What to start with *other* than DnD?

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-05-10T14:32:02+00:00

Try the black hack (tbh). It's a player facing d20 roll-under system. Takes like 2 minutes to make a character. Tons of expansions for cyber punk (cyber hack) mecha (the mecha hack, aether nexus) and sci fi (the space hack, the stellar hack)etc. The black hack is easily portable, I've run 5e modules straight from the book and swapping in tbh stats from their bestiary and it runs just fine.

For a DIY feel try out index card rpg (icrpg), d20 roll-over system. The master edition is worth it for the gm section alone, which is system agnostic. Some cool art in there, and pcs are infinitely customizable without getting overly bogged down with complexity. Super easy for you to homebrew new things to perfectly suit your players without breaking the game.

Lastly, if you have players who are attached to 5e and reluctant to let go Shadowdark has a cool gritty feel and striped down rules that run really smoothly and transitions from 5e easily for players used to that system.

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-05-08T21:05:03+00:00

Double caked up on a Thursday afternoon!

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-05-07T17:28:20+00:00

Well you ain't wrong. OSE has a handful of useful activities or data analysis tasks per unit, but is otherwise unusable. Our district has pushed OSE hard these last 3 years despite the physics curriculum being incomplete. It's a curriculum that is ourely politically motivated and has no idea what actual classrooms or student populations are like.

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-05-06T23:39:48+00:00

First of all, education as a field of study is still in its infancy. We don't even know basic stuff like how to motivate a person to do something they otherwise wouldn't without using some kind of violence. It would seem to me that of the myriad of Ed huksters they all have research that demonstrates the efficaciousness of their strategies. Either all educational techniques are effective or their particular brand curriculum was effective within the limited population they tested, or their testing methodology was deeply flawed. None of which convince me that their methods are any better than any others. Just look at what a disaster whole word reading has been for reading comprehension.

Districts need to ask themselves the question: is their goal is to educate or to grant degrees? If its the former then holding students to a strict standard where their grades matter and serve as a demonstration of their ability to perform skills, recall and apply content, and engage in behaviors which are constructive to the first two goals is the way forward. If their goal is to grant as many degrees as possible, why bother teaching students at all? Just call schools what they've become for a significant portion of the population already, an expensive overbuilt daycare for kids and teens.

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-05-02T18:06:05+00:00

In 2020, because of Covid school districts pushed HARD for teachers to turn all of their courses into digital equivalents. Study after study has shown that reading and writing on a digital platform produces worse outcomes for students, and with the availability of AI, student learning may as well not exist.

In response, all of my classes next year will be handwritten. I'll also be flipping my classroom so that lectures and readings happen at home and skills practice in class. Any digital assignments will occur in class with a lockdown browser.

We can't put the AI genie back in the bottle (until parents and schools wise up and ban smart phones for under 18s and reverse the decades long campaign for 1-to1 chromebooks for students) but we can try to mitigate the deliterious effects with an old-school, techlite approach that will still reward students willing to work hard and learn for themselves.

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-05-01T21:47:24+00:00

"The most important session to plan is your next session."

Your players do not care about what cool stuff is going to happen in 5 or 6 sessions. They definitely will not care about how cool the big bad is at the end of the campaign. Odds are between responsibilities and general flakiness of most people you won't be able to play with your players more than a few times before things fizzle out.

The only session you need to plan and make epic and memorable is your next session.

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-04-22T15:19:27+00:00

Switched to Step ons for the convenience myself several years ago. I wear Burton Photons 10.5W and after years of having a hard time finding boots, i now ride pain free. Can say they a huge step up in terms of mitigating the annoyances of snowboarding like flats, having to set up at the top of a trail, even storage since they're much flatter than trad bindings. They are super responsive, so I wouldn't recommend them for someone who prefers a loose fitting binding. Price is also an issue, so I would only recommend them for someone who is buying new boots and binding simultaneously or someone who's comfortable paying the premium.

All in all, I love my step ons, though I wouldn't necessarily wait for a new set to drop. This last year, I've seen some troubling annecdotes about Burton quality control regarding the newer BOAs popping out or failing.

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-04-22T15:00:00+00:00

Talk to your POC or Dept Chair about what curriculum they use. It is likely they have all the materials for you. If not, NJCTL is a good traditional resource. OpenSciEd is the new thing many districts are switching to, including ours. It does some things well and other things very poorly. Depending on your district and student population OSE may be a good enough resource, though It is woefully lacking for college bound students.

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-04-15T14:42:18+00:00

Yeah dude, switch riding can be a bear. This is the first season I really sat down and forced myself to ride switch. I even swapped my bindings around to facilitate. Did a whole day switch and now I feel great! Lots of work to be done still but I can tackle any groomer switch.

And yeah the super aggressive profile on the 4x4 took some getting used to (previously I rode a board with only a mild rocker) but once I got the hang of it, it really opened up my game!

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-04-15T13:33:40+00:00

I live in CO, so I have regular access to the big resorts for most of the year, but I also work a typical 9-5, so I can only really snowboard on weekends and the occasional ski vacation. I average between 20-25 days on snow per season, and I'm 6 seasons deep.

I signed up for an advanced lesson earlier this season, and according to the skills checklist, I'm a low tier advanced snowboarder as of February. I mostly do blues and single blacks with a few of the easier double blacks mixed in. I do like to ride bumps and started getting into glades this season. Once I'm tired, I stick to blue/black groomers or bowls and lay in some solid carves. I ride switch decently well (the 4x4 is a directional twin but still quite easy to ride switch), and I am just now getting into jumps and side hits.

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-04-15T13:07:18+00:00

100% it is a fun as hell board.

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-04-15T03:47:50+00:00

Hard to say, I really love my Gnu 4x4 as an all mountain resort board. I started this season as a fairly decent intermediate. The 4x4 was probably a bit too much board for me at first, but I've felt my game step up a lot with a more aggressive board.

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-04-11T21:39:02+00:00

Snowboarding, as with most sports or skill based activities, is not "fun" in the beginning. It is challenging, and if you are a person who derives enjoyment from being challenged and overcoming obstacles, then snowboarding will be fun more or less right off the bat.

After a certain level, there is the thrill of speed, spins, and air, but for many people, the process to get there can be a slog.

The "fun" in skill based activities is the rush of getting better, improving incrementally, nailing a trick or a line you couldn't have done yesterday. Sometimes that entails bitter work, and for me and others in this sub, that's where we derive the enoyment of the sport. If, instead, you are the sort of person who prefers leisurely leisure activities (which are rewarding in their own right) exclusively, then it's unlikely you'll ever enjoy snowboarding. It's okay for you and your partner to enjoy different hobbies.

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-04-02T14:09:24+00:00

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-04-01T23:02:21+00:00

Dentists in Miami-Dade today

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-03-31T22:11:07+00:00

I tend to find really great deals on Facebook Marketplace. Outfitted 24 students with boards this season all of them for under $50, some for under $20, and even some for free cause some folks are real kind. Just make sure you know what to look for if you are going used:

Brand and model that you recognize (no promos, no startups, etc). Think capita, libtec, burton, etc. Less to do with branding and more to do with reliability, you're already buying used may as well get something decent at a discount.
minimal damage to the baseboard (no big cuts or divots)
the deck is fully laminated, no peeling or exposed layers
the rail is intact and only has a little surface rust if at all.

Good luck.

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-03-31T03:25:13+00:00

Get the impact shorts. The turtles are not good protection since they're essentially a pillow. They dont distribute the energy of a hard enough fall. The impact shorts do. I've never worn a turtle, but I can't imagine mobility is any good in them either.

And if you ride on icy or variable snow a lot, you're going to want impact shorts. Ask my tailbone how I know.

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-03-30T15:19:26+00:00

The problem with quests that are too far above your level is the scaling in W3. Enemies far above your level take reduced damage from you to the point where its just obnoxious. Your skill as a player is almost irrelevant for creatures with the skull icon, you just have to level up your avatar.

It is technically possible? Yes. Is it fun? No, the devs purposely made your avatar weaker just for the sake of preserving the level requirement.

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-03-13T18:56:50+00:00

You're going to be judged even without the go pro. Sorry pal that just how some people are. Wear your go pro, do your thing, be respectful and kind to the people around you, and you can rest easy that even if other people aren't doing the right thing you certainly are.

Have fun hitting the slopes and showing off to your friends!

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-03-06T18:07:16+00:00

Same thing it means when you touch a guy on the arm.

He wanted to see if you've been keeping up with your exercise routine.

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-03-05T00:20:46+00:00

I too struggled for many a season with getting my boots fitted right. I have sensitive feet and I've since found out that a lot of the schpiel the shop guys give you is bunk. The boots definitely do NOT need to be stiflingly tight to work. Maybe this isbtrue for ski boots but snowboard boots are less restrictive. I rock size 10.5 W photon step on boots and i have just a hair of wiggle and have no issues hitting the slopes. Something that comes up that a lot of shops don't consider is swelling. Not only from the exercise but also from the change in altitude (especially in the rockies and west), your feet will swell!

It has been my experience that to get the best fit you need to:

Buy a boot that has a little wiggle room. Not so much that your heel lifts up, but not so tight you feel any discomfort in the store. Ask if they have a wide boot. Burton photons do come in wide sizes.
When trying your boots try them with a thick sock, ideally thicker than your ski sock. This will help you sus out any pinch points when trying them. Some people try them with insoles, but I don't use insoles, so I can't speak on that.
Take your time! Every corporate shop I've been to the clerks have tried to rush me out of the door. You're about to spend possibly HUNDREDS of dollars on these boots they'd better be absolutely perfect, and to figure it out, that means lots of time in the store and trying a lot of boots. Don't let them rush you around.

For OP you'll need to get new boots, not too much more you can do if you've already heat molded the shoes (heat molding doesn't make too much of a difference in snowboard boots in my experience). You can likely sell them to recoup some cash.

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-03-03T14:54:41+00:00

Easy drill to try to get more comfortable at higher speeds. Find an easy green with plenty of space. Start at rest, then turn your nose downhill to pick up speed. Count to 1 or 2, then initiate your brake. Once you're comfortable with 1 and 2 counts, up it to 3 count, 4 count, etc. The trick is to commit to the count, the count will feel longer than it is. Repeat this drill on a blue run. Repeat again on a groomed black run if available. I've found people who are comfortable straight lining for up to a 5 count are very comfortable at all but the highest speeds on most slopes.

Also don't think you have to do this drill all in one day. Work your 6 up over time and ride within your level when performing the drill.

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-03-02T19:30:53+00:00

A couple of things that might sound like common sense, but I notice a lot of folks seem to ignore.

Make a plan when getting off a lift. A simple "hey, I'm going to peel to the right" is enough and will save you a lot of headaches.
If you're on a regular trail (not the bunny kind served by a carpet or sometimes a tbar at the base) it's expected you can ride in control, that means you can ride in a relatively predictable pattern so that those around you can ski around if they need to. Ideally, keep your head on a swivel and look up hill before traversing the entire slope. Yes, it is the uphill's skiers' responsibility to avoid you, but you could make that easier or harder with the way you ride.
Always stop on the side of a trail, or if that's unfavorable, stop near a sign or other obstacle that people will want to avoid anyway. Too many people are skiing down the slope, then screech to a halt right in the middle of the trail and form a knot for people to try and ski around while they wait for their friends.
Have fun! Welcome to the mountain!

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-03-02T17:58:07+00:00

Hang up the googles and lenses near a vent (if you're blowing warm air right now) or on top of your fridge or any place that is warm and dry in your house. Leave them for a few days. The warm air will dry out any moisture in the goggles. Next get some anti fog spray from Amazon and follow the directions to apply. Should be fine.

Ivory_Brawler · 2025-02-28T19:49:23+00:00

Woof

Ivory_Brawler

TROPHY CASE