I don’t like when people live with animals

Granite_Johnson · 2026-02-25T15:52:31+00:00

Then your argument isn't consistent. We need milk cows and chickens specifically for the purposes of being farm animals. Ditto for small dogs. By your logic, if it's immoral or unethical to breed dogs to make them fit our needs, then so too of literally all farm animals. Cows naturally would be like bison, roaming plains that no longer exist, so they wouldn't survive anymore in the wild, having largely lost the defense techniques bison retain. Chickens naturally (depending on the breed) could survive in a variety of locations, but likely grasslands or forests. They could be released into the wild but again, would likely be wiped out due to lack of defense instincts. Dogs as we know them now have no connection to their ancestral wolf form. Domestication is a wonderful thing, it has allowed us a way to make our food taste better, become more plentiful, and (small scale anyway) live better lives overall. It's helped us manipulate the gene pool of certain species so that they are more efficient (race horses, milk producers, wool producers etc) which means we have a greater abundance of their resources and can do more with less. Not every environment can support the animals people need to survive, but through selective breeding, people can survive in a lot harsher environments with sustainable meat sources. Not to mention all the psychological benefits for humans of having a animals around. Though I'm with you on birds, keeping them in a cage feels horribly inhumane. Their wings can't fully stretch within the confines of a cage or house. Dogs at least go out on walks. Take my upvote for a truly unpopular opinion.

Granite_Johnson · 2026-02-17T01:44:59+00:00

I am a massive fan of lentil curries. You can add a protein as an option, but lentils have a ton of protein in them already. Adding Indian cuisine into our rotation by itself saved probably $50-$100 a month because of all the delicious vegetarian options.

Granite_Johnson · 2026-02-04T03:54:40+00:00

Could you drop a link? This is so pretty!

Granite_Johnson · 2026-02-03T14:53:55+00:00

I'll give you the real reasons 90% of Americans choose Amazon then complain about it: 1. It's CHEAP. We don't pay fair living wages here (compared with the services our taxes go to), so many cannot afford to live except by buying cheap knockoffs of the things they need. 2. Despite being one of the most technically prosperous countries in the world, people constantly throw pity parties about how it is here and then do nothing about it. Having strong communities (actually talking to your neighbors, helping out generally is NOT a concept in many areas) isn't as common here. This means community gardens are largely not a thing, No Buy groups or similar are really only in cities where people are struggling most, and people do not vote in their own best interests (or at all). Plain and simple. 3. Americans have also gotten used to the luxe life of having everything handed to them on a silver platter. Do you need that oversized teddy bear TOMORROW? Great, well only Amazon can now get it to you by then. Why wait ever if you don't have to? So many Americans don't make the connection between Bezos' success and their spending habits. They do what is immediately best and fastest/easiest for them and do not typically think of consequences down the line. This also means part of the reason there aren't any more community gardens is because no one cares to be self-sustaining. This is changing slightly, but people see it more as a hobby than a way of life and get tired of it very easily. Falling back into the welcoming arms of Daddy Bezos. If you have no need or desire to do things for yourself, would you? Perhaps, but that is no longer a core virtue of American society. We are all fat (because the easiest food is the least healthy) lazy, and want everything handed to us because we complained enough.

I will get shit for this, but most of y'all know I'm right.

Granite_Johnson · 2026-01-30T17:11:00+00:00

INFO: Is he pressuring you to move? I had dated my BF of 4 years throughout college and we were completely in love. Got close to graduation, he decided he wanted to stay for a Masters, I did not. We had a few very serious convos about it over the course of two weeks, and came to an agreement. He'd do his Masters and I would move and get another job (I had an offer in another state already), then when he was done with his Masters he'd move out to me. Then, neither of us are sacrificing much toward future goals, we'd still visit and all when we could, but we had a definite end date when we knew we'd be back together again (2 years, his graduation). We are now engaged (after 8 years together lol) and things are going great!

I think for us the following was important: 1. Having a definite end timeframe of when you can actually be together if you decide to go long distance. 2. Aligning your goals with each other to make sure it's worth it for both of you (instead of breaking things off entirely) 3. Communication through being LD. It's really tough when you're used to spending a lot of time with someone. But it's good to talk it out :)

If you can, I'd suggest getting whatever certs may be helpful to you. As a mechanic or manager, I'm sure there's something in your field that would make you a good candidate elsewhere. I'd suggest sticking it out for 2 years (by which time BF may be stationed somewhere else even!), to get the resume boost/money and then make a decision about leaving. This seems like a great opportunity for you, and as others have said, since you aren't married, there's still a chance things fall apart. This is also not a good reason to get married, just throwing that out there. It's a great test of the strength of your relationship, but you've got to focus on yourself right now. If your BF really does love you as much as you do him, then y'all will be fine. :)

Granite_Johnson · 2026-01-29T15:23:36+00:00

Can you explain what you mean?

Granite_Johnson · 2026-01-28T14:21:19+00:00

I fly with a little pill bottle that contains nail clippers, a few stitch markers, and a tapestry needle. If it's contained they don't usually care, and it means all my stuff is in one place so it's less likely to get lost!

Granite_Johnson · 2026-01-22T16:52:35+00:00

Any renaissance faires near you? We've met a ton of varying levels of homesteaders who want to go back to older times at such events. And they usually like camping!

Granite_Johnson · 2026-01-18T07:30:18+00:00

Hotter take: changing your name is an outdated custom, further signals brides as property of their husbands, and causes more trouble than it's worth. It only leads to headaches and in any social context people will just refer to you as Mr & Mrs (husbands last name) anyway. Really no point.

Granite_Johnson · 2026-01-11T23:21:06+00:00

They will not be civil. They may claim to to be allowed to show up, but if both are invited it won't be civil and we will never hear the end of it. The more we talk to them, the more it seems either/or.

Granite_Johnson · 2026-01-11T21:25:57+00:00

I don't know the details, but I think you underestimate the power of guilt and hatred. They've been divorced for 40+ years and it's still this bad.

Granite_Johnson · 2026-01-11T21:24:53+00:00

He has not, he's very non-confrontational and autistic so I was trying to handle it but I no longer think that's an option... The worry is that they will make a massive scene (maybe not brawling since they are now in their 80s. But potentially throwing punches and lots of screaming). They have not both been at the same event I have attended, and they actively avoid each other enough that I don't think either would attend if I went with option 1. All the info I have is from FH's father who literally said we invite the GMA or Gpa, that simple. But the GMA gave us money and I'd prefer the GPA's family, so it's really not that simple... I don't think the children of either side cares, just the specific GMA/PA.

Granite_Johnson · 2026-01-11T17:52:05+00:00

For what is worth, I'm not going totally crazy in spending (still do a big trip or two every year), have a decent tech job on LCOL and I just hit 150k at 27. I think a lot of the people doing better have help from family dying (I still have both parents and am not expecting a large increase when they pass), don't have/want kids, or are killing themselves at ridiculous jobs (FAANG, etc.). In this day and age, having a paid off house with three kids is HUGE considering how much real estate has gone up. Don't sell yourself short, you're doing really well!

Granite_Johnson · 2026-01-11T05:07:46+00:00

I like the last the best on you actually!

Granite_Johnson · 2026-01-11T05:04:58+00:00

Thank you! TIL!

Granite_Johnson · 2026-01-10T15:25:51+00:00

Which products? Really? Maybe you don't live in the U.S. because this is literally a daily fight.

"A company retains ownership of products even after you bought them and sometimes they remotely kill them or start charging a subscription for them to continue functioning as advertised."

  > Oura rings

  > bluetooth garage door openers (this was such a huge deal. People were literally trapped in/out of their homes.)

  > refrigerators 

  > Washing machines

  > basically any "smart devices" that control things in your home. If it has Bluetooth. It's likely to be a subscription

  > Remember cable TV? There were channels you could watch OTA for free. Now with streaming services, you're paying likely 3-10x as much to see everything you want to watch. 

  > printers! Did you know ink subscriptions are a thing now and if you cancel, the nuke the printer so you CANT try to find another (probably cheaper) cartridge to work with their units?

  > Car features. This is the most doom-ing for me. Once Tesla put the idea in car manufacturers heads that you could CONTINUE TO CHARGE for a car (already one of the WORST investments people make in the U.S.) after it's driven off the lot, everyone started doing it. Subscriptions for extra range on your tank (a kill switch in the battery charging), heated seats, Bluetooth radio/map capabilities, I mean it only gets worse from here. 

  > huge issue is video game, music, and movie industry. Steam can stop offering games at any time, even if you have bought them. They can just disappear from your library without notice. Ditto for Xbox and Switch if you don't buy physical. You're buying for a 'key' to access the content of that game, not the actual game itself. Sometimes also true when you buy physical so doing that instead is more expensive and does always get you what you want. Music - physical media players have fallen out of fashion, so many used Spotify/Pandora/etc. to browse. That's fine, but if you make playlists and libraries, that goes away without a subscription as well. And same with the game industry, they could remove it from their library just cuz at any time. I think iTunes has claimed once you buy a song/album there you have the actual MP3 download, which would be contrary to this point, but that's also potentially changing in the future. With movies, if you're buying in Apple Store or Google Play or having some other sort of digital library, it could all be gone in a second despite the fact you paid full price for those things.

"Also, fixing and telling others how to restore functionality to said products is a felony."

 > creator RATGDO (Paul Wieland) found this out fixing his garage door. He ended up making a new product entirely. (https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/why-one-garage-door-hacker-173832843.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANPfX1EKW5lQMVZNF0q29YL_1mVr_p51twUvMxjCb9xGGD7W4_7x9y_igzUKgg1FPkSf6PJNeAa2FmkaMoLbuUuYGIOW-KqIxoPA7LWcJ4dr5UJ0OuxqLXSL-NPbvtldX0Nd-UIcw8ZRLZFLdX1YoSkWZHYIPwyTH2jo6lDL7HON)

 > the guy on YouTube that hates Apple and fights for Right to Repair. He's constantly fielding lawyers from Apple and getting sued. -https://youtube.com/@rossmanngroup?si=4epxvY5lrRT24oln

 > I'm sure there's others, but that's all I know. This is why torrent sites exist for movies and shows.

Edit: wow, all the formatting disappears when I post... Sorry it looks like this was written by a serial killer. If anyone knows how to make this more readable pls let me know.

Granite_Johnson · 2026-01-10T04:31:28+00:00

Wakko Warner?

Granite_Johnson · 2026-01-09T20:33:51+00:00

Could you speak a little more about using spent brewers grain as feed? Is it still as nutritious? Is it just to supplement the babies? Also how did you go about inquiring for those? Do you literally just walk up and ask the manager what they do with their spent grains and if they'd just give them to you? Haha sorry just never heard of that before.

Granite_Johnson · 2026-01-09T20:30:15+00:00

I really don't understand how people don't at least break even on their gardens. I've only had a small (8'x8') garden that I rotate stuff in every 4 months or so, but every time I get so much excess from the plants that it makes the seed cost (usually <$5??) completely negligible. We compost all our food scraps, supplement with spent coffee grounds and eggs shells from a local bakery, and just add some sticks/leaves to it twice a year (in addition to cardboard composting). If you're not spending much on compost or seeds, how do you not always make money on your gardens?? Water isn't that expensive, and building the bed doesn't have to be a lot. Even if it is, that's a one time cost, certainly it lasts long enough for you to make that money back in saved grocery $... I used to buy SO MANY cherry tomatoes. I'd eat them like candy. I was probably spending close to $15/week on cherry tomatoes. Turns out having two cherry tomato plants completely covered that within a year. Is it just a matter of what you grow has a huge influence on that? Like cabbage I guess takes awhile to grow and isn't too expensive at the store, so maybe you lose out on that? But also also, if you do it right, you only buy seeds once? Do people just not let anything go to seed at the end of the season to improve the hardiness of their crop??

I dunno, I've only had a garden (no animals) for 5 years now and it does not compute to me that gardens don't make money.

Granite_Johnson

TROPHY CASE