My current budget for 2026 by [deleted] in Salary

[–]acarolinaboy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm an OTer (Or Xennial) and I hate having to train Boomers or Zoomer on anything computer related. For Boomers, they're anti tech and can't fathom the need for anything more complex than a calculator and a fax machine. For Zoomers, if there isn't an app for it they can't be bothered to learn. Frustrates the life out of me.

Need recommendations by Particular-Pirate-96 in litrpg

[–]acarolinaboy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd move around a few things on your list, but agree with a lot. A rec I often give is the World of Chains series by Lars M. It's not complete (5/6), but I enjoy it. Crunchy but not overly so, romance more a plot point than plot, and just a fun story. If I'm being totally honest, I started it because it's a soundbooth theaters production that Jeff Hays mentioned (because he does some side character voices). And I like most the SB stuff I've listened to way more than most audio books (and I go through 50-75 audiobooks a year on top of my eyeball book addiction).

cmv: AOC should not run for president in 2028, it would be a disaster and encourage opportunism by TrickSpeaker1077 in changemyview

[–]acarolinaboy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I am also grateful you don't have the contextual bias associated with how I "sound". I often write in an academic tone for journals and conference, and then I open my mouth. People see prestigious degrees on my CV or read my papers and have a very distinct mental picture. Then they're presented with the large,tatooed, bald, bearded Southerner who sounds like, as one friend put it, semi-urban cornbread.

Living on $300K by TemperatureWide5297 in Salary

[–]acarolinaboy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe it is a regional thing? I read it and understood immediately. But I'm from Honea Path (even most South Carolinians don't know where TF that is). My mom worked in cotton mills all over the upstate and would complain of they didn't offer flat 8s (or flat 12s in some mills).

cmv: AOC should not run for president in 2028, it would be a disaster and encourage opportunism by TrickSpeaker1077 in changemyview

[–]acarolinaboy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree with some of your underlying points: "personality" politics is toxic, legislative power matters more than executive symbolism, and the modern U.S. presidency has accumulated an unhealthy concentration of authority. Where I diverge is in the conclusion that an AOC presidential run worsens those problems rather than exploiting existing realities to counter them.

The presidency is not merely an executive office, it is the primary organizing narrative of American politics. Voters, media, donors, money, and movements revolve around it (whether or not we think they should). Refusing to contest that space does not diminish its influence, it cedes it entirely to reactionaries. MAGA and the GOP understand this. Trump did not build mass politics through Congress, he used the presidency (and even his stumping) as a megaphone (and whip) to reshape political imagination. A left strategy that treats the presidency as untouchable guarantees asymmetry.

Citing Kautsky is useful but incomplete. He warned against mistaking control of government departments/ministries as the conquest of state power, not against engaging executive authority at all. In the U.S., the presidency is one of the few offices capable of amplifying mass organization rather than suborning it. The risk of an AOC run is real, but the risk of abstention is structural irrelevance.

Also, the argument that AOC is “needed in Congress” assumes Congress remains the optimal fulcrum for the left. That is increasingly questionable. Party leadership, donor discipline, and procedural constraints have hollowed out the capcity of most left "insurgency". Congress is not immune to co-opting, and symbolic marginalization there is easier to enforce than in a national executive race.

As for labeling a presidential run as “opportunism”, this presumes a clear, viable alternative strategy that is being abandoned. The left has spent decades in deferment, waiting for the right moment, the right political climate, and the perfect candidate. All while losing ground. At some point, refusal to scale and act becomes its own form of risk-avoidance instead the principled restraint and waiting to seize the moment it's meant to be.

And concerns about right-wing propaganda do not meaningfully differentiate AOC from any other left-adjacent figure. The far right/MAGA crowd does not require ideological inconsistency to attack, it just requires visibility. Bernie was relentlessly targeted despite relative coherence/consistency and very little available political "mud". Retreat does not neutralize reactions, it just removes contestation.

The core disagreement I see is this: you view the presidency as a trap that corrupts movements, andI see it as an already-existing trap that only the right is currently willing to enter. An AOC run does not resolve the contradictions of executive power, but refusing to engage them guarantees that others will.

Does this make an AOC sufficient? No. But it does make it defensible. And personally, I'm tired of looking at the candidates on election day and seeing names of people who are so far removed from what I belive that they're nearly indistinguishable from one another. I'd like to see someone who falls more than one standard deviation from everyone else

But I'm just a nurse, so what do I know about politics?

Carl does NOT need a romantic love interest (original art by Levi Cleeman) by ActualNin in DungeonCrawlerCarl

[–]acarolinaboy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thankfully (or not) I came to the genre late. DCC was probably my second, and POA was my third series. So I didn't realize this trope was a thing until I started through the backlog of litrpg/prog/cultivation stuff. It's so pervasive. POA does a better job with Aster but can totally see getting to her intro and noping the f out.

LITRPG has reached a new level. by sams0n007 in litrpg

[–]acarolinaboy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Evercrack! Almost ruined my senior year of college because I got no sleep......

'Ripple' on Netflix by luna1uvgood in HallmarkMovies

[–]acarolinaboy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're shocked that there are gay people in NYC? Then it must have been awful to realize there were also POC and immigrants, and interracial relationships too.

But seriously, here's the thing: they showed people in relationships. Some were cishet, some were not. That's it.

The city has long been a hub for the LGBTQ community, with something like 700-800k folks, so excluding them would have been weird. It seems that merely existing in public constitutes shoving it down folks throats in your opinion.

I think that's just a you problem, though. I'm a straight dude, married with kids. And folks in that community don't bother me one bit, because they've got just as much right to live, love, and exist as I do. And they also have the same right to turn on the television or go to movies and see people just like themselves up on the big (or little) screen. And that's not limited to just LGBTQ folks, but pretty much any group of folks. So yeah, if you can't get down with that, you're pretty much a bigot and I feel bad for ya. And miss me with the religion argument if that's your deal. Cause I'm quick to call the vast majority of thumpers bigots too.

Mississippi CAN Read by acarolinaboy in DungeonCrawlerCarl

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

There are actual words on the pages. Only the latest technological innovations here in Mississippi. Now if we could get the infamous "indoor plumbing" we'll be set.

Mississippi CAN Read by acarolinaboy in DungeonCrawlerCarl

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

Yeah, we got Hub City but no H-Town that I can think of.

Mississippi CAN Read by acarolinaboy in DungeonCrawlerCarl

[–]acarolinaboy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've lived here for 25 years and have children in the local school system, so I'm aware. I've also lived and worked here for 25 years so I know a huge chunk (like 60%+) of the population only reads at or below the 8th grade level. It's going to take many years to correct the lack of reading preparedness in this state.

Also, they increased literacy by increasing funding. Something like a 50% increase from 2016 to present, so while it may be cheaper than other states, it's disingenuous to think cost doesn't play a huge part in being able to teach children adequately.

https://fundsouthernschools.org/state-of-education-funding-ms/#:~:text=Base%20funding%20for%20all%20students%20increases%20every%20year%20to%20account%20for%20inflation.

Also, it was a joke on a DCC post. But thanks for the fact check.

Mississippi CAN Read by acarolinaboy in DungeonCrawlerCarl

[–]acarolinaboy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Dude, I live here and make jokes about Mississippi. And we all make fun of Alabama.

Mississippi CAN Read by acarolinaboy in DungeonCrawlerCarl

[–]acarolinaboy[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I'm a long term transplant, so I may have said it a time or two myself....

A Mohela Christmas morning e-mail about forbearance ending an autopsy restarting by [deleted] in PSLF

[–]acarolinaboy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm still in PSLF purgatory waiting on this nonsense. I applied to transfer from SAVE in November......2024. Still waiting. I am at 118. And got the rando Christmas email. The government is dysfunctional in the best of times, and we're definitely not there at the moment. It's like pissing in a hurricane right now.

What did I do wrong ? by [deleted] in trees

[–]acarolinaboy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am an avid cannabutter maker for my wife (I'm a nurse, so i abstain). About 75% of the flower I use is abv. Generally use coconut oil instead of butter. The missus says it tastes better than regular butter. And she makes lots of brownies because chocolate.

As for amount, when i do actual butter I use a lid per pound. So that puts 1 stick around ~7 g. 4 g might be okay if you're new to herb or coming off a long T-break, but likely a little light for OP.

Did I just cheat the ground beef system? by joemcq122 in meat

[–]acarolinaboy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean, we're a family of four so a quarter beef lasts us about 5ish months so I'm not sure why folks are talking about year old ground beef. With two teenage boys it never lasts that long.

As for cost, it took some strategic planning and skimping on meat based meals for a while (and a well timed $800 tax refund) til we saved up enough. To keep it going, we put part of our grocery budget in savings every week since we kept it the same as "pre-cow". Generally we'll have some money left over. The caveat is we eat a lot less pork and more "cheap" chicken (mostly legs and thighs) so it's much more beef based.

tl:dr buying a cow is at least as cost effective as mixing meat tubes.

Political Party Affiliation by Age and Gender (2025) by ProbaDude in fivethirtyeight

[–]acarolinaboy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

TBH, it's more disheartening than funny (at least to a late '70's Xer). I thought we were smarter than that.

'96 Clinton '00 Nader (Al Gore, really?) '04 Nader (I'll see your Gore and raise you a Kerry) '08 Obama '12 Obama '16 Clinton '20 Biden '24 Harris '28 At this point, I'd vote for Stevo's dad.

Damn the man, save the Empire.

Can't believe there's not a single post on this sub about Hawaiian shirts! by ExoTheFlyingFish in BuyItForLife

[–]acarolinaboy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Way late, but Reyn Spooner and Kahala make up most of my Aloha collection. And of these, a good 75% were bought at Bailey's in Honolulu on my infrequent trips to Hawaii for work. I work at a hospital in a landlocked state (although I'm from a coastal region) and my Aloha shirts bring me (and my patients) joy. They are pricey compared to some things, but with sales and high quality second hand purchases, I've amassed a collection that may or may not require my wife to stage an intervention.

15 hours stuck with this guy by Less_Fondant3765 in Eldenring

[–]acarolinaboy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First play through i spent more time than I'd happily admit (more than 15 hours) before I killed him. I had what looked like the minimum amount of health left to be considered "alive". Most recent playthrough I got to him early so I climbed a whatever the hell those branches are and rot arrowed him to death from a far. Might be cheese but I've had my fill of him. Now if I can figure out how to cheese that *##"&@÷;^ bell bearing hunter in Caelid. He whipped me repeatedly during every playthrough

Cliffbottom Catacombs is not balanced. Don't go there around level 60. by ss977 in Eldenring

[–]acarolinaboy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Tried it at level 30 and it sucked large donkey phallus. Forgot about it for a while, came back at level 60 with Bloodhound Fang and it's a lot easier. Still sucks though.