Hurlshort

So we are getting our $600 I guess? Or we might get more? I don't know, this is a mess.

Never apologize to these censoring fascists! Banning stuff rarely has much to do with the content itself. Instead it is just a way of controlling people through their access to information. You know, instead of teaching them to think critically about what they are reading. It is the laziest form of manipulation, I guess. edit: Also, bit comical to hide an article on censorship behind a paywall. Certain articles should just be easy to read.

Signature verification is a tricky thing. I think my signature on the state registrar is from 20 years ago, so that would not be a great way to validate.

For me, I really need a time period with decent plumbing and toilet paper. Also, antibiotics are nice.

Theoretically I'd like to say it is your game, have fun with it any way you want. In practice I do tend to feel let down when I end up changing the difficulty of cheating. It can take away the sense of accomplishment or challenge and then I typically drop the game shortly after. It's a tough balance. Some games I know right away to play on easy to avoid frustration. For some reason, save scumming has always been ok with me. I can do that all day as long as I accomplish what I'm trying to do. But that tends to be a much better strategy in turn based games.

Oops, X4 is the one I played. I can't keep track of all these algebraic equations. I have no way to compare it to X2 or X3 unfortunately.

Midnight Sky played a little fast and loose with cold weather conditions in the arctic circle.

Pixar's newest movie Soul released on Disney+. It was good! Nowadays I judge movies based on how often I check the timer to see when it is going to wrap up. My attention span isn't what it used to be. But Soul flew by and was enjoyable.

This is the only twitch channel I would ever think about watching.

8-mile run this morning with a very small group. It's a shame, since out Christmas Eve run is usually a big event, but everyone is being cautious and we've broken into little pods.

You really good into science. I am sorry for doubting you.

Is the lesson here that definitions change as more evidence becomes available? OoooooOOOooooOOO smoking gun!

Chicken fryer and gaming console in one? Take my money!

As I said, Metacritic is flawed. In terms of user ratings, they are a mess. More popular, higher selling games, are typically going to have a bunch of garbage reviews because people are weird about hating stuff. PoE II just doesn't get that sort of attention, negative or positive. PoE II had 633 user ratings, Outer Worlds had 1,970. Steam actually has 7,117 reviews for Outer Worlds and it is listed as Very Positive. I consider that a better source, since it shows hours played. It still is going to be flawed. You will get the weirdos that put 1,000 hours in and then slam it. But Metacritic doesn't even really have a way to know if the person bought it. Considering it launched on Steam a year late, that also seems like a good sign. Pillars II is also Very Positive on Steam with 7,741 reviews. edit: Also a bit weird, PoE II had 71 critical reviews, while Outer Worlds had 30. What happened there?

A request has been made for a rack of ribs on Christmas Eve, so I will be figuring out how to pull that off. We will probably walk the neighborhood and look at the lights, and then watch Christmas movies. It is just our family. Christmas day I'll make pancakes, and then I think we are doing Enchiladas for dinner. We are also planning a socially distanced bike ride with some other family members during the day.

I hope Harebrained returns to Shadowrun soon. I could not get into their Battletech games, but I love Shadowrun sooooo much!

It has become more profitable as I have figure out the best way to do it. I had a batch at 6:30 AM this morning that paid $55 for about 90 minutes of work and maybe 10 miles of driving. That is pretty typical for the early jobs. I would say I am averaging $15-25 an hour. I do about 12-15 hours a week total.

Hmm, I finished Wasteland 3 as well and forgot it. I will blame the ending on that. It was decent though.

Ah, I figured it out. Metacritic is garbage.

The crazy thing about that list is how the sales numbers are probably nowhere near in sync with it. PoE 1 and 2 definitepy didnt sell anything like The Outer Worlds or F:NV. I'm surprised how low Outer Worlds is, actually. It had a low price point, was fairly stable, and seemed to be popular.

People are really all over the place on tipping when it comes to Instacart. My base pay for a job is about $7, although it can be increased by the weight of items. Then the default tip amount on the app seems to be about $2. Now some people are great, and realize that is really low, and bump it up to $5, $10, or even $20. I get tipping only a couple bucks if you want me to grab a few things and drop them off at your house which is close to the store. But if you want me to scour the store for 20+ items that are all over the place, and then drop them off to your mansion on top of a mountain, maybe bump up that tip a bit? Ain't nobody going to spend an hour+ shopping for you for $9.

I don't believe I actually bought any brand new games this year until Cyberpunk. I did pick up a lot of early access titles. I spent a good chunk of the year trying to find the perfect space game too. Off the top of my head, these are the games I sunk a good amount of time into: Conan Exiles - Played this throughout the year, every couple months or so. It's probably my favorite game in the last decade. No Man's Sky - This sat in my library for years, but around February/March I suddenly found myself playing it and enjoying it. The game has come a long way and deserves another look if you played it at release. Empyrion - This is a fun, super indie, space and planetary building game. Pretty janky in a lot of ways, but also had enough charm to keep my interest. If this game had the graphics of NMS, it would be huge. X3 - This is my last space game, promise! This is a complicated game, but it is pretty amazing flying through space and walking around in your spaceship. It just needs planets. Lord of the Rings Online - I played this with my son over the summer for a couple months, and we had a blast watching the movies and working our way towards the Mines of Moria. It has aged, for sure, but it still has a lot of Tolkien charm. Phoenix Point - I enjoyed it. Is it as good as Xcom? No, but it has a lot to like. I am curious to go back after more of the DLC is done. Chimera Squad - Xcom goodness in a buddy cop setting. This was a fantastic adventure and the only game on the list I actually reached an ending for. Cyberpunk 2077 - Well worth the full price for me. I've really enjoyed exploring the story and the setting. I grew up with Shadowrun instead of Cyberpunk, so I wasn't sure I would dig it, but this has definitely been the top RPG for me in awhile.

My 13-year old daughter has been watching Big Mouth. At first I was like "This is inappropriate for you" but then I thought to myself, this is really going to hammer home the lesson that boys are gross. Of course, we watch Rick and Morty together, so I'm probably not the best at judging appropriate content.

Oh yeah, everything hurts in the winter. I now understand why old people usually retire to warmer climates.

Honestly I haven't either. I mean, I have been to a lot of places, but it is a pretty big map. I havent really explored the snowy north stuff much. Dangit, now I am tempted to go back.