Even more out of context, it’s a horrific way to treat the corpse of a rock and roll legend.

Can’t say I really disagree with you, but my caveat would be this: if you’re going to try drugs, know what you’re getting into. ‘A drug is a drug’ is a dumb statement you hear sometimes - not all drugs are created equal, and luckily these days we live in a world where a lot of great harm reduction information is easily available (for now, the future’s never guaranteed).

Know your substance, ~how it works, contraindications and best practices, common risks, what you’re hoping to get out of the experience, what you’d hope to avoid and how best to manage that. Prepare yourself accordingly, including frank reflection on if you really want to do it.

Used responsibly, some drugs can be useful tools - I agree that with psychedelics you can often reach the same kind of useful conclusions straight, but for some it can be a useful kick in the pants in the right direction. Sometimes (with a little experience under your belt and understanding of different dosages imo), they can be nice enhancements in the right environment. But know that there are risks you need to control for where you can, and actively accept if you cannot.

And a great little maxim coming out of talk re: psychedelics, though useful elsewhere: “When you get the message, hang up the phone”.

Before Christmas occurs, I must listen to this several times.

It’s not only a tradition, it’s the law in Canada. If you don’t any presents will be forcibly confiscated the day after Christmas. Some people try to fight this, which is why it’s called Boxing Day.

Oh man, I think there’s a community about our friend Nicole, I’ll see if I can find it.

Long story short, many of us got PMs from someone named Nicole, but were invited to call her the fediverse chick. She was supposedly an international student at a Canadian university, and wanted to connect with people at some link I personally never clicked on (iirc it was to some other fediverse service).

Nicole seemed very determined - many accounts, across many instances, with many, many messages sent. ‘Nicole spam’ is now a known term for many instance admins.

Just a general reminder to people that college stations still exist, blow most other stations out of the water if you want a better variety of music, and the one closest to you would love your support. And lots of them would also love volunteers from the community!

There’s a service that has reviews of different instances (can’t remember what it’s called), and I once saw someone use the term ‘chaotic good’. Seems to fit - we have a pretty broad mix of folks across the political spectrum, freedom of expression is considered pretty important (within the limits of Canadian law and good taste, though with a couple characters who like dancing on that line a bit), and ease of participation at the forefront. Our admins are on the quieter side, but still very responsive when concerns come up and really committed to keeping things humming.

I’d say it’s pretty generic, with other interpretations coming in now and then based on whether a member of the userbase pissed someone off recently.

It’s mostly that we have one of the best names in the Fediverse - while it wasn’t originally intended the way most people read it, it reads as inherently anti-corporate and pro-user. Shit. Just. (fuckin’). Works.

Post frequently. Comment frequently. Make some friends/acquaintances. Try to remember that the folks making posts and comments are generally human (more so than on reddit). Try to be kind. Don’t pay too much mind to inter-instance drama unless it’s in a light-hearted and fun way (it’s simply not worth it otherwise), or has a real impact on your experience (in which case use the blocking tools). If someone named Nicole PMs you ignore it and maybe let your instance’s admin team know.

I’ve been here for two years now. It’s generally a great group and I’m happy I joined the API-ocolypse migration from reddit. Welcome! :)

Y’all motherfuckers forgetting about us sh.it.head over here smh

So the community is 196, and it’s really just a fun shitposting/meme community (with a pretty big LGBTQ+ presence, for reasons that are actually kind of interesting).

Biggest thing is to not treat the rule too seriously, while of course acting like it’s the most serious thing possible. If that kind of thing isn’t your speed though, no one will fault you for blocking the community. Unless you’re into raw-dogging lemmy like me, curating your own feed is a good idea (just note that you might see a lot less content - the correct move is make stuff you like until you see more of it in that case. It may take a while depending on what it is).

Frankly, this is the best outcome. Going and winning a decent amount your very first time is a huge risk for developing a gambling problem, because your monkey brain goes “It happened once, so it can totally happen again”. Doubly so when you’re young and your ‘decent amount’ is lower than it might be otherwise.

It could, sure, but the actual probability doesn’t line up with your probabilistic fluke, and that’s a hard thing to overcome for a lot of folks.

Never got to a point where it was a survival threat (very lucky in that regard), but that $300 I won when I was 19 was the most expensive money I’ve ever made.

You’re getting downvoted, but every party needs one at least soberish person when shit hits the fan.

Source:
-Former teen who had to clear out the particularly wasted folks and direct emergency services to the party spot when some girl drank too much, rolled off a small cliff, and smacked her head on a rock. Sucked for me, but could’ve sucked much worse (popular line when she’d convulse a little after we got her up was ‘dude, she’s just faking it for attention’. Yeah, maybe - or maybe she just fucking dies surrounded by drunk dicks tossing Axe cans into campfires).

-Parent of another former teen who, just as begrudgingly, has helped their friends avoid hospitals, jails, and the grave for reasons of adolescent stupidity.

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It really depends. Apologies can be a tricky business, but tossing them out can help bring the temperature down to move forward. Sometimes you have to read between the lines to determine whether it’s useful or not, or what exactly they want an apology for (it’s not always what you’d think at first).

Looking at your example in the end, I’d take the following tack - “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. When I’m here, I try to stay really focused on what I need to do. If I’m not super responsive or don’t notice you right away, it’s because I’m concentrating on something else. It doesn’t mean that I am deliberately ignoring you, or think badly of you. [If you can muster it/can honestly say something nice about them, do it. It helps. Has to be genuine though.] I hope you understand.”

Might calm things down, might not. But I’ve had folks respond to this approach before (when they just want to feel acknowledged, which is where most ‘y u ignoring me’ reactions come from).

Nope, she tunes out when I start talking about federated services. Just not something that captures her interest/she gives any real thought about.

Count from 1 to 10, then 10 to 1. With each number, relax your body a little more. When the mind strays, bring it back to counting. Repeat until unconscious.

If that isn’t working at all, get up, go to another room, play soft music at low volume on headphones, and depending on the circumstances read a book, jot stuff down, or just contemplate stuff. Chill until sleepy, then either go back to bed or just curl up where you are.

Worst I hurt myself: Older, much larger cousin broke my leg by landing on it in a bouncy castle.

Injury that pissed me off the most: At 13, I loved jiujitsu and rock climbing above all else. At my last jiujitsu class before going to California to, among other things, go bouldering in Joshua Tree, I sliced my heel badly on the metal bottom of the dojo door that had about an inch and a half of clearance from the floor.

Shoes in general, let alone those super-tight climbing shoes, were out of the question for two weeks. I’m still mad. Of all the ways I could’ve got hurt, it was the fucking door on the way out that took me down.

Primarily the audience. The artist can approach a project with a certain set of ideas, precepts, and motivations, and attempt to communicate something, but the interpretations of the audience supercede that IMO.

That said, different levels of engagement inform different interpretations. For instance, there’re folks who watched Starship Troopers that didn’t understand it was satire until they listened to the director’s commentary. Knowing this does impact an audience’s interpretation when engaging with the work - all of a sudden, certain things lend themselves to closer consideration. But the audience still brings their own experiences, sociocultural context, and ideas to a work of art. Over time, it is the audience’s interpretations that carry on as people share that experience.

Ideally, a work stands on its own without reference to paratext/the creator’s claims. But those can play a part in informing your own interpretation.

Canada, various provinces - either weed whacker or whipper-snipper.

Scott calls it a trimmer sometimes, but Scott’s a dick and we hate him.

Whenever I see someone with sunglasses inside, I always chalk it up to a) not being arsed to remove them, b) light-sensitivity due to migraine/hangover, or c) being on some sort of drug (sunglasses = invisibility cloak/comfort blanket for some folks).

All of these are totally valid. Douchey is as douchey does, if folks are acting polite/keeping to themselves I don’t judge.

It’s not the worst idea, though of course you’d need to figure out if taking a job in another city is worth maybe having to move your family/your wife having to transfer or find a new role herself.

Don’t limit yourself to this, but something to think about re: searching: What private labs operate in your part of Canada (Lifelabs, Dynacare, etc.)? Who holds the contracts for hospital lab sample/supply transportation (this can be tricky to suss out, but if you find yourself near hospitals at all, think about the branding on courier vans you see)? Etc.