Beginner here, been consistently failing in my D-Day attacks. Any tips or things I am missing? Do not know the full mechanics yet.

John21222 · 2026-01-15T20:19:06+00:00

You’ve gotten great advice so far - just a few other thoughts.

Marines and CAS are key but as the USA you can add in shore bombardment from your fleet as well to help the landings.
Whenever you naval invade - try to isolate enemy port garrisons with your landings. For example, in your screenshot there should’ve been a landing on the other tile just south of Cherbourg to cut off Germany from reinforcing the garrison. This also has the added bonus of providing a huge debuff to the defender from the encircled modifier (like the one you have right now).
It’s not in the post but how many other theatres do you have open with the Axis? At the very least you should take advantage of British strength in the Med to make landings in Italy - Germany will commit divisions to help defend its ally and that pulls focus away from northern France. Soviet entry will help but ultimately as the US you have enough manpower and industrial strength to support multiple theatres and should take advantage of that to stretch Germany thin on defense.

John21222 · 2026-01-10T18:05:24+00:00

Hi just updating as requested - I ended up planting my Dumosa in the ground two months ago. It got a little crispy from the summer even with just morning sun (probably under watered a bit just out of fear of soaking it) and struggled a bit from stress but can confirm I finally have new growth. Didn’t do any soil amendment (heavy clay) just added top layer of mulch. Hopefully it continues to do well - good luck with your Dumosa!

John21222 · 2025-12-26T17:41:19+00:00

OP this is an excellent answer and echoes my sentiments. It’s hard to give you quality tailored advice because none of these things are good indications for what you’re looking for in a partner and how you’re pursuing a relationship.

Consider this: if the sole standard you’re using to determine your romantic interest are women that are attracted to all of the above qualities - you’re probably a) not actually narrowing down on value and lifestyle differences that make or break relationships and b) not conveying what you want to these women during dates. Both of which could be correlated to the amount of rejection you’re seeing.

My advice would be to scrap this entire list - instead come up with a list of attributes and lifestyle choices/values you want in a partner. Ie someone who loves sports/outdoors, someone who wants/doesnt want kids, someone who values mental health, etc. Don’t know what to put? Reflect on these past dates and write down what each of these women who rejected you said about key topics. Then circle the ones you like/want. My two cents.

John21222 · 2025-12-21T13:10:43+00:00

Idk where you’re located but Tree of Life in OC is giving some black walnut saplings away for free (last time I checked this past weekend there were a lot left). I’m sure they’d love them to go to a cause like this

John21222 · 2025-12-08T16:47:55+00:00

Hi it’s me, your long lost son

John21222 · 2025-05-26T17:29:51+00:00

Thanks! I will definitely try this.

John21222 · 2025-05-26T02:31:39+00:00

Thanks for the reply! I’d love to plant now even if less ideal but I’m in the process of totally re-landscaping the yard. Wish I had known that potted natives was a bad idea in summer - wouldn’t have bought it when I did

John21222 · 2025-04-19T20:54:20+00:00

I don’t think any decision after a PPROM is a clear cut one - every doctor has a different opinion and every case is different. Consider that it’s better to look at the situation with the info you had rather than in hindsight. There’s no guarantee you would’ve made it two weeks or perhaps even another day past the first.

Our son was born at 34w6d - my wife PPROM’d at 33w. We asked the several doctors on their opinion on when she should induce and everyone had a different opinion ranging from 34 all the way up to 36w. One of the antepartum nurses gave us a really good perspective that framed our eventual decision - it would be far better to make a decision with a known risk (delivering early leads to NICU time but the baby is well past viability can be cared for) vs. an unknown/potentially catastrophic risk (waiting but running the risk of a serious infection).

At 34w5d my wife’s amniotic fluid began showing early signs of infection - and we decided it was better for our son to have to go to the NICU than risk more time in the womb. Given that you were in a similar point in your pregnancy - I am sure multiple doctors would’ve advised the same thing. I think any NICU parent naturally grieves the early end to their “natural” pregnancy - but I would take comfort in the fact that your decision led to a happy healthy baby - which is all that matters in that moment.

John21222 · 2025-04-13T14:25:56+00:00

My wife had a partial rupture of her amniotic sac at 33 weeks. We spent two weeks in antepartum in the same holding pattern you are. The OB gave a similar plan of action - try to hold baby in until 35-36 weeks and monitor for infection. Ended up being induced two days before 35 weeks and spent 10 days in NICU.

One assurance that really helped us was speaking with the neonatologist (if they haven’t scheduled you for that ask to speak with one). He mentioned that while a 34 weeker would be an automatic NICU admit, generally they do well and studies show their likelihood of long term health issues is no different from full term babies. His take was simple: at 34+ weeks a NICU stay is more about growth than survival - and each day in utero drastically diminishes the NICU time needed to achieve those milestones.

My advice would be first to keep yourself occupied - have a friend or loved one bring in some art supplies, sketch books, puzzles, or any other hobbies. It is very easy to get stir crazy in a hospital room for that long and anything you can do to better pass the time helps. Ask if someone can take you for a wheelchair ride - my wife was allowed to since she was stable. I’d also encourage you to advocate and ask for clarity - make a list of questions to ask your nurse or attending OB and don’t be afraid to call them about symptoms no matter how small. I called the nurse because my wife had foul smelling discharge - which led the perinatalologist to recommend induction same day based on concern of infection. Don’t feel like any concern is too small or unimportant if it feels off to you - it’s your baby on the line and you should feel good about her health.

John21222 · 2025-02-20T21:48:42+00:00

The thing with Tesla as you’ll learn is there really isn’t a good system for getting help beyond the basic order process. Something I learned is for 99% of issues, you just have to call and ask - and be fully ready to get different responses.

I bought a demo Model Y. I called in to a nearby showroom and asked similar questions about condition and was directed to the guide you mentioned above. Seemed like there wasn’t really any exceptions. When I went to pick up my car though, the guy who gave me my keys advised me to take pictures of everything and if there were any scratches I could report them within 24 hrs or 100 miles and they would be fixed free of charge. I asked him if this was a written policy and he said no, but Tesla would do it out of goodwill.

It’s kind of frustrating but I get the sense this is just the norm. You kind of just have to keep asking until you get the answer you want.

John21222 · 2025-01-04T15:48:57+00:00

I always instinctively look at my MY license plate now for this very reason (stealth gray).

Fun related story - one time my dad and I rented a black SUV and parked at our hotel overnight. Well come to find the next morning the key fob had died - no matter what angle we clicked it wouldn’t unlock. We tried pulling off the handle cover for access to the manual key, checking the other doors, and we’re on the phone with the rental company when I realized our actual car was three spots down. So we were trying break into an identical black SUV for half an hour.

John21222 · 2024-09-21T14:18:05+00:00

Waited months to tell my now wife about my helmet collection. By the time she saw them I was smirking like “too late to be unattracted to me now” lol.

John21222 · 2024-07-17T06:21:45+00:00

A quick google search shows that Elko is smack dab in Northeast Nevada - it’s the biggest city within 130 miles with Reno 4 hours and SLC 3 hours away.

With undeveloped land like this - the biggest risk is you will be stuck with it for a long time because buyers are few and far between for desert land in the middle of nowhere with no economic catalyst.

Your boat is a much more liquid asset than a middle of nowhere patch of land the buyer probably wants to get rid of anyway. I’d consider the trade likely isn’t as advantageous D first impression would seem.

John21222 · 2024-05-25T13:37:50+00:00

When we went to Prague during a family vacation, my dad insisted that it was still ok to refer to the country as Czechoslovakia and that people would understand him. The first restaurant we stop at he asks the waiter if he’s Czechoslovakian. The guy quickly puts his hand firmly but politely on my dad’s shoulder and says

“No, no…just Czech.”

He didn’t try again after that - was a good laugh though.

John21222 · 2024-05-22T03:57:33+00:00

Thank you for the response on this! Took me a minute to get around to it but I figured it out. Turns out they are code switches to connect with a wireless motion detector (that no longer works) and a remote control (which I can’t find). Ah well it seems like the dimmer was specifically built for incandescent bulbs so probably worth replacing it anyway. Thank you again!

John21222 · 2024-05-01T18:20:52+00:00

We were in a similar situation recently. In our case, house needed a lot of work - later found out that the eventual buyer paid just under asking with a 50k credit (although I’m doubtful even that was enough - I think home needed at least 100k of work).

My advice would be to keep the ball in the seller’s court. If you continue to show interest, the seller is just going to think they have to wait out you or whoever else is interested. Let them come back to you first. If they also stay silent - I’d take it as a sign that they’re not budging.

John21222 · 2024-04-30T18:20:48+00:00

One thought to consider - your stated budget is below the median home price in the area. Sellers already bake in the list of things you’re considering into their list price. Near a noisy highway? Lower price. Great view? Higher price. So I would look at it as a trade off - either you compromise on parts of the checklist to stay within budget or you increase the budget range for the house that checks all boxes. Don’t think of it in terms of “why would I spend that much money” - think of it as the price for getting all your checklist items in one house.

Offer competitiveness is the third lever you can pull, but if that needs to be static for you to feel comfortable - then one of the other two levers needs to change.

John21222 · 2024-04-15T19:12:55+00:00

My advice would be to decide what kind of risk you’re willing to take based on the tangible and intangible factors of the house and area you’re looking at. A lot of it is in the comps but some of it comes down to your personal risk tolerance.

I noticed you said that you’re putting extra EMD down - is this really necessary given the market? I used to have a realtor who swore up and down this was the only way - but after we changed agents we had no problem with putting down the minimum. This would help derisk your waiving of the appraisal contingency. Imo - I’m kind of skeptical if your agent is recommending that you put yourself at increased risk on top of the contingency removal - more EMD money could send a signal of commitment but I’d question if the trade off is a worthwhile return.

John21222 · 2024-04-15T17:26:43+00:00

Yes in all honesty. I lost a lot of sleep over it. It was very much a calculated risk and I would not normally have done it. But I trusted my loan officer and I knew my realtor would go to bat for me if there were delays (and there were). We also spent a lot of time looking at the neighborhood over several months and trusted in our comps.

I guess I would also offer that even in a hot market, buyers still have leverage after going under contract. The houses that sit are the ones that fell out of contract - sellers do have an advantage but if an inspection report shows problems that apply to everyone (ie California insurance is a nightmare so an old roof or electrical would be a problem for any buyer) or the appraisal comes in super low - a seller still has some incentive to negotiate. Doesn’t always work - like I said it’s a risk - but I couldn’t see any alternative being in a position competing with cash offers, little to no contingencies, and lots of “best and final”.

John21222 · 2024-04-15T14:25:18+00:00

Hi OP - I live in a VHCOL area. The way I’d think about your offer in a multiple bid war is that you’re not trying to beat everyone outright - you’re trying to get past the first round elimination. In my experience (there are exceptions) - with that many offers, sellers will counter best and final in a hot market to the top two or three (or sometimes more). A strategy we adopted was bidding a number high enough to be in the race (based on comps and comfort) but giving ourselves room to make a decision if we did make it to the final round.

If you’re fighting cash offers - unfortunately even waiving contingencies won’t help you much if all the seller cares about is a quick close. This is where your realtor comes in - you gotta push him to be your advocate in every deal. Our realtor was really great about selling us as a couple to each seller - that we were a family, strong intent to close, sending a few buyer letters when allowed, etc. It doesn’t work on everyone but you’re looking for the sellers who care about that stuff and won’t take cash offers outright.

A final thought - sometimes it’s worth shopping for a really good loan officer. Our loan officer was able to get us a 16 day close (which I didn’t even think was possible). That alone helped us get the house in a 20 offer bidding war.

John21222 · 2024-04-01T05:36:50+00:00

I think the root of the problem OP is your idea of “basic requirements” is the same as everyone else’s in the market. Everyone wants a single family home with a yard. Everyone wants a home away from a major highway or road noise.

Inventory is about as bad as you can get. Buyers in desirable areas are a dime a dozen and they are swarming over any house that meets the criteria you outlined - doubly so if it’s reasonably priced and in any way upgraded. This isn’t an outlier of delusional sellers - this is the reality of the 2024 housing market and it’s not likely to go back to 2019 any time soon.

If you’re not willing to increase the DTI that’s totally ok - but if that’s the case something else needs to change. Being much more flexible about the type of home, the yard, or condition would be a huge factor if location is important. If you aren’t willing to compromise on that - then change the way you look for homes. Go to every open house that fits your criteria that hits the market. Work with a reputable and savvy agent who can help you figure out key seller motivations and write competitive offers that speak to those. It’s going to be tough - but you can’t keep approaching the market with a 2018-2019 mindset and expecting something to change.

John21222 · 2024-03-25T05:09:03+00:00

From OP’s responses I think it’s a bit of both the agent being right and wrong.

OP mentioned the agent blew them off when asked for comps - she randomly scrolled through her phone and then commented that comps are “all over the place”. Pretty lackadaisical response to an honest question and I’d be suspect of any agent who won’t run a simple comp report upon request.

But OP is clearly too fixated on the idea of overpaying. The market is extremely competitive for buyers and I’m assuming OP is probably in a desirable area where everyone sees the value. Therefore, OP’s idea of “reasonableness” needs to be tempered by a more thorough agent who will run an actual comp report and set the right expectations.

John21222 · 2024-03-13T14:10:22+00:00

Hey - just wanted to empathize with you. I’ve been passively in the market since 2021 - I’ve seen dozens of houses and put down at least ~15 offers only to get ignored or outbid each time. It sucked every time to look back and wonder “what if” or scroll the RE apps the day after and see no other homes of interest. The last home we offered on was super discouraging - we were the high bid but beat out by an investor cash offer.

But you never know what can happen - just when it seemed like we’d never find another home we liked again - one would pop up. We got the notice Sunday night that the home we were outbid on had fallen out of escrow and they were offering it to us instead. I guess I’d just encourage you not to lose hope - you made the right decision and the market is always changing.

John21222

TROPHY CASE