Lo

You have to be careful what you sit on. - Todd Hoff

Short answer: Snape/Hermione fangirl. tl;dr: I can't believe I'm going to say this publicly, but there was this really amazing fanfiction that retold books 6 & 7 from Hermione's view, with lots of information that wasn't in the books. It played a lot on errors in the books, explained them and gave the story more depth. It saved the series for me (the ending totally ruined it, I was so... more... - Lo

Except you guys. The internet hears everything. - Lo

Link? - Betsy #TeamMonique

An important reminder. Remember that everything costs more than you think it does, especially if you are trying to grow. Don't low-ball your prices and end up with no profit. - Eric - seven eleven

Also, make sure you have roles/responsibilities and REWARDS all on paper and agreed. It's very easy to get caught up in the excitement and find out down the line that your hard work is lining someone else's pocket. But also - YAY! So happy for you! - WoH: Professor MOTHRA

I have, and it is pretty good - much like chiffon cupcakes, the whipped eggs at the end just take it to another level. I don't know if it is worth the fuss all of the time, but for a special dessert, I think it would be. - Jennifer Dittrich

Never made it, but I've eaten it. Very, well, silky! - Laura Norvig from iPhone

I have made it and it's decadent :) I'm with Jennifer -- not worth all the fuss except for a special occasion :) - Lois Loves LB and Mr. B

meh - Greg GuitarBuster

About even. - Todd Hoff

It went down, and then it came back. - Eric - seven eleven

About the same. - John (bird whisperer)

No better, no worse. - Kristin

Financially? Or overall? - Stephen Mack #TeamMomo from iPhone

better. - Mike Nencetti

^hand^ Definitely better. Still not great, but better. Financially, 4-5 years ago I had bottomed out hard. Emotionally pretty much the same thing. - Jkram|ɯɐɹʞſ

*raises hand*, but I wouldn't give the federal government much credit aside from the fact that I'm a government contractor within the Department of Energy. - Scoble, Alex Scoble

worse - Peter Dawson

Hmm, better. - SteVe C

Worse in absolute terms, but relatively better. Either way, the markets crashed right before the election, at the beginning of Sarah's freshman year at Northeastern. We have since paid that fine institution about $200K, so yeah, we are down for the count. But the assets that have not gone for sportswriter education have recovered reasonably well. And it just might be that my opportunities are starting to rebound, finally, after years of stagnation. - Mary B: #TeamMonique

So-so. - Jimminy IS Everybody

Considering that 4 years and 10 days ago I was beginning 4 months of unemployment I'd say I'm better off. Wifey too since she wasn't working either. We often wonder how we avoided getting thrown out in the street due to lack of funds to pay bills and such. - DB, Just DB #TeamMonique

Much better. - Victor Ganata

Overall, just the same. - AJ Batac

Very close to the same. 4 years ago, my wife & I were both working. Today, my wife is not working, but I'm bringing in about the same amount of money as we were bringing in together, then. We are still living paycheck-to-paycheck, but we (knock on wood) continue to pull enough together to pay the bills each month. - DAMMIT, MR. NOODLE

Definitely better. My undergrad is finished, my masters is already underway, I managed to retain my employment and my salary has continued to increase, my bills are very much under control, I'm not single, I'm no longer running that stupid festival, I'm much healthier with 40lbs down and less than 70lbs to go, and right now it looks like everything will remain stable for me for at least the next two years. And I consider myself very very very lucky. I take nothing for granted. - Hookuh Tinypants

Better. - Fish Are LIES

I think I'm a bit better off now than 4 years ago. I give 0% credit to current administration for that though. - Ken Gidley

Better in every regard, but mostly feeling much fitter since shedding 60 lbs. 4 years older, but have much more energy now. - ʎəlɹoɯ uəʞ

Certainly better off with Obama than with McCain/Palin. - Yo Joe. No, go slow.

Economically? Worse. Fixed income means my money's the same even tho EVERYthing costs more. - Starmama from FFHound(roid)!

It's a toss up, depending on what part of my life we are looking at. - Corinne L

*raises both hands* - Mary Carmen

yep - Bren

Thank you all for verifying that everyone has different experiences due to lots of factors! The notion that every person in the country is worse off than they were 4 years ago, and solely because of who's president, is ludicrous. I was getting tired of hearing it. It also seemed strange coming from the "if you're not doing well, you're not working hard" guys. - Lo

Also, I like that the people who's lives have improved the most seem to be unrelated to the economy. Mary Carmen & I got hitched, fitness ensued... the notion that decreased net worth means unhappiness doesn't seem to be questioned much, but it is not supported by my experience. Four years ago I was making more money, but had less financial security and hated almost everything about my life. These days I have love in my life, and rarely think about money. Where's the convention for that? - Lo

better - some of the better is health related OTOH War Daughter has full, time job after literally years of temping and the combined stress reduction is made of win on several levels - WarLord

Financially on the same precipice as always, downsizing ad necessary along the way. In many other ways though, I'm in a better place than I've ever been. So, all-in-all, I'm way better off - Le Slip Anglais from Android

I dunno. You can specify parameters as you see fit. - Lo

I'm interested because I recently realized what I would do, and was a little disturbed by it. - Lo

The problem is there isn't a single point at which you can change something that big. Something like agriculture was a multi stage thing over many regions. It's like throwing a pebble in the river... It only slows the progression. So in this case, no I wouldn't cause all I would be doing is regressing human existence back to a point where we would find ourselfs eventually - Johnny

No. - Micah

Actually, life expectancy wouldn't change as much as you think, according to what I've read. The average lifespan was shorter in the stone age due to infant mortality, but those who survived to adulthood probably had lifespans similar to westerners today (so lifespan for most of humanity is still shorter now than in the stone age). Infectious disease became much, much more prevalent... more... - Lo

Before agriculture, women weren't seen as possessions. People didn't live in weird artificial conditions that made them crazy. Diet was more diverse and much healthier, in a way that it is impossible to replicate today. There was more leisure time. - Lo

No. There is no easy way ouf of this. It takes getting better and working hard. Every path must solve that problem repeatedly and successfully. - Todd Hoff

On a recent trip to Utah, we saw these beautiful but very inhospitable canyons. We learned about an Indian tribe, contemporaneous to the Anasazi, that actually rejected agriculture and went back to a hunter-gatherer society. They stayed in these canyons while drought forced the Anasazi elsewhere, and they actually lived there free of external influence for a long time, I think until the... more... - Lo

Todd, by "solve that problem," to which problem do you refer? - Lo

Cant type on an ipad. Sorry. The problem of solving problems. - Todd Hoff

"due to infant mortality" - yeah, but how would this post-unwinding society deal with infant mortality? - Andrew C (✓)

"probably had lifespans similar to westerners today" -- well, if by that you mean 60s ish. I'm fairly sure American life expectancy at 18 (how long people who made it to 18 could expect to live in total) has risen by over a decade in just the last century. Can't find figures right now, best I can do is that life expectancy at 50 has risen 3.9 years in just the 26 years between 1980 and 2006. http://news.discovery.com/human... - Andrew C (✓)

I'm dubious about life expectancy data from the stone age. Seems the ones that got fossilised to be tested were just the ones that didn't get eaten then pooped out by WILD RAVERNOUS ANIMALS... - Johnny

do we get to keep diet cola? - Jeff (Team マクダジ )

I'm really surprised by the responses to this. Usually people defend civilization on the basis of art, science, and the like. When did FF turn anti-science? - Lo from Android

No, I wouldn't. Despite all the problems it may have led to, the start of modern agriculture has allowed us to radiate and thrive around the world. If we were all hunter gatherer today and had never stumbled upon modern agricultural, things might be just as bad or worse. There is no way of knowing. And the people in that imagined civilization would still be subject to natural disasters,... more... - Kelli H. from Android

My issues aren't with agriculture, it might have been a cause, but it's not the issue that bothers me. I have a bigger issue with urbanization and overpopulation (density > 1000 people per sq. mi.) of tiny areas, which is a side effect. There is efficiency at such a scale, as well as inefficiency created by it, and it increases the costs related to risk. It is one thing allowed by agricultural development, but they are separate issues. So no, I wouldn't undo all of civilization. - Jimminy IS Everybody

I couldn't have stated it any better than Kelli H. - Guy

I was never a big fan anyway. - Eivind

Right? When I hear talk about how civilization/modernization cause so many problems, someone always says "but it's created art, and technology! look at the marvels around you!" I have never been convinced that it's worth it. I like art, but if I lived in a hunter-gatherer tribe I bet I wouldn't have so much angst in my soul that I needed art to express it or survive it. Technology? I don't even like it. BURN IT ALL. - Lo

But modern civilization, vis a vis FriendFeed, has brought you to us. And isn't that worth saving? - Brian Johns

viva ff for bringing us all together - chaz2b

I got to say, "My name is Sonya. I'm trained in first aid. Can I help you?" for the first time since I took the FA/CPR class! Fortunately it wasn't too serious. - Lo

I also got to see my boss totally lose his shit, which was somehow gratifying after getting a truly awful performance evaluation from him, which included the critique that I "freak out" under pressure. I was calm as a... I dunno, something calm. - Lo

You were as cool as a cucumber. :^) - Friar Ticket to Ride

Well done, Lo. :) - Kelli H.

I am definitely not cool. - Lo

Thanks, Kelli! The day after first aid class, I saw the lawnmower episode of Mad Men, and I was like "OH SNAP, I KNOW HOW TO MAKE A TOURNIQUET TOO!" I've been waiting for my chance to be the quick thinker in an emergency :D - Lo