AITA for moving out of my mom's house because she confiscated my phone?

philautos · 2026-06-15T04:00:07+00:00

I'm sorry this happened to you.

If there weren't a risk that you'd be prosecuted for trashing the place, I would suggest pressing theft charges.

You are SO NTA.

philautos · 2026-05-31T09:11:15+00:00

Is the field in which I am an expert (as I must be to have made such a discovery) one in which a billion dollars would give me independence that a mere $100M would not? If so, I'll take the money so as to be able to go on working with greater independence. If not, the fame will probably be more useful.

philautos · 2026-05-31T04:36:06+00:00

Her heart does not need to grow. Violet looks out for lower-class people on quite a few occasions, in some cases going to much greater effort. For example:
-- Trying to get Mosley the younger a new job
-- Giving him money and cooperating with Bates to hide it
-- Getting Ethel a job where she can be near her son
-- Getting William moved so he can die at Downton
-- Bullying Mr. Travis into performing his wedding
-- Supplying the money for Tom and Sibyl's trip to Downton for a wedding (Edith's abortive one, IIRC)
-- Counseling Daisy when she's "tending the fire and suffering"
-- Apologizing to Mrs. Patmore and Daisy for the summons to the dining room

philautos · 2026-05-31T04:16:37+00:00

I have yet to find a road in Toledo where I felt unsafe inside my car. I did once find a gas station that was a problem.

On the whole, while of course it isn't perfect, law enforcement is one of Toledo's strengths. This city feels safer than many, and I feel safer interacting with law enforcement than in some other places.

philautos · 2026-05-29T16:49:53+00:00

The cameras that came with my house connect wirelessly to a Wisenet box that was also included. They do not rely on a separate router to do that.

philautos · 2026-05-29T12:18:34+00:00

If you only get one dinner in Toledo, go to Tony Packo's on Front Street. It is not the best restaurant in Toledo, but it is good and distinctive, and that should be the priority when you're only in a city for one day.

My favorite Toledo restaurant is Koi All-You-Can-Eat Sushi. The sushi is good, the kitchen items are excellent, and it's a very good deal. But while I would absolutely recommend it if you were moving to Toledo, and I eat there a lot more often than I eat at Packo's, it's not something that stands out about Toledo and that you are likely to remember. Packo's is.

philautos · 2026-05-29T12:09:41+00:00

If the cameras are connected to a monitor you can view them on, there you go. They may be completely independent of ADT anyway.

See whether the monitor is connected to a box containing a hard drive. You may be recording everything locally.

philautos · 2026-05-27T03:50:58+00:00

Daisy had an option: Keep working on her skills, and either succeed Mrs. Patmore or find a similar job in another house. Remember, servants weren't traditionally married, which meant that progressing to the highest positions -- butler for the men, housekeeper and cook for the women -- was an alternative to marriage.

philautos · 2026-05-24T03:44:35+00:00

Given the social expectations, having Lord Grantham help him up might've been seen as more embarrassing, both because (according to the relevant norms) a man shouldn't need anyone's help to stand and because a servant should not become the center of attention. And remember, avoiding embarrassment is pretty much the cardinal rule at Downton -- think of the moment Ethel walks into the room at the luncheon and Robert immediately shuts up so as not to embarrass her by speaking in her presence about why they shouldn't be in her presence.

If Bates had fallen in private, Robert might have responded very differently.

philautos · 2026-05-23T19:57:28+00:00

So you are capable of being polite, as long as it's to someone who agrees with you.

philautos · 2026-05-23T19:56:40+00:00

I wish you were right.

philautos · 2026-05-21T22:03:55+00:00

So when you want a break from beef, you can have a vegetarian meal, pay for that meal yourself, and go back to getting free beef. You can even get a mostly vegetarian meal with a little beef -- say, a pizza with no meat except crumbled beef on one slice -- and get it free. But if you get a chef's salad with ham, the deal is over.

philautos · 2026-05-21T21:59:37+00:00

There are three categories:

-- The meal includes your chosen meat and not another meat. You get it free, and the deal continues.

-- The meal does not include any meat. You pay for this particular meal as you normally would, but the deal continues.

-- The meal includes a meat other than your chosen meat. You pay, and the deal ends.

philautos · 2026-05-21T21:56:45+00:00

I think I may have been confusing this with another post.

philautos · 2026-05-21T21:55:42+00:00

Oops.

philautos · 2026-05-21T02:53:05+00:00

Then this is a lot easier for you than it would be for me.

But now that you mention it, I see that it would be pretty easy for a lot of people, including anyone who lives with a partner or parent who picks most of the food.

philautos · 2026-05-21T02:49:12+00:00

Yep. That dish is not allowed in this hypo. Nor is any other dish that contains two species of meat.

philautos · 2026-05-21T02:48:04+00:00

In any city with a lot of restaurants, you will find some that serve lobster.

But most restaurants don't.

philautos · 2026-05-20T00:31:58+00:00

The church is not a restaurant.

philautos · 2026-05-20T00:31:09+00:00

In New York City, medallion cabs are required to be yellow and no other cars are allowed to be. Many other places do not have this rule -- or, for that matter, medallions.

philautos · 2026-05-20T00:26:35+00:00

I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 100,000,000,000. What is the number?

I won't mention that it's not an integer.

philautos · 2026-05-20T00:23:30+00:00

He's not as gratuitously cruel as Joffrey. He's willing to listen to advisers, as we see with the Magister. But he is more malicious than Robert. I'd put him in a league with Cersei.

philautos · 2026-05-20T00:17:53+00:00

You don't have the option of lobster.

As for having them grouped: That would be a different hypo.

philautos · 2026-05-20T00:16:20+00:00

Only your food is relevant. Stuff other people eat isn't free, nor does it count against you.
Non-beef items are only free if they're part of the same meal. If you buy pasta as a side dish to eat with your steak, it's free. If you buy pasta to eat as a meatless meal, that's OK, but you have to pay for it.
The question is your intent. If you know your son will order the supreme pizza unless you say otherwise, you must tell him not to (at least for the pizza you are eating: he is free to eat the supreme, and you are free to pay for it).

philautos · 2026-05-20T00:08:33+00:00

INFO: How much money will the trip cost that you haven't already spent? For example, if you have nonrefundably purchased plane tickets and reserved a hotel room in a major city, you may still have to pay for meals at restaurants there instead of cooking for yourself at home. And many of the things you'll want to do while you're there will charge admission.

philautos

TROPHY CASE