Wheetsin

I would love to be able to tell you "yes" or "no", but it just can't be done. You can't even rely on things like "So far I've lost at this rate, so if that continues..." because you could hit a plateau and not lose another pound, or you could find a nice groove and double your weightloss. There's just simply absolutely no way of knowing. And so much of it will depend on you, separate from any other factor. How well you stick to your rules, whether or not you're eating an additionally restricted diet, how well you exercise... even what difference exercise makes for your body. Sorry, can't help with the seamstress part. My version of sewing = super glue.<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

Here's a scenario a peer shared with me today. For various reasons, calling the future bride/groom for clarification is not an option. How would you handle the gift issue? Groom is a family member you don't really know - haven't seen in 10+ years, and only knew on holidays before that. Bride is someone you've never met, nor even seen. Complete stranger. The first time you encoutnered her name was on the invitation. On Monday you receive an invitation to their wedding, indicating where they are registered for gifts. On Wednesday, you receive an invitation to a couple's shower (that Friday). No mention of where they are registered for gifts. Shower is being held at a "pizza Shoppe", so presumably would be a casual event. Would you buy two gifts from the registry: one for the shower and one for the wedding? Part B to the question above - let's say the cheapest gift on the registry is $80, and you don't have anyone you could split a gift with. Would you still buy two? Would you buy the family member a shower gift for him, and avoid a couple gift as the bride is a stranger? (This question stems from bridal showers, where you might not go if you don't know the bride, and tend to get her gifts for her, versus gifts for them). Would you buy a couples gift, aside from what's on the wedding regsitry? If so, what would typw of gift would you buy, and what would be an appropriate amount to spend? Or smtg completey different?

BTW, if you mouseover that box, you will get a popup - a spelled out version of the box's color. On some boards they call this their "kharma".

Here's my best guess. Normally rep power is visible as a string of boxes. You'll see this a lot on other forums where there's some type of icon, and perhaps only 3 of 10 are filled in. Rep power is nornally not a single box, so I am guessing that reputation here is displayed in the single box you can see, and is summarized as "positive" (will be a green box) or "negative" (will be a red box). I'm also assuming that, since it's either green or red, the reputation is averaged. Again - with a lot of LBT-specific questions, all I can give is best guess or answers based on common practice, so I can't ensure this is the right answer.

Ah crap, I can't edit yet. I remembered the disclaimer in the main message but not the summary. Consider this info revised to say the following (in red): Summary To sum it all up, here is the gist of the Member Reputation System. Default Reputation Every member starts with a reputation level of 0. Rep Power It's an indication of how many Reputation points a member can give to others, or deduct from them. Seniority The longer you stick around the forums, the more influential you become. Every 365 days, members increase their Rep Power by 1 point. (These are general guidelines, I don't yet know what LBT has as its specific criteria, it may be fewer days, more days, or seniority may not even be factored) Activity For every 1000 posts, members increase their Rep Power by 1 point. (These are general guidelines, I don't yet know what LBT has as its specific criteria, it may be fewer posts, more posts, or activity may not even be factored) Reputation For every 100 points of reputation, members increase their Rep Power by 1 point. (These are general guidelines, I don't yet know what LBT has as its specific criteria, it may be fewer points, more points, etc.)

Go to your user CP. The rep info is at the bottom, including whether it was good or bad.

I'm waiting for someone to register Mr. Ow That's who will get my attention.

Ok, NOT REALLY, but we've had a lot of questions posted and I've had a lot of questions PMed, so I will do my best to consolidate what I know into one little place. Here. This information is a combination of VB FAQs, information from other VB admins, and my limited knowledge. As we learn more and get more information, I will update this to add the new findings in. Enjoy! --------------------------------------------------------- What is the reputation system? A system that allows board members to "self-regulate" themselves, based on Reputation points which they allocate to others. How Does It Work? Members start with 0 reputation. You can award every post/poster with positive or negative reputation points, and provide a comment about why the reputation was given. Over time, "good" members will likely build up positive reputation while "bad" members will build up negative reputation. Good reputation is generally an indication that people appreciate the poster's contributions, agree with their posts, etc. Bad reputation is generally an indication that people disagree with the person's posts, "don't like" the person, etc. By checking someone's reputation level against their number of posts, you can get a baseline idea of how trustworthy/reliable their information has been, whether or not their opinion has been popular, and even how many "friends" they have on the board. Some boards make the reputation comments publically visible. I don't believe this board does. When comments are visible, you can read the reasons why others were given bad or good reputation. This can help offset the "stigma" of positive/negative rep points (e.g. when a negative reputation comment reads something like, "We have different opinions", or a positive comment reads something like, “You’re pretty!”) How Do I Check For A Member's Reputation? Reputation points are listed under your user CP, at the very bottom. If you see a title bar for it but no rep info, you can expand it by clicking the arrow. How Do I Give Reputation Points? Click on the scales icon located in the bottom left corner of the posters info field. (the bottom of the section where join date, age, posts, etc. appear). Once you lcick on the scales, you will get a pop-up allowing you to “approve” or “disapprove” of the post, and leave comments. Can I Control How Many Reputation Points To Give? No, you cannot. Based on a range of criteria, like seniority, rank and reputation, some members will have a higher rep power than others. I don’t know if it’s true for LBT, but on many boards, the higher your rep power, the more reputation points you can give. (In other words, it keeps someone who just joined today and has no reputation from giving 500 negative reps in a day). What Is Rep Power? Rep Power is not the member’s reputation. It's an indication of how many Reputation points they can give to others, or deduct from them. If a member has a Rep Power of 3, that means he gives other members 3 Reputation points or deducts 3 Reputation points from them, everytime he comments on their post. How Do I Get More Rep Power? I don’t know about LBT specifically, but generally speaking there are three ways to get more Rep Power. Seniority The longer you stick around the forums, the more influential you become. Every 365 days, members increase their Rep Power by 1 point. Activity For every 1000 posts, members increase their Rep Power by 1 point. Reputation For every 100 points of reputation, members increase their Rep Power by 1 point. How Many Times Can I Give / Deduct Reputation In A Day? I don’t the answer to this for our board, it’s something set (afaik) by the admin. Often it's limited to 10. How Often Can I Give / Deduct Reputation From The Same Member? You can give / deduct reputation from the same member as many times as you like. In most cases (I don’t know about LBT, but this is a common practice) you have to give reputation to 10 other members before you can give to the same member again. What are the Pros and Cons of Reputation? This could easily be the biggest answer in the post, so I'll give short versions. Reputation doesn't really mean anything, but it can be an ego boost or blow, and it can also be used to "get back at" someone. (If you're familiar with ebay, think of the buyers who leave negative feedback, so the sellers do too - even if the seller had a good experience). Pros: Reputation can be a way to help new users discriminate the "good" from the "bad"... e.g. avoid trolls, known troublemakers, people who spread misinformation, etc. Reputation can also let someone know when they've posted something valuable, and give a nice "pat on the back" for their effort. Cons: Reputation is, essentially, a way of saying "I agree" or "I disagree". Because of this, people often use it to disagree with your posts in a private way, because - for whatever reason - they don't want to disagree publically. This can result in a "good" poster having negative reputation. It can also result in harsh feelings toward other members, or "pack behavior" being used to drive down someone's reputation. Summary To sum it all up, here is the gist of the Member Reputation System. Default Reputation Every member starts with a reputation level of 0. Rep Power It's an indication of how many Reputation points a member can give to others, or deduct from them. Seniority The longer you stick around the forums, the more influential you become. Every 365 days, members increase their Rep Power by 1 point. Activity For every 1000 posts, members increase their Rep Power by 1 point. Reputation For every 100 points of reputation, members increase their Rep Power by 1 point.

Other members give you positive or negative reputation, e.g. you get one rep point per reputation that someone gives you. It was part of the board a while ago, then removed, then recently added back in. Reputation is usually given when someone strongly agrees/disagrees with something you've said... a sort of thumbs-up or thumbs-down kind of rating system. What good is the rating? Well, one benefit is that it's able to help users identify who to listen to and who to ignore. That sounds harsh, but there are people on boards who spew all kinds of misinformation, and do it intentionally. As another user recently put it, it helps you figure out who to listed to. BTW, to add reputation to someone, you click the little scales icon next to their online status. You'll notice that if you hover your mouse over this icon, it will read, "Add to X's reputation", X being the poster.

Now when I was younger the saying was, "It's not the length and it's not the size, it's how many times you can make it rise." Now it's, "Hurry up."

I didn't mind my liquid Lortab. Maybe because I was so fond of its end results. When I was a kid I would fake a cough so that I could get a swig of Vick's Formula 44. I haven't had any in years but I used to love the taste of that stuff.

Just tell the truth. Are you worried that you have a condition that will prevent you from being able to have surgery? Or that you don't have enough medical reason to have it? I would advise against "making up" conditions. The doctor will only make the referral, at best. If the surgeon is told of medical conditions, chances are you will be sent for medical testing to verify (sleep studies, bloodwork, endoscopies/upper GI, etc.) If your'e self-pay, which you would pretty much have to be to get this done with a BMI under 35 and no significant comorbidities, then it won't matter. Surgeons won't require the same maladies that insurance companies will.

What's cosplay?

Whose children? To whom is this addressed?

And there are people who can actually stomach olives and green peppers. What can I say. I can do the cherry. The chewables are probably some of the worst tasting things I've ever had in my mouth, next to collard greens and dolmades.

I've gone up a cup size. I think it's the same thing that happens with the penis when a guy loses weight. They're the same size they've always been, they just stick out a bit more now.

Lauraj23 - the onmly place I can find it is Wal-Mart (unfortunately). It's called "Rapid Blast" and comes in cherry - there's also a PM version that comes in something like "warm vanilla" (GROSS). I pretty much hate anything cherry flavor, but the Tylenol isn't horrible.

I should add - do I think it has anything to do with being a liberal? Maybe - in the distrust. But I think it has more to do with my personality/cynical nature. I don't like the spotlight, hence I prefer anonymous or "behind the scenes" work. I don't really like people that much, hence I prefer the "hands off" situations. Etc.

Reading your post made me reflect, and I've realized something. I don't really donate money. Most of that comes from working for nation-wide and international charitable organizations and seeing what really happens with the money. And being a cynic at heart. I just find it hard to trust that the money goes where it should be going. I probably donate something measly like $20 a year, in the form of a few dollars to the firemen on the street, etc. Well, that's to human-based organizations. I do give much more to wildlife and more environmental causes. I do adopt a family each year and sometimes two for the holidays. That's probably the biggest source of charitable $ outlay. But I have done a lot of "effort" donation - where I'm giving my time or my labor instead of my money. Volunteering in soup kitchens, hospitals (used to do this every summer in high school, and still do it when I can and they need someone), the animal shelter, Habitat for Humanity, etc. I own a business that builds websites and last year we donated our services to build sites for 11 charities. If you convert that to dollars, it's probably significant, but it's still not us handing out money.

This (emphasis mine) is actually the #1 reason why people donate and are involved in charitable reasons... it makes them feel good. (I don't remember the exact name off hand but this is per your every day college level text on human motivation). It's rarely about the actual charity or what the recipient receives, rather how the giving makes the giver feel. I'm not picking on anyone, and especially not anyone on this thread, even though one of the examples I'm giving was used -- but you'll notice that mention of charity or good deeds is often expressed with some type of personal qualifier - e.g. I make X and give X%, versus just I give X%, or even "I give". Or we donated a set that cost X, versus we donated an expensive set, or "we donated". Or "I gave them almost X worth of clothing" instead of "nice clothing" or just "I gave." A common example is giving a donation that, in turn, gives you recognition. E.g. buying a memmorial brick for someone, that is placed into a new construction, and has your name on it... or theirs, on behalf of you. Sorry for the tangent, but you know how I have to be all over the psychology.

I use extra strength liquid Tylenol. For me the liquid can take care of pains that the pills or capsules could never touch.

What is it that you can't believe you're hearing? We have 70+ pages here, lots of things have been said.

I would guess nuts are on the list because of their size, but I'm not sure. I can eat them with care and not have any problems. Oranges are difficult because they don't chew up well. If you've ever tried to really chew an orange, it just doesn't happen... you sort of crush the juice out, and are left with his glob of string. Grapes are similar. You end up sort of crushing the juice out of it, but the skins (particularly with red grapes) really won't chew up. I have gone to fresh squeezed OJ over oranges, and on the rare occasion that I eat grapes, I just spit the skins back out.

I was at a Target store about a year ago, and a mother was there with her two children. The mother had a variety of kitchen things in her cart - mixing bowls, measuring cups, metal stirring spoons, etc. We were in the checkout lane, I was behind her, and her kids kept asking for the candy that stores oh so brilliantly place there. I should rephrase that. The daughter picked up the candy, brought it to the mother, and the mother snatched it from her hands and (literally) tossed it on the floor before her daughter could say anything. The daughter picked it up, brought it over, and then asked if she could have it. The mother replied, "No, you'll get fat and then we won't be able to love you anymore." She then told the brother to call the sister a "pig", so he started calling her "piggie piggie" and making oinking noises at her. All of this happened in about what, 5 seconds? 10? I don't know. Anyway, the girl started to cry, so the mother grabbed her by the arm, shook her, and yelled at her to stop crying. Surprise, she didn't. The mother walked around to begin unloading her items. Then, after about 10 seconds of the crying, rather suddenly, the mother took the metal spoon she had just unloaded and struck her daughter across the head with it. I'm seeing this from behind, so I don't know exactly where she was struck, but I know I said :censored:, and a split second later the little girl turned to look at me and already had blood running from her forehead and dripping on her shirt. Would you still say that what happened was none of my business? Or that I should have just shut-up and said nothing? Because the police felt quite differently, as did the store manager, and the girl's father who showed up later.

Perhaps the difference is in how the technical disciplining occurs, versus the outcome of the disciplining. If people opt to spank their children, I think it's unfortunate, but it's not my business. If people choose to ground, not my business. When the child's behavior effects me - the technical how still isn't my business, but the child's behavior (directly related to the discipline they receive) is. If I see a parent hitting (or "patting" or "slapping" or whatever word you want to use) their child on the butt cheek, although I personally wouldn't do it, I don't say anything. If I saw an adult punching their child, I would (and have) said something. To me, if you're doing something in the public eye, it's no longer "not your business."