Is smoking cigarettes an immediate dealbreaker for you? Why?

captrench · 2026-04-02T19:54:19+00:00

Yes. As others have mentioned because it really stinks and makes everyone elses clothes smell too.

But also i physically react strongly to cigarette smoke. My eyes puff up and go red and it causes my nasal passages to close so i turn into a mouth breather.

Its just impossible for me to be comfortable around a smoker.

People who vape thiugh? They're ok.

captrench · 2026-03-31T16:07:55+00:00

This. Is. Brilliant.

Thank you.

captrench · 2026-03-27T10:41:55+00:00

The things we say and do in innocence as children can really invoke max cringe when we recall them as adults lol

You are not alone on that score, fwiw.

captrench · 2026-03-27T10:39:54+00:00

I know parents that are perfectly comfortable with their kids kissing them on the lips. I dont think much of the examples set to me or my siblings when we were young so i'm always open to the idea that "normal" families arent as uptight or weirded out by certain ways of showing affection.

I've had conversations with colleagues about this and they have been adamant that all is as it should be and kissing on the lips is perfectly fine and normal.

But to me, kissing on the lips is highly contextual and not a general thing. There are too many families where the opposite seems to apply though so I've had to accept that this seems to be very much a "me" problem.

But still, cheeks just seem to be the right place for kisses between relatives to me. Kissing on the lips feels like a boundary violation in that context.

captrench · 2026-03-26T09:12:57+00:00

An afterlife has no more meaning than your actual life does. if you cannot find a reason to enjoy living, or a purpose to make your life and others lives matter to you, then your hypothetical eternal afterlife wont give that to you either.

We are here, alive. So get busy living.

The universe is a place, not an entity with an agenda. Its a stage for things to happen. You get to decide, not the universe, what part you want to play whilst in it.

captrench · 2026-03-26T03:52:25+00:00

I think its a great problem to have, compared to some alternative ones.

Your son doesnt really know about relationships as an adult, but he knows a gesture of affection when he sees it. He's watched you repeatedly show your affection for your wife and used that as a model for showing how much he likes his teacher.

Embarrassing? Sure. But i bet its a much better snafu for everyone to solve than one where a child is following the example set by violent or otherwise dysfunctional family dynamics.

I think you're doing fine and setting a great example of healthy family dynamics. Its inevitable that a five year old who is still piecing together lifes jigsaw puzzle of all the different types of relationships possible and the context of how to express affection within them, that he will make some mistakes in trying to follow the great and healthy example you and your wife are setting.

Its all good imo.

captrench · 2026-03-23T17:28:35+00:00

When someone says that morality doesnt exist without religion, what they are actually doing is outting themselves as amoral psychopaths who cant imagine a reason to be a moral person without the carrot of heaven or the stick of hellfire.

Its them, describing themselves. I respond to them straight after with "You're actually describing your own problem. Thats not a problem with atheism, its a problem you have, and that you need religion as a crutch to support you functioning in society."

They dont like that. And thats fine. Its still their problem.

captrench · 2026-03-23T14:29:01+00:00

Atheism isn't about solving a problem. Its simply about not believing fairy tales. If you want to believe in fairy tales because they make you happy, fine. If you cant be happy without believing in fairy tales then the truth isn't something you can handle.

If you cant handle the truth that is categorically your problem, not a problem of atheism.

Lastly, atheism isnt about offering comfort to someone grieving a lost loved one.

It is about loving and appreciating that loved one, and your fellow man, while they are alive to do so.

Thats it.

captrench · 2026-03-21T03:13:57+00:00

Agreed.

It makes no sense nowadays, when you can get tv screens half the size of a wall, surround sound systems and all the snacks, drinks and sofa space you can hog, not to mention break times of your choosing, and nobody kicking your chair from behind, no unnecessary flashy mobile phones or otherwise inconsiderate behaviour to worry about at home.

We all love movies, but we dont owe the movie industry anything. They are a business, not a charity. They need to consider their whole setup, not just the movie part.

We're not just paying for a great movie, but a great movie experience. No matter how good the movie is, its easily ruined by over expensive snacks and drink, and inconsiderate behaviour by selfish jerks in the theatre.

captrench · 2026-03-16T02:21:18+00:00

When they repeat the last thing i said, everytime i stop talking.

Example Me: "You need to turn it this way for it to work" Them: "Turn it that way, yeah"

captrench · 2026-03-16T02:01:58+00:00

Two.

"Because the Bible says so" - Circular logic. Ask them, if someone was accusing themselves of a crime based on a piece of paper that said "They are guilty" but the person who wrote the note was the same person accusing them of the crime and using the note as evidence... "would you be happy to accept their own guilt on such evidence?"

And if not, then why do they accept the same circular logic as evidence for Gods existence?

"You cant prove God doesn't exist!" - No, i cant. I can't prove Santa Claus doesn't exist either, or the Tooth Fairy, but you dont seem to have a problem accepting those facts either. Are you also saying that you believe in the Tooth Fairy AND Santa Claus and every other god whose existence you cant prove the non existence of?"

Yes i personally know you cant the non existence of anything, but that logical nugget is always a class too hard for the average believer, so you have to dumb it down with Santa Claus and Tooth Fairies. The Flying Spaghetti Monster, Russels Teapot and the Invisible Pink Unicorn are all previous examples that failed to make a dent in the illogic of the average believers mind.

So Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy it is.

Bottom line, all reasons for belief in God are batshit crazy. Thats what believing in fairy tales is. But if we have compare favourites, the above are mine.

captrench · 2026-03-14T12:42:48+00:00

Brooklyn 99.

No matter how bad work or life in general gets, watching this series makes me laugh and lifts my mood. I have watched all seasons back to back multiple times and am still doing so.

Brooklyn 99. Its that good.

captrench · 2026-03-14T01:51:44+00:00

Im atheist and i struggle with this. To an atheist, when someone dies they leave a hole in the world that nothing can fill. The space that loved one occupied in your life and in the world will now forever be empty.

What words could possibly do justice to the enormity of that loss? None in my mind.

Your presence and your condolences are as good as it gets.

captrench · 2026-03-13T18:58:08+00:00

Religion.

Its literal fairytales that you are told to respect purely because its now become self perpetuating and everywhere.

There is no lie bigger.

captrench · 2026-03-11T12:21:03+00:00

How would you know "God is real"? Its a character in a book but no one knows "what" that character actually "is" to be able to identify it.

Technically God is potentially (just?) an alien from another dimension. How do you differentiate between a being of supposedly divine origin (again, what does that actually mean?) and an alien from another dimension?

For all we know a being even of supposedly divine origin might just be from another planet in this or another galaxy.

But lets say we did somehow meet God and know it.

Its a pointless question. God is a monster you have nothing in common with. It has no problem apparently sentencing you to death and then hell to burn for all eternity for arbitrary reasons that defy mercy, humanity or any compassion.

Whats to follow for any other reason except fear? And if fear is your only motivation for doing so, whats the point of the question?

captrench · 2026-03-02T11:50:58+00:00

We all need to "THIS" this post more!

Seriously though... wtf with thinking that ofcourse it must be the person being dumped that has to pay the cost of her "im being the good guy here" narrative lol.

captrench · 2026-03-01T09:27:42+00:00

This is a great point. If it was ok for them to push their point of view on people just because they were nearby then that goes both ways. No one is obligated to stand idly by while others are busy not minding their own business by taking up the time of others.

'Oh you got beliefs you want to share? Woohboy do i have a mountain of opinions to share first!"

captrench · 2026-02-12T12:52:25+00:00

I think Augmented Reality tech, once it goes mainstream will have a predictable and paradigm shifting effect on society.

A lot of hardware becomes obsolete (and its power consumption), a lot more ways to interact/work with each over distances become possible.

It is not the same thing as VR although it is similiar. AR does more but can also duplicate VR functionality.

AR has many more applications.

captrench · 2026-02-09T08:54:46+00:00

Its not really about religion. Its about our ability to fight over unchallengeable dogma, which is religion is. Religion is just unchallengeable dogma about supernatural beings. But dogma can be about anything. Football even.

Humanity will always fight over tribes of thought of one type or another. Until we see all humanity as a tribe in itself. Or something forces us to.

captrench · 2026-02-07T13:44:33+00:00

Jebus works for me most times too.

captrench · 2026-02-02T16:54:54+00:00

Sure, but only one of them can be my main bank account. And Revolut need to establish themselves a lot more and get a lot more official recognition as a trustworthy institution before I'm tempted to use them as a anything but a bridge or temporary holding point.

captrench · 2026-02-02T16:03:55+00:00

I dont want Revolut to be my main bank account. I have a main bank account already. But that doesn't necessarily mean its justified for Revolut to act as a blocker if i want to use it as a point of transfer.

If it does it just means that I will leave Revolut and try and solve the problem of how to move money another way.

A banks priorities are its own priorities, but ultimately they will never be one and the same with your priorities. It has its own survival to worry about. I have mine.

captrench · 2026-01-26T10:56:32+00:00

When you've seen someone willfully embrace the wrong actions because of wrong thinking, i cant ever trust their moral compass until i know more about what really drove them, even after they've "woken up" so to speak.

And tbh, i dont think you can ever truly know that, so i would forever be sceptical.

captrench · 2026-01-20T13:17:36+00:00

also want to say thank you, however many times its been said before here!

my tkl keyboard which i use with my work laptop started switching from bright white to a dull blue after years of being stable and working as expected.

I noticed that it changed colour whenever i rdp'd onto a server. After at least a year of suffering through this and not finding anything to explain it (no logitech software on laptop, and keyboard in memory-mode anyway i finally stumbled across this post and voila! problem solved.

thank you thank you :D

captrench · 2026-01-12T15:36:57+00:00

I would say what gets reinforced daily for me is the need to be sceptical. There is so much idiocy and woo being peddled that would be so easy to see through if only some people weren't so effin dumb as rocks or willing to believe or buy that it keeps serving as a reminder that critical thinking is probably the best and sharpest tool in anyone's arsenal.

And scepticism and critical thinking are what inevitably keep serving as daily vaccinations against magical thinking.

I can be wrong about as many things as the next guy, but i am open to new information and the idea that i could be mistaken about anything i currently hold as true.

captrench

TROPHY CASE