Very helpful. Excellent methodology and presentation.
I was at this concert:
Info that allows me to break through any of the "brick walls" in my genealogy research.
I was a staff studio photographer doing jewelery work in the late 1980s. In NYC. If you are old enough to remember the Service Merchandise jewelery section, that was me. Lots of other upscale catalogs too. "Successful" in the business.
There were hundreds of people willing to do my job for free. Many were talented. So the pay was minimal. Tried other careers, landed in computer work in the early 90s. Got lucky with the rising tide. Rode it until now.
DO NOT REGRET. Photography is a lousy business. Now I own a house in the suburbs. Wife, kid, dog, car, 401k. Bills are on autopay.
I believe parts of Sicily have those characteristics.
My father always used to say:
"Last thing I remember, I was 18 years old, standing on a streetcorner with my friends. This morning I woke up with a wife, 3 kids and a mortgage."
- Dragonslayer
- Excalibur
- Time Bandits
...drilled over 4,000ft into the earth’s mantle...
No, they didn't.
You missed "become poor" and "have his family turn on him".
I only recently learned of this:
Time is the coin of your Life.
It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent.
Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.
And when you spend it, spend it wisely so that you get the most for your expenditure.
~Carl Sandburg
About names: My lastname was changed on my great grandfather in a unique way. My fullname (and my son's) is globally unique - and rather long. I had considered changing it, but I already have to sign a lot of name affidavits whenever a legal or financial issue comes up.
Thank you for seeing me. Some days, the worst is the feeling that all of the struggle is not only insignificant in the end, but also invisible. I think of all of the rest that are in situations like me and that I'll never know them.
Most of those are due to COVID. Not that he didn't make it all worse...
I'm doing the exact same.
Rough patch.
My wife is going through chemo for colon cancer. Prognosis looks good. But the treatment is hell. Halfway through next week.
Her aunt lives with us. She has Parkinsons. Starting to really slide. Needs bathroom help every 2 hours - 24x7x365. No one sleeps much here. She'll need to go into assisted living real soon now. Will she live longer than her money? Maybe.
My kid is 14. Good kid. Smart. Well-intentioned. But 14 is hard. And he's a total slacker.
My mom just had gallbladder surgery at 80. She's recovering well. But lives on her own and needs extra attention. We all worry she will need to go into assisted living, too. But she's mostly broke. Not good.
The place I work was bought out a few months ago. My job is likely safe through the end of the year. But after that... well, we all know how it usually goes. At least my wife's chemo will be covered until then.
I'm over 60 and overweight with HBP. No heart attack... yet. But that can't be too far off.
So... plenty of pressure all around. But I manage to keep to the Stoics' philosophy and accept the world as it is. Be patient and kind and let things happen as they happen. I keep trying to loose weight.
Either we get through this, or we don't. But I can easily accept that we all did our best.
I have an old-school D&D campaign planned out. 1st-level, rural town. Like a reverse scooby-doo - small trivial problems like lost livestock resolve to hint at deeper mystical evil. As they level up they'll find dark cults and demonic influences. The peaceful rustic countryside is far from what it seems.
But the players never get it together enough to set up a good date. The last campaign was fun, and they all said they wanted more. So I just keep writing more NPCs and extending the setting.
California law says genetic testing companies have to get your permission before they store, use or sell your DNA, but the state itself doesn't have to get your permission and has been storing DNA samples from every baby born there since the '80s. Lawmakers want to change that, but face an uphill ba...
California law says genetic testing companies have to get your permission before they store, use or sell your DNA, but the state itself doesn't have to get your permission and has been storing DNA samples from every baby born there since the '80s. Lawmakers want to change that, but face an uphill ba...
Mergers and acquisitions have created food oligopolies that are inefficient, barely regulated, unfair, and even dangerous.
Just heard the interview on NPR. Worth a read.
This kind of post seems like a good way for new folks to get acquainted and more settled in to Lemmy.
I'm old. 60 this year. My first game was in 1977. In high school, I was the DM for the D&D club - and ran all-night games for friends. Some are still very close. One of those is "F". His wife is "J". They have a 15yo daughter "S", and a 12yo son, "G". I have a 13 yo son, "M". My sister (50yo and a professional writer), is "E". That's 6 players.
Our last campaign had them defeat the King of Werewolves by freeing the Tarrasque from a city inspired by "Salt-in-Wounds". There was some direct divine intervention to increase the Epicality level. There were effectively no real rules, as no one was willing to learn any. Collaborative storytelling more than "a game". The real audience was the three kids, the adults are in for the storytelling and wacky fun.
We are just starting a new campaign based on the largest ruleset I could get them to agree to actually read and understand: 1976 OD&D (A bit of Chainmail, 3 books, plus Greyhawk). They are all starting at level 1.
- F: Human Fighter
- J: Halfling Thief
- E: Halfling Magic-User
- G: Human Magic-User
- M: Human Cleric
- S: Halfling Thief
And my son has recently persuaded the girl-next-door "C" (14) to join. She has never played before. Also a Halfling Thief. That's seven now, 4 are young teens.
They start in a mid-sized town of Halflings and Humans, surrounded by tame countryside. Backstories include family heritage, links to each other, and description of their motivations. "C" went in DEEP with a story about being exiled to this backwater land. They are looking to establish themselves as the local famous adventurers. They do not suspect that thier quiet breadbasket-of-the-empire shire has a hidden reserve of Dark Evil growing in hidden places.
I'm going with "The Hobbit" usage of thief: "Burglar wants a good job, plenty of Excitement and reasonable Reward". Clever adventurers with no great fighting skill and no magic. Robin Hood -style thievery. Sessions will be reverse Scooby-Do; A simple mundane problem slowly turns into a Dark Magic Mystery that is resolved to leave only more questions. Puzzles, traps, jump scares, mysterious and misleading NPCs, and mild combat for pacing.
House rules:
- RULE ZERO: Have fun. If you're not enjoying the game, speak up.
- Rule of Cool: This is a fantasy game - make it fantastic!
- Rule of Respect: Respect the game and the players. Don't be disruptive. Know the important rules. Pay attention. Read the table.
- All character alignments are GOOD. "Chaotic" is only relative: I do not want antisocial behavior. Disrespect for unjust and unneeded laws is one thing, stabbing your buddy in the back is RIGHT OUT!
- Your hit points are MAX for the first die. For many of the monsters, too.
- Know your to-hit roll, or you MISS. Know your damage roll, or it's ZERO. Know your spell requirements, or it FAILS. Know your hide-in-shadows roll, or it FAILS. Track your remaining HP. Keep count of your inventory. Get it?
- We will not use experience points. Characters will level up for major milestones. In particular, when the entire party works together in a cooperative way to overcome a serious challenge. (In effect, we will play at level 1 until it's not as much fun, then "graduate".)
- Zero HP = Down and Unconscious and Dying. The injured will lose 1 HP per round until -9, then DIE. Immediate application of first aid will hold the victim at death's door until a more permanent solution is applied.
- Combat order & Initiative = Dexterity order. (Highest DEX characters act first.)
Magic
- Level 1 Clerics have spells like Level 2 Clerics in the rules book. Other shifts to smooth out the table. M has the details.
- Level 1 Magic-Users have spells like Level 2 Magic-Users in the rules book. All levels are similarly shifted. In other words, delete the top row and shift the table up.
- First level characters ("Mediums") have TWO first level spells per day. 2nd level M-Us (called "Seers") have three first-level spells and one 2nd level spell per day.
- A "spell slot" is a spell memorized at the beginning of the day. Be sure to mark your memorized spell on your sheet. A memorized spell can be cast without the spell book and without delay. Non-memorized spells need to be read from the book. It takes one round to open the book to the correct spell, and another to read it. One spell slot for first level.
- All spells for the level are available. Number able to cast per day rises with level. Yes, you need a spell book. Yes, material components, too.
- Scrolls are single-use. And most will have a title on the top. (Sometimes it is a lie.)
- A drop of potion will determine its function. However, poison takes effect with just that drop. You get a saving throw.
What do you all think?