The Gaming Den

I am careful when lancing. I hold my pocketknife over a flame for a good while, and put antibacterial ointment on it immediately afterwards. I don't lance them very often, only when they get too big to get my feet inside my shoes. The fact that these days running 2.5 miles is what I consider "taking it easy because I don't feel well" is a massive improvement over a year ago, but my feet are being punished for it, heh. I consider blisters to be less of an impediment to dating than being fat, but I would like to both be in shape and not have them.

Maj wrote:Do you get blisters because your shoes aren't flexible, or because the back of your shoes are too high?

If the backs of your shoes aren't flexible enough to keep from rubbing your heels raw, break them down - step on them, fold them back and forth, stretch them out... Soften up that part of the shoe so it conforms to your foot.

If the back of your shoes are too high, invest in insoles (either whole or half) that add lift so that the heels of your shoes fit where they are supposed to.

If it's something else entirely, I'm afraid I don't know how to help. Good luck.

It's not the backs of the heel, it's the outside of them. I'd snap a picture but I'm pretty sure no one wants/needs to see that...

Wearing thin socks inside of your normal socks can help prevent certain kinds of blisters; the rubbing and friction will wear out the socks rather than your skin.

Count Arioch the 28th wrote:
It's not the backs of the heel, it's the outside of them. I'd snap a picture but I'm pretty sure no one wants/needs to see that...

Put it in a spoiler and give us fair warning. It's not your fault if people look at it of their own volition and some people with the stomach for it might be able to help you better.

I demand to see your gross feet!

Why doesn't windows automatically update your time zone when it already knows your location...

Cynic wrote:Why doesn't windows automatically update your time zone when it already knows your location...

Because if it did that, it would be extremely annoying to that small subset of people who want to be on zulu time? (Or do whatever other crazy thing)

Ok, so this calorie counting thing isn't working much. I can count them all I want, but that doesn't change the fact that a) the way the site works makes it a pain in the ass to actually eat healthy things, or eat out, and b) I'm used to eating a certain amount, and on saturdays, a fairly large meal due to being in a game where one of the guys buys dinner for everyone.

SO, given that the absolute laziest way to try to lose weight isn't working, (big surprise), can anyone suggest better ways that do not involve a lot of money, and can still work with getting pizza and bunches of candy as a meal once a week, or grabbing the "all your day's calories on one plate" meals that one gets at the usual mid-scale restaurant?

Take up rollerblading. Specifically, the cross-city racing where they hang onto the backs of cars to boost their speed.

If you fall over at 60mph you grind off what, 20lbs of flesh easily.

...maybe that's not the best way to go about it.

Nah, if I'm going to do that, I've got plenty of perfectly serviceable sharp objects. Much more control, I just need to stock up on gauze bandages....

Is exercise out of the question?

You're not gonna like it but.

Exercise, teach yourself to eat smaller portions.
It's OK to leave food on your plate. Pretend you're Chinese and it's an insult to clean your plate. It takes a while to lower your portion sizes, but it's like the #1 most important thing you can do to start losing weight. That's what nutrasystem is all about, pre-determined portion sizes. But you don't need their crappy food. You also have to pick your battles. Make yourself learn to love water, or unsweetened ice tea. Only drink soda/sweet tea occasionally.

If you've been counting calories, you must have a food diary? If you wanted to post a day's worth, or pm it. Food Diaries are a great way to see where you're getting your food from, and what you can safely cut.

If you drink soda everyday, switch to soda every other day for a few weeks, then slowly drop a day, until you're drinking soda once a week, then maybe twice a month. Eating out is always a lose. Restaurant food tastes so good because of the large amounts of butter, fat, sugar, salt, that they put in them. But you can cook really yummy things.

Try to get your protein down to 6oz for dinner, and 3-4 oz for lunch. But don't do it cold turkey, you'll be hungry and go crazy. Just start by getting slightly smaller steaks, or by leaving some of it on your plate.

Yes, children are starving in Ethiopia. You're not doing them any favors by eating a 12oz steak, if after 8 oz you're full.

My brother just sent me an article suggesting that people eat with their non-dominant hand.

Along that line I find anything that slows down eating helps you not overeat. So sharing meals with friends, using chopsticks it you're not good at it, eating really spicy food all slow down the meal, you feel full with less.

I can personally attest to the chopsticks and spicy food suggestions.

Why do stimulants work to fix ADHD? I would think that a stimulant would exacerbate the behavior, but it doesn't. Why?

you mean things like Ridlin for the hyperactiveness?

It's funny, I've been getting very good with using choptsticks both right and left handed. In China, I get lots of strange looks for using chopsticks in my left hand (granted, I get lots of strange looks just for being a foreigner...), so to fit in better I've been deliberately using my 'wrong' hand to the point that I can get by very nearly as well.

It doesn't slow down my eathing much, though, DAMN Mongolian grills.

Maj wrote:Why do stimulants work to fix ADHD? I would think that a stimulant would exacerbate the behavior, but it doesn't. Why?

I'll try to answer your question, it's been a while since I studied this though. In the mind of an ADHD person there are a lot of inputs going into the system, actually about the same amount as with anyone else which is still a lot. The key difference in people with good concentration is that they have developed more robust mental processes to filter and prioritize these inputs.

The parts of the brain in which these mental processes reside* correspond to areas which are stimulated by things like Ritalin and some other stimulants. Basically these types of drugs make you better at filtering out extraneous environmental/imaginary stimuli.

*This is an ugly turn of phrase, my old supervisor would nail by nuts to a door if he knew I wrote it. I can't be bothered to go look up the more correct terminology.

Maj wrote:Why do stimulants work to fix ADHD? I would think that a stimulant would exacerbate the behavior, but it doesn't. Why?

I have two opinions on the matter.

A little bit of amphetamine (seriously, just a tiny amount) can give the energy needed to stay focused on an otherwise unappealing task. A lot will make a person into a hyperactive sociopath.


Some people, however, seem to react oddly to stimulants. I know someone who drinks coffee 'for that warm sleepy feeling', and amphetamines can make her narcoleptic. Her brother is both autistic and has (had?) ADHD; the Adderall calmed him down a lot. In people like this, I can only imagine that the stimulants are really having the opposite of the normal effect.

what's the easiest way, beyond multiclassing, to add Kn Arcane, Kn Nature, and Spellcraft to a paladin's skill list, sticking to published works only?

Prak_Anima wrote:what's the easiest way, beyond multiclassing, to add Kn Arcane, Kn Nature, and Spellcraft to a paladin's skill list, sticking to published works only?

I think you can pull that off with the Apprentice feat.

-Username17

Indians most definitely don't fall in the category of using the left handfor eating.

Since the left hand and water is used instead of toilet paper, the right hand is the defacto hand for eating with. Despite the fact that I use toilet paper these days, that habit hasn't gone away.

Thanks Frank. I found a third party feat too, apprenticed may have a better chance of being approved. PHB2?

Prak_Anima wrote:Thanks Frank. I found a third party feat too, apprenticed may have a better chance of being approved. PHB2?

DMG2, oddly enough. Pahe 175. Although looking at it, no that wouldn't work, because you only get 2 class skills until level 5.

-Username17