I'm Trying to play an online game with my friend but he's in indo and I'm in Aus and were both on different laptops-he is on mac and I'm on windows. I'm on java but cant figure out how to play with him. can anyone help me?
Online multiplayer Game recommendations (preferably free and easy to play on a laptop) for COVID-19 self-isolation which can be played with friends
Stuck indoors for the next 2-4 weeks and would love a few games to play with friends who I can no longer meet in person. I love board games like scrabble and code names, if that helps.
Chatting and gaming with my friends online only to get told by my mom to get offline every time I go to play World of Warships or do whatever on my PC or Laptop.
I’m 28m with both Asperger’s Syndrome and ADHD. And before any of you ask if I have a job. The answer is No I do not have a job. Not because I’m not putting in any effort to find one where I live. It just the problem that I live in a Dead End Southern town in the middle of Northern Florida. And this town is just losing money to cities like Gainesville, Jacksonville, Daytona, St. Augustine, Orlando and Tallahassee. Because all of those towns and cities are geared towards the youth and young couples. So yeah there’s not much places for employment for me in my dead end one smokestack town. Whenever there’s nothing to do or everything in the house is all done and I can finally have time to myself. I’m going to go play World of Warships as my way of relaxing. But the moment I start chatting with my friends in the Clan’s Discord server. I get a text on my phone that’s either says... “You’re too Loud.” “You need to be quiet.” “Who are you talking to?” Or... “You need to get offline” And all of this is from my mom. I help with things around the house, and etc. so I don’t understand as to why I can’t just have my own personal time chatting with my friends. And whenever I answer any of her texts I get the most annoying explanation of.... “You don’t know if the person you’re talking to on the other end is a hacker who can steal or infect my or our computers” , or “That you don’t know if they’re actually a cop on the other end posing as a minor.” Um... Mom....
I KNOW ALL OF THIS!
I’m not that stupid to share any of my personal information with anyone online, and if they start talking about wanting to have sex with me. I’m going to ask them how old they are in real life. And if they tell me that they’re under the age of 18. I’m ending the conversation right then and there, and if they’re in my clan’s discord server. I’m going to report this conversation to the Clan’s Admins and send them the screenshots of the conversation(For clarification here. My World of Warships Clan has an agreed upon rule that if you lie about your actual age to get access to curtain parts of our server that’s marked for clan members that are over the age of 18 will be Immediately Kicked and Banned from the Discord Server as well as the Clan’s Telegram. And we also have another clan rule that we’re not to use our irl names. Only Usernames.) Now I’ve offered many times to let my mom speak with my friends that I chat with, but she tells either tells me not right now while I’m resting or when she finally has a moment where I can ask her and know that it won’t be an inconvenience for her. I’ve literally done everything I possibly can to please her and to show that she can trust me not to share any of my personal information with strangers online.
Online multiplayer game recommendations (preferably free, and that can be played on a normal laptop) to play with friends while in COVId-19 self isolation
Stuck indoors for the next 2-4 weeks and I’d like a way to connect with my friends. I love board games like scrabble and codenames, and used to enjoy games like age of empires when I was younger.
Are the motives behind "The Evil Farming Game" more sinister than the games premise? Does it even exist as more than rumor? One user was determined to find out. (a lot of context)
Edit - Got a PM from the faker titled; "Do you know what it feels like to log on and have half a dozen ppl calling you crazy?" I tried to reassure him it's all good but he's distraught. Said some things that made me feel guilty and I might delete this thread if he asks me to. I guess the damage is done though. Nice job dicks who harassed him, he seems like a nice enough guy. Said to keep it up but he wants nothing to do with TEFG anymore. The Evil Farming Game is an old computer game that involves a farm, hiding the murder of your wife from police, and other vague creepy details. It was first mentioned online 4 years ago in a sub for finding video games; https://www.reddit.com/tipofmyjoystick/comments/4h5w1w/this_game_was_kind_of_like_harvest_moon This got some attention for some reason, and people began to hunt. People were communicating with OP, mentioning games they find which are similar to either have them confirmed or ruled out. Nobody can find it. A couple of years pass and another post is made, this time by a different person. It seems to sound like this fellow is looking for the same game! https://www.reddit.com/tipofmyjoystick/comments/a6wfbm/pc_evil_farming_game/ This fueled the fire even more. People were wondering just what this "Evil Farming Game" was, why it was made, if it even exists. The gaming mystery caught some traction with a couple of popular youtubers and was featured in a couple of videos. It was around this time, a year ago that /ThatEvilFarmingGame begun. A community which spent a year naming possible games, following leads, being trolled here and there with "broken laptops" and just waiting for the day "Sparta" (OP of the first post) confirms "Yes this is the game." The Subreddit grew to 10,000 people in a year and even branched off onto Discord. At some point someone decided to start a project of re-Creating this game based on the details known. The whole thing started to form it's own little cult based on the idea of this vague game. Tons of threads, searching and speculating. https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/k5ousd/idk_if_i_found_something_but_it_might_be_worth/https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/jc6u6g/i_believe_the_evil_farming_game_is_confused/ Dozens of this nature. It's all guess work from everyone, they only have a small list of games they know it's not. After some time most users seem to reach the conclusion it doesn't exist. https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/ihp5ywe_all_know_its_fake/https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/ijjuke/can_we_stop_with_all_the_troll_posts_and_this/ One day a suspiciously low quality, yet credible picture of a game was posted. With it were matching known details and some new ones. For the first time there were also detailed descriptions of the game play mechanics, which sounded like a playable game. It was topped off with the usual story of "on a friends old PC, better evidence soon. There have been many open ended promises of the like over time and people were jaded. However this thread had a ring of truth to it, for what it was. https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/kt6dcf/this_has_to_be_it_right_the_premise_is_exactly/ (Actual screenshot) https://imgur.com/AVQw8P8 Then it was deleted after only a day. The OP telling the moderator that they feared doxxing, knowing how big it would be to reveal the actual game. They would report back with real evidence soon. https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/kt9cjl/why_the_op_deleted_his_post/ Deleting it like that seemed to add credibility to it and gave people hope that this time the game would be found. This person wasn't looking for fame. They deleted their entire profile. The original story of how the game was found and how the screenshot was taken was flawed under a microscope, but also completely plausible. A few other people came out and said they had played this game before, or it was familiar. It was looking to be promising. A lot of speculation occurred. https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/ky0kfj/what_do_you_see_in_the_screenshot/ The general consensus being if it was a real game it maybe even THE game. The moderator of the sub was in communication with "Sparta" (OP of TEFG) allegedly. He sent the screenshot over.
This provoked a lot of questions, naturally. Most people agreed that despite the low quality picture, the game itself was quite clear. Clear enough that it SHOULD have gotten a clear yes or no from the only person known to have played it. People began to question the moderator more. They questioned this alleged "Sparta." They questioned the whole premise of That Evil Farming Game. Until the game in the screen shot surfaced they were in limbo and questioning everything once again. https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/kt9cjl/why_the_op_deleted_his_post/gj41mmm/https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/kx48zw/someone_somewhere_is_lying/ There was one user who became particularly active at the same time the OP of the screenshot disappeared. This person made a very long thread breaking down why they thought the screenshot was plausible. They were also grilling the moderator pretty hard with questions the Mod couldn't seem to answer, across other threads. This user was apparently trying to establish the credibility of the alleged "OP" and the Mod's communication with him, and knowledge that it was in fact the same person. This user would post a paragraph of 4 or 5 clear questions and the moderator would reply with very vague answers to 1 or 2. There were claims made of the moderator having an alt, or more. This user claimed to be getting downvoted 3 times in quick succession on replies to the moderator within moments of the moderator replying. Some posts deleted. https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/kx48zw/someone_somewhere_is_lying/gjdbgqi/https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/kx48zw/someone_somewhere_is_lying/gj9z6vd/https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/kx48zw/someone_somewhere_is_lying/gj83tlt/ (Image in reply: https://imgur.com/a/EVbADTF ) This person was very determined to find hard answers. Is the screenshot real? Is it The Evil Farming Game? Is the moderator even in communication with OP? How do they know it's actually OP? Why can't OP ID the game? A popular theory is that it is some sort of scam to promote the game being built to "recreate TEFG based on known details." https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/k92j7i/i_am_starting_to_think_efg_is_a_advertisement/ In a twist, this new and active user came out and made a thread: after a week of asking dozens of questions which had poor answers and writing a books worth on the subject of TEFG. They admitted to being the one who spent hours fabricating the screenshot. They had burned a 6 year old, 50k karma account which originally posted the screenshot and story to add more credibility to the whole thing. They made a new account just to question the whole idea of the game, make people think about it. They had also left breadcrumb's of evidence along the way expecting it to turn up. It was another more clear screen shot, with a fabricated email conversation posted in the comments of one of the screenshots imgur links. The post had proof of deleted posts mentioning how it's probably marketing. They revealed that they had spent the month on and off coming up with the idea as a way to "investigate" if the game was real. They stressed they were doing it in nature of "investigating" and not as a troll job, hence admitting it. After a long break down of a lot of "evidence" of all sorts of things the fake they were met with mostly mockery or hostility. They edited the post to simply say "I misunderstood the purpose of this sub. Yes, I deleted my own thread." Before deleting the thread and vanishing. https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/kzb5hm/the_truth_about_the_screenshot_and_the_results_of/ After some time this user came back. They had posted a long breakdown of the situation the day after the screenshot was posted. The thread got a lot of traction. This post was now edited to include a more condensed version of "the investigation" along with admitting to falsifying evidence up top. The user claimed they had done it all for their own curiosity. For the purpose of the hunt and that they were satisfied with their answer; "the game never existed." They deleted the original "grand reveal" of apparently a months work of investigation due to the hostility. Only revealing the truth of the forgery in an edit on the old thread and a couple of replies to old comments. https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/kts7og/new_to_the_hunt_just_some_thoughts_about/ What do you think? A long con troll? A real investigative tactic? Does the game exist? Why does someone care so much? Why did I spend all afternoon going through this?
[Video Games]One user turns the hunt for an obscure and possibly fake PC game into a month long investigation, or possible troll?
The Evil Farming Game is an old computer game that involves a farm, hiding the murder of your wife from police, and other vague creepy details. It was first mentioned online 4 years ago in a sub for finding video games; https://www.reddit.com/tipofmyjoystick/comments/4h5w1w/this_game_was_kind_of_like_harvest_moon This got some attention for some reason, and people began to hunt. People were communicating with OP, mentioning games they find which are similar to either have them confirmed or ruled out. Nobody can find it. A couple of years pass and another post is made, this time by a different person. It seems to sound like this fellow is looking for the same game! https://www.reddit.com/tipofmyjoystick/comments/a6wfbm/pc_evil_farming_game/ This fueled the fire even more. People were wondering just what this "Evil Farming Game" was, why it was made, if it even exists. The gaming mystery caught some traction with a couple of popular youtubers and was featured in a couple of videos. It was around this time, a year ago that /ThatEvilFarmingGame begun. A community which spent a year naming possible games, following leads, being trolled here and there with "broken laptops" and just waiting for the day "Sparta" (OP of the first post) confirms "Yes this is the game." The Subreddit grew to 10,000 people in a year and even branched off onto Discord. At some point someone decided to start a project of re-Creating this game based on the details known. The whole thing started to form it's own little cult based on the idea of this vague game. Tons of threads, searching and speculating. https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/k5ousd/idk_if_i_found_something_but_it_might_be_worth/https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/jc6u6g/i_believe_the_evil_farming_game_is_confused/ Dozens of this nature. It's all guess work from everyone, they only have a small list of games they know it's not. After some time most users seem to reach the conclusion it doesn't exist. https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/ihp5ywe_all_know_its_fake/https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/ijjuke/can_we_stop_with_all_the_troll_posts_and_this/ One day a suspiciously low quality, yet credible picture of a game was posted. With it were matching known details and some new ones. For the first time there were also detailed descriptions of the game play mechanics, which sounded like a playable game. It was topped off with the usual story of "on a friends old PC, better evidence soon. There have been many open ended promises of the like over time and people were jaded. However this thread had a ring of truth to it, for what it was. https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/kt6dcf/this_has_to_be_it_right_the_premise_is_exactly/ (Actual screenshot) https://imgur.com/AVQw8P8 Then it was deleted after only a day. The OP telling the moderator that they feared doxxing, knowing how big it would be to reveal the actual game. They would report back with real evidence soon. https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/kt9cjl/why_the_op_deleted_his_post/ Deleting it like that seemed to add credibility to it and gave people hope that this time the game would be found. This person wasn't looking for fame. They deleted their entire profile. The original story of how the game was found and how the screenshot was taken was flawed under a microscope, but also completely plausible. A few other people came out and said they had played this game before, or it was familiar. It was looking to be promising. A lot of speculation occurred. https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/ky0kfj/what_do_you_see_in_the_screenshot/ The general consensus being if it was a real game it maybe even THE game. The moderator of the sub was in communication with "Sparta" (OP of TEFG) allegedly. He sent the screenshot over.
This provoked a lot of questions, naturally. Most people agreed that despite the low quality picture, the game itself was quite clear. Clear enough that it SHOULD have gotten a clear yes or no from the only person known to have played it. People began to question the moderator more. They questioned this alleged "Sparta." They questioned the whole premise of That Evil Farming Game. Until the game in the screen shot surfaced they were in limbo and questioning everything once again. https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/kt9cjl/why_the_op_deleted_his_post/gj41mmm/https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/kx48zw/someone_somewhere_is_lying/ There was one user who became particularly active at the same time the OP of the screenshot disappeared. This person made a very long thread breaking down why they thought the screenshot was plausible. They were also grilling the moderator pretty hard with questions the Mod couldn't seem to answer, across other threads. This user was apparently trying to establish the credibility of the alleged "OP" and the Mod's communication with him, and knowledge that it was in fact the same person. This user would post a paragraph of 4 or 5 clear questions and the moderator would reply with very vague answers to 1 or 2. There were claims made of the moderator having an alt, or more. This user claimed to be getting downvoted 3 times in quick succession on replies to the moderator within moments of the moderator replying. Some posts deleted. https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/kx48zw/someone_somewhere_is_lying/gjdbgqi/https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/kx48zw/someone_somewhere_is_lying/gj9z6vd/https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/kx48zw/someone_somewhere_is_lying/gj83tlt/ (Image in reply: https://imgur.com/a/EVbADTF ) This person was very determined to find hard answers. Is the screenshot real? Is it The Evil Farming Game? Is the moderator even in communication with OP? How do they know it's actually OP? Why can't OP ID the game? A popular theory is that it is some sort of scam to promote the game being built to "recreate TEFG based on known details." https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/k92j7i/i_am_starting_to_think_efg_is_a_advertisement/ In a twist, this new and active user came out and made a thread: after a week of asking dozens of questions which had poor answers and writing a books worth on the subject of TEFG. They admitted to being the one who spent hours fabricating the screenshot. They had burned a 6 year old, 50k karma account which originally posted the screenshot and story to add more credibility to the whole thing. They made a new account just to question the whole idea of the game, make people think about it. They had also left breadcrumb's of evidence along the way expecting it to turn up. It was another more clear screen shot, with a fabricated email conversation posted in the comments of one of the screenshots imgur links. The post had proof of deleted posts mentioning how it's probably marketing. They revealed that they had spent the month on and off coming up with the idea as a way to "investigate" if the game was real. They stressed they were doing it in nature of "investigating" and not as a troll job, hence admitting it. After a long break down of a lot of "evidence" of all sorts of things the fake they were met with mostly mockery or hostility. They edited the post to simply say "I misunderstood the purpose of this sub. Yes, I deleted my own thread." Before deleting the thread and vanishing. https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/kzb5hm/the_truth_about_the_screenshot_and_the_results_of/ After some time this user came back. They had posted a long breakdown of the situation the day after the screenshot was posted. The thread got a lot of traction. This post was now edited to include a more condensed version of "the investigation" along with admitting to falsifying evidence up top. The user claimed they had done it all for their own curiosity. For the purpose of the hunt and that they were satisfied with their answer; "the game never existed." They deleted the original "grand reveal" of apparently a months work of investigation due to the hostility. Only revealing the truth of the forgery in an edit on the old thread and a couple of replies to old comments. https://www.reddit.com/ThatEvilFarmingGame/comments/kts7og/new_to_the_hunt_just_some_thoughts_about/ What do you think? A long con troll? A real investigative tactic? Does the game exist? Why does someone care so much? Why did I spend all afternoon going through this?
My dad played GW2 and passed away recently. Can someone please let his friends know?
Hi, so, awkward question. My dad played Guild Wars and I think he also played GW2. He died 2 weeks ago, COVID-19. I don't know if he had friends in the game, but if he did I'd like them to know he passed away. I'm able to log in to his web account, so I know his display name. Is a display name enough information for someone who plays to be able to contact his friends? (I don't want to log in to the game with his login info, because that feels wicked creepy.) His name was jboynton.5823 . Thank you very much. (I'd also love to hear stories about him, if you knew him online. He's a great guy and I miss him a lot. I keep wanting to tell him about my day and then... just... I know he won't answer his phone.I jump started my car for the first time today and he'd be so proud.) (I'm using my "look at cute critters & play QUIJA" reddit account instead of my main account, because I don't want my main account tied to my IRL identity.) Update Feb 12: I downloaded GW2 and logged in with his account (I'm a couple states away from my mom and his computer). It prompted me to pick a starting server and showed there are 2 character slots available. Working theory is that he was playing Guild Wars, not Guild Wars 2. (He'd talked about making the transition, but apparently not). Thank you everyone. I have my mom going through his laptop to help me figure out what online communities he was active in.
My name is Jared A. Brock. Having just turned 35, I sat down to reflect on everything I’ve learned so far and made a list of the things I wish I learned far sooner. None of these are rules or commands for you to follow, just personal reflections from a decade of journaling. I hope they save you a lot of time, energy, and struggle:
1. “Save the best for last” is terrible advice.
A French monk taught me this one. Every morning, I put on the newest pair of socks in my drawer. Why wear the rattiest pair? When I sit down to eat, I eat the tastiest bits first. Why let them get cold? After every shower, I put on my favorite clean t-shirt. I have a great bottle of 10-year-old Laphroaig scotch in my cupboard, but I probably won’t drink it for months because I received two bottles of reactor-aged Lost Spirits single malt for Christmas. Why? Because life is hard enough and we aren’t promised tomorrow. This doesn’t mean we should throw caution to the wind and “live in the moment” at all times, but it does mean we should try to find the golden middle and glean a little bit of pleasure from every day we’re blessed to live. “Save the best for last” is poverty-mentality thinking. It expects worse in the future. Enjoy the best right now — in your marriage, parenting, work, travel, faith, friendship, contribution. Keep all the chips on the table. Be ready at all times to leave without regret.
2. Tools use us.
A hammer literally cannot hit a nail without using a human. A saw cannot cut through a board without using a human. A phone cannot deliver ads without using a human.
3. Avoid false dichotomies.
When given two great options, choose both. When given two horrible options, choose neither.
4. Failure is overcome by one word.
“Next.”
5. Ambition is ruinous for your happiness.
Most goal-setters (myself included) live much of life in anticipation of tomorrow, and when that day arrives, they’re either disappointed by their failures or underwhelmed by their successes. Instead: trust the process. Whiskey, pasta, bread, beer, and cereal all require just two ingredients — wheat and water — but the outcome is completely different based on the process. Identity precedes action. Determine what you want to be, then find the process that will get you there every single time.
6. Forget what the market wants.
Listen to your gut. Your body knows the difference between good and great. Someone said you should never record a song or code an app or write an article unless it makes you laugh, cry, or orgasm. If an idea doesn’t move you, it won’t move an audience, no matter how “commercial” you think it is.
7. Give yourself a shove.
The best way to eat more candy, drink more vodka, and smoke more cigarettes is to leave them in the middle of the kitchen counter. You get it. Willpower is useless. Instead, line up a series of little nudges to automatically get you through your day. If you want to work out, leave your shorts by the door or your cleats in your fridge. My blue diode glasses rest on top of my laptop so I have to protect my eyes before logging online. I can’t not see my vitamins when I brush my teeth, or chia seeds when I reach for the Brita. There’s a book beside my bed, toilet, desk, and car’s gear shifter. Line up enough nudges and you can shove yourself in the right direction.
8. Grandma didn’t use toilet paper.
She used pages from the Sears catalog. Splinter-free wasn’t available until 1935. The Romans used sponges. The Greeks used clay. Francois Rabelais recommended using “the neck of a goose.” Arabians used their left hand. Never assume our extremely unique cultural moment is “normal.”
9. Ninety-nine isn’t enough.
Water boils at 100 degrees Celcius. The difference between 99 and 100 is the difference between zero and one. Not-boiling, boiling. Corollary: 101 doesn’t make it any more boiling.
10. Old people know better.
Honoring our elders is one of the most underrated practices in our newness-obsessed society. Sure, there are a ton of old crazy far-right conspiracy theorists, but there are also good people who have survived four wars, six recessions, and twelve presidents and are somehow still smiling. Get to know them. Also: meet your old-person self. I try to invent a new word every week — one of them is preflection. To ponder the present through the eyes of your future self. Take an hour in silence to listen to your eighty-year-old self. They might know something you don’t.
11. Fire all your employees.
The employer-employee relationship creates an unhealthy power dynamic between humans that simply didn’t exist when we worked cooperatively to feed our clan or village. I love my work life so much more now that I only work with independent entrepreneurs who are my equals. For me, it’s either a one-man show (my writing business), an equal partnership (my film company), or a co-operative endeavor. Life’s too short to be a boss or be bossed around.
12. Accept that you are a voracious locust of doom.
Nail a roll of paper to the wall and write down everything you consume for a year — food, toilet paper, electricity, car fuel, movies, music, social media content, other people’s time, everything. See what I mean? Saint Augustine said that the human heart can only fully be satisfied by one thing aside from God himself: everything. All the sex, all the money, all the power, all the possessions, all the glory. All of it. Nothing short of everything could ever fully satiate the human heart. We are wired for more. Understanding this truth is the first step toward real contentment.
13. Awkward is awesome.
My best friend says that The Office gave society a beautiful gift: the ability to embrace cringe. When you meet someone new and it’s slightly weird, pretend you’re Michael Scott. Just glory and bask in the discomfort. You can awkward-proof your life by being bold: Ask for discounts. Ask for refunds. Ask for phone numbers. Ask for pay raises. Ask inappropriate questions at inappropriate times. Lather yourself in awkward and pretty soon nothing sticks.
14. Happiness isn’t the purpose of life.
Hitler really was following his bliss by offing millions of Jews. I’m sure Jeffrey Dahmer genuinely enjoyed the taste of human flesh. Bernie Madoff seemed content to bilk charities for decades. Happiness isn’t the purpose of life. It’s not even in the top ten. Happiness is a seasonal fruit, not a foundational root. Find firm and fertile ground.
15. There is no ugly.
My grandpa re-proposed to my grandma on their fiftieth wedding anniversary and called her the most beautiful woman he’s ever known. Old wrinkly grandma? Yes. Because we choose our definition of beauty through our thoughts, disciplines, habits, and patterns, be they conscious or otherwise.
16. We are what we consume.
The statistical average American is a walking bodybag of sugar, alcohol, caffeine, porn, pills, and digital stimulus. Imagine how different life would be if our only inputs were nature, sleep, sunlight, organic food, and embodied human interaction? Guard your inputs carefully.
17. We’re going to die quite soon.
Make sure you live first. Practicing memento mori will help.
18. Fame is poison.
One in four Gen Zers thinks they’ll be famous by age 25. One in 3.9999999 Gen Zers are going to have a miserably disappointing life. Why do people desire the attention of strangers? Because we all need to love and be loved, to know and be known, but are too afraid to risk personal heartbreak to seek it out. Attention is not affection. Influence is not intimacy.
19. Boomers are to blame for half our troubles.
The Me Generation took a free ride at the planet’s expense and are hellbent on taking the rest of it with them. They’re statistically low on empathy — blame the lead, asbestos, and hairspray if you must — but at least acknowledge the reality that life is hard for everyone, and no one has it easier.
20. Children are dope.
Kids are the blood transfusion in our sick system. We need to stop manipulating, brainwashing, colonizing, and propagandizing them, and learn from them instead.
21. It doesn’t have to hurt.
Joy is a choice.
22. Watch comedy before calls and meetings.
Five minutes of gut-busting laughter will prime you for even the most tedious conference call. Your co-workers and customers all have tough lives like everybody else, so brighten their day by pre-brightening your own.
23. No ragrets.
Tattoo it on your neck. Most people play it far too safe. Instead: optimize your life for the least number of regrets and the most amount of selfless contribution.
24. There are better ways to vote.
I’ve manned several local voting stations, and I’ve also hob-nobbed with politicians in Canada, America, and the UK. The reality is that they don’t work for us. They work for their corporate sponsors and private interests. Democracy isn’t dead. It just hasn’t happened yet, with all attempts to date being stillborn or aborted. Democracy = one voice one vote. Athens wasn’t a democracy — women, slaves, and tenants had zero say. America isn’t a democracy either — no representative system is, because it’s far too easy for private interests to buy politicians. The charade of voting is illusory. All elections are sham elections. So what to do? Vote with your money and time and attention. One sham vote every four years versus tens of thousands of dollar-votes each year? It’s a no-brainer. My wife and I haven’t stepped foot in a Walmart in more than a decade because thousands of its suppliers are based in China, the billionaire heirs are anti-democratic tax-avoiders, and they treat their employees like indentured servants. Vote for pro-democracy third-party candidates if you must — just understand the game, and vote in the ways that actually matter.
25. Everything easy has already been done.
So run a little further. And if it hasn’t been done, it won’t be as easy as it appears. The question to ask is: what’s been standing in the way this whole time? Achievement is all about knocking down obstacles. Just make sure what’s on the other side is rightly worth the effort.
26. Broccoli still tastes terrible.
But you’re not a child anymore. Adults do hard things.
Discipline is great, but it’s also subject to the law of diminishing returns. Life is just too dynamic to schedule with military precision. Free yourself from the tyranny of “only people who wake up at 5 AM are successful.” All hours are not created equal. It depends on your sleep drive and chronotype. Know yourself. Unapologetically get more sleep, then do your best work at your best time in your best state.
28. “Freedom” isn’t freedom.
America wasn’t founded on freedom. America was founded on violent autonomy. The ancient Greeks had an entirely different definition of freedom: it was the ability to choose the right regardless of circumstance.
“We talk about freedom all the time, but we’ve stopped talking about freedom a long time ago. Now we’re talking about autonomy. Freedom is different than autonomy. Freedom has boundaries. Truth is one of those boundaries. And morality is one of those boundaries. Autonomy is the ability to do whatever you want whenever you want in whatever way you want. The problem is this: If I’m autonomous and another person is autonomous, and I have preferences and those matter more than the truth, and that person has preferences and their preferences matter more than the truth, when two autonomous preference-seeking beings come together and their preferences don’t match, who is going to win? If truth is on the bottom shelf, truth won’t decide. What will decide will be power. And isn’t it ironic that in our quest for “freedom”, someone gets enslaved?” — Abdu Murray
29. The Marines were right: slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
As teenagers, my friend Tyler and I were in a hurry to get somewhere quickly so we drove 120+ miles per hour for forty-five straight minutes before nearly crashing when the speed burned a footlong gash through the tire. By the time we replaced it with a spare, we were late to our destination by more than an hour. But nevermind driving. Pump the life-brakes sometimes, or at least, let off the gas. You might get there faster, with less wear-and-tear on the engine.
30. The quest for wealth is destroying life.
We’ve commodified land, water, shelter, clothing, art, time, and nearly everything else. Very little remains, and it’s amassing into fewer hands. We need a shared global vision. My invented word for it is benevitae: the sustainable flourishing of all creation. Our collective goal should be socioenviroeconomic sustainability. Where to start? We’d do well to let biology determine ecological sustainability and real democracy to determine economic fairness. Our current trajectory is worse than the Space Shuttle Challenger.
31. Most “leaders” aren’t leaders.
Celebrities, politicians, and book-hocking business gurus all call themselves leaders. They’re not. Real leadership is influence that serves. True leaders are selfless and servant-hearted. They put the best interests of others ahead of their own. Politics and media, by comparison, attracts sociopaths like flies to firelight. Never give power to those who seek it. Nearly everyone worth following is dead.
32. Divide-and-conquer is a business model.
Near the end of high school, dozen friends and I binge-watched multiple seasons of LOST in our friend Mike’s basement. It was one of the most hilarious, riotous, enjoyable experiences we had as a group. And it was the last show we ever watched together. People used to go to restaurants in large numbers, to the movies by the dozen, climbing over each other for one of the limited video game controllers, packing out our churches, cheering on our sports teams by the busload. We were almost never alone, and we were far happier. Now we order in, watch Netflix, stream Minecraft, catch the highlights, watch porn, and go to bed. It’s killing us. Resist the urge to be alone. It’s too easy, and it’s the exact opposite of what we really need. The #1 thing that’s correlated to human happiness is human togetherness.
33. Self-improvement won’t save us.
The great lie of individualist-consumerist culture is that we can improve our way to personal perfection and communal utopia. But it’s incrementalism at best. It’s just chasing infinity.
34. We know nothing +/-.
On the scale of all that is known, and all that is knowable, our individual understanding is essentially mathematically zero. The entirety of human knowledge is a rounding error. This is the beginning of humility.
35. The sun is not on fire
I was at an observatory in the Davis Mountains in Texas, and it was the first time I’d paid attention to astronomy since grade school. For three decades, I’d wrongly assumed the sun was a giant ball of flames. But there’s no fire in space because there’s no oxygen in space. (It just looks like fire because of how our eyes perceive light through the atmosphere and prism.) As I stared at the real-time image of the sun on the observatory wall, I nearly wept. The sun actually looks like a giant, boiling, grey brain. And then it hit me: I have so many assumptions to set aside and so much left to learn. So pay attention. Don’t worship the “question everything” mantra, but instead spend your life seeking truth, and wisdom, and understanding. You know what you need to do to get where you want to be.
This is my $256 budget gaming PC. I seen that someone else posted pics of their budget build so I decided I'd share mine and give some insight into what's in it, why I went with the parts I did, the challenges that I had and share my cost breakdown. Before we get into it, I wanted to let you know that this is an older pic. While all my components are the same, my build looks a bit cleaner than shown here since I shoved some excess cables and my SSD out of the way lol. For this build, I wanted to be able to play modern games on a tight budget and this build accomplished that. Specs: Dell Optiplex 7010 MT i5-3570 CPU RX 480 4GB GPU 16GB DDR3-1600 RAM 480GB SSD 500GB HDD 550W Corsair Semi-modular PSU Back in December 2019, I knew that I wanted to finally get a decent gaming PC after I regretfully sold my gaming laptop a couple years earlier. I didn't have much money to my name so I did a ton of research to know what I needed/wanted to get. I got almost all of my parts from eBay. I got the Optiplex itself in December 2019 and it came with an i5-3570 and 8GB of RAM for $100. I went with a 7010 MT since I could swap out the PSU with a better ATX PSU and since it was an MT it meant that it could support full sized GPUs. I knew I wanted one with an i5-3570 since it's a slight upgrade over the i5-3470 that so many of these come with. My PSU I actually got for just $10 a few years earlier from an online friend. He said he'd give it to me for free but that I just had to pay for shipping which came to $10. I swapped out the PSU before I ever even booted it up since I already had it on hand. Since it's semi-modular it helped with cable management since my case pretty much has none. If you're looking for a great deal on an ATX PSU for a similar price, check out EVGA's midweek madness sales. I've seen EVGA PSUs on there around the $10-30 range and they're better than the $40-$50 cheapo PSUs you can find on sites like Amazon. Next was my HDD. It didn't come with one, but I got my HDD for just $8 at the time. Funny enough, my PC didn't come with the little HDD trays it needed so I had to mount it under where the dvd drive was with a few pieces of double sided foam mounting tape which mildly helped with reducing vibration noise as well. I needed a GPU and after doing months of research previously, I went with a Gigabyte RX 480 4GB G1 Gaming. I seen one listed for like $89, but eBay had sent me a digital coupon which brought the cost down to just $75. Not bad at all for this GPU. The challenge with getting a GPU for this system was that I needed one that was no longer than 10 inches otherwise it wouldn't have fit due to the HDD cage being in the way. There was only a small handful that would fit my system within my budget, but this one was the cheapest at the time that would work. Of course, I could have went with a low profile or ITX GPU but that would have at least doubled the cost for a card and I couldn't afford it. At this point, I had a budget gaming PC that I was very happy with and I'd spent less than $200 on it at this point. There was just two more upgrades that really wanted to get that I could afford to get, an SSD and some extra RAM. The SSD came first and is the only part of this build that was new. I went with a 480GB Adata SSD for my boot drive which cost me $60. Since it became my new boot drive, it sped my entire system up a lot. The only challenge here was that I couldn't connect up all my SATA drives up since my GPU covered up my SATA ports. The solution was to get some low profile SATA connectors. There was only one brand of them that would work, Silverstone. They were the only ones I could find that were so low profile that they would fit under my GPU. I could only afford one or two of them so I couldn't reconnect my DVD drive, but that's fine since I've never used it. Last was my extra RAM. I wanted an extra 8GB that was identical to the RAM I already had in my system, but prices were around $30 at the time. I waited a couple months and finally found some for $20 saving me $10 so I bought it. Now I had 16GB of RAM in my system. That's it! But how well does it perform? I'll put it this way, I can play any game that I want at 1080p if I'm not picky about framerates or settings. Most newer games (2018 or newer) I have to set to low-medium settings to get decent framerates. Games that are from 2018 or earlier, I typically just put it on medium or high settings and forget about it. Most games I get between 30-60fps though. Thanks for coming to my TEDTalk!
Warning- This is a doozy, so buckle up. This past thanksgiving break to now has lead to some intense things. I was spending the November holiday with a relative in Vegas and things were perfectly fine, of course in the most covid friendly way possible. However, nearing the end of the break I got a text from my mother stating that she had purchased a plane ticket for me to come back to Houston tommorow morning. Why? She wanted to surprise me with an extended trip home, even though I had nothing but a whole week’s worth of clothes, my phone, charger, and wallet. I told her this, yet she said that one of my close friends in Cedar could mail it for me, which is naturally inconsiderate. I confronted the Vegas relative about this, and they refused to give me flight details until the day of the flight. The whole situation was naturally suspicious, and I told my extended friends in Cedar, one of them being my current boyfriend. All of them thought this whole thing was ridiculous, however, being the patient person I am, carried on with the trip back home. Being on that flight was horrid the next morning, considering that I was crying for quite a bit of it due to not knowing what was going on. When my parents came to pick me up, it was a drive filled with small talk, which is something I despise. As soon as we got home, we ate lunch quietly and then my parents started questioning things about my life, such as my friends,classes, and of course the boundary pusher of how I am doing spiritually, which is none of their business. I told them I was doing fine, since I consider myself more spiritual than religious at this point in my life. I believe in a higher power, but I do not trust organized religion. However, they pushed it farther and asked about how I felt about the law of chastity. I told them my honest answer that it has its damage, even though it has good intentions. They didn’t take it well, and told me the ultimate thing that made me lose complete trust in my Vegas relative: “Your relative found a condom in your wallet when we asked her to go look at your DL card. How far have you gone with boys?” First off, I am a twenty-year old third year college student, who had two jobs and seventeen credits this past year and still managed to make the Dean’s list. I told them that it’s not their business, and I am still a person with morals. Of course, most Mormon parents do not understand the concept of boundaries, and asked in detail about how many people I’ve slept with and of course nagged me about The Word of Wisdom. Keep in mind that I occasionally used marijuana and drank very little. I’ve also only slept with two people and was safe every time. However, I still got called a leaf in the wind who stood for nothing, therefore, I fell for everything. With that being said, they took my phone and my dad gave me his shitty laptop to finish school on since everything went online after thanksgiving break. Luckily with zoom, my boyfriend was able to message me about what was going on and he was livid. Thankfully, he was able to contact my cousins who live in Cyprus via text to tell them what was happening. I was able to tell him about the not so subtle ways my parents tried to get me back to God. The talks of turning my scarlet sins to snow. The fruits that people produce. How they painted my ex Mormon cousins as bad influences just because they are sexually active, and encouraged me to get birth control. The constant push to get me back into something they wanted was hell. I lost motivation to do basic things like hygiene and cooking due to how depressed I was. Yet my parents insisted that I was addicted to drugs and needed to be fixed. In reality, I was depressed with how my life was at the moment. With these things happening, my boyfriend, his sister, and another friend offered to fly to Texas to come get me out, and I consented to them moving my stuff out of my old apartment to my friends. We had it planned out via constant secret emails, yet my mother was secretly going through my emails and found out my plan to leave at the wrong place and time. She demanded that I told my friends to pay them back on the plane ticket that they had purchased for me because they didn’t want me to leave because in their eyes I was mentally unstable. The very next morning my parents took all of the money I had in my bank account taken out. I was very numb to this naturally, and had several episodes of angry tears. Thankfully, my friends were planning to come get me the next day and I kept quiet on the escape plan. However, my parents questioned me about it that very night, and when I got called them out on their BS and still told them I wanted to leave, they used the classic lines of how selfish and arrogant I was, and took my DL and student ID. I got driven to a family friend’s house with my mom, and before she left for work, she read out the Utah laws on marijuana, which I was already well aware of. My friends are not addicts at all, and actually have benefitted from marijuana. She also threatened to call the Cedar City cops on them, just so if “I ever went back, I could visit my boyfriend in jail.” Being in a fragile mental state, I didn’t fight back because I did think that they were going to hurt him. The next day, my boyfriend’s mom posted about the whole thing, and hundreds of people responded like there was no tomorrow. It got to the point where people like Sam Young and John Delin were alerted of the situation. Some of the responders were able to contact my old bishop, and they told what my parents did. My parents of course told him their version, and he took their side. My friends and my parents played the game of calling the cops on each other, but I was never able to give them my word. Being in a fragile mindset, my parents insisted that I give them my word that I would stay home and “work on myself”. So they sold my lease without my consent, and I lost both of my jobs I had. I wasn’t able to contact anyone for three weeks. During that time, I went through the worst depression of my life, and my parents of course continued to insist that I was going through withdrawal symptoms. After those weeks passed, my parents payed for this semester with my money that they stole, and gave me my phone back. I immediately contacted my boyfriend and asked for his side of the story of what happened in Houston. He told me how they tried to reason with my parents, but they said to not even come and pick me up, as was expected considering there were jail threats. The next few weeks I fought an internal battle with my mind, trying to figure out how to get out of my situation. I talked with a therapist who happened to be a BYU grad suspiciously, then again my parents chose a family therapist for their reasons. I filled out the paperwork, but my therapist still insisted that I try to listen to their perspective. Pretty fishy huh? I ended up talking to my parents more weirdly enough. They were mainly fights of course. One fight I remember having was regarding my sexual health when my mother dropped this Golden line- “Consent is not respect. Waiting is.” My dad agreed with her of course, and I got painted as the person tearing the family apart, while my mother texted my cousins and their mom who have tried to get me out as well that I was a drug addict who was going to die if they tried to help me get out. The very next week, I had several long conversations with my boyfriend, and after constant talks about how the whole situation was psychological abuse and how I wasn’t a bad person for wanting to leave. I finally gave my consent for them to buy the plane ticket, and I kept quiet about my escape plan. I ended up leaving the house Sunday morning via Uber, before anyone woke up. I packed minimum baggage, and ignored the various angry texts and calls I got throughout the day about how I was being deceived, and I had no sense of morality, despite the shit that happened the past two months. Yet I still got on the plane I wanted to get on and reunited with the people I loved in Vegas, then drove back to Cedar. Today, I have a place to crash for a while, a loving boyfriend, support from extended family, and a new job that will help me get back on my feet. There are still things to work out considering that I was just cut out from my family, but it will take one day at a time. This is not an easy path, but I know it’s the right one. Cheers, Heathens!
About yesterday's late dono. I feel bad for bringing down the vibe of the stream, but I want to talk about Ben a little bit.
I'm the dude who donated $210 to Wubby last night with the message about my friend Ben. I had posted this message in the discord earlier before stream started, and wanted to say something similar with the donation, but there just wasn't enough room. I'm posting this in the hopes to give a bit more context as to why I did what I did, and who my friend Ben was.
My friend Ben, who introduced me to Wubby's content almost 3 years ago, lost his fight with depression on Saturday. Whenever we hung out playing vidya he'd always bring up the latest stream or highlight video. Seriously, the dude loved Wubby's content. It was probably his most watched anything on Youtube, Twitch, or otherwise. On Friday he insisted on paying me back since I'd helped him cover his rent when he lost his job due to COVID last April. Wish I'd known why he was so insistent on me taking it. We didn't get the chance to talk much anymore after I moved to a new continent/country a couple of months back, so I didn't know things had turned so poor. I can't stand having it in my account, so I'm donating it to Wubby tonight. Hopefully he can continue to be a bright light for people like Ben. Or he can use it to buy some more degen shit for the house, whatever really, it's his money now
In hindsight, I have some regret in having said anything, because I realize that it brought the general mood and vibe of the stream down. Also, because somehow my dono managed to coincide with stream going down repeatedly which resulted in a lot of chat spam (jokingly) blaming Ben. At the same time... I think Ben probably would have absolutely loved to have been the focus of a joke in Wubby's stream. Ben and I were friends since high school, we met when he showed up to a D&D group meetup looking to play. Ben was mute, and had immense difficulty finding anyone who would give him the time of day, much less take the time to work with him to play D&D or any other "communication heavy" games, but I already had some experience running "play by post" games online, and Ben had a laptop that he could use to type so that we didn't have to learn sign language or wait for him to write down what he wanted to say. I said fuck it, and invited him along. Ben turned out to be an excellent role-player, and always drove the plot along in fun and interesting ways when given a chance to shine. He told me once he was so happy to find a group that was willing to give him a voice that even when he didn't enjoy a session he enjoyed just hanging out with our group. And while we weren't as close as we were back then, he was still one of those people I could just sit in a room with playing video games and not speaking a single word for hours at a time and feel like we were bonding, which is a bit of a rare treat. When he paid me back on Friday I knew he was still working as a temp so I didn't feel comfortable taking the money back, but he was incredibly insistent, and I didn't want to insult my friend by refusing until he had to beg me to take it back. I figured I'd let him keep his pride, even if I knew he could use the money more than me. But after his girlfriend texted me Sunday morning to let me know all I could think about was that stupid payment receipt in my inbox. I suddenly understood why he wanted to pay me back when I figured he probably shouldn't have. And it stung. It still stings honestly. I was sitting there trying to think of what I could do to honor him while also getting that cursed money out of my account, and while a few different options came to mind I knew that if we'd been in a spot where that money didn't matter, Ben would have wanted to have a bit of Recognition in Wubby's stream. Ben loved what Wubby did, and we had even talked a few times about what it would take for him to run a stream similarly, but he always stopped short due to him being a mute and fearing that he would never gain an audience. He was probably right, Twitch/Youtube success relies a lot on luck and being in the right place at the right time, not unlike every kid in the 80s and 90s wanting to be a rockstar and starting their own garage band at some point. Sorry, I'm getting sidetracked... I know, for a fact, that he would have been happy just to hear Wubby's reaction to a "big" donation like that and see his name on stream. And I really couldn't stand having that money in my account, but feeling like I killed the mood (and the stream) has been weighing on my mind since I woke up today. Also, please don't worry about me, like I said in the discord:
I'm okay. It's just a bit surreal. I have my wife, my dogs, and a job that contributes to my happiness, so I'll be alright in the long run. I just feel some guilt in not being a better friend. I feel like I should have been more proactive, or checked in on him. It was easy to use the excuse of "just moved to a new country" and COVID to not keep up with my social obligations or check in with friends.
Anyway... Ben was a great dude, a disgustingly creative roleplayer, lover of puzzles, and the kind of person who could read your soul just by looking at you. I'll miss hanging out with him. Fuck, I already do. C'ya around, Ben. Catch you next session, bud. Edit: Thank you all for the kind words and reassurance. I don't want to blow up this thread by thanking each of you individually, but know that I am reading every reply so far.
[Uni] Doing something in our free time other than gaming & netflix
Welcome!
I decided to write this after reflecting on my 2.5 years in university and 23 years in life. University has been a blast and taught me many things - I hustled & played hard, failed and succeeded. However, I wished I learnt earlier that my time and youth would be my most important resource. I have some reservations (not regrets per se) about how I spent my time when I was younger, especially during holidays or extended breaks. In a nutshell, I mostly did two things during my holidays - gaming and reading manga. It was no doubt fun - but I think I could have done more. Hence, I hope that my reflection and advice will be able to help someone out! Target Audience:
JC/Secondary/Poly kids waiting for next year
"ORD LO" mates waiting for Uni
University kids with spare time
Following this, I want to share three pillars that have helped me lead a better life.
1. Physicality
You need to sweat. Like seriously, as much as possible, try to sweat hard at least once a week. It could be any of the following:
Traditional activities (eg. soccer, basketball, rock climbing, badminton, cycling, swimming etc.)
Less traditional activities (eg. Boxing, muay thai, dancing, kayaking, bowling, sailing etc.)
Hitting the gym
From my experience, with the advent of laptops (and with COVID right now), it is incredibly possible to go one month without sweating. Please, get the heck out of your house. Beyond the more tangible benefits, I believe that "physical activities" are helpful in two ways
Socialising — not immediately, but over time, as you get better at your activity, you will have a chance to meet people with a similar interest. Be it hitting the gym or bouldering or whatever, having something to "do" together can't go wrong
Aesthetics and confidence — let's be honest, who does not want to look good? One does not need to look big, but at the very least, there should be no excuse for not looking fit
Considerations
Be financially conscious — if you don't come from a well-to-do background, don't try to pick up golf. If you don't live in a condominium, a $100/session tennis coach might not be the best idea. Focus on what you CAN do.
Excuses — "Today raining sia, better watch my Netflix bah", "Wa shucks, today so hot, cannot run la", "Wa I scared sia, go rock climbing alone". Ngl, most days, your brain will try to rationalise and get you to take the easy way out. It's perfectly fine to take breaks as and when, but be conscious that weeks will pass in a flash (procrastination gang rise up)
2. Doing something productive
Don't worry, I'm not one of those "LEARNING CODING!! UPSKILL YOURSELF OR DIE! JOIN THE RAT RACE" fanatics. What I mean is - don't let your mind go to shit. Read something, read everything. Percy Jackson. Non-Fiction. Doesn't matter, just exercise your knowledge muscle a little. Start writing a diary. Volunteer at least once in a month. Catch up on your schoolwork (Or at least beg seniors for the practice papers, notes and answers). Start doing an online course (C'mon, it's 14 hours. You can't spare 14 hours in a month?) Just make sure that after some time, you've something to say other than "Just Netflix and game lor".
For my rat race wannabes:
First off, absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to grind. Singapore is a f**king competition. If you're from an average family like me, 0 connections, 0 special skills, the need to earn well to support my family, sure, go for it. This are the things I would recommend, in no particular order:
Onlinecourses — seriously, Udemy has 35 effing million students. That's 0.4% of the entire world. It's a great way to explore potential interests and SHOW people you are interested in a particular topic. For example, everyone mfker around me is interested in "investing". My friends and I have been talking about it since secondary school. How many people actually put in the hours and learn about it properly?
Gettingaheadstart — It's increasingly common for university students to "study in advance" for next year. Based on the /sgexams posts I'm seeing, it seems like that is the case for JC/secondary school kids as well. If you think life is a damn race, then go for it.
Startingsomething — listen, there's simply not enough resources for everyone to be earning $10,000 a month within 5 years of employment. You need to STAND OUT if you want to win the race. Write a blog, start a personal finance portfolio, do freelance marketing, do a podcast. Just. Do. Something. If it somehow works out, gong xi fa cai bro. If it doesn't, it's a great story to talk about in an interview.
Just a quick note I am by no means recommending for a JC1 kid to spend their Chinese New Year holidays mugging for A's to get the 90RP + Full scholarship. The section "For my rat race wannabes" is simply for people who WANT to be a part of the rat race. Once again, I would like to stress that it is not necessary - there are many different ways of playing the game of life - you can try to min-max your character stats, you can enjoy the process itself. The list goes on - there is no right or wrong. The key takeaway for this: Don't freaking read manga/watch Netflix for hours upon hours. Consume something else to expand your mind a little.
3. Have some goddamn fun
Now, at the end of the day, we all need a break. I'm not saying to spend your entire life studying or working or hitting the gym. Everything in moderation. Make sure to have some fun and indulge in certain things as well. My recommendations:
Binge something on Netflix (For me, it's B99, Prison Playbook, Kingdom and today, Snowpiercer)
Spend an entire day just gaming (Y'know those days where you have gamed till your eyes hurt and you feel like shit, but one more game doesn't hurt amiright?).
The bottom line is, feel free to indulge, you deserve it.
Thanks for coming this far
Ok, I know the vibes from the first two pillars is that "you need to hustle away" your life. No, please. I want to emphasise that it is perfectly fine to "Do nothing" and just "recharge". Just don't overdo having fun. Don't overdo hustling either or you're going to burn out. Frankly, I love that feeling when I spend an entire day eating chips and climbing the ladder on CSGO - but one day is enough. What I most regret is doing it for weeks upon weeks. If you've come this far, you deserve a summary:
Physicality - working up a sweat helps tremendously. A jawline is great as well. Lastly, it gives you something to do for a bit.
Productivity - don't waste entire weekends. It's easy to fall into some fog. Make sure to do something, however minor.
Have some effing fun - don't forget to take a break. Don't over hustle.
Misc - Useful resources + concepts that drove the article
For my dawgs that want to get into computer science for a five-figure salary (Don't worry 50% of you will burn out and say F CS after Y1 in University)
Ok, this section is rather pointless, so feel free to skip it. Just gonna be me rambling for a little. I've always dreamt of writing about self-improvement. It got me out of many ruts in life, to push myself to do a little more. Today, I decided to say F IT and sit the heck down to write this article. If you notice, I've been commenting a fair bit in /sgexams. I want to do a little more for everyone. Also, I want to start writing more - I want to make it a hobby of mine.
Snack for those who have came this far
Aight, congrats if you have read this far. I'm trying this out - I'm going to facilitate a/multiple "accountability groups". We do a group call every week for 20 minutes - say what you're going to do for the week, and do it. Also, you get to bounce ideas and potentially develop a network over time. (I hope!) If there's interest, I will set up a proper system. leave a comment below that you're interested!
I bought a PS4 at the start of 2020 and played video games a bit too much this crazy year! Here are my rankings and brief reviews of the 32 excellent games I finished this year, as well as my thoughts on patient gaming.
Introduction:
It's basically trite at this point to say this year has been challenging, but one positive out of everything is that I've been fortunate enough to have the time and funds to play a huge number of games that I've heard so much about, yet never was able to before now. I grew up on almost exclusively Nintendo games and then branched out to indie games in college I could play on my laptop, so I was more than excited when I bought the base PS4 that came bundled with God of War, Last of Us, and Horizon Zero Dawn for $200 (and I snagged Bloodborne for $15 while I was at it). What ensued was a year of frenzied gaming-- never in any year of my life have I played games as much as I did this year. I enjoyed it, but there were also some surprising drawbacks to placing such an emphasis on gaming as a primary hobby, and I'll discuss those towards the conclusion. But man, there were some absolutely fantastic games that I played this year and I want to share my thoughts on them! Not every game I played this year was PS4, but most were. Since literally every game I played this year was a good game, I have stratified my rankings into three overarching tiers: Best, Great, and Good. I was lucky enough to not even need a Meh tier this year. Lots of games within the same tier could probably have their orders switched, but I did my best. And all but two of these games I was patient™ on, which is a fun side note. Disclaimer*:* These rankings reflect my personal opinions on the experience I had after finishing the game, rather than my thoughts on its overall quality as a product for everyone. There are a few rankings that are sure to ruffle some feathers-- I know that God of War, RDR2, Journey, Undertale, and Nier: Automata for example are great games, but they didn't resonate with me nearly as much as some others. So know that I appreciate them and those who hold these games so dear. Without further ado, let's get going!
The BEST:
1.Bloodborne (PS4): Quite simply, I'm still chasing the feeling I had after playing this game for the first time. So much so you could say, that I played it 7 times this year. Never has a game enraptured me with its shocking world, brutal combat, and the best DLC I've ever played. I want to talk about Bloodborne (and all the souls games, really) constantly, learn everything about them, and play them forever.
Last of Us Part II (PS4): One of two games I broke being patient™ on, I waited a couple months before diving in just to stop working to avoid spoilers. I enjoyed the first game but this absolutely blew me out of the water. On a gameplay level I couldn't believe how fluid and visceral the combat was, how immense the encounters were with countless approaches to every situation, and how fun it was to play. The narrative was challenging and forced me to grapple with the same emotions as the protagonist initially, then brilliantly the player and character on divergent emotional tracks as you become more shocked and uncomfortable with what happens. I encourage anyone who hasn't yet to play with an open mind and avoid trying to reduce the story to a single theme or message. It may not be your cup of tea, but it was mine.
3. Outer Wilds (PS4): This game feels like it was made just for me. I love space and rocket physics, I love discovery, and I love it when a game makes me feel clever. The level of wonder and curiosity I felt while playing can only be compared to what I experienced with Breath of the Wild. This game is difficult to talk about without spoilers, but if discovery and outer space get you excited, there is nothing like Outer Wilds.
Dark Souls III (PS4): Yeah, I like souls games. While certainly less groundbreaking than DS1 and perhaps less atmospheric than Bloodborne, DS3 is a grand experience with, in my opinion, the best bosses in all the souls games. It's also the best souls game for experimenting with different playstyles without needing to watch 6 hours of VaatiVidya to figure out how to be a pyromancer.
Control (PS4): Objectively speaking, this game might not have the same merits as the others in the "Best" category. But it sucked me in with it's completely unique visual style. It felt like a strange acid trip and I was always excited to see what was next. The powers and combat were fun even if not terribly original (and even though the gunplay wasn't too strong) but I was completely enthralled by the nonchalance of the cast amid mind blowing supernatural activity. Far from a perfect game, but give it a chance if the style seems intriguing to you!
The Great:
The Last of Us Remastered (PS4): One of my most anticipated games when I picked up a PS4, having watched my friends play some of it. Though it didn't blow me away as much in 2020 as it might have in 2013, I thought it had decent gameplay, a great story, and a stunning world. The cities and post-apocalyptic environments were a pleasure to soak in, packed with detail, and well paced. Definitely a deserved classic.
Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4): In a lot of ways, this game isn't good as an open world game. It doesn't do a great job of compelling you to explore and engage with all the cool stuff it has. The sidequests are kind of bad, many characters forgettable and oddly animated. But this game is this high on the list because it's just so much fun taking down machine dinosaurs. They nailed gameplay in a technically beautiful world, and actually surprised me with the quality of the main story line. Not groundbreaking, but solid and a joy to play.
Death Stranding (PS4): For being one of the best games I have ever played, Death Stranding kinda sucks. I absolutely adored the premise and the world Kojima crafted, and delivering packages was really enjoyable. I loved figuring out traversal and just soaking in the graphics. I'm not one that normally cares about technical graphical showcases, but this game has made me reconsider how important graphics can be to an experience. Unfortunately, the dreadful gun mechanics, broken driving, constant NPC interjections, and the game's refusal to just end already kinda bogged it down. There's a lot here though that won me over and is an experience unlike anything I've ever played.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo Switch): The other game on this list I was not patient™ for, since I bought it for my wife... and then got sucked in. Truth is, as a non-creative type, I just loved this game as an outlet for my creativity and expression. I loved having projects like my zen garden, my Domino's Pizza restaurant, and then getting to share them with my friends. I've heard it said something along the lines of "It wasn't the best game of 2020, but it was the game for 2020".
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PS4): Once I adjusted my expectations of what this game was and was not, it was great. While it doesn't reward open exploration as much as BoTW and Skyrim did, it simply has the best quests of any open world game I've played. Very rich environments and stories, and I even thought the gameplay was more than serviceable. It did kind of drag on by the end though. Also, disclaimer, I haven't played the DLC (sorry).
Return of the Obra Dinn (Nintendo Switch): I had hoped it would blow me away in a way similar to Outer Wilds, and while it didn't quite reach the same heights for me it was great nonetheless. I loved the nautical setting, the critical thinking and deduction required, and the way it was balanced perfectly between leaving you totally on your own and confirming bits at a time. My only real complaint is that I felt the true ending didn't really reveal anything about the story I didn't already know, I guess I expected some grand reveal.
Doom Eternal (PS4): White-knuckle, heart pounding, insane. The game forces you to engage with every mechanic it throws at you and is brutally challenging, but all in the best way. Though the gameplay was better than DOOM 2016, I actually preferred the latter since Eternal's levels felt more like a silly mario level than a tense demon-infested place. I get what they were going for and they executed well, I just prefer the more serious tone.
Hades (Nintendo Switch): Biggest surprise of the year for me, I didn't actually expect to like it. Hades is perfectly polished and a big step forward for integrating its excellent narrative with its roguelike structure. It's very easy to play without investing too much, making it great for unwinding. It deserves all the praise it's getting.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Remastered) (PS4): All the mainline Uncharted games are on this list but I enjoyed 2 the most. The set pieces were the most memorable, and I enjoyed almost every second. These games aren't as high on the list because, no matter how you dress it up, it's a pretty simple affair ultimately in terms of gameplay but it nails the style of game that it is.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (PS4): An amazing game in its own right, but was ultimately disappointing for me as a From Software fan. I found that what I appreciated most about Souls games was the tension of not knowing if you could make it to the next checkpoint, the terror of encountering something surprising and having to deal with it. Sekiro litters checkpoints left and right, which is of course great for its more boss-focused design, but left me far less immersed in the environments personally. I also wished I had more options for playing aggressively rather than just memorizing the parry patterns. In any case, these gripes are my personal preferences coming through and any hardcore gamer owes it to themselves to conquer this behemoth of a challenge.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 (PS4): Pure, unadulterated fun. I was absolutely addicted to the core gameplay and the levels, especially in the first game, were so cool to explore. For me the core loop started to get stale by the time I finished all the challenges on the levels, but for those that wanted more there is almost an endless amount of bonus challenges to tackle.
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4): There's definitely a strong argument that this is the ultimate uncharted game to play-- best gunplay and options in encounters, by far the best puzzles, and the delivery of the story is leagues above the rest of the series. I simply think that Uncharted 2 had the highest highs, so 4 is a tad lower. That, and the beautiful story set up was not brought together in a satisfying way; it in no way felt like Drake had earned Elena's forgiveness, but they kind just glossed over it. Still, a must play and Naughty Dog games at their best.
Subnautica (PS4): I wanted to love it more than I did. I was hooked on exploring and discovering the mysteries of the alien underwater, but I think I do better with games with less of a survival focus. I got really far into the game, but didn't actually finish since eventually the slow drip of clues started to get a bit too slow for my tastes, and the survival and basebuilding began to get tedious. Minor PS4 technical issues aside though, This is a dang good survival game, and immense in a terrifying and wonderful way.
Monster Train (PC): Slay the Spire is one of my all-time favorites, so I was pretty excited to be gifted this. It's a blast as a deckbuilder, and I think it was smartly designed in how it throws significant and strong rewards at you at every phase of a run, whereas StS often forces you to make the best of an iffy situation. Had a great time, but I lost interest after 15 or so hours since most runs tend to feel fairly similar. Still would absolutely recommend for StS and deckbuilding fans.
Spelunky (PC): Not the hardest game I've ever played, but definitely the most unforgiving. The controls took a while to get used to but once I was engaged, the game is a tight, slick, and enthralling adventure and test of skills. Full of secrets (I've only scratched the surface) and deeply satisfying to conquer. But boy, is it unforgiving.
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Remastered) (PS4): Another strong entry in the Uncharted series, just a tad weaker than 2 I think. I will credit it though with having the most memorable environments and locales in any Uncharted though!
The Good:
Read Dead Redemption II (PS4): *Full disclosure, I'm still playing through act 5 at the time of this post.* This one is really tough for me to fully form an opinion on. On the one hand, I think this is the most stunning and immersive open world I've ever seen. Deeply authentic towns, regions, unparalleled attention to detail, and great characters and a decent story. But the way the missions force you to do things explicitly one way with terrible hand-holding just isn't fun to me, and makes Uncharted games feel like open-world sandboxes by comparison. There's a lot of quality here and I've enjoyed many elements, but have been disillusioned by others. NakeyJakey explains what I felt far better than I can (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvJPKOLDSos&t=392s). Still a good time though.
God of War (PS4): Like RDR2, an incredible technical achievement, for me hands down the best looking PS4 game, best voice acting, and for most people this should be towards the top of your must-play list. At its best, the characters are great, the combat is crunchy and satisfying, and the world beautiful. I just felt that for far too often the game was far from its best-- too many combat encounters didn't feel like I was a God of War but rather smacking a giant meat sack of health, so many secrets and puzzles that I just stopped caring about because finding treasure chests isn't fun when the rpg/loot elements feel so tacked on and pointless, endlessly recycled bosses... for me it was just pretty good, nothing like the game of the generation in my eyes. That said, most people don't seem too bothered by the things I found mediocre, so the sheer spectacle (looking at you world serpent!) and great moments make this well worth the price of admission!
Undertale (PC): I did not play this game the way it was meant to be played, let's say that up front. It was a gift, and I played about a half an hour every month for a year and just finally finished it. I loved the music, it was charming, and I see why people love this game so much. I think it just didn't hit those highs for me and I was left with a fairly silly little 8-bit game. Which was good. I'm glad I experienced what it had to offer but didn't leave a huge mark on me.
Superhot (Google Stadia): I had wanted to play this game forever but couldn't justify spending $20 on it, so I was pleased when I got a free Google Stadia kit and got to play it free! Really neat blend of stylized retro computer flavor and a fabulous central time-stop mechanic. A great 2 hour experience but tough to recommend as more than a novelty.
NieR: Automata (PS4): I have made it through 1.5 playthroughs so I know I haven't gotten the full experience, but I wasn't enjoying it enough to continue. I think every game developer though should learn from the brilliance of this game-- constantly keeping the player on its toes by not confining itself by a genre and by focusing on what's fun and cool, rather than convention. Excellent music. I get the hype, and the healthy dose of existential musings was interesting... it just didn't ultimately click for me. I can't unequivocally recommend this game to everyone, but if the premise and style stand out to you, this could be your next all-time favorite game.
Star Wars Battlefront II (PS4): Picked this up for free with PS Plus, and while there's not a lot here that's that special it was honestly super nice comfort food gaming. I just enjoyed shooting stuff in really cool Star Wars settings, a franchise I love. For what it was, I had a blast, minus the fact that I personally feel Jedi/heroes really kinda ruin the game for me. Unfortunately, it also is nothing more than a basic mass multiplayer battlefield game, so don't expect anything crazy.
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (Remastered) (PS4): Definitely weaker than its successors, but still a really fun romp with trope-y but effective narrative and characters, and totally serviceable gunplay. This would be much higher on the list, and I honestly had a great time with it, but man the final third of the game was really painful to play. The switch to zombies was bad, and just wasn't fun to play through.
Until Dawn (PS4): I did not think I would like this game at all, I don't care for cheesy horror and definitely am not interested in interactive movies. But if you have a significant other or group of friends to play this with, it can be a great time! I played with my wife and we were honestly pretty engaged with the characters and the story was well told and had plenty of nice jump scares. There's not much game here, but for what it is it was a neat experience.
Shadow of the Colossus (Remake) (PS4): There were some incredible highlights to this game like the flying colossus and the sand worm, and the scale of the encounters with the epic music has earned this game a place as a masterpiece and classic to so many gamers. The remake looks stunning and it was exciting to see what type of colossus was up next. Unfortunately, every great moment I had was accompanied by an equally frustrating moment with mediocre controls and a couple of colossus that were so bad (looking at you, little bull/lion Celosia) that made me have to put down the game for a few days. A great game let down by some dated and poor elements.
Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin (PS4): Souls games are my favorites, so it pains me to put this game so low. The best areas in the game (Heide's tower, Drangleic Castle, etc) are up there with the best in the series and most of the excellent combat found in the other games is more or less present here. But I think 2/3 of the game is bogged down by drab areas that feel more like a mario level designed to kill the player more than an area that could really exist. The Iron keep was the worst offender, the area was absolutely nonsensical and like so many other areas, enemies were placed in a way designed to frustrate the player with difficulty rather than engage them with challenge. Bosses were also mostly forgettable, but I did love the Looking Glass knight and the Pursuer!
Journey (PS4): Look, I'm as surprised as you that this game is on the bottom of the list. I honestly expected to love it. An artistic, beautiful marriage of environmental storytelling and unforgettable online interaction? A smooth and cathartic movement system? It has all these things, and no doubt deserves the acclaim and love it has from so many gamers. It just didn't resonate with me. Especially the ending, I felt for sure that there would be some great climax that contrasted with the struggle of the icy segment, but instead it fell a bit flat. Maybe I'll give it another try someday.
Conclusion, Gaming Patiently, and a Warning:
There you have it! I'd love to hear what surprised you in my rankings, where I'm horribly wrong, and what games you recommend I play next! Personally, I'm considering Persona 5 (though I'm not super into JRPGs), Dishonored 2 (am curious about immersive sims), and Jedi Fallen Order. Gaming patiently is a strategy I absolutely endorse. Not only has it allowed me to form my own opinions of games independent of hype, but has allowed me to play a huge quantity of incredible games for honestly pennies. The average cost per game of everything I played this year was under $20. Now, more than ever, is an amazing time to get a PS4 and be a patient gamer, due to both the relative inexpensiveness and the sheer volume of outstanding games. I still will probably buy the big nintendo titles at launch and occasionally buy into hype, but most of the time it just isn't worth it anymore. Finally, a friendly warning as a personal story for those of us who deeply love games and devote a lot of time to them. Like many kids, I was pretty limited by my parents growing up on what and how much I was allowed to play. I loved gaming but it was somewhat of a forbidden fruit. In college, I loved gaming and definitely played more, but still was very busy with social activities, studies, and other hobbies. Now, as a working adult with a comfortable job, I suddenly have more time and money than I have ever had in my life, and thus this giant list of games I played was created. For the first few months it was enthralling; all I wanted to do was play. Over the course of the year, however, it has become clear to me that requiring so much of my happiness and fun coming from having a game to be excited about can have some drawbacks. In the middle of a pandemic, if I'm sitting on the couch waiting for video games to make me happy and they just aren't giving me the same enjoyment that Bloodborne did when I played it for the first time, I'm just gonna be stuck there on the couch, slowly getting a bit depressed when my main source of fun isn't cutting it. So what's the point? Well, enjoy your games! Don't let anyone stop you from loving what you love. But if you start to burn out, please take care of yourself and engage in other hobbies, get outside, and keep things balanced. For me, doing so has made gaming all the sweeter. Thanks for reading and indulging this long post!
So this happened 6 years ago. My laptop with 8 GB RAM stopped working so I showed it to a repair guy. He took the laptop, repaired it, and returned it to me after 2 days. The laptop started working again and I was really happy. However, the speed felt slower than before. Previously, I could open multiple chrom tabs and still be able to play games while they were open but now it would drop a lot of frames and my laptop would start overheating. I thought maybe it’s getting old so that’s why the performance is dropping. So I didn’t care much. Fast forward to few days back. The same laptop stopped working again, so I called the same repair guy. He took the laptop again, repaired it and returned it to me in 2 days. This time when I started using the laptop, I could IMMEDIATELY tell something was off. The speed was RIDICULOUSLY slower than before. If opened just 2 tabs on chrome it would still overheat. I checked on YouTube for solutions and came across this video where he said to check on computer settings whether all my ram slots were functioning properly and all my ram cards were being detected. So I open computer setting and guess what I find out? It’s reading only 2 GB of RAM! How the fuck did it drop to 2 GB from 8 GB?! I thought it must be an error so I restarted the laptop multiple times and it still read 2 GB. Then I called the repair guy and asked him about this. He replied “It’s just a minor error. It will fix automatically over time. Don’t worry.” I was so confused. I didn’t believe him so I opened the laptop myself and checked the ram slots and Guess what I find? ONE OF THE RAM CARDS IS MISSING AND the RAM card that was in it was NOT the one that I got with my laptop because I remember it had a stylish border. So I looked up the card number online and found out that it was only 2 GB. I called the repair guy again and asked him about this. He said that he was also repairing another laptop and swapped ram cards by mistake and he was really sorry. So he came home the next day, swapped the ram card with my original one and was about to leave when I asked him “What about the second card?” RG: What card? Me: The one that you stole from me years ago. RG: I don’t know what you are talking about. Me: This is only 4 GB RAM. Don’t try to fool me again. I’m calling the cops. RG: Wait wait I’m sorry!! I think I remember now!I’ll bring it! I had forgotten about it! So he brought it back and now my laptop is as fast as ever. I guess I would have never known about the stolen RAM card If I never called him again. TLDR; Laptop repair guy stole one of my RAM cards 6 years ago and I learned that recently. I confronted him about it and after threatening him of calling cops on him, he surrendered and returned it to me. Update 1: HOLY SHIT!!! I did not expect this post to blow up!! Thanks for all the awards! I have never got these many awards before! Speaking of the theif, I reported it to the customer service of his company. They told me they will take action against him. I will ask them again tomorrow and update it on this post. Update 2: The guy got fired from his company and got arrested! Apparently he had made over $5000 by selling stolen electronic parts from all his customers. He had stolen things like cameras and graphic cards etc. His company gave everyone of his customers a huge discount coupon in return as a token of apology. The cops are still investigating the whole chain of these scammers. I hope they get caught soon! Also I read most of the comments and I wanted to clear up some misconceptions people had:
He obviously did not return the exact same RAM card to me. He must have bought the same model from one of his friends from the chain.
How is this my TIFU? Well if I had investigated this the 1st time my laptop got slow 6 years ago, then I could have not only saved 6 years of slow processing of information, but also prevented others from getting scammed in that time period.
That fucker got arrested. It’s a shame it took him so long. The lesson we should all learn from this is to be careful with whom you give your products to and try fixing things on your own. Don’t be an idiot like me.
Year 2 FIRE Update - Corona/2020 Edition : 35, $1.1M - Luck, Stumbles, Dedication, and Thrift - An 11 Year Journey to FI
2020 has certainly not been the year I had planned. How did my second year of RE go amidst COVID-19 and everything else that happened in 2020? Read on to find out! :-) As usual, I've provided the TL/DR up front, but encourage you to read the qualitative details in the body of the post as I think that a story is so much more than just some numbers and bullet points. For those who aren't familiar with my story, here are links to the Original Post from early 2019 and 1 Year Update in early 2020. TL/DR:
Net worth increased from $1.40M to $1.61M
Spent $30,600 which is under my budget of $33500. This was despite donating an unbudgeted $5400 to charitable organizations
Cancelled most my of travel plans and adapted to COVID shelter-in-place orders
Invited to a WNYC radio program about finances, but it didn't materialize because of COVID.
Joined the board of directors and became an officer at one of my queer summer camps
Didn't meet any of my goals I set out for 2020
Played A LOT of board and video games online
Next parts I'll break into sub-headings if you want to go to specific parts:
Life in a Time of Covid
Major Life Events
Finances
Notable Experiences (Pre and During-Covid)
Reflection of 2020 Goals and Forecasting 2021 Goals
Life in a Time of Covid
2020 will almost certainly be remembered and defined by COVID and the changes that came from it. I have a friend who was already ringing alarm bells by mid-January about its possible impact, so I had some time to process and mentally prepare for things once the shelter-in-place orders actually hit in March. Despite being a fairly low risk to severe impacts of COVID (relatively young and no conditions that pre-dispose myself to severe complications), I chose to take what most would consider to be low risk approach for reasons including, but not limited to, wanting to minimize my potential risk to others and that the long-haul effects of the virus are still very unknown. I have the privilege of not needing to work and put myself at risk and I want to ensure that I'm not contributing to the risk of those who don't have a choice and/or are vulnerable. Note: Everyone has their own situation and I'm not attemtping to shame anyone for their personal choices. As someone who is part of the queer community, I think the AIDS crisis is a good, but imperfect, analogy and lesson at how shaming does not work and discussion of harm reduction is the most effective tactic. The limitation of that analogy is that you are effectively only putting yourself and your sexual partners at risk, whereas with COVID, you could really be harming a lot more people who haven't opted in to your risk profile. In short, there are personal decisions that people need to make like seeing their family or having some companionship, but I will in no way condone egregious actions like large unmasked gatherings. As an extroverted person who would host regular board game nights, go rock climbing with my climbing partner at the gym, see theater productions, go to board game conventions with thousands of people, and travel to multiple international destinations each year, this year has certainly been difficult. It isn't the year I planned, but I have tried to make the best of it as possible. How have I adapted to varying shelter in place orders and tried to salvage a pretty bad year?
Created a couple of Discord servers to maintain contact with various friend groups
Played board games online using Tabletop Simulator with Discord - I logged over 450 hours on Tabletop Simulator alone!
Played video Games - Logged 350 hours of Civilization 6 and 175 hours of Hades
Got a crash pad and been rock climbing outdoor (past two months)
Movie nights over Zoom/Discord
Volunteer work online - phonebanking for elections, virtual summer camp activities, virtual workshops.
Basically - Discord and online video/board games have been keeping me sane.
Major Life Events
Content/Trigger warning - Death and suicide mentioned in the next set of bullet points
Became a first time uncle but unfortunately couldn't visit my niece. Hoping it will happen sometime by the end of 2021 or early 2022, depending on when I can get a vaccine.
Had an acquaintance/former coworker take his own life at the beginning of the pandemic (stock market falling, depression, and pandemic stress all contributed). This particularly impacted me because unlike the next life item, I didn't have the chance to say "goodbye". When I officially quit my job and turned my laptop in January, I was going to see him in the office, but I was running late to another commitment. I thought I'd be able to catch up with him some other time, but unfortunately that wasn't meant to be. My fondest memory is when we went to see a World Series game together. It was a bucket list item for me and while no one else was wanting to shell out the cash, he gladly joined me and we had a blast. We got to see Game 2 of the 2010 World Series @ AT&T Park with Matt Cain pitching a gem of a game and a wild 8th inning where the Giants scored two runs via walks and exploded to a blow out victory.
This summer I had my mom call me and ask for me to hop on a plane to visit becuase my grandma was in the hospital and only had a few more days to live. I packed up my stuff that night and took the first flight out in the morning. My grandparent passed away (not COVID) about two weeks later and luckily all of our family was able to spend time with her at a family member's home in pallative care and got to say our goodbyes in person. Note - family visited while masked and socially distanced. She lived a very long life and was able to pass away with family around her, which is about as much as I could ask for given all the other heartbreaking stories I've heard this year of family members not being able to say goodbye.
I was voluntold (I was happy to help out though) to be the coordinatoproject manager and to delegate tasks and facilitate decisions between my grandma's 6 children. THIS WAS STRESSFUL. My grandma didn't even have any assets to squabble over, but decades of emotions and inter-personal conflicts surfaced. Additionally COVID created a complicating situation where, at the time, the church allowed a maximum of 30 people for the service. Problem is that my grandma has 24 direct descendents and counting spouses and step kids that put the number at 35. This doesn't even include family friends and/or her extended adopted family (she was among one of 6 adopted children). In the end, everything "worked out" but not without a bit of LOT OF stress working through the guest list.
Finances
Net Worth: Increased from $1.40M to $1.61M Income: Dividends + Capital Gains: $18,100 (The Capital Gains were via distributions, not sale of investments) Spending: $30,600 out of $33,500 budget. My budget at my current net worth would represent a 2.1% withdrawal rate The linked image provides my 2020 Budget, 2020 Actual Spend, and Differences. You'll note that there are some big differenes in planned versus actual, namely my travel spend was virtually non-existant and I decided that I wanted to donate more to charity this year given that I have more than enough and there were many people and organizations that didn't have enough. Below lists out my notable notable big ticket expenditures for the year.
Charitable Giving - $5400
Laptop - $1600
Rowing Machine - $1050
Various REI Purchases - $1200
My food budget shrank significantly as I didn't eat out and rarely did take out - it was only $3500 out of a $6000 budget. I still ate well, but did a lot more home-cooking and simpler food - a lot of stuff that my mom would make for me as a kid. I fully expect that my food budget will go up once COVID restrictions lift, but I imagine that they won't go back to pre-COVID spending levels. For 2021 I will keep my budget the same at $33,500 but will likely come in way under it with my non-charity expenses, but I will probably end up covering the difference by contributing more to charities. FIRE Actions:
Converted $12,555 from my Rollover IRA into Roth IRA as part of a Roth IRA ladder ($12,400 standard deduction but slight variance at end of day)
Was vigilant and didn't take any buy/sell action despite the dip in the spring! I briefly lost my two comma status and I got a little bit of anxiety at the trough, but stayed firm with the buy/hold Bogleheads strategy.
Less of a FIRE action, but more of a reduction in my FIRE risk - CA AB1482 went into effect 1/1/2020 which is effectively a state-wide rent control which limits rent increases to inflation plus 5% per year. I was conservative in my withdrawal rate knowing that a sudden rent hike could happen and I needed to account for it. But now having additional protection via this law, it means I'm EXTRA safe with my withdrawal rate.
Lean FIRE "Trial-Run" If there was one silver lining 2020 with respect to FIRE, 2020 showed me that a realistic lean FIRE number for me would be around $23,000, which were my expenses this year excluding my charitable contributions and my two big ticket purchases. At my current net worth, this would represent a 1.43% withdrawal rate. I don't plan to spending less money than my FIRE budget of $33,500 - but it shows me that I have a lot of flexibility to adapt IF I absolutely needed to.
Notable experiences since my last update:
Despite 2020 being a pretty awful year in general, there were a few notable things non-financial experienices/accomplishments that are worth mentioning:
Became a board member and officer for one of my queer summer camps.
Participated in virtual queer summer camp and got the "Golden Unicorn" (MVP) award!
Beat Hades and got 49/49 achievements. Highest heat beat is 22.
Nearly finished our Pandemic Legacy: Season 0 campaign. Our group of 4 has played S1, S2, and now S0 together and it has been a wonderful shared experience. I'm glad we could still make playing Pandemic Legacy a reality in a the midst of a IRL Pandemic.
Visited WDW/US for 10 days total (Pre-Covid) and got to ride Rise of the Resistance... twice. OH MY GOD that ride is AMAZING. It mixes some amazing jaw-dropping visuals, fast paced action, and a tad bit of "immersive theater".
Camped at Yosemite National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, and a few state parks in WA.
Reflection of 2020 Goals and Forecasting 2021 Goals
2020 Goals
Lead a 5.10D sport route and lead a 5.10A trad route.
Get in even better shape, mostly so I can become a better climber. Aiming for 3 climbing days a week and 2-3 cardio/strength conditioning. Specific goal is to get to 13% body fat and 145 pounds (currently at 16%/152).
Volunteer more with LGBT summer camps than I did in 2019 (I already have 68 days for 2020 planned compared to 24 in 2019).
Apply and get accepted to work for NOLS or Outward Bound as an outdoor backpacking/climbing instructor. I would especially love to guide some LGBT/POC affinity groups.
As you can see I didn't meet any of my goals for year 2, but that's COVID for ya. I would still like to do the first three goals at some point (probably not 2021 at this rate) but realized that I no longer would like to do NOLS/Outward bound. So what are my new goals for the upcoming year? I have to temper it given that I am pretty low on the list to get vaccinated and the world is probably going to still be uncertain. The basis of these goals is based on if they can be done solo and/or with people without specific skillsets (hard to find people with the right skills to pod with and have similar risk profiles) and don't require me to be vaccinated (assuming that for the in-person interaction, it will still be masked/socially distanced).
Continue to serve on my board and find volunteer opportunities for both queer summer camps, hopefully in person at camp.
Get involved in local youth outdoor activities such as ICO (https://www.sierraclub.org/ico), which has more flexibility than something like NOLS/Outward Bound. I'm also hoping to create/lead a rock climbing program for queer POC youth in my area.
Do more local outdoor activities (climbing, hiking, biking).
Camp at a few "local" National Parks - Death Valley, King's Canyon, Sequoia
I have the least control on this last one, but as soon as I'm vaccinated I would love to take an international trip by the end of the year, ideally to Brazil or Laos.
Hope you found the post enjoyable/informative/interesting and please leave any questions/comments below!
I think my friend might be tracking my internet usage
Hi reddit. I'm coming to this sub for some advice. Using a throwaway account just in case. I've been friends with my best friend, let's call her A, for years. We met in highschool and we've been through thick and thin, she knows all my secrets (nothing worth blackmail lol) and I know hers. I trust her a lot and I care about her wellbeing. She's always been into computers, much more than I have. She's currently working on getting her IT diploma and she often tells me stories regarding her classes (which I just smile and nod at). Now, onto the reason you clicked on this post. I think she's been tracking me (or at least tracking my internet usage). See, when I first became friends with her and we started hanging out, we would always be connected to her apartment buildings wifi network. It was free to use with anybody who lived there and it was one of the many reasons she was living in the building. Of course sometimes it would lag when watching Netflix or something like that, but other than the odd moment it would work fine. Until a year ago. Last March, A got her own wifi provider and a Raspberry Pi and she set it up, making her own wifi with it. She became very insistent that I use her wifi. Like. Really insistent. It started small, like giving me the password the first few times I entered the apartment. Then it got worse, asking if I was connected to it on my phone, even going as far as to swipe down on its screen to see what network I was connected to (I have an Android). It got REALLY BAD one time when we were trying to play a game on our nintendo switches and A asked what wifi network I was connected to. I asked her why it mattered so much and she got really passive aggressive. I've asked her about the Pi and the only reason she's been on my back about using it is because of its "ad-blocking" properties (I'm gonna be a little bit naughty and admit I use adblock but I also use youtube premium so ads arent a problem for me on both my phone or my laptop). After doing some research online I've found that some parents/employers have bought a Pi in order to track what their kids/employees/whatever have been searching up on their devices. I'm not worried about A seeing my google searches (in fact, I don't really care) but her continuous actions have started to freak me out. Does anyone know anything about computers enough to help me figure out what's going on?
Stadia really needs a good Battle Royale that supports M&KB!!
Original Stadia Founder here! I got my stadia running a day before release on Destiny 2 and was instantly blown away. I've had my pro subscription for a year an a half now. So, my beef with Stadia and I've been saying this since day one!!! Is that we need more multiplayer competitive games. We've all heard the naysayers complain before even trying Stadia "Oh the latency/input lag will make the experience horrible". In my year and a half of playing Doom, PUBG, Serious Sam, CP2077 and Destiny 2 I have never had any issues and everything felt fluid. IME Destiny 2's pvp is great. Seriously amazing. Also I'd like to mention, that I am not a conroller FPS player. I can play solo FPSRPG's with a controller, but I really won't unless I'm absolutely bored and have no other options. Also, when PUBG released on Stadia I stopped playing anything else and probably spent about 20 hours a week on it. Then PUBG removed M&KB support!! Wow it was such a dick move. Since then I haven't really gone on Stadia much, I'm sitting here at my desk at work. Library full of games, but nothing to play, because I don't have a controller. Also since PUBG screwed me over, someone recommended Warzone on the PS4, which supports M&KB 🤯🤯🤯Since then I've probably averaged 20 hours a week on Warzone via PS4. Today, I'm sitting at my desk. Empty office. Wishing I could pwn some nubs but I can't. There must be gamers on this sub that know how addictive Battle Royales are. It doesn't seem like the people over at Stadia HQ do though... Even if you look at the numbers I mean PUBG has millions of players world wide, Warzone is making a killing and of course the behemoth FORTNITE needs no explanation. Now, of course - - I know, these types of games need a high player pool to work, that is why I am not suggestion Google develop a new game I'm saying force PUBG to support mouse and keyboard and enable crossplay! Also call up epic games and get Fortnite! Huge player base to bring in right? I don't see why they haven't already. Now that I think about it, why are there no Mobas or RTSs? Command and conquer was the amazing back when I was growing up. Dota, Dota 2, LOTR Battle for middle earth, Starcraft, I could go on and on. I mean all these games were massively addictive due to the competitive nature of the games. When I grew up and life happened I stopped playing all these games. I don't think I am alone in this. Who wouldn't want to play Civ on the go? I literally still play C&C and LOTR since they are so old they run great on my potato of a laptop, issue is that the online servers have been down for 10 years! BY THE WAY. Where are all the split screen games? Couch Multiplayer. I have two Stadia Controllers and at this point I'll mention that I own a cafe/lounge and I have my chromecast setup there where me and customers get to gaming all the time. Mostly Mortal Combat, NBA 2k20 and a bit of Serious Sam. But, there are no racing games. There are no deathmatch games(Unreal Tournament anyone?!). It's been a year and a half and so far the quality of the service has been AMAZING! The list of titles is constantly growing but, it seems like there are so many missed opportunities. For example, modern games don't support split screen because of performance issues right? Well, Stadia should have much higher processing capabilities right? Am I wrong in saying that it would be much easier to do on Stadia? I went to game exchange the other day asking the guys for shooting game that me and my wife can play split screen? No suggestions. Good racing game we play split screen? No suggestions. There is a huuuuuge void in this market and that's what business is about. Providing what others cannot at a good price. Let me finish this incoherent mess of a post by saying, as a business savy individual I don't understand the lack of split screen arcade games. Two player games seem like the single most effective way to introduce more people to the service. Would Netflix be what it is today if there was no way for friends to come over and watch the movie with you? As a OG gamer, it is very disappointing that they spent their development budget on a Portal knockoff when they already have a huge library of single player games and then they built Crayta which seems great, I just wish they would support it and make it playable for the average person. I could write an entire post just about how they could make Crayta's game creation easier to use and more universal so that people might actually develop something in it. EDIT: I'd like to add a final thought. Look at how many indie games are on this platform. Why?? Like seriously why? How much does that cost? The more games the better. It's not a bad thing to have a large library, but there are countless 2d side-scrollers available on Android and iOS. Really on PS4 as well. Steam is filled with them. Stadia gives us these games for free so I try and one every once in a while but every single time the same thing happens. 5 minutes in and I'm like wow, I will never play this again. I thought the whole point of Stadia was to get an all in one experience, PC performance, Console features, available anywhere there is wifi on any device running Android. All for one low monthly price. They should have used their budget ( which I heard they will no longer be developing Stadia exclusive games so they probably don't have a budget now ) on creating games that bring people together and games that don't work well on other platforms, but work well on Stadia.
A game to make you fall in love with gaming again?
So I am on a leave for health reasons among others for 6 months and since I recently got a good gaming laptop (i7 10750h rtx 2060) and some spending cash, I am very interested in finding games to fall back in love with gaming. I used to enjoy every platform and genre, especially with friends either online or in the same bedroom. But lately only online multiplayer FPS and strategy/simulation games have been keeping my interest. Something I can pick up and drop and play daily online or alone basically. Lots of Overwatch and Civ/paradox games and sometimes whatever is trendy like Dead by Daylight. But I want something more substantial. I'm not sure what I would enjoy but I miss a game with great gameplay mechanics that is just unadulterated fun. Great graphics and a steep difficulty could be great additions too. Right now I'm looking at Sunset Overdrive bc it's by Insomniac and Ratchet was my favorite series as a kid. And also the Dark Souls series which I haven't touched yet. Suggest some pc games or even emulatable ones that made you fall in love with gaming again!
Invite your friends and play similar versions of games such as Werewolf, Draw Together, UNO, Scrabble, Battleship, Poker, and even Pool! Get it on the App Store or Google Play . 9. 10 free online games to play with your friends Feel Good. Study International Staff 01 May 2020 Free online games are a student's preferred way to keep the good times rolling while away from friends. Source: Hanny Naibaho/Unsplash Link copied. If there’s one thing that we can all agree about in this quarantine, it’s that free online games are in again — for children, teenagers, and Houseparty is a video chat app owned by Fortnite developer Epic Games that lets you play popular games like trivia, Heads Up and Uno with friends online. The app is free to use. Up to eight people... Free online games to play with friends With the coronavirus situation in full swing, Singaporeans are encouraged to play their part by socially distancing themselves and avoiding going outdoors. Physical meetups with friends where everyone gathers and screams over party games will be missed for now, but there are still many online alternatives out there. Codenames. This is a popular free multiplayer game to play in a group of two to eight friends, with two teams and a Spymaster for each team. Feel the rush of adrenaline as you guess the 25 codenames there are on the “table.”. Here are the best online games to play with friends during quarantine — just share the provided link to your private game, and voila, it’s on like Donkey Kong! 1. Krunker (Image credit: Laptop Quiplash On Jackbox Games Quiplash is a great online option that gets everyone in a group involved, and can easily be played on a PC, Mac or Linux computer. Everyone tries to write the funniest... RELATED: 10 Best Apps & Games To Play With Friends On Your Phone 1. Joking Hazard. If you and your friends whip out a deck of Cards Against Humanity at every house party, you’ll love this online Play best HTML5 online games for free on your PC, laptop, mobile, or tablet. No downloads and no registration required! While there are so many multiplayer-capable games around these days, the ones that benefit from playing with a bunch of tried-and-tested friends are few and far between. What he presented you with is just a glimpse into the beautiful world of games you could play when you and your friends end up thrown across the world and can only play online.
Top 10 Low End Free-To-Play Multiplayer Games For PC ...
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