The Drop in Centre

[Brayon]

I'll refrain from expressing my opinion, as this is not in The Pit.

Edited December 27, 2018 by BHopper2

[mollyhousemouse]

11 minutes ago, MacGreg said:

The heart is for a thank you, not for your allergies. I'll keep the cats away from you, girl.

thank You Sir

6 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

i'm going to finish making dinner.. please excuse me Sirs.

i'm off too, done at the phone store

excuse me as well Sirs

[Hunter Thomson]

4 minutes ago, MacGreg said:

So aggravating. And arming teachers is NOT the solution! Ugh.

Oh dear god no. The last thing I want is to be offered or required to carry a sidearm while I'm teaching my classes. In a policy area with so many bad ideas being thrown around, that has to be one of the worst.

Assuming I keep the weapon on me as a teacher at all times, what's to stop one of my students from getting angry and attempting to disarm me? Or accidental discharge? It's just asking for trouble.

[MacGreg]

Is this too political for the chat forum?

[Hunter Thomson]

1 minute ago, MacGreg said:

Is this too political for the chat forum?

Possibly just a hair? But then most of us don't go to the Pit for one reason or another.

 

It's been a long time Mac, what's been new for you? 

[Reader1810]

Just now, MacGreg said:

Is this too political for the chat forum?

 

It’s getting close.

 

I’d say it’s best to talk about less contentious things...

[Hunter Thomson]

1 minute ago, Reader1810 said:

 

It’s getting close.

 

I’d say it’s best to talk about less contentious things...

Hello Reader. How are you doing? Do you have any plans for New Years?

[MacGreg]

1 minute ago, Hunter Thomson said:

Possibly just a hair? But then most of us don't go to the Pit for one reason or another.

 

It's been a long time Mac, what's been new for you? 

Nothing too outstanding happening here, Hunter, but I'm doing well (aside from this nagging cold). Glad to hear you're teaching, even if it is subbing. You'll be teaching full-time in no time, I'm sure. 

[MacGreg]

2 minutes ago, Reader1810 said:

 

It’s getting close.

 

I’d say it’s best to talk about less contentious things...

Grr. Well, I'll respect your thoughts on it, Reader.

[Reader1810]

2 minutes ago, MacGreg said:

Grr. Well, I'll respect your thoughts on it, Reader.

It’s not a bad topic, per se, but it could lead where it shouldn’t go, so it’s best not to take chances is all.

[Reader1810]

5 minutes ago, Hunter Thomson said:

Hello Reader. How are you doing? Do you have any plans for New Years?

Hey Hunter.

 

My plan for New Years is to lay low and ignore it. I’m not one to make a big deal about it. How about yourself, any plans? 

[Hunter Thomson]

Just now, MacGreg said:

Nothing too outstanding happening here, Hunter, but I'm doing well (aside from this nagging cold). Glad to hear you're teaching, even if it is subbing. You'll be teaching full-time in no time, I'm sure. 

Thank you Mac, I'm hoping to be teaching in the September 2019 semester, as I don't think I'll have enough seniority to pick up any of the mid-term postings in February. I'm not entirely sure I'd want one anyways; I'm still working on that graduate thesis and I don't want to have to split my duties too much.

 

One of the things my district offers is a priority TOC position, where you get a full year's teacher salary, but you're on call every day. I mean, I'm on call every day right now as well, but the priority position gets first dibs on the day's worth of calls, and you're expected to work every day. The benefit is that once you do a full year of the priority TOC position, you get what's called a continuing contract, which means that the district is contractually obligated to find a full-time position for me in the following year and every other year until I retire. The downside of course being that I'd be teaching a completely different thing every single day, and there's no guarantee that I'd even be qualified to teach what's being asked of me. Which is fine if I'm only there for a day and don't have to do any of the marking or lesson planning, but it would still be exhausting.

 

I'm going to be emailing the district about it in the new year because I have a few logistical questions about how they'd let me know about my daily postings; I've missed a whole bunch of calls for work this past semester because I'm on the ice curling when they call and its an automated system, so I either pick up my phone or I miss it entirely. I'd hate to do that with the priority position since its a requirement you work each day hahaha.

[Hunter Thomson]

1 minute ago, Reader1810 said:

Hey Hunter.

 

My plan for New Years is to lay low and ignore it. I’m not one to make a big deal about it. How about yourself, any plans? 

Nah, I'm going to do what you're doing and just stay at home. I'm trying to get my fourth thesis chapter done by New Year's so I might just stay at home and do that instead.

[Starrynight22]

Speaking of cats.....,

 

Meet Doug

[Hunter Thomson]

3 minutes ago, Starrynight22 said:

Speaking of cats.....,

 

Meet Doug

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE!

OMG SO CUTE!

[Thorn Wilde]

7 hours ago, BHopper2 said:

So, Skyrim... Pirated games are buggy as hell, and even with the newer install, my saved game folder was corrupted, meaning I need to restart. I did fix it. It was a Read/Write error on the folder its self, and it was being caused by my Anti-virus. I've run the Anti-V on it four times now, both online and offline, and it's clear. So, I was able to fix that. Surprisingly it happened in the same spot as the first installment bugged out. Building Lakeview Manor. That's what I get for trying to build a house for two kids, a dog, and a spouse.

 

There's a big sale on Steam now, just fyi. Might wanna buy it if it's bugging out a lot.  Assuming you like it enough.

 

7 hours ago, BHopper2 said:

Ok, Skyrimmers... *snickers*

 

I've done a couple of playthroughs now and I've gotten a feel for the game. I've found that Sneak, Archery, One-handed, and Smithing to be the skills every character needs. I find the third-person view the best, and sometimes switching to FPS view is needed. Like when sniping with archery.  Saving often is the best thing you can do. It's cool you can do same-sex spouses, but the dialogue once you're married makes me laugh. Also, killing Astrid is not the best way to join the Dark Brotherhood.

 

With all that, any new tips, tricks, or advice?🙂

 

I prefer first person. Bethesda's games, both Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises, are generally designed to be played in first person. I find third person clunky. Archery and sneak are a must for me, as I love playing rogues and rangers. Thieves' Guild is my favourite faction. It is possible, if you're sneaky enough, to go through that entire quest line without killing anyone until the very end. I love being sneaky sneak. Also why I love Dishonoured and why I, in spite of multiple issues with the story and so on, adored the 2014 Thief. Such excellent stealth mechanics, omg! 

 

Smithing is good at the lower levels, but honestly, once you get to a certain point you'll be finding so many awesome weapons and armour in the world you'll hardly need to make your own anymore. Tempering them are another matter. Make sure you get the arcane blacksmith perk so you can upgrade enchanted weapons and armour. Get your smithing to lvl 60, get Arcane Blacksmith, and then focus your training and your perks on other things. If you want to be a master blacksmith for role-play reasons, I suggest also learning Enchanting, because you can make some seriously cool stuff that way.

 

3 hours ago, MacGreg said:

I recently finished a mini-series called 'Night Manager', on Prime. Based on a John Le Carre novel (an author I love) starring Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie. Espionage, intrigue, suspense. I really enjoyed it.

 

I loved Night Manager! And now I need to see it again... Such a good series.

 

3 hours ago, BHopper2 said:

Same happened with the Expanse and SYFY. Just SYFY didn't own the show, they leased it. Even with great rating Live, OnDemand, and DVR, and they still axed the show.

It's on Amazon Prime now, for the seasons that were out. Not sure where it will be now for new episodes, though the producers were in talks with Amazon.

 

   I loved The Expanse so much and I am heartbroken they aren't making anymore. Tried reading the books, but they're not as good...

 

57 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

this just broke my heart ... this should be enough to make gun control a thing ... honestly anyone who owns or buys one should be ashamed of themselves..  babies should not be writing wills.. fuck

 

That's horrifying and heartbreaking, omg! I'm fairly uncompromising on gun control. Like you, I live in a country where people own guns to hunt. You can get a handgun if you're part of a gun club for more than three years, but you can't carry it loaded, ever, and you have to keep it locked up and the ammo locked away separately. Assault rifles are completely off the table, no fucking way anyone would be allowed to own one. I cannot for the life of me understand why any civilian could possibly want to own a gun like that.  

 

 

...so that was a rollercoaster post. This is what happens when I don't check in all day, I guess. From Skyrim to gun control... I've been playing Fallout 4.

[Mikiesboy]

10 minutes ago, Hunter Thomson said:

Nah, I'm going to do what you're doing and just stay at home. I'm trying to get my fourth thesis chapter done by New Year's so I might just stay at home and do that instead.

chinese food and hopefully a film or two

[Reader1810]

4 minutes ago, Starrynight22 said:

Speaking of cats.....,

 

Meet Doug

What a beauty! 

[Mikiesboy]

5 minutes ago, Starrynight22 said:

Speaking of cats.....,

 

Meet Doug

i like his name ...     we can't have cats .. i like them, but Michael is allergic to them.

[Hunter Thomson]

3 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

chinese food and hopefully a film or two

Ooooh, that does sound like a nice idea  

[Thorn Wilde]

26 minutes ago, Reader1810 said:

 

It’s getting close.

 

I’d say it’s best to talk about less contentious things...

 

Didn't see this before posting. I won't say anything more on the topic.

[Starrynight22]

Just now, Mikiesboy said:

i like his name ...     we can't have cats .. i like them, but Michael is allergic to them.

My older son named her. Yes she is female and named Doug.  

He has wanted a cat for years.  The baby is over enthusiastic with her.  I hope he doesnt get scratched....... I've had her here 2 HOURS and have said "G____ leave the cat alone, she's learning us" about 43 Times 

[Mikiesboy]

1 minute ago, Starrynight22 said:

My older son named her. Yes she is female and named Doug.  

He has wanted a cat for years.  The baby is over enthusiastic with her.  I hope he doesnt get scratched....... I've had her here 2 HOURS and have said "G____ leave the cat alone, she's learning us" about 43 Times 

then the name is even better ...

[MacGreg]

From gun control to cats. I'm gonna go look for some dinner. Have a nice evening, everyone.

[Thorn Wilde]

Just now, Starrynight22 said:

My older son named her. Yes she is female and named Doug.  

He has wanted a cat for years.  The baby is over enthusiastic with her.  I hope he doesnt get scratched....... I've had her here 2 HOURS and have said "G____ leave the cat alone, she's learning us" about 43 Times 

 

Well, in my experience, the best way to socialise a cat is to annoy the shit out of it when it's little.  I mean, don't let the kid be cruel to it, but cats need to be 'tamed' a little bit. They're not really domesticated in the same way dogs are, they're wilder and more independent, so they need to be taught young that humans are boss. They'll still become divas who think they're gods when they grow up, but they'll be a little nicer about it.