I didn’t want to say anything here when we put in the application, because we might have been passed over. I didn’t want to say anything until the lease was signed because something could still have gone wrong. Now that the property management company has a bucketload of my money, however, and I’ve started arranging utilities and whatnot, I guess I can say:
We’re moving into a house some time in the next month or so!
(more…)I cannot believe, some days, that we as a society have allowed Microsoft to get away with this for years upon years without rising up, grabbing torches & pitchforks, and marching upon Redmond Washington in pure rage.
“This”? This:
One hundred percent complete means it’s done. It most assuredly does not mean “now wait for another two, ten, or up to thirty more minutes.” Except to Microsoft, obviously.
The primary guiding principle of the “New Clear Plan” save is of building production for the Phase X space elevator shipments on a much more permanent basis than I’ve done in previous saves, solo and co-op alike.
Phase 1, the very first shipment, requires 50 Smart Plates. There’s no point building a special facility just to make those. That’s more work than one lonely Assembler deserves and at that early stage you lack nearly all of the tools required to make a good-sized structure workable. So, that one got a pass.
I’m at Phase 2 right now.
(more…)Lovely weather we’re having lately, isn’t it? #pdxtst
By Friday night we dipped below freezing. By Saturday morning it was 20F, by Saturday night we were parked at 16F and the ground was covered in a mix of wind-blown snow and sleet. And that wind was gusting!
As of this writing (noon on Tuesday the 16th of January 2024) we’re right at 30F outside (thank you, Newentor Q7 weather station) with freezing rain expected to kick in over the next few hours. Presumably some time tomorrow we’ll get back above freezing again… for the first time in most of an entire week.
This isn’t the kind of winter we’re used to around here. Gee, thanks, global warming for screwing up the jet stream and enabling “polar vortex” events to become an annual feature of wintertime rather than a weird, rare weather event.
I just want to make it to the grocery store before the weekend, at this point. My needs are modest, but needs they still are.
Someone on Discord gave me a great piece of advice for starting a new Satisfactory save. After I mentioned wanting to wait until after the FICSMAS event ended to kick off my new session, they said: Start now in order to grab the “advent calendar” goodies from the Hub, because some of those are required to open a few of the crashed drop pods strewn around the map.
And so, last Sunday, I did.
I’m a week into my new save (titled “New Clear Plan”) with fewer than 9 hours of in-game time so far. To show for it I have sent up the Phase 1 space elevator shipment, transitioned from biofuel to coal power, and unlocked steel production. I can attribute part of this (relatively) speedy progress to having three previous solo and several co-op games’ worth of practice time under my belt. Also, I credit some decisions and techniques specifically chosen in order to streamline parts of the process. Please allow me to elucidate.
(more…)My interaction with the sprawling multimedia beast that is the Final Fantasy franchise is rather limited. I played the 10th game installment for a while but didn’t finish. I avoided watching the infamous 3D CGI movie from a number of years ago. The most direct and long-lasting experience I have with a Fantasy which is Final (but is it really?) started when I signed up to play the critically acclaimed (yadda yadda) MMO, Final Fantasy XIV.
Then I stopped. Then, a year or so later, I picked it back up again. Then I stopped again.
Now, even more years later… I’m back? Probably maybe?
Back in the day I started a new character on a new server every time an online friend said “Yeah, I’ll be happy to help you get through those pesky required dungeons!” Cue the chirping crickets sound effect. That’s a main part of why I kept bailing on the game: Enforced partying with strangers. More often than not the strangers you get tend to be hardcore into the game and lack anything resembling patience for anyone who doesn’t already have the dungeon duty mechanics down pat, let alone their skill rotation completely mastered. Off-putting, that.
Now, though? The game provides NPC helpers! And they do their jobs! Including staying out of telegraphs! I can solo those duties! Music to my ears, I tell you what.
I still prefer mining and crafting (no, not like that) but at least I can progress the story on my own terms. And, for now, I think I shall.
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