HereComesTom

After weeks of waiting for my Capcom Legacy Arcade1up cabinet to arrive, and about two super-sweaty hours assembling it, I discover a sad truth:  I suck at the games that're on it :/

...At least it looks pretty good in my man-cave!

I've begun to watch the movie 2010 on tubi.

For those of you who don't know, an author named Arthur C. Clarke had a novel series that he wrote in the 20th century that started with "2001: A Space Odyssey" and ended with "3001: The Final Odyssey".  They had plenty of space travel in them, and the sequel to 2001, was 2010.

The funny thing is, years numbered 2000 and higher seemed so futuristic and mysterious to us back then, full of wonder and promise, with our heads full of ideas of space travel and scientific discovery and (at least in the 90s) optimism.

Now it's 2024, we've been in that century that looked to be full of promise for about a quarter of it, and now those expectations feel like a bad joke.  2001 was when the World Trade Towers collapsed, setting a dark tone for the new century.  And while things probably aren't getting worse and worse objectively speaking, it keeps feeling like they are.  Maybe it's social media and the news media focusing on the negative that makes it feel that way---if it is, they're doing a thorough job of it.

At least we can look back and say that one remarkable thing happened in 2010:  G-4!

I've been working for a few years now on a fangame, Weather Factory Meltdown---still at it, though I'm taking a break to work on an art request.

But having worked on it for several years at this point (since 2012!), I've thought of a lot of things that Hasbro wouldn't let me do if the game were an official piece.  Like, a LOT of things.  Like when I'm sitting in my cubicle at work, Skippy's List-like things pop into my head, and I write them down.

I've accumulated a LOT of rules over the years, and I think I should start sharing them.  Here's one of the first:

1)  When naming OCs for the Canterlot Royal Guard, the following names are off-limits:  Cannon Fodder, Red Shirt, Brown Pants.

I made off like a bandit at the Art Van clearance sale:  $400 for a decent-sized leather couch that has reclining seats and footrests!  ...And for some odd reason, the Art Van computer thought it was a loveseat...

The movers did a really good job getting it into my condo, too.  Now I have an actual sitting room!  :}

Saharah, Celeste, and a heavy meteor shower are on my island in Animal Crossing New Horizons!  I'm keeping it open all night in case anyone is interested who lives on the other side of the planet:

C4JX6

Saharah's wares:  Brown Wooden-Deck Rug, Simple Navy Bath Mat, Desert Vista wallpaper, Flowing-River Flooring, and a Botanical Rug

Welp, I'm officially addicted to Animal Crossings New Horizons!  (Friend code sw-3161-5667-6320 if you're interested )

Just tried out Rikifive's prototype game---it's got a lot of promise, but obviously has a long way to go, as well:

Well, I just watched the Season 9 premiere in preparation for the series finale, and I'd really forgotten how lighthearted the show usually is.  DisQord's jokes when Twilight was freaking out REALLY helped liven up the mood early in the episode!

It's kind of depressing how I worked on Weather Factory Meltdown for 2 years, hoping to make it a collaboration, and no one offered to help me or even gave me feedback on how user-friendly the editor is. But I'm not giving up; I figure I need to advertise it better...

Well, I watched the MLP Movie again with some friends, and this time, I didn't feel like it was triggering me.  I noticed that my heart was pounding at several points in the film, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't an anxiety trigger.

Watching it again...well, it gave me a different perspective on the characters, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it...!

Well, TrotCon online has started, aaaaaaand...their pixel-ponies chat is dead. 

I'd wanted SO much to promote Weather Factory Meltdown; I rushed and worked hard to get a good update in before the con began, aaaaaand...no chance to promote it!

Welp, I'm miserable:  my main laptop was practically my life, and a Windows 10 update made it overheat, and it completely ruined its hard disk!  Even Geek Squad couldn't fix it ;(

The silver lining is that I had backups for WFM and a couple of other projects, so I can use my gaming laptop to continue.  But MAN does it hurt---I liked that laptop!