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Author's Note: Trigger warning. Depictions of self harm, suicide, violence and neglect towards children depicted throughout.
Kids In Ski Masks (Home By Eight
God damn it Meghan, late by ten, Don't make me fuckin' nag again.
The drugs won't drown out your misery, It's just a prescription conscription consiracy.
Youthful rage, Is the way the cool kids act at your age.
Janie's a freak, Because she fell in love and gave her boyfriend a pre-marital peek.
They got her picture up on the bathroom stall, With a number, saying where to call.
Underage sex and pregnancy, What's next for you is stagnancy.
The hormones and the puberty, But your still just an ignorant squirt to me.
Your vegetables will save you from the rot, Then society intends to ring you , for all you've got.
Learn to be something that you are not, Accept that you must do as you are taught, your future is already bought.
Anorexia or dyslexia, All you brats are just a little bit extra.
Timmy is just a little bit dim, but we haven't given up on him, We might be able to salvage this if we push his anxiety to the brim.
Suzy is a little too obsessed with the mobsters and the uzi, If she isn't cut off, it could lead to another doozy.
It used to be firecrackers in the halls, Now it's opened fire and cracks over 911 calls.
Little Jill, buried beneath the willow on the hill, Her pictures won't age, up on the windowsill.
Who knew that kids can understand suicide, Who knew the pressures of life can leave them nowhere to hide.
Pushed to swing from a rope, Children shouldn't knowbhow it feels to abandon hope.
So, please just be home by eight, We get nervous if you are out to late.
We don't know who is teaching you how to hate, When it comes to teenager's, what is a life's going rate?
Held up outside the grocery store, The clerk cut and screaming on the floor, and you thought they were just going to hold the door.
It's not so easy to act snide, When they rip open your driver side and steal your ride.
After all, we raised the kids of today, And at some point, there is a debt to pay.
Ski masks and a stolen blade, They're in such a rush for their own innocence to fade.
Mommy is piss drunk and passed out on the couch, And somewhere in your developing mind, you've already figured out that she is just a slouch.
The man of the house is out fucking his mistress, Because his spawn was always so easy to dismiss.
But, Daddy forgot to set the lock, which concealed his glock, And Zack will make sure we all learn that truth at the chiming of the clock.
Because, at twelve he believes that he can't forget, And lying in a pool of his own blood is as close as he can get.
Going on thirteen and taught to use an opiod pen, Have we calculated yet, when they will get to be naïve again?
The kids aren't kids anymore, They are just new pawns for your never ending war.
They can't learn how to spell, Before they are taught which opinions will get them sent straight to hell.
A generation raised without peace of mind, Keep up with the latest outrage or be left behind.
We have faith in you, So we will be monitoring every little thing that you do.
And you are doing your part, So long as you aren't falling apart, and working on becoming a sterile little piece of art.
Curtis is just the worst, The adults in the room tried to control him every time that he cursed.
A dollar in the jar, A spanking behind his parent's car.
The lesson was worth the scar, And some day, he will show it off, while drunk at the bar.
They say it's a cycle, Lather, rinse and recycle.
And we turned out just fine, Living in a society where we have to tip toe around every landmine.
Every phrase is a trigger, And the taboos are just getting bigger.
And crushing down on them, Damaging the plant at the stem.
Before they can flower, They are molded, shaped and condemned by those who are in power.
It has always worked before, So leave your doubts at the door.
Make sure to tip the kid working the table, Don't wonder if their home life is stable.
Don't worry yourself about the screams in their head, Just tuck them into bed.
The arrogance and the contempt, To think that we will be exempt.
The worst is yet to come, The monster always comes back to where they are from.
But, society refuses to believe that monsters are created, Their urges just need to be sedated.
https://www.reddit.com/OCPoetry/comments/141xw8h/decided_to_write_a_short_poem_while_overthinking/jn3weru?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
https://www.reddit.com/OCPoetry/comments/141xr9x/20something/jn3wp21?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Yep, she confirmed it in her latest live. Again. I knew this already, but she gave more context as to why.
She said the family dynamics in the Sims are just too difficult for her to play anymore. Which I understand, since she’s (sort of) living through similar drama that could be acted out in the game. She also said that she gets asked about the Sims all the time.
Just wanted to put it out here in case people didn’t get to that part of the stream yet.
I also think it’s traumatizing for her too, because rewatching one of her old streams, this one in particular on her sims channel she complained about pain in her stomach, and she assumed she was passing a kidney stone. Come to find out, she went into labor after the steam and that’s when she lost her baby. I didn’t know about this until I read it on this forum one day. Correct me if I’m missing any other details!
The Sims is probably all around traumatizing for her, so this chapter will be closed for a very long time now. I’d stop asking her at this point.
TL;DP.S. I’m not a long time viewer, so this was my first time hearing her specifically say why she’s not playing the sims anymore. Just wanted to share to folks who may not of known the context.

my ex is a bit of a serial monogamist. he never took time to heal from his previous relationship before us, and now the same for getting into a new relationship after us. he even told me he’s not over us and who knows what could happen in the future, maybe we could try again one day, it’s possible. not giving me certainty but just telling me it’s a possibility. what am I supposed to do? I think I honestly got a bit obsessed with him when our relationship started to fall apart, but there’s a part of me that still wants someday for it to work out. we were long distance and although we visited each other, we never got to close the distance how we planned and I just can’t stop hoping one day that it does happen. I just don’t know what to do now, I feel lost. I feel like no one deserves being in a relationship with me with my ocd. I just don’t know what to do.

Was originally looking at breville oracle touch but after reading so many negative reviews, issues with grinder, and reliability problems in general im rethinking the direction here. I want a machine that is somewhat simple to use, can be semi or super automatic (though not Jura-like, as I want to be able to dial in myself), ideally with a double boiler, and that is good at handling steamed milk (plant based would be a plus!).
I’m open to having a DB and then purchasing a separate grinder as well. If the breville oracle touch were mostly functional and reliable, something like that would be my ideal setup since I’m new to this whole thing and that could get me going. Either way, I’m prepared to put in some work but want a setup that is fairly simple to use from the get go that could make me decent drinkable coffee until I learn how to fine tune.
Open to your suggestions and budget can be $3k or so.
Thanks!

I hate how the internet markets to like the same 2 items. I'm sure there's more options than the ones that keep popping up!
So I turn to you, reddit parents lol
Keep the judgement to a minimum, but I will have to be induced with my 2nd and my first will be like a week or 2 away from being 11 months old. So 2 under 1 (damn hypertension...) Double strollers without the car seat attachment isn't really an option for us. It's kind of a need that we feel is necessary.
I didn't love baby wearing out and about with my 1st so I'm just going on the assumption it won't last or work with my 2nd. Ik I get so many people who tell me to just baby wear, but I don't want to. Lol ik that's not popular. I hated it, my son hated it, my back hated it.
The ones I see regularly are the evenflo pivot expand, this is at like the TOP of our budget (with the car seat included), and the graco ready 2 grow which is ultimately the same considering we will have to buy a new carsest. Roughly 450-500. Honestly it's a lot. If there's cheaper options amazing, but I can't go past that. Ik the mockingbird has one and uppababy has one but I believe they are 600+? I couldn't be wrong and frankly it's just too much especially if it doesn't come with the car seat as a system.
Now, we DO have a perfectly fine infant seat. Which is mildly annoying considering I can't seem to find a stroller that is compatible with it and the company doesn't have a double stroller option for it. That I know of! That carsest is the britax Bsafe gen 2 flexfit infant car seat. So if anyone by chance knows if I can use it or knows of a stroller it fits or an adapter, let me know. The internet pretty much tells me no on that front.
So, any suggestions let me know!!

hello there! i was wondering what anybody would know about extended leaves or sick leaves or anything for mental health? my mental health is very very very poor right now and im struggling so bad that i have called off like 5 times in the past 2 weeks or i go in and my motivation is completely down the drain. my work ethic has fallen drastically and i do not feel right when i go into my very social job and not feeling like i can even give 50%, not my 100%.
i want to go into my job and be excited to see my team and get right to work like i used to, but i need A LOT of time with that and i really think sherwin is holding me back from progressing my mental state.
is there anything i can do that's not using up all of my PTO? should i put in for multiple sick days? is there a different process?
my manager also knows very well the state of my health because i had to have a talk with him and my mom. he's very sweet and offers an ear to listen if i ever need anyone, but i'm scared to talk about this stuff.

Astrology aims to discover the connections between human affairs and celestial events. It is based on the idea that the positions and motions of celestial bodies like stars, planets, and other celestial objects are linked to all aspects of human existence and personality traits.
Astrology is frequently used to create horoscopes, which are personalized predictions or interpretations based on a person's birth chart. A diagram of the celestial bodies at a person's precise time and place of birth is known as a birth chart or natal chart. It sheds light on a person's personality traits, capabilities, weaknesses, relationships, career choices, and other aspects of their life.
Astrology encompasses a variety of systems and traditions, including Vedic astrology, Chinese astrology, Western astrology, and others. It utilizes different procedures, for example, looking at planetary positions, angles, travels, and the zodiac signs, to acquire information and make expectations.
Self-reflection, personal growth, and comprehending the energies and influences at work in one's life can all benefit from using astrology as a tool. It is much of the time considered a kind of divination and forecast, albeit this isn't the main way it very well may be utilized. It is essential to keep in mind that astrology is not typically regarded as a science and is frequently open to individual interpretations and belief systems.

What Is Astronomy?

Astronomy is the study of celestial objects like stars, planets, galaxies, asteroids, and comets, as well as other astronomical phenomena. Understanding the physical characteristics, composition, history, and actions of things in the universe is the primary focus of this branch of science.
Astronomy has played a crucial role in human understanding and the study of the cosmos for thousands of years. It has a long and rich history. Observational astronomy is the use of telescopes and other tools to learn about celestial objects and how they interact with one another. The examples, associations, and fundamental rules that support the universe are then found through information examination and translation.

There are several sub-disciplines within the field of astronomy, such as:

Galactic Astronomy - The study of galaxies, including our own Milky Way, with an emphasis on their structure, motion, and evolution is known as galactic astronomy.
Stellar Astronomy - The study of specific stars, their characteristics, life cycles, and classification based on factors like temperature, brightness, and composition is known as stellar astronomy.
Astronomy of the Planets - This field centres around the examination of the air, surfaces, and land cycles of the planets, moons, and different articles in our planetary group.
Exoplanet Astronomy - Exoplanet Astronomy is a relatively new field of study that focuses on the discovery and study of exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system, to gain a deeper understanding of their origin, composition, and potential for habitability.
Cosmology - Cosmology is the investigation of the whole universe, including its arrangement, association, development, and extreme fate. Astronomers investigate a wide range of subjects, such as the Big Bang theory, dark matter, dark energy, and the vast structure of the universe.
Stargazers use advanced telescopes, devices, and observatories to gather data on a scope of light frequencies, from radio waves to gamma beams, both on the ground and in space. Through examination and investigation of this material, stargazers try to comprehend the secrets of the universe and advance our insight into it.

Relationship Between Astrology and Astronomy

It is essential to keep in mind that although astrology and astronomy both involve the study of celestial objects, they are two distinct sciences with distinct goals and approaches. Through careful observation and empirical data, the goal of astronomy is to comprehend the physical properties and behaviour of celestial objects. Contrarily, astrology is a belief system that uses horoscopes and astrological charts to frequently investigate the connection between human affairs and celestial events.
However, there has always been a connection between astrology and astronomy. Astronomy and astrology were closely related in ancient times. The astrological systems that were prevalent in many cultures were influenced by astronomical studies that followed the motions of celestial bodies.
Astronomy, on the other hand, became a science while astrology remained focused on divination and interpretation. As a result, the two disciplines began to diverge.
Recognizing that both modern astrology and astronomy have their roots in human fascination with the night sky, they can be linked. A person's sense of awe and wonder at the vastness and beauty of the universe can be enhanced by studying astronomy. Astronomy and the stars may also captivate some astrologically inclined individuals.
Nevertheless, it is essential to approach astrology with caution and acknowledge that its claims have not been supported by scientific evidence. The scientific community views astrology as a pseudoscience because it lacks a scientific foundation, whereas astronomy is founded on empirical data and rigorous scientific procedures.
Conclusion -
It is essential to comprehend that despite historical ties, astrology and astronomy are distinct fields with distinct methodologies and objectives. Astronomy is a scientific field devoted to comprehending the cosmos, Whereas astrology is a religious System centred on the interpretation of celestial events about human concerns.
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i think my loving bf (21m) is lying about his sexuality / cheating on me (20f) and i don’t know what to do
gonna try to make this short and to the point, me and my bf have ben dating for a year now, i am nonbinary but afab and mostly identify as a woman / dress feminine and have long hair, he is my very first bf and when we started getting intimate i quickly realized i was more kinky than he is, i asked him his kinks, things he’s into, things he wanted to try out of excitement bc of finally having a partner to do these things with (im not big on hookups, i need a connection to be fully aroused with someone irl) he would tell me just normal vanilla sex, and that he was straight, we even did that meme bdsm quiz together and he scored vanilla, and i simply accepted that.
he has a lower sex drive than me and can go weeks without anything while i can go everyday, but i’m fine with this bc he’s extremely affectionate everyday and we are constantly together laughing doing activities and gaming ect and he never makes me feel unloved (constant compliments kissing and surprising) i’ve never once felt worried about how he feels about me, until a few days ago.
because of me frequently staying over at his place i’m often in his room when he goes to work, the other day i got on his computer to watch one of my friends on twitch when i noticed the reddit tab open, id like to preface and say i am not a snooper and don’t believe at looking through a romantic partners devices, however i noticed a chat box open that said “are you still gooning?” that message was sent by my bf about 20 days ago, immediately my heart started rushing, he shouldn’t even know the concept of “gooning” he didn’t even know (or atleast pretended not to know) what bondage was when we met and started discussing sexual taste, so how the hell did he send this???? i feel guilty for snooping but i clicked the profile and it was a gay / sissy hypno account, and i couldn’t stop looking at this point
i’m bisexual and nonbinary, i wouldn’t care if he was also nonbinary or gay but finding out your partner is into way more things and dming people related to those kinks after u tried multiple times to please them sexual and fulfill fantasies is just..i don’t know what to think, i kept looking through his account and found a post from 6 months ago made by him iso m4a hookups, while we have been dating for a year we didn’t make it “official” until maybe four months ago, we went unlabeled but spent all of our time together, if he had hooked up with someone when we were unlabeled i wouldn’t care bc we weren’t technically together but i can’t process how or why he’s hiding this from me.
he had a gmail tab open and i searched the word gay and dozens of gay hookup websites that he used to use prior to officially dating me popped up and at this point i had a sinking feeling in my chest and i quickly deleted the history of my searches and got back in bed, flash forward to yesterday night, i had a long shift and came back to his place around 1 am, i crawled into bed with him and went to sleep, but woke up maybe an hour or two later, i was facing him but barely awake, he was masturbating and looking at something on his phone, i quickly shut my eyes again and just forced myself to go back to sleep
did i mention he has a very low sex drive and barely even masturbated around me? everything has pretty much been the same, same affection and sweetness and laughter and cuddling, and he doesn’t know that i know but i don’t know what to do, i don’t care if he’s gay or bi but it’d break me if he wasn’t happy in this relationship and would rather be dating a cis guy. he keeps saying he’s straight and that he gets enough pleasure when we have sex but i can’t get the “gooning” message out of my mind, i don’t want to snoop again i don’t know what the hell i’ll find i just feel disappointed
in the first few months of officially dating i wanted to try so many sexual things with him i wanted to try kinks and let him use me and whatever else but he only wanted vanilla which i accepted, but after finding this out i feel really idk..unattractive? eventually i stopped trying to request me doing sexual favors for him bc he didn’t seem interested, but now that i know that it could be that he’s not very attracted to me idk what to do
(side note i asked him his thoughts on poly relationships when we first started talking but he said he didn’t like them, i am open to poly but prefer monogamy, and his reddit acc had tons of cucking and cheating / having sex outside of relationships) any thoughts? i could rlly use some outsider opinions i don’t know if or how i’d bring this up to him, i care about and love him deeply, i don’t want him in a relationship he isn’t satisfied with, i don’t know what to do :(

Hi,
I spend the last couple of days trying to use the std::expected feature with the monadic functions. During this session, I encountered some control flow patterns which make me think a lot about how to handle them. I would like to have some feedback on them.

Control flow

I love the monadic interface of std::expected because it improve a lot the expressivity of the code. But, I faced this example that I had to refactor:

void foo(bool doTask2) { auto result { task1() }; if (!result) { // print error return; } if (doTask2) { auto result2 { task2() }; if (!result2) { // print error return; } } } 

To this:

void foo(bool doTask2) { task1() .and_then([]() -> std::expected { if (doTask2) return task2(); return {}; }) .transform_error([](Error error) { /* print error */ }); } 

Or this:

void foo(bool doTask2) { task1() .and_then([] { return task2IfNeeded(doTask2); }) .transform_error([](Error error) { /* print error */ }); } 

I'm not fan in either solutions. In the first one, the lambda in the and_then just breaks the readability. In the second one, I feel the the function task2IfNeeded is not well separated (wrt SOLID principles). Are there other ways to handle control flow patterns with monadic operation of std::expected ?

Member function

When using free function, the monadic interface is super efficient:

task1.and_then(task2).and_then(task3); 

But when the functions to call are members:

task1() .and_then([this] { return task2(); }) .and_then([this] { return task3(); }) 

Do you have any advices or feedback on you use of std::expected with member function ?

I’m tired of Tucutes. I’ve got nothing against them but I really just can’t keep up with it. The world is so confusing as it is and then people come along saying that pronouns don’t equal gender, and throw a fit if you misgender them. And you can’t say anything to them or ask them anything without them calling you transphobic. The Tucutes live in their own little bubble and don’t want anything to do with anyone outside of that bubble. They want everyone to understand them but they don’t bother to try and understand anyone outside of their little bubble. Instead they call us all “transphobic” just for questioning them. When all we try and do is understand them. But I give up trying to understand them because they don’t let me try. It’s hard enough to understand as it is, which brings me to another thing: A lot of them claim they are neurodivergent or disabled. The irony I find here is that I myself am autistic and have a slight learning disability. And having both these conditions makes everything even harder to wrap my head around. So I would’ve thought they could empathise with me, but no. If they are also neurodivergent, I don’t see how their ND brains can handle their complex identities, It’s confusing for any neurotypical person, let alone someone neurodiverse. But I do also find that a lot of tucutes self-diagnose, which is also a problem, because they don’t know if they truly have ASD, so they can’t know for sure what it’s like until they are diagnosed. Then they can judge their behaviours based on that. But some straight up refuse to pursue a diagnosis, probably because they are afraid that they won’t have the condition, therefore, not feeling special.
The biggest problem with people that self diagnose, Is that there are so many of them, all saying things about a certain condition that they might not even have, that it spreads misinformation, and gives off the wrong impression of people who are officially diagnosed with said condition. I, myself am officially diagnosed with ASD, and I can tell you, it’s not all flappy hands and quirkiness. It can also be exhausting, perceiving everything so intensely, not understanding people, and just feeling lonely and isolated your whole life, because no one on earth seems to understand you. I could go on, but that’s a whole other rant lol
Though, now it’s “cool and quirky” to be autistic, I’m fashionable. But I don’t want to be in fashion, I just want to be understood and respected, like anyone else. I don’t want to be just “quirky” I want to be treated like any other human being. How is that so much to ask?? And I’m not being “AbLeiSt” stop throwing that word around when you don’t even know what it means!!! Besides, how can I be ableist when I’m a diagnosed autistic and learning disabled person?I don’t discriminate against anyone due to their disability because I know what it’s like it’s like to have a disability! But when that disability is glamourised, exaggerated, or used for clout, that’s when I lose respect. I think that’s what they think “ableist” means. When they do this, if anything, they are being somewhat ableist towards people like me!! If you told them that, though, they’d probably implode on themselves lol
Thanks for reading my long rant. Did I miss anything??
(I’m glad there’s a community of people here I can vent to who understand me. Again, I’ve got nothing against Tucute, I just feel that they can be quite unreasonable and unnecessarily rude and unpleasant. They certainly don’t do themselves any favours)

Well, i got a new switch oled and want to pass data from my old unpatched modded switch, but, i would like to keep my oled clean, if i use the data transfer tool will ban me or it will just pass the game and account data? And if it would ban me theres a way do it without getting ban?

As the title says. He wasn’t made aware of any education fund and thus never attempted to pursue higher education because it was not affordable or within reach at the time.
He was struggling to make ends meet and so he saved up the money to get his trucking license himself, with no assistance from his parents. This was 5 years ago and to this day he doesn’t know that he had an education fund in his name that he could have used to get a good career.
His mom slipped up and told me that they used the money to go on vacation and that’s the only reason I know about it. I haven’t told my boyfriend because I don’t want to upset him. Nowadays he daydreams about a better career that he could never afford to pay for now as trucking isn’t exceptionally lucrative.
Was this narc behaviour on behalf of the parents? They’ve done a few things lately that hint that they may be narcs (ie. he appears to be the scapegoat of the family while his brother is the gc, etc…) so I’m curious as to whether this counts as narc behaviour or if it’s normal for parents to do this sort of thing.

I hate how the internet markets to like the same 2 items. I'm sure there's more options than the ones that keep popping up!
So I turn to you, reddit parents lol
Keep the judgement to a minimum, but I will have to be induced with my 2nd and my first will be like a week or 2 away from being 11 months old. So 2 under 1 (damn hypertension...) Double strollers without the car seat attachment isn't really an option for us. It's kind of a need that we feel is necessary.
I didn't love baby wearing out and about with my 1st so I'm just going on the assumption it won't last or work with my 2nd. Ik I get so many people who tell me to just baby wear, but I don't want to. Lol ik that's not popular. I hated it, my son hated it, my back hated it.
The ones I see regularly are the evenflo pivot expand, this is at like the TOP of our budget (with the car seat included), and the graco ready 2 grow which is ultimately the same considering we will have to buy a new carsest. Roughly 450-500. Honestly it's a lot. If there's cheaper options amazing, but I can't go past that. Ik the mockingbird has one and uppababy has one but I believe they are 600+? I couldn't be wrong and frankly it's just too much especially if it doesn't come with the car seat as a system.
Now, we DO have a perfectly fine infant seat. Which is mildly annoying considering I can't seem to find a stroller that is compatible with it and the company doesn't have a double stroller option for it. That I know of! That carsest is the britax Bsafe gen 2 flexfit infant car seat. So if anyone by chance knows if I can use it or knows of a stroller it fits or an adapter, let me know. The internet pretty much tells me no on that front.
So, any suggestions let me know!!

help me out too please, support to go all around!
Or use the code: 168231894
https://shr.temu.com/7qDXxgMIvBa9Qtl

hello everyone, i have a laptop with a rtx 3060 6gb (laptop version obv) which should perform on an average 6 to 7it/s, in fact yesterday i decided to uninstall everything and do a complete clean installation of stable diffusion webui by automatic1111 and all the extensions i had previously. I installed only deforum and controlnet and started a random test text2img with different models and on average i had around 6.5it/s. Today i tried again but i get like 10 seconds per iteration! Im using xformers and i tried all that came to my mind to fix it but i dont understand why, there must be something wrong. Can somebody be so kind to try to help me please?

Hi everyone,
Here's a piece I wrote which is connected to an idea in Naval's book. I tried to articulate some of my thoughts and I wonder if anyone of you finds this valuable.
---
My approach to reading books used to be: "The right way to read books is from start to finish." I felt that "it doesn't count" if I don't read from cover to cover. Much of my reading time was tedious, often I was basically powering through books using willpower. It felt a lot like work, a lot of the time.
A big turning point in my relationship with reading came when I read Almanack of Naval Ravikant. He said he rarely reads books from start to finish. He said he jumps around, reads only as long as a book keeps his interest, and even said books can be treated as throw-away blog posts.
This hit me hard. It was a revelation of sorts. But most importantly, perhaps, I was given permission to not read all books from start to finish and be more flexible. I used to think that all the smart people read books from cover to cover meticulously. Well, not ALL of them, I found. Here's a smart guy confessing that he has dozens of books "in progress", simultaneously.
Frankly, that has always been my natural way of reading books: usually many books "in progress" at a time. But I used to feel bad about it. I felt something was wrong about it. "Can't I finish a damn book before I jump to the next one?" A voice in my head was probably bitching in the background. A part of me thought that it's an indication of laziness, lack of discipline and willpower.
I'd say, after changing my mindset around reading, it has become a more enjoyable activity and probably way more productive too. If I find out the book is crap or irrelevant, I stop and I read another book. As a result, I keep reading, instead of becoming a non-reader who's waiting for a buildup of willpower to do another arduous bout of mechanical reading.
I'm making a case against forcing oneself to finish books. The focus on books per year, perpetuated by Goodreads Reading Challenges (Btw, I love Goodreads, lol) and "CEOs read one book a week" headlines, is the wrong focus and here’s why.
When you put a lot of focus on increasing the number of books completed per year, it makes you want to finish every book you start - even if you realize the book is not interesting for you - because dropping a book, for example, at 30% done means you spent time but can’t add anything to your “books read” list.
Also, it makes you want to pick shorter, easier books and to get through them as fast as possible instead of taking the time to actually understand the new concepts you encounter.
While books completed is a metric that may peak your dopamine levels and impress many people, in reality, it says nothing about how much you learned from reading and how much you enjoyed the process. Focusing on this metric is yet another way we humans bully ourselves.
In fact, this metric can be counterproductive if one wants to develop a genuine love for reading and read more. This kind of bullying approach to reading just creates negative associations with reading, such as, it's a "struggle", "laboring", "pain". Reading becomes a "should" which probably creates subconscious resistance towards the activity.
So the solution: don't waste your precious time on shitty books (or highly acclaimed ones that put you to sleep), throw them away and follow your genuine curiosity.
​
/Paul

Okay, so some have been sceptical about my turning NMN, NR into reduced NMNH NRH with magnesium, so I will give a simple explanation.
When I heard about NMNH, realising NMN and NR were already oxidised, which surprised me because there are more stable versions being made and I assumed they were dealing with the oxidation problem. Otherwise I would have made the reduced forms years ago if I knew, and surprised nobody has until lately.
The science in layman's terms...
A redox reaction is taking electrons from one substance, donating to another. When something is oxidised, it has extra electron, and to reduce it, you need something to steal the extra electron... It sounds backwards, but for a redox reaction, the substance gaining the election is called "reduced", and the substance losing the electron is called oxidised in this circumstance.
So, NMN is oxidised, so I tried a few substances that enjoy donating electrons, reduction agents, like vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is the best known, but vit c didn't get the job done, which didn't surprise me. When I had vitamin C dissolved in with my NMN in water and it did nothing, I tried magnesium as I had some on hand because I make my own hydrogen water, and magnesium in water produces hydrogen gas, but the magnesium ribbon is not good enough for hydrogen water and I use magnesium powder for that instead. Magnesium and hydrogen are both very good redox agents, so I was hopeful and it worked. Glad I have found a use for my magnesium ribbon. So, I had vit C and NMN dissolved in water, and I dropped in some magnesium powder, and it fizzed away and quickly turned orange, and I knew the colour I was looking for by looking at pictures of NMNR. The powder made the water very hot, even though I felt the effect from the NMNH, making it hot is not ideal. So, I tried the magnesium ribbon instead, taking the oxidised layer off it, and it worked. Then I tried it without taking the oxidised layer off, and the acidity of the NMN was enough to take off the oxidised layer and start the reaction, and being someone who knows the value of supplementation, and how expensive it can be, and how companies will change extortionate prices for something simple, as they already are, I knew I had to share it so people can do it at home. For about 30 meters of magnesium ribbon from ebay, is $5 to $10, and that will last you years. You can just leave the mag ribbon snippet in the glass container and keep reusing it until it has dissolved away into perfectly safe magnesium oxide/hydroxide, or put someone vitamin c in with it and get some magnesium ascorbate also if you like...
Use a GLASS container, because while I was stirring the powder magnesium, it was reacting with the plastic stirrer, turning the plastic blue. Agitating the container a bit speeds up the reaction. You don't need to stir it.
If you want the reaction to happen very quickly, just use a bit of sand paper to rub the oxidised layer off the mag ribbon, but I would avoid that because you don't want magnesium dust about the place because it can ignite in air, and a small spark will ignite it, and it will burn brighter than the sun and VERY HOT...
Magnesium ribbon is the stuff you may have seen in science class in school. It burns very hit and bright when exposed to a naked flame, so avoid that.
So, all you need is... A glass container. A few ml of water. As much NMN or NR as you want. You can upscale the ingredients if you wish, and drop in a centimetre piece of magnesium ribbon, and when it has turned as orange as it can, it's fully reduced into NMNH or NRH, which ever you start with.
You can't even get reduced NR at the moment I believe and reduced NMNR is selling for a high price and would be the same when it properly hits the market... Making it at home is quick, cheap, and you know that it has not oxidised again like powder will... I suppose you could evaporate it with a vacuum evaporator and have NMNH powder, but it's too much hassle to bother imo.
Scroll across the pictures to see the reaction.

Hey, Reddit! I could really use some advice on how to handle a situation with my boyfriend. Recently, I've been feeling quite insecure about myself, constantly comparing myself to other women and questioning whether I'm attractive enough. It all started when my boyfriend commented on my body, suggesting that I should hit the gym to work on it (for the reference I am curvy, not fat). He even mentioned how he always wanted an athletic girlfriend and dreamed of doing sports together. This made me feel even more self-conscious, especially since he used to talk about other attractive girls before we were together (we used to be friends). It felt like he was pushing me to be skinnier, which really hurt.
To address these insecurities, I decided to talk to him about it. He reassured me, but things took a turn for the worse when I suggested doing sports together as a way to bond. He responded by saying he prefers high-intensity sports and that I wouldn't be able to keep up with him.
Yesterday, during another conversation, he admitted that he had considered breaking up with me because he thought the grass might be greener on the other side, and he wanted experience with other women since I am his first. He even mentioned wondering what it would be like to have sex with a skinny girl. I'm really struggling with this revelation, and I'm not sure how to get over it.
I believe that I should be my boyfriend's dream girl, admired for both my beauty and my personality. However, it seems like he's constantly pushing me to be someone I'm not. I fear that one day, he might cheat on me with someone who fits his ideal physical image.
I find myself constantly comparing myself to his past crush and wishing I could be her.
I am lost, I don’t know what to do. He begs me not to break up with him and gets hysterical when I mention it saying over and over again how he has matured since then and that he loves me.
Should I break up with him or should I stay and try to work it out, and why?