Random randomness

[Daehawk]

Well I gave getting up a half hearted try today. its almost 4 and Im up. One problem is my alarm on this new alarm clock on this new tablet only allows 4 snoozes then it wont allow more and you have to dismiss it. On the old one I could hit snooze 20 times and still have it go off again.

Maybe tomorrow. At night I tell myself Im wasting life just staying in bed..get up. Its easy to tell myself that. but then my wake up mind is totally different and says why get up..nothing to do ..no reason.

The only plus is my dog sleeps in bed with me so I am closer with him during this time. When up he is in the floor doing his thing and me on the PC doing mine and thats wasting what time we have together too. He will be 16 in 3 months. Most of our dogs have died 12-15. Only one lived to see almost 19. That means my little guy will be gone in a couple more years prob.

My wife used to tell me dont mourn the living. Hard not to think about it though.

Anyways another reason its easier to stay in bed than be up is my back. Its been hell with it for over 2 months now...maybe longer. It barely hurts laying in bed. But hurts all the time when Im up. Also for this same time period I cant stand upright. Soon as I get up out of a chair I have sharp pains and my back wont let me fully stand upright. I have to walk hunched over to where I can grab something to put my wight on and slowly stand up right. Then I hurt the whole time i walk.

And without a car I cant see a chiropractor or anyone. And because I cant get to the doc they refuse to refill my muscle relaxers that would help me. And if I cant get there in Jan they wont refill my blood pressure meds either.

[Daehawk]

As to the passwords. Usually I simply ask for a pw reset. It just this one place wants the old password first.

[Blackhawk]

As to the passwords. Usually I simply ask for a pw reset. It just this one place wants the old password first.

Wouldn't it be better to use a tool that prevents forgetting in the first place?

[Smoove_B]

Wouldn't it be better to use a tool that prevents forgetting in the first place?

I've never seen a site that won't send you a temporary password -or- the actual password to the registered email for the account.

That said, I was just talking to someone that had their Gmail account stolen for the 3rd or 4th time. I'd asked if 2FA was turned on and they had no idea what I was talking about.

[Anonymous Bosch]

As to the passwords. Usually I simply ask for a pw reset. It just this one place wants the old password first.

Wouldn't it be better to use a tool that prevents forgetting in the first place?

Exactly.

Daehawk, you obviously spend a great deal more of your time online than most. And like it or not, passwords are an inescapable part of online life. Frustrating as they can be, passwords are a necessary evil to keep us secure online. In the future, things will likely change, as a new passwordless reality gradually comes to fruition and passkeys evolve. But for now, traditional passwords remain prevalent and in need of taming -- all the more so as your memory worsens with old age.

Just because you can opt to request a password reset with most sites over and over again, doesn't make this a sensible approach for password management. Why make your life more frustrating and onerous than it needs to be, when there are free, secure, and easy-to-use password managers available that will prevent you from EVER forgetting a username, password, or any other pertinent information and details for the numerous online accounts you possess? This is an incredibly simple and easy fix, yet you're stubbornly and deliberately choosing to make your life a whole lot more inconvenient and difficult than it otherwise needs to be.

[Daehawk]

Might one day use a pw place

Got this email from my CC company...

As a reminder, your payment is due by 8 p.m. ET on Jan. 3, 2024.

So should be good. ill pay it that morning early.

[Blackhawk]

Might one day use a pw place

Why wouldn't you? Just install the BitWarden extension on your browser and make a free account. From that point on, all you ever have to remember is one password (the one for BW.) BitWarden will save your other passwords, and any site that you've saved on for is just two clicks to enter it. Go to BetterWithHotsauce.com and log in. BW asks, "Should I save this password?" You click yes. Net time you're at the login page, click the BitWarden button, and click your password. It fills it in for you. That's it. It really is that simple.

[Daehawk]

I have a nagging fear of a site having all my passwords. if they got hacked then all of them are taken not just one.

I have many written down like em2 does. But not all. And the EBT makes me change it so much I got tired of writing it down all the time. Ill get a notebook just for PWs.

[coopasonic]

Are they going to raise your payments? According to my wife this is often a reason that companies sell their mortgage holdings, because they are capped in how much they can charge.

That's not how mortgage sales work. Companies sell mortgages because they need/want the money for other purposes which may be to originate new, potentially more profitable, mortgages (possibly what your wife was referring to) or they need to increase their cash reserves because of increased losses or likely loss risk. If your mortgage payment goes up after a sale, it was likely due to your escrow balance being lower than their calculations indicated necessary but that is more likely a coincidence as there isn't a lot of judgement in escrow calculations. The principal and interest portion should not change at all unless you initiate a refinance.

[Daehawk]

Mines been sold at least 4 times in 5 years since the wife died and I remember it doing it when she was alive too. And you can really get some stinkers who buy it and hell to work with.

[Anonymous Bosch]

I have a nagging fear of a site having all my passwords. if they got hacked then all of them are taken not just one.

This is not how a secure and reliable password manager operates. If you're asking yourself, "How am I supposed to give a company all of my passwords?" The easy answer is: you don't. When you use a secure password manager like Bitwarden, it creates an encrypted vault that only YOU can decrypt. In other words, Bitwarden has no idea what your passwords are. All it does is host encrypted data, and the user holds the key to decrypt that data and make it readable. The data they possess is encrypted gibberish. Meaning if their site gets hacked -- without knowing your master passphrase and possessing your means of two-factor authentication (2FA) -- the only data of yours a potential hacker will possess is merely encrypted gibberish.

And as I previously explained, if you're so paranoid that you still don't feel comfortable trusting an encrypted password manager? Just use the peppering technique, and you'll have nothing to worry about.

[Kraken]

If I start using Bitwarden on my PC, what happens when I want to access a site from my laptop or phone? What about when Wife hollers upstairs "What's the Netflix password?" What about when my TV wants me to log into an account? What happens when Wife changes the Amazon password for the umpty-umpth time?

A password manager seems like a good idea for a single user on a single device, but when you have multiple devices and shared accounts...?

[TheMix]

If I start using Bitwarden on my PC, what happens when I want to access a site from my laptop or phone?

I use the app on my phone. I have no issues with it. Well... except that I've never gotten it set up completely, so the auto-fill doesn't work. I open it separately, look up the site, copy the password, then paste it into the website or app I'm trying to access. I also use it in several different browsers on multiple computers.

[Daehawk]

Bitwarden seems simpler. I may just go with that when I do change my ways. Maybe after new years.

I wish I could get up easier for the day. I need something to shock me, throw water on me, then flip up the bed and toss me out. Once Im up I dont have a bad day really. I enjoy my time when im up. Playing with the dog, playing games, surfing the web, using OO. Lots of stuff. Chatting to online friends too. Its just the getting up. I really am like a different person when I wake up and no matter what I wanted when I went to bed im not the same when I awaken.

Yes I have bad days and sometimes cry over my wife and things when it becomes too much. Also im burdened with heavy stress due to bills and whats to come and what bad is happening to me all the time. But not always. I can still have good and fun days. Im at my best when Im self medicating. I dont stress, I am not sad, Im up..im happy. And I get up early in the mornings because I look forward to taking that medicine and having a good day. And a big reason is it take my pains away in my body too. Nothing else does that since quitting opiates at pain management i was attending.

Ill get myself straitened out in time...Ill be this way a while then come out of it.

[Anonymous Bosch]

If I start using Bitwarden on my PC, what happens when I want to access a site from my laptop or phone? What about when Wife hollers upstairs "What's the Netflix password?" What about when my TV wants me to log into an account? What happens when Wife changes the Amazon password for the umpty-umpth time?

A password manager seems like a good idea for a single user on a single device, but when you have multiple devices and shared accounts...?

Here's a tutorial video that walks you through how you can set up Bitwarden for two users, even with a free account:

[Zarathud]

This discussion on password devices really needed it’s own thread. It’s a symptom of something pretty apparent.

You need to get some help, Daehawk. I don’t care where, how, or who.

If this is the benefits program that keeps you afloat — knowing the password and date to keep in good standing was a big fucking deal and you needed a system (any system) to keep that shit so you can pay the bills. You don’t have a job but to keep this straight and get this fixed.

You’re sleeping in/not sleeping because you’re depressed. Same reason you’re doing a shitty job of caring for yourself or making decisions.

Get some mental health help in 2024. Full stop.

We can’t help you online to do anything but treat symptoms. But what you really need is someone in your area to help you stop self-destructing.

[LordMortis]

If I start using Bitwarden on my PC, what happens when I want to access a site from my laptop or phone? What about when Wife hollers upstairs "What's the Netflix password?" What about when my TV wants me to log into an account? What happens when Wife changes the Amazon password for the umpty-umpth time?

A password manager seems like a good idea for a single user on a single device, but when you have multiple devices and shared accounts...?

Here's a tutorial video that walks you through how you can set up Bitwarden for two users, even with a free account:

Thank you,

I may need to look into this for my parents, though, using any app that isn't directly doing the thing they want to do seems a difficult hurdle for them at this point.

[stessier]

I was able to teach my 14 and 17 year old how to use Bitwarden. It's not hard.

[LordMortis]

I can teach them just about any basic computer concept in 10 minutes or less. Getting them to retain and use what I teach them? Nigh on impossible unless it's directly teaching them how to use thing X that directly does what they want it to do. Even things like CTRL C, CTRL V, and CTRL X remain voodoo once they've left my presence after years of teaching and reteaching. I'm thanking Pancake that at least one of my dad's banking institutions won't work without 2FA, even as he says he's going to switch banking because he can't do 2FA fast enough.

[Anonymous Bosch]

You need to get some help, Daehawk. I don’t care where, how, or who.

If this is the benefits program that keeps you afloat — knowing the password and date to keep in good standing was a big fucking deal and you needed a system (any system) to keep that shit so you can pay the bills. You don’t have a job but to keep this straight and get this fixed.

You’re sleeping in/not sleeping because you’re depressed. Same reason you’re doing a shitty job of caring for yourself or making decisions.

Get some mental health help in 2024. Full stop.

We can’t help you online to do anything but treat symptoms. But what you really need is someone in your area to help you stop self-destructing.

[Daehawk]

I dont recall asking for help actually. You guys tried and that was nice but I post here because i got no one to talk to in life and when i post..to me its as if i was chatting with a friend or someone in life. If I wanted help Id ask of course. I have on things. But as for my mental well being or such I dont. Im simply talking...releasing stress. I have asked about sleep before. I know you guys have tried to help because you care but you keep saying you've tried to help as if I asked for it then ignored you. Thats not the case.

As for changing thats not in the cards these days. Nothing will change...the same stress and shit i deal with will be here each day for the next year or more. I have no transportation even if I wanted to seek help. I dont have money to spare....you name it. I have no free anything to spare for anything right now. Im working and giving up everything to get out from under debt. In all truth I may not have a working car all year. I shall see when i can get to Walmart and exchange this fried battery.

But these last posting on the sleep and the depression and no medicine..thats just ranting...releasing. A way off my chest. I could talk to my dog...do a lot..but he doesn't listen a lot lol.

And I dont mean to make it sound rude what I posted here. I appreciate you care enough to suggest stuff. But you really only know what I post. You dont truly know me or my life. What it was..what it is...what it will be one day I hope. You guys have dont more than anyone in helping and trying to help me. But thats a bit because I have no one else.

Im going to try to stop posting personal stuff...though I thought posting about lack of sleep wasn't a big deal. Ive gotten in the habit of simply posting everything in my life ..I think because i feel better doing it. Someone heard me. And its simply hard to keep stuff to myself when Ive always had someone to talk to. Maybe my wife was right I should never tell anyone anything. Thats not me...but I can try...or at least cut down or not post the worst stuff.

I actually logged in earlier to post about my night and saw the postings and decided not to.

[hepcat]

I dont recall asking for help actually. You guys tried and that was nice but I post here because i got no one to talk to in life and when i post..to me its as if i was chatting with a friend

A real friend would provide advice like those here do.

You need help. There are ways to get it that are affordable/free for people in your circumstances. I highly recommend you take advantage of that.

[Smoove_B]

Yeah, you might not want to hear it but I think there's a group of us here that can see you're "stuck"; it's a recurring theme in most of your posts and quite honestly it's a bit sad to experience on this end of the keyboard. I wish I could help in a more direct and immediate way, but other than offering suggestions and observations, I'm genuinely at a loss.

But yes, I suppose it's true that you're not openly asking for help but your posts are clearly a cry for one. The fact that you've repeatedly posteded that sometimes you wish you were dead is most concerning.

[Zarathud]

Just making observations, but nothing will change until you realize that something needs to change and you put in the effort. It’s easier to do nothing or hide or make excuses.

Edit: Or what Smoove and hepcat said.

[dbt1949]

For awhile there I was seeing therapists about my suicide compulsion. I didn't find them all that helpful but the medicine they gave seemed to help. I call them "neutral" pills. Moving in with my stepson and family did the most for changing my outlook.
I wish you had some friends to talk to in real life. That really helps. Maybe therapists will help you. We're all different.

[Default]

I have seen my therapist in person all of one time. All the other times, it's done over telehealth. Really you should talk to somebody 'hawk, and you know get some help. Not having a car is not a handicap anymore. As a matter of fact, the only time I have to go in to see a doctor anymore, is to physically be examined or to have blood done. As far as psychological help goes, it's all online. Maybe they add an app to make it easier to use from a phone, but usually it's just clicking on an email and logging in with a password. The easiest way to remember a password is to make it a pass phrase. A small sentence about your dog and a plus sign and a number is usually good enough for most places. It's also a hell of a lot easier to remember.

[jztemple2]

On a lighter note, those of you in Illinois can be happy again starting Monday: States set to enact new laws on guns, pornography, taxes and even fuzzy dice

Fuzzy dice finally will be free to dangle in Illinois.

Starting Monday, police there no longer will be allowed to pull over motorists solely because they have something hanging from the rearview mirror of the windshield. That means air fresheners, parking placards and, yes, even those dice are fair game to hang.



The revised Illinois windshield rule is one of hundreds of new laws taking effect with the new year in states across the U.S. While some may seem a bit pedestrian, others have real practical effects or touch on controversial issues such as restrictions on weapons and medical treatments for transgender people.

Though the original Illinois windshield law was meant to improve roadway safety, it came to be seen by some as an excuse for pulling over drivers. The new law still prohibits objects that obstruct a driver's view but forbids law enforcement officers from conducting stops or searches solely because of suspected violations.

“With this new law, we are sending a powerful message that the state does not tolerate racial profiling or other forms of discrimination,” said Democratic state Sen. Christopher Belt, one of the bill's sponsors.

[em2nought]

Thankfully nothing is changing. The first bullet point in the welcome letter is, "The terms of your loan (such as interest rate and length of loan) are staying exactly the same".

I handle taxes and insurance on my own so no escrow. So far, Mr. Cooper seems better to work with than Wells Fargo.

My cousin got switched over to Mr. Cooper several years ago from another terrible company. She absolutely hates them, insists that somehow they're calculating everything wrong. She only owes about $30,000 and somehow her fixed rate payment have climbed from somewhere in the $300s to somewhere in the $900s in fifteen years. I'm not totally sure there isn't some "hate the rich" involved in what she relays to me though.

[hepcat]

I hate some mandatory office training. They assigned us a sexual harassment training course recently through our online paycheck and HR portal. Last year we had something similar, but it was about 45 minutes of videos. This year, the online course is over 2 and a half freaking hours long. And it won't let you do something else while you're watching it, plus you have to input something every few minutes to continue. God, this is friggin' annoying.

Also, I can't stop singing "Sexual...harassment...panda".

[Anonymous Bosch]

I dont recall asking for help actually.

That's beside the point. Whether you asked or not, your posts and commentary here are explicit, unequivocal indicators of depression and mental illness. As far as I am aware, none of the numerous posters here who have tried to address this subject with you have ever done so pejoratively. Quite the contrary, it has almost invariably been brought up empathetically, purely from a position of compassion and concern as your struggles to subsist increasingly escalate. So, I would echo the sentiments other OO members expressed above.

However, there is also another particularly insidious symptom of depression and mental illness I would urge you to consider: namely, the reluctance to seek appropriate mental health care. Seeking help for mental health can seem like a daunting task. Especially when the roller coaster of mental illness has you trapped on the ride. Mental health stigma is a huge barrier on why many people don’t seek help. Your depressed mindset may suggest that you don’t want to be judged for seeking treatment. Or that you don’t want to be defined as weak or incompetent, or even worse, seen as unable to take care of yourself. But it is critical to not give into stigma, and seek out the help that you need.

As Default aptly observes above, nowadays you do not require a vehicle to at least begin to seek out appropriate mental health care. This is merely another feeble excuse from your depressed disposition to do nothing whatsoever to improve your situation and overall lot in life. So, I would encourage you to reach out to any of the following free and confidential telephone helplines, and share your problems and difficulties with a live human being who will genuinely understand and empathise with your struggles. Since they are counselors and trained volunteers, they can help you find appropriate treatment from a suitable mental health professional, and potentially bridge the gap between a crisis and finding that appropriate treatment. It needn't be a panacea that will solve all of your woes, but simply a first step in a healthier direction. Because, as the proverbial saying goes, 'A problem shared is a problem halved,' and doing so via conversation with a caring and compassionate live human being is a world apart from posting about it on the Internet.

• Friendship Line - 888-670-1360:
  The Friendship Line is a signature program of Institute on Aging, and has never gone unanswered since it was founded in 1973 by Dr. Patrick Arbore. Dr. Arbore’s observation that “connection to others binds us to life” led him to establish the Friendship Line, which is both a “warm line” and a crisis intervention center for routine – even daily – phone calls that provide emotional support and friendly conversation.
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 800-273-8255 (TALK):
  The National Suicide Prevention Hotline offers free and confidential support to those in immediate emotional distress. The hotline provides suicide prevention resources as well as access to local crisis centers. You don’t have to be actively thinking about suicide to use this service — anyone in emotional distress can call and use their services. Lifeline Chat is an online chat that provides a direct connection to counselors for support.
• The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Helpline - 800-950-6264 (NAMI):
  This helpline can answer questions about mental health, treatment, and local support groups. Staff members are available Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Phone Number: 1-(800)-950-NAMI (6264) or text NAMI to 741741.
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) - 800-662-4357 (HELP):
  SAMHSA’s helpline offers 24/7 support in English and Spanish for treatment referral and support. You can call anytime you have questions about depression or substance use disorders. Phone Number: 1-(800)-662-HELP (4357).

[Holman]

Dae, people are doing two things here:

1) Telling you that we care about you as a member of our community, and
2) Telling you that there's *nothing* we can do if you won't seek the help you need.

A lot of good advice has been posted already, but I'll add one more: find a church.

That might sound odd coming from someone on Team Atheist, but there are lots of churches, and you might be able to find one that feels right to you, maybe even more for the social contact than the theology.

Most of all, good churches exist for mutual support. You might find help, and (just as importantly) you might find that you'll be able to join in helping others. That last part can lead to a total change of perspective.

[Daehawk]

States set to enact new laws on guns, pornography, taxes and even fuzzy dice

Can we just go ahead and start the new civil war so one side can kill the other and I can read the news in peace without raising my BP further?

[hepcat]

Ummm...what?

[Kraken]

This morning I saw a two-paragraph report that there was a house fire a few blocks from home last night. This afternoon, I drove by and saw the first floor all boarded up and parts of the second floor open to the sky. A couple hours later I heard that an 81-year-old man died there last night. There were no working smoke detectors in the house.

What an awful way to go. I hope the smoke got him before the flames did.

[Isgrimnur]

National Fire Protection Association

• Smoke alarms were present in three-quarters (74 percent) of reported home fires in 2014–2018.
• Almost three out of five home fire deaths were caused by fires in properties with no smoke alarms (41 percent) or smoke alarms that failed to operate (16 percent).
• The risk of dying in reported home structure fires is 55 percent lower in homes with working smoke alarms than in homes with no alarms or none that worked.
• When present, hardwired smoke alarms operated in 94 percent of the fires considered large enough to trigger a smoke alarm. Battery-powered alarms operated 82 percent of the time. Power source issues were the most common factors when smoke alarms failed to operate.

[Daehawk]

Ummm...what?

I read that article in the link. one state will shit on the people and another state will do the opposite and make a law to support the people...over and over. Country is so divided they might as well have it out now and not wait. im sick of them...the GOP that is.

As for smoke alarms. got none. When I moved there there were two ancient alarms. They were brass and inside was some blue liquid in a tube and a horn. im guessing when they got hot the liquid expanded and blew the horn as a warning. but that blue stuff was also toxic I m sure and being old was a danger. So we took them both down and replaced them wit ha modern one.

After the 50th time of it going off when cooking we removed it as well.

[Holman]

Random randomness: can anyone distinguish between Ryan Gosling and Ryan Reynolds without second-guessing?

Spoiler:

My rule of thumb is that Gosling has a more interesting name so he takes more interesting roles, but that's still open to interpretation.

[Anonymous Bosch]

Ummm...what?

I read that article in the link. one state will shit on the people and another state will do the opposite and make a law to support the people...over and over. Country is so divided they might as well have it out now and not wait. im sick of them...the GOP that is.

[hepcat]

I just thought it was about fuzzy dice and porn.

[Kraken]

National Fire Protection Association

• Smoke alarms were present in three-quarters (74 percent) of reported home fires in 2014–2018.
• Almost three out of five home fire deaths were caused by fires in properties with no smoke alarms (41 percent) or smoke alarms that failed to operate (16 percent).
• The risk of dying in reported home structure fires is 55 percent lower in homes with working smoke alarms than in homes with no alarms or none that worked.
• When present, hardwired smoke alarms operated in 94 percent of the fires considered large enough to trigger a smoke alarm. Battery-powered alarms operated 82 percent of the time. Power source issues were the most common factors when smoke alarms failed to operate.

There's a short video of the fire here. Sorry I can't figure out how to just embed the video.

As for smoke alarms. got none.

If you google "free smoke alarms" you'll get some hits. Looks like your local/regional Red Cross is the best bet.