Get out. Get your kids out.

Whether it ends well for your wife is going to be, sadly, almost entirely up to her and the fates.

That was my mother. My parents fought for years and my mother was in and out of inpatient and outpatient care. And on and off medication.

At the age of fourteen, I called the police after my mother told me that she was going to kill herself and that she would stab me if I tried to stop her.

She didn't kill herself that day, but she managed to decapitate herself with a train several months later.

It put all of my fears about my parents getting a divorce in perspective. It took me seven years to finally come to the realization that I couldn't have saved her by being a better son, but it still feels like crap that I wasn't one.

Get the kids out. It's not their job to save her and it's your job to protect them.

It sucks, but you have to do it.

Mike F

He raised the prospect that a government-run healthcare would drive private companies out of business.

I replied that of course it would, that's why because there are police, there are no such things as security guards.

He was amused, but not convinced.

Mike F: An American living "down under" in a country with public and private health care options. Socialized medicine, it works.

It may not have taken me five years, but I was in a similar position with my wife. I think part of it was just pure unadulterated love and infatuation. We hadn't known each other for long before we got married (long weird story). And the gloss just hadn't come of it.

Second, by viewing my new wife as perfect, I was allowing myself to be the immature and imperfect one in the relationship. As long as one of us was the more responsible one, somebody was in charge. And clearly, it wasn't going to be me.

But, thankfully, I grew out of that. We've both grown up and thankfully we've grown together. Thirteen years of marriage this week and two kids later we're both acutely aware of our flaws, an dwe still love each other.

As I say, five years is a long time, but with a bit of motivation and guidance, he may mature, as I did. Here's to hoping. If he cannot take a hint or attempt a change, then I'll have to go along with the (so far) majority.

The BMI was created for studying populations, not individuals. You do not need to be a "body builder" to fall outside the normal BMI suggestions, just reasonably muscly.

I am not a body builder, nonetheless my waist size has continued to drop even as my weight has gone up under my current workout regime. I'm not a 'roid monkey, just a reasonably fit guy. I've got a 32 inch waist, but I'm still above the recommended BMI.

Waist to hip ratio is a much more effective and useful tool.

If you're going to defend something, dick, make sure you know wtf you're talking about. There's a lot of well-informed criticism of the BMI and many more useful tools for determining levels of fat and general fitness.

The model in question is a gorgeous woman. That this is considered newsworthy is a statement about our culture as understood by the media, nothing more.

Mike F

I'm never quite sure what to make of these articles.

I'm generally able to support most people and their lifestyle choice/genetic predisposition/ordained state. I'm just not sure why the benchmark for sympathy or understanding has to be full agreement.

The girl in the article clearly had an interest in being a girlfriend to a guy. Her boyfriend did not meet this criteria, according to her own definition, and she was upset at what she perceived as a deception.

I may love and support a person who believes that they are, truly and in a real sense: A woman, a cat, a robot, or possessing of an extra limb. But that doesn't mean I have to agree with their belief, does it?

When did we trip over into this new regime where we are required to share in what we believe is a delusion, rather than just offer respect to fellow travelers on this planet?

Mike F

You've misinterpreted or misrepresented my views.

It's not up to me to judge what other people do with their genitals. Whack a nail through it, cut it off, add one on. It's really not my problem. And providing they're not busy waving it at me, it's never going to be a problem. Why is it important that I have to support, not just their choice, but their reasons?

The deception in the article is justified because, what precisely? The self-identified man feels that their gender identity trumps the objective reality of their genitalia, or that he might be disadvantaged if the more complicated truth were presented to others?

That's terrible. You can probably come up with some recent political decisions made because some strong beliefs were allowed to trump objective reality.

"I feel I should be a man" Sure.

"I should have been born a woman." Okay.

But to strap yourself up and simply proclaim that you are a guy? That's just nuts. And in this situation it's just, literally, a dick move.

It was a riddle Lincoln used, so I'm told.

"How many legs does a donkey have if you call a tail a leg?"

The answer is four. Just calling it a tail doesn't make it one.

Mike F