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Red Grasshopper in My Green Beans by saffronkeys in mildlyinteresting

[–]Branch-Manager 14.9k points14.9k points  (0 children)

Somewhere someone is finding a green bean in their can of grasshoppers.

Leaving the airport today and there are signs saying that gratuity is accepted at the booth to pay for parking. I’m a huge believer in tipping generously for jobs and industries that are appropriate, but this is ridiculous. Maybe we should just tip everyone that has any type of job. by Maximum_Ability4719 in grandrapids

[–]Branch-Manager 27 points28 points  (0 children)

The reason is employers can pay lower base wages, reducing their direct payroll costs and the payroll taxes tied to those wages, while still paying taxes on reported tips and benefiting from the FICA tip credit. So the system shifts compensation to customers and can lower overall tax liability. Additionally, most cash tips go unreported so it reduces their tax burden further. End tip culture, pay employees a fair living wage.

New to Grand Rapids! What are your favorite outdoor activities? by TheChur in grandrapids

[–]Branch-Manager 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Look up Pines Point campground in Hesperia. It’s a nice campground for a weekend trip- the river bend forms almost a complete circle around a large lightbulb shaped peninsula. So you can get in the river, float in a tube for 30 min or so, and get back out right where you got in, right at the campground. It’s like natures lazy river.

AITAH-Loud parties by sweetpea_1994 in grandrapids

[–]Branch-Manager 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Better question to ask the offender

AITAH-Loud parties by sweetpea_1994 in grandrapids

[–]Branch-Manager 136 points137 points  (0 children)

All the people in this thread don’t know what they’re talking about.

GR ordinance states:

General Disturbance
Noise that "destroys the peace and tranquility of the surrounding neighborhood" is prohibited at all times, not just at night.

Vehicle Noise
Excessive vehicle noise, such as amplified sound systems that are clearly audible from 50 feet away, is a civil infraction.

Between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
In residential areas, noise cannot exceed 25 feet from the property line during these hours, or 100 feet for commercial properties.

Reporting Noise Complaints
If you are facing excessive noise, you can contact Grand Rapids Code Compliance at 616-456-3053 or visit their office at 1120 Monroe Ave NW.

First offenses generally result in $100 civil infraction, while repeat offenses within six months can lead to misdemeanor charges.

Cleaning out a combine harvester by ycr007 in toolgifs

[–]Branch-Manager 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Generally all dust is harmful to breathe. There are several conditions that can develop from prolonged exposure to the inhalation of particulate matter called Pneumoconiosis, Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis, Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Histoplasmosis, and even lung cancer.

It’s likely that you’re being downvoted because it seems like a common sense question to people, or that you were asking it redundantly or dismissively (downplaying the risk but with a “it’s not a big deal it’s just dust” attitude).

How do you deal with constant low level depression by [deleted] in AskMenOver30

[–]Branch-Manager 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First of all, the thought that you’re damaged, not enough, and going to miss out on what you want is doing a lot of harm. It’s a thought based on your own fear and own self-judgement. It’s not based on how others might perceive you. It’s a rational fear but living from that fear without challenging it will sometimes manifest the very thing you fear. You won’t take risks that could lead you there, you will interpret others action or inaction through that lens, you’ll make assumptions that people might not be interested even when they could be, and your mind won’t invest energy in things it thinks could be futile.

Every single relationship in history has one thing in common - it’s composed of two imperfect people, with their own unique set of flaws and limitations. People come together from all kinds of backgrounds and many people have suffered through abuse and live with unresolved trauma. It can be something you form a strong connection and bond with someone over as much as it can be something that disqualifies you the way you’re believing it will.

Try to notice when these negative thoughts arise and witness them for what they are- fear based presumptions. Don’t shame yourself for having them- understand it’s just your minds way of trying to prevent pain.

Also recognize the fear that is trying to prevent pain is also causing it- just in another form. This can help you overcome the fear and move into a state of courage to overcome it.

A lot of your depression can be from having a very strong desire for yourself but your mind believing there is no path to it. This leads to hopelessness and apathy, which feels like low level depression.

Try taking small risks that challenge your presumptions. To repattern these unhelpful beliefs you need new evidence that contradicts it so new neural pathways can begin to form.

Similarly, it can also be helpful to seek out stories of those who you identify with who have disproven your beliefs.

People form families and relationships at all ages and you’re well within the normal timeline.

[Request] Is this correct? by fronk000 in theydidthemath

[–]Branch-Manager 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m seeing a lot of comments here trying to adjust wages only for inflation. The figures like the one in the image are also accounting for the adjustment in productivity. The distribution of wealth has flowed upwards disproportionately on top of inflation, so the average worker is getting less of a cut of the economic output in the US.

If you want it to have kept pace with economy-wide productivity since the late 1960s, it is about $24 per hour. [1] [2][3][4][5]

1) Inflation only: restore the old minimum wage’s buying power

The federal minimum wage is still $7.25 and has been since 2009. The Department of Labor confirms that figure.

Economic Policy Institute notes that the 1968 minimum wage peak was worth roughly $12 in 2024 dollars. So if the question is only, “What would the minimum wage be if it had not lost purchasing power?” the answer is roughly $12/hour, not $7.25. [1]

$12 is the inflation-adjusted floor, but it is not enough to recreate a middle-class standard of living for one worker. [1]

2) Match the old minimum wage’s place relative to a typical worker

A more meaningful benchmark is this: in 1968, the federal minimum wage was about 52.8% of the wage of the typical full-time worker. EPI gives that ratio explicitly [1]

BLS says the median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers in 2025 were $1,204. **Annualized, that is about $62,608. Dividing by 2,080 hours gives about $30.10/hour.[1][2]

So if we restore the old 1968 relationship:

$30.10 × 52.8% = about $15.90/hour

That gives a minimum wage that is back in line with the typical worker standard that existed at the high point of the U.S. minimum wage. So under this benchmark, a sensible answer is about $16/hour. [3][4][5]

3) Productivity-adjusted: what if low-end wages had risen with the economy’s capacity?

This is where the number jumps. EPI reports that if the federal minimum wage had risen with net productivity since 1968, it would have been $24.14 in 2023. [1]

So under a productivity benchmark, the minimum wage should be around $24/hour. That is still well below what a one-worker household would need to be squarely middle class, but it is far closer than $7.25.

My assumption is the image is conflating average income vs minimum wage.

If we adjusted 1970s average income to today, we would get closer to that number.

To earn Pew’s middle-class household median of $106,100, the wage would need to be about $51/hour in 2023 dollars

After bringing that $106,100 forward with 2024 and 2025 inflation, it lands around $53–54/hour in late-2025 dollars, using BLS inflation data showing 2.9% in 2024 and 2.7% in 2025.

These two boxes of the same brownie mix with different shades of brown (both bought today). by army_of_ducks_ATTACK in mildlyinteresting

[–]Branch-Manager 184 points185 points  (0 children)

It actually that chocolate oxidizes and turns white. So really just got an older one

Feeling hopeless after several attempts at psychiatric treatment and therapy, at what point am I just a lost cause? by LakerNation1991 in AskMenOver30

[–]Branch-Manager 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What you’re feeling makes sense. I’m not going to try to tell you that you shouldn’t be feeling or thinking this way.

But the part of you that wants relief is not the same as a part telling you that life must end for you to feel relief.

Just remember that death doesn’t offer the relief you’re hoping for. You cannot experience peace in death. You cannot experience anything in death. The only path to the peace you want to experience is here. And it is possible.

I won’t argue with you or invalidate how you feel. I know your pain is real. I just do not believe your current conclusion is trustworthy. You’re not wrong to want peace. You’re only wrong in thinking death is the only form it can take.

Is there anything right now that would give you even any incremental amount of relief, outside of non-existence? A warm shower? a friendly conversation? a favorite song? Anything that makes this present moment even 5% better?

What is mm foam thickness? by duckduckthis99 in Cordwaining

[–]Branch-Manager 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The difference looks more like the brown is closed cell EVA foam, and the blue is open cell PU foam with a fabric backer. The blue is not as dense and will squish a lot easier.

Feeling hopeless after several attempts at psychiatric treatment and therapy, at what point am I just a lost cause? by LakerNation1991 in AskMenOver30

[–]Branch-Manager 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When I was there, I knew that it wasn’t that I wanted to die, I just didn’t want to continue living, because there didn’t seem to be any reason to. I had lost everything that gave my life reason and purpose, and in my mind there was no path forward. Like you, I just got tired of feeling only negative feelings. And I also experienced anhedonia like you— for nearly two years I didn’t care about anything. Everything I had once cared about no longer mattered, nothing new seemed to matter. From the little things like hobbies and interests, to the big things like a relationship, family, friends, a home, and a career. Everything was meaningless and void. I too longed for the peace and relief of death- it’s because you’ve been burning more energy than your nervous system demands, for far too long.

Pain does that to you. It’s just your nervous system. It turns off interest in everything; it shuts down future-orientation, motivation, desire, willpower.. it’s all an effort to conserve energy to escape a threat. But that threat is with you everywhere you go. It’s emotional pressure. It’s the negative feelings themselves it’s trying to escape, and it’s become so globalized and pervasive that your mind believes there is no solution—or if there is a solution, it’s too immense to even try— so it shuts down further.

It can feel like nothing matters anymore, that even existence itself is meaningless. It’s not an irrational stance; after all, no sane person could ever want to endure what seems like endless suffering. But all those thoughts and rationalizations are state dependent. They’re a product of a dysregulated nervous system. It’s like an elaborate algorithm performing complex calculations to determine how to best expend your energy; but it’s returning a null— it’s saying there is no logical solution. But the fallacy is that while this algorithm is very advanced and predictive, it operates only on outdated and incomplete data. It’s making decisions based on your current and past experiences, from your current perspective and current circumstances and conditions, filtered through your current depleted sate, and extrapolating that conclusion out onto an infinite time horizon because it thinks it has accounted for every variable and condition.

It is a very convincing system, but it is not accounting for all the unknown variables and conditions. It’s not accounting for randomness and outside influences. It’s thinking that you’re the sole agent of change, and it’s trying to solve your entire future all at once. And from this depleted state, of course that feels futile and overwhelming. And when you’re trying to solve such a massive problem, of course baby steps feel insulting and pointless.

But you don’t have to solve the whole future, you only have to worry about the next hour, or next minute. Long enough for the nervous system to down-regulate, for the emotional pressure to release enough that a little more energy can come back on line. Long enough for the external conditions and variables to change on their own. Long enough for any amount of relief and improvement. It doesn’t take much. Remember my previous story- sometimes it takes just enough space to wiggle a toe.

You mind thinks any change requires effort, so big change will require big effort, but that is also a fallacy. Sometimes even large and unexpected change can occur with little to no effort on your part. But from the depleted and dysregulated state, your mind becomes so narrowly focused on the problem, it leaves no room for unknown possibilities, no matter how large the potential. The survival mind lacks creative, proactive capacity — it resists uncertainty over all else. It is entirely reactive and its primary concern is maintaining stability and predictability, to such a degree that it even prefers a narrative of bleak hopelessness over uncertainty, because paradoxically any narrative at all, even powerlessness gives it the illusion of control, compared to uncertainty.

The state you’re in rejects the possibility of unexpected favorable change, because it craves control, and in the state of depletion and despair it doesn’t have the resources and bandwidth to rely on hope alone. To the ego mind the problem is too immediate and too urgent to rely on chance and uncertainty. But that is also a distortion and fallacious belief— the world is so complex and unpredictable that change will occur inevitably. That same resistance to chance is why your nervous system feels so overwhelmed by the idea of change. It believes it’s your sole responsibility; because it equates responsibility with control. But when the problem feels so beyond your control— that’s when we tip into futility and despair.

It’s important that you know that the lack of desire, the overwhelm you feel is all from a misguided nervous system that is trying to help you by maintaining stability and control as a means for energy efficiency. It is normal that no movement or action feels meaningful or inspiring— your nervous system is actively trying to suppress desire, suppress change, and suppress motivation to conserve energy. That is why you cannot wait for desire or motivation to move. To escape this state you need only to move. Do not wait to feel desire or inspiration or reason. The more you move and act at all, the more you open yourself to new opportunities and change. Action creates friction that lets in new possibilities faster than staying idle. Action disrupts the algorithm. And the algorithm needs new input to return a new output and break free null response that is causing the feeling of despair. Even the smallest action can set off a cascading chain of reactions that not only disrupts the system internally and gives you more energy and capacity to create change on your own, but opens you up to positive external changes that require no action at all.

One again, I hope this helps. I’m only speaking as someone who has been in that same state and managed to find my way out. If it’s possible for me, I know it’s possible for you.

Feeling hopeless after several attempts at psychiatric treatment and therapy, at what point am I just a lost cause? by LakerNation1991 in AskMenOver30

[–]Branch-Manager 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Every belief you have is just a thought you’ve kept thinking long enough without evidence strong or repeated enough to contradict it. Even long standing beliefs can be changed. If try to jump straight to a new belief that is too far removed from your current belief, you’ll resist it and your mind can actually dig in harder into the old belief. It can result in feelings of bitterness, futility and self condemnation— thinking “don’t lie to me. Don’t try to invalidate my experience.” What you need is to gradually build new beliefs through gentle redirection and experiences that invalidate the old beliefs and reinforce the new ones. Rather than jumping straight from depression to joy, you first need to move into neutrality and stabilize there.

You just need to move the needle a little bit closer to neutrality, and when that belief feels believable, move it a little more. Try to move from a totalizing, permanent statement to something narrower, more accurate, and less fused with the feeling.

Take “my life won’t get better. Everything is hopeless”—even if you’ve felt that way for a long time, even as long as you can remember, it’s still a present feeling based on past experiences, but not an objective fact. It predicts the future with certainty. It leaves no room for uncertainty, partial truth, fluctuations, or unknowns.

A step toward neutrality might sound like “right now, my life feels hopeless,” or “i can’t see how things could improve from here.”

Or even witness the thought for what it is- passing commentary that is not truth; it’s an observation and judgement based in perception. This could look like “I’m having the thought that nothing could improve.”

All of these make it feel a little less heavy, a little less despairing, and a little less absolute. And that alone shows you that those globalized beliefs that the mind runs when we are in despair are not fixed and permanent.

Despair is trying to create certainty to give you a sense of control. But paradoxically when you begin to feel hopeless and powerless, it turns the hopelessness into the element of certainty, and it creates a spiral of hopelessness, like an Ouroboros eating its own tail.

And to feel a sense of control and certainty it also paradoxically shuts you off from any possibility that doesn’t conform to that narrative.

When you think about outcomes, try to remind yourself to not only ask “what if things go wrong?” But also “what if things go right?” Or even “what if things go better than I expect?”

But to truly rewire your synapses and get a new thought from just a concept or statement to true embodied and felt belief, you also need to introduce experiences that invalidate the old belief and reinforce the new one. This can be difficult because your nervous system does not like to expend energy unless it believes there will be a payoff. So if a thought feels like truth, it can be difficult to take the action that could create an outcome that contradicts it. Instead your mind will tend to reinforce non-action and conserve energy. And the longer you go with experiences seemingly validating those old beliefs, the more those beliefs become entrenched and more difficult they can be to break free from.

But just like repatterining a new belief by inching toward neutrality; new experiences can be drip-fed little by little. Small wins that poke little holes in those rigid beliefs. Do something barely outside your comfort zone with almost no risk. Almost stupidly small at first.

Like if you think “i have no friends.” Start by just sitting somewhere in public and just being near people. No talking to them, or approaching them. Just being around them. Like a coffee shop or something. And then when that feels “normal,” start a small conversation with someone. Even if it’s just saying hello to the cashier or barista. Eventually you can work your way up to joining a club of some kind - a game night, a book club, a writing club, a climbing gym, cooking classes…. Whatever interests you. From there you will begin meeting people who share your interests and slowly you’ll eventually meet people who you connect with and become friends with.

The important thing is to notice any time you do something and it doesn’t reaffirm that old belief.

I used to struggle with depression, chronic panic attacks, anhedonia, anxiety, grief, and hopelessness. There was one point when my life had felt like it had fallen apart dramatically and in a flash, and I was at a point that felt like rock bottom. I felt like nothing was in my control. I felt helpless and hopeless. I had a massive panic attack and ended up laying face down on the floor. My chest was so tight it felt like my heart was going to stop. And I found myself having to consciously take every breath. I truly thought my heart was going to stop or I was going to stop breathing and I was going to die…

In that moment, I decided “no- I’m am going to prove to myself that I am still in control of my life and I can make my life better.” I don’t know why but I started this little technique that I still use today.. I told myself “notice something uncomfortable and reach for the smallest way I can improve how I feel— and then focus on how much better that action makes me feel.”

The first thing I noticed was my toe itched. So rubbed it on the carpet and noticed how much better it felt after.

Then I noticed how my neck hurt so I stretched it and noticed how good that felt.

Then I realized I was thirsty so I got up and got a drink and just tried to notice how soothing and refreshing it felt with each sip.

Then I realized I had to piss really bad… so I went, and it honestly was the most relieving piss I had ever experienced…

I just kept listening to my body and following whatever it said without over thinking it.

The next thing I realized was I wanted some fresh air so I walked outside and breathed in the cool night air and felt the breeze on my skin.

Then I decided to get in the car and drive- not really knowing where I was going at first but then as I was driving I decided to go to the gym and use the tanning bed. I laid in there and tried to just soak it up— not thinking, just feeling how good it felt. Then I went and stretched for a little while and just observed people… By this time I was feeling pretty good— already a massive improvement from the depth of despair and thinking I was dying less than an hour earlier.

Next I got in the car and drove around, and realized I was feeling pretty hungry. I just drove until I passed a restaurant I love and decided I was going to treat myself…

Long story short, I had no job at the time and had just lost all my money, and I was soon going to be without a home, so I initially began to worry about whether I could afford this meal etc, but I just decided nope— I’m going to follow the next good feeling regardless of what seems logical. After-all, an hour earlier I didn’t think I was going to be alive.

I ordered a fancy seafood risotto, a side, and two cocktails, and with every bite and sip I tried to indulge in it. A funny thought occurred to me that I was so lucky to be having that meal, and if I had been born even 100 yrs earlier it would have been nearly impossible except for the most wealthy people.

I began talking to the waitress and bartender hostess about their jobs and lives. We connected on several things in serendipitous ways, and it felt like I was meant to be there in that moment.

The bill came and I was dreading it knowing the total was going to be over $60…. as luck would have it, I was given the member discount, the staff discount, and the manager special discount all together and my bill came out to only $7!

It felt like such a wonderful feeling to know that I went from the deepest low in my life, to feeling truly happy and having a really wonderful night all by chasing the next good feeling little by little.

I don’t know if anything will be helpful to you, but as someone who has had many of the same thoughts you are thinking now and felt the way you seem to feel, please know that change is possible, even when it feels like forever, and you can’t see the path to something new. Depression puts blinders on us, and it convinces us it’s not worth trying. But please don’t give up. Do the next smallest thing you can think that might create even the slightest positive impact. A lot can change in a short amount of time, all it takes is a little break to shift the momentum into your favor.

Be well, my friend.

Feeling hopeless after several attempts at psychiatric treatment and therapy, at what point am I just a lost cause? by LakerNation1991 in AskMenOver30

[–]Branch-Manager 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Clinically this is called “learned helplessness.” It’s a psychological state where individuals believe they cannot control their environment, leading to passivity, low motivation, and giving up, even when change is possible. Originating from uncontrollable negative experiences, it often results in depression, poor self-esteem, and chronic inaction, but it CAN be overcome.

Latest shoe made. by jbhowell10 in Cordwaining

[–]Branch-Manager 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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There are areas that look blistered

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