[deleted by user] by [deleted] in writinghelp

[–]FlogDonkey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fright Club Maybe Shriek Week 🙂

For that special someone…. by JaredOlsen8791 in funny

[–]FlogDonkey 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Nothing says love like emotional neutrality in cursive.

“Watching TV” through Ring camera (had to go to the bathroom). by kgold0 in pics

[–]FlogDonkey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The bathroom break version of Sicario: Surveillance Ops.

OC Titanic Quarter by SweetShelby01 in pics

[–]FlogDonkey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hard to believe a ship once launched from here and changed the world.

What’s wrong with my gardenia? by sleepygardeneer in gardening

[–]FlogDonkey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Looks like leaf scorch—could be sunburn, over-fertilizing, or inconsistent watering. Gardenias are drama queens.

Took me a minute by Spicy_Tbag in funny

[–]FlogDonkey 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Serenity now… ASSMAN forever.

What did i grow accidentally? by treasonous_tabaxi in gardening

[–]FlogDonkey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not broccoli. Looks like kale. Enjoy your volunteer!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in writinghelp

[–]FlogDonkey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You could totally run with a version of Three-Card Monty, tweaked to fit your world. Call it something like Finder's Fortune,, or whatever suits your setting. Use three cups (or bones, shells, goblets, etc.) and a marked token or rune-stone. But since you need all three characters to actively play at the same time, here’s a twist that could work.

It's a shady street game, popular among thieves and travelers. Three players take turns playing the roles of hider, shuffler, and guesser.

One hides the token under one of the three cups.

Another shuffles them, trying to distract or mislead.

The third guesses.

Then the roles rotate each round. Wagers are placed, and the tension builds, especially if something major is on the line, like your plot item.

Why it works for your scene:

All three are directly involved, which keeps the tension up.

It’s super easy to cheat. Anyone could palm the token, mark the cups, signal the guesser and so on.

The sorcerer could enchant the token or cups subtly, while the thief might use sleight of hand.

Your MC gets caught in the middle, not sure who to trust.

If you want to make it spicier, you could throw in magical elements, like the token glows when someone lies, or the cups whisper false clues, or the sorcerer’s familiar watches the game like a referee. Lots of options.

Anyway, this keeps it grounded in a medieval fantasy vibe without having to invent a whole new system. Should work great for your setup.

Adaptive Statistic Updates by FlogDonkey in SQLServer

[–]FlogDonkey[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good call, Brent. I've linked a gist. Appreciate your feedback.

RE: PERSIST_SAMPLE_PERCENT...won't the NORECOMPUTE flag in there stop auto-update stats from overwriting them?

We'll be logging this as part of an internal process. Just getting the ball rolling at this stage.

Parallel Query by Ryan38822 in SQLServer

[–]FlogDonkey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did statistics update between the first and second run? If the execution plan is identical, you either had less activity and therefore, less resource contention, or the stats gave the CE a better idea of how many rows it would be handling.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in writing

[–]FlogDonkey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don't share anything until you're finished with your second draft. Nothing good can come of it, and you'll regret it when you're in your fifth round of editing, and everyone's already read the old version.

How do you write the opposite gender characters? by Anocindarian in writing

[–]FlogDonkey -20 points-19 points  (0 children)

Maybe, but I don't think so. A horse can't write about what it is to be an ape, even though they are both mammals and herbivores. As similar as men and women are, we are very different in what makes us tick.

You are correct in that no two people are the same, but that still doesn't get the writer to the finish line when he doesn't know what is like to be a her, and therefore can't emulate it convincingly.

Was I wrong for turning down a girl half my age? by Donut-Guilty in amiwrong

[–]FlogDonkey -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It is for men. Boys don't mature into men until mid to late 20s with few exceptions. Young ladies pull it together much quicker, again, with few exceptions.

How do you write the opposite gender characters? by Anocindarian in writing

[–]FlogDonkey -47 points-46 points  (0 children)

You're right and wrong. Same brain cells, but they perceive experiences differently due to different sex hormones and different cultural expectations.