iNow

Which one is it, “Merry Impeachment” or “Happy Impeachment?” I wouldn’t want to offend anyone. Treasons Greetings!!

And yet you’ve remained in a funk for days without the ability to escape it. What type of freedom is that?

What's stopping you from ending your funk and existential crisis now? I’m reminded of an old saying... did you really have a bad day, or did you just have a bad 5 minutes that you milked all day. Will your worry make things better? If no, then there is no use worrying. If yes, then there’s still no need to worry. It’s a waste of your time and health.

You’re drawing some odd conclusions. Even if we’re wet robots controlled by chemically induced electrical currents, you’re still you. You’re the same as you were before having this knowledge. Functionally, not a single thing has changed. Your thoughts are as real as they always have been. The person you have always been as still just as valid as it used to be. Keep in mind also that disliking or being made uncomfortable will not change the validity or truth of this knowledge. You’re not an ostrich who can just put its head in the sand and pretend things are different. You've learned something new. It’s caused you to look at life in a brand new way. That’s a really wonderful thing to have happen. I’d say you’re extremely lucky to feel that, but YMMV.

Seems fair enough to me, but I'm not the one who grades the hardest on this particular topic. I'm looking at you @Eise

I can get on board with that. I shouldn't have used the word control. I don't think we have it, but I"m sure someone will remind me of a thermostat now that I've reopened this can of worms.

I think that’s only true if you include the colonies of bacteria in our guts as part of “us,” and I can’t control the pollens I breathe in or the oxygen levels of my cells of my hydration or my fatigue level or my hunger... or any of the great many other things which dictate the thoughts we have and the decisions we make.

You’ll get different answers depending on who responds. It all comes down to definitions of our words. We are ruled by chemistry though. It’s always been that way, so nothing really changes from what it was like before you came across this new information. You’re the same as you always have been, just with a new fact in your head. No use worrying. It won’t change anything except your health. Encourage you to use the search function on the site. Lots of free will discussions have already occurred. Good ones, too. It may be helpful for you to read them and they may at least give you a framework to ask good questions to ease your unneeded anxiety.

Today I learned that male turkeys are called Toms

Guys - Just putting this out there, but I suspect Mordred has figured out a solution already in the 18 months since he posted that, not to mention it’s OT

Good question. It’s a piece of walnut. I picked it up recently for about $15 along with a few other seriously underpriced live edge pieces at an antique store an hour away from my house. Based on what I’ve read and the folks I spoke with, most likely they used a chainsaw then took it to the mill. I’ve cleaned out the dead bits, bark, and loose sap wood with a wire brush and spent much of my week between conference calls and while listening to impeachment hearings hand planing it (still haven’t picked up a power planer). Now begins the sanding. In parallel, I’m working a really pretty piece of crotch cherry I also picked up which (as @String Junky rightly told me almost 2 years ago) is quite nice to work with (and look at) and it sands beautifully. Attached here. Next, I’ll try filling the cracks and knots using clear epoxy for the first time. Somewhat nervous, but have been reading a bunch and am sure I’ll figure it out. Once it cures and I sand it down, I’ll seal it all with an oil based urethane I love (Arm R Seal) and attach it to some black pipe to make end tables out of them for our living room.

Seems so simple in retrospect, but taught myself how to do Dutchmen this week. They go by many names. I’m calling them butterflies, though.

I don’t understand the AmEx reference, but dug it, too. Thx for sharing

Is there anything beyond confirmation bias suggesting women like bad boys? A definition for bad boy that is more precise than waffling and hand waving, perhaps?

Youth is wasted on the young

Another impressive bit of work on the creation and detailed 3D rendering of a 2D image, Janus. I can only imagine the hours that went into it, and appreciate you sharing it here in a lighthearted way.

Watching Elizabeth Warren debate Trump will be like watching a nuclear physicist explain gravity to a giant jar of spoiled mayonnaise. lol

Also, when typing a post, check your settings in the footer of the text editor box. Just below it. You may have manually disabled embedding in your own personal settings by mistake. Come to think of it, also check your personal settings more broadly. I think it’s somewhere around the personal profile. It seems like the system is actively preventing embedding and personal settings are a possible culprit worth checking.

Try taking off everything after and including the ampersand... the app= stuff and just use the normal link, not the embed / share syntax https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1TcnQxV4BE

Thanks for the quote. Perhaps you noticed that even your own source confirms that animals innovate too, hence the suggestion that the ability to innovate is the key difference between humans and other nonhuman animals is plainly false.

Not really. Animals innovate all of the time, too. They innovate new ways to escape predators. They innovate new ways to find, collect, and store food. They innovate new ways to seek shelter or create protection from weather elements. You're attempting to force a distinction where none exists. It happens at varying levels and magnitudes, but is hardly unique to humans. After nearly 10 pages of thread reminding you of this, the fact that you keep repeating false assumptions suggests you're either deeply ignorant or disappointingly obstinate. False dichotomy, perhaps?

Perhaps for the same reason you keep ignoring obvious facts like the better vantage point and increased vision upright standing offers, or the better access to auditory stimuli from farther distances standing upright provides, or any of the great many other things already and repeatedly shared with you across 8 (seriously, 8? Are you effing kidding me?) pages of this thread. I’d have closed it by now, probably 6 pages ago, but YMMV

It hasn't declined. The rate of growth has slowed, but population continues to grow. I know. Math is like hard and stuff, but this one is pretty simple.