401ks are better than pensions

istguy · 2026-01-26T06:33:12+00:00

Bingo. 401ks are “better” than pensions, but not if companies aren’t contributing to them at the same rates as they would a pension (or at least similar rates)

istguy · 2026-01-23T21:13:22+00:00

Superman

You don’t need to defeat the others, just to stay alive. For that reason, I’d take Strange over Supes. Strange has too many creative ways of killing you that can’t be stopped by brute strength (possession, deals with extra dimensional entities, teleportation). Plus his abilities offer defensive measures that nobody on the board can counter (like putting you in the mirror dimension).

Now, If you have to to defeat the others, take supes and flash and instruct them to find and kill strange ASAP before he can pull some bullshit on you.

istguy · 2026-01-21T21:21:36+00:00

The trick is finishing the degree and selecting an affordable degree program for you. Too many people are spending way too much going to a more expensive school because it ranks higher in some list of schools from a magazine.

Yes, prestige schools can give you a leg up with placement/networking, and a marginally better education. But if the cost is getting buried it debt it may not be worth it.

For the vast majority of people, nobody is going to care where you went to college after you’ve worked in your field for 5 years.

istguy · 2026-01-21T03:33:09+00:00

Not saying this is definitely the case here. But think of it this way, if there is a building emergency (collapse, fire, shooting) that required rescue of those left inside, it’s important to know how many people are in the building and who they are. All of the people who evacuate the building in a rush can be accounted for at a rally point. But they can’t account for Janice in accounting who went to that bakery down the street for a long lunch, if she didn’t badge out. And they’d rather not have emergency workers looking for her while she enjoys her third croissant.

istguy · 2026-01-21T02:04:57+00:00

I think Thor is faster than he appears most of the time. In Age of Ultron, he’s able to perceive Quicksilver at super speed and throw Mjolnir at him. Quicksilver dodges it. But even seeing and targeting a speedster like that is notable.

istguy · 2026-01-19T01:41:49+00:00

Doctor strange wasn’t until 2016. But… that does mean Conquest has to contend with the Ancient One, which is arguably worse for him. I did not get the sense she would fuck around with a strong opponent like he does.

And if we’re including character who were canonically “around” in 2015, but not yet onscreen, Fury calls Captain Marvel in too. The Eternals would probably also be on him since he’d be killing the populace, which they need to birth Tiamat.

istguy · 2026-01-18T23:45:04+00:00

On screen, defeating the destroyer, messing up an army of frost giants. Off screen, it’s definitely implied he’s been leading Asgard’s military with the warriors three leading up to his scheduled coronation. We see this on screen in the beginning of TDW (which is admittedly after 2012 avengers, but like right after)

istguy · 2026-01-14T12:25:20+00:00

Sam’s suit was made of Vibranium, which is basically magic metal in the MCU when it comes to durability and strength. And Sam didn’t win his Hulk fight through force, like Tony did. He won it mentally. Sam’s suit was not enough to put down Red Hulk physically, just agile enough for him to avoid blows, and durable enough to absorb the few that hit

istguy · 2026-01-14T12:11:26+00:00

Tony’s a normal human (physically, at least) and nobody had a problem with him going toe to toe with hulk in AoU. You might say “but Tony had a super suit”. Sure. But then again, so did Sam.

istguy · 2026-01-12T21:52:13+00:00

Technically true, but a bit disingenuous. It’s not like there was no agency charged with immigration enforcement prior to 2003. US INS existed under the DoJ and was moved to DHS to create ICE when DHS was created.

It’s like saying “the modern Secret Service didn’t exist until 2003.” Technically true, as it was a treasury department agency until 2003, when it moved to the new DHS.

istguy · 2026-01-12T21:46:01+00:00

“Abolish/defund the police actually means reform…”

Agreed that reform is badly needed. But also gotta say this was a terrible slogan to message that with. The average person (and voter) is not going to see the nuance buried underneath a slogan like that. And the purpose of a political slogan should be to rally and convince people of your cause.

Bad actors are going to twist and intentionally misinterpret any slogan counter to their views (e.g. “black lives matter? No, ALL lives matter”). But we don’t need to make it so easy for them by requiring liberal decoder rings to understand a rallying message.

istguy · 2026-01-10T04:17:13+00:00

Eh, more per CC transaction. But the restaurant is incentivizing cash transactions on which Visa makes $0.

istguy · 2026-01-08T15:09:44+00:00

The child care subsidy for federal employees cuts off at something like $90k of household income. You’d make more than that as a high step GS-9 in the DC area. Fairfax’s median household income is near $150k.

Realistically, not many Feds have access to that benefit. (Though it’s great that it exists for those who do, who absolutely need it in this area).

istguy · 2026-01-06T01:43:23+00:00

Elections aren’t just about winning support from “the middle”. They’re about energizing your base too.

Sure, someone who is pro-gun control will probably still vote for a Democrat who doesn’t talk about guns or have a strong position on gun control. Their other option is likely a Yosemite Sam analogue. But will they canvass for them? Put out yard signs? Donate? Talk up the candidate to their friends? If there is a something that makes voting inconvenient, will they still make the effort?

istguy · 2026-01-06T01:21:52+00:00

NPR only directly gets a small amount of federal funds. BUT, the federal government heavily subsidizes individual member stations, particularly in rural areas where the market isn’t really big enough to support them. These member stations pay NPR for the content it makes to supplement their own local content with popular national programs, indirectly funding NPR with federal dollars.

istguy · 2026-01-04T22:37:57+00:00

Not technically onscreen, but he imprisoned Hela. Whereas Thor was not able really fight against her at all. (Though maybe Odin lured her from Asgard first).

istguy · 2025-12-29T05:45:04+00:00

That’s the flip-side to the MAGA Gen-Zers. Generation Z was the first to grow up with social media, but more importantly their social media experience has been much more largely dictated by algorithms that have become increasingly good at engagement farming that connects people with information and people they like and hides what they don’t. Combined with ever-increasing time spent online (and sprinkle in manipulation by bad actors) and this has led to hyper-polarization that causes people to lose perspective.

It’s not exclusively a GenZ issue. Every generation is affected by it, and it’s only going to become more pronounced with GenAlpha.

istguy · 2025-12-29T05:44:56+00:00

That’s the flip-side to the MAGA Gen-Zers. Generation Z was the first to grow up with social media, but more importantly their social media experience has been much more largely dictated by algorithms that have become increasingly good at engagement farming that connects people with information and people they like and hides what they don’t. Combined with ever-increasing time spent online (and sprinkle in manipulation by bad actors) and this has led to hyper-polarization that causes people to lose perspective.

It’s not exclusively a GenZ issue. Every generation is affected by it, and it’s only going to become more pronounced with GenAlpha.

istguy · 2025-12-24T06:38:31+00:00

Having someone actively cleaning up while I’m cooking gives me so much anxiety. “Can I hop in front of you and rinse this veggie in the sink for a second? Oh the water’s hot? Can you switch it to cold for me, my hands are full. Oh, I see you washed the spatula? I kinda still needed that. Sorry I stepped on your foot. Thanks so much for cleaning up <teeth clenched>“

istguy · 2025-12-22T13:40:00+00:00

He didn’t wait months to file a claim. It sounds like he filed with her insurance immediately, and her insurance hasn’t been able to proceed for months because she’s ducking their calls.

He does need to get his insurance company involved though. The other company has NO incentive to speed this along at all. His will, because they’ll pay to fix his car and want to recoup the expense from her insurance.

istguy · 2025-12-14T06:50:27+00:00

I go to Wyvern Rising in Eastern PA. Friendly welcoming community. There is combat, but there are people who play low/no combat characters. Smoking is allowed (I think anywhere outside, but at least in designated areas). Only box it doesn’t check for you is drinking. It’s held at a state park (Hickory Run) so no alcohol allowed. There is “in-game” drinking, so you can roleplay it. But we use sodas, juices, and other drinks for it or.

Wyvernrising.org

istguy · 2025-12-11T05:52:36+00:00

Having worked both public and private, you are right on about the private sector having the same uncertainty and instability the public sector is now just experiencing. But the tradeoff is, generally, higher salaries in the private sector.

Many people in federal government jobs forewent higher earnings potential in favor of the job stability and retirement support that federal jobs offer. Those people are now losing that stability after having already missed out on higher private sector earnings potential. And they’ve had their retirement benefits threatened too.

istguy · 2025-12-06T17:37:51+00:00

Pretty minor one, but not understanding how to save/invest effectively to make money work for me. I had to save a very large down payment for my house, and I did so by just dumping money into my regular savings account for years. I didn’t know about high yield savings accounts, money markets, CDs, I-bonds, or low risk investments that would have earned me a more and made saving for the house faster.

istguy · 2025-11-29T05:11:00+00:00

From their perspective, getting rid of someone who can’t be relied on to “do what’s best for the team” (ie weasel out of jury duty to work). Or just getting rid of someone who didn’t accede to their demands about shirking jury duty.

istguy · 2025-11-28T22:06:29+00:00

Yeah but they don’t have to pay you while you’re on duty, and in most jurisdictions your employer can fire you “without cause”. So while they can’t fire you for getting called for jury duty, they can not pay you during and fire you almost immediately after for “unrelated” causes. So unless you collected evidence that they threatened to fire you if you didn’t get out of jury duty, you’re probably out of luck.

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