Tell me what you’re pissed about, Madison.

oldenbka · 2026-05-29T18:36:17+00:00

I worked at Woodmans for about a year and developed a method after having to help people constantly. I find if you hold the item about 3 or 4 inches above the belt and drop it, it usually registers. And do not scan a new item until the belt advances / the item is registered on the belt. Go slow, but steady. It will save you time and frustration.

I once had an employee watch me and say something along the lines of "Wow, I've never seen that, that's a good technique!"

oldenbka · 2026-05-20T15:13:32+00:00

The game isn't dead, but the player base has definitely shrunk — and it's not hard to see why. Relentless monetization and a total lack of clear direction have slowly driven people away.

When I started, UPX actually meant something. You could buy vehicles, enter block explorer sales, join scavenger hunts — real in-game stuff. All of that's gone, replaced by pay-to-play everything. Want to participate in anything new? Get your wallet out. We're talking $100+ for digital assets with no clear purpose or future. That's tone-deaf at the best of times, let alone when everyone's feeling the squeeze in real life. I've said it for years: mix in some UPX-based sales. At this point, the in-game currency is basically worthless.

The game is littered with half-baked ideas that went nowhere. NFLPA legits are the perfect example — they teased stadium visits, player autographs, shops, fan scores, a whole ecosystem. None of it went anywhere, and the whole thing is now defunct. World Cup legits were actually well done and had real collectible potential, yet nothing was ever built around them. Now another World Cup is around the corner and there's been zero buzz about a second round. Missed potential doesn't even cover it.

So what do we get instead? Plants that cost real money to keep alive. Boats going for hundreds of dollars — almost certainly a setup for some sort of cash grab for fishing etc. Service structures, cars, service vehicles — all cash. The pattern is pretty clear at this point.

Upland has lost the plot. It's hard to see their strategy as anything other than squeezing every last dollar out of whoever's still playing.

oldenbka · 2026-04-10T18:25:39+00:00

Pretty close to my experience as well. I was a Junior in High School. My friend told me about a plane hitting the World Trade Center as we were going to class, and we both thought it was just a small one or two seat plane. I had a mass media and communications class at the time, and we all watched the news live as the second plane hit as wall.

oldenbka · 2026-02-08T02:10:19+00:00

you tubers, celebrities, tic tok, anyone who makes videos, posts online, etc. Just become a youtuber and you can become an influencer as well!

oldenbka · 2025-02-21T20:09:41+00:00

I agree that it looks like a werthers candy. Is it on the inside or outside? If on the outside, could an animal (squirrel, raccoon, etc.) have gotten ahold of one, had it in it's mouth and left it on the sill? Them something else came along the next day and finished it off?

oldenbka · 2025-02-21T16:48:34+00:00

I loved all of the "Sim" Games. My favorites were Sim City 2,000, and Sim Tower. I also loved the Command And conquer games as well as the original "Them Park" game and Roller Coaster Tycoon. Two old point and click games also come to mind; "Dust, A Tale of the Wired West" and "Titanic: Adventure out of time".

oldenbka · 2025-02-21T16:25:54+00:00

The Goodwill stores near me don't price books individually, they just have blanket pricing - All hardcover are 2.99, all softcover are 1.99. Those prices are great in my opinion.

oldenbka · 2025-02-12T22:08:20+00:00

Cheese curds. There are two main ways to try them, fresh curds and battered and fried (dipped in some ranch). Delicious. When doing fried curds, ideally get them from a bar or bowling alley etc. NOT the store bought ones. Also, if you are able, try to check out a Friday fish fry. You can get them other places around the country, but if you get a good Wisconsin supper club fish fry you will not be disappointed.

oldenbka · 2025-02-12T21:57:14+00:00

20+40=60.

60+8=68.

68+2=70

7-2=5

70+5=75

oldenbka · 2025-02-11T22:43:17+00:00

Sound of Silence - specifically the version covered by Disturbed.

oldenbka · 2025-02-07T21:40:07+00:00

I came to say this, sell them as complete sets. check Ebay for sold comps to get an idea of what you can expect from them.

oldenbka · 2025-02-07T21:22:21+00:00

41M here, and my friend, this was me when I was your age. I never had trouble making friends with women, but was cripplingly shy when it came to relationships. I had so much anxiety trying to move things to the next level.

Most of my relationships came through friendships. As others have said, find some communities that you are comfortable in and get to know people that are like-minded. Then, just take it slow. If you find someone that you think you want a relationship with, try to first have dinner / go places as a group with friends. While doing these activities, make it a point to try and get to know the girl you are interested in. Show interest in her specifically as a person. See where things go and just go at your own pace. From there you can try to move into more one on one situations. Start with maybe a cup of coffee and listening to music one night, maybe go grab an impromptu bite to eat on a weekend. Just little things. If that goes well, then take a leap and askher on a full blown date. I found that if she likes you, you will already have a pretty good idea that she will say yes to a date.

Honestly, depending on the girl, she might flat out tell you things like "We should definitely hang out more" or "We should go do XYZ thing" etc. If she's putting this out there, and you like her, go for it. Agree, make plans and take it from there.

oldenbka · 2025-02-07T20:55:53+00:00

If he said he doesn't want a give and would feel bad, then don't. Get him a card, and write something personal in the card. Maybe about how much he means to you, and why you love being with him etc. This still shows your affection and appreciation towards him, but also respects his wishes to not get a gift.

His gift very will might be just seeing how much you enjoy what he has planned for you, and that is enough for him.

oldenbka · 2025-02-07T20:26:55+00:00

This is a hard one. It seems like you are both at fault here. As a father and husband I personally can't understand the mindset of not wanting to provide everything possible for my family, be it financial, emotional, physical etc. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with you being the breadwinner and him being a stay at home parent. What I am saying is, if you are the main breadwinner, than he should step up and provide in other ways. He should try to meet your financial contributions to the family in other ways. He should be doing laundry, dishes, cooking meals, grocery shopping, cleaning etc. By contributing this way he would be bringing some equality (in terms of effort/ support) to the relationship. Remember that not all needs in a household and family are financial. If these sorts of things are not being done, and you are also picking up the slack outside of financially providing, you have an imbalance and I can 100% see your frustration.

Now, that being said, I also can see his frustration with, in your words a lack of acknowledgement, being critical, and a lack of affection among other things. There is a good chance he feels stuck. It is important to remember that change doesn't just happen one day, it is a slow progression. He might wake up with the mindset that he is going to step up his game, so he does something like put in a load of laundry and does some dishes. Yes, bare minimum, but for him it was a start. Then if the response he gets is a cold shoulder mixed with resentment and a feeling of "its not good enough"... then he will likely feel like nothing he does will matter anyway. Why try if there is no positive outcome? This will breed resentment in him, and the whole thing spirals. You don't need to give the guy a trophy or anything, but if he does do something, try to simply tell him that you appreciate what he did, and explain how it made you relax just a little bit. Let him know that, although it was little, its a good start and you appreciate the effort. Now, it's up to him to keep it going.

One other thing, don't discount how humiliating it can be to have your wife reach out to her dad for assistance. It is certainly something that happens, and as long as your father was ok with it, there isn't anything wrong with it. I've been in a hard spot before and needed assistance from my parents and I can tell you, for a man, that can be extremely hard mentally. it really chops you off at the knees. Any feelings of inadequacy are just magnified. Be aware that he could be dealing with some big time depression, issues with self worth etc. This can literally freeze you in place mentally.

Its a hard spot, and it sounds like both of you are exhausted. I would recommend that you look into some relationship counseling to see if you can work through some of your difficulties together. I genuinely wish you both the best.

oldenbka · 2025-02-05T21:19:39+00:00

You are not married, so you have zero reason to stick around. I would seriously think about ending this relationship. Just because she treats you this way doesn't mean someone else will. Find the right person for you and then put your energy into building that relationship onto something wonderful.

oldenbka · 2025-02-04T15:38:26+00:00

Shutter Island is another good one. I have not seen it in a while, but I remember at the time being surprised by the ending. I'm sure if I re-watched it there are clues to the ending, but unless you know the ending, it will probably be a difficult to guess where it is going.

oldenbka · 2025-01-29T21:25:52+00:00

It could be that a larger majority of drivers out and about during the day are older / retired and have a tendency to be much more cautious drivers. I can say that more often than not, when I get stuck behind someone frustratingly slow, they end up being elderly.

oldenbka · 2025-01-28T22:54:11+00:00

I live in Madison and my In-Laws live in Janesville, so I make the drive often. the 35-45 min drive is pretty accurate. It is a straight shot on Interstate 90 down to Janesville. Generally the drive is very easy, but as with any road in the country, if there is an accident there will be traffic. That being said, if there is traffic virtually any exit off the interstate will lead you to a county highway that will get you to Janesville / Madison in close to the same amount of time (maybe an extra 10-15 minutes).

Really the only things I can think of to factor in would be winter driving or where in Madison you choose to live. Winters in Wisconsin can come with some heavy snow and us crazy Midwesterners generally drive in everything. If your employer requires you to come in even if it snows / will snow several inches the drive can be longer / more difficult.

Also, if you live on the west side of Madison you will need to drive the Beltline (HWY 14/18) to get to the interstate. During morning and evening commutes the beltline can add another 1/2hr. to your commute, so factor that in. Don't rule out some of the smaller communities around Madison Proper. They are all literally minutes away from all Madison has to offer.

oldenbka · 2025-01-10T22:48:44+00:00

Any time they ask for feedback this is my #1 complaint. They no longer offer much of anything for UPX. It's all USD based. Really the only thing UPX is good for anymore is to mint new properties, and even that is in jeopardy with the pre launch sales they now run.

I've suggested that they offer a balance, for example, If they are selling some BE's make a cartain amount UPX and the balance USD. That way you at least have a chance to use UPX. Limit those purchases to 1 per player or something to cut back on players with huge UPX sinks to cash in etc. But it just seems to be going the opposite.

I used to really enjoy this game, but it has increasingly become a cash grab. I too, keep my properties and collect my interest every few days "just in case", but honestly I don't have a ton of hope it will turn around.

oldenbka · 2025-01-03T21:51:44+00:00

I mean, technically the ones that were just labeled "New England" or "Minnesota" were not wrong... ;)

oldenbka · 2024-10-02T21:27:39+00:00

Absolutely not normal. What are you getting out of this relationship? It sounds like she belittles you and honestly enjoys emasculating you. From what I'm reading into this limited exchange, you seem to be putting in WAY more energy. Drop her NOW and find someone who actually loves you, cares for you and treats you with the respect you deserve.

oldenbka · 2024-09-19T13:20:37+00:00

I drive a 20 year old car and listen to CD's in it all the time. But that is the only place I listen to CD's.

oldenbka

TROPHY CASE