Month: July 2023

Diablo IV updated impressions

Bradley FarlessLeave a comment

This game is dark and the scenery is amazing. The characters are fairly well done, both in terms of complexity and voice acting. I’m enjoying it, but I feel like it doesn’t have the same impact as Diablo III, somehow. It doesn’t have the same grim feeling. Maybe I’ve just consumed too much media for it to have the same impact?

I hit level 51 now, so I’m getting Paragon points, and I’m working my way through the main story. I’m on Act III now. I want to finish the storyline and then move up to higher tiers of difficulty. I’d also like to get through the main storyline before Season 1 starts. I wonder if it’s going to be the same as seasons in Diablo III.

My main gripe with the game so far is that the cosmetic designs in the game Shop seem really uninspired and not worth the money, except for the Ranger, but I don’t play Ranger so I’m out of luck. Maybe that’s a good thing. I’m sure my wallet is thankful that the armor designers have no imagination.

Hazy Fifth of July

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This was the 5th of July at about 5:15 AM. The Verrazano Bridge is partially obscured by a haze of smoke that I thought was from Canada, but turned out to be from fireworks. It was kind of a Bronx firecrackers or gunshots moment.

The humidity and low wind took the AQI up to about 300 that night, but thankfully it cleared up by the end of the day. I want some normalcy. Except for traffic. It’d be great if that’d stay low like it has been all week.

Rediscovering cycling with folding bikes

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Moving to the Bronx was the right move at the time, but it came with some costs. One of those costs was the inconvenience of having to go somewhere else to do anything and everything, because let’s face it, the Bronx isn’t really that fun or friendly a place, and that’s especially true for bike riding.

That wasn’t so much of an issue when we had a car with a bike rack, but thanks to someone who slammed into it while it was parked and totaled it, we have a new car with no hitch and no rack. Between that and the pandemic, our outings to go cycling basically came to an end for quite a while.

Then we discovered folding bikes that actually ride well. We can throw them in the trunk of the car, pull them out, unfold them and be riding in less time than it used to take me to strap up our full sized bikes onto the old Allen rack we had. Granted, folding bikes have different capabilities and limitations, but it’s opened the door for us to get outside and do something we both enjoy again.