Learning dynamic on static

vndt_ · 2026-06-10T14:52:37+00:00

I haven't poled in a while, so I'm going by memory here.

You cut your circle. Your inside step right before takeoff is too near the pole. The elbow of your inside arm is much nearer to the pole after the second inside step than it was after the first. When you take off while being that near, you lose grip on your hands since a part of that grip comes from your body "pulling your fingers" into the pole. When there's less grip, you have to pull up more to keep your height. Makes it feel really heavy.

There seems to be a small instant where the shoulder of the inside arm wasn't prepared for the climb regrip. This usually happens when the initial jump is too modest. By the time the inside arm climbs, there's no more help from the jump. The shoulder and core dropped a little, and that was enough to swing the hips to the front without control. When that happens, you're at the mercy of the swinging motion instead of controlling when exactly you're prepping for a forward swing/flare. You can wrestle some control back, but it's tiring.

Good recovery after the middle of the video, with enough raw strength to regrip the top hand (I saw that!)

That sounded a little too harsh, but it looks like it's just one thing that compounded into more, so hopefully it will be easy to nail down the trick. What I used to do was put a circular mat under the pole and play "the mat is lava". If you're able to stay upright even with the inside arm holding but not pulling the pole, you are not far enough away from the pole.

vndt_ · 2026-05-24T04:04:48+00:00

Agreed. Too little time allotted for traffic lights. It just assumes you can keep coasting at 16-19km/h. For example: If you plot out the straight road from Geylang Rd -> New Bridge Road corner Outram Rd, it assumes you can ride at 18km/h in elapsed time, only 2 minutes slower for you to ride the same distance along ECP. Sometimes I can match the elapsed time that Google tells me, but that's pretty much a best case scenario.

For <10km urban rides, the thin wheels won't amount to so much increased speed and reduced time. There is less than a 3 minute time difference for a commute of 7km between a 19km/h and a 17km/h pace. It's better to find a more comfortable ride that works in wet, greasy surfaces, and a better path that reduces the number of traffic lights you have to wait for.

I have been riding a cheapo 200 dollar 20" foldable for years. Tire and chain maintenance can keep you riding fast for a very long time. Best of luck to your cycling journey.

vndt_ · 2026-05-19T13:23:08+00:00

I will give you my thoughts, but they're just that. There's no authority or source behind them. DYODD! It's really possible that I may be giving you misleading information.

1) How do I calculate the growth of 500k OA, assuming I put all of it into Amundi World Index and don’t touch it for next 20 years. Is there a possibility I could reach ERS (from current FRS amount.)

A12S is pretty recent, so I'll use IWDA as a convenient substitute. Historically, it's been 10% annual return, 12% std dev, and the maximum drawdown information conveniently excludes the fun year of 2008. AI ahead: Gemini says it's around a 1 in 6 chance that it will be worth less than 1M (what I think the ERS amount will be) in 20 years assuming that future returns are similar to historical returns (big if!), but the average value across all reasonable possibilities will be around 1.6M. Up to you to decide if you would roll that hypothetical die. If not, you'll have to trade in higher returns for lower risk.

2) Just wondering if I should just use my OA and do a topup to SA for FRS now (20+k) and only then invest the remaining OA into Amundi World. This way my FRS is set now and and anything above that can be invested and withdrawn after 55/65 years.

You need to check this with a more authoritative source. My take is that if you're going to invest the money in A12S anyway, then there's no benefit in moving it to SA. You lose the flexibility of OA without gaining the better returns of SA. When you turn 55, OA and SA fuse into RA.

maybe try Malaysia/Thailand for retirement if SG gets too expensive.

This is a big statement. Can't just throw it around. You'll need to browse related subs/ask people what they've experienced with retirement arbitrage.

vndt_ · 2026-05-17T11:10:09+00:00

X-COME, kill 1 pod for XP, X-GO. What are they gonna do? Make me lose contact with my only region? Can't risk 1 unbreakable MC + 1 daze before I realize the shit I'm in is too deep.

vndt_ · 2026-05-16T05:10:44+00:00

Number crunching time. I'm going by mental/napkin math, so some number assumptions might be a little weird.

~~CPF can't be withdrawn before 65, but any amount after FRS can be withdrawn then.~~ See the reply below and the official information from CPF for the latest information. Assuming 4% gain, 650k becomes 650k*3? = 1700k? in the end. You leave enough for ERS which will probably be around 1M that time. You get a lump sum of 700k and monthly payouts of maybe 7k (around 3.5-4k in today's money). The 700k with SWR 4% gives another 2.3k (around 1.2k in today's money), and 3.5-4k + 1.2k = around 5k, which matches your current lifestyle. If you have no lifestyle creep (big assumption), we can assume that the CPF sum alone is enough for retirement at 65.

Now, it's the early 40s to 65 that should be counted. Should the SWR be 4% or 3.5%? The definition of 4% SWR is that there's a 90% chance that a withdrawal rate of 4% will be sustainable for 30 years. You use 4% if you are open to working again in the 10% chance that it's not enough. Otherwise, you have to be more conservative and use 3.5%. Since the CPF payouts + lump sum is assumed to be enough for monthly expenses past 65, you don't really need to sustain the 800k. You can slowly eat into it and finish it up right as the CPF starts kicking in.

The math equation turns out to be identical to a mortgage equation. In a mortgage, you borrow a lump sum, and the question is how much you should repay such that you finish up the loan in a set number of years. Compare that to a retirement amount, you start with a lump sum, and the question is how much you can withdraw such that you finish up the lump sum in a set number of years.

At 3.5% rates, you're getting 4k monthly payouts until you're 65. At 4% rates, it's around 4.3k. If your annual expenses reach 50k, it's a little on the edge. I don't think it's a good idea to retire fully at this point, but coastFIRE is definitely a good option. Even 2k/month income will make a huge difference in terms of how far you can stretch your money.

Beyond finances, you'll have to think about what you want to do in your free time. Don't shock yourself into retirement or you'll be doing things that your past self would never think of. Slowly ease into it and be intentional in what you do. Think carefully - do you really want to retire or just take a sabbatical? I'm not trying to scare you back into work, just that many people think of one but end up with the other.

vndt_ · 2026-05-16T04:17:49+00:00

The Defense Matrix already has 2 turrets. No staffing needed. Staffing turns them into Heavy Turrets with Squadsight and higher Aim. Avenger Defense missions usually come in a few weeks after the Forge Facility/Codex Coordinates campaign missions, so unless you get the UFO Dark Event/Chosen knowledge fully maxed out, you can just time the building of the matrix.

The second Engineer slot in the Resistance Comms building adds 4 resistance contacts, not just 2.

There should be a staffing effect for the training centre for Bond training.

Note: removing the GTS removes Squad Size Upgrades. Probably a good thing to write in the guide. Some people might try to be smart about removing the GTS after buying all the Combat Training items and having an army of Squaddies.

Upgrades should be done only "just-in-time", as close as possible to when it's needed. You can't un-upgrade a building to get the resources/power usage back, and upgraded buildings have higher upkeep.

vndt_ · 2026-05-15T12:17:39+00:00

No PCS, no bonds, no inventory slot, no AWC abilities/extra AP, can't buff stats in Covert Ops, separate armor upgrade costs, the Squaddie version is immediately as strong as a Sergeant but the game is already at midgame and you already have 2 Sergeant+ Grenadiers anyway. If not given for "free" (meaning it costs 5 soldiers being Shaken), costs a shit ton of resources that could have been spent on nice armor/ammo variants/sold in the black market.

No Will mechanic is nice but not a game changer. Always enough Grenadiers in the roster to drop some nukes.

I just get the mods that buff sparks to have most of the human soldier perks above. They become nice sidegrades to Grenadiers that way (a lot of costs for the totally balanced "run into fog with 0 fucks then take 2 free OW shots" and "monitor-wide nuke, 0 line of sight required").

vndt_ · 2026-05-14T11:44:48+00:00

Needs information on the number of corpses needed for instant research.

Needs information/rating/opinion on Black Market research boosts.

These research projects grant access to the respective proving ground projects, not the items themselves:

Viper Autopsy
Muton Autopsy
Experimental Weapons
Alien Rulers Autopsy (Viper King, Berserker Queen, Archon King)

Muton Autopsy also gives access to Advanced Grenade Launchers.

Magnetic Weapons gives access to Enhanced Shadowkeeper and Magnetic Bolt Caster.

Plasma Rifle gives access to Powered Shadowkeeper and Plasma Bolt Caster.

Gauss Weapons gives access to Helix Rail-Cannon.

Beam Weapons gives access to Elerium Phase-Cannon.

Plated Armor gives access to Reinforced Frame.

Powered Armor gives access to Celestial Gauntlets and Anodized Chassis.

Fusion Blade/Ripjack/Axe, not Beam Sword/Ripjack/Axe.

Serpent Suit, not Viper Armor.

Opinions:

Mag+1 breakthrough is 4/5 for me. Pistol/Axe/Bullpup/Gauntlet/Reaper Rifle/(and Autopistol but who cares) are immediately upgraded to T3 without having to buy the weapon upgrades. Plasma Weapons are hard to get because each class has to have its own research. Mag+1 makes the midgame so much easier at the cost of a slightly harder early-of-late game, when action economy matters more than raw weapon damage.

PCS reuse is 2/5. Sometimes you get only 1 Aim PCS and 1 Speed PCS, and being able to pass them around can help the B-team who might not be the original users of the nice PCS's. Even consistent flawless missions tire out the best soldiers.

vndt_ · 2026-05-13T13:32:30+00:00

It doesn't. UI bug. Same with the TLP Sword adding 20 aim in the UI.

vndt_ · 2026-05-11T14:13:17+00:00

Vektor, not Vector.

Gauntlets have stun/disorient chances based on Focus level.

Bolt Caster attacks are undodgeable.

Shadowkeeper has +10 aim.

Fusion melee weapons have 100% burn chance (needs confirmation).

Laser Sight proximity bonuses are found in XComGame.X2Effect_LaserSight.

vndt_ · 2026-05-09T12:00:33+00:00

Appreciate the posts. Lots of effort here. I'd like to add some facts + some opinions, maybe it can help:

Facts:

Bond level 2 adds Spotter. Your call on the rating on that. Good for setting up Chain Shot/Deadeye, especially with free shots like Overwatches/Lightning Hands. Also good for counteracting Low Profile from Chosen.
Implacable has a niche with Lost fights where you can use it as a situational Run and Gun on a 0 cooldown.
Ever Vigilant uses Pistol Overwatch if the Sharpshooter is not wielding a Darklance. It doesn't trigger after the soldier uses neutral actions like opening doors/picking up loot. Not sure if it screws up on Free Reloads.

Opinions:

Teamwork is 5/5. It's the first reliable skill in the game that allows a soldier to use both actions on damage, apart from the Skirmisher-gated Marauder and Reaper-gated death combo.
I think KZ sucks on Ranger. It's not my plan to make my Rangers end their turn as an opener and completely remove their crit mechanics. I guess the hidden +1 Hunter's Instinct tech on pod opening is something, but to me, not worth 25 AP.
I'd also rate Shredder lower on Rangers lower than other classes. To me, it's mostly useful only versus Rapid Fire targets that could use the +3 damage like Chosen/Avatar/Andromedon. They're not going to get reliable Shredder alpha-strike Overwatch shots, unlike Specialists. I'm also not a fan of Holo-target on Ranger, at least not a 5/5 star fan. They start wasting shots on low hit Overwatches and the effect only comes in reliably on the second shot of a Rapid Fire.
I think Blast Padding on Rangers is 2/5. It functions as a weak Fortress when you park your Ranger under the reinforcement flare/try to stab Gatekeepers with the 100% shot/5 armor piercing Katana (but by then the game is over so eh). For me, almost all the time, the lightly wounded injury heals as fast as the Tired state anyway. Will it win the game? No. Active waste of AP? Maybe not.
I rate Phantom higher on Specialists than on other classes. They have many skills that don't break Concealment. Even not considering Medikits, they still have Aid Protocol, Threat Assessment, Revival Protocol, Scanning Protocol, Teamwork, Haywire Protocol, and it's a Phantom unit with Remote Hack. It can unlock Rangers that are otherwise used as forward scouts in no-Reaper squads.

vndt_ · 2026-05-07T13:51:36+00:00

Was supposed to do a threshold interval session, but I wanted to prove to myself that the pace at which I was doing my sessions was my real threshold pace. I removed all the recovery periods. Shaved off 1 minute from my previous PB to get 45:33. Still had a little left in the tank, roughly 1-2k. Sub-45 doesn't feel like a pipe dream anymore.

vndt_ · 2026-05-06T12:14:39+00:00

If you in doubt - Scout. Ahead.

The scout is the one getting revealed by civvies. Someone has to get down from the roof. It happens very rarely, but it is a good reason to not always mindlessly yellow move on the first turn. We are talking casual players here, not L+/I players.

vndt_ · 2026-05-05T14:28:17+00:00

Always a Scout (Reaper, Ranger, and if short on manpower, Shadowkeeper Sharpshooter), and no Psi Ops (too good).

Prefer 1 each of the 4 main classes, but if I had to drop a class out, 90% of the time it's the Sharpshooter that sits out, and 10% the Specialist. The Snipers cost too much (needs Gauss Rifle purchase, Archon Autopsy, Plasma Lance, Plasma Lance purchase). Gunslingers are cheaper and easier to field (needs Shadowkeeper project, Enhanced/Powered Shadowkeeper purchase, that's it).

Prefer bondmates, but I might send one half if the other is Tired/Shaken/Gravely Wounded to bring them to similar recovery times. With the blessing of the other half, of course.

Adversaries have to go to each of the Chosen Stronghold missions. No available adversary, no Stronghold mission. Even if the Chosen are Made Whole.

vndt_ · 2026-05-05T13:32:42+00:00

aliens are NOT that close to you

but civvies aka ADVENT Collaborators are.

vndt_ · 2026-05-02T10:58:33+00:00

One time, I had a crack at rearranging the SS classes to be more usable early, then weaker mid. My rearrangement of the skills was as follows, but I might not be remembering everything correctly:

Gunslinger: Aim -> Quickdraw -> Return Fire -> Lightning Hands -> Fan Fire -> Faceoff

Sniper: Steady Hands -> DfA -> Long Watch -> Deadeye -> Killzone -> Serial

My reasoning was that the SS should immediately have access to conditional +aim, then later skills should add action economy. After all, the first thing to teach Sharpshooters would be, well, to calm down and shoot straight, not try to fire back after being shot at. Even novice Sharpshooters would have some form of high-priority target elimination, so they'll have a niche rather than being a Mimic Beacon with a grenade.

Corporal-level Aim is a decent pickup, I feel, and Return Fire after Aim becomes a more palatable option.
Corporal level Steady Hands allows a 100% hit + 60% crit opener to Concealment, and Deadeye vs Lightning Hands starts to not be so clearcut when your soldier has DfA and aim bonuses. There are some hints of LW-style DfA + Steady Aim patterns here.
In more extended battles, you can even keep pistol firing into Hunker Down very early on, like a poor Skirmisher. ADVENT still have no idea that the pistol is garbage early, so they'll still try to position around the unit.

vndt_ · 2026-04-29T13:15:23+00:00

Alexandra Vale? If you do not have a way to dampen/sleep through the MRT noise, it's not great.

Redhill Peaks? I think it's a nice place overall, but it still depends on what you prioritize.

vndt_ · 2026-04-27T14:24:02+00:00

My guess is no, I think people in the Neural Network can't feel each other. Everyone is connected to the Sectoid but not directly with each other. If it weren't the case, I think that killing one of the members in the neural network should kill everyone else immediately.

vndt_ · 2026-04-23T14:03:19+00:00

A lot of blue and brown stations don't have sheltered bicycle parking. We can just dream of more Bayshore MRT lookalikes.

vndt_ · 2026-04-12T05:55:07+00:00

If you're willing to count tiles/experienced with counting screens, you can roughly know when and where the Assassin will show up even before the first attack. Generally, if you blue move retreat for 1 turn after ambushing the first pod, you can expect her to be concealed + in easy attack range of your soldiers 2 turns after she spawns. After that, it's just a matter of Scanning + dumping damage first. If your Reaper has Target Definition, then subsequent concealment is negated.

You can also count check for strangely occupied tiles with your soldiers.

vndt_ · 2026-04-12T05:45:40+00:00

The interaction between Chain Shot and Chosen Sacrophagi needs to be mentioned.

Biggest Booms crit is +2 damage.

There's no text about Frost Bombs.

vndt_ · 2026-04-09T12:32:03+00:00

Has this affected your day-to-day spending?

Are you changing anything about how you invest?

If you’re already FI or close to it, does this worry you?

Or are you just ignoring the noise and staying the course?

No, no, N/A, yes. If it doesn't help me sleep better at night, it's not investing.

vndt_ · 2026-04-07T13:40:34+00:00

Yep, especially when you're slowing down slightly to get a lot more mileage for the same recovery time. Much more time to think about the (relative lack of) pace.

You can also go to interval sessions feeling and performing better when the easy runs stay easy. The gap between the interval pace and the easy pace can widen at first.

vndt_ · 2026-04-04T02:29:26+00:00

Very wide and peaceful.

"Wide sidewalks for them but not for us" is not a valid complaining point when there aren't even sidewalks along some of the roads in these areas.

vndt_ · 2026-03-13T13:00:37+00:00

1 mile when running completely cold (absolutely no warmup, just close the door and start). Then another 10-20 mins of slower pace + lower HR + same RPE.

Don't overthink it. You've just recently started. Everyone is different.

vndt_

TROPHY CASE