Wynn Thornton (Needs-a-job arc)'s Avatar

Wynn Thornton (Needs-a-job arc)

@northwind

Gamer; mental health advocate; failed linguist; spreadsheet wrangler; lover of science, math(s) and logic. UCLA, Oxford Uni. πŸ³οΈβ€βš§οΈ Please do not DM with just "hello." FF14 posting: @maidenofletters.etheirys.social

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22.06.2023
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Latest posts by Wynn Thornton (Needs-a-job arc) @northwind

If you hire me, this is the kind of thought processes you get.

(Context is the new FF14 Live Letter. If you don't play FF14 the actual content of these musings may not be familiar to you. The thought processes may still be gleanable, however.)

13.03.2026 18:44 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

This is great!

13.03.2026 09:04 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

"Check on your trans frie-" No. Give them money. Hire them. Buy them a video game.

22.01.2025 17:03 πŸ‘ 7654 πŸ” 3994 πŸ’¬ 61 πŸ“Œ 305

99 barrels of oil on the wall
99 barrels of oil…

13.03.2026 08:41 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

This laptop is dying, yes - but also, there is something about this game that is causing it to struggle. I checked, and I exceed both the minimum and the recommended specs for the game - so idk why it's getting so hot even on minimum settings, when nothing else is.

Is it just that poorly optimized?

13.03.2026 08:07 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Update: The full version is even worse than the demo. Both CPU and GPU over 90 degrees C. CPU pushing 100 C during startup.

And it's just this game. Granted, most of my other Steam games are older or are remakes (e.g. FF14, Baldur's Gate 1+2 EE, FFX, Tactics Ogre Reborn, etc.), but still.

13.03.2026 08:02 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Yeah, I haven't experienced any throttling yet but the laptop is over 18 months old and I've been told 13th gen Intel processors have a 75% failure rate at 18 months.

I figure it's only a matter of time. Not that I can afford a new machine.

13.03.2026 06:34 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I now know that the issue is not "this game" so much as it's this laptop dying, but I'm gonna play the game anyway. I paid for it months ago. Might as well. And gods only know I could use and escape right now.

13.03.2026 06:26 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1

Fair! I just wasn’t sure since your settings seem to restrict visibility to logged-in users only.

Thanks!

13.03.2026 02:31 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Cost of living has massively outpaced my wages (my wages have regressed even when going to a new company)

13.03.2026 02:14 πŸ‘ 19 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

May I share this to a friend on Discord?

13.03.2026 02:13 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Today has been an unusually shit day, again. (Is it truly β€œunusual” when it’s happening with this frequency?)

I don’t even want to play games today. I don’t drink or use any drugs, but if I did today would be a day I completely obliterated myself. But I don’t, and I’d really like to stop existing.

12.03.2026 22:37 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

All of the sudden, clicking *anywhere* on BlueSky opens the thing I clicked in a new tab. Like, clicking through a thread or on a few notifications results in 15 BlueSky tabs open.

This literally just started in the last 30 seconds. Nothing else is doing it; it's just BlueSky.

12.03.2026 22:05 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

...that class was linear algebra and beginner trig: multivariable equations, matrices, Gaussian methodologies, conic sections, etc. So, I have an A in a course that's usually only even taken by pure-math majors - but this, too, I did not learn until getting to UCLA.
(5/5)

12.03.2026 22:00 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

FWIW my community college counselors were *not* helpful. I also took a course at community college called "College Algebra," because it fulfilled the math requirement for transfer to UCLA. Turns out...
(4/5)

12.03.2026 22:00 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Ended up falling in love with theoretical syntax and semantics (not that I was ever able to get the PhD I'd have needed to make a career out of it).
(3/5)

12.03.2026 22:00 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I chose "French and Linguistics" because I thought it would look good on a resume when applying for translation jobs, but I didn't know at the time what Linguistics was.
(2/5)

12.03.2026 22:00 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I went to community college and then transferred to UCLA with the intent of becoming a translator. I've always liked language, but never knew what linguistics was until getting to UCLA.

When you transfer to UCLA, you need to pick your major before arriving.
(1/5)

12.03.2026 22:00 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I know I'm not the only healer main who's expressed these thoughts, but idk how prevalent it is across the player base. Might be related to what's happening to you there?

12.03.2026 21:47 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
A conversation on Discord.

Me: I commented on this in [redacted] inre, Occult Crescent, and was essentially told "you're not imagining things, OC is very strongly biased toward tanks; you can pre-shield yourself and maybe survive a mistake that a tank would walk through with no prior preparation"
OC in particular, unlike Eureka and Bozja, has no meaningful way to boost your defenses using Phanton Jobs, Phantom Actions, or other OC-specific things

My friend: I  only heal when necessary
despite being a WHM main in ARR and 1.0
And usually healer in every other MMO

Me: I just don't enjoy tanking as much as I do healing.
Well, in this game. Haven't played any other "traditional" MMOs, so can't comment there
I could maybe get the same niche from something like BLM or PCT, but not at the top levels of play
While sure, I would not be opposed to giving healers more damage buttons, unike many people that is not something I'm personally begging for
What I like about healing is, I don't have a pre-defined rotation that I need to hammer over and over
My "rotation" comes up when shit's going down, and needs to be adapted to the situation on the fly
I like that
But unfortunately, that only comes up with a party, and even then only sometimes
The tradeoff is that because my job is geared for rDPS primarily, I can't do squat when forced to play without teammates.

A conversation on Discord. Me: I commented on this in [redacted] inre, Occult Crescent, and was essentially told "you're not imagining things, OC is very strongly biased toward tanks; you can pre-shield yourself and maybe survive a mistake that a tank would walk through with no prior preparation" OC in particular, unlike Eureka and Bozja, has no meaningful way to boost your defenses using Phanton Jobs, Phantom Actions, or other OC-specific things My friend: I only heal when necessary despite being a WHM main in ARR and 1.0 And usually healer in every other MMO Me: I just don't enjoy tanking as much as I do healing. Well, in this game. Haven't played any other "traditional" MMOs, so can't comment there I could maybe get the same niche from something like BLM or PCT, but not at the top levels of play While sure, I would not be opposed to giving healers more damage buttons, unike many people that is not something I'm personally begging for What I like about healing is, I don't have a pre-defined rotation that I need to hammer over and over My "rotation" comes up when shit's going down, and needs to be adapted to the situation on the fly I like that But unfortunately, that only comes up with a party, and even then only sometimes The tradeoff is that because my job is geared for rDPS primarily, I can't do squat when forced to play without teammates.

FWIW, as a healer main who's "fresh" to endgame, I have started playing less. It's just a really rough time to be a healer main, and unfortunately the endgame gear system (capped tomes, weekly limits, etc.) means even if I wanted to play one of my "secondary" roles, I can't because undergeared.

12.03.2026 21:46 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

(Yeah, I’m longterm unemployed right nowβ€”but β€œlack of experience as a burger flipper” is not why.)

12.03.2026 21:35 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

My parents at one point pressured me into taking a job while studying nearby-double-full-time at UCLA, because they said having a job in food service would look better on my resume even if it caused my grades to drop from straight-As to Bs or Cs.

12.03.2026 21:35 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

This is a good practice in general, in my experience. And yeah, using Styles in Word is generally the play no matter what you’re doing. (Well, assuming you have to use Word. Really the play is often to use something else, but that’s not always an option.)

12.03.2026 21:12 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I still haven’t finished the demo :(

12.03.2026 21:03 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

You’re actually correct. Shows how long it’s been since I’ve done anything in LaTeX…

12.03.2026 20:56 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Not the first time, it should be noted. (This employer ultimately ghosted me.)

bsky.app/profile/nort...

12.03.2026 20:33 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Huh, I was (mostly) familiar with that concept but now I know the term for it!

12.03.2026 20:32 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

That, but also I’m guessing there’s more to it as well.

I’m kind of the polar opposite of an expert on this topic, so anyone who knows more than me please tell me if I’m wrongβ€”but don’t many venues have contractual penalties if the performer cancels a show, but not if the show simply cannot happen?

12.03.2026 20:24 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

This, with the addendum that Target also doesn’t have much that I want in to buy. Last 2-3 times I’ve gone to Target, they literally haven’t had the product (or even the product category) I was looking forβ€”even if e.g. their website said they did.

12.03.2026 20:04 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I'm not "anti-car." I own a car. I drive (more than I'd like). I'm opposed to car culture and car dependecy. And I'm supportive of safe and efficient transit options for *everyone.*

12.03.2026 19:42 πŸ‘ 329 πŸ” 43 πŸ’¬ 5 πŸ“Œ 10