What Made you Smile/What Ticked you off Today?

[mjmjr25]

Daily News, daily blues,
Pick up a copy any time you choose.
Seven little pennies in the newsboy's hand,
And you ride right along to never, never land

Civil rights leaders are a pain in the neck ,
Can't hold a candle to Chang Kai Shek .
How do I know? I read it in the Daily News.
Ban the bombers are afraid of a fight,
Peace hurts business and that ain't right.
How do I know? I read it in the Daily News.

We got to bomb Castro, got to bomb him flat.
He's too damn successful and we can't risk that.
How do I know? I read it in the Daily News.
There's millions of commies in the freedom fight,
Yelling for Lenin and civil rights.
How do I know? I read it in the Daily News.

Seems like the whole damn world's gone wrong.
Saint Joe McCarthy is dead and gone.
How do I know? I read it in the Daily News.
Don't try to make me change my mind with facts.
To hell with the graduated income tax.
How do I know? I read it in the Daily News.

John Paul Getty is just plain folks.
The UN charter is a cruel hoax.
How do I know? I read it in the Daily News.
J. Edgar Hoover is the man of the hour,
All he needs is just a little more power.
How do I know? I read it in the Daily News.

[Ack]

Daily Mail, daily fail
Pick up a copy and your brain will swell
Just a few clicks on the Internet
And you ride into pure celeb bullshit

[Mephikun]

Wow, it's been a long time since I've been here.

This isn't today, just a heads up.

In general things have been going great, with the exception of absolutely insane people who find it funny to make my life more difficult and spread lies.

Been making huge leaps towards my ideal career and I'm really happy about that. It has taken away time from my other responsibilities but I can focus on those a bit more now.

With graduation in just over a month I'm a bit nervous but that's normal.

Other than career related things I've mainly been focused on dealing with all of my computers that I have around as well as upgrading my main rig (AMD Phenom II X4 965 + Geforce GTX 650 Ti > Intel Core i5 4670K + Radeon R9 270X (in 8 days) and adding an SSD). I have a bunch around and I'm also getting ready to build an APU based computer. I need to downsize but a lot of these played a huge role in me eventually deciding what I wanted to do with my life so it's not the easiest to let go.

Been trying to get back into retro gaming slowly with the little cash I've had. Most of my computer upgrades are a result of a contest so I wouldn't have the parts without it.

In the next 6 months I really have no idea what I'll be doing. Hopefully what I want to do, or as least not absolutely nothing and being a complete idiot like I was 6 months ago. Ah well, the past is well, the past, no point in dwelling over bad decisions. Just have to focus on the future.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

[Luke]

What a whirlwind of a day: So this all happened in mere hours...

I'll keep this short.

I was asked, very suddenly, to take a drug test this morning.

I don't do drugs, I have even stopped drinking booze for now, but some of my friends are more than rowdy. I've lost almost a half dozen friends to heroine, and almost all my friends who are professionals (Lawyers, Professors, Doctors, Counselors, Principals, Writers) smoke the Latin lettuce. I even let people smoke the stuff in my house, as I am a socialite and also love to host poker games/nights. It works to my advantage when gambling, and although I don't indulge, pot (drug dealing aside of course) seems harmless. It just seems to make people idiots. Again, that works to my advantage.

Now I've heard you can't test + from second hand smoke, but that didn't stop me from being concerned. So I bought a test from CVS to calm my nerves. As I thought, no drugs in my system. Yet, I will admit that I was afraid that second hand smoke could lead to a false result. I mean, that stuff can smell something super pungent.

So I take the test, and immediately am told "We cannot accept your sample". So i freak out a bit. I am told my urine is "diluted".

No ma'am. That's all me. That's all my urine.

I am told "we cannot a sample that appears to be clear".

What they didn't factor in, and what they didn't know is that I haven't eaten anything (St. Pat's day aside) since early March. Because I've been on a water fast for Lent, I drink 3-6 Gallons of water a day and that is my diet.

I explained "My pee is clear because I have nothing to deposit. In the past month I've had two servings of corned beef, one serving of cabbage, a handful of potatoes and a slice of soda bread. I've eaten once in about thirty days, but that shouldn't count against me. What do you need me to do?"

The response I got was, "Can you urinate again in around half an hour?".

I did, and the result was again as it should have been, negative. Thank the maker.

Something to take away from this: Ask your buddies who smoke pot to do it outside. It's not worth the stress to think that somehow you could fail a test. On top of that, I know potheads who cheat drug tests all the time. They go to bodegas, spend forty bucks on a creatine liquid mix and pass every test they've taken.

And this isn't a diss to pot smokers. That's your decision. But to worry about losing a dream job isn't worth any drug*.



*I don't count Ladies as a drug. Lord knows I'm addicted to nananana.

[Hobie-wan]

Something to take away from this: Ask your buddies who smoke pot to do it outside on their own property or park/campsite/whatever that is not near you.

FTFY.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I am trying to round off my N64 collection, and I ordered some games off of eBay about 2 weeks ago. They were supposed to be delivered last Friday, but they have not yet arrived. Moreover, USPS tracking shows that the package was last scanned on Wednesday, March 26 (in Cincinnati), and there has no been no activy since then. (The page was updated today, however, to show an expected delivery of Monday, March 31...) I am becoming increasingly concerned that this package has been lost, and I doubt I will see it anytime soon.

I am having a new hard drive installed in my laptop, but the 500 GB Western Digital hard drive I sent over with my computer apparently does not work. Accordingly, I am having the computer shop install one of theirs, adding a solid $80 to my repair bill.

Something to take away from this: Ask your buddies who smoke pot to do it outside on their own property or park/campsite/whatever that is not near you in Colorado.

FTFY.

FTFY

[Jmustang1968]

You would have to get obscene amounts of 2nd hand smoke to test positive.

[mjmjr25]

Creatine mix is a myth. Work related (not me, one of my employees) so am going to be vague - i'm not saying it never works. I'm saying it isn't 100%. (PM if you want the story).

2nd hand - nope, does not require obscene amounts. Not to mention, while it is arguably the least concerning drug for most employers, it is the most common violation, at least in my professional experience, as it can stay in your system for a month and in some cases, over a month.

If creatine is blocking or 2nd hand isn't getting picked up - it's the lab running the sample, not the sample itself. Labs are like anything else - you get what you pay for.

Luke - good on you for Lent fasting. I'm doing it myself, though mine allows for eating whilst dark out, so I eat one meal after 8pm. The rest of the time is straight water. We'll be doing our Seder meal soon - that is always an experience.

[Jmustang1968]

The most common violation at my various employers has been prescription drugs. Taking a spouse's pain medication etc...

Just casually being around it wouldnt fail a test. How often you smoke and your level of activity/metabolism also plays a big factor.

A heavy user will take 3-4 weeks for it to clear while a 1 time user can get it out in as low as 5-7 days.

[Luke]

Luke - good on you for Lent fasting. I'm doing it myself, though mine allows for eating whilst dark out, so I eat one meal after 8pm. The rest of the time is straight water. We'll be doing our Seder meal soon - that is always an experience.

Fasting is amazing.

Sounds like nonsense, but when I fast I feel less sluggish, my brain seems to be more responsive, and overall I feel more productive.

For me fasting for Lent is spiritual, educational, eye-opening, but mostly personal. I don't see it as self-deprivation at all, more as self empowerment.

One question I was asked in a recent interview was "What personal challenge have you recently met?"

It was difficult to not laugh out loud.

"Well, I haven't eaten in nearly a month and won't eat until Easter, so that's something". This isn't being a braggart. It's the truth, and if people don't think of this as an accomplishment, I'm fine with that as well. Not eating for forty days does sound stupid, but I'm fine with that. It's not like I'm giving up oxygen.

Yet.