Storypost | 2018.12.30

Travel

Christmas was the usual fare: travel, eggs benedict, prime rib, secret Santa, wine.

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Cousins

Kaf got to meet his cousin, Pepperoni.

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As usual he was cagey and defensive at first, but once they got to an open field to run together he realized that she's mostly harmless.

Weimaraner golden retriever playing creek Weimaraner golden retriever playing creek Weimaraner golden retriever playing creek Weimaraner golden retriever playing creek

We took them to the creek where there were a couple of crossings. Pepper found one that was shallow, but mossy. The end result was not pretty, but everyone came away without permanent damage:

And another

Dogs playing Dogs playing

Monique brought Sherman up to the house. Pepper still had the energy to play with him. Kaf kept his distance and tried to vulture some early dinner.
Coding by the fire


Rob's been doing the Advent of Code challenges, so when he came up we did a couple. They're pretty good and feel like interview questions: a circular linked list, tree deserialization and traversal, and a grid of points with momentums that required a heuristic to solve in reasonable amount of time.
Aptos

Backroads drive into Aptos Nisene Marks Soquel forest

Next was a stop in the Monterey Bay to meet Benjamin and see the rest of the Morelos crew. There was, as usual, a bunch of traffic coming out of the mountains. Not being on a schedule, I took the scenic route of one-lane roads through the redwoods.

Sleepy viszla Happy golden retriever Weimaraner chomping ball toy Holding golden retriever



Storypost | 2018.12.22

Farcry 5 screenshot Father statue wingsuiting
Vikendi


The PUBG snow map dropped this week. After a bunch of squad and some solo, I've played the map all of once.

Still, Dino Park is kind of a must-drop even if there wasn't much loot. Got my first frying pan kill there so it will always have a place in my heart.
Far Cry 5

Farcry 5 screenshot compound flamethrower

J and me are mixing a little Far Cry into the predominantly-Divinity gaming. It's more or less what you'd expect, an iteration on the story-driven open world formula with some notable improvements.

Far Cry 5 load screen the father Far Cry 5 crash upside down Far Cry 5 the father church Far Cry 5 map

We last visited the Nepal-ish country of Kyrat where an eccentric semi-villain was... errr something about revenge and whatnot. Anyway, this one takes place in rural Montana and the baddies are a religious/separatist cult following an iconic villain called The Father.

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The game really has fun with the Montana thing.

Far Cry 5 binoculars spotting enemies Far Cry 5 bow stealth Far Cry 5 Falls End liberation zipline

Settlement liberation is a series mainstay. Scoping out an enemy-occupied territory and deciding how to liberate it with stealth or explosions is good fun. Naturally, the liberated settlements unlock the area and provide places to shop and such.

Far Cry 5 RPG reload creek Far Cry 5 RPG big farma shovel launcher

Weapons are the standard fare. Semis, autos, sniper rifles, explosives. The currency system works pretty well - it doesn't take hours of gameplay to unlock the awesome armaments, but you certainly can't buy them all straightaway.

thumbnail Far Cry 5 Boatercycle jetski beached thumbnail Far Cry 5 drifting vaporwave car thumbnail Far Cry 5 Polaris RZR thumbnail Far Cry 5 zipline thumbnail Far Cry 5 floatplane helicopter combat
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The standard array of vehicles is available to roam the Montana cuts. While FC4 had only an ultralight for air transportation, this one has helicopters and prop planes. There are also custom vehicles with mounted turrets and rocket pods.

Far Cry 5 vertical cellphone camera lol Far Cry 5 testicle festival

Of course there's plenty of poignant, dark, and sophomoric humor. I chuckled when the intro video showed a phone video taken vertically. The "save the testicle festival" sidequest had us in stitches, even if there's some gruesomeness to it.


Farcry 5 screenshot jumping from bridge

Photomode is very much like Horizon, I guess it's a PS4 API or maybe Ubi.

Farcry 5 screenshot its a jeep thing you wouldnt understand mullet

It's a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand.
Divinity

Playstation trophy Feeble screams

We may be closing in on the final chapter of Divinity. It's been a great ride.

Divinity Original Sin Jahan Divinity Original Sin wizard
Winter at the track

Del Mar track fairgrounds panorama

I managed to charm my way into another team's teambuilding. I guess Del Mar picked up an LA horse race series.

Del Mar Fairgrounds track Deere racing pun I apologize for nothing

... also deere races.
Wow, Heartgard

Heartgard prepaid card scammy junk

"Here is a card that you can use to care for your pet. We'll just stick the monthly fee under the card adhesive."
Rig update

Office desk workstation battlestation ample coffee cups

I had it on good authority that a 144hz monitor would significantly improve my gaming ability. Of course it hasn't, but things look better. Also three monitors is a must for simultaneous coding, internetting, and watching football.
Coziness

View of waves at Del Mar dog beach from racetrack Zero S after being ridden in the rain Nintendo 3DS weimaraner cozy Dumpling Inn

Other than that, big waves and rainy rides juxtaposed with dumplings and gameboy by the fire.