Category: Geekery

A Hot Mess Of A Site

Yes, I’m tinkering again. Now that I know how to make a 2-column layout in WordPress Twenty Twenty Five, I have done so. Too bad all the older stuff I used to rely upon is dead. (I mean, yes, technically I could force “classic” widgets and layouts… but for how much longer? Probably not very.)

I’m not 100% happy with it yet but at least I have the calendar and links back, even if I have to do the links “by hand” because having the link categories configured in WordPress itself is absolutely obsolete now. Progress. Or something.

Also, the sidebar RSS widget for bringing in my “fediverse” content won’t be coming back because the “new” widget looks awful and can’t be customized the way I need it.

At this point I’m tempted to jump ship from WP but… I still want to be self-hosted, and what else is out there which isn’t too minimalist, is widely supported and rich with features, and will run on OpenLiteSpeed? Ha ha. Fun times.

3 April, 2025
Winter Anime 2025 (Nearly Over)

A couple months ago I noted some shows that had caught my interest. Now that the season’s almost complete I have some additional thoughts to jot down about a few of them.

The news is mostly good. But only mostly.
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21 March, 2025
Satisfactory: Spiraling Into Control

To be clear: There are videos on YouTube which can show you how to do this, but I don’t like scrolling back and forth through a video to tease out the details of a process. If you’re like me in that regard, here’s a tutorial for making a single-track train spiral structure in Satisfactory.

Note that you can (and should) play around with materials and other design elements. Maybe you want sign-based lighting on yours? Sweet, go for it!

Let’s get started.
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16 March, 2025
Macross Delta at Not Quite The Midpoint

A friend showed the first episode of franchise installment Macross Delta during “anime night” some time ago and I thought, hey, I should buy this on Blu Ray. So I did. And I’m working my way through the series… slowly. A couple episodes at a time.

Because that’s about all I can really take, honestly.

Please welcome your standard-issue flyboy protagonist with dangerously unkempt hair, everyone.

I’m eleven episodes in. I have some thoughts.
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6 March, 2025
Warframe: The New War

An Aging Game-Player’s Perspective

I just finished Warframe’s “The New War,” the monumental game-changing quest from a few years ago. I don’t have all that many thoughts, but I have some:
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23 February, 2025
Space Ninjas… Again

Early last year we finished up our long-running family game session of Satisfactory, and as a follow-up we decided to give Warframe a try. Out of the three of us, Spud (my son) is the top-tier expert with all the goodies and lore and know-how. Nyx (my daughter) was a dabbler who had played the game a bit but didn’t have a lot of equipment, let alone much of the star chart (playable locations) unlocked.

Me? I was somewhere in the middle. I’ve played the game off and on for years, giving up a few years ago when I realized I was never going to have the kind of skill at navigating 3D space in a looter-shooter game that it takes to really tackle serious challenges. But… given a dedicated team to run with, maybe I could manage to at least pull my weight more often than not? I agreed to try it out.

And now, here we are, months later.

I admit, the game’s grown on me… with certain provisos.
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12 February, 2025