Goafer

It was Bru's first proper snow day since we got him. He loved it. Also made a small snowman, because it's far to cold to do it for long.

It's payday, so that means more music day. 2 records and 2 cassettes this time.

Good ones run into the hundreds. For something I'd mainly be putting 99p cassettes through, it hardly seems worth it. Plus my current cassette player (Sharp QT27) is actually better than I expected, so I'd only be looking to upgrade if I wanted something more portable. I blame Techmoan for my current retro music infatuation. Found him when looking up stuff about turntables and now I'm buying cassettes, vinyl and CDs. I sometimes find him a bit boring, but his calmer approach is a refreshing change from the usual YouTube hyperbole and overreactions.

My teenage years in 2 albums. Also, that Sky One logo really hits me right in the nostalgia.

I've been thinking about getting a Walkman (or non-Sony equivelant, have you seen the prices of actual Walkmans?!), but the rubber belts perish, so I can absolutely see myself having to take one apart in the near future.

I've got one of these on my wish list, as I've got loads of smaller sets of tools, but I'd like one set that has them all in one place. Looks like it also has a few things that my current toolset doesn't. God damn it, I'm going to end up ordering one and taking apart everything I own, arent I?

Lack of ethics? If you read between he lines, he's clearly got other reasons for wanting a refund. During a pandemic that is causing people a lot of struggles, I'd say it's understandable. I'd question your ethics to be honest, seeing as you continued pursuing it after a post that clearly had a bit of a serious tone to it. Anyway, Cyberpunk. Is it playable yet?

I've been wearing a watch more recently, but the only watch I had was the fancy one my dad bought me for my 30th, which I'm really paranoid about catching on things. I was planning on getting a cheap Casio for those retro feels, but whilst looking for some things in my cupboards, I found my old watch from about 10-15 years ago. It wasn't working, but a new battery seems to have done the job. It's not fancy, but it works and I completely forgot it had a really good light, so that was a nice bonus.

"Now you see this sword?" I went from welling up to "FUCK YEAH CONAN, FUCK SHIT UP FOR DEMOCRACY" so God damned fast. And that my friends, is mad 2021 energy.

1: Game Cube broadband adapter for £1 (or something equally as silly). Currently goes for over £100. 2: Steel Battalion, a sealed copy of the expansion and the controller for £50 ish. Even at the time it was going online for about £150. Looking on eBay, prices are now around £300. 3: Can't really remember any specific bargains, but I've become that friend who everyone gives their old consoles to. Got a free Saturn (first model) and Mega Drive 2 in the last few years.

I've been listening to vinyl recently and also got my old cassette player out so that I can keep an eye out for albums at charity shops etc, but I realised that I don't actually own a CD player anymore. Thought I'd take a look on eBay and managed to find the exact one I had as a kid, basically new and boxed. Even comes with all the car accessories that mine had. Wasn't super desperate to get a CD player, but the thought of having an almost brand new version of the one I had as a kid was too tempting. Not a bad price either. I remember sitting in the corner of the living room, listening to CDs whilst my parents watched TV. Very much looking forward to this arriving. I also bought a few dirt cheap (mostly 99p each) vinyl singles: Vic Reeves and the Wonderstuff - Dizzy Ace of Base - All that She Wants Chaka Demus and Pliers - Twist and Shout (This was the first ever cassette I owned, which I still have, but it had a nice sleeve so I figured I'd buy it) The Simpsons - Do the Bartman Garbage - When I Grow Up And the ultimate piece of nostalgia, which was one of the tracks I listened to on the above CD player: Billie Piper - Because we Want To. I must have listened to Billie's music countless times as a kid. Really surprised that this exists on vinyl. It's an old jukebox copy, so god knows how well it'll work.

Bru discovered that snow is tasty.

It showed up and sweet Christ is it a good looking record. Seems to be playing well so far too. I had my doubts, as it was originally a pre-order bonus, so probably not exactly audiophile standard.

Tell me about it... Still annoyed that I can't find my copy of FF2. I also need to add FF7 Remake to the collection now that I'm done playing it.

Whilst I do think there isn't much to actually do in the open world, I think the scenery was so stunning that it didn't really matter. So far, it's only been this and RDR2 where I've just enjoyed the journey between places as much as the gameplay itself. As for the story, it's a bit tropey, but that's the charm for me. It felt like a classic samurai movie, flaws and all. I was always going to play ghost style, but Lord Shimura actually made a compelling argument for a more honourable approach. The leading by example and the Ghost tactics being no better than the enemy themselves actually started to make sense. I think overall, the story was great, with some real standout moments. That said, the game is about as long as I'd want it to be. I was getting a bit bored by the end, so I'd say it ended at about the right time. I didn't do a lot of the side quests* and mainly focused on the main story, which was some advice I'd read before playing. I'd say it was good advice too; Do the main story first, then focus on the side stuff if you can be bothered. *although I did cherry pick a few based on the rewards - I'd strongly suggest at least getting most of the armour sets, especially the Mongol armour.

Inspired by @Happenstance showing me some news on the Persona soundtracks being added to Spotify, I had a look on eBay to see if Persona vinyl existed. Turns out it does and I have now bought: The Persona 4 Arena soundtrack was excellent, so this should be a good addition to my collection. Plus that vinyl looks awesome in yellow with the TV pattern.

Galaxy S20 FE. Was due an upgrade and this was a good price with unlimited data. I was happy with my old phone, but something shiny and new is always welcome.

I was absolutely spoiled rotten this year. From my partner: terrifying face money box thing. From my parents: Nutri Ninja, Star Wars maze, Star Wars ice cube maker and a whole bunch of candles and nice smelling things. They also dug some old Beatles and Boston records out, which are dusty as fuck and barely play, but hopefully they'll clean up well. From my Nan: Candles and enough socks to keep my feet warm until the end of time. From my cousins: candles, home made chutneys, shower set and soaps. From my partners Mum: Lego Star Wars advent calendar, face mask/snood things and chocolate. From my partner's grandparents: Bravely Default, which was a particularly good choice from my Amazon wishlist. From "The Tree" (a strange tradition of my partner's family): Ballycastle and a telescopic straw (unrelated, presumably).

I cannot stop watching. It's been months now.

Is it just me or is the whole gaming scene just exhausting nowadays? I was just as disappointed as anyone else that Cyberpunk is currently a broken mess, but CDPR have offered refunds to anyone who wants one and promised a patch to those willing to wait. Like, what else can they do at this point? What else is there to discuss? Everyone has an option that can work for them; Don't buy it/get a refund/wait for a patch. Yet people still seem hell-bent on complaining about it, going out of their way to point out exactly why it's an awful game as if it's something we don't already know or comparing it to their favourite developer who would never release a game in such a state. Even people that had no interest in actually playing the game come out to offer their criticisms. Remember when gaming was just a way to have fun? Now it seems people would rather just complain about things or find the latest thing to be angry about. If it's not the sorry state of Cyberpunk, it's crunch within the industry or loot boxes or my console is better than yours or my demographic wasn't represented exactly how I'd have liked. I wouldn't mind if it was avoidable, but it seems that to get to the actual gaming news, you've got to wade through all the arguments, controversies and dogpiling that comes with it. And then there's the actual toxicity. It seems with every major release, there's a group that take their hate to absurd levels. Sending seizure inducing videos to journalists who report on Cyberpunk's braindance segments or people sending death threats to TLOU2's staff because one female character was a bit masculine. I love gaming, but the whole gaming culture has just completely worn me out to the point where I just don't want to be involved anymore. Honestly, I've never seen such vitriol and toxicity centred around something that is supposed to be fun. A lot of the above isn't really specific to Cyberpunk, but I do think it's the straw that broke the camel's back for me and it made me realise how much I really don't like the gaming "community" nowadays. I can deal with being disappointed in a game, but the gaming culture and politics that surrounds it leaves me exhausted more often than not. It's like wading through treacle. I just want to enjoy a game and maybe have a nice discussion about it, but there's just so much bullshit that comes with it or someone picking fault with every single opinion. I dunno, maybe 2020 has effected me more than I realised, but I just find gaming culture legitimately depressing and exhausting nowadays.

Looks like the vinyl addiction is taking hold. Ordered the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack, which was conveniently released earlier this month. Can't imagine high print runs of this, so I figured I'd get it now to avoid any future disappointment.

Yeah, it makes it easier to see if the speed is accurate. The strobe makes it so that certain dots on the edge of the platter look stationary if the speed is correct.

One thing I've learned so far is that it's more complicated than it first seems. I was originally just planning on getting a cheap suitcase style player for about £50, but apparently they're awful. Throw in stories of tracking force and ruined records and suddenly you're down a wormhole of which turntable/preamp/amp/speakers to buy. To say my original £50 budget has long passed would be an understatement. I went with the LP120, as it has an adjustable tonearm counterweight and comes with a built-in preamp, meaning I just needed some active speakers (which serve as an amp and speakers) and the whole thing is ready to go. You could probably get much more for your money if you're willing to go second hand and do a bit of research, but I just wanted a simple, plug and play solution that can be upgraded later with a new stylus etc as needed.

Really interesting history of Panzer Dragoon Saga (Even if he does pronounce Zwei and Azel completely wrong). The game really is incredible. It took me over 10 years and £150 to finally play the full game, but it was worth it.

Massive hipster moment incoming... I listen to music a lot, but I realised that I never really listen. It's always in the background or just something I've just thrown on. With things like my Alexa and Youtube, I can just listen to whatever track I want at a moment's notice, which is great, but it never makes me actually value the music I'm listening to. I want music to actually be something I actively listen to and enjoy. For that reason, I decided to get into vinyl. I'm still very much researching, but I've bought a turntable and a few records. The speakers are very much the weakest part of the setup currently, but I figured I'd just get a pair to start with and upgrade later if I get hooked. Using my phone with them currently (the turntable arrives later today) and they're actually pretty good, so should last a while. The turntable pops up in most of the top "affordable" lists, so I'm hoping that won't need upgrading any time soon, if ever. I figure the whole "ceremony" of getting the vinyl out, cleaning it (if I can be arsed), putting it on the table and dropping the needle will make me actually appreciate the music more. I don't buy into the whole "vinyl just sounds better" ethos, but I do like the idea of listening to music being an event, so I figure it'll be a good hobby. Audio Techinca LP120XUSB. In black, because of course I did: Majority D40 Speakers. No, I haven't heard of them either, but they had good reviews and actually seem really nice so far. Plus they have bluetooth and a headphone socket, meaning I don't have to get a separate headphone amp: And a few records to keep me occupied. Labyrinth, because it's my favourite soundtrack and will absolutely be the first thing I listen to when the turntable arrives. David Bowie - Legacy. Didn't mean to go double Bowie, but I had an Argos voucher and the only decent record they had in stock. I can't complain though, Bowie is awesome. Fleetwood Mac - Rumours. The Chain is the best bass drop of all time and I'll fight anyone who disagrees. Next up I'd like to get some Daft Punk, but their records are at least £40 per album, so I think that can wait a while. I'll probably get a few cheaper ones first. I get the feeling this may become an expensive hobby...