This message was deleted by the user at 01:28, Fri 09 Sept 2022.

How System Restore keeps turning back on without prompting.

No, I really didn't mean it the first 100 times I turned it off....GRRR.

Windows unneeded updates and changes to programs I have used for Years with no problem. Update leaves them useless now. Weather App being a big one there, today. Log in and my animated weather radar is replaced by a brown and green still map with No satellite coverage and the option page is just Gone.

Yeah, wiped out my network drivers that have been doing fine for six years, thanks Windoze...

I was really worried some had hacked my PC. I'm in a motel, to ready to transition from homelessness, and people have access to my room; whether I like it or not. My rig is the opposite of a laptop. Granted, it fits in a motel room; so not even in the same zipcode as major PC rigs; but that's why I don't just unplug hardware. I have it password protected, and I have all my normal precautions up by an order of magnitude; and I was getting this driver indication for a new device; and I have no new devices...So until seeing this my thought was rubber duck/hack-drive. I'm not glad it's stupid windoze crap; but I'm relieved it's not near and personal malice.
This message was last edited by the user at 09:17, Tue 13 Sept 2022.

I move 600 miles from the suburbs to a nice sparsely populated rural county for the quiet...and still, at the beginning of every school year I hear some neighbor practicing marching music on a snare drum. It can't be the same guy.

Worse, it make me want to play some Souza from Labor Day until Thanksgiving.

In reply to V_V (msg # 2109):

I've been where you are now (i.e. homeless), so let me give you some advise that I hope you'll find helpful.   And that said, I hope your situation improves before it gets worse.

First: Find a homeless shelter that you can crash in before you run low on funds.   Odds are that the hours are going to be different than what you're used to, but even that is preferable to sleeping in your car/outside.

Second: Save as much money as you can.  If you still have a car, see if you have a friend who'll let you park in their driveway at night.   That'll save you a lot of hassle.

Third: Be consigned to the fact that you're going to loose just about everything you have left.   Before it was over for me, I was down to what I could carry.

Needing reading glasses stinks. That is all.

In reply to SunRuanEr (msg # 2112):

I wear contact lenses but need(ed) reading glasses as well. Been that way for 10+ years. Then I went to see a different eye doctor and she changed my prescription in both eyes (weakening one and strengthening the other), so instead of 20/20 in both eyes, I was something like 20/35 on the left and 20/15 on the right. It took a little getting used to, but now I'm comfortable with it and I can see at distance AND read without glasses.

Just sharing in case anyone else out there has similar issues and wants to ask their own doctor about it.

In reply to 1492 (msg # 2113):

My doctor did something similar when I had laser eye surgery. One eye was made to be better at distance and the other for close-up. I have to wear glasses for distance when it is dark, and a different pair for reading very small print (pill bottles). But for the most part, for the past 12 years I wear no glasses all day long - including all the hours working at a computer.

My wife just had cataract surgery and they are doing the same thing, to allow her to have the most flexibility in her vision.

I had no idea this could be done with contacts!

Found out an old friend has late-stage cancer, and is expected to live about two years, with extensive chemotherapy treatment.  Found out another person I know, who is not a friend, is happy, healthy, and hanging out in a game shop that I would otherwise go to, thus illustrating that only the good die young.  On top of that, my work is trying to fire me months before I can retire, just so they can try to save money on pensions (or maybe sheer power tripping, I have no idea).  Top it off, spouse has a medical issue and will not ask the primary care doctor about it, though frankly the primary care doctor is fairly useless.  And the costs for that health insurance have just gone up 28%, plus an extra 40 per pay as the office 'miscalculated' the health insurance payment since January, so I am now taking home the same money I made in 2016.  And to add some more salt to the wounds, my insurance has denied a worker's comp claim I made, though the workplace clearly was dangerous, and I was injured.  I've lawyered up.  Now to deal with the dashboard light in my car that won't go off - even after an expensive trip to the mechanic that took all of today.

In reply to Silverlock (msg # 2115):

Unfortunately, for decades employers have treat loyalty as a one-way street.   You're expected to be loyal, etc; without any form of reciprocation in return.  What you're facing is also a common problem: someone new/just out college can do your job 80% well for 50% of the cost.

Yes, it sucks.

Neighbors.    I'm asking you to go smoke (your weed or cigarettes or whatever) at the other end of the building because I have allergies.   Show some consideration, please.

Addendum: Being unable to move because of a lack of transportation options.   Which comes with being disabled and having no family.
This message was last edited by the user at 00:14, Tue 25 Oct 2022.

In reply to Hunter (msg # 2117):

I hear this!!! I'm in a motel, and everything from tobacco, to weed, to crack and meth are smoked; literally five feet or less from our air unit. My roommate is anosmic and even she has gotten sick from the pollution. Told the police, they came out here, and still do, but people still do it and they can't be here all hours. Told the motel, but they are short staffed, and giving major discounts to us and other people that are staying here due to the housing crisis. So beyond calling out the people, night after night, often different people; little can be done.

So I hear you! I'm not asking, nor are you, for people to give up the practice; just have respect to keep it in their lungs, eyes, and nose. Ridiculous and draining! Just gnaws, at me at least, and causes wavering between saying something explicit, or making a polite but subtle point.

Used to smoke myself too. I still (especially now!) get the hankering. So that's saying something. I'm not allergic, but second hand smoke is big time bad! When I would smoke, I would do it away from the property and dispose of it in a water tight bag. MY roommate however, being anosmic, can't even regulate her breathing (nor should anyone have to) and again, it's not just smoke, and it's so damn close to our room and air unit.

Agh! I share this vent so deeply! MY brother, for all his flaws and own abuse, is very allergic to smoke. So growing up, I know what effect it has, even if it's just "normal" smoke.

Sympathies and total respect for your other situational restrictions.

FRAK!

my 13 year old niece just ran away from home. She's been having a rough time between social issues at school and her father dying from drug abuse recently.

You know what is so frustrating to me as a GM? Players who absolutely will not and cannot be proactive. Even when you tell them "This is a roleplay scene. Feel free to just roleplay a bit." I don't want to have to say in every single scene "Go here, do this." Sometimes, it's set up to be a little bit open-ended for them to figure things out based on what their character would do, etc.

I'm not talking about hosting a completely open sandbox-style game here, just sometimes setting scenes that should be player-driven. This is why I think for future games I'm going to put this in my RTJ stuff. "This game will have moments where you're encouraged to just roleplay with the scene. Please be a proactive kind of player and not purely reactive."

Also note that I'm not slagging on anyone's gaming style. If that's how you do, great. I hope you have lots of games that are fun. It's just not something that meshes well with my style and I would prefer something different.



Oh, dear. Best of luck, my friend, and best wishes to you and your family!

In reply to Samus Aran (msg # 2120):

Some players are definitely harder to get material out of than others.   It's often the case that people who aren't very proactive either haven't had or have actually have discouraged creative...interaction.

It's definitely helpful to get them better involved by working scenes centered around them.   The story doesn't advance if they don't make it.

---

Edit/Side Rant: After finally getting around to seeing season 3 of the "new" He-man on Netflix (and the various re-working of familiar characters)...it's a serious pain trying to find much of anything related to it.  People seem fixated on the continuation of the old rather than the new series.
This message was last edited by the user at 04:24, Wed 09 Nov 2022.

Snow....GRRRR... *angry face*

That is all.

Yeah.  That's why I moved out of New Hampshire.

It's cold here in Austin today -- down to 14 degrees!  (Of course, that's Celsius.  :-D  )

Hey but the rain is nice!  Ordered a firewood rack, just put it together yesterday.  Should the Texas power grid decide to crash and burn during another winter storm, we'll be better prepared than we were last time

I think the doctor at my fav hospital does not like me - sent me home after my latest bought of cellulitis yesterday afternoon after only 3 days of treatments, woke up from a nap a few minutes ago with my leg feeling like its on fire, the cellulitis is still there and it brought friends as MORE of my leg is infected now. (started in my thigh, which is a first, and now my calves are burning to, which is normally where I get hit by this disease.) she also told me to stop taking the only over the counter pain meds that actually work and suggested I try ones she knows I am allergic to. (I am allergic to tylonal, it makes my pain Worse).

In reply to ShadoPrism (msg # 2125):

Otherwise known as, "Don't go away mad, just go away."

Brought to you by Happy Xmas (War Is Over) by John Lennon, and every cop, fire-fighter, EMT, shelter volunteer, not-yet-burned-out social worker, and any other first responder I’ve forgotten.

Yes, yes, I am responsible for this.

And so this is Christmas
And what have we done
Another year over
A new one just begun
And so happy Christmas
For kids without mums
The near and the dear ones
For the old & for the bums
A very Merry Christmas
And a fridge without beer
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any spears

Full disclosure
Its never over
This burden to shoulder
Now

A very Merry Christmas
And a fridge without beer
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any spears

P.S. This came into my head after my EP said it would stop paying to have my eyes drained of too much fluid,  which if that doesn't happen it builds up until my tear ducts pop and the water comes out... you don't want this to happen by the by, and it doesn't look good to be crying bloody tears out in public.  People freak.  That was the icing to last years cake.

My vent: 1st level games.

In reply to tmagann (msg # 2128):

Care to elaborate ? What about 1st level games annoys you ?