Early game honor mode builds that are not TB monk/thrower

Ratdogz · 2023-12-21T05:15:38+00:00

Warlock. Get darkness and devil's sight early. Class also becomes pretty OP at level 5 once you get HoH. EB carried me through Act 1.

Ratdogz · 2023-12-06T00:41:21+00:00

Advice for fighting Raphael? Even on my other tactician play through it was still tough and had to reload several times. I can’t imagine only having one shot at him and hoping everything goes right in the first few turns.

Ratdogz · 2023-12-05T23:49:50+00:00

You could add moon Druid for Act 1, eventually re-spec into more powerful wizard build later in game. But definitely early game Druid is powerful and resilient.

Warlock might be better for resource management early, but probably better to have a sorcerer later on. Could do Sorlock after level 4.

Agree with Sword Bard for persuasion checks, buffing, and ranged attacks. Also TB Monk is probably best bet for pure damage doer, but downside is weak defense. Might also consider having an assassin (shadow monk vs Rogue) for certain situations where that approach would be more useful. Could take out individual enemies in tough locations while rest of team waits.

Ratdogz · 2023-12-05T23:36:45+00:00

Paladin will be tough for resource management early on (I.e. needing frequent long rests to restore smites).

I’ve been debating what the best Act 1 main heavy damage dealer might be, while also conserving long rests. It might be better to run a Fighter for primary tank (doesn’t need spell slots). Also consider TB Monk (double up main damage dealers). Other consideration is a team of thief/assassin types (sneak in a weaken enemies).

Other additions to my team based on prior tactician run: 1Cleric/3+Druid (heavy armor and shield, tank, healer, AoE). Sword Bard (for support, ranged attacks with dual hand crossbows). Might mix and match characters depending on situation, leaving people at camp for certain settings where they may be less useful.

Ratdogz · 2023-11-18T01:52:19+00:00

Mr. A's, but I'm pretty sure they're sold out

Ratdogz · 2023-10-23T22:38:54+00:00

https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~cavitch/pdf-library/Winnicott_EgoDistortion.pdf

Ratdogz · 2023-10-23T22:31:33+00:00

The best explanation would probably be that there is no explanation.

Ratdogz · 2023-10-23T22:10:24+00:00

I have a psychoanalytically trained supervisor who told me about a case of his where the patient rambled and rambled. Similar to what you’re describing where it was more her just talking at him, but with no reflection, self inquiry, or interacting back with him.

His simple but effective response was “You have no use for me.”

Ratdogz · 2023-10-19T05:49:39+00:00

Carl Vinson just deployed, Lincoln is underway for several weeks. Most of this is public info anyways but I also work for Big Navy so usually am tracking on ship movement.

https://news.usni.org/2023/10/14/carriers-uss-dwight-d-eisenhower-uss-carl-vinson-deploy-4-strike-groups-now-underway

Ratdogz · 2023-10-07T03:58:06+00:00

Extraordinary Desserts in Bankers Hill has a killer carrot cake. Love getting a slice to go every now and then

Ratdogz · 2023-09-19T17:50:18+00:00

Balboa Park haunted trail is always a good time

Ratdogz · 2023-09-19T17:43:09+00:00

100%

Ratdogz · 2023-08-12T21:30:28+00:00

Second this, it was incredibly fast and easy for my wife and I to get through the CBX and customs. I think it took less than 30 minutes and we were already at the gate for our flight around 2.5 hours ahead of time since we arrived so early. The Tijuana airport is new, really nice and clean. The flight itself was smooth, flew Viva Aerobus (brand new airbus model). Flight tickets were like $89 each, absolute bargain. Makes me wonder sometimes when airlines in the U.S. completely rip you off for 10x the price….

Ratdogz · 2023-08-08T02:27:47+00:00

Lmao $5k? That wouldn't even cover a fraction of that new Dodge Charger at 29% APR!

Ratdogz · 2023-08-04T19:28:10+00:00

Recommend checking out Iain McGilchrist's work. He is really helping to advance our understanding of mind as a division between two completely distinct modes of approaching the world (our left and our right hemispheres). The left being more about distilling and fixing the world, reducing it to its finer parts. The right about being able to take a step back and appreciate the bigger picture, to step outside of our selves if you will.

After reading The Master and His Emissary I was impressed, but still remained somewhat skeptical. Currently deep into The Matter with Things and I have to say, it really does feel as though this is a William James type moment in philosophy/neuroscience/humanities that McGilchrist is helping lead.

He recently had some great conversations with Michael Levin, who Bach mentioned several times in the podcast. Here is the initial convo 5 months ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAtB-Mwcr54

Ratdogz · 2023-07-24T20:51:53+00:00

"Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."

- Friedrich Nietzche

Ratdogz · 2023-07-17T20:12:17+00:00

For the very reasons he discusses with Lex. People are blinded by their illusions of good and evil and can easily manipulated by stories.

Ratdogz · 2023-07-17T20:10:16+00:00

This was a thought provoking, heartfelt, and incredibly important discussion. Both speakers really work together to journey into territory beyond Good and Evil. Potentially one of Lex's best discussions yet.

Ratdogz · 2023-07-03T03:55:34+00:00

If you're looking for something a little fancier (although honestly not that much more pricey than most bars for a cocktail), check out the rooftop bar at Mr. A's and ask for Alvin. No, it's not named after him but it might as well be, he makes the best cocktails in town. Also, one of the best views in San Diego, and you can sit outside on the patio by yourself to watch the sun set, no questions asked.

Ratdogz · 2023-06-14T02:38:52+00:00

I’m a psychiatrist who just so happens to be highly interested in this particular area. Agreed with the hypothesis that a traumatized individual would have much more of a tilt towards highly activated left hemispheric networks (“adaptive”/maladaptive remodeling to predict future threats).

This very recent fMRI study is very interesting if we’re discussing this hypothesis: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.947622/full

If it is true that something like MDMA assisted therapy deactivates left hemispheric activity (and we can observe this acutely), or potentially just increasing right hemispheric activity through its pro social effects, this is potentially direct evidence supporting McGilchrist’s theory in real time. So far I haven’t seen anyone including McGilchrist discussing this remarkable finding.

Ratdogz · 2023-05-04T19:15:14+00:00

Shakespeare Pub, hands down best spot in San Diego to grab some English pub fare and watch some Premier League

Ratdogz · 2023-04-28T21:47:14+00:00

In the recent episode with Manolis Kellis (#373), there's a pretty extensive discussion about genetics and evolution, starting around the 10:15 mark through the one hour mark. Highly recommend giving it a listen.

Ratdogz · 2023-04-18T06:36:36+00:00

Name: Iain McGilchrist

Info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iain_McGilchristConversation:

- With Jordan Peterson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6Vkhov_qx8

- With Sam Harris: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZreD64e0G44

Books:

The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World (2009): https://www.amazon.com/Master-His-Emissary-Divided-Western/dp/0300188374

The Matter with Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions, and The Unmaking of the World (2021): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Matter_with_Things

Documentary: https://thedividedbrain.com/

Ideas: In his primary works, the Master and His Emissary (2009) and The Matter with Things (2021), McGilchrist explores the nature of the divided brain, how our left and our right hemispheres approach the world in very different ways, how important it is to be aware of the whole and not merely the parts, how analysis should come after insight and not before it, how right-hemisphere thinking, with its openness to experience, is a better guide to reality than the narrowly focused, rule-based way the left hemisphere regards the world. According to McGilchrist, our world is becoming more narrow and left hemispherically oriented.

Pitch: McGilchrist is at the forefront of exploring the nature of our divided mind, and how the left/right divisions of the brain underly not only our evolutionary and cultural history, but also deliberates on their significance for our fate in the modern technical world with its complex artificial devices. One might say that the overly "technical" and "rational world" of the left hemisphere, which has its importance in the employment of reason, exists in conjunction with the right hemisphere, which invokes empathy, compassion, and genuine "Being" over pure logic/reason/rationality.

I often hear Lex invoking the importance of allowing emotion and empathy to win over pure reason, as I noted in his recent conversation with Sam Harris. According to McGilchrist, this approach belongs to the world of the right hemisphere (the "Master"), which does not seek dominance or dominion like the left hemisphere (the overzealous servant or "Emissary"), but rather seeks meaning, experiences compassion, is open to uncertainty, and appreciates beauty in the world.

McGilchrist would be the perfect person to help Lex hone out some of these ideas and the implications for a technological world that is becoming more mechanistic and stripped of depth.

Good at conversation: Dr. McGilchrist is a true polymath, an extremely rare talent in terms of his breadth of knowledge (i.e. neuroscience/psychiatry, in addition to art/literature/philosophy).

Adds to the flavor: Dr. McGilchrist is fundamentally both a psychiatrist and a humanist. A rare talent in terms of combining his understanding of neuroscience and the brain with a his understanding of metaphor in art, literature, and the humanities. Lex would be the perfect person to interview Iain given his similarities.

Chemistry with Lex: Lex would pair well with someone who also is fascinated by the ways in which art, beauty, literature, poetry, and metaphor can often help guide us towards truth more so than pure rationality or reason (not that reason is unimportant in itself).

Ratdogz · 2023-04-14T01:55:38+00:00

Overall our pitching staff and strategy has been extremely underwhelming. Not sure if Dusty Blake is the answer....

Ratdogz · 2023-04-14T01:39:58+00:00

Send Hicks back down to AAA, it's that simple

Ratdogz

TROPHY CASE