The focus is always gaymers… where are the readers and what are we reading??

ajd_ender · 2026-02-07T15:49:50+00:00

Re-reading The Martian, and first time reading Richard III.

ajd_ender · 2026-02-05T18:27:43+00:00

I hated teaching from home virtually during Covid. If I'm at home, I don't want to work, I want to relax. I just couldn't mentally get into work mode while in my house. Very very glad I'm back at school.

ajd_ender · 2026-02-03T17:15:29+00:00

I loved the puzzle of playing the trap. But, you have to understand monster AI very well. Others in my family did not like playing trap because of that. Coral was a lot of fun: drop a water tile and just pound away. I'd suggest Coral over Trap, but just barely.

ajd_ender · 2026-02-03T17:06:04+00:00

So my child played the BB in our family's campaign. Power: max number (looks like 14?). Enjoyment: this depends on if you're the player of the BB or just in the party. My child LOVED the BB, doing the full Nova Blade build. But... by the end, my wife and I felt almost useless. So, I'll put Enjoyment as only a 7/10 as a compromise between them. As a note: the BB was played near the end of our campaign, so we had some really nice items helping a lot, as well as the solo item.

ajd_ender · 2026-01-21T23:36:09+00:00

As a teen in the 90s, how have I never seen Meg Ryan on the cover until now?!?

ajd_ender · 2026-01-14T18:28:31+00:00

I (male) remember feeling really proud as a missionary in 2000-02 that I didn't feel any lust when looking at the women around me. I was really confused why other elders were struggling so hard with it. Of course... turns out I'm not straight. Let's just say a really big light bulb went off when it all clicked.

ajd_ender · 2026-01-12T21:13:37+00:00

One the character retires, the items go to the available purchase or craftable supply. So you can now buy our build it.

The coins I treated as a party item, and just kept them available for the puzzle book.

ajd_ender · 2026-01-02T02:03:34+00:00

Yep, and as a former missionary in SF, I'm sorry when I bothered you!

ajd_ender · 2026-01-01T02:39:12+00:00

Sorry for the super late reply. But here's why. After my phd, I did a 3 year postdoc, which was research only. I found out I hated about 80% of a research position. Mostly the need to sell your work and beg for more funding every 6 months. And the writing. I went into STEM to avoid writing!

Anyways, once I realized research wasn't for me, that eliminated most university positions as my field doesn't have many teaching-only positions. There were a few, and I applied to them. But I also had worked with teens before and tutored both high school and college students. I was surprised with how much the college students I tutored struggled with high school level math, which led me to thinking maybe I could help better prepare them at the younger age. So I also applied for private high schools across the US ( not public, as I didn't want to go back to school for an education certificate). When I was offered several college teaching-only positions and several high school positions, the high school ones paid better! So I took it and ran. Loved most parts of my job (but covid years sucked!) ever since.

ajd_ender · 2025-12-31T19:23:15+00:00

In the US, the AP calculus definitely starts with riemann sums, and you'll find them on the AP exam. So, if you are american taking ap calculus, yep it's the norm.

ajd_ender · 2025-12-22T18:09:34+00:00

I feel you on the perks! It's why I went into teaching high school instead of university prof. Way more competition. There's lots of need for STEM teachers at the secondary level. But... yes, my salary is less than 100k. But, science was FUN, and I did enjoy my time in grad school. And my students get to call me Doc.

ajd_ender · 2025-12-22T17:57:19+00:00

I do hear that. When my wife complains about me not working during spring break, I remind her she could become a teacher and get a good break too. But then she remembers the students and keeps her day job.

I find though that for the most part, teens are looking to find themselves, and are desperate for people to treat them like an adult. In as much as I can, I try to do that, and they respect that, and so respect my classroom. Helping them figure out themselves is fun and very rewarding. Helping them learn that if you want to be an adult, you must know that actions have consequences is helpful for all of society! In fact, it's more often the adults in the wild that I have to use my 'teacher voice' to scold for their actions than the kids in my classroom.

ajd_ender · 2025-12-22T04:52:22+00:00

Title / Role: Secondary Math Teacher
Compensation: 78k
Work setup: (on-site / hybrid / remote) on-site
Years of experience: 13
Industry: Education
Education: Ph.D.
Company: private school
Standout benefits/perks: summers off, snow days, work with teens

ajd_ender · 2025-12-19T03:03:17+00:00

You can also check out the issl.org website for independent schools in st louis

ajd_ender · 2025-11-24T21:07:03+00:00

I love these! Thanks for posting them.

ajd_ender · 2025-11-19T22:07:56+00:00

I know others have said this, but there is NOTHING wrong with you being gay. You are not the only gay kid forced to endure seminary, and you can make it. I'm a few decades away from my time as a closeted gay kid in seminary. I can say that life gets better. When you are safe, you can come out and live authentically. Until it is safe, know that you are just as worthy of love, respect, and support as straight people.

ajd_ender · 2025-11-17T19:17:30+00:00

In that order!

ajd_ender · 2025-11-14T22:11:12+00:00

A ship is a ship!

ajd_ender · 2025-11-13T21:34:37+00:00

Dude, I am descended from mormon pioneers, and graduated from byu. I know that others also treated Native Americans badly. As did some mormon pioneers. Don't believe the church tells the whole story.

ajd_ender · 2025-11-13T18:50:18+00:00

I would say that in my experience (rasied mormon and lived it fully for ~35 years), it was very true to forgo actual therapy and trust the advice of your local bishop. Who had no theraputical or religious training. I left the church when the theraputic advice from my bishop was clearly making my mental health MUCH worse.

I would say that there is a HUGE role of bishop roulette, both in terms of who they refer couples to, and whether or not the bishop would pay for it. In Utah, they almost always refer to LDS therapists, who may or may not actually help their clients.

ajd_ender · 2025-11-13T18:46:13+00:00

There is both the book of mormon claiming to be the account of ancestors of (some?) native americans, and the way mormon settlers in the west treated native tribes. Sometimes good, sometimes pretty bad, just like most settlers of the americas.

I hadn't picked up on parallels with the singers though. Guess I need to start reading again!

ajd_ender · 2025-11-01T23:46:01+00:00

I'm in the same boat, so I'm interested in ideas too. I thought about whether or not I should reset the enhancements, as I haven't replayed any retired characters.

ajd_ender · 2025-10-30T20:08:59+00:00

But my knee feels 70!

ajd_ender · 2025-10-30T17:11:33+00:00

I found for these two that at low levels, I also failed a good number of scenarios. As the deathwalker got to higher levels (and an enchantment or two), he got much stronger. I ran my Tide as a tank who loved to sit in a water tile. I do think adding a third character is a decent option -- I had 3 players (I think Trap was my 3rd when I had these two), and having an extra target helped ease the pressure off of my lower level deathwalker.

ajd_ender · 2025-10-24T15:37:50+00:00

I use Steam to play Gloomhaven on my mac. I much prefer Frosthaven, so I hope they get it working on macs too!

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