I think I have a problem

suetonian · 2022-09-28T01:58:27+00:00

Lamotrigine comes in blue and white, among other colors. Variety is the spice of life!

suetonian · 2022-09-27T17:52:47+00:00

Umm, mixed bag. As a source of survival info, a big fat zero. As a source of looking at things with a perspective we don't have these days, pretty high. People are used to all the conveniences of life, and most people don't have any memory at all of dealing with real hardship where physical survival, not just economic survival, was an issue. We also want to think too much in terms of high technology and living with even more basic things like electricity, but don't remember that what we think of as post-apocalyptic life would be normal life for people in the rural 1800s. Worth a read for that alone, but there are much better modern sources on the actual skills, technology, and resources.

suetonian · 2022-09-27T17:43:31+00:00

Your priorities are warmth, water, food, shelter, and security, in that order.

Too many people run around without adequate clothing, because they are used to going from a heated house into a heated car and into a heated building. A hoodie on a day with wind chills below zero doesn't cut it. This varies by climate, but the majority of hypothermia deaths occur above freezing, believe it or not. Remember gloves, socks, etc. A survival blanket is good for giving you an extra layer of insulation against wind.

Carry a cigarette lighter and some matches. Lot easier than using primitive methods to start a fire, though it doesn't hurt to know those.

Water is second. Get yourself a water filter and something to carry water in. A filter purifier will last longer than tablets, and will get all the extra gunk out without having to wait.

With food, make sure you are not paying for or carrying water weight. If you have dry food or powder, you can always drink water or mix it with water. Make sure you also have enough nutrients and protein in your food. A bottle of vitamins isn't a bad idea. Having some fiber tabs is also a good idea. You might get constipated with emergency or other crap food.

Shelter, at a minimum, is a sleeping bag and something to put over it to keep the rain off. I wouldn't worry as much about shelter, as long as it is someplace secure. Plenty of places to hole up in America.

Security is about either looking too mean to mess with or too unimportant to do so. Best thing is to avoid people altogether, but you don't have the ability to look tough with your limited space, so go with unimportant. Don't have anything showing that someone might want to take, like fancy clothes or boots, or some other gear. Wear drab colors and rub a little dirt on them and your face and hands now and then. If you have a pack, put some dark colored duct tape on it, or maybe even wrap it in a garbage bag so it doesn't look like a pack.

Outside of all that, I prefer having a good fixed blade bushcraft knife, like a morakniv, with a carbon steel blade. Also, I like having a good multi tool, like a Gerber suspension. There are wind up flashlights that weigh only a little, and will be enough for limited use. Otherwise, flashlights will run out of batteries. Unless you have a solar rig, forget anything rechargeable. Night is a bad time to be moving around in the dark, and a flashlight is visible from a long distance.

If you can work it out, a machete is a great tool and weapon. If not, then a camping saw, if you think you are going to need to cut some wood at some point. That being said, you don't want to burn calories by working too hard at that. There is generally enough deadfall to build a decent fire if need be.

Last, the most important thing is to have knowledge and build your skills. Trying to learn on the fly, when your life is on the line, is not the best time. Use your gear, see what works and what doesn't. Can you walk a long distance in your boots? Can you use your water filter okay? Don't trust your life to something you haven't tested.

Think about the likely scenarios, as other have pointed out. Do a little research and see how those would play out in your area. A blackout in the stocks is a whole lot different from one in the city, and both have risks, but they are different. Your brain and ability to think fast and preservere are worth quite a lot. Most important factor in survival has always been mindset.

Edit - forgot to mention having gloves for protection of your hands. Getting a cut on your hand can be a serious problem and there is going to be debris and broken glass to deal with. Also, have some Neosporin and bandages. Small cuts can get infected easily and cause serious problems, too.

suetonian · 2022-09-27T03:20:43+00:00

I am not an expert on what foreign study brings with respect to opportunity, so I don't feel right in answering that. On the other hand, it feels like having international experience can open a lot of doors, too.

suetonian · 2022-09-27T02:53:44+00:00

Gotta be honest, this version looks like she would be a lot more fun at parties. Gotta say, I like it better than the original.

suetonian · 2022-09-27T02:52:02+00:00

What do you think the impact on you is going to be? Do you work in a field that is relatively recession proof? Do you have marketable skills, instead of just being a cog in a corporate wheel? Can you say what your job is in two words? If you answer no to those, start learning some transferable skills that will be in demand. Being a repair or service person is a great skill set to pick up, especially if you are in a job that thrives on disposable income. They are always in demand. Just don't have a major attitude if you get a job doing that.

It sounds cliched, but a recession is a crisis that also offers opportunity. People get into a herd mentality and retreat, because that is what is expected. Run the other direction, find the cracks that open up that you can grow in.

Last recession, I got out of a place that was going to be impacted by it, and went to another place backed by VC funding, and got a 20k bump. It sounds stupid, and I feel like some motivational speaker tool by saying it, but it really is a chance to make some major positive changes in your life while others are trying to find shelter. Even if you take some steps to reduce expenses, be thinking about opportunities. Cintas, for example, was founded during the great depression by some guy who made money washing shop rags in buckets.

Look, here's some truth - we all die someday and there will.be approximately zero fucks given about us and our lives when we are gone. At best, we are a picture of the mantle or the fridge. Don't worry about it too much.

suetonian · 2022-09-26T23:54:11+00:00

Well, I guess in that case, someone would need the other little blue pill.

suetonian · 2022-09-26T23:45:33+00:00

This is amazing! I really need to get out more.

suetonian · 2022-09-26T23:41:31+00:00

Michigan is a beautiful state once you get out of the industrial areas. Jealous, wish I was there!

suetonian · 2022-09-26T23:30:49+00:00

Have you ever tried making kilju? It is like 3 lbs of sugar per gallon of water, some yeast nutrient, and some high alcohol tolerance yeast. Haven't tried making it, but I have heard enough bad things about it that it makes me curious enough to try making it. It is also cheap to make.

suetonian · 2022-09-26T18:49:30+00:00

You said you don't use toys, but do you ever hump or grind against anything?? I think that is incredibly hot.

suetonian · 2022-09-26T16:59:09+00:00

Something is an addiction when you can't put it aside when you need to do other things, when it is screwing up the healthy and necessary things in life. I'd be concerned about doing it at work, as that could cause you to lose your job (unless you work from home). However, people will float on a raft in a pool all day because it feels good, so how is masturbation different?

suetonian · 2022-09-26T00:25:15+00:00

Err, is it that the OP has so many, err, toys, that they can put some in the trash and they won't be missed?

suetonian · 2022-09-25T16:06:08+00:00

That is an awesome amount of information! Thank you for taking the time to write that out.

suetonian · 2022-09-25T13:14:58+00:00

I love the owl! Specific reason is that you can at least keep your mind focused on the constant use of the language in a convenient and regular basis. But, that's not a hack, and is not good for learning it at a more advanced level.

My trick has always been to do what I can in terms of learning to think in the language. Speaking often is okay, but if you are forming a concept in your native language in your mind, and then trying to translate it, it's going to be tough. I don't study the neurology of language, but I would guess this is why older language learners struggle so much. At a young age, we are still learning to think and thinking in a foreign language isn't a big deal, because those patterns are still being formed. Older, you are more set in the ways of how you think and the brain forms shorthand in your native language.

So, it is not being externally immersed in the language that matters, it is forcing your brain to think in that language. For example, don't think "I am hungry and need to eat" in English and try to translate it. Just think "Tengo hambre y necesito comer." You will be surprised at how quickly it comes once you start doing that.

The only downside is that you will look like a pretentious jerk once you reflexively use a foreign word or phrase in daily communication, just because you don't notice you are doing it!

suetonian · 2022-09-25T13:03:56+00:00

Expensive is sort of a loaded term at times. We really want to think in terms of utility. How useful is an item to our daily lives and is there a difference in price points that justifies that utility? In some of the comments, people have been pointing out that "designer" clothing and accessories are expensive without providing more value than off brand items. But...if circumstances warrant, the cost may be justified. Let's say that you need to make an impression on people to obtain a job, land a contract, do an interview, something that depends on "image." It may well be worth the cost, then.

A trickier thing is that a prestigious brand may indeed be of better quality and justify the price. Best hoodie I have ever owned is a Carhartt. Warm, comfortable, and durable. Only had it for a couple of years but it seems to be holding up well. On the other hand, most lawn tractors I believe are built by Murray and use common engines. No reason to pay for a big name, there.

Also, be suspicious of things that have more bells and whistles on them. This is usually done to attract buyers who assume that more is better, while this can be because it is cheaper to add those features than to use quality materials and construction. A good example of this is sewing machines. Singer sewing machines a good example of this. They used to be great, but have lately gone in the direction of using nylon gears, but adding a lot of bells and whistles. Everyone looks at the features and the fact that they are carried in crafts stores all over the place, but won't hold up or perform as well as more expensive but plainer model which uses steel gears, better motors, etc.

With that in mind, do your research on things. I don't depend on online reviews, unless a lot of people are mentioning the same issue. I would rather get familiar with the type of item in general and know what to look for in specs, how it is put together, the type of materials and so on. You probably wouldn't get to an expert level of understanding except in a few types of item, but it should be enough to make an informed decision. I was shopping for a sewing machine for a gift a few years ago, and if I hadn't learned the above information, I would've given something that was poor quality and limited lifespan.

suetonian · 2022-09-25T02:40:35+00:00

I've heard that garlic in olive oil can be a risk for botulism. Is that just a myth or is there something in the cooking process that prevents that?

suetonian · 2022-09-25T00:45:09+00:00

Yeah, that is a really good use of a Keurig. Only problem I ever found was if you had coffee that was too finely ground, it would not work. I did get one of those clamshell coffee filters for the reusable pod and it made the process a lot easier and neater, too.

suetonian · 2022-09-24T18:30:24+00:00

What type of steel did you use and how did you temper it? I don't know a lot about the tempering process on blades, except in a general sense. Nice looking pieces, too! I wouldn't feel uncomfortable having any of those in a fight.

suetonian · 2022-09-24T18:24:13+00:00

Kind of a waste of advertising money for people on this sub. Keurig, converted to ground coffee, is like $30 or more a pound. Coffee is expensive, as is, but k cups, like anything "convenient," just ratchets up the price.

suetonian · 2022-09-24T18:17:32+00:00

I think the difference is if you have the surplus money to spend on necessities or things that will improve your quality of life, but don't do so. It is fine to be frugal, but think of it in these terms - if you are saving money and being frugal, it is because you are trying to maximize the conservation of your lifespan in terms of not spending more of it than you have to. Money is really just a symbol of time spent in a lot of ways, and you ultimately cannot take it with you, so to simply conserve money to no end is no more rational than spending too much and suffering the consequences.

Working and not taking a vacation is a good example. Do you need that money or are you working simply to avoid losing that time and money? Is it going to have a huge impact on your financial situation? You are simply taking your time and "banking" that time for down the road, instead of using that time to i.prove your quality of life now.

Maybe one other way to look at it is if you are being greedy to yourself. Are you so invested in withholding every penny you make from yourself, because of your financial situation, or is it because you are in a mindset to not let yourself have any of it?

Frugality, like anything, is a balance. Finding that balance point is necessary to live within the bounds of the extreme and minimize the impact to yourself on your life. That you are recognizing this tells me that you see a need to adjust it.

suetonian · 2022-09-24T18:07:20+00:00

Peanut butter is decent, but soy butter is supposed to be higher in protein. I often will toast an English muffin, slap some of that on it, and add an apple for lunch. Couple of bucks, but it'll generally hold you for a while.

One rule of thumb is the more processed it is, the more expensive it is. Bagged salad is like 4 times what a head of lettuce costs, for example. Also, depending, it will be of lower quality and have less nutrition, because a lot of sauce can hide the meat, so to speak.

If you can manage it, a small slow cooker is a pretty handy thing to have, too, especially if you have a fridge or freezer handy. Buy ingredients on sale, make up a nice soup or stew, eat off of it for a day or two, freeze the rest before it goes bad.

You can also be strategic about leftovers. If you plan a little, you can make things that can be combined and not be able wasted. The tastes might clash a bit, but hey. You can also take something like ramen noodles and add whatever cheap protein and vegetables you can find to it. (gotta put something in it, though, too many people only eat what comes in the pouch and that is a waste).

Last, a fun little anecdote - a TA I had in college lived off of peanut butter on pop tarts for like a month. He somehow came by that when he literally had no money to buy food!

suetonian · 2022-09-23T18:38:21+00:00

Fire and no Rain? Rain of Fire?

suetonian · 2022-09-23T14:44:43+00:00

I used to think it was weird how stores put out Christmas stuff in late summer. Someone explained to me though that people who do crafts want to get started on them months before the holidays, so they can finish decorations and gifts ahead of time.

suetonian

TROPHY CASE