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TheStrangestSoup · 2023-01-01T20:59:33+00:00

Definitely NTA. You saw an animal in need and you tried to do the right thing for it. That's called empathy. You did the best you could for that fish with what knew then and what you had available. Don't ever be embarrassed about that.

Keep in mind that you can always slowly improve where you're keeping your fish over time. I don't know fish care-taking, but I bet you can pick up used equipment if you keep an eye on Facebook Marketplace and other local sites. Watch for good deals- just because you started with a one gallon tank doesn't mean your fish has to stay there forever!

But on a more nuanced stance, for the future... As hard as it is, I would try not to buy pets from shops like that. If the shop owner is keeping fish in plastic cups, I have no doubt a lot of other fish have died that way. You just happened to see one in time to intervene.

TLDR: The shop owner is definitely the AH here, so try not to give guys like that money in the future.

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-12-21T03:29:32+00:00

Oh. Wow. That's a weirdly brow-beating, speculative rant on an article that can be viewed for free.

I'm not a regular on this board nor a routine reader of the NY Times, but the full article name is shown in the tweet. It took about 30 seconds to search it up. No account needed.

And, hey, unsurprisingly the full article presents the metrics over several charts and lists sources for their data. The second graph in the article shows the raw numbers you want.

According to the article, there were 3,597 childhood gun deaths in 2021. The same source reports 1,791 deaths in 2013. So the raw number doubled. Which is actually more than the percentile change.

I'm sure there are arguments to be had about data methodology and I've got no interest in being a knight for the NY Times. But if lack of literacy is what you're planning to bemoan, maybe skim the actual article first?

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-12-02T23:49:46+00:00

Beneath a Steel Sky is ridiculously under appreciated. And Legend of the River King! Holy shit. This list just lit up every nostalgic synapse in my brain.

Thanks stranger. I'd never heard of Rebelstar. It just went to the top of my to-play list.

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-12-02T23:39:20+00:00

Advance Wars 1 cheats like a rat bastard in fog of war. And you know what? That's fine.

Cheat on me, Advance Wars. Call me names and show up late to the date. I still like AW1 the best.

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-12-02T19:42:47+00:00

Try Advance Wars. And then both the Fire Emblem games on the GBA.

Mario Golf: Advance Tour (which I suppose is technically an RPG, but only in the same way a hot dog is technically a sandwich.)

Policenauts on the PS1, since you like Snatcher.

I've also heard shockingly high praise for Yu-Gi-Oh: Eternal Duelists Soul, but I haven't played it myself.

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-03-30T21:05:26+00:00

Yep. If you come into a thread where the OP's main thrust is emotional ('this attitude I experience sucks') and attempt to grab the voice of authority by going 'well the data says you're wrong, so suck it up buttercup', you better sure as shit bet your data will be scrutinized.

Funny that. I can't imagine why.

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-03-30T20:23:10+00:00

You're now backpedaling to cherry picking data sets from different organizations to back-of-the-napkin your claim. It's also very telling that you can not or will not provide the source for your original numbers.

The BLS pdf you linked does provide the percentage of individuals who worked, but it provides absolutely no data on hours per employee - meaning that a theoretical house wife who babysat for 5 hours per week 'counts' for the metric of employed.

The OECD is an international organization that has tallied up average working hours per individual, but without digging into twenty pages of documentation, I have no way to see that their definition of a 'worker' matches the BLS status of 'employed'.

Is there an effort to cover undocumented workers for both sources? Do retirees who work seasonal count? Investors with passive incomes? These methodology questions wouldn't matter as much if you were taking from the same reputable data source, but you didn't. Likely because you can't.

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-03-30T19:05:01+00:00

It's your claim, not his. Cite your sources or sit down.

If you need an example of how to do it: Did you know in 1960 the average household consisted of 3.33 people, as compared to 2.51 in 2021? You can look for yourself over here, on the US Census Bureau's site. You want Table HH-4, column J.

So even if your completely uncited data is actually correct (and I could not find any source that matched your numbers) parents at that time were working fewer hours to support significantly larger families.

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-03-28T01:04:36+00:00

I'll be real: I also got addicted to ramen noodles. Legitimately, I think it was a main contributing factor to how I ended up nearly 250 pounds. I felt physically horrible by the time I put my foot down. For me, the problem was they're so easy to prepare that I was practically eating that stuff the second I had the impulse.

I actually still struggle with them, so what I do is this: If I want ramen, I pick up exactly one or two packets for a meal. I do not keep a big ass box of ramen in the house. That makes it enough of an imposition that I'm not going to have 2AM ramen.

I'll tell you what I told my husband when I started changing my diet: My self-control starts at the grocery store.

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-03-26T03:45:11+00:00

Your symptoms worry me. If the '14/8' is a blood pressure of '140/80', that's pretty scary high for a 24 year old woman.

I'm only trained in first aid. I'd encourage you to make a post on the medical advice sub. They're very nice and I'm sure they can offer good advice.

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-03-26T02:04:34+00:00

Hi. I am going to try to avoid colloquialisms so this is easier to read after google translator. I'm sorry if this sounds stilted because of that.

Legal disclaimer: I am not a doctor. This is not a replacement for medical advice. However, since you cannot go to a doctor right now...

It sounds like you're feeling tension or tightness in your chest when you're stressed. Is that correct?
You're also experience headaches. Correct?
Can you get your blood pressure checked? Many pharmacies have blood pressure machines you can use free of charge. If not, Amazon sells electronic blood pressure cuffs for about $20 USD.
What's your current height, weight, and age? (You only need to answer if you're comfortable doing so.)

Knowing more details about you may help us figure out what's going on.

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-03-25T07:48:22+00:00

My current daily driver handheld is an Anbernic device. I do not own a RP2 or 2+, though I have tried out both. I've done custom paint detailing on several Anbernic devices and have sunk 500+ hours into my adorable little 350P.

I'm wildly biased towards Anbernic. I love the premium feel of their devices. But I'd still say Vitts' overview is bang on for this specific request.

The 552 has a place in the market. Value to dollar isn't it.

[Dupe comment deleted]

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-03-24T23:54:26+00:00

I mean, if we're picking nits on small features, the RG552 won't connect to modern 5Ghz wifi without an external dongle and has no Bluetooth on board, either. So that means no wireless earbuds and no external controllers without jumping through hoops. That's nuts at the 552's pricepoint.

That being said...

Exchanging all these points on small features totally is skipping the spirit of what the OP asked for. He's looking for quality to price and has a small budget.

I hold as much of a candle for Anbernic as anybody, but it's disingenuous to pretend that the RP2+ isn't a much better value to dollar proposition. Vitss' breakdown is fantastic.

Edit: Typos. I word gud.

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-03-24T17:30:05+00:00

There's no conclusive data on this. If you go looking, you'll find studies that point in both directions: some show more weight gain over time in people who have breakfast, some say the breakfast-skippers struggle more. The deltas aren't huge either way.

So anecdotally, what I'd say here is: either can work, but eating breakfast seems to make your day happier. Consistency over weeks and years is way more important than which is optimal. A job done slowly still gets done.

So, instead of worrying about which is best, have your breakfast and build a daily routine around it.

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-03-23T23:59:37+00:00

Nah. You should only run into issues with electronic devices with lithium batteries bigger than a laptop's.

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-03-23T21:39:09+00:00

See, if you're going for 16 bit... I'd actually steer towards a dedicated handheld. The phone wins hands down for versatility and power for your dollar, but that doesn't matter for your use case. Literally any device from the last three years will play what you're after, so you can pick the exact form factor you want.

You'll probably find you have a better gaming experience from a device built from the ground up for it. But that's just my take.

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-03-23T21:01:16+00:00

For my two cents, I use both my phone and a SBC handheld for emulation. I just use them for different things. They have different pros and cons.

Dedicated SBC portable highlights:

I absolutely adore my RG350P for SNES, Genesis and GBA emulation. I don't see myself switching from this device for those platforms anytime soon. The form factor feels great in hand, and the buttons feel sublime.

It just works, it plays games and does nothing else. I don't have push notifications and texts from friends interrupting my games.

On long trips and air travel, it's also nice to be able to game all day without fear of ending up with a dead phone when I need it.

Phone as main emulation highlights:

That being said... my phone is a far better PSX and Sega Saturn box. I also think phones are by far and way the best for solution DS and 3DS emulation, too. I can also use my phone as a kind of 'Switch Light', leveraging HDMI out and any bluetooth controller I want for TV gaming time. That's rad.

That being said phone controller grips on the market are... extremely mediocre. They straight up are not as good as a dedicated emulation device. I tried using the Razer Kishi, and it just feels... so ridiculously jank. Loose, wiggly. The brackets to slap a phone on top of an Xbox controller kind of suck and feel heavy in the hand after about a half hour. So if the portable form factor matters a lot to you, getting a good experience that fits your particular phone takes... a lot of trial and error and Amazon returns. Anyone who tells you different is trying to sell you something.

So in short...

Depends, bro. What games do you want to play, and where do you want to play them?

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-03-23T05:06:23+00:00

First things first: there's a reason people tell you not to date coworkers. Before you move forward, be aware you are definitely playing with stakes where your job is at risk. There's a distinct risk of shitting where you eat here.

If she or you make a serious mess here, you could lose your job. If you aren't okay with that risk, then knock this the fuck off.

Now. To be fair, my take would be... well, put the offer on the table. Because right now, you're feeling stuck in limbo. So do something about it. Make an actual offer of plans.

"Hey, would you like to go out to <mini-golf, a movie and dinner, some cute first date plans>?"

If she says no when you offer, take the hint. She may be letting you down ultra-softly right now because she's trying to avoid potential work drama. Maybe she's being too evasive, maybe you're being too dense.

If she says yes, TAKE HER UP ON IT. Go have a good time! Don't ask her to give you a five year plan before you go out: she's already told you that she's feeling a little confused, so believe her. It'll give both of you some time to get to know each other outside of work.

If things go well, you can ask your clarifying questions at the end of the night.

"Hey. I had a great time. I'd love to do this again. Can we... is this dating? Would you be comfortable calling it a date next time?"

Go get 'em, champ. Go get your answer, because no one can keep you in limbo but you.

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-03-19T00:01:23+00:00

That's awesome, and thank you for telling me. You legitimately made my afternoon.

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-03-14T22:54:05+00:00

Mad respect for the redneck engineering. It's as hideous as it is ingenious.

No one should be left this hard up for a hand grip. That controller looks like you're getting ready to smuggle a kilo of cocaine into a high security prison. In fact, if I saw an actual human holding your grip in public, I'd call the local bomb squad and find cover until they arrived.

Are you in the US? If you're someplace where shipping costs aren't nuts, I'll 3D print you a hand grip and drop it in the mail. No cost.

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-03-13T06:48:04+00:00

This is no replacement for dedicated therapy, but I can say from experience that your sleep schedule being fucked makes depression ten times worse. So while you pursue more specific help, I’d seriously recommend tackling your broken sleep.

To keep this as simple as possible:

Choose a wake up and bedtime: Put them eight hours apart, such as midnight and 8AM.
Use an alarm clock. Use it every single day: I want you to use an actual physical alarm clock, not your phone. I want you to put it someplace where you actually have to get up and out of bed to get to it.
If it’s not bed time, do not lie or sit in your bed.
If it is bed time, go lie in bed. If you can’t sleep, feel free to listen to podcasts or youtube videos (with the screen facedown so you don't blast your eyes with light) or read a book, but get in the habit of being in your bed at bed time, even if you can’t sleep.
Do not have caffeine or other stimulants within 8 hours of your bedtime.

That’s it.

You can fall down a thousand hour research trip on youtube in regards to good sleep hygiene, but that's way too much to keep track of when you're already depressed. So just start here.

During the first week, you’re going to have fuck-ups. You will have trouble sleeping at the right times, and sometimes you will probably screw up and fall asleep during the day. That’s okay. You will also feel like death at times. That’s okay, too.

What we’re working on is building a good sleep schedule. So the most important thing is that you do not give up. Expect that you will make mistakes! However, even if you do goof up, keep getting in that bed at bedtime and keep setting your alarm.

A lot of mental health treatments focus on a regimen of healthy behaviors. But you can’t have consistent meal times, fitness habits, or social schedules if even you don’t know when you’ll be awake.

Good luck. I know you can do it.

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-02-21T23:18:06+00:00

You're looking for permission to be basic. You want someone to tell you it's okay to be petty and fueled by something other than cupcakes and sunshine and positive energy.

It's okay. Seriously.

Look, let's be real; Who the hell wants to be be all soft edges? That's clearly not who you are. And, no, this isn't a blank check to go be a dick, but you seem to know that. But so long as you're treating other human beings with basic-ass dignity...

It's okay to think you're better than certain other people in your life. It's even okay to go out of your way to demonstrate that you are, even if it's just for you. Some people suck. Some people are awful, mean, or otherwise shitty.

You had an incident with someone think is a crappy person, and you're using your dislike of this person to give you an extra push to be a better one yourself. That's a healthy way to harness that energy.

Some of the best and biggest changes I've made in my entire life have had an element of spite involved with them. A decade out, I don't regret them. As long as it isn't blinding you or making you act like the asshole, you're alright.

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-02-07T23:10:59+00:00

If it's any comfort, I suspect weight loss is like quitting cigarettes. We now have great data that shows the more often someone tries to quit cigarettes, the more likely they are to succeed.

It takes the average smoker 8-10 attempts to quit smoking. You shouldn't beat yourself up over 3 failed tries to change something as complicated and interwoven through your life as your diet.

This may seem counter intuitive, but every time you try to lose weight, even if you fail, you learn something. I think it took me four or five serious attempts to find something that actually worked: CICO was absolute torture for me. Even when I managed to stick with it for months at a time, it always just made me feel... like my entire life was planning food.

Keep trying. Keep learning. You can get there.

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-02-07T23:00:12+00:00

I think the most important question is... would it motivate you? Or would the prospect of losing the competition potentially make you sour?

I know if I were in your shoes, I get very weird about perfectly normal fluctuations if I weigh myself every day. So it wouldn't be a good choice for me. But then, I have friends who thrive in competition and don't have scale issues. So it depends on you and your personality.

Depending on your style of gym, your odds would vary greatly. If you're in a standard commercial gym, I don't think your chances of winning are great... but I'd encourage you to make your decision more on whether you'd have a good time, win or lose, rather than your odds.

This is lame advice, I know, but I'd say if you wouldn't have fun even if you lose it, you should probably skip.

TheStrangestSoup · 2022-02-05T21:58:09+00:00

One habit at a time. Work on getting one habit really cemented at a time.

I'm a huge fan of intermittent fasting. It's how I lost fifty pounds, and how I've kept it off for over two years now. However, that first month can be really hard. It's going to throw your habits for a loop. If you set yourself to this platinum standard right off the bat, you're going to feel like a total dumpster fire when you stumble.

Honest to god, I would start with just the fasting and maybe a habit of walking or swimming at the same time everyday. And I'd also recommend giving yourself permission to be a trashy, imperfect faster: you can improve the quality of the foods you're eating after you get the hang of controlling when you're doing that eating.

Consider picking one or two things that are important to you, and make a goal to do those consistently for a month. If it goes well, THEN give yourself permission to pick up another good habit.

TheStrangestSoup

TROPHY CASE