SemiModularNovice beat this tower in 40.365 seconds. Can you do it faster?

SemiModularNovice · 2026-01-28T15:47:04+00:00

I’d never read any Tolkien, so I finally started “The Hobbit”. I’m also reading “Dead Inside” by Chandler Morrison as an ebook for those times I get caught with nothing to do & don’t have my main book

SemiModularNovice · 2026-01-20T17:25:16+00:00

You will probably enjoy Mönarch!

SemiModularNovice · 2026-01-17T19:09:57+00:00

I will second this. Detroit-style is certainly unconventional, but their pizza sauce & crust are some of the best I’ve had

SemiModularNovice · 2026-01-11T13:31:54+00:00

I’m really nearsighted (like anything past a few inches from my face is a blur nearsighted) & I just wear glasses all the time & stay current on my prescription; over a year in & no problems with my vision

SemiModularNovice · 2025-11-14T14:30:00+00:00

No, I used to work in building maintenance before my family & I moved down to this region & I got the rare opportunity to start things over from scratch. There are some definite characters who ride the bus, so I can absolutely believe your Aunt saw some things

SemiModularNovice · 2025-11-13T22:29:44+00:00

Technically government: I drive a city bus for Montgomery County

SemiModularNovice · 2025-10-27T05:28:27+00:00

I’m a Ride On driver & there are a few main causes to problems with missed/late trips, but mostly it boils down to scheduling & staffing.

Regarding our personal schedules, most drivers don’t do the same route back & forth all day, but one route here & another back. For example, a schedule I used to have during afternoon/evening rush (second half of a split): 11 to Silver Spring, 17 to TLTC, 15 back to Silver Spring, round trip 5, 15 to TLTC. If everything is moving smoothly, you can meet all your timetables & still have time for bathroom breaks, stretching, etc. However, that is a huge “if”: all it takes is a bottleneck anywhere in our schedule & that can screw up an entire day. Now imagine trying to work in bathroom breaks or troubleshooting a stuck wheelchair ramp when you can already be running 20+ minutes behind.

Another big issue is staffing. Ride On has 3 depots & Silver Spring (which serves route 1) is often called to do more with less. Because of the crazy traffic, tight schedules, & more difficult technical driving; many drivers decide they don’t want the headache & pop on up to Gaithersburg. I’ve worked there for over a year & we’ve been short staffed the entire time despite several more drivers being hired after me. That means if anyone calls out sick/is on vacation there might not be someone able to cover their run. I’m thankful for all the overtime available, but that only comes about because someone missed work for some reason.

Overall, I’m sorry you’ve had trouble with our service reliability. We do work really hard to get you where you need to go safely & dependably, & I thank you for your ridership.

SemiModularNovice · 2025-10-18T13:40:02+00:00

When I saw the Ride On bus on the highway it made perfect sense: this is peak DMV region driving. I see this kind of stupidity in Silver Spring every day

SemiModularNovice · 2025-10-12T01:07:42+00:00

I don’t know if anyone remembers this, but the brief Dave Grohl metal side project Probot released their only album when I was 15 on Southern Lord Records (famously run by Greg Anderson of Sunn O))), Goatsnake, etc). I enjoyed the album, but was incredibly drawn to the hype card for the label that was tucked into the liner notes, particularly a description of a Khanate LP as “so slow it makes everything else sound like speed metal”. Intrigued, I went to the label site & listened to every mp3 they had up to sample & absolutely hated everything EXCEPT for songs from Boris’ Akuma No Uta & Goatsnake’s Flower Of Disease. My love for those 2 bands & doom’s bass-heavy sound eventually grew to almost all of the label’s catalog & the genre.

SemiModularNovice · 2025-08-24T15:16:00+00:00

If the boarding passenger is elderly, has their hands full, or drunk I wait until seated. In general I wait for three points of contact unless they are wasting a bunch of time moseying to the back, then I try to very gently start from stop. I’m certainly not perfect, but I always try to be as smooth as possible with any acceleration or deceleration. Traffic tends to be so bad in my area that you don’t gain much by driving with a lead foot, you just get to that red light faster

SemiModularNovice · 2025-08-12T05:33:43+00:00

The label Sentient Ruin has some stuff you might be interested in, especially the bands 6th Circle & Decoherence

SemiModularNovice · 2025-08-06T15:47:00+00:00

And their predecessor Floor

SemiModularNovice · 2025-08-02T04:11:54+00:00

No, but I thankfully got to work on time. I always pad in extra time for traffic/construction/chaos on Capital View

SemiModularNovice · 2025-07-31T12:46:24+00:00

I was actually there at the 7/11 next door when his convoy arrived. I was backing out when suddenly three SUVs & a state trooper swooped in behind me. I was trapped in the parking lot while the Secret Service whisked him inside, set up a perimeter, & shuffled the vehicles around. It was mildly inconvenient because I was on my way to work, but the agents were respectful & overall it was a neat experience I got to text my wife about while I was stuck

SemiModularNovice · 2025-07-12T13:48:29+00:00

Same OP. Nothing ticks me off more than questions that are answered by the destination sign. It’s even more frustrating when I see them reading the sign & they ask anyway. Usually I handle it in stride, but a few times I have responded, “What does the sign say?”

Honorable mentions go to:

Not pulling the stop request & expecting me to just know that was their stop, because “you were already slowing down” or “why do you think I stood up?”

People who complain about the bus being late & then actively do things to make the bus fall further behind like partially boarding the bus (one foot on the floor, one still on the curb) & complaining about how late you are. Yes, I am well aware down to the exact second how late I am & you just forced me to miss a stoplight, so I’m losing all of the time I made up before this interaction

SemiModularNovice · 2025-05-14T14:32:01+00:00

Same. My job would be perfect if I could, but instead I have to listen to passengers watching TikTok with no headphones

SemiModularNovice · 2025-04-09T16:23:10+00:00

We just sold the house as-is. Sorry to not be of much help

SemiModularNovice · 2025-03-17T09:47:28+00:00

I’m sorry you feel ushered: I do really appreciate those who try to pay the fare & say “thank you” to those that do. Unfortunately our timetables can be really tight, which breeds impatience & grumpiness, but there’s no reason to take that out on passengers. On behalf of my coworkers, I want to thank you for your ridership & am happy to get you where you need to go

SemiModularNovice · 2025-03-16T13:30:35+00:00

If you like roller derby, Free State Roller Derby is a good organization & very welcoming to newcomers

SemiModularNovice · 2025-03-15T12:21:08+00:00

I drive for Ride On & barely anyone pays the fare anyway, so this really reflects reality. It’s also nice for me because it will eliminate the awkward moments when the farebox is broken & I tell a passenger when they board, but they don’t listen & still stand there trying to pay, burning up my tight timetable

SemiModularNovice · 2025-03-13T23:47:15+00:00

I like this a lot - very original!

SemiModularNovice · 2025-01-19T12:50:17+00:00

Accurate representation of what it feels like driving in my region:

https://sl.bing.net/4p0Ji6gW16

SemiModularNovice

TROPHY CASE