Cool things happening to you

[SupahEwok]

A thread for sharing the positivity in our lives, even amidst global catastrophe. Big things, little things, anything cool you're up to or that's happened to you lately. Brag a little and be happy for a microsecond!

To start us off, I just DM'd a session of D&D. It's the first session I've DM'd in a long time, and I've never gotten a lot of experience doing so cuz I'd let life circumstances and too high expectations (of myself) sabotage my efforts in the long run, abandoning games after a couple of sessions. But I wanted to have a game with some real life friends, all of us in lock down and some in very poor spirits, so I took charge with running a couple of adventures out of the Tales from the Yawning Portal book. Those should last a couple of months, and while they're going, I'm gonna build up material for the Eberron campaign I've wanted to make for years.

But so far as this session went, it was great! Basically a perfect session. There was no standout moment for a story you tell for years to come, which is D&D at its best, but I think I maintained good pacing for the party between some light roleplaying, exploration, and encounters, while providing just enough structure to guide the party without constraining their opportunity to make choices. We had a great atmosphere, good roleplaying, a moment of peril and heroism, and all the players seemed invested and like they were having fun. Makes me real happy, and I'm looking forward to our next session!

 

[DeliveryGodNoah]

I just installed a newly tuned PCM into my 1998 Cadillac Eldorado and I'm just peached about it.

Bumped it's horsepower rating from 275HP to ~324HP and 340 ft lbs of torque.
Removed the speed limiter so it no longer cuts fuel when you hit 110 MPH.
Removes the first gear lockout, so if you have a ABS fault (or if you turn off the traction control) you don't start in 2nd gear and lose all the power you would normally get in 1st.
Gained ~4 MPG when cruising (but it chugs gas like a motherf&#%$& when you floor it now)

It's turned what was otherwise a moderately peppy luxury V8 into an impressively peppy luxury V8.
I've played around a little bit with it. Of course, it's horrible to do in a FWD car, but if you're so inclined, it will spin tires all the way up the street now. Not that I've done that hahaha, that'd be careless. And I totally haven't had it up to 135 MPH. That's illegal.

Spoiler: Tis a handsome vehicle too

 

[Elvis Starburst]

I got a new computer case that I'm quite happy about. Build went smoothly too. Got my quad monitor setup done as well, so my room and desk no longer looks like a disaster. Not much besides that, honestly. Not having to work has been good for my mental health though

 

[gsilver]

I may have had to sell my house, but it appreciated enough for me to get back more than I paid towards the mortgage, effectively making the last 5 years be rent-free (aside from utilities/maintenance... which were pretty expensive, all things considered)

//Now can we please have real estate prices return to sane levels so that I can afford to get a new house once I'm working again

 

[SupahEwok]

I was tired of wasting away, waiting for responses to job applications that have never come, so I went and took the test for the drone pilot certification exam today. Made me sweat a bit more than I thought it would, but I passed pretty handily, and as soon as the paperwork gets through the FAA I'll be certified to fly small drones for commercial purposes in the US!

It's been a career/education goal to do this for a while, but I didn't make time for it while I was a student and I gave up on waiting for a company to hire me and pay the fee for the test. Feels nice to be able to add a good line to the ol' resume. I'm gonna take a step back from job searching for a couple of months in favor of self-training. I've got an ebook for transitioning from ArcMap (a soon-to-be legacy program for my field, which is what I was trained on through college) to ArcGIS Pro (which will become the undisputed market leader program in my field next year, when ArcMap is discontinued in favor of it), and a print book arriving tomorrow to learn how to use AutoCAD Civil 3d for surveying applications. Enrolled in a single graduate class to take online this fall, mainly because it's cheaper to pay for the class and get student software licenses than it would be to buy these programs, and it'll keep my enrollment from lapsing until I decide to seriously return to my master's after I've gotten established in a job.

 

[Specter Von Baren]

I've been rapidly educating myself in many things and while on the one hand I feel utter dread in my soul, I also feel super confident in myself for the first time in a long time.

Also we STILL have managed to not kill any of our 23 chickens.

 

[Gordon_4]

I've been rapidly educating myself in many things and while on the one hand I feel utter dread in my soul, I also feel super confident in myself for the first time in a long time.

Also we STILL have managed to not kill any of our 23 chickens.

View attachment 387

Chickens are kind of hard to kill unless you’re actively trying to do it. In that case it’s easy.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

I just today uploaded my 400th video to YouTube. Took me thirteen years....

Also we STILL have managed to not kill any of our 23 chickens.

I must be tired. I read "chickens" as "children".

 

[Chimpzy]

Started seriously exercising in late february. Used to be one of those guys who could pig out all I wanted and not gain a gram. Not so much anymore since I hit my 30's. Also tend to be kind of lazy and the kind who didn't really care about physical appearance. Anyway, a little over 4 months later, pretty pleased with progress. Started out "skinny fat". Still thin, but flabby bits are gone, replaced by slimmer waist, chest and arms a little bigger and overal muscle definition improved. Not really where I want to be yet, but intent on working on it.

 

[SupahEwok]

Started seriously exercising in late february. Used to be one of those guys who could pig out all I wanted and not gain a gram. Not so much anymore since I hit my 30's. Also tend to be kind of lazy and the kind who didn't really care about physical appearance. Anyway, a little over 4 months later, pretty pleased with progress. Started out "skinny fat". Still thin, but flabby bits are gone, replaced by slimmer waist, chest and arms a little bigger and overal muscle definition improved. Not really where I want to be yet, but intent on working on it.

Hey, that's awesome dude! I'm seriously obese by European standards, and moderately overweight by American ones (I maxed out at 270 lbs, or 122.5 kg). Been meaning to shed the pounds forever, but I loathe exercise. I been eating right for the past couple of months, though, and I'm going to need a new belt soon from my slow but steady waist shrinkage (started the summer at around 260 lbs, and am now hovering around 250). Keep trucking!

 

[Specter Von Baren]

Started seriously exercising in late february. Used to be one of those guys who could pig out all I wanted and not gain a gram. Not so much anymore since I hit my 30's. Also tend to be kind of lazy and the kind who didn't really care about physical appearance. Anyway, a little over 4 months later, pretty pleased with progress. Started out "skinny fat". Still thin, but flabby bits are gone, replaced by slimmer waist, chest and arms a little bigger and overal muscle definition improved. Not really where I want to be yet, but intent on working on it.

I've been trying to lose the weight I gained over the lock down too. I drank a lot of soda and didn't go out much for that time so I've kind of ballooned out.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Started seriously exercising in late february. Used to be one of those guys who could pig out all I wanted and not gain a gram. Not so much anymore since I hit my 30's. Also tend to be kind of lazy and the kind who didn't really care about physical appearance. Anyway, a little over 4 months later, pretty pleased with progress. Started out "skinny fat". Still thin, but flabby bits are gone, replaced by slimmer waist, chest and arms a little bigger and overal muscle definition improved. Not really where I want to be yet, but intent on working on it.

I applaud you, sir. It’s very difficult to stay disciplined enough to maintain a workout regimen. I’ve only done it once for a 30-day weight loss challenge at work. At the time, I didn’t really need to lose anything, but I did it for something to do. Plus, I’d heard that once you crest the initial grueling phase and hit a stride, you can start to enjoy it, and thought I’d actually be able to get and stay fit. I was getting up at 4am 6 days a week and hitting the gym and ate nothing but baked chicken and veggies. By day 30, I’d lost some 15 lbs., and came in 2nd in the challenge. Alas, while I did hit a stride, I never learned to “enjoy” working out, so stopped and haven’t since. Now, I’m 40, and the only way I can lose a pound is if a British friend gave me some cash and I misplaced it…

 

[Chimpzy]

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Thanks for the encouragement. Right back at you. Tried a few times before, but never stuck with it, because while I wasn't happy with my physique on a personal level, I didn't care how I looked to others, and I'm ironically the kind that needs an external motivation like that. Then that problem fixed itself. Not gonna lie, first month or so was tough. I was horribly out of shape. Like, had trouble doing proper pushups. Eventually settled into a routine, but still got a ways I want to go. Still don't particularly enjoy the actual working out, but do enjoy the benefits. Feeling healthier, more energetic, confident and no longer like I can't really keep up with the snore monster currently on my couch.

 

[ObsidianJones]

So, this starts off with not good news. I'm going to move down to Florida in a few weeks to help take care of a family member who has cancer.

But I decided to take a negative and make it into a positive. I'm following up on a dream of mine. I'm going to become a professional pilot. I'm completing the online Ground course, and I'm going to take lessons. Not via ATP or anyone like that. I hear if you need extra time to get a lesson, too bad, we're moving on to something else. So Ewok, see you in the skies

Also, given that pilots (for at least cargo) are in more demand than ever, it'll help me to move to Canada. Which that's like two dreams in one. The major airports in Canada are really Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal. I know Montreal, I've lived there for two years. It's tempting to go back, but being in Western New York here, dear GOD, Toronto is like what Manhattan wishes it could be. It's both familiar and better than what I know. It's a toss up.

Also, I've started boxing again. Never professionally, but for self defense. Yay for being dangerous!

 

[SupahEwok]

But I decided to take a negative and make it into a positive. I'm following up on a dream of mine. I'm going to become a professional pilot. I'm completing the online Ground course, and I'm going to take lessons. Not via ATP or anyone like that. I hear if you need extra time to get a lesson, too bad, we're moving on to something else. So Ewok, see you in the skies

Oooh, better hope not, I'd hate to try to ride a 20 lb drone among the clouds

But seriously, drones are forbidden to operate in any airspace that isn't Class G, which means effectively that they can't be flown near airports. They also can't be flown higher than 400 ft above ground level. It is theoretically possible to go to the FAA and get a waiver, but in reality they aren't granting them right now, unless it's something like research with an FAA partner (my graduate research assistantship that I quit this spring was actually with such a partner, so I got a bit of a look into the process), or the airport itself is hiring the drone operator for an inspection job. All in the name of making sure a little drone doesn't hit a plane and cause a huge crash.

Buuuuuuuuut my grandpa was a WW2 military pilot, and later private pilot, and my uncle is a private pilot. I hope to save up some day to afford lessons for a private license. See you in the air then! And good on you for making a noticeable step along the career path you desire, it's a great feeling.

 

[Chimpzy]

As of today, I'm officially nicotine-free for one year.

 

[Trunkage]

As of today, I'm officially nicotine-free for one year.

Did that too about a decade ago. Which is tricky when my colleagues are mostly smokers and when we go out for drinks

Have not kicked coffee though. I'm finding that way harder

 

[SupahEwok]

As of today, I'm officially nicotine-free for one year.

As of a week ago, I broke my 27 year nicotine-free streak starting from my birth by trying to puff my dad's cigar out of idle curiosity

Good on you, Chimpzy.

 

[Chimpzy]

Did that too about a decade ago. Which is tricky when my colleagues are mostly smokers and when we go out for drinks

Yeah, I get you. That's been the main reason why all my previous attempts at quitting failed.

As of a week ago, I broke my 27 year nicotine-free streak starting from my birth by trying to puff my dad's cigar out of idle curiosity

Ok, so, how heavy did it make your head feel? Well, assuming you managed to inhale without hocking up a lung.

 

[Specter Von Baren]

As of today, I'm officially nicotine-free for one year.

As of today I've been nicotine free for 33 years.