She looked so lost, it hit me like a gut punch

I don’t really enjoy the holidays. It’s too much stress, too many conflicting family obligations, too much effort dodging the religious aspects, too much forced cheer, and it all just makes me sad. Marginally I like putting up a tree, but after a couple of weeks I get tired of remembering to water it. I skip as much of the holidays as I can, and try to enjoy the small parts that don’t annoy me.

By definition a fetus is not a fully developed human…

Yes indeed! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Haha we were all obnoxious young punks at one time. Probably why I love Authority Song so much.

I’m glad you like the rec!

He’s always had a big noggin.

Yeah they’re both in their early to mid 70s now. Both had music out in the '80s & '90s, and both embraced a blue collar vibe, albeit in different ways.

My favorite Mellencamp song is Authority Song

It’s Mellencamp

Try like $200-300. Mine cost $286 because I needed one compatible with my septic system. Plus of course you have to pay to have it installed, including having an outlet installed under your sink if there wasn’t already one there.

But I realllly hate the drain trap baskets. I never want to be without a garbage disposal!

My in-laws bought a house from a guy who was sort of a germophobe, and he had installed hand dryers in all the bathrooms plus in the kitchen. And not the modem AirBlade (or similar) hand dryers, but the old kind that blew an insultingly lukewarm stream of air in the general direction of your hands for 8 seconds before sputtering to a stop. It was weird and apparently the wiring was a complete fire hazard.

IP law sounds so dry to me, but I love it when people are enthusiastic about niche topics like this!

Very cool! I think watercolor is neat because you can make really ethereal, abstract pieces, or you can make more realistic (which seems like your style, having peeped a few of your posts in that comm).

Meaning then you just pass through objects rather than collide? Or is it unable to properly calculate the incident & resulting collision vectors, meaning the resulting trajectories are nonsensical?

Not the same thing, but steganography seems pretty interesting too.

It’s where the partnership is mostly focused on the kids, leaving very little time for the parents to connect. I see this more and more with how heavily scheduled kids are now. Parents have to schlep them from school to sports to playdates to music lessons, etc… it seems so overwhelming. And people don’t seem to use babysitters anymore so it’s rare the parents get adult time together to go out on a date, listen to live music, go dancing, see a movie, etc - just be people in love together and focus on each other. I think time together without the kids is vital to keeping a connection with your partner. Otherwise everything is parenting and logistical planning. You need balance.

I’ve heard “quarterlife crisis” used for this before. I think a quarterlife crisis is different in some key ways from a midlife crisis, and it makes some sense to distinguish between the two. I think more than comparison to others’ achievements, these crises have malaise/discontent at their cores. By the time you reach a midlife crisis, it can be extremely hard to make changes that will reinvigorate you: a lot of the time you’re pretty stuck - in that boring job, with that big mortgage, in that “Parents, Inc.” marriage, with those needy kids. When you’re going through a quarterlife crisis, I think it’s that post-college “is this all there is?” doldrums. But at that age there are fewer variables and change might be tough, but still easier because there are fewer people relying on you.

Just based on my observations, anyway.

I’ve been pretty into four things lately:

1. Healthy cooking, from scratch as much as possible. I got into a rut trying to maximize protein intake, so now I’m trying to find different recipes that don’t compromise on macros but still offer variety in flavors and textures and won’t bother my IBS.
2. Nail polish and nail art. I have probably about 300 polishes at this point, which sounds like a lot to most people, but it’s a tiny collection compared to some I’ve seen! Last year I got really into nail stamping, which lets you create neat little designs, and you can get really creative with it.
3. Working out. I recently moved, and designed a power rack for my basement which is pretty fully featured. My goal was to be able to do all the exercises I could do at my previous fitness club (within reason - no way I’m buying a tank sled and a billion 45 lb plates!). I’m pretty happy with how it turned out, and so is my husband, which I’m glad about because he’s a tall dude and working around the low-ish basement ceiling was a challenge.
4. Indie makeup! Holy Moses I love makeup, and indie brands are killing it. My most recent favorite palette is the Cosmic Brushes Winter Wonderland palette (which came out last year, but is new in my collection). Just look at her!:

Gorgeous, right? No way I’m ever going back to boring neutrals.

In DS9, Kira Nerys refers to herself as a terrorist all the time.

Rapist Allen Turner, aka rapist Brock Turner, who got a 6-month slap-on-the-wrist sentence for what his father called (and I quote) “twenty minutes of action”? That rapist Allen Turner (aka rapist Brock Turner)? The one who only served 3 months?!

Xmas is in 9 days, so it’s almost over!