Silly pics...what'cha got??....maybe NSFW

[Blackhawk]

If I were rich, I would have a wood paneled library with reading chairs and all the snooty extras. I'd have sprayers loaded with Old Book Smell all over the place.

I'm not rich, though. I've got to fit myself, two kids, life's necessities, and all of our hobbies into a small apartment. I manage one large and one small bookshelf for 'normal' books, plus one for RPG books. I had to pack up, and later give away about fifteen boxes of mixed fiction and non-fiction collected over the course of my life. It was really tough to sort, and really tough to do, but I just didn't have any space in which they could physically be.

Thankfully, I have the option to fit every book in my library into the space of an old TV guide.

[Paingod]

I had to pack up, and later give away about fifteen boxes of mixed fiction and non-fiction collected over the course of my life. It was really tough to sort, and really tough to do, but I just didn't have any space in which they could physically be.

My wife had to buy 6 8-foot tall bookshelves from a local Borders that was going out of sale to fit about 80% of her personal library, and she already had three bookshelves on display. Then, a couple years back, she decided that the library would work better as a lounge if we remodeled it, and she dumped all but two full shelves worth of books - her absolute "must have" favorites. We both have Kindles as well, so any new books end up there.

My "favorite" part of it all, though, was the workout. When we moved in together, I hauled all those boxes out of storage (something like 40 of them at 40lbs each) and into a U-Haul, and then into my second floor apartment for safe keeping. Then we got a house, and I got to haul all those books downstairs, into a U-Haul, and into the basement of the house. From there, we thought they were in danger of getting damn, so I brought every box upstairs to the 2nd floor spare room. Then we needed that for a guest room, so I moved them all downstairs to the living room that wasn't in use. Then we needed that room so I moved them all to the storage room. Then she needed that room for crafting and I moved them into a hallway. Then she converted the living room into a library and I finally got to unpack the majority of them. A couple years later, she decided the library needed to be a lounge, and we got to pack them all up and I hauled the majority to a dump for recycling. Motherf%$@ing books, man. I was done with them.

[LordMortis]

http://www.wannalol.com/p/741467

[Paingod]

In short, malachite can only be used for anal toys with proper shape and design - it should not be inserted vaginally or taken orally. If you have a copper allergy, do not use malachite anal toys.

Got it.

[Punisher]

E Readers and IPads and Tablets and phones hurt my eyes relatively quickly. I don't know why. I'm fine with monitors for a few hours on end and physical books until my eyes get too tired to focus but tablet-y things (and sometimes laptops) give me massive long lasting headaches relatively quickly.

Have you tried the kindle paperwhite? It's a different kind of screen.

[Punisher]

If I were rich, I would have a wood paneled library with reading chairs and all the snooty extras. I'd have sprayers loaded with Old Book Smell all over the place.

I'm not rich, though. I've got to fit myself, two kids, life's necessities, and all of our hobbies into a small apartment. I manage one large and one small bookshelf for 'normal' books, plus one for RPG books. I had to pack up, and later give away about fifteen boxes of mixed fiction and non-fiction collected over the course of my life. It was really tough to sort, and really tough to do, but I just didn't have any space in which they could physically be.

Thankfully, I have the option to fit every book in my library into the space of an old TV guide.

OK, so dump the kids, bathroom, and bedroom. Sleep on floor in kitchen. get an adult porta potty and bingo.. lots more room.
I'm all about solutions..

[Holman]

Re: Kindle or equivalent.

I do like the idea, and I'm sure I'll invest eventually. What holds me back most of all is the cost of the books themselves. I rarely buy books new, and as long as the difference between a "like-new" used hardcover and the Kindle edition is $3 vs $15, it's hard to go digital.

[McNutt]

I've never paid $15 for a Kindle book. I've paid $10 for quite a few and a lot less for most of mine.

[KDH]

Pardon me if any of these came from here ..

[Daehawk]

Lol at both the females doing selfies and the IE being lagged.

[LordMortis]

E Readers and IPads and Tablets and phones hurt my eyes relatively quickly. I don't know why. I'm fine with monitors for a few hours on end and physical books until my eyes get too tired to focus but tablet-y things (and sometimes laptops) give me massive long lasting headaches relatively quickly.

Have you tried the kindle paperwhite? It's a different kind of screen.

I have not. I don't actively go out looking any more. I'm old. I like books. I tried not being old for a good while. I failed. Something will eventually make me go "where has this been since 2005!?!" or it won't.

[Paingod]

E Readers and IPads and Tablets and phones hurt my eyes relatively quickly. I don't know why. I'm fine with monitors for a few hours on end and physical books until my eyes get too tired to focus but tablet-y things (and sometimes laptops) give me massive long lasting headaches relatively quickly.

Have you tried the kindle paperwhite? It's a different kind of screen.

I have not. I don't actively go out looking any more. I'm old. I like books. I tried not being old for a good while. I failed. Something will eventually make me go "where has this been since 2005!?!" or it won't.

It's a very subdued screen, and I find reading it - even in a dark room - just fine. I'm not sure what the mechanics behind it are, but the coloring and print are close to books, with the back light being hardly noticeable until a room goes dark. I love my paperwhite and wouldn't want to do without it.

The only issue I really had is that Amazon charged me $20 to get rid of their ads being shown when it was on standby. The device might cost $80 - but it's really $100 if you factor that in. It was just so annoying to pick it up and see another recommendation for a book I wasn't interested in that I felt compelled to fix it. Now I see letter stamps, fountain pens, and other pleasant "writing" images, which is (sadly) worth the cost to me - I don't just start off every "relaxing" reading session by being annoyed immediately.

[Unagi]

Derail of the year.

(It's early)

[Paingod]

Sorry. Back into the fray!!

[LordMortis]

Fray or Fry?

[Skinypupy]

Sorry. Back into the fray!!

Chocobo Knights...AWAY!!!

[Blackhawk]

FWIW, the Paperwhite's screen is less like a monitor and more like a high-tech Etch-A-Sketch. You light it rather than it producing light.

[wonderpug]

FWIW, the Paperwhite's screen is less like a monitor and more like a high-tech Etch-A-Sketch. You light it rather than it producing light.

It does produce light, but it's frontlit instead of backlit. Instead of shining into your eyes like a monitor or an iPad, light is shone onto the e-ink surface and bounced back to you as if it were shining onto a printed paper.

[Blackhawk]

That's what I meant. It is lit rather than producing light. Like the difference between looking at a printed page with a light shining on it and looking at a page printed on a lightbulb.

LM - either eyestrain or photophobia (which is light sensitivity, not a fear.) This from a photophobic. It's why I can read OO for hours in Black Pearl, but turn on one of the white themes and I am in pain after five minutes.

[McNutt]

I remember getting my Kindle Keyboard years ago and trying to peel the sticker off the front with the Kindle logo. The I realized it wasn't a sticker. That's the screen with an image on it. I was immediately hooked.

[Paingod]

Yeah - I love that it doesn't feel like I'm looking at a tablet or phone screen. There's no concept of "pixel" when I read, just printed text. Beautiful.

[LordMortis]

That's what I meant. It is lit rather than producing light. Like the difference between looking at a printed page with a light shining on it and looking at a page printed on a lightbulb.

LM - either eyestrain or photophobia (which is light sensitivity, not a fear.) This from a photophobic. It's why I can read OO for hours in Black Pearl, but turn on one of the white themes and I am in pain after five minutes.

I think it's combination of the two. I have sensitive to *A lot* of stimulus but I don't the problem with the sensitivity to light became a problem until the eyestrain reinforced it. The extreme and long lasting headaches only really started about maybe seven or eight years ago when the eye strain became noticeable. I got prescription readers which did wonders for the eye strain/clarity but nothing for the accompanying headaches. Now my eyes don't get as tired and I don't squint when trying to read but the headaches can be intolerable and if I tough through them (say to keep working on a typical laptop or much worse a tablet) then the headache can last days. However, I don't have the problem with typical flat screen monitors. I'm a freak.

[Punisher]

I think that if you decide to try an e-reader, the paperwhite is what you should try first. Maybe get it from somewhere with no restocking fees like Staples.
I used to be a heavy book reader and loved having the physical books. I also read multiple books at once by having them in different places (1 for bedroom, 1 for bathroom, 1 for car, 1 in backpack, etc..)
then due to a flood, lost most of my books, then moved somewhere with less space and finally decided to try the kindle. I've been hooked ever since. Being able to read on the kindle, a computer or my phone is great (and I still read multiple books at once. 1 on my kindle, 1 on my phone). Plus the books are cheaper and I don't have to wait for them. If it is released I have the book in less than a minute to read. I also don't have to go look for my books and if I want to re-read something it's real easy to download again if it's not on my device.

[Max Peck]

[McNutt]

This trend of recreating childhood photos has to stop. NSFW

Spoiler:

[Unagi]

that's disturbing if they are related...

If they are just neighbors or something... /shrug.

[DD*]

Old, but still accurate.... I'd give her the blue ribbon.

[GreenGoo]

I do not enjoy doing school projects with my kids.

If they need help with homework? Cool. If they want to know how something works? Even better. If they want me to cut out figurines, glue things to other things and use my terribad handwriting on a giant placard? It's time to call Mom.

[LordMortis]

My parents idea of helping with school projects was dropping us off at the library. Of course, we never asked for their help on school projects... or told them about school, in general, so that might have been part of the disconnect. Help with homework was "look it up."

OtOH, when it comes to truly creating something, my parents have always been the shit. Heck, entering my 40s, I still went to mom and basically let her take over to create Halloween costumes that fit my vision and my old man came over after the roof on my deck collapsed and he did the creative work behind jury rigging it so it was stronger than it was from the original crappy design.

[GreenGoo]

I do find questions like "what does "this" mean" to be annoying as hell. We have like 15 internet enabled devices in the house. "Look it up" should be the first step, and you shouldn't need to be reminded that it is an option.

[Blackhawk]

I did one science fair with my eldest when he was 7 or 8. One.

We came up with the idea together (it was something about the most effective way to remove moisture from foods or something.) Bought all the stuff (some of it fairly expensive.) We discussed how the scientific method could be used to get the data. He performed the experiment. He took the measurements. He calculated the data. We decided to type papers for the board rather than using markers. He dictated, I typed, because he was still in the hunt-and-peck phase. He decided on fonts, formatting, layout. All I did was give guidance, answer questions, and push the keys, as I was very, very careful not to violate the rules about what parents could do or not do. It looked great.

The judges gave him an abysmally low rating, something like 20%. Why? They decided it looked too good, and therefore I must have done it for them. They simply couldn't believe that a third grader could be more intelligent than crayon scribblings.

I about came unglued. The implications? Afterwards my son had zero interest in school sponsored science activities. Good job, school. Luckily it didn't affect his interest in STEM itself, he just didn't trust the school to have a clue anymore.

[Max Peck]

he just didn't trust the school to have a clue anymore.

On the upside, it prepared him to cope with the DeVos-era American education experience.

[Blackhawk]

He's already in high school, so it is my hope that by the time the worst of the drivel filters down to actual implementation, he'll have graduated. As it stands, he's determined that he wants to go into engineering.

[LordMortis]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQvEGaGjGx-/

[Vorret]

[Paingod]

Tomorrow, when Timmy wakes up, he'll find the severed head of a mouse in his bed. Mr. Whiskers is not amused.

[Kraken]

My parents idea of helping with school projects was dropping us off at the library. Of course, we never asked for their help on school projects... or told them about school, in general, so that might have been part of the disconnect. Help with homework was "look it up."

Yep. Kids whose parents helped were called "cheaters."

I can remember my dad helping me on exactly one project: Making a car for the cub scout pinewood derby. Dad was never a handy man and it was not a bonding experience. We lost, of course, to parents who were better woodworkers.

[EvilHomer3k]

My parents idea of helping with school projects was dropping us off at the library. Of course, we never asked for their help on school projects... or told them about school, in general, so that might have been part of the disconnect. Help with homework was "look it up."

Yep. Kids whose parents helped were called "cheaters."

I can remember my dad helping me on exactly one project: Making a car for the cub scout pinewood derby. Dad was never a handy man and it was not a bonding experience. We lost, of course, to parents who were better woodworkers.

The pinewood derby requires very little woodworking experience. It's all about weight placement, polishing the axles, and lighter wheels. Aerodynamics and lifting one wheel make about the same difference. Of course, when you were in scouts (just like when I was) that information wasn't available on the internet like it is now.

[Moliere]

Orbital debris: humans are slobs.

[Holman]

(Not to scale.)