RenFengge

I think I really started to love the show in Season 2. I think it really started to find its footing. As for the "Evil universe", the "mirror universe" is something that every Star Trek series has touch on. It's like it's own character nowadays in the Star Trek lore. To be honest, it's not something I ever really followed. But, I was always intrigued by it. I think Star Trek Enterprise actually did a lot with the "mirror universe". Not sure. It was really the only one I didn't watch (and the original Star Trek). I would say go through Season 2 and see how you feel about it. Season 3 is completely unique, and we finally get into something "new" for the Star Trek world.

I think only 1 or 2 additional seasons to wrap up the storyline would have been perfect. The book ends exactly where season 1 ends. Then it jumps into the future where the time of Gilead is a history lesson on the horrors of what passed. I don't think it dragging out for this long is necessary. Granted, the topics in it are very relevant, to the point that I have gotten into one too many arguments with someone about how, yes, absol-fucking-lutely it is very possible for it to happen. For women to be stripped of any and all rights and just be used as labor and incubators. It is absolutely very plausible and possible. Margaret Atwood didn't randomly come up with the scenario. She took what was going on in the world during her time and just expanded on it. The fact that we, as humanity, didn't even learn from any of it back in 1980's, just shows how slow progress takes and how easily we can slip back into even worse times. Sci-Fi and dystopian novels have always been a way for us to really talk about our thoughts and fears as to what's going on in the world. It's why the genre is what it is. It's why dystopian novels became so popular for a bit. It's why "end of the world" sci-fi movies were a thing for a minute. It's not because it's not plausible. It's terrifyingly plausible. Back to the show, Season 2 really steals from the headlines for some of its episodes. I think I angrily teared up in a some of them because it was all so fresh and raw and already on TV for interpretation. Season 2 gets really really dark and poignant. I recommend at least getting through Season 2. Season 3 seems to be when it starts to drag on for me with more and more gratuitous pain. But, I wanted to see Bradley Whitford's character role in the show, so I kept on... until I couldn't. It was just too... yeah. I've been told to stick with it and catch up. Maybe I will when I'm mentally ready lol. But, if Roe v. Wade is overturned, probably not.

When the seasons start to change, I obviously start to crave different flavors. However, eating raw fruits and raw veggies isn't actually something my body allows. I think I ate my lifetime allotment of cherries and nectarines as I used to eat crates of them. So, what's a girl to do when she wants cherries? Make a cake, obviously. The simplest, easiest cake possible... only complicated by certain steps because I know better. They call these "spoon cakes". I guess it's sort of a riff on a cobbler? Just with more... cobbler in the ration instead of fruit? Lol. I don't know. I just make and eat things. It's not exactly photogenic. It's ugly but so yum. Also, @GazzaGarratt said "pics or didn't happen" haha. Lastly, this really only takes 15 minutes to put together... any where from 25 - 40 minutes baking. I only spent like 3 hours dawdling around after I initially logged off because I "bake at my own speed". Which means, I also do other things (play with my dog, play some games of Sudoku, browse the internet, think about what my next actual meal is). I also wanted to brown the butter. I could have toasted the flour too, but the last time I did that, @TurboR56Mini said it smelled like burned bodies or whatever. This would have been better if I toasted the flour lol. Here's tonight's "Chocolate Cherry Almond Browned Butter Spoonable Cake with Pie Crust Ice Cream". (If you wonder why I work out so much and so hard.. this is partially why)

6/5/2021 Workout Squat Clean Workshop Find new 1 rep max --> 135lbs (10lb increase) Thoughts: I semi-intentionally took this week off from working out. It was a combination of a high-stress work week, really wanting to sleep, and knowing I needed to be at my most rested if I was going to make a new PR for squat cleans. My goal today was to hit 130lbs. Just 5lbs more than my original PR of 125lbs. I started to worry at 105lbs as it was feeling heavy. But, that's what the correct form is for, right? To lift better and heavier. Fixing my extensions and when to really high pull the bar made all the difference. The first time I did 130lbs, it was sloppy. It counted. But, I wasn't happy with it. So, I did it again. One of the gym guys, we call him Big Dave, was lifting next to me today. He tends to sometimes jump in and "gently" give out pointers. My second lift at 130lbs he said, "Damn. That looked perfect!" Yay me! Time to slap on 5 more pounds. Dave was also going for a high PR. Seems he and I have the same mistakes. It's in our high pull to catch. He missed his lift. I don't know what he was at. 100 more pounds than me lol. My turn to go. I failed at the same place he did. So he came over and said, "We have the same problem. What do you front squat? Over 200lbs, right? From what I remember? So, I think you and I, we just need to not rush the racking of the bar. Because this weight is nothing. Take the half second to adjust and just stand up." And, look at that. I took his advice and nailed it lol. I said to him, "Your turn to take your own advice." He did his lift and also nailed it. We were at the end of our session. It was hot. Humid. And, we were all getting tired. But, why not try to go another 5lbs heavier and see if I can do 140lbs? Go to failure. Make sure you can't hit the weight. So, I tried. I failed twice. I almost got it. It was catching the weight that was getting me. I have this fear of breaking my fingers lol. All in all, a 10 pound increase in my PR is still something to be proud of. I'm still the strongest woman in the gym in terms of weightlifting numbers. Only Juliana is close. She made 130lbs today. She's built like me in height and form. She just has a better body composition. But, I'm getting there. I've taken it easy the last month on my food. Seeing where my weight settles. Net loss even with the massive muscle increase is 10lbs down. The next 10, which I already hit once this year, will not being during an extended caloric restriction period. It's going to be the usual quick drop from the month of low-carb/high-carb cycle. I'll go down the 10lbs. I'll settle again. Then, I'll probably really just be done. My body likes to stay at the next weight point. It does not enjoy going lower. It gets super difficult. So, we'll call it a win, and go from there.

We would have to relearn some of the mechanics of Civ V since we've been on Civ VI since it was released. All for it!

Goodness. I can't believe this started in 2017. It still feels so new. @TurboR56Mini and I really enjoy this show. We can't wait to see where the next season goes and see what happens with Georgiou when they do her spinoff of Section 31.

Is anyone caught up with this? I read the book long before it was a TV show. I watched up to part of season 3, then I had to stop. I couldn't both be depressed about the world and be depressed while watching TV lol. I might pick it up again.

Felt like reviving this thread... I'll throw in a few. TV Josh Lyman - West Wing Sam Seaborn - West Wing Picard - Star Trek Next Generation Daniel Jackson - Stargate SG-1

So, I've finally took a small amount of time to start this. Just completed the first mission. Man, this was such stellar writing (for the most part). You don't know what's going on. You don't know who to trust. You don't know what anything is. I haven't played Mass Effect in 6 years. I burned through 3 playthroughs in the summer of 2015. I will admit, playing Mass Effect 1 isn't something I look forward to. 2 and 3 is where it's at for me. However, this is a remaster. And, it's been so long that I don't remember all the fine details. Crazy to think how old this game is and how far BioWare has fallen. It's interesting to see where the politics are given today's current climate. Also, incredibly fun to listen to the story just start to unfold when you already know where this is all going. But, it also makes me remember some of the storylines that were never finished. This is by no means a perfect game. It's not a remake (although, if they really went the way of FFVII Remake, it would have been awesome to see). Even through the first mission, you can see where some of the dialogue trees don't make sense, but you sort of expect that when it comes to dialogue rich games. I do still wish they could have really taken what modders have done over the years and put it into the game. Like, FFS... I want my character to have more hairstyles and longer hair that resembles mine. I want better facial options instead of just a really tan white lady. Like, couldn't have they at least picked up some of their stuff from Andromeda and sort of put it here? Eh. I guess not. The controls feel clunky. But, that's how I always feel when starting a different solo game. It will take me a bit to really just be quick with everything. For now, with the initial set of weapons, I'm quick enough to get even sniper shots off and insta-kill enemies. So far for Mass Effect 1, not much of the gameplay has changed much. The menus are what I remember, and that's going to piss off a lot of players who aren't used to traditional RPGs. So much customization. But, I think it adds a certain depth to the gameplay. If I had like 2 weeks off, I would definitely burn through a full gameplay of ME1 - ME3. Just absorb the whole story again. Unfortunately, I am not of that age with that luxury. So, let's see if I can balance this along with other games once I really get into the meat of the story. I purposely shut off the game after the first mission because I know that once I really get going, next thing I know it's going to be 3am...

Ooooooohhhhh... @TurboR56Mini is pretty cut throat in Civ. I seem to have curved away from my days of amassing a giant air force to erase cities from the earth lol. Not that I won't if I'm provoked... it's just not my first thought anymore lol.

I half thought about it lol. Then, I got super lazy about setting it up. Hahaha.a

Stumbled on this write-up by PC Gamer: Humankind gets rid of a lot of the things that annoy me about Civilization | PC Gamer WWW.PCGAMER.COM It doesn't outdo the king of one-more-turn grand strategy in every respect, but the challenger is looking smart.

To be honest, while I will be sad to see my wolf sanctuary go if we have to start over, I sort of expect it in anything that is a "pre-release". Like, you can't honestly release updates to a game that will eventually change game mechanics and not reset the worlds. It will cause too many problems for those on "old worlds". But, I think a "reset" after major game-changing updates will bring back players that might have burned out on it already.

Agreed. I mean, I didn't want to pick up the Relic when I got teleported, but I had to. I didn't want to shoot Oracles during the Templar phase, and I cried about it a little. But, I did. I'm fine with sitting on the platform when told what planet/area the other team is on. Just... calling out what I see in the proper order? Lol. Again, not even @TurboR56Mini trusts my spatial awareness IRL. "Why did you think all of that stuff would fit in that jar?" ... "At least pour it over the sink instead of spilling it everywhere" ... "Why do you insist on parking crooked in the driveway?" 🤣 "No... that is absolutely not the center... and that's not half." Yet, I'm perfectly fine with punching dead center on someone's sternum if needed. Figure that out. I know my weaknesses. But I'll take calling out oracles before shooting them... until we get crossplay for raids. (I had a fantastic time on the PC version yesterday with @TurboR56Mini and @Tar-Eruntalion ... my ability to just swap guns super quickly... aim without downsights... basically nail precision shots without depending on a bow and using almost any gun for them... :: sigh :: keyboard/mouse is just my speed, I guess). I wonder if it's easier to see what's near/far for Oracles if it's on PC. But, yes... absolute quiet and calmness during Atheon is almost a requirement.

Agreed. Such a shame that this became a game that really found its footing and fanbase a bit later after release. Bend Studios makes pretty good games. I think it will just take a little more time (or collective screaming from all the players) for Sony to reverse their decision on not letting them do a sequel. Or, we end up waiting another decade or two... Or, they remake Syphon Filter to really get everyone into the lore of where the virus came from and spread and who NERO is.

I thought the reveal was fantastic. Even the countdown to it. I found myself turning around from my computer to just look at the TV. The thought behind just the countdown to the event shows that Guerrilla is in this 1000% percent. They've done their pivot from the Killzone game series to this incredible piece. Each scene shown in the countdown was well thought out. It showed different times of the day. I haven't even dared to look at fan theories about what all the numbers at the bottom of each "camera" was in connection to what Guerrilla was posting on social media about each scene (Tenakth clan villages). Then, when it was time for the reveal, the switch from the cinematic parts to the gameplay was so smooth. They did not show too much about the gameplay menu, so either it was purposely not shown, or it's an option to only see certain things like health, inventory, etc. when touching the touchpad, or you choose to have it on/off completely. They showed the new tools they are giving Aloy. The glider, which would have saved my ass many times from when I fell off high places; the breathing apparatus to allow Aloy to swim underwater for an unlimited amount of time; these were the most memorable for me. It looks like they listened to some quality-of-life comments from players of the first game. If you recall in the first game, you knew where you could "climb" if the item/edge/ledge was bright yellow. However, sometimes, this was not entirely clear given how the light in the game was. There was a time I was in a building for a solid 30 minutes because I didn't know how to climb up to a certain area. Frustrating but still satisfying to me. Now, they are allowing Aloy's Focus (earpiece) to highlight what's climbable. This is super helpful. The new weapons are going to be exciting to unlock and use. More types of arrows. For my type of gameplay, it absolutely works. I'm a "shoot from a distance" player. This is why I'm always a mage or a warlock or anything with long distance in games. They did not forget those who are more aggressive. They showed more moves with the spear, and you can now pick up dropped weapons from enemies and use it. I think that type of immersive world factor is something to be applauded, and I hope more of that is to be seen in other games. Towards the end of the gameplay, the artifact that was found displayed a map. I'm highly curious on what that means. There are two dots in the Gulf of Mexico, but this game takes place on the west coast of the US. Is this a bit of foreshadowing on the next game? I don't know. But, I'm excited. We can get into the "headlines" of this game being about how Aloy looks, and I will tell you that I did not notice much of anything except that everything was rendered beautifully. I can go in-depth on my simmering anger about toxic guys being all "Aloy doesn't look like eye candy"... meanwhile, no one is talking about how Eren isn't a visual catch... but he's a guy, so he gets a pass. I could, and I happily will if someone wants to go there. But, all in all, the game looks amazing. I think @Bluebear is just as excited as I am about it. On the side, I'm hoping that Horizon Zero Dawn and God of War are not Sony's swan songs to actually supporting indie studios and games that need support to be something great. God of War is only great now, it was not a great initial game. Guerrilla's Killzone games were not anything to sing about, but they now have Horizon. Let's hope that Sony has not completely lost their way.. and if their current thinking is just a misstep, let's hope they find their way back.

Well, thanks for getting the song stuck in my head now lol.

5/30/2021 Workout MMA Thoughts: Coach Jonesly warned me that he was going to increase the intensity of our sessions. I was not expecting it to be 3-minute rounds, followed with 10 non-scaled push ups, then 1-minute rests after each round.. and just going until the end of the session. He's also focusing on tweaking my form. So, bad habits I picked up when working with boxing instructors aren't going to fly with him. I get to unlearn everything I fought against when I came back to the US, and re-learn everything I used to do when I was originally combat training. Fantastic. Slips I learned in Eskrima are back as opposed to the slips I learned in boxing. Part of me hates the fact that I've improved a lot of my fitness in just 5 sessions with him. Part of me loves it and says, "This is why we're here." Because even though I enjoy my previous boxing sessions, I can't say I improved as much in 30 sessions there as I have in 5 sessions with Jonesly. I have always believed in varied fitness. It's part of the reason why I like to have things on rotation outside of my HIIT workouts as a base. I can't honestly say I'll go back to strict boxing after these sessions are up. I'll probably switch to wall-climbing for maybe a month or two, then I'll go back to Jonesly. I think this will depend on my conversation with Jonesly at the end of our sessions. Rest day tomorrow. No way am I doing Murph since I didn't even train for the 1-mile run. I think it's going to be another Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday week for workouts.. wrapping up with the Saturday Squat Workshop. Side note - I've come to terms with where my body is naturally. It just wants to be in this overall shape. My constant war on it is at a lull. I'm not saying I won't tweak it, oh, I will. But, I'll stop hating it so much. I'm back in most of my clothes from my hedge fund days. My smallest stuff when I started at the hedge fund will be a challenge. But, fitting into clothes I wore when I was 26 isn't completely realistic as I was not strength training then. I'll take my muscular tree-trunk thighs over not being able to fireman carry an average person. Now, if I could only easily lift my 110lb fatty labrador... she's just so damn awkward.