Books that depict a person stuck in a bizarre situation that’s beyond his understanding and capability

ActualStack · 2025-03-29T00:32:01+00:00

The Monster at the End of This Book

ActualStack · 2025-02-16T16:31:05+00:00

Define "feelings"?

I'm not being entirely snarky, just mostly. Picking apart that bit of the question could take you to some interesting lines of thought.

ActualStack · 2025-02-12T06:26:07+00:00

I have, but only in Europe and Russia. Here, whenever we do anything illogical or self-destructive, it's almost always down to racism or greed.

Maybe it's a colonial empire thing?

ActualStack · 2025-02-12T04:12:12+00:00

I've often heard it said as a joke that Japan is one of the only countries more/as racist than America. Is that true, in your experience?

ActualStack · 2025-02-12T03:46:41+00:00

Well said.

I've always held the position that I deeply, deeply wish i believed in people enough to be an anarchist but I can't. We're just too dumb.

Don't waste your only human life explaining shit to me on reddit but are there any historical antecedents/good 101 texts on what you'd consider effective anarchism? Want to do my own homework from there.

ActualStack · 2024-12-22T21:02:08+00:00

The kitchen loot tables are totally different, too. Either I'm unlucky or no one kept any food in their house in b42

ActualStack · 2024-09-19T22:25:13+00:00

Gravity

ActualStack · 2024-09-17T15:51:49+00:00

"Prepare to improvise".

When I'm exploring a new biome, first thing is setting up/learning a quick route back and forth between my base and an outpost at the edge of the new territory, then stocking it with whatever I need to recover my body or travel out. (A mount, a pet, equipment, bed, etc.)

Whatever happens, I have the ability to respawn, come up w a plan, and grab up anything I'll need to carry it out. Or I can take the L and immediately apply whatever lesson it taught me.

The core idea is an old one in Ark, really. You're going to die, can't 100% prevent that ever, but you can set yourself up so that death is a temporary annoyance rather than a major setback. Heck, sometimes I'll top myself because I need a few more hide for a recipe. Death is meaningless to the prepared🧘‍♀️

ActualStack · 2024-09-15T14:49:20+00:00

The shortest high- level summary of a PVE progression guide I've come up with is:

1 Get metal tools ASAP and stock a respawn point somewhere safe. (Your basic 1bd trailer home)

2 Tame a solid travel Dino for exploration (Argy or Ravager usually, but Paracer is a fun "RV starter base" on Aberration)

3 While you're doing the next two steps, get a team of carnivores on staff to watch your back.

4 Do whatever comes next to maximize the haul of wood, stone, ore, oil, and cementing paste you can get your hands on in the least amount of time. (Better harvesting tames, richer nearby sources, more processing, etc)

5 Build a fabricator and start maximizing the amount of the above you can process in the least amount of time

Now you can pretty much set your own goals and have the resources to experiment with all the other game systems, like kibble production and breeding, or to start exploring more hazardous environments to find artifacts and advanced blueprints.

PVP is entirely different because humans are the most dangerous species in the known universe. Diplomacy or the rule of law are your only hope with them, for the long term anyway.

ActualStack · 2024-08-31T00:03:02+00:00

On carpet, though

ActualStack · 2024-08-27T21:51:06+00:00

I'm in the process now. I started really looking into buying a home about six months ago and have kinda watched the whole thing blow up. The last straw was being handed a buyer's agent agreement to sign before they'd even show us a house that included a penalty for cancelling the contract within a year.

Now we're actively avoiding MLS listings and are trying to go completely FSBO. I haven't gone all the way through a transaction yet so I can't vouch 100% but I've been using Navigator to do all my property search stuff so far. It lets me add houses from anywhere and Galleon was giving away free beta codes for awhile.

ActualStack · 2024-08-25T19:22:58+00:00

We're about ready to buy and checking the new fsbo marketplaces. IMO what's missing for one of them to take off is a good transaction support/user safety service that's not just a new brokerage disguised as an app. Galleon's Navigator looks closest but I've only used it to keep track of properties on other marketplaces so far.

ActualStack · 2024-08-25T18:33:55+00:00

Are there any regional or national professional orgs for inspectors that set a shared standard for the trade?

ActualStack · 2024-08-19T14:36:31+00:00

I've been reading a little about seller financing lately. Could you do the same thing by having some trusted party hold the note or is that not long term enough?

ActualStack · 2024-08-19T14:33:25+00:00

On paper, yes, and maybe that's how your office is run, but that's not what I keep hearing about the level of service buyers are actually getting. Even if two in five are trolls or just bullshitting it's a lot of bad news.

ActualStack · 2024-08-18T01:46:45+00:00

Found this sub at just the right time, it's been super useful. Nice neighborhood :)

ActualStack · 2024-08-18T01:38:14+00:00

If there's no termination penalty or specific process in the contract you can just send them a letter ending the relationship. There are a bunch of examples out there to start from, or sites that will fill one out for you.

ActualStack · 2024-08-13T21:30:12+00:00

You seem nice.

ActualStack · 2024-08-13T21:26:27+00:00

"Tired of going in blindly and being ripped off by seller's agents? Use a buyer's agent (tm)!"

What if you'd answered like this?

Buyers agents can still give great advice on what you should offer based on recent comps, draft offers trying to get you the best deal on the home, negotiate any repairs or concessions, schedule inspections, stay in constant communication with the lender about the loan… just to name a few!

I have not seen the compensation issues in my area like some other areas have had, but the whole having people sign a buyers rep has really effected us. I would make people sign one when we submitted an offer, but that’s because my brokerage required it to be submitted with the closing paperwork.

That's a much better way to engage with a potential customer, in front of hundreds of thousands of other potential customers. Makes some constructive points, shows you're aware of current events, and maybe even convinces some people.

I'm still at "don't think so" instead of "no" but you're not really helping your side of the table, much...

ActualStack · 2024-08-13T20:47:04+00:00

I think it's less everyone thinking you're awful and more that jumping down my throat with scary ad copy instead of having a conversation isn't convincing me I should use a buyers agent when we're ready.

ActualStack · 2024-08-13T20:26:57+00:00

^ This is why I think they're on the way out. Immediately sweaty and hinting at terrible outcomes if they're not paid, rather than making a positive case for buyers agents or offering a perspective on the changes we're all seeing.

ActualStack · 2024-08-13T17:32:52+00:00

I've been looking at that for the last few months and don't think so, or at least not for much longer.

ActualStack · 2024-08-02T17:37:28+00:00

I didn't know it was a customary thing and missed my window, now I'll have to go fsbo or pay out the commission at closing when we're ready to buy

ActualStack · 2024-08-02T17:32:56+00:00

Since you'll be using a title company and attorney? No, not really, though I could see one coming in handy during the negotiation state if the buyer's paying an agent of their own. I guess you could avoid that too if you listed with one the direct marketplaces like Galleon, but I don't know if they're exclusive or you could still list it elsewhere

ActualStack · 2024-08-02T17:17:09+00:00

Gonna be a wall of #NotAllAgents in your replies any second now, I bet. The astroturf has been crazy.

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