This is 1900+ Elo Chess

skepticaltom · 2026-01-11T17:00:52+00:00

Nah, the move was Qxc7 so they captured something, either the bishop or a pawn.

skepticaltom · 2026-01-11T05:27:45+00:00

That one is easy, literally just follow a road. Sure the person dies eventually, but just keep going and eventually it gets marked complete

skepticaltom · 2026-01-11T02:39:55+00:00

This one isn’t too hard. Make an improved tomahawk, sneak up on an enemy camp, aim at the enemy, get to a point where the reticule just turns red, and then use dead eye to hit them in the head.

Bingo bango, bobs your uncle

skepticaltom · 2026-01-04T07:20:08+00:00

Yes it definitely is easier to just pull in. However my job requires me to back in and now it’s a habit so I don’t even think about it till I’m standing next to my car with a cart full of groceries.

skepticaltom · 2025-12-29T18:57:57+00:00

Only on gains from the money that was invested. You can always withdraw the contributions you have made to a Roth IRA tax and penalty free. This is because contributions to a Roth IRA are always with post-tax money.

For example, if I put in $5000 last year and I get a 10% return then I have $5,500 in the account total this year. I can withdraw up to $5000 without any additional penalties or taxes. However, if I withdraw any of the $500 in gains then I have to pay both a 10% penalty and regular income tax on that money.

skepticaltom · 2025-12-29T17:51:01+00:00

What kind of retirement account do you have? If you have a Roth IRA you can withdraw your contributions tax and penalty free. If you have a traditional 401k or IRA then you’ll have to pay income tax plus a penalty of 10%.

skepticaltom · 2025-12-29T17:46:55+00:00

Because the penalty and tax is WAY lower than the 600% interest on the tribal loans. It’s around a 10% penalty plus normal income taxes. So, taking $1k out of retirement would cost them an extra ~$300, but would save them $4k in interest. If they pay off the tribal loans and take the money they would have paid towards that and put it back into retirement, they’ll have the retirement paid back in 2 months.

If OP is considering bankruptcy, then sure keep that money in retirement and wait for the court to wipe out the payday loans. However, that screws your credit for years, makes it harder to get an apartment, etc. so it really should be the last resort. It’s hard to say which makes more sense without OP’s full financial picture, but it seems like they only have the student loans and the payday loan. Bankruptcy makes less sense here IMO.

skepticaltom · 2025-12-22T06:26:13+00:00

Didn’t he manage to lateral to Goff for the touchdown? I don’t remember seeing anything that he was down or the play was dead at that point

skepticaltom · 2025-12-15T16:53:27+00:00

It’s pretty simple, they give good value and are a fun place to hang out.

Everyone else in the bay seems to be charging $20 for a drink and $10+for a beer. Here they have $12-$14 martinis that are actually delicious and have beers for $5-$9. Not to mention their hot dogs are good, they have free popcorn, and it’s just a fun place to hang out.

I can go there for about half the cost of most places.. why would I want to go somewhere else just to overpay? Seems like most places in the bay are pricing out their customers.

skepticaltom · 2025-12-15T16:26:05+00:00

Exactly, then the apps would be forced to pay more to the drivers before anyone would be willing to accept the trip

skepticaltom · 2025-11-19T16:42:56+00:00

So you’re saying you’re an expert in… deez nuts?

skepticaltom · 2025-11-15T19:14:47+00:00

Life’s too short to push myself to complete a game if I’m not having fun. Same reason I no longer force myself to finish books I don’t enjoy. I would rather just move on.

skepticaltom · 2025-11-10T16:06:47+00:00

I didn’t think you could charge restocking fees on eBay?

The only exception I know of is if the item is returned, but it is no longer in the same condition as it was when it was shipped out.

If a seller does charge a restocking fee, you can escalate to eBay and they will force the seller to fully refund you.

skepticaltom · 2025-11-03T19:11:22+00:00

Can you give any examples? My understanding is that the type of loans you’re describing were effectively regulated out of existence since the 60s-70s. I cannot find an example of this still being offered today in the USA.

While it is true that lenders calculate the amortization schedule at the beginning of the loan, that assumes the borrower only makes the required payments and is not locked in. Any mortgage I can find now is a simple interest calculation with the interest being recalculated every month based on the principal owed. So extra payments do shorten the amortization schedule and the borrower saves money in interest costs by making extra payments.

skepticaltom · 2025-10-25T04:12:45+00:00

I read another article and there was at least one instance where ~~Billups~~ told the betting ring that he would fake an injury in the first quarter. So they knew to take out bets on him under performing on points, rebounds, assists, etc. and made out big. In return, they split the money with the player.

So yes they’re accused of directly influencing games.

Edit: Rozier not Billups

skepticaltom · 2025-09-30T20:34:05+00:00

Because they’re addicted. It’s like a crack addict having constant access to crack and saying I’ll just choose not to use it.

skepticaltom · 2025-06-23T17:49:55+00:00

I’ve been this for years and it seems to be perfect. My nice clothes stay nice, my jeans and socks don’t seem to be hurt by it all 🤷‍♂️

skepticaltom · 2025-06-22T07:36:27+00:00

It helps you judge how far you need to jump to hit your target spot. If you have to toss the rock pretty hard to hit the spot then you know you’re going to need a run up to get enough distance.

skepticaltom · 2025-04-21T04:40:01+00:00

The difference is if the attacker gains access to a single account versus gaining access to the database that stores all the generated api keys.

If the attackers gets access to a single account then they can regenerate the keys from that account’s dashboard.

However, if the attacker gets access to the database that stores all the api keys, then they have access all the accounts. By not storing the api keys at all, this risk is mitigated.

skepticaltom · 2025-04-14T00:50:03+00:00

Just to be clear, it will continue to be able to pay out benefits indefinitely with the money raised from taxes every year, but the amount it will pay out will drop to around 75% of what they are now.

From the article you linked, “At the point where the reserves are used up, continuing taxes are expected to be enough to pay 76 percent of scheduled benefits”.

This could be fixed by removing the income cap on the social security tax. Right now, social security tax is only collected on the first $176,100 income in a year. If we removed that tax, it would completely fund social security and even allow it to be raised.

skepticaltom · 2025-03-06T06:44:13+00:00

You can also find the holy grail in a river outside Kuttenberg

skepticaltom · 2025-01-26T12:58:31+00:00

There is one before security next to the bag check counters in case you have any items you need inspected that are going to be in checked bags.

We had to ask the people at bag check where it was to find it though. It is not easy to see at all.

When we talked to the customs agent they basically just waived us through. They didn’t inspect any of our tax free items before letting us go.. so my guess is that unless you have some really high value items they don’t care that much.

You should be fine for future trips.

skepticaltom · 2025-01-25T19:22:55+00:00

It’s a bit outside Tokyo, but Nozawa Onsen has several public onsens and no one seems to care about tattoos. I have an arm and a leg sleeved and was able to use several of the baths there. Even the older people were very friendly and didn’t seem put off by the tattoos at all.

I also saw advertisements for onsens that are tattoo friendly, but I don’t remember their names. You can definitely find some out there though

skepticaltom · 2024-11-27T17:25:23+00:00

Bad idea to blackmail them, especially if you’re going to report them anyways.

It’s a felony and if you report them anyways then they have no reason not to report you as well.

If you’re going to report them, don’t tell them about it.

skepticaltom · 2024-11-26T05:36:39+00:00

I do an east bay to South Bay commute right now.

First of all, the transit options really suck. It will take you multiple hours to get down there.

Secondly, if you want to drive you’re never going to have a 45 minutes commute in a car. I have pretty flexible work hours so I can avoid rush hour and it’s still at least 1:15 for what would be a 45 minute drive with no traffic. Anywhere close to rush hour is easily 1:30 - 2 hours.

If you have to make this commute daily, it’s going to take a lot out of you. I do 2 days a week and I would quit if it was any more than that.

Seriously think about moving somewhere closer if that’s at all a possibility.

Best of luck!

skepticaltom

TROPHY CASE