(Part 14) Best books according to redditors
We found 719,500 Reddit comments discussing the best books. We ranked the 224,006 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 261-280. You can also go back to the previous section.
Donald Barr is AG William Barr's dad
Donald Barr was in the OSS, which was the precursor to the CIA
Donald Barr gave Epstein his first job as a math teacher in an elite, politically connected school, even though Epstein did not have any qualifications or even a college degree.
Donald Barr wrote a book called Space Relations, about a race of aliens that are so rich they become bored with everything and start a sex slavery ring and are also aroused by fear
Edit: This post has managed to raise the cost of the book 8 fold in about an hour, I should have bought it first damn
Edit 2: It looks like at least 3 copies sold for about $188 each since my post went up and now you cannot buy it anywhere online. Independent book sellers please DM me so you know where to send my commission ;)
You mean Bill Barr, the guy whose father, Donald Barr, was the headmaster of a school that later hired the incredibly unqualified Jeffrey Epstein to be a math teacher? The same Bill Barr whose father, Donald Barr, wrote a novel about an alien sex-trafficking ring whose protagonist falls in love with their captor? The same Bill Barr that joined lawfirm Kirkland & Ellis just months after they represented Jeffrey Epstein in a case? The same Kirkland & Ellis Law Firm that also employed Alexander Acosta, the US Attorney that accepted Jeffrey Epstein's ridiculous plea deal?
>Barr created the only possible scenario in which that could happen
What really freaked me out was discovering that Barr's father, Donald Barr, back in 1973 wrote a science-fiction book involving a planet where sexual slavery of children was front and center. The story was filled with sexual stuff involving kids.
There's a whole world of pedos just under the surface here. Epstein wasn't going to rat anyone out, he would have pleaded the 5th on every question he was asked. But the trial might still have lead to unwanted investigations, so they needed him dead to just stop questions being asked.
Epstein has deep ties to Israel and rich Jewish Business men. Here is a list of shady and weird shit that has been released the past couple of days that relates to the CIA and Mossad. The more and more you read about this, the more apparent it is that the CIA/Mossad are involved and probably have a vested interest to keep this stuff under wraps.
Book link for the lazy.
Sorry, I don't have any questions. I don't know much about you or what you do. But, hi! Thanks for doing an AMA and have a fantastic day!
Fine, that's kind of a cop out. Uhhh, what slightly greedy thing do you do most often?
Don't forget that Donald Barr hired Epstein (who had no teaching creds) to teach 7th graders math. At the same time, Donald Barr also wrote a sci-fi novel about sex slavery in space.
Ultimately, William Barr is covering for his father.
Gathering and analyzing intelligence on other countries is its primary, original role. Most directly for keeping specifically the President informed of just what the heck is developing around the world. It was started after WW2 in order to prevent another Pearl Harbor surprise. And they were not allowed to gather intelligence on US soil, but that has not been strictly observed.
This work involves gathering tasks as mundane as always reading the news in a target country, as political context matters as much as tapped phone conversations when putting together an analysis. But the movie-caliber stuff is important too. They tap phones, recruit sources in governments and industry, build a whole network of resources.
To collect this information, the CIA uses two kinds of employees. “Official cover” officers pose as diplomats in US embassies worldwide. All embassy staff will be under surveillance from the target country’s counter-intelligence organizations — their FBI equivalents — so meeting sources is risky and they might stick to less blatant parts of the job. But on the upside, they have diplomatic immunity and just get sent home if caught spying. Non-official cover officers get jobs in multinational companies or assume some invented identity that gives them a reason to be in country. They can more freely recruit local sources but must rot in prison or die if caught, unacknowledged.
Info goes back to legions of analysis teams working in offices in the US who prepare it into reports.
The CIA also engages in covert and clandestine activities meant to influence other countries. This latter role has grown, diminished, and changed in nature throughout its history depending on political climate. Some bad press from some really ugly leaks in the 70’s (I think) about the extent of these activities put a big damper on them for a while, requiring Presidential sign-offs on killings, iirc. Post 9/11, the CIA is back on the hard stuff but keeps a legion of lawyers to make sure it’s teccchhnically legal.
These cold war activities include funding and organizing Afghan resistance against communist rule, for example. A whole covert war. Also tons of election rigging, assassination, etc. Post cold war they have been involved in anti-terror activities like running the war against the Taliban and assassinating militants and their neighbors with drone missiles.
Fun fact: “covert” operations are meant to hide who is behind an operation, “clandestine” are meant to conceal the entire operation from anyone but us. Compare an assassination to a phone tap.
Edit: in one episode (2 or 3 i think) of Netflix docu series Inside the Mossad explains how Israel’s foreign intelligence uses elaborate sting operations to recruit sources. By the time they realize they’re working for Mossad, they’re in too deep to not go along with it. Intelligence orgs do this a lot when they know the people they need probably hate the org’s country. This is basically all the time for Israel spying on other middle east states. Case officers often use really impressively manipulative strategies for recruiting and controlling their local agents. “The Americans” illustrates some great examples of this, if a little more dramatic.
Edit 2A: There are a bunch of other specialized US foreign intelligence agencies, like the NSA that traditionally intercepts signals and cracks their codes.
Edit 2B: In the UK, MI6 of James Bond fame does foreign intelligence and MI5 does counter-intelligence. These existed during WW2 but back then the lines got blurred, with both organizations running their own double agents against Nazi Germany’s own two competing foreign intelligence orgs. In fact, 0% of any spies Germany sent to Britain were able to work for enough time before being caught to send anything useful over. By 1944, when the UK was more confident that they were controlling all the sources sending info to Germany (the ones that wouldn’t work for the UK as double agents radioing harmless intel back home were either dead or imprisoned), they fed Germany massive misinformation about the location (and timing?) of the D-Day Normandy invasion. Read the excellent book Operation Double Cross to learn about this incredible operation.
BOOK EDIT:
Books on the CIA I found rewarding.
“The Master of Disguise” by Tony Mendez. Ben Affleck played him in Argo. Memoir of this artist’s time in the CIA inventing disguises and forging travel documents, often to exfiltrate an exposed source. Watch or read Argo too if you haven’t, the film at least is incredibly cool because its evacuation of American diplomats from Iran as Canadian filmmakers is largely real.
https://www.amazon.com/Master-Disguise-Secret-Life-CIA/dp/0060957913/
“Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA.” Recent declassifications are exposing just how terribly the CIA bungled things in the early cold war, which is what this is about. From massive nuclear arms race miscalculations that threatened the world, to unfounded communism paranoia that led to totally unnecessary coups, they used classification to hide their greatest errors.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0307389006/
“Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs, from Communism to Al-Qaeda.” Beyond just the tech, you get insight into the lives of tech team members who would bug homes for their career. Interesting stuff. I think I read a different edition but this is probably fine.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0452295475/
“Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001”
Tom Clancy name, but actually an extremely detailed history of the CIA’s 1980’s support for Afghan mujahideen against the USSR and continued involvement in the 90’s. Down to highlighting cultural generational differences within the multiple cohorts of CIA officers in charge of the long-running operation. Also highlights Pakistan’s demand to hand out all the money, both to act as kingmaker for the dominant factions and to skim hella bux off the top. Descriptions of the conflict and how the Afghans relentlessly persevered and how factions had independent deals and truces with USSR. Then much of the civil war aftermath of USSR pullout when the US stopped caring. Taliban become popular for not tolerating warlords raping local boys, an issue that remains to this day among US supported administration (a coalition of “former” warlords who you will recognize if you read the book). Great read, incredible breadth.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0143034669/
Just want to make sure people understand that the guy that runs the Manhattan Correctional Center where Jeffrey Epstein died is... Attorney General William Barr, and that he expressed support of extra-judicial killings a couple days ago.
Also, his father, Donald Barr, hired Jeffrey Epstein as a tutor even though he had zero qualifications to teach: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jeffrey-epstein-math-science-students-memories_n_5d28cf17e4b0060b11ebf987
The best part? Donald Barr wrote a sci-fi book about sex slavery by the rich: https://www.amazon.com/Space-relations-slightly-gothic-interplanetary/dp/0860000249
If anyone here doesn't know just how scary ebola is, I highly recommend reading The Hot Zone by Richard Preston. Probably one of the most terrifying books I have ever read.
Link here
The 50 Shades series was so hokey. It involves a girl who is 19 and still an innocent virgin in an ivy league school who has never used a computer or understands how email works. Nobody is that naive. It's stereotypical that the leading male is filthy rich, which only serves to reinforce the idea that all women want is money. It makes a mockery of the whole BDSM lifestyle and I couldn't stop cringing the whole time. Every time she mentioned her "inner goddess" (which was on every other page) I wanted to tear the book to shreds and burn it.
There. Having finished my rant, your wife really needs to understand that there need to be ground rules to this type of thing. You could get arrested for something like this and have you seen Irreversible? The dude rapes her ass for almost 10 minutes of screen time and then beats her to a bloody pulp. I can't quite remember, but I think she dies from the injuries. Not to toot my own horn, but I discussed this very thing at length on the /r/AskWomen subreddit yesterday. People told me I was very helpful.
If she wants to read some BDSM literature, I found the Sleeping Beauty books by Anne Rice to be a lot more...stimulating.
Also, if the BDSM lifestyle is one you both want to pursue, look into this book. I found it to be very informative and an easy, entertaining read.
TL:DR For the love of God, don't rush into this. It's not going to end well for either of you.
Barr is likely fucking those children as well.
Barr's father gave an unqualified Jeffrey Epstein a job teaching children. Barr's dad also wrote some weird sci-fi pedo porn.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0860000249/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_8dARDbN2B4VYT
The cycle of abuse continues.
moderately relevant - The Motivation Game
edit: Thanks to both /u/jagsnflpwns and /u/Meriog - link to the book by Allie Brosh called "Hyperbole and a Half"
On that note check out this comment by u/NChSh:
> Donald Barr is AG William Barr's dad
> Donald Barr was in the OSS, which was the precursor to the CIA
> Donald Barr gave Epstein his first job as a math teacher in an elite, politically connected school, even though Epstein did not have any qualifications or even a college degree.
> Donald Barr wrote a book called Space Relations, about a race of aliens that are so rich they become bored with everything and start a sex slavery ring and are also aroused by fear
Obviously crazy conspiracy theory but damn man. Add in their recruiter Ghislaine Maxwell's Mossad agent father and this is just a wild ride.
The reviews for that book on Amazon are worth a read. :)
Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking for sure.
Epstein has deep ties to Israel and rich Jewish Business men. Here is a list of shady and weird shit that has been released the past couple of days that relates to the CIA and Mossad. The more and more you read about this, the more apparent it is that the CIA/Mossad are involved and probably have a vested interest to keep this stuff under wraps.
Same Attorney General William Barr whos dad was author of the 1974 book Space relations: A slightly gothic interplanetary tale
>The fantasy novel portrays an Earthling named John Craig, who is sold into slavery on a planet called Kossar. Craig falls in love with Lady Morgan Sidney — a Kossar leader described as having “high breasts and long thighs.”
>Craig goes along with Lady Morgan’s demands to sexually assault a teenage slave as part of a clinic used to “breed” people, Motherboard said. The novel includes other instances of rape.
Something tells me he'll read the letter and find no wrongdoing. By this time next week, Barr will be telling us its actually a letter of recommendation for Epstein.
If anyone wants to reach through the interwebs and give her a hug, why not pre-order her book?
Only 13 bucks, and Prime eligible! And they'll deliver it to you as soon as it comes out, so you will be the cool kid who has it first.
Go order it now. I'll wait here in this thread.
Check out harry potter and the methods of rationality.
Read/Learn Non Violent Communication
Start to [Meditate] (http://humanistsofmn.org/127-better-critical-thinking-through-meditation)
Philosophy - "love of wisdom"
Read about rationality/critical thinking
Learn about the common [cognitive biases] (http://www.businessinsider.com/cognitive-biases-2014-6?op=1) and [logical fallacies] (https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/)
Create some rationality habits
Learn about the ways Marketing/propaganda is used to influence you
The Trivium
"Donald Barr is AG William Barr's dad
Donald Barr was in the OSS, which was the precursor to the CIA
Donald Barr gave Epstein his first job as a math teacher in an elite, politically connected school, even though Epstein did not have any qualifications or even a college degree.
Donald Barr wrote a book called Space Relations, about a race of aliens that are so rich they become bored with everything and start a sex slavery ring and are also aroused by fear
Edit: This post has managed to raise the cost of the book 8 fold in about an hour, I should have bought it first damn"
Copied this from r/news, trying to find the user who posted it
Fakta om IQ, eller g (generell intelligensfaktor)
Detta är konsensus i forskningen. Även forskare som exempelvis Richard Nisbett eller James Flynn, som tror att gruppskillnaderna är helt och hållet miljömässiga instämmer i det som skrivs ovan. Ingen insatt i forskningen tror på det typiska "IQ mäter ingenting", "IQ gynnar västerlänningar", "IQ mäter en minimal del av intelligens". Sådana påståenden visar att man ej läst litteraturen, exempelvis Nisbett, Murray och Herrnstein eller Mackintosh.
Huruvida intelligensskillnaderna mellan grupperna (svarta-vita-asiater) beror på arv, miljö eller en kombination är mer spekulativt och här får man bilda sig en egen uppfattning genom att tillgodogöra sig argumenten från båda sidor. Här (kort och lättläst) är en bra sammanfattning av argument för och emot en ärftlig komponent till gruppskillnaderna skriven av Rushton & Jensen som tror på en 50-50-modell (observera att ingen tror på en 100% ärftlig modell, striden står mellan de som tror på 100% miljö mot de som tror på ungefär 50% miljö/50% arv).
Data att fundera över (diagram):
> Published Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS), reporting the presence of alleles exhibiting significant and replicable associations with IQ, are reviewed. The average between-population frequency (polygenic score) of nine alleles positively and significantly associated with intelligence is strongly correlated to country-level IQ (r = .91). Factor analysis of allele frequencies furthermore identified a metagene with a similar correlation to country IQ (r = .86). The majority of the alleles (seven out of nine) loaded positively on this metagene. Allele frequencies varied by continent in a way that corresponds with observed population differences in average phenotypic intelligence. Average allele frequencies for intelligence GWAS hits exhibited higher inter-population variability than random SNPs matched to the GWAS hits or GWAS hits for height. This indicates stronger directional polygenic selection for intelligence relative to height. Random sets of SNPs and Fst distances were employed to deal with the issue of autocorrelation due to population structure. GWAS hits were much stronger predictors of IQ than random SNPs. Regressing IQ on Fst distances did not significantly alter the results nonetheless it demonstrated that, whilst population structure due to genetic drift and migrations is indeed related to IQ differences between populations, the GWAS hit frequencies are independent predictors of aggregate IQ differences.
When we were first dating, my wife baked a lot and had this cookbook set
on her Amazon wishlist. It's basically a set of cooking textbooks for $500. They're really cool (showing the science behind cooking and all), but I couldn't afford it on my own.
I split the cost with my parents and got it for her for Xmas that year. It's been sitting on our kitchen counter for about four years now, but maybe some day she'll get bored and dust them off?
Well then maybe you shouldn't read this or this. I am terrified of smallpox and ebola/hemorrhagic fevers thanks to Richard Preston.
I wanted to add that if you're brand new to PowerShell then you should take a look at PowerShell in a Month of Lunches.
Also, take a look at /r/PowerShell. There are fantastic people in there, and they're incredibly knowledgeable.
And the ever popular Learn Windows Powershell in a Month of Lunches
The best way to learn anything depends on your learning style. Some people learn better by reading, some by watching videos, and some by doing. It's important to know how you learn effectively.
That said, my recommendation is to find a routine task you do regularly and figure out how to do it automatically with PowerShell. Do you archive old report files to a specific directory structure? Learn about
Copy-Item. Do you manage Exchange, SCCM, O365, anything like that? They all have automation support with PowerShell. There are even community modules that support a lot of third-party products - for example, the JiraPS project allows you to manage JIRA items with PowerShell, including creating new issues, commenting on existing ones, and closing them out.If you prefer reading, the book Learn PowerShell in a Month of Lunches is often recommended - but it's very important that you actually follow along with the exercises in the book. Type them and run them on a live computer whenever possible.
If you prefer videos, I suggest the Microsoft Virtual Academy series on PowerShell. These are a bit long, but they do a great job of teaching you both concepts and practical knowledge.
Hope that helps!
Or, if you hate free things, consider buying her book (which is mostly comprised of content from her site, but is still great).
Space relations: A slightly gothic interplanetary tale https://www.amazon.com/dp/0860000249/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_FaAuDbBN054CT
His back story is covered in the comic Shepherds Tale. Though I'm not 100% it's canon.
When I had my first beetle I was a big fan of How to Keep you VW Alive - Step by step for the complete idiot. Mostly because I was an idiot mechanically back then.
I could use some help digging a bit deeper into my Epstein theory, or in trying to disprove it. I am trying to be brief yet detailed, while providing sources and background, which seems to be a tall task. Please let me know if you would like to know where I sourced anything I say below:
_____
The Family Jewels is the informal name used to refer to a set of reports that detail domestic activities conducted by the United States Central Intelligence Agency. Considered illegal or inappropriate, these actions were conducted over the span of decades, from the 1950s to the mid-1970s. William Colby, who was the CIA director in the mid-1970s, helped in the compilation of the reports and dubbed them the "skeletons" in the CIA's closet. Most of the documents were publicly released on June 25, 2007, after more than three decades of secrecy. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Jewels_(Central_Intelligence_Agency) for more background on the Family Jewels.)
Important to note, the number one worst "Jewel" is redacted entirely for purposes of national security more than 40 years after the Family Jewels were compiled and disclosed to Congress via the Church Committee (see the first pages of the document linked in my other comment). Journalists continue to speculate about what the Missing Jewel could possibly be, and I have begun to wonder whether it may be Epstein. Of note, MKULTRA, where the CIA tested LSD on unknowing US citizens (resulting in the death of CIA agent Frank Olson), as well as the CIA ridiculous and repeated attempts to assassinate Castro were willingly admitted in the Family Jewels.
See https://www.thenation.com/article/wheres-cias-missing-jewel/
What domestic covert operation could possibly be worse or more embarrassing for the US intelligence community than MKULTRA and the Castro attempts? In this post, I posit that it was the operation of which Epstein was the modern face, which started under the name Project RIVER BOAT.
If you read the 702-page Family Jewels FOIA release closely, you'll see a note from one CIA agent reporting to the CIA Director in relation to then-still ongoing domestic CIA operations--which are outside the Agency’s charter--of which he or she had knowledge. One such operation is RIVER BOAT, which began in April 1973 and has a stated purpose of "Political leverage, Industrial exploitation, civil damage suits." (see document clipping attached to this submission).
April 1973 is also just about when Barr Sr. would have hired unqualified Epstein at the Dalton School.
Barr Sr. was a confirmed OSS agent during WWII. OSS is the predecessor to the CIA, and as you can see based on what Barr Sr. did after his teaching and writing career, it can be deduced that his government contacts were maintained. Also of note, the Family Jewels also make reference to the CIA's concern with "communist" influences within US institutions of higher education and research into brainwashing/hypnosis (though most of this material, including that on higher education, remains highly classified). Barr went on to (eventually) be a Dean at Columbia University in his first role after leaving the OSS. There is also a few year gap between WWII (which is when the OSS supposedly disbanded) and his Masters at Columbia, for which no explanation can be found (Bill Barr was born at the very end of this period). See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services for more information regarding the OSS; see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Barr for more information regarding Donald Barr.
Remember also that Donald Barr wrote a fictional book that was literally about a species of aliens that was so wealthy that it became bored with the monotony of day-to-day life that they started a child sex-slave ring to satisfy their desire for excitement. See https://www.amazon.com/Space-relations-slightly-gothic-interplanetary/dp/0860000249 for more information regarding Donald Barr’s book, Space Relations. Add this to Barr Jr starting his career as a CIA attorney and then covering up the Iran-Contra scandal for Reagan, and everything seems to start making some sense.
Note also that the NRO is the agency which specialized in audio and video surveillance. A couple years back, in 1995, the NRO was found to have over a billion in cash which did not originate from its Congressional budget (see https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/09/24/spy-agency-hoards-secret-1-billion/7857e132-1b9d-40ba-8ca5-976d09beb10b/ ). We also have a $2.5B black budget that does come from Congress for the CIA’s covert operations.
I searched the entire database of released CIA documents, as well as the FBI database, and did not find a single mention of any variation of "RIVER BOAT" in a single other document. In other words, Project River Boat remains classified to this day. I am currently strategizing a way to get some documents relating to Project River Boat without saying Project River Boat, and have a variety of approaches (read: FOIA requests) in the works.
Finally, I think this bit may actually be coincidence, but Epstein's Palm Beach mansion and Mar-a-Lago are just a River Boat's ride from the Palm Beach FBI field office. It is literally just across the Gulf Stream, which is the body of water that separates Palm Beach from West Palm Beach. Such an operation would've been transferred to the FBI if it was continued beyond the Church Committee hearings since FBI covers domestic surveillance whereas the CIA is tasked with foreign operations. See https://www.google.com/maps/place/Federal+Bureau+Investigation/@26.7089846,-80.0861226,13z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x88d8d664ffffffff:0xcf2e1a3c580db89c!8m2!3d26.7089832!4d-80.0511034 AND https://www.google.com/maps/place/358+El+Brillo+Way,+Palm+Beach,+FL+33480/@26.6933597,-80.056113,14z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x88d8d6ef6234d6eb:0xa154b1bbfbac0c39!8m2!3d26.6933594!4d-80.0386035?hl=en A cable to transmit video data could literally be laid in a direct line in the Gulf Stream. This is also the specific office Acosta worked out of when he prosecuted Epstein (later stating Epstein was "intel" in defending the light punishment agreed to by the prosecution). You can see Epstein's estate out the windows of the FBI Agent's office windows, yet they could not get enough to prosecute him in the 2000s cases for some odd reason.
I could use some help in digging a bit deeper into these theories, or in trying to disprove them.
https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Windows-PowerShell-Month-Lunches/dp/1617294160
​
All you need to start
What's the book called, and by who? I need it! I had a quick search but nothing, info please :))** never mind I found it, link for anyone else (blog) .... and book
I'm reminded of a line of dialogue in a book I recently read (well, listened to). To expound on the plot summary on Amazon, the protagonist awakens to find that, while he was dead, the US became a theocratic state. Cryogenic preservation was ruled to be blasphemous, preserved people were declared to be dead, and all related assets were confiscated and sold off, including the preserved people.
The protagonist observes that it seems like it the proper action would have been to just bury the people, to which the other character replies, "Did theologues limit themselves to logical or consistent behavior in your time?"
I laughed so hard at that line - especially how it's delivered by the narrator - that I nearly had to pull my car off the road.
Gooood, gooood, like the kink flow through you.
P.S.
For those questioning, interested in dabbling, or just wanna read into what the other side likes, here's some book recs:
The Ultimate Guide to Kink: BDSM, Role Play and the Erotic Edge
Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns: The Romance and Sexual Sorcery of Sadomasochism
The Loving Dominant
SM 101: A Realistic Introduction
Different Loving: A Complete Exploration of the World of Sexual Dominance and Submission
For anyone too lazy to look for it
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms
(edit: the rest of the title: Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened)
Donald Barr is AG William Barr's dad
Donald Barr was in the OSS, which was the precursor to the CIA
Donald Barr gave Epstein his first job as a math teacher in an elite, politically connected school, even though Epstein did not have any qualifications or even a college degree.
Donald Barr wrote a book called Space Relations, about a race of aliens that are so rich they become bored with everything and start a sex slavery ring and are also aroused by fear
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0860000249/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_FaAuDbBN054CT
You should check out the Better not to have been book. The general idea is that it is more beneficial to have never been born. But, suicide is so hard to accomplish - mentally and physically - that it might not be beneficial to kill yourself.
Besides there are costs involved - say I'm 24, I have finally moved out from parents, live on my own. I have never been as free in my life before. All the childhood that sucked, the school are left behind. Im finally my own person. Health wise this is one of the highest point in one's life. From 30 it's going to go on downhill. Basically this and the next decade are going to be the best time of my life. Might as well make use of it if only to compensate for the shitty early part of my life. If/when it gets bad in my 40s+ I might just opt out of this game, and no family would be great in that regard - I would always be able to leave whenever I would want.
Life is essentially about costs and benefits. Most people trudge on because the pleasure shots they get out weight the suffering and the pain of suicide. It is true for me too (for now). But I would still prefer not to have existed.
/r/antinatalism rules
>be born without consent
required reading for depressedcels
It can't be because her book didn't sell well. Her book was amazing.
Everybody should buy a copy.
http://www.amazon.ca/Hyperbole-Half-Unfortunate-Situations-Mechanisms/dp/1451666179/ref=sr_1_1?s=books
http://smile.amazon.com/Hyperbole-Half-Unfortunate-Situations-Mechanisms-ebook/dp/B00BSB2AE4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books
Volume 1
Volume 2
The Shepherd's Tale
Anyone interested in a community on this should check out /r/bodyweightfitness
There are also some good books with similar progressions and ideas like You Are Your Own Gym or Overcoming Gravity
sure did
I never thought I would see the day that A858DE45F56D9BC9 would plagiarize, but this was taken digit-for-digit from RAND's A Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal Deviates.
Ya I don't know why this is the top voted comment, it is pretty ignorant. The study of "mushroom" cults is an academic study with ample evidence and it's an interesting field which is actually fairly popular. It was probably the word "Jesus".
References :
http://www.amazon.com/Food-Gods-Original-Knowledge-Evolution/dp/0553371304
http://www.amazon.com/The-Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity/dp/0340128755
http://www.amazon.com/Persephones-Quest-Entheogens-Origins-Religion/dp/0300052669
http://www.huh.harvard.edu/libraries/wasson/BIOG.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Shanon
http://www.artepreistorica.com/2009/12/the-oldest-representations-of-hallucinogenic-mushrooms-in-the-world-sahara-desert-9000-%E2%80%93-7000-b-p/
this goes on and on and on
For how to appreciate the game more, Take Your Eye Off The Ball.
For a great narrative from a player's perspective, Slow Getting Up.
For density, you could try Herbert Federer's monograph: Geometric Measure Theory.
As for boring, there is a certain publication from the RAND Corporation you could look into.
Great book on this subject : We Are Legion
This virus is scaring the hell out of me, especially after just finishing The Hot Zone. I picked this book up as the virus started being reported on in the news, and it now has me obsessed with viral outbreaks. The downside is that I have also become extremely paranoid. Fuck Ebola Zaire, fuckin bitch. I wouldn't wish this horrible contagion on my worst enemy. I really hope the brilliant scientists and doctors around the world get this thing under control ASAP.
Space relations: A slightly gothic interplanetary tale https://www.amazon.com/dp/0860000249/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_4o4VDbZXKXH8T
Read the comic! It's great! http://www.amazon.com/Serenity-Volume-The-Shepherds-Tale/dp/1595825614
PowerShell in a Month of Lunches is kind of the defacto starter book.
From there, I would recommend diving into The PowerShell Scripting and Toolmaking Book.
Naturally, this sub is also an excellent resource. You could also join the PowerShell Slack, where tons of good discussions/examples can be found.
There is a comic that gives Book's backstory.
SPOILERS
He was part of the Independence movement, who infiltrated the Alliance and worked his way into a higher-up military position. He eventually used this to cause a massacre of Alliance troops, after which he was discharged and disgraced. He later had a spiritual revelation and turned to god.
Yep, detailed in his book Food of the Gods. Very interesting read.
More Than Two by Franklin Veaux. If The Ethical Slut is the non-monogamy bible, then More than Two is the Polyamory handbook. It is a must read.
Opening Up by Tristan Taormino. Opening Up is a good supplementary book. Overall not as good as More than Two, but it has some unique takes on poly that is worth reading.
Eight Things I Wish I'd Known About Polyamory by Minx M. Honestly I have not gotten around to reading this yet, but it is by Cunning Minx of the Polyamory Weekly podcast, so the author knows what she is talking about.
Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan. This books it last on my list because it tries to pawn itself off as science when in truth it is more of philosophy. It makes good arguments, and backs them up with some data, but the evidence is nowhere as strong as Dr. Ryan wants to claim.
EDITED TO ADD:
If you are going to do non-monogamy it is always a good idea to improve your communication skills. Here are some recommended books on improving communication skills.
The Usual Error. This is a more basic communication book. It is a really good read that will point out some basic mistakes you probably make in communicating.
Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life. This is almost a whole new way of communicating. It is advanced level communications skills. Even incorporating some of the ideas in this book will help you tremendously in hard conversations.
Here's a good book called "Keep Your Eye Off The Ball." It's always raved about here on /r/nfl, and it pretty much teaches you how to watch football properly.
It's definitely not for beginners. I've given up on the book in several parts as I'm still a relatively new fan, but what I have got from it is great.
You really couldn't google "barr space relations"? Here, spoonfed for ya: https://www.amazon.com/Space-relations-slightly-gothic-interplanetary/dp/0860000249
May I suggest some reading for both of you before things get messy?
Check out David Benatar's Better Never to Have Been . Similar enough to be of interest I am sure.
That is a great question, but I doubt that it will. (Again, not a virologist, but personal opinion with some research done)
Its weakness is that it's really good at immobilizing and killing people. It usually does this pretty quickly (minus the 2-21 day incubation[pre-symptom] period, during which the patient is not contagious) so its transmission is limited if quality quarantine procedures are used. It's also not an airborne pathogen (except for transmission via droplets from coughs, sneezes).
The Filoviridae are ancient
bacteriaviruses(I typed it up in a hurry, sorry) so they've had plenty of time to mutate into a deadly strain. That's not to say that they won't, but they are very different from the viruses that are more readily transmitted such as the flu virus.Opinion: I don't think Ebola will ever be as deadly in total deaths as the flu. Ever. Its mortality rate is high and scary, but it isn't as transmissible as the flu or a cold and I doubt that it ever will be. Any first world country using appropriate quarantine measures would be able to prevent any serious spread of the virus fairly easily. Part of the reason it spreads so easily where it does is that, even in the midst of this local epidemic, people are still attending funerals and handling the bodies of the dead in a manner that is not conducive to containment.
I'm sure people see this any time the Ebola comes up, but The Hot Zone is an excellent book on the virus and the Reston, VA incident. I love the book, and there's a lot of pretty solid science in it.
EDIT: I accidentally called it a bacteria...
According to the philosopher Terence McKenna, these substances had been used by pre-human proto-hominids for millions of years.
In fact, he proposes that they played a crucial role in the development of higher consciousness. For a deeper look at this idea, read McKenna's book Food of the Gods. Fascinating stuff.
I get my randomness the old fashioned way
The absolutely best thing about this post are the customer reviews on a list of random numbers book on Amazon that was linked.
link
I knew Amazon reviews were subject to the occasional troll/subversion, but I never knew the extent of it and the craftsmanship put in. From one of those WTF products, A Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal Deviates [Paperback]:
> 1 Star - Sloppy., July 27, 2005
The book is a promising reference concept, but the execution is somewhat sloppy. Whatever algorithm they used was not fully tested. The bulk of each page seems random enough. However at the lower left and lower right of alternate pages, the number is found to increment directly.
That is just superb.
While not a LitRPG I feel like the Bobiverse scratches the same itch very well.
It's about a guy who's consciousness is put into a robot and shot off into space. He has 3D printers that can create anything he can think of, including copies of himself. While not living "in a game" he still creates his own VR world that he shares with his copies and can control his perception of time by speeding up/slowing down his processor.
He explores, invents, creates and discovers tons of amazing stuff.
I've stated before that I think that TRP goes beyond just seduction.
It's about living in a world that is not what we've been told it should be. This applies to women, relationships, college, careers, accumulation of wealth, travel, Life in general.
Women and relationships - We all know, it's pretty much all we talk about here.
College - The baby boomers told you to go to college if you didn't want to be flipping burgers... Then you went to college, got out, and there are no jobs. Then the baby boomers tell you that you're an entitled brat for refusing to flip burgers. The funny thing is that the people who told you to go to college didn't actually go to college, they started out flipping burgers, but they did it without the burden of debt.
Careers - If you spend the best years of your life sitting at a desk (and you don't make any women co-workers feel at all uncomfortable in any way), maybe one day you may be able to save up enough money to buy a red convertible sports car when you're bald, fat and middle aged, to compensate you for your unfulfilling life. After that you can save up and maybe afford a few years of lower-middle class leisure lifestyle while your body falls apart and you wait for death. Does that sound like a good deal?
Travel - Extended long-term world travel is the domain of the rich and all you can afford is short stints of two week vacations to to all-inclusive resorts before you have to trudge back to your cubical to resume the life you were trying to escape from.
Life in general - Go to work, be miserable, come home, buy something to make yourself feel better, get into debt, have to work harder, become more miserable, repeat. You have to do this because the only thing that can bring you a temporary sensation of satisfaction is some kind of material item. A newer, better item. If you lose an item you lose a part of yourself, because you are the things that you own.
-
I never went to college and I have zero debt. I don't have a 'career' per-se, but I do have marketable skills in web development and design, self taught. I work from time to time to get money which I then use to fund my travels (I'll be in Spain next week). Girls are occasional but enjoyable guests in my life. I own no material possessions other than a bag of clothes and this laptop. I practice meditation and try to incorporate awareness of the present moment into my life rather than dwelling on the past or the future.
If you're interested in learning about how long-term travel is well within your reach I'd highly recommend Vagabonding by Rolf Potts.
In terms of life/spiritual philosophy I recommend authors such as Eckhart Tolle and Alan Watts
Learn Powershell in a Month of Lunches
Also, SS64 has a great Index/reference of PS commands.
Another good thing to do is to start searching the web for "how do I $taskName in Powershell."
Every Russian learner needs a copy of this textbook. I don't study the language any more, but it is a fantastic resource that somehow makes sense of the ridiculously complicated Russian grammar.
It's available for pre-order and scheduled for release in October.
Try Legacy of Ashes. Superbly researched and covers everything from OSS beginnings to Iraq.
http://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Ashes-The-History-CIA/dp/0307389006
Read 'Take Your Eye off the Ball' by Pat Kirwan. Its AWESOME!
http://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1600783910/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406482909&sr=1-1&keywords=take+your+eye+off+the+ball
Teaches you a lot.
Here I would try to get one of the earlier versions if you can.
I also can highly recommend nonviolent communication Which reinforces similar concepts.
And finally the late Peter Gerlach who recorded a series of helpful videos on youtube before he passed. Like me, he was a survivor of trauma, and helped many of his clients overcome the near impossible struggle towards autonomy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHf3J4P-6Fg&feature=youtu.be
But really the biggest thing to keep in mind is this- you are here asking about it and want to learn. A bad parent won't do that, so you're already ahead of the game. Things won't be perfect, but by being able to see your child for who he/she is, is an amazing and rewarding gift, for both you and the child. It is quite educational.
Parents like mine, did not care about my feelings/wants/needs. They projected their lives, their insecurity, their anger onto me. They made it very clear, using all sorts of signals, that I was there to serve their needs, and that my needs did not matter. So if you can avoid that, you'll be ahead. I also suspect you wouldn't be here if you were going to be like that.
The biggest problem that arises in today's society is that adults think children should be treated like children (infantilization) and that creates a host of problems. I think most of it is detailed in Dr. Haim's book to a good degree. He also wrote some other books for later in life, like between parent and teenager. Although I think between parent and child is his best work.
Take Your Eye Off the Ball: How to Watch Football by Knowing Where to Look
First, you should drop the attitude of "we need to handle this ASAP." The fact is, bringing up sensitive issues causes people to get emotionally aroused, and high emotional arousal causes unclear, ineffective communication. If she needs some time to "cool down" and get her emotions in check, then give it to her, or the conversations will just go badly anyway.
This isn't to say put these conversations off indefinitely - just give her enough time to think through the situation and calm down emotionally. Two hours or so should do the trick.
The next question is, what sort of tone/language do you use when bringing up these issues? Some people use accusatory or judgmental language, which pretty much dooms the conversation from the start. If you want to be able to engage her effectively without causing her to shut down, try reading up on the principles of Nonviolent Communication. This will show you a non-judgmental, self-aware way of expressing what you need, and will ensure your girlfriend doesn't feel accused or attacked in these sorts of situations.
I hope this one particular picture gets a million up-votes and we don't lose sight of this.
"On today’s edition of “Yes, yes that really is the story they’re sticking to...” Epstein was taken off of suicide watch, while his cellmate was transferred out, the guards on duty weren’t real guards, and the cameras broke and failed to capture his death"
Oh, and just a friendly reminder, Epstein (when he was 20) worked for Donald Barr, who was the headmaster at Dalton School in New York City. So, if you are connecting dots, Epstein worked around young girls at a school, where Donald Barr was the headmaster. That Donald Barr has a son named William Barr. William Barr is now the US Attorney General. Well, these are just some of the dots, I know - the Clinton's did it too. No free passes in my book though.
https://twitter.com/RachBlevins/status/1167065317346107393?s=20
Williams Barrs dad wrote this book, should give you some insight on the psychology of his upbringing: https://www.amazon.com/Space-relations-slightly-gothic-interplanetary/dp/0860000249?sa-no-redirect=1&pldnSite=1
Epstein / Barr relationship from way back when:
https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/the-epstein-barr-problem-of-new-york-citys-dalton-school/
Edit: added source
You too can have Donald Barr's Space relations: A slightly gothic interplanetary tale for the low, low price of $100 plus shipping on Amazon. 2/5 stars.
An informative review:
>A ponderous exploration of a sensitive topic
>Donald Barr's Space Relations is a character-driven space opera from 1975. Despite the seemingly-humorous subtitle, it is a deadly earnest novel that attempts to tackle weighty issues with ostentatiously "literary" prose.
>It tells the story of John Craig, the ambassador from Earth to the planet Kossar. Craig represents an intergalactic human empire, currently at war with a sinister bug people. Kossar, although human, is not part of the empire - mostly because the ruling aristocrats refuse to abolish the slave trade that is the foundation of their class system and economy.
>The narrative is split in two. Initially (and ultimately) it tells the story of Craig's official visit to Kossar. In between, it recounts Craig's previous visit to the planet - two years spent as a slave of the fulsome Lady Morgan.
>The war with the bug aliens is, although occasionally referenced, merely a MacGuffin to make Kossar (otherwise a backwater world in dire need of sterilization) important. Similarly, the complex, Machiavellian politics of the future - both in Kossar and on Earth - are often, tantalizingly, cited, but never fully explored.
>Instead, the plot focuses on the torrid romance between John Craig (slave) and Lady Morgan (his owner). The author also explores (crashes through the underbrush, really) the issues of slavery and domination.
>The result is a frustrating and ponderous read. Barr aggressively pursues character development instead of world-building, but since his characters neither grow nor change, it is merely a prolonged sketch of two fairly obnoxious people.
>His exploration of slavery is neither sensitive nor telling. Despite repeatedly and officiously informing the reader that slavery is wrong at every turn (go figure), Barr creates two openly "superior" characters as his leads. Craig and Morgan freely kill, torture, seduce and make sweeping political decisions on behalf of thousands of people - but this is acceptable, because they're somehow imbued with "natural heroism". Slavery and oppression are wrong, unless you're someone as wise and talented as Craig or Morgan, in which you're perfectly justified in forcing decisions on other people.
>An expression of this natural superiority is Craig's unbelievably irritating habit of composing poetry. Clearly intended to add to the depth of the novel, what begins as an annoying, occasional snippet soon becomes a field of lyrical land-mines. This practice is especially painful in the middle of the book, as the reader is forced to plow through sonnets on every other page. As a result, Space Relations is one of the most picture-perfect expressions of Tolkien's Law ("Always skip the poetry") that I've ever read.
>Space Relations is a laborious read. Although I always appreciate an attempt at character-building instead of world-building, the novel managed to avoid everything of possible merit.
>So if DF is telling the truth, Valve lied to the community...
DF is wrong when he says "the random chance is all BS." There's nothing mutually exclusive about "random" and "pre-determined."
If you roll dice, you get random numbers; if you write those numbers down, they're still random numbers. This was, in fact, the old school way of using random numbers for all sorts of stats problems.
Valve didn't lie. DF et al. just don't know what "random" means.
"Take Your Eye Off the Ball"
Worth the price.
If you really want to draw, I'd suggest picking up How To Draw by Scott Robertson.
It leans more towards technical drawing, but one could apply the techniques learned to many types of creative drawing. There's an app you can download that scans certain pages that will link to video tutorials as well.
It's a hefty tome, but don't let that scare you off. A beginner with a willingness to practice will find their skills improve significantly, but you gotta put the time into practicing, no two ways about it.
Once you find you can handle the basics, I'd suggest taking a figure drawing class, or drawing from life in general. Community colleges are great for this sort of thing, since it would be very inexpensive compared to art school or private lessons. Anyway, good luck!
How to Draw
It's an allegory for a psychedelic
"Food of the Gods" by Terance McKenna.
https://www.amazon.com/Better-Never-Have-Been-Existence/dp/0199549265
http://uglatto.com/David_Benatar_-_Better_Never_to_Have_Been.pdf
http://www.amazon.com/Serenity-Shepherds-Tale-Zack-Whedon/dp/1595825614
We try to shy away from cookbook recommendations, but you will hear it any number of times:
Give sous vide a try--it's the gateway drug of modernist techniques, because you really only need a probe thermometer, freezer bags, a pot of water, and maybe an oven to do it. It'll let you know just how worth it the whole world of modernist techniques are. And then you'll feel compelled to actually get an immersion circulator and a vacuum sealer to do it easier as you become increasingly addicted to it.
Things that are helpful for modernist techniques but aren't particularly esoteric and won't break the bank: A steel plate, propane blow torch from the hardware store, whipping siphon, pressure cooker. The next step is chemistry, which means thickeners (carageenan and agar agar were my first purchases) and gels (sodium alginate and calcium chloride), and recently I picked up some meat glue (transglutaminase). After that it's buying expensive lab equipment to feed your habit, which I haven't stepped into yet [because I don't have a house for it]. I want a pacojet.
As for resources, my first book was Cooking for Geeks, then the Modernist Cuisine book set from Nathan Myhrvold (and have it signed by him "For Science!") which is the bible, but free options include their website, Seattle Food Geek, molecular recipes, this YouTube playlist from Harvard and the usual science-based cooking resources like Good Eats, America's Test Kitchen, and Chef Steps.
I can't believe noone has mentioned Modernist Cuisine.
Thousands of pages of cooking science, history, and techniques.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernist_Cuisine
http://www.amazon.com/Modernist-Cuisine-The-Science-Cooking/dp/0982761007
If you havent read the Bobiverse series, you should.
https://www.amazon.com/Are-Legion-Bob-Bobiverse-Book-ebook/dp/B01LWAESYQ
Welcome to the best fanbase in football!
Go Bills!
Take Your Eye Off the Ball by Pat Kirwin is one of the best football books money can buy
Used copy on Amazon can be had for a few bucks
I assume you're doing user support with exchange and not administrating the server. I learned about powershell a lot from getting an exchange server with a DAG that broke constantly thrown my way. I use powershell just about everyday as a windows admin. I recommend checking out /r/powershell.
On a day to day, I'm running powershell to lookup user information even if it's just basic stuff I can do in cmdline such as "net user %username% /domain" to find some info on their account without having to go into ADUC. I'll use it to connect to Exchange Online and take a look at mailboxes and assign permissions or set out of office messages if I get a ticket like that. I create longer scripts and modules that I run to create new users, remove access to terminated employees, and to cleanup AD, O365, FileShares, etc. I've also written scripts to pull data from websites and put them in an excel spreadsheet and such.
Let's say I get a ticket in asking for employee A to have access to employee B's calendar. They could do this on their own, but why try to teach them when I can just quickly do this (of course I'd teach them if this was a constant thing). I'd open up my powershell console on my computer and connect to Exchange Online (My on-premise server if I was in my old environment) and I take a look at their current settings. So first I connect to Exchange Online. I have a profile setup to where I can run a cmdlet I have created that does the below by just typing "Connect-EXonline" into powershell.
$credentials = Get-Credential -Credential "$($env:USERNAME)@company.com"
Write-Output "Getting the Exchange Online cmdlets"
$Session = New-PSSession -ConnectionUri https://outlook.office365.com/powershell-liveid/
<br /> -ConfigurationName Microsoft.Exchange -Credential $credentials-Authentication Basic -AllowRedirection
Import-PSSession $Session
From here I will be connected to my Exchange Online EAC. Now I'll want to grab their calendar permissions so I'll run a Get-MailboxFolderPermission on a mailbox to see what permissions they have and then if the request isn't already happening I'll run
Set-MailboxFolderPermissions -Identity [email protected]:\calendar -user [email protected] -AccessRights Editor
Or whatever I so please. There, I'm done. So I did that in 3 quick lines rather than clicking all through some clunky GUI.
Want to learn powershell? I recommend starting with "PowerShell in A Month of Lunches"
. This is how I started learning. Also go to /r/powershell and see the types of questions and answers people are asking/giving. If you want to learn python or bash, I don't have as much help for you other than to start with codeacademy.com if you don't know syntax already. Otherwise, find forums/subreddits for it.
Tl;DR: I recommend starting with "PowerShell in A Month of Lunches" if you are a windows admin and want to start learning PowerShell.
It's easier than you think:
http://www.amazon.com/Vagabonding-Uncommon-Guide-Long-Term-Travel/dp/0812992180
Advice from a former Clemson U (male) cheerleader:
Goblet Squats going ALL the way down
Bulgarian Split Squats
One Leg Romanian Deadlift
Box Jumps/Stair Jumps/Vertical Leap/Standing Leaps over Hurdles (feet together)
Standing Long Jump
Squat Thrusters or Burpees
Shoulder Press with dumbbells
Deadlift
(these last two above are included because often there is no lack of leg strength and quickness, but that the core does not translate that strength or the arms are not as strong as the athlete believes)
And the semi-controversial one
*Hang Cleans using barbell (I suggest Hang Cleans over Power Cleans because it is motion from your power stance, rather than from a crouch; both a useful but Hang Cleans tend to be neglected by many)
Finally, the most difficult leg day we ever did was all body weight exercises. Our Strength and Conditioning Coach actually served with Mark Lauren, author of You Are Your Own Gym. That is an excellent resource.
Obviously this is all done with proper nutrition, sufficient rest, and on a rotating basis of work and rest days. If you need more on that, it's more than anyone can put in a single reply.
Eventually yoiu would move on to more difficult and complex exercises, such as Hang Clean to Push Press, the Clean and Jerk, Kettlebell Swings, and others. Really you need as dedicated a conditioning program as any other highschool athlete, and while touching up weak links inyour physique is important, most teenagers I've worked with have needed an all around program before focusing on any one area. Most lack a solid core and true balance. Balance meaning (A) actual balance and (B) chest to back, shoulders to lats, biceps to triceps, abs to back, quads to hamstrings, etc.
Go TIGERS!
Ok, yeah, the title of this post is basically what McKenna's Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge A Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution is about, but this article isn't old, it was posted on Friday. I don't know what some of you are going on about.
And I actually think she does a good intro and overview, briefly touching on its history and some contemporary studies, and the current state of its illegality.
I enjoyed theArcheologist warlord by E.M. Hardy (technically I suppose you would say it is sci-fi, but it feels more like fantasy). The main character gets transformed into a sentient space pyramid thing. At first I thought it would be more of a dungeon building thing, but he ends up sending workers out to gather resources, build pylons to extend his range, construct different units, ect.
It's not litRPG but the Bobiverse books by Dennis Taylor are fantastic and definitely get some of the 4x, spanning across the galaxy vibe as the bobs spread throughout space.
Are you interested in settlement/city building?
this isnt particularly related but i always like pointing out rand's most popular ever publication
Like someone else mentioned earlier, please do check out "Better Never to Have Been", and please try to do so with an open mind. I'm a pretty upbeat and happy dude and I've had a pretty wonderful life, but I do find his conclusions convincing. The argument isn't that "all life is pain and suffering and blackness and emo music wah", but more about the dichotomy of pleasure and pain and the prevention of suffering. Seriously, give it a fair shake.
ANYWAY. More reasons than just that (although that book really lead me into thinking about childfreedom and accepting that it's okay to not have kids):
Especially given the last point, can you explain your thought process on wanting to have kids?
Good luck. I've definitely got a bunch more tricks, so just send me a message if you want them. These are just some good beginning ones.
I don't disagree with the bulk of this, but two points:
"no one gave a fuck"
Why did they have to use deception specifically saying that it was temporary and very limited to even pass it in the first place then?
No one wants to become a minority in their own country + important people with lower IQs, higher crime rates, and a higher dependency on the government (not even paying what they take) // baggage.
Harold McGee is pretty much the standard tome for a scientific approach to the cooking process. If you can get through most of On Food and Cooking you are doing pretty damn good.
The only major step up from that would be the more exhaustive and much more expensive, 50 lb, 6 volume set called Modernist Cuisine
Edit: words are hard
You didn't miss anything. We don't know his backstory yet, but we will soon.
Check out this book by Rolf Potts.
Its called Vagabonding and is all about cheap long-term travel around the world.
It was an inspiration for me, and I truly recommend you check it out if you're interested in traveling outside your comfort zone.
It's a quick read but is also filled with many helpful links and real-world examples of what to expect and how to make the most of travelling.
A million random digits.
12 bucks for the hardcover. I recommend it. Definitely worth the purchase.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1595825614?pc_redir=1409213998&amp;robot_redir=1
You will pick up the knowledge fairly quickly, but the wisdom part comes slowly.
Read some books:
Start humble, stay humble, be quick to listen and slow to speak, and don't make changes on Friday!
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is one of the more recent NYT bestsellers that is also a pretty good biology read. The Hot Zone is a classic, and although it is dated, it will probably regain some of its formal popularity due to the [current ebola outbreak] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_West_Africa_Ebola_outbreak). I would recommend Creighton if you want a "fun" read, but his works are fictional, predictable, and often infuriatingly inaccurate.
Vagabonding by Rolf Potts is a pretty good guide on how to make long-term travel possible on a small budget.
Edit: First chapter is available here: http://www.vagabonding.net/excerpt/
To expand on this, the quality of randomness you need depends on what you want to use it for. For simulations, you just want something that appears uniform, but it would be perfectly fine for it to be prerecorded on a big hard drive and therefore widely known, which is why this exists.
For cryptography, on the other hand, you want something which is random to an adversary, so contingent on the information an adversary might have or be able to obtain, you should have a process to produce numbers which are unpredictable to them.
The direct link:
Space relations: A slightly gothic interplanetary tale https://www.amazon.com/dp/0860000249/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_TjwvDbV8MMHEQ
Doesn’t surprise me, his daddy liked to write books about children being sold into intergalactic sex rings. I’m sure none of those fantasies inspired his young employee Epstein.
https://www.amazon.com/Space-relations-slightly-gothic-interplanetary/dp/0860000249
https://www.amazon.com/Space-relations-slightly-gothic-interplanetary/dp/0860000249
The son of the man who started Epstein's career is currently the US Attorney General– the guy who heads up the whole department responsible for making sure Epstein was kept imprisoned and safe as he was being investigated. That man is William Barr, who was appointed by Donald Trump– another of Epstein's good friends.
Barr's dad, aside from hiring Epstein, also wrote a book about aliens and sex slavery.
But of course... This could only be those sneaky Clintons!
So I have a friend in jail that I regularly send books to. This doesn't cover every situation, but I assume the circumstances will be similar.
He says that the (meager) prison library is very skewed towards religious books, classics, GED materials, and low-difficulty grocery store novels. Anything other than that will be appreciated. The books most requested are thick fantasy books, activity books (sudoku, physics workbooks, etc), science non-fiction, and coffee-table books or magazines with lots of pictures. These will be swapped with other inmates so that anyone interested has a chance to read.
Some things to keep in mind:
Books that have gone over well and can be found in cheap forms:
It's really nice of you to be thinking this way. It's hard to solve a serious illness like depression by a gift, though. A cheery letter may be appreciated, and maybe add in the Hyperbole and a Half book. It is hilarious, and contains some great pieces about depression.
Edited because spelling is nice.
I started with Powershell in a month of Lunches
https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Windows-PowerShell-Month-Lunches/dp/1617294160/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
If you're fairly new, I think you should start something like Learn Windows PowerShell in a Month of Lunches. You'll find this recommendation everywhere and for good reason. I personally was an peer reviewer of the 3rd edition and read it page-for-page slowly and provided a lot of feedback. It's a good book to get started with.
After that then move into the advanced tool making books like Learn PowerShell Toolmaking in a Month of Lunches.
Of course this just help get you started. You'll need to get a lot of practice with realistic projects to become familiar with how to build tools. I would highly recommend becoming very familiar with Git. There are a TON of tutorials out there (both web pages and YouTube videos).
Honestly to become a good toolmaker you'll need a lot of practice, but in terms of material these are a good source to get you started. Be patient and try to find small projects that you can grab onto. I would also recommend Windows PowerShell in Action for a more under-the-hood kind of view of how things work.
learn to use 3d tools and stick to the fundamentals
https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1540762345&amp;sr=8-3
https://www.amazon.com/How-Render-fundamentals-shadow-reflectivity/dp/1933492961/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=&amp;sr=
don't bother learning art or how to draw. focus on technique and draftsmanship.
you're looking at 10 years though if your gonna do it solo. you need your drawing skills, then comic skills, plus writing comic scripts, plus plot skills, character design, and marketing/sales skill.
i gave up. now i just draw hentai and furry porn. life is good.
Former employee, linguist, and guy-who-is-pretty-ok-at-russian checking in:
It is decent, but you'll want to make sure you actually understand the concept of grammatical case, and how it works and is marked in Russian.
I would highly recommend pairing it with the New Penguin Russian Course.
Definitely use studio as much as possible, and take notes case endings. RS will show you something like на невысоком мужчине черный костюм, and it will help to know that невысоком is declined for the prepositional/locative case. Well, really, it will help to know that that form is not the "default," and how to 1)figure out what the default is and 2)transform the word as you need to when speaking.
A friend of mine did just RS, and she has a problem with basically just saying a word in whatever case she first heard it in...so she might say невысоком when trying to say невысокый, or what have you.
Finally, evaluate after 5 months, and if you're not using it, it's not working, or whatever, send it back and get a refund. Mark it on your calendar, and decide before you miss the deadline.
https://www.amazon.com/Sword-Shield-Mitrokhin-Archive-History/dp/0465003125
https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Ashes-History-Tim-Weiner/dp/0307389006
A couple of books I've read recently about the intelligence side of things. Not sure about how their conventional forces compare to ours.
Thomas Ligotti - The Conspiracy Against the Human Race is probably the one I can recommend the most.
There's also Better Never to Have Been - David Benatar.
If you think one of them is too expensive tell me.
You could also Studies in Pessimism - Arthur Schopenhauer.
At last I can recommend this article from Richard Dawkins going into why nature pretty much sucks.
You might enjoy this book, the author doesn't suggest we all commit suicide, but I think the topic might be right up your alley. "Better to Never Have Been - The Harm of Coming Into Existence" https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0199549265/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_13?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Anatomy and form both need a lot of practice.
You can get Andrew Loomis' book, Figure Drawing for All It's Worth for free on Goodreads -
https://www.goodreads.com/ebooks/download/147941.Figure_Drawing_for_All_It_s_Worth
Undoubtedly she will need to work on perspective as well, and I would highly recommend getting Scott Robertson's book, How to Draw: drawing and sketching objects and environments from your imagination. -
http://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732/ref=la_B0034O5O32_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1452971897&amp;sr=1-1
you mean this one that is currently available for pre-order? :D
The answers you seek are here.
If you're not aware, his back story was finally revealed in the third serenity comic/graphic novel, "A Shepherd's Tale". I'm glad to know that story now but it makes me even more disappointed that we never got to see the characters react to that information on screen.
As you realize becoming great at social skills is just like training any other skill. Realizing you can train it will allow you to build the skill stronger than others who stumble into it. So many will say you can't get better or amazing by reading in a chair. They're right. Read a little, apply a lot, take notes, then review what you did right and what you did wrong, repeat. Get a mentor or training buddy if you can, it accelerates learning, because we can't see ourselves the same as those outside us can. Make a regimen to go out, greet and meet people every day. Or at least three times a week minimum, make it a habit.
I can tell you that I've been in customer service and sales jobs, they taught me nothing because my skills were garbage and sub-par. So I didn't have a paddle for my raft in the world of social interaction. All I got was "people get irritated if I cold approach or try to sell them. Or worse I have to dump mountains of information to make them feel safe." So after studying for the better part of a decade, here's some points that got me to the basics and more advanced subjects. With the basics under your belt, then a job or daily practice will get you understanding and results.
First, learn how to steady yourself mentally, breathing exercise here. Breathing is important as we seem to be learning your heart rate and beat pattern determine more about our emotions than we'd like to admit.
Second, Accept and love yourself, (both those terms may be undefined or wishy-washy to you at the moment, defining them is part of the journey.) Because you can only accept and love others the way you apply it to yourself first.
Third, pick up and read the charisma myth. It has habits/meditations that will be a practice you use every day. I'd say a basic understanding will happen after applying them over three months. Never stop practicing these basics, they are your fundamentals. They determine your body language. The difference between a romantic gaze and a creepy stare is context of the meeting and body language, especially in the eyes.
Sales or cold approach networking will do the same for practice. If you do sales or meeting new people, it is a negotiation. You're trying to trade "value" (safety + an emotion). So if you figure out how to make yourself feel emotion, then inspire emotion in others, mutual agreements happen. Start with Why is a good reference. Here is a summary video. Chris Voss will help you find out that you don't tap into people rationally, you tap people emotionally, big think summary video. Or the full book treatment, Never Split the Difference. The supporting book for Chris Voss' position can be helped by reading Start With No
For training habits and understanding how we execute behaviors, Thinking, Fast and Slow
For dealing with hard arguments and heavy topics both Nonviolent Communication and Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most
Learning what listening is, instead of "hearing" people. Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone is a good book for that. This is touched on in Never Split the Difference and in the Charisma Myth because true listening, making the person you are speaking with feel "listened to and understood" is most of what makes a charismatic person work.
One of my favorites: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0833030477/sr=8-1/qid=1143773276/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-0331069-9851844?%5Fencoding=UTF8
My training looks a bit different than the rest of the guys here. I am a more of a runner than anything else. I don't have the build most of the other guys have, I weight 160lbs, but it works for me. I run typically somewhere between 30-50 miles per week. I know there is a big variance there, but I'll do a few weeks of higher mileage, then scale it back for a week or two, then repeat. This worked for me for my ultra endurance running events and it works here too. The only difference is that when I am specifically training for a Spartan event, I add in body weight exercises 2-3 nights per week. Things like pull ups, burpees, planks, and variations really can take you far. I used this book to find and make a routine of body weight exercises.
The most important part is, you have to become the most mentally strong you can be. If you are mentally tough, you can finish this race today. During the log carry of the first lap, I said to myself, "I don't know that I want to go back out for a second lap." I talked myself into going to the transition area and taking it from there. I laid down, ate some salted potatoes (the best endurance food ever) changed my socks, and gave my legs a few minutes to rest. I was able to talk myself back into getting out there, and from there the rest was easy. This was my low point of the race and the only time I wanted to quit, but it happens to everyone nearly every race. Learn how to overcome this and you are golden right now.
Next up: NYC Marathon.
I found this. Is that the same thing?
Edit: Legit purchase.
Announced (hinted at?) last night on her twitter with spiders. Awesome spiders.
Edit: Link to her pre-order page on Amazon from the main website. Kind of weird that the big picture doesn't take you there.
Step one, buy this book.
http://www.amazon.com/Keep-Volkswagen-Alive-Step-Step/dp/1566913101
Shepard's story is know, it is explained in The Shepherd's Tale
I bought my comics via Amazon:
Vol I - Those Left Behind
Vol II - Better Days
Vol III - The Shepherds Tale
Firefly/Serenity continued as a comic series for a while, [and they did in fact tackle this story] (https://www.amazon.com/Serenity-3-Shepherds-Tale-Various/dp/1595825614).
https://www.amazon.com/New-Penguin-Russian-Course-Beginners/dp/0140120416
What you are describing isn't so much a mental state as it is a philosophical position. There are quite a few people, myself included, who believe people are better off not being born and that, consequently, bringing new sentient life into existence is a moral wrong. This position is called antinatalism and it is very rigorously argued for in Better Never to Have Been by philosopher David Benatar. (Here's an audio interview with him.) There's even a subreddit for antinatalism.
In antinatalism, it's very important to make the distinction between life that hasn't yet been started and life that has. While I can say it would have been better for me to never have existed, now that I do exist, I very much wish to continue existing. I didn't choose life, I was forced into it, but I try to make the most of the cards I've been dealt.
Edit. Also, the flip side of this is that I don't owe life, God, my parents or the cosmos anything, least of all my gratitude for being alive. I don't have any obligation to feel happy. Any feelings of gratitude or happiness are for my own benefit, and if I choose to leave early, I'm not being a poor guest.
>I want to give my future kids the same opportunity that my parents gave me when they decided to reproduce, I want to bring them out of the void of unbeing and introduce them to all the wonder and the pain of being real.
The issue I have with this is that it's always a selfish act (having children), you cannot have a child for the child's sake. There is no way to gain consent currently from a non-existent person, but that consent is absolutely needed if you're to have any moral ground on having children. Who are you to speak for these people you act to know best for? How can you guarantee they will want to live, and will not suffer? You're essentially stealing the dice from another person and throwing them for them w/o consent and gambling with their life.
I wish my parents had the forethought to think perhaps I might not enjoy this horrible game we're all caught up in, and that bliss of void, which we all hopefully go back to anyways, might be much much much more loving and peaceful.
Cheerful optimism does far more harm than good, especially when it concerns antinatalism. We're still incapable of not forcing life on those that willfully wish to end it with dignity. We're scary with our imposition of life.
>Those who never exist cannot be deprived. However, by coming into existence one does suffer quite serious harms that could not have befallen one had one not come into existence.
read all about it -- and the whole CIA corruption of Planet Earth -- https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Ashes-History-Tim-Weiner/dp/0307389006 -- still ongoing running our foreign policy for the good of Banksters, Multi-national Corps, and Military Industrial Complex ... under the guise of freedom & democracy until US rules planet earth's people and natural resources
Some tips for those considering a trip there:
Always take taxis rather than tuktuks whenever possible, and make sure they use the meter. If they give you a hard time, walk on to another. It won't take long to find one who will comply.
When in the more populous, touristy places, avoid eye contact with anyone you don't intend to spend money with. The tuktuk drivers, touts, etc will flock to you if you look at them or respond in any way. It feels rude, but ignore them completely.
Read these 2 books: Vagabonding by Rolf Potts and The World Awaits by Paul Otteson.
Spend a lot of time on travelfish.org and the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree Forum before you go. Lots of great advice and information there.
Learn a little of the language. Even "thank you" will do wonders.
>The best part? Donald Barr wrote a sci-fi book about sex slavery by the rich: https://www.amazon.com/Space-relations-slightly-gothic-interplanetary/dp/0860000249
3/5 star rating for only...$184!!!
I wonder if they stay true to the book William Barr's father wrote about rich space aliens that start up a sex trafficking ring.
https://www.amazon.com/Space-relations-slightly-gothic-interplanetary/dp/0860000249
I usually find this Wikipedia article very helpful. Your English is excellent so I don't think you need to worry about finding a translation. Scroll down to "offensive formations" and the sections on "running plays" and "passing plays" to understand the terminology and how to understand what you're seeing. The great part about that is that if you then search for those plays on YouTube you can find video of the play working well.
I also like to recommend Take Your Eye Off the Ball to new fans interested in Xs and Os. It's an excellent book about how to watch football and understand what's happening -- it explains how an offensive formation is like a "bid" or "bet" in cards, and the defense's formation is a reaction to that bid, and how either side might be bluffing. It goes into excellent detail about almost every aspect of the game.
Give this article a read as well. Chris Brown helps the reader understand the fundamental shift in the current defensive era, which I think will really help you understand what (for example) the Seahawks do on defense. If you like Brown's work, he has also published this book of essays (edited and expanded from his blog) which explain many of the strategic and tactical nuances of the modern game of football in a style similar to what you see in the above article.
Take your eye off the ball
https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;url=https://www.amazon.ca/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1600783910&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjv-NjDrYzVAhUU12MKHdsHBWYQFghkMAo&amp;usg=AFQjCNHaxkn39qoocGE1lxW3XHIpPF5k6Q
First, you should have gotten a printout with bar graphs indicating which areas you were weak/strong in. Compare that to the exam objectives here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/exam-70-697.aspx to decide which areas to focus.
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If you haven't already, sign up for a free Azure trial and play around with InTune. Hands-on experience with it will go a long way on the test. Know how InTune can be used to manage Mobile devices, compliance vs configuration items, App Deployment methods, etc.
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If you have a PC that can handle it, the Microsoft 365 Powered Lab Kit will set up a number of VMs on your machine for practice. It includes guided labs that will prep you for the exam (and your MCSE: Mobility). It can be found here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-microsoft-365-powered-device-lab-kit
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Learn the basics of PowerShell if you haven't already. You don't need to know how to script, but a basic understanding of cmdlet syntax and some basic cmdlets will get you by. PowerShell in a Month of Lunches (https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Windows-PowerShell-Month-Lunches/dp/1617294160/ref=dp_ob_title_bk) is highly recommended by others here, and I recommend the (free!) MVA videos on PowerShell with Jason Helmick and Jeffery Snover (the first one is here: https://mva.microsoft.com/en-US/training-courses/getting-started-with-microsoft-powershell-8276)
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For books, I used Panek's guide (https://www.amazon.com/MCSA-Microsoft-Windows-Study-Guide/dp/111925230X/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1538429066&sr=8-5&keywords=70-697+configuring+windows+devices). It is out of date now for InTune, but the rest of it should still be relevant.
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Last, remember that you don't need to go deep into any of the tech covered - the test is hard because it is broad.
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If you have specific areas you want materials for, let me know, and I'll post what I can find.
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Personally, I'd say Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns: The Romance and Sexual Sorcery of Sadomasochism. It's out of print but still available on amazon for now. It's a practical guide with instruction as well as some light theory. Just my $0.02.
The pathogens are entirely on the exterior unless the steak gets punctured or the animal is sick and shouldn't be used for food. Source: The Art and Science of cooking. Basically an enormously wealthy cooking enthusiast set up a kitchen lab with staff and created a fine dining molecular science cookbook. Basically The Mythbusters of cookbooks. It's why rare and blue steaks can be eaten and people don't get ill. Also covers the egg myth, meaning all eggs in the U.S. unless farmers market/farm procured have to be pasteurized which is why an egg with a clean shell used for cookie dough can be eaten and not make people sick. These are things readers shouldn't attempt without reading the book and have kitchen experience focusing on how not to cross contaminate or contaminate the food you're working with and knife skills though. Food handled improperly can be extremely dangerous. https://www.amazon.com/Modernist-Cuisine-Art-Science-Cooking/dp/0982761007
They don't explain it in the show or movie, but everything is explained very well in Shepherd's Tale. So far, all the comic stories have been pretty good and are a nice way to revisit The 'Verse.
http://www.amazon.com/Serenity-Volume-The-Shepherds-Tale/dp/1595825614
>I'm a very skinny guy [...] Purely for gaining muscle/toning up [...] I can't afford a gym membership or any home equipment right now.
Insanity is more of a cardio-vascular workout. If you are very skinny it will certainly get you into very good shape (and maybe shed enough fat to make your muscles more visible), but will not help you gain much muscle. If this is your aim and access to equipment is out of the question you will probably be better off with a bodyweight strength programme such as Convict Conditioning, You Are Your Own Gym or The Naked Warrior (and eating enough).
Disclaimer: I have not used either of these three, but from what I've read in /r/fitness they all seem good enough. If you are interested, take a look at this subreddit, particularly the FAQ.
Mankind did not get their "intelligence" from psilocybin. But it is theorized that the ancient hunter gatherer civilizations 10,000+ years ago got their "consciousness" from mushrooms that grew mainly on cow dung. There is an interesting book about this called Food of the Gods in which the author traces back thousands of pieces of archaeological history to make the connection between magic mushrooms and consciousness. It also delves into the topic of this thread and the idea of religion and spirituality coming from these mushroom experiences. I recommend this book for anyone wanting to know more about the first mushroom experiences of mankind and throughout civilized history.
Link
Donald Barr Wiki under Selected works.
Space Relations: A Slightly Gothic Interplanetary Tale
Amazon link
>The Attorney General William Barr's Daddy.
You mean Donald Barr, the guy who, in addition to hiring Jeffrey Epstein to his first well-connected position, which he was not qualified for, also wrote a book about a group of aliens so rich they become bored with everything and to occupy themselves engage in mass sex slavery and are aroused by fear?
Y'know, they say to write your experiences.
(For the record I don't condone assuming authors have done horrible things based solely on their books - but in context this is pretty close to "If I Did It.")
https://www.amazon.com/Space-relations-slightly-gothic-interplanetary/dp/0860000249
Only 200$!
For online resources, I'd strongly recommend the RT course over Duolingo. For books, Nicholas Brown's New Penguin Russian Course is very good. And Irina Sapegina, an experienced teacher, gives some very good advice here on the three worst tips for learning Russian that you'll probably hear!
I think a lot of the best resources can be found online for free but if you really want to buy her something physical as a gift the new penguin Russian course seems to get a lot of good reviews.
http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Penguin-Russian-Course/dp/0140120416
This run captured the tone of Firefly, dare I say it, perfectly. I honestly think it did. I own/have read the others and quite frankly this sucked me right back into the 'verse. I know there are camps on either side of some of the others (Shepherd's Tale specifically), but I just don't see there being many that dislike Leaves on the Wind.
Enough of my opinion. Leaves on the Wind is a six part miniseries that takes place after Serenity. It is mainly written by Zack Whedon and illustrated by Georges Jeanty (of Buffy: Season 8 variety). While there are only six issues in this run, and no plans for making any more (that I know of at the time of writing this), demand speaks volumes.
Back to my opinion. If possible, purchase at your local comic book store to lend your support. Don't buy comics regularly and aren't sure what to expect at a comic book store? PM me, I'll walk you through it.
And now, contrary to what I just said, I will provide you with Amazon links to the other Firefly comics.
These are also all available on the Dark Horse website. It looks like pre-orders for Leaves on the Wind hardcover go earlier than on Amazon (Nov 5th compared to Nov 18th), which is not surprising as it comes directly from the source.
Stay shiny and keep flying.
Edit: Added Dark Horse link
I take it you haven't read The Shepherd's Tale?
We learn in this graphic novel:
http://www.amazon.com/Serenity-Volume-The-Shepherds-Tale/dp/1595825614
I've read all the comics, they're all worth the read.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1595825614/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1414509618&amp;sr=8-1
Shepherd's Tale is the title. (And it's $13.) I would still have loved to see it come out over a long series of episodes. One graphic novel was too short.
Here's a book I recommend for anyone wanting to learn the strategy behind football. It's called "Take Your Eye Off the Ball" written by Pat Kirwan with a foreword by Pete Carroll and Bill Cowher
It's on Amazon for $2.12 used - Can't beat that.
I think there's one called "Get your eye off the ball". Not sure if it's the right title.
Edit: http://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1600783910
Actively listening to another can be challenging, at least for me. For anyone interested in how to develop this skill, this book is a good place to start..
r/digitalnomad
You've earned the gift every lurker on that sub, myself included, dreams of. Sure, you may still need to work, but you can work from anywhere with a half decent internet connection. Travel, experience the world in a way most people aren't fortunate enough to be able to. Hop on Airbnb, type in a destination you've always wanted to go to, and set your dates for the entire month of May. You've hit the jackpot, congratulations. Vagabonding is a great book on the topic. Rolf Potts' other book, Marco Polo Didn't Go There is also a phenomenal read.
r/onebag if you want to get extra obnoxious (in a good way!) about how little you own.
r/vandwellers if you want to travel the US in a van.
"You Are Your Own Gym" is also a book i've been recommended.
For a longer version of that story, read the Hot Zone
I grow up in Reston and the lab that discovered it was later turned into a daycare center which many of my friends attended. As a nerdy fifth grader I listened to the audiobook of the [The Hot Zone] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Hot-Zone-Terrifying-Story/dp/0385479565) a book about the virus and learned about the virus and the lab in Reston. As any good fifth grader I told all my friends that went to that daycare center that they have Ebola and will die soon. I think I own them an apology.
Highly recommend the book [The Hot Zone] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Hot-Zone-Terrifying-Origins/dp/0385479565/ref=sr_1_1/186-9120780-8703741?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1408833773&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=hot+zone+book) which came out almost 20 years ago but is a fantastic read. It is part historical, part scientific, and just a well written account of the history of the virus as we know it.
I'm not sure how many know that the virus has already appeared in the US back in 1989 as a pathogen to monkeys but not humans. It also details the appearance of Marburg virus in German cities in the late sixties and is closely related to Ebola as it results in viral hemorrhagic fever.
Anyway, good read, pick it up if this is something that interests you.
Food Of The Gods - Terence McKenna
read "food of the gods" for a more detailed look at the cyclical nature of mass drug exploitation.
The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life (A Free Press Paperbacks Book) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0684824299/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_c2DtDbW5C5ZWA
It's not simply ad hominem; his interpretation of facts has been disputed. The findings and ideas -- not just the man -- are controversial. Here are some good places to start for people who want to learn more. (The links with plus signs are books, not full texts online.)
An overview
Another overview++
A summary & review of three notable books on the subject
The Bell Curve++
The Flynn Effect++
IQ Tests
Race
https://www.amazon.com/Bell-Curve-Intelligence-Structure-Paperbacks/dp/0684824299/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1527199813&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=the+bell+curve
This book compares genders for IQ.
The smartest men are smarter than the smartest women.
The number of lowest IQ men is greater than the number of lowest IQ women.
This would suggest that "the glass ceiling" is just an artifact of which gender is smarter in aggregate.
Women try to redefine the problem and it does not work.
For me, personally, the only cookbook(s) I can think of that I'd be interested in that I don't own is Modernist Cuisine, just because of the price.
Thanks. I had to go drag my book out of a storage box, because it is CRITICAL that I re-read it at 2AM. Right now.
I gonn' be tired tomorrow...
Amazon UK Link
Amazon US Link
If it's anything like her blogs, I'd certainly recommend it, especially if you yourself or anyone you know is coping with depression, as when she covers that she explains how she felt in quite a memorable way.
Hyperbole and a Half
http://www.amazon.com/Hyperbole-Half-Unfortunate-Situations-Mechanisms/dp/1451666179
Book is shipping in October, and you can pre-order it here.
She confirmed in the other thread that it's still on.
Yes, there a good first car to restore.
Buy a copy of, How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot
Parts are a black hole of aways finding some where to sink more money, but major money items should easy to see before car purchase.
(It's never "just a $50 fix", that part is totally broken some how)
http://www.amazon.com/Serenity-Shepherds-Tale-Dark-Horse/dp/1595825614
I'm curious how it will compare to David Benatar's "Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence". This appears to tackle another important issue for me: the right to die. I'll have to give this a read.
My go to reading list,
Killing Hope, by William Blum
America's Deadliest Export Democracy, by William Blum
Who is William Blum?
Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA, by Tim Weiner
Enemies: The History of the FBI, by Tim Wiener
Who is Tim Weiner?
The Secret History of the American Empire: The Truth about Economic Hitmen, Jackals, and How to Change the World by John Perkins
Confessions of an Economic Hitman, by John Perkins
Who is John Perkins?
I would like to nominate Roger Goiran, a Bronze Star winning OSS Captain. Roger was head of CIA's Tehran station in the early 1950s and in Belgium in the early 1960s. Goiran had a very promising CIA career but somewhat fell out of favor after he resigned his Tehran post in protest when the plan to depose democratically elected Iranian President Mohammad Mosaddegh came through. Goiran believed the plan to put the Shah in power compromised US principles and threw its support behind English and French colonialism.
He is mentioned in Tim Weiner's Legacy of Ashes and Meyer and Brysac's Kingmakers
You can be middle class or poor and do that.
http://www.amazon.com/Vagabonding-Uncommon-Guide-Long-Term-Travel/dp/0812992180/
If you're a math geek, just about every review on Amazon for A Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal Deviates is absolute gold.
>Such a terrific reference work! But with so many terrific random digits, it's a shame they didn't sort them, to make it easier to find the one you're looking for.
.
>The book is a promising reference concept, but the execution is somewhat sloppy. Whatever generator they used was not fully tested. The bulk of each page seems random enough. However at the lower left and lower right of alternate pages, the number is found to increment directly.
.
>I had a hard time getting into this book. The profanity was jarring and stilted, not at all how people really talk. Frankly, the book came off as strictly workshop material. But after about 50 pages, I found myself immersed in the style. What had been stilted became lyrical and engaging. Authors go entire lifetimes without matching the poetry of couplets such as those of Mr. Rand Corporation. I can only wish I had thought of 41145 42820.
BTW this is not a joke - it’s true and you can buy the fucked up book on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Space-relations-slightly-gothic-interplanetary/dp/0860000249
Go visit r/BDSMCommunity for advice, safety tips, creative ideas and like-minded discourse.
I was going to put together a list of books, but someone has already made a fantastic one.
The only book that I would add is Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns.
Una amiga viaja a NY y me va a traer estas dos bellezas:
Take Your Eye Off the Ball y The Essential Smart Football así que voy a tener para hacerme una panzada!.
Por otro lado, mañana PARTIDASO de la NBA, Boston vs. Golden State, no puede fallar.
Finalmente, este fin de semana hay PPV de lucha libre y no puedo estar más hypeado, hace tiempo que no venía tan manija y encima cierra todo con un lunes feriado, fiesta loca. Ah y WARGAMEEEEEEEES BAYBEH.
Perdonen que vengo atrasado con el post, pero estoy con tanto laburo que se me re pasó, mil gracias /u/blackfinwe !
Check out Powershell in a Month of Lunches
https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Windows-PowerShell-Month-Lunches/dp/1617294160
Great starter for getting into powershell
Learn Powershell In a Month of Lunches
Read this and you'll be on your way.
Standing up for yourself can also be done in a nonthreatening way to the person who is doing things that don't help. A formal structure for this is called nonviolent communication.
https://www.amazon.com/Nonviolent-Communication-Language-Marshall-Rosenberg/dp/1892005034
Before you go ahead with anyone's advice here, I strongly recommend you read Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg (or at least skim through it). His approach, as a whole, may not be entirely appropriate for this situation, but some of the basic ideas he lays out are universal to productive communication.
For instance, he talks about separating the objective events at the root of a conflict from our subjective judgments of it. A lot of people in this thread seem to agree your coworker is a tattle-tale, but using that kind of language to call him out is not likely to win his sympathy or encourage him to reevaluate his own behavior. On the contrary, this is the kind of communication that immediately puts people on the defensive (if you've ever been on the receiving end of this with a hypercritical domestic partner, you may have done the same yourself).
Instead, he recommends making an objective observation (e.g., you've shared your criticisms of my work publicly with our boss and coworkers three times so far this week) before stating your feelings, needs, and a request. Again, maybe a little too hippie dippy for the hypermasculine environment of a shop, but there are some solid gold tidbits throughout.
It's a lot, but you seem to have the self-awareness to make good use of it.
The people saying we can't help you with all of this are correct - some of this is about mediation, communication, and culture.
But some of it is about gaming, and we can help with that part.
First of all, from my experience it's important to choose a system and / or implied setting that won't inflame the parents. Kids won't have trouble with systems. I started w/ B/X D&D in the red box at 10 years old and it was fine - I started my own son at 7 with D&D 3.5 (not my favorite game even at the time, but the reasons for choosing it were sound...) and he did fine. What you have to worry about is probably parents. In the US, it was easy to run afoul of religious zealots who freak out about any hint of magic. It still is.
I'm not sure what the social conditions are where you are, you're the best judge of that, but I would direct you to Beyond the Wall It's inexpensive and has several free expansions but here are the reasons I recommend it:
It's mostly a OSR D&D-like game.
I recommend that game a lot.
In your situation, you might also like to look at Psi*Run. It was developed by Meguey Baker (D. Vincent Baker's wife and game design collaborator) for use in a teen RPG program at a library. It's meant to get kids right into the action immediately - they're super-powered teens (like X-Men) fleeing a force that wants to capture them.
Good luck with the rest of it. Oh - I'm not a counsellor or social worker, but you might want to read the book, Nonviolent Communication. It's got a lot of advice for how to deal with charged situations and long-standing bad feelings.
If you really want to find out more about Shepherd Book's backstory, this is a pretty amazing read.
I had heard recently about the news that a comic was going to be in development soon but I had no idea there already were some comics made!
(edit: note to self, learn to look at the sidebar once in while...)
Just added these to my Amazon cart:
I believe that covers all released comics so far, correct?
Most of these are analytical:
Take your eyes of the ball by Pat Kirwan.
The Games That Changed the Game: The Evolution of the NFL in Seven Sundays by Ron Jaworski
War Room: The Legacy of Bill Belichick and the Art of Building the Perfect Team by Michael Holley
The Art of Smart Football by Chris B. Brown
Take Your Eye Off The Ball is another good one. It is focused on the NFL though. Written by Pat Kirwan, a former coach and scout.
Pat Kirwan's "Take Your Eye Off the Ball: How to Watch Football by Knowing Where to Look" helped me out a ton. It's NFL-focused, and not defense-specific, but the concepts translate. I adored this book. It's absolutely worth every cent.
This book was pretty helpful. It isn’t too long and it’s not a bad read. It breaks down the basics of formations and play types. It helps you understand and figure out a teams game plan while you’re watching the game. I haven’t read it in a while so I don’t remember everything it gets into but you see the game differently after you read it. Definitely doesn’t get into everything but it’s a pretty good start.
https://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1600783910/ref=nodl_
If you are looking to learn PowerShell without burning out even harder then I would suggest a book called learn powershell in a month of lunches.
Each chapter takes ~45-60 minutes and it an easy enough read and not too technically dense that you need to focus hard to understand. The concepts start at the absolute basics and add another layer on each chapter.
I am half way through the book now and I know enough now to start building some basic/fundamental scripts.
Learn Powershell in a Month of Lunches is pretty handy.
Start here. There's also /r/Powershell, and numerous websites devoted to learning and writing PS scripts.
Set up some revision control to track changes in your scripts, and start by learning to run individual commands for basic tasks (e.g. password resets, user data changes). Then start thinking about annoying processes that you have to do on a regular basis. How would you automate those?
I see that others have answered the question well. And I suspect that you will head down this path, but just in case you aren’t considering it - I highly recommend learning PowerShell. even just basic commands. It will open up so many opportunities for you to help make your life easier as an admin in general, not just SCCM. If you plan to do other things besides SCCM later in, having a good understanding of PowerShell will be a very marketable skill for you to have.
I highly recommend PowerShell in a Month of Lunches as a great book to get you started.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1617294160/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_YyqRDb82T8T6V
It's really shitty to be in a relationship with someone and not wish them happy birthday (assuming you knew it was their birthday and clearly he did). What was his excuse for canceling? Unless he had a really good excuse, that was definitely pretty shitty. It sounds like you told him it was important to spend your birthday with him and he decided not to. I can see why you feel upset. I would feel upset too if I had asked to spend my birthday with someone and they didn't even wish me happy birthday. I would try to tell him that you are felling hurt (try to use non-violent communication if you can: http://www.amazon.com/Nonviolent-Communication-A-Language-Life/dp/1892005034/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1347154038&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=non-violent+communication). I'd ask him to validate your feelings and work on keeping dates when they are important to you. If he doesn't validate your feelings and promise to try to do better; I'd move on to someone who can and will want to be more considerate of your feelings.
So in saying the BD versus the SM, I assume you mean Bondage and Discipline, and Sadism and Masochism. Fun note, the acronym is more complex than most would think, as the DS also stands for Dominance and Submission. So 6 initials in 4! Woo!
Alright, goofery aside, yes, you can be submissive without being masochistic. It really depends on the partners you're playing with, and what you consent to beforehand. It sounds like you're looking to explore. I'd advise you to look around, and meet people before jumping in. BDSM can be a little much if you just jump in feet first.
The advice given out 99% of the time, is to join fetlife, and look around in your area. If you live in a decent sized city (more than 2 stoplights) there's a chance there are groups around you. The easiest course would be to look, find a group that's not too scary, and attend a munch. It's a great way to meet people in the scene, and get comfortable. If it still sounds like something you wanna try, and a scene you want to get in to, you should be in a good position to advance from there.
There are also a handful of books that are worth reading, SM 101 (A little outdated, but has good info still), and Screw the Roses are good ones. I'm sure more people will add book suggestions.
If you want to engage in play at some point, and decide to set something up with someone locally, come back and tell us, and we'll prattle on about all the safety things you should do before your first meeting. But, SM 101 covers that well enough that you should know what to do. Side note: Part of the "outdated" has to do with that, because he talks about these new things called "cellular phones", and how they might be useful for check ins, if you regularly meet up with people. Good thing that newfangled technology never caught on!
My boyfriend just got me a copy of Screw The Roses, Send Me The Thorns. It's written by a male/dom female/sub couple. I've just started it, but it seems to have good information - as well as a sense of humor!
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen –
by Harold McGee
is the bible.
Also Modernist Cuisine
Her book came out in October of last year (which I just noticed is #1 in "Biographies & History Graphic Novels") and over the summer I pre-ordered her 2015 wall calendar. It's currently hanging up in my office so I've got another year of Brosh's creations to hold me over. I am guessing she has a lot on her plate, I hope she is focusing on herself whatever she is doing when not blogging. Apparently there's a 2015 engagement calendar as well...sooooo, buying that now
I just noticed she has a bunch of things on Amazon that are going on sale in 2015, so perhaps that explains the hiatus:
Hyperbole and a Half Notepad (and Mouse Pad)
Hyperbole and a Half Notebooks (Set of 3)
Hyperbole and a Half Die-Cut Notecards
Edit: Here's a video that was posted in August featuring Brosh (bonus points if you're also into MTG)
It sounds like you're after the basics of how mechanical things work. These aren't bike specific but the principles remain the same.
Engine basics
How oil systems work and what your engine oil does
Gearboxes and what gears do
Early braking systems and what brake fluid does
Cooling system
Yes these are old but I think explain things in such an easy to understand method. Some things are far outdated by today but all basic principles are exactly the same.
If you're after some books. How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive by John Muir is one of the best mechanical guides around. Sure it's about VW stuff but it explains things is such a great way and how to think when working on something, mechanical problem solving etc. It's helped me when I worked as a race car mechanic and it just provides advice that sticks with you and applies to anything mechanical.
There's two aspects...no...make that three:
And here's the kicker. It took me about a year and a half to build it, one piece at a time - we call that a "rolling build" and it's absolutely how your first build should be done. As I did I experienced the effects of each modification. The value of what I learned about how high performance bikes work is beyond calculation. It's been a huge help as both a pilot and mechanic.
You also need to read "A Twist of the Wrist" by Keith Code. Yes, he's a crazy ass Scientologist. No, DO NOT take one of his classes. But you need that book.
You need a repair manual for whatever bike you get as a starting point. I can guide you there some if I know your approximate height/weight (yeah, it matters!). But you need one more book. You need to get into the mindset of a mechanic and there is absolutely nothing better than the best car repair manual ever written, bar none:
https://www.amazon.com/Keep-Volkswagen-Alive-Step-Step/dp/1566913101
I'm not kidding. Read that cover to cover. It is the best and funniest technical manual ever written. It's the reason "idiot guide" books are so popular - the whole concept was stolen from this. It's also a hippie counterculture artifact - you know all those hippies with VW bugs and busses back in the day? They ALL had this book.
VW Bug tech is also pretty similar to a lot of what you'll run into in 1970s/1980s Japanese motorcycles. Broadly speaking :).
You also need this:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6Fh3F6hufhDckM2ektBcDRFNWs/view?usp=drivesdk
...and my update to the carb chapter:
https://old.reddit.com/r/CafeRacers/comments/c5lboc/so_we_need_to_have_a_major_conversation_about/
Other stuff...
https://old.reddit.com/r/CafeRacers/comments/da7t1z/some_notes_on_whats_out_there_on_craigslist_and/
https://old.reddit.com/r/CafeRacers/comments/db4g0s/the_good_bike_list_part_one/
https://old.reddit.com/r/CafeRacers/comments/db6jbn/the_good_bike_list_part_two/
If it's not blatantly obvious yet, my focus is on performance and building a stable bike that handles but won't actively try and kill you.
And the best book for learning about repairing Beetles:
"How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive"
http://www.amazon.com/Keep-Volkswagen-Alive-Step-Step/dp/1566913101
The same publisher put out similar style books for a few other cars, unfortunately not many and none newer than 1985-1990. They may be the best books for absolute beginners to learn about car repair in general.
Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale
I havent read it yet but this comic is supposed to be about is "mysterious" past.
I loved biomedical pop-sci with a passion when I was in high school. "Stiff" was on my bookshelf for sure. Didn't read Atul Gawande's stuff until later, but enjoyed them very much. My favorites from when I was a teen were:
and others, such as The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down. All are great reads.
> ebola is -RNA. can that mix with the flu?
Yes. It already did in a viral lab once.
Read "The Hot Zone" for a truly scary true story about a close call with an ebola pandemic.
I always point people to this book when they blow off vaccinations or contagious diseases:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Coming-Plague-Emerging-Diseases/dp/0140250913
The other book? Preston's The Hot Zone.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Hot-Zone-Terrifying-Story/dp/0385479565
Both of those scared the ever living shit out of me, and they're also why I hate Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy.
You should try low doses of psilocybin mushrooms and work your way up as you become more comfortable; you'll definitely appreciate it. When I say low, I mean .25g, .5g, etc; continue until you sense that level of detachment you don't desire.
I also suggest reading Magic Mushrooms in Religion and Alchemy, by Clark Heinrich, and Food of the Gods, by Terrence McKenna(almost all his books are related and interesting, but this one is most relevant). I recommend these two because they deal with the influence of mushrooms, not exclusively psilocybin, on religion(theoretical, of course). The first, Magic Mushrooms in Religion and Alchemy, completely captivated me and initially inspired my entire interest in Philosophy, Religion, and drugs.
edit: I'd also like to point out that freaking out once due to smoking too much doesn't necessarily mean that you always will, it's purely psychological and you just have to be comfortable and feel safe.
Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge A Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution By Terrence McKenna
Magic Mushrooms made us in to humans.
Back when we were still just highly developed monkeys, these mushrooms entered out diet. Test have been done that have shown that low doses of psylocybin improve your long distance vision and make details stand out more, making you a better hunter on the African plains, so mushroom eaters gained an advantage over those who didn't eat them.
We're very similar to monkeys but yet our minds are so much more advanced. At some point in human history, something happened that made our minds and consciousness make a gigantic leap.
If you think about it, what could make humanoid type monkeys (?) capable of imaginative thought, to start thinking about and worshiping a ball of fire in the sky, develop our consciousness in to something that makes us human?
Crazy theory I know, described in Food of the Gods
The Road by Jack London
Vagabonding by Rolf Potts
If you're into this, The Bobiverse series is great. Same concept.
Book #1 in the current series of 3:
https://www.amazon.com/Are-Legion-Bob-Bobiverse-Book-ebook/dp/B01LWAESYQ
The best "Standard" deal is the
Platinum Annual
24 Credits/Yr.
You pay $9.57 per credit
$229.50 per year
That's always available and offers the most credits at the cheapest price per credit.
If you follow the Audible sub then you'll find signup deals on there from time to time. The last I took advantage of was the
Discount Gold Annual
12 Credits/Yr.
~$8.29 per credit
$99.50 a year
You could sign up for that one until April 5th. Sometimes if you call and ask you can still sign up for one of these deals, but I haven't done/tried that so I can't say much about it. I don't know of any sign-up deals going on right now, they usually happen around holidays.
Depending on the genres you enjoy, your best bang for your buck might be a Kindle Unlimited subscription and then picking up some cheap audiobooks through whispersync. You can pick up a KU subscription for $0.99 for two months (https://www.techbargains.com/deals/amazon-kindle-unlimited-membership) and if you hunt around you can find a bunch of good books for $1.99. It's mostly Sci-Fi and Fantasy, but as a few examples:
https://www.amazon.com/Are-Legion-Bob-Bobiverse-Book-ebook/dp/B01LWAESYQ
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MFGX5GI/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SLWQGUM/
https://www.amazon.com/Thru-Hiking-Will-Break-Your-Heart-ebook/dp/B00W4RICAM
Those aren't endorsements, just examples (I've only read the first one, which I would endorse if you like Sci-Fi)
Beyond that if you like classics you can usually find some of those cheap:
https://www.audible.com/pd/Siddhartha-Audiobook/B07HK6JZSC
On occasion, if you go to cancel your subscription you'll be offered a deal to keep it. I haven't signed up for any of those, and don't know what those deals are, but it's an option.
Last but not least, you can just buy more credits. If you've run out of credits (or if you contact Audible Support) you can usually buy 3 credits for $36 ( I think that's the correct amount). I generally wouldn't recommend this option, it's a bit more expensive to buy the Gold Plan, but you get a year's membership with that. Whereas buying credits straight out still leaves you paying a monthly subscription as well.
There are so many more options like this, but I don’t want to overwhelm you! These may not all be your cup of tea. But they are some of my favorites for a somewhat reasonable price.
Yes, the bob in the computer is an entirely different kind of spirit.
The Bob, not exactly what you asked for, but worth the read
Ping
I HIGHLY recommend this book.
Read this book: Vagabonding by Rolf Potts
The other "coincidence" that seems to have been thoroughly buried is that Barr senior was not only the HM of the school but also an author of Sci Fi novels. In 1971 he published a Sci Fi novel Space Relations which revolves around sexual slavery and rape of a 14 year old . i know you couldn't make it up but there is the book on amzaon and good reads . Unsurprisingly it has been dropped from the "selected publications" section in Barr Senior's wikipedia page . One imagines Barr is a little shy about bringing this up, as it would seemingly strengthen the recusal argument.
https://www.amazon.com/Space-relations-slightly-gothic-interplanetary/dp/0860000249
> Epstein (when he was 20) worked for Donald Barr
Don't forget, Donald Barr wrote a SiFi book called Space Relations, which is about a future where oligarchs rule and sexualize minors and rape sex slaves.
There are a ton of resources out there for people who want to explore their kinky sides more.
On Reddit, I'd recommend [1] this, [2] this, and of course [3] Darr's "Standard Intro to Kink" post. As for books, this community tends to recommend Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns, The New Topping Book, and The New Bottoming Book.
For web reading, I like this site, Leather and Roses. It's got a lot of general information and they subdivide into general essays, domination, and submission, so you can target what you're reading and have your girlfriend look over the same materials too.
Enjoy!
Here's my list,
free online courses incl audio
----
free srs / vocab practice
----
speaking practice
----
books and audio courses (library / search online)
----
etc.
----
Best Android app I've found yet: Russian in a Month. Best online site (for pocasts when you are driving: RussianPod101.com. Best book I've found: New Penguin Russian Course
Other then that, read children's articles, watch Cheburaska, follow the Russian subreddits /r/Russianlessons, /r/Russian101, and /r/Russian, read Russian wherever you can, and listen to Russian music. If you want any other tips or tricks I've used, just let me know. Good luck!
It is a punishment, it is punishable by law if you don't take care of the child. Having to deal with a person you don't want to marry for 18 years because of a child is a punishment. Dealing with a child you never wanted for 18 years is a punishment. Knowing that you brought a child into the world that you cannot adequately care for is a punishment.
It is also a punishment to the kid. My parents can't afford me, I'm a burden on my parents. My parents don't love me, because I was an accident. My parents are not married, other kids call me a bastard.
The kids are the ones punished the most.
you should read "better never to have been" by David Benatar
https://www.amazon.com/Better-Never-Have-Been-Existence/dp/0199549265
The idea that life is "inherently good" is bullshit. I think bringing any child into this world is a sin, because you cannot prevent bad things from happening to them. Even if you are well off and love your partner, bad things will happen to your child. They will feel pain, they will suffer at some point, and they will know loss. The child never asked to be brought into this world, you forced them into this world without consent.
Your post reminded me of this book which examines how there is more bad-ness in life than good-ness and how life is full of pain, illness, suffering and death. While there are lovely sunsets m, kisses with cute girls and various other ‘good’ things...the list is much smaller than the list of bad things.
Here is another great book. Emil (who was a fantastic modern day philosopher) examines the issues with being born, how it’s always too late for suicide and takes a sideways look at the world.
It seems that Buddhism and Hinduism have the same basis.
I know that the goal in Hinduism is to escape the cycle as well.
That's why people want to die in Varanasi.
I share your POV.
There is a great book to this topic - Better never to have been: The harm of coming into existence by David Benatar
http://www.amazon.com/Better-Never-Have-Been-Existence/dp/0199549265
If the human species were going to die out for lack of children, one might argue that reproduction is a duty, either because preserving species is important or because preserving humanity specifically is important. Obviously we're not in that situation and because of that I don't think I've ever seen anyone argue that procreation is a duty. Most talk about procreation in philosophy is about the right of people to be parents if they desire to and whether having kids is always wrong because it is better never to have been born.
Since some people can't even have kids for biological reasons, and since others are not in a position to easily raise their kids, it would be weird for philosophers to say that we have to have kids even if we don't want to: some people can't even have kids if they want to! I can't think of any reasons that anyone would be required to have kids against their will.
> This is a much better argument for assisted/legalized suicide than it is for not having kids
Benatar's arguments don't really carry over into that domain at all, as he's primarily concerned with the harm of coming into existence, as opposed to the harm of existing.
If you're interested he gives more detail backed by some empirical studies about his view that people are actually less well-off than they believe in his book Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence. It's chapter three of that book. I still don't buy it, but if you were looking for a fuller argument that's where you'll find it.
I think it might be time you do some reading. This will do: http://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Ashes-History-Tim-Weiner/dp/0307389006/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1322136184&amp;sr=8-2
Warning: Will correct your views about the capabilities of the CIA.
I recommend the book You Are Your Own Gym by Mark Lauren. Tons of ideas on how to do a full-body workout anywhere with nothing (or very common things)
Friggin' awesome.
I'm just starting to learn Russian myself. I'm using this website and this book which supposedly gets you up to an A-Level grade. I think it's a great book but found it a little tough for an absolute beginner so I also got this book which is just basic phrases really, doesn't go into grammar in any real detail but it gives you a lot more confidence to be able to speak something rather than getting completely bogged down in grammar as soon as you've learnt the alphabet imo. As soon as a got a couple of chapters into the phrase book, I started using the Russian course book I linked above to understand the grammar and handwriting better. Can't recommend the penguin one highly enough and I'm sure it will be a great help that you will have a teacher to help you with the grammar.
You're correct in thinking that the alphabet is the most important beginning. DON'T try learning a language using English phonetics, that'll just confuse you (which i can confirm) and give you a weird accent (according to my Russian speaking ex-girlfriend). Next up is where the stress goes on words, how changing stress can change the meaning of a sentence, and how some letters can change sound depending on where they are (called [un-]voicing) but this will come after you have the alphabet and some phrases under your belt.
I also found it good to listen to a few songs to pick up how words flow together, and music helps me think anyway, personal favourites of mine are traditional songs such as Kalinka, Ochi Chernye and Katyusha. Just look on youtube and you will find plenty of them even some with the lyrics in English and Russian.
This is the alphabet, the kids version for when you're more confident and want to learn it in order, and this video has some starter words and phrases.
I hope some of that helps you out, but I'm just a beginner myself so hoping to pick up some more advice myself by watching this thread closely!
Honestly DuoLingo is a meme. If you're serious about learning Russian (or any language) doing flashcards isn't going to get the job done. What you need to do is pick up The New Penguin Russian Course and read about the structure and theory of the language. Read Russian news/articles and literature/poetry. Look up all the words you can't understand (there will be plenty) and keep a journal of new words and phrases that are important to your goals. Then you can use DuoLingo to help supplement your vocabulary if you need to.
I found DuoLingo to be insulting and overpriced for its zero dollar price tag.
The New Penguin Russian Course
Super Easy Russian
Sé varios, de mejor a peor: español, inglés, faroés, esperanto, francés, chino. También se algo alguito de ruso (hice muy poco tiempo pero me acuerdo como leer el alfabeto y decir cosas como gracias y qué se yo, igual no cuenta como saber) y toki pona.
Los únicos que hablo bien bien bien son español e inglés. Con esos dos me puedo manejar en cualquier situación sin problemas. Español nativo, inglés aprendí relativamente bien en el colegio pero lo más importante son las horas boludeando en internet, películas, libros, etc.
Faroés porque fui de intercambio a las islas faroe y aprendí ahí. Es un idioma raro pero que tiene su encanto.
Esperanto lo hablo, escribo y leo bastante bien (ayuda que sea muy regular y la pronunciación se corresponda con la escritura en un cien por ciento). Aprendí por internet, ponele dos meses estudiando de verdad, después leyendo y hablando con gente. Es un idioma fácil y simpático. De vez en cuando me junto con la comunidad en esperanto de acá a hablar pavadas. Es un submundo curioso.
Francés estudié un tiempo y me quedó más o menos. Conversacionalmente "zafo" (pude hacer de traductor una vez en Berlin entre un grupo de estudiantes franceses que se querían levantar a las intercambistas con las que estaba y las intercambistas en sí que solo querían saber dónde podían tomar una cerveza). Leer se puede leer bastante bien mientras no sea una novela. Escribir es un quilombo, nunca me salió.
Chino quería aprender porque me daba miedo quedar como mi mamá ahora: sin acceso a gran parte de la cultura por no saber el idioma dominante bien. Me tiré a aprender en el programa de Lenguas Vivas de CABA. Está buenísimo, super bien organizado y es gratis. Estudié un año y medio y aprendí lo suficiente como para rogar por mi vida si alguna vez los chinos me capturan. También aprendimos a escribir (de lejos lo maś difícil). Tuve que dejar por la facultad.
Ruso quedó como un sueño, estudié solo (bah, con una amiga) por un tiempo de un libro (excelente, era el curso de ruso de Penguin, si alguien quiere el escaneado lo tengo). Después comencé en una academia. La academía me pareció bastante mala, cara y desorganizada, así que elegí seguir con chino y dejar ruso porque estaba haciendo demasiadas cosas y no me daba el tiempo.
Toki pona, bueno, fue una nerdeada como el esperanto, pasa que es más difícil tenerlo presente porque muy poca gente lo habla y además es muy difícil formar conceptos porque hay tan pocas palabras.
Eso. Me quedó re largo el texto. En fin. Igual para lo que más me sirvió aprender tantos idiomas es para desconfiar mucho de la gente que te dice que sabe 5 idiomas y los habla fluído. Salvo que hayas vivido en un lugar donde se hable y le hayas puesto mucha bola, es muy difícil. No digo imposible. Pero sí muy muy muy difícil.
https://www.amazon.com/New-Penguin-Russian-Course-Beginners/dp/0140120416
Full beginner starter guide which includes grammar.
I highly recommend you actually educate yourself about what you are arguing against rather than form a facade of your opponents argument. This book is an excellent source of information about antinatalism. Learn what you are arguing against if you want to form a good argument.
Read this book and explain to them why you think having kids is wrong.
http://www.amazon.com/Better-Never-Have-Been-Existence/dp/0199549265/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1345756081&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=better+never+to+have+been
That would probably help your argument. Most doctors likely assume you just want to engage in risky sexual behavior and will change your mind later.
In fact, I'm finding gay marriage preferable to straight marriage :)
I consider conception of children to be an inherently bad thing: each time a new being is born, the general level of suffering in the universe increases. Giving birth is ultimatly an egoistic thing which is armful to the child, which will endure a life dominated by bad experiences and suffering ( for detail about this, you can read http://www.amazon.com/Better-Never-Have-Been-Existence/dp/0199549265 ).
So, in a world where there are a lot of orphans, I see adoption as the best move to make by a couple which want a child: it doesn't increase the number of suffering beings in the world like conception, and is more likely to reduce the suffering of a child which is currently living in an orphanage.
Of course, my introductory statement was a little bit trollish. There are means for gay couples to conceive, or make conceive for them, which I find immoral. In fact the move I find the most moral is the straight couple which choose to not conceive at all, but to adopt.
There are a handful of other bodyweight books in the FAQ that people here speak really highly of. I've been doing YAYOG for a month, and it's been great for me. I don't want to parrot the whole book, but there's a lot of exercises in there, and more importantly a handful of different routines to keep your muscles guessing.
I read a book about Ebola and if I recall correctly the strain of Ebola that is airborne is way more deadly however it kills people so fast that it doesn't have a chance to spread it kinda just kills itself off.
Edit: I think this is the book.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0385479565?pc_redir=1406834357&amp;robot_redir=1
Around 1993 or 1994. I was browsing in the bookstore and came across Food of the Gods.
A book on amazing hikes around the world, a yoga mat or t-shirt, a cool lion statue, a donation in their name to an eco-charity.
There's a lot of interesting-looking books on psychadelic drugs: http://www.amazon.com/Food-Gods-Original-Knowledge-Evolution/dp/0553371304/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1417528364&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=psychedelic+drugs
This site sells eco-friendly yoga products: http://www.manduka.com/us/
Read: The Food of Gods. Magic mushrooms were quite cultural all over South America, and still are. A fascinating read, even if it isn't scientific or anthropology driven it does contain a fair amount of history on mushrooms and other drugs pre "drugs are bad m'kay."
terence mckenna states that psilocybin mushrooms give heightened visual acuity. he believes this was used to gain an advantage when hunting. it's all in his book, Food of the Gods.
most likely lsd has the same effect, or same kind of effect.
No, it’s a sub for fans of this book
Similar but not the same.
Racial Differences in Crime Holding IQ Constant
Two studies have looked at what happens to racial crime differences after IQ is held constant. First, Beaver et al. (2013) looked at the degree to which racial differences in crime disappeared after controlling for self-reported life time violence and verbal IQ. Their sample consisted of 3,029 males.
African American men were 43% more likely to be arrested than White men. However, this dropped to a statistically insignificant 13% after controlling for life time violence and IQ. Before applying the controls, Black men were 56% more likely to have been incarcerated. After applying controls, this figure dropped to a statistically insignificant 18%. Finally, once arrested Black men were 50% more likely to end up incarcerated and, after applying these controls, that value dropped to a statistically insignificant 24%.
Secondly, Herrnstein and Murray (1994) analyzed a large nationally representative data set and found that the Black-White incarceration gap decreased by nearly ¾ after simply controlling for age and IQ.
Thus, racial differences in IQ probably explain a good deal of the Black-White crime gap, though not all of it.
Ralph Potts' "Vagabonding" is pretty good:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0812992180
Great book that explains this (and a lot more) in detail for the layperson. Go to the "Look Inside" deal and see page 31, he breaks down/diagrams out a call and shows how the pattern works.
Take Your Eye Off the Ball: How to Watch Football by Knowing Where to Look https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1600783910/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Ese5Cb4H8GXDW
https://www.amazon.ca/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1600783910
A fantastic book I used when I started was Learn Powershell in a Month of Lunches.
https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Windows-PowerShell-Month-Lunches/dp/1617294160/
Learn Windows PowerShell in a Month of Lunches
Start with this:
https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Windows-PowerShell-Month-Lunches/dp/1617294160/ref=sr_1_3?crid=26462OWKXC9YH&keywords=learn+windows+powershell+in+a+month+of+lunches&qid=1568013284&s=gateway&sprefix=learn+windows+%2Caps%2C231&sr=8-3
Then this:
https://www.amazon.com/Learn-PowerShell-Scripting-Month-Lunches/dp/1617295094/ref=sr_1_4?crid=26462OWKXC9YH&keywords=learn+windows+powershell+in+a+month+of+lunches&qid=1568013284&s=gateway&sprefix=learn+windows+%2Caps%2C231&sr=8-4
And finally this:
https://leanpub.com/powershell-scripting-toolmaking
&#x200B;
I'd also recommend spinning up a virtual environment with at least 1 server and 2 workstations. Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10 Enterprise both have evaluation editions you can download and install for free.
I think the Powershell in a Month of Lunches series is considered pretty good.
The best PS book I've come across is Learn PowerShell in a Month of Lunches: https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Windows-PowerShell-Month-Lunches/dp/1617294160/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535785632&sr=8-1&keywords=powershell+month+of+lunches
&#x200B;
Also, keep an eye out for the authors in blog posts as you're Googling. Don Jones and Jeff Hicks are both really active on Powershell.org as well as Pluralsight.com.
DEFINITELY agree. That line set off warning bells in my head. There are people who have the opinion the what the EGS is doing is super messed up. To me it isnt, so if someone said i would probably do the same, i wouldnt care, but if you say the same thing to someone who feels its a moral issue they really care about, you might lose a fan for life.
An analogous example is companies overworking employees for like 80 hours a week for months on end. Very recently a company basically said hey thats how we do business, its good work ethic. If they had also said you'd do the same, i would have raged on that. Because they have unethical business practices, screw them, I wouldnt do the same.
Now that Im writing this, it makes me think of the well known and amazing book "Non Violent Communication" https://www.amazon.com/Nonviolent-Communication-Language-Marshall-Rosenberg/dp/1892005034
The author talks about how its good to avoid the word you in times like this because people feel attacked. And in this case kinda rightly so. This company has no idea if I would do the same or not, the most they can say is that some high percentage of the population would do the same, and morality isnt a popularity contest so its irrelevant.
What's been helping me is the [Non-violent Communication Book] (http://www.amazon.com/Nonviolent-Communication-A-Language-Life/dp/1892005034). Now I have a little notebook where I try to name all my feelings at certain moments or when triggered. It's been getting a bit easier, and less cloudy.
Subspace is my conclusion as well. Of course, if any of the symptoms you listed return when you are not scening take him to the ER immediately.
A good book dealing with SM info including a good introduction into subspace is Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns.
Next time you see evidence of your partner slipping into subspace do not has him yes/no questions. Ask him how he is feeling. As him what the date or year. What is our current president. What is his full name. What the safeword is. etc. Questions used by EMTs, neurologists, etc.
Your partner can be in a place mentally where he does not feel the full intensity of pain being delved out. So determining whether he has fallen into subspace is of vital importance when he is acting differently that he should be taking the situation into account.
BTW: being in subspace is not a bad thing. Release any tension, untie his bondage, make sure he is resting comfortably, after checking on these laying next to him giving gentle aftercare techniques. Try to let him return on his own if you can. Experiencing subspace is a wonderful thing I have been told.
> Screw the Roses and Give Me The Thorns (can't remember the author)
"Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns: The Romance and Sexual Sorcery of Sadomasochism" by Philip Miller and Molly Devon (Amazon link)
That's the At Home version which is highly abbreviated for home cooking.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0982761015/ref=pd_aw_fbt_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&amp;refRID=14N2Q5DGXA1VKQ9XD196
Vs
http://www.amazon.com/Modernist-Cuisine-Art-Science-Cooking/dp/0982761007
The cookbook is on sale for $461, and that burger takes 30+ hours to make, so uh, let me know how it turns out!
I love Hyperbole and a Half. She's writing a book. It is amazing what Allie Brosh can convey using MS Paint.
There is no better car to learn some wrenching skills.
Get this:
http://www.amazon.com/Keep-Volkswagen-Alive-Step-Step/dp/1566913101
and go for it.
First classic VW? NICE! I feel inclined to share my advice from what i learned with my first. man you got a lot to learn in front of you! get the idiot guide. That book really helped me when i had my first. Mine beetle was like yours, except mine was free. Lets see... to get it running i'd say first you gotta drain the bad gas. If it was running as a daily driver before hand your ignition should still fire more or less properly. It's most likely bad fuel that's gonna keep you from starting. probably should get a carb gasket kit and learn how to clean out your carburetor from gunk'd varnished gasoline. Don't open the carb if you don't have gaskets. You could check and verify that fuel pump is pumping fuel. To test if you are actually getting spark(you should do this early on in startup checks) pull a spark wire off the plug and hold it to something solid like alternator body. Hold it slightly away from the metal and have someone turn engine over. if you see sparks that are blue or white you are good, if it's orange/brown that's bad and probably need new ignition coil. (but don't do this near gasoline!) Also make certain all your cooling tin is in place. Get it running and familiar with it, then learn how to check ignition settings like points and timing. use a strobe timing light, its way easier. Check the intake system for leaks when it's running. you can use a flammable aresol to lightly spray at the connection points of the intake manifold you listen for change in RPM. if RPM changes you are leaking at that joint and need to fix asap. Also of course check your brakes. wheel cylinders like to die after long times sitting around. There's a lot more i could say...
Upvoted for truth. Prepare to live on the Samba and look into this book https://www.amazon.com/Keep-Volkswagen-Alive-Step-Step/dp/1566913101
IT will help you with everything you need to know about Aircooled.
Investing in a Bentley Manual is wise as well.
Read the comic.
It's the show where you never know what's up next: The RAND Corporation's 'A Million Random Digits'
refusing to post the link is just stupid moral grandstanding. i don’t know what you’re trying to prove exactly other than the fact that you are a paragon of virtue, anybody could find it instantly if they wanted to. look i did it https://www.amazon.com/Space-relations-slightly-gothic-interplanetary/dp/0860000249
Barrs dad was also Epsteins headmaster. Barrs father also wrote about a future break away civilization separate from Earth that still has slavery and rapes young women.
Book: https://www.amazon.com/Space-relations-slightly-gothic-interplanetary/dp/0860000249
Littler known fact Barr's father wrote a Sci fi novel about underage kids being sold into sex slavery
https://www.amazon.com/Space-relations-slightly-gothic-interplanetary/dp/0860000249
Surely just more of a coincidence
You can practice curves or arcs in the same way you practice straight lines. Make lots of them! You goal should be to make fluid, confident strokes from your shoulder. Lots of books go over this including this one from Scott Robertson or this one from Andrew Loomis. Also check out this From Foundation Patreon.
Here's a little list of best-sellers on Amazon and a few from this thread:
While your end goal might be cartoons, you will HAVE to learn to draw realistically to some extent. No way would you be able to animate anything in perspective otherwise, understand lighting, or know how to composite complex scenes. There are fundamentals that you must understand that are key to 2D animation, regardless of art style, which should be continuously worked on alongside your stylistic development.
Books:
Simple book on perspective
My favorite anatomy book
A pretty simple book on light (More pictures/examples than in-depth detail)
Overall beginners drawing book
This covers light/shadow and materials decently for beginners
I personally think you should focus on fundamentals alone until you have a decent grasp before looking at animation. But if you want to learn concurrently, this book is pretty well-known in the industry: LINK
There's tons more, but I already think this might be too much to take in all at once. Discover for yourself the rest, it's not good to have everything handed to you with fundamentals, gotta reign it in personally.
ok i got two for you! ive been using these books to teach myself in my free time when i have downtime from my classes! they work great as guides to teach you fundamentals of figure drawing and perspective/ environment drawing.
figure drawing:
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&amp;rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS514US514&amp;ion=1&amp;espv=2&amp;ie=UTF-8#q=figure%20drawing%20design%20and%20invention
environments:
http://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732/ref=pd_sim_b_7?ie=UTF8&amp;refRID=0AZB9YYFC6AJ5WER0WQY
The Bobiverse are mentioned quite a bit on Reddit. Guy becomes immortal through becoming a sort of AI after death. He is “awakened “ to help humanity however he struggles with not caring as much for humans since time and mortality don’t mean anything to him anymore. Bob
Finished We Are Legion (We Are Bob) yesterday.
It's...beyond reproach. If you have any nerdery in your soul you have a moral obligation to read this. I want to wait to read the second book because I don't want it to be over.
I don't want to say too much about it for fear of spoiling anything.
We are Legion might be up your alley. Book two has just been released so it looks like the Kindle version of book one is on sale.
I highly recommend the bobiverse series to you as a second point of reference.
If they ever come up with true machine uploading / true brain-computer interfaces, I'll be one of the first to sign up. Assuming it actually preserves consciousness and the sense of I, and isn't just a memory transfer and someone else wakes up inside.
Something like the tech in Old Man's War would be perfect.
Or for a more future scifi feel, Bobiverse.
You won't necessarily draw the internal anatomy every time you draw a person, but you'll definitely have to learn it by drawing it a lot. Look at it like that: when you draw a figure, the only thing you can see is the skin (and later, the clothes). Well, it happens that said skin is wrapped around a complex structure of bones and muscles, and so are the clothes of a characters. Knowing how this structure is built will let you "drap" skin and clothes the proper way, and will give you all the indications you need when it comes to adding light and shadow. As a bonus, being able to "see" the internal structure of a body gives you the ability to manipulate it, exagerate poses, and even create new ones from imagination.
Now as for how to learn it? I see in one of your old comments that you seem to have the books everyone recommends already, but have you tried using them? Grab either Loomis's or Hampton's book, and read them cover to cover while reproducing the drawings, that should be a good start. Alternatively, check out Proko's channel on youtube, he's got some material on figure drawing, too.
As a side note and to answer an older question of yours regarding drawing cars, check out Scott Robertson's book on objects and environments in perspective, or his DVDs on Gnomon Workshop if you're like me and prefer this format (subscription does cost $50 a month though, but Gnomon also has some pretty good figure drawing / anatomy courses. Your call).
Sorry I was probably being unhelpful with that comment. Anyways, one critique I have is to keep in mind the 3D shape of objects. So right now the way you drew the pen, it's "flat" and doesnt have any dimensionality. You should aim to draw a cylinder rather than a rectangle. This is probably the #1 mistake I see beginners do in this sub. See pic. The end goal is to be able to draw a pen from any angle.
To reach that end goal, I recommend you get a beginner's book on perspective, any basic one you find on amazon should be fine. Perspective is like the addition and multiplication of drawing, because everything you will ever see in your life will be in perspective. Then once you finish that, delve into How to Draw by Scott Robertson. It's hard book but if you work through it, you'll be on your way in no time. Don't worry if you just end up drawing a bunch of boxes, because nearly everything can be mapped out into a box shape. Take for example this drawing by Scott Robertson, he uses boxes a lot.
I strongly recommend Scott Robertson's "How to Draw" book. It is almost entirely dedicated to perspective drawing. It teaches everything from the basics of two and three point perspectives all the way to more complex things such as mirroring curves and even correctly drawing things like staircases in perspective. It's also super cheap for what it offers:
http://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732/ref=la_B0034O5O32_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1417522342&amp;sr=1-1
Grab that and work your way through every exercise one-by-one and you'll come out with a firm grasp on perspective drawing. He also has an accompanying website for the book that you can log into that goes through some of the lessons in video format. As he is a teacher (and so is the co-author), they both do a great job of explaining things in the videos.
Your friend is sort of right about the pen. It can help do away with the "chicken scratch" method of drawing by forcing you to be more confident with your lines but you should stick with pencil for now.
I'm mostly self-taught as well (although I learned a bit from Watts Atelier until it got to be too expensive) and the sheer amount of information out there can be really overwhelming. I mean, there's so many things to learn: perspective, line weight, figure drawing, portraiture, landscape, etc.
What definitely helped me is realizing that I'm never going to stop improving as an artist. That means that I'm going to have my entire life to hone my skills. Even if you have to unlearn a lot of bad habits, you've still got plenty of time to practice slowly, deliberately and mindfully.
If you understand that you've got your whole life to get better, it's easier to formulate a strategy to get better. You've got to think about this in the long term. That means taking a month to work solely on anatomy, another month to work only on perspective, another month to work on tone and values, while always revisiting the skills that you've already cultivated.
For example, I've laid out my artistic goals 3 months in advance. That means that for the next 3 months, I'm only focusing on anatomy and gesture/figure drawing. My daily schedule this week looks like this:
warmup
1, 2, 5 and 10 minute gesture/figure drawings
study/copy hands from Bridgeman's Constructive Anatomy book
draw 50 hands
spend about 10-15 minutes drawing hands from memory and comparing them to the references I was using earlier
work on something fun
If I have extra time, I'll work on some more anatomy studies but it depends on how busy I am with work/life. After this week is up, I'll move on to arms, then the core, then legs, head, etc, following the same setup I've made. Maybe the next 3 months, I'll move on to perspective drawing but I haven't thought that far ahead yet.
If you're confused about where to start, just pick something that you're the weakest at and start drawing that. It's a grind and you're going to be producing hundreds, if not thousands of drawings but that's the way to get better.
Like I said, if you start thinking in the long term, it gets less overwhelming. I'm gonna link some resources that really helped me out.
Books
Perspective Made Easy
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
Fun With a Pencil Actually, anything by Loomis.
How to Draw Kind of a technical book but goes into really great detail about perspective
Youtube Channels
Watts Atelier Highly recommended. Watch his figure drawing videos. Also, if you can spare the cash, join his online school. It's fantastic and very structured course in drawing. Definitely look into this if you have trouble deciding what to learn next.
Proko This guy has great intro videos for figure drawing. I think he learned at Watts Atelier as well.
New Masters Academy They have a ton of great videos about everything. Definitely look into Glen Vilppu's figure drawing series. He's the god of figure drawing.
Alphonso Dunn Really great pen and ink tutorials
Sorry if I overwhelmed you (ironic, considering your original post) but I just wanted to share some stuff that's really helped me develop a schedule and get better. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll do my best to help you a fellow art student out.
TLDR: You have plenty of time in your life to get better, so make a schedule and stick to it.
Bob
FYI, the first book of this series (Kindle version) is FREE for prime members right now if your interested. I don't know how long. I just got it.
https://www.amazon.com/Are-Legion-Bob-Bobiverse-Book-ebook/dp/B01LWAESYQ
Piggybacking to provide Amazon links:
...and also to add a couple of homer suggestions of my own:
Buy some football books, start reading websites that cover strategy like Smart Football and what has helped me is that I have games from last year recorded and I'll just watch one position or maybe a few and see what they do on every play (helps with patterns and technique, therefore possible plays). Also what you can do is document football plays as you watch, as explained in Take Your Eye Off the Ball and you start noticing patterns and plays better. That is a start.
Just note that is the 2nd edition linked. I believe there is a third edition out.
https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Windows-PowerShell-Month-Lunches/dp/1617294160/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Learn+Windows+PowerShell+in+a+Month+of+Lunches%2C+Third+Edition&qid=1566893184&s=gateway&sr=8-1
Here is something I typed up previously. The book I am writing will talk about most of this stuff. I'll be posting some articles I'm writing about communication here soon. For now, my old post. I endorse these books:
-------
So this is a bit of an area of expertise for me. I'm actually a writing a book about communication and it is kind of a skills book, but not as you might traditionally think of one. I can tell you more if you like, but don't want to bore you.
Here's the thing with skills books when it comes to communication...most are ok, some are even good, but most are essentially the same...they put together some combination of "do these things" and "do not do these other things" and market you a book that ultimately isn't going to help you a whole lot...at least not to communicate better in the aggregate. (How to Win Friends and Influence People is an example of this.) I call these any "Do these 10 things to communicate better" books. There is no magic list of skills that if you just learn these things, you'll communicate better. Communication doesn't work like that.
That said, there are a few decent enough communication "skills" books out there that are worth your time. It really depends on the type of communication skills you're looking for...for example, there are books out there entirely dedicated to how to give a good presentation (say, at work). There are books on conflict resolution. There are books on persuasion. All of these, which I don't think is what you're looking for only give you part of a very big puzzle. As far as more general communication books there are a couple you might consider:
(A note that most of these are not likely to be at your local library, but if you as your local friendly librarian how to they could get you one of these books, they can probably easily help you. Ask! Librarians are awesome! Also, most of these should be available on Amazon for not much money.)
Author: Marshall B. Rosenberg, Ph.D.
A book with an overall good perspective. A little sappy and cloying at times, but in general the intentions are in the right place with this one. Could come off as a little bit squishily academic, but an ok read and a good perspective.
Author: Alan Alda
I'm actually reading this book right now and it is a funny take on Alda's life and work and he relates his stories through (and about communication). Alda is actually pretty smart about communication and comes at it differently than most anyone else on this list. Funny and witty, what you might expect from such a great actor and comedian. Definitely worth reading.
Author: Jay Sullivan
More about work than other contexts but good advice overall. I only skimmed parts of this one so can't speak to every aspect, but appeared to be decent enough quality when I reviewed it.
Author: Thich Nhat Hanh
Different from the others on the list, this one is written by a Buddhist monk who takes a more spiritual view of communication. It is a good philosophical approach. I found parts of this book enlightening. It is not scientific-ish enough for me and it makes no claims to be. It is a philosophy book on communication, but an easy, accessible read and worth your time.
Author: Kerry Patterson
A good enough book if you're looking to navigate conflicts/difficult conversational things at work or in relationships. Deals more with the challenging aspects of communication, but for what it is, good enough advice.
Author: Liel Lowndes
Similar to the book above, but more about making conversation with people. As far as these types of books go, this one is ok enough and actually has some good advice on things to try when attempting to communicate with others.
Books like Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus, which comes up when you look for communication books should be avoided entirely. That book, and other books like it, are trash. You might as well get your advice from Cosmo.
Sorry for the length here, but like I said, this is an area of expertise. I hope you found this helpful. I can answer questions about any of these books if you like.
Okay, so the dancing and grinding thing? Cheating isn't something you can look up in the dictionary. "Cheating" is defined differently in every relationship. Some people consider flirting with other people cheating, and some people don't consider having sex with other people cheating. If you haven't discussed your individual boundaries with your girlfriend you should.
Anyway, it sounds like you're seriously questioning whether you want to continue a long-term relationship with this person. Have you talked much to her about the issues you're having? Specifically telling her what you want and need and feel is really important in an adult relationship (which is what yours is starting to turn into). You two need to learn to communicate better - her getting "fake mad" (whatever that means) and refusing to talk to you is unacceptable. Try reading some books like Nonviolent Communication.
Let her know you that these issues you're having are starting to lead you to consider whether your relationship is worth it. She deserves to know what you're thinking.
To boost strengths? Basically anything by Ayn Rand or Friedrich Nietzsche
To shore up weaknesses? Nonviolent Communication
Also, if you want all of the good stuff from the self-help category of books with none of the bullshit, read this one: The Happiness Hypothesis
How do you measure the success ? Wealth ? Fame ? Both are not worth pursuing and you already know that, since they don't bring happiness to life. Two things come to my mind:
Hope this helps man, good luck ! You are already doing a massive good job by being super honest with yourself and sharing this problem and all its details. This is not an easy thing to do and requires a lot of ego-gymnastics.
Definitely stick with only the Cyrillic alphabet. The transliterations used on Duolingo don't really convey the sounds very accurately. To practice Cyrillic reading I used to go on a Wikipedia page with lots of celebrities' names (e.g. Best Actor Winners ) and change it to Russian and go through reading the names.
I had a look at the Duolingo course when it came out and I found that it was really lacking in explanation of grammar (cases in particular). I would strongly recommend getting a decent book to follow along with to teach you the grammar. I have found that this has quite a nice progression and explanation. YMMV but, for Russian, I have only found Duolingo helpful for practicing putting sentences together, nothing else.
> Sometimes the words end in one way and then another, but make the same sound
I'm not sure what this is referring to, could you give an example?
I started learning russian because my ex bf was Rusian.
I bought this book, which is absolutely perfect for beginners.
I also met a Russian penpal who I help with English in exchange for Russian on penpalworld.com
The Cyrillic alphabet crash course videos by Mark Thomson (there's also iOS and Android apps if you prefer)
Russian Made Easy podcast / video series also by Mark Thomson
The New Penguin Russian Course by Nicholas Brown
These three materials will give you a super solid start and come out to a grand total of like $20. I suggest starting with the Cyrillic alphabet videos then going through Ch2 of the Penguin book, which teaches Cyrillic cursive. It will be best to do all writing in cursive as you practice. I'd then go through Russian Made Easy then the rest of the Penguin book. This method has been working out very well for me so far. I tried starting with the Penguin book and it's just a little dense to be a good beginner material imo. I also push the Mark Thomson materials pretty hard because he harps on contextual learning which is very important for efficiently learning a new language, yet many resources don't focus on it.
Many people like Duolingo. I wasn't super fond of it because the audio is compressed to hell and it doesn't give a good intro to the alphabet. This led to me having trouble knowing whether I pronounced something right because the example speech sounded like garbage and also taking guesses at what sounds letters made (a few of which turned out to be wrong when I changed my methods and actually learned the alphabet). I talked to a polyglot I know and he advised me that Rosetta Stone was most useful when you have a decent foundation in a language, not quite as great if you're totally new to it (and very expensive). All of this is just my two cents of course. There's many ways to go about it. Either way, welcome to the super fun hellscape that is the Russian language, and good luck getting started :)
It becomes easier once you get used to the concept of cases & case endings in general. Basically, this concept forces you to think grammatically -- which is actually a good thing. In English, we don't really think this way except when using certain pronouns (me, him, her, etc.). In English, we could say "Who are you talking to?" and sound perfectly normal, while the more proper "To whom are you talking?" sounds stilted and weird.
I studied Latin for many years (two decades, in fact) before picking up Russian; so the concept was already familiar. That was a huge help.
Anyway, stick with it, man. Repetition and drills will get you there; just be patient with yourself. At some point, this concept will "click", and you'll find yourself looking back over earlier exercises and breezing right through them. It looks like you're using the New Penguin Russian Course (like I am); so whatever answers don't appear in the key at the back of the book can be posed here in this helpful forum. ))
Yes, but it takes a long time, so I'll copy paste all my past comments here for you to trawl through yourself.
>/r/russian and /r/LANL_Russian are both good subreddits. Someone recommended http://learnrussian.rt.com/ which is great for beginners. http://www.russianlessons.net is good for lots of information, but is kind of incomplete. Definitely worth using regardless. Memrise is really good for vocab, but the courses are user-made and not perfect.
Note: LANL_Russian in particular has some great links in the sidebar.
Memrise:
>Interesting, there seems to be an influx of Russian learners lately. Take note, because I'm writing a lot, and I wouldn't do it if I didn't think that every bit was extremely important.
>Stop just trying to memorise by reading. Long story short, you're using a pretty ineffective technique. The good news is there are far better ways of doing it. Studies show that recollection, not repetition is a far effective teacher.
>As I've said to many, I can fully recommend Memrise (www.memrise.com) and the top rated Russian course there. It's great at using recollection to get you memorising a lot of words fast using mnemonics. Other than that, Anki is a useful flashcard program that does a similar thing.
>some tips for Memrise: don't use it passively; really try and think about and focus on the word you're learning. Secondly, make sure you've got a mem (their term for mnemonic) that works for you. Getting a word without a mem is harder. Memrise will really solidify your Russian-English, but if you are worried about the English-Russian part, just go though each level with a strip of paper covering the Russian words on the screen and work your way down. You will find it's really easy anyway, because Memrise has solidified the connection in your mind.
>Make use you check the course page and water all your plants EVERY DAY.
>Take note of how Memrise get's you recollecting as soon as possible after giving you a word, and then gradually spreads out the intervals at which you are prompted to recall a word, and in groups of 5 words at a time. Take this technique and use it to make yourself some flash cards. Write the English on one side and Russian on the other (you might like to include the pronunciation too). Now you can take these around with you day by day (I have some on my desk by me right now), memorising other words you've read whenever you have a spare moment. You can even have your own personal mems for them. I'd recommend buying some cards to use, because just cutting up printing paper is pretty flimsy and easy to mess up.
>I personally find I memorise better when focusing at my desk, because I'm a lot less distracted. If Memrise is done then feel free to use your flash cards at your desk. It is still more effective.
>If you ever do go back to word lists, don't just look at them, cover one side up and do a few at a time, really relying on recollection.
An extract from what I'd consider my best writeup:
>What galaxyrocker said is just as true for me. My interest in the language led me to try learning it, as opposed to wanting to learn a language and then finding one. I always thought the Cyrillic alphabet looked awesome and the Russian language sounded awesome, so I decided to try it and I've been going ever since. I was always interested in the history of eastern Europe and socialism so I guess that in some way led to it. Along the way I've discovered a completely different and interesting culture and now I am learning a way to interact with it.
>One bit of advice would be to find a buddy who is a native of your target language and get in regular contact. If you're doing this online, there are plenty of resources, but I found mine on the Skype forum. The time spent teaching him the more precise aspects of English and in turn getting a more interactive source of knowledge has been invaluable to both of us, and at the same time I've been prompted to think a little about my own language, especially regarding grammar. It helps only a small bit if you share interests, because the two languages provide such a huge range of topics and conversation. Since you're going to be a beginner, look for someone experienced but looking for regular practice, to them, teaching you WILL be the practice, and any insight into English you can offer a bonus.
>Secondly, relate your studies to subjects that interest you. No doubt you'll be different, but DotA 2 has a large scene in eastern Europe, so I often tune in there just to immerse myself. Find resources to attempt to read that are about a topic of your interest. If you don't enjoy the benefits somewhere, you'll lose interest. If you surround yourself with media relating to your language, you'll always be motivated to go back to the books and continue learning.
>Also, always go back and go over words you learned, otherwise you forget them fast. Recollection is a far better teacher than repetition, so make flash cards or use Memrise (it's amazing).
Now especially for you; Resources:
Pimsleur has an audio only course that teaches you basic conversational Russian using spaced repetition and simulated conversations. It's good for getting you speaking and pronouncing Russian, but I got bored pretty fast and didn't really have the opportunities to use it. The course itself is huge, split up into many lessons. This one does cost a lot of money, you you should PM me for a "sample" first.
Penguin Russian is like a giant grammar book. It will teach you the basics as well as the advanced. While not interesting or engaging, it does have everything you could ever need to know, and so is a good resource if you have the patience. This is another one you'll have to buy, but I have the PDF form if you'd like to "sample" that too.
Lastly, trying to read Russian books is a good way to learn once you have some words down. A heads up though, unless you have more than 1000 you'll be running into a lot of words you will be unfamiliar with, at least to begin with. One staple of language learners is Harry Potter, since its been translated to pretty much every language there is. That's the last "sample" you'll be needing to PM me about.
If you want to speak, the best way is to find a Skype (or real life) buddy who speaks both. There are huge amounts of Russians online who speak passable English who could help in return for some English help.
If you're not doing it that way, you'll need to practice speech to yourself while studying.
This book is incredible for learning Russian grammar and some vocab.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0140120416/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1
Not the person you replied to, and myself unlikely to reply, but basically, the logic goes as follows:
There are lives worth starting and lives worth continuing (for me, this is an intuition that I can't really explain, unfortunately): There is a cutoff point for the quality of life where it would not be worth starting. Basically: what is the maximum probability of a child having leukemia to say that the child's life wouldn't be worth starting?
I believe most people would consider it immoral to start the life of a child that has a 99% chance of having leukemia, but people would object to ending a child's life if it had the same chance of having leukemia. Soft anti-natalists follow the same logic, but set the bar a lot higher: a life has to be extremely good to be worth starting, but not that good to be worth continuing, in fact, very few (or no) people have lives that would have been worth starting. Hard anti-natalists hold that under all conditions, even blissful perfect lives, are not worth starting, but I don't understand the logic they follow.
Also, a lot of anti-natalists hold that life tends to be net negative hedonistically, or believe that preventing suffering is ethically more important than creating happiness (some form of negative utilitarianism or suffering focused ethics).
So, what is to be done? Well, there are, like in every other movement, more and less radical approaches. A soft anti-natalist has two answers: First, try to improve the quality of the lives of people already living and the people that will become born no matter what one does. Second, not bring new children (or even other sentient beings) into the world unless you're really sure their lives are worth starting. A hard anti-natalist would argue that it would be ethical for the the human species to go extinct (because bringing new people into existince is always bad).
Practically, anti-natalists advocate for spreading of birth-control (it brings down the birth rate), adopting instead of procreating (and maybe even raising children on anti-natalist memes, but only carefully). More careful anti-natalists like David Pearce propose that anti-natalism fails because it is a genetically self-defeating strand of thought, and attempting to improve the lives of present and future people is a much better strategy.
Wow, I wrote a lot more than I thought. The most well-known book on anti-natalism is by the philosopher David Benatar: “Better to never have been”, but I've only skimmed it. He strikes me as a very careful thinker, but I am of course biased.
>Since I LOVE the son I don't have, I would never do something like that to him.
Do I have a book for you! David Benatar "Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence."
Here are a few that I've collected over the last couple of years (excluding the ones that have already been mentioned, and the ones that include a discussion of suicide methods):
SUICIDE & EUTHANASIA:
ANTINATALISM:
Somewhat less serious:
"Better to never have been" is something of a slogan for antinatalism ;)
David Benetar wrote a book called: http://www.amazon.com/Better-Never-Have-Been-Existence/dp/0199549265/ref=pd_ybh_1
Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence
e.g. If you are sure that person is going to have AIDS or live in extreme poverty, so that she will suffer an immensely excruciating pain.
He, then, argues that:
Further conclusions:
In this line of thought, abortion, for instance, in the early stages of pregnancy is not only right, but morally mandatory. In addition, he establishes a very important difference between "lives worth continuing" and "lives worth starting", arguing that we are not morally obliged to kill ourselves. Absolutely not. But since by bringing someone into life I will expose this person to serious harm, it is best not to bring anyone into life.
It's a bit of a mixed bag, if you look at the Politifact tracker. Even so, we're never going to have transparency into the DoD or intelligence operations. There's a book called Legacy of Ashes that points out that the very existence of an intelligence office is counter to an open democracy. That really made it clear to me that we can't actually have everything in the open, and we elect officials to be in those dim rooms seeing what we can't and making decisions in our best interest.
>We basically have a history of doing incredibly stupid things in foreign territory when our government has an interest in getting into a fight.
You find it easier to believe that our government is run by evil geniuses than by idiots who do stupid shit?
You should read Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA by Tim Weiner. You'll find that it's a history of complete bumbling and fuck-ups. Yes, even the Iranian coup they love to claim was success by blind luck despite their mistakes. Even JFK; not that they killed him, but that they worked overtime to hinder the investigation by the FBI to cover up their own idiot adventures in Cuba and elsewhere under JFK.
These theories just don't hold up. It's comforting to think there's a plan somewhere, even an evil one, that's guiding everything, but there really isn't.
From what I understand, the CIA had been running operations to assassinate Castro without Congress' consent and they thought/think that the Kennedy assassination was retaliation.
See here for a good history of the CIA and this incident in particular -- https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Ashes-History-Tim-Weiner/dp/0307389006
Indeed.
The CIA is responsible for some crazy shit.
I don't know if you have ever read Legacy of Ashes by Tim Weiner but it's a great book that talks about the agency from it's founding up to the 2000's.
http://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Ashes-The-History-CIA/dp/0307389006
This is pretty much the thesis of Legacy of Ashes - The History of the CIA about the history of mistakes and failures in the CIA. It's obviously biased against the intelligence community, but it makes some pretty damning claims.
Craigslist is a great place to get cheap weights. I would also suggest getting a pull up bar and this book.
You Are Your Own Gym: The Bible of Bodyweight Exercises https://www.amazon.com/dp/0345528581/
My friend, You Are Your Own Gym, and you didn't even know it.
Read The Hot Zone. Seriously. Do it now.
You can't talk about public health/epi lit without bringing up The Hot Zone by Richard Preston. It's a really intriguing look at the known history of Ebola and the Ebola Reston outbreak at a monkey house in the US, but take a lot of his details with a grain of salt because he's on the record saying that he dramatized a number of details but its entertaining and informative nonetheless. Preston has a few other books that fall in a similar fold.
I'm currently reading Spillover by David Quammen and I'm really loving it! It's a more scientifically sound book about zoonosis and how infections make their way across species and into humans. I'm personally finding it to be a lot more entertaining than The Hot Zone as well.
Read The Hot Zone. Contagion is for wimps & dilettantes.
the term "drugs" is a perversion of language. there is no such thing. there are many many unique substances. to put crack and cannabis in the same category is beyond ignorant. this is a serious problem in our culture.
and the first sentence of your title could not be further from the truth.
i highly recommend a book called Food Of The Gods by Terence McKenna. it traces the history of humankind's relationships with different plants, and the effects those different plants have had on our cultures. blazing insight into this topic. it's really the perfect thing for your question.
here's a video of Terence doing a talk about this book; he's better known as an amazing speaker. most fascinating person i've ever listened to, by a longshot.
>As far as I read it (McKenna?) LSD showing up on the scene stopped the spiritual growth of the peace and love movement in the 1960s.
Is this the source?
https://www.amazon.com/Food-Gods-Original-Knowledge-Evolution/dp/0553371304
Cause that's a fascinating statement I've never heard before!
The only one I can help you with is religion. For Christianity, I always suggest The Bible. I know this is obvious, but it seems that very few people read it from cover to cover. This may be going away from what you want, though. Personally, I read The Bible as literature, so that does, for me, place it in fiction. If you want an atheist perspective, I highly recommend The God Delusion; for some shorter pieces, I think one should look at Existentialism is a Humanism (if you like this read, it is basically taken from his book Being and Nothingness). If you want to get into some Asian faith, maybe get a copy of the Tao Te Ching to better understand Taoism. Just to add another, and this is one of my favorites; look at Food of the Gods. This is a really interesting read about how substances have affected cultures and their beliefs. It ranges from different foods to the most illicit intoxicants. For me, it really gave me a greater perspective of the uses and benefits to "drugs" that go beyond taking them simply for a good time. If any of these interest you, I can list more for what specifically interests you. It's not much, but I minor in religious studies, so I guess I have a decent grasp on what is worth one's time.
The Intelligence Rift:
Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life by Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray
On Civilization:
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive by Jared Diamond
Gums, Germs & Steel: A short history of everybody for the last 13,000 years by Jared Diamond
The Fate of Empires and Search for Survival by Sir John Bagot Glubb
This isn't new though, it's a common tip in many travel books, Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel by Rolf Potts is one And that's from 2002, theres a website that it talks about on it that does the same thing. I forget what it's called, I got it for my sister last year.
Edit: ridiculous late night mistakes, book title and link
Here is a book on vagabonding. Pretty much how to long term travel in very much a way this guy did. Its an inspiring read.
To paraphrase a review I remember of A Million Random Digits:
> I expected a million random digits, but was disappointed to find only the numbers 0-9, repeated in unending combinations.
I saw this in another thread about it:
>Donald Barr is AG William Barr's dad
>Donald Barr was in the OSS, which was the precursor to the CIA
>Donald Barr gave Epstein his first job as a math teacher in an elite, politically connected school, even though Epstein did not have any qualifications or even a college degree.
>Donald Barr wrote a book called Space Relations, about a race of aliens that are so rich they become bored with everything and start a sex slavery ring and are also aroused by fear
I've read different things about when he actually got the math teacher gig. Either way, I expect that any results of an "investigation" will be heavily politicized.
Space relations: A slightly gothic interplanetary tale: Donald Barr: Amazon.com: Books
The first thing to do is to disabuse yourself of the notion that real BDSM is anything like 50 Shades. Most of us hate that book, and with good reason - Christian and Ana's relationship is neither realistic nor healthy. If you come in looking for that kind of storybook experience, you will likely be disappointed.
If you're looking for reading on the Dom side, I'd recommend the following:
Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns
Playing Well With Others
The Loving Dominant
The New Topping Book
Also check out the link to r/bdsmfaq posted in this thread. It also might be worthwhile to take the test on bdsmtest.org - it will help you find specifically what you're into, which you can communicate to others.
(A caveat - those books, and most books about bdsm unfortunately, focus on male dom/top/d-type, female sub/bottom/s-type. I'm guessing based on your username you are female-identified. Good news - female doms are in very high demand! Bad news- while there are certainly resources for you, and you can certainly get good stuff out of those books, applicable material may be harder to find - as a bi guy myself, I'm often annoyed at how many rope tutorials involve knots that, ehem, would be uncomfortable for guys.)
From there, I'd look up munches in your area and go to a few. Don't expect any action, you'll just be getting to know people in the community. Maybe you'll find partners quickly, maybe it will take some time - there's a catch-22 for new doms, which is that people prefer to play with experienced doms, but you need to play with people to get experience. But by and large, most communities are very welcoming to newcomers. From there, the world is your oyster - have fun and be safe!
Get this book: *Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns: The Romance and Sexual Sorcery of Sadomasochism -By Philip Miller & Molly Devon.
It's great for couples. It's funny and explains many different aspects of kink. It's a great starting point.
However, I do second the notion that you seek out your local area's kink community. There is likely a nearby munch, which is a monthly (or sometimes even weekly) social gathering at a public 'vanilla' venue like a bar or restaurant.
Meeting real people who practice kink in the real world, will help demystify your desires and hopefully put you on a path to a fulfilling kink-life.
If you're not sure where to find your local kink community, try Fetlife.com. This site has helped create a real online community for Kinksters to connect (it is NOT a dating site).
I still wake up in a cold sweat after having nightmares about yahoo groups chain email threads ....
The New Topping Book - For good general Dom knowledge
The New Bottoming Book - For good general Sub knowledge
SM 101: A Realistic Introduction - Nice Intro Book
Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns - Another good book into BDSM
Two Knotty Books: Showing You the Ropes - Good knot book
Two Knotty Boys: Back on the Ropes - Another good knot book
Erotic Bondage Handbook - Another knot book
Shibari You can USe - Book on Shibari knots
Videos on knots - TwistedMonk
Have your friend order him to fill out a Submissive's BDSM Checklist so that she has some idea of what he likes and doesn't like. He may have the idealistic view that a Dominant should just "know," or he may be too embarrassed to tell her directly -- maybe writing it down via the Checklist and not having to say it will be a good starting point for discussion, and he will feel less shy and start talking.
HOWEVER, I would recommend to your friend that if he won't talk about it at all, that she doesn't do anything until he's willing to communicate and own his desires in some way. If he can't communicate outside the scene, he probably won't do so "in scene," and that is a recipe for drama and disaster, as well as possible injury.
EDITING to add that a wonderful resource for women whose male partners have expressed an interest in Domination is The Mistress Manual: The Good Girl's Guide to Female Dominance. Another good (although very heteronormative and directed toward MaleDoms and femsubs, it has great info and exercises, nonetheless) book for beginners is Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns.
Screw the Roses, Send Me The Thorns is an S+ tier book to introductory kink
If you love to read, then I completely back up those who recommended J Kenji Lopez-Alt's "The Food Lab". He also spends some time on /r/seriouseats, which I think is really great. Food Lab is great because it explains not only HOW to make a recipe, but the WHY a recipe works the way that it does, and allows you to expand your cooking skills. His is not the only book that does this, but I've read Salt Fat Acid Heat and The Science of Cooking and a good portion of the tome that is Modernist Cuisine, but Kenji's style of writing is exceptionally approachable.
But my actual suggestion to someone who wants to go from never cooking to cooking healthy meals at home is to watch the recipes on Food Wishes, because he shows you what each step of the recipe is supposed to look like, and his food blog is not filled with flowery stories, but helpful tips.
Another great online resource that I used when I started cooking about 5 years ago was The Kitchn. They offer up basic technique videos on how to cook proteins and vegetables that are really simple to follow for beginners.
My advice to you is this: don't feel like you need to dive immediately into recipes. First learn how to season and cook a chicken breast or steak consistently, and roast the different kinds of vegetables. Then just start jumping into recipes that you want to try. And don't be afraid to ask questions here :)
In case you're wondering, I believe that all of these "food cooking cut in half" pictures are from Modernist Cuisine: The Art of Science and Cooking by Nathan Myhrvold.
allie brosh (creator of hyperbole & a half) is amazing. I found her description about depression really relatable which (amongst other things, also relatable) she describes in both her book & in a really good interview over @ NPR
her twitter is really good too, floods your inbox like once a year.
</fanboy>
Try amazon; https://www.amazon.com/Hyperbole-Half-Unfortunate-Situations-Mechanisms/dp/1451666179
Hyperbole and a Half
The War That Ended Peace
The Hobbit
You're probably familiar with this one already, but just in case: Hyperbole and a half isn't a self help book by any means, but it is hilarious and she shares her experience with depression. https://www.amazon.com/Hyperbole-Half-Unfortunate-Situations-Mechanisms/dp/1451666179
I am too, she's just got a particular brand of humor and empathy that I really missed. I went and pre-ordered her book because I was so happy to have her back.
PSA: You can pre-order her book now on Amazon!
It's set to be released in October of this year, and will be half new material and half stories from her blog (the old ones will possibly have new illustrations).
Was coming to say this! She also has a book out.
Allie Brosch herself has depression, not fibro, but her experiences with depression were eye opening for me since I don't have it but I have many friends who do.
I bought my first car in 1984, a '71 Beetle, for $300 when I was in high school. It had over 200K miles on it. Me and my buddy dropped a $450 rebuilt engine in it in my dad's driveway and neither of us were mechanics, but we were armed with a copy of How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive.
That Beetle ran pretty well for 8 years until I sold it for $500. My Beetle was not seen by me as "the car to have", by any stretch of the imagination, but at the time it was the only car I could afford. Although it had a few quirky problems, I remember it fondly. The car was as basic a vehicle as it could possibly be. So simple it was kind of charming. Still, I would have preferred a GTO.
When I drove it for long periods of time, it would vapor lock. Air would get in the gas line feeding the carburetor when the engine got hot and the engine would quit. Sometimes you just had to wait by the side of the road for the engine to cool down, then it would be fine again. Sometimes when I was going down a large hill, I would shut the engine off and coast to cool the engine. Later I relocated the fuel line away from the engine, and eliminated that problem.
Although the car would go in the snow like nothing I've ever owned since, there was almost no heat. Most of the car would remain at the outside temperature, but the driver's side vent would keep my left foot comfortably toasty no matter how cold it was. I had to keep an ice scraper in the car to remove the frost buildup. On the inside.
The windshield wiper fluid was powered by the pressure in the spare tire. I would over inflate the spare to get good pressure. The one time I got a flat and needed the spare, it had no air in it.
One winter, I backed the car down somebody's icy driveway and parked. It was one of the rare times I got the car stuck. My wheels couldn't get traction and just spun futility. My Vdub was a two speed auto-stick (no clutch), I put it in 2nd, got the wheels spinning, opened the driver door, got halfway out and gave it a shove. The wheels gripped and the car got away from me as it trundled up the driveway, across the street, through a neighbor's fence, finally coming to a rest against a tree.
Parts are best ordered on line unless you live some place where there's a lot of VWs and some specialty retailers/parts houses.
Internet:
http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/
http://www2.cip1.com/
http://www.socalautoparts.com/
http://www.jbugs.com/
http://www.mamotorworkstv.com/vwgclid=CNzrraP14LMCFQSg4AoduisA_w
The Samba is a great community and source for info, etc.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/
A couple of books that you should have.
http://www.amazon.com/Volkswagen-Beetle-Karmann-Official-Service/dp/0837616468/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1371863777&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=1968+vw+beetle+bentley+manual
http://www.amazon.com/Keep-Volkswagen-Alive-Step---Step/dp/1566913101/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1371863840&amp;sr=8-15&amp;keywords=1968+vw+manual
Hope this helps. CiP has good quality parts and if you wait for a sale, they're not to expensive.
The Muir book is the Bible.
How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot https://www.amazon.com/dp/1566913101/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_KKb5CbG3N27P5
Okay.
Checking for spark: Disconnect one of our spark plug wire boots and hold it against the engine block while you have a friend turn the engine over. If you see a spark, you know the ignition system is correctly getting spark to your engine.
Checking for fuel: Take the fuel hose that runs from the fuel pump to the carburetor off and put it in a clear container. Again, have a friend turn the motor over and see if gas squirts out of it.
Check to make sure you didn't accidentally disconnect any wires or anything else while you were changing the oil.
If you own an air-cooled and intend on working on it yourself, you would be well advised to buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Keep-Volkswagen-Alive-Step-Step/dp/1566913101/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1503889652&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=idiots+guide+volkswagens
That book is the Bible for air-cooled backyard mechanics.
Got an Idiot's Guide?
So I got this bug from my wife's best friend. She is moving and she couldn't take it with her. She knew I've always wanted a bug and she didn't want to scrap it so she gave it to me. I'm super excited to finally own one and I can't wait to learn all about it. I've been a mechanic most my life (I'm only 33) but never worked on older cars. I ordered a copy of https://www.amazon.com/Keep-Volkswagen-Alive-Step-Step/dp/1566913101 because everyone said it's a great book. I'm not 100% sure what style I'm going to do, but I was thinking Baja/hot rod(exposed front wheels, lowered not raised). I just really want to strip it down and see what I'm working with. The motor is locked up supposedly so I may just look into a new/rebuild one. I hear 1600 duel port is a good place to start? If I want to go highway speeds(65-70mph) would that be enough, or would a 1700+ be better to look at? Anyway, I'm happy to be apart of the Beetle family and I'll be posting pictures along the way. So excited to get working on this bug!
There are only 3 components to a working internal combustion engine: fuel, air (oxygen), and spark. If your motor isn't running, then one of those three things isn't happening.
Lucky for you, all three happen in a fairly simple, easy-to-follow way in a VW.
Other posters have given you procedures for testing. And if you haven't, go get a copy of the Idiot Book and follow the testing procedures there. Get a sandwich or some fruit or something, because it might take some time to go through everything, but you'll figure it out.
Check out The Shepherd's Tale.
I wouldn't do this until I did some research and gotten pointers from other folks who have done this sort of thing. There are several safety issues that need serious consideration. It may seem straightforward, but it's easy to fuck up something like this. You are probably better off exploring more during waking scenes. Another thought is you could do bondage nap of a few hours instead of over night.
Check out the other subreddits and also this fantastic incredibly awesome BDSM book http://www.amazon.com/Screw-Roses-Send-Thorns-Sadomasochism/dp/0964596008 . It has lots of suggestions for expanding and extending your BDSM scenes.
In the name of science have her go book shopping with him.
Some decent books:
Screw the Roses, Send me the Thorns
The Loving Dominant
S&M101 though, I think the first two are much better for feeling out dominance play....S&M101 I feel is a little more dated and reads a tad more like a "technical guide"
They can learn a lot about each other by reading up and discussing. She might find somethings that pique her interest. He should be able to find examples of things he'd find hot. Everyone wins.
> Molecular Gastronomy
It helps to not call it that. It's misleading and doesn't describe what's being done. Most in the industry shy away from that phrase. Modernist cuisine is more accepted these days.
As for modernist chefs, others have mentioned Blumenthal. I'll list a few for you to look into:
I'm obviously missing a ton of chefs. Due to the history of El Bulli/Adria, there's a lot of modernist cuisine in various places in Spain. The above is by no means comprehensive, but just what I'm remembering off the top of my head as an American.
But on modernist cuisine, the real exceptional chefs are the ones that use them as tools in their trade, instead of doing modernist techniques just for the sake of them. I've had way too many meals where they'd have a component of a dish where they probably thought it'd be cool and hip, but ended up adding absolutely nothing to the dish (Foams are a big problem here).
For modernist cuisine, it really helps to go out to eat and experience it for yourself. Trying to execute without having experienced it is like trying to play Beethoven without any experience hearing it played by others before. This will actually likely be a small price to pay, given the $$$$$ you'll be sinking into equipment. When dining, feel free to ask questions. Waiters at most of these fine dining-ish establishments will know their shit, and will go ask the cooks/chef if they don't know the answer off-hand.
There's also a lot of reading to be done, and you'll end up with just techniques to apply. But with it, you'll be able to do amazing things. For books, The Bible here is Modernist Cuisine, the 50-lb, 6 volume, 2400 page behemoth (at $500, again cheap compared to equipment). You can sometimes find it in libraries if the price tag is an issue. Don't skip to the recipes. Read each one cover to cover (and possibly in order), because learning the science behind everything is more important than following recipes.
You won't find much video, because modernist stuff just isn't food-porn friendly. You tend to not have food sizzling on a hot pan and such. A lot of modernist cuisine is done with extreme restraint and focus, and frequently the results are way more interesting in the mouth than visually.
But really, modernist cuisine is a means to an end. They're using it as a tool to create an experience that likely isn't possible using traditional means. But, the important thing is the experience, and not how it was technically achieved.
Source.
Beautiful pictures of things cut in half in there. Just google for more examples.
I don't know why you were downvoted for telling people to support the artist.
Here's the link to buy the book if anyone is interested.
https://www.amazon.com/Hyperbole-Half-Unfortunate-Situations-Mechanisms/dp/1451666179
This is the book that meme is from! I feel obliged to mention it because apparently the author wrote something along the lines of "I love it when people share my stuff, but I wish they wouldn't cut off the part of the picture that has the name" or something like that. I may have it all wrong. I just remember there being something about that. Anyway, here's the book! You should get it. You should read it. You should read about the simple dog and the helper dog and stuff.
You probably want this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Keep-Volkswagen-Alive-Step-Step/dp/1566913101
It is about air cooled VWs, but it goes through all the automotive systems. Later chapters cover things like VW disc brakes and fuel injection in the 1960s. It's a clear book with pictures and a humorous approach to the basics of a car. You can start from a point of no knowledge and get a pretty good idea of internal combustion principles.
Good luck!
Every air-cooled VW owner needs at least one copy of this book.
Preferably more than one - one go use and get dirty, one to keep in the house.
You got this. Ask questions here and on thesamba when you need to. Pick up this book, and this one.
There's an engine under the hood. It's a VW bus engine, so you're going to need to replace it in another thirty years. Start saving up. In the meantime buy this:
http://amzn.com/1566913101
It's an official comic written by Joss and Zack Whedon.
And then the comics Serenity Vol 1: Those Left Behind, Serenity Vol 2: Better Days, Serenity Vol 3: The Shepherd's Tale, and for when you re-watch the series (tomorrow) Firefly: The Official Companion (hehe) Vol 1, Firefly: The Official Companion Vol 2.
No I don't work for Whedon, just another browncoat...check your local library first, it's free!
Serenity: Better Days is the second TPB, and Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale is the Shepherd Book backstory (I believe it's also out of print).
There were also 2 one-shot comics (meaning they were limited run and won't be reprinted) released after Better Days and before The Shepherd's Tale. Their titles are The Other Half and Float Out (Wash backstory penned by Patton Oswald). Also, there was a one-shot by Zack Whedon that came out on Free Comic Book Day a couple months ago. It was one side of a double feature with the other side being a Star Wars comic.
I THINK that's all of them, someone correct me if it isn't.
This is one of the greatest books for a beginner to start learning Russian with. It's easy to understand and well organized. Starts from ground zero, so you don't need to worry about not knowing where to start.
https://www.amazon.com/New-Penguin-Russian-Course-Beginners/dp/0140120416
This book helped me the most to understand grammar.
And this is the best Russian-English dictionary I've found.
You'll want to carry this around with you to learn the case endings.
Speaking as in holding a conversation, or speaking as in pronouncing the words correctly?
If it is about pronunciation:
Russian is quite good in that it is mostly say-it-as-you-see-it. In English we have lots of letter combinations to remember, like "Sch", "th" and even "ough", which are rare in Russian. In English we also change the vowel sound by putting an "e" at the end of the word, like "run" and "rune".
The worst thing about Russian is the vowel stress. In each word, you have to stress the correct vowel. Stressing the wrong vowel can sometimes change the meaning of the word. It brings with it a whole word of annoying rules, such as an unstressed "o" has an "a" sound.
Duolingo doesn't help with any of these fundamentals (worst of all not even telling us where the stress falls). I used Penguin Russian Course to help learn the alphabet and exception rules, but others have talked about using Youtube videos.
Once you have those fundamentals, it should become increasingly say-it-as-you-see-it.
Thank you /u/jamietwells. Here are a couple of links you might find interesting (one of which I've posted elsewhere in this thread):
Yup, I can't disagree with you. I've thought this way for a long time. Others might disagree, but there are other people out there who think this. I came across a whole book about it.
Your comment reminded me of this book. I haven't read it yet, but it's on my list.
I have three: The Stranger made me stop believing in moral absolutes, Letter to a Christian Nation made me an atheist, and The Sexual Politics of Meat was the beginning of me going vegan.
I was looking at Better Never to Have Been and No Logo, and have been curious about socialism, anarchism, and the straight edge philosophy, and I'd like to consume any books that would challenge my current beliefs or ask me to radically change who I am.
Except torture has been repeatedly shown to be less effective than other methods of interrogation. Read The Black Banners, Legacy of Ashes, or one of the numerous other books that cover the CIA's recent actions before you continue to perpetuate the lie that torture works.
I grew up during the Cold War in a military family that traveled around the world from Germany to Morocco to Japan. The Cold War was just an excuse for the military industrial complex to make a shit-ton of money.
Just like any business there's this thing called 'marketing' where you try to convince the customer they really need your fancy widget. Has worked really well for decades now.
Yes, the Soviet Union was a brutal dictatorship where Stalin murdered millions to keep power. They also lost a substantial amount of their male population during WWII and were ruined economically following the war. They were in no position to project power and if one wishes to do the research the Soviets really did little compared to the brutal dictatorships the US installed. The books listed below go into far greater detail about all of this if you chose to do some research. The Russians are human beings led by a corrupt government they don't support.
The same goes for the US. An 8% approval rating for congress, the lowest they've ever received in US history bears that out. You can't claim to have the moral high ground and be the world's policeman when your own country's people have such low regard for it's leadership.
Legacy of Ashes
http://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Ashes-The-History-CIA/dp/0307389006
The Secret History of the CIA
http://www.amazon.com/The-Secret-History-Joseph-Trento/dp/B002GJU3O6
All of Chalmer's Johnson's books
https://www.google.com/search?q=chalmers+johnson&amp;rlz=1C1AFAB_enUS450US450&amp;oq=chalmers+johnson&amp;aqs=chrome..69i57j69i65j0l4.2975j0j8&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;espv=210&amp;es_sm=122&amp;ie=UTF-8
We do know why they're happening.
Have you ever read a history book? Generally speaking every single discussion* they ever had required a "note taker" and it's our custom to speak about these decisions a couple decades after. Obviously the whole truth isn't out there, and certainly not everyone tells the truth. But the motives behind everything I mentioned were clear as day.
I would encourage you to read books like
http://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Ashes-The-History-CIA/dp/0307389006
http://www.amazon.com/Osama-Bin-Laden-Michael-Scheuer/dp/0199898391
http://www.amazon.com/One-Minute-Midnight-Kennedy-Khrushchev/dp/1400078911
These men aren't all powerful, they don't take orders from some homogenous group that always retains the same position. And most importantly the information our leaders are given is often woefully inaccurate. The president more than anyone has the information that he is presented to him manipulated. Although some certainly have been more savvy than others.
You should read "Legacy of Ashes" if you want to be terrified by just how incompetent the CIA is and has been.
je ne connais pas cette histoire, mais l'histoire de la CIA est bien connue malheureusement, "Legacy of Ashes" est un bon bouquin sur le sujet, et ce que l'on sait fait tres peur.
Mike should read Legacy of Ashes for a different perspective of the OSS and CIA.
First, I want to say that you have a pretty nice finish on this drawing. Your line weights are good, your use of spot blacks could use a little work, but you've got the right idea. I like the fact that you're lines thin out as you go back in perspective, really sells the idea that there is some distance between cyclopse and that cactus in the background.
Also your anatomy is pretty good, though it seems to me more like copying from other comics rather than taking the time to actually learn the muscles/muscle groups.
That being said, there's a lot of construction issues in this piece. I could go through and list off all of them, but really what it comes down to is the understanding of perspective. This is integral to creating a piece that has objects in it that feel 3 dimensional.
Now when I say lack of understanding of perspective, I don't mean that you have no understanding. You seem like you could probably construct some cubes in space, or even a rudimentary street view with a horizon roughly in the middle of the page. But the way to push your work further towards what you see in a an issue of X-men.
To get you where you want to go, I would either suggest Scott Robertson's How to Draw: Drawing and Sketching Objects and Environments from your Imagination. Or if you'd rather you can search the internet for some tutorials like this Ctrlpaint Tutorial
I wish I had more examples, but it's been a little while since I was looking for this stuff. But it's something that I've practiced almost every day for many years and I've still got plenty of room to learn.
You're definitely headed in the right direction. It looks like you enjoy the work, so hang onto that. I'm not saying to bore yourself to death with technical practice, but take a little bit of your drawing time that you've set aside and practice some perspective and you'll see a huge improvement in your work. And once you feel comfortable, start checking out Proko for stuff about how to translate those perspective skills into bettering your figures (people) that you draw.
Good luck and keep up the good work
♥ Ethan
I'll add some of my favorites that you didn't mention. They are mostly Superhero, because that's what got me into self published authors that are frequently on KU.
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis Taylor. Great sci fi with plenty of humor and nerdy pop culture references, but also a fare share of danger and adventure. KU has all 3 books in the Bobiverse.
Sensation: A Superhero Novel by Kevin Hardman. This is a YA Super Hero novel, and is the first of 7 along with a couple spinoffs and short stories. The author also has a sci fi series and a fantasy series, but I haven't read them yet. I'm pretty sure all of his books are on KU.
Into the Labyrinth by John Bierce. This is the Mage Errant series. The 3rd book just came out, and there is a post here by the author. This is a book centered on a magical school, and it has a very good and detailed hard magic system.
Fid's Crusade by David Reiss. This is a Super Villain novel, and is darker than a lot of superhero books out there. There are currently 3 books in the Chronicles of Fid. I've only read the first one but I really liked it, and I even bought it when it was on sale so I could go back and read it again sometime instead of relying on it being on KU forever.
Arsenal by Jeffery H. Haskell. Another Super Hero novel, this one is probably in between the other two I mentioned in terms of tone, being darker than Kid Sensasion, but lighter than Fid. The protagonist is disabled and in a wheel chair, but made an awesome suit of armor to become a hero. There are 8 books in the series, and there is another series set in the same world with the 4th book coming at the end of the month. All of them are on KU.
[Adrian Tchaikovsky] (Author)
[Children of Time]
[Children of Ruin]
[Bobiverse]
Two Debut novels from the last two years that were amazing:
We are Bob we are Legion
The Traitor Baru Cormarant
I am gonna pick this up.
http://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1600783910
Learn Windows PowerShell in a month of lunches is a great start!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1617294160
That walks you through some of the basics.
Once you feel comfortable using Get-Help and Get-Member, you should be able to slowly work through any problem that you want to solve, by reading documentation on each cmdlet via get-help and analyzing objects with get-member.
Powershell:
Learn Windows PowerShell in a Month of Lunches 3rd Edition
https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Windows-PowerShell-Month-Lunches/dp/1617294160
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6D474E721138865A
Python:
Learn Python 3 the Hard Way
https://learnpythonthehardway.org/python3
http://www.informit.com/promotions/book-registration-learn-python-3-the-hard-way-141409 (Videos)
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python
https://automatetheboringstuff.com
The Python Tutorial
http://docs.python.org/py3k/tutorial/index.html
A Gentle Introduction to Programming Using Python
https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-189-a-gentle-introduction-to-programming-using-python-january-iap-2011
More at http://Learn.SharjeelSayed.com
That you're putting of talking to her makes me recommend this book: "Radical Honesty" by Brad Blanton.
If she's blowing up, you might also like "Nonviolent Communication" by Marshall Rosenberg. Contrary to what I usually do, I found this one hard to read but easy to listen to; YMMV.
While not geared toward romantic relationships, perhaps Nonviolent Communication would be a good choice.
I feel I have to give voice to another point of view here. Logical reasoning and argumentation works in certain limited settings but tend not to work in life in general and especially not in relationships. You may win the battle but lose the war with pure logic. Stating your emotions in good ways can be more powerful than any logic argument in my opinion. No one can dispute the way you feel which is unlike the rational arguments you make. I'll happily recommend reading the book Non-violent communication by Marshall Rosenberg on this subject.
I'm glad you enjoyed my comment. I definitely agree with you about this sub. There seems to be something inherently inspirational about traveling and I think that it has to do with the fact that, often, the decision to drop everything and travel is such a personal one and often comes from some type of larger perspective about what life means.
Have fun on your travels!
If you're looking for a great traveling book - Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel was the best that I found.
https://www.amazon.com/Vagabonding-Uncommon-Guide-Long-Term-Travel/dp/0812992180
Really shows you that it's all about a person's the perspective and life priorities. If you want to make a life of traveling, it really isn't that difficult - no matter how much money you make.
Hey look, I found a budget plan that's more accurate than the GOP's
A Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal Deviates by Mr. Rand Corporation. Very strange author, Mr. Corporation. I've read it multiple times and still can't make head or tail of it, particularly p. 15. Some people swear by it though. These people are the same kind of people who think House of Leaves was good too.
The Amazon reviews of this book are great.
> "The book is a promising reference concept, but the execution is somewhat sloppy. Whatever generator they used was not fully tested. The bulk of each page seems random enough. However at the lower left and lower right of alternate pages, the number is found to increment directly. "
The reviews on Amazon are amazing: http://www.amazon.com/Million-Random-Digits-Normal-Deviates/product-reviews/0833030477/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_btm?ie=UTF8&amp;showViewpoints=1&amp;sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending
https://www.amazon.com/Space-relations-slightly-gothic-interplanetary/dp/0860000249
Attorney General William Barr's dad wrote a book about the alien child molesters after he hired Epstein to work with him at a private school in New York
https://www.amazon.com/Space-relations-slightly-gothic-interplanetary/dp/0860000249
I just have to add, I personally wouldn't recommend Crossfit. I don't have anything against it, and I've never been to a Crossfit gym, but for someone starting out in exercise and fitness I wouldn't advise it. Just from what I've seen it can be pretty intense, and it seems the chance of injury is higher than with other forms of exercise. Having said that, I totally believe it will get you in incredible shape, but it might be better suited for someone who's fairly experienced in fitness/exercising. Just my two cents.
I would start on mastering good form in some basic bodyweight exercises like pushups, squats, and pullups. A book that I've found extremely helpful is You Are Your Own Gym. It's great for beginners and more advanced users alike because he offers good progressions for exercises. But, I'm biased because the majority of my workouts are bodyweight exercises.
TL/DR Try bodyweight fitness but maybe stay away from Crossfit for now.
I'd suggest that you not start slow and ramp it up. Find a good beginner program and get active now. Skip the pussy footing around stage. If you try and 'ease in' and never push yourself, you won't get anywhere.
For example, I'm doing the program in this book. It has a beginner level for me to start at and only takes 30 minutes, 4 times a week. Start there. (And look at your diet or any activity you get up to will be less effective at getting you 'fit'.)
Ebola is a disease that, as far as I know, is believed to live in an animal "reservoir," meaning that it primarily infects or is carried by animals, but it can make the jump to humans if a human comes into contact with an infected animal or carrier animal. Another example of this type of disease is rabies - humans only get it when they come into contact with an animal that carries rabies (as opposed to diseases that jump from human to human, like malaria, which is passed through a vector, or HIV which is passed directly from human to human).
So, ebola doesn't really "die out" when it disappears for a short time from the human population. It's just that it kills off all of its human hosts. Then, when a person comes into contact with an infected animal (probably a monkey or chimp), they get infected and pass it around to other humans.
As /u/fastblackman17 pointed out, ebola never really made it to the US this time around. I actually disagree with ebola being one of the top killers in Africa. Still AIDS, malaria, war, probably influenza, etc. are all much bigger killers than ebola in Africa. Ebola is right now relatively contained. In 2014, ebola killed ~10,000 people in Africa, compared to AIDS in 2011 which killed 1.2 million (1,200,000 so approximately 120x as many).
Anyways, if you're interested in ebola and similar viruses, you should check out this book - it's a fantastic and will scare the pants off of you.
There's actually 311 pages of evidence and "scientific merit". Why don't you thumb through his book and tell me exactly which parts of his argument you have issues with, considering your hardcore claims and his reputation as a well respected ethnobotanist.
http://www.amazon.com/Food-Gods-Original-Knowledge-Evolution/dp/0553371304
If you are interested in this subject, I would highly recommend Food of the Gods by Terence McKenna. He argues that these same realizations about the universe from early man eating mushrooms are why humans separated from apes in the evolutionary tree. Far out, man.
It was a joke.
Are you referring to Terence McKenna's Food of the Gods?
Food of the Gods by McKenna has played a huge part in my worldview, I always go back to that one. And Tales of A Shamans Apprentice by Mark Plotkin is a solid one on contemporary shamanism / ethnobotany / choosing a really, really good career path.
If you ever got some spare time, have a read.
Surely someone's crazy enough to try this. I'd do it for sure.
Also, you might want to check out Terrence McKenna's book: Food of the Gods, for it's from where Hicks probably got the idea for the evolution of mankind from.
Thank you very much for expounding on that. So much of what you say rings with truth.
>That was probably more than you wanted to know? :)
No, you reply was wonderful, and I appreciate you taking the time to write it.
Now that I understand the terms a bit better, I understand that I broke away from the blank slate model about a decade ago when I read The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life. It discussed the evidence that IQ is both largely heritable (and less environmental) and affects life outcome in almost every way. I thought the book was compelling. What surprised me was the outcry from academia. I realized then that they had some sort of egalitarian agenda that they didn't want disturbed.
Tout ce qu'il te faut, dans les proportions qu'il te faut, est là-dedans : https://www.amazon.fr/Vagabonding-Uncommon-Guide-Long-Term-Travel/dp/0812992180/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1509966599&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=vagabonding
Look into You Are Your Own Gym or Convict Conditioning. You could also visit the people at /r/bodyweightfitness for ideas. If I had little or no dough, I'd be doing push ups, pull ups and chin ups for starters.
bodyweight exercises are perfect for working out at home. Check out You Are Your Own Gym
Steven Low : http://www.eatmoveimprove.com/
&nbsp;
Pavel Tsatsouline for strenght
&nbsp;
Bret Contreras : http://www.amazon.com/Bodyweight-Strength-Training-Anatomy-Contreras/dp/1450429297/
&nbsp;
Mark Lauren : http://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Your-Own-Gym/dp/0345528581/
&nbsp;
Etc... Google to find known authors and coachs and avoid pseudo-expert... You don't need to follow a lot of guys, choose just 3-4 very good ressources and it's sufficient.
I'd recommend taking a look at the Body by You book. It's basically the You are Your Own Gym workout, but redesigned specifically for women, with different progressions, etc.
My wife started YAYOG, but didn't make it past the first couple of days due to the difficulty. She's had much better success with Body by You though, and has stuck with it as a result.
Also, if you do end up getting that book, I'd recommend the paper version. It's going to be easier to reference the exercises, plus it has places to log your workouts, etc. And, it's only $.10 more than the Kindle version right now.
I have seen a lot of people over on fitocracy use the book You Are Your Own Gym Seems like a of people like this guys books. Also I have heard good things about the Convict Conditioning.
Linkys
http://amzn.com/0345528581
Also one just for women
http://amzn.com/0345528972
I’m probably going to take a lot of shit for suggesting a nonfiction novel rather than a scholarly source but I think Richard Preston’s The Hot Zone
and The Demon In The Freezer do a good job of laying out the current situation and making for exciting reading. (That said, IANAVirologist.)
Wiki pages: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Demon_in_the_Freezer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hot_Zone
In some of the earlier outbreaks of Ebola, it was shown that the virus spread partly due to inadequate sterilization. In some instances needles were shared during vaccinations amidst many patients due to a lack of supplies.
Source
If you are interested in learning more regarding the Ebola virus in the past (history, development, outbreaks, the science behind it) then I recommend reading The Hot Zone. It was an informative and interesting book that I encountered a few years prior during my yearly CE courses/activities. It will detail the poor sterilization and equipment management available for those particular outbreaks. As for now, I do not know for certain that their methods are more or less sterile, but Africa (unfortunately) does not have the medical infrastructure nor funding that Western countries are privy to at this time thus we may reasonably infer that poor sanitation practices may be reoccurring presently.
Edit: grammar, apologies.
If you are interested in Ebola, and you haven't read it already, I would highly recommend The Hot Zone.
Read the Hot Zone http://www.amazon.com/The-Hot-Zone-Terrifying-Story/dp/0385479565
The Hot Zone is about that incident.
Regarding the CDC recently... "APHIS found numerous violations of federal rules for handling dangerous microbes, according to the congressional document. For instance, unidentified "materials" were carried from one CDC lab to another in two plastic Ziploc bags, which did not meet the requirement that such containers be "durable."
If they can't be trusted with Anthrax and bird flu what makes you think we should give them a crack at Ebola? In the book Hot Zone It was said if you walk into a washroom and smell a strong odor of urine you have just inhaled enough molecules of moisture to contract a disease from the previous occupant.
Someone suggested The Hot Zone to me here a while back. It's nonfiction, but the plot and characters were compelling enough that I'm glad I gave it a try.
If you haven't read them, The Stand and The Andromeda Strain are two very well-loved books in that genre.
AIDS is worse because it goes unnoticed for so long. It takes around 21 days for symptoms to appear from Ebola. It kills the host too quickly.
Ebola is not an airborne illness. They need the body suits because the symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, and hemorrhaging. I highly recommend The Hot Zone if you're interested in educating yourself on the topic. It's also a good read just for entertainment.
The Hot Zone.
Came here for this. Great book, as is The Hot Zone, his earlier book on Ebola Reston.
Hopefully it's not Ebola Zaire. Most outbreaks contain themselves as they kill more people than infect them. The Hot Zone is an excellent book if you want to learn about Ebola.
Yeah, it resonates with me too. If you're interested in the subject, I really recommend his book "Food of the Gods" ...where he examines naturally growing psychedelics and their influence on culture and civilization across time.
https://www.amazon.com/Food-Gods-Original-Knowledge-Evolution/dp/0553371304
You might find Food Of The Gods By Terence McKenna interesting. It's pretty wild stuff.
This!
Stoned Ape theory on Wikipedia
Terrence McKenna's book Food of the Gods on Amazon which I deffinetly recommend reading.
SS:
In this video, renowned mycologist Paul Stamets explains the “stoned ape hypothesis” to Joe Rogan. The hypothesis was developed by Terence McKenna and documented in his 1993 book Food of the Gods. McKenna’s “Stoned Ape Hypothesis” offers one explanation for how humans doubled their brain capacity and became Homo sapiens over the short evolutionary time of about 200,000 years. The Stoned Ape Hypothesis centers around the mushroom Psilocybe cubensis.
Scientists have developed other explanations for our leap in cranial capacity over that time period including climate change, social competition, and the demands of ecological systems. McKenna’s theory has received less attention over the years and has been criticized for lack of evidence. However, it should be noted there is scant, if any, evidence to support the other theories.
Dung Paves the Way for Advancement
McKenna explains that as Africa began to undergo desertification, our human ancestors were forced out of the forests and onto the savannas to find food. These groups would follow footprints and dung on the ground to find animals to hunt and eat. It just so happens the hallucinogenic mushroom Psilocybe cubensis is a dung-lover, often found growing in the manure of animals that live on the savanna.
According to the stoned ape hypothesis, human ancestors ate these mushrooms and experienced their extraordinary hallucinogenic effects. The effects are often described as “mind-opening,” feeling empathy and increased courage, and seeing fractal patterns even with the eyes closed. After consuming the mushrooms, leaders emerged within groups as those who were brave and kind to others. These leaders became trusted as looking out for the best interests of the group.
McKenna’s theory goes on to propose that “magic mushrooms,” containing psilocybin derivatives improved visual acuity, making individuals better hunters. More food meant a higher rate of reproductive success. Although there is no scientific proof, McKenna also thought higher doses of psilocybin would increase sexual arousal, resulting in more mating attempts. He also proposed that higher doses would increase activity in the language-forming regions of the brain, causing visions and music. Further, McKenna said the strange effects of psilocybin dissolved the ego and contributed to the development of religion. Therefore, the theory argues access to hallucinogenic mushrooms was an evolutionary advantage for humans. McKenna called it the ‘evolutionary catalyst.’
The Cumulative Effect
Cultural evolution led early humans to domesticate cattle, causing them to live even more in the presence of manure, and therefore, more P. cubensis. From the times of our earliest human ancestors, eating P. cubensis wasn’t just happening here and there, but millions of times over millions of years causing what Stamets calls ‘epigenetic neurogenesis.’
Important reading: The Bell Curve: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0684824299
an actual study : The Bell Curve
> suggesting color or race is any indication of intelligence
You don't know how foolish you look when you say that.
Go vagabonding. You, a backpack, a bit of cash, no plans.
You'll have enough stories for a lifetime, and you'll live the fantasy of women who obsess over cute, glossy, travel pics on social media (~99%).
The only advice you need right now is to improve your draftsmanship. You need to understand anatomy to be able to draw people, no matter what level of detail/realism you wish to achieve. Animators and cartoonists who who draw all varieties of cartoon characters are always masters of drawing the human form. Even drawing characters like Fred Flinstone requires you to understand anatomy, such as the way joints bend, or hands and fingers function. Having a grasp on anatomy will help your story telling, no matter how you choose to exercise (or disregard) the knowledge. The best place to start learning is a very well known book authored by Andrew Loomis: Figure Drawing for What its Worth (this is one of the most well known peices of instructional drawing literature) Buy this book and study. You already have ideas that you want to draw, and thats great, and improving your draftsmanship will help you be able to get your ideas out. In addition to anatomy, You will also need to learn some basics of perspective, to be able to convincingly draw your stage for example, or how to set up characters around the stage and make them appear to all be on the same plane. Scott Robertson has a great book that teaches fundamentals of perspective, worth looking in to How to Draw Good Luck!
There's different types of drawing, design drawing is the skill you need for inventing, engineering and it'll be good for planning other artistic media you want to get involved in (film, books, games).
Feng Zhu, Scott Robertson are awesome.
The best place to learn a skill is from (revered) expert professionals, and these two have worked for worked for Hollywood, and other expensive, high quality, stringent time scale projects, but have decided to teach due to poor teaching of design skills (usually drawing) in many schools.
Thank you, I appreciate it :)
Well, the only advice I can give you is to never stop drawing. I don't know how "good" your skill is or if you're just at the beginning but for most people that really want to draw the big let-down comes after a short period of time when they can't realize the progress they're making. Most of the people stop drawing when they can't see that they're getting better after some days or weeks. Drawing is a skill that needs alot of time and patience. Other than that it's just rinse and repeat. Draw what you like and just have fun. If you're over the first hill and start liking what you do, everythings going faster and faster. I don't know what art you're into but a good start would be to learn the fundamentals. For character it's anatomy, for environment it would be perspective. Learn to understand lighting, colour, shadow, perspective etc.
If you're not afraid and still really want to learn drawing I recommend How to Draw and How to Render, both from Scott Robertson. Both books are heavily influenced by product- and concept design but give a really nice overview about fundamentals - that's how I started.
I hope that helps :)
Perspective is critically important, and in my eyes, the number one area of focus, if you had to pick. However, I would tie learning perspective with a re-evaluation of basic shapes and start thinking about structure and form. Drawing basic shapes in space allows you to construct and build anything you can imagine, realistically and even a cartoon. It's the first thing that people notice is wrong about an image including non-artists, even when they can't place their finger on why it's wrong. Everyone with functioning eyes have great vision. You could say that we are all black belts at seeing things, because it is one of our senses since our birth, and the one that we are always using. So when you're drawing and painting, you are a visual magician. You're using these fundamental tools to fool these people into believing that an image on paper is as deceiving as reality. It's all an illusion. You cannot avoid the importance of perspective. If you aren't practicing it, no cheap tricks will be able to deceive a person into believing what you created.
You learn as early as elementary school about the 2D shapes. The square, the circle and the triangle. You know about their 3D counterparts, the cube, as well as a sphere, cone and a cylinder. In geometry everything is perfectly symmetrical and easy to solve. But when you step out into reality, everything is thrown into disarray, all of these shapes are merged together mechanically and organically, and on top of that, your vision is deceiving you. Very advanced forms of mathematics were created to solve those problems accurately, but we are not interested in that. You'll also realize this when you come across proportion diagrams, and why it does nothing when you are drawing from the model. You will also need to understand what circles look like in perspective[ellipses.] Do you know how to draw an ellipse properly? Do you see what happens to these shapes in space? Learn to draw these basic shapes correctly in space, it requires knowledge of perspective. Would it help you to think of a basic game like Snake? Imagine what it would be like to play that game in 3D. Although we aren't playing a game, we are just observing reality and interpreting it in 2D, that's where perspective falls in. You can use perspective construction thankfully. You can simplify areas into basic shapes. You can measure and draw pipes and cubes, aligning them to their current vanishing points. Until you're finally building whatever you need for your own worlds.
The other fundamentals are critically important as well. But drawing in space with perspective is what you need for your drawings to look structurally correct. Yes, it can be a complex hurdle. It's both easy to understand and difficult to wrap our eyes and brain around. Thankfully there are dozens of great free resources available, and no threat of them going away, any time soon. If you have great reading comprehension, there is a free resource that pretty much covers every single thing you would ever ask about perspective. Otherwise many instructors have done a great job simplifying what you need to understand for your own work. Here are links to two great resources that have emerged more recently.
Mow some lawns, shovel snow, baby sit, beg for money, sell a game, buy these.
And some nice free ones.
There's dozens of others, but that'll take all day. These will get you started. Good luck OP.
I don't like to give crits to fix what you have. It's a sketch, and you should think of sketches as disposable. Learn something here and move on. I would say my big crit is they're more organic looking than robotic.
That being said, I recommend you do some study before you try again. When learning to make robots there are two very essential things to learn; Human anatomy, and contemporary mechanical engineering.
Human anatomy: Really dive in to understand how joints actuate with muscles and ligaments. These will help you understand how your robots joints should work as well. It will also work to make your creations more believable.
Here some links:
- https://www.pinterest.com/achinzoo/anatomy/
- https://flabergastertron.tumblr.com/
- https://sketchfab.com/search?q=anatomy&sort_by=-pertinence&type=models
I also recommend this book on Analytical Anatomy: Figure Drawing: Design and Invention
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Mechanical: don't just look at this stuff, you need to understand how things connect. Why did they engineer this or that a certain way. Is it supposed to move? How should it look. Is it supposed to be a conduit for wires? how does that look? Draw these things, build up the muscle memory. They will express themselves when your drawing creatively I promise, but you first have to do the studies.
Here's some links
- https://imgur.com/r/MachinePorn
- https://www.pbase.com/amoxtli/uss_midway
- https://sketchfab.com/search?q=robot&sort_by=-pertinence&type=models
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And here's a fantastic book you should have: How to Draw: By Scott Robertson
I like where you're headed, but I think you can do better. Keep drawing and I hope that was helpful.
Perspective is something that will help you draw anything. People, buildings, interiors, animals, objects, vehicles etc. Check out Nsio's tutorials on deviantart for some examples and guides on how perspective helps you draw figures from imagination (and life).
As a beginner book, people always suggest Perspective Made Easy. It's cheap and well regarded. How to Draw is more advanced and focuses on vehicles / landscapes, which might not sound useful if you just want to draw figures but (personally) it helped me soooo much in placing complex 3D forms in perspective (which is all the human body is after all).
If you already know how to draw, then try Scott Robertsons books.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Render-fundamentals-shadow-reflectivity/dp/1933492961/ref=la_B0034O5O32_1_2?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1480449825&amp;sr=1-2
https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732/ref=la_B0034O5O32_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1480449825&amp;sr=1-1
They are not about drawing gundam but about drawing hard objects in general. Which is much more important then learning to draw a single thing as you can transfer the skill to anything.
These, for a start.
Scott Robertson's How to Draw,
Scott Robertson's How to Render.
> For beginners learning to draw accurately, just focus on the Elements of Art.
I'd actually like to chime in here to give OP another option (not looking to argue about fundamentals haha. We all know how that goes).
Quick backstory:
I studied art for two years and went through pretty much the same training that you described above. I had a wonderful experience, but decided that it wasn't for me. I then decided to pursue Industrial Design, which meant I had to study the fundamentals all over again, only this time they were different.
Just like the elements of art, we still started out with the basics of line, shape and form, but with a much heavier emphasis on accurate perspective. In fact we were taught about the different kinds of perspective and how/why they work from the get go. The equivalent of "value" in Industrial Design was "rendering", only it was much more technical (how to construct shadows in perspective, how light decay and occlusion work, the Fresnel Effect etc.)
Of course this all just sounds like a bunch of technical mumbo-jumbo, so let me make a small change to what you said above to summarize what I am trying to say.
>For beginners learning to draw beautifully, just focus on the Elements of Art.
and likewise
>For beginners learning to draw accurately, learn perspective.
I am personally in favor of learning the rules before you break them. Want to paint a pretty cottage? Paint a convincing one first using perspective. Again, this is not the only way to learn. It is just what I would recommend based on my experience. This is, of course /r/learnart and not /r/learntodrawperfectly, so please take all of this with a grain of salt.
"Well gee, thanks a lot Mr. useless design person."
Wait! Don't go, OP! I have some actual, useful advice!
Remember that every time you put your pencil to paper you are creating something that has never existed. No one has ever seen the things that you will draw. You are a creator, and that is just about the coolest thing to be in the universe. Don't give up, and happy arting!
How to Draw: drawing and sketching objects and environments from your imagination https://www.amazon.com/dp/1933492732/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_de0evb12A1TQ6
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1933492732/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_de0evb12A1TQ6
Just picked this book up the other day. It's freaking amazingly helpful.
Definitely, not sure what your budget is but there's a book I have called "How to Draw" https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1933492732/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1491345682&amp;sr=8-1&amp;pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&amp;keywords=how+to+draw+scott
It goes from A-Z learning to draw and think in 3D. It's an awesome book. I'm currently in art school and I had the pleasure of hearing one of the authors talk about it. After this book there's a second one called "How to Render" which goes through all the dynamics of light.
The thing I really like about these books is that it approaches drawing from an analytical point of view and really gets at the science behind it.
This is an excellent response above, and I'd like to add to this. I'm a senior at Auburn University for ID and I second that you should become familiar with sketching and, if given the opportunity, CAD software.
I've read through Scott Robertsons How to Draw book and it's a good resource for learning how to sketch.
Autodesk will often have free downloads for AutoCAD, Fusion 360, and Inventor for students. I'd recommend getting AutoCAD of the three, but I feel like Fusion is a bit more beginner friendly.
Even if you choose to go into engineering for school, sketching and CAD will help out a lot when you start your classes.
Also, if your high school has any public speaking classes, it wouldn't hurt to look into taking one. At least in my program we have pretty regular presentations, and it really helps to be able to communicate your ideas fluently when presenting a final product/end of the semester project.
Feel free to DM me as well!
Color and Light by James Gurney.
How to Draw by Scott Robertson.
Figure Drawing by Michael Hampton.
And for perspectice specifically, this $12 video series by Marshall Vandruff.
Thanks for the in-depth answers! Mine are surprisingly similar to yours.
>Who is your favorite author?
I love Tolkien, and George R R Martin, Neil Gaiman, Ray Bradbury, Cormac McCarthy, Larry Niven, Patrick Rothfuss, Douglas Adams, Diana Wynne Jones and probably a bunch I'm missing at the moment. My favorite genre is sci-fi, both space opera and hard.
I haven't been on WP long enough to have many favorite authors but I do enjoy your stuff, lalalobsters, luna_lovewell, written4reddit, and a few more.
>What is your favorite book?
My Dad introduced me to Tolkien and the sci-fi giants like Asimov, Heinlein, and Clarke when I was probably 9 or 10 (I am about to be 34,) so all of their seminal works are very dear to me. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I freaking love dinosaurs and Jurassic Park is my favorite movie and because of that I have probably read JP the novel more than anything else.
I just finished reading [We are Legion (We are Bob)] (https://www.amazon.com/Are-Legion-Bob-Bobiverse-Book-ebook/dp/B01LWAESYQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1485632176&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=we+are+legion+we+are+bob) and found it highly enjoyable.
>And, most importantly, describe your level of love for cheese.
Cheese is a staple food group for me and variety is the spice of life so I am always eating new cheeses. Staples include: extra sharp cheddar, havarti, and bleu cheese. If it's stinky, it's probably delicious, too. And, my favorite snack is english muffin halves slathered in cream cheese and covered with jalepenos. I also could eat a bucket of cottage cheese plain, or my favorite, mixed with mango chutney.
And now I'm hungry.
Give the Bobiverse series a try.
The premise: An engineer signs up for cryogenically freezing his brain when he dies on a whim. A bus runs him over. He wakes up hundreds of years in the future except it has been determined that these frozen brains are now the property of the state. They couldn't unfreeze him and bring him back to life, but they COULD use his brain as a template to be mapped into a computer system. He is now effectively an AI, given control over a Von Neuman probe that is to be sent out to colonize space.
There's lots of fun world building and an interesting look at the human condition. They're pretty clever with Bob too. For example, there's no such thing as Faster Than Light travel, so Bob just turns his clock speed down. In this way he experiences time slower than is actually happening and doesn't go insane on the long journey between planets. The books really start to pick up as he constructs other Bobs, each with their own slightly different personalities.
Super common, actually.
The Black Wolves of Boston by Wen Spencer features a protagonist who becomes a werewolf. Misfit Pack does the same thing.
One Woke Up by Lee Gaiteri features a protagonist wrestling with coming to terms with his time as a zombie
Into The Abyss by J. Langland features a protagonist turned into a horned demon.
The Tome of Bill features a protagonist who becomes a vampire. (Characters turned into vampires is super common, actually)
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) features a protagonist who becomes a space probe.
Chrysalis and Queen in the Mud on Royal Road feature protagonists who are turned into an ant and a salamander respectively.
I hope you get some recommendations that help you in this thread, but it seems to me that no author is going to be able to speak to your fathers personal circumstances.
If it's a option, spend time with him and talk everything though. Help him understand how you are feeling, and ask him to help you understand his feelings, thoughts, and motivations. I have no doubt that books will be recommended here that can help you in dealing with your circumstances, but only by talking to your father can you hope to truly understand his.
When you need to take your mind off the more serious stuff that life throws at you, I'll recommend We Are Legion (We Are Bob) (Bobiverse Book 1)
>Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street.
> Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets. The stakes are high: no less than the first claim to entire worlds. If he declines the honor, he'll be switched off, and they'll try again with someone else. If he accepts, he becomes a prime target. There are at least three other countries trying to get their own probes launched first, and they play dirty.
> The safest place for Bob is in space, heading away from Earth at top speed. Or so he thinks. Because the universe is full of nasties, and trespassers make them mad - very mad.
It's relatively short, and a fun, rather light-hearted read. The Kindle version is on sale for $3.99, and the Audible version is only $1.99 for Members.
You might check out We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor. It's a great exercise into Von Neumann probes, post biological life and interstellar colonization. Book 2 is supposed to be out in the spring.
This series might not be exactly what you're looking for, but it just came to mind...
The Bobiverse series
It's about a guy who is killed in an accident, and later has his brain used (in the far future) to man an AI probe to explore the universe. Bob begins to replicate himself, and many Bobs are born.
At one point one of the bobs discovers an indigenous race on a far planet and become EXTREMELY invested in their future. It's only one of the several aspects to the main story, but it was my favorite part.
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It's a very entertaining series, lots of comedy and philosophical dilemmas.
To no segundo livro do We are bob (Bobiverse). Começa nesse aqui. Pra quem gosta de ficção científica muito recomendo.
Outro livro muito bom é o "Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman". É um apanhado de histórias do físico Richard Feynman, tem a passagem dele pelos Los Alamos e também a vinda pro Brasil. Bem entretenedor.
The books that are commonly recommended are Screw the Roses, Send me the Thorns (http://www.amazon.com/Screw-Roses-Send-Thorns-Sadomasochism/dp/0964596008/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341260434&sr=8-1&keywords=screw+the+roses+send+me+the+thorns) and The New Topping Book ([http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Topping-Book-TOPPING/dp/B001TJV5DW/ref=pd_sim_b_5].(http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Topping-Book-TOPPING/dp/B001TJV5DW/ref=pd_sim_b_5)). I own both, though I haven't gone through the first one all the way yet. Both have been pretty helpful, and I'm sure you can find some cheap used copies. At least in my experience, BDSM (and sex in general) is a very wide field, so a lot of times you just have to experiment and practice until you figure out what will work for the both of you.
>"The scenario seemed a lot better in my head. Once I had him under my control, I started realizing how ignorant I was about...everything. I was clueless about femdom, and I just felt that I didn't know enough of anything. I think this slowed me down a lot and made me timid to carry out all the ideas I had planned to do. Could this be true for him too?"
Yes. That's probably exactly how he feels, especially if he is new to things. Playing the dom role isn't easy, and like I said, you'll have to be patient and give him some time to practice and experiment.
Glad to hear you found my erotica comment helpful!
Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns is widely considered to be a good resource, as well as SM 101 and The New Topping Book/The New Bottoming Book.
Remember that this is all new and can go from really fun to really unfun very very fast. The motto is "Safe, Sane and Consensual" The first thing you need to do is sit down and talk about it while you're not feeling sexy. Realize this talk may lead to sexy feelings, so start of with the most important stuff first.
Number 1- Safe words. It's a word she can say that means you need to stop everything right the fuck now. Something not usual, because often in this stuff "No" does actually mean "Yes". The go-to system for this is generally a stoplight system. (obviously, can tweak to your own needs)
Number 2- talk about what y'all both like, and what you would be willing to explore. This is not the time for "suprize, buttsecks!"
If y'all get really into it, check out Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns a great book that works equally well for beginners and more advanced.
Have fun!
edit: My mind can form words, usually. Usually they are spelled at least close to correctly.
Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns is a really great book. It's really informative as well as entertaining, with a fun conversational style. I highly recommend it.
What you gotta do is bottle up those laid back parts of yourself. Put those aspects of you that don’t fit into a little mental box and lock it up real right and bury it in your psyche. Then, you pretend to have this personality that your girlfriend and her parents demand. Practice it every day, all the time, unto you can’t remember being any other way. If you get depressed over changing yourself for other people, bottle that up too.
Personally I don’t think it’s wise to change who you are for other people, but that’s what you’re asking for. There’s this thing poly people call new relationship energy that non-poly people should be aware of imho. That exciting new relationship may seem like it’s perfect and right, and you may ignore red flags because “Love”. People who’ve been in long relationships will tell you that love is not enough to keep a relationship stable and content. You have to have the same general goals such as lifestyle and where you want to live and how many kids you want. You need to be somewhat sexually compatible. Finally and most important you need to accept yourself and the other person as they are, as they grow and change through life (because the both of you will evolve).
You don’t give your age but you sound kinda young. You gotta ask if being the domineering person they expect is something you want to become or if it’s something you want to maintain for the unforeseeable future. Yes it’s possible with practice to modify behavior, but being that kind of person can stain other casual relationships and any future romantic ones. Being domineering doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Controlling people are rarely just controlling at home. Setting aside how you feel about this girl is this the style of relationship you really want? You get a say in this too ya know.
As far as you et question about BDSM, it may or may not be an outlet for feeling controlled. People into that kind of sex play don’t do it for any single trope reason. Only she can tell you why she’s into it. Btw, all that she’s asking you to do, to change for her and for her family, all of that is her topping you, taking control of you. She’s demanding you give up your agency of choice in being who you are to instead play a role, to appear to be the dominant man in public and her submissive in private. You aren’t coming to any of this with a choice, it sounds more like an ultimatum to me. ‘To be with me you must be what I demand’ is not a relationship that consists of equals. You may order her around in the public aspects of home and for her parents. But… yeah dude you’re totally the sub in this situation.
You say ‘don’t tell me go break up, I love her’. Ok… I’ll just say that relationships with these kinds of fundamental problems don’t magically heal themselves over time. What is want to see is some agency from her to accept you as you are, to her parents and to herself. You say you’re a laid back dude, why isn’t she ok with you as you are? The sex stuff is a separate issue, I would suggest reading a few books like Screw the Roses, Send me the Thorns to learn about responsible kink play, and I’d suggest checking the kink subs, and she should too since she wants to top you and she need to understand what that means so nobody gets injured. Btw. In a top/bottom kink relationship/scene, it’s the bottom who sets the limits and controls the scene. Not the top. If she doesn’t get that, that’s a huge red flag.
If you haven’t you should talk to your RL friends about this, especially ones that know her too, and check in. Love makes us stupid. You may not feel this way now but it’s really a bad idea to engage in toxic behavior for a relationship. That shit will taint you with a stain that’s not easy to remove, even with therapy
Good luck.
When you see how much she enjoys it, hopefully your concerns will melt away. My husband was very similar. He was interested in bondage before we met but the thought of hitting someone without just cause made him uncomfortable. When he realised that I was enjoying being spanked, it quickly quelled any fears he had. And don't worry - he's not turned into a wife-beating maniac or a quick-tempered oaf who gets into fights in bars!
Basically - there's a HUGE difference between violence (domestic and otherwise) and safe, sane, consensual play between two adults.
As Deviant-designs said, having her take the lead at first is a great idea. This way you know what she's into and you know you're not going to cross a line.
Set up a safeword (or, if she's gagged, another way of being able to communicate 'I'm not happy with this, stop NOW' - e.g. a handkerchief she can wave or drop). That way you know you're not going to accidentally go too far.
Perhaps explore some BDSM related sites or books together. Communication is key - talk about what you find interesting / intriguing and what you find disconcerting.
Also, "Screw the Roses, Send me the Thorns" is a great read - https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/cka/Screw-Roses-Send-Me-Thorns-Romance-Sadomasochism/0964596008 - and can really help beginners.
Good luck - and enjoy!
Unless you have $500 to drop on Modernist Cuisine, On Food and Cooking is as good as it gets.
oooh thanks!
Is he the dude who wrote the stupidly expensive science of cooking books? (seems not but similar concept...) If I at somepoint in my life I happen to have £400 free and accessible I think they'd be a very interesting read!
It's from the book Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking
Freakonomics blogpost
Amazon OOP page for book
The mac and cheese recipe from Modernist Cusiine is supposed to be phenomenal.
>As for the mac & cheese: it was both the best and the easiest I've ever made. No gloppy sauce, remarkably intense cheese flavor (you get the "flavor release" concept when you eat it), and the pasta absorbs it thoroughly.
Basically, the difficulty in mac and cheese is that you want the cheese to be both creamy/melty and delicious. The problem is, there isn't much overlap there. Cheeses that melt really well aren't delicious (Velveeta) and cheeses that are delicious don't remain creamy when melted (Cheddar, Gouda, etc).
The typical solution to this is to take good cheese, and then use some roux to add to the melted cheese to make it creamy. This works (as is evident in her recipe). However, it's not perfect. You need a fair amount of roux which dilutes the flavor of the cheese.
Nathan Myhyrvold and his team avoid using the roux by creating an emulsification of the cheese by melting it with beer, iota carrageenan and sodium citrate. That pretty much turns whatever cheese blend you are using into something that melts like Velveeta. They use similar techniques to make home made cheeze whiz out of real cheese.
The end product people are describing as steps beyond any other mac and cheese they've ever had in terms of the cheese flavor. There is also a 'flavor release' that everyone mentions that makes sense when you try it.
I'd give you first hand impressions but Amazon hasn't shipped my book yet :(
If you have a limitless budget, Modernist Cuisine is great. It's a 5 book collection and the photography is beautiful. The first book is about history and fundamentals. The whole series is incredibly thorough, bordering on obsessive.
Cooking does have similar parrallels to science. I graduated with a degree in molecular biology and cooking is definitely a favorite hobby of mine. however, the concept of learning the theory of cooking has only been relatively recent because it has been largely looked down on as "women's work" for a long time.
plus I dare you to read modernist cuisine and not get a science boner
Also chemistry is basically applied physics as well so if you're going with that argument then chemistry must not be a science in your eyes either.
I would get you this book: https://www.amazon.ca/Modernist-Cuisine-Art-Science-Cooking/dp/0982761007
It's a pretty large book (6 volumes, ~300 pages each) and thus the chapter on food safety is itself pretty extensive.
Long story short, there are ways to calculate the remaining proportion of bacteria relative to initial amounts. A 6.5D reduction means there are 1/10^6.5 times the amount of bacteria in the item after cooking, a number which is considered safe.
FDA cooking temperatures and times disregard that, and instead specify temperatures that are way too high, leading to dry and bland meats.
Screenshot of a relevant graph. The grey line is the 6.5D threshold.
If you want, the book is available on Amazon or on more "shady" websites.
If you want to understand depression better, and also laugh your ass off, read this: https://smile.amazon.com/Hyperbole-Half-Unfortunate-Situations-Mechanisms/dp/1451666179/
If you're even questioning getting help, get it. You may decide later you don't need it, but it rarely hurts. Even people without depression find therapy valuable.
I have it, but very mild as these things go, and all tangled up with fibromyalgia (which carries chronic fatigue and pain).
For me, it just makes me feel... Blah. I can't get interested in stuff I actually like, I can't motivate myself to do anything. Everything has an air of "fuck it" about it.
For other people, it lies to them. Depression's favorite lie is that you suck, no one likes/loves you, you're not worthy, that all you do is fuck up. Nope. Lies. All of it.
The main benefit of therapy (other than access to medications which can really help some people), is the totally impartial listener. Not even impartial, on your side while also helping you expose and manage your real flaws. Teaching you how to cope. Teaching you how to communicate with others the way you need to.
Therapy carries the knowledge that you can tell this person anything, and they will help you and never repeat to anyone what you tell them. We keep so much bottled up for fear of what our partners, family, or friends will think of us... But a therapist's job is to take your darkest crap and let it out to the light to float away.
Good luck. Mental health is so fucking important, and I hope you can find it.
You're a great santa to care about your giftee/ask how to help them. Pets help a lot with depression. I know you can't give them a dog, cat, etc. but maybe you could find a way to send them a fish/small tank setup like a beta? Or maybe an animal type experience might be available in their area from groupon?
Also maybe [this book by Allie Brosh from Hyperbole and a Half] (https://www.amazon.com/Hyperbole-Half-Unfortunate-Situations-Mechanisms/dp/1451666179) She posted about her depression on her blog
And maybe a little something like this that they can carry with them/hold in their hand just to help them remember that they're amazing.
The Hyperbole and a Half book deals with the author's issues with depression and it makes me laugh so damn hard. Even when I couldn't laugh about other things it did the job, still my goto 'I need a laugh book' even now.
Note that her book is actually coming out this fall.
Pre-order link here: Link!
Not an affiliate link, I swear.
Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
I learned using John Muir's manual. Simple to do.
Who cares? You're 17! Whatever happens, you'll have a great story to tell for the rest of your life. I would have LOVED to go on an adventure like this at your age. Remember, "Adventure is misery recounted at leisure."
The car may be able to go about 65-70mph on the freeway but I wouldn't recommend running it at that speed for long. This car was made before the national 55mph speed limit but 60-65 is probably about as fast as you want to go on a sustained basis if the car's top speed is 73. Running ANY car at or near its maximum speed for any length of time stresses it pretty badly.
I *would* recommend that you carry a spare alternator belt, ignition points, spark plugs, and condenser. Know how to change those out at the side of the road, and how to set dwell and timing. Get a copy of How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive by John Muir. Carry a rudimentary set of tools: assorted screwdrivers, assorted pliers, a set of metric combination wrenches, a metric socket set, a dwell meter and timing light.
It's not unlikely, if you get towed to a shop, that yours will be the first Bug the mechanic has seen outside of a museum or a car show. Mechanics who know how to work on those cars aren't that common, any more.
If this is a *literal* cross-country drive, like, you're starting out on or near the West Coast...be aware that we're heading into the time of year when roads and passes through the Rockies can get shut down because of snow conditions. If you're traveling through desolate areas, don't count on cellphones to work. If you'll be traveling through the desert, read this.
ETA: Hopefully you can get your parents to agree to all of this. Also, if this is a multi-day trip, at 17, you may have problems doing things like getting a motel room, because you're a minor. I'm not sure how that would work even if your parents were to authorize you to use one of their credit cards.
Highly recommend this book:
How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1566913101/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_YWKWDbJE1NPDE
Includes lists of tools needed and what tools will be needed for specific jobs.
$15 well spent.
'Top end' usually refers to a valve job on the heads, and maybe it had the case bored out for bigger cylinders.
She looks beautiful! For a good explanation of the care and proper maintenance your bug, check out https://www.amazon.com/Keep-Volkswagen-Alive-Step-Step/dp/1566913101
Sounds like the fuel pump to me. I always keep an extra in my trunk because I’ve had so many go bad on me (I’m on my 2nd electronic one after going through FIVE cam-driven ones in 2 years).
I’m heading for bed, so I can’t be much more help, but go over to thesamba.com and search the forums. That site is the absolute best!
Also buy the John Muir book if you don’t already own it. It was an excellent intro when I first got my Karmann Ghia.
There is a graphic novel which explores exactly that.
You can order all 4 volumes on Amazon for less than $40.
Volume 1 is called Those Left Behind.
Volume 2 is called Better Days.
Volume 3 is called The Sheppard's Tale.
Volume 4 is called Leaves on the Wind.
These are 4 separate books, right now there is no completed collection. There was also a one shot that just came out at this years Free Comic Book Day. Which you can read online HERE. There was another short a few years ago,
I could be mistaken but iirc that wasis also included in volume 4.Well even though it isn't space I do recommend Red Dead Redemption. It's got a more serious tone than Firefly, but it's still on the level.
Stargate: Universe, from what I've seen, has been pretty good. My dad loves watching it - it's an ensemble in space - might be up your alley?
Definitely check out the comic books on amazon of Firefly/Serenity, though to fight off the depression just a little bit longer.
If you're a bookworm with a deep pocket, here's a list of books on Amazon:
Serenity Vol 1
Serenity Vol 2
Serenity Vol 3
Serenity: Leaves on the Wind
Firefly The Official Companion Volumes One and Two
Firefly: Still Flying
Firefly: A Celebration
The 3 volumes before this one, with Amazon Links:
The Shepherd's Tale.
One
Two
Three
Or this. Which isn't released yet, but is a collection of the three.
There is also [this] (http://images.comiccollectorlive.com/covers/2d2/2d27af44-4b03-412e-a5d4-43df3eafac93.jpg) which is a very small (and rare) comic that was given out for free at some event or other I can't be bothered remembering. I'm pretty certain they're now only available through second hand purchase.
I'm working my way through this very, very, very slowly. The only thing harder than my dick is learning a 2nd language as an adult.
https://www.amazon.com/New-Penguin-Russian-Course-Beginners/dp/0140120416/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1537562572&sr=8-1&keywords=russian+penguin
This was my personal favorite as a beginner book, but I used this book along with other beginner texts. It's definitely worth checking out though.
In order to get anywhere with Russian, you need a invest in a good grammar book. For complete beginners, I always recommend Nicholas Brown's New Penguin Russian Course which is dirt cheap on amazon.
To help you get comfortable with the language in terms of reading, listening, and pronunciation, I'm a big fan of the Assimil series. If you're not familiar with Assimil, you can read up on their method. The Assimil Russian is a nice complement to the Penguin course and I'm actually half-way through it myself (for review purposes).
You can find lots of good learning materials on ilearnrussian.com. I've found that some of the best learning materials are made by Russians for foreigners, but those are generally more advanced.
Immerse yourself in the language as much as you can outside of your formal lessons (i.e. Penguin, Assimil, whatever). You can find tons of Russian music on youtube. If you prefer to stream music online, check out moskva.fm. Many of the Russian stations play English music, so if you just want Russian-language music, try the Russian Radio station.
You can watch tons of old Russian movies with English subtitles on Mosfilm's website for free. If you know where to look online, you can find all the latest movies for free (pretty easy to find with google). One of my favorite things to do is find a Hollywood movie that I know really well, and then watch it dubbed in Russian. The quality of Russian dubbing is generally pretty high, and the advantage to watching a movie you're already familiar with is that you can focus on the language. Once you get to a higher level, it's interesting to compare the English dialogue to the Russian translation.
Do you have an ipod? One way to tune your ear to a language is to listen to the rapid-fire delivery on news broadcasts or opinion programs. I like to listen to podcasts from the Echo of Moscow radio station. Here's an example program you could subscribe to Culture Shock with rss link.
As difficult as the alphabet and grammar seem at first, I can assure you that it's nothing compared to acquiring a good vocabulary. Everyone has their own method for learning vocabulary, but my advice is to make some flash cards and carry a stack around with you wherever you go. In any odd, spare moment that you have, review them. You should aim to get to 1000 words as quickly as possible. As others have said, that's a key threshold. If you do the Penguin Course and/or Assimil, be diligent about learning the vocabulary for each lesson.
Anyway, good luck! Удачи!
If you use the website version of Duolingo and click on the Lightbulb icon for each section, it breaks down grammar rules used in that course. The online forums also has a lot of helpful explanations for each answer.
Unfortunately the App version completely disregards this feature and isn't included for some reason. Duolingo and Memrise combined should get you pretty good understanding, maybe up to a B1 level. You can also pick up some grammar books such as the New Penguin Russian Course that goes over almost all grammar rules and is pretty easy to read compared to other grammar books.
A lot of learning is through practice and using additional resources to reinforce how to think in another language. Check out some YouTube channels or movies that are in Russian and try to follow along. Tarkovsky films are really good for this as they're really slow pacing, Stalker and Solaris being some of my favorite movies of all time.
I'd suggest reading Penguin's Complete Russian Course for Beginners and then moving on to Modern Russian. But really, books can only help you understand concepts of the language on not to listen and speak the language conversationally. I'm an American, but I lived in Russia for a couple of years in my late teens to early twenties. I'd study Penguin's Complete Russian Course (and later Modern Russian) for an hour every morning and make mental notes of phrases I wanted to use and how to construct sentences and then I'd go out and talk with people. I'd be listening for what I was learning. It's so important to listen natives speak the language and you have to try to speak and make mistakes and have them correct you. I'd listen to native Russian podcast type programs as well and watch Russian movies. I started to be able to understand almost everything within the six to nine months. After a year, I could speak quite freely and then by 18 months I could understand the nuances of the language, make jokes, and almost always get my point across. So if you have the chance to speak with Russians, do so as often as possible. And make mistakes. Then learn from them. Study everyday. Practice everyday.
This is an oft-recommended book on Russian grammar, from what I've seen.
Order that, then get on this site and learn the alphabet. It's not too difficult to get it down on a basic level.
From there, get used to some basic vocabulary using a resource like Memrise (vocabulary practice site). Sign up on Livemocha.com and start with the basic Russian course. You'll learn some beginning phrases, get used to reading, eventually the alphabet will become second nature.
After some time with these resources (maybe a couple hours, maybe a couple of days), start listening to Russian music. You need to practice listening early and often to get the ear for words and how they sound together. Go on a Russian radio streaming site that lists the track currently playing (you can do this using a phone app, TuneIn Radio, which may also have an online site), then look up songs you like the sound of and listen to them over and over again with the lyrics in front of you. Try to sing along, even if you're sort of just mumbling Russian-sounding noises along with the singer.
At this point, start watching movies with subtitles. Search Mosfilm on Youtube. All of this studio's movies are free online, and most of them have English subtitles available.
Keep practicing like this, study the grammar using your Penguin book, and then find a penpal or something via Livemocha. It'll be scary at first, trying to communicate with someone in a language you're still making a lot of mistakes in, but people who study languages understand each other and are generally patient.
TL;DR:
Good luck! If you need any other help, PM me! I absolutely love Russian and would gladly help out anyone else who's interested.
I'm not sure what you mean when you say "the same way Latin is taught", I guess you mean without the speaking aspect? But if you're starting from scratch, I'm just going to suggest what I suggest to everyone, the New Penguin Russian Course. It doesn't have any audio CDs, but that's not a problem in your case. It teaches all the basic grammar and starting vocab to get you going.
Then, learn some of the most common words. I would perhaps suggest using Memrise because as well as the most common words, you can find various courses on there for Harry Potter, or the Bookbox series course and they'll teach you the language you need to know to understand a simple story, which will help you get started.
Read a lot, find some native text and analyse the grammar and the vocabulary, learn what you don't know and so on.
This book by David Benatar provides the philosophical base for your perspective. It solidified my thoughts that life is a scam.
Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence
> Not quite and I want to be careful here. Animal abuse is an unjust action toward an animal. A human being, though he has dominion over an animal would still be wrong to abuse it. However, using an animal for his own legitimate purpose is not abuse (e.g., clothing, travel, nutrition, companionship, etc.) God, as the creator over these beings, has complete authority. God cannot abuse His own creation. To do so would mean that He is not its creator. Abuse is to use in a way contrary to which it was intended. God is the intender.
I disagree on multiple points here and think you'd run afoul in multiple places if you were to present definitions for the words with contentious definitions employed.
>Animal abuse is an unjust action toward an animal.
Without a meaningful definition of the word just (or unjust), this sentence has no content. Justice is not simply whatever something's creator deems to be, and hasn't been since at least the Socratic era.
>A human being, though he has dominion over an animal would still be wrong to abuse it. However, using an animal for his own legitimate purpose is not abuse (e.g., clothing, travel, nutrition, companionship, etc.)
'Legitimate purpose' again requires a definition because you are using it in a context where the meaning of that phrase is what the rest of the statement is contingent upon. Your definition of 'legitimate purpose' is not one that would be agreed by people who do not share your presuppositions. I wouldn't even grant that clothing or nutrition would be appropriate in that list and that's not even the contentious presupposition.
>if you assume that Jesus is God, has power over demons, knows what is best for people, and that this act was in furtherance of what is best for people, then He is not manipulating anyone.
I disagree, even if you assume all that you've stated the manipulation remains you've just deemed it a just manipulation. You are still putting people through harm regardless of what their will is so that Yaweh might arrive at his desired end. I'd also caution that you can justify a hell of a lot if you operate following this sort of logic where you grant huge swaths of assumptions.
>God, as the creator over these beings, has complete authority. God cannot abuse His own creation. To do so would mean that He is not its creator. Abuse is to use in a way contrary to which it was intended. God is the intender.
Ah, and this is the pivotal point of disagreement. No, an agent does not have unlimited authority over anything it creates. This is dangerous, ancient thinking that has been tossed aside in every aspect of human life aside from supernatural consideration.
Even when it comes to children, we recognize that they have rights relative to their agency. Prior to meeting the standards of personhood (of which a crucial one is agency) a human life lacks almost all of the rights it ultimately will acquire as it matures and grows its agency. As agency increases, the parent / creator's control and 'dominion' over the creation wanes.
We're set to also run up against this problem in a very drastic manner as a species soon(ish) when we get AI to a point where it more accurately resembles consciousness.
Right now, AI is basically just a complex command set. If condition X or Y is met, perform task A. It's complicated by algorithms, conditions that change over time, and command sets that are structured into complex hierarchy but currently there's not a Will that exists anywhere in this and thus no true agency, just an extension of their human creator no meaningfully different from a set of dominos.
Maybe Humans never get our creations to a point in which something reasonably resembling will/agency exists. However, if we do Humans won't be fully justified in doing whatever we desire to our creations because our creations will have agency and agency must be recognized as a requisite of Rights.
So, just as Humans would not be justified in doing whatever they desired to a conscious robot or their child, a human-creator would also not be justified in all circumstance in their interactions with humans. There are consequences to action and very serious consequences to creation. David Benatar wrote a great short book on this awhile back called Better Never to Have Been though it was more geared towards the ethics of procreation than our larger topic of conversation. Were we as a species to have a creator that creator would have strong limits on what they were justified in doing. Justice is predicated on harm, before something (or someone) exists it cannot be harmed. Once it has been conjured into existence harm is possible and if harm is done to something with agency that harm requires justification (or it is not just).
Be forewarned, I am going to sketch this out very crudely. Okay, that being said...
I think there are three common answers in philosophy concerning the value of life which is a reflection of the general split in philosophy between three major ethical views -
Consequentialist Utilitarianism - Life isn't valuable, not directly. What is directly valuable is pleasure (or maybe satisfied desire) and what is directly disvaluable is suffering (or maybe unfulfilled desire). Either way, destroying life often leads to more suffering and less pleasure for those left alive. Furthermore, destroying life destroys the only place pleasure (which is valuable) can exist. Alternatively: if desire is really what matters rather than pleasure, destroying life leaves a lot of people's desires unfulfilled as well as destroying the only place where fulfilled desires can exist.
Kantian Deontology - Life isn't valuable, not directly. Free choice is the only thing that is directly valuable. But usually you can't go around destroying life without also violating free choice. If life didn't exist, it wouldn't be a big deal. When the Kantian says free choice is the only thing that is directly valuable, the Kantian doesn't mean we need to maximize the number of free choices or free choosers--rather the Kantian means we have to respect already existing people's choices. So if no one existed, then there wouldn't be anything bad about it because it wouldn't involve violating anyone's choices. BUT life does exist and in order for life to go out of existence you would probably have to act against people's choices to keep living (which is the one wrong according to Kantians like me).
Virtue Ethics - Here is the only position were you might get someone close to saying life is valuable directly. The idea here is that morality concerns being a good instance of the type of thing you are. So good knives are sharp ones that cut well, good wolves can hunt and work well with their pack, etc. Human beings are living beings (reproduce, self-maintain, etc). and human life specifically takes the form of living through the human capacity for abstract reflective judgment (i.e. taking into consideration many conflicting reasons relevant to their situation/decision, and making the right decision). Presumably you are bad at human life if you don't value your own life. Furthermore, you would be pretty immature, childish in the development of you capacity for reflective judgment if you didn't recognize some intrinsic value to life itself. Why is that immature not to recognize? Sorry childish person, you'll need to just grow out of your blindness to the intrinsic value of life. (I am not insulting you, I am only stressing the way in which being able to recognize what is and isn't intrinsically valuable according to the virtue ethics comes with the mature, skilled judgment of a good human being; presumably someone's unwillingness to see the intrinsic value of life would--according to the Virtue Ethicist--be rooted in their childishness in some respect).
____
Myself, I am a Kantian concerning morality. But here is a recent work on the topic by a Utilitarian -
Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence Paperback – September 15, 2008
by David Benatar (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/Better-Never-Have-Been-Existence/dp/0199549265
You might also look at some of Korsgaard's recent work on animal rights (where she tries to extend the Kantian position so that animal life is valuable in addition to free choice): http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~korsgaar/CMK.FellowCreatures.pdf
This book.
I happen to think that Dr. Benatar is correct in his views on reproduction.
See:
Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence ~ David Benatar
This excellent book clarified what was once only a vague uneasy feeling about inflicting Life on the innocent and reaffirmed my dedication to refrain from creating new humans to suffer on this miserable mudball. It is always a moral wrong to have children. It then compounds the harm to inflict additional suffering through lack of proper resources for the emotional and physical care of that child.
> and paying them to efficiently and cheaply extract and sell local resources.
For your consideration.
https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Ashes-History-Tim-Weiner/dp/0307389006
Skp to the section about how the CIA overthrew the government of Guatemala so the United Fruit Company got a sweet deal with the new government.
Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA by Tim Weiner won the National Book Award for Nonfiction for 2007 and is based on >50,000 documents(mostly from from the CIA archives), and hundreds of interviews with CIA veterans (including ten Directors of Central Intelligence).
I think the biggest reasons people hate the US is because of the CIA and how destructive its history has been. http://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Ashes-The-History-CIA/dp/0307389006 is a great read. It explains why the world thinks we are meddlesome. And by we, I mean the US government, not its people. As a whole, the US population doesn't really get how destructive the CIA has been and the repercussions because of that.
http://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Ashes-The-History-CIA/dp/0307389006
Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
Not our first misadventure. Sure as hell will not be the last.
one of my Criminal Justice professors recommended this book: legacy of ashes
Not entirely focused on the MK Ultra but good nonetheless.
It's a very good read.
Also the Men Who stare at Goats a good cinematic example.
It's very intriguing to see how they added the program into the show. Very cool way to introduce 11 (messed up) but cool.
The CIA is the one who said that Iraq had WMD's to begin with. They also had the war plan already drawn up and in place. I thought this was common knowledge. There have been several investigative books written about this.
The CIA is a rogue organization that is the cause for much of the chaos around the world. "Legacy of Ashes" by Tim Weiner has the best book (best sourced and footnoted) on how the CIA actually operates.
https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Ashes-History-Tim-Weiner/dp/0307389006/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1482114137&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=cia
> A legacy of ashes
Some of the reviews here are useful: https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Ashes-History-Tim-Weiner/dp/0307389006
This is why there is such dissonance between the actual CIA and the one presented to us by Hollywood.
I'll just leave this here for those interested int he history of the CIA:
http://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Ashes-The-History-CIA/dp/0307389006
I'll just leave this here though I post it so often, I should start using an affiliates link and earn a few pennies on it.
Edit - fixing link
I don't think a two week vacation is going to cut it. If that's the case, read this and start thinking about it.
Also, your SO and family probably do not want you to be miserable. People can tell and life is way too short to pretend to be happy.
Vagabonding by Rolf Potts
Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman, Yvon Chouinard's book that's kind of about building the business that is the Patagonia we know today, but is a lot more about his philosophies and ideologies and how we can all be better and do better for our planet.
Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel. A fairly short book that's not some abstract ideas or a story about traveling the world (that's Marco Polo Didn't Go There, which is also fantastic), but an actual how to book on doing it. It helped me, and has helped people I've given the book to, understand that extensive travel isn't just for the ultra wealthy, it is easy to do and achievable for everyone if you make travel your priority.
Will start by throwing a few into the ring:
The Beach by Alex Garland - While its plot is certainly limited with regard to imitability, it offers a very interesting perspective on the types of people you meet in the more interesting places you'll travel.
Vagabonding by Rolf Potts - A quintessential nonfiction guide for anyone who's considering traveling long term. It's preachy in places, but it'll fire you up to get moving.
Off the Rails in Phnom Penh by Amit Gilboa - You'll see this one being sold by street children in Phnom Penh often, but it's not too hard to find a copy anywhere else. A really great, enjoyable view of expat life in Phnom Penh.
Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac - On the Road is, of course, the standard American road novel, and Jack's most famous, but the Dharma Bums offers a really unique perspective on travel - that of a spiritual nature.
The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner - Another highly enjoyable read by an author who travels to the world's most purported "happy" countries. Great take on the subject area.
In the spirit of Chris Ryan I'll recommend the book Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel, if you're in the mood for non-fiction.
As a traveller/tourist, I've always tried to stay AWAY from tourist areas, haha. I have friends who go to the Bahamas, for example, and won't leave their resort/casino. My personal best experiences have been in the local communities; you tend to stand-out more (obviously), but people are more curiouse than malicious towards you.
Of course, though, do your homework! Go to traveller's forums, read books, do your research.
May I also recommend this book Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel
"As our hotel accommodates guests of all faiths, we shall no longer carry books of faith with reassuring and positive messages that imply order, such as the bible and the q'ran. Instead, we have made available A Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal Deviates to reassure our guests that the universe is indeed a cold and meaningless chaotic place with no deeper meaning."
Amazon sells everything
That's nothing compared to this book. Just look at the reviews!
You know this one started slow, but by about page 500 it genuinely does pick up quite a bit.
A fun side note - read the reviews of this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Million-Random-Digits-Normal-Deviates/dp/0833030477
You can still buy random on Amazon.
Edit: in fact, you can also get it free from the horse's mouth.
Obviously, you aren't up on your Amazon reviews. Exhibit A: https://www.amazon.com/Million-Random-Digits-Normal-Deviates/product-reviews/0833030477/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_acr_sr?ie=UTF8&amp;reviewerType=avp_only_reviews.
It's not like the head of the DOJ's father got Jeffrey Epstein a job as a high school teacher at the most expensive and exclusive high school in New York City despite not having a high school degree nor any prior teaching experience. It's also not as if the head of the DOJ's father wrote scifi stories about having sex with kids.
Oh wait, sadly all of that has happened:
Jeffrey Epstein Taught at Dalton. His Behavior Was Noticed.
Space Relations
Here's the book, written by Donald Barr. Published 1974
https://www.amazon.com/Space-relations-slightly-gothic-interplanetary/dp/0860000249
As for Barr hiring Epstein:
Epstein started working at the Dalton school in 1974. He was a college dropout. Donald Barr was the headmaster of the Dalton school in 1974
https://heavy.com/news/2019/08/donald-barr/
While suspicious dont over look AG Barr.
Just want to make sure people understand that the guy that runs the Manhattan Correctional Center where Jeffrey Epstein died is... Attorney General William Barr, and that he expressed support of extra-judicial killings a couple days ago.
Also, his father, Donald Barr, hired Jeffrey Epstein as a tutor even though he had zero qualifications to teach: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jeffrey-epstein-math-science-students-memories_n_5d28cf17e4b0060b11ebf987
The best part? Donald Barr wrote a sci-fi book about sex slavery by the rich: https://www.amazon.com/Space-relations-slightly-gothic-interplanetary/dp/0860000249
As soon as I can find the post I copy/pasted it from I will give credit to OP. There are a ton of these posts and I couldn't cooy/paste username
https://www.amazon.com/Space-relations-slightly-gothic-interplanetary/dp/0860000249
And he was former OSS
That's what's so fucking spooky about all of this. This is 100% the substance of the qanon conspiracy. They just got all the details wrong. But who would've guessed that there are fucking breadcrumbs in obscure sci from the 70s?
Space relations: A slightly gothic interplanetary tale: Donald Barr
FFS. JFC. WTF and every other TLA epithet.
From the first review on Amazon:
>I have a copy of this book. It is a really badly written book whose only excuse seems to be to refer to human trafficking and sex slavery either as an appeal to prurient interests - in which case it fails, or to relate reminiscences in fiction, or possibly as a payoff, because the dialogue and connecting thoughts are lacking, as well as any real plot even after half the book is read.
>The writer seems to like putting everything in terms of girls, and boys, and children, even when the scenes do not necessarily (but often do) involve kids. So while for instance the 14 year old girl getting raped in the first few chapters is really supposed to be 14, the hero of the book in danger of being sodomized - 'bend down kid and make it good' (sic) is not supposed to be a kid. It is that way throughout the book. They are either labeled like they are children (the queen was a 'child'), or actually boys or girls. So it pretty much starts with the word "naked" and goes down from there.
>It is pretty shocking a headmaster of a school would write this junk. It's not the only low grade sf story out there with this non-writing in it - but they are always bad reads. exploitation novel at best, says something about the writer regardless.
And the sick fuck Daddy Barr hired college dropout Jeffery Epstein to work with kids.
Barr’s father Hires Epstein-Time Magazine
https://time.com/5650974/william-barr-jeffrey-epstein/
Looks like I was wrong about an all girls school but don’t let that fool you about the seriousness of what happened there. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/12/nyregion/jeffrey-epstein-dalton-teacher.html
From the above source:
“In the mid-1970s, students at one of New York’s most esteemed prep schools were surprised to encounter a new teacher who pushed the limits on the school’s strict dress code, wandering the halls in a fur coat, gold chains and an open shirt that exposed his chest.”
“Eight former students who attended the prestigious school during Mr. Epstein’s short tenure there said that his conduct with teenage girls had left an impression that had lingered for decades. One former student recalled him showing up at a party where students were drinking, while most remembered his persistent attention on the girls in hallways and classrooms.”
“I can remember thinking at the time, ‘This is wrong,’” said Scott Spizer, who graduated from Dalton in 1976.
“Mr. Epstein’s time at Dalton was brief, and an administrator said it ended in a dismissal”
“But the accounts offer a window into Mr. Epstein’s early adulthood, before he developed extensive private wealth that allowed him to acquire a $56 million mansion just a mile south of the Dalton School. It was there, prosecutors said this week, that Mr. Epstein and his employees paid “numerous” underage girls to engage in sex acts with him.”
(Read on for more details)
I forgot this first part about the law firm connection to the first deal and a second source about Barr’s father hiring Epstein -New York Times Article(Secondary Sources are provided in the article) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/23/us/politics/william-barr-jeffrey-epstein.html
From the above source:
“Mr. Epstein’s death prompted an unexpected challenge to Mr. Barr’s credibility. The Justice Department has faced accusations that it mishandled an earlier investigation into the financier by making a deal in 2008 that allowed Mr. Epstein to elude federal charges and serve prison time from his office. It also shielded his six known co-conspirators. That deal led to the resignation last month of the labor secretary, R. Alexander Acosta, who had brokered the agreement while serving as United States attorney in Miami.
”To quell renewed furor over the deal, the Justice Department opened an internal review. Prosecutors in Manhattan had also opened a new sex trafficking investigation, but Mr. Epstein’s connections with powerful figures all over the world prompted skepticism that charges would ever be filed. Even Mr. Barr had chance ties to Mr. Epstein: His old law firm, Kirkland & Ellis, had worked with Mr. Epstein on the Miami deal, and decades earlier, Mr. Barr’s father had hired Mr. Epstein to teach at Dalton, the elite private school in Manhattan.”
Did I mention he reappointed the lady he hired back in 1992 to be in charge of the bureau of prisons? A long time underling who’s career was made by Barr to be the first ever woman in this position is in charge of investigating the case in which he should be recused stating he needed to “shake things up” right after the Epstein Murder occurred. https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/8/19/20812436/bureau-of-prisons-chief-removed-epstein-death-hugh-hurwitz-william-barr
Here is the actual book Headmaster Barr wrote now selling for $183 on Amazon Space relations: A slightly gothic interplanetary tale https://www.amazon.com/dp/0860000249/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_VQj3DbAN841M2
Here’s a Vice article, and while I find the a sometimes questionable news source this Vice article summarizes some of the oddities of the book that are disturbing https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qvgpm3/epstein-truthers-are-obsessed-with-a-sci-fi-book-about-child-sex-slavery-written-by-bill-barrs-dad
Read some of these articles and you will get the full picture it’s not that this isn’t all being reported, people just don’t listen to it or don’t care. Everything Barr has done is suspicious and ridiculous and these connections are so odd.
Does it make me a conspiracy theorist to think this shit is weird? I’m sorry for the terrible formatting and probably incoherent order of this but I’m on mobile
Oh yeah. Our wonderful AG probably has a direct hand in suppressing this too. Especially since his Dad, Donald Barr (who also wrote an interstellar slave sex ring space opera called Space Relations) recruited him. People think I'm wearing a tin foil hat when I explain this. It's a conspiracy out in the open. Killing Epstein was an olive branch to all of the elites, left, right, royalty, and international intelligence agencies.
Because, we (as a society), are obsessed with the weird and unusual. In other words, the outsiders of social norms. Those too fearful to find out more will catalog generalities in a way to protect themselves from something they don't understand or wish to acknowledge within themselves.
There's a bit of irony that the public vision of BDSM is leather clad mistresses with whips and chains (which in itself becomes a fetishization BDSM). Show up to a BDSM event in something out of the Matrix and you'll be looked upon by other members as a freak too. People don't realize that many of the people that participate in the BDSM communities are a 'normal' as the next person. They are filled with lawyers, cops, accountants, businessmen/women, CEOs, to Fast Food workers. At an event you are more likely to find people in their 'relaxed' wear...dirty t-shirts and boxers with hearts on them.
To this day, anyone who seems genuinely interested, regardless of whether they read Fifty Shades of Grey, I point them too 2 books, SM101 and Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns. They are still the go to books on BDSM.
Communication is the most important part of bdsm relationships. I'd talk to him until you feel you're both on the same page.
I also really recommend this book for beginners.
http://www.amazon.com/Screw-Roses-Send-Thorns-Sadomasochism/dp/0964596008/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1395840942&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=screw+the+roses+send+me+the+thorns
Ok, that's better.
First, don't put too much weight on yourself. The fact that she cannot have an orgasm with you right now doesn't necessarily mean that you suck (ha !) at sex. That's what i feel from your post, so don't. Maybe she's not too sure about her fantasies, feel guilty of having those, or anything. From what i know of woman, if you put some guilt, self doubt, image issue whatever in the mix, and you can block the whole thing. So be supportive, listen to her, reassure her but you need to relax on her inability to orgasm yet. Most of the time, trust and comfort will help her relax and be more in sync with you. Maybe some woman could give you more insight on that point.
For the mental part. Think of BDSM like a play with characters. Imagine the man who symbolize for you the ideal dominant (mine is robert downey jr by example) and take that as a role model. What would he do, what would he say, his posture, his look etc ... BDSM is a lot about how you project things and how other perceive that. So first rule, if you doubt of your dominance, other will feel it. When a dom order his sub, he doesn't let her have any other choice but to obey. What can helps you with that (at least it helped me) is think one move ahead, you'll seem assertive because your order will feel like one small part of something bigger. Imagine a boss telling you to finish the report for Monday and put it on his desk first hour. There is no negotiation, and doesn't have any interest in the fact you have tennis that day, the only thing he cares about is if you understood correctly what he wants. Some wisdom from the joker "Nobody panics when things go according to plan. Even if the plan is horrifying". Basically, if you seems to know what you do, people who trust you will follow. Be casual when you order your sub around, screaming sound like overcompensation when people don't listen to you. When I order my sub around, i talk slowly and calmly. I know that' she's listening, so i just explain to her what's going to happen.
Now for the expectation part. I was in the same place as you some years ago. My sub was very experienced (several years with a Master with decades of experience) and I was very inexperienced. First step, accept that you're inexperienced. You're not broken or whatever, you just don't know yet. It's ok. If you have a good communication, she already know that maybe you'll be awkward, clumsy, breaking character the first time, again it's ok. Don't worry about it. Things became awkward when you let them be awkward. One time i remember, i was pouring hot wax on her, all domy and stuff, I move her on the table to change position, and i put the candle on the table. The only thing that could have happened, happened. The candle fell on my foot, and you bet your ass I screamed and run like a little girl across the room... I was just surprised and honestly lots of anxiety didn't help. We stopped, had a good laugh, a good fuck and just went to sleep. Did that event hurt in any way our relationship ? Not at all, actually it's good and fun memories. So don't worry, screwing up isn't an option, what you can choose is how you decide to own your mistakes. Furthermore, you have to remember that we talk about sexual stuff here, sex is fun, if you don't have fun, you're doing something wrong.
i can guarantee you that a simple slap across the face (again discuss that before) or a simple over the knee spanking with the right attitude, look, voice and all will have ten times more effects than trying to act a very complex suspension scene you're not familiar with. So stay "in your league" and advance slowly, one step at the time. Going slow will also allow you to build a dominant character because it doesn't happen overnight. What makes all the BDSM plays possible can be reduced at how credible your character is. There are lots of dom archetypes, some are nice, some are mean, other have high protocol, other are more casual, some are more physical, other more mental and psychological. You need to find the one you want to be, and start to act (in play of course) like him. Your final dynamic is the mix of your wants and her needs and wants. There is no two person on earth who will enjoy an identical set of kinks. Just imagine, a checklist have hundred of entry each can be noted from 0 to 5 for how much you enjoy it and 0 to 5 for how difficult is that for you. That's an infinite amount of possible combinations. So every relationship need to negotiate all the time, to find a common ground. That's why we value communication so much and advice new comers to first establish an open, clear and non judgmental like of communication. Lots of people think they have an unbiased and perfect communication, but when you think that's the case, it's just the start really. Those level of communication need a very high level of trust in your partner.
To summarize :
Now some homework !
Read that. Maybe not especially for you but i give the link to all new dom, so ...
BDSM checklist for her. Something that could help with shy people is make them write a fantasy. Writing can help express thing you cannot say out loud (for your con non-con suspicion)
There are several books linked in the resource section of /r/bdsmfaq . Screw the roses, send me the thorns is one of my favorite.
For the mental aspect, you can read the Control Book by Masters. Also the New topping (and bottoming) book. In terms of books about psychological aspect of BDSM you have a very wide range of available book because you can learn from dog traning book to old "Good wife guide" kind of book (for 50's household), field manual for prisoners interrogation (i'm into interrogation play). Magic tricks book (for mindfuck). It really depends on what play you're interested in.
Take care, and have fun.
Your post really touched me because I've been through some of the same feelings from the opposite (dominating) side. "Am I sick for wanting to tie my girl down to inflict pleasure on her?" The short version is, there isn't a cheat sheet for why we like what we like; we just do, and that's okay as long as everyone keeps things safe, sane, and consensual. There isn't any particular trauma or gratification at an early age that bends us toward what we like in the bedroom. You're doing fine.
I'd like to point you to a few things that might help you enjoy what you like safely:
Hope this helps and good luck.
edit: formatting
https://www.amazon.com/Screw-Roses-Send-Thorns-Sadomasochism/dp/0964596008
I've been told this is also a good read.
Try this book.
or DL the pdf.
It is pretty much my go-to beginers guide to the scene. This is how my first kinkfriend got me into it, and I have been a fan ever since!
Also, go slow, small steps, and do only what is fun for you both. And, yes, communication is key.
No one is going to know the two of you better than the two of you. While it can be fun to swap techniques with other players, most "mentorship" relationships are unnecessary and often smoke-screen for toxic dynamics.
My favorite book in my library to loan to the recently-interested is "Screw the Roses, Send me the Thorns." It's certainly "classic" and legend has it that it was orginially laid out on a copy machine, but it remains one of the best survey-level resources out there for loving people doing this stuff because its fun in a non-commercial setting. Revolutionary for the time when most media was centered around Commercial Domination(tm.) A classic then, still excellent now.
I have so many "technique" books it's hard to narrow them down, but the first I would pick up is "Jay Wiseman's Erotic Bondage Handbook." Rope is useful, rope is cheap, rope is versatile, and with a few simple guidelines rope is remarkably safe. The biggest guideline being "don't do weight-bearing rope unless that's a specific fetish you're into and have spent a few years getting good at it." This book isn't about Japanese-style rope with an eye towards moving on to suspension, although I have books like that and I love them. This is about using Western style rope to keep things out of the way while having safe, sane, and consensual sexytimes. Simple techniques, creative applications, and a thrumming focus on safety make it a great start.
Comboing the two should give you a pretty good start on some neat ideas, save you some dosh by making it easier to put together a toybag that's not going to require a lot of cash outlay, and hopefully keep you away from handcuffs. I own a pair, I use them for capture play, but the can be prone to causing injuries both superficial and serious so you really don't want to be moving around while wearing them. Rope may not be 100% safe but it's certainly safe-er.
If you're interested in branching out a bit more, or you learn better from videos, or you would like to get your education and your porn fix at the same time, kink.com's Kink University has both a commercial site and a free sample feed of guest teachers that cover a wide, wide variety of activities with a focus on learning enough skills to have fun while getting an overview of what the kink/activity "is."
If you don't mind being marketed to a bit, Extreme Restraint's XR University and their Pornhub mirror, which is not verified so I won't link it here, are also excellent. Generally the two hosts bring in a guest star and speak to them about a certain kink for the first half of the vid, then do a hands on demonstration for the second half, interspersed with two-three commercials. The good news is that they go very in depth on the products used, make recommendations for ones they particularly like, and make it clear where they can be purchased. The maybe-bad news is that's because they sell them through their online store and are doing this to make money. Personally, I respect the hustle, love the videos, and think selling toys by teaching people to play with them is a great idea where everyone wins, but I don't judge the people who are bothered by the idea it's primarily an infomercial. Your mileage may vary.
In short, don't spend money on dominatrix time unless you just want to spend money on having that kind of experience. Do talk with each other and if you feel like it grab a few books and some pleasant-enough-feeling cheap rope and experiment. You can, and almost certainly will, buy more expensive and specialized stuff later, or just learn some techniques for safely manhandling each other that make rope unneeded if you get into that. Or all of the above. Mostly, just have fun and take care of each other and everything else will work out. Good luck and have fun.
(Disclaimer: links to commercial products and websites included for convenience only. I have no business relationship with anyone in this post other than happy customer and receive no compensation other than the warm fuzzy feeling of passing on recommendations that were given to me when I was starting. 1/4 inch nylon is fine and if you tie it in a pillowcase you can just chuck it straight into the washing machine and dryer. Fnord.)
Secretary is a great start ... but yes, there's a lot more :)
If you're interested in non-fiction BDSM resources, I recommend starting with Screw The Roses, Send Me The Thorns or any number of titles from Greenery Press (especially those by Jay Wiseman).
Playing MAdden is okay, but I find it hard to believe nobody has suggested actually reading a book other than the rule book.
Check these out:
Take your Eye off the Ball
Blood, Sweat, and Chalk
This book is a great resource. The dude knows the game.
http://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1600783910
Take your eye of the ball Quick read. Good explanation of everything related to the NFL that the common fan probably doesn't know.
Education of a Coach a Biography of Bill Belichick. Really good but a little out of date now. Still it's current up till 2004 or so and most of BB's life took place before that.
Get a book by Pat Kirwan called take your eyes off the ball:
http://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1600783910
Not OP but here's a great resource if you're looking for a deeper understanding.
http://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1600783910
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6D474E721138865A
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLY27VNfjvp0XyJIItcAIyF4LWNrnMgLUk
https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Windows-PowerShell-Month-Lunches/dp/1617294160/
I think they just released an updated version of the book for v5...
Yup here it is
First, read our Wiki. It is very thorough and answers a lot of these common questions such as
day to day? The Practice of System and Network Administration
And the topical reference books listed below.
Books to help in shaping a sysadmin? The above &:
The Phoenix Project
Time Management for System Administrators
Topical Books I see mentioned often and have been very helpful to me:
Powershell in a month of lunches
Learn Python the hard way
Unix and Linux System Administration Handbook
Windows Server 2016: Inside Out
Group Policy
AbsoluteBSD
FreeBSD mastery:ZFS
CCNA
RHCSA/RHCE
Pro Puppet
SSH Mastery
On my docket:
FreeBSD Mastery: Advanced ZFS
Michael W. Lucas and Thomas Limoncelli are very good sysadmin writers, you can't go wrong with a topic they have chosen to write about.
Most of the *nix stuff assumes a baseline knowledge of how to use a unix-based system. I learned as I went but did pick up an old copy of Unix Visual Quickstart Guide not too long ago at a used books sale, which seems like a good starting place for someone overwhelmed with sitting at a terminal and being productive.
I notice I don't have any Virtualization books, perhaps someone else can fill in good books. Most of my knowledge regarding virtualization and network storage has been a mix of official docs, video training, and poking at it. Seems innate but it isn't.
I was like you no programming experience at all. I learned from these videos, I suggest you download them as MS is decommissioning this site soon.
and everyone will recommend reading Learn Windows PowerShell in a Month of Lunches although I'm not a big reader and have not gone through most of this book. The two video modules will give you a good start. This reddit has also helped ALOT.
Learn Windows PowerShell in a Month of Lunches is a pretty popular one and has helped me
https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Windows-PowerShell-Month-Lunches/dp/1617294160/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
Pluralsight has some good videos for the MCSA Server 2012. If you sign up for Visual Studio Dev Essensials, you can get a free 3 months with Pluralsight.
https://www.visualstudio.com/free-developer-offers/
I should add, if you're going for the MCSA cert, I've heard it's Powershell heavy. You can get started with Powershell with Learn Windows PowerShell in a Month of Lunches
I really like the books /u/joerod suggested.
Links:
PowerShell in a Month of lunches
Learn PowerShell Toolmaking in a Month of Lunches
For the MVA PowerShell courses:
MVA PowerShell - A plethora of good resources
Good luck! PowerShell is incredibly helpful and fun in both work and every day life!
Edit: Other recommendations from my old self
It's cliche, but Month of Lunches is great if you're looking for a book. Honestly my advice is to solve problems with powershell. Learn to lean heavily on "Get-Command" and "Get-Help". When someone comes to you with something you would normally use the gui for, just figure out how to powershell it (advice - avoid device drivers)
A key piece of Systems Administration is driving yourself. In many situations you are the bottleneck to other people accomplishing their project or to fixing an issue - this means you need to understand that everyone is going to tell you their thing is high priority because they can't do anything til you're done. As you grow, you'll figure out how to get out of that position (automating pieces is a major part of that) but right now, focus on communicating clearly and honestly. Learn to set expectations - that's more important then any technical skill you can focus on.
There are two main resources that you will need in order to learn PowerShell; the first is PowerShell in a Month of Lunches (there's a newer version coming soon) and the second is access to people who know PowerShell and can help you, like /r/powershell for example.
I've heard good things about "Powershell in a month of lunches"
http://amzn.com/1617294160
The Socratic Method has been a big part of what I do, I try to never say "you are wrong because X", But I will say something like:
"You say God is loving, but how do you account for this verse?..."
and when they respond I bring up another question.
Also, there is really good book called Nonviolent Communication. Actually I read it recently for the first time, and I already use almost all of the techniques and stuff in it, but its a VERY good book, especially if someone hasn't read a lot of that subject already.
The reason I brought it up is to mention that when I think someone is clearly wrong, I don't make a blanket statement "You ARE wrong" I state it as an opinion I have:
"From my perspective, you just seem flat out wrong because of X Y and Z, can you explain to me how you are right?"
In the Nonvoiolent Comm. book they mention saying YOU to someone can make someone feel defensive, like instead of saying "Did YOU drink my last beer?" you can say "do you know who drank the beer I had in the fridge?" ... Unless you WANT to be confrontational, heh, which has its place.
Pete, setup informational interviews at organizations near you, professional and college. This is a form of networking that will help you learn who holds positions who will give you 10-30 minutes of their time to learn about duties and skills in different roles at different ballclubs.
You have to ask, ask, ask, but you will learn of many ways you know someone who works at these clubs. Use your networks to find connections that are 1,2,3 levels deep. You will find its likely that over time you'll only have to go 1 or 2 levels of connection. Ask the athletic departments at your university. A lot of clubs have spring training in AZ, so you're likely in a good spot to find connections. Here is an example of what you could ask:
> I'm so_and_soap, a senior here at NAU. I'm interested in working with MLB and am wondering if there are some staff here who can help me setup informational interviews at the Diamondbacks, MLB?
There are three goals (or however many you make up) for informational interviews.
Patience
You might find something at your ballclub within your search timeframe quickly. Most likely, though, you will need to include more companies in your search. Whatever the job, focus on developing those skills you think ae most important to land you at MLB or other targetted companies.
Networking ideas:
Linkedin, parents, university alumni, directories, friends, friends' parents, guest lecturers, professors, bosses
Say Yes
In your replies to comments you have said 3 times that you don't know something or don't have requisite skill for something. That is not productive nor useful to your efforts. Instead think of a question that might get that piece of information answered.
Resources
Highly Effective Networking by Orville Pierson
Use your head to get your foot in the door by Harvey Mackay
Nonviolent Communication
Spin Selling
Does he admit this is a problem? Are you both willing to work through your issues?
I would suggest you both read a book about conflict resolution inside a relationship. Maybe something like Non-Violent Communication. It gets a lot easier when you have this framework to give you a common language, techniques and set of goals to work towards. But it only works if both of you are willing to work hard at it, step outside your comfort zones, and show some vulnerability.
https://www.amazon.com/Nonviolent-Communication-Language-Marshall-Rosenberg/dp/1892005034
I really recommend the above book if you are thinking about how to communicate directly and clearly, it really helped me.
I'm not able to answer most of your questions, but I would suggest a few things:
Yes, you can push them to a drop box or other cloud storage.
But I have to ask, what do you hope to achieve by such a thing? Do you intend to embarrass her in front of her friends or family? What will YOU get from "proof" that she is abusive? (BTW since you are married you own everything together, and technically she cannot "steal" from you. )
I was married to a narcissist for many years. I went through therapy after catching her planning a vacation with another guy. Of course she blamed me. After a few weeks I realized I was a nice guy and she was a controlling bitch. I came home and told her I wasn't doing yard work anymore (I always hated it) and she should go hire someone. She hired an attorney and filed for divorce because she could no longer control me. Good riddance.
I don't know your situation, but here are some great resources my therapist gave me:
Non-Violent Communication by Marshal Rosenberg, a great book describing exactly how to deal with abusive language and how not to be abusive when you communicate to others. (there are also you tube videos on the subject). Changed my relationships with everyone
How To Recognize a Narcissist, A wonderful write up on narcissists (in case she is one)
Constructive Living by David Reynolds A great combination of Eastern therapies that help you live positively and with purpose without letting things overwhelm you.
Really, work on yourself a little before proving to everyone else that she is a pain. Everybody probably realizes that anyway. If you play it back to her she will only get angry and if you play your recordings to her friends or family you will will look like a jerk.
Hang in there.
I was actually suggesting couples therapy.
It might be a bit of a stretch but you and your wife might benefit from reading "Nonviolent Communication" https://www.amazon.com/Nonviolent-Communication-Language-Marshall-Rosenberg/dp/1892005034
Its not perfect but there are some fantastic lessons in there. Rather than suggesting she read it to fix her problems I suggest reading it together. Maybe you could pitch it as "Hey I see that we have had some painful interactions lately. Would you be willing to work on this with me in the hope of making things better for both of us?" Your wife is suffering, all angry people are. Reading this might help her better express how she feels.
Have you heard of the book "Non Violent Communication" by Marshall Rosenburg? If you want to resolve things yourself, this is a great tool. This is the kind of thing a therapist would walk you through step by step, to solve communication issues, but it's possible to do it on your own. It's not possible to "bypass" the talking with karezza, but one can definitely encourage the other! You are doing great just by refraining from PMO and doing the cuddling thing. You're showing her your own dedication and interest in healing your relationship, which in turn will support her efforts to heal herself.
http://www.amazon.com/Serenity-Shepherds-Tale-Dark-Horse/dp/1595825614/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1368621617&amp;sr=8-3&amp;keywords=serenity+comic
It's not a show but you can read the comics, comics, comics and comics .
I just bought the physical versions on amazon, there seem to be large format and small format versions of some of them..
I'm probably the last person to give advice on how/where/how though, i know ziltch about comic books or graphic novels.
These are the links to ones i bought, of them was a collection of several of them:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1593074492/
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1595827390/
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1595825614/
I'm pretty sure you could probably track down digital versions through your favorite pirate outfit if you roll that way... (i honestly have no idea)
Chris Brown's Smart Football blog is pretty good. I also got a lot of mileage out of Take Your Eye Off The Ball and Blood, Sweat, and Chalk.
As I Canadian who moved to Austin for grad school and learned to love football, I sympathize with the need to find something that covers the basics!
Here's a site I linked to below that covers some basics:
http://footballoutsiders.com/strategy-minicamps?page=2
... but even that might be too advanced.
If you're looking for complete basics, you might be better off with a book.
Take Your Eye Off the Ball is quite helpful for this, as it covers the basics of all the different positions and it gets into formations and a bit of strategy.:
http://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1600783910/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1320168296&amp;sr=8-1
Football for Dummies is even more basic, but it can be a good guide for the beginner:
http://www.amazon.com/Football-Dummies-USA-Sports-Hobbies/dp/1118012615/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1320168316&amp;sr=8-1
Some good suggestions in here.
To add: Check out this book, Take Your Eye Off the Ball by Pat Kirwan. It's got a great breakdown for how to watch/analyze football when you're ready to go beyond just watching the QB, RB, and WRs.
I read the Blind Side too which was a strong read but my personal favorite was the one that Pat Kirwin (you can listen to him on Sirius NFL radio) put out last year. It's called Take Your Eye Off the Ball . It doesn't have as much history as it does strategies and coach/GM speak. A very good read though.
I picked up this book myself and found it super interesting:
Take Your Eye Off the Ball: How to Watch Football by Knowing Where to Look
Definitely helped me understand not just the game on the field but also things around it, like drafts and contracts.
https://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1600783910/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1536188603&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=take+your+eye+off+the+ball&amp;dpID=51ObJ6UtyzL&amp;preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&amp;dpSrc=srch
I haven't found any channels that do a good job of starting with the basics, but this book does a great job. It's an easy read, starts with the basics and goes into great detail
If you're looking to spend some money you can buy this book, but if you hang out around here long enough most of it will be covered at some point; it does organize everything though.
Like Wham said, it takes time/studying, but a lot of it is just terminology; "Cover" formations is, for the most part, just the number of safeties providing help over the top of the CBs to protect against the deep ball.
Even after you know what to look for, it can be baffling in real time.
The more you watch the more you'll be able to see things out of your peripheral vision. Like when playing a video game you're shooting at someone while also looking at the radar at the same time.
Also if you're interested this book is really good: http://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1600783910/
Take Your Eye off the ball: How to watch football by knowing where to look
[Take your eye off the ball] (http://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1600783910) by Pat Kirwan is exactly what you're looking for
Take Your Eye Off The Ball is a great place to start!
Hey, I really recommend Pat Kirwan's book if you want to really get a good primer on how to watch and understand football.
&#x200B;
https://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1600783910
This book helped me a lot
Stop watching the ball. But seriously though, I have some pretty successful sports writer friends who have a deeper knowledge of football than I ever will and that's the biggest piece of advice they give me. That book is pretty good, but to be honest, I still slip back into watching the ball and wonder why we don't call the "throw a touchdown play" more often.
Also, welcome to the journalism brotherhood. I cover politics, not sports, so hit me up should you need any advice on understanding the farm bill.
Edited for a typo that drove me crazy.
a great book by Pat Kirwin: ["Keep Your Eye off the Ball"]
(http://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1600783910/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1347921117&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=keep+your+eye+off)
The Essential Smart Football
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1470125595?pc_redir=1408853370&amp;robot_redir=1
And Take Your Eye off The Ball are must reads.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1600783910?pc_redir=1408944148&amp;robot_redir=1
https://www.educational-business-articles.com/5-step-problem-solving/
Okay. A lot to go over here. I work with both linux/windows to various degress, so Im glad to address it:
>My issue is if you're doing any sort of system administration work, typing out PowerShell's commands is going to get hella annoying. Would you rather type two characters, or thirteen every time you wanted to use a command?
Tab complete is a thing for powershell. Just typing "ge" and hitting tab will cycle through all of the "get-xxxx" commands in alphabetical order. If you can get to "get-h," its much faster to hit the command you want. Powershell gives up a few more keystrokes for much, much more accessibility. It also has heaps of default alias's and the ability to set new ones like bash, so its really just a matter of learning them or setting them to speed this up for experienced users.
>I am not entirely sure what you mean by this. Firstly, as far as I can tell the built-in help to each cmdlet is lackluster. ("get-childitem -?" for instance, compared to "ls --help") On Windows with -? it lists only the syntax and aliases, with no further explanation of what each parameter is
I see where this is confusing form a unix perspective, but you've barely scratched the surface of the powershell help syntax. Thats okay, it generally something people learn about only during dedicated study. "help command" is the correct syntax for the help files in powershell, but the help command itself has modifiers. Try -examples for a long list of the command used in context, or --full for every detail about the commands use. You can also use --showwindow to pop out the -full in a different and easier to search window.
Not only that, but each help command shows you a couple of contexts about what parameters the command can take, and in what contexts. For example, here is the syntax of get-childitem:
Get-ChildItem [[-Filter] <String>] [-Attributes <System.Management.Automation.FlagsExpression
1[System.IO.FileAttributes]&gt;] [-Depth &lt;UInt32&gt;] [-Directory ] [-Exclude &lt;String[]&gt;] [-File ] [-Force ] [-Hidden ] [-Include &lt;String[]&gt;] -LiteralPath &lt;String[]&gt; [-Name ] [-ReadOnly ] [-Recurse ] [-System ] [-UseTransaction ] [&lt;CommonParameters&gt;]<br /> <br /> Get-ChildItem [[-Path] &lt;String[]&gt;] [[-Filter] &lt;String&gt;] [-Attributes &lt;System.Management.Automation.FlagsExpression1[System.IO.FileAttributes]>] [-Depth <UInt32>] [-Directory ] [-Exclude <String[]>] [-File ] [-Force ] [-Hidden ] [-Include <String[]>] [-Name ] [-ReadOnly ] [-Recurse ] [-System ] [-UseTransaction ] [<CommonParameters>]I realize the above doesn't mean much to a layman, but the format is consistent in each powershell command, which count into 500 or so defaults, with a few thousands mixed in with the more specialized modules for things like SQL. The above tell you required parameters, ones you can optionally add, and what kind of input each parameter needs. It shows which parameters need to be strung in a specific order, and what are okay to add anywherfe. Its full of information that you get immediately when you run "help command."
>For further explanation it looks like the proper method is to use "get-help get-childitem" in which case, the help files are not installed by default (at this point I couldn't be bothered, but I noticed there was a -online option which pops open a web browser which is convenient).
Yes, you do need to run update-help on a new install, or periodically, but thats a good thing. It means the help is actively updated, not written in 1986 and left alone as "good enough." Automate that help update and you will never have to think about it. Or, you can do what you did and immediately get the most updated help from inside the console, not googling around and hoping you run into the right info.
One other great thing about powershell help? There are accepted formatting standards in the community. When you start writing your own powershell modules (which are basically unix tools) you can add all the above syntax and expected info into the command in an easy way. This means that even third party tools have this kind of info.
>But for commands you use frequently, you will know which parameters to pass and you're done rather quickly such as "alias dir="ls"" versus "New-Alias -Name "ls" Get-ChildItem"
I see how the above would annoy you, but i bet it was easy to find out how to make a new alias in powershell. You could even just do "new-alias "alias" new-alias" and from now on you can use "alias" if you want. Its also incredibly easy to explort/import these alias's into powershell with, you guess it, "export-alias" and "import-alias". Basically, you setup alias's once in powershell, just like in linux, and its equally easy to move them around as needed.
>Unix commands e.g. "man", "vi", "less" generally share common commands. E.g. for moving between lines or pages, quitting, or searching for text.
Key word above is generally. Its completely arbitrary. Powershell? Always uses the same conventions.
>Unix tools are designed in bite-sized pieces so they can be chained together
Piping and bite- sized tools are 100% a thing in powershell as well. You can pipe sort commands from select commands, move the text around, invert it, compare it to other text files, what have you. It different philosophy than unix, as unix manipulation is text based, and powershell is object based, but the end result is the same. Still, each cmdlet does only what it does. You string them together to get results, same as bash.
Another powerful thing about powershell? Almost all of Microsoft GUI products like exchange/AD/whatever actually just run powershell commands in the background. It means that each of there products, whatever they are, can all be automated with this same syntax. Once you learn how powershell works, you gain full control of every suite in their ecosystem. There isnt a comparsion for that on the linux/bash side of the aisle.
I dont defend most of what Microsoft does, but powershell is a powerhouse. If you want to learn more, the veritable powershell bible is "Learn powershell in a month of lunches" by Don jones. If you follow along just to this book, you'll put most windows administrators to shame with what you can do.
https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Windows-PowerShell-Month-Lunches/dp/1617294160/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1499701751&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=powershell+in+a+month+of+lunches
"how can I learn to script powershell without having the basics for syntaxes"
honestly, i think if you try going this route, you're going to wind up very frustrated. you really ought to start with the basics. you can't just jump straight to the "knowing" part -- have to go through the process of learning before you get there. crawl before you can walk, and all that.
i bought myself a copy of "Learn Powershell in a Month of Lunches" (amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Windows-PowerShell-Month-Lunches/dp/1617294160/) and i like it. many people here on /r/sysadmin recommend it, as well. i would start there to build a good foundation. one of the earliest things the book teaches you is how to use powershell's built-in help and how to read error messages and such, which will become extremely helpful when you do get to the point where you start writing scripts.
buy that book, and/or ask your supervisor to buy you a license to a training site like CBT Nuggets or PluralSight. some people prefer videos and narration over books, but find what works for you, and remember to start with the basics and move up from there.
Agreed. OP, you nee to take some time and learn powershell - you can certainly do all the tasks that you listed in your post, but again, you need to learn the basics. I suggest starting with this book. Best of luck.
https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Active-Directory-Management-Lunches/dp/1617291196/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1541159458&sr=8-1&keywords=active+directory+in+a+month+of+lunches
&#x200B;
https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Windows-PowerShell-Month-Lunches/dp/1617294160/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1541159482&sr=8-1&keywords=powershell+in+a+month+of+lunches
The book "Learn PowerShell in a month of lunches" is a great first read!
https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Windows-PowerShell-Month-Lunches/dp/1617294160/ref=asc_df_1617294160/?tag=hyprod-20&amp;linkCode=df0&amp;hvadid=312091457223&amp;hvpos=1o1&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvrand=4435694643250366932&amp;hvpone=&amp;hvptwo=&amp;hvqmt=&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvdvcmdl=&amp;hvlocint=&amp;hvlocphy=9002018&amp;hvtargid=pla-406163967273&amp;psc=1&amp;tag=&amp;ref=&amp;adgrpid=62820903995&amp;hvpone=&amp;hvptwo=&amp;hvadid=312091457223&amp;hvpos=1o1&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvrand=4435694643250366932&amp;hvqmt=&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvdvcmdl=&amp;hvlocint=&amp;hvlocphy=9002018&amp;hvtargid=pla-406163967273
Not really fair to link to a PDF copy of the book. It's a fantastic book and worth purchasing and supporting the author.
It can be purchased on Amazon
I got my copy off amazon - https://www.amazon.com.au/Learn-Windows-PowerShell-Month-Lunches/dp/1617294160/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3E05CQGIIHRNB
You want this
Learn Windows PowerShell in a Month of Lunches
Powershell is a favorite at my place of work and allows us to automate some pretty fun stuff.. if you get started scripting or have any questions feel free to P.M. me anytime.. as for resources for powershell:
https://leanpub.com/powershell-scripting-toolmaking - PDF
https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Windows-PowerShell-Month-Lunches/dp/1617294160 - Book
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CRTahGYnws&amp;list=PL6D474E721138865A - Video
Hope this helps.. :)
I highly recommend the book Learn Windows Powershell in a Month of Lunches.
Would I create new lines below that one for the other OUs?
No, absolutely not. :)
The line I wrote is all you need.I'll try to explain it line by line.
&#x200B;
$data = Import-Csv -Delimiter "," -Path C:\temp\data.csv
This line will import csv data from path C:\temp\data.csv into variable $data and it will use , as delimiter.Run it on your data and then run just $data to check what is inside your new variable.
$OU = ($data | select OU -Unique).OU
This line will select only OU column from your csv data in variable $data and it will select only unique values, so if you have users that are in same OU it will not duplicate it.After you run it check what's inside your variable by call it $OU.
&#x200B;
Now we come to foreach loop.
foreach ($item in $OU) { New-ADOrganizationalUnit -Name $item -Path "dc=contoso, dc=com" }
It does exactly what it say, for each item, value inside variable OU it will run following code
New-ADOrganizationalUnit -Name $item -Path "dc=contoso, dc=com"
So let pretend you have this inside your variable OU.$OU
Finance
Accounting
Sales
IT
Quality
&#x200B;
If we were to ran this code:
foreach ($item in $OU) { Write-Host "test" }
This would be the result in my terminal
test
test
test
test
test
Since we have 5 items inside $OU and command Write-Host "test" will be ran 5 times.
Now if I were to ran this code:
&#x200B;
foreach ($item in $OU) { Write-Host "$item" }
This would be the result in my terminal
Finance
Accounting
Sales
IT
Quality
&#x200B;
It will take each item from OU and output it to terminal.
&#x200B;
I hope that makes it clear for you why all you need is this one line.
New-ADOrganizationalUnit -Name $item -Path "dc=contoso, dc=com"
&#x200B;
If you really want to learn powershell and not just finish you project I strongly suggest this book:
Learn Windows PowerShell in a Month of Lunches
https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Windows-PowerShell-Month-Lunches/dp/1617294160
&#x200B;
It's great book, really accessible and written in such approachable way that I guarantee if you finish it, you will understand and know powershell basics. :)
If you are more video guy this is old but great video series that will explain powershell basics.Big plus it's Jeffrey Snover talking about powershell. Can't beat that with a baseball bat :)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyJiOytEPs4etH7Ujq7PU7jlOlHL-9RmV
Learn Linux
http://linuxcommand.org/tlcl.php
Learn Power shell / BASH
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Learn-Windows-PowerShell-Month-Lunches/dp/1617294160/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1527669274&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=powershell+in+a+month+of+lunches
Learn Programming in Python
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Python-easy-steps-Mike-McGrath/dp/1840785969/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1527669308&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=python+in+easy+steps
I have personally used the Python and the Linux book I highly recommend them.
You need this book in your life: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1617294160/ref=dp_ob_neva_mobile
I suggest reading this book on nonviolent communication. Some of the ideas may be helpful in having a more empathic conversion with your husband and understanding each other's needs.
http://www.amazon.com/Nonviolent-Communication-A-Language-Life/dp/1892005034
In addition to the books you recommended, I would add "Nonviolent Communication". It has been a huge help in improving the communication between me and my fiancée.
When people are upset they usually just want empathy and understanding. That's why it's advised that when a friend comes to you with an issue, you should first and foremost actively listen and not try to go into advice mode, as well-intentioned as it may be. The reason I'm mentioning this is because that's probably what she wants, or at the least what she needs (and its not just women, everyone wants and needs this).
You obviously have no ill intentions, and you're in a very frustrating situation and getting the shaft in a lot of ways. I'm a woman and I also have problems when people are bawling (I can empathize very well, but its usually more through conversation and such). When you walk out of the room though, a lot of people will interpret that as cold indifference, shunning, disgust, etc etc. Sometimes you need to, but you don't want to do it as general practice.
There is a great widely-used book/mindset/system/whatever called [non-violent communication] (http://www.amazon.com/Nonviolent-Communication-A-Language-Life/dp/1892005034/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1405450100&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=nonviolent+communication) ([wiki link] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonviolent_communication) on it). It's about how everyone has the same basic needs, but they usually don't know how to ask for them or even recognize them. If you are confused about what your wife wants (and your relationship and yourself) it's a great tool because it shows you how to recognize, talk about, and provide/ask for whatever you guys are needing. You can ask your professor about it too; they probably have heard of it. My mom is a counselor and I'm majoring in Psychology and we both found it extremely interesting and helpful.
Well I have people in my family I love who are conservative, including my parents and brother. They've never given me shit, we have spirited debates and no one is taking shit personal. I wish it was like that everywhere, but it isn't.
I think if we started listening to one another, actually listening, you'd see a lot of this fade.
Conservatism isn't good, or evil. It's just a political philosophy. I would be a conservative if things were actually working right. That's the point, conservation. Which is really the largest problem WITH the conservative movement, things are too broken right now to conserve.
I am sure plenty of Trump supporters say, "Libtards are evil and I want nothing to do with them in my life." Matter of fact, I have seen that quite a bit.
Be careful you don't become the monster you're fighting.
I am sorry you've been wounded through this. If it makes you feel better, I feel similar to Christians. I feel totally disappointed and hurt by Christians. I grew up in a church and was surrounded by supportive, loving people who helped raise me.
Then '16 happened and some of those same decent, nice people turned and attacked me. I have known them since childhood, so yeah, it hurts a hell of a lot.
It hurts. I feel disappointed and even wounded, but I have control over my actions and sometimes, giving grace and doing the right thing is more about you, than them.
Be the change you want to see. And if you're having a hard time communicating and you want to help, but it ends up in arguments, then I'd suggest reading this. It's short and will change your life.
https://www.amazon.com/Nonviolent-Communication-Language-Marshall-Rosenberg/dp/1892005034
Hey. Communication. Mon couple n'a pas marché parce que nous étions des gens fondamentalement différents, mais en soit, il a marché autant qu'il le pouvait. Et ce, parce que quand il y avait une ambiance, on était capable de s'asseoir et de parler, ou juste de parler. En exposant ses besoins et ses craintes, et ainsi de suite.
Si t'as la foi, je te recommande Non-violent communication.
I used to be the same way, but a technique called nonviolent communication (or compassionate communication) literally changed my life. It's basically about getting to the heart of what's bothering you—the real issue behind the issue—and suggesting improvements in a way that doesn't come across like an accusation and facilitates a real dialogue.
Here are some resources you can look at to learn more:
NVC Overview
A book about NVC (I can't recommend this enough.)
Feelings and Needs lists (These will make more sense once you learn more about the technique, but they're basically lists that help you identify and articulate how you're feeling and what the real issue is.)
You are in no way, shape, or form the worst wife in the world. Try to have more compassion for yourself. I wish you the best of luck.
I'm not in your situation so I probably can't tell you what to do. I can just share what helped me. First of all, I was in a place where I wanted change really badly. Like really badly. I was upset with my life, my relationships and just my outlook and decided it had to change. I read a lot and I asked a lot of questions and worked at it. Eventually, I read three books which helped change the way I approached everyday things, and specifically relationships.
They were
http://www.amazon.com/Nonviolent-Communication-Language-Marshall-Rosenberg/dp/1892005034
http://www.amazon.com/True-Love-Practice-Awakening-ebook/dp/B004SII6JWe
http://www.amazon.com/Power-Now-Guide-Spiritual-Enlightenment/dp/1577311523
But yeah, definitely not a quick fix.
A lot of people are really turned off by the "spiritual" aspects of the third book. I don't understand that, when I read it it just seemed like an practical way to go about living your life and not religious at all. All three of these books offer physical activities, like very basic "an idiot could do this" things that make you better at listening, especially the first two, which is what I was looking for. And the suggestions they gave definitely worked. If you only read one, I would read the second one for your situation. It's not as "Buddhist" as it seems.
What I eventually learned: Listening and being present is really hard first of all. Your mind wants to jump in all the time and pick apart, dissect and analyze... And then there is the other part of your mind that wants to react, like "Oh she said this, that's not right." Once you get there though, you're just calm and it's a great thing because you can always go back, and people just tend to relax around you more.
Ok Darlingnikki928 here is the conundrum you are faced with.
It sounds like your boyfriend is what we would call a "Vanilla" and you are in the BDSM spectrum (this varies based on your personal sexual preference) so hence you would be a kinkster (there are other names). So what you need to do is learn about yourself more with regards to your BDSM likings/desires/needs/etc. so then you can provide your "Vanilla" boyfriend ALL the information that HE NEEDS in order to provide you with what your sexual needs/desires are since eventually if he doesn't learn how to be a kinkster like yourself, the relationship will eventually fade into obscurity due to the fact that kinksters like us will ALWAYS need sex in the way WE NEED IT and without your help to educate him ( like my first serious girlfriend did soooo many years ago to me) he WILL FAIL at it time after time.
To give you an idea, in my case I was raised by my mother to NEVER EVER, EVER hit a woman, NOT EVEN with a rose and was also taught that doing so was VERY disrespectful to ANY WOMAN.
Imagine my surprise when in my late teens while being ridden HARD cowgirl style by my then girlfriend (we were dating about 3 months) all of a sudden she blurs out to me "Hit me!" To which I confusingly said "What?" and she said "HIT ME!". My brain started to go in all kinds of directions trying to understand what she meant and I must of had the most confused look on my face because she then grabbed my hand and slapped herself with it ( while she continued to ride me) at which point I thought "HOLY SHIT! She did ask me to hit her!".
My body wanted to hit her to give her the pleasure that she needed but my mind kept remembering my mother yelling at me as a child after I had hit my sister in a disagreement and she ferociously defended my sister with her "NEVER EVER, EVER hit a woman, NOT EVEN with a rose" line. The struggle I went through with those thoughts in my mind and my body fighting each other for dominance trying to decide whether I should or should not hit her as she had requested was just absolutely MIND BLOWING while at the same time exhilarating.
I just did not know what to do because my mind and body were at a stalemate at which point she repeated herself "HIT ME! It's OK".
I VERY RELUCTANTLY agreed and lightly slapped her face at which point She said to me, "NO, I mean REALLY HIT ME!! Just slap me!!".
As she forcefully told me to "JUST DO IT!" and that it was OK and that SHE really, REALLY LIKED IT , I then was able to remove my "social restraints" and let it rip.
I (as if instinctually) also grabbed her hair at the same time completely taking control over her. When she felt my REAL slap on her face and me grabbing her hair overpowering her, it was like I had RELEASED a wild animal IN HEAT and the harder I slapped her and pulled her hair, the HARDER she rode me. I was completely shocked and appalled at myself not only for the fact that there I was "technically" abusing this woman I loved and she was absolutely LOVING every minute of it.
The worst and BEST PART for me at the same time was that the feeling was absolutely INCOMPREHENSIBLE and AMAZING for me as well. It was like the more I fed her her needs (roughness with her) the more she fed me MY NEEDS (seeing her ABSOLUTELY CRAZY with pleasure as I controlled her) and we became two people feeding each other our sexual energy and needs that eventually ended in us BOTH feeling indescribable.
That day was the day that I discovered in me something that I had ABSOLUTELY NEVER thought I would enjoy doing with a woman in the bedroom and from that moment forward I opened my mind to ANY possibility and promised myself that I would ALWAYS try it first before saying whether I liked it or not.
So to finish it up I can tell you that he'll need more than just a "talk" since you yourself are still discovering your kinky side. He'll need you to show him the "POSSIBILITIES" of what he can feel by guiding him into YOUR WORLD.
I highly recomend the following to help you both and hopefully with this information he will understand what your needs are.
There is a great book called "Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns: The Romance and Sexual Sorcery of Sadomasochism" ( https://www.amazon.com/Screw-Roses-Send-Thorns-Sadomasochism/dp/0964596008 ) that will give you a lot of great information not only for yourself but also for him. You can both read it together and learn more about each other which will in turn help you one way or another.
There is also a few BDSM sites out there that you can join to meet like minded people that you can learn from as well. My prefered site is "fetlife.com". It's like a Facebook for kinksters.
Lastly please do keep in mind that there is a slight possibility that this "lifestyle" will be too much for him to handle since some men are VERY intimidated by this so he might not understand it altogether and think that you are crazy/odd/etc. BUT know that you ARE NOT ALONE in your needs and desires, there are a lot more people out there nowadays that are open minded about this and are willing to explore.
If it turns out that he is scared off by it, you can use the OK-Cupid dating site to date people that are in the same spectrum as you are since OKC let's you put it as part of your dating profile. I don't think that there are other dating sites that do it but OKC does. This will help since it'll filter out the "Vanilla " guys and you'll at least know that the people you date on that site will also have similar needs and desires like you.
Hope this helps!!
Good luck and have lots of fun!!
I agree about Wiseman...I found this book, although a little 80s-hokey, to be a much better intro and provide a larger spectrum of information.
I echo ephony5's sentiments. All you need is to be her Dom. There are likely things that she likes, is into, or curious about, and there are things that she's likely not interested in.
The good news is you get to focus on things that she likes and that you both can share together.
These would be a good start for you.
SM 101: A Realistic Introduction 2nd Edition
https://www.amazon.com/101-Realistic-Introduction-Jay-Wiseman/dp/0963976389/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&amp;pd_rd_i=0963976389&amp;pd_rd_r=Q2TBDATJSPJ5NE75M5JK&amp;pd_rd_w=P8mfT&amp;pd_rd_wg=W3Gd3&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=Q2TBDATJSPJ5NE75M5JK
Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns: The Romance and Sexual Sorcery of Sadomasochism
https://www.amazon.com/Screw-Roses-Send-Thorns-Sadomasochism/dp/0964596008/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_2/132-8810996-6709733?_encoding=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=6HFP9C4RR6KH9RJ0V4RD
Hello, queer here! Bisexual and poly (though bush dating is hard^IseewhatIdidthere^shiftyeyes).
I actually bought my husband Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns when we first became serious. Its a good beginner for those entering/thinking about the BDSM scene. I also had him read The Ethical Slut because he's was solidly monogamous and did not understand why anyone would be okay with sharing their partner. I'm happy to say both books helped us get on the same page before marriage!
YAAAAS QUEEN! I highly recommend these books.
Edit to add: The Story Of O (1975). It's porn, but it's hooooott. A young woman's boyfriend brings her to a secluded chateau for "training" wink wink
Go read "Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns." Great introduction to kink (even has some handy, cheap restraint suggestions/plans) and is also an easy read. It mostly focuses on BD in the context of a pre-existing relationship which, given what you've written and despite the apprehension about a Dom/sub thing, might turn out to be very interesting for both of you to explore. Enjoy :)
Reading material : http://www.amazon.com/Screw-Roses-Send-Thorns-Sadomasochism/dp/0964596008
EDIT: NSFW
Try here with your question. Also, this book is very good.
Or, if you want to go old school about it, they used to have these things called books. =)
http://www.amazon.com/Screw-Roses-Send-Thorns-Sadomasochism/dp/0964596008
Came here to suggest fetlife. I also recommend the book Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns
Some resources:
"The New Topping Book"
"Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns"
I also have a site BDSMGeek on which I have a bunch more links in a BDSM Resource Collection.
Cheers and good luck.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0964596008?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links you go. Its s bit dated (it recommends some bbs boards and phone chat lines) but it's excellent for someone just getting in.
Fixed your link
I hope I didn't jump the gun, but you got your link syntax backward! Don't worry bro, I fixed it, have an upvote!
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Sure, no problem! Here are some of my favorite resources.
The web site SeriousEats.com has a lot of good posts. Specifically, I like this guy's work. He puts in the research to really refine techniques. Some of this is cooking is "elaborate," but not overly so:
http://www.seriouseats.com/user/profile/Goodeaterkenji
And, he has a really good cook book:
http://www.seriouseats.com/the-food-lab
https://www.chefsteps.com/ is amazing. You want elaborate? This is the place. there's even a term for it: modernist cuisine. These guys have a lot of free content, but there's also a premium membership (one time purchase) which gets you access to a vast amount of videos, with more being made all the time.
Here is a related cookbook, which is stellar:
http://modernistcuisine.com/books/modernist-cuisine-at-home/
The above book is the "at home" version. This is the FULL version, including recipes that require lab equipment like centrifuges! You want elaborate? This is the pinnacle of elaborate cooking. Yes, it is like $500!
https://www.amazon.com/Modernist-Cuisine-Art-Science-Cooking/dp/0982761007
Into BBQ or grilling? Meathead's your man and his site is full of no-BS guides. He also has a cookbook but just the site will keep you busy for a long time:
http://amazingribs.com/
If you want to get started in fancier cooking I strongly recommend getting a sous vide apparatus, such as this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Sansaire-Sous-Immersion-Circulator-Black/dp/B00KSFAB74
Sous vide is an entirely new (to you!) way to cook and you can do things with it that are not possible in other ways. All of the "modernist" cooking guides out there use it heavily. There are many options for the hardware at all price points... Anova gear sometimes goes on sale for $100-150.
Here's a specific easy modernist recipe you can try. It benefits from, but does not require, a sous vide machine... they tell you how to make do without one. If you think this looks fun, ChefSteps will be your new addiction.
https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/sous-vide-salmon--2
Over $400 on Amazon
It might not sound like it makes sense what BaconGiveMeALardon said, but it's true. If you can get your hands on Modernist Cuisine then you can read more about cooking with woks. To sum it up, you need a lot of heat all the time. The Veggies on the bottom cook really fast, as soon as they are in contact with the metal. If you aren't careful, you can burn the food easily. That's why wok cookers always toss the food in the air, that way the hot steam also cooks the veggies higher up while at the same time not letting those on the bottom burn. Here's a pic I found from the book detailing the way a wok cooks food. You have to basically heat up the skillet to around 750 °C / 1400 F, and for that you need a flame 25 times more powerful than a typical home appliance can offer.
For a long time I tried to figure out a way to get wok cooking done at home. I thought of buying a portable wok cooking system hooked up to a propane tank. That was too much of a hassle, though. I will have to enjoy woked meals in restaurants, I suppose.
I have not listened to this particular episode of This American Life. I pretty much know little to nothing about this Nathan Myhrvold. With that said however, I do want to point out that this particular guy's downfalls may not necessarily contribute to the actual content of these books. From a strictly culinary point of view, his books have been endorsed/advertised by the likes of Ferran Adria, David Chang, Wylie Dufresne, and Harold McGee (yes, the same person that everyone has offered as an alternative to this book). These are chefs that a lot of "foodies" highly regard so their opinions might attest to the quality of these books? Also, this may be a stretch but Heigegger's morally questionable life decisions does not necessarily detract from how great some of his philosophical works were.
Nathan Myhrvold (Microsoft CTO turned food scientist) just came out with his self published Modernist Cuisine.
Each copy uses 4 pounds of ink.
You might want to pick it up if you have $500 laying around.
It should be molecular gastronomariffic.
Do you mean Modernist Cuisine? That came out in 2011.
I don't know much about it, but as far as I know Modernist Cuisine: the art and science of cooking is supposed to be a modernist Bible.
Edit: Modernist Cuisine at Home is probably more suitable for your needs though.
Can't get much more sciencey than this: https://www.amazon.com/Modernist-Cuisine-Art-Science-Cooking/dp/0982761007
If you want something more reasonably priced, this is a good read: https://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012
http://www.amazon.com/Modernist-Cuisine-Art-Science-Cooking/dp/0982761007
Another book set you might consider is:
Nathan Myhrvold's Modernist Cuisine.
Wikipedia Link
Amazon Link
The modernist cuisine cookbook series. I don't even ever expect to own this, but it is sooo tempting.
/u/ReedsyRac20 is faster than I am. I also recommend Allie Brosh's book that she recently published.
And the author of said webcomic wrote a book by the same name
She has a book on amazon with these comics in it as well
Add cinnamon on top. Not for me, but something I'd like you to send my sister and her husband in the armed services. (I recently purchased this for myself).
My guess $2400.
If you're into odd, and funny books, I recommend Hyperbole and a Half, by Allie Brosh. Seriously funny, quirky, odd, and looks nice on a shelf.
Allie's website:
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com
Her book:
http://www.amazon.com/Hyperbole-Half-Unfortunate-Situations-Mechanisms/dp/1451666179
Allie Brosh of Hyperbole and a Half has announced on her facebook page that she has published a book.
It's available for pre-ordering on Amazon.
Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Hyperbole-Half-Unfortunate-Situations-Mechanisms/dp/1451666179
Link for the lazy.
Amazon.com pre-order page for those interested in Allie's book. Note: the current release date is October 29th, 2013 and may or may not change. I'm just sharing the link as a fan :)
Here's the book
I expect that once I read Divergent (which will be before the end of this month), I'll be looking forward to Allegiant as well.
I'm also looking forward to the book by Allie Brosh, the author of Hyperbole and a Half.
*My favorite birthday was my 16th because I got to see family I have seen in a while & share memories.
How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot https://www.amazon.com/dp/1566913101/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Q9JpDbBGQFYRQ
There is a 'golden bible' of working on VW Bugs, I think CH 1 was how to cut the binding off and punch holes in it to put in a binder.
Edit:
ugh, typos. and found the book
How to keep your Volkswagen alive
I owned a '66 Beetle for about 3 months when I was 17. It didn't end well. (Not a wreck, it just needed a lot of small to medium work from the previous owner, and in the end I couldn't afford even the modest things that had to be done.)
I've wanted another one for my whole life since then, but it's never been the right time - so congratulations to you!
I very strongly recommend this book, it's both entertaining and informative.
SCORE Class 11 meets your frugal, don't care about speed requirements, and is relatively easy to work on.
That said, understand the safety equipment, gear, licensing and entry fees will add up quickly. Something like Wide Open Excursions could potentially work out better and cheaper.
You're not going to find one 'decently priced'. Just give up on that ideal right here and now.
VW Nerds like myself, and those who are packed to the rafters at VW Vortex, The Samba, TDI Club, etc, etc. are always on the hunt for aircooleds. You can pretty much rest assured that anything that approaches 'steal' territory will be snatched up within a few days, if not hours.
You're almost guaranteed to pay a ridiculous amount of money for a project, just due to the demand and the market price.
So if you're serious about buying one - set aside an appropriate amount that you're ready to spend at the drop of a hat, and search ads as often as possible. When something pops up, you'll be ready to go.
In my area a $300 Squareback was posted, and it was sold within 2 hours - just as an example.
That said - figure out which generation you want.
Do you want aircooled, or watercooled?
Do you want a T1? T2? T3? Westfalia? What about a Doka?
Aircooled engines are the easiest things you could ever rip apart. This book is the holy grail for aircooled VW's. Anything you could ever want or need to know lies within those pages - or on the Samba.
Watercooled VW engines are all covered by Bentley manuals - just seek one out, and you're golden.
Also, if you're interested, join us over on /r/Fahrvergnugen !
use a slight dab of liquid gasket, I put it on my finger and just put a paper thin coat on both sides after cleaning the pushrod tube, block, and head with a cleaner that can remove oil/grease.
Best book ever if you dont have access to an old school vw mechanics locally for advise http://www.amazon.com/Keep-Volkswagen-Alive-Step-Step/dp/1566913101
Yes. Best technical book I've ever read:
https://www.amazon.com/Keep-Volkswagen-Alive-Step-Step/dp/1566913101?ie=UTF8&amp;*Version*=1&amp;*entries*=0
and I've been working on nuclear reactors since 1996....
I had those! (Well, a 70s Honda.) Learned a lot about cars from them. The Hondas were leagues ahead of the VWs in terms of technology, handling, comfort, etc.
The How to Keep Your VW/Honda Alive books made it so easy to fix them: https://www.amazon.com/Keep-Volkswagen-Alive-Step-Step/dp/1566913101
If all of the black trim is original, that is very likely a 110 "very stripped" standard edition. Originally would have come with partial headliner, cardboard door cards and more. It does look as though the seats have been replaced with something else, but otherwise not bad.
New running boards will improve the visuals by quite a bit.
As you've never owned an aircooled beetle before, the first step should be reading the owners manual cover to cover. Pay particular attention to pages 16, 17, 20, and the tick marks on the speedometer seen on page 12. The tick marks go with page 17, and are one of the tricks to keeping the engine running more than a week. A PDF of your owners manual can be found here: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/74beetle/1974_Beetle_Owners_Manual.pdf
Two books you should buy are the Orange Bentley manual. This is the factory repair manual, and should be your first stop for any repair steps: https://www.amazon.com/Volkswagen-Beetle-Karmann-Official-Service/dp/0837616239/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1543597712&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=Beetle+repair+bentley
You can find these used on thesamba.com, craigslist, used book stores or a VW show. But get one before you need it. I pay $15-20 for pristine used ones, $5-10 for ones that look used.
The second book a lot of people will recommend you is "How to Keep your VW Alive". It's a fun read, has a lot of good information in it, but should ONLY be considered a secondary source to the orange book. How to keep your beetle alive does have a fair bit of incorrect information in it. BUT if you're just starting out with cars, it is quite helpful. I do think new VW owners should read the book, but double check all his repair procedures against the orange book. The artwork inside is worth the $25 to buy a new one: https://www.amazon.com/Keep-Volkswagen-Alive-Step-Step/dp/1566913101/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1543597922&amp;sr=8-1-spons&amp;keywords=how+to+keep+your+volkswagen+alive&amp;psc=1
If that right front headlight is filled with water, swap out both headlights for H4 lamps. They use a replaceable bulb, and are significantly better than what came with your car. A little bit of rewiring is required (I can help with that remotely), but otherwise they are drop-in. You can buy these from your Friendly Local AutoParts Store (FLAPS), a number of the VW online vendors or often Amazon. Heres the kit you want: http://www.myhellalights.com/index.php/products/auxiliary-lamps/sealed-beam-conversion-headlamps/vision-plus-7in-conversion-headlamp/ Order it at Autozone, Pep Boys, NAPA, etc by the part number. Often they have them in stock.
If you ever want to upgrade your car to chrome bumpers, trim, handles, etc. There are guys (like me) who will pay for your black stuff. It's generally undesirable except to the German Look guys.
http://www.ratwell.com/ and http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6804868. If one doesn't have the answer the other does. Also this should live in the vehicle http://www.amazon.com/Keep-Volkswagen-Alive-Step-Step/dp/1566913101#
You'll want to get the Bentley repair manual which will cover all the technical details of any repair and augment that with the Muir How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive book that will help explain things in casual speech. Those will be great teachers.
Can't recommend the idiot guide enough. Plain English and simple to follow instructions. https://www.amazon.com/Keep-Volkswagen-Alive-Step-Step/dp/1566913101
I cut my teeth on old air-cooled Volkswagens with the help of this book. After doing that for several years, and replacing the transmission in a '74 Bus by myself, rebuilding motorcycles didn't seem like too difficult a task.
With a decent set of tools, patience, a good manual and the experience of thousands at your disposal on internet forums, anybody who really wants to do it can rebuild an entire motorcycle from the ground up, even with no previous experience.
Buy this book: http://www.amazon.com/Keep-Volkswagen-Alive-Step---Step/dp/1566913101/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1346863954&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=complete+guide+to+volkswagon
The floor pan rusted out of mine 20 years ago. I sold it for more than I paid for it though.
Carry a spare alternator pulley and belt for when yours breaks. When, not if.
Make sure the back seat isn't saggy, and that there is a non-conductive barrier between the battery and the seat, so that passengers won't get their asses shocked/a fire won't start.
If you have the cash, upgrade the brakes. The brakes on my '73 (non-super) Beetle were horrible and faded severely. Kits cost 200-300 dollars online.
If you work on the engine yourself, the first time you disassemble it take it to a machinist and have them measure the interior dimensions. Over the years, due to wearing and performance upgrades, the cylinders of many Beetles have ended up being bored out so that they are larger than stock. If you assume that they are still the same size and go to replace some pistons (like I did) you're in for a very expensive and time-consuming lesson when the pistons are too small for the cylinders.
I would recommend an external oil cooler. Those are cheap and easy to install (if one hasn't been installed already) and they will increase the life of your engine.
Buy this book: http://www.amazon.com/Keep-Volkswagen-Alive-Step---Step/dp/1566913101/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1346863954&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=complete+guide+to+volkswagon
In fact, I'm going to put that one at the top so you see it first.
Treat rust like a mortal enemy. Fix any rust spots now, replace rusted panels and body structures, and fix paint chips and scratches. You've got a convertible so you want to make sure the seals are good and water isn't getting into the doors or the panels around the doors. The bottom will rust right out and you won't know until you get in the car one day and the floorpan detaches from the side of the car along a 2-3 foot long rip.
That's all I can think of right now...
How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot https://www.amazon.com/dp/1566913101/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_.7Zfvb1QXATZJ
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1566913101/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_.7Zfvb1QXATZJ
Buy this and you will have no questions. :)
They have a book like that for classic volkswagens http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1566913101/ref=redir_mdp_mobile
Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale is Book's backstory. I highly recommend it, thought it was a great read.
There's also Serenity: Those Left Behind and Serenity: Better Days. All written by or with involvement from Joss.
there's a graphic novel out that basically gives you everything you need to know about his past. Amazonian Link
It's a quick read, I grabbed a coffee at Barnes and Noble one afternoon and knocked it out.
You can order here
The Shepard's tale goes into depth of who the Shepard is and where he came from, you don't learn much about him on the show. As short as the book is it explains so much about the Shepard
that you just wish there was more.
That's explained in the graphic novels.
http://www.amazon.com/Serenity-Shepherds-Tale-Zack-Whedon/dp/1595825614
This link should add efficiency to the buying of things.
Welcome to Browncoat territory! You'll be sad when you've reached the last episode, but you can move on to R. Tam Sessions, and there is more after that.
With Firefly they just didn't have time to address all the narrative threads. They're still trying - they're releasing a book on Shepherd Book (haha) I believe in comic form soon: http://www.amazon.com/Serenity-Shepherds-Tale-Zack-Whedon/dp/1595825614/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1288789656&amp;sr=8-1
Here's a link, it's great. Haven't tried the other comics yet, but needed some closure on Book.
https://www.amazon.com/Serenity-3-Shepherds-Tale-Various/dp/1595825614
ARE YOU ME?
Seriously was watching Serenity yesterday and had that thought, "how cool would it be if there was a spacial distortion that threw the now-retired operative back in time, and he became book?"
But here's what has the actual back story: http://www.amazon.com/Serenity-Shepherds-Tale-Zack-Whedon/dp/1595825614/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1374460103&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=shephard%27s+tale
Read The Shepherd's Tale if you want to know about Shepherd's past. You're not very far off the mark, though.
0 minutes a day is perfectly adequate for weight loss. A 4 minute Tabata Session everyday would easily put most people in the 75th percentile for VO2 max because the average person is so incredibly weak and slow. You have no idea what you're talking about regarding the matter. Try 4 minutes of tabata squats and tell me how you feel after. Here's the related video, and here is the relevant wiki article.
If you are poor however, you are much more likely to suffer from a variety of health problems because of it. Did you know that? You know one of the great equalizers in regards to health when accounting for socioeconomic differences? It's called exercise. Exercise and proper nutrition is likely more important for you if you're poor than if you're not.
You don't need money to exercise. There's hundreds of exercises you can do without equipment. Most plyometrics routines only require a pull up bar. It costs no money to do Tabata squat sessions. This is a popular body weight book, and so is this. Did you know how much a pull up bar costs? Last I checked you could get one for $10 at Winners. There's also this other completely free and really neat exercise called running, maybe you've heard of it?
> I'm betting the high energy guy that works out and such probably doesn't engage in intellectual or creative pursuits.
Yeah, that's probably because you're a moron. This guy is a pharmacist and world record holding powerlifter (and also a bodybuilder, strongman, and former cross country runner), physicist and mod of r/askscience, lawyer, engineer and dietician, university professor and mod of r/fitness, developer of arch linux and r/fitness mod, military officer and computer scientist, former professor, dietician and mod of r/fitness, works at Intel as a programmer and a junior national record holder. I myself am going to med school and play both the bass and drums (both terribly) and am a former high school cross country runner.
Relevant scientific research.
----
But keep making excuses, it's entertaining.
/r/fitness and /r/weightroom will be more than enthusiastic about helping you pick a weight program. Their default answers will be SS (Starting Strength) or SL (Stronglifts) which is essentially the I'm-too-cheap-to-buy-a-book version of SS. I started with Stronglifts and then read the Starting Strength book, you can reserve it through the library. These are both barbell-based and very simple. You go in to the gym knowing your work weights for three exercises, warm up to that weight and do your 3-5 sets, and get out.
If you like the idea of bodyweight exercises either for the minimalist aesthetic or for not needing a gym, the two most recommended options are Convict Conditioning and You Are Your Own Gym. Both are based on progressively increasing strength & coordination using just your bodyweight and tiny bit of equipment, like chairs/footstools, basketballs, and a pullup bar.
A core principle of my business is that I'm a gamer at heart, and so I take the gamble that I understand gamers. So I don't implement IAP that feel scummy to me, but rather ones that feel good and worthwhile, with the hope/belief that other gamers will feel the same. It's a radically different approach compared to the "big data" design methods used many bigger studios!
> Question for you: What was the book that was advertised to you which changed your life?
You are your own gym. Got me into working out and strength training! :-)
I travel and move a lot for my job, my hotel budget isn't such that I can stay at places stocked with a great gym too often, so I'm a fan of body exercises and minimal lightweight equipment.
I like this book, because it has a decent smartphone app and is cheap. Once you get advanced, also look into Convict Conditioning and gymnastic program like GymnasticBodies or the like (GB tends to be expensive and heavy on the upsell, there should be a cheaper series with the same stuff in it).
You can get this book called You are your own gym by Mark Lauren. It is the bible of bodyweight exercises. This book changed my life.
It not only has over 100 bodyweight exercises to work every possible muscle group with your own bodyweight but also has programs, combinations, plans, dieting, and a million other things.
Best $10 you'll ever spend.
Limit portions. Drink mostly water. Keep jogging as you can, and consider adding some bodyweight exercises to your day (this book is fantastic!). And if you have access to a fruit stand or a grocery store, buy yourself some fruit to eat. Keep at it. You can do it!
I think he published new editions over the years, but that should be the book I had: https://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Your-Own-Gym/dp/0345528581
I liked the book You are Your Own Gym, but there are many others. There are starting points for every level of fitness.
If you don't want to wait until college, you could try You Are Your Own Gym (Mark Lauren) or Gym-Free and Ripped (Nathan Jendrick). (Amazon links)
Convict Conditioning and You Are Your Own Gym are books which describe exercise programs using only your bodyweight and very minimal equipment (no gyms). They are recommended often on this subreddit to people, like yourself, who need a bodyweight program.
http://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Your-Own-Gym/dp/0345528581
/r/bodyweightfitness
There are a few bodyweight-based programs, all of them are fairly similar, but they take a different slant on things.
You Are Your Own Gym is built around military-style calisthenics. There are variations of all the different movements that are based around making them easier so you can do fifty of them and experience that brand of misery, or to make them more difficult and strength-focused. YAYOG has a very nice set of apps that go with it as well.
Convict Conditioning is another bodyweight program based around six different movements (handstand, pull-up, push-up, leg-raises, back-bridges, pistol squats). The progressions are pretty nice, but the way it's presented is like it was written for fifteen year-olds. 2edgy4u, and such.
Overcoming Gravity is a gymnastics-based program, but is also a huge firehose of information about fitness in general. It's a great resource for designing your own program, but if you're a beginner, I don't think the sheer volume of information would be helpful.
All of these would require a pull-up bar. There's the classic Iron Gym, or this thing if the Iron Gym ends up being too low, and if you can screw something into a wall somewhere, I suggest this one.
You are your own gym gets good reviews.
https://www.amazon.com/Hot-Zone-Terrifying-Story-Origins/dp/0385479565
You may be thinking of The Hot Zone.
Having recently read "Hot Zone", this is rather worrisome...
Unique timing for me. I'm currently half way through the terrifying book "The Hot Zone."
Ebola is truly a terrible thing to go through. =/
For a thriller treatment of infections diseases, the following are a nice read
I'm inclined to also suggest the works of Simon Singh, to whom I was introduced by his book on math and cryptography - The Code Book. But he has also written about cosmology and "alternative" medicine. The later got him involved in a landmark libel lawsuit in the UK. For that reason, there is probably more than the usual bit of politics you'd expect in a popular science book. However, in the post-truth era of Donald Trump and company, that maybe fitting if bitter medicine.
Edit: As someone who may not have the best scientific background, one might be prone to confuse science with pseudoscience. Even today, there is no shortage of low quality literature on UFOs and parapsychology. As such, Carl Sagan's The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark is highly recommended.
Lots of good information in the comments on this thread. Like what /u/winterspan said, Ebola isn't really the disease to be worried about. With Ebola Zaire's mortality rate of up to 90%, it isn't very efficient at spreading because it kills its host so quickly and burns out.
If you're interested in learning more about Ebola, I'd highly recommend reading The Hot Zone. Stephen King called it one of the scariest books he's ever read and it looks like it's only $5 on Amazon.
EDIT: Here's a (kind of shitty) PDF version of The Hot Zone
Read the first chapter of The Hot Zone and you might think otherwise. Ebola's a disgusting and terrifying way to go.
Instead, read The Hot Zone and/or Demon in the Freezer. They're scarier.
Yo estoy leyendo The Hot Zone, sobre el virus del ébola y potenciales pandemias. Estoy picadísimo.
También les recomiendo un sitio de historias cortas de ciencia ficción (en inglés): In This Future Or The Next
I read the description of Ebola on the human body in Hot Zone
http://www.amazon.ca/The-Hot-Zone-Terrifying-Origins/dp/0385479565
Im not seeing any photos anywhere that depict that level of deterioration.
My favorite!
http://www.amazon.com/The-Hot-Zone-Terrifying-Origins/dp/0385479565
Man I was just reading about this on Aljazeera. I am incredibly terrified. I read the book The Hotpoint Zone a few years ago. It gives real accounts of these events...read it.
One of the things it talks about is the only survivor. He attacked people while he was infected (they got infected and died) and hospital staff strapped him to a bed. When he recovered he had no memory of the week prior.
He was a fucking zombie.
Be careful. Be really careful. The CDC in the US were able to prove that Ebola Zaire can be airborne.
https://www.amazon.com/Hot-Zone-Terrifying-Story-Origins/dp/0385479565
For anybody that want's to know more about Ebola and its origin I would suggest reading this book. Here's a link to one on Barnes and Nobles and Amazon.
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-hot-zone-richard-preston/1120492908?ean=9780385479561#/
https://www.amazon.com/Hot-Zone-Terrifying-Story-Origins/dp/0385479565/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526935867&sr=8-1&keywords=The+hot+zone
It's not horror, or even fiction, but check out The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
You can read the actual book this idea is based on rather than assuming he presents none. Not concrete proof (that would be basically impossible) but supporting evidence and ideas.
https://www.erowid.org/
Should have anything you need, not exactly sure what you mean by "cool facts or figures"?
Also might want to check out Food of the Gods by Terence McKenna for some insight about the history of most psychoactive plants.
Hope that helps.
http://www.amazon.com/Food-Gods-Original-Knowledge-Evolution/dp/0553371304
PS: Sacred Mushroom and the Cross is also worth checking out.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity/dp/0982556276
Ah yes, Terrence McKenna. Food of the Gods was quite an interesting read.
You might also like The Spirit Molecule, if you haven't read it already.
>Does this mean all art is actually derived from psychedelic art?
You should read this.
The theory that psilocybin mushrooms are connected to the religious origins or cows in India actually comes from this book by Terence Mckenna:
http://www.amazon.com/Food-Gods-Original-Knowledge-Evolution/dp/0553371304
The other book by Wasson focuses on Amanita Muscaria which is a different mushroom and psychoactive molecule, and only grows around pine trees.
Psilocybin mushrooms often grow up from cow dung and would have been around in the plains of Africa for millions of years, available to primates and developing humans where herds of cattle lived before it turned to desert. The idea then being that migration of the cattle and the mushroom spirit continued east from Africa. "Food of the Gods" is a really good book.
This is the working theory of ethnobiologist Terrence Mckenna in his Food of the Gods book. good read. i would recommend it for all trees.
Terence Mckenna has some ideas abouts linke between the early humans incorporatings mushrooms into their diet, and that being the basis of modern language and culture. ( http://www.amazon.com/Food-Gods-Original-Knowledge-Evolution/dp/0553371304 , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_McKenna#The_.22Stoned_Ape.22_Theory_of_Human_Evolution ) Like with other things of it's kind, at the end it turns in to the worst kind of nonsense, but most of the book is really interesting, and touches upon field related to drugs, and neuroscience. Read the book except the last few chapters, and it's great!
This is one of the best books if you find it in your language
https://www.amazon.com/Food-Gods-Original-Knowledge-Evolution/dp/0553371304/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1524567822&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=terence+mckenna&amp;dpID=61o1ARv0OSL&amp;preST=_SY344_BO1,204,203,200_QL70_&amp;dpSrc=srch
Food of the Gods by Terence McKenna.
http://www.amazon.com/Food-Gods-Original-Knowledge-Evolution/dp/0553371304
Here is a link in case you would like to purchase it.
Have you read Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge A Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution by McKenna?
Terence McKenna: Food of the Gods
This is the book where McKenna focuses specifically on that theory and leaves his even crazier ideas (i.e timewave zero and the coming apocalypse) on the shelf. Although even this one is at least 50% political tirade. Still, it's a fun read, and makes a person think, though it isn't likely to convince many.
Read the book "Food of the gods". The author makes a case that habitual ingestion of mushrooms by some of these ancients peoples actually pushed our evolution more in this direction, expanding our consciousness, creating or enhancing our art, culture and the like.
There are many cave paintings that look similar to artwork on this sub, shamans with mushrooms coming out of their bodies, giant mushrooms, etc. He makes a good case for habitual and ritualistic drug use as a force of evolution on early man, literally expanding our consciousness, back during the so-called partnership/utopian-esque era before the dominator culture (which we live under today) took over.
https://www.amazon.com/Food-Gods-Original-Knowledge-Evolution/dp/0553371304
Read this^^^
Everyone should check out this book
Not entirely about cannabis but a wonderful and eye opening book about drugs is Food of the Gods - The Search For The Original Tree Of Knowledge, a Radical History of Plants, Drugs and Human Evolution by Terence McKenna
Wow. Well I apologize for being lazy and posting an unreliable source. However I think you wasted your time "debunking" that article. Firstly, both of your sources are the same thing. Secondly here and here: "http://www.metabolismjournal.com/article/S0026-0495(01)73890-5/abstract" are two more reliable sources. The purpose of these studies are to explain why African American men are at a dramatically higher risk for prostate cancer.
That was not my main point anyways. My point was "pseudo-science" is called when it involves racial differences, even if the reasoning is sound.
> IQ is heritable. It is also influenced by numerous other factors, as listed in your wiki link, such as access to education, health, nutrition, pollution, socio-economic status, etc, etc, etc.
Of course it is. It is influenced by environment and also genetics.
> There is a shitton of studies showing this. However, there is not a single credible study which remotely concludes in any way that race and IQ share a causal relationship.
Have you heard of The Bell Curve and The g Factor?
> Never heard of the guy. Sounds interesting. I'll look into it.
Oh are you familiar with most human genetics professors? Yes, do look into it. I provided you two sources.
> But that doesn't mean big brains = big smarts.
It addresses that in the article
That's because you're Hispanic
/s
I appreciate you taking the time.
Biological determinism is a very scary notion in our society. Everything is build on equality, "tabula rasa". This undermines everything.
This is what we are up against. It can not be talked out.
>institutional factors
I don't have any studies on hand. I have seen one done in the 70s comparing twins, which proved the point. I can't find it though. This video does go into this.
Here is also a famous scientific book on the matter
>Once upon a time eugenics and race theory was the leading school of thought but has been largely discredited due to lack of evidence or data.
Straw man. Red herring.
>Make sure you're belief in these theories doesn't come from any of your own preconceived biases but instead from hard scientific fact.
It's very limiting to rely solely on this. Truth can not only be represented by empiricism. What if there is theory but no one wants to study it. It may be clear it's the truth but no one want to study or fund it and therefore it's not the Truth.
This is the issue with taboo science, which critical theory(Cultural Marxism) hinders. It can't be Truthed yet people may still have a piece of the truth.
This is the case here. This information supports notions people have had for a long time. This is what is commonly called a redpill. A tough piece of information to swallow which destroys ones world view, which completely makes sense, based on past suppressed "anecdotes".
It's not out of malice these things are finally accepted. It just explains all past information and interactions, where you always felt you were missing something. Like why are there no "successful" society made up of all blacks, when other people too have endured similar fates yet are fully functional societies. Why have all black people I encountered behaved so differently from Asians and whites? Why are most successful blacks half white? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Obama etc?
And this
I wouldn't care if whites were the dumbest ones. I still would like my society made up of my people.
If this was 100% proved wrong, my views politically wouldn't change one bit.
I've been coming across information lately about scientists who bring up controversial topics and how much shit they have to deal with afterwards. Often their careers are ruined, they have to face angry mobs and their lives are threatened.
In Steven Pinkers The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature he devotes chapter 7 to this topic. There are many examples but off the top of my head I remember one guy who did some studies on left-handed people and discovered they are prone to birth defects and some other genetic disorders. He was sued, attacked and eventually the University he worked for made the topic illegal to study.
Another example is Charles Murray's The
Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life. He has one chapter about IQ tests and race. He talks about the repercussions in this video Charles Murray -- The Bell Curve Revisited. But basically he was labeled a raciest for simply talking about the data.
I don't know if you're familiar with Richard Dawkins but he has also faced extreme criticism for his world changing book The Selfish Gene.
There are many examples and I can't list them all, but suffice it to say, people will take your words out of context, flat out miss quote you and spin your words in order to discredit what you say and have you labeled negatively. Just look at Trump and how they've done this to him. He is compared to Hitler and seen as the epitome of evil itself.
I'm finding that most people are immune to logic. Many people believe that race and sex are social constructs. 40% of Americans deny evolution. Libertarians are demonized and dismissed as idiots all over the place....
I've come to the conclusion that the information I've acquired pertaining to politics, social science, anthropology, evolution, religion, and sexuality, however much it is backed by science and reason, is very, very unpopular, and it's wiser for me to pretend to be and think like others. Getting tingles from some women at a party because you challenge their beliefs is not worth the very real possibility of having your character slandered and your carrier ruined.
You might be more intelligent than I and able to pull it off but I'm probably older, and I've been around long enough to see just how shitty and back-stabbing people can be, even those you considered friends. So I'm playing it safe and keeping my thoughts on controversial topics to myself.
Thanks. You still might want to read it just because Diamond's thesis is pretty unique so it's enjoyable to read.
It's quite a controversial book but if you want the opposite perspective of Diamond, Wade's "A Troublesome Inheritance" is among the best: https://www.amazon.com/Troublesome-Inheritance-Genes-Human-History/dp/1594204462. The other obvious contender is Charles Murray's The Bell Curve, though there's basically only chapter that's relevant to this discussion, and unsurprisingly it's the chapter that has gotten him the most praise and the most criticism: https://www.amazon.com/Bell-Curve-Intelligence-Structure-Paperbacks/dp/0684824299
For criticism of Diamond from someone opposed to Wade/Murray, try Wertheim's review in the Nation (it's short): http://www.columbia.edu/~saw2156/HunterBlatherer.pdf in which he argues that even Diamond is too deterministic.
Work of renowned UK psychologist Hans Eysenck ruled ‘unsafe’ Is this “one of the worst scientific scandals of all time”?
Eysenck’s ‘cancer-prone’ personality theory had come under criticism for decades. But a 2002 paper published in the journal Review of General Psychology, ranking the 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century, saw him come in at number 1. Regarding the citations, ahead of him was Jean Piaget in second place and Sigmund Freud in first, making Eysenck, at the time of his death in 1997, the most cited living psychologist. ...WTF?
He long maintained the hereditability of IQ and personality traits and was a supporter of the work of people like Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein, the somewhat infamous authors of The Bell Curve, a book that amongst other things makes correlations between race and IQ in the US. This was a strange course to take for a refugee from a Nazi Germany he vehemently despised and whose own Jewish grandmother died in a concentration camp.
Whereas one would consider it as a remarkable case of scientific integrity instead. I'm afraid, this is where the smell actually comes from. The contemporary progressive ideology of Academia organizes witch hunting to all proponents of diversity, by attacking various aspects of personal life and/or the weakest and controversial parts of their research. See also:
ACTUALLY! This is something that I have recently becoming intrigued about as well.
So, basically, everyone that is born will fall somewhere on the bell curve. Obviously someone like this will fall somewhere on the far right, so, high IQ.
Ok, but that's a really incomplete answer, of course he's got a high IQ. What causes this high IQ is what you're asking.
IQ is driven in large part by genes and is highly heritable (something on the order of 0.4 or 0.5). So, odds are his parents are above average intelligence as well.
read this book, it will blow your mind http://www.amazon.com/The-Blank-Slate-Modern-Denial/dp/1501264338
Because IQ is driven in large part by genes, his race plays an important factor as well. This book goes over that http://www.amazon.com/Bell-Curve-Intelligence-Structure-Paperbacks/dp/0684824299
Then, there's a good chance that he has some level of Asperger's. They don't call it "the engineer's disease" for nothing. People make jokes about this but it really does have an effect on how an individual spends their waking hours. Google about aspergers and engineering and you'll find articles like this
http://www.wired.com/2001/12/aspergers/
There's a pbs documentary and some really good articles out there, but I don't care to track them down right now.
Basically, people with some level of Asperger's become obsessed or display a high level of interest to some thing that they latch on to https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=aspergers+obsession. This is important because it allows the individual to put abnormal and significant amounts of time toward a particular interest. This usually tends to come at a cost to other brain functions necessary for social functioning.
So, when you combine all those factors, you get an individual that is highly intelligent and able to spend abnormal amounts of time and energy on a particular interest.
Surprisingly, the "push from the parents" and the environment don't really matter that much. Obviously the individual will be able to achieve more with a good environment and resources, but, this won't really change how intelligent the individual is. Basically... they're born that way and there's really not much you can do to change them.
These guys did a study and wrote a book about that subject
It's interesting. I read it back when I was taking statistics in college.
I was thinking of a different book but heres a link to it. I'm sure you can find a PDF somewhere.
The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life (A Free Press Paperbacks Book) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0684824299/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ZrnRCbPT7ENAX
I'll give you the cliff notes though.
The short version is that if you compare average Iq scores and look at the state of western society vs African society, there is a massive disparity between the two locations. When you factor in how resource rich Africa as a continent is, it leaves a lot of unanswered questions as to why they have the massive amount of problems that they do when compared to every other group of people.
The implication is not "black people are dumb" it's "black people on the aggregate are not as adaptable as other racial groups."
It's worth the read in my opinion if for no other reason than to arm yourself with ammunition to fire back at people who would argue with you about different racial groups superiority.
As an aside, I think white supremacists are retarded because they tend to blame the Jews for everything from diabetes to modern sexual norms. So just from a logical point of view, you can't say "whites are the superior race" and then proceed to blame all of your social problems on the Jews. Those two ideas cannot coexist simultaneously.
http://www.amazon.com/Bell-Curve-Intelligence-Structure-Paperbacks/dp/0684824299/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1255674790&amp;sr=8-1
You will not get an appropriate response from denizens here, I suggest that you read this book instead; that way, you will not be buggered into further derision.
Vagabonding by Rolf Potts.
I'm going to let go of "it's unfalsifiable because it's true" and point out that you're disproving your own argument. Humanity solved certain contagious diseases. Individual cancers. Filth in some places. Nutrition, except for the obesity, overfishing, and hygene aspects of it. And to continue, some problems of war and poverty. Especially poverty; there is much more class mobility than there was in the Middle Ages, when wealth was either inherited or stolen. War is especially intractable because the technology for implementing it so far outstrips the technology for preventing it, but I figure that any two nations (heck, any two individuals) that enjoy peaceful relations have figured out how to solve their differences nonviolently. One or two decent psychologists have taken a shot at the problem and I think we ought to be able to transfer the findings like we do with any other issue. We often don't because anger is a seductive state, derision can be pleasurable to people who are good at it, and force is eminently persuasive in its way. But so are kindness, praise, and diplomacy, and it would be worthwhile to think of war as yet another partially solved problem rather than an innate human need, given equal evidence of either.
As far as I know, rotating objects in space involves drawing an ellipse at foundation of your initial object, then setting another vanishing point according to the desired angle, and draw a new grid around the ellipse for your object, but from your new vanishing point, so that the lines of the grid would be tangent to the ellipse.
Sorry I can't go into detail, it is really hard for me to explain this, my English is rather bad at explaining such intricate topics. I would recommend reading "How to draw" by Scott Robertson, where he provides a more indepth look into perspective.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732
I can definitely help you with this.
How to Draw: drawing and sketching objects and environments from your imagination
This is the best book on perspective you can buy. Perspective is the number one thing you need to have a grasp on if you want to draw, especially from imagination. Practice this until it clicks for you.
For setting up scenes I recommend Andrew Loomis books, Creative Illustration in particular. Loomis has several books out and they're all amazing. Many artists have learned to draw from Loomis.
Burne Hogarth is another master of the craft and you can learn a lot about musculature and anatomy from his books. These are generally a step up from Loomis so you could move on to these once you have a solid grasp of the fundamentals to take your work to the next level. Dynamic Anatomy, Dynamic Figure Drawing, Drawing the Human Head.
For people and anatomy, Proko (http://www.proko.com/library/) has good free youtube videos. He uses a lot of Loomis and Hogarth methods (which are pretty much the standard) and presents them in a way that is easy to digest. He's constantly updating his channel and adding new videos.
If you can only get a few books, I would get the How to Draw perspective book first, then go through the Proko material, then move onto the Loomis and Hogarth stuff. These learning materials will take you pretty much as far as you want to go.
Also I highly recommend sticking to traditional materials (pencil and paper) while you're learning. Once you have the fundamentals down then you can move on to digital. You're going to make things much easier on yourself if you stick with traditional while you nail these fundamentals down.
I'd recommend this book for learning perspective of things like this to OP
Practice practice practice.
Start from the beginning and just keep doing it. The more time you put in the better you get. Success doesn't happen over night. Check out the book "How To Draw" to learn perspective drawing which will teach you form and shapes correctly. Also check out https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtFundamentals
(1) Lots and lots of practice
(2) Concept Design Academy in Pasadena (http://conceptdesignacad.com/)
(3) If you can't make it out to LA, check out http://drawabox.com/ and https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732 and https://www.amazon.com/Weatherly-Guide-Drawing-Animals/dp/097103141X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1539325214&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=weatherly+guide+to+drawing+animals
(4) PRACTICE
I believe in you; you can do it!!
I don't really have the time to do a fully fledged critique right now, but the most prominent issue to me is your line work. It's very chicken-scratchy and not confident. The quality of line is what separates okay artists from great artists, and you will be able to sketch a LOT quicker once you get better at it.
This reddit has some great resources and lessons
It's by a guy who did lessons with a well known artist at CDA (Concept Design Academy), this guy is a freaking genius and I can only hope to even scratch the surface of his ability!
The owner of this sub also recommends this book - Which I'm sure you can get in a more illegitimate manner, but it's fantastic and a must-have for any budding artist.
I want to recommend this to /u/Anagram-Daine, too, if he's here at all.
As a final note, this video on line weights is great, too.
Line weight can really help establish forms in your work without needing to add value, and being able to think in 3D forms can help a lot. The idea behind this is that you simplify everything you see into primitive shapes, such as boxes, spheres, cylinders and cones. All of these shapes can be warped, distorted and bent to form anything you can possibly think of, so being able to know these shapes and how light would pass over them will give you the ability to draw ANYTHING, should you know what it looks like.
Have fun!
if she is into digital art i wold recommend that one or
"How to Draw: drawing and sketching objects and environments from your imagination"
How to Render
I think it's a bit difficult and unfair for me to comment based on one painting alone. Do you have any sketches (line drawing, preferably) of this painting, or anything that showcase what you can do so far? Almost everyone will suggest we start designing anything in line sketches, especially if learning, so I'm interested to see what you got :D
Edit: Since you're looking for advice on how to start, I'll just say a few things that might be able to help you start.
(1) Drawing, imo, is the very foundation of all art. I think before you start painting, you should start drawing first! Here are a few links that may help you start with drawing:
(2) I suggest you follow an art school's course outline so you can progress pretty well. Feng Zhu Design School has an outline that they use for their students to learn how to do concept art in 1 year (16 hours per day). You can also download a detailed version of what they offer in their course, then you can have an idea on what each component means.
(3) There are also a few books that would be really useful to you when learning how to draw and render. These are supposedly the best on the internet (I only have two, the first two books in the list) Here they are:
I think those are all I have for you now. I'm not in any way a professional artist (I'm currently studying Industrial Design), but I think the above things I've mentioned should prove useful to you. If you have any questions, you can send me a PM :D Work hard and practise every day!
You need to pick up an anatomy book because right now you're inventing muscles and applying too many shadows until the whole drawing becomes visual noise and it doesn't read clearly.
First off, I'd recommend you study Figure drawing for all it's worth by Andrew Loomis. You can probably find a PDF of it online for free and it's not overly complicated for a kid to understand. Then, if you feel you want to stick with drawing in the long run convince your parents to invest in these books:
Atlas of human anatomy for the artist
Human anatomy for artists : The elements of form
Classic human anatomy: The artist's guide to form, function, and movement
Figure drawing: Design and invention
How to draw: Drawing and sketching objects and environments from your imagination
How to render: The fundamentals of light, shadow and reflectivity
Color and light: A guide for the realist painter
Amazon Book
It really doesn't do it justice...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933492732/ref=s9_psimh_gw_p14_d14_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;pf_rd_s=center-2&amp;pf_rd_r=12CSS5FJ279C82EAFY8J&amp;pf_rd_t=101&amp;pf_rd_p=1630083502&amp;pf_rd_i=507846
The best responses to your points to me are found in, Peter Hamilton's Commonweath Series, and the brand new Bobiverse Series by Dennis Taylor and Ghost in the Shell. If you for some reason hate books, reading, and anime here is a quick TLDR: Just because the new you is a copy doesn't make it worthless, or makes death any less horrifying. Furthermore, the potential options are more than simply copying a brain before/during death. There's the whole nanite brain replacement Ship of Theseus issue starting from simple neural augmentation all the way to full on cybernetic replacement.
You'd really like the Bobiverse, it literally has entire genealogies of copies of one nerd, each with slightly different slowly diverging viewpoints which I found captivating and engaging.
Oooo Brazilian Empire! There's a really good book I just read with you in it! https://www.amazon.com/Are-Legion-Bob-Bobiverse-Book-ebook/dp/B01LWAESYQ
Highly recommend the following series:
https://www.amazon.com/Are-Legion-Bob-Bobiverse-Book-ebook/dp/B01LWAESYQ
It’s fun, it’s an easy read, but it’s not simplistic.
Also huge recommendation for these two books:
https://www.amazon.com/14-Peter-Clines/dp/1618680528
https://www.amazon.com/Fold-Novel-Peter-Clines-ebook/dp/B00NDTS7NC
Again, fun, easy to read and a blast to re-read.
Oh, then you need to read Bobiverse. Amazon link
One thing that I've learned is that some books that you buy on Amazon will let you add the narration for really cheap if you buy the book. So instead of paying $30 for a book (or $15 a month for a credit), you can buy a kindle book on sale and 'add' the audio book.
I'm currently listening to a series called the Bobiverse thanks to this. The first book (We are Legion, We are Bob) was only $4 for the book and then another $2 to add the audiobook. If you like sci-fi/adventure books, I'd recommend it, it's dumb fun.
Also don't forget that your local library probably offers audiobooks on OverDrive.
It seems that your comment contains 1 or more links that are hard to tap for mobile users.
I will extend those so they're easier for our sausage fingers to click!
Here is link number 1 - Previous text "Bob"
----
^Please ^PM ^/u/eganwall ^with ^issues ^or ^feedback! ^| ^Delete
We have the same taste man ... trust me and read We are Legion. It was honestly my favorite out of all of them ....
https://www.amazon.com/Are-Legion-Bob-Bobiverse-Book-ebook/dp/B01LWAESYQ
I just read a 2 novel series called "The Bobiverse". It's sort of sci-fi pulp but it's fun and I really enjoyed it. It captured the things I like about Star Trek, a little action/adventure/exploration with a few smart jokes.
https://www.amazon.com/Are-Legion-Bob-Bobiverse-Book-ebook/dp/B01LWAESYQ/ref=pd_sim_351_1?_encoding=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=ZPJFXB9C798XNAT6WP51
do yourself a favor and read this asap! it's quick and wonderful!
https://www.amazon.com/Are-Legion-Bob-Bobiverse-Book-ebook/dp/B01LWAESYQ
And spoiler alert, /r/bobiverse
The bobiverse is a good, fun, new one... Martin Kloos is great if he likes military scifi. Vernor Vinge is great with little or no bodily fluids, just spiders and dying civilisations...
One of my top faves atm. Another is the bobiverse series. It's been pretty entertaining and has a similar humor, but not quite as over the top.
https://www.amazon.com/Are-Legion-Bob-Bobiverse-Book-ebook/dp/B01LWAESYQ
Have you read (or listened to the audiobook) We Are Legion (We Are Bob)? If not, you need to! It's $3.99 as a Kindle eBook or free if you're a member of Kindle Unlimited, and the audiobook is only $1.99. It's the first in a series of three books, and it's both amazing and hilarious, narrated from the perspective of a snarky geek. Your mention of Epsilon Eridani is what reminded me of it. I definitely recommend the audiobook as the narrator, Ray Porter, delivers the snark perfectly.
Thank you!
I highly recommend it. I know people are really hit or miss with audiobooks, but I love listening to it while playing Aurora.
Here's the first (it's a pretty short series of 3 books): https://www.amazon.com/Are-Legion-Bob-Bobiverse-Book-ebook/dp/B01LWAESYQ
Can’t believe we haven’t mentioned Bob
The Bobiverse series. Basically follows Bob, a man who signed up to by cryogenically frozen in modern times, then 100 years or so later is recreated as an AI against his will to be placed in control of a Von Neumann space probe, going on to replicate and explore the galaxy.
Highly recommend the audiobooks.
Wonder where your dm got that idea
Hmm. I have Kindle Unlimited so Amazon won't let me easily look up if a book is in Prime Reading too, so this may or may not apply (sorry) but these were the best I've read recently:
edit: Also why do so many of these Prime/KU requests always seem unpopular? "What are some good affordable books you can suggest" seems like a very reasonable question to me.
I recently read Vagabonding by Rolf Potts, it was pretty interesting.
It's about traveling not a story about travelling though. If you travel a lot you may have already experienced some of what he talks about.
Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel It isn't fiction... but I can't think of anything else more inspiring to world travel.
Definitely long term travel. It could probably help you grow more as a person than a semester of a graduate program.
What is your experience with statistics and what are you looking to do with it? There are excellent online modules (I've heard anyway, my stats knowledge came from school) that you can definitely utilize while working at your own pace (even at work during downtime). R is the statistics program/language that is currently most well respected in the statistics community, and it's free. R isn't even really taught in a lot of academic programs as far as I know, all the people I know who are proficient in it taught themselves.
edit: This is a great book about long term travel, he's also done some podcasts https://www.amazon.com/Vagabonding-Uncommon-Guide-Long-Term-Travel/dp/0812992180/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1541349629&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=rolf+potts
you should read Vagabonding.
The book is not long and it has everything you ever need to know. It was eye opener for me :D
Could everyone add a quote from the book they're reading? A good quote could draw my interest. Helps me find new stuff to read!
As for myself, I'm currently on Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel. Here are a couple of quotes from said book:
"We need sometimes to escape into open solitudes, into aimlessness, into the moral holiday of running some pure hazard, in order to sharpen the edge of life, to taste hardship, and to be compelled to work desperately for a moment no matter what."
"In this way, vagabonding is like a pilgrimage without a specific destination or goal— not a quest for answers so much as a celebration of the questions, an embrace of the ambiguous, and an openness to anything that comes your way."
Good book on this topic: http://www.amazon.com/Vagabonding-Uncommon-Guide-Long-Term-Travel/dp/0812992180
> I'll never meet a guy that will love me back. There's no one that's remotely interested in me. I'm too awkward. Even if I did find a guy, he'd probably leave me anyway.
I lived in SF for a long time and I can tell you that people of all stripes and levels of awkwardness find love, I saw it all the time.
The people at Pixar say things get better:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a4MR8oI_B8
As for your parents, people find comfort in having scapegoats and people who are followers tend to listen to leaders who are happy to supply scapegoats - in the past (US) it was the Irish, Italians, Chinese, Polish, etc nowadays for rednecks it is the immigrants, for flag wavers it is ISIS, for Mormons it is the gays. One way to think of these people is morally immature and easily lead astray by the authority figures they rely on to tune their moral compass. You have to be the bigger man. In this case, yes they are torturing you but it is because they think it is what they are supposed to do. Success is your best revenge.
As far as jobs or education here is a secret - being a middle manager or something is not necessarily more rewarding than being a barista. Honor and fulfillment come from how you conduct your life and how you treat others. Chop wood, carry water there is much to be said for humility and simplicity. You can learn more for free from the best schools in the world on iTunes University than you could at BYU.
https://diyscholar.wordpress.com/guide-to-itunesu/
"Do not let yourself be guided by the authority of the sacred texts, nor by simple logic, nor by appearance or opinion, nor even by the teachings of your master; when you know in yourself that something is bad, then give it up, and accept the good and follow it." -Buddha
You are stuck in a place where people live in a very small bubble and they all believe it is real, it is not and there are many amazing and fulfilling things out there that you should try out before you kill yourself. Here are just three books with alternative ideas about spirituality, philosophy and jobs - you can stop living live exclusively from the POV of the Mormon bubble without letting anyone else know that you are doing it - for now while you are still in prison, once you are out you can be your own man.
http://www.amazon.com/Chop-Wood-Carry-Water-Fulfillment/dp/0874772095
http://www.amazon.com/Wabi-Sabi-Artists-Designers-Poets-Philosophers/dp/0981484603
http://www.amazon.com/Vagabonding-Uncommon-Guide-Long-Term-Travel/dp/0812992180
Here's something I read in Rolf Pott's Vagabonding that's so obvious, but most of us don't think about: there are people living frugal, yet comfortable, lives almost everywhere in the world. When you visit the place, if you adopt some of the local practices of frugality, your trip suddenly becomes a lot cheaper than you would have imagined when you were thinking of yourself as just a typical a tourist.
The main cost of world travel is the airfare for getting to the place. Once you reach there, you can do as the locals do (who are usually poorer than the average American) and have yourself a frugal trip, without sacrificing the awesome experiences of world traveling.
The book also goes on to say that as a world traveler, you can travel cheap and save your money for an occasional splurge on something unique, than waste it on routine stuff like staying in expensive tourist hotels and eating in tourist restaurants all the time.
I highly recommend that book.
Why hello there good sir!
May I recommend "Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide To The World of Travel"?
Ok, I had a similar trip, here's a few tips and tricks:
3)Overnight trains are fine. A little loud, a little bumpy but cheaper than a hotel for a night and you're not missing out on day travel time. I say they're worth it but you miss some countryside so just play it by ear.
Other than that, have fun good luck, I recommend Vagabonding by Ralph Potts. Lots of great advice.
http://www.amazon.com/Vagabonding-Uncommon-Guide-Long-Term-Travel/dp/0812992180
Not sure if this has been posted, but I found this book to be one of tremendous inspiration for my travels.
>Wish I could work my ass off for 2 years straight on Vyvanse and earn enough money to "chill" for 6 months and unravel my mind or something.
You may enjoy this blog: Mister Money Mustache which talks about how to do exactly this thing. Also Timothy Ferris' book The Four Hour Work Week. Ooo also: Vagabonding by Ralph Potts is even more precisely what you are looking for.
In short there are a lot of ways to live and if you think of a "weird" way to do it, chances are someone else has too and written a book or blog about it.
Read this book if you haven't already.
Read Vagabonding
Great resource for the whole 'drop my current life to start a new one' mentality, even though it involves mainly travelling the world, not setting up shop somewhere.
Look for Vagabonding in Google, there's a fair amount of stuff on the subject.
This is a book on the topic I've only heard good things about.
The basics are: Get the very best backpack you can (try it on first), carefully think about what you really need in terms of clothing (consider the climate you want to be in), at least learn a bit of the language of where you want to be and then look for some hobo-tips on how to avoid most stab-wounds (also, try to look like a tourist instead of a hobo).
Dumpster-diving can also help greatly as it means less money is needed for food.
Absolutely! Check it out if you haven't. I got mine for like 8 bucks on Amazon!
My list:
Get this book http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0812992180. I wish I would have read this book before I went to Thailand.
this book has great reviews. this guy is a genius.
this
Just one table? Better get a million random numbers in case you run out.
http://www.amazon.com/Million-Random-Digits-Normal-Deviates/dp/0833030477
I’ve had a fun time reading this,
still waiting for the index volume so I can find my favorite parts more quickly.
These are actually the best reviews on Amazon.
Also check out the sequel!
You haven't seen this book yet, then, I'm guessing.
How about this book?
http://www.amazon.com/Million-Random-Digits-Normal-Deviates/dp/0833030477/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1289494923&amp;sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.com/Million-Random-Digits-Normal-Deviates/dp/0833030477
One of my faves is the Million Random Digits book.
Oh god. Okay. I feel like I've been preparing for this post my whole life (or at least since I found these awesome things on amazon):
Make sure you read the comments on these amazing, once in a lifetime products!!!
edit: Aww shoot, I just saw you meant for realz. I got nothing, sorry. But still, you'll have a good laugh!
If it's a question of combat, print versions of either A Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal Deviates (1955) or the full set of The Art of Computer Science (1968 - ...) carry some weight and double up as door stops or steps to reach the higher shelves.
Here's a lot of numbers for you.
A Million Random Digits
Weird coicidences you say?
Donald Barr is AG William Barr's dad
Donald Barr was in the OSS, which was the precursor to the CIA
Donald Barr gave Epstein his first job as a math teacher in an elite, politically connected school, even though Epstein did not have any qualifications or even a college degree.
Donald Barr wrote a book called Space Relations, about a race of aliens that are so rich they become bored with everything and start a sex slavery ring and are also aroused by fear
https://www.amazon.com/Space-relations-slightly-gothic-interplanetary/dp/0860000249
>Donald Barr, William Barr's dad wrote a book on sex slavery in 1975 immediately after hiring Epstein the previous year. Barr was forced to resign in 1974 and no one really knows why. https://www.amazon.com/Space-relations-slightly-gothic-interplanetary/dp/0860000249
>1 Used from $4,999.00
great where am I going to get my sex slavery book now?
also sad to see people shitting on the book which had decent reviews in the past.
https://www.amazon.com/Space-relations-slightly-gothic-interplanetary/dp/0860000249
> his father didn't endorse rape or anything like that at all.
https://www.amazon.com/Space-relations-slightly-gothic-interplanetary/dp/0860000249
What I'm saying is you need to have a detailed discussion (many detailed discussions) about her fantasies and yours, then implement them in reality. I can't tell you what you're into, or what she's in to, only you can do that. EDIT: this means more than what toys you like... BDSM means Bondage and discipline, Dominance and Submission, Sadism and Masochism. There's a lot to unpack there if you're interested in various parts of it.
On a purely practical level, handkercheifs and ties are pretty good for beginner restraints, or you could get some cheap-ish cuff type restraints (I've heard good things about the under the bed system.)
Might also help you out to do some reading and get ideas, The classic intro to BDSM is Screw the Roses, Send me the Thorns If you can get your hands on a copy I recommend it highly.
EDIT: added a little to the first paragraph.
Oh no offense taken!
As I said, and I'd like to be clear about this, Wiseman does have a lot of great information to pass on to the 'scene. And I have, in fact, not only met the man but talked to him on more than one occasion and read just about everything that he's ever written.
So I don't tell people NOT to read him, I just don't like how he portrays much of the BDSM world. If you see the world differently than him you are just flat out wrong and shouldn't be involved in the BDSM scene. shrugs I'm not the first to make this accusation against him merely attempting to clarify the point.
So, as I stated Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns is typically the first book I suggest. It covers many different topics but none too in depth. This gives an honest and open view on the many different shades of what the BDSM world can contain.
There's also The Loving Dominant as a good read. It focuses on communication and the emotional bonds that are inherent to the scene as well as gives some practical advice in regards to scene structure and daily life of a TPE.
Both the Bottoming and the Topping book are worth reading if for no other reason than to see another perspective.
There's The Control Book which goes a bit deeper into the mentality of each side of the dynamic with a focus on the dom (obviously).
Those are pretty much my go to resources for someone that's new. Beyond that there are all kinds of different books and articles out there but I've always found that with these as a base of information the next step should always be discussion with others. This thing we do is so personalized that I do not think that any one person or author will have THE ANSWER. It might well be the answer for THEM, but rarely will it be the answer for all. So talking to others about the theory of BDSM or the culture of the lifestyle will typically help expand what one knows about it as a whole so they can make up their own minds.
I think a decent initial collection consisting of quality handcuffs, a wand for orgasm denial/forced orgasm, impact implements (or a wooden spoon or spatula from a discount store) a [ball gag] (http://www.stockroom.com/Silicone-Ball-Gag-with-Garment-Leather-Strap-P5371.aspx) and assorted pieces of rope hardware would keep the involuntary lubrication up for a while.
For literature I think Jay Wiseman's SM101 is a solid introductory foundation. A number of women within our munch groups prefer Philip Miller. For something more comprehensive try Different Loving: The World of Sexual Dominance and Submission.
I've also heard good things about the one in Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns. There is a Domme in my community that actually uses the one in this book for every new submissive that she works with. She also recommends redoing it once every six months to see how your tastes have changed and what progress you've made.
Screw the Roses...
http://www.amazon.com/Screw-Roses-Send-Thorns-Sadomasochism/dp/0964596008
Hopefully these are at least a teensy bit helpful for you guys!
For online resources to explore your submissive side, you can check out www.submissiveguide.com.
Or if you prefer your research in hardback, others have recommended Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns as good remedial reading from a sub's perspective in a D/s dynamic.
Probably one of the better books on the topic is around $30, Two Knotty Boys' Showing You the Ropes. If you want cheaper, The Little Guide to Getting Tied Up seems to have good review scores and is closer to your budget, though I can't vouch for it myself, not having read it. I haven't read Learning the Ropes either, but judging by the description, it doesn't appear to be a manual for rope bondage, but rather an overall guide to BDSM.
If that's what you're looking for, I can point you to a few recommendations. Probably the most celebrated book on general BDSM (at least among those I've spoken to) is Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns. Also, while it's more about polyamory than BDSM, The Ethical Slut is a highly acclaimed book about a sex-positive lifestyle.
I would caution, however: be careful with being pushy about BDSM and sex-positive stuff if you're not sure the person will be receptive. Yeah, I get that it's a "gag gift", but you want to be sure you're not insulting your cousin or making things awkward between you.
In any case, I hope whatever you go with works well for you!
Grammar books, for a start. At university, we used NPRC and Ruslan which both had easy to follow structure. Ruslan was more fun, but with a decent amount of grammar. Our professor told us it was the text that the US Nasa astronauts used to learn Russian. NPRC was more serious, with more comprehensive grammar.
I learned to read the Cyrillic alphabet in about 3 hours thanks to this book. It breaks down the letters for English speakers in a way that makes more sense than merely learning them in order.
www.babbel.com is a great paid service.
"The New Penguin Russian Course" is a little older and not the best order for learning imo but it's a solid book - https://www.amazon.com/dp/0140120416/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_RuoFDbMQ0YFF5
LiveLingua also has a ton of materials, including some produced by the government.
https://www.amazon.com/New-Penguin-Russian-Course-Beginners/dp/0140120416/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1540842986&amp;sr=8-5&amp;keywords=Russian+language&amp;dpID=51mscieyoQL&amp;preST=_SY344_BO1,204,203,200_QL70_&amp;dpSrc=srch
I've been waiting as well. It's the one language, along with Swedish, that I've had an interest in. If you want to try and learn some on your own, I'd suggest Memrise.com along with their app. I've also heard this book is fantastic and I plan on getting it soon. Hope this helps!
This is the one that gets recommended every time this question is asked: https://www.amazon.com/New-Penguin-Russian-Course-Beginners/dp/0140120416
I don't think it's in the Books link yet.
I super-duper recommend this book
The reviews give a good idea of why this book is so fantastic. I started using this book casually in high school and it concisely gets a ton of vital information.
It's not afraid to mention exceptions and weird things that a lot of beginner books would let you ignore and sound stupid later. It also has accent marks on all of the words past the first few chapters.
The pronunciation guide is priceless, as well. It's clear but comprehensive. I've seen tons of pronunciation aides for Russian but so far following this book's guide on it has yielded the best accent that I know of.
It's definitely better than Rosetta Stone.
I think paired with something to really cement the grammar will be pretty effective.
Use it with the New Penguin book. (only $15 on Amazon)
https://www.amazon.com/New-Penguin-Russian-Course-Beginners/dp/0140120416
The New Penguin Russian Course is amazing and includes everything you need to know about Russian grammar. A book I am reading right now for beginners is First Reader in Russian. It is a very basic Russian book that has exercises and a dictionary in the back. The only bad thing about it is the dictionary doesn't include all of the words from the book so I usually have to go to my Russian-English English-Russian Dictionary. This dictionary also lacks many important words, but it hasn't given me any problems. Another good Russian reading source is Russian Stories: A Dual-Language Book. If you just look around on amazon you will find many good resources.
Learn the pronunciation of the letters. Learn the difference between soft and hard consonants. Use youtube videos and various descriptions for it. This video is a good start, for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsL8ZBDBNts Russian is very often pronounced just like it is spelled. You just need to know a few simple rules, and on which vowel the stress is.
The New Penguin Russian Course that covers a lot of stuff: grammar, words, idioms, phrases, culture, pronunciation, etc. and is intended for beginners. I'd say start with that and pronunciation, as I said above.
But maybe skip some words from the book that you don't think you will need, and learn words that are more useful to you instead.
The channel #russkij on FreeNode is helpful. If you don't know how to access it, this is probably the easiest way.
You may want to check out this tool I made for reading.
You probably want to use Anki for flashcards. Flashcards are very useful.
You might like this youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/user/vanilla167333/videos?view=0&amp;shelf_id=0&amp;sort=dd
Finally, try to focus on content that is relevant to you, i.e. reading about things that you like, talking about things that interest you, etc.
you'd be better of just searching for it yourself, but here's a thing for it on amazon and google books
http://www.amazon.com/New-Penguin-Russian-Course-Beginners/dp/0140120416
http://books.google.com/books/about/The_New_Penguin_Russian_Course.html?id=DpAmYOS15RAC
I recommend you just search for it yourself, you might find something cool below those two links :P
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0140120416?pc_redir=1405490871&amp;robot_redir=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140120416/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1
That one, the New Penguin Russian Course. I don't really think it was the "best" one I could buy, but it was a well-reviewed book and had recommendations from several websites I found. Plus it was only 13 bucks, so I didn't feel too bad about buying it if it happened to not be a great book.
So far the book has been pretty good. It's got exercises for handwriting and pronunciation, and thoroughly explains things that need explaining.
Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!
Here are your smile-ified links:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0140120416/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00
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^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly&nbsp;bot
I'm not going to be able to give this argument the clarity it deserves, but I will say just because I lack clarity does not mean that my argument is invalid. I based it off of my memory of this book https://www.amazon.com/Better-Never-Have-Been-Existence/dp/0199549265 that I would suggest to everyone that wants a child. This is just a book, not something that will automatically change your mind or anything, but it changed mine along with Albert Camus' work. I agree with the idea that we should try to enjoy the time we have, but don't bring someone else into it. Enjoy yourself while causing others as little suffering as possible
I haven't read it, but a recent book on this subject is Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence by David Benatar.
Notre Dame Philosophical Review has a review of it here.
Better Never to Have Been by David Benatar
https://www.amazon.com/Better-Never-Have-Been-Existence/dp/0199549265
The strongest influence on anti-natalism in modern times is a book published in 2006, written by a Cape Town professor of philosophy David Benatar. He explicitly names his philosophy as antinatalism. Its title is:
Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence: https://www.amazon.com/Better-Never-Have-Been-Existence/dp/0199549265
I think the (difficult) discussion about fetal sentience is mostly besides the point. Even if one is to subscribe to sentience as a sufficient criterion for basic rights’ attribution, most meaningful theories would still maintain, that rights can be overridden by other rights in certain circumstances, particularly if one rights-holder poses a threat to another. Arguably the situation of pregnancy could be understood as such a scenario thus rendering abortions per se as permissible -- even if fetuses had full basic rights qua sentience.
As of the "right to die"-discussions, I never really got the point of them. There might be some obligations that one has towards their community, that are frustrated if someone commits (assisted) suicide, but how well could one live up to these obligations anyways, if one has formed an honest and reflected wish to die?
And I think Singer’s not helpful to further a discussion about rights, because he’s not really interested in rights.
Also one of the more neglected questions, about reproductive ethics is the one raised by David Benatar: Couldn’t coming into existence be a harm to the one who does? You might think this is true, if and only if misanthropy is true, but his argument for the propostion that it’s better never to have been is pretty consistent with simultaneously asserting that most human life is actually worth living.
You might find this book interesting: https://www.amazon.ca/Better-Never-Have-Been-Existence/dp/0199549265
Un bouquin anti-nataliste qui est pas trop mal si t'as le courage. Rien que le titre donne bien le ton.
Try reading the book "Legacy of Ashes" by Tim Wiener because it is a good non-biased history of the CIA. It will tell you about how they have behaved in the past as well as give you a good history about the CIA. They have done some very questionable stuff but they have also acted in the best interests of the USA at times. It really is a tough call but reading more about the history of them might help.
https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Ashes-History-Tim-Weiner/dp/0307389006/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1511592188&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=legacy+of+ashes
right... just like in the 500 page book, legacy of ashes or this lovely book, the main enemy. Argghhh! I wish we had books we could refer to!