Best posts made by mietze

@Derp seconding this! Especially if it is a large company! Even for my peon job I have, it took 3 weeks after the interview to get the offer, because the hr/recruiter person was out on unexpected illness. (The decision for hire ahd all interviewing was local and they submitted it like within hours of my interview). I'd already started more interviews elsewhere and had written it off but the local manager called me at the 2 week mark and asked me to please hold on if I was still interested. He was breaking policy to do so but unbeknownst to me he was moving and on his way out so he didn't give a crap and wanted me to be there because I was a great fit for the branch, and he was right!)

Some companies are def better than others when it comes to hiring process! From interview to actual first day of work for me was 6 weeks because of more out of state back and forth background check and other internal stuff waiting on HR! So I wouldn't put yourself out after 1 week esp during flu season. Will keep my fingers crossed.

@derp I've seen it around here at the kind of diner-type places. Though my favorite thing kinda like that isn't a waffle per se but takayi stuffed with ice cream instead of red bean paste. You CAN buy those in a lot of asian supermarkets but the fresh ones are amazing (and we have several food trucks in my area that do all kinds of taiyaki from the traditional, to more savory sandwich type of things to the ice cream ones.

No such thing as a fish - Funny Trivia podcast, with 3 panelists giving 3 facts of the week, with everyone weighing in with related ones.

True crime bullshit (may be too graphic) - True crime podcast centered around serial killer Israel Keyes, lots of interviews with people related to the case, research, and FBI interview tapes.

Let's talk about sects - Isn't updated as often but if you like culty stuff, the podcaster does an in depth summary/explanation (along with many times snippets of interviews from various people involved) of cults from around the world, concentrating on 1 per episode

In addition to many already named.

Helps to define your terms a bit.

What do you mean by balance?

What do you want/what are you comfortable with as a gamerunner?

How much conflict resolution do you want to deal with intra- and inter-sphere?

I'm not putting together a WoD game but I am slowly putting together one that has multiple layers of shared experience (having to really think about people in the same scene experiencing the world around then in vastly different ways, and how you tie that together both in scene running and code. Totally separate scene/cut off from each other? Trying to do a mixed company scene? It can get complicated fast). It also has a lot of factions and themes that could very quickly turn into pvp.

My solution is to remove some archetypes/groups from play thar rely heavily on cracking down on the types of pcs that I want to center stories on (limiting spheres in wod terms). I also decided on number of pc caps, alt limits, and focusing on highly personalized storytelling (narrowing the scope and focus a lot more than is feasible for an open invite mush imo). So the balancing of storytelling and attention is very much on an individual level.

Trying to incorporate a different experience of reality between pcs in the same scene/combat has been the sticking point and while I think we have a good idea of how to solve it until we have a chance to test in active rp vs just regular testing it won't really be known.

But anyway. The decisions I'm making revolve around what I have time for, what I have mental energy for as a storyteller/game runner, and the ooc environment i want to encourage. I anticipate the scope and other things may broaden over time and interest of the players s but maybe not if the group is having fun where it is at. I do not have the capacity for high need outliers though, I know that for sure.

Everyone is different though. I feel that focusing on what I thought was realistic for me to have fun and enjoy things was a better basis for deliberate and honest game decisions than a more vague or aspirational approach; some people will be the opposite.

The flu going around here (that did not make it into the flu shot this year) has some very nasty secondary stuff that I am still recovering from, including pericarditis. I did not ger pneumonia this time but I know of a ton of people that did, as well as reactive airways even in people who usually don't get that.

So definitely worth getting checked out if you are still very ill weeks later, or if you get better for a little while and then get hit with fever again. I know a lot of people who got strep immediately afterwards too, often with atypical symptoms. I know it's a big expensive deal to go to the doctor but honestly this season's illness i would.

Or you will see them (most of my PCs are built around social) but they will be often be relegated to spectator only status unless they choose to make their own stuff or are willing to oocly do a lot of asking/muscling in. I don't think most people, especially those without a great deal of social capital (I consider myself has having had a lot of this on most of the games I've played the last few years--I tend to stay around awhile, in general I am well liked/thought of fondly, in general I have a good rep for sharing and interacting beyond just good friends, contributing OOCly, ect), relish the thought of that kind of uphill IC /and/ OOC battle for relevancy.

It is a hard thing to do sometimes, even if you do have the advantage listed above.

Werewolf in particular--I mean, yes, it's pack focused, but I'm starting to feel like it's also pretty staff intensive. If you're not a warrior, but instead are more dealing with spirit negotiation, or diplomacy, or other things--how often is that available to do off the cuff? Mediums often faced this too from a M/M+ standpoint. Even with the open STs, a lot of people are intimidated by ephemerals/ghosts/spirits, it's another level of complexity that a lot of people don't want to take on unless they're into it also.

Do I like that sort of shit? Yes. But I do totally understand and acknowledge that a lot of people don't want to deal with it. I think that's why you don't see too many people moving in those directions. They're too dependent on a minority category of RP that can often intimidate STs.

When I was a kid, my church culture taught that using tampons would turn you into a slut, because once you started putting things other than your husband's penis into your vaginal canal, you would not be satisfied with his penis and would continue to voraciously experiment and be ruined for marriage.

It is sad really. These are also the people who teach their young men and boys that they are all uncontrollable rapists who need to be protected by women and girls and even babies always wearing the proper clothing that does not draw any attention to their crotch. (Like pants do.)

There are so many really sick and ignorant fucks out there.

But yeah, in certain religious circles tampons are seen as virginity stealers or the gateway to whoredom so....not super surprised at idiots not wanting to fund women's "luxury items" that they might even believe are more pleasurable than their penis. (And they might even be right on that account).

I think it is also possible to narrow the scope of an L&L setting so that it doesn't focus on nobility (though they could be part of the setting, and be done in ways that clearly are not m/f biological heir dynasties). Guilds struggling for power/influence (also involving some nepotism, either adopted, romantic, or biological), ect. It may mean the people who MUST have a royal/noble title vs the titles associated within the guild may not have interest, but it also eliminates people who will focus on that and have to be explained over and over again that the setting isn't the one they are familiar with in movies/storybook lore, and that might be worthwhile if you do not want to have to do a lot of pruning all the time.

I did run an online TTesque but using a mush server Fading Suns campaign that had no nobility at all but focused on competition and onesupmanship with a few guilds, on a frontier type of planet. It was super fun (I made the nobility into obstacles to be dodged or overcome), but again, I know that if I were to do a FS games without nobility I would have to do a LOT of handholding/pruning/dealing with people loudly complaining on ooc for awhile (or here).

Beyond beef is really good, especially in tacos and shepherd's pie. I'm not usually a fan of meat "replacements" vs vegan or vegetarian things that I like for themselves (I love garden burger style patties esp the black eyed peas ones, there is a local restaurant that makes hazelnut based patties for sandwiches that are amazing and I can't eat anything else there because that is what I start craving just seeing the restaurant they're that good!), but this is actually really really good if you can get over how creepy it is they can get the texture just right. (I enjoy veggie patties partially because I LIKE the different texture too).

My whole family devoured everything, and not just because 3 of them are teen boys.

Only drawback is that it is expensive as grass finished beef you buy in the store. (Which I am used to now that we are in the dregs of the quarter steer purchased last year, and have to wait until our farmer is ready to sell again).

It's broader than a statement made by one person though. There are many times that I have seen people shot down on games for making ugh another <something> why don't people made something else that we don't have any of? When in fact to do so means that those folks are cut off from a lot of play/focus currently unless they "make their own fun." That is a fun challenge to some, but very intimidating to others. And thus my original statement that diversity is okay/desirably if it makes you feel good (and it does to many of us), but usually there is a reason for the imbalance that should be looked at. Maybe it's not a big deal (and then who cares if a sphere is mostly X for awhile) but if it is, the reasons should be assessed/dealt with as well as a cap.

I don't really worry about them getting it since my dad is a major germphobe, which is good since barring his insistence, were they to become infected my mom would not really voluntarily adhere to any kind of quarantine or restrictions on going out and about of her own accord. I'm pretty sure he has them on modified lockdown rn.

I do have concerns on how a major outbreak would be handled here, nevertheless. I've finally seen some really good preparation guides and suggestions FINALLY coming out across a wide variety of sources, though plenty of snake oil (Here, INGEST this essential oil blend and it will totally prevent you from getting the virus from Chinese people!) and hastily rebranded backpackers "emergency food" supplies that claim to feed 5 people (but when you look at the calories it's a starvation diet, and people don't store the water needed for rehydration either).

However, I'm happy to report that after a high school in our district (not my big kids' school though) was closed for 2 days due to a staff member being in quarantine due to their family member's potential illness, my teenagers now have developed a much healthier appreciation for handwashing and hand sanitizer and cleaning off surfaces.

And I worry more about my 5 year old, who ends up in the ER around 2 times a year because of asthma attacks related to upper respiratory infections, this last one happened a couple of months ago and we barely squeaked by avoiding hospitalization. The fact that this virus also attacks the lower respiratory system is bad news for him and me (I too have very severe lung reactions to URIs) I have 64 hours of paid sick time (and I only am contracted to work 20 hours a week) so I could absorb most of a quarantine without too much of a financial burden and to protect the 5 year old if need be, which is a lot more than a lot of people here in the US have.

CyberpunkRED is something I really like and have been working with others to modify (significantly in some spots, not so much in others) to use the world and some of the systems (obviously not at all perfectly) on ares.

I dont think that would work on a very large hands off game with broad scope. But for smaller scale and narrower focus at least from trying to set up storytelling tools it has been not as bad as I thought. But we haven't yet tested it with a group yet.

I too love shadowrun for many reasons (including meeting my hubby of 21 years on Shadowrun Seattle MUX), but I wanted to use ares tools and a simplified system and I could not even wrap my head around it.

My big kids' former elementary school is now shutting down after a very active parent volunteer is now hospitalized and tested positive for the virus, they volunteered at several large events last week and in classrooms on monday.

It is truly devastating to me because this particular school is the hub school where all the medically fragile kids are sent for the district because they have the proper care facilities and 2 full time nurses. When I served in the PTA there it was not unusual for about 1 child from the school to pass away about every/every other year due to complications from their disabilities or other issues, or to be seriously hospitalized.

That school is closing, all students that were in the classes where the volunteer was were isolated on arrival and sent home...

It's just really sad. Yeah wont make a difference to most kids, but if there are kids that it might--a lot of our most vulnerable kids go to that school.

So yep, I think the "hey dont worry, only the elderly and frail will die" feels like a real gut punch today.

Can you explain why it is imperative to have everyone have access to every scene? I'm not sure i understand. Or I don't relate to the idea that one should never have scenes that have a specific focus that includes every type of pc.

Ideally for some scenes it would be nice to have the opportunity for a balanced group be more successful, and ST can certainly nudge things that way...but a lot of the time the problems arise not with the code or system but with other players not wanting to give and take. Which can also be managed by the ST but its not very much fun to do so in the moment. I do find that largely people (aside from the person that wanted to do everything/control everything) are pretty grateful when the ST asserts some action control (hey bob, you can't do x, you, and z. Pick one action and pose appropriately. Hey bob, I asked earlier thar you limit yourself to reasonable actions so that others can participate. Pick one thing, the next time I have to stop the scene you will need to leave. Byeeeeeee bob!). In my experience as a ST there are players of social PCs that will attempt to dominate a scene just as much as combat pcs have the reputation for.

I think the more that you give and protect player opportunities to use the abilities of their pcs the more relaxed they get about when an individual scene might have less for them to do than they hoped, because they can trust that another time they might have more focus.

But a lot of that is setting game culture rather than relying on code or system to solve problems. I do think that if it's possible perhaps narrowing focus is also not a bad thing. I don't have an issue with extreme narrowing (all courtier or none), but setting and clear guidelines for what kinds of characters you will accept can help. Maybe all fighties must have experience supporting political delegations/missions, or courtiers are going somewhere with a reputation for needing some degree of self-defense, and do not approve fish out of water pcs for the specific setting and scope.

I guess this is a taste of what people actually need to do during outbreaks of potentially serious illness, like in the days before vaccines. You'd think that the anti vax people would be actually paying attention (so that they can make plans for their family if we see further outbreaks from those diseases in the future too), and I hope some are. But the ones in my life are busy putting out posts about what blend of essential oils kill this bug (and cancer and everything else) as well as happy thoughts being the best preventative.

I am shocked that none of them are having covid-19 parties yet but knowing some of my relatives I am sure that's coming!

@greenflashlight there are 2 at the preschool i work at. Also a Henrietta/Hattie, a Mabel, a Rosemary, and a Eunice.

Also a friend of mine who was a mom friend when my big kids were little named her two girls Kimberly and Jennifer (they're 20 and 18 now) because she wanted their names to be unique in their age group and she was absolutely right!!

I think there is sometimes a difference in demeanor/complaint volume between staying at home partners and working outside of the home partners. It's not necessarily due to parenting styles, though it can be.

I wrecked my original response to this by putting it in the wrong thread, but in essence...even though the inmates were largely the same, I had different complaints/exasperation levels as a corrections officer when I was with them for 10 hours during the day shift, vs 4 on the floor and the rest on nighttime lockdown for overnight shift. Even though disciplinary procedures and expectations were identical. And the inmates reacted way more positively to the night time staff vs. daytime because of it too--I rarely had to put an individual in lockdown or dock them points or whatever on night shift, but had to all the time during the day. They listened to and liked me better on nighttime. The routine was different, the level of annoyance of me having to deal with them and them dealing with me was different, ect.

Old fashioned girls and boys names seem to be extremely popular right now. I have a Basil in my class and there's a Edgar and a Dennis in the school as well. I'm very charmed by Basil both my little guy and the name though.

I would like things to change.

But I actually do not think this is bad enough to force something like what had to be done post-Depression. People are not desperate enough.

Could it get that way, of course. We have been through worse in history and will be again, and we have yet to solve problems that would help avoid some of the huge disparities and just in general willingness to actually give a shit about other people on a meaningful scale.

I do think this will hasten dismantling of regular jobs for gig work, automation and outsourcing at a much faster rate than it would have happened otherwise. Maybe we will see a slight increase in people believing in vaccines again, and perhaps a willingness to look (feebly) at healthcare delivery in the US.

Despite many warm and fuzzy stories, when I look at how people are actually processing and responding to this in my community though I do not see improvement, only continued focus on what's in it for me/screw you.

I worry about the mental health collapse of our front line workers in 12-18 months. It is documented in other crisis situations and we will be facing it simultaneously worldwide. I do not think that most communities in the US will have the patience or will to sustain them, if we look at how our government supported and cared for a relatively small group of people (compared to this) who were the first responders on 9/11. Have we really gotten /less/ selfish as a society since then?

I want change, but I also have a very small idea of the cost, and if this shitshow (that we are lucky that the virus is not as bad as it could have been)is any indication of how much it sucked to live through a more deadly epidemic like the bubonic plague or Kansas Flu, then the revolution is going to suck hard for a hell of a lot more people than the rich. I think people gloss over the suffering that happens and how many people never see the results that they fight for, especially in the US where we whitewash and romanticize everything.

I hope this wakes people up, but I will be honest, what I am seeing doesn't give me hope.

Does not mean I will not keep contributing and fighting. But I just do not think this situation is going to be the tool for change in the direction that some of my optimistic friends seem to think that it is.

@greenflashlight I don't think that there's really anyone counterarguing anything. Certainly my posts were not, nor were they corrective. I think honestly that you can kind of tell the base age range of the PLAYERS of a "modern, non fantasy/historical game" by the names they choose, but I think that's WHY you see so many "old fashioned" names because people sometimes utilize web searches and the like. (Also why some of the names that people choosing names outside of their cultural experience and so rely on translation sites can sometimes be unintentionally amusing).

I have found your responses after to be a bit weird/hostile, but as you have now said you interpreted everyone as arguing or correcting you, I guess that's more understandable. And for the record, I don't see anything that you need to apologize for either. It's something you see as weird/unrealistic. Other people might agree or not. It's okay for them, and you. And sometimes you'll make a joke that falls flat or people don't get. That's okay as well? It happens.