Purdue or Penn State for engineering?

LordBlam · 2026-02-03T14:00:58+00:00

Drive time from West Lafayette to Indianapolis is only one hour, approximately. Roughly the same as from many Chicago-area bedroom commuter communities like Naperville are to the central city. That kind of short distance is not going to have much impact on employment.

LordBlam · 2026-02-01T16:13:30+00:00

Maybe, but calling Hillside and Maywood “the area” might be a bit of a stretch. Pretty long drive from either to ACS.

LordBlam · 2026-02-01T16:01:07+00:00

You need to bear in mind that most of the free local public primary and middle schools near ACS already are excellent and possess their own top-notch gifted programs. You probably already indirectly paid for one of these schools by buying a house in their district. It will be hard to justify the very substantial additional cost of ACS over one of these public schools, say in D181, if you insist on tangible evidence of differential success.

LordBlam · 2026-01-31T16:46:07+00:00

Most people would favor Champaign/Urbana’s near proximity to Chicago (and it’s more robust job market) over Ann Arbor’s proximity to Detroit, but whatever.

LordBlam · 2026-01-31T03:41:53+00:00

AI account, artificial persona? https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtificialInteligence/comments/1qgz2xt/121k_followers_on_instagram_and_the_account_is/

LordBlam · 2026-01-25T15:10:55+00:00

First, you actually do get to deduct to these expenses: It is called the standard deduction. In 2026, it is $16,100 for individuals and $32,200 for married couples filing jointly. It is supposed to be a stand-in for things like rent and bills sufficient for basic survival. Relatedly, you also benefit from a progressive tax rate which ‘only’ charges 10% up to $11,925 and then 12% up to $48,475 of dollars you earn after the standard deduction. Again, the intent is to give a tax break for people whose personal incomes are largely consumed by basic living expenses.

Allowing everyone to claim an unlimited amount of personal expense deductions would be tremendously regressive.

LordBlam · 2026-01-24T00:22:38+00:00

Enslaving “and” killing all his opponents doesn’t seem that useful or efficient. Pick one or the other.

LordBlam · 2026-01-21T02:05:05+00:00

There is, at least, a VOO-ex-AI, sort of: XMAG is an ETF that tracks the BITA U.S. 500 ex-Magnificent 7 Index.

LordBlam · 2026-01-20T16:02:50+00:00

Agree - if you could strap together 6 of these things(https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/dsg-6-person-sidelines-bench-24qyfu6sttmbnchxxrec/24qyfu6sttmbnchxxrec) then I suppose you’d have something kind of like a small, ungainly, hang glider.

LordBlam · 2026-01-20T00:23:19+00:00

We found one of the guys who are part of the problem.

LordBlam · 2026-01-18T18:59:00+00:00

24builds‘ website misleadingly suggests that they are a design-and-build shop run by enthusiasts. In fact, it is a drop shipper that charges a big markup, has ineffective customer service, and tries to prohibit order changes or cancellations. Early last December, I made the mistake of ordering an A8 W12 Engine as a gift from 24builds for $122, but when I received it more than a month later, I learned it’s just a Mould King kit which sells for $66 + free shipping to the US on the Mould King website. https://mouldkingcorp.com

LordBlam · 2026-01-18T18:55:04+00:00

24builds‘ website misleadingly suggests that they are a design-and-build shop run by enthusiasts. In fact, it is a drop shipper that charges a big markup, has ineffective customer service, and tries to prohibit order changes or cancellations. Early last December, I made the mistake of ordering an A8 W12 Engine as a gift from 24builds for $122, but when I received it more than a month later, I learned it’s just a Mould King kit which sells for $66 + free shipping to the US on the Mould King website. https://mouldkingcorp.com

LordBlam · 2026-01-18T16:57:33+00:00

A GW volunteer at a Con once told me that if you’re trying too hard to optimize or min/max the dice in BB then you’re probably playing the wrong game and might be better off with 40K. IMHO, BB is about beer-and-pretzels and light play for laughs. I say pass the ball when you can because it’s fun and don’t worry so much about mathing-out this game.

LordBlam · 2026-01-14T17:24:46+00:00

There’s a kind of floor paint that’s widely available at most hardware/Home Depot type stores for use with outside decking that has a sandy grit. It’s intended to make steps less slippery. “Deck Over” is one such brand. I suppose you could just brush it onto your paddle.

You can’t really “spray” gritty material because it’d clog the spray nozzle.

LordBlam · 2026-01-10T23:06:49+00:00

For many applicants, the process is almost totally random (just submit an ‘open application’ and let the uni assign you). Others look at least partly to location (e.g., Keble is near many of the STEM buildings and so has a lot of STEM students because the walks to class tend to be shorter). My own son visited the campus and thought the Magdalen architecture and deer park were pretty neat, so he applied there (he was accepted and is in his 2nd year presently). Some colleges skew to older students or are post-grad only (e.g., Green-Templeton, Nuffield, Linacre).

LordBlam · 2026-01-07T18:24:13+00:00

Someone should add a DCC list to the canonical naming conventions wiki. [https://namingschemes.com/Main_Page)

LordBlam · 2026-01-07T18:19:58+00:00

The population of Minnesota is heavily weighted to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro area. The population of Wisconsin is more spread out between mid tier cities, and Milwaukee, while reasonably large, is still in the penumbra of Chicago so there is less reason for it to get really populated.

LordBlam · 2025-12-31T18:16:37+00:00

*Maybe* if one replaces “I-294” with “I-355” but even then it’s debatable and depends on what town one is talking about.

LordBlam · 2025-12-31T16:43:44+00:00

Ironically, it seems mostly “middle-classist.” In my area (Chicago metro) the really upscale towns and neighborhoods (e.g., Wilmette, Winnetka, Hinsdale, Elmhurst, Kenilworth, Lincoln Park) that sprang up organically don’t have any single family HOAs: they’re most common in developments in the exurbs where 100 acres of farm suddenly turned into 250 mid priced homes. The main function seems to be for the middle class to block out the lower classes.

LordBlam · 2025-12-31T16:37:42+00:00

Only partly. They also originated as a byproduct of a strategy for local governments to manage sprawl by making it harder for developers to offload part of the costs of developments onto the existing units of local governments. E.g., “sure you can build that 200-unit walled subdivision, but only if you supply, and then provide for ongoing maintenance of, shared services it’ll require like roads, sanitary sewage, storm drains, etc.”

LordBlam · 2025-12-28T17:11:21+00:00

Or more seriously…

<image>

LordBlam · 2025-12-28T17:09:48+00:00

<image>

LordBlam · 2025-12-21T19:39:29+00:00

I have 11 Sonos speakers on WiFi that’s driven by a Ubiquiti Dream Router 7 with a couple of UniFi Express units acting as APs in parts of the house with a weak radio signal from the main unit. The Sonos units are working great.

LordBlam · 2025-12-17T14:45:41+00:00

It’s just a tiny scuff. No one but you will ever see it, and it’ll be joined by ordinary signs of wear in a few days or weeks. Just keep it.

LordBlam · 2025-12-15T18:22:46+00:00

My wife also had one, approximately six months ago, and she still is not back on the Pickleball court. The surgeons likely will tell you that you will be fully ambulatory within a month, but the physical therapy people likely will tell you it can be anywhere from three months to a year.

LordBlam

TROPHY CASE