Kind of, yeah. I've already mostly made the transition to slip-on shoes or side-zipper shoes.

Even if it wasn't for that, I always hated when the laces would get undone throughout the day.

I actually like the look of side-zipper boots with no laces, seems sleeker.

Another user suggested getting elastic laces to basically turn any shoe into a slip-on, but I don't know how feasible that really is.

The point about it being easier than ever to find out how many calories certain foods have, or whatever else is a good one.

I can't speak for other countries, though I do know in the U.S., I think around 15 years ago all the major chain restaurants above a certain size (not sure if it's based on sales or employee count) are required to post calorie estimates on the menus.

I'm sure there's a similar thing in Canada, the UK, most of Europe these days.

Of course, the stated goal was to help folks to choose lower calorie options. But I actually like the convenience of the number being there to know what has more calories.

I also like how the customization option can also often let you see in real time what the impact on calories is. Choosing a different type of bread, or adding mayonnaise. Oftentimes, I see that adding mayonnaise on a sandwich can add an estimated 50-100 calories, and that's just one example.

Easy there. I'm sorry if you didn't recognize that I was actually trying to help.

At no point did I ever imply you were incapable of learning about another field, if you wished, and were determined to do so.

Nor did I ever suggest you should stay in that job indefinitely. If anything I'd like to see you move on from it.

I did however suggest taking a course of action that would lead to whatever will give you a larger paycheck.

The main thing I was really trying to push back upon is that very bad, often repeated advice of "follow your passions" and choose that for a career. I don't believe that works, and I've heard too many cases of folks losing their passion that way. I don't want that to happen to you.

That's why I was asking.

Maybe engineering is something you're really good at, I don't know. If it is, maybe it really is something you should pursue.

P.S. I don't work in the oil and gas industry, and anyone should be able to see the long term outlook is slow, gradual decline. I also can't say I understand wishing poverty on someone who was trying to help you.

#1. Communication

This is probably why feederism is even really a thing at all. Could you imagine ever trying to bring it up with someone in public? Especially in the 90s and before when the social pressure to be skinny was much more intense?

I would have been absolutely terrified.

Hell, when I was in high school, I was absolutely terrified that anyone might find out that at the time, that I thought this girl who was maybe 5'3" and probably weighed something like 160 lbs was actually attractive, or that I might have liked it if she got bigger.

I had to quietly suffer and I hated it.

It was almost nothing short of a miracle that images of SexyMic were posted at all in the 90s, or that someone started Dimensions back then.

There were adult magazines that focused on heavy women even in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, but I don't know how many of them talked about feederism related topics. And I don't suppose there was much in terms of ways for readers to be able to talk to one another.

#2. Deliveries

I disagree on this point. Same-day deliveries of takeout food is frighteningly expensive, costing at least double what it otherwise would have.

Drive-through lines by contrast, have been around for decades.

Also, same-day delivery of takeout food and retail products is not a new concept. If you really wanted to, you could call a taxi service to do this. The cost would be the fare, wait time (while the driver buys the stuff), tip, and the cost of the goods. I know this because my father was a taxi driver for a short time in the 70s. It was stupid expensive then, like it is now. Many of his deliveries were to heavily alcoholic day drinkers.

#3. Other things

I really wouldn't know. Small drone deliveries had potential to be cheap, but is not practical for many reasons. It has to be a relatively densely populated area that's not close to an airport. Even then, trials of such services have always required a human remote pilot on standby, substantially increasing cost. So I don't think that's happening.

Also, despite what anyone says, we're a very long way off from fully automatic motor vehicles, so any dreams of a fully automatic food truck with robots inside that can prepare food en-route? I don't think that's happening for decades.

BYD claims they will soon release a humanoid robot that's capable of doing a number of things, including certain basic household tasks like most cleaning and even cooking. But this seems extremely ambitious, and I expect this will be delayed by years if it's coming at all.

As long as Google Voice and TextNow are a thing, I don't think that would be feasible. And scammers love those.

Unfortunately, no phone service company has implemented the ability to block entire providers either.

I have a way to find out if a phone number is a likely Google Voice or TextNow number, but most don't and if there's a way to do this automatically, I don't know how.

International texting will get costly in a hurry too, unfortunately. There's a LOT of new signups.

The owner has also went on record of not wanting to ask that from users, a position that I can understand. This web site is exactly about the type of subject matter that might scare off folks wanting to share phone numbers.

Oftentimes, a user will only have 1 or 2 mobile numbers and a potentially perceived high risk of someone else seeing it. I could see leading to awkward conversations the user is not ready to have.

I might otherwise like the idea of phone number verification, but some of the reasons I posted might make it less feasible.

I'm going to take a moment to remind everyone about rule #3, quoted here:

"3. Respect others

Please be courteous and respectful at all times, showing tolerance towards our diverse membership and the broad range of fantasies and ideas they hold. Do not post anything that is rude or insulting and do not deliberately try to 'close down' discussion just because you disagree with it or find it offensive (please report it to a moderator instead). Do not post chat logs or screenshots to public areas to discredit other members. Avoid posting in all CAPITALS or all bold letters as this can be interpreted as aggressive behaviour."

This includes transphobia and failure to respect boundaries.

You can report other users for this. I'll admit that because it's often a case of "he said, she said" or a lack of evidence, it's not always possible to take action right away, in an effort to be fair to all involved.

However, if the same user gets reported often enough, especially if by multiple users, action is likely to be taken.

Also, without getting into detail for what are probably obvious reasons, sometimes a single report is enough, because something else about that user account will seem amiss. We just needed someone to highlight the account for one of us to check it out.

Wow, this is a doomer post, and I understand why you, the OP might be worried about this.

But, I don't think a draft is going to happen, and I'll tell you several reasons why. With any hope, this might put your mind at ease. Also, apologies in advance but I don't think I can answer this thread without getting somewhat political.

I suppose it's easier for me to be calm about this, as I'm not at all in the target category - too old, not physically up to snuff, etc. But what I'll tell you, is similar to what my father told me back in '03. There was a rumor that Dubya wanted to institute a draft for the Iraq conflict, possibly to garner votes for John Kerry. Back then, like you, I was afraid there might be a draft and I might get caught up in it.

1) Most of those age 18-24 aren't eligible in the first place.

That link Munchies provided was certainly illuminating. I had expected the number to be 80-85%, or 15-20% eligible. I wasn't far off. I do notice those numbers are from '17, I wonder what they are now.

Years back, I remember hearing some crazy general who mentioned on live TV that something like 67% of those age 18-24 are too heavy to join even if they want to, and it's a national security concern. I think he was just being fat-phobic because this doesn't actually matter.

2) It would be political suicide. It hasn't been politically feasible since the late 60s/early 70s (Vietnam), and would be insanely unpopular.

I'm not just talking about today's young people, or if you want to go some years back, those who are now up to 40 years old. Ones who increasingly want nothing to do with the armed forces. They don't like or support the conflicts they end up in. They've heard too many horror stories of a recruiter performing bait-and-switch. They've seen how "well" the disabled veterans are taken care of. And who wants to fight, potentially even die for a system that seems to increasingly work against them and not want them to succeed?

Older folks sure as hell don't want their younger relatives to potentially be forced to fight either. It would be very, very deeply unpopular, I promise you this.

World War 2 was different - everyone understood the threat the Third Reich and Axis Powers presented. An Allied victory was the only acceptable outcome, whatever the cost might be.

But, recall that in Vietnam, thousands of American soldiers died and they didn't win; that's what the draft meant. Between that and the current geopolitical climate, I don't see folks forgetting that anytime soon.

3) Voluntary enrollment actually went up this year compared to last.

Some hardcore Trumpet MAGA type told me this, which at first I didn't believe. But I looked it up. It's true, the Army recruited more soldiers than they did the previous year.

Now, he seems to have bought the propaganda hook, line, and sinker. He said it was because would be soldiers didn't like the prior leadership, meaning Biden, et. al.

But, I'm really supposed to believe they feel better about Darth Bone-Spurs? Sorry but no, I don't believe that for a New York minute. Here's what's more likely happening.

Back in '09, there was a huge surplus of would be recruits. At one point the waiting list got to be a year long.

So if anything, it's younger people thinking they're out of options so they feel forced into it. Average person I know would rather work in an Amazon warehouse or even fast food, but they might find themselves not able to even do that. That's basically what happened back in '09.

This is actually the most disturbing of these points I've made. It's also known Army recruiters focus their efforts in depressed, low-income areas knowing those people have fewer options.

4) It's a lot easier to hire mercenary organizations.

Should be obvious.

5) In the armed forces themselves, the idea of a draft is also massively unpopular.

For some folks, the armed forces really are a calling, and more power to them. For these folks, they accept everything that service entails, and take it seriously. This is actually an advantage to volunteer/optional recruitment. If not forced to be there, just about everyone who's there, wants to be there. This in fact, can make the force far more effective.

Now that said, I've heard the modern military is facing some challenges, despite this.

But imagine how much worse it would be, if 1/2 or 2/3's of the soldiers don't want to be there. They'd basically have to keep cracking the whip. It's going to be a very ineffective force.

A long time ago, my father suggested I should join. I didn't trust the recruiters, so I asked other soldiers. Every single one of them said, if you don't 110% want to do it and be there, don't even think about it.

I almost want Trump to attempt this; the political fallout even in his own party would be truly bigly on a scale never before seen.

This reads more like a personals ad, which is okay but I'm moving it to the correct board.

I replied in a PM.

Why are you interested in a degree in mechanical engineering? What do you hope to get from it?

Is it because it's something you think will enjoy immensely?

Or is it because you believe it will leverage a skill or ability you have? It's likely very heavy on math as well as spatial awareness. Are you good at those mechanical puzzles? The kind of thing you might find in souvenir and knick-knack shops?

I get that you don't want to do the work you do forever, I doubt many really do.

However, office-politics and the business world has a way of sucking passion away from you.

Focus on what you're good at, even if you don't necessarily fully enjoy it (but hopefully don't hate either). This makes it easier to perform well to get those raises and promotions.

A job is a means to an end to get you money, so you can have a comfortable life and the ability to do the things you'd rather be doing, for fun and enjoyment, and money is what gets you there.

Sure, money might not buy happiness by itself, but can sure as hell buy avoidance of sadness. No one really wants to constantly think about bills, engaging in mental gymnastics because of this (which can cause immense stress), or spend hours a week attempting to chase the cheapest or most economical deals and sales because that extra $1-10 means the difference between paying a bill, or wondering how you're paying for an car repair, or deciding whether to eat lunch this week or pay the power bill.