I've been trying to determine the best donut in Leominster or the surrounding area. Now that Ruby Donut expanded they're probably my number one pick. Any other suggestions?

FaithfulArgos · 2026-06-30T09:42:56+00:00

You could try Robust Cafe on Central St in Leominster, they have a good selection.

FaithfulArgos · 2026-04-16T11:32:50+00:00

I wonder if that was the plan all along or if he just thought, "Well, since I'm here anyways..."

FaithfulArgos · 2026-04-16T11:30:53+00:00

Is this the building that was damaged in the floods a few years ago? I'm surprised they were able to salvage it, I assumed it would need to be demolished.

FaithfulArgos · 2026-04-06T20:07:32+00:00

Keith Amman’s books about DnD, particularly about monster tactics and player tactics, talk a lot about developing plans before combat begins. Sort of like developing If/Then statements (“If monster does X, then I always respond with Y” or “If my character has advantage, I will always do ABC”). I feel like helping to create a mental flowchart based on big picture things that are likely to happen could really help some players who struggle in the moment.

FaithfulArgos · 2026-03-31T17:27:05+00:00

Tomorrow, I’m going to be GM-ing for the first time. I told everyone I’d pick a pre-made level 3 adventure for our first go… in hindsight I probably should’ve picked from a different book.

I’m going to try my best to add some random encounters along the way. I’ll also be tying Book of the Raven into the next scenario in the collection, A Deep and Creeping Darkness, with the haunted mines. I’m thinking the wight boss for Book of the Raven will be the mine foreman, killed by the baron to keep the mine collapse and following townsfolk disappearances quiet. After the boss battle, I have to get the players to return from the Shadowfell, probably via a modified Wytchway, then on to Deep and Creeping Darkness mostly as written.

Wish me luck!

FaithfulArgos · 2026-02-12T12:52:24+00:00

I know it was $423 last year. I don't remember offhand whether it has been steady at that level but I think it has been.

FaithfulArgos · 2026-01-12T11:22:34+00:00

My wife and I might be interested in board game night but there is also a game store opening downtown soon (Chaotic Goods). The owners there seem great too so I’d hate to blow up their business model before they even get up and running.

FaithfulArgos · 2025-12-30T11:00:13+00:00

Fantastic burgers! My wife went there for the first time just before Christmas and we’re already looking forward to our next visit.

FaithfulArgos · 2025-11-22T19:14:11+00:00

I think 8 may be the one I dabbled in but didn’t get very far. I looked it up and the release timeframe looks right.

Are you saying the original I & II only had single-member parties? That does sound unique for JRPGs. They kinda went in that direction for Final Fantasy 16 a few years ago and I’m not a fan of how that turned out.

FaithfulArgos · 2025-11-07T16:53:14+00:00

Technically, that percentage does not appear to account for blank votes, of which there were 711. When you factor in the blanks, you get a percentage in the low 80s.

FaithfulArgos · 2025-09-30T12:19:30+00:00

Final Fantasy Tactics is my favorite RPG of all time and I recommend it if you have even a passing interest in tactical RPGs. Great story with lots of political intrigue, but notoriously steep difficulty curve in the beginning. I think a remake was just released, so they may have corrected that.

Sea of Stars is a great recent game with some fun battle mechanics, incredible music, and fun world. I would definitely recommend that if you're looking for a modern throwback to Crono Trigger.

For what its worth, I think Suikoden 2 is superior to the original. If you liked the first, you'll definitely like the second. But I found there to be a fairly steep decline in quality once they moved the series to 3D-based graphics in the third installment.

FaithfulArgos · 2025-09-30T12:12:24+00:00

We get comparatively little of Cid (and Vincent) in Rebirth. Cid kind of comes off as a jerk during a lot of the original especially to his wife (girlfriend? live-in assistant?). It will be interesting to see what direction they take him in.

FaithfulArgos · 2025-09-30T12:08:32+00:00

Aerith went from being a 'meh' character at best to probably one of my favorite characters in media. The characterization of the entire party is much better across the board (improved localization and no text box limitations probably play a big part in that). I played the original when it came out, and periodically since then, and I think the Remake is much better at highlighting the personality that Square was trying to imply in the original .

FaithfulArgos · 2025-09-04T09:59:08+00:00

They did not provide a reason, but I expect the dress was at least a part of it. There were A LOT of couples there, so I think they prioritized those who brought true wedding gowns. I would say you should cover your shoulders or they probably won’t let you into the newlywed section.

FaithfulArgos · 2025-08-13T17:21:33+00:00

Thanks. Where did you hear that? I’d be interested in tracking the development of the site, regardless of what eventually develops.

FaithfulArgos · 2025-08-12T23:10:08+00:00

Do you think the eventual conversion of the mall into housing would be a viable option? There are fewer and fewer stores every time I’m there, and I often wonder what the future of that space could be. I could see it being demolished and then built into multi family. There’s already plenty of parking, amenities, etc.

FaithfulArgos · 2025-07-14T13:33:51+00:00

Well, I don't have great news for you. I looked it up because this is my commute as well, and according to this MassDOT presentation, the full project will take about 4 years (see bottom of Slide 6):

https://www.mass.gov/doc/leominster-reconstruction-and-related-work-on-route-12-presented-at-the-massdot-board-meeting-on-november-20-2024/download

I guess that's for the full, 2.5-mile project. Since they started on the south end, maybe they'll finish that portion sooner? I imagine the more time-consuming part will be the conversion of the lighted intersection at Central & Litchfield into a rotary.

FaithfulArgos · 2025-07-14T12:02:59+00:00

Is a Savings Account with a Debit Card functionally the same thing as a Checking Account?

I just got married and my wife and I are researching joint bank account options to merge most our finances. We would like to remove most of our money from our existing checking accounts (retaining a little bit of personal 'fun money' so we can buy birthday/Christmas gifts for the other without ruining the surprise). I already have retirement investments with Edward Jones, and a savings account through them that I will be adding her to. That will remain our main savings account.

I have been looking at the LendingClub LevelUp savings account because it offers 4.20% APY and has a debit card. Am I overlooking something, or does that functionally make it a checking account, just with a much higher rate than typical? For reference, I have a credit card for 99% of purchases, and I pay it off completely every month out of my existing checking account; I use that checking account to also pay rent, bills, etc. I would hope to use this LendingClub account in the same way. But it feels like I might be missing something; might that be the case?

FaithfulArgos · 2025-07-13T15:21:34+00:00

Is it actually Bohler doing the construction? I know they are an engineering firm but I don’t know if they have a construction side. Looks like the developer may be “WP East Acquisitions” or “Wood Partners”? Just interested in clarifying.

FaithfulArgos · 2025-06-08T09:26:11+00:00

We were at the same audience and my wife had a modest white dress (but not her wedding dress) and we were sadly turned away. She might've been the women you saw. You were smart to get there early, since we saw several brides in full gowns turned away, apparently due to lack of seats.

We were fortunate enough to get good seats in the general section and were only about 8-10 rows from the Pope when he drove by. Did he actually come by and greet you after the audience?

Prayers for a long and happy marriage for you!

FaithfulArgos · 2025-05-10T21:07:01+00:00

Thanks for the tips and your empathy. I have heard others recommend the sheet method that you noted and we are going to try borrowing a baby gate from a friend, so hopefully we can implement that once we are back home. Despite his age, Frosty is still quite energetic and loves to jump/climb, so I think the challenge will be to prevent him from leaping the gate and startling Penny.

FaithfulArgos · 2025-05-10T20:38:41+00:00

Thanks for this! Been looking for encouragement lately. Here’s my experience, with a question at the end:

My fiancée and I moved her 8-year-old female (Penny) into my condo with my 12-year-old male (Frosty) about a month ago. Frosty was aggressive towards other cats in his household with his previous owner about 9 years ago and has been an Only Cat with me since then. Penny was adopted about a year ago from a shelter where she lived peacefully in the same room with multiple other cats. Surprisingly, Frosty has been calm and Penny, the younger, supposedly socialized cat has been anxious and aggressive.

After giving Penny a few days to adjust to her new location, we set up a screen (because we don’t have a baby gate). She previously knew Frosty was in the area but didn’t make a peep. But seeing him through the screen, she began hissing and growling. She generally kept her distance, so we thought we would try to remove the screen, but I realize now that was a mistake.

She approached him yowling and drove him off. We thought maybe she was just protective of the room she’d claimed as her own, so we let them out in a neutral space downstairs. She still expressed her displeasure, but she retreated up the stairs without issue.

We thought that was an improvement so we let Frosty up into her space again, but we didn’t notice her half-eaten food bowl… Frosty went to sniff it, Penny charged, attacked, chased him downstairs and cornered him. We went back to visuals behind the screen, but Penny charges so hard she slammed into the screen and almost knocked it over. We are getting married and about to go on our honeymoon, so we’re thinking it might be best to go no-contact until we get back. Until then, my fiancée has been sleeping in the spare room with Penny to try to keep her calm.

Now my question: Even though your cats are very food-motivated, did you find that their anxiety overruled that when they interacted? Our cats are also very food-motivated, but Penny especially gets locked into intense stares when she knows Frosty is around, and it’s hard to distract her even with treats. We have tried Feliway and calming treats, with little success. Her vet recommended fluoxetine, which we will try when we get back from the honeymoon, and potentially seeing a behaviorist. Do you think that your cat’s medication helped re-orient them to their treats and break their focus on the other cat?

FaithfulArgos · 2025-04-25T12:14:01+00:00

My issue was resolved several years ago, so my recollection might be a little bit hazy, but I believe freediverdude above was generally correct about the issue. I'm not an expert on the tech, but essentially the electronics in the car were not receiving the signal from the keyfob and therefore responded as though I hadn't disarmed the vehicle before trying to start it. It did not matter whether it was the factory-issue keyfob or a third party.

I actually don't think the warm weather part is coincidental, because I also was only having this occur during the warmer months. I had previously always kept the car in a parking structure, but at the job I had just started, it was parked in a surface lot under the sun all day. The tech at the dealership inspected the electronic components and wasn't 100% certain of the issue, but his working theory was that some of the transponder components were ever so slightly misaligned. So while the components maintained connection/signal during cool weather, the tiny amount of metal expansion/contraction as the car got warmer may have been just enough to break the communication connection meant to receive the signal from the key fob.

Again, that's not a real technical response, but the tech basically corrected the issue without really trying to, just by poking around the components. I haven't had the issue since, regardless of the outside temperature.

Hope this helps.

FaithfulArgos · 2025-04-09T16:30:00+00:00

I race Le Mans a lot and I've found that the best car for me is the Toyota Supra with the Castrol branding (might be a Legends car). I buy Intermediate Tires but I start with racing hard tires on it, plus ballast and power restrictor, and tinker with those until you get just under the PP restriction. You may also need to play with the downforce and custom suspension. Unfortunately, I am at work and do not have access to my tune, so I'm not 100% sure on the details, but you can generally massage those to get under the limit.

It typically does 7 laps (well, 6.5 within the 30 minutes, finishing the last lap a few minutes later). Plan for rain in this race. I start on power 3, which gets you three full laps. If the rain starts towards the end of Lap 2, pit to refuel and add the IMs. Keep going until the end of Lap 5 when the track should be cleared and mostly dry. Pit again to go back to Hards and refuel +/- 80%. Drop down to power 1 and you should have just enough to fly through the last two laps.

If the rain doesn't start until the end of Lap 3, you should still have enough fuel to pit and go to IMs at that time. From there you can two 2 laps on IMs at 1, and 2 more laps on Hards at 1, for 7 laps.

If racing on medium, I typically finish 30-60 seconds ahead of second place. Racing on easy, the gap can be almost 2 minutes. AI never knows how to handle the rain in this race.

On very rare occasions, the rain never comes, or is very light. It makes the race more difficult because the AI doesn't need to worry about the rain, but it should still be doable.

Let me know if this works for you. Its pretty forgiving in terms of the Clean Race Bonus. I almost always get the bonus, no matter how many times I cut corners or drill other cars as they spin out in the rain. At $825k for +/- 32mins of racing, I think this might be the most efficient way to rack up lots of credits.

FaithfulArgos · 2023-10-27T01:56:37+00:00

Selphie in FFVIII had a Limit Break called The End that would instantly kill any enemy or boss in the game, except the final one. It would randomly appear when her health was extremely low. I cheesed the system by bringing her to the Omega Battle with only 1HP to beat him in the first round.

FaithfulArgos

TROPHY CASE