#the m:f ratio is now a nice even 41 to 41! how nice

[brifdi-daily]

Day 98: Taco !

[ Battle for BFDI // jacknjellify ]

put her back in the orb. sorry

[kathleenmarymulligan]

December 24, 2022 Christmas Eve Morning

I’m feeling a bit discouraged this morning, friends and family. I’ll open with that. Our challenges cannot compare to what so many struggle with around us—and all I have to do is look at the U.S. headlines to know that this was probably a good Christmas to skip in the Northeast. So forgive me, in advance, for asking you to indulge me.

We moved into our place yesterday- and we are still so grateful for this gift. But northern India is experiencing a “severe cold wave”- and while the temperature may sound balmy at 41 degrees- in a house made of stone and concrete (as almost all homes are) with no heating (also typical)- last night was damn cold. If you know me, you know I’m pretty tough about a lot of things (growing up going to Windy Island certainly trained me)- but you also know there is one thing I can’t stand—and that’s being COLD. We went to an electrical appliance store first thing yesterday and bought a quartz heater…but frankly, I can’t tell any discernable difference between our bedroom and the outside after running it for several hours. And the hot water does not seem to be working. The person who manages the house, Vasu, is very nice- and assured me he’d have a plumber attend to it today. But not being able to take a hot shower right now just adds to my shivering. It’s my understanding that this weather will last through January—and I’m wondering how that’s going to go.

David and I made a trip to the mall yesterday to purchase some things we both needed and wanted to make the place feel more like home. That was really fun--mostly because David went down to Reliance Smart (a lot like a smaller Walmart) to buy necessities (a bucket, clothes pins, etc.) while I went upstairs to Home Centre (India’s version of Bed Bath and Beyond) to buy the more “wants vs. needs.” That was a lot more enjoyable to do without David continuously murmuring how much he hates shopping. Salespeople in India are encouraged to be extremely attentive when one enters a shop—and that can be a little overwhelming, to be honest. But I was eventually approached by a young man named Ravi who was terrifically helpful, patient, good humored, and charming—and we had a great time together. Several of Ravi’s coworkers hovered nearby with obvious envy. I’m not sure if they work on commission ( it was clear I was there to spend some significant bucks) or if they were just damn bored (the ratio of salesperson to customer tends to be very, very high here.)

Once my purchases were wrapped up and ready to go (first I had to dash downstairs to give David some cash after he learned that Reliance’s credit card system was not working)- Ravi and another salesman walked TWO shopping carts of purchases down to the street,

, where they hailed an autorickshaw, loaded everything into it (with barely room for humans)

and Ravi ACCOMPANIED US TO OUR HOUSE. This was at his manager’s instruction (and Ravi’s good nature)- and after we unloaded everything to the driveway of our house- Ravi would not accept any tip. I wrote him a rave review when I received the now ubiquitous customer survey on my phone late last evening.

I know that part of my blues is the shock of moving from a very comfy hotel bubble to real life in Amritsar, and the rest is probably that it’s Christmas Eve (my favorite day of the year)- and I’m in bed with the knit cap on that David thankfully suggested I buy at Reliance Smart yesterday and which I wore all night (an homage to my dear old dad—who often did the same.)

We had a simple and incredible meal last night served by the house’s staff member Nidhi (sp?)

and this morning David brewed us the Starbucks coffee given to me by my wonderful student Quinn Whittman as a gift (served in our new mugs from Home Centre.) If I can just get warm…all will be fine (WHY didn’t I bring my hot water bottle to India, Sarah HJ? Now I’m trying to track a couple down.)

We are off to the Foreign Registration Office to meet Dr. Devender Singh from Khalsa College. Hoping to get that red tape task taken care of today!

Missing our friends and family in the U.S. very much this morning. Hoping you all are staying safe and warm. Please be careful out there! And wishing you all a very merry, joyous, and warm holiday surrounded by loved ones.

Thus endeth my whining…with a photo of me with Scary Santa.

[technobladetimestamps]

Nov 16 Stream Timestamps

Timestamps from Technoblade’s “THE REVOLUTION (dream SMP)”

Link to my youtube comment with all of the timestamps x

Timestamps with hyperlinks below

02:13  “This is a surprise tool which will help us later” / thumbnail isn’t foreshadowing / video thumbnails have to be big / stream thumbnails can be detailed 05:17  “The traitor is actually Jschlatt” / firework crafting 09:50  “The ratio is impeccable” 13:23  “Dream’s in the game! My audience retention rate” / vc with Tubbo & Quackity / traitor Jschlatt theory / “Are you high?” “A little” 14:47  “You’re a bit of a wildcard” “I am the most consistent character on the entire server” / “What’s this about getting into power” / “We’ll burn this bridge when we get to it” 15:54  “You really are such an English major” / “You’re an idiom” / malaphor / “I’m actually speaking twice as much English as you guys” 18:07  “I think Thunder is overcompensating in the chat” / “Where can you see me” “In my heart” (Karl & Quackity) / Karl not leaving vc 20:33  vc with Niki / “Did Tubbo just leave me? I spaced out for 2 seconds” / “You can’t call everyone the traitor” “I can & will” 22:45  “You know it’s an event when Skeppy’s here” / “You know it’s a big deal when Georgenotfound wakes up” / “Everyone leaves me” 23:31  explaining the traitor thing to Niki / “Maybe I’m a sleeper agent” / had to kill Tubbo 25:03  nothing happened with that creeper / Fundy interrogating Niki / “Why did I train her for MCC” 25:54  “Even YOU’RE leaving me” / sad music / “I’m sitting here with 203k viewers & it’s not enough for any of these streamers to bear talking to me for more than 60 seconds” / Skeppy joins vc to immediately leave 28:50  Karl has a gift for Techno / Karl is just here for the animatic 32:21  “At least the chat won’t leave me” / pays for his music 35:01  “I’m going to destroy the government so bad” / “I hate all of the farming updates on skyblock” 37:45  joining a vc / “I just got stood up in like 4...conversations in rapid succession” / “My new years resolution was to make friends & it’s november & I’ve made zero headway” / Eret switches sides 41:53  Ender chest setup / worried about hotbar management / potions > shields   43:13  vc with allies / “Karl you are literally the biggest third wheel I have ever seen” 45:03  angering the dogs / trident combo 47:13  “D!ck with one ball” (Tubbo) 50:25  “Let’s hope Wil overslept like [George]” 53:09  recruiting Eret / “If you fight on our side we’ll make you the King of Burger King” / “He’ll be an executive citizen” / “I’m surrounded by idiots” 54:58  putting Schlatt on the allies list / “Schlatt is an alcoholic high on protein power” (Fundy) 56:47  can’t trust Eret / “I hate it when you’re right” (Tubbo) / Wilbur joins vc 59:50  having a moment with Hubert / “Not even the mobs like me” / sad music / “I just gained 8k subscribers the sadness is gone” / cow pit exp farm 1:02:57  vc with Niki / “I’m going to join the other vc AHHHHH” 1:05:02  “Once everyone meets up...I have something prepared” / “Technoblade when are you not ready?” “When I joined the server” 1:09:38  “Who do you take me for? Of course I’ve read the Art of War. It’s written by Mozart” / battle planning 1:12:18  “This is the betrayal...happening very slowly” 1:13:35  Pan1 / “This revolution is so doomed” 1:15:29  Dream attack / Quackity dies 1:18:07  “Agree Retweet” / “Violence is the only universal language” / “i have a supply” / “Why do you talk in upwards inflections constantly?” 1:19:57  Techno not getting to talk / “He took it all by force didn’t he” / “Fear into Ear” 1:23:50  Techno telling everyone he has a stash twice / distributing blue / mushroom the fox 1:26:49  Tommy talking over Techno again / “Stop going off on your tangents” “We have food at home” 1:29:30  vault reveal / Tubbo stealing emeralds / secret chest 1:32:40  “Shut up bro you are green as shit” (Tommy) / “Everyone give me back my stuff you don’t deserve it” 1:34:41  no netherite swords / “Who’s the traitor” “Promise we won’t be mad” 1:36:31  battle / Technoblade trident maneuvering / giving rocket launchers to Tubbo & Tommy 1:40:27  killing Karl / Dream bringing out the end crystals / fighting invis Dream / purpled switches sides 1:43:57  Dream wants to talk / 309k / group photos 1:46:08  vc with Dream / “But only if my enemy insists” / in the van with Schlatt / “What are you doing in my drug van? It better not be drugs” / Tommy preparing to shoot Schlatt 1:54:42  “We won” / “We killed an old man with heart problems! It only took 20 of us!” / President Innit / subscribe to Technoblade sign 1:55:57  Dream & Techno talk in chat / Tommy speech / “It was meant to be” / “I don’t think anyone is bowing to Tommyinnit” / “Karl don’t be weird” / Skeppy has a disc 1:59:06  Techno being apprehensive on mute / Tommy makes Wilbur President / “I’ll be the president” “I’m gonna veto that” / “Techno...you’ve taught me that government is not the way to go” / Wilbur makes Tubbo president 2:03:20  “I’m not sure I like where this is going x2” / “I’m not sure this is a good ending” / “Team chaos” “Perhaps” 2:06:20  Techno shoots Tubbo / Philza joins / “You think Schlatt was the cause of your problems? No. It was government” / speech gets interrupted / “The government ends here, I’ll kill it myself!” 2:09:23  Phil kills Wilbur / techno yelling for silence / “Tommy you just did a coup...& instilled yourself as president” 2:12:11  “If you want to be a hero THAN DIE LIKE ONE” / wither spawning / killing his former allies 2:15:09  post fight talks / “There will be no new government today. It will be over my dead body” / “Techno was not the traitor” 2:18:50  “I need to increase the crater that is L’Manberg so that no country can rise in its place” / “Mom says it’s my turn on the flame bow” 2:23:51  “What I’m doing right now is small scale. This is the work of an individual. This is nothing compared to the cruelty governments all around the world [inflict]...systematically” / “Llamas are the primary victims of war” / “I just wanna be apart of the explosion” (George) 2:27:06  Techno joins vc / connor joins the server / “I hope you’re proud of yourself Techno” “I kinda am” / Jack Manifold (Thunder) being broke / netherite armor 2:32:30  “Beach episode” / Techno accidentally joins the L’Manberg vc 2:35:16  the base is compromised / “There’s no way Technoblade would put a clock there if it didn’t mean anything” / got robbed 2:37:37  “If you’re going to ask me how I got all these emerald & arrows that’s a story for another day” / explaining the bedrock / “I can give everyone stuff & it’ll be such a flex” 2:40:24  Greek mythology 2:41:45  The Golden Apple / “They didn’t use discord back then they used skype, so can’t invite Eris” / “Zeus the god of feminism” 2:46:02  Eret recruiting Techno to kill George / joining vc / “Let’s stop him before he gets land” / Awesamdude proposing a fight 2:49:08  “No one can kill me I’m invincible” (logs out) / Dream literally names the turtle potions Sam thinks he hasn’t heard of / “I’m at soup” / “It’s not smack talk he just has that many items” 2:53:06  “Stab him Dream, I’ll shout encouraging words” / Techno fighting Bad & Ant 2:56:23  Dream wins / “I think there was this Dream guy attacking you with some sort of weapon” 3:00:11  turtle potions / Dream hyping up Techno about fighting BBH / Badlands negotiating with George 3:04:34  vc with Philza 3:07:00  spider farm afk’ing / lagging Quackity’s computer 3:09:06  smp earth / Phil only logged on to back Techno up 3:10:32  killing George / “I’m gonna drop his armor off don’t jump me” / not fighting Dream 3:13:00  vc with Karl & Phil / Karl definitely not starting a government / “Chat that was the boring part, don’t leave” / 320k / “Why do we keep scheduling these on Monday?” 3:16:18  “I don’t even want to think about how famous Tommy will be in the future” / “I get a tad bitter” / covid is good for youtubers but obviously bad / “I’m so good at socially distancing” 3:19:51  “Aren’t you tired of being nice Philza? Don’t you just wanna go crazy” / “You should be wary of the old in a profession where people die young” / vc with Eret 3:21:47  “What if you built a slightly larger throne next to it?” /  “How are they paranoid of a mole but the guy with a track record of being a traitor gets no questions asked” 3:25:47  “I’m gonna place a block at the bottom & kill you instantly” / reverse mlg /  emerald rich even with Tubbo’s theft 3:27:57  “I’ll allow it” / upstairs chests robbed / Eret disconnects with the book 3:32:04  armor sabotage bc he thought it’d be 1v5 / crystals are mutually assured destruction / Wilbur afraid of tnt getting blown up early 3:34:11  the diary was actually Eret’s / “He’s gonna tell everyone who I have a crush on. Nooo” / reading the 100 page book / “Can I not win here?” “No” 3:40:14  “This stream has released more serotonin in my brain than the last 6 months combined” / revolution was overcrowded / could improve the crater 2:43:09  “Awkward ten minute period where I’m just sitting there watching them set up a new government but I can’t kill them yet” / Carl is missing 3:44:34  “The one time Technoblade is gonna roleplay & they talk over him” / “CARL” / “As long as Sapnap isn’t the one that took him there’ll still be hope” 3:46:10  “Once you start using end crystals it’s the only pvp that matters & end crystal pvp is so lame” / Webtoons 3:49:10  “What’s going to happen to you & WIlbur now?” “I don’t know, I think I’m chill with Wilbur” / “The only thing that changed is my voice. Zero personal growth” / lines from the first speech that got interrupted / “King George is trending booo” 3:52:00  1 million twitter followers / “O god it’s been four hours...I am not built for this” / did a 13 hour stream once / sub growth goals 3:56:30  “What the heck is Phil watching”

[purplesurveys]

1190

survey by carolynnnnonia

1. When was the last time you went to the mall? Last Saturday. I really didn’t want to go, but I needed to fulfill a shipment that I had to do for one of our clients. I had to pass through the mall’s grocery to get to the courier branch, and it was so creepily packed :( I was visibly dodging people left and right but I couldn’t care less at the time.

2. Are you a light sleeper? Only whenever I fall asleep at places I’m not very familiar or uncomfortable with, like in a moving car or someone else’s house; the lightest noise or movement would definitely wake me up. Otherwise, I sleep like a log. I’ve missed out on so many earthquakes that apparently took place while I was asleep.

3. Do you have shoes on right now? No, I’m always barefoot whenever I’m home.

4. What's the weather like? It’s a liiiiiiittle bit decent for now, but it’s only 9:30. It will start to get warmer from here on out so I’m expecting to start feeling sweaty and sticky again in a couple of hours.

5. Would you rather wear sweats or jeans? I don’t really collect sweatpants, so I’d go with jeans even though I don’t find them the most comfortable either.

6. When did you last go ice skating? Around 13 years ago. If I’m correct, my last time on an ice skating rink had been in 4th grade, when I was 10.

7. Do you ever shop at Hot Topic? We don’t even have that here, so no.

8. What car do you own/hope to own? A Mini Countryman.

9. Have you ever spent more than 5 hours on the phone? Many times with my ex, especially at the start of our relationship.  

10. Where is your cell phone? I literally just put it down haha after picking some music to play. It’s now on my lap.

11. How loud do you play your music? Like I said on a previous survey, it depends on what I’m doing. Right now it’s on pretty loud since I’m just taking a survey, but if I’m working I just have it on as background noise.

12. Do you like playing in the snow? I’ve never done it before, but I imagine I would love snow.

13. What beach does your family typically visit? We make it different every time, and I don’t think we’ve ever visited the same beach more than once. The best ones I’ve been to are the ones in Palawan and Boracay.

14. Do you like your name or one of your siblings' names better? They did a great job with all our names actually, and I’m a fan of all of them. I like that I’m named Isabelle since I’ve always loved that name; Nina has Beatrice which is a bit old-fashioned but in a nice and endearing way; and my brother is a Joaquin which has always been one of my favorite masculine names. I can’t say I’ve ever compared our names.

15. How did you discover your Myspace song?

16. What was the last restaurant you visited? La Creperie. But the last restaurant I ordered from in general was McDonald’s, last Friday.

17. Have you ever played Rock Band? Yes, I always preferred it over Guitar Hero too.

18. Do you ever make Youtube videos? I’ve never tried doing it.

19. What brand purse do you carry? I don’t use purses. My main handbag is a Nine West one I just borrowed from my mom.

20. How many times a day do you brush your teeth? Once or twice.

21. Have you ever had braces? Yup, but I’ll be needing to have them on again.

22. Do you own an iPod? I guess it’s fairer to say I don’t anymore, but mine is definitely still lying around at home.

23. Who do you like? I have the stupidest crush on BTS’ V, if that counts. 

24. Where do you like to get coffee from? Just my everyday 3-in-1 coffee mix sachets would do, since I don’t know how to make coffee from scratch and figure out the ratios that would work for me. If I feel like buying coffee I’d go to Starbucks.

25. What level do you play on Guitar Hero? My finger coordination is terrible so when I play with the guitar prop I usually fail the songs even if I play at the easiest possible level haha. I’m much better with a controller.

26. Are there any words you always spell wrong? I used to struggle with ‘rhythm,’ but I’ve misspelled it too many times in the past I ended up learning it, if that makes sense lol. I don’t usually struggle with spelling anymore these days.

27. Do you ever mow your lawn? There’s a staff member in our village who’s tasked to mow everyone’s lawns. We just tip him when he does so.

28. When was the last time you were at a hotel? Around...last Christmas season, I think? We were visiting family that day and we briefly stopped by Marco Polo to pick up a cake so that we wouldn’t arrive empty-handed.

29. Who did you kiss last time you played spin the bottle? I don’t think I’ve ever played spin the bottle.

30. Is there a TV in your room? No. There used to be a TV along with the PS3, but after my brother started forming a habit coming into my room to play video games, we just ended up handing over both devices to him.

31. What is the most money you've spent in a day? I don’t know exactly, but my best bet would be anywhere between ₱3000 to ₱4000 and it most likely happened while I was drunk.

32. Anything interesting happen on your last birthday? My BTS bias released a snippet of his new solo song :( :( :( He’s been a lot quieter on social media lately so the fact that he posted something huge, and on my birthday no less, made my day all the more meaningful. 

33. What winter holidays do you celebrate? None.

34. Have you ever been to NYC? No. I have several relatives who live there, both in the city and state, though.

35. Do you get carsick? Only when I read or watch a show/movie.

36. When was the last time you went swimming? July 2019.

37. Has anyone of the oppisite sex seen you in your underwear? I don’t think so.

38. Who did you last talk to on the phone? The delivery man who brought my order to the house today.

39. Are your parents still together? Yups.

40. Do you like scary movies? They’re okay, but I tend to avoid the ones that go for cheap scares and go for something with more lowkey or psychological elements instead.

41. Do any of your friends have a last name that's a color? No.

42. What's your favorite ride at amusement parks? Not a big fan of rides. I would usually head to the food stalls and see what kind of crazy food is being served that I can try out haha.

43. Who do you want to win the presidential election? Someone who has the interests of the Filipino people at heart. Of course, knowing how poor voter’s literacy is here, I’m not feeling too optimistic for next year’s election.

44. How often do you watch TV? Around 45 minutes to an hour every evening since we have the TV on during dinner.

45. Do you use proper capitalization? For the most part, yeah. The only time I let the rules go is when I’m on chat.

46. Have you ever been to a fortune teller? Ew, no.

47. Are you a health nut? No.

48. Do you tan or burn? Tan.

49. What type of deoderant do you use? Some local brand.

50. Do you dress up for Halloween? Some years I would, especially if there’s a Halloween party happening.

51. Have you ever kissed in the rain? I might have, but I don’t really remember for sure.

52. If you had the chance to be famous, would you take it? If it was for a reason I could get behind, then sure.

[cecilspeaks]

142 - Ufo Sighting Reports

As abpve, so below. As for the middle, Well, who knows.

Welcome to Night Vale.

We start today, as we often do, with the latest UFO sighting reports in the community.

Friday, 5:20 AM. The staff of the Desert Spring Tuberculosis Research center and Medication Retreat reported a luminous object out over the neighborhood across the highway. The object resembled a straw hat and had an apparent speed of 150 miles per hour, and apparent altitude of 2,000 feet. The staff recalled that the object illuminated the ground brightly, as they could see Leah Shapiro at the window of her house, receiving a phone call and then collapsing to her living room floor with a hand over her mouth. This was perfectly visible despite the sun not having yet risen.

Friday, 5:28 AM. Leann Hart, editor of the Night Vale Daily Journal, was preparing for a day of hard-hitting journalism. She does this using a dummy that she has set up in the back yard and labeled with a sign saying “Pivot to video”. She was just about to launch into her usual routine of hacking at this dummy for two and a half hours with a pair of hatchets made from pure silver, while screaming in fury, when she was stopped by a sight in the sky. An object the size and shape of a bus, and also having all other characteristic of a bus, was soaring over her. It flew at an apparent altitude of 500 feet, making no sound at all, and Leann tracked it for several minutes before losing sight of it. She said that she reacted like anyone would: by flinging a hatchet at it and shouting: “You’re not welcome here.”

Friday, 5:34 AM. My niece Janice was up early, because it was finally time to take the pre-SAT, and she didn’t want to feel hurried. She had been with herself long enough to know that feeling hurried kills any sense of momentum or order for the rest of the day, and makes her feel like she’s trying and failing to catch up with herself. Better to force herself out of bed into the cold of a winter desert morning than to feel behind herself later on. She had gone out into the front yard to get a bit of fresh air, and had waved to Leah Shapiro who was rushing out of her house and did not seem to notice the greeting, when Janice saw the craft. A red ellipsoidal object rose from behind the line of houses. At first, Janice thought it might just be a particularly quick sunrise, but soon realized the object was only the size of a small table and was right above her. Remembering what Tamika had taught her during team militia camp, Janice grabbed a heavy stone from the yard, but the object was already withdrawing. Janice yelled to ask if Leah had seen it too, but Leah was driving away. So Janice went back inside and made herself a smoothie. She feels she did pretty good on the pre-SAT.

Friday, 5:41 AM. Dana Cardinal, no longer mayor, who carries with her what she has done, but now also carries the possibility of what she could do next, was driving around the city. She does this sometimes, an aimless circle of a town that once had been her responsibility, but now is not and never will be again. The town wihout a mayor. This is a problem, but it is not her problem. She had just been passed by Leah Shapiro, who was going some 20 miles over the speed limit, when Dana spotted three sparkling objects in an equilateral formation, approximately 20 feet from each other at an apparent altitude of 100 feet. She shrugged and turned back to her aimless driving. This was no longer her problem.

Friday, 5:53 AM. Sarah Sultan, who is the president of the Night Vale Community College and also a smooth, fist-sized river rock, was driving to work. She had to get in early because of an all-department meeting to address the lingering effects of the rabbit infestation the college suffered five years ago. And she was still fuming from yesterday when the DMV had threatened to take away her license on the ground that no one understood how a smooth, fist-sized river rock was even capable of operating a car. She had had to take the driving test all over again, and while she got a perfect score and retained her license, that had been time robbed from her that she would never get back. Leah Shapiro, ahead of her in the lane, slowed down to turn into the Night Vale Community Hospital parking lot, and Sarah swerved around her, unwilling to wait for the turn to complete. As she did that, she saw a spherical body in the sky at an elevation of about 1,000 feet. It was a dozen centimeters across in apparent size and whirled around in a small circle of 30 feet in apparent diameter before rising up into the clouds.

Friday, 8:09 AM. Nilanjana Sikdar stood just outside of the hospital. She was there for a minor procedure, but it didn’t feel minor to her. She didn’t like hospitals, didn’t like the implications of what might happen there, didn’t like the doctors that appear and disappear randomly from room to room, and didn’t like thinking about all that can misfire and misalign in her own body. She sighed, looked up at the building, and saw through the window Leah Shapiro with tears rolling down her face. She was holding the hand of someone in a hospital bed, and she was telling the patient a story, it seemed. Perhaps reminiscing about some shared event from much earlier in both of their lives. More importantly, Nilanjana saw two flying objects in the reflection of the glass. She turned to see them fly west by north to north by east, radiant blue in the center and red around the edges. Then, knowing that not even UFOs could save her from necessary medical treatment, she turned to the building and trudged inside.

Friday, 11:15 AM. High school senior Josh Crayton was in the Ralphs parking lot showing off to his friends by turning himself into any tree they named. “Oak,” they shouted and he was an oak. “Spruce,” another shouted. “Too easy,” he told them. “Reginald,” one said and Josh took the form of Reginald from the nearby Whispering Forest. When he was in that tree form, he could see all the way over the roof of the Ralphs, and he saw a luminous flying object that’s upper half was covered in a curling mist or smoke. It was 40 degrees in elevation above the horizon and approximately the brightness of a new moon on a cloudless night. “Whoa,” said Josh. “Man,” said one of his friends. “It’s so weird to see a tree talk like that.”

Friday, 12:02 PM. Lorelei Alvarez had been called into work. It was never good news when she was called into work. No one ever rang her phone and said, “Hello, is this Lorelei Alvarez, Night Vale coroner? We’re super happy to need your help!” No. It is always the same hushed tones and hushed pain, tight and business like. She was thinking all of this as she had her coffee and steeled herself for what she would have to go do, when she saw an object in the midday sky. It left a multicolored trail as it moved, going to the west slowly and finally disappearing. “That doesn’t help me at all,” she said and poured the rest of her coffee down the sink.

Friday, 12:10 PM. Tamika Flynn was on her way to the hospital to check in on 14-year-old Gerald Sanders who had been injured at teen militia camp while practicing evasive maneuvers, which is what they call dodgeball. He had badly twisted his ankle and even though Tamika knew it wasn’t her fault, she felt guilt all the same, and then felt guilt over her guilt, as she knew she should not feel guilt over things that were not her fault. As she entered the hospital, she looked across the lot back where Leah Shapiro was standing, tears covering her face. Leah was standing at the parking payment machine, her lips moving soundlessly, her eyes staring blankly at the screen in front of her, and her hands frozen at her side. More importantly, behind Leah, a silver star shining conspicuously in the day-lit sky, moving from east to west, passing in and out of clouds, and changing altitude constantly.

Friday, 1:20 PM. Deb, the sentient patch of haze, was on her way out of a meeting with her representation. She was unhappy with the advertising gjobs they had been securing for her, finding that nothing they were sending her out on caused enough harm to humanity. “Get me out there selling the really toxic and dangerous stuff, something with side effects or at least some carcinogens,” she told them as she pounded the table with her fists and stormed out. An action that was difficult due to her ethereal and fistless nature. As she left, she saw a cylindrical UFO, a greenish bronze with a three to one ratio of length to thickness. “Oh buzz off, buster,” she told it.

Friday, 2:27 PM. Amber Akinye was taking a break from her job at the Diego and Diego and Diego and Diego and Diego funeral home. The one that was opened recently on Araburus Road by those very nice quintuplets. Amber was exhausted after talking Leah Shapiro through all the options. The funeral would happen in just two days, and there was so much to do and to decide. Amber thought that Leah was holding on pretty well, but still, it was a lot for both of them. Maybe Amber was too empathetic to work a job like this. She hated to think of empathy as weakness, but she only had so much energy to give. As she was thinking this, she saw a golden colored oblong at a high altitude in the sky above, moving at a steady speed in a five-degree upward climb. “I just got this job,” Amber thought, “I should give it more. I’ll give it more time.”

Fridya, 5:15 PM. Lieutenant Regis of Unit 7 of the Local National Guard Station and KFC Combo Store was standing guard as usual, and witnessed an (anchor) shaped ring of light to the southwest, and at apparent altitude of 200 feet. He waved. “Enjoy the weekend!” he shouted. “See ya on Monday!”

Friday, 8:09 PM. Janice Rio from down the street was having dinner at the Moonlite All-Nite Diner. She had ordered a Greek salad with chicken on it and was feeling comfortably superior to Leah Shapiro in the next booth over, who was on her second plate of fries. As she sat with this great sense of self, Janice glanced outside and saw a yellow ball of light with a diameter of more than 20 inches hanging in the sky. It hung silently for two minutes and then disappeared. “Good riddance,” Janice muttered and returned to her salad.

We pause briefly from our UFO sighting reports to take in something far stranger: The weather report.

[“Color TV” by Answering Machine, https://answeringmachine.bandcamp.com/]

Saturday, 12:01 AM. Leah Shapiro parked in front of her house, but she didn’t find the will to go in. What was there for her but the echo of a daily routine that would see no more days? So instead she drove out to the scrublands. It was chilly, but that felt good to her. It felt like she had been uncomfortably warm for a long while, and this was the first time that the temperature had been right. (-) bit at her ankles, she didn’t have the right shoes for this kind of walk, but here she was, walking. The night was completely clear. The moon was a careful situation. As she walked, Leah tried her best to sort through her feelings. It was obvious to her which feeling she should have in this moment. Mourning, a wild grief, a sadness that would never be cured by however many decades of slow forgetting she had left. This was what others had assumed she was feeling and so those were the emotions they managed. “This must be quite difficult,” the doctor had said professionally. “I’m so sorry for your loss. I’m sure you loved her very much,” the woman at the funeral home had said empathetically. “Oh my god, you poor thing, you must be bereft!” said Laura at the Moonlite All-Nite Diner with a deep sincerity, and then she had taken Leah’s order of us many French fries as can fit on a plate. Laura had brought two plates.

But the truth is that Leah did not feel mourning, grief, or sadness. She supposed that those feelings would not come, she hoped they did, because she didn’t know what it would mean for herself if they did not. However, emotions are not domestic creatures that can be summoned with a whistle. They are wild and they move as they please. So try as she might to access her sadness, Leah couldn’t. What she could find, to her horror and shame, was relief. She felt so relieved, and she felt free. She felt absolutely free and completely relieved, and she felt that she must be the worst person in the world for feeling those things. “What is wrong with me?” she said, and nothing that heard her answered except a lone coyote, who started and fled to a warm groove in the earth, where he felt safe from predators. There was nothing wrong with Leah. She was free, and she felt relieved. Later she would feel sadness, sadness that’s vast shape would hardly be conveyed by such a simple word, but not now. Now she walked until she couldn’t see her car, until the lights of Night Vale disappeared behind the hill, until it seemed possible that no other person lived on the Earth. As she stood there, a silver craft descended from the sky. It rotated above her, brilliant, multicolored lights coming from windows on all sides. She watched it hover, and then watched as it rose back up into the sky, until it was indistinguishable from all the other wandering stars. “Huh,” she said, and began the long walk back to her car.

This has been UFO sighting reports.

Good night, Night Vale, Good night.

Today’s proverb: In Europe, instead of cell phone, they say mobile. Instead of arugula, they say rocket. Instead of letting you die because of lack of health insurance, they take care of you when you’re sick. It’s a weird place.

[cyberramblings]

3DS: Time for Playtime

It's been fun getting a Wii U lately, but I wanted to look back on all the use I've gotten out of my 3DS in the last year by running down my most played games.

Super Smash Bros. - 154 Hours

This is still my most played game after recently getting back into the 3DS, despite playing zero Smash in that time. I played a lot of this game when it came out and then leading up to the release of Ultimate. This game was a godsend for someone like me who didn't own a Wii U but wanted to stay involved with the series.

Pokemon X - 56 Hours

Again, this is from when I first got my 3DS. I played this one over a whole summer vacation off and on! I still can't decide how I feel about XP Share.

Pokemon Ultra Moon - 51 Hours

Okay, this one is this high because after beating the game, my girlfriend tried to catch all the Pokemon and collect all the totem stickers. I really enjoyed this one, but the Ultra Necrozma fight kicked my butt.

Link Between Worlds - 49 Hours

I actually own the special edition Triforce 3DS which came bundled with this game! As my first game on the system, it is no surprise to see it so high, even though I got stuck on the final boss. I consider this to be one of the best Zelda games.

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask - 41 Hours

This one makes a lot of sense. When I played all that Smash Bros before the release of Ultimate, this was the one other game I played during that time, to the point of actually beating it and a good chunk of the daily puzzles! I even missed a college lecture because I was so wrapped up in the climax.

Pokemon Alpha Sapphire - 27 Hours

Finally, a game I played recently with no shenanigans or excuses. This was an interesting "book ends" with Omega Ruby, as OR was the first Pokemon game I played in my recent endeavor to play them all, while AS was towards the end. Backwards of their names, huh?

Pokemon Omega Ruby - 26 Hours

Fitting that this game should be so close to Alpha Sapphire. I would think that one of these two games would've been left running overnight or somehow had the playtimes differ more, but it somehow makes me hapy to see them side by side. I appreciated Wally's Theme much more the second time through.

Pokemon Y - 23 Hours

Considerably less than the time I spent in X all those years ago. This was one of the last Pokemon games I played in my recent playing of all the games, since I had already technically beaten X. It was a lot of fun to revisit though, and I love Sylveon!

Ocarina of Time 3D - 21 Hours

This one also makes sense, since I owned it during my original teenage years of owning the 3DS. I can't believe I paid 40 bucks for this just to get stuck on the Forest Temple for years! OoT doesn't resonate with me the same way as everyone else seemingly.

Pokemon Red - 19 Hours

Again, this makes sense. I think this was the third game of my recent Pokemon marathon, right after Alpha Sapphire and Ultra Moon. It was a short run thanks to an overlevelled Venasaur and the three legendary birds. I enjoyed crushing this game.

Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy - 16 Hours

This is the game I just finished. I love the series and it was nice to finish it out. I think the ending was silly but the presentation value was nice to see.

Pushmo - 14 Hours

This was my go-to breakfast game for weeks, but phone-scrolling has replaced it as my morning activity while eating.

Shovel Knight - 14 Hours

This used to be the premiere downloadable title on 3DS. I think this game still holds up, but it has lost the sheer novelty of being a Kickstarter retro success over time.

Shin Megami Tensei IV - 13 Hours

I liked Persona 4 so I thought I would like this. It was too difficult for me back then, but now I don't have the patience. This was one of the games I actually paid 15 bucks to download back in highschool.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate - 13 Hours

The first of my several attempts to get into Monster Hunter. I bought, played, quit, and sold this game all back in high school. I would later go on to buy, try, and sell Monster Hunter World as well. It just isn't for me.

Metroid: Samus Returns - 12 Hours

I tried and hated this game on PC emulator, but it has a lot more charm on the actual system. I still generally dislike the melee mechanic but I generally enjoyed this game. It helps that I even beat the original first! Hopefully Dread fixes the few things wrong with this game.

Kid Icarus: Uprising - 12 Hours

I don't know if I ever fell in love with the "unique" control scheme of this game, but I definitely fell in love with all of the characters! This was a great one to play with my girlfriend watching. It's also great to have more of a context for Pit, Palutena, and Dark Pit in Smash now!

Pokemon Sun - 11 Hours

I haven't beaten it yet, whoops.

Rhyhm Heaven Megamix - 11 Hours

One of the last purchases I made before the Switch came out and killed my 3DS playing nearly permanently. I paid 30 bucks! As much as I love this game, I don't know if it was worth that.

Super Mario 3D Land - 10 Hours

A rare game that I played before AND after the rift of me playing 3DS. It's...fine. Definitely Mario.

Picross 3D: Round 2 - 9 Hours

I have always loved Picross and this is no exception. I really should dive back in sometime!

Animal Crossing: New Leaf - 8 Hours

I just can't get into it, I've tried but I can't.

Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright - 8 Hours

This was actually a birthday gift! I was very excited for the concept but hugely turned off by the time travel and setting. I need to give it another shake, perhaps after replaying some of the Ace Attorney games.

Resident Evil The Mercenaries 3D - 7 Hours

One of my few highschool digital purchases. I played a lot of Mercenaries in 6 and 5 (which this is based on, seemingly). It's...fine. But I should have just replayed Revelations on 3DS instead.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy - 6 Hours

It was 7 bucks at GameStop used, so I guess I almost got a 1:1 ratio of hours to dollars. I would've enjoyed this game more now, after playing FF7 Remake.

Pokemon Picross - 6 Hours

Free AND Picross? Yes, but also grindy and scummy. I wish you could just buy a physical copy of this game with everything unlocked.

Paper Mario Sticker Star - 5 Hours

Ten dollars on clearance was too much for this game. Maybe I will try it again sometime knowing ahead of time that it is a joke of a video game. I spit on this game's grave.

Mario Tennis Open - 5 Hours

A lot of the games I acquired within the last year have much lower playtimes, so I was not expecting to see this game this high. I guess I played a few tournaments. I feel like I quit because Waluigi cheated, then played just the tutorial of Mario Golf before quitting that too.

Elite Beat Agents - 4.5 Hours

This game rules.

Tetris Axis - 4.5 Hours

This game drools.

Kirby Planet Robobot - 4.5 Hours

Cute game, but I only play it with my girlfriend.

New Super Mario Brothers 2 - 4.5 Hours

I am surprised it is this low considering I got stuck on the final boss in single player and beat around 2 worlds in coop.

Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward - 4 Hours

I need to play more!

Super Smash Brothers Demo - 4 Hours

Hell yeah this was such an exciting time to be a Nintendo fan! Trying to get ahold of this demo was like getting a Willy Wonk golden ticket. I was so excited to play as Mega Man, Villager, Mario, Link, and Pikachu even if just on Battlefield.

Kingdom Hearts 3D - 3.5 Hours

A surprisingly competent action RPG. This game kind of reeks as part of the PS4 collection, but it really shines on the original version.

Layton's Mystery Journey - 3 Hours

I like the idea of playing as Layton's daughter, but I don't like having a talking dog and an insufferable simp as sidekicks. I hope the next game just returns to the original crew.

Mario Kart 7 - 3 Hours

It's...Mario Kart. Not a ton more to say.

Mario Party Island Tour - 3 Hours

I have trouble keeping the different 3DS Mario Party games separate in my mind, but anything that's not Top 100 is fun with friends. Top 100 only has one, miserable board! Why???

Ultimate NES Remix - 3 Hours

A great game for pick up and play, but not for long sessions.

Art of Balance Touch - 3 Hours

Recently got into this. Tons of fun until the difficulty gets a little too high!

Warioware Gold - 2.5 Hours

I completely beat this game and it is still this low. Fun, but hard to recommend at any price but free.

Luigi's Mansion 2 - 2.5 Hours

Cute game....but feels hard to play for more than 20 minutes at a time.

Dead or Alive Dimensions - 2.5 Hours

Again, all I did was beat the game and then quit. Surprsingly competent for a 3DS fighting game, but too barebones with content compared to Smash.

Boxboy - 2.5 Hours

I feel like I played this game way more. It's cute and fun, but now I have a hard time picking up the puzzles where I left them.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate Demo - 2.5 Hours

This tricked me into buying the game! Dangit

Mario Party Star Rush - 2.5 Hours

Oh god, I can't keep this one and Island Tour straight.

Pokemon Shuffle - 2 Hours

I feel like I played this one way more, but that is probably because the phone version also exists.

VVVVVV - 2 Hours

Beat the whole game! Not a bad way to spend time, but this makes it worth only 2 dollars according to my 1:1 ratio of dollars to hours.

Final Fantasy Explorers - 2 Hours

I like some things about this game but I just cannot play anything related to Monster Hunter.

Tri Force Heroes - 2 Hours

This suffers from "Overcooked syndrome" where you have to rely on your teammates so much that it becomes a total chore.

Theatrythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call - 1.5 Hours

I played that much just to unlocked multiplayer.

Super Street Fighter IV - 1.5 Hours

I think I paid for this game full price back in high school and then barely played it. I've always tried to delude myself into thinking that I can play real fighting games that are not Smash.

Hatsune Miku Project Mirai DX - 1.5 Hours

Again, I feel like I played this game for days and days. I suppose rhythm games feel like time slows down when you play them. Thumbs up for including Puyo Puyo! I am surprised this game released in the West at all.

Rune Factory 4 - 1.5 Hours

I got this far as a favor to a friend. I just can't play any game where there is an optimal way to act that sounds exhausting but possible to me. I know I could easily talk to all the NPC's every day... but I do not want to.

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate - 1.5 Hours

This was exclusively played with friends. Not a fan.

Pokemon Rumble World - 1.5 Hours

Free games. Novelty as a kid. No time for them as an adult. Nothing about this game is appealing beyond the price point.

Attack of the Friday Monster - 1.5 Hours

My biggest memory of this game is playing it on the schoolbus when a little kid asked if he could play/watch and I told him I was playing a boring game that he wouldn't like. As cute as this game is, yes, it is boring and not very fun.

Sonic Generations - 1.5 Hours

I somewhat enjoyed this game until the Shadow boss fight. Can't figure it out. Not fun.

Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn - 1.5 Hours

Cute, played it with girlfriend.

Super Mario Land 2 - 1 Hour

I think I got this with Club Nintendo points?

Rage of the Gladiator - 1 Hour

Medieval offbrand Punch-Out.

Mario Party: The Top 100 - 1 Hour

ONE BOARD?!? At least it has the storybook minifame from gamecube Mario Party.

Trace Memory - 1 Hour

Bought used from GameStop. I was told it was a hidden gem, but I didn't have the patience.

Mario and Sonic Rio 2016 - 1 Hour

Cute game to play with friends but some of the minigames suck. Thumbs up for less common Sonic characters.

Azure Striker Gunvolt - 1 Hour

Not bad, just helped me realize that I don't really like Mega Man style games all that much. The genre of "Mega Man" just feels like a Metroid with no exploration or meaningful progression.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon - 1 Hour

I tried to get into this franchise but it is so booooorring and slow and unappealing to me.

I've been rounding to the half hour, so the next game is Zelda Oracle of Season at 44 minutes, which would round down to half an hour. I will take that as my cue to finish here.

In conclusion: games I owned longer tended to be played longer. Shocker. This was all just an excuse to ramble about Nintendo games anyways.

[kairoth]

Could you do all of the questions?

heyhey! yea! done on my laptop :>

1: when you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk?♥ usually more milk but then i try to fix the ratio and it ends up being more cereal asfh

2: do you like the feeling of cold air on your cheeks on a wintery day?♥ eehhh sometimes

3: what random objects do you use to bookmark your books?♥ mostly just pieces of paper lol

4: how do you take your coffee/tea?♥ with LOTS of sugar

5: are you self-conscious of your smile?♥ yes. it's gross

6: do you keep plants?♥ yea!

7: do you name your plants?♥ ofc i do

8: what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings?♥ music mainly. like you'll know my mood by knowing what song i listen to

9: do you like singing/humming to yourself?♥ ye ~

10: do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach?♥ my side usually but i move a lot in my sleep

11: what’s an inner joke you have with your friends?♥ bongwater,,

12: what’s your favorite planet?♥ saturn! and pluto,,, and jupiter ahh

13: what’s something that made you smile today?♥ thinking about puppies !!!!!!

14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like?♥ idk? messy

15: go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is!♥ apparently you get taller in space

16: what’s your favorite pasta dish?♥ this is boring of me but i like plain ol' pasta with butter and salt the most

17: what color do you really want to dye your hair?♥ white with purple ombre !

18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up.♥ HHH when i was 6 months old i ate a spider and anyone who knows about it never lets me live it down

19: do you keep a journal? what do you write/draw/ in it?♥ i try to keep em and write in em but i often forget

20: what’s your favorite eye color?♥ mmm i can't choose, they're all great !

21: talk about your favorite bag, the one that’s been to hell and back with you and that you love to pieces.♥ oof my batman backpack that i gave to my dad. that thing went through A LOT. my new one is really good too tho. it's just red and black but it's served me well.

22: are you a morning person?♥ depends on if i've gotten a good night's sleep and if i'm particularly excited for the day!

23: what’s your favorite thing to do on lazy days where you have 0 obligations?♥ sleep, listen to music, read

24: is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets?♥ yea. we don't talk anymore tho. i miss him

25: what’s the weirdest place you’ve ever broken into?♥ nowhere? i've never broken in before

26: what are the shoes you’ve had for forever and wear with every single outfit?♥ i always wear my vans til they fall apart. my current pair are space themed bc ofc

27: what’s your favorite bubblegum flavor?♥ juicyfruit ig?

28: sunrise or sunset?♥ sunset

29: what’s something really cute that one of your friends does and is totally endearing?♥ ASFH UHM idk?? them just being themselves is enough for me to smile over them

30: think of it: have you ever been truly scared?♥ yes

31: what is your opinion of socks? do you like wearing weird socks? do you sleep with socks? do you confine yourself to white sock hell? really, just talk about socks.♥ i wear mismatched socks all the time but like they do match each other somewhat. like. i have a bunch of stitch socks and i don't wear their match but i'll wear another stitch sock with it.

32: tell us a story of something that happened to you after 3AM when you were with friends.♥ uhh me and two friends played never have i ever over kik once and long story short we learned a lot abt each other. some things we never wanted to know

33: what’s your fave pastry?♥ idk! i like danish pastries pretty well tho

34: tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. what is it called? what does it look like? do you still keep it?♥ teddy!! i got him when i was 5 from my cousin for like a nickel. he's just a standard lil brown teddy bear. and ofc i still have him asdgh can't sleep without him. i even bring him to sleepovers

35: do you like stationary and pretty pens and so on? do you use them often?♥ yea! i use them when i can

36: which band’s sound would fit your mood right now?♥ EDEN. and crywank generally fits me too

37: do you like keeping your room messy or clean?♥ i like it to be clean but often it just gets cluttered and i don't have the motivation to clean it

38: tell us about your pet peeves!♥ uhhh i hate rude, arrogant, judgemental people, disloyalty, uhm, the sound that weird plastic makes, uhhh idk

39: what color do you wear the most?♥ mostly black and white

40: think of a piece of jewelry you own: what’s it’s story? does it have any meaning to you?♥ my solar system bracelet! i saw the post for it on tumblr and sent it to my mum, and she ended up getting it for me for christmas!

41: what’s the last book you remember really, really loving?♥ we were liars by e. lockhart. if i had to choose a fave it'd be that one. i sobbed for days after reading it. i think it kinda did smthn to my soul

42: do you have a favorite coffee shop? describe it!♥ i do not sadly :

43: who was the last person you gazed at the stars with?♥ my mum, i think ?

44: when was the last time you remember feeling completely serene and at peace with everything?♥ oof, when harley was still here. it was a nice day, the sun was shining through my window, birds singing, EDEN playing softly, and harley was all cuddled up on my chest with his head tucked under my chin, purring away.

45: do you trust your instincts a lot?♥ depends. i try to evenly listen to my instincts and to logic

46: tell us the worst pun you can think of.♥ my friend used to make a lot of bone puns bc of undertale and sans and one of my faves is "wasn't that HUMERUS"

47: what food do you think should be banned from the universe?♥ SEAFOOD it's grrrrrrrrrrroooooooosssss

48: what was your biggest fear as a kid? is it the same today?♥ death. and yes.

49: do you like buying CDs and records? what was the last one you bought?♥ haven't bought many of those, i mostly listen to spotify :0 i did get the vinyl of black parade that mcr was giving out for the anniversary !

50: what’s an odd thing you collect?♥ crystals ig? pokemon cards, pens, books. uhh. i have a lot of paper and notebooks lmao

51: think of a person. what song do you associate with them?♥ mm. good times by all time low.

52: what are your favorite memes of the year so far?♥ uhh idk i like all of em

53: have you ever watched the rocky horror picture show? heathers? beetlejuice? pulp fiction? what do you think of them?♥ heathers is epic and i love christian slater but also his voice is hilarious, beetlejuice was good and amazingly weird, and i've no seen the other two yet.

54: who’s the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face?♥ HHH. the other day my mum's friend was talking abt how she's having problems with renters and she looked like she was gonna cry but it was more frustration than anything so idk?

55: what’s the most dramatic thing you’ve ever done to prove a point?♥ man idk it's prob somethin big but i don't remember

56: what are some things you find endearing in people?♥ ? idk. it depends ig?? like for my one friend i love that he loves animals, for my other i love that she loves music. for one i love her kindness and outward innocence and i find it hilarious when she actually shows her angry or sassy side.

57: go listen to bohemian rhapsody. how did it make you feel? did you dramatically reenact the lyrics?♥ god i love bohemian rhapsody. so good. so catchy. the best. me and my former bff used to sing it all the time

58: who’s the wine mom and who’s the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why?♥ mmmm idk :0

59: what’s your favorite myth?♥ i love myths abt creatures! my faves are about the fae folk.

60: do you like poetry? what are some of your faves?♥ idk :0

61: what’s the stupidest gift you’ve ever given? the stupidest one you’ve ever received?♥ uhh just a basic gift card ig. and uhm idk?

62: do you drink juice in the morning? which kind?♥ mm if i have juice i'll drink it!

63: are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be?♥ i try to keep them organized

64: what color is the sky where you are right now?♥ it's getting late and it's kinda cloudy and grey

65: is there anyone you haven’t seen in a long time who you’d love to hang out with?♥ yeaa.

66: what would your ideal flower crown look like?♥ mmm idk! maybe lots of purple and light blues? :0

67: how do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel?♥ bad. i've always been nervous with storms and whatnot and those kinda days just make me jittery.

68: what’s winter like where you live?♥ well for a while it actually is winter and gets cold. but it's florida so ofc it goes back to being hot af.

69: what are your favorite board games?♥ i've always been fond of sorry sliders and candy land

70: have you ever used a ouija board?♥ NO AND I NEVER WILL. my mum and aunts did once and HHHHHHHH they ended up with a possessed barney doll

71: what’s your favorite kind of tea?♥ earl grey ! i really wanna try lavender tea tho

72: are you a person who needs to note everything down or else you’ll forget it?♥ yea but i don't often actually do it

73: what are some of your worst habits?♥ i sleep and procrastinate too much but i'm trying, i pick at threads a lot hhh,

74: describe a good friend of yours without using their name or gendered pronouns.♥ ok uhh. they remind me of a canary bird. i associate them with yellow and pink. they're super sweet. always helpful. sad and i wish i could help them more. all in all a v good friend and v good person.

75: tell us about your pets!♥ OOF OK GET READY. syd: sydney, my man. the big orange floof. meathead. he likes to stand up and hold onto your shirt or pants and it's cute but also CLAWS. v smart, knows that if he annoys me enough i'll open my door for him. maggie: pretty pretty princess. also the grossest princess. beaut white, brown capped fur and green gold eyes and cutest lil meows. bean: has two thumbs, one is teensy tiny. meows are like inaudible. usually grumpy and will run if you pet her. only accepts affection when she's sleepy. sebastian: the real grumpy cat. russian blue boy. has a hard time jumping correctly now cos he's old. always talking and complaining. likes pets. will fight you. ash: scaredy boi. dark as night. murrs instead of meows bc he wasn't raised by other cats. rarely purrs but you know he loves you. likes head bumps. will scratch you if you're not paying attention to him. can be a bully. arrow: FAT. has scabs bc he keeps scratching himself,, why boi why (we think he's allergic to smthn). meows LOUDLY. eats everyone's food. likes to go outside. once got stuck in the same tree twice. shelby: old girl. jack russel. super hyper but also LAZY. only sleeps under blankets. gets jealous. will force her way onto your lap. the smelliest dog in existence i swear. emmy: chihuahua. grumpyyyy old lady. always telling people to shut up (mostly shelby). cute tho. has seizures sometimes. will purposefully use the bathroom on the floor where you'll step or on something of yours if you upset her. moriarty: my snek! good boy. likes to be under his paper towels. smol. has a cute face. percy: GRUMPY leopard gecko. she's a blizzard morph and she looks purple. so grumpy aaaaaaaaah. red: my betta girl. the other girls with her (blue and esme) died. she comes up to the glass to say hi to you. oscar the grouch: hedgehog. SO GRUMP. he literally turned his entire house around so you can't see him. rude. lillith, yuki, and star: ferrets. inseperable. good little catsnakes who i love. yuki has a thing for feet and shoes. star messes with the dogs/cats by nipping them. lillith is good but bites a bit hard. the chickens: we named them after the avengers. cap can die. literally she hates me and my mum she tries to fight us. RUDE.

76: is there anything you should be doing right now but aren’t?♥ yes. schoolwork

77: pink or yellow lemonade?♥ i like both !

78: are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub?♥ uhh hate club ig? idrk?????

79: what’s one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you?♥ mmmMM my former bff used to be very supportive of my clinginess and she would be talking and i could just like hold my hands out to her or hug her and she'd be totally ok with it and not even pause talking. the best thing ever tbh

80: what color are your bedroom walls? did you choose that color? if so, why?♥ two walls are light grey and the other two are a slightly darker grey! i chose it :> i wanted a good neutral color besides beige or white.

81: describe one of your friend’s eyes using the most abstract imagery you can think of.♥ mmm. like the sun shining through the branches of the trees.

82: are/were you good in school?♥ i mean?? ig? i get ok grades (mostly Bs) but i always procrastinate assignments cos i'm lazy and unmotivated

83: what’s some of your favorite album art?♥ ooohh my fave is from life starts now by three days grace. i actually made it my theme once on chrome

84: are you planning on getting tattoos? which ones?♥ yea! i wanna get a lot of space related ones! and maybe the chip number of my boy harley

85: do you read comics? what are your faves?♥ mm. i read webcomics! a fave of mine is stutterhug by samantha davies on taptastic :>

86: do you like concept albums? which ones?♥ uhhhhhhh i don't know any off the top of my head and i looked it up and it says american idiot by green day is one and i love them so? yeah

87: what are some movies you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives?♥ THE CROW. and the last unicorn!! both so good

88: are there any artistic movements you particularly enjoy?♥ i've always been fond of symbolism

89: are you close to your parents?♥ i'm close to my mum! not so much my dad

90: talk about your one of you favorite cities.♥ woodsboro, maryland! that's where my aunts and cousins live. i love going up there!

91: where do you plan on traveling this year?♥ idk! my mum did bring up going somewhere this year tho

92: are you a person who drowns their pasta in cheese or a person who barely sprinkles a pinch?♥ barely even a pinch. unless it's spaghetti and that powdery parmesan cheese

93: what’s the hairstyle you wear the most?♥ wellll we shaved the sides and back so it's just long at the top and flipped sideways

94: who was the last person you know to have a birthday?♥ ? it was my mum's boss's birthday a few days ago :0 we all had lunch together and she asked me what name she should call me by. i love her tbh

95: what are your plans for this weekend?♥ hopefully i can go see the puppies !!!

96: do you install your computer updates really quickly or do you procrastinate on them a lot?♥ procrastinate

97: myer briggs type, zodiac sign, and hogwarts house?♥ infp, leo but i relate more to my scorpio chart, and hufflepuff!

98: when’s the last time you went hiking? did you enjoy it?♥ i've never actually been hiking!! and tbh i enjoy pretty much anything long as i'm with someone i like!

99: list some songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them.♥ jupiter by EDEN, leech boy by crywank, lost//found by EDEN, boats & birds by gregory and the hawk, and saturn by sleeping at last. a lot of others too ahh

100: if you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go 5 years into the past, the other 5 years into the future, which one would you press? why?♥ five years in the past. i could fix a lot of things that happened.

[tinkeringwithcannabis]

Tinkering with Cannabis: The First 90 Minutes Episode 68

Product: Charlotte’s Web Vape

Dispensary: Revolutionary Clinics

Locations: Somerville, Ma

Website: www.revolutionaryclinics.org

 Hello again to all my cannabis loving and canna-curious friends, and welcome back to another episode of The First 90 Minutes! Today we will be toking and talking about a popular high CBD strain I think most people have heard mentioned at least once, Charlotte’s Web. I picked this product up from my friends at Revolutionary Clinics in Somerville, Ma. Charlotte’s Web is a strain that was created to help with seizure disorders, but has been found beneficial to an array of medical disorders. The top three terpenes in this strain are myrcene, pinene, and caryophyllene. Myrcene, which is found to have an earthy, fruity, clove-like aroma, can be found in citrus fruits and herbs. It has been found to have great benefit as an analgesic, antidepressant, antibiotic, and a sedative. It also has been shown to increase the effects of the THC by interacting with the brain’s CB1 receptors and allowing more chemicals to pass through the blood to brain barrier. Pinene, which is found in pine trees, balsamic resin, and some citrus fruits has shown promise as an anti inflammatory, bronchodilator, expectorant, antiseptic, and improves focus. Last, caryophyllene, which is a spicy, peppery, and/or woody terpene, has been associated with herbs such as basil and cloves. This terpene has been found to work wonders as an antioxidant, anti inflammatory, and helps the GI tract. It is these three terpenes that leave patients reporting this strain’s effects as happy, relaxed, uplifted, focused, and creative. It has been used to treat pain, stress, anxiety, depression, and inflammation. Last, the potential negatives for this strain are dry mouth, dry eyes, dizziness, headache, and anxiety. Ok, now that we have run through the background portion of this strain, I say let’s jump ahead to the fun part. So, without further ado, let’s light up, sit back, and relax as we toke and talk about the First 90 Minutes!

Today I will be medicating via vape to combat stress, depression, and anxiety. I am using a single setting battery for this vape. Starting off this session at 10:07 a.m. with 2 hits from my vape, the flavor i am getting is a muted peppery pine. At 10:11 a.m., I am already noticing a difference with how I feel. There is a head rush sensation moving my mood toward a brighter place. Hitting 10:17 a.m., my stress and anxiety are lifting and I feel a weight moving off of my shoulders. Physically, all my tension areas are already being hit. My neck, back, and shoulders are loosening and feel like ripples of relaxation are penetrating through them. Although I do feel mental and physical effects, I am not experiencing any form of couchlock.

At 10:41 a.m., I am experiencing a moderate amount of relaxation, both physically and mentally, however I am still 100% functional. The cerebral buzz has turned into a nice focused effect, yet I’m laid back and in a happy and chill place. My anxiety has completely dissipated at this time, as has my stress symptoms. I decided to use this relaxed and happy mental and physical experience to play some Mario Kart, and I’m killing it! As expected, the effects of this strain are not overly potent, they are very even-keel and relaxing, yet uplifting. At 11:11 a.m., I am really enjoying the balanced 1:1 THC/CBD ratio. I’m focused and uplifted while extremely relaxed. I love that the mental effects are very balanced and that I can function well enough to complete any tasks beyond just playing video games or watching tv. I also love that I have absolutely no anxiety around socializing with others while using this product. I don’t feel high, I just feel happy. I am experiencing some dry mouth and dry eye, so I would recommend keeping some eye drops and water nearby, but man is that a small price to pay for such a great experience! Right now, my main goal continues to be kicking ass playing some more Mario Kart!

Rounding the corner to our 90-minute mark at 11:41 a.m., my focus is still phenomenal, and my stress, depression, and anxiety continue to remain at bay. This was the perfect choice to use on a day I just wanted to relax and be happy without being totally torched. The effects are still going pretty strong, but I know already I’ll be using this strain for the rest of my day today! The dry mouth and dry eye are still somewhat present, but not severe cases of either.

The effects finally ended at 12:03 p.m., leaving me happy and relaxed. This strain really hit the nail on the head. It met my needs in treating my stress, depression, and anxiety and let me really enjoy some downtime during my day. The great thing is that I could use this strain at any time during my day. Although there was a case of dry eye and dry mouth, those were very minor compared to the amount of relief I experienced. I would honestly recommend this strain to anyone looking for something to lift their spirits while not making them feel too $&@!ed up. I would highly recommend this for those beginners out there. It’s definitely a great starter strain for those with low THC tolerances. Revolutionary Clinics, great job with this product. I give this 4.8 stars!!! Keep up the great work!

If you are a patient, or adult above the age of 21 in Massachusetts, check out the following link for where you can purchase this product:

https://www.revolutionaryclinics.org

Well my friends, we have reached the end of this review. Thank you for joining me and stay tuned for more product reviews!

Disclaimer:

*****Please remember, this blog is an account of my personal experience with this product. Not everyone has the same experience with every product and that is okay. I always recommend starting out with one or two hits to see if that is enough , and you can always increase your dose from there.*****

[wesleybates099]

Ranking The Best Passive Income Investments

After about the 30th day in a row of working 12+ hour days and eating rubber chicken dinners at our company’s free cafeteria, I decided I had enough.

There was no way I could last for more than five years working in a pressure cooker environment like Wall Street. I became obsessed with generating passive income starting in 1999, the year I graduated from college.

We’ve discussed how to get started building passive income for financial freedom before. Now I’d like to rank the various passive income streams based on risk, return, feasibility, liquidity, and activity.

The rankings are somewhat subjective, but they are born from my own real life experiences attempting to generate multiple types of passive income sources over the past 20 years.

The passive income journey is a long one. But thanks to innovation and technology, the ability to generate meaningful passive income is accelerating!

Passive Income Starts With Saving

Generally speaking, it’s much more pleasurable to spend than to save. If saving was easy, we’d never have to read another story again about a multimillionaire who ended up broke.

By far the most important reason to save is so you can have enough money to do what you want, when you want, without anybody telling you what to do. Financial freedom is the best!

Sounds nice right? If only there was a formula or a chart like the 401k by Age chart which gives people guidance on how much to save and for how long in order to reach financial freedom. Unfortunately, saving money is only the first step in building passive income. Figuring out how to properly invest your savings is even more important.

If you can max out your 401k or max out your IRA and then save an additional 20%+ of your after-tax, after-retirement contribution, good things really start to happen.

Ranking Various Passive Income Investments

Below are eight main passive income investments to consider. Each passive income stream will be ranked based on Risk, Return, Feasibility, Liquidity, and Activity. Each criteria will get a score of between 1-10. The higher the score, the better.

A Risk Score of 10 means no risk.

A Return Score of 1 means the returns are horrible compared to the risk-free rate.

A Feasibility score of 10 means everybody can do it.

A Liquidity Score of 1 means it’s very difficult to withdraw your money without a massive penalty.

An Activity Score of 10 means you can kick back and do nothing to earn income.

To make the ranking as realistic as possible, every score is relative to each other. Furthermore, the return criteria is based off trying to generate $10,000 a year in passive income.

1) Certificate of Deposit (CD) / Money Market

There was a time when CDs would produce a respectable 4%+ yield. Nowadays, you’ll be lucky to find a 5-7 year CD that provides anything above 2.5% The great thing about CDs is that there are no income or net worth minimums to invest, unlike many alternative investments, which require investors to be accredited.

Anybody can go to their local bank and open up a CD of their desired duration. Furthermore, a CD and money market account are FDIC insured for up to $250,000 per individual, and $500,000 per joint account.

Everybody needs to take advantage of higher short term rates and save more. Just several years ago, money market and CD rates were only 0.1%. Now you can get an online money market account paying 2.3% as of 2H2019.

Risk: 10 (no risk), Return: 3 (as rates have increased), Feasibility: 10. Liquidity: 6. Activity: 10. Total Score: 39

2) Fixed Income / Bonds

As interest rates have been going down over the past 30 years, bond prices have continued to go up. With the 10-year yield (risk free rate) at roughly 2.4% in 2019, it’s hard to see interest rates declining much further. That said, long term interest rates can stay low for a long time. Just look at Japanese interest rates, which are negative (inflation is higher than nominal interest rate).

Bonds provide a terrific defensive allocation to an investment portfolio, especially during times of uncertainty like we are seeing with the US-China trade wars. If you hold a government bond until maturity, you will get all your coupon payments and principal back. But just like stocks, there are plenty of different types of bond investments to choose from.

Anybody can buy a bond ETF such as IEF (7-10 Year Treasury), MUB (muni bond fund),  or a fixed income fund like PTTRX (Pimco Total Return Fund). You can also buy individual corporate or municipal bonds. Municipal bonds are especially enticing for higher income earners who face a high marginal tax rate. You can also directly buy Treasury bonds through your online brokerage platform.

The main concern is the future of interest rates. If interest rates do go higher, bonds will decline in value, all else being equal. That said, so long as you hold the bond to maturity, you should get your initial principal back along with all the coupon payments if you are buying a highly rated bond e.g. AA.

See: The Case For Buying Bonds: Living For Free And Other Benefits

Risk: 8, Return: 5, Feasibility: 10, Liquidity: 8. Activity: 9. Total Score: 40

3) Physical Real Estate

Real estate is my favorite asset class to build wealth because it’s easy to understand, provides shelter, and generates income. The only bad thing about owning physical real estate is that it ranks poorly on the passive variable due to tenants and maintenance issues.

Owning your primary residence means you are neutral the real estate market. Renting means you are short the real estate market, and only after buying two or more properties are you actually long real estate. This is why everybody should own their primary residence as soon as they know they want to stay put for 5-10 years. Inflation is too powerful a force to combat.

In order to generate $10,000 in Net Operating Profit After Tax (NOPAT) through a rental property, you must own a $50,000 property with an unheard of 20% net rental yield, a $100,000 property with a rare 10% net rental yield, or a more realistic $200,000 property with a 5% net rental yield.

In expensive cities like San Francisco and New York City, net rental yields can fall as low as 2.5%. This is a sign that there is a lot of liquidity buying property mainly for appreciation and not so much for income generation. This is a riskier proposition than buying property based on rental income.

In inexpensive cities, such as those in the Midwest and South, net rental yields can easily be in the range of 7% – 12%, although appreciation may be slower. I’m personally bullish on the heartland of America real estate and have been actively buying commercial real estate there through real estate crowdfunding and speciality REITs, which we will discuss more below.

Risk: 5, Return: 8, Feasibility: 7. Liquidity: 3. Activity: 6. Total Score: 29

4) Peer-to-Peer Lending (P2P)

P2P lending started in San Francisco with Lending Club and Prosper in mid-2000. The idea of peer-to-peer lending is to disintermediate banks and help denied borrowers get loans at potentially lower rates compared to the rates of larger financial institutions. What was once a very nascent industry has now grown into a multi-billion dollar business with full regulation.

With a diversified portfolio of 100 or more notes, the leading P2P lenders claim investors can make an annual return between 5% – 7%. The returns used to be higher, but the increased supply of money has brought returns down.

The biggest problem I have with P2P lending is people not paying me back. There’s something that just doesn’t sit right with people breaking their contract obligations.

Risk: 5, Return: 6, Feasibility: 9. Liquidity: 6. Activity: 8. Total Score: 34

5) Dividend Investing

Investing in large cap dividend companies is one of the best ways to build passive income. The “Dividend Aristocrats” are a list of blue chip companies in the S&P 500 that have demonstrated a consistent increase in dividend payouts over the years.

Let’s say a company earns $1 a share and pays out 75 cents in the form of a dividend. That’s a 75% dividend payout ratio. Let’s say the next year the company earns $2 a share and pays out $1 in the form of dividends. Although the dividend payout ratio declines to 50%, due the company wanting to spend more CAPEX on expansion, at least the absolute dividend amount increases.

Dividend stocks tend to be more mature companies that are past their high growth stage. As a result, they are less volatile. Utilities, telecoms, and financial sectors tend to make up the majority of dividend paying companies.

Tech, Internet, and biotech, on the other hand, tend not to pay any dividends because they are reinvesting most of their retained earnings back into their company for further growth. But growth stocks can easily lose investors tremendous value over a short period of time.

To achieve $10,000 in annual passive income at the S&P 500’s ~1.8% dividend yield, you would need to invest roughly $555,000. Instead, you could invest only $154,000 into AT&T stock given its 6.5% estimated dividend yield. It all depends on your risk tolerance.

One of the easiest ways to get exposure to dividend stocks is to buy ETFs like DVY, VYM, and NOBL or index funds. You can also use a digital wealth advisor like Betterment to automatically invest your money for you at a low fee. The key is to investment consistently over time.

In the long run, it is very hard to outperform any index, therefore, the key is to pay the lowest fees possible while being mostly invested in index fund. It’s fine to take 10% – 20% of your investable assets and try to pick outperformers.

Risk: 6, Return: 7, Feasibility: 10. Liquidity: 8. Activity: 10. Total Score: 41

6) Private Equity Investing

Private equity investing can be a tremendous source of passive income with the right investments. If you find the next Uber, the returns will blow every single other passive income investment out of the water. But of course, finding the next Uber is a tough task since most private companies fail and the investment opportunities always go to the most connected investors.

The most liquid of the private investments are investing in equity or credit hedge funds, real estate funds, and private company funds. There will usually be 3-10-year lockup periods. The least liquid of the private investments is when you invest directly into a private company.

Access to private investments are restricted to accredited investors, which is why the Feasibility Score is only a 4. But the Activity Score is a 10, because you can’t do anything even if you wanted to. You’re investing for the long term. The Risk and Return score greatly depends on your investing acumen and access.

Gaining $10,000 a year in private equity investing is difficult to quantify unless you are investing in a real estate or fixed income fund. Such funds generally target 8-15% annual returns, which equates to a need for $83,000 – $125,000 in capital.

Risk: 4. Return: 7. Feasibility: 4. Liquidity: 2. Activity: 10. Total Score 27

7) Real Estate Crowdsourcing

Currently, my favorite passive income source is real estate crowdfunding, which allows individuals to buy a piece of a commercial real estate project that was once only available to ultra high net worth individuals or institutional investors.

Owning individual physical real estate is great, but it’s like going all-in on one asset in a particular location with leverage. If the market goes down, your concentrated investment could lose big time if you are forced to sell like many did during the last financial crisis.

Real estate crowdsourcing allows you to surgically invest as little as $500 into a residential or commercial real estate project for potentially 7 – 13% annual returns based off historical data. Such returns are much better than the average private equity, CD, bond market, P2P lending, and dividend investing returns.

Unlike P2P lending, with real estate crowdfunding, you at least have a physical asset as collateral.

For those of you who don’t want to come up with a $300,000 downpayment and a $1,200,000 mortgage to buy the median home in an expensive coastal city like SF or NYC, who don’t want to deal with tenants or remodeling, and who wants to sit back after an investment is made, check out Fundrise, my favorite real estate crowdsourcing company founded in 2012.

In mid-2017, I sold my San Francisco rental property for 30X annual gross rent and reinvested $500,000 of the proceeds in real estate crowdfunding to take advantage of lower valuations across the country with much higher net rental yields.

Coastal city real estate has become too expensive, and I expect people and capital to naturally flow towards lower cost areas of the country.

Risk: 7, Return: 8, Feasibility: 10, Liquidity: 7, Activity: 10. Total Score: 42

8) Creating Your Own Products

Finally, if you’re a creative person, you might be able to produce a product that’s able to generate a steady flow of passive income for years to come. At the extreme, Michael Jackson, makes more dead than alive due to the royalties his estate makes from all the songs he produced in his career. Since Michael’s death, his estate has made over $2.1 billion according to Forbes.

Of course it’s unlikely any one of us will replicate the genius of Michael Jackson, but you could produce your own eBook, e-course, award-winning photo, or song to create your own slice of passive income.

In 2012, I wrote a 180-page eBook about severance package negotiations that regularly sells about ~50 copies a month at $87 each without much ongoing maintenance. The book has since been revised and updated for 2019 to teach people how to negotiate a severance to give themselves a financial runway for their next chapter in life.

In order to generate $51,000 a year in passive income from the book as I do now, I would need to invest $1,275,000 in an asset that generates a 4% yield. To earn $10,000 a year in passive income would therefore need roughly $250,000 in capital.

Who would have thought a book about engineering your layoff could regularly generate so much revenue? We’re so busy with our jobs that our childhood creativity sadly vanishes over time.

Informational Source

[canaryatlaw]

alright, so today was overall pretty good (I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of writing that). I dragged my ass out of bed at 7:15 am for church, and ended up having to bolt out the door to make the 7:41 bus, or I’d have to wait another 25 minutes for the next one, which would effectively get me there late (service starts at 9, takes an hour to get there, either 8:40 or 9:05). When I was on the train not too far from church, I was approached by a man who appeared to be homeless, and asked if I had any money. Now, strangely enough for me, I was completely out of energy bars, singles, fives, or even quarters. The only thing I had on me was a twenty I was planning on putting in the offering plate in church. He could see the twenty in my wallet and very kindly and timidly asked if I would be willing to trade the twenty for ten singles he had collected. And I felt God pulling at my heart strings, and I thought I wouldn’t be a very good Christian if I refused to help my neighbor who’s right in front of me when I had the ability to do so when I was on my way to CHURCH for pete’s sake. So I smiled and agreed, and he got so happy, he just kept smiling and saying thank you, and was happily telling me that now he could pay for his and his wife’s treatment (I didn’t ask what for). I ended up writing up the incident in a Facebook post later on in the day, while making a point to add I feel that it’s even more important for Christians to be performing tangible acts of kindness to those around us and in our community when there are people right now who are calling themselves “Christians” but are defiling the word with their doing and defending despicable behavior. I also made sure to write a part about how I sincerely hope people don't think I post these things because I’m trying to humble brag or talk about how much of a good person I am, but because I truly hope it inspires people to be kind to the people in their lives and increase their witness. anyway. Got to church and it was pretty empty, which was weird because I’ve always only been there while there was already a service going on, lol. But I went to the volunteer lounge and chilled out for a bit before heading to the service. Worship was great as always, and then we had an announcement that the family who were more or less second in command (after our lead pastors) are moving to California and the husband/dad is taking over as lead pastor for a church there, which is of course very exciting for them but they will dearly be missed. We got into the sermon, continuing our series on King David, entitled caves x crowns (as in, him hiding in caves while Saul was chasing him till when he was crowned king). Our female lead pastor was preaching, and I always appreciate getting to here from her. We picked up from last week, where Saul was dead and David effectively became king, and wanted to bring the ark of the covenant (cue the indiana jones reference) back to Jerusalem. much of the message centered around 2 Samuel 6:22, a verse I know by heart as it was theme verse of one of my high school extracurriculars, which in itself brings up some unpleasant memories so I’m not going to go into that. but basically the story is David was happy the ark was here and dancing like crazy, and his wife (or one of his wives) told him he looked stupid, and he basically said I don’t care, I just want to worship God. And this of course translates into our lives as to how we think about what other people will think about us when we’re worshipping, and not focusing on actually praising him. It was good stuff. I put then ten singles I had been given into the offering plate when it came around. Service ended, and I headed over to the babies room for the second service. Last week was apparently a bit of a disaster during both services, all the babies were crying and we were very understaffed, so this week we had a record number of 6 people in the room, and ended up with 6 babies, which is about as perfect of a ratio as you could ask for. I held one little guy for a while, then switched over to another after he got a little fussy. but by and large almost no baby cried for any somewhat substantial period of time, which is like a freaking miracle, or at least positive karma coming back after last week. So that was overall lovely, the babies were all oh so cute. Service ended, I start on my way home, got some time to kill between the train and the bus and it is COLD outside, so I stop into the donut/coffee shop and got what I got from there a few weeks ago, a spiced apple “chai-der” (as in chai and apple cider) drink that is quite good and I can drink for all intents and purposes, so that’s cool. Got on the bus and came home, started on my reading pretty quickly. It was only about 2 at this point, so getting out of church earlier is very nice. Did legal profession, then hopped over to bus orgs, which I got a good chunk of done, and will continue it tomorrow during my down time between meetings and doctors appointments and class (tomorrow will be a bit busy). But I read until 7 pm before adjourning for the night and watching some Mindhunter. I ended up finishing the series, and I guess I was kind of underwhelmed by the ending, it didn't feel like much of a conclusion, and it was kind of like everything just fell to shit, even though we did have some notice they were coming. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel about the characters at this point, but Jonathan Groff did a fantastic job in his role, so that’s good. And after I finished I started getting ready for bed, and that’s about it. Tomorrow I got a brief PAD meeting at 12, then a doctor’s appointment at 2, then class at 5:50, so it should be a little crazy, but ultimately manageable (I hope so, anyway). Alright, I think I’m done for the night. Goodnight my dears. Have as lovely a Monday as Mondays could possibly be.

[gardenbiriety]

i got tagged in this...... ages ago..... and now that it’s like 2 weeks until my folio is due and i’m not even a third of the way thru my product (and abt 1/10 of the actual folio work - we have had the entire year to do it) i thought it would be a dank time to do it!!!!! whoo!!!!! 

THE LAST:  1. drink: a milo!!!!! a hot one bc i love that shit 2. phone call: a camping place to book in for after exams :))))) 3. text message: oh okay thank you!!! (like 50% of my texts are some variation of this lol) 4. song you listened to: shout out to my ex - little mix (rn) 5. time you cried: a while ago? like within a month but over a fortnight ago? 6. dated someone twice: never dated anyone lol 7. kissed someone and regretted it: ^^ 8. been cheated on: ^^ 9. lost someone special: when i was little??? 10. been depressed: yeah the boiiiiizzzzz 11. gotten drunk and thrown up: tbh my only crowning achievement is have a 2 standard drink limit and not having thrown up 

LIST 3 FAVOURITE COLOURS: 12-14. orange, green, pastel purple 

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU:  15. made new friends: yeah m8 16. fallen out of love: idk u tell me pal  17. laughed until you cried: lots  18. found out someone was talking about you: yeS for like the first time ever (that i know of, people probs have before but this is the first time i found out lmao!!! i nut over drama tbh) 19. met someone who changed you: yuh 20. found out who your friends are: yuH 21. kissed someone on your Facebook list: *dabs* i’m a legal adult and have only ever kissed relatives lol

GENERAL: 22. how many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: pre much all  23. do you have any pets: one doggo jensen and one actually feral cat son bellamy 24. do you want to change your name: i fuCKING DID FUCK YEH M8 25. what did you do for your last birthday: got drunk outside with my friends and then got drunk outside with one friend and wanted to cry bc my family used one name in the happy bday song and all my friends used the other lol i want death  26. what time did you wake up: 6.30am 27. what were you doing at midnight last night: trying to sleep?  28. name something you can’t wait for: b.a.p to come back to aus 29. when was the last time you saw your mom: like an hour ago when i made her tea 30. what is one thing you wish you could change in your life: to either nto have anxiety or for my parents to accept my gay trans ass lol  31. what are you listening to right now:little mix!!! glory days album idk which song  32. have you ever talked to a person named tom: regrettably  33. something that is getting on your nerves: when ppl leave the fucking milk out and i get home from school and make a really fucking good milo (with a good milk / milo ratio) (and it’s the right temp if it’s hot) and then the milk is :)) fucking :))) off  34. most visited website: this fucking hellsite 35. mole/s:i don’t think i have any??? 36. mark/s: some scars on my knees, acne? 37. childhood dream: to be a scientist or a singer or in roller derby  38. hair colour: blonde but my brown roots are pre long now? 39. long or short hair: just touched my shoulder + undercut to like just above y ears  40. do you have a crush on someone: idk i have many feelings but idk what they mean lol  41. what do you like about yourself: nothing / jk i have really steady hands  42. piercings: first and seconds on my ears 43. blood type: b pos !!!!! i got a lil thing after i donated blood it was so cool!!!  44. nickname: 'dickhead’ nah jk i don’t really???  45. relationship status: single and ready for death   46. zodiac: taurus/sag/pisces 47. pronouns: they/them or none pls  48. favourite tv show: law and order svu? idk nonE WAIT AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER YES THANK  49. tattoos:none yet :(((( 50. right or left handed: right 51. surgery: i was born? other than that nuh uh 52. piercing: already? said? 53. sport: used to play netball, i also love roller skating so much btu idk if that counts 55. vacation: a lot to qld and yass (nsw) - once i went to america  56. pair of trainers: ??? i own a pair of blue sketchers????

MORE GENERAL: 57. eating: nothing 58. drinking: water 59. i’m about to: go to bed 61. waiting for: school to be fucking over 62. want: money to cover my punk ass until work starts again 63. get married: no  64. career: ??? be gay professionally 65. hugs or kisses: huGS 66. lips or eyes: lips?? 67. shorter or taller: oml wait these are meant for ppl u like lol uhm??? idc 68. older or younger: as long as it’s not a huge gap then i guess?  70. nice arms or nice stomach: just nice 71. sensitive or loud: idk whatever tbh 72. hook up or relationship: i’m too awks and ugly for hookups so 73. troublemaker or hesitant: idK 

HAVE YOU EVER:  74. kissed a stranger: noooooooooo 75. drank hard liquor: not by itself  76. lost glasses/contact lenses: dont’ have 77. turned someone down: ? maybe? 78. sex on the first date: nooo 79. broken someone’s heart: probably not  80. had your heart broken: dont thinks o 81. been arrested: nah m8 82. cried when someone died: yes 83. fallen for a friend: idk 

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:  84. yourself: not really  85. miracles: not.... really...... what’ll happen will happen? 86. love at first sight: no but u can like them lots? 87. santa claus: ofc - i know how it feels to have ppl doubt ur existence to do the same thing would juSt be ruDe /s  88. kiss on the first date:w/ consent sure i mean i probs wouldnt but i’ve also never been on a date? 89. angels: sorry did u mean bang yongguk?

OTHER: 90. current best friend’s name: pheeb and jay!!! 91. eye colour: blue w yellow in the meddlie 92. favourite movie: ROAD TO EL DORADO 

lmao i guess i gotta tag now - @kookieman, @hyuneytea @dleighf have fun thanks for reading even one line of this 

[rb-d2]

An update to the current Alpha Test

The latest version is now version 0.2.10b

Download it over on https://rb-d2.itch.io/wingman

Changes :

VERSION 0.2.10

This is an update I released on the 20th May 2017.

Game Difficulty

I noticed in most playthroughs I have been watching throughout the week , people were struggling to even clear the first phase of the mission due to how skilled the enemy is and the odd behavior of the missiles back in 0.2.9. Naturally I don’t want to make missions impossible or hard for most people. So a lot of things has been re-balanced to make the game less frustrating for newer players. Ideally through this “Clear Skies” level I’m currently trying to find what the “standard” difficulty is for the game.

Now that the first phase of the mission is easier and the missiles have been buffed in general(more on that below). The second phase of the mission has also been amped up in difficulty. Though I may have gone overboard on this so that was addressed in the small update below.

That being said, I’m sure there are people who liked the old difficulty back in terms of how the AI fought. Don’t worry those guys will be coming back in the future as a difficulty option.

(Thanks for recording gameplay footage guys!)

Missile Accuracy

Missile behavior has certainly been odd, especially how the STDM kept missing the easiest shots and hit low probability shots which made them rather inconsistent.

So now, missiles should be much more consistent than before and feel snappier in general. Though do keep in mind this goes across to all missiles so enemy missiles are also slightly more accurate. However to balance out the new guidance system, the maximum velocity the missiles can get to has been doubled. Which should counter out the missiles precise guidance system. I think currently it has achieved a nice balance though there are some cases on which the missile guidance will need more work towards.

SP Module Framework + Flares

This is a new gameplay element I have been toying around with and currently experimenting. I’m mostly exposing it early due to the overwhelming amounts of requests for flares. I suppose why not.

At the moment the only function that is currently available is the “FLARE” module and is not interchangeable. At the moment it has a 7 second cooldown and causes all missiles currently targeting the player to lose tracking.

The idea is to eventually expand these modules to bring in different attributes to equip your aircraft with and . I’ve some ideas on what to bring in for this SP module mechanic and hopefully you’ll see it implemented in the next major update.

New UI Rendering

UI rendering has been significantly changed. Now they are a lot clearer and the majority of the immersive UI elements are now affected by post processing.

Hopefully this means that important UI elements such as target indicators and main HUD elements in the cockpit will no longer be obstructed and blend in with the background. This also means that the HUD in the cockpit is slightly more accurate because now they are in world space and not screen space anymore.

Let me know if you like it!

New Settings Options

New options has been added and a couple of settings has been altered for technical reasons.

Cloud Resolution Settings

Cloud resolution settings has been altered. Now instead of having 64,128,256,512 as the resolution options. it’s now 128,256,512,768.

I’ve noticed that on 512 resolution that distant clouds could appear somewhat pixelated on a lower FOV settings. This was the recommended settings given to me from the TrueSKY documentation. However seeing that people are getting fairly decent frame rate on max settings on the old setup, I’ve decided to bump it up to 768. It eliminates most of the pixelation that occurs at a long distance without a lot of performance drop off.

The difference between 768 and 1024 was quite negligible so I’ve decided to not have it on 1024 due to performance reasons.

Subtitle Placement

I’ve received a few requests on subtitle placement. I’ve added the option to have the subtitle placed on top.

Let me know if there’s an issue with the subtitles with weird aspect ratios.

Minimalist HUD

I’ll admit leaving the minimalist HUD in a default checked was ab it of a mistake in 0.2.9. The radar vanished on both nose cam and cockpit cam making it difficult for people to figure out the radar if they don’t go check into the options screen. So for now, the minimalist HUD will include the minimap.

I will however introduce a minimapless option for the cockpit screen in the future.

Controls settings

There’s not much to be written here. But resetting the controls back to default is now functional and bugs related to mouse bindings and other things has now been fixed.

Map Update

The landscape has been significantly altered for “Clear Skies”. I didn’t feel like the plateaus in the previous version really represented the region I wanted to make so I’ve decided to put that kind of environment in the backburner for now and save it for later.

Headtracking (Experimental)

I’ve added a headtracking option in the gameplay options section. It’s still highly experimental and at the moment only supports the FreeTrack protocol.

If you have a freetrack IR setup please let me know how it goes. Thanks!

I will try to contact the TrackIR folks in the coming days to see if I can grab an SDK off them and implement TrackIR support to Project Wingman. Stay tuned!

Targeting algorithm Change

When changing target it now prioritizes targets in front of you and then if there are no targets in front of you, it now looks for the closest target within the vicinity. The radius of whats in “front” of you has now been severely narrowed. I’ll have to see how this goes in the future.

It still needs more work but I hope this change makes the targeting easier to use.

Balance Changes

A lot of gameplay values have been changed for the game.

SAA and MLAA now take longer to reload.

Default STDM count has been increased.

SAA and MLAA count has been decreased for every slot.

Added IA-52′s during the third wave of the first phase.

Reduced the skill of the enemy during the first phase.

Increased fighting ability of the enemy in the second phase.

Doubled the missile maximum speed. Acceleration is still the same as before though.

Increased maneuverability of the SU-27.

Increased Acceleration and Deceleration of the SU-27.

VERSION 0.2.10b

I’ve decided to combine both 0.2.10 and the b version blogpost due to how close i’m releasing them.

Second Phase (QF) Encounter

The enemies in the second phase of the mission has been slightly nerfed due to how difficult people have been finding it. Will be reintroduced in the future as a difficulty option.

Targeting algorithm Change

I’ve increased the radius of what the game will think of what is in front of the camera. So now targeting should feel much more consistent across the board.

Stalling behavior

Just a small fix I’m putting out for the stalling behavior. I’ve noticed that the plane always stalls constantly if there is no throttle or brake being applied. This was not intended and has been fixed.

Fixes

Fixed nose cam issue where it doesn’t lerp the camera anymore.

Miscellaneous stuff

Some stuff that Project Wingman has been featured in. I also did an interview in some of them :)

http://kotaku.com/a-new-jet-combat-game-for-the-pc-1794819914

http://www.capsulecomputers.com.au/2017/05/a-chat-with-project-wingman-developer-rb-d2/

https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/58500236/retro-live-2017-issue-2/41

I’m currently working towards the final alpha/demo milestone for Project Wingman in preparation for a Greenlight and Kickstarter campaign. Hopefully it can represent what we’re currently working towards.

I will try to increase the frequency of development related posts now. And hopefully from now on I can release semi regular patch fixes and updates to Project Wingman.

Anyway, that’s it for now. If you’ve reached here through that wall of text I thank you very much for your attention. Hopefully I can continue to deliver on your expectations with Project Wingman.

- RB

Questions and Answers

As usual, I’ll try answering them as best as I can.

Thanks!

The other planes is simply not ready and I didn’t want to showcase it in this demo because it would feel incomplete compared to the rest of the game.

Hopefully I can bring some of them back in a reasonable amount of time.

(Mind you i’m operating on borderline valve time)

It’s been addressed in 0.2.10! Please check it out and let me know what you think of it! :)

Will do, I’ll see what i can do in the future :)

Yes! This is going to be completely reworked and will be the second and final scenario for Project Wingman Alpha.

I can’t say when it’ll be released again but I’ll make sure to make a big deal out of it.

Hey, try updating your drivers if you haven’t already. There is an issue with old drivers if you haven’t updated it.

Feel free to contact me over at wingmangamedev@gmail.com or DM me in tumblr if you want further troubleshooting help.

Thank you!

Trust me, you don’t want to see the spaghetti on this thing.

Yeah, new difficulty options and enemies that are even better than current enemies are currently planned. They’ve been nerfed for this latest demo but it’s because I’m currently trying to balance it for the regular difficulty. Stay tuned for difficulty options!

You can count on that!

SOON

At the moment it’s Km/h.

I’ll be adding Imperial options eventually.

No plans for console release right now.

Hey there, Starting from 0.2.10 there is a dedicated flare button.

Let me know how it goes.

Hey there, This has been fixed in version 0.2.10. Let me know how it goes!

I did, and I’ve changed it again 0.2.10b. Please let me know if it fixed your issue.

Yup, this was a bug. It’s fixed in version 0.2.10b.

[datheetjoella]

QUESTIONS GALORE (SORRY, I AM A CURIOUS KITTEN 🐱): 6, 17, 19, 23, 30, 31, 39, 41, 42, 45, 46, 51😊💕

Thank you for sending me questions, Anon! Don’t worry if there are many, I’m glad you’re interested, haha ^^

Fanfiction Questions

6.List your OTP from each fandom you’ve been involved in.

Honestly, the only OTP I have is MakoHaru and I’m really not involved in any other fandoms than Free! but I can give you some other shows and series that I’m not really that invested in besides just watching them but like some ships that are in them, for example:

- Reina x Kumiko (Hibike! Euphonium)- Otaa x Tanaka (Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge)- Takeo x Rinko (Ore Monogatari)

17. Who was your first OTP and are they still your favourite?

MakoHaru was my first OTP and they’re definitely still my favourite. I’ve had ships before them but those weren’t really OTPs because I definitely didn’t feel as strongly for them as I do for MakoHaru.

19. Is there a ship which you wished you could get behind, but you just don’t feel them?

No, I don’t actually have ships like that. I like what I like and I’m very content with that.

23. Name a fic you’ve written that you’re especially fond of & explain why you like it.

In a way, I’m fond of all of my fics because I spent time creating the story and working on it so the plot really had time to grow on me, but I think “Strength” is still a little special. Yesterday was actually its 2 year anniversary of when I posted the first chapter, and though you wouldn’t say it since there are only 5 chapters out currently, I really love writing this story. It’s intended to be such an emotional rollercoaster and I just love imagining and visualising everything that has happened and what is yet to come. I also really like that I’m the only person in the world who knows how it’s going to end; of course, every other fic is like that too but in this case especially it’s really satisfying. So I hope that the people who read it think it’s a little special too and enjoy the emotional rollercoaster until the end!

30. What inspires you to write?

MakoHaru does. It sounds really cliché but it’s true, when I’m thinking about them I just get the urge to write everything out, different universes and scenarios and all of that. If it weren’t for MakoHaru, I doubt I would have ever started to write and then I would have never found out how much I enjoy it, so for that I’m eternally grateful to them.

31. What’s the nicest thing someone has ever said about your writing?

There are so many nice things that people have said that it’s hard to pick because I love every comment and reaction, but the ones where people say that my fics are one of their favourites and that they’re memorable and stuff like that is really the best and that really makes my day.

39. What is you greatest strength as a writer?

I always find this really hard to answer because I don’t want to sound like I’m tooting my own horn, but going off of what readers have said to me, it’s the way I write Makoto and Haru’s relationship. I’ve been told that it feels loving and real and I really appreciate that, since their relationship is centric of pretty much all my fics.

41. List and link to 5 fanfics you are currently reading:

I’m actually not reading anything right now. I’m trying to focus on my own writing and I’ll pretty much only read a fic if one of my friends posts one, which are almost always one-shots or two-shots so that’s not currently reading. Sorry!

42. List and link to 5 fanfiction authors who are amazing:

Okay I just want to say, there are so many authors who are amazing and just because I don’t mention them doesn’t mean they’re not great, alright? Also, in no particular order, they’re all great.

- saltyaf- tunamayo- KireinaAme- Gariell- uchiuchi

45. What is your all time favourite fanfic?

I don’t have an all time favourite fic, because there are so many amazing fics that I really, really couldn’t choose. But there’s one fic that I always go back to if I want something short and full of feels, and that fic is Retrograde by SpartanSiren.

46. If someone was to read one of your fanfics, which fic would you recommend to them and why?

That’s a really hard question because I know that different people like different things. I would like everyone to read Strength, but I know that there are many people who don’t like or can’t handle that type of angst. If you want loads of fluff with only a little bit of angst, you could read Ray of Sunshine (though I’m also a little hesitant because I’m really not a fan anymore of the first, like 30 chapters of that fic since it’s been so long since I wrote them.) If you want something that feels light-hearted yet still a tiny bit of tension and angst, then you could try my latest fic From Pauper to Prince. If you don’t want to read something that’s quick and finished, then you can try one of my one-shots depending on which one you like best.

So really, it’s hard to say which fic I would recommend because I would want everyone to enjoy my fics and that would be impossible if they like light-hearted things and I recommend them something that is full of angst, and vice versa.

51. Rant or Gush about one thing you love or hate in the world of fanfiction! Go!

Okay I don’t mean offense to anyone when I say this nor am I calling out anyone in particular, but many readers are not appreciative enough of the fics they get to read. I’m not specifically talking about my own readers per se, but I can only use my own experiences as an example. The hits to comments ratio is ridiculous for most fics and I too wish that I would get more comments. I obviously appreciate every comment I do get and I’m really grateful of them and the people who left them, but it’s just so disappointing to watch the hits count go up and up while the kudos and comments stay the same. That really gives me the feeling that people don’t like my work and that is really discouraging. If I post a chapter that I spent a lot of time pouring my heart and soul into it and I get zero comments, sometimes I really feel like I should just stop writing because no one cares anyway. Obviously I continue to write because I also write for myself but it’s just really discouraging. Especially when people say “oh I like your fics” or something and then never reblog my posts about them or leave me a comment, because that does give me the feeling that I’m only a provider for entertainment without getting anything in return. And then sometimes when you do get a comment, it’s nothing but “Finally, update soon” or something like that. Like obviously I’m glad that you like my fic enough to want me to update soon but it makes me feel like some people don’t realise how much time and effort goes into writing these fics, especially since many authors have a job and/or go to school during the day and find every bit of spare time they have to write these fics. 

I know that many writers feel like this and I know many have stopped writing because of the lack of response and I really don’t want that to happen to anyone else. So please, if you love a fic, please let the author know. I know it’s difficult for some people but I promise you that even just a “this was so cute” or “I love this” can really make an author’s day and validate their work. Support your fandom’s fanfiction writers because one day they might have had enough of not getting any response and feel so discouraged that they stop forever.

Alright, rant over, sorry about that. I do really appreciate everyone who reads my fics so thank you and I hope you’ll enjoy my fics in the future as well!

Thank you for asking these questions, Anon! :)

Fanfiction Questions

[huneydue]

answer all of them

1. Are looks important in a relationship?- for me they aren't. I'm more attracted to the way people act towards others, their sense of humor, but I know for others physical attraction is really important. I just don't think that they are. Not for me. 
2. Are relationships ever worth it?- heck yeah
3. Are you a virgin?- 🤗
4. Are you in a relationship?- nope
5. Are you in love?- I don't think I am anymore 
6. Are you single this year?- I haven't been in an official relationship this year but I did have a kinda thing with someone
7. Can you commit to one person?- of course 
8. Describe your crush- funny, cute, sarcastic, sappy, caring, amazing
9. Describe your perfect mate- funny, cute, good flirt to roast ratio, caring, amazing
10. Do you believe in love at first sight?- I believe in being extremely attracted to someone at first sight, but I think that love takes time.
11. Do you ever want to get married?- I wanted to at one point. It just all depends on who I'm with. 
12. Do you forgive betrayal?- not really. It depends on who the person is who does it. 
13. Do you get jealous easily?- oh you betcha 
14. Do you have a crush on anyone?- I do
15. Do you have any piercings?- 1
16. Do you have any tattoos?- I don't
17. Do you like kissing in public?- ehh small kisses are cool but that's it
20. Do you shower every day?- yep
21. Do you think someone has feelings for you?- maybe but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 
22. Do you think someone is thinking about you right now?- heck yeah
23. Do you think you can last in a relationship for 6 months and not cheat?- no one I've ever been with has been able to but I know I can do it 🤗
24. Do you think you’ll be married in 5 years?- I don't think so 
25. Do you want to be in a relationship this year?- if it happens cool but if not that's cool too 
26. Has anyone told you they don’t want to ever lose you?- lots of people 
27. Has someone ever written a song or poem for you?- both actually
28. Have you ever been cheated on?- yep
29. Have you ever cheated on someone?- I would never
30. Have you ever considered plastic surgery? If so, what would you change about your body?- I wanted to change my nose actually bc I really hate it 
31. Have you ever cried over a guy/girl?- oh you betcha 
32. Have you ever experienced unrequited love?- OH YOU BETCHA
33. Have you ever had sex with a man?- ////
34. Have you ever had sex with a woman?- 🤗
35. Have you ever kissed someone older than you?- 🤗
36. Have you ever liked one of your best friends?- I have 
37. Have you ever liked someone who your friends hated?- oohhhh boy you bet I have. I think my friends have hated everyone I've ever liked 
38. Have you ever liked someone you didn’t expect to?- all the time 
39. Have you ever wanted someone you couldn’t have?- unfortunately 
40. Have you ever written a song or poem for someone?- a poem!
41. Have you had sex so far this year?- nope
42. How long can you just kiss until your hands start to wander?- well you see I'm touchy so 
43. How long was your longest relationship?- a couple months 
44. How many boyfriends/girlfriends have you had?- 3
45. How many people did you kiss in 2012?- NONE
46. How many times did you have sex last year?- 0000
47. How old are you?- 18
48. If the person you like says they like someone else, what would you say?- uhh I think I'd just say that's cool tbh
49. If you have a boyfriend/girlfriend, what is your favorite thing about him/her?- I can't answer this BC IM SINGLE
50. If your first true love knocked on your door with apology and presents, would you accept?- I would want to but she doesn't deserve me so no
51. Is there a boy/girl who you would do absolutely everything for?- yes 
52. Is there anyone you’ve given up on? Why?- my ex. I was stubborn and I didn't want to for a long time but sometimes you just gotta give up on people that aren't willing to change 
53. Is there someone mad because you’re dating/talking to the person you are?- I don't think so 
54. Is there someone you will never forget?- tons of people. Everyone I meet usually leaves some sort of impression on me that stays with me 
55. Share a relationship story.- tbh?? I don't think I have many good ones so no thx
56. State 8 facts about your body- my eyes are green, I can move one of my thumbs in a really weird way, my ankles are shit and I roll them all the time, my thighs and stomach are squishy and make great pillows, my cheeks are chubby, my skin is really soft, I have small hands, and I have a birthmark on the back of my head under my hair 
57. Things you want to say to an ex- I wish I hated you but you're always going to be someone I wish I could have in my life and I'm going to always miss you no matter where I am or what I'm doing. And I'll always wish it could have worked. 
58. What are five ways to win your heart?- pizza, animals, trips to the aquarium, cuddles, neck kisses
59. What do you look like? (Post a picture!)- look at my avi 
60. What is the biggest age difference between you and any of your partners?- it was like 2 years 
61. What is the first thing you notice in someone?- their smile usually
62. What is the sexiest thing someone could ever do for/to you?- support me and love me even tho my mental illnesses make it hard to do that lmao 
63. What is your definition of “having sex”?- uh just ya know, having sex
64. What is your definition of cheating?- allowing yourself to fall for someone, whether in love or in lust, while with someone else. Cheating isn't just physical. It can be emotional too. 
65. What is your favourite foreplay routine?- ////
66. What is your favourite roleplay?- ////
67. What is your idea of the perfect date?- take me to the aquarium please 
68. What is your sexual orientation?- lesbian 
69. What turns you off?- dull conversations, people who don't put in effort, rudeness
70. What turns you on?- kindness, humor, a nice smile, a cute laugh
71. What was your kinkiest wet dream?- ////
72. What words do you like to hear during sex?- ////
73. What’s something sweet you’d like someone to do for you?- um not give up on me lmao 
74. What’s the most superficial characteristic you look for?- I don't think I have one
75. What’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for you?- wrote a song for me
76. What’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever done for someone?- I drove to her house and brought her chicken nuggets because she was crying 
77. What’s your opinion on age differences in relationships?- age gaps do matter. A legal adult shouldn't date someone under 18. And age gaps can determine how mature some people will be in the relationship. I think they matter 
78. What’s your dirtiest secret?- sometimes I wear the same bra 3 days in a row 
79. When was the last time you felt jealous? Why?- ummm when this person went out of her way to try and make me jealous by telling me she was gonna kiss her friend 🤗
80. When was the last time you told someone you loved them?- I told Jessica I loved her last night 
81. Who are five people you find attractive?- Jessica, myself, my boy Baylee, Carolyn, and Maura 
82. Who is the last person you hugged?- my little sister
83. Who was your first kiss with?- one of my friends but idk if you can really count that 
84. Why did your last relationship fail?- effort wasn't there, communication wasn't there, I don't think either of us were in it completely
85. Would you ever date someone off of the Internet? - of course

[theechosas]

Shaking it Up in Shanghai: A Review of Shake Shack

Fast food aficionados of SAS, this review is for you.

I arrived at Xintiandi on a Monday at 12 PM without any expectations for taste, service, or environment. My friend and I made our way down the old-Shanghainese road until we saw a long line forming around one of the restaurants located within the Shikumen buildings. On the opposite side, an outdoor patio with small round tables was set up with the majority of its seats occupied. This was Shake Shack. A nearby worker handing out laminated menus (in both English and Chinese) said that the wait would be around 15 minutes. Not bad, considering how just a few days ago, people waited in line for over two hours for a bite of a burger. Shoutout to Admin for a perfectly timed Chinese New Year holiday!

Photo courtesy of Annie Xie

As an occasional burger consumer and fast food plebeian, I must admit that all of my burger standards had been set by Burger King and McDonald's. About two bites into my double Shackburger, said standards had all been shattered. At 68 RMB for a double and 47 RMB for a single, the Shackburger is undoubtedly pricy. But for non-GMO, Australian-sourced Angus beef, this burger is totally worth it. Sandwiched between two fluffy burger buns are two juicy umami patties with tomatoes, lettuce, and melted cheese glazed on top. And of course, topped off with some secret ShackSauce, this burger is simply delicious.

Photo courtesy of Annie Xie

My friend ordered a single Smokeshack (58 RMB for a single and 79 RMB for a double). Described as a "cheeseburger with Applewood smoked bacon, chopped cherry pepper, [and] ShackSauce" on the menu, I felt as though it was a little too greasy for my taste. My friend, however, loved the bacon and thought it added a nice crunch to the overall texture of the burger. Just a tip: the cherry pepper may be a slight problem for those who aren't fans of spice! In the end, she said the burger was amazing for a fast food restaurant, especially since she frequents burger hotspots like Beef and Liberty, Fat Cow, and Charlie's on the regular.

The chocolate shake, in my friend's opinion, was a bit of a let-down. At a high price of 41 RMB, she had been expecting a little more. Taste-wise, the milkshake was chocolate-y enough, but you could definitely save that 41 RMB for something more worth your money.

We both ordered crinkle fries (25 RMB). They're just like the fries at most decent fast food restaurants, but we both thought the salt to fry ratio was significantly better than some other places.

Photo courtesy of Annie Xie

Although we didn't order anything else, there's so much to try at Shake Shack–– especially if you don't eat fast food often. They sell the 'Shroom Burger for vegetarians at 63 RMB (the patty is made from a cheese-filled portobello mushroom), the Shack-ago Dog at 39 RMB (a classic Chicago-styled hotdog), and desserts provided by a partnership with one of Shanghai's favourite patisseries, Al's Baking Co. There's even a Shanghai-exclusive milkshake named the Strawberry Yu(zu) Garden (45 RMB). The menu's description of it says it all: "vanilla frozen custard blended with strawberry sauce and yuzu juice, topped with whipped matcha cream cheese, whipped cream and matcha powder". Perfect for an adventurous eater.

Shake Shack first began as a hot dog cart in Madison Square Park eighteen years ago and now exists in more than 249 locations. With burgers like theirs, it's no wonder why.

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Neo Geo Mini outshines the PS1 Classic, could pave the way for a GBA Mini

But it’s not without its missteps

I don’t know what’s going on with the Neo Geo Mini. Shortly after I got my hands on one, SNK announced that an upgraded Holiday version of the hardware would be going up for pre-order in the coming days. That’s not a good sign. I have to guess that the initial SKU failed to sell as well as SNK had expected, leaving them scrambling to rework the units they already produced into a more marketable package. Their apparent lack of confidence in their product leaves me pessimistic about this weird little machine’s future. 

It’s a shame too, because this is by far my favorite plug-and-play mini console to date, at least in terms of its library. I bought the NES and SNES Classics day one, and I love them to “bits”, but there’s no denying that nearly all the games on each system are outdated. That’s the point of the nostalgia-powered novelty collections though, right? To take a trip in your mind back in time? 

If so, then that’s probably why the Neo Geo Mini isn’t selling. These are not the games that many grew up loving. These are the games that most of us could only afford to play for ten minutes a week at the local arcade, before going home and sinking hours into The Legend of Zelda or Sonic the Hedgehog. That said. there are several games on the console that stand up to the best that 2018 has to offer in their respective genres. Garou: Mark of the Wolves looks and plays better than 99% of today’s fighting games. Metal Slug 3 is still the best looking 2D run-and-gun action game I’ve ever played. There are also plenty of quality games on here that I’d never heard of before. For instance, if you told me that Ninja Masters was as all new indie fighter, and not a Neo Geo title from the ’90’s, not only would I have believed you, but I would have been more than happy to pay $15 for it.

That’s why, despite my love of Jumping Flash and Super Puzzle Fighter, the Neo Geo Mini beats out the PS1 Classic for me this holiday season. It’s also why I am more optimistic than ever that Nintendo will skip the N64 when it rolls out its next Classic console, and will instead jump straight to the Game Boy family of systems. I’ve already taken my Neo Geo Mini on the go with me a few times, and I’m sure people would love to do the same with a similarly versatile handheld/home console pre-loaded with games from Nintendo pre-DS portable generation. The Neo Geo Mini has issues, but its definitely worth looking into once Black Friday rolls around. 

The Setup 

The Neo Geo Mini is a better handheld than it is a home console. I have fairly large hands, but I’ve had no problems with the stick and buttons on the console itself. The screen is also bright and clear. The console doesn’t take batteries, and instead runs off of a USB port, similar to most cell phones. I’ve played it running off my car’s cigarette lighter USB adapter, a mobile cell phone battery, and hooked up to my laptop on the train, and as of yet I’ve had no problem with power supplies, or pulling off special moves in KoF 2002 while on the move.

The optional control pads (sold separately) aren’t nearly as nice. The analog stick is loose and the buttons are loud and clicky. They aren’t impossible to get used to, but its strange that they are such a downgrade from the stick built into the console itself.

In some misguided attempt to replicate the arcade experience, all the games are programmed to have a set amount of tokens for both players, You can tone down the difficulty ,or increase the amount of default lives you have for most of the games, but your starting token count never changes.

These are not arcade original roms though. Most have been altered for the home market to let you save then restart from whatever stage you last made it to. You can also open up the emulator’s menu and activate save states. It’s a pretty weird system that is cumbersome and confusing at first, but that’s easy to forget once you acclimate.

The emulator also has some real bare-bones features, like the ability to turn on pixel smoothing and stretching. It’s extremely small-time stuff, and for the most part, will make each game look different or worse, but never better. With the correct aspect ratio and smoothing off, the games look about as good as they do on the Switch or PS4, at least to me. I haven’t had my eyes checked this year, so maybe I’m missing something, but pressed my face up right up to the screen to look for artifacting, and my 41-year-old eyes didn’t detect any. So that’s good news. The bad news is, the only extras here are a couple of stickers. No in-menu history section, no bonuses, nothing but a instruction booklet for the hardware itself. 

The Games

There are 40 games on the Neo Geo Mini. The console costs about $110, so you’re getting each one for less than $3, about $5 less than what they might go for on digital storefronts, assuming they are available anywhere else at all. They fall under the genres of fighters, wrestling games, run and gun, shmups, beat ’em ups, sports games and unnerving Tetris knock offs. There’s actually only one of these here, but it’s worth mentioning for how bad it made me feel. 

The range of quality here is pretty enormous. Some of these games are a sincere waste of time unless you go in strictly to marvel at how much gaming has changed over the past 20 years. Others are games that I sincerely believe are some of the best ever made. I’ll break them up into three categories (Oddballs, Mid-tier and Classics) and do my best to describe them for you. 

The Oddballs 

Blue’s Journey, one of the oldest games in the bunch, is relic from a bygone era, not unlike a cigarette commercial starring The Flintstones. It has a decidedly launch era TurboGrafx-16 feel to it, with overly detailed backgrounds and very small characters. They don’t make them like this anymore for a reason. It’s generally messy, but in a sort of “manic toddler eating a $1 box of sugar cookies” sort of way. 

Robo Army is so bad that it’s funny, but not that funny. The opening cinematic is completely bananas, promising unhinged Sci-Fi violence on whole other level, but when you finally get control of your character, things slow down quickly. It’s a beat ’em up where you play as a cyborg that can randomly turn into a car, as you blow up other cyborgs, giant dogs that turn out to be cyborgs, and angry cars. It’s clunky and sad, but those with a morbid curiosity for what people used to be willing to play for $.25 microtransactions might find it interesting in a scientific sort of way.  

Mutation Nation starts off feeling similarly janky, but after a few minutes, you’ll see that a lot of the animation here is pretty solid. Charge moves lie at the core of the game’s combat system, which is novel for the genre, and the Akira-meets-Cronenberg character designs are surprising, sometimes genuinely disturbing.

Ghost Pilots is a top down WW2 shmup that was probably trying to leech off the popularity of 1942 and 1943. It’s totally fine, but nothing to write home about.

Crossed Swords is another beat ’em up, but this one plays from a Punch-Out!!/Pato Box perspective. It’s more polished looking that Robo Army, and the RPG elements add some depth, but the combat is a total mess. That’s bad news for a game that’s about, uh, combat.

Puzzled is the Tetris-knock off I brought up at the top. It really makes me appreciate all the little quality-of-life improvements that are found in recent Tetris games like Tetris Effect and Puyo Puyo Tetris. All you can do is move, rotate and drop you paces, so even the most basic of advancements like the T-spin is out of the picture. The game has a campaign mode and different stages, based around trying to free pixies who are trapped under some blocks? I don’t know guys, video games just sort of do their own thing sometimes. 

The Mid-Tiers

Magician Lord is one of the first games I ever blew $20 on at an arcade in order to see it to the end. Playing it now is not that great. In many ways it feels like Castlevania with larger characters, but the controls are just as stiff, making it hard to keep your giant hitbox out of the way of enemy attacks. It’s got a cool transformation gimmick though (you can turn into a dragon, a ninja, or even Poseidon for some reason) and one heck of a creepy womb level. 

Kizuna Encounter is a fighting game that probably started of in development as a two-player beat ’em up. Two of the games ten playable characters are beautifully animated, while the rest are serviceable but unimpressive in their appearances. What’s really interesting about the game is it’s tag team system. Unlike in recent tag fighters like Marvel Vs. Capcom: Infinite, you have to get close to your partner before you can tag them in. They don’t automatically jump in when the character you’re using is out of health either, adding an interesting layer of strategy to the otherwise standard Street Fighter II-style fighter. 

Ninja Masters feels like it was supposed to be the first entry in a series that would work as the Ninja equivalent to Samurai Showdown. They clearly didn’t have a lot of RAM to work with for their ambitions, as the characters are relatively small, but it has some really smartly executed animations. If I were game designer and one of my students wanted to learn how to make realistic, non-pandering breast physics for their game, I’d probably point them to towards Ninja Masters. The whole thing culminating in battle with good old Nobunaga, which is a lot of fun for fans of magical Japanese history games like myself.

Sengoku 3 is another ninja game, a beat ’em up this time, one that’s gotten a lot of praise from retro enthusiasts over the years. I’m not 100% sure why. It’s got good art and a varied cast of characters, but nothing about it really stands out about it. Maybe I’m just unfairly comparing it to the Capcom Dungeon and Dragons games without realizing it. 

Blazing Star (sequel to Pulstar) is a pretty good shmup that works on a upgrade system that extends the length and strength of your charge shot meter. Picking up power ups doesn’t always make your basic shot better, but it does give you the potential to fire off huge payloads of neon energy if you play your cards right. Other than that, a standard sci-fi anime shmup.

Last Resort is more up my alley, with a novel take on R-Type‘s bit system and even greater attention to detail to make the world you destroy feel lived in. The open levels takes place in a city under siege by giant robots, featuring little civilians driving – or even running – away from the carnage in a futile attempt to survive. It’s adorable and sad in a way that few modern shmups bother going for anymore. 

Shock Troopers and its sequel are Ikari Warriors-likes with an added evasive maneuver (a roll or a jump) to get you away from bullets, though it has a fair amount of a cooldown so you can’t spam it. The animation is better in the second one, but some of the backgrounds and characters have a weird pre-rendered look that can be a bit of a turn off, whereas the first one has more consistent art direction overall. Still, both are fun enough if you’re in the mood for some hard boiled co-op arcade action. 

King of Monsters, King of Monsters 2 and 3 Count Bout, are all wrestling games that are a nice alternative for people who want to beat up their friends without having to worry about too much depth getting the the way of the immediate violence. The King of Monsters games are based around Kaiju films, which adds an extra layer of charm if you’re a fan of the classic rubber suit Toho movies of old. 

3 Count Bout plays it more straight faced, but it’s definitely very “videogamey”, as are Foot Ball Frenzy, Super Sidekicks and Top Players Golf, the other three sports games found in this collection. Technical limitations permitted them for going for anything that approaching “realism”, but the sprite-based graphics have a loving, hand crafted feel to them, and the respective designs of each game play like cartoonish approximations of the source material. 

World Heroes 2 Perfect has a special place in my heart, as its has both the most superhuman fake Bruce Lee in the history of gaming and a psychic monk based on Rasputin, Russia’s famous love machine, but I have to admit that it’s not as deep, original, or well crafted as most of the other fighting games here. Still, it’s the best World Heroes game of them all, so if you were ever curious about what the Battleborn equivalent of ’90’s 2D fighters was like, then you’re in luck.  

The Classics

A lot has already been written about the Metal Slug, Samurai Shodown, and King of Fighters families of games, so I probably won’t go on and on about them here. Like I said at the top, I think Metal Slug 3 is one of the best looking games ever made. Metal Slug X/2 and the original game in the series come close behind it. Metal Slug 4 and 5 are notably less visually impressive than the games that came before them, with little in the way of new enemies other than bosses. So you can stop after 3 if you want, but if you don’t, go into the next two with lowered expectations. 

There are only three Samurai Shodown games here, and they stand out as some of the most extreme iterations of the franchise. Sam Sho 2 is is essentially the first game but with more characters. Samurai Shodown IV: Amakusa’s Revenge retains the new and improved sprites and Slash/Burt systems from Samurai Shodown III while (you guessed it) adding more characters. Samurai Shodown V Special is essentially an apology for Samurai Shodown V, bringing together characters from every chapter of the series for one last hurrah.

The King of Fighters games are a little more difficult to break down, as they work as a giant crossover of various SNK franchises. Technically, Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury Special (an enhanced version of Fatal Fury 2) work as their prequels. They are both dated compared to the games that followed, but they have significance. Fatal Fury Special is the first game to officially start the shared SNK fighting game universe with it’s hidden battle against Ryo from Art of Fighting. Real Bout Fatal Fury is also on this collection. I almost put it on the oddities list, as its weird, three-plane fighting system is pretty strange. In the end though, I threw it here with the classics because it’s definitely a significant part of the evolution of fighting games. 

From there were have King of Fighters ’95. ’97, ’98, 2000, and 2002. The offer a nice overview of how the franchise evolved during the height of popularity enjoyed by fighting games in the late 90’s into the early 2000’s. From a visual perspective though, they largely pale compared to The Last Blade 2 and Garou: Mark of the Wolves. For my money, they are the two most beautiful SNK fighting games of that era, or any era for that matter.

[These impressions are based on a retail build of the hardware provided by the publisher.]

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      reviewed by Jonathan Holmes

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