Trusty old laptop finally cacked, so I'm setting up a replacement with a fresh Windows install for the firs t time this decade.

GOD DAMN, I can't believe how hard the Microsoft and Google plantations work to keep you locked in!!!

• Just the initial setup of Windows DEMANDS that you use a microsoft account; I had to use my phone to look up how to bypass this

• SO many apps that "phone home" to keep big tech prying eyes on you auto-install, which you then have to manually hunt down and uninstall

• FML, the act of just trying to watch videos on Youtube using the MS Edge browser, is positively maddening! The ads are SO FUCKING RETARDED and obnoxious. To someone not exposed to them constantly for years, it's very obvious how they've evolved to try to catch and maintain the attention of the latest generation of users who are jaded from the constant barrage. SO many times, I shout, "What the FUCK was THAT???"

• Trying to download alternate browsers meets with deliberate system blockading. Both Firefox and LibreWolf downloaded glacially slowly, with the latter download obviously throttled to show a time of DAYS before download completes.

• After a couple of failed tries, got the firefox installer to load. Attempting to run it, what should take minutes plods along slowly before eventually just stopping dead. I'm on like the sixth run attempt. After well over an hour, the progress bar is sitting at around 20%.

*Librewolf download failed numerous times, and had to get manually restarted repeatedly. I FINALLY got it to complete, only for the system to refuse to open it. It gives a message that "[File] is not commonly downloaded so make sure you trust it before opening." Only to not give any option to open it, just a fake "keep" option that does nothing. Probably have to run it from File Explorer, not the downloads tab of Edge.

• Trying to log in to websites like Yahoo Mail and Youtube, I find they all developed amnesia of the passwords I know damn well I used, necessitating "account recovery" procedures that freshly tie the account to my email and cell phone number.

They are pushing me SO SO HARD to say FUCK ALL THIS and finally make the leap to Linux!!

@lmhaaaydi

Need help setting up a date. I have no idea where to go. I'm 16 yo, just discovered TRP, and want to know where to take this hot girl I just met. I know she likes me, all I need now is a date idea, any help?

Consider investing into a reliable ready reference you can pick up and study to better prepare yourself for engaging the opposite sex. I'd suggest that you get yourself a copy of Doc Love's "The System: The Dating Dictionary". Doc Love, who until his passing was also known as Tom Hodges, wrote a weekly advice column that's archive is mirrored on several mens focused sites and a podcast. His media is a bit pricey, but it's a solid foundation a guy can branch out from in RP aware circles. I'd suggest you review his advice column to decide if his view on dating and relationships is aligned with what you aspire for yourself. To save yourself a search, give this scribed link a gander to find out if his book is something you'd like to add to your library. It should also be available on libgen.

@lmhaaaydi At 16, everyone is on a learning curve for "adult" activities including dating. For this reason, don't get too worked up and concerned about trying to make everything meet some arbitrary standard of perfect , from your conversation to externalities like the ambience of the places the date happens. What REALLY matters is you remaining present in the moment, not anxious inside your head. This helps you feel and therefore act relaxed and natural, without having to consciously try to.

Good dates often involve a change of venue at some point, rather than staying one place the whole time. Dinner dates are common, but 2 disadvantages: it puts you in a "provider " role right off the bat, and a big meal makes it likely neither of you will feel frisky afterwards. So, save big Dinner dates for when you're older and more established, and in relationships where going home to sleep off a big meal and get frisky another time makes a natural and sensible option. Movie dates are not great for first dates as you can't engage and interact with each other.

What worked well for me when I was hitting a stride on online dating sites, was a very light meal, then a walk in a nice park or nature trail. Good for getting acquainted without pressure or a big obligation, easy to unravel early if you don't match well, or extend if you do.

Especially when you're young, don't take a woman somewhere isolated, fear and anxiety are not good rapport builders. A place where other couples are always in sight works good for this.

Good luck to you! My well meaning Mom had only terrible outdated advice when I started dating so I didn't hit a stride till well into my 20s.

@Durek_The_Bald I re-read what you wrote. You focus on the issue of the children after divorce, and compare traditionalism with a lenient version of feminism.

How you look at it depends heavily on what social class we are talking about. For a working class man, divorce today is practically a disaster. Steve Moxon was calculating that in the UK a working class man can lose about 70% of his income.

The thing is, it's not certain that the "independent working woman" thing benefits the middle class man either. Instead of divorcing and finding another woman, In the traditionalist... tradition, we would just find another woman. The mistress was an indispensable part of the traditionalist family. And society acknowledged man's greater contribution to the family, discreetly allowing him his... discretion, while frowning and disapproving of the female one.

Sure, you were saddled with a wife forever, and she could and often did turn sour. On the other hand, some wives adapted, and made a virtue out of necessity, accommodating their husbands.

So, up to this point in the analysis, it's not a clear cut between traditionalism and feminism, when it comes to divorce and custody.

Then, you have to factor the devouring mother effect. This is where my point comes in. Women are unable to make sense of the world on their own. Losing their husbands, they will either burden their children with the task, or depend on the other man - lover, second husband. Neither of these are good outcomes as far as the children are concerned.

I cannot stress this point enough, because I think it's not crystal-clear even in TRP. Even if women are financially independent, they still depend on others in order to operate. Women are the expansion set, men are the main game.

@quassis2001

Gf forbids me from drinking alcohol

We are both 25 and live together, she cooks etc. We had a talk recently when she said that she does not want me to ever drink alcohol, as she views it as something really bad. She said when I get tipsy or drunk she has flashbacks when her father was drunk and there were always toxic atmosphere then (she has good relations with him, he just behaves bad when drinking). I asked her if i can drink tomorrow couple of beers (not to get drunk but little tipsy, propably 1 or 2 beers max) and she says no. Then she said actually I can as she cant forbid me anything but will be mad at me because she told me how much it means to her. How to proceed? My answer: dont bend to her needs and do as I wish but it will cost me her mood and arguments, but I want to chill when she will he at work (she works late).

Did she betafied me already or is she reasonable? I know alcohol is bad, her main argument is Im more talkative and funny after I drink and she started to like me more after alcohol which leads to bad relationship as you can imagine.

If you haven't, begin studying the book suggested to you a few months back. I'd also seriously recommend you read The Manipulated Man by Esther Vilar as well.

There's not much info to really work with here beyond her expressed preference for drinkers and having a booze hound dad. It doesn't make sense that after all this time together she's suddenly voicing concern over your drinking. I recall that you let us know your girlfriends previous lover was a drunk, so it only makes sense that she'd be attracted to alchies as her father's one too, but what exactly changed to provoke her to request you stop drinking?

If you haven't given her a decisive answer regarding your drinking, ask her questions to better understand this newly realized discomfort she has. While you're at it, kill three birds with one stone and find out what her thoughts are on other easily accessible drugs, like tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, heroine, and over the counter drugs. It'll help give you some insight as what her values are and the kind of personality you exhibit when buzzed. It also couldn't hurt to have someone record you on a smartphone video while buzzed to help you get a sober look at how alcohol alters your consciousness.