Hurlshort

Space Witcher.

This weekend I completed the Tour de Cure. I was able to reach the Championship fundraising level with the rest of my team, and we raised $31,373 total for the year. Our group was the biggest non-corporate fundraisers at the event. It was a perfect day for a long ride and I managed to complete the 100-mile route at an average speed of 18.9 mph. I hung with my team until mile 66, and then the group started to split and I ended up in the 2nd group with a partner. We rolled together for the rest of the time. I felt really good about my nutrition, which is always the tricky part of these 5+ hour rides. Special shoutout to my mysterious benefactor from these forums.

I am curious how big the Elon Musk statue will be.

It just crossed the 20 million sold mark. I don't think refunds were as big a problem as reported.

I did. The game sold like gangbusters. That is a weird expression.

Henry Ford? He's been trending down for decades. Does he even have a lot of statues? Should we really build statues of successful businesspeople? Where are the Steve Jobs and Bill Gates statues? Lindbergh was cancelled during his own lifetime, so I'm surprised he has any statues.

You've been vacuuming?

Play Lord of the Rings Online.

Blizzard definitely isn't targeting small audiences with their games. Also just because we grew up in cesspools doesn't mean we can't hope for a more civil landscape in the future. I've been watching the Qanon documentary stuff and I'm not entirely sure that the generation that grew up online recently is "just fine".

How many people are turned off from MP games because it is a cesspool of potty mouthed pre-teens, though? These companies are in the business of attracting a large audience.

I bought Grounded on Steam pretty early on, but I haven't really played it. It looks like something you need to play with friends. I usually game to avoid people.

Is that a condemnation, though? Some stuff is captivating and requires your full attention. Breaking Bad is an example of that. It was pretty much edge of your seat viewing. But the stuff I put on in the background is usually pretty comforting. There is something to be said for the holiday movies that you don't need to give your full attention to. All of the Middle Earth movies are like that. They set a comforting tone. I suppose Rings of Power is comforting to watch.

Is it weird that I have no interest in the GoT prequel? I mean, I read the books. I watched the series. I wasn't even all that bothered by the last season, like so many others. But I have just no interest in it. Maybe I'm just not in the mood for the adult stuff right now. I know it will have boobs and blood, but that isn't always what I'm looking for when I sit down to eat dinner and catch a show. Rings of Power is good dinnertime cinema.

I am running errands for people in Minas Tirith. I mean, sure there is a massive army camped outside, but these guys have a bet as to whether a chicken thrown from the top of the pier will get an updraft. I had to oblige. Plus Peregrin Took wanted to have a picnic. It's been delightful, although it also has some lag issues. I'm level 104 now. I also started a loremaster halfling, but I've been focused mostly on my Captain of Man.

Rings of Power is gorgeous and makes me want to visit New Zealand. The Harfoots migrating while showing the hand drawn map of Middle Earth was very well done.

I rolled a High Elf Brawler, but couldn't get over the punching people for 90,000 damage in the intro. I might go with a hobbit brawler instead. I already have a level 50 Stout Axe Dwarf, so I don't really feel like leveling another dwarf. Also the new Legendary Items system took me awhile to figure out. I was struggling with some fights and someone had to explain the whole process for upgrading my gear to me. But I spent an evening working on it and now I'm a lot more successful.

I have 10 days until my Tour de Cure 100-mile ride. Training has gone very well, so I'm hoping to have a solid ride and keep it under 6 hours. I'm a bit short of my fundraising goal, so if anyone wants to support me, you can help out here: http://main.diabetes.org/goto/patrickwalters Thanks!

Yeah, but they've been in development for 10 years, and the internet says they have a staff of 695 people! How much of that funding is really left?

Lord of the Rings Online - My Captain of Men is level 102 and hanging out in Central Gondor. I am a bit lost about my equipment, traits, etc., but I can still hold my own in a regular fight. I'm hoping to work my way towards Mordor this go around.

During the pandemic, Wednesdays turned into our meeting and planning day, and it was a huge relief. It became a great chance to catch up and recover. I would love us to go back to that.

It makes me nervous when you say that because I feel like all of us said Russia wouldn't invade Ukraine.

I thought I already played it on Gamepass?

But Mountain Dew is for Bros! Bromine is the most brodacious of the elements.

The remake humor is pretty off the hook.

I'm also watching the current season of What We Do In The Shadows, and it just seems to keep getting better. But I just finished episode 4 of Rings of Power, and it just seems to keep getting better. They've got a few different storylines going and they are all pretty engaging. The Dwarven parts are arguably better than any of the movies. They've given a glimpse into the day to day life of the dwarves that I really only got from LotR Online. Speaking of which, I'm now playing LotRO again. It's not like GoT. It's not like WoT. It's like the bloody movies, so if you enjoyed those, you will enjoy this show. Unless you get hung up on race in a fantasy series, apparently. *shrug* There is a kid named Theo that has an absolutely fascinating story arc going on. I don't want to spoil anything, but I'm on the edge of my seat to see how that turns out.