One Happy Team…

The cat in the crown

Booked myself a follow-up appointment for CuraLeaf. What I didn’t expect was to get used to Cannabis as a sleep drops. It helps not much with sleep per se, as with not re-enacting and rethinking my work of that day. Which is a precursor to better sleep.

What I have now – probably 4 nights per week. Sometimes, adding bits of red gummies in the office (like 1/5 of it) when I feel like noise and people are too much. I don’t know to whom the whole gummy is dosed. I bet eating the whole of it would bring me to the state of lying in a yellow chair and observing the cat in the crown in the window for hours. And would not be ashamed to share my observations with others. I almost never have the need for a day time “pick me up” at home.

Tags colors, Deliveroo

*.BAK

Painting Skaven

Both the handbook and the official video paint Skaven half-assedly. I of course do no have the talent to paint them to the level of someone who did that for 10-20 years. But those are rats, rats should have pink tails, and both of the official guides don’t care to paint them any differently at all.
Stormcasts are pain to paint mainly because of their shields and pauldrons. Skaven require a lot of colors.
There’s metal.
There’s wood.
There’s leather.
There are their teeth and nails.
There’s the tail and tongue.
They also have two layers of fabric instead of just one.
And I also decided not to paint fur. In the official art, they are mostly fur-less, with exposed skin and just some patches of fur. But I wanted the pinkish tail to be the contrast, so my skaven have short white fur, I guess.

*.APK/*.CAB

Tacticus

Eldrion is indeed a game changer, literally. The damage out is now x2 if not x3

Eldar campaign seems to be much easier than others, that have steep difficulty spikes. And it also has much more lore embedded in it.

Unlocked Forgefiend through guaranteed requisition. As I mentioned multiple times, war machines are not very useful.

Then through another requisition unlocked both Abaddon and Anuphet. One one hand, this is incredible, as both are very expensive characters to unlock. And Anuphet is very useful, as there’s a Necron campaign that allows to farm Ultramarine characters. On the other hand Abaddon… Not so much.

From requisition milestone rewards got Wrask. Not very useful.

Unlocked Isaak during his release event. He isn’t that great, as you need other Genestealers and Genestealers in general aren’t worth getting. But I grab what I can.

Tags Ta, w40k

*.BAK

Dragon’s Milk Tales of Gold

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date February 13, 2025
2 Comments on Dragon’s Milk Tales of Gold

Now I’ve tried the Black, the Red and the Gold Dragon Milk beers. All three are fantastic. The only reason I wouldn’t buy the Golden Ale is there are plenty of belgian beers available at this level: Gulden Drak is what they were aiming for, I think.

Tags beer

PC Gaming

Kingdom Come Deliverance

The tournament quest has a surprising extension. The final contender in the tournament is a guy called Black Pete. After beating him, you meet a blacksmith in one of the villages that tells you his son once beat Black Pete too, but then succumbed to a strange illness. Time passes. Then Black Pete suddenly ambushes you, and he has a poisoned sword, one scratch and you are dead. Yeah, just like the blacksmith’s son.
Finally, I decided I had enough of sidequests, and it’s time to raid the cuman camp. It’s no slouch. There are a lot of cumans, and they see very well even in the dark and rain. I did manage to kill their captain, and burn some arrows. Not sure if you’re supposed to burn all of them or not. As I was escaping, fell in a ditch (it’s very hard to see in the dark), and a few bandits cornered me there. It didn’t end well for them, though. Not a blacksmith’s son anymore, I guess.
The siege of the bandit’s base is extremely impressive. There are arches shooting at you from the palisade (guess I had to burn both barrels of arrows, God knows how), there is a dozen of enemies and a dozen of your guys, all clashing together. There’s nothing quite like it.

Tags Kingdom Comes Deliverance

*.BAK

Tamdhu 15 Years Old

I already wrote about Tamdhu 12, as I got it from Advent Calendar last year, and I think it was great for its price. Now I got myself a taster of Tamdhu 12, 15 and 18. I still stand that Tamdhu 12 is great. But Tamdhu 15 is even better. Which is not always the case, mind you.
It is sweet, smooth, and leaves nice warmth not only in the throat, but also in the belly. With some liteheadiness on top.

Is it worth twice the price of Tamdhu 12? For the moment I think yes.

Tags Tamdhu, whiskey, whisky

PSX Sony

Persona 2 Eternal Punishment

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date February 11, 2025
No Comments on Persona 2 Eternal Punishment

The Sea Cruiser and Underwater Temple sequence is… punishing. I’m glad Innocent Sin taught me to always stock on HP and MP items to the max. Still, the Underwater Temple is full of trapped floors that make you repeat the same sequence over and over again. And unlike trapped floors in Innocent Sin, those are only visible on the minimap.
During fight with Chizuru in the temple, I simply got lucky. Persona 2 loves the “shell game” mechanic. Boss summons 4 clones, then swaps places with one. Clones have some reflective properties, either a particular element or like in this case all of them. You need to guess which is the real one, and once you do, clones disappear, then the process repeats itself. Chizuru also casts Rage, which doubles the physical damage, but makes character attack at random. Which is usually deadly, as 4 out of 5 enemies would reflect the double damage right back. But this time, it simply worked in my favour, finishing the boss off.

PC Gaming

Kingdom Come Deliverance

One design principle the game kind of breaks is putting very dangerous actions alongside very casual actions. “Trade” is “E”, while “Pickpocket” is “Long press E”. “Mount horse” is “X”, while “Sick your dog on a guard” is “Long press X”. You are one long press away from jail.
Dog also allows to break the game in interesting manners. One of the random encounters is a knight that offers to duel you for a wager. Those knights are tough and well armoured. But if you unleash the dog during the duel, it will distract the knight, allowing you to land a few free blows.
Finally managed to beat the tourney. It’s difficult, as you have to go through 6 bouts, and it takes 15 minutes of real time non-stop. But it’s easier once you understand it’s all about riposte. Do it enough times, and you’ll chip through opponent’s health without taking damage yourself.

Tags Kingdom Come Deliverance

PC Gaming

Kingdom Come Deliverance

Got myself a dog. Dog is amazing, because it can fetch you rabbits you shot, that otherwise hard to find in the bushes, and it even can take down a boar.
At first I didn’t understand why meat you pick up from a deer or a boar appears as “stolen”. A funny bug? Then I understood that the game has concept of poaching.
One of the most important skills for a squire is… Lock picking. Everyone likes to store valuables in locked chests. And thief guild quests, sorry, millers quests, pay very well. Also, there’s a huge difference if you are fighting one enemy or two at the same time. And forget about fighting three. So if you manage to backstab one of them, you even your chances.
Game’s “perks” are more like “traits” in Fallout. Often they have not just positive, but also negative effects, like raising your strength, but lowering speech. Or they are mutually exclusive: you can’t get a stats bonus both in the wilderness and in vicinity of settlements. Given the fact that most bandits are in the wilderness, I picked the former. To be safe.
Some of the quests are timed, but it’s not clear that they are. The wounded in the Monastery die after a few days if not treated.

Tags Kingdom Come Deliverance

*.BAK

Painting Warhammer

I have been fascinated by Warhammer since I discovered it as a teenager. But before I moved to Europe, it was never an option. Nowadays, though, it has become much more available and accessible. I think they even sold introductory sets in newspaper kiosks at one point. So I finally decided to give it a try.
What I wanted to paint were T’au from Warhammer 40K, but I decided to practice on a starter set first. Since I didn’t want to paint Space Marines vs. Tyranids, I went with Age of Sigmar’s Stormcast vs. Skaven.
What can I say… the miniatures are small. I’m glad I had my laser surgery last year, and I’m not even joking.

I haven’t held a paintbrush since I was 9, so that’s another challenge. And the paintbrush that comes with them is indeed shitty. So I ended up buying a set of artistic brushes as well. Not sable, as a single sable brush costs an entire set.

I’m glad I bought a painting handle. Very useful for finishing touches. And I’m sorry that I laughted at the water pot initially. Now I can’t find it anywhere.

Tags Warhammer

PC Gaming

Kingdom Come Deliverance

What I love about this game is the honest loot. You killed a Cuman with your sax? Now you get his helm, and his sword, and his shield, and even his blodied kaftan.

There’s a quest where two bandits are hunting for a stableboy who is a witness. I tried to face them head-on, and they obliterated me. Then I tried picking them one by one, but even one of them was too much. So I found their camp, killed one of them in his sleep, hid his body in case it spooks the other one, waited until night and kill the second one in the same manner. Lowly? Yes. But those were bad people.

Speaking of witnesses, at some point the game turns into LA Noire. You have to look for clues and question witnesses to find the bandits behind a raid. Which is good, because looking for clues means that I don’t need to fight, as my character is very bad at fighting at this point.

Tags Kingdom Come Deliverance

PSX Sony

Persona 2 Eternal Punishment

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date January 26, 2025
No Comments on Persona 2 Eternal Punishment

They tought that the burning museum episode was great, apparently, so you have to do it again. Yes, PSX version also has the heatwave effect, although it’s not that good. Don’t know if they made it easier, or I simply knew the trick, but I did manage to complete this without a problem in 10 minutes instead of 30.
The game makes very little sense without Innocent Sin, as at one point Maya asks if anyone could hear a girl: as she rescued the Cosplayer in the Other World there. And then Tatsuya flies the zeppelin, saying “he seen how it’s done once”. It’s Maya from the Other World that showed him.

Tags Persona

*.AVI

North Water

Finished watching North Water.
It’s only 5 episodes, ideal format, but is a very heavy show. Especially the animal cruelty, like the hunting of seals and whales.
My main issue with the story is that Drax is something between an animal and the Devil, as most of the evil comes from him. Maybe it’s the idea, though, as at one point characters start to refer to him as The Devil.
Also, I feel that I read the story with the white bear somewhere else.
Interesting that Jack O’Connell (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1925239/?ref_=tt_cst_t_1) plays here very similar role as in another beloved miniseries: Godless.

Tags North Water

*.BAK

Eureka Mignon Libra 65

The release of Eureka Mignon Libra 65 is a very interesting decision, and not because of the 65mm burrs.

The original Eureka Mignon Libra with 55mm burrs was one of two options for grind-by-weight at home (price range less than 1000GBP). It did a lot of things right: it’s very accurate, and compact.

But it’s ergonomics are terrible. Shitty bean hopper. Dial that doesn’t track the global position of the burrs. The nozzle is to far away, so the grounds fly all over. And there’s no tray to collect them.

As Eureka Mignon in general are quite popular grinders, though, enthusiast 3D-printed solutions for most of those problems. I bought a premium glass hopper from one of Eureka resellers, there’s a dial kit and a nozzle, and also a tray, which I have.

What Eureka did, it seems, is integrated most of those solutions into their new model. Now there’s a better hopper, better dial and a nozzle. They’re only missing the tray now.

Tags coffee

PSX Sony

Persona 2 Eternal Punishment

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date January 23, 2025

This game takes place in an alternative version of the world known as The Other Side, and the main protagonist is now Maya. In this world Jun’s father is alive, so Jun is not the Joker, and Joker is much simpler – just killing the people you wish would be dead.

Contact system was slightly reworked, now each character has just one phrase, so there’s less guesswork. But the PSX version doesn’t have the mood tracker PSP version had, so you have to remember how many times the persona has already reacted.
Another thing PSX version doesn’t have is the persona compatibility indicator, so you have to remember how many MP persona usually costs, and how many MP is required when you equip it on a character.

In this world, King Leo is not just an arsonist, but a serial murderer. He’s also the son of a minister, so he’s admitted to an asylum, until becoming Joker and getting superpowers.

Tags Persona

*.APK/*.CAB

Warhammer 40K Tacticus

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date January 23, 2025

Unlocked Kut from “guaranteed” requisition. This isn’t great, as he’s a cheap character, but also not too bad, as he’s useful in Fall of Cadia Mirror campaign.

And from guaranteed milestone reward also unlocked Azrael. Epic character sounds great, but I’m investing into characters needed for the campaigns.

Unlocked Sybill from grinding her encounter. Now I need just Thadeous for the Fall of Cadia Mirror, but it’s a big “just”, as we are talking 100 shards there.

Finally, unlocked Eldryon. This is a huge one, as he’s considered one of the most useful characters in the game, amplifying damage for other characters, and unlocks the Eldar campaign.

Tags Tacticus, w40k

*.JPG

Coldest City

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date January 22, 2025

I decided to read “Coldest City” on which Atomic Blonde is based.

It’s much simpler, really, less flashy. Not just in the way it looks, all black and white, no grays. But in the way the story is told.
There’s no fight in the car after the airport. Percival just picks Loraine up. He’s also plain guy in his ’50s, not a crazy bartender James McAvoy portrays. And of course there’s no French lesbian. Instead there’s much more conventional French guy.

When Loraine tries to extract Spyglass, there’s just a single shooter, not half a dozen. And when police arrives at her appartment, she doesn’t beat them up, instead the French spy scares them off.
And now to the plot twists. First one is interesting, as the entire story with the list of spies might have been a ploy. And the second point is that Loraine is just a double-agent, not a triple-agent, like in the movie.

PSP Sony

Persona 2 Innocent Sin

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date January 22, 2025

Completed Persona 2 Innocent Sin.
I haven’t mentioned the dungeons in Persona 2, and that’s because they are horrible. They are ugly mazes that lack any logic and made to be annoying with invisible traps that often impossible to avoid. Xibalba, the final dungeon / alien spaceship, is the epytomy of everything wrong with them. It’s 8 floors of annoyance.

Storywise, it’s a fun concept, though, were all the fears come true. So when one character says that there might be laser traps, and another is afraid to be locked in an oven room: both things happen. And Michele has to face metalic version of his father, because that’s what he’s afraid of.

I managed to beat the final boss with the default personas, and my characters were only around level 57 or so. So I honestly thought there will be another dungeon after that.

The ending is disappointing, and it feels to me that they just decided to split the game in two. After beating Niarhalotep, Crazy Teacher appears and stabs Maya with Longinus spear, so she cannot be healed. Nia says something along the lines, “what did you expect, to beat a god and defy a profecy?” and Philimone offers to “try another time”. This is a common theme in Shin Megami Tensei games, where at the end heroes are offered to either forget everything or continue suffering: Persona 3 and Devil Summoner 2 are two examples I remember, and I didn’t play that many games in the series.

Tags Persona

*.BAK

Sierra Nevada Narwhal Imperial Stout

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date January 20, 2025

Since I was already ordering some US imperial stouts from Dragon Milk, I decided to give another American Imperial Stout a try.
This one is good, but not that good, with a bitter aftertaste. Not terrible by any means, but I can find better Imperials closer to home.

Tags beer

PSP Sony

Persona 2 Innocent Sin

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date January 18, 2025

I went to the Aquarius temple first, so I didn’t understand why Longinus said to Jun “you don’t know who this seat is intended for”. The second temple I did was Scorpio, and its boss is Shadow Michele. Turns out Persona 4 just repeats the concept of shadows from Persona 2.
Michele’s plotline is quite touching, though, albeit simple: he was a fat kid, so he liked the only girl that threated him well.
When they grew up, he became fit, and she got fat, so she hid her identity (they are all using nicknames anyway, Michele is Ekichi’s nickname), then sold her soul to Joker in order to be beautiful.

Tags Persona