If it’s already a crime and you involved a minor in the crime while crossing state lines, you now trafficked that minor and additional charges are added. Add a gun, more charges.

One crime at a time is the rule for a lot of good reasons. Of course zero crimes is preferable, if we are being picky.

Ooh, good answer!

Those books were so important to my teenage self. Such a shame Card himself is such a whackjob.

I really liked the game from the movie Her, where you’re constantly being insulted by a little alien who is your guide.

I completely understand where you’re coming from.

I do wish there was something omnipresent and beneficial. It would be comforting. But we are here because we do not agree with that concept.

And that’s been the ‘problem’ that most of us here face. We strive to be decent people while defining our own moralities based on other principles we find to be more reliable.

On the other hand, not all Christians would be good or kind or forgiving. That isn’t something that comes from a worldview.

Even if they are truly convinced that the Christian God is real and omnipresent, there has been no external force in their lives to command them to be better, so they don’t.

These changes come about when personal experience drives the change.

As such, it is up to us to push the world to be the utopia we wish it to be. This is all we have and are likely to have.

That was the idea, but now I think a copy of Dianetics is funnier.

A bible.

I’m glad you stood up for yourself! That’s not a small achievement in the least!

You were backed up by supportive staff, but if you had not taken the initiative, this wouldn’t have happened.

Nice work!

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I’m sure this doesn’t count, but my WoW life was utterly ideal, aside from me sucking at being a rogue.

I played in the same dining room as several (4-6) friends and we grouped up constantly.

But I also didn’t care one tiny fuck about the endgame grind. I hit level 60 (the max at the time), shouted “I win,” and sold my account to a friend for forty bucks.

My current life, I’m not really a gamer other than mobile crap and D&D these days. Too old, tired, busy.

I’ve always loved broccoli, and a lot of folks hate it, so…

Roast your broccoli, people.

Toss it with a little olive oil, salt it, and bake at 400 or so until it’s browning.

It adds a depth of flavor you wouldn’t expect if you’ve never had it.

Heh, I corrected that.

I met my wife online about fifteen years ago.

We were in the same town and met after maybe two weeks of messaging each other… and we just clicked. (Views on politics, religion, drugs/alcohol, pets, and lifestyle were all compatible, easy to just be around each other, etc.)

I’m 51 now and this is my fourth relationship. It’s never been easy to find someone I match up with. (For context, I’m tall, balding, and quite fat, but I think I’m pretty attractive/do well with what I have. I didn’t always have that confidence in myself. Don’t beat yourself up, it really doesn’t help.)

It’s also worth saying that I was in a terribly dark place when I met my wife, but I put myself out there anyway. Working on yourself is a great priority, without question, but I found someone who accepted me at my lowest, helped me to be better, and I was then able to reward her by being a good husband. Having been through that (and other dark times) has made us stronger together.

So my advice is:

1. That old canard, ‘Be attractive. Don’t be unattractive’ is completely true. Play up on what makes you attractive, and don’t mess that up by being rude or smelling bad.

2. Show interest in public. By that I mean be jovial and open. Notice those who respond in kind. If you can, strike up a tiny conversation. Build those skills in little moments. Maybe this will go somewhere, maybe not, but you’re learning to be more open.

3. Be social, and some of that can include online dating. If you’re doing online dating, try to meet early, as that’s where you’ll be able to find if you click with someone. You just can’t know until you meet, in my opinion. Plus long online-only relationships involve you envisioning the ideal of a partner rather than seeing if you can live with them.

4. Put yourself out there! You can’t get better about approaching women if you don’t keep trying. Don’t hit on everyone you meet, of course, but I’ve known really ugly guys who always had a cute girlfriend (Also a couple schlubby guys who married absolutely gorgeous women, somehow) and several solid couples where neither are conventionally attractive, but they have love and a great life together.

And that last line should be your goal, a great partner and a great life.

This was back in 2000, had just gone through a divorce. Had gotten a new pad with a friend and started hanging out with his stoner buddies. (Most of them are still close friends to this day.)

I took something like five hits of acid. I’d tried it only once before and it didn’t too much for me, so I upper the dosage.

I still didn’t get visuals, but it was an interesting trip.

A friend of mine was on the couch flipping through cable and settled on a claymation Don Quixote, which was just perfect for a melting reality. Thumbprints in the clay, rough work.

And I did something really goddamned stupid. I took out my new fancy chisels to practice on a block of wood.

Thankfully I didnt cut myself. I was being careful and just trying to gouge out a volcano on the end of a block of pine, twisting my arm to turn the block.

I went through some deep internal stuff about how I treated myself and women, why I’d been alone for so long.

In the weeks to follow I asked out four women I had crushes on and was shot down each time, but the point was I held onto this shit rather than ever expressed any interest. It was really useful.

So I’m coming off the trip and I’m sitting at my computer, and my hand just slides off the keyboard.

Repeatedly.

I’d held my arm in that extreme twisted position so long whilst contemplating my love life, set to claymation Don Quixote, that I almost gave myself fucking nerve damage.

Word.

No, it was purely by choice in a well-marked post.

I’m scared about the blowback.

It was inevitable that eventually somebody would ‘fight back’ somehow.

Now we have to deal with how all the idiots act, react and overreact.

It won’t be pretty, but again, it was inevitable.

The day of, when it happened, I watched the video… and then had to literally touch grass, walk it off, get some fresh air.

Wife got home, wanted to see it, had the same reaction.

I just don’t like watching people die, no matter who it is. But now and then I gaze into the void deliberately.

Heh. Autocomplete.

Any attempt at self-improvement is not pathetic. My phone suggested self-forgiveness, which also is key here.

You are trying to be more aware and less impulsive. The key here is mindfulness, not that it’s easy to attain/achieve.

I said self-forgiveness because beating yourself up for your perceived failures will also hold you back.

Failure is key to success.

I’ve made a little progress toward changing my internal monolog, and it has served me well. Be nicer to yourself and laugh off your failures lest the memory of them become baggage.

My dad is a Buddhist. I never got good at meditation, but I recognize its value.

But mainly, be kinder to yourself. Perfection was never an option, so why would you expect it from yourself?

Relax. Breathe. You’ll figure things out, whether or not you achieve these goals.

Because we are going through a growth spurt at the same time.

That’s true, I don’t enjoy the Australian one nearly as much as the New Zealand one.