As my busy season starts to slow down finally (for those who don't remember, I quit farming in 2014/15, did odd jobs until the fall of 2017, and went to work for an agricultural implements and services dealer, so I'm back on farm schedules), I am finally able to start taking a few minutes for myself with increasing frequency.

On video games:

I got back to playing Dragon Quest 8 on PS2 last weekend and am currently grinding levels to get all party members at least ONE max-level skill. I must say I was quite disappointed by Hero's Lightning Storm, as it turns out it DOES NOT work on metal slimes like one person I read on one FAQ said it would (and it shouldn't, as it is technically a magic effect, to which metal slimes are immune). Angelo actually has TWO skills maxed out, Bows and Staves, because I only ever put points into three skill trees with him. Jessica just needs her Stave tree maxed, although she's still two or three levels from being able to do so; as with Hero, I spread her points across all but one tree, which I don't think I'll ever do again. The game just isn't built to support generalists. And Yangus, despite leveling faster than anyone else, is still three levels from getting his first max tree in Fisticuffs. He's the one I'm worried about, as I didn't know about the possible necessity of Stainless Steal Sickle for skill grinding until it was arguably too late. So, for this game, I may just finish the "first" ending, then leave off the optional ending and do it some time in the future. My daughter and I have already started acquiring the equipment and games we need to play every story line Dragon Quest game from 1 through...whatever the most recent one is. 11 or 12.

This "required" the purchase of a Hyperkin Retron V retro gaming console. I must say, it has been everything it was supposed to be, so far. You put a Gameboy Color cartridge in the Gameboy slot after you've started the system, it copies the ROM to memory, then runs it in an emulator upscaled to 720P and properly framed, no stretching or distortion. Out of the box, it did that. We've tried four games (three Game Boy Color, one Game Boy) and they've all worked. I was most surprised that my original copy of Link's Awakening worked fine after cleaning the contacts on the cartridge, that game has literally just been sitting around through multiple moves since I was 12 or 13, something like that.

In order to continue to the next set of games (the Retron 5 will play Game Boy through Game Boy Advance games), we have also purchased a used Wii U. While there are games on the Wii U we will be playing, the intention is to install the Homebrew channel in order to run a Nintendo DS emulator on the Wii U. This will give us the ability to play all DS games through the 3DS (although obviously without the 3D effect).

Following Dragon Quest, we will move on to either Final Fantasy games or Phantasy Star games, or possibly Shining Force games. Shining Force may be a problem at this point, as some significant titles were released on Sega CD or were Japanese-only releases. I haven't had much time to research it, yet. I don't really have a problem with emulation to solve the problem...the prerequisite is that the game must be playable on the big TV while sitting in a recliner. Ergo the Retron V and and the Wii U to solve all our Nintendo needs. The Retron will cover the two Genesis/Megadrive games that were released as Shining Force 1 and 2 in the U.S., although the story is poorly adapted in SF1 and SF2 is actually SF 3, while SF2 was actually a couple of games that weren't released in the U.S. until they were updated and put on the Sega CD.

Final Fantasy will be easy. I already own the PSOne/Classics releases of Final Fantasy 1 and 2, 4 - 6, and 7 - 9; as well as 10 and 10-2 and 12 for PS2. I also own all of those (through 10 and 10-2 Remastered) on PC, as well. Final Fantasy 3 will have to be purchased for GBA or PSP. 13, 13-2, and 15 will be determined at a later date. The PSP releases are arguably the best versions, at least in most cases, as they generally have the best script adaption and HD graphics, and natively support widescreen. A PSP GO can use a Dual Shock 3 controller, and you can use a mod to connect a controller to a PSP 3000.

Phantasy Star I haven't even looked at, yet. My memory is that the games started on the Master System, and have always been a bit unique in the turn-based role playing game world. Phantasy Star Online was a massive hit in Japan, and is basically the baseline for everything that has been done with Phantasy Star since it originally debuted on the Dreamcast. But I think there were at least 4 or 5 Phantasy Star games before that.

IN other video game news:

I quit playing World of Warcraft, probably for good; or at least until gameplay changes back to support solo players. I quit playing Lord of the Rings Online (again). When I went back to it last year or the year before, whenever that was, I was able to push forward another few areas with my Ranger, plus I leveled at least one of every other type of class to Level 10 or thereabouts. I really wanted to try to get to the Moria expansion, but I just couldn't do it. I understand gameplay in the most recent expansions has changed a bit, but in the earlier expansions the focus is still on party play, and I just wasn't interested in trying to get involved in finding a group that was primarily interested in taking a non-party player along for a tour of the parts of Middle Earth I couldn't get access to on my own. I'll keep an eye on the game; it's changed ownership to a group that's basically finishing out the main content releases and polishing the game, so new game modes and refreshes of early content for all the "other" players may be coming soon.

So, while I still have a bunch of MMORPGs installed on my computer, the only one I'm playing regularly is Star Wars The Old Republic. I'm on my last original character story, the Jedi Knight. Once that's done, it's time to go back; probably to my Sith Agent, and start working through expansions. And probably completely rebuild how I play the character now that I have the experiences I've gained with all the other classes under my belt. The Agent was still the best storyline I've had, although the utter inability to follow up with the character I created in the first bit of added content (where I basically am assumed to hold the opposite opinion on one of the fundamental issues facing the Sith Empire than I the one I actually HAVE) is BY FAR the single must frustrating story element I've faced. But I haven't started that storyline with any other character, yet...so we'll see.

*Basically, my Sith Agent followed the story options that resulted in her being highly dismissive of and opposed to the current Sith regime, and supportive of a powerful Rogue Sith who believed that the Sith Pureblood rejection of anyone who wasn't Sith Pureblood or Human weakened the Empire and doomed it to fail. He set out, during the story, to take out the current leadership and remake the Empire. I'll just say the my Sith Agent was a silent but active supporter. She's a big believer in the Imperial Bureaucracy, and everything she experiences in the story re-enforces that belief. THE FIRST NEW CONTENT AFTER THE MAIN STORY ENDS assumes you opposed this guy like all the other right-thinking Sith did and you're tasked with taking him out. NO YOU DON'T get the option to secretly support him anymore, YOU'RE A SERVANT OF THE EMPIRE DAMMIT AND SITH HATE THE FAHKING ALIENS AND ANYONE WHO BOOSTS THEM UP. I tore my fahking hair out during that story.

This ended up being a lot longer than I expected. I guess I'll talk about movies and anime in a separate post. I've got a review of the Godzilla: King of the Monsters to write, and both Isekai Quartet and One Punch Man Series 2 are almost done. Plus I've finally watched The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya and Kantai Collection The Movie. Regarding the latter, I apparently zigged when most people zagged; I thought the movie was brilliant. I loved it. It was exactly what I wanted, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I gather at this point that is NOT the more popular opinion of the movie. While "like" and "dislike" are certainly subjective and not worth arguing over, a quick google of reviews brings up the same phrase over and over "not the Kantai Collection I know and love." This is probably a fair assessment from many points of view. And while I liked Kantai Collection, the series, readers here or at Wonderduck's Pond may recall that I was extremely frustrated early on because the world didn't make sense to me. I finally just let it go and enjoyed what was presented. Well, The Movie just about answered all my questions, and made the world make sense. To me. And it was a good movie and story beyond that.



Anyway, there's another review coming for that. And I really want to write up Overlord Series 2 as I did with Series 1.

Stop me if you've heard this one before:

Two female roommates, newly arrived at college, develop such intense feelings for each other that they sing songs and act impulsively toward each other?

No, it's not the hit musical Wicked, and it's not Loathing™...

It's Manaria Friends, and it's....erm....borderline embarrassing how hot and bothered the two leads are toward each other™.

Yet at the same time, it's a really sweet and cute show, very short, with a decent amount of world-building.



This is Princess Anne. The human princess from [mumblemumbleplace] and a magical prodigy. She's a natural at studying magic, learning magic, and she's capable of casting spells that no one in [magicalacademyplace] can even understand. But she's no wild talent...she's gained her knowledge by studying, she just has that much more magical ability than anyone else.

She's also very interested in getting some tail.



This is Grea. She's a dragonborn princess from wherever the dragonborn princess comes from, presumably a place with other dragonborn. While her magical ability is bog standard with other other non-princess-anne students, she's a powerful fighter. She's also a talented musician and is very shy around the other students.

She also has a tail.

Manaria Friends is comprised of 1 part lore, 4 parts sweetness, including the yuri romance, and 5 parts the two leads thinking about...well, getting really nasty with each other. The show is NOT explicit...it's not hentai, it barely has any ecchi content at all. At the same time, it is made perfectly clear that both characters have their mind on what comes AFTER their first kiss...the kiss is merely a formality at this point. In the final episode, Anne takes the initiative and gets approval for the two to room together next year, which is followed by Grea and Anne...taking a nap together, I'm sure that's what happened.



But don't get me wrong! This series is so much more than LEWD CONTENT.



It's very pretty, the music is great, and the episodes are short. It's an incredibly relaxing (except for the LEWD bits) time-waster.

The series (only ten short episodes) is based on the Rage of Bahamut game; specifically one event called Rage of Bahamut: Manaria Friends. Yes, this ENTIRE series is based on an EVENT in a social game. It was announced in 2016, had the entire staff removed a year later, was re-announced with a new staff, then had it's production and debut pushed back to late 2018/early 2019. The show is certainly a 1 1/2 trick pony, with a few hints at something deeper. Although I guess you'll have to get into Rage of Bahamut to see any of that.

Recommended. Dress casually. Take breaks every three episode to prevent overheating.

I haven't been this effing excited for a movie in YEARS.

So, the premise is this:

In all four original shows (Overlord, KonoSuba, Re:Zero, The Saga of Tanya the Evil); the protagonists are "normal humans" magically transported to another world where they must use their skills and intellect and/or phenomenal cosmic powers to assume another identity or perform some service. Now in Isekai Quartet, all of those characters and their acquired minions/companions are re-magically transported back to modern-day Earth, or something that resembles it, AND THEY'RE ALL IN HIGH SCHOOL!!!

This show just might be intended to be somewhat absurd.

I've never watched Re:Zero or KonoSuba, but Wonderduck informed me that the crew from KonoSuba were not...talented or particularly gifted in any way. And in the opening episode they were strongly considering attacking the undead Supreme Overlord and Guardians of Nazerick, all of whom know one or more instadeath spells. Ainz literally has a unique spell called "Everything DIES". Everything in a 1 mile radius DIES. No saving throw.

So, yeah...this looks like fun.

Finished deck, with a few of the strips used to shape the hull on the starboard side. Deck is sanded pretty good. The parts underneath are a false keel that defines the side profile of the ship, crossmembers that define the rough shape of the hull, a stern plate that defines the shape of the stern, and some bolsters at the bow on the false keel that broaden the bow a bit so you have a better surface to form the bow shape.



Getting these side strakes on is HARD. Or rather, doing it WELL is HARD. The port side is better, but you're not supposed to be looking at the port side right now. As far as I can tell, once you have some experience, this goes easier. But, this DOES form the shape of the hull.



This is the complete (base) port hull. It's white because I coated it with wood putty and sanded it down three times. The starboard side will take more work than this, because there are more, bigger holes and rougher fits. Once the starboard hull matches the port hull, the gunwale pieces will be installed and matched to the hull, and then there are a few places where I'll use the base strakes to fill some gaps or thicken some things up. Then the actual hull will be applied with mahogany strips the same thickness as the base hull strips. Supposedly, having the hull fully shaped will allow the mahogany strakes to be fitted to the hull with proper fit and finish. BUT, the good news is I'll be painting this model anyway, rather than leaving it raw wood and staining it. I've already got a paint kit for 19th Century United States Revenue Service cutters. Although honestly, it's basically the same paint scheme as U.S. warships: black with a white stripe just below the gunwales.

One of my favorite single moments in any anime ever...



This is right at the end of the last episode. It's a good show, but the final half of the last episode is heart-breaking, while the final minute pays for all. This moment starts the final minute.

This is the official 10 Year Anniversary version:

Going from 40 to 50 seems to be the worst philosophically, to me...although I get the feeling Wonderduck may argue that everything bad really starts at 50.

But I can most certainly assure you that the personal decade that started in 2013 has been by far the worst decade of the five I've been involved in. (Yes, I know that actually started a year before I turned 40. It probably adds up somewhere depending on how you look at the math.)

I spent my birthday's eve at the hospital, scared to death that my wife was in the middle of a stroke or a fit triggered by a heart attack (she's at risk, as am I.) Halfway to the hospital her symptoms evolved and it started sounding more like a sudden-onset severe migraine that had triggered some other symptoms. When the Dr. saw her in the ER, he zeroed in on her neck pain and asked if she had experienced any sudden trauma recently, at which point we both remembered she was in a near-wreck on Friday. It's easy to forget stuff like that when you AVOID the collision, but she hit the brakes so hard she hit her head on the steering wheel. One muscle-relaxer later and she's fine.

Fun times. Could have been so much worse.

All the kids showed up at the hospital. The two biological ones and the three emotionally adopted ones. That was nice. I mean, they live 5 minutes away, but they get so busy so fast when they move out on their own. The youngest is still at home, on her way to 19 this year, and she had to deal with the initial stages of what looked like a stroke while my wife was driving home. I'm sure that was scary as hell. I tend to be a problem solver and get overrun by math and strategy when problems occur.

So I guess this is my emotional release.

Go buy Wonderduck some good ramen. He needs to eat.