Orthos's page

Wow. I have just witnessed the stupidest f**king use of AI to date: "Customer" feedback.

"It's hard to get customers to talk to you, so I modeled this AI to be a customer. Now you can get all the feedback you want, whenever you want it."

So apparently products will now be modeled to please AI bots, not human beings.

We live in the dumbest timeline.

Wah wah wah wah.....

"Get everyone back into the office" doesn't just apply to office workers anymore, apparently.

So, I know darned well this skims sideways into the "politics" lane, but this is one of those, "Is this just a California thing?" questions:

We were just told that as of September 30, Medicare recipients will no longer be eligible for telehealth calls at our doctor's office. They made it very clear that it wasn't their decision, but rather changes to Medicare. So I'm curious: Did anyone hear anything about this anywhere in the country? It's completely baffling to me, as I'd've expected some news outlet to pick it up, but just, "This is your doctor. Nope. No more remote calls for Medicare patients."

A quick google says that starting Oct 1, Medicare will only cover telehealth for people in rural office or medical facility. There are a few exceptions. Here is a link for the Medicare website: https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/telehealth

I don't care to speculate on why the media isn't covering it *cough*fear of retaliation, including loss of FCC license *cough cough*.

Just as an FYI to anyone who didn't already know, as there is basically zero news coverage of this for the above-listed reason.

Stay on top of your insurance as well. When Medicare goes, a lot of insurance companies are likely to follow suit.

So, I know darned well this skims sideways into the "politics" lane, but this is one of those, "Is this just a California thing?" questions:

We were just told that as of September 30, Medicare recipients will no longer be eligible for telehealth calls at our doctor's office. They made it very clear that it wasn't their decision, but rather changes to Medicare. So I'm curious: Did anyone hear anything about this anywhere in the country? It's completely baffling to me, as I'd've expected some news outlet to pick it up, but just, "This is your doctor. Nope. No more remote calls for Medicare patients."

As Gran said, any news coverage of it would trip the "negative coverage means I threaten your FCC license" stage of the current admin. So nothing has covered it at all, it's just been quietly slashed in the background.

The only place I was able to get telehealth for anything before I moved was from Planned Parenthood, which was already under fire, so this is just $#!% icing on the &%*# cake at this point.

The worst part is, when Medicare goes, a lot of insurance companies are likely to follow suit. So I wouldn't be surprised if people getting healthcare through sources other than Medicare suddenly find telehealth isn't being covered soon by their insurance either.

So one more thing for everyone to have to keep track of.

Holy hells. I remember him, he was one of the first people I learned to recognize when I first started posting on Paizo. I followed his Kirthfinder project and a lot of his other ideas for years.

My condolences to his friends and family.

Yeah I think this is just a personality difference between us, I don't enjoy watching those kind of trainwrecks even from a distance, much less as a participant. So my position would be either get it fixed so it plays properly, or bail. Life's too short to waste on entertainment that's not fun.

Efforts are being very strongly made to make this Our Fault even now that the true identity and motivations of the culprit are known. This is just an excuse at this point.

We've reached level 3 in our 5e Ravenloft game, survived a train wreck, a fight with a giant aberrant hermit crab using a sarcophagus as a shell, and a fight with the possessed train locomotive. Then the train's operator ditched us in the haunted forest under a moon gunning for Majora's Mask status.

Might be getting our PF1 group started back up this coming week, depending on IRL factors.

And of course NWN stuff continues going strong. Just wrapped up my first plot after the Big Move yesterday.

We got our new puppy this past week! His name is Kibeth (spoilers in article if you care) and he is about 7 weeks old now. Housetraining has been a tiring ride. His playpen arrived today though, so now he has a place he can chill while I'm working around the house or cooking or bathing or whatever, and I don't have to worry too much about him getting into things he shouldn't.

Scint has been working with some of her fellow teachers to put together a trivia night in or near the school, so will likely be attending that if possible.

(1) We set an ambush for the assassin, which wasn't what he wanted, so he had an NPC warn the assassin that we were in the ambush site, how many of us there were, and what we looked like.

RED FLAG

But there's the old gem that I love so much: "Your right to swing your fist stops at the other guy's nose."

Most liberals I know draw the line not as, "I don't want to experience or suffer things I dislike," but rather, "I don't want other people to do things that negatively impact me in a measurable way."

That would be a more accurate way to put it, yeah. That's what I was trying to get at.

We are getting our new puppy on Sunday! Also our new PnP group will continue meeting Sunday afternoons/evenings. We're playing a 5e game set in Ravenloft.

Anime Impasse:

Someone somewhere asked, "What does NobodysHome want in an anime?", and the result is Frieren, an absolutely beautiful exploration of, "What happens to the 20th-level elven mage when the campaign is over, all the other party members live their lives and die off, and she's left with another few thousand years of solitude to deal with?"

It is... magnificent.

It's been on my to-watch list for a while. Just haven't gotten around to it.

Yeah he's disappeared from FAWTL as well. I think he's just retired from hanging out at Paizo.

Um... that's not how it works...

And the worst part is, that not being how it works is fuel for their beliefs. Instead of recognizing that reality doesn't work the way they think it does and that their methods of proof are incorrect, they just point at the rebuttal and say "See how much I'm being opposed? That means I'm on the right track! THEY wouldn't fight against me so hard if I wasn't right!"

Greetings, human persons.

Error: Human not found.

Going to split the RP here - any further interactions with Squak's story can continue, but also going to move the plot along below the line. :) If you're interacting with both parts of the RP, please separate your own post similarly. Obviously not necessary if you're only interacting with one or the other.

Svetlana doesn't seem to have any questions yet, but she is clearly listening as the yarn is spun.

----

(A night later...)

A bright and clear dawn greets the Redwallers and their hosts the following morning, with the day brisk and without a cloud in the sky. A warm breakfast of honeyed porridge and sliced fruit - simple but filling, once more - awaits them when they arrive at the tradepost's table. Oleg and Svetlana ensure there is food enough for all their guests, and enough for seconds besides.

When the party begins to arrive, they find Oleg at work drawing his promised map on the back of a piece of scrap parchment, the curled front of which visibly displays a "Wanted" declaration, though with Oleg currently drawing on it you can't see the image of the criminal it seeks. He acknowledges any arrivals with a small nod and/or a quiet grunt.

"Share what you like, hon," she replies. She stirs a pot of dandelion tea on the table before serving a cup for both of them and anyone else who wishes one.

Orthos wrote:

It was "whatever version he had", I didn't look at the box or anything for details since he was hosting and handling all the "here's how to play" introduction that I had to focus all my attention on.

Did you enjoy it?

Yeah, it was fun. We're hoping to be able to have another game night as well as starting a PnP group here soonish.

We also got invited to join an existing group that wanted some new players, playing a 5e Ravenloft game.

I had a boardgame night with a couple friends last night. We played a game called Too Many Bones, and it was a lot of fun. I'm not a boardgame hobbyist like my friend is; I do enjoy them, but I go to his boardgame nights to catch up with him and other friends, first, and dig into a game's strategy second. This game, while complex, was pretty fun. We played far too late into the night, but it didn't feel like it.

On Sunday we are stopping by a going away party for some friends moving out of town, and this week, my kids are with my mom and sister for the last week of summer before school starts.

Funny enough, we had a boardgame night this past Saturday as well. Played a round of Wyrmspan and a round of Paperback, then grabbed dinner together. Hoping to get a gaming group together here for in-person gaming after years of only playing online - we've had several of Scint's new coworkers express interest, so it's just a matter of getting together and working out the plans.

Will likely not be this week, as all the teachers are out of town the whole week for training and onboarding, but maybe next weekend.

There's certainly enough food to go around, and the couple are content to serve the travelers as much as they wish to have. They seem happy to leave the guard duty to any volunteers such as Dahlia, and encourage the group to make themselves comfortable in their quarters whenever ready.

Svetlana is the first to pick up on Squakowk's sudden shift in mood, and settles next to the bird as she starts the cleanup after the meal. "You look as if you've much upon your mind."

One of the first fellow expats we met over here invited us (and several others, but we were the only bites) to his place for a game night. Played a round of Wyrmspan and a round of Paperback, then grabbed dinner together. Scint explained my whole situation re: pronouns, etc. to him at one point and he was really chill about the whole thing. Hoping to get a gaming group together here for in-person gaming after years of only playing online.

We have lost Meatball.

Did somebody sneeze?

Rowan makes sure that he makes all of the appropriate comments and noises of satisfaction about dinner before turning to Oleg to talk business.

"So... the bandit we captured mentioned three different crossings: Thorn Crossing, Shrike Crossing, and Nettle's Crossing. Do you know where any of those are?"

"Roughly," the mouse replies, gesturing vaguely toward the exit of the tradepost. "All of 'em are south, just in varyin' directions. I ain't explored a lot of it myself mind, but there's a few other reclusive types what ain't bandits out here in the Deep Green, an' sometimes they come by for this or that. Can draw you a map, though no promises it'll be perfect accurate."

THE WASPS ATE MY CLOTHES WHAT THE FHTAGN

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

DREJK. WE NEED STATS. (Or I can do it if you don't want to :D )

Envy.....

Thanks everyone for your patience this past week! We are moved and settled and have internet access. I'll be getting the game moving again ASAP, and should be able to resume normal posting pace going forward.

Hope things work out well for you two.

We have moved! Mostly settled in at the new apartment, though more orientation and move-related stuff to do on Monday and beyond. For the weekend though, we're pretty set and can just relax.

To add insult to the injury, Steam suddenly doesn't accept PayPal (specifically) payments, so I can't get a game on a sale that I - after watching a review or two - decided to buy.

And no, I was not convinced by the game's shameless fan service. It was combination of promising combat system and being 88% off...

That's so annoying, as I put money in my PayPal specifically for covering Steam purchases (among other things) until my new accounts could be all set up over here.

I blame Cosmo for the ignominies I must endure passing through the American Airport System not once but twice tomorrow.

Hail Cosmo! Blame Cosmo! Ia! Ia!!

Is the normal progression for cleaning a toaster:

"Wow, when was the last time anyone cleaned the toaster?" -->

"Ewww! This badly needed a cleaning." -->

"Even if I get this thing clean, I should just buy a new toaster." -->

"I think it'd be better if I just burned the whole kitchen down and start over."

Update: Toaster is far cleaner now than I thought possible... but my vigorous cleaning broke it somehow. *le sigh*

In the process of cleaning and boxing things to take to Habitat/Goodwill cleaning out our house in preparation for the Big Move, we eventually got to the toaster. Our conversation went as follows:

Scint: "This thing is filthy. It's going to take forever to clean. I almost just want to trash it."
Orthos: "... yeah just trash it. Not worth it."
Scint: "Kay. Trashing it."

That's 'pro-verb' not 'proverb'. Don't make me have to smash s@~&.

*smashes s*@&*

Great. Another Will save vs. pedantry failed. Every damn time...

That's coming out of your stipend.

Off to Oz?

Sort of, sort of not. China! My partner is an English teacher and got a job overseas.

Awesome!

I'm planning to get back into roller skating after the Big Move. One of our PnP group had her BDay get together at a local roller rink, and I discovered I still have most of the muscle memory to get back into skating... provided I have skates that fit. (The rink did not have skates in my size, sadly, and it was painful to wear one size down.)

So going to buy skates after the move and see about getting into the groove again. There's a skate park in the city we're moving to so that'll be an opportunity.

So a heads-up in advance!

This is my and my partner's final week in the States, and thus IRL is going to be extremely busy with the last-minute necessities of finishing packing, hauling off and giving away furniture, closing accounts, and all that other fun stuff associated with large-scale moves.

I'll still have internet access up to the 21st, and will make an effort to post when I can, but I might be a bit slower on the draw than usual, as you've no doubt noticed from the past couple days of similar responsibilities.

The moving day is the 22nd, and since the flight is all the way to the other side of the world I'll be offline pretty much that whole day and likely the one to follow.

After that I'm not 100% sure what our internet situation will be, but I'll be back online as soon as I can and will endeavor to resume posting as soon as possible.

Thanks!

Vanykrye wrote:

"So how am I supposed to know who is behind in their work? Open all their emails? Please advise?"

(1) Unlearn any and all stupidity someone whose brain resides in the 1970s taught you.

(2) Determine the industry standard expected production from each employee based on their role.
(3) Instead of monitoring their emails, or how many bathroom breaks they take, or whether they're watching YouTube or YouPorn at their desks, monitor their production as well-defined for every job in every industry.
(4) If they're meeting their production quota and their work is of acceptable quality, leave them the f*** alone.

EDIT: I swear, such requests enrage me because they show such a fundamental lack of comprehension as to why you hired an employee in the first place. You needed a job done. You hired someone to do that job. Either they are doing that job satisfactorily or they aren't. Anything else is none of your f***ing business unless they're breaking the law.

"But the entire reason I went into management was so I can manage people! Directly! As minutely as possible! I need the power trip!"

Oleg and Svetlana observe the conversation going back and forth, not yet interrupting until Dahlia turns the direction of the discourse upon them directly. The two exchange a meaningful look, and after a short pause Svetlana finally speaks.

"While we were wrong when we thought you were sent by the authorities to handle these troublemakers, we were assured someone was on the way, at least one representative from the Long Patrol. I would say the most suitable arrangement would be to lock them up until the hares arrive, and hand them over when they do. Such things as brigands are their duty anyhow, and if they're going to be this late in coming to assist, best we have their work bound and waiting for them when they finally do show."

"With bows on'neir noses an' bells on'neir tails," Oleg adds with an amused snort.

"We can keep them bound up in the barn," Svetlana continues, gesturing in the direction of the building, "until they arrive - but I absolutely do not believe it's safe to let them go. Even if they claim running back to Kressle will end with them skinned and scorned, it will also inform Kressle of your arrival and give her time to prepare for making more trouble. The less she knows about the current situation overall, the better for all of us."

"An' can't take a bandit at their word 'bout that they'll be runnin' eastward what they says they will," Oleg offers once again. "Not any further'n my tail'll reach, anyhow."

Impus Minor pointed out one of the unspoken benefits of living in a stupid-rich area: "One man's trash is another man's treasure" takes on a whole new level of stupid.

Three or four weeks ago he found a fully-functional 42" nearly-new Samsung TV set that the owners discarded because the batteries in the remote had leaked and ruined the remote. "Honey, the remote won't work any more!" "Oh, I guess we'll need to buy a new TV, then."

Around that time he declared that he needed a work table and co-opted one of our TV tables.

Yesterday GothBard and I were walking and found a fully-intact drafting table on the curb for disposal. And not a crappy one: Powdered steel base, laminated top; probably a $300-$400 table. Thrown out because the plastic cupholders on the side were bent a bit.

So Impus Minor is furnishing his entire room using other people's throwaways of top-tier items with trivial flaws.

He is pleased.

Envy, I remember the days of furnishing my apartment with discarded actual-trash furniture ("if we turn the cushions upside-down they're intact enough and we can ignore the wear/cuts") and emptied cable spools for tables.

MY CABBAGES ARE IN SPACE!

"Gyarhgh!" the second bandit howls in pain, attempting to flail away from the attack but unable to escape his bindings.

"I don't knows what'cha mean!" the first bandit wails, eyes boggling at the sudden assault. "I ain't bein' dishonest wit' yas, honest! Or uhh, I honestly ain't dishonest, I swears! Honest!" If the rat wasn't visibly spooked, he'd certainly be visibly perplexed as he fumbles over his words in near-panic.

Drejk wrote:

Fantasy Monster: Grand Bookworm

Its a big bookworm, made of books...

Next, a tape worm made of...heh...

But does its head look like a duck? A duck, a duck in a duct!

Freehold DM wrote:

Cindy Robertson wrote:

With Pride Month coming to a close, did anyone do anything to celebrate? I was going to head out to Seattle Pride on Sunday, but I may not be able to go.

I worked.

And I hope I made a difference somewhere.

You have made a difference in my life. It may not seem like a lot, but I look forward to your commentary whenever I come online.

I wasn't able to go unfortunately. My friend had to put her cat down and needed some support.

Thank you for being there. I guarantee it's made an enormous difference for them.

All but Squakowk: You're fairly confident the blabbering bandit is telling the truth, he seems legitimately afraid of what the group can do, especially after seeing the brutal death of Happs and that you defeated the beetle in the first place.

You're also confident the runaway bandit is also telling the truth - that this Kressle is as terrifying to him as you are to his partner, and that her punishments for talking to Redwallers should she get her paws on them will be cruel, painful, and inventive.

Both certainly know the way back to their camp, and you would be surprised if Oleg and Svetlana don't have some kind of map of the surrounding area of the Deep Green, even if it's not a complete or thorough one, that may point the way toward the Thorn, Nettles', Shrike Crossings that the talkative bandit mentioned.

Squakowk: This blathering buffoon seems to be sputtering a whole lot of nonsense but whether it's accurate or not is beyond your ken; as best you can tell, he's just vomiting words to spare his skin in hopes of some manner of reprieve or leniency. What to do with the information itself is more questionable.

---

Oleg remains off to the side, now leaning on the shovel as his tail flits about irritably. His eyes are narrow and wary as they dart from one brigand to the other, but he doesn't interfere with the group's decisions. He seems comfortable having ceded control of the situation to you all.

Svetlana returns around this time, her apron stained with the beetle's ichor and a large butcher's cleaver in one paw; if you didn't know what she'd just been up to, she'd be a proper terrifying sight right about now. She meanders her way over next to Oleg, looking around to piece together the situation that's unfolded in her absence.

That's about all most of us really ask for, to be honest.

So, posting here because I'm hoping some FaWtL folk will be able to shed some light for this old cis White male.

** spoiler omitted **

Because of course a villain like Sauron would have implemented the concept of tip-reliant wages.

Limeylongears wrote:

DungeonmasterCal wrote:

What are we Yanks doing this holiday weekend? I....will be doing nothing and loving it, though I'm getting closer to the debut of my new campaign and I will most likely keep tinkering with its finishing touches.

How about everyone else? Big plans? Big games? Fireworks and random finger removal?

Happy Independence Day and all that patriotic stuff!

Well, I'm borrowing a trawler and heading over to Boston harbour to try and get all that tea back out.

Wot’s all this then?

CHEESE IT THE COPS

Hiding from the fireworks and playing video games.

Thursday was my final day of work so I am completely free for the next two weeks. The Big Move is on the 22nd.