Exactly, but the guy couldn’t even see him.

My brother had a funny story about this. His friend worked in IT and was doing one of those system things that take all day and take the system down. He wasn’t supposed to let anyone in the building during this. So an executive comes to the door, his key card doesn’t work, he buzzes the bell. The guy inside answers, and says he can’t let anyone in. Exec says “Do you know who I am?” and the employee responds with a tentative “well, do you know who I am?”

“No”

“Ok, I can’t let you in.”

Wow, New Orleans? I love that city.

Downtown Clearwater FL has been pretty much taken over by Scientologists and is quite creepy now.

This Twonks two panel is probably the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. Anyone I show it to cracks up. He is a genius.

Mind and body are very tightly bound (that is how placebo works) I don’t think you are wrong to be wary of speaking disease into existence. The only sinus infection I have ever had, came after reading a particularly vivid and detailed article about how they start. Like my body was following along.

I do give my work computer enrichment activities to keep it happy. Listen to music so that it can have music, browse occasionally so it doesn’t have only work to work on. I get far fewer problems than my teammates do, so it seems to work even though it’s superstitious nonsense.

Yes. Cats here should be indoor cats. Even in the city there are raccoons, coyotes, alligators, dogs in people’s yards, and CARS. I let them out briefly and supervised, sometimes, to catch a lizard if they are watching them out the window. Or as others say, occasionally on a harness to wander the garden, and eat a little grass.

Obviously that’s not always possible, there are feral outdoor cats that sometimes show up, the city has a spay/neuter and release program for those.

It’s hard to say without knowing the first name, go with what sounds good together. Or use your first name as your last name. Olivia Olivia or Esther Esther.

WHAT?

Just kidding.

There’s a range of actual volume, my boss I cannot hear half the time because he is quiet but a couple of coworkers have voices that really carry, it’s not exactly volume or not just volume, it’s throw.

Talkative we are, overall. Not everyone of course, but there is a lot of talking.

And pushy and curious we are, overall, too. I think that can read as loud too.

I can’t. One of my job requirements is that I need to work someplace I think is at least neutral, or is good. So far it’s only been neutral and I am ok with that.

I do think some people can be a force for good in a bad place but I am not strong enough to do that.

Edit to add an example - I heard a story about a guy working in corrections - a prison warden - who was working to change the system from punitive to remedial, and had reduced recidivism by a huge amount, like it’s 5%, compared to 50% in most of the nation. I think he is a good person in an evil industry (the American prison industry). Randy Liberty. Not kidding, that is his real name.

Office so close I can bike in 10 minutes or walk in 20, with a pretty flexible schedule. I like it better than WFH because I give up none of my house for work now. Oh and they close the office from Christmas Eve through New Years day, I have never before worked anywhere that does that.

Lots of PTO days but it’s hard to take them (too many busy days at work, not enough staff.) I schedule little 1-2 day offs for every month at least though, and usually a week off in the summer.

What the fuck? Were there so few participants that 3rd was a bad result? High school has four years, right? 4th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st place, seems to me you were on track.

Sure. Jehovah’s witnesses, Baptists, and Miss Mary, mom of a friend of one of my kids, nice lady but the only fundamentalist Catholic I’ve ever met, so many kids that each one got a birthday party every 5 years (but a BIG party), we went to one and there was a pony, little tables set up in their yard for the kids, she wrote a song as a present for her kid and sang it, that was nice, and when the kids were getting their pictures taken, said “say Jesus!” to get them to smile.

Oh and once when I was a kid my friend took me to their church and there was speaking in tongues, they did not want me to leave without being overcome and speaking in tongues that was kind of terrifying.

There also used to be a church near us called “The Church of Christ Upon the Rock of the Apostolic Faith Holy Temple #2” . Which always made me wonder where the first one was.

We live near a park with alligators in an exhibit, they are well fed and lounge on the banks of a little pond, with some turtles, sunning themselves - so I always let my kids lean over the railing, not touch them or anything but I didn’t worry about it since they were fed & lazy.

Until one day, we saw one of them lunge at a turtle and grab it, moving so fast! Crunch crunch gulp. Which disabused me of two wrong ideas. One, that these alligators did not care to have a snack, and two, that nothing but eagles could eat turtles. Someone had told me that no animal could bite through a turtle shell, but that eagles would drop them from a great height to crack them open, and since I’d never seen another animal eat a turtle, I bought it.

So after that, no more leaning over.

Somewhat tangential but you should read the story of how WaWa did an end run around a corporate takeover.

T-Mobile had the worst customer service of any company I have dealt with, then had a turnaround to the best customer service of any company, but now, sadly, not so great. Though not nearly as bad as it was to start.

I watch plenty of animated stuff but not specifically kids stuff. Movies I would, shows not so much.

Books, though? Some of the best written and most interesting books I’ve read as an adult were labeled as YA books.

Never mind - looking through the comments at what is called kid cartoons, yes I do watch them.

Yes, even better looking now and oh so photogenic.

Yes, either the fan, or gentle psybient music, something. Because it’s never silent, and earplugs make me cough, I need sleepy sounds.

ETA I also love when a neighbor has a party, sleeping to the distant sounds of a party, music and all, relaxes my mind so much. I think my subconscious must figure things are ok if people are partying. I have had sometimes the opportunity to sleep above a dance club and that also was so nice.

I have an address modifier for my physical home address (a description to help delivery people find it) and always just use that when there is a ‘company’ field on anything not related to my job. So basically, I make something up, say my home is my business.

But I like the idea of “Independent” a lot. I’m sure they aren’t trying to keep you out, just trying to help you network.

People must be made so different. Exercise is the main factor in my size & weight. Like, even getting a job where I have to go up the stairs makes a difference.

And remember that there are so many benefits to exercise, beyond body shape. Cardio is so good for your heart and helps ease anxiety, lifting is so good for your bones, yoga helps keep you resilient & mobile so you don’t break when you fall down, and helps with balance.

All of them help offset all the sitting most of us have to do at work.

Yep. Here the tickets for the smaller venues are often still Ticketmaster. I don’t do arena or stadium shows, ever. They have their fingers in everything.

Occasionally the tickets are sold through Eventbrite or the very small local ticketing alternative, and there are a couple who handle their own box office but more often than you think, it’s fucking Ticketmaster.