[I hate my bank]

15 hours ago, feralfreak said:

i gotta slightly disagree on one thing, if you are on something like ssi, even if you can save 2k, if you have that in an account you get in trouble with ssi, i think you are allowed something called an able account, but it has to be something you dont put money in yourself, as far as i understand it.

$2000 is the resource limit for a single adult on SSI, but in that case, you can't be running a household, because it costs more than that if the A/C breaks for example. I'm not going to get into the weeds there though, because I have never been on SSI, so I am no expert there.

[I hate my bank]

Hey guys, agree that it is time to learn financial literacy. I love the guy above me who thinks he got a good deal on a car loan, lol. Dude, you got fleeced. Your like Hank Hill when he thought paying sticker price and not a cent more was a good deal. Always pay for your cars with cash! If you can't afford to pay for a new car without a loan, then you're are trying to but too much car, go get a used one.

For the OP, your #1 issue is not keeping an emergency fund. I'm surprised no one else mentioned this. Look guys, the bank is not going to bug you if you always have at least $2000 in your bank account.

Second issue, not having a budget that not only accurately accounts for your spending, but also predicts where you are going to need to spend money this month.

Third issue, should have done a side job real quick to get some money back into the account ASAP. The worst thing I have done when I was broke was donate plasma, but I recommend taking jobs on craigslist while you are looking for real employment. Use your talents.

Fourth issue, overspending. You got to kill these subscriptions if you have no income and you need to reserve all your money for the four walls; food, housing, water and electricity, and clothing. Everything else is not as important.

P.S. diapers don't count unless you are medically incontinent.

[For car guys, or those who like mechanical stuffs.]

4 hours ago, drynot said:

I think the car companies purposely make repairs awkward and difficult so people will be more inclined to take them back to the shop.  Its not just car companies either.....

Yeah, many people, like that guy Scotty Kilmer on YouTube, think that. As an engineer, albeit not with cars, I can tell you all that it is not that simple. It depends on the company and the complexity of the car in question. Their are also deadlines to meet for HVM, supply chain requirements, logistics, increasingly stricter requirements such as fuel consumption and emission standards, and finally costs to consider. Every car company also has its niche, so not all of them are going to be easy to fix or even have good performance, but each automaker does something to carve out their place in the market.

[For car guys, or those who like mechanical stuffs.]

On 1/26/2021 at 7:04 AM, BabyJune said:

I have always loved working on cars but the new ones are mechanical nightmares. I'd like to personally CASTRATE all automotive engineers and designers! The newer cars are inaccessible and I don't like paying high rates for a mechanic to do something I can do for myself. It took me a day and a half to change all the cooling system hoses on my mom's 2001 Focus. And when I had to recharge the air conditioning, it was almost impossible to find the low side port which those idiot engineers hid inside the passenger side wheel well. After looking at where it was located, I could see that all they would have had to do was extend a valve up through the wheel well so that you can charge the system from the engine compartment and not have to take half the fender apart to get to it. They need a stern konk on the head for all that stupidity. (I know--it forces you to go back to the dealer for service and that makes THEM money).

Wait, a day and half to change out all the refrigerant lines and recharge it? Come on man, some of the blame has got to be on you too, lol. If you just read the instructions, you would have known where the low and high side schrader valves where.

[What is your faith?]

On 12/5/2020 at 12:45 PM, IndianaJ35 said:

Interesting Forum - have been on and off DD for a number of years, but never noticed this subforum.  Thanks to all who contributed.

I enjoyed reading the above posts, even some that touched on the downsides of religion.  I may be a person of faith, but I also think it's hard to argue against the "abuses of religion".  I'm not talking specifically about the clergy abuse that has infected the Catholic church for a century or more now, but rather of the historical use of religion as a tool to control.  It must have become obvious at some point to those in power by convincing the masses of their ignorance and/or inability to understand the creator or have a personal relationship with one, their behavior could more easily be influenced.  When it became more about control and influence than about enlightenment, spiritualization, and self-improvement, well...hard to say only good things about it.

So oftentimes, I find it very difficult to blame those people who identify as atheist or such.  A very good friend of mine is atheist, and one thing I need to remind myself is that one of the worst ways I can "disrespect" him as a friend in my mind is to feel bad for him, i.e., thinking "I feel bad that he will never know God, etc."  As soon as I do, I think it then takes on the tone of those that think that because others don't buy into their religion, that they are "going to their religion's hell," or what have you.

Also being in a profession of the hard sciences, many of us know that there seems to be more and more "proof against the existence of God" in the veins of modern physics and biology.  I think continuing to hold a belief in a higher power need not be precluded by this; some very notable scientists tend to straddle the fence on this (some very seminal thoughts and philosophy if you read about some of A. Einstein's views on God.)

I also think it interesting that I happened upon this forum during the holiday season, when at least some of us are reminded of some of the tenets of our faith.  I'm sure some are better practitioners of our faiths than others, but this whole idea of "Good Christian" still is a sticking point for me.  I remember reading a bit about Anton LaVey, who I believe was one of the founders of modern Satanism.  He made an excellent point about men who, and I quote, live in vice one day, and then ask for forgiveness the next, as if there faith absolved them of the need to try and make fewer mistakes to begin with, to "do less evil and more good", rather than just fall back on the idea that "we are sinners and are unable to help it".

Again, good conversations.

Happy Holidays / Solstice / Christmas / Chaunnakah / Kwanzaa.  And here's hoping for a new year better than this, as I heard someone put it, "Dumpster Fire inside a train wreck of a year" 2020.

I'll start by saying I'm an atheist and an expert in physics.

People don't realize that Albert Einstein was fundamentally wrong about quantum mechanics because of his preconceptions from his religious beliefs. He would not have been able to understand modern physics today, because of that limitation and as a result been unable to think of lasers or modern day computers as a result. Their is a lesson there actually. I think there is no issue in believing in a God as long as you remember that the tenets of your religion are for wisdom and not knowledge. If you do that, then you can keep moving forward while also avoiding the traps in life.

There are good lessons to be learned in most religions. The Dharma in Buddhism reads a lot like the sevens habits of highly effective people and Dave Ramsey gives great advice on money management. I saw their wisdom and it fundamentally changed how I ran my household, but I left their beliefs at the front door. Whether or not you agree with their beliefs is your choice, but it shouldn't matter.

[Disposable Income]

Rusty, if you can't afford a better car, your driving a beater with over 200k miles or not driving at all, but agree 6 or 7 years old is ideal, because you can save quite a bit of money. If you can get 3k together, you can buy a 6 or 7 year old car. I got my 2013 hyundai accent for $2900. Great commuter call, gets 40 miles to the gallon. All it needed was a new ac compressor when I got it. Not a problem. Easy fix because the engine is so small and simple, you can get to all the bolts no problem.

The other car I have is a 2006 chevy uplander that I purchased for $1200. It leaked oil, but honestly, what chevy doesn't. Other than that, there was nothing wrong mechanically and is a great workhorse vehicle for what I do. The engine is not very fun to work on though.

I have no money tied up in my cars and have plenty of money aside to replace them if I get tired of them, which admittedly, is coming soon for the Chevy, because it is a beater. Insurance is cheap and I don't really care what happens to them.

I'm not saying to not buy a new car, but I am saying buy it with cash or not at all. If you take the loan, you are leaving so much money on the table, it is insane. The depreciation is irrelevant, because a car is not an asset, it is a liability. If it takes more than 40% of your yearly income to buy this car, then you have no business owning it.

[Disposable Income]

A car payment is not a necessity you dopes. If you have a car payment, you are losing so much money. Go buy a cheap used Honda or Toyota until you can afford to buy the car you want with cash. 

Necessities go like this; shelter, food, water, clothing, and heating/AC. This is called the four walls. If you can cover these things, then you are ok.

Now, I like to take 25% of my take home pay to go to my financial goals, because I am doing well and can afford it, but bottom line is you need you pay your self first before you spend money on other things. A good minimum is 15%. I would also make sure that if you are here, you also have all the insurance you need.

Then, we have the monthly expenses, such as internet and the phone bill. Buy the phone outright and never do their monthly plan. The phone stores rip you off.

Then we have fun stuff.

[A Question for Baby June]

The two polymers aren't that different. The key difference is you are laminating polyester fabric with a thin film (1 mil) of polyurethane rather than making a thick layer of plastic, hence the abbreviation PUL (polyurethane laminate).

In terms of comparing the two polymers on a chemistry level, polyvinyl chloride is a simple carbon change with chlorine and hydrogen atoms along its backbone. Since these atoms are small, the carbon chains can be closer together and pack in more tightly. Polyurethane on the other hand has bulkier groups, such as benzene rings that make the chains pack further apart making the material more permeable. It is more complicated than that because the materials vary significantly depending on synthesis method, but you get the idea.

[My experience with Autism and wanting diapers]

Probably more so than his peers, because he wouldn't tell us he had to go till the last second, so now we usually tell him to try going every once in awhile, especially when we are out and it has been awhile since he has last gone.

[My experience with Autism and wanting diapers]

10 minutes ago, Fleetwoodmac32192 said:

I've worn headphones too, but I still get anxious when I know I have to go to the potty. Especially in a time like now where more public bathrooms are either closed or starting to remove the stall doors.

Does your son get nervous about using the toilet?

Not so much now, because we helped him through that, but used to be nervous about flushing because of the sound it made.

[My experience with Autism and wanting diapers]

I recommend wearing headphones, the kind that go around your ear. That will help with the noise and be more comfortable that ear plugs.

I might have aspergers (not diagnosed yet), but my son has a more similar autism diagnosis with anxiety like you, and it is very hard. Medication has helped him out tremendously, but still have to work with him quite a bit.

Now for dating, you just got to get yourself out there and tell people exactly what you want in a relationship and be honest about it. I recommend local kink events and you might be more comfortable with the lower key munches for example, because there are not as many people. Tell everyone what you are looking for and eventually you'll meet someone.

[Just a thought]

You guys are overthinking this and that's coming from an atheist. The only thing religion has to say on this is that you should not let it control your life. Coincidentally, that is also by definition when the fetish becomes a psychological problem that needs treatment.

[Adjustment Chapters 1-7]

On 9/26/2019 at 4:22 AM, Zoroaster1985 said:

Most of the parties I go to are with other socialists and yes we have a great time because we're not surrounded by people who thinks it's more important to be personally happy than to have justice in the world and fairness and equity. THAT would make me happy. 

I don't really go to parties much, but I hear you. I put quite a bit of effort into equity. I always say when buying a home, put down 20% to avoid the PMI and go for a 15 year fixed. Best yet is to buy your house in cash, but if it is your first home, that can be difficult.

Good story Sally, looking forward to the next part of the story. I vote Democrat usually, but I enjoy political satire against both sides, because god damn, they deserve it, haha.

[Doctor in the house (medical question)?]

On 3/7/2020 at 2:01 AM, Little Christine said:

Let me get this straight. You are asking a MEDICAL question on a FETISH forum. Would you put a retirement finacial question to roofing specialist or a machanic?

You'd think no, but that is what most people do, especially regarding financial matters. We are basically the same level as Yahoo answers, lol.

[Doctor in the house (medical question)?]

You guys suck at being doctors, same as the doctors the op has been seeing, lol. Please have your doctor actually run tests instead of guessing and then prescribing. This is simple, just scrap the rash area with a glass slide and inspect with an optical microscope. If spores, then treat with topical and oral antifungal medicine. If no spores, then run a culture for bacteria. See, all I am doing here is creating a testable hypothesis and executing a test plan, something that should be done if your first obvious guess is wrong. Also, need to monitor the size of the rash, see if it is increasing or decreasing in size. 

[You know you're broke...]

I make plenty of money to have really good insurance and afford the deductible and copays. Even with that, I still find myself paying out of pocket for things they won't cover for reasons, including $20000 for dental work. I think with the current health insurance system in the US, it is easy to see why so many go bankrupt over health care costs even with insurance, but the risk is much greater without insurance.

I am financially literate and I understand Bernie Sanders's plan would be expensive (more taxes for sure for everyone), but it is expensive now. So I put in an early vote for Bernie.

That said, there is personal accountability here that I recommend that I know 70% of you people out there that don't or can't do. Statistically speaking, that is the number of people in the US that cannot handle a $1000 emergency. You have to have that fully funded emergency plan. I flat out refuse to take out loans to pay for stuff, especially medical bills, so I keep $20000 in savings for emergencies. Of course, this can't be done if you have more money coming out then in, so make sure you trim done the amount of payments you have on stuff and/or increasing your income. Moving out of California is a good first step if you really need to trim your expenses, lol.

[Predestination: An infallible argument?]

On 1/10/2020 at 9:19 AM, Wannatripbaby said:

I thought this was implicit in the argument, but this topic Assumes the existence of God or some god-like being. Obviously if you don't believe in God you cannot believe in Predestination.

If you want to debate the existence of God, that would be a separate discussion to have before this one. Otherwise we aren't even capable of discussing this topic as our viewpoints are too dissimilar. It would be like 2 blind people debating what the best shade of blue is.

Well that's the problem, while I never hear the term "infallible truth" thrown around much, it implies belief is irrelevant. I just laid out the evidence. You can believe what you want, but then evidence is irrelevant. You can't have it both ways.

[Predestination: An infallible argument?]

15 hours ago, Wannatripbaby said:

I'm going to ignore that snide remark against my character.

As for claiming "the bible" gives your statements credence, I can tell you that simply is not sufficient. I could use the bible to jusify many atrocities such as slavery, child abuse, murder, and genocide. And many people have! So simply claiming "the bible says it" as the only justification for your belief and feeling as though you need no further evidence is honestly a sign of weak faith. I've seen it played out in my life and the lives of others. 

As for my "evidence" I used a logical train of thought--drawing my axioms from the same bible you draw your beliefs from--and simply put 2 and 2 together to come up with 4. If my conclusion is based upon an illogical or incorrect axion, then it shouldn't be too hard for you to dismantle my arguments, right? Here, I'll even repost my original argument so that you can have it right in front of you.

1. The human mind or consciousness or “Soul.” That is, the part of you that makes you an individual, is made up of 2 parts: Nature & Nurture.

2. If I knew EVERYTHING about you (as God does) I could predict how you would react to ANY situation with 100% accuracy.

3. Since God created the universe he controls the Nature aspect of our being.

4. And since he knows everything about you, and as we established he controls Nature, it also means by extension that he controls how we were Nurtured.

5. Since God controls our Nature & Nurture it means we do not have free will, as most people believe it functions. Our “Souls” are more akin to programming. We will act exactly as God programmed us to.

 

If you have a problem with any of these 5 axioms, and are willing and able to dismantle it with logic and reason, please be my guest.

Sounds easy enough to disprove. I'll go point by point.

Point 1: The soul is a construct of your mind. There is no experimental evidence for its existence. However, it will interesting to learn what the threshold is for sentience.

Point 2: This is false because of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, where the more you know about the location of a subatomic particle, the less you know about its momentum. This means there is always probability involved, especially in your brain.

Point 3: There is no evidence a god created the universe.

Point 4 and 5: False due to reasons listed previously.

 

[Would you apply for a job at Amazon?]

Guys, you are taking this the wrong way. The problem with Amazon is their culture of safety, or lack thereof. I have no issue with working more than 8 hours a day and getting as much done in that time as possible, then figuring out how to do even more, but I take issue when a company condemns safety incident reporters instead of celebrating them. Efficiency is second to safety, doesn't matter if the package is on time if there is literally blood on it.

[Opinions on Privacy?]

None of this makes a difference, because 90% of the time you are compromised is due to a phishing scam. You are probably all willingly giving away your most private information and not realizing it.

 

Realize that meta data is not that private no matter what you do, but they are not that powerful. Your SSN, birthdate, and address can be used against you on the other hand, and guess what, somebody has already compromised that info for you already.

So if you want to be proactive, get your self some identify theft insurance.

[What does this mean?]

On 8/29/2019 at 6:49 PM, rosalie.bent said:

Truth cares not one iota about your opinion. That is why it is called TRUTH.

Indeed.

Alex, it just means they are someone like Rosalie here so you should stay away.

[Bitcoin]

Right now, I believe the market to be too volatile now and I am not sure if the currency is going to make it. Of course, I had mostly index funds, so I took a hit in December, but I'll recover. Going to diversify next by buying pharmaceuticals or something like that.

[Question on polar ice caps]

On 2/8/2019 at 4:49 PM, Joep said:

1. Nuclear plants don’t melt ice caps
2. We have the most trees there’s ever been in the last 100 years which is why California has been prone to wildfires. Too much dry vegetation to prevent wildfires (even though they happen naturally)
3. There’s been less snow due to the amount of concrete, asphalt, and buildings we’ve constructed which trap heat and reflect sunlight which typically disperse rain and snow showers


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Joep we know who you are, you can stop trolling by changing the subject and saying whatever nonsense you find on the internet. Everything you have said so far takes an argumentative posture and you have done this before. If you really wanted to learn about climate change you wouldn't be here since most people here are not scientists.

[Dill Pickle's electronics helpline]

In the bios, you can change boot priority, but sometimes with SSDs, the computer may not see the ssd. I have similar problems sometimes with my ssd, but my Corsair is very old and so is my computer. If you cannot fix it in bios, you may need to check your drive connection, especially if you have an old fashion ribbon cable. Otherwise, the drive itself may need to be tested. Of course, what I am saying is very preliminary. I don't know how to read those error codes but it sounds like incompatiblity problems or flaws in the hardware setup itself.

[Dill Pickle's electronics helpline]

Sounds like you need some transformers and rectifiers. There is also a special circuit to prevent over charging of the battery.