adsii1970
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Posts posted by adsii1970
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3 hours ago, SunlitZelkova said:
I think they get traction because they are completely valid philosophical concepts.
Yes, philosophical concepts they are. As such, they should not be treated as if they are sciences and featured on websites such as Space.com or other science-related publications since they are not grounded in science.
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3 hours ago, Kerbalsaurus said:
It just seems like it was made up by people who don't want to except the fact that humanity ultimately doesn't matter in the story of the universe.
I think this -- but in a different manner of thought.
3 hours ago, Kerbalsaurus said:It's a coping mechanism.
Yeah, just as is the parallel universe theory. The concept there are multiverses out there where the "other you-se" or is it the "other you∞" may not have screwed up "your life" as severely as you did brings some comfort to the tortured soul.
28 minutes ago, DDE said:There's at least three consequences that some people entertain.
Or more. It all depends on how far they want to entertain these ideas. It is even more dangerous and irresponsible when these ideas become discussed as a form of "proper" scientific theory, knowing there is no proper way to test whether the theory is valid or invalid. A theory needs to be able to have an observation, then a hypothesis that's testable or measurable, and then the ability to make a prediction based on the results of testing the theory (for the sake of argument, I am not even discussing the actual testing or the use of the results).
Neither "we live in a simulation" nor "we live in a multiverse of parallel universes" arguments are testable, and there's no way even to generate a hypothesis to test. At best, as a collective of human civilization, we are still at the "observation" stage of these ideas; however, I do believe they get traction because, as already pointed out, these alternate theories of existence give people who hold them some options for viewing their existence.
- They are dissatisfied with their current life and want to believe that the things that could be in their control are not. This reminds me of the ancient and classical Greek belief that life is determined by fate and that the will of the gods and goddesses determines the lives of men and women.
- It gives them a sense of false hope that, somehow, life is better anywhere but here. This can cause even more mental health issues or problems coping with problems they'll encounter in the future. I once had a student who believed their "double" in the parallel universe was born to wealthy parents. She also thought her double had an ideal boyfriend and a life of complete pleasure. And because of that, she received all the bad things life could throw at her.
Anyway, I would write more, but I am grading final exams.
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"Why is there a Walmart over that hill?"
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40 minutes ago, Nuke said:
in my case i had just turned 21 and started partying. i was already starting to burn at the time, with work, school, a family that used me as their personal scapegoat, and not much else. it cost me my paid internship and i almost failed a class for skipping too much. fortunately i recognized the problem early and decided to focus on my studies better.
That's a start. That's better than what I did.
41 minutes ago, Nuke said:i ended up in a bunch of minimum wage jobs, one of which was a really toxic workplace, and one was a manual labor job that didnt even pay enough to cover rent, let alone therapy. even with help ive not been able to correct my deficiencies. if not for the professional entitlement collector i have for mother i would probibly be homeless. i like to think im being useful, but i know im a waste of space. everyone thinks im disabled, and everyone treats me as such, except of course the disability people.
Have you thought about going out for some of the services designed to help train the unemployed for the workforce? I do not know where you live or the particulars. Still, in our area of the U.S. (Kentucky/Indiana/Illinois), there are all kinds of state-specific programs to help people get training for various jobs; some are in the "work at home" category, too. The key is not to give up hope.
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11 minutes ago, DDE said:
It's such a weird combination. Do these position still hold so much clout in the age where everyone's on Zoom?
Yes, sadly, they do. Even athletes have a lot of "get out of assignments" cards they can pull from their deck of cards, even at a university when athletics and money come into the equation. However, as is the case with this student, she is no longer a cheerleader this semester nor a member of the dance team (her GPA disqualified her), so now she is a "typical" student while on academic probation. Losing the scholarship should have been a wake-up call, but it was not. I empathize with her because, as I shared, I once did something similar with rum, my once-chosen drink of stupidity. Life can be a cruel teacher when we insist on ignoring the warning signs that the highway of life shows us as we travel down its way.
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On 12/4/2023 at 8:16 PM, Nuke said:
prego jars are the best fine china there is. the things bounce. get a fancy glass from an expensive store and it will be shrapnel within the week.
fancy dishes, thats another thing mom does to annoy me. im always worried about dropping her designer brittish bone china when im doing the dishes. she bought this silverware that is freakishly heavy. never should the two meet with any velocity. upon which i serve sloppy joes and chili dogs. she still hasn't figured out that we po'.
I love getting "vintage" glasses from yard sales. A sink of hot water, a drop of dishwashing liquid, and a capful of bleach care for anything that needs to die within them. Usually, I pay about a quarter ($0.25) per glass.
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2 minutes ago, AtomicTech said:
I live over in Vintage Place and my brother gets tutored over near Austral loop.
Be safe, and my thoughts are with you and your family...
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13 minutes ago, Nuke said:
because i was too busy partying.
You just described my first attempt at college. I climbed into a bottle of rum when I began my first attempt in 1988; I had a full orchestra scholarship that would have paid for a B.F.A. and an M.F.A. in Music Composition and Theory. But instead, why do I need to go to English class when I already speak it... you get the idea. At the end of my first two semesters, I had a cumulative G.P.A. of 1.67; the only reason it was that high was all my music classes were As, and the rest were Ds and below.
In fear of death caused by my parents, I did the only thing I thought I could do - I joined the military. It turned out to be a sagacious decision for me. It realigned my life's priorities and gave me a sense of determination, focus, and other tools to keep me from repeating stupidity.
This student's problem is that she grew up during the COVID-era and in an extremely lax middle and high school where she, being a cheerleader and a member of the dance team, has been able to skip out on accountability because she is extremely popular. I guess I am too "old school" because I am about academic performance and could not care less about those things.
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7 hours ago, Superfluous J said:
The last time a deadline actually meant anything in my life was when I was in school. In the "real world," deadlines blow past all the time. EVERY DAY in my job someone or other misses a deadline. You know what happens? Invariably? Every single time for literally decades?
It all depends on the career path. Before I entered the world of academia, I worked in several not-for-profit organizations/non-government organizations, and yeah, deadlines were one of two things - very flexible to the point they really didn't matter or so rigid they were like brick walls.
6 hours ago, TheSaint said:I swear to God, I was the only person in that entire organization that took deadlines seriously. With the possible exception of Accounts Payable.
Ha, yeah, and in the case of teaching faculty, add the registrar, the students with disabilities coordinator, the student (I turned it in an hour ago; what do you mean it isn't graded yet!?), and the chair of any assigned committee you belong to. I deal with deadlines all the time. Because of my severe depression, the anxiety, and the friend they invited along for the ride, I do manage to meet all the demands (except for the one-hour photo demand by the student), but I put in sixty-hour to seventy-hour weeks to do so. It was one of two minor reasons I resigned from the university where I taught graduate courses, and my obligation to that institution will end on December 8th, when I post my final sets of grades. I will still have the responsibilities to the community college for a bit longer, but this is subject to change.TM
51 minutes ago, SunlitZelkova said:Hikikomori are people in Japan ranging from millennials to gen Z kids who just can't handle the rigors of Japanese society, shut down, and live in their rooms at their parents' house indefinitely, having no job, simply doing their hobbies and sleeping. Less severe hikikomori, who don't have a job or attend school but don't stay shut in their rooms, are called NEETs (Not-in-Employment, Education, or Training).
I have heard of these people from one of my Japanese graduate students a few semesters back. She also said they are viewed as a disgrace by what she called "proper Japanese." But what you said here:
56 minutes ago, SunlitZelkova said:Some can find a balance and continue life
This balance is vital to happiness. There's nothing wrong with a life of hard work and strict education, but there also has to be enjoyment. I know that at the community college, there is a tendency to pile work on the older and more experienced faculty because we have experience and time management skills and can get the work done within the specified time frame. The problem is that the workload becomes unequally distributed within the organization, and you get a handful of people doing most of the work. Most organizations will rationalize this because the younger employees lack either experience or fear they are expected to do too much, and if pressured, they will quit.
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18 minutes ago, StrandedonEarth said:
@adsii1970, this seems to have triggered a fault line and I sense a large amount of rantlava welling up. Fair warning...
It's a product of the times; you're fine.
18 minutes ago, StrandedonEarth said:Oh hey, I think the rant is winding down now. Thanks for listening.
Not a problem. That's what's friends are for.
18 minutes ago, StrandedonEarth said:** It's my belief that we are ALL "on the spectrum." To carry the analogy forward, most of us burn in the visible spectrum, while some burn more towards the infrared or the ultraviolet...
There's no such thing as normal. We are all abnormal in some way. I tell students at the beginning of each semester that they must become their biggest advocate. They cannot expect anyone else to do it for them. Many never get it.
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2 hours ago, SunlitZelkova said:
Time blindness is real but it isn’t a stand-alone disorder, it is an aspect of ADHD or autism. The idea that it is its own disorder seems to have come from… TikTok.
Yep, we are aware of this. This is why we've been told not to cave to these folks claiming it as a stand-alone issue. And "time blindness," for those who have ADHD, severe depression with high functioning anxiety (as I do), and Autism/Asperger's, can and is often compensated for because to work within normal society, there are mechanisms that can be deployed that work. In my own experience, I have multiple alarms throughout the day to help keep me on-task, and I also have a color-coded Outlook-based calendar on my PC and phone to keep me "schedule-focused."
2 hours ago, SunlitZelkova said:I strongly recommend you and others consult with your legal department to see how this can be dealt with. You shouldn’t have to cave to someone’s demands just because they throw out the word “mental illness”.
Oh, we have had numerous faculty development meetings on this. Here's the thing. Legally, we are not required to give any accommodations to a student unless they have a documented disability by a board-certified specialist and they have used the university's students with disabilities services coordinator, who will contact us and notify us of what accommodations the laws require. Any accommodations I give above are between the student and me. Still, it is not a legal requirement for me to provide anything above what the student's medical/mental health care provider documents.
2 hours ago, SunlitZelkova said:Are people in higher positions aware of this? Has anyone researched as to the exact nature of time blindness? Because it seems like professors and other staff should not have to fear something being abused by a student. They can’t just make stuff up and have it become this weapon against their teachers.
It would amaze you what students try to claim are "disabilities." And the closer you get to the end of the semester and finals, the more strange things appear. Most students, about 95%, are not abusive towards the faculty. But there's the 5% who will hammer the crap out of us because they got away with it in high school because their teachers would not stand up to them.
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1 hour ago, AstroWolfie said:
my friend's nosy neighbor caused my friend to build a tall privacy fence on that side of their yard, and their neighbor just put a taller camera post up
Yeah, that sucks.
1 hour ago, Lisias said:Hint: a powerful I/R LED flashlight grossly aimed into camera. Works day and night.
Just don't use a laser or something too powerful, or the camera's CCD will be damage and then your friend will be sued.
Hehe, yeah, that might work. Also, if your friend has any kids or feels so otherwise inclined, they could always get law enforcement involved. Your friend could claim the neighbor is a "peeping Tom" or spying on the family. Most places frown upon people spying on neighbor kids or women with cameras. It ramps up the "creepy guy" factor. That could be in your friend's advantage.
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51 minutes ago, LHACK4142 said:
do you think the professor will have mercy?
No. I do not. And I hope not. Because even you state:
51 minutes ago, LHACK4142 said:holy **** i am such a numskull
and
51 minutes ago, LHACK4142 said:i procrastinated my final assignment till it was due in an hour (i had a first draft so i thought the changes would be small) but i couldnt finish it till 00:15 (it was due at midnight) and now it looks like i might get a c.
Here's why I said" No" and "I hope not." I know it sounds mean, but here it goes:
I have taught at the university and community college level for twenty years. For some reason, the last two years have seen a rise in students who seem to have "time blindness" and a belief that either due dates do not matter or they alone should be exempt from rules that apply to everyone else. Time blindness, as it is now being called, is a belief that it is an actual disability that needs some adaptation or accommodation for a person incapable of managing their time. The claim is this is a disability, much like that of ADHD, depression, anxiety, or related mental disorders. Of course, there is no proof. It is certainly not listed in DSMV V as such. Still, it does not stop some people from using it as a mental disorder (falsely claimed because it uses buzzwords) and, this way, needing accommodation (extra time on an assignment simply because the due date has already passed). I only know this because I had to deal with this just a month ago.
The student I was dealing with demanded I give her two weeks for the assignment she "forgot about because of her time blindness disability." When I asked her for documentation of her "disability," I was accused of all kinds of things (the typical run of things nowadays - anything that sticks to the wall to cause me to give in out of fear of being reported to the administration) and then told that I wanted her to fail. I explained to her it was a matter of ethics - how could I let her have two extra weeks on an assignment she forgot about when her peers did not receive two additional weeks? She answered: "Because I have time blindness, you're not taking me seriously. I lose track of time." The due date for the assignment was in the course syllabus, on the online course calendar, and by the course automated reminders two weeks, then a week before the assignment was due. She had the same reminders as the rest of the class.
The student has the same issue in her other classes, too. She's already on academic probation from the Spring 2023 semester, and this semester, she did worse. She tried the same excuse with me, time blindness, with two other professors. One gave in to her demands only to have the student ask for another extension into finals week. The other professor took the same stand I did: no additional time. One of the things students are supposed to learn from both home and primary and secondary school is time management strategies. Both her parents and her earlier education have failed to achieve this goal.
Procrastination is a real problem, and I understand it gets the better of everyone who has it as a problem. It's happened to me, too. But part of the learning process is getting smacked with the results of procrastination. Often, when we get the fruits of procrastination - and usually, it is terrible fruit - we learn not to allow it to happen again.
If the university/community college goal is to prepare a student for life and career, then one of the things we must do as professors must now include time management. I'm sorry. And when you realize - and admit - it was not your best work, that's admitting something that even your professor will know. Your professors are more than just grade ATMs; we also try to guide you to where your best efforts become second nature.
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30 minutes ago, Kimera Industries said:
Congrats to the winners! It's a great feeling to know I made it to an honorable mention!
Well deserved. Keep doing what you're doing.
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25 minutes ago, Kimera Industries said:
Wrong Red Moon was an honorable mention for TOTM December 2023! I was not expecting this at all, I'm still shaking!
Keep doing what you're doing. No one knows what the future holds.
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The KSP forum moderator's team presents the
Threads of the Month
December 2023 Edition
December is finally upon us, and it is the first Monday of the new month - which means it's time for the Threads of the Month! We had some outstanding nominations this time, and I am excited to see what will be nominated for January TOTM (2024) and the 2023 Thread of the Year (I plan to announce that winner on December 31st)! So, if you want to help out in the nomination process of either the TOTM or TOTY, follow the instructions on nominating a thread at the end of this OP.
With December steadily marching on, it's not too late to start looking around the forum to nominate threads you feel are worthy of being contenders for December's threads of the month!
Instructions on using the TOTM images: If your thread has been selected as a TOTM, you can copy the image's link above, go to the area of the forum where you want to place it, and then paste the link. Press the <CONTROL> button when the image appears and right-click on your mouse. A menu will drop down and allow you to edit the picture. You can resize it - the first number can be changed as large or small as you want. Eventually, I will add these images to the thread I've created as a repository.
For those out there who like the nerdy parts of the TOTM:
To continue what I started in May 2021, I have kept some forum statistics to respond to those claiming the forum was dying or that interest in the Kerbal Space Program was declining. There were 258 new forum accounts created in November (a decrease of 65, or down 20.12% from October). Out of the new forum members who joined last month, there were 15 who transitioned from new accounts to being active and participating in the forum. This conversion means 5.81% of the new users who registered their accounts last month are now contributing members of our community! (This is a decrease from October; 7.43% of the new members became active and contributing members). If you're interested in seeing the new members of our forum, click here!
Now, without further delay, I present to you the threads of the month for December:
Cinematic-based Fan-fiction, Mission Reports, and Kerbal Space Program-inspired Creative Works:
This category features a video or other form of cinematic of a Kerbal mission report using in-game video recorded gameplay. Note: This has changed. Instead of awarding this to a thread, this is a *post of the month* since most new cinematic works are posted in a single thread. We have a lot of great content creators, but because they've been posting their mission reports as videos in a single thread, most of their work goes unnoticed by the general forum audience. Hopefully, this change in the category to a Post of the Month (POTM) will highlight the great work done by these deserving content creators. Other threads containing cinematic posts will also be featured in this category.
Yes, folks, that's right. An overhauled image just for the cinematic posts! Many great content creators deserve this recognition since we were made aware of the thread by @Halban; Post Your Cinematics Here! (Cinematic Enthusiasts) that serves as a repository for cinematic threads. The thread has received the TOTM previously, but it was felt that it wasn't enough for those who have shared your fabulous creations featuring our favorite Kerbalnauts. Instead of being a TOTM, I've changed it into a CPOTM - a Cinematic Post of the Month.
For this month's CPOTM, we'd like to recognize the work of @Pipcard in their cinematic, "Photonic Station: A RO Orbital Construction Cinematic," found here:
Sometimes, the forum software will get glitchy, and an exact post may be a little hard to find, especially when it is buried in a long thread. In case this happens, here's @Pipcard's cinematic presentation:
If you encounter other cinematics you feel are worthy of being recognized as this category's post of the month, please nominate them! You can use the exact instructions to nominate a post containing a video as you would use to nominate a thread.
Fan-fiction, Mission Reports, and Kerbal Space Program-inspired Creative Works:
This category features a thread (or threads) that, while not directly Kerbal Space Program related, may be creative, fan-fiction, or other presentation related to the game.
There's no shortage of good fan fiction stories featuring our brave, green Kerbalnauts in all situations! This month, we have an outstanding nomination written by @Toaster355 featuring Kerbal Space Program 1 as the story's backdrop. In this thread, you will find a Kerbalized recreation of a historic plan drafted to be NASA's plan for a space station that would later be incorporated into the first truly international effort to build a semi-permanent space station.
@Toaster355 introduces the mission report:
QuoteBefore the International Space Station, there was Space Station Freedom and Space Station Mir 2. Freedom was the next proposed American space station, which was basically the ISS without the Russian Orbital Segment, with some key differences. Mir was the next proposed space station for Russia as well. But instead of these countries making their own stations, we collaborated and made the ISS instead...
I will be recreating Space Station Freedom, in my own interpretation. My missions will be shared with the community via headings explaining the mission, screenshots with captions, dialog, among other ways.
Here's where you'll find this thread:
So, if you're interested in seeing some great screenshots of what KSP1 looks like, a "what if" construction, some good storytelling, or how someone else imagines their Kerbiverse, why not try this mission report?
Forum Member Created Challenges and Missions:
This category contains missions and challenges created by you, the members of our gaming community. Many excellent missions and challenges threads are created that expand our fun with the game and press our skills, creativity, and sometimes, luck beyond what we get accustomed to. Let's face it: we all have our go-to design basics and our go-to vehicles we like to use. Sometimes, a good challenge can cause us to think of another way to achieve our goals.
No thread was nominated for this category.
Game Support/Game Mod of the Month:
This category features either help with the game (stock or modded) or mods that add quality-of-life gameplay improvements to the Kerbal Space Program.
One of the things most die-hard Kerbal Space Program players enjoy is the game's flexibility and ease of modding. With a single mod or a few more, you can create a new gaming experience and add as much customization, new challenges, and new features to this game as you want. This mod was nominated for a TOTM earlier this year but received an honorable mention. Its name has come up again because our forum community feels it deserves recognition for the amount of detail it brings to IVA flight. I agree; as many of you have, this mod by @MOARdV brings a level of immersion into the game I've enjoyed for quite some time.
@MOARdV introduces the mod:
QuoteWhat is it? MOARdV's Avionics Systems (MAS) is a plugin and toolkit designed to provide an immersive IVA experience. It is based on experience developing and maintaining Mihara's RasterPropMonitor mod. For the player, MAS allows for a more immersive experience with better responsiveness. For the prop and IVA designer, MAS is much more capable than RPM, with support for Lua scripting that allows truly complex functionality.
What isn't it? MAS is NOT a large collection of ready-to-play IVAs. There are a few retro stock IVAs included in the mod that will give players and IVA designers a taste of what MAS can do. MAS includes Module Manager patches to update the basic RPM props and IVAs from the RPM distribution to use MAS props.
You can find this mod here (Note: this mod is a dependency and will not add any new features to your IVA unless another mod requires it).
General community threads of the month:
This category features a thread that adds to the community and doesn't fit the game support/game mod categories.
No thread was nominated for this category.
General space flight and space science threads of the month:
This category features a thread that adds to our forum community's STEM knowledge (science, space flight, and related fields) and doesn't fit the game support/game mod categories.
This thread, started by @Nightside, Artemis, NASA's planned program to return to the Moon is discussed. It's long overdue for humankind to return to the Moon and do something more than missions to the International Space Station, especially now that its retirement is planned for the next few years. There is debate about whether returning to the Moon should be humankind's next goal, especially since Mars is the eventual goal by the end of the century. Personally, I have always hoped that in my lifetime, I would be able to see humans step foot on the Moon again and would eventually see the first Lunar colonies established. And I hope that Artemis achieves that and becomes an international effort to accomplish that goal. This must be a human endeavor and should not be left to any nation.
QuoteFinally some
concretemooncrete details from NASA.What do you make of this schedule?
What does the T/V module do?
What do all these acronyms mean?
If you are interested in reading the comments from your fellow forum members or wish to participate in the discussion, then please visit this thread.
Honorable Mentions:
- Hello! Is there any release window/date for when we could see "on final approach" make its way to consoles? by @Turtlegirl1209
- It's The Wrong Red Moon... Adventures of an Alternate History! by @Kimera Industries
All nominations were used for this month.
Sometimes, choosing which threads will be selected as the Thread of the Month for our five categories is challenging. We get many good nominations each month but limit it to one for each type. Threads nominated but not selected as a thread of the month become honorable mentions. The honorable mention for this month is:
The honorable mention for this month may not have made the Thread of The Month, but if you think it might be worth another opportunity, please renominate it!
Congratulations to all the winners of the Thread of the Month! We want to thank our forum members @Kerbalsaurus, @Nazalassa, @TwoCalories, the moderation team members, and the staff who nominated this month's contenders. Thank you so much for helping us identify noteworthy threads and bringing their awareness to our forum community. We'd appreciate your continued help in the future.
Odds and ends:
TO NOMINATE A THREAD FOR CONSIDERATION: If you find a thread you feel should be considered for next month's thread of the month, use the "Report a comment" feature (the three dots on the upper right corner of the comment box) to report the thread. Please put in the text field of the port post "Nomination for the thread of the month," and we will do the rest! You can always nominate more than one thread, too.
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT GOES INTO THE DECISION WHEN CONSIDERING THE TOTM: Wonder no more! This helpful guide is to help you understand what we use to help determine what makes a thread a really good thread and one that becomes a thread of the month/cinematic post of the month. It's everything you did or didn't want to know and includes helpful tips.
And the last word for this month's post: I'd like to thank a few people who trust me enough to continue supporting and allowing me to contribute to the forum. I want to thank the Lead Moderator, @Vanamonde, for bringing me on as a moderator, a decision I'm sure he has had moments where he often wonders why he did it. I'd also like to thank @PD_Dakota, our community manager, and @Nerdy_Mike, the KSP Franchise Community Lead, for tolerating me and allowing me to continue to serve our Kerbal Space Program forum community through the monthly Threads of the Month post.
In case you missed last month's threads of the month, you can click here.
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Hey, folks, the thoughts about life here being some sort of simulation have been moved to their own thread so the discussion can continue. Here's the link:
I've tried to keep the comments here that were split between the two (general shower comments and simulation comments), but it may not have been effective. Anyway, this was an excellent suggestion by several of you. So, please, bring on more of your regular shower thoughts and more of your speculations about life on Earth as we know it as being a simulation on the new thread. And again, thanks for an excellent suggestion for those of you who suggested it!
I have also added tags to both threads to make finding them easier through tag searches. I hope this helps.
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12 hours ago, Bej Kerman said:
Not to nitpick, but if your computer can't render a convincingly detailed smashed clock, it's probably from the early 2000s.
Nah, Silent Hunter IV was out in the early 2000s and had really great graphics.
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2 hours ago, Kerbalsaurus said:
Thanks for the advice. And I’m sorry you had to live through that. Glad you got through though!
As I said, I am no mental health professional. I just happened to live the experience. But it gave me a new set of tools in my toolbox to help others. I take it day by day now, and this is my life's song:
Not only am I a parrothead, but I am also from Louisiana. So, yeah...
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On 11/29/2023 at 5:12 PM, Kerbalsaurus said:
That’s a whole other damn thing! She doesn’t believe in mental health, and commonly shrugs off depression and other illnesses as “cringe disease”. It’s because of this behavior that she’s left running in an endless loop, constantly mad about everything and then refusing too change or fix anything.
That isn't good. Unfortunately, until she hits rock bottom and sees the need for help, there's not much those around her can do to help. But there's a little bit of hope. Let me explain:
I have PTSD, depression, and high-performing anxiety, and because they are all friends and needed a new playmate, they brought in OCD for giggles and grins. It took me to the point where nothing made sense; I was mad at myself, in the middle of another "life crisis" (I went from one of these to the other), and there was always agitation under the surface. Your sister sounds like she's close to this stage now. I am no expert in psychology, but I can tell you what I went through. Maybe this will help you understand what your sister may be thinking and feeling:
- The outward anger and hostility were because I felt I should better control things in my life, but I wasn't. Many things I thought were wrong in my life weren't apparent to anyone else but me. And I could not understand how they could feel things were fine when they were not. So, whenever someone would ask me why I was mad, I'd lash out rather than explain what I was going through. Why should I? In my mind, if they could not see it for themselves, what good would it do for me to explain it to them?
- The outward anger was also driven by seeing other people "happy, happy!" and wondering why I could not be like that. Some folks seem to have the ability to get hit in the face with a shovel (metaphorically speaking), laugh it off, get up, and go about their day, never even bothered by it. Then there was me; I was depressed, and the lack of enjoyment or the joy of a typical day just ate at my very soul. It made me even angrier and more depressed and fed the ill feelings I already had.
- The outward anger is also driven by being misunderstood by others. A lot of people around me had no idea what I was going through and would often say stuff that I took (because of my depression) wrong. Sure, some of it was dumb statements, such as, "Snap out of it" or "You've got so much going for you." But when you are buried in depression, your perception of those around you and perceptions about yourself -- you do not see it. All you see are those kinds of comments being critical of you. So, you resent the helpful comments and gestures, even those made in good faith.
One of the best things you can do is to let her know you're there, but don't push or back so far away you become unapproachable. Buy her favorite snack food, soda, or other trinkets/gifts as an "I care" gift. It will be met with distrust, skepticism, and questions (and probably anger). But keep doing it, make it unpredictable, and be polite. Eventually, she will let you in. It will not be an easy thing to do. Her self-isolation is a part of her pain from the depression. Her acting out towards the rest of the family resembles a hurt animal striking out against its rescuer.
For about four years, I volunteered for both the university's and community college's mental first aid team - and I am the faculty member that as soon as there's a report of a student thinking of suicide, I come to talk to the student. So far, there's been three occasions in the last two years to use my training, unfortunately. I'm good at it because I sank to that point in my life in 2004; I was lucky enough that a good friend kept reaching out and didn't back off, regardless of how nasty and mean I got.
I am no psychoanalyst, just a guy who has lived that life. Don't hesitate to involve a family therapist, even if she doesn't go. They will give you and your parents powerful tools to deal with the situation.
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1 hour ago, Kerbart said:
That's a pretty cavalier dismissal of the very real possibility that none of those things actually exist and that it's all a holographic projection of an n-dimensional space inside a massive black hole.
Who says we actually exist and are not some vast computer simulation called SimEarth? Oh, wait, maybe we are just a simulation...
Oh, snap! That means life really is but a dream...
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13 hours ago, TheSaint said:
He keeps commenting on the fact that in every class he takes he winds up being the "super user", the student who is so far ahead of everyone else that he's the one other students come to and ask for help when the instructor is busy. Last year he was the Student of the Year for the entire trade school. At the time, he had barely turned sixteen years old. Homeschooling FTW, once again.
Ha, now you have some data that proves your point. Good to know you're seeing it, too.
11 hours ago, StrandedonEarth said:I so wish I had gone into CNC when I washed out of engineering. I figured something with computers, but the broad spectrum of computer choices left me indecisively marking time in manual labor (logistics and manufacturing) with a frame that really wasn’t built for that sort of long-term work.
Even when I went to a union career-thing they just didn’t offer anything, it was “Well, based on the aptitude test you can do about anything, what do you want to do?” And I’m like “I was hoping you could give me ideas”. But no
I often advise my students that college may not be the best route for them, especially if they hated high school. There's nothing wrong with trade school. I have even sat down with a few of them to explore their interests and determine how to match them with vocations. Not every career needs a college degree (and student loan debt). When your car breaks down, you do not call someone with an M.A. in English to fix it; you call the A.S.E. certified mechanic to fix it. And you pay more per hour than that M.A. in English makes in an hour! (The same goes for your air conditioning or plumbing, too).
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Folks, many mixed feelings accompany any update of KSP2, just as there was with any update to the original Kerbal Space Program. Regardless of anyone's personal feelings, making personal attacks is not tolerated on this forum. In fact, we have two forum guidelines this action may fall under:
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So, please discuss your feelings, whether of great joy or dread, but do not take it upon yourself to make personal attacks about anyone whose opinion you may disagree with. Further personal attacks on this thread may require more severe moderator action.
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26 minutes ago, Kerbalsaurus said:
My sister a nihilistic ass who hates anything to do with anything.
Wow, that's miserable. I'm sorry to hear that.
Shower thoughts removed: What if we are living in a sophisticated simulation?
in The Lounge
Posted
He seems to like the limelight and has made many bat-crazy statements in the past few years. I'd love to see a debate between him and people who are not afraid to stand upon actual science rather than dive into social media and "what ifs" for their gratification. My youngest daughter loves science but is instantly turned off when he comes on any show - much of it is his attitude. At times, he is funny and thought-provoking. But there are others where he is condescending and insulting.
Ha, yeah, I was going to get to him. Since you brought up Bill Nye, the wanna-be science guy, I won't waste my breath.
It also has all the earmarks of a religion, too. Many academic sociologists have treated atheism since the mid-1990s as a form of religion. It has its orthodoxy, core principles, and a distinctive philosophy, as do most mainstream (and minor) religions. Extreme atheism can be just as dangerous as any extremely held view of any particular form of religion and just as destructive socially (and violently, too). In my preparation for my modern world civ course, I usually spend two lectures discussing the impact of religion on cultures since 1500. I include atheism as a part of that lecture series.
I think the idea came about because we run so many computer simulations in various elements of industry and science. And we even have them in forms of entertainment. Sure, we've mentioned movies and gaming. But we also see simulations in medical and flight training, engineering, city design, and other applications. But to think that life as we know it is an advanced simulation - Nah. Humankind does not have the technology to make it possible, so we'd have to be a simulation for some more intelligent species. Then we join the realms of Giorgio...