Posts by Walter Brooks56

copperdrifter5 said:Jesus. It honestly fascinates me how some people feel the need to dump unsolicited advice on complete strangers—pregnant women or moms with toddlers—regardless of whether they actually have any experience with kids themselves.

Nobody ever tries to give me life advice while I'm riding the subway to work. Or when I'm grabbing a steak. Or while I'm waiting in line at a public restroom. Or any other random moment in my life.

Stroller, baby, gear... the solution for many of these "one-hit wonders" is just to spout stupid, unnecessary, and unwanted opinions.

Oh, tell me about it...
It is as if I am made of glass.
I think I am reasonably capable of knowing what I can handle, what I cannot, and exactly how I feel.
Honestly, the hardest part is just being stuck at home; I get so restless and stir-crazy.
The groceries aren't going to magically appear if I need them (especially while my husband is grinding away at work), nor will the laundry fold itself or the dogs walk themselves.
If I truly couldn't manage, I would ask for help.

The day before yesterday, I was out hiking in the Catskills with the dogs—not far and certainly not alone, obviously—and today is my due date.
That trip recharged my batteries for the next three days; I feel wonderful.

copperdrifter5 said:I was really hoping for a girl, but we ended up having a boy. We knew the gender pretty early on because I had the Nifty scan, which is 100% accurate about whether it's a boy or a girl.
Did anyone else deal with people saying, "But what if it's actually a girl?" even after I explained the Nifty results and how certain we were it was a boy?

I honestly don't get why some people feel the need to spout such mindless nonsense and make these incredibly stupid comments.
It’s a terrible comparison, but I heard this same kind of idiocy when my mom passed away—people just don't know what to say, so they end up blabbing absolute garbage instead.

Or based on belly shape... 🤦

A father of three actually tried to lecture me on the street, claiming I'm carrying a boy because of the specific way my stomach is protruding.
He has one son and two daughters, so he thinks he "knows."
I told him—the 3D ultrasound showed everything clearly enough, so please stop bothering me with this old wives' tale nonsense; we aren't living in the 15th century.🤦

Michael Jackson64 said:So annoying.

I can't stand it when people baby my kid by twisting their words—like saying "wawa" instead of water or "piddle" instead of pee. It’s just nonsense.
It always bugged me when people talk down to toddlers like they're complete idiots, but lately, it feels like people have totally lost the plot...

Good grief...
I actually confronted my husband about this yesterday when he was talking to his friend's little one.
I told him plainly: don't treat the kid like they're slow—learn how to speak normally before our own arrives.
His mother still talks to him like a toddler—this is a thirty-five-year-old man! Well, at least he maintains some composure, but his sister can barely hold a conversation without slipping into that infantile tone whenever she's around family.
And I am thirty, yet I still deal with his sister's baby talk. Unbelievable.
I realize a few-month-old baby doesn't care, but you can't carry this on indefinitely; otherwise, you'll end up raising adults who lack even the most basic communication skills.

Only pet owners will truly understand this... ;D
I'm not even talking about family here—they usually realize it isn't wise to ask—but rather random acquaintances.
If they find out you have a cat, it doesn't take more than five seconds before they start rambling about "that disease"—which they can't even name, of course—that cats supposedly carry.
I know I have antibodies for toxoplasmosis, so let me just say that if it were actually as common as 90% of people think, most children would die before birth.
I understand the good intentions, but honestly, does your very first question really have to be about the potentially lethal diseases my pets might transmit?
It makes me want to tell them all the things the random strangers at the subway station could pass on to me—and the list is significantly longer.

Furthermore, there is the inevitable "what will you do with the dogs." As if they were some outdated piece of furniture we're getting rid of because we no longer have room for the crib.
I simply respond that if they don't like the baby or if there are allergies, they'll be put up for adoption.
That is the threshold where you stop feeling the need to explain to irrelevant people that dogs aren't just biological placeholders for children and can go now. Family is the priority. Period.

And finally, the "is it a girl or a boy so I know what color clothes to buy" question.
I told them that anatomy doesn't dictate a child's favorite color, nor does it determine the color of a onesie. 😁
When my friends are putting together baby clothes, I couldn't care less if it’s pink, blue, or green. I am just grateful I don't have to spend ridiculous amounts of money on something they will outgrow after two wears; the color interests me no more than whether there is a bunny or a teddy bear printed on it.

A friend of mine was expecting a daughter, and everyone was buying her pink things. In the end, the "daughter" arrived with testicles, so his ego wasn't bruised by being dressed in pink. 😁

Does anyone know if there's a jewelry store in NYC that sells those LOTR rings—and more importantly, what they’re charging for them?
Just trying to avoid wandering aimlessly from shop to shop...

Where in the city can I pick up:



and



thanks

I’ll just lay out the raw numbers here—not because I have all the facts perfectly lined up, mind you, but because I’m working with a few scattered pieces of information myself.

So, the core issue: what are the actual options when Person A refuses to pay back Person B?
It isn't even a blunt "no" or an admission of being broke; it’s more of a perpetual "I'll get to it soon"—which, as we know, usually means never.

There is one other detail I neglected to mention in my previous mess of a post...
From our earlier conversation, I recall him mentioning he has a second property that he rents out.
Which means, effectively, there is a steady stream of monthly rental income coming in.

Secondly, he was laid off—just a victim of corporate downsizing—right before Christmas. Technically, his severance package should have been more than enough to settle everything.
But he didn't use it.

That is essentially the extent of my knowledge at this stage.

Even as I type this, I suspect I am merely typing to soothe my own conscience—because deep down, a small part of me already suspects there might not be much recourse left to take.

Richard Lewis16 said:tough spot

legally speaking, if your guy just handed over $xy in cash to a buddy
unless they actually sat down and signed a formal loan agreement, he isn't technically obligated to pay a dime back, and honestly, he’s going to have a hell of a time proving in court that it was ever meant to be a loan at all
he could easily just claim it was a gift...
or he could just play dumb

but something else about this whole thing feels off to me, you mentioned he was handing over $700 at a time$267, but now it turns out he only paid back $10,000 total
if he really had been giving $700 installments, there should have been at least 33 of them$200

The numbers haven't always been static, nor am I privy to every single detail.
To be perfectly candid, I know my husband kept his own records in a little notebook—dated entries and all.

I haven't even mentioned half of this because I don't have the specifics and frankly, I have no desire to dive into them.
I used $700-$267 merely as an example, since that’s what he handed over a few times when I asked him just to get a sense of our household budget for the following month.

I’ve tried—or rather, I’ve been trying—not to make a fuss about the whole situation because my husband is... well, to put it bluntly, he’s a sweetheart, but he can be incredibly naive regarding these matters.

Essentially, he lent money to a friend yet again (one tearful instance, if I'm being honest) and now this person has nothing to pay back and keeps stalling on when they will—though they try to chip in at least $33 a month, despite us both knowing they simply don't have it.
But I finally hit my limit and told him quite plainly to tell me what the actual debt is, and his answer was $40,000.

Which makes sense, given that the loan he took out to cover this specific debt was $50,000.

Furthermore, I haven't read the rest of the posts yet; I'll get to that. For now, I am simply seeking perspective and advice.
I don't want to play fast and loose with exact figures—for all I know, the debt could be $39,900 or it could be $40,200.

In truth, knowing my husband, he might just be sugarcoating things to keep me from worrying, but what I know for certain is that the man hasn't paid back a single cent since December 2009.

I will save the precise accounting for when everything truly needs to be laid bare.
If that ever actually happens.

I suppose this was just my own late-night attempt at bluffing my way into some advice at 3:00 AM.

EDIT:
And no, even my husband says it isn't in his interest to have this guy pay him back immediately (perhaps the man genuinely doesn't have it) and he isn't even concerned about getting every last penny back.
If he pays back $20,000 in today's economy, that's quite a lot.

What bothers me most—and really, it's the only thing that bothers me—isn't whether the man has the funds or if the debt should be reduced or forgiven; it's the fact that someone is stringing you along with "soon, next month, tomorrow," and so on, for over a year.

Just say "I don't have it" and we can figure something out, but don't treat a former friend like an idiot.

I am looking for advice, similar experiences, or even just your stories... anything at all...
I am not entirely certain if this belongs in this specific sub-forum, but I will post it here regardless...

My partner and his "friend"—a colleague from work—took out a joint loan, though legally, the paperwork was only in my partner's name.
As far as I understand, the "friend" didn't sign a single document.
Thankfully, we aren't dealing with astronomical sums of money.
The total amount was 80 $0.00. My partner took 20,000, the "friend" took 50,000, and the remaining 10 was—if I understood correctly—required for the processing fees (finance is a foreign concept to me, so please excuse my ignorance)
That is how the math breaks down.
The loan was taken out roughly four years ago (we would need to check the exact date, but it is irrelevant for now), and until about a year ago, his friend punctually handed him in cash every month (I should emphasize that, just to be clear)—amounting to 700 or $267.

To cut to the chase regarding the balance, he still owes him 40 $0.00
.
My partner has already paid off his portion of the debt; he is still paying his own, having actually taken out a new loan just to cover the old one.

Their colleagues at work are aware that they took the loan together—they know he was handing him cash every month—but I have no idea if anyone knows the specific breakdown of who received what. Beyond that, there is nothing in writing stating they were co-borrowers; even with witnesses, it essentially comes down to his word against mine.

I am well aware that the American court system is overwhelmed, that lawsuits can drag on for years, and that this is fundamentally a "he said, she said" situation—but I am genuinely curious about others' experiences or any practical advice you might offer.

If nothing else, I want to be able to show my partner a screen and say, "Well, suck it up, there's nothing you can do."

Again, thank God it isn't some life-altering fortune.

Just thinking briefly about the lack of a paper trail, several ideas come to mind.
For instance, perhaps back when they took the loan, the "friend" made a significant purchase or settled an old debt (unless he was paying off some local loan shark, which wouldn't surprise me...)—that should leave some kind of trail somewhere... hopefully.

Because practically speaking, all they have are witnesses who know they applied for the loan together and that he was handing him cash for those few years.
However, I doubt that would carry much weight in a courtroom...

But well, I figured asking a question on a forum couldn't possibly do any harm.

And I hope that on this forum, unlike many other places, there are serious people who won't just jump in with nonsense like "hire a debt collector" or other useless suggestions that do more harm than good.

Thank you.

P.S. In the middle of all this chaos, I've just realized I made a typo. lol

Please—as if I’m lucky enough to find some banned chemical or toxic plastic in a toy 🤣

Aha, so it's out in the open then. Fine. 🙂

And the weight—just to be difficult—is off by about 6.5 pounds or so. Lol

p.s. Thanks

I am seeking some advice.
This is my first time shipping a package—I have absolutely zero experience with this sort of thing.😁

The contents will be Christmas gifts—specifically a toy, an item of clothing, and some chocolates—with a total value of approximately $167. I plan to send it over to England.

What steps should I take to ensure the package doesn't simply vanish into thin air? Also, what are the rough estimates for shipping costs? I assume it's calculated by weight, though I haven't actually weighed everything yet.

Aha.

To be perfectly honest, I really have no idea :\
In that case—it would probably be best to steer clear of that brand altogether.

Invalid in what sense?
Even if you're right, listeriosis can trigger encephalitis—and we’re talking about the entire spectrum of neurological issues there...
Not to mention spinal myelitis.
In fact, my own snake contracted it after coming into contact with an infected rat; now its spine looks like it’s been run over by a bicycle. Several times.

I have no idea which cheese you read about, but that stuff is absolutely not worth playing around with.
It causes everything from the aforementioned conditions to miscarriages or septicemia—who knows what else (Google will give you a much more detailed breakdown...).

I think we all have a decent grasp of how Salmonella works, but regarding that specific strain 3, I don't have much to add.

Honestly, just go buy some cheese from a local deli you actually trust and be done with it.

I once dealt with a case of Listeria.
I’d brought home a hamster from a local pet shop—it turned out the little thing was carrying the infection, which I thought was quite charming at the time.
Fortunately, I didn't catch it myself, but my other pets did, which led to a significant amount of chaos.

Salmonella can be picked up through certain animals too, though it's usually a foodborne issue.

As for Shigella, I really don't know.

Why is that on your mind? 🙂

For heaven's sake, enough with the mindless clutter—if the topic is Iron Maiden 28.4.2011, then we should actually be discussing Iron Maiden 28.4.2011 😁

It would get pretty tedious if everyone just posted "I'm going too," lol

+ Besides, this is my thread—if I say you can spam, then you can spam 😍 🤣

ambertiger said:Look, I’m not trying to be difficult—that’s just how I see it. Some people gravitate toward one album, some prefer five, and others just love the whole discography.

Whatever, I’m not looking for an argument; I’m simply suggesting you shouldn't judge an entire album based on a single track 😁
especially since it isn't a full orchestral production (though apparently, the next one will be).

For instance, if you have a preference for their older material, I suspect you might actually enjoy "Ride into obsession" and "Tanelorn."😉

Fine, do me a favor and give those two a listen.😁

Personally, "Curse my name" has a bit of an Irish feel to it, and there's a decent chance you might find "War of the Thrones" appealing as well.

Though, "Wheel of" is practically an entire orchestra in itself. XD

ambertiger said:I heard one track and decided I was done—especially since the previous two weren't hitting the mark either.

How can you be sure an entire album is a dud based on just one song? ☕
And that’s a track we already heard six months ago, just stretched out again. 🤣

Furthermore, considering the roster of bands Hans has guest-starred with, his current musical direction isn't exactly a shock.

For instance:
Ayreon - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XAPosjkbfQ
Therion - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAmRFgiy4SA
Ayreon - Therion - Demons & Wizards - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV7BYSxsKhw

Personally, I think it’s healthy for a band to evolve slightly from one record to the next—it shouldn't take thirty years of playing to finally move past a standstill.
My main priority is simply that the vocals remain consistent.
And by that, I mean two specific things...
1. That the singer stays the same. We don't need a situation like what happened with Nightwish or Iced Earth, where they might as well have changed the band's name since "it just isn't the same anymore."
2. I’m not suggesting drastic shifts—I’m not expecting Hans to start growling in two albums' time—🤣 but rather that he maintains his signature voice while experimenting with different melodies.

That way, there's always something for everyone. 😁
Especially for me, given my preference for various styles.
Take my friend, for example; he only started listening because of this latest release—he's a sucker for the orchestral elements in certain bands.

But we can all agree on one thing ---> see you at the show. 😍

On every single album, I manage to find something absolutely brilliant and something slightly less impressive—though nothing ever falls short of being good.😁

Well, now everyone is in the loop 😁

http://www.blind-guardian.com/tour/

On April 29th, I can die happy 😍😍😍