Random Talk.

[Dae314]

Seems like the whole conversation above should go in the "get it off your chest" thread.

While I certainly haven't given up, I'm no longer proceeding as quickly with romantic interests. I'm also transferring between romantic interests a lot slower. This is due to the requirements for being a romantic interest becoming stiffer. One day I noticed that I knew more about what I like in anime than what I like in girls and realized that was part (arguably about 34% of my problem) with the way I approached relationships. After re-evaluating for a while, I came out with a much clearer picture of what personality archetypes I'm willing to consider and which I'm willing to be flexible with.

If you're thinking "that sounds terrible! You expect people to come up to your standards now? Who do you think you are?" you would be correct if I stopped at that paragraph. My standards only apply to whom I decide to pursue as a romantic interest. It is not the ruler by which I look at a person and say "nope, you don't measure up, try again when you're a better person." It's the ruler by which I am able to say "I don't think this would work out" to someone who approaches me (if it comes to that), and it's the ruler by which I can tell my heart "you're just stuck on her boobs, you really wouldn't want to know this person; drop it."

Also it's still really cold here T_T. Girls don't dress casually here anymore T_T. Sadness. I love the cold weather, but there is something to be said about the view during hot weather too.

[† Emotional Outlet]

I'm sure Kyle had a reason to post it here and if he meant otherwise, then he can tell one of the staff. Until then, everything is fine where it is. Scooting around posts from this topic into appropriate threads seems to kill conversation.

 

I found thirty cents in the washer. Now I am rich.

[† Anras Rune]

Invest dat shit EO! Next thing you know, you'll have a full dollar and be Über rich!

[† Emotional Outlet]

And then I can buy a pack of gum!  Aw ye.

 

One of my former coworkers invested in stocks and he never had any good advice for me. It amounted to "buy some random stocks". I think I will pass.

[† Anras Rune]

Nah, I don't delve in the stock market much anymore. But I do buy bonds and the occasional gold share, I mean I got a gold share for my 18th birthday, to cash in when needed. Still going strong, so i'm leaving it for as long as possible!

 

But gum is always good, really good!

[Dae314]

Gold's been appreciating hasn't it? I know nothing about investment. I don't have enough money to even be thinking about doing it yet .

[† Mute point]

Cold weather is best enjoyed by a warm fire with a good book or movie, and someone to snuggle with.

 

Winter driving sucks, no matter how good and careful YOU are, there's always some asshole driving way too fast and sliding all over the place.

[J-Lord]

Cold weather is best enjoyed by a warm fire with a good book or movie, and someone to snuggle with.

 

Winter driving sucks, no matter how good and careful YOU are, there's always some asshole driving way too fast and sliding all over the place.

 

I love winter for sleeping, having a nice warm bed to stay in is the best!  Worst winter drive I have ever done was on these high mountains in a truck convoy (defence force truck convoy) where you had to keep an eye out for black ice, once you start sliding on that stuff there ain't no stopping.

[† Mute point]

I avoid driving anywhere near 4 wheel drive vehicles, because many of them are driven by people who think that 4 wheel drive makes you stop faster just because it helps you get going faster.

[† Emotional Outlet]

Sometimes we'll get people who stop at the side of the road for bad weather. It's better than continuing to drive, but it makes me wish public transport wasn't so terrible so these people wouldn't be compelled to drive everywhere (to say nothing of the monetary savings). I'm glad we live within walking distance of the grocery store and library, but not everyone is so lucky.

[† Mute point]

Public transit would be a lot more expensive for me. Well, not when you factor in insurance costs, but just gas prices? $2 for a round trip that I still have to walk part of the way to wherever I'm going.. Unless I'm going clear across town, that's more than it would cost to drive my truck. With insurance, it's pretty close to the same.

[† Emotional Outlet]

First, you have to buy the vehicle. (Well, I am making an assumption that no one here will steal a car.) Depending what kind of vehicle you get, that's several thousand in the hole, including interest. If you get a cheap car that isn't in very good condition, then you risk either needing to buy another one later or spend the money to bring it to speed. Renting a vehicle may be cheaper, but I think that is a pretty silly thing to do long term.

Then you have to pay to maintain it. Wheels, tires, fluids, body work. If you don't maintain it, then you might end up starting at the beginning--buying another car. You could learn to do it yourself so you don't have to pay the garage to do it, but you'll still have to buy things--the tires, the fluids, the materials with which to maintain your vehicle. I do not know of anyone who is able to make tires for free. Maybe they exist, I don't know.

Then there are fees and fines. Registration fees. Insurance definitely. Gas definitely. Traffic tickets and parking fees (Annapolis and Baltimore seem to be funded entirely by garage parking fees). If your car ever gets towed, towing costs can be steep.

Having a vehicle may be quicker and more convenient (you will be able to go to WalMart at two in the morning with ease and buy sixteen crates of grape soda and you don't have to worry about missing your bus), but there are a lot of inconveniences even if you are in control of the vehicle. Traffic around here gets awful, especially around rush hours. Nobody likes driving in DC or Baltimore. If your car is stolen, that is a huge headache. If anyone vandalises your vehicle, it is a huge headache. If your car is put out of commission for any reason, it is a huge headache.

For people who do not have a lot of money or are living on minimum wage, a car is a huge drain. If it can be avoided, most recommend living without a car when possible.

It is disappointing that public transit isn't great. I have lived in rural areas, so I understand that it is a less convenient and viable option than for urban and suburban areas. My home in North Dakota is technically outside of city limits and there's nothing for miles. When I lived in El Centro in California, it was pretty much a desert and also miles away from anything. My bus ride to school was decently long.

I just think public transit should be better.

[Dae314]

Hawaii's got one of the best public transport systems in the US (well at least Oahu does). It's very possible for anyone living basically anywhere on Oahu to catch the bus and go without a car their entire life. Before driving age, public transportation is the main way kids get around without their parents, and later in life if a car is too expensive public transport provides an excellent alternative.

Edited January 19, 2013 by Dae314

[† Mute point]

Also have to consider what shifts you work. A lot of towns the buses don't run after a certain time, so if you're going to either go to, or get off of work after that time, you need either a car, or you need to arrange a ride. Unless you happen to live close to work in which case you can walk or ride a bike.

 

As cheap transportation goes, a bike is the best alternative. Get a decent cheap one at a thrift store, fix it up, get a good lock. Spend maybe $50 total. If you've got the endurance and the determination you can go anywhere. In winter though, it is not a good idea to ride a bike.

[† Emotional Outlet]

Yes, I've worked mids before. Most places I've lived aren't the most friendly towards shift workers--the world in general isn't friendly towards shift workers, haha. There are grocers open late in the area, but for those seeking a bite to eat will find themselves limited to places like Denny's or Taco Bell. If you need to get things done, you either end up staying up late into the morning or getting up early in the afternoon, neither of which are especially ideal.

 

And that's not even considering things like crime and the greater potential for costly accidents when driving while sleepy. There were a handful of former coworkers who would drive home after shift and not remember the drive at all. If it weren't for the rumble strips at the side of the road, one of them would have found himself run off the road almost every night he worked.

 

I'm no fan of shift work, especially after what working shift for years has wrought on people like Java and my former supervisor.

 

Generally speaking, though, public transport is easily cheaper. Whether it is convenient depends on a lot of things, but it can be a load off. A lot of people do things like write, read, take naps, &c on their daily commutes on public transport. I think that is far more preferable to sitting in rush hour traffic for three hours, stuck in the stop and go.

 

If nothing else, carpool. NSA strongly encourages carpooling if you can't take advantage of public transport, especially considering how awful parking tends to be during the day. They run shuttles between parking lots, some even miles away.

[† Mute point]

Decided to give Star Trek: Enterprise another chance. The second time through, the subtle interplay among the characters certainly lives up to the standard, but I still have a hard time dealing with the whole... "THEIR SHIP DOESN'T EXIST IN THE MAIN TIMELINE!" thing... Picard had a model of every enterprise from the old sailing ship to D in his ready room on enterprise E, and the NX-01 doesn't exist! >.<

 

If I think about the ship as not being Enterprise, the show suddenly seems a lot better.

[Zanco]

Great moogally-boobaly!!! The fuck happened to the forums? x D No I can't get on at night to do nothing because the white hurts my eyes. o _3

[† Emotional Outlet]

Have you tried f.lux? It should help with the blinding glare you get from using the computer at night by making your monitor look less like the sun. I forget how bright white sites can be since I've been using it for ages.

 

During the day, computer screens look good—they're designed to look like the sun. But, at 9PM, 10PM, or 3AM, you probably shouldn't be looking at the sun.

 

But yeah, basically Koby disabled all the hooks and addons for the site to do some troubleshooting. One or more of them might be causing issues, so.

[jobonline20]

so this is why it feels like heaven in here

[† Emotional Outlet]

Yes, something like that, haha.

 

Most sites I frequent are light-coloured. Facebook, TV Tropes, Tumblr, Google, Youtube... Really dark backgrounds with white text is harder for me to read, mostly because of the text glow.