JeffStray

Long time gone. Here's where I am: Level 21 75/75 pokedex 14 evolutions (that I don't already have) waiting on 1-2 more catches or hatches (yes, it's infuriating) EPL season started today, which means I now spend at least 2 hours per week sitting in range of 2 pokestops (compared to the zero at home). I haven't caught anything in a week because I was almost out of balls and was saving for something interesting. Have over 300 now between regular, great and ultra. Gonna be a good winter.

Streak intact, still cheating like crazy. I've just accepted that I'm going to keep on doing so until something clicks. I have started typing out my guess before checking, though. I'm taking more time, but finding that I can eventually come up with more than I was getting before.

Both Ryoshis absent, one gun missing from a Bishop. Other than that, every part accounted for.

Day 121, no idea what half the verbs they're throwing at me mean. I think that my cheating (hovering over words) deprived me of a lot of vocab for many of the sessions.

I mean, some things I'm good with. There was a BBC story about an 8-year-old kid who invented a new Italian word (petaloso = full of petals; adj. describing a flower) that I read today, and there was an accompanying screenshot of an official government tweet that started "Aspettiamo la primavera..." and, without thinking/pausing, I'm all hell yeah we're waiting for spring. So it's not all of the things. But...I mean...jewelry is something like gioeiolleria (that is wrong...I can't remember what is right), which makes sense looking at it, but remembering all of the excessive vowels in the right order is an exercise in madness.

I've definitely reached a point where I'm not retaining the new info. I'm maintaining the streak, but have to check the hints too often. I might backtrack and try out the journaling method, starting with lesson 1. I'll probably kick that off on a weekend, and spend a solid few hours on the first batch so I don't get too discouraged/too behind. In the meantime, I think I'll stick to hitting my daily goal via practice sessions of all covered material to date, just to see if I can get through even 1 session without "cheating".

I work for a company based in Italy, and there are Italians all over the place. After I started working on the program, I learned that said Italians prefer that their employees don't know Italian (so they can talk about restructuring/layoffs without finding a soundproof conference room). I'm hesitant to put it out there.

"You earned 10 lingots for reaching a 100 day streak!" If only I could speak the language...

I had my first situation where someone made a statement at work, and I shot it back without thinking in Italian. It wasn't anything complicated, but it was reflex instead of effort, so that probably means something.

According to the algorithm bosses at Duolingo, I'm 41% fluent in Italian now. I'd argue against that in Italian, but I don't know enough of it.

Yes, but then this.

Forget hunger. I'm having flashbacks of the Barrens.

Does the Timed Practice option give you a permanent button, or is it a 1-time deal and you have to buy it every time you want to try?

But both of those things were only clear to you while watching the movie. So, for people who have not yet gotten to that point, those would be spoilers. If you were expecting to learn that a 2-digit number was the secret to life, the universe and everything, I'm afraid you'll have to wait for Episode VIII. Or maybe that's a different narrative.

You're kind of preternaturally great at stuff. I've gotten that compliment regarding spreadsheets and boring work things, but man I wish I could get it about anything creative. If you ever decide to be a spirit animal, I'm calling dibs.

Kinda just echoing other people here, but yeah....you could've pretty much just primed the rest of it, and the eyes would still carry the mini. Those are hecka well done.

What I've gathered re: IMAX - select few (like 10-15 or so in the country) are showing true IMAX, and those versions are only true for specific scenes. Otherwise, you're paying premium for the same frame that every other theater is showing.

Okay, the 3D thing. I was so mad at my friends for choosing a RealD 3D showing, because migraines and such. That said, there were about 2 moments when I had some eye strain issues, but otherwise it was great. The frozen blaster thingy was a standout. The weather leading up to the saber battles. Oooooh, the bad guy is over there, but the snow is falling everywhere between us...ooooh. Yeah, that part was super immersive. Anyway, other friends have started talking about the 70mm IMAX version, and I'm fairly tempted to see that. People have been posting screenshots (cell shots?) and there is a bunch more scenery, and I feel like it helps focus the action at the center of the screen. Everything is crazy big, but you don't have opposite corners of the screen fighting for your attention.

Favorites (many of which have already been said): Preacher, Fables, 100 Bullets, Y the Last Man, Bone, The Invisibles, Transmetropolitan, Hellblazer, Swamp Thing (Alan Moore run)

This is the worst part of my day, and I had a migraine this afternoon.

Finn. Poe. Rey. If I missed any other repeated misspellings, I'll hit those later. BB-8 is a gender amorphous robot. Call her/him/it whatever you like. I don't yell at you for calling your car "her", and I won't get uppity about this one. This wasn't a remake. It shares similar plot points, but that's not new to SW. Of course they hid the secret message in a droid. It's been proven to work. That said, remember how well-developed Vader was in the first movie? Oh, that's right. He just walked around and got mad, and didn't say a word. Similar elements, like all of the SW movies, but new characters, development, and plot. Get mad about Kylo's looks all you want. Your disappointment can't match the groans of those who watch Girls on HBO. Oh, I'm supposed to believe the whiny sex addict is a sith lord? The toys released for the movie...le sigh. Two sets of action figures released outside of the single-figure cards. Twelve total characters. Rey? Nope, even though she's the main character. Captain Phasma? Not a chance, thought that one's less of a gimme since she didn't have a huge impact. They did include a generic TIE fighter pilot, though. And then Nerf puts out a Millennium Falcon set. Comes with two figures. Co-pilot Chewie! Yeah! Pilot Finn! Wait, what? Someone mansplain that to me. edit:

I don't know that I buy the bloodline thing for Rey. She's definitely someone connected to Luke's past, but I'm leaning more toward her being the most natural student he had when Kylo turned. Kylo was immediately concerned when he heard BB was with "a girl", and the cantina flashback/flashforward when she touched the lightsaber looks like she was placed in safekeeping or hidden. If she was too young to really remember that training, it would also explain how she improved her powers so quickly once she first tries to use the force. The fact that she isn't even mentioned when Han and Leia are talking about losing Ben makes me think that she's neither their daughter nor niece.

Since this thread was clearly a joke, and has clearly been posted in by people who don't want spoilers, can there be an actual discussion thread? I want to say things, but feel like I'll get yelled at for posting them in what I assumed would be a safe place. Or am I allowed to just deflect with "it's the spoiler thread, and says so in the title, and it's your fault"?

Ep7. Happy to be a fan again.

Echoing other comments, mostly. Great control, great basing. One thing to add, though: if you thought the paint was very thin to begin with, really make sure that you check out paint:water ratios when it comes to washes. They should be VERY thin. Nobody wants you to think you've gone thin enough and then find out that you're using what might be a standard thinned paint that will fully cover your well-placed base colors instead of just sinking into the recesses.