~~ CEB Community Thread ~~

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

It's gotta be "Ottoman Empire Day" among YouTube history channels because practically all of the ones that I subscribe to have Ottoman-related videos posted today.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

23 hours ago, Jason said:

USPS OIG don't fuck around with mail theft. Had multiple cards from Amex show up in Informed Delivery a couple of weeks ago that then didn't show up. It's become normal for things to show up in Informed Delivery and then not appear for a couple of days so I gave it a week. Then I got a fraud alert notification from Amex that one of the cards was used for nearly $700 at a Ralphs. Submitted a USPS OIG complaint and got contacted by a special agent, and she must have some idea of who did it because she asked if I'll do some mail testing with her (send me stuff like gift cards and see if they arrive/in what condition).

 

You don't say?

 

 

Post Office Cops Used Social Media Surveillance Program Illegally

WWW.VICE.COM

---

The Office of Inspector General found the agency did not have legal authority for searches in its "iCOP" surveillance program.

 

[GeneticBlueprint]

On 3/29/2022 at 11:46 AM, GeneticBlueprint said:

I just got the "cleared to close" notification for buying my grandma's house in Salt Lake City. Yay.

 

Signed the paperwork on Friday. The house is now ours and we are now $350k more in the hole than we were previously. And our savings are now in the extremely low five figures. Like, if it was a dollar lower it would be four figures basically. Hopefully this pays off.

 

On the plus side, I will now be living in a more competitive Congressional district and much closer to all the things I do for fun (re: live music, restaurants).

[heydude93]

Random question I was thinking the other day that was tough for me to answer: how many OG online gaming communities other than D1P and maybe  Insert Credit/Select Button have NOT become noticeably cultier over time? 

 

 

[GeneticBlueprint]

2 minutes ago, heydude93 said:

Random question I was thinking the other day that was tough for me to answer: how many OG online gaming communities other than Insert Credit/Select Button and D1P have NOT become noticeably cultier over time? 

 

This is the only online gaming community I pay any attention to. Even then I'm rarely on the game side of it. The older I get the more I just tend to focus on one game (basically have only played Apex Legends for the past year). What are some examples of gaming communities getting culty? Sounds like it could be fun to read about. Haha.

[marioandsonic]

I got an email from EVGA that my new graphics card that I queued for availability is now available (after a year or so of waiting).  It's not the best graphics card ever (it's an RTX 3060), but it's a huge and long-overdue upgrade.  I was debating on whether or not to get it, but since I just got my promotion, I figured why not splurge a bit?

[Nokra]

I found out a couple hours ago that my cousin committed suicide this morning. He was living with my sister and her husband just a few minutes from my parents.

His conservative Baptist parents had disowned him a couple years ago because he realized he was gay and didn't believe in god, and I think the estrangement and identity crisis sent him into a slow tailspin. My family took him in, inviting him to live with my sister and her husband in Idaho (he was living in Oregon) while he saw a therapist... We all tried to be there for him over the last few months, offering love and support, doing all of the usual family things with him (movies, meals, game nights, Christmas, birthdays, Zoom calls, etc.), trying to be a good family for him and show him the love that his own family had withdrawn... but it was all not enough. He was 24. 

 

Please tell those you care about that you love them. 

[Keyser_Soze]

2 hours ago, Nokra said:

 

 

Sorry man. That's tough.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

On 4/18/2022 at 5:06 PM, marioandsonic said:

I got an email from EVGA that my new graphics card that I queued for availability is now available (after a year or so of waiting).  It's not the best graphics card ever (it's an RTX 3060), but it's a huge and long-overdue upgrade.  I was debating on whether or not to get it, but since I just got my promotion, I figured why not splurge a bit?

 

Let me know when you get it installed and running so I can gift you a game from Steam to put it through its paces!

[CayceG]

On 4/20/2022 at 1:31 AM, Nokra said:

I found out a couple hours ago that my cousin committed suicide this morning. He was living with my sister and her husband just a few minutes from my parents.

His conservative Baptist parents had disowned him a couple years ago because he realized he was gay and didn't believe in god, and I think the estrangement and identity crisis sent him into a slow tailspin. My family took him in, inviting him to live with my sister and her husband in Idaho (he was living in Oregon) while he saw a therapist... We all tried to be there for him over the last few months, offering love and support, doing all of the usual family things with him (movies, meals, game nights, Christmas, birthdays, Zoom calls, etc.), trying to be a good family for him and show him the love that his own family had withdrawn... but it was all not enough. He was 24. 

 

Please tell those you care about that you love them. 

 

Fucking terrible. I'm sorry. 

 

 

[CitizenVectron]

Adopted a new kitten today so that Columbo would have a buddy to play with (our oldest cat, Little, just wants to sleep and cuddle).

 

Since we named the last one Frank Columbo, we thought we'd continue the theme. And since he has a little mustache, meet Hercule Poirot:

 

 

[Anathema-]

I cook pretty well but it's not often that I'm really blown away by something I made and tonight I was reminded at how amazing it is to cook in a foil pouch. 

 

Half a russet, sliced, per pouch.

A sprinkling of carrots, half moons or tiny circles. 

~1/2 pound of stew meat, browned. I had some bottom round. 

I was out of onions but man I wish I had some, probably about half an onion for four pouches. 

 

Layer the potatoes, then carrots. Drizzle oil and dollop a nice compound butter (garlic, rosemary, thyme, secret ingredients), then the meat. Seal the pouch and a little slit on top. 400 degrees for an hour. That's really it. The pouch does the work. You wind up with a super tender meat and potatoes that crisp up and infuse with all the flavors. Fucking amazing. 

[Kal-El814]

I occasionally log onto youtube in a private window, when I'm on VPN, or both, and I simply refuse to accept that enough people care about Johnny Depp's trial as the algorithm would suggest.

[Kal-El814]

On 4/30/2022 at 11:18 PM, Kal-El814 said:

I occasionally log onto youtube in a private window, when I'm on VPN, or both, and I simply refuse to accept that enough people care about Johnny Depp's trial as the algorithm would suggest.

 

 

 

Okay, so Depp or his people pay some kind of troll farm for this to happen, right? There’s no other explanation that I can accept.

[b_m_b_m_b_m]

Every normie I’ve talked to about this has mentioned they’re not really following other than hearing about some stupid thing one did to the other but that might be my group so idk. I don’t get it at all. 

[thewhyteboar]

6 hours ago, Kal-El814 said:

 

 

 

Okay, so Depp or his people pay some kind of troll farm for this to happen, right? There’s no other explanation that I can accept.

Depp seems to have some weird incel-army supporting him. Which, why???

[marioandsonic]

Why is it every time good things are going my way, I get some kind of news (like the Roe v Wade news) that shits all over that? And it makes me question if I could turn back all the good things in my life just so those bad things don't happen.

[Joe]

7 minutes ago, marioandsonic said:

Why is it every time good things are going my way, I get some kind of news (like the Roe v Wade news) that shits all over that? And it makes me question if I could turn back all the good things in my life just so those bad things don't happen.

How does this decision affect you personally? Like it sucks I’m bummed, but why take it that far?

[marioandsonic]

4 minutes ago, Joe said:

How does this decision affect you personally? Like it sucks I’m bummed, but why take it that far?

 

I don't know.  It doesn't affect me personally, and as far as I know it doesn't even affect anyone I know personally.  But...I just want to believe this shitty world could be a better place, I guess?  I can't really describe it.

[Nokra]

The last two weeks have been an emotional rollercoaster. Two weeks ago I mentioned that my cousin took his life, and today I was offered and accepted a kickass job at Intel proper (no longer a contract worker). Ups and downs. 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

The next few days are probably going to be very, very difficult for me.

 

 

[rc0101]

6 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

The next few days are probably going to be very, very difficult for me.

 

 

Sorry to hear that. I lost my German Shepherd suddenly to intestinal torsion a few weeks ago. Not even 2 years old. Was and is incredibly difficult. 

[CitizenVectron]

22 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

The next few days are probably going to be very, very difficult for me.

 

 

 

I'm very, very sorry. I'm glad you got to take the road trip with him not too long ago (I followed on instagram and was happy to see). That our companions have such shorter lives than us is cruel, and the fact that they don't understand their own mortality even crueler. But, the good thing about our companionship is the joy it brings to them, and to us. Giving them a good and safe life (which I know you have) is a good and moral cause and undertaking.

[GeneticBlueprint]

19 hours ago, thewhyteboar said:

Depp seems to have some weird incel-army supporting him. Which, why???

 

I've listened to a couple of days worth of the trial in the background. I don't really care about the people involved so much as I'm interested in watching a large trial play out. I've never really seen one.

 

Depp has a savvy PR/social media team. I see snippets/montages/cut up footage of the trial posted on reddit making him look totally awesome and on point while making Heard's legal team look like morons. Those snippets are very unrepresentative of the actual feel of the trial. Depp isn't constantly dropping truth bombs and owning the lawyers cross-examining him. But, I will admit that Heard's legal team isn't doing a great job from what I've seen. That might be because the preponderance of evidence is on Depp's side. I honestly don't know. Again, I've only seen two days worth of trial and I guess it's been going on for weeks. But they've done a really bad job at "Don't ask questions you don't know the answer to".

 

But I'm guessing the incels are watching a lot of what Depp's PR team is putting out there.

[GeneticBlueprint]

3 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

The next few days are probably going to be very, very difficult for me.

 

 

 

"The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven not man's."

 

I'm sorry about this, Wade. I have had several dogs come and go in my life. The going is never easy.

[GeneticBlueprint]

15 hours ago, Nokra said:

today I was offered and accepted a kickass job at Intel proper (no longer a contract worker).

 

 

 

 

Very sorry about your cousin, my guy.

[Anathema-]

5 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

The next few days are probably going to be very, very difficult for me.

 

Still not really ready to talk about the loss of our friend Joey. I wish I could spare you the pain but hopefully being there for you helps shoulder it a little. 

 

If I could recommend anything it's to find a new friend before you even think you're ready. I probably would have a new one right now if it weren't for the newborn but it really helped when my cat passed. 

[brucoe]

About three or four weeks ago, my kidneys collapsed and I ended up in the hospital. That was such a rough period of time, but now that I'm behind that (of course, I'm now doing dialysis 3 x a week), I'm actually feeling pretty good about my life. Oh, I hate dialysis, but I've lost 50 pounds and for reasons I just can't really fathom, I'm feeling a lot more positive than I have in quite some time. Got back to work, and I'm starting to notice that far more people seemed to care about my health than I ever did.

[Nokra]

2 hours ago, brucoe said:

About three or four weeks ago, my kidneys collapsed and I ended up in the hospital. That was such a rough period of time, but now that I'm behind that (of course, I'm now doing dialysis 3 x a week), I'm actually feeling pretty good about my life. Oh, I hate dialysis, but I've lost 50 pounds and for reasons I just can't really fathom, I'm feeling a lot more positive than I have in quite some time. Got back to work, and I'm starting to notice that far more people seemed to care about my health than I ever did.

 

Holy shit man, sorry to hear about your kidneys  but I'm glad that things are looking up!

[Nokra]

5 hours ago, GeneticBlueprint said:

 

 

 

 

Very sorry about your cousin, my guy.

 

Ha thanks, I really can't believe it, honestly. They're basically doubling my current salary and giving me company stock, plus a signing bonus, plus better health vision and dental care, 401k matching, free meals, more flexible working hours, more PTO, opportunity for working from home, it will actually be using my degrees (in Comp Sci)... I'm overwhelmed. After struggling to make ends meet for years, it's incredible. I'm 37 and have zero retirement, but I feel like now I can finally actually plan for my future. Next week I'm probably going to start constantly shitting blood, just to even things out.  

[marioandsonic]

I've that I fucking hate going to the gym. Not the actual gym part, but just that other people are there, judging me and mocking me behind my back. I hate it. I would trade for the body of pretty much anyone else there for my own. It just makes me realize how much I've destroyed my own body, and I'll probably never get it back, and makes me want to just stop and go home and hide in my room and never come out.

[b_m_b_m_b_m]

46 minutes ago, marioandsonic said:

I've that I fucking hate going to the gym. Not the actual gym part, but just that other people are there, judging me and mocking me behind my back. I hate it. I would trade for the body of pretty much anyone else there for my own. It just makes me realize how much I've destroyed my own body, and I'll probably never get it back, and makes me want to just stop and go home and hide in my room and never come out.

My guy they do not care. This is in your head

[marioandsonic]

47 minutes ago, b_m_b_m_b_m said:

My guy they do not care. This is in your head

 

I know it's more of a self-loathing psychological issue than anything.

 

I mean so many things have gone right in my life lately, and yet the biggest thing I can control, my weight, I keep failing at.  I don't know why.  I've gotten myself to lose weight before, but the motivation is just...not there, and I don't know why.

[Nokra]

3 hours ago, marioandsonic said:

 

I know it's more of a self-loathing psychological issue than anything.

 

I mean so many things have gone right in my life lately, and yet the biggest thing I can control, my weight, I keep failing at.  I don't know why.  I've gotten myself to lose weight before, but the motivation is just...not there, and I don't know why.

I'm just some idiot online, but for what it's worth, I don't think your weight is necessarily "the biggest thing [you] can control". There's a lot about our weight that's not entirely in our control (e.g. genetics, triggers, etc) and I'd be worried that thinking about it like this makes it feel like a moral failing to not be where you want to be, which it isn't. I know it's cliche, but... keep striving for progress, for sure, but go a little easier on yourself.   

[Uaarkson]

10 hours ago, marioandsonic said:

I've that I fucking hate going to the gym. Not the actual gym part, but just that other people are there, judging me and mocking me behind my back. I hate it. I would trade for the body of pretty much anyone else there for my own. It just makes me realize how much I've destroyed my own body, and I'll probably never get it back, and makes me want to just stop and go home and hide in my room and never come out.

Don’t ever let anyone tell you it can’t be done. It 100% can, and you 100% can.

 

Also, here’s the thing about gym bros - you might think they’re mocking you, but if you started a conversation with one of them I bet you’d find yourself a good, supportive workout buddy. A lot of these guys are all about lifting others up.