u/AnActualGhost

I have a friend who thinks they’re aromantic. They said they don’t understand the difference between a romantic relationship and a “best friend you have sex with” other than there is more likely to be an expectation of monogamy in the “romantic” version. They asked me to explain the difference and I honestly couldn’t put anything into words. It kind of made me question whether I’ve ever actually experienced romantic love or if all my relationships have actually just been a best friend I have sex with.

How would you all describe the difference between romantic and platonic love?

I love Pod Mortem’s style. I learn so many interesting things about how horror movies were made and the way all the directors and actors and special effects teams are connected. I love cheesy action movies almost as much as I love horror movies. I was thinking today about Split Second with Rutger Hauer and wondering how that movie came to exist, and thought a deep dive podcast on movies with that kinda vibe would be so much fun! Also it would be cool to use as a “to-watch” list. I often watch horror movies I’ve never seen because I want to watch before I listen to a Pod Mortem or Ruined episode about it, and they’re almost always good times! Either so bad they’re good or actually good lmao.

I came to the waste water treatment field less than a year ago. I’m in my late 30s, I’ve spent most of my adult life as either a cake decorator in a retail bakery or working in an ophthalmologist or optometrist office. I was so sick of the sales goals and the pressure to spend as little time on any one patient as possible. I applied to be an OIT at a municipal waste water plant completely on a whim. I knew nothing about the industry, all I knew was there were no sales goals and no customer/ patient facing aspect. I never thought I would hear back, but I’m so glad I did!

I have now passed all 4 levels of tests for biological treatment licenses in my state! I won’t actually hold my A license til I have 4 years of experience. But my job pays you as though you hold it as soon as you pass the test! So not only have I gotten paid to learn a ton of new things about electricity, hydraulics, mechanics, biology and chemistry, but in under a year I’m also making like $13 an hour more than I was at my last job where I was the MVP of the whole department for years. They had offered me a $4 an hour raise not to quit 😂

I just wanted to share how happy and proud I am that I tried this new thing I knew nothing about and I’m succeeding at it! I was worried I was too old to be switching career fields so wildly, but I knew I couldn’t spend the rest of my life dreading every work day so I took the chance!

I took a practice test for biological treatment class A/I and the question was:
white pillowing foam on an aeration tank indicates what?
A. The aeration tank is underloaded organically
b. The aeration tank is overloaded organically
c. The aeration tank is overloaded hydraulically
d. None of the above.

Please tell me what you would answer and why. I thought I had this pretty well understood and now I’m pretty upset if I don’t.

I am once again frustrated trying to study on my own. I passed the D C and B tests but I really just want some decent practice tests for A or IV or whatever equivalent that is in your state lmao.

I don’t have children, and I don’t have very many friends with children. But often, parent friends will be invited to a thing and say “I’m bringing [child]” not a question, a statement. Or sometimes they will just show up with their children without letting anyone know that was gonna happen. This even happens at events and parties where the invitation expressly requests parents not bring children under a certain age.

I feel like unless the child is specifically invited, then parents should ask if they can bring them. But maybe I’m wrong about that?

Thoughts?

Edit to add: I don’t dislike children or even want to exclude them from most things. This is strictly an etiquette question out of curiosity.

It tasted like eating an air freshener meant to smell like black licorice. I usually love duck. This was some kind of “honey orange marinade” duck, but I like honey and I like orange so I don’t know what happened here.

It kinda smelled like it tasted before I even cooked it so I’m not sure it matters, but we cooked it in the bullion option because my husband is vegetarian and it seemed like the best option for his entree.

Is it maybe some kind of chemical thing like how cilantro tastes like soap to some people (I am one of those people.)

Thanks for helping me with this weird mystery!

We are receiving a ton of grease from septic haulers. They have nowhere else to take it. I’m told the centrifuge won’t run if we put grease in there with the WAS. But the centrifuge is the only way for anything to actually leave the system. We have way too much grease that’s just being circulated through the plant over and over because we can never waste from the tank connected to the septic hauler dumping station. I’m new to this industry, but there has to be a way to get rid of it right? Is there a particular type of polymer or something we could get that could turn sludge with a really high grease concentration into cake?

The DM isn’t willing to give away much about the setting/ story so try to avoid spoilers if possible please!

I’m just not feeling inspired, I think I’m burned out from work. Nothing I’ve thought of sounds all that exciting or fun to role play.

I was considering leaning into that and playing a character who is very aloof and sarcastic. Kinda like a Daria Morgendorfer or Mermista from She-Ra or April Ludgate from Parks and Rec type character? Maybe even an Eleanore from The Good Place type?

I don’t know what class or race to pair with that. Im struggling with a backstory for her to even be in this valley based on the bits of info the DM has shared. Maybe she grew up there? At least then the DM might share a little more info with me lmao.

Also if I’m playing an aloof and bored with adventuring, I’d like to give her at least one topic she is actually really excited about. Like maybe she adores owlbears or something and knows every fact about them and will talk you to death if the subject ever comes up?

I’m open to any and all suggestions! Thank you for your help!!

PS: we are playing 5e but idk if it’s 2014 or 2024. Whichever one has more options tbh, the DM always lets us do whatever we want character wise and says he’ll “make it work”

Hello waste water friends! I want to try and take my A test in the next few months, but I’m very overwhelmed. I’m not sure what exactly I need to study. I found the B test pretty difficult, and just really don’t want to struggle so much with the A.

Has anyone taken this recently and can tell me what topics might be focused on more than others? For example, the B test had a ton of anaerobic digester and BOD stuff.

Thank you for any direction you can give me!

TLDR: combination skin, using 1% clasciterone and 0.025% trentinoin per dermatologist. Looking to add anything to help combat daily sun damage and natural aging tysm :)

Hello! I am looking for suggestions to add to my current routine! I just want to do as much as I can to make up for the fact that I get way more sun exposure than most. I started working outside about a year ago. I love it so much but I’m so worried about the sun damage to my skin! Im a deeply insecure person and really trying to put off Botox or anything like that because I’m worried I’ll get addicted to it and end up looking like I’m 60 trying to look 20 when really I’m not quite 40 😂

My main concerns are skin texture, and collagen production and I am open to any and all suggestions including vitamins/supplements. I’m even considering one of those red light mask things 😅

My AM routine is:
wash my face with COSRX foaming cleanser,
Use Winlevi (1% clasciterone)
Use Elta MD SPF 46 moisturizer.

My PM routine is:
COSRX foaming cleaner
Winlevi
trentinoin (0.025%) like 3x a week. I’m working up to every other day. I was using a higher percentage but even if I only did it once a week it made my skin so angry and flakey!
Either Neutrogena hydroboost water gel, or CeraVe PM moisturizing lotion.

I also take Spironolactone for PCOS related hair growth (this sucks tbh) so my previously “oily” skin is now combination.

I also use aquaphor SPF chapstick and try to apply Neutrogena SPF 50 for your face or sometimes the “age shield” SPF 70 (if I’m going to have time to actually make sure the white cast is gone before I’m out in public) as close to every 2 hours as I can when I’m working outside but I can’t always manage that. I wear a hat most of the time.

Thank you so much for reading and any help you can offer!

I work at a waste water plant. I had been leaving peanuts out for them by the spot where we check the chlorine. For a few weeks I left it every day I worked and they started to kind of trail me around the plant. But then we had to empty and clean out one of the chlorine contact chambers near where I left the food and I didn’t want them to come eat every day while we were doing work there in case one got hurt somehow. So I stopped leaving it until the work was finished. That took a couple weeks tho, and now they don’t really come around at all anymore.

I see a couple occasionally, but not nearly as regularly. I leave peanuts in the spots where I see them, but they don’t come as close as they were before, and seem much less interested in making friends.

I realize now I can’t really leave them food in one spot consistently because I’m doing something different at work every day… Unless maybe I leave it by the admin building, because I know I go there every morning. But I did try to leave food there when I stopped leaving it by the chlorine sampler and they never seemed to find it.

I’d like to win them back if that’s possible. I really miss them :(

The city of Florence is currently spraying for mosquitos. This can have unintended consequences for other species, particularly bees. Please let the Public Works department know if you have a hive so they can avoid that area. 843-665-3236

You can also stop by Public Works to pick up a free mosquito brick for ponds, birdbaths, rain barrels etc. those are totally harmless to animals, humans, and almost all insects except mosquitoes. So those won’t bother your bees!

https://www.cityofflorencesc.gov/public-works-department/beautification-and-facilities/mosquito-control?fbclid=IwY2xjawSyr0RleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA80MDk5NjI2MjMwODU2MDkAAR4johsszfa8l7mjWDt7gnNV7Cmu5sdW4Dzga2n3JGC2xv3HiBl08l3PivaxTQ\_aem\_I49jmTJqTjvO6JT9Z1NmuA

Both are cheaper than what we pay for Spectrum and the specs look better. I’m wondering if anyone has already switched and can tell me what the installation fees and process were like and whether it’s working well so far.

I don’t know if a “handyman” is even a thing anymore, but I guess that’s what I’m looking for 😂

I need somebody to do some pretty simple things around my house that I should be able to do myself if I’m being honest. But I would rather have somebody who knows what they’re doing do it, than risk messing it up with a half assed DIY like the previous owners of my house did 😒

If anybody has a recommendation for a company that could do things like: hang a storm door, hang an outdoor ceiling fan, replace a vapor barrier (not encapsulate, just like cover the ground with a sheet of plastic) and clean out gutters I would really appreciate it!!

Thank you so much for any help yall can give me!

My husband (40M) and I (37F) are child free by choice. Neither of us were very interested in raising children and I was (and still am) honestly completely horrified by the idea of giving birth.

I see so many posts from other childfree people about how they wanted to focus on impressive careers or traveling or just being able to spend whatever money they’d like, and we haven’t done any of that. I’m starting to feel like a bit of a failure. What have we done wrong that we are a 2 income child free family and still have to wipe out our savings account every time there is an emergency. We have a modest home in a state with a low cost of living, 1 of our cars is new (it was actually cheaper to buy new than used during the car chip shortage because of the interest rates) and 1 is junk. We don’t even go on vacation once a year. The only thing we really splurge on is instacart because we both feel overwhelmed in a grocery store.

Does anyone else feel like there is a heavy expectation of having like, something to *show* for being child free? Some jet setting lifestyle or lavish home or an incredible talent or physique they spend all their free time cultivating?

Does anyone else feel like they are severely not meeting that expectation? Is anyone else kind of disappointed in themselves for it?

The Hadestown pro shot will be in theatres for like one week in July and I’m so excited! I want to make a day of going to see it! Is there someplace nicer than the Swamp Fox anywhere near here?