I matched with a guy on a dating site this week and really hit it off with him, but he looked extremely familiar and I couldn't put my finger on it. It didn't take long for us to figure out that we grew up in the same small hometown. I asked my childhood bestie about it, and she immediately recognized him - He grew up four houses down from me and we played together as kids!

He's a super wholesome guy - A kindergarten teacher, recently moved back to our hometown to take care of his grandma with dementia, rescued an aging dog. Extremely romantic and kind person.

The kicker? He doesn't recognize me because I changed my name when I transitioned, so he has no idea that we were childhood friends.

We have a date tomorrow and I'm crossing my fingers that it goes well!

I'm gushing over how cute this whole situation is. Figured y'all could use some positivity this week. ❤️

I was shocked in the presidential debate that Harris gave staunch support for fracking. I was under the impression that democrats are against fracking, and remember people being critical of Fetterman for supporting it.

I also grew up in an area that was heavily impacted by the pollution from fracking. People who worked in the field were seen as failures of moral character who chose profits over the health of their children. How is it that both major parties are now in support of it? I feel like I must be missing a piece of the puzzle.

A small apothecary opened in my neighborhood that makes beauty products. They've been very accommodating with selling me shampoo and body wash in my own reused containers. It's all locally sourced ingredients. I'm new in my Zero Waste journey but it feels great to eliminate plastic from part of my daily routine.

I've recently met a man whose dating profile said that he's Graysexual. I tried Googling the term, but it's a bit confusing and I'm hoping to get a straightforward breakdown from the kind folks in this community.

From what I gather, it's a branch of asexuality that sometimes feels sexual attraction. That's a bit ambiguous, though.

I will ask the person directly once we've spoken more, but it will help to have a foundation of understanding beforehand. Thanks ahead of time!

My bestie broke both of his arms and wrists two days ago. He's in his 20s, a gamer, has a pregnant wife and a young kid. Any ideas for gifts I can get to cheer him up? He'll have no use of his arms for 3 months.

Already got a bidet for him and hooked it up. Looking into accessible gaming controllers, but he said that the pain is so bad rn that even alternative controllers are probably a no go.

I'm in my mid 30s and make 6 figures in IT. I'm considering joining the Air Force Reserves. Is this a stupid idea?

I always regretted not enlisting in my 20s as I feel a strong personal drive to serve my country. I feel that a part time enlistment would fill that void. Any thoughts or experiences are appreciated.

Took me a few hours to figure this out, figured I'd pass it along. Forgive formatting, I'm on mobile.

How to Bypass Bitlocker for Crowdstrike BSoD

Only use this if the Bitlocker key is lost.

From the Bitlocker screen, select Skip This Drive. A command prompt will appear.

Type bcdedit /set {default} safeboot network and press Enter.

Type Exit to exit the command prompt, then select Shut Down

Hardwire the device to the network

Login as an admin account

Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Crowdstrike and delete C:\windows\system32\drivers\crowdstrike\c-00000291-*.sys

Win+R to open the Run menu, then type msconfig and press Enter

Go to Boot

Uncheck the box for SafeBoot

You will receive a warning about Bitlocker. Proceed.

Click OK and you will be prompted to restart. Do so.

Have the user login

Test their access to files

I have a host name whose dns points to my home IP. I use this for game servers for my buddies. Should I be worried about my home IP being easily accessible like this, and should I get a physical firewall appliance to protect myself?

Servers are running Windows Server 2019 and Mac OSX.

I'm new to manga and have read the above. I get hooked on the cat and mouse of "How will our protagonist overcome it this time?". Any manga recommendations like this?

Of the above, Berserk was my favorite. Beefy men are a plus.

Thanks ahead of time!

I have a raspberry Pi 4B that is connected to a CRT TV via Composite and controlled with a PS4 controller. I'd like to use the Pi for Netflix, Plex client, and playing DVDs from an ext drive. What distro would be best for this?

I tossed Retro Pi onto it and the controls work great but I can't figure out how to install the media apps.

I'm taking a long biking trip soon and want to share my live location with my boyfriend in case something happens. Any recommendations for privacy-focused apps that can accomplish this? I'm on Android, he's on iOS.

I have a 5 year old cat that I adopted 3 years ago, and I'd like to get him a companion but I'm struggling to identify the characteristics I should look for. Can anyone offer advice?

He's a rugged old soul. He loves playing with my 2 year old dog but otherwise just lounges around nearby but not touching - typical Russian Blue. He does try to clean and cuddle the dog, but the pup doesn't understand and runs away. He was actively cuddling with other cats at the shelter when I adopted him so I think he'll do well with a housemate.

I've met a few shelter cats this week but I'm stressing about identifying which would be a good fit. Are male and female both a good bet? Would it be best to get a kitten, an older cat, or somewhere in between? Playful or extremely lazy, or a lap cat?

I know I'll be happy with any choice, so I'm mostly focused on finding a good match for my Russian Blue. Thanks.

Copilot sounds amazing on paper. The free (to 365 subs) version on the web is just Chat GPT4, so that's familiar enough. The integration with 365 applications is really what grabs me. Stuff like tossing it 10 spreadsheets and asking it to analyze and compare the data, having a virtual assistant to remind me of upcoming actionables, and summarizing a meeting when I zone out - it all sounds really handy.

I met with Microsoft last week and they're down for giving me a 90 day trial if I want to take it for a spin. Any thoughts or suggestions? I ideally want to determine if this will improve productivity for my end users enough to be worth the insane cost of $30/user/mo.

I played Warhammer Fantasy in the 2000s and it was a highlight of my adolescence. I'm finally in a stable enough position to rekindle my love of collecting and painting miniatures, and hopefully joining in on a wargame. Are there any good fantasy options these days?

I see that Warhammer Fantasy is completely gone, and Warhammer: The Old World is just kicking off but has very limited races. 40k and Age of Sigmar aren't appealing to me - I prefer high Fantasy.

Any tips for where I should look? I'm in a major city so I'm sure I can find a game of anything remotely popular. Should I just wait for The Old World to release more races and pick up in popularity? I'd love to play elves or anything similar. Thanks ahead of time.

Help! My live-in partner of 3 years has too many clothes and it's overrunning our house. We live in a two bedroom condo with only two closets in the entire unit, and there's just not enough space.

At last count (2 years ago) there was over 300 articles of clothing - shirts, pants, jackets. There is constantly piles of clothes everywhere, clean and dirty, and nowhere to put them. They wear multiple outfits each day and throw them on the floor in the evening.

2 years ago I bought a few Ikea clothing containers to slide under the bed, and those are packed full of folded shirts that are never worn. And they just keep buying more.

I've spoken with them about this multiple times and they say that they'll get rid of some of the clothes, but never did.

On the flip side, I have four pairs of pants, a few shorts, around a dozen shirts and a suit.

What can I do?

I'm a transman who has been on T since 2011. I've recently begun experiencing bleeding despite good T levels. My doctor suggested hysterectomy, but that is not in line with my transition goals. Have any of you gotten an endometrial ablation instead? I've read studies out of medical colleges reporting good results for transmen. It seems like an easy outpatient procedure on paper.

Edit: Spoke with my doctor and she doubled my T. If bleeding doesn't stop within 3 months she's recommending me for the surgery.

Edit 3 months later: Increasing T gel worked

Can anyone hop into Duos with me and help me Craft an Expired Ally Banner? It should only take a few minutes.

I'm a transguy who transitioned in the 2000s and have had top surgery. I toured a gym that has a beautiful sauna, steam room, and hot tub that I'd like to join, but clothes are not permitted in any of the above. I'm worried about running into trouble if I go naked.

The gym is like a Jewish YMCA and is adamantly LGBTQ+ friendly and even has reminders in the locker room that the space welcomes everyone. I asked the girl giving the tour about my concerns and she said to just wear a towel if I'm not comfortable, but I'm still a bit uncertain.

Do any of you guys go to nude men-only areas? Any tips?

I'm sure I won't get assaulted because I'm a tough looking guy that most folks wouldn't fuck with, but I don't want to invite trouble.

A month ago I found out that my (30's ftm) live-in boyfriend of 3 years (30's m) was sexting with various guys and making plans to meet up. We fought, made up, and got into therapy. Things are slowly healing.

Today I found out that an old friend of his that he used to sext with before our relationship still sends him nudes regularly on snapchat. I found out because my bf had saved a bunch of them. My bf says that he never responds to them and so he didn't think it was an issue. I disagree - If anyone I knew irl ever sent me nudes I would immediately delete it, ask them not to send more, and tell my bf about it.

My question is, was his lack of action yet another instance of cheating?

TW: Chest and surgery

Tl;Dr Has anyone had their nipples pierced after top surgery and can offer insight on issues?

I had top surgery 10 years ago. During the surgery my nipples were completely removed and relocated. My nipples are not very pronounced with only a little bump.

I tried to get nipple piercings at a very reputable piercing shop this week but the piercer advised that the piercing would basically be a surface piercing, and would slowly migrate out over years resulting eventually in my nipples tearing and leaving "gnarly scars".

Have any of you had nipple piercings for multiple years after top surgery? Any issues like he worried about? I'm also debating if it would be worthwhile to get them pierced but set a time limit to remove them after a few years.

Thanks ahead of time.