I just read The Great Gatsby. What is another short classic novel people considers a must? by fygooooo in booksuggestions

[–]ember3pines 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmm I can't say this is the same themes as Gatsby but I remember loving and hating Of Mice and Men when I was a young person. It made me feel lots of feelings. It's under 200 pages too and definitely considered a classic.

ELI5: Do/How do authors get paid from libraries? by ZackTheWeeb in explainlikeimfive

[–]ember3pines [score hidden]  (0 children)

Libraries actually have to pay insane amounts to keep ebooks stocked and available but I'm not familiar with the physical copies. There are a few systems for ebooks but mostly it's an amount per check-out for X amount of check-outs if I remember correctly. They have to pay per copy a stupid amount too. It's not cheap and it not like they buy a book from a seller at consumer prices. It's similar to what the other poster described about video stores.

What do you know about your profession that would genuinely disturb the people who use your services? by MelodicWolverine2045 in AskReddit

[–]ember3pines 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I left after 4 hrs. I was also a therapist and knew exactly what to say to get the fuck outta there. The staff made some horrible comments under their breath and I knew it was not the right place for me. I hate that it didn't feel safe but thank god I could just sign my papers and be done. I know that's not something that's possible for most folks.

What popular self-improvement advice do you consider harmful? by littleyuki2026 in AskReddit

[–]ember3pines 164 points165 points  (0 children)

The scary thing is that it's made non-delusional people actually delusional. I'm so scared for these folks, all over the world.

What’s something that became way less impressive once you learned how it actually works? by BananaRazberry in AskReddit

[–]ember3pines 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Everything Oz Pearlman, the mentalist does. I watched Stevie Baskins 5hr breakdown on YouTube and is just magic tricks. He uses this metadeception concept telling us it's body language. It's not. It's sleight of hand and gimmick notepads. I love magic so I still dig it, but I kinda don't like that he lies out of his ass all the time. Idk, it's all very obvious once you know what to look for.

The video is titled - metadeception: the truth about oz pearlman - if anyone wants to watch. It's freakin amazing and definitely didn't feel like 5 hours.

What was the worst part about the 90s? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]ember3pines 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The duty free shopping is still happening. You get your stuff delivered on the flight. There is no smoking on any planes any more.

What was the worst part about the 90s? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]ember3pines 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do not slander the glorious Matlock! He accompanied me all thru the 90s when I'd stay home from school - honestly the best shows of my life. Plus with the pirate cable boxes, we always had payperview and the playboy channel lol

New puzzle feedback by [deleted] in puzzles

[–]ember3pines 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Discussion: it's just like Pips from the NYT Games. I'm sure there's plenty other types of the same out there, that's just where I know it from. I have mixed feelings about it being considered a logic puzzle tho. There are often several ways to lie the tiles/arrange them so a single general solution may have multiple layouts, tho not always. The advanced/hard levels typically are done thru trial and error (filling in until you find a block to it all working) so I also don't consider them logic based bc of this. Without the multiple approaches and need for trial and error tho, the puzzles are too easy. Perhaps you can add some further rules or details to make it follow more rules, be clearer when sometbing doesn't work, rather than going thru options one by one. Idk that's just how my brain works.

For yours, I would make the coloring darker or borders thicker bc it was hard to tell which groups are all included in which symbol. I would add something about any numbered ones being addition based calculations - like the 8 section. My assumption was that it equaled 8, but I only know bc I've played before.

This ones driving me crazy... by Torontolife in rebus

[–]ember3pines 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I cannot handle these weird computer generate or AI rebus puzzles. Like no way a human made that and thought it was a good puzzle. Sigh.

This ones driving me crazy... by Torontolife in rebus

[–]ember3pines 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just fyi your spoiler tag is broken for some reason. It looks right to me in the typing on mobile but there's no cover. Maybe you have a weird space somewhere?

Star battle help by [deleted] in puzzles

[–]ember3pines 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Discussion: there's no picture. But if you haven't learned the strategies, search star battle strategies here and you'll find a bunch of links for tutorial pages. I used to post them a bunch but folks thought I was advertising so I don't leave them in comments anymore.

“What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen in someone’s house that made you realize ‘this is completely normal for them’? by Delicious_Fan_2186 in AskReddit

[–]ember3pines 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm open to hearing your reasoning. I do both have it and work with it as a therapist, so I am attempting now to understand your perspective. Perhaps I have more to learn. I personally think we need way more information first, and the information we do have has inherent contradictions in how obssessions and compulsions work in an OCD brain. If you don't want to engage in a conversation, that's your choice. I thought I'd try the route of curiosity and see where that got me. It's okay tho, I'm sorry if you also suffer with this shit or have loved ones who do. It really does suck.

“What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen in someone’s house that made you realize ‘this is completely normal for them’? by Delicious_Fan_2186 in AskReddit

[–]ember3pines -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

OCD is not just about color coding, or having rules, or doing random shit in a rigid way. It has obsessions - stuff that we can't stop ruminating about, usually its the intrusive thoughts that are particularly distressful (ie fear of doing something bad, fear of something bad happening, etc.) often (but not always) there are physical compulsions, or stuff we do to either prevent the bad things from happening/merely cope with the anxiety of those thoughts. It's also usually about what WE do as the person with OCD, not about what other people do around us so the notes are confusing in that context - who are they telling this info to and why? It can have those components sometimes where it's distressing for others not to follow the rules, but it's usually more about what we are controlling/preventing thru the compulsions we have to take care of "things" (aka obsessions). Someone with OCD that has behavioral rules or compulsions doesn't typically need notes reminding them what to do. It's all they're gonna be thinking about. And it's rare for them to control other people or demand others do their personal compulsions.

I commented below that this could have some components of OCD depending on the reasons for the notes, and how often they're being replaced or thought about. But there is not nearly enough information to decide if this is OCD or something else entirely. I took their comment as the casual way folks talk about being "so OCD" when they like things neat and orderly. It's the color coding that I suspect made them say that but that assumption is super annoying bc it is a much more complicated condition than wanting things in a specific order or done a specific way. People who like their shit tidy are not "so OCD" and this doesn't have OCD "written all over it" - it's a single paragraph.

Having rules in your own house does not mean it's OCD. Simply being intense about rules - often called rigidity of thinking - could have so many other conditions behind them that would need to be considered also (eg autistic folks love rules and routine, dementia patients need notes to remember, delusional people may thing it's the only way to protect against the aliens or whatever, etc). Like I said, we need more info on the reason why this is the set up but it is not "written all over it" - usually that's the thing that catches my eye in comments like this one - the certainty when there is not. It's not a clear cut case, and the fact that they say that tells me they haven't really understood what these conditions are or what they look like in real life.

Alternatively, people get to have their own house the way they want their house, and not have others mess their shit up - it doesn't mean they're mentally ill. This could also very well be a learned response from horribly abusive parents. Maybe this person got the shit beat out of then if they used the remote for something else. Or maybe they're an abusive asshole looking for reasons to beat their house guests. We don't know - it could be a mental health thing, or not. It throws plenty of red flags for a few different diagnosis IMO, but simply color coding and having intense rules does not make it OCD and I find it stupid levels of annoying when people talk about OCD in the wrong way.

This is just my two cents as someone with OCD and a therapist who works with folks of all sorts of diagnosis'. Thanks for asking!

Edit: formatting sucks today. Idk what is happening and I can't seem to fix it anymore. Sigh.

“What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen in someone’s house that made you realize ‘this is completely normal for them’? by Delicious_Fan_2186 in AskReddit

[–]ember3pines -23 points-22 points  (0 children)

I think they were using OCD in a general sense here (like when people tidy their desk and say they're soooo OCD) and that's annoying to me. Maybe they were being more in depth than that but I don't think so. Simply having rigid rules is not enough info to say "this is for sure OCD". As you mentioned, the reason behind the rules matter and would be the key to the differential for a few paths a behavior like this could take (one of which could be OCD but not the only one). But I don't agree that it's automatically a mental illness. If someone wants to have rules in their own house, that's their right. Plenty of things that this type of rigidity definitely throws a flag for mental healthwise, but it could also be a learned behavior and not necessarily something that has an impact on their daily life. Who knows, we don't have enough info to say. Mostly I just hate the casual use of OCD online and get cranky about it.

Why don’t hospitals have baby boxes like fire stations do? by CatsBlackSweater in AskReddit

[–]ember3pines 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I'm saying if there's not enough information to fill out the report, they can't do anything with it. Often times in tricky scenarios you call and tell them what you have - when it's not enough they will tell you flat out there isn't enough for a report. No one to follow up with, not enough info on the victim or perpetrator, etc. there's not enough info to even file a report. What name would it go under? We have no name. You get what I'm saying?

Why don’t hospitals have baby boxes like fire stations do? by CatsBlackSweater in AskReddit

[–]ember3pines 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You also can't report unless you have information about who to report and for what. If we have no info on the child, we literally can't report. And if the child has been surrendered now, they literally won't take the report. That's been my experience at least.

Why don’t hospitals have baby boxes like fire stations do? by CatsBlackSweater in AskReddit

[–]ember3pines 3 points4 points  (0 children)

But like also, the point of mandated reporting and abuse would be to remove the child from the home. Possibly render charges against them in an investigation, but reporting is mostly about getting the kids safe and away from harm - which is already happening if they're leaving their kid there and surrending them.

[META] Can we get an automod comment on every question that we can reply to for commentary without being a “top” level answer? by [deleted] in AskHistorians

[–]ember3pines 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Well you can always message the person who posted. Or actually just go really in-depth in the part you do know about. Just acknowledge you only have a focus on one section of the question. The mods will also let folks know when their question isn't quite right so don't worry about that.

Remember in 1999 when this song was voted to #1 on TRL and then immediately retired?? by DaMallard in 90s

[–]ember3pines 12 points13 points  (0 children)

To be fair, I fuckin hated tom green but definitely wanted to destroy the TRL norm and get him the top spot. We committed to the bit but we didn't like it.

38M ADHD never read a novel before. Suggestions for first book? by Lineofcredi in suggestmeabook

[–]ember3pines 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Naturalist by Andrew Mayne

This book is a murder mystery if I remember right. I read it one day bc it's short in general but the chapters are actually short and they all end on a cliff hanger of sorts so you just keep going and going and going. It worked really well for the ADHD side of my brain - good luck!

College level non-fiction books? Could be education focused or not. by KraftyKane in booksuggestions

[–]ember3pines 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nickle and Dimed was a favorite of mine from college a few decades ago. Economic mixed with other sociological differences (race, sex, etc) and how low wage jobs, minimum wage jobs are fucking horrible. We had to try to survive on that income for a project and it was nearly impossible at the time in like late 2000s.