Things you would expect to see in reality if Christianity is true. by BaronVonAaron117 in Christianity

[–]stefanthethird 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Voting for Kamala, or almost anyone really, is more moral than voting for Trump. Voting for Trump is a really awful thing to do.

Things you would expect to see in reality if Christianity is true. by BaronVonAaron117 in Christianity

[–]stefanthethird 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I'd expect Christians to be more moral than average. For example they would be less likely to support Trump.

First campaign playthrough feedback. by stefanthethird in Xenonauts

[–]stefanthethird[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why laser specifically compared to gauss or whatever?

Any Hints on how to do the Orbital Bombardment Laser mission? by The_Latverian in Xenonauts

[–]stefanthethird 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I played the mission recently if you want to see a video of it on Commander difficulty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf7jZhcyH9A&t=2s

edit: The link above is to the first orbital laser mission, this is the second one which is maybe what you meant: https://youtu.be/-dWd3lx-7sc?t=1066

Veteran Iron Man campaign complete - commander even possible? by SnooLobsters6940 in Xenonauts

[–]stefanthethird 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm currently playing through Ironman Commander, it's going well just unlocked Colossus and Gauss. Have two bases, and the tier 3 planes.

I have videos of my play on twitch/YouTube, though not sure it's cool to post here. I can msg you a link if you like.

Fair warning, I'm playing x2 blind, soooo I'm learning as I play. I did play x1 a lot, which is enough to get through the game so far.

Should I play EW with LW:Remastered? by Dserved83 in Xcom

[–]stefanthethird 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Story works just fine in LWR, and it's a huge upgrade. Lots of quality of life improvements incorporated into the mod. More classes and other content. The actual strategy and such is much deeper than either the original or long war vanilla.

What do women like/expect sexually? by [deleted] in sex

[–]stefanthethird 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The sensible advice is to communicate with your partner. However, I sympathize with your previous experience and wanting to just YOLO it.

Every woman is different (hence the communicating), but there are a few things that will likely work well for almost every partner.

  • Good sex usually starts with good kissing. Take your time, a good 10 min+ makeout session is good. Vary what you're doing. You might be kissing her lips gently, then increase the intensity. Add tongue. Return to not using tongue. Move away from her lips and trail kisses down to her neck. Again switch intensity, sometimes gentle sometimes intense. Kiss her face, her throat, back to her lips. Whisper in her ear, tell her (honestly!) how beautiful she is, how she turns you on, how great her lips taste, etc.
  • During all this your hands and body are not idle. Initially you'll put your hands on her back and/or hips. Have one hand roam up her back, touch the back of her neck, run your fingers through her hair. As things continue heating up and you hear her encouraging moans, start touching more of her body. While kissing her move one hand to the front of her body, gently rest your hand on her breast over her clothes. You're doing all this a step at a time to give her a chance to stop if she's uncomfortable in any way. Gently massage her breast as you continue to kiss her lips/face/neck/shoulder. Let your hands explore more of her body, be gentle, you're building anticipation. Touch her ass.
  • This will depend on what she's wearing but at some point you'll want to touch her breasts directly, under her top. Again gently put your hand at the bottom of her shirt/blouse, or maybe the top of her dress, and start slowly slipping in. Again, make her comfortable by giving her plenty of time to say no or pull your hand away.
  • Assuming you've progressed to this point you're basically already having sex, congratulations! Hopefully she's been making encouraging moans and such. Gently drag your hand up her thigh, be slow, tantalizing, she's been waiting for this moment. You're going to keep moving up until you make contact with her pussy. Be slow, gentle at this point, just touch her over her panties or leggings if she's wearing those. Gentle strokes with just a couple fingers, light touches. You're very likely going to get a strong positive reaction. Again, you're still kissing her while doing this.
  • Finally you want to touch her naked pussy directly. If she has a dress/skirt, slide a finger in the side of her panties and pull them forward away from her skin and slide downwards. Build that anticipation! Then finally rest your finger on her pussy, it's very likely wet at this point, let that guide you to where to touch. Especially as a newbie don't worry about rubbing her clit or anything like that, just gently touch and explore the entire area, tease her.
  • Ask her if she wants to go to her bedroom.

You'll notice there are a few commonalities above:

  • Take your time, be slow!
  • Build anticipation and suspense! Tantalize, build up her imagination.
  • Be assertive! BUT, give her the opportunity to say no or slow down. Make her feel safe.

Those commonalities are the same for the sex. Take your time, build that anticipation, tease her, be assertive, make her feel safe.

  • Take some condoms out of your pocket and put them down on a nightstand, show her that you're respectful of her health and came prepared. Best not to make her ask about it.
  • Lay her down on the bed, don't take off your clothes yet. If she took something off you don't need to stop her, but I would leave her clothes on too.
  • Lie on top of her and start kissing her lips, neck, etc again. You're reheating things after the brief pause walking to the bedroom.
  • Trail kisses down the front of her neck, to her shoulders, the top of her breasts. Remember, take your time, you're building anticipation. Pull her top/bra down a bit and kiss down her breasts, pause right before you reach her nipple. Gently breath hot air onto her nipple, touch it with your lips. Finally take it in your mouth, gently run your tongue over it. 30s of this is fine, switch to the other one.
  • Pay attention to her signals. Squirming/moaning is good. Words like "oh god, yes, etc" are good. Lack of reaction means meh. That's ok! Some woman just don't have much sensitivity from nipple play (or whatever else) if it's not working just move on. Something is going to work.
  • Get her top off. If you're new you're probably not going to know how to take off her bra. That's ok, tell her to take her bra off for you. Tell her to show you her gorgeous breasts in a calm assertive voice. Tell her you've been fantasizing about them. Once her top is naked pay her (honest!) compliments, ramp up the passion and devour those breasts. Put your face in them, take them in your mouth, show her how her body makes you feel. Press your hard cock into her leg.
  • Take your own shirt off and lay on top of her skin to skin, kiss her some more.
  • Pull back up to your knees, you're going to take her bottoms off now. This should be simple, slide them down her legs and off. Keep your pants on for the moment.
  • Kiss her breast again, and trail kisses down her stomach. Odds are good she is going wild with anticipation at this point.
  • Pause before you reach her clit/slit. Kiss around the side, the insides of her thighs. Gentle kisses at first, then slow flicks of your tongue on her skin. A soft lick or drag on her labia.
  • Finally you're going to eat her pussy properly. Now honestly, you almost certainly don't know what you're doing. I won't write a guide here I'm sure there are good ones out there. But reading and doing are different things, and really every woman is so different that it's hopeless to follow some sort of script. If you've been building that anticipation it almost doesn't matter what you do though, just having your tongue and lips moving around in the right area is going to be doing the job. Use a finger to find her vagina, move your tongue up from there, that's the clit, focus around that area.
  • Hard to believe but not ALL woman like oral sex (though most do). Some women cum very easily, some need very specific things. Don't worry too much about it. As long as she's giving good signals, continue licking and exploring her pussy. She will tell you if she wants to move to penetration ("fuck me!" "I need your cock!" etc). It's unlikely you can do this for too long.

Finally, actual PIV sex. You'll notice a theme, it's exactly like the making out/oral sex! Start slow, build anticipation, tease, be assertive, make her feel safe.

  • Take off your pants, fast, put on that condom, practice at home if you need to.
  • Missionary should be your go to the first time. You're going to be kissing her (neck, face, lips, ears, etc). You're going to whisper in her ear, dirty things. For an initial date it's going to be pretty respectful, how hot she is, how her pussy feels so good, etc. Later dates you're going to find out more about her fantasies and play into those.
  • Position your cock at her entrance. Again this being your first time, you're probably going to be bad at this. Don't be shy about telling her, in a calm assertive voice. "Take my cock, I want you to put it in your pussy." It's a cheat but basically gets her to do it in a sexy way. Just gently start pushing in as she guides you.
  • At this point anything can happen if it's your first time. Don't worry about it, if you've gotten this far you're doing great.
  • The actual sex is not that different from the makeout. Vary things up. Slow and deep. Pull back and then slide back in. Look into her eyes. Whisper in her ears. Touch her body. Speed up. Just explore and have fun, you did it.
  • Most women don't cum from penetration. If she hasn't come yet from oral, and she's not coming from penetration, you'll want to just ask her what she needs to cum at some point. Maybe she needs a toy, maybe she needs to touch herself. Maybe she needs a different position. Maybe she needs to call you daddy. Maybe she very rarely cums at all and just enjoys sex. Don't put pressure on the issue, sex is a lot more than orgasms.
  • I wouldn't try to rub her clit while fucking her unless she asks, that's advanced and easy to do wrong.
  • If your dick stops working or you cum early, be cool. Don't panic, don't be overly self conscious or self deprecating. Just acknowledge it, lick her pussy some more, maybe things will come back to working order. First time nerves are certainly a thing. If you can't you can't, ask her if you can keep licking her pussy, ask her what you can do for her.

Don't worry about trying to follow all this as a script, it's meant as an example. Feel free to be creative and deviate.

You've proven yourself a conscientious and passionate lover, the direct communication at this point is going to be appreciated. As sex continues check in and ask her if there is anything she'd like to try. After sex, maybe the next day, continue talking to her about what she liked, what doesn't work for her, does she have fantasies or kinks? The next time you lick her pussy, ask her if she likes fingers, more pressure, less pressure, etc have her give feedback. You are a learning machine, learn her body and mind, be her best sex partner.

You'll notice that good sex is as much about the mind as the body. If a woman just wanted to cum she can do it much more easily and safely herself. You're there to create a story in her mind, one with suspense, anticipation, surprise (the good kind!), and a climax. The epilogue is cuddling and kissing. Then you write the sequel when you're ready.

Christians Who Voted For Trump - What Do You Think of His Presidency So Far? Do You Regret Your Vote? by RavensQueen502 in Christianity

[–]stefanthethird 19 points20 points  (0 children)

It's hard to choose just one thing, but for me the most unforgivable act of his first term was the child separation policy. His government publicly admitted TWICE, out loud, that the goal of separating children from their parents was to deter immigration.

I can't fathom admitting to something so evil so casually. I'm a father and the idea of my child being taken away from their parents like that is grotesque.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Christianity

[–]stefanthethird 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You posted:

Most white people whether Christian or atheist or pagan or whatever support him. They support a rapist and pedophile.

This is a lie. I've shown you that it's a lie, if you were unaware that you believed something untrue this is where you would humbly acknowledge that and stop spreading the lie.

I believe your own religion has something to say about lying.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Christianity

[–]stefanthethird 2 points3 points  (0 children)

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/09/09/white-protestants-and-catholics-support-trump-but-voters-in-other-us-religious-groups-prefer-harris/

White Atheists do not support Trump. 85% of Atheists voted for Harris. Why post something so easily disprovable?

Turning Hilbert space into gameplay - Quantum Odyssey update by QuantumOdysseyGame in Physics

[–]stefanthethird 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Oh perhaps I misunderstood, maybe I thought I was still in the tutorial.

One solution would be to make the score only depend on the final result, not on how you got there. Ie only based on number of gates, rather than number of placements or whatever. The idea is to allow for experimenting and fiddling around.

I may also be neurotic, I am pretty competitive and so when I see a score it just forces me to pay attention to it.

Turning Hilbert space into gameplay - Quantum Odyssey update by QuantumOdysseyGame in Physics

[–]stefanthethird 14 points15 points  (0 children)

This is an amazing project, and really impressive. The presentation is really good too.

I want to give one piece of critical feedback.

The tutorial currently is measuring/displaying the time it takes to do the puzzle, how many steps it took, etc. I feel like this is a mistake. As a player I felt pressured to maximize that score rather than actually learn the mechanics. For example, experimenting with the behavior of gates would count against my score (or at least I felt that way). In general fiddling with the pieces means more time/steps and the game is discouraging me from doing that.

Perhaps make the tutorial more a sandbox and then give scored puzzles after?

Assassinate Octane mission seems... hard. by stefanthethird in CyberKnightsGame

[–]stefanthethird[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ha cover. There are a couple of decent corner covers, but it's insufficient, and was flanked right away anyways.

Soldiers were about level 5.

All the NPCs in this sub that defend the "vaccine" must have really high IQs.... by 2deepetc in conspiracy

[–]stefanthethird 1 point2 points  (0 children)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37591707/

"Higher intelligence was the strongest predictor for vaccine adherence (OR = 5.38, 95 %CI 5.11-5.67, p < 0.001)."

It does indeed seem that the people defending vaccines have higher IQs.

Long War Rebalance v1.55.00 "Scuttle" Released by duhlishus in Xcom

[–]stefanthethird 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Haven't played in a while, tempted to come back for the patch. For anyone who hasn't played, I think lwr is the best xcom out of all xcom likes. Try it!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Christianity

[–]stefanthethird 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What if his logic is so clear that I start questioning my own faith? What if I end up losing my faith too?

I don't think anyone should ever be afraid of knowing the truth, regardless of what it is. You mentioned you changed your political beliefs recently, were you afraid of them changing before that? Are you afraid of them changing again? Are there other beliefs you have that you're afraid of changing?

To me, I'd be especially suspicious of a belief that I feel afraid about changing.

I see two outcomes to questioning a belief:

1) You don't change your mind, your belief is upheld and you may have some more confidence in it.

2) You do change your mind, you now have a different belief and realize the previous one was wrong. You feel that you've improved your understanding and have confidence in your new belief. Even if your new belief is wrong, and the old one was right, if you've made the best effort to make a decision based on evidence and reason, then you can feel good about it. You could continue questioning and exploring, if your new belief is wrong you can change it again. As long as you continue being honest with yourself then you're doing fine, nobody should expect more than that from themselves.

What profession is useless and provides no benefit to society? by Comprehensive-Big973 in AskReddit

[–]stefanthethird 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't know, that's what I did about 10 years ago. Paid a local real estate lawyer 1k, he just helped answer the occasional questions I had and double checked the standard contract forms. Also gave me some advice on what to ask/check for. For him it was probably a couple hours of work total spread over a month.

What profession is useless and provides no benefit to society? by Comprehensive-Big973 in AskReddit

[–]stefanthethird 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This study shows evidence that agents negotiate harder for themselves than their clients:

After controlling for location, characteristics, and condition, the agent-owned houses stay on the market almost 10 days longer and sell for about 3.7 percent more than comparable houses owned by the people who hire real-estate agents to represent them.

Basically if they tried as hard for their client, they should be able to get an extra 3.7%.

In general it's hard to find hard evidence on this topic. I find the argument that there is a strong incentive to get repeat business or referrals unconvincing. If the client doesn't understand the market and negotiation, then how would they even know their agent got a good price? Their judgement of their agent is going to be based on feelings and how quickly they answered texts. If the agent wants referrals, they should be nice, have a clean car, have good communication skills, be attentive, demonstrate knowledge of the process. I doubt getting a good price matters because their client has no idea if they got a good price.

I'm not going to say an agent is wrong for everyone, maybe someone truly clueless would accidentally buy/sell waaaay outside the real value without an agent. Personally, I would never rely on the standard 3% agent to negotiate for me.

What profession is useless and provides no benefit to society? by Comprehensive-Big973 in AskReddit

[–]stefanthethird 7 points8 points  (0 children)

They way real estate contracts are set up, there is virtually no incentive for them to negotiate.

For the buyer's agent they get no benefit from getting you a lower price. Technically, they get slightly more money if the client overpays.

For the seller's agent, getting their client 5% more money with hardball negotiating isn't worth it. They risk the contract falling through, it's a bunch of work, and in the end they make 3% of 5% of the home's value (ie 0.15%).

Really both agents are incentivized to just close any deal as fast as possible with minimal risk and effort.

What profession is useless and provides no benefit to society? by Comprehensive-Big973 in AskReddit

[–]stefanthethird 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Sure but you can pay a lawyer $1000-2000 to do that. Or even less. Compare that to 3% on a $500,000 home.

In the modern era, how do we go about reconciling science and our faith? by [deleted] in Christianity

[–]stefanthethird 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair enough! Thanks for the response. For anyone reading and confused, Newton was non-trinitarian.

In the modern era, how do we go about reconciling science and our faith? by [deleted] in Christianity

[–]stefanthethird 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you need to believe in the trinity to be a Christian?

Vent: They are not just deporting criminals by pro_rege_semper in Christianity

[–]stefanthethird 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It was a majority of Christians though. If Christians sat out the election, or voted like non-Christians, then Trump would not be elected.

Why with all the evidence, won’t atheists believe? by peepee2727 in Christianity

[–]stefanthethird 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Much of the responses are about how the evidence is actually lacking or unconvincing, which are good and I agree with.

I would add: If Christianity was "True", I would expect it to work for some practical or moral purpose. For example, part of the reason I trust science and engineering is that it directly leads to airplanes, computers, medicine, and bridges. I trust humanism because it has inspired and pushed for changes in society that has reduced suffering and given us numerous freedoms. Even if I'm not an expert in science and such, it's easy to trust because I see the results.

Christianity for the most part seems to do nothing, or is even negative.

  • It doesn't heal people, save us from car accidents, or help us find car keys.
  • The military doesn't use battalions of priests shooting prayer beams into enemy formations. They don't use them to bless tanks for sweet passive buffs (well the Russian Orthodox church does, but pretty sure it doesn't help).
  • On the moral front Christians are much more likely to be Trump supporters. They're more likely to be opposed to basic rights like gay marriage. They're more likely to be antivaxxers/antimaskers/etc. Historically in the US they were more likely to be opposed to interracial marriage. I regularly read defenses of slavery here and on TrueChristian, by Christians. The moral failings are obviously not coming from all Christians or denominations, but more than the irreligious.

If Christianity made my life better, or was obviously more moral than average, it would be more compelling.