bolido_sentimental
No bio...
User ID: 205
bolido_sentimental
1yr ago
How did you spend your Easter?
The girl I like invited me to Easter dinner at her sister's house. It was a little bit awkward sitting around watching the golf with the men after dinner, so I went out back and played soccer with the kids, which was delightful. Someone needs to teach them all to defend without fouling though. Just because I'm 2.5 times their size doesn't mean they can kick me all over the yard smh.
bolido_sentimental
18d ago
Honestly, I haven't looked into it because I am now conditioned to assume that all new works of visual media are going to be woke in some abysmal way. It's a surprise to me now if one isn't. This was honestly a serious shift in my life - for example, I genuinely have not watched a new television series in six or seven years. When I was a teenager (the 2000s) I really enjoyed television.
I will say, I was a huge fan of the book. Just very immersive and exciting, and I could not predict the twists. Maybe I'll give the show a chance.
bolido_sentimental
7mo ago
I'm quite interested in that. Please do share.
bolido_sentimental
10mo ago
I can't believe today is not Sunday. I have the day off work, and I have to work tomorrow - surely today is Sunday, right? But it's not.
Happy Independence Day, American mottizens.
bolido_sentimental
1yr ago
It's quite noticeable at the library, in the new releases section. It often looks like it's 100% women and minorities in American general fiction. Still get the odd continental European or Asian male writer in there. I guess they're just serving what the market has become. And I imagine there isn't a lot of counter-pressure because if you're dissatisfied with that kind of narrative, you can always read the classics.
bolido_sentimental
1yr ago
Sometimes I think about how it seems like when new TV shows are made, in America anyway, the default locations are always Los Angeles and New York. And as I understand it, the companies that make them are pretty much all based in those places.
Does it work this way in other countries? Are German television shows always based in Berlin, or in Munich? Are Italian shows always in Rome? Or do you also have studios operating out of Turin, Milan, and Florence?
It seems to me like making a television show is not such an expensive undertaking that you couldn't have more local or regional variants. Why do you not have, for instance, a Cleveland-based studio making Cleveland-set programming for the NE Ohio market? Is it not profitable? Has it been tried and failed? Is it happening and I just don't know about it?
Yesterday I obtained a new cat. She is ten months old and very precious.
In my house, she has opted to hide either in my closet, under my bed, or under my couch the entire time. I cannot be sure she has eaten or drunk anything, though she did use the litterbox well. I am always keeping food and water available to her.
Can you advise me on how to handle this situation? Or even offer reassurance? I feel very concerned for her.
bolido_sentimental
1mo ago
With regards to the first part of your post, about dopamine - I don't have knowledge about that. I barely even have a pop-sci understanding of brain chemistry. So I make no claims about that.
But this does remind me of a subject I talk about with my friends a lot.
I am an extremely avid reader. I have never personally known anyone that reads as much as I do. I have always been this way; it's what I won in the "lottery of fascinations." Accordingly: I've never had the feeling of "I should be reading more" instead of gaming, scrolling, etc. I do those things some as well, but I read without having to make myself do it. And I don't find scrolling hyper-enjoyable compared to reading at all. I read a lot more than I scroll. I'm not making myself do that by an act of will, it's my real preference.
People have often said to me: "I should read more. I always want to read more than I do." And I get the sense when they say this to me, that they are imputing some sort of virtue to the act of reading, instead of doing other things. I think this is connected with the idea that people should be productive, that they should continually be improving themselves or producing something; and that commonly, reading books is thought of as a way of doing this.
I don't think that's untrue. I do think that it is better to improve one's self than to not do that; I think it's very easy to start doing "mindless" things and piss your life away in that way. Having said that, it's not as though reading is the only way to do that. One of my friends is a painter, and she paints often, and is continually trying to get better at it. She tries to read, and feels like she's forcing to, and I don't think that she has to do that. She could just as well not. The point is: if I tried to take up painting, I'd probably feel like I was always making myself do that, too. If you are of the mindset that people should do those improving things, painting is probably just as good as reading.
But if reading was enjoyable, and now it isn't, you can do other things as well. Personally I think it's bad to be a phone zombie, but there are probably things you can find stimulating, that can keep you away from your systems without it feeling like a huge effort. Furthermore: you may reach a point in life where you've mostly got it made (see @Walterodim below), and when you're not working, you might as well chill as you like. Only you can decide if there's anything wrong with that.
As a final thought: maybe I just haven't gotten dopamine-toxed enough to need detox, and so I can't relate to the thrust of what you are saying; but other people may be able to better.
bolido_sentimental
2mo ago
secret contraband chamber
I've often daydreamed about creating some kind of master list of what would need to go in here. I've never seen anyone's personal list, but I would really like to.
bolido_sentimental
8mo ago
Well, the real story behind this: the 4050CL that you can get online is as good as it gets these days, and it's a good pry bar that will meet any typical need.
But - my dad has been a glazier for right on 40 years, and I used to go help him on jobs sometimes, and when we'd meet other glaziers, builders, etc., it happened unusually frequently that they'd comment on his ancient RD4050 from before they discontinued it in the 2000s. And lots of times these old farts would pull out their own old banged-up 4050s, and start telling stories about how they'd bought this one in 1993, etc., etc. It was the damnedest thing. Old glaziers are like that about all kinds of tools, but the Red Devil 4050 is the one that stands out in my mind by name. Even now, I'll go back home and stand around in his workshop, and he'll pull out the 4050 and say, "Bet you ain't got one of these." I'll say, "Give me one then!" and he'll say, "I can't, you can't get 'em no more. The new ones ain't as good."
bolido_sentimental
8mo ago
I regret to advise it really do be like that. All I can say is you do usually get a sprinkling of well-adjusted people amongst the shut-ins. I, for one, am full of physical vigor and fashion sense.
It's so hard to judge because of the quality of his competition. He seems to have good power and good athleticism for his size; he does sometimes land his overhand right, and when he does, his opponents are hurt. However, his opponents are never good enough boxers to exploit his weaknesses in technique and inexperience.
You may find it instructive or interesting to watch an actual championship cruiserweight bout, such as this one from earlier this year between Chris Billam-Smith and Lawrence Okolie. Consider if Paul would be able to effectively mitigate Okolie's constant holding and spoiling, or whether he could withstand Billam-Smith's accurate, powerful punching. He's never had to face anything at this level, and I doubt that he'd be able to; but then, these are the best cruiserweights in the world. Okolie would certainly smother and overpower him, and I think there's no way he could prevent Billam-Smith from taking his head off.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=9JsWrAQnrTQ
(or just the highlights: https://youtube.com/watch?v=3G-DOtO6FJw&t=1s)
I'm prepared to believe that Paul could hang in there for a while against a fighter like Blake Caparello: fading former fringe contender, KOs less than 50% of his opponents, has lost when he's stepped to higher class. That would be the real test for Paul, and it's what every real boxing fan would like to see; but I guess there's no reason for him to ever do it.
It may sound crazy but a friend of mine turned me on to Pinterest to fill the scrolly urges. Now if I have to pick up my phone, I can just look at pleasing images of Joan Crawford, Constance Bennett, Anouk Aimee, and Anna Karina, or at pictures of cool old crumbling steel mills, instead of learning about the newest way the world's getting worse.
bolido_sentimental
1yr ago
Do any of you keep diaries or journals?
If so - what do you write in there? What format do you use: notebook, digital, etc.? And how long have you kept it up?
bolido_sentimental
2mo ago
My dentist doesn't do any of that stuff, man. I just get cleanings and get occasional cavities filled. I have a 10+ year old crown that he could easily say, "Oh wow, yeah, that's beyond it's useful life" and I'd go with it. But instead he says, "It's still looking good, we'll check on it again next time." I don't think I've ever been there longer than one hour.
It doesn't have to be like that. Try a new dentist. Ask people you know to refer a good one.
bolido_sentimental
3mo ago
This event really made me realize how much time I spend lurking on the Motte. I should do something else with my time.
bolido_sentimental
1mo ago
I've often felt that a significant part of the defeat of the Big 3 was just mind-share. I daily a Buick from the 2010s, and it has met my needs in every way. I've never had to put it in the shop beyond tires, fluid changes etc. It's a great car in general. But by the 2010s, the battle was already lost - there was no car that Americans could put out that would displace Toyota and Honda in the minds of the American public.
On Reddit, if cars are mentioned in any thread, you will never see a recommendation other than Toyota or Honda. It is 100% lockstep. Even if you could get 90% of the reliability from an old Ford Taurus at 50% of the cost, the hive mind has decided. I do get that - I've ridden in a Pontiac Le Mans. I've driven a Plymouth Volare. They fucked up for decades. But I hated it when the Big 3 bailed out of the sedan space, just because there are far fewer options now; and by the end, the cars were quite good.
bolido_sentimental
2mo ago
just had two bottles of wine for pain relief
speaking as someone who gets punched in the face for a living
Log out, Tyson, you need to get ready for your fight with Usyk.
bolido_sentimental
3mo ago
I actually did make this decision about five years ago, and chose to move to Cincinnati. Lovely old architecture everywhere, baseball, strong drinking culture, great museums. Cool German heritage and related huge Oktoberfests. Temperate four-season climate and the winters are not really severe. Everything is cheap, and yet it's not a big dumpster fire like other places where that's true. I love it here.
If I had it to do over, I might make the same choice. Other places I've been to and would consider are:
Wheeling, WV Owensboro, KY Pittsburgh, PA
I suppose if nothing else, I've found the region that I like best. (And I'm not from this part of the country.) I have lived in other, bigger cities and had a less good time in general.
bolido_sentimental
5mo ago
Can you describe how these instructions are given to you? Does your manager tell you this directly? Are these commands issued to your whole team from somewhere else?
bolido_sentimental
9mo ago
Working that shift is probably the thing I'm most nostalgic about from that phase of my life. I still went to bed right when I got home, and it was simply impossible to oversleep. And the sleep quality after eight hours of slinging boxes, it was magnificent. I've never slept so well since.
bolido_sentimental
10mo ago
Nice idea, I would actually do this too. I have a guest bedroom and everything. I guess the tricky part is that you'd have to disclose to everybody what city you're in, so they'd know if they're going to be passing through or not. I don't necessarily mind that but I see the trouble.
I wonder where such information could live, too. Posting in this FFT, it'll quickly be lost/forgotten.
bolido_sentimental
10mo ago
What are you guys doing on Juneteenth? I have a random day off. Trying to decide if I want to go for a drive to some random town an hour away. I have no idea if there's anything there - probably there isn't. But it would be neat to find out.
Could you please share some anecdotes from your lives of successfully asking people out?
For context: there's a girl I really like in my small group from church. This group is going to stop meeting at the end of the month, after which I'd only see her occasionally unless I make it happen otherwise. So I'm going to give it a shot; I can't die wondering what might have been, I know I have to at least try. She and I have a pretty good relationship, which includes an interesting kind of bantering back-and-forth, and we've had some nice conversations in odd occasional moments; I already have her phone number, and we've been inside each other's residences. But we've never spent time together one on one, and I've not expressed my romantic feelings for her.
It's strange for me to be posting this, in that I actually have asked girls out before. Indeed I've done it lots of times, and had success on enough occasions that I know I could possibly succeed again. I've had several relationships; I am sure if I put my mind to it, I can think of some fun way we can spend time together such that, if she actually says yes, we may have a good time. I'm pretty weird-looking tbh but that's never really stopped me before. As Red Green put it, "If they don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy." I'm pretty handy. Or something.
I'm just really psyching myself about it. She and I are both in that late-20s/early-30s stage of life where, at least for me, actually forming an emotional connection to someone before asking them out has become kind of uncommon - that's something I remember from middle/high school, before the adult world of swiping on apps. I'm scared, because it is scary! I really want to not fuck it up - even if she says no, which to my mind is the most likely outcome, I am determined to at least make my best effort and give a good account of myself. So - if anyone can tell me about a time where things did work out for you, it would be most helpful, if only to put some positive images in my mind. Any other advice, pep talk, etc. is also welcome.
That feels accurate for sure. In those days, in the place I lived, it felt like all the non-Baptists (including me) were being dominated by the Baptists, and we probably were pushing back against that.
Plus a lot of my friends were really into Korn. I'm not sure anyone does that except to be contrary.
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