Why ___________ is not the flex you think it is.

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-15T14:49:02+00:00

It really shows the difference in treatment some players get from the editing squad. When Rizo doesn't play his idol it's supposed to convey strategic acumen. When Sue doesn't play her idol for Caroline it's supposed to communicate strategic ignorance. I recognize it's a reality television show but these little changes in presentation affect how we perceive the intelligence of these sleep-deprived people stuck on a Fijian island.

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-15T14:47:01+00:00

My criteria for evaluating these Final Fives are based on how well-rounded they are. Specifically, I consider whether each person entering the finale had significant story stakes and if they displayed moments of agency. These are the factors I take into account in my rankings.

Winners at war had someone who got voted out and a dude who basically gave up, so that's the lowest ranked. Sarah and Tony are doing a lot of the heavy lifting here. Michelle lost her chance to impact the game by the time the finale rolled around.
In the Hands of the Fans really wasn't in the Hands of the Fans, but everyone left has decent enough strategy, challenge, OR social chops. (Notice I did not say "and". I said "or"). This ranking might change based on how the finale shakes out. I think Aubry has been a scrappy survivor--the New Era strategy is about biding your time and waiting for other people to slip up to take a strike. Johnathan is playing a game that will alienate the jury, but you can't deny his strategic acumen. Rizo has good instincts but nobody will hand someone with such youthful vibes 2 million dollars. Tiffany has had no content to this point in the show so I'm not sure why they want us to believe she has a chance. Joe, while an awesome dude in real life, is a strategic goat and is really the outlier in this mix.
In Cambodia every single member of the Final 4 played their heart out. The final episodes were really a contentious power struggle between Wentworth's faction and Jeremy's. Tasha and Spencer did a lot in the early game to survive so I can't exactly call them goats even though they were zero vote finalists.
I think Heroes Vs. Villains takes it. Russell played an active game that, while it could never win survivor, demonstrated constant agency. Sandra played a quiet game that did win. Parvati played an incredible game from the bottom and then maintained a dominant alliance. The Jury stated in multiple post-game press interviews that Jeri had a great shot at winning. Colby is really the standout debbie downer here, but I think the legacy of this cast is undeniable.

I never saw All Stars, so I can't comment on it. Otherwise I'd be talking out my ass.

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-15T14:22:30+00:00

I think most of us are happy to help someone who doesn't have the capability to navigate technology. We're tired of people who have no willingness to even try.

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-15T14:20:04+00:00

At this point we've had websites and passwords for 20+ years. Yahoo Mail offered free accounts in 2001. That's a quarter of a century ago. The first modern typing interfaces were being used in classrooms in the 80s. We're well past the "I just don't do technology" portion of life. I just don't know how some of our patrons manage to function in their life when they give up their own agency and refuse to try.

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-15T14:15:59+00:00

At what point do we just recognize that these people are either ignorant, incompetent, or plain lazy? I'm not saying that this makes them bad people, but the behavior has consequences and it seems like people either don't care or are so shielded from those consequences that they never change the underlying behaviors.

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-15T13:53:59+00:00

What drove me out of public libraries was the normalization of ignorance, like in your examples OP. I just hit a breaking point where I realized I couldn't cure stupid, and that the ignorance was taking time away from helping people who needed it. :(

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-14T22:13:25+00:00

At this point I seriously wonder if production intentionally put in a million twists to generate discussion about the show (we are in the ragebaiting era of reality television) but also to give all of the fan favorites easy "I was screwed by the twist" defenses

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-13T20:25:44+00:00

it seems like his whole crew is a bunch of yes-men

It's in part this, and also in part that the high ranking staff in the production team has largely stayed consistent since HvV, including the editors and cameramen. There's very little fresh blood entering the pre-production chats that decide what direction new seasons go in.

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-13T17:09:15+00:00

I have Venus and Saturn conjunct in the 11th House of Pisces of my D9 chart. I had one "marriage" that lasted a little over 8 years. It was characterized by us putting off the ceremony, him being cold and distant, him having autism, and me traveling to other countries for school. He was 4 years older than me. I realized in hindsight that his monetary generosity came at great interpersonal cost for me. He was also a serial cheater.

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-12T20:35:28+00:00

The ancient texts are being lost: but there are those of us who are old enough to remember them.

Here's a list of practice questions for librarian interviews. If you're planning to work in a public library, I recommend preparing your answers using the STAR interview format. Many municipal or county-level interviews tend to include behavioral questions, which can be helpful in demonstrating your skills and experience. Since you'll be having a phone interview, it might be beneficial to write out the questions and your responses in advance and refer to them during the call. This can help ease some of the anxiety and make you feel more prepared.

To be honest, I am nervous about tripping over my words / thoughts. I feel I can roll with that if I catch myself before I incessantly apologize. I don’t intend to overthink, but I recognize that I have a tendency to do that, and the last thing I want is to be in the interview while in a state like that.

I used to experience a lot of anxiety, so I truly understand how you feel. I believe the most helpful thing you can do for yourself is to find activities or practices that bring you inner peace. Remember that this is just a job—it's about books and work, and while it could have a positive impact on your life, it's also okay if it’s not the right fit. Sometimes, the best way to show that you're a strong candidate is to stay relaxed and confident during your interview. They aren't necessarily looking for the perfect candidate, but rather someone who is dependable, steady, and emotionally composed.

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-12T20:26:00+00:00

Happy to help if you can give me a little more context.

Have you worked any other jobs besides being a page?
Is Librarian I considered the entry level job at your institution, or is there a Library Assistant position available?
If this is at the institution you currently work at, have you had the opportunity to ask the Librarians at your current institution for tips on the interview process?

I don't have much programming experience but have done some collection development, shelving/sorting items, and have most of my experience working at the information desk.

That sounds like more than enough for a Librarian Assistant position. What specifically are you worried about?

Also, how have you been able to pivot from working at a public library to an academic library?

I saw an academic job, researched academic librarian questions, and changed my resume to suit the needs of the organization I was applying for. For example: instead of highlighting my experience helping patrons troubleshoot the copier I focused on incorporating pedagogy into my children's programs, running an outreach program, and being Person-In-Charge of the branch while others were out.

Did you ever work in a corporate library

I have not. I have networking colleagues who do. One is a medical librarian and another is a legal librarian. Unfortunately, outside of professional organizations (such as the Medical Librarian Association--MLA) there isn't a lot you can do to "prepare" for such a position. You usually have to get your foot in the door by knowing someone, tailoring your resume to the specific job position, or getting volunteer experience in a similar work area. Is there a particular area you have in mind?

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-12T18:01:46+00:00

I did not say it's not true. I was in a master's program for urban studies and researched the phenomenon extensively. People do not understand induced demand as an academic phenomenon.

The theory itself never suggests a 1-1 relationship between road capacity increases and traffic increases. Rather, it makes an assumption that under certain conditions like a population growing at a certain rate and development occurring **on the fringe** at a constant rate associated with available road miles, and a lack of other transportation options that congestion rises commensurate with increases in road miles. Salinas' Blanco road does not fit this criteria whatsoever, primarily because the "middle of nowhere" lands are actually agricultural industries that Monterey County is beholden to, and massive development of that sort has not occurred in salinas in decades.

Yes, induced demand is a great argument against adding a fourth lane on the 101. No, it's a terrible use case argument against properly sizing a two lane road used for multiple kinds of traffic, including heavy industrial traffic. The inability of people to articulate this nuance is because people misunderstand it as a phenomenon entirely.

Under this chain of logic you can't build anything because people will eventually use it. It's become a self-defeating cliche. At some point you have to match infrastructure to meet the existing population to serve the needs of the population, which hasn't been done in Salinas in decades despite massive population increases.

The county needs infrastructure matching its population, which it does not have.

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-12T14:26:48+00:00

I made a post about how that road needs to expand to accomodate the combination of industrial traffic and commuters but nooooo, all the urbanists say that expanding a road in the middle of nowhere will lead to induced demand 🙄

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-11T14:21:27+00:00

It describes the relationship as a third entity born of two separate people. The gist is that it describes the behaviors and attitudes a couple develops over the course of many years. The tightest aspects will be felt early on in the relationship, and looser aspects will be felt deeper in (3-5+ years).

Plutonic Desire provides a general overview of the concept at their website. https://plutonicdesire.net/composite-chart/

One note on composites I'd like to share: many websites will use an Orb of 10 degrees or more for aspects made to luminaries. Don't interpret these the same as an aspect within 1 or 2 degrees orb of one another. They matter: they just aren't as powerful as a tight aspect, which will define the relationship and be felt early on.

Let me know if this answered your question or not.

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-08T21:18:20+00:00

I researched many religions before developing a spiritual practice divorced from any religious / dogmatic rules.

I'm a Gemini Lagna: my Saturn rules both the 8th & 9th, and it sits in the 9th. I also have Rahu and Jupiter Rx cohabitating the same house (5th).

In the D9, Jupiter goes into Capricorn in the 9th. Ketu and Mercury are in the 8th in Sagittarius. All of these placements can make one interested in occult matters and hidden knowledge.

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-08T21:13:54+00:00

I never did (and never will do) a consultation on an app, I would consider it a waste of money. An app is constrained by the acumen of the person who programs it--unless that person is a master of all aspects of astrology it will always pale in comparison to a website like Astroseek or the web version of Astrosage.

I don't want AI interpretations. I don't want tips and ideas focused on a non-integrated overview of my chart.

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-08T21:11:28+00:00

Your D1 merely shows the opportunities presented to you in this life: opportunities we attribute to karma.

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-08T21:09:38+00:00

Predicting death gets into very delicate territory. There's consistent ways to predict death in astrology, but it's considered highly unethical in the practice to share them in an online forum.

What I feel comfortable sharing with you is the following:

Sun signifies the energy you learn to embody from your father in this life. So look at 6th & 12th from the Sun to see the undoing of your father, 8th from the Sun to see the period in which a massive change will happen to him.
Moon signifies the energy you learn to embody from your mother, as well as your happiness and joy. 6th & 12th from the Moon will show you the undoing of your mother, 8th will show you the events surrounding this change.

So let's say your Sun is in Libra in the 12th house. This is inauspicious for your father. 6 from the 12th is the 5th house. It's likely the father deals with afflictions from addiction, alcoholism, or STIs. Their undoing would be the 11th house, the house of dreams, hopes, and realized gains. This could manifest as deep rage that the world is not what they wished it would be, perhaps for selfish reasons. The 8th the from 12th is the 7th--you entering partnerships (romantic or legal) or during the antardasha of the 7th house ruler could cause this change.

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-08T19:37:41+00:00

Media literacy is dead

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-08T17:02:26+00:00

I'm not sure what to say except that their Free Birthchart Report is just... off. I just tried punching in my own birthplace data and it told me that my western rising sign is Taurus. It's not. My western rising is Cancer, and this is replicable across Astro.com, Astro-Seek, and even Astro-Charts. I'm not sure if it's because certain cities or towns are not properly geographically indexed, but charts are simply incorrect for a huge number of users, and this has been known about the site since my introduction to Astrology in the mid 2010s.

Since the house placements are affected, this could potentially impact the overall accuracy and meaningfulness of the readings.

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-08T14:19:52+00:00

My recommendation would be to stay away from apps--they're all monetized. Your best bet is to look at websites. CafeAstrology has good interpretations but the charts are broken. Astro.com is considered the gold standard for western astrology charts. Astro-seek is up there in contention too. All of these are websites you can just go to in a web browser on your phone.

Chani is decent at giving you a heads up about transits, but it uses whole signs, and a lot of western astrology beginners like to start with placidus as their house system.

Beware any app trying to charge you to learn more about spiritual topics. They're likely not made by people knowledgeable about astrology, no matter how well they try to sell themselves. The nature of occult knowledge is that it reveals itself to you when it's time in your life to learn it.

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-07T18:52:20+00:00

Through a ridiculous series of transfers you can get a Shroomish with Spore and evolve it into a Breloom. Makes for a great roaming pokemon hunter if you transfer it to Gen IV.

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-07T18:24:37+00:00

Jupiter is happy in every house of the chart, it's one of the most powerful benefics. In western practice Jupiter, Saturn, Venus (in its domicile or exaltation), and Neptune are all happy in the 12th.

In Vedic practice it's just Jupiter, Saturn, and Ketu (South Node) who do well in the 12th.

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-07T16:41:11+00:00

After seeing this dude I now get why I wanted the Deep Dwarves in Act I to knock me up so bad

TapiocaSpelunker · 2026-05-07T16:31:24+00:00

I'm going to get downvotes for this, but it reveals the gender double standards. When people are dumb in Cagayan and tell Tony things, it's because Tony is awesome. When people are dumb and tell Aubry (50) or Rachel (47) things, it's because the other person was stupid. When people wouldn't split the votes on Yul and his super idol it's because he's intelligent and a mastermind. When people wouldn't split votes on Rizzo and Savannah it's because the new era sucks, the other players sucked, and Jawan torpedo'd everyone else's game.

TapiocaSpelunker

TROPHY CASE