u/skatardrummer

I haven't actually done this. I have a very healthy diet regiment I have to maintain under doctor's care, but the list of foods I am allowed to have is VERY VERY small. It has resulted in me messing up and eating something I shouldn't and having a hard time getting back on track. Like say I wanted some pizza but had eaten all that I was supposed to for the day, was craving pizza so bad. Would the chew and spit thing for taste be OK once in a great while? Or is that like slippery slope to eating disorder? Or is that just eating disorder right off the bat? I could never bring myself to eat and throw up, which is bad for the body on so many levels.

Trying to figure out how to get taste without the calories if I am having a craving issue for like over a day. My body ridiculously overreaponds to eating the wrong thing. One single eating mistake can meant 2 weeks of trying to get my prior weight back. Cheat meals are not an option on my plan. Is there a healthier way to get the taste of something when cravings are so bad that don't lead to many days of struggling with restraint?

Highest weight: 412.8 Current weight: 317.7

I had an Amazon scammer call and was trying to waste their time and resources to help others. The scam was they call with a robodialler and state there has been a $1000 charge for a phone and to press 1 if you didn't authorize the charge. Then it connects you to the scam call center. After months of they and other places calling and I just ignore it, I finally decided to answer it. I have been calling it repeatedly when I have time and playing the chorus of Lily Allen's "F You."

Why this matters to me? These scammers rob people of their life's savings and prey on the elderly. My mom has been a victim of the call centers, and my dad has been a victim of scam ads on Facebook. My dad is 70 and my mom late 60s. It's a terrible shame that scamming has the level of success it does. And no matter how savvy, almost everyone will fall victim to a scam at least once in their life.

I had tried to give out the number to other scam baiters (on other platforms and subs not here) to see if anyone with the technical know how would run an autodialer for it to waste the scammer's time instead of people's (plus, extra petty), but got met with much hostility about this suggestion. So hopefully this is at least one place that may appreciate my small petty revenge for the people I know personally who have been scammed by these people.

Til later scammers, "F you very very much. We hate what you do, and we hate your whole crew...please don't stay in touch."

I had an Amazon scammer call and was trying to waste their time and resources to help others. The scam was they call with a robodialler and state there has been a $1000 charge for a phone and to press 1 if you didn't authorize the charge. Then it connects you to the scam call center. One would hope everyone knows this is a scam, but they would not do these scams if they were not getting victims.

I am legitimately confused by some responses I had elsewhere. What do you guys in this sub think of scambaiters? I always thought their purpose was to help tie up resources for scammers so that people can't get scammed. My mom has been scammed, and technically so has my dad, but not by the phone scammers like my mom. My dad is 70 and my mom is in her late 60s. I dunno, I always thought the scambaiters were doing a good deed, but maybe not everyone feels that way.

Why this matters to me? These scammers rob people of their life's savings and prey on the elderly. It's a terrible shame that scamming has the level of success it does. And no matter how savvy, almost everyone will fall victim to a scam at least once in their life.

I bought another A1 to stand in for the 3 that aren't working despite many parts and troubleshooting. All are in the 5k-7k hour range with regular maintenance. My oldest that I got from Kickstarter still plugs along fine. But of the other 7, 3 just took an unexplainable crap after hours and hours of part replacement and troubleshooting for mechanical issues. I have never had issues with the P or X series like I have had with the A series. I am very tempted to drive out to Microcenter and get another Snapmaker U1 to help meet my production. No idea how the U1s will be after 5k hours either though. Really my only complaint with the Bambu core XY machines is the inefficiency of the purge chutes and no matter if greasing or lining, they still have a tendency to clog. Otherwise, mechanically they work near flawlessly. At most I have to replace a worn out toolhead board or something.

Anyone else with a lot of A1s seem to have endless issues once they get like 6k+ hours?

I had a single listing get flagged 9 times, because it was posted in 9 local BST groups on FB. Apparently FB counted it as 9 separate strikes and is now threatening to deactivate me. MANY people sell replica blunt blades on FB Marketplace. My understanding was these don't count as weapons. I realize the law may vary based on location. Michigan, USA if that matters.

So for 1, are these considered illegal under FB TOS? If so, why are there so many and why does FB not remove others even if they have reviewed it? And lastly, how do I get 8 of these strikes removed when it was only 1 listing? Like consider me warned, but I dont want my whole account at risk for unwarranted excessive strikes. I already asked them for review and they denied.

I live in Michigan, and usually when summer is in full swing, we get these black biting flies. They look like house flies, but smaller. DEET does not seem to deter them in the slightest. They bite all over my legs while I am paddling. I don't have any light colored pants, but even if I did, they bite through clothes with ease. Any other suggestions if DEET doesn't work? As a side note, the bugs this year have been horrid. Mosquitos, ticks, nothing seems to care if I have DEET or permethrin. It's like they are becoming immune to it.

Edit: I found some white pj pants in the drawer LOL. I really dont like to kayak in wide leg pants, but might help in a pinch.

I have 3 fancies in a 75 gallon. As my goldfish grew, I swapped out my natural looking gravel substrate for near white sand. While aesthetically it makes the heavily planted tank brighter, it gives me daily anxiety from so much poop. I have an electric substrate vacuum that specifically targets the poo so I can do it daily, but by later that day, poo strings all over again. It just looks really bad even if it's not technically a ton because of how often I do it, I hate it.

Considering layering dark sand on top, but I've seen some posts where people say they see the poo on top of that easily too, but no photos. Would you mind sharing yours?

I have been finding over time that fish marked "peaceful community fish" are not always peaceful. Sometimes semi-aggressive fish are far more peaceful. Hear me out. A lot depends on having correct school sizes, correct environment, ect as well. But I have noted sometimes because doing things the "right" way is also really dependent on each individual species, and each individual fish personality, I've had some freedom to experiment and move things around if they don't work. I work from home and have put in shelving/stands around my desk which is full of small to large tanks, so I am able to see my fish interactions 8+ hours a day. Sometimes I've taken in rescues of an odd fish out and gotten them school mates later, so I've been able to also see differences in behavior with less fish or a full school. These are observations from various tanks. These are not all the same tank.

Here is my take:

Zebra Danios - In my opinion, NOT peaceful community fish. If kept in a large school (I have 12) as they are supposed to be, they pick on each other endlessly. I probably will never have them again.

Brown or red pencilfish - In my opinion, NOT peaceful community fish. If kept in a large school as they are supposed to be, they pick on each other endlessly, and on other fish swimming in the same part of the water column. I have actually noted they are more peaceful when only having 1-3 vs a full school

Celestial Pearl Danios - In my opinion, NOT peaceful community fish. They pick on each other fairly often, but do not seem to pick on other fish.

Black Rams - I think they get a bad rap because they are cichlids. I very seldom see them displaying or lip locking. I planned to have 4, but wound up with 6 because I received 2 I wasn't expecting. I was concerned with the tank size they had that I'd need to rehome a couple, but they have been fine. They love their hornwort forest and enjoy swimming in and out of it together and foraging. I also have blue rams and for whatever reason, my black rams act more peacefully. My blue rams are now just in a single male/female pair in a different tank. None of them really pick on other fish, but if something tries to pick on them, they will hold their ground.

Pea puffers - I did the unpopular thing and got a solo puffer. They are shoaling fish, not schooling fish. So whether they are confident and ok solo really depends on individual fish personality. I have a single female and she doesn't bother anyone and no one bothers her. She has no problem coming around to eat with other fish, and I give her lots of enrichment for snail hunting. This "mean bean" is not so mean. That said, some puffer owners have noted that in shoals, puffers can possibly be more nippy. Again, I think it depends on each fish personality as well.

Gourami - Yes, including the blue three spotted ones. I see them chase each other on occasion for a few seconds, but it doesn't last long and they don't bite. They boop each other in the side sometimes and that's about as long as their spat lasts. Again with these, I had received some I wasn't expecting and was working to rehome some, but hadn't found a right home for them. They have been living pretty well together so far and none are showing signs of stress or damage. They still elect to hang out together or with the goldfish. Yea, that's a whole 'nother topic. But they show zero aggression to any other species in the tank.

Angelfish - honestly, kind of a mixed bag. I only have one angel. He was very peaceful to other fish, but now that he is growing, he is a bit of a butt sometimes and likes to chase other fish. I've been watching him because he does have the mouth he could bite if he wanted, but he hasn't so far. He is about 6" tall at this point. Although if you love fish that are social with you, I highly recommend them. Most of my fish are social with me, but Dwayne, you can see the recognition in his eyes. He knows me, I'm not just the food giver. He's very much like a betta in that respect.

Guppies - Even if you keep only males, they do chase each other. Just saying. That may stress some aquarists out if they don't like fish that chase each other. The females may not get as bright of colors, but as long as they aren't about to have babies, they are far more peaceful with each other. I've never kept guppies with other fish species, so I don't have an observation for that. Additionally, guppies are prone to carrying camallanus worms which is not treated by the standard dewormers that most people use when quarantining new fish. Keep Fritz Expel-P on hand.

Betta - they get a bad rap sometimes for aggression, but this one is really personality dependent. Most of my betta do fine with otocinclus, mystery snails, and shrimp. I've only ever had one that didn't like tank mates. I kept betta on and off for decades, and they used to always live for years. The sad thing I have noticed of late is they are much more prone to sudden death for no obvious reason, even when water quality and proper diet is adhered to. I suspect the years of poor keeping and breeding practices in the US has lead to more difficulties sourcing healthy betta. So they can potentially live peacefully in a community if you have only one, but betta may not be so simple of an entry level aquarist fish as they once were.

Ricefish - exactly what they are portrayed as. They are the peaceful community fish that swim through the whole water column that we all hope for. They are hardy, and have a decent temperature range. They are more illness prone to things like ick though.

Corydoras cat fish - Another fish that is the peaceful community fish we all search for. They get along with basically anything, plus are fun to watch. Not all cory cats share the same temperature tolerance ranges however, so this must be watched for. Especially as some stores (Like Pet Supplies Plus) will sell cory cats as "assorted."

Zodiac Loaches - these were marketed as slow bottom dwellers who are peaceful, but can be territorial toward other bottom dwellers. Ya'll...Skippy has been moved to 3 different tanks now because he zips all over the water column to chase slower moving large fish. He started out in his first tank as the only bottom dweller and he never would settle down, and he chased the other fish. I moved him to the 75 gallon and he was even worse there. As a last ditch effort, he is now in the largest 40gal nano tank. I figured at least if he chased the non-bottom dwellers, the fish that I have in there would put him in his place. He is doing much better now that he has other fish that won't take his crap. But there are kuhli loaches in there, so he doesn't get to be a solo bottom dweller. But so far, I've seen that they don't let him bully.

Hoplo catfish - super peaceful, and although they may hide a lot at first, can become very social as they grow and are given proper environment and enough hides. Freckles stays out most of the time now and he likes to hang out with the corys

Twig Catfish - these funky dudes pretty much mind their own. It's fun to see them vibrate along the glass like little hoovers, and occasionally you will see their tails wagging sticking out from behind driftwood or decor. Very peaceful with each other and other fish.

Otocinclus - Peaceful with literally everything, although unfortunately they are notoriously not hardy as other fish and it's not uncommon one will pass away for no apparent reason. It's important to make sure these guys get algae wafers to supplement their diet.

Goldfish - Giving them as an honorable mention, because the only fish I have ever had to rehome because of behavior was a goldfish. Most fish I have been able to change their environment or their tankmates. Nothing worked for Pudge. Not rearranging things, not a bigger tank, not time outs. My LFS has a photo of him on the wall of shame and it took almost 3 months before they could find him a new home because of his behavior. Most goldfish are like the cows of the aquarium. Peaceful (unless something accidentally fits in their mouth), bumbling, and chunky. But then there was Pudge. Hope he is happy in his new waters.

I had an Easy Rest 12 in Gel Luxe for about 8 years that I loved but my husband hated it and it caused him back pain. We wound up getting a new twin XL for him that was an inner spring with a plush top and he loves it. Someone gave me their twin XL purple mattress, and I hated it. I wound up getting the same mattress he had after sleeping on it a few nights. I have now had the mattress 2 years, and have been getting terrible shoulder pain on both sides that resolves after getting out of bed.

Replacing this not very old expensive mattress with a twin XL of my old mattress would cost $800+. So instead, I ordered a Saatva topper that has the same kind of material as my old mattress. I have had it 2 nights, and my shoulders and arms now fall asleep. I really don't understand why this would be? The topper gives me...more give...like my old mattress and I thought this was good for side sleepers. But now this gives me pause about the idea of buying another $800+ non-returnable mattress. Like I would be stuck if it didn't work out. I am wondering if maybe in the last couple years I am just having changes in my body and am getting old, and the old mattress wouldn't have been good now either.

I feel really stuck. I don't know how to go about finding a solution and not spending hundreds or thousands of dollars. Do you think this is a mattress problem or a medical problem? Trying to figure out what to do next. Any other side sleepers have this problem and how did you resolve?