“Fuck you Stanford, yer mum’s complaining about me dropping packets but it’s hard to keep things flowing when UCLA’s mum keeps using up all my bandwidth”

Damn, that’s a good question. Like a 6 or 7 on this scale, all told? Parents were good, wasn’t spoiled but didn’t want for much, some tension with my dad at times/impact of necessary absences due to military lifestyle, but he was generally a good dude.

Idk - I look back on my childhood fondly more or less.

Probably going to come back with other Wayback links of interest between today and tomorrow, but in the spirit of some of the responses so far:

REAL ULTIMATE POWER

Best paired with the following on repeat: https://youtu.be/zh1GCx2CcKM?t=0m48s

There’s a very particular warm, relaxed feeling I get whenever I visit this website.

I call it Zombo Calm, and it’s something special.

Dang! Works for me, but admittedly takes a bit longer to load than other links I’ve used. Is it giving a specific error, out of curiosity?

If truly hopeless, bask in this glorious homepage image:

I mean, I have reason to believe they’re not the most recent, but recentish:

The Varieties of Religious Experience
The Matrix
Julie Kavner
LAGEOS
Church of the Universe
A&M Records
Paris Syndrome
List of films featuring hallucinogens
I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin
Ryan Juanzemis

The FUCK man?! You nearly gave me a heart attack!

They are just labelling themselves accurately

[/big s - these days I just assume they got it at Goodwill/Value Village or something and thought it was a good price for a t-shit. Best reaction if it’s a band you’re into is dropping some good intro tracks - invite people in]

imagining the absolute chaos that would result if an announcer shouted out “MULTIPUCK!” and extra pucks rained down on an NHL game

I’m for this.

Everybody is different, and it depends on what you’re after. Research different substances of interest, how they work, contraindications, best practices for use, and the kind of effects they have. From there, select any specific substance you want to try, and do so responsibly.

There’s lots of folks out there who have done mushrooms or other psychedelics as their first non-alcohol psychoactive experience. The trick is getting at least some understanding of what you’re getting into first and preparing accordingly. I also wouldn’t compare different compounds with different effects/mechanisms of action in a way that would make you disappointed/underwhelmed/whatever. They’re different and should be evaluated on their own terms.

That’s just me though.

Reddit still comes up when I’m searching for info/insight on specific topics, but for scrolling and commenting it’s Lemmy all day er’yday.

Of all the Ottawans to make it in entertainment, Norm’s my favourite hands-down.

Helen Creighton rolls in her grave a little bit

So my Dad’s an impressive guy, at least to me. Dropped out of high school after getting into an argument with a nun about divine authority, had a kid (me!) out of wedlock, married my mom and joined the military to provide, had a moment of self-reflection when child me did some math with fruit, did night school to get his high school diploma, after several deployments and changes in trade got a four year degree done in two years, became an officer, rose through the ranks and is now retired from the military, doing civvy stuff that protects the rights of servicepeople under the law. Beyond all of this, he is always trying new stuff: baking cookies, making his own clothes, repair on all sorts of shit, wilderness stuff, writing, painting, drawing, programming, photography, Qigong, studying philosophy - the list goes on, to this day (he’s currently on a motorcycle repair kick). I basically watched this guy transform from a disappointed, angry young man to a character you could find in a Heinlein novel and say “Jesus, there’s the competent man trope, right on time”.

With all of this in mind, what sticks in my head is what he said when I did some bogus (probably) IQ test as a kid and ran up to him with a good result: “IQ is just a measure of potential. It’s what you do with that potential that’s the important part”. Whether I’ve lived up to that idea is a separate question, but it still comes to mind these days.

This is also coupled with memories of near blows/fist fights over stupid shit growing up, but that’s also offset by watching him make a real effort to learn and account for/manage his temper. He’s a remarkably chill person at this point.

Love this guy, he is a rock fucking solid dude.

Older folks can seem more angry than other demographics for a few reasons: pain from physical deterioration, disappointment in their life’s circumstances with fewer/no realistic opportunities to better them, people very close to them dying, worldviews that conflict with the realities of modern life, etc. It depends on the individual but pain and the whole “less unshitty time left on this earth” thing are more commonly experienced in seniors than other demographics.

But this is talking in general - to give you a useful answer, I’d want to know more about your interactions with elderly folks. Only one I saw in this thread was old folks telling you to kill yourself - it’s rare someone cold leads with that unless it’s online (the answer is always living, happily, in spite). What happens before that?

Dunno if you’re still looking for input, but I did say I’d have more to say about this once I did it, so here it is:

I helped show someone to one of the camps when I was wandering about, and they gave me a great piece of advice: you can think of burns basically as a giant version of the smoke pit outside a rave or a club. Everyone’s having a good time, and 99% of people are open to whatever kind of pro-social interaction from the other participants.

Beyond this, unless people at theme camps are literally knee-deep in logistics/organizing specific stuff, they want you to talk with them. They want you to eat and drink the stuff they have on offer, sit in their plounges gabbing about whatever, poking the interactive stuff they made, asking random questions or sharing random stories (a good story is a gift!), etc. Basically, it’s a safe assumption that people will act like they (and in 99.9% of cases truly do) want you there being part of the action, as your most authentic self.

If you’re anything like me - a little more on the introverted side in unfamilar surroundings - it’s a bit of an adjustment. If you want to be left alone and communicate this, people will leave you alone. But if you want to participate, you will be welcomed with open arms, even if you’re a little awkward. ‘We welcome the stranger’, at least in my experience with the burn I went to, isn’t just lip service. It’s true.

Even if we put all of that aside, you know what’s cool? Seeing a giant ass structure doused in accelerants go up in flames. The burns went incredibly well, and it was certainly something to see in its own right.

Bro - pull the trigger on this. I really do think you’d have a good time.

Hey homie, I see you’re a Canadian, so if you also are an Ottawan and want a sympathetic ear I’d be happy to buy you a beer and chat, and/or help you drown it out for an evening with pinball and loud guitars if that’s your speed. Serious offer - if it’s of interest don’t hesitate to PM, if not no worries whatsoever. Edit: Shit - based on your MP you’re not. Offer amended to if you take a trip out here/an open PM inbox

There’s a lot of good comments in this thread. In my experience, it’s a combination of factors - sometimes a product of your ex shit talking you to your friends, if they were “both of your friends”; often, simply a lack of ability to really relate/be helpful in these situations, and over time getting frustrated with that situation and just saying “bro, get over it”. Guys often have a hard time sharing their emotions or holding space for those of their friends, for a lot of reasons.

I have more thoughts on this stuff, but don’t know if they would be useful to you. The only thing I can tell you is that it can be a dark, lonely and painful road. But it can get better, and to be crude - it is 100% not worth killing yourself over some bitch (because, based on what you’ve shared, that’s how she specifically was behaving and acting towards you) who made you feel like shit for a long time. All that would mean is that you let her define how your life ended. Fuck. That. You’re worth more than that.

That’s awesome! I’m going as a dude in his 30s - which was reason to have some pause about this event, until I went to an info session about it and discovered I was on the younger side of the group, lol.

Nothing like using your vacation days to recapture a little youthful irresponsibility (coupled with adult sensibilities, like bringing enough food and water. Have erred on that on camping trips with the homies in my younger days :p )

Lol, your last paragraph resonates. I’ll probably have more to say about it once I’ve actually done it, but that’s basically the risk - either you’ll go, get out of your shell a bit, and have a good time, or you’ll be kinda bored and anxious.

Will say that based on your skill set, you’d probably do well with the crew that goes out and does initial setup or a bigger, more involved camp. In doing the grunt work, you’d likely make a connection with those folks which will help bolster the social experience of it all.

I think you should give something like this a shot - worst you could say is you tried it out, and had a meh time. But it could be awesome - I’ve yet to see someone talk about a festival like this and say “Yeah, I went - I was bored and lonely as shit”.