In this first clip, I try to take on a patrol of Hyenas and bit off more than I can chew. I did not expect them to have backup. Couple of things to note in this game clip:
First, the recoil on the AK-47 assault rifle seems to be straight up and slightly to the right. So, if you start shooting at the enemy's hip, the recoil will move your cross-hair up and give you a chance to get a headshot.
Second, using Blind Fire with a Shotgun is extremely effective, especially against Rushers. In the tail end of the video you see my character get rushed by Hyena Rushers. They are buffed with extra health, so a burst from the AK-47 was not even enough to take one down. Running out of ammo on my AK-47 and with the enemy so close, I switched to my Shotgun and just fired away without even aiming. Took down the Rushers just before they got to me.
Rainy Sunday. Attended Mass. Prayed as fervently as I could for a safe delivery for my wife and Baby Caleb. I hope everything goes well. I'm a little stressed out about it, but at the same time, I'm looking forward to getting it over with.
I'm especially worried about leaving Davin at the baby sitter for three nights. I hope he doesn't feel that we have abandoned him. I hope he doesn't resent us for leaving him there for three nights. Also, I hope that he will get along with Baby Caleb when they finally meet.
My wife, Coney, she's scared of her upcoming c-section. I have to remember to do everything I can to make her feel at ease. Again I'm hoping for a safe delivery.
We had lunch with my brother at Chuy's. Davin started devouring their chips as soon as the waiter set the bowl down. I ordered the Macho Burrito. And as usual, it was really good. Especially when paired with their creamy jalapeño sauce.
Got a new PC at work some time ago. That means I lost all the EQ settings that I used with the Creative SoundBlaster E1 external amp/sound card. Thankfully I still have the EQ settings for my Audio Technica ATH-M50 headphones here. But I lost the ones for my Bose Soundsport Wired earphones. Just another reminder to save your stuff to devices/locations that you control.
Anyway, I had to start from scratch with my Bose Soundsport Wired earphones. These earphones are bright sounding earphones. They don't have that much bass to begin with. This is where an external amp/sound card with EQ settings can come in handy. Using the built-in “Rock” preset from Creative, I modified it to add more bass. The result was surprisingly good. This setting sounds even better than any of the previous EQ settings that I've made for my Bose Soundsport Wired earphones. There is now enough bass — more than enough for these earphones — but with minimal degradation to the mids and highs.
Starting to get stressed out. Coney is having her c-section in a few days. We are bringing a new life into this world. I hope that we don't mess up.
Harness height is maxed out on Davin's Britax convertible car seat.
Finished watching The Last Ship. Not a bad ending, though I felt that it was rushed or was somewhat incomplete. I was left with questions like, what happened to the characters after the final battle? What happened to the world after the final battle? Who was the Captain of the Battleship that was hunting down Chandler? Which country did that Battleship belong to? Why was it hunting him down? So many questions, but no episodes left to answer them. On the bright side, it was nice to see old characters make a cameo at the end. Overall I think it was a great show. A good combination of fiction and a depiction of real life in the US Navy.
Took Davin to soccer class. Davin still needs to work on the idea of kicking a ball between cones. He gets it, but sometimes loses focus and ends up knocking the cones over. I don't blame him. In their earlier classes, they were taught to knock down the cones with the ball. Anyway, he just needs some practice.
Arcas is just about to unleash a shot at goal. The defender tries to close in with a sliding tackle, but he's too late.
Arcas is one of the players you get when playing Master League with the original lineup. He's the most expensive player in the lineup. So, you might be tempted to ship him off to try and save money in your salary budget. I think that would be a mistake. If you hang on to him, he will bloom into your team's very own superstar. Later on, he'll have the chance to become a “Legend” at your team.
This post is Day 29 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Visit https://100daystooffload.com to get more info, or to get involved.
Looks like it's been over a month since I wrote a music log entry. And since it's Friday, here's a new one. Today's music log will once again feature piano/cello covers by The Piano Guys. I love listening to their covers. They're always great re-arrangements of popular hits. They make them sound like their own. And they make them sound beautiful. I credit them for my recent appreciation of classical musical instruments, like the piano and cello. That or I'm just getting old. Probably a bit of both. 😄
Anyway, first one for today is a cover of “Just The Way You Are”, originally by Bruno Mars. I love that they simply didn't follow along with the original melody and tune. Instead, they took inspiration from the original song and re-arranged it to where it sounds like at times, an original piece. Beautiful cover of the original.
I'm at the Inquisitor Fortress in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. I'm stuck in a place where I have to fight through wave after wave of enemies. This includes going up against Purge Troopers who are tough in battle. One in particular, wielded a huge sword or hammer, as big as the one that Cloud (from FFVII) uses. That enemy does AOE stun/lockdown damage. Need to be wary of when and where they strike, so as not to get damaged.
In the early fights, the platform splits up into separate sections. I can use Force Pull to cause enemies to fall through the gaps.
I find myself craving silence more and more. I don't listen to Spotify on the way to work some days and I stopped listening to podcasts a couple years ago. I realized that when I listened to podcasts, I wasn't relaxed. It was just too much talking going on in a world where people don't know when to shut up. Again, I say assault on my senses, because that's the way it truly feels to me. It's like my brain has reached a limit on how much intake it can take on any single day.
– From The Quiet by Brandon's Journal
Cal Newport mentioned something similar in his books. Like when people take a break and go out for a walk or run. Most people I see put their earphones on. So, they're most likely listening to music or podcasts. I used to do the same thing. I was taking a break from what I was doing, but my mind was still draped in distraction. Whether that be from the music or podcast I'm listening to, my mind is not allowed a moment of rest. The point being, our brains could use a break too.
Again, I reference back to a blog post I made a few weeks ago about being Disconnected and I wonder if I need to scale back even more.
– From The Quiet by Brandon's Journal
Not sure if you've read them already. But based on what I'm reading in your posts, I think you would enjoy reading Cal Newport's Digital Minimalism and Deep Work books.
This is a cold start video of my daily driver, a 2013 Mazdaspeed3. This is with the stock downpipe, an Ultimate Racing catted racepipe and a Magnaflow catback exhaust.
It's not loud enough to annoy your neighbors. Perfect for keeping you under the radar. Yet it still allows you to enjoy the rumble coming from Mazda's 2.3L MZR DISI Turbo engine.
This post is Day 26 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Visit https://100daystooffload.com to get more info, or to get involved.
Bookmarking this before I forget... again. This is a pretty cool, easy to use, open source virtual whiteboarding tool. It allows you to quickly create workflow diagrams using just a browser.
