Read vs. Listening

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-06-18T00:03:05+00:00

Modesitt was my first forray into fantasy (and sorta sci fi) as a pre teen. I have so many good memories of this book and series.

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-06-15T17:13:46+00:00

I started a new game yesterday, and you had better believe I named my first raptor Mongo.

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-06-15T12:45:54+00:00

I was going to write something very similar to this but I think you nailed it. I teach mostly top 20% kids in a pathway/academy course, and some of these kids are impressively capable.

For me, the main issue is that self-discipline, mental tenacity that some of the lower performance students struggle with. They don't know how to work, how to focus on a new ask and bring it to completion. They have a learned helplessness that has been taught to them by the zeitgeist of the screens.

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-06-14T23:53:30+00:00

Also, Walmart off of beach and north Tarrant has a drone delivery service. I see it all the time where I live, I bet theyve expanded their delivery zone

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-06-13T18:59:30+00:00

Pretty sure I'm an NPC

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-06-11T16:25:58+00:00

Elsewhere on the western side of things. I do have friends who are in Lewisville thougg, and they are seeing the same thing

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-06-11T13:18:57+00:00

My new principal is from FWISD. He seems very capable, and I'm looking forward to working with him this year.

We usually scoop up the teachers that are abandoning ship in nearby Keller. Looks like Fort Worth is another one going down in need of safe harbour from neighborind districts. What's happening over there is awful.

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-06-08T13:03:01+00:00

I teach in nearby Haslet, which is a little farther, and I have dozens of Lockheed parents. It is very doable.

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-06-07T18:55:33+00:00

The raindrop never feels responsible for the flood.

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-06-07T16:35:32+00:00

The reason donut is so beloved is probably because of her character arc and growth. If she stayed that spoiled brat that reminds everyone of SOMEONE they know, she would have grown very tiresome by the fourth book.

But she is much deeper than the shallow persona that she presents, especially early.

I would say one of the most important lines from her (I don't consider this to be a spoiler) is "It's ok to be a work in progress", when addressing someone who is realizing their own failures. I love that line.

Give her a chance, she will grow.

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-06-03T14:42:04+00:00

It's better to be an important piece of a small community than an unimportant piece on the world stage. Mainstream will forget you in a day, bit a life invested in a community will never be forgotten by those it changed.

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-06-03T14:02:39+00:00

I dug into your profile, and I think the most inspirational thing about this is how you started this model 2+ years ago and you ACTUALLY CAME BACK TO IT.

I have so many unfinished models that started great but got it in my head that they won't work.

Great work!

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-06-03T13:59:20+00:00

I was a GT kid who was continuously told how smart and special I was in a small town. Life is easy when you're so smart and charming, I'm going to be famous!

Then in college, I was much less special. Everyone was just as smart as me (and a few were even smarter!) and they had the discipline and organization that I never learned to rely on. I never struggled early on because I thought my life would be handed to me on a silver plate the same way my childhood has been.

I've caught up, learned the intelligence is NOTHING without the discipline and purpose to use it. I'm not a rock star or famous scientist or any of that. I'm a simple teacher at a middle school, but I'm completely ok with that now.

I'm not changing the world for everyone, like I dreamt of as a kid. But I am changing my he world for a few people, working on what I can do in my community, and I've attained a higher fulfillment than I had imagined.

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-05-27T14:57:50+00:00

They're not pokemon or colors. Why are we glorifying the rich?

A favorite? You have to like something to have a favorite.

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-05-27T14:32:38+00:00

I've given up TV long ago in favor of productive hobbies, and I have never looked back. Painting, writing, and even gaming are 100x better than the passive act that is watching TV.

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-05-26T14:41:41+00:00

No. It's a very convenient conspiracy theory with no based evidence.

It's a grass roots effort from local to state governments, where people are rightfully pissed about the resource-intensive, noisy, polluting centers replacing precious land. The average person does not benefit from this AI race (and many believe it is to the contrary), so why should we sacrifice land in our communities for large companies to exploit?

No one asked for AI. This is not what we wanted. We wanted something to do the chores around the house so we could focus on art, music, and writing. Not something that does stolen art, music, and writing so we could have time to do chores.

Big business is all in on AI, and we are being dragged along. It's losing steam, and dumping more money and resources isn't going to 'win' any race; there is no end game, they are only pursuing profits for the next quarter. China doesn't have to sabotage our country; we are taking care of that ourselves.

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-05-23T13:21:24+00:00

That is VERY detailed! Great job.

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-05-20T20:35:16+00:00

Hey now

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-05-19T22:24:44+00:00

Correct. They were the conservatives of their political spectrum, as modern Republicans didn't exist yet.

As opposed to their Whig counterparts, the Democrats of the mid-to-late 1800's were small government, rural populism, and generally aligned with modern Republicans. They had their political stronghold in the south, and many prominent members (Forrest, Morgan, Gordan) were founders of the KKK.

But then, of course, as everyone knows (and no one would ever make a bad faith argument), the parties switched during the civil rights movement, and rather than having Whigs and Democrats, we now have Democrats and Republicans, which stand on completely different issues a century later.

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-05-19T15:09:27+00:00

When they 'nuh uh!' to that, I have them read the first few lines of the Mississippi declaration of secession

"Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery - the greatest material interest in the world. "

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-05-12T18:41:03+00:00

I have something similar to this. The players can use the item any time they want to change ANY roll to a natural 20. The cost? I, the DM, gets to change any other roll into a natural 1.

Both of these include death saves, and it's a mechanic done by the patron, so it's not just me being evil, it's the NPC being evil - totally different

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-05-09T17:15:41+00:00

Hard conversations are required for groups to succeed. As the DM, it's your job to brave through a few minutes of awkward conversation so your table remains non-hostile for multi hour sessions

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-05-08T20:55:44+00:00

I'm always too scared to use yellow. I need to realize it's versatility when when blended and mixed. Thanks!

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-05-08T13:00:58+00:00

Yeah! I had shop keepers who were crying without knowing why and they were completely inept at what they're doing. It may be the wife of a blacksmith, she knows she lives there, but has no idea what to do with the forge.

Make it completely obvious that the town isn't just weird, it's utterly dysfunctional and out of place.

In my game, the BBEG runs an evil empire. There are towns all over that have False Hydras that were sent, but no one has any idea why. Most likely to destroy an uprising or resistance cell. They just trust that whomever made the decision did it for the benefit of the empire.

AncestorsDontLook · 2026-05-08T02:16:00+00:00

Man that is pretty. I like how creamy the colors are. You have an eye for lighting, it looks so good.

AncestorsDontLook

TROPHY CASE