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In the Massachusetts of MIT, Harvard, & Martha's Vineyard, the age of consent is 16.

So while coerced sex, or prostitution, remains illegal there no matter the age, mere consensual sex with a 16-17 year-old is NOT "statutory rape" in Massachusetts. Not in that "blue" state, nor the 30 other U.S. states with the same age-of-consent, nor in Canada. Sleazy for those much older, sure, but not the "statutory rape" you're claiming.


But at least one 14-year-old was involved in his case, which lead to his initial imprisonment in 2008. Doubtlessly many of the girls in his employ were 14 or 15. And remember, he wasn’t always in MA. He was a serial exploiter of underage girls, and acquiescence doesn’t mean consent if Epstein held power/influence over the teenage girls.


Yes, some allegations against Epstein himself on other occasions include girls who appeared as young, by witnesses' estimations, as 11-12.

But the specific allegation against Massachusetts-based Minsky involved a woman who 1st met Epstein at age 16, and may not have met Minsky until she was 17.


In they were in Massachusetts, Minsky might have asked, "Are you here willingly, and how old are you?" And he could have received the reply, "Absolutely, I'm having the time of my life with Jeffrey and all the famous people he introduces me to, and I'm 16."

And the sex might then have seemed consensual and legal to Minsky, because even now in 2019, the age of consent in Massachusetts is 16.


Additionally, apparently Minsky turned the 17 year old down.

Seems to me it’s some of the other things Stallman has said which are more troubling.

Although he has renounced many of those prior statements at the very least.

A man of such convictions, working in tech but eschewing so much of it, not surprising he’d have some quirky or harmful views mixed in there.

Too bad since I appreciate his FSF work and hard line views against surveillance.


Deleted.


That's not what I see when I click on that link! Just in case we're seeing different page-versions, what does a frozen copy of the Wikipedia page from a third site show? Also "16":

https://archive.is/n3Nfs


Oops, I mistook Massachusetts for New York. My geography sucks.


There are lots of opportunities for career second chances in the US – probably more so than most other regions, according to the preponderance of reports I've seen from people with experiences in multiple cultures/countries.

If you perceive otherwise, then it is very possible that you are encountering one or both of the following:

1. A highly-local expectation, in your particular community/family/friend-groups. You may need to move.

2. A hyper-local expectation, in your own mind. It might be justified by the particular path through experiences you've had, but now become self-reinforcing & self-defeating. To see counterexamples, against human tendencies for confirmation-bias and negativity, you may have to deeply consider that you might be wrong, and that your sampling of the possibility space has been unrepresentative.


Of course insights from drugs may not always be fully reliable, but what drug did you take, and did you try taking more?

Almost everything gets better with practice. Memorization experts have often used visio-spatial 'memory palaces', imaginary places they can fill with items to remember. Simply trying to use that technique might help build visual recall flexibility.

Perhaps it'd separately be worth trying a sensory-deprivation soak-tank?


I'd love to have spicy food more often – but 2-4 days after a spicy dish, I can usually smell the pepper/byproducts coming out of my skin as a particular, somewhat unpleasant body odor. The odor can remain detectable even immediately after a shower. Red curry/chili-peppers seem the worst trigger. Only time (and maybe a good sweat) eventually clear it.

Does anyone know the chemical mechanisms causing this, and whether any other foods, combined with or after the spicy meal, could help more-quickly neutralize this lagged skin odor?


As with garlic sulfur compounds, the odor is due to substances your body can't metabolize, so it excretes them - most noticeably through your skin.


I figured roughly that. But is there anything I can do to enable any metabolism of these compounds, or otherwise neutralize them? (Can some people metabolize them better? Would the right skin microbiome help? Etc...)


I studied hold a Diploma of Western Herbal Medicine as issued in Australia.

The other commenter is likely correct about something you aren't (or are) metabolising.

One herb that can be intentionally used and also has this affect (peculiar body odour) if Fenugreek. Are you typically eating much of this?

For interest and discussion I'll paste in my notes on Fenugreek:

________________________

Fenugreek - scientific name Trigonellafoenum-graecum - Year 2 Term 1 Week 1 Cardiovascular System Continued

Fenugreek has a very broad and often under appreciated action including mucus dissolver, digestive tonic, nutritive in convalescence, lowering of blood glucose levels, galactogogue, anti-inflammatory, lymphatic decongestant and liver tonic. The liver tonic action is specifically helpful in improving liver fat metabolism and via this action Fenugreek assists in the lowering of cholesterol levels.

The colour of Fenugreek extract is similar to bile (doctrine of signatures) and although Fenugreek is only a very mild cholagogue it is well indicated in the patient with bile deficiency and raised blood cholesterol because it improves the liver's fat metabolism. A subset of patients with raised blood cholesterol have the problem due mainly to blood sugar disorders (typically hyperinsulinaemia for many years followed by exhaustion of the pancreas and relative insulin lack and or the development of insulin resistance. When the pancreas is exhausted and fails to secrete sufficient insulin levels to meet the bodies needs or when insulin resistance begins the patient has type 2 diabetes.) In all these stages of blood sugar dysregulation Fenugreek is well indicated to assist in controlling high blood glucose levels and to act as a liver tonic and cholesterol lowering agent. About 50% of all patients with raised blood cholesterol will have blood sugar dysregulation as part of the aetiology. The lymphatic system is also involved in fat metabolism and Fenugreek will improve the lymphatic involvement in cholesterol and lipid metabolism. Summary - Fenugreek is mainly indicated in raised blood cholesterol with bile deficient liver disorder, blood sugar regulation disorder or lymphatic circulatory congestion. The liver and lymphatic aspects are well illustrated in the iris analysis of high cholesterol patients with the characteristic yellow deposits over liver, gall bladder, lymphatic rosary and lymphatic overlay. Light coloured stools, digestive intolerance to fatty foods and erratic blood glucose levels are also indicators for Fenugreek in raised blood cholesterol. Fenugreek also has an empirical use to improve overall lipid metabolism and to act as a blood vessel detoxifier which will assist in the dissolving of atheroma deposits in the artery walls. This action is indicated in coronary artery atherosclerosis and in carotid artery atherosclerosis which has a propensity to lead to stroke when deposits dislodge from the carotid atheroma and are transported to the brain. The majority of these patients are current or past cigarette smokers who would not have developed the carotid artery disease if they has not smoked. Fenugreek tea (short decoction) is mildly active in improving liver, cholesterol, atheroma etc but the main preparation needed in these conditions is an extract 1: 1 or 1:2 taken over many months and years. The most commonly used CV combinations utilising Fenugreek are; raised blood cholesterol with liver dysfunction and bile deficiency - Fenugreek with Fringe Tree, Dandelion Root, Globe Artichoke, St Mary's Thistle (and usually Guggal Guggal / Garlic capsules) ; raised blood cholesterol with blood sugar disorder / elevated blood glucose Fenugreek with Goats Rue, Gymnea, Fringe Tree (and usually Guggal Guggal / Garlic capsules) ; raised blood cholesterol with marked lymphatic congestion Fenugreek with Echinacea angustifolia, Clivers (and usually Guggal Guggal / Garlic capsules). Refer to Year 1 Term 2 Week 1 Hepatics for more information of Fenugreek.

________________________

My notes go on further but comment length here is restrictive.

Definitely interested in what the HN community has to say about this sort of information.


I've never intentionally had fenugreek, and my diet is simple enough that I doubt it could be a hidden ingredient in anything I eat.


Many have made practical, technical recommendations about your computer issues.

But it sounds like stress/panic may be the real issue. (Your concerns and plans are all-over-the-map.)

You should seek someone local and friendly to talk to. They will be better at assessing the whole situation and providing a calm outside perspective. Ideally, this would also be someone who could provide a couch to crash on, if your current rent/residence proves financially unsustainable.

Your health and sanity are your "most urgent debts". Nothing else matters if those aren't in place. You may have to delay or step away from the kind of solo-contracting that's led you to a stressful situation. Taking simpler work, in a larger or more-traditional team/project, may help restore a more balanced outlook.

Good luck. You can survive a lot, if you take things logically, one-at-a-time.


I found a psichologist willing to help me for free until I can pay her (for "free" in the sense she is taking notes of the sessions to charge me later)

Unfortunately I have no close friends, and all my aquaintances are in similar positions, sometimes worse (the closes "Friend" I have right now, has the same problems as me, plus is married and have a kid, and his wife is also unemployed)

Also I am doing solo freelancing because is the only thing I could find to have any income, I am sending resumes for years now, without any success.

EDIT: I am also suspecting my main issue is psychiatric (I think I may have a real case of ADHD), but the psychiatrists I went so far were all obviously bad (For example one talked non-stop, don't allowed me to tell him my symptoms, and then told me I had some anxiety disease...)


Some such sores, if occasional, may just be canker sores:

http://www.healthline.com/health/canker-sores

I've noted a correlation with: stress or lack of sleep; candy binges; eating scratchy foods like say popcorn.


I've been suffering from these blasted things for 18 years, and have similarly noted the same sorts of correlations. My best efforts: cutting out gum; cutting out sharp foods; cutting out acidic foods; taking vitamins B-12 and C, L-lysine, and zinc; switching toothpastes and brushing techniques. I regret not recording my history of occurrences, but I perceive things are improving. At the very least, it's safe to say the cause of canker sores is multi-factorial.

Sorry, I'm rambling. No one in my life can relate, so I'll take any chance to talk about it.


You reminded me: I switched years ago to SLS-free toothpaste (Biotene), because that's supposed to help. And for many reasons, I now eat way less sugar and sugary drinks. Maybe because of those changes, or just age, I get canker sores much less frequently. When I was younger, it was maybe 2-3 times a year, and sometimes 2 at once. Now I go a year or two between single, smaller ulcers. Good luck!


I can relate. You're probably right about them being multi-factorial, but changing toothpaste has been the biggest help to me. I use baking soda most of the time and have avoided these sores for years.


I've noticed the same causes and correlation. Canker sores' formal name is aphthous stomatitis. But whether it is an autoimmune disease is debatable. As noted in [1]:

"Despite this preferred theory of immuno-dysregulation held by most researchers,[7] aphthous stomatitis behaves dissimilarly to autoimmune diseases in many regards. "

[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphthous_stomatitis


If you mean, go into an office with others, no – not until symptoms have started to recede, 2-3 days after the realization "I've got a cold".

For as long as there are residual symptoms – nasal draining, coughing – I try to be extra vigilant about hand-washing and hand contact with shared surfaces.


"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."

Honoring commitments is important, but so is adjusting to new information, even if it's only new information about your own productivity and mental state, or the revealed imbalance in critical-path-tasks and hourly commitments between partners.

OP may need more time away from the project, or may need more teammates with the right tech skills to help on current-bottlenecks.

Maybe knowing that 10 paying customers are lined up would help, as motivation and improved confidence in the partner's ability to equally contribute. (Maybe it's allow recruiting more technical help.) But maybe more people waiting for the completion would only add to the pressure and anxiety; he'll have to think about that.

I strongly suspect a major part of the problem is that OP has no peer technical help on the critical-path – all his partner can do is ask, "is it done yet?" That's a broken team.


From the description of your situation, there's no single-step answer.

Phase 1 has to be to recover some balance & perspective: take a week off, and if/when you resume work, cap your working hours to a more traditional schedule to allow variety and recharge time in your days/weeks.

Phase 2 is to use the balance/perspective/distance to evaluate whether the partnership/team is right, the development goals are reasonable, and the schedule expectations realistic. Abandonment of a project that hasn't matched original hopes is always an option.

If you choose re-dedication to the same project, be sure you know what will be different. You likely need a technical collaborator, for both mutual-review and task-sharing, far more than any amount of 'encouragement' from someone whose skills aren't applicable or even yet needed.


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