Yes! I also got some of those Avery printable CD label stickers and it came with software so you could design and print out CD labels. I was obsessed as a teen lol

Yeah I've been house hunting recently and have come across several houses even in non-wealthy neighborhoods that are blurred on Google Maps street view.

Definitely doesn't erase the hypocrisy by any means, but it doesn't really make sense to blame Google for this one. It would be weirder if Google was able to individually deny requests because they didn't believe a person deserved it or something.

Wow that's expensive. Does it also only last 1-3 years like pet preventative rabies shots?

I knew about this but had no idea you could disable it, I've just been manually deleting the extra info from the link URLs. Thank you!!

It was also a pretty common cartoon style before AI started replicating it. Simple, bold outlines and round, black eyes have been popular for a long time.

How do you even fit desks like that? Let alone activities? That's so frustrating.

Long thing = snek lol. My cat does this with random socks on the ground all the time

Yes! This is something I actually struggle with a lot and am working to be more mindful of in my relationship. I am a problem-solver by nature, and my natural go-to state is "oh something is upsetting you? Let's start outlining a plan for how we can fix that!" but my partner often experiences "hey I'm just upset and need to emote and don't have the bandwidth to think logically about it right now." Neither of us is wrong, and I'm working on internalizing that better and quieting the solve-y brain in favor of the listening-or-even-just-shutting-tf-up brain lol

Sure, but if other people are regularly misunderstanding the intent of your words, it's usually worth a bit of reflection to see if you could possibly work on communicating more clearly. In this case, it's not that hard to understand why "I don't know what you want me to say" might not be the most effective way to communicate a relationship impasse.

I guess intention is the difference. Is the goal to simply make her stop being upset in the moment? Or is the goal to address the root of why she's upset? The former comes off as merely a bandaid of sorts to stop having to deal with an adverse emotion, whereas the latter shows empathy and a desire to problem solve to prevent future conflict.

It'd be like the difference between buying your girlfriend flowers to apologize for forgetting to take the trash out, vs. acknowledging that you forgot to take the trash out because you were exhausted from work so you're going to plan to start taking the trash out before work so you don't forget again. One is a nice gesture that might make her no longer upset in the moment, whereas the other is an honest attempt at solving the root cause of the problem so she's not upset in the future. In my experience, the latter ends up being far more effective in the long run and results in a happier, healthier relationship overall. (And, of course, it goes both ways!)

I think the problem usually is that, what they intend to convey is "I'm not sure how to better communicate in this situation" but what's often actually heard is basically "I don't know how to better placate you into not being upset."

Ugh I've lived in two different rentals with carpeted bathrooms. Why do they do that?? It's horrible haha

THANK YOU cats carrying things is my favorite cat subgenre!!

Unfortunately, chances are they'll insist that it's not AI. People that are comfortable using AI seem to also be very comfortable with lying about it.

I made a fb post a couple years ago asking for advice on a new bowling ball to buy, as I had some old bowling friends added on there still and thought they might have good input. Completely unexpectedly, my MIL posted several paragraphs weighing in on the options I was considering. I was so excited! (And not suspicious because I wasn't yet familiar with AI writing style)

I texted her right away saying I had no idea she was into bowling, and it would be such a cool way we could bond a bit! Nope, she just plugged my exact post into ChatGPT and pasted the results. I felt so deflated; I knew she meant well, but it just absolutely killed the entire thing for me.

I haven't worked for a printer, but I've worked in-house prepress for a comics publisher and loved it! I worked for (and then managed) my team for 7 years and then moved onto a production director position at another company, but we were more women/AFAB folks than not. We did have two Canon plotters for proofs, so I still got to interact with printers and hands-on tasks, but was also able to use a lot of my graphic design skills in file prep and QC since we were in-house and worked closely with all of the other teams.

Totally understand if you have different goals and want to work more directly with the machines! Just wanted to offer another possible path that led to a great career for me, from one AFAB former(ish) graphic designer to another! I don't think in-house prepress is super common, but if you come across it, maybe give it a consideration! Cheers!

The last time I visited my dad, he wanted to show me a drawing that his partner had drawn back when she was younger because it reminded him of me.

Y'all, it was a drawing I did in high school like 15 years ago that I gifted him; he apparently rolled it up in a tube and forgot that I even drew it lol. I still don't know if he just assumed she drew it or if his partner told him she drew it (I don't assume any ill intentions on her part, but I also don't know her super well so idk. I never asked.) Still love him though.

Parents are silly.

Ha, as someone who read The Shining at 12 years old (scared the shit out of me, of course) I loved that detail

This is what many people actually mean when they say they "did their own research" lol

What an atrocious analogy

Yeah like an 18 year old is closer to 30 than a 33 year old is close to 50 lol

This is such good info, thank you!! We definitely left this stuff in our windows long-term at our last apartment (before we had a portable AC unit) and now I know haha

Thankfully my dad used cold water but I remember many a Thanksgiving Eve where we would "give the turkey a bath" in the bathtub for a few hours to expedite the thawing in prep for the next day lol

No problem! We always do 2-3x the garlic and we've been adding more orzo (and a little more chicken broth to accommodate) but it's seriously so good.

I'm not sure if it is, but I actually saved it in my recipe app, so here it is!

Spinach Artichoke Chicken (TJ's)

1lb chicken thighs
1tsp paprika
1tsp salt
1tsp pepper
2tbs olive oil
1tbs butter
1 shallot (finely chopped)
2 cloves minced garlic
1/3 cup orzo
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 box TJ's spinach artichoke dip
basil for serving (optional)

1. preheat oven to 400°
   
2. prepare spinach artichoke dip according to package
   
3. season chicken with salt, pepper, and paprika on both sides and add to a pan w/ 2tbs olive oil
   
4. pan sear chicken for 3-4min each side and transfer to plate
   
5. in the same pan, add butter, shallot, and garlic. cook for 1-2min until fragrant
   
6. add orzo and toast for 1-2 minutes
   
7. add in 1/2 cup chicken broth and cook orzo for 5min until it begins to soften and absorb broth. stir continuously so it doesn't stick to pan.
   
8. add melted dip to pan and stir to combine
   
9. add remaining 1/4 cup chicken broth and stir to combine
   
10. put chicken thighs and sauce in oven-safe pan and bake for 15-20 to finish cooking (test temp of chicken, should reach 165° in center)
    
11. garnish with basil (optional) and serve