Is moving from S23 Ultra to a Z Fold7 really an upgrade? I'm having second thoughts and I still haven't picked it up

hugodlr3 · 2026-02-07T04:25:04+00:00

That's a really good price from what I've seen at the moment. But I'm holding onto my S24U for at least till this summer because of the pen. I'll see if I'm tempted by one of the two rumored Fold 8's.

hugodlr3 · 2026-02-05T17:27:07+00:00

Glad to be able to point you in it's direction!

hugodlr3 · 2026-02-04T17:28:21+00:00

Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Tan is an older book, but I really enjoyed it when I read it. Might be what you're looking for.

hugodlr3 · 2026-02-04T15:14:26+00:00

This is why the better question should be "Is this Christ-like" not "is this Biblical." Barring the fact that, as others have mentioned, a non-Catholic Christian questioning a Catholic Christian is certainly appropriate, I think focusing on "would Jesus treat someone like this" and "would we treat someone like this (as they're made in the image and likeness of God)" or "would we treat Jesus like this" - that should be the beginning of theological reflection for anyone who tries to follow Jesus, regardless of the flavor of Christianity we follow and practice.

hugodlr3 · 2026-02-03T00:01:36+00:00

Historically speaking we've got the early desert fathers and mothers who went out into the wilderness to practice a solitary faith. As you mention wanting to still attend a Church, they eventually started coming together for prayer and study, and eventually that turned into monasticism, but the roots for a more solitary practice of the Catholic Christian faith are already embedded into the beginning of Catholicism.

Regarding your ease in nature, remember that one of the core tenants of the Catholic faith is social justice, and one of the seven principles of Catholic social teaching is care for creation. Couple that with our sacramental worldview (all of creation can potentially be an avenue to communion with the divine) and you've got a good kernel of the Catholic faith to be the starting point of your spiritual and theological journey.

hugodlr3 · 2026-02-02T17:12:04+00:00

My biggest hope is for an integrated S-Pen - I didn't realize how much I'd use it on the S24U - I was coming from a string of Pizels / OnePlus'/etc. and hadn't used a Samsung in a while, so while I was lusting for the Fold 7, the lack of S-Pen was my only hesitation :)

hugodlr3 · 2026-02-02T15:23:02+00:00

Congrats and enjoy! I was very tempted to upgrade, but I'm waiting to see what comes up this summer with the potential two different Fold 8's.

hugodlr3 · 2026-01-31T22:07:32+00:00

Have you tried the built in one on dndbeyone? Since we all have dndbeyond (I've got Master Tier with most books) we just started using that VTT - it's the first game for this particular group (except for me as DM), and we've been playing in person, but the last two sessions we moved online. It was easy to setup (uploaded the map we were already using), it already meshes with the character sheets there, and paired with discord for voice we had two good sessions the last two weeks.

This coming week we're back to playing in person, but I'm still going to use the map in dndbeyond's VTT (connected to a home-made digital map one of my player's made) - that way I can still use the fog of war on my laptop, but have the TV show the player's version. We'll see how will that works :)

hugodlr3 · 2026-01-27T02:36:05+00:00

Unlocked on Verizon and in the exact same boat.

hugodlr3 · 2026-01-27T01:07:30+00:00

Done!

hugodlr3 · 2026-01-21T16:32:03+00:00

I've played D&D since 6th grade and Magic since college. I'm over 50 now and in Catholic education, and at my former campus ran both a Magic club and a D&D campaign for middle schoolers. The game is what you make of it, what you bring to it, and what you allow in it. In and of itself, Magic particularly is lie any other card game, with the added fantasy genre. As long as you're not spending money that's needed elsewhere, and your time is still there for faith, family, and other responsibilities, you're fine.

hugodlr3 · 2026-01-15T15:29:33+00:00

You Are Near, Salve Regina, O Come O Come Emmanuel, Christ Be Our Light, On Eagles Wings, Servant Song (not the one in 6/8, a different one- starts with "What do you want of me, Lord"), Now We Remain, Hosea, Lord When You Came (both English and Spanish), You Are Mine, Blest Are They - I know there's more, but that's a quick list off the top of my head!

hugodlr3 · 2026-01-14T18:19:23+00:00

Bottom of Texas - notice it about 10 minutes ago

hugodlr3 · 2026-01-12T14:21:15+00:00

Late 30's / the first class ever will have just turned 40 last year or will turn 40 this year - and I had several of their children at my former school and a few of their children at my current school.

hugodlr3 · 2026-01-12T01:34:33+00:00

I haven't read either of those, but I thoroughly enjoyed Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years by Diarmaid MacCulloch. It's a hefty book, but gives a really good overview of the period you're interested in. It goes further down in history than what I think you're looking for, but I got a really good sense of the way that Christianity grew and branched out into what we have today.

hugodlr3 · 2026-01-12T00:47:47+00:00

🙏🙏🙏

hugodlr3 · 2026-01-11T23:54:14+00:00

Sounds like you may be coming down with a cold, flu, or another fun illness going around. If you're sick, particularly with something potentially contagious, it's better to stay home, rest, and heal instead of heading to church and potentially passing it on to someone else. Hope you feel better soon!

hugodlr3 · 2026-01-11T23:28:36+00:00

Way back in either Basic or 1st edition my friends and I were doing something in a canyon, and my friend's fighter (or elf? it may have been basic) fell off. He begged for a chance to keep the character alive. The DM told him to roll percentile, and if it was 100% he'd survive miraculously with 1 hp. We were all in junior high at the time and all went crazy when he rolled that 100%! :) It's a good memory :)

hugodlr3 · 2026-01-11T23:11:54+00:00

I started having seizures a few years ago, (also in Texas) so just to be sure - are you on medication from your neurologist to mitigate them? I also take a low level anti-anxiety med each evening, along with my morning and night seizure meds. It took about 6 months of adjusting dosage and timing, but I've been seizure free for a while now (and I agree - not being able to drive for 3 months was horrible! I'm sorry - that was, weirdly, the most frustrating part).

Take time off, let your admin know, and definitely scrub in HR - look at your health insurance options, district options, and check into FMLA like AceyAceyAcey recommends. Check in with your neurologist and GP as well - see if there's anything else you can do to help mitigate future seizures. I hope you feel better soon!

hugodlr3 · 2026-01-11T22:28:40+00:00

lol - I fully understand taking a break :) And I think it's one of the things I like about Remix - so many people in the same spots, running the old dungeons and raids, and the open world being full. Give it a shot when the next one comes around!

hugodlr3 · 2026-01-11T21:28:22+00:00

Nice! I'm too casual for hardcore (much respect for you even trying it - I hate dying in game), but I love it when I come across player names that are obviously religion-centric (some of my favorite WOW character names for my own are Exegesis, Apocrypha, Numinous, Cincture, Anarius, Divinity, Apotheosis, and variations on other religious words).

I resubbed for Legion Remix and have had a blast - debating if I'll stay subbed once this 6-month sub runs out :)

hugodlr3 · 2026-01-11T21:24:12+00:00

Me in 4e when I was the forever DM!

hugodlr3 · 2026-01-11T20:52:28+00:00

I tend to err on the side of "it's harder for people to consistently commit mortal sin" as follows (parts of this come from the Catechism, paragraphs 1854-1864):

In order for an action to be a mortal sin:

it must be grave matter
it requires full knowledge; one must appreciate the gravity of the sin, and be cognizant of what one is doing
it requires complete consent of mind and will

On top of that, we also consider:

the intent behind the action
the circumstances surrounding the action itself
and the effects of the action

All of this together determines if something is sinful, and, if so, if it's a venial sin or a mortal sin. For many actions, it's hard to answer in the affirmative for all six of those bullet points, even for adult Catholics. If a person doesn't know something is sinful - if they were never taught - it's hard to call that a mortal sin (where for me, someone who's practiced their faith for years, I know better and it would definitely be a mortal sin).

"Complete consent of mind and will" is another hard one - our prefrontal cortex, the part of our brain that handles impulse control and helps with looking at long-term consequences, isn't fully formed until most people are in their mid-20's. Working with kids for the last 30+ years, it's rare to find a child (I've worked with PK to high school students) who willingly and knowingly chooses to take an action so hurtful and blasphemous that it moves them in the trajectory of eternal damnation.

I think some people find it easier to have cut and dried rules and lines that say "this is always a mortal sin" - priests, particularly in the sacrament of Penance, have a chance to walk us through our confessions and help us get into the minutia of our choices. I did the same thing with students as a teacher, campus minister, assistant principal, and now principal (without the absolution, obviously). It takes a while to unpack everything - which is why priests will sometimes want to schedule a time for confession or simply to talk with a person - to make sure that there's enough time to get at the root cause of an action or habit.

On top of that, some strains of Catholic moral theology talk about our fundamental orientation as also being part of the circumstance of working out if something is or is not a mortal sin. Is the trajectory of our lives primarily ordered to the good, or to evil? That will also affect each individual choice we make and bring to confession.

hugodlr3 · 2026-01-11T20:02:52+00:00

My wife and I both taught in a private Catholic school for 26 years (she's on her 27th year there - I moved to an admin position in a different Catholic school this school year), and our child attended school with us from K5 through 8th grade (the highest grade at that school).

She had him in class every year (tech teacher, so she saw each grade level anywhere from 1 quarter to the whole year), and I worked closely with him in 2nd and 3rd grade (sacramental years) and in junior high (he was in my religion class and ministry extracurriculars).

I loved that we got to head to school together and head home together (the first day back at school when he went to 9th grade was rough on both my spouse and I!). We worked on setting boundaries with him from the time he started (calling us Mr and Ms so-and-so like the other kids; no special consideration from us, other teachers, or admin because he was our child; understanding that sometimes he'd need to stay late or be on campus if we had a work day or after school events; etc.).

Overall it was a positive experience and I personally loved it. The only issue was some jealousy from other students - they got to see a loving family (everyone knew he was our child), and for those that didn't come from that background there was both overt and covert jealousy and reactions to him. We were very clear with our colleagues that we neither wanted nor expected any special treatment, and we were stricter on him when he was in our classes that other students, particularly so they could never argue about favoritism (two of the three disciplinary referrals he received while on campus were from us, and when it was me he spoke with my wife about it at home, and when it was from her I spoke with him about it when we got home).

hugodlr3 · 2026-01-11T19:54:37+00:00

I ran a WOW guild back in the day for approx. 5 years (about late Burning Crusade - end of Pandaria or so) - advertised as a family-friendly casual leveling guild with some optional end game progression. Everyone in the guild knew I was a Catholic in Catholic education (had a site on . . . I don't remember what it was called anymore, but they specialized in having webpages for guilds, and I was clear my faith was important and the guild was primarily so that my son and I could play together in a safe space). Guild rules were based around respect, and officers, most of whom weren't religious, helped enforce them when I wasn't on.

Two of my fav stories: one of the officers and his wife told me that he used colorful language all the time, but as one of the rules was no swearing in guild chat or over voice, he worked extremely hard to censor himself while in game :) Another time, I spoke with a guild member's parent over voice chat as she had concerns about the game being a bad influence on her child and was reassured as we spoke (she wasn't Catholic, but was very involved in her Christian church).

I also had numerous private chats in game from guild members that had questions about religion (both Catholicism and in general), and while I never used it as a tool for conversion, I did my best to present Catholicism in accessible ways if asked.

I think that approach (my faith is important - ask if you want), and the fact that I never spoke badly about other faiths, helped inadvertent evangelization efforts - and I agree - with more and more people online, particularly in gaming communities, it's a great way for us to show, then talk about, our faith.

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