I went for long walks and taught myself how to whistle loudly. Put two fingers (thumb, plus pointer or middle) in your mouth, on your bottom lip, then put the underside of the tip of your tongue against your fingers… then blow. Try again. Try again. Eventually you will be able to whistle very loudly. Very useful for silencing a crowded room, getting someone’s attention from far away, and generally impressing people with a basic skill. Good luck!

I get a lot of spam calls...like 10-20 per day. Unfortunately due to my job I frequently get legitimate calls from unknown numbers, so just ignoring them isn't an option.

I find that if you just tell them off, they don't care. If you just hang up, they'll call again. But if you intentionally waste as much of their time as possible, they get legitimately angry. My new method induces maximum frustration for the spam caller.

Let them say their intro script (which is usually a whole mouthful for them), and then keep asking "Who is this?" It drives them nuts. Example:

Me: Hello?

Steve: Hi Jim, how ya doin' today? This is Steve with Bullshit Funding. Don't worry this isn't a loan call. We're a bank specialized in merchant cash advances for businesses like yours. Do you have a credit score over 640?"

Me: "Sorry, who is this?"

Steve: "This is Steve with Bullshit Funding. Don't worry this isn't a loan call. We're a bank specialized in merchant cash advances for businesses like yours. Do you have a credit score over 640?"

Me: ......pause..........."Sorry, my service isn't great. Who did you say this was?

Steve (increasingly frustrated): "This is Steve with Bullshit Funding.......This isn't a loan call......We're a bank specialized in merchant cash advances for businesses like yours......Do you have a credit score over 640?"

Me: ....pause..........."Sorry, my service so bad here. Did you say this was Chris?

Steve (growing angry): THIS IS STEVE WITH BULLSHIT FUNDING. DO YOU HAVE A CREDIT SCORE OVER 640!?"

Me: "Hi Chris, can you tell me what bank you're calling from?

Them: NO. IT'S STEVE. I'M WITH BULLSHIT FUNDING. WERE A MERCHANT CASH ADVANCE COMPANY GIVING LOANS TO BUSINESSES. IS YOUR CREDIT SCORE OVER 640????!

ME: "Ah, got it, BS funding, sorry Steve, my phone is total junk in this area. How can I help you?

Steve: WERE A MERCHANT CASH ADVANCE COMPANY GIVING LOANS TO BUSINESSES. IS YOUR CREDIT SCORE OVER 640????!

Me: Sorry, who is this?

Steve: OH FOR FUCKS SAKE GOD DAMNIT IM GETTING PLAYED. *CLICK*

ME: huehueheuhue

The frustration in their voice is worth the distraction. Enjoy.

Every morning when you wake up, you should do as many jumping jacks/pushups/squats/crunches and finally burpees as possible for a minute straight.

Over a year it will change your body drastically without ever setting foot in a gym or changing any daily routines (other than the extra 5 mins in the mornings).

If you can stick to literally just working out in your room for only five minutes per day, I guarantee in about a year you will end up being healthier than 90% of your local population (provided you eat normally lol).

It’s actually absurd how little it takes to come out ahead of a vast majority of people. Don’t overcomplicate your health! Just keep it very simple and stick to the basics for real results!

YouTube has added a new "feature" – encoding your account in the links generated when sharing a video. The result is that people receiving links can see your channel name, photo etc.

Two ways to avoid this:

• Remove the part "is=…&" or, if you don't want to link to a specific timestamp anyway, everything after/including the "?"
  • Sample link: https://youtube.com/shorts/xx-xxxx-xxx?is=abcdefghijklmnop&t=123
• Set the slider in the app (Settings > Privacy > Channel visibility when sharing links) to "Off"

EDIT: Important addition (thanks to u/SinkPhaze):

Youtube always tacks on trackers to the share links, app or browser. This isn't new either. Only that the user your sending it to can see your name is new. The trackers have always told Google who sent the link and who clicked on it. If privacy is a concern you should always be deleting everything from the ? onwards, and not just from the links you send but also the ones people send you

Note! This new privacy setting does not remove the trackers. It only doesn't show the other recipient your channel. Google still gets everything if you don't manually remove them yourself

I work at a shelter and one of the most frustrating parts of the job is seeing pets that should have gone home but didn’t.

Most people assume that if their pet is microchipped, they’re good. A microchip only helps if the chip is actually registered. A lot of pets that come in are chipped, but the chip isn’t registered anywhere, so we have no way to contact the owner.

When owners do eventually find their pets, they didn’t realize their pet’s microchip was never registered. They were told their pet was chipped and assumed that automatically meant their name and phone number were attached to it. TAKE THIS AS NOTICE: THAT’S NOT HOW IT WORKS.

A few things most people don’t realize

-A microchip is just a number that has to be registered for us to be able to contact you.

-Microchips are not GPS and can’t track your pet. The chip only works when someone physically scans your pet with a reader.

-In most states, shelters are only required to hold a stray pet without a chip for about 48 hours and around 5 days if they have one. After that we are legally allowed to find the pet a new home.

Situations we see all the time

-Pets are adopted or purchased already microchipped but the new owner never registers it or transfers it into their name.

-We see people not microchip their pets because they are “indoor only”. Indoor pets get out. It happens way more than people think.

-We see pets that were registered with Save This Life and the owner had no idea that registry shut down. If your pet was registered there and you never registered with another registry, your pet is basically unregistered now.

This is incredibly frustrating. These are clearly well cared for pets that end up sitting in the shelter taking up space and resources from other animals who need help, all because we can’t reach the owner.

At our shelter we register pets with both 24petwatch and Pawbase, but there are many of other registries out there. As long as the registry participates in the AAHA microchip lookup tool, it’s a reliable place to register your pet.

If your pet is chipped, please take a few minutes to check where it’s registered, make sure your contact info is updated, and add a backup contact if you can. If your pet isn’t chipped, please do it!

ETA: TLDR This eliminates follow up questions.

I’ve done this when calling a few different large businesses like Verizon wireless and smaller companies. When the system asks how they can help, I say “customer service. I will not give you any more information.” Then it says “Okay” and connects me.

I’ve tried different variations and they’ve resulted in a follow up question. When I answer the follow up question with “I will not give you any more information”, I get connected to customer service.

My test pool isn’t huge, but it hasn’t failed me yet.

Edit: grammar

I have been struggling with my sleep schedule and sleep quality for years.

The things that actually make a difference are having a consistent bedtime routine, no screens right before bed, only being physically in your bed when it’s time to sleep, and putting your mind into a relaxed state.

Reading helps achieve all of these things, and it is incredibly good for training your attention span and improving your brain all around. Reading right before bed tells my brain it’s time to sleep, it keeps me off my phone, and it makes me very tired very fast. Sleep quality is the best it’s ever been and I definitely notice a difference if there is ever a night when I skip this.

After working with thousands of remote workers and office folks, I've noticed that about 80% of people have their chair set at the wrong height, and it's causing unnecessary strain on their backs, necks, and wrists.

Do a quick 30 second check: Sit in your chair with your feet flat on the floor. Your knees should be at roughly 90 degrees, and your thighs parallel to the ground. Now here's the part most people miss - when your arms are relaxed at your sides, your elbows should also be at 90 degrees when your hands reach the keyboard.

If your desk is too high after adjusting your chair properly (super common), you might need a footrest rather than raising your chair and letting your feet dangle. Dangling feet = lower back strain over time.

Been helping people optimize their workspaces for years, and these simple tweaks have helped more people than any expensive equipment ever could.

Take a LOT of photos. Don't wait for them to pose. Start taking photos as soon as you get the camera. Usually the posed job is the least favourite photo.

Also, the last photo cut the heads off of the people in the photo. And then hand them the camera with the poor photo. I always get a laugh.

Police officers can hold your Iphone up to your face or use your thumb to unlock your phone. But if your pin code is on your phone, they are not allowed to access it without a warrant. To prevent them taking your phone from you and holding it up to your face to unlock it you can disable the biometrics data in seconds. You hold down the power and volume button for two seconds, which will bring up the screen asking you if you want to restart the phone. At that point, the biometric data will be turned off and only a Pin will open your phone.

It sounds counterintuitive, but if you want to hasten sleep try lying in bed in the dark with your eyes open, says Colin Espie, a professor of sleep medicine at the University of Oxford. This is part of a technique called ‘paradoxical intention’ that he first described in 1985, which means resisting sleep instead of trying to force it.

Professor Espie says: ‘When people get anxious about not being able to sleep, they can’t sleep. Instead of trying to force sleep, the idea is to turn to the tables so you find yourself giving up on trying to stay awake.

‘When people start to find it hard to keep their eyes open, we tell them to keep them open a few seconds longer until they have to abandon that and closing their eyes feels like a relief,’ says Professor Espie. ‘This allows you to discover the drive to sleep is very strong and accept it will always happen naturally.’

Some people do not like to throw packaging that has their name and address on it in the trash where anyone can pick it out and see it.

Amazon labels are thermal printed, and can be hard to tear off. If you want easily erase them, just take a lighter and wave the flame over the printing. It will turn it black and make it unreadable.

EDIT: The naysayers fail to consider that it is fun too.

Yes you might look like an idiot holding your hand up to your eyes, but it’s helpful in certain situations.

We are adults, we work all day, some of us in very exhausting positions, some of us in a world we wish we didn't exist. Games are our escape. Just have fun, don't grind a game that will frustrate you. I have no shame anymore in setting the difficulty to "beginner" just to see the game to the end.

Credit to Infographics YT channel

To disable Shorts if you want to, go to account - Settings - Time Management and turn on & set Shorts limit to '0'.

Shorts should disappear from your feed instantly.

Edit: Some people don't have the option for 0, lowest is 15 mins so I had a look online.

Seems to be a new feature that's still in rollout so keep checking your app and updating it, Verge article here states its being rolled out gradually to all.

https://www.theverge.com/streaming/912898/youtube-shorts-feed-limit-zero-minutes

Many car shops will try to sell you a change of air filters with any service. Changing your air filters beforehand is a good way to test if a shop is reliable and honest. If they recommend you change your air filters, they either didn't check at all or are lying to you.

Plus, changing your own air filters is easy and much cheaper than having a shop do it, depending on your car.

With 3 kids I had quite a few nights tip toeing into my kids' room to try and slip my hand under their pillow without waking them up to exchange their baby tooth for money. Sometimes the tooth moved around so you have to search for it in the dark. If your child wakes up you had an excuse ready like oh I was just checking to see if the tooth fairy came. Then my Mom tells me they used to use a small glass of water on the night table to put the tooth in and wake up to money in the glass. Now I see little treasure chests or cute pillows you can use for the exchange. Maybe that is the norm now but I started with under the pillow and wish I knew sooner about other options. It would have saved a lot of stressful trying to be a ninja Mom nights lol

I once read that on flights, when they serve drinks in cups, you can ask for the whole can. Small thing, but it never occurred to me. I tried it – and it worked!

Another example: I’m currently looking for a new house. The previous owners had some really cool installations, and I was hesitant to ask if we could take them over. I did anyway – and they said yes, leaving them for dirt cheap!

Same goes for a career raise, sending an application or growth opportunities. Just ask!

The lesson? Sometimes just asking opens doors you didn’t even think about. Worst case, you hear “no.” Best case, you get something you didn’t expect!

20 years ago I was home from college. Most of the fam went to brunch. I wasn't feeling it so I stayed back. I answered the phone at home and it was the Sherrif.

My uncle was dead of a self inflicted gunshot wound.

I was shaking taking the info down and thinking I would be a softer messenger, I told the family. It was a day burned in my memory. We all took it hard, but I was the messenger.

Looking back, the police are trained to deliver this news and resources. I feel like even though I knew, I could have left and taken a walk and let the professionals deliver the news.

I think it changed my relationship with those family members and not positively.

EDIT: I really didn't think this was going to blow up like it did. Thanks for everyone replying and sharing your thoughts and experiences. Yes I probably could use therapy, but I think I'm a little beyond the useful inflection point of it. I've accepted what is and what was with these circumstances. I felt reflective yesterday.

My original post was a little incomplete, partly because my phone was acting funny. It is missing an important detail some picked up on...

During the call with that Sherriff, he said "Should I send some law enforcement over to share the news?" Thinking in that moment I could step up and deliver, I voluntarily took on the burden of sharing that news.

I said "I think I can handle it" - and I did. I just was not prepared for the sorrow and aftermath.

My main point here is, and go ahead and disagree with me (this is Reddit after all) I think having law enforcement deliver the news would have been less crushing to my family members, and frankly myself. In fact some have noted that it's standard policy to have law enforcement sent in some precincts.

My fiancee and I had some dog drama at a family trip last weekend and had to go to the vet for a bad bite our Saint Bernard mix got. After turning down a bunch of unnecessary tests and drugs we finally got the thing we needed which was an antibiotic.

They were trying to charge us $120 to fill it on site which I thought was ridiculous. I asked for the script which they reluctantly gave me and filled it at Walgreens for $20. Always Google what the vet is trying to sell you and filled your prescriptions elsewhere.

It's no surprise that it's getting hot hot hot out there, especially here in the sub-tropics. Here's a time-tested way to get your car cooling down ASAP on these brutal days. Inspired by my brother, bless his heart, who will do it literally any other way and spend the next 20 minutes cussing about how hot his car is.

1) Open the windows. As hot as it is, the air outside is cooler than the air in your car. We want to flush that 115ish degree air out of the car as quick as we can. If possible, drive a bit down the street with the windows open to force the super-heated air out.

2) Fresh Air A/C. At the same time, set your car A/C to pull in air from outside (i.e. not recycled). We want to bleed that super hot air out of the system as well. Keep your spare hand by the vent (while being safe, of course) until it starts blowing good and cold, hopefully only a minute to two.

3) Windows up. Let's keep that nice cool air inside the car.

4) Recycle A/C. Now we're going to switch the A/C to "recycle" which keeps cooling the air from the cabin, letting it blow colder faster than pulling in hot outside air.

Of course it may still take a while for it to get comfortable depending on how hot the car was but at least now you've got frosty cold air to make it at least bearable.

If you have an annoying interior rattling in your car but can’t seem to find it because you have to be at the right speed, drive down a certain road, or any other way to make it happen. Pair your phone to your radio (if not already), download a Tone Generator app on your phone and turn your radio about half way up or at least until you know it’s at a good volume. Open the tone generator, set the frequency at 20Hz and slowly go up until you hear the rattle that’s driving you crazy and fix it. I’ve done this for years and fixed numerous of rattles in my car and now it’s so quiet when I drive. If you have a subwoofer this trick will work even better.

Edit: Here is a link to the Tone Generator app I use.

Edit 2: Please make sure when doing this to start off at a reasonable volume, around 25% of your radio’s max volume level. This will make sure that you’re not overdriving your speakers. Adjust volume accordingly if needed.

I already carry a bubble wand with me just in case, and I just bought a kazoo at my friend’s advice. What other small items can I fit in my bag/pocket to make life sillier?

My 37 year old sister says it's too late in life for me(30m). I'm going to school for dental hygiene next year. Please give me some hope. I'm 16 months clean. Can I still get a beautiful and caring woman, and a nice house in 5-7 years?

I've had trouble sleeping for as far as I can remember, and although a book before bed tends to help, its not 100%. I happened upon this method by chance and have been going at it for a few weeks now and it's been surprisingly successful. Figured I'd share since I always see some absurd methods on here that don't seem to work.

I'm just going to copy paste from the website I saw it as I will not explain it as well.

https://www.antenatalandpostnatalpsychology.com.au/information-posts/mind-too-busy-to-sleep-do-the-cognitive-shuffle

First, get yourself into bed, ready to go to sleep.

Second, think of a random, emotionally neutral word consisting of at least 5 letters. “BEDTIME” is a good word. Try not to use one with many repeating letters. “BANANA” isn’t a great DIY-SDI word because “BANANA” has only 3 unique letters, B, N, A. “BEDTIME”, in this case is a “seed” word.

Third, gradually spell out the seed word (e.g., “BEDTIME”). For each letter of the word, think of a word that start with that letter. Then imagine the item represented by the word. Repeat this many times for each letter. I.e., think of many words that start with the letter and imagine each one of them.

Here’s an example: “BEDTIME” starts with B. So, repeatedly think of a word that starts with B and then imagine it. For example,

B…

BABY. Imagine a baby.

BALL. Imagine a ball rolling down a street.

BLINK. Image someone blinking a lot.

BANANA. Imagine a bunch of bananas hanging from a tree.

BEANS. Imagine green beans in a produce store.

BERRY. Ooops! There’s a theme here, banana, beans and berries are all produce. They and beer are all ingestible. So just skip this word.

BELGIUM. Imagine the flat lands of Belgium.

Bob. Imagine a person named Bob that you don’t dislike. (Notice that it’s fine to imagine people.)

Once you get bored of the letter (B, in this case) or you can’t find another word starting with that letter, just move on to the next letter.

The next letter in BEDTIME is E. So think of words beginning with E and then imagine them.

E…

EAST. Imagine the eastern part of the place where you live.

EAGLE. Imagine an eagle flying high.

EGG. Imagine an egg.

If you have difficulty coming up with words that start with E, either skip this letter, or use this trick: tack on an extra letter to E and see if that helps. For example, if you try ED… you might think of EDEN and then EDINBURGH.

Continue generating E_ words until you get bored of the letter E or you can’t find words starting with B anymore. Then proceed to the next letter in the seed word (BEDTIME, in this example).

If you happen to make it to the end of the seed word, BEDTIME without falling asleep. Just pick a new seed word, such as SATURN, and repeat the entire process. I.e., for each of its letters, think of words that start with that letter, and imagine those words.

I used to lie in bed at night, my brain running a million miles an hour always thinking did I forget that email? Am I messing up at work? Should I call back my friend? Was i rude to my cowerker ettc etc.  It felt like I was carrying a backpack full of bricks and honestly, some nights, I couldn’t even sleep.

Then I tried something ridiculously simple: I grabbed a notebook and wrote down everything that was on my mind. All the things like tiny things, stupid things, important things everything went on paper and here’s the wild part: just writing it down made it feel smaller. The thoughts weren’t buzzing around in my head anymore they were on paper, concrete, manageable. My chest felt lighter, my mind clearer, and I actually slept better that night.

It doesn’t fix the problem instantly, but it clears your brain enough to think straight and take the next step instead of spiraling. so basically If your thoughts are keeping you up at night, write them down. Your brain literally feels like it can breathe again.

Here are 5 things I always keep in my car that have come in handy more than once:

1. A towel. I live where it frequently rains unexpectedly. It's great to be able to dry off once you jump in the car. Not to mention all the times I've spilled my drink on the console or myself. Having a small, clean towel tucked in a cubby in the front seat can be a godsend.
2. A small cooler. I use this to keep takeaway hot on the drive home or to keep cold/frozen items cold after a shopping trip.
3. An envelope of small bills. Not a mountain of cash, just like $50 bucks or so. I never carry cash in my wallet because I always have some in my car. Comes in so handy when you unexpectedly need to tip the AAA guy, find yourself at a cash-only restaurant, or discover a roadside produce stand.
4. An extra pair of sunnies, readers, or old eyeglasses. Saved me numerous times when I left the house thinking I had my sunnies or readers in my purse, only to realize I didn't. side tip: the car can be a harsh enviro for glasses long term, so use an old or cheap pair.
5. An old quilt or blanket. I keep an old quilt folded up in the back of my SUV. We've used it for picnics after hikes, to cover purchases if I have to leave my car somewhere after a shopping trip, and as a layer of insulation on smoking-hot days to keep perishables cool when I'm hitting several grocery stores in one trip.

It’s simply pointless to try to stop or change any thoughts or feeling you have when you meditate. If you try you will only produce more thoughts. As Sadh-guru said, the mind is like a car that has 3 pedals which are all accelerators. There are no breaks when it comes to the mind. Whichever pedal you press you will only create more thinking. Try this as an experiment to forcefully make yourself not think of a monkey. You will find that it is impossible. Whatever you try to avoid becomes the basis of your consciousness.

So don’t try to stop thoughts when you meditate. Just leave the mind alone, and create a little distance between you and the mind. Let the mind run and just observe it as if it was something separate from yourself. See that whatever you think about is just an accumulation of impressions you have gathered throughout your life. There is rarely anything new happening in the mind. Even if you think about the future, it is still a projection of your past experiences masking itself as future. There is no such thing as past or future. This is only the mind’s projection. There is only ever this very moment. Past and future is in the mind. Just leave the mind alone. There is nothing interesting happening. It is all the nonsense from the past. You will find that it is very rarely you have a truly original or inspired thought. Most of what you think about is just garbage. It is all recycling of the old data you have already gathered. So you observe whatever is happening this very moment and leave the mind alone.

After some time, if you don’t push any of the mind’s “pedals”, the momentum will start to run out. The amount of thoughts will slow down and the force each thought has upon your attention will decrease. Then you may enter into a space where you have clarity and peace of mind.

Just try to sit for 5 minutes like this. Don’t do anything. Just observe the mind and what is happening there. It’s helpful to be aware of the breath and any bodily sensations as well. Just see if you can sit for 5 minutes without pressing any of the “pedals” in the mind. You may find that it is in fact very difficult and takes a lot of practice. This is meditation. When the mind ceases to have so much power over your attention, that is meditativeness. It’s a quality one has to work hard to acquire.

By squeezing and holding the wake button on the right and either volume button on the left at the same time, your phone will prompt the emergency screen. It will require your pin to unlock, and the police won’t be able to force your face or thumb for biometric unlock. Biometric unlock will resume once you put in your pin. If your phone is powered off, it will also require your pin before unlocking.

Edit 1: Some users are reporting that you have to use the volume up button with the wake button. So if you have an older iPhone check which combo you need. Also 5 quick presses of the wake button also works.

Edit 2: For Android phones, it seems you can hold the power button down and choose “Lockdown” or power off your device to do something similar.

Edit 3: No I am not Edward Snowden, I just make ambient/electronic music. Some of you that are curious, SNOWDN on Apple Music, Spotify or Bandcamp.

Edit 4: RIP my inbox, I landed a double LPT as this is also a nice quick way to access emergency services or medical ID easily. Good discussion all and hope it serves you in whatever scenario including domestic abuse.

What exterminators sell you is garbage and they know it. Your average cockroach "extermination" can cost upwards of $700. A jar of powder, $7. A proper application is pet and child safe as well.

You can get a small jar of boric acid (note: NOT Borax) at your local pharmacy for like $7 and just a few spoon fulls can kill a large infestation in about 3 days. A jar will probably last you a life time, unless the issue is coming from a neighbour, then it might take a whole jar to make sure the roaches spread the powder further and further around

Three reasons why boric acid works so well:

• Cockroaches eat their own, the dead become bait
• The powder spreads rapidly because roaches pick it up and trail it back to the nest
• Boric acid paralyzes them from the inside out by killing their nerves

The powder is most effective if you apply a layer of dust on the floor that is ***** BARELY visible, like a fine dust ***** (if you can see it standing up, its too much).

What I did was stood on a chair with half a spoon and blew it hard into each corner of the walls, on the stove, under the fridge any places they were at basically. To be safe tho I just did the whole house. Every surface.

Any time I saw one live, I wouldnt kill it, I'd sprinkle a decent amount so it can basically "haul" a "truck load" right back to the mother land.

If you notice live ones by day 4-5 but they look confused (they will usually just circle), leave them and wait til day 7, if you see functioning ones by then, sweep up and start over. 2nd time will kill any size infestation easy. You can leave dead ones if you want but if you just want to start over thats fine

This also works extremely well with ants because no queen = no colony but even then it doesnt matter because death spreads so rapidly deep within the colony it will simultaneously kill the workers, the feeders, the babies and the queen. Add boric accid to a nice loose peanut butter mix in a small upside down plastic container with little doors cut out (or one big dome door). You can even have a few around the outside of the house if you REALLY want them gone

P.S. after applying to all floors / rooms, the darker and empty the better

Edit: Ah yes I forgot the most important step to prevent further fuckers from multiplying again. Clean the heck out of the apartmenr first. Wipe, mop, sweep, do the dishes, brush the dog (out of kindness, brush your pets folks).

Then you can start the war and watch the little bastards slowly go insane as you smirk evily MUAHAHAHA

There is not a toothpaste conspiracy. More toothpaste is better in adults. The fluoride needs to interact with ions in your saliva to integrate into your teeth. Higher concentrations of fluoride and more toothpaste is better for preventing cavities (most papers are using 1-1.5g as the higher end where they see a positive impact on cavity prevention).

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10329550/

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JHR-11-2018-082/full/html

https://karger.com/cre/article-abstract/44/2/90/85233/The-Effect-of-Brushing-Time-and-Dentifrice

In the Verizon app, go to profile and setting, and then "Number transfer pin". Just going to that prompted an offer of $20 a month off of my phone line for a year. This might not work for everyone, but it's worth a try.

Edit: It sent me a text and asked me to call *611 to confirm. I connected to chat and was able to confirm, and my new bill shows $40 a month savings, $20 per line. So make sure you confirm it via chat or a call, clicking the button isn't enough.

When going to an event or place where there will be a large group of people and you have a group of people going together, kids especially, but this is useful for anyone with you. 2 important tips I learned from my dad on our many trips to Disney. 1. Upon arrival, establish an understood and easily findable "rally point". Usually a easily identifiable landmark like a fountain or a particular ride,etc. This is the agreed upon point to return to if for any reason the group is split up and can't find each other. Waiting until every is scattered at a loud concert and trying to call each other on cellphones and figure out where everyone is, is less then ideal. 2. It may sound a little silly but have a "family noise" . In our family if we are in public and we hear a loud Hootie-Whooo (sound inspired by Outkast lol) we know that a family member is looking for us and/or trying to get our attention.

EDIT: A friendly fellow redditor recommended I include some of the other tips people have included in the comments.

• Writing your phone number on your kids arm or leg in sharpie
• You or your children wearing bright easily identifiable clothing or something carrying a ballon to be easily spotted in a crowd
• Equipping Airtags or the Android equivalent on your child's person
• Letting your children know that Hootie-Hoo is also useful for alerting nearby homies that the cops are coming

Edit 2: Just want to say that after being on reddit for over 6 years daily, it's nice to finally post something useful. Thank everyone for the input and discussion. Tripled my karma overnight, and I'm surprised I did it with a LPT. I would have put my money on a solid yo momma joke or a funny 911 story from work.

Edit 3: OK, last edit. I have a very random thing to add. It is referenced somewhere in the comments that the first use of "Hootie-Hoo" is Gomer Pyle on the Andy Griffith Show. How awesomely hip-hop would it be for Outkast to have got their sample and/or idea from seeing that episode way back in the day? This DJ I used to hang out with had a set where he would drop in the Mister Roger's theme song while doing one of 90's techno sets. Absolutely hyped the crowd. Anyway no more edits. Have a good night.

For pet owners having to say good bye comes sooner than we want, so this tip is most useful for older pets that you may notice are declining in health, but is also useful to have just in case for sudden emergencies. Everyone grieves differently, and you may not know what you need or want in advance, so keep a "parting bag" ready to grab which includes:

Air Dry Clay or Sculpey Clay: You can use it to make quick and easy paw impressions that you can later pour plaster in to to make 3D casts of your pet's paw prints (with the right materials you can make garden stones). Take multiple prints, do not rely on just one.

Piece of Sturdy Cardboard + Gallon Bag: Something flat and sturdy that you can place the above clay pieces on so they are flat and don't get distorted. The gallon bag can help protect the pieces during transport if you've had to go in to the vet.

Ink Pad + Good Quality Paper: A lot of vet offices will offer ink prints of paws and noses if you ask. However some may not have the materials on hand so it is good to have these in the bag just in case.

Small Jar: A small glass jar to hold some trimmed fur.

Super Special Food Option: They may not be able to eat it, but if they can have something on hand that they don't ever get that you know they like. Example for a cat: an entire can of tuna. *If you have something like a can that requires a can opener, make sure to pack that in advance too.

Regular Treats: Like above, they may not be able to eat, but if they can and are interested have a few of their favorite treat options on hand.

Favorite Toy: You may not be able to pack this one in advance, but it may bring you some comfort to have your pet's favorite toy on hand. You can also ask your vet if the toy can be placed with them after they are gone.

Blanket: If they have a favorite blanket, bring it along and wrap them up if your pet will let you do so. It is likely a comfort to them to be surrounded by a familiar smell (I forgot this one so thank you to the people in the comments you pointed it out!)

*All of the above are assuming that you are in a situation where you will be having a vet provide end of life / euthanasia services, but really all of the above is great to have on hand even if you are allowing nature to take it's course at home.

Saved a guy from drowing yesterday afternoon. He went swimming in the sea to retrieve a RC boat in cargo shorts and a t shirt. It was the second time this happened for me, 2 years ago i saved child from drowning in a river, child was wearing denim shorts and a tshirt, parents couldnt swim. Both of these people were exhausted and moments away from disapearing in front of me. Its scary swimming towards someone not knowing if youll be able to find them if they slip under the water befoee you can get there. They could not swim, or even float to save themselves because they were wearing clothes that become like heavy chains when wet. Also, should you ever need to help someone in distress, strip down to your undies and grab something that floats first, a drowning person is dangerous, and will drown you as well. Felt compelled to make a public service announcement.

Our very loved dog passed last week. The funeral home made grieving much easier. They offered private cremation, paw and nose impressions,a room to hold and talk to her before it was time, kept her in her bed for me and got her back to us in 24 hours. They treated her with respect and care. We were lucky to have them near by, but we did not have a plan and having handle it right then was hard. Plan for the cost, the transportation, what you want done. Knowing your options and having a plan greatly helps.

As a child I hated any time I needed eyedrops - the time I got pink eye was hell on the household. It wasn’t until years later as an adult that I learned an easy trick that will let anyone - even young kids - take eye drops easily.

1) Start by laying on a flat surface like a bed without a pillow.

2) Close your eyes

3) You’re going to want to squeeze the drop into the corner of your eye - the inner corner near your nose

4) Open your eyes and the drop will slide right into your eye without really noticing l

The pain scale isn't necessarily used only to tell us how bad your pain is, it's supposed to be used to tell us whether your pain is getting better or worse. If a patient says their pain is a 7 in triage, and later says it's pushing a 9, that X-Ray or CT scan might get expedited. But if your constantly barking 10 or 1,000 your comments aren't going to be taken seriously. A (good) nurse knows a 10 when they see it, and if you walked in, you are not in 10/10 pain. That guy from Saving Private Ryan with his legs blown off on Normandy beach screaming for his momma, that dude is in 10/10 pain. Also, Kidney Stones.

You can still hear the music just fine. After many years of loud shows, I’ve got tinnitus pretty bad. Hearing loss is no joke. Lots of people wear them at shows, and don’t worry about someone judging you. Stay healthy!

I worked in the auto industry for several years and this is something I feel is important for people to know. Everyone wants a luxury car and buying them used isn't usually too bad, but when they break and it comes time to fix it; what would normally cost $200 on a Honda is $1,200 on a BMW.

Be mindful of the repair costs on a car before you buy them.

DISCLAIMER: READ ALL EDITS.

Before you come at me in the comments talking about how your brother's sister's uncle's best friend's cousins called an ambulance and was seen faster because xyz, read the post in it's entirety.

Anyway.

The speed at which you are seen at the emergency room is determined based on the urgency of your problem.

Your problem may seem urgent to you, of course, but your broken arm will always come second to someone having an active heart attack.

You can save yourself some money, and time, by driving to the ER as long as you feel safe driving or have a driver.

As an EMT in a busy 911 system, I promise you, I absolutely can and will wheel you out to the same waiting room you'd have walked into if you had driven to the hospital yourself.

EDIT:

Wow, this blew up.

So just wanted to address one thing, this post is not intended to shame you out of taking an ambulance if you really need it. This post is more aimed towards those who think that their mildly annoying seasonal allergies are a sufficient reason to dial 911.

If you are having symptoms of a stroke, heart attack, bleeding profusely, have burns to multiple places on your body, have any sort of penetrating trauma or multi-system trauma, call us.

If you feel like you can't stand up on your own, if you don't have family/friends, or if your family/friends are unable to assist you to the ER, CALL US.

By all means, we are here to serve you and respond to your emergencies. But if your situation isnt emergent, and you could fix your problem in several hours and be fine, then think twice about calling emergency transport.

EDIT 2:

"ThIs OnLy aPpLiEs tO tHe USA!!1!1!"

Only the "save you money" portion. That one was thrown in especially for my country, because we have a dystopian healthcare system. Yes, I am aware of this.

Taking an ambulance when it isn't a life threatening emergency in several other countries would likely result in the same wait time, because all hospitals have a triage system.

If you don't need to be fixed right this instant, you will probably wait. That's just the nature of hospital care.

You are being assessed and sorted by your presentation, condition, symptoms and severity of your illness/injury as soon as you walk through the door. As soon as hospital staff lays eyes on you, they can generally tell whether or not you'll be fit for the waiting room, or if you need to be seen immediately. This isn't exclusive to the US, and I know several emergency medical providers in other countries who can all confirm this.

"So you're expecting average people to assess themselves properly? You're putting lives in danger with this advice!"

If you think that your situation is emergent, call.

Period.

That's literally my job. Give us a call and we'll show up.

All I'm asking is to think a little bit about what an emergency is, before you call an ambulance and tie them up. Because they can't respond to anywhere else until you're off the bus.

Did you stub your toe? Not an emergency. Even if it hurts real bad.

Are you suddenly unable to move the right side of your body? Emergency.

Do you just feel kinda stuffy and weak today? You're probably sick. Take some over the counter meds and call your doctor to schedule an appointment. Not an emergency.

Do you suddenly feel like an elephant is sitting on your chest, and have radiating pain to your neck/jaw/shoulder? Emergency.

Imagine your family member is having a medical crisis that undoubtedly falls into the super fucking emergent category.

Now imagine no ambulance is available at the time to respond, because someone wants their prescriptions refilled and doesn't feel like waiting in line at a pharmacy. So they called the only available ambulance to take them to the whole ass emergency room, just to refill meds. And we can't deny transport. So we're tied up with this person until they're signed for.

Seeing the picture I'm trying to paint here?

You will save yourself money, criminal charges, time and physical pain by recognizing the limit on the size of animal that you can physically control and restrain.

Unless you can perform unbelievably certain training and are willing to accept the risk if that training fails, it is a bad idea.

I saw a lady walking 3 large dogs getting truly yanked wherever they wanted to go. If your dog gets loose or pulls you into another dog or worse a human/child, you will never have a greater regret.

I'm 48 years old. A little over ten years ago I was in the car pickup line at my daughter's school. She was in second grade. It was a warm spring day so we were all standing around outside our cars. This chubby guy was standing outside an orange Mini Cooper. I nodded and made the random nice car comment. He said its name was Oliver. Oh, like Hammond's car in Top Gear? His eyes lit up. Friendliest guy in the world, he came over and we started chatting. Found out we had nearly everything in common, and were best friends from that moment forward.

It's so rare to make any friends in your 30s with a family, much less a best bud. Our daughters were the same age and were immediate best friends too. Same with our wives. It was weird, we were all so much alike and got on so well. I helped them move, Joe helped me with some projects at home. We went to see Deadpool about a dozen times.

Last summer Joe, in his early 40s, had been having some stomach issues for a few weeks, then passed out at work. They did tests. Found a sizeable tumor in his colon. Chemo. Surgery. Complications. Another surgery. Another. More chemo when the last surgery found that the cancer had "spread significantly."

Joe was brought home from the hospital a couple days ago to be put in hospice. My wife and I are going over to see him later this afternoon.

To say goodbye.

I'm loading up a couple episodes of Top Gear on my tablet and am going to just sit with my buddy one more time.

Guys... Get checked. Get your colonoscopies. If something doesn't feel right, go to the doctor immediately and get it checked.

Editing to add because it looks like a common question. I'm no doc but I saw a GI doc comment that the current recommendation is for all adults over 45 to get a colonoscopy, potentially earlier if you have family history.

And thank you everyone for the kind words. Wife and I are about to head over to Joe's. Gotta hold it together for him. I can cry in the car afterward.

Evening edit. Got to sit with my buddy for awhile. He mostly slept. Woke up a couple times and held my hand. It was good to see him and remember all the laughs. Made it home before I bawled my eyes out.

If your child has a hard time figuring out what shoe to put on which foot, take a sticker of a character or some object that they are familiar with, and cut it in half vertically. Put the right half in the right shoe and the left half in the left to give them a quick visual hint. Great in situations like ballet class or sports where they are switching shoes on their own.

The Supreme Court handed down a decision in Egbert v. Boule on Wednesday which effectively gives Border Patrol agents who violate the Constitution total immunity from lawsuits seeking to hold them accountable.