"Authentification"

THIS WORD DOES NOT EXIST.

Yes, I am yelling at all of you that say this. The correct word is authentication.

Definition:
1. A security measure designed to protect a communications system against acceptance of a fraudulent transmission or simulation by establishing the validity of a transmission, message, or originator.
2. A means of identifying individuals and verifying their eligibility to receive specific categories of information.
3. Evidence by proper signature or seal that a document is genuine and official.
- The Free Dictionary

Seriously, Google it. "Authentification" is most likely a combination of authentication and identification. It is not an actual word and there is no form of the word authentication that includes an f anywhere. Think you read it somewhere? Either the person who wrote it was an idiot or YOU ARE PRONOUNCING IT WRONG. Au-then-ti-cation. THERE IS NO F!

Never Say "I Love You" First?

So, this article from AskMen.com pissed me off. Primarily because it is either total BS or solely aimed towards men in relationships with women who like to be smacked down all the time.

Always let the woman bring up the "L" word first, and don't echo it back until you've had some extended time in with her.

Yeah, this is a great way to make a girl feel vulnerable and unwanted. If you feel it, you should say it because girls are in relationships for love. Have you never heard the saying that girls give sex for love and guys give love for sex? It's probably true for most people. If she's put her feelings out there, don't leave her hanging.

Men primarily need to have the experience of being accepted by a woman, while women primarily need to have the experience of having to wonder if the guy whom they are interested in, really likes them or not, and to what degree.

Really? I can't speak for what a man needs, but wondering if a guy likes her or not will drive a girl crazy. What a woman really wants is a little attention and some fun. If she doesn't know you're at least a little interested she probably won't waste her time.

So don't tell her you love her too soon and she'll love you more and sooner than you think. And by the way, don't attempt to verify this fact with women because, more often than not, they will deny it and will only confuse you even more.

All I have to say is "Ha ha ha ha ha."

...it takes at least two months to begin to know someone well enough to have any real sense as to whether they are lifetime partner material, or just someone to party with.

This I do actually agree on. If you're this far into a relationship in just 2 months you probably should step back and take a breather. Make sure you mean what you say and you understand what loving someone entails. Love is complicated and jumping in too fast can kill what would have been a great relationship. So think for a while before you say anything. Remember you can't take back something you've said, but you can always say "I love you." And don't forget to think for a moment which you'll regret more: saying those words, or missing the chance to do so.

Stingrays

I just really wanted to write something about stingrays because they are awesome.

They are naturally very curious but flee from danger and are unlikely to hurt people unless provoked - this most often happens when they are stepped on.

There are about 70 species of stingrays. The largest freshwater stringray ever was caught in Thailand and weighted about 770 pounds and was about 7 feet wide, with a 10 foot long stinger. The largest salt water ray ever may have weighed around 3,000 pounds and was about 16 feet wide.

Stingrays are often seen by divers and snorkelers in shallow sandy water, often in warm locations. We saw some while snorkeling off of Catalina and they were very cool and quite large. Lots of aquariums and places like Sea World have stingrays with their stingers removed that people can pet. They are soft and slippery feeling and like being fed small fish. Petting stingrays is awesome. Try it.

On another random note, I think my first Beanie Baby was a stingray. It looked something like this stingray, except is much more worn now.