I am in remission. But it took a heck ton of work to get here. I was 7 aic at diagnosis in September 2021. Nearly three years later, without meds, I did it (for now). I crawled down to 6.7, 6.5, and now under 6. I am a 47 yo male and can boast under 10% body fat.
The way was unique to me. YMMV. No, I did not do keto. I simply got rid of rice, bread, pasta, and potatoes. And yet I still had oat bran, chia seeds, fenugreek. Tons of cruciferous veg every day. I eat mostly fish. I made a disgusting slurry of apple cider vinegar, turmeric, garlic, black pepper, cinnamon, rosemary, and onion. My fish is also baked with half a full red onion daily. My snacks are cucumber, tomato, underripe bananas, 1% cottage cheese, lactose free 0% plain probiotic yogurt with sometimes low glycemic berries. My cheat is pickles.
Diet was the start. Exercise was the next. Not everyone has mobility or ability to do it. I fortunately did. I pivoted to being a bodybuilder. My ultimate goal was to turn bigger muscles into glucose sinks. At present, I have 51% skeletal muscle because I spend 1-2 hours daily lifting. The average for a male is 28-36%. I knew that going Metformin for my specific aspects would have been an androgen inhibitor. I now look like a firefighter calendar model with abs, and at my age that is a win.
I will not say this is possible for everyone. It isn't. I was lucky, but I don't undermine my luck by saying there wasn't a lot of discipline involved. We know discipline. We know what we can't, or shouldn't, do, but what can we do?
I chose eating and moving like an elite athlete. My job permits me the time. No, I will not go to a restaurant and no I can't eat 95% of what a grocery store sells. That's not my life any more.
For sure I get spikes. I need about 300g of protein to sustain my frame given my activity and size. No matter how good the protein, bioavailability is there, but temporary. Cortisol from working out too much? Another spike. Temporary. Stress? Yup. I day trade, so rollercoaster is usual. And anyone who says exercise relieves stress, understand that it is temporary and all the problems are waiting for you when the exercise high wears off.
There is hope. Of course, talk to me in 20 years. I know I lose in the end. For the time being, I remain asymptomatic and in some ways T2D has made me the strongest, healthiest person I have ever been because I had to respond with vigour.
If you can manage this, well, what can you not manage in other areas of life? You can do it. I know you can, and it doesn't matter if you can do it alone or with help -- you can do this.

Thank you, who decides to take the time to read this.
I'm Marta, and I'd love to share a bit of myself with you in the hope of finding companionship, comfort and love. I am looking for a long term relationship, someone with whom I might want to settle down, perhaps you? Please just note that I’m looking for sfw at the beginning. Physical attraction isn’t part of the equation for me. It all begins with emotional connection. If I become comfortable with you, you have sense of humor, you’re an open person who is not afraid of voicing opinions and have something interesting to say you’re my type probably (if you are a firefighter consider it certain, I might have something for firefighting gear). If you’re more of a physical attraction kind of person that’s not a problem. Simply ask for photo and end one of yours.
Now something more about me.
❤️ 5ft 2in, 195lb. I am Caucasian. I have longer light brown hair, blue eyes. Working on losing off some of it. I would love it if you could help keep me motivated.
❤️ I work full-time as a account manager (still, but might change jobs soon). It’s nothing that I would like to do, but I earn enough to live more than comfortable. Some evenings and weekends I also work at my local McDonald’s. It might sound crazy, but I treat it as a hobby. I love having contact with customers and employees there and each completed and served order is like a dopamine shot.
❤️ I’ve discovered that I like watching people playing games much more than just playing them myself. I love being on calls with my friends and watching them play games while commenting everything and taking about anything in between. But if you’re someone who is looking for person that will be right beside you while playing, we can tray delving into forgotten dungeons or win a battle royale. I would love to see your face light up every time we share a game, cause every co-op game is a confession that I want to spend more time with you.
❤️ I like watching movies, series, videos etc. Especially true crime and catastrophic documentaries. I’m open for anything except for horrors about demons, possessions and devil. That stuff scares me and I would never watch it alone or without physical presence of someone I trust.
❤️ I'm a hopeless romantic so I might be looking for a partner that I can be hopelessly romantic with. You know, someone that I can do all the cutesy couple shit with like going on random date nights, or going to a park or random city and people watch, or just cuddle up and watch our favorite shows while wearing matching pajamas. I'm looking for someone that can be my cheerleader, and someone who would want me to be their loudest and biggest cheerleader. Life is hard to do alone, and we all need someone to help us through it.
❤️ I like to think that I am a very laid back, go with the flow type of person, and I would much rather have a night in, than a night out.
❤️ I am very open minded, however I don’t smoke so if you’re someone that smells of cigarettes all the time and want to smoke at home, car we won’t be a match I think.
❤️ I know politics is a pretty big thing for people, but it isn’t a big part in my life - that being said I can sum up my take on politics in one sentence: let women, gays, and people of all races dance their dances after smoking their marijuana crops or whatever, then maybe kill the rich or tax them to death.
❤️ I have this thing called hate for being wet once I’m not intending on. So rain, being splashed accidentally or purposefully etc. it’s a huge no for me. I can’t function in rain without umbrella. Take it or leave it.
I hope this snippet catches your eye, even though it’s only a small piece of me.
Who am I looking for?
💙 My only preferences are someone who is roughly 26-40 in age, a few years outside of that would be okay if we really connect.
💙 I’m ok with distance but you must consider that I want to eventually meet.
💙 Someone who is caring and have sense of humor.
💙 Someone who always tries to see things in a perspective other than their own, but holds morals highly.
💙 Someone who doesn't mind me texting them at like 3am to tell them about the action in the last episode of the show I just finished. Just basically you need to be open for reviving random thoughts, photos, out of context facts and contemplations, TikTok’s, instagram posts, memes and a lot more.
💙 Someone who lives life with passion, but once they are down they would not be hesitant to share that burden. If you're passionate about something I really want to be a part of it in some way. If it's listening to you ramble for hours about that obscure album you just found or the new succulent you just bought or this wild spice blend you've been trying out. Whatever makes you smile, cry, think, I want to understand it.
Note that I prefer discord over here and I love voice calls.
If that sound interesting, my dms are open.

Hi, were trying to interpret the law in Wisconsin pertaining to volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel leaving the job for a call.
Many argue that the law only covers if you're late to work due to an early morning call, but I've been told the law covers any type of absence, including leaving your regularly scheduled post to respond to a call.
Here is the link to the statute, what say you?
https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/103/88/2#:~:text=An%20employer%20shall%20permit%20an,the%20lateness%20or%20absence%20is

Wake the fuck up, Samurai. We've got a role to play. (Epic reference)
My name is Outcast. Before we start off, let me just say a bit about me. I am a 22 year old male with 10+ years of writing experience within literate to novella writing style. I do a lot. I'm in a lot of fandoms and a lot of genres so I'm very flexible with things and setting but I am here more importantly to pitch a Cyberpunk Fantasy roleplay. Now what I mean by that is D&D + Cyberpunk. Shadowrun, that one kickass episode of Teen Titans Go for example. (The Night Begins To Shine will forever be in our heads and you cannot tell me otherwise.)
For about a year I've been wanting to get into Shadowrun, which is a very niche TTRPG but I haven't the friends nor the book (yet), and I am itching to use one of my ocs I made for it.
Disclaimer: We don't need to do Shadowrun. If you know nothing about it I totally get it, we can just context the roleplay as simply Fantasy but Cyberpunk dystopia future. Cities, corporations, mercenaries and criminals biting back against the big corpos. Cyberpunk 2077 with elf ears or D&D with tons of neon.
I currently have one OC I'm eager to use.

• Jaksen "Reload" Kovachs - A young Orc who comes from a family who run a mercenary business. Usually lawful, they would undertake heavy heists and jobs for money in turn to keep business up. Jaksen, the youngest of three brothers, had to endure the loss of all three of his brothers getting slaughtered on live camera footage for breaking into a corporate building for a heist, costing them their lives. Jaksen, now feeling the weight of their death on his soul and his financial stability becomes a freelance mercenary operating in the underground, fixed with two fully cybernetic arms and dual pistols, he intends on taking on the underground himself. Hes ambitious but a little hotheaded. Skills learned from his life in a family of mercenaries, hes way in over his head and acts like a skilled and promising rookie with a patience and hotheaded issue that seems charming and ambitious in some ways but can make him an interesting liability as a toughguy at times.

I have two, maybe three more ideas and until I recieve the Shadowrun 6e book I'll likely be making more with the proper systems.
When it comes to plot we can do anything. I for one imagine a few of these:
(Note: The setting doesn't matter too much.)
Jaksen "Reload" Kovachs

• We start at a club, where Jaksen delivers a dufflebag of whatever we can discuss. This can lead to enforcement turning into a firefight and they must escape or its a bust and he runs with his temporary partner (your oc) or runs INTO a bystander and he must keep them out of danger (also your oc).
  
• A deal set to meet a warlord of the streets and Jaksen is forced to team up with someone new for robbing a smaller corporate building. We can discuss what the job is exactly.
  
• An assassin sent after the Orc Marksman, a kind of spy thriller that could lead to some more. Sloppy Orc doesn't watch his back too much.
  
• We can create a plot from start together!
  

Note: I am looking for a long-term relaxed and chill roleplay experience. I have immense ADHD and Autism and get burnt out very quickly and I'd rather take my time to create the best RP response I can muster up than be forced or egged on post after post with no energy. As long as you are okay with varying response window times and are okay with the quality in the end and also have time to chill and talk about OCs on the offtime or on the side then that is perfect.

I apologize for my lack of planning. Planning and gushing is honestly half the fun and I've been desperate. If you're down for any of this, give me a private message. I primarily use Discord. I hope I've peaked your interest!

Record temperatures, record migration, record emissions, record displacement, record PFAS……start building an ark.
Last Week in Collapse: May 12-18, 2024
This is Last Week in Collapse, a weekly newsletter compiling some of the most important, timely, useful, soul-crushing, ironic, stunning, exhausting, or otherwise must-see/can’t-look-away moments in Collapse.
This is the 125th newsletter! You can find the May 5-11 edition here if you missed it last week. You can also receive these posts (with images) every Sunday in your email inbox with Substack.
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Flash flooding in northern Afghanistan killed 300+ people and destroyed 1,000+ homes. Hundreds of thousands of others have been affected. Last month, similar floods in the region killed 70+. Four died in Texas storms last week as well.
Venezuela is suffering from record wildfires, which so far this year have burned about 5M acres—almost the size of Sardinia. Some experts think indigenous people started the blaze as an attempt at forest clearance, which quickly got out of hand. “Institutional failures” compounded the disaster when the ailing government responded with an inadequate number of poorly equipped firefighters. Another study from last week examined the impact of wildfires on soil health.
Flooding and “cold lava” killed 50+ in Indonesia, injuring dozens and displacing several thousand. Cold lava is a mixture of water and rocks tumbling down the side of a volcano. Meanwhile, an actual volcano erupted in Indonesia, sending smoke & ash 5000m high; further eruptions are possible soon.
The Swiss Re Institute published a 37-page report last week about natural disasters in 2023—and how much damage, in USD, they caused. The largest catastrophe was the February 7.8 earthquake in Türkiye & Syria, which killed 59,000+ people and caused $163B+ in damage. The report is full of interesting graphics & data about natural disasters.

“Last year, economic losses from natural catastrophes reached USD 280 billion, meaning that 62% of the global losses were uninsured….the insured losses surpassed USD 100 billion for the fourth consecutive year….annual insured losses will grow by 5–7% over the long term…today’s insured losses could double in 10 years….There were 142 insured-loss inducing catastrophes in 2023, a new record. Most were of medium severity, which we define as events resulting in losses of USD 1–5 billion….Over the last 30 years, we estimate that natural catastrophe insured losses have grown by 3 percentage points more annually than the global economy (in inflation adjusted terms)...”

Flooding and heat waves are impacting Brazil’s oranges, responsible for about 70% of the world’s supply. One food analysts declared that the “era of cheap food is over”—in the UK, at least. That may be one reason why UK residents took record food bank packages last year. Madagascar is struggling to adapt to a future with far less rainfall.
France is growing more concerned about a dam on Lake Geneva, controlled exclusively by Switzerland. The Rhône River, which begins in Switzerland and flows south through France, is shrinking in summers as climate change melts Switzerland’s remaining glaciers.
The Tonlé San River has been dammed in Vietnam, lowering the level in Cambodia and sometimes drying the river downstream entirely. Meanwhile, China’s lychee harvest is getting blasted by rain, impacting the world’s largest source of lychee. And, once again, Saudi Arabia is suffering flooding in its inland regions. 7 dead in historic flooding in Iran.
The eminent climate scientist James Hansen posted that, since “human-made aerosols and their cooling effect are in decline,” the cooling effect of La Niña will be counterbalanced by these rising temperatures. He also identifies a “large anomaly of increased absorbed solar radiation at midlatitudes in the Northern Hemisphere” responsible for rising temperatures there. CO2 levels are rising faster today than they have at any point in the previous 50,000 years…and a study of millennia-old trees determined last summer was the hottest worldwide in 2,000+ years…
Record nighttime May temperatures were tied in the Philippines and Vietnam. A couple Indonesian cities broke records for May temperatures. And a number of southern African states saw more records drop. And Toronto saw a record tied for the number of days reaching 14 °C (57 °F). A heat wave has returned to Bangladesh. Flooding in Cali (pop: 2.9M), Colombia.
The University of Washington was ordered to stop a geoengineering project that scientists sere conducting from the deck of a decommissioned aircraft carrier. The experiment ejected aerosolized saltwater in an attempt to reflect solar radiation. A comparative study in Nature Communications of a number of carbon pricing found that, yes, carbon pricing does work to reduce the total CO2 emitted.
It’s that time of the year again. Wildfires in Canada grow, some of which are moving towards the tar sands—forcing thousands to evacuate. 39 of the total nation’s blazes are “out of control,” resulting in air quality alerts in the United States. Meanwhile, across the Caribbean, water shortages have become the new normal, and residents (and tourists) are finding their old consumption habits hard to change. St. Lucia has declared a water emergency. In Myanmar, water shortages worsen, particularly as related to the spiraling conflict.
At least ⅛ of Europeans live in a place at risk of extreme flooding—so says a 175-page report from the European Environment Agency posted on Wednesday. The number of people living in flood-risk coastal areas in the EU & UK is expected to jump 24% by 2050. The graphics-packed report also considers how flooding will impact healthcare facilities, mental health, wastewater treatment plants, the spread of disease, cyanobacteria, permafrost thaw, and much else.

“Europe has seen devastating floods following record rainfall, droughts of magnitudes not experienced in hundreds of years, continuing sea level rise, and increasing lake and sea temperatures….permanent water stress already affects 30% of people in southern Europe….since 2018, more than half of Europe has been impacted by extreme drought conditions….Climate change is expected to increase mercury bioaccumulation in the marine food chain due to rising ocean temperatures, ocean acidification and permafrost thawing….Depression, anxiety and PTSD may persist for years after a flooding event….Under the changing climate, northern Europe is becoming wetter in general, but drier in summer. Southern Europe is becoming drier, especially in winter. For central-eastern and western Europe, the trend is less clear…” -selections from the report

Milan suffered flooding last week, the worst May flooding in 170 years. Early spring in the UK has disrupted migratory bird species and their usual patterns.
A 74-page working paper which is not yet peer-reviewed claims that earlier estimates for how much GDP would be impacted by another 1 °C temperature rise is way less than it would be in actuality. The paper claims the real cost (in USD) is about 6x greater. They claim “global temperature has much more pronounced impacts on economic activity than local temperature” and that extreme weather is mostly behind the projected decline in productivity.
——————————
Epidemiologists are worried about how climate change in Africa may extend the life of disease-bearers like ticks and mosquitoes. Other epidemiologists are worried about how cattle may become a permanent reservoir for H5N1. Growing traced of bird flu have been found in wastewater testing in the U.S., but investigators think it may be runoff from infected dairy farms.
Obesity, high blood sugar, and high blood pressure rates today globally are 50% higher than in 2000—though researchers claim that air pollution still poses a larger threat. Of a study participants in Hawai’i, 75% had respiratory issues, probably from the Maui wildfires last year.
The 2024 World Migration Report is out, and its 384 pages are not as apocalyptic as one might think. However, internally displaced people are at their all-time highest. India, Mexico, Russia, China, and Syria lead the world in emigrants; another document contains the definitions for who exactly constitutes a migrant. Unfortunately much of the data relied upon ends in 2022. Data from this year, not included in the above report, indicates a 40% jump in traffic through the Darien Gap compared to the same time period in 2023.

“The last two years saw major migration and displacement events that have caused great hardship and trauma, as well as loss of life….There have also been large-scale displacements triggered by climate- and weather-related disasters in many parts of the world in 2022 and 2023, including in Pakistan, the Philippines, China, India, Bangladesh, Brazil and Colombia….disinformation tactics are increasingly being used by nefarious actors with negative impacts on public, political and social media discourse on migration….Forced displacement is the highest on record in the modern era…overconsumption and overproduction linked to unsustainable economic growth, resource depletion and biodiversity collapse, as well as ongoing climate change (including global heating) are continuing to grip the world….the risk of further conflict has not been higher in decades, as military spending reached a new record high of USD 2,240 billion in 2022…” -excerpts from the introduction

Another report, focusing on internal displacement, came out last week; its 69 pages show a cross-section of about 47M people displaced by natural disasters (56%) or armed conflict (44%). Most of the disasters were storms & flooding, and most of the conflicts were civil wars of some form. This report also provides detailed region-by-region analyses—with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for 46% of global IDPs.

“Conflict and violence triggered 13.5 million movements, the highest figure for the past 15 years….Disasters and conflict are presented as different triggers, but their impacts can overlap, often leading to repeated and/ or protracted displacement….Drought triggered 331,000 displacements in Somalia….Floods triggered 550,000 displacements in Ethiopia….Conflict and violence triggered 3.8 million displacements in DRC in 2023, a slight fall from the record four million in 2022, but still the second-highest figure globally after Sudan….nearly two-thirds of the internal displacements recorded in 2023 originated from Khartoum state. More than 39 per cent of the state's inhabitants were forced to flee, leaving entire neighbourhoods empty….Criminal and communal violence triggered nearly three-quarters of Nigeria's 291,000 conflict displacements….” -selections from the spotlight on sub-Saharan Africa

Experts are concerned about the mental health impacts that climate change has on our minds. Hotter temperatures reportedly increase depression & aggression. Wildfires and storms can cause PTSD. Workers feel stress and desperation as their usual industries are impacted. And air pollution influences ordinary brain processes in many ways.
Some analysts believe “Peak China” may be over, signaling a period of economic tapering-off, as well as a growing militancy. Increasing U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods are continuing to separate the two economies. The Netherlands finally formed a provisional government, though its proposed immigration & farming policies have set it at odds with the EU.
The Federal Reserve, the U.S. central bank, released a 46-page report on potential climate risks to the banking system’s resilience. As far as I understood, most of the risk lies in extreme weather events and the risk to insurance agencies.
Part of southeast England experienced an outbreak of Cryptosporidium, a diarrhea & vomiting illness, highly contagious, which can last weeks. At least 22 cases have been reported. Meanwhile, the CDC is issuing warnings about the more dangerous strain of monkeypox circulating in the DRC, although cases are currently limited to Africa.
North Carolina’s Senate voted to ban mask-wearing last week, under the reasoning that it would make police identification of protestors difficult. An fMRI study found lasting neurological changes in COVID survivors; they “had significantly higher cognitive complaints of mental fatigue and cognitive failure….even two years after recovering.” Experts say a summer rise in COVID cases is coming to the United States.
A study on The Canadian/American Great Lakes found that PFAS levels are increasing in the 3 largest lakes (Superior, Huron, and Michigan), while decreasing in the other two (Erie, Ontario). The study also found that precipitation is the primary means by which the Lakes are accumulating PFAS, since the chemicals are small & stable enough to move through the water cycle. Meanwhile, in England’s Lake District, a telecom failure resulted in raw sewage being pumped into England’s largest and most famous lake, Windermere, on-and-off for 10 hours; and a major British water CEO took a $4M USD pay package last year. And a look into the Chicago River’s health found that microplastics & trash are endangering health & biodiversity.
——————————
An assassination attempt by a lone wolf on Slovakia’s PM left him in critical condition, but likely to survive. 11 civilians were slain by cartel fighters in a few battles in Mexico. Violence continues to spiral out of control in Goma, DRC.
In Haiti, everything worsens indefinitely. Guns have reportedly entered from Florida, a phenomenon which officials call an “iron river.” Police have been put on the defensive against the growing might of the gang warlords.
A brawl broke out in Taiwan’s parliament. An Iranian plot was allegedly foiled to smuggle weapons into Jordan to destabilize the pro-U.S. regime.
Dozens more died in Sudan from escalating violence around Darfur. People are warning about “a disaster on top of a disaster” and the possibility of Sudan splitting apart. Others have called it “hell on earth” as 1,000+ refugees cross the Chad border every day. Disease and malnutrition are growing, while famine encroaches upon 9M helpless victims of the conflict—but the world’s attention is elsewhere.
The U.S. Army Engineers completed constructing the pier in Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid. Some 600,000 Gazans have been displaced from Rafah already, and fighting has escalated against Hamas militants in northern Gaza.
Taliban forces skirmished with Pakistani soldiers for about 90 minutes last week. Taliban attacks in Pakistan, and counterattacks have resulted in a kind of ambient disruption for the rocky border zone.
Violent protests—and counteroperations—are continuing in New Caledonia (pop: 270,000), a Pacific island part of overseas France. The riots, which have killed 6 people so far, began after metropolitan France proposed a plan to expand voting rights beyond indigenous residents. A state of emergency has been declared amid worries about a spiral of violence taking hold.
As the Sahel dries out, experts are concerned about the links to rising terrorism in the region. The Sahel accounts for over 40% of global terrorism deaths—according to the analysts’ understanding of “terrorism.” Mali in particular has reportedly become home to 41 new, different non-state armed groups (NSAGs) since 2007. A contested election in Chad resulted in the consolidation of the interim leader’s power.

“If governments are continually unable to solve regional issues, the people will be at the whim of any terror group that has a basic organization. It serves these groups’ interests to promote insecurity where they can and create security where they want. A “hearts and minds” campaign in the Sahel could lead to long-term and locally supported insurgencies in a land that is currently rife with civil strife.” -from the article

Some wargamers concluded that a Trump victory in 2020 would spell the end of NATO, or at least the end of its utility. Vladimir Putin replaced his minister of defense with a top economic advisor, just before going to Beijing to reaffirm their friendship with “no limits.” Some say Putin is planning on a forever war. Some say NATO is gearing up for one, too.
Russia made several gains in the suburbs of Kharkiv, seizing several settlements which some analysts doubt they will hold. Putin claims they aren’t really trying to take Kharkiv anyway… Russia also made small progress in the Donbas—although they suffered their largest one-day casualties since the start of the war. The U.S. allocated another $2B to hasten the delivery of weapons to the front lines. The next weeks will be crucial on the front. Switzerland has invited 160+ nations to send delegates to a peace summit intended to design a path to making peace in this War.
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Select comments/threads from the subreddit last week suggest:
-Brazil’s flooding was really, really bad, judging from this post and its accompanying images. Across just one of Brazil’s 26 states, 600,000+ people have been made homeless, 100+ have died, and the storm season isn’t over yet. Some of the flooding isn’t expected to subside for another month.
-How specifically might climate change make humanity extinct? This thread crowdsources a number of plausible ways, from ordinary famines to nuclear war and even a massive deoxygenation process. I tend to think it will be a consequence of an eventual nuclear exchange, followed by extended famine and disease.
Got any feedback, questions, comments, complaints, upvotes, doom prophets to follow, hugelkultur guides, directions to off-grid bunkers, ark schematics, etc.? Check out the Last Week in Collapse SubStack if you don’t want to check collapse every Sunday, you can receive this newsletter sent to your (or someone else’s) email inbox every weekend. What did I forget this week?

Bud be gone 16 years later this month. Don’t hardly seem possible. Still remember him as if I just saw and spoke to him yesterday. The way of it. Miss him a lot, and so does Momma. Also the way of it. Get to thinking about him a lot this time each year.
Not as raw and brutal as it used to be. Had some dark days for both of us for quite a while. Again, the way of it. But acceptance comes eventually, when there’s no other choice.
I try to console myself that he lived life large in the 21 years he had - didn’t waste ‘em. Got to see and do places and things that comparatively few do. Was involved in things he felt were important.
I loved him dearly, and was admiring and proud of the man he’d become. And I told him so quite often. Advice from someone who’d not always as bright as he might be, but who nevertheless understands some basic things: say what Should be said when you have the chance. The words are important, even if they already know. Don’t, and the day might come when it’s now too late to.
He was the wild one of our brood - seems like every family has one. Not troublesome in any way for Momma and me. He asked me a serious question once, when he was 16: “Dad, you and Mom hardly ever whipped us when we were kids. How come?”
And my answer a simple one: “We didn’t need to. You were great kids.” He’d thought that over, and nodded his acceptance.
A disciplinary problem aboard his ship sometimes, though, and this didn’t surprise either of us. A different world with different rules. And he never accepted insult from anyone from the time he was small - just not in his nature. Push, and he’d push back.
But by every account we heard, very serious and disciplined when it came to his job. This didn’t surprise us, either. His primary rating Firefighter aboard ship, he’d often complain that the training wasn’t Realistic enough. To the extent that a superior had remarked once in exasperation: “Well, we can’t set the damn ship on fire for you, Bud!”
Well-known and liked throughout the crew, he was something of a minor legend among them. Famous (or infamous - take your pick) for the situations he got himself into to the point that after a while, anyone in trouble beyond the usual was referred to as having “Pulled a Bud.”
Fighting several members of Shore Patrol on one memorable occasion: “It took six of ‘em to get him under control and back to the ship, Mr. OP.” A friend.
With several members of the local PD on an even more memorable one.
He’d paid for that one on the way to and at the station. Being thrown headlong down a set of cement stairs with his hands still cuffed behind his back he figured he’d had coming. Ditto with then being picked up and rammed headfirst into a cinder block wall.
Being stripped naked, tossed in a cell, and having a fire hose turned on him every hour on the hour all night he’d objected to: “That shit was Cold, Pop! And it was fucking unnecessary! I catch any of ‘em out alone, I got somethin’ for their ass!”
“You gotta stop this shit, Bud.”
“……Sigh…I know, Pop. I know. Do me a favor - don’t tell Mom, ok?”
“I don’t intend to.”
“……Pop?”
“Yeah?”
“Captain says the same thing. Says this is my last chance…….Why’s he giving me another chance, after all the trouble I’ve caused?”
“Because he sees something in you he wants to keep - something of value to the ship. You can be counted on to do your job, no matter what. That carries a lot of weight in the civilian world - more so in the military.”
“…..You think so?”
“I know so.”
One of the last conversations, and over the phone, we’d ever have.
An old Chief remarked to us: “Bud was a throwback. He reminded me of the fighting Sailors of my own youth. I hadn’t met another quite like him in a good many years. He’ll be missed.”
His Captain remarked to me: “He turned it around, Mr. OP. It was as if he made a decision. There wasn’t another single incident of insubordination or anything else. In all my years of service, I’ve never seen anyone do so complete a 180. He’d made his mind up, and that was that. But I guess I don’t have to tell you that. He was actually due for promotion. Did you know that?”
I had. Bud had told me he’d studied for and passed the test. Perfect score, or near enough. He’d broken his hand at the time. A timed test, and his writing hand, he’d been afraid the cast would slow him down too much, so he’d cut it off and gone to get it redone afterward.
Last time I spoke to him, he had some shipmates were in Galveston during Mardi Gras. Out on the promenade. Sounds of revelry in the background. Shakedown cruise in preparation for another deployment.
Presently, to his impatient shipmates: “Just give me a damn minute, all right?! Listen, I guess I better go. Love you, Pop. And tell Mom that for me when she gets home, ok?”
“I will. Love you, too, Bud.”
Good last words to remember, I guess.
All through the days and nights we’d spent in the hospital, waiting, and hoping against hope, Momma and I hadn’t been alone. My brothers were there with us, having driven in from out of state. My sister. Mother.
And his crew. Day and night, young men and women waiting with us in great numbers. Lying sleeping on the floor against the walls lining the corridors, when all other spaces had been taken. None of the hospital staff asking them to leave.
Ship’s Officers and senior Enlisted spending as much time there as preparations for deployment would permit. Checking in in person with us and hospital staff about his condition at least once a day.
And so many of them with a story or two to tell about Bud. Many of them funny. For that was who he was, too. He could always make people laugh. Someone being down in his presence he couldn’t abide, and he always knew how to fix that.
It was as if they Needed to. And that Momma and I understood, as well. We’d known him all his life, and we could see that they knew him, too. So we were patient, and grateful, and we listened.
The day finally came when we were told there was no longer any hope at all. He’d never regained consciousness, and now there was no more brain activity at all. He was gone.
His XO was there with us when we were told, and that large, strong man wept bitterly and unashamedly. I think that probably doesn’t happen often.
Momma and I were alone the next day, in a seated waiting area next to the elevators. Waiting, just the two of us, not speaking much. Everyone had given us that space to ourselves. Sensed that we needed it, I suppose.
The first man arriving with a refrigerated transport case arrived, and took the elevator down. He seemed in a hurry. A man who desperately needed Bud’s strong heart was waiting, and time was of the essence.
Momma and I watched the doors close behind him. Then we both got up, and hand in hand, walked away. It was finished now. The book of his life was closed, though in a sense it never would be.
A few months previous, he’d registered as an organ donor. His choice.
His heart went to a 31-yr-old man in need of a new one.
A young woman in North Dakota sees through his eyes.
Many others were helped, as well. His parting gifts.
Talking to the coordinator of the donor program at the hospital at a later date, I was informed that the man’s new heart was functioning perfectly. He had, in fact, been going to the gym and hitting the weights. Something he’d had no interest in before.
“Lifting and bodybuilding were some of Bud’s passions” I replied.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time” the man had replied in kind. “And you’d be astonished at how many times something like that happens; the recipient unknowingly taking on attributes of the donor. No one can explain it.”

I overwhelmed with happiness, and so I thought I’d share my story, and in hope I can help at least one person. To start, I have four bulge disc. L1-L2, L3-L4(10mm bulge), L4-L5, and L5-S1. Short back ground, I’ve been dealing with bulge disc since 2018, started when I went to a chiropractor, and the next day and had to go to the hospital. Meaning, I was carried by seven firefighters down a flight of stairs while I was crying my face off because I could not walk and was in so much pain.
This year two more disc gave out over a stupid sport accident. Believe it or not curling, my hip gave out. And well it pissed my back off.
Okay rehab. I did 5 massages, three physio, three acupuncture. Was not helping. At least my physio called it big time and the MRI confirmed it.
In 2021 I started disc decompression, it helped a lot but the chiropractor was charging a lot. So in 2024 I was hesitant, but I found another place that charged less because I understand you have to go for at least 12 or more to make an impact on the disc. Well I finished my 12 and have three more to go. Yes I do believe it is helping.
What I have learned this year is about 5% dextrose given I natural Path doctors. Possibly MD as well but I’m seeing a NP.
I received it today and within 4 hours my pain in the inside and outside went away. In Canada it seem impossible to find a doctor that does Interdisc PRP. Im so happy I went for the epidural, just to have very little pain at this moment is a small victory. I’m hoping with creating a healthy environment via the disc decompression, and introducing the 5% dextrose, and of course will go for a few more, then add prp to my post exterior muscle will save me.
FYI I went to the surgeon in 2021 when I had drop foot and the doctor did not want to operate, so I’ve had to make pain management a huge part of my life.
I’m not a doctor, I just want to share because, no one will say do everything to get better, they may just believe in what they are pushing.
I’m hoping that if I can help just one person I’m happy. Because I’ve been in pain for three past 14 weeks, and I’m finally able to feel like I’ve make progress.

basically, cs2 gives me 10-20 fps in firefights with everything set to low and 800x600. although if i am not in firefights i get around 40-80 frames. needless to say i cant win a fight because of the sudden drop in frames. My specs are : ryzen 3500u vega 8 and 8 gb ram, is there any hope for me to get consistent 30-35 fps in firefights or it is a lost cause for me? the only thing i can do is some half decent awping other than that i am losing every aim duel. Please suggest something if its possible and not just "get a better pc". Thanks
Edit : i am cooked

My fire station needs a logo for our station shirts and engine. Each station in our department has been tasked with creating their own, and ours has to be the best. I have combined everyone's wants, and l'd like to find someone to combine those ideas into a single design. The basic idea is a Mexican Catrina style sugar skull, with the objects inside the skull that are associated with firefighting. These could be halligans, axes, ladders, hoses, bugles...
The design is based on the Fire Department Coffee logo, which is linked. You'll notice it has hoses and bugles built into the design of the skull. In one eye, I'd like a four leaf clover, in the other l'd like the lAFF logo (our union). For the helmet shield, please add our station number (3). Above the logo, as a banner, the word "Westside" and across the bottom a banner that says “Bomberos."
I'd like it to look similar to the original photo of the sugar skull, but different enough that it's not a rip off.
Here is a link to the logo it’s based on: https://www.firedeptcoffee.com/collections/skull-gifts/products/skull-sticker

Am a new rural/forrestry firefighter and was wondering if there's any particular stuff you guys could advise would be handy to take with you aside from the regular stuff on the appliances. I take a multitool and a decent picket knife with me most call outs incase I ever need them, but haven't been to a really major fire as of yet sonivguess you could say my preparedness hasn't been truly tested. So what's some stuff you would advise to bring? We have ample waterbottles always stored on the truck and electrolytes and snacks so that side of things is already covered. Thanks!

I need help with holding a job
Let me start off by saying I have Asperger Sydrome and I know it's common for people of my diagnosis to be underemployed. I'm by no means an idiot. I have had a lot of personal successes in my life. I graduated high school, quit drinking by the age of 22, I have a girlfriend, have lived on my own since I was 18, went from homeless to now renting a 1 bedroom apartment, did Junior ROTC in high school, was a lifeguard, volunteered my time in my church and was a volunteer firefighter before i moved away from my hometown. I got my drivers, a boaters license, and a motorcycle endorsement when nobody said i would ever have anything but 6x6 cell or 6 feet of dirt to call home. I did have a rough childhood, run ins with law, and other issues. I'm almost 23, I try to attend church every Sunday live in a 1 bedroom apartment with my girlfriend who also shares my diagnosis however she is able to work full time while somehow I am not.
Her upbringing was starkly different than mine but not perfect. She had always had both her parents, 3 siblings, her father and brothers both have both been volunteer firefighters. Her father a Corrections Lieutenant and a Marine Corps Veteran. Her mother works with dogs.
My parents however, both are alcoholics, divorced, and extremely negative. My mother, if it isn't alcohol it's painkillers. She cheated on my dad, got sole custody of my 2 siblings and I, was on welfare, and just a generally aggressive and abusive person. I was never pushed to do well in school and there really wasn't anything I could do that she, or my father would approve of.
Anyway I have seldom held a job for more than 3 months. I washed dishes at a restaurant for about 6 but it wasn't without, laid off, fired and rehired twice. More recently I've worked in mechanic shops, landscaping, and other restaurants, all for a few days, weeks, maybe a month before I get fired. I never really see it coming either. I never really get told that I'm doing a shit job, I always show up 15 min early at least, I appreciate every opportunity I've been given and frankly feel grateful to have a paying job for a few days. However after a few days or weeks I usually end up back to relying on social security disability, food stamps, etc to survive. I do have a driver's license and a car to get me to work. I don't want to continue this cycle. What am I missing? What am I doing wrong? I usually don't want to talk to employers about my past but I don't want to appear like I have things to hide either.

We haven’t had a lot of reddit money diaries lately and I was curious about how much I spent on her in the first 6 months, so I did this to tally up! I’ve done MD before so I’m just going to do a very quick summary here: I have a masters degree, in workforce last 2 years, I was making $100,000 til a layoff in late April. I have roughly $12k in retirement, $16k in checking, and $27k in savings. No debt. I adopted Cordelia 11/11/2023 and the bulk of expenses, though not all of them, are split with my sisteroommate. If not otherwise noted, assume the total was split 50/50 between us. In the interest of tracking full costs, I will only be noting the totals.
Upfront Costs/Adoption Story
I came in knowing I wanted an adult cat and that special needs wasn’t a dealbreaker, and it was truly love at first sight when I met Cordelia (nee Socks). She was 6 years old and recently re-surrendered to the shelter after her owner, an elderly Eastern European woman, moved back to her home country. She had a rough backstory, grew up in a hoarder home and was found and brought to the shelter when the home caught fire and firefighters found literally over a hundred cats in cages. In addition to being less appealing to potential adopters because of age, she was suffering from dandruff mostly due to being overweight and was/is on a prescription diet for proteinuria. Nevertheless, she is a gentle, loving, total couch potato of a cat who adores being brushed and touched by humans.
The shelter is pay what you wish, and I made a $100 donation to the shelter (not split). Additionally, I had no cat supplies, so before I brought her home I went to my local pet store. I had a $100 gift card that I won in a raffle to benefit a pitbull rescue, but still paid $44.99 out of pocket for a haul that included a litter box, 20 lb bag of litter, a cat condo (that she never even touched, naturally), Litter Genie, and a bag of Litter Genie refills. I did not need to pay for a carrier at this point because the shelter provided one.
Category Total: $144.99
Pet Insurance
$25/month, through Healthy Paws, not much to say.
Category Total: $150
Toys and Accessories
Other than the cat condo previously noted, I spent $51 at PetSmart (not split) on a harness and some random toys. As usual, she does not like any of these toys and only wants to play with my dirty socks. This purchase also included a slicker brush because she loves the brushie. For $2 at TJ Maxx I got her a scratch pad that she loved and scratched to death and I replaced for another $2 later on. At one point she scratched my doorframe so I got a scratching post with a built-in brush at the base and also got more Litter Genie bags for a $50 pet store visit. In January I returned to the pet store yet again and bought a water fountain for $30, which was another dud. Last month I bought her a set of raised food/water bowls for $20 and pleased to say they actually increased her water intake! I also bought a Furminator for $20 as the season change has made her quite scrunkly. Finally, I’ve spent $110 on alternative carriers because the one from the shelter is pretty awkward and heavy. I got a backpack carrier for vet visits and today I ordered a rolling carrier to try and bring her on public transit to my parents’ house.
This total does not include things my parents bought for their grandkitty, such as a cat bed that looks like a present box, or random small toys that I paid for in cash. This stuff is also not split because it was all me being silly and extra.
Category Total: $258
Food
This is also sort of a recurring cost, but as I mentioned, she is on prescription urinary food. Though maybe not for much longer because she had a bladder test Friday! Every 48 days, I pay $122 for two 24 packs of her wet food. She eats a can a day and also gets a tiny bit of prescription dry food so she doesn’t spend all night bugging me. The shelter did send me home with what they had of her prescription. The total spent on her food thus far is slightly higher than the recurring cost because I had to replace the dry food once.
Category Total: $545
Vet Visits
As part of her pet insurance coverage, I needed to bring her in for a comprehensive physical exam within 30 days of adoption. I brought her to a local vet and paid $217 for a physical exam. The vet found that she had ear mites, presumably from the shelter environment, so this total includes an ear cleaning and preventative mite treatment. This also includes a fecal analysis. Two weeks later, we decided to get Cordelia microchipped, which was $295 including the actual procedure and the registration fee with Pettrac.
This past Friday, Cordelia had another vet visit. This was primarily because she’s due for a rabies vaccine in May, but we also opted to do her annual physical so both those appointments would be on the same schedule and she won’t need to go in every 6 months for routine stuff. The total here was $346, of which $125 was the urinalysis. In addition to the urinalysis, physical, and rabies shot, I also got her a gabapentin prescription to hopefully avoid peeing/pooping/vomiting on car rides.
Category Total: $858
Grand Total: $1955.99
Reflections
Sorry not sorry for being a crazy cat lady. I have some photos in my post history of Cordelia, she truly lights up my life and my/my sister’s apartment. There’s a new coziness and warmth that wasn’t there before she came home. As I type this MD, she’s next to me on my bed making biscuits. Also, she's down nearly 1.5 lbs since I brought her home! She still has a bit to go to get to a healthy weight but she's noticeably improved at grooming herself.
tax

Hi y'all,
I'm trying to figure out a new career path. You can skim my past posts for my current jobs toxicity. I just survived a mass lay-off but that's a big red flag to me to get a job lined up.
I have a BS in comms, minor in environ studies, but well, 3 years of applying to target titles and roles has failed, so my option are: 1. Keep trying the same jobhunting strategy. 2. Panic masters or study radiology tech 3. Learn a trade; i've poked around a bit and its tough. No continuing ed classes rn, most I found was online IT certs
I remember touring a water plant in an environmental studies course and most of the workers recommending it. It also feels like one of those jobs where no matter where you move to you could find work...
i just still had a few questions, specifically about a role like this water recovery assistant role:

1. Is there constant micromanagement and threat of termination?
   
2. Is there a career ladder? Like more than just shift lead, then shift manager?
   

-Sort of related, are there roles other than what the plant workers called "turd herding"?

1. Failing that, does it seem like it'd accommodate further education?
   
2. Do you really never get rid of the smell of waste?
   
3. Would you say realistically it provides a good income and QOL?
   

Basically, if your car breaks down, or you get sick, are you getting fired? Could you go on a real camping trip- not just an overnighter 40 mins from town, but like to the Adirondacks?
Would you be able to accommodate your personal and family life without getting fired? What about things as silly as wanting to learn a sport, martial arts, or commit to volunteer firefighting? Could you do that?
Reading through all the replies- thanks everyone. I think I might as well apply and see what happens :)

I’m sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this, but I’d love some advice. I live in a 16 storey apartment building. An alarm went off at 2am last night and by the time I’d bundled my disabled mother in law, partner and dogs out the door (3 minutes) the alarm stopped and people were advising that the firefighters had just cleared everyone to go back in and left. “How could this be?” I asked. Surely that would be record time?
Turns out, the building staggers the alarm per floor to avoid everyone evacuating en masse and “to keep everyone evacuating safely”. However, this means that the alarm originally sounded at least 10-15 minutes, possibly more, before we heard it on the 7th floor. I have no idea if other floors heard it at all. I know there was a previous alarm in the middle of the day, and we waited outside for 20 minutes before being given the okay to head back in. A friend of mine on the 15th floor said his wife and children were home but never heard an alarm and never evacuated.
Given that this is a choice the powers that be within the building seem to have deliberately made, I find that I’d really like to approach them with proof of how quickly a fire can become catastrophic in an apartment building. I’ve tried googling, but I can’t find anything clear cut. If there was a fire, say some idiot had a pot of oil on fire, tried to carry it to the bathroom, and spread it across their apartment, or someone fell asleep smoking (something I personally experienced from a neighbour in our granny flat when I was a small child), how long would other floors have to be able to safely evacuate before it could potentially become dangerous and/or impossible?
TIA for your advice and thank you all for the incredible work that you do.

This whole concept seems strange to me and honestly the more I learn the less certain I am about where I stand. When I close my eyes I see black. Like so black that I see colors? My eyes cannot find rest and they fidget. The blackness is so consuming that my mind cannot conjure images. I cannot see though the blackness. With that being said I can create a 3 dimensional sandbox that I can control. So much control in fact that I can feel it. Like the trade center… thousands of degrees and people jumping from a building to their death. I can feel the acceptance or maybe it’s a futility. I can feel the quick sense of pride associated with having the courage to take a leap and the regret. I can imagine looking over at what in my minds eye is a blonde Aged women who is struggling to come to terms with the leap. She is pressing on her phone screen harder than necessary.she is Frustrated that her facial recognition is struggling to identify her trough the smoke. I see her make a call and then my mind jumps to the call not being picked up. You can see on her face that she realizes that this is it. In my mind I’m only feet away from her but she’s in her own world. The flames roaring and the sound of metal bending and crashing no longer seem to matter. I can see the hope and life leave her eyes as she gets that stare that I have when I’m picturing this. And then I can make the life return. All it takes is for her phone to start ringing. That is th part That I get stuck on. I can see myself grabbing her hand and without saying a word guiding her to the window and making eye contact not only before the leap but I can picture her eyes all the way down. I can picture gabbing her by her shirt and dangling her over the window. I can assign two reactions to this. One of annoyance at the idea that I feel the need to interject myself into her already doomed reality. And instantly I can flip the script and instead of holding her over the balcony I’m trying to pull her back up. Then I can as the firefighter pull her up to he point of safety hug her and tell her everything will be okay. I can feel her melt into my embrace. I can hug her back and still proceed to push her over the edge. Watching her face transition from shock to confusion and I can hear the scream fade. I can imagine myself getting caught pushing her by another firefighter. As I’m sure you can imagine I have multiple ways that interaction could go and I can explore each of them one by one seemingly to no end . I think I could live multiple lives just in my head. I see all of this as a sort of day dream. Not really a rolling clip so much as it is a series of frames but I can view these images from any angle. From the eyes of the woman being betrayed from the eyes of a firefighter observing this live or from the eyes of someone watching a recording of the events online or cctv. I can obviously go all day but if anyone shares a similar experience I’d like to know what you think. Is this line of thinking typical? I believe this may have saved my life actually. When I wanted to kill myself I could see myself throwing myself n front of a bus last minute. It was the visual of my little sisters tears that stopped me.it isn’t all horizons looking over the world from mt Everest.

HI there, respected debate pedophiles.
I could use some feedback on a recent debate/convo. I am new to Reddit apologies for any mistakes in adv.
.... irrelevant back and forth about the war...
Other guy: probably killed by IDF bombs
Me: that sucks man only if Hamas had released the hostages. Hamas are such cowards. They should return the hostages and fight in the open, like men.
Other guy: If someone takes some kindergarteners hostage, would you bomb the school?
Me: The US would, they don’t negotiate with terrorist.
Other guy: yup, the US really has reached the pinnacle of morality. It’s also the reason why they’ve won all their wars after WWII
Me: which country would you say has more morality than the USA and have gone through terror attacks like 911?
Other guy: 9/11 was a horrific consequence of the terrible foreign policy by the USA and UK. You reap what you sow. If you organise coups, bomb and terrorize the entire Middle East during the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, you shouldn’t be surprised when some angry fanatic Muslims attack you in 2001. Same can be said for October the 7th. And after this terrible war in Gaza, something even more evil than Hamas will rise up. We’ve seen that with ISIS after the Iraq and Syrian wars.
To answer your question: there’re no countries that have gone through such terror attacks as Israel and USA have, because most countries in the world don’t terrorize other populations like Israel or the USA has
Me: would you say the firefighters and other people who died in 911 deserved it?
Secondly I agree, there is no playbook on how to handle a response to a terror attack. Would you say a reasonable response would be to find and kill the terrorist that killed your innocent people?
Other guy: who’s talking about deserving? No one that died on 9/11 deserved to die. I’m talking about logical consequences of terrible foreign policy making us normal citizens less safe. The tens of thousands of innocent kids that died in Iraq and Afghanistan didn’t deserve to die either because of some crazy Muslims that eventually resides in Pakistan (so why did the US invade Iraq & Afghanistan).
The reasonable response was the night they found and killed Bin Laden in Pakistan. Fucking up two countries, creating millions of refugees and killing half a million people wasn’t a reasonable response.
Me: So you do agree that people who died on 911 and Oct 7 were innocent and did not deserve to die.
We also agree that the USA & Israel have the moral authority & justification to go after the perpetrators of the terror attacks.
We only disagree on the methods & proportionality of the response
Do you agree with this?
Other guy: yep, 100% One last thing: we’ve seen with disproportionate responses in the past (like Iraq & Afghanistan) even more evil entities will rise up from the ashes, like with ISIS. There’s a huge danger and chance the same will happen in Gaza. The level of violence used by the Israeli government will fester immense amounts of hate which will result in even more evil than Hamas
*will post further responses if there is interest.

While I still enjoyed listening to our favorite podders talk action flicks, I think the action movie scene draft was a bit of a misfire. Particularly, the categories didn’t lend themselves to much debate, and the system of drafting with the multiple picks get disjointed. I do think it’s a great concept, so I came up with some different categories that would make it more interesting. So away with the two picks per decade, and in with the following:
Firefight Scene (Anything with guns that be a shooting, i.e. John Wick in the club, Neo & Trinity in the lobby)
Martial Arts Scene (Hallway fight scene in Oldboy, Rama & Andi vs. Mad Dog in Raid: Redemption, anything Jackie Chan does in Drunken Master)
Western Shootout (Climax of the Wild Bunch, climax of the new 3:10 to Yuma, final standoff in the Good, the Bad, & the Ugly)
Chase Sequence (Car chase in the French Connection, Nice car chase in Ronin, Butch & Cassidy evade posse to the waterfall, the entirety of Fury Road)
Heist Sequence (Downtown LA in Heat, the Nun heist in The Town, even the opening scene of The Dark Knight)
Comic Book Scene (Elevator fight in The Winter Soldier, Joker’s escape in The Dark Knight, vampire club scene in Blade)
Sci-fi Action Scene (Marines first encounter xenomorphs in Aliens, Arnold vs the Predator, Darth Vader in Rogue One)
Period/Sword&Sandal Movie Action Scene (Opening scene of Gladiator, village raid in The Northman, ambush scene in Last of the Mohicans)
War Scene (This one might be a little tricky, because they’re not always “fun” BUT Omaha beach scene in Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawks go down in uh Black Hawk Down, beach bombing in Dunkirk)
WILDCARD (Trinity test in Oppenheimer perhaps? Titanic sinking, maybe?)
10 categories, one pick per round like normal. There’s definitely plenty of wiggle room with categories, like where to put the heist sequence in The Dark Knight. I’d also say movies should only be selected once, but whatever I’m not God, pick how you want.
And finally, put Van on this pod. And Shea Serrano if he’s willing to make a quick reunion.
What do you all think? Would you add any categories? And let me see the picks of the people, please share!

Hey all, fellow lgbt teen here, and I'm going to talk about depression. Now I'm not going to going to give advice like "oh go outside" or "find god" because I don't know jack shit about your situation and depression. But it still remains the fact that a lot of us are depressed and down, so what now?
The easy answer is keep living, becuase that's all you really can do. You can medicate it with zoloft and Prozac, you can do any number of unhealthy ways to self medicate, you can talk to a therapist, you can trauma dump on random online, you can fill the hole with the want for a diagnosis for an illness, you can do a billion things to help. But at the end of the day only one way is proven to fix depression. Time.
Hold on! Hold on! I just said that I wasn't going to spew bullshit advice! And I'm not, hear me out pretty please. Time does fix things, no matter how bad it gets, it will always get better in the end. That doesn't mean that it won't get worse before it does, but it will get better someway somehow. That doesn't seem like the answer though, because it always seems to get worse. The thing you hate that happens will happen after you read this, you will still feel empty, you will still feel alone. But no matter how much worse it gets, it will get better, and if I'm wrong then you can make fun of me. But you'll be eating your words when it does get better. Tw: s_icidal ideas, light mentions of abu$e I once was talking to another lgbt teen on an online chat room, we will call them Astral, anyways Astral had it hard, abu$ive parents, trans, foster kid, the whole works. Practically a mental illness starting kit. Astral told me that they were thinking of leaving life, for good. I told them they shouldn't do that, gave them helpline, the works. But Astral was still feeling like they didn't belong here. So I told Astral a story with some blatant metaphors and a couple hidden ones, that story is this:
You ever drive past a forest that had a forestfire? Hot flames, a thousand degree nightmare ripping through trees that have been around for hundreds of years in seconds. I'm more scared of forestfires than I am of sharks, axe murderers, and bears combined. The strong wild fires cannot be stopped by firefighters, only contained and left to burn out. Forestfires are awful to say the least. If you have driven past a place ravaged by a forest fire? It looks like a big bump with skinny little burnt trees sticking up out of the ground, they are ugly and strange looking. But most people don't know a secret about those trees, they are still alive. The trees have hard bark, that hard bark is burt and scarred, broken and dead. Though the outside of the trees are burnt, the core is still alive. The tree still stands, scarred, charred, tired, and hurt, the tree still stands. When the forest all burns down, the strong stand still and wait. After a while the trees grow leaves again, they grow new limbs and continue on with life, they survive. They drop seeds that litter the ground. Big surprise, the rain comes, the newly fertilized ground has little saplings come out, under the towering big burnt trees. And the cherry on top? Scientists have discovered that those very same trees are more resistant to future flames from fires becuase of the things they went through. End of story
While I maybe not be a therapist, nor a psychiatrist, life coach, mediocre Ted talker, or wise drunk uncle. I do know one thing, whoever is reading this is a tree, and though you may be scarred, burnt, charred, that doesn't mean you are a goner. All it means is that you will be even more beautiful when the rain comes, weather you believe my dumb ass or not. You are alive.
Now Astral didn't leave the earth that day, they are alive as far as I know. But it wasn't from my story, as stated before: this story won't change shit. Astral stayed on this earth because they are one of the trees that when the forest burns down, the tough know what's coming so they survive becuase of their scars, not die at fault of them. Be gracious to yourself.

TL;DR Please keep a work journal. Use it to record your small “wins” at work. Use it to build your resume for when you need a raise, a promotion, or a new job.

What do Firefighters Do All Day?

When I was a kid, I loved Richard Scarry picture books. He drew human-like animals who lived in “Busytown” and who worked in typical places: bank, firehouse, bakery, and so on. Richard Scarry explained to young readers what firefighters did all day: they rescued cats from tall trees. When the baker burned a batch of pies, the firefighters came and put out the burning pies. The firefighters had a big truck full of hoses, and they spent a lot of time fussing over the truck, too.
https://preview.redd.it/fpn6eflbl81d1.jpg?width=700&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f51b4cafb6766ad0b1a2baea4ec7357f9d58a85e
Children are not born knowing what a banker does, what a baker does, what a firefighter does. It’s both useful and lovely to explain basic job functions to children so they can understand how their town functions.
A lot of people, including job seekers on this subreddit, seem to think resumes are Richard Scarry books. People spend their resumes explaining what a baker does all day:

• rolled out dough for pies and bagels each morning
• sold doughnuts and muffins to customers; returned correct change
• turned off ovens and swept kitchen clean every night

WHAT? That’s only a resume if you were terrible at your job. I’m serious; if I saw those three bullet points on a baker’s resume, I would assume the baker in question had just been fired.

The Point of Resume Bullet Points

Imagine you’ve been a professional baker for two years. You’ve applied for a new job. You’ve made it through the dumb website questionnaires, the redundant forms. You made it past the algorithm or the robot that rejects half the applicants right away. You’ve got your resume in front of me, the person who can decide to interview you, the person who can decide to hire you.
And you’re using this time to tell me what a baker does?
Your resume is not a place to educate children about your core job functions. Your resume is a place to persuade a manager that you are good at your job! If I’m hiring a baker, chances are good-to-excellent that I already know what a baker does all day. I want to know if you are a good baker!

• reduced morning biscuit prep time by switching to corn oil; saved 18 minutes per day
• caramel doughnut recipe won 2nd place in Busytown’s Bake-Off 2021
• increased earnings 8% by moving tip jar to front of counter

Those are accomplishments. They show that you were good at your job. They show that you make improvements. They show that you measure things: How long was it taking you to make biscuits before? What did you change? How long did it take you to make biscuits after that change? Was the change your idea, or something your boss told you to try?
Now, maybe the tip jar example bothers you. Maybe that’s not about being a good baker, it’s more about being a greedy, self-interested employee. Guess what? As a hiring manager, I don’t care! I’m so impressed that you made a change and measured the impact of that change that I give you full points for that tip jar bullet point. Even if my bakery doesn’t use tip jars. Even if I’m hiring for a pastry chef position at a hotel, a role that doesn’t get tipped income. It’s the drive to measure, the habit of making small improvements at work, that’s what impresses me.

Lost Progress: My Doughnut Years

I worked at a doughnut shop right after college, years ago. It was not a happy time for me; I had a fancy degree, so I had expected to be doing more interesting things with my life than frosting doughnuts and pouring coffee for customers. But I’m a driven person. I improve things everywhere I go. I remember I impressed my boss one day when I came in with colorful printed signs I had made on my home ink-jet printer: “Chocolate Sprinkles,” “Raspberry Jelly,” “Lemon Creme.” We had been using hand-printed signs, Sharpie on cardboard, and these were a big improvement.
Our regular customers noticed the signs. I probably bragged about them or fished for compliments. That’s something 22-year-old me would have done. For sure the shop owner liked them. I remember the glossy paper I used made them easier to wipe clean, so we didn’t have to re-write the labels every few days.
I didn’t write any of this down in a journal. It all happened years ago; I barely remember it. But I should have been keeping a journal. If I had, then my resume would have featured bullet points such as:

• simplified regular ordering process by creating new signs …or
• standardized inventory display with colorful, uniform signage …or
• took initiative to re-do store signage; received 23 compliments from regular customers …or
• “Did you make those signs? They look amazing!” -Actual customer, responding to the labels I created on my home printer for the doughnut display area

Maybe some of those bullet points hit harder than others; I was young and it was a dumb job. But see how those bullet points say much more about what kind of baker I am than
“• rolled out dough for pies and bagels each morning” ?

How, When, and What to Journal at Work

If you have an amazing memory for tiny details, then maybe you don’t need to keep a journal. But most people should. Every month, or at least every quarter, sit down for twenty minutes and write down something that demonstrates you are good, skilled, dedicated, resourceful, whatever:

1. “Neela Roberts, a regular client, said last month ‘Dave, whenever you process my invoice, I know it’s going to be correct, I don’t even have to check!’ That made me feel good.”
2. “I caught a pricing typo on the quote sheet Business Development was preparing to send over to Acme Industrials. Maybe someone else would have caught it, but wow those Acme people are pushy about little details like that; I probably saved us $500, who knows?”
3. “I’m glad I persuaded Marla to upgrade the A/V system in the conference room. We always used to have clients ask us ‘what? say that again?’ in our conference calls. Since we installed the new mics and speakers, I can’t remember that happening.”
4. “Chris over in Receiving bought me a beer after work today, said he wanted to thank me for recommending Dale for the new loader position. Glad to hear Dale is working out so well over there.”

It's easy, in the glow of a big win at work, to think "I'll always remember this accomplishment. I'll always remember how I helped the team, the way this project came together, the nice things the boss said about our hard work. This is a memory I'll treasure."
And then Monday rolls around, and you're back to rolling out dough for the morning bagels. Unless you are a professional athlete, most days at work are not wins. Most days at work are not noteworthy. And the ho-hum of the every day can overwhelm your big and small accomplishments unless you make time to write them down regularly.

Why to Journal at Work

Even if you love your job, even if you are 10 years into a 20-year role with a guaranteed pension, a place you never intend to leave, you should still be doing this.
First, I don’t believe any job is guaranteed in this life.
Second, a list of improvements and accomplishments will help you get promotions and raises at your current job. Think of how much you’ll have to say at your annual review when you’ve been taking monthly notes on your significant contributions! It will help you defend yourself if you ever face cutbacks at work due to downturns and budget problems.
Third, journaling and measuring will make you a better worker! My whole mentality at work changed when i started measuring stuff. “Hey, I think we should reorganize the mailing room, because I think the workflow in there is just nuts. But you know what? Let’s note down how many packages we ship out each morning for the next three mornings, just to get a baseline. Then, when we make the changes I have in mind, we can see if things actually improve. Three more days with the old system won’t kill us, and it will let me measure my impact.”
Your work journal needs to be in a paper book or in a computer file you will retain access to even if you change jobs. We’ve all heard horror stories about layoffs at Zenith Techno where workers got an automated email at 5AM and lost all access to company files. Your work journal needs to be your property. Your career is more important than any one job!
If you work for the CIA or for a urologist, you might need to take some basic care to respect the privacy of clients and your employer. Maybe use fake names of patients. Don't put the secret recipe to your boss's famous caramel doughnuts on a server where doughnut hackers can get to it. But keep a journal! Do it!
Otherwise, this is all you’ve got to say for yourself at the end of the day:
“• turned off ovens and swept kitchen clean every night”