Today I was browsing the PlayStation Store, as you do, and noticed that the was a trial for OlliOlli World as part of the PlayStation Plus Premium Plus-Plus thingamajigger sub. It is a one-hour trial and I played about 30 minutes of it. That is basically the first 5 or six stages that serve as a tutorial for the game. 

OlliOlli World is a bold new skateboarding action-platformer that’s bursting with personality.

Traverse a delightful and weird world as you take on missions, and challenges and make new friends along the way.

Experience the accessibility, depth, and player freedom as you dive into the signature flow state >gameplay of OlliOlli World.

OlliOlli World marks the third entry in the critically-acclaimed OlliOlli series from Roll7, the BAFTA and multi-award-winning independent studio. 

The art alone in this game is what got me, I have had this game on my Nintendo Switch's wishlist for a while, it had been on sale and still passed on it. Hence why I wanted to check it out. I mean, it is fun, and the character creation is fun, I kinda liked that there is no gender selection for the character, it all depends on how you dress the character up. 

The music is pretty awesome, and the stages look and feel amazing. Given the style, the music, and the vibes this game gives, it'd suggest an easy relaxing game. Well, I guess that depends, if you have played games like Alto's Odyssey, well there's a lot of that. I am always expecting the next obstacle to come so that, at least to me, is cause for some stress. I guess because of the control mechanics, I am not entirely used to it. then again, only 30 mins, I would assume it will become more natural as you go.

I might end up purchasing this game and definitely, it'll be on the Nintendo Switch. Now, the question is, do I wait until is up for sale again, or not?

The truth is, the iPhone mini is just too good a product–and a size–for Apple to ignore completely. I’m . still sad that it’s apparently not popular enough to merit a new version every year, but I can’t believe it’s gone for good. In the meantime, I’ll be holding on to my iPhone 13 mini–and waiting on the mini’s inevitable return.

I truly love my iPhone 13 mini and although I am always skeptical about rumors, it is a possibility that there won’t be a 14 mini.

Source: Why I’m skipping the iPhone 14 | Macworld

Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes on the Nintendo Switch.

Step into the shoes of Shez as they join Edelgard, Dimitri, Claude, and other Fire Emblem™: Three Houses characters and fight for the future of Fódlan. Align with a leader to build and command an army in strategic 1-vs.-1,000-style battles. The house you choose will bring you through one of three compelling stories, each with a different outcome.

Welcome to another episode of, what game I have been playing?!

I am still trying to wrap my feelings around this game. I am about 4 to 5 hours in this game at the time of this typewriting. I have been anticipating this game, mainly for two reasons. One, I love Musou hack and slash action role-playing games, the OG's for me being Dynasty Warriors and the Samurai Warriors game franchises. And two, I like the Fire Emblem Franchise as well. FE's Warriors series replaces its tactical role-playing kind of game with musou hack and slash while maintaining the essence of what makes Fire Emblem a great series. I played the heck out of Fire Emblem Warriors, I have almost 50 hours easily. I unlocked every scenario, played all the DLCs, unlocked every weapon, etc. So getting into Three Hopes was expected. 

I never really got too far into playing Fire Emblem: Three Houses, which this game is basically based on. I also felt like FE Warriors was a lot simpler, as far as the game mechanics and the quality of life in general. Whereas FE: Three Hopes, seems more complicated in some regards, you have a world (or war) map, in which you can pick between main missions and side quests. You also have a camp, where you have Item stores, blacksmiths, armorers, training facilities, and anything and everything you'd expect to find in your typical RPG game. There's much more to it than just hacking and slashing your way. There is also much more strategy involved in battles, sending the right units to certain spots in order to seize the battle. In fact, I am currently stuck on a mission because I keep failing at defending and keeping alive three different people, sorry guys, I am as bad of a strategist as I am as a friend, I will let you die!

Dialog, good-god there's a lot of dialogue in this game, the story overall compared to FE: Warriors is far more complicated and elaborated. It is also like watching Game of Thorne minus the titties, but there are dragons! Again, it is a more robust story in this game.

Again, I am only about 5 hours in and I am sure I will discover more things but for whatever reason, even though my character is level 25 or something like that, at this point in the game, I still feel under power. There is something I am sure I should be doing that I haven't done yet. Going back to FE Warriors, I was always, overpowered. I am sure I'll get to God-level but it is taking me more time. That or I am just extremely impatient.

There is a Demo available for the game in case you are on the fence about getting this game. I do hope I'll stick with it and don't get bored, or discouraged in some way.

We shall see, stay tuned, same Gabz-time, same Gabz-channel.

I should probably start giving these "Volumes" again.

Asura's Wrath on the Play Station 5 via PlayStation Plus

This game was released back on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 days, back in 2012 to be exact.  This game had always been under my radar, I mean, this game hits all the correct stokes for me: mythology, Hindu and Buddhist mythologies in this case, ridiculous over-the-top fights, and a completing story. If you have played games like Devil May Cry, and Bayonetta, this game, is right up there. I cannot remember why I never played it back then but I am glad I have finally got to it.

I have recently signed up for Play Station Plus Premium, just to try it and see if it's something it might stick to or not, and this game is included. It is a stream to play which I don't know how I feel about that, I much rather download it and have it available this way, but, oh well.

The story is presented in the format of an episodic Anime series (very Anime-like), including opening and closing credits, recaps, and previews of the next episode. The game follows Asura a demigod seeking revenge on other demigods who betrayed him. The story so far has been very compelling and it's doing a good job and keeping me engaged in what's going on and where it's going. 

The graphics on this game do hold up pretty well, I mean it's a 2012 game. As I had mentioned before, this game is very over-the-top, the fights are ridiculously crazy, and there is a very few hacks and slash fight sequences, it is all about big fights and there are different stages to them! I mean, your first boss battle starts as a regular fight then your take on his one gigantic finger going down to earth to smash you. If you have played games like God of War, well every fight is kinda like that, pressing the right buttons and the right time, sequences, and such in order to completely decimate your enemy.

Personally, as someone that is a sucker for the ridiculous, I'm having a blast playing this game and cannot wait to see what the story unfolds.

The are many good podcasts out there but one that excels over all the others is, the mythical, the legendary show, Hemispheric Views. Please subscribe, and while you're at it, subscribe to One Prime Plus for extra content and stuff. As members of One Prime Plus, one of its benefits, is to suggest topics that they can discuss on the show. A few weeks ago, in their super-secret discord channel, I had suggested or rather asked about what was their process when blogging in their own respective blogs. If you want to hear all about that, go subscribe to One Prime Plus.

Now, it was really interesting to hear how they go about managing their creative process, the behind-the-scenes of each of their blogs, etc. And it made me think a lot about my own process, and, without spoiling anything from the episode I feel like my process these days can relate to most of theirs. I think like for a lot of us, these processes may change over time and very frequently, and also gives us the perfect excuse to try things around and see what sticks.

What is my process or workflow? Well, let's find out because I am not even sure anymore. Especially when I change hosting sites (I know, that's another post). Right now I host things in two different places, Micro.blog and Ghost. The move to Ghost has been very recently and the process to import most of my things was a pain in the buttness (that alone is another post). Short posts and things that need some kind of "logging" go to Micro.blog, Mb is like a second brain.

My main text editor, currently and for the last two years, has been Ulysses, and mostly on iOS and iPadOS, very little on the Mac. And that is the extent of my Apple ecosystem toolbox for blogging. However, I spend most of my day on a Windows PC, so no Ulysses.

I have always considered myself an impulsive, lazy, writer (or blogger). A lot of times my ideas come while I am at work, so it is very easy to open another window tab and start writing. For Micro.blog I use Quill web text editor, simple and yet very powerful. It is almost like using Ghost's web text editor. The best part of using a web editor, for me, is the fact that I have Grammarly's extension installed (I use Chrome, sorry) and that helps with my spelling and grammatical errors. Once anything has been composed, it gets published, and forget about it. Of course, this means no "in-app" record or backup of that post other than its final place.

For posts in Ghost, it is a very similar process, I always have a tab open with Ghost's Control Panel, I go to a "new post" and start typing. At least there is some "in-web-app" record, or backup for these posts.

Tools are nice, apps are nice, but ultimately I really don't care much where I type things. As long as I have the ability to do it from anywhere, my work computer, my iPhone, iPad, etc. And to be honest, once it's published, I care very little about keeping a post in a specific app or folder. Whether I am hosting everything in Micro.blog or Ghost, at the end of the day, to me, blogging, is just another form of journaling. Where I published stories and anything that I find like talking about, even if no one reads it. 

Editor's note: This post was originally composed and posted on 2/29/2022 around 8:20 am  MST. By 1:06 pm-ish, everything changed.

If there are a few things in life that I have always been a junkie for are, watches, backpacks, bracelets, and, most of all, sunglasses. I think I remember my first pair, at least the first legit pair of sunglasses I had as a kid. My dad, being another sunglasses junkie, got me a pair of Ray-Ban Aviators, and that's when it all began...

I have been a Sunglasses junkie since, I cannot count how many pairs and different brands I have rocked throwout the years, colors, and shapes. Or how many have gone lost, stolen and broken.

My most recent purchase, back in 2019 was the New Wayfarer.

Ever since I hadn't purchased any other pairs whatsoever, I was happy with them, they were comfortable, great polarized lenses, and all in all, a good buy.

Until, two weeks ago...

I was traveling for work, I went to Naples FL, then Skokie IL, and somewhere in between, I lost them. No idea when, where, or how, but lost they were and I was sad. Yesterday though, I replaced them!

And yes, they are the exact same ones. Although, I kind of was looking to get the folding ones, not sure why. They did have them in store but the regular size, I got a big face so I need the oversized ones. They offered to order them for me and all that, but they had the non-foldable ones right there and then and I am super-impatient, so, I snagged these.

Part of me may still order the foldable ones, at some point, it is always nice to have a backup I guess. You know, the Rule of Two. In the meantime though, and until then, let us try not to lose these ones. 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge on the Nintendo Switch

The boys are back
The boys are back
The boys are back
And they're looking for trouble…  

- Dropkick Murphys

I have been waiting on this game ever since it was announced, with very much excitement and anticipation. I am a huge fan of classic beat ’em up games. Take Streets of Rage 4, for example, I play that game over and over to this day, and TMNT will definitely be another one that will get played a lot.

I have to mention the opening sequence of this game, oh boy, I was back in my childhood home, sitting on the couch watching the cartoons. It's got that 80s feel to it and I loved that.

The Story, it ain't complicated, I mean, it's the Ninja Turtles, there's nothing complicated about their cartoon stories from what I can remember. You know exactly what this will be about, Shredder is out there making trouble and you are out and about to kick some butt!

You've got your usual suspects, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Rafael. You also got Splinter and April, which are super-cool, and then, once you finish your first playthrough you unlock Casey Jones. I gotta say, Casey is probably my favorite character so far. each character has very unique attacks and combos, you get to level up your character's stats and get more moves as you level up. The game has a co-op mode, and I believe it can have up to 6 players at the same time, that should be fun for some local and online gaming.

The graphics, beautiful full-color pixel art, they are very colorful and very detailed, you can tell they put on some work here. The music's fantastic, I mean you have Tee Lopes making most of the OST, the same guy who's also involved in SoR4. Not only that but also have some tracks where there's some rap-singing which makes the game so much fun to play and enjoy.

Is this game worth it? I'd say absolutely-fkn-yes! If you are a fan of beat ’em ups? Get this game. Are you a fan of the Ninja Turtles? Duh, get this game.

I had a smile on my face playing this game from the beginning to the end. I have listened to the Original Soundtrack multiple times already. I am so thankful this game exists and that is finally out there. I believe is out in every mother gaming system out there so there's no excuse. I mean, you can even play it for "free" on GamePass. to me this is a Switch game, for some reason but I could also see myself buying it for the PlayStation just because.

I don't know if this is a thing for a lot of people, but I have caught myself on this a few times over. Many times, like many of us, I am doom-scrolling the Twitterverse. And every once in a while (or almost every time these days) I will come across something that will enrage me, something that just makes me mad and I pull up my phone or my browser and write something about whatever is that I found. 

I am almost positive we all have been there. It's this impulse to put out there our thoughts in whichever matter or thing without even considering if it's worth our sanity or peace of mind. Or even just replying to someone in a sort of snarky or negative way, just because whatever that said,  triggered us somehow.

That did happen, ish, to me today. I saw an article and I got enraged, I quoted the article with a simple comment and pushed it to my Micro.blog for it to spread not only to my blog but my social media.  

This happened after I read this tweet by Jack and even retweeted it.

  I don't care what you're mad at. I want to hear what you're happy about  

I was like, "what just did, what you just posted, and the way you reacted, goes against the same tweet you just agreed on".  I immediately realized what I had done and deleted it from my posts.

This is not the reason I blog for. I don't blog to let the world what I am mad about or what I disagree about, my blog is supposed to be a happy space, my happy space. To talk about the things that make me happy, to tell stories, and promote what brings me joy.

I guess many times over, I have lost sight of that and it has become easier these days. 

It's being hard.

This post, is a reminder, a reminder of why I blog, why I share what I share. I don't want to write about what I hate, what I dislike, or hot-takes and opinions. I just want to tell stories, journal, and share the things I like.

This was a longass month! Well, more like 10 days. First, my trip to Naples, Florida for grow-out evaluations then immediately after, headed to Skokie, Illinois for the AOSA/SCST Annual meeting. Sunday, I took my so dreaded exam, which, unfortunately, and not to my surprise, did not pass.

Numerous interesting talks and information about the seed industry, new connections, and “friends”. Overall, a good experience. But right by last Tuesday, I was so ready to go home. It had already been a long time away, and it gets old and exhausting pretty quickly.

Today is the last day of conferences, most people are either flying or driving back home. Some of us don’t fly out until tomorrow.

Again, it has been a good experience, next year’s conference is in Canada 🍁. As an associate member of the Society of Commercial Seed Technologists, it is important for me in my career development, to partake in these events. That being said, I will not, if at all possible, combine two trips into one.

And just like that, it’s done. I am finally done with it. No more exam’s related stress, well, now I’ll be anxiously waiting for the results but that’s the least of my worries — now.

Four different tests, four different subjects. Molecular, Genetic Purity, herbicide assays, and AP/LLP testing. I feel like two out of the four I did pretty well, the other two, well I had some troubles.

Although, I was surprised at how much I knew and was able to complete by just real work experience. Studying also helped a lot, obviously. About three hours total, for all four. I should find out about the results for user 22002 sometime this week. My hopes of passing are slim but there’s a chance.

Worst case scenario, I know what to concentrate on or tackle more in my next round.

Now if you’d excuse me, I need a beer and lunch.

Well, this is it, I’m in Skokie, Illinois. Tomorrow’s the day, the day I have been dreading, the RGT exam.

I am not going to lie, I don’t want to do it, I don’t think I am prepared enough. I feel in my heart that I’m going to fail. There’s a little bit of pressure about me passing this exam on the first try. And because of that expectation, I fear that if I do fail, I’m going to disappoint a lot of people, not just me.

I’m also a little spent, I just want to go home.

Funny story

This morning, I woke up, showered, and got dressed, as you do, ready to go out and about in the field. When something strange happened. I got to my rental car, turn it on, and then the sound…

My brand new Mitsubishi Outlander Sport rental sounded like a mustang!!! Super-loud exhaust! A loud broken one. I’ve heard this before, and it clicked in my mind but I didn’t want to accept what was happening. I knew something was “broken” or, missing.

Immediately I called the car rental company and they patched me to this nice lady on the phone. After explaining what had happened she says.

“Sir, you have been a victim of a stolen catalytic converter”

I was baffled, that did confirm what I thought it was but not that it was actually stolen. Stolen, overnight, right at the hotel’s parking lot. Apparently, this is a thing, people do steal, these parts, they, apparently, get a good deal of money for them, precious metals.

So, they exchanged my vehicle but not before I had to drive it all the way to my closest car rental location. It was like driving an old broken Cadillac all over town. So much fun.

I’ve got two more nights down here in Naples fkn Florida, and there’s a tropical storm watch!

Good times, good times.

It is somewhat baffling to me that about two weeks ago, I was in a very nice chill not-so humid place, with lots and lots of pine trees and Deer crossings signs. Now, I find myself in a hot, hot place, extremely humid, and lots of diverse vegetation but mostly palm trees. And rather than Deer crossing signs, Panther’s crossing signs. And you could add alligators and who knows what. No alligators crossing signs, though.

It seems to me like Florida is USA’s mini Australia.

Here is a test. I am putting some words. They always say,

Do not test on your main blog

Eh!

I do what I want.

Some photos.

And that’s it!

At first, I was complaining that everybody was playing Elden Ring but me. Not long ago, I purchased the game. I created a character, and played for about 30 mins, with 15 of those dying. Haven't touched the game ever since. I always find another game to play, neglecting or avoiding the elephant in the room. 

What have I been playing instead? Well, I played a lot of Need for Speed Heat, even after finishing the main storyline. Then I drifted to Trek to Yomi on the PlayStation 5. It is a great game, by the way, black and white art, very noir. With a compelled and grim story, super-fun! I am yet to finish it yet. On the Nintendo Switch, lots of Kirby, both my daughter and I are hooked and I might have started Shin Megami Tensei V while I was at the Oregon coast.

That being said, I got to get into Elden Ring, I gotta grow a pair, as they say. 

I am scared of the game...

For the past few months, it has been a real struggle to get a good-night sleep. Way too many things roaming and hunting my thoughts. I get at best, 5 to 6 hours of sleep, according to my super-secret sleeping tracking application. With the exception of the few nights that we spent at the Oregon Coast, that was a good distraction. Plus, I would spent most of those afternoons sipping on delicious beer so that always help, el-oh-el. 

I am hoping that, once the day of my upcoming test – which is the bulk of my stress – passes, I will be able to mentally relax a little bit, hopefully.

On September 11th, 2019 we had a field trip to the local urgent care with Marley, the one closest to our house. It was a stressful experience, especially for mom, and a terrifying one for Marley. Still to this day, every time she gets, an ouchie, her first question is, is it bleeding?

Yesterday, unfortunately, it was Luna's turn. As much as we tell them to not run around the house, and to pay attention to their surroundings and where they are going, well you know where this is heading.

Both are running, Marley turns around, Lunas is running behind her, Marley doesn't notice Luna, rams her, Luna hits the Kitchen Playset, and both start crying.

Luna is holding her side of the head, I check, and she's got a scratch right above her left eyebrow and it is swollen. We assess, did not look too bad but enough for concern. Once the bleeding was contained, we decided it was best to take it, just in case she needed 'a special band-aid'. This time though, rather than the 'regular' Urgent Care, Annie, in all her wisdom, suggested the pediatric one. It was much further but a much safer bet.

At this point, Luna was, surprisingly calm. She even liked the idea of going to see the doctor. We get to the Urgent Care, checked in, and patiently waited. A few minutes later a nurse lady comes out, takes Luna's temperature, weighs her, and checks her pulse, finally we proceeded to the examination room. On the way to the room, she gets offered a toy. What? Cool! The Nurse explains what is that they are about to do, and gets offered a popsicle.

All this time, Luna has been super-complaisant and not even a single sign of fear. The nurse applies some anesthetic to her wound and put on a clean band-aid. Whilst we wait for the anesthetic to do its thing, she gets offered to watch cartoons, on an iPad.

And here we are, Luna is chilling on her medical bed, watching cartoons whilst sucking on a popsicle. Then a second nurse comes in, "Hello, my name is Allison, we are just going to put some special glue on your ouchie and be done". Luna didn't even emote, her eyes fixed on the iPad (whilst still sucking on the popsicle). Allison turns around and looks at me. "Do I know you, did you use to work at Simplot, with my brother Wes?" And then it clicked! Allison, my friend and co-worker's sister which I haven't seen either of them in a few years now. That was a nice surprise indeed, wasn't expecting that for sure.

Short story long, Luna got all patched up, no traumatic experience, and guess what? She got more candy, and the nurse comes in with a handful of lollipops. Luna starts debating which one to pick when the nurse goes, "grab them all, they're all for you". What? 

Man, we adults get treated like animals.

After what it felt like an eternity driving, we finally made back to the 208s. We had a great time at the Oregon coast celebrating Annie’s and her mom’s birthday. I feel like I’ve drunk Oregon dried of beer (😅). There was so much goodness to try!

Furthermore, our thanks to Jason and Valerie for receiving us at their house. A quick but very enjoyable stop for some bagels 🥯 and mimosas 🍹 before continuing our travels through the wild roads of the pacific northwest until our final destination, the Idahos.

More about the whole adventure later, too tired to post a proper post about the entire trip in detail. But good memories have been made.

Until then, stay classy, you all.

For better or worse, my consumption level has been indicative of my current mental state: the more stressed/depressed I’ve been, the more I consume. But in the past six months or so, I’ve been finding myself consuming the wrong type of content. I’ve been too focused on certain things, and ultimately have come to the conclusion that many often do – this isn’t healthy.  

I am right there with you.  

Source: *Backs Away Slowly* 

…Long long time ago, I can still remember

How that music used to make me smile

And I knew if I had an iPod

That I could make people dance

And maybe they’d be happy for a while…

… So bye-bye, Mister iPod bye

Drove my Chevy to the levee

But the levee was dry

Them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye

Singing, “This is the day the iPod died”

This is the day the iPod died”

– American iPod

Me: Marley! Rice, potatoes, or pasta?

Marley: Pasta!

Me: Okay! What piece of chicken?

Mar: How about cow?

Me: Well, I don’t like to defrost cow in the microwave, so let’s put it out for tomorrow.

Mar: What type of chicken do we have?

Me: We’ve got tenders and thighs.

Mar: Chicken thighs. I’ve never had tights before.

Me: Of course you have. I make them all the time on the grill.

Mar: On the grill? I love it, you make the best grilled everything.

There you have it, peoples. 😂🥷😎

Okay, it is supposed to be spring. You know, flowers and trees blooming, birds chirping, some may say even love is in the air, etc. Although the weather has shown me that this is totally bullshit, however, every once in a while, we do have some nice days, ish. I guess at this point I'll take what I can get. Like Saturday morning, it wasn't particularly nice, not too warm but sunny, enough to finally, do some yard work.

I get my mowing attire (sunglasses included), get the mower out (still gas like an animal, apologies) and my super-not-fancy electric weedwhacker. I always like to start with the weedwhacker, trim the edges, around the curvings and all. Once that part was done, I go to my mower and check the gas level, I also check the engine oil, and all looks fine, time to mow.

Except, for the fact that the pull line snapped! 

Well, that's relatively easy, all I need to do is buy a new line and replace it. Right? A quick stop to my local Low's, and about 5.00 USD later I have a new line. Go home, and installed the line, and it is not retracting. Why, why is not retracting? Well, after further investigation and some frustration, it turned out that the little peace that would hold the coil in place for the rotor to retract also snapped.

So, bout 35.00 USD later and the magic of internet search, I am getting the whole new top assembly. And now I will have a spare pull line.

Also, I gotta add, even if I were successful in replacing the line with no other issues, by the time I got back from Low's and installed the new pull line, the sun was gone and we had a storm. And the rest of this week doesn't look very promising either so who knows when I'll get my yard done for sure, laugh-out-loud.

I love traveling for work, well, not like love, love but I don't mind it. What I do mind though, is travel expenses reports. For weeks I had these two receipts, in my car, apparently and to my best knowledge, safe and secured. "I must not lose these". Well, guess what, them two receipts, I have secured them out of existence! So secured that I cannot find them.