Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Saturday, July 22, 2017

Project 15: 12 Books in 21 Weeks: Update

Really enjoyed reading through The Atrocity Archives again. Sadly The Jennifer Morgue is by a wide margin my least favourite of the Laundry Files, so I basically just skimmed it in audio book form.



Monday, July 03, 2017

Blog: Video Games of June 2017

I was busy in June and not in the headspace to sink too deeply into anything. So, my list for the month is a little shorter than usual. I guess, I also have to confess, that I stopped tracking Pocket Planes (which I did track last year), because I play it in weird bursts (30 seconds ever 2 minutes, or continuously for 3 hours), and because I play it when stressed, and I don't want to keep track of stress.

My top five games (by play time) for June were:
  1. Mario Kart 8 - I decided back in May that it was time to GIT GOOD at Mario Kart 8. Since then, I've really been enjoying it. I can do about 4 150CC circuits in an hour and I can see substantial improvement. That's been fun and the online scene has been really vibrant and fun too.
    The look of this game makes me have all kinds of thoughts about Mario Odyssey.

  2. Marvel Puzzle Quest - As always, this is my goto on my phone. Plus the game is showering us with stuff right now, and as long as you don't really care what you get, then you can just be happy to have something new to open. (Something, something, skinner box, pavlov, still having fun, something, something.)
    Time for Zap-Pow!

  3. Pharaoh - You want a game that's not actually fun? Here's one. I technically love Pharaoh, and the walker-city genre in general, but seriously, this game can leave you spending hours working on a (unbeknownst to you) failed city without any real tools to fix things. It's a fun game, with great style and a great idea, but it seriously needs a modern take to make it properly enjoyable.
    I've been kicked out of my home and through no fault of my own. - from GameFAQs user yutjrft76

  4. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - DLC 1 time, baby! Time to put another 110 hours in. Seriously, Master Mode is great. It puts the whole game back together in a new way, and it's making it exciting to play again, after the two pretty solid months I already put in. Both the game, and the DLC have been worth every penny.
    The Hero's Master Path

  5. Sid Meyer's Covert Action - Yup, playing a game from 1990. Fortunately, the version on Steam works quite well, so I get to fulfill my urge to be a super spy. Plus, I've been thinking about trying to model a game on the concepts and style of Covert Action, so we can call this "research" even.
    Look at that box. How could you even have questions? - from GameFAQS user odino.

Here's my total play time chart for June:


And here's a graph of how much I've played over the month:



Friday, June 30, 2017

Project 15: 12 Books in 21 Weeks

Once upon a time, a few updates ago, I set myself a project of reading more. I've felt lately like I haven't been reading enough, so I'm back in with Project 15, 12 Books in 26 Weeks.

The plan is to read books (for non-research purposes) and enjoy it. I figure at roughly 2 books a month, that should wrap this whole thing up December 31, 2017.

The Books I Read - November 2024

November was a bit weird. The Hands of the Emperor is long, but excedingly good. I'm continuing to find Anna Lee Huber a very engagin...