u/Enough-Basil1038

WTH, OpenAI's latest update destroyed the app, with my primary use-case, Chat buried. And there's no way to download the old app, despite it's technical support saying to use the Classic version to resolve this problem.

They're going to lose a lot of customers over this. I'll switch to Claude.

The one common theme in all good photography is people in cool places - though of course perspective can make ordinary places special. At that point, the quality of the camera doesn't matter - it's just a matter of learning to see, and then recording it.

Meanwhile, many of us waste money, trying to achieve that through gear alone, like a better camera will create a better experience.. Maybe I'm just speaking for myself. After a hard day at work, it's easier to buy a new camera than getting out and connecting with the world and recording it.

I had a dog I cared for alone for six years, after divorce. Though I live in a suburban home, I don't have a fenced yard - so I walked my dog three times a day without fail, and took great care of him. I've worked from home since COVID, so that certainly made it easier - and also provided my dog continuous companionship. Sadly he passed a few months ago, so I've been considering getting another dog, but have various thoughts & doubts cross my mind.

• Is it selfish to get a dog when single? I worry dogs are pack animals, so it's not ideal to have such a small 'pack' (me & him). It seems more ideal for a dog to be with a family.
• Related to the above idea, I've learnt that some breeders and dog rescues discriminate against single people, and will only place dogs with families.
• What if something happens to me - for example, I'm unexpectedly hospitalized? I'm 54, and still in good health, but an unexpected illness is possible. I'd likely get a Lab or other larger dog, so their live span isn't as long - but still 10-12 years.
• Will I be able to raise a puppy alone? This one worries me a little less, but I know it won't be easy.

Have other people struggled with these same or similar questions? What are your thoughts?

I'm experimenting with luxury candles and was considering buying some from Le Labo - but I saw Salt & Stone's Santal & Vetiver candle on Amazon (and Salt & Stone were the seller), and I thought I'd try that first - but the candle had no smell! I let it burn for an hour, and even when close up, there wasn't any smell (beyond candle wax).

In my limited research the past couple days, I saw similar complaints about other brands, including Le Labo. I'm guessing candles sitting in a warehouse will lose their scent, so it might be safer buying direct - though I've read of people still getting duds when buying direct.

Is this a common phenomena or more a rarity?

=-=-=

UPDATE: I burned the candle again, and after an hour there was a noticeable scent, and after two hours it was starting to get strong. So like some people reported, it might take a couple hours for a candle to 'kick in'. That's actually not too bad, as I could burn the candle a few hours before it's over-powering. I did like the scent.

I then ordered two candles from Le Labo: Sandal 26 and Petit Grain 21. It's tempting to try more, but if I get into it, I'll try others in the future. The woody scents seem interesting.

Note, maybe a little unusual for this subreddit, but I'm a guy in his mid-50s, and certainly not the feminine type. Many years ago I was into high-end essential oils and absolutes, using them for aromatherapy while meditating. I recently stumbled into this rabbit hole of high-end scented candles (and I hate typical scented candles, like Yankee Candles) and am curious to see how useful they are for aromatherapy or affecting mood.

I'm wanting to get a fence around my backyard, but I'm worried about the permit process. When I moved into the house 10+ years ago, the survey found that the shed the previous owner installed 20+ years ago wasn't far enough from the property line (I think 5 ft is required), and the same was true of my neighbors shed - so I'm afraid when getting the fence permit, the township could say that both sheds need to be moved. My shed is on a concrete slab, so it's no small undertaking to move, and I'd prefer not to create a situation for my neighbor either.

Anyone with experience in this? Is it common for a fence permit request leading to the township noticing a shed is too close to the property line and forcing them to move it?

I’m new to this sub and read of people’s walking accomplishments. Some might not realize how much walking owning a dog can entail.

I had a Labrador Retriever for the past 10 years, without a fenced yard - and I walked him three times a day without fail. It didn’t matter the heat, cold, rain, snow, or sickness. Morning & evening walks were 30-45 minutes, and mid-day was 20-30 minutes. That’s about 11,000 walks, or 8 months of total time walking, 10% of my waking hours. Luckily where I live there are paved trails through open areas. And on weekends we’d often go for hikes or to parks.

He did slow down the last year and a half of his life, and sadly passed two months ago.

Now I’m trying to get out for at least a 30 minutes walk a day (and am more efficient without all the stops to sniff). I do want to get another dog again, maybe in the next few months - and one of the reasons is to keep me active and outside. I always loved walking anyway, even before getting a dog.

It’s kinda crazy thinking of how much I walked him. And I certainly miss walking him, as you can imagine. He so loved it.

53M, divorced 6 years ago. After divorce, I was the primary parent, but my daughter is 18 yo and leaving for college. I had a LTR for 5 years, but it ultimately failed - and I've lost interest in dating, at least for now. And not many friends left. Work (from home) keeps me very busy for 10 years a day - but the rest of my time is pretty quiet.

I see people happy & content being similarly alone, and I'm trying to make the shift. Have you found any good books that helped you come to your current happiness with solitude?

One book I have enjoyed is 'Solitude: A Return to the Self', by Anthony Storr (a Jungian psychologist), but I'm looking for others. I've always been a big reader, and find insightful views on a topic very helpful.

I recently started using my Sense 2 again with the Google Health app on an iPhone - and for the past few days, it continues to prompt me with notifications for missed calls.

• All day & night, even when I'm sleeping.
• It's notifying me of missed calls from weeks ago.
• If I clear the notifications it immediately prompts me with more. Earlier, as an experiment, I kept clearing them, and it would send me another - and I gave up after 20 of them.
• Yes, I could turn off phone notifications, but then I won't be notified of phone calls.

I'm curious how far back it'll go back. Maybe as a few months go by, it'll be notifying me of calls I missed from years ago. Maybe in a year or two I'll be caught up.

I'm reminded why I stopped using my Fitbits before: very buggy.

I hadn't used my FitBit Sense 2 in a while, since I was using an Apple Watch, but wanted to switch back - but you can't pair an old Sense 2 (though it's a product Google still sells) to Google Health! I use an iPhone, so it's not possible to use the old app. I've tried everything imaginable (and I've worked in IT for 30 years, so I'm savvy with tech).

Google destroys every product they touch. $200 down the drain.

Edit: to be clear, the issue is Google did a firmware update to Fitbits to make them compatible with the new Google Health app - but if you missed the update before the switch to Google Health (for example, the Fitbit wasn't in use then), it's no longer possible to use that Fitbit with the Google Health app, or to update the firmware to be compatible.

Around the time COVID started, my wife left (leading to a divorce) and I began working from home. She left me with our daughter and dog, but as my daughter became a teenager she no longer wanted to spend any time with me, and she's leaving for college soon. And my dog was my regular companion, got me out 3X a day walking him, and I'd take him to the park or for hikes - but he died a month ago. I was in a LTR for a few years, but it was plagued by constant conflict (while me and my ex wife rarely ever fought).

Anyway, for the past 12-18 months I've grown more & more isolated. I've lost the desire to attempt dating again. And since I work from home, I rarely need to leave the house. I'll go for walks around the neighborhood, but that's about it.

I feel like it's bad for my brain, not having the stimulation of going out, going places, socializing with people, etc. Sure, I'm on meetings at work for 9 hours a day - but all from my house.

Anyone else rarely leave their house?

I had an English / bench line Labrador Retriever that recently passed at 9.5 years. We got him when I was married, and my wife mostly raised him as a puppy - she didn't work, while I was out at work - but over 6 years ago I was divorced, and I kept the dog (along with primary custody of our daughter). Around the same time, I started working from home, and every day without fail I walked the dog three times a day, taking him out to pee additional times, and overall took very good care of him for the past 6 years. During those same years, I also had the responsibility to care for my daughter, driving her daily to activities, etc - but she'll be leaving for college in Sept.

I've been pondering getting a puppy, another bench line Lab - but I'm worried if I'll be able to raise him. For my job, I'm in online meetings almost all day - though it's possible to attend some of the meetings from my mobile phone, while taking the dog outside or to tend to things. Though I'm an executive with a lot of responsibility, I'm developing the attitude that I want to focus on what's important to me - part of which would be raising another dog.

Anyone else in a similar situation raising a puppy? Is it realistically doable to raise a puppy in my situation? Or does it more require 24x7 attention?

https://preview.redd.it/vsy377xm181h1.jpg?width=768&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5b6cf45788023085e1b57f467a9d8fa08f460f20

https://preview.redd.it/kf6wc7wo181h1.jpg?width=967&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=092c4f72e6d2987708b1fc6f70b7d2268ccb21d6

I lost my 9.5 yo boy recently. Looking at pictures just 5 years ago, he was still so young, but I I never fully experienced how short their lives are until it happens. Enjoy your time with your Labs!

I loved my boy, Isaac so much.  He was more my wife's dog for the first four years of his life because she was a stay-at-home mom, though I did spend time with him everyday. Then my wife left, and I became primary parent of our daughter, and I solely took care of Isaac for three years - and it wasn't always easy, walking him three times a day, etc - but he was good companionship, and I've worked from home since, so he was with me all day, every day.  Then the past two & half years, he went between my house and my ex-wife's house, where they have other dogs, so it was nice he had that experience.

When I think back on his life, he had a great life, and it's hard to think of anything bad or sad in his life.

• He was always well loved by the family.
• He was walked three times a day - usually long walks, though he slowed down as he got older.
• He was fed very well, with quality kibble, and he always got much of my food.  Along with his twice a day small serving of kibble, each morning he’d get a bite of my protein bar, during the day I would share snacks, we would share lunch and dinner.  I would often bring him home food from restaurants.
• Before divorce, he was regularly had my ex for company during the day, and after the divorce he spent all day with me while I worked from home. He had a love seat in my office, where he'd sit and look out the window much of the day.
• After divorce, for three years we were constantly together, and had a lot of fun.  A couple years ago, my ex started taking him a few days a week, and there he got to live & play with other dogs.
• He was often groomed, and recently I bought specialty brushes and would thoroughly brush him a few times a week, which he loved.
• He always got good medical attention.  And I gave him medicine, supplements and probiotics to help keep him healthy.
• I took him to the park and other places to walk.  More recently, I tried to take him a couple times a month.
• He was friends with many dogs in the neighborhood, and was friendly with every dog he met.
• Everyone in the neighborhood knew and loved him.
• He often laid outside on the lawn, when the weather was nice.
• He always had toys, and we would try to stimulate him with the feeder ball and other toys.

The loss hurts terribly. My heart goes out to all other pet owners going through this.

10yo Lab, slowing down a bit and has some arthritis, but mostly seems happy. He wasn’t well when I woke this morning, so I took him to the hospital and have been there most of the day, and had to switch hospitals midway through.  He has internal bleeding and it’s a 65%-80% chance it’s cancer - so I’ve been proceeding with testing to try to get a better indication - for example, if it’s metastasized throughout his body.   If that’s the case, I’d likely euthanize him, but if there’s a chance it’s benign, then I’ll have surgery to give him a splenectomy (likely cause of bleeding).  I’ve left him for the night at the hospital; they’re gonna do an ultrasound a little later, which could provide an indication, followed by a CT scan in the morning - then I need to decide if to proceed with the surgery or not.

I understand the odds, but with a 20-35% chance of it being benign, I feel unless there's a strong indication it's cancer for sure, I should give him that chance and have the surgery. And at worst, I'd still prefer some option to bring him home brief before euthanasia.

Any advice or tips?