u/SvenGoSagan

Headline says most of it -- My youtube algorithm apparently knew I would like snooker and has been bombarding me with O'Sullivan and Hendry videos. I played with a set of snooker balls on a standard American pool table the other day and it was great but I would love to experience the real thing without driving 2-3 hours. Hoping some brave snooker..er? out here knows of someone in the area Albany, New York area with a table or has a lead on a cool spot that is not otherwise advertised.

Edit: if you're reading this in the r/pool or Billiards subreddit sorry for burying the lead that this is a snooker post that I cross-posted for max chance of finding someone

I am an experienced traditional crossword solver and I would like to transition to cryptics. What is the cryptic crossword equivalent of the NYT daily Crossword (or isn't there one?).

Part of my ongoing series reaction posts which I really love that you all encourage me to keep doing

Headline: Arguably the best sci-fi arc I've ever seen. I love TNG and DS9 and what this lacks in some of the advanced or subtle ethical dilemmas that make star trek so treasured for me this makes up for in being just plainly more engrossing and exciting storytelling and non-episodic television writing. (and again, deep Tolkien parallelism). For this one I just scribbled reactions to episodes as I watched. Some got more note taking than others, and it was all in the moment so please enjoy (and forgive). Despite how amazing the final arc was, I think Passing Through The Gethsemane was maybe the best episode yet - truly what I love about this show with what I love so much about 80s/90s trek combined.

SPOILER WARNINGS (I dont want to spoiler out everything I feel like it will make the post annoying to read? So please, take care.

Matters of Honor

- Londo's staggering naivety

- Space strider (finally)

Convictions

- Terrible acting - shouting every other word

- Great londo ep / elevator scene is legendary

A Day In Strife

- the Vichy Narns have arrived

- Sending vir away, absolutely gut wrenching WHY LONDO

Passing Through the Gethsemane

- WORMTONGUE!!!!!!

- Why can't showrunners just google "chess games" and make a sensible board position?

- Brad Dourif again shows why he is the most underrated actor of his generation

Voices of Authority

- "guess I'll have to bang this hot chick... yknow for the mission"

- ivanava was found by not-Sauron while looking through the not-Palantir

Dust to Dust

-Love to see bester back

-Julian from trailer park boys selling dust to G'kar?

-Loving the g'kar / mollari mind trip

Exogensis

- "His interest in the situation is... almost indescribable"

- Nice reference the the Rutger Hauer blader runner speech

- Duncan actor is peak

- "thank you! I will!"

Messages from Earth

- love prison G'kar

* I was too engrossed in this one I forgot to take any notes basically

Point of No Return

- Remember when this was sci-fi and not everyday American politics?

- Emperor Vir!!

- Can everyone be cooler with their secret plots? they're just discussing in hallways? Marcus made a literal org chart ffs

- g'kar on the team LETS GOOOO

Severed Dreams

- holy shit this is getting good

- top tier political intrigue

- these narns would have LOVED WWI -- I mean just absolutely WALKING into machine gun fire

- why are these guys beating each other to death with guns? shoot them?

- the elves are here - let's go!

- Feels like this was a whole season of TV in terms of quality and mytharc advancement.

Follow up to my last reaction post

Headline: I am annoyed that I took so long to start this show. The "Myth Arc" (to borrow the x-Files terminology): So fucking good - the progression of the plot, slow and steady has been a real treat. I am such a sucker for a Tolkien parallel and this one has been fantastic.

Londo: I expected >!Londo's certainly inevitable redemption arc!< to start by now - didn't expect his depravity to reach these depths.

G'Qar: So badass this season I cannot wait for more, and for what I assume will be the eventual duo of him and Mollari fighting together on something. The scene where Vir apologizes, flawless.

Delenn: Top tier, I love her role as space-Galadriel

Sheridan: No disrespect to Sinclair, but I think Sheridan is better, he really brought Ivanava's character to life and I enjoyed how they leveraged the Sinclair actor anyway.

Kosh: Yes, just so much fucking yes. That said, why the fuck did they >!make him look like Mr. clean if he was an angel when he saves Sheridan -- also love that Londo saw nothing. !<

Ivanava: Huge improvement with her having someone to really interact with in a meaningful way. Also the >!telepath plot twist was fun!<

Rangers: Want more, lots more. Waiting patiently for a strider stand in (15m into S3 that is looking good).

I can already feel a shift as the show is building momentum at the end of S2; the last 5-6 episodes seem like a step-change in quality and pacing not just with the Myth Arc but also stuff like the peace ministry people, lots of good stuff building. Also -- I am stoked for more Vir + Lennier.

Since my last post created such lively and almost universally-cool responses I figured I would cap off my reaction to S1.

Headline: loved it - literally not one bad episode. I don't understand why S1 gets such a bad rep?

Mollari: Still hate the accent, napoleon aesthetic is peak, he's amazing I want every episode to be about him. I am interested in seeing his character development now that he has >! the blood of 10k narn on his hands!< and how that impacts his normal levity.

G'Qar: Thought he would get more air time? I wanted more of him, big fan - the actor is great but I'm betting that face makeup is a crime to have to put on.

Sinclaire: Huge improvements (yeah I know what's going to happen someone softened the blow for me). I'm really interested to see how all his foreshadowing will pay off now that >!he wont be on the show anymore. !<

Garibaldi: Still not really clicking for me, it's tough to be the character the writers are forcing as "loveable". His >!alcoholism and death of his best friend!<backstory was pretty good.

Delenn: Goated, need I say more? If she doesn't >!emerge from that chrysalis as an epic space wizard or something!< I will be writing to my congressperson.

Ivanava: Meh? Doesn't help that her backstory is like.. why she's meh? On paper I should like her but it's not working for me yet.

Honorable Mentions: The ambassador-assistant trio, Stephen (who I love but just hasn't had enough space to breath yet), Zathras, Chekov.

Dishonorable Mentions: The commander of >!Babylon 4!<(garbage tier acting), Psychic lady (I am serious I cannot remember her name), Sinclaire's fiancée (same), the Dolph Lundgren wanna be from "Eyes".

Pretty stoked for Season 2

So far so good (I mean all first seasons are rough, right?) I'm on ep 3 so please no spoilers. Episode 2 was actually surprisingly solid, thought it was going to be a boring 'monster of the week' ep but W Morgan Sheppard's acting took it to the next level. That said -- I just have to shout into the void....

WHY have they given them that hair. What a waste of a cool space-napoleon aesthetic. I don't think I'll ever get over what an aesthetic crime this is.

I'm not writing off the show - but if he had normal hair and he didn't have to struggle through that accent I think he would already be my favorite character.

Update: Really love the responses team - thank you. Also next two eps have been strong.

Got off to a ripping start with NM Mephisto blessing me with a vipermagi. Since then a cold sunder and not much else to write home about.

How is your ladder going?

Insured contractor, Capital Region NY, 12k for a garage demo and putting down soil and seed.

I want some guidance on what to ask for and how hard to push; figured I'd get a fair answer from this persons peer-community. My contractor damaged my driveway (photos below) it's not egregious, but there are some holes and a long depression left by the excavator he used to demo my garage. We just used a fairly straightforward quote, no lengthy contract. He is insured and the city I live in makes him permit and list the city as additionally insured.

He (in trying to move a cable-line that was in his way) disconnected my neighbors cable and partially disconnected his electricity (apparently there are two lines that run into my neighbors house) Guy from utility said my contractor is lucky to be alive. Neighbor lost a fridge and a freezer of food in the intervening 36 hours. Also he damaged a tree on my neighbors property.

1. Do I have a fair claim for reparations or savings on the cost for the driveway? Or should he repair / patch?
2. Is it fair to ask for some recompense for my neighbor who lost a few hundred in stored-frozen food.

Thank You!!

starts cosmetic, becomes a depression as you move further away from this angle

matching gash on the other side too; I have a sprained ankle so I wasn't able to get down and tell if those horizontal lines from the treads would come off

Teachers of reddit I am very curious - I made conversation with with two high school kids who golfed with me and a buddy. I asked him what book he was reading currently and he said "this year we're reading ... " and told me the name of a book (forgot it sorry).

I said what do you mean this year you're reading that book? How many books a year do you go through generally? One he told me. I Looked at the other one with a question mark on my face and he said "yeah one book here too, and some short stories"

Is this generally true? Were they messing with me? They were 10th and 11th graders. This seemed very odd to me that you'd read only one book a year.

Update: Great responses so far, but I just want to be clear I'm not trying to turn this into an "old man yells at clouds" post;

Need some veteran advice here. Quick context I've played 4 ladders here seriously since the d2r launch -- 3 as pally start, 1 as sorc. I was so much more successful as sorc it was insane. It made me want to go deeper into the world of early ladder trading.

However I also fell in love with the game as a kid playing casually as summoner necro. I know it's a safe and steady start, but if I really want to grind and trade during the first 4-6 weeks when the ladder is super active is going summoner necro a mistake?

Would love for someone to sell me on why summoner necro would be a good ladder start for someone looking to get better at the early trade phase of ladder

I was probably 12 when I first got my hands on a cracked copy of d2 with LOD from an older cousin (2002 ish?).

I remember clearing until blood raven then saving and exiting with my first character - a summoner necro.

To my great surprise upon loading the game back up all of the monsters had respawned. The fools! (I thought to myself) I can just keep reloading and killing these guys for loot and xp as much as I want.

I genuinely thought I invented grinding (not that I called it that) and that I was next-leveling the game developers.

I was watching an interview with Henry Oliver where he mentioned that he thinks Faerie Queen is perhaps the most underrated and under-read piece in English literature. It sort of piqued my interest; I work a corporate grind and I want to read something challenging and beautiful to contrast the dull, soulless drivel I have to read and write every day.

So this leads me to my question (an explanation of the paradigm). When I read Ulysses I decided to just plow straight through, and If I comprehended some parts and not others, then fine. A friend of mine who was dramatically better educated in this area called this an "honest reading" compared to a guided reading where you approach the work more academically and support your reading by going back through analyses or guides on what you've just read.

Any recommendations on which approach I ought to take for this work?