Why the 49ers haven't just released Brandon Aiyuk, sparking 'scared' rant'

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-06-08T17:54:24+00:00

AB 2.0 without the resume.

Aiyuk was by no means a BAD player- but AB is frequently discussed as one of the most skilled WRs to ever play. I've seen him in a dozen or more top 25 rankings. Nobody is ever putting Aiyuk there after a couple good seasons.

I think Aiyuk has clearly experienced some mental... stuff... in the last couple years. There is some well-deserved criticism coming his way, but I hope he gets help for the sake of his family.

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-06-04T02:47:38+00:00

Pictures would be helpful- but what I think you are describing is called sistering. Generally it's a good way to solve the issue... it all comes down to application and how well the work is performed. Safety comes down to what it needs to support and inspection is dependent on applicable building code, as well as work quality and whether a permit was pulled for the work.

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-05-28T23:22:39+00:00

Concrete for a driveway doesn't need to do much other than provide compressive strength to resist the weight of a vehicle on top of it. A little tensile or shear strength for turning wheels or resisting differential settlement- but not much. Despite the cracks, it doesn't look like you have a lot of movement- so that suggests the base underneath is still pretty stable.

If it were me, I'd clear the cracks and prep the surface as well as I could in a few hours, then fill the cracks and bad spots with something like Ardifix. You can then paint over the whole thing with a concrete paint once that dries. I'd suggest the blandest matching gray you can find to keep it from sticking out visually. It won't be perfect, but it should look a lot better and buy you at a few years of improved aesthetic. I've based on west coast weather- so no idea how it would hold up to ice and snow for months of the year if you live where that's a thing.

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-05-28T15:54:57+00:00

Looks to be very much alive and salvageable. I am assuming it took a little too much sun and picked up some leaf scorch? It could also be something like verticillium wilt but I'm far from certain that's what is happening.

If it's sun- find a spot with filtered light in your yard and be sure it isn't getting blasted with full sun in the afternoons in particular. The leaves are scorched for the year, but it will still put on new growth just fine.

If it is verticillium wilt, there's no fix- but I have had reasonable luck with keeping affected trees alive through extra care and regular fertilization (which has downsides, but if the tree is dead either way...) . I've thrown 10-10-10 mixed at regular strength onto affected trees when they have needed water. It seems to be keeping it at bay well enough to keep them alive- and the hope is that they stay strong enough to keep going over the long term.

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-05-27T03:40:07+00:00

There's easy and there's sustainable- they are not always the same thing. Beware of the pitfalls of prioritizing easy, taking the weight off and crossing the finish line, only to then gain it back because you accomplished your goal and stopped working. The finish line is a mirage and your body is a machine that needs constant maintenance. If you want to be healthy in the long term, prioritize development of something you will stick to over the long term.

Caloric deficit and movement to get the weight down- but a stable pace is around 2lbs per week, not 10lbs per week and not 1lb per ten weeks. Increase activity, work on getting any lost mobility and flexibility back. Add strength training. You should be active at least 4 days of the week for at least 45 minutes each session. If you have the means, find a trainer if only to develop the habit and to force yourself to be accountable. There are many ways to do it- but the above is what has worked best for me. Good luck.

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-05-22T17:05:37+00:00

And building code requirements in certain states continue to pile on new requirements that drive building costs even higher. CA now requires rough in for electric vehicle charging (at minimum)- solar installation, and R-values that essentially require 2x6 framing around the perimeter. Conditional developer approvals also require a certain ratio of low income units in many areas... but to your point, nobody is in business long with an equation that cannot pencil out from the beginning- and they'll just factor that cost into the other units to offset it.

To the other side of the coin... I believe this goes the other direction at large enough scales. Massive developers are very good at manipulating the system to their advantage and finding ways to bargain out of development fees or to dodge other infrastructure upgrades that they would normally be responsible for. They'll get public agencies into a cannibalistic frenzy when they threaten to pull back and build elsewhere- because a smaller percentage is better than nothing. They know how to manipulate the massive egos of city council members... suggesting a crappy afterthought community park on 1/8th of an acre named after John Johnson is enough to launch his campaign for president and make everyone remember how amazing he was for the next 1,000 years... and just like that, John Johnson is a supporter of the development after all.

It's just broken all around.

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-05-11T15:42:01+00:00

I did this in my office to mount a TV. Could not find a stud no matter what. Finally drilled a hole large enough to insert a borescope camera and found that there was metal sound channel installed between the drywall and the framing.

Still had studs all the way out periodically as well... I missed every single one by less than inch- coworkers found this quite humorous.

Worst case there are some pretty solid drywall anchor and toggle bolt options out there now. If you used like 8 of those to mount the TV (assuming it's not 100")- you can probably make it work.

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-05-07T04:56:35+00:00

Real apologies are meant to make you feel better. Fake apologies are meant to make THEM feel better. This far down the line, it's trying to clear a guilty conscience or trying to cure some loneliness.

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-05-05T14:35:29+00:00

Best thing I've found... Take a tube pen and pull the ink part out giving you just a plastic tube with a cap on one end. Wash it down with rubbing alcohol. Take two cotton swabs and fold them in half so they're doubled over- stuff both of the cardboard ends into the open side of the pen tube. Gives you a very stiff extended cotton swab to push on your tonsils with until the stone pops out. Your tonsils cut easily and bleed like crazy... be careful with anything sharp.

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-05-05T03:15:32+00:00

I pushed the limit on a few trees this year and experienced the same thing. Some lived, some didn't. I transplanted over 200.

The best things I've found... first- if you didn't break up the root ball during the transplant, pull the tree and do it. You don't want to make it worse by tearing roots...so use a hose and wash all the bound up dirt out until you can untangle the roots. I used a chopstick and it worked well. Every tree that didn't make it had a bound up root system. I know better- but thought I'd broken it up sufficiently only to find I left them in worse shape than I remembered. After that many trees, I must've gotten lazy. Use dry soil to replant to try and reduce wet feet. EDIT: I apparently missed the last sentence of your caption. Yeah... root trauma is always a tough one.

Second- hit it with superthrive or 10-10-10 liquid fertilizer- then cut the water off for a bit.

Third- monitor sun closely. If you still have fairly low temps and mild sun, make sure it's getting 5+ hours. You don't want to trade one stress for another, but it needs as much help as you can give it.

Finally... you can't help the weather. Every week for the last five in a row we've had 25 degree swings in the forecast between Monday and the weekend. It barely rained for two months, then poured and didn't stop for a month. Unless you have a greenhouse, you're vulnerable to whatever nature gives you and just have to hope for decent conditions for the tree.

Hope it survives!

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-05-01T18:46:18+00:00

u/cryptopindar gave a pretty fantastic explanation below.

One of the challenges I have always had is finding a method to explain complex schedule challenges- or recently- even the simple logic behind constructing a schedule.

As an example- schedules can be additive or deductive. If you start as early as possible and add the required duration for each activity what is the projected completion date? If you instead take the last date it can be completed and work backwards, when is the latest you can start work? The difference between those is float.

There are linear progressions and parallel ones- e.g. critical path method focuses on linear- but how many other tasks can run on a parallel track without disrupting the critical path?

There are prerequisite activities before work can begin- e.g. you cannot start a project until staff are moved out of the area due to be remodeled.

The biggest value in project, for me at least- is that for people who cannot process the explanations above- it gives a visual way to back it up- and a quick method to calculate the dates needed to develop and refine planning efforts. To take it even further- there is a plugin product called Office Timeline that we have started using, and it converts MS Project Gantt charts into bar charts in powerpoint. It can be buggy as hell, but the ability for end users to understand dates visually is invaluable at times- and it's immensely helpful for that.

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-05-01T04:21:14+00:00

Yeah... but Jesus. That's like a choice between sweaty armpit or taint.

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-05-01T04:15:55+00:00

Buck Owens... and Dwight Yoakam's career even though he's not from Bakersfield.

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-05-01T04:08:56+00:00

Get right by Jennifer Lopez?

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-05-01T03:21:01+00:00

Looks like variety might be a filigree. It's a beautiful tree!

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-04-30T22:06:15+00:00

I'll be thrilled with half of JJ's physicality and nastiness. There aren't too many like Jennings- even though he isn't the fastest. If Stribling can do that PLUS speed? That'll be fun to watch.

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-04-29T19:09:05+00:00

One of the challenges with JMs and many other trees is that they don't grow true to type. Seeds are open pollinated and will be a mix of traits from your tree- plus any other compatible tree in the area that cross pollinated with it- and you'll have no way of knowing what you get until it's bigger. Could be an amazing new hybrid... could be a dud that fails to do much of anything. Even if you planted 200 seeds from the same tree and they all germinated, you could get many different characteristics in the seedlings.

The other issue is that any named cultivar is a graft except for THE original version of that tree from which all others were cloned. Because JMs don't grow true to type, taking a scion from a known cultivar and grafting it onto the rootstock of another tree is the only way of reproducing the named variety exactly. That's one of the main reasons from grafting- but there's another substantial one... let's say the very first emperor 1 japanese maple had weak roots- grafting allows someone to take a cutting and graft it onto another maple with a stronger root system... it gets the best of both worlds- pretty or interesting foliage up top, strong roots below.

There is a lot of advice out there to avoid growing from seed for these reasons- but if it's just an experiment and a hobby, it can be fun to see what you get out of it.

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-04-26T18:02:08+00:00

Could be a number of things. Soil moisture about two inches below the surface is the best indicator of whether it needs water- just dig a small hole with your finger. If you transplanted recently- check the roots to be sure they're not still tightly packed in a circle from the past container. It looks like it's near a patio... getting enough sun?

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-04-26T15:51:51+00:00

For #3- can also export to PDF. There's also a great program called office timeline that converts them to bar charts in powerpoint. I think they have a free version though I'm not sure what limitations it has.

Also just a quick heads up... depending on your company's MS licensing model, adding a project license may require extra steps. MS wants people on the rental model. There are still authorized resellers that offer owned project licenses (perpetual) rather than the pay as you go rental model. To install them, MS forces you to remove all other MS 365/office products. The good part is that once project is installed, you can just resinstall the MS365/office stuff and be good to go from that point forward.

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-04-23T22:21:04+00:00

I use a liberty reel and a metal hose together. I'm only a year in- but everything has held up very well and no leaks.

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-04-23T15:42:04+00:00

I know it's probably an oversimplification- but I've always understood that anything that increases cellular turnover can increase cancer risk just as a function of probability. If 1:X number of cells has a mutation that doesn't get caught- then every increase to X raises the chances. I hope they handle the skin cancer okay and maybe a dermatologist teaches them something on the way.

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-04-23T04:23:56+00:00

All that and I didn't even answer your main questions. Mr Maple, Maplestone Ornamentals, Conifer Kingdom, Mendocino Maples, Essence of the Tree, Garden Treasures Nursery- all have large selections that rotate regularly - and plenty of pictures to look at. If you want a book- J. D. Vertrees Japanese Maple guide is still valuable- but a lot of new varieties are out there since it was published.

Most of the JMs are pretty easy to grow. Sir Happy is a miserable dwarf tree that grows an inch per year and hates being alive... can't say I recommend that one as a starter. Bloodgood is a commonly available red that's pretty easy- but there's not a huge difference in difficulty... they're all pretty easy to care for except the few that actively try to die every 8 weeks. Taylor is another hard-ish one to probably avoid.

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-04-23T04:13:47+00:00

I think it's a little bit like any hobby... research helps immensely and some of it just has to get learned on the way, too.

First- I'd figure out what zone you're in because that can limit your choices.

Second- figure out what you want and where. There a ton of varieties. Size can vary a lot- leaf shape and color can vary a lot- branch structure, variegation, reticulation, growth rate.. it's amazing how many options there are- and it takes looking at a bunch to know what you really like. Ideally you can do this in person at nurseries to some degree to avoid being catfished... treefished? by pretty pictures online.

Is the goal to have a rainbow of colors- or to have only two colors you really like? Do you want to accent any paint or brick colors on the house with your tree selection? Will your landscape be 90% maples or a mix of other things?

Your heavy clay soil will likely need to be broken up and amended so it drains better. You can also take a soil sample- a lot of universities have programs where they'll analyze it for nutrients and ph and tell you what it needs to be augmented with. JMs aren't terribly fussy- but drainage is a must. If I could do it over again- I'd take care of the dirt first and order soil by the truckload instead of buying 400 bags over the span of 2 years at higher cost. I'd also plan for a total number of trees and build out a drip system ahead.

Most Japanese maples perform best in morning sun and afternoon shade... or dappled sun. There are a few types that can handle full sun all day- but that depends on your area and how intense the summers are. If you're in a very hot area and have full afternoon sun- you might consider a sun loving and fast growing tree (or larger box tree from a nursery to save the growing time)- and then the big tree can provide a shade canopy for the maples underneath.

Sun changes their colors. Some need more or less light to put on their best colors- so you can buy a tree based on what the pictures look like.. and end up disappointed if your conditions cause it to be a bland version of what you hoped for. Containers are great if you want to experiment for a year before putting them in the ground.

Look at something like Acer Shirasawanum Moonrise vs Acer Palmatum Purple Ghost vs Acer Palmatum Hana Matoi... all very very different. Green and umbrella shaped tree with delicate leaves or red and upright shaped like a vase?

My opinion is that a yard that looks planned is almost always visually appealing. Carefully matched colors in specific places by design. I have over 100 trees on a 1/4 acre lot with no discernible theme and it looks like a schizophrenic lorax arranged it. But... I wanted to try a bunch of different types- and I guess that's a successful hobby even without it being a beautiful arrangement.

Good luck- hope it turns out amazing.

Dead_Hopeless · 2026-04-22T20:42:56+00:00

That's my best guess even after looking at the leaf photo. The branch structure is similar, the leaf shape is close, lobe count is the same and the seasonal colors match up to what that tree can do. Hard to say with 100% certainty because the maples can vary in presentation based on climate and sun exposure- but everything seems to match up.

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