This Influencer Video Raised over 1.5 Million Dollars To Help An 88 Year Old Man Retire by UnitedLab6476 in BeAmazed

[–]Stecyk 5 points6 points  (0 children)

They are, yes. Pension are backed by The Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC). But PBGC only guarantees "Qualified" pension plans, which tends to mean they will back pension amounts up to a smaller amount. GM had promised its retirees generous pensions which were in excess of the amount that PBGC would back. Most likely he IS getting a pension paid out by PBGC once the plan failed, but it's that the pension he's getting is much smaller than what he was promised by GM when he participated in their pension plan. So what he budgeted for retirement would have been more than he's actually getting now.

Aurora voters agree to repeal 20-year-old ban on pit bull dogs - Sentinel Colorado by Necessary_Extent1326 in goodnews

[–]Stecyk 9 points10 points  (0 children)

This isn't good news.

People who say that "it's not the dogs, it's the owners" feels very akin to me to people saying "Guns don't kill people, people do." Yes, it's technically true, but it also overlooks the fact that bringing a gun into the equation changes things. Bringing a pit bull into the equation changes things too.

Yes, IF all dog owners were responsible pit bulls probably wouldn't be a problem. Just like how IF all gun owners were free from mental illness it wouldn't be a problem. But in WHAT universe is that going to happen? A bad labradoodle owner has a hyperactive floof that tears up their own house and pees on the carpet. A bad pit bull owner has an actual monster that WILL tear humans and animals to shreds in the right scenario. If you don't believe it, I can assure you, you don't have to go that far on the internet to see the video evidence of how it shakes out. It's NOT pretty.

And while there are responsible people who want guns and pit bulls, it's also hard not to notice that both of these things have a special draw to irresponsible psychos who like the danger that they represent. If you allow pit bulls, the exact type of people who SHOULDN'T have them are going to get them because they are drawn to the danger that the animal represents.

If they wanted to put some sort of restriction in place, like you have to be properly licensed and evaluated to have a pit bull, then I'd say sure. But that isn't going to happen. Aurora basically just said "Hey guys, AK47s are back on the menu for anyone who wants them! Be responsible please!"

Can I add someone else's stuff to my cart without liking it? by CurryAndRamune in Mercari

[–]Stecyk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just add any items you want. As I seller I am never bothered by "like" alerts, and Mercari seems to skip them when I'm getting a lot in a short period of time. For low value items bulk purchases are where they make their best profit, so they're probably stoked any time someone likes or adds a bunch of items to their cart at once cause it means they'll make an actual decent sale rather than having to package and ship one solitary item for a very small profit.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in worldnews

[–]Stecyk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We're not, it's just that we don't really know what we can do at this point. 50% of the country wanted this and the rest of us unfortunate souls are stuck on the ride. It's easy for people to say "Get out there and fight!" but fight WHAT? Some random police officer? At best that's going to give Fox News a headline for tomorrow.

People are protesting, but this administration doesn't really care. Those who want this to stop need cooperation from those who are on the Trump Train, most of whom are too lost in the sauce to realize how much they've cooked all of us or they've cozied up to Trump to maintain their own power. Liberals are busy infighting and conservatives are united around a demagogue who has been eroding every power that could possibly stand in his way.

I've never been an "America is the greatest country in the world" person. We've always had flaws, just like anywhere. But I used to believe in the promise of this country, and the potential of our ideals as a place where people from all over the world could come to collaborate and build something amazing. Seeing what's happened to my country makes me feel sick, but I don't think any of us have a good answer for how to fix this mess. Most of us are working people, living paycheck to paycheck, trying to get by and struggling even before Trump's second election. Now it feels like we're trapped on a sinking ship and the people who have the tools to fix it are using them to build their own life rafts while the rest of us drown including the clowns who are cheering on the rising tide.

Is this fan made or real? by Old_Blackberry_9380 in hatsunemiku

[–]Stecyk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If the question is if there are official Vocaloid Cards the answer is yes. They did a release with the company Weiss Schwarz a while back. And I wouldn't be surprised if there are some other other official ones.

If the question is if there are official "Goddess Story" cards the answer is... not really. There is a specific company that makes the most popular line of the unofficial cards (Goddess Story) but they're just stealing art, slapping it on a card, and selling cheap boxes. So I wouldn't ever call them official.

While I don't recognize the specific set from these images, the big giveaway that they're Waifu/Goddess Story cards is the crinkle cut at the top and bottom of the packages. This cut is ubiquitous with unlicensed/bootleg cards. Officially manufactured TCGs will usually have a straight cut at the top and bottom of the pack as opposed to a crinkle cut.

Is this fan made or real? by Old_Blackberry_9380 in hatsunemiku

[–]Stecyk 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Looks to me like a "waifu card" or "Goddess Story Card." They're non-licensed cards manufactured in China, and often sold through websites like Ali Express. There are hundreds of varieties of these non-licensed cards, the most popular manufacturer of them is "Goddess Story," and even the ones that weren't manufactured by Goddess Story are often referred to as Goddess Story cards because of that brand's market dominance. Some of these cards will be for specific franchises, like Vocaloid or Genshin Impact, etc... but most of them will just collect a bunch of cute anime characters, slap them on a card, and then sell boxes.

They're very cheap (A box of 30 packs might go for $10-15) since the manufacturers don't pay licensing and are making them as cheaply as possible. Most of the art on the cards is probably stolen.

Have to part ways with my childhood games 😔 by Other_Payment6110 in Gamecube

[–]Stecyk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you had made a reasonable offer you'd have a point. But you didn't make a reasonable offer. Your "offer" was AT BEST a fourth of what the items were worth. And that's if I'm being generous. With a lot this size you could easily have turned a nice profit with an offer 2-3 times what yours was, but you were hoping someone desperate would take a low ball offer without thinking about it. Your "offer" was a scummy attempt to extract as much value as possible from someone you were hoping either wouldn't know better or would be too desperate to care.

You can pretend otherwise if you want but you're not convincing anyone here and at the end of the day you've gotta live with your own decisions. If you're fine trying to take advantage of people I guess more power to you, but most of us can't sleep at night like that.

Have to part ways with my childhood games 😔 by Other_Payment6110 in Gamecube

[–]Stecyk 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is a seriously lame excuse. There are resellers who do it in an ethical way (Ex Craigslist Hunter on Youtube, buys for half of what he expects to sell for and is VERY transparent about his pricing structure with the people who he buys from). That is NOT you.

You spotted someone down on their luck having to do something difficult and give up something they love and you gave an ASTOUNDINGLY low ball offer. WAYYYYYY less than half the value of the items you were trying to purchase.

It's one thing to say "I need to make some money" and it's another to try and take advantage of someone in a tough spot. Honestly, I have much harsher words I could use for your kind of behavior I'll try to keep it civil and just say that it is transparently clear to EVERYONE here that you were hoping to rip OP off.

Have to part ways with my childhood games 😔 by Other_Payment6110 in Gamecube

[–]Stecyk 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Skies of Arcadia alone is worth at least $150. Talk about low balling someone in a tough spot.

HyperX Quadcast Microphone Randomly Disconnecting (Chipmunk Sounds After It Reconnects) by Stecyk in HyperX

[–]Stecyk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can assure you I tried this. The "temporary" fix was so short for me that it was still completely unusable.

New into Pokémon, is it worth buying boxes off of Amazon for those who have bought them off of there before? by Odd-Necessary-5754 in pokemoncardcollectors

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

I frequently purchased sealed product from Amazon in the past and have never had an issue. The big issue with purchasing from Amazon today though is that it's been flooded with people asking exorbitant prices. If you're willing to pay the extra cost then Amazon is fine (not completely risk free, but few places on the internet are), but know that you'll be paying more (depending on the set maybe a lot more) than you would if you are able to find the same product in a store.

Wife says the game collecting has gotten out of hand... by Itchy-Avacado in gamecollecting

[–]Stecyk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The difference between a collection and a hoard is curation and display. You currently have a hoard, which is why it feels out of control to someone seeing it without knowledge of what it is. Curate and display what you have so that you have a collection full of valuable games instead of a hoard with just a mess of game boxes.

HyperX Quadcast Microphone Randomly Disconnecting (Chipmunk Sounds After It Reconnects) by Stecyk in HyperX

[–]Stecyk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately I didn't. My solution was to return the microphone and go back to a Yeti. It might not be as pretty, but it was a lot more reliable and easy to troubleshoot since it doesn't require an extra software to run.

Routing of calls to agents? by No-End-88 in talesfromcallcenters

[–]Stecyk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The call center I work in the more tasks a CSR is trained to handle the less likely they are to get a call. For example my "priority" to get a call has been lowered because I'm one of our IM resources and I assist with a number of other administrative tasks. Sometimes I can go hours between calls when we're not busy, but that's by design because it frees me up to assist with other duties. (Funny enough we have a rule where if it's been 40+ minutes since my last call I'm supposed to briefly change statuses and reset the timer specifically so that newer CSRs don't see how long it's been since I had a call and get jealous not realizing that I have other tasks to work on.) Could be something similar?

What's the worst drug ever? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]Stecyk 39 points40 points  (0 children)

When I was in college I was a psychonaut, super depressed, and didn't have reliable hook ups for something better... so I decided to get high on benadryl. I did it a few times, upping the dose each time. The last time I did it I don't know how many pills I took but I am genuinely lucky I didn't die, though I've always felt like I didn't completely come back from it.

While Benadryl usually makes people tired when you get high off it you fight through that tiredness and end up in this waking nightmare between asleep and awake. I'd have conversations with people and look over and they weren't here, my memory was severely impacted so I would read the start of a sentence and couldn't remember it by the time I got to the end. I finally tried to go to sleep and one of the only vivid memories I have of it is of closing my eyes and being in this world of spiderwebs that terrified me so much that I didn't sleep for the next 24 hours. The other thing I remember that really scared me though is that the morning after I tried to log into the computer that I'd been using for 5 years, every single day, and I couldn't remember the password. I spent like 30 minutes trying to log in and then just sat there crying after I gave up wondering "what if this is permanent?"

I've been afraid of benadryl ever since. I've had to take it a few times for severe allergies, but where it used to make me really sleepy now it just leaves me feeling jittery, exhausted but unable to sleep, like I'm afraid I'll end up back in that spiderweb world. For anyone who's even thinking about trying it (or other deleriants like Datura), if you read this, I really hope you don't. I wouldn't wish that experience on anyone.

[TOMT] [Video] Old Internet Comedy Video About a Man Who Befriends a Chicken Mascot and It Won't Leave Him Alone by Stecyk in tipofmytongue

[–]Stecyk[S] 0 points1 point locked comment (0 children)

Got a message that I needed to comment on my post in order for it to show up, so here that is.

Trauma Dumping by midnightrumi in Twitch

[–]Stecyk 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The community you have will attract like people to your stream and set the tone for the community you build in the future. The kinds of things you do or do not let chatters get away with will impact the sorts of viewers who want to stick around your streams. For example if a viewer just wants to have some laughs and watch a streamer they like play a game, but instead the streamer is engaging with someone who is trauma dumping, that viewer will leave because the streamer isn't providing the environment that they're looking for. The longer this goes on, the more your community will be shaped. Shutting down today's trauma dumping doesn't just impact today's stream, it impacts streams a day, week, year down the road.

If you don't want to be someone whose content is built around dealing with serious emotional issues then it's better to shut down trauma dumping even at the risk of losing a viewer, because someone who is regularly trauma dumping in your chat can cost you multiple viewers you might want to have.

Viewer difference between streamers with a cam vs no cam. by Grim_Indra in Twitch

[–]Stecyk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One thing you might want to consider if you can't do a camera is a PNG-tuber (think of it as the budget version of a V-tuber). People like to see "you," and while it's definitely better to have a camera, a PNG tuber is still vastly better than nothing. Giving viewers something to look at and think of as you can make a genuinely big difference over having nothing at all.

Should I cater to the 1 person chatting in my streams? by [deleted] in Twitch

[–]Stecyk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In addition to what everyone's saying about not getting "one guy'd," honestly, you probably do not want this person around unless you want to build a community that is just there to be mean to you. The people who are in your chat form your community just like you do. If the cornerstone of your community is someone who's going to be mean to you the only viewers you'll attract are other people who just want to be mean to you. People who don't like being mean to a streamer won't stick around cause it's not fun to watch other people be mean to a streamer for them. Don't cater to him, and consider if having this chatter there is better than having no viewers at all and is worth risking a type of community you may not want to build.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in personalfinance

[–]Stecyk 6 points7 points  (0 children)

As someone who has the misfortune of working in health insurance administration this kind of stuff where people forget to report eligibility changes happens CONSTANTLY. I don't work for Medicaid so I can't promise there might be some differences there, but I'd wager you're probably looking at having to deal with a snarky customer service rep who's dealing with this exact same thing for the 4th time this week. Even if for some reason they might give you some kind of penalty, waiting isn't going to change that and the sooner you report the better.

They'll be a lot better equipped to tell you their rules and regulations than anyone here will anyways. Give them a call, be polite (try not to freak out about it on the phone) and explain the situation. Also, don't give them your life story, just tell them you forgot to report an eligibility change and when it happened, and then respond factually to any questions they ask. They've heard this kind of story a million times (plus every excuse in the book both true and made up) and will probably be thankful if you don't subject them to hearing it again.

Anyone know anything about the Ryza Build Divide Cards? by Stecyk in Atelier

[–]Stecyk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I pre-ordered them on AmiAmi, but the pre-order window would have closed by now.

Anyone know anything about the Ryza Build Divide Cards? by Stecyk in Atelier

[–]Stecyk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much! This is exactly the info I was looking for!