.
Rest in Peace; Fat Cat
Quote from congjing yu on July 30, 2024, 5:14 amThis year (2024) there was a young man would committed suicide. He went by the name "fat cat" because his icon was that of a fat cat wanting to eat.
It has moved many of us.
I am one such person.
This idea that you, as a hard working young man, is tricked by promises of love and marriage by an attractive young woman...
...would give up all of your money...
...sacrifice your health and meals...
...only to have everything crashing down when you discover that she lied to you; defrauded you and used you.
...
Rest in peace Fat Cat.
The Suicide of Fat Cat China Gamer, a Virtual but Real Saga
[caption id="attachment_122915" align="alignnone" width="1238"] fat cat 1[/caption]
The tragic story behind the recent suicide of a 21-year-old Chinese gamer nicknamed ‘Fat Cat’ has become a major topic of discussion on Chinese social media, touching upon broader societal issues from unfair gender dynamics to businesses taking advantage of grieving internet users.The story of a 21-year-old Chinese gamer from Hunan who committed suicide has gone completely viral on Weibo and beyond this week, generating many discussions.In late April of this year, the young man nicknamed ‘Fat Cat’ (胖猫 Pàng Māo, literally fat or chubby cat), tragically ended his life by jumping into the river near the Chongqing Yangtze River Bridge (重庆长江大桥) following a breakup with his girlfriend.[caption id="attachment_122934" align="alignnone" width="732"] Fat Cat in person[/caption]
By now, the incident has come to be known as the “Fat Cat Jumping Into the River Incident” (胖猫跳江事件).News of his suicide soon made its rounds on the internet, and some bloggers started looking into what was behind the story.The man’s sister also spoke out through online channels, and numerous chat records between the young man and his girlfriend emerged online.[caption id="attachment_122525" align="alignnone" width="602"] main qimg 0a1195456fdd575f8148d2c910dac231[/caption]
One aspect of his story that gained traction in early May is the revelation that the man had invested ALL of his resources into the relationship.Allegedly, he made significant financial sacrifices, giving his girlfriend over 510,000 RMB (approximately 71,000 USD) throughout their relationship, in a time frame of two years.Every waking moment, he worked and earned money.And she, at every turn would siphon it away from him.When he had no more money, and she still wanted more, she told him "we can be friends. I don't want to marry you."When his girlfriend ended the relationship, despite all of his efforts, he was devastated and took his own life.[caption id="attachment_122930" align="alignnone" width="612"] The pretend girlfriend[/caption]
Liu’s sister discovered the reason behind the breakup while looking through his phone. The couple had been together for two years and reportedly planned a wedding for May 2024. Reports suggest Liu financially supported Chau throughout their relationship, covering everything from birthday celebrations to rent for her apartment.Some sources claim Liu spent a significant amount, up to 510,000 yuan, on Chau, including phones...... the latest iPhone...... multiple overseas trips (shat she would take WITHOUT him) ...... and even starting a flower shop for her.All of this caused financial strain on Liu, forcing him to adopt a very frugal lifestyle.The StoryThe story was picked up by various Chinese media outlets, and prominent social and political commentator Hu Xijin also wrote a post about Fat Cat, stating the sad story had made him tear up.As the news spread, it sparked a multitude of hashtags on Weibo, with thousands of netizens pouring out their thoughts and emotions in response to the story. Playing Games for LoveThe main part of this story that is triggering online discussions is how ‘Fat Cat,’ a young man who possessed virtually nothing, managed to provide his girlfriend, who was six years older, with such a significant amount of money – and why he was willing to sacrifice so much in order to do so.The young man reportedly was able to make money by playing video games, specifically by being a so-called ‘booster’ by playing with others and helping them get to a higher level in multiplayer online battle games.According to his sister, he started working as a ‘professional’ video gamer as a means of generating money to satisfy his girlfriend, who allegedly always demanded more.He registered a total of 36 accounts to receive orders to play online games, making 20 yuan per game (about $2.80).Because this consumed all of his time, he barely went out anymore and his social life was dead.In order to save more money, he tried to keep his own expenses as low as possible, and would only get takeout food for himself for no more than 10 yuan ($1,4).His online avatar was an image of a cat saying “I don’t want to eat vegetables, I want to eat McDonald’s.”[caption id="attachment_122916" align="alignnone" width="690"] 0082PBjggy1hpjes7e0xwj30u00km75p[/caption]
The woman in question who he made so many sacrifices for is named Tan Zhu (谭竹), and she soon became the topic of public scrutiny.In one screenshot of a chat conversation between Tan and her boyfriend that leaked online, she claimed she needed money for various things.The two had agreed to get married later in this year.
Despite of this, she still broke up with him, driving him to jump off the bridge after transferring his remaining 66,000 RMB (9135 USD) to Tan Zhu.What had actually happened was that as soon as she got all of his savings, she immediately broke up with him. The plan for marriage was all a lie; a scam.As the story fermented online, Tan Zhu also shared her side of the story. She claimed that she had met ‘Fat Cat’ over two years ago through online gaming and had started a long distance relationship with him.They had actually only met up twice before he moved to Chongqing.[caption id="attachment_122931" align="alignnone" width="1356"] RIP 2[/caption]
She emphasized that financial gain was never a motivating factor in their relationship.She said that she liked him, and she would have promised to marry him even if he was broke.Yet, the records are clear. She was siphoning money from him weekly.Tan additionally asserted that she had previously repaid 130,000 RMB (18,000 USD) to him and that they had reached a settlement agreement shortly before his tragic death.Ordering Take-Out to Mourn Fat Cat
- – “I hope you rest in peace.”
- – “Little fat cat, I hope you’ll be less foolish in your next life.”
- – “In your next life, love yourself first.”
These are just a few of the messages left by netizens on notes attached to takeout food deliveries near the Chongqing Yangtze River Bridge.[caption id="attachment_122917" align="alignnone" width="690"] 0085sgQjly1hpdkj68qg6j312x0yc4qp[/caption]
AI-generated image spread on Chinese social media in connection to the event.
As Fat Cat’s story stirred up significant online discussion, with many expressing sympathy for the young man who rarely indulged in spending on food and drinks, some internet users took the step of ordering McDonalds and other food delivery services to the bridge, where he tragically jumped from, in his honor.
This soon snowballed into more people ordering food and drinks to the bridge, resulting in a constant flow of delivery staff and a pile-up of take-out bags.
[caption id="attachment_122919" align="alignnone" width="690"] 0047tKGFly1hpfjc43szej60zf0wrwir02[/caption]
Delivery food on the bridge, photo via Weibo.
However, as the food delivery efforts picked up pace, it came to light that some of the deliveries ordered and paid for were either empty or contained something different; certain restaurants, aware of the collective effort to honor the young man, deliberately left the food boxes empty or substituted sodas or tea with tap water.
[caption id="attachment_122925" align="alignnone" width="1000"] delivery[/caption]
At least five restaurants were caught not delivering the actual orders.
Chinese bubble tea shop ChaPanda was exposed for substituting water for milk tea in their cups.
[caption id="attachment_122920" align="alignnone" width="730"] ChaPanda[/caption]
On May 3rd, ChaPanda responded that they had fired the responsible employee.
Another store, the Zhu Xiaoxiao Luosifen (朱小小螺蛳粉), responded on that they had temporarily closed the shop in question to deal with the issue.
[caption id="attachment_122921" align="alignnone" width="732"] Zhu Xiaoxiao Luosifen (朱小小螺蛳粉)[/caption]
Chinese fast food chain NewYobo (牛约堡) also acknowledged that at least twenty orders they received were incomplete.
[caption id="attachment_122922" align="alignnone" width="730"] NewYobo (牛约堡)[/caption]
Fast food company Wallace (华莱士) responded to the controversy by stating they had dismissed the employees involved.
[caption id="attachment_122923" align="alignnone" width="734"] Wallace (华莱士)[/caption]
Mixue Ice Cream & Tea (蜜雪冰城) issued an apology and temporarily closed one of their stores implicated in delivering empty orders.
[caption id="attachment_122924" align="alignnone" width="732"] Mixue Ice Cream & Tea (蜜雪冰城)[/caption]
In the midst of all the controversy, Fat Cat’s sister asked internet users to refrain from ordering take-out food as a means of mourning and honoring her brother.
Nevertheless, take-out food and flowers continued to accumulate near the bridge, prompting local authorities to think of ways of how to deal with this unique method of honoring the deceased gamer.
Gamer Boy Meets Girl
On Chinese social media, this story has also become a topic of debate in the context of gender dynamics and social inequality.
[caption id="attachment_122933" align="alignnone" width="1350"] RIP 4[/caption]
There are some male bloggers who are angry with Tan Zhu, suggesting her behaviour is an example of everything that’s supposedly “wrong” with Chinese women in this day and age. they take, take, and take and when the man is used up and can no longer provide, they dump him and move on to the next sucker.
Others place blame on Fat Cat himself for believing that he could buy love and maintain a relationship through financial means.
This irked some feminist bloggers, who see it as a chauvinistic attitude towards women. He killed himself, therefore he is at fault.
A main, recurring idea in these discussions is that young Chinese men such as Fat Cat, who are at the low end of the social ladder, are actually particularly vulnerable in a fiercely competitive society.
[caption id="attachment_122932" align="alignnone" width="1354"] RIP 3[/caption]
Here, a gender imbalance and surplus of unmarried men make it easier for women to potentially exploit those desperate for companionship.
Mo Cha Official
The story of Fat Cat brings back memories of ‘Mo Cha Official,’ a not-so-famous blogger who gained posthumous fame in 2021 when details of his unhappy life surfaced online.
Su Xiangmao
Likewise, the tragic tale of WePhone founder Su Xiangmao (苏享茂) resurfaces.
In 2017, the 37-year-old IT entrepreneur from Beijing took his own life, leaving behind a note alleging blackmail by his 29-year-old ex-wife, who demanded 10 million RMB (±1.5 million USD).
Another aspect of this viral story that is mentioned by netizens is how it gained so much attention during the Chinese May holidays, coinciding with the tragic news of the southern China highway collapse in Guangdong.
‘Fat Cat’ was cremated.
His family stated their intention to take necessary legal steps to recover the money from his former girlfriend, but Tan Zhu reportedly already reached an agreement with the father and settled the case.
Nevertheless, the case continues to generate discussions online.
[caption id="attachment_122926" align="alignnone" width="1000"] fatcat[/caption]
Fat Cat images projected in Times Square However, given that images of the ‘Fat Cat’ avatar have even appeared in Times Square in New York by now (Chinese internet users projected it on one of the big LED screens), it’s likely that this story will be remembered and talked about for some time to come.
[caption id="attachment_122927" align="alignnone" width="1242"] RIP Fat Cat[/caption]
--- RIP Fat Cat ---
What’s the weirdest phone call you have ever received?
I received a scam “security” call from a person with an accent.
Me: “Hello?”
Person: “Is this (my name)?”
Me: “Yes”
Person: “This is John with security at Microsoft. Your email address is ________.com?”
Me: “Yes.”
Person: "There is a high probability that your computer’s security has been compromised and your email address has sent 58,000 emails in the last 14 hours.”
Me: “OMG, really?”
Person: "Is your PC on right now?”
Me: "Yes.”
Person: “Would you please shut it down, now? We’ll reboot and I’ll explain.”
Me:“OK.”
Person: "Thank you for your cooperation.”
As I fumbled to shut the PC down, I wondered how Microsoft could have my phone number and email address right. But, hey, but this was Microsoft!
Person: “Please wait 30 seconds and then restart.”
While waiting for the reboot, he confided that it had been a long night chasing “this one.” After it rebooted, he asked me to run some basic checks, then asked me to set him up as “a remote operator.”
I offered to continue taking his directions.
He repeated his request to be allowed to remotely take over my PC.
And I politely repeated my offer to continue taking his directions.
He changed the subject, but then he offered a third time.
Person: “I can handle this faster.”
Me: “I’m fine doing this myself, manually.”
The phone went dead. Now my infected PC would never be fixed.
So I called MICROSOFT!
When I reached technical services, they immediately told me that Microsoft would never make phone calls to suspected spammers nor to individuals with compromised computers.
Microsoft: "Did he ask what version of Windows you had?”
Me:"NO.”
Microsoft:“Did he ask which anti-virus software you were using, Kaspersky, Norton, Mcafee?”
Me: "No.”
Microsoft: "It was a scam. He was likely trying to install password or keystroke spyware that would send your information to a third party. Don’t ever allow remote access to your PC.”
Me: "Thanks, I won’t. I didn’t get your name.”
Microsoft: “John”
Me: …pause…“He said his name was ‘John,’ too.”
Microsoft (and without hesitation): “This is John One…the one that matters.”
And after some laughter… “Thank you for calling Microsoft.”
What has been your best career decision(s)?
- After moving out of college as a fresh engineering graduate, I got cheated by a fake software company. I had paid 30k to get that fake job! 🙁
- The worst part was my mother had sold her anklets to arrange that money. In fact she was very happy to give me the money as she believed that I became a software engineer(She never went to school).
- I couldn't share this story with my mother and joined an international BPO in bangalore to earn bread and butter and worked here for 6 months.
- I didn't tell my mother that I lost money and joined a BPO as I didn't want to break her heart. I lied to her that I'm doing good at my work and priced my fake software company. (Yes! Fake it until u make it)
- 15k was my monthly salary in BPO and I was in my comfort zone. Also I had already lost all hopes in software job.
- At that point of time, one of my college friends told me about this small start up software company located in Yelahanka.
- I visisted this start up the next day itself and agreed for below terms and conditions:
- No salary for 3 months
- You will be paid 5k INR as salary after 3 months
- 1.5 years bond
- Original marks cards need to be submitted
8 . I grabbed this opportunity without any second thought and joined in the next day itself.
9. Started working as a software developer.
10. As my performance was good, after 6 months I was offered 20k INR per month(it was huge for me) and was sent to a client location to work.
11. Fast forward 3 years, I’m working in one of the big IT giants in the world and 58k INR (again it's really a big amount for me and my mother) is my take home.
12. Finally I made it! I made her dream come true. I never shared this story with her till now.
13. And yes! I gifted her new pair of anklets and bangles too also I have started construction of new house in my village. She is super happy now.
Coming out of my comfort zone and joining the start up without considering the salary, company reputaion and other benefits was my best career decision 🙂
Fake it until u make it 😉
Other AI art
[caption id="attachment_122370" align="alignnone" width="1904"] Default A late degas with a dancing ballerina 2 4260fb67 b6af 4498 ba0b b58d9e4bb7ed 0[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_122371" align="alignnone" width="1448"] Default bbc full body capture of Dwayne Johnson at Jumanji Wel 0 3d2388a3 58e1 49a7 8745 07b24a0b38f6 0[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_122363" align="alignnone" width="1872"] Default Abyssinian cat girly head svg sticker white background 1 28babdd1 05fd 400a 8347 6e1e6b63f2de 0[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_122364" align="alignnone" width="1792"] Default Magnificent Cheeseburger This cheeseburger is magnific 1[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_122365" align="alignnone" width="1592"] Default BLACK GUY WITH SUNGLASSES SMILE UNDER THE UMBRELLA 0[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_122366" align="alignnone" width="896"] Default Princess 3[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_122367" align="alignnone" width="1328"] Default 1girl waist height portrait full body beautiful anime 0 bf680983 9db3 4502 91c2 80eb153143a2 0[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_122368" align="alignnone" width="1456"] Default like watercolor baby rabbit she eat carrot cartoon 0 b097488d 45aa 4d20 ab5d 240a45e4c98b 0[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_122359" align="alignnone" width="1368"] Default Modern Acrylic painting a woman brown hair embroidered 0[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_122360" align="alignnone" width="2376"] alchemyrefiner alchemymagic 0 5e5c48c9 d3b0 4265 9675 ad195114f1d7 0[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_122361" align="alignnone" width="1707"] Default A group of goldfish gathered around a bubbling fountai 0 61de9cd3 2787 47a1 ac1b 2dc045937feb 0[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_122362" align="alignnone" width="1344"] Default GUSTAV KLIMT STYLE Let your imagination run wild with 7[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_122356" align="alignnone" width="1344"] alchemyrefiner alchemymagic 2 810e4526 94be 407d 8168 71fd2300059b 0[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_122351" align="alignnone" width="664"] Default Photorealistic fullbody portrait of a fabulous funky p 0[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_122352" align="alignnone" width="768"] Default hyper realistic japanese girl in a rocky snowy open ai 0[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_122353" align="alignnone" width="1444"] Default 3 10179d35 247c 41ab 8413 966123fb5704 0[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_122354" align="alignnone" width="1296"] alchemyrefiner alchemymagic 0 812e94f5 4e40 46db a391 1752982f8342 0[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_122355" align="alignnone" width="2560"] UniversalUpscaler cc0bf238 cd77 4a0b 880a 0b01db149b8d[/caption]
How would a world war play out?
There will be substantive changes in culture, society, and financial institutions throughout the world.
Judging from history, and independent of whether or not it goes nuclear, the world post-reconstruction would favor the East, and disfavor the Western block.
There will be an economic rise in Africa, the Middle East, and throughout Asia. Future history books will consider this period to be a global renaissance.
There will be a substantive internal compression, akin to what happened to the British Empire, and the Roman Empire, and it would occur in the Americas and in Europe.
Historians will consider the third world war to have started around 2008, with the peak hostilities occurring during the Trump / Mike Pompeo bioweapon attack on China CNY in 2019. With the war lasting from 2019 through 2023.
- Start in 2008 centering on the first United States economic collapse.
- Hostilities building up towards Asia from 2012 though 2019.
- Hot wars 2019 though 2023.
- Minor wars 2022 through 2025 / 26
- Major contraction of Western financial and societal structures by 2028.
- Reconstruction 2030 through 2040.
Any hostilities that will occur in the next few years WILL NOT change the trajectory of the world. That process is ongoing, and will follow though to it’s complete realization.
The reconstructive period has already started, and we can well expect for most things to settle down around 2030. With a long drawn out adaptation to new global realities by 2040.
Commander's Palace Sour Cream Pecan Coffee Cake
[caption id="attachment_122326" align="alignnone" width="728"] Commander's Palace Sour Cream Pecan Coffee Cake[/caption]
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup (2 sticks) softened unsalted butter
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 1/2 cups sour cream
Pecan Filling
- 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter well a 10 inch Bundt pan and dust with flour, shaking out the excess.
Cake
- In a bowl with an electric mixer beat the butter until smooth.
- Add the sugar, a little at a time, and beat the mixture until it is light and fluffy.
- Beat in the vanilla extract and the eggs, one at a time.
- Into a bowl sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture, beating slowly until just combined.
- Fold in the sour cream.
Pecan Filling
- In a bowl combine filling ingredients. Spoon 2/3 of the batter into the prepared pan, sprinkle the top with the pecan filling, gently pressing filling into batter, going completely around the cake until all remaining nut mixture is used. Add remaining batter to pan and smooth top.
- Bake for 1 hour, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. If necessary, loosely cover top of cake with piece of aluminum foil to prevent overbrowning.
- Let cool on a rack in the pan for 5 minutes.
- Invert onto the rack and let cool completely.
Attribution
Commander's Palace Restaurant, New Orleans, Louisiana
Has a doctor ever given you a stupid diagnosis like "it's in your head" because he couldn't admit he couldn't find out?
Many times, in fact. When I was fifteen I suddenly developed pain in my neck. It ached constantly, and began cracking loud enough to make people jump. This pain spread into my back and by the time I was back at school, I was struggling to get through a whole day without having to go home to sleep as my fatigue was so great.
Before this pain started I was fit and well and could walk great distances. Over the next few years the pain spread into every part of my body, and my mobility began to decrease. I was struggling to walk around a large shop, then a small shop and my world got smaller.
During this time I was bounced around many medication professionals. Having never had anything major wrong with me before, I was under the impression a doctor would listen to my symptoms and then discuss what conditions could be causing it. Then they would carry out testing until it was narrowed down. Nothing of the sort happened.
My GP kept shrugging her shoulders. I had to look up specific tests and ask for them, even the most basic. I was sent to physiotherapists - a lot of them, none of which were helpful. One said, “You don’t appear to be screaming out in pain for treatment.” Like it was normal for someone with long-term pain to scream 24/7. I then was sent to rheumatologists. Their diagnosis was “likely not arthritis” which didn’t feel like a diagnosis at all. I kept pushing - I was having to use a walking stick to get around, then later a wheelchair. My joints hurt and cracked, and felt like they were out of place. The muscle spasms were relentless. Not one doctor I ever saw asked about my symptoms other than pain. Very quickly the suggestions began it was all in my head. I was sent to a pain psychologist and had a few sessions, before she concluded my coping skills were fine - I just didn’t know what was wrong and needed further investigations.
I then spent a few years being bounced between the two - rheumatology to psychology. Each disagreeing I fit under their services. After about six years my GP wrote again to rheumatology to ask for more help and to have a review of treatment options as I was getting much worse. The letter we got back said, “To further offer treatment options would medicalise her issues. She needs to see a psychiatrist.” I can’t tell you how much this letter devastated me. I’d gone from a perfectly healthy teenager to struggling to physically function. I was in constant and severe pain, with injury after injury on top. I was having to use a wheelchair to be able to leave the house. I began to doubt myself - was it in my head?
At some point I saw a Pain Consultant. A rude, dismissive sort. He told me I just needed to fight through the pain, that anyone could if they tried hard enough. (I didn’t have the energy to point out that if people could ignore severe pain his job wouldn’t even exist). He eventually agreed to send me for an MRI for the first time to prove nothing was wrong. The MRI showed a great deal of degeneration, disc bulges, narrowing and cysts. He left before the results came back.
Then after eight and a half years I finally got my answers. A series of events led me to look up the condition Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Not only did it fit everything I had, there were so many other things I’d ignored as just assumed were part of me that were actually down to EDS. My GP referred me to the top specialist to see if I did have it, and the difference in that appointment compared to any other I’d seen was immense. He asked detailed questions starting from when I was born. He connected all the dots, and was so thorough and diagnosed me definitively with EDS.
Knowing what it was made such a difference. It’s incurable, but at least I know. I get so angry at all those awful doctors who took one look at a young teenager and jumped straight to psychosomatic with no effort. It’s a pattern I see so often - particularly with women, but many have fallen victim to this.
Sometimes it isn’t the most obvious answer, and that’s why it’s so important to look at the whole picture rather than one single source of pain. The condition on average takes 10–20 years to diagnose, and many are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed who have it. It’s just not good enough.
I’m left with a great deal of medical anxiety, having been treated so badly by so many I saw over those years.
Shorpy
This is a fun look back.
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I feel like I missed out by not going to a prestigious university. How do I get over this? While I go to a respectable school (University of Michigan), I never applied to any Ivies or other elite schools because I felt like I couldn't get in.
As I look back on my education, I realize I got a wonderful jump-start at Columbia University. I also realize that in the 4 years I spent there, I learned a lot. It probably adds up to about 0.5% of what I know now.
The university is only the beginning of your education. A great university gives you a great beginning. But a head-start is less important than endurance. Slow and steady wins the race. If you keep learning, every day, every week, soon whatever you "missed" at the university will fade into nothingness.
When I graduated from Columbia, I was annoyed that the ceremony was not called a graduation, but was called a "commencement". Hey, I wanted recognition for the four years of work I had struggled through!
In retrospect, that was exactly the right name.
As you grow older, you'll see many of your friends and colleagues become couch potatoes, with their bodily health and strength gradually going downhill. Don't let it happen to you. But far worse, their brains will also go downhill. Not forced to learn, they will stop learning. Don't let it happen to you!
Every year of your life, learn more than you did last year. It gets easier to do this as you get older, because the main thing you learned in college was how to learn. And you can keep getting better at it.
The key to learning is recognizing how much fun it is. When you enjoy something, you learn without effort. In college, I had no interest in history, little in world affairs; now those subjects fascinate me. I find almost all of life fascinating.
Forgive me for ending with a cliche:
This is the first day of the rest of your life.Barbecue Beef Roast
[caption id="attachment_122327" align="alignnone" width="600"] bbq pot roast Fotor[/caption]
Ingredients
- 1 (2 – 2 1/2 pound) beef chuck roast
- 1/4 cup barbecue sauce (I prefer Sweet Baby Ray's)
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
- Place the roast in the slow cooker (slice in half if using a 4-quart slow cooker).
- Whisk together the remaining ingredients and pour over the roast. Cook on LOW for 6 hours.
- Remove the roast and shred with two forks (it just falls apart), place in a serving dish and ladle some of the juice over the top before serving.
"Western elites are stubbornly working to 'punish' Russia, isolate and weaken it, supplying the Kiev authorities with money and arms. They have imposed almost 16,000 unilateral illegitimate sanctions against our country. They are threatening to dismember our country. They are illegally trying to appropriate our foreign assets. They are turning a blind eye to the resurgence of Nazism and to Ukraine-sponsored terrorist attacks in our territory. We are seeking a comprehensive, sustainable and just settlement of this conflict through peaceful means. We are open to a dialogue on Ukraine, but such negotiations must take into account the interests of all countries involved in the conflict, including Russia's. They must also involve a substantive discussion on global stability and security guarantees for Russia's opponents and, naturally, for Russia itself. Needless to say, these must be reliable guarantees. That is where the main problem is, since we are dealing with states whose ruling circles seek to substitute the world order based on international law with an 'order based on certain rules,' which they keep talking about but which no one has ever seen, no one has agreed to, and which, apparently, tend to change depending on the current political situation and interests of those who invent these rules."Excerpt from remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin in a written Interview to Chinese news agency Xinhua, May 15, 2024.
Putin & Xi, preparing for big sanctions war w/ Alex Krainer
This is a great video.
https://youtu.be/oYxkpBCztqM
In 2024, Chinese people will still be behind the Great Firewall. Does this mean that most Chinese people are ignorant of the truth about the world?
interesting question
Although I am not Chinese, I actually know it very well
Years ago, when I first learned about the Great Firewall of China, I thought the same thing as many Westerners
"Oh, they built an iron curtain on the Internet to imprison their own people and prevent them from knowing the truth about the world. This is really an evil country."
But when I actually visited China and met a large number of Chinese people, I realized that I had thought of things too simply.
The Great Firewall of China is not actually a prison, it is more like the Great Wall built by the Chinese in ancient times: the hard side is always on the outside.
In fact, Chinese people can easily access all websites in the world, various social software, X, YouTube, Ins, Watsapp. There are also sites like Quora and Reddit. They only need to pay about $2-3 per month for VPN services, which is public and the Chinese government is silent about it. Almost all young Chinese people I know use such services. On websites like Quora, I always see many Chinese IDs.
Therefore, the Chinese people have much more control over global information than most Westerners think. They pay attention to various global events like us, and they also play ChatGPT like us.
What really hinders Chinese people from being active on the global Internet is not the Great Firewall, but English. They are too lazy to look at languages they are not familiar with, just like most people in the West are too lazy to look at content in Japanese, Korean or Chinese. Language differences naturally isolate the entire Internet. Even if there is no firewall and even if there are many translation technologies, the vast majority of Americans will not pay attention to Japanese content or comment on information from a certain Japanese-speaking world, and vice versa.
The real role of China’s Great Firewall is to block outside access, making it difficult for foreigners to enter China’s social media and express their thoughts and opinions. It is also difficult to buy a VPN service that can pass through the firewall and sneak in.
This probably means that they can come out at will, but you cannot go in at will.
Vintage art
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What's the most unreasonable request you've received from your boss?
It was when I was working for a fast food place in my early 20’s. Some things happened, and we lost our entire management team except for the general manager and myself, a shift manager. Within a few days, I was acting assistant GM (I was offered the full position, but was planning on moving out of state in a few months, so declined) until a permanent one could be hired and trained. These additional duties didn't come with additional pay, but between those and the need to cover a lot of extra shifts, I was getting 30–40 hours of overtime each week at time and a half.
Well, apparently that overtime was a problem. The regional manager was breathing down the district manager’s neck, and she in turn came to breathe down mine for “getting so much overtime”. I almost laughed. She knew the situation, and exactly why I was working so much. I didn't find it funny anymore when her solution was to ask me to clock out just before I hit overtime, but keep working. I told her I wasn't willing to work 30–40 hours a week for free, and that if she wanted me to stop getting overtime, our store needed more managers. She threatened my job. I told her to go ahead, I'm sure the department of labor would be very interested in knowing you're trying to get people to work off the clock, and threatening their jobs when they refuse to break the law.
Needless to say, I continued working overtime up until a couple of weeks before I moved away, once a new team of managers had been hired, and I'd gotten them all trained. The district manager didn't so much as speak to me after her ridiculous demand. I found it an improvement in my quality of life at work.
Feminism RUINED dating
https://youtu.be/1B9FBLIUOEA
This year (2024) there was a young man would committed suicide. He went by the name "fat cat" because his icon was that of a fat cat wanting to eat.
It has moved many of us.
I am one such person.
This idea that you, as a hard working young man, is tricked by promises of love and marriage by an attractive young woman...
...would give up all of your money...
...sacrifice your health and meals...
...only to have everything crashing down when you discover that she lied to you; defrauded you and used you.
...
Rest in peace Fat Cat.
The Suicide of Fat Cat China Gamer, a Virtual but Real Saga
The two had agreed to get married later in this year.
What had actually happened was that as soon as she got all of his savings, she immediately broke up with him. The plan for marriage was all a lie; a scam.
Yet, the records are clear. She was siphoning money from him weekly.
- – “I hope you rest in peace.”
- – “Little fat cat, I hope you’ll be less foolish in your next life.”
- – “In your next life, love yourself first.”
AI-generated image spread on Chinese social media in connection to the event.
As Fat Cat’s story stirred up significant online discussion, with many expressing sympathy for the young man who rarely indulged in spending on food and drinks, some internet users took the step of ordering McDonalds and other food delivery services to the bridge, where he tragically jumped from, in his honor.
This soon snowballed into more people ordering food and drinks to the bridge, resulting in a constant flow of delivery staff and a pile-up of take-out bags.
Delivery food on the bridge, photo via Weibo.
However, as the food delivery efforts picked up pace, it came to light that some of the deliveries ordered and paid for were either empty or contained something different; certain restaurants, aware of the collective effort to honor the young man, deliberately left the food boxes empty or substituted sodas or tea with tap water.
At least five restaurants were caught not delivering the actual orders.
Chinese bubble tea shop ChaPanda was exposed for substituting water for milk tea in their cups.
On May 3rd, ChaPanda responded that they had fired the responsible employee.
Another store, the Zhu Xiaoxiao Luosifen (朱小小螺蛳粉), responded on that they had temporarily closed the shop in question to deal with the issue.
Chinese fast food chain NewYobo (牛约堡) also acknowledged that at least twenty orders they received were incomplete.
Fast food company Wallace (华莱士) responded to the controversy by stating they had dismissed the employees involved.
Mixue Ice Cream & Tea (蜜雪冰城) issued an apology and temporarily closed one of their stores implicated in delivering empty orders.
In the midst of all the controversy, Fat Cat’s sister asked internet users to refrain from ordering take-out food as a means of mourning and honoring her brother.
Nevertheless, take-out food and flowers continued to accumulate near the bridge, prompting local authorities to think of ways of how to deal with this unique method of honoring the deceased gamer.
Gamer Boy Meets Girl
On Chinese social media, this story has also become a topic of debate in the context of gender dynamics and social inequality.
There are some male bloggers who are angry with Tan Zhu, suggesting her behaviour is an example of everything that’s supposedly “wrong” with Chinese women in this day and age. they take, take, and take and when the man is used up and can no longer provide, they dump him and move on to the next sucker.
Others place blame on Fat Cat himself for believing that he could buy love and maintain a relationship through financial means.
This irked some feminist bloggers, who see it as a chauvinistic attitude towards women. He killed himself, therefore he is at fault.
A main, recurring idea in these discussions is that young Chinese men such as Fat Cat, who are at the low end of the social ladder, are actually particularly vulnerable in a fiercely competitive society.
Here, a gender imbalance and surplus of unmarried men make it easier for women to potentially exploit those desperate for companionship.
Mo Cha Official
The story of Fat Cat brings back memories of ‘Mo Cha Official,’ a not-so-famous blogger who gained posthumous fame in 2021 when details of his unhappy life surfaced online.
Su Xiangmao
Likewise, the tragic tale of WePhone founder Su Xiangmao (苏享茂) resurfaces.
In 2017, the 37-year-old IT entrepreneur from Beijing took his own life, leaving behind a note alleging blackmail by his 29-year-old ex-wife, who demanded 10 million RMB (±1.5 million USD).
Another aspect of this viral story that is mentioned by netizens is how it gained so much attention during the Chinese May holidays, coinciding with the tragic news of the southern China highway collapse in Guangdong.
‘Fat Cat’ was cremated.
His family stated their intention to take necessary legal steps to recover the money from his former girlfriend, but Tan Zhu reportedly already reached an agreement with the father and settled the case.
Nevertheless, the case continues to generate discussions online.
Fat Cat images projected in Times Square However, given that images of the ‘Fat Cat’ avatar have even appeared in Times Square in New York by now (Chinese internet users projected it on one of the big LED screens), it’s likely that this story will be remembered and talked about for some time to come.
--- RIP Fat Cat ---
What’s the weirdest phone call you have ever received?
I received a scam “security” call from a person with an accent.
Me: “Hello?”
Person: “Is this (my name)?”
Me: “Yes”
Person: “This is John with security at Microsoft. Your email address is ________.com?”
Me: “Yes.”
Person: "There is a high probability that your computer’s security has been compromised and your email address has sent 58,000 emails in the last 14 hours.”
Me: “OMG, really?”
Person: "Is your PC on right now?”
Me: "Yes.”
Person: “Would you please shut it down, now? We’ll reboot and I’ll explain.”
Me:“OK.”
Person: "Thank you for your cooperation.”
As I fumbled to shut the PC down, I wondered how Microsoft could have my phone number and email address right. But, hey, but this was Microsoft!
Person: “Please wait 30 seconds and then restart.”
While waiting for the reboot, he confided that it had been a long night chasing “this one.” After it rebooted, he asked me to run some basic checks, then asked me to set him up as “a remote operator.”
I offered to continue taking his directions.
He repeated his request to be allowed to remotely take over my PC.
And I politely repeated my offer to continue taking his directions.
He changed the subject, but then he offered a third time.
Person: “I can handle this faster.”
Me: “I’m fine doing this myself, manually.”
The phone went dead. Now my infected PC would never be fixed.
So I called MICROSOFT!
When I reached technical services, they immediately told me that Microsoft would never make phone calls to suspected spammers nor to individuals with compromised computers.
Microsoft: "Did he ask what version of Windows you had?”
Me:"NO.”
Microsoft:“Did he ask which anti-virus software you were using, Kaspersky, Norton, Mcafee?”
Me: "No.”
Microsoft: "It was a scam. He was likely trying to install password or keystroke spyware that would send your information to a third party. Don’t ever allow remote access to your PC.”
Me: "Thanks, I won’t. I didn’t get your name.”
Microsoft: “John”
Me: …pause…“He said his name was ‘John,’ too.”
Microsoft (and without hesitation): “This is John One…the one that matters.”
And after some laughter… “Thank you for calling Microsoft.”
What has been your best career decision(s)?
- After moving out of college as a fresh engineering graduate, I got cheated by a fake software company. I had paid 30k to get that fake job! 🙁
- The worst part was my mother had sold her anklets to arrange that money. In fact she was very happy to give me the money as she believed that I became a software engineer(She never went to school).
- I couldn't share this story with my mother and joined an international BPO in bangalore to earn bread and butter and worked here for 6 months.
- I didn't tell my mother that I lost money and joined a BPO as I didn't want to break her heart. I lied to her that I'm doing good at my work and priced my fake software company. (Yes! Fake it until u make it)
- 15k was my monthly salary in BPO and I was in my comfort zone. Also I had already lost all hopes in software job.
- At that point of time, one of my college friends told me about this small start up software company located in Yelahanka.
- I visisted this start up the next day itself and agreed for below terms and conditions:
- No salary for 3 months
- You will be paid 5k INR as salary after 3 months
- 1.5 years bond
- Original marks cards need to be submitted
8 . I grabbed this opportunity without any second thought and joined in the next day itself.
9. Started working as a software developer.
10. As my performance was good, after 6 months I was offered 20k INR per month(it was huge for me) and was sent to a client location to work.
11. Fast forward 3 years, I’m working in one of the big IT giants in the world and 58k INR (again it's really a big amount for me and my mother) is my take home.
12. Finally I made it! I made her dream come true. I never shared this story with her till now.
13. And yes! I gifted her new pair of anklets and bangles too also I have started construction of new house in my village. She is super happy now.
Coming out of my comfort zone and joining the start up without considering the salary, company reputaion and other benefits was my best career decision 🙂
Fake it until u make it 😉
Other AI art
How would a world war play out?
There will be substantive changes in culture, society, and financial institutions throughout the world.
Judging from history, and independent of whether or not it goes nuclear, the world post-reconstruction would favor the East, and disfavor the Western block.
There will be an economic rise in Africa, the Middle East, and throughout Asia. Future history books will consider this period to be a global renaissance.
There will be a substantive internal compression, akin to what happened to the British Empire, and the Roman Empire, and it would occur in the Americas and in Europe.
Historians will consider the third world war to have started around 2008, with the peak hostilities occurring during the Trump / Mike Pompeo bioweapon attack on China CNY in 2019. With the war lasting from 2019 through 2023.
- Start in 2008 centering on the first United States economic collapse.
- Hostilities building up towards Asia from 2012 though 2019.
- Hot wars 2019 though 2023.
- Minor wars 2022 through 2025 / 26
- Major contraction of Western financial and societal structures by 2028.
- Reconstruction 2030 through 2040.
Any hostilities that will occur in the next few years WILL NOT change the trajectory of the world. That process is ongoing, and will follow though to it’s complete realization.
The reconstructive period has already started, and we can well expect for most things to settle down around 2030. With a long drawn out adaptation to new global realities by 2040.
Commander's Palace Sour Cream Pecan Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup (2 sticks) softened unsalted butter
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 1/2 cups sour cream
Pecan Filling
- 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter well a 10 inch Bundt pan and dust with flour, shaking out the excess.
Cake
- In a bowl with an electric mixer beat the butter until smooth.
- Add the sugar, a little at a time, and beat the mixture until it is light and fluffy.
- Beat in the vanilla extract and the eggs, one at a time.
- Into a bowl sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture, beating slowly until just combined.
- Fold in the sour cream.
Pecan Filling
- In a bowl combine filling ingredients. Spoon 2/3 of the batter into the prepared pan, sprinkle the top with the pecan filling, gently pressing filling into batter, going completely around the cake until all remaining nut mixture is used. Add remaining batter to pan and smooth top.
- Bake for 1 hour, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. If necessary, loosely cover top of cake with piece of aluminum foil to prevent overbrowning.
- Let cool on a rack in the pan for 5 minutes.
- Invert onto the rack and let cool completely.
Attribution
Commander's Palace Restaurant, New Orleans, Louisiana
Has a doctor ever given you a stupid diagnosis like "it's in your head" because he couldn't admit he couldn't find out?
Many times, in fact. When I was fifteen I suddenly developed pain in my neck. It ached constantly, and began cracking loud enough to make people jump. This pain spread into my back and by the time I was back at school, I was struggling to get through a whole day without having to go home to sleep as my fatigue was so great.
Before this pain started I was fit and well and could walk great distances. Over the next few years the pain spread into every part of my body, and my mobility began to decrease. I was struggling to walk around a large shop, then a small shop and my world got smaller.
During this time I was bounced around many medication professionals. Having never had anything major wrong with me before, I was under the impression a doctor would listen to my symptoms and then discuss what conditions could be causing it. Then they would carry out testing until it was narrowed down. Nothing of the sort happened.
My GP kept shrugging her shoulders. I had to look up specific tests and ask for them, even the most basic. I was sent to physiotherapists - a lot of them, none of which were helpful. One said, “You don’t appear to be screaming out in pain for treatment.” Like it was normal for someone with long-term pain to scream 24/7. I then was sent to rheumatologists. Their diagnosis was “likely not arthritis” which didn’t feel like a diagnosis at all. I kept pushing - I was having to use a walking stick to get around, then later a wheelchair. My joints hurt and cracked, and felt like they were out of place. The muscle spasms were relentless. Not one doctor I ever saw asked about my symptoms other than pain. Very quickly the suggestions began it was all in my head. I was sent to a pain psychologist and had a few sessions, before she concluded my coping skills were fine - I just didn’t know what was wrong and needed further investigations.
I then spent a few years being bounced between the two - rheumatology to psychology. Each disagreeing I fit under their services. After about six years my GP wrote again to rheumatology to ask for more help and to have a review of treatment options as I was getting much worse. The letter we got back said, “To further offer treatment options would medicalise her issues. She needs to see a psychiatrist.” I can’t tell you how much this letter devastated me. I’d gone from a perfectly healthy teenager to struggling to physically function. I was in constant and severe pain, with injury after injury on top. I was having to use a wheelchair to be able to leave the house. I began to doubt myself - was it in my head?
At some point I saw a Pain Consultant. A rude, dismissive sort. He told me I just needed to fight through the pain, that anyone could if they tried hard enough. (I didn’t have the energy to point out that if people could ignore severe pain his job wouldn’t even exist). He eventually agreed to send me for an MRI for the first time to prove nothing was wrong. The MRI showed a great deal of degeneration, disc bulges, narrowing and cysts. He left before the results came back.
Then after eight and a half years I finally got my answers. A series of events led me to look up the condition Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Not only did it fit everything I had, there were so many other things I’d ignored as just assumed were part of me that were actually down to EDS. My GP referred me to the top specialist to see if I did have it, and the difference in that appointment compared to any other I’d seen was immense. He asked detailed questions starting from when I was born. He connected all the dots, and was so thorough and diagnosed me definitively with EDS.
Knowing what it was made such a difference. It’s incurable, but at least I know. I get so angry at all those awful doctors who took one look at a young teenager and jumped straight to psychosomatic with no effort. It’s a pattern I see so often - particularly with women, but many have fallen victim to this.
Sometimes it isn’t the most obvious answer, and that’s why it’s so important to look at the whole picture rather than one single source of pain. The condition on average takes 10–20 years to diagnose, and many are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed who have it. It’s just not good enough.
I’m left with a great deal of medical anxiety, having been treated so badly by so many I saw over those years.
Shorpy
This is a fun look back.
I feel like I missed out by not going to a prestigious university. How do I get over this? While I go to a respectable school (University of Michigan), I never applied to any Ivies or other elite schools because I felt like I couldn't get in.
As I look back on my education, I realize I got a wonderful jump-start at Columbia University. I also realize that in the 4 years I spent there, I learned a lot. It probably adds up to about 0.5% of what I know now.
The university is only the beginning of your education. A great university gives you a great beginning. But a head-start is less important than endurance. Slow and steady wins the race. If you keep learning, every day, every week, soon whatever you "missed" at the university will fade into nothingness.
When I graduated from Columbia, I was annoyed that the ceremony was not called a graduation, but was called a "commencement". Hey, I wanted recognition for the four years of work I had struggled through!
In retrospect, that was exactly the right name.
As you grow older, you'll see many of your friends and colleagues become couch potatoes, with their bodily health and strength gradually going downhill. Don't let it happen to you. But far worse, their brains will also go downhill. Not forced to learn, they will stop learning. Don't let it happen to you!
Every year of your life, learn more than you did last year. It gets easier to do this as you get older, because the main thing you learned in college was how to learn. And you can keep getting better at it.
The key to learning is recognizing how much fun it is. When you enjoy something, you learn without effort. In college, I had no interest in history, little in world affairs; now those subjects fascinate me. I find almost all of life fascinating.
Forgive me for ending with a cliche:
This is the first day of the rest of your life.
Barbecue Beef Roast
Ingredients
- 1 (2 – 2 1/2 pound) beef chuck roast
- 1/4 cup barbecue sauce (I prefer Sweet Baby Ray's)
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
- Place the roast in the slow cooker (slice in half if using a 4-quart slow cooker).
- Whisk together the remaining ingredients and pour over the roast. Cook on LOW for 6 hours.
- Remove the roast and shred with two forks (it just falls apart), place in a serving dish and ladle some of the juice over the top before serving.
"Western elites are stubbornly working to 'punish' Russia, isolate and weaken it, supplying the Kiev authorities with money and arms. They have imposed almost 16,000 unilateral illegitimate sanctions against our country. They are threatening to dismember our country. They are illegally trying to appropriate our foreign assets. They are turning a blind eye to the resurgence of Nazism and to Ukraine-sponsored terrorist attacks in our territory. We are seeking a comprehensive, sustainable and just settlement of this conflict through peaceful means. We are open to a dialogue on Ukraine, but such negotiations must take into account the interests of all countries involved in the conflict, including Russia's. They must also involve a substantive discussion on global stability and security guarantees for Russia's opponents and, naturally, for Russia itself. Needless to say, these must be reliable guarantees. That is where the main problem is, since we are dealing with states whose ruling circles seek to substitute the world order based on international law with an 'order based on certain rules,' which they keep talking about but which no one has ever seen, no one has agreed to, and which, apparently, tend to change depending on the current political situation and interests of those who invent these rules."
Excerpt from remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin in a written Interview to Chinese news agency Xinhua, May 15, 2024.
Putin & Xi, preparing for big sanctions war w/ Alex Krainer
This is a great video.
In 2024, Chinese people will still be behind the Great Firewall. Does this mean that most Chinese people are ignorant of the truth about the world?
interesting question
Although I am not Chinese, I actually know it very well
Years ago, when I first learned about the Great Firewall of China, I thought the same thing as many Westerners
"Oh, they built an iron curtain on the Internet to imprison their own people and prevent them from knowing the truth about the world. This is really an evil country."
But when I actually visited China and met a large number of Chinese people, I realized that I had thought of things too simply.
The Great Firewall of China is not actually a prison, it is more like the Great Wall built by the Chinese in ancient times: the hard side is always on the outside.
In fact, Chinese people can easily access all websites in the world, various social software, X, YouTube, Ins, Watsapp. There are also sites like Quora and Reddit. They only need to pay about $2-3 per month for VPN services, which is public and the Chinese government is silent about it. Almost all young Chinese people I know use such services. On websites like Quora, I always see many Chinese IDs.
Therefore, the Chinese people have much more control over global information than most Westerners think. They pay attention to various global events like us, and they also play ChatGPT like us.
What really hinders Chinese people from being active on the global Internet is not the Great Firewall, but English. They are too lazy to look at languages they are not familiar with, just like most people in the West are too lazy to look at content in Japanese, Korean or Chinese. Language differences naturally isolate the entire Internet. Even if there is no firewall and even if there are many translation technologies, the vast majority of Americans will not pay attention to Japanese content or comment on information from a certain Japanese-speaking world, and vice versa.
The real role of China’s Great Firewall is to block outside access, making it difficult for foreigners to enter China’s social media and express their thoughts and opinions. It is also difficult to buy a VPN service that can pass through the firewall and sneak in.
This probably means that they can come out at will, but you cannot go in at will.
Vintage art
What's the most unreasonable request you've received from your boss?
It was when I was working for a fast food place in my early 20’s. Some things happened, and we lost our entire management team except for the general manager and myself, a shift manager. Within a few days, I was acting assistant GM (I was offered the full position, but was planning on moving out of state in a few months, so declined) until a permanent one could be hired and trained. These additional duties didn't come with additional pay, but between those and the need to cover a lot of extra shifts, I was getting 30–40 hours of overtime each week at time and a half.
Well, apparently that overtime was a problem. The regional manager was breathing down the district manager’s neck, and she in turn came to breathe down mine for “getting so much overtime”. I almost laughed. She knew the situation, and exactly why I was working so much. I didn't find it funny anymore when her solution was to ask me to clock out just before I hit overtime, but keep working. I told her I wasn't willing to work 30–40 hours a week for free, and that if she wanted me to stop getting overtime, our store needed more managers. She threatened my job. I told her to go ahead, I'm sure the department of labor would be very interested in knowing you're trying to get people to work off the clock, and threatening their jobs when they refuse to break the law.
Needless to say, I continued working overtime up until a couple of weeks before I moved away, once a new team of managers had been hired, and I'd gotten them all trained. The district manager didn't so much as speak to me after her ridiculous demand. I found it an improvement in my quality of life at work.
Feminism RUINED dating