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Joined 8 months ago
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Cake day: March 16th, 2024

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  • Speaking as a new hobbyist (2 months), I went with an Creality Ender 3 V3 KE. The cost was in the $250-300 USD range and it had a decent range of features.

    I’ve used it almost every day since unpacking it. It’s pretty easy to get to know. The Creality cloud slicing tool is good enough for me (for now), and can be run via a browser or app.

    Microcenter has a variety of display models that you can check out. If I had known about it I probably would have gone prior to making my selection. I’m not sure my choice would have been different, but a little extra knowledge never hurts.


  • a very literal interpretation

    This is literally what Christian fundamentalists believe. If any aspect of the bible is not the literal truth, it all falls apart in their eyes. They are very absolutist.

    And it’s not just Genesis.

    “But translations…” Hahaha no. It varies by sect but it usually falls under either “our religious founder was guided by God to the true translation” or “The King James version was a work of revelation and it undid all the false translations introduced by the Romans and Greeks.”

    “But it contradicts itself on key points.” No it doesn’t.

    “Hey, maybe Lazarus was just in a coma” Get behind me, Satan.

    There is no argument that hasn’t been heard and rejected. Disagreement is an attack.


  • I will reply not with my own view, but of the person who is most likely the author if this tract: Jack Chick. “Catholics are not Christians.”

    Absurd, you say? Of course, and I agree that it’s absurd.

    In the US there are two broad categories of people who would disagree.

    1. Old school bigots, many of whom came from immigrant families and wanted to align with the ruling class in America: WASPs. These were generally families who came from northwestern Europe and Scandinavia. (This describes the oldest members of my own family, who are still scandalized that my uncle married a woman from an Italian family in the 1960s).
    2. Fundamentalist Protestants. There are a thousand different flavors, so it’s hard to give them a single name. They agree that the bible is the literal word of God and that Catholicism is fundamentally flawed - as is any religion that stresses the need to “do unto others” in any significant fashion. “The only way to heaven is through me,” said Jesus. In other words, if you’re a serial killer but you truly believe in Jesus Christ and have pledged your soul to him - well, Jesus must have a good reason for all that serial killing you did. (This describes my in-laws, so yes - my entire family is fucked up).

    The serial killing thing is a bit of an exaggeration, but honestly - these people are almost shockingly mean to each other.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick_tract


  • This was extremely well said. My in-laws adhere to one of these high control (fundie) sects, so I have an enlightening and disquieting inside look at it.

    One of my nephews dreamed of becoming a marine biologist from an early age. And even as he got older he never wavered. We privately wondered what was going to happen when he got old enough to realize that he would need to attend a school that taught actual math and science for that to become a reality.

    He’s currently studying to become a nurse at a Christian College. He’s safe from forbidden ideas, but he’ll blend well into the alternate parallel economy favored by the people at his church. In addition to social isolation from non-believers, they prefer to do business with companies run by people from their own or an affiliated church.

    The parallel economy still unnerves me for some reason. Learning about Christian Health Insurance was an eye-opener.




  • In the US they were definitely out of fashion in the '80s and '90s. They were fashion statement that said “I’m a gross hippie” or worse, a BeeGee.

    I was a teen at the time and the consensus among teen girls was that a beard was the ultimate dealbreaker of a physical attribute. Makes sense, really, because most guys our age couldn’t grow a nice one if they wanted to. (And also - hippies are gross). I always respectfully disagreed, and would point to our classmate, Murad. He had pretty well grown facial hair by junior year and he looked fiiiinne.

    The exception that proved the rule? Luckily (for Murad) my classmates generally agreed, but refused to back down from their opinion in general.

    That attitude persisted, with the occasional appearance of a goatee or soul patch in the late '90s, both of which proved to be a gateway drug that led to the appearance of proper beards. I think a lot of guys would have liked to have beards, but realized that they were driving away potential partners. But they were pretty normal by 2010.

    I’ll drop this line from wikipedia, which should illustrate just how boringly mainstream beards have become in the US.

    Since 2015 a growing number of male political figures have worn beards in office, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and Senators Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton.

    Damn hippies.



  • 7:07am. Milan.

    I’m woken by two texts from my coworker. “Thought we were meeting in the lobby at 7:00. Heading to the train station.”

    The train leaves at 7:20. “Well I can’t…” or can I?

    Clothes on. Glasses on. All toiletries swept into purse. I run like hell.

    There’s a pedestrian underpass, but I Frogger across the road and through the square. I’m in the station with a minute to spare and I’m still somehow running. My shoes are shabby Converse and the floor is polished marble. And I’m 45.

    Things are going as ok as any of that can be until I have that out of body moment when I know my foot to forward motion ratio is incompatible with staying upright.

    I lunged into the fall, made an extremely satisfying “splat” sound, and skidded several horizontal meters on the marble floor. Two or more nicely dressed Italians look at me in horror, but I’m not physically hurt. Big smile. I thought about Mary Catherine Gallagher-ing it with a victory pose, but just got up and kept running.

    Made the train as it was pulling out, brushed hair/teeth once i caught my breath. Moved to the correct train car at the next stop, and met up with my colleague.

    We had a nice day trip and the waiter was horrified at how much wine we drank at lunch.