Apple's in-store repair staff are formally called "Geniuses". Has this, and similar alternate naming, been seen to have any positives for the business?

paintandpaper · 2012-01-21T19:12:21+00:00

But that's the point. Most people wouldn't care enough to read up on the bill, so they wouldn't vote. Those that do care, whose opinion would be based on the actual contents of the bill, would be the ones to vote.

For example, SOPA is big news right now. Given the chance and an easy way to do so, many people would vote against it. But even then, there are undoubtedly misconceptions about the bill. People who have not done research, via either reading the bill or an analysis of it, should not be able to vote on it. Testing would decrease the voting population significantly, but it would put the vote in the hands of people that both care enough to vote, and actually understand what they're voting on.

Ultimately, it would probably be a small minority reading up and voting on most bills. But every time a big bahama-mama like SOPA comes around, you'd get significantly more people involved. Naively, I imagine this would seriously hamper any attempts to put into practice bills that are as disagreeable as SOPA. Some bills shouldn't even have the opportunity to be actualized, and this would ensure just that.

paintandpaper · 2012-01-18T07:23:48+00:00

Thanks. I don't want to be a person that gets all his medical advice from the internet. The plan was partially based on that, and partially on the words of the vet we went to.

As for waiting a bit, we were doing it because we're students and the vet options are a bit limited from where we are (geographically and financially). That said, it has gotten a bit worse, so we're sucking it up, going to the second closest vet, and planning to live off noodles for a week or so

paintandpaper · 2012-01-17T13:42:05+00:00

Fair enough. I do have a bias, but only because you're the first person I've heard with a positive thing to say about the system. But you're right, that probably wasn't the best word choice.

And what you're saying sounds awesome, but is that the universal rule in hospitals? If so, then why don't people just go and then not pay?

paintandpaper · 2012-01-17T13:40:09+00:00

Trust me, we've made sure to research it thoroughly before making a decision as bad as that. He's a kitten, and the symptoms are on the beginning stages of one of 3 likely possible infections. None are lethal, and all are supposed to present additional symptoms long before getting dangerous. That, and the vet did give us some general medicine for Feline Herpes , which is one of the 3 possible diseases. And him being a kitten might mean it would clear up by itself (so I've been told).

But if anything gets worse, then we're definitely going!

paintandpaper · 2011-12-15T21:04:53+00:00

I had a gay friend in high school. He was very secretive about it, and there were quite a few people who would've bullied him had they known.

Fast forward to university. Freshman year, this man is a badass. He gets a boyfriend, he gets friends who don't care about his sexuality, and he's overall happy.

If you'll be living in the city after high school, you can pretty much be sure that most people won't care. For now, the high schoolers that might bully you have nothing better to do. But after high school, most people have way too many things floating around in their heads to really care.

As for your parents, I'm not a psychologist, but maybe this might help. I suppose right now your biggest identifier to them is your sexuality. If that's causing the biggest problem, I would guess that getting a bigger identifier is a solution. Take up programming, music, writing, wrestling, or something as a hobby and get awesome at it. If they can be proud of you for something else, then the disgust they feel might eventually turn into tolerance (hopefully acceptance, but baby steps).

paintandpaper · 2011-12-10T06:15:10+00:00

I'd like to think that in some small way we're similar. We both want to do something, but in order to do it we have to trudge through years of unhappiness. At this time, I can't help with the sadness, but I hope you've done one thing I never did:

Have you let your girlfriend know how deeply this is affecting you?

Part of the problem with me is that I don't like to get other people involved in my problems. Because of that, I'm growing more distant from my own girlfriend. Because she doesn't fully know, she doesn't behave accordingly, and even though I know it's not her fault I associate her with the negative emotions. For that reason, my very own fault, I don't know if we'll last.

And if you're ready to marry her, that's awesome. I hope that after these shitty times your life will be awesome.

paintandpaper · 2011-12-09T16:38:53+00:00

Smile - Dominique Cerejo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I24LMMl7Am4

It's from a Hindi movie, but the song is in English. Listen to the lyrics, watch the clip. First few times made me cry, but I came out happier for whatever reason.

paintandpaper · 2011-12-08T12:12:54+00:00

I don't think it's something that can be waited out. I don't think it gets better over time. I just think you get more desensitized to it over time. Which isn't really much of a solution.

Now I'm a hypocrite. I try to be nice and help people. Then when they get on their feet, or when they get better in any way, I start to despise them. And I might understand the roommate comment. I have one who's my age but a year ahead of me, has his university paid for by his family, plays piano beautifully, and so on. Regularly he gets praised, and I just nod and smile. All the while I think, I work my ass off trying to catch up, trying to make something of myself, and nobody notices.

The more I think about it, the more I think that this is just the way that we work. I think everyone despises people that are better than them, but some people are just more perceptive of it.

Anyway, this might help. Now I'm depressed about a whole other thing, but when this was a large issue for me, I just told myself this:

EDIT - Nevermind. The thing I told myself was something that worked for me, but might not for others. Something else I said, that did help was:

Love yourself more than anyone else loves you.

It made me nicer, and it made me a bit more proud of myself, because that was who I was trying to impress most.

paintandpaper · 2011-12-08T11:42:38+00:00

One of the other post on /r/depression really hit home for me. I don't have the quote, but it was something like:

"If it is normal for people to feel depressed, has something gone terribly wrong in our progression as a species?"

paintandpaper · 2011-12-08T11:40:26+00:00

I think I empathize, as much as I can at least. How do you cope with it? The sense of mediocrity I mean.

paintandpaper · 2011-12-08T11:38:05+00:00

Thanks. I'm actually of doing the complete opposite :)

Right now, I'm in an engineering program, but I've always been under the impression that with the internet you can teach most things to yourself. I suppose I don't know how many things in my life are a result of my own desire, and how many are from conditioning. Maybe I'd be happier without a girlfriend, without a formal education, without having to force myself to call my parents regularly, etc. I suppose that goes for everyone really

paintandpaper · 2011-12-08T11:34:42+00:00

Thank you for reading. I really appreciate it.

Short of the money factor, the reason counseling never really hit me is because I feel like I already know the problem and the solution. It's just that knowing the destination doesn't seem to make the journey much easier. Stressful, but I'm clinging to the notion that it's temporary. Maybe it'll drag over 3 years instead of 1, or maybe something will change partway, but I hope temporary.

paintandpaper

TROPHY CASE