I grew up using this word all the time. It’s just one of the dumb words we said all the time. I only found out within the last couple of years that it’s considered a slur. Idk, I feel most people who are actually considered retarded and are competent enough to understand don’t actually care. But the reality is that any sort of “name calling” isn’t necessary. I grew up with a culture of all sorts of name calling, but just because I grew up with doesn’t mean it’s right.

But ultimately, language and the world changes and it’s just not acceptable to say anymore because it is derogatory towards a particular group.

I’m sorry you have to deal with this. I’ve got a sister that blows up once in a while and has a lot of mental issues. We grew up with my mom being mentally and emotionally abusive. My sister ended hard getting into drugs and alcohol for a while, spent some time in jail, got bailed out a couple of times. When I started feeling scared after she showed up at my house, drugged out of her mind, and threatened to kick my ass. I went no contact with her.

There was nothing that any of my family could say to her to get her to stop. She is one of those people who has to learn the hard way. Eventually I started talking to her again when she stopped with the drugs and alcohol (she still smokes pot but it doesn’t cause issues other than not affording to pay her bills). She doesn’t make any effort to apply herself or make any real improvements in her life. I’ve talked with her a lot about improving her self Esteem and doing tiny things to get out of a vicious cycle of depression. I’ll follow up with her and ask if she did any of it and she’ll say no. She’s taken medication for her depression and whatever other issues she has, but she’ll stop taking it. She won’t see a therapist because she is paranoid that idk they’ll call the cops or tell the government something about her. (My mother was psycho paranoid the same way.)

I’m not entirely sure what got her out of the drugs and alcohol. But at some point she decided to stop, then she had a baby and that’s been her primary motivation for staying clean at least. She recently checked herself into a psych ward after a blow up with her husband and child and she became suicidal. She’s convinced she isn’t worth anything and is just a fuck up.

But I guess the point I’m making is that people have to choose to change. My sister will have to choose to make changes in her thinking if she wants to be happy and functional, just like she chose to stop drugs and alcohol. The best thing is probably go no contact. Some people will use that as a sign that they need to stop and figure their shit out or get help. It wouldn’t hurt to tell him you care about him, that you hope for the best for him, that you wish him a good life (maybe by mail is best). That’s if you still do. Maybe those words will stick with him.

Keyboarding class. I actually thought they were teaching how to play the keyboard. Oh boy was I disappointed. But yeah, now I can type ungodly fast.

Learn how to learn. Having the ability to look up things on the internet, watch YouTube videos, go to the library and find books, ask people for help and even show you how to do something. Most people are willing to teach others if you’re willing to learn.

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it unless you feel comfortable with it but sometimes money is tight and it’s easier just to replace that 10$ part rather than call a repair guy. I’ve looked up how to replace a part on a water heater on the internet because it was cheap at Lowes and I didn’t want to pay weekends rates for the plumber.

Also learn how to do basic things like learn how to change the oil on your car, replace your belts and change a tire. You’ll save some money and feel good about being able to do these little things. Look for tools at yard sales and pawn shops if you don’t have a lot to spend on tools.

This for sure! I never understood the power of a 401k being a tax shelter and the power of employer matching. Do as much as you can, even if it’s 50$ a paycheck. It’s best of you can put in as much as the employer will match.

Once upon a time I did research out of these big sets of books called encyclopedias.

That is fucking gross.

The first thing comes to mind is thinking about all the spam that goes to my email and imagining all of it trying to bot IM me.

I had an issue with those spam emails somehow adding shit to my calendar for my email. I think it mostly got fixed but that stopped me from using my calendar anymore real quick.

Things like gift bags, disposible table cloths, tableware… Get all that at the dollar store.

Yeah I’ve heard that too. I’ve seen it a few times as well.

Personally, I try not to cheap out on anything I want to last. You don’t have to buy the most expensive, but don’t buy the cheapest either. Something in the middle usually does good.

I’ve done well buying second hand too. I recently found a bread machine for 3$ at goodwill. Works perfectly. But I also figured if I decided not to use it anymore or it was crap, then I lost 3$

Yeah I have a hard time finding any meaning in this one. White might represent the bleached existence that people want. There m & m s and drugs. A console controller. Maybe that represents the escapism people seek. Legos might be a person trying to piece together life but rather than piece it together they lay it out in rows because it’s expected of them? And I have no fucking clue about the power bricks. They paced to face each other so maybe opposition.

It’s all over the place though nothing really strikes a meaning or really does much to elicit a feeling. Good art has themes and makes you think. This just feels like bullshit, like someone was just throwing it together and hoping it was art or trying to submit something for a grade.

I never understood integrals either! I don’t know if we covered it in a math class in high school but I got to college and took physics and encountered it. I was like “What in the fuck is this shit?!” I take that back. I think I did encounter it briefly in high school physics but the teacher was like, “don’t worry if you don’t get it right now, you’ll figure it out.” My fucking ass! That was college physics from like week 2!!!

I tried to figure it out from the text book and that didn’t work. I went and bought a math book to try to figure it out, that obviously didn’t work. This was before YouTube and the internet getting big on any kind of instruction so it was just like," well fuck me I guess I’ll fail."

What I should have done was gone to the teacher for help. They always said their hours when they were open but I never thought they would have time for me. I know better now. They would have been happy to help me but ignorance and probably low self esteem and all.

Still don’t understand that integral shit. I eventually went back to school but become an English major instead of that shit.

Putting the work in.

When the hell did they start doing this?

Couple of thoughts that come to mind that might help. I’ve done a few long haul trips and it’s daunting. It never helps to buy a US road atlas for like 20$ at Walmart. Take a highlighter and mark whatever route you find in Google on it. There are a few places where there isn’t cell service on the interstate but it’s pretty rare now. This will give you a backup but it also forces you to look at your route. Look at the different cities and note how big they are. Get a general idea of how far apart they are. My thought on this is most vehicles you can get 300 miles to the tank. This will kinda help you plan out approximately where you’ll need to stop and gas up. You can also look at your map and see if you’re good for x more miles or if you stop at this gas station you’re passing.

The other thing is plan on stopping every couple of hours. Get out, walk a few, go pee, buy a snack or pull one out of the cooler. A lot of the rest stops along the interstate are pretty decent but don’t expect hot food in most states. You’ll probably find vending machines at most of them.

Less anxiety. For a bit there I felt like “nothing” and then I realized that’s what it feels like when I’m not constantly ruminating on all the crap that brings me anxiety.

What is supposed to be on the piece of paper the dog is holding in the logo?

Just start, worry about the details later.

I remember I picked Lemmy.world to create an account only because I had no idea what I was doing and it seemed like the only one which had merit at the time (I know how things work better now.) Now that I know how decentralization works I’ll probably open a new account on another server when I get time.