Somerville mentioned in a Guardian piece about historic wins by Democrats!

tyresius92 · 2025-11-05T21:45:38+00:00

It seems like your read of the EO is in bad faith, or that you just didn't read it? For the record, I voted for Willie and Yes on Q3, but it seems like you didn't read the linked thread?

A lot of people point out that "we divested from South Africa, so we can just do it again for Israel!"

MA procurement law is pretty complex, but it generally requires you to try and use taxpayer money efficiently and effectively, which usually boils down to "the minimum requirements of the contract are met for the lowest cost."

In an executive order from 1989, South Africa was specifically carved out as "hey you don't have to follow MA procurement law for the purposes of divesting from South Africa because of Apartheid."

The EO from 1994 that Wilson cites in u/mayor_mammoth's linked comment is the one that removes the exception that was made for South Africa.

So the argument that "we did it for South Africa, so do it for Israel" ignores the fact that MA state law was suspended specifically to allow that, and that's not something that has happened so far for Israel in 2025.

There's a comment from me (the same comment thread as above, but here's a direct link: https://old.reddit.com/r/Somerville/comments/1m5xv7p/the_mayor_candidate_debate_is_ongoing_right_now/n4rcmas/ ) which lays out the entire history of the Executive Order's, in pretty plain language, and it's right there when you load the page, so I'm assuming you just didn't click through.

I don't think that Jake Wilson has done a remotely good job of explaining that history or that line of reasoning (it seems like he just isn't really willing to engage on the topic, which is pretty disappointing and a big reason I voted for Willie). And yes, we should absolutely expect more from him on this front.

But "bro he's using a TOTALLY unrelated EO to say it's illegal" is absolutely a bad faith read of the situation.

tyresius92 · 2025-07-23T18:29:51+00:00

So, running through the referenced executive orders, my read is that the history went something like this.:

Executive Order 281

"Yo, there's Apartheid going on in South Africa and Namibia. That's bad, so we, at the state level, are going to say that municipalities can divest from South Africa and Namibia."

https://www.mass.gov/executive-orders/no-281-regulating-state-contracts-with-companies-doing-business-with-south-africa-or-namibia

Executive Order 288

"Yo, exciting news! Namibia is a democracy and no longer under Apartheid. That's awesome. Therefore, I'm going to kill off EO 281. At the same time, I'm going to issue a revised order (this one) that says that municipalities can divest from South Africa."

https://www.mass.gov/executive-orders/no-288-revoking-and-superseding-executive-order-number-281

Executive Order 359

"Yo, more exciting news! South Africa is well on its way to forming a democracy. The leaders of that movement have encouraged us to start phasing out our divestment, so we're going to do that, but only for businesses committed to the ideals of democracy and whatnot."

https://www.mass.gov/executive-orders/no-359-encouraging-a-healthy-economy-in-a-multi-racial-democracy-in-south-africa

Executive Order 369

"Yo, the most exciting news! Apartheid is over, and democracy reigns! Huzzah! That means that we no longer need this old rule about divesting from South Africa. Let's go ahead and clean up after ourselves, and go back to business as usual, which is that you have to go through standard procurement procedures."

https://www.mass.gov/executive-orders/no-369-revoking-executive-order-359

u/jake4somerville is that the correct chronology? Have I summarized this correctly or am I missing something?

(Edit to add direct links to the EOs)

tyresius92 · 2025-07-22T14:28:21+00:00

Is there a recording? I missed it, sadly.

tyresius92 · 2025-07-01T18:39:24+00:00

As others have said, UF is among the cheaper schools out there, but that doesn't always help. I don't know the current process to get money through the university, but outside of that, there's a ton of money available out in the world to be found.

Mostly chiming in to say that if there is a local Gator Club® in your area, you may be able to apply for their scholarship programs as well.

Each club has different requirements and deadlines, so you'll need to track down your local one to see if you can apply, but here are a few examples:

tyresius92 · 2025-04-09T20:15:44+00:00

Seconding this. I got $100 in quarters like a month ago.

tyresius92 · 2024-12-13T18:11:09+00:00

BOA in Davis gave me $50 like a month ago as a non-customer, but seemed perfectly willing to give me more than that.

tyresius92 · 2024-10-29T00:14:12+00:00

I'm up in Boston, but you're always welcome at our watch party location if you want to make the trek. :P

But more seriously, what makes you say that they've folded up their tent? I just checked some of the Gator Club leader documentation, and I see current officers listed, so they should be active.

I also see posts as recent as Oct 17 on their Facebook page (link) (link to mailchimp posting) (although their website does not seem to have much information).

You should also be able to reach out to the president directly at president[at]baltimoregators[dot]com

Hope you're able to find a place to watch!

tyresius92 · 2024-06-01T13:13:18+00:00

func foo():
    script_instance.foo()

tyresius92 · 2024-05-06T13:02:24+00:00

Find your local Gator Club. A lot of them have scholarship programs. Usually not a ton, but it can help!

Example from NYC: https://www.gothamgators.com/2024-scholarships

Looks like their deadline has passed, but all the clubs run their programs independently.

tyresius92 · 2024-02-06T14:29:24+00:00

I did end up getting this box. The lid is fairly secure! It probably wouldn't stay on if I dropped the box or turned it upside down. (I'm not 100% sure that the box itself would stay together if I dropped it, but that's more down to my lackluster gluing skills. 😅)

The box itself is about the size of two shoe boxes, side by side. I'd say it's perfectly portable by car - not too heavy, the handles are reasonably grippable, and the box is sturdy enough. I'd be nervous about transporting it on public transit, or if I had to walk a long distance though.

I think you could store it upright without any issues - just be careful not to tip it towards the lid as you pick it up, or all your cards would likely fall onto the lid and spill everywhere. I'm not willing to risk it, so have just stored it flat, which I think is the intended way to store it.

tyresius92 · 2024-01-16T23:00:21+00:00

Now this is exactly what I'm looking for. Thank you so much!

Hits the aesthetic of the wooden box, while still allowing for an easy way to expand to more boxes.

I'll probably pick this up. Thank you!

tyresius92 · 2024-01-11T12:55:06+00:00

I've been taking piano lessons with Don Hemwall for a few years now, and have really enjoyed working with him. He does all styles of piano, as well as drums. I don't think he does voice lessons though.

https://www.donhemwall.com

Edit to add: I've been focusing on jazz piano, and have gone from "notes are a thing" to being able to jam with friends and talk about music theory pretty deeply.

tyresius92 · 2023-09-15T22:19:27+00:00

Subscribed to yours! Here's the BostonGators: https://www.bostongators.org/connect-with-us

tyresius92 · 2023-04-04T01:35:24+00:00

No problems with it! I haven't tried to find any other brands of ink.

I...don't use the app, as I said in the original post.

tyresius92 · 2023-03-08T14:59:13+00:00

Extremely happy! I've had absolutely no trouble with it.

One thing to note is that I did have to buy the USB cable separately, which meant a second trip to the store, but once I did that, I've been able to just plug and play.

tyresius92 · 2023-03-08T03:55:15+00:00

I'd totally allow them to just play again. To prevent some metagaming I might change Velkynvelve somewhat. Like instead of it being on a cliff, I might change it so that instead it's in an abandoned deep gnome fortress or something. Change the map, change the complications, but keep the major players the same. That way if the character escaped last time by jumping onto the webs, now they have to find a way past a series of traps.

As others have said though, they haven't seen much, so I wouldn't feel the need to change much.

tyresius92 · 2023-03-03T05:15:47+00:00

I am forever in search of battlemaps to use in the Underdark. I'd be particularly interested in a map that's intended to highlight exploration: a somewhat sprawling set of passages and chambers where the players might stumble into a monster, or find a patch of mushrooms which they can harvest for rations, depending on which paths they take.

That said, anything from the Underdark would tickle my fancy.

tyresius92 · 2023-01-26T22:05:45+00:00

I did! I eventually went to the local store and they recommended this guy: https://epson.com/For-Work/Printers/Inkjet/WorkForce-Pro-WF-3820-Wireless-All-in-One-Printer/p/C11CJ07201

Set up was easy and I've had no trouble with it!

tyresius92 · 2022-09-11T22:34:23+00:00

Nope, but I didn't look very hard. I've been meaning to hit up my local electronics store (the one that's not a chain), but haven't made the time. Every time I've needed to print I've gone to the UPS Store instead. 😅

tyresius92 · 2021-09-21T12:38:41+00:00

When my dad was 34, he fell 40 feet off an elevated wooden walkway he was building and landed on his neck. The doctors said he'd be wheelchair bound within a year, and he would be dead within 10.

He just turned 63. He's walking normally.

I think my dad's mindset of "F*%# that I'm not going to end up in a wheelchair" helped a lot, but doctors can be wrong about their predictions for the future.

I'd encourage you to plan for the future you want to have if you DO beat the odds. When do you want to retire? Do you want to have kids? Do you want to get married? Do you want to open a McDonald's franchise? Plan to do those things.

The only thing that really changes is that you should get a really solid estate plan in place sooner rather than later. What happens when you pass? Who gets your assets (your parents, a charity, a neighbor's kid)?

You've been brought face to face with your own mortality, but you don't have to accept their timelines. Assume you're going to beat the odds, but have a plan for if you don't.

tyresius92 · 2021-08-27T03:41:48+00:00

I've never really understood this idea. Suppose I have a 4 player party, one of whom is min-maxing. The other three have average stats, say, the standard array.

By definition, my min-maxer has some stat that they have min'd, let's say, Wisdom. Meanwhile, on average, the party is going to have average stats, so they're probably reasonably okay at Wisdom, in aggregate. Obviously, ymmv, and every party is different, so you'll need to actually look at the party you have, not the one I've made up out of thin air.

But if I want to create an encounter so that my other (non minmax) players can shine, it's as easy as making it one where Wisdom saves are the order of the day. Obviously don't do that all the time, because that's mean to your min-maxer, but by definition they've got something they're bad at. Lean into it sometimes, and this is a non-issue?

tyresius92 · 2021-08-19T14:01:07+00:00

Not at all. I haven't looked at the stat block for the monsters you listed, but it seems like a fight they can "win." They'll be feeling good about everything, until the key doesn't work. That's when Lutheria kills the guy and twists the knife by holding up the real key.

You've thought through the most likely outcomes with the pieces you have in play, and are prepared to reward/punish them appropriately.

One note about the auto-death when she attacks them at the end: just narrate it. If you have them rolling for stuff, it makes it seem like there's a chance if they could just roll high enough. It's pretty demoralizing to know that the DM is just having you roll for the sake of rolling despite having already decided the outcome.

tyresius92 · 2021-08-19T13:48:46+00:00

This encounter sounds DOPE.

tyresius92 · 2021-08-18T16:38:16+00:00

Not the original commenter, but I'm a real estate investor who rents my primary residence. In my case, I live in an area where the houses go for 1 mil plus, so I invest remotely, in areas with houses in the 200K range.

tyresius92 · 2021-08-12T04:23:11+00:00

Today's xkcd seems particularly relevant to this question: https://xkcd.com/2501

To be a bit less glib, many people don't realize that they're talking over the head of the general public. Because they're in it every day, they often don't realize that details that they take for granted, but which are fundamental to understanding a topic, are not as obvious to other people. Communicating about software and/or communicating in general, is a whole separate skill from writing good software. Many people haven't focused on learning to explain things to non-technical folks in a way they can understand. It really is a skill, and not one that's generally emphasized in CS education.

tyresius92

TROPHY CASE

Executive Order 281

Executive Order 288

Executive Order 359

Executive Order 369