I finally got around to restarting God of War. I played the first few hours on PS4 a while back, and was overwhelmed, felt like it threw too much at me all at once, and I couldn’t be bothered to learn all the combat and mechanics. I got it for PC and started fresh, took it slow and used exploration to learn all I could, and shit, now I get it, this game is a masterpiece. It looks gorgeous in 4K, and the combat is loads of fun. And quite possibly my favorite thing is getting to hear Teal’c again (I freaking love Christopher Judge).

Now I just need to play something mindless to fill the next few weeks before Ragnarok releases on PC.

I appreciate the advice. My PS4 is just a lowly slim, not a Pro, so it is definitely showing its age. But I’ll for sure take this into account, thanks!

I got a ton of play out of my PS4 at the height of the pandemic, and have been considering a PS5 for a while now, but I just didn’t think it was worth it. I’m probably in the minority, but I think I would probably buy this, if the spec bump was significant enough. I also really hope they release it in black. It’s silly, but the white 90’s router is so so ugly, and frankly one of the reasons I’ve stayed away. If they charge more than $600 though, it’ll be a hard no. Don’t fuck this up Sony.

Yeah I think I’ve seen that usage, but I’ve also seen it used as a negative put down rather than an affirmation. I just have a lot of trouble with this one for some reason. Anyone know where it comes from?

And every time I think I understand what people mean by it, I’m wrong. This one has got to stop.

Walking on the ground was hard enough, now they want us to walk on the beach??

Okay I’m in.

Yeah, I honestly don’t know how la croix does it, but that water has serious flavor, without any of that gross chemical aftertaste. I drink so much la croix…

I just finished Ghost of Tsushima. It was a beautiful game with really fun combat, and a pretty solid storyline. Exploration was excellent, despite the rewards being a bit underwhelming, but it was one of those rare games where I wanted to explore every corner of the map. I loved the variety of the map, every region genuinely felt unique and gorgeous for its own reasons. It was also the perfect length. I did alllll of the side quests, so the main plot ended up feeling just right, not too long, definitely not too short. Highly recommended.

I don’t know if there’s a name for it, but I definitely understand what you’re talking about. For me, the tingly calm feeling comes from the abrupt change between constant background white-noise and sudden quiet. I love love love that feeling. The moment after you turn off a loud fan, shutting off a car engine, when an ambulance siren finally stops, a jump cut between a loud action sequence in a movie and a normal scene. Even the moment when a song’s accompaniment drops out but a cappella vocals continue.

It’s a beautiful thing.

Edit: typo

Pending Train is pretty darn close to what you’re describing. I only got through the first episode, it falls prey to a lot of annoying little tropes, but it’s a cool concept for sure.

Ha! I never thought about the underground mansion hideaway. Good stuff. You’re right, they’d be pretty much unstoppable and unbeatable.

If I could bend, I think I’d choose the earth nation. Imagine how much cool shit you could build. Need an extension on your house? Here’s a brand new stone wall in 30 seconds.

I would take it upon myself to solve homelessness, if it existed. You need a house? Done. You need a house? How many rooms? Done.

I would build so. much. stuff. It would get weird.

Omg this happened to me last year in my old shitty apartment, but it was real. Somehow a massive roach ended up on top of my comforter. I had serious trouble sleeping for a while after that, and I was seeing tricky shadows for weeks…

The whole neighborhood had a roach problem, it wasn’t any particular grossness on my part. The general consensus amongst my neighbors at the time was that the nearby restaurants were to blame, but you can be sure I did a deep cleaning after that episode…so glad I don’t live there anymore.

Yeah there are a ton of these on Craigs List lately too. It’ll be a whole listing that appears to be a standalone separate unit, but it turns out to be shared. Sometimes there will be hints like “private entrance” or something, but it’s still pretty deceptive.

Good question, I wish I knew. The closest I’ve found is sometimes Zillow, but it’s pretty different, not really comparable.

I’m not on Facebook, but from what I hear they’ve got the monopoly on this kind of thing now.

At least as far as apartment listings in California go, in my experience most of them are scams and phishing schemes. So yeah, 5-10 years ago most were legit postings, now it’s flipped.

I believe there are 3 kinds of musicians. Keep in mind I have no evidence for this, it’s just what I’ve experienced through a life of playing music and being around lots of musicians.

#1 is someone with natural ability, these are the people who seem to be able to pick up any instrument and intuitively understand how to make it sound like music. This is the rarest kind of musician.

#2 is someone with a little bit of #1’s natural ability, but like 70% of their skill comes from honing it through sustained, long-term practice. It’s hard, and can be incredibly frustrating, but also very rewarding. I’d say many if not most successful musicians fall into this category.

#3 is someone with none of #1’s natural ability, but a passionate desire to learn. With grueling long hours of practicing the basics, studying some theory, and intentional instruction, #3 is perfectly capable of playing an instrument beautifully, but it will be a lot more work for them than it would be for #’s 1 and 2.

It’s probably pretty similar to sports. Some people are naturals, but almost anyone can learn to be really good at them, it just takes a shitload of work.

Single-shaming is real. It’s particularly nasty because it can often come from family, friends, and strangers alike. And the media does it constantly.

Most governments are set up to support and value married folks with tax breaks and incentives, fuck everybody else.

Guess who’s less likely to be able to buy even a small house because you need at least two huge incomes these days to even qualify? That’s right, single people.

I’ve been single for about a decade, and I’m overall pretty happy. Every once in a while I do find myself in a self-inflicted shame spiral, but I always tell myself “Bertram, this is your life, live it however you want to live it.”

That said, I’m not opposed to finding a partner, somehow, but I’ve built a nice little life for myself so it’s just not a priority. Especially because I wouldn’t even know where to start…

No he has had a secret service detail ever since he was elected, he didn’t refuse their protection after losing the election and leaving office.

Current presidents are required by law to have secret service protection, former presidents are entitled to lifetime protection, but can choose to refuse it. He hasn’t refused it.

Blow some cannabis smoke in my face and point me in the direction of a comfortable chair. Now it’s a chill hangout session, not a boss fight. But you still win.

Completion reward: let’s share some pretzels