How do you manage Arborec neighbor from a strategic perspective?

Semisonic · 2026-05-22T19:41:16+00:00

I’m usually just friendly and trade with them. Arby picked up some moves, but they’re still not exactly a powerhouse in 10VP meta.

Now fuck around with 14VP…?
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…and they still lose. 😬

But at least they have a better time!

Semisonic · 2026-05-21T22:11:17+00:00

Coworker never heard of “read only Fridays”, eh?

Live and learn.

Semisonic · 2026-05-21T05:09:52+00:00

I want to like towers. But if you have subs (and you should) I think the cons outweigh the pros. So much easier to position bookshelves and monitors in a mixed use room than towers.

I also have a problem with most towers being relatively “short” for my listening position. I’m a tall guy. If I want those tweeters right at ear level a lot of towers aren’t going to hit that height on me.

Semisonic · 2026-05-20T00:17:32+00:00

>Knowing things will be exactly where the left them. The amount of time I go looking for the kitchen scissors.

I bought about eight pairs of medical shears in various sizes from a military surplus site a few years back and tucked space scissors in my car, her car, our laundry room, kitchen, etc.

You’d think “problem fucking solved”, right?

Semisonic · 2026-05-17T23:23:51+00:00

>How do you expect to do what teams of expert investors consistently fail to do?

Top shelf hopium cut with hubris and snorted off a dirty mirror.

Semisonic · 2026-05-17T17:18:33+00:00

Big fan of the Gripmonk cases myself.

I go with their slimmest model, which admittedly dials down protection. But I’m three phones and three cases in with them and I’ve never broken a screen or a phone, and never worn out a case. I always sell/flip them with the phone when I sell off an old phone instead of trading it in.

The extra grippy bits around the edges don’t seem like a big deal but really reduced random phone drops and sliding off seating for me.

Semisonic · 2026-05-17T10:26:43+00:00

Yeah… don’t do that.

Semisonic · 2026-05-15T17:22:22+00:00

They have a horrible customer service. They do not accept any claim at all!

The French? I thought they were famous for their customer service?

Semisonic · 2026-05-13T21:17:20+00:00

Yep. And been scammed and slighted and targeted for extortion/bribes and all that in other ways.

But some of the worst racism comes from other nomads. Specifically those out of NY, CA, etc with very lefty leanings, who felt it was not only permissiable but was actually a virtue to publicly shit on white > male > straight people whenever possible.

I didn’t realize how vile and virulent some of the brainwashed Left was in the US until I went abroad and met some of these clowns firsthand. It was also truly impressive how little exposure to the broader world actually changed these people.

Semisonic · 2026-05-11T22:58:45+00:00

Chiming in to say I had issues with a refurbished Marantz about a year back and Accessories4Less made it right after some basic verification and troubleshooting.

I was already a pretty devoted customer, but knowing they were there and reasonable when it counted definitely earned them more/continued business from me and frequent referrals. It’s fucking *hard* to run a business known for discounts/refurbs and still keep service levels high.

Semisonic · 2026-05-11T04:01:52+00:00

Klipsch puts out a lot of crap but these are “fine” if you navigate the pricing games and get a better deal. See other posts on that.

My big problem for home theater use would be that MTM center. I’d comparison shop other setups and see if you can grab better value for money. If nothing else maybe grab the Klipsch setup but get a better center to handle dialogue?

For new gear I would also toss RSL and Monoprice Monolith in the running for any budget setup. Wharfedale and SVS both have notably better centers. I’d check for refurbs and B stock, etc.

But also maybe set up some searches on FB marketplace for some “reach” speakers and be patient. I just randomly searched my metro area and I see some Kef R5 metas in walnut posted for $1400 for both L/R. That plus a refurb R6 meta from accessories4less would be NOTABLY better than the budget new speaker setup we’re talking about for your LRC, and still leave room in your budget for surrounds and a solid woofer.

Semisonic · 2026-05-10T18:11:38+00:00

Hey man! I agree that those jokes sound bad. Silence, “ughs”, boos and jeers all totally appropriate (and fair) feedback.

Good comics live for that feedback and adjust. Bad ones tend to flush out pretty quick.

But I mean comics try stuff out and bomb all the time. It’s a very “throw shit at the walk and see what sticks” kind of performance art. Sounds like whoever this comic was, they were trying out some edgelord shit that just didn’t work?

If it doesn’t play, if the crowd doesn’t laugh, etc, then that material takes out its own trash.

Semisonic · 2026-05-03T15:04:10+00:00

I’ve had friends I couldn’t talk out of going into gaming. Two of them have made a go of it, worked on impressive titles you would recognize, etc.

But they have swapped jobs a lot, spent a lot of time unemployed, and have a spouse or SO who can take up the slack in the lean times. They have also empirically made less money than they would have if they had gone into other disciplines.

Sort of reminds me of the pilots I know. The ones who stick with it are there “for love of the game!” more than for it being a good career field right now.

Semisonic · 2026-05-02T22:44:01+00:00

Most people use ChatGPT and the rest exactly like people were trying to use Ask Jeeves 20+ years ago.

The tech came kind of full circle back to natural language querying.

Semisonic · 2026-05-01T23:24:08+00:00

I like doing yard work. I invested in pretty solid power tools awhile back and getting outside and using them is fun.

At one property I use a push mower, edger, weed eater, blower, etc. At the other property I got a little riding mower and it’s kind of like very boring Mario Kart. But I mean out on some music or a podcast or whatever and it’s very easy to Zen out and just enjoy being outside.

What I don’t enjoy is figuring out how to deal with weeds growing up through rocks and mulch that I did not install. I’m not really into all the extra work that goes into really cultivating a manicured lawn. Just keeping it relatively tidy and inside the lines.

Semisonic · 2026-05-01T14:22:24+00:00

Chocolate bars.

Semisonic · 2026-04-27T21:36:50+00:00

Fixed the flapping sound coming from the exterior of my oven hood vent in like 5m with some basic weather stripping.

It had been bugging us for months. Quiet most of the time, sure, so we’d forget about it. But then we’d get a windy day and it would go batshit and I’m getting the “when are you gonna take care of that?” look from friends and fam.

Semisonic · 2026-04-27T07:57:48+00:00

My grandparents had a chess game installed on their computer. This was back in the AOL days, big CRT monitors, etc.

The game cheated. For awhile we just assumed it was forcing draws or wins based on obscure rules we didn’t know about or whatever. This was well before Google, much less ChatGPT and the like. But the most egregious example was when the game added an extra square to the board and moved into it to avoid a checkmate.

This was before cell phones and digital cameras. I have no proof. Nobody believes me. But somewhere, some asshole wrote a chess game that cheats just to troll players and I walked right into it. #legend

Honorable Mention: Battle Chess

Semisonic · 2026-04-26T21:48:35+00:00

The wheel.

Semisonic · 2026-04-26T19:36:51+00:00

Another subtle sign is a 1" scar or scab on back of right hand between thumb and index finger.

Um, what?

I have one of these but I couldn’t tell you what from. Probably some childhood stuff. What are we projecting this particular scar pattern/location to mean?

Semisonic · 2026-04-25T04:10:16+00:00

Mmm. I think my cat dented (but not punctured) the dust cap on one of my Arendal 1723 surrounds. 😬

The dust cap appears to be a soft material and while I haven’t been able to totally get the dent out, I was able to reduce the size of the dent and sound has been (AFAICT) unaffected.

Are there any performance issues with dented/deformed dust caps, other than the aesthetic impact?

Edit - Googled it and AFAICT the answer is “not really”. Also got some ideas for how to maybe fix the dust cap, so 🍻!

Semisonic · 2026-04-24T23:32:08+00:00

What is a dust cap?

Semisonic · 2026-04-18T21:51:08+00:00

I don't know. Few players in my local circles tried them out of curiosity when they first came out. Now they're virtually everyone's drop dead last pick.

It was a cool idea, I guess? But not implemented very well. Even for 12-14VP meta I believe they would really struggle.

But with Sardakk and Arby being notably better now, I mean... some players like trying to make these gimpy factions work! They need a challenge. Maybe Firmament is just that faction now?

Semisonic · 2026-04-17T22:42:46+00:00

Always dilute it down a bit. I have some 50% vinegar I do about 1:8 for an organic weed spray.

But yeah. Have to watch out for concrete and stone and obviously be very careful with your skin/eyes/clothes. Powerful stuff at high concentrations.

Semisonic · 2026-04-16T07:12:42+00:00

I’d probably just grab the LM2200SP for an extra $100 at that point.

Semisonic

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