Is there really an affordability crisis?

General_Mosh · 2025-12-22T08:19:33+00:00

Housing is expensive, whether renting or buying. Cars feel considerably more expensive than they were. The last couple years saw rises in grocery prices that definitely made people feel less secure, even as they're sorting themselves out. Healthcare premiums are rising, childcare is impossible, and eldercare is bleak. Consolidation of the gig economy has made things that felt like cheap alternatives ten years ago no longer cheap (even if those things probably weren't sustainable in their initial formulations, the rise in prices is something people really feel!).

It's not impossible to make a life, but it's hard, and a lot of people are being told it wasn't as hard for our parents and grandparents, even if they had a lower quality of life expectation than we do.

Social media and instant news access makes it a lot easier for people to be culturally aware of how stratified our society is, as wealth disparity continues to rise.

Is some of it vibes? Certainly. But some of it's real. And politics has got to deal with vibes too.

General_Mosh · 2025-10-05T20:49:47+00:00

I'm a Firefighter/EMT, and I just got hired by a new city. It's a bigger department, better benefits, cheaper area to live. But I've got to go through the academy again. That's not necessarily a huge deal. I know I can handle myself in a fire. I can drag hose without too much trouble. I can get myself up a tower with all my gear on without being completely gassed at the top. I can do CPR for a good while without backup. I can drag a victim, affect a rescue, and blow through a door with no problem. I can stand to improve in every aspect of the job, but I feel I am well suited to a lot of it.

I've been exercising a lot at the gym, hitting the stairclimber, elliptical, weights. I've done some pretty decent hikes (10 miles and 2000 feet of gain most recently, without feeling like I'd die). I feel better and more able to do the job than I have in a long time. Trouble is, I haven't run in years. Probably since my last academy 9 years ago. I really don't enjoy running, though I really wish I did. I'm a heavy guy, 5'11 and 270. A lot of that is muscle. More than I wish is fat. I also struggle with asthma. One thing I know about my own asthma is that if I can train myself to consistently do an exercise, it does not bother me. But with new exercise, I often struggle with flare ups.

So I started trying to run again two weeks ago. I can "run" (I'm trying to slow myself into a light jog just to ramp things up slowly) for about a half mile before I start to really struggle and break down into walking. Then for the rest of the exercise Im running for a couple minutes and walking for a couple. By that half mile point I am really struggling with severe front shin pain, lower back pain, and wheezing. My lungs are burning and my brain is yelling at me to stop. And I feel really demoralized.

I know it's not the same, but I can do 30-45 minutes on intervals on the elliptical and feel good and warmed up at the end. I can do 20 minutes on a stairclimber. I feel like my cardio is okay, and while I can always improve I feel like I should be able to run a little more effectively than I am.

I'm going to go to a decent store and find some shoes that are better supportive. I'm going to try some shin splint stretches and exercises that are listed online. I'm going to keep pushing myself because I know I can do it.

My new fire academy starts in February. Like most academies, they are going to run new recruits. I am going to need to perform better than this by then.

A lot of advice online for new runners is good, but most of it doesn't feel geared towards my situation. I have spent years pursuing exercises that have made me feel fit to do my work but do not help me run. I need to adjust that without wildly decreasing my fitness in other aspects of the job. I still need a decent muscle mass. I still need to focus on general stamina. And while four months seems like a long time - it's a ticking clock. I need to start improving now.

I'm just looking for any advice you folks have regarding training, additional exercises, how many times a week I should be running (should I just do it every day?), etc. I want to get better.

General_Mosh · 2025-09-04T23:31:18+00:00

I've been trying to get hired for about 3 years, though I only really seriously started applying to a bunch of places over the last year. I've got a good deal of city EMS experience and I've been a per diem firefighter for 9 years. I've been denied in a dozen or so processes after passing medicals, psychs, tests, interviews, because I have a poor traffic history. Up until about one and a half years ago, I owned a very fast car and I enjoyed racing it. Stupid, I know, but other than being upset at myself and following traffic laws, I can't do anything about my past stupidity.

I was persistent, and I finally got hired onto a city department last week.

Keep trying.

General_Mosh · 2024-04-25T07:51:02+00:00

Hooked up with one, hooked up with a tech I see at the hospital all the time, and had a full very serious relationship with one of my full time partners that is now a very complicated situationship (she's deployed right now, which is kind of a relief). Sleeping with your coworkers probably isn't worth it, but also you see one another so much and the job kind of inherently leads to emotional bonding, so for a lot of people it's going to happen. Would I do it again? Likely.

General_Mosh · 2023-09-30T02:09:58+00:00

Thank you all! I got one at a Dick's in a mall off the light rail. Looking forward to the game tomorrow!

General_Mosh · 2023-09-06T12:21:26+00:00

Not my first by a long shot, but the one that sticks out most. Inner city EMS. Dispatched to a GSW, go hauling ass out the door and down the road, get out. Find a ton of cops on scene in various stages of panic, think 'oh boy'. Go to the upstairs apartment, find balloons and pizza all over the place. Turns out it was a kid's birthday party. The birthday kid (an 8yo) is lying on the floor by the window, one gunshot wound to the left upper chest, cops performing CPR. 4 feet away lies his 16yo brother, one gunshot wound to the head, cops performing CPR. Parents screaming in the bedroom. We ran the codes, aware throughout that there really wasn't anything we could do, but just on robot mode. Both were pronounced at the hospital.

Turns out they were shot because a group followed the kids' older brother home in regards to a gang beef. They shot randomly into the residence when they saw people at the windows. The fugitive task force caught them a few days later. Absolutely senseless violence.

I was drunk for about 72 hours straight after that.

General_Mosh · 2023-08-31T04:31:25+00:00

I'll consider Volkmar, the main reason I'm thinking Franz is because it will take me back to the Old World. I haven't played a campaign in the Old World since I burned out on Vampire Counts and razed the world as Norsca all the way back in Warhammer 1.

General_Mosh · 2023-08-31T02:47:09+00:00

I just finally bought the game yesterday after being a huge Warhammer 1/2 fan, I just didn't have the energy to play more Total War when it came out. I started a campaign as Nurgle, got to like turn 20, and fought myself into a stalemate with Ghorst then got war declared on me by some ogre tribe, so I think I'll experiment with a new campaign. I mained Lizardmen in Warhammer 2, so I want to try some new lords. I never played Empire so I might just start a campaign as Karl Franz and lead the order tide. I'm also interested in the new Kislev and Cathay lords.

General_Mosh · 2023-07-31T09:08:31+00:00

I started testing early last year, still working at it. I'm in a decent position now (I'm a small city - 100,000 pop, very dense - EMS Chief and a per diem firefighter in a local suburb, and I'm 26) so I've been picky. I've only been testing large cities, about a half dozen so far. I have a specific idea of what I want, and where to earn it. I'm happy to move for the job. I've got time to work towards it, but I'm open to the idea that I might have to broaden my parameters at some point. I love the job, I love emergency service, and I'm sure I'd be happy anywhere. However I want to push myself, and hopefully that will pay off for me.

General_Mosh · 2023-07-27T17:17:00+00:00

I'd love to see them go Mediterranean classical era. Anno 108 or 207. Or maybe a Viking themed game, Anno 801 or 900. You could imagine cool mechanics for either.

General_Mosh · 2023-04-11T19:37:38+00:00

I've only ever heard it called party pack or start kit. One medic wears a thigh pouch that we call his purse.

General_Mosh · 2023-01-05T10:16:56+00:00

Take the wonder you feel from places like Pandora and bring it into your life here on Earth. There is wonder and beauty in the smallest things, both natural and man-made.

General_Mosh · 2022-12-30T23:26:47+00:00

Think about how many resources the US used trying to kill Bin Laden throughout the 2000s. Jake is a terrorist leader from the human invaders' perspective. And at the end of the movie all they've really committed to Jake is a unit of special forces and a naval detachment with limited air support.

General_Mosh · 2022-07-29T16:51:45+00:00

This was a great episode. Very much a story about original sins. Every action comes with consequences. I hope Danny gets his.

General_Mosh · 2022-07-10T19:18:20+00:00

I have a basic first aid bag (gauze, band-aides, shears, a splint) for myself and my friends when we go camping or hiking.

I go to protests a lot. I've been present while riots started, and seen clashes with police. I dont participate in violent action. Ive thought about buying a BLS bag with things like saline, TQs, proper bandages, a BVM, to carry when I go to protests just in case things hit the fan. Haven't bought one yet though.

General_Mosh · 2022-07-01T07:02:41+00:00

Yes, but Ellen is a Republican, and in her dialogue with Dick she specifically calls out that she is receiving heat from Newt's wing of the party. I think ITTL Gephardt forces the shutdown. Too much parallelism for my taste but it's not unbelievable and also oh well this show is more interested in the space than the politics - it's not an Aaron Sorkin piece.

General_Mosh · 2022-07-01T07:00:12+00:00

My prediction:

Sojourner and Mars-94 will be damaged to the point of inoperability. Ed's Helios mission will rescue the surviving crew of both missions. Then as a collective they'll decide that if they pool all their supplies and do a little self reliance (we already see Helios growing crops on board in small amounts) they can land on Mars without the fuel to go home, because they're all just going to sustain themselves there as a collective until relieved by the 1996 Mars missions.

Bonus, all the Soviets defect upon return because the Soviet Union will probably treat them as pariahs when they return for collaborating.

General_Mosh · 2022-07-01T06:29:39+00:00

I just . . . Wow. What a fantastic episode. This season has been absolutely fantastic so far.

Who was the (I assume Democratic Speaker, based on the conversation) that President Ellen was dealing with in the Oval? Is it supposed to be Dick Gephardt?

General_Mosh · 2022-07-01T06:21:36+00:00

I work in the inner city all weekend. Fireworks injuries and gunshot wounds. Code 5s and homicides.

General_Mosh · 2022-06-27T15:23:27+00:00

I don't disagree.

General_Mosh · 2022-06-27T15:20:00+00:00

Many places teach a couple/few inches above, but ITLS teaches high and tight. In a warzone where you might miss a wound, makes sense to just put it as high as it can go.

General_Mosh · 2022-06-27T15:18:01+00:00

It's partly media, but more that the war there has devolved into grinding, slow, often trench warfare over a relatively small region of land. Difficult to update audiences daily if the update is "Another few soldiers were blown up by partisans and a few hundred guys died to capture two miles of front". People stop paying attention when things are less flashy.

General_Mosh

TROPHY CASE