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Well, tonight should be "interesting": From the very start of the campaign, Shiro has made it clear that if we don't have the appropriate knowledge skills when we reach the puzzles, we will die.
As I've mentioned, Selfish Player agreed to be the knowledge monkey, but as soon as he got killed the first time around, he's brought in two new characters, neither of whom had any knowledge skills. And as I've mentioned, they're making my cleric, with the worst survivability in the group, go first and test everything.
Both Shiro and I are convinced she's going to die tonight unless some people make some incredible rolls.
Now let's see what actually happens.
Good luck, and maybe the weight will land on someone who deserves it.
oh no my robes my bugs are getting everywhere *does her best Oogie Boogie impression*
Drizzle caramel on the driveway next door - the caramel of YOUR DOOM!
Did someithone sayeth, Drizz't?!! Forsooth!
Drizzle caramel on the driveway next door - the caramel of YOUR DOOM!Did someithone sayeth, Drizz't?!! Forsooth!
MIDBUS! THE CARAMEL OF DOOM IS BEING TALKING TO FAWFUL! I HAVE CONFUSION!!
Let the past die. Kill it, if you have to.
Waaaay ahead of you!
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Turns out the first shrine was just, "Kill the obvious monster and take the obvious path." No Knowledge rolls required. One shrine down, eight to go...
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On my way to Seattle this morning. Hoping this weekend is as fun as I'm thinking it can be.
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Well, I learned something last night: Driving with a commuter mug full of hot coffee is far, far more effective at keeping me awake and alert while driving in the wee hours than any energy drink. I think the warmth had something to do with it. But 3.5 hours of driving from 10:15 pm - 1:45 am was surprisingly easy until the final 10 minutes, when I think my brain was just thinking, "I'm almost home! Time to crash!"
No, no it's not.
Stupid brain.
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Oh, and just how bad is Selfish Player at 5e builds?
As part of the AP, we picked up an NPC scholar who's supposed to be utterly useless in combat; you protect him and he gives you the knowledge rolls you need outside of combat.
And we realized that if we gave the scholar a Toll the Dead cantrip, he would be more useful than Selfish Player's PC!
(Yep. All he does is hide from fights and cast Toll the Dead from afar. He's supposedly a warlock, but we've never seen him cast anything other than a cantrip nor use any ability other than his, "I teleport to safety," ability, so as far as we know he's completely useless because he didn't take any knowledge skills.)
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How do you know you have a good manager?
NobodysHome: I just noticed our winter break doesn't start until Wednesday December 25th. Is it OK if I take the 23rd and 24th off?
Manager: Oh, I'm taking those two days plus January 2nd and 3rd so I get two full weeks off. I'd do that if I were you...
When your manager actively encourages you to take extra down time during the holidays...
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Oh, and just how bad is Selfish Player at 5e builds?
As part of the AP, we picked up an NPC scholar who's supposed to be utterly useless in combat; you protect him and he gives you the knowledge rolls you need outside of combat.
And we realized that if we gave the scholar a Toll the Dead cantrip, he would be more useful than Selfish Player's PC!
(Yep. All he does is hide from fights and cast Toll the Dead from afar. He's supposedly a warlock, but we've never seen him cast anything other than a cantrip nor use any ability other than his, "I teleport to safety," ability, so as far as we know he's completely useless because he didn't take any knowledge skills.)
I'm going to regret asking this but... did he not take eldritch blast?
I'm going to regret asking this but... did he not take eldritch blast?Oh, and just how bad is Selfish Player at 5e builds?
As part of the AP, we picked up an NPC scholar who's supposed to be utterly useless in combat; you protect him and he gives you the knowledge rolls you need outside of combat.
And we realized that if we gave the scholar a Toll the Dead cantrip, he would be more useful than Selfish Player's PC!
(Yep. All he does is hide from fights and cast Toll the Dead from afar. He's supposedly a warlock, but we've never seen him cast anything other than a cantrip nor use any ability other than his, "I teleport to safety," ability, so as far as we know he's completely useless because he didn't take any knowledge skills.)
He did, but he didn't take any of the "you can fire into/while in melee combat" feats so he's pretty much always at disadvantage with it so he uses Toll the Dead instead because it gives him a better chance of doing any damage.
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Well, I learned something last night: Driving with a commuter mug full of hot coffee is far, far more effective at keeping me awake and alert while driving in the wee hours than any energy drink. I think the warmth had something to do with it. But 3.5 hours of driving from 10:15 pm - 1:45 am was surprisingly easy until the final 10 minutes, when I think my brain was just thinking, "I'm almost home! Time to crash!"
No, no it's not.
Stupid brain.
I could have told you that.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
How do you know you have a good manager?
NobodysHome: I just noticed our winter break doesn't start until Wednesday December 25th. Is it OK if I take the 23rd and 24th off?
Manager: Oh, I'm taking those two days plus January 2nd and 3rd so I get two full weeks off. I'd do that if I were you...When your manager actively encourages you to take extra down time during the holidays...
It's a trap!
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Toying with the idea of renting the house to college kids if other plans work out since we're about 20 minutes from the campus. Minimal fixing up needed compared to actual sale...
Toying with the idea of renting the house to college kids if other plans work out since we're about 20 minutes from the campus. Minimal fixing up needed compared to actual sale...
Depending on what I learn about Social Security that doesn't involve millions of dollars in fraud, we may do something very similar: Get a 4-bedroom house just outside of Edinburgh, live in it 182 days/year, and donate it rent-free or at greatly reduced rent during the school year to women in STEM majors.
From what I've read, in order to receive Social Security you have to live in the U.S. for 183 days a year. But acquaintances have insisted you just need to maintain a primary residence not actually live in it, so I'll have to consult a lawyer.
EDIT: And while we can do OK without Social Security, we've both got it pretty much maxxed out so that's a LOT of annual income to walk away from if we can help it.
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Master's homework is guilt-tripping me.
Leadership textbook - "The simplest way to understand your leadership purpose is to ask yourself: 'If I were to disappear from my current job and someone else with equivalent skills were to take my place, what would people miss?'"
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Master's homework is guilt-tripping me.
Leadership textbook - "The simplest way to understand your leadership purpose is to ask yourself: 'If I were to disappear from my current job and someone else with equivalent skills were to take my place, what would people miss?'"
Oh yeah. Never ask that question. That way madness lies.
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It's more that I'm actively seeking to emigrate, which is going to force me to leave a job I love and kids I have a great rapport with, and I hate it.
Toying with the idea of renting the house to college kids if other plans work out since we're about 20 minutes from the campus. Minimal fixing up needed compared to actual sale...Depending on what I learn about Social Security that doesn't involve millions of dollars in fraud, we may do something very similar: Get a 4-bedroom house just outside of Edinburgh, live in it 182 days/year, and donate it rent-free or at greatly reduced rent during the school year to women in STEM majors.
From what I've read, in order to receive Social Security you have to live in the U.S. for 183 days a year. But acquaintances have insisted you just need to maintain a primary residence not actually live in it, so I'll have to consult a lawyer.
EDIT: And while we can do OK without Social Security, we've both got it pretty much maxxed out so that's a LOT of annual income to walk away from if we can help it.
Can't you get a Social Security retirement/pension if you are entitled to, to be paid into your account regardless of place of residence?
No wonder Americans are nonplussed with Social Security...
Polish pension, once earned is generally either sent via mailman to specified address or sent to a bank account - it took my mother some paperwork and waiting to have it sent to a UK bank account, but now it simply goes there. If Poland hadn't an agreement with UK, the money would have to go into a Polish bank, but she would be still getting her pension regardless of place she was living.
My mother-in-law still gets her UK old age pension when she's in Ghana.
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Can't you get a Social Security retirement/pension if you are entitled to, to be paid into your account regardless of place of residence?
Social security in the US isn't actually an account. It's a tax on work paid by workers and employers that is put into the general fund and two seperate Government programs SSI and SSDI that pay out differing amounts to old or disabled americans depending on how much you've put into it during the last 5 years.
This makes the rules for what you can and can't do positively byzantine.
Can't you get a Social Security retirement/pension if you are entitled to, to be paid into your account regardless of place of residence?
Social security in the US isn't actually an account. It's a tax on work paid by workers and employers that is put into the general fund and two seperate Government programs SSI and SSDI that pay out differing amounts to old or disabled americans depending on how much you've put into it during the last 5 years.
This makes the rules for what you can and can't do positively byzantine.
It works that way here when it comes to basic pension (there is still an option to make voluntary payments to private pension funds beyond the pension tax) - except your future pension is based on much longer period of payments than the last five years.
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Expatriation from the U.S. is one of the worst such processes in the world:
(1) The U.S. is one of two countries that require you to pay income tax on any money you earn anywhere in the world. So, if we were to move to the U.K. during our careers we would be required to pay both U.S. and U.K. income tax. There *are* deductions, but if your income is high enough (and I'm sure ours crosses that threshold), you're hosed.
(2) As we've been saying, you are required to pay 6.2% of your gross earned income into a pension fund every year, yet that pension fund is national, not personal, so there's no guarantee you'll ever see a penny of it. Especially if you expatriate.
(3) One of my favorites: If you revoke your citizenship to eliminate the income tax and you're worth over $2 million, the Feds immediately seize 30% of your net worth on the assumption you're revoking your citizenship for tax evasion purposes.
They really, really don't want you to leave.
Also you have to pay a hefty fee to revoke your citizenship. Can't pay the fee? Have to keep paying US taxes. Forever.
ITS ALM0ST L1KE [hyperlink blocked]!!
Also you have to pay a hefty fee to revoke your citizenship. Can't pay the fee? Have to keep paying US taxes. Forever.
I've read that it's "only" $2500, but it can take years to process and you'll probably need a lawyer and suddenly it goes into the tens of thousands range...
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And this is NobodysHome thinking about posting about politics and then not doing it...
...maybe I'll post about math instead...
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"Got a question for you. If you shoot a male deer in the leg, does he stagger?"
"What? Why would you shoot it in the-"
"She said stagger."
"UUUUUUGH"
"What, not fawnd of the deer jokes?"
"When does class end?"
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And this is NobodysHome thinking about posting about politics and then not doing it...
...maybe I'll post about math instead...
....
Get him, fritzy.| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I found a vampire pond so I stabbed it with the zombie spike and then found a zombie tree stump and chopped it out with the vampire axe.
Dyslexia is a son of a b#+!#!
So, I'm desperately putting off making some travel plans partly because I'm feeling under the weather after getting my seasonal illness shots, but on the off-chance that the good folks of FAWTtL-dom can inspire me, does anyone know about anything absolutely thrilling that should encourage me to visit Philadelphia?
A conference for work is going to be held there, but it's at least half hybrid and I can get away with Zooming in, and it's happening just at the start of the new year, the first weekend of January.
I would be more excited about it if I wasn't a bit out of it and at the end of a very busy couple of weeks. It doesn't help that I'm enough of a goody-two-shoes that I'm not likely to blow off early to explore before the evenings, if I attend my conference in person.
So, I'm desperately putting off making some travel plans partly because I'm feeling under the weather after getting my seasonal illness shots, but on the off-chance that the good folks of FAWTtL-dom can inspire me, does anyone know about anything absolutely thrilling that should encourage me to visit Philadelphia?
A conference for work is going to be held there, but it's at least half hybrid and I can get away with Zooming in, and it's happening just at the start of the new year, the first weekend of January.
I would be more excited about it if I wasn't a bit out of it and at the end of a very busy couple of weeks. It doesn't help that I'm enough of a goody-two-shoes that I'm not likely to blow off early to explore before the evenings, if I attend my conference in person.
I'm afraid I've never been there and it's a little too far for me to pop over and check for you.
We attended my friend's wedding in Pittsburg, and other than the usual local oddities ("We put french fries in our sandwiches! We have a gondola!"), it was completely forgettable. But there are quite a few far more local FaWtLers who might be able to provide better insight. That is, any insight at all.
So, I'm desperately putting off making some travel plans partly because I'm feeling under the weather after getting my seasonal illness shots, but on the off-chance that the good folks of FAWTtL-dom can inspire me, does anyone know about anything absolutely thrilling that should encourage me to visit Philadelphia?
A conference for work is going to be held there, but it's at least half hybrid and I can get away with Zooming in, and it's happening just at the start of the new year, the first weekend of January.
I would be more excited about it if I wasn't a bit out of it and at the end of a very busy couple of weeks. It doesn't help that I'm enough of a goody-two-shoes that I'm not likely to blow off early to explore before the evenings, if I attend my conference in person.
Idk, visiting the Liberty Bell? Otherwise all I've heard about the place is that evidently their football fans climb utility poles or something.
Idk, visiting the Liberty Bell? Otherwise all I've heard about the place is that evidently their football fans climb utility poles or something.So, I'm desperately putting off making some travel plans partly because I'm feeling under the weather after getting my seasonal illness shots, but on the off-chance that the good folks of FAWTtL-dom can inspire me, does anyone know about anything absolutely thrilling that should encourage me to visit Philadelphia?
A conference for work is going to be held there, but it's at least half hybrid and I can get away with Zooming in, and it's happening just at the start of the new year, the first weekend of January.
I would be more excited about it if I wasn't a bit out of it and at the end of a very busy couple of weeks. It doesn't help that I'm enough of a goody-two-shoes that I'm not likely to blow off early to explore before the evenings, if I attend my conference in person.
I think according to CY you kill the fans with the utility poles then disrupt the network by destroying their utilities with Polish fans.
Also you have to pay a hefty fee to revoke your citizenship. Can't pay the fee? Have to keep paying US taxes. Forever.I've read that it's "only" $2500, but it can take years to process and you'll probably need a lawyer and suddenly it goes into the tens of thousands range...
Yeah "Only" 2500 is not the kind of money I can pull out at a whim. And if/when we move, we're expecting a relative pay cut (though also likely a lower cost of living, so not a total loss), making it take all the longer.
It really strikes me when "obsolete" technology makes a comeback thanks to unnecessary corporate greed.
Ever since my first retail job in 1991, credit cards charged a flat 2.5% of purchases. Businesses accepted this because accepting credit cards increased their sales.
I don't know whether it was some kind of deregulation (it typically is), but suddenly credit card fees jumped to 3.9%. And businesses are no longer willing to eat that loss.
So here I am on Saturday morning, catching up on the budget and paying my bills, and all of a sudden I've had to break out and dust off my checkbook because not all companies are big enough to accept digital checks, so I'm writing physical checks and sending them in the physical mail...
...as I haven't done since roughly when I bought this house in 2002...
And when the lie gets so obvious it's pathetic: Years ago, I read a research article that showed that the best way to convince people to conserve resources was to compare them to their peers. Unsurprisingly, I wasn't the only one who saw that research and within two years all my major utilities (water, gas, electric) were sending me quarterly comparisons between our household and "other, similar households".
And somehow, we were always found wanting and in the worst tier of energy and water wasters. I smelled a rat.
Our water use dropped from 49 gallons per person per day to 42 gallons per person per day. California's "extreme drought" recommendations is to keep it under 55.
And yet, even at 42 gallons a day, 20% below the "extreme drought" recommendations, we got our water usage comparison chart and we're still in the top tier of water wasters.
Nope. I fundamentally don't believe it.
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So, I'm desperately putting off making some travel plans partly because I'm feeling under the weather after getting my seasonal illness shots, but on the off-chance that the good folks of FAWTtL-dom can inspire me, does anyone know about anything absolutely thrilling that should encourage me to visit Philadelphia?
A conference for work is going to be held there, but it's at least half hybrid and I can get away with Zooming in, and it's happening just at the start of the new year, the first weekend of January.
I would be more excited about it if I wasn't a bit out of it and at the end of a very busy couple of weeks. It doesn't help that I'm enough of a goody-two-shoes that I'm not likely to blow off early to explore before the evenings, if I attend my conference in person.
I'm afraid I've never been there and it's a little too far for me to pop over and check for you.
We attended my friend's wedding in Pittsburg, and other than the usual local oddities ("We put french fries in our sandwiches!
Chip butties have crossed the Atlantic!
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I think according to CY you kill the fans with the utility poles then disrupt the network by destroying their utilities with Polish fans.Idk, visiting the Liberty Bell? Otherwise all I've heard about the place is that evidently their football fans climb utility poles or something.So, I'm desperately putting off making some travel plans partly because I'm feeling under the weather after getting my seasonal illness shots, but on the off-chance that the good folks of FAWTtL-dom can inspire me, does anyone know about anything absolutely thrilling that should encourage me to visit Philadelphia?
A conference for work is going to be held there, but it's at least half hybrid and I can get away with Zooming in, and it's happening just at the start of the new year, the first weekend of January.
I would be more excited about it if I wasn't a bit out of it and at the end of a very busy couple of weeks. It doesn't help that I'm enough of a goody-two-shoes that I'm not likely to blow off early to explore before the evenings, if I attend my conference in person.
Yes, the Philadelphia sports scene is truly a magical sight to see! One of the few cities where you can go to a game and watch the fans of a team beat the s$~+ out of other fans of the same team.
In Philadelphia you ain't family unless you're throwing hands at each other.
Never been to Philly. The most I've seen of Pennsylvania is the SW portion that I drove through on my way to Baltimore.
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Oddly though, I'm currently in Seattle. It's been a good weekend.
I think according to CY you kill the fans with the utility poles then disrupt the network by destroying their utilities with Polish fans.Idk, visiting the Liberty Bell? Otherwise all I've heard about the place is that evidently their football fans climb utility poles or something.So, I'm desperately putting off making some travel plans partly because I'm feeling under the weather after getting my seasonal illness shots, but on the off-chance that the good folks of FAWTtL-dom can inspire me, does anyone know about anything absolutely thrilling that should encourage me to visit Philadelphia?
A conference for work is going to be held there, but it's at least half hybrid and I can get away with Zooming in, and it's happening just at the start of the new year, the first weekend of January.
I would be more excited about it if I wasn't a bit out of it and at the end of a very busy couple of weeks. It doesn't help that I'm enough of a goody-two-shoes that I'm not likely to blow off early to explore before the evenings, if I attend my conference in person.
Yes, the Philadelphia sports scene is truly a magical sight to see! One of the few cities where you can go to a game and watch the fans of a team beat the s*$$ out of other fans of the same team.
In Philadelphia you ain't family unless you're throwing hands at each other.
o.O “The minstrel’s uncertainty increased,” as The Thirteen Clocks puts it. Good to know, I guess?
I gather the art museum is pretty neat, so if I end up going in person, there’s probably that. And wandering around the old town. *Shrugs.* I’m not really much of a traveller, so I probably should go, just because.
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So, I'm desperately putting off making some travel plans partly because I'm feeling under the weather after getting my seasonal illness shots, but on the off-chance that the good folks of FAWTtL-dom can inspire me, does anyone know about anything absolutely thrilling that should encourage me to visit Philadelphia?
A conference for work is going to be held there, but it's at least half hybrid and I can get away with Zooming in, and it's happening just at the start of the new year, the first weekend of January.
I would be more excited about it if I wasn't a bit out of it and at the end of a very busy couple of weeks. It doesn't help that I'm enough of a goody-two-shoes that I'm not likely to blow off early to explore before the evenings, if I attend my conference in person.
Cheesesteak and gaming stores.
It's funny how your memories rarely align with reality.
It feels like we're in the middle of an extremely unusual cold snap, with highs in the high 50s and lows in the low 40s. I checked our weather history and I'm at least right about the highs -- we should be in the low 60s, so it's definitely "cooler than normal". But the lows in the low 40s are apparently completely normal for this time of year. I didn't think it dropped into the low 40s until January.
Live and learn. Or live and forget. One or the other.
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Fantasy Monster: Dead Men's Chest
Yo ho ho!
And here we go again.
We just got a notice that we're 5 months overdue paying for Impus Minor's dental visit.
Why?
(1) When GothBard first started taking him to the office in 2006, she gave them her cell phone number.
(2) Circa 2012 I took over taking the kids to the dentist. GothBard notified the office that her cell phone number was no longer a valid contact number. We did not give them an alternate number; instead we gave them the land line, our address, and my email address.
(3) For the last 12 years, presumably whenever they get someone new in the office, all communication switched back to GothBard's cell phone and went straight to spam. She wouldn't see it for a month or two, then would contact them and say, "Do not use this number!"
(4) This year they must have "upgraded" their system, because in the past I always got emails in addition to the texts to GothBard. This time all communication was exclusively through her cell phone: Reminder calls. Reminder texts. Nothing came to our land line, our email, nor our physical address.
So they didn't get paid for 5 months.
Maybe next time they shouldn't turn off all other forms of communication when they're trying to bill you.
EDIT: And yes, they ended their partnership with their e-billing company as well, so I had to write a physical check like a caveman.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
And here we go again.
We just got a notice that we're 5 months overdue paying for Impus Minor's dental visit.
Why?
(1) When GothBard first started taking him to the office in 2006, she gave them her cell phone number.
(2) Circa 2012 I took over taking the kids to the dentist. GothBard notified the office that her cell phone number was no longer a valid contact number. We did not give them an alternate number; instead we gave them the land line, our address, and my email address.
(3) For the last 12 years, presumably whenever they get someone new in the office, all communication switched back to GothBard's cell phone and went straight to spam. She wouldn't see it for a month or two, then would contact them and say, "Do not use this number!"
(4) This year they must have "upgraded" their system, because in the past I always got emails in addition to the texts to GothBard. This time all communication was exclusively through her cell phone: Reminder calls. Reminder texts. Nothing came to our land line, our email, nor our physical address.
So they didn't get paid for 5 months.
Maybe next time they shouldn't turn off all other forms of communication when they're trying to bill you.
EDIT: And yes, they ended their partnership with their e-billing company as well, so I had to write a physical check like a caveman.
Are the messenger pigeons in vogue too?
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If I gave the receptionist at my current dentist a check, I don't think she would know what to do with it...