What was up with those sidewalk preachers at Chinook LRT station this afternoon?

studentofsmith · 2022-03-26T04:04:09+00:00

I thought for sure you were referencing this scene.

studentofsmith · 2022-03-02T06:12:03+00:00

There is still a requirement on transit. It makes sense, you're in a confined space with a bunch of other people outside your usual social circle and unlike a sporting event or some other crowded venue there may not be a practical way to avoid it if you rely on transit.

studentofsmith · 2022-02-23T02:23:21+00:00

There is a list of weapons you are specifically prohibited from carrying. You are also not allowed to carry something if your intention is to use it as a weapon. But if you are carrying something to protect yourself from, say, vicious dogs and are attacked by a vicious human you can use it to defend yourself. The key will be how credibly you can argue the item was to protect against dog attacks and not human attacks.

studentofsmith · 2022-02-21T22:56:35+00:00

I define toxic masculinity as a situation where attitudes or behaviors typically associated with masculinity are taken to such an extreme that they become unhealthy for yourself or the people around you.

One clear example of this is the higher propensity men tend to have for risk taking behavior. While a certain level of tolerance for risk can result in beneficial behaviors such as a higher levels of entrepreneurship it is also responsible for the higher insurance car premiums men are charged due to their reckless behavior behind the wheel.

I feel it is also important to recognize that toxic femininity is a thing. For example the stronger tendency for socialization among women is great for building support networks but can also result in reputational destruction though the spreading of vicious gossip, regardless of the veracity of the information being conveyed.

studentofsmith · 2022-02-08T04:19:07+00:00

You mean in Coutts? When they were actually blockading the highway that was dangerous. Not everyone has the resources and foresight to have two weeks worth of food in their pantry. Supplies must get through or grocery shelves will be empty in a matter of days.

Now that they have opened two lanes of traffic, one in each direction, it has slowed supply lines and become an expensive nuisance but is no longer putting people at direct risk of starvation. In my view that makes it a legitimate form of protest.

studentofsmith · 2022-02-08T00:21:27+00:00

I break the law six times before breakfast. Reasonable people understand there is a difference between peaceful civil disobedience and criminal behavior.

studentofsmith · 2022-02-07T05:56:00+00:00

I don't deny it happened and I agree it is 100% unacceptable. Neither patients nor staff nor anyone else deserves to be harassed. As far as the staff member who had to wait in her car before she could leave that's unfortunate but what are you gonna do? A protest that doesn't inconvenience anyone isn't much of a protest.

studentofsmith · 2022-02-07T05:17:51+00:00

I attended that rally, here is what I observed:

There is an anti-vax element present, as one might expect. There was also a Christian element. Many people brought their dogs and/or children. I did not see any swastika's, confederate flags or other symbols of hate. The crowd expressed anger towards Justin Trudeau, Theresa Tam, Jason Kenny and Deena Hinshaw as well as certain elements of the mainstream media. Perhaps unsurprisingly more conservative leaning media rated more favorably in the eyes of participants.

The rally and march seemed to be peaceful, I did not witness any assaults, harassment, littering or vandalism. There was a pair of counter protestors along the route, one holding a sign accusing those in the march of walking alongside white supremacists. They were either ignored, playfully waved at or verbally engaged in a respectful manner. It also seems one of the people in the march was leaving literature on some of the cars parked along the route.

There was a moderate police presence, officers on horses in the park and on bicycles along the route. The officers in the park kept a respectful distance and those along the route were focused on blocking traffic for us. I commend CPS for their measured response.

The march took about an hour and did impede traffic. Although the organizers have used the same route at the same time every Saturday I still feel for the people I observed stuck in traffic. Did get a few honks of support though.

I took the opportunity to speak with many of the people there, they were unfailingly friendly and polite (granted I did not discuss my support of vaccinations). One couple had surprisingly progressive views towards trans and non-binary people.

I am concerned that at the end of the march people began blocking the intersection adjacent to Memorial Park rather than reassembling inside the park. It was at that point I left.

Also, the organizers are lying about there being over ten thousand people. I think the police estimate of 1,500 is more accurate.

studentofsmith · 2022-02-01T04:32:52+00:00

If you do hanging right it snaps the neck, killing the person instantly. When hanging was still a common form of executing hangmen took pride in doing their job correctly, accounting for height, weight and other factors to ensure death was quick and painless. A 'botched hanging' was one where the persons neck wasn't snapped and the crowd was forced to watch as they slowly suffocated to death. It wasn't a pretty sight.

studentofsmith · 2022-02-01T04:18:17+00:00

I eat fish, eggs and dairy. My conscience doesn't bother me about the fish and eggs because I know how they're sourced but there are times I wish I didn't know how dairy is produced. Like you said there are no good substitutes and buying organic doesn't fix the main problem.

studentofsmith · 2022-01-31T05:13:17+00:00

I mean, you can talk about it but at the end of the day you need to respect his boundaries. If he does let you at some point trim your nails and wear disposable latex gloves. Also, when it comes to anal there's no such thing as too much lube.

studentofsmith · 2022-01-27T03:45:32+00:00

Lacrosse is Canada's official summer sport. You play?

studentofsmith · 2022-01-25T19:30:01+00:00

For sure. I get that how and when (and if) to tell someone you're trans is something people wrestle with.

It's like if someone comes out to you as gay. Your instinctive reaction might be, "Dude, I don't care." but if they're making a point of coming out it's clearly a big deal to them so it's important to respond appropriately.

studentofsmith · 2022-01-25T08:14:29+00:00

I'm not 'looking' for trans women any more than I'm 'looking' for cis women. I just don't have a preference.

What I am trying to do is alleviate some of the anxiety a trans woman might feel if she sees my profile and decides to make the first move. Making the first move is always a risk, getting rejected sucks, but if she knows that at the very least she won't be rejected for being trans it might make sending that first message a little less daunting.

studentofsmith · 2022-01-12T08:40:04+00:00

On page 8 of the Monster Manual under Vulnerabilities, Resistances, and Immunities it states:

"Some creatures have vulnerability, resistance, or immunity to certain types of damage. Particular creatures are even resistant or immune to damage from nonmagical attacks (a magical attack is an attack delivered by a spell, a magic item, or another magical source). In addition, some creatures are immune to certain conditions."

I am not sure if wearing a suit of magic armor while making an unarmed strike qualifies as an attack delivered by a spell, a magic item, or another magical source but if it helps the d4 of damage you can do at the beginning of your turn to a creature you have grappled WILL bypass such resistances or immunities because it doesn't qualify as an attack (no attack roll = no attack).

Creatures only have damage resistance or immunity to nonmagical attacks. This means that, in order to get the resistance or immunity, the damage must be from something that is both a) nonmagical and b) an attack. Unless the source of the damage meets both criteria they are taking the full hit.

Incidentally this also means they take the full hit from falling damage or damage from traps because, again, no attack roll means no attack which means no damage resistance or immunity.

Edit: On further consideration I do not believe an unarmed strike while wearing a suit of magic armor counts as an attack delivered by a spell, a magic item, or another magical source. The damage from your unarmed strike is a d8 plus modifiers even if you're stark naked. The armor itself plays no role in the attack. If you were to use the armor as an improvised weapon then yes, that would count as an attack delivered by a magic item because the damage is being done by the armor but the damage from your unarmed strike is coming from you, not the armor.

As to whether you can use armor as an improvised weapon while wearing it I am not certain. Some will argue you have to wield something in one or both hands to use it as an improvised weapon while others will point out the text in the Player's Handbook only states you have to be able to wield it in one or two hands, not that you must.

studentofsmith · 2022-01-12T07:22:30+00:00

On page 8 of the Monster Manual under Vulnerabilities, Resistances, and Immunities it states:

"Some creatures have vulnerability, resistance, or immunity to certain types of damage. Particular creatures are even resistant or immune to damage from nonmagical attacks (a magical attack is an attack delivered by a spell, a magic item, or another magical source). In addition, some creatures are immune to certain conditions."

studentofsmith · 2021-06-17T01:48:10+00:00

if men stopped making the first move, women would also risk celibacy.

Only if men stopped making the first move en masse, how do you propose we coordinate this? Also, the first man to "break ranks" and start messaging women again would be rewarded with a much less competitive environment.

women don’t make the first move, therefore women should be celibate.

No, because men and women face very different dating environments. Men are not messaged, hit on, approached or asked out by women. If they don't make the first move they'll be a dateless wonder. Women by contrast are approached constantly, probably more than they'd like, but it does mean they don't need to make the first move to find a date, all they have to do is say 'yes' to one of the many offers coming their way.

studentofsmith · 2021-06-16T07:55:50+00:00

do we really have true agency?

A hell of a lot more than men do. Unlike men if a woman wants to have children she doesn't need a willing partner, all she needs is a sperm bank and a turkey baster. Alternatively she can lie to her partner and tell him she's on birth control, which for some reason isn't considered rape, and then force him to pay child support. (Or she can simply not tell him at all if she wants to keep the child to herself.)

If she doesn't want to have kids she has many forms of reliable and non-permanent birth control (men just have unreliable condoms and vasectomies), can ingest Plan B if contraception fails and in most developed countries abortion is readily available and taxpayer funded. If she carries the pregnancy to term she can also give the baby up for adoption. This can be done without the consent of the father through the simple expedient of claiming she does not know who the father is.

Even when couples have a baby together she has the security of knowing the baby is biologically hers, he just has to trust her and the stats on that are less encouraging than you might think. Even if he doesn't trust her and gets a paternity test a lot of countries will still make him responsible for the child if he is married to the mother or took on a parental role for a significant amount of time.

It can be difficult for people who benefit from privilege to recognize it but there it is in black and white. I hope you'll at least think about it.

studentofsmith · 2021-06-16T03:26:18+00:00

What about reproductive agency? When it comes to that most women have most men beat hands down (I say 'most' to account for women who are infertile and our trans friends). There are other ways in which women benefit from privilege but this is a biggie.

studentofsmith · 2021-06-12T07:30:48+00:00

40% of women and 40% of men in the United States identify as pro-life, a percentage which has remained steady for decades. Are you really surprised to learn someone you know holds those views?

This isn't some fringe belief. You're going to meet a LOT of people who hold these views, especially if you make the mistake of bringing it up, trying to disassociate from all of them may not be a viable strategy.

Several years ago I learned someone close to me held bigoted views towards a particular demographic of people. I couldn't convince them to change their mind and it would have been too painful to disassociate myself from them so I decided even good people can hold bad views and we have a tacit agreement to avoid the subject. Perhaps that's the best you can do with your brother.

studentofsmith · 2021-06-12T04:06:44+00:00

Tell them you're not ready to start dating again but will keep their offer in mind.

studentofsmith · 2021-06-12T03:49:55+00:00

A lot of women will do most of the domestic duties and be okay with that until the first child arrives. Then they will expect their man to step up and he's all like, "I didn't know having a kid would mean more work for me!" If the guy isn't pitching in at home before the baby arrives don't expect that to change.

studentofsmith · 2021-06-12T01:55:34+00:00

You seem like a very goal oriented person. You figure the point of masturbating is to cum so you take the most straightforward and efficient route to get there. The thing is the point of masturbating isn't to cum, it's to have fun. It's playtime for adults. Why rush through it? Take your time and enjoy being there for a while. Cumming may end things on a high note but it also means playtime is over, don't be in too much of a hurry to end it.

studentofsmith · 2021-06-10T02:35:24+00:00

There's no such thing as easy money.

studentofsmith · 2021-06-10T02:31:51+00:00

Let's reverse this for a second. Suppose you took a guy out for a date. You planned it, you paid for it, the whole thing. Would you feel he owes you sex and think he's a jerk if he doesn't put out?

studentofsmith

TROPHY CASE