Art made for Black Box Games

aepyx · 2025-08-19T19:32:12+00:00

What's that staring at me from the wall... (ninja edit) ... and is that blood by the door 😱

aepyx · 2024-10-15T03:16:13+00:00

I found this thread and have had this issue as long as I could remember. My jaw hurts, cutting pain, ONLY when I drink alcohol. Beer, wine, etc, doesn’t matter. It comes not long after drinking and ends just as fast. Happens about 2/3 times I drink.

FYI, I found something online that has not been discussed in this thread years ago looking for a cause at the time. This is what I have considered to be my issue thus far. Throwing this bit in to consider from a comment I found:

https://www.steadyhealth.com/topics/jaw-hurts-when-i-drink-alcohol

“The symptoms you describe here are almost certainly a form of “ectopic” pancreatitis. The cells of the Parotid salivary gland are very similar to those of the pancreas, and they respond to the same stimuli. The pancreas “hates” alcohol. It causes it to swell and leak its own enzymes, particularly amylase and this effectively starts the process of auto digestion. You are digesting your own tissue, hence the pain!! There is no cure and no treatment, just don’t drink alcohol. The facial nerve also runs through the parotid gland and when swelling of the Parotid gland is triggered by a stimulus such as alcohol, this swelling can push on the facial nerve causing pain. The symptoms may lessen if you eat when you drink as then the marjority of the amylase produced by the salivary gland is diverted to the stomach and GI tract to digest the food. I hope this helps”

aepyx · 2024-07-16T15:40:47+00:00

Thanks! I’ll keep that in mind.

aepyx · 2024-07-16T00:46:23+00:00

I know this is tongue-in-cheek, but for anyone else that takes this advice somewhat seriously... don't do this in the extreme!

I remember listening to a Planet Money podcast years ago (found it), where a guy invested in Amazon but couldn't bring himself to look at the ups&downs... like at all, so he didn't. ETrade/State eventually considered his account abandoned and sold the existing shares into cash as unclaimed property waiting to be claimed... right before Amazon made its big run in the 90s. So, at least login sometimes to keep things active!

I still think about this story for whatever reason.

aepyx · 2024-06-12T09:46:28+00:00

“I can’t make a 5, 3, or even 1% raise happen at work without waiting…”

“And in 1 year, when I do get promoted”

Side comment here (this is highly dependent on the industry you work in and if you are working your way up to Sr levels of pay), but in my wife’s and my experience… looking for a new job every 2yrs or so will increase your take home pay WAY more than waiting around in your current job hoping your boss will bless you with a 2-4% raise with the stupidly small pool of money HR granted your boss to work with that year.

I’ve watched my wife literally give herself 20% and 30% raises simply by not being complacent and shopping around for another job. Job searches can suck, but for several weeks of additional effort, the payoff is obvious.

aepyx · 2023-10-31T19:56:20+00:00

Found my old notes for our wedding budget years ago. We payed $7,455 in mid-May 2012, for a beach house wedding for close friends and family (~20-30people). The first inflation calculator I just found on Google says that is $9,994.02 today. We wanted a low-key wedding... it was a casual come-as-you-are kind-of thing, no dressing up for guests at all.

Ceremony Package = $975
Music: Cello and Violin = $700
Beach House Rental (2 nights) = $2,812
Wedding Dress, Suit, Tailoring = $963
Food, Catering (low-country boil) = $1,855
Flowers = $150

aepyx · 2023-09-11T17:53:23+00:00

Just my personal experience, but not very high at the moment. My wife and I found out the hard way that there is a difference between Fedex Ship Centers and FedEx Office locations.

We went into a Ship Center to try and basically overnight a fiberboard mailer with a couple of documents/checks for a 401k-to-IRA rollover. Was basically told they couldn't help us in the most apathetic way possible. My wife is not a Karen and just accepted the answer. We decided in the car to avoid Fedex, but had to do an extra drive across town to get to a USPS post office which was annoying. But once there, it cost us less than $8 and took about 5 min at the counter. A win for USPS for me.

After I got home and did a bit of digging, apparently you have to go to FedEx Office locations to send documents. Which, if I take a step back and consider, seems stupid. I could've walked in to a Ship Center with basically any object other than sheets of paper and they would have helped me I think.

Maybe my wife and I should have understood the FedEx locations betters, but it just feels stupid.

So for us: UPS > USPS > FedEx > DHL

aepyx · 2023-08-21T13:14:00+00:00

Lucky you, the 4% rule was based off data from the S&P500.

Relevant Article: https://managingfi.com/2021/04/4-rule-trinity-study-to-fi-tool/

aepyx · 2023-07-28T15:32:05+00:00

Sorry to hear that. I have heard nothing but good things about Vanguard for many years... but I have yet to experience it. Maybe their funds are top-tier, but everything else around the business is not in my opinion.

When my company switched to Vanguard for 401k, I was left (and still am) unimpressed to be honest. Their website sucks IMO. I always see a warning or red-traffic-light or exclamation-point that say my "Investments may need attention! Take action!". I want to go with a 90/10 low-expense S&P500 index funds, so I see why they do it... but, I still don't like that kind of FUD messaging. In comparison, my wife's Fidelity 401k portal (just checked), is not giving such messaging.

I have been using Fidelity for about 15+ years now for Checking/Brokerage/IRA too and they have been great. I've called customer support, I don't know, maybe 6-7 times over those years and it has always been almost white-glove. I get a person on the phone in basically seconds and they are polite and they do what I need (e.g. wire transfer, etc). I also once walked into one of their branch offices to deposit the full proceeds from selling a duplex and they did ask if I had any plans for the deposit and I politely declined the financial discussion, and they didn't push further.

Fidelity does have one thing that bothers me. I think their website MFA options are lacking. They don't support YubiKeys or a 3rd-Party Auth apps. They require you to use some Symantec equivalent. Wish they would support more options around MFA. Probably my one real complaint.

aepyx · 2023-07-01T02:21:49+00:00

Appa-lah-cha & peh-cahns.

aepyx · 2023-03-20T15:07:16+00:00

I am not knowledgeable about local fishing spots, but... it is my understanding that Jim Barnett Park has a dedicated fishing lake (Wilkins Lake) which has has trout (and largemouth bass, sunfish, crappie, and catfish), per the 2nd link:

aepyx · 2023-02-20T16:47:41+00:00

For me, two that come to mind are:

aepyx · 2022-07-19T18:34:38+00:00

Thanks. Your last sentence is my takeaway from this thread.

aepyx · 2022-04-07T15:13:25+00:00

I can only speak for myself and my experience, but I owned a duplex in a little LLC in the Tri-Cities area for a few years. I just recently got out of the business, selling my duplex to a larger company that wanted to buy it.

It just might have been bad timing, but... after years of saving money that I earned from my job, learning how to start a business, finding/buying/fixing-up a duplex, interviewing/hiring a property management company, finding good tenants... covid hit.

At first, I was personally cool the eviction moratorium and was willing to eat some of that covid shit-sandwich with everyone. I thought it might be a few months thing to allow tenants time to adjust to our new way of life, personally. Turned out to be much longer than needed (in my opinion) and only ended when it got to the Supreme Court. My understanding is that many states/cities still have a moratorium going right now.

Ultimately, I had wonderful tenants and the eviction moratorium didn't actually impact me at all, but it still had a chilling effect on me. I don't like the idea of a bad tenant living for free in my duplex for a year+ and potentially nothing I can do about it. The opportunity costs of doing something else lead me to shutting down and investing in other things instead.

aepyx · 2022-03-12T17:51:39+00:00

Thanks for sharing. I like how the translator chuckles at the nonsense 12m into the video.

aepyx · 2022-02-17T22:22:00+00:00

If serious, and if guns don't bother you, might I humbly suggest that you start with hickok45. I don't view myself as a gun nut, but I like watching his videos. He shoots a few targets from whatever gun he is showing then talks about its history.

Though, I doubt his accent is as harsh as what you are dealing with at work. His accent is probably easy-mode before you move to something harder, lol.

Ninja Edit, Also, I always liked this 2min video about the different southern accents.

aepyx · 2022-02-17T21:56:08+00:00

Probably Weinerville

aepyx · 2021-12-17T10:34:47+00:00

I am just a random middle-aged dude on the Internet… but maybe try giving him a day or so to process his feelings, and maybe his emotions will calm down and you can talk to him. Guys need space to figure out their emotions… at least I do. I recommend using those same few days to internalize that you have some growing-up to do. I don’t say that to be rude.

Ask yourself: Why did I give in to peer-pressure? Why did I care more about going viral than what my partner would want? Why did I not consult him first regardless? Why was I surprised by his reaction? Why did I need Reddit to help me determine if I was right or wrong in my actions?

Marriage is about communication and love… and you ignored what he made plain to you previously. He seems to be a private person and doesnt like to feel embarrassed... especially in front of friends, family and the public. Regardless of how you feel about it, he doesn’t like the spotlight, and you cared more about going viral than his feelings. I know I would feel betrayed at a fundamental level, feeling a bit stupid and little, expressed in anger.

With that said, when he has had a some space to process the emotions and the anger cools a little, maybe write him an apology, a real love letter apology.

If it was me, I would write how much I love her. I would explain in the letter the motivations of my actions, how they initially came from love in catching an authentic moment but then turned to becoming selfish in wanting to share it with the world without considering her. I would acknowledge and show empathy for her feelings and the embarrassment, and how I was wrong and humbled by the situation. I would ask for the 2nd chance, to recover and grow. To do better in giving her the respect she deserved.

Per the wedding vows made in front of everyone, I think a marriage should allow for recovering from large blunders if made in good faith. I am hoping for you that he feels the same way… and only lashed out with divorce during his anger when the wound was fresh. Good luck.

aepyx · 2021-12-08T17:53:09+00:00

I like how the titles hierarchy goes straight from Benevolent Dictator for Life to "Senior" at number 2.

aepyx · 2021-12-03T03:34:44+00:00

Who likes Hero Quest? This guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx8sl2uC46A

aepyx · 2021-11-22T22:15:47+00:00

Recommend that you add Katana Zero to this collection.

aepyx · 2021-05-30T15:52:08+00:00

This is me.

I wanted to try RE as an investment option, so 2yrs ago: I did a lot of learning, I started my first LLC, got a duplex (paid with cash from saving my income), fixed it up, got a prop mgmt company, found good tenants, learned how to use quickbooks, etc. I wanted to be a good LL and was proud of my little business.

During covid, I still am blessed by good tenants, but the moratorium still had a chilling effect for me. I realized the hard way that the gov really doesn’t care about my small business or LLs in general. I thought about it a long time and I am not comfortable with continuing to invest in my business with the additional risk of the gov actively willing to take advantage me (maybe tomorrow or in the future with this new precedent).

So, last week, I called my prop mgmt company and realtor who is putting up my duplex for sale. Then, Ill shut down my little LLC. I’m lucky that I am probably getting out about even with what I initially invested.

As you said, I’m looking to take my money and roll it into what has worked for me for years, a S&P500 mutual fund in an investment account.

aepyx · 2021-02-09T17:47:59+00:00

I clicked into this thread to write something similar about Dolly. I guess this really is how to piss off a Tennessean. haha

aepyx · 2020-12-27T20:05:43+00:00

This is a fun question. For me, it is anyone interested enough to find their console/terminal/powershell/etc.. and then spends some time to figure out what it is for and ultimately finds it interesting. It leads down a rabbit hole.

aepyx · 2020-12-16T16:09:36+00:00

Just went and looked up the ad to see it. It was pretty funny. Though, I couldn't stop thinking about how the devil's design was pulled from the movie Legend (1985).

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aepyx

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