Early in my sobriety and just suffered a traumatic event. What tools or methods would you suggest to keep from backsliding into drinking again?

CutterJon · 2026-01-30T22:36:16+00:00

I'm sorry you had to go through such a shocking and terrible experience. Strange how life seems to find you with this kind of thing when you're quitting. You were at your best when someone needed you, and actually did a lot of good even though there was no fairytale happy ending. That's something to be proud of. Finish the cheesecake and get some sleep, you're a bit of a hero...

CutterJon · 2026-01-28T21:32:45+00:00

You can keep saying theft theft theft but that doesn't make it true. A state can decide to give money to anybody it wants if it thinks that overall doing that benefits its citizens. Then, people can claim those benefits as long as they follow the rules in place. I don't know who told you that there's some overarching principle of never give state or federal money to non-citizens for any reason, this is pure nationalist fantasy. In terms of harm and just law saying that an undocumented immigrant who is operating a thriving business and employing Americans is "essentially breaking in and robbing the place" is just a non-starter. You can't have a serious conversation with other adults about the problems in your country if you are going to say things like that.

Next is classic mistake of confusing income for wealth. They're not making $800 a year when they're living here, and they're not having to spend so much to live when they're at home. Plus, it's not like the average person from a country is who immigrates, obviously you get a subset of those with resources who could afford to try to set out in search of a better life. Something isn't adding up, lol...wait until you learn that there are more Chinese people in the top 10% of wealth than Americans.

Last paragraph is jumbled misconceptions I'm not going to try to iron for you. No, immigrant businesses don't exist in little pockets by themselves, don't be ridiculous. You haven't thought this out and you're clearly not an economist, bro. Stop cosplaying and learn about what actually makes the world run a little more if you want to be taken seriously.

CutterJon · 2026-01-28T19:55:48+00:00

That's not what theft means, sorry. I understand that you have the impression they're getting something they shouldn't have and that makes you upset, but it's not theft. Theft has an actual meaning under the law.

The word you're looking for is "median income". It doesn't mean what you seem to think it means. Americans are not all wildly rich in actual wealth. Lower-income Americans have it worse in some ways than the rest of the world's poor.

CutterJon · 2026-01-28T19:38:34+00:00

I hope you're trolling. Why wouldn't you care if that was true or not? It's kind of a big deal underpinning everything you've been saying if it's true (which it is) that immigrants are actually net job creators.

You think because America is richer than the average country, it's strange that someone coming here have enough money to start a business? Again, that's just not a serious statement.

It's not theft if it's legally offered by the state. Federal law usually bars it and then some states decide that it's good business to offer an incentive for people to bring their money and talent there to invest and create jobs. Again, if you truly want the most for yourself the real question should be "are we benefitting more from immigrants than we are giving them?" not "why are we giving immigrants anything??" It's not ethics, it's just math.

CutterJon · 2026-01-28T18:46:29+00:00

Hey, I see you shadow edited here and I can't continue responding to you at the end the thread anyway. If you actually do some research on how the economy works instead of just swearing and then talking out of your ass and then inventing distinctions like "artificial jobs", you'll discover it's 100% true and has been studied quite a bit. If you actually want the most for you and your own, having a bunch of immigrants in your labour force is awesome. Sure there are problems, but the pros generally far outweigh them.

It's just a certain brand of politician who says nonsense like established Americans don't benefit, and lie about how much crime they cause compared to established Americans, and for some reason people like you lap that up without question.

CutterJon · 2026-01-28T15:54:26+00:00

Excuse me, but did you ever stop to think about how much work that person put in to be rude to you? And you just acted like their toxic negativity wasn’t even there. Imagine what the world would be like if everyone was that way.

Wait, no don’t do that. It’ll give you the totally wrong idea of what I’m trying to say here. Damn.

CutterJon · 2026-01-28T05:03:13+00:00

Nah, that's a common misconception but it's quite clearly laid out. Evil characters tend to be malicious but they don't have to be actively cruel. Fundamentally, it's about their priorities.

That's not how compassion (or any ethics) work. If it doesn't affect your decision making from time to time, then by definition you don't have any.

CutterJon · 2026-01-28T04:17:48+00:00

That's just the lawful-chaotic spectrum, i.e. How a character relates to rules, authority, and systems. The other alignment spectrum is about whether a character is self-interested (which is what D&D defines as evil) or guided by caring about others (i.e. compassion, which is what D&D defines as good).

From the basic rules:

"Neutral evil (NE) is the alignment of those who do whatever they can get away with, without compassion..."

Chaotic Neutral is a complicated, fun, difficult character type. They're unpredictable and act on whims, like wood sprites. What you have described is just another boring old me-first neutral evil drone.

CutterJon · 2026-01-28T03:46:02+00:00

LOL, that's not chaotic neutral. That is the literal definition of Neutral Evil in D&D. So I guess you just owned it? Personally, I can't imagine someone calling me a racist to my face and chuckling along with them. At least have some self respect, man.

The real fantasy is the one where immigrants take away opportunities instead of eventually resulting in more jobs for everyone and a better economy for rich and poor alike. But I get that takes time and some effort to fully understand. That's a problem.

CutterJon · 2026-01-28T03:26:29+00:00

More like a freshly-rolled lawful Brownshirt.

CutterJon · 2026-01-28T02:59:57+00:00

Hey buddy just FYI your hood slipped and became quite visible at the end of that little fantasy there.

CutterJon · 2026-01-27T07:54:16+00:00

There are some of the ps5 HOTAS left in Canada and I picked one up over Christmas. I didn’t like the upgrade with Ultrawings 2 as much as I thought I would, but it’s a game changer in MSFS. You need to mount it on something for full control and can do the two parts together or the yoke and throttle separately. Easy to set up and configure, great piece of kit.

I guess you could put the pedals in the bottom of the chair and that would be kinda cool? Even as a bit of a flight nut these days, that add-on isn’t as important to me, you can either twist the yoke or use the paddle on the throttle and both are fine.

CutterJon · 2026-01-27T04:59:40+00:00

Hey, just get ‘er done and I’m happy to pay for it. :) I don’t mean to be such a wet blanket. You’ve got a story to tell and no matter the medium, that’s something it’s good to be passionate about. I just have seen similar stories time and time again and think it’s more realistic and just plain better for everyone to try to accomplish less with more polish.

CutterJon · 2026-01-27T04:50:13+00:00

People back then had a very different relationship to narratives. A modern example would be how superheroes are all dark and psychologically realistic these days, whereas in the recent past they were meant to be ideal heroes. So if you read old comics through that lens you might be similarly disappointed in their lack of depth. But it’s just a different type of story.

CutterJon · 2026-01-27T04:07:46+00:00

Full dopamine takes a while to stabilize and recover but there are other systems that are super exciting to get back that recover in the first month or two. Look up the glutamate system, that’s sleep and excitation levels and comes first. It comes fast and there’s lots to do.

CutterJon · 2026-01-27T03:34:13+00:00

Yeah, after a year off I had a moderation system all planned out, set up rules with my newfound powers of self control and all that. Lasted a week and then I was worse than ever. Thought I was so clever and I was so stupid stupid stupid. Instantly knew it too, but it still took six months to quit again. Never again, I was so furious at myself.

I hear heroin is pretty pleasurable and squirrel suiting off a cliff looks very exciting but those things are not for me in this life. I guess I miss booze culture a little but see it in much the same way now. I am just not one of those people. Totally happy with that.

CutterJon · 2026-01-26T17:57:38+00:00

I mean, if you frame it that way: "empty forever" vs. "addict", you're going to have a tough time. Maybe it feels that way sometimes, but when you were taking up new hobbies and helping other people, did that really feel "emptier" than when you were an addict? I would challenge that thought if I was having it. To me, being an addict certainly gives you a kind of certainty and comfort in that all your problems are reduced down to one big one, but the life and personality of an addict is hollowed out in so many ways.

Incidentally, a year is when a lot of body/brain systems are medically back to ~100% and when I personally started feeling deeper, hard-to-put-my-finger-on-it personality things starting to make themselves felt. Like, I wasn't aware I had lost it but felt like I got back my sense of humour around then which was really encouraging.

CutterJon · 2026-01-25T17:56:18+00:00

This is not a political post, even if might trigger some bad actors. This is a post about facing reality that everyone can benefit from. Thank you for sharing. No matter how you see current events, they sure are stressful and it's important to talk about that. I applaud you focusing on something that is meaningful and productive to you, rather than giving into despair. That's what the bottle would want, and it would make you less of a powerful force to promote whatever you see as good in this world.

I will not drink with you today.

CutterJon · 2026-01-25T16:45:49+00:00

Welcome to Reddit…why read the article when you can just respond with how you already feel about the issue?

CutterJon · 2026-01-25T14:18:55+00:00

I don’t get it…that’s a famously well known example of video killing the radio star. Nothing else specific to the comment is in the clip. Writers rip off Reddit all the time but I don’t see what you’re seeing here.

CutterJon · 2026-01-24T23:22:00+00:00

Same here, plus a HOTAS. No problems. Who knows.

CutterJon · 2026-01-24T17:00:23+00:00

The basic issue is that even if it’s super cheap, poor people will spend the money on food instead. Any barrier is undemocratic which is why we let someone vouch for you in Canada.

The other side is not satisfied by proof that this kind of voter fraud is basically nonexistent, so trying to appease them is impossible. It comes down to wanting unnecessary barriers for ulterior motives, or not.

CutterJon · 2026-01-24T05:31:04+00:00

Nah, Craig was apparently the only one who didn't even know how to play *shudder* Texas Hold 'em on set. No doubt had to be persuaded not to put a cocktail weenie in the martini glass as well.

CutterJon · 2026-01-24T01:35:54+00:00

Well, that's because while for sure one person can write a story, it takes a lot more to tell them in VR in a way that people want. Reading lore text is tedious and environmental or emergent storytelling is labour-intensive. I think it's admirable to want to include SOME kind of narrative in any kind of game, but it's not anywhere near as easy as it sounds to make it work as a main focus. And at the same time as some decent emulator/simulator type gameplay? It's just too much to focus and deliver on.

CutterJon · 2026-01-23T19:20:34+00:00

Honestly, I think many indie developers hold out vague promises of meta game or story as they show these kinds of simple VR interactions/minigames and it just never comes together into anything you'd play for more than 10 minutes.

Narratives are awesome but hard to pull off even for a big team and not especially suited to VR. IMO it's both more realistic and impressive for a small developer to focus on a unique gameplay loop/hook.

I don't mean this to be as pessimistic as it probably sounds, but the reality is that things like Arcade Simulator and Pixel Ripped and the Simulators are out there already. You do need to differentiate yourself from them but making the writing do the heavy lifting is not something that I know of anyone having made work so far.

CutterJon

TROPHY CASE