[Off-Topic] Community Chat Thread

[Lifeless]

They're not carjacking because they have a diverse and in-demand skill set.

[Hermes_]

BETHESDA, Md. - A man in Bethesda is recovering after he was pistol-whipped by a group of would-be carjackers who were trying to steal his Porsche when they realized they couldn't drive a stick shift, police say.

https://news.yahoo.com/man-pistol-whipp ... 31396.html

C'mon, driving manual isn't that hard. I swear, the world is lucky that most thieves are idiots.

it made me think of

[Dunadain]

BETHESDA, Md. - A man in Bethesda is recovering after he was pistol-whipped by a group of would-be carjackers who were trying to steal his Porsche when they realized they couldn't drive a stick shift, police say.

https://news.yahoo.com/man-pistol-whipp ... 31396.html

C'mon, driving manual isn't that hard. I swear, the world is lucky that most thieves are idiots.

As someone that used to drive a manual daily, this is a real old-man-yells-at-cloud take.

Driving a manual isn't particularly difficult, but it's certainly not something you could just figure out on the fly. These people are idiots because they are criminals, not because they don't know a skill they've never had to learn.

[DirkGently]

Weird that this came up - I just got carjacked a few days ago. My car was running while making a delivery and they jumped in and drove off. Waiting to see if the police or the insurance company are going to do anything about it =\

[TheGildedGoose]

Weird that this came up - I just got carjacked a few days ago. My car was running while making a delivery and they jumped in and drove off. Waiting to see if the police or the insurance company are going to do anything about it =\

Holy %$#%. Glad you're otherwise okay, that could've gone sideways real quick. Also glad your deck(s) weren't in the car, because yikes.

[Lifeless]

Damn sorry to hear that. Never fun to get a vehicle stolen under any circumstances but glad you didn't get hurt.

[DirkGently]

Holy %$#%. Glad you're otherwise okay, that could've gone sideways real quick. Also glad your deck(s) weren't in the car, because yikes.

Yeah, I got pretty lucky about the contents of the car. Cheap sunglasses, phone charger, hat...that's about it. Really nothing valuable - and just earlier that day I had decided to take my flight bag out, which otherwise would have meant losing my bose headset, aviators, and maybe worst of all my logbook, which I have no idea how to go about replacing. I even forgot to put my Costco card back in the glove box (a good thing, for once).

Only thing I'm sad about losing is Herbert, a stuffed bear that Lily made. She'd decided to make some crocheted toys to see if they sold on trademe (NZ craigslist/ebay-adjacent site). After hours and hours of working on this adorable bear she put it up for something like $15 and was nervous nobody would want to buy him even at that price (I mean, in fairness it's not exactly expensive to buy a stuffed animal so the competition is steep). But after seeing all the work she put into him I decided I had to have him, so I bought him. She was so excited that someone had bought him. Kept him on the dash to remind me of her when I'm out driving around. I'm sure she'll make me another one, but it won't have the same story.

[RxPhantom]

@DirkGently you're breaking my heart over here. You gotta find that bear! And the car or whatever. I'm glad you're ok, too.

[Dunadain]

@DirkGently hope you're doing okay, somebody rear-ended me the other week so I guess there's just something in the air.

Hope insurance isn't giving you the runaround like they did for me, haha

[Jemolk]

@DirkGently hope you're doing okay, somebody rear-ended me the other week so I guess there's just something in the air.

Hope insurance isn't giving you the runaround like they did for me, haha

Eh, giving you the runaround is their job. Cut them a little slack.

...I'm only half kidding with that one, sadly. Best of luck to you both!

[TheAmericanSpirit]

@DirkGently I hope that rotten thief gets a disproportionate comeuppance and that the infinite seas of the universe allow that bear to someday wash back up on your shore. Keep an eye out, maybe 15 years from now you'll see it at a random yard sale or something. It doesn't always work out like that, but sometimes it does and that is worthy of hope.

Either way, you're safe and that is most important. Also, didn't someone steal your scooter a couple years ago? You have some rough luck with owning vehicles if so.

[RxPhantom]

I've been taking a sleeping med called zolpidem for the past couple of years, and I just got off of it. I've been sleeping fine, but my dreams have become crazy. It's like they've had a massive budget increase, My brain hired a good director, some writers, gave them drugs and then offered no supervision.

[TheGildedGoose]

I've been taking a sleeping med called zolpidem for the past couple of years, and I just got off of it. I've been sleeping fine, but my dreams have become crazy. It's like they've had a massive budget increase, My brain hired a good director, some writers, gave them drugs and then offered no supervision.

Zolpidem? Hard pass. I was prescribed it and the first time I took it I couldn't sleep and the freckles on my arms turned into crawling ants. I'm an experienced psychedelic user so it wasn't a problem but it wasn't exactly great.

[Lifeless]

I only remember by dreams about once a month. It's mostly awesome because as far as I know my brain is just off while I sleep, but when I do wake up having dreamt it's really disorienting because I'm not used to it. Tends to screw up my whole day. I can't imagine having regular vivid dreams.

[Hermes_]

the only time i had any issues was with darvocet which gave me night terrors....

[duducrash]

I took Zolpiden in my early 20s and stopped because I was having too many nightmares and then one day I woke up a really large purchase I couldn't remember putting in.

I then moved to benzodiazepines, alprazolam to sleep and im trying to cut down now, hopefully i'll be out of it by may.

[RxPhantom]

I only remember by dreams about once a month. It's mostly awesome because as far as I know my brain is just off while I sleep, but when I do wake up having dreamt it's really disorienting because I'm not used to it. Tends to screw up my whole day. I can't imagine having regular vivid dreams.

With few exceptions, everyone dreams. We only remember the ones that we wake up from. The vivid ones do throw me off, especially if they seem real. I once had a dream in which someone I used to know died 'offscreen,' and it implanted the idea in my head that they had actually died. I thought they were dead for months. It was weird.

the only time i had any issues was with darvocet which gave me night terrors....

Darvocet? That stuff's been discontinued for at least a decade now.

I took Zolpiden in my early 20s and stopped because I was having too many nightmares and then one day I woke up a really large purchase I couldn't remember putting in.

I then moved to benzodiazepines, alprazolam to sleep and im trying to cut down now, hopefully i'll be out of it by may.

The sleepwalking is definitely a problem for some people. I don't think it ever happened to me. I didn't get nightmares though. It felt like I was actually dreaming less. It's been kinda cool to dream again. They're like rebound dreams.

[Hermes_]

the only time i had any issues was with darvocet which gave me night terrors....

Darvocet? That stuff's been discontinued for at least a decade now.

i know but I still list when i get asked if i have any allergies to medication

[Lifeless]

With few exceptions, everyone dreams. We only remember the ones that we wake up from. The vivid ones do throw me off, especially if they seem real. I once had a dream in which someone I used to know died 'offscreen,' and it implanted the idea in my head that they had actually died. I thought they were dead for months. It was weird.

Right, I was trying to contrast your situation with mine in the sense that rarely remembering my dreams means the few that stick with me are very impactful.

[DirkGently]

Also, didn't someone steal your scooter a couple years ago? You have some rough luck with owning vehicles if so.

Yep, stolen right out of our closed garage. Has not been a great couple of years for vehicle ownership.

[DirkGently]

We recovered the car! And Herbert is okay!

Some of the carpet is torn up in the back for some reason, and a few random things are missing, but otherwise it seems okay. I'm so relieved.

[RxPhantom]

Alright! Very happy for you Dirk!

[duducrash]

You know what is always weird? That period after you get a job offer but before you start, because you want to let your current team know what you are doing so some poor person doesn't get a massive workload to cover you leaving, but you also don't want to burn bridges if something happens so you wait to be 100% sure nothing is going to explode in the other situation.

[RxPhantom]

Congrats on the new job! Working the old job becomes arduous. I know that feeling. I hope it's a massive step up!

[5colorsrainbow]

Happy Hannukah!