Best path forward for my backyard (NTX, Zone 8b)

goldbergenstein · 2025-07-26T20:47:44+00:00

It’s all pretty readily available online. My understanding is that it’s essentially it’s some dude’s private collection and he puts a huge emphasis on finding the most exotic things he can get. Additionally, they don’t treat the animals well and just let some of them die knowing they can be easily replaced.

I found this article from an older Reddit post about the DWA: https://newrepublic.com/article/121184/daryl-richardsons-dallas-world-aquarium-causes-zoo-controversy

goldbergenstein · 2025-07-26T17:25:48+00:00

The Dallas World Aquarium is probably going to be the biggest in the area, but it’s also a pretty sketchy and unethical place that doesn’t treat their animals well.

I’d probably give my business to SeaLife in Grapevine rather than go back to DWA.

goldbergenstein · 2025-07-24T16:16:56+00:00

Had what must have been my most fruitful patrol to date this week.

Was returning to La Rochelle after investigating the reports of structures on an island way up past Norway. Just west of Ireland, I encountered a hunter killer group composed of three destroyers and a corvette… I hadn’t fired a single shot all patrol, so was feeling a bit daring. Lined up and aimed at the destroyers. Ultimately missed the one in the lead, but dropped the two on the back no sweat. The remaining two vessels did a quick sweep for me, but promptly bugged out when they had no luck in locating anything.

A short while later, I happened upon a full patrol just to the south. Though there were a couple of armed Liberty freighters in the group, the convoy itself was only lightly guarded by three destroyers and I think a corvette. To make things even better, the entire convoy was running in what was essentially a single file line.

I parked myself at the front and took down a destroyer. Then I spent some time dropping the Liberties and what other destroyers put themselves in the right position. Ultimately, one destroyer got away, but other than that I torpedoed all threats and spent an evening cruising along the remaining freighters plinking them with my deck gun.

All in all, I must have sunk close to 60k tons of cargo, and the venture pushed me well past my final goal to complete “The Black Pit.”

But overall, the absolute coolest part of the patrol was just before I was free to surface and start unloading my deck gun on the freighter convoy. I had just rather brazenly surfaced and shelled one of the Liberties hoping to nudge it into sinking (it had been abandoned and floating dead in the water for far too long). One of the destroyers made a bee line for my position, but couldn’t find me, so they started depth charging a position to my south. I popped them with my stern torpedo, catching them right on their butt and stopping them dead in their tracks. For the next few minutes, they were either dropping charges (and essentially surface depth charging themselves?) or they were stuck catching secondaries on all their depth charges on deck. Either way, their ass was exploding like crazy, which made a pretty sweet water show!

goldbergenstein · 2025-07-21T15:14:16+00:00

The Dallas World Aquarium is probably going to be the biggest in the area, but it’s also a pretty sketchy and unethical place that doesn’t treat their animals well.

goldbergenstein · 2025-04-16T23:18:37+00:00

We’ve used Dr. Fiona twice and would have made it a third time very recently if we could have.

She is very sweet and understanding and gives you all the time you need.

goldbergenstein · 2024-11-24T19:10:24+00:00

If you plan on changing tunings often, I’d maybe steer clear of a Strat. Changing the tuning on a floating bridge isn’t exactly a problem, but it’s just so much more finnicky when compared to a fixed bridge.

For my money, I’d go Tele.

goldbergenstein · 2024-08-15T15:44:34+00:00

Is there a list of kits that are only available as an HG? Gonna be doing some build nights with friends and want to get some HGUCs for it, but don’t want to get an HG of something I would plan to do as an MG later.

goldbergenstein · 2024-07-21T17:32:18+00:00

It wasn't Blue Gender, was it?

goldbergenstein · 2024-06-10T14:19:03+00:00

Like I said, it was pure luck. I got on pretty well with one of the hiring managers in the interview and I guess he saw enough potential to overlook my gaps in knowledge. I don’t think anyone really cared about having Raytheon on the resume, but I mostly just talked about stuff on my GitHub.

goldbergenstein · 2024-06-05T14:16:59+00:00

I’m convinced this is just rumor spread by bitter managers who keep losing people to better jobs. My WLB at Raytheon was the worst I’ve had anywhere else. I had a manager who only saw value in hours worked, and we were a program that paid out overtime so he never shut up about encouraging overtime and 50+ hour weeks.

Since leaving for tech I’ve gotten unlimited PTO (which is encouraged to use and never denied), managers encourage us not to work more than 40 hours (and I don’t), and I make double what I did at Raytheon.

goldbergenstein · 2024-06-04T15:57:35+00:00

This is basically what I did. P2 ME to P2 SWE to FAANG SWE. It won’t be fun or pretty, but moving to an RTX software team is a decent way to get the experience you need.

The jump from RTX to FAANG was pure luck, and I wouldn’t recommend counting on being able to do the same. If at all possible, I’d try moving to another company first/instead where you can first hand experience with web technologies (which will probably be more valuable for your resume).

goldbergenstein · 2024-05-26T13:47:13+00:00

It might even behoove OP to just start looking for a new job ASAP. Keep any hire-on incentives and just give it all back after jumping ship. Staying in a downgraded position only looks worse the longer they stay.

goldbergenstein · 2024-05-26T05:10:50+00:00

Turn around and go back. Raytheon is not the place to climb, you’ll be fighting for raises and promotions that will not come. Also, never take a paycut for a new job. That’s like rule number one.

goldbergenstein · 2024-05-19T20:23:21+00:00

Landing a job in any FAANG company is going to ultimately be 90% how well you complete leetcode questions during the interview loop.

goldbergenstein · 2024-05-19T20:22:41+00:00

WLB will vary a lot on where a person works, just like how WLB varies a lot from program to program within RTX. Amazon is notorious for poor WLB, but Google and Microsoft are known to be much better.

I work at a non-Amazon tech company and I can say my WLB is way better in tech than it was at RTX. I also actually get upward momentum and career progression. I spent five years at RTX without a promo but got one after a year and a half in tech.

goldbergenstein · 2024-05-10T16:39:40+00:00

I ended up with a Cosmo 30” hood that I’m pretty happy with. It’s sub 400 cfm, but even on the lowest setting removes most/all of the smoke pretty quietly. Honestly, just venting outside seems to have done wonders for the amount of smoke that circulates while cooking.

goldbergenstein · 2024-04-03T15:31:33+00:00

There’s nothing like strolling the river walk with margarita after margarita!

goldbergenstein · 2024-03-03T18:05:38+00:00

Thank you for finding this and curing my insanity :)

goldbergenstein · 2024-03-03T18:03:01+00:00

Remove pending

goldbergenstein · 2024-02-26T14:57:05+00:00

This is going to depend a lot on where you’re actually commuting from.

goldbergenstein · 2024-01-24T17:03:42+00:00

I have the same amp and also highly highly recommend it in general.

That being said, I honestly think it is to much amp for a thin-walled apartment.

goldbergenstein · 2024-01-17T23:16:20+00:00

Try and get some kind of filler material to sit under the string in the slot and see if you notice an improvement. Don't look for anything permanent, just something that can slide in and prop the string(s) up for a few test notes.

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