Bradley's Old Fashioned Weblog

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  • SMISKI Collectibles – Series 4 Box

    There is a Kinokuniya bookstore across the river in Edgewater, NJ. We stumbled onto it while we were looking for the Trader Joe’s that’s a few minutes up the road. Kinokuniya is a Japanese bookstore. The first time I visited one was with my wife in Singapore. They have a large selection of Japanese and English language books, magazines, and manga.

    The Kinokuniya in Edgewater also has a stationary consignment shop inside that is pretty nice. The shop is located in the same shopping center as Mitsuwa Shopping Center, a Japanese grocery store with a food court. Mitsuwa is pretty cool, too. I like walking down the aisles and looking at the products. They also carry items that we already enjoy like Ito Ten roasted rice green tea and Yakult, a probiotic drink.

    SMISKI Series 4 Box
    SMISKI Series 4 Box

    Anyway, Kinokuniya is set up so that when you walk in, you’re in a section with a bunch of cute knickknacks and collectibles. One of those collectibles is called Smiski – Opens Japanese language website. It’s basically a blind-box item, where you open a box and get a random version of the collectible.

    When I saw them, I was reminded of these forest spirit things from an animated movie called Princess Mononoke.

    After a few visits, I decided that I wanted to buy one and open it. I don’t know why, but I like the idea of having them on my bookcases, or in random places in the apartment. It would be fun.

    SMISKI Series 4 Collectible
    SMISKI Series 4 Collectible

    I picked a series 4 box. I was hoping to get the guy laying down with a smaller Smiski sitting on his head, but I got this guy that’s climbing up the edge of my books, which is also fun.

    SMISKI Series 4 Collectible Sitting on my Books
    SMISKI Series 4 Collectible Sitting on my Books

    They’re supposed to glow in the dark, but I haven’t noticed that happening with mine. I don’t think it’s defective, though. The spot it’s sitting in doesn’t get much natural light.

    I’m looking forward to picking up more of these. Maybe once a month?

  • My Cat, Dapper, Sleeping Next to Me

  • Destiny 2 Gameplay & Criticisms – Public Events on Nessus and Crucible

    Destiny 2 Gameplay & Criticisms – Public Events on Nessus and Crucible

    Destiny 2, despite its obvious flaws and drawbacks, is a pretty fun game. I mean, I can’t understand how Bungie released a second Destiny game that doesn’t have an area, zone, or Clan chat channel. They claim they want you to make friends in the game that you can play with, but how can you do that when you can’t engage people in conversation?

    I’m also not happy that they still haven’t implemented an in-game party finder system for end-game content.  Why should I have to use another site or even another device to try to get that done? It should be baked into the game.

    2017-11-22 - Match End Stats - Destiny 2. Awesome 13.5 Efficiency Rating! =D
    2017-11-22 – Match End Stats – Destiny 2. Awesome 13.5 Efficiency Rating! =D

    Still, the PvP can be fun when you get a group that has good chemistry (for your team at least, probably not for the other guys). I think the PvP is what I like most about Destiny 2. It’s what I liked most about Destiny 1 as well. It’s what will keep me coming back to play more than anything.

    I’d like to see more open world activities with coherent lore. I’d like to see more opportunities to interact with other characters. I’d like to see a crafting system. But then, maybe I’m asking for Destiny 2 to become something it wasn’t intended to be? I could really go for a sci-fi MMO. I never played Star Wars Online and I heard that some update or expansion made it trashy so I never will.

  • Book Review: Soul of the Fire, by Terry Goodkind

    Soul of the Fire, by Terry Goodkind
    Soul of the Fire, by Terry Goodkind

    I enjoyed the exercise in world building that this book seems to represent. The author laid out the history of Anderith and then used that foundation to give us a story about political intrigue and domination.

    I also enjoyed how things played out at the end, though I’m not sure it made much sense. The common people would be the ones to suffer the most, while the elites who manipulated them in the first place would likely escape retribution, like Dalton. So, could that really satisfy Richard’s desire for vengeance? It does make his actions seem more juvenile. What he’s doing at the end of the story is pretty juvenile too. “They don’t like me so I’m going home!” Isn’t this guy supposed to be Lord Rahl? Wouldn’t his past experiences have hardened him up and made a man out of him by this point? Are his actions believable?

    I feel like Goodkind spends a lot of time building new characters up and developing them in really creative ways, only to have them meet their ends in extremely anti-climactic situations that felt rushed and left me wondering what the point of learning about them was in the first place.

    That rushed feeling permeates the last 60 pages or so of the book. One moment everything is fine, and then suddenly the enemy is there and everything quickly wraps up in catastrophe. It doesn’t feel measured. It doesn’t feel like good storytelling. It feels like the author put too much time into the build-up and then realized he only had 50 pages to find some sort of conclusion. The ending was choppy and unsatisfying. Goodkind also puts too much weight on weak storylines. The prime example is using Franka’s situation at the end of the book to explain Dalton’s change of heart, but for that to be believable Dalton’s relationship with Franka should have been more deeply examined.

    The story could have been better if Goodkind had spent less time detailing characters and a culture that were disposable and had spent more time developing the main characters instead. Throughout the story, all of the main characters fail to work together. The actions they take aren’t believable given their situations. Kahlan doubting Richard and the mud people elder about the chicken is the most glaring example. Why would they lie about it, and if it had turned out to be untrue, so what? They’d have checked and maybe killed a few chickens and then they could have settled things. Instead, she gets portrayed as a doubting, whining bitch that slows down story progression, which isn’t fair to her considering who she is supposed to be. Richard has his turn to be an idiot when he doesn’t trust Kahlan’s opinion later on in the story.

    The story just feels like a wasted opportunity, or like filler material.

  • A Shout Out to Olive Garden and Starbucks for Veterans Day Offers

    A Shout Out to Olive Garden and Starbucks for Veterans Day Offers

    Every year that I’ve been in the United States on Veterans Day I’ve had the opportunity to get freebies from various companies when dining out. For example, Olive Garden offered a free entree and Starbucks offered a free tall (small) plain coffee for veterans. I took advantage of both. There are other sites that have lists of what restaurants offered this year, though. That’s not really the point of this post.

    I was just thinking about how great it is that as a veteran these companies are willing to recognize my military service by giving me something for free. Granted, people who serve in the military are essentially putting themselves at risk to preserve the U.S. way of life, including its economy, in theory, and are protecting these businesses as a result, but that doesn’t obligate them to offer discounts or free meals.

    I suppose I’m a pessimist. You almost have to draw blood to get wages raised to what constitutes a living wage. Companies cut corners by putting yoga mat material in their so-called meat patties to increase profits. So, to see a company just putting stuff out there for veterans for free still surprises me every year.

    This post is basically just a big thank you to those companies and especially to Olive Garden and Starbucks since I’ve gone to those establishments nearly every year on Veterans Day. Thanks!

  • What did Saipov actually accomplish with his truck attack?

    What did Saipov actually accomplish with his truck attack?

    8 Dead as Truck Careens Down Bike Path in Manhattan in Terror Attack

    A driver plowed a pickup truck down a crowded bike path along the Hudson River in Manhattan on Tuesday, killing eight people and injuring 11 before being shot by a police officer in what officials are calling the deadliest terrorist attack on New York City since Sept. 11.

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    I really don’t understand what the point of this was. If the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 had no lasting impact on New York City, then why run people over with a vehicle? Sure, I’m aware of the whole “we can strike at any moment, you can’t live your lives normally, woooaahahahah” plan, but does it really even work? Is anyone actually going to just shut their apartment door and never go outside again because of this attack? Is New York City going to come to a screeching halt? Of course not.

    So really, what was the point of running over some bicyclists? About two dozen families have been directly affected. The rest of the city will pause for a few days and then continue moving. I don’t say that to downplay the scope of the tragedy for those families. Their lives will never be the same and my heart goes out to them. But, what was done wasn’t significant enough to change anything about how the average New Yorker goes about their day.

    Furthermore, what was really the point of stepping out of a truck with a pellet gun and a paintball gun? Was this guy a moron or was he hoping to get martyred? Maybe that’s what this was really about. This guy was probably leading a mediocre life or felt like he was being treated unfairly in some way, and to compensate for that and increase his own sense of self-worth he committed himself to engaging in an act that he hoped would lead to his martyrdom. At least then his value would be recognized by someone. Maybe he wanted to die and that’s why he jumped out of the truck with what he hoped the NYPD would mistake for real firearms.

    What kind of picture would that paint though? The heroic martyr, going into battle with the NYPD with a pellet gun and some paintballs. What a joke.

    Sayfullo Saipov, the moron who was driving the truck, isn’t special because he attributed his nonsense to some dying political ideology in the Middle East. He isn’t a martyr. He’s a clown. And now, if he doesn’t die from the gunshot wound he received and deserved, he’s going to spend the rest of his life in jail where, if there’s any justice in the world, his fellow inmates will work him over regularly for the rest of his life.

  • Overwatch Halloween Skins

    Overwatch Halloween Skins

    So, I just fired Overwatch up for the first time in a few days and noticed this video in the launcher:

    Man, I hope it isn’t as hard to pick up these skins as it has been for previous events! They look awesome, especially Zen’s Cthulu look.

    Zen's 2017 Halloween skin
    Zen’s 2017 Halloween skin.
    Reaper's and McCree's 2017 Halloween skins. I'm not too fond of Reaper's. The head makes me think of a dick for some reason.
    Reaper’s and McCree’s 2017 Halloween skins. I’m not too fond of Reaper’s. The head makes me think of a dick for some reason.
    Torbjorn's and Ana's 2017 Halloween skins. I'm digging the hippy look. Torb's costume is plain boring.
    Torbjorn’s and Ana’s 2017 Halloween skins. I’m digging the hippy look. Torb’s costume is plain boring.
    Mei's 2017 Halloween skin. Cute, but I'm not sure what it's supposed to be.
    Mei’s 2017 Halloween skin. Cute, but I’m not sure what it’s supposed to be.
    Symmetra's 2017 Halloween skin. Spooky!
    Symmetra’s 2017 Halloween skin. Spooky!
    And of course there's the Halloween brawl mode!
    And of course there’s the Halloween brawl mode!

    I’ll definitely be sinking some time into acquiring these. It’s nice to see more variety for character appearances. I wonder how many years it’s going to be before Overwatch has as much customization as Team Fortress 2? Or if it will ever be quite the same.

    I wouldn’t mind seeing unique weapons in Overwatch that have kill counters on them. That was fun. But, you can’t inspect another character here so I’m not sure how useful a feature it would be.

  • Finding Parking in New York City

    Finding Parking in New York City

    Only someone who owns a vehicle in New York City knows the jolt and thrill of seeing an open, legitimate parking spot close to where you actually live, as well as that moment of hesitation when you realize a tree overhangs where your car will be.

  • The New Overwatch Map Should Be Fun. I Hope!

    The New Overwatch Map Should Be Fun. I Hope!

    Junkrat is one of my favorite characters in one of my favorite games.

    The loot system in Overwatch makes me want to scream sometimes (like getting quad dupes on anniversary event boxes), but I love the time Blizzard put into the characters’ backstories, like this one for Mei:

    I also like Overwatch because I can jump into it, enjoy it, and then turn it off without feeling like I’ve disrupted other people’s gameplay, which is harder to do in an MMO with queued dungeons. Plus, it’s just addictive in its own right.

    My previous shooter addiction was Team Fortress 2. Overwatch is pretty similar to it. A lot of the original OW characters were built in familiar ways without being complete duplicates. Even so, Overwatch is like an updated, modern version of TF2 that I really enjoy. I used to play the Demoman a lot in TF2, so I guess it makes sense that I love playing Junkrat. I also really enjoy Soldier 76, especially with his new summer outfit and voice lines.

    More official Overwatch media (videos, comics, and images).

  • Raining Condoms on 13th St and Ave B in Manhattan

    Raining Condoms on 13th St and Ave B in Manhattan

    Raining Condoms on 13th Street and Avenue B//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

    Found a trail of condoms leading around the corner at 13th Street and Avenue B in Manhattan, New York City last night around 11:45 PM or so, July 21st 2017.I mean, who did this? And how did it happen? Was it a break-up because someone was cheating and someone girl was flinging condoms at her former guy? Or was it happy craziness?

    I mean, who did this? And how did it happen?Was it a break-up because someone was cheating and someone girl was flinging condoms at her former guy? Or was it happy craziness?

    Was it a break-up because someone was cheating and some girl was flinging condoms at her former boyfriend? Was it happy craziness and people were just tossing condoms around for laughs? Was someone making an important delivery of condoms and their satchel ripped open, leaving a trail?