Where have you been?!

[Imbalance]

Hi,

Just curious what folks were up to during the "hiatus" or "crash" or "forum blight" of 2020. Maybe we should poll for an official name for the incident.

Anyway, I resumed the search for lively and interesting vBulletin forums (that initially led me to GitP) and found it fruitless. Most places are slow if not dead, Reddit is a data hog, and I grow to despise popular social media with ever deeper passion every time I experience it, so it is with a great deal of relief that Mr. Burlew and his esteemed Web team sought to maintain this space for us. I am grateful.

Pathetically, one of the baser things I end up doing without a steady message board to waste time on is shop. Not entirely selflessly, mind, but I do tend to obsess. Real time tracking became a sad pass time. My wife's tea, a funny shirt for a friend, bulk dice to have on hand in case our player group expands/someone forgets/extra rolls - all arrived less than a day after the order even with free shipping. Impressive, but far less interesting than the ongoing saga of the metal dice I bought myself.

I had an eye on them for some time, and, well, mostly out of boredom and the fact that the price had nudged down to something I could justify, I bought. It was the last set, according to the listing, but as soon as I confirmed, the price nearly doubled and suddenly there were two more. I verified that I had been charged correctly, and it was so, then began to wait. It's rare that I buy or trade outside of the U.S., and it had certainly been a while, so my expectations were off, to say the least. I guess I just figured it would be on a boat for a week and in customs for another, and I didn't balk when it said the expected delivery date would be in March.

See, I need a good forum to properly express the journey I've vicariously enjoyed whilst checking the whereabouts of this innocuous package several times a day. In the past week, I've learned more about how Amazon does fulfillment, some of the history of Rochester, UK, and about the existence of a company called Australia Post Global with operations in the train station from Harry Potter, apparently. My package took two days to get there, a distance that looks like I could walk in a half a day. I read a great deal about trans-Atlantic shipping during this time. My dice did not, however, spend a week on a boat, but may have briefly traveled by train, or flying train? because the next stop was JFK, which i know to be an airport. According to the time stamp, it arrived before it departed. Time-travelling dice. Australia has that locomotive from Back to the Future III.

The next steps are confusing. The parcel entered customs, but also New Jersey, but not at the same time, but also again...at the same time. There are a pile of Amazon buildings in New Jersey, but somehow they're never mentioned again. For whatever reason, customs handed the package over to DHL, who immediately apologized for the delay. I checked the calendar, I still have at least a week to see how things play out before the initial anticipated delivery date. This is now a story about logistics, because DHL drove my dice all the way across Pennsylvania last night, passing within 100 miles of me, to give them to the U.S. Postal Service in Ohio. If you're with me so far, you'll note that this makes the fourth carrier to handle my package. I feel like I'm going to need to wash these dice. USPS says I'll have them by Monday. I Googled whether it would have been mail fraud if I somehow could have intercepted that truck last night. I also confirmed that USPS has a presence in the state of New Jersey, and that there are still multiple routes along major highways between here and New Jersey, even new ones since the last time i was over there. My box went straight to Ohio.

Now that the forums are back I will probably forget all about the shipment and be like "when did I order this?" after it shows up in June. More importantly, I should be much less inclined to waste any more money on frivolous purchases...

So, yeah, that's my boring tale of woe. What's yours?

[Kobold-Bard]

I was in a couple of play by post games on Discord (recruited here). So I was able to stave off the inevitable insanity caused by the crash for the most part.

[2D8HP]

I read and re-read some of Robert E. Howard's Conan stories, plus the Secret Chapter by Genevieve Cogman which is #6 in The Invisible Library series, a series the books, and if I had known that it would be a six book (and counting!) series I likely wouldn't have picked up the first book in the series, but I'm glad I did as it's still a "page-turner", and I read a lot of free on-line amateur fiction.

"On-line" I posted some comments in the comments section of a blog, but I stayed away from Facebook (which I joined this last year), and I took my three-year-old son to "Children's Fairyland" and the Zoo in Oakland.

[IthilanorStPete]

Browsing reddit more than I should, honestly. :smalltongue: Other than that, mostly pining for the forums; there's nowhere else I know of for friendly discussion and chatting on all the various nerdy subjects we talk about here, at least without diving into modern social media.

[DataNinja]

All I could think of when reading the title was GLaDOS' "It's been a long time. How have you been? I've been really busy being dead. You know, after you MURDERED ME."

So, y'know... really busy being metaphorically dead. Not actually doing much productive. Hazards when one only has, like, three communities they frequent. :smalltongue:

[Lord Raziere]

I've been on a long quest though binge- watching pretty much almost the entirety of
The Unexpectables. My review of it is that while it is lighthearted and fun, it has it his good serious moments and while the DMing is in general good there are a few decisions I disagree with. of the PC characters Panic Grimtongue is the best, followed by Task, Borky is sometimes enjoyable sometimes annoying and Greckles is a mess that I don't know how to feel about because while he has heart and its in the right place, as well as moments of being smart or right, he often dives into on obsession with either his homeland or his newfound religion.

Greckles being a mess of course ties into one of the biggest messes of the campaign, which is the love triangle between Brorc, Solly and Greckles. both Brorc and Greckles love Solly but there is no indication of her loving either back in that way, the problem is, Brorc while a good person has this creepiness to him when it comes to Solly because his entire deal is that due to how Aasimars work in this campaign they are all forced into political positions that act as prisons while being unable to go against what their gods tell them to do, and in Alivast only aasimar are allowed to marry other aasimar which is bull because there is no restrictions on this for anyone else- we get a marriage between an elf and a gnoll that both families support in one episode for crying out loud! Brorc himself is shown to be a lonely workaholic whose problems are mostly due to his own lack of attempting to have a social life outside of his work, who keeps trying to justify him trying to marry her as "protecting her" from political enemies who are stronger than Alivast, so the entire reason why Brorc wants to marry Solly has so many agendas, ulterior motives and restrictions on it that it doesn't feel like a good romance at all, but rather a pathetic guy trying to solve his social life by dragging a victim of orun clergy's oppression into his life which wouldn't change much because the two already are in a gilded cage of the high district bound by political jobs in the council who have to approve of their marriage anyways, not helped by the fact that he is clearly older than her and acts more like he is her father than a boyfriend, yet the DM is clearly trying to slowly make it happen anyways, and no one even considers trying to reform the system so that aasimar are freed from this stupid marriage law that doesn't even make any sense given the world around them (I mean how does forcing a marriage to other aasimar help aasimar who are forced to work for their purpose no matter what even help, they are just getting their own issues reflected back at them and there isn't even a good political reason for it because no alliances are formed from it, it seems to simply be there to create drama?)
I mean sure, Greckles is a flawed individual and can't even marry Solly under Alivastian law. but the way he is roleplayed makes it clear he truly cares for solly beyond just protecting her and wants her to have a good life and make her own decisions. it just works far better than Brorc who for all we know wouldn't even be considering solly if it weren't for that stupid law.

and I've already seen Gruul and Audrey earlier in the campaign, that has basically the same thing but on a smaller scale, Audrey just suddenly deciding to love Gruul out of nowhere even through Remy didn't make much sense either. the DM while good sometimes forces romance into things that don't need it and I' worried that brorc and Solly will just be a repeat of Gruul and Audrey with Solly picking Brorc just because the DM wants it to happen. meanwhile Panic while he is the best roleplayed character in the campaign he is being pulled every which way by his love interests and surrogate daughter because the DM can't seem to make up her mind where he is going after saving music.

like I had to stop at episode 107 because it was just filling me up with salt after so much binging. and I still have like eight episodes to go to actually catch up to present? so maybe I should just take a break from it until I feel like watching it again because I sincerely hope that things won't go the way I think they will because it will just be painful to watch.

good thing the forum is back, speaking with people here will a be good break from that.

[Imbalance]

I was in a couple of play by post games on Discord (recruited here). So I was able to stave off the inevitable insanity caused by the crash for the most part.

Cool. The pbp I'm in managed to survive on Discord, too. The question now is whether to move back.


I read and re-read some of Robert E. Howard's Conan stories, plus the Secret Chapter by Genevieve Cogman which is #6 in The Invisible Library series, a series the books, and if I had known that it would be a six book (and counting!) series I likely wouldn't have picked up the first book in the series, but I'm glad I did as it's still a "page-turner", and I read a lot of free on-line amateur fiction.

"On-line" I posted some comments in the comments section of a blog, but I stayed away from Facebook (which I joined this last year), and I took my three-year-old son to "Children's Fairyland" and the Zoo in Oakland.

Your three-year-old lets you read novels? I can't get through a comicbook without interruption.


Browsing reddit more than I should, honestly. :smalltongue: Other than that, mostly pining for the forums; there's nowhere else I know of for friendly discussion and chatting on all the various nerdy subjects we talk about here, at least without diving into modern social media.

Reddit is such a sink, but has never felt like a place I could contribute. That's why I prefer message boards. Even if I'm generally quiet here, putting up a topic now and then doesn't seem like a waste.


All I could think of when reading the title was GLaDOS' "It's been a long time. How have you been? I've been really busy being dead. You know, after you MURDERED ME."

So, y'know... really busy being metaphorically dead. Not actually doing much productive. Hazards when one only has, like, three communities they frequent. :smalltongue:

I put thought into the heading for that very reason. Even now, I can hear her voice.


I've been on a long quest though binge- watching pretty much almost the entirety of
The Unexpectables. My review of it is that while it is lighthearted and fun, it has it his good serious moments and while the DMing is in general good there are a few decisions I disagree with. of the PC characters Panic Grimtongue is the best, followed by Task, Borky is sometimes enjoyable sometimes annoying and Greckles is a mess that I don't know how to feel about because while he has heart and its in the right place, as well as moments of being smart or right, he often dives into on obsession with either his homeland or his newfound religion.

Greckles being a mess of course ties into one of the biggest messes of the campaign, which is the love triangle between Brorc, Solly and Greckles. both Brorc and Greckles love Solly but there is no indication of her loving either back in that way, the problem is, Brorc while a good person has this creepiness to him when it comes to Solly because his entire deal is that due to how Aasimars work in this campaign they are all forced into political positions that act as prisons while being unable to go against what their gods tell them to do, and in Alivast only aasimar are allowed to marry other aasimar which is bull because there is no restrictions on this for anyone else- we get a marriage between an elf and a gnoll that both families support in one episode for crying out loud! Brorc himself is shown to be a lonely workaholic whose problems are mostly due to his own lack of attempting to have a social life outside of his work, who keeps trying to justify him trying to marry her as "protecting her" from political enemies who are stronger than Alivast, so the entire reason why Brorc wants to marry Solly has so many agendas, ulterior motives and restrictions on it that it doesn't feel like a good romance at all, but rather a pathetic guy trying to solve his social life by dragging a victim of orun clergy's oppression into his life which wouldn't change much because the two already are in a gilded cage of the high district bound by political jobs in the council who have to approve of their marriage anyways, not helped by the fact that he is clearly older than her and acts more like he is her father than a boyfriend, yet the DM is clearly trying to slowly make it happen anyways, and no one even considers trying to reform the system so that aasimar are freed from this stupid marriage law that doesn't even make any sense given the world around them (I mean how does forcing a marriage to other aasimar help aasimar who are forced to work for their purpose no matter what even help, they are just getting their own issues reflected back at them and there isn't even a good political reason for it because no alliances are formed from it, it seems to simply be there to create drama?)
I mean sure, Greckles is a flawed individual and can't even marry Solly under Alivastian law. but the way he is roleplayed makes it clear he truly cares for solly beyond just protecting her and wants her to have a good life and make her own decisions. it just works far better than Brorc who for all we know wouldn't even be considering solly if it weren't for that stupid law.

and I've already seen Gruul and Audrey earlier in the campaign, that has basically the same thing but on a smaller scale, Audrey just suddenly deciding to love Gruul out of nowhere even through Remy didn't make much sense either. the DM while good sometimes forces romance into things that don't need it and I' worried that brorc and Solly will just be a repeat of Gruul and Audrey with Solly picking Brorc just because the DM wants it to happen. meanwhile Panic while he is the best roleplayed character in the campaign he is being pulled every which way by his love interests and surrogate daughter because the DM can't seem to make up her mind where he is going after saving music.

like I had to stop at episode 107 because it was just filling me up with salt after so much binging. and I still have like eight episodes to go to actually catch up to present? so maybe I should just take a break from it until I feel like watching it again because I sincerely hope that things won't go the way I think they will because it will just be painful to watch.

good thing the forum is back, speaking with people here will a be good break from that.

Nice. I finally got around to watching the Witcher and was not displeased.

[Bartmanhomer]

Been into other internet forums, making Youtube videos. Same old, same old.

[BisectedBrioche]

I literally tried to come back just when the forums went down.

I've basically been posting on TV Tropes and Discord, which is what I've been doing since I was last here. Also streaming on Twitch.

[S@tanicoaldo]

Got the terrible habit of using twitter :smallannoyed:

[Jay R]

My wife bought me the Virginia Edition -- the complete 46-volume works of Robert A. Heinlein, and it arrived in mid-January.

I've kept busy.

[Artanis]

I was here. Pressing F5. A lot. :smalltongue:

[NRSASD]

I too have been here. Lurking. I also went slightly mad and decided to write my own version of a Ravenloft campaign in the style of 5E's Curse of Strahd with the same level of detail. You know how it is

[Seerow]

I spent a lot of time on Reddit. But then also more time than I will freely admit watching the Wrath of the Righteous Kickstarter and hanging out in their Discord. Especially during the first 7-10 days when new stretch goals were being hit/unveiled 1-2 times a day.

[Imbalance]

Been into other internet forums, making Youtube videos. Same old, same old.

Staying busy is good.


I literally tried to come back just when the forums went down.

I've basically been posting on TV Tropes and Discord, which is what I've been doing since I was last here. Also streaming on Twitch.

Well, welcome back. Again.


Got the terrible habit of using twitter :smallannoyed:

Don't worry. With time and support, you can kick this. Believe in yourself.


My wife bought me the Virginia Edition -- the complete 46-volume works of Robert A. Heinlein, and it arrived in mid-January.

I've kept busy.

Oof. Even when I was heavily into reading, that would have taxed my attention span. Enjoy.


I was here. Pressing F5. A lot. :smalltongue:

I tried not to check in more than twice a day. After it logged me out, I wondered if I was being annoying...


I too have been here. Lurking. I also went slightly mad and decided to write my own version of a Ravenloft campaign in the style of 5E's Curse of Strahd with the same level of detail. You know how it is

Yeah, the homebrew ideas tend to percolate in simmering boredom. Mine aren't usually good ones.


I spent a lot of time on Reddit. But then also more time than I will freely admit watching the Wrath of the Righteous Kickstarter and hanging out in their Discord. Especially during the first 7-10 days when new stretch goals were being hit/unveiled 1-2 times a day.

Thankfully, I've avoided Kickstarter's hooks. I worry too much that I'll need the money more desperately sometime before the KS delivers and be saddled with regret or that I'll get ripped off. Two instances where I came really close: one was successful in its campaign but utterly died after launch and I grabbed a complete collection for about what the base pledge would have been; the other is still unfolding, as only some of the product shipped after years of delays, but I found some sets on eBay for slightly less than the corresponding pledge level.

[Knaight]

I was down a computer for the duration anyways, so it didn't really affect me.

[Rawhide]

I was busy. Doing... something.

[Imbalance]

I was down a computer for the duration anyways, so it didn't really affect me.

Oh. Well, still, lament your suffering like the rest of us.


I was busy. Doing... something.

Your...something...is owed our gratitude. Thank you!

[Willie the Duck]

Given that most of my posting time is at work waiting outside Legal waiting for a contract ruling, I've just used that spare time to manage my personal emails, do shopping (set up and ordered a gas fireplace insert for our house, so you could say that I worked on my marriage :smallbiggrin:), and basically take some bandwidth off of my at-home time, where I...


My wife bought me the Virginia Edition -- the complete 46-volume works of Robert A. Heinlein, and it arrived in mid-January.

...I re-read most of Niven's Known Space novels (Ringworld, etc.). I enjoyed it.

[Tvtyrant]

Dropped out of grad school, changed jobs three times, the usual.

[Tarmor]

I've been... doing lots of checking GitP most nights after work to see if it was back up, as well as checking a couple of other forums I look at regularly. Lots of RPG writing and a bit of game playing (PF and computer stuff).
I foresee myself spending a lot of time here over the next week catching up with what everyone else is writing as they catch up!
It's good to be back :)

[Imbalance]

Given that most of my posting time is at work waiting outside Legal waiting for a contract ruling, I've just used that spare time to manage my personal emails, do shopping (set up and ordered a gas fireplace insert for our house, so you could say that I worked on my marriage :smallbiggrin:), and basically take some bandwidth off of my at-home time, where I...

...I re-read most of Niven's Known Space novels (Ringworld, etc.). I enjoyed it.

There you go. That combination of a warm fire and a good book is always win.


Dropped out of grad school, changed jobs three times, the usual.

Same. Just wish the old man would get off my back about it.


I've been... doing lots of checking GitP most nights after work to see if it was back up, as well as checking a couple of other forums I look at regularly. Lots of RPG writing and a bit of game playing (PF and computer stuff).
I foresee myself spending a lot of time here over the next week catching up with what everyone else is writing as they catch up!
It's good to be back :)

There is a LOT of creativity on display here. I don't always check it out, but I have come across some very interesting stuff from other users. OotS is the main draw, but in between comics you can usually find something else to enjoy.

[Ornithologist]

I was playing at the stock market and hitting up dating sites.

Turns out I've done poorly at both. Though since I haven't sold anything that now worth less (not worthless) this should just be a short term problem (By retirement standards). Hopefully the dating thing will be similarly short. Hopefully not short by retirement standards, I'd like a date before I retire. :smallbiggrin:

[The Fury]

I literally died and have only just now reanimated and clawed my way out of my grave.
Not really, obviously. Mostly trying my best to look after my homies, finishing up my last term of school, work and planning a future move... Man, am I tired.

[Iruka]

I ... I started to comment on youtube videos. So glad the forums are back.

[Knaight]

Oh. Well, still, lament your suffering like the rest of us.


In that case, woe is me, for I had naught for computing but a cheapo smartphone. Stripped of my processing power I was forced into a lifestyle change of...pumping iron,feuding with opera houses, and making out with beautiful women.

Lamenting is hard.

[Imbalance]

I was playing at the stock market and hitting up dating sites.

Turns out I've done poorly at both. Though since I haven't sold anything that now worth less (not worthless) this should just be a short term problem (By retirement standards). Hopefully the dating thing will be similarly short. Hopefully not short by retirement standards, I'd like a date before I retire. :smallbiggrin:

Wishing you well on both endeavors. I got married before Internet dating was really a thing, and subsequently have accepted that I must work until I die.


I literally died and have only just now reanimated and clawed my way out of my grave.
Not really, obviously. Mostly trying my best to look after my homies, finishing up my last term of school, work and planning a future move... Man, am I tired.

Dead...tired? Clawing back into the grave can be just as difficult.


I ... I started to comment on youtube videos. So glad the forums are back.

Oh, that unfathomable rabbit hole that delivers many to their doom. Blessed are the forum keepers - their dedication may yet save us all.


In that case, woe is me, for I had naught for computing but a cheapo smartphone. Stripped of my processing power I was forced into a lifestyle change of...pumping iron,feuding with opera houses, and making out with beautiful women.

Lamenting is hard.

Let it out. We feel your pain.


My dice did arrive and...well...there are some issues. I'm sure if I pushed for it I could receive adequate recompense from either the seller or the manufacturer or both, as they appear to have done so for others in the past. Instead, I'd like to see if I can pull off the correction myself and perhaps modify the look of them with different inks. I'm still looking into it, and haven't learned enough yet to rule out anything. I like the dice and would have preferred them to have been perfect, but for the price I can't be too put out by the situation, and I see it as an opportunity to improve a skill depending on how things unfold.

[farothel]

One of the games I was in had just moved to Mythweavers before the forums died, so I still had a game and didn't go in full withdrawal symptoms. I did check up daily to see if this was back up or not.

[Skydow]

Most of, if not all of my games are over Discord, so I didn't experience any particular changes.

[The Fury]

Dead...tired? Clawing back into the grave can be just as difficult.

Tell me about it. I was thinking I'd crash my own funeral. Unfortunately I couldn't, because y'know... dead.

[Scarlet Knight]

Hi, everybody. My name is Scarlet Knight and I am a recovering miniature painting addict.

I knew it was bad. I collected for years until I had so many lead figurines my house qualified as a Superfund site. But I was in remission.

Then the Forum went down and every day I'd check my PC. Then my eyes fell on a diorama I had made. It was a six room tavern and I thought: "You know, the bar could use another patron." So I painted a woman ordering a drink. It felt so good; oh, my hands shake now and my eyes are bad but the rush was there. So I thought: "Just one more, for the dance floor." So I painted another one, and it looked great!

Soon I find myself searching and searching for the perfect figure to add to the story. Each room needed more!

I finally knew it went too far when I found myself staring at 28 mm BDSM figures on a site with a currency I did not even recognize!

*SOB* Tell me I'm not alone....:smallfrown:

[SquirrellyOtter]

I lurked around here for a few months using some forum posts as resources. The day I actually came to register to join and post in the forums, I discovered they had been taken down. That was a pretty big L to take.

[Razgriez]

Well, I've ever been one of the lurkers of the forum, more often reading than posting. Still, good to see the forums are back.

So what have I been up to? Well, after being laid off from my previous job due to financial woes, I started a new job.... where in the first month I discovered the incredible amount of incompetence that exists and has me already looking for a new job less than 90-days in. Was given lots of wrong information in my first month, payroll nearly sent my pay withheld for taxes to the wrong state and refused to fix it until family members own employers did my employer's jobs for them by giving me blank tax forms to scan in for them.

Within 3 weeks of starting, a major ethical breech caused by another employee left my self and other employees working extremely long hours (12+ hour shifts) to fix the mess the now ex-employee left us when we discovered he had been hiding months worth of work away and unfinished, while our manager worked his eight then went home. We found out also that the ex-employee had failed to submit required reports for two months, and that this never raised a red flag to anyone in management positions, until a co-worker discovered the missing work.

Did we get properly thanked for our efforts? Nope. Instead we get told we "might not be fired" now about twice a week. We discover the manager also has no standard operating procedure written up, and been lenient with our contract with our customer that its now at-cost to us and makes us liable for things we shouldn't be liable for. A month and a half latter, we're still dealing with the after effects, and I'm frankly ready to quit and pursue a better job.

Games wise:
-Still backlogged on Warhammer 40,000 Model assembly and painting.
-My gaming backlog has gotten longer. not helped by now the constant insistence of certain games Weekly/daily missions/quest and limited-time events.

Other things: Well, since I began riding motorcycles two years ago and bought my first motorcycle, I decided it was time to get some upgrades for it, namely in the form of saddlebags. So, got that done this winter and can now more easily and securely carry essentials (Rain gear, Fix-a-flat, small tools), but also be able to do things like pick up a few groceries from the local farm markets in my area on the ride back home.

[Imbalance]

One of the games I was in had just moved to Mythweavers before the forums died, so I still had a game and didn't go in full withdrawal symptoms. I did check up daily to see if this was back up or not.

Most of, if not all of my games are over Discord, so I didn't experience any particular changes.

Y'all lucked out. The pbp I'm in managed to bounce to Discord but for one player, who I'm sad to say decided to bow out when we finally got back in touch after a month.


Tell me about it. I was thinking I'd crash my own funeral. Unfortunately I couldn't, because y'know... dead.

Mortality is so unfair.


Hi, everybody. My name is Scarlet Knight and I am a recovering miniature painting addict.

I knew it was bad. I collected for years until I had so many lead figurines my house qualified as a Superfund site. But I was in remission.

Then the Forum went down and every day I'd check my PC. Then my eyes fell on a diorama I had made. It was a six room tavern and I thought: "You know, the bar could use another patron." So I painted a woman ordering a drink. It felt so good; oh, my hands shake now and my eyes are bad but the rush was there. So I thought: "Just one more, for the dance floor." So I painted another one, and it looked great!

Soon I find myself searching and searching for the perfect figure to add to the story. Each room needed more!

I finally knew it went too far when I found myself staring at 28 mm BDSM figures on a site with a currency I did not even recognize!

*SOB* Tell me I'm not alone....:smallfrown:

I ain't gonna lie, you had me in the first half. I actually attending a minis painting class this past weekend. Um...the only masochism I was aware of was the amount of Pepsi I consumed.


I lurked around here for a few months using some forum posts as resources. The day I actually came to register to join and post in the forums, I discovered they had been taken down. That was a pretty big L to take.

<gasp!> So it was YOU! The account that broke the server's back. Oh well, welcome aboard!


Well, I've ever been one of the lurkers of the forum, more often reading than posting. Still, good to see the forums are back.

So what have I been up to? Well, after being laid off from my previous job due to financial woes, I started a new job.... where in the first month I discovered the incredible amount of incompetence that exists and has me already looking for a new job less than 90-days in. Was given lots of wrong information in my first month, payroll nearly sent my pay withheld for taxes to the wrong state and refused to fix it until family members own employers did my employer's jobs for them by giving me blank tax forms to scan in for them.

Within 3 weeks of starting, a major ethical breech caused by another employee left my self and other employees working extremely long hours (12+ hour shifts) to fix the mess the now ex-employee left us when we discovered he had been hiding months worth of work away and unfinished, while our manager worked his eight then went home. We found out also that the ex-employee had failed to submit required reports for two months, and that this never raised a red flag to anyone in management positions, until a co-worker discovered the missing work.

Did we get properly thanked for our efforts? Nope. Instead we get told we "might not be fired" now about twice a week. We discover the manager also has no standard operating procedure written up, and been lenient with our contract with our customer that its now at-cost to us and makes us liable for things we shouldn't be liable for. A month and a half latter, we're still dealing with the after effects, and I'm frankly ready to quit and pursue a better job.

Games wise:
-Still backlogged on Warhammer 40,000 Model assembly and painting.
-My gaming backlog has gotten longer. not helped by now the constant insistence of certain games Weekly/daily missions/quest and limited-time events.

Other things: Well, since I began riding motorcycles two years ago and bought my first motorcycle, I decided it was time to get some upgrades for it, namely in the form of saddlebags. So, got that done this winter and can now more easily and securely carry essentials (Rain gear, Fix-a-flat, small tools), but also be able to do things like pick up a few groceries from the local farm markets in my area on the ride back home.

Dang, I hope something better comes your way. Get your motor running, get out on the highway, and look for some adventure.

[Scarlet Knight]

I ain't gonna lie, you had me in the first half. I actually attending a minis painting class this past weekend. Um...the only masochism I was aware of was the amount of Pepsi I consumed.


Oooo, where was the class & how did it go?

As for the BSDM figures, it's the usual rabbit-hole situation. You start looking at civilians, which leads to captives, which leads to slaves. The figures were on a Russian site, which made me suspicious (duh).

It seems the company is legit and, to be honest, really good, but I realized just in time that they were resin. :smalleek:

[Rynjin]

I actually took a fair hit to my productivity, which was unexpected.

I work from home and spend what I had thought was too much time browsing the forums in between writing stuff for work.

Yeah, turns out those 15 minute breaks to argue about wizards or lurk posts or whatever I take every hour or so really kickstart my ability to get actual work done. Who knew?

[bundlesandflows]

Not commenting with respect to my presence on these forums, since I've only stopped lurking and joined very recently, and I'm barely present and known anyways, but I've disappeared from virtually all online forums since I started my PhD. PhDs are hard, it turns out.

I think this story isn't unusual for this website's demographic.

[darkrose50]

[1] The company I work for is growing crazy fast. Apparently we are going to start a work-from-home pilot. We are also going away from a "call-center" mindset to a "professional" mindset. Basically for a while there our lunches and breaks were scheduled and they moved daily, and apparently we are going back to picking our lunches and breaks. Also we have some sort of attendance point-system that we are getting rid of where you were supposed to get fired at 30-points, but the other day I saw that a co-worker had 120-points.

[2] The contract my department works on is not being renewed (apparently by my company). This is good because the client is super incompetent. I not even slightly joking, the folks we interact with do not know what they are doing in the least. For example today will be day #9 for me without access to the programs that I need in order to do my job. This is because some manager at the client did not log into a program and extend my access on time. We work over the phone and once had 1/2 day training on body language. We literally cannot do our job without filling out applications (insurance agents), and don't get training on filling out applications. I wanted to show my new managers the manual we were given, but EVERYONE threw it out . . . it was so very pitifully useless that no one kept it.

[Imbalance]

Oooo, where was the class & how did it go?

As for the BSDM figures, it's the usual rabbit-hole situation. You start looking at civilians, which leads to captives, which leads to slaves. The figures were on a Russian site, which made me suspicious (duh).

It seems the company is legit and, to be honest, really good, but I realized just in time that they were resin. :smalleek:

This class was local, went rather well. The lady who ran it had decades of painting experience, provided all the paints and materials, figures, brushes, etc., and was very helpful to the range of skill levels among six students.


I actually took a fair hit to my productivity, which was unexpected.

I work from home and spend what I had thought was too much time browsing the forums in between writing stuff for work.

Yeah, turns out those 15 minute breaks to argue about wizards or lurk posts or whatever I take every hour or so really kickstart my ability to get actual work done. Who knew?

Work from home was difficult the times I've done it. I mostly ended up failing to get get anything done during normal work hours only to turn around and be ultra-productive during relaxation time and into the night.


Not commenting with respect to my presence on these forums, since I've only stopped lurking and joined very recently, and I'm barely present and known anyways, but I've disappeared from virtually all online forums since I started my PhD. PhDs are hard, it turns out.

I think this story isn't unusual for this website's demographic.

So I've heard. We welcome you, though don't let us distract you from your goal.


[1] The company I work for is growing crazy fast. Apparently we are going to start a work-from-home pilot. We are also going away from a "call-center" mindset to a "professional" mindset. Basically for a while there our lunches and breaks were scheduled and they moved daily, and apparently we are going back to picking our lunches and breaks. Also we have some sort of attendance point-system that we are getting rid of where you were supposed to get fired at 30-points, but the other day I saw that a co-worker had 120-points.

[2] The contract my department works on is not being renewed (apparently by my company). This is good because the client is super incompetent. I not even slightly joking, the folks we interact with do not know what they are doing in the least. For example today will be day #9 for me without access to the programs that I need in order to do my job. This is because some manager at the client did not log into a program and extend my access on time. We work over the phone and once had 1/2 day training on body language. We literally cannot do our job without filling out applications (insurance agents), and don't get training on filling out applications. I wanted to show my new managers the manual we were given, but EVERYONE threw it out . . . it was so very pitifully useless that no one kept it.

Apt timing for [1], it appears. I envy your company's gumption with [2], as there is a particular group of architects like that that my company is reluctant to cut ties with despite their belligerence toward us over mistakes that they make.

[JNAProductions]

I hung out with friends from here, on Skype and Discord and such. Missed it a lot, though, and glad it's back!

Speaking of which, what should we call the period of time the forums went down? It needs a cool name. :P

[DataNinja]

Speaking of which, what should we call the period of time the forums went down?
Boring. :smallwink:

[Willie the Duck]

Speaking of which, what should we call the period of time the forums went down?

'The Inconvenience'
'The Downtime'
'The Outage'
'The Doldrum'

[Random Sanity]

'The Inconvenience'
'The Downtime'
'The Outage'
'The Doldrum'

"Kerplunk".

[Kid Jake]

To be honest, I've been so focused on getting my comic up and going lately that until I popped in to check one of my old Campaign Journals, to reference something coming up in the comic, I didn't even realize the forums were down!

[Cikomyr2]

What's for sure, is that the forums came back at just the moment we needed it

[Scarlet Knight]

...Speaking of which, what should we call the period of time the forums went down? It needs a cool name. :P

'The Memory Mishap of 2020"

[mobilityseeker]

Most of, if not all of my games are over Discord, so I didn't experience any particular changes.

me too....