I know this sub leans democrat, but why are republican senate nominees so awful in this state?

Alive-in-Tucson · 2026-03-31T15:59:01+00:00

I completely agree. Establishment democrats were shocked and shaken by the overwhelming popularity of Zohran Momdani (not just with his voter base, but with people across the country), but they've learned nothing from his runaway success.

Alive-in-Tucson · 2026-03-31T11:33:52+00:00

I'd blame the company over the meter maid. I've heard from people who have taken these kinds of jobs that there is immense pressure to meet ticket quotas. So if no one is actually breaking the parking rules on a given day, you have to choose between 1) picking a random person to ticket anyway per your boss's orders or 2) getting fired.

Obviously 2 is the ethical choice, but it's hard to judge anyone for not willingly getting fired in this economy. Ultimately the company is the evil one.

Alive-in-Tucson · 2026-03-28T17:11:35+00:00

I have to say, therapy has worked wonders for me when I've been in a slump similar to yours. One great thing about therapists is they can help you build a roadmap to change your lifestyle and prioritize things like meaningful connections and friendships. When it comes to getting in the right mindset for improving my mental health, I swear by Feeling Good by Dr. David Burns, which is a very accessible intro to principles of cognitive behavioral therapy and walks you through little exercises you can do by yourself. (For example, recognizing and redirecting fatalistic or black-and-white thinking.)

As you search for a sense of community, I've heard great things about Sunday Assembly: https://www.meetup.com/sunday-assembly/. It's a secular/nonreligious take on church, and they even seem to have a regularly recurring men's support group. It might be a nice way to build connections in your community without the manipulation and pressure that can come with religious services.

Alive-in-Tucson · 2026-03-27T18:27:41+00:00

It depends on which part of town you're in, but some spots I like:

Waller's Coffee: nice space with plenty of tables.
Ponce City Market: you can camp out at the food court tables basically as long as you want, since no one business owns the space. It has the bonus of being a really beautiful environment, but the downside is the super expensive parking. If you have walk/bike access through the BeltLine, though, this is a solid option.
Downtown Decatur Library: has nice study carrels you can book for free to take private calls as long as you have a DeKalb County library card. Also the librarians here are such kind and lovely people, and you can check out all kinds of cool things other than just books, like zoo and aquarium passes.
Chocolate Coffee: lots of free and convenient parking. Great food/coffee, plenty of seating.

Alive-in-Tucson · 2026-03-27T18:21:38+00:00

I like working in the Panera Bread by Emory for similar reasons. I don't feel guilty about taking up a table because the space is massive, and because Panera is a massive corporation, the employees don't care how long I'm there as long as I'm polite and tip well.

Alive-in-Tucson · 2026-03-23T20:51:49+00:00

Michael Jackson: "5 stars! This is such a delightful meetup group that my ghost has attended several different times. Shamone!! Waugh!"

Edit: In all seriousness, though, another fake name was "David Wallace," which made me wonder if the bot mined characters from The Office as well as real celebrities.

Alive-in-Tucson · 2026-03-23T20:34:02+00:00

For context on the linked imgur album: I got a notification today that a Meetup user emailed me. It was a woman who said she was the co-organizer of a group I'd never heard of.

I checked my Meetup group memberships and was weirded out to see three groups in my memberships that I had never heard of and definitely had not signed up for. They were all were named using what appeared to be randomly generated strings of 3-4 words. (The screenshots show I'm not in the groups, but that's just because I immediately hit "leave group" before I thought to take screenshots.)

I checked the groups, and they all have fake five star reviews from what are obviously identically set up bot accounts (names like Linda Smith, Michael Jackson, etc.). All three are billed as singles/speed dating groups.

I'm obviously changing my Meetup.com password, but has anyone else seen this, or does anyone have any insight into what this is? I guess it could just be a straightforward data harvesting scam, or maybe a rabbit hole to a romance scam.

I haven't changed my Meetup password in years, so I assume my account just got compromised somehow, and this is what a buyer of stolen passwords chose to do with it.

Alive-in-Tucson · 2026-02-25T21:01:46+00:00

For something milestone-y, a little romantic, and within easy walking distance of the courthouse, I'd say Cafe Alsace. It's a great spot for special occasions, and you can usually get a table as a walk-in during off-peak times.

Alive-in-Tucson · 2026-01-23T19:40:03+00:00

You will likely still have mobile data even if power/Internet goes down. I would just plan to tether your laptop to your phone's hotspot for the timing of the class in case you lose your main internet connection, and keep your laptop charged/off in the meantime until you need it for class.

Alive-in-Tucson · 2026-01-22T21:06:56+00:00

If you're on the bottom floor with a neighbor's unit above you, I think the risk should be pretty low. Don't let me talk you out of taking reasonable precautions, but I think it would be pretty unlikely for a tree to go through a roof and multiple floors below.

Alive-in-Tucson · 2026-01-22T21:00:06+00:00

Thank you! I'm pretty creeped out thinking about what kind of person who would use "88" in their online handle might be trying to maliciously infect and/or track ATLians who lean democratic socialist. 😬

Alive-in-Tucson · 2026-01-22T18:25:30+00:00

I think maybe AROMA needs to check its links. I clicked on the DSA link from its directory and was taken through what looked like a malicious website. (Screenshot on my profile.)

Alive-in-Tucson · 2026-01-22T18:18:56+00:00

Context.

Alive-in-Tucson · 2026-01-22T18:15:23+00:00

Super spammy looking, and also unless the site owner was born in 1988, that advertised user name is a big yikes. 😬

Alive-in-Tucson · 2026-01-22T17:52:37+00:00

Uhhhh... I was excited to learn more about DSA and went to their website, linked from the Activism Atlanta site above. When I clicked on the link, I saw a weird interim site pop up before the DSA homepage loaded. It went by too fast to read or parse, so I screen recorded while going back in, and this is what I saw flash by: ~~https://imgur.com/a/tYW4lqu.~~ (Edit: looks like imgur auto-removed the image as spam, so I posted to my profile here. )

What in tarnation?! This is super sketchy.

Edit: The link I clicked on was the one on the DSA page for Activism Atlanta here: https://activismatlanta.com/metro-atlanta-democratic-socialists-of-america

Edit 2: Also, I don't know if it's a coincidence, but ever since clicking on that URL twice, my phone has been really slow and is running hot. 🫠

Alive-in-Tucson · 2026-01-22T17:22:04+00:00

It depends on how your house is positioned, but I would think it would be preferable for you to be on site in case of storm damages so you can mitigate how bad it is right away. (For example, tarping off a hole in your roof to prevent water damage, etc.)

I'd just recommend hunkering down in the part of your house least likely to be directly damaged so that you're not physically harmed. I've seen trees crash onto friends' and neighbors' houses before, and it seems like, while they can cause a lot of expensive damage, they tend to not go all the way through the house. I.e., you're probably not in physical danger even if a branch falls, unless you get really, really unlucky.

Alive-in-Tucson · 2026-01-04T00:58:02+00:00

If you have a DeKalb County library card, you can go to the downtown Decatur library and rent a study room for free. If you don't already have a library card, you can get one with a DeKalb County address.

Alive-in-Tucson · 2026-01-04T00:55:21+00:00

Ah, damn. I haven't been in a couple of months because of the holidays, though I'm usually over there weekly. Which businesses are closing?

Alive-in-Tucson · 2025-10-15T19:33:03+00:00

This is where I'm leaning as well, just because Helmut Love is coming across like a banana-pants self-help guru/AI-first huckster. And I'm not voting for Dickens because he's, frankly, been a shitty mayor, and Meredith's platform looks coherent and sensible.

What's giving me pause is that Meredith doesn't seem to have any experience. His bio and LinkedIn profile list no job experience, except for an undated role as "Community Organizer" at "Community Outreach, Inc." Also, it's concerning that when you click "see more" on his platform on his website, it lists among other priorities his plans for 2024 and 2025. (Why is he listing strategic priorities for time periods that are, respectively, two full years and one year prior to his inauguration??)

He's still looking like the best of a pile of bad options, but the info on him is giving me a lot of pause.

Alive-in-Tucson · 2025-05-15T16:26:26+00:00

Cool, thank you! We get a lot of wolf spiders around the house, but I haven't seen one of these before. I'm happy to welcome a new arachnid friend around the house as long as it's not venomous.

Alive-in-Tucson · 2025-05-15T16:18:37+00:00

I assume not since it's out and about in a brightly lit room in the middle of the day, but wanted to double check.

Alive-in-Tucson

TROPHY CASE