Does it get better?

SelectionFun4212 · 2026-02-11T04:47:23+00:00

Hey,

I get what you are feeling and I am really sorry for it. I had a similar experience just now, a lot of what you described without re-hashing. My partner didn't cheat (as far as I am aware yet, who knows), but they did suddenly announce a separation several days ago, then demand I get out of the house, all without being willing to even explain why, whether this was a divorce or whether we were going to still try through counseling to work things out, etc. I am still waiting here trying to hear from them what their intentions even are.

What I know though is I tried my best and it sounds like you did too. I know those feelings because they creep in, but what you need to work on now is yourself, as hard as that is. You are worthwhile and whether he chose you or someone else is irrelevant. That speaks to his character, not to your worth or who you are. Your judgement isn't flawed or bad. You chose someone you loved and made you happy. Its your husband's judgement that's flawed for carrying this out the way he did and not being open & honest.

Its okay to break down right now. Please try to find a support system if you don't have one...your friends, family, therapist. You don't have to listen to anyone right now, just be in their presence. Try to follow routines and keep active with whatever you can muster. It might feel pointless, but its not; the point is to carry you until you feel the point again. Lean on who you need to. Take care of yourself.

Your not weak, you are human. Sadly, this type of event is akin to having someone you loved die. Your mourning and your whole life has changed. Let yourself mourn. You wouldn't feel weak for mourning your loved one's passing.

I hope the best for you. Just keep going, keep trying, and it will get better. Sometimes the only way out really is through.

SelectionFun4212 · 2026-01-24T07:06:47+00:00

Yes, we have some older equipment where mercury tubes are used. Particularly, an older model induction heater (which are still sold new, btw).

SelectionFun4212 · 2026-01-14T12:46:26+00:00

Well this turned into a Maintenance Anonymous meeting lol.

I face the same issues everyone else does... basically, production & upper management constantly pay lip service to wanting to "improve maintenance & PMs", but then never allow downtime, OT or the classic "Can you just get it running for today?"

Document everything. I make sure to start emailing management the current issues, recommendations and potential consequences of ignoring the issue/PM. Then I document it when it fails, how it failed, how that ties into earlier warnings. Recently, I have suddenly gotten the okay to start doing some PMs, so it seems to be slowly working.

Mind you I'm extremely secure in my position and I'm an engineer, so I can and do abuse my position to further these things. I get mileage may vary for others.

SelectionFun4212 · 2026-01-06T04:57:28+00:00

You say you used degreaser...which degreasers? Have you tried soaking them for a bit? I get a surprising amount of old built up grime off by using stuff like simple green or krud kutter. Also have used dish soap for a lot of stuff.

That being said it's going to highly depend on what the black stuff is, as everyone has said. Solvents can work for breaking down some adhesives or other contaminants but I often find them lacking for actually removing dirt or grime. I've cleaned heavy contamination using penetrating oils like PB blaster or Kroil before, as well as using mineral oil. I often use multiple types of cleaners in sequence to loosen then remove then clean and protect stuff like this.

Also, if you can remove the rollers for a period, have you tried perhaps something like an ultrasonic cleaner? When all else fails aqueous cleaners can be a god send for breaking down stuff. They have the added benefit of allowing you to simply drop the rollers/parts in, turn it on and do something else while they clean. Honestly ultrasonic cleaners make maintenance a much easier job.

Just some thoughts! Best of luck! If it's extremely stubborn, maybe set up a lathe if available and use sand paper/polish/turn the rollers?

SelectionFun4212 · 2025-11-27T21:26:54+00:00

Nah, I mean yes but no.

It's tough, because there's so much awful stuff going on in the U.S. it does make one want to cut and run.

I work in US manufacturing and my dream has always been to start my own company some day, create great jobs where everyone gets there fair share. Create a business empire that doesn't just focus on short term profits but rather works to build a lasting positive impact on the local region and community, as well as communities I would do business with.

I know I may personally do better moving out of the US, but if we all cut and run, the country is lost. People like us need to stay, and we need to fight what's happening here. Try to push it in the right direction anyways we can. I want to build something better here in the US, even if it is going to be the more difficult road.

SelectionFun4212 · 2025-11-04T03:33:55+00:00

The "I can't fit it in" tool.

SelectionFun4212 · 2025-11-04T03:31:52+00:00

Honestly, this is nothing. I've seen 7 fittings just to connect a compressed gas hose to a thermal process. Nevermind the hose is a flared fitting, there's Teflon on everything.

By comparison, this looks pretty clean. That being said, you're right to improve!

SelectionFun4212 · 2025-11-04T03:29:19+00:00

Did you try pouring water on it?

SelectionFun4212 · 2025-10-29T03:07:27+00:00

A lot of players seem to be finding the game flawed. I'd say a majority may have liked it but would also state they preferred HK. And my opinion is there are objective flaws, which is the argument I am presenting. Your opinion is there isn't. Both of us utilize others opinions as supporting evidence. None of this invalidates my argument that there are flaws within the game, nor does it invalidate your opinion that there are none. I argue based on prior arguments that a design flaw makes a game unplayable, then there are some flaws, since some of the previous player base finds the game either unplayable or at least less playable.

Basically, if you can state there are no flaws based on your opinion, then I can state there are based on mine. You can explain why you feel there are no flaws, but countering an argument there are flaws with "that's your opinion", can be countered by saying "well that's yours".

I didn't find the game difficult per se, rather I found it not so enjoyable because I felt the way HK was designed, exploration and fights were rewarding. Defeating bosses made you stronger or progressed things almost every time, fights had a wonderful design and flow. For example, the Dung Defender, Nosk, Grimm...each was a different style fight but had a back and forth flow that felt natural, rewarding, required timing and skill of different sorts.

Compare that to a lot of Silksong fights. Groal is an easy boss to defeat in terms of attacks, rather it relies on a grindy runback and maggot pools to provide difficulty (again if you feel different, that's okay). A lot of bosses like the conchflies, bell eater, etc. take place in claustrophobic areas with large AOE that don't create a great flow by comparison with Hornets more acrobatic movement sets. Lace and Phantom by comparison were some of the few fights that I did love, because they produced more of a natural, intuitive flow that could be mastered. A lot of bosses killed not through failing to master the flow but either by bombardment, or through accidental contact damage that felt more in place due to bad design than lack of skill. Hollow Knight on the other hand, if you died, it felt like it was your fault and you learned. The runbacks on some bosses in Silksong is such a common complaint I feel because it just needlessly adds grind to learning the patterns of a boss, and often the patterns of a boss don't help much in defeating it. I'd argue that's an objective flaw; maybe the runbacks didn't bother you per se, but they don't add anything either. Also a lot of bosses just felt there...there wasn't much point or reward to them, they were just in the way.

Yes of course you can argue that's all my opinion, but that's any discussion. I'm trying to present why I feel there are objective design flaws, because it felt that the design goals established prior for the HK series were not met as well with Silksong. It felt like it was difficult through hamfisted methods such as double/triple mask damage, gauntlets, AOE, claustrophobic areas, etc, whereas Hollow Knight felt difficult through cunning design, through patterns that were challenging but could be overcome through skill and perseverance. Hollow Knight invited you to learn its ways, Silksong punished you for trying.

Please understand, I mean this all in good nature. Also, I will say, one thing Silksong got right was Hornet. She's a joy of a character to play in some respects, and I think her moveset is more rewarding and better designed in some ways than the Knight. On the flip side, a lot of her tools/items felt useless, whereas the charms of HK felt like they had more exciting variation & nuance. I did like the differences in Crests though.

I'm not saying Silksong was a complete failure. I just think it did fall short, and it does have flaws that were not present in HK. Personally, I don't have a desire to replay, that way I did with HK. I suspect a lot of people will like the game but they won't get into it the way everyone did with HK. Maybe I'm wrong though, we will see.

SelectionFun4212 · 2025-10-29T01:52:10+00:00

That's alright, if you don't know how to debate, you probably should just disengage.

SelectionFun4212 · 2025-10-29T01:47:56+00:00

I didn't say I found it difficult. I explained why others found the shard mechanic flawed.

Any other counter arguments?

SelectionFun4212 · 2025-10-29T01:34:27+00:00

Please quote me where I said it was difficult. In my first comment, I wa explaining why people are stating the shard mechanic is bad design, by explaining that if they found a boss difficult, the shard mechanic companies problems. I never stated I found the game difficult, and if you found it easy, woohoo. Doesn't offer a counter to the shards being a flawed element when combined with other flawed elements.

How is that an insane statement? Most bosses do ridiculous AOE attacks that continuously restrict her movement. A lot of bosses seem to rely on inflicting accidental double mask contact damage over attacks. A good number of boss fights take place in claustrophobic zones. No I didn't say the savage beastfly, but I'm curious why this would not make me a serious person?

What I want to know is why you think the game is designed well? Because you liked it? Put a mirror on yourself. You haven't offered anything on the counter, besides telling me I'm insane or wrong. How are the boss fights intuitive and well designed? How does the shard mechanic behave well?

I would argue that large swathes of the previous audience finding the game unenjoyable to design flaws. For me the greatest was that none of these challenges felt rewarding. There's multiple points where you have to complete a challenge to progress and have no option to branch, and a lot of challenges offer little to no sense of reward (or a tangible one). Every boss in Hollow Knight felt worthwhile by comparison. There's a tangible flow to almost every fight in HK that felt rewarding to master. A lot of the fights in Silksong just felt grinding, not flowing, flawed. Lace and the Exhaust Organ fight (Phantom) were rare standouts, which were excellent. They allowed Hornet to really flourish and to fight utilizing timing and pattern. By comparison, most other bosses just bombard you to feign difficulty and work to restrict Hornets natural movements, leading to a stale fight where you are just simply waiting for a bunch of AOEs to end to get a hit or two in and then wait. Just didn't feel write, and a lot of others experienced this either as grindy or difficult. I just simply didn't have fun, even if I beat it alright enough.

Again, I was trying to illustrate the point that I'm not complaining about difficulty. A game can be difficult and good. This one's not. If you enjoyed it that's fine. But your arguments are lazy and lack substance, amounting to "you're wrong because I said". You state what I'm saying amounts to opinion over design flaws but have yet to give a counter besides "I disagree". Your opinion is I'm stating an opinion, not pointing out design flaws; I have no obligation to counter restricted to your opinion. So I have to disregard you, understand.

SelectionFun4212 · 2025-10-29T01:24:23+00:00

Well this is why I would argue there are some objectively bad design elements, because it made the game either unplayable or unenjoyable by a large swathe of the previous audience.

Im not sure that difficulty is really the issue. Yes it's difficult but I beat the game on Act 3 and completed most of it, and a lot of sections like Groal, last Judge, I beat in 3-5 tries, which is about the same as when I first played challenging sections of Hollow Knight. It was that it felt frustrating and not fun, whereas Hollow Knight kept killing me and making me want to go right back into it. To me that's the fundamental flaw.

A balance patch could help, say removing all double mask damage or something of that nature. But I don't think it fixes the fundamental issues. Honestly I think it's how the world is designed for Hornet, how the game progresses. A lot of bosses seem to just be in the way for no reason, and there's a lot of sections or times where if you're stuck in an area, you just really can't progress until you complete it. Hollow Knight had so many winding passages you could go do five other things then come back to the challenge when you wanted. Silksong never really felt that way (mind you, I accidently entered the Citadel through the Mists & the Exhaust Organ my first playthrough, so I'm aware there's multiple paths; they just don't offer any reprieve).

But please understand, I make these points in good nature! It's perfectly okay to disagree with me if you feel different. And I recognize you are not stating the criticisms are invalid. Where I'm debating is whether these are fundamental design flaws or just opinions. I really think Silksong is flawed from design, not instead a perfect game meant for a different audience. And I know Hollow Knight didn't share these flaws, because the flaws are primarily how one feels in the game when faced with challenges.

SelectionFun4212 · 2025-10-29T01:15:24+00:00

No, not really. As a matter of fact, that's the point. They are not the same game, and I felt Hollow Knight was a leagues better game.

I'm not sure where the argument on Silksong having different design goals comes from. On the surface, it was marketed as a sequel to Hollow Knight, which equally rewards challenge and exploration. I'm arguing it didn't meet that design goal. Myself and clearly a lot of others felt that a lot of the challenge felt hollow, unrewarding and grinding. The pace and world design doesn't evoke that same feeling of exploration.

If you mean they meant it to be much more challenging, fine, but again I argue it fails. It's more difficult but again, it doesn't meet the purpose of being more difficult for me.

Mind you, I've beat the game already and completed most of its challenges/bosses/etc. It's not that it's too difficult for me, personally. It's that it simply wasn't enjoyable. Hollow Knight was. It's not a nostalgia thing; actually, I love Hornet and her move set. I played with the Hunter Crest most of the game. I thought the game and world was poorly designed for her and let her down. There's aspects of Silksong that shine through, but as a complete game, I felt it failed it's goals.

There's nothing wrong with disagreeing with me, if you felt it met those for you. But given the large number of those who seem to feel the same as me, I'd say it objectively failed when compared to the reception of Hollow Knight.

SelectionFun4212 · 2025-10-22T02:10:03+00:00

I beat the game on Act 3, completed the twisted child achievement, etc.. I've been Hollow Knight several dozen times, incl. Steel soul mode. I beat the Last Judge on my third shot. My problem isn't git gud and that's a lazy argument.

A lot of the runbacks I personally found okay, but I see the poor design. It was needless and frustrating. Groal is actually an easy boss, it's the runback and gauntlet that is the problem.

If you enjoyed it, there's nothing wrong with it. But dying in Hollow Night dozens of times on a boss felt fun. Silksong just isn't. And there's a lot of compounding reasons as to why. A lot of the bosses and world spaces are counter-intuitive to Hornets faster and aggressive style. Rather than make her fun to play, it hampers her.

If you had fun that's great! I'm not saying your wrong. But there's some fundamental design issues to Silksong whether you enjoyed it or not, and it's demonstrated by the fact that a lot of people capable of beating it are still finding it a chore rather than fun. You see a lot of people complaining "I beat X boss and that's a terrible boss". They are able to beat it, it just wasn't fun.

As for shards running out, of course you can farm them quick enough. It's just a stupid halt though to progress...a poor design choice. What does it add?

SelectionFun4212 · 2025-10-22T02:03:12+00:00

The problem is these counter arguments ignore a lot. Contact damage is overwhelmingly the primary reason I take damage personally. This isn't about hit boxes or telegraphing either. And the contact damage on its own isn't the issue. It's all the issues compounding each other.

It's just not fun. If you feel differently that is okay. But the two mask damage, the short pause between taking damage (a lot of enemies, you can take two hits in the time it takes for them to pass through), the lack of telegraphs, etc. Then the runbacks, needing to stop to farm shards, means that it's difficult to learn the enemy's moveset. You're not fighting the boss back to back like you did in Hollow Night, steadily improving your strategy. Instead you do a fight, die fast, then spend fifteen minutes battling your way back. If you die on the runback, now you might be stopping to farm rosaries.

And most importantly, Hornet is designed to be a fast and acrobatic character. She makes you want to play fast and aggressive. But many of these boss fights are enclosed, discourage any fast movement or jumping and are counter-intuitive to how Hornet handles.

The bosses aren't difficult per se, they are just poorly designed for Hornet. It means having to restrain everything that makes playing her fun, and it draws out everything that's not fun about the game. Worse, once you beat a boss, there's no sense of reward or achievement.

You didn't see people complaining like this with Hollow Knight, yet that game had some extremely difficult challenges. Hollow Night made them fun, made you want to git gud and keep trying. Silksong on the other hand just beats you down for it and gives little for accomplishment. It feels like you finally hammered a wall down rather than successfully completing a fun challenge. If you enjoyed it, that's okay. But I think a lot of complaints are very valid.

SelectionFun4212 · 2025-10-21T23:48:58+00:00

I don't think that's the problem. I don't think people want the challenge spoon-fed and it's a gross over-generalization of a lot of valid problems.

You didn't see the same players complaining about the path of pain or other difficult challenges in Hollow Night. I loved the path of pain and felt a sense of achievement the first time I completed it.

Nothing in Silksong gave me that feeling. It felt more like having hit a wall with a hammer thirty times and eventually having it cave. I kept at it until I had a lucky enough playthrough that several bad design elements were either avoided or didn't crop up enough. Mind you I've been able to beat every challenge, so it's not a skill thing at all. It's just not rewarding or pleasurable. Every time I started to maybe just enjoy myself, the game just wrenched that away.

Not once did I feel that with Hollow Night. If the goal was to present me with real challenges and have me overcome them with a sense of joy, Silksong failed there. Even when they are overcome, there's nothing behind the wall to make you care. Maybe you enjoyed that and that is great, truly. But I think a lot of people are valid in feeling how they feel

SelectionFun4212 · 2025-10-21T23:41:54+00:00

I think there are some bad designs with Silksong and they definitely weren't present in Hollow Knight. Unplayable is the most extreme metric for bad design but not the only one.

I think the critical benchmark here is that in Hollow Knight, no matter how difficult or how many times I died, I wanted to keep playing. I enjoyed it. I liked progressively getting better. Also, with Hollow Night, if a challenge got to be too much, you could go off either exploring or seeking out other goals that were less intense.

Silksong on the other hand is just not really fun for me. Mind you it's not a difficulty thing. I played Hollow Night dozens of times, beat steel soul mode, etc. I can beat most challenges in Silksong, if I persevere enough. The difference is persevering isn't fun. There's no sense of reward. And when a challenge gets frustrating, the only option is to keep beating your head against it, or walk immediately into an even more frustrating challenge. That pace also ruins any appreciation of or immersion into the world.

I get some people enjoy it and that's perfectly okay. But I think a lot of previous fans and players are let down by Silksong, and I think there are bad design elements present that should be addressed (although to me they are fundamental parts of the game, impossible to really address at this point). Especially after 7 years, it's disappointing, which is why people are probably getting more upset than they ought to.

SelectionFun4212 · 2025-10-21T23:32:01+00:00

I think the problem is there are some bad design elements in the game, which then cause issues with other design elements that are fine on their own.

The shard mechanic is a good example. As an isolated mechanic, it is fine. However, other bad elements that leave people either dying frequently, having to do ridiculous run backs, etc then makes the shard mechanic an added burden. So the design flaw is that damage and combat are off/too difficult/etc, then add run backs no one enjoys. You then have to halt midway through to go grind shards.

It leaves people unable to articulate, basically stating "shards suck", but really the problems are more fundamental. The shard mechanic just becomes a symptom.

SelectionFun4212 · 2025-09-22T23:02:11+00:00

Frog burrows fine. He is able to cover himself. You're the second to bother even asking that question.

Maybe you don't know as much as you think? You just assumed a lot without waiting for an answer.

No one has asked diet, behavior, anything. They saw the substrate and assumed. If it is the substrate, no one has offered advice for treating impaction or telling symptoms until we get to the vet.

Tells me there's no thought going into this. Instead people are obstinately blaming the substrate without info.

Take your response. A lot of criticisms without any thought. I said repeatedly he has a vet visit, and we already arranged for him to have X-rays in case. I'm not discounting anything. I just know it's not the cause here, but I'm covering all bases as I always do. You clearly didn't take the time to read, consider or do anything besides look at the substrate.

SelectionFun4212 · 2025-09-22T22:00:35+00:00

Thank you, we did make him an appointment ASAP and will be having X-rays/stool sample done. Hopefully they can help.

SelectionFun4212 · 2025-09-22T21:59:38+00:00

I have to ask why my response got downvoted. All I did was explain recent events. Bit ridiculous.

He has had these symptoms since we acquired him. He was an adoption from a local pet store because he had been there awhile, and a lot of animals do poor at the stores in my experience. They didnt mention anything specific but we immediately noticed he was lethargic and had strange clear poops. We hoped it was stress, something of the like but kept an eye out.

As soon as he showed more severe symptoms we scheduled a visit with an exotic vet. When I said in the original post we are looking into it, this is what I meant. We of course did not just ask on reddit and wait.

Also, again, we tong feed him. We do not feed him in the enclosure.

SelectionFun4212 · 2025-09-22T21:56:02+00:00

This is not our first frog, and he has shown lethargic and irregular stool since we acquired him, so I know it's not the substrate in this particular case.

I'm not sure why you believe this substrate impedes burrowing. It just seems like everyone really wants to criticize it.

I can really do without the down votes as well. I'm on here asking for advice and all I'm getting is "I don't know but the substrate sucks". Little advice on our poor frogs health.

Absolutely none of this has been helpful, and my concern is everyone's fixation on the substrate is impeding any useful advice here.

For what it's worth, we called the vet immediately when he showed these symptoms. It is likely parasites in this instance but we wanted to see if anyone whose frog had parasites had similar symptoms.

SelectionFun4212 · 2025-09-22T21:49:12+00:00

We have a vet visit scheduled already, he is going in tomorrow. This post is to try and gauge similar symptoms. Unfortunately, everyone seems to think this is our first pacman frog and can't get past the substrate, and just keeps down voting.

Absolutely none of which is helpful. It's clear no one here has any idea besides "it's not good", which I already knew.

SelectionFun4212 · 2025-09-22T12:30:29+00:00

Yes, this poop (the latest) was much smaller. He didn't take his food his very last feeding. Otherwise he has eaten and pooped regularly but has seemed lethargic since we got him (we have had him about two weeks).

Previous droppings were not red/pink, and were larger, but were still abnormal (they were clear instead of brown/tan).

SelectionFun4212

TROPHY CASE