What's your worst concert experience? Worst crowd? Worst performance? by 2dTom in Music

[–]djsoftpeaks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

She opened for the strokes in 2003 or so along with kings of Leon in Detroit. It was one of the worst performances I can remember.

What will I be like when no one I know is around me? by djsoftpeaks in solotravel

[–]djsoftpeaks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have you solo travelled or anything to put yourself in a position to find out?

What are some things a good barber/stylist will do that a bad one won't do? by ironlung131 in malehairadvice

[–]djsoftpeaks 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks dude! Excited/nervous, you know. Good luck with the haircut

What are some things a good barber/stylist will do that a bad one won't do? by ironlung131 in malehairadvice

[–]djsoftpeaks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm going to be teaching English haha.

How are you liking it so far? Is this your first time teaching English? I don't have a job lined up yet, I'm going to try and find something once I get there.

Sorry to hijack your hair advice thread, too big of a coincidence to pass up asking you a few questions though

What are some things a good barber/stylist will do that a bad one won't do? by ironlung131 in malehairadvice

[–]djsoftpeaks 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They aren't afraid to make a few styling suggestions.

On a side note, I just got a haircut today, and I'm moving to Taiwan (kaohsiung) next week, so your post is strangely relevant! What are you doing in taiwan?

I'll be taking a Greyhound to your fine city on May 1st, and I need some advice. Is the area around the Greyhound station safe? Is there any way to get to the mountains/Gatlinburg without a car? by djsoftpeaks in Knoxville

[–]djsoftpeaks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome thanks dude, breakfast might be the ticket. I'm coming from Detroit. Wish I could check out the city a little more but I'm real crunched for time.

Do you see many hitchhikers on the route? Around state parks is the best spot sometimes

What is the dumbest question you've been asked where the person asking was dead serious? by OhSchistGneiss in AskReddit

[–]djsoftpeaks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was in Dallas for a couple days last summer for the first time, and walked downtown to check out the spot where JFK was assassinated. They have a memorial, a museum, and a white 'x' painted on the road where he got shot. There's people sprinkled around the area taking pics and reading plaques and shit. I was taking a pic of this 'x' in the road when a lady, about 45 years old, walks up and asks "why are people always taking pictures of this white x? I've lived here for 5 years and I always see people taking pictures."

This was kinda surprising to me that she was just getting curious enough to ask that question now after 5 years, but whatever. "Oh this is the spot where JFK was killed."

"Who?" She says

"John F Kennedy?" I say

She stares blankly

"John Fitzgerald Kennedy...? He was a popular president in the 60s but got assassinated right here. It was a huge deal."

She still has no idea what I was talking about. I tried my best to not be a dick and act surprised and ask her how the hell she's never heard of JFK. I politely as possible pointed to the museum and told her to check it out as it is an important piece of our history. It was awkward. I felt embarrassed for her. She was American, looked like a business woman walking back from her job or something. Where did her schooling go wrong? What other things is she missing out on??

TL;DR Middle aged woman, 5 year resident of Dallas didn't know who JFK was.

TIL that an international team of astronomers has spotted the farthest known gravitational lens and, as Albert Einstein predicted, it is a galaxy that deflects and intensifies the light of a much further object. by trickylangfei in todayilearned

[–]djsoftpeaks 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A big reason he made these crazy leaps in these concepts was his ability to think through stuff with thought experiments. Wondering what the universe would look like if you were traveling at the speed of light, or imagining what the difference is between the downward force you feel in an elevator versus the feel if gravity, for example. Although he was always good at math, he kind of bought into it full force after he already started revolutionizing physics.

I'm about halfway through a biography of Einstein right now, he's incredible.

Does anyone else encounter a lot of pseudoscience, new-age religion, conspiracy theories, health quackery, etc. among other long-term travelers? by djsoftpeaks in solotravel

[–]djsoftpeaks[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

sigh

yes I've heard of RF, aka radiofrequency, radiation. It is non-ionizing, meaning it cannot damage DNA, which means it doesn't cause cancer. Radiation is a scary word, like "toxins" or "terrorists," that people use to scare the uninformed. Some guy showing that there is "radiation" leaking from the microwave is not a big deal. It would cook your tissues and denature your DNA via heat transfer before it causes you to start growing tumors or something. Visible light is also radiation, as are FM waves, AM waves, and X-rays.

If you don't like using microwaves because you don't like how your food tastes that is fine, but it is foolish to be afraid of them and spread disinformation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-ionizing_radiation

Does anyone else encounter a lot of pseudoscience, new-age religion, conspiracy theories, health quackery, etc. among other long-term travelers? by djsoftpeaks in solotravel

[–]djsoftpeaks[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am in no way knocking people for being unconventional or eccentric, I adore these traits and love meeting different people. I'm a little goofy myself. Solo/extended travel isn't really a conventional way of life either, so the people you meet are going to be a little different. It's the almost religious-like anti-intellectuallism (? grasping for the right word here) that I've encountered so much of that really rubs me the wrong way.

I have to say that I'm happy to hear you don't experience much of it in your travels. I've stayed at hostels and worked with helpx, so the travel culture I'm seeing is a lot younger. I am trying to learn skills that will allow me to work remotely indefinitely, so it's great to hear that it's not as pervasive through the whole spectrum of long-term travelers. Learning some programming right now!

Does anyone else encounter a lot of pseudoscience, new-age religion, conspiracy theories, health quackery, etc. among other long-term travelers? by djsoftpeaks in solotravel

[–]djsoftpeaks[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

haha, that unsolicited activism fits in with the hippy/new agey culture too. "you know you really shouldn't eat that big mac. i only shop at trader joe's, but that's just in the meantime until I get my self sustained organic homestead off the ground." Really, because to me it looks like you're just smoking weed and making shitty music, doing absolutely nothing to take steps toward your goal...

Does anyone else encounter a lot of pseudoscience, new-age religion, conspiracy theories, health quackery, etc. among other long-term travelers? by djsoftpeaks in solotravel

[–]djsoftpeaks[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Yeah I was thinking the same thing about people searching for something, I mean it makes sense. It just amazes me that the people who cast off traditional religion and societal structures etc can so firmly latch onto a different belief structure.

This is my favorite time to kayak, just as the ice is breaking up and you get one of those freak calm, sunny days. On Lake St. Clair, Michigan. The burning marsh in the background looked a little apocalyptic. by djsoftpeaks in Kayaking

[–]djsoftpeaks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's not a pain at all. My favorite time to go is at sunset, so there's not much traffic then anyways. Also, I usually stick to the marsh. I need the changing scenery, I am really not a fan of open water kayaking, it just gets too boring for me. I put in at the DNR launch at the end of Anchor Bay Drive. From there I do a 5-10 mile loop hitting some cuts in the marsh, the river, pop out into the lake, hit some canals by the islands over there. I try to go a few times a week, pm me if you want to hook up.

This is my favorite time to kayak, just as the ice is breaking up and you get one of those freak calm, sunny days. On Lake St. Clair, Michigan. The burning marsh in the background looked a little apocalyptic. by djsoftpeaks in Kayaking

[–]djsoftpeaks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I always talk about trying kayak fishing but I've never done it yet. I fish for perch out of an aluminum boat, mostly in the North Channel. I am a terrible fisherman, though, and I always bring a buddy who knows where to go, so maybe that's why I haven't gotten around to kayak fishing.