Ask Surly Amy
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Religion
Ask Surly Amy: Death and What to Say
Dear Surly Amy, You probably get more email than you can handle, and I’m sorry for adding another one, but I sincerely believe you can help me here. Can you point me to some links that discuss how an atheist can deal with a dying parent who is very religious? I have a good relationship with my father, but we’ve…
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Science
Ask Surly Amy: Vampires and Vitamins
Dear Surly Amy, I don’t take vitamins. Given my fortunate resources, I aim to get needed nutrients from my diet; plus sketchy regulation, paired with the cesspit of horseshit claims made by the supplement industry, tuns me off. The catch: a while back I moved to night shift, and my body went to hell. My hair is dull, breaks, and…
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Skepticism
Ask Surly Amy: Herbalife
Dear Surly Amy, I have some friends who have jumped on the herbalife bandwagon. They go to conferences, host herbalife parties, and insist that they feel amazing. They’re convinced they’re going to make lots of money, but the whole thing sounds like a scam. I can’t find any unbiased reviews that aren’t from an herbalife distributor. What gives with this…
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Afternoon Inquisition
Ask Surly Amy (sorta): AI’s and Inspiring Science
Hi Skepchick, I have 2 questions. The first is: what does the AI stand for? This is driving me crazy. There’s almost always “AI:” at the beginning of almost each new article and I don’t know what it mean. I bet it’s something very obvious… The second and possibly more important question is how should I get my sister into…
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Parenting
Ask Surly Amy: Skeptic and Faith Based Holiday Parenting
Hi Surly Amy! My boyfriend and I have started very generally talking about maybe someday thinking about having a baby. I’m worried. Eg, I am 34 so we don’t have forever to be ambiguous about it, & he has a disability that makes it difficult for him to do many baby-helping things. I can deal with those! My question is-…
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Religion
Ask Surly Amy: Nonreligious Alcohol and Addiction Help
Dear Surly Amy, I’m an alcoholic. I don’t believe in AA’s religousness/sprituality. I’m also not sure about total abstinence. Where do I go? ~Desparately Requiring Useful Nonreligious Kinfolk Dear DRUNK, First of all, TEN bonus points for the excellent pseudonym! Well done! Second of all, I completely hear where you are coming from. AA in my opinion is total garbage.…
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Science
Ask Surly Amy: MSM
Surly Amy, Several months ago a friend of mine was involved in a serious car accident. She has been undergoing PT for months, and recently lamented all the medical expenses she is incurring because someone else ran a red light. A friend of her’s recommended something called MSM to help with the pain. She said it’s the long name for…
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Science
Ask Surly Amy: Prenatal Vitamins and Isotonicity
Surly Amy, I’m thinking about pregnancy, so my nutritionist suggested I start on prenatal vitamins. Well, that part I’m not skeptical about. But then she went on to say I should buy powdered vitamins that you mix with water, because then that mixture is “isotonic with your body’s internal pressure” and so “you absorb 100% of the nutrients.” This set…
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