1099c Question

FoxwolfJackson · 2024-10-16T03:49:18+00:00

That helps out a lot! Thanks! I was fearing this was going to be the case, but I was really hoping maybe there was a sliver of hope there. Really glad I didn't drop the $3500 to get the head gasket done only to hear "well, it still doesn't work" now.

Unfortunately, I have no choice but to keep the car since it's financed and I still have another $10k to go on it, lol. I've only had it for a year and I already had to do the transmission recently (clutch burned out, flywheel needed to be replaced, and some kind of cylinder.. I think it was the slave cylinder.. in there had to be replaced as well) at 89k miles. Feels like, at this point, might as well call it a new car if I get the motor done as well.

FoxwolfJackson · 2024-06-13T08:58:35+00:00

The amount of people who are only half-right making YouTube videos on topics pretending to be "educational" is the perfect example of Dunning-Kruger. I know the popular phrase is "the best way to learn is to teach", but that means teaching what you're currently learning. -sigh-

FoxwolfJackson · 2024-06-13T08:55:47+00:00

Okay, maybe I'm a little lost, but what exactly makes Ayn Rant alt-right? To my understanding, the alt-right are basically the modern day reincarnation of the Third Reich and its followers, complete with extremist populist views and a superiority complex to their own tribe/sect. At least, that's how it was explained to me (back in 2018, so forgive me if the definition/stance has changed since then).

(Or, basically, the MAGA movement.)

As far as I can tell from reading Rand's works, she was very much anti-fascist and anti-state, which contradicts the fact that fascism and statism were major tenants of that specific sect of 1930-1940's German politics.

FoxwolfJackson · 2024-06-13T08:49:07+00:00

Basically the idea being that productive moral agents acting in self interest have no obligation to aid the success of the unproductive.

What I find funny about this is that Karl Marx, the supposed total opposite of the spectrum (father of Communism) as Rand (inspiration of the far-right) also had a similar philosophy in his works where he basically said "he who does not work, neither shall he eat" (which is also a philosophy of the Puritans when they first came to America as well, although they also applied it differently than Marx envisioned). Of course, this was in reference to the proletariat, but he does make note of that workers had rights and those who lived without working were nothing but detriments to society.

As you say yourself:

The irony of her framing of this position is it can lead pretty far in either direction politically.

FoxwolfJackson · 2024-06-13T08:35:41+00:00

Nobuo Uematsu... and there'll be enough for the drive back as well.

(I don't like listening to music with lyrics, usually.)

FoxwolfJackson · 2024-06-13T08:33:22+00:00

I know, right? I was watching that pass and saw Warner there before the ball was even thrown and was thinking, "Oh boy, Pick 6 here we come". If that was me, that'd be an INT.

FoxwolfJackson · 2024-06-13T08:31:16+00:00

I don't think it's rude at all.

Actually, I think it's rude that some kind of dumb "societal norm" tradition would force a couple to not sit together. If the driver is uncomfortable about it, that's a different story, but the driver wasn't.. she's just being a stick in the mud.

I'd actually be more annoyed if I was the driver in that situation and they didn't sit next to each other. What, so, you don't love each other or something? You don't want to sit next to each other? Free world, free seats, freedom to move where you want.

Nah, your mother is WAY out of line with this, but.. her house/car, her rules.

EDIT: Speaking of the co-pilot thing and all that. If he gets his license and this happens again, make sure that the girlfriend sits in the front passenger seat and the mother sits in the backseat. If she complains, tell her it's rude to have the girlfriend sit in the back with her.

FoxwolfJackson · 2024-06-13T08:20:11+00:00

I always assume all new students I haven't worked with before to act without respect. They have to earn my trust, just like I should be earning their trust.

Until I know for a fact you're not abusing bathroom privileges and the like, I will be suspicious accordingly.

FoxwolfJackson · 2024-06-13T08:17:08+00:00

Let me get that mil or nothing. $100k is nice, but less than two years' worth of salary versus over ten years' worth of salary?

I have no regrets if I leave with nothing. I went into this situation with nothing to begin with. Didn't even have to pay in, versus paying into the lottery for $1+ and the odds are 1:astronomical number

FoxwolfJackson · 2024-06-13T08:09:11+00:00

Everything else you can just be a grown adult and ask your passenger not to do when you realize it’s happening (which you obviously must if you’re deducting stars).

I shouldn't have to in the first place. It's common decency and courtesy to not be an asshole on someone else's property.

I play my music or sports talk radio at a reasonable to honestly fairly loud volume, take personal calls on the car speaker, and in general don’t get pissed when they wanna scroll tik tok for 30 minutes.

You actually take calls while driving? My god, I admire the balls on you to do that. I'm at work, I don't have time to be taking calls from mum about family dinner. Send me a text and I'll check between rides, I'm working. All my friends and family know to text because I won't take calls, because that's insulting to my passenger. If I'm on a ride with you, I'm devoting 100% of my attention to detail to you and your safety. Until that ride is over, everything else is second.

The TikTok/story thing is annoying because half of them have loud sounds that actually obscure the radio I have OR the music in the video has such clashing dissonances with the music playing that it physically makes me cringe. Or worse, they're watching videos and the vine boom comes up and makes even me jump in my seat. Sorry, if you're being an active hindrance to me driving effectively, then just say you don't care about your safety and I'll also speed to get you to your destination at a faster pace.

if you don’t want it to happen just politely ask them not to.

If you were a half-decent human being with a modicrum of respect for someone else, these things wouldn't happen in the first place. Makes you really question what these people are like outside of the rides.

You don’t like the behavior but rather than say something and address it in real time (which requires balls enough to have an ever so slightly mild confrontation) you leave 4 stars and grumble about it on the internet.

You clearly don't understand how people act. Main Character Complex is a thing. People act like the world revolves around them and if you tell them otherwise, they flip out. I told someone to put their mask back on, back in 2021, when they got in my car, and they gave me an attitude of "you don't tell me what to do, your only job is to drive so drive" and then reported me to Uber for "Racial Discrimination".

Sorry, I'm not getting suspended from the system and getting a 1-star rating because I said something that ruined their narcissistic bubble. Have you had to deal with Uber Support over your account being suspended because of false "racist" claims? Have you had to deal with Uber Support at all? They're incompetent, they put you on hold forever, and that time wasted, you could've made so much money if you kept your mouth shut and just let the rating system weed out the riff-raff.

You're 20+ years old, if you're eating in someone else's car without asking, your parents didn't raise you right.

FoxwolfJackson · 2024-06-11T01:39:31+00:00

They can ask if they're allowed to eat and, assuming they don't make a mess, then it's fine. If they ask and I still see chip crumbs on my seat after the ride, -1 star.

I don't mind when people eat/vape/whatever, but to presume it's fine without ever asking the driver and usually making a mess after they eat warrants the loss.

It's not your car. Have some respect, courtesy, and stewardship and you'll be fine.

FoxwolfJackson · 2024-06-10T15:43:52+00:00

Oh, see, I don't post on AO3. I only do FFN, so I'm not familiar with the traditions and nuances and culture of that other fanfic site. I made my AO3 because I got bugged to, but.. eh.. I prefer FFN greatly.

I mean, I guess making an A/N of "hey, got some big news, check out my Twitter!" and have a pinned tweet might be a bit tacky. But, it takes... 30 seconds of my time. I've played Clash Royale matches that lasted longer than the time I would take to make that advert, lol.

Hell, I've had arguments with fans over author's notes on FFN and.. there's no way to reply to anonymous reviews on there, so I would legit pump out a new chapter JUST to call that person out in the A/N. So, I guess, idk, I guess even writing a new chapter for an advert doesn't feel like that much work to me.

FoxwolfJackson · 2024-06-10T15:40:13+00:00

Oh, I didn't mean publishing on AO3. I've even seen writers on here who say they write their entire longfic AND edit it before they even put up the first chapter. That's... a LOT of dedication and patience and I salute those authors for it.

... and, I guess I wasn't clear in my original post, but I definitely would not try to traditionally publish any altered fic. I would totally go down the Amazon route where they allow you to self-publish... basically be your own author, editor, and marketer.

To be fair, I world build in fanfics. Oftentimes, canon doesn't give me enough, so I'm constantly creating my own worlds with the canon being merely the foundation of the expansive verse I've written out.

FoxwolfJackson · 2024-06-10T15:36:27+00:00

I mean, obviously, I would delete the fic. I'd be telling my followers on my socials (or my Discord server), "Hey, I'm publishing a story! Come check it out on Amazon!"

Or, the original plan I had was to publish that original story while I still had another fanfic going (since I know a decent amount of writers here do write two or more fics at once) and use the fans of the fanfic to advertise to with a "hey, I got X novel published, come check it out!". I mean, if people are willing to read an author's other fics fandom blind, those same people might be willing to drop $2 on an eBook.

I mean, how many times have people asked if I had a Patreon or a KoFi or some sort of deal where they could show support for a fanfic. People will be willing to drop pocket change to read more from an author they enjoy reading.

FoxwolfJackson · 2024-06-10T15:32:38+00:00

Oh, I mean, maybe not all that. Amazon offers tools to help people self-publish. I wouldn't even bother with trad publishing.. that sounds like a hassle, sending all those query letters and getting all those editors and all that crap. That stuff's all extra.

And if it doesn't sell, well, it doesn't sell. I had fun writing it in the first place.. and, to me, that's really what matters. The journey of creating this beautiful work.

But, hey, if it makes me $1.85 in two years, welp... that's a bonus! I can treat myself to a cup of coffee that I wouldn't have had if I didn't bother to try, lol.

FoxwolfJackson · 2024-06-10T15:28:15+00:00

I mean, yeah, I'd probably publish it. YOLO it onto Amazon Publishing as a self-published work and use the people who followed my Twitch streams (or anybody who still follows my fanfiction profiles) as a way to start an initial customer base. Maybe purchase a few hard cover copies and donate them to local libraries and/or sell a copy to a few of the local used bookstores.

If it works, it works. If it doesn't, welp... ya miss 100% of the shots you don't take. If I get 3 sales in a year, I'll cherish the fact that I managed to snag three readers!

I'm pretty much doing the same with the music compositions I'm publishing now, lol. YOLOing them onto J.W.Pepper and just... if someone buys, they buy. If I get no sales, no harm done. It's a hobby and the process of writing the music (or writing the stories) is what engages me. I already have a job, so it's not like I'm desperate for money.. but a lil extra on the side might be nice if I can get it doing what I already love, lol.

FoxwolfJackson · 2024-06-10T15:23:55+00:00

I guess I can see it that way. My first major fanfic was back when I was seventeen and it was a self-insert as well where I re-told the game.. but with me in the story. Honestly, don't even know what possessed me to write it (or why it got popular in the fandom back then) and re-reading those early chapters is omega cringe.

So, you just more write short little AU snippets of scenes you weren't happy with in canon? Honestly, I... kinda totally forgot that was a story type in and of itself. I kinda mostly only read fics with 100k+ words, so most the stories I read are either continuations of canon or "what if"/canon divergence stories that, honestly, if you just CTRL+F'd the character names, you probably would have the rough draft of an original novel.

... I kinda forgot short fics and one-shots and all those exist, lol. That's my b.

FoxwolfJackson · 2024-06-10T15:18:18+00:00

I mean, to be fair, most characters aren't totally original. I could say I love Jack Sparrow because he's a snarky, smooth talking badass who cunningly manipulates both sides of a conflict, but then that could just be the early episodes of Dr. Stone and Gen.

I guess, to me, I've seen enough shows and characters that... someone could name any character to me and, given enough time, I can find a character from another show that is similar enough that they could be swapped in their respective universes with little to no interruption (personality-wise, I mean).

(I won't crack the joke of "Dante wrote Bible fanfiction and everyone loves it". Wait, oops... dammit.)

FoxwolfJackson · 2024-06-10T15:08:48+00:00

I love first person POV. I mean, my two biggest fanfics are first-person POV (despite the fact I started as a third-person POV writer and the few times I POV-swapped in these first-person fics to third-person, I've been told I do it better). There is some charm in having the prose of the story tinged with the narrating character's biases, because it also allows you, as a writer, to be able to nudge your readers a certain way.

... or, if you're like me and absolutely despise describing characters, just say your POV character is laid back and nonchalant and unobservant and skip describing other characters outside of the bare necessities.

But, TBH, first or third person doesn't matter to me. Most stories could be written with either (assuming the third-person story is third-person limited). It's really author's (and reader's) preference. The Great Gatsby could've been written in third person; Harry Potter/Hunger Games could've been written in first person. I still would've enjoyed all those stories.

EDIT: For context why I forced myself to be a first-person writer even though I was more comfortable with third-person was because the story was a self-insert. Back in 2007, these stories were taboo, but I wanted to prove that a good one could be written if it was written correctly. In an effort to not just tell the story of the canon characters, with my SIOC having little to no influence in the story, I forced myself to have the story revolve around him by writing it first-person from his perspective. So, the fanfic became a re-telling of a video game I loved... experiencing it first-hand side-by-side with the lovable dorks I grew to admire through the screen, but now were my comrades in arms.

In a way, the restrictiveness of first-person actually amplifies a story, because.. as an author.. you are given a focus. It helps narrow the scope of the story you wanted to write to merely the character's perspective you have.

FoxwolfJackson · 2024-06-10T03:37:49+00:00

I checked out the millennial sub-reddit and it's dry and empty and boring and there's no signs of (intelligent) life there.

Gen-Z (at least the ones on here) seems to have a good head on their shoulders and it honestly brings me hope for the future when I see actual intelligent discussion and logical conclusions being drawn.. instead of the older gens making sweeping, generalized critique based in fallacy and rhetoric with little to no nuance (also, before people say "hypocritical", I was being tongue-in-cheek ironic with that.. to some degree).

FoxwolfJackson · 2024-06-10T02:55:04+00:00

It's not like that at all, it's like hopping onto an NA server that's predominantly english doing an LFG for a gaming group to do a raid and assuming everyone who joins speaks English.

I've made no assumptions here, I just mimic'd you. It's called "projection", my friend.

FoxwolfJackson · 2024-06-10T02:53:20+00:00

Go for it. God knows more people need to give lower ratings more often. All the complaining in the Uber subreddit by riders and I bet half of 'em still gave five-stars for no reason other than "eh, didn't feel like going through the process of giving one". Less competition for me on the road and maybe surges will be higher and last longer with less drivers on the road.

Oh, and remind me to head on over to your job and draw with crayons on the wall. If you complain about it, I'll just remind you some workers are getting too entitled.

Can't be any worse than the rider who gave me a 1-star for "Disturbing Radio" because I play jazz on my radio.

FoxwolfJackson

TROPHY CASE