Why all the obsessing over bacon?

Posted on June 16, 2015 by luckyotter

I’ve noticed bacon has suddenly become very trendy. It’s like the new cupcake. Bacon bits, bacon and eggs, bacon ice cream, bacon scented candles, and now this: bacon hot chocolate?

Someone gave this to me today. Seriously, who would drink this? I guess someone would drink it, but it won’t be me. It’s funny though.

Why is everyone so obsessed with bacon? And why is it being mixed with things like chocolate? Now sea salt, I can understand. It sounds weird, but dark chocolate with sea salt is great. But bacon and chocolate is like putting sugar on your steak. I’ll pass.

Would a narcissist who lost their memory “forget” how to be a narc?

Posted on May 28, 2015 by luckyotter

I saw this posted on Psychforums in the NPD forum:

I’ve long thought what might happen if an N suffered complete lose of memory. Would he remember he was narcissistic? There is a novel in which this happened. Ursula Brangwen in D H Lawrence’s “The Rainbow” falls gravely ill and recovers as a near as damn it normal person.

I know it’s a weird question but it’s interesting. I’ve read that sometimes people who suffer head trauma (without severe brain damage or damage to only a small part of the brain) that produces complete amnesia occasionally display dramatic personality changes when they awaken–even to the point of seeming to have a completely different type of personality than they did originally. It’s as if they are forced to use a different part of the brain and form a new personality — and new brain connections — from scratch.

In most cases, language and other basic life skills are left intact, but I have read of rare cases where even though the brain is left largely undamaged, the person must literally “grow up” and relearn basic skills. This learning usually happens at a much faster rate than it would for an actual child growing up, because the individual already has the brain of an adult.

Think of the System Restore function on your computer. Your computer gets a virus or has some other serious issue. You set the computer back to an earlier date before the problem started. Yes, you lose important files and other saved information (which can be replaced later) but the problem is gone. It’s the same concept — a traumatic brain injury that results in amnesia could work like “system restore” for a narcissistic brain. You could also erase the hard drive and re-install it. (That would be analogous to a more severe injury where the narcissist would have to start out again as a virtual infant–and receive the sort of nurturing they never got when they were a real infant.)

In either case, is it possible that a narc who suffered complete amnesia and could remember nothing of their past, might “wake up” with the capacity to learn empathy and become a non-narcissist?

If so, it gives new meaning to the idea that the best cure for a narcissist is a kick in the head.

Why you see more ads here now.

Posted on April 27, 2015 by luckyotter

After giving this a lot of thought, I decided to opt for running additional ads through WordPress’s WordAds program. Here was my article about why I decided to run ads at all.

My primary intent for this blog is NOT to make money. It’s not as if I can make a living at in anyway right now. I also love doing this so much I’d do it for free forever. Hell, I’d PAY to do this! (Hopefully Comcast doesn’t get its way in this whole Net Neutrality fight and turn the whole Internet the way TV has gone, where you’d have to pay Comcast to be able to access your usual websites. That would suck so hard, especially for those of us who are…financially challenged.)

But my dream is to be able to quit my regular job and blog and write for a living. I made $20 last month ($46.85 total from January – March) by running the one big ad that appears under the first article. (I do not get to choose which ads are run or their placement, but I do have the option to remove anything I think is offensive). Because this blog is growing fairly quickly and I have decided to run additional ads, I should start making more money from this now. It probably won’t be enough to enable me to do this for a living right away, but it’s a step in the right direction.

I must confess I don’t care for the look of the additional ads, which now appear above the title of this blog and along the top of the sidebar (for the small ads) and another large one under the second article. I think it makes the blog look a bit tacky and cluttered. I certainly hope it doesn’t make loading this site slower.

Please let me know if you are having any problems with the addition of the extra ads, or if it’s slowing down loading for you. I’m not sure if anything could be done about that if it is a problem, but I would like your feedback anyway.

Again, I apologize for the cluttered look but after giving this a lot of thought, I decided it was worth it if there’s a possibility I could make a living doing this.

Why is it so damn cold outside?

Posted on April 25, 2015 by luckyotter

It’s the end of April and it might as well be early March. It’s cold enough I had to turn on the heat and wear a coat when I went out earlier.

I came home and put on my toe socks and burrowed under some blankets because I thought I was going to freeze to death.
Alright, maybe I’m exaggerating, but only a little!

Why did WordPress get rid of the “classic editor”?

Posted on April 23, 2015 by luckyotter

I haven’t mentioned it, but for the past few weeks, I no longer seem to have the option to switch to the old WordPress editor. I’ve been forced to use the “beep beep boop” new editor, which I can’t stand. I’m really afraid WP might make the old stats page disappear too, which shows far more information and is easier to use (in my opinion) than the “new and improved” stats page.

Why does WP keep dumbing down the blogging experience, and taking away features that improve that experience for its users? I don’t know one person who prefers the “new and improved” versions of the editor and stats page.

What gives, WordPress?

I also noticed the StumbleUpon share button is no longer available. Why?

Here is my previous rant about these “new and improved” features. Judging by the comments, I’m not alone in my dissatisfaction and disgust.
Here is another one.

ETA: I finally found out what you must do to get to the Classic (old) editor.
Go to WP-Admin page.
Click on Posts–add New.
Too bad there’s no “switch to Classic editor” option anymore.

Apparently WP is dead set on forcing this “beep beep boop” editor on us in spite of an OVERWHELMING number of people disliking it.
Here is a screenshot of the poll asking what editor people preferred. Wow!

Please vote in this poll if you hate the new editor!
http://www.poll-maker.com/poll277402x1D5c4173-10

Cadbury…GRAPES?

Posted on April 7, 2015 by luckyotter

Isn’t it just the most horrible feeling when you bite into something and expect to taste one thing, and it turns out to be something different than you expected? The other day I took a bite of a “chocolate chip” cookie and found out too late it was a raisin cookie. It made me want to spit it out. If I KNOW it’s a raisin cookie, it’s not so bad.

If I got a Cadbury chocolate and bit into a grape instead, I think I would gag. Even though I think grapes are delicious. But I’d like to KNOW I’m biting into a grape.

What do you like best (and least) about blogging?

Posted on April 6, 2015 by luckyotter

My favorite things about blogging.

1. Formulating a new idea into words.
2. Hitting that Publish button.
3. Finding pictures and graphics to illustrate my articles. (Not as hard as you might think!)
4. Checking my stats (if they’re good).
5. Making new friends who can actually relate to what I write about.
6. The way it’s changing me.
7. Someone telling me a post of mine gave them hope or even inspired them to make changes in their lives.
8. Reading and replying to my comments.

My least favorite things about blogging.

1. Dealing with trolls and bullies (fortunately I haven’t had too many). Sometimes though, even their rants can make good fodder for new blog posts.
2. Proofreading and editing for clarity, correcting spelling and grammar
3. Adding tags and categories to a post.
4. Having a slow day with low stats and few comments.
5. Not having a good new idea. It happens to all of us but it’s still discouraging.
6. Offending people (it’s inevitable though).
7. Fear of making certain posts available to the public. (I eventually do though, and it’s very liberating!)
8. Dealing with spam.

This is a free for all for all bloggers.
What are your favorite and least favorite things about blogging? Please share in the comments.

Serious question.

Posted on April 5, 2015 by luckyotter

Sometimes when I remember a time in the distant past when I was remembering something even longer ago, I wonder if I remembered more about it then than I do now. Like, when you’re 14 and remember when you were 4, are your memories of being 4 clearer then than when you remember being 4 in your 50’s? Do we lose the details of our long-term memories as we age? I wonder about that.

Why does it hurt?

Posted on March 25, 2015 by luckyotter

I found out something today that isn’t a given, but gives me a lot of hope. It’s a joyful thing if it’s true. It’s something I want so much to happen.

So why does this information make my heart hurt and make me feel like crying?

Is it because I want so badly for it to be true (and it may not be and I might be disappointed), or is it because I’m not used to my heart being so open and my deepest emotions being as accessible to me as they are becoming?

I guess the closest I can come to describing this emotion is feeling deeply touched and hopeful at the same time. I wonder if this weird sadness is unique to me or if others have experienced what I’m talking about. It’s very hard to explain. I don’t know if I’m explaining it well because there really aren’t any words to describe it.

Borderlines, like people with NPD, can’t always access their true emotions easily (even though we don’t wear masks and it’s much easier for us to admit we need help and actually be helped). These wonderful but weirdly sad feelings have been happening a lot lately. Like something bad is melting away. Sometimes it’s a bit scary but I wouldn’t trade it for the emotional zombie I used to be in a million years.

I think what’s happened is I’ve let go of my fear and that’s changing me inside.

Guys, I need some advice.

Posted on March 22, 2015 by luckyotter

I need to make a decision.

Have any of you ever written a post you thought was amazing and longed, even ached–to publish it, but didn’t have the courage because you thought for whatever reason that it made you too vulnerable? That it revealed too many truths you wanted to keep private?

I have that problem right now. I just spent several hours working on what I think is my best written post ever, because my whole heart was poured into it while I wrote it. But it’s for that very reason I’m hesitant to let anyone see it. It’s not about anything controversial or shocking or illicit or illegal–I just think it shows me at my most vulnerable and that’s very, very scary.

Posting it for the world to see would be like going naked in public. Right now I’m just (figuratively!) naked in my own house–by keeping that post set to Private.
But I am longing to put it up. I feel like I must put it up even though I’m scared.

Have any of you bloggers ever experienced this, and what did you do about it? How did you resolve your indecision? If you decided to post it anyway, what happened?
What advice can you give me?