Fun fact: the events in Anne Frank's diary and Maus actually happened. They are far more valuable than the Goat Herder's Guide to the Galaxy.

Agreed, but the "I only vote third party" people never think about elections unless it's the presidential election (gestures vaguely around), when it's far too late. This is work that needs to start at a local level to build the party slowly and methodically on a solid foundation and integrate it into the system through numbers and results. Americans just don't have the attention span.

Four years MIGHT be enough time to finally establish a viable third party, but it's gonna take work.

You're right, of course. Patent illustrations traditionally show the item only from behind.

Check the employee handbook for details and definitions to see how they view PTO, etc. When I was originally hired they said my salary was calculated based on a 45-hour work week. While I usually fall an hour short, I do tend to work through my lunches (eat at my desk as I catch up on email or other lighter work) and there are a couple late nights or weekend events each year that balance that out.

Now: if I work a weekend event, I am told to take the equivalent time off elsewhere. That's fair, and it's nice to have the time back. If I have a dentist appointment or something, I can just go and come back. If I have to do an errand while shops are open, I can do that. As long as my work gets done it's all good.

For day to day, I tend to show up & leave at the same time. They like that since it's predictable for them. I'm usually a few minutes early and go home when I reach a stopping point. I found a vintage talking clock from the late 80s that still works and have it on my desk. I originally got it to annoy my office-mate but she thinks it's funny and it actually reminds us to head home on time. Setting a recurring alarm to remind you it's quitting time might help.

Overall I find salaried work more laid back, and setting your own routine helps keep a little structure for peace of mind. Just communicate to your supervisor about your comings & goings so they know how to plan.

Atheism is the rejection of an assertion that there is a god or gods. If any theists were able to prove the existence of a god, an atheist would (hopefully) change their mind. Rejecting all gods until their existence can be proven is hardly inconsistent.

I reject as true books that say the X-Men exist. Those are first hand sources, but that does not mean the stories they contain are true, even though they are more morally consistent than most popular religious texts. I have not read the X-Men but that is no reason to assume they are true.

Extraordinary assertions such as a devine being existing require extraordinary proof. No religions have managed to provide more than heresay, anecdotal evidence, and assumption to support their claoms. Religious reasoning is as best motivated, and hardly consistent itself.

My opinion is based on how world religions are used by their followers and those in power. All I see is religion used as a tools to control, intimidate, otherise, and war with any group considered "not us" - no matter the religion. I have read summaries of the Bible, Quaran, and Book of Mormon. There is nothing of note in any of them. Any possible good advice or dictate has long since been rephrased, refined, and adopted by society. The beauty of a thing is in its utility, and the use I see religion put to buy those in power is ugly. I want nothing to do with poisonous dogma, and instead choose to try making life better for those around me by direct action. Not by wishing for a god to do so, or wasting this precious life gambling that their might be something better after it ends.

I don't have to read a religious text to know it's not true, and though you may have been lucky enough to grow up untainted by society, these books have not. The issue with going to sources so entrenched in studying religious text is that they are already tainted by the need to keep the text alive. Should they cast any doubt at all their livelihood will vanish.

No religion has ever offered verifiable proof of any supernatural claim. Once they do I will pay attention.

Apologies for my assumption of your holy book of choice. You realise the Qur'an is the "sequel" to the Bible, which was itself derivative of the Torah, which was based on more ancient myths, etc etc. All of them passed down verbally for generations before written, all of them changed to suit the storytellers' needs, and all of them FAR from flawless. Historical and scientific inaccuracies aside, none of them are even internally consistent. I have difficulty believing you have applied objective, critical thought to any religious text.

It sounds like you are firmly entrenched in your religion. I'm glad you enjoy reading Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek, but it turns out people tend to skew in one of two directions: those without a propensity for analytical thought tend to skew religious - for example, the children in the study you cite - and those who think critically reject religion. There's even a paper on this.

If your religion brings you happiness and peace, more power to you. However, I would encourage you to rethink your ideas on logic and science illiteracy. Consider that it might actually be very difficult in a world & countless communities built around religion for someone to break away from that social norm, analyse religion objectively, and reject an idea that cannot be proven.

Local/regional chains seem to stay more reasonable, but honestly, local restaurants in my area are almost cheaper than fast food. A typical combo meal seems to run around $10-15, and you can find lunch specials and weekly specials for $8-12.

The food is way better as well.

I could go to Arby's for a combo (roast beef sandwich, soda, and fries) and spend around $14. Or I can go to the sushi place half a mile away and pay $11 for their made-to-order bento box: teriyaki salmon filet, small salad, 3 gyoza, 4-piece Cali roll, and tasty rice. I haven't been to Arby's in years.

I'll repair last chance socks and stockpile (clean) last chance underwear for long trips. Throw them out as the trip goes instead of stashing dirty laundry in your bag.

Electronic parts. There used to be several local shops and a Radio Shack where you could go in and just buy basic electronic components (capacitors, resistors, photocells, transistors, breadboards, potentiometers, you name it). They phased all of that out in favour of toys and trinkets before just folding.

Now I have to order on Mouser or Digikey and wait. Sure there's WAY more variety, but I miss being able to just run & grab something I might have forgotten (or, let's be honest, fried somehow).