Posts by rowdyjackal56

Jason Ortiz5 said:I'm with you on the social and artistic stuff, but spirituality? That doesn't belong in a public school building. Spirituality is deeply personal—it belongs in someone's own private life, not a classroom.

Intelligence isn't everything. It really isn't. Even for kids coming from families that can't afford music lessons, elite sports clubs, or church youth programs—school still provides the foundation for everything. A little bit of everything. It's about character and education combined.

Music school, sports leagues, and church volunteers all in one sentence. That's hilarious.

School is primarily an educational institution. Even "character-building" subjects like art or music have a core academic component where kids learn about art history, how instruments work, specific techniques... Religion class is the only subject where the direct goal feels like ideological indoctrination.

Thank God for that.

That's not really what this is about. We can just thank the idiots who signed the Concordat.

Him? Honestly, what an absolute chauvinist.😁

"We're in motion to the ocean..." I find myself drifting back to that line every once in a while, much like a recurring dream or an old song you can't quite shake from your head.

And it just hit me—it’s been over a decade since I last sat down to watch this. Honestly, looking back, I think it might be high time for a rewatch.

A few days ago, I found myself indulging in a bit of a sauna marathon. I cycled through three different varieties of Finnish saunas at varying temperatures—ranging from a mild 60-75 degrees up to a more intense 70-80—alongside infrared sessions and even a stint in the steam room.
I spent about two and a half hours total navigating this circuit. Honestly, I wasn't even keeping track of the minutes; I was simply following my body's lead and staying in until I felt I had reached my limit. I didn't really bother with any elaborate combinations or strategic rotations either; I just drifted into whichever unit happened to be vacant at the moment, as there is something quite profound about having the space entirely to oneself. By my count, I hit the steam room twice, probably five Finnish sessions, and about five infrared rounds. Eventually, once I started feeling a bit lightheaded and unsteady, I realized I had pushed things just far enough. My routine involves retreating to a lounge area to rest and sip some tea whenever I sense I’ve overextended myself. For me, a two-to-three-hour soak is the absolute sweet spot. Regardless of the intensity, I can certainly say my sinus issues have cleared up significantly. No side effects to report, just pure relaxation.

Let’s be honest, children aren't exactly motivated by deep theological convictions when it comes to attending religious education classes—I mean, unless you count that one hyper-aware six-year-old who probably understands existentialism better than most adults—but rather they simply follow the lead of their parents or drift toward whatever their buddies are doing.
I can already see my little guy wanting to sign up just because his best friend is going, but we are firmly positioned to steer him in a different direction. We have already made the decision that he won't be participating, and interestingly enough, when other parents asked if he was attending, they seemed almost visibly relieved when we said no; currently, there are four families I know who are opting out, which essentially constitutes an entire cohort. However, someone has to be the catalyst; a critical mass has to be established, otherwise, we are just spinning our wheels without any real progress.
Because I recognize the potential for building a significant movement within this school district, he will be attending the local sessions here rather than waiting until we relocate before the new school year kicks off. It is quite simple: an individual acting in isolation can certainly speak up or take a stand, but the odds are heavily stacked against them. It is through organized collective action that actual miracles happen, so let's see how this unfolds.

It’s honestly quite disheartening when I sit back and reflect on my own schooling; I have absolutely no recollection of religious studies being an elective course, even though it truly ought to have been treated as such—placed right alongside things like choir, band, or any other extracurricular activity. While I escaped the brunt of direct indoctrination, I was certainly coerced through various social pressures into participating in First Communion and Confirmation rituals.
My little boy comes home from preschool, or heaven knows where else, armed with the absolute certainty that God created the entire universe. I simply cannot allow that to become his sole reality; my priority is ensuring he develops a capacity for critical thinking, where he can grasp both evolutionary science and the existence of diverse world religions. The "religious education" currently pushed through our public school systems is nothing more than a subset of Catholic dogma, and frankly, it should be rebranded as such. Why hide behind the vague label of "religion"? If we were actually teaching true religious studies, students would be learning about the breadth of global faiths, the historical evolution of those belief systems, their sociological impacts, and the fascinating nuances of their similarities and differences. That is how you provide actual value. As it stands now, this current approach is nothing more than a collection of nonsense, pure indoctrination, and sheer narrow-mindedness; it feels as though we’ve regressed a full century in this supposed democracy of ours.

Betty Wood71 said:We were actually thinking about doing this last summer, but we hesitated and eventually backed out; we kept searching for other avenues, but now we’ve been backed into a corner where there really isn't any other choice but to give this a shot.
The doctors told us that given my dad's condition, he might have up to two years, but then he spent a year fighting through it and feeling surprisingly great—there was even progress, with his metastasis count dropping by about 30%—but then, after about 15 or 16 rounds of chemo, everything just started spiraling downhill.
So, we finally decided to go this route once he reached the point where he couldn't handle any more chemo; Simoncini mentioned that things are difficult because these clusters have formed that are tough to break up, but we're going to try anyway.

I hear you loud and clear.
As for us, they haven't really thrown specific prognoses our way yet; instead, it's always just, "Oh, you all are being so incredibly positive!" And honestly, I see exactly what they're implying through that. We aren't interested in their speculative timelines; we want actual solutions. And so far, after four months, all we've managed to get done is that one radiation session. I have no idea if that's considered fast or slow within the American healthcare system, but from where I'm sitting, it just looks like we have to manage everything ourselves. They're bouncing us around like a ball in a game of ping pong.

Lawrence Ortiz6 said:@rowdyjackal56/">@@rowdyjackal56 - Sure thing, thanks.

Could you please just shoot me an email? It’s much easier for me to manage that way.

I was just reading up on Simoncini. Honestly, I’m already familiar with his work—I actually went as far as buying some baking soda, though I eventually talked myself out of trying that too, as if I hadn't already lost my grip on reality entirely. It is incredibly difficult, isn't it? Trying to navigate this sea of information, deciding on dosages, and wondering who on earth we can actually trust. Naturally, we find ourselves questioning everything, digging for answers, and consulting a whole parade of doctors about every single thing we put into our bodies. In the end, we're left in this limbo where we don't truly know what the outcome will be, so we end up mixing alternative therapies with the painfully slow pace of conventional medicine. That is, unfortunately, the messy, complicated reality of fighting cancer. But there is absolutely no giving up; we are staying as positive as humanly possible, and since we've seen some encouraging progress so far, we’ll just have to take it one step at a time and see where it leads.

Furthermore, the specific type of adenocarcinoma remains unknown. We didn't sit around twiddling our thumbs waiting for chemo or radiation to kick in; we jumped straight into the fray with every tool at our disposal—private oncologists, herbal teas, fresh juices, cannabis, MMS, acupuncture, Biobran, flaxseed and cheese, apricot kernels, raw propolis, and absolute, uncompromising dietary control. We left no stone unturned. Even the PET CT scan didn't reveal anything beyond what we had already gathered. There were seven metastases in the brain; through ten rounds of radiation, five have vanished entirely, while two have shrunk. The metastasis in the chest hasn't budged, nor has it grown, and the situation with the kidneys remains strictly status quo. It has been four months since the initial diagnosis.
My dad is actually feeling quite well, though he’s struggling with blood sugar spikes due to the dexamethasone. I truly believe that everything we’ve implemented is making a difference; without these interventions, he would likely be fading fast by now.
What has really set us back, however, is the sheer dysfunction of this healthcare system. After waiting a month just to get his chemotherapy started, they suddenly informed him he had to see a cardiologist first—purely due to lack of coordination—and now we’re facing yet another two-week delay. To make matters worse, he’s noticed some mucus in his stool, and we're terrified it might mean the cancer is spreading. Naturally, we’ll try to get answers privately to bypass the wait.

I am quite intrigued by this whole Simoncini situation; I intend to do some digging online to understand the specifics, but I would certainly appreciate a link or a contact number/email if you have one.

Kevin Bishop10, regarding laboratories, you should look into Breyer; that’s where we handle all of our testing.

Lawrence Ortiz6—I can't tell you definitively whether the cannabis is working or not, but I can certainly send you the details on where to source it.

It all feels a bit too much like "perfectionism" being used as a convenient shield in spaces where people justify their neuroses by claiming "everyone just wants to reach their maximum potential in life." Let’s be honest: that’s a total fallacy. Personally, I don't even have a clear definition for what that supposed "maximum" looks like.
For instance, my own aim is simply to become the best version of myself. I want to be the best person I can be for my own sake—not as some metric compared to the neighbors—and I want to navigate life knowing I've acted with integrity.
I wouldn't call myself a perfectionist in the slightest, especially not when it comes to those arbitrary benchmarks of academic or corporate success designed solely to make others perceive you as "winning." Now, that doesn't mean I haven't achieved things; it just means those achievements don't carry any weight in my internal ledger. They were merely the byproduct of my genuine interests and who I happen to be. And since those things can evolve, I see no reason to make a grand production out of them.
What I'm trying to get at, particularly for those who find these traits within themselves to be "toxic" or debilitating, is that you actually need perspective from someone who *isn't* stuck in that same loop. You need to observe a different way of operating to truly understand and adopt a better modus operandi. You don't need a support group of identical souls just to pat each other on the back and whisper reassurances that you aren't alone in your dysfunction. Unless, of course, that's exactly the kind of echo chamber you're looking for.

Who actually wants to be exceptional all the time? Me, frankly. Or rather, I refuse to exhaust myself chasing it. I find a certain joy in being unremarkable because I couldn't care less about social status, provided I know exactly who I am and remain a decent person to myself and those close to me. I have my peace, and that's plenty.

It seems they completely missed the mark on Kristanna Loken, though they managed to nail Jessica Alba perfectly. I’m honestly a bit baffled by that, considering I had much more obvious clues lined up for Kristanna.
And honestly, I found it pretty hilarious that one of the very first questions asked was whether she's an adult film star. 😁

edit: Ryan Gosling actually got it right too, even though I couldn't for the life of me remember the character's name.

Dennis Bailey2 said:Well, good luck with that. Honestly, I’m always relieved when people who spend their lives chasing clout and dragging their feet stay out of my way. If they happen to cross my path? Whatever. I’ll just run them over.

The Kardashians, the Hilton crowd, the whole socialite circus—they can have their little playground for all I care. I wouldn't touch that lifestyle with a ten-foot pole. What you see on screen is just the tip of the iceberg. Maintaining an empire like that? I wouldn't even consider it unless someone offered me 89 private jets and four times their entire net worth. 🤷

Oh, I am well aware that my particular approach tends to spark a bit of envy in others; I seem to navigate complexities that leave most people struggling through sheer exhaustion. 🙂 I truly do feel for anyone who finds themselves grinding through misery when there is no inherent joy in the struggle, nor any masochistic inclination to be found there.
But let’s be realistic... appearances can be quite deceptive. It isn't all black and white, you see. I certainly have no desire to have someone obstructing my progress.

Dennis Bailey2 said:Well, good luck with that. Honestly, I’m always relieved when people who spend their lives chasing clout and dragging their feet stay out of my way. If they happen to cross my path? Whatever. I’ll just run them over.

The Kardashians, the Hilton crowd, the whole socialite circus—they can have their little playground for all I care. I wouldn't touch that lifestyle with a ten-foot pole. What you see on screen is just the tip of the iceberg. Maintaining an empire like that? I wouldn't even consider it unless someone offered me 89 private jets and four times their entire net worth. 🤷

In every single one of these cases, what we observe is nothing more than the surface level. That is precisely why I find myself wondering: is it really *that* terrible? I would actually love to give it a shot.
You might find it unappealing, but clearly, someone else would find it irresistible, and vice versa.

I can honestly say that the most rewarding moments of my life have been those instances where success just sort of fell into my lap without me having to break a sweat. 🙂
If I actually had to grind for something, all I felt once I reached the finish line was complete exhaustion—just utterly drained. The achievement itself felt hollow because I didn't have a single ounce of energy left to actually enjoy it. It wasn't even a sense of triumph; it was more like a profound sense of relief, like saying, "Thank God, it’s finally over."
There is absolutely no requirement to be extraordinary or unique, so why on earth would anyone bother trying to be?
The struggle, the constant uphill battle—what is the point of all that misery?
Take Serena Williams, for example; she is an absolute legend, a powerhouse who achieved greatness and became this iconic figure, and while her career is nothing short of spectacular, it isn't all sunshine and rainbows. The price she had to pay for that glory was her own physical well-being, a mountain of surgeries, and god knows what else...
Now, don't get me wrong, I am not advocating for self-destruction, but I am firmly against this endless, mindless "hustle culture." I find myself wondering if people living in massive mansions, like the Kardashians and their ilk, find their lives incredibly tedious and uninspiring. I won't lose sleep over the fact that society is structured to force us into a state of perpetual combat, but I simply cannot fathom why things couldn't be designed differently. Moving forward, my goal remains the same: I intend to navigate life by achieving my objectives with the absolute minimum amount of effort required, because, frankly, that strategy has always worked wonders for me. 🙂

Dennis Bailey2 said:But... isn't that exactly what makes this ugly world beautiful?

If everything was just handed to us on a silver platter, would anything actually matter? It reminds me of that old superhero movie line: "In a world where everyone is super, nobody is." That’s the crux of the issue. It’s the grind—the actual blood, sweat, and tears you pour into earning your spot—that gives that position any real value. If anyone could simply wake up and be Bill Gates, Einstein, or Gandhi, then being those people wouldn't mean a damn thing.

It’s like trying to argue with a saw about why it cuts. Why bother dissecting the physics of why the sky is blue? It just is. You can howl at the moon until you're blue in the face, but that isn't going to make it descend from the sky. 🤷

Well, sure. Why not? Honestly, I’d love it if life just served everything up on a tray. That sounds absolutely wonderful to me. I don't particularly care for the whole "struggle builds character" sentiment, nor do I subscribe to the idea of making sacrifices.
Beauty is actually everywhere if you look for it; it's just people who tend to clutter things up and make the world look ugly. But nature itself? Pure perfection.
I spent years lost in contemplation over the idea of taking my own life—just weighing the pros and cons, asking myself why bother, what's the point, how does it work... and honestly, screw it, we're alive, so let's just live. That's eventually how I settled on it.
The Borba wears me down; I can't wrap my head around the purpose of the struggle, or human stupidity, or even the old cliché about the lion eating the zebra. I'm just a pacifist at heart, a total flower child. So that's how it goes—you just keep moving through life, never knowing what might happen next, knowing full well that death will come for us all eventually.

This thread serves as the official repository for "messages, grievances, and general commentary," and I find myself compelled to offer a brief observation. It has been some time since my specific incident occurred, and while I initially entertained the notion of actually "taking action," I would have needed to provide several concrete examples to justify such an endeavor. Ultimately, however, I have come to the realization that engaging in petty forum bickering simply isn't worth my precious time—it's hardly productive to waste energy crafting arguments when this isn't a court of law where we're litigating actual felonies. Still, I felt a certain obligation to leave my mark here, primarily because it’s become glaringly obvious that my experience wasn't some isolated anomaly regarding how the moderators behave. (If my memory serves me right—and I admit, I don't frequent this corner of the internet often enough to be certain—I believe that particular moderator was Herb). It truly saddens me to see discussions escalate into such unnecessary chaos, all stemming from what seems to be nothing more than the personal frustrations of a moderator.

From what I have gathered about these so-called "forum guardians," they seem more interested in covering their own tracks than actually upholding any semblance of justice, regardless of whether they are technically right or wrong. It is almost a cliché at this point—I cannot recall a single instance where a moderator didn't eventually resort to petty insults simply because they lacked the intellectual capacity to win a verbal argument, only to follow that up by banning the person they couldn't outwit. I distinctly remember one moderator becoming so incredibly unhinged that she went on a banning spree against four different users who hadn't even come remotely close to violating the site rules, let alone breaking them as egregiously as she was. Honestly, I am convinced that some people on this platform have become mere inventory; they have lost all sense of distinction between their actual selves and their digital personas, treating this little corner of the internet as if it were their entire reality—a tiny, simulated kingdom where they can finally indulge in a desperate, pathetic thirst for power.