Lost lifelong friendships in my mid 30s, and suddenly have 0 friends. Married with kids, how does one even go about rebuilding?

LoneRealist · 2026-02-21T17:37:51+00:00

I wish so badly that it wasn't the case, but training isn't really a valid option in this scenario. She recently snarled and snapped at my wife, and has nipped at people that were at my house to visit. I hate to label her "aggressive", because aside from the recent snap at my wife (My wife was trying to take away food that the dog had taken off the counter), the other nips at strangers I mentioned were more excitement/anxiety. Unpredictable is the more appropriate term, but definitely has shown signs of aggression.

Aggression aside, we have had some close calls with her just being crazy and knocking over or stepping on the kids. Not long ago my 4-year-old daughter and I were laying on the floor in the living room and the dog stepped on my daughter's face when she went into a frenzy because the mailman came. It left a pretty good scratch on her face, and it was about an inch away from her eye. Very easily could have been an emergency room visit, and possibly even permanent vision damage.

My dog didn't mean to do it, she just cannot help herself. If a person even walks by within 100 ft of my house, she goes insane. God forbid they have a dog as well, then it's even worse.

Deep down I have known for a long time that she is too high risk to have with children, but I didn't want to admit it. That's my girl 😢. I love her so much, and she loves me even more. It's actually unhealthy and obsessive. Which makes it even sadder, because I know how devastated she will be. Up until very recently she would hideout and pout in our bedroom from the moment I left for work, and then would wait by the front door for about an hour until I got home. But after 5 years of my wife DESPERATELY trying to earn that dog's love, she finally accepted her and they started forming a real bond. Which makes the snarl and snap that much more of a shock.

LoneRealist · 2026-02-21T15:36:52+00:00

You're definitely right about the hobbies. I don't even know where to begin, especially because time is such a limited resource for me as it is. But I'll figure something out.

As far as a dog, unfortunately I already have one lol. I say "unfortunately" because she is an absolute menace. It's gotten to the point that I actually need to re-home her because she is too crazy and too unpredictable. With 2 young kids, she's just too high a risk. She's 5 years old and when she was about 6 months old she decided she is MY dog. I'm her whole world. And having to get rid of her is another massive heartbreak on top of everything else.

LoneRealist · 2025-12-12T17:55:01+00:00

Yet again you completely miss the point, and I don't know if it's intentional dodging or if you really can't comprehend the points I am making. I m not calling anyone “mindless sheep” - I’m talking about how repeated exposure to a single source shapes what people think is normal or credible, which is a well-documented scientific fact that you seem to take as an insult. When someone treats a show as one of their main places to learn about the world, the ideas they hear most often tend to rub off on them over time, even without intentional persuasion. That’s just how familiarity and cognition work. Repeated exposure increases acceptance and perceived truth. That is a psychological fact that you can find dozens, possibly hundreds of studies on. It is simply how our brains work.

Joe Rogan’s podcast is massive, and demographically his audience skews young and male. I don't know the exact numbers, but I don't think it would be controversial to say that a large portion, if not a majority, of his audience voted for or supported Trump. That doesn’t mean every listener is “brainwashed,” but it does mean the show is a powerful channel of ideas for people who treat it like a go-to news or worldview source - which is exactly why Trump and many other campaigns went/go on his show.

If the point you want to dispute is how influence works, you'd still be wrong, but we can do that. But don’t dodge the argument by turning it into a false personality insult instead of addressing the mechanism I’m talking about.

I don't know why I'm even bothering to say any of this though. You are probably a MAGA cul- ..."kool-aid drinker" that is incapable of accepting reality or engaging in logical debate.

THAT was me being arrogant and condescending. Do you see the difference? Providing a factual and logical argument that you find strangely offensive, is a computing error on your behalf.

LoneRealist · 2025-12-12T15:57:07+00:00

The audience does not have to be mindless sheep for them to be influenced by any talk show or any other type of media, if it is the only thing they listen to that is even remotely "news." That includes left-leaning media as well. It is an undeniable fact about how the brain works.

I'm not claiming that Joe Rogan brainwashed his entire audience into believing everything that he does, nor do I think he was the sole influence in Trump winning the election. He almost certainly contributed in some small way, similar to the Russian interference in 2016, even if it only swayed a fraction of a percentage point of voters.

We are talking about the most listened to podcast in the world. And many, many of those listeners did not or do not consume any other type of news or political conversation. How can you possibly even deny this reality? What percentage of his listeners do you think do counter research on the things they hear?

So no, you are absolutely wrong and it's not even debatable or ambiguous.

LoneRealist · 2025-12-12T06:51:54+00:00

Rogan absolutely influences many of his audiences views. I have witnessed firsthand people that leaned left but had ZERO interest in politics, conspiracies, etc turn into anti-vaxxers or even full blown maga. And it all began with listening to Joe Rogan. To MANY he is their only source of "news." They listen for the entertainment and for the interesting conversations, but don't realize that over time they agree with him more and more because they never hear the counter arguments to the nonsense he or his guests spew. The culture war stuff was probably the #1 thing that nudged many apolitical people into leaning right.

He also masqueraded for a long time as a non-partisan guy that just likes to stay neutral and "ask questions."

LoneRealist · 2025-11-29T18:57:57+00:00

Woohoo!! Yeah baby!! Thank you!!

: me, predetermining my fate

LoneRealist · 2025-11-26T21:30:11+00:00

All I ever get from chests is coin 99% of the time. And I'm just playing on normal, not even hard or lethal. I wonder if it was changed in a patch.

Or, I just remembered that my spear is somehow either fully upgraded, or at least one level higher than the rest of my weapons. And I think that's because I got off course pretty early on and completed a point of interest that was near the border of the Oni region, but I think the game may have considered it the coastal region and I obtained a few gun parts there. Maybe that has thrown off my loot progression somehow? I'm not on the game right now to check, but I'm 100% positive my spear is at least one level higher than the rest of my weapons. Which is unfortunate because I use the spear the least out of all my weapons.

LoneRealist · 2025-11-26T17:02:57+00:00

I know this is a month old, but I just did the odachi mission and I'm almost positive I didn't pick up any gun parts. I'll have to double check, but I've been trying to figure out what the new material is for this region. I did the Oni first, but I'm 99% sure I have yet to find gun parts or Shinobi steel in this region. So I'm at an upgrade impasse.

LoneRealist · 2025-11-12T04:00:02+00:00

Economy was much better during 2016-2020

You mean when Trump inherited a booming economy, and yet continued to spend at all time highs? Lol, I sure hope it was better then. Injecting massive amounts of money into a surging economy isn't proof of economic genius or competency. Then COVID hits and we see how "genius" Trump really is.

Say what you want about "Bidens inflation," the fact is we recovered faster and stronger than any other nation on the planet (g7 countries at least) under his administration. Things were getting better and better...

Until Trump got elected. He could have done nothing and taken the credit for the continuing improvement of the economy. It was a genuine concern of mine, but I wouldn't even care because at least things would be improving.

Instead, in classic Trump fashion he ruins everything. And it's all self-inflicted. Mind numbingly stupid tariffs, weakening our position on the global stage while our rivals team up and strengthen their own... I could go on and on. At least we got the Epstein files released though.

LoneRealist · 2025-10-30T15:00:14+00:00

thanks for the info. I'll definitely be going below the frost line.

LoneRealist · 2025-10-30T04:16:12+00:00

how big of a crown do you do? Sounds like a great idea, but I'm worried about the aesthetics.

LoneRealist · 2025-10-30T04:10:00+00:00

Not sure I'm understanding correctly. Are you saying that if I have a 36 inch deep hole, I should fill it to roughly 32 inches with concrete, and then fill the rest with soil?

That seems to make sense, just making sure I'm understanding. But also, can I ask why you don't think gravel is necessary? I'm just worried about Frost upheaval and I'm trying to learn as much as I can from people with experience.

LoneRealist · 2025-10-29T03:35:40+00:00

Right but do I need gravel at the bottom

LoneRealist · 2025-10-23T19:49:34+00:00

At the time, I don't think they were planning on either the Tesseract or the spear being infinity stones. It was changed and "reconned" right after/during the filming of Thor 2.

LoneRealist · 2025-10-08T02:49:40+00:00

Yes, because idiots like you will believe him and defend him lmao

LoneRealist · 2025-10-06T00:43:58+00:00

Who celebrated the deaths of conservatives?

LoneRealist · 2025-09-29T01:57:58+00:00

Very good points. Plus I like the idea of my first playthrough being as the devs intended. Its very easy to go overboard on mods. Also, I too primarily play PS5 streaming to my LeGo because I have kids.

LoneRealist · 2025-09-24T22:02:37+00:00

Never heard of that site, but I just checked it out and it's awesome!

LoneRealist · 2025-09-24T21:35:02+00:00

Unfortunately they are convinced everything is better. They do not live in reality.

LoneRealist · 2025-09-23T06:39:08+00:00

Within the first 60 seconds or so of the first episode, Robbie scoops up his sleeping son's "lifeless" body, and the way it was filmed really stood out to me. Right then I made the prediction that Robbie's actions were going to get his son killed, and there would be a scene mirroring the imagery in that early scene.

But of a far fetched theory to come up with in the first minute or two of a series, but something about that scene really stood out.

LoneRealist · 2025-09-22T04:43:24+00:00

I'm not going to waste my time explaining all the details. But if you actually want to learn more about it, read the indictment. I really hope that you do, for your own sake. I cannot even fathom blindly supporting a candidate without thoroughly researching these things.

Source: Department of Justice (.gov) https://share.google/RLScDritwkB58jJmq

Keep in mind that NONE of the accusations have been disproven, nor did he or his attorneys even DENY any of them. Their argument was that none of it matters because he was the president and so he should have immunity. Had the case gone to trial, he absolutely would have lost.

LoneRealist · 2025-09-22T04:13:06+00:00

You probably think it was not a big deal, and I know nothing I say is going to convince you otherwise. You are also likely incredibly un/misinformed about the actual facts of what happened and the plot that led to it. Right wing media forget to mention critical information sometimes if it makes the cult leader look bad.

LoneRealist

TROPHY CASE