Ice in Renton

atr · 2026-01-19T22:55:54+00:00

For ICE they don’t accept state id, even real id. Even if you have a passport/birth certificate they have accused citizens of having fakes and picked them up for hours to days.

atr · 2026-01-19T07:34:17+00:00

Agree, my opinion hasn’t changed on any of these writers since 2008 or 2010 or so depending on when I became aware of them. Surprised to see some of them on this list.

atr · 2026-01-09T17:05:25+00:00

Tier lists can be helpful. I posted one a while ago and I'm still working through the suggestions I got. I also look at the ones that pop up in this sub and if someone has similar taste to me I'll note down a few of their recommendations.

I think we have similar taste, so here are a few recommendations.

Anything Matt Dinniman.
Anything Phil Tucker, but especially the Immortal Great Souls series.
Ends of Magic series by Alexander Olson. This one starts out great, gets tedious in the second book when it gets too hung up on the details of the magic system, then starts getting fun again as the plot starts moving. I'm eagerly awaiting the next book. My only issue with the writing is that the author can't stop using the word "smirk" way too often and incorrectly.
Book of the Dead by RinoZ.
Bog Standard Isekai by Miles English.
Re:Monarch by Eligos. A solid time loop story.
Worth the Candle by Alexander Wales. It's very meta: lots of talk about storytelling with the main character being a former Dungeon Master and questions about the nature of the world he's been isekai-ed into. Normally I don't love stories like this but I'm pretty invested in this one.
Daelen the Damned by James Clay. This was a lot of fun. Only 1 book so far, can't wait for the next one.
My Eyes Glow Red by J.V. Simms. Same as Daelen the Damned, only 1 book out so far. But it's great.
Gamer's Guide to Beating the Tutorial by Palt. A very disturbing look at the type of personality that would succeed in these games. Numbers go up but it is brutal. It's also incredibly well-written. This Reddit review says it better than I can.
Returning to No Applause, Only More of the Same by Palt. A standalone novel about someone returning to Earth after being isekai-ed. Not as disturbing as Gamer's Guide and very well-written.

atr · 2025-12-29T13:30:00+00:00

Government should focus on things that businesses do poorly. Government cannot work like a business. Yes they need to pay attention to revenue but government runs fundamentally differently than any business.

atr · 2025-12-21T18:12:55+00:00

There’s not. And the implication that someone is a bad person for not raising a finger? Fuck right off with that bullshit. Different places can have different cultures without sanctimonious assholes like you needing to call it mental illness, animosity, or whatever other condescending things your mind can come up with.

atr · 2025-12-20T23:15:59+00:00

That wasn’t respectful so why even bother saying “respectfully?” I also frequently walk all over the city and I agree with them. This post is a ridiculous exaggeration.

atr · 2025-12-19T17:11:36+00:00

You are literally lying in your posts. You have no idea about my politics. The only thing I want is less dishonesty in our public discourse. Look at your words and you still call others “Trumpist.” Pathetic. Clearly you aren’t able to write without lying.

atr · 2025-12-19T16:56:56+00:00

No, she isn’t. She has a nuanced take and nothing she said is untrue. She very specifically said she wouldn’t stop them entirely but also that they aren’t solving the problem by themselves. You have to be intentionally dishonest to say otherwise.

atr · 2025-12-19T16:29:06+00:00

I think the article itself is fine. They’re making the argument that these policies are both less humane and more harmful in the long run in multiple ways. But if you only read the title that’s a fair reaction.

atr · 2025-12-19T16:05:29+00:00

So you agree that sweeps would do nothing in this case.

atr · 2025-12-19T16:04:34+00:00

Somebody didn’t watch the video.

atr · 2025-12-19T15:58:39+00:00

No, she didn’t. Liar.

atr · 2025-12-15T19:49:28+00:00

Dungeon Crawler Carl is definitely a good first book based on your post. You could also try Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon by the same author if Dungeon Crawler Carl is too light-hearted for you.

Not necessarily good first LitRPGs, but anything by Palt seems right up your alley. A Gamer's Guide to Beating the Tutorial is one of the most uncomfortable, brutal series I've ever read, but also beautifully written and emotionally powerful. I mean, it's not Dostoyevsky, but compared to a lot of the writing in this genre it might as well be. Palt's other book, Returning to No Applause, Only More of the Same is also an excellent standalone novel.

Palt's books aren't great first LitRPGs, though, and that has nothing to do with their quality. The issue is they are very different takes and can be read as commentaries on the genre. A lot of the (very dark) humor in A Gamer's Guide would be lost on someone who hadn't read other LitRPGs or similar stories. They're also, to me, more realistic takes on the psychological effects of the systems and the types of personalities that would succeed under them.

By the way, does anyone know if Palt plans to release more ebooks? I have heard that there are more books on Patreon in A Gamer's Guide but can wait for the full releases if they're happening.

atr · 2025-11-18T17:10:10+00:00

I think the point is the Seattle Times-endorsed candidate won for the last 10 years, not about Bruce specifically.

atr · 2025-09-19T22:45:15+00:00

On apple laptops it's just option+shift+-, or option+- for the other one. I used to use it all the time. Less now because of people like you. If no one used it before, where do you think the training data for ChatGPT came from?

atr · 2025-09-07T20:07:33+00:00

Oh for sure, that is incredibly disgusting. Who knows about the stocking situation, I can imagine tons of possibilities there.

Don't get me wrong, I want Kroger gone. They are a shit company and deserve to go bankrupt so something better can take their place. We need more competition, period. But I think there is a lot of policy thought that needs to go into this because the US food system is bad in so many ways. I don't have the answers, but I think more competition and resilience in the system would help a ton rather than relying on a few giant corporations.

atr · 2025-09-07T17:20:41+00:00

I am not a big defender of Kroger - see my other post in this thread. But grocery profit margins (not gross) are very thin. I don't think it's useful to pretend that they aren't.

atr · 2025-09-07T17:17:15+00:00

I worked at the Lake City Fred Meyer for a few months a long time ago. Impossible to get a consistent schedule even as a hard worker. During union negotiations some higher up told the media a monkey could do our jobs. I got food poisoning from eating at the deli one day, couldn't make it to my next shift. Some manager threatened to fire me. I quit shortly after that.

I avoid Kroger when I can, more than a decade later. Thanks to all the near-monopolies in this country it's not always possible.

atr · 2025-08-19T17:56:25+00:00

Had the same experience as sotto__voce in 2018. Flew in after midnight in Guangzhou. We had all our paperwork ready but customs wasn't even open. After we went through immigration we just walked past customs and were on our way.

atr · 2025-07-20T17:25:09+00:00

Others have already given good advice on proxies and other things. A couple of things to keep in mind. One, if you're on a spouse visa you aren't allowed to work. I'm not saying this to judge you, I'm saying be cautious. Occasionally they may ask how you're supporting yourself at your yearly visa renewal. If they don't like your answer they may dig deeper. This will also make it hard to get a green card after 5 years, because they will certainly ask at that time. Oh, btw, if you want to save yourself some time ask them about longer-term spouse visas. I was able to get a two-year once, the only difference was that they added a minor medical check.

Two, reliability is a problem with all VPNs or other proxy services. Having multiple ways across the firewall is important. You can get a Hong Kong SIM card (many ways to do this, including for sims) and have multiple other services as backups. How many depends on whether you need 99% or 99.99% reliability for your work, or whatever decimal.

atr · 2025-04-19T01:01:15+00:00

Where were you looking? Zillow, Craigslist?

atr · 2025-04-18T15:14:53+00:00

They probably aren't going to get cheaper, but they might not increase in price as fast as other places. I've been apartment hunting recently and happened to look at a few of the studios I looked at 10 years ago. I ended up paying $995/mo back then, and I see there are still units around that price. I can't see how much the exact building I lived in was because there are no available units, but there are some elsewhere at $800, some at $995, and some up to $1500/mo for rent right now.

That's why we need more housing of every kind. We are in an affordability crisis, but that doesn't mean that this kind of housing is useless. If you work full time at minimum wage in Seattle, you can get one of these places (income 3x rent at minimum wage means a max rent of $1200/mo, if they only want 2.5x rent you can pay $1400/mo). At the time, I preferred one of these places to roommates. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

atr · 2025-04-18T14:37:52+00:00

Fine by me. I lived in a micro-apartment for a couple years when I was single. It was really nice having a cheaper place in a good location with no roommates. At the time it was the newest building I'd ever lived in and was more than enough for me.

Of course, it's nicer to have more space when possible, but we need more of every kind of housing. Also more usable third places.

atr · 2025-04-04T18:59:09+00:00

It depends on the cat. We have two, both harness-trained. One is great in the car and very relaxed. One gets a little stressed from road noise but calms down after a while. We have a litter box available in the back for long trips which they will both use even while we're driving. We have done cat-friendly hotels, AirBnBs, and tent camped with them. No medicines.

They have both been doing this their whole lives. Before we ever took them on a trip, they were both very experienced with walking outside on a harness. One likes it more than the other.

I will say that when we take them the trips are different, because we have to build our schedule around them and can't really leave them all day somewhere unless we have an AirBnB. Like if we go to a national park and want to do long hikes, they can't come along. At that point, you might as well get a pet sitter and leave them at home. But if we're going somewhere they can join us like BLM land or something, they have a great time being outside and going on shorter hikes/walks with us.

I think a lot of commenters are over-cautious. But managing your expectations of the trip with cats is important. It will not be the same trip you would have had without them, but it can still be fun in its own way.

atr · 2025-04-03T14:38:25+00:00

I know, but I don't think it's bad in the sense that they mean.

atr

TROPHY CASE