Maybe Andy Weir is the ultimate litmus test, to sort out cheerful idiots like myself, who can't analyse a thing particularly deeply?
Huh. I haven't encountered people who didn't like it. I mean I know they're out there, but I'd only heard good things in my circles.
I really enjoyed The Martian, I loooved Project Hail Mary but Artemis was lower down the rung for me. I think just because of Jazz. I couldn't gel with her, and maybe I'm being cynical but her character felt very 'male author struggles to write a woman'. Still, I love what he does with his books. The nerd stuff is the action and it's a delight to follow along.
The moon jellyfish one is fucking amazing too.
Ooooh thank you for the recommendation. Going through the album now and enjoying it.
Inspired a whole ass chapter in a writing project, just by listening to it last week.
Very silly things so far. A janky password generator, a guessing game. Stuff to teach some basics really. The software I use/support at work uses it and currently anything require coding or messing with a script we go to a vendor for, but they've also been teaching me bits and pieces so I don't have to bother them with small things. I don't need to learn it but my employer is happy for me to fuck around with it on work time if it means I can fix problems myself down the track!
I clicked on KILLCAM, and skipped to random section. Just to get the full absurd blast. I was greeted with autotuned Squidward yelling "That's my dick in your main bitch", then Spongebob hit a 720 quick-scope. Consider me blasted.
and
The Discord server where most of my 'gaming' takes place is a good example of how easily someone can be swayed. We all bought Elden Ring, those who were Souls players knew they'd get it anyway, so no harm done. But there were plenty of the group who'd never played those games before and wanted to 'join in' on the fun while it was fresh. Most of them hated it initially, some never completed it. And it wasn't cheap. Granted Elden Ring didn't need much tweaking outside of a few horrific bosses that had to be nerfed, but the desire to experience it alongside everyone else even though they normally wouldn't care about a game like that, was present. Hype can be so insidious.
So far the three big boppers of my own personal game-release-shitstorm have managed to turn things around, surprising me each time. No Man's Sky Cyberpunk 2077 Battlefield 2042 (it's vastly improved, and fun, but my tongue was severely burnt by this particular number.) One particular developer I'm always happy to throw money at is Supergiant Games. Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, Hades and upcoming Hades II. Loved em all. They know what they do well and I am comfortable expecting quality out of Hades II. As I say this, I realise that I will also be throwing money at SquareEnix with the upcoming FF7: Rebirth. But I have to get that or my childhood self will travel into the future and kick me in the head.
Tacking a reply on to say I read this Bake-Off/Reality show information, and your other linked discussion, to my partner - who is a dual citizen (NZ and UK passport, most of her family are in Cambridge). It went: -- Partner:... Hmm... Me: Hmm? Partner: Yeah all of that tracks. Plus, you should see the average Brit on a snowday. Crumpling under every individual flake. And why the fuck do they have to manufacture all this difficulty? I mean I know why but why? Baking shit like that should be an art, not something you barely limp over the line for. Give them all the resources, all the time, and let them loose on a project. You'd see some bangers. Ughh! You know how you used to joke you wanted to see a non-tested Olympics? All the athletes drugged to the gills and seeing who's really the fastest person alive? That, but in a baking context. No steroids. Well maybe some. No, no steroids. Time and resources, that's the steroids of Bake Off. Me: Another episode? Partner: Yes please. I do love seeing her demure personality flicker when she gets really wound up about something.
Yeah we both know it's kinda hot trash, but I do appreciate how there's less "aggression" on the show. Yeah they've got to compete against each other, but so many other shows would really ramp up the tension and have contestants slagging each other off over pastries. In this aspect, the show seems more wholesome in their approach. Still, it's reality TV. Can only polish that turd so much. Blood feud has begun - we're up 3 matches to 0. 1 very close match, then 2 steamrolled matches as we got into the groove. Hackusations, shit talking, mini-feuds with players who keep killing each other. I missed the banter. Amazing what muscle memory can retain. Though I'm rusty enough that my aim will vary from nailing every shot for 10 minutes straight, to missing an entire clip on someone who is literally stationary. I can't go back to Destiny, it begun to feel like a second job and whatever story they were trying to tell, fell over a while back IMO. Still, best gunplay I've ever had in a game, BF V and Titanfall 2 coming in close 2nd and 3rd. I have also started a Cyberpunk run, I got the DLC so heading into that. Similar feelings though, just not quite invested. Ah the Shield, tis good! It's one of those "pro" ones, I got it in 2019 I think, and before then I was also using a Firestick. Agreed on it's wretchedness. The Shield hasn't let me down, but it's been for pretty basic use. I've got the usual streaming suspects, Netflix, YouTube, Plex etc. Lets me chuck a VPN in there, lets me cast to it. Everything runs through it. It does have an annoying, dedicated, Netflix button on the remote. I could probably unbind it somehow, but eh. It's almost worth it for the laugh we get when the cat steps on it and whatever we were watching is suddenly interrupted by the Netflix "DUH DUHN" start up sound.
My top artists on Spotify for 2023. 1: Hozier 2: Sea Power 3: Lorn 4: The Beths 5: Aesop Rock Sounds about right.
Oh awesome!! I haven't seen them live but I have no doubt they'd be fantastic. Love me some homegrown music.
Whoever mentioned 100 Gecs on here at some point, I must thank you. Going through a small binge on their work atm. Quatrarius? Maybe?
Oh those are great names. Being next to each other I'm surprised you didn't launch into fisticuffs to determine the real winner.
Welp NZ lost the Rugby World Cup final to South Africa. 12-11, what a match. The poor South African fans have won the last three matches by 1 point and I suspect their hearts can't take anymore. There are plenty of bitter pundits taking to online forums to discuss referee decisions but to me the simple fact is, New Zealand left points on the field. You can't do that in finals footy. A better team will make you pay, and South Africa were the better team. I think I've hit a new era of my life. Normally I attend the annual Beer Festival in Dunedin. I've attended pretty much each one since 2015 - but this year.. I just sold my ticket. I couldn't be bothered navigating through hordes of increasingly drunk people. I'd much rather tinker in the garden or spend time with a closer-knit group of friends. I think I've just begun leaning towards more intimate settings over a stadium full of booze. Only took me like 15 years to properly ignore the allure of many, many beers, but here we are!
I like to think I've inherited a few of his traits! I didn't get to inherit his imposing height, but I did inherit his piano and love of music. I didn't inherit his endless patience, but I did inherit his love of grassroots movements and community focused projects. Creativity and risk-taking does sound like me. That combo has gotten me into and out of some sticky situations as a youngster. He was a teacher for most of his life. He and my grandmother both became teachers after meeting at the same University (that I also attended, and now work at). They would travel the country taking early jobs as teachers. As a result, my mother and aunts were all born in different towns and on different islands. Mum in Whakatane awaaaay up north, the sisters in rural areas down south. He mainly wanted to teach students Music, but had to have something more substantial up his sleeve when looking for positions, so he taught English initially then wheedled his way into taking over the music scene in whatever school he was situated at. Eventually he settled in a small town (the very one he himself grew up in), as principal at the local high school (that he attended in his youth!). His daughters attended the school, one daughter met a boy, they grew up and had me and my siblings, who also lived in the small town and eventually attended the same school. He taught at the school until retirement and then, when met with too much free time, sought to uplift the community around him. The whole "education" bent is noticable in our family. My mother went to Uni to be a teacher, as did both her sisters. My sister did the same thing. I was this close to following the same route, and I'd probably really have enjoyed being a teacher. My graduation day was a bit of a blur, I was more keen to get the whole thing done after 3-4 years of studying. But I distinctly recall my grandparents beaming in the crowd. Now that they're both gone, and unable to see what we're all up to, I'm very, very grateful they got to see their grandkids succeeding when the opportunity arose.
Nice work on getting back into the gym. I miss the social side of my old gym sooo much, but the benefit of a home gym being right there was too hard to ignore. Especially now as I've hit my strength goals and am no longer chasing bigger numbers. I couldn't justify the membership cost over building a setup I wanted and letting it pay for itself over time. Feeling you on setting the bar low. Even just turning up and warming up builds a habit of attendance and you still feel like you've done something worthwhile. Good shit.
Congrats on the mini crisis aversion. I helped at an Iron-man(ish) event last year, my cousin was running in it. I handed out water as needed, occasionally tried to punch my cousin in the nads as he lapped past. Hope your guitar efforts are well recieved!
Wooooo congrats! What an awesome moment for the two of you.
Err'body gangsta till the tank starts flying and turret-slaps Captain America. Edit: I had typed this while watching and didn't realize we'd be treated to Ironman, too.May I present the combat debut of the legendary T14 Armata:
Typically, I have a small, almost secretive smile when I read your write-ups. I enjoy them, they're always informative and entertaining. The smile became a grin when I read.. "She gestures us into the yurt" It's just a line that can only be followed by something interesting. Excellent. Thank you for posting the story. Though the constant ear infections is certainly unsettling. I had them chronically as a child, though I avoided bobby poops.
Huh look at that. Hunter Schafer has me questioning a few things about myself.
Ah shit am I her daughter..? Adorable, but also proof I'm not her daughter. I don't think that far ahead. The article didn't go the way I was expecting. When she mentioned playing Zelda in the 1980s I was expecting a more articulate version of "The games meant something to me back then, and now they don't and they're bloated and my kid focuses on the wrong aspects." I was prepared to reason that my first Zelda experience was Ocarina of Time. It released in what, 1998? I would have played it early 2000s I suspect, given NZ was always behind the times. But, it was my first Zelda, and it was the first big and beefy Zelda in the series. 3D, open-ish world to explore. Blew my fucking mind. I was going to say, "maybe I still enjoy the latest instalments of Zelda because OoT was my first, and so it still greatly resembles what I understand Zelda to be?". My thoughts had barely touched on the concept of using games as escapism and how our perspectives likely differ quite greatly - NZ in the 90s, for me at least, was pretty balmy. It's cool that a parent can practically see their child learning through video games. When I was little, my parents let me and my brother play games - not because they thought of the neural pathways, but because my brother was chronically ill and video games were his only healthy outlet. I was allowed to join in, because we had nothing to bond over outside of that. They see the benefits now, of learning problem solving, developing fast reaction times and letting creativity run wild. Unsurprisingly, video games are a big part of both of our lives, and our respective partners encourage/tolerate this exceptionally well, all things considered. Anyway - thank you for the article. That was a nice read.When we found the abandoned mine carts, the question for my daughter became how many she could glue together and still get them moving along the rusted tracks.
my daughter was also chopping down trees and fusing together the resultant logs to make lean-to structures, just in case she came back to an area later and it was raining and she wanted to “cook something.”
Oh we learned that quite quickly. We hoped dulling it down, would dull it down universally, but no. Just made it more complicated because some things were omitted, but they were attached to things we were still using, but we only discovered that at a later point. It was fun to just be angry as a unit. A collective bunch of idiots, confident in their idiocy and not too bothered about remedying it. The next boardgame/cardgame night we played Here to Slay which was much simpler, and a lot of fun.
I really liked Cyberpunk. I was excited for it, enough so that I played it day one. Then after a few hours I'd hop on Discord with the homies and we'd talk about the experience so far. All of us being on PC? Minimal performance issues. The odd person t-posing in poignant scenes, but the game itself was interesting enough that I could laugh about it and move on. I played the shit out of it, easily cruising past my very rudimentary metric of "$1 per hour of gametime = okay". --The method falls apart when you look at it too closely, as I have about 300 hours in Battlefield 2042 but I've not enjoyed much of it (just a game a certain group of friends play and I want to play with them), Outer Wilds took me about 20 hours, and cost me $40. So it failed that metric but obliterated everything else. It's not a great metric and I should find a better one.-- Anyway yeah I thoroughly enjoyed Cyberpunk for what it was. I went with the female V because I thought her voice actor sounded more natural, and I got to have the incredibly wholesome romance option with Judy as a result. Horizon Zero Dawn came with my PS4 when I bought it in 2017, I didn't know much about it but popped it in. The first or second datapoint I found in game, was labelled "Haere Mai". Detailing the NZ attempt to bring Kiwis back to a rejuvinated NZ following the collapse, and the PM at the time of the datapoint was Maori. That tiny little bit of info kept me intrigued about the wider lore, and I had a blast playing through the whole game even though NZ was never mentioned again. Which reminds me I need to play the second Horizon game. I'm allowing myself to buy a PS5 when my student loan goes bye-bye, so that'll be on the... horizon. Heh. Heh heh.