Posts by casualharbor9

Daniel Wilson5 said:I think there’s a distinction here because, biologically speaking, sex is almost a necessity for men—they just need that release. Then again, I’m no expert; I figured someone here might actually know more than I do. So, we're talking about people who are usually incredible lovers and amazing in bed... and let's face it, who doesn't love that? But is it smarter to approach them from that angle and just use them, much like they're using you as some sort of disposable commodity? Or is leaning into that side of sexuality actually damaging for someone whose nature isn't built that way... say, if you're the type of person who is genuinely sensitive and emotional...

It really all comes down to where you draw the line...
I’d personally label someone like that an emotional invalid. I suspect there are actual clinical terms out there involving "socio-" or "-pathy" for individuals who view other human beings merely as tools to satisfy their own selfish needs...

Brenda Cooper3 said:and then there are the bans...

I’m probably just talking nonsense again, but it feels like the number of people getting their accounts nuked is shrinking by the day... interesting.
😢

Honestly, you’ve become small fish to the moderators. Once you see the sheer amount of idiots out there, your job gets a lot easier, doesn't it?

Sophia King42 said:Ever get that feeling when you're absolutely exhausted and finally close your eyes? Your brain just flips a switch. Everything shifts. Emotions feel more vivid, and you transform into someone else entirely—someone beautiful, someone I can't even access while I'm wide awake. If I could actually carry that headspace into my daily life, I’d be overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of it within five minutes.🙂

I remember feeling that exact same way when I was younger. There were those nights where I’d practically sprint to bed, counting down the minutes until I could finally crash, only to wake up feeling like a brand-new person. But then there were those other mornings—the ones where you wake up and immediately regret the fact that consciousness is even an option. Does anyone else get that? One day you're refreshed, the next you're just wondering why the sun decided to show up.
It’s gone, I suppose. Just burned through it all, or maybe it just evaporated. Honestly, I’m just exhausted—the kind of tired that sleep doesn't seem to touch. No matter how much I rest, the fatigue stays. There’s just this lingering sense of melancholy deep down. Probably just old age catching up with me, right?

David Palmer5 said:Interesting...
But what about all that talk regarding Christmas?
"Mom is already in the kitchen, Dad's napping, my brother is watching cartoons......."

I think I'll find some more posts to catch up on whenever I have a free moment.☕

It's entirely possible they only get together on rare occasions like that; nothing out of the ordinary there...
... anything is possible, I suppose...

coastaltrucker16 said:😂🤦

...anything else? (And let's skip the emojis... they've never really been my thing)

Ashley Young4 said:I was just thinking about what Jerry Martinez5 said. 🤦

It really feels like your mother is treating you like Cinderella. It’s as if you’re some kind of servant rather than a child who deserves a decent upbringing—especially during puberty, which is already such a complicated stage for anyone to navigate, don't you think?

The constant restrictions on going out, the nagging combined with insults whenever you don't perform tasks perfectly, having zero allowance, being treated completely differently than your brother without any valid reason, and then dealing with that cold, condescending attitude... it’s honestly terrible. Wouldn't it be absurd if she acted this way while you were failing classes or refusing to help out at home? But since you're actually trying, it’s just unthinkable.

To be blunt, your mother is acting like a truly unkind person, though I'd prefer to use much harsher language if I could.

Since everyone here seems to have an opinion, I'll offer my own bit of advice: why not reach out to a trusted adult, perhaps a school counselor or a psychologist? If you explain the situation clearly and ask them to step in and speak with her, it might change things. Since she doesn't seem to take your needs seriously, maybe a neutral third party can finally open her eyes to reality. Hang in there; you have my full sympathy.

That’s a pretty one-dimensional way to look at the whole situation...

My advice—since everyone here seems to be an expert on someone else's life—is to find a professional, maybe a social worker or a therapist? Explain what's happening to them and ask if they can sit down and have a serious talk with your mother...

I'll give you that much, you're 100% right there...

ambermaker12, not to state the obvious here... but have you actually tried talking to your father?

ambermaker12 said:Let me break this down briefly. I live with my brother and my mother. Our relationship is basically a Cinderella story—and not the fairy tale kind. It’s a disaster. To put it bluntly, she treats me like garbage, while my brother is the golden child. He doesn't openly hate me, but when I actually need a hand with something, he acts like we're strangers. There’s no reason for it; I’m a decent kid—not rude, not lazy, none of that. My grades have always been solid—straight As in middle school, mostly As and Bs now in high school—so there aren't any major issues there. But every single day when I get home from school, I’m expected to handle chores that would make most people do a double-take. For instance, I get home, and before my mother gets back around 4:00 PM, I have to wash the dishes, start the laundry, hang it up, fold the dry clothes, and lately, even organize her things. If I put something back in the wrong spot because I don't know her specific system, she blows up at me, calling me incompetent or stupid. It's constant. I’m expected to take out the trash, vacuum and clean both my room and hers (!) twice a week, mop the floors, you name it. Meanwhile, my brother doesn't have to lift a finger; he isn't in school and doesn't work, so he just sits around all day on his PC or watching TV. And when my mother finally walks through the door, she’s never satisfied. She always finds something to nitpick—why this wasn't done a certain way or how I could have done better. Honestly, I can't even remember the last time she gave me a shred of praise. So, after she finishes criticizing my housework, I try to get some studying done, then ask if I can go out for a bit in the evening—maybe grab coffee or see friends—but she won't let me go out for more than once a week. She claims I need to study and that I'll ruin my GPA if I don't 🙄
On weekends, she lets me go out Saturday night, though I rarely have the cash to do anything since my weekly allowance is only $17, which barely covers lunch at school or supplies like notebooks and photocopies. On top of that, she expects me to have enough left over for coffee on Saturdays. That is physically impossible. Meanwhile, she gives my brother whatever he wants, around $33, without a second thought because "he's older and has more needs." He can be out 24/7. I'm grounded by 10:00 PM on Saturdays, no exceptions. He stays out whenever he feels like it; once he even stumbled in at 5:00 AM drunk, and she didn't even notice because she was asleep. She just asked him when he got in, and whatever he said, it didn't matter. If I had done that, I would have been grounded for a month. Now, my friends are inviting me to a cabin for New Year's Day, and when I asked if I could go, she naturally said no. When I asked why she's constantly so harsh with me, she just told me to look at how I act and try to be more like my brother 😕 (meaning, she thinks I should stop complaining about how she treats me)
The absolute worst part happened this past summer. I took on a job to save up for a trip to Florida, and I actually managed to earn some money. She even let me go on the trip, which was great. I kept my cash in my wallet, but then $333 went missing. When I told her, she acted like she felt bad for me, only for me to find that exact money in my brother's possession. Her response? She just told him to give it back to me. Thinking about her makes me sick. I don't know what to do, but I can't live like this anymore. Please, I need advice before I lose my mind.

And where’s your old man?

hollowtinker18 said:Why does this forum turn into such a toxic mess of ego trips every other day?
Why is everyone so obsessed with winning an argument at any cost?
Why the desperate need to play the smartest guy in the room just to tear someone else down?
Is looking brilliant really the only thing that matters here?
And why all the petty gossip? It’s clearly just a way for weak people to mask their own flaws by dragging others through the mud.
Or maybe it’s just because disagreeing with someone triggers a sudden barrage of insults and cheap ad hominem attacks.
What's the deal?
Are we just wired this way—treating every single conversation like some kind of zero-sum game?

You’ve certainly used these, uh, rhetorical questions to shine a light on the darker corners of this forum and, frankly, human communication in general. I have to admit, I fall into some of these traps myself; sometimes I start acting like a know-it-all, even though I generally try to respect my interlocutors—even when I'm convinced they're wrong (or so I think). But when someone takes a cheap shot at me out of pure spite, I get the sudden urge to hit back twice as hard. I guess those instincts still kick in sometimes. I'll try to keep this post in mind for the future, though.
Thanks, Zacko. (though I really should consider getting a new keyboard at this rate)

Gregory Turner71 said:Well... there’s this one stretch down south where I have to ride through some small towns, and honestly, it's a nightmare. The roads are narrow—barely enough room for two cars to pass—there are zero sidewalks, yet people are constantly flying through at over 50 mph. It hasn't happened yet, but you're just waiting for someone to knock a cyclist into a ditch...
Supposedly, they're planning to build a bike path leading into Washington, D.C., as part of those highway construction projects.

So, are you heading toward Cic, or maybe near Gradic? I spent over a decade living in Queens. Once I got fed up with wrestling with the bus system, I started biking. It was pretty grim until they finally finished that path by the airport; now it connects nicely with V. mlak, then you can head past the freight yard while it's still doable... and well, Brooklyn is right there... But if you take the route through Arlington and those rural outskirts, it's a longer haul, and the roads get sketchy, especially when dusk hits or if it starts raining (or when you're near Suburban Atlanta, Christmas, or New Year's Day 🙂 ). When the weather is actually decent, though, you can go pretty much anywhere.

Gregory Turner71 said:Bicycles are actually great for urban transit. Back when I lived in the heart of the city, I biked everywhere regardless of whether it was raining, sunny, or snowing. Now? My commute to campus and back covers about 22 miles on busy main roads, so I’d much rather just drive. Honestly, I might even consider biking again if there were an actual, decent bike path connecting the San Francisco Bay Area to the city... but we don't have that. :/

It’s possible, if you're determined enough. For over a decade, I commuted from the San Francisco Bay Area to NYC almost every single day. It’s just a shame they put up that barrier at the freight station. I’m not sure what the current situation is—do they let people through now? Either way, you can still cut through Buzina. Or, if you really want to live on the edge, you can take California straight—provided you have life insurance and small kids to worry about.

driftingcanyon16 said:You aren't crazy.
You just happen to be absolutely obsessed with your bike. 😁

Well, finally... someone gets it.
Thanks. I feel a little better now. 😂

driftingcanyon16 said:Why?

Maybe I’m just being too sentimental, searching for some kind of kindred spirit...
Anyway, people mostly looked at me like I had lost my mind whenever I tried explaining why I ride in the summer and the winter, during the day or in the middle of the night, through the rain, the snow, or over bumps...

I don't know about you all, but reading through these older posts actually brought a little tear to my eye.🙂

These are just some fundamental human needs—staying connected to nature, moving under your own power... Sure, sometimes you get freezing cold, you get soaked to the bone, you trip, or you just plain struggle. But that’s how it’s been for millions of years, and you aren't going to change human biology overnight. If you ignore those instincts, you end up frustrated and dealing with health issues...
Of course, having a car has its perks, especially when you're commuting between cities or hauling gear around, but a bike? That's irreplaceable. Once I'm no longer able to pedal, I might as well be dead.

briskbison41 said:As far as I can tell, these look like codecs for DivX files.

They work for me on almost everything, especially .kl files.

P.S.
On top of that, I’d suggest grabbing either "KLcodec505f" OR the "Aca mega CoDecS pack"—you can find both of them for free easily enough. Just don't go installing both at once; that's a recipe for disaster.

Raymond Sanders said:Can someone point me toward a free, easy-to-use music downloader? Just please, anything that isn't that godforsaken BearShare... Thanks. 😁

Option 1: just go for it. www.freesoundrecorder.net
It’s a free utility that captures absolutely everything playing through your sound card—whether you're streaming from the net or just pulling audio from your local hard drive—and saves it all as an MP3. Just a heads-up, though: you’ll deal with a bit of background hiss in the recording.

Variant 2: just go for it. www.bytescout.com So, I grabbed "Flashextract.exe." It’s a 30-day trial, though we both know there's always a way around those limitations if you're clever enough. The program pulls every single bit of Flash content and dumps it into .flv format. From there, you just run it through "DoremiSoft FLV to MP3 Converter" from the site to get it into an MP4. Simple enough, right? www.mp4kits.com

There are other ways to go about it, I suppose, but this should do the trick for now. Enjoy the music and the movies!