Because it's so popular (and needed) I submit this thread.

Wife away. Bought myself a great looking pizza and about to settle in with GofT marathon, then bloody pizza slips as I take it out of oven and splats all over the floor....!!!!!

Sandwich it is then... :(

Damn it to the Nine Hells! I hate it when that happens! :(

A $200 faucet. My nail gun. The paint I used in the bathroom. A million other things I need to finish repairs on the house but are on a truck in another state because someone thought they should pack my tools away for the move. Now... The grout float I need to finish the bathroom remodel.

More time and money wasted running to the store for replacements!

In reply to Evil Empryss (msg # 4):

This sounds like our place, but we have been here 25 years and seem more behind than when we started.

In reply to Evil Empryss (msg # 4):

Never, ever, let anyone else touch your tools!

I know, right?  They weren't supposed to: I had a big box with all my supplies in it and told everyone not to touch it. So of course as soon as the truck pulled away I realized it was missing. Normally my stuff is spread out in half a dozen rooms but I tried to be neat and organized.

I think it confused them. :-(

Got one similar. Never ever let the neighbors borrow something. Had one where I use to live growing up always borrowing stuff.....never ever returning anything. Worst when we were gone they broke into our place. Finally they messed up which is how we found out it was them. The Cops matched the prints immediately.

Also never let people borrow books. I've done this one a few times over the years and sadly too many never got return. From a friend borrowing one when they went to juvie(I didn't know about rule you can't bring the book out if you take in) to friends borrowing for babysitting jobs. Lost a lot sadly of my Dragonlance Collection this way.

I mean somethings okay sure. Food:Yeah, no problem. Always. Nothing else.

I disagree, Lady Voldia. Don't loan out anything if you can't afford to lose it or if you haven't got the guts to take it back. And if someone wants to borrow  something as a replacement, first thing to ask is "What happened to yours?" It's a pretty good indicator of how your stuff will end up.

Whenever a friend tells me about how they've loaned out something and it was never returned -even if I've foolishly lost something- I almost always say it was from a failure to abide by the rules.

In reply to Lady Voldia (msg # 8):

I did this once, fellow lived on a boat - he left to the Bahama's and I never got the book back. It was a first edition to :(

Even with no ill intent by the other party, anything you lend out is best thought of as "a gift that maybe will come back some day, in damaged form."

In reply to Lady Voldia (msg # 8):

As has been alluded to: Any tool or book "loaned out" should be considered "a gift" . . . because there's a 90% chance that you will never, ever, see it again.

Once they have it long enough, they will honestly believe it "theirs," never remembering that they originally "borrowed" the thing.

Scary but true. Make em sign a legal form! Or pony up the collateral! I do that with games all the time.

I once bought a pizza from walmart. Said cook on the rack, no sheet needed.

The stove stunk till the day I left my wife. We tried oven cleaner scrapping everything. But the Appling pizza disintegrated in the oven!

I put up a shoe rack two hours ago. As soon as I hopped in bed, I heard it come crashing down. I put the shoes and the rack in a heap. I'll try it again in the morning.

Shoes: 1
Eggy: 0

Use screws to hold the rack up, failing that, nails, super glue, and lots of anger.

In reply to ShadoPrism (msg # 15):

Or just toss them in the dark recesses of the wardrobe and forget about them... :)

On top of everything else going on in the last few months... Today the starter on my car died. It's an easy fix, but it's one more thing I have to try to get done.

Turns out that I really need two racks. Maybe three. First rack collapsed under the weight of my many, many boots.

Duct Tape. The BBC's "Red Green" would recommend Duct Tape.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the user at 19:40, Mon 28 July 2014.

CBC's ;)  The Brits already have all the good shows, they can't steal Red Green too.
This message was last edited by the user at 19:46, Mon 28 July 2014.

I just want to play my M&M character in one game. But she's now been bounced across four games that never went anywhere, and its starting to feel like I put all this effort to go above and beyond for my players, but I can never find a GM who'll stick around. And I don't know if it would be selfish to ask one of my players to make a game, or even if I could settle for a solo game

Bins have not been collected AGAIN. This has been going on since Christmas (we moved in during Feb). They only get emptied when the whole block of flats phones up three times and the guys who collect the recycling complain that it's getting obscene.

They're not small bins either. We've got three of those commercial sized things (one of which has no lid so the seagulls keep ripping open the bags). It's not a new issue, so why why why have they not sorted this out yet?

You might be able to file a complaint with your city ordinance office, the one that enforces codes. They might be able to be able to encourage whomever is responsible to be more proactive.

In reply to Sir_Chivalry (msg # 21):

That happens far too often. Seems like someone ought to make a game completely dedicated to using characters that have never been used.

Makes me wonder what the character is like. If it can translate to other systems, that would be wonderful.

In reply to Tileira (msg # 22):

Having worked customer service for a trash company, call them and keep calling until they are picked up. Anyone else not getting picked up, continue to call be the squeaky wheel. Raise the issues up the line, force them to have the big wigs call you up. If the trash company has a corporate website, find it find out who the top guys are have you and whoever else is getting issues email all the top people and tell them what is going on. Call the city also, especially if the city requires you to use this one service, the city hate taking those kind of calls and will do something about it.

Trust me someone will eventually do something, if this is a constant complaint thing. People will get sick of hearing from you and bug whoever they need to so something gets done.

Heres something I wonder you DIY people can help me with... I have some posters from my old place that don't stay on the walls in my new place... I try blu-tac, it just slips right off it... I try to tac the posters up, they're heavy and slip and rip down leaving the tacs up... I use cellotape, the cellotape doesn't want to stick to my walls and the posters fall down...

First world problem though my posters don't wanna stay on my walls... Any help please guys??

Put them in frames.  You will protect them and they look a lot classier that way.

In reply to Misty Reynolds (msg # 28):

What Misty Reynolds said.  We've had posters for 20+ years (my wife was a bit Henri Matisse fan) that have looked good in a simple $15 frame from Walmart.

The Island of Misfit Toys Freeform? I'm envisioning a game where threads cater to different game lines and rule sets. It's all under one game to build up player commaraderie and read about other "homeless" characters.

In reply to Sir_Chivalry (msg # 21):

Sorry to hear it. I'm unfamiliar with the system. My games, here on RPoL are all 3.5.

In reply to Eggy (msg # 30):

That sounds even better than what I was thinking. My brain tends to just go for the most ridiculous thing it can think of, so everything would be utter chaos.

"I attack. I have 1d100 plus 125 to hit."
"All right. His armor class is 26, so you'll have to beat that."
"Um... I guess I don't have to roll, then. All right. I also have a 30% chance of landing a critical blow, minus his luck."
"Luck? He doesn't have that stat."
"Then I guess it's a 30% chance of a critical." *rolls* "Got it! That's triple damage!"
"Triple? Just like that?"
"Well, after his damage reduction. My damage is only 26, so even on a critical it probably only deals, like, 12 damage, right?"
"No. 26, minus his damage reduction, times three... that's 78 damage."
"Wait. His defense is zero? I didn't know that was even possible. Well, he's dead now."
"Nah, man. He still has a fourth of his life left."
"What? Man, they make these boss monsters really weird. More than 60 hit points and no defense... what were they thinking? Well, he gets to rebut, and then I get another attack, and then my turn is over."
"He rolls a natural 20 on the attack! Rolling confirmation... 36! That beats the number he has to roll to hit you, right?"
"You mean 254? No."
"Dang. Well, he still hits for 2d6+8 damage." *rolls* "That comes out to 16 damage."
"Minus my defense of... ah! 16. Guess I take no damage. Also, I hit again, dealing no less than 26 damage, so he's dead now, right?"
"Just unconscious."
"What? My sword's not magic! How does that happen?"
"His hit points dropped below zero."
"So he's dead!"
"Nah, man."
"But I still get xp, right? So, what's his level?"
"12."
"Cool. I get the full 100 xp from that battle. Now I'm level 4!"
... and so on.

Sounds like I would have loved that as a kid.

In one of my games there was a class that every 100 levels they rolled 1d100 twice. The first roll added to their damage multiplier. Second added to their damage multiplier TAKEN.

So johny over their punches you, 1d2 +3 damage. He is a lv 100... knight? His damage multiplier was 86, so that simple punch deals 430 damage, on the flip side his damage taken multiplier was 70, so someone elses simple punch to him could deal 210 damage.

YEah... the crazy ideas I had as a kid.

So arg kid me...

In reply to Merevel (msg # 33):

Eh, that's just what my brain immediately came up with: don't even try to convert from one system to another. Obviously, that game would get pretty boring pretty fast from the reasonable "I want to actually play a game" angle, but it would still be kinda interesting watching a Deadlands priest fighting a Pathfinder cleric with no conversion for damage, wounds, defense, hit points, or any of the like. Or someone from Fire Emblem fighting someone from Marvel Superheroes.

So, of course, it would be much more reasonable to limit interactions between characters from different systems. My only disappointment on that front is the fact that Miasanna the Death Striker would never get off the shelf, because she was really designed for the type of setting where pure might has a fighting chance against magic.

YEah I know what you mean. I even posted for advice about changing the old campaign from its raw childhood system into something that might actually work. There were a couple of good suggestions. But I have no intention of running that monster slayer game any time soon.

The little Logitech keyboard I use with my iPad has lost a key! The left arrow. The pad underneath still works, but I'm bummed. Later, I'm going to turn my bag inside out and, hopefully, it will fall out.

Logitech keyboard-For the PS3 console got one and the Control button does not work. So sadly if you accidentally do Shift+Backspace you have deleted what you were typing and it is lost. No Ctl+Z to bail you out.

Also on the PS3(swear need a update)-post limit. Think it's similar to a phone. You are only allowed to do so much then it cuts you off. So it's a major pain.

I feel your pain. Cats did this to my phone and a button is missing. Trouble is I'm stuck with it tll I can afford to get a new one.

In reply to Lady Voldia (msg # 37):

That is annoying. One of the other members of my Wartune guild had a broken space bar for a while.

so.all.of.her.messages.had.to.be.typed.like.this.to.make.any.sense.

I've been posting with my phone a lot lately. No way to run a game. On the brightside, I've got a cool co GM, but it'll be a bit before I have home internet.

Typos-due to a serious one I now have lost access to adult games. Nothing I can do to change it. So I'll no longer be playing those games I'm resigned to that fate. Just be warned serious typos can cost you something dear. I know it did to me. And since the only way to get access back from what I understand is subscription then I know it will never happen. (one that doesn't exist yet and two certain information I do not share online.) Now just trying to switch my old adult games to mature. Having to start all over from scratch and it's torture.

An alternative to frames (which is a good idea): My wife uses Command Strips from 3M for hanging everything.  I swear she's going to use one on the dog some day.
This message was last edited by the user at 15:38, Tue 29 July 2014.

Munchkins. That is all.

Only munchkins that annoy me are well a few. Lollipop Guild. And that one that I have yet to figure out....what they are saying. Think my sis in law has the DVD though so going to run it with subtitiles.

Have to say though. Kudos to Mila Kunis for a great job in Oz. Taking on an iconic role and doing it justice was nice.

If it's ok where you are at, have you considered using some really rough sand paper on the spot you want to stick it to?  I mean, that is some intense paint.

(remember to wipe off the dust before using tacky or whatever you try and use)

Yeah, I'm from a family of decorators, so they use the intense paint ;) I do think it's a combo of the paint and the weight of the posters as y'know when you buy them they are slighty curled when they've been rolled up and they pull down slightly when put up as they straighten out.

I'd put posters in frames, but the job of doing it and mounting them on the wall seems far too much effort for something that should really be a small job... Maybe I'm just lazy though ;)

I've got a bunch of posters awaiting the framing treatment on the list for 'some day'.

When some day comes I think I'll open the tubes up and say... What was I thinking!?

We have a few completed jigsaw posters hanging around as pictures. they are laminated to a board and framed.

Neat picture for 2 bucks. Not counting mats to hang it lol.

I used to wish I had some cool posters to put up on the walls...

Then I got a job at a movie theater.  Now I wish I had more walls for the posters...*grin*

In reply to facemaker329 (msg # 48):

Dude if you need extra cash then get that stuff on ebay!

The ones that I'd actually get any decent money for are the ones I want to keep myself.  Once upon a time, someone thought that they'd try selling the old posters for a little extra money for the theater (it's a family-owned business...not sure which part of the family had that idea, although I have suspicions).

Turned out to be WAAAAAY more effort than they could justify for the return they got on it.  I'm happy scoring myself the superhero movie posters (the decent ones, at least...some of them, I've happily skipped because the movie was just bad) and giving the horror movie posters to some of my friends...

And (to clarify) the comment I made was intended more as a statement about the lack of wall space due to such a small apartment than it was to talk about the extensive collection of movie posters I've acquired (I've got some good ones, yes...but the vast majority of the posters we get wind up in the trash because, really, they're for movies that nobody cares about.)

Apples Strawberried Dhhr workers. I came in because I missed a telephone event because I moved. By the end of the conversation the clerk talked to me in such a Appled way that it made me wonder if she thought I was a complete Blue-berried idiot. When all I did was miss a verification interview and I did not bring pay stubs today because I worked. She even had a Orange eating grin on her face that just made me want to smack someone.
This message was last edited by the user at 08:18, Fri 01 Aug 2014.

So, I was bouncing through some videos on YouTube, and came across this band called Arch Enemy. LOVE the music, and I really wanna like the band, bud the lead singer's vocals are so HORRID. :( It's that stupid screamo (I think that's what it's called) style. I dunno. Maybe I'm just getting old. :/

In reply to PsychoJester (msg # 52):

Not heard of them so checked them out on YouTube. Totally agree, great music and they look good, and the singer is hot. But that voice! I actually thought it was a bloke's voice dubbed over the top for a bit.

She sounds like she's trying to do a bad impression of Cradle of Filth...

If you are after a decent mental band with a female lead who can actually sing check out Lacuna Coil. I saw them at the Download Festival (that's Donington Monsters of Rock to you old rockers out there) a few years back and they were very good.

Okay, just looked at this "Arch Enemy" stuff . . .

You THINK you might be "getting old?"

Take it from someone who IS "old" . . . if you like that crap, you're no where NEAR "old."

Sorry.

Wow, she sounds great!  And no, that's death metal, not screamo.  =)

In reply to PsychoJester (msg # 52):

I think it's impressive that she can get her voice to sound like that, but personally I've never been into any kind of scream-music, whether it's black metal, death metal, screamo etc. so I get where you're coming from.  I'm sure there are differences between the genres but I've never really cared to learn them.  Once the screaming starts it sort of ceases to sound like music to me.

I like Arch Enemy. I liked the old singer and the current singer. But then I liked Kittie back in the late 90/s early 2K, I think.

I LOVED Kittie. Brackish was the bomb. Sucks they couldn't really take off.

Yep. People weren't ready for mainstream rocker ladies harder than Courtney Love. It was a primitive age.

A vent, I feel so good about it I feel like sharing it.

I dated an amazing woman for 2 years, 5 years ago. One day she just up and left, blocked me on all forms of social media, blocked my number and made 0 attempts to call for for 5 years.

I was destroyed, I thought we were madly in love. after 8 months of searching for her and grieving I had thought I had let her go from my heart.

That was the farthest thing from the truth, I was utterly wounded and it was something that would only get worse with time. Recently I found out via my best friends that another one of my friends was getting married. To her.

I felt destroyed again, I felt robbed and useless. I wanted to talk to her so bad. essentially I posted a vent on fb and it was ment with negative feedback, except for her mother. Her mother got ahold of her and she called me and told me she didnt hate me, she broke up because she needed to be free to grow up basically, she didnt meet my friends until 2 years ago and she explained that yes, it ripped her heart out too because I was such a loving gentleman to her and she missed me terrible but she had plans for life that couldnt include me at the time and she just... found someone else and figured it would be for the best if I forgot about her, outta sight outta mind. But she knew it was wrong and I deserved alot more, she even went as far as saying that if she wasnt absolutely sure about getting married and that she was in love with my friend she would slowly let me back into her life, because she had alot of love with me, even more so then the man she wants to spend forever with, but she knows the damage isnt something that could go away because of how I work.

It had haunted me for so long, I had always thought she hated me. It feels releasing. Like I had been emotionally imprisoned for so long.

My ex friend can go take a long walk off a short pier into deep lake tho, I would have understood there was no reason to stop being my friend.

Hearing/seeing "don't forget" instead of "remember (to)."

I don't know if your supposed to just vent or if this is a place where you can Burn about work, if so... here goes.
How is it that Strudel always hits the fan at the worst possible time?
My job requires a lot of heavy lifting, and a lot of my co workers are slackers. The only person who can keep them in line is our manager, or our supervisor. So as of Friday, our supervisor went on a two week vacation, and as of Friday, our manager is updating his manager training over the span of the week.
And of course, as if that weren't enough, the transit system in my city went to hell. The entire route through City Center is down for the next 2 days, so my usual hour long commute to work, became a 2 hour commute, and no one seems to know what they are doing on the transit. That mixed with my social anxiety makes the trip to hell all the more hell. And the anxiety from my work adds to my social anxiety.
AND as if that weren't enough, Today, we had the most work we've had in 3 months, there are only 4 of our usual 9 person crew, and of those 2 of them are the hardest to control.

So I am absolutely miserable.

Big macs go on APPLE sale Monday at my mcdonalds... I hate when ORANGE Big macs go on sale for less then 1/2 off...

Let hubby pick the house we just bought because after six months of trying to find the right place and multiple trips to the new city to find something we were too tight on time and money for me to make another interstate trip to do the inspection myself: Big Mistake.

House is too small, has the worst layout in architectural history (the "master" bedroom barely fits a full size bed in it and the only way to get to the laundry room is thru it), and has an electrical panel that hasn't been updated since it was installed in 1957. The house has no grounded outlets, the washer and dryer are on the same circuit -- as are the stove and refrigerator -- and both my TV and my internet guys couldn't get my systems set up because I couldn't plug in any of my devices!  The entire place is painted in an institutional flat white that is dingy along every wall from twenty years of the bachelor who lived here running his hands along the wall as he squeezed himself down the tiny hall. The place was supposed to be something we stayed in for a year and then turned into a rental but the only way I'd be able to rent this place would be if I burned it down and rebuilt it with a better layout.

And to top it all off, our first day here my service dog went tearing through the yard, thrilled to finally have a fenced yard of her own to play in, and she blew out the canine equivalent of the ACL tripping over a tree root. With a house that won't sell in one state and a new house to pay for in a new state, guess who doesn't have the $3,000 it will cost for her surgery?

People wonder why I get so obsessed with doing everything myself and not letting go of control over anything in my life: this is a prime example of what happens when I let others make important decisions for me.

In reply to Evil Empryss (msg # 64):

eee that is not good - from another living in a money pit, you have my sympathy.

The house I can fix, one bit at a time, because I have the basic skills to do most of it (paint, basic wiring, etc). It will just take time. My dog is the worst part: her I can't fix. She isn't dying, and we've got the pain under control for now, but knowing there's a way to fix the problem and having next to nothing I can do to make her better is killing me.

I hope you can get proper care for your dog soon. Also, sorry to hear that you got stuck with a lemon of a house.

I'm less than enthused about going to Islamic Studies today. I've got a new classmate with habits I can't stand. This one gets upset whenever the professors say "In sha Allah." He'll complain loudly about his own personal translation for it. On Friday, we had a translation quiz and he flew into a red-faced, sputtering rage when his own personal translations for common phrases cost him points. His goal is to become a translator for some corporation or other. I don't understand how he hopes to get there, but I wish he'd be quieter about it during class.

In reply to Eggy (msg # 67):

Fellow sounds like someone with serious self image issues - people like that can go from annoying pickles to dangerous, fanatical in some situations. (this thought brought to you by 3 years of psychology training).

He should back it up.  Whoever has the most reputed translators on their side is "right", until they build a reputation enough to be one of those reputed translators.  If he put in more footnotes in his research papers, he might be taken seriously, but if they're his own personal translations, he's simply going to have to prove that he "groks" the subject better than the people in charge of the program, which is going to be really difficult if he's still learning words and phrases that they're teaching.  If he can get enough reputable translators on his side to match what the other side brings, then he can probably argue for comparable, six one, half a dozen the other, translations.

A private discussion with the prof probably would have better results.

From curiosity, I Wikipediaed and read:

for "God willing" or "if Allah wills".

So I think it means something like, "If the future action or event fits with God's designs/plans/etc." I guess that's different from, "If God isn't opposed." The distinction may mark a deep theological divide.

We're in Semester One of a Beginner Level Arabic Course. We've got enough of the language under our belts to read some news. Since his blow up, it's come out that he's been transferred to our class because his temper got him the boot from another professor's lectures.

His personal translation is "As I see it" because he doesn't believe in the idea of a god. He told me that the idea of "any religion having a stranglehold on a language is offensive."

I told him that he should probably pick another field of study if he hates Arabic this much.

He has some other personal translations that are pretty far off base. He has excellent pronunciation and it's usually easy to understand what he's saying when we're speaking in Arabic, but when we switch back to English for discussion it's obvious that he makes the professors and their aides and a lot of the students uncomfortable.

In reply to Eggy (msg # 71):

So the real problem here is that he's an atheist and he's being a jerk about it. I really wish there were fewer people like that in the world. I also wish I could say that there wasn't anyone like that in my religion, but... that would be a lie. Ugh. Sometimes I just hate people.

He keeps up that attitude and travels to the Arabic world, they will likely cure the world of his presence. They do not take kindly to that sort of thing over there. Their religious police especially. (from what I have heard)
At the very least he will get banned from ever returning to that part of the world for insulting their belief's.

In reply to Eggy (msg # 71):

*pacefalm*

Is he aware that it's "Islamic" Studies? Whether or not he believes in a god, he doesn't get to take Islam out of it. It defeats the purpose of taking the course if he's not going to respect the culture he's learning about. It'll be no use him being a translator either if he doesn't actually translate what what written and makes up his own interpretations.

He can't deal with the actual meaning of inshallah because he doesn't want religious references in language?

Gadzooks!

(from "God's Hooks!", a reference to the nails of Jesus's crucifixion.)

In reply to Eggy (msg # 71):

Someone (probably a prof) needs to make it clear to him that if he's going to work as a professional translator, his career is going to be absolutely destroyed the first time an employer discovers he's letting his personal beliefs interfere with the translations.

People do not take well to having words put in their mouths that they didn't really say, which is what he's doing.  It could cost contracts; it could break down negotiations; it could cost money and lives.

Sometimes translators have to juggle between literal meaning and idiom where an idiom doesn't translate well, sure, but something like "God willing" translates perfectly well in English and is still pretty commonly used.  Whether he likes it really isn't the question, eh?
This message was last edited by the user at 16:24, Tue 05 Aug 2014.

Never mind. Angry dude had a stroke or something in class today. Now I feel like an appletart.

Hah.  OK, laughing is not appropriate.  I am often inappropriate :-\

But I used to have a boss that was always beet-red in face and argumentative.  The smallest thing had him flying off the handle and throwing stuff around the office.  He died of a stroke about age 48.

I mean, terrible tragedy for his family, but it's not like you couldn't see that coming.

Why feel that way? His behavior was his behavior. Bad timing is bad timing. I severely doubt the impending stroke was the cause of his... behavior.

Well it could have been from an aneurism which caused in the long run the stroke - whether or not it affected his personality is nearly impossible to say.
As a person who has survived strokes, I do know they can alter a persons personality. (brain damage always changes something).
If he lived through it maybe he will come out with a better personality.

Fair enough, reminds me of a few episodes of house. Jeese that show and twilight zone make me wish I had cable.

In reply to Merevel (msg # 81):

Well, Twilight Zone only comes on three times a year, so I get my fix by owning all five season on DVD.

Because I was thinking Jello Cubes if this guy doesn't shut up...

and he did. I know it wasn't my fault, but I am trying [failing at] being nicer.

Ok, I get your point now.

So, my gumline has rapidly and mysteriously receded over the left side of my mouth over the course of the last month. It hurts to brush those teeth, and I'm constantly worried they're going to all fall out any second now. My appointment with the dentist is tomorrow morning, but the stress is bothering me now.

In reply to HornetCorset (msg # 85):

That is a scary thing dude. I hope things work out for you with minimal difficulties.

In reply to HornetCorset (msg # 85):
Get well soon, HornetCorset

I'd recommend eating more oranges (getting more vitamin C) to make sure you're not developing scurvy then starting a good at least twice daily flossing regimen in addition to brushing regularly.  For about the first week, you may continue to bleed slightly as you brush and when you floss, but as your body processes the vitamin C and you get rid of whatever miniscule almost invisible food particles are trapped between your teeth, your gums will heal.  It's a very long process (years) to regrow a receded gum line and without constant daily work it may never happen.

In reply to Genghis the Hutt (msg # 88):

Lol - I think scurvy is a big leap, in the modern world where nearly everything is fortified and people regularly get fresh meat.

More common modern causes are periodontal disease, aggressive brushing with a hard brush, lack of flossing, smoking/chewing, hormonal changes, &c.

I used to have the occasional problem with it due to thyroid disease, but daily flossing has prevented it 100% for years now.
This message was last edited by the user at 17:22, Wed 06 Aug 2014.

I'm usually not too squeamish when it comes to bugs, but there are two I loathe - flies and cockroaches. Especially cockroaches, they can survive just about anything you throw at them and are EXTREMELY common and difficult to combat in a tropical climate. Even after taking the usual precautions.

I've had it a few times years ago when I was eating one of those "super poor college student with absolutely no money" diets and surviving on ramen, cup o' noodles, macaroni & cheese, etc.  It only takes a couple months (give or take a half a month) for your gums to start bleeding when you brush your teeth.

In reply to Genghis the Hutt (msg # 91):

I'm curious: were you diagnosed with scurvy by a doctor, or did your gums just start bleeding?

I ask because, afaik, modern day scurvy is usually only found in people who also get most of their calories from alcohol, or from infants being improperly fed.

I had an interest in scurvy (as one does!) and read up on it some time back.  What I remember is that it's not just bleeding gums: old scars swell, unknit, and re-open; the victim becomes extremely fatigued and their thinking becomes lethargic and sullen; their legs get covered in spots; their joints swell and become painful; and their gums initially don't recede -- first they swell, then their teeth loosen and possibly start to fall out, then the gums start to recede.

All in all, some really worrying symptoms!
This message was last edited by the user at 20:25, Wed 06 Aug 2014.

I hadn't progressed to scurvy-scurvy yet, just started to show symptoms.  It only takes a couple months (and sometimes less than that, depending on what else you're eating and what you're doing) before you'll start showing symptoms, presuming your diet contains basically no vitamin C at all.  An orange every month or two will be enough to keep your gums from bleeding, although it would be more helpful to eat more than that.

Ah the good days of Ramen and doritoes.

Flossing...I should do it more honestly. Bad track record for me with flossing. It seemed to cause more cavities. I am still confused about it.

See a doctor about those gums and teeth. They be valuable things to keep. That being said I often forget to brush mine even with a tooth falling apart...

Well, I do live at college most of the year and pretty much survive off burritos and milk (better than a lot of folks at college, but not exactly a balanced diet). Pretty much everyone I've talked to except the dental health professionals I saw this morning told me that it might be scurvy and I need lots of vitamin C.

On the other hand, they said there's nothing wrong with my gums (aside from the gingivitis from not flossing good enough), that this is the gums "pulling back" and not "receding" (same dictionary definition), but that I should probably switch to a Sonicare^® electric toothbrush because those tend to be better for your gums than manual brushes, as they teach you not to push down on your gums while flossing.

I've got a decent amount of Irish blood in me, so I've never really been worried about cavities or my teeth falling apart. Them falling out, on the other hand, is a different story, and I do tend to get a bit paranoid about my gums. Feels like I ought to give up on dentists and try finding a gingivist to see twice a year instead.

All really interesting.  I think university diets are all universally bad -- even if you're not poor, so many of us end up like 5 year-olds left alone for the first time. :-)

My dentist has a big mosaic on the loo floor that reads "FLOSS!".  He's pretty militant about it, actually.

It's 2 am, midway thru a 7 hour road trip, and I-77 is at a standstill. Not a slow crawl, an actual turn your car off you're going to be sitting here awhile standstill.

And Weird Al's "Trigger Happy" is on my playlist.

My quote for the last six months? One more fruiting thing. }:(
This message was last edited by the user at 06:07, Thu 07 Aug 2014.

Still sitting in the the same spot on this interstate parking lot... *bangs head on steering wheel to stay awake*

At least I have my iPhone and internet access.
This message was last edited by the user at 07:00, Thu 07 Aug 2014.

My sincerest condolences.  I hate traffic, even when it's just moving slow.  When it's actually stopped?  Ugh....

My milk has gone bad 3 days early... again. It seems 1/2 the time I buy milk these days it goes bad 2-4 days early. The other half the time it lasts 4-5 days AFTER the sell buy date....?

In reply to Merevel (msg # 100):

That is really weird. Is the power feeding your fridge cutting out? Or is someone else drinking from the bottle?

My kids and brother spent the last two weeks with me. But he is pretty good about returning things to the fridge for a 13 year old.

As for the fridges temp, nothing else seems to go bad. I have some eggs that have been in there since I moved and they are fine.

Is it always the same brand? And type of milk?  Do you buy it from the same place?

I've noticed that skim milk seems to go bad more quickly than the 2%, based on the sell by date.

Also, when I buy milk or any other dairy product, I always buy from the back and check the expiration dates.   I don't drink milk very quickly, so I want the extra day or three of storage.

I am not a big milk drinker. When my kids are not down I am going to 1/2 gallons for cooking and coffee.

Same place, type, and yes I do pay attention to the dates on them.

In reply to Shannara (msg # 103):

I've found just the opposite since it's the fats that go rancid: skim milk has less fat so lasts longer.

Merevel, try getting some from a different store or different supplier/brand. If it goes bad, too, then it's likely a fridge problem. If your fridge isn't holding a steady temp or someone's leaving the door open too long, that could do it, too.

I will try it. I turned the fridge down a little. Though come to think of it the only thing in it that can spoil is eggs...

Eggs are pretty resilient, what with having their own natural packaging.

Lol then I have no reason to run the fridge part.

Well then, you could always make it easy on yourself and get that shelf-stable milk and shut off the fridge completely. :-p

Stuff is in the freezer.

Shelf stable milk? As in canned or powdered?

Oh, keep the freezer on, just turn off the fridge part. I have a friend who swears you don't need one: he stores his leftovers in the microwave. *shudders*

And the milk is liquid and comes ready to drink in those quart-sized foil cartons. It's a European thing, so if you're American you might have to go to an international food store to find it. My house mom in Spain gave the stuff to us all the time. Room temp milk takes some getting used to.

Forgot I had butter in there. the rest is bread, powders(coffee, cocoa mix) cheese.

Can't win can I rofl.

I just looked it up and it's called ultra-high pasteurized (UHT) milk and apparently almost all organic milk in the US is that kind. They stick it in the refrigerator section only because Americans are used to cold milk. Look for UHT milk and you should be good to go. :-)

I will have to try it out. I live alone so no need for a lot of stuff in my fridge.

Some people say it tastes different than the regular pasteurized milk, but once it was good and cold I could couldn't tell the difference. At room temp it reminded me of almond milk. Good luck!
This message was last edited by the user at 12:52, Thu 07 Aug 2014.

Ooooh I like almond milk. I have to keep an eye out for this stuff thanks!

Is it like raw milk? I like my milk unhomogenized. Pretty much straight from the cow and put in a bottle so I can pour it later. I've never had it go bad on me. Since I switched from homogenized milk, I've never wasted a bottle. I've got a family of four and altogether, we consume about a half gallon a week.

In reply to Eggy (msg # 117):

No, I think it's homogenized.

And you only go thru half a gallon?!?  My family of four goes thru two gallons (usually plus a little more) in a week. We like to drink milk tho, so we use more.

Milk bleh, only good for coffee, chocolate, and cooking.

In reply to Evil Empryss (msg # 118):

We rarely just drink it. We cook with it. Make pancakes and yogurt and butter. Whatever. I like my breakfast cereal with water. My husband and the kids like milk with their cereal, but they usually only have it in the morning before school. Nobody in my house drinks coffee. The only time anyone has a mug or glass of milk is when we eat peanut butter sandwiches.

We used to go through milk really fast when we bought homogenized milk. But when we switched to buying it straight from farmers, we drank less. I think the fat makes it really filling. Like, I used to drink two glasses of milk with breakfast. Now I can drink like a teacup or a mug with the same breakfast and be full.
This message was last edited by the user at 13:35, Thu 07 Aug 2014.

cereal with water... no thanks.

HALF LIFE... playing this terrible game for some time, now I am stuck looking at a sidewalk floating in mid air wtf???? to gamefaqs I guess...

EDIT:

Glitches I guess, it took 4 tries for it to advance ._.
This message was last edited by the user at 14:19, Thu 07 Aug 2014.

In reply to Eggy (msg # 117):

It's illegal* to sell raw milk for human consumption because it can contain dangerous bacteria. It has to be treated.

Unhomogenized milk is still pasteurized.

Homogenized milk is milk treated to stop the fats separating. So unhomogenized whole milk is the one where you get cream settle on the top. Homogenized whole milk has the fat all the way through ("homo-" means "same").

UHT milk is treated REALLY HOT for about 2 seconds to pasteurize it. Normal milk is treated at a lower temperature for longer.

UHT milk will last longer on the shelf and unlike normal milk doesn't have to be refridgerated until it is opened. It doesn't last any longer once open and you have to put in the fridge once you open it. It's popular in hot countries or places where dairy is less of a thing.



EDIT: double-checked and it's normally illegal for third-parties to sell it. Producers can sell it direct to customers.
This message was last edited by the user at 15:31, Thu 07 Aug 2014.

Thanks, but laws are probably different where you are and I'm used to having a cow and goats and their milk. Moving to a city and drinking the kind of milk that people around here consider normal was weird for me.

In reply to Eggy (msg # 124):

I'm not preaching. I'm just explaining all the terms.

If you buy your milk from a store it's probably pasteurized.

If it really is raw milk then that's between you, your stomach, the farmer, and your local government. There's not many US states where it's legal to sell it, and where it is there are restrictions. In the UK it can only be sold direct from producer to customer (no stores in between) and with a clear warning on it.

Yes I remember the big stink some ommish farmers made years ago because they stamped down on that.

I'm seriously surprised we survived without the FDA~

I give you a challenge. Look up how many things are in USA's food that are banned in other countries.

Then tell me how good the FDA is.

The first one that comes to mind - Splenda - they took out the sugar and replaced it with Chlorine, cause it's cheap. Never mind that chlorine has been proven to be bad for you in high doses (our water is already chlorinated, so putting it in the food is just a bad idea.)

Chlorine attacks the thymus gland, which regulates the body's defense's. Granted the body needs some chlorine, but not at the levels in Splenda (I checked the UK's report on it when it came out, they stated, at the time, it had 3 times the amount of chlorine in it than any food product allowed in that country - their FDA is allot stricter than ours (US).)

In reply to Evil Empryss (msg # 118):

I personally go through a gallon each week. Our family can, on occasion, go through a full gallon once every day or so.

Oh! a little late but also you can get milk that's been run through a fine filtration system.  It's only gently pasteurized, but it seems to last forever.  (The brand name in my area is Natrel.)

I personally find the UHT stuff nasty -- to me it tastes cooked, with eggy undertones. Like Eggy, above, I like un-homogenized whole milk.

But the others are right, homogenization and pasteurization are totally different (one blends the milk so the fat doesn't separate and the other is a sterilization process) and it's generally very hard to get unpasteurized milks unless you are buying direct from farmers who don't mind being arrested as part of their business.

I don't think most people realize how much disease was spread by milk in the days before pasteurization.
This message was last edited by the user at 16:37, Thu 07 Aug 2014.

It is possible to legally buy unpastuerized milk in US stores. Not every store, but it's out there if you want it.

In reply to Eggy (msg # 132):

Varies state by state in the US.

In reply to Eggy (msg # 132):

Where?  How do you find them.  I called every store in my city, independent and chain, natural and commercial, even the ethnic stores, and I couldn't find anyone whole sold raw or even whole unpasteurized milk. I kept getting told I would need to find a farmer to buy it direct. I wanted to make cheese and had to make due with pasteurized whole milk. :-(

In reply to Evil Empryss (msg # 134):

Start with your county agricultural extension office - they should know if there is a legal source near you.

In reply to Eggy (msg # 132):

As far as I know, federal regulators say otherwise and will bust sellers in any state.  It's like the medical marijuana thing -- some states may have legalized it, but the feds have been busting growers when it strikes their fancy.

ETA: this is interesting: http://rawmilkconsumer.ca/information/raw-milk-laws/
This message was last edited by the user at 17:44, Thu 07 Aug 2014.

That's what's going to name my secret, second rpol account. :D

In reply to Evil Empryss (msg # 134):
i'll send you some links after class with rmail. It's hard for me to do that on my phone

I prefer raw milk myself (I'll take the risk, thanks. Farmers are also aware of the things that can be spread if they don't clean everything religiously), and I get mine from a store that sells primarily organic. Natural, raw, vegen/vegetarian, yada, yada.

I also live in a state where that appears to be legal. And, joy of joys, I can get raw goats' milk.

I am, however, annoyed that people attempt to tell me what I can and can't eat, while offering alternatives that will make me ill at best and kill me at worst. *grumble*

And don't buy milk from atheist farmers.

I don't have any ethical, dietary, or political point of view on the matter. I just want to practice making butter and cheese.  O.O

In reply to OceanLake (msg # 140):

Ok, I have to read this, why?

Partly because I never have before, but mostly because why not?  ^_^

I have tried my hand at just about every craft and trade I come across, just to see if I can succeed at it at least once.

Because they don't clean everything religiously.

Back on the topic of vents: I hate it when I answer a question that wasn't asked to me.

Blarg me. Why do I have to be so confusing to everyone.


I do that a lot too EE.

Ditto myself - catch 'heck' for it to from time to time. (is 'heck' a swear word ?)

I consider hell a location not a swear word. Therefor heck is not either. If the public forums treats it otherwise, I can edit this post and it will not happen again.

In reply to ShadoPrism (msg # 147):

Darned if I know.

No, wait, I heard once that Heck is where people who don't believe in Gosh go, so I guess it is. ;-)

I really need to look into why people feel such liberty in their treatment of medical staff.  Just not sure why people feel as if they can threaten, physical put their hands on and in general go above and beyond with aggression toward people trying to give care.  Is there perhaps a perceived weakness with a caregiver, is this simply the stress of being ill or having a sick family member or is this just an extension of aggression that other people in a service industry face?

People are APPLE bags. Nothing more nothing less.

Day before yesterday a friend startled me while I was doing pull ups. My arms were sore all day. But today only one of my shoulders hurt. It's right where sometimes chicks get that bra strap back fat/bump*. Kind of behind the armpit. I don't have an anatomy chart handy and I don't know the name of this muscle. Lats, maybe? In my mind, it's just The Place That Hurts When I Open Doors.

Maybe I'm dying. Maybe I just need a massage. Or a hot shower and a nap.

*disclaimer: I do not consider ladies with this affliction to be fat, obese, etc. Sometimes, it's just an unfortunate shirt & bra combo.

In reply to KraznyOctobr (msg # 150):

Actually fear is one of the main reasons. I been in and out of hospitals my whole life, I have come close to beating on someone there more than once, fear being the main reason.
I have also run in to people who think they have the right to force a patent to go through optional treatments, whether the patent wants it or not (happened to me once, I had a low blood sugar event and this one guy tried to force me to do things his way when all I Needed was something to eat (not an IV or drugs) which was his response to my condition. Which almost brought me to violence with that individuals.

Hmmm you have a good point there. I remember a doctor that kept demanding biopsies when I brought up new moles or one that changed... Actually that might have been a good idea, but my point stands!

Eggy, try a long hot shower, messaging it the best you can and maybe heat packs? Idk I was never into sports and just let injuries heal on their own. Hot showers helped my buggy pushing related injuries at least.

Actually diabetic guidelines require nurses and doctors to give the medications.  They have to be able to measure how much glucse was given to increase the blood sugar level.  So a nurse can say, 4 glucose tablets brought the blood sugar from 40 to 120.  A doctor or nurse following can see exactly how much sugar is in the glucose tablets and so make a determination of what is going on with the levels.  Whereas a nursing note saying a turkey sandwich and an orange juice is a bit less precise for those following.

Interesting, I remember nurses telling my ex wife to grab a juice and some crackers.

Then again that hospital sucked...

A bit ago I posted in the Good Stuff thread about a song. Then I looked up the video on youtube. Kinda wish I hadn't.

:(

*sings*

Video killed the radio star....

In reply to KraznyOctobr (msg # 155):

pills are one thing, shots are another - I been diabetic my whole life, I know the procedures, I also know that when a patent says no to a treatment they are not supposed to try and force it on you. This was an intern who just did not get that, the nurse had to talk him down and a police officer there told him it was my right to refuse his suggested treatment. (I have a pretty sever phobia about needles, which is bad as I have to have daily shots and still can't stick myself.)

Some songs are better without videos. YATTA for example.

Usually, I try to make distinctions among hell, Hell, and Hel. In general, "hell" is just a word that people use when they want to use something just shy of a swear word. "Hell," on the other hand, is a place, or, sometimes, a concept. "Hel" is... well, if you don't know then you should look it up.

I had a paladin-like character with high levels of intimidate who just loved scaring, beating, or otherwise getting the Hell out of things.

In reply to facemaker329 (msg # 99):

Coincidentally, one of the two new Mythbusters episodes aired last night (the day of your and EE's posts) had to do with traffic.  Jamie also hates traffic.

Samuel L Jackson reference for a fresh vent incoming...

I am sick of these muffin fudging Pewdiepie videos in this muffin fudging Youtube... >__>

Enough already!!! >_<

I'm pretty sick of seeing another vid by them or about them whenever the most popular videos come up on the youtube main page...

You were mildly amusing when you posted a Slender video or a Happy Wheels vid... Now it's too much... Bro!

It makes me wanna brofist someone in the face...

Idea. Guy with OCD. He walks into the bank when the bank is empty (as he is not comfortable with people), and asks for small (as he hates breaking large bills), unmarked (as he can't stand unnecessary markings on his money), non-sequential (as he can't stand breaking sequences of any kind) bills. After making this request in a manner that might be misinterpreted, he reaches for a check that he has in his back pocket.

I feel like there's an area for a really funny joke here, but it's like I have all the pieces and I just can't put them together. It's... very frustrating.

Easy have someone scream CALL THE COPS when he reaches his hands in his pocket, or simply have the alarm go off.

I will NEVER ask anyone to help me move ever again, and I will NEVER turn control of packing over to anyone else: not family, not friends, not pro movers.

I have lost at least a thousand dollars of renovation materials because my dear, loving, completely aggravating friends and family thought this move was a good time to try to "help" me with my hoarding -- by throwing my stuff away when I wasn't looking.  "Trust us" they said.  "We won't throw away anything that isn't broken or unusable", they promised.  Every time I turned around something else that I needed to get my house ready for rental was missing.

Custom color paint to touch up the rooms.  Eight-foot lengths of hard to find trim to repair something that was broken.  Finishing nails and construction adhesive to attach trim.  Blades to my various saws (they couldn't tell the difference between the various sizes and teeth counts and figured if I had one extra that was enough).  All gone to the dump.

When I do find things that they kept for me, it's the stuff I was planning on throwing out; stuff that is so obviously useless that even I can throw it away without cringing.  Like the bald tire I took off my utility trailer and specifically said I wanted taken to the dump.  They thought I might find a use for it so they kept it for me.  I would have preferred they keep my tile cutter!

Now they wonder why I'm so angry and why I yell at them any time they touch any of my things.

Hands.  Off.  My.  Fruiting.  STUFF!

If he hates breaking sequences, why would he want bills where all the sequences are broken? :)

In reply to Evil Empryss (msg # 166):

This is like what happened to me one time many years ago, but it was my mother and she tossed out stuff I had Barrowed from a friend because she thought it was 'trashy'. Among lots of other stuff (that is now collectables and would have been worth hundreds of dollars in the gamer collecting market. Like a full run of Chain mail RPG books - the only one I got left was a second that was in my gaming bag, that some kid drew on.)
She also gave away a pet cat I had cause she did not want to care for it while I was visiting my dad in Fla for a week (came home to learn she gave it to some friends of hers, but would not tell me who, so I could not get him back).

To the three previous posters:

*facedesk*

In reply to Genghis the Hutt (msg # 167):

He can't do it himself, but he knows other people can. If he never sees the sequence, he can pretend it was already like that.

I envision that somewhere at home he has a collection about about eighty sequential one-dollar bills and that he's spent several hundred dollars building it to its current size. He just wouldn't have the heart to break apart something that was meant to be together, nor would he be able to resist the urge to build upon an obvious pattern (and when people pick up on you really wanting that one specific dollar, suddenly it's worth several times its face value). He knows that the last thing in the world he needs is another sequence of money.

Empryss:

I don't even know those people and I want to punch them so badly.

Well, just got my copy of the 5th Edition Players Handbook and I already see the need for House Rules.

They're sticking with the same old B.S. about longbows. In the Real World everyone in "Merry Old England" had a longbow. They even grew up with them on the Continent. Whereas everyone -- and their mothers -- had to go to the castle to be trained with a crossbow. Few could build, maintain or repair a crossbow. Typical, average everyday B.S. from Wizards of the Coast.

The crossbow is the "Martial Weapon" and the longbow is the "Simple Weapon."

Typical "I never finished High School, nor did I study basic History while I was there" B.S.. I've come to expect nothing less from the current Staff at Wizards of the Coast.

And why are Tieflings now a "Standard Race" but the Aasimar are not? Half-Demons are acceptable, but half-Angels are not? B.S., B.S. and more B.S.

I'm going through the book and have no intention of pointing out everything I find wrong with the new Edition, but these two points are made in the very first pages. I just had to vent.

I read a recent article about the development of 5e. I have lost my taste for the entire company since then and might be why I avoid any variation of the rule set.

I'm okay with the half-demons outnumbering the half-angels. Maybe I'm oversimplifying the half-breed creation process, but an angel didn't seem like an easy lay.

In reply to Eggy (msg # 173):

I was speaking about why the half-Demon gets to be a "Standard Race" but the half-angel doesn't. Never any rhyme or reason to what they decide.

I can only say that I've signed a Wizards of the Coast Non-Disclosure Agreement and needed copies of the Core Books for 5th Edition.

It would appear that you roll a d20 with your Dex bonus and, if you beat my Wisdom score, I am "Surprised" and unable to act in the first Round.

No "Move Silently" and no "Opposing Roll" of the dice. They are reverting to the older systems, but that doesn't mean I like the "no Opposing rolls" concept. Dex bonus added to a d20 makes it really easy to beat a Wisdom score of 12 or less.

In fact, there are fewer Feats -- some of the "new" Feats are nonsensical, at least to me -- and absolutely no Skills.

In reply to Mystic-Scholar (msg # 171):

Not that I'm defending 5th ed or D&D in general (neither really I will EVER play).  But a cross bow is much easier to fire accurately from an untrained standpoint.  Though you are pretty much correct in regard to England.

In reply to pfarland (msg # 175):

So easy in fact, that the crossbow was outlawed in warfare by the church.

Mind you that is if my high school history classes are correct.

And this is why many of us never moved past 2cd ed AD&D - less BS, still some mistakes and need for house rules, but Wizards seems to be Trying to alienate their player base with each 'new' set of rules.

Oh trust me, from what I have read they alienated a ton of people just by who they hired to help develop 5e.

In reply to Mystic-Scholar (msg # 171):



Not true at all.  It took a lot of training and practice to be good with a longbow, and the supply of suitable wood was not always plentiful.  Self bows, of which longbows are a type were common, but a bow good enough for hunting small game at close range and a longbow useful in war are different things.

Well there was a law that for a week out of every year everyone had to take long bow training. It never left the books last I heard but it is not enforced anymore lol.

Something like that anyway, I was told it by a friend that lives in England.

In reply to pfarland (msg # 175):

Yes, shooting it is easy, replacing it? Impossible for your Character. See, I looked at "your" character sheet . . . you have no skills in "Weapon Smith."

The folks "back then" -- be it England or France -- grew up building their own bows and making their own arrows. That is the type of world I game in - Medieval.

WotC has been creating a "20th Century" game. How so? "Back then" nearly everyone grew up crafting bows and arrows and using them. Only true craftsmen could make a crossbow. Additional, practically no one could read or right. In the newer Editions, everybody -- especially your Characters -- is literate.

Are you aware that in the modern day "Real World" there are a great many people who speak just fine, but can't read or write worth a crap? And if everybody -- and their mothers -- speaks "Common" why in the world do the other languages even exist in the game?

People with no knowledge of History are screwing the game up with their 20th century thinking. You -- 20th century "city boy" -- can't use a bow. So? That's not the World I game in. I'll bet you can use a 30.6 just fine, nothing special about it. Yet, in all the "time travel" movies, the gun who gets sent back with the "boom stick" becomes king.

I game in a Medieval world: the longbow is a "Simple Weapon," the crossbow is the "Martial Weapon."

In reply to otghand (msg # 179):

Training? They grew up doing it. They were "trained" by their father, the "outlaw."

Hunting the King's deer -- and rabbits -- was outlawed, remember?

First off, you know nothing about me.  Don't make assumptions.  Second, attack the statement not the person.



I don't play D&D or any other fantasy game, so I'm not sure if D&D has a Weapon Smith skill.  I would assume so and I believe that is the case.  I have no idea what you mean, but it sounds as if this is directed at me.  If so, believe what you will.  I have no need, or even want, to prove myself to anyone.



Your point?  All things I know.



Again, your point?  Neither did they have Orcs to deal with.  It is a FANTASY game.  I know how difficult crossbows were to craft.  Isn't Crafting a separate skill though?  I know quite a few people that can MAKE something without using it and vice-versa.



Please do not talk to me like I'm an idiot.  I never attacked you, nor insulted you.  I ask that you not do the same.  It neither helps your argument nor hurts mine.  Not that this has ANYTHING to do with what I said.



You again, have no knowledge of me, who I am, where I live, or the like.  If you did, you would know how laughable calling me a city boy is.  And it is appropriately called a .30-06, though again, what does this have to do with the discussion at hand?

All that being the case, in the end I agree with you.  The longbow IS a "Simple Weapon" and the crossbow is the "Martial Weapon".  That is what I stated from the get go.  And the ONLY statement I made.

EDIT: Why I said that I don't know.  Other than I happen to have a severe toothache.
This message was last edited by the user at 01:34, Thu 14 Aug 2014.

In reply to pfarland (msg # 175):

And also in reply to Mystic-Scholar...

In the real world, ONLY in 14th century England and especially Wales... did "everyone" have a longbow.  It wasn't because it was easy. It was very, very hard to learn.

But.. you'd have a longbow too, if you had a king who:

Gave you tax advantages for being a bowyer or fletcher.  (Edward III, in 1337, went as far as cancelling the debts of these men, because they were so valuable.)

Handed out other privileges for owning a longbow.  Especially the privilege of not being fined or jailed for NOT having one.   (1252, all free Englishmen ordered to have bows and arrows)

Made it clear that if you didn't have a longbow, or weren't good with it, you were still liable for military service, and not being a knight, you'd probably end up as one of the expendable infantry slobs.

On pain of death, forbid all sport on Sunday other than archery practice.  And set up the practice fields near the churches, so everyone would know who was skipping archery practice after Sunday services.  And for good measure, later made archery practice mandatory.

Now bear in mind, please, this was all Wales and England in the 1300's. Overall the longbow had a 200 year run.   That was the heyday of the longbow.  Other cultures did not use them.  So this was just a narrow sliver of the medieval era.

People did make more common use of lighter bows, but you might be confusing them with longbows, which needed extensive training, and could only be made by specialists (Hence the decree of Edward III, which would have been silly if they were made by anyone).

The French finally did get around to establishing a longbow corps - one man per parish- by offering various privileges just like the English, and mandatory Sunday practice just like the English.  But this was in 1448, and by then the longbow era was already closing.  The Franc-Archers did not have nearly as impressive a history, and they were disbanded before the end of the century.

In reply to Eur512 (msg # 184):

Please read my edited post.  I struck though the issue.  Yes, the longbow is much harder to use.  And you are correct.

In reply to pfarland (msg # 185):

I wasn't attacking anyone. I placed the word "your" in quotation marks -- as I just did again -- which signifies that it wasn't directed at anyone in particular.

I simply was replying to your comments with some hyperbole. Even Jesus Christ used hyperbole. Sorry you didn't understand that. Nothing was directed at you, personally. I do not "attack" strangers, not even verbally.


In reply to Eur512 (msg # 184):

Never denied any of that. You simply reaffirm that they all grew up using a longbow . . . but not a crossbow.

In reply to Mystic-Scholar (msg # 186):

Ok, no problem then.

It's not like another supplement won't be released for all the special snowflake players.

In reply to Eggy (msg # 188):

True, but that may be for sometime to come. We have yet to receive the first -- of which I have no doubt will be many -- Monster Manual, nor have we received the DMG. The final of the three Core Books will not become available until November, or possibly December.

Any Supplements should be out by next Summer, if any are coming.

My dislike is that, even in 3.5, Dragon born and Teifling were not "Standard Races." Why make them such now? The Supplements for 3.5 -- innumerable as they are -- worked just fine for such Races.

I'm sure this is but the first "Vent," I've racing through the book, giving it a "quick" perusal. A more thorough read will begin in the next day, or so.

Something that hasn't been discusses, though I've mentioned it: How do "you" feel about not having an Opposing Roll? To me, that seems a bit "lopsided." In future, the DM's monsters are going to be 'surprising' a great many Adventurers.

Ah, you don't want my answer about how I feel about the changes. :P

Somewhere in my dark, shriveled heart I believe that all the players angrily throwing their money at WotC get what they deserve: High blood pressure and dashed hopes.

crossbows were actually outlawed because they were so easy to use, which therefore meant an untrained peasant was able to take on a knight.  This is also why ancient Chinese armies issued crossbows to massed infantry.  They couldn't hit for crap because they were untrained, but they could at least shoot it to kill due to shear volume.

longbows, on the other hand, take years of training.  I m working on my doctorate in medieval history, I have studied it for decades, and longbows were not common, even in 13th and 14th century Wales and England.  Hunting bows and longbows are not the same thing, nor were the weapons used by the (rather uncommon) outlaws.  The average peasant isn't going to be very good with a hunting bow, and definitely not good with a longbow.  Only the yeoman who trained extensively would have one.

a longbow is a very technically weapon of war that was so powerful it actually reformed the arms of Welsh longbowmen with bone callus due to continuous stress fractures from the pull.  (read John Keegan's Face of Battle for more on Welsh Longbowmen)  The longbowmen used in wars like the hundred years war were elite fighting men with years of strenuous training.

The same could be said for many of the short bows used throughout history.  A Turkish or mongol shortbow was truly a war weapon, that was utilized by elite fighters (even if they learned to use it hunting as they grew up, that still means it's a weapon that requires training to use well)

For a simplified game like D&D, I think it makes a lot of sense due to these facts to make longbows martial weapons, and crossbows simple.  I suppose one could argue simple self bows could be simple weapons, s well, but I think they til require a level of training or experience to use properly (as opposed to a point and fire weapon like a crossbow)

I don't mind that were I to buy the PHB (which I don't plan on doing until the Monster Manual and Dungeon Master's Guide are also available) I would be getting more for my money (apparently), that it apparently has the races that 3rd and 4th mostly had, plus more.

just throwing my 2 cents into the argument about longbow vs crossbow.

based on the mechanics of 3.x as i understand them Simple weapons were weapons that were generally easier to use whereas martial weapons took a certain amount more training to use effectively.

That being said and to reiterate what has been stated:  Crossbows were easy to use (simple weapon) while bows took lots of practice (martial training).

that has nothing to do with what it took to make either of the weapons or how common either of them were. (Though i think crossbows may have been easier to make because they would have less specialized wood requirements but thats my opinion, take it for what you will.)

No, Mystic-Scholar, I did not.  A narrow sector of Medieval society did- Welsh and English, 13-15th century.

"They" also include Spaniards.   A Spanish Ballestero would have been very puzzled by your ideas.  His weapon was the crossbow, and his "Cuadrillo" bolt packed more armor piercing punch than anything else.  In fact, long after the long bow was gone, Ballersteros were in the Americas with the Conquistadors.

If you're aiming for an "authentic" medieval world, "They" includes Spaniards...

 and Swiss and Burgundians and Poles and Swabians and Genoese and Bohemians and Venetians and Pomeranians...  etc, etc...  etc...

Let's not forget Russians*!  In 1240, a rare event happened:  Mongols, famous for their mounted archers (trained from childhood) were defeated at the seige of Kholm, by crossbows.    (*Or Ukrainians, depending on your preferred history)

And even English, pre 13th century, and Welsh, pre 12th century.

None of these people grew up using longbows.  SOME used smaller hunting bows- inferior as a weapon to the crossbow.  SOME used Mongol designed bows- but these were rare in the west, as making them was a very high art.

So if you want to say your game is "authentic", if Longbows are standard, then it is authentic only in regards to a narrow range of time and space.  The crossbow was the preferred weapon in most medieval armies, because it was easy to learn.
This message was last edited by the user at 16:47, Thu 14 Aug 2014.

Crossbows were even in use in ancient Rome. (was either Discovery channel or History channel - had a program about them a couple weeks ago).
They take minimal training to use over archers and as such many 'infantry' types were equipped with them.

Crossbows were still rare throughout the early and high middle ages.  The technology to manufacture heavy crossbows (anything with a pull harder than a hunting crossbow) was somewhat lost between Rome and the 13th century or so.  That's why the papal bam on crossbows happened during that period, because armies like the Milanese and the Venetian began to use them in large numbers.  They existed throughout the period, but we're usually relegated to hunting and sieges.

Archers of any kind were fairly rare in westerm European armies prior to the hundred years war.  Large scale battles were rare, and usually centered on knights backed by peasants with spears.   That's why the longbowmen used by the English at crecy, poitiers, and agincourt are seen as a revolution in warfare.

<vent>
 I miss seeing actual vents here.
</vent>

<returns to vents>
Idiotic school districts!

I'm trying to register my kids for school and they're demanding that I separately provide all the same information that is actually IN my kids records.  Immunizations?  In there.  Transcripts?  In there.  Proof of citizenship?  In there!

This is making me have to go dig through a mountain of moving boxes trying to find the ones from my office (low priority for sorting in the move so shoved to the back and bottom of every shed pile) just to provide them with info they are going to receive when they order my kids' school records anyway.

They wouldn't even let me get the kids' classes picked out without this stuff in hand.

Online schooling is looking better and better every day.

In reply to Evil Empryss (msg # 198):

The cynic in me says you should just say they are undocumented minors and watch all the red tape disappear.

Minor Vent (annoyance really)

A couple months ago Lance crackers decided to take all their Whole Grain crackers and drop them in to new smaller packages. Used to be 8 packs to a box, now it's 6. On top of that, this month they raised the prices to $.10 higher than it was before giving us less in a harder to open and use box.

You can still get the cookies and peanut butter types in the 8 pk boxes, same price as the smaller boxes to. So in essence they raised the price Higher on the Whole Grain items than on their other products.

I love there cheddar cheese crackers - use them to help me keep my sugar stable when I have low blood sugar attacks at night. Hate the inconvenience and price hike of the new packages.

In reply to Evil Empryss (msg # 198):

Making the government responsible for your kids.  What could possibly go wrong?

   Speaking of schooling, this morning I drove ten miles to the local community college one town away to register for a community service class for a hobby I was interested in trying.  I told the kid at the desk that I was there to sign up for a class.

   First, the kid at the desk asked, "Do you know what class you would like to take?"  Why would I be standing there in front of him if I had no idea of what I wanted?  I gave him the class number.

   Then he asked, "Do you want to register now or would you like to register by phone?"

   When I pointed out that I was already standing there in front of him, he went on.  He pulled out a registration form and asked me, "Would you like me to fill this out for you?"

   He gave the strangest look when I answered, "If you know all of the answers, sure.  Otherwise, maybe I should do it."

   The kid was probably working from a script, but still...

What makes it worse? He probably has to say it because some people did not not amswer the way you think was 9bvious.

I don't know of any community colleges where you can't register online.  I'm not saying there aren't any, just I don't know about them (and I don't know everything).  For those community colleges where non-students can't use the regular computers in the library, there are usually additional computers in the library, or sometimes near the registration area, which people can use to register themselves and sign up for classes.  WebAdvisor is becoming increasingly common and the only way to register now is through that system -- when people behind a counter sign you up, it's because they're basically logging in as you through the online system.  That's the case for all the community colleges in the Inland Empire in Southern California, at least.    The people I usually see at a community college trying to register in person tend to be people that need help with that sort of thing.

In reply to Misty Reynolds (msg # 202):

Going to college no longer requires literacy, so filling out the form for people might be necessary.  From the administrative standpoint, it's better to stand there and help them fill it in the first time than have to keep coming back to them for every single box or have to give them a new sheet when they mess it up four times in a row.  Also, while the colleges may have computer registration, some people still don't have computers -- or trust them with something as complicated and important as college courses.

My sister teaches RN courses at a community college and has to assist with open registration at least once a year.  The horror stories of the stupidity and ignorance she encounters are epic.

"Do you know what classes you want to register for?"
"Yah."
...long pause...
"Which ones?"
"I want to be a nurse."
... facepalms....
"To get into the nursing courses you have to apply for admission.  You can't just sign up for the classes.  It's a restricted entry course, so you have to meet the minimum requirements before you can apply."
...blank stare...
"I want to be a nurse.  I want to take nursing courses."
...heavy sigh...
"What courses have you taken so far?"  pauses a moment before quickly adding "In college."
...looks defeated by the qualifier, then perks up... Lists classes that are remedials to the remedial English and math courses; nothing even close to what she needs...
...tries to find a bright spot...
"Okay then, what's your GPA?"
...beams proudly...
"2.25."

"I want to take Rocket Science II."
"Did you take Rocket Science I?"
"No."
"RS I is a prerequisite to RS II."
...which elicits either:
"But I don't want to take RSI.  All the cool stuff's in RSII."
or
"What's a prerequisite?"

Others that draw blanks stares are:
What's your address?
Do you need a parking pass?
Did you apply for financial aid?
Do you have a copy of your transcripts?
What's your student ID number?

May those of us who are older remember back to the days youngness, ignorance, and dumbness. And may the young realize that they are relatively ignorant and dumb (no matter how smart they are).

And be merciful to those who, however fouled up, evince a desire to learn, and be merciful to those who offer platitudes.

While I am not arguing with you Empress, but at a college I attended for a single semester, I did a first. I managed to go through the enrollment process BACKWARDS. *facedesk*

And I had a decent gpa and a good ACT score...

In reply to Merevel (msg # 207):

I'm notorious for bulldozing my way past silly things like prerequisites and application processes, so no worries.

But if you're going to do it, you need to do it knowingly and with style. ;-)

In reply to Evil Empryss (msg # 205):

   I could have signed up on line.  They would have wanted payment on line as well.  I try to avoid putting financial information out electronically.  These days, using a card tied to a bank account is a really bad idea and my reloadable debit card would have required a run to refill it at a cost of three bucks.

   I had other errands to finish in that town, so I decided to pay cash for the class when I registered and save the money.

I'm going to pass on commenting on our education system.  I can't find enough pastries and fruit, even with the internet, to use in my comment.

Indeed, I remember when it was against the law to be on a bus for more then... blast what was it 30, 45 minutes? And now that seems to be the norm...

Did you pay with checks?  If so, you may want to read this about why checks are far worse than credit cards--at least back in 2008:


http://perimetergrid.com/wp/20...ngerous-transaction/

In reply to ShadoPrism (msg # 200):

Snyder-Lance is restructuring pretty extensively.

On top of everything else I've been going thru lately, my car's powers steering decided to quit today.

Whoever it is that is putting a hex on me, I'm sorry and I'll pay whatever you want to lift the curse. Just leave me alone already!

You moved.

Am I cursed because I moved or still cursed because the counter can't find me?

Yes.

And now I'm in the ER after passing out for no apparent reason. What the fruit is going on in my life?

Ick, I hope it's nothing to serious Empryss - maybe stress and bad blood pressure reaction - I had a fainting spell caused by a combination of high blood sugar and low blood pressure after a very large tree limb fell on our deck last month. The shock of it (I was on the deck when it fell) and then trying to do clean up did it to me.
Your high stress life now maybe what is doing it to you now.

The local school district's budget for next year calls for teacher's salaries to be cut 20% (in toto, for all teacher together).  This may happen because people's salaries are cut, it may happen because some teacher's are fired and class sizes are increased for the rest, but 20% overall.

Meanwhile, administrative salaries in toto are scheduled to be increased by 10%.  That's not right.

Oh, and in the meantime, they plan on taking 6 million from the state and federal child nutrition programs and applying that money to salaries instead.

That's part of why I'm running for school board this fall, but I'm pretty steamed up about the current school board.

Usually I'm a calm, nice, and polite individual.  I don't have much I get really upset about.

But this is different.  Stolen Honor.  Some dweeb that thinks he can impress people by claims that he was a Ranger and spouting off wiki knowledge until someone enters that knows whats going on.  I ask a couple of questions, suddenly Mr. "Ranger" has disappeared.

Why do people have to do this crap?  It is enormously disrespectful to the guys and gals that really WERE out there on the sharp pointy end of the stick.

Trust me, claiming to be something your not doesn't prove anything and the smart people know that you don't have to be a Ranger to know what you're talking about.  Heck, (no disrespect intended, but if you are one, you'll know where I'm coming from) not even every Ranger knows what he's talking about.  And THAT is what makes the elite the ELITE, they KNOW they don't know everything.  /EndRant

To the schmuck that cut off and stole my catalytic converter this weekend:

May you get struck by lightening next time you climb under someone's car for $20.  I'd rather just give you the cash then go through the hassle of having my car towed, repaired, police reported, insurance called, etc...

Maybe YOU should help my sister move this weekend...

In reply to bobbofeet (msg # 222):

there are just some people who need a good horse whipping. if they are smart enough to know how to do that, they are smart enough to get an honest job and buy one on their own.

We live in a world where people will crack open 1 dollar packs of cheap lighters and steal 1/2 of them...

Reminds me of the local Rite Aid- for 3 months someone kept coming in, steal a pair of scissors out of a pack, then put the empty pack in the greeting cards area.
I kept collecting the empties and giving them to the manager. (This is a result of my spending to much of my early career life in retail, compulsively straighten shelves, shopping carts, and clean up after shop lifters it seems.)

Sucks when you're sitting here with nothing but time to kill, but no one is posting in any of the games you play/run. :/ Yet, when I'm busy, it a post-a-thon. lol

<vent>

Look.   Just go look.  It's not that hard.  Go to Google.  Type in the thing you want to know.  And look!  Why must so many people assume everyone else is on earth just to inform them of things they could easily find out for themselves?

</vent>

<countervent>

Well, going to Google and finding out about things on your own can prove counterproductive as well. I've seen pepole visiting the doctor because they think they have some exotic disease, they can not have and would not even think they had, had they read the whole article. Or they get information that is written by some quack trying to sell their own 'natural' remedies that do nothing but cost a fortune.

</countervent>

<counter-counter vent>

   For medical advice, seek real medical help.  But for general informational questions, look it up for yourselves.  "What is gamename?" is a stupid question.  You can look up the place that makes it.  You can look at the place that sells it.  These people will tell you what it is.  That is their job.  "How do you like gamename?" is a better question.  It seeks the opinions of people familiar with the system.

For facts, ask Google.
For opinions, ask people.

<end counter-counter vent>

Looks like I tick a few people off because I ask questions ._.

Anyhoots I came to learn my favorite nonsensical word has developed 10 different meanings... several of them perverted... and not a single one the meaning it had when I started using it...

Nope.  This was all about someone having trouble with a game they installed and asking how to fix it.  First question I asked was does your computer meet the requirements for the game. With instructions to run dxdiag or download Speccy to get the crucial four pieces of info (OS, RAM, CPU, GPU).

"How do I do that?"

... Really?  Like, I just told them.  And this is in a forum with like 20 posts on the page, and like half of them contain the information they need.  And you'd think someone could go to Google and just Google something once in a great while, but they don't.  And if you ever wonder why help in forums is so often so bad, it's because people get really tired of repeating basic information like "How do I find out how much RAM I have?" and even when explicit step-by-step instructions are given, a odd proportion of people will actually post back something like, "Oh, that's too hard!  What else can I do?" or "I'm not going to read all that!  Make it simpler!" (only, you know, so badly typed it takes you 10 minutes to figure out that's what they were saying).

Ooo, that was another vent again, wasn't it.
This message was last edited by the user at 21:22, Tue 19 Aug 2014.

Ah, that is what you meant. Though I find it hilarious that someone developed a thing that's called "Here let me google this for you" I laughed so hard that I was not even offended.

<party-vent>

 I'm with you cruinne, I work technical support so my worldview has become very jaded in this respect. People around me have noticed too, that I get snippy when people ask how to do something because they are cut off at the hands and feet, and can't do any of the work to figure it out. Ticks me off severely.

 "but, but, you're a computer guy and not everyone knows the stuff you know."

 Maybe not but just trying and coming back with those questions is so much more of a breath of fresh air. For instance my Nephew, he's a good kid, but he loves Minecraft, and has absolutely no idea how to get mods into it. So I try to explain, what I feel are pretty basic steps to get it to work for him. His response is disheartening every time...

 "I don't know how to do any of that."

 "I just told you."

 "Can you do it for me?"

 "Fine, yes, I'll be over in a few."

<end party vent>

Back in the 90's I knew a computer tech support person, we made many joke .wav files on that very topic.

One that got the most hits starred my friends french poodle as the caller.
This message was last edited by the user at 21:34, Tue 19 Aug 2014.

Oh yeah, at the company I used to work for we had a message board dedicated to the craziest fruits that called us and we traded stories all the time about them.

The flip side of that is telling the tech support guy what I've tried to solve the issue, taking 5-10 minutes and then hearing, "Have you tried restarting the system.", when that was the first thing I told them I did.

There are definitely guys that do this kind of thing, but not good tech support guys. Good ones will repeat what you told them to make sure you & them are on the same page and eliminate the things which are not at issue. Of course there is a certain amount of questioning that has to happen to get there, but usually a good tech support guy will tell you what he's doing kind of and what he's trying to accomplish and give you options to try.

The guys you are talking about are probably playing WoW while listening to you. Those guys suck at life.

Tech support... *doom glare* My mother paid $200 for tech support and all they did was remove steam... even though I have never encountered someone with a problem because of it.

So, anyone want to pay me 200$ to remove a single program(and all its related games) from their comp? The tech guy even left the saves and add ons for all the games.

We ran Malware bytes later adn found 200 problems....

In reply to spectre (msg # 233):

Oh I think I've had that exact conversation, and it was even about Minecraft.

So... I live in a very hot, humid location. I hate the heat, and I hate the humidity even more, but it wasn't my choice to move here. (Pretty much just can't afford to leave.) I can barely step outside without my heart trying to kill me.

There have been times when, in my own personal house, the air conditioner has cut off because it got too hot outside. Seriously. The breaker panel is on the north side of the house (so the sun never shines directly on it), and sometimes it gets so hot that the breaker trips. Very quickly, the temperature inside the house rockets to the high 70s (Fahrenheit, not hyperbole) and be have to go outside to set the breaker straight.

Now I'm at college in the same geographic area. The dorm has a decent air conditioning system that can keep the place as low as 69 for almost the whole year--this current part of the year not included. So, every so often, the temperature in the dorm goes up to about 74, which is about 2 degrees outside my comfort zone.

Then there's the fact that my personal dorm room is 4 degrees hotter than the rest of our section. I have a very powerful computer, and its level of heat production is something we had not foreseen when purchasing it. So, when it's 74 in the common area (as it's called), it's 78 in my room, which is way outside of my comfort area.

Then we get to the whole point of the rant. I've been living here two years now and we've always kept the thermostat on 69. But one of my new roommates isn't honoring that. It seems that every chance he gets, he changes the thermostat to only cool the area when it gets hotter than it already is, or worse, sets it on heat.

That in itself isn't so bad, because then I could just talk to him about it. But that leads me to my other part of the problem. The guy is a ghost. He moves about silently, never speaking a word to any of us. He hides in his room most of the time, and only briefly steps out, hardly acknowledging anyone who speaks to him. I can't talk to him about it because I can't even say "hello" to the guy.

Ugh.

Sounds like Houston to me!  I know from experience.

I could pass out horror stories about the heat.  And it only gets worse as you get older.

If you're running a game and someone sends in a referred (by another player) private message regarding joining the game, how hard is it to politely reply "No thanks" if you aren't interested?  Is it that difficult?  I guess it's better to be rude and just ignore it.

o.0 Did you send in an rtj for the gm to consider? Without one I would never even think of adding a refered person.

There wasn't any listed RTJ by the GM.  It wasn't asking for players even.  But one of the games active player had suggested it from another conversation.  And even then, a simple "No thanks" is beyond easy.  Two mouse clicks and nine key strokes.  Real difficult you know.  If you aren't interested as a GM it's REALLY simple to do.

No idea then. Maybe the GM decided not to allow since he/she was not accepting players? Or they have not gotten that far yet. Could be any number of reasons.
This message was last edited by the user at 18:24, Thu 21 Aug 2014.

IF the GM isn't actively looking for new players, that should have been your first sign.  But yeah, there are a lot of GM that fail to respond to RTJ even when they are actively looking.

If I had done it out of the blue, it would have been one thing.  Yes the GM wasn't actively looking, but it was referred by an active player in the game.

I completely understand about not wanting a new player.  I wouldn't have had ANY issue if it was a "No thanks."  I would even understand if it was actively looking for players, then the GM might have been buried in applications.  But this is a game system that isn't particularly popular, so I seriously doubt that the GM gets buried in unasked RTJs.

Sounds like you just need to relax, maybe ask the player what is going on?

I'm fine, just annoyed by the lack of courtesy involved.  I've seen the GM post a few times since sending it in.  At this point I wouldn't want to play anymore.  I just get aggravated when people can't show some common courtesy.  It's not too much to ask for really.

In reply to pfarland (msg # 247):

Do you know for certain the player talked to the GM beforehand? Because if not, unsolicited apps are unsolicited, and you don't write back to the junk mail people when you get junk mail.

In reply to pfarland (msg # 249):

Sir_Chivalry has a point. That being said, even on games with the accepting player tag. I have had to remind the gm sometimes. People forget sometimes.

Do I know for certain?  No.  I did include the messages between the player and I including the part where the player had said to talk to him.  And it isn't junk mail, I wasn't asking him to get an oil change, lol.

Possibilities (choose one or more):

• GM reads PM, sets it aside thinking "I'll respond later" and then because PM red light is off, forgets later that there is a PM awaiting response.  (Not that I have ever done that ... more than a dozen times.)
• GM gets PM, reads it, sets it aside to think about and consider whether there's room for a new player/PC in the game even though the "players wanted" light isn't on, hasn't gotten around to responding to you yet because s/he doesn't know s/he's on a time-clock that requires him/her to respond to unsolicited applications within a 24/48/72-hour time period, and/or give priority to responding to an unsolicited RTJ rather than posts for existing players, or else be tagged as "rude."
• GM gets PM, asks player who referred, "Who is this person/what are you doing referring people, don't you know the game is full/something about this request doesn't appeal to me but I don't want to put you in a bad spot with your friend ..."
• GM has since seen this series of vents and decided, "You know what, someone this impatient and ready to complain in a public passive-aggressive way about my unwillingness/inability to keep to his arbitrarily-set time table, I don't want in my game anyway because clearly we would not get along..."
• Other -- pencil in your own options here.

This message was last edited by the user at 19:28, Thu 21 Aug 2014.

Patience is a virtue. I look at applications like job interviews. If after a week,  bug em. Every week, till you get a no or we will call you.

Then again, if unsolicited, put your big boy undies on and have some patience.

Possibility.



Well, I never said how long I've waited, but it's been longer than that.  And it's easy to send a quick reply saying "Let me think on it."  Heck, I would assume after that if I hadn't heard anything more, it would be a no.



Why would anyone think that would put anyone in a bad spot?  I think a non response would cause more of an issue than one with a simple "No thanks".



Consider that the GM has been on every day and posted since the message was sent days ago and I JUST started this vent today, I seriously doubt that it had anything to do with ignoring it.

I like how you put the blame on me on half of those.  I think waiting for days and days for an even simple response is me being reasonable.  How many minutes does it take to send a quick message.  Just saying "No" or "I'll think on it" or "Maybe" within a few days is reasonable.

In reply to pfarland (msg # 255):

One of the first games I ever tried to join on this site, no response for weeks (maybe even months, I don't remember exactly), so long that I just stopped watching it and stopped caring.  Out of the blue one day I got a response from the GM, asking if I was still interested in joining.  I wrote back that I was...and there was no follow-up response and I was not added to the game even though I had already provided a full character profile the first time around.  I sent a follow-up PM or two of my own after that but when I heard nothing back I just gave up.  I will never understand the actions of some of the people who run online games.

In reply to Silver_Cat (msg # 256):

To be frank, often it's that better options then your application came along.

Sad but true.

Some people who've only enough time and energy for one or the other would rather spend that time on the people who made it in than the people who will argue with them for weeks about how unfair it is that they're not accepted, or how they'll change the application, can you give them pointers?

In reply to Sir_Chivalry (msg # 257):

If that is the case, it's easy to send a quick response.  "No thank you at this point."  Or I appreciate the application, but I've picked another player."  How much time does that really take?  And if you have so many people applying, you could even copy-paste it.

I often won't respond to unsolicited applications. Only time I will; is if a player has specifically come to me; asking if they can ask a friend to join.

Now, if I'm advertising though, I'll respond to all.

In reply to Sir_Chivalry (msg # 257):

It's not all that sad, actually.  I mean I suppose it is if it keeps happening to you over and over again, but I don't really take that sort of thing personally.  If it looks like that's the case I usually just shrug it off, though I, like just about everyone else, would prefer a 'no thanks' instead of no response at all.

In that game I mentioned I highly doubt that was the case though since there were very few members and it didn't seem like the game was in high demand.  In fact while I was checking it no other new characters were added, which I know because I checked for that specifically.  In my opinion it was more that the GM just didn't care anymore because it didn't seem like there was a lot of posting and when I was checking it after the PM I got it seemed like most of the characters had gone inactive.  Now that I'm older and wiser I probably wouldn't even apply for a game with so little activity since there's probably a better chance the GM just doesn't care enough to respond to new RTJs.

I rarely have the time to play in games, so I don't apply to them very often.

When I do, if the GM hasn't replied within three or four days, I give him a nudge just in case he's read the RtJ and forgotten to reply (this is surprisingly easy to do if you have a bunch of RtJs and/or other stuff to deal with).  I also check to make sure I haven't been ninja-added to the game.

If he doesn't reply to that after another three or four days, then I forget about it, though I might still join if he does contact me later.

What I don't do is complain about the GM in a public forum after a couple of days, simply because GMs have a lot of stuff to deal with, and I know that not all respond straight away.  If he's deciding which player he likes the look of, and he sees a post from me in a forum saying how much he sucks, then I'm unlikely to be the player that he admits to the game.

Well, again, it been more than a couple of days.  Yes, GM's have stuff on their plate, but like I said from the get go a simple quick message takes a minute.  It's not hard and it's courteous.  That's all I've said the entire time.  Take a minute or two to send a few words.  How difficult is that?  If it's a no, say so.  If it's a "I'll think of it" say that.

I believe I had a similar rant to this a while back. Long story short I love to gnaw on my foot.

As my parenthetical comment should have made clear, I think it's more than just a possibility.  I do it all the time -- I check PMs on my phone, on the train, during my work commute.  Or while away for the weekend camping.  But I hate to post on my phone, so don't respond at that time.  And that turns the "new PM" red light off.  And then when I am in front of a computer later, with time to respond ... without that prompt, I forget I need to respond.

And I keep doing this despite knowing it has happened to me multiple times before.

At times, I have even encouraged my players in the OOC thread to send me another PM prompt if they have any messages still outstanding, just to turn that light back on.  It not only turns the light back on, it also bumps the PM thread to the top of my very full inbox so I can find it easily.



Just to clarify on this (because I know I didn't make it clear before), I don't disagree with the idea that it would be more courteous to respond with a "no thanks."  But the point on this one is this: regardless of how long you've been waiting (one day, two, three, a week, two weeks ...), the fact is folks set their own priorities for how to spend whatever limited amount of time they have in administering their games.  And if their "players wanted" light is off, and they didn't ask their existing players to refer new players, then they get to decide how they should best allocate their time, energy and attention.

In another response you say



All I'm suggesting here is that you don't know how difficult it is -- even if you think "two words, thirty seconds" isn't too much to ask for, maybe it is for that particular GM, at that particular time.  Rather than assuming the GM in question is a rude cretin and publicly calling him/her out, even if only anonymously, maybe just assume you don't know what's going on and move on to a different game.



I'm speaking from personal experience on this one, actually.  Applicant referred by existing player.  Application not at all anything I thought I could work with, but it was clear that response could create issue for existing player with his friend.  And it did.



Fair point.  As you noted before, you didn't say how long you had been waiting.  Nor did you say that you had sent a nudge, or even asked the friend you have in the game for some insight.  Thus I suggested it as a possibility.



Of the four (leaving off the last "come up with your own"), I think only the last one puts "blame" on you.  The first two are simply "the GM doesn't realize his/her silence is creating an issue" and the third one is "the GM might be trying to figure out how to say no without causing issues for or with an existing player."

So 1/4 (or if we include the catch all "choose other"), 1/5.

Okay, I need to vent:

I'm fruiting sick of being turned away from a job because of being a man!!!

Today, I tried applying for a job as a salesperson at a local bakery. The bakery's boss, a nice lady, didn't even want to look at my resume... because "customarily, we employ women"...

And it's not just this only case. Half of the shops here (at least, those of the small variety, not those huge ones) specify in their ads that they want women... Similarily, many ads for office jobs (receptionists, PAs etc.) ask for a "young woman". I'm not saying I'm entirely qualified for being a receptionist, but I'd like to at least have a chance of being considered. Instead, I have no chance, because of the employers' belief that low-level office workers need to be female!

In reply to Varsovian (msg # 265):

Yeah I've noticed that too.  It seems that the sexism seesaw has tipped in the other direction, but Heaven forbid you bring it up.

I ask this sincerely and out of professional curiousity -- and the perhaps mistaken/naive belief this could not occur so overtly in my country: If you don't mind divulging, what country are you in?

Oh, it's not that easy. I know that, for instance, women have trouble getting employed at places like, say, bike shops - because riding a bike and repairing one is a man's job, you know. I suspect I'd have less trouble with applying to places like that... the problem is, I don't know anything about bikes!



Poland.

In reply to Varsovian (msg # 268):

Thank you for satisfying my curiousity.  I am sorry for your situation and wish you well.

I'm currently living in Manila, and I see that sort of thing here as well. Sometimes even height and weight specifications as well. It was very shocking to see.

Am now feeling better about living in the US - we have laws that keep that sort of discrimination from happening. (not to say it does not still happen, but if caught the person being discriminated can press charges)

Hahahahahahaha!

Thanks for the laugh.

"Are you sitting down?"  And "I wanted you to hear it from me first" are not good conversation starters in an emergency :p

In reply to ShadoPrism (msg # 271):

It happens here a lot. In my home town, from convenience stores, to even the public library. Just about only women.

Mind you there are a couple of guys employed, just enough to avoid lawsuits at a few places.

The bakery boss is missing a bet.

A lot of stress because someone made a typo on an official document, putting a $ sign when it should have been pounds sterling.  I had to spend an hour on the phone cleaning up the mess of someone who should be more qualified than me to handle this stuff so that I can make the deadline I need to.  If this whole process hadn't been frustrating me at every turn for months now I might feel a little calmer about someone screwing up...yet again.

Like a 40% difference.

People seriously need to learn the difference between when someone makes an observation and when someone makes an accusation. Just sayin.

In reply to PsychoJester (msg # 278):

Amen brother!

An observation: "...brother!" in the above post may strike one as sexist.

Gripe: English is short of easy-to-use nouns and pronouns for one person who could be male or female.
This message was last edited by the user at 22:34, Mon 01 Sept 2014.

Ex girlfriend referred to her current boyfriend as an "upgrade". I was nothing but good to her and she broke up with me because of her issues but she says thus
. I like this guy a lot and think he's a good man (frankly he deserves better) but this hurts

In reply to Sir_Chivalry (msg # 281):

Remember that just as the breakup was about her issues, she also owns this comment.  Try not to take it so personally.

In reply to OceanLake (msg # 280):

I don't play that game: Be offended or not. I am 57 years old and am not the least bit interested in those bull-strudel games you kids play.
This message was last edited by a moderator, as it was against the forum rules, at 16:06, Tue 02 Sept 2014.

In reply to Mystic-Scholar (msg # 283):

Amen Brother!


and i'm far from 57
This message was last edited by the user at 16:12, Tue 02 Sept 2014.

Amen brother!

And I'm neither religious nor male. People can gripe about the gender bias, but it's a culturally acknowledged idiom. I also say "bless you" when someone sneezes and "merry Christmas" during the holidays. There are so many other real problems I the world to get worked up over that these don't even make my list.

It was intended to be a joke.

In reply to OceanLake (msg # 286):

In that case . . . apologies.


In reply to Evil Empress (msg # 285):

Amen Sister!

FYI: People think what they will, but . . . "Amen" is simply Hebrew (as in Biblical Hebrew, not Yiddish) for "So be it." It's merely a statement of agreement.


To the Moderators: Sorry about that!

In reply to Sir_Chivalry (msg # 281):

I know this feeling, my last GF gave me a variation of "It's not you it's me" I wanted to call her out on it, but it just was not worth it. So.. she has had 4 boyfriends since then and is pregnant... We would have broken up anyway lol.

Last girl friend dumped me, then broke up my best friend from his girl friend, ended up marrying him, then had a very very nasty divorce (he is in jail for something she framed him for).
Since her (added to my previous girl friends) I have not dated. (I have truly disastrous dating history - the one before her turned out to be mentally unstable, got off her meds and tried to kill another girl over an old boyfriend she had)

If your luck in love runs like mine, celibacy is definitely something to consider.

i know exactly how you feel there Shado, my last boyfriend turned out to be a child molester, he's gone to prison for it but I didn't know til the FBI came to my door as he'd ran from it for eleven years. My exhusband is now in prison for vehicular manslaughter and before that, he did so many horrible things I can't even list them here once I found out about them. Those are the only truly two relationships I have been in and I'm scared to get into another because what if I find one like either one of them again? So you're not alone there.

In reply to ShadoPrism (msg # 289):

Amen brothers(non gender based use of course) :-)

Until I get myself to be attracted to another type of woman, I just don't care anymore. I tend to attract teh crazies as well.

My very first girl friend (we were 11 when we started dating) - learned when I was 16 she had been molested by her brother (who was both an adult and a marine) when she was 7 and up. (last I heard she is a junkie)
Next one, married someone else WHILE we were engaged to be married, it's been like that with all my girl friends.
The one keeper, her sister was in a nasty divorce and decided all men were scum and went out of her way to break us up. Took her awhile to do it, but succeeded in the end.

I got some pretty serious feelings for a girl. Never said anything. She started dating a guy who turned out to be abusive, and at the same time (partly as a result of it), I lost pretty much every means I had of communicating with her. Her life fell apart and I didn't do anything about it. I really wish I had. She seems to be better now, but we haven't really talked since. And that's the closest thing I've ever had to being in a relationship.

That frustrating moment when you FINALLY find a game you want to play in, but the ST has requirements that you can't meet. ;_;

Seriously starting to doubt I'll ever get in on a game I really wanna play. :(

Have you ever had this nasty feeling that the universe is just screwing with you?

Well, I do have something like that today...

Long story short: I've been looking for a job for a long time. Lately, I've been sending out a lot of job applications. I was invited to some interviews, but nothing came out of it.

Eventually, last Friday, I finally got a job at a call center. Definitely not what I'd like doing, but they pay, right? Not much, but enough for me to survive. So, I started this job today... and what happens?

I got called from another place with an invitation to an interview!!! For a position that would be much more suitable for me than the fruiting call center. And with the possibility of the highest salary I've ever had!!!

The problem? To go that interview, I'd have not to go to that call center job. And if did it this week, I'd *lose* that job. And I have no guarantee that I'd get that other job...

Basically, at the one time I have a chance at getting one of the best jobs I've ever had, I just can't take it! Because I cannot afford to lose the job I current have. Even though it isn't really a good job for me...

I seriously want to bang my head against the wall right now :((((((((((

Sounds like life my friend.

Arg, my 50lb toddler just body slammed into my stomach >.<
This message was last edited by the user at 16:59, Tue 09 Sept 2014.

I just finished a funeral ceremony. It's bad enough my grandmother passed away, but my dad, too? Just over a moldyfruiting month apart??

In reply to Varsovian (msg # 296):

Probably won't work, but try explaining your problem to the possible job, maybe they can give you something outside your work hours?  I know it's not likely, but you just might get someone with empathy for your position.

Brianna

So true I have had a few interviews rescheduled over the years. The last one, I only did not get the job because I was forced to move a few counties away before the manager picked a round 2 for interviews.

Oh, I tried, but they say they couldn't do it... :(

The best I've got is a vague promise that they'll contact me if, by chance, the recruitment process gets prolonged to the next week. Which, I guess, isn't very likely...

Two classmates were talking about Magic: The Gathering. One was trying to get the other to buy some cards and join his game night. They waved me over to join the conversation.

Classmate 1: Alright, so both of you are gamers who have worked in game shops, but like different kinds of games, right?

Classmate 2 and Eggy: Yes.*

Classmate 1: Ok. In one word tell me who this game is for. #1?

Classmate 2: Intellectuals.

Classmate 1: Eggy?

Eggy: Hoarders.

Now they're both irritated with me. One for cheating (waiting until he spoke so I would have the last word) and the other for assuming that he has no self-control when it comes to his budget.

Why do people keep asking for my opinion when they know they won't want it? Why do I keep talking to them?

*Mentioned  in previous conversations.
Edit to fix spacing. My phone does funny things.
This message was last edited by the user at 01:09, Wed 10 Sept 2014.

Hoarders ? Really ?
That one may need some explaining to me.

Oh I know what you mean there Eggy. I know people with Several large totes full of cards.

I love MtG, but it is NOT for the "casual gamer." Or, like me, the broke gamer. Especially when you live in an area near a military base and they come in dropping hundreds of dollars to buy cases and then wipe the floor with everyone. -_-

I used to play MtG back in the 90s, when it first came out.   I have a minimum wage job, so my card purchases were also minimal.  My decks were 10% of the cards I could occasionally afford, and 90% of the cast offs my friends with more disposable income (or less respect for their bills) had doubles off or didn't want.

I still had fun, but I felt like I was in the Indy 500 with a Nissan Sentra.

When I worked at the shop, mean-spirited people would come in and buy a bunch of cards just to keep other gamers from buying them. Sometimes, they'd tear or burn the ones they didn't want in the parking lot. Just spiteful. We had one guy banned from the shop for doing this with the Pokemon cards and making the kids cry, but the shop owners never banned anyone for doing this with the Magic cards. Probably because they spent more money.

I played MtG for all of a week.  Bought some small stuff when it first started and went in to the local shop for their first tournament.  I noticed even the amateurs had these huge boxes as 'decks'.  I gave those cards away right then and there.  Realized all it was was a money sink.  Same reason a few years later I bailed on WH40K.

I greatly enjoyed the games for year with only buying cards now and then. I only quit when I moved and had no one to play against.

MtG?  Money the Gathering.  Like most everything else, the Golden Rule applies here.  Whoever has the gold, makes the rules.

Hard to argue with. One of my friends had a deck that could kill you before his first turn.....

The first time I played that game it was with a group who played it all the time. They gave me a deck of their cast off and duplicate cards.
I wiped the floor with them and that deck - for some reason they never invited me back. (I think it was a total newbie, with a pitiable deck succeeded in beating these 'seasoned' players really).
Still have the cards, but have not played with that deck sense then either (was back in the 90s when it first came out). (friend played me with one of his decks a couple months ago, I won one game, lost 3. Still was fun, not that I am likely to go out and buy any of the cards though. Not really my sort of game).

I played different CCG's back in the 90's and never got into Matic, but have a friend who owns a family game shop.  Sells board games of all types, role playing games, and Magic (and probably a couple of other TCGs).

And it's the Magic players that have kept him in business for the last 7 years.  So yup - hoarding is about right.  He hates it, but it keeps his doors open so that he can follow his board game passion (they do have weekly board game nights, and weekly/bi-weekly role playing (depending on the system)).

Had to laugh - he and his wife are very, very straight laced.  She complained today on a social network site that she was getting a nice second hand buzz - now that cannabis is legal in their state, a lot of the Magic players toke up before they come play, apparently.

Well, first off, when my daughter and I played MtG we had a rule that we NEVER encouraged anyone to buy their first cards.  If they watched us play and asked questions, we answered, but unless asked directly we never said it was a good game, they should try it, etc.  Once they got those first cards of course, encourage away.

She did play some competitive games, but mostly we played with one another and others who played more for fun, though some of our decks were quite strong.  But I remember having the most fun with theme decks, which were usually only competitive with similar decks.  Green decks that spawned like crazy, decks with hundreds of cards, undead, angels, whatever.  I never did make a deck with only pictures by Douglas Schuler though, always wanted to try that.

Hoarders though, yes, I still have over 35,000 cards, though I haven't played in 14? years.  *sigh*  I really need to do something about that!  I also have (but less of) Star Trek Original Series, Sim City, and odds and ends of others.

I ended that addiction via a bonfire. Have fun :-)

No, no, my precious!  LOL  Besides I have a few valuable cards in there I'm sure, though most aren't worth anything.

Psh, just about 1k USD worth of cards. It was rather pretty watching the bits and pieces float through the air.

I have several thousand of those cards, but never played the game (other than as a computer game).  They also cost me very little, except for the money I spent on other games.

The guy who owned/ran my FLGS was in the habit of handing out booster packs (or even full packs) to his better customers as Christmas/birthday gifts, or as a "thank you" for especially large purchases.

I really like them for the art work, so I have cards that I thought was pretty. I played when it first came out I still have my first edition Jet Mox, I loved the black lotus around it. I worked at a game store so got a discount, the people who got them were really snide if they didn't get good cards,I was told I cursed their luck. I was like...really ?

Minor vent. Today's our class picnic. We had a list go around and everybody signed up to bring something. Last week, we find out that we're having our picnic at the same time and park as another class. We all know each other, so we decide to combine parties. We have a meeting to go over both lists to confirm the amounts of food and make sure we don't have too many doubles. Everyone attends. 50 people.

One bossy classmate insists that he signed up to bring utensils and napkins first. He even has a receipt to show that he's purchased utensils waaaay before everyone else. He waves it around and demands that the 3 other people on the list bring something else. They agree to do this and sign up for foods.

Day of the party, he shows up with one 45-piece pack. 15 forks for 50 people.

edit to add info and fix spacing
This message was last edited by the user at 01:45, Sat 13 Sept 2014.

And what happened?

All in attendance got a new school story.

Some of us ate with cups. But it was just a little vent. The party was pretty fun.

Reminds me of my college orientation. Most of us got food poisoning >.<

The lesson learned there, never trust that person to get supplies for anything ever again ...

I'm sure this must have been on here before today, but currently my big pet hate is people who don't have the courtesy to reply to PM or rmail messages asking if they are still playing in a game I run...

I've sent several of these in the last week or two (I GM and Co-GM 6 games in total) to 4 people and only one has replied back.

All it takes is 2 minutes to say yes or no, it's not like I'm asking them to give me their life story or anything beyond a one word answer...

In reply to Silverfoxdmt73 (msg # 326):

I assume they have been online?  If they have, it wouldn't seem much to reply, but if something prevents them from even checking, that's another matter.

I would have to agree. It depends on the circumstances.  If you see that the character has logged in, or know that the player has been on and doing other things on the site, that's just rude. I don't know why people find it so hard to say "Hey, sorry, this isn't working out for me anymore." Boom, so simple. :/

In reply to PsychoJester (msg # 328):

Yeah, some are active in other games and a couple have logged into my game too but not posted or replied to my rmail.

The answer then is "No I can't keep playing in your game for some reason or other, but I'm too afraid/embarrassed/in denial to say so straight out."

Adult game = all male characters are straight, all female characters are lesbian or bi- with strong lesbian tendencies or aren't sure yet but are curious about what it would be like to be with a lesbian and really just male writers writing awkward lesbian walnut-fic. All character development is based around sexuality, and all locations are challenges to see if you can have sex there.
This message was last edited by a moderator, as it was against the forum rules, at 14:27, Sat 20 Sept 2014.

Had the same experience with HeroClix. When it first came out we had a great time building teams with the clix we got. Then someone's dad bought him a complete set, and soon after that the expansions started coming and people started buying them by the case. Fun became work became money pit. No thanks.

Grr. A Chrome extension I've used and liked for a long time has suddenly "disappeared" from the Chrome store and, with no warning to those who use it, begun injecting ads into web pages.

Since Chrome sees fit to annoy me with notices about everything else I thought the least I'd get is a "is no longer supported in the web store" warning.

Chrome's recent changes have sent me back to Firefox.  At this rate, I'll be back to IE before long. ;)

IE is so screwed up now I don't see myself going back to it unless the fire fox browsers suddenly implode or the like - the few times I Have to use IE I end up reloading the window 4 or more times just to get the main (non ad) content to show up. (the ads all seem to load fine, the rest takes allot longer to load, much frustration in sue, or more often now, the 'page can not be found' comes up, most annoying that)

The county office that pays my hubby requires users to submit their billing thru IE. IE is only supported on PCs and I have a Mac family. We had to go out and buy a cruddy Dell just so we can do his billing. If I never had to use ID again it would be too soon.