Unfortunately, the fact that they don’t take many pictures of themselves can be really obvious. I try not to turn a guy down because of a bad profile picture, because I know there’s a technique to it and that requires practice.

At the same time, we’re in a digital era - you can take 100 pictures and only upload your favorite one. There’s no reason for an average guy’s profile picture to resemble a mugshot.

I can’t just listen to conversations people I don’t know are having, and randomly interject when I feel I have something relevant to say.

Damn, I feel that to my core. One of the few benefits people like us would’ve had in the pre-internet days, was that striking up casual conversations with strangers was considered more acceptable. Thankfully, my (also neurodivergent) father set an example for that when I was growing up - he chatted up everyone, and as a consequence seemed to know people no matter where he went. Yeah, some people probably thought he talked too much, but so what? He wasn’t bothered, and he occasionally made actual connections through it. At the very least, I imagine most people would recognize my father as a friendly guy.

I try to let that empower me, even though it’s much easier said than done. The thing is, if you go into a conversation expecting to be viewed negatively, it’s going to impact how the interaction goes. Also, something that took me a painfully long time to learn, is that internet strangers can’t substitute for therapy. Just because neurotypicals know how to do something, doesn’t mean they can explain how they do it. I held that same expectation through my youth, but since NTs never had to go through the socialization process step-by-step in order to learn it, expecting them to break it down the way you want them to simply isn’t going to happen.

That is, unless they’ve studied it and know how to give constructive advice that makes sense from your perspective. And at that point, you’re actually seeking a therapist anyway.

That definitely depends on the context. Women’s voices are often characterized as too whiny, too emotional, too bossy, too [insert sexist insult.] The content of what we say doesn’t matter. Some people just hear a woman’s voice and automatically tune out. Sadly, when you live it, it’s hard to avoid; I didn’t hate my voice for so many years for no reason.

Considering that virtual assistants like Siri only exist to follow user’s commands, it might be worth considering that people aren’t preferring female voices because they like them more. It’s possible that people feel more comfortable giving demands to a female voice than a male one.

Just some food for thought.

I imagine that 10-20 years from now, there will be a lot more young adults bonding over vague memories of videos that they loved when little, but that they can’t find a shred of anymore. Creators will have risen and fallen through the years. Some will shut down their channels and retire, others will be demonetized, and yet more will simply disappear without a trace. There won’t be a backlog of every kids’ video on YouTube; it’s not like PBS or Nickelodeon, where popular shows might get officially archived. Instead, people will be left vaguely describing plots they can’t fully remember, all the while getting a weird look from those who don’t know what they’re talking about. They may even come to think, “Maybe I just dreamed it all up?” and give up on their search for nostalgic connection.

Until the day one person finds an old screenshot from whatever the show was and shares it. That’s when everyone will flip out because, Holy shit, that’s it! That’s the show! At which point, they will collectively and slowly realize just how messed up the show actually was.

Nah, kids deserve more credit than that. I’m honest with kids (to an age-appropriate level) because it’s vital that they develop critical thinking skills. Considering the world they’re growing up into, they’re going to need all the training they can get to become able to discern fact from fiction.

I give kids legit reasons. I explore their “Why” questions. Then when I don’t know the answer, I’ll be honest but supportive, “I don’t know, but let’s find out.” We have to model what being a rational adult is like, and how we come to logical conclusions. Children aren’t going to learn this stuff from being brushed off or told some silly explanation.

That being said, it’s important to be smart about context. It’s reasonable and responsible to disengage from the conversation if someone demonstrates that they aren’t arguing in good faith, whether they’re an adult or a child. The problem is, a lot of adults jump to whatever explanation makes their own life easier, without any regard to how their response can shape the future adult they’re speaking with. If you’re truly concerned about kids’ futures, you have to acknowledge that there is a lot you know that kids don’t know yet. Offer them the benefit of the doubt and seize these opportunities to teach kids how to think for themselves.

All work no play makes Jack the only coworker not invited when everyone meets up for drinks.

I’m pretty sure this is it. It looks like mods straight-up razed the thread. There are comments remaining, but only after you scroll past the sea of deleted content.

I found one commenter that made a really interesting observation:

I think you and your sister have different definitions of what love means. You think love means you put up with bad behavior from your loved ones and she thinks love means you don’t behave badly towards your loved ones.

For critically-panned movies that are arguably good, I recommend a scroll through this thread: [Meme] Which movie was this for you?

It’s interesting to see what everyone’s opinions are. I’ve already downloaded a few of the suggestions out of curiosity.

Yeah, this isn’t unusual for a religious school.

I remember, as a little girl, playing the part of the angel Gabriel… except I thought the character was named Gabrielle. The only reason I tried for the part was because I thought it was the only explicitly female role, besides Mary (and my unpopular ass wasn’t about to complete for the role of Prima Donna.)

It was a huge let down to find out that Gabriel was yet another male character in the perpetual sausage-fest that is The Holy Bible. Combined with how practically nothing was written about how Jesus would’ve been as a child, I never understood how I was supposed to relate to anything in that book.

My workplace (which isn’t a preschool, but has preschoolers) floated the idea of doing a “trunk or treat.” But my manager nixed it with the explanation that it was “cringey.”

I don’t agree with her on much, but I agree with her on that. Instead we decorated the doors in the center and had the kids practice trick-or-treating the proper way.

That’s because the “millions” you’d win were never contingent on you winning the game. You just made an oddly-specific bet with some really fucked up sports gamblers.

Unimplied fact: all babies in this scenario are likely to hurl, regardless of their (parents’) denomination.

The important thing is, you’re compelling people to examine their pre-existing beliefs. They won’t change their beliefs during your conversation, because deprogramming takes time. But the more seeds of doubt you plant, the better the chances are that some will germinate.

I find that the most effective way to encourage people to question themselves is to discuss things calmly and in good faith, through in-person conversations. Challenging people to “convert me” has been surprisingly fruitful - after all, I honestly would love to believe that a benevolent deity is looking out for us all. (As well, tons of believers would equally love to be the one who “shows [you or me] the light.”) I want them to provide compelling evidence that can change my mind.

Approaching the conversation in this fashion not only challenges the “missionary” types to think harder, but it also shifts the onus onto them to convince you. If they’ve never thought critically about their message, this kind of conversation may introduce questions that stick with them long after it’s over.

This idea the parents take most of the responsibility for the achievements of their children is absurd.

There’s also the flip-side of that attitude. It sure must feel nice for parents to be able to congratulate themselves when their kid excels, but what about when their kid has a disability or a developmental impairment? Who is responsible then?

It’s easy to be a parent when your kid acts and responds the way you want them to. Parents of neurodivergent kids can go above and beyond for their children, yet despite that they’ll still be given dirty looks and treated like pariahs when their overstimulated child has a public meltdown.

Kids aren’t raw lumps of clay that parents can mold to perfect shape. The best any parent can do is guide them toward success.

Nah, in this case the M in MILF stands for “Men.” It’s obviously an app for gay males hookups. That’s the real reason why wives aren’t allowed to join.

I haven’t seen the movies, but I feel like the majority of kids who play with Barbies inevitably make them marry and/or screw each other. I had like 20 female dolls and only two male dolls, so I wasn’t sure how else I was supposed to “pair” them off.

I remember this progress as a kid. Nothing was taught until after I did something wrong. It ended up discouraging me from trying, because every time I did something that I thought was “right,” my mom complained about it.

At first the rule was “put dirty dishes in the sink.”

Then when I put dishes in the sink, the complaint became, “Why did you put dishes in the sink without washing them?”

So then I learned to wash dishes, and set them in the drying rack. To which my mom would complain, “Why are there dishes in the drying rack? You should put them away.”

Okay, so I washed and put dishes in the cabinets. “Why are the dishes all wet?”

…

How about teaching kids each step beforehand, instead of complaining that they don’t magically know/do everything?

If you directly translated them, a lot of the time you’d get like “cabbage the horse wheel” or something.

That reminds me of the “Password Strength” comic by xkcd. All right, it’s settled. Next time I need new password, I’m feeding random names into a phonetic name translator.

This is exactly what spurs me to wash my dishes right after using them. It’s much less stressful to clean a single plate & fork now, than to return to a sink full of dirty dishes later. I’d rather just get it over with while it’s still easy to do.

The storm was mainly weakened by wind shear.

Here are some key points:

Wind shear is defined as the change in wind speed, wind direction, or both, over some distance.

Hurricanes thrive in environments where their vertical structure is as symmetrical as possible. The more symmetrical the hurricane is, the faster the storm can rotate, like a skater pulling in her arms to spin.

Too much vertical wind shear, however, can offset the top of the storm. This weakens the wind circulation, as well as the transport of heat and moisture needed to fuel the storm. The result can tear a hurricane apart.

Source: What is Wind Shear, and How Does it Shape Hurricanes

As to the destruction being less than the worst-case scenario predicted, that’s because the storm ended up making landfall south of Tampa Bay:

Tampa Bay remained in the hurricane’s northern eyewall, which meant that winds blew from the east—offshore—during the worst of the storm. Not only did these offshore winds spare the region the worst of the surge, but Tampa actually experienced an “anti-surge” as the storm made landfall. Strong winds pushed more than a metre of water out of Tampa Bay and into the Gulf of Mexico.

Source: How Hurricane Milton’s Destructive Surge Mostly Spared Tampa Bay