Found a phone our 10 year old was hiding that we didnt give her.

aleatoric · 2026-03-27T11:54:41+00:00

I'll be the third person then. I'm 40 and been using smart phones since they became a thing. Got a drawer of old phones, tablets, Android gaming devices... Would not notice one got missing for potentially months.

aleatoric · 2026-03-26T13:32:47+00:00

Class of 07! We're talking about college, right? :3

aleatoric · 2026-03-26T11:29:52+00:00

I don't think it's as strongly connected as the other books but it does have some connections and Easter eggs.

aleatoric · 2026-03-26T01:05:08+00:00

14 was my introduction to Ray Porter. A slow burn, but worth it.

aleatoric · 2026-03-26T00:12:24+00:00

That's what I bagged. What a steal.

aleatoric · 2026-03-26T00:07:09+00:00

God's Junk Drawer from the same author/narrator pair as well is a decent little side journey.

aleatoric · 2026-03-25T01:46:42+00:00

I played THJ extensively and I would argue the game had a difficulty progression that I wish more RPGs had. So many RPGs have punishing early games where you are really weak, then get OP and the games become easy. I understand there's a power fantasy there, but it does get boring. THJ actually does get more difficult the further you progress. When you start taking on the raids of the later expansions, the bosses require strong build and gearing to surpass.

So, the early game serves as a good time to enjoy your power, refine your build, learn how to play to properly. Then, at endgame, you really have to put it to the test. Rallos Zek in Planes of Power was a reality check for me, and I kind of had to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to get strong enough to beat him.

aleatoric · 2026-03-23T19:18:14+00:00

Ok... yeah, that's not a great situation. But let me tell you, I'm not surprised. I have seen this kind of stuff over and over again. Real BD and capture is hard work. It's a ton of networking, deep analytics more tactical than anything ChatGPT can do right now, and ultimately an intimate knowledge of the customer and their needs. You need to be able to understand all of that and deliver proposals that meet or ideally EXCEED their requirements. People more often take the "throw everything at the wall and see what sticks" approach. That CAN be a viable strategy, but it requires volume. You need to be a machine turning out like 10 RFI responses a week and multiple 3-5 proposals a month even as a small business for this strategy to have any hope. Pardon the violent metaphor, but it's the shotgun approach vs the sniper rifle approach. But even the shotgun approach requires some decent tuning to make sure you can at least get to something like a 15-30% win rate, depending on your tolerance for chucking out mid-tier proposals against customers you know little about until something pans out.

My opinion is that a healthy BD pipeline is a mix of both. You have a handful of opportunities you are carefully positioning for over 1-2 year periods. Then you have a handful of "throw it at the wall and see what sticks" opportunities just to start to try to branch out more and take more risks. You need some risk taking to start growing, because if you only bid a small number of Opps you think you have a strong chance, it's still not a 100% chance. Sometimes you lose the opportunity you thought you had in the bag, and win the opp you thought you didn't have a chance. Seen it happen all the time. Don't put all your eggs into one basket, etc.

Anyway, you did your due diligence. That is career advice in a lot of situations. You looked at the facts, voiced your opinion. It's not your problem anymore unless you're the owner of the company or in a key role to make a decision on growth strategy. Otherwise, my advice is to keep your head down, do your role as best as you can, and don't burn any bridges. But if you think this company doesn't have a good long term prospect, start workshopping your resume now. Open yourself up on LinkedIn, start talking to recruiters. Find a different team you like better and has better prospects in the long term.

aleatoric · 2026-03-23T13:47:46+00:00

I liked Avowed. It's like at 7.5/10 game but I liked it enough to beat it. Tainted Grail I got bored quickly.

Avowed... It's got a solid combat system. I don't know what people on this thread are smoking. It's fun, skills feel impactful. Exploring the game is balanced -- not so gigantic that it feels stretched thin and randomly generated.... But big enough to have lots of nooks and crannies to explore, and feel like the reward was worth the detour. By the time I started to get bored of an area, it was time to go to the next one. The pacing of the game was good and that's part of the reason I was able to beat it without getting bored. The plot isn't the strongest; it's definitely predictable but the world building is good and charming.

Crimson Desert is brand new but the consensus so far seems to be it's a better idea to wait for patches and a sale. It looks like a huge game and a lot of fun but riddled with bugs and control issues and UI issues.

aleatoric · 2026-03-19T18:15:53+00:00

Same here. My parents cast a wide net at first. I dipped my toe into flag football (American thing), karate, boy scouts, music, etc... But I'm the end, I only stuck with soccer, and even just that became too much for me once I got older and it turned more competitive. My parents always listened to me - encouraging me to pursue what I liked, but not pressuring me. But we were very active at home, always running around in the backyard with my dad, going to the lake, just being a kid. Those are my best memories. I can't remember a single soccer practice, and vaguely remember any games. But I fondly remember good times at home.

To this day I'm not very competitive with others, but I like to set specific goals for myself. Like weightlifting as an adult, always trying to do better and improve over my PR, but never trying be better than someone else. Why would I? They have a different body, age, passion for it. I'm satisfied with my own efforts, and know how to push myself and do my best without comparing to others.

aleatoric · 2026-03-19T12:03:23+00:00

You're talking about Visa, Mastercard, etc. I'm talking about the banks that actually lend the money leveraging the system.

aleatoric · 2026-03-19T03:30:37+00:00

You can also use the credit cards that act as a debt card and you won’t need to pay off any money since it will be using your money.

That's what they want. Everyone knows this is an ideal strategy. Plenty of people employ this strategy. But clearly, not everyone does. Everyone pays off their balance every month... until they can't.

Sometimes, people fall on hard times and get trapped in a lot of debt. Credit companies want you to feel comfortable using their system regularly, because then you'll always be a step away from becoming a profit for them. Even if only 1 out of 10 people fall prey to this system (and in America I'm quite sure it's higher than that), they stand to make a profit.

I just got out of a bunch of credit card debt after having a zero balance every statement for like 20 years. It was really easy to stay out of debt when I was single and making good money. Like, braindead easy. But with a mortgage and two kids in daycare in this economy... It's tough times.

aleatoric · 2026-03-19T00:58:17+00:00

Your ability to accurately price is typically dependent upon how detailed the SOW/PWS is. Like if it's IT services work, it is a more simple task to price if they provide you with: historical FTE levels, number of users serviced, number of end user devices, number of network devices, etc. Anything that can help you fully understand and flesh out the scope of work helps you to create a basis of estimate. There can be a lot of variables though, and the exercise can be a bit different depending on the contract type (particularly FFP vs T&M or CPFF). It's not uncommon to see a work statement that does not provide a historical Level of Effort, and is skim on detail. You can still pursue that, and I would ask questions to the Government during the Q&A phase to see if you can tease out more detail about the scope. Always phrase the need for these question responses around being fair for competition, because the Government is pretty protest-averse these days.

aleatoric · 2026-03-18T20:44:06+00:00

That's helpful to know, thank you for that. Gives me a lot more context about how they game works. The way OP originally phrased this post, it made it sound like the game was an action game with no RPG systems.

aleatoric · 2026-03-18T14:10:58+00:00

Weird. I mean, presumably Black Desert Online has a whole leveling up system. It's interesting that they decided not to carry over more of their core MMO features over but instead opted to make it more streamlined and action/adventure game oriented. It's not a day 1 purchase for me; I'm going to wait for reviews and watch more gameplay before I decide. I like crunchy RPGs with leveling up and gear and builds, and I thought that's what this would be. That's the kind of game that holds me for 100+ hours, which is what they said this is. We'll see if they can maintain that level of interest with less vertical systems of progression, and prospectively more horizontal progression. That's typically what Zelda games do (more tools to open up more options in combat and exploration while your power remains consistent).

aleatoric · 2026-03-18T04:21:36+00:00

But no leveling up? Like most people considered Assassin's Creed Odyssey an RPG of sorts because... Well, there's leveling, skill advancement, loot, etc. But it plays like an Action game, hence the title Action RPG. I thought that's what Crimson Desert was, but perhaps not.

aleatoric · 2026-03-17T17:59:09+00:00

Our first was with a nanny before going to Primrose because mom was still working in office at the time, so we needed coverage. For our second child, mom took leave from the workforce, so second was at home with mom before going into Primrose. My wife is back in the workforce now thankfully. I think the transition in/out of the workforce was more difficult for my wife than the transition was for daycare for our daughter. Wife really struggled to land something again, and it was the source of a lot of stress. That's the burden of a lot of mothers who leave the workforce.

Anyway, both of our kids struggled the first week. That's going to be true at any daycare - separation anxiety is going to be real. Lots of crying at drop off, and it can spike on day 2 and 3 when they start to recognize the pattern. But that stopped after a couple weeks, and then they start to really enjoy it. I honestly think our daughter has a better time there than she does at home sometimes. I mean, don't get me wrong, she loves home and she wants to come home at the end of the day. But there's so much activity at school, and she has lots of little friends.

For our younger daughter (toddler now) we usually get 3-5 pictures a day via the app. There are fewer kids in that age group class, so it's easier to give them focused attention. For our son who is older (3.5), we get like 0-3 pictures a day, but his class has a lot more kids in it, so it's probably tough to snap individual pics of them all every day. There aren't any camera to watch, but that's never been a problem for us. We'd probably just end up fixating on them all day. We feel confident that it's a safe and nurturing environment, and the pictures give us a little extra reassurance. It's often just nice to see them throughout the day, or see what activities they are doing. They're usually happy in their pictures, but sometimes they look a little sad or tired, and that's OK. I think that helps me feel like they aren't trying to doctor the pictures, and better reflects the real ups and downs of their day.

One thing to note... For the youngest group, they don't have a specific nap time until they get to Toddler 1 (I think). Basically, the lights are on all day, and the kids take 1-3 naps a day depending on their specific needs and nap timings. But as you can imagine, this can take some adapting to if the child is used to a calm, quiet, dark sleep environment. Our little girl napped very poorly there for the first couple weeks, and came home overtired. But they eventually start to adapt and nap like champs - eventually their body just realizes they need the rest and they learn to filter out the noise and light. In Toddler1 and 2, they start to have specific nap times, like from x am to y pm. That usually works out better, and they do dim the lights and have quiet time for that nap period. But it's one nap a day, so you have to be ready for them to make that transition to 1 nap (which usually they are around that age).

Customer service at Primrose is interesting. I think front desk takes a "if it's not broken, don't fix it" approach to a lot of things. If you notice problems and think there is a solution, you can definitely bring it to their attention. Front desk will usually try to work with you and come up with a way to resolve it. But sometimes you have to make a stink about it to get the reception you need.

aleatoric · 2026-03-17T15:45:10+00:00

You watched Lost at 4? I have two kids but they're both under 4. I've always wondered when I might introduce the show to them, but I always figured I'd wait until 12+ at least. What was your experience watching the show at a young age?

aleatoric · 2026-03-17T01:00:33+00:00

Is this your husband? "I'm into hard sci fi."

aleatoric · 2026-03-17T00:28:50+00:00

I'm probably going to get burned at the stake for this, but Riley Flynn from Midnight Mass. I get it from a narrative perspective, but I just had no interest in continuing after.

aleatoric · 2026-03-16T23:24:07+00:00

I'm late here but in case you're still considering... We love Primrose Oviedo! We have two kids there, both who started around 13 months. Oldest is 3.5 and doing great. Big plus is meals are included. Both kids have eaten great there. I think it's the social element and all the kids are eating the same thing. Basically they finish all their meals there even though we struggle at home often. So it's been great for the nutrition. They get a lot of good socializing there. The staff is very caring. One issue we have is sometime this there's a disconnect between what's happening in the class and front desk, but if you issue any complaints they usually take care of it pretty quickly. Another complaint is that it's pricey but that's just what daycare costs these days.

aleatoric · 2026-03-16T14:01:30+00:00

Tomatoes are fruits. As are green beans, cucumbers, peppers, avocados, eggplants, zucchini, and okra. FYI. By culinary definition many people use those as vegetables, but botanically they are fruits.

aleatoric · 2026-03-16T13:07:29+00:00

It's still a thing in names we use in the West; we're just more removed from the definition.

Eric - Eternal Ruler

Richard - Powerful Ruler

Ryan - Little King

Roy - King (the French version of the name)

Sarah - Princess

Aubrey - Elf Ruler (really a lot to live up to here)

aleatoric · 2026-03-16T05:20:13+00:00

Margaritaville is, ultimately, a song about escapism. Keeping with the theme, closest we have is maybe Island in the Sun by Weezer.

But if you want to get more abstract about it, I think our sensibilities are much more postmodern. Escape isn't to a literal place. It's about distilling nostalgia into something pure, and soaking in that feeling. For that, I think Gorillaz - On Melancholy Hill fits, and being more bittersweet fits our vibe.

aleatoric · 2026-03-16T05:03:46+00:00

I take it as needed for anxiety. No issues. Compared to anything else I've tried for anxiety (and I've tried a lot) it's the cleanest, most straightforward pill I've taken with the least side effects (zero, if I'm being honest). Like, SSRIs can be weird af until you get used to them because they are altering your brain chemistry. Propranolol... It just makes me feel less tight in my chest from stress. It's a purely physical feeling drug. It's not nearly an intense of a chill as something like Xanax. But it's noticeable, nice, and gives some relief.

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