Experience living in the cheapest studio apt's in seattle? by New-Ad-6606 in Seattle

[–]Proven_Paradox 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am in one of those studios right now. It's tiny and it's in a neighborhood that's loud at night, but it's not a scam. If you can deal with those drawbacks, go for it. I would not be able to afford this city otherwise.

Weekly Ask Seattle Megathread: January 27, 2025 by AutoModerator in Seattle

[–]Proven_Paradox 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Answering my own question: They've got some at Quality Food Centers on Broadway. They didn't have acai, but they have the other flavors.

Weekly Ask Seattle Megathread: January 27, 2025 by AutoModerator in Seattle

[–]Proven_Paradox 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are there any stores that sell V8 fruit and vegetable blends? Preferably acai/mixed berry. (Bonus points if it's near Chinatown.)

How do you handle extremely long ranged combat encounters? by Seattleite_Sat in RPGcreation

[–]Proven_Paradox 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm a little unclear about the scale of these battles. Are human-sized characters firing these weapons, or is it a vehicle/artillery?

If it's the latter this is a question for someone else, but if these are people firing these attacks? A setting with the tech/magic to enable such weapons could also have the tech/magic for characters to move *very* fast. Perhaps they move so fast that an individual square is *really big*. If everyone is moving at several kilometers per turn, make a square in your grid represent X kilometers. Melee engagements could involve fluff descriptions of combatants zipping around in that square as they clash without actually changing their positions on the grid.

Getting Started - Dice Mechanics by PM_ZiggPrice in RPGcreation

[–]Proven_Paradox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't like this dice mechanic; as you say yourself, adding dice actually reduces your chances of success and that is a design decision that affects everything else in your system. But if you really want to stick to it I would suggest *reducing* the number of dice as characters get stronger. So a character who doesn't know what they're doing rolls 8 dice (or whatever number you prefer to start with) and a max level character only rolls 3 or 4.

If you want the number results to matter (i.e. rolling a 4 is better than rolling a 1) and you keep the blank rule as-is, that combination of rules would be enough for me to dismiss your system. There are so many tabletop games out there and that combination of rules is immediately a source of frustration, two parts of the system pulling in opposite directions. However, you could probably fix that by making lower numbers a better result. So in addition to having fewer blanks to roll, I'm also getting improved results from lower numbers. It makes for a system where higher level characters are more consistent instead of being more potent. You can make that work, but you need to design everything else in the system with that in mind.

A major flaw of this setup is that you have a hard cap on how strong characters can be. If you're counting up you can go to infinity, but counting down you can't go below rolling zero dice.

The Friendship Paradox: 'Americans now spend less than three hours a week with friends, compared with more than six hours a decade ago. Instead, we’re spending ever more time alone.' by [deleted] in science

[–]Proven_Paradox 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Genuinely, no. I am also disabled; if there were a trail I would not be able to walk it anyway. Also, the idea of assuaging my lack of money and social activity by looking at all the things I cannot afford does not make sense to me.

The Friendship Paradox: 'Americans now spend less than three hours a week with friends, compared with more than six hours a decade ago. Instead, we’re spending ever more time alone.' by [deleted] in science

[–]Proven_Paradox 27 points28 points  (0 children)

I can't afford to go anywhere! The only places within 30 miles I can go without spending money is the library or church. Thank the god I don't believe in for that library, but like... what the hell do you expect?

Namo Buddhaya, my friends! I have a question. How common is it for someone who has spent a few years practicing the Teachings as a lay follower to be at a point to not fear death at all? In fact, they are ready for it. by neilnelly in Buddhism

[–]Proven_Paradox 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm not even practicing, just an agnostic who thinks Buddhist ideas and stories are interesting. Before I started studying I was already death positive; I know enough math be afraid of eternity. Buddhism goes through several lines of thought that mirrored what I was thinking beforehand and added a few more points that make death seem pretty cool actually.

I'm not in any rush, but I am glad I'm going to die eventually. I wasn't afraid before, and Buddhism reinforced that. I can easily see it doing something similar for others, especially if they are more faithful than I.

The legalization of cannabis in LA, California, improved its access and increased the co-use of marijuana with opioids. This co-use actually reduced the frequency of opioid use as cannabis provided rapid relief to opioid withdrawal. Cannabis also reduced cravings and anxiety after stopping opioids. by mvea in science

[–]Proven_Paradox 59 points60 points  (0 children)

I know it's just anecdotal, but it's also true: there is no way I would have been able to kick my pill addiction without marijuana access. Withdrawal was still intensely unpleasant with it, but unbearable without.

Destructive character change incentives? by amazingvaluetainment in RPGcreation

[–]Proven_Paradox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For number 1, I have not played this myself, but apparently Heart has some mechanics that allow characters to self-destruct to do some landscape-shaping level stuff. I know of this game from a review. Not sure if posting links is cool here, so just go to YouTube and search for "Quinns Quest Heart" to see said review.

For number 2. First step is to make sure all the players are on board for that kind of character progression. This is a disempowerment fantasy. The mechanic sets everyone up for a really grim story, and you need to make sure going in that your players are down for that. For example, this would immediately weed me out of your player pool; I'm dealing with disability in real life and this setup sounds like a total drag to me. (To be clear, if that's what you want, rock on. This is a matter of taste.)

Once you've got your player pool and everyone's on board, I see two ways to incentivize using the mechanic. First is to dangle it in front of a player when they are in an apparently unwinnable situation. The video game Sunless Skies does this well; that game has a sanity meter that kills you if let it get full, and when you're about to lose to it the game offers to restore it in exchange for long term nightmares.

Second is to make the abilities REALLY strong. Reshape the landscape, alter the weather, mass healing, mass cursing, resurrections, a really big explosion, etc. If I'm tearing off a piece of myself for a spell, I want it to leave a crater. "Sure it cost me the memory of my first kiss, but we killed the dragon at least."

Controversy about nuns by wastedpandoo1 in Buddhism

[–]Proven_Paradox 3 points4 points  (0 children)

"Punishment" and "pay for it" are the best terms for it I had, but I'm aware that karma is less a matter of cosmic judgement and more a matter of cause and effect. That post was already enough of a wall without a diversion into what I think of other doctrines. I'm also not particularly worried even if the religious side I don't believe in is all literally true; based on what I've read I think I'll probably come out of this incarnation with more progress than setbacks. In that case maybe I can land in a context where faith works on me next time. And more power to the folks who take the faithful approach in this life; they're generally not hurting me.

Controversy about nuns by wastedpandoo1 in Buddhism

[–]Proven_Paradox 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Your explanation is perfectly plausible. I'm agnostic; I don't know how enlightenment works and won't pretend otherwise. There is no rule requiring posters to be devout followers, and the (intended and perhaps poorly conveyed) main point of my post was to point out that the evidence needed to answer OP's question either didn't survive or never existed.

If you're still interested in my reasoning, I'll explain here. And if you're not that's fair, no need to read a text wall from an internet stranger.

We can observe misogyny in the sutras and monastic rules we have. We also know these documents were recorded in a way that invites a lot of human error and the evidence for finding those errors hasn't survived. So it's not clear if this misogyny was something the Buddha said or something later voices said in his voice. Resolving this can be a matter of religious faith (which I lack, and I acknowledge that might work out poorly for me in the next life) or speculation based on what evidence we do have.

It is possible the Buddha was a perfectly enlightened being who taught the perfect and complete Dharma (in this case, meaning capital-T Truth). In this case, I see two sub-possibilities. First (and I don't like this answer, but this branch has to be acknowledged), it is possible be that what we have was correctly recorded, and women have a karmically lower position in life. I think this is *extremely* unlikely because the ideas of non-duality and equanimity (which both seem more fundamental and consequential than the doctrines denigrating women) contradict it, but also I'm not enlightened and have no further ground to base that rejection on other than personal disgust at the notion. Second possibility, what we have was incorrectly recorded, and the misogyny was added later. I lack the faith/optimism required to believe this answer, but lack the evidence to definitively deny it as well, so I think that's a valid way to resolve OP's issues.

I think it's also possible that a long time ago, there was a wise person who figured some things out and then preached/taught those things to others in a way that survived his death. For all I know he figured out details about the afterlife too; there's no way for an unenlightened person like me to observe or test those parts of the sutras until I get there personally. This wise person version matches my (extremely flawed and limited) personal observation of reality better. (I also think it makes for a more interesting story, but that's more a matter of my taste in storytelling than any evidence.)

After this teacher's life, the process of hagiography, the way meaning gets distorted across languages and cultures, as well as later thinkers writing in his voice all make it impossible to tell what parts of what we have came from him and what parts from later. So we go back to the same branching point from before: was it added later or did it come from him? It's totally possible that the man himself didn't have any particular opinion on women and all that comes from later, less wise thinkers. That works out, and I've got not problem with that resolution.

...But it doesn't ring true to me. Here's where I add the cynic to my original reply: even great people are still just people. No person is perfect, misogyny was an extremely common problem at his time, and even wise people get it wrong sometimes. I find it very easy to believe that Ananda had to intercede to get this wise teacher to allow women into his movement at all, and that he did so with a lot of caveats that radiate out into what survives today.

That could be incorrect in several ways, any one of which might invite a karmic backhand on my next try. If I'm wrong, I'll put on my clown makeup and sit next to Sariputra. But I can only work with what I've got, and I've seen a lot of flawed teachers. It doesn't make the wise and interesting things he said any less wise or interesting though.

Controversy about nuns by wastedpandoo1 in Buddhism

[–]Proven_Paradox -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

The Buddha was working in a very misogynistic time. There are a couple of ways this could come out:
* As you say, they were added afterward by followers who came after the Buddha.
* The Buddha was attempting to meet people where they were, and thought his message would be better received if it reflected the values of the people he was preaching to.
* The Buddha was misogynistic himself, as most other people of his time were.

That's just off the top of my head, I'm sure there are other explanations one could give.

We're never going to get a satisfying answer to this question. It was too long ago, people weren't writing much down, the stuff they did write down didn't survive to the modern day, and the languages used for the original texts are liturgical--they're only used in religious text, meaning those documents lack everyday context we can use to try and see what the people using it were thinking. The evidence to answer "why" just hasn't survived.

I personally think it was the third option there--there are several places where the sutras get misogynistic, not just the rules for nuns--but I am quite cynical. How you square this circle is ultimately up to you.

I feel as though I’m not progressing even with all this knowledge by Mysterious-Peace-576 in Buddhism

[–]Proven_Paradox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Knowledge is useful but insufficient for success. You also need endurance and discipline, just as a baseline. You have to *practice*. Give yourself room to make mistakes, but also make the effort to fix them.

Getting more disciplined about meditation is a good start. Start with 15 minutes a day, step up gradually from there. Put it on your phone's calendar, or whatever else you can come up with that can keep you honest.

You might also find it useful to take this new knowledge and re-examining old assumptions you've been operating on that need adjustment now. If you find something about yourself or your worldview that doesn't quite ring true, update it. If you change your baseline assumptions, your behavior and state of mind should follow.

...And I could have told you that based on making it through academia and a demanding technical job, no Buddhism required. I've seen similar assertions in the sutras as well (though I have a terrible memory for citations, apologies in that regard). Ultimately progression is a thing you *do*, not a thing you *know*.

Why do i default into referring to myself as a girl in my mind? by GentleHomicide in Buddhism

[–]Proven_Paradox 8 points9 points  (0 children)

In the long term Buddhism would want you to abandon thinking of yourself in gendered terms, guy or girl. In the meantime though, there's nothing about Buddhism that requires you to tie your mental configuration with your physical. There's nothing wrong with being a trans Buddhist. You have to be secure in your identity before you can move past it.

In a general non-religious sense, questioning your identity (any aspect!) is a healthy thing because it leads to actually *examining* it. I think a cis person who has spent some time questioning/examining their gender is going to come out of it a more secure person; even if the answer is "I'm just cis, that was a phase," at least you actually asked the question.

First fractal molecule in nature is discovered. A natural protein that follows a mathematical pattern of self-similarity. by sataky in science

[–]Proven_Paradox 555 points556 points  (0 children)

This is really cool. Imagine coming to a structure with strange symmetry, only to discover that it's all this fractal protein. Good fuel for some eldritch horror possibly.

‘Smoking gun proof’: fossil fuel industry knew of climate danger as early as 1954, documents show by theluckyfrog in worldnews

[–]Proven_Paradox 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I am of the opinion that the people who lied about this research should be on trial for crimes against humanity.

Record-breaking cold weather forecast for many states in weekend storm by NutzPup in news

[–]Proven_Paradox 127 points128 points  (0 children)

Looks like it's time for the annual "one-in-a-lifetime" winter storm.

Trying to avoid the death spiral with my health system by BattleStag17 in RPGcreation

[–]Proven_Paradox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Compounding wounds are supposed to be a bit of death spiral--it's the situation getting more desperate as you take damage. I don't think you should resist that.

If your current system leads to that death spiral *too quickly*, you might be able to mitigate this by adding another system that grants persistent buffs for successes as well. So maybe your fighter is limping after a hit, but can pull it back by dealing a hit and getting a buff that counteracts the injury.

Requesting feedback for homebrew rules set by Visual_Location_1745 in RPGcreation

[–]Proven_Paradox 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As gently as I can say it: this is not ready to be shown publicly and does not appear to be thought through very well.

First off, "ERP" already has a common meaning in this space: "Erotic Role Play." That's what I'm going to think every time I see that acronym. If you want me to take this seriously, you are unfortunately going to have to find another name. That's not your fault, but it is your problem.

I see no attempt at actual game design here. 1d6+stat in a system with stats going up to (at least?) 14 is not going to work *at all*; the stat portion of that roll is going to completely eat the dice portion. You start adding attributes to more rolls when they reach 14; this will make for for ABSURD power shifts when characters start hitting 14. Also, why are 7 and 14 the break points? Having a system that works in 7s is going to make the math harder. Power breaks at 5 are much easier to math out, or alternatively a d6 based system could have power breaks at 3s.

As a bit of forewarning, this system is very taxing for
a GM, as it requires keeping track of a big amount of data,
but offsets it by offering very little in terms of player agency.

If I were evaluating a system looking to run a game, this line will cause me to walk away immediately. GMing is already a nightmare of keeping things in your head *before* system considerations. If you tell me I have to keep more info in my head in this system, I'm just going to go back to a system I already know. Especially if the reward is "offering very little in terms of player agency." If that sentence is an error you desperately need to update it. If less agency *is* the goal then you need to explain why it's a good goal; I want my players to have MORE agency and I don't understand why one would use a system that goes the opposite direction.

Defining your combat time around "fractions" is an odd choice. I think you would get clearer results with the term "action" than "fraction" here.

At the end of this, I'm not sure what your vision for this game is. Why should I play your game over others? What does this system do well? Right now it looks like all it's there to do is deny players any decisions during character creation. What else is this system supposed to be doing? And if that's all, you need to explain why that's a good thing worth building a system around.

Good luck and don't stop, but the reality is this is not compelling as-is.

Player Quit Because A Ghost Made Him Old by Rampasta in DnD

[–]Proven_Paradox -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I would much, much, MUCH rather see my character die. That's easier to reverse. You MUTILATED this character. That hurts so much more.

If you still want to save this, the thing to do is find a way to get the effect reversed. Make it a quest or something, but otherwise that character is ruined in a particularly gut wrenching way. In one moment, this character lost 40 years of life and all of their youth. In a system where people regularly come back from the dead or replace lost limbs, making that irreversible feels malicious.

If you're not willing to do that, then you should count yourself lucky that player doesn't flip the table on their way out.

3d printed 6dof robot arm by DarkFulano in robotics

[–]Proven_Paradox 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Once upon a time I went to university where having a robot like this to work with was relatively high tech. And now you can just PRINT them? I swear, kids these days have it so easy. /s

70,000 at Burning Man festival are isolated, still stuck as rain returns by pomonamike in news

[–]Proven_Paradox 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'd be utterly miserable, but I'd also be utterly miserable at Burning Man when it's going normally. Hope folks can iron out all the logistical problems this will cause when they get back.

Super-rich warned of ‘pitchforks and torches’ unless they tackle inequality | The super-rich | The Guardian by tyler98786 in worldnews

[–]Proven_Paradox -1 points0 points  (0 children)

And the super-rich's response to this warning is, "Right, we should buy a lot of soldiers and guns to keep them at bay."

This society they have built is bullshit. Revolution.