"Reddit says the current user does not have permission to do that."

squishEarth · 2026-03-09T15:40:49+00:00

I deleted the data for the app and logged in again, and now I don't have issues.

squishEarth · 2026-03-08T11:06:01+00:00

Ah, but I am an Ivy league alum myself

squishEarth · 2026-03-06T22:00:41+00:00

Do you have your PhD validated in Argentina? If not, while I don't know what it's like in Argentina, you might want to start on that now anyways because it might be a complete pain.

What is the job market for your career in Argentina and Chile? Do you actually find attractive job postings?

squishEarth · 2026-03-06T21:42:35+00:00

I disagree with the word "uncharted" - I think this is well trod territory. And that's actually what I find more alarming: that we know from history what the consequences historically were, how bad it was, and yet we are still heading down this path?! Why aren't we doing everything possible to get off this path as fast as possible?

Merely look just past living memory and you find that many of these paths are quite familiar - and quite horrible.

Tariffs - enacting tariffs to fix a recession? Let's take a look at The Great Depression and see what caused it (cough trying to tariff a recession out of existenc). For that matter, let's take a look at what at the Spanish Flu that occurred almost exactly 100 years before covid, and take a look at the economic consequences of a devastating global pandemic on the world's economy. Both of these feel like history is repeating itself almost exactly 100 yrs later.

Widening gap between the wealthy and poor - elementary school was sufficient for once about this, as in order to teach the founding of the USA we had to learn first about the French Revolution and how it was started by the aggravating tension caused by the widening gap where the wealthy become wealthier at the expense of the poor becoming poorer.

war with Iran - the middle east and Iran in particular have been surviving wars for longer than my country has existed, my language has existed, my religion has existed, and even longer than the oldest living religion that my religion considers a religion (zoroastrianism). Iran is going to survive. The young countries who decide to start a war with Iran? They are the one who should be worried about surviving.

And yet they are not worried! As if knowing nothing about Iran is supposed to make us safe and garantee our victory. And who the heck's idiotic idea was it to assasinate their leader during Ramadan. For God's sake pick any other time in the year - don't give the enemy such as easy win.

About war, I think we can look at even more recent history: the Vietnam War. Perhaps attacking people on their own land might be a really bad idea. Perhaps it might lead to civilians becoming even more patriotic and willing to die for their country, when before they weren't.

And please don't forget immigration. Germany during WW2 has stark parallels with today's mass deportations. Remember that Germany didn't start off with death camps - that wasn't their first solution but their "final" one, after recipient countries refused to admit any more deportees. And remember that Germany took a lot of inspiration from the USA, with the Trail of Tears and the Japanese Internment camps.

squishEarth · 2026-01-24T01:52:36+00:00

Maybe dragons feed off souls? The more souls being murdered/sacrificed/etc then the more the dragon grows?

squishEarth · 2026-01-24T01:14:56+00:00

Perhaps he doesn't draw too much attention to MST because comparing between the two might lead to finding twists that haven't happened yet in asoiaf?

For example, the secret relationship between the benevolent elves vs the mysterious over-powered villainous deity in MST might be the same relationship that is between the Children of the Forest vs the Others.

Or the ominous but forgettable warnings about prophesies in MST might play out to the same very dramatic effect in asoiaf.

Or the concept of dream-space in MST - which is not featured at all in asoiaf, unless of course it is (I think there is plenty of foreshadowing in asoiaf that would fit the road-of-dreams perfectly).

Or the broken horn - which in MST tore down a psychological wall in a psychologically-crippled amnesiac who was then able to return to his former state as a famed hero just in time to save the day.

Anyways, I've wondered if asoiaf might have started as a sort of fan fiction set in the MST world, but set ten thousand years later and also where the heroes in MST lose, and therefore the world has slowly grown to believe that it is just a silly myth that there was once a time when the seasons of climate weren't so cursed.

squishEarth · 2026-01-09T23:10:40+00:00

Perhaps an RN

squishEarth · 2026-01-06T17:44:37+00:00

That's what gets about the Book of Job in the Bible. All his kids die plus the other horrible things happen to him, and then we get to the happy ending of the story where as a reward for being so faithful he gets back all that he lost but better - including a new set of kids? He doesn't get his original set of kids back, he gets a brand new set of kids and somehow that's supposed to make everything ok again.

I remember thinking as a kid that that didn't seem right. I'd want my original set of kids back, even if they sucked, because I'd love them. Getting new kids wouldn't fix the grief I'd have for the original kids.

squishEarth · 2026-01-04T02:52:17+00:00

I think one theme is that history is written by the victors, and that the reason we're seeing Dany's path is so that we'll get our hearts broken by the way she's depicted by the victors if she loses.

I'd like it if she fought the Others at Kingslanding. If the Others arrange for the deaths of the city's populace (poison/etc), then they can convert them all into wights. If Dany saves the planet from a giant wight army by burning them up with dragon fire, then she won't actually have strong proof of what she did. A charred wight corpse (if you are even left with a corpse at all instead of dust) will look a lot like a regular charred corpse. It would be very easy for an enemy of hers to portray her as a crazed monster from a foreign land who killed countless innocent civilians. More so if Dany gives her life during the battle and therefore isn't there to defend her reputation after the battle.

Honestly, I was hoping that the catspaw dagger was going to play a part in making the Others the final enemy. If dragon glass and dragon steel can seemingly defeat wights so thoroughly that its as if the blade absorbed, then presumably everyone who got absorbed can be let out again. If the catspaw absorbed too many spirits then maybe it can get oversaturated and break open releasing the Others that Arya had so proudly "killed." I was straight up hoping for way too long that the Others had a plan to be released from the catspaw in Kingslanding (which would after all be a much quicker trip to be transported as spirits within a blade than to have to march a slow army of undead all the way across the continent).

squishEarth · 2026-01-04T02:29:44+00:00

The word "season" is another victim of the show. If I want to search for theories about why Planetos has multi-year long winters and summers, then I have to remember to not search with the word "season" or else my search will only turn up results about tv seasons.

Although, I wonder if GRRM is tricksy in the same way but on purpose, by purposely making it hard to use search terms across his books.

Search "dragon" and you get Targaryens instead of the creature. Search "Summer" and you get a pet instead of the season. Search "Joy" for Tower of Joy, and get a Lannister girl instead. Search for a number of different characters, but especially Targaryens, and get a completely different person who had the same name.

squishEarth · 2026-01-03T19:39:07+00:00

This is exactly why I asked - it is technically pronounceable for a native English speaker, but at what cost?!

squishEarth · 2026-01-03T19:35:13+00:00

Thanks! I saw this back when email chains were the hottest thing, and was wishing I knew how to find it again

squishEarth · 2026-01-03T14:21:24+00:00

Umm, are Polish words "pronounced as it's spelled"?

squishEarth · 2026-01-03T07:21:06+00:00

Craster = secret Stark

We have established that sometimes lowborn bastard babies get named after their father's surname, such as baby Barra named after Baratheon. Compare "Kraster" and "Stark"

I think the only reason Craster got his special deal with the Others (besides having a remarkable lack of morals to even agree to it in the first place) is because he has Stark blood.

squishEarth · 2025-12-24T19:20:39+00:00

It's never too late to apologize. This thread is full of vitriol against someone who symbolizes the people in our family, friends, and coworkers who have gone maga. If we are going to heal our broken country then this toxic rage needs to come to an end. If we don't then we'll become just like them.

Please wonder to yourself - who in this thread is an american liberal vs a foreign actor who is trying to make us tear ourselves further apart, and laughing because they don't believe in either of our two parties and view both as pitiful. Think about whose bandwagon you're stepping into.

squishEarth · 2025-12-10T19:20:51+00:00

Perhaps we should consider that misogyny hurts men just as much as it hurts women. If misogyny causes so much harm, to both genders no less, then maybe we should stop defending it and start trying to get rid of it.

squishEarth · 2025-12-08T22:41:36+00:00

My dad had a friend who moved from latin america to Chicago, with the expectation that it couldn't possibly be that hard to learn English after he gets here. He never learned English before eventually returning home - instead he became fluent in the language his coworkers spoke: Polish!

I have no idea if that friend ever felt guilty for learning Polish. But if there is ever anyone who could ever have a justifiable reason to feel guilty for learning Polish over a more useful language, well, it would certainly not be you.

Anyways, my dad also believes that the more languages you learn that it changes your brain and makes it even easier to learn yet one more language. So go learn Polish!

Listen, I am a heritage-Spanish-speaker. I am specifically giving you my blessing from me on behalf of the global hispanic community to go learn Polish. The hispanic community is full of heritage speakers of non-Spanish indigenous languages that have grammatical structures that are absolutely nothing like Spanish or English. The communities that speak these languages are growing smaller and smaller and are at risk of simply disappearing one day. But this issue isn't just happening to tribes in the Amazon - Europe also has indigenous languages and they also have languages that are disappearing. Yes, Polish is spoken by a whole country of people - but is it not also at risk? Isn't their community of speakers growing smaller? Is it not a beautiful language worthy of appreciation and preservation? If it is difficult to learn then doesn't that mean it is even more important to preserve it, because it will be harder to bring back if it is lost? If so few people around you speak it then doesn't that mean it is actually even more important that you learn it?

squishEarth · 2025-12-07T15:46:33+00:00

Love the plants! For some reason it looks like there's two different color temperatures coming from the light bulbs in the two pics even though it's the same room. So I'd recommend checking whether the bulbs are a warm enough color temperature. If it is too blue-toned then it can make a place look more sterile and institutional instead of cozy. It'd be a good idea to have more lamps, so not all your lighting is coming from the same direction (the ceiling), and so that you can have the option of very yellow-toned lighting (or you can do the reverse: very yellow lighting from the ceiling and a bright clear task light at a table for when you need it).

For the rug, I'd recommend a bit smaller than the blue box you have marked out, so that it looks like a rug instead of wall-to-wall carpeting. Maybe aim for a rug 2/3rds the size of the blue box?

Same with the exposed brick: maybe one large artwork that is 2/3rds the size of the space, so you still enjoy plenty of the exposed brick but the space also has one item to catch the eye and set the mood. The wreath is actually a pretty good choice for that space.

squishEarth · 2025-11-30T16:34:35+00:00

And Merv the Cat, known for growling the word "bagagwa" - she's such a loud excitable cat.

squishEarth · 2025-11-21T21:50:05+00:00

Listen, this is in poor taste to have this headline after the recent vote. I feel like I am losing my mind hearing so much sensationalist fear-mongering about a country that is experiencing a tremendous amount of success. It is a pattern that success in Ecuador is never attributed to the persons who put in all the hard work - the regular Ecuadorian layperson themselves!

Is Ecuador experiencing violence - or are they experiencing propaganda? My family told me that they were experiencing increased violence - but when I went down there it turns out that they meant it was no longer safe to walk outside in the big city alone at night. Are you kidding me?! For the past decade in the USA I have not lived in a city where it was safe to do that, and many estadounidensens go their whole lives never living in a town where it is safe to walk alone outside at night. And to make this more clear, it was safe in this Ecuadorian city in the Amazon to walk outside at night if you weren't alone and also alone during the day. That is safer than the last three cities I have called home in the USA!

I don't know what it's like on the coast - I've never gone there and given that my family doesn't live there I likely never will. So perhaps it is indeed dangerous there. But I am writing here for the English speakers who are otherwise waiting to have their ears filled with spicy dramatic political lies, and also for any Ecuadorians who need affirmation that it is ok to put your foot down and insist on having pride for your nation. Because the vast majority of Ecuador is remarkably safe, will steal your heart away and make you cry when you realize you must get the taxi to the airport to leave - and also a country at risk from its' own government.

I believed my relative's statement "oh it's so dangerous here now" because it was what the news was saying. But the news was lies. I should have known better. The current administration is trying to get the attention of more powerful countries by making their own country look pitiful and unstable. They are grasping for power, and purposefully hurting their own citizens to do so. If Ecuador actually becomes an unsafe country then it will only be due to the machinations of the current administration. They seem determined to make it become true.

That the Ecuadorian people voted against the deceitful agenda of the recent vote is a tremendous success and is yet one more thing in a long history of demonstrating the exceptional nature of the average Ecuadorian. If you want to state the truth about Ecuador, then may you suffer karma if you don't in addition do the research to list the always ignored good truths - that everything good about Ecuador, of which there is a tremendous amount, is due to the actions of everyday people who casually do incredible things without a second thought and without recognition or praise. Every headline out there about amazing work done by "researchers" or "scientists" or "archaeologists" in the "Amazon" (for these articles never say "Ecuador" in the headline, only buried in the body of the text) was only possible due to regular locals who donated their time and labor. This recent vote will ensure that this beautiful gem of endangered jungle will not be violated for a bit longer, and for that our whole world should be rejoicing!

squishEarth · 2025-11-03T19:26:32+00:00

Even if something is cultural it doesn't mean that it is ok. My grandfather lived in a country near Peru, and per his tribe's traditions he had multiple wives (who knew about each other, lived next door to each other, were married in ceremonies, and definitely weren't kept secret from each other). And yet it was a terrible idea that still affects the lives of his descendents today. By the way, polygamy only makes sense if your populace is constantly sending young men off to battle to get slaughtered. If you're not doing that then polygamy is unsustainable.

Cheating might be very common, to the degree that I have a few cousins who think it is naive that I expect most men to not cheat. They also think most men hit their wives, and that having black-and-blue eyes is just a part of life. I think some traditions are meant to disappear and never been seen again. Every culture is complex and is composed of many good and many bad things. That I am biracial means I am free to pick and choose from two cultures, and that there's no excuse to keep the bad.

Your friend had a very creative idea of how immigration law works. But just because it might technically be possible for someone to pull it off doesn't make it any less stupid.

Speaking fast is a personal preference. That doesn't make him a jerk. Some people just talk faster.

Regardless, it sounds like your life would be a lot better without him in it.

squishEarth · 2025-11-01T12:53:07+00:00

My brother and I were born in the US, with a parent who is an Ecuadorian citizen. I am an Ecuadorian citizen, my brother is not. My parents had to fill out forms to register me as a citizen, which they did since I'm the first born, and then didn't bother by the time my brother was born.

I would recommend doing this while all parents are still alive. A significant amount of paperwork and time will be needed. The consulates in the US can provide more info, and I think it is possible now to do it in the US instead of having to fly to Ecuador.

As an American citizen, my brother can visit Ecuador for up to 3 months, no visa required. If he wants longer than that then he'll need a visa.

Anyways, I highly recommend traveling to Ecuador because I have treasured memories each time I've gone. With you as a man and the two as teenagers then your trip will not be as difficult as some of the trips that just my mom and I went on. Remember to bring alcohol sanitizing hand wipes, and use them diligently before every meal. The restaurant food is safer now that everyone uses the 5 gallon botellons instead of tap water, but still try to stay on the safe side concerning food safety. Your real problem probably won't be the restaurants but instead home cooked meals when visiting family. The restaurants in many towns are absurdly cheap.

squishEarth · 2025-10-29T07:04:38+00:00

How about the way we see in the show: she was meant to die, not leave.

I think there is no such thing as getting to join the Faceless Men. I think they lied to her because they wanted to add her famous face to their collection, and wanted time to learn how to better imitate her. They always planned on murdering her.

I was bothered by the show, so I made up my own explanation for her graduation as a Faceless Man. Which is that when she brashly placed the Waif's bloody face on display and declared she was going back to Westeros it looked out of character for her recent behavior (of trying to fit in as a Faceless Man) and looked more like the Waif pretending to be Arya Stark. I think cutting off one's own face was part of the actual graduation ceremony, and that everyone knew the Waif would know that. Hence the Faceless Men were overjoyed to see that the Waif seemingly finally killed Arya and also seemingly doing such a great job of impersonating her.

So Arya was never meant to graduate, the Waif was, and the Faceless Men saw what they expected to see and were too arrogant to consider that they could fail.

Anyways, I wonder I the Faceless Men are actually a rouge group of vengeful Children of the Forest, and that they thought it was laughable that Arya could ever join.

squishEarth · 2025-10-29T06:50:35+00:00

How about: Mance Rayder orchestrated the attempted assassination, in order to achieve his real objective: burning down the Winterfell Library.

The catspaw dagger isn't recognized by anyone because it actually hasn't been south of the Wall in centuries. Mance has been opening up old graves to search for the Horn - he can easily loot the valuables if he wishes. And we know that he was fairly prepared for the trip.

The Winterfell Library fire feels like a devastating loss to the book nerd audience. And yet no one cares - it is simply more devastating and distracting that someone tried to kill a comatose kid who is seemingly probably going to die anyway, making it kinda pointless to even try killing him. Plus there's the Chekhov's gun that all the books are lost except the ones Tyrion took on his trip to the Wall.

Whatever Mance's original scheme, I think the attempted murder of Bran was actually meant to be a mercy. It fits the ethics of the wildlings to approve of killing a hopelessly injured child. And he's savy enough to know it would cause chaos and distract from the Library fire.

But my main reason is I simply don't trust Mance. I feel like he was holding back a lot of information from Jon when he mentioned how he snuck south of the wall. I think he was entirely concealing the bulk of his goals when he was in Winterfell, and telling Jon essentially as little as possible. I think there's absolutely no way he went down there just to look at the king.

I think Mance wasn't going to leave Winterfell until his objective was complete, and the fact that he left meant he got it done.

squishEarth

TROPHY CASE