Exchanges with People that Make Your Brain Hurt

[Seraphia]

So basically she's saying that the one, tiny sentence per day made him more recognisable to the baby than the voice of the person he literally lived inside of 24/7 for several months?   I just can't comprehend how that would make sense to anybody.  I guess you could argue proximity, e.g. the mother's voice is further away whereas the Dad was leaning in closer... but nope, I still can't see any way that makes sense. 

Babies can be attracted to certain voices/vocal ranges. My father is magic with babies- they will instantly stop crying and watch his face with as much fascination as they are capable (depending upon their age). He doesn't coochy-coo, he just talks seriously to them. So perhaps that papa also has a voice that's incredibly attractive to his infant, whereas the mother's voice just turned into background noise? 

My husband works with a guy whose nickname is 'Baby Whisperer.' Whenever there's a potluck or work function that someone brings a kidlet to, BW winds up holding him/her at some point. The baby promptly does one of two things - goes wide-eyed and starts trying to play with BW's beard, or falls completely to sleep. It's hilarious, and pretty sweet too. He's almost always found with a drooling baby asleep on his shoulder while arguing football.

What hurts my brain is people saying: "Ohh, Mr. Seraphia! Don't let Seraphia hold the baby or she'll start wanting one!" Funny, I didn't think pregnancy was contagious.

[Luci45]

With all honestly, I have a strong feeling I'll DIIIEEE!!! anyway, and I still won't have much choice in the matter. I'll gamble  on this one. Thank you for your concern.

People keep sending me the scarey stories about how dangerous artificial sweeteners are.  All of them.  But to tell the honest truth, I've been using them since the 60s, and haven't died yet.  My mother was one of those on a perpetual diet, so she got me using the little white 'pills' in my tea when I was just a child.   I guess I'm just one of the lucky ones who don't have side effects.  I'm already too old to die early.   

OK. Thanks for making me laugh!

I drank Tab when it first came out, so I guess I've been using it as long as you have.

I have a friend in high school who said she wanted to die young and leave a beautiful corpse. She is still with us, by the way. I never got beautiful, so that's my reason for sticking around, with or without artificial sweeteners and high fructose corn sugar. And the amount of insecticides I have ingested must be staggering!

[ica171]

So basically she's saying that the one, tiny sentence per day made him more recognisable to the baby than the voice of the person he literally lived inside of 24/7 for several months?   I just can't comprehend how that would make sense to anybody.  I guess you could argue proximity, e.g. the mother's voice is further away whereas the Dad was leaning in closer... but nope, I still can't see any way that makes sense. 

Babies can be attracted to certain voices/vocal ranges. My father is magic with babies- they will instantly stop crying and watch his face with as much fascination as they are capable (depending upon their age). He doesn't coochy-coo, he just talks seriously to them. So perhaps that papa also has a voice that's incredibly attractive to his infant, whereas the mother's voice just turned into background noise? 

My husband works with a guy whose nickname is 'Baby Whisperer.' Whenever there's a potluck or work function that someone brings a kidlet to, BW winds up holding him/her at some point. The baby promptly does one of two things - goes wide-eyed and starts trying to play with BW's beard, or falls completely to sleep. It's hilarious, and pretty sweet too. He's almost always found with a drooling baby asleep on his shoulder while arguing football.

What hurts my brain is people saying: "Ohh, Mr. Seraphia! Don't let Seraphia hold the baby or she'll start wanting one!" Funny, I didn't think pregnancy was contagious.

The Baby Whisperer bit reminds me of something that I know hurts my mom's brain. When DD (almost nine months) was a baby, up until maybe five or six months, she would go to sleep right away when my mom held her. Then, pretty much overnight, she started crying hysterically when my mom entered a room. She doesn't even have to touch DD, just walk in the door. Mom smokes so I don't know if DD became sensitive to that smell or her perfume or something. I kind of feel sorry for her, but at the same time I figure DD will get over it eventually. DH thinks I need to have Mom hold her until DD just gets over it, but I can't listen to her scream like that so Mom doesn't get to hold her much.

[CakeBeret]

What hurts my brain is people saying: "Ohh, Mr. Seraphia! Don't let Seraphia hold the baby or she'll start wanting one!" Funny, I didn't think pregnancy was contagious.

I will admit, I am susceptible to pregnancy contagion. DH and I are pretty firm that we're not going to have another baby. And yet anytime I hold a teeny tiny baby my mind starts whispering things about having a baby. Until the baby cries, or has a diaper blowout, or the mom tells me that she's gotten twelve hours' sleep in the last four days, and then I recall how much I really do not want another baby.

[Shalamar]

(Not a liar, but exaggerates everything to make it sound more interesting). 

Uh-oh ... I do that sometimes.  I'll be telling a story and say "Daughter said (blah)", and the Daughter in question will say indignantly "No, I didn't!"  And ... she didn't.  I really have to stop doing that.

[Snooks]

Well, since you asked ....

Jim is very overweight, which I mention only because it's pertinent to the story.  He's tried pretty much every diet known to man, but he never stays on them for long - he'll lose some weight on the plan, get cocky, think that he can manage alone, quit - and then put all the weight back on.

A while back I lost some weight myself - all I did was cut down a bit on snacks and start walking every day.   Jim was impressed by my achievement and asked me what plan I'd followed. 

Me:  No plan - I just stopped eating as much junk food and added a long walk every day.
Jim:  No, really - you can tell me.
Me:  I just did.
Jim:  C'mon, what was it?  Weight Watchers?  Jenny Craig?
Me:  None of those - I did what I told you.
Jim *getting angry*:  Look, it's impossible to lose weight that way!
Me:  But ... I DID!
Jim *stomping away*:  Fine.  If you don't want to tell me, don't tell me.

He'd hate me, I'm apparently losing weight without changing my habits at all.  Of course the fact that my usual habits are eating three meals a day (no snacks) and walking just over a mile to work (and home again) every day might have something to do with it.  It is making my brain hurt though because for more than ten years I've been one weight pretty constantly maybe up 7lbs or so but never below that weight and over maybe the last year I've lost 8lbs and I don't know why.

[TootsNYC]

I have one!

 My department used to do a big potluck lunch for Christmas.   The plan was that you could either contribute $10, or you could donate a food item worth roughly that much.  I pretty much ran the whole thing.

My coworker Jim, who's always been an odd duck, told me "I'll contribute a casserole, but you'll have to cook it for me.".  I said "Um ... no.   I won't have time for that.".  "Then someone else can do it.". "NO.  They can't.   You can either cook it yourself or bring something else."

He then hurled a ten dollar bill at me, spitting "I can't cook it; it's too much work!"

Funny how it became too much work when HE was the one who'd have to do it.

Funny how he felt that his ten dollar bill would somehow be an insult, or that everyone was trying to FORCE him to cook. The $10 had been acceptable from Day One!

[Gwywnnydd]

What hurts my brain is people saying: "Ohh, Mr. Seraphia! Don't let Seraphia hold the baby or she'll start wanting one!" Funny, I didn't think pregnancy was contagious.

I will admit, I am susceptible to pregnancy contagion. DH and I are pretty firm that we're not going to have another baby. And yet anytime I hold a teeny tiny baby my mind starts whispering things about having a baby. Until the baby cries, or has a diaper blowout, or the mom tells me that she's gotten twelve hours' sleep in the last four days, and then I recall how much I really do not want another baby.

I had an opportunity a few weeks ago to hold a newborn on his first excursion. I greatly enjoyed cuddling with him, but every time someone asked me "So, do you miss it?", I emphatically answered "I miss the cute sleeping in your arms. I don't miss he's-been-screaming-for-the-last-four-hours-straight..."

[Jocelyn]

I went to a baby shower today- the baby was born prematurely, so she was just a little past her due date now. She was a newborn size, but had 'unfolded' and would nestle up to you like you'd expect a month-old baby would do. I enjoyed holding her, but I've never really wanted one of my own. I just enjoy doing my part in welcoming a new person to the neighborhood. 

[girlysprite]

A discussion I had on FB with my brother: I was explaining why I had stopped visiting a certain 'funny images' website (much sexism, racism in both images and comments section). My brother argued that i shouldn't let it get to me because so many people are dumb and stupid anyways, and that intelligence was actually a rare trait (not said in a tomgue in the cheek way, but fully serious). I argued back that such issues were not always linked to intelligence but is more linked to upbringing, culture and a lack of knowledge. I also don't believe that the large majority of the people is dumb and stupid, that is an elitist view.
My brother tried to proove how many are stupid by pointing out how many have voted for political party X - again, beimg fully serious. (linda unrelevant, but this was about a dutch political party). Using politics to argue that people are dumb was so brainhurty for me...I really didn't want to continue that discussion.

[Diane AKA Traska]

Remember, half of the population is below average.

Half is also above average. 

[lady_disdain]

Remember, half of the population is below average.

Half is also above average. 

That would be median, not average

[RingTailedLemur]

Remember, half of the population is below average.

Half is also above average. 

That would be median, not average

Median is a type of "average", the others being mean and mode.

[WillyNilly]

Regardless... wouldn't some people just be at average (or median, etc), not above or below?

[Adelaide]

I have seen Facebook advertisements for a clothing store that's trying to give off a sweetheart/vintage vibe. The name of the store, though, is Riffraff, which has some negative connotations. Why didn't they just name their store "the filthy, unwashed masses"?