The Syndicate

Here is an article that I found interesting. It deals with both taxes and personal financial responsibility. The former is at the forefront of my mind lately because I'm prepping tax documents. The latter is always on my mind because I don't shy away from preaching the gospel of saving. Apparently, tax season is when many people face costly emergencies. Coincidence?

G-Man wrote:Here is an article that I found interesting. It deals with both taxes and personal financial responsibility. The former is at the forefront of my mind lately because I'm prepping tax documents. The latter is always on my mind because I don't shy away from preaching the gospel of saving. Apparently, tax season is when many people face costly emergencies. Coincidence?

I say coincidence. I don't thing there is any correlation unless people are having heart attacks while filling out their taxes!

Mum, Dad, and my two brothers went to a beach well out of the way from civilisation to cool down during this heatwave. They thought they'd be able to relax there. Someone died.

Wow, that's rough. I hope all of yours are ok.

It sounds bad there. I know that not very far from where Anita's family is it hit 50 (for you Americans, thats 120+)

Golden wrote:Wow, that's rough. I hope all of yours are ok.

It sounds bad there. I know that not very far from where Anita's family is it hit 50 (for you Americans, thats 120+)

It wasn't any of us, I had the place wrong. They were going to go there but they changed at the last minute. But yeah, way too hot, though we only got to about 40 at home. At least it's a dry heat, it's usually humid.

Quin wrote:

Golden wrote:Wow, that's rough. I hope all of yours are ok.

It sounds bad there. I know that not very far from where Anita's family is it hit 50 (for you Americans, thats 120+)

It wasn't any of us, I had the place wrong. They were going to go there but they changed at the last minute. But yeah, way too hot, though we only got to about 40 at home. At least it's a dry heat, it's usually humid.

Yeah, that is lucky. I'll take 40 degrees in Los Angeles over 30 in Newcastle, frankly. I hate your humid summers, ugh.

Anyone have any music media players they recommend? I'm looking for what to install on my new laptop, and I read that the new iTunes (version 12) is awful.

I always just use foobar2000 and VLC for all media playing needs

I used to use MOC but recently switched to mpd + ncmpcpp.

Not sure where else to put this, but I need to share this with someone, so here we are.

My wife and I have decided to separate.

That sounds like a really bad thing, but neither of us actually thinks it is. We've been together for 20 years, since I was 20 years old, and been married for 15. It\s been almost all good, and we remain the best of friends, but it dawned on us recently that neither of us really offers the other any kind of growth, anymore. We've sort of flatlined the way that lots of long-time couples do, but unlike a lot of people who just sort of settle into an acceptance of routine as rest of life, we both want to continue to grow on the world. So here we are!

We won't technically separate until next year, as we want to spend this year getting our house perked up to sell next spring, and it gives us time to handle telling our kids and friends in the right time. I must stress again that we are both entirely and equally on board with this, and it's not really bad. But it is a bit of a shock!

(For those who are fb friends with me, no mention can be made there, please, though of course, why would you go and post there, but still had to say it)

Any of you have amicable separations? Any advice? Warnings to give? Feel free to PM me, I'd appreciate any and all feedback

Sorry to hear that, timmer. Despite it being amicable, I know that with these things comes upheaval and uncertainty and that it's not what anyone goes into life planning. I hope it all goes well for you.

Thanks, G

Other random note... is there anything good about Microsoft Edge? This stupid program always gives me the cached version of The Syndicate. I cannot see the current state of the website without hitting refresh first, even if hours have gone by. WTF? I can't find a way to fix this.

timmer wrote:Other random note... is there anything good about Microsoft Edge? This stupid program always gives me the cached version of The Syndicate. I cannot see the current state of the website without hitting refresh first, even if hours have gone by. WTF? I can't find a way to fix this.

I'm pretty sure it's just a rebranding of Internet Explorer, but I could be wrong there.

I prefer Firefox or Chrome instead.

As per your real life story, I haven't much to offer aside from well wishes to you. I have little knowledge of such relationships and can only gather what I observe through others'.

But remember to keep your friends and loved ones close!

Metalmarsh89 wrote:

timmer wrote:Other random note... is there anything good about Microsoft Edge? This stupid program always gives me the cached version of The Syndicate. I cannot see the current state of the website without hitting refresh first, even if hours have gone by. WTF? I can't find a way to fix this.

I'm pretty sure it's just a rebranding of Internet Explorer, but I could be wrong there.

I prefer Firefox or Chrome instead.

Yeah I gave up with the cached bs, apparently this is an issue for that program, so I just brought in good ol'd Chrome and I'm good to go.

My laptop came packed with Edge and I tried it for a day, then I gave up and d/l FF and Chrome.

And one of my relatives did something similar several years ago except their kids were older than yours, maybe high school or junior high. They still went on family vacations together, even last year they all went on a huge cruise together with their new spouses, the (now grown) kids, etc. I did not think something like that was possible. But their mutual respect and friendship (and their mad parenting skills) made it happen. My cousin once told me that no matter what else ever happened, she was always family as the mother of his children.

Handling a rough situation with Grace is the best case scenario. Good Luck

timmer, so sorry to hear about your upheaval even though it sounds like you have decided it is the best for everyone to move on. My brother is one of those people who is divorced but he and his ex and their child still do many things together as co-parents including coming to our family Christmas at my parents. It is amazing to me how well it all works. I wish you the best.

And I finally gave up on Microsoft Edge and in fact Microsoft in general (too many troubles with damn updates to Windows 10 and my computer randomly shutting down) and bought a Mac. I am in love and highly recommend it.

S~V~S wrote:My laptop came packed with Edge and I tried it for a day, then I gave up and d/l FF and Chrome.

And one of my relatives did something similar several years ago except their kids were older than yours, maybe high school or junior high. They still went on family vacations together, even last year they all went on a huge cruise together with their new spouses, the (now grown) kids, etc. I did not think something like that was possible. But their mutual respect and friendship (and their mad parenting skills) made it happen. My cousin once told me that no matter what else ever happened, she was always family as the mother of his children.

Handling a rough situation with Grace is the best case scenario. Good Luck

Thanks for all of the comments, guys, I appreciate them all

And SVS, I think you will see more of such post-married family units in the future, it's a sort of natural thing. This may sound like I'm saying things to make myself feel better, but I'm really being honest here about this; I don't think it is logical for couples to expect to continue to engage with each other and truly GROW over an entire lifetime. Maybe some couples are just so eprfectly built for each other that they can, but I think most couples have a natural algorithm they follow where their lives become better and better and they grow and grow thanks to the input of the other, but after awhile the pace of positive changes just naturally ebbs off. This is where in the past you ended up with grandmothers who sat in their living room watching the Price is Right and just being outwardly content with daily routine, etc. But these days, that's unraveling fast, just as ideas about gender, sexuality etc are evolving rapidly.

So yeah it seems weird, and yet to us it seems perfectly natural. We are now more than anything friends, we like being around each other, we laugh and smile around each other as much as ever, but that sense of I wonder what the next few years will bring together is absent.

If we can end up like your friends, I'll consider this new plan a resounding success

Random topic change: the third shift girl didn't show up to work the night before last. I had a warning this might happen so I lined up two other people in order to split the shift up. So for example, my normal shift was 3-11, but I was already in overtime so I came in at 4 pm and then worked until 3 am. Then the other AM in training came in at 3 am and worked until 1 pm. Then the second shift girl came in at 1 pm and worked until 11 pm. Anyway, the long and the short of it was I worked a long day into the wee hours.

During the very deadest of dead hours, to kill time and keep my mind alert, I started tossing together a possible role list from an idea for a Better Off Ted Heist game I have been thinking about creating. So I grabbed a sheet of paper and wrote down the following:

Better Off Ted Mafia

Ted
Rose
Linda
Veronica
Phil
Lem
Other R&D team #1 (??)
Other R&D team #2 (??)
Lem's mom
Linda's bf
Other Scientist #1 (?? Patricia?)
Other Scientist #2 (??)
Boss (??)

I was very tired when I left and I think I left the paper at work on the counter in the office. I'm wondering what my boss thought when he found it...

He's probably re-checking the background check they did on you when you were hired!

On a totally different subject I wish it were 6:00 so I could have a glass of wine.

juliets wrote:On a totally different subject I wish it were 6:00 so I could have a glass of wine.

What's so special about six?

Epignosis wrote:

juliets wrote:On a totally different subject I wish it were 6:00 so I could have a glass of wine.

What's so special about six?

It's the first acceptable time on a week day to have a drink.

juliets wrote:

Epignosis wrote:

juliets wrote:On a totally different subject I wish it were 6:00 so I could have a glass of wine.

What's so special about six?

It's the first acceptable time on a week day to have a drink.

I exhibit very unacceptable behavior.

I thought 5:00 was the acceptable time

I have apparently been behaving badly for a very long time.

Maybe it is 5:00. Perhaps I will test that theory tonight. I do have to cook dinner though so I'll have to be careful. I can drunk post in the chat.

I would say 5, and 4 on Fridays

Noon any day of the week.

Catching up with a few topics here:

1. timmer, first of all I have to express that I'm sorry to hear of your separation outcome, although I'm equally glad that you seem to pursue a positive approach on this. Reading your take on it has been sort of refreshing, although I personally never myself believed in the fact that relationships, marriages and such are destined to have golddust on them forever (sadly, that still lead to inevitable bad kismet in a few of my experiences). As far as your situation goes, there'll surely be many things to sort out, so I hope for the best for you, the kids and anyone else concerned.

2. I have not implemented and/or used any Win10 apps

3. Pepsi hour starts here at whenever I get home or whenever I'm home after 3pm

4. the active topics page looks like this

Yeah we revived the thread games.

Speaking of those thread games, would this be a good time to say I don't understand half of them? Like Film Association for instance. The latest entries are "Animal House" followed by "Eraserhead". So, the movie Eraserhead can somehow be associated with Animal House? I can't think of two more dissimilar movies. Is that the point? I'm lost. End of small rant.

juliets wrote:Speaking of those thread games, would this be a good time to say I don't understand half of them? Like Film Association for instance. The latest entries are "Animal House" followed by "Eraserhead". So, the movie Eraserhead can somehow be associated with Animal House? I can't think of two more dissimilar movies. Is that the point? I'm lost. End of small rant.

http://www.mafiathesyndicate.com/viewto ... ?f=25&t=57

Oooh I see - its done by letter. Well then, it makes a hell of a lot more sense now.

Thread games were behind my megazillion LP post count, tbh. That and Mafia.

Astronomers confirmed the existence of seven exoplanets orbiting a nearby* star that are similar in size to Earth. Three of them are believed to be within the star's habitable zone. I read the full article for the gory details. It's a small star but the planets are in a tight orbit. Given some of the technical details, I doubt intelligent life akin to dolphins or primates exist there but lower levels of life seem plausible.



*40 light-years

G-Man wrote:Astronomers confirmed the existence of seven exoplanets orbiting a nearby* star that are similar in size to Earth. Three of them are believed to be within the star's habitable zone. I read the full article for the gory details. It's a small star but the planets are in a tight orbit. Given some of the technical details, I doubt intelligent life akin to dolphins or primates exist there but lower levels of life seem plausible.



*40 light-years

Wrong. It's where dolphins came from before they moved here to take over the world.

Golden wrote:

G-Man wrote:Astronomers confirmed the existence of seven exoplanets orbiting a nearby* star that are similar in size to Earth. Three of them are believed to be within the star's habitable zone. I read the full article for the gory details. It's a small star but the planets are in a tight orbit. Given some of the technical details, I doubt intelligent life akin to dolphins or primates exist there but lower levels of life seem plausible.



*40 light-years

Wrong. It's where dolphins came from before they moved here to take over the world.

Given how small the star is, you may well be correct.

A gripe: I'm noticing that all of the TV Heists have awarded a Best Roleplay banner to the winners of their Best Roleplay vote, with the exception of Futurama. I co-won that vote and I want to display it for all the Syndicate to see!

I believe banners for all the Heists are in the making, and Parks kicked off things by having Roleplay banners as well. So stay stuned for Futurama as well, although, of course, it will depend on how much time the Graphics Team currently has.

I thought the original intent was for Heists to NOT have banners, as there would be more of them and banners for Heists would clutter up people's sigs. Same reason why winning a Heist doesn't count for qualifying you for Game of Champions.

Yeah, as far as I know, Heists were not going to have banners. They are supposed to be more casual.

S~V~S wrote:Yeah, as far as I know, Heists were not going to have banners. They are supposed to be more casual.

We even let people wear Hawaiian shirts while playing heists.

Posting here as a test to see if something is wrong with my computer.

juliets wrote:Pistig hr a a tet tosee i smtg is wng wit mycmuter.

You should get that checked out.

thellama73 wrote:

S~V~S wrote:Yeah, as far as I know, Heists were not going to have banners. They are supposed to be more casual.

We even let people wear Hawaiian shirts while playing heists.

I've been wearing ski masks.

Epignosis wrote:

juliets wrote:Pistig hr a a tet tosee i smtg is wng wit mycmuter.

You should get that checked out.

So I switched from the dark background to the light background today because my wife caught me on the site during family time last night. It reminds me so much of The Piano that it makes me sad. Perhaps that will fade in time.

Oh man it is the same skin as the Piano It feels so weird to me now though, especially since it inexplicably puts the avatars on the right of posts Sure is nostalgia-inducing, but way too disorienting. I'm too used to the dark skin for this site (and the light one feels so harsh on the eyes) so I'm keeping it dark