Drain the swamp!

My landscapers have been wondering why part of my back yard is so soggy, since they’ve overhauled the drainage and put in a lot of thirsty plants.

I’m halfway up a hill, and it hasn’t rained much in weeks, but a large section of the yard near the back fence is downright soggy. They probed in a few places to find the source, and dug down to uncover an old clay-tile drainage pipe running under the fence. It apparently used to run further down toward the street (most likely part of an old irrigation network from the original farmhouse), but it recently broke off right at the property line.

Either there’s a major water reservoir at the top of the hill, or the neighbor has a busted water line and hasn’t noticed the bill. He’ll be very motivated to fix it after my landscapers cap it off on my side. The water is going to have to come out somewhere…

ObHomer

Um, Pete?

“Your ideas are intriguing to me, and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.”

(Update: the link should go directly to his comment, but it ends up showing the entire thread from the top; the bit I'm responding to reads "My harem of slave catgirls is extremely efficient at satisfying my needs, in fact it's superior to any alternatives.")

And you thought light novel titles were bad…

New RPG released for PC, PS5, and Switch:

Mon-Yu: Defeat Monsters And Gain Strong Weapons And Armor. You May Be Defeated, But Don’t Give Up. Become Stronger. I Believe There Will Be A Day When The Heroes Defeat The Devil King.

It looks like a crude dungeon-crawler.

Eggcorn-y

In response to Pippa’s computer woes, someone wrote:

“Even my computer I built myself half hazardously has less problems somehow.”

At least, I’m assuming it’s an eggcorn for haphazardly; otherwise someone’s re-implemented the Halt And Catch Fire opcode. 😁

You’re grounded!

Amazon just offered me a conductive sleeping pad that implements the “proven medical benefits” of sleeping on the ground with a grounding wire. I mean, a doctor said it works, amirite?

Name that tune!

Once upon a time, there was a Jim Croce album featuring not only his best-known songs, but stories linking them together. I had it on vinyl, but I can’t find it on CD or streaming. It’s been frustrating me for decades.

I can hear his voice telling the stories, and remember bits of it, like talking about someone trying to have sex with a really fat woman (“that’s a winter-time woman”) and thinking, “‘am I there? am I there?’ you don’t know!”, and then linking that story to Roller Derby Queen’s line about “built like a ‘fridgerator with a head”. Another was a short explanation of why he didn’t use a guitar strap, because he spent a lot of time playing in cheap bars where he needed to protect his guitar when a fight broke out.

But I can’t even find anyone who mentions an album containing this stuff. Grrr.

A Girl And Her Boxxo, first season final episode

Another day, another Big Bad to fight. Our Gang pulls together for the win, only to find themselves facing a Much Bigger Bad in a fight they can’t win. Even managing to injure him takes all the heart they’ve got, and if it weren’t for the Boxxo transformation they telegraphed last episode, two of those hearts would have been stopped permanently.

It’s a bit sad that the closest they got to real fan-service involved applying an AED to a dying woman, but what’s important is Our Hero’s Reward.

Now for our reward: there will be more. No idea what they’re going to do, since they ran through all three light novels already, but I’m looking forward to it.

Verdict: this was genuinely appealing fluff, start to finish. The only thing missing is more source material. And maybe some Buy-the-Bluray scenes, even though I’ll buy it anyway.

Incoming!

The first watchable of the season will be S-Rank Daddy’s Girl on Thursday the 28th. Then Friday is Frieren, and Sunday is Jailbait Witch & Loli-Mom.

Distilling the isekai genre…

Thanks to Mauser’s suggestion, I’ve read the available translated material (both light novel and manga) of Isekai OP Space Mercenary, in which Our Hero’s video-game skills and paid DLC grant him a Better Life With Hot Chicks.

He doesn’t try to build a harem, but as the Designated Protagonist, it just happens. This also applies to his life outside of bed, to the point that his loving companions become genre-savvy about the inevitability of improbable things happening just after someone says they’re incredibly unlikely.

He’s actually rejected two volunteers for the harem, which is refreshing, but his Very Good Reasons for keeping them out get severely undermined by the events of the latest light novel, so Our Lush Noble Officer Lush and Our Loli Noble That Could are back in the running. Our Repeatedly-Rescued Medical Babe hasn’t been seen recently, but in fairness, he’s probably still a bit traumatized by the anal probe.

Which leads me to think you could achieve success in this world by stripping the isekai genre down to the essentials:

Transported To Another World With An Unlimited Supply Of Mind-Control Collars, I Finally Get To Touch Women!

(Hulemy is more the school-swimsuit type)

A Question Of Pie

Update on Frank’s recent question in the comments about (literal) cheesecake/pie joints in my area. I googled around and found a local baker named Mehaffies that’s been in business since 1930, and it looked promising.

I’ve been too busy to get over there and try them out, but while I was hanging out with my parents Saturday, I asked my mom (a very experienced baker herself), and she said, “their crusts aren’t as good as they could be”. That doesn’t mean they’re bad, but I’ll have to set my expectations appropriately. She went on to add that her mother (born in 1915) actually worked there in her youth, cutting up fresh fruit to earn some pocket money.

Speaking of pie…

Amazon US has a preorder up for a Bluray of a live-action adaptation of Recently My Sister Is Unusual.

(whoops, wrong unusual little sister!)

Speaking of Amazon…

I ordered a product with free two-day Prime delivery on the 13th (it’s now listed with free next-day Prime delivery). It… wasn’t on time, and they said that if I don’t see it by the 21st, I can request a refund on the 22nd, which will be processed in 3-5 business days. I kinda wanted it in two days.

Tracking reports that it went from Florida to Ohio on the 14th, left an Amazon warehouse on the 15th and was twice delayed in transit, and then arrived at another Amazon warehouse in Indiana on the 17th. The alleged tracking number wasn’t even valid at UPS, so this is all internal fumbling.

Checking this morning, they claim it finally got handed off to UPS in Indiana just after midnight on the 19th (with a new tracking number) and promptly made it back to Ohio six hours later, to the facility that’s about a mile from my house. UPS now claims it will arrive today, which it oughta.

By the way, if you’ve been wondering how those new green-and-cheaper shipping initiatives were working out…

Two of my recent packages not only didn’t have outer packaging, they weren’t even taped shut. If the little cardboard tabs had failed, things could easily have fallen out in the truck.

Technical Jargon: omochikaeri

The word お持ち帰り (carry + return home) most commonly refers to takeout food. In popular slang, it also refers to a one-night stand or pickup. On Pixiv, however, it most often refers to very non-consensual pickups that are stuffed but not fed.

(the set this pic is from was #1 for the tag)

“…until I took an artifact to the head.”

Dungeon (No) Drops, episode 11

In which Festivals Are Fun (but show off a ridiculous variety of items from the drop-based economy), Our Lovestruck Fire Mage is dropping hints the size of boulders, and a rampaging Increase Goblin is not nearly the threat it was in the source material; seriously, it just stood quietly on the street waiting for the conversations to end. Fireworks are also fun, but strain credibility as this “rare drop” comes complete with a colorful bag printed in Japanese.

Also, Our Formerly-Suggestive Bunnygirl swallows the meat in a completely literal way, Our Dungeonborn Loli sets up the big two-part finale, Our Guild Sugar Daddy begs for help when the drops stop, and Our Two-Fisted Hero discovers that he can’t do it alone.

Verdict: it kinda says something when you’re watching an already low-budget show and you notice that there’s even less animation than usual. The panned stills are well-drawn, but the money is clearly running out. One more to go!

Dear Bethesda,

So I got Starfield for free through Game Pass, and it actually works pretty well on my multiply-rebuilt gaming machine (bought in 2015 with a Core i7-6700, 16GB RAM, spinning disks, and a GeForce GTX 980; now with 32GB, SSDs, and an RTX 2060, which was the best I could get at the time that fit within the power/cooling budget). Gameplay is pretty familiar for anyone who played hundreds of hours of Skyrim and Fallout 4. Actually, apart from the space travel, it’s basically F4 without the forced whimsy. So, y’know, shootin’ and lootin’ and craftin’.

But there’s something I noticed. Once I finished the tutorial and got off the rails, I explored the first planet a bit, and found an Abandoned Farm full of corpses, monsters, and loot, which was nice. But when I was searching the living quarters of the research scientists, every single one of them had a bottle of hand lotion and a box of tissues next to their bed.

So, it really is lonely out in space…

The one downside of getting a non-Steam version of the game is that the popular script-extender mod will never work, which means mods that depend on it will never work; fortunately it’s not required for the major inventory overhaul mod, StarUI.

And you really want to fix the inventory UI, because Bethesda always designs for console, and loves to make you jump through hoops to see information that would easily fit on a PC screen.

Certified

Wow, CPR training has changed a lot since 1980. Also, AEDs are cool, but still expensive if you don’t have professional connections. Anyway, in addition to my NRA range safety officer certification, I can now add First Aid, CPR, AED, and Bleeding Control.

That last one was highly recommended for range officers, and the doctor who taught it said that if he ever sees us at a range, he’s going to check our bags to make sure we’ve got a tourniquet and chest seals. Because bullets.

AES Ohio (formerly known in this area as Dayton Power & Light) is my local power company. I’ve gotten multiple opt-out-fast attempts to switch me to “green” electricity (almost as many as when I lived in California!), but this is a new one:

Introducing the all-electric Nissan ARIYA, now available for subscription or purchase with AES Ohio.

Get ready to elevate your driving experience with the ARIYA’s impressive features:

→ Powerful performance: The Nissan ARIYA offers powerful acceleration, delivering a smooth and exhilarating ride. Its 0-60 mph time of 7.2 seconds ensures a thrilling driving experience.
→ Luxurious interior: Step inside the Nissan ARIYA and indulge in its luxurious interior. Experience the perfect blend of comfort and sophistication, providing a welcoming environment for both driver and passengers.
→ Spacious cargo volume: The ARIYA offers an impressive 59.7 cu.ft. cargo volume, ensuring you have ample space for all your adventures and daily needs.

Interested in trying the Nissan ARIYA?
AES Ohio has a range of subscription and purchasing options so you can try electric in the way that suits your needs. View our EV options, here.

This is like Shell renting Corvettes.

In which Our DFC Engineer ruthlessly teases, Our Mighty Heroine faces her fears, Our Vending Hero makes a new friend, Our New Friend doesn’t last long, Our Sexy Sorceress chickens out, Our Communication-Challenged Heroic Swordsman speaks a complete sentence, and our next-to-last episode sets up the final battle.

Verdict: not much animation, as usual, but at least one of the panned stills was of Lammis’ delightful figure, so there’s that. Hulemy’s tough-love big sister scene did a good job of character development for both her and Lammis. Bonus points for not making poor Lammis wet herself in terror; it’s an overused cliché.

(I’d say it was a little early for a Halloween-ish episode, but I just got back from the grocery, and that shit’s everywhere)

In which Lumps Are Exposited At Length, it’s That Time Of The Metaphor, and Remarkably Precise Rewards are earned, giving birth to Another Overpowered Skill that lets Our Family Hero share the wealth.

Speaking of birth, the family grew again when Ryota refused to allow a naive young girl to join That Abusive Party and reeled her into his gang instead. Turns out she has powers that are nearly as broken as his, having been (tada) born in the dungeon. While the anime dialogue does not clarify that her mother was actually pregnant before giving birth, the manga does, so she’s not a loot drop or literal dungeon spawn.

Once again reduced to comic relief, Our Easily-Satisfied Bunnygirl’s likely objection to the presence of Alice Wonderland (sic) is averted by the discovery that she doesn’t like carrots, so we don’t have to go down that rabbit-hole again.

As a side note, Alice’s voice actress has supporting roles in next season’s Tearmoon and S-Rank Daddy’s Girl, and was previously the lead in Novice Alchemist and McPharmacist And Waifu.

Verdict: if this sounds like it was rushed, I’ll point out that Alice first appears in the tenth manga volume, and they’ve flipped the story so she’s there before the big battle that’s probably going to end the season. So, yeah, even though she’s no more equipped to be a proper haremette than Our Perfect Wife Emily, they zipped through content to add another cute loli and her chibi pets.

(cute chibi pet is unrelated)

This week, Enter The Inhaler.

Our Restaurant Illuminati had a good idea: host an eating contest to draw in business, now that the town has been rebuilt. Well, it was a good idea, until they realized that Our Insatiable Pinkette Archer and Our Voracious Tasmanian Devils would be joining the contest. Our Vending Hero suggests one method of reducing the damage, but ends up also serving as the grand prize.

Rather than just stuffing her face for a day, winner Shui instead shows some real depth, taking Boxxo and Lammis to an orphanage to help out the less fortunate. This does lead to a bath scene, but she and Lammis are thoroughly covered with fluffy towels, and the closest we get to fan-service is Lammis taking off her jacket (not that I’m complaining).

Verdict: gosh, I wonder why the audience at the contest was so excited to see Our Health And Safety Officer’s swallowing technique…