Random Thoughts Thread

[Ziggy]

I've tried the vape thing to stop smoking. Honestly, all that really does is replace cigarettes with vaping. It doesn't do anything to break the addiction. And it only perpetuates the belief that smoking is desirable, and that nicotine withdrawal is impossible to handle without aid, which only perpetuates the addiction. People certainly stop smoking by these means, as well as other means like nicotine patches or this and that. But they're still addicts. They'll always run the risk of going back to the beloved cigarette.

That's why the book I posted above is so great. You don't wean yourself off. You don't replace one habit with another. You don't have to suffer past cravings. The book simply gets you to understand the facts and bullshit of it all, then you simply stop smoking by your own choice. And just like that, it couldn't be easier. And when you stop smoking this way, you're not gonna go through the rest of life trying to avoid smoking again.

I smoked for 16 years. A pack a day for many of those years. Over a pack a day for the last year or two that I was a smoker. The last year or two that I smoked, I smoked no less than 2 cigarettes at a time. I was reading this book at work when it finally clicked in my head. I quit smoking in the middle of the work day and haven't smoked since. No will power involved. I don't have to TRY to keep from smoking, I simply have no cravings. No desire at all to ever smoke again. Most days I don't even think about haven been a smoker for so many years.

As a former smoker, I totally understand how it is. Most smokers have these feeling, and they know it deep down, but they'll never admit it. You're scared to quite smoking. You're scared you wont be able to hang out with certain people anymore because they'll be smoking and you'll be craving it. Or you're scared that meals wont be as good without that cigarette, or that you wont have your pick me up when stressed out, or that you wont have something to pass the time when you need to. Or you wont be able to drink, or X or Y without smoking. Well from a chain smoker, THAT'S ALL BULLSHIT!

I can be around smokers and still not crave a cigarette. In fact, the opposite. I am repulsed by the smell, and it just reminds me how glad I am to be free from the addiction. Meals TASTE better as a nonsmoker. You don't need to smoke to handle stressing situations. The fact is you can handle those situations better as a nonsmoker, and not need a crutch. You can pass time easier when you need to (waiting for a train or something) as a nonsmoker, you don't realize how antsy you actually are a smoker. Waiting for something as a nonsmoker is much easier. And you can drink without smoking as well. I was afraid to have my first beer after I quit, but after I did I realized that I still didn't crave a cigarette whatsoever.

And this wasn't me, but I also understand how some people are too proud to take help to quit smoking. They feel that they can quit on their own, they don't need any help. Well then, why are these people still smoking? If you can quit without help, why smoke another cigarette?

I understand all the apprehensions to quit, and I understand the apprehension to even read this book. I had this book for months before I read it. But once I finally read it, I wish I had read it sooner. You can quit smoking just like THAT, and for good, and it couldn't be easier. You can even smoke as much as you want as you read the book. When you quit by other means, people tell you, "So you're TRYING to quit? Good luck!" With this book, you don't need to TRY, and there is no LUCK. You CAN stop smoking, and stay a nonsmoker for the rest of your life without needing any willpower.

Anyways, I don't want to preach. I just owe breaking my addiction all to this book, and I just want to pay it forward when I can.

[RCBH928]

I am thinking of watching Firefly, but not sure if its worth it for a series that has no ending. Not sure if it still holds too, maybe it was great for '99 mentality.

I saw Twin Peaks based on popularity, and while I get the excitement of the mystery I stopped watching after the start of S2. The whole show has a weird presence and I am not sure if it is supposed to be taken seriously or as surreal. This show seems like a little of every genre out there. Now that I think of it, the weirdness of the characters and their contrast must have inspired Lost.

[Ziggy]

If you're a Star Wars fan, this will surely make you laugh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oQtGCtnF2Y

It's a few choice scenes from A New Hope in which they revoice Vader to correct and make fun of some continuity issues between the prequels and Rogue One and A New Hope. Oh, and it makes the light saber dual in A New Hope faster and more intense.

[RCBH928]

If the court has ruled that it is legal to record shows and movies off TV channels, is it legal to record movies off Netflix?

[bmoc]

If the court has ruled that it is legal to record shows and movies off TV channels, is it legal to record movies off Netflix?

It is legal (in the US). However, it is also against the terms of service. The worst that can happen is they terminate your Netflix account.

[marurun]

And since circumventing DRM is illegal in the US, even when doing so is necessary to perform legal activities (there are some narrow exceptions, however), it means, effectively recording from Netflix is kind of illegal.

[bmoc]

And since circumventing DRM is illegal in the US, even when doing so is necessary to perform legal activities (there are some narrow exceptions, however), it means, effectively recording from Netflix is kind of illegal.

It depends on how you record it. PlayOn hasn't been shut down yet so I assume it hasn't been challenged in court.

It’s a handy tool if, for example, you’re going to be spending a lot of time without good internet access and want to bring a TV series with you… or if you’ve got a favorite movie on Netflix that’s falling off the service at the end of the month, and you want to record it now to archive it for watching later.

PlayOn has been offering this feature to its subscribers since 2011, and has thus far not faced any legal challenges from video providers during that time, CEO Jeff Lawrence told Consumerist.

When we asked if the company had been sued, he laughed and asked innocently, “For what?”

PlayOn, Lawrence explained, explicitly does not circumvent any DRM, nor does it access the encrypted stream in any way to download material. Instead, it functions essentially as a browser-based screen-capture program. The consumer has to queue up and play something in order for PlayOn to record it, which PlayOn then does in real-time invisibly in a background process.

Because PlayOn is technically functioning as screen capture software, and is not circumventing DRM, it stays on the “legal” side of the line. That applies even if users then illegally share and distribute those copies they made, just like the manufacturers of VCRs were not responsible for bootleg tapes being sold on street corners.

Source: https://www.consumerreports.org/consume ... llowed-to/

[RCBH928]

If the court has ruled that it is legal to record shows and movies off TV channels, is it legal to record movies off Netflix?

It is legal (in the US). However, it is also against the terms of service. The worst that can happen is they terminate your Netflix account.

yes, but how would they know that?
What gets me is that some shows or films are taken off so suddenly. They need to put a "Last Month" notice on the covers of my watch-list. Its double worse when you are half-way watching it, now you have to pay extra to complete the show.

[bmoc]

I don't know that they could track PlayOn usage if they wanted to. I guess they would have to abandon browser based viewing altogether and go strictly app based. I doubt they would do that just to stick it to PlayOn. That said, I've never heard of anyone getting banned from Netlfix for using PlayOn. The risk is pretty low.

There are several websites that track what is leaving Netflix. Just Google "leaving Netflix this month" and you'll get a ton of hits.

[SamuraiMegas]

I found some really old posts of mine and.. please kill me.