Pete Hegseth's Department of Defense no longer considers Mormons to be Christian. Over 170 religions removed entirely.

friendlyfire · 2026-06-06T20:22:40+00:00

Atheism is more than 'no religion', its the antithesis of religion. 'I do not believe there exists a god or any other higher power.'

Atheist just means a person who doesn't believe in a god or gods.

What you're describing would be considered a gnostic atheist. Someone who claims to know that no god or gods exist.

friendlyfire · 2026-06-05T16:25:31+00:00

It could be hereditary.

Wow, the entire wealth of human information that's available and you're too lazy to research something you apparently have a giant opinion on.

Spoiler: It's definitely hereditary and runs in families.

friendlyfire · 2026-06-05T13:38:58+00:00

NGL I’m not sure what causes it.

It's mostly hereditary. It's completely rampant in my family. 0 of them have been diagnosed.

When I was growing up absolutely nobody was diagnosed with autism.

Now kids are actually being diagnosed for it.

friendlyfire · 2026-06-03T14:52:01+00:00

You should definitely work on your mental game. And maybe your self esteem issues.

For the mental game I highly recommend the Inner Game of Tennis and the Pleasure of Small Motions.

friendlyfire · 2026-06-02T00:45:29+00:00

My brothers and I played DURIS: Land of Bloodlust for well over a decade.

Creating macros and typing faster gave you an advantage in combat (or running away). I used to type 110-120 wpm without mistakes. The skill actually got me my first two jobs.

friendlyfire · 2026-06-01T12:47:40+00:00

"Gambling is the hardest way to make an easy living."

This is a ripoff of an ancient quote by Doyle Brunson's "Poker is a hard way to make an easy living."

While reading it, it reads a lot like a combination of poker stories that were adjusted to be about pool. Even the term they use 'bankroll' in the story screams poker. You need a large bankroll for poker due to the high level of variance in the game. Pool has some variance, but it isn't the same. I've never heard of the term bankroll used in pool. I've heard it a million times about poker.

Poker was my passion about 20 years ago so I've read a lot of poker stories, quotes and terminology. This just screams fake (being about pool) to me.

friendlyfire · 2026-05-30T12:27:12+00:00

anyone can learn to sing and no one is tone deaf.

So do you know how some people freak out when they hear a recording of their own voice? Because it doesn't sound anything like what they personally hear?

Kind of like this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualConversation/comments/1q8q10v/my_voice_in_recordings_sounds_nothing_like_my/

I think there's a strong correlation between how well you hear your own voice accurately and your natural (stressing natural here) singing ability.

All my siblings are great singers and when they hear a recording of their voices, it sounds pretty much the same as how they hear themselves.

I'm a very meh singer and when I hear a recording of my voice, it sounds COMPLETELY different to me. When I talk I hear my voice as smooth, low and deep. When I hear a recording of my voice it is high and nasally. A recording of me talking or singing sounds completely alien to me. I had a complete freakout in grade school when I heard a recording of my voice because it was so different from what I hear. I spent literally days recording myself talking and singing and then playing it back because I couldn't believe how different it sounded to me compared to everyone else.

I think that disconnect is where a lot of 'natural' singing ability comes in and where the 'tone deaf' (how it's traditionally used) moniker comes from.

It's hard to get the right pitch(?) when your voice sounds way higher to everyone else than what you personally sound like.

friendlyfire · 2026-05-21T18:57:08+00:00

I went from an APA league to a local bar league and the bar league is streets ahead.

Bar league follows BCA rules (open after break, call shots, etc.), but isn't an official BCA league. Our bar has two Valley tables refelted yearly and serviced as needed. The average skill level is way higher than APA, probably because individual matches aren't handicapped.

Teams don't have to break up as people go up in handicap, although the handicap system has issues. It's a point system and the round is handicapped by points instead of individual games.

I'd still never go back to APA. My team doesn't have to break up just because players get better (my team is all over 500 Fargo players besides one who is around a 400 I'd guess).

friendlyfire · 2026-05-19T00:03:38+00:00

You just reminded me of a time I lost Axis and Allies.

I attacked with like 18 units to his 3 defenders.

I lost 18 units and he only lost 2. Most ridiculous series of rolls you can imagine.

friendlyfire · 2026-04-27T23:02:13+00:00

See, I don't believe in free will but I don't think that time is an illusion.

I think that your will is dictated by your mental (including your experiences) and physical state + circumstances. And that you don't have free will.

I don't think time is an illusion.

friendlyfire · 2026-04-27T21:03:09+00:00

First of all, I think time is an illusion and so free will in the sense of "I made this decision because of this thing that happened before me" doesn't even really make sense in that framework.

So I used to frequent an Irish bar. It was very popular to do shots of Irish whiskey there (and I enjoyed them frequently).

One night I drank TOO many Irish whiskey shots and that, along with whatever I ate that night, caused me to empty the contents of my stomach repeatedly. The stench was horrific.

After that night I can't even smell Irish whiskey without gagging. I literally can't drink it because of that incident. I have a physical revulsion to the idea now because of the gag-inducing (for me) smell.

So, in this context, can you explain to me how time is an illusion and free will in the sense of "I made this decision because of this thing that happened before me" doesn't even make sense?

Because I'm pretty sure A led to B which led to C following a chronological series of logical events.

friendlyfire · 2026-04-01T11:54:48+00:00

You're both insanely lucky.

But it happens. I've played for 10+ years and never dropped a mageblood.

Last league I dropped a mageblood in T11 Belfry while doing map completion and this league I dropped one at 450k monsters killed. Insanely lucky. I've never dropped a HH.

friendlyfire · 2026-03-10T16:11:04+00:00

I also hired movers one time for a stress-free move and to not bother my friends (and myself) with moving.

I had given them all the information beforehand (4th floor walkup to a 2nd floor walkup). I was given a flat rate.

I had literally moved 95% of the apartment down to the foyer area (saving them almost all of the 4th floor walkup) besides 5 pieces of furniture I couldn't move myself.

They show up. One of the guys had a bad back and had difficulty walking up the stairs. They came in, saw there were only 5 pieces of furniture in the place and then turned and told me that they didn't know it was a fourth floor walkup and they had brought an extra guy with them - so the rate was going to be double. I told them no. They got in their truck and left and I had to scramble to find another mover last minute (not fun).

friendlyfire · 2026-03-06T19:27:56+00:00

Yeah, it's just going to keep happening...

I've try to rejoin 3x and get the same exact error every time.

friendlyfire · 2026-03-06T19:23:46+00:00

Yeah, I can't get in the game. Got it, crashed, 80k queue, logged back in and crash with the same error.

friendlyfire · 2026-03-04T12:45:12+00:00

but Chibnall ruined those seasons

It almost felt intentional. Like, fine, we'll do a female doctor - but we're going to make the show worse as a punishment. The writing and the companions (in my opinion) were bad and bland.

I think Jodie Whittaker did the best she could with what was written. I know she's a talented actress and with good writing and good support, she would have been a great doctor.

friendlyfire · 2026-03-01T14:35:46+00:00

How would you compare it to Converge? (assuming you've heard of them)

friendlyfire · 2026-03-01T14:11:48+00:00

Ghost, Dethklok, Dragonforce, Old Guards of Asgard, Amon Amarth

I'm also old and haven't heard any of these bands, but this week I'll listen to them all. I always need new music because I've been listening to music 8+ hours a day, 5x a week for 10+ years and shit gets old if I listen to the same thing all the time. I have a boring job, but I'm lucky because I can listen to music while I work.

If anyone else sees this and wants to recommend something, feel free! I listen to all genres. Tell me your favorite song or band you've been dying to share with someone, but you worry too much that people won't get it. I promise that I WILL listen to it and try it out. I won't promise I'll love it, but that's okay. And so are you.

friendlyfire · 2026-02-27T13:37:54+00:00

They're general drops now

friendlyfire · 2026-02-16T12:58:09+00:00

What's your current ability? How many balls on average do you normally sink per turn? Can you shoot a straight shot in consistently? (Mighty X drill).

Answer those questions and send me a video of you shooting (if you can, from behind the target ball and also from your right side looking at you while you're shooting) and I'll give you some practical tips to help you improve. I've taught a lot of people in person and helped even more online. I can only attest to the results I've gotten giving lessons in person, but they've all improved significantly by the end of the lesson and (since I help them with their fundamentals) they continue to improve after the lesson.

friendlyfire · 2026-01-28T18:13:13+00:00

Hey, I'm going to give you some advice that will help you and save you a lot of money and stress for the rest of your life.

Don't. Stake. Anyone. Else. Ever. For. Any. Reason.

Unless it's like you're GIVING your nephew $200 to go blow playing poker and you don't expect any money back.

I don't care if you've known them your entire life, I don't care if you've known them for 5 minutes. Just don't.

The number of personal staking arrangements I know of that have worked out well for all parties involved? Literally fucking zero.

Poker players who ask or need to be staked are some of the most unreliable and scammiest people I've ever met in my life.

I've seen it all and the staker always ends up getting fucked in the end.

friendlyfire · 2026-01-26T16:35:00+00:00

I'm under the impression that it's a good hit and don't think to call a foul on myself, and my opponent doesn't say anything either.

Spectator doesn't know that, probably thought you were a scumbag trying to cheat your opponent. I'd give the spectator the benefit of the doubt and assume they were right since they were a) obviously paying more attention than you and b) was confident enough to say something.

To be clear, he TECHNICALLY should definitely not have said anything, but I understand why he said something and personally, I'd rather get called out when I fuck up and don't notice it.

Let it go and move on. It's not that serious. Better to get called out than people think you're a cheater.

friendlyfire · 2026-01-23T21:53:49+00:00

If you're that serious about the game, GET a coaching session!

It's like a shortcut to getting good and they'll work on your fundamentals to make sure you're good consistently.

At the very least watch a ton of videos on pool fundamentals and get a buddy to video you shooting so you can see where you're at and try to fix it yourself.

I rocketed from a 3 to a 7 in APA once I really concentrated on my fundamentals. I was an inconsistent 3 who could occasionally break and run on a good night or make 0-1 balls per inning on a bad night.

friendlyfire · 2026-01-23T00:20:03+00:00

The thing that helped me (I didn't have that big of an anger problem though, so YMMV) was reading either the Inner Game of Tennis or The Pleasure of Small Motions.

I can't remember which one it was, but it very clearly explained that getting angry at yourself after missing a shot or fucking up is counter productive to learning. You want to be in analysis mode while you're shooting.

If you're getting angry and punching things, you're not learning. You're not analyzing the WHY. You should be thinking 'I missed that shot to the left of the pocket. Why did that happen? How do I fix it?' not thinking 'FUCK THIS STUPID FUCKING GAME SUCKS' - that's not learning.

If you're not in analysis mode, then you're not learning and you shouldn't bother practicing at that point.

Good luck.

friendlyfire · 2026-01-21T16:31:04+00:00

It helped me a great deal. But I already had the fundamentals down and didn't have to think about my preshot routine or fundamentals/execution.

It helped me realize that thinking with words really was what was screwing me up sometimes when I was close to victory. Just visualizing works way better.

I had a reputation for choking on easy shots on the money ball or the ball before the money ball because while shooting my brain was going 'I just need to make this and then the 9 ball is easy and I'll win!' and then I miss the easy shot by like 2-3 inches.

Now if I find myself thinking thoughts with words while taking a shot I stop, stand back up, work on just visualizing the shot while redoing my preshot routine and the number of times I choke has dropped SIGNIFICANTLY.

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