But that's because there's too much love in a Louisiana heart, it says nothing of the men of Mississippi.

Not necessarily, I could stop eating until I die.

Once you get more into the hobby, a standard freezer is going to fill up fast. The real pro move is investing in a dedicated chest freezer out in your storage shed.

These awful headlines are just a tiny sample of the clusterfuck to come.

The night shifts thing might be getting at a counter-point if you consider why a gorgeous woman might not work night shift at a gas station. I've also never walked into a gas station late-night and been greeted by George Clooney behind the counter. Also, I've seen plenty of beautiful cashiers and I'm sure one or two of them must have done extra shifts at some point.

Star Citizen to the power of Musk.

Saving Private Gunther

I just DIY it in my oven.

What happens when you centralize control and a Donald Trump or Vladimir Putin, etc...is the one at the controls?

Unfortunately, that really is the answer for me. Psychedelics made it all finally click in a way that stuck. I had previously seen marginal success in dieting, but could never keep it off. Because I was coming from a religious background, part of it was, "What's the point?" Sex is wrong. I married young. Life sucks. And so on. Psychedelics made all of the percolating doubts and insecurities click into place in a clear way. "I'm NOT really religious; I don't believe it. I'm not raising my kids that way. No third-party is going to step-in and change my body for me. Nobody is going to put the weights in my hand and check my progress. I have to take care of me. I either have to take action or shut up and live with the consequences. I'd really prefer to live a life where I'm more desirable and it's not really anyone else's fault if I'm not putting in enough effort and 'losing the mating game.'" And so on--can't really characterize a trip like that with words obviously.

I might have/probably would have eventually gotten there without psychedelics? I think? Maybe? I don't know. But they certainly provided the swift kick in the ass I needed to clarify years of baggage. I know it's not helpful to say "give your child psychedelics," but it just happens to be what helped me (specifically, one instance of using shrooms was the most-impactful, I mostly only ever microdosed a few times besides that one trip).

I have a long-time close friend who has long struggled with weight in a serious way. He briefly lost it and suddenly he was dating a beautiful Ukrainian girl, seeing the benefits of being healthy, loving life. That was a long time ago, it ended, he gained it all back. The closest I've come to getting through to him is to be a bit more crass than I normally would be in saying, "REMEMBER HOW GOOD IT WAS TO BE WITH THAT GIRL!? DON'T YOU MISS THAT AND WANT IT BACK? ISN'T THAT WORTH A FEW MONTHS OF WORK?" But being a bit more pointed in my language. But again, you're probably not going to say, "Don't you miss that good pussy!?" to your son, so...I'm kind of useless to you, maybe.

There must be something I can do to thank you for fixing my daddy issues...

If they ever tap into the orgasm part of the brain, we'll all just be sitting at home pushing the button over and over until we're incapacitated, drooling vegetables.

My dating game the last few years.

I don't know how to put this delicately, but:

1.) I grew up in this line of thinking (but also deeply religious, so it's a little different) and it dissipated due to two main things: psychedelics and losing weight/becoming more confident and in-shape. In my case, I hated myself because I was unattractive and very overweight. I saw other people getting girls and resented how easy it seemed, while I felt invisible.

2.) Much of my family is like this and it is always due to a similar lack of confidence/self-loathing.

I'm not suggesting anything, just throwing it out there. That's a hard thing to "gift" around, if it's even at all potentially relevant. Gym membership or weights? You'd have to have a pretty unique relationship with your son to give him psychedelics or a trip to a nice strip club, and I'm not even sure that solves anything necessarily (just using it as an extreme example). Could be badass. Could be really weird/icky. Probably the latter. Massage is less weird? I don't know.

Which is why I agree with the sentiment of separating it all from Christmas and just love him and give him something that shows you know him and know what he would like, so that he feels seen and appreciated. "I'm not going anywhere" is the most-powerful message you can try to send. I'd say IF you try to gift something like that, make sure it's only a side item. Don't make the entire thing about your differences.

Many cliches of parenting turn out to be realities as you go. You find yourself realizing tropes exist for a reason. They grow up fast. Different phases at different periods. Moody teenagers. They're not always true, but they often turn out to be understandable. Besides the above, it's worth considering whether there might be some element of "rebellion" in it, if he grew up liberal. Maybe it's just "doing the opposite of my lame family," like a little bit of a "fuck you, dad!!!" phase? No matter what, you lose the more you dramatically respond. I think riding it out by being the rock who loves him no matter what is ultimately the best play, which means some awesome gift that he would love.

Local co-op Stardew Valley was a huge bonding thing for me and my kids. We also did a lot of Towerfall. Or something like It Takes Two, if it isn't too on-the-nose.

I've made this argument to religious friends and family members resistant to trying psychedelics.

"If a little piece of paper or a little mushroom risks getting rid of God, what does that say about God?"

Virt-a-Mate, in case anyone is wondering about adult VR apps.

You have way too much faith in the court system. The Supreme Court is likely lost entirely.

If I had a nickel...

I think you may have just figured out alzheimers. You can't go nutting away all of your memories.