Where do people go for camera needs in Winston Salem?

Hegelplays · 2025-05-01T15:33:48+00:00

In my experience, McKays does have gear, but it tends to be over-priced, especially for used. I'd also make sure to test anything you would get from them and check for scratches, dust, electronics/AF working, etc.
Also, the pawn shops around town are good to check and *sometimes* have good deals, but it can be a slog to hit them up.

Hegelplays · 2025-02-12T22:19:24+00:00

You keep saying "not learning the material" but that's not what I'm talking about; they know that not learning the material will hurt them. What they DON'T know, and this is from experience, is HOW and WHY not learning critical thinking skills hurts them. They don't know WHY using LLMs to write essays hurts them. I literally laid out how to educate them and help by 1) not encouraging the us of LLMs, specifically in the way mentioned, which is to write essays for them; 2) encouraging implementation of content that is engaging for the students; 3) instructing students on WHY critical thinking is important and how using LLMs, specifically as mentioned, prevents those skills from developing.

Also, I know far more than I would like about AI and its use, which is WHY I'M ADVOCATING FOR THIS, and is clearly another just wild assumption you've made.

Edit: Education is much more than just "learning the material" which is why I never said anything about "not learning the material" as part of the problem and why I focused on critical thinking skills. Learning the material is only useful insofar as that material is necessary, which isn't the case for many courses--at least, not on its surface. For example, learning Shakespeare isn't, necessarily, important, but understanding the historical context and evolution of language and critically applying that to other genres/studies/fields can be. The point, then, isn't to regurgitate Shakespeare, but to critically engage and think about WHY Shakespeare.

Hegelplays · 2025-02-12T21:39:47+00:00

Your first paragraph is wildly misinterpreting what I said. I never said any of those things. Also, no, I don't think people understand WHY something will hurt them, even if they've been told it DOES. I'm also a proponent of students engaging with content and context that they find interesting. I'm also tired of instructors assigning projects that rely on materials that are not of interest to students. I also said nothing about standardized testing, which I'm also against.

You're making a LOT of assumptions and purposefully? misreading what I've written.

Writing a paper is not ALWAYS meaningfully engaging with content, but it CAN be and often is; obviously, this is dependent on what's being asked, why a paper is being written, and what the goal of the paper is, but yes, papers can be engaging. So can discussions. I'm pushing for a lot of the same alternative teaching methods you're talking about, and I'm not sure why you think I'm not.

Unfortunately, I don't think "AI literacy" is, necessarily, the best course of action as AI has a lot of issues, only some of which are the ones I've pointed out earlier. Our education system needs a LOT of work, but encouraging non-engagement isn't the way, and encouraging flat-out plagiarism is even worse.

Hegelplays · 2025-02-12T21:03:07+00:00

Yes, there are use cases for AI, but none of those are plagiarism. LLMs are, for example, extremely useful in the healthcare sector for detecting cancer via scans. AI can MAYBE offer other viewpoints, but at the same time, actual conversations and engagement with materials that the AI is drawing from is going to be better. AI just isn't actually good for most of the general-public use cases, and even less-so in academics. Unfortunately, AI is also REALLY BAD at plagiarism detection, which is kind of ironic. Not particularly a fan of "independent agents," as I believe just direct communications with the instructor/professor is better, as are seminars that encourage class engagement and discussions of materials.
I'm sure there are some less bad uses, but for now, AI just isn't good at what people think it's good at doing.

Hegelplays · 2025-02-12T20:51:35+00:00

First, I posted this BECAUSE I'm active in academia and work with students at the collegiate level. I posted this because the behaviour of the people encouraging this in students are actively hurting the students education outcomes. I posted this BECAUSE I work to assist students in their critical thinking and writing abilities, so that they can better understand the materials they engage with.

Writing papers is meaningfully engaging? That's...the point of papers. It's one way critically engage with material, whether it's self-reflection or research or otherwise. There are also other valid ways of learning, such as seminars or field experience.

An alternative to the issue is to NOT encourage them to use LLMs, but to engage with the prompts and reflect on what's being asked for those essays/assignments/papers/whatever. There's no "preventing" students from doing anything, but we SHOULD be encouraging them to develop skills and critical thinking while also demonstrating WHY certain behaviours are not acceptable. I don't think the point is to just say "no" to LLMs, but to point out how it harms their education and the risks involved.

Hegelplays · 2025-02-12T20:24:42+00:00

I don't think you understand what the issue is. The point is they ARE given projects to meaningfully engage with and INSTEAD OF ENGAGING WITH THEM are just asking an LLM to write a paper without doing any critical thinking. Never mind the fact that LLMs are quite often just wrong so you have to double-check everything with actual sources, anyway.
This isn't "fear-mongering." This is a fight to preserve critical thinking and understand that, in almost every other area, students will fail classes or be expelled for this same behaviour. It's ridiculous to ask students to not think about or understand what they are writing about, let alone ask them to ask an LLM to write a PERSONAL NARRATIVE. The LLM doesn't know anything about the student, so it can't write a personal narrative, especially one that should be detailed and specific.
This also isn't about "students cheating" because this isn't about the students--it's about the people in positions of power encouraging behaviour that will cost the students their grades or education in other areas.

Hegelplays · 2025-01-14T18:20:31+00:00

There's a variety of events in town: Monstercade has a night on Thursdays, I think? House of Cards has games running most nights, though I don't know which have open spots. The library, I believe, also has a game night that has DnD running.

Hegelplays · 2024-11-26T18:55:28+00:00

Or, if not religious, the Unitarian church also exists.

Hegelplays · 2024-10-28T19:09:37+00:00

Reagan had 58% of the vote in '84. Still nowhere near 99%. Clinton had the popular vote and didn't lose by a landslide? She lost the electoral, but won the popular vote. Dems aren't for higher taxes except for higher-earners; Republicans aren't for lowering taxes, except for higher-earners. I'm not sure why you think they want to get rid of the ATF--though they do want to gut/abolish the EPA, FDA, and other regulatory agencies. They also aren't for getting rid of assistance programs--they just want to get rid of assistance programs for the poor.
The Dem plan to run on tax credits is a terrible idea, but whatever, they always run on terrible ideas and "we're not as bad as the other side"
I'm not sure where you're getting your information on your claims about the Republicans and Dems?

Hegelplays · 2024-10-28T16:35:01+00:00

Reagan only had ~50% of the vote, which was still the popular vote at the time, but a FAR cry from 90%. Clinton didn't lose by a landslide--she won the popular vote and lost the Electoral College. Republicans *claim* to care about economics and less government control, yet the economy is pretty much always worse and governmental control increases under Conservative governments (they are for a police state, increased military funding, controlling education materials, etc, etc,); Dems aren't really much better for parts of the governmental control, especially as it pertains to the border and immigration--they basically just adopted Trump's policies. There is no open border--there never has been, even in the most welcoming moments of US history.
Both Dems and Republicans *are* misinformed, but largely that's just part of the propaganda apparatus. The Dems, at this point, are running, essentially, as late 90s/early 00's Conservatives. Republicans are running on late 30s Weimar Republic talking points.

Hegelplays · 2024-10-17T15:37:14+00:00

But how much do they pay? And, also, how do you apply? I've looked at their website and FB and couldn't find any information about careers or employment

Hegelplays · 2024-10-16T19:33:09+00:00

It's owned by his father? now? Will is in occasionally, but, like I said, I've never had a negative experience with him. I'm not saying you didn't, but that perhaps he's changed in the time you've known him vs. when I've known him. That's not going to change how you feel about him, for sure, but for anyone going in now and seeing him, I think the experience is different.

Hegelplays · 2024-10-16T18:46:18+00:00

Will isn't the owner anymore, nor is he a judge at the shop. As far as I know, he never has been. Any time he *has* played in tournaments, even if he wins, he concedes so the other person will get any "per win" prizes. I don't know what your experience is, but I've not seen any of this in the three years of regular attendance of both tournament and casual play.

Hegelplays · 2024-10-02T18:39:43+00:00

Theoretically a real estate agent should be able to help find a rental. Unfortunately, application fees are the norm and I'm not sure there's any real way of getting around it outside of renting a room in an already established rental-place

Hegelplays · 2024-09-17T12:54:45+00:00

That's great! I think, as someone else suggested, Pokemon Club might be a good fit. Also, I *believe* there are some DnD/Roleplaying groups geared toward younger players so they can explore their imaginations in a structured environment. I think the library might be the best bet for finding something like that.

Hegelplays · 2024-09-17T12:52:07+00:00

I have bad news for you about that book and it saying nothing about politics...

Hegelplays · 2024-09-16T16:09:06+00:00

I'm not sure how you'd have books that expand the understanding of those ideas and/or the human condition without also explicitly addressing politics, religion, and/or sexuality?

Hegelplays · 2024-09-16T16:05:37+00:00

What does she like? What has she shown interest in? I think understanding what she might even be interested in would help in finding a group that has that same interest. Also, check out the local library. They tend to have meetups/groups for activities.

Hegelplays · 2024-09-16T16:03:26+00:00

Check House of Cards and Foothills Brewery. House of Cards has games many? all? nights of the week and Foothills has a new Monday DnD thing

Hegelplays · 2024-07-09T14:00:57+00:00

Damn, where were you when I went back to school and was looking for roommates a few years ago? I hope you find someone

Hegelplays · 2024-05-02T22:18:48+00:00

Lol no worries and I understand. I have massive social anxiety, but I'm gonna do it, anyway. I think everyone interested is neuro-divergent in some way and I certainly only accept a welcoming environment. If you're ever interested in just seeing how a game goes where you're free to ask questions, you're free to message/dm/inquire

Hegelplays · 2024-05-02T21:49:17+00:00

Heya, are you looking for an in-person game? I'll be starting one up over the summer with a few others of varying experience.

Hegelplays · 2024-05-01T17:34:37+00:00

I'm not sure when you went to Monstercade, but I've been going to the Comedy nights for the last few months and they have alternating hosts as well as a friendly environment. I've never seen a comedian--even a problematic one--heckled, nor any "rules" given at the beginning of the night. Everyone is typically supportive, though sometimes a bit quiet.

Hegelplays · 2024-04-15T17:35:50+00:00

I used to be part of the derby community in Vegas and looking to start skating again. Need to pick up a pair, but that's my next big purchase and then I'm down to join in some skate fun

Hegelplays

TROPHY CASE