u/Buttery_Biscuitss

I'll start by first saying i love steam, their products, their thinking. This is not an insult to them in anyway.

So like many others received my shipment today. I was really excited opening the box it had a surprising weight to it.

I was also little suprised to see how plastic-y it looked in person. Not quite a luxury controller but it was expensive so I assumed the build would feel bit more refined.

Then I grabbed it. The ergonomics just feel way off to me, like my fingers are bunching in the back uncomfortably. I have long fingers so maybe the back side of the controller just is a little too walled off. The triggers arent terrible but im missing the pistol grip feeling of other controllers. I feel like this will be mod-able in time though

I grabbed my ps5 controller and it just immediately felt so much better. The joysticks are easy to reach for me but i find them surprisngly small. I will say the back buttons feel more usable than anything else ive felt. Insane improvement over the steam deck.

Im thinking I just need to get used to it and will give it a week or so. But Im a poke surprised at how uncomfortable it is.

I can start.

Im seeing z3's in the area going for less than miatas. They're fairly simple cars and i'd say more comfortable for taller folk. Lot's of manuals unlike the z4.

I've also seen volvo XC60's depreciate like crazy. I've had a few moments where I almost traded our family CX-5 for one. Shockingly reasonable for the car.

Hey all. I work in a design field that will unfortunately be taken over by ai in the next year or two. Every few months we're shedding a few more employees. I feel like this will be the case to all the companies I would normally be applying to as well.

I have survived the last 3 rounds of layoffs but the walls are clearly coming in. The severance package for my role is about 4 months pay. It's not bad but in a field where no one is hiring its still concerning.

I currently have a relatively high paying job for my field about 160k a year, plus a generous annual bonus. 35 years old. This is close to the ceiling if not the ceiling for the kind of work I do.

I do not own property, but I also do not have debt or children, car is paid off. Most of my savings is in IRA/401k retirement around 500k. 50ish in ETF's. I have a generous 1 year emergency fund at the moment.

Rent is around 3,500 a month to which my wife contributes half. In this HCOL area this is considered quite good. The same unit today would be 4,500.

I am likely going to have a long struggle to find new work. Or need to reinvent my career entirely. Im begining to network for freelance contracts just to get the ball rolling. Just looking for any considerations I should have. I think 1 year emergency fund is enough but maybe im a little over invested too...

EDIT:
Thank you all for so many encouraging words and empathy. Also nice to hear from similar creatives that can empathize with the situation. I do have faith things will go well.

For those saying to learn ai. I do, in fact I use it profusely. Its how I survived the first 3 layoffs. But the reality is the models are getting better and better. Agentic futures are not far and the headcount shrink is immense. For example, our talent team has 2,000 applications on their desk. Many of which are from the best companies in the world with double my experience, they are not even glancing at it. I am capable but I am also a realist. And so, in personal finance fashion, I'm planning for every scenerio. This role in this company will not last, Im positive. But i do have faith for alternative futures in this field

Hey all, I have an electric deck heat lamp connected to an outdoor outlet via 25ft extension chord

Today I noticed when I unplugged it after use the plug on the heater was crazy hot. Like would hurt if I left my finger on it over a second

My guess is the outdoor extension chord is beginning to fail and is not creating a seamless current.

I know nothing about electrical connections so just would like to know what to look out for before I buy another 100$ frost proof extension cable