Random stuff

[paco]

Adding to the list! Wife got mad because I showed concern for her several mornings in a row!

You are lucky Carl. Why wife does not still think that. Really hoping they open her store soon. They are talking about it.

[paco]

New (to me) graphics card on the way! I can finally play games that came out the last 5-7 years!

[salmar80]

New (to me) graphics card on the way! I can finally play games that came out the last 5-7 years!

Nowadays it's cool that graphics cards stay relevant for the entire duration of console generation (or longer), since all the biggest titles are done with console performance in mind. No need to upgrade every couple of years.

For a visual treat, I can recommend Control (made in Finland, of course ). Looks amazing on high end systems, works well even with moderate specs.

[paco]

Looks pretty cool. I'll be sure to check it out.

[salmar80]

Looks pretty cool. I'll be sure to check it out.

For a sweet-looking totally silly open world destructothon, you can get Just Cause 4 for free on epicgames.com 'til 4/23.

[paco]

Looks pretty cool. I'll be sure to check it out.

For a sweet-looking totally silly open world destructothon, you can get Just Cause 4 for free on epicgames.com 'til 4/23.

Got it! I do enjoy that series.

[Captain_Ben]

Been thinking about buying a motorcycle. Absolutely no experience riding and just a month ago I never would have given it a second thought. Probably just a "quarantine thought" but it's a thought that I haven't been able to shake the past week or so.

Anybody have any advice?

@Captain_Ben

I hadn’t been on one since high school 25 years prior when I went and bought a used one about 6 years ago. I had that same itch and when I brought it up with the wife, she said why not? I figured getting a relatively inexpensive hoopty would give me a chance to see if it’s just an itch or a full blown thing. Got licensed at one of those all-weekend courses, started riding, took another advanced rider safety course, and now I’m full bore. Love it. Have since stepped up to 2016 HD Softail Slim S and absolutely love it.

My wife wasn’t a rider at all. She started riding as a passenger with me and liked it. Took her a while to trust me with it but she got past it eventually! She soon expressed an interest in riding herself so we got her licensed and she took over my old hoopty. She got comfortable riding but wasn’t thrilled with her physical fitment on that wider style bike (Suzuki Boulevard) so for Mother’s Day last year I swapped it for a HD 883 Sportster and she loves it. We now both go riding quite regularly with friends and it’s a blast. Something we can both do together.

Being an empty nester has its perks...

Great pic, APB!

What is the longest ride you could comfortably make on your Softail? I have heard that it is best to start on a sportster or some equivalent if you don't have any prior riding experience. I envision some day/weekend regional rides but don't know if that could comfortably be accomplished on a sportster.

Also, trying to decide between HD and Indian. I really like the Indians except I am 6'1" and I'm worried about looking like a big kid trying to ride a bicycle that's too small for him haha.

Anyway, this might all be a moot point if the economy continues down this path. But it's a fun thought to entertain nonetheless.

[APB]

Been thinking about buying a motorcycle. Absolutely no experience riding and just a month ago I never would have given it a second thought. Probably just a "quarantine thought" but it's a thought that I haven't been able to shake the past week or so.

Anybody have any advice?

@Captain_Ben

I hadn’t been on one since high school 25 years prior when I went and bought a used one about 6 years ago. I had that same itch and when I brought it up with the wife, she said why not? I figured getting a relatively inexpensive hoopty would give me a chance to see if it’s just an itch or a full blown thing. Got licensed at one of those all-weekend courses, started riding, took another advanced rider safety course, and now I’m full bore. Love it. Have since stepped up to 2016 HD Softail Slim S and absolutely love it.

My wife wasn’t a rider at all. She started riding as a passenger with me and liked it. Took her a while to trust me with it but she got past it eventually! She soon expressed an interest in riding herself so we got her licensed and she took over my old hoopty. She got comfortable riding but wasn’t thrilled with her physical fitment on that wider style bike (Suzuki Boulevard) so for Mother’s Day last year I swapped it for a HD 883 Sportster and she loves it. We now both go riding quite regularly with friends and it’s a blast. Something we can both do together.

Being an empty nester has its perks...

Great pic, APB!

What is the longest ride you could comfortably make on your Softail? I have heard that it is best to start on a sportster or some equivalent if you don't have any prior riding experience. I envision some day/weekend regional rides but don't know if that could comfortably be accomplished on a sportster.

Also, trying to decide between HD and Indian. I really like the Indians except I am 6'1" and I'm worried about looking like a big kid trying to ride a bicycle that's too small for him haha.

Anyway, this might all be a moot point if the economy continues down this path. But it's a fun thought to entertain nonetheless.

Thanks!

I rode my Softail from my home down to the NC Outer Banks a few years ago. Was a little over 2.5 hrs and while a little sore in my back, it was a good ride. I have persistent back pain anyway so it wasn’t too big a deal.

I have added forward foot platforms which allows for the ability to stretch my legs and straighten my knees which is nice. I also just added 12” mini-ape bars to allow a more comfortable arm position. Overall I really like the feel, look, and comfort of my Softail.

My wife’s Sportster is great for her but I only ride it when I need to take it to her or some oddball thing. She will drive her car to work when it’s cold in the morning and I’ll bring her the bike later once it warms. She has mid-pegs which keep my legs cramped pretty tight and I don’t like that at all. It sits a little higher than mine, as well, which I’m not crazy about. I’m about 6’ and it’s it just a bit too small for my frame, IMO.

Really leaning Indian for my next purchase but that’ll be down the road.

If you’re just starting, I’d really recommend finding a hoopty that won’t break the bank and figure out your riding style on that. If you dump it, who cares?! That’ll also determine if you’re serious about picking up the hobby or if the itch was just that.

Edit: I do have a friend who goes 6'3" or so who rides a Sportster. He added forward foot pegs and 14" handlebars that allow him to stretch his limbs and he loves it. Food for thought.

[Pckfn23]

WIAA spring sports completely cancelled. Still opportunity for 30 days of a summer scrimmage/contact season in July. That's too bad. I had a thrower that was going for her 5th and 6th stat title.

[salmar80]

Looks pretty cool. I'll be sure to check it out.

For a sweet-looking totally silly open world destructothon, you can get Just Cause 4 for free on epicgames.com 'til 4/23.

Got it! I do enjoy that series.

I would not survive drafts without Civilization VI. I can listen to a broadcast and put in a couple of turns in the game and then switch off it when something's about to happen. Such an amazingly durable strategy game. And super addictive - "just one more turn...whaat? The sun is rising?" is a real thing. You can play a 1000 hours of it, and still find new ways to play it. Every single game in the series has been 4 to 5 stars outta 5 for me.

[paco]

For a sweet-looking totally silly open world destructothon, you can get Just Cause 4 for free on epicgames.com 'til 4/23.

Got it! I do enjoy that series.

I would not survive drafts without Civilization VI. I can listen to a broadcast and put in a couple of turns in the game and then switch off it when something's about to happen. Such an amazingly durable strategy game. And super addictive - "just one more turn...whaat? The sun is rising?" is a real thing. You can play a 1000 hours of it, and still find new ways to play it. Every single game in the series has been 4 to 5 stars outta 5 for me.

Love that series too. I do plan to get VI. Played the hell out of V and didn't touch most of the expansions. So much replay value. Right now I've got Madden '20. Last Madden I played on the PC was '08 and really haven't played on any console. SOOOO much different. But so far, a big MEH. Doesn't help I'm not very good. Will probably wait for '21 and see how that is.

Also playing COD WWII. I do like the COD games. But not liking this one quite as much. So not great luck so far. I'm out of hard drive space, so need to clear some to install more games. I've got Control, that'll probably be loaded next.

[BF004]

I loved Civ IV and Age of Empires and the like.

Been a long time since I've played anything like that.


Would just love to waste like 2 weeks straight playing that without actually having to give up two weeks, lol.

[Pckfn23]

Still play AoE3. Infact played a game last night. Need AoE4 to come out...

[BF004]

I got kids of 4, 6 and 8

Don't think I've played a game like that for 6-7 years now.

Such is life.

[salmar80]

Got it! I do enjoy that series.

I would not survive drafts without Civilization VI. I can listen to a broadcast and put in a couple of turns in the game and then switch off it when something's about to happen. Such an amazingly durable strategy game. And super addictive - "just one more turn...whaat? The sun is rising?" is a real thing. You can play a 1000 hours of it, and still find new ways to play it. Every single game in the series has been 4 to 5 stars outta 5 for me.

Love that series too. I do plan to get VI. Played the hell out of V and didn't touch most of the expansions. So much replay value. Right now I've got Madden '20. Last Madden I played on the PC was '08 and really haven't played on any console. SOOOO much different. But so far, a big MEH. Doesn't help I'm not very good. Will probably wait for '21 and see how that is.

Also playing COD WWII. I do like the COD games. But not liking this one quite as much. So not great luck so far. I'm out of hard drive space, so need to clear some to install more games. I've got Control, that'll probably be loaded next.

I got me an extra SSD drive to install games to, and it cuts loading times to nothing. Highly recommended.

Let me know what you think of Control. The story takes a while to unfold (like in Alan Wake and Max Payne by the same game studio), but the action is intense and has a punch to it. I have not gotten into any new CoDs, which I probably should do. The previous ones I played felt like steering the camera through a pre-shot movie scene. Destroyed the immersion.

Madden '20 cost me a lot and was the biggest gaming disappointment for me in a loooong time. The gameplay was barely more like real football than in 2008, and the franchise mode which is what I used to love was an afterthought with blatant exploits. Everything seems to try to funnel you into the pay-even-more trading card online games. If I pay 60€ for a game, I expect to get the full game, not be asked to pay more to play it as intended.

Civ VI is easier to start than some previous ones (recommend playing your first game as Rome), and the main expansions are great but not required. You can get it for less than $10 on sale. Having to override tiles to build specialized districts and wonders is a GREAT addition, as is having two tech trees of science and culture. A lot more variety than in Civ V. Playing a military game is entirely different from a science one. Do not let barbarians run amok!

There are two off-the-beaten-path recommendations I can give you: Kerbal Space Program and Disco Elysium. The former is a space flight and space agency simulation with adorable green aliens to man your blowy uppy vehicles when things go wrong. And they will. The presentation is funny, but the physics are real and ruthless. Gravity is no joke, and orbital mechanics are rough, man. It's a spectacle of explosions on the road to learning and succeeding as a rocket scientist. The joy of beating physics with only your knowledge and skill is an amazing rush. First orbit, docking, moon landing... The time you landed on the moon in a desperate roll down a crater without enough fuel to return...

The latter, Disco Elysium, is a role-playing game with zero combat, where you take the role of...about any kind of down-on-your-luck cop that you can imagine. You choose whether you want to be a serious Sherlock, an utter maniac, a beefed-up manly intimidator or a drug-driven seeker of pleasure, whatever. All can solve the murder, but the "how" is the real story. You can be a hopeless Commie, a champion of Liberalism, sorry for existing, a Superstar (in your mind), a supra-natural psychic (only maybe in your mind?), an "inexplicable feminist", and many other things. It's text-heavy, but luckily the best written game I've ever seen, with more laughing out loud moments than in any other game.

[Pckfn23]

I got kids of 4, 6 and 8

Don't think I've played a game like that for 6-7 years now.

Such is life.

Got a 4 and 8 year old. My gaming time is 9 to midnight. That is if I don't fall asleep on the couch.

[salmar80]

I got kids of 4, 6 and 8

Don't think I've played a game like that for 6-7 years now.

Such is life.

I've got nieces who love watching me play games and to participate. Some games that I love playing and they love watching and participating:

Child of Light - A great platformer with Final Fantasy -like combat, and a feeling of marvel and wonder. Amazing art. A story of a little girl who can hardly drag her sword around at the start growing into a young powerful woman with superpowers.

Abzû - A game of discovering the underwater world. You dive effortlessly and the ocean is your playground. There's such beauty. Some scary moments, too, alleviated by the fact you can mount and ride on dolphins and big fish.

Kerbal Space Program - Let them suggest rocket parts to compose outlandish designs and watch them explode in a spectacular fashion. Every failure is fun, and they learn super fast.

Ori and the Blind Forest, and Ori and the Will of the Wisps - both great platformers, and with animated characters kids gravitate to. There's some Bambi -level drama there, so maybe not for the youngest. But it'll all be OK in the end.

Rayman series of games - Good platforming stuff without anything scary.

Broforce - if you have young boys, in this game EVERYTHING blows up and is fun both solo and in local co-op.

[NCF]

Back when football was simple.

[APB]

Back when football was simple.

I remember watching that game!

[Pckfn23]

Over these last 2 months there has been an affirmation of my choice not to be an elementary school teacher. Home Schooling and working virtually at the same time sucks.