I think I'm in my temporarily–emotional phase these days and that's why I'm having this much empathy eventhough I don't even relate at all lol
Basically, what I came across was:

• Connection isn't found, it is built.
• Women are the ones with high standards, and the ones that get the most attention on these apps.
• Men are losing their self esteem and lowering their standards, because women swipe left on them because they "have seen better looking men and they don't wanna settle for this."
• Dating apps are designed to keep people from finding a genuine connection.
• People keep thinking that the perfect match is "just one swipe away."
• It has turned into classicism where only the hot ones survive.
• Most Gen Z are very shallow and they only want to hookup and date hot people with terrible personalities.
• You will never go anywhere when you have so many choices and "plenty of fish in the sea."
• What people look for in dating apps is not really what they would like to have in a partner.
• Women oftentimes filter for specific traits like height or religion or job and things that they think they want but that they may not truly care about with who they date in real life.
• Even if they don't explicitly filter, most women swipe no on guys who look a certain way even if they would be more open minded to that same guy in person.
• So many people who are overlooked on the app for variety of reasons will do great with one another in real life where their personality can shine.
• Basically, dating apps have illogically raised everyone's standards and helped promote unrealistic expectations for how "the perfect partner" should look/be like.
• Setting up a first date can take a full week of endless belated messaging.
• First dates can sometimes be a total waste of time, but how else would one get to know the other?
• You only need 30 seconds to know if someone is a perfect match.
• PEOPLE SHOULD APPROACH PEOPLE IRL LIKE THE OLD DAYS.
• And some other information I forgot.

Now, I really don't relate to any of this. I've never used dating apps and I'm not actively looking for a relationship, not until I build myself up first. When I do start seeking one however, I know exactly what I'm looking for and it is so far from being superficial or materialistic. But now that I know about all of that and how many people are suffering from it, it's really making me sick to my stomach. I really hate when things are ingenuine and shallow, and I wish I could do something about it. Maybe brainwash people or something.
What do you guys think? What is your experience? And how can we potentially fix this, if ever?

Another random guy went fishing with her and her kids. It’s one thing that she wants to go through guys like crazy. It’s another thing that she’s documented random men being around her kids multiple times. This is disgusting and puts them at so much risk.

I made a post about Opie's live streams being deleted from YT. I said nothing negative about him but mentioned that perhaps Ant is at fault for what's going on (tongue firmly against my cheeks).
I then received messages about being a pedo-supporter and some other unmentionable things. To be clear, I think the current version of Anthony has few to no redeeming qualities. Why did I get these messages? Perhaps someone from the Opester's crew is fucking stupid enough to think that Anthony sends "haters" and "trolls".
Opie, if you or your team sees this: You fucking suck. It has nothing to do with anyone else currently or previously in your life. You are not self-aware. You think you're someone, but a fucking nobody with a mic, a camera, and a functioning brain can podcast circles around you. Even 2 out of 3 of those things would be more entertaining. At a certain point, you need to listen to feedback. You hear it, but you disregard it all.
I would never associate with Anthony (except to leech money off him). And yet I think you're a fucking embarrassing hack. You're a good parent and a good husband. But you are a shit broadcaster. That's the fucking reality, and numbers speak volumes. So fuck you and your team. Keep entertaining tens of people, you meaty-breasted, beer-reviewing, beach-fishing, dawgy-petting, voice-inflecting piece of shit.

I've heard it argued that we should take numbers seriously in the Riordanverse. That if Percy beat Polyphemus by striing him, and cyclopes need this much force to be taken out, so Percy can punch through brick, etc... how do you feel about this?

On the other side of a glass wall was the biggest aquarium tank Percy had ever seen. Cruising in circles were dozens of huge fish, including two spotted sharks, each twice Percy’s size. They were fat and slow, with open mouths and no teeth.
“Whale sharks,” Coach Hedge growled. “Now we shall battle to the death!”
Kate giggled. “Silly satyr. Whale sharks are peaceful. They only eat plankton.”

Whale sharks grow to be 40 feet. Does this mean we must take this literally and presume Percy is 20 feet tall?
Just checking.

Hello, I am wondering what would fit my criteria better, 560s or the 6xx.
I am by no means an audiophile but have been wanting to try out these Sennheisers, just don't know which ones.
I do not play competitive games, I mostly play games that are open world, have great soundtracks, and immersieve. To name a few: Witcher 3, FFXIV, RDR2, GoW.
As for music, I'm not much of a fan of edm, rap, hip hop, metal.
Overall, I'm just looking as what would fit as a good all-rounder.
I've heard 560s would fit better, especially for gaming as one of my criteria. But would amp/dac combo with the 6xx compete against what 560s could offer? My brother has a Schiit Modi/magni that he's not using.
Thank you!

How I suppose:
Sustaining obsessions, hoarding possessions, soul-crushing concessions, abstaining confessions, side reeling successions is sickness.
Six senses. Success is successes. Snap back to your highness your selfness! It's senseless.
Bliss is.
Full break ends session.
~Oh and by the way: Got Damn! T'was good ta see ya!~
Allow my goodbye. Bye words, a postpartum pain panacea:
A bygone way of incantant reverberations just minding there way through vocal vibrations.
I'll welcome you too. My presentation, a present to you. Don't worry too soon...
There's no need for cochlear implants. They're infestations.
Just simple and practical implementations that take skill not beyond that of baboons or crustaceans.
~For God's Sake now we're slipping into indignant indignation! Quit forestalling completion! We demand progression!~
I see. Regressive agression. Enough with frustration, allow me to end this contention -

• in fashion. But under one condition: forgive my confession.

Can't you see my obsession, besides what's so great bout fruition? Come see my true vision.
These be my voices, my vices bring crisis. I call upon Isis! Oh I call Osiris!
Of my intentions? To spice this.
A desire to see through deep rooted conventions.
Whats buried beneath previously mentioned intentions?
~You do too, don't you?~
But first we must sit, we must learn, we must listen, two. Tune into that and return to this station.
Forget progress have patience to progress. . . *Ahem, to clear flem - before bare fascinations.*
Ok now? Alright hey! Without further adue, allow Gaia to bring unto you.
Recreations.
No, not new situations, nor mere simulations, but by turning her through on her own machinations.
Breed brand new creations.
To begin, set your hymns and ahems aside. Besides, you must first sit down and strap in.
Just let go and enjoy the ride:
Clouds drift over mountain towers make rainfall in torrents, and drizzles and showers.
Flows down mountain side valleys low flowing to oceans and into what else:
Fish and Gods. -Knowing-
Unto tides, turning and stirring torrential typhoons that take water and plop it at poles where it cools,
expands into ice. It stills, does not pool.
Until sunshine melts crystals. Flows back and turns blue.
Or else by sublime sublimation, returns to the sky to fall onto greenery and bead up as dew.
For instance, on the blades of grass cows chew.
Or perhaps clouds float back to stone towers and mount them:
Repitition.
Of their ascension, the cause is contention between plates;
tectonics:
the forces that bend them.
Not yet weathered to dust and recycled to Gaia their ridges that trace them trace back to the ocean.
Whose waves crash on cliffs?
In time they'll destroy them.
It's quite simply a cyclical process.
~Excuse me the point~ :

• yes-

Of course.
Let me show you in short:
~shortly of course~
Rivers will roar. Ponds will pool. Streams will run. And still will Greeks go babble on, and on, and on.
When lightning strikes; start fires!
Spring time makes flowers.
Nighttime : Stars Shower
And by this way,
go on
and down and in and out
and on and on and on.

Hey all! New to the scene but I grew up in Vancouver and have been running games for friends for 5 years. Looking to fire up a 2nd in person group since my main group only gets to meet once a month. Here's the details:
Game: Forbidden Lands (Swedish 80s dark/grim fantasy). System is Old School Adjacent with a slant towards wilderness survival and travel.
For who: New players and experienced players welcome!
How long: We'll start with a short adventure (Shadows over Long Harbour) and then see where we feel like going from there.
When: Ideally once every two weeks on a weekend for 3 hour sessions.
Where: Unsure as of now but sessions will be at public spaces such as rented out private rooms at a local library or a table at a game store.
What to bring: character sheet and pencils, we're going old school with this bad boy. I have the books and can provide PDFs and dice.
Slots: 3 open slots for players (1 filled)
Hook: Forbidden Lands is a hexcrawl sandbox game from Free League and is billed as "Rogues and Raiders in a Cursed World". The dice system is solely d6 except for special cases and it's rules light-ish (crunchier than narrative games, not nearly as crunchy as 5e, Pathfinder 1e, etc). Classic fantasy with orcs, goblins, elves, dwaves and classic RPG classes like fighter, wizard, bard, rogue, etc. Being a game based on old school RPGs it's decently high lethality and rolling up a new character mid session is absolutely a possibility.
Shadows over Long Harbour:
"A shadow has been cast over the town of Long Harbour, an esteemed fishing city on the coast of the forbidden lands. Over the past few months, people have gone missing, and bodies found mutilated in the hunting grounds a quarter days travel to the west. Yet no one seems to remember what caused it. A strange darkness is growing in the forest near Long Harbour."
A little about me:
I'm a local animator working at an indie game studio and have technically been playing TTRPGs since i was 16 (I'm 25 now) but I didn't properly start playing often until 5ish years ago when I ran a Monster of the Week game with some friends. Since then I've run a Lancer game and a Heart: The City Beneath game. I've never ran OSR or OSR adjacent before but I've pretty much put all my TTRPG energy into reading OSR blogs and the osr subreddit in the last few months. I've been noodling with the Forbidden Lands system as well and I made an addon for the game in the form of a tactile tiled inventory system akin to Mausritter which we can play with if we want (functionally the exact same as the base game inventory system, just represented as a slot inventory instead of a list of things). Interest wise outside of TTRPGs I'm your standard anime/manga/board games/games guy. Currently watching Gundam: Witch from Mercury, reading Chainsaw Man, Dandadan, and a few other manga, playing Tears of the Kingdom (like everyone), and dipping more into board games with my friends. I'm aiming to run an inclusive table that sticks to the tenants of OSR with creativity and engaged play rewarded. Tonally, FbL is dark (which doesn't mean it can't be funny) but I'll be trying to weave more of a spooky/dangerous air than your usual D&D 5e type tone. Basically have fun, roll dice, and respect each other is my goals. also in terms of location right now i'm floating between the New West Rain City Games store, Strategies games and hobbies, or a table at a library of group's choice.
If you're interest please DM me with any questions and provide some personal history you have with RPGs (systems played, experience) as well as your availability. I'll run some interviews to nail down a group.

I really wanna make discs work. After my mishap and doctor's visit to take the flex disc out, I'm going back and forth to buy a new disc that's smaller and with a pull tab. Actually, the doctor recommended i stick to tampons and pads, and prolly that discs aren't meant for me, but... maybe I'm crazy but I undeterred to find the right reusable product for me. I

I know all the popular ones: hello, lumma, pixie, moonthlies... but im wary with the position of the tabs/strings on the rim. I bought ecoblossom, with the pull tab attached below the rim, instead of at the rim. I've read reviews of the bump created by the folded tab/pull string rubbing, and I want to avoid that. But eco blossom was too soft, and I couldn't get it inside.
Are there disc brands that I'm prolly missed that I could try out? Like an exact copy of the saalt disc but with a pull string/tab?
Also, are discs with notches easy to fish out? Is it true that it rotates? Before I found that the flex disc was stuck inside me, I bought a saalt regular. My thinking was that it's gonna be smaller and would cause less pain as it is softer, but I'm scared of it getting lost in me. The flex disc, which was larger, was almost unfindable, and i couldnt reach over the rim to hook it out. I could definitely get the saalt in (so, right firmness and smooth rim), but I was too afraid to secure it to my pubic bone and have another trip to the doctor.
Can I mod the saalt to attach a string?
Thanks! (And sorry if this kinda sounds incoherent).

I’ve been trying to sleep but can’t as I need to know what anime this is. So the premise of the anime is that there are two protagonist, one girl and one guy. My memories are a bit hazy because its one of my childhood anime, first thing I remember is that the guy has a weapon like a paddle ball, like a tennis racket but with a string attached to a ball. There was a scene where he was challenged in baseball but he can’t hit the ball with the bat, then the girl told him things and he started using his paddle ball and he suddenly became good at the game. Another thing is that they have different vehicles for land, air, and water trip. The only thing I remember is their water vehicle is a fish (its like an angler fish if im not mistaken).
I genuinely need to know what anime this is thank you

Currently playing through the epilogue of RDR2. I am currently at the part where you go to the new ranch with John. While riding through the great plains I noticed that everyone and their horses seemed to die as they went through (to arrows, it seems). I just wanted to see if this was a bug or had any more backstory to it.?

so first of all i already own an Xbox series s and i dont really to want to sell it as its still just 5 months old. my TV is only 32inch 1080p 60hz
ive saved enough money and with that
FIRST OPTION - i can buy a PS5 digital edition, 1 year ps plus extra and fifa 24 on day one. But then i would have NO money to buy a decent 2k 120hz monitor, good headphone and any more games. will have to use my current tv
SECOND OPTION - i can make a budget setup for my series s. i can buy 2tb Seagate external hdd, a decent headphone, 1080p 120hz monitor ( as series s is more of a 1080p machine), Game pass ultimate for few years with that live gold trick. all these would cost around half and with rest i can buy games, like i really want to play rdr2, fifa24, ac mirage, diablo etc but then series s is much weaker than a ps5
im confused can yall share ur view. ty

Hey everyone,
So I know reddit isn't the best place for career advice but at this point I figure what the heck. I just finished a masters in comptuer science following a bachelors in computer engineering. This past year, I've (finally) figured out what I want to be when I grow up, which is a robotics engineer, preferably a marine robotics engineer. I'm in the midst of a length (mostly because they've been too busy to focus on me) recruiting process at WHOI to join one of their teams. I'm ready and willing to go to sea, and to really dedicate myself to a craft, a year in academic sciences has convinced me that I am 100% an engineer in my heart and soul. I've been passionate about marine science for literally as long as I can remember, my first word in my life was "fish" while pointing at an aquarium store. I was a huge marine biology nerd as a little kid, dragging my parents to every aquarium I could find. Through engineering school, I was super unsure what I wanted to do, between a traditional engineering firm, a PHD, or diving into the world of startups. But marine robotics engineeering was something I never really considered until this year. I've been working with robotics for research through school and just finished a year of studying the cutting edge of machine learning and computer vision, so I feel like I have the qualifications to start a career. I know I'm not an expert at all the industry tools, but I've gotten some experience with, (but definitley not mastered) ROS, linux, C, and python. More importantly, I pride myself on being a fast learner, especially when the content at hand is something I care about. Many firms around seem to want someone with more experience, but my hope is that WHOI, an academic institution that hasn't explicitly asked for years of experience might give me the on the job training I need to start my career. I also really like that they work with companies, the navy, and other groups that are doing impactful work, and they aren't just focused on novelty all the time, I think I can be an engineer there and more than just a researcher. My professors this past year have assured me I won't need to go back to school and just be patient with applications, but I can't help stil being a bit stressed. Is there anything more I should be doing? Any good places to apply where I can start my career as an engineer? It's been difficult finding places that aren't either 100% research oriented PHD places, or tight corporate ships that only hire mid-career people.
Thanks for any opinions or advice you all might have,
-An aspiring oceanographer.

I recently got a Daiwa Lexa 300 and paired it with a medium sixgill octant inshore rod. Doesn’t feel right. Almost feels like the reel is too big for the rod. I fish off the jetty and occasionally want to also use it for largemouth/striper fishing. I’m a big fan of a longer handle. Anyone have any recommendations? Thanks!

I bought a bag recently. When it arrived, it smelled so bad that I had to open the windows. The smell was like dead fish mixed with vomit. When i decided to use it for the first time, the zipper broke when i was trying to close. I couldn’t zip my bag after and I was really scared my small items would fall down. I actually read so many negative reviews in amazon but I can’t believe that the quality of their bags remain the same. The bags may be cheap but the quality is also cheap. I guess this is what I get for buying a product made in China 😪 If you’re reading this, this is your sign to NOT buy from Montana West ❌ Trust me girls when i say we can get much better leather bags in ross or in an outlet store.

So I’m not sure what to call this problem.
When I got my dog I worked day 1 to crate train him and train him to avoid developing separation anxiety. Overall he did fine but when he hit puberty he developed a lot of problem behaviors (he’s now a little over 2 and was neutered at 1)
If I make sure to fill his kong and lickmat and do our normal long routine he’s fine when I leave him alone. However, if I need to hop out of my apartment real quick to grab mail or something he’ll often freak out barking unless I throw kibble around the room to occupy him.
He also FREAKS out if he can see me but no reach me I.e. doggy gate or long lead when I’m not reachable. He’s not a clingy dog but it seems like some sort of barrier frustration? Any thoughts? I’d love to take him fishing with me but the moment I step out of his circle he loses his mind.

So, I experience sleep paralysis often but last night was a bit odd, considering it felt extremely similar to a previous experience I had. I want to also add, ever since I was young I have always felt the prescence of ghosts and have always been interested in the paranormal, even participating in the G.A.T.E program when I was younger, if anyone is familiar with that.
So, I remember being in the middle of a dream, talking about shoes with a random person, to which he randomly says "he's mason." The next thing I remember is looking into a fish eye lens camera that showed my entire room. In the back, I noticed an individual in a black robe standing, when I looked directly at him through the camera, I was sucked back into my sleeping body and felt him come right next to my bed.
I then started hearing a static noise and was fed images rapidly through my mind. The best way I can describe these images were gray and very ancient-like. I had this very natural overwhelming feeling that this entity was attacking me for doing something I wasn't supposed to be doing, though I wasn't feeling any pain if that makes sense.
I woke up a bit unsettled, and remembered how similar this experience was to a recent lucid dream I had which I can also expand on if anyone is interested.
What should I make of this? I also have been seeing the numbers 5 and 8 very frequently.

Not going to write a huge backstory, but my wife and I decided to try this whole open marriage thing, both of us are on the spectrum. It was shocking to discover that polyamory is more common in ASD folks (well for us it would just be hook ups, not relationships).
Well when we met I was 25, and prior to that, I was having tons of luck on sites like POF (plenty of fish). The funny thing is..I'm 31 now and have lost a ton of weight, and am more attractive looking than I was at 25.
Tinder, POF, Hinge and Bumble have produced zero results, it's been an absolute ghost town.
I've had a few people tell me to go to bars, but I've been there and usually the men who look for women to hookup with have a level of confidence and charisma that I could never achieve.