VigoTheCarpathian

CHUD vs Ghoulie

Right…but then you don’t have a talent pool of people who have a foundation in the basics needed to do higher level skills required to direct AI to do the correct things, or even to QA their output. It’s going to be an interesting blend as companies fuck up their hiring mix and suddenly don’t have a coherent line of succession for critical functions…or let AI be the base-level information for bad decisions - there’ll be no guy to fire if the books get fucked up.

They won’t let you do Rainier solo without an essay/application and approval on your mountaineering experience (otherwise my buddy would have done it without me - he just didn’t want to deal with the paperwork, and it’s not like we’re paying for certificates or classes to guarantee we could solo as an option) - we are planning on a one day ascent. Did Shasta 4 years ago and that was a 16 hour day (including a brief nap and gear repack and going back to the car) - I vastly prefer alpine-style climbing, and not lugging a bunch of equipment to spend a night of crappy sleep at altitude. Would love to do Whitney (not the permit/switchback route), we’ve talked about it…don’t you have to backpack like 60 miles in from the east?

Many many years ago, (after seeing Berserk), I convinced myself that the only acceptable screen version of WoT would be an anime series. If they added in more detail/less story truncation, I could see that being a good avenue to finish the story (or just retell it better in a different medium). The Witcher standalones and “War of the Rohirrim” were both pretty “mid”, as the kids say but comparable in story quality to the live action shows - honestly though Rohirrim was a head about whatever the hell they are doing with RoP (YMMV). I could see someone like judkins who has a strong vision for the show making a very good version in animated form.

Due to a lot of family issues, I haven’t been able to prep for or summit any mountains in the last several years - would make plans but then would be unable to make them…last year, started training for a triathlon as a way to be at peak cardio, for late summer climb of Mt. Rainier - I did the triathlon but no mountain. My training buddy and I both were staying with our training regimen and talking about a longer race (half iron man), I am a little skeptical about committing to it - family life is still unpredictable. However, we both had today off, and decided to take a run at Mt. Hood- set off this morning at 1am, started at 2a, reached the summit by 7a, and were back by 10:30a. There were maybe about 200 other people trying for it today, and was a little crowded I going through a technical area near the top, and there were 30mph winds, and not ideal visibility…but I really enjoyed the whole thing, I missed the challenge and fear and prep and learning new skills. Fitness tracker said 8 hours, 5545 elevation gain, 4086 kcal burned - long day!

I believe in Amazon. If I know anything about corporations like it, they will pioneer some kind of AI-written IP-dollar maximizing fever dream of a fanfic show that will continue WoT, but as a fourth to nth season of RoP. Possibilities abound - Loial falling out of the waygate directly into Moria? A Ringwraith unhoods its face revealing Lanfear? Siuan Sanche and Moiraine revealed as the two Blue Wizards that end up teaching Gandalf to love ? Perrin and Beorn furry slashfic? I would watch all of this before I did another run at RoP.

“If you want your students to not even qualify as an entry level finance interns, ditch this nonsense and teach PowerPivot and DAX”

I’m sorely disappointed that in this talk of Lucas’ vision and themes, and rankings of SW content, there has been no obligatory mention of the crown jewel of the IP - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Holiday_Special. If I have to walk around this planet remembering randomly that canonically, Chewbacca has a son named Lumpy and a dad named Itchy (and thinking “Hm, is it supposed to be Lumpbacca? Itchbacca?”) you all have to, as well.

“Hammers can be a useful tool, BUT not on your own dick”

Any betting sites taking odds that Trump got the “You guys should own Canada” thought directly from Putin, when he was trying to explain his stance on Ukraine to the feeble-minded twat?

This is just a mid tier Steve Earle song that most people have never heard of - “desperate” would have been any song by Rage Against the Machine or “Fight for Your Right” by the beastie boys, or any number of Vietnam-movie touchstones like Jimi's “All along the watchtower” or CCRs “Fortunate Son”- the real basic stuff. I would have loved to see Cassian in a darkened room snorting powder to CCKMP, or “Down in the Hole.” That’d be an interesting story twist.

I reached out and got a therapist appointment in a week (@Toth, can you not just walk into an office instead of needing privacy to write a letter?). My life has been chaotic since June - my mother had a psychiatric episode (first ever) during a family vacation, 1000 miles from home. We got her safely back home to S Oregon, and she was in the hospital for two weeks…diagnosed with catatonia and discharged with some psychiatric meds, and I got her and my father (who is mentally sound but has physical challenges from a stroke - she has been his caregiver for 10 years, he also is kind of helpless without her) into assisted living, spending 3 weeks in my old house, caregiving dad - my brother who lives in the same town did fuck-all to help connect them with healthcare resources (which to be fair aren’t great in the area). After 2 months, her mental status degraded and she was up all hours of the night, wandering into rooms and having delusions that there were bombs planted in their rooms. A family friend came to see them and promptly took her to a hospital 90 minutes away with a neurologist and psychiatrist on staff. They diagnosed her with frontotemporal dementia and recommended memory care. After staying away from my family for a week with her, multiple trips, sorting it out I found her a facility near me (300 miles from their home) with an open bed, and came back to prepare everything (switch health plans, sign paperwork, etc). After I left, their hospital had no PT staffing and she sat in a hospital bed immobile for two weeks - when I came to pick her up, she was not able to ambulate or get assisted into a car…they called me an hour before I arrived to tell me this. We had to pay out of pocket for a long distance gurney transport, and finally got her to memory care. After 2 months in memory care (with many medication adjustments and PT starting after a month of waiting for her new health plans), and moving my father up into an adjacent facility, she still has not gotten to a place where she can stand unassisted - and she is 290 lbs, with varying levels of cognition. Two weeks ago, memory care (very expensive) requested a care conference, and said they recommended finding a different care setting for her - they do not have the staffing to assist her safely to get out of bed to use the toilet or wheelchair. So she has had to be in bed again, with some help from her PT to be as mobile as she can without getting out of it. She’s been rejected from two different types of facilities due to her weight and mobility, and we had a third assess her today - I am praying they accept her and we can tour it this week as they have a care staff that can use lifts and hopefully heal her get back to mobile, as well as having a place for my dad. I’m mentally exhausted from being the parents for my parents, at 44 - paying their bills, arranging for their living situation, having to sell my childhood home in the upcoming months. A lot of resentment for my only brother, who’s not been helpful or engaged. I’m the manager of a team of 5 (who have been wonderful through this) and sole provider for my wife and 10 and 13 yo daughters, who have also been so supportive- my in-laws have been amazing, with great advice and logistical help. But what really got me to go to therapy again is got second-hand news that an old drinking buddy passed away yesterday. I used to make art zines and smoke and get falling down drunk with the guy, and now he’s gone. I stopped drinking 6 years ago, and I could not have handled the world I am in now if I was still who I was back then, while he kept on the same path. Realizing I was jealous of the dead and their lack of heartache and responsibility is what got me to make that call.

If you do not already have one (based on past posts, it seems like you do not have someone like this you can confide in) - take your holiday time and go find a therapist - the loneliness on top of the issues you have expressed are not intractable or unsolvable, but I believe you might need some outside perspective and human/humane discussion about them, and you will always have someone to talk to.

Made broccoli cheddar soup with crusty French bread. https://www.shugarysweets.com/wprm_print/copycat-panera-broccoli-cheese-soup The recipe needed a little tweaking (cook the onion till it caramelizes a bit, you need to make a roux by adding and cooking the flour into to the veg before the liquids, it needs garlic powder and a little bit of thyme/oregano to round out the flavor), with those additions it was great…kids ate all of the leftovers for breakfast instead of my proffered homemade breakfast burritos.

5lb prime rib - just salted and will do the rosemary/garlic rub in the morning, cooking by reverse sear (and warming up an herbed turkey breast for my non-mammal eating relatives) - making a horseradish sauce and gravy for the Turkey. Baked and prepped a gingerbread yule roll with chocolate and candied orange peel and orange zest/mascarpone/cream frosting. Homemade mac and cheese, and green bean casserole - relatives are bringing salad and rolls.