general chat The Trading Post

[WolfDreamer]

 

Welcome to the Adventurers guild. This is what we like to call the trading post. This is the place where Adventurers and guests can gather for general chat and for trading ideas, motivation, music, and stories of your adventures. If you're new to the Adventurers or here as a guest, welcome to our guild and please introduce yourself. The guild leaders are myself, @Sylvaa, and @Teros so please feel free to message one of us if you have questions about the guild and the forum.

[Sciread77]

Speaking of adventure, anyone catch that amazing Falcon Heavy launch on the 6th?

 

It’s an exciting time to be alive. 

 

The launch happened on my grandpa’s birthday. He was a contractor for NASA during the 60s and knew all the astronauts. He died a year and a half ago, and he would have LOVED seeing the simultaneous landing of the two boosters as well as his great grandkids watching it over and over. The timing made it feel like a tribute to him. 

 

We live in the future. It’s every bit as dark and amazing as I’ve been promised through the years. 

[WolfDreamer]

On 2/10/2018 at 3:27 PM, Sciread77 said:

It’s an exciting time to be alive.

 

Agreed. It's also a scary time to be alive, but I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way. Change is scary, progress is scary, mystery is scary. This sort of thing has all of the above.

[Sciread77]

1 hour ago, Wolfen said:

 

Agreed. It's also a scary time to be alive, but I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way. Change is scary, progress is scary, mystery is scary. This sort of thing has all of the above.

That’s the truth. I wouldn’t exactly call the world a dystopia, but getting older and seeing the world change is scarier than I thought it would be as a kid. That said, I try to embrace the change and excitement. Like my grandfather always did. 

[WolfDreamer]

2 minutes ago, Sciread77 said:

I try to embrace the change and excitement. Like my grandfather always did.

 

Your grandfather sounds like a wise man.

[Sciread77]

8 minutes ago, Wolfen said:

 

Your grandfather sounds like a wise man.

 

He was the wisest man I’ve ever met. His outlook meant he was always on the cutting edge of technology, both professionally and at home. He knew that things were changing and always sort of rolled with it. 

[Leigh]

On 2/11/2018 at 11:48 PM, Sciread77 said:

I wouldn’t exactly call the world a dystopia

 

I would! But then again I'm also the person who actually wishes she lived in a Shadow Run type world and I can go on for hours about how messed up so many things in the world are and how I'd fix them... but then everyone looks at me like I'm the most heartless monster alive when I really tell them how... >_>;

[Sciread77]

2 minutes ago, Leigh said:

 

I would! But then again I'm also the person who actually wishes she lived in a Shadow Run type world and I can go on for hours about how messed up so many things in the world are and how I'd fix them... but then everyone looks at me like I'm the most heartless monster alive when I really tell them how... >_>;

 

I understand.

 

The world's a mess, and I just need to rule it.

[Leigh]

 
I understand.
 
The world's a mess, and I just need to rule it.

Oh I don't want to rule it... I want to destroy most of it and leave the rest of humanity to survive.

Sent from my WAS-L03T using Tapatalk

[Sciread77]

4 hours ago, Leigh said:

Oh I don't want to rule it... I want to destroy most of it and leave the rest of humanity to survive.

Sent from my WAS-L03T using Tapatalk
 

 

At this rate, you can basically just sit back and survive then. 

[WolfDreamer]

18 hours ago, Sciread77 said:

 

I understand.

 

The world's a mess, and I just need to rule it.

 

15 hours ago, Leigh said:

Oh I don't want to rule it... I want to destroy most of it and leave the rest of humanity to survive.

Sent from my WAS-L03T using Tapatalk
 

 

I happen to be hopeful that eventually it will get better, because there are a lot of great things happening in this world, and a lot of beauty still pushing through the muck (and sometimes beauty in the muck). But, as @Leigh has already said, there are a lot of things in this world self-destructing quickly (like the American government) and I wonder if it needs to self-destruct in order to be reborn.

[Sciread77]

1 minute ago, Wolfen said:

 

 

I happen to be hopeful that eventually it will get better, because there are a lot of great things happening in this world, and a lot of beauty still pushing through the muck (and sometimes beauty in the muck). But, as @Leigh has already said, there are a lot of things in this world self-destructing quickly (like the American government) and I wonder if it needs to self-destruct in order to be reborn.

 

As I said earlier, I'm quite hopeful for the future.  We live in an amazing world we would have had difficulty dreaming of even when I was a kid.  I have a cell phone that is more powerful than all of the pre-college PCs I had combined.  Cancer treatments are better.  Many of the blind, deaf, and crippled can be partially restored with bionic implants.  I have a a virtual assistant that reads audiobooks to my dog while I'm at work and plays "Everything is Awesome" from the Lego Movie basically every other minute of the day.  My kids play with actual robots.  Asthma treatments are leaps and bounds better.  It's cheaper and easier for regular people to participate in the stock market. Wikipedia and smartphones have basically given us real-life versions of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  Google has created an amazing map of the globe available online. Dentists can make replacement teeth while you wait.  We can actually grow replacement organs to treat some diseases from a patient's own cells.  We have better medications to treat most diseases; even HIV isn't necessarily a death sentence anymore.We don't have flying cars -we have the technology, but people aren't good at flying and we're still working on logistical issues.  We have pictures of distant galaxies.  We know exponentially more information about our solar system and our own planet than we did.  We have 9 Star Wars Movies and countless novels and television episodes. We can find lost relatives, adopted children, and birth parents with DNA tests as well as solve crimes and exonerate the falsely acused.  I can talk to my grandma (long-distance) from my car for less than it used to cost to call her from a rotary phone so heavy I could kill someone by dropping it on them.  We have home printers that can make STUFF we design on our home computers.  Virtually all home computers are portable laptops now.  We no longer need to bring music or movies with us when we go on trips.  

 

*takes a huge breath*

 

Science is amazing.  The world is wondrous.  Crazy, terrible things are happening, have happened, and will happen.  Humanity isn't going in a great direction, especially with managing resources.  BUT, humanity has made some out-of-this-world advances too.  I've always hoped for the best and planned for the worst.
  

[Leigh]

I could write a huge post about what I would like to see change in the world but it would take me hours to write and leave most of us with feeling a bit sad, or start a fight, which I prefer to avoid. Science is awesome, hands down.

People... Not so much... I also have a real love hate relationship with technology. I was far happier in life when I didn't have so much easy access to all kinds of technology and I really miss how my life was back in the day, but there is so much going on in the world digitally now a days that it is damn near impossible to get enough of the people I spend time with locally to disconnect from it all for long enough to go do something meaningful.

Heck one of my closest friends now prefers to spend all their time at home on their computer or game console sucking around streaming on Twitch that I can't get them to do damn near anything with me unless it is a crazy jam packed day of ALL THE THINGS or something that is just as passive, like going to a movie.

I would figuratively kill for a local friend who just wants to go get a coffee and a slice of cake somewhere and hang out. Go for a wander though downtown or through the Glebe (artsy sort of place in town) and do nothing. Everyone just wants to do nothing these days...

And I'm not even going to touch the horror show that is social media...

I'm actually jealous of the world my Mum grew up in. He'll I wish I was alive in the ice age. I would always have something to do, something to learn. And yeah, an injury could be fatal with the total lack of medical technology but at least my daily life would feel meaningful and that my actions would have a noticeable affect on my life and on the lives of the purple in my community.

Sent from my WAS-L03T using Tapatalk

[Sciread77]

4 hours ago, Leigh said:

I could write a huge post about what I would like to see change in the world but it would take me hours to write and leave most of us with feeling a bit sad, or start a fight, which I prefer to avoid. Science is awesome, hands down.

People... Not so much... I also have a real love hate relationship with technology. I was far happier in life when I didn't have so much easy access to all kinds of technology and I really miss how my life was back in the day, but there is so much going on in the world digitally now a days that it is damn near impossible to get enough of the people I spend time with locally to disconnect from it all for long enough to go do something meaningful.

Heck one of my closest friends now prefers to spend all their time at home on their computer or game console sucking around streaming on Twitch that I can't get them to do damn near anything with me unless it is a crazy jam packed day of ALL THE THINGS or something that is just as passive, like going to a movie.

I would figuratively kill for a local friend who just wants to go get a coffee and a slice of cake somewhere and hang out. Go for a wander though downtown or through the Glebe (artsy sort of place in town) and do nothing. Everyone just wants to do nothing these days...

And I'm not even going to touch the horror show that is social media...

I'm actually jealous of the world my Mum grew up in. He'll I wish I was alive in the ice age. I would always have something to do, something to learn. And yeah, an injury could be fatal with the total lack of medical technology but at least my daily life would feel meaningful and that my actions would have a noticeable affect on my life and on the lives of the purple in my community.

Sent from my WAS-L03T using Tapatalk
 

 

That sounds terribly lonely. I’d pine for the old days in that situation, too.

 

Technology is a double-edged sword. I think we’ll healthily adapt as a species, but it could take some time. I’m still holding out for my robot body. It had better arrive before I’m too old and decrepit. 

[WolfDreamer]

22 hours ago, Sciread77 said:

The world is wondrous.

 

That it is.

17 hours ago, Leigh said:

I'm actually jealous of the world my Mum grew up in.

 

The more I learn about my grandfather's childhood the more I think, "I could totally do that." Like you said, learn something new almost every day. But I already kind of take that approach. I could either think of every day as the same routine or I could be mindful and look for something new to learn, some new experience or variation or new way of trying something.

 

But I'm also the sensitive kind of sap who gets teary over a gorgeous sunset. 

 

I'm also a bit naive because I haven't traveled much (never been out of the U.S.) and have only seen some of the "worst" parts of the world through a screen or in the pages of a book. I can see how someone who has been in these places or served in the military or something similar would become very jaded about the state of humanity (or lack of). If I'm not careful, I get jaded about helping my neighbors because I'm surrounded by so many who struggle with drugs.

 

I think it would go against my nature to not be hopeful. I think my whole body and psyche would rebel if I tried to believe that it's all pointless and we're all doomed, etc.

[Aquarii]

17 hours ago, Leigh said:

People... Not so much... I also have a real love hate relationship with technology. I was far happier in life when I didn't have so much easy access to all kinds of technology and I really miss how my life was back in the day, but there is so much going on in the world digitally now a days that it is damn near impossible to get enough of the people I spend time with locally to disconnect from it all for long enough to go do something meaningful.
 

I feel like the root of this issue is a lot less about technology, and a lot more about escapism. So many of these people that spend every moment on their devices are doing so because they are trying to escape reality. Maybe they hate their job, their body, their life, whatever. They want a distraction. As long as they have a distraction, they don't have to acknowledge how terrible they feel. 

 

Technology can be an incredible tool. It is now cheaper than ever to travel the world, keep in touch with people across the country, track health, etc. We can see and do things that were not even possible 50 years ago. That being said, technology can also be entirely abused. It is an outlet to escape the world, manipulate crowd opinions, and promote impossible standards. It is all about how you choose to use it.

 

For example, I, and many of my friends, adore technology. I have a smartphone, three laptops, and an iPad. I can often be seen researching my latest topics of interest on the web, or working on some technology-centric project. I use FaceTime and texting all the time. But, I also avoid using my phone when I am meeting with other people, unless it is to quickly look something up (directly related to our current conversation), or in case of an emergency. My bf and I love to unwind and watch a show on Netflix after a long day or long week, but we also love to walk to a local restaurant, spend the afternoon on a nature hike, go to local events, concerts, and stage shows, go go-kart racing, walk to local coffee shops, go on leisurely walks around town, etc. I love technology and I love using technology; I am even currently working towards a career in the tech field, but I am also careful to not let technology control my life. 

[Sciread77]

1 hour ago, Wolfen said:

But I'm also the sensitive kind of sap who gets teary over a gorgeous sunset. 

 

Same here.

2 hours ago, StarlordPhoenix said:

I feel like the root of this issue is a lot less about technology, and a lot more about escapism. So many of these people that spend every moment on their devices are doing so because they are trying to escape reality. Maybe they hate their job, their body, their life, whatever. They want a distraction. As long as they have a distraction, they don't have to acknowledge how terrible they feel. 

 

I think that you really nailed it here.  Technology, especially phones and social media, can be addictive.  But the science behind addiction (including substance abuse and gambling addiction) show that escapism is generally a large factor.  Heroin is often given as an example of something that is highly addictive and a difficult habit to kick once started.  Yet a staggering number of soldiers in Vietnam did not continue to use heroin once they came back to the States.  They used the escape in a terrible situation and stopped when they returned home away from a war zone.  Not that there weren't returning vets that still had heroin problems, but I think that escapism is a significant factor in addiction.

 

I think that unplugging is critical for mental health, especially these days when it is so easy to get those little highs from technology instead of facing reality.  The sad thing is that it also drains us.  That's why my family has rules.  No technology before school.  No technology during dinner.  No technology  for the last hour before bed.

 

I'm admittedly the most egregious violator of the last rule. 

 

 

1 hour ago, Wolfen said:

I think it would go against my nature to not be hopeful. I think my whole body and psyche would rebel if I tried to believe that it's all pointless and we're all doomed, etc.

 

My wife calls me an optimist, I call myself an ever-hopeful realist.  

[WolfDreamer]

2 hours ago, Sciread77 said:

My wife calls me an optimist, I call myself an ever-hopeful realist.

 

I like that. I think it's very realistic to be hopeful about most things.

[Leigh]

Ha! you all pretty much nailed it on what I was getting at, which is nice, because I was having a bit of trouble trying to get it out in words.

 

Although I feel like the black sheep in this little conversation. You guys have hope for things, and enjoy the little things whenever possible. I am pretty damn jaded at this point in my life so I tend to go the other way full tilt. I read about something terrible and instead of going "that's awful! What are people doing to help?" I go "That's awful! How much worse could we (humans in general not specific people) make it, and would it be more interesting or helpful for the planet if they did?" But on towards Tsunamis or Earthquakes or plagues, not things that are senseless human caused tragedy. (terrorism, school shootings, house fire etc)

 

And while I can't say I get choked up over a good sunset or just earth porn in general. I get stupidly excited internally about stuff in the universe. Like we figured out how to take pictures of stars, comets and other objects in space from telescopes on the ground or orbiting the planet and can see things that are huge distances away. Like we totally take for granted how freaking neat the universe is. Our own little rock is kind of 'm'eh' to me now, but the fact that we know what kinds of gas make up the swirling storms on Jupiter is mind boggling to me. We sent people to THE FREAKING MOON in the 60s. We left our planet to go see what was going down on the big rock that orbits us because we could.

 

Just wish I'd been born a few hundred years in the future when the idea of going to Mars for a teraforming/colonizing effort could be realistically done.

 

But then again, I still think it's neat as hell that a bunch of people in China built a wall big enough that you can see it from the Moon with the naked eye if the weather is clear.

[WolfDreamer]

51 minutes ago, Leigh said:

You guys have hope for things, and enjoy the little things whenever possible. I am pretty damn jaded at this point

 

I think if I were jaded, my next thought would be, Then why bother? What's the point of trying? I would stop caring about my health, my goals, and I wouldn't even bother trying to help with the things that present themselves as problems (the very things that I am jaded about). So for example if I became jaded about drug addiction because so many people around me are addicted, when my neighbor has an overdose what's the point of calling 911 or the police because if they save him he's just going to do it again? I've seen both lives destroyed and lives saved, and the lives were saved because someone was hopeful and helped out regardless.

 

I'm not speaking for you. I believe you would save someone's life if given the chance no matter how jaded you were about it. But if I'm jaded it means I'm broken, and I don't think broken me would be very helpful because it would mean I've lost all hope.

[Leigh]

I think you might be mixed up  jaded with apathy? It's a mistake I used to make all the time.   I'm not apathetic to the horrors of the world I'm just not shocked/excited/concerned with it all anymore. Take a horrible event like a school shooting. So many have happened in my life time that unless I know someone directly affected by it I simply do not care. I can't donate blood to help surviving victims, I can't do jack shit about gun laws (I'm referring to the fact that like 95% of the shootings I know about happened in another country) and I'm not the type of person to blather on about how tragic it all is on social media. If I do post about it at all, it's about environmental issues encouraging people to be aware that there ARE things they can do to prevent the problems.

 

Rant about "our thoughts and prayers" below

 

Spoiler

Every time something terrible in the world happens, I see at minimum, fifty posts from various people I'm friends with on social media with the generic "Our thoughts and prayers to <victims> in the <name of human caused tragedy>" And I just want to scream at them. It's not helpful. It does nothing immediately constructive. I understand that a few friends of mine are religious people. My former manager is Catholic, goes to church weekly with her family, heck, he dad is a Deacon at their church! She'll post something like that, but she also posts what/where/how people can actually help with the problem. She'll post about local blood banks for donations to help the survivors get through surgery. She'll post where donations can be made for natural disasters, and what kinds of things are helpful. Someone's got cancer? She'll post up websites where donations to cancer research can be made, and she'll actually make a small donation.

 

But the other 49 posts? "Oh no! Our thoughts and prayers!" and at least 85% of them are from non religious friends. I mean a straight up atheist saying that? It's nothing but a stupid selfish grab for attention. It makes you look like an attention grabbing asshole and it offends me.

 

That being said. When my Opa passed away a few years ago and I mentioned needing time off for the funeral, my boss (orthodox christian) said "You and your family will be in my prayers tonight" And while that doesn't mean jack shit to me (atheist) it means something to him and it was thoughtful because I knew he actually meant it.

 

tl;dr Don't say it if you don't really mean it. And for the love of your God, do something productive/positive in the face of tragedy.

 

 

Although as you mentioned above Wolfen. I would call 911, but I'd also tell them that if they do it again, I might not call them. But then again I believe you should face the consequences of your actions. The odds that someone doesn't know that heroin/cocaine/meth (the big three) are highly addictive and can easily kill you is zero among the people I associate with. They know what they are doing going in. I will tell them once, while they are sober that I will call 911 if they OD and I'm near, but not a second time. You choose to do something so freaking dangerous; you accept the consequences.

 

On a fitness related note: I'm jaded about my sister's constant mentions of

• I'm going to start eating better
• I'm going to start going to the gym again
• I'm going to lose weight
• I'm going to take better care of overall health

She says them constantly and she NEVER follows through with it. I'm completely jaded about that whole area of her life, but I will ALWAYS offer whatever assistance I can if she actually does follow through with those statements.

 

But I will leave us on a slightly better note than I started. The Snow Leopard is no longer endangered.

[Sciread77]

3 hours ago, Leigh said:

 

  Hide contents

 

But I will leave us on a slightly better note than I started. The Snow Leopard is no longer endangered.

 

 

I hear you on the thoughts and prayers. If it’s sincere, it’s meaningful. Most of the time when I hear it, though, it’s code for attention seeking or pretending to care when you don’t. That angers me. 

 

And the snow leopard news is quite good!

[Aquarii]

On 2/15/2018 at 3:50 PM, Leigh said:

You guys have hope for things, and enjoy the little things whenever possible.

 

I try to remain hopeful and avoid being jaded, because I find being jaded counter-productive to my goals. If I didn't believe humans could change, I would not have changed my lifestyle and lost 50lbs. If I did not believe people could rise above their circumstances, I would not have graduated debt-free from one of the most expensive state schools in the US, even though my family was on food stamps when I was in high school. If I didn't believe people could succeed regardless of their personality and fears, I would not have finished a music performance degree and performed an hour-long voice recital, despite growing up with performance anxiety and being extremely shy. If I didn't believe people could overcome their own personal battles, I would not have graduated summa cum laude from a prestigious school, despite battling anxiety and severe depression my entire time there. 

 

I am certainly not the most normal person in the world (and I embrace my uniqueness freely), but I have full confidence that I am no better than other people and that they too have the power to change and to overcome obstacles. So, I remain hopeful because I know that people who don't hope, don't try. And people who don't try, definitely don't succeed.

 

There are a lot of terrible things happening in this day and age, but there are many amazing and incredible things happening, too. I don't bother wishing for other times in history or the future because it takes away from the time I could be using to maximize and improve upon what we have here and now. I am ok with growing where I am planted. I may not be able to change the world (or maybe I can, ya never know), but I can do my very best to live my life to its full potential, and maybe, just maybe inspire a few other people to do the same.

 

Perhaps I am a helpless dreamer, but life is more exciting that way.

[WolfDreamer]

On 2/16/2018 at 4:29 PM, Leigh said:

But I will leave us on a slightly better note than I started. The Snow Leopard is no longer endangered.

 

Fun fact: snow leopards have been in my thoughts and prayers since I was a kid. See, it works. 

 

Seriously, though, I get it. But I actually do pray and when I say "thoughts" I mean that I will literally meditate on the person/persons and how what happened or is happening affected them and affects me, allow my emotions to be what they are and identify them (am I angry? Sad? Confused?) then ask Why do I feel this way? and What can I do to help?

[Sciread77]

13 hours ago, Wolfen said:

 

Seriously, though, I get it. But I actually do pray and when I say "thoughts" I mean that I will literally meditate on the person/persons and how what happened or is happening affected them and affects me, allow my emotions to be what they are and identify them (am I angry? Sad? Confused?) then ask Why do I feel this way? and What can I do to help?

 

I do the same. I tell those closest to me that I will do push-ups for them. I do some of my best empathizing and emotional processing while I am working out. 

 

See, if everyone meant what you and people like you do when you say thoughts and prayers, I’d have no issue with the phrase.