "body": "In all honestly, rolling a joint *is* a complete waste of weed unless you have multiple people toking with you. It barely takes any weed to get high. Like a 1/5 of a reasonably sized joint (for me at least, and I smoke almost every day). Vaporizers are the way to go, they do the least harm to your lungs and will get you pretty messed up. However I know a lot of people can't afford them, but I heard there's a way to make a cheap one out of a light bulb. Me being the frugal broke college student I am, I personally like one hitters. They seem to waste the least amount of weed for me.", "score": 6 }, { "body": "Grav bong. Cheap, fun, genius. Google for 1000 guides. My tips for ultimate high success: \n\n-Run yourself a bath, sit in bath with large plastic storage tub completely sealing body in (may take some work, I have a large tub) and smoke inside your personal hotbox. While having a bubble bath. Doesn't get much better. Works best with a grav bong. \n\n- A friend of mine has a pretty awesome technique to milk a 3L bottle every time: Pack the bowl really tight, but with a medium amount of weed (3/4 fill it, then smush that 3/4 down to half it's size), go hard with your lighter, making sure to pause and let it cherry, and check that it is pulling smoke well. When you pull the g bong out of the water, slowly spin it as you bring it up. For some reason (physics?) you get thicker smoke, and don't have to pull a weak one with the leftovers. \n\nWaterfalls are also good if it's your first time, but mastering a G bong kit will serve you well. Be prepared to cough up a lung though. It's never easy.", "score": 3 } ]
Guys, do any of you still play on the Wii?
I was wondering because I decided to go on SSBB the other day because I absolutely loved that game and fighting people online so I decide to try and find a game online only to find barely anyone playing on it, which is a shame. So I was wondering if maybe any of you guys fancied a game or two with me some time? I think it would be interesting to see everyone's playing styles and maybe I could pick up a few things from you guys. So, anyone interested?
11
[ { "body": "I got a wii for christmas. I let it collect dust for 2 years. Then I modded it to hold all of the games it could on an external hard drive. I still ended up selling it a month later. \n\nThe wii just doesn't have the games or the replay value (I.E. Online Multiplayer) to justify playing it. ", "score": 3 }, { "body": "I used to play SSBB all the time and I am still up for a game any day of the week :)\n\nNow I only play whatever games Nintendo puts out, lets face it no one else really makes any good games for it.", "score": 3 }, { "body": "I, and very, very many of us here in Japan have been playing nothing but Wii in every possible spare moment these last two weeks thanks to... Dragon Quest X Online. Pure Japan gaming heaven. So yeah, I'll be playing Wii for a long time to come yet. \n\nBut you guys in the West got all the good WiiRPGs recently, right? Xenoblade, Last Story, Pandora's Tower. The new Fatal Frame just came out. Rhythm Heaven came out in the spring. Skyward Sword last fall. Lots to do with Wii! \n\nBut back to Dragon Quest for me...", "score": 3 }, { "body": "I haven't played it in a long time and now I've bought an XBox 360 so I don't see me playing it any time soon. I really don't know what to do with it.", "score": 3 } ]
I love the idea of social media being utilized as a marketing tool, but I don't understand how it is effective. Can someone elaborate a bit for me?
Senior business student with a focus in marketing here. I think social media is great. I love the idea that brands can connect with it's users to create dialogue online, but what I don't understand is how brands get these likes in the first place. Of course, if a new trendy restaurant for example opens up in your city, you may choose to follow them to stay in the loop. But for larger everyday brands such as Coke, I don't understand who would follow them. I'm aware incentives such as contests and discounts available to those who hit 'like' are usually a certain percentage of that, but besides that, do consumers actually go out of their way to 'like' these common products? Is it because of my interest of doing it as a career I see myself as someone who says 'ohhh I'm not stupid enough to click like and be spammed by them'? Don't get me wrong, I do follow certain things in the media such as musical artists, tv shows, movies, etc. But a particular product or brand just seems so out there for me. What, other than the content posted on social media by the page's managers drives consumers to like a big 'faceless' brand? Tl;dr: Love the idea of integrating social media, but it seems silly to me to follow a huge everyday brand on Facebook, Twitter, etc. What drives consumers to actually do it in the first place?
5
[ { "body": "Social media allows giant brands to pretend they're small again. It allows them to give direct, nearly instantaneous attention to more of their customers than is possible with typical customer service.\n\nAs to your question about what drives consumers: The same thing that's always driven them. Word of mouth is nothing new and that's precisely what we're talking about when the subject of businesses using social media comes up It is simply word of mouth on steroids.\n\nThere are a number of reasons people will Like or Follow and engage a brand on social media, but the following is one of the major psychological reasons in my opinion.\n\nAs consumers, we like to confirm our purchases were good ones or we like to complain about them being bad ones. We like to talk to other people and get their opinions about buying the latest gadget or even some new low involvement product like cereal that tastes awesome. Consumers are pretty chatty about what they buy (make an effort to listen to people having everyday conversations and make a mental note of how many times there are direct/indirect references to a purchase one of the conversing parties made). With social media specifically, some consumers may feel they're even part of a strong community when they Like and interact with a brand such as Coca Cola.\n\nWe like to \"show off\" the things we purchase -- this has always been the case, it's just amplified with social media. Some of this is a desire to flex our muscles and show we have the wealth to buy stuff, but most of the time it's simply a desire to maintain our own sanity and self-image by seeking confirmation from friends and family about our purchase decisions.\n\nAside from that:\n\nAs you say, contests/giveaways/special promotions and deals. Those are HUGE factors and you can't discount them at all. They're a major driver of brands being successful with social media. Information is also a big factor, as many consumers like to be \"in the know\" before anyone else and those brands that release news and product information on social media before anywhere else typically fare well.\n\nMost people don't consider this being spammed. Even so, the risk is quite low. If you feel like the page is spamming your feed, you simply hide, unlike, or unfollow. There's really no investment, so I doubt many people do any sort of deep risk-reward analysis.\n\nYes, your interest in the field is one of the reasons you're not that interested in participating. Personally, I make an extra effort to participate, because I know first-hand the amount of work, stress, effort, and thought that goes into pushing a successful social media campaign. I think people should be rewarded for that if they do a good job.", "score": 12 }, { "body": "The way companies communicate to consumers over the past 60 years has changed from simply creating signage with their name on it, to demonstrating a unique benefit or advantage their product/company offers, to creating unique eye-catching content that viewers connect and respond to. And now with the internet and social media, it is a two-way conversation in which in order to stay relevant, companies try and struggle to maintain a healthy amount of conversation through these social networks. \n\nThey can't simply self-promote to the consumer, they have to engage with them. Create content that encourages discussion. Show a consumer a print ad/commercial and they may not think twice about it. Ask a question on facebook that someone bothers to take the time to post a reply to and they will remember that and brand loyalty increases as a result.\n\nIdeally, anyway..", "score": 4 }, { "body": "> do consumers actually go out of their way to 'like' these common products?\n\nI haven't seen research on it, but my guess is no - they don't. Do you remember when Facebook announced \"like\"s can be performed anywhere (i.e. they opened up the API for it so sites could add 'like' buttons to whatever/wherever they wanted?)? \n\nI think that move introduced MANY more situations a consumer might 'like' a brand beyond those (of course, correct) ones you mentioned (like promos). Companies created reasons/situations to \"like\" to express assent that made more sense to their business practices than simply \"liking\" on FB itself. And some of 'em work... some of 'em still feel forced. \n\nFor example, some companies offer you the chance to 'like' them after a service call (maybe they embedded it in their follow-up survey they emailed me or it's on my ticket on their domain or something). Well, if it's just a click and they did a good job - I might do it (looooong before I'd like... say an HVAC company actually on Facebook). \n\nSo in a sentence - I think the context in which the like is presented matters a lot as to whether or not liking feels natural to a consumer or forced. And there are thousands of ways companies are getting better at this. \n\nIn addition, I bet you an extremely small percentage of 'likes' are ever revoked by a user. Meaning when you look at those 'like' numbers... consider they are a combination of promo fodder, actual fanboys, and *people who had a good experience with the company once*. \n", "score": 3 }, { "body": "You are a business student, use the resources around you to research the psychology of likes and social media. Its great you are getting anecdotal peer evidence together here but can I suggest there are some good authors that will have the answers you seek. Firstly look towards Dan zarella. He has researched social media for the last few years an has made it an art form. I bet he has the answer you seek.\n\nIn my opinion what driver people to like a brand? \n- a peer liked it so I will too\n- I want to explore their fan page but it's locked down\n- I want to interact with the brand do I need to like them before I can write a message to them\n- enter their competition, seen their add, wanted to view their rich media ect... \n", "score": 3 }, { "body": "I like to think of it as a multiplier effect.\n\nSocial media won't drive sales to your door, but will make all your other efforts more effective.", "score": 3 } ]
Let's talk Double Majors.
As a transfer student I want to do a Cognitive Science/ Neuroscience double major. What's the process for this and is there a possibility to be denied? I looked at the major requirements and it is totally possible. Also, if they denied me could I petition it till they said yes?
7
[ { "body": "You'd probably be fine. They are in two different divisions, so you'll have two different advisors, but if you can figure out how to satisfy all of the requirements in time to graduate, you probably won't have any problems declaring both. \n\nEdit: departments --> divisions (PBSci division and Social Sciences division)", "score": 3 }, { "body": "you should see if there are any courses that you could double-count for both majors. You just need a certain number of unique upper-division credits for each major. I think it's 45.", "score": 3 } ]
Blood for indicating health - HUD Mod?
So /r/skyrimmods, I would really like to know if there was a mod that does what the title asks: shows blood around the screen (like with Enhanced Blood Textures, but more in depth and not just blood or no blood) to indicate how much health the player has. I personally don't really like the vanilla HUD, so I got iHUD and have used that for a while but now I would like to remove it completely. Is there any existing mod that does something similar to this?
7
[ { "body": "Sorry but I doubt anything like that exists currently. I've searched quite a bit for HUD mods but I've never seen anything like that. The SkyUI guys are working on making the HUD more open and easier to mod though, although it's specially things like showing timers for buffs and spells. Quite a few of the SkyUI guys also worked on Project Nevada for New Vegas and it had an immerse health function where the screen would lose color and become blurred near the edges as you took damage so something like what you want is definitely possible.", "score": 5 } ]
It has come to my attention that my decorating and furniture choices are subject to the whims of my bunnies ...
As I was cleaning this morning I realized just how much of my apartment lay-out is dictated by the buns. That missing back couch cushion (from the expensive couch that was a Christmas present)? Perfect size to block them from getting to the cords behind the recliner! Dining room table that my mother hand-painted for me? In the storage closet ... it's a small apartment, the buns xpen is large, and it had to go somewhere! That attractive wire fencing under my built in shelves? Blocks them from all the TV/Xbox/etc. cords. I don't normally decorate with metal fencing. The mirror propped up against the breakfast bar? Jenny likes to admire herself as she hops around. So ... how much of your decorating did your buns do for you??
14
[ { "body": "Yep, I built shelves instead of using bookcases to keep them out of bunny range. Hung a hammock instead of getting chairs. Room is surrounded with boxes because they like climbing (and this covers the baseboards win win!). \n\nAll wires go up instead of hanging down, usually wrapped around lamps and legs of things. Tons of carpets to cover cords that have to go across the floor and provide extra running space over the hardwood...\n\nI'm glad I'm not the only one :)", "score": 5 }, { "body": "I really think that should be part of the \"so, you want to have a bunny?\" section on all info sites. \n\nOur living room has 2 possible arrangements to keep them from eating the cords and our bedroom is fenced off with a permanent baby gate. All of the corners of \"their\" room have either a litter box or a marble tile to prevent digging and I cannot keep anything on the coffee table over night. Living with rabbits is like having raccoons. Between them & the cats, nothing is safe. Oh yeah, rabbits are great pets....mostly, slightly inconvenient at times but great fun.", "score": 5 }, { "body": "I'd say my bun decorated 94% of my house. He has free range of every room at all hours of the day, except for the spare room (not bunny proofed) and the bathroom (bunny-in-toilet fears).\n\nThe bed frame that my dad lovingly handcrafted as an anniversary gift? Dismantled and propped up against a wall in the spare room. It made the bed too high for Max to jump on. \n\nMy lovely hardwood floor? Covered with old blankets and a scuzzy area rug. Hardwood, as you know, is lava. It takes Max about 5 minutes to muster the courage to skitter across the 2 feet of exposed hardwood between the bedroom and the living room.\n\nThat rolled up rug next to the TV? It blocks the nest of DVDs/ cords/modems/random electronics.\n\nThe complete lack of greenery in our house? If there's a plant, Max will find it. And he will he eat it. We once had a small plant in the middle of our kitchen table and Max somehow managed to get up on the chairs (which are purposely tucked in so he CAN'T jump on the table) and onto the table where he had a feast. No more plants.\n\nThe complete lack of ANYTHING in the living room besides necessary furniture and electronics? Like plants, Max hunts down clutter and eats it. That receipt you left on the coffee table? Breakfast. The plate on the side table? It will be devoid of crumbs by the time you get home. That hint of paper peeking out from the coffee table drawer? Pulled out and devoured. \n\nThe ghetto tablecloth covering the side table in between our couches? Under the side table is Max's nest (ie his blankie) and he enjoys his privacy. \n\n\nIt's tough explaining our decorating scheme to first-time guests, but on the bright side our house is always incredibly clean.\n\n", "score": 5 }, { "body": "My basement layout is largely controlled by my bunny's needs. He has free range in our laundry room, and we bought a baby gate so that he could look out and we wouldn't have to shut the door in his face. Then we taped old screens all over the walls so he wouldn't eat the paint... And we put a trash can and his tub of food, hay, brushes, etc between the washer and dryer so he couldn't sneak back there.\n\nWe also let him out into our entertainment room that the laundry room is connected too, and in there we had to make a barricade out of dvds and stuff to keep him away from the wires. We also tried blocking off the area behind the couches with pillows, but he mauled them until we let him back there. We ended up just pulling the couches away from the walls more so we could keep an eye on him.", "score": 3 }, { "body": "My buns \"homebase\" is in the laundry room, which has wire grates protecting the baseboards and preventing them from a chewing extravaganza with the washer, dryer, water heater, and ac/furnace. They also have large area rug in there because I didn't want them to slip and slide around.\n\nMy living room/dining room is pretty sparse on the furniture side of things, and my TV stand has a sliding glass door to protect all my fancy electronics (all wires are stashed INSIDE the TV stand with only a surge protector going out--if they chew that then its $20 fix versus having to buy all new wires). \n\nMy bedroom (which they generally aren't allowed in) has also been bunny proofed so that all wires are tucked away behind furniture or at least doesn't hang onto the ground.", "score": 3 } ]
What are you favorite climbing videos?
Lets see some sweet climbing videos. here's mine http://www.petzl.com/en/outdoor/news/in-field/2012/05/15/video-petzl-roctrip-china-2011-official-movie
16
[ { "body": "It's old and not the highest visual quality but I really enjoy E11. It was a film chronicling the hardest trad send at the time. Crazy 40' run outs on small gear. I think the filmographer released it for free too. ", "score": 3 }, { "body": "Progression.\n\nJust in case you're not aware of it, you should subscribe to [r/climbingvids](http://www.reddit.com/r/Climbingvids/).", "score": 3 } ]
Is it possible to play slideshow previews from PowerPoint 2010 in wine?
I do have the most recent version of wine, and I added overrides for msxml6, gdiplus and riched20 in winecfg. Help! I would just use the wonderful OO Impress, but my college is making me take a class on the Office 2010 suite and decided not to sell windows in the bookstore, where I can use my book credit. Class starts on monday and I need to get this to work. Help! Ack! Edit: I just read what I typed, and I realize that dotnet20 is missing. I installed it, and got this error message: dotnet20 install completed, but installed file ~/.wine/dosdevices/c:/windows/Microsoft.NET/Framework/v2.0.50727/mscorlib.dll not found (my root tree is redacted). Edit: I (like an idiot) ran a shell command I found on a forum and it just ran in a loop. I had to kill the process, and now I can't open anything. I get the same "IOPL not enabled" error message. I have no idea what's going on and now I'm really up shit creek! Google's no help. We cannot get out. Drums in the deep. We cannot get out. They are coming... Update: My wine is all kinds of fucked now. I can't uninstall office, nor can I run it. This has been the worst day ever. Update: In honor of [this](http://xkcd.com/979/) xkcd, I shall lay out my solution. I have no idea what was in that script, but I had to reinstall wine and office. I also came across some problems on my reinstallation: 1. that the installer wouldn't let me enter my product key. I found that my overrides in winecfg (setting riched20, msxml6 and gdiplus to native) were preventing the product key field from gaining focus. The overrides had to be added AFTER the installation. 2.The installation only seems to work if the bottle is set to XP. It crashes in Win7.
3
[ { "body": "If it helps, Microsoft has a free PowerPoint viewer: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=13", "score": 3 } ]
A few months ago I posted pillows my girlfriend made for me.
[Original post](http://www.reddit.com/r/futurama/comments/qpvyr/look_what_my_girlfriend_made_for_me/) Several people expressed interest in buying some. She [opened an etsy store](http://www.etsy.com/shop/whynotbrainslug) for her throw pillows and other crafts. She's only added a few things so far, but will hopefully be adding more soon (and more of her own designs). (Sorry if these types of posts aren't allowed here, I wasn't sure.)
92
[ { "body": "No to be the turd in the pool (because your pillows are the awesome) but isn't this some sort of copyright infringement? ", "score": 22 }, { "body": "Awesome! I look forward to what else she's able to put out! (I wouldn't mind picking up one with either Hypnotoad or Hubert)", "score": 3 }, { "body": "You may want to do some investigating before it costs you 1000s of $$: Check out their story.\n\nhttp://www.indiegogo.com/BellyRest \n\nhttp://www.crowdsourcing.org/document/pregnant-moms-rap-about-pillow-tag-regulations-in-crowdfunding-music-video-for-maternity-pillow-business/17151", "score": 3 } ]
Because my mother's life is pretty much wholly centred around socialising, she can't understand how anyone like me can be happy. Her behaviour towards me because of this is unbearable.
I'm not going to brush over the fact that I was indeed a crappy teenager and that, looking back now, I made a lot of naïve mistakes. The things I did and the way I behaved towards my family and in general were wrong, but probably assured for a troubled child. Things were probably also made worse by my parents inability to help me properly. But even though I came out a little bit worse for wear, I'm thankfully over it all. My mom, on the other hand, isn't. My mother, unblamably, connects my bad past with my introversion, thinking I'm still terribly depressed and hapless. I've tried telling her otherwise but she doesn't believe me, thinking that I don't know what I'm saying. I get treated like there's something wrong with me, something psychologically, I get the tone usually reserved for comforting distressed children. I resent her for this which makes me treat her like shit and only perpetuates the problem. It's awful because she thinks I'm unhappy which makes her herself unhappy, which makes me unhappy and leads to her trying to fix the "problem." My mother is a kind but superficial person whose mistakenly taken her introverted son for being depressed based on his past. What she doesn't know is how actually depressing it is having a mother trying to do the right thing, failing and becoming distressed herself. Probably not a common scene among any household but that said, probably not nonexistent with introverts. Do any of you have a similar story to tell?
17
[ { "body": "My mom is exactly the same! She was on the cover of low rider magazine when she was in high school, and lived a very \"glamour centered\" lifestyle. I was so glad when I moved out, now I can sit in my studio apartment and draw, just as life was meant to be. There is no \"getting her to understand\", trust me. But I wish you the best of luck!", "score": 6 }, { "body": "Yep, I'm pretty much diametrically opposed to my mother, and she just can't understand. It's easy for people to assume that others think or feel in a way similar to them instead of learning the reality of the situation. As such, my mother assumes that because solitude would make her suicidally depressed, I am necessarily so...yet, I have only functioned better and better since acknowledging my introverted preference.\n\nIt's difficult to communicate, but I wouldn't give up. I've made some headway although I don't feel that my mother will ever truly understand...there's a point for some people where they'll attempt to empathize but due to their inability, they will always feel that you're somehow lying or wrong.\n\nIf this continues to distress you, you should do what you can to disengage; that probably means to move away.", "score": 4 }, { "body": "Could you get her to read a book?\n\nIf you could get her to read something like \"Quiet\" by Susan Cain, I think she'd see you in a new light.", "score": 3 } ]
What is the best home vaporizer money can buy? (x-post from r/trees)
I've been saving up for a while and I think it's finally time. I don't want to skimp on quality so money is no object. Noob guides and tutorials also welcome. I'm very excited!! I'm also curious why Da Buddah and Silver Surfer vapes are ~$150-250 while the Volcano is upwards of $500. What do you get for almost $300 more?
6
[ { "body": "The Vapexhale Cloud gives the thickest hits on the market. It's compatible with all glass pieces and comes with a glass piece called a hydratube, demonstrated in the first vid. The hits are also very smooth since they are filtered through water, and while this can be done with a lot of other vapes the Cloud has streamlined it into an easy and classy method of vape bonging.\n\nInstructional vid: http://youtube.com/watch?v=dvMbXMVf3o8\n\nDemo of how thick the vapor is: http://youtube.com/watch?v=RcTugfjmoXA\n", "score": 5 }, { "body": "I recently ordered the volcano, it should arrive later this week. I bought it after using it at a friend's place, he is allergic to smoke and he says this gives him the cleanest hits. The nice thing about the volcano balloon is that it has a valve which you press your lips against to open up an airflow when you want to take a hit, preventing vapor seeping out and being wasted. It fills up quickly and is great for vaporizer novices to use, especially since you can guide them on exactly how much to take.\n\nI did go into this 50/50 with a friend, if I was going to buy a home vaporizer just for myself I would go with the Arizer Extreme Q, which goes for around $250. You have the option of using a balloon or a hose with this device. The downside is that this balloon does not contain a valve.\nI haven't used, or read any reviews on Da Buddah or Silver Surfer so I can't offer my opinion on these. \n\nVolcano Review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_143877&feature=iv&src_vid=Q8qX9rNd1xI&v=NLkFEZEooVw\n\n12 vaporizers in 1 review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsGsoIG6Tvo&feature=player_embedded", "score": 4 }, { "body": "I have \"Da Buddah\" vape and have been using it steadily for 2 years. Could not be more satisfied. I have purchased an additional (blue) wand as well as a new mouthpiece and 14mm bong connection. It is amazing. I don't knew what specifics you are looking for but if you have any other questions about DBV ask away and I will answer to my best ability.", "score": 3 } ]
Power Rangers and Viewtiful Joe
(This may be considered more of a crossover) I just thought of this this morning so it could probably use some work. In the beginning of Viewtiful Joe, Joe is watching movie with his girlfriend Silvia when all of the sudden the fourth wall is quite literally broken and Silvia is taken into Movie Land. Joe follows after her and obtains a V-watch, which allows him to become the superhero Viewtiful Joe. Now just as Joe had the ability to go into Movie Land and obtain the powers present there, monsters and the like could leave movieland and come into our world. Many things were removed from Movie Land when the wall broke, one of which included Zordon's then hidden Command Center and everything in it. Zordon didn't want to leave Rita's space dumpster on Earth so he had Alpha 5 send it to mars, thinking it would be safe there. Shortly after, two astronauts found the dumpster and opened it, releasing Rita's brand of evil on a new world. With this new threat now facing Earth, Zordon decided to recruit a team of teenagers with attitude and bestow upon them their own V-Watches. Just like how it would go in Movie Land. But, because the team's new powers were taken straight from the movies, Zordon thought it would be best to rename everything. That way it would better hide any weaknesses that he or the team could have revealed. Alpha 5 played along and the newely named "Power Rangers" were born. Because they operated as a team, Zordon decided that instead of giving everyone their very own [Six Majin](http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100825072720/viewtifuljoe/images/0/04/Six_Majin_image.jpg), that each team member would have their own "Dinozord", which could then be combined into a Six Majin like robot called a "Megazord". Fortunately, the only people that could really expose the Power Rangers' secret were Joe and his family, who were too busy fighting in Movie Land. Just another thing, the [Bianky](http://images.wikia.com/viewtifuljoe/images/7/73/Bianky1.jpg) and [Putties](http://www.grnrngr.com/documents/ultimationcentral/putty.jpg) share a resemblance. But because more things than Zordan and Rita leaked from Movie Land, this could help explain a possible jump in technological advancement. And how the space colony Terra Venture came to be, or maybe Terra Venture is straight from Movie Land and was teleported into space, roughly where it would have been in Movie Land.. That, or people wanted to find a new Earth because of all the craziness that came out of Movie Land lol. Also, maybe [Andros](http://images.wikia.com/powerrangers/images/5/50/Andros_profile.jpg) is actually from Movie Land, and either he has decided to help defend this universe or still believes that he is in Movie Land. I know it's not perfect, but thanks for reading and I hope you see some other connections \^_^
18
[ { "body": "I really like this theory, because the universes it mixes are not too serious or expanded upon enough to deny it. \nFun read!", "score": 3 } ]
FACUA, a Spanish ONG for the rights of consumers, asks Valve to take ETA, a Vasque terrorist group, off from CS:GO.
[Repost from /r/gaming, as no one gave a fuck there] You can see the news article [here](http://www.europapress.es/portaltic/videojuegos/noticia-facua-pide-retirada-referencias-eta-counter-strike-20120814142917.html), in Spanish. They claim that it's a disrespect to all the victims of ETA, and thus should be taken off CS:GO. But according to this, shouldn't all WW2 shooters cease to exist? Can't all the Jews that survived the holocaust get offended? Pretty lame imo... [Here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ETA)'s some info on ETA for those interested. Also, it's on the news now here in Spain, they are making a sensationalist trend out of it. I fear they might ban the game or censor it like they did with L4D in Germany.
5
[ { "body": "Ok so let me tell you a little story.\n\nJuly 22nd 2011 in Norway was hell on earth after the shooting that happened, weeks following this several games stores took COD, Dead island and games like that off the shelf temporarily because they didn't want to stir up any ill feelings any one might have related to the shooting.\n\nHowever, no one said anything about NOT having these games in our stores in the months following, because most people know that PIXELS AREN'T REAL and if anyone wants to make a game based on an island of youths being killed (dead island) then so be it, what happened in this real life of ours does not connect to any game and I don't know anyone in Norway who would call it disrespect.\n\nLife = life\n\nGame = game\n\nI don't care if they call it disrespect to be honest, if they get offended by a game they have too few problems and too much spare time.\n\nTLDR: someone creating an issue out of a non-issue.", "score": 4 } ]
I just emailed my local animal shelter volunteering to take pictures of the adoptable animals. I could use some tips!
I am a former professional dog trainer who owns a Nikon D3100 - naturally the first things I started taking pictures of when I got this camera six months ago were my dogs. I love animals and since I can't do foster work right now, I thought I'd volunteer my camera to help the local animal shelters. That being said, I'm still pretty amateurish about this. But I love capturing dogs - their expressions, movements, everything about them is inspiring to me. Typically photographing dogs is somewhere between sports and portraits - they tend to move really fast, but you want to capture expression. I'm from central Texas, and the sun can also be brutally bright, which I've found often washes out/overexposes my pictures. Any tips would be super-helpful! EDIT: I've decided to include some of my favorite pictures I've taken of my own dogs, for critique purposes. Anywhere I can improve will help the wee little hounds. [My puppy at the park](http://www.flickr.com/photos/70010889@N02/7586637040/in/set-72157629698313759/) [This is Guinness](http://www.flickr.com/photos/70010889@N02/7298302508/in/photostream) [Boyfriendular person and his dog. Yes, are related](http://www.flickr.com/photos/70010889@N02/7298295874/in/photostream/)
5
[ { "body": "Yep they are fast and makes it hard to keep track of their movement, not to mention keep the focus sharp, I'd suggest to shoot outside with the sun and have a large diffuser to hover on them to soften the harsh light, you could also improvise a large light tent using some white fabric, fours sticks in the ground and you should be fine.\n\nHaving the dogs play and interact underneath this tent will help getting some nice natural light with soft shadows and at the same time a fast shutter speed to freeze them in the shot.\n\nA friend holding a reflector at the right moment could help to get a balanced exposure of the subject and the background, I mention the reflector since you said you can't use a flash, even outdoors a flash could be used in balancing foreground/background but a reflector shoudl help quite a lot, by the way I'm assuming you know a bit about exposure.\n\nIf necessary crank up the iso, with enough light even with 1600 iso the amount of visible noise should negligible, this way you can increase the shutter speed quite a bit.\n\nTry to lower yourself to their level to get some nice perspective, try to pre focus a certain area and have someone lead the dog in there, f8, f11 should be fine, another trick is to maintain the subject perpendicular to the camera while it's moving in order to have it in the focus plane, if you have the pet coming towards you will decrease the chance to have them in focus, remember also that dogs with dark/black fur are a bit more problematic term of exposure.\n\n\nLot's of patience and take many many pictures to hopefully get more keepers.\n", "score": 3 }, { "body": "Honestly, for adoption photos it is probably best to just get good close-ups of the faces. Most adoption photos I see are tiny shots from far off or behind bars. A good close up shot of the face and eyes will go a long way in drawing a potential adopter in. \n\nObviously, some good action shots will be nice, but will also be more challenging. \n\nAlso consider using burst mode to get multiple shots at once to have a better chance at getting that one perfect expression.", "score": 3 } ]
There was a young lady from Bristol
Who used her butt as a [pistol](http://imgur.com/vNK37) Big spiders she'd stun With her venomous [gun](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWpJB5Urxoc) And her larvae would chew them to gristle. (Bristol, NH - riposted from /r/wtf) - ID help?
9
[ { "body": "There was an op named quaoarpower\nWho saw a bug fight that went sour. \nThey snapped up a pick\nand with a quick click \nI will now fear those wasps for one hour. ", "score": 6 } ]
PS3 hooked up to HD Projector
so i bought a Panasonic PT-AX200e a couple of years ago, and just recently tried connecting my PS3 through a HDMI cable to it. i can get the main menu to show up in HD, but as soon as i click on a game (FIFA 12 for example) i lose signal from the PS3 and all i can see is a blue screen. Can anyone help with this?
10
[ { "body": "It could be that the PS3 is changing resolutions when it starts a game. Under the video settings, there should be a list with check boxes for various resolutions. You can try checking or unchecking them to see if that does anything. I'll see if I can find a pic showing what I'm talking about.\n\nEdit: Took less time than expected. [This.](http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/ps3/3_15/settings/videooutput.html)", "score": 6 }, { "body": "Check if the projector is [HDCP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#Content_protection_.28HDCP.29) compliant. \n\nIt's an anti piracy thing that a lot of stuff use nowadays. What it is supposed to do is hinder blueray from being ripped, but in reality all it does is hindering people from using their \"old\" projectors and TVs.", "score": 5 } ]
Having a bit of a problem with my sweet bell peppers. *Novice gardener alert*
I've been growing some Chocolate Sweet Peppers for about two months. I bought them as plants and transplanted them into pots the same day I got them. They are in full sun right now, but I live on the coast in the San Francisco Bay Area so we have foggy and sunny days during the summer. The temperature is consistently between 50-70 degrees usually. My problem is this: the plant soon grew fruit, but then it just... stopped. They are the right size, but still green and haven't ripened. They've been this way for at least 3 weeks. I used some miracle grow to see if that would help but it hasn't. Any advice? Am I growing them in the wrong location or climate? Thanks!
3
[ { "body": "Sometimes the first fruit to set takes longer and can even stunt the growth of the pepper plant. Since bell are edible at all stages really you could go ahead and pull em. but i imagine that given enough time they will turn. ", "score": 3 }, { "body": "Also a pepper novice here. I've had peppers all summer long that have just sat there and are just now starting to change colors. Patience is all it is I think, with new plants. As long as your peppers aren't getting smushy you should be okay. Do your peppers have any corking (pepper stretch marks)?", "score": 3 } ]
How do you keep your mind of fapping?
After 1 day of not fapping I was wondering, how do you guys keep your mind of fapping? if the idea pops into your head how do you deal with it?
5
[ { "body": "It's good to work out when you get the urge. Maybe jog in place, do pushups, sit ups, pull ups. Not only will you notice a positive change in your body and attitude but you will also effectively kill urges. ", "score": 3 } ]
August's Composer of the Month is Claude Debussy!
Welcome back to our monthly feature, which has previously honored [J.S. Bach](http://www.reddit.com/r/classicalmusic/comments/pccko/februarys_composer_of_the_month_is_johann/), [Jean Sibelius](http://www.reddit.com/r/classicalmusic/comments/qxi48/marchs_composer_of_the_month_is_jean_sibelius/), [~~Chad Kroeger~~](http://www.reddit.com/r/classicalmusic/comments/roeux/aprils_composer_of_the_month_is_chad_kroeger/), [Dmitri Shostakovich](http://www.reddit.com/r/classicalmusic/comments/uwjnv/junes_composer_of_the_month_is_dmitri_shostakovich/), and [Robert Schumann](http://www.reddit.com/r/classicalmusic/comments/wc7g3/julys_composer_of_the_month_is_robert_schumann/). This month's winner is Claude Debussy (1862-1918)! Actually, you chose him last month, but we deferred because his 150th birthday is next week, le 22 août. [Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Debussy) **Wagner ruined tonality for everybody** Young Claude came of age (age ten, actually) and entered the Paris Conservatoire in an interesting time. The Conservatoire employed the greatest French composers as professors (e.g. Guiraud, Franck, Farrenc, Gounod; later, Fauré, d'Indy, Milhaud, Messaien), most of whom had also studied there. It was the place to be for any French-speaking musician. It was also under siege by the music of Richard Wagner (1813-1883), who stretched Western harmony, orchestration, and eardrums to their breaking point. You see, the Conservatoire was a bastion of musical conservatism, where independent, experimental Debussy "struggled for several years to write a cantata sufficiently dull to win the sinecure of the academically oriented Prix de Rome" (Alex Ross, *The Rest Is Noise*) - Debussy wrote, "I am sure the Institute would not approve, for, naturally it regards the path which it ordains as the only right one. But there is no help for it! I am too enamored of my freedom, too fond of my own ideas!" And Wagner was challenging everyone's ideas of what music could, or should, be. There were supporters like Franck (Debussy's organ teacher) and young Saint-Saëns, but also severe opponents like old Saint-Saëns (who also hated Debussy and Franck); reaction to Wagner divided the French musical establishment, concentrated in that one institution, as well as the rest of the West. **Touched by magic** Debussy attended Wagner's personal opera house in Bayreuth in 1888 and 1889, and *Parsifal*'s sensuous harmonies utterly captivated him. This was a time of much other experimentation in his life: he explored obscure religions and cults (he is rumored, even outside *The Da Vinci Code*, to have been the grandmaster of the Priory of Sion, which guards the Holy Grail). He heard Javanese gamelan music at an exhibition, and realized it was possible to have complex and honest music without any of the trappings of Western rhythm, melody, harmony, or texture (it "contained all gradations, even some that we no longer know how to name, so that tonic and dominant were nothing more than empty phantoms of use to clever little children"); this is likely where he became interested in pentatonic scales. It was also around this time that he met the enigmatic umbrella-fancier Erik Satie, a fellow musical experimentalist. **Debussy stakes out new musical territory** Debussy developed a music style unlike anything previous: he occasionally or even thoroughly abandoned tonality and key, using chords willy-nilly as sorts of melodies rather than any traditional functional harmony, and when there were scales, they were as likely to be the Phrygian mode or whole-tone scale as anything else. He explored the use of unlimited harmonies and forms to create pure musical soundscapes rather than any familiar structure, and this was a huge influence on all but the most regressive composers who followed. Debussy's style is sometimes called "musical impressionism", a term he attributed to "imbeciles", "which is as poorly used as possible, particularly by the critics", though some scholars think he was reacting to negative criticism and would be pleased to be heard the way we see the impressionists today. **Notable examples** ["Clair de lune" from *Suite bergamesque* (1890)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuazkV70vaM), early post-Wagnerian experimentation [*String quartet in G minor* (1893)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXnO_VAoZic), played here by his contemporaries (and my teacher's teacher's teacher) [*Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune* (NSFW) (1894)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4s1nhlCMMI#t=20), a controversial masterwork that put Debussy on that map and changed the course of Western music-history; Ross: "It is music of physical release, even of sexual orgasm" [*La mer* (1905)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rsxmnt2wy4E), a semi-symphonic form - warning, you will get wet ["La Fille aux cheveux de lin" from *Préludes* (1910)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfQ5hOOLk1o), "a brief but harmonically complex Pre-Raphaelite expression of beauty" (?) ----- What else should we hear or know?
115
[ { "body": "I get tight in the pants every time one of his preludes is played.\n\nExamples:\n\n* [Book 1, II - \"Voiles\"](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrVyQhUM5C4)\n\n* [Book 1, VIII - \"Le fille aux cheveux de lin\"](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MswHKA4dako)\n\n* [Book 1, X - \"Le cathedrale engloutie\"](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsdIkUSjXv8)\n\n* [Book 1, XII - \"Minstrels\"](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhleaHWt3ww)\n\n* [Book 2, X - \"Canope\"](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL7xe2ey_nw)", "score": 16 }, { "body": "[This is my favourite piece by Debussy \"Reverie\"](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79UfWizjGiQ)\n\n\nThere are two whole tone scales:\n\n\nThe first one is if you start on C on the piano and move two halfsteps per note and that is one of them\n\nThe second one you begin on C sharp and move two halfsteps per note .\n\nBoth are really dreamy and fun to play!", "score": 10 }, { "body": "My favorite Debussy piano piece is [L'isle joyeuse](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeBZT5_iEeA) which uses lots of whole tone and lydian throughout. That recording is performed by Vladimir Horowitz. Also, for those interested, Leonard Bernstein gives an amazing analysis of [Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faun](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwXO3I8ASSg&feature=player_detailpage#t=6075s) in his Norton Lecture at Harvard.", "score": 9 }, { "body": "I just visited his [grave](http://i.imgur.com/thQ3G.jpg), which is within [earshot](http://i.imgur.com/GfT0N.jpg) of the Eiffel Tower, but not in an obvious place at all. You have to go walking between all the different tombs to find it. It was worth it.", "score": 7 }, { "body": "I'm not a huge Debussy fan, but I'e performed [this (Premiere Rhapsodie for Clarinet and Orchestra](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPAa2sfhS7k&feature=related), and even though it was an awful key for strings (six flats!!), it was enjoyable to listen to!", "score": 5 }, { "body": "he occasionally or even thoroughly abandoned tonality and key\n\nCould you give examples.\nAlso examples of using chords as melodies.", "score": 4 }, { "body": "One of my favorite Debussy pieces is his [Violin Sonata](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violin_Sonata_%28Debussy%29), his final published composition before he died. My favorite recording is with Joshua Bell and Jean-Yves Thibaudet, but I can't seem to find it online anywhere, so here is [Ivry Gitlis and Martha Argerich](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjQJ5kpDE8U) playing the first movement.", "score": 4 }, { "body": "One of the first things you learn in Music Theory class is to avoid parallel 5th and octaves at all costs. Debussy fully disregards this, as parallels are present in many of his pieces. The result is rather astounding, listen to [Le cathedrale engloutie](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=NsdIkUSjXv8&NR=1) the openness of the sound creates wild imagery, in this case, a cathedral that is submerged in water that eventually rises from the depths to the surface. \n\nIt should be noted that many current composers and film scorers look straight to Debussy for inspiration, he was a real master at making visuals from music.\n\nedit: French spelling", "score": 4 }, { "body": "Debussy's [Trio for Flute, Viola, and Harp](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okUVzB8K7RA&feature=related) is beautiful and often overlooked. His style goes great with the timbre of a harp.", "score": 3 }, { "body": "My favourite composer! These are some of my favourite pieces with links to ones that haven't already been linked:\n\n* Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune \n* [Six épigraphes antiques - Pour invoquer Pan, dieu du vent d'été](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjSUUEla0Hs) (hard to find a good youtube video) \n* [Danses sacree et profane: 1. Danse sacree](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmnzWw1VHSQ) \n* [Children's Corner: The Snow is Dancing](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mndn7ogRP6o) \n* [Arabesque No. 1](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6s49OKp6aE) \n* [Suite Bergamasque: Passepied](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjtY8QEIkLQ) \n* [Estampes: Pagodes](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxDjLhy3aRk) \n* Préludes, Book I: VIII. La fille aux cheveux de lin", "score": 3 } ]
Can anyone confirm that kill streaks are tied to classes?
I have looked at the class selection screen at the games beginning and see nothing noting kill streaks, so this leads me to believe they are sperate again. (Unlike MW3) If this is true I am disapoint. UPDATED: "Your scorestreak reward selections apply to all loadouts (you don't choose specific rewards per loadout, as in MW3), and scorestreaks are not part of the pick-10 system." I'M PISSED
14
[ { "body": "oh gosh, i forgot about that. jeez i hope it is in blops2, it was one of the few good things mw3 did", "score": 7 }, { "body": "There's still time for them to change it. If only we could get all 10+ million people who will buy this thing in the first week to spam them with requests not to take a step backward here. I'm kind of turned off to be honest.", "score": 3 } ]
What is the most annoying attack in the game.
I know everyone has been frustrated at some point or another with this game, but searching through all those terrible moments what do you think is the most annoying attack in the game. I think my top three are 1. Smough's running hammer 2. Four kings Grab attack 3. Ornstein's lunging spear Reasoning: How often Smough uses his hammer attack is what decides if you will survive the fight going for Super O. While it is usually very dodgeable it completely throws you off of the attack and is extremely lethal in conjunction with Ornstein's homing spear. It can corner trap and has a slightly deceptive range. I have seen it used 5 times in a row and the attack seems to come at random. Four kings Grab move is usually dodgeable but it isn't easy to dodge, especially when playing coop because one cannot be certain of its target. When the attack hits it steal humanity, does big damage and takes up precious time in a fight where any delay could increase its difficulty. Ornstein's flying spear is used very often and isn't all that dangerous, BUT it is extremely annoying due to his tendancy to stop randomly and practically teleport to his intended destination. Also the attack often strikes where you are going to be and thus is exponentially more dangerous when used in conjunction with Smough's running attack. TLDR: In your opinion what is the most annoying attack in the game.
12
[ { "body": "Those skeleton dogs in TotG and their crazy lunging 8 combo bite attack thing. Those damn things have killed me far too many times then I care to admit. After a while I started to just run from most of them.", "score": 18 }, { "body": "The Darkwraith's stun-locking sword dance.\n\nor\n\nThe Harpy's sit-on-my-shoulders / eat-my-face combo.", "score": 8 }, { "body": "the titanite demon's jump/lunge attack. if you're meleeing them in close quarters (anor londor room... for example) your camera goes bonkers when they do it and it can be very difficult to block because of this. if you miss the block, you're probably dead.", "score": 5 }, { "body": "The armored boar's charge attack. It's probably just me but I've had very little success dodging that from day one.", "score": 5 }, { "body": "The one that kills you?\n\nSeriously though, either the Demons explosion attack (stray etc) if hit once and they keep spamming then it can be frustrating. \n\nThe parry by Balder Knights can be a pain, not the attack itself but the fact you can't attack until they put their sword down. Although this is only a pain if you're using a pure melee build. ", "score": 4 }, { "body": "You know who I hate? That Thief guy in the Forest. Every time I try to host there he does that stupid thing where he runs up to you and stares at you, then runs away and starts slashing at the air from like 20 feet away. *Nobody's standing there, brain-child.* Whenever I try to Host in the Forest he always ends up taking like a minute to kill, ruining the initial clearing out of the NPC enemies to allow for safe fighting, and then I end up getting ganked by that Thief, the Paladin guy who likes to heal, and XxXstabstheinvaderXxX.\n\nTL;DR: All the attacks by that Thief in the Forest.", "score": 4 }, { "body": "Agreed with Smough's hammer and Four Kings grab. Ornstein's lunge I've always liked, since it's easy to dodge and leaves him exposed for a bit afterwards.\n\nPersonally, I really hate the Bed of Chaos sweeping attack, I've lost track of how many times that knocked into the pits. That and the channeler's trident dance; crystal undead shouldn't one hit kill me under any circumstances. ", "score": 3 } ]
I need help buying drum mics...
Hey Reddit! I just bought a new set and am hopefully about to buy some mics. So heres the mics im looking at buying. 57 on the snare, 4 sennheiser md421ii's on toms, sub kick and D6 on bass drum. Then for over heads two Neumann tlm102's. Hi hats will probably be a Neumann km series. What would you suggest?
3
[ { "body": "If you're going to be spending about $5k on mics, I hope you have fabulous drums tuned fabulously, fabulous technique, a fabulous interface and preamps, and a fabulous room to capture all this fabulousness. I'm not saying you don't, but other people reading this should understand that these other things have to come before bad ass mics.", "score": 6 } ]
Aiming Down Sights - hold the button or toggle?
I play on PC and Xbox and on both I hold the button to ADS, though my uncle who plays PC, toggles it. So which do you use and why?
8
[ { "body": "Toggle. As silly as it sounds, holding down the RMB to aim adds an extra directional force to the mouse, and the added pressure will increases the friction between the mouse and pad; both could inhibit its movement. Also puts unnessisary strain on your finger during longer matches.", "score": 6 }, { "body": "If I were playing on the Xbox I'd hold it down, but I can't stand holding down a mouse button to aim. It makes it harder to move the mouse.", "score": 3 } ]
Mom/Future Grandma Rage...advice please!
DH and I went out last weekend to see my Mom and tell her we are pregnant. I told her not to post of FB because we haven't told DH's family, who we had planned on telling this past weekend. At the end of the weekend, on the way to the airport, Mom said to me "If I don't hear anything else from you on Sunday, I'm posting it on FB". I told her that was not a good plan, that we still had other people we wanted to tell, and it was my news to post. She said she understood, it was a little annoying but I thought she got it. On Thurs I had some bright red bleeding and we were worried about a miscarriage. I saw the Dr. Fri and we had to wait until we got blood tests back on Mon (everything is fine!). Because of feeling unsure about our little one, we decided to put off telling DH's parents until we were sure everything was still okay. Today, I get a FB message, followed by a text message from my mom stating: "Ok, the weekend and a day hss pssed, and I don't see a gona have a baby post - why???" I don't even know what to say to her...I'm so frustrated that this is not about me at all. She's very self absorbed and pushy. I wish she had asked how I was or how it went with DH's husband My hormones are getting in the way of me having words that are respectful but clear about how I feel...could use some help. **tl;dr: Mother makes things about her and I need help respectfully setting a boundary** UPDATE: I sent a text back to my mom, which I had a friend read to make sure it was very respectful, even appreciative of her excitement for our baby. She then called me and was a mess and very dramatic. She decided to claim at some point that her asking about FB was really because she was worried about me and that was her way of asking. I decided not to put the effort in to challenge her BS. There was a bunch of other stuff about how I make it hard for us to communicate and she was just trying to be caring and I "Hollered" at her over text message. Anyways, it worked out fine and hopefully she gets it, but I have a feeling that this will be one in a looong string of boundaries that will need to be set
20
[ { "body": "Just tell her that you will tell them when you are ready, and it is not up to her to share your news. My mother is very similar and it ended up that i never told her anything because she would broadcast my news before i was ready to.\n\nI would just tell her that you decided to wait a little longer and that if she broadcasts it on fb before you feel comfortable that she will upset a lot of people that you want to tell face to face.", "score": 12 }, { "body": "My MIL and I have had numerous conversations about how often she uses her mouth. Our conversation goes as follows:\n\nHiggs \" I don't *have* to tell you anything. If you can't use the information responsibly, you cannot have any information to use.\"\n\nMIL insults my dedication to family and talks behind my back to my niece, SIL and BILs. Usually about a prenuptial agreement I supposedly ''refused to sign because I'm a gold digger'' \n\nHiggs, \"I have absolutely no guilt being the 'fine family'. when you ask, we are fine, work's fine, the house is fine, my family's fine, everything is fine and nothing more.'' \n\nIf someone can't act like family they are not family, and I feel badly for them that they are missing out on being in mine but that's just how it has to be for now. ", "score": 5 }, { "body": "I am in the same situation. If someone comes up with a good way to deal with this frustration I can't wait to read it. Damn FB for allowing our parents to have accounts...", "score": 3 }, { "body": "Well, she's unfortunately ruining future attempts to tell her information...\n\n*sigh* I wish parents could be more respectful... ", "score": 3 }, { "body": "I learned with this pregnancy that you shouldn't tell a single soul until you are ready for everyone to know. My mom outed me on Facebook during one of her narcotic fueled benders. I feel for you. Good luck. ", "score": 3 }, { "body": "My mom told her friend before I planned to tell mine. I wasn't impressed but luckily her friend is in no way connected to anyone I know. I think it's hard for some people to contain their excitement.", "score": 3 }, { "body": "Here's what my sister did. \nShe wasn't ready to tell her employer about her pregnancy until she was obviously showing, but she did want to share with friends and family. As a compromise, she set up a [TotSite] (http://www.totsites.com/) and sent the link for the baby's website out to friends and relatives as she spread the news. She also swore all of us to Facebook Secrecy so that the folks at work wouldn't be in on the news - and posted her Facebook Secrecy mandate on her TotSite as well. In retrospect, I'm not sure it was the folks at work that she was worried about, or her own mother-in-law getting too excited with the news.\n\nA dedicated baby page might be a way she could share the news to the world - but only her half of the world. It will also help in sharing big announcements (\"It's a Boy/Girl!\") without leaving anyone out.", "score": 3 }, { "body": "i'd tell her exactly whats up. its your business to tell, not hers. and if you want to wait for Any reason, thats your decision. she can wait a few days geeze. but then thats how i'd handle it with my mom lol. maybe that won't work so well for you.", "score": 3 }, { "body": "First of all this is YOUR news to share; don't let her make it any less special for you. I'd tell her in simple terms that you aren't ready yet and she'll have to wait. Write it in an email, save it, sleep on it, then re-read it and make edits if necessary and send it in the morning. You are right to avoid snarkiness (as it will only make her defensive and passive aggressive) and it will take will power and perspective to accomplish this. \n\nAs a side note-- if your mother is anything like mine it won't help the matter to explain what you've been through this weekend. She will probably not give you the support you're looking for and may create further feelings of rage & spite. My mom gets little info on my feelings, frustrations and since I've stopped counting on her for support Our relationship has become much more tolerable. More superficial, but tolerable. \nAlso, I'm sorry about your week. That sounds like it sucked and was really scary. Hope you have a better week!! ", "score": 3 }, { "body": "Also you should know I'm an Internet lingo bonehead and had to google what DH meant. I couldn't get Designated Hitter (like in baseball) out of my head. So I learned somethin today:) ", "score": 3 }, { "body": "Threaten her, yup it's mean but hold her to it. Tell her you told her and YOU want to tell others and if she puts it on Facebook that she will begin receiving information in Facebook for not respecting your wishes! ", "score": 3 } ]
Thoughts on sexism in 'For Better or For Worse?'
Not sure if this is the best place to put this, but, here goes: you may be familiar with 'For Better or For Worse' comics, which the author, [Lynn Johnston](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Johnston) wrote from the late '70s to the late 2000s. Since then, major newspapers across the country have been reprinting earlier strips, and a *huge* number of them boil down to, "every single character is sexist and the wife feels bad." It's particularly bad, to the point of being uncomfortable to see, let alone think about little kids reading. (Privilege check, SWACSM here.) Here's a sampling of some of the strips that have been printed in the paper in the past couple weeks: * [Farmer jokes to the husband behind his wife's (Elly's) back that she should be able to drive a combine harvester in a field because there's nothing to run into. The end.](http://fborfw.com/strip_fix/2012/08/wednesday-august-1-2012.php) * [Elly is enjoying driving the combine, when a farmer stops her, saying, "this is mens' work!" The end.] (http://fborfw.com/strip_fix/2012/08/thursday-august-2-2012.php) * [Elly's husband compliments her cooking, saying, "see? I do compliment your cooking! No matter how bad it is!" The end.](http://fborfw.com/strip_fix/2012/08/sunday-august-12-2012.php) * [Elly reflects on driving that combine on their vacation to the farm. Her husband's comment: "It was good to see you working for a change!" The end.](http://fborfw.com/strip_fix/2012/08/monday-august-13-2012.php) * [**Today's strip** —literally *Gaslight*— Elly hates her husband's teasing, saying "It makes me sound lazy, useless and stupid!" His response: "Come on, can't you take a joke?" The end.](http://fborfw.com/strip_fix/2012/08/tuesday-august-14-2012.php) Anyway, that should give you some idea of what goes on in this comic. *What is all this misogyny doing in today's newspapers?* I guess my question is if any of you think that this sort of thing has some redeeming value. I object *strongly* to them, but perhaps they're a good way of reminding us how bad attitudes towards women were in the '80s, when these strips were drawn. Also of interest is that the artist based the characters and events in the strip on herself and her family (and her Wikipedia page mentions, among other things, that she did have an abusive husband, and recognized it). Are the 'punchlines' of sexism in these comics successfully calling out sexist behavior? Are these comics feminist? But if they are, is it something children reading the comics section would pick up on, or would they just be laughing at the jokes themselves, reinforcing that '80s behavior?
10
[ { "body": "I think some of your examples are more about being an asshole than misogyny. Insulting the wife's cooking has more to do with being a shitty husband than being sexist. There's nothing implicitly sexist, because he's denigrating her as a cook, not as a woman, unless I'm missing something here.", "score": 3 }, { "body": "I think the whole series of comics here are actually anti-sexist. This seems to be exploring sexism, not supporting it.\n\n1). Ok, I'll give you that, but it leads to the second one.\n2). Ellie is realizing this is a relaxing, stress-free job for her, and as soon as she's enjoying herself, a man comes and takes it away claiming it's \"men's work.\" The *character* is saying this, the comic is refuting it.\n3). Bad joke. Husband is being a jerk.\n4-5) These are serials, and the conversation is unfinished. Her husband is definitely being a jerk, and being portrayed as one. Elly is clearly upset, which is better than the \"haha, silly me!,\" Blondie and Dagwood exchanges.\n\nI don't have a dog in this fight, because I've never been a fan of the comic, but I am not seeing the enforcement of sexist values or poor treatment of women. I'm seeing a comic writer explore these issues in the limited scope of a serial.", "score": 3 } ]
2003 Nissan Sentra GXE 1.8, high pitched squeal only when I turn left...
The car is making a high pitched squealing sound only when I turn left. The sound sounds like metal on metal, as if something moving is scratching against something stationary, similar to nails on a chalkboard, except more metallic sounding. It happens only in certain types of left turns, it seems to depend on how hard i turn, possibly how much the body rolls to the right during a left turn. If I drive very slow and do not pull much g forces, say driving 5 mph in a parking lot, the sound will not occur. However, if on a highway off ramp it will most certainly occur granted I corner hard enough. The amount I turn the wheel does not matter, as long as its to the left and off center while the body is rolling to the right. The sound NEVER happens when I turn right. I have not noticed any other symptoms besides this sound, the car seems to drive and feel normal in all other regards. It did not sound like a belt issue, but I have nonetheless replaced all belts and the sound does remain. Power steering fluid levels are normal. What could be going on here?
3
[ { "body": "Ball joints. Had the same issue in my BMW, replaced all the ball joints (they were fucked beyond belief) and no issues to report after.", "score": 3 } ]
Looking for my transsexual father...
So, I hope this isn't too weird. I'm looking for my transsexual dad, she bailed on my mom and I when I was like 8 (they had already been divorced) but I would like to talk to her now, because I'm getting ready to transition, and it would be super helpful. How do I find her? I know the name she goes by and everything, but it's unfortunately pretty common, and google and Facebook aren't really baring much fruit. Any insight would be hugely helpful. Thanks!!
14
[ { "body": "How common is her name? Do you know her DOB? Can you find out her SS number? If your Mom has any old financial records like tax returns, mortgage papers, you might be able to find out things. You need as much information as possible when the name is common to successfully search. What sort of occupation did she used to work at? It's very possible she still does. Search for old name records at the same time because sometimes we can't get to everything. My house, for example is still in his name because I've haven't felt like paying a lawyer to change it for me. The likelihood is that you'll have to pay for a subscription to one of those people finder public record search engines.", "score": 6 } ]
Are all squier unfinished necks the same quality?
As the title says... is there a difference in quality between an affinity neck and a vintage modified neck? I know the classic vibe necks are finished, so I'm assuming the quality is different on them but I cant find any other info on the other squier necks.
3
[ { "body": "They're all finished, it's just a clear satin on the VM's and Affinity's. Maple won't do well without some kind of finish on it. As far as quality goes they're all likely pretty comparable, they've been made the same way for a thousand years and it seems to be a reliable, aint-broke-dont-fix-it kind of design. Thing is they've all been made in different places in different decades and lived in different environments, so you're probably going to have trouble finding any two Squier necks that are even alike. ", "score": 3 }, { "body": "i have at least 1 from every line of squier, guitars & basses combined. CV's are the nicest feeling to my taste, due to the thicker lacquer or finish. VM's are basically Affinity's with upgraded components & styling specific to an era, however the VM's are typically made in Indonesia & go through better quality control compared to the Chinese Affinities. They get better sanding, better fretting, better inlays, better wiring, better finish, & overall a good compromise between Affinity & CV for the cost.", "score": 3 } ]
Does anyone know where I can get a jacket like the red one that Aaron Paul wore in GQ?
link: [here.](http://imgur.com/rTvrs) According to the GQ fashion directory "Page 119. RED JACKET (with attached denim jacket and twill vest): Dsquared2, at Saks Fifth Avenue, select stores." It can only be found in select stores that are, alas not near me. Thoughts?
5
[ { "body": "First of all, I think it would be helpful for us to see a potential outfit you plan to wear that with as it's going to be a serious challenge to pull it off (people like How I Met Your Mother here, so think red cowboy boots). In most situations (i.e. not at a dirt track race) it's going to look over the top and kind of tacky.\n\nCan you tell me a little about why you prefer the red over a black Belstaff Roadmaster?", "score": 3 } ]
Can spells miss/be avoided in PvP?
Just wondering because I remember from the last Beta, some of my Elementalist targeted abilities not hitting my target. Can you only avoid targeted spells by dodging, or is actually possible to avoid them by moving?
6
[ { "body": "targeted spells can be dodged if the enemy knows it's incoming. those with a bolt animation can miss if the person knows it's trajectory. AoE spells wont hit anything if no one is in the damage area.", "score": 8 } ]
Tips for Harry Potter parties?
My friend and I are planning to do a huge Harry Potter party around Christmas time, and we were looking for some tips. To those of you who have been to HP parties before, what were some things you did and didn't like about it? Any and all suggestions are welcome!!
9
[ { "body": "Not sure what age-range this party is for. But a friend of mine did the same thing 2 years ago.\n\nShe had a vat of homemade butter beer which everyone was welcome to. We also had a \"House\" bp tourny going, with people pairing off and being different houses. Some people also dressed up, so making it a costume party will probably be fun. \n\nWe also had the HP movies going on the TV in the living room and were playing HP themed movie drinking games. So when certain things happened in the movies, we would all have to drink. For example, HP's scar hurting, when someone says HP's full name, whenever someone says \"you know who\" or \"Voldemort\" or \"he who must not be named\" etc... And on top of Hp songs we also had some Wizard Wrock playing. That's pretty much everything. Here's a good [list](http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewtopic.php?TopicID=7294) to work off of.\n\nOh and don't forget the mistletoe. No party is complete without lots and lots of mistletoe. Trust me.", "score": 3 } ]
Hi /r/ForeverAlone, I just want to share :)
I suffer from a quite painfull chronic disease since I am 10. (Ankylosing Spondylitis) I decided to hide it as much as I could to my family and my entourage, at school and so on. Its not difficult, you just have to lie a lot, and learn to control your emotions. By doing this for over 15 years, I lost all my friends and all my relationships, and was close to become a stranger to my family. You can't share pain and it's embarassing to look weak to other people for whatever reason, but if you don't want to be forever alone, you have to share what you feel and be honnest. tl;dr:Nobody likes liars nor being avoided and the only thing you protect by doing this is a false image of yourself.
10
[ { "body": "Well said. And it's not embarassing to look weak to the right people. **Nobody** gets through life alone. Even the most successful people have bad times and negative experiences, and get through them as better people with the help of their friends.\n\nSpending years trying to hide these things you're doing exactly what you're afraid of - alienating people - because nobody knows the real you. ", "score": 3 } ]
theme camp meal ideas?
This will be my first time camping with a "large" camp. We formed meal teams, and on one night I'm asked to put together a dinner to feed ~60 people (with the help of the team). What the team serves that night is up to us. Based on what you've devoured on playa or helped to create, what can you recommend as a (basis for a) meal plan?
6
[ { "body": "My camp is a lot smaller than yours, but we typically bring a few of those giant \"family sized\" stouffers lasagnas (which are essentially pre-cooked and just need to be thawed and heated up). We save them for Thursday or Friday when our cooler is barely cool, then leave them on top of our schoolbus ALL DAY the night we plan to have them for dinner. Boom. Warm lasagna. ", "score": 6 }, { "body": "Here is an easy way to knock out Huevos Rancheros for a large crew.\n\nOne person preps plates with a tortilla, spread around some refried beans and add some grated cheese (a smoked cheese does wonders here). Make two of these. Then move those two tortillas with beans and cheese to a hot pan or griddle to warm up. In the time it takes to make two more of these, the first two will be sufficiently warm so put them on a plate and put the two new prepped tortillas on the heat source.\n\nThe second person does nothing but make sunny side up eggs. Two eggs per plate. When they are cooked, slide them on top of the tortilla with the beans and cheese. Dollop with salsa (maybe some salt and pepper) and it's good to go.\n\nIf you have a huge crew and want to go even faster, you can do scrambled eggs, but I personally love wet yolk on my huevos. Either way, I've cranked out this breakfast for a crew of 40 without breaking a sweat.\n\nThe great thing about Mexican food is that almost all of these ingredients (minus the eggs) can pull double duty with a Mexican fiesta dinner.", "score": 5 }, { "body": "You're generally safest going baseline vegetarian for group meals. \n\nEasy bulk ideas include:\n\n - Pasta & sauce & maybe sliced or ground sausage for the omnis.\n\n - Generically Indian stuff like curried lentils/chickpeas/etc\n\n - Chili", "score": 4 }, { "body": "When I cook for my camp (60+ people), I make chili (vegi and regular versions) the week before at home and put it in gallon sized ziplock bags and stack them in the freezer. When I head out, I get some dry ice and pack a large cooler with the bags- they'll stay frozen for at least several days. When it's my day to cook, I take them out of the cooler in the morning and make a large pot of water at dinner time. Put the bags in the water to warm for a few minutes, slice up some french bread and you're done.", "score": 4 } ]
How do you think Bebe has played during the pre season?
I havn't been able to catch much of the pre season action and just wondered how Bebe had been playing. I heard he had been doing quite well. Also how has Powell been playing? I'm from Crewe and he was brilliant there so excited to see how he his developing.
3
[ { "body": "He has been okay. Better than many of the circlejerk shit will notice. But his worst, which he displays far more often than anyone else, is still terrible. \n\nHis main attribute is his strength which allows him to look better v smaller, less physical and just worse teams, he often has incredibly bad touches and runs down the wing that would be grabbed upon by any reasonable fullback. \n\nIve never thought he was terrible overall. He had the pace, height, build and such to be a good player, just never shown anything anywhere near the ability to even look like he could play for us in the future and i dont think even the tiniest part of me wants to keep him. \n\nPowells looked very decent, nothing extraordinary in the shining star sense, but you shouldnt expect that from a young CM being given much more defensive duties than he is used to. Looks very comfortable on the ball though and isnt afraid to get into action which is good. Has a beast of a shot on him which i look forward to.", "score": 6 } ]
Where do I learn this stuff?
I'm looking for some resources to learn DSP from the beginning. I hear these words like phase shift, stopband, passband, attenuation, tuning, rolloff and I have no idea what they mean, but I can't find anywhere that really gives a nice intro to all of it. Where did you guys learn?
10
[ { "body": "Understanding Digital Signal Processing by Richard Lyons is the best intro in my opinion: \n\nhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0137027419/ref=mp_s_a_2?pi=54x75&qid=1344996249&sr=8-2\n\nTeaches concepts without getting bogged down in the math details. Once you understand the concepts, get Oppenheim and Schafer to learn the dirty details.", "score": 3 } ]
Pre expansion patch download.
Is there a way to download the patch faster, instead of just using the background downloader? It says that it will take 30 hours to download o.O..I'd like just to leave my computer running and download the 5 GB that need to be downloaded .
3
[ { "body": "You can copy it off of someone who has already downloaded it. Just make sure you copy into the folder with all the other patch information.\n\n", "score": 3 } ]
What's a part of either series you always find yourself thinking, "Get on with the next part, already!"
I only have two for Korra: Asami and Korra on the race track in episode 7 seemed like it lasted FOREVER compared to everything else, and every time I watch it, I find myself bored in this scene. The other, as cool as it is, is the Pearl Harbor moment in episode 11. I'm not a big fan of wartime stuff, so I always find myself growing slightly bored with that bit that seems to go on and on and on... The only one off the top of my head for ATLA is all of The Great Divide. Blurgh. What are yours?
11
[ { "body": "Nightmares and Daydreams, I got that it's supposed to be funny but it's pretty just 20 minutes of completely random fluff.", "score": 10 }, { "body": "The first 75% of The Painted Lady. It's stops being interesting when you know it's Katara, then you're just sitting through 20 minutes of boring for 6 minutes of badass.", "score": 8 }, { "body": "This isn't really a slow point in the series for me, but I wasn't a fan of The Southern Raiders. Of all the Zuko Field-Trips, Katara's was the worst. She wasn't really *changed* afterwards... still just as frustrated as before about her mother's death. Zuko said it was all about closure... but I didn't feel as though she OR we got any. ", "score": 7 }, { "body": "All of season 3 before Zuko joined the gaang. I still enjoy all the episodes before that point (Sokka's master), but your just waiting as Zuko finally starts figure things out. I wish there were more episodes between when he joins and finale.", "score": 5 } ]
Club Brugge fans: suggestions please.
I will be attending a home game in the next couple of months with some friends, and we would like to learn a few chants / songs so we can support your team as much as we can while we are there. What current songs should we learn?
8
[ { "body": "Something about not being able to read or write, but being able to drive a tractor.\n\nedit:\n\nDon't forget to brush up on your [dancing moves](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic57NfsV9Zc)", "score": 5 }, { "body": "I'd suggest you search youtube for \"brugge fans/ supporters\" or \"brugge blue army\". I know they sing in english and lots of \"come on bruges, come on\".", "score": 3 } ]
What advances from this mission will improve future space travel and how will it improve?
What have we learned so far from this mission that will carry forward? Will it improve cost of materials or research? Will it give us the ability to send another rover sooner? Will it improve the public's perception of space travel? Pardon me if this has been discussed elsewhere, but I'd be curious of other peoples thoughts or knowledge. Mine is little. The landing sequence comes to mind, as it seems many missions to Mars failed on landing. If this landing can be reliably replicated then I would think it should improve cost, efficiency, and confidence of future missions involving landing.
5
[ { "body": "MSL measured radiation exposure throughout the 8.5 month cruise and is measuring it on the ground as well. This is important if humans are going to spend time travelling to Mars.\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curiosity_rover#Radiation_assessment_detector_.28RAD.29", "score": 5 }, { "body": "This landing sequence also means we have raised the bar for what is possible with a proven way to:\n\n1) land larger spacecraft (MSL descent craft was slightly larger than Apollo moon landers) \n2) with heavier payload (MSL is 900kg/2000lbs in Earth gravity)\n3) with a high(er) degree of accuracy (MSL only missed the center of its intended landing zone by 1.5 miles after a 350,000,000 mile journey through space) \n4) on a planet with more than twice the gravity of the Moon (.38G vs .17G). \n\nNow just imagine we construct the appropriate craft shielding and radiation suits for humans, construct a manned lander, figure out how to support human(s) for up to 9 months of transit to Mars, and etc. We have a lot to do to get to that point, but this was an important step (among many).\n\nAside from that, observing what makes/made Mars tick should help us understand Earth in a lot of roundabout ways.\n", "score": 5 } ]
You know we're living in the future.
[](/b18) The fact that most porn sites necessitate a *mobile* version of their site is pretty tantamount to that.
22
[ { "body": "[](/flutterfear) For some reason this made me think of an amalgamation of porn and yogurt tubes, like porn to go, in a tube for some reason. It's quite horrifying.\n\n[](/sp)\n\n* Porn-To-Go the perfect thing to share at lunch and make friends.\n", "score": 9 }, { "body": "I built, by hand, a machine that will make whatever I want out of plastic.\n\nYou're damn right we're living in the future.", "score": 6 }, { "body": "[](/lunasad) I can never find good mobile sites...\n\n[](/pinkiefear) And the future comes when I'm in space. Not before.", "score": 5 }, { "body": "Well at least that strange guy on the bus will have something to look at when he is touching himself under his trench coat now.", "score": 4 }, { "body": "I think mobile devices in general are better evidence for our civilization's future-ness. Also internet, and the Mars rover.", "score": 3 } ]
New Contest: Pipe Restoration Stories!
I bought a pipe rack last week that came with a handful of old musty pipes that I don't have the talent or inclination to get back into smoking condition. I know lots of you have been told by your spouse/SO/credit limit that it's time to stop buying new pipes for a while. Well, how 'bout a free pipe that just needs a little love? In the thread below, submit your stories about restoring a pipe. Happy, humorous, disastrous, it's all good. Photos certainly won't hurt your case. I'll choose the winners based on a proprietary formula I purchased from the BCS, combining total score and personal discretion. If you're announced as the winner, send me a PM with your shipping address and you'll get one of those smelly fixer uppers delivered! (Sorry, non-Americans. I can't afford to ship international, but if you're willing to work something out through Paypal or whatever, feel free to enter! Or stop hating freedom and move to America.;) ) Edit: a mod who I shall refer to only as r-nh-ld-r (no, let's go with -e--o--e-) has informed me we need an end date to this contest. I think a week from today (August 21) seems reasonable. **Winners:** * CygnusXII * Renholder * CautiouslyAttained Thanks for all the stories, everybody! [Here's an album of crappy pictures of those crappy pipes!](http://imgur.com/a/m7zRP#5) If any of the winners want to post after shots, it would be very instructive!
9
[ { "body": "Years ago I was hiking along a trail high up in the Appalachian mountains. It was fall and the leaves were just falling off the trees. As I enjoyed the peace that one can only truly appreciate in the great outdoors, my eyes caught an old bottle, half buried in the colorful foliage. I walked over to check it out and no sooner had I picked it up, than a note fell out. On it were directions. \"*Over the northern ridge, beside the big rock there is a great big oak tree. At it's base, there is a white rock and under that is buried a box with some of my dearest possessions*\".\n\nWell curiosity had me, so I crossed the ridge and sure enough there was a huge rock. Beside it was indeed a immense tree and at the base of that, just like the note said, was a flat white rock. I rushed over and picked it up. Underneath was some bare dirt and I made short work of digging it in the excitement of it all. About six inches down was a faded cigar box in a plastic bag. I took it out, opened the box, and found three old pipes. Now, at the time I didn't smoke, so I wasn't as excited as I might be today, but still giddy that I found *buried treasure*. I stuck them in my napsack and continued my hike.\n\nOn the ride home excitement was killing me. I sat in silence the whole way and then rushed in the door. Immediately, I googled the names on the pipes. Two kaywoodie pipes and one that simply said \"made in italy\". They weren't worth a whole lot, but I was still interested in fixing them up, so I looked that up too and tried my hand at it. I bought a reamer, some polish, and some bees wax, and had a field day restoring all three. When it was done, I sat back and admired my handy work. It was then that I felt I couldn't let this go unused, so the next day I drove the store and picked up a pouch of Prince Albert and *that's* how I started smoking a pipe in the first place.\n\nActually, that's all just me bullshitting, but I have recently restored a couple old pipes from the flea market and I think I did a pretty nice job. They smoke pretty good and while they don't look like brand new pipes, I'm certainly not ashamed to smoke them. One of them was a kaywoodie actually and I made a post about it yesterday on how to fix misaligned stems, which mine had. I'd love to have another old pipe or two to fix up!\n\n\nEDIT: So it was pretty much just personal discretion. You shouldn't have even said anything about upvotes because it's clear you didn't use them. \n\n", "score": 6 }, { "body": "For reference, this story spans a time of two years...\n\nI once worked as a line cook in a retirement community. I was quite happy there, just spending my days joking around with my buddies and serving the elderly my kick ass cooking. A few of the other cooks knew I smoked a pipe and one of them even smoke a pipe on occasion just like myself. We would at times smoke outside in the garden, and it was during this time that one of the custodians discovered that we smoked. He joked about what was in our pipes in broken english and what not, and went on his marry way.\n\nNot but a couple days later I show up to work and my pipe buddy comes running up to me with a huge grin on his face. He pulls out three beautiful meerschaum pipes, and tells me about how the custodian was cleaning out the apartment of a recently deceased resident. The family took everything they wanted, and he was told to take the rest to the trash or give it away/ Upon opening the drawer he discovered these pipes and thought of my friend and I. He quickly made his way to my buddy and gave them to him, as he was the only one of us there at the time.\n\nMy friend believed these to be of great value and considered selling two on ebay and keeping the other. I missed the boat. He didn't offer one to me, and I could see in his eyes that a reasonable offer for a pipe was not to be taken for the prospect of greater returns. Months, maybe even a year pass, I still smoked my pipe and he long abandoned it. I remember the old meers and ask him what their fate has become. He quickly offered to sell them to me. Some how we agree on $10 for one. Two weeks pass and he keeps forgetting to bring them, but finally delivers. He actually delivered two!\n\nI bring them home and assess their condition. The outside is a bit scratched, but they are completely unsmokable. There is untold amounts of cake and ghost, and the draw is awful.\n\nMy brutal hand saw no mercy for what time and captain black had done to these pipes, and with a final coating of beeswax, I declared them restored!\n\nThe trouble was that the larger of the two still had a tight draw. Months later, while drunk, I pull out the pipe and with a look in my eyes I take it apart to explore it thoroughly. Some how I ended up with pliers in my hand and got the twisty middle part that connects the stem and the bowl off. Turns out that the old man, or my friend, had epoxied these pieces together for some reason. I scrape the epoxy out and a free draw is restored to the meerschaum! \n\nedit: [pictures](http://imgur.com/a/PdLzr)! Also, the little guys stem and meerschaum connection was really worn out, so I wrap a bit of paper towel around the tenon and screw it in. Works perfect.", "score": 4 }, { "body": "This is a story of two friends and I were spending an extended weekend in Canada. My friend is part of ~8 grandchildren that co-own a cabin on Lake Superior that their grandfather bought back in the 30s.\n\nMost people before the trip asked if I was planning on doing some fishing, hiking, boating or some combination of the three. It's Canada, most people I know plan adventure vacations where they catch three foot pike, portage canoes 5 miles across mosquito infested swamps, wrestle a bear, and help a moose give birth all before breakfast.\n\nIn true guy fashion, we were doing none of these things. We're consuming massive amounts of booze, pissing outside just because we can, and catching up on old times. We played Risk once a day just to say we did something. Lazy in the extreme.\n\nHalfway into the first evening while we're boozing and reminiscing, I ask if they minded if I started smoking my pipe, since we're out on the deck. I have reservations, since I've only recently started smoking and it is not my cabin. My friends are pretty relaxed, so there was no issue and later they mentioned how much they like the aroma. True guys and true friends.\n\nI have no idea how many beers and glasses of scotch I've had at this point. Distinct memories are foggy. My tolerance was weaker than a pregnant Mormon in Saudi Arabia and I'm affected. \n\nI typically clean my pipe before smoking, since I don't usually have the time to wait until after it's cool to clean the stem. After pulling out the stem, I lean over the lawn chair and set the stem on the deck. Even in my drunken stupor, I quickly realize that the deck is inclined enough that my stem is going to roll. I tell myself \"Better not let it roll between the deck boards, it'll not be fun to lose that piece.\" So, I put the stem in my lap.\n\nI then proceed to stand up, and the stem falls on the deck and rolls down into the slot between two boards.\n\nI’m a moron.\n\nWe're in the middle of beautiful nowhere, it's my only pipe and I haven't even had a chance to light it yet. My stem may as well be in the darkest abyss of a hellish cavity of despair. At this point I'm too wasted to even remember which slot my blessed stem fell into! I feel stupid enough to be on reality television.\n\nAfter a five minute search, I locate the stem. Now, how am I going to get this out? The kitchen tongs are far too wide to even get between the slots, much less get a hold of the stem and pull it out. Kitchen knives can move the stem, but that's not very useful for pulling it out now is it?\n\nAfter 10 minutes fruitlessly trying to use a couple of knives like chopsticks to lift out my stem, I realize that route is hopeless. I realize I can easily replace the stem when I get home, but that I'll have three more evenings of almost bliss, but only ALMOST bliss, because I will not be able to enjoy my newfound pastime. I die a little inside.\n\nDusting myself off after standing up in resignation, my hand catches on my pants. I absentmindedly pull on the loose thread that caught one of my fingers and yank until it snaps. Then, in moment of redemption, the pipe gods grant me the wisdom and temporary clarity to correct the error of my ways. \n\nThe thread is just long enough to tie a small slip knot on the end and reach my stem! After several minutes of trial and error, I manage to hook the end of my stem and slowly, carefully and with all the concentration I can muster in my inebriated state, pull the stem out.\n\nAfter that, I made sure to solidly clench the stem in my mouth, clean the bowl of my pipe and proceed to have the best damn pipe of my life.\n", "score": 3 }, { "body": "Many years ago, when I was a youngster, and a relatively new pipe smoker, my friends and I used to go cat fishing a lot. We go out to the lake, Joe Pool in Arlington TX, and sit on the rocks by the main building and drink beer, and fish all night long. We used to know the night keeper of the main building, and as long as we kept out shenanigans to a minimum, he'd tolerate our drunken asses. Well one night we were on a hot streak. We had knocked back a ton of beers, and we were catching cat fish like they were gangbusters. To top it off they were all of fairly good size, ranging in the 3 to 10 pound range. Well worth eating by any standards. So we had a pretty hefty string of cat fish by the time daylight started to creep over the horizon.\n\nWell we were all pretty wasted that night. We'd knocked back a lot of beer and followed it with some Jaeger, and some rumplemints. We were lucky to make it back home that morning, for sure. Now back then, my brother and I lived in a motel. We'd rent it by the week. It was a really sleazy place to live, but it suited our needs, and it came with maid service every day. The room we rented faced a major road in town, and at night we'd sit out on the walkway and get drunk, and watch cars travel up and down the road.\n\nNow we made it home that morning, and we were all shit faced drunk. No one wanted to clean the fish. well you know how when you're drunk very weird things make sense. Especially stuff you would not normally do. So being the lazy, drunk bastards that we were; we as a group collectively decided that putting the cat fish in the freezer til later would be OK, until we were sober enough to clean and fillet them. So we loaded out fridge with about 20 large Catfish. Well we all crashed about the place and promptly fell asleep. There were about six or seven of us, laying around our hotel room. We started coming to many, many hours later. Probably twelve or thirteen hours later if I had to guess. Well not wanting to spend the night with a hangover, we all started laying into the booze again. We didn't get as ripped as the night before, but we did get a little tipsy.\n\nSo we were sitting there getting our drunk on, and it dawned on us that we still had those damn cat fish in the fridge. Well we discovered our mistake pretty darned quick. Those cat fish were frozen solid. They were fairly large frozen torpedoes of fish. There was no way they were fit for eating. Well we were at a loss as to what to do with these frozen torpedoes of fish. Being the drunken reprobates that we were, an idea came to light. As we were sitting out on the stoop and watching the cars go buy, a light bulb came on, over one of our heads.\n\nWe decided to take the cat fish out and we laid them out in the road so that the vehicles could run them over. We all thought this was hilarious, and would be fun to watch. So I was unloading the fish from the freezer. At the very bottom of the pile of frozen fish was my S&R blue Pot shaped poker. Now you talk about being a mess. That pipe had cat fish juice all over, from where the fish had leaked down onto the pipe, and then it was frozen along with the fish. Well let us say I was apparently quite drunk when I put the fish in the freezer, and I had set my pipe down while doing it and lost track of it that night. The next morning I had just drug out another pipe and I figured the S&R would show up in the house eventually. Well I set the pipe out to thaw, and we got about our shenanigans with the fish.\n\nWe laid those fish out on the four lane road, and distributed them evenly on all side. we sat and waited for the fun to happen. The cars and trucks started coming, and every time they'd hit one of those fish, they'd go Hawwwump! Like driving over a rounded block of ice that is 2 feet long, or better. Well in our drunken stupor we thought this was hilarious, seeing the cars smacking over those frozen cat fish. Thump after thump all day long. eventually as the fish thawed the car ended up mashing those fish to paste, and there was a big mass of nasty fish pasty mess all over the four lanes of the road. Man we didn't count on the smell. Let me tell you this... Smashed and pasted cat fish can generate a smell that will knock you flat from a mile away. we had to smell that for a couple of days because it dried in the sun and stank to high heaven.\n\nNow let me tell you what happened to my pipe. I had to clean that pipe. I initially did just a simple alcohol wipe on it, thinking it would be OK. NOPE! I loaded a bowl after I cleaned it, and when I lit it up, I tasted a nasty dirt filled cat fish taste. The mud bottom and fish juice taste of hell itself. I cleaned that pipe several times,and the taste still never went away. Eventually I had to ream the pipe to wood, soak it in bleach, then I packed it in the absorbent silica gel packs that you find in goods that need to stay dry. After I did that I then soaked the pipe in brandy, air dried it, and then soaked it in brandy again. Each time after I soaked it I placed it in the back window of my car to dry out in the hot Texas sun. Eventually after repeating this process several times, I got the pipe back to smokable shape.\n\nMorals of the Story...\n\n* If your to drunk to skin a fish, catch and release\n\n* Frozen Cat Fish will mush to a nasty, stinky paste that smells really bad for days, when run over by a car.\n\n* Never take a pipe you care about on a fishing trip, take a yard pipe.\n\n* Never, ever freeze a pipe with dead Cat Fish, unless you want it to be worthless. ", "score": 3 } ]