'Democrats have a plan'

She lost me right there. As a Democrat, I feel confident in stating that we have never had such a thing.

It is a truth so old that Will Rogers was cracking jokes about it 100 years ago.

I hear you and we are voting. That said, backup plans are a thing for good reasons.

My wife is Jewish and something she once said to me lives rent free in my brain. "The gross majority of the Jews you know are descended from people who left when they had a feeling. The ones who waited until it was obviously bad did not make it out."

Fascism is on the rise globally, but not every country will be led by someone who has actively courted neo-Nazis as part of their base. I saw how emboldened those people felt during his first term, and we anticipate it could only get much worse during a second. We do not want to leave, but we fear that staying may become unsafe for our family.

Daily alcohol: blunts my emotional pain, causes awful feelings in my stomach, does damage to multiple organ systems, is physically addictive, and gives you a hangover the next day.

Daily THC and other cannabinoids consumed via edibles: blunts my emotional pain, blunts my physical pain, has a minor effect on working memory when used over years that does not further inhibit cognitive ability or motivation, is not physically addictive, and has no impact on the next day.

Used to self medicate in vaguely controlled doses, it is a no-brainer. MJ is not perfect by any means, but it is world better than booze for frequent users.

"We keep thinking like OpenAI is a company that has a clue what it is doing because they have this amazing product that is getting used everywhere in business. In reality, they are a startup, and startups are going to have startup problems. We cannot treat them or their product like they are established and stable."

-my wife, who leads work at another company with OpenAI tech

I know the above quote is from someone "unimportant" in the industry, but to me it encapsulates exactly what we have seen from OpenAI in the past couple weeks. She became simultaneously reassured and more worried when Satya Nadella, the highly respected CEO of Microsoft, became directly involved. I wonder what she will think of this development when she wakes up.

Sincerely, I wish her the best. I know it is common to jump in with hate-the-rich feelings here, but I don't know of anything she has done that makes her deserve cancer. Cancer sucks. The flight is awful, and once it is done you don't get to know if you are actually better for a long time. For the rest of your life you get to carry physical and emotional scars from the fight.

I did this fight. I would wish it away from anyone except the most evil. I hope her treatment and recovery are as smooth as possible.

Ooh, I actually know the answer to this! I had cancer a couple years ago, and it got really dicey for a bit. While my story has a good ending and I am now effectively cancer-free, I had to look the potential of death clear in the face and start making some concrete plans.

My answer is unequivocal - I would prepare my family for my untimely demise. My wife and I got together when we were young enough that we entered adulthood together and grew that way. There is no me and her - there is only us. This is not some creepy codependency thing. We just became adults whose emotional and mental shapes are highly complimentary. That happens when you are with someone longer than you were not. We also have kids for whom I am the primary caretaker and stay-at-home dad while she works. Both boys are autistic though you might not notice it, and I am their primary coregulator. My family needs me in ways that are not universally true across families.

Most of my plan can be summarized as follows:

• Prepare my wife for life without me. Ensure she has the basic skills that I have taken over in our lives. Impress upon her the notion that while she has been the love of my life, I sincerely hope I am but one of hers.
• Spend as much time with my kids as possible. Cement myself in their memories. Record messages and fatherly advice in writing and/or video for every major life event I can think of.
• Set up therapy and support services for my family once I die.
• Get my friends and family on board for specific forms of help as time goes on. People who want to help do nothing when they do not know what to do. They are more likely to follow through when told, "I know Jimmy really looks up to you. After I die, please take him out for some bonding time at least once a month. He is going to be lost without me, and Wife cannot be a masculine role model like I was."
• Plan my funeral and write my obituary. Make it clear that any of this can be changed.
• Basically, do anything I can to prepare my family for life without me.

I know this is not terribly exciting, but it found that what I feared far more than death was the fate of my family without me there to care for them.

Senators were not elected by the people before the 17th amendment. The House of Representatives represent the interests of the people of their districts, so they were elected by the people. Senators represent the interests of their state as an entity, so they were elected by the legislature of their state or appointed by their governor.

The USA at the federal level is a republic, not a direct democracy. We elect those who vote upon the federal laws. I'm that easy, some worry that more voice of the people and less of the state as an entity runs afoul of that notion and the constitution itself.

I understand that point from a limited perspective, but it is now frequently used as a way to ignore constituents and beat the drum of fascism. Do not trust a politician that is worried about the 17th amendment. That ship sailed a century ago.

It is not a globally big deal, but I wish I could have heard the conversations between the doctors on my cancer team. Everything went very well in the end, but it got really dicey for a while. It would be interesting to know what they were really thinking and discussing behind the practiced facade they presented to me.

I think that you have internalized a version of body positivity that lies on the most extreme end of what is meant by that phrase. Body positivity - be comfortable with who you are and do not put down on others due to their body.

The odds are that I am significantly fatter than you. The odds also favor that I am significantly stronger than you, even if you lift weights. I can also probably walk all day much farther than you can.

Would it be healthier if I lose body fat? Absolutely. Have I tried for 20 years to do that? Yes. I am not ignorant regarding nutrition. I am not lazy. I am not overall lacking willpower. I am fat but otherwise healthy.

Body positively means that my doctor treats my body fat as what it is - one aspect of my overall health. He does not assume that every problem I have is because I am fat, even though changing that would improve some aspects of my health.

Body positively also means that I am not going to hide when I go to the beach. I am going to go shirtless and enjoy myself. If you do not find me sexually attractive, that is fine. If you are going to shame or mock me for my body fat, then you are an asshole. If I catch wind of you mocking me, I will quietly estimate how many times your bodyweight I will deadlift on Monday. If you choose to mock the scars that cover parts of my body from extreme, life-saving surgery, I may feel the need to firmly educate you on exactly what sort of asshole you are.

Body positively often conjures the image of a morbidly obese girl on OnlyFans who lets people pay to watch her binge and intentionally get fatter while she says being purposefully inactive is just as healthy as hitting the gym. The real versions of that person are extremely rare, but their radicalism, vociferous nature, and platform make their voices much louder in comparison. Their argument is also easy to find flaw with and mock, so they get used as if they are a typical example of body positivity.

You are right in that the woman I describe above needs help and is not behaving in a safe or healthy way. I also understand why you might think that is the norm. She is not, though, and I would encourage you to look deeper at the meaning of the "movement."

The "you" above is generic and based on broad assumptions. You, the reader, might be stronger than me and have way more endurance than me. You also might be fatter than I am. The odds are very good that you are also not an asshole. My point was to call out variances from the norm as convenient examples, of which I have plenty in both directions.

Before the election we will be preparing bugout bags for my nuclear family and establishing concrete plans to flee.

After the election, if Trump wins we will monitor and be ready. At the first sign of trouble we get out of dodge. I have the ability to get EU citizenship for my family if need be. In the meantime, my wife and I have skills that can get us the privilege to move into some countries based on their employment needs.

My family and I would have reasons to be targeted by white nationalists if they felt empowered. I have received semi-threatening letters from such people in the past.

I hate that we have to think this way, but we do.

I belong to several chicken groups on other social platforms, and the number of people who view this as part of a giant conspiracy is wild. Nope, this cannot possibly be the consequences of the known spreading mechanisms of well documented disease in a factory farm setting. It is clearly an attempt to control the populace through a narrative of limited food supply. Or it is a justification to release the next phase of the scamdemic. Or it is an initial cull to drive up prices and make more money by - checks notes - refusing to sell eggs.

I agree the corporations are out to take us over the coals and that large scale government has aspects that should not be trusted but still, people go from zero to pedophiles in pizza basements really fast.

It does not appear that you are really listening to others to do much as commenting pithy things, and I am not sure if you have some specific reason for this or if you are just picking fights.

But let's still break this down. Literally no one here is talking about celebrating morbid obesity. That is pretty much a straw man at this point.

Morbidly obese people should be able to look in the mirror and think to themselves, "I look good today!" They should be allowed to go out without worry that someone will make fun of them. They should be able to go to the doctor and be heard instead of the doctor assuming every health problem is only caused by obesity.

If you disagree with the above statements, please be very clear as to why. Everybody deserves quality medical care from their physician. Everybody deserves to not hate themselves. Everybody deserves to not be kicked for their appearance.

No one is saying, "Woo-hoo! Try to be so fat it harms your health!" I would suggest you read up on the science of weight loss and why so many little are obese these days. There is not universal consensus, but there is general agreement that the deck is highly stacked against many people, and extra body fat is not a simple condition to deal with in many circumstances.

People should try to lead the healthiest lifestyle they are reasonably able. No one is stating otherwise.

It was LARPing, but then I got clever. Once my wife was pregnant, it was only a matter of time. Now my kids have grown up in the hobby, and they love it as much as their old man.

I love living in a state where weed is legal commercially. I buy gummies at a dispensary down the road from me since it carries a brand with no residual pot flavor - my wife hates the taste of MJ. I get a tincture I like from a dispensary near my gym. Both make use of microemulsions to provide a fast acting high. When I was across the country in another state where it is legal, I could Google dispensaries, read reviews, and find one close to my hotel that people loved.

In states where it is legal, weed shops have become like any other specialty retail shop, and I am here for it.

I went through a period where I was under doctor's orders to treat any fluid produced by my body as a biohazard. That meant any time I urinated I had to close the lid and flush twice. So yeah, there was no mellowing in that case.

You can believe what you want, I guess, but that does not change reality. The company also has a vested interest in marketing your account security. They also lose out when accounts on their system are compromised. It seems a bit ridiculous to say that only one of the two parties who have a vested interest in security here gets to set the rules.

For pots and pans, buy Demeyere. The Demeyere Apollo pots and pans I bought 21 years ago still look just about as good as the day I unboxed them, and I am rough on my cookware. I have a little weathering along the edge of the heart conductive disk on the bottom of some pans, but that is it.

They sit dirty too long and get crusty. They go right into my dishwasher. They fall out of my lower cabinet onto my tile floor all the time. None of this phases them. I bought them over two decades ago because I had an employee discount at a cookware store and the company rep classified them as, "dishwasher recommended." As an avid home cook and occasional caterer, these pans, a Le Creuset Dutch oven, and my grandmothers' cast iron are my daily workhorses.

You are going to pay through the nose for Demeyere pans, but they will last long enough for your kids to cook with them after you are gone. You can get their least expensive line of regular pans, cry once, and be good for life.

You might see used Demeyere indoor smokers, asparagus steamers, egg poachers, and other similarly oddball pans in online market places. Ignore those. They were a cheap line made in a different factory at one point. They are not the same quality. All of the regular style Demeyere pans (skillets, sauce pans, woks, sauciers, etc.) are excellent, and I would not hesitate to buy them used.

Super regular, but thanks for the warning. I also can't vape because oral cancer - unrelated to smoking - took half my tongue. Doctors aren't keen on vaping after that for some reason.

The fast acting edibles out there now are way more forgiving than traditional as well. They hit much faster so there is less risk of overdoing it.

I am descended from Robert Drouin, who is only mildly famous for the ridiculous proportion of people with French Canadian ancestry who can trace their lineage back to him. It is like if Genghis Khan only had one wife, was really into subsistence farming, and still managed to be everybody's Great^X Grandpappy.

I'm not so sure. That is only $25 million or so. Who can live on that?

Has the child flown on a commercial airline, yet? My son loved having a Southwest branded toy airplane - realistic looking one - after he had flown on that carrier. It let him relive his flight and expand on it in his imagination.

Thank you. I don't have notes handy, but my deadlift was around 360 lbs. for 8-12 when I was last training it directly. A few health-related issues have sidelined my lifting for a couple months (post-cancer life sucks sometimes), but I am cleared to get back into the gym next week!

My legs are where I really shine, with my calculated one rep max for the sled press up in the mid 800s and working sets in the 600s. That is my lift where people stop and look twice.

Thank you! I was going to make this exact point. Autocatalytic reactions are assumed with good reason to be a necessary step on the way from non-life chemicals to life, but they are only one step. Carbon is the only element that can form the basis of the huge variety of chemicals needed for the simplest of life to evolve.

When I was an undergrad, I had professors who made completing arguments that live on other planets would not only be carbon-based, but that it likely would closely resemble life on Earth on molecular, microscopic, and macroscopic levels. Survival of the fit certainly depends upon the environment, but it also must comply with chemistry and physics. I am no expert in theoretical xenobiology, but it provides a strong and fact-based counter to the idea that alien life would by default be wildly different from life on Earth.

Do you have any examples? I ask not to be confrontational, but instead because I have read nothing but kind things about him. Thank you!

I have two primary use cases for pot. I use it with my wife to have a great time, enjoy takeout after the kids go to bed, laugh like maniacs, and have a little adult fun. It keeps us connected when life gives us little alone time. That usually happens weekly. We also like to take mini vacations without the kids to cities where it is legal and explore while baked.

Many other nights of the week, I use cannabis without her to keep my sanity. My family consists of multiple autistic people with competing needs, and my job is to balance those needs so we can operate as a unit. It is exhausting. By night I generally feel a lot of emotional exhaustion, and physical pain also creeps in from multiple chronic health issues from over the years. Pot kills the pain, and it pins my emotions to happy. I can relax and have an hour or two to feel like all is right with the world.

I constantly monitor myself for addiction. I avoid using some nights just to ensure I can. I do not want to have to stop this thing that brings me joy during hard times. I am getting a little worried about my increasing tolerance, but I am trying to watch that as well.

I am, thank you for asking. I am in full remission, and my particular type of cancer, while extremely aggressive, is highly unlikely to be a big deal if it comes back. Every 3 months they look in my mouth and down my throat, and they will cut any tiny abnormalities out if they look at all iffy. At this point I have 93% or better odds of remaining cancer free and not even needing anything removed.

She rolled her eyes and said, "Well, I'm glad that our contract is only for [a limited period of time].”

It was not a vote against the whole shift, but instead a comment on the volatility of this space. The tech and the associated market is changing so fast that there are no real experts, proven business models, or established long term use cases. Everyone is experimenting, and nothing is set in stone. This change means the dust is not yet settling.

Sandwiches should have their contents rearranged so they each bite has exactly the same amount of filling. If that cannot be done, the bites with the least filling should be eaten first and those with the most should be saved for last.

I bristle on the inside when my kids want a slice of bread for breakfast. Toast is for breakfast, and bread is for other meals. I don't even actually care about this, but my dad did when I was a little kid and I clearly internalized that lesson.

First, I am sorry for everyone just dismissing this question. There are many valid reasons for wanting to know the unloaded weight of machines, including just being curious. If you want to change up your routine or compare results between machines, you absolutely want this info.

Some machines will have this information in fine print on the main instruction panel or some small label on the machine. You have to search for it.

The most reliable way to know would be to ask the staff at your gym. A gym-employed trainer would be a great resource if they are off without a client. At my gym, I just put in a request that they label all of the machines with this info. It seems like a big quality of life increase for the cost of some printer paper and packing tape.

Keep lifting heavy and pushing for the details you want. I know on my leg press sled, I absolutely want credit for the 105 lb. sled in addition to the plates I put on it.

This is where AI could legit change the world for the better in the future. Use fewer pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides as the problems can be fixed mechanically on a highly localized level.

This could even help fix problems with invasive species - imagine a drone fleet that could kill kudzu just as it erupts from the soil.

Nope! My wife was enjoying a chemically-induced nap in one room when my kids were conceived. I was in another room with broken DVDs and suspiciously easy to clean chairs. The kids were conceived in a third room by a lab worker and incredibly complex equipment.

The traditional way is much more fun. Try that first.

Generally, no, but it did last night. We had moved into a new house, and we were trying to tell Uber Eats which train station we were closest to so our delivery person could get off at that station before driving to our house.

We do not love near a train station. It was weird as dreams tend to be.

I am still going strong on Tears of the Kingdom. I love exploring a world I already new with changes and additions. I love having an open world game where I am still mandated to be a good person. I love getting creative with weird things. I love that my oldest kid plays as well and my youngest likes to help me solve puzzles. It has just been a blast for my family.

It is not so much about people wanting to be in a traditional relationship. I understand wanting that. The tradwife TikTok trend is more than that, though. It sells a fantasy under the illusion of reality.

Man as leader and breadwinner with woman as homemaker and primary caregiver for the children? That is great if it works for the partnership! The problem is that the content goes beyond this. Always actively pretty and made up? Always submissive? Always catering to the husband's needs with no concern for their own? This is not a healthy place for a wife to be because it is not a healthy dynamic for any person.

In a real "traditional" relationship, the partners are partners. It is not explicitly said, but this content pushes further into territory where the woman gives up autonomy to her husband. It is also not really aimed at women. The content finds it's audience with men who want this fantasy. And you know what? The fantasy is fine! It is ok to fantasize about having a submissive wife who caters to your every whim. This content, this role of absolute servitude, is being served to lonely young men as fact. It is being sold as something attainable. There are no women lining up to give up their autonomy for any random dude.

Again, it is totally cool if you want to embrace traditional gender roles. Do what makes life good for you, and find a partner who wants the same! Just do not expect that you could ever get a woman to give up everything for you unless you are really, truly giving her everything first. Even then, most women would not want that.

I've read about there being no actual weed on the strip. My wife hates the taste of pot, so we almost exclusively use Wana fast acting gummies, which are thankfully available at several places in Vegas. I'll be sure to check out The Reef while we are there since we are staying nearby at The Venetian. Actually, I think The Reef is where the guy at my local pot shop told me to buy after we check out Planet 13 for the spectacle.

Thank you!

Or I am just an idiot and cannot read. Let's go with that, since it is the truth. Thank you for the kind correction!

Each kid and wifey could have individual Daddy/hubby attention at the same time. My yard and home would look immaculate because my ADHD task burnout could be overcome by calling in a new helper.

I could probably make bank and help improve the lot of humanity by allowing my duplicates to go through controlled medical and scientific testing.

At some point one of me would figure out how to leverage this ability for the absolute betterment of humankind. That would probably become a driving mission for the collective me at that point.

Welp, given that my radiation oncologist (I am in remission) found that I had stage 3 hypertension, I've had better. A trip to the ER told us that I am not in immediate danger, so it could also be worse.

That's great, thanks! I'm looking forward to being blazed on Fremont. We love getting high as hell and exploring new places.

The original Pizzaria Uno cream of broccoli soup from the 90s. It was maybe the perfect version of that soup.