Tag: gaming

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At Your Disposal

Summer went to the store for cheese and eggs this morning, but I had to send her back to exchange it when she showed up with a five pound block. I dug out my crank grater to shred what she came back with, but it mostly got stuck in a clump. The breakfast croissants turned out okay anyway, since I melted the cheese in the pan.

After that, I cleaned up the laundry room and kitchen so we could tackle the garbage disposal. Summer wanted to try and remove the old one, so I just helped when she needed me, and she got it out without too much fuss. Then we took Muad’Dib and picked up Dad to go to Leonard’s for a new one. I asked if it was okay to bring the dog inside, and he did fairly well off leash. We met a couple super excited people, and I didn’t notice any glaring. We picked up an equal power disposal and headed back to the house.

Summer started doing her nails, so Dad helped me install the new one. We had a little bit of trouble getting it locked into place, and then we had to try a couple times to stop a leak in the pipes, but overall it wasn’t terribly difficult to finish.

I took Dad back home and then watched the end of Guardians of the Galaxy which Summer had started earlier. I ate some of Eaddie’s leftovers I found in the fridge, and then ended up taking a long bath with my Steam Deck in the dark. It did a pretty good job of running Don’t Starve Together, so I just need to clean off some space to set it up docked in my office, or at least clean up the sunroom so I can play out there.

Starved

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Spring Holiday

I slept a little later than I intended, but had plenty of time to get the turkey on the smoker. We had time for some coffee and presents, and a game of Phase 10 Tiles. I managed to get some blisters on my right hand trying to chop up some wood for the smoker, and then ended up putting the disc in whole since it just barely fit. I was worried the charcoal would jam it, and it did later on. I took Muad’Dib on a run to my parent’s house for some honey, and then rode back with an instant read thermometer for Dad. On the way back, the Onewheel died on me, so Summer had to come pick us up.

I smoked the turkey and the ham, and had to dislodge the wood to keep the fire going. I had accidentally started the turkey about 100º too hot, so I dropped that down after basically reverse-searing it. The ham probably could have gone on earlier too, but they all finished right on time for me to get the turkey sliced up.

Eaddie, Eli, and Ceci were watching Stranger Things all day, but came along for dinner. We got to the airport just in time to eat, and Kevin had a bunch of family there along with our group. I didn’t feel too bad, because Julie had to run home for something too.

Dinner was a little fragmented, and we didn’t really have a clearly defined dinner and dessert time. Dad did some magic, and then flamed the plumb pudding. The alcohol didn’t all burn off though, so it tasted a bit boozy with the PGA. I chased it down with some of Julie’s over-rich chocolate cake.

The kids kept wanting to go home early, but we made them stay a while before cutting out. Then I was in a rush to get out so we could settle down for bed and work in the morning.

But now I’m sunny with a high of 75

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Let’s Table It for Now

Summer got up and made us a simple sausage and egg breakfast with toast. I started cleaning up the dining table so we would have room for cookies, and did that all through the afternoon. I tried my best not to just hide things away somewhere else, and put stuff where it actually needed to go. Eaddie left to have Christmas with Eli’s family, and Summer made some homemade dog biscuits, followed by cookies for us to decorate.

I eventually had a shower and took Muad’Dib for a run. Mom made duck soup, so I ate with them before everyone came over to decorate cookies. Noah showed up much later than he told us, and Eaddie followed. Dad came over a little after I got back, and we got to the cookies.

Dad left after we got tired of decorating cookies, and then Eaddie had Summer open up one of her presents. It was Phase 10 Tiles, which was a take on the original, except with little plastic tiles instead of cards. We played a few rounds of that, but Noah couldn’t wrap his head around the gameplay and we ended up quitting halfway through.

Noah and the girls opened presents after that, and it wasn’t long before Summer was ready for bed. Muad’Dib seemed pretty tired too. Eaddie took Noah somewhere, and then it was off to sleep.

It was like Christmas all year long.

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Sick as a Dog

Eaddie texted me last night as I was getting ready for bed, and asked if Muad’Dib could stay home from work the next day. I told her he could call in sick, and I left by myself in the morning. Just as I approached my exit, I decided to stop at Wendy’s for breakfast and was surprised at the size of their burrito. It was of fairly poor quality, but it was a decent size with two real eggs, which was nice.

I thought it would be more quiet, but everyone was upstairs. I bounced between a couple of things, but still didn’t really make any notable progress on anything. Summer went to Little Rock, so we met for an early lunch on her way back. Ortega’s has been a great way to break up my fast food week, and their all-you-can-eat is a great deal to get some variety even if we don’t stuff ourselves.

I picked up an order from Walmart on the way back, and when I got to the office, Tammy said she got permission to go home at 2:30. I was thankful the afternoon wouldn’t have a chance to drag on. I got another RMA approval from Future Motion, but of course that just means I have to ship off my Onewheel again. With the battery failures and intermittent motor disengagements, I’ve just been a little terrified to go on any serious rides.

Everyone was at the house when I got there. Summer and Muad’Dib met me outside. Eaddie had Eli and Ceci over to watch Stranger Things. I took Muad’Dib on an early run, and it was so warm that he just barely walked the whole way.

A little while later, Summer wanted to go to the grocery store. Muad’Dib insisted on going too, but he had to sit in the car. They were really busy, but there was a good flow and it wasn’t too crazy. They were out of mollases though, so Summer got some dark corn syrup for the gingerbread cookies instead.

Back at the house, I played some Don’t Starve on my phone with my new controller mount attachment. It worked really well, and I was surprised at how little battery it actually used on my phone. I played for a while as Summer bathed, and then eventually wound down for bed.

Gonna have to dock a vacation day for that.

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Shock and Paw

I didn’t get to sleep in today after all, because Stilgar kept barking early in the morning. I went out to check on them, and he had their lines tied up all over his legs, and Muad’Dib was wrapped around the post of the tree house. I got them loose and let them run around the yard for a bit until I could get one of their new virtual fence collars working. I eventually put the collar on Muad’Dib, and it seemed to work pretty well.

Summer had to go to work for a little bit, but then came home and made us eggs and corned beef hash for breakfast. Eaddie left to go see Jenny at the swim event, and Summer went to the gym, so I spent a while unboxing Vine stuff, building some cheap furniture, and cleaning out the recycling. The day ended up going by super fast because Summer came home and wanted to take a shower, and Eaddie came home and wanted help loading her bicycle onto the bike rack.

Later in the evening, Summer wanted to make macaroni noodles to go with the leftover spaghetti sauce Eaddie brought home. She also wanted some Brussels sprouts and bacon, so I ran the dogs to the Neighborhood Market for those. After we delivered them to Summer, we went on a long walk to see my parents and then around the basin trail. We were stopped a couple times by some dogs that were off-leash, but they handled it fairly well.

Eli came over for dinner when they were finished riding bikes, and then we played most of Phase 10. I finally took my shower, but by then I was exhausted and ready for bed.

Get your tesseract together!

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One Day Shy

I must have been pretty cozy this morning, because I slept super late. I got up at like 10:30 and made a burger. Eaddie didn’t come out of her room until much later, so I played some more Oxygen Not Included for a while. It looked like they finally got my car into service, which was almost a bummer after psyching myself up to have it bought back. I guess there’s still a chance, but the lack of a new Model 3 Performance means I wouldn’t be able to turn right around and get a replacement anyway.

Eventually Eaddie came out and went straight to the shower. With the weather this cold and the water pressure this high, we really can’t get more than one shower out of a tank of hot water, so I waited for a while after that before taking one myself.

By that time, it was too late to get across town to try and swap out my CO2 tank, so I organized the pantry a bit to see what other foods we might be able to have for dinner. Most of the old and forgotten stuff has been rotated out, so maybe we can maintain good foods now. The position of the fridge against the left wall still makes it extremely difficult to use its freezer, but we’re stuck with it for the foreseeable future.

Summer made it home, but continued to work except for the bit of time I made her get up for dinner. Then I paid bills and tried to figure out whether Eaddie’s credit card charges were legitimate.

FFS, pay attention, folks.

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Long Frozen

I had another burger for brunch today, and then continued my game of Oxygen Not Included before Eaddie got out of bed. Summer was back to work, but came home earlier than I expected. I was going to cook an old, frozen pork butt for dinner, just to get it out of the freezer. It wasn’t done for the late lunch time that Summer made it home, so she ended up eating leftovers.

I had to go outside to check the sump room again, and ran it for a few minutes. It wasn’t flooded like before, but there was enough water to let me know that this is going to be a recurring thing, and not the “once or twice” we were led to believe.

Afterward, I decided to get out and make a bank deposit, and then go across town to feed my fish and bring another carload of stuff home. It was still all stuff that had somewhere to go in the new house, so I won’t be unpacking things forever. The roads were still pretty icy on the way home, and I actually slid down the driveway just a couple inches as I pulled back in.

The pork was tough when I got it out of the Instant Pot, so I put it in to cook for another round and it came out much more tender. Eaddie wanted rice, so I made a pot and then we ate together. Summer was having trouble with her back, so she went to bed early. I thought Eaddie and I would watch some TV, but it was cold and dark, and everyone went to their rooms. I played a little more of my game, but tried not to stay up too late.

Ah, me booty!

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SSH IT

Today was the warmest day in a little while, but I was stuck inside trying to fix a broken security certificate. Kim was out for the signing on their new house, which meant I could sit in the dark and actually concentrate on what I was doing. I don’t know if it was just by happenstance, but it did seem like fewer people came through the office. I did still get a few visitors and calls, but otherwise I kept my head in my reading. I chatted with Gary for a while, which was helpful, but in the end I still wasn’t successful. I don’t know what I was missing.

I’d had it by the end of the day, and headed quickly home to bring another carload of stuff to the new house. Once I got everything inside and found a change of clothes, I went out on the Onewheel for just a few minutes of daylight. The ride to my parents’ house had my right foot hurting, but on the way back I think I finally found my stance. I was a bit more wobbly, but I think once I have some muscle memory it will be fine. Unfortunately, I won’t really get a chance to ride again for a little while on account of the cold moving in.

Once I got back, I made a burrito for dinner and then unpacked what I had brought home. Then I spent a little more time messing with the washing machine, but still couldn’t get the pulsator out. I couldn’t tell if the pop I heard was new, or something just shifting the same way as yesterday. I finally settled in and played Oxygen Not Included until the computer locked up again. Storms rolled in later in the evening, and I wished I had checked the murder basement for flooding before it started. I’m sure I’ll need to get the sump going this weekend.

Just keep digging….

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Too Much Milling About

I got up with the girls this morning, but then napped for a little bit longer before going home to shower. I planned to take some Ridgewood Brothers BBQ to the mill as a gesture of goodwill since I still hadn’t actually accepted their job offer yet. Gary didn’t answer my call, but then responded to my text to say that they ended up filling the position earlier this week. I was pretty upset, but it wasn’t much of a surprise after all the time I had wasted since the original offer. Part of me thinks I should have just left the school without any qualms, since I had no evidence that the superintendent was actually putting forth any effort to increase my pay. Maybe he has, but he’s certainly not any good at communicating his intent.

Around that time, Eaddie finished at band practice. I told her I was free for lunch, so she came to pick me up and we went to Ridgewood ourselves. She made me get the two meat plate because she wanted a bite of some ribs, so I wasn’t quite as satisfied with my meal as I usually am. Then we went back to my house to get my car, but ended up leaving it there to stay on the charger.

As we left, I noticed she had things strewn all around the car, and my lip balm had been tipped up on its side, leaking out all over the place. Fortunately there was a removable rubber tray and it wasn’t terribly difficult to clean up. I was mostly upset that my lip balm was wasted all because the girls couldn’t pay attention to what the hell they were doing in my car.

When we got back to the house, I sat and played 20 Minutes Till Dawn on my phone. I brought my little 8BitDo controller, which made the game a lot more playable. Summer eventually made it home, but didn’t want to get back out. Eaddie and I went back to Ridgewood to try their pork belly pops and some brickle bars. We were in and out, but then got stopped by a train for several minutes as it went back and forth in front of us.

We loved the porksicles, and the desserts were great too. Then I laid in Summer’s lap while she watched TV, and played more of my new game until bedtime.

I like to think I would have been less happy there anyway.

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ReCharge

I didn’t have much luck sleeping in today. Summer went to work and I laid around for a little longer, but couldn’t really sleep. I got up and made myself a leftover burger for brunch, and then woke Eaddie up when I finally decided to go home and unpack my things. She had a private lesson in the afternoon, so I didn’t spend much time there. I got showered and then headed back to get her.

I just waited in the car while Eaddie had her lesson, and then I took her back home where I tinkered with the emulators on my Steam Deck some more. I got E.V.O.:Search for Eden working and played it for a while. Mom made bún bò Huế for dinner, so Eaddie and I went over there to eat.

The soup wasn’t quite ready when we got there, so Eaddie sat down and thumbed through a bunch of old sheet music they had. Dad had gone out of town for a wedding, but made it back home for dinner. While Mom was getting everyone’s food ready, Dad accidentally dropped a fresh jar of watermelon pickles they had made, and it shattered all over the kitchen floor. They got a little cut up from the glass, but it wasn’t too bad. Somewhere along the way, I picked up a small, but luckily smooth piece of glass between my toes. They got that cleaned up and we ate.

Summer got home from work and didn’t have her house keys, so Eaddie and I left as soon as we finished eating. We stopped by PDQ to see if Noah was working, and retrieved her key from him. Then we continued to their house for the evening. Eaddie had spent most of the day getting ready for band camp. Summer ate and then pretty quickly went to bed. I played my game a while longer, but tried not to stay up too late.

Rumors circulate among the cucumbers.