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I guess the game had legs

Symptoms are too damn generic to be of any use. Like, hell if I know if a joint aches because of Lyme of because of old age. I just did blood test after scraping a couple of those f†ckers off myself and shaking another ten outta trousers because ticks are very Lymey where I live, and voila. No big deal, antibiotics cure it well enough, but f†ck ticks all the same.

Someone clever apparently gave Josh Sawyer a (justified) bonus to help him overcome his Deadfire trauma. "Say it with an engraved watch"

I got the snip. I also got sick, real sick, but not COVID according to the home tests.

Colony Ship just got out of Early Access. https://www.gog.com/en/news/release_colony_ship_a_postearth_role_playing_game_with_a_25_launch_discount

@ShadySands and @Guard Dog should be obliged to do 248 pushups today.

Larian's D&D game

I am happy to see this. So hopefully we might see PoE3 before my retirement (or at least before Star Citizen release).

So maybe people only had fatigue of games like this and dropped in later. It's certainly possible that a game doesn't push that hard on release, but will keep selling steadily over time. Shame we can't see the statistics.

Harmagedon AKA Genma Wars (1983). It's a Madhouse-made film, and I saw a screenshot of this girl's hilarious chin and decided I would check it out. Two hours of good art and animation but completely failing to establish world, plot, characters, stakes, and any reason to care later, I reflected that funny chins are perhaps not the ideal manner in which to select films to watch, especially when a film has dismal ratings on even imdb. Whoops.

Songs you heard a million times but never saw the music video

As someone who lives in a state where abortion is banned and where travel is now being attempted to be banned, abortion shouldn't be the decision of anyone but the pregnant person and their doctor. Not the local, state, federal government or even the parents if applicable. For the school district I went to, my highschool was also the one with the most pregnant and parent students. So much so they made a daycare and a playground for the kids. Sex education was abstinence only and that absolutely did not work.

back to the grind

I'd be totally up for that if the hookers are also real.

At OBS ending the first day of this annual visit. Got to see some of the new digs (aka renos) and hearing about some of those geeky things that make OBS such an amazing set of storytellers ... In the meantime, a few collages of some of the wall art for your geeky goodness ...

I absolutely love Tasting History, and I've been looking forward to see him make true garum after he did quick garum a long time ago.

After a long week of work, I was lazy today and didn't feel like cooking. I decided to order out, but I'm on the carnivore diet and didn't want to use a cheat day just yet. I decided to get wings from Buffalo Wild Wings and, in my hubris, ordered the blazing knockout wings. My experience has long been that when a place advertises something as "really spicy" the vast majority of the time it winds up at Tabasco sauce heat level, if that. Pfft. Let me tell you, these blazing knockout wings bring the heat. When I cook something with hot peppers I typically go with serranos, that's my preferred heat level. These wings are at a heat level well beyond that, somewhere in the scotch bonnet/habanero heat level. Nothing I can't handle, but, yeah, it's going to take me some time to eat all these wings. This is the price of my arrogance. I deserve this punishment.

Frieren episode 10. This concludes the first arc and I must say they did the story justice. Very impressed with the execution.

Based on watching YouTube

To be fair, the Diana Rigg of the 1960's was quite memorable

I know the Avengers from Married... with Children. Al Bundy wanted to see Emma Peel kick really high or something. It's probably been 30 years since I saw that episode so I may not remember it 100%. E: I looked it up and it was about 29 years ago. Crazy the random stuff I remember vs all the meaningful stuff I forget

Could swear I've talked about the state of The Avengers on here before, but seasons 4, 5, and 6 of The Avengers have been released on blu-ray, while the first three seasons are DVD-only (though I think there may be HD streaming options for season 2-3, but not for season 1 which has apparently been lost). The show was sold to the U.S. ABC by the U.K. ABC after season 3, and it seems as though the U.S. ABC took better care of their masters than did the U.K. ABC.

It very much is. One only needs to visit a Southern state...

Somewhat similar... class of '85 in high school, but started a bit later in university. The 80's were my teen/early twenties years. A good decade to enjoy music

So is the overheat quickhack. Well, actually, all non-physical damage is non-lethal, sense be damned. If you want your gorilla arms to be completely non-lethal just get the electric variety, for instance. Anyway, done with the game now. From what I heard people talked about the new ending being more depressing than the existing ones. Well, perhaps. Especially when you're on the King of Pentacles path like I was. Some things really feel out of character and the final conversations feel cheap - actually most of the new ending sticks out like a sore thumb on an otherwise well written game. It is not bad exactly, just not the same quality of the base game. Instead of flowing organically, the dialogue and what happens feels forced to drive home a point. Sad thing is that ending could have really been made into something utterly devastating that would have resonated much more, or say, be a much more poetic "justice" way to end the game while driving home the same point: Well, missed a good way for a shocker there, CD Projekt Red. Well, no sense crying over spilled milk and all that.

Its interesting to me to see times change. My high school years didnt have a single pregnancy AND we had sex ed classes. I still remember the day they showed us how to put a condom on a banana. Hell, even my daughter had to bring home a baby-bot for a few days that cried until you "changed the diaper" or "fed" it. Maybe its a state-by-state curriculum thing?

As someone who played all three Dragon Ages, ME1-3, and BG3, I can confidently say that BG3 is hands down less focused on the secks. Even with being able to let a mind flayer slip you the tentacle or let Halsin "unleash the bear". You don't have to **** the vampire twink or devil muscle girl for them to have good arcs, meanwhile like half the content for Bioware npcs is locked behind you smashing them and what's left is largely unremarkable. You'll probably not be as happy with Act 3, which goes much heavier into combat and feels much more crowded. Sawyer's thots about BG2 very much apply, you can throw a rock and hit someone involved in some quest or another. That said, overall I'm positive. I wish there was a pause button, a day/night cycle along with time progression, act 3 was bigger simply to feel less cramped, and things I don't remember off hand but will probably come back to. But it's solid and I'm happy enough with the game. It's weird seeing some of my yung co-workers start talking about rpgs and stuff when they've never been interested in them before. This one kid watched a tiktok of Karlach dancing like two months ago and now wants in on a Pathfinder game I run on every other weekend after devouring BG3. I also Lynch-pilled him by getting him to watch Lost Highway, so maybe I'm just a bad influence. Anyways, I think that while DnD is popular in the tabletop world and has made inroads into pop culture, BG3 is the first time in a while I've seen a DnD thing aside from tabletop really punch through. Like that big movie they did with Chris Pine this Spring was good for what it was (a Marvel movie but less ****) but it didn't break even. I had to look at Wikipedia to see other dnd games and I **** you not, NWN2 was probably the last one I can see with any kind of enduring legacy among the types of people who play these games.

Most alien interceptor ships have a variation of this kind of look/size: (their game appeal is they can true-hover, so good surface explorers) Meet Mini-Cylon: (needs a better name) Current three main ships. If I can get a small Living Ship I'll replace the larger interceptor. I try to stick to 5 total owned. Also: freighter npc's (they're largely deco) have thoughts. Which is kinda funny sometimes.

Yeah, like Bioware aka "The Romance Company" didn't market and showcase their games on their "mature" love scenes, companions, blood and boobies. What do you think Average Joe was more likely to pick Origins up for? The "heavy" duty of having to pick in between as many as three classes for his character or gushing over Morrigan's cleavage and heads a rollin'? Bioware had their own answer to that one. I mean, this is the most cringest trailer of all time, hilariously misplaced choice in music included. Obey and learn from the masters, Larian. Hey, the game IS a sequel to a Bioware game, after all. On that note: I've only recently really started playing this after playing around with the Early Access three years ago (the fun and creepy start into Act 2 currently reminds me in a painful way how it's been TWO decades since Bloodlines -- the last major gothic/horror RPG since, which is INSANE, but that's another matter). However, I was expecting and prepared for far more in that regard. There's only been one character that was hitting on me so far -- and apparently I didn't need to level her up nor provide her gifts to score with her, true and PROPER Bioware-style. Maybe something to do with playing a drow, though, who knows. Also, I don't have access to the actual numbers. My biggest gripes so far are typically Larian things. Controlling a group stuff, camera stuff, inventory stuff. Difficulty on normal seems also rather low. Oh and some patronizing handholding. There's a quest that asked me to find somebody BEING LOST IN THE UNDERDARK -- only for the in-game GPS aka mini-map guiding me right there immediately upon accepting that quest. So much for that guy being "lost". I mean, Larian-style maps are heavily compressed affairs anyway, it's not like they're huge sprawling landscapes all booted up at once. And Mazes they aren't either. If you don't find yer stuff, the stuff is gonna find you eventually. You just have to poke around a bit. Developers, pretty please: If you think your players would get lost in their own toilets without heavy guidance, just don't include quest like that. Thanks. Otherwise, I really like this so far, and I wasn't overly fond of DOS. It's also refreshing in that regard in that contrary to DOS (or even the originals), you don't run into mobs of enemies every two meters or so, even deep down in the Underdark (which really was just a dungeon crawl in BG2). There's a quality over quantity approach attempted -- and even then not every combat is mandatory, with skill, even character checks applied. My drow commands some respect out of goblins et all. who'd otherwise turn hostile ASAP. Recently I avoided a fight against an enemy able to disguise itself by having a companion succeeding in a skill check likewise. There's oft also numerous routes throughout the maps, including entry points, which alongside to sneaking can skip encounters entirelly (or entry quests in various ways). The 3 billion endings are certainly hyperbole right there, but the same area can play differently solely by all of that alone. If this game is gonna have an influence (big IF), it will be a better one than any influence Bioware had in like the last two decades. Mechanically, for 100000% sure either way. Also, in a sense, this looks like the anti-Fallout 3 so far. Both Fallout 3 and BG3 were made by a different developer than their respective original games, and attempted to make them more popular. Fallout 3 "streamlined" much of what made Fallout SPECIAL (Hah) in a bid to reach a more mainstream audience. By Fallout 4, the series was literally a completely different game, being turned from a series reknown for its complex quests with multiple solutions, unique experiences (and dialogue choice) depending on character builds and choice&consequence into a sandbox exploration action game where squat all matters (including that dialogue). BG3 is, at heart, still a party-based tactical CRPG. Generally, it's not a game afraid of its roots, but wears them proudly on its sleeve. If all it takes to inject some boobies and a popular license, I shall be expecting more AAA CRPGs of all kinds pretty damn soon. And the reign of the Canadish "Romance Company" and the Polish "Movie company" over the bigger budget space to be truly over once and for all.

"Animist" is the no-subclass option. It gets bonus spells like other subclasses, but has no special class features. If you like shapeshifting, Shifter is stupid-good. You can't cast spells while shifted, but it's a pretty minor drawback for the sheer boost in power you get (and the free healing). Shifter boar form is insanely good because it's bugged where the damage-over-time effect it has lasts a really long time compared to other druids' spiritshift. Do you play Path of the Damned? If so, I highly recommend Hold Beasts and/or Charm Beasts, will make the digsite fight waaaaay easier. (don't pick it as your character creation spell so you can respec out of it later if you don't need it... though they are still handy against some dangerous beasts) I second Sunbeam. Super-solid all-around performer. Damage is low, but the Penetration is high (very useful on path of the damned), and blind is really really a good debuff. It ain't hard CC so it might seem less obviously powerful compared to other tier3 afflictions, but it so terribly punishes recovery, accuracy, deflection (on top of the normal reflex defense debuff) that it is a huge survivability buff. other spells i like tier 1-3: the moons's light (solid heal over time spell) firebrand (couple with ring of focused flame from the dark cupboard [steal or buy]) to be a powerful melee-er woodskin - basically instant cast, if you cast it from stealth it's basically instant cast and instant recovery. bonus piercing armor can be a life saver (basically makes you harder to punish with ranged damage), and burn and shock are pretty common enemy damage types esp early on (especially early drakes). as a bonus, it's a plant effect that activates the +2 PL bonus for lord of the forest upgrade on lance of the midwood spreading plague - i'm very bullish on this. lasts a super long time, bounces a lot (if slowly), and making the entire enemy battlefield hobbled and weakened is very effective, both in terms of making it easier for your various spells to land, but also making it easier for your squishies to escape danger and to make life a nightmare for enemy healers for doing damage, do not sleep on Touch of Rot and Autumn's Decay. They do insane damage, just over time. But compared to other classes, pound for pound you get way more damage efficiency from these little guys. Unlike same-rank Insect Swarm, Autumn's Decay does instantaneous damage as well, has a huge area, and casts faster; it also targets reflex instead of fort, which tends to be a lot easier for the typical druid-inclusive party to debuff, especially early on (on PotD fortitude is a really tough enemy defense in the early-mid game). Insect Swarm is still a good spell, too, just that I think Autumn's Decay might get slept because no subclass gets it for free, and it doesn't do raw damage or remove concentration.

Opened Steam. "Tales of Arise"-Update Required. Hm. So, a new large DLC/expansion, two years later? Ok, I had a mostly great time with it back then. $30 and stand alone gameplay, not a continue from your finished save? So like a quarter or half sized new game with the same characters? Mmm...I'll wait for a sale. This is a case where too much time = not a large drive to have it right away. Interesting that they made such after so long tho. No Man's Sky: ---obsessed for a while re: finding a small Interceptor ship (RNG stuff). Most of them are large-ish. Finally found one. Yay. It's not very pretty, but I like tiny ships. I must have all the tiny ship versions. I even have a "Hauler" that has no tail and no wings, it's like a chunky misshapen blue potato. ---now working on getting a "living ship." A questline that has several steps. Each step has a few tasks that take maybe 10-15 minutes, but then also has a waiting stage of ... 15-20 hours or so. Each step. Like, wait for something to hatch/grow. It's a bit of a silly time padder. Better be a really kewl ship. I hear one may be able to use a reload trick to make sure you like the one you get, because you only get one shot per character/save I think. I want a tiny one. >.> ---other than that, still just flying around/messing around in the giant sandbox. It never ends, and I don't want it to.

YT threw a video on this topic up for me, and I went "oh no, no more Zero/Extra Punctuation?" Then the video mentioned the new channel. I immediately bookmarked it. I do agree with Wormerine that Zero P. series hasn't been as good lately (but Extra was still interesting) but still, I like his snark in those. And yeah, his stuff is the only reason I knew Escapist existed. >.> It's nice to hear of the solidarity of their team tho. I wish them luck.

Son has been on 80s rap this week. He still likes synth pop but he also likes Kool Moe Dee videos a lot apparently.

Keys are the key to success Ok, they are only part of the recipe for living happily ever after. Don't throw the predictions out of whack by ruining the statistics (used for the optimized pre-fetch routines internally) and if you have at your disposal, set up some data cubes that gets updated with key information over time, rather than all 1 billion on that day you want to leave early Assuming a fair sized client, they would have their stuff in a SAN. Are the data files, log files, tembdb etc. each on their own RAID10's ???

One of us, one of us, one of us...

I'm only as good as the last thing I checked Stack Overflow was That could work, going to a colossal pain in the ass to do that, probably batches.

Proved myself a master of SQL optimization by realizing joining on a table of 1 billion rows isn't smart in SQL Server. Always a good sign when my SSMS crashes running a select count(1) on a table.

In preparation for an upcoming medical exam (routine check) I just had to drink half a liter of a solution containing a total of 3 grams of salt (for those of you who cannot into proper measurements, that is a little less than a pint of liquid containg roughly 0.1 oz salt). Needless to say that was utterly disgusting, even with the added mango aroma and included sweetener. Second dose coming up in a couple of hours with even more salt. Yuck.

Carne asada nachos. I made tacos yesterday and the leftovers decided for themselves that their next form should be nachos.

Snowed in so I made a soup out of whatever I had. Potatoes, sausage, peppers, onions, garlic, celery, chicken and veggie broth, and spices. Added a little milk and lemon juice to finish. Turned out pretty great but sausage and potatoes so the deck was stacked in my favor.

speaking o' ease o' storage, am having a vulgar quantity o' pots, pans, knives, kitchen gadgets and utensils. so instead o' getting rid o' the stuff we hardly ever use, we bought a couple o' these: we figured if julia child organized her kitchen with a peg board, it wouldn't be gauche for us to do likewise. am reasonably certain we failed to maintain kitchen class and dignity by adding the boards, but we did have enough additional room for a carbon steel pan we were ogling. we shouldn't need a collapsible microwave cover to save space, but we do. we will observe the peg boards are convenient particular now that our knee is shot and we got trouble squatting, kneeling and the like. HA! Good Fun!

And I contracted Lyme disease. F†ck ticks, I hate those bastards so, so much, wish they'd just drop dead, all of them

Valve Announces Steam Deck OLED: All the Details on the Price, Improved Battery Life, and More - IGN

Pretty sure the filtering will also take a while. Big problem in the query is th CPU and I/O cost being mental. We have this practice of just making tables and never pruning them. The table in question is holding data I'm not sure anyone cares about past 6 months, much less 3 years.