Topic: The Chit-Chat Thread

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@Anti-Matter Well, there's 555 USA/NTSC titles that were released for the North American market, so there's a LOT of kid-friendly titles in between them. Instead of listing all of those in text alone, I've found you a website that has all of the box covers of all of these games, so you can look for yourself which title might interest you. The second link is an entire list of GameCube games as they are listed here on NintendoLife. You can use the first link for first impressions (and because it has ALL the box covers, and the NintendoLife web page does not), and if you see something you like, simply go to the NintendoLife page and click on the same game, to see some pictures and get some more information about those games.

https://www.listchallenges.com/all-north-american-release-gam...
https://www.nintendolife.com/gamecube/games/browse?sort=title

@Snatcher I'm sure as heck hoping that you're using "dude" in a kind of generic term kinda way, because @Tyranexx definitely isn't a dude...

@Tyranexx Who in the world DOES like fleas? Unless it's animals eating or picking fleas, I suppose the sentiment about them is more or less universal...

Oh, and I completely hear you and sympathize with the whole weight loss thing. I also have the same issues, having a severe sweet tooth. I did practically the same as you, minimizing processed foods, going from solid sugar to liquid substitutes and trying to be a bit more aware of anything else I eat.

Initially, especially leaving out solid sugar (cubes, loose crystal sugar) definitely made the kilos disappear, but after about 16 pounds, it slowly started to level off, and now I'm still overweight. Not too much, but I suppose that to be at my ideal weight for my length and build, I'd still need to lose 10 to 15 kilos in total. Most of it is, obviously, belly fat, because of my eating habits. I also LOVE rice and pasta dishes, as you may know by now, and these certainly aren't helping much. Me taking second servings most of the time probably also doesn't do me a world of good.

My problem is always that I don't want to become fat on the one hand, but on the other, I do want to enjoy my life, and feeling good for me also means enjoying life's pleasures, foods and drinks definitely being among them. Perhaps I could live a couple of years longer chewing on tofu and drinking soy milk, but that's just not for me. That wouldn't be living, that would be suffering, and even though I would live longer, I would most definitely not enjoy my life, like at ALL...

So, we keep struggling, the see-saw continuously going up and down all the time. Perhaps I'll pick up sports again after we're FINALLY rid of all these damn COVID restrictions, if my aging body will by then still have the energy to get started with that again...

WHAT??? I sure hope that you did get your money back...

I also pre-ordered from my local Amazon outlet, but it's not for myself: I've bought both Skyward Sword HD and Unravel 2 for my niece, who recently had her birthday. I myself already have the limited edition on the Wii, so I'm not too bothered with the HD version just yet. Might buy it later on, maybe.

I did pre-order the limited edition Skyward Sword HD JoyCon set, though...

@WoomyNNYes And the purpose?

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@Snatcher Thanks! Technically it was small in scale (around 50ish people) for a myriad of reasons, plus the ceremony was at an odd time (4:30 PM on a Monday; weddings around here are normally held on a Saturday afternoon). A main motivator for the day and time was that it had something to do with work schedules; my friend and her husband work 12 hour nights at a factory for 3-4 days a week on average, but they wanted to invite some people from the day shift too. Monday also happened to be a day when a lot of the guests they worked with were off.

As for me, I took the day off anyway since I didn't technically get a 4th of July holiday. At least I got to sleep in Monday morning! XD

By the way, no offense taken at the "Dude" comment, I'm fairly used to it being used in a gender-neutral context.

@MarioLover92 Thanks! It was a good wedding, short and to the point with a meal afterward. I much prefer that approach over the popular "afternoon wedding, all night reception" scenario that often plays out these days. To me it's more practical and involves less stress overall. The wedding was moved up from September to July on relatively short notice, so honestly my friend's sister deserves a lot of the credit since she was in charge of the decorating and some of the planning. I just helped set everything up and tear it down. XD

Sounds like a lot of travel for your uncle's wedding! Fortunately, this one was close by. I don't mind flying outside of the pain in the [censored] that is airport security, but handhelds and books have definitely helped the time pass! Especially if I can't secure a window seat or if I'm unfortunately positioned over the plane's wing....

@TheJGG Thanks, the wedding went pretty smoothly! It was this past Monday, and as I figured I didn't get home until it was somewhat late. I was pretty worn out at that point; I didn't even game that evening.

Thanks as well regarding the lifestyle changes. At my heaviest I probably weighed around 230 lbs. (~16.4 stone), though when I started trying I was closer to 215. I'm now bouncing around the lower 150s (~10.7-10.8 stone), and I'd like to think a bit of that is gained muscle since I've added in a bit of strength training the last few months. I'm not a perfect eater by any means ( ), but I make it a point to keep any sweets and processed foods sitting around at a minimum. I still drink milk, but strictly just a 8 oz. glass for breakfast most mornings. 90% of what I drink is water, and the remaining 10% is usually made up of milk, a bit of black coffee at work, and green tea sometimes sweetened with a bit of honey.

Love the Skyward Sword report, sounds like it's everything I figured it'd be and more. More on that in the longpost later.

@BruceCM I do want to try out the button controls, though I certainly wouldn't mind using the motion controls again. In my opinion, the original game controlled quite well overall; I had few issues in both my regular and Hero Mode playthroughs.

@ThanosReXXX Honestly, at first I wasn't sure what those bugs were as they were larger than the fleas I was typically used to dealing with on our outdoor pets growing up. But I figured it out pretty quickly once I recognized the look of the bites. To the landlord company's credit, they put my aunt and uncle up in a hotel room while they rectified the problem. Still...all that from just a routine steam cleaning (heat and moisture factor into how and when the things hatch) from a canine who shouldn't have been on the premises to begin with....

On the weight loss thing: My genetics certainly don't help as many close and extended family members, particularly on my mother's side, aren't exactly thin. Too, I'm...occasionally susceptible to bored and/or emotional snacking at work, not helped by some free sweets that sometimes appear. Trying to get around this by letting healthier substitutions sit around instead. Unfortunately, my absolute favorite foods are usually of the sort that we're encouraged to moderate. I don't declare any food "off limits" because that only adds to the "some foods are bad" mentality, which a lot of dieticians caution against (from what I've found online). But I do try to keep some of the slightly less healthy choices to "treat" status and don't stock them normally. My sweet tooth doesn't help, and there are some fried foods that are tough to resist too, like crispy French fries. I've successfully made healthier versions of fries and potato wedges, but they aren't the same.

For the most part, my lifestyle changes are working, but some of the killers are family gatherings and other events that involve potlucks or eating out. I very rarely stuff myself and am better (not perfect though) at making choices and figuring out when I'm full, but sometimes it doesn't seem to matter much lol. Part of the problem is, I don't think my body always "registers" that it's full in a timely manner. It depends in part on what I'm eating, but also, I believe, on how hungry I am to begin with.

I might sign up for some sort of fitness class when the world becomes more stable post-COVID, but I do fit speedwalking and some bodyweight exercises into my routine. The latter take up more time than I'd like since more stretching and warmup is involved, but I usually manage to fit it in 2-3 times a week. I've tried graduating from walking to jogging, but that ended pretty quickly when I jarred my problem knee just right on a downhill slope and sidelined myself for a week....

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@TheJGG First, I did manage to watch that video from a longpost or two ago that critiqued how Nintendo is essentially neglecting some of their rich library of games. I agree with the general point of the video, but I also agree with a certain resident Mad Titan in that I felt the guy was a bit whiny about the whole thing. To be fair, I wasn't aware of some of the other examples used in comparison to 3D All-Stars as I haven't played them, but in comparison...yeah, it does feel like a pretty lazy release overall.

I'm generally not picky when it comes to meat, or most protein sources to be honest. Though I've never tried tofu; I need to just to say I've had it. As for salt, I'm not against some salted meat, but I'd definitely require a glass of water (or a gallon) nearby to help deal with it lol. Sounds like a really cool place, I'll be sure to try to look up a Brazilian steakhouse next time I'm traveling and there's one nearby.

It feels great to clean up litter, particularly in an area hard-hit by it. There isn't a curbside recycling presence here, so unfortunately a lot of the plastics I use, even the ones that can be recycled, end up in a landfill. There are ways to recycle cardboard, plastic shopping bags, and metal to name a few things, so I certainly contribute to those streams when I can. Another benefit of eating cleaner; I go through less aluminum cans, paper, and other harmful products. I also try to find a use for the few glass containers I buy, after cleaning them, around the house or elsewhere. As for the rubbish on my lawn...I do think a bit of it wafts off the garbage trucks, but some items are deliberately thrown out. One of the negatives of living next to a busy road. The weirdest things I've found were an unopened bottle of Smirnoff Ice (I just dumped it; didn't trust where it had been even if it was sealed) and Disc 2 of an Aerosmith greatest hits CD collection that still worked!

Love, love, LOVE the dog picture! I've probably mentioned it a few hundred times, but I love animals and particularly have a soft spot for a lot of pets, weird ones included. Your dog looks simultaneously adorable and dignified. What's the name of your pup?

Maybe I'm finally starting to get old ( ), but most mainstream music sounds same-y, with a simple beat. I can tolerate bits and pieces with it, but....Well, the lyrical songs I do like are off the beaten path a bit. Less mainstream rock/metal and more down alternative lines, with some metalcore thrown in. Usually the lyrical songs that I gravitate to most tend to reflect some feelings or experiences I've had or dealt with in my life. I credit Linkin Park, Evanescence, Three Doors Down, and Three Days Grace as all influencing my early musical tastes once I started paying attention. Nickelback as well to a lesser extent, but only their early stuff; they became more generic as time went on, and they were WAY overplayed on the radio stations around here. XD As for Daft Punk, I've heard of the group and knew of their retirement, but I confess I've never dug too much into their material. I'm familiar with Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger thanks to two things: the song being remixed with Stronger by Kanye West, and my manager linking a REALLY cool version of it from the YouTube channel The Floppotron:

Funnily enough, I didn't think I was much into electronic music until recently, but some of my gaming tastes along with some Spotify recommendations I've REALLY liked are convincing me otherwise. I thank you for linking the song, I believe I'll finally get off the fence and dig more into Daft Punk! For the most part, I'd say Xenoblade 1 also comes close to encapsulating all my musical tastes into one package.

My RL schedule aside lately, I just have less time I want to waste, as well as patience, on the more volatile comment sections. I'm better about spotting which ones might start a fire these days, though sometimes I miss the signs if I do manage to comment early enough. I'll also admit to this: if I see a notification under most articles here (barring the weekend "What Games Are You Playing?" articles as those usually stay pretty tame), even if I haven't read the reply in question yet, my figurative dander rises a little. I'm trying to clamp down on this reaction and go in with an open mind, and most of the time the comment is benign. But the fact I even have the very feeling is based off of previous experiences. I think the current Switch will also stick around for several years yet; it's still doing VERY well, and its hybrid nature helps fill niches that weren't easily accounted for previously. Plus, as with any good gaming platform I've owned, I'll still be picking up games for it for some time yet. XD

I really wish steelbooks were more commonplace on this side of the pond, and I had high hopes when the Metroid Dread SE was announced with one....But like any decent albeit limited thing these days, it was snapped up by mostly scalpers and the few lucky ones in moments. I could always import - thank goodness the Switch is region-free - but the costs aren't always worth it. It wouldn't surprise me if there's another Nintendo Direct soon; September seems to be a popular time for them! Though I think E3 did take care of many of Nintendo's releases for the rest of the year. I do welcome any incoming news drops! As for Ys VIII, I'm certainly enjoying the game, though I haven't been able to play as much over the last few days as I would've liked. I fit in about an hour last night and hope to play after showering later. Still mostly exploring and recruiting castaways, though I'm starting to run into some very interesting enemies! The plot started off with a bang but is in a bit of a lull right now; I'm sticking with it, not only because I'm still having fun, but I've also read, sans spoilers thankfully, that the story really picks up later on.

I'm not habitually a hat person, but I do like the design of that cap! I try to stick with designs a little outside the box as well if possible. Easier said than done sometimes, but we do have the internet!

There are indeed many English words that show up in German, though some are false cognates. For example, the word "gift" in German actually means poison. And then there are some words that linguistically sound similar in English and German, but are spelled differently. I know there are likewise some similarities between German and Dutch, at least from word comparisons I've seen between the two. Verbally, the two sound very different to me, though I admittedly haven't heard the latter spoken much. French...is a hard language for me. Mostly because the words are often not pronounced anywhere near like they're spelled. I still have embarrassing flashbacks to a spelling list in middle school....I first pronounced "cologne" as "co-log-nay". It's difficult for me to pull off other accents well, at least long-term. I used to try to do a London accent, but eventually it would meld into Cockney, and then Australian....

Typically, I do peanut butter and a fruit spread on toast. I've found thicker applesauce works pretty well as a topper too, though use too much and it tries to get everywhere. I'm fine with a bit of butter and fruit spread, or even peanut butter and honey. Bread itself is so versatile, it can go with about anything in the right environment. Looking forward to a picture or two of those pancakes! I almost never eat past suppertime and try to avoid large evening meals if possible; I sleep horribly since my stomach is still in digestion mode. Hopefully your gastric attacks have ceased!