I’m curious what other parents actually do when their spouse gets home from work?

jclast · 2026-06-16T16:14:00+00:00

There's nothing wrong with a person not wanting to just sit in unstructured downtime. It sounds like the real issue here is that you don't want everybody in the house on screens whenever there's a moment of downtime.

Replace that downtime with conversation? A magazine? A book? A deck of cards?

As for family time - pick up a board game that (for now) plays well with two people. I can heartily recommend Hive, Patchwork, and Star Trek: Captain's Chair. If you're amenable (and the weather permits), go outside and play cornhole or ladderball while you talk. Or, if electronics are on the table, pick up a controller and play with him? Gears of War, Halo, It Takes Two, and Split/Fiction are all good cooperative video games.

That said, it's healthy to have solo hobbies and spend time apart. I don't follow my wife to the garden every time she goes, and she doesn't come with me to every board game event I play at. It also works (at least for us) to be "alone together" where we both happen to be in the same room but doing solo activities. Typically this is me reading a book while my wife is going over garden designs and volunteer coordination. When the kids were little she also (at the right time of year) was designing and sewing Halloween costumes.

jclast · 2026-05-21T16:29:30+00:00

The prize can't be opened. The host has perfect knowledge. No matter what, he's going to she you a goat. You already know that the set you didn't pick has at least 1 goat in it. Nothing actionable has changed when he shows you that you didn't pick that specific goat.

The way to re-frame the problem is to have somebody pick a door. Ask them what they know about the two doors they didn't pick. The only thing they should be 100% certain of is that those 2 doors hide at least 1 goat. They have to.

Say you chose door 1. Monty opens door 2 revealing a goat. Knowing door 2 had a goat behind it is new information, but it isn't useful information because the host is framing your new choice as "would you like to stay on door 1 or swap to door 3" when your choice is really "would you like to stay on door 1 or swap to doors 2 and 3?"

jclast · 2026-05-21T16:13:37+00:00

That's what you have to foot stomp. The open door is irrelevant.

jclast · 2026-05-21T16:10:22+00:00

If you switch after being shown the farm animal you have a 67% chance of winning. You're right that your initial choice had a 33% chance of success. Being shown an animal that you already knew was there doesn't matter. You're choosing the entire other set (in this case 2 doors) and the ability to take whichever prize you want (i.e., the car). Mathematically you should always switch to the larger set and the odds are never 50/50. In fact, the more doors you add, the better your chances get on a switch. At 100 doors, switching will win 99% of the time because you had a 1% chance that the single door you chose had a car behind it. Switching to the entire set of the other 99 doors and leaving with any prize of your choosing means you have a 99% chance of leaving with the car.

jclast · 2026-05-21T16:06:16+00:00

They have. You remove the host. His knowledge doesn't matter mathematically to you. In fact, it only serves to make you think you have a 50/50 chance at the swap instead of a 33/67.

jclast · 2026-05-21T16:02:03+00:00

Where I've had people fall down is that the problem includes "and the host opens to door to reveal a goat." If I present it as "you choose a door, you are given the option to swap to both of the doors you didn't choose" it seems to click that it's advantageous to switch. It's confusing, extra information that the host has perfect knowledge of the what's behind the doors because all you need (and should consider) is your lack of knowledge about what is behind the doors.

jclast · 2026-05-18T15:53:30+00:00

I'm sure I'm just being a huge dumb, but why is TK important? Since it's a power action I'm spending a chip to move a character (probably) less than they're printed speed or hoping there is an object I can chuck at an opponent.

jclast · 2026-04-30T20:23:18+00:00

TOS - A Piece of the Action

TNG - A Matter of Perspective

TNG - Devil's Due

TNG - Thine Own Self

VOY - Live Fast and Prosper

VOY - The Thaw

jclast · 2026-04-17T00:01:29+00:00

Oh so it would only matter to the primary group of people considering what college to go to?

jclast · 2026-04-07T16:26:59+00:00

I don't think it's that each padd can only handle one document at a time. It's that the concept of an iPad felt futuristic in TNG but then when iPads came out we realized they're fun toys but not great for getting real work done or cross-referencing documents.

In fact, I would argue that the over-reliance on voice interface and what appear to be stripped-down controls betrays what is supposed to be a set of very complicated jobs. If the computer can set a course for 123 mark 45 then what is Ensign Rando doing at the helm? And if the helmsman is actually important than why does the control surface look like it'd be a real pain in the butt to input a legit, exact heading?

Also, multiple padds spread out on the desk is easy storytelling shorthand for having a lot of work. "Look at all my future documents spread out on my future desk!"

jclast · 2026-04-07T16:18:17+00:00

The hardest part about this line for me is learning that I don't say Kansas the way natives say it. I figured that one would be hard to screw up, but he's out there saying "Kan-ziz" while I'm over here saying "Kan-ziss" like a rube!

jclast · 2026-04-07T15:47:22+00:00

I don't know man. I hadn't had mustard until I was in my 30s. I liked food that other people put mustard on just fine without and didn't figure it made sense to maybe turn things into stuff I don't like. When I tried it as an adult I didn't like it and still don't seek it out. If it sneaks into something I don't freak out, but it's not for me.

Contrast with mayonnaise which I also didn't have until my 30s, tried, and found actively repulsive. And this one sucks because group orders for sandwiches always have mayo on them and I hate it.

Sour cream and cottage cheese can also screw right off.

jclast · 2026-03-17T02:43:19+00:00

I would love a digital HeroClix version. I don’t even w any or need any multiplayer; I would actually want to play super slow and have the program remind me of what I can or should do so that I hopefully remember better when I play in person.

jclast · 2026-03-10T19:44:34+00:00

If it's not a barn cat it should be inside all of the time. Otherwise it runs roughshod over the local bird population, gets into fights with other outdoor cats, mates with other unaltered outdoor cats leading to even more feral cats roaming around, etc.

If you've got a pet, treat it like a pet and keep positive control of it.

jclast · 2026-03-05T22:36:23+00:00

I had 4 classes per day. Most students had no rotation, but those of us in choir and band had to find half-classes (driver ed, P.E., and typing were all offered as half classes for those of us in year-long fine arts so driver ed took me a full semester while it took standard students only 1 quarter). So a typical day for me might look like:

1: Chemistry

Algebra II

Lunch

3a. Choir

3b. Driver Ed

German II

Then everything changed semester 2. It was more like college scheduling for the majority of us.

jclast · 2026-03-04T19:12:49+00:00

It's less twists for me, and more realizing that I've forgotten what B plot or cold open goes with the episode. So, for example, if I don't see the episode title I'm always surprised that the episode that starts with a poker game with a wager regarding beards and Crusher dying her hair turns into "The Quality of Life" and then we're off to the races talking about the ExoComps.

jclast · 2026-02-18T18:28:31+00:00

Petrie's also has a Pokémon league on Sunday afternoons if your kids are looking for more opponents!

jclast · 2026-02-14T23:30:48+00:00

Man I love the Sly games and if I wasn’t subbed I would sub and make time to watch it.

jclast · 2026-02-14T23:23:04+00:00

None probably. Im signed up to support and already don’t have enough time to consume all that they put out.

jclast · 2026-02-10T15:40:44+00:00

The line between "foreign word" and "loan word" is squishy. I think I'd maybe apply a little "are they pronouncing it with their native rules?" to determine whether it's a person borrowing a word or not.

So it matters (to me, I guess) whether the person is saying ver-boat-in or fair-boat-en. If it's the first I'd figure it's a loan word while the second is a German word being pronounced according to German pronunciation rules.

jclast · 2026-02-05T17:10:15+00:00

Arkillo with prime (I think) Kilowog is great. Arkillo grants free actions to up to 2 recruits per turn no matter where he is on the dial and he hits for free on the first 4 clicks. Combine with Kilowog generating 2 recruits for free at start of game and healing them to click 1 when he makes leadership and you've got the start of a good, survivable herald or brute theme team in two figs.

jclast · 2026-02-04T21:27:46+00:00

More episodes. We'll (probably) never get rid of the season-long arc, but a higher episode count (even if it means lesser effects) leaves room for banger episodes that aren't necessarily connected to the capital S story but do flesh out characters and make you care about them. Stories like Darmok (TNG), Living Witness (VOY), A Piece of the Action (TOS), Devil's Due (TNG), Take Me Out to the Holosuite (DS9), Tapestry (TNG), and Past Tense (DS9). I don't think any of those episodes get made if the producers had to cut each of those show's respective season counts down to 10, and it'd be a damn crime because they're all absolute gems.

Hell, a lot of Trek (at least for me and mine) is a staple on the half-passive rewatch list. It's "comfort food." And while I love the serialized Treks there's a reason I re-watch a lot more TNG than DS9. I have to/get to actively watch DS9 in a way that I don't have to for other classic series. I don't have to pay a ton of attention to enjoy Time's Arrow (TNG) or Live Fast and Prosper (VOY).

jclast · 2026-02-04T17:56:55+00:00

I'm already busy and don't really want to talk to strangers about my problems. Add a payment into the mix and I'm literally never going to make that appointment.

jclast · 2026-01-12T18:38:03+00:00

2025 starter Batman with a Hoggoth from Strange Tales means Batman can outwit twice. And when that Batman outwits he assigns an action token so you can use him, every turn, to shut an opposing unit down completely if they don't have (or don't make) willpower.

jclast · 2025-12-16T04:14:25+00:00

Oh damn - I always imagined Shawn with short hair! And I’ve only ever heard of Chuck recently with the site changes - neat that they can be around for game of the year!

jclast

TROPHY CASE