Helene Update Day 7: Hope and patience

 It is day 7 without power at our house and we continue to stay relocated with a coworker who has power and internet.  Tomorow is the estimated day for power to come back on at our house so we are hopeful that stays true.  I doubt we will get internet access back at the same time but that is secondary to having power.

 We are also prepping for more rain as another tropical storm makes its way through the gulf and up our way.  We should get a minimal bit of rain but any amount at this point has most of us here cautious.

 We've also been able to get word from some friends up in western NC which was both heartwarming and heartbreaking.  They are in good shape and their area specifically was spared from most damage but they informed us the brother of their's son's girlfriend is missing.  His last known whereabouts before the storm are unknown but his car was found in flood waters and home completely washed away.

 It is a stark reminder that while this is inconvenient for myself and my family; there are others who will forever be changed by this event.  It reinforces the patience needed to get through these events.  More importantly it reminds us that we all need some hope in these trying times.

Bonus cat picture.  This is our neighborhood cat who adopted us.  He's doing just fine. 

Helene Update Day 6: Reminders we still have a ways to go

 Still no power at our house on day 6 of the joy that Hurricane Helene brought us.  The family and I remain relocated.  I am making daily trips to the house to check on things and keep our outdoor animals fed (rabbits and chickens).  School is cancelled now into next week.

 In a more positive update there is now ice arriving at a regular interval in the local grocery stores.  It won't save anyone that lost everything in their fridge/freezer days ago but it allows some short-term storage instead of having to figure out how to use an entire container of milk in a single day.

 I was also able to check around more of the immediate area in our neighborhood and there were sober reminders that we still have a ways to go.  There are still downed trees on power lines that are still untouched.  Street lights are still out.  Roads are still blocked.  Damaged houses covered in tarps also remind us that for some getting back to normal is even farther away.

 An example of a partially blocked road and damaged power lines in our area that is TBD when it will be worked on.

Helene Update Day 5: The Estimate and Throne and Liberty launch day!

 It is day 5 of no power at our home and we got the first glimmer of hope to an end with an estimate from our power company that they will have power restored by Oct 4th.  We were fortunate enough to have a talkative worker that was working at the problem location where the lines were taken down.  He was optimistic but you could tell he was not convinced Oct 4th was real but thats what they had.  They have to replace multiple poles and transformers.  

 That will get power back into the spot where the utilities go underground to feed our house.  The risk after that is the state of the underground lines; some of which were ripped up as trees uprooted.  If the underground lines are damaged then there is unfortunately a wait for a crew that can do buried cables.  

 I don't even want to think about internet.  Down the street you can see Spectrum's buried line sitting six feet up in the air attached to a upturned rootball of a 100 year old oak tree that toppled over.

 With that said the family and I are still relocated to a coworkers house where they have power and internet.   Its a bit of a drive but still checking on the house and family members each day.  Gas is surprisingly available with minimal wait times.

 Also Throne and Liberty's global launch is today.  I played early access for a few hours the day before Helene hit so I have some thoughts but it will be a bit before I get to that and a bit before I get to jump back in Throne and Liberty.  

A pic showing what some streets still look like.

Helene Update Day 4: Relocated

 Day 4 update on our Helene journey.  No power at our house so our family relocated to a coworkers house where they have power.  Power crews are in our neighborhood but the damage is catastrophic and supplies needed for repairs limited.  More and more folks are getting power but in older neighborhoods like ours it is likely a long haul for power... and probably even longer for internet.  

Also counting our blessings seeing neighbors with houses like this. 

Helene Update: Day 3 and still no power

Looks like we are in for the long haul for no power.  No estimate on restoration either.  Making use of the scout skills! 

Holy Helene!

We are safe.  Lots of trees down and damaged homes in the area.  Power will be out for a few days probably.  So much for Throne and Liberty early access! 

A picture of some damage on the street. Yes those are power lines under the downed trees!!

Tuesday 9/10 Post

 She thinkin' what the rest of us thinkin'

WTF he just say?

 

August 2024 in review

 August (or should I say Blaugust) 2024 has ended so lets take a look back.

The Blog

 Blogger provided number (last 30 days graph so a bit off a full month): 30,300

 This is up about 1,000 from July.  I do not know what the big spike was in late August as I could not zero in any posts that had that much traffic.

 

 In other metrics:

• Posts:
  
• Target: 31 (Blaugust Rainbow Award level)
  
• Posted: 32
• Difference: +1 because I can't let a reward go unclaimed!
  
•  Search Trends
• "new world roadmap 2024" surged to the top spot this month.  Ironically it appears so often that I created a post for those exact terms with the 2024 roadmap which is just continuing to gain traction.
  
• "best battlefield game", "best battlefield", "best battlefield games" still all are near the top but not the top dog anymore: Best Battlefield!?
• Once Human searches filled out the third spot with searchers looking for more details around the season resets.  This makes sense as the first launch servers recent changed over.  Unfortunately searchers will find nothing of value on the blog as I've not gone through myself or commented about the actual mechanics of the resets... yet!
  

What I Played

 Once Human dominated my August playtime as I made it to level 50 and set up my Frost Vortex build.  I also built a proper base finally (it looks like an airplane hanger).  I posted about none of these accomplishments because I had other ideas for Blaugust posts that took up my blogging time.  I have had to take a break from gaming for the past week due to real life stuff (trip, work, kids stuff) so I have yet to transition from my first scenario into a new one (likely moving to a PVE hard mode server with some folks on Sept 8th).

Years Ago

1 Year Ago

 August 2023 brought my introduction to Blaugust (check my Blaugust 2023 tagged posts) and I jammed the month full of posts.

 The most notable game launch was Starfield (early access started late Aug) and it's hard for me to believe that was already a year ago.  Too bad that game landed like a dud, but they finally added vehicles a year later so I guess I should fix my old post.

5 Years Ago

  Aug 2019 was in the 'no blogging' era and nothing comes to mind.

10 Years Ago

 In Aug of 2014 I was not blogging regularly but I was thinking about it as evidenced by: Long time, no post.  My nonexistent heart was warmed by all the commenters that stopped by though!  6 comments; probably the most of any post in the last 10 years... ha!

15 Years Ago

 August of 2009 was the month I became a father and my life was forever changed.  That kid is now 15 and about to start learning to drive.  He may, and this is a BIG may, also be better at video games than me now.  Speaking of comment counts; this post garnered 40+ which was heartwarming but it also shows how much commenting on blogs has died off over the years.  I'd have a crazy smile on my face if a post these days hit 10 comments; let alone 40+!

 Also some loser named Brett Farve (don't you dare spell check me) signed with the Minnesota Vikings in August of 09.

 20 19 Years Ago

 Technically I have 20 named years on my sidebar, but mathematically 2005 is only 19 years ago.

 In Aug of 2005 I was posting on Google Videos (before this thing called YouTube).  Sadly I think the video "CS:S video released - Two of the gReatest things eveR" and "Battlefield 2 Video - Lets go!" are lost to history as I am not sure I have copies anywhere and they did not make its way to YouTube when that took over for Google Video.  It is crazy to think had I just stuck with videos in that early era I could have been a YouTube content creator instead of annoying my team at work about getting stuff done. 

 With that said; one video from that Google Videos era did get saved to YouTube.  A World of Warcraft video I made while playing with the guild behind the Taverncast podcast: The Pod People invade Westfall.flv

Staying Motivated? My favorite decaf coffee!

 It's Saturday of the "Staying Motivated" week for Blaugust 2024 and I'm running out of ideas and have a jam packed weekend so let's keep it simple for today's post.  I recently dialed back my caffeine intake to one cup of coffee a day but I missed that warm cup later in the morning.  As a compromise with myself I decided to make that second cup decaf.  

 A lot of decaf coffee has a "taste" to it so I did some research and found out about the "swiss water method" for decaf coffee.  A quick search of my local grocery store shelves and I found a few brands advertising this method.  After some trial tastings I landed on Peet's Coffee brand; specifically Decaf Major Dickason's Blend.  If you are looking for a decaf coffee to give a try I'd recommend it.

My Youtube Weather Guy: Ryan Hall Y'all

 It is Creator Appreciation Week for Blaugust 2024 and when this post publishes I am likely going to be deep into the outdoors camping again.  Part of getting ready for any camping trip is checking on the weather which means a stop in at Ryan Hall's Youtube channel to get his take on the current weather.  As I tell folks: he is my Youtube Weather Guy.

 I wouldn't recommend this as a way to get your local weather necessarily, but to get a big picture on weather across the United States he does a great job.  My kids love to watch him; especially around hurricanes since we can be affected by those that hit near us in the southeast.  He also tends to go live and provide really great updates during any major weather event.

 Check out a recent video:

Blaugust 2024: Kicking off Introduce Yourself Week

Welcome to week two of Blaugust 2024; outlined below:

 "Introduce Yourself Week (August 4th – August 10th) – The idea behind this week is to have some structured time around getting to know the other bloggers. I realize that those of us who are veteran bloggers might have already written half a dozen introduction posts by now, but it is a great time to share anything interesting you might have in your arsenal."

 As a veteran blogger I do have lots of different posts introducing myself.  I will refer you to my first post of Blaugust this year if you want some links and more info.   I also shared some info about the Real World me in that post but I left out one of my favorite hobbies: fishing.

 I've fished since I was a kid and used to spend every summer day down at my local fishing spots.  I was fortunate to grow up in a small town in the midwest with a local lake that I could ride my bike around.  Even when I finally got into video games with Sega Genesis I jumped outdoors every chance I got to go fishing.

 Speaking of video games I am a big fan of fishing games from Super Black Bass all the way to more modern takes like recent adventures in Russian Fishing 4 or Call of the Wild: The Angler.

 My dad also took us fishing from time to time and some core childhood memories were watching my dad rake away weeds near shore so we had a spot to fish for bluegill/sunfish (our local lake was very weedy at the shorelines).  Then we'd usually end up at A&W or Hardees for a lunch afterwards.  My dad always got a strawberry shake.  Good times.

 Also I am posting this as a dad myself who is getting ready to take my kids fishing later today.  We don't have a small town lake we can ride bikes to so it's a bit of a drive for a good fishing spot here, but I hope the memories for my kids form the same.  Though we won't be stopping at fast food afterwards today; if we did it would be Culvers (since they are now down here in the south).

Need Blaugust inspiration? Use the prompt list dummy!

 Want to post for Blaugust 2024 but stuck on what to blog about?  Then I suggest you hit up the prompt list, grab a D20, roll that beautiful bean footage and count down the list to the prompt you rolled.  Then get writing!

2

In classic D20 fashion I rolled low; a 2.  That prompts me to write about:

What are some key sources of media (games/movies/etc) that have shaped your worldview?

 One of the best parts of the prompt list is that there are no rules, and the questions are open to your interpretation. In this case, I get to ponder what to do with "worldview" in the question. My gaming worldview or my real-world worldview? Hmmm. Let me think on this. Since I've shared a bit more about the real me this Blaugust, let me stay in reality and focus on one piece of media most may not think of: football announcers in the '90s.

John Madden

 Growing up, I religiously watched the Packers games (we were practically in the shadow of Lambeau Field). While I am obviously influenced by being a Packers fan, one aspect that went hand-in-hand with the Packers in the 1990s was John Madden. I will admit to not knowing a ton about John Madden outside of football broadcasts, but what he did inside those broadcasts left a lasting mark on me. That mark was one of positivity, keeping things simple, and a willingness to say the "duh" things out loud

 The infamous Madden joke goes something like, "Well, you see the team who scores the most points wins the game." - John Madden ... probably. For diehard football fans, Madden's basic statements seemed unwarranted, but to many others, they made the game infinitely more approachable. There was an entire cast of extended family members in my orbit who bounced in and out of the living room to catch Madden's updates on the games. He delivered his commentary with such flair and simplicity that it met them right where they were as passerby fans.

 Another part of this puzzle is that many in my family have entered the teaching profession; you could say it is in our blood. I personally did not, but every time I coach my kids' sports teams or lead my son's scouting activities, I always get asked if I am a teacher. I have a way with kids, and a lot of it comes down to just talking to them with a bit of excitement in a simple manner and saying the "duh" things out loud that so many adults skip over.

 Nowadays, I am a director at my company and lead teams on big projects. We have a reputation for getting stuff done on time and above expectation—seriously, to the point where I have senior vice presidents saying, "That is just not how projects go in business.  Good job." I am good at what I do. You know a big part of it? Simplicity and laying the "duh" things out.

 If you are following along, you can see that this sounds a lot like what passerby fans got from John Madden. As a Packers fan, I am fortunate that he covered so many of their games and was there for our Super Bowl runs in the '90s. I really do think of Madden when I am laying things out for folks, and I use him as an analogy anytime I am working with a newer manager struggling with working with employees. No doubt most of my employees are the football fans and not the passerby, but the power of keeping things simple and breaking things down for the passerby also reminds football fans how they got to be the fans they are. I feel like a bit of John Madden is narrating when I lead.

First Post of Blaugust: Heartlessgamer

 Welcome to Blaugust 2024!  This year many bloggers are participating in the “First Post of Blaugust” initiative. The idea is that for my very first Blaugust post this year I should take a bit of time and introduce myself and the blog.  As Tipa so quoted on my post yesterday "Once more into the breach, and damned be he who first cries "Hold! Enough!""

 First I think it is worth looking back at Blaugust 2023 (my first year doing Blaugust) and my "about me" posts on where the blog came from and how I became the gamer I am today.

• My Gaming History
• A masterpiece of a blog post and probably the most digging I've done in my memory banks in a very, very long time.
  
• So It Begins Again
• A look back at the decision close to 20 years ago to start a blog about MMOs (and other games)

 In explaining who I am and why I have this blog I always go back to my first blog post and pull forward this quote. 

This blog has officially started. It has been a process of thought pulling at my mind for a while. I play these games we call MMORPGs, but I don't even know if "play" is the correct word to describe it anymore. I live and breath these games. They are more than an escape from my mediocre life. Fun is no longer the driving factor. Social interaction with like minded nerds and geeks; people whom live through their in game characters as though it was version 2.0 of themselves.

 As I said last year this statement holds true all these years later and if you want nothing more than to know about the who and why of Heartlessgamer that is it.

 There is of course the personal side out in the real world as well which I tend not to share too much about but Blaugust is good a time as any to share some more about the real me:

• I am in my early 40s
• I have a family and two kids (14 and 5)
• I grew up next to Green Bay WI which is evident by the Packers posts on this blog
  
• I am retired from the military (6 years active, 14 years reserves)
• I am in senior management at a privately owned telecom company
• My other big hobby other than games is gardening
  

It's Friday

 That is all.  Enjoy your weekend!

Happy 4th of July!

 If you are reading this post I am somewhere far away from any celebrations in the middle of nowhere MN and likely enjoying a nice quiet evening.  Hope you are enjoying your 4th of July!

Microsoft Designer / prompt: "an image to celebrate 4th of july.  I am a gamer who blogs."

I'll be in my canoe

Northern Tier

 I am off to Northern Tier with my son's Boy Scout Troop.  We'll be spending a week on the water canoeing the boundary waters between Minnesota and Canada.  I've scheduled some simple posts to go out on the blog while I am away so enjoy!

Vacation 2024 Edition

 

Today

 Remember when I said yesterday I'd get back on track with blogging daily?  Then work happened today.

Everything is fine.

Eclipse Resources

 If needed there is really only one resource you need for today's (4/8/2024) eclipse and that is NASA's "Where & When" page with the below map.

Total Eclipse Map from NASA

 And for us gamer's out there; the gamer version of the eclipse.

 

Spring Break Recap

 I'm back from Spring Break.  We hit the aquarium, zoo, museum, and a Lego Discovery Center.  Oh and I reminded the family of my gamer greatness by winning at Ticket to Ride New York.  Also lots of fishing; got my kids onto a school of crappies.  Love watching the 5 yo catch fish back to back to back to back to back to back (easily caught 100 of them through the week).