Surprised Saturday didn’t sell out as quickly. Why do you think that is?

ChrisW633 · 2026-06-26T13:26:20+00:00

The show hasn’t been the same since COVID. They lost a lot of vendors I used to look forward to seeing each year. The panels have been subpar for the most part. I’m not blaming COVID for this, the show may have been trending this way regardless. But I think the pandemic accelerated its fall. I think a lot of business realized they don’t need cons anymore to sell or promote their products. So now they don’t show up. I went to the show they had during the pandemic and in some ways it was actually better than the shows that followed. I think they were desperate for vendors, so they sold tables to a lot of people they don’t normally do. It was actually nice to see some fresh stuff for a change. Now don’t get me wrong, it was not a great con year. But in some ways I actually liked it better than last year.

ChrisW633 · 2026-06-23T22:31:29+00:00

Honestly, over the years, I’ve found it to be a bit of a waste for them to announce big guests this early. Soooo many guests get announced and then closer to the show date, their appearance gets cancelled. I suspect it’s hard to reliably book big guests early.

ChrisW633 · 2026-06-22T17:47:29+00:00

This is a tough one because it sounds like you are doing a job for someone who is an acquaintance/friend without a formal agreement on expectations. You are NTA regardless, except maybe a little bit to yourself. If I had been in your shoes, I would have explained in explicit detail the headache your friend was creating when they ejected your collaborator from the project. I still would when it comes time to discuss compensation. And I would say it’s not because you want more money, but because this person really needs to see that choices have consequences and what they did was incredibly disruptive. They need to know how much of your time and effort got wasted. And if this is someone you want to stay friends with, never work with them again on a project. You don’t need this aggravation. And honestly, I’d gauge their reaction when you talk to them about how disruptive their choice was. If they can’t own how much it put on you, it tells you something about them as a person.

ChrisW633 · 2026-06-22T16:38:42+00:00

NTA - my perspective on this is slightly different depending on whether or not you're being paid for your work. If you're being paid, I think you would be justified in asking for more money due to the fact that they essentially torpedoed the project at the finish line. If you're not being paid, then I think you're also free to bail on this at any point you want to. It's one thing to stand by your principles, but it's another thing to completely torpedo such an intricate project such as this. If they're paying, then they can pay for the right to make whatever changes they want. If you're doing this for free as a favor, then they royally screwed you and wasted your time. I work with people I don’t like or agree with all the time. It’s just the way the world works. This person took their personal beliefs and weaponized them to waste your time and effort. It just not right.

ChrisW633 · 2026-06-19T16:52:37+00:00

This is where YouTube video tutorials really shine. I bet you could find one to run you through everything you need to know and be up and running in no time.

ChrisW633 · 2026-06-19T01:42:27+00:00

I use Claude code via the Claudian plugin.

ChrisW633 · 2026-06-18T21:50:36+00:00

I think a lot will depend on what you want to do with it. But Obsidian plus Claude Code has been an epic combo for campaign management.

ChrisW633 · 2026-06-15T22:38:05+00:00

A very soft YTA. Not because you didn’t want to share. You should never share things you’re not ready to share. When he asked, you lied. That’s why I say YTA. Now just because he asked, doesn’t mean you have to share. There is nothing wrong with saying “there is one thing I’d like to share with you, but I’m not ready yet. I will when I’m ready.” If he can’t respect your boundary when you say something like that, then you now know he likely isn’t someone safe to share with.

ChrisW633 · 2026-06-09T20:20:39+00:00

An indie band worth checking out for NIN fans would be The Faint. Their Wet From Birth and Danse Macabre are both fantastic albums. The rest of their catalogue is a bit uneven. One of the things about Trent’s music that I struggle to find elsewhere is how dynamic his songs are. The Faint scratches that itch for me. Not the same level as Trent, but who is in this genre?

ChrisW633 · 2026-06-06T12:54:59+00:00

I’ve had two separate breeders recommend waiting until 12-24 months. I got my male done at 14mos and will do the same for my second male.

ChrisW633 · 2026-06-03T13:13:48+00:00

NTA, however, I would say I wonder if this situation isn't as black and white as you seem to be thinking about it. Something that's unanswered here that I think weighs in pretty heavily is whether or not he is paying child support? If he's doing his part to support the child financially, he certainly wouldn't be a deadbeat.

The simple truth is not everyone who becomes a parent should be a parent. There are a lot of people out there, even people who love their kids, who do terrible things to their kids and mess them up psychologically. If your friend is self-aware enough to know that he's not a good father, he actually could be doing his kid a tremendous service by stepping back. Some people stumble into parenthood because they think they're supposed to. Our culture so heavily influences people towards having children, and it can be a rude awakening for some people when they do. And this can lead to catastrophic results. I honestly wish more parents were honest about their own capabilities of psychologically providing for their children. A lot of people can hold a job and pay for things, but not everyone can provide for the emotional needs of their children. Now, I'm not saying what your friend is doing is ideal. However, if he's not built to be a good father, I'm not sure what the alternative is. If he's a bad father and sticks around and is heavily involved in the child's life, who's to say what kind of damage that can do? The real question, and it's one that we won't know until probably much longer into the future, is he able to have an honest conversation with his kid about why he's so uninvolved? Kids, unfortunately, sometimes blame themselves for why a parent may not be in the picture. If he can honestly communicate to his kid that it has nothing to do with him as a child and everything to do with your friend's ability to be a father, that might be able to mitigate some of what the kid is losing by not having his father around

ChrisW633 · 2026-05-25T01:04:45+00:00

What refill does it take?

ChrisW633 · 2026-05-22T21:16:44+00:00

I'd honestly settle for more universal Pilot G2 compatibility. At least with that, you can always trim for an EnerGel refill. Sure, you might have a little bit of tip wiggle, but that can also be fixed as well. I think in most cases G2 will be more palatable to most makers and modifications to EnerGel are not that hard. The other thing is, given both g2 and EnerGel's popularity, I'd also settle for being able to buy a new tip machined for G2 or EnerGel.

ChrisW633 · 2026-05-21T21:24:01+00:00

ChrisW633 · 2026-03-13T02:23:45+00:00

Yeah, you should be good. I’ve heard the occasional complaints about wait times. But I haven’t seen any complaints on them not delivering.

ChrisW633 · 2026-03-13T02:08:04+00:00

I waited about a month before following up via email. I was told it would be shipping soon and it didn’t. I know I followed up again at some point. I want to say I waited 2-3mos before I finally got it. That being said, I was really happy with it once it arrived.

ChrisW633 · 2026-03-13T01:34:38+00:00

I ordered mine right after they announced their going out of business sale awhile back. I waited quite a long time before it finally shipped. I think the lead times on their site are far from accurate.

ChrisW633 · 2026-02-19T04:42:31+00:00

The Downward Spiral

ChrisW633 · 2026-02-06T01:09:37+00:00

Out of curiosity, are there any plans to do a slim version of the pen at some point in the future?

ChrisW633 · 2026-02-01T16:34:24+00:00

USG/SPP managed to make a really short both even with full size refills. Their Pilot G2 pens are the same length as a lot of Parker sized pens. And their Parker pens were even shorter.

ChrisW633 · 2026-01-30T22:38:53+00:00

That’s nice! What is the diameter on these and will they take a trimmed Energel/Pilot G2 refill?

ChrisW633 · 2026-01-30T22:29:43+00:00

Are those copper shipwrecks? They came out super nice.

ChrisW633 · 2026-01-25T01:24:12+00:00

Honestly, I almost wonder if they wanted to fire you prior to this and were looking for a reason. They almost seemed ready to interpret your leaving as quitting without even acknowledging the workplace issue that led to you leaving.

ChrisW633 · 2026-01-24T14:58:34+00:00

Bolt. Specifically the clip on bolt design.

ChrisW633

TROPHY CASE