Star Ocean First Departure R on the Nintendo Switch.

Star Ocean First Departure R It’s a remake of Star Ocean: First Departure from the PSP, which itself was a remake of the first Star Ocean for Super Nintendo. So it’s a remake of a remake? (Remakeception!!)

Anyway, I have been playing the heck out of this game for the past week or so (probably the past two weeks). And by heck I mean five hours of playing time, according to my save file. Five hours doesn’t sounds like a lot but it does feels like its been.

My only thing with this game is that, it’s a classic RPG, there’s no guidance except for some information of course through dialog with almost every NPC in the game. And if you step away from the game for a long while, good luck finding your way back into the game, since there isn’t a log system or anything that tells you what you did and what to do next. Or at least I haven’t found anything of the sorts. It reminds me of the days of Final Fantasy VII.

I am very impatient so I find myself YouTube-ing walkthroughs whenever I get stuck and find myself just wondering around like a yahoo and fighting random monsters for no reason other than xp and monies.

I have probably lost my touch with this type of game. Maybe is the reason I have never finished Breath of the Wild for example. Exploring and adventuring it’s something I lack patience for nowadays, I need the game to hold me by the hand and show me where to go and what to do next. I’ve become lazy.

Still I am enjoying the game, until I get to a point where I can’t either figure out what to do or how to beat a boss. Which at that point I will most likely rage-quit the game and damn it all out!

‘Screenshots from the Nintendo Website’

The End.

Name: Twelve Gauge Imperial Stout (Bourbon Barrel Aged)
Style: American Imperial Stout
Brewer: Payette Brewing - Idaho
ABV: 10
IBU: 23 Rating: 5/5
Notes: Of the local breweries, this one is my favourite!

After a nine month slumber, Twelve Gauge was transferred from Old Forester Rye Whiskey and Wild Rose Bourbon barrels into kegs and single-serve 19.2-ounce cans. The barrels gave the beer robust and rich oak, vanilla, and maraschino cherry notes to complement chocolate and toffee flavors. Big, delicious and badass.

AVAILABLE 11.29.19 ABV: 10%

IBU: 23

Hops: Bravo, Chinook

Malts: Brown, Carafa 2, Carafa 3, Caramel steam, Dark crystal, Midnight Wheat, Munich, Pale, Roasted Barley, Rye, Toasted Oat, Victory, Wheat

Aged in: Old Forester Rye Whisky and Wild Rose Bourbon Barrels

Glassware: Snifter

In an effort to be more engaging in other social media, I have been making some changes. Instead of just liking or favoriting something, I am trying to reach out to whomever posted, whatever it was I happened to like, and say something — engage. And the more I think of this the more I realize that this is coming from my time in Micro.blog. Micro.blog kinda trained me to do so, it encourages interactions, to reach out to others and I think this is a behavior we have lost in other social media places — specifically Twitter. We have come lazy and possibly uninterested in human interaction. It is easier to just hit a heart bottom than to say “thanks” or “I really like what you shared, thanks for sharing”. Someone may make the argument that that’s what they mean by hitting that heart, “thank you”, “I appreciate your tweet/comment/thoughts”.

Maybe I’m recalling a very different twitter. I didn’t have these feelings about it when I first joined back in 2008. It was a place full of back and forth conversations and sharing common interests. There’s was less hate for sure. Or perhaps I am been too naive in way and too idealistic and therefore unrealistic. But it’s what I’d like to see. Then again, like I’ve said before, maybe is either the the Micro.blog-effect or the longing for an “old” Twitter. Also I need to be realistic, I can’t expect someone — that is not a celebrity — with 1k plus followers on twitter, for example, to notice my comment and say something.

Whilst I was typing this, I did deactivate my twitter.

For like 30 seconds! 😅 (wuss!) JK, LOL! I re-logged in!

But really? Do I get anything meaningful from it anymore? I feel like I don’t. I have met great people and have made some really good connections for sure. Connections and friends that I have other means to reach that is not twitter. I guess that’s the only thing, maybe missing someone’s connection in the internet, someone I really like. That would be the only downside, if any.

Then again this might just be me ranting for no reason. Maybe the fact that I forgot my meds the other night (😅). Or maybe the fact that I just finally had it? I’m going to take sometime and reflect on this. Perhaps I’m just overreacting and being a sensitive grown-ass-baby of a man. 😂

IN OTHER NEWS:

I did not forget my meds last night! (Wo-hoo!). And we started watching Dracula on Netflix and it’s, not half bad.

Octopath Traveler for the Nintendo Switch, has been probably the best RPG for the switch I have played in recent years (or for as long as I have owned the Nintendo Switch). Such a great game!

Eight travelers. Eight adventures. Eight roles to play in a new world brought to life by Square Enix. And now, you can enjoy all of them in the new demo. Step into the shoes and live the stories of each of the eight travelers and freely explore the world of Orsterra. Then, carry your choices and adventure into the main game with save data transfer.

Use each character’s special abilities in and out of battle. Break through enemy defenses by discovering and targeting weaknesses. Store Boost Points with each turn and then spend them at strategic times to strengthen abilities, chain attacks, or provide aid. Choose the path you wish to walk and discover what lies beyond the horizon.

Name: Hazey Jones
Style: New England IPA
Brewer: McCall Brewing Company - McCall, Idaho
ABV: 8.5
Rating: 4/5

Now that I am back at using my MacBook Pro as my main device - wish. I have gotten a Setapp membership (again). Well, I am more like on the trial version so far, I want to know it really works form me before committing to an on going membership. So far I have installed Ulysses and Diarly. Now, the fun begins, specially with Ulysses, learning the keyboard shortcuts and such! Part of me tells me that I am going to end up back with Drafts most likely or iA Writer if I really wanted to use a stand alone dedicated text editor.

Remember, it’s January , the first 31 days of 2020 and a trial period for new stuff. (That’s what I keep telling myself to justify my sickness lol)

Federico Viticci:

The new Twitter layout on iPad is, as I feared, a design catastrophe. It’s worse than before – now I get to stare at horrible world news all day, right there in the sidebar. And I have to keep using the official app because it’s the only real Twitter experience these days 🤷‍♂️

I very much disagree with this but we are all entitled to our own opinions. To me a reall twitter experience would be more real interactions with people regardless of the app. I very much dislike the, you interact with someone and all you get it’s a “like” ❤️ twitter way of interact. There’s very little engaging. I mean, I get it for some people with thousands of followers it’s maybe the most manageable or easiest way to do it I guess.

Ged Maheux:

Uh yeah, as you would expect I totally disagree. Twitter is what you make it and you have options.

🛎 (ding)

Well, everything I said I was gonna do on January first, about the apps I was going to commit with, all my systems and such. Well, it all wen to _La_Puta!

I don’t know why I did this but the fact remains, I made the mistake of watching one of those “What’s on my iPhone” type of videos. Yeah, big mistake! Now there are all these apps and systems that I want to play and or experiment with. I mean, the new decade just started — with the year 2020 — and by my book, I have a 31-days-trial period to see how this year will be. So I figure it’s justifiable to experiment with other things before moving forward and commit. No?

First app (or System) that I would like to experiment with it’s Notion. I have tried to dip my toes on this app before but never really lasted very long. At the time I found it a little confusing. It really can be a lot confusing if you don’t know what you want it to use it for, at least to me. This time around though, I think I have a better idea of what I would use it for, so let us see.

When it comes to task managers (🛎), I still would like to continue using Things, but something tells me….There is this voice in my head that keeps telling me I should use Todoist. But, I did say I was going to commit to Things so we will see. (I just re-installed it back by the way 🤫)

I am going to start using Castro as my podcast app of choice. I know why I love it but can’t remember why I stopped using it. I have been using Overcast lately.

Also, I went back to Fantastical, at this point it is muscle memory and it works perfect for what I need it and, yeah, there’s that, if it ain’t broken why fix it.

Check back on January 31st and see where we landed with all this!

IN OTHER NEWS:

I was listening to the latest episode of The Talk Show by some guy, named John Grubber. I believe the name of the episode is ‘My Cousin Hans’. Honestly, it should have been called ‘Flabbergasting’, I don’t think I have heard that word used so many times in one episode! 😅

Well today Marley and I went on a date — to the grocery store. I know, not the most exciting place. One funny thing though (funny to me that is). As I was picking up a packet of ground turkey, all of the sudden, I hear. “Uh, I love your shoes!”. To wich I was so ready to turn around and say “Well, thank you!” Well as I should have known from the beginning, it wasn’t directed at me but to Marley. I guess princess shoes will wind every time! 😅🤙🏼

Starting 2020 the right way? Well, this is not a The-iPad-doesn’t-work-for-me type post. Please allow me explain before you all judge me (😅).

I handed the 11" iPad Pro to my wife. Like I posted before, 98% of the times I interact with iOS it’s on my phone, the iPhone XS and very little on the iPad. Even though I carry the iPad with me at all times, still doesn’t get used as much. Most of the time when I have used it (or still use it) it’s for reading, usually comic books.

That being said, my wife has been wanting to get her own iPad for a while. So I have decided to save her the money. This morning I restored the iPad Pro and made her set it up for her with the condition I could install Comixology. So the iPad isn’t leaving the household, it just has a different iCloud account now and will actually get some use.

Now I am using the MacBook Pro more often and to be honest I kinda missed it. And now that Drafts for Mac got actions support, I feel like my blogging workflow is complete again on the Mac.

There are two things that I want to commit with here. I want to do more books, as you can tell there most likely be audiobooks. So, less podcasts, more books! Second, my task manager (🛎). I was really considering go with Todoist but another thing I want to do this year is reduce the amount of subscriptions I have. Which is why I am going to go with Things 3. But I’m committing this time, I won’t have OmniFocus or Todoist installed, you know, “just in case”. Plus my Todoist subscription expired today anyways 😉.

And another change, it’s a minor one though, my calendar app. I’ll be honest I much prefer the stock one but I feel like it’s a pain in the buttness to navigate it and create events. To change from list view to the calendar view and so forth. Which is why for as long as I can remember I’ve been using Fantastical but it’s gotten old now. Hence why Calendar 366 it’s there. It’s like a younger version of Fantastical. Don’t quite like the name but meh!

And I think that’s it. Everything else will remain the same and most likely change by the end of the month 😅. We shall see.

I don’t know what it is yet, but I feel like I want to make some _very _ drastic changes for 2020. The problem is that I don’t know what it is or they are. Is it my blog hosting platform? Do I want to close Instagram? Twitter maybe? Habits? I know I have the “change everything bug” but can’t think of what exactly. El-oh-el, it will come up eventually.

🍿 Resident Evil: Apocalypse

After narrowly escaping the horrors of the underground Hive facility, Alice (Milla Jovovich) is quickly thrust back into a war raging above ground between the living and the Undead. As the city is locked down under quarantine, Alice joins a small band of elite soldiers, led by Valentine (Sienna Guillory, Love, Actually) and Carlos (Oded Fehr, The Mummy Returns), enlisted to rescue the missing daughter of Dr. Ashford, the creator of the mutating T-virus. Its a heart-pounding race against time as the group faces off against hordes of blood- thirsty zombies, stealthy Lickers, mutant canines and the most sinister foe yet.

Name: Wood-Aged Bitches Brew
Style: American Imperial Stout
Brewer: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery - Delaware, US
ABV: 9.0
Rating: 4/5
Notes: A fusion of a Russian Imperial Stout aged in American oak and an Ethiopian Tej Honey Beer aged in Paraguayan Palo Santo Wood. A little Smokey for my taste but it’s good

Name: Dark Hollow Artisanal Ale
Style: American Imperial Stout
Brewer: Blue Mountain Brewery - Virginia, United States
ABV: 10
Rating: 5/5 Notes: Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout. Dark Hollow blends the miracle of two crafts–brewing and distillation–to create a work greater than the sum of its parts. An Imperial Stout has been aged in charred American oak bourbon barrels still dripping with uncut whiskey. For 100 days the young beer patiently breathes in and out of the wood, gaining complexity, character, and serious attitude.

With the new year coming, I am making a few changes in the way I interact with my technology and social networks (the 2 I’ve got left) but mainly with twitter. I will stick to a third party client and disregard the existence of the official app, so, if you follow me and happen to like/agree/identify with something I have tweeted/posted, please, reach out and engage, like a human, I won’t see your likes or retweets, they’ve got no value to me, your actual engagement does.

B(o_O)ts:

Inspired by The Mandalorian show, I wanted to try to build a Lego TIE Fighter with folding… wings? Solar panels? Whatever they are, they fold. For some reason the cockpit glass didn’t render clearly. ‘Member when TRoS didn’t look this cool? #StarWars #scifi #spaceship #moc

I’m kind of glad I stumbled upon this account, I love seeing stuff like this.

Turns out he also has a Flickr account one case you aren’t into the Twitters. 🙃

Name: Dark Star
Style: English Oatmeal Stout
Brewer: Fremont Brewing Company - Washington, United States
ABV: 8.0
IBU: 50
Rating: 4/5
Notes: Dark Star is inspired by the wandering tribes scattered through the terrible journey of time and space and adrift in the dark matter between the spaces of then and now. Dark Star is a dark, mysterious yet silky oatmeal stout of grand proportions balanced by a firm hop handshake.

Down & Dirty: 2-Row Pale, Roast Barley, C-60, Carafa 2, and Chocolate malts with Flaked Oats and Magnum and Willamette hops.

Color: Black Aroma: Dark chocolate, caramel, coffee Flavor: Espresso, cocoa, roasty

Finally got to play a little bit of Death Stranding this morning, and quickly realized two things. One, I don’t understand what’s happening and what kind of world this is, yet. And two, I need to play this while the girls are asleep. Seems like this will be one of those games where I really need to pay attention.

Also, this game is a visual work of art, so far. Color me intrigued and excited about this game.

Name: Narwhal Imperial Stout
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Brewer: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. - Chico, California
ABV: 10.2
IBU: 60
Rating: 5/5
Notes: A malt-forward monster, highlighting the depths of malt flavor.

Narwhal Imperial Stout is inspired by the mysterious creature that thrives in the deepest fathoms of the frigid Arctic Ocean. Featuring incredible depth of malt flavor, rich with notes of espresso, baker’s cocoa, roasted grain and a light hint of smoke, Narwhal is a massive malt-forward monster. Aggressive but refined with a velvety smooth body and decadent finish, Narwhal will age in the bottle for years to come.

Name: King of Norway
Style: American Imperial IPA
Brewer: Hopworks Urban Brewery - Oregon, United States
ABV: 7.8
IBU:
Rating: 5/5
Notes: Love the color of it! Pretty smooth for an imperial IPA.

How to Write a Blog Post – Rands in Repose

Randomly think of a thing. Let it bump around your head a bit. If the bumping gets too loud, start writing the words with the nearest writing device. See how far you get. The more words usually mean a higher degree of personal interest. Stop when it suits you.

🛎 (ding)

Love it, especially,

Stop when it suits you.

This week started using my MacBook Pro again and it’s been somewhat satisfying. When I got the 11" iPad Pro I was extremely positive that it’d replace MBP and it some ways — and for a while — it did. I think I can count with one hand how many times I used the MBP since I got the iPad, at least at the beginning. But most recently I have realized that all my iOS interactions are 90% of the time using my iPhone XS. And it’s not that the iPad lacks functionality or anything like that, it’s just an accessibility matter? Like my phone it’s with me at all times so it’s easier to just take it out of my pocket and do the things.

But when I’m home and want to do something that is not on my phone, I have been going to the MBP and not even considering using the iPad. Again, maybe it has something to do with the fact that the Mac 💻 it’s on the kitchen table, right there in front of me whilst the iPad it’s in my backpack 🎒. It is definitely a weird thing and it’s not a thing about one it’s better than the other, it’s just is (el-oh-el).

The thing is, as of right now, I am a little torn between to stick to one or the other. Specially since Drafts for Mac got actions support (chef’s kiss 😘👌🏼). The iPad it’s still a piece of tech that I still enjoy using, when I use it, so I don’t want to ‘let it go’ yet. The thing I appreciate the most about the iPad over the MacBook 💻, it’s portability. It’s easier to carry my massive HP work computer and the iPad Pro in my backpack than two laptop computers, especially when traveling for work.

Again, it is not that I can do better work on one device over the other, I can do the same kind of work on both devices, actually, in all three, including the iPhone.

I have the first generation AirPods and they have been the greatest piece of Apple technology I have bought. They have served me well and I carry them with me all the time. But now, it’s like, I just don’t like them anymore.

Why? Well, let me explain with the best of my abilities (😅). I think the first thing that made me ‘not like them as much’ anymore was when I got my Power Beats Pro. I got these exclusively for the gym, the regular AirPods were always falling as I moved around and when running sometimes. So the PBP are perfect, and the sound quality was/is much much better than the AirPods.

Second, the release of the 3rd generation aka the AirPods Pro. As I was traveling recently I actually saw a few of them in the wild, actually many more that I would expected to see. And they look so much better than the regular AirPods, they look nice and much less conspicuous, the stem isn’t as long as the regular ones so they don’t stand out very much. And I like that very much. It kind of very much ruined my regular AirPods for me, now I feel like I have this PBC pipe hanging from my ear (😂).

All of that and also they are starting to show their age. One AirPod it’s lauder than the other, even though I have ‘suck it up’ and clean them often. Battery doesn’t last as long and, again, they look ugly now!

However, I don’t see myself buying a pair of the Pro’s anytime soon. I mean, I got my PBP a few months ago and I paid 250.00 USDs for them, I’m not ready to spend another 250.00 USDs on the AirPods Pro just yet.

Who knows? 🤷🏻‍♂️

According to Nintendo, these are my most played games of 2019.

Yes, I played many hours of these three games, one I’m still playing it — Pokémon Shield. But my true favorite game of 2019 for the Switch it’s KATANA ZERO

As frustrating and difficult as this game can be, I love everything about it! Love the retro look, the action, the music, the colors, the blood (lol), everything! Sadly even though I have so much love for this game, I rage quit it! One day I’ll give it a go again and finish it.

For the Xbox One, it’s definitely Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.

I played this game, finished it and started again. I have spent some much money on extra gear and other items. I have over one hundred hours played in this game. I’m a huge fan of the AC series but this game blew my mind!

For the PlayStation 4

Well I didn’t play a lot of PlayStation 4 this year. Mostly was spent between the Xbox and the Nintendo Switch. Probably the last game I played on it was Kingdom Hearts III

Which I kinda drift away from it, because of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey but I’m sure this would have been my pick for this year if I would have stuck with it.