That’s what I was thinking. Maybe they could’ve turned it into a double date or something. Nothing wrong with that, and it would eliminate having the friend feel like an awkward third wheel.

Communication is key in any relationship, so the fact she seemingly sprung a random friend on him out of the blue doesn’t bode well, even if the rest of the date’s on the up and up.

Username does not check out

my ‘human’ energy cost per hour was considerably higher than that of my AI assistant

This seems like a red herring - people will be using that energy regardless of what they do. It’s not like using AI will mean another human out there will stop needing energy to survive.

You’ve experienced the ups and downs of puberty again. Now, enjoy the sensation of Ovulation™!

Caution: avoid playgrounds when on progesterone. Seeing/hearing happy children may make you cry joyful tears.

(At least, that’s my experience as an AFAB.)

It saddens me that having a pet is too expensive for me. I’m a woman who lives alone, I would love to have a companion animal. A dog to accompany me on walks would be fantastic. But I know how much it costs over time - I simply don’t have the means for it. :(

When I was younger, my parents got a small pop-up pool. It wasn’t long before the “NO DIVING - SHALLOW WATER” sticker that came with it ended up on the toilet.

Some super glue would probably do the trick. If it gets on the edge of the lenses too, where it connects to the housing, then they can’t easily be replaced. As a bonus, the acetone it would take to remove the glue might eat away at the plastic surrounding the lens.

My guess is they mean “a conscience,” but they used a terrible word choice. One doesn’t need an inner-monologue in order to have a conscience.

Muslim people exist, and these fucks think that means their religion is being shoved down their throats.

Meanwhile, we’ve got people like that preacher lady holding air passengers hostage as she spouts off about Christianity.

“These changes will strengthen Reddit’s foundation, ensure the platform is ready to support thriving communities for future generations, and preserve what makes Reddit uniquely human,” the blog says.

Lol. Lmao even

They talk about preserving their “foundation” after chasing away/banning their most seasoned mods and members. They assume they’ll be the site for “future generations” as their current users abandon them. They think they’re “uniquely human” as bots take over.

Delusion at its finest.

I used to want to get into digital art. All this bullshit has me glad I stuck to painting, drawing by hand, and creating physical objects through other crafts. Crochet is one thing that machines don’t do at all yet - there are machines that can knit, but there’s still no machine capable of mass-making crocheted things.

It also makes it easier for fools “influencers” to make a quick post about where they are, thus giving the place free advertisement.

Right? If I saw a dating profile that listed a preferred cup size or weight, I’d steer clear even if I fit the criteria. Having an arbitrary dating requirement based on something so shallow is a red flag. Why bother engaging with someone like that? I’d hope the tall men that such women seek recognize that as well.

Fair. Emotional regulation is hard to teach, too, since you have to practice it when calm. Trying to teach mid-meltdown is a lot more challenging.

Yeah, I wasn’t taught to regulate myself either. I had to learn the hard way. Sadly, as a kid, I learned to act like my mom, and she never learned it either. Now I can do it but she can’t, and she’s in her 60s. It hurts my heart, because she’s only very slowly learning how therapy can help her (for the first 50+ years of her life, she resisted it - both for herself, and for her children.)

Are you switching between two different accounts in this thread? It’s a bit confusing, though I get it if you have alts - I just want to be sure nobody’s hijacking your post.

It all makes sense, in a way.

Picking up on others’ feelings requires empathy.

If they had empathy, they wouldn’t be billionaires.

They say eyes are the window to the soul.

Lacking a soul, billionaires’ eyes are a window into an empty void.

I think part of it is an effect of mental maturity, a process that continues into our 20s, and which we can’t control. I’m now in my 30s and have found self-control a lot easier now compared to when I was younger.

I can’t fault young people for struggling with the same things I struggled with at their age. I do my part to help teach autistic children skills (it’s my job, after all), and a big part of that is simply communicating when they need something, including a break from an overstimulating activity or environment. It’ll be quite a few years before they can override their impulses, and that’s the hard part. There’s no speeding up mental maturity, but we can learn to recognize our limits and advocate for ourselves when we realize we’re getting close to them.

I had a job where I was made to “look busy” by carrying around a clipboard. I pretended to look at shelves as if I were writing down product information, but I was actually doodling and writing down story ideas.

Prior to that, I would legit look up product information, so that I could better inform the customers who asked me questions. But management didn’t like seeing me standing at a computer and told me to stop. Ah well, malicious compliance it is.

The link wouldn’t let me read it with an adblocker enabled. A window took up the screen telling me to disable it.

Which is why I went to an archive site and read it there.