Topic: The Chit-Chat Thread

@Eel A game music tournament thread? Well, not really my thing, to be honest, but thanks for the suggestion anyway. I can definitely think of a couple of other people in here who would like to join, though. Or maybe just one...

@TheJGG Oh, no offense, but you don't have to tell me "how the ball rolls" for that matter. Football is my #1 sport besides martial arts, so I'm a staunch follower of both the national competition and international games, and not just EC's and WC's...

As for the WAY too easily granted penalty: in the future, I would vote for in-game penalties having to adhere to the EXACT same rules as after-game penalties: you get one shot, so if you miss, that's that. No rebounds, no second chances. Kane himself even admitted that it most definitely wasn't one of the best penalties he ever made.

And as mentioned to bimmy, I get the whole history thing and the perhaps greater importance of it for Britain as opposed to other countries, but my main thing (and what I expect) is fair play, REAL matches, FULL effort and entertainment value, and after the 1/8 finals, matches got progressively worse and worse, until we got to the "stale-matey" matches of the semi-final, with excruciatingly bad football, and only decisions by penalty or next to last minute decisions. Or "handed on a silver platter" ones, as was the case with the Brits.

I have family in Denmark as well, so part of my heart weeps, especially after what happened to Denmark in the first match, and how wonderfully they came back in the subsequent matches, which showed their viking strength and resolve. Sentiments aside, if we're only looking at what teams actually and truly deserved this, then the final match should have been between Spain and Denmark.

And Denmark's goal vs England was a deserved one as well, and a thing of pure beauty...

@SM3DASislit Oh ok then no, it shouldn't be an issue. I think that dude left, I haven't seen him since after they stopped writing articles.

@Zuljaras It looks so nice, I love the face and the shield, and that paint job is just MMM.

@1UP_MARIO @Snatcher

Thank you both for the nice words!

@SM3DASislit It makes sense, the two biggest gaming series of the 90's in one game is still a cool perk, even if it's just a series of Olympic games.

Definitely, I still remember getting at least one round in for the beta they had. I understood people were mad about the game servers crashing, but that is one of the reasons why testing is needed I feel. Come release day, the game had no problems with servers (at least with me), if servers didn't have a stress test, the launch could have been really bad. It's important to remember betas aren't for sampling the game like a demo, but to make sure things work properly before launch.

My friend just got a Switch, and I got him into Ninjala too. Basically told him, join the Ninjala club we have gum. XD Last night even had a three player private battle between me and my friends.

Not joking, I was considering posting this link in this thread today.

Tbh, the music tournament is one of the most consistently enjoyable parts of the forums and should get more than a handful of people voting in it.

@Zuljaras Yup, yet another home run for Zuljaras...
Here's hoping it ultimately reaches our friend @ogo79 in one piece.

@WoomyNNYes I get issues too, the videos don’t even play. Just a black screen for a thumbnail. Happens on my iPhone and on my Vivaldi web browser on PC. Sometimes, videos work. Most of the time, black screen. Not sure why!

@Eel Well, you were most certainly having a blast locking down YouTube channel threads...

@SM3DASislit
Speaking about sports compilation games, I prefer the Olympic games with real peoples than Mario & Sonic version as long I can customize my whole team appearance. Tokyo 2020 version has more specific customization like The Sims style so I can make muscular characters as my desire.

It's strange, I completely forgot about Ninjala after last year has been released like other games occupied my hype currently. And looks like I have no hype anymore with Ninjala.

@TheJGG Thanks dude.

Here's the super awesome game's page I took the screenshot on. (amazing game, I know!)
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/shopping-mall-parking-l...
I took the screenshot with all add-ons disabled.😠😠😠 (😁😉)
It does it for all games on nintendo's website. It's been like that for two+ years. The video starts ok for 1-2 seconds, it's the red Switch screen/logo, then it devolves into a mess of artifacts.

My stuff's always up to date.
My firefox is currently 89.0.3.
Windows 10.
Wired high speed connection.

I am so, SO glad it's the weekend. Shame it's supposed to be a wet one, but we are about due for some sky water again. It might get a little nasty overnight though.

@BloodNinja Still worth looking into I think. I'm not Hindu either, but I do like reading up on stuff like this. In my case, I try to manage my craziness with lifestyle changes and am trying to ease myself into (short) meditation sessions. My thoughts can be quite a disorganized mess. Wasn't nearly as much of an issue when I was a little kid.

@HeavyArms55 You may have, but it's possible I missed it; sometimes I have a tendency to float off in the middle of a Discord conversation due to some distraction or other and don't always bother to catch up on text if it's a substantial block. I've been using games to escape, relax, and vent since I was a kid. Same with my other preferred form of entertainment: books.

Um...4:15 in the morning? I could adjust to that, but...I really hope you're more of a morning person than I am. XD I doubt I'd be able to speak more than in grunts or single syllable words for at least the first hour. Some days are a struggle.

I only @ ed you once, but it's possible the site also picked up the quote since it flags those for notifications now.

@ThanosReXXX That "third wind" was weird. I've experienced second winds, but thirds are, thankfully fleeting. It's an odd feeling, being so incredibly tired and yet unable to even nod off. It's a shame I wasn't involved in the hobby job at that point; I would've made a very good zombie thanks to sleep deprivation! Ironically, I actually WAS a zombie for two years, in our "Main Street" section before the owners decided to redo the layout.

@Tyranexx Meditation can help find stillness in all the chaos. I've been meditating for 20 years, let me know if you need any tips/methods.

@Tyranexx - Yeah, it’s tough to complain about the heat too much when there are raging wildfires and unprecedented heat waves elsewhere. A couple weeks ago I got to spend some time with a friend visiting from Portland, and he flew back into that heat wave the night before it hit. It was so hot in his apartment that he threw out his canned goods. Really gross. Ours is a special kind of humid, life zapping heat though. It can be tough to struggle through it. You made me snort laugh when you mentioned “innocent vandalism”. If that kind of thing is cyclical/karmic, I have a lot of it coming my way.

@Fujimoto-San - It’s an easy one to get bogged down in and stall out. First time through, I’d blast through it with the intention of just laying some guide stones down along the path for the next reading.

@ogo79 - Yeah, you’re a cool dude and a site legend. I’ll sometimes do a little salt on my melons if I’m feeling that. Sometimes I just want em as they are. I know salty melon fanatics though, are you a salter? I’m so with you on pineapple on pizza, and I’ll take the hate a step further and say that I believe, in 99% of cases, fruit should never be anywhere near other food unless it’s a desert. I love fruit, and I love food; but I do not want fruit on my food. Unless it’s desert.

It’s not even a “man” thing, I will eat some fruit, I just don’t want it near meat, cheese, salads, or, heaven forbid, pizza. Imagine getting a big ole burger and putting strawberries on it. Why would you do that? Who would would ever start doing something like that? You’ve ruined the burger and the strawberries. The person who started putting pineapples on pizza is probably also the first person to eat a crab. They’re both crazy ideas, it’s just sometimes being adventurous pays off, and sometimes you’re eating pineapple on pizza and pretending it’s good so you’re friends don’t know you’ve made a huge mistake.

@Zuljaras - The skeleton warrior looks fantastic. Well done. It’ll be a great addition to Ogo’s collection.

@ThanosReXXX - Yes, it’s rage inducing and gut wrenching when you feel your team lost on some kind of cheap call or technicality. NFL games are prone to this, and I have scars that go back 25 years from games that didn’t go my way. It’s crazy, but it’s part of being a fanatic. It bothers me when it happens in a game I’m watching and don’t even have any emotional investment in the outcome.

An exploded view is a diagram or object presented in such a way that it shows you how the thing is assembled. It’s done in science and medicine, but it can also be done artistically, and you may or may not want to google exploded view taxidermy. Here’s an exploded view of a Switch (I just grabbed this off a google search, it’s cool, not sure who did this):

@bimmy-lee
Wait, never heard before beef burger with strawberry slices on it.
I will try to put strawberry slices on McD beef burger next time.
There is also Chinese cuisine called Lychee Chicken, basically like sweet and sour sauce chicken but it used Lychee fruits as main ingredients and the sauce is clear as Lychee juice. It tastes sweet and savory. I have ever eaten it when we have some party with relatives.

@bimmy-lee Regarding the heatwaves, I didn't realize wildfires/forest were so linked to record heatwaves. In previous summers. I recall northern/arctic areas that have been warming. I think Norway or Sweden in recent years had surges in wildfires with warmer than normal temps.

(regarding that recent heatwave in NW America & Canada, it hit 121 degrees in British Columbia Canada- it is the hottest temp ever recorded north of the 45th parallel. And Alaska hit 92 degrees.)

@Heavyarms55 Ah I see...I'm sure you weren't the only one under that kind of situation though.

@SM3DASislit No harm done in having delayed responses. We all have lives after all. I'm still doing well, by the way! Yeah I think you're right on that Disney thing. Really like how they have all their classic movies and shorts on Disney+ and then some.

@WoomyNNYes I've dealt with that glitch a few times now. I'd rewind to where the video glitching occurs, it was on the same spot, then I refreshed it and it went away. Really weird...I looked it up and one solution I found was to disable hardware acceleration. That's what I've done, hopefully that fixed it. I can't really tell if it's fixed at the moment though, since it seems to be a very rare occurrence. The video glitching did happen on a video that's a few hours long, if that means anything. (Don't worry, I don't watch such videos in one sitting.)

@TheJGG I found a bit of downtime yesterday, but not as much as I would've liked. Still, it was better than nothing. The main thing is I need to become more strict on my bedtimes again lol.

Again, I really need to watch that documentary. As for the locked/unlocked door scenario, that really depends on where you live. Having unlocked doors around where I grew up wasn't uncommon until a couple decades ago. Heck, my parents used to leave the doors unlocked during the day until someone stole some essentials while everyone was out. My parents were pretty sure it was some temp neighbors down the road but didn't report it; the only things stolen were a diaper bag and all the diapers in the house (Had a baby brother at the time; I was five but recall the incident since my mom asked me to check if the home computer was still there). Those folks had a baby and...not much else. Then another incident involving a stolen four-wheeler a couple years ago meant that my dad no longer offers straw to the general area, plus all the sheds on the property are now securely locked. The house is now more reinforced.

I don't really do modern pop or hip-hop. I don't mind a bit of rap if it's mixed in with something else (such as what Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park gets involved with), but I'm generally not a fan. I love electric guitars, some riff seriously take a lot of practice and talent! I'd like to learn how to play guitar, but I've admittedly never committed. As for classical, I certainly enjoy some classic pieces, such as some of Beethoven and Mozart's works. The Nutcracker Suite is another brilliant work! Been a bit since I've listened to it, I'm due for another round of that soon. Then of course, referring back to Disney's Fantasia, I love the moods and contrasts between Night on Bald Mountain and Ave Maria.

No problem with the site getting more traffic, though there was an issue previously (though not recently) where I did agree that some article headlines were borderline clickbait. The site thankfully has gravitated away from that a little, but there's the occasional piece, content body aside, where I think the title could've had a little more work. Unfortunately, nowhere on the internet is truly immune to trolls, jerks, and those at either extreme of the political spectrum. I don't mind engaging with others on occasion as long as all parties involved treat each other like humans, but the bigger question is if I'd have the time and energy to stay in a conversation should things go...south. I rarely try to offend, but I've had to better explain my side of things a few times, even if the initial comment was meant to be lighthearted or tongue-in-cheek.

I don't watch people play through games too often unless it's a no-commentary playthrough of a game I don't think I'll get around to on my own. Or if I'm just interested in a game's narrative (such as with Catherine when it first launched) and not the gameplay itself. I am wary of watching too much footage for games where I don't want too much spoiled. Thankfully, Nintendo Treehouse segments are usually good about not revealing too much. That said, I didn't watch the footage of Monster Hunter Stories 2 since that essentially covered the demo; I'd like to play through it on my own time.

(Oof. Speaking of videos, I've still neglected to watch the vid in the previous monster post! I will try to get to that soon!)

I'm interested in the OLED Switch, but not enough to upgrade just yet. It has some nice improvements to be sure, but overall they're of little benefit to me since I play my system docked 95% of the time. I can't help but smile wryly (and maybe a bit cynically) at those who bought into all the rumors that this was a major revision. From previous experience, I was expecting...well, about what we got. I think that's why I'm not disappointed. The current Switch models are doing very well, so there's no need for Nintendo to pack in major hardware updates just yet. Besides, with major improvements at this point in the system's lifecycle, they'd risk alienating parts of their fanbase. I don't think we'll see anything too major until the Switch 2 or whatever the successor's name will be.

I've jotted down A Hat In Time as a future purchase. As for the Ys series, a LOT of contemplation coupled with the reviews of IX have made me decide on starting VIII first. I'm not too bothered by the performance woes of IX, but there's absolutely no reason for me to not wait for a patch when there's so many other games to play!

I'm sure I'll spend more time than necessary digging into the lore of Three Houses, but that's a good indicator that a game has roped me in! Thanks for mentioning there's a library full of wonderful text! Good thing I like poking around so much, to my detriment at times....Wait, the Master Cycle is slower than a horse? What dark Ganon sorcery is this?! Hopefully it's just a prototype, and the real deal shows up in the sequel?

From feedback I've seen online, reinforced by your comments, Jim Carrey makes the perfect Eggman. Really wish I'd managed to see it before it floated out of the theater....Don't know how I would've explained leaving in the middle of the work day for something like that to my manager! My job is somewhat lenient if we need to leave for an appointment or family emergency, but a movie would be stretching things. On Dumb and Dumber - funnily enough, I've seen clips of most of the scenes you've mentioned! I have GOT to watch the full movie....I'm always up for a good comedy movie as long as the humor is executed well.

I find clothes shopping to be boring, stressful, and occasionally a waste of time. I usually only engage in it if I genuinely need something. I'm not usually a procrastinator, but I will put off buying clothes if I can. Wait...no air conditioning? I know some parts of the world don't have it, typically areas with lower humidity. It gets really humid here, not as bad as near the Gulf of Mexico, but we certainly get some of that sub-tropical air on occasion. I try to keep my house as warm as I can stand it in order to put less strain on the environment and my bill, but I can't go without it.

Pardon me if I've mentioned this before but: I love accents, but I'm afraid to make a big deal out of them as I'm afraid people will get the wrong idea. I don't want anyone to think I'm making fun of them. German accents are fun; it was the language I took in high school, so I'm pretty familiar with how a German speaker can sound. It's been quite a while; I can still understand, read, and write some of the language, but if you don't use it, you lose it. Love the accent video; it's cool to hear all the different inflections! I've always been the most fond of lowland Scottish, Cockney, and some of the lilts that Welsh can introduce. I've heard New York and Boston accents in videos ("cwoffee" was a running office joke for a bit), but I've never been to either city. I don't know of any videos, but there are maps of English dialects in the US:

Where I'm at is pretty much North Midland, though a bit of South Midland crosses over on occasion. I'm familiar with a lot of the US interior's linguistic nuances, but less so as you get closer to each coast. Edit: Also, the "ope" stereotype indeed has some truth to it. I say it! XD In some ways it's the equivalent of Canada's "Eh?"

Glad you fit in a couple of decent swims! No problems with my eyes; the photos weren't the best to look at, but I've definitely seen much worse food presentations. Honestly, I was a little hungry at the time, so a lot of it looked palatable in any case. I like experimenting a little with recipes I know well. I've learned that applesauce, for example, is an amazing egg substitute when the latter is used as a binding agent in some recipes. It also helps add more moisture if needed. I LOVE peanut butter; there are few things, in my humble opinion, that it doesn't match well with. It's hard to go wrong with it when it comes to cookies, brownies, some forms of cheesecake.... Ice cream is simply amazing; it's probably my favorite cold sweet treat. It's very hard to go wrong with it!

@BloodNinja Thanks! My main problem is, admittedly, finding time. I've been trying to ease myself into it slowly by simple breathing exercises when I feel overwhelmed. I'm also trying to implement a bit of walking meditation during some work breaks.

@bimmy-lee Whew, that IS hot. Normally canned goods have a shelf life of about a year or two. I'll usually take straight heat with low humidity any day, but even I admit ~120 degrees Fahrenheit is past any reasonable limit. Walking out of air conditioning into the most humid of days is like slamming your body into a wall of not-quite-palpable moisture. Enough to make me literally say "Blaaaah!" Probably the most humid place I've been to is New Orleans in the summer. If you ever go, I recommend packing extra shirts as you're bound to sweat through at least a couple a day doing almost nothing.

Some cyclical/karmic "innocent vandalism" eh? Maybe Bim Jr. won't take the innocence too far....