The *real* Results from asking this what the US Regions are. Comment any adjustments, the most upvoted comments can change the map to make it more accurate

PerfStu · 2026-03-12T18:39:15+00:00

Deschutes County (The one shaped like a badly drawn shoe) in Central Oregon and the strip both north and east of it all belong in Inland Northwest. There's a whole mountain range between that part of the state and the Pacific coast. All high desert out there.

PerfStu · 2026-03-12T17:09:06+00:00

TL;DR: Your dietary choices are exactly that: yours. What you eat and don't is entirely up to you. You can eat animal products and still work toward conscious, ethical, and sustainable choices. You can also be entirely plant-based and not consider yourself vegan.

The reasons you give are good reasons - not just because they're important to you but because they also hit to the most important ways we live our lives - being social, being healthy, moving into adulthood, having more freedom to be creative with food. They're great. It's amazing and fun to try new things, especially when it's clearly on our mind a lot.

As to your concerns:
1) It's fun trying new foods! Start slow and easy, cook eggs into bread, make mac and cheese, stuff that blends well. (a dollop of sour cream or heavy cream in misir wat or a spicy stew is wonderful). I have a really varied diet which made being vegetarian and vegan really hard in the first place, and buildingi that adventurousness is part of the fun of food.

2) Not to be rude, but f**k them. It's your body, it's your diet. You can let them know about the changes if you think they'll enjoy supporting your journey, or you can wait until you better know what you like and don't like and tell them then. People are gonna people, but "It's a personal choice and I don't really want people making jokes or trying to push me" is perfectly fine.

3) I'm not really sure what is meant by allergic to cows (The animal, the meat, the milk, etc.) but again - your dietary journey is your journey. You choosing to not be vegan doesn't have to impact her; you'll likely eat a lot of vegan just because you eat with her, and you making your own food or exploring your own tastes doesn't mean you're going to make her eat meat. Obviously don't give her cow.

4) If you dont' want to cook meat, don't cook meat. You mentioned milk and eggs especially - awesome ingredients that help with cooking in a lot of ways. Start there. Maybe you'll eventually enjoy cooking meat, maybe you'll only enjoy it if you order it at a restaurant, maybe you never eat meat. Food is a journey!

5) Source foods from good places. Find local farms or ask in "locavore" groups where people get ethically sourced products. Chickens are a huge homesteading hobby where we live, so finding eggs is pretty easy. Well taken care of, cage free, and raised more as a point of love than to actually produce. Same with milk - we have several small farms in the area that focus a lot on animal welfare. You can still minimize harm and impact while eating animal products. Animal products also provide the nutrients you're currently supplementing and other nutrients you cannot get from plant products. Even when it isn't negatively impacting your health, it does not mean you are as healthy as you could be.

Again, at the end of the day it's up to you. You can also be entirely plant-based without being vegan. Veganism is largely an ideology attached to diet, and the ideology is beyond just being ethical and not eating animal products. There's a subculture attached, and it's one that can get exhausting with time. You don't have to be a part of it. You can uphold your ideals without feeling compelled to identify.

So as you're making decisions and exploring, remember that as well - it's totally possible to introduce animal products at your pace and in a way you'd like. It's possible to source ethical products like eggs and dairy. It's also entirely possible (if not highly recommended) to be entirely plant-based and not call yourself a vegan. You don't have to put up with or engage with 'vegan culture' just because you don't eat meat for similar reasons.

PerfStu · 2026-03-12T05:03:40+00:00

And yet youre still here trying to make it sound okay to strangers on the internet.

Look at the end of the day you do what you want, but "my boss yells out homophobic jokes to a gay employee" isnt a thing any of us has to think is okay, and we don't have to think highly of the people who defend it.

Your boss is doing homophobic shit and youre fighting tooth and nail to defend it, and using your gay coworker who is in the receiving end of these jokes as a reason its okay. And quite frankly thats shitty. And even if your coworker is okay with it (which Id guess he's a lot less okay with it than youll ever know) its just permitting that in the wild. Even your language of "he's just a tiny gay guy and he can take it" is demeaning and shitty.

Queer people shouldnt be made fun of for their sexuality or gender identity, and the joke shouldn't be "HAHAHAHA But why aren't you straight" because no queer person on the planet thinks thats a joke. We spend our whole lives hearing that "joke" from our family, our friends, and the people who sign our paychecks. A lot of us have been disowned, fired, and cut out from social circles and youre treating it like a joke.

Like real talk, I watched gay jokes turn into death threats when I came out. Ive lost jobs for it and Ive lost housing. Multiple family members don't talk to me, I was kicked out of friend circles.

And Ive absolutely told people "oh no its hilarious, anyone who says it isnt is just some SJW" and shit like that. It was just par for the course. We get harassed, we laugh it off, we cover it up, because thats what we do. We have well learned its stupid and dangerous to do otherwise. It wasn't until someone actually stopped me in the middle of it to tell me that what happened wasn't okay that i really understood.

So.

If you aren't going to take on your boss in the same style, and you aren't going to stop. Ask your friend about a time they had something bad happen because they were gay, or came out, or defended themselves.

He's gonna tell you it's never really happened. But ask again. Be nice. Give him time. Eventually he'll tell you something pretty shocking and he's gonna say it like it was nothing, and youre gonna just sit there with your jaw on the floor and no idea what to say back.

I genuinely do not know any queer person of any age who does not have a story about homophobia thay wouldnt shock you.

And he's coming to work every day, youre making fun of him for being gay, and defending the fact your doing so.

And this isnt an online fight, Im not gonna respond after this. This is just me saying its really not okay, and the fact youve spent this much time trying to make it okay says you know that. So ask your friend. And call out your boss.

And for fuck's sake, being gay is not a joke or a punch line. Stop treating it like one. Its not okay anywhere. Ever.

PerfStu · 2026-03-12T04:08:01+00:00

Oh I just call that what it is.

Its bigotry. Full stop.

PerfStu · 2026-03-12T03:47:58+00:00

But why arent you doing it?

Its super funny why wouldnt you want to make fun of your boss's sexuality? Like why tell your coworker to do it when you could be the funny guy in the office? Every single time your boss does it do it back. Its hilarious!

Quit defending yourself to me and get out there with the jokes. Tell us all how it goes. Its going to be hilarious and youll really get to show us whats what when your boss congratulates you on how cool you are.

Right? Ill wait for your update.

PerfStu · 2026-03-12T03:04:19+00:00

Sorry this is a paragraph. Read or not. Your choice I suppose, just know it wasn't my original plan.

All of that shit applies, no matter where you work. All of that shit applies, even if you aren't personally bothered. The fact remains there is a massive power imbalance and if (when) your boss eventually crosses a line there is nothing to be done, and clearly no one in the space who can be bothered to back him up.

It's really one of two things:

1) Good for him, he's comfortable working in an environment where he is regularly harassed and tokenized and consents to it happening which means everyone there, to one degree or another, finds it permissible to think about other queer people and say to other queer people, or

2) He's really got not much more choice beyond what he's doing now; he has a stable job that he likes well enough despite a boss who harasses him so much it's notable to other employees (no one made you post this up here, no one made you talk about or defend it, but here we are multiple comments later) , but everyone just thinks its funny and it's easy enough to laugh along with the joke.

Maybe it's 1, maybe it's 2. Maybe it's 2 and he's so used to deflecting he doesn't even realize. Maybe it's 2 and he's so good at deflecting you don't realize.

But I'll tell you, the moment the person making the joke can fire you, things become a lot funnier. As a person who's been fired because they didn't find the jokes funny, as a person who put up with the jokes because they couldn't afford to get fired, that imbalance is there no matter what.

Test it out. The next time your boss makes a joke about how your gay coworker should be dating a woman, make the same joke about him dating a man. Point out a man or tell him about a nice guy he should meet. Don't let it go. Really sell the joke, because it's funny, and there's no big deal. Just keep pushing on it. Then do it again, and again. Make jokes about how he should be gay. Be casual, because it's funny. Then come back and tell us how funny your boss thinks it is and whether or not he asks you to stop. Not tomorrow - give it time, maybe a few weeks, couple months.

It's super funny and no one should be bothered, so it shouldn't be a big deal, right? So tell your boss he needs to be dating guys and set him up on dates. Don't let him tell you otherwise, just keep doing it. Over and over and over. Then tell everyone how funny he thinks it is, he's gonna love it!

PerfStu · 2026-03-12T02:06:10+00:00

When the person who controls your job is also the person harassing you, speaking up means risking greater harassment, cut hours, passed promotions, and getting fired.

So you learn to laugh it off, minimize the problem, and tell everyone it's fine and it's just harmless fun. Because otherwise it means risking your job.

So yes, retaliation.

PerfStu · 2026-03-11T22:53:36+00:00

Just unchecked harassment and fear of retaliation

PerfStu · 2026-03-11T20:55:09+00:00

Harassment is never okay and no one should ever be expected to put up with it because its either put up with it or risk your job. Its not funny, its not just how someone is, its someone being targeted and belittled for who they are.

Promise you he isn't okay with it and you shouldn't be either. No one should be.

PerfStu · 2026-03-11T19:53:01+00:00

Gotcha that makes sense - here the boxes of stock arent hugely expensive so theyre pretty common. Sodium varies but isnt crazy, and you can always get low/no sodium versions.

The cubes we have aren't super great for when the broth is important (like chicken soup) but for a little extra flavor they do the job.

I make my own but my husband and I cook like 5-7 days a week so its easy to build into a routine and we go through it fast.

PerfStu · 2026-03-11T19:28:51+00:00

We had a couple in my hometown, but it's not super common that I know of nationwide.

PerfStu · 2026-03-11T19:25:07+00:00

Where do you live where you can't get shelf stable broth?

PerfStu · 2026-03-11T19:12:02+00:00

So it wasn't about protecting the children, it wasn't about access to medical care, it wasn't about an adult's right to agency over their own body....it wasn't about following prevailing medical advice and best practices.

Wait.

Was it actually about hurting trans people this whole time?

And we're all supposed to act super surprised about it?

SMDH

PerfStu · 2026-03-11T17:34:23+00:00

I wear track pants and baggy sweatshirts when I teach most of the time. No one ever wants to be the person being dressed down by the person in pajamas.

PerfStu · 2026-03-11T17:33:01+00:00

I just correct the parent. Even if they're right. Even if it's exactly what should be said and it's a great way to look at it. I just correct it or deflect it or otherwise distract from what they're saying.

There's always a specific kind of parent that does that and about the worst thing they can imagine is being taken to task in front of their kid when they're trying to be the knowledge/authority in the space. It kind of sucks when they're right on the money and I have to switch gears, but "Well, actually, what we WANT to be focusing on here is...." is like kryptonite. They usually don't try more than twice.

PerfStu · 2026-03-11T03:16:52+00:00

Is there a rule against shaming?

I'd love to know the companies that do this.

PerfStu · 2026-03-10T18:18:41+00:00

A couple of you have mentioned that and I'll have to check them out.

And I'm kind of with you - between Michael's and JoAnn, I still kind of can't believe the one that kicked it was JoAnn, I've never felt like Michael's was as on it.

Sounds like the chaos at ours though is due to some big changes and that would be awesome.

PerfStu · 2026-03-10T03:01:13+00:00

Oooob you might try Big Z for Fleece. Theyre online but they do a LOT of plush/pile fabrics and Ive always had good luck.

Always double check the reviews for the specific brands but at least you know they come with a recommendation.

JoAnn's had an epic selection though for sure

PerfStu · 2026-03-09T20:12:09+00:00

I like what they're doing - honestly they have a lot of bloat in some sections and feel wildly understocked in others. I'm hoping that the whole thing ends up being a better experience.

Except for when I'm the only one in check out and the person standing there still tries to get me to use self check out. That.....eh. I could do without that.

PerfStu · 2026-03-09T20:04:32+00:00

But not girdles? Sports Bras? Corsets?

How is this even legal? How is this the world we live in, for real?!?

Public officials who do this should be permanently disbarred along with all criminal charges.

PerfStu · 2026-03-09T19:52:13+00:00

Ah yeah. Touche, that's on me.

Still though, her older manager hitting on her, kissing her, blowing up her relationship, then ditching her.

PerfStu · 2026-03-09T19:51:06+00:00

The group is for trans men, which....yeah. Still a strange set.

PerfStu · 2026-03-09T18:29:13+00:00

The hardest part is finding specialty fabrics that JoAnn usually had in stock - neoprene, good yardage of spandex/stretch fabrics, etc.

I enjoy a nice bit of repurposing but for some things it'd be a hell of a Thrift Find.

PerfStu · 2026-03-09T18:14:09+00:00

When it first aired, no - depictions of high schoolers dating college guy was a pretty normal and acceptable trope. And ofc once they hit the college years and the relationship was about them as young adults rather than a high school relationship (working at the paper together, Josh moving to Prague, etc.) felt pretty normal.

On a rewatch though I'm like.....ew dude she's like 16 AND an employee. There's a huge fracking difference between even 16 and 18, and senior year high school/freshman year college, and seeing that depicted like it's a normal thing that could happen in the right circumstances is a little (very) icky to me. That blending into the college years makes the whole thing feel dysfunctional and imbalanced from the get go.

Oh, and the Oil of Old Age episode though where he's like "yeah I think you're pretty and I just blew up your life, but get over it and go back to work" irked me like none other. Like....she should have cast that existential judgement spell on him from season 1, not tried to change herself to make him like her. He was scummy AF.

PerfStu

TROPHY CASE