I appreciate the concern and it’s super kind of you to bring that all up. I’ve dealt with depression my whole life and I’ve gone to extensive therapy to treat it. On the positive side, I have tons of tools, medications, and support to deal with depression. My wife is aware of my history and I’m going to therapy. I’m taking Lexapro to alleviate my general depression. I’m not super worried about it because my wife and I understand that – if it ever gets to that point – I’ll take HRT to alleviate my symptoms and begin fully transitioning.

Kids are really important to me. I’ve always wanted a decently sized family and my first child has been nothing but joy (and work, but mostly joy). As for the IVF, it’s definitely on the table. My wife and I are going to assess a natural pregnancy solution in a few months and decide then if we’re interested in trying. I’m pretty sure I can hang on that long. In the meantime, I’m doing everything I can via diet, exercise, and hair to achieve the goals that HRT isn’t going to naturally provide. I’m hoping that we can get pregnant, I can then freeze my sperm, and then I can go on HRT. Basically, I’d be waiting 6-9 months before the HRT arrives at my doorstep. That’s a long time and my plans might change, but that’s the currently plan.

Yeah I’m definitely struggling internally but I’ve been ok. I really want more kids and IVF is expensive. We are considering freezing my sperm, but it’s expensive and I’m not exactly wealthy. I’m not poor, but I am a little strapped these days. I don’t know what to do about it but I feel a bit stuck. My life plan is to have 2-3 kids. My wife wants more kids as well. She’s nervous about the costs of IVF and she’s afraid IVF might not work which would start to get even more costly. It’s all very new to both of us so it’s hard to just suddenly turn around and change our life plans drastically. I only came out to her a month ago or so.

Congratulations! 🎉 Sounds like a great week

Lol yes, she would. I am considering freezing materials for IVF for sure!

https://c.tenor.com/F1dwCtxfiW8AAAAC/tenor.gif

I’m not really worried about my body too much. I’m not super dysphoric about the shape (though I want my belly fat to go away). But I do really want the effeminate look in the face and hair. Are those apps still unrealistic? It’s hard to imagine I’ll never get to that goal point.

That’s a good point. I have therapy on Friday and I’ve been bottling up a lot of those feelings for that. But I’m going to bring it up to my wife. We’ve sort of bridged the emotional gap to the point that I think she’s comfortable affirming me without feeling concerned about the whole thing.

Oh BROTHER this guy stinks!

if (ugly) {
    kill_child(child_name);
} else {
    ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
}

The most generous assumption is that they use statistics to determine correlations like this (e.g., deleted selfies resulted in a high CTR for beauty ads so they made that a part of their algo). The least generous interpretation is exactly what you’re thinking: an asshole came up with it because it’s logical and effective.

Either way, ethics needs to be a bigger part of the programmers education. And we, as a society, need to make algorithms more transparent (at least social media algorithms). Reddit’s trending algorithm used to be open source during the good ole days.

Shittiest week in a long time. I am super sick. I had an argument with a coworker about how to clear up some stuff. He told me I had to go drive to an office; I called the office and they told me they can’t do anything for me. But he insisted. So I went. On my way I got a speeding ticket (my first ever ticket). When I got to the office they told me “you shouldn’t be here, you need to go do blah blah blah”. Just like I said to my coworker. He was annoyed at me for not arguing with them even though I was just following instructions.

Then my mother-in-law had a mini-stroke (a couple of days ago). So that sucks for a variety of reasons. Luckily she’s doing quite well. Only a bit of confusion and aphasia.

Overall, it’s just been a brutal week. I know it’ll get better though. When it rains…

Kung Pao Enter the Fist. Warning: you must be immature and somewhat comfortable with jokes that might not have aged well. I haven’t watched it since I was a teen, but I remember thinking it was hilarious back then…

Maybe just stick with Space Balls and The Room.