I have a wall clock with no numbers, just hands. I took it down recently and put it on the table. What time it was depended on which way I looked at it. Bit like life really.

A long read, but an interesting take on human nature and manipulation.

https://medium.com/curiouserinstitute/a-game-designers-analysis-of-qanon-580972548be5

Looks like you'll have to google (other brands are available) "A Game Designer’s Analysis Of QAnon" if you want the long but interesting read ??

Ever been absolutely certain about something, then gobsmacked to find you’re wrong? Nah, me neither

But seriously, the human brain is amazing, mind blowing even. It controls everything about us, we go about our daily lives giving no thought as to how we actually work. Remember the amount of concentration you needed when you were learning to drive, yet now you barely register the journey to work because it’s second nature. Is it any wonder we can be so adamant that what we think is correct, which makes anyone with an opposing view wrong? Except, they aren’t, they just see/hear/think things differently.

What colour is this dress?


Do you see my point? I KNOW the dress is blue and black because my eyes tell me it’s blue and black, therefore it is blue and black, and anyone who says differently is obviously wrong. Those that see cream and gold are equally insistent that they are right and I should be booking an emergency appointment at Specsavers,

Perception is reality.

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/white-house-coronavirus-task-force-briefing
 

(Enter PRESIDENT TRUMP, VICE PRESIDENT PENCE, DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DR. DEBORAH BIRX, and SURGEONGENERAL JEROME ADAMS. They all stand in close proximity to each other and touch each other and their faces repeatedly. Also, ATTORNEY GENERAL WILLIAM BARR stands holding a folder.)

TRUMP: Let’s get started. Lots of death. Hydroxychloroquine. Ratings. I am a doctor.

REPORTER: Millions of Americans are still waiting to get tested. Can you explain the delays?

TRUMP: First of all, sports. Secondly, anyone who wants a test gets a test. I wanted a test and I got a test.

(PENCE clears throat and gently moves toward the podium.)

PENCE: I want to build on what the president said by adding that though he is 100 percent right, I should also say that the vast majority of people who want a test will not get a test.

(DR. FAUCI leans over to the podium.)

DR. FAUCI: I want to build on what the vice president said by just adding that the virus will be with us for 18 months and kill 240,000 people.

(Horrified murmurs fill the room.)

REPORTER: So should the public be wearing masks?

(Everyone near the podium shrugs. DR. FAUCI coughs into his bare hand.)

TRUMP: Here is a man who makes pillows.

MAN WHO MAKES PILLOWS: I am a man who makes pillows.

DR. BIRX: I’d like to build on the statement of the man who makes pillows. We’ve had three months of conflicting messages on masks, so I want to clarify that it is not at all necessary that you wear a mask unless you want to avoid contracting the virus.

(TRUMP looks at DR. BIRX, who is wearing a scarf.)

TRUMP: You could also wear a scarf. I am a scientist.

REPORTER: Healthcare workers are facing a severe shortage of personal protective equipment. What do you tell them?

TRUMP: I had an uncle who was a doctor. I’ve been to a doctor. He wasn’t wearing any protective anything. This man makes things.

(TRUMP again cedes the podium to the MAN WHO MAKESPILLOWS.)

MAN WHO MAKES PILLOWS: I am a man who makes pillows.

REPORTER: There’s also a shortage of ventilators. The governor of New York says the state will need 30,000 within the week.

TRUMP: First of all, something something The Bachelor. Secondly, here is my son-in-law.

SON-IN-LAW: We have plenty of ventilators. They’re stored in a hollowed-out mountain and they don’t work. And you can’t have them.

TRUMP: Ford is making ventilators. Millions of them. Because defense.

(DEFENSE SECRETARY MARK ESPER appears and moves to the podium.)

ESPER: Just to build on that — no one is making ventilators. We tried to order some, but the online form asked for a password, which I totally knew, and then it asked my favorite animal, which is lemur, but it said it wasn’t lemur. So I took a break.

(PENCE is handed a piece of paper, reads it, and moves to the podium.)

PENCE: Our friends from Russia have just agreed to send us eleven ventilators. Our path to re-election is now clear.

REPORTER: Who will get these eleven Russian ventilators?

PENCE: Okay, we have a system. Two at a time, state governors will enter a dome made of steel tubing. Once inside the dome, the governors will be attached to rubber harnesses that allow them to spring around the dome with great speed. Using these harnesses, they will have access to a variety of weaponry and—

REPORTER: Are you describing the movie Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome?

(PENCE steps aside. He has not seen this film or any films.)

STEVE MNUCHIN: I can field this one. I used to produce movies such as The Conjuring 2. Now I am Secretary of the Treasury.

REPORTER: Secretary Mnuchin, when will Americans get their stimulus checks?

MNUCHIN: We know Americans are struggling. Unemployment will soon hit levels not seen since the Great Depression. People are hungry. They are broke. We get it. So I’m thinking 20 weeks.

(VICE PRESIDENT PENCE whispers into SECRETARYMNUCHIN’s ear.)

MNUCHIN: Or never.

(VICE PRESIDENT PENCE again whispers into SECRETARYMNUCHIN’s ear.)

MNUCHIN: The people who aren’t getting money won’t have to wait.

REPORTER: The USNS Comfort is docked in New York City. It has 1,000 beds and 1,100 staff. But there are only twenty patients being treated there.

(A MAN WITH DYED ORANGE HAIR steps up to the podium.)

MAN WITH DYED ORANGE HAIR: My name is Thomas Modly. I am the Secretary of the Navy. I do not dye my hair.

REPORTER: Patients say the process of being brought onto the hospital ship is unnecessarily complicated.

SECRETARY MODLY: Our system is very straightforward. First, a potential patient is sent to one of the many overburdened hospitals in New York City. At one of these overburdened hospitals, they are turned away and sent to a veterinary office in Delaware. At the veterinary office in Delaware, they get bloodwork done and are sent to a motel in New Jersey. In New Jersey, they’re shown a movie about puberty and sent to a Duane Reade in Connecticut. At the Duane Reade in Connecticut, they get the results of their bloodwork, and if they’re not sick, they’re welcome to board the USNS Comfort.

REPORTER: So only healthy people are allowed to come aboard your hospital ship?

SECRETARY MODLY: Listen. This is a ship, with all kinds of tiny rooms and funny little doorways. You can’t have a bunch of sick people in a place like that.

REPORTER: But the USS Theodore Roosevelt… Captain Crozier… He tried to tell you… the corona on his ship… Then you…

(The REPORTER can’t finish. It’s too easy and too hard. The MANWHO MAKES PILLOWS steps back to the podium.)

MAN WHO MAKES PILLOWS: I am still here, at a press conference during a pandemic. I make pillows.

(PENCE whispers into his ear.)

MAN WHO MAKES PILLOWS: And they are terrible, terrible pillows.

(TRUMP returns to the podium.)

TRUMP: They really are horrible. I tried them once. They’re like twelve crusty cotton balls in a burlap sack.

MAN WHO MAKES PILLOWS: I also have an honorary doctorate from Liberty University. The one run by Jerry Falwell, Jr. The one that reopened during the pandemic. None of this is made up.

(JERRY FALWELL JR. arrives. He is coughing and feverish. He joins the producer of Conjuring 2, the MAN WHO MAKES PILLOWS, a real estate developer and his son (also a real estate developer) as the brain trust for moving the United States through the worst crisis since Word War II. DR. BIRX and DR. FAUCI are gone. WILLIAMBARR is still holding a folder. PETER NAVARRO, a known moron, arrives.)

NAVARRO: Hydroxychloroquine. Also castor oil. I am a doctor.

SON-IN-LAW: I have just gotten off the phone with Google. They have a cure for the virus.

MNUCHIN: I want to build on that by adding that Google has a website about the virus, not a cure. The website gives sick people the address of a nearby hospital. And also the phone number. Using technology.

PENCE: I want to add onto that by saying that there is no website.

REPORTER: Where did the doctors go?

WILLIAM BARR: I am holding a folder.

(SON-IN-LAW returns to the podium.)

SON-IN-LAW: I sent out a group email to my friends. Some of them are doctors. (He checks phone.) He begins watching a video of someone doing the handstand challenge. He smiles.

THE END.

NN has given me RSI, my poor pinky is tired after hitting the "report photo" button three million times today.

I met someone here a lot of years ago, we're still going strong. The benefit of getting to know someone on NN is that there are no surprises, you discover their intimate likes and dislikes early on, you can discuss pretty much anything when you've seen their bits and the awkwardness of getting naked for the first time just isn't there. It's liberating to be that open with someone from the start, it's even more liberating in the bedroom (or kitchen table or car bonnet or wherever floats your boat).

The longer I spend here, the more I realise I would never date in real life again. That sounds terrible, but the things I've seen here have put me off men for life. However judgemental this seems, I'd hate to discover that the nice man who delivers my post likes sticking his penis in weird things, or the chap behind the bar has a thing about inserting bottles in his anus, or that really fit bloke likes my lingerie a little too much. I've discovered I'm pretty vanilla in the weird shit department, my kinks probably wouldn't even make a nun blush (much).

But what I'd hate more than anything else is to discover that the man I trusted had betrayed me, which brings me back to the first line of this blog. If your partner lets you photograph her, or sends you selfies, enjoy it and consider yourself incredibly lucky. Never share those private pics with anyone and don't you dare post them online because if you do, your penis will shrivel to a peanut and your balls will fall off. A worse fate awaits those who take secret photos and post them here, that betrayal is so despicable, I haven't decided on your punishment yet. You have been warned.

A Brit won the big Euro Millions jackpot, no it wasn’t me. He’s buying a new house, going on some holidays etc, which should take care of a tiny fraction of his new fortune. Lucky fella, I mean who doesn’t want to be rich.

What’s the definition of rich though? I’d be happy with just enough to do the things I wanted to do and to take care of my friends and family. I wouldn’t want a big house or flashy motor or expensive holidays and I’ve never been into jewellery or designer clothes, I’m a jeans and t-shirt kinda gal. Money doesn’t buy happiness, it certainly doesn’t buy health or eternal youth and it won’t bring people back from the dead. If you’ve lost a loved one, you’d trade anything to have them back, but not even a £71 million jackpot can do that.

Maybe it’s an age thing, but these days I don’t take much for granted. I treasure moments like the chaffinch’s first song (Feb 14 this year, if you’re interested) and I’ll marvel when the swallows make it back again. The sight of a rainbow always makes me smile, the first snowfall has me reverting to instant juvenile, I even enjoy long walks in the rain.

So the point of this rambling collection of words? Life is short, it’s not perfect, sometimes it’s total shite, but it’s the only one you’ve got. Don’t bank on winning the lottery, don’t expect to have everything you want, but try to make the most of what you can have. Sure I’d like to be the filling in a Patrick Swayze and Liam Neeson sandwich, but there are so many reasons that will never happen. The secret to happiness is to want what you can have, even if it is only for a few weeks a year …. are you listening Batman??

My dog regularly tells me that humans are weird. I think he really means that humans are different, but some are definitely weird. Truth is, we're all different, we like different things, think different things, do different things and that's good, just imagine if we all wanted the same.

It's much more apparent here on NN than in real life. Those of us that aren't the stereotypical norm find acceptance on NN, desirability even, which probably explains why we stay. It doesn't matter what we think is wrong with us, there will be someone who has that particular kink and finds us appealing. It's a buzz, a confidence boost, it makes us feel good about ourselves, so thank goodness for tall, short, thin, fat, big tits/bums/dicks, small tits/bums/dicks, long hair, short hair, no hair, etc etc etc.

It doesn't stop at physical differences, just as we all look different, we all think different too. We don't all react in the same way to situations, we don't even see those situations the same way. While some people shrug off an event, some are annoyed by it, some offended and some downright hurt. You only have to watch status for a while to see it happening every single day.

Which brings me to the point of this ramble. Some NNers post photos at the drop of a hat and some put a great deal of effort in, including that leap of faith when hitting the upload button. Not everyone who posts is brimming with confidence and wanting to show off, many are doing so with trepidation and hoping for approval. It takes bravery to put yourself out there, so when your photo is deleted without explanation, it can be a kick in the teeth. I'm not talking about webcrap or revenge posters or other obvious rule breakers, I'm talking about the genuine NNers who don't know why their photo disappeared and I'm talking about the reactions they receive if they dare to ask in status. Just because you're blase about photos being removed, it doesn't mean they are. Just because you don't think it's a big deal, it doesn't mean they don't.

I don't see a difference between people looking different and thinking different, except that one is bleedin' obvious and the other takes a bit of thought. Just because you can't see emotional and intellectual differences, it doesn't mean they're not there.

[img]https://pics.me.me/attitude-is-a-little-thing-that-makes-a-big-difference-17949258.png[/img]

If you’re here thinking this is your standard tits n bums ramble, you’d better back up now, you’ll find that in aisle 35 with the tissues and eye bleach.

This is a ramble though, a brain dump, a few observations after nearly 13yrs of this place. You’re welcome!

People end up here for all sorts of reasons, exhibitionism, amateur porn, attention we don’t get in real life blah blah blah. The saying goes we come for the pictures and stay for the people, something like that anyway. And that’s all fine and dandy, if we just take what we need and then get on with life. Trouble is, it’s human nature to want more, to have unrealistic expectations and that’s when it gets messy and people get disappointed, or worse.

Let’s start with the horny dudes, their dick pics and their “wanna fuck” status, thinking they’ll get a hook up tonight with a hot babe who’s just waiting to suck their enormous erection before taking it in the arse. They get ridiculed in status (yes, I know, I’ve done more than my fair share of that) and the few real women who’ve stuck it out lose a little more respect for the opposite sex (or do I mean species). Taking a positive view, at least they make the decent chaps appear even more decent by comparison.

At the other end of the spectrum are the hopeless romantics looking for a soulmate, someone to run off with into the sunset and live happily ever after. Yes, I know this has happened, there have been NN marriages and babies, but they really are the exception. Even if you find the needle in the haystack, NN relationships are at least as difficult as “normal” relationships, some stay the course, some can’t handle reality over fantasy, some just go with the flow.

Somewhere in between are the players, people who mess with the emotions of others. I often wonder if they’re as heartless in real life, if they’re just living out their alter ego on the internet, or maybe they’re getting their revenge for real life at the expense of their fellow NN-ers. I’m not sure which is worse.

So what’s my point? Well maybe not taking NN so seriously, finding some perspective, not believing everything we read, stepping back instead of diving in head first, taking a chill pill, or not taking anything personally. I honestly don’t know. I do know I’d like to give some people a good shake, others can have a slap and one or two can have a hug.