Posts by Matthew Castillo5

I usually make sure to tip my servers and delivery drivers pretty well—typically around 10% of the total, or I’ll just round up to the nearest five or ten dollars to keep things simple. Honestly, it bugs me when I see someone being incredibly petty about wanting their change back, like if the bill comes out to $32 and they're practically demanding their last few cents.

briskjackal5 said:I can't seem to find it either.

Isn't there a certain level of irony in being unable to locate a search engine? 😁

Honestly, I think Reddit needs to implement a search engine for its search engines. 😉

(Now if only my brain would stop short-circuiting right about now...)

cosmichound said:I can probably swing tonight.🙂 Too bad you can't make it, man, hopefully you'll catch the next one. So, we're sitting at 6 people right now.

If my beach trip falls through, I might actually show up after all.

I'm going to have to sit this one out since I'm heading down to the coast before the weekend hits, but once I'm back from my beach trip, I'd love to join you guys.

Sophia Thomas7 said:WhatsApp has been open since this morning -

Right now, we’re basically debating whether we want to keep the chats open or just lock them down for good. Let's be honest, things went way overboard a long time ago. The mods have pretty much decided they don't want to spend their time babysitting a chat every single month. It’s mostly just become a place for people to complain about moderation, vent about bans, call out clones, or try to summon the staff to specific threads. In the worst cases, it even turns into hate speech.

😁 That one's open because it was never actually locked to begin with. It's just the previous thread that hit page 500, so they started a new one.

Sophia Thomas7 said:WhatsApp has been open since this morning -

Right now, we’re basically debating whether we want to keep the chats open or just lock them down for good. Let's be honest, things went way overboard a long time ago. The mods have pretty much decided they don't want to spend their time babysitting a chat every single month. It’s mostly just become a place for people to complain about moderation, vent about bans, call out clones, or try to summon the staff to specific threads. In the worst cases, it even turns into hate speech.

I follow along with it and occasionally chime in myself, so I haven't really noticed the stuff you're listing.

darksurfer4 said:I honestly don't get it; there was apparently plenty of time to tear down every single monument dedicated to BlackRock, just as there was ample opportunity to loot and destroy the entire estate of the Mexican minority in the States, so I truly cannot fathom how we couldn't find a spare moment to change one pathetic little plaque?

Who exactly went around destroying all the property belonging to Pupovac, Stanimirović, and their whole crew? 😲
And let's be real, they didn't destroy every single WWII memorial—just certain ones. Honestly, it would have been better if they hadn't touched those either, but here we are.

Besides, why are you in such a massive rush to see that plaque changed? Relax. It'll happen in a day or two, maybe a week.

darksurfer4 said:What is the deal with that Marshall square, anyway? I mean, seriously, how on earth did they manage to not change the name of the plaza back during the nineties?

The timing just wasn't right back then. 😁

We had much bigger fish to fry: gaining independence, defending ourselves against aggression from Mexico, reclaiming territory, and all that.

slysurfer14 said:They aren't even right... Since one of my side gigs depends on the weather, I've been tracking temps and everything else intensely for the last five years...
We haven't seen temperatures like this for this long at this time of year in ages....

What really caught my eye is that the last two weekends—which are usually huge for traffic heading toward New York City from the coast—weren't actually that busy. (Last year there was a line 12 miles like 500 meters long). So, I don't know if this season is actually as successful as people hope....

What on earth does the number of New Yorkers hitting the road for the beach at the same time have to do with the overall success of the tourist season? Or how does the efficiency of toll booth operations in the New Yorker area impact the economy? 🙄

Elizabeth Torres60 said:I’ve got a question about something I’m seeing, and honestly, it feels like we might be looking at multiple personalities, though part of me wonders if it’s actually some kind of schizophrenia. I’m a little worried because this person is a really dear friend of mine. It seems to me like there are two distinct sides to her—one that’s kind and good, and another that’s just malicious, constantly making things up, living in a fantasy world, lying, and picking fights. What’s even weirder is that when she’s in her "good" persona, she’ll say things through the lens of this other alter ego. She even gives me advice on how I should handle her while she’s acting as that second personality. This whole thing usually flares up during the spring and summer months.

Could it just be a Gemini thing? 🍿 😉

I feel like we all carry at least a tiny bit of that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde duality inside us, even if it's way more pronounced in some people than others.

There's just way too little information here for anyone to tell you if we're looking at schizophrenia, dissociative identity disorder, or something else entirely. And even if we had a mountain of data, we aren't in a position to play doctor or hand out diagnoses on a forum like this.

Morgan Rodriguez57 said:They aren't going to budge just because a bunch of internet activists show up with pitchforks and torches.

🙂 Our only real weapons are keyboards. Combined with a functioning brain, obviously.

Nicole Barrett76 said:I have a question that doesn't strictly belong here, and while I am unsure where else to post it, I felt it would be foolish to start an entirely new thread just for this inquiry.

Suppose a deeply terrified patient arrives at a psychiatrist's office and, driven by intense fear, begins demanding physical contact from the doctor or perhaps a nurse. If the physician administers an injection with anxiolytic properties, there will inevitably be a period of waiting before the medication takes effect.

In such a delicate moment, would doctors actually embrace the patient, offer a comforting pat, hold their hand, or engage in some other form of soothing touch?

They probably play it very safe and avoid doing anything like that, mostly because things like hugging or caressing could easily be misinterpreted as inappropriate sexual contact.

Picture this: you ask a nurse for comfort, she gives you a quick hug, and right at that exact moment, your girlfriend, wife, sister, or mom—who might have just stepped out to handle some paperwork in the lobby—walks in. Suddenly, you've got someone reacting with pure outrage and potentially attacking either you or the nurse, verbally or physically. It's a nightmare scenario.

You actually asked something pretty similar on a different thread over on a political forum once. Why is this weighing on your mind so much?

briskmarlin31 said:If this isn't the right subforum for this, I'd appreciate it if the moderators could move my thread to the correct section.

What does the phrase "dead of night" actually mean to you guys? What kind of vibe or specific timing does that expression trigger in your heads?

This question might actually fit better over in the Grammarly subforum.

But hey, I can give it a shot here too: to me, it’s that specific window when everything just goes silent—no traffic, no music, no chatter—and even the birds haven't started their morning routine yet. We're talking somewhere between 2:00 and 5:00 AM, roughly.

silvertiger11 said:Why is it always the case that people get all worked up about mastering a language they don't actually know?

It’s the same pattern everywhere you look; think about those folks who claim to be hard of hearing but somehow still insist on being the loudest singers in the choir.

Richard Wells said:Menopause isn't just a phase; it’s a long haul that hits women way harder than people realize.

It gets even more intense if you're dealing with an emotional shock on top of all those hormonal shifts.

Just hang in there and be patient... Mom will find her way back to herself soon enough.

For me, it was actually pretty manageable.

Richard Wells said:Menopause isn't just a phase; it’s a long haul that hits women way harder than people realize.

It gets even more intense if you're dealing with an emotional shock on top of all those hormonal shifts.

Just hang in there and be patient... Mom will find her way back to herself soon enough.

Honestly, she might actually need some professional counseling to help her get back to her old self. If I were her, I’d head straight to her primary care physician, lay everything out on the table, and see what kind of advice they have to offer.

Walter Rivera4 said:I’ll be honest—I wear a mask when I'm around people. Since I'm anonymous here, it's easy to admit, but I definitely wouldn't say this out loud to my coworkers or neighbors back home.

The "mask" is this super composed, steady woman who dresses all classy in black, keeps her hair perfect, nails done, and everything just... polished. But underneath? I'm actually a total goofball who loves bright, neon t-shirts, someone who gets teary-eyed over injustice, laughs way too hard, and is just super creative and spontaneous.

I just realized over time that playing this part helps me get by much better in society. Things just run smoother, people accept me more easily, and it’s way easier to make friends and earn respect.

The only time I ever let that guard down was with my ex or when I was hanging with my immediate family... but to the rest of the world, I keep the mask on.

Honestly, it’s totally normal, though, especially in places like Japan where fitting in is such a huge cultural thing.

Nowadays, I feel like everyone is wearing some kind of mask—whether it's the "I don't care about anything" look, the "ice queen" persona, or even the "class clown" act where they force a smile and pretend to be happy.

I really think everybody has one; people who are truly unfiltered are incredibly rare. And honestly, you can always tell. It’s like we all have these built-in sensors that go off whenever someone isn't acting true to themselves. I almost always pick up on it.

I’ve gone the exact opposite route. I chose to ditch the mask entirely and be as authentic, honest, and spontaneous as possible. Most people have just gotten used to me being exactly who I am. I won't claim everyone loves it, though; some people definitely judge me if I laugh too loudly or do something they wouldn't dream of doing themselves. Sometimes I end up being the office clown or the resident jokester, making everyone laugh by saying the blunt truths that everyone else is too afraid to voice. But even that isn't a "mask"—it’s just genuinely how I love to brighten people's days.

Honestly, I don't even bother dressing up for Halloween. Trying to pretend to be someone I'm not is just exhausting.

Daniel Ward87 said:It really depends on how you look at it. Just phrased like that, I wouldn't call it hate speech.

Oh, please, spare me the "context" argument. In what possible universe would that be okay and somehow exempt from being called out?

Daniel Ward87 said:It really depends on how you look at it. Just phrased like that, I wouldn't call it hate speech.

So what is it then? An absolute truth? Just pure stupidity? Or just an opinion the author is entitled to hold?

What about the reverse claim: that atheists are idiots and believers are geniuses? I’m not asserting that, I’m just asking. Charles Fox10 and I have already agreed that you find the full spectrum—from catastrophically dim-witted to absolutely brilliant—in both groups.

Or, for example: are gay people stupid and straight people smart?

I’m pulling this specific part from the thread over on the Politics subforum just so I don't get flagged again for critiquing the moderation team.

Charles Fox10 said:You honestly expect me to distance myself from someone else's opinion? Especially since I haven't personally written a single damn word about whether believers or anyone else are smart or stupid. Are you serious???

Well, I expect it, and I have every right to. You aren't just some random user; you’re a moderator here. If someone were to post that all Americans are geniuses while Mexicans are idiots (or vice versa), or if they claimed all liberals are brilliant while conservatives are morons, or even that men are smart and women are dumb—would that just sit there without consequence? Or would a moderator actually step in? In some cases, labeling an entire group of people with a single trait is considered hate speech, so why is it treated differently in others?

So, my question stands: does the frequent claim that all religious people are stupid and all atheists are smart constitute hate speech, or doesn't it?

Update:
It looks like at least some of this stuff (though I can't say for sure if everything) has been put back where it belongs. Thanks.

Who on earth deleted mine and Michael Collins' posts in the "right-wing conservative chat" over on the political scene subforum?
MC and I actually requested a move from the "neutral" section to this specific chat, and it was approved—Sugar even posted a formal moderator announcement about it.
And yet, despite all that, both his posts and mine have just completely vanished from the thread.

I know the Bible says "let not the left know what the right is doing," but honestly, you guys have really crossed a line this time. 👎

To whatever rogue moderator decided to scrub those posts: please just put them back.

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I honestly suspect whoever dreamed up these kinds of tasks didn't fully grasp what they were actually trying to achieve. 🤷

Did you ever try asking the psychologist running the assessment? Or did you already go that route and just get stonewalled?