Does My Co-Worker’s Weird Fascination with Guns Mean He’s Going to Shoot Me? [HorroR Stories]...

Dear Madame HR, I am friends on Facebook with a bunch of my co-workers. Lately, after the Newtown tragedy and the subsequent discussions regarding gun control, one of my co-workers has been posting a lot of pro-gun statements, photos of himself with his guns, and other pro-gun things that make me a little nervous. I talked to my other co-workers and we kind of made some jokes about it, but the more I think about it, the more freaked out I am. Should I be concerned? Should I tell HR? Rather Not Get Shot Dear Rather Not, Should you be concerned? OK, so looking in my crystal ball: I’m going to say “Maybe.” Yes, Maybe! My favorite answer to every question—it’s the only way in which I ever resemble a lawyer. Let’s get real for a minute. I mean, really, if I had a dollar for every time I went “Huh?” at something someone posted on Facebook then I wouldn’t be working in HR right now. I’d probably be at Sizzler getting a $6 steak because I don’t have many Facebook friends, but that’s not the point. The point is I’m not sure you should go over the deep end here. Sure, you could report the guy, start tracking his Amazon.com orders, x-raying the mysterious packages arriving for him. Or, you could confront him; tell him to stop posting those things (which would probably go over really well). You could block his posts so you don’t have to see them anymore. But then that only really solves the problem of your ignorance being compromised, it’s not going to make the dude stop loving guns so much. And I hate to break it to you, but I heard a statistic that before the Newtown tragedy...

Girls & Guys – “Just Friends”? [Ask Dr. Miro: What You Didn’t Learn In Health Class]...

Dear Dr. Miro, My girlfriend has a few close guy friends she hangs with and I think that’s wrong. I don’t go out with any females alone – their boyfriends would get angry they’re hanging with another man. I’m pretty sure these dudes are waiting for my girl to be weak & screw her when I’m not around. I can’t get this idea out of my head & when I ask her about it she gets really pissed off and says, “We’re just friends”. This is making me crazy! I’m not OK with this. How do I make her stop? What do I do? Sincerely, Crazed with Jealousy Dear CwJ, The question of whether straight males and females can ever truly be “just friends” with no sexual tension or thoughts of wanting more has been asked through out the ages. Perhaps your instinct is correct. There are always exceptions to this but on average, the answer is NO: Guys & Girls cannot be purely platonic on both sides. Even if she believes they are “just friends” these fellows probably do see your GF as a potential mate or conquest. However, the actual problem here is not whether or not these types of relationships are possible. You ask what to do about this situation as well as “How do I make her stop?” I have a feeling your S.O. was friends with these fellows before knowing you and will be way after you are out of her life. This jealousy is going to push her away from you; possibly into the arms of whom you most fear – those attentive male friends who have been listening to all those issues she has been having with you. You see, by not trusting a person’s ability to...

Don’t Give ‘Em Something To Talk About! [Ask Dr. Miro: What You Didn’t Learn In Health Class]...

Dear Dr. Miro, My girlfriend Will. Not. Stop talking about our sex life to her friends and now I find out her family knows intimate details about us, too. This makes me waaaay uncomfortable. I ask her to stop and then she accuses me of being jealous of her relationships. Demands why I want her to stop being in communication with her friends and fam. How else do I deal with this? They are my friends, too PLUS I am SO not looking forward to any family gatherings. Sincerely, Embarrassed to Leave the House Dear EtLtH, So you are involved with someone who over shares and does not respect your wishes or comfort zones. This sounds extremely awkward and rather disrespectful. Could it also be symptomatic of other facets of your life together? It does not seem like you have a very safe space together. There are certain people who do not need access to these personal experiences you two are sharing. Try to come to an agreement on who you both are all right having on that list. Let her know this is not about preventing any and all communication with her loved ones – that is ridiculous – but rather, it is about keeping some things private. Healthy relationships work when both parties are able to hear each other. If you ask, in a non-demanding manner, to limit the juicy details in discussions with others and she refuses, you may need to exit this situation. Really, it is all about what resonates deep inside you both. Perhaps, this is her way and she will never change – can you live with that? If she does not “get” how this is offensive AND you remain uncomfortable with it, there is not much potential...

Thine Commandments of Kickstarter for an Indie Video Game [Gamer by Design][Best of FaN]...

For my favorite post of the year for Fierce and Nerdy, I chose to re-publish my Kickstarter how-to. It was by far my most popular post, probably because there are not a lot of straightforward, honest articles of how to succeed in doing a Kickstarter for a video game (I know, because I searched for it before we did the campaign). By now is a success on the app store, and we’re thinking about the next thing. Time Flies! So I’m republishing it because it’s useful, unlike most of the things I write, which are usually half rant and half awkward jokes. Enjoy!  -Matt My little outfit, Part Time Evil, recently decided to do a Kickstarter to fund our indie game . Not the “I need money to live off for a year to make this thing” type of Kickstarter. Everyone on this project is employed in the day, so we raised enough for contractor pay, software, account to publish on iTunes, and all the other things that can really add up. So my point is, the project has zero budget. But as we all know, there’s no such thing as zero budget. That being said this article is something I’m writing so other designers can read it and get a leg up on doing a Kickstarter for a game. We were fortunate enough to succeed in getting the funding, which is not super common on Kickstarter. But it could have been easier, and we could have raised more money if we’d been on top of the following: Let’s just jump right in. What’s a Kickstarter This is a good topic to start with, because you may not know either.  Kickstarter is the worlds largest funding platform for projects. So there are things like crazy...

Friends vs ‘Friends’ [Frankie Says…] May31

Friends vs ‘Friends’ [Frankie Says…]

Frankie says… Facebook friends do not friends equal. Since joining Facebook, I have amassed friends that are not actually my friends in real life. Mostly, these people are acquaintances from my past or were friends of mine at some point in time. But it’s curious that before Facebook or MySpace or any cyber social networking, you didn’t stay in touch with people that you went out of touch with. And it’s not that I even stay in touch with them now. I usually just get to see what they are ‘liking’ or what song they might be listening to at a given time or what corny photo-op they’ve posted on their timeline. Yet I don’t want to de-friend them, just because I don’t see them or talk to them. I am curious about their lives. I feel like looking into their lives is a barometer of my own life. Not in any judgmental sort of way, not like I’m trying to measure myself against their lives per se (although ‘barometer’ does have to do with measurement), but more like looking at a magazine. I don’t compare myself to the size 00 models, but I can critique what they’re wearing; I don’t write what Joel Stein is writing, but I can be interested in it and learn from his content. What I find most odd, and something I experienced recently, is when you visit a place where you have lots of Facebook ‘friends’ from and you don’t take the time to see them. Why didn’t I meet up with them, have a drink or two? I’m curious about how they’re doing, what they’re doing, but it’s that effort of putting yourself out there – actually, physically – and finding friendship where the friendship fizzled long...