EDIT: Sorry for the delay in responses everyone. I'll try to get back to you within the next few days.
Hello everyone. I am a now former, short-time faculty member of Soka University. During my time at Soka, I created this alt in order to post anonymously about my experiences working at the school. Now that I'm gone, I thought I could extend to this (and other) subreddits the benefit of my perspective of the school. To reiterate, the following is my own personal opinions and perspectives. I understand that there will be those who have different opinions and perspectives, and that's great. By all means, share your perspective in this thread. I'm sure we'll go back and forth in the comments section, and that's completely fine; I believe it would be a benefit to the outside public to see a small repartee.
It will be up to you (the readers) to decide if you believe your own experience would be more in line with mine, or the official advertising put out by the school.
For the r/orangecounty moderators:
Soka University is located in Aliso Viejo, which itself is located in South Orange County. A discussion of the school, located in Orange County, is relevant to the purpose of this sub.
Is Soka University part of a cult?
Yes. Let's just get that out of the way right away.
The school is financed and run by a group originating from Japan, known as the Soka Gakkai, or Soka Gakkai International. For those unfamiliar with the SGI, it is based on a form of Buddhism from Japan called Nichiren Buddhism. SGI shares some commonalities with other Nichiren sects, however, it differs in that the religion focuses on the worship of a Japanese billionaire named Daisaku Ikeda.
The higher ups made a decision when the undergrad campus was opened around 2001 that they wanted the school to "blend in" with American culture, and not arouse the suspicion of being associated with the SGI cult. Therefore, officially the school tries hard to distance itself from the SGI during day-to-day operations. However, the funding from SGI and SGI affiliated groups is still announced on campus, and school executives are all (or mostly) SGI members. Meetings minutes identify certain members of the executive committees as being high ranking members of the SGI.
Who are you? Why are you doing this AMA?
I am a now former faculty member at SUA; I was there for one semester, before I decided I needed to leave. I have taught for a number of different higher education
... keep reading on reddit ➡While I was taking a nap, my wife received a call from our electric company claiming our service was in imminent danger of being disconnected due to being three months arrears. Normally I handle all of the bills but due to life getting more hectic I had just transitioned all bills to my wife. It was at the point they were directing her to download a non-company application to send payment that she twigged to what was going on and hung up.
Why YSK: It is a continuous arms race between the scammers and their targets. I’m in a technical field and I’ve educated my family as best I can, but it only takes a momentary lapse, during an already chaotic moment in your life, for you to make a mistake, and it can be very costly.
- if a company calls demanding immediate action, tell them you’re going to hang up and immediately dial their eight hundred number to resolve it.
- never give them any information to confirm anything, they called you they have to prove to you who they are.
- fear tactics are their bread and butter, they will keep you off balance and on script, do not be afraid to tell them to hold while you verify their claims.
I’ve been at the police station for the last eight hours. They can’t do anything; they can’t help me. Maybe it was just wishful thinking that they could help me. Most normal cases don’t seem to ever get solved, and mine. I don’t know where my son is. I wish I never bought that painting.
I just wanted the best for my son. I guess every dad wants the same, but I wasn’t brought up with a silver spoon. I don’t earn that much money and the money I have spare goes straight to my son's education. Recently, a buddy of mine came for dinner and told me about a side-hustle that had helped him save a whole year’s worth of tuition fees in two months. He was flipping paintings. Baroque ones to be exact; those dull paintings from the 18th century where everyone looks chubby, and the colours are dark and bland. They’re back in fashion he said and gave me the address of a local auction house which seemed to have an unlimited supply.
I studied up for a couple of weeks, learned about my Rembrandts, Caravaggio’s, Ribera’s and the next thing I know, I’m sitting in a cold auction room in a sleepy town near my home. A decrepid space with sixty seats and seven people spread among them.
***
“Do you mind if I squeeze past?” asks an elderly gentleman.
“Sure,” I reply, turning my legs to let him past. There are so many empty seats. I have no idea why he is trying to inconvenience me. Maybe that’s part of the fun, distract the other bidders from the choice paintings. And the next one is choice indeed. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it in the auction pamphlet last week. A beautiful country manor, surrounded by verdant grounds. Bay windows run across the ground floor of the building and roses are climbing the adjacent trellises. The sky is divine (he tells me to talk like that. To fit in). It’s bright, warm, and inviting. The shadow of the oak tree claws along the green grass at the front of the house
I know what it is. At least I think I do. There’s only one baroque painter that paints like that. It’s Alssariq. The last painting of his that sold at Christies went for a million! And there is no reserve on this one.
The sleepy auctioneer bangs his gavel against the oak table. “Lot twenty-five is of Hurlingham Manor in Suffolk. It’s of unknown provenance.”
That’s what you think buddy boy!
He continues, “Let’s start the bidding at five hundred pounds.”
I look around at my competition. The old lady at the front has fallen asleep. The gentleman to my right is squinting at th
... keep reading on reddit ➡NYSE:TS / 87
TSLA worths $30T in 2030, dude.
NYSE:TS DATE : Tue Jan 4 02:16:51 2022 SUBREDDIT : StockMarket
NYSE:TS DATE : Mon Jan 3 18:41:07 2022 SUBREDDIT : StockMarket
NYSE:TS DATE : Mon Jan 3 23:59:32 2022 SUBREDDIT : StockMarket
NYSE:TS DATE : Mon Jan 3 01:21:34 2022 SUBREDDIT : StockMarket
TSLA 100%, +150% since July 2020
NYSE:TS DATE : Tue Jan 4 01:59:55 2022 SUBREDDIT : stocks
NYSE:TS DATE : Mon Jan 3 21:31:57 2022 SUBREDDIT : stocks
TSLA may never go before 1050 again and there's so much upside potential. It's an easy bet.
NYSE:TS DATE : Tue Jan 4 09:07:03 2022 SUBREDDIT : stocks
NYSE:TS DATE : Tue Jan 4 11:42:52 2022 SUBREDDIT : stocks
TSLA is Elon... If Elon leaves the company, it will go to 50's
NYSE:TS DATE : Mon Jan 3 01:11:50 2022 SUBREDDIT : stocks
NYSE:TS
... keep reading on reddit ➡Do your worst!
I'm surprised it hasn't decade.
It really does, I swear!
For context I'm a Refuse Driver (Garbage man) & today I was on food waste. After I'd tipped I was checking the wagon for any defects when I spotted a lone pea balanced on the lifts.
I said "hey look, an escaPEA"
No one near me but it didn't half make me laugh for a good hour or so!
Edit: I can't believe how much this has blown up. Thank you everyone I've had a blast reading through the replies 😂
Hey everyone! So, college is officially done with, yay! I'll be doing my best to get back into the normal swing of things so you won't have to wait so long for the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy!
Book One l First l Previous l Next
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dart was in the process of sorting through some of his piles of papers when I arrived at his tent. Each stack he carefully flipped through as to not disturb the general formation of the paper. If something slid a little out of place, he would take the time to organize it again until the stack was perfect once more. When he found a paper that he apparently needed he would extract it with precision as to not disturb the rest of them. He acquired a new bundle of papers and set it down in another neat stack atop his desk before turning towards me and speaking in his monotone style.
“Afternoon James, are all your affairs in order?”
“I believe so, my day should be mostly free now to make room for all this new training.”
“Excellent, and speaking of which, let us proceed to the second part of your education.”
I expected him to start pulling more reading material from his piles for me, but instead he stood up and started exiting the tent. I was a little confused, but I followed him out regardless. He had a rather fast walking speed for someone his size and I was moving at a speed walk to keep up with him.
After a moment of traveling, I noticed that we were heading towards the exit tunnel. I actually hadn’t been outside the camp all that much, maybe a few times to bathe in the nearby river. I began to wonder what we were going to do once out there.
We went through the dim tunnel, passing the groups of guards lurking in the shadows. Dart nodded off towards a dark corner where someone must have been, but I couldn’t see. A testament to the natural eyesight of Nactren.
When we came out of the tunnel and into the light once more, Da
... keep reading on reddit ➡First part: https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/s2nk24/conjunction_part_1/
***
Caden leaned over the yellowed parchment as the Master gestured to the map that had been drawn onto the aged scroll. It showed the world as it had been known at the time, the continents and landmasses oddly shaped, not quite true to their real-world dimensions. They were still recognizable, but it didn’t exactly fill Caden with confidence. The Master had placed a more modern map beside it and was using it as a reference to make better sense of what they were seeing, turning to his mountain of notes as he translated the place names.
“Our kingdom did not exist during the fourth age,” he began. “The territory that we now inhabit was home to several smaller city-states. It is hard to say whether these coastlines have changed significantly over time, or if the cartographers of the era simply did a poor job of reproducing them. The borders of our kingdom end here,” he said, gesturing to the old map with his bony finger. “Although we are on good terms with neighboring powers, the roads can be treacherous. In these trying times, banditry is on the rise, and the more remote areas are reported to be plagued by highwaymen.”
“That is why you thought it necessary to arm me,” Caden muttered, his mentor replying with a solemn nod.
“Avoid the cities and large towns as you head East. Follow the roads, the more well-trodden, the better. There are many small villages and hamlets along the route where you might seek shelter in taverns and inns. Remember, you must not advertise the nature of your quest. Tell no one who you are or where you are headed. Assume a new identity if you must.”
He slowly dragged his finger to the right, referencing the modern map as he went.
“This land bridge connects our continent to the Eastern peninsula. From there, our knowledge grows spotty.”
Caden looked over the parchment, the depictions of green forests and hills gradually giving way to sandy deserts and barren wilderness.
“There are other kingdoms even further East that are said to be civilized,” he continued, “but this expanse of desert is oft-rumored to be inhabited by tribes of savages and feral beasts that have made establishing trade routes over land impossible. None now venture there, save for a few brave explorers who have brought back word of harsh conditions and hostile natives.”
“And...my destination is right in the middl
... keep reading on reddit ➡The Black Swan Cometh
Earlier this month, a black swan flew into the plaza of Tiananmen Square, stirring speculation on what this would symbolically mean. China has already had a rough last couple of months; dealing with floods, typhoons, hailstorms, sandstorms, landslides, and a pandemic to boot. Surely this swan is of no significance right?
The Problem
Enter the Chinese housing bubble. Unlike Americans which diversify into stocks, bonds, real estates etc, China largely invest in real estate. Furthermore, 40-60% of the price of real estate in mainland china is the cost of the land and taxes collected by local governments. This has led to a rapid unsustainable rise in the price of housing in some parts of China.
https://preview.redd.it/fqil004lblo71.png?width=1296&format=png&auto=webp&s=d4439bbf3b4bc31a936197e76c01e547920eb4ab
https://preview.redd.it/5u9t6w8gelo71.png?width=1296&format=png&auto=webp&s=a51ac007bcfb913e4fbdc0245fc76aab77eef494
And what does all that get you? Some shit-ass tofu-dreg construction housing, that makes Haitian building codes look good. Built using concrete that's more reminiscent of dirt, rebar that's more reminiscent of twigs, these buildings were built by developers to turn a profit as quickly as possible, and bought by individuals who seek to sell them at a higher price to the next sucker. This process can perpetuate itself until a catalyst presents itself.
Bo the builder asks: Can we fix it?! \"No, it's fucked!\"
The catalyst: Evergrande
Enter the catalyst to China's housing bubble, Evergrande: China's second largest real estate developer. On September 8th, Evergrande Wealth, which offers wealth management products to clients in China, failed to deliver interest payment to its clients. As a result, victims and clients have staged large scale protests at Evergrande HQ for several days in a row.
https://preview.redd.it/ef3gorv34lo71.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=78722f8ffcce2762446c593a28534263a7a97b54
[People take turns talking shit at an Evergrande Wealth exec while some lady is passed out on the floor.](https://preview.redd.
... keep reading on reddit ➡Buenosdillas
They’re on standbi
Pilot on me!!
Dad jokes are supposed to be jokes you can tell a kid and they will understand it and find it funny.
This sub is mostly just NSFW puns now.
If it needs a NSFW tag it's not a dad joke. There should just be a NSFW puns subreddit for that.
Edit* I'm not replying any longer and turning off notifications but to all those that say "no one cares", there sure are a lot of you arguing about it. Maybe I'm wrong but you people don't need to be rude about it. If you really don't care, don't comment.
What did 0 say to 8 ?
" Nice Belt "
So What did 3 say to 8 ?
" Hey, you two stop making out "
I won't be doing that today!
You take away their little brooms
This morning, my 4 year old daughter.
Daughter: I'm hungry
Me: nerves building, smile widening
Me: Hi hungry, I'm dad.
She had no idea what was going on but I finally did it.
Thank you all for listening.
[Removed]
Generosity and Glass, from the human's side
So, there I was, fresh out of school and so green that I was practically photosynthesizing when they grabbed me and told me that I would be the liaison between this new species and Humanity.
One would THINK that in a space-faring civilization who knew aliens weren't just sci-fi that there would be an overabundance of diplomats, ambassadors, envoys and every other variety of sweet-talking negotiator, but no. They're so hard up for people who can relate to non-humans that they waste no time with such unnecessary things as letting new graduates shadow someone more experienced to get some idea about what's going on. Oh no, out of the kiddie pool and into the deep end you go, lassie.
Oh, just wait, it gets better.
The ones they wanted me to talk to were the snaggle-toothed flappy volcano-dwelling glass monsters that all the other races felt should be shuffled away into a dark corner or off the mortal coil entirely. All of them were varying degrees and combinations of scandalized, disgusted, frightened and unnerved by them, and no one wanted to tell us in simple terms why. Let me tell you, that did absolutely nothing to make my job any easier.
I was shuffled onto a ship bound for their largest orbital yard (no one knew where their home planet was) and had five weeks to learn how to wear an environment suit that I could probably go star-diving in, acquaint myself with the (non)existent data we had on their psychology, culture and body language and try to figure out why the hell we were considering giving away Venus.
I debated taking a mild soporific but before I could decide my escort waved me into the airlock. 'Deep breaths, just remember to breathe every three seconds and you won't make a total fool of yourself by keeling over in the middle of things.'
"Turn on your cooling systems now, Lee. If they're not warmed up when we open the lock you're in for a rough few minutes." Yessir, thank you for the reminder that I could quite literally die if my equipment malfunctions. 'Warmed up,' oh how punny.
At least I knew that we could be sure our translators. The language and paralingual (tone of voice, for you laymen) files were the best we could get, and that was very very good. Better, probably, than any mortal translator that wasn't raised by the two species who were trying to converse.
I punched the button and the temperature in my suit plummete
... keep reading on reddit ➡It’s pronounced “Noel.”
After all his first name is No-vac
What, then, is Chinese rap?
Edit:
Notable mentions from the comments:
-
Spanish/Swedish/Swiss/Serbian hits
-
French/Finnish art
-
Country/Canadian rap
-
Chinese/Country/Canadian rock
-
Turkish/Tunisian/Taiwanese rap
Nothing, it just waved
Bob
EDIT: Sorry for the delay in responses everyone. I'll try to get back to you within the next few days.
Hello everyone. I am a now former, short-time faculty member of Soka University. During my time at Soka, I created this alt in order to post anonymously about my experiences working at the school. Now that I'm gone, I thought I could extend to this (and other) subreddits the benefit of my perspective of the school. To reiterate, the following is my own personal opinions and perspectives. I understand that there will be those who have different opinions and perspectives, and that's great. By all means, share your perspective in this thread. I'm sure we'll go back and forth in the comments section, and that's completely fine; I believe it would be a benefit to the outside public to see a small repartee.
It will be up to you (the readers) to decide if you believe your own experience would be more in line with mine, or the official advertising put out by the school.
Is Soka University part of a cult?
Yes. Let's just get that out of the way right away.
The school is financed and run by a group originating from Japan, known as the Soka Gakkai, or Soka Gakkai International. For those unfamiliar with the SGI, it is based on a form of Buddhism from Japan called Nichiren Buddhism. SGI shares some commonalities with other Nichiren sects, however, it differs in that the religion focuses on the worship of a Japanese billionaire named Daisaku Ikeda.
The higher ups made a decision when the undergrad campus was opened around 2001 that they wanted the school to "blend in" with American culture, and not arouse the suspicion of being associated with the SGI cult. Therefore, officially the school tries hard to distance itself from the SGI during day-to-day operations. However, the funding from SGI and SGI affiliated groups is still announced on campus, and school executives are all (or mostly) SGI members. Meetings minutes identify certain members of the executive committees as being high ranking members of the SGI.
Who are you? Why are you doing this AMA?
I am a now former faculty member at SUA; I was there for one semester, before I decided I needed to leave. I have taught for a number of different higher education contexts as well, including the University of California, University of Southern California, Community Colleges, and various for-profit private schools. From what I can see, there seems to be very little legitimate information availab
... keep reading on reddit ➡When I got home, they were still there.
There hasn't been a post all year!
There hasn't been a single post this year!
(Happy 2022 from New Zealand)
