fefellama's recent activity

  1. Comment on Hurricane vs. Tiny Houses in ~engineering

    fefellama
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Well said. One other thing I would add is that a lot of these lessons apply to homes that are nowhere near the beach. Like I definitely get the feeling of 'why should I care about this, this only...

    Well said. One other thing I would add is that a lot of these lessons apply to homes that are nowhere near the beach. Like I definitely get the feeling of 'why should I care about this, this only applies to multimillion-dollar beachfront homes', but that is simply not true. These storms are becoming more powerful, and reaching inland further and further with these massive storm surges and flooding issues. I lived through Ian (the storm mentioned at the beginning of the video). My area got 20-30 inches of rain in less than a week. Houses miles away from the beach were affected despite not being anywhere near those multimillion-dollar beachfront homes. People forget that Florida has a shit ton of lakes and rivers and canals and other waterways that all got absolutely bombarded with water. If you live in a low-lying area next to a big lake or river, it doesn't matter how close or far you are from the beach if your lake goes up by 2 feet, your $250k home is just as vulnerable as the $900k home a block away.

    One quick tidbit that I didn't even learn about until Milton in 2024 but that feels somewhat related to all this: some areas near rivers actually see their peak flooding days or even weeks AFTER the actual storm. Like a week or two after Milton, the areas around the St. Johns River were at their peak levels, meaning residents there had to deal with more flooding than during the actual time of the storm. And again this is miles and miles inland, nowhere near the coast. And these people were dealing with flooding of like 10+ feet in some places because all that water that dropped everywhere eventually made its way to the river (to eventually flow out into the ocean). So yeah, big impacts despite not being anywhere near the coast. So studies about buildings being built slightly higher up (like in the video) would definitely apply to those homes as well.

    And speaking of learning from storms, every big storm is researched like crazy in Florida for obvious reasons (I'm sure other places too, I'm just more familiar with Florida). I wrote a paper in grad school about the effects of Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and basically it boiled down to 'we learned a shit ton of lessons from that storm and now build our houses completely differently as a result'. Andrew was more about wind than flooding (highest recorded wind speed at the time for a hurricane) so a lot of the lessons were things like the types of tie-downs to use to hold your roof and walls together. Now with Ian (and Milton which was 2 years later and surprisingly similar in trajectory and impact), it does not surprise me that we are studying the affects of storm surges and flooding since those were big factors in those two recent storms. Every storm is worth analyzing because there are tons of things you don't even think about that can have drastic ramifications on how people are impacted in future storms. There's the obvious building construction practices like in this video, but also things like how the emergency information was disseminated, the politics of how aid was applied, the specific wording used in key messaging before the impact. These postmortems are the reasons states call a state of emergency before the actual storm lands, why most people know to have a hurricane kit ready (or what a hurricane kit even is), and why building codes are the way they are in impact-prone areas.

    9 votes

  2. Comment on How to practically liquidate lots of little things of moderate value in ~finance

    fefellama
    (edited )
    Link
    Hey friend, I'm in a similar boat and have been doing the same thing for the last year or so in preparation of a big move across countries. What I've found is that a lot of the small things I'm...

    Hey friend, I'm in a similar boat and have been doing the same thing for the last year or so in preparation of a big move across countries. What I've found is that a lot of the small things I'm trying to get rid of really are not worth the hassle of trying to sell them. I've been using FB marketplace to great success, cash only and local pickup so no worries about shipping or returns or whatever. But we are fortunate that my wife is currently a stay-at-home mom and has the time to actually respond to messages and sell stuff while I'm at work. Anything less than like $10 we've come to learn is just not worth the time and effort for us. So we list the bigger items, say stuff that goes for $20-300 bucks, and donate/discard a lot of the smaller things. Forget what you paid for them. Forget what you THINK they could go for. The only factors that matter to me now are how quickly I can sell the item and how much space it takes up.

    I guess it would be different if we were doing this more for income and maximizing how much we get for things, but we're at the point where anything is better than nothing and I just want it all gone. And if you're in the 'get rid of things' mindset like we are rather than 'trying to maximize how much money we get' then don't be afraid to list it for quite a bit less than what you'd ideally want. Better to sell a bunch of stuff for less-than-ideal prices rather than sitting on them for weeks or months dealing with the stress of keeping it and storing it and replying to messages. If something doesn't get multiple offers within a week, we've probably listed it too high and will drop the price by like 25-50%. We have made a couple grand in the last year doing this, but more importantly have gotten rid of a metric shit ton of stuff that we know we will not take with us. So every penny made feels like a bonus.

    Someone else mentioned tax discounts for donating items like clothing. We did that and I can definitely recommend. Much better to get rid of like three giant bags of clothing/towels/bedsheets all at once rather than trying to get rid of them individually.

    So yeah TL;DR the advice I would give myself a year ago when I first started this process is to stop trying to maximize how much I get from selling stuff, because the actual feeling of relief and getting rid of a lot of stuff vastly outweighs whatever money we make. Better to sell something for $25 bucks and be rid of it in a week rather than $50 but have to store it for a couple months and respond to 20+ fb marketplace questions and lowball offers. People expect less when things are listed cheaper, saving you stress and headaches and time and space.

    Good luck!

    17 votes

  3. Comment on What private companies are you happy doing business with? in ~talk

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    The excellent YouTube channel People Make Games did a two-part documentary on Valve. Part 1 focuses on exactly what you mentioned, the gambling and loot box issues. And Part 2 focuses on the...

    Note: there is a darker side - the skin gambling and loot box issues that imo valve has not done enough to curb

    The excellent YouTube channel People Make Games did a two-part documentary on Valve. Part 1 focuses on exactly what you mentioned, the gambling and loot box issues. And Part 2 focuses on the employees and what it's like to work there. Highly recommend them both. I'm still a huge fan of Valve's products and their customer-service. But those videos definitely shed a different light on them for me personally.

    slight edit: got the parts mixed up

    13 votes

  4. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    I played BotW a while back and don't even remember that quest you mentioned, about finding the unmarked locations. What I absolutely loved about the game, and something that I've not been able to...

    I played BotW a while back and don't even remember that quest you mentioned, about finding the unmarked locations.

    What I absolutely loved about the game, and something that I've not been able to replicate fully in any other game I've played, is that I managed to beat the whole thing without using any HUD or fast-traveling. Just pulling up the map every now and then, and relying purely on in game visuals and cues and landmarks to get around. There are tons of games that let you turn off the HUD, but 99% of them I've found almost require the HUD or minimap in some way. Like they're great games otherwise, but you'll never know that you need to stand in this exact spot, or that the person you need to talk to is at that specific location, without the minimap. But with BotW, I didn't need it at all. The structure of the game is such that you can do whatever you want and in whichever order you want. So if you see something that looks interesting way off in the distance, great, go there, do that, climb that mountain, cross that lake, enter that forest, it's exactly what you're meant to be doing.

    I always recommend others play that game without the minimap/fast-traveling, but to each their own. Hope you enjoy your first playthrough as much as I did! I'm not even a big Zelda fan, never played any of the other games. Just really connected with this one when I first played it because of how perfectly the intuitive world design meshes with the story. I have been searching, without success, for another open-world game that lets me play without any HUD ever since.

  5. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    Hey cool mod, thanks for sharing. I typically get into rimworld for a couple of weeks each year, and I love media set in the medieval world. So will definitely check it out next time I get the...

    Hey cool mod, thanks for sharing. I typically get into rimworld for a couple of weeks each year, and I love media set in the medieval world. So will definitely check it out next time I get the urge to play rimworld.

    1 vote

  6. Comment on What’s a point that you think many people missed? in ~talk

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    I've noticed that a lot of people seem to think that marketing is just like 'I see a commercial for coke and then suddenly I want a coke'. Which like, yeah, I'm sure that's the case with some...

    Marketing, algorithms and bias framing is all around us. Most people are too fatigued and overwhelmed to critically filter everything.

    I've noticed that a lot of people seem to think that marketing is just like 'I see a commercial for coke and then suddenly I want a coke'. Which like, yeah, I'm sure that's the case with some things, especially when it's something you could easily get/order right then and there like an online product, or maybe a fast food restaurant. But there's a shit ton more advertising that's more about brand recognition.

    Like most car companies don't expect you to drop what you're doing and go to your nearest dealership to purchase a car after seeing their commercial. But the next time you're in the market for a car, you'll be much more likely to purchase one that you have good feelings towards. And those good feelings came to reside inside you partially through those advertisements. They're just trying to get you to A) remember their product/brand, and B) associate it with a specific term that you might value, such as practical, or affordable, or luxury, or whatever they're going for.

    11 votes

  7. Comment on What’s a point that you think many people missed? in ~talk

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    Totally get what you mean. Honestly I think having a French name probably accounts for a lot of the fancy gourmet vibes. French-sounding cooking terms and words in English tend to be fancier as a...

    Totally get what you mean. Honestly I think having a French name probably accounts for a lot of the fancy gourmet vibes. French-sounding cooking terms and words in English tend to be fancier as a whole, possibly even snobbish or posh. So I think it's natural that 'sous vide' sounds gourmet. If it was called something like 'bath soak cooking' it probably wouldn't have the same connotations, lol.

    6 votes

  8. Comment on What's something you're "in too deep" on? in ~talk

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    Hey I don't have any experience with anything like that (only have a toddler), but reading your comment reminded me of a Freakonomics study from a long time ago that might reassure you. Basically...

    Hey I don't have any experience with anything like that (only have a toddler), but reading your comment reminded me of a Freakonomics study from a long time ago that might reassure you. Basically the study was that they looked at kids' developmental milestones and performances in early schooling and discovered that the kids did better when the parents bought baby/parenting self-help books. Wow, those must be amazing books, right? Well not really, the books themselves didn't matter. It's the fact that the type of parent who would go out of their way to purchase those parenting books and read them and try out the things in them are the same types of parents who are invested in their kids' development and schooling. So naturally those kids would have better results, not because of any information in the books themselves, but because the purchase of said books showed the commitment of the parents. That study has stuck with me for a long time.

    So I don't know what you should or shouldn't do with your kid with regards to homeschooling or public high school, but I think that the fact that you're thinking a lot about it and it's weighing on your head means that you're probably doing something right. So whatever you end up doing, it sounds like your kid has already been set up for success by virtue of having a parent that cares deeply about their education (as evidenced by all the years of homeschooling, the therapists brought in to help, and this recent internal struggle about what might be best for their final years of school). I hope that brings you some solace/reassurance, as I often find myself thinking about that study when thinking about my own parenting. Good luck!

    13 votes

  9. Comment on What's something you're "in too deep" on? in ~talk

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    I hope you know that while reading that I pictured you as Squidward from the classic "Stop it Patrick you're scaring him!" line in Spongebob (link). Like a family member holds up a picture of a...

    I hope you know that while reading that I pictured you as Squidward from the classic "Stop it Patrick you're scaring him!" line in Spongebob (link). Like a family member holds up a picture of a horse and another one screams "Stop it you're scaring him!" meanwhile you're just standing there completely stoic.

    25 votes

  10. Comment on What video games would you say have the best stories? Feel free to suggest more than one. in ~games

    fefellama
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    The first three that come to mind are Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales, Pentiment, and Celeste. Thronebreaker is set in the world of the Witcher series. You play as a queen who is defending her...

    The first three that come to mind are Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales, Pentiment, and Celeste.

    • Thronebreaker is set in the world of the Witcher series. You play as a queen who is defending her lands from a hostile force that has invaded. To do so you need to make some tough choices, and man do those choices actually matter. I've played a lot of games before that claim that you need to make tough moral choices, and usually they just boil down to either being a saint or comedically evil. Not this game. There were multiple times where choices that seemed easy had MAJOR repercussions later, and plot twists that I never even imagined. 10/10 game. 10/10 story. Oh and the gameplay is based on one of my favorite card games ever, gwent, but even better because they incorporate elements of the scenery/plot into the card game (e.g. you're walking near a cliff and suddenly some rocks fall towards you, that gets represented in the form of rock cards that your hero card has to avoid or defeat). I thought these sorts of integrated puzzles were really well done.

    • Pentiment puts you in the role of a medieval artist who finds himself in a sort of whodunit situation. The setting is incredible (though I'm biased since I love history), the attention to detail is wonderfully deep, the characters all feel like their concerns and fears and hopes are real, and the story has some fun twists and turns as you would expect from a whodunit-style game. That all would be enough by itself, but one thing that makes this game incredibly memorable for me is that one of the side characters is based on a real historic figure, one that I read about back in grad school. I didn't notice at first, since I wouldn't expect the game to have a random reference to an obscure historical figure, but as the dots started connecting I literally gasped out loud in excitement when I realized it. And this isn't part of the main story or anything, just crazy attention to detail. In fact, in my playthrough of the game I wasn't even able to confront this character about what I knew IRL. Fantastic game, great story, incredible atmosphere and attention to detail.

    Spoilers for said character in case you are curious The character Martin is based on Martin Guerre who was a real 16th-century peasant who went away for war and then mysteriously returned looking like someone else. A trial ensued where different members of his family claimed he was/wasn't the real Martin Guerre which is why we have records about this unusual case. I remember reading a book about this case during a class on historiography and so when I noticed that Martin had changed personalities halfway through the game I was floored! Super interesting story and it was just a minor subplot in the overall game.
    • Lastly, Celeste is different than those other two because it is a 2D platformer rather than a story-driven rpg. But there's something about the story that really resonated with me when I first played it back during the pandemic. The main character, Celeste, goes on a journey of personal growth, acceptance, and self-love that feels very emotionally mature and rewarding. Plus the side characters you meet along the way are wholesome af.
    3 votes

  11. Comment on Warren Buffett’s sharpest lessons in investing in ~finance

    fefellama
    (edited )
    Link
    Honestly this article seems more just a collection of funny Warren Buffett quotes than actual lessons or advice. Title feels almost misleading in my opinion (not blaming you, OP, I know it's the...

    Honestly this article seems more just a collection of funny Warren Buffett quotes than actual lessons or advice. Title feels almost misleading in my opinion (not blaming you, OP, I know it's the same title as the article).

    Like a lot of the 'sharpest lessons' in this list are just quippy one-liners that don't really apply to the average person. Some of them I take issues with (like encouraging people to work til they're 100), but the tone of the article doesn't really feel too serious or practical.

    Edit: Coincidentally I just came across this article from AP News that is very similar (I'm sure a lot of places are doing articles like this today since it's his last day in charge of Berkshire Hathaway). Anyways, this one was a bit shorter but feels a lot more practical/applicable to the average reader. Even includes a few of the same quotes as The Guardian's article.

    5 votes

  12. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    Hey pretty cool. I hadn't heard of these awards before but a lot of those games are right up my alley. My personal favorite of the year from that list is Dragonsweeper. Felt a little silly in the...

    Hey pretty cool. I hadn't heard of these awards before but a lot of those games are right up my alley. My personal favorite of the year from that list is Dragonsweeper. Felt a little silly in the beginning when I first played it. Like it's just minesweeper but with fantasy elements, right? But then as I played more I realized how beatable and well-designed the game is, and now I aim to 100% clear it each game (like getting all the achievements and everything, very fulfilling to pull it off).

    So yeah thanks for the other great recommendations!

    2 votes

  13. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    I tried the demo out for it during a Steam Next Fest (I think) a few years back and really liked it. Been on my wishlist for a while now but never got around to trying it. So I'm looking forward...

    I tried the demo out for it during a Steam Next Fest (I think) a few years back and really liked it. Been on my wishlist for a while now but never got around to trying it. So I'm looking forward to giving it a go in 2026 after picking it up from the Epic store like you. I don't remember much about it but I do remember liking the musical theme and mechanics.

  14. Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    Ha! Moewtain (or is it Meowtain?) sounds like one of the experiments from the show. Reminds me of the Futurama episode where Zoidberg finds a woman to love him despite his horrible stench.......

    Ha! Moewtain (or is it Meowtain?) sounds like one of the experiments from the show. Reminds me of the Futurama episode where Zoidberg finds a woman to love him despite his horrible stench.... because she doesn't have a sense of smell.

    And yeah, I haven't seen all the episodes yet but I'd definitely recommend it in your case. The 'found family' aspect comes into play not just for the experiments that they find homes for, but also Stitch, Jumba, and Pleakley who become full-blown members of Lilo and Nani's ohana. As far as kids' shows go, it's no Bluey (nothing is), but I prefer it to a lot of the Mickey and Minnie shows we've been watching lately.

    3 votes

  15. Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    Right! Like that Agent Bubbles (the family services guy) has this personality of being super tough and stoic, but he's actually doing a stand-up job. From his point of view, he's legitimately...

    Right! Like that Agent Bubbles (the family services guy) has this personality of being super tough and stoic, but he's actually doing a stand-up job. From his point of view, he's legitimately concerned for the two sisters and trying to do everything in his power NOT to split them up, but unbeknownst to him there's a whole sci-fi plotline running concurrently in the background.

    And the show is pretty cool. You know how Stitch was experiment 626? Well that means that there are 625 other experiments that have accidentally found their way to Earth and now Lilo, Stitch, and the gang have to round them up and find them good homes based on their unique abilities, roughly one per episode. Like one experiment loves bouncing and making earthquakes, so they find him a home where he can jump into the ocean every day to create massive waves for the surfers, who are super happy to have him. Another one can manifest people's worst fears, so they find him a nice haunted house where he can terrify willing participants every Halloween. And so on...

    5 votes

  16. Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies

    fefellama
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    Recently rewatched Lilo and Stitch (the original, not the recent remake) and man, what a great movie. I just love how relatable and real Lilo and Nani are. Like their personalities and...

    Recently rewatched Lilo and Stitch (the original, not the recent remake) and man, what a great movie. I just love how relatable and real Lilo and Nani are. Like their personalities and relationship don't feel over-the-top or manufactured at all (unlike a lot of family movies). Just two sisters trying to navigate a tough time. One is young and lashes out at society for not accepting her eccentricity, and the other has been thrust into this parental role and is just trying to do the best she can while being understandably frustrated by Lilo's shenanigans.

    And the show is pretty good too, my kid's been watching it which is why I felt like rewatching the original movie. Haven't seen the remake yet, but having seen a bunch of the other Disney remakes lately I doubt it could live up to the original.

    4 votes

  17. Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of December 21 in ~games

    fefellama
    (edited )
    Link
    Ended now unfortunately. Still a pretty cool giveaway though!

    Disco Elysium: The Final Cut free for the next ~18 hours or so on the Epic store.

    Ended now unfortunately. Still a pretty cool giveaway though!

    4 votes

  18. Comment on Fun winter holiday decorations? in ~talk

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    Yeah I don’t know how the neighbor manages during windy periods. I guess they would just take it down for a bit, but that must be a hassle. Luckily for the community center they have some tall...

    Yeah I don’t know how the neighbor manages during windy periods. I guess they would just take it down for a bit, but that must be a hassle.

    Luckily for the community center they have some tall ceilings, so their “snowman” doesn’t have to worry about the outdoor climate.

    1 vote

  19. Comment on Fun winter holiday decorations? in ~talk

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    You’re totally right. It’s giving off major Jack-Skellington-doesn’t-know-how-to-properly-decorate-for-Christmas-so-this-is-what-he-came-up-with vibes.

    You’re totally right. It’s giving off major Jack-Skellington-doesn’t-know-how-to-properly-decorate-for-Christmas-so-this-is-what-he-came-up-with vibes.

    1 vote

  20. Comment on Steam Winter Sale 2025: Hidden gems in ~games

    fefellama
    Link Parent
    Holy crap how have I not heard of this game before. Those are two of my favorite games ever, so Inkbound sounds right up my alley. Thanks for the recommendation! Edit: actually a lot of these look...

    It’s like if Slay the Spire were crossed with an ARPG. Made by the Monster Train devs.

    Holy crap how have I not heard of this game before. Those are two of my favorite games ever, so Inkbound sounds right up my alley. Thanks for the recommendation!

    Edit: actually a lot of these look right up my alley too. Orb Tower, Pinball Spire, Bore Blasters, SPRAWL... I don't know where you find all these great games but I appreciate you linking them and providing a brief description for each one.

    1 vote