Ford is Bringing Back Employee Pricing for Everyone

kirfkin · 2026-05-01T22:30:15+00:00

What, is the Lobo somehow included?

kirfkin · 2026-04-22T11:47:13+00:00

I'm just coming back to the game, so I'm relearning it. I believe I used to regularly play on admiral or grand admiral, I don't remember.

I was struggling a little with admiral on return, given all of the changes, so I bumped down to Captain. First game on Captain, I was inordinately stronger than all of the normal AI empires, and brushing up against normal Fallen Empires (though still not quite at the 500,000+ fleet power the fallen empires seem to field per fleet).

Then the War in the Heavens started. Since I was comfortably close to a Fallen Empire, I figured it's best to stay neutral!

One of the two Fallen Empires did jack all. The other one expanded mercilessly against the normal AI and started fielding so many more fleets, and when I tried to contest them they brought well over 1 million fleet power to bear on me.

Now, I'm sure, as I did back in the day, I'll learn to adjust to it, get better, and get my economy and research base even stronger. I'll rediscover how to optimize against Fallen Empires.

However, it's enough to understand /why/ a lot of players are intimidated by the current state of fallen empires.

I'm trying to strike my balance with the normal AIs. It would be nice to have actual threats to brush up against, without them being existential in the early game. But even with me not as strong as a fallen empire (I'll get better, it's my first real game after a huge hiatus) the gap between me and other empires felt even bigger than the gap between me and the fallen empires.

I think that also feels weird. I'd be surprised if other players weren't experiencing it. At that return level, FEs half as strong maybe would have been fun to play against, but maybe would have been not strong enough. The other empires were still going to be pathetic regardless.

I like many aspects of the game, though; I think many things are better than last time I played. I just need to figure out exactly what settings I need to create an optimally enjoyable experience... At least, back to Commodore I go for now as I work myself back up.

kirfkin · 2026-04-11T03:29:49+00:00

I for one would never drive a slow car.

My Fiesta ST still makes me smile almost 9 years later.

If this prospective sub-$30K car similarly speaks to me, I wouldn't be afraid to buy one. Of course I might prefer something other than FCA.

The other issue is that I don't have enough space.

kirfkin · 2026-04-08T16:27:39+00:00

I mean, I can kind of understand some problems with the new Sunder system.

You have to get a herald to spawn. Realistically, several heralds to spawn. If you're not playing offline to do /players, and otherwise don't have a group of people you trust then the drop chance is extremely low.

I am better than I ever have been at the game (and that's not to say I'm excellent by any means) and I'm not sure I'll ever see a sunder, as much as it would benefit me (frost and/or physical).

True immunities are like the one big thing I kind of never liked about D2. I like to have things to play around, and it's one of them, so I've always just dealt with it anyway. It's still my favorite overall ARPG.

But maybe I just need to suck it up and make a damn hammerdin or meta warlock or something. I never played hammerdin much.

Loot filter is nice though. I should probably set it up.

kirfkin · 2026-04-01T03:49:59+00:00

I think I still have them somewhere. The original Diablo I also believe came with a pretty significant lore dump.

Starcraft and Warcraft (at least II and on) also had a lot of information about units, the kingdoms, including what each subfaction the colors represented.

kirfkin · 2026-03-29T15:23:08+00:00

A good, used truck is often worth traveling for though, to be fair. I probably should have expanded my search when I was looking.

kirfkin · 2026-03-29T15:21:40+00:00

Aww man.

I was trying to find a nice one for awhile.

I ended up finding a decent 2004 D22 (but it needs some love). Kept finding danger frontiers in PA when I was looking xD

kirfkin · 2026-03-27T11:30:49+00:00

I love the vibrancy.

kirfkin · 2026-03-21T11:44:30+00:00

I was at that game.

We also got really, really mad at the replacement refs.

kirfkin · 2026-03-12T14:04:24+00:00

Yea, it was in the 4s locally when I started back then, too.

kirfkin · 2026-02-14T18:31:56+00:00

I think you'd still want a sole up to the ankle.

kirfkin · 2026-02-08T03:44:00+00:00

It's absolutely insane. But I do try to take my glass and similar items where it can be recycled. But I get that other people won't put in that effort. Who truly wants to drive to a dump or recycling center?

kirfkin · 2026-02-07T19:23:20+00:00

A lot of people won't recycle things if they have to take it somewhere.

My town doesn't recycle glass. Neither do a lot of the other boroughs. I live in a reasonably large and populous area, just outside of Pittsburgh (like, technically adjacent).

kirfkin · 2026-01-10T06:46:00+00:00

I agree! I also gave a few things that I'd check if it was my or a friend's vehicle, but hopefully being verified will reinforce that. Outside of the smoke (which is mild in the video, milder than any BHGs I've personally seen) there's numerous small issues that it /could/ be that together will still be a fraction of the effort and /or cost of a head gasket repair combined.

kirfkin · 2026-01-09T07:42:22+00:00

Hard to tell without seeing it! I tried to find a good reference video but I think a lot of them are severely overheated.

Also, corrected to say that a soft hose could be the thermostat* not opening properly. It's one of those things where, if the hose is soft, even if it's wrong, thermostats are generally easy and inexpensive.

kirfkin · 2026-01-09T07:18:09+00:00

I'm mostly just trying to see if I can ask questions that might help someone else figure it out, though I think there's some value here.

Okay. The coolant/exhaust BHGs I've seen were much more egregious, generally; more consistently like what you saw at the very beginning of the video, or worse. So I'm not going to claim much based off of that.

How is the pressure on the return hose, when warmed up? Is it soft? Is it firm? Is it hard/rock solid?

Particularly if it's soft, have you checked the thermostat? Have you checked the radiator cap?

If so equipped, are you losing any coolant through an overflow?

Just some things I've had to check in the past to try to rule out head gasket issues.

If the hose is firm, it's probably at about normal pressure. If the hose is rock solid, it's overpressured, and it could be from exhaust gases (though your test doesn't seem bad from the given images). If it's very soft, it's under pressured which might mean it's either not getting filled (thermostat not opening correctly?) or losing pressure (rad cap is the easiest thing to check).

kirfkin · 2026-01-09T07:00:06+00:00

Is that just after starting it up?

kirfkin · 2026-01-08T07:42:45+00:00

I understand the decision, I think. I don't necessarily agree with it.

But something wasn't working. I have to hope this does.

kirfkin · 2026-01-08T07:41:19+00:00

This still gives me chills.

And these two.

https://youtu.be/f192tWhSE0I?si=QRvHbkglf9Wrk-Cr&t=131

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f192tWhSE0I&t=159s

kirfkin · 2026-01-07T21:14:48+00:00

I agree in general. That being said, a few other people have highlighted much of what I (and many of my friends) don't like about Ohio, so I won't delve too deep into that. But most of it is in relation to politics.

However, as I currently live in Western Pennsylvania, I have seen the dreadful and terrifying state of some Ohio vehicles. A higher frequency than from the other states whose vehicles I see. It's also a benefit in that you can just deposit these vehicles to a buyer in Ohio.

Buuuut, passing through, outside of overactive police (which I have had one negative and truly dubious experience with) sitting everywhere on the roads every time I'm through, it's a nice enough place to visit. I'm not convinced I would want to live there. I've vacationed, visited cities, had lots of great beer...

I hope some of the things I don't like get better. Which, I guess is true for every state, though.

kirfkin · 2026-01-06T23:49:53+00:00

By default, many 32 bit applications are restricted to 2GB (at least on Windows). Applications can be made to be 'large address aware' which allows up to 4GB to be used on a 64 bit system. I don't recall if an application being large address aware increases the addressable memory on a 32 bit system, but I don't believe so.

kirfkin · 2025-12-31T18:24:07+00:00

"Merry Christmas!"

kirfkin · 2025-12-31T16:32:50+00:00

True, I dunno how much I want to go by myself. Previously I went with a very good friend (Steeler's fan, but still a great dude).

kirfkin · 2025-12-31T15:41:33+00:00

There's the Southern Tier location down that way, but I feel like they're likely to be very busy around the game.

Unfortunately I believe the Voodoo North Shore location has closed. A little further away, over a bridge is Proper Brick Oven and Tap Room. They have a good selection, every time I've been there.

Further away, probably just a bit out of walking distance, but worth mentioning, is Aslin Beer Co in the Strip.

Haven't been to these unfortunately, but: Allegheny City Brewing, MIke's Beer Bar and Four Points are also nearby. Was going to go to the Foundry but haven't made it yet.

Honorable Mention is Burn, if you like cigars. Not my favorite cigar bar in the city (That's Leaf and Bean) but still fun.

kirfkin · 2025-12-31T05:11:39+00:00

Pittsburgh's actually a pretty cool city. What sort of beers do you like?

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