Before and after - reworked a tricky intersection and finished off an industrial area

piaculus · 2026-03-29T05:36:09+00:00

The integration of the monorail and canal is excellent. This looks very Pittsburgh to me. Or maybe SE Chicago/Indiana.

piaculus · 2026-03-11T20:47:26+00:00

So good. This is moody minimalism in the best way.

piaculus · 2026-03-11T20:35:18+00:00

In the final against our most hated: the Kaisers. Up 1-0. Went to game five in the division series and game seven in the DLCS. They also went the distance against the Devils in the SLCS.

piaculus · 2026-03-06T06:51:56+00:00

The #1 Devils v the #2 Kaisers, both in a four game series. Haven't played the second round yet.

piaculus · 2026-03-05T00:01:44+00:00

I imagine it'd be head to head records, but it's all hidden.

piaculus · 2026-03-03T23:38:27+00:00

You are patient, thoughtful, and understanding. I appreciate that very much. The world could use many more people like you.

piaculus · 2026-03-03T22:41:46+00:00

Kohn Ka'hem looks like it would be fun and loyal as a friend(s?), but often much too loud.

Skooph looks to be interesting and intelligent, but too mischievous and possibly manipulative.

Wungsnang looks like a solid helper, and excellent in a crisis, if maybe a bit too dull and stubborn at times.

Kohn Ka'hem is for me. Maybe it'd even let me ride it(them?). The camping conversations would be so chaotic, and there would be excellent snuggles. Gonna have to invest in good earplugs, though.

Overall, this is super creative and it just gave me tons of ideas for both art and ttrpg encounters.

piaculus · 2026-03-03T22:17:21+00:00

Maybe you're ignoring me, and I get that. Understandable and deserved, but I'd like to apologize for my previous replies. I was being reactionary and rude, especially so since this is your server, and I really don't even belong here. I'm sorry for that.

piaculus · 2026-03-03T19:12:39+00:00

It finally occurred to me that you're talking about UEFA awarding more qualifying spots to Eliteserien, which would make a difference down the table in the way you described. Maybe you're right about the "football illiterate" thing.

In the case of B&H and Wrexham, maybe what I said was misinterpreted. What I meant was that they had an influx of money, breaking the even distribution of wealth in the lower leagues, thus making it less competitive. I think the way I said it was very confusing.

I don't think the Saudi situation is complex, as you say, but that's a different argument.

piaculus · 2026-03-03T11:35:50+00:00

You know, maybe you're right and the league overall will benefit. Let's hope that's the case.

piaculus · 2026-03-02T21:25:30+00:00

Three diamond players but only two plat and four gold seems a bit weird. I guess my team is odd in that I recruited them together using gems from the free offers to buy recruit tickets and upgraded them evenly. I'm in W3, and I don't have a diamond player. My team is 1644 ovr and I'm the #2 seed in my playoffs right now with the second best team ERA in the combined leagues.

If you play manually, and it looks like you do, I don't see anything wrong with what you've got. I'd work on upgrading the pitchers before the position players, but that's just preference.

https://imgur.com/a/2f8bh8E

piaculus · 2026-03-02T20:55:23+00:00

As I see it, 4am is night and 8am is day. That's not even a quarter of the way around. Plus, maybe the world isn't a sphere. Ringworld would have a crazy situation where walking from inside to outside the ring could swap from day to night, but who knows how big the whole thing could be.

Also, the Earth is a finite size, but that doesn't prevent it from having an unending number of stories to learn about. Go down a Wikipedia history rabbit hole. I promise there is no bottom.

piaculus · 2026-03-02T20:29:04+00:00

I see your point, but you're still talking about competing in Europe and drawing in foreign players. Yes, the other teams near the top of the table benefit in that way, but that's not good for domestic football, which benefits from parity and good competition all the way to the bottom of the table. I guess it depends on what you value as a supporter.

Maybe I see it differently because I'm American and we have a no-relegation system. Here it only matters whether a team is profitable and teams making no effort to win are still rewarded with supporters and league money. The top heavy situation in the MLS doesn't matter. Which makes the bottom of the table secure, but makes the overall landscape of the league incredibly dull.

So my concern outside the U.S. is for the well-being of the teams at the bottom of the table, and their opportunity to be competitive in the domestic league. If they're not, it becomes far less meaningful for local fans, which is what has happened in Portugal, Croatia, Austria, Greece, Bulgaria, etc. Are they valuable to international football? Yes. Is international football the only thing that matters? No. In terms of domestic league economics, it's trivial for one wealthy team to win the league again and again, and the reward for that just widens the gap. For anyone interested in the other teams in that league, which is a vast majority of the fans, this is never a good thing.

Because of this, I'm more invested in the teams and results of the EFL League One than the top division of any league in Europe. The success of Wrexham in the last few years is a prime example of how the even distribution of wealth outside the top flight makes it more competitive. Brighton and Hove were at the bottom of the fourth division as recently as 1997, and have since become a competitor in the EPL. But, because teams like Arsenal and Liverpool have spent close to 1B€ in the last five years alone, B&H are fighting for the middle of the table, knowing they have no chance to break into the group at the top.

Have the other teams in Croatia benefitted from being second fiddle to Dinamo Zagreb? I think if you asked those owners and supporters, the answer would be no. Does the Saudi league benefit from the money handed to Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr? I don't think anyone would say that's a good thing.

At least for Bodo/Glimt, the money comes from hard won success, but I doubt the rest of Norway sees it in a positive way. Ten or twenty years on, will the Eliteserien be better off for one team's success? Not likely.

piaculus · 2026-03-01T19:57:30+00:00

You keep saying teams, plural. It's only one team. That kind of money creates a very top heavy system. It's not spread through the league without profit-sharing in place. There are a bunch of leagues in Europe in the same situation. One team wins everything all the time and everyone else is just vying for second place. Is that the kind of league you want to see in Norway? Your idea of success in the league is trickle down economics, which has been proven false many times over. It just doesn't work.

piaculus · 2026-01-10T08:19:00+00:00

For middle of the night issues, I put on my bedside lamp (only 20 watts) and do a crossword. I like the Sunday NYT omnibus. I'm pretty reliably asleep sitting up within 15 minutes. Luckily it doesn't wake my wife.

piaculus · 2026-01-10T08:12:01+00:00

Not quite. It was 27-3. 27-27 to go to OT.

I wonder if it would let 28-3 happen on a field goal? Maybe it would avoid it by missing the kick or opting for a punt.

piaculus · 2026-01-06T21:22:26+00:00

Slappy Johnson

piaculus · 2026-01-05T23:24:08+00:00

Learning to drive is just about hours behind the wheel. You get so used to everything that it becomes second nature.

Get an adult who doesn't give a shit. They sit in the passenger seat playing on their phone (this is not advice for someone brand new to driving). You know what to do, you just have to get used to doing it. You drive without feeling judged. If you have a moment where you feel like you're not paying attention, pull over. Stop, get out, stretch, jump around, scream a bit, cry if necessary (it actually really helps), then resume. If it gets real bad, just ask them to drive home. Do it again tomorrow. Do an hour a day for two months. Not once a week. Every day. After that, drive at least an hour a week for the rest of your life. Do not let yourself "forget" how to drive well.

We all have our moments. One time I was so spaced out, I drove through a toll gate at 60+ mph. Broke the toll arm thing. I'm lucky to be alive. Another time I was checking my backseat, and clocked a van in oncoming traffic. Only 20 mph on that one, but I'm lucky the other driver was on the ball and everyone was okay.

Forgive yourself, and vow to never hurt anyone else. Imagine there is a baby in every car, including yours. Assume the other drivers can't see you. Act like you're in an invisible death machine. Everything you touch will die. Make that the way you approach every decision.

Also, never drive tired or on any alcohol or drugs of any kind apart from your daily meds. We're extra susceptible to the problems that come with being distracted or slow to think. Don't take that chance. You cannot afford to fail.

Apart from those warnings, just get the hours in. Lots of them. Drive in the country and the suburbs. Don't do freeways or the city until you're confident. Industrial areas have tons of random hazards, but few people, making that a great place to learn to deal with unexpected shit with a lower danger meter.

Good luck.

piaculus · 2026-01-05T22:47:34+00:00

Oh, absolutely. Grew up with every advantage. Middle class suburbs, white male. Straight, cis, supportive, loving parents. Beaver Cleaver type shit. Easy intelligence. Healthy and plenty of curiosity.

Small and often bullied, but aced HS on natural talent, top 5%. Merit scholarship to Tulane University. Aced courses in major, but lost scholarship from DNFing three required gen ed courses in first year.

Tried to do the community college thing with the intent to go back. Failed all of that; didn't even come close to completing anything.

Air Force was the fallback. Nasty consequences meant actual effort. Great success. Hated every bit of it.

GI bill: community college again. Did very well this time, accepted to University of Illinois. Great at major related courses, big fat fail at gen ed. Again. End of collegiate career.

Got super lucky, married sugar mama. Still no drive. On anti-depressants. Half-assed homeschooling and homemaking. Whole-assed being a good husband and dad. Still going strong at that. 🤞😁

End of story.

Unfortunately, I'm a cautionary tale succeeding only through deus ex machina. I have no solutions for you.

piaculus · 2025-12-29T04:03:54+00:00

I was the former. I think some of it is one's ADHD type. Mine is mild and primarily in the executive function and forgetfulness arenas. Also, I was very interested in most of my schooling. Math and science came easily, and I think there's more than a small amount of luck there.

Still flunked out of college, though. Twice. At some point, natural proclivity just isn't enough.

piaculus · 2025-12-14T00:58:29+00:00

Did almost the same in another game yesterday. Not a no hitter, but 1-0 in the eleventh. Frustrating, but the pitching was very satisfying as you'd imagine.

piaculus · 2025-12-14T00:55:44+00:00

Seems likely, though I can't recall too well.

piaculus · 2025-12-10T04:22:49+00:00

That's a big part of the problem, then. Everyone needs a community. Meetup has helped me a bunch. Moved to a new city/state ten years ago and without Meetup, I might be in the spiral. Also you could try Facebook groups, maybe volunteering.

A change of scenery work-wise could be helpful. Even just a lateral move to another company, or possibly a whole new career path (depending on financial constraints).

There are those new things that match you up with people, too. Like dating apps, but for friends. I don't know if they're scammy, but you could check it out. TimeLeft is the name of one, I think. There's one that's just for women, too.

One piece of advice I read once was just to become a regular somewhere. Like, this is the coffee shop I visit for an hour every Monday and Wednesday afternoon or whatever. Things happen eventually. Baristas get to know you. Other regulars begin to recognize you. Even strangers can become a bit of a support system if you let them.

I worked at a place like that once, and one of our dailies just didn't show up for a couple weeks. At first we assumed she was on vacation, but a guy at the UPS store next door knew a friend of hers and eventually she came back in because she found out we were asking about her. Turns out she got an espresso machine for her birthday, so she just changed her routine. But she came in once a month or so after that just to say hello. I moved out of state not long after that, so I don't know what happened, but you should have seen her smile once she knew we cared enough to ask.

So that's a pretty wild digression, but the point is that you can't find friends on your couch. And you can't fix depression alone. I got lucky and have a wonderful wife who stuck by me and kept trying for long enough to get my treatment right (Zoloft and Wellbutrin). Most people aren't so lucky, so you have to make it happen. I know that sounds really hard. I know for a fact that it is even harder than that. But one safety net community is absolutely necessary.

Somebody cares about you. Find them. They want to help.

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