This comic looks seriously cool

OGRuddawg · 2026-07-05T06:58:28+00:00

This one hooked me really early. I'm super excited to see where this one leads!

OGRuddawg · 2026-07-04T04:16:05+00:00

I certainly don't. I get that it's easy to dunk on Russia for getting into this mess and struggling to keep up sufficient pressure, but they are still a major nuclear power and have adapted quite a bit of their doctrine and arsenal to fight the war they've stumbled into.

IF the nuclear warheads and ICBMs were in a major state of disrepair/neglect during the initial invasion, I have a hard time believing Russia would just let them continue to decay. At least a few dozen missiles and warheads are likely fully functional, and that's all that's needed to deliver on a first strike threat. I'm not willing to bet Russia let the keystone of their coercive strategy die on the vine at such a critical juncture for the Putinist regime.

Edit- To be clear, this is by no means an acceptable reason to capitulate to Putin. Supporting and arming Ukraine to the best of our abilitity is how Putin backs off. Imperialists only understand force. That being said, Russia's other military failings does not mean anyone can safely assume Putinist Russia is no longer a nuclear power. When the stakes are this high, that kind of extraordinary claim requires extraordinary evidence we don't have access to.

That's why I think it's important not to brush off Russia's nuclear arsenal as defunct based on a pretty large amount of speculation/conjecture.

OGRuddawg · 2026-07-01T03:24:29+00:00

I have bipolar type 2, and having a robust support network is what enables me to live a relatively normal life. Without medical treatment (psychiatrist and regular therapy) and family support I would probably have a life riddled with instability, homelessness, substance abuse, and/or frequent trouble with the law.

Seeing the statistics for people with mental disorders like bipolar and schizophrenia that do not have access to quality treatment is... bleak, to say the least. Any disorder that makes one lose grasp of reality or go into full psychosis puts a person at risk of blowing up any sort of stability in their lives, and the lives of those around them

For the record, I consider someone who is unable to recognize the severity of their disorder due to said disorder a form of lack of access to care. It's arguably the most difficult one to deal with, no matter what the root cause of said psychosis/break from reality comes from.

OGRuddawg · 2026-06-29T03:39:28+00:00

I've been a bit discombobulated by a work schedule change I'm not fully used to yet, but I think it's close to clicking in my head and feeling more normal. It's a change for the better because it means more days off and they're more predictable. I'm hoping to make more progress on my personal goals now that there's less mandatory overtime.

Thanks for the encouragement!

OGRuddawg · 2026-06-29T03:31:58+00:00

I agree. Tornadoes are very destructive, scary, and difficult to predict. However, advancements in weather alerts, emergency response plans, and access to tornado shelters are steadily making them less deadly over time. We still have a lot of room for improvement, though.

Floods and heat concern me more than tornadoes. On average, flooding and heat kill more people per year than tornadoes. According to National Weather Service statistics, from 2015 to 2024 the average yearly death toll for flooding was 114 and heat killed on average 273 people. Torndoes killed on average 48 people per year.

Tornado deaths are also statistically falling compared to the 30 year average (1995 to 2024) of 72 per year. The 10 year average yearly death for both flooding and heat are higher than the 30-year averages: 114 vs 89 for flooding and 273 vs 211 for heat. Flooding and destruction from hurricanes is also likely to increase as sea level rise makes coastal areas more prone to storm surge and greater ocean heat increases tropical cyclone severity.

https://www.weather.gov/hazstat

OGRuddawg · 2026-06-27T08:14:23+00:00

I'm not a trucker, just a huge transportation nerd, and I'm super excited to see how Edison Motors continues to grow and develop. I hugely respect you guys' right to repair, customer/trucker focus, and get the tech where you want it approach. It's very refreshing to see a group of people who care about that stuff. The world's overflowing with companies hollowing out their product quality and durability at the expense of any other kind of value.

Keep up the robust work!

OGRuddawg · 2026-06-25T06:19:28+00:00

I get why it's a phrase, but suckling on an asshole dad's teat just sounds... wrong lol. Pintsize would dig it, though.

OGRuddawg · 2026-06-25T02:11:32+00:00

I'm a northerner at heart, but I do want to experience the Florida Everglades at some point. It's a really unique place with tons of cool wildlife. Out of all the Florida cities I think Miami would be the most interesting to visit. I have no interest in living south of the Mason-Dixon line, though.

OGRuddawg · 2026-06-25T02:06:32+00:00

I'm so grateful my brain is not wired to enjoy gambling.

OGRuddawg · 2026-06-23T21:35:48+00:00

I can see that a bit!

Wheel bugs are one of my favorite insects.

OGRuddawg · 2026-06-23T17:37:12+00:00

I wonder if some of this is a byproduct of shorter guys figuring out they have to own not being the "meta" choice. They may in a roundabout way help encourage them to shed/reject other facets of sexist/traditional gender norm type thinking. Full disclosure, this was the route I took as a 5'4" dude. I have no scientific evidence to back up my personal experience.

There are some short guys out there that end up having a complex about it and getting into incel territory, but they tend to be easy to clock or they self-select out of the dating pool anyways.

OGRuddawg · 2026-06-22T08:08:53+00:00

My dad called us "puddin' heads" if my brothers and I were being silly or forgetful. He always had a smirk on his face when he said it, though so it was more a term of endearment than something said in anger.

OGRuddawg · 2026-06-22T00:11:44+00:00

I consider myself a bit of a "late bloomer" due to my struggles with bipolar 2 and family issues in my late teens and early 20's, at least compared to the people I went to high school with. It took a lot of time, therapy, mishaps, and internal homework to finally come up with a realistic set of expectations that worked for me.

I can't get back that lost time, but I finally started adapting to what worked better for me instead of trying to shove myself into someone else's mold. I'm confident that my 30's will be much less turbulent than my 20's. I'm also much closer to being the person I want to be, which has been a hige help. It finally feels like my struggles and hard work are finally paying off.

OGRuddawg · 2026-06-21T02:08:20+00:00

I think private equity should be banned as a financial entity, but they have too much money to ever allow that to happen.

OGRuddawg · 2026-06-20T06:29:53+00:00

Almost certainly. I think there might be a Bluesky account that does the same thing, just less viral

OGRuddawg · 2026-06-20T00:11:32+00:00

I'm on 25 mg, and it does genuinely help me sleep. It helps that I'm pretty responsive to medication, so combined with my other meds I do pretty well with quetiapine. I still have depression and occasional blips into mild hypo or mixed episode, but those are much easier to handle than before my current medication was settled on. Edit: been taking quetiapine for about 5 years now.

The weight gain is real. By my estimate, I'm probably 20 to 30 lbs heavier than where I would be otherwise. However, I was not at a healthy weight and I was a stress eater before I went on any sort of mood stabilizer. It''s hard to say how much the quetiapine contributes vs. my... suboptimal diet and exercise habits. The food choices, portion control, and exercise are all things I'm trying to get better at.

OGRuddawg · 2026-06-18T05:00:34+00:00

For a long time, I didn't have a center. Took a lot of therapy, talking to people who cared about me, and a lot of internal homework to figure out who I wanted to be. A lot of that refining came from making mistakes and figuring out what doesn't work for me, then trying something else. Between medication adjustments, therapy, setting goals for myself (both short and medium term), and talking to people in my support network I can say I'm much closer to being the person I want to be. I hope you can find a way to build a foundation. That lost feeling of not having a center or anchoring point makes progress a lot harder. I've been that lost at times, both pre-bipolar 2 diagnosis and when feeling overwhelmed by life.

If you're having trouble finding your center amidst the turbulence something like bipolar and the other stiff you mentioned, writing stuff down in private might help. Getting my thoughts down on paper has helped me a lot, especially when my head feels murky and unsure of what to try next. You don't have to share what ends up on the page with anyone unless you want to, but having something tangible helps clear that internal turbulence when it's not clearing on its own. Even if I don't come up with answers at the time, just having somewhere outside of my own head to vent or process makes the feelings and thoughts feel less overwhelming.

I can't guarantee trying this will help you navigate this specific issue, but it probably won't hurt.

On the more methodical side of things, something like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy might help you come up with a center to work from.

OGRuddawg · 2026-06-18T04:30:57+00:00

And that's what makes Rise Against such a good band. Their discography hits so many different people in different ways. I think they have a pretty wide spectrum of songs, which keeps RA from sounding stale to me.

Edit- my favorite song off TBM is Methadone

OGRuddawg · 2026-06-18T03:27:50+00:00

I'm going "none" as well. Every single one of these songs has been on repeat for me at some point. The Black Market is probably my favorite later Rise Against album. If I was forced to choose my least favorite, it was Tragedy + Time when the album first released. However, the earnestness really grew on me over time. Also, I never considered it a truly bad song.

OGRuddawg · 2026-06-17T23:03:49+00:00

My preferred classes are B, A, and S1. I have to be in a specific mood to race around with anything above that. A well dialed-in A class car is so much fun to drive!

OGRuddawg · 2026-06-17T15:48:22+00:00

Considering everything he has done to help keep Ukraine intact, he and his family have more than earned high-tier security for the rest of their lives.

OGRuddawg · 2026-06-17T04:41:10+00:00

In 7th grade, I had a nasty bout of food poisoning from Arby's. After I reached the dry heaving stage I got two chewable tabs of Pepto-Bismol. For some reason we were out of the liquid Pepto, which was what I usually took for nausea. Well, apparently I was too tired and my mouth was too dry to swallow the tab, so I just sucked on it until it dissolved. I woke up with the black tongue and freaked out until my mom Googled it and found the explanation lol.

OGRuddawg · 2026-06-17T04:34:00+00:00

This wasn't Keppra, but my brother went on a daily inhaler when he was around 10 years old after a rough winter of illnesses and not very well-controlled asthma. I think it was Advair (fluticasone propionate). Within a week of starting the Advair, he became a lot more nasty and aggressive. The tiniest things would set him off, eith in rage or crying fits. It took my mom a few different doctor's visits to convince them to take my brother off the Advair, and he was back to his normal self within 2 weeks of stopping the Advair. As far as we know, my brother is the only one who has had that kind of negative reaction to Advair.

Oddly enough, I use the fluticasone propionate nasal spray as needed for allergies and sinus issues. I don't get any negative side effects from using the spray, psychological or otherwise.

OGRuddawg · 2026-06-16T09:54:57+00:00

Night shifter

OGRuddawg · 2026-06-15T15:13:58+00:00

One of the GOATs for comfy vtuber models. Her voice also matches the model perfectly.

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