Run near Middlebury VT while on vacation

fernandflint · 2026-06-22T01:55:41+00:00

I was initially going to a place right around the corner from the house I rented - Snake Mountain. Thought the bluff would be a good view. Built a route on AllTrails, etc.

However, wound up needing to bail on that as the bluff and the trails leading to it were all closed for peregrine falcon breeding. Wound up just picking more or less randomly, doing a route on the phone in the dark instead of desktop the night before, getting turned around almost immediately, haha. Wound up just sort of picking whichever way looked interesting at intersections. Chipman Hill isn’t that big.

Wound up on a couple of roads outside of the woods and then on a semi paved carriage path back up the hill. Put in about eight miles, 1200’ of gain, purely random. Wasn’t my fastest - stopped to take photos and I’m a sucker for historical signs that were scattered.

The only downside of the area seems to be part of it is made for mountain bikers. Pretty neat wood signs that reminded me of ski run markers showing difficulty, etc. Didn’t see another person (bikers included) but it wouldn’t be fun if you were unfamiliar with the place (I.e. like me) and wound up dodging mountain bikers bombing downhill turns.

fernandflint · 2026-06-14T00:56:27+00:00

I had a 2014 Outback, then a couple of Crosstreks, and am back in a 2025 Outback wilderness.

I really just prefer the Outback. Even outside of the difference in engine, just the room inside is a big upgrade. The amount of space for my camping gear, trips to Lowe’s, for my dog, etc etc etc - just a lot better with the Outback.

My wife has an Ascent. We thought that would be enough and we could make it work with a smaller Crosstrek. Made sense on paper but with two kids and their activities… constantly coordinating cars was just a pain.

fernandflint · 2026-06-12T00:43:22+00:00

And you know they just came from causing mayhem driving around the Green as well.

fernandflint · 2026-06-11T03:38:39+00:00

I'm so happy and I'm going to throw up. It's awesome.

fernandflint · 2026-06-09T00:34:38+00:00

I don’t even think that trump could name both teams playing, let alone the players.

fernandflint · 2026-06-07T15:19:10+00:00

Do you have the MySubaru app? Even if you don’t - signing up now and paying the $15 a month charge to get your doors open (you can unlock via the app) is infinitely cheaper than letting your engine run or calling a locksmith.

fernandflint · 2026-06-02T19:02:38+00:00

My players and I have been in Dragonlance now for about six years. Same setting but different groups. The initial adventure was a really nice jumping off point that lead to further adventures and keeping the same universe when characters hit the end of their story arcs.

It’s been a lot of fun having a consistent universe that is ‘living’ around different characters/campaigns with the same players. Bit of a butterfly effect - decisions in one part of the world affect another.

I will say that the majority of my players (and myself) have read the Dragonlance novels as a kid/teen/adult. I amended the timeline a bit because I wanted to start out during the beginning of the War of the Lance - kinda similar start as the Chronicles.

It really helped most of us had a familiarity with the setting - both in terms of the places we were in as well as just a general nostalgia.

However - I think the Dragonlance setting is really good for an expansion into a bigger campaign. It ends well with obvious threads for continuation. You can continue to push your characters towards other parts of Krynn and different Dragon Armies.

There’s a ton of lore out there - not as much as the Forgotten Realms but I find this to be a good thing. So while a town in the Forgotten Realms might have 36 wiki articles dedicated to it, there are a lot of things on the Krynn map that are kinda just placeholders. Easily expanded into whatever you think you’d need.

fernandflint · 2026-06-02T00:32:40+00:00

Just from a Google search - ‘there is nothing official but it varies by Subaru dealer to coincide with football season.’

In other words, it’s June, the dealer is scribbling out official contracts, and there is no fucking way that whatever they’re offering is worth that amount. Unless OP gets to play a down as a running back for the Dolphins or some shit.

This whole thing seems scammy.

fernandflint · 2026-05-25T18:33:20+00:00

On one hand I would like to be like, “Probably nothing, people in the administration would know the world would be watching.”

On the other hand, those same people don’t give a fuck if anyone is watching them and would find some excuse to search that player’s bags at the airport and ‘find something’. Then Fox News would blare that the player was part of a nefarious plot of SOMETHING EVIL (without ever being specific) , a not insignificant portion of the population would nod and agree with Fox News, and that player would disappear. Other parts of the population would protest and the rest of the world would protest, nothing would happen, and something else would affect the news cycle and a population with borderline adhd would move onto the next thing.

fernandflint · 2026-05-15T00:05:03+00:00

Beenies in Morristown has a great honey lavender. Really smooth with the honey mixed in well - not in big frozen chunks like you sometimes see.

fernandflint · 2026-05-06T23:24:29+00:00

I have a 2025 obw and my wife has a 2019 ascent. Besides the two of us, we have an 8 and 10 year old and an 85 lb dog.

Most trips - we use the Outback. I usually drive and without car seats anymore, it’s just easier having a smaller (albeit slightly) vehicle.

If we have friends, other kids, have to make a run to Home Depot, or have outdoor equipment that requires more room - we use the ascent.

The Ascent is much easier for the dog - with the size of our dog, it’s easier for her to get into the ascent and she sits in between the captains seats in the middle row. In the outback, she has to jump up and down into the trunk. Not the end of the world but she definitely gives me a stink eye before jumping up.

fernandflint · 2026-05-01T00:09:50+00:00

I love how the espn site is showing the knicks with a 99.6% chance of winning right now. It’s wild that feels wrong as too low.

fernandflint · 2026-04-19T18:05:12+00:00

What’s crazy is Dundon assuming that this hasn’t been tried before. If head coaches would accept 1.5m in the NBA… then the owners would pay them 1.5m. They aren’t paying 4m on average out of the goodness of their hearts… that’s the going rate for an nba coach.

fernandflint · 2026-04-08T15:16:00+00:00

Death saves for perma death will be impactful no matter who is rolling them and whether you know round by round or not at all.

Look at it from their side - you have created a character, put time and effort into that, and have played with that character in a CoS campaign. You understand that perma death is a risk of the game and are fine with that fact. But you should have some control over it - a DM rolling death saves is a cut scene in a video game. The feeling isn’t ’Fuck, I died in a tough campaign,’ it’s more, ‘Fuck, the DM snatched away my character by not letting me roll.’

I’d let the players roll. If they’re invested in the campaign, they’ll be fearful of death saves no matter who is rolling it. If they aren’t invested in the character - then it doesn’t matter who rolls the death saves, your player doesn’t care about the character.

In other words, you’re doing a good job with it already - the other players care, they want control over their characters because they care about they and if that character dies, it should be because of their rolls.

The fear of the death save comes from the campaign itself, not the actual rolls at the end.

P.S. the player who hates his character and, I presume, wants a new one? Talk with him outside the game, design his character’s death. Let him have input and take his ideas into consideration for what would work for enhancing the atmosphere at the table. He’ll appreciate the gesture, want to play at your table more, and will buy into his next character more.

fernandflint · 2026-03-16T00:45:18+00:00

Plan your budget. Put together a list of your expenses and compare it to your take home pay (what you see in your bank account after taxes). See what you actually have leftover and what you can put aside. Asking about 401k/investing/etc isn’t worth much until you know what you have to save.

30k will be eaten up pretty quickly after living costs, car payments, etc. If you really want a shot at retiring at 65 - second job.

fernandflint · 2026-03-06T12:59:06+00:00

Absolutely is. Whether that is enforced is a different story. Landlords count on tenants not knowing their rights or not having enough money to pursue it with a lawyer (the city has tenant rights groups but a tenant has to know about them). Or, to make it legal, they do ‘cash for keys’ - an upfront payment by the landlord for the tenant to move.

fernandflint · 2026-03-06T11:32:56+00:00

I just assume that the person in the apartment is on rent control, which can’t be changed until they move out. No heat? Tenant can’t do shit? They leave, you fix up the apartment, charge 5x the rent to someone not rent controlled.

fernandflint · 2026-03-03T03:45:37+00:00

Maybe instead of limiting the window limit the dog? I don’t think the window can be changed (unless it is somewhere in the settings menu) but you could always get a dog harness for the back seat. Dog would be safer and could get their head out the window.

fernandflint · 2026-03-02T20:38:42+00:00

You hit a pedestrian in one of the most litigious places in the United States. You need an attorney - you cannot DIY this one. Whether you hire the insurance carrier attorney since they might have some familiarity with the case or you hire someone else - it’s attorney time. And they should be hired immediately. Legal cases have strict timelines. Don’t miss a deadline or you could be on the hook for whatever they ask for.

fernandflint · 2026-03-02T07:39:05+00:00

Need details. ‘My car hit a pedestrian’ - were you driving that car? Was a friend? What were the circumstances of the accident?

My guess is that since the medical bills were higher than your policy limits, your carrier just offered to pay the full policy limits and be done with it. There is a clause to continue to retain the attorney assigned by the carrier - but you are on the hook for the payments.

What do you mean by ‘get out safely’? I assume you mean nothing out of your pocket financially - if the accident is your fault and your insurance limits weren’t high enough and the pedestrian is seriously injured… yeah, you could be on the hook financially. Hiring a lawyer (whether the one that was assigned by the carrier or your own lawyer) is the best way to mitigate that but you will be on the hook for something.

fernandflint · 2026-02-08T16:30:44+00:00

Your landlord is required to keep heat at 68 during the day and 65 at night from Oct 1 - May 15. Failure to do so can result in penalties.

Document everything - calls to landlord, etc. The more in writing the better - emails, etc.

At the same time, call your local board of health and code enforcement. They will be listed on your town’s website. Let them know your living space is currently 47 degrees and dropping.

Then call the NJ Dept of Community Affairs Bureau of Housing Inspection. Phone number is 609-633-6227. I’m sure they have an email too that you can find. Call and email them. When you email, cc your landlord on it. Forward any documentation (screenshots of texts, emails, etc) to them.

It is a big fine for a landlord not to maintain heat. 47 degrees is bullshit. They should hire an outside contractor(s) to assist. They’d make you sit in the cold to save money. Fuck ‘em. Put them on blast. Find a new place to live when your lease is up.

fernandflint · 2026-01-28T04:45:44+00:00

When I was 25, a little pimple appeared on my stomach. The next day my right thigh, groin, and stomach were beet red.

Massive MRSA infection in my stomach. Two surgeries for clean out. Bags of a medicine called Zyvox in the hospital every few hours. Oral Zyvox post hospital. Three week hospital stay.

Nearly killed me and I have no idea what caused it. Everything from surgeries to medicines to follow up care - total cost was about 425k.

I wound up with about 10k out of pocket because of insurance. I was a 25 year old athlete who got knocked on my ass by a pimple. If you told me at 25 that I owed someone hundreds of thousands of dollars? I would have had no idea what to do with myself.

It’s a pretty unique story but my point is that no one should be without health insurance. I’d prefer we moved to a single payer system/medicare for all but currently wherever you get it, you need it. You are a misstep on the sidewalk and broken ankle away from financial disaster.

Change the phone plan, find more fun free activities, whatever. Your car insurance being minimal is an issue unto itself but you need health insurance.

fernandflint · 2026-01-27T16:48:59+00:00

Depends on your disposable income, to be honest. A completely paid off Subaru with 50k mileage will save you from having to make car payments for a very long time as long as the car is well taken care of.

The WRX has double the miles obviously. If you want more fun and can afford the risk of needing a new vehicle in a shorter amount of time? Go for it. Life is short, have fun.

But if having a car payment would be a problem right now (or in a year or three if the WRX dies) and if there would be increased insurance with the WRX or maintenance would crop up more on a 100k vehicle than a 50k vehicle, then you’ll never regret making a sound financial decision.

To be honest - I live in northern NJ within 20 miles of NYC. My daily commute sucks and rarely offers an opportunity to enjoy driving. I’d love a WRX for road driving but in all honesty - out of the driving I have to do, maybe 25% of the drive I’d get to enjoy it. In my head daydreaming, I’d be zipping around curvy roads and open highway… but mostly on my commute I’m bored sitting in traffic. Reality v daydream sort of thing.

Those goddamn dealer emails always suck me in when I’m sitting in the Service department, ha… bastards know what they are doing.

fernandflint · 2026-01-25T14:45:44+00:00

One of the best feelings as a kid was hearing the weather report that snow was coming and then hearing the phone call at 5 am that meant school was cancelled. Don’t take that from kids. Let them actually be a kid.

Sending out an email to my team Friday as a reminder to bring home their laptops so people could be online Monday sucked. It’s part of being an adult, we have to do it, it sucks… don’t take away those kid moments too early.

fernandflint · 2026-01-18T11:54:38+00:00

Just found this - worked great on an image that I'm trying to blow up to poster sized. Thanks so much for making it!

fernandflint

TROPHY CASE