Wasted Saturday
Mar. 20th, 2021 11:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crossover_chickWhat does that mean, you ask? Well, it means that I spent about three, maybe three and a half hours on my iPad, playing mobile games and reading TV Tropes. But this was not because I got distracted by something on TV Tropes and forgot about what I was meant to be doing, no.
It's because my mother ordered a new fan for her and my dad's room. And in order to install this new fan, the power to their bedroom had to be shut off -- and the way the house is wired up, that also shuts off the power to my bedroom.
Yes, it took them over three hours to install this fucking fan. Mostly because, based on my dad's cursing, it's a cheap piece of shit that refused to fit together properly. And in my opinion, it's incredibly fucking ugly to boot. They finally got it to come together, and it seems to be working to my mom's satisfaction, but I was Not Happy it took so long. Scrolling TV Tropes for fun is a lot different than scrolling TV Tropes to try and ignore your growing, seething anger (enhanced by PMS) over not getting to do what you planned on your computer.
Fortunately for my mood, we had another episode of Expedition: Back To The Future tonight – although even that’s a little frustrating, given the whole “persistent stutter” business. But we have completed episode 3, which had the boys finally find the Oxnard Car, the final screen-used car, in the back warehouses of Universal Orlando. . .and discover it wasn’t the car in Josh’s newspaper (despite Chris’s attempt at stealing it). Nope, turns out they have to BUILD their own, with the help of professional DeLorean Time Machine maker Danny Botkin and special effects person extraordinaire – and builder of the ORIGINAL DeLoreans – Kevin Pike. A lot of talk about how the original car was made and how theirs has to look ensued, including an interesting extra detail – they’re going to have to figure out how to make it remote controlled. Or, at the very least, BUILD a remote control for it – apparently Michael’s holding it in the picture. Along the way, we saw more cool superfan stuff – I am continually amazed by the collections some people amass – and had more fun times (Josh and Chris arguing about why Marty was fading out in the films instead of immediately popping out of existence, Chris seducing the woman who owned the DeLorean they needed to convert XD). Little sad that the next episode is the last, but I imagine it will end on a high note. :)
Okay, let’s see how the old to-do list came out (and am I glad I didn’t make it longer) –
1. Watch the three OXBox/OXtra videos in my Watch Later, along with the Red Plumbob video and Subs videos: Two-thirds check – the lack of time on my computer meant that I cut the longest of the OXBox videos and the Red Plumbob video. Did manage the others, though –
A) Started with the two shorter OXBox/OXtra videos:
I. Luke gives us the history of one of gaming’s forgotten handheld consoles, the Playstation Phone! Or “Xperia Play,” to give it it’s proper name. Sony-Ericcson’s attempt to break into the mobile gaming market with a phone that doubled as a games console, it was terribly constructed, had almost no good games, and just didn’t work very well, meaning it sank into obscurity almost the moment it was released. Apparently Luke actually reviewed the darn thing as a tech/games journalist back in the day! That’s weird to think about, just because a) that was ten freaking years ago and b) he looks so YOUNG! Luke, are you like me and have a baby face? If so, I feel you, man.
II. A list on “7 Impossible Places That Couldn’t Exist in the Stupid Real World” – locations in games that shift around on their own, or have dimensions that just don’t work, or refuse to let you leave unless you remember the exact turns you need to take down the looping corridors. That last is a reference to The Tremere Chantry from Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, which – for its tendency to stop players actually leaving – made the list. We also had The Ashtray Maze from Control (a shifting maze that Jesse can’t traverse until she’s ready for the endgame and has the janitor’s special Walkman with its awesome soundtrack), the endlessly-looping corridor from the P. T. demo (where you’re basically continually descending into new and hellish variations on the damn thing), and Boyd’s twisted (literally) suburban mindscape from Psychonauts (though, really, any of the levels could qualify, given it’s a game all about going into people’s BRAINS). Fun stuff, and I’m always happy to see my favorite vampire game get a shoutout. :)
B) Then it was over to Call Me Kevin and a look at the pre-release free trial of The Tenants! In which you are a potential landlord and home renovator, giving people house makeovers to earn enough money to fund your own building and your own tenants. Kevin, as you might imagine, showed his usual high standards of house design with things like a shower squished between a Christmas tree and a fuse box in one place; a “speedrun” kitchen with appliances all over the floor and two sinks right next to each other in another; and an “open plan” bathroom with no paint or tile and the toilet next to the fuse box in his own building. It’s not really a surprise that the only person he has currently renting is a gamer who “forgot” to pay her rent the first month. XD But it’s a very fun and cutesy game with some kind of Sims 1-style aesthetics, and I’d be happy to see more. If only to see how many people Kevin, as his landlord “Cheapskate,” could eventually torture. XD
C) And then finally time for GrayStillPlays and more “making everything ridiculous in Minecraft!” Today’s madness – you know how he stuck a bunch of pickaxes together to make a wheel of doom? Well, now he’s doing that with all the OTHER tools and weapons in the game! Wheel of swords! Wheel of bows! Wheel of crossbows! Wheel of axes! Wheel of hoes! All of which rain varying levels of death and destruction upon the land – except for the hoes. Those actually just leave behind perfectly tilled earth. O.o But yeah, Gray cut apart vast chunks of the forest, ocean, and very Seussian-architecture of a local village on his little cursed server testing these babies out, then traveled to the end, one-shotted the Ender Dragon, and then spawned ALL THE ENEMIES, including a fuckton of Withers. We had a number of appearances from our good friend 1 FPS today. XD Oh man, I am so looking forward to seeing all the various ways he can break this game.
2. Play some Sims 4 and set up the Newcrest McFlys' vacation to Mt. Komorebi: No check, because of the, you know, “at least three hours to install a fucking fan” thing. It being after five by the time I could turn my computer back on, it was just too late to even try this one. Maybe I’ll give it another shot tomorrow instead of playing A:MR, but I doubt it.
3. Write some more on "Londerland Bloodlines": Check – got that done before supper. Jack just gave Alice the talk about “the Beast,” and how you don’t want to erode your humanity, because if you do, it gets more and more chances to come out, and. . .that’s a bad thing. Ironically, I feel that Alice actually has less to worry about regarding the Beast than most newly-Embraced Fledglings, because the way I see it? The closest Wonderland equivalent is the Queen of Hearts – whom Alice has already killed once. So she’s got a better handle on it straight from the start, because it already knows she’s not afraid to beat it up to keep it down. :) Still, best not to tempt things by starving or killing innocents – not that Alice was intending on either.
Additionally:
-->Took some time before lunch to make sure I answered my FF.net friend’s PM – annoys me sometimes that it takes me a while to get to them, but at least I know she understands about being busy and thus having stuff slip your mind.
Yeah, hilariously I got something done OFF my to-do list without completing everything ON it. I mean, I'm glad I answered the PM, but I wish I'd gotten my act together just a little more before lunch so I could have at least enjoyed one more of the videos. . .at least I got my writing done. That's always the most important thing.
Anyway, it's a dead night on tumblr so far, which -- given my current state of mind -- I'm quite happy with. Gonna finish answering DW comments, then see about getting some of my Chill Save screenshots sorted and maybe finding something to read. Oh, and tomorrow's to-do list:
1. Watch the long Atop The Fourth Wall three-part episode, Call Me Kevin, and Jon's Fallout 4 YOLO episode
2. Play EITHER Alice: Madness Returns and start the Vale of Doom/Mysterious East chapter OR the Sims 4 and try to do the Newcrest McFlys going to Mt. Komorebi
3. Edit the second draft of my gift fic for my tumblr friend Newt, who's birthday is this upcoming Friday
4. Get in a workout (subject to change based on time/if I get my period)
I'm hoping that's all reasonable. . .then again, I should have power to my room all day tomorrow, so that'll be nice. *rolls eyes* Night all.
It's because my mother ordered a new fan for her and my dad's room. And in order to install this new fan, the power to their bedroom had to be shut off -- and the way the house is wired up, that also shuts off the power to my bedroom.
Yes, it took them over three hours to install this fucking fan. Mostly because, based on my dad's cursing, it's a cheap piece of shit that refused to fit together properly. And in my opinion, it's incredibly fucking ugly to boot. They finally got it to come together, and it seems to be working to my mom's satisfaction, but I was Not Happy it took so long. Scrolling TV Tropes for fun is a lot different than scrolling TV Tropes to try and ignore your growing, seething anger (enhanced by PMS) over not getting to do what you planned on your computer.
Fortunately for my mood, we had another episode of Expedition: Back To The Future tonight – although even that’s a little frustrating, given the whole “persistent stutter” business. But we have completed episode 3, which had the boys finally find the Oxnard Car, the final screen-used car, in the back warehouses of Universal Orlando. . .and discover it wasn’t the car in Josh’s newspaper (despite Chris’s attempt at stealing it). Nope, turns out they have to BUILD their own, with the help of professional DeLorean Time Machine maker Danny Botkin and special effects person extraordinaire – and builder of the ORIGINAL DeLoreans – Kevin Pike. A lot of talk about how the original car was made and how theirs has to look ensued, including an interesting extra detail – they’re going to have to figure out how to make it remote controlled. Or, at the very least, BUILD a remote control for it – apparently Michael’s holding it in the picture. Along the way, we saw more cool superfan stuff – I am continually amazed by the collections some people amass – and had more fun times (Josh and Chris arguing about why Marty was fading out in the films instead of immediately popping out of existence, Chris seducing the woman who owned the DeLorean they needed to convert XD). Little sad that the next episode is the last, but I imagine it will end on a high note. :)
Okay, let’s see how the old to-do list came out (and am I glad I didn’t make it longer) –
1. Watch the three OXBox/OXtra videos in my Watch Later, along with the Red Plumbob video and Subs videos: Two-thirds check – the lack of time on my computer meant that I cut the longest of the OXBox videos and the Red Plumbob video. Did manage the others, though –
A) Started with the two shorter OXBox/OXtra videos:
I. Luke gives us the history of one of gaming’s forgotten handheld consoles, the Playstation Phone! Or “Xperia Play,” to give it it’s proper name. Sony-Ericcson’s attempt to break into the mobile gaming market with a phone that doubled as a games console, it was terribly constructed, had almost no good games, and just didn’t work very well, meaning it sank into obscurity almost the moment it was released. Apparently Luke actually reviewed the darn thing as a tech/games journalist back in the day! That’s weird to think about, just because a) that was ten freaking years ago and b) he looks so YOUNG! Luke, are you like me and have a baby face? If so, I feel you, man.
II. A list on “7 Impossible Places That Couldn’t Exist in the Stupid Real World” – locations in games that shift around on their own, or have dimensions that just don’t work, or refuse to let you leave unless you remember the exact turns you need to take down the looping corridors. That last is a reference to The Tremere Chantry from Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, which – for its tendency to stop players actually leaving – made the list. We also had The Ashtray Maze from Control (a shifting maze that Jesse can’t traverse until she’s ready for the endgame and has the janitor’s special Walkman with its awesome soundtrack), the endlessly-looping corridor from the P. T. demo (where you’re basically continually descending into new and hellish variations on the damn thing), and Boyd’s twisted (literally) suburban mindscape from Psychonauts (though, really, any of the levels could qualify, given it’s a game all about going into people’s BRAINS). Fun stuff, and I’m always happy to see my favorite vampire game get a shoutout. :)
B) Then it was over to Call Me Kevin and a look at the pre-release free trial of The Tenants! In which you are a potential landlord and home renovator, giving people house makeovers to earn enough money to fund your own building and your own tenants. Kevin, as you might imagine, showed his usual high standards of house design with things like a shower squished between a Christmas tree and a fuse box in one place; a “speedrun” kitchen with appliances all over the floor and two sinks right next to each other in another; and an “open plan” bathroom with no paint or tile and the toilet next to the fuse box in his own building. It’s not really a surprise that the only person he has currently renting is a gamer who “forgot” to pay her rent the first month. XD But it’s a very fun and cutesy game with some kind of Sims 1-style aesthetics, and I’d be happy to see more. If only to see how many people Kevin, as his landlord “Cheapskate,” could eventually torture. XD
C) And then finally time for GrayStillPlays and more “making everything ridiculous in Minecraft!” Today’s madness – you know how he stuck a bunch of pickaxes together to make a wheel of doom? Well, now he’s doing that with all the OTHER tools and weapons in the game! Wheel of swords! Wheel of bows! Wheel of crossbows! Wheel of axes! Wheel of hoes! All of which rain varying levels of death and destruction upon the land – except for the hoes. Those actually just leave behind perfectly tilled earth. O.o But yeah, Gray cut apart vast chunks of the forest, ocean, and very Seussian-architecture of a local village on his little cursed server testing these babies out, then traveled to the end, one-shotted the Ender Dragon, and then spawned ALL THE ENEMIES, including a fuckton of Withers. We had a number of appearances from our good friend 1 FPS today. XD Oh man, I am so looking forward to seeing all the various ways he can break this game.
2. Play some Sims 4 and set up the Newcrest McFlys' vacation to Mt. Komorebi: No check, because of the, you know, “at least three hours to install a fucking fan” thing. It being after five by the time I could turn my computer back on, it was just too late to even try this one. Maybe I’ll give it another shot tomorrow instead of playing A:MR, but I doubt it.
3. Write some more on "Londerland Bloodlines": Check – got that done before supper. Jack just gave Alice the talk about “the Beast,” and how you don’t want to erode your humanity, because if you do, it gets more and more chances to come out, and. . .that’s a bad thing. Ironically, I feel that Alice actually has less to worry about regarding the Beast than most newly-Embraced Fledglings, because the way I see it? The closest Wonderland equivalent is the Queen of Hearts – whom Alice has already killed once. So she’s got a better handle on it straight from the start, because it already knows she’s not afraid to beat it up to keep it down. :) Still, best not to tempt things by starving or killing innocents – not that Alice was intending on either.
Additionally:
-->Took some time before lunch to make sure I answered my FF.net friend’s PM – annoys me sometimes that it takes me a while to get to them, but at least I know she understands about being busy and thus having stuff slip your mind.
Yeah, hilariously I got something done OFF my to-do list without completing everything ON it. I mean, I'm glad I answered the PM, but I wish I'd gotten my act together just a little more before lunch so I could have at least enjoyed one more of the videos. . .at least I got my writing done. That's always the most important thing.
Anyway, it's a dead night on tumblr so far, which -- given my current state of mind -- I'm quite happy with. Gonna finish answering DW comments, then see about getting some of my Chill Save screenshots sorted and maybe finding something to read. Oh, and tomorrow's to-do list:
1. Watch the long Atop The Fourth Wall three-part episode, Call Me Kevin, and Jon's Fallout 4 YOLO episode
2. Play EITHER Alice: Madness Returns and start the Vale of Doom/Mysterious East chapter OR the Sims 4 and try to do the Newcrest McFlys going to Mt. Komorebi
3. Edit the second draft of my gift fic for my tumblr friend Newt, who's birthday is this upcoming Friday
4. Get in a workout (subject to change based on time/if I get my period)
I'm hoping that's all reasonable. . .then again, I should have power to my room all day tomorrow, so that'll be nice. *rolls eyes* Night all.
no subject
Date: 2021-03-21 05:10 pm (UTC)I was also thinking of how AL could fit into this (as I do). A while back I was watching a Q&A with Mark Hamill and I figured a frequent question he'd get asked is what it's like to work with her. I like to think the answer is, "When you work with [AL], you've gotten a friend for life. When you play her love interest/someone she shares her psychic link with, well then she's only one call away. And it doesn't necessarily have to be by phone." His son Nathan was born during the production of Empire Strikes Back, and the silly part of me thinks that when he got the call that his wife had gone into labor he did the sitcom-panicked-new-dad thing and freaked out and she got him to his wife in a flash (literally, lol).
What does that have to do with E:BTTF? Well, Chris having been one of the ones she shared her link with, could call her. There could be a scene added right after he says he's in where they're standing outside the house, and Chris is kind of looking up at the sky. Josh asks him what he's doing, and he replies with his eyes shut "I have to make a call."
Josh: Okay. (beat) Um...
Chris: Quiet! (He opens his eyes and scans the sky again) Any minute now.
(Sound of landing) AL: Hey, I came as soon as I heard.
(Josh proceeds to fanboy out) Josh: OMG! How'd you know?
Chris: When you work with her, you receive a friend for life. When you play someone shares her psychic link with, she's only one call away.
AL: And not necessarily by phone.
no subject
Date: 2021-03-22 03:19 am (UTC)And LOL, I see -- yeah, having AL's magical ass along for the ride probably would have made that whole mess a lot easier for Josh and Chris to handle, huh? XD And I didn't know that about Mark's kid! Wow, talk about your extra stress while filming. . .he probably would have appreciated someone who could get him there near-instantly!
no subject
Date: 2021-03-23 09:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-03-24 03:00 am (UTC)