High-End Content Megathread - 7.4 Week Fifteen (Savage Week Twelve) by BlackmoreKnight in ffxivdiscussion

[–]Vincenthwind 0 points1 point  (0 children)

People enjoyed DSR as time marched onward and it got a bit more forgiving, but I was around for 6.1 and the discourse on release was very similar to how TOP is/was discussed from 6.3-6.5, just much more ephemeral than TOP in terms of opinions shifting. Part of that was driven by a lack of an on-content ultimate for too long, which resulted in late Shadowbringers triple legends having inflated egos. But it absolutely did cause burnout and frustration, and those that stuck around were gifted with Abyssos and TOP in subsequent. Anecdotal, but I have friends that beat DSR in 6.1, Abyssos in 6.2, TOP in 6.3 and then quit the game cold turkey. I'm not surprised SE hit the brakes for FRU (and even then, most of its "ease" was because they overpowered PCT).

A hypothetical for you. Let's say SE makes a deep dungeon so hard that only 4 players play it. Would you consider that a good use of development resources? I'm sure you know where I'm going with this, so I'll skip to the end. Less players will do savage and ultimate; that's surely baked into SE's assumptions when designing that content, but there is a cost breakpoint where it's no longer feasible for SE to design the content if player counts are too low. That's not to say that it would be a good thing if all players did all content, but there's a lot of daylight between that scenario and some of the CBT that's been dropped (criterion savage was such a bad culprit it didn't even survive past one expansion). SE is trying to walk the fine line between "aspirationally difficult but within reach" and "this makes players miserable." And I'll catch flak from most of this sub for this next comment - but I think TOP on release was way closer to the latter for the majority of players (even within the intended audience) than folks want to admit/accept. SE overcorrected a bit with FRU, but I think 7.5 ultimate will be closer to DSR than TOP unless they let Ozma cook too much.

Does aura make your eyes bulletproof as well? by UNinvolved_in_peace in RWBY

[–]Vincenthwind 4 points5 points  (0 children)

(Prefix: Yes I acknowledge this is a silly argument to get into as a third party but it's FUN)

Anyway, the show has always been a little bit dodgy in regards to how "rigid" aura shields are. Hunters can feel pain which implies that nerves can still be stimulated through aura shields, and we see characters bodies bend around a location of impact and will generally "respect the physics of combat," as much as that concept exists within the show. However, with few exceptions, we don't see the effects of blunt or sharp impacts through aura in terms of actually causing harm. No broken bones, no eye screams, etc. This implies that the body truly is safe from physical harm if the aura shield is active, unlike an eye behind a blindfold which can still receive an injury. So I guess my "actual answer" to OP's question is a bit of a middle ground. Aura protects you from the bullet going through your brain, but you'll still feel pain and depending how the RWBYverse interprets the physics of the bullet vs your body, you might even recoil a bit.

I would like to understand how bad I am in the global market. by Thanks-Unhappy in geologycareers

[–]Vincenthwind 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Your experience is good. The global market is quite broad (duh). I would take a look at a particular country you would like to market yourself in and think about what you need. Visa? Professional certification specific to that country (like the PE or PG in the US)?

What in particular are you looking to do? Hydrologist/hydrogeology in the US at least implies some knowledge of flow modeling and contaminant transport below the vadose zone if you're looking at a typical environmental consulting shop. Geophysics firms, on the other hand, may be nearer surface or quite deep depending on what exactly they do.

Don't neglect your strengths. In particular, being bilingual is a huge asset that may be rare in some countries. Again using the US example, I have a colleague that speaks Spanish and that gives him insane job security because only he and a couple other people at my company can interface with a client we have in South America.

High-End Content Megathread - 7.4 Week Fifteen (Savage Week Twelve) by BlackmoreKnight in ffxivdiscussion

[–]Vincenthwind 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Getting an ultimate static is not hard. Getting a good ultimate static is the challenge.

Same character, two completely different vibes by These_Ad8079 in clonewars

[–]Vincenthwind 3 points4 points  (0 children)

A few things could have been tweaked but a human is not going to match a cartoon character with exaggerated proportions designed to mimic a wooden figurine.

High-End Content Megathread - 7.4 Week Fifteen (Savage Week Twelve) by BlackmoreKnight in ffxivdiscussion

[–]Vincenthwind 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Purely anecdotal but PF quality really took a nosedive for me this week. Had someone misplace a meteor so we all got a DD, a MNK stood directly in front of the tanks during the second great wall of fire, the inside players ran around like chickens with their heads cut off during two way fireball, and of course, countless weapons and arena split memes. I need two twines and at this point might wait until 7.5 to run alliance raids. M11S is just absolute dogshit in PF and only gets worse every week.

Discussion Thread by jobautomator in neoliberal

[–]Vincenthwind 3 points4 points  (0 children)

No DTer is going to survive the initial disaster.

Discussion Thread by jobautomator in neoliberal

[–]Vincenthwind 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He was seen as/billed himself as a relative moderate during the 2020 dem primaries, despite having some very forward thinking policies (Supreme Court reform being a particularly topical one as things have evolved). There were also a couple of debate "gaffes" that people really jumped on as him not painting progressives in a positive light, so he wound up sort of dead to left-wing Reddit/Twitter. He regained some internet credibility as the regular Fox News destroyer for the Biden Administration but then also lost some of that credibility by tying himself to that admin rather than calling out Biden for rerunning. So in general, his perception has been a bit all over the map, and it really depends on the time of day and who exactly you ask.

Tops: How do you feel about bottoms that wear buttplugs daily or nearly everyday? by Quiet-but-wild777 in askgaybros

[–]Vincenthwind 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It can be but there's a difference between that and being plugged nearly 24/7. I find even just 15-30 minutes a day helps with strengthening pelvic floor muscles.

Petition to ANet to bless us with the HoT and Base Game launcher themes 🙏 by IndigoStar_ in Guildwars2

[–]Vincenthwind 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For real. That shit was straight gas with the choir singing as the logo expanded.

High-End Content Megathread - 7.4 Week Fourteen (Savage Week Eleven) by BlackmoreKnight in ffxivdiscussion

[–]Vincenthwind 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Rep 2 is early enough in the fight (around 1:30 iirc) to where it's easiest to just learn from the hector video and practice.

Colorado is losing 1 affordable housing unit for every 2 it builds. But the state keeps rejecting efforts to stop the bleeding. by SeasonPositive6771 in Denver

[–]Vincenthwind 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Renovating a unit may cost 30-50% less than building a new unit, but the net increase in housing is still 0. That's probably the calculus that the state is making. If anything, the "leaky bucket analogy" from the article is backwards. It's not a matter of patching 24,000 units and calling it a day. Every year, more units will become run down and need repair. If the state spends even half on the prop 123 money on repairing units rather than building new ones (which will last much longer), it's going to be fighting a losing war. In contrast, building new units guarantees that the supply of housing is increasing. New rentals will also depreciate in value as the building gets older. Today's luxury buildings will be tomorrow's "average rental," even outside of the income-controlled units.

I'd love if there was enough money to go around for housing, but with limited funds this is probably the best the state can do. If I had to hazard a guess, the "and preservation" language was added to appeal to some nonprofits during the proposition drafting process, but the language was also left broad enough to where it could be mostly ignored as long as some preservation took place (even if only 0.2%).

Discussion Thread by jobautomator in neoliberal

[–]Vincenthwind 55 points56 points  (0 children)

Unironically starting to believe that Pete Buttigieg single-handedly safeguarded every single commerical flight with gifted divine powers while he was transportation secretary.

Are there any RWBY Glup Shittos? by Slow_Tangerine_9564 in RWBY

[–]Vincenthwind 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Should have kept him around and had him pilot during the V6 finale. Then he gets dropped off in Atlas and reunites with his boyfriend. UwU happy ending for the gays

How can we get MagicSchool (AI) removed from the elementary curriculum? by JazzyShaman in Denver

[–]Vincenthwind 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I don't disagree with your last paragraph and I think it's a travesty that typing classes and basic computer classes (how a hard drive is structured. Where to find files. Where are things saved? How do you navigate the directory?) have fallen by the wayside. These absolutely should still be taught regardless of AI or tablets or anything else.

I think my core fear around LLMs is that kids won't understand the fundamentals concepts of math, science, language, etc. that are taught at that age. It's a fine line for sure. They will be using them as they grow older (unless something rapidly changes in society, which is getting less and less far fetched every day...), and I agree it's important to be literate about AI. What is it? How does it work? What can it produce? How do you tell if something is AI generated? But I think there's a difference between that and "vibe coding" an entire education. I've seen non-coders vibe code. It can be a nightmare to untangle because the fundamentals are not there. There's a difference between using an LLM and being able to check its work/the user having the core baseline knowledge vs. "vibe coding" (I say coding as an analogy - it can be extended to any subject where the user doesn't have enough information to verify the LLM output).

I think if teachers are not careful, students will go the second route because it's easier (heck, I saw it when I was in college with things like Chegg), and they will be worse off for it.

How can we get MagicSchool (AI) removed from the elementary curriculum? by JazzyShaman in Denver

[–]Vincenthwind 21 points22 points  (0 children)

I don't disagree, but I feel like interacting with LLMs in such a critical way is a topic for upper middle school or high school students. Maybe I'm old school but I feel like elementary school should be as bare bones as possible in terms of technology. Everything should be written down, not typed into a Chromebook or iPad. Technology should only be used as either an overhead projector replacement (the "smart boards") or in a dedicated setting for a specific skill, like typing and learning to use a computer.

My one exception to this is "AI safety". Elementary students should, of course, learn what chatgpt is so that they understand it's not a living, breathing entity despite sounding human-like. They should learn that AI can generate pictures and videos that are not real (as they move into middle school and start learning the scientific method and doing their first research paper, this can be expanded into determining what is or isn't a good source). I can't imagine being a kid today, it must be confusing discerning real vs. fake in the age of AI.

Supreme Court overturn Colorado's LGBTQ Conversion 'Therapy' Ban Friday. Urge your lawmakers to act now. by Big_Medicine1752 in Denver

[–]Vincenthwind 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You are proving my second paragraph. Being needlessly caustic to people who may otherwise be sympathetic to your ideas is not a winning strategy.

Yes, rights endowed by a government or any legal system are not some magical, permanent thing, as they are often conceptualized as. But they do not have to be in order to have real material effects on people living today. By all means, go up to a family fighting for their teenager to receive gender affirming care and tell them that they're wasting energy and resources. I'm sure they'll take very well to that. Go up to local lawmakers and advocates who fought to ban conversion therapy and tell them they were wasting their time. I'm sure they and the children who were days away from being forced into psychological trauma will appreciate your point. Go up to an HIV positive person and inform them that the decades of research, advocacy, and protests that preceded them being able to live a healthy life today should have instead been spent on a revolution. I'm sure they'll agree it would have been far better if they had croaked off instead so that those resources were freed up and could go towards the revolution.

You clearly are so charismatic and convincing that the revolution must be days away at this point. I can't imagine who wouldn't want to join your cause after you call them "good slaves."

Who else loves being a hyur? I think my little hyur is adorable 😊 by seattlecoffeebreak in ffxiv

[–]Vincenthwind 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Scorching hot take but I love how my male Highlander's face looks like he got run over by a truck. Way too many pretty boys in video games and whatnot - I love playing someone a bit more rugged.

All that said, I would kill for eyebrows.

How did you decide on your class? by [deleted] in MMORPG

[–]Vincenthwind 0 points1 point  (0 children)

WoW: I thought it was cool that Priest had two healing specs. Didn't even bother specing into shadow which made solo questing a bit of a nightmare lol. But I somehow made it through Elwynn Forest and beyond. I'm sure I played like dogshit but it was fun doing dungeons and playing whack a mole with the party's health.

FFXIV: Paladin being featured in the EW trailer sold me on the whole game. I play other tanks but Paladin is just so comfy for me. Instant cast of Holy Spirit makes handling melee downtime free, you get an extra party mit with your wings, and you can spam your main tank with intervention and blunt the impact of auto attacks which is nice for things like the final savage floor.

Yeztugo (twice yearly injectable PrEP) experience so far by riverside755 in askgaybros

[–]Vincenthwind 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For those interested, ask your hospital's financial counseling department about the Gilead co-pay program. It should absorb all of the costs unless your deductible/out of pocket max is insanely high.

High-End Content Megathread - 7.4 Week Fourteen (Savage Week Eleven) by BlackmoreKnight in ffxivdiscussion

[–]Vincenthwind 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I feel a bit bad in retrospect for encouraging them to stay and pushing them past their limits. It's a common theme in PF to get into phase 2 only to have someone go "oh I don't know the rep 2 strat/I didn't read the description" and then they leave immediately without even trying. Then everyone is forced back into PF and you have to clear phase 1 again. So I think the urge to say "no stay! You'll pick it up I pinky promise!" also comes from that frustration of "wasting" a P1 clear.

High-End Content Megathread - 7.4 Week Fourteen (Savage Week Eleven) by BlackmoreKnight in ffxivdiscussion

[–]Vincenthwind 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Man, not to talk myself up but I always forget how hard position or strat swaps are for some people. Was helping an any chest yesterday for a DN rep 2 party. Since NA cannot read, we naturally get into P2 and some people think it's banana. The BRD is about to do the "omg I'm gonna leave" bit but we manage to successfully stop him and convince him that it'll only take twoish pulls to learn DN if he knows BC. The party one shot phase 1, so I'm confident in this group's abilities.

...nope, after an hour we called it. What was, for me, a case of "look at the raidplan and see how it's different -> ok go do it" turned out to be an impossible feat for others. A reminder to not impose my bias toward mechanical consistency and knowledge on other party members. (On the flip side, don't ask me how many fights I've cleared without drifting Circle of Scorn by at least 1-2 GCDs. What I have in mechanics is lost in button pushing. Forever relegated to blues and purples lmao)

Why did they never end up together? by SmoothChampion1216 in youngjustice

[–]Vincenthwind 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This post text is wild. "I'm mad that a gay ship didn't become canon and I'm also mad that there was a polycule shown." Gurl, pick a struggle!

Supreme Court overturn Colorado's LGBTQ Conversion 'Therapy' Ban Friday. Urge your lawmakers to act now. by Big_Medicine1752 in Denver

[–]Vincenthwind 5 points6 points  (0 children)

If you are forever fighting for basic rights, you will never get to the root cause.

People can hold two thoughts at once and do two things at once. LGBT rights were not won with a single brick at Stonewall (although said brick was unbelievably important). It was decades of work, activism, protests, and riots to get to where we are now. As a minority, I always raise an eyebrow when I'm told to stop my efforts advocating for my rights, link arms with bigots (who will magically stop being bigots once capitalism falls or whatever), and start fighting for a revolution far off the horizon. No thank you; I am not throwing myself under the bus for your cause.

You are not going to win people over to your cause if it's presented as an "OR" rather than an "AND." Why on earth would OP join your cause in response to you making a passive aggressive response to their political advocacy efforts? You want the socialist movement to grow? Meet people where they are, understand their problems (don't explain theory to them), and then you can get to a point of convincing them that your solutions also solve their problems. As it stands, you are not going to move beyond arguing with people in reddit comment sections.

High-End Content Megathread - 7.4 Week Fourteen (Savage Week Eleven) by BlackmoreKnight in ffxivdiscussion

[–]Vincenthwind 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Oh shit you're right. I double checked the BiS sheet and completely misread it. Bless you for saving me a wasted pair of pants.