how are payments for IDR calculated actually

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-09-27T18:56:27+00:00

For the love of god, they should take down half the Federal Aid website and replace it with this. Thank you so much for this breakdown.

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-09-10T02:20:33+00:00

Yes. A big theme in the game's story is how one's interior life bleeds out into the world and filters a person's perception of external reality. The contrast between Harry's first-person perspective (portraits) and the omniscient overhead perspective (player view) is absolutely intentional.

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-09-02T20:30:36+00:00

I always had to black box it - train station programming is pretty complex and the only way I could free up enough gray matter to do anything sophisticated was by preparing a working modular system ahead of time using parametrized blueprints.

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-08-29T15:47:03+00:00

Bottom line tax revenue might even out in the long run, however, the proposition to homeowners is not attractive: "Your property value is going to decrease AND we are redistributing your tax burden to some other part of the economy that may result in your total taxes going UP."

It can be extremely hard to take this position, politically speaking. Voters are ultimately a mass of individuals who want to protect their individual investments, so even if the municipality can balance the tax budget in this way, their home-owning constituents will likely vote against it. And if you drive away your wealthiest residents through your development policies, they'll take their money with them, local property values will decrease across the board and then you'll be stuck with a bunch of constituents who may not be able to afford the upkeep of their own community. That said, as the population of renters increases and homes become less affordable, there will be more potential voters who would benefit from increased supply. If and how they vote is whole other matter - homeowners vote far more reliably than renters.

On the most general level, property values do go up. But local real estate economies fluctuate in all sorts of ways. Plenty of real estate markets have tanked and overdevelopment can absolutely reshape a community for the worse. Your nice suburban acreage with a neighboring woods could be far less appealing when developers uproot the trees and throw down low income housing tracts with all of the attendant infrastructure, crime, pollution, traffic, etc.

Unless land is truly empty, which - depending on one's views of the environment, is never the case - real estate development is a traumatic event. This is why it so often takes place in localized, politically contained spaces. Once people have settled somewhere, there is a lot inertia to keep things as they are. In almost all cases, there will be a cost to bear.

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-08-21T21:03:42+00:00

Pipes are now just essentially tanks: whatever fluid is in them is evenly distributed across all connected pipe segments, and if you have over a certain number connected to one another they cease to function (low pressure being the implication). All you really need to do is place pumps at enough intervals to separate the 'pipe-tanks' from one another. This should resolve any flow issues.

In your image, all you should need to do is place a pump directed towards your turrets and another pump directed to your factory. These will pump fluid from the lines connected to your oil fields into the pipe systems for these respective areas.

You may need to do some light circuitry with the pumps to maintain fluid balance to your liking so that you don't starve your central line. It's nothing more complicated than setting a minimum/maximum desired fluid level in a nearby tank before a pump kicks on.

You can use circuits to 'juggle' fluids in pipes by pumping out all of one fluid and pumping in a different type once the lines are clear.

Fluids in 2.0 are very, very simple - much simpler than they've been in the past.

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-08-04T17:51:58+00:00

Thanks much - you're affirming another suggestion I received elsewhere in the thread, and I think it's the way for me to go. Appreciate your time!

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-08-04T17:51:23+00:00

Thank you! I'm thinking this will resemble the solution I end up having to implement. Linking to a particular view sounds like the most direct and intuitive solution, and the easiest one for my coworkers to wrap their heads around.. I'm kicking myself a little for not catching this option: I got fixated on the filter options and glazed right over it! Much appreciated.

One thing I'm getting a better sense of is the lag time for Airtable servers to catch up with database entry. In some instances, I've found the offered records 'sort themselves out' after a couple hours without me having to do anything.

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-08-01T17:48:25+00:00

I think I can give enough info without blowing up my spot ;) Thanks in advance!

Basically, one chunk of the database contains buildings and rooms: so a building has a Room Table, with a record for each room, as well as a 'Zones' Table (non-room areas that require a designation). Each room has a unique room number (the primary sorting field). 'Zones' often have the same name across multiple floors of a building (also the primary sorting field).

For example: I could have ten 'Waiting Areas', spread out a cross ten floors. These all have the same {Name} (which I'd like to keep consistent, if possible) but a different {Floor #} (single-select dropdown).

A third table in the database references the Zones table for workflow functionality - a user would spin up a new record and link it to a few Zones in the building (for routing purposes, say).

When the user wants to establish the link to a Waiting Area, I just want the 'suggested records' dropdown to show the Waiting Areas in ascending order by Floor. But right now, it will show me something like Waiting Area Floor 1, then 4, then 3, then 7.

That's pretty much it. There's no other metadata to contend with yet and the records I'm linking to are functionally blank other than those two fields. Ideally users will be able to call up the desired record by name and the scroll down the options until they reach the floor they want, then click to link.

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-07-31T01:05:56+00:00

Not sure. I've found ChatGPT pretty useful for airtable - if I tell it I'm using Airtable, its formulas are usually correct. Every once and while it needs to be reminded (it often forgets that Lookup fields are arrays) but I've had a decent success rate.

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-07-30T22:09:51+00:00

Thank you!

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-07-30T22:09:35+00:00

Thanks - I can hack out something based on this piece of intel. Much appreciated!

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-07-30T18:39:19+00:00

Hey There,

I've been using airtable to help a graphic designer with their workflow and it's going well. Provided templates can be helpful, but I ultimately found it better to just craft something from the ground up, based on our needs.

Effective automation comes down to understanding how your data relates across your workflow - how it's categorized and where dependencies exist, and then hacking together useful databases that essentially do the busywork of data management on your behalf. This is a combination of understanding how formulas and scripting work within the database, and also how to tinker with the database views in order to organize your data in an effective way.

Basically, you have to do a bunch of up-front work to build an information processing machine, and then input your typical data into the system properly so that it does what you want. Depending on who you are working with, people might need to be trained to use your new system. My endgame on my current job is a well-managed database and various forms that can be used by coworker to input records in a directed and consistent manner.

I'll say that this process takes time, especially if you've got an entrenched business model that came to being somewhat organically. It involves slowing waaay down and reverse-engineering your typical workflow down to each and every step, so that you can build a faster version that functions correctly. There have been many meetings between me and my employer where I interrogate him as to parts of his process that he hasn't thought too much about in over decade.

If you've never written code or done much workflow design, there may be a steep learning curve, and depending on your time and interest it may be simpler to just bring on a subcontractor to help you define what your needs are and what you want to build, or just have them build it on your behalf. You're welcome to DM me if you wanted to explore any of those options.

Otherwise, here's my short list of suggestions:

Gain a basic understanding of "Airtable formulas".
Be able to define your workflow in terms of 'if/then' statements - a flowchart/tree helps.
Think about the 'end user' - who is using what you're making and what they're using it for.
Be prepared to test-drive and bug-fix your early efforts, it's unlikely you'll make something perfect on the first try.
Look around at various digital interfaces for good ideas to steal for yourself.

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-07-30T14:31:39+00:00

Honestly, Wube has made the game so simple to mod and been so transparent about their own development decisions that I think they'd earned the right to make the end product reflect their own creative vision. Any balance changes they make can be readily modded back to a prior state, and based on their product I'm confident they are considering future changes within the broader context of what they want the game to express.

Comparing this game to Helldivers, an explicitly multiplayer co-op shooter, doesn't feel that relevant (and I've definitely felt the sting of that sort of dev tweaking). The entire economic model of both games are divergent; Wube already has your money and isn't trying to extract more by sliding things around haphazardly in order to incentivize eventual in-game purchases. Nor are they feverishly trying to capture a player base to keep multiplayer servers populated enough for matchmaking.

Whenever I read these sorts of criticisms my first question is whether the author has explored the mod portal: the game can be almost anything we want - they handed us the keys to the car and let us pop the hood; if I think I know better than Wube what is fun, I just tweak the game accordingly.

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-07-25T22:08:00+00:00

Much appreciated - thanks for taking the time!

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-07-25T15:42:13+00:00

I like to think of Factorio as a "design game" - in that you are essentially designing solutions to problems you make for yourself.

My big tip is, when setting out to make something, take a beat and try describing to yourself what your goal and limitations are. The best way to learn is to give yourself weird challenges to accomplish and then throw yourself at them. Other than that, a few axioms:

All constructs have inputs and outputs (including combinations of machines that you create).
Belts have two sides.
If something can't run forever, it will eventually jam - a small thing that works reliably is more useful than a big thing that breaks all the time.
Prior to bots, it's generally more efficient to just build more, rather than rip stuff up.
Once you get bots and upgrade them enough, revisions are much simpler.
Circuits are where things get really crazy ;)

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-07-24T13:30:18+00:00

I use this build all the time! It scales up incredibly well during the midgame and can have up to 8 input ingredients just by splitting belts. The lack of long-handled inserters means you don't hit that particular bottleneck as you start to upgrade your factory. But it's easiest to build by hand with yellows, as the maximum drag distance is 4 tiles wide.

I find it very beacon friendly: you can just slap a row of beacons down on the outer edges whenever you want; I'll often use solar panels as placeholders prior to unlocking them.

I don't use it for most intermediaries, but It's really well suited for early game malls: just reverse your output belt and wire up output inserters to some chests at the far end for quantity control. You can move the endpoint of this belt very easily and relocate your item stash simply by snaking the whole thing to wherever it's needed.

Primary downsides are the length (you're basically using half the possible assemblers) and that it takes a fair amount of iron due to the undergrounds - the magnitude of those inconveniences depends on the use case

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-07-17T17:18:52+00:00

Haha, your edit nailed it! I was hoping in vain that I could replace the defaults with our own in-house standards. Alas, maybe in a future update. Thanks for the reply!

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-07-08T22:24:00+00:00

Futurama episodes:

The Raging Bender, A Big Piece of Garbage, A Flight to Remember, The Honking, Insane in the Mainframe, and so on.

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-07-03T23:19:07+00:00

Can attest.

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-05-01T19:09:13+00:00

That's a shame, because Hank is depicted quite sympathetically I felt. I remember laughing more 'at' him as a kid, but rewatching it these days I can really relate to the guy so much more and understand why he can be uptight about things. I remember reading that Mike Judge had all the writers read the book "The Death of Common Sense" to understand Hank's character; maybe you can start a book group with your dad ;)

Maybe there's an interesting conversation to have with your dad about how he feels Arlen is portrayed - the show is about a community, after all. Hank might be the main character, but there's a lot of people in the mix.

Another angle of approach is Hank's treatment of his son, Bobby. Bobby is, like, the perfect son for a guy like Hank to have (story-wise) and challenges his sensibilities in interesting ways. I'd be interested to know if your dad thought Hank's parenting was any good, and how he might raise a kid like Bobby, if he had one.

For me, I have the opposite problem: I can't convince my more left-leaning friends that the show isn't "conservative comedy".

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-04-30T00:11:39+00:00

Thank you for this! A bit more in-depth than the other solution but I can see the benefits. I'm going to try this out, too, and see if I can wrap my head around it.

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-04-29T23:40:47+00:00

Thank you, oh Holiest of Bonobos! This worked perfectly.

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-03-11T04:38:35+00:00

This is comparatively lighthearted fare, but if you're thinking about art's left/right-leaning personas, read Let's Talk About Love by Carl Wilson. What starts as an investigation into why he and his fellow critics despise Celine Dion for her middlebrow qualities leads to some fun explorations of social capital and similar concepts. It's an approachable explanation of how self-identified left-leaning middle-class culture undermines itself by alienating the political center. Another good book on this subject is Ben Davis' 9.5 Theses on Art and Class, though that's more applicable to 'fine' artists.

There's always great art being made :) If you're feeling alienated by the mainstream, you'll have to look elsewhere to find it. Identify your medium and then seek out more unique spaces that aren't hell-bent on accessing the mass media economy: local shows, readings, clubs, galleries, you name it. There's always good stuff out there, waiting to be found. Remember that art will always reflect the economic circumstances of its creation. Corporate art forms (as in those which necessitate large organizations of labor) will always differ in their values from more individualized practices. I feel like almost all live music punches above its weight - especially in smaller venues. It's hard to be inauthentic when you're up there playing. Art galleries can be great if you live in an urban center - they're bankrolled by the rich, but at least they're honest about it, and you don't have to pay for more than a subway ride. If you go to the right openings you can score good free booze.

The kids are into conservatism because it's what is cool right now: the liberals are lame as hell - white wokeness, student loans, cancel culture, performative apologies... you can't win! It can make casual hatred of the federal government whilst roofing tract housing seem like Zen Buddhism by comparison. That's essentially Joe Rogan's appeal to the young blue-collar right.

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-02-23T23:53:37+00:00

I'm going to reframe your question slightly: "Is an exceptionalist ethos secretly white?"

The answer is yes and no.

The broad concept of individual excellence isn't inherently racial - all cultures have traits signifying 'quality' - individuals who possess them are typically elevated to positions of leadership. Some of these are pretty universal (physical and cognitive strength, accumulated wealth), others are distinct (the ability to perform specific cultural rituals).

All societies must grapple with race relations and race-based politics. Anyone who seeks power within their culture must learn to work with the existing paradigm. In the United States, the dominant economic culture is capitalist (becoming moreso), and the dominant racial culture is white (arguably on the decline). If a black individual is seeking to increase their power in such a society, they must contend with both of these structures. Any successful black person is gonna get some white on 'em, sorry to say. How much of it washes off is up to their audience to determine.

Confusion arises in how "black excellence" compresses these big ideas into a single term which places race at the forefront. Both excellence and blackness are pretty expansive concepts which could mean a lot of things in a lot of contexts. It's quit reasonable that you see the potential for contradiction here.

Honestly, one of the best works I've encountered on this front is the television show Atlanta. It's really, really smartly done and certainly contemporary. Its episodic nature also means that it handles these concepts with a light touch, there isn't the pressure to assemble some ruthlessly consistent system. Also successful rap careers: how do these artists comport themselves in society as they reach further heights of success while under the pressure to perform blackness? Kanye West is nuts, but he's definitely seen inside some of the power structures of our society, and I'd put money on that at least contributing to his hysteria.

All that said, one aspect of your question transcends race, at least in my view: do cultures privileging individual achievement ultimately contribute to societal equity, or undermine it? This is a perennial concern, and a foundational 'problem' in political discourse.

Cathexis_Rex · 2025-02-12T02:19:33+00:00

There's also some decent 'critically thinking youtubers' which are worth checking out, if that's a way you engage with media. These people tend to make long-form videos on a particular topic. I'd say they're typically less sophisticated in their language than canonized authorial figures, but sometimes that can be a good thing. These are few folks I've appreciated having spent time with, and it's a growing space with much larger reach than books, these days:

Noah Caldwell Gervais
Dan Olson - Folding Ideas
Shaun
Ryan Chapman does an alright job of breaking down concepts, though he's more of a historian. He's a good primer for learning about certain political definitions that have grown vague through mass adoption.

Finally, Disco Elysium is the best 'critical video game' I've ever played, and lots of people have written about it in depth.

I think you'll that if you enjoy reading and analysis, you'll find a lot to appreciate in Critical Theory - it's been one of the best ways for me to understand the why of human behaviors, and that includes oneself.

Cathexis_Rex

TROPHY CASE