pekt's recent activity
-
Comment on Portland Airport grows with expansive mass timber roof canopy in ~transport
-
Comment on Portland Airport grows with expansive mass timber roof canopy in ~transport
pekt LinkI'm planning to visit some family in Portland sometime soon and it'll be cool to see the changes. I've not been inside PDX in years which was one of those "wow time flies and I'm feeling older"...I'm planning to visit some family in Portland sometime soon and it'll be cool to see the changes. I've not been inside PDX in years which was one of those "wow time flies and I'm feeling older" moments. I always felt the airport was laid out well and never had any hassles with traveling through there in the past.
-
Comment on Caves of Qud releases version 1.0 today in ~games
pekt (edited )Link"Caves of Qud is a science fantasy RPG & roguelike epic. It’s set in a far future that’s deeply simulated, richly cultured, and rife with sentient plants." I remember hearing about it coming out..."Caves of Qud is a science fantasy RPG & roguelike epic. It’s set in a far future that’s deeply simulated, richly cultured, and rife with sentient plants."
I remember hearing about it coming out and playing a very early version and thinking "wow this looks cool" and now seeing it released I've added it to my wishlist to pick up. I've seen it has great reviews and seems up my alley.
Anyone else planning to pick it up or start playing again after the 1.0 release?
-
Caves of Qud releases version 1.0 today
27 votes -
Discussion for Malazan Book of the Fallen: The Bonehunters (Spoilers through book 6)
Warning: this post may contain spoilers
I recently finished The Bonehunters, the 6th book in Malazan Book of the Fallen and taking the advice of @DynamoSunshirt I decided to post this to see the thoughts and opinions of everyone here on this book in the series, and by extension how it builds upon the previous books.
I've felt like each book in the series has drawn me further in, and this was no exception. One thing that I've found in reading large scale series with multiple POVs is that there are often ones that I'm not interested in or find less appealing than others while reading it and look forward to getting back to my favorite characters. There wasn't a single character in this volume, and so far in Malazan, that I wasn't interested in following.
I'm wrapping up my work day and don't have a lot of time to write out all my thoughts on the book but wanted to get this posted while it was on my mind and then add in more later.
I loved seeing so many potlines from the previous books start coming together.
The siege of Y'Ghatan was completely unexpected and was riveting to read, it being one of the longer chapters in the book kept me up late one night because I had to see how it wrapped up!
The end of the book felt like we were witnessing a pivotal moment and what seemed like a rapid fall of the empire. So many injustices with the Wican Pogrom and how the Chain of Dogs was being treated. I was honestly rooting for Tavore to usurp Laseen.
Heboric's potline feels like it is not completed and that the Jade Statue and all of those souls will have an impact on the storyline later on. I'm also left wondering what Hood wanted from Ganoes as part of the deal to let Heboric out of Hood's realm.
Karsa Orlong continues to be awesome and has become of my favorite characters. His self-assurance and introspection along with the seeming threat to civilization he represents is fantastic. I also saw a reference towards the end of the book about certain Tobalki possessing warrens of their own. I'm curious if he has reached that point and how exactly that works with all the other mysteries of the magic in this world.
I have a friend who has already read all 10 books, and I've been bouncing ideas/predictions off of him which has been great.
I am currently starting book 7 and would appreciate if any spoilers for the following books, or other books in the Malazan setting, are avoided.
12 votes -
Comment on You should have a website in ~tech
pekt Link ParentI love Bearblog! I had started one myself and posted to it occasionally. I found writing out my thoughts where others would read them made me want to take the time to write something I would want...I love Bearblog! I had started one myself and posted to it occasionally. I found writing out my thoughts where others would read them made me want to take the time to write something I would want to present to people, even if it was anonymously. It was a great way to express myself, and I hope I'll be able to pick it up again one day.
-
Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
pekt LinkMy slow watch through of Taiyou no Kiba Dagram continues! I've watched through episode 43 so far. Life is busy and stays busy. I actually watched this episode a week or two ago. Episode 43...My slow watch through of Taiyou no Kiba Dagram continues! I've watched through episode 43 so far. Life is busy and stays busy. I actually watched this episode a week or two ago.
Episode 43 followed the guerillas flipping a Federation officer to their side. This involved exploiting Federation military politics and some well timed rumour spreading. The episode also saw Rocky (the leader of the Fang of the Sun group) and Canary (the only female member) pose as newlyweds to sneak out of the Andi mine to meet with external guerilla groups and bring back the flipped officer to be the new Chief of Staff for the government that the Professor is forming. It was nice seeing the two get to spend some time together as they've been paired but not official since early on in the show.
Great episode, things are starting to come together for the guerillas. The formation of a rival Deloyer based government I think will happen soon and then I'm ready for some politicking.
-
Comment on Is anyone planning to play Path of Exile 2? in ~games
pekt Link ParentThank you for the great write up! I'll get POE2 installed on my laptop once it's out and then give it a go again when I have some time. I think if my friend group had stuck with it I would have...Thank you for the great write up! I'll get POE2 installed on my laptop once it's out and then give it a go again when I have some time.
I think if my friend group had stuck with it I would have explored more of PoE1.
I had actually considered installing Torchlight 2 again recently to scratch the ARPG itch until I saw this announcement
-
Comment on Coffee prices surge to highest since 1997 on supply fears in ~food
pekt Link ParentThat would make more sense, thanks for the clarification! I'm very basic with my coffee, usually just black so the first thing that jumped into my brain was coffee from Vietnam. I believe I've had...That would make more sense, thanks for the clarification! I'm very basic with my coffee, usually just black so the first thing that jumped into my brain was coffee from Vietnam. I believe I've had that preparation type a couple of times at Vietnamese restaurants and enjoyed it thoroughly.
-
Comment on Kyūshū (November) Basho discussion in ~sports.combat
pekt Link ParentI'd also noticed several matches ending in slips this basho. I wonder if there was a difference in the source of the clay for dohyo this time around. It also makes me wonder if they use local clay...I'd also noticed several matches ending in slips this basho. I wonder if there was a difference in the source of the clay for dohyo this time around. It also makes me wonder if they use local clay when building it each time, or if they source it from the same place for all bashos. The dohyo isn't huge, so I could see a truck full of clay being able to build that. If I have time, it'd be interesting to see if there are more slips that occur when they fight in Fukuoka compared to other venues.
I was excited coming into Day 15 and for the big showdown to decide the Yusho! While the final bout could have been better, it was a great basho overall.
I agree with you on the Onosato performance, great seeing him do alright, especially as a shin-Ozeki. Lots of potential there, and I'm curious to see how Hokuoho does once he's back up there after his surgery, and if his performance lives up to the hype that he had after his debut. With a 10-5 from J2W I feel like he's a sure promotion chance.
Tokihayate is fun to watch and its great seeing him recover from his injury and getting back into the top division. Though every time I see him, his legs look so skinny to me!
I'd be surprised if Asakoryu stayed in at 6-9 though Midorifuji doing that a basho or two ago does set precedent for that happening.
I was hoping Shishi would stick in the top division, I have a friend who is Ukrainian and checked in on some of the days this basho to see how he did. I'm hoping to get him interested in following Sumo as he's a big fan of UFC and I feel like he'd also enjoy the sport once he has a few people to follow.
I'm really enjoying the sport as the years go by. I think I've found the sport that I'll be following for a long while. I don't follow as closely the news outside of the basho now that I have kids, so I feel a little bit disconnected compared to when I first started watching, but that hasn't impacted my enjoyment of the sport. Once I get some extra spending money I think I'll put in the $1 a month to get access to Chris Sumo's Patreon content. He's got some whacky takes on occasion, but he's been a great source of information for me since I started following the sport.
-
Comment on Coffee prices surge to highest since 1997 on supply fears in ~food
pekt Link ParentVietnamese coffee is going to get more expensive as well in the coming years. Durian has become a major cash crop and I have seen reports of Vietnamese coffee growers switching over to durian as...Vietnamese coffee is going to get more expensive as well in the coming years. Durian has become a major cash crop and I have seen reports of Vietnamese coffee growers switching over to durian as the demand continues to grow for the King of Fruits, especially in China (I'll need to go dig up a source for that as its been awhile since I read a couple of articles related to this).
-
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
pekt Link ParentI've been looking at trying out Turtle WoW with my brother. He offered to pay for a sub for me to play Classic with him, but I just don't have the time to play enough that I would feel his money...I've been looking at trying out Turtle WoW with my brother. He offered to pay for a sub for me to play Classic with him, but I just don't have the time to play enough that I would feel his money was well spent.
I'm interested in the content additions they've added, but honestly I'd be fine having a nostalgia trip for a bit, playing through Mulgore or Durotar again.
-
Comment on Coffee prices surge to highest since 1997 on supply fears in ~food
pekt (edited )Link ParentI know you just said you'd rather stay off Reddit, but the r/preppers wiki is a fantastic resource: https://www.reddit.com/r/preppers/wiki/index and this allows you to avoid most of the...I know you just said you'd rather stay off Reddit, but the r/preppers wiki is a fantastic resource: https://www.reddit.com/r/preppers/wiki/index and this allows you to avoid most of the discussions that happen on the Subreddit and get into more actionable steps/useful info for where you're at.
I'll admit that these next two links are taken from their Getting Started page, as I knew they had great resources there if you'd like to avoid going on Reddit:
https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies.html
https://www.ready.gov/Taking a quick look through that gave me some evening reading as I think it's been than long enough for me to want to brush up on some things and also consider tropical climate preparedness as well.
To give a bit of my own advice, you don't need to treat preparedness as anything out of the ordinary, especially for food. You can build "depth" in your pantry by something as simple as having 1 additional can of things you normally eat in reserve. If you did that for everything in your pantry, that means you have effectively doubled your food supply. I like to stress that this is for things you normally eat. When you see a sale of 12 cans of green beans, and you eat those, perfect time to grab some if the expiration date is a decent way out, then you can eat them in order of nearest expiration date.
If instead you saw a sale on 12 cans of cranberry sauce and no one in your house eats it, then you shouldn't pick it up. Sure it's food, and you'd eat what you can get during an emergency, but it would be money better spent on something that you normally eat since you can continue to include it in your diet and just rotate in extra cans as you buy them.Buying the additional food items that don't spoil also lets you take advantage of sales and can help you save money in the long run.
Hope that helps and good luck with the preparations! If you ever wanted to bounce ideas off me, I'd be more than happy to chat about it. I'm by no means an expert, just someone interested in making sure my family can get through a rainy day or a bad storm without needing to be stressed about getting things from the store or provide stress on local emergency relief services when others may need it more.
Edit: This link is also a great overview of getting into a "preparedness mindset": https://lcamtuf.coredump.cx/prep/index-old.shtml
-
Comment on Is anyone planning to play Path of Exile 2? in ~games
pekt Link ParentFrom what I have seen, yes. POE 2 is building off of the original, so they are still including the large talent tree.From what I have seen, yes. POE 2 is building off of the original, so they are still including the large talent tree.
-
Comment on Is anyone planning to play Path of Exile 2? in ~games
pekt LinkThe new Path of Exiles 2 launches into early access on December 6th. I've played a bit of the original Path of Exiles but never got too far into it and have been thinking about giving this a go...The new Path of Exiles 2 launches into early access on December 6th.
I've played a bit of the original Path of Exiles but never got too far into it and have been thinking about giving this a go and doing a slow play through on a standard account. I haven't played an ARPG in a while and feel like it would be fun to have a "click things to death" game to play again. It being F2P also helps in that I'm more budget constrained these days regarding money I spend on my hobbies.
-
Is anyone planning to play Path of Exile 2?
22 votes -
Comment on Coffee prices surge to highest since 1997 on supply fears in ~food
pekt Link ParentI'm a big fan of zombie fiction, the slow zombies being my preferred kind! I'd love to have solar panels installed at my new place or have a well! We've talked about one day moving to the backside...I'm a big fan of zombie fiction, the slow zombies being my preferred kind!
I'd love to have solar panels installed at my new place or have a well! We've talked about one day moving to the backside of the island we live on and buying a plot of land to split with my wife's extended family. My biggest concern has been supply chain disruption, since so much of what we eat or rely on is brought on to the island from the mainland or imported from abroad.
I had talked prepping with my in laws a few years ago and brought up the need to stockpile food. It didn't really click with them. I remember bringing up what the grocery stores are out of food and my mother-in-law replied with something along the lines of "that would never happen, if the store near our house is out of food we'd go to another store to get food". That was the moment that it clicked that I would need to prepare with them in mind, as well as my wife and kids.
-
Comment on Coffee prices surge to highest since 1997 on supply fears in ~food
pekt Link ParentI'm by no means an expert or have great insight into being prepared! That being said, I think having a post discussing it or people sharing ideas would be great. I've lurked on r/preppers for a...I'm by no means an expert or have great insight into being prepared! That being said, I think having a post discussing it or people sharing ideas would be great. I've lurked on r/preppers for a long while and tried to follow the "common sense" preparedness approach of preparing for things likely to happen. Easy to get my wife on board with it when I have sensible preps that we eventually use or make sense why you want that. Having multiple weeks worth of food and water + basic supplies can a world of difference during a storm, and you lose power.
An example of having some of these "common sense" preps in place: after getting married, my wife and I hosted a Chinese New Year party, and had a low percentage chance of 1/2 inch of snow turn into multiple inches of snow during the afternoon into the evening. Having the preps on hand meant it wasn't an emergency when we had a group of our friends needing to stay with us over that weekend.
I've seen less pushback from people I've mentioned it to over the years as there's been economic difficulties. It also depends on how you frame it and what you're preparing for. Saying you're buying 10,000 .556 rounds to fight off a zombie uprising is going to get you the side eye. Saying you stocked up on staple foods and basic supplies to have just in case you lose power or there's (insert your region's likely natural disaster) should be viewed as common sense in my opinion.
There's always great ideas from other people for things they choose to prepare or steps they take that I haven't considered. Some people have more resources they can put into it, or they treat it as a hobby that they enjoy spending time on. Now that I have a young family, it has become something that I can do to ensure they're taken care of, and allow me to have resources in place to help provide for my wife's extended family in case of an emergency.
-
Comment on Coffee prices surge to highest since 1997 on supply fears in ~food
pekt LinkI've been mentioning to my friends and family that coffee prices (and other staples) are going to rise for awhile now due to climate change. Even beyond climate change there are longer term...I've been mentioning to my friends and family that coffee prices (and other staples) are going to rise for awhile now due to climate change. Even beyond climate change there are longer term weather cycles that can and will impact the production of certain things. Combine that with the growing demang for coffee and prices will rise. I saw [the country I live in had a 25% increase in consumption of coffee nationally in just 2 years during COVID (2020-2022)](https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Total-coffee-consumption-in-Malaysia-from-2013-2022-Statista-2021_fig1_357427797#:~:text=A%20statistical%20analysis%20on%20coffee,and%202022(Statista%2C%202021.) and I would guess it is continuing to increase.
I think this coming year is going to the year I build back up my preps (and make a Tildes post discussing general prepareness). Been meaning to start stocking up again for awhile but wanted to get in a better spot financially after being out of work for a year.
-
Kyūshū (November) Basho discussion
For the first time in a long while I was able to follow along with a basho while it happened and only finish it a day late. What was everyone's thoughts for this basho? Favorite storyline? Did...
For the first time in a long while I was able to follow along with a basho while it happened and only finish it a day late.
What was everyone's thoughts for this basho?
Favorite storyline?
Did anyone do poorly that you thought would do well and vice versa?6 votes
Funnily enough, I remember when this happened and was also mildly upset about it. I agree with it being a completely unremarkable pattern, but once I didn't see it it felt really jarring. Maybe there's a term for it, but I'm glad they managed to put it back and I thought it was fun that the Portland community found something to hold on their own besides the "weird"/hipster culture though I'm sure this got folded into that.