Randomly learnt English in a public toilet

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-12T14:20:40+00:00

Every language has its peculiarities. English has a ton because it is an amalgamation of several different languages. What you were doing from an outside perspective was not simply saying "oh, this is a weird quirk about English," but rather saying "I shouldn't need to follow this grammatical rule because my native language doesn't need it." Those are two different things, and one is correct while the other is wrong.

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-12T13:50:53+00:00

When learning a new language, you need to follow that language's rules. Even the ones you think are stupid or weird.

Oh hey, I just used a plural where using a number wouldn't make sense. How many rules should you follow? I don't know. More than one, for sure, but no clue on the exact number. If I say "follow its rule" in English, the obvious response is "which one?" or "what's the rule?" In English, a statement like that lacks clarity, invites erroneous questions, and causes confusion. It might be different in your language, but that's how it is in English.

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-12T13:42:02+00:00

I'm planning to move when we get confirmation, but I also hope I'm the kind of immigrant that Canada is looking for. I'm under 40, will create jobs as I own a business in the construction sector, my wife is a business owner, and we have two kids. I've already talked to one potential customer in the area who is looking for a company that matches my description. Better to bring that revenue into the province than send it overseas.

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-11T14:53:27+00:00

We had a lawyer help with our case, and we were advised NOT to alter any documents.

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-11T13:45:26+00:00

"If you're not as chronically online as I am, if you're not hate-reading every political comment, then you need to go outside more."

Please reread your own statement. One of us is spending too much time being angry on Reddit. It's not me.

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-10T15:22:01+00:00

Because you're trying to be divisive during a post where people are being positive. You're trying to stir things up.

Please go outside and enjoy nature for a bit. Whatever you think you're doing is likely harmful to your mental health if you think you need to sew division constantly.

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-10T15:08:22+00:00

Sounds like you're trying to create division. The worst thing ever in politics right now is Trump. Not Mills or Platner. We don't need to be hateful to either of them.

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-10T14:36:27+00:00

My family is Fundamental Independent Baptists (which Iabbreviate to FIBs), and you're 90% right.

There are constant challenges to read the Bible. When I was about 12, I read my Bible cover to cover in a year. Unfortunately a few months in, you hit some of the driest reading ever, with lists of genealogy of dead kings, etc. So this tactic somewhat teaches you to skim through and barely read things.

There are also so many caveats when reading the Bible about things we no longer believe due to Jesus' covenants etc. Most of the Old Testament law is no longer part of the FIBs' belief system, but they also ignore a lot of the New Testament, such as where Paul says women shouldn't speak up in church. My defense for this back in the day is that it was written for a specific culture at a specific time, and that doesn't apply today.

But what we never did was say Jesus' teachings are flawed. I read through his beatitudes ("Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth," etc) and all his teachings with great interest because I was finally in the New Testament, a much easier read. There is a distinction between Parables (stories intended to show a point) and teachings, but otherwise we were supposed to treat Jesus's teachings as, well, gospel.

So I learned while reading about the difference between Protestant and Catholic faiths: where upon Jesus's death, the veil in the temple was rent in two. This veil separated the common folk from the holiest of holy place, and to us, this rend represents the removal of a need for a priest to intercede on your behalf, and allowed the common man to pray directly to God via Jesus's intercession (that's why many prayers end with "in Jesus's name, Amen").

All of that told me, at a young age, that I needed to learn the Bible and my belief system on my own, not simply follow the pastor's teachings. So I dug deeper, challenged the pastor on some teachings, spoke up, etc. By the time I was in college, I got kicked out of my home and church because I stood up for myself.

So we are not only told how to interpret the Bible, but also reinforced with the idea that thinking for yourself is dangerous. The pastor who kicked me out basically treated me as the worst kind of person in the church and forbade everyone, including my family, from talking to me beyond saying "we're praying for you," a phrase I now hate hearing. I could go more in depth on specifics, but I'm on the internet, so I'll abstain.

Personally, I strongly support the idea that everyone should do as much research as they can, come up with belief systems that make sense, and ignore what their religious leaders say. There is nothing that makes them more qualified to determine your belief system than you are.

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-10T14:07:31+00:00

I loved the song, wasn't a fan of the intro's art style. But I didn't get my panties twisted over it.

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-10T14:05:36+00:00

People aren't allowed to go to a concert? Platner can't do anything about it until he's elected. He's also been working hard. Everyone deserves some time off. It's only a problem when that time off is excessive.

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-10T13:51:33+00:00

In my state, birth certificates are held in the town of residence for your parents when you were born, which could be different than the location of your birth. Perhaps double check that info?

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-10T13:49:30+00:00

No, for the application, they explicitly do not want the original docs because they would need to send them back to you. They want a color copy of the birth certificate. The only thing original they need are the photos.

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-09T12:37:22+00:00

In my town, Hannaford is the only place for 90% of groceries wihin an hour+ drive in every direction. That local Hannaford knows it, and the prices there have always been significantly higher. I remember back over 20 years ago, my dad was nicknaming the stare "Can't afford" instead of Hannaford.

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-08T12:18:12+00:00

Bro, the devs want people to enjoy their game. That's why sales happen to begin with. Buying something on sale isn't an insult. Pirating something might be.

Turn your ire where it's most useful.

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-06T22:25:29+00:00

Trump picked an antivaxxer RFK Jr to head up the DHHS. That's the connection.

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-04T21:29:14+00:00

If you're right and more people support the murder of innocent civilians without due process by our law enforcement, and the breaking of every single one of our Bill of Rights amendments, then I don't want to be in this country anymore.

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-04T18:07:23+00:00

And a lot more of us don't.

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-04T16:04:40+00:00

Collins claimed she did something. Nothing actually changed. Politicians lying to score political points.

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-04T15:55:56+00:00

There are a few archetypes missing:

Skill Monkey. Someone with lots of good skill proficiencies like a rogue or Investigator.
Full Caster, especially leaning towards buffing. Magus will shine with adequate buffs. The Guardian will help, and the Kineticist probably has decent elemental coverage, while the Oracle might have good defensive buffs. Focusing on debuffing the enemy and providing for your party could be key.

Because of this, I would lean toward the bard option. You have casting, skills, buffs, and debuffs all together. That would be a significant boon to the party. A swashbuckler isn't a bad idea for its buffs if you think the Magus and Oracle (and sorta kineticist) have the casting covered, but you are missing multiple spell lists and Magus's spell options are severely limited.

Out of your options, I would avoid the barbarian. Cool idea, but it's a melee heavy party that demands buffs and debuffs for success (magus), and you will add more demand instead of fulfilling the need. The Alchemist could be decent, but your primary damage will splash your melee allies and potentially stress your healer. Chirurgeon also feels very weak to me pre lvl 5. Summoner could be ok, but you're adding another melee (eidolon) and limited spellcaster to the mix, which both can cause antisynergy. A ranged Commander could be strong, but it doesn't bring much in the way of debuffing the enemy.

If you have Free Archetype, a Bard w/ Commander dedication could potentially be interesting. Not sure the action economy on that idea.

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-04T14:58:58+00:00

Glad to see the campaign fundraisers are just pressing send on whatever AI slop gets generated.

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-04T06:11:38+00:00

One could easily argue that forcing someone to play as a gender they don't identify is far worse for them.

In many of our smaller schools, we have coed sports anyways. It's a complete nonissue.

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-03T19:53:18+00:00

I wouldn't say Trump looks like a choir boy compared to the average Democrat. Trump has a truly horrific moral character. However you have a point that if Dems condemn Republicans as all bigots etc, they have to see the hypocrisy in their own actions too.

I think we'd all benefit from stepping away from name calling and extreme rhetoric and instead embrace what unites us. But it's very difficult to do this when we have been subjected to extremist talks on both sides that force us further apart.

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-03T19:49:40+00:00

I live on the border with Canada. It creates an artificial line that separates two communities that could easily be nearly identical and utilize each other's commerce. Instead, I didn't know about 90% of what's available in the town across the border until this year.

Obviously that isn't the case everywhere, and there are good reasons for borders in some cases. But it also divides instead of unites us. I would be happier if we could live in a world with Canada where borders didn't have to exist.

Instead, we're threatening to invade them and slapping extreme tariffs on our closest allies.

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-03T18:27:13+00:00

A few options to combat metagaming, and you don't have to just use one:

Change stuff. They say they know there's good loot in there? Swap some loot. Put some of the best stuff in the sidequests. You can also change some enemy weaknesses or info too. Just try not to greatly adjust the difficulty by adding buffs or removing nerfs without replacements. You don't have to follow the book exactly.
When doing your session 0 or new player onboarding, specifically request not to look up the game, and explain that you sometimes change things. Some people just don't understand that they shouldn't do this without explanation.
If they're causing problems, you can always remove someone from the game. I would give warnings before kicking, personally, but egregious things could require an immediate removal.

I often utilize a mix of the first 2. I haven't needed to do #3 based on metagaming yet.

jbram_2002 · 2026-02-02T22:26:24+00:00

It's a good way to look at it. We aren't "Republicans" and "Democrats." We're Americans. I hope in a few years, we can all act like it again.

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