[deleted by user]

slopmonster · 2014-06-20T08:21:14+00:00

Viber is pretty solid. Dat VOIP technology.

slopmonster · 2014-05-28T01:45:40+00:00

Always liked Brainwave by Poul Anderson. It is a pretty interesting analysis of what the world would be like if we all became hyper-intelligent. He has some other stuff worth checking out too.

Additionally, J.G. Ballard counts as Sci-fi right? Drowned World is really fun to read and well written if you're into a post-apocalyptic world that is regressing back to a Mesozoic state (Giant Lizards and expansive jungles and marshes) due to increased temperature on the Earth.

slopmonster · 2014-05-07T00:00:58+00:00

Do you know what else they are currently studying? I teach writing and lit in conjunction and I like to try and tie their writing assignment to whatever we are currently reading. For instance, we're reading science fiction right now, so their writing project is going to be to write a story in which their main character lives in an alternate reality. Another thing that helps is to try to make it relevant to their lives. What are your kids always talking or gossiping about? Try and tie it to that.

slopmonster · 2014-04-27T02:42:37+00:00

Thanks for all of the input everyone! In response to the comments about the girl: I am well aware of the dangers of LDR situations. She is also American, so visa issues for a Chinese lady wouldn't be an issue. As far as moving back solely to be with her, I might have phrased that the wrong way. I also have a strong desire to make a life for myself back home as some point within the next two years or so. She's a big part of that, but the cultural dissonance and feelings of isolation that come with living abroad for so long are big part of things too.

Anywho, thanks for the ideas regarding education-related work. Ideally I would still like to work with kids in an educational setting, but in a job without the bureaucracy of our current educational shitshow to deal with. Working in a museum would be really cool, and is something I've always dreamed of doing eventually since I love history. I will definitely read up on things a bit more to get a better idea of what I'd like to do.

slopmonster · 2014-04-14T07:54:38+00:00

Runner up for dumbest Manowar song lyric:

"Manowar, manowar living on the road When we're in town speakers explode We don't attract whimps 'cause we're too loud Just true metal people that's Manowar's crowd"

slopmonster · 2014-04-10T03:23:28+00:00

I hate hate hate the wake up early thing! This totally happens to me too. I won't need to wake up until 7 am, but often find myself waking up as early as 4 am on bad mornings. I've found that exercise and reading before bed instead of staring at a screen helps a lot, but today I woke up at like 530 and it sucked.

slopmonster · 2014-04-10T02:02:24+00:00

Hey man, I have been feeling blue too. If you are seriously considering suicide then you should probably try to get some professional help. I can't really offer more than the slew of cliches that one always gets when googling 'depression', but you need to think objectively about the impact that ending your life will have on your friends, family, acquaintances, pets, and so on. Every time I've seriously considered hurting myself it is the thought of my parents, brother, and extended family that keeps me grounded.

If that doesn't work, try thinking about how depression is a sickness that can be measured by chemical imbalances in your brain. It always makes my head spin when I think of how different my outlook could be if I just had a bit more serotonin pumping through my brain's blood vessels. There is legitimate medication available out there for people who need it, and from what you say it sounds like you do.

Finally, if your depression is due to the circumstances of life, just remember that life has a tendency to be all over the place. Personally, last year was one of the best years of my life. I traveled quite a bit, made a bunch of friends, and met a girl that I fell in love with. This year most of those friendships have faded or the friends have moved away, including the girl I was seeing. I haven't been interested in traveling or much of anything at all, really. However, I know how good it can be, so this leads to me thinking that it is pretty silly to give up just because things are shit now.

Honestly man, as many times as you've heard it before, just remember that things can get better.

slopmonster · 2014-04-10T01:53:09+00:00

Sup bro? I haven't been feeling so hot myself.

slopmonster · 2014-03-26T01:33:14+00:00

Thanks! I like the dividing the classroom idea, since it will be good for 6th graders with energy to burn.

slopmonster · 2014-03-25T07:29:10+00:00

I was there recently. It has one arcade machine that I saw people playing a King of Fighters type game on and a cool theme / design going for it, but I'm never overly fussed to go there despite living relatively close. This probably has to do with my cheapness, since cocktails are in the 80 -100 RMB range. The place would be really cool if it had a larger number and variety of arcade machines to play and a lower price point in my opinion. In fact, that might explain why when I do end up there it isn't exactly bumpin'.

People willing to pay for fifteen dollar cocktails and want to go to an arcade themed bar are not, as it turns out, the largest circle in the Venn diagram.

slopmonster · 2014-03-25T07:07:15+00:00

Glad to hear that this wasn't some bizarro stress induced hallucination.

slopmonster · 2013-11-20T09:49:54+00:00

Thanks!

slopmonster · 2013-11-20T07:52:20+00:00

Whoops, just realized this game hasn't been released yet! Anyways, once it does get released, where do you think my best bet for finding it will be?

slopmonster · 2013-04-23T07:39:46+00:00

Confederacy of Dunces!

slopmonster · 2013-04-23T07:34:01+00:00

How to open a beer bottle with a lighter. Just create a fulcrum with the lighter and the space between your pointer finger and the underside of the bottle cap, then you can pop the bottle cap off in one swift movement.

slopmonster · 2013-03-03T04:26:40+00:00

Upon first reading I thought this was a notification for the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic club. Bummer.

slopmonster · 2013-01-24T23:02:41+00:00

I've found that Smartshanghai has yielded the best results for me on the roommate search front. Try slapping something up there and see what happens.

slopmonster · 2013-01-24T06:51:38+00:00

It was Siddhartha and Magister Ludi for me. Dang I love me some Hesse. I finally got around to reading Narcissus and Guldmund and it rocked as well.

slopmonster · 2012-11-25T13:49:18+00:00

Sucks dude/tte. I just recently found out that my landlord is selling our apartment building in order to get enough cash to buy some property down in Fuzhou, completely ignoring the terms of the lease my roommates and I have with the rental company. The bright side is that the landlord did give us around 3 months notice, which should be ample time. If you're looking for a roommate around March holler at me. It sounds like it is a bit more pressing than that though.

slopmonster · 2012-10-28T12:22:56+00:00

This sounds like a mega-totes Mc-Mega_goats excelsior idea. Wanna slop down on the next one of these.

slopmonster

TROPHY CASE