Category: Aleosha Blog

*.BAK

Brigand beer

As I’m going through my box of Belgian beers, I must say I’m mostly unimpressed. Maybe I’ve changed. Maybe not going with the “mainstream” is a mistake, and those are mainstream for a reason.
Brigand comes from Van Honsebrouck Brewery, best known for Kasteel.
I rememeber liking Brigand, when it still had a distinct bottle.

For some reason, now they have just a generic label that makes you wonder why it’s even called “brigand” in the first place. It’s smooth and nice, and left me more energised than sleepy. But yet again, not something I would buy again.

Tags beer

PC Gaming

Far Cry 6

Second region is just an exercise in bad writing. We are told that Paolo is indispensable, but the game never actually demonstrates why it is so. What happened to “show, don’t tell”? It’s unsurprising that they killed of the best characters in the game, Jonron and El Tiger. Made all the others look really bad. And those are the only two characters I actually could care about.

Pablo gets captured by The Doctor. Presumably to detransition her? Then when we try to rescue her, the Doctor captures us too, and puts a cellphone with a poison inside our belly. This one of the worst plot twists brings one of the best episodes in the game, where we ride in a car hallucinating our dead friends, that tell Dani he doesn’t care about the Revolution, and just likes shooting people. A very deep self reflection.

Then we cut out belly open and extract the phone. Not clear why it had to be a phone in the first place.
The mission where you have to follow the pipes is kind of okay. At least it’s not capturing yet another base. Then there’s the revelation that El Tigre killed one of his comrades, Lobo, because he was going to become the next dictator. As far as I remember Lobo was the name for Vaas character from Far Cry 3.

Tags Far Cry

Emulation

Cannon Fodder

Cannon Fodder is a brutal game. I played it as a kid on PC. Then came back to it in my 20’s on SNES, because it had save states. But even that didn’t help me finish it. Now, I’m making 3rd approach, at the very least, on an Amiga emulator, for a killer combination of save states and mouse.
The game might not seem like much at first sight. You point your squad where to go, and they go, and they go. You point where to shoot, and they shoot. They also can shoot on the go.
But soldiers in your squad have intertia. If you point them in a different direction, they will follow your order, but with a bit of a delay. And all it takes for them to die is a single bullet. Or a blast of a rocket. Or a grenade, which is just a few pixels, so hard to spot during a firefight. Or a roof blown from a building, that flies in a random direction. There is a lot of randomness in this game. Even the way your soldiers shoot. It’s not a straight line, but more of a fan-out pattern. Sometimes you hit the enemy first. Sometimes they hit you. And then you have to replay it all over again.

Tags Amiga, Cannon Fodder

PC Gaming

Far Cry 6

Completed half of the 2nd and 3rd regions, and I already have the entire arsenal unlocked, except the Magic Rifle. There’s literally nothing else to do.

I don’t care to prove this, but I’m pretty sure that stories for different regions were written by different authors. Story of the old guerillas from ’67 is the best one out of the three. Yes, it’s comical, but the entire gameplay is comical, so I don’t mind fighting alongside a crazy cockerel. I hate the band of rappers from the 2nd region, but Jonron and El Tigre are actually quite fun.

And storming the fort episode is awesome. I just wish the game wasn’t bogged by everything else, like capturing 30 checkpoints.

There’s this scene that shows why I appreciate Far Cry:

Yelena is supposed to be a teenager that became a revolutionary after her classmates were hanged by a general for criticizing the government. And what she does after we help her kill the general? Hangs the corpse and takes selfies.

Tags Far Cry

*.BAK

Sherry whiskies explained, First Phil Whisky

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date April 29, 2025
No Comments on Sherry whiskies explained, First Phil Whisky

The most interesting bit I didn’t know about is that casks used to make sherry can’t be actually used to make whisky, because they are worn down. Instead, sherry producers specifically season casks for whiskey producers. Basically, they keep sherry in them for 2 years, sell them to whiskey distilleries, then make vinegar our of the sherry.

Tags whiskey

*.BAK

Cutting boards

After the Shun Kai knive I purchased has dulled in just a week, I came to a conclusion that maybe knive hardness isn’t the problem, the boards that I use are. For many years I’ve used sets of plastic boards, latest one from Joseph-Joseph.
There are a few alternatives: hinoki wood, synthetic rubber or wood fiber. I decided to start with later, as the cheapest alternative of the three. Not that it’s particularly cheap: a single cutting board of similar size costs as a set of 4 plastic boards.
Does it work? After a week of using it, I’d say it does. Of course it’s very hard to measure: you don’t always cut the same stuff day after day. But after a week, I still can cut paper ribbons with my knife, and that’s already something.

*.BAK

Malheur 10

Lately I’ve been trying different Belgian beers I haven’t tried before, and honestly, I wasn’t much impressed with the last few bottles. But Malheur (not to be confused with Melchior, which is also Belgian beer) set me back on the right track. It has some head, but it goes away quickly, leaving you with not very gassy ale that tastes like canned peaches to me, mostly. A lucky find, and now I hope to try Malheur 12.

Tags beer

*.AVI

Last Duel

Not the movie I expected. It is confusing at first, with sudden time jumps that are hard to follow, and the storytelling feels rushed, despite the movie is some 2:30 hours long. But it becomes more interesting as you begin to notice discrepancies between depictions of same events from different character perspective.

The movie dedicates a lot of attention to the role of woman in the 14th century. A woman cannot appeal to court without her husband’s approval. Rape is not offence against the woman, but agains her husband. And, of course, sentence for a woman who wrongly accuses someone of rape is to be burned at a stake.
The duel is indeed impressive. It’s chaotic and brutal. A horse can run into a wall or trample a squire or hit you with its hoove. And they use “halfsword” grip a lot, because they are so close. All this from almost static camera.

And it surprised me that they didn’t chew on the implications of mother’s role in the events at all, leaving it all to be deduced.

*.BAK

Painting Skaven

Finished painting last skaven out of 20 today. All that’s left now is to paint and clean the bases.
I ended up with more than 40 paints. Some of them are a disappointment, especially the Volupus Pink I’ve been hearing so much about. It’s not pink, it’s purple. And I needed pink for the tails, which was the most time-consuming part.
I didn’t have any reason to rush this. A single rat takes between one to two evenings to paint. I also was taking breaks to wait for new brushes and paints to arrive to experiment. And I switched from layer to contrast paints half the way through, which I’m quite happy with.

Tags Warhammer

PC Gaming

Oblivion Remastered

I stopped reading gaming news altogether shortly after war in Ukraine broke out, and haven’t really read them since.
So the remaster of Oblivion came as a surprise to me. And it seems I’m not the only one, news sites or no.
I played Oblivion a lot in the day, “in the day being” July 2007, and “a lot” being for probably two weeks. But I never finished it, for the game ending up being too repetitive with the enemy scaling with you making the whole leveling up process quite pointless. Not sure if I’d give it a go now, but some YouTubers are sure gushing about it a lot.

Tags Elder Scrolls, Oblivion

*.BAK

La Guillotine, Huyghe Brewery

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date April 25, 2025
No Comments on La Guillotine, Huyghe Brewery

Huyghe Brewery is best known for its amazing Delirium line of beers, or “the beer with the pink elephant”, but it’s not the only beer it produces.
One example is Averbode I reviewed last year, and another, and maybe better known, is the La Guillotine.
It’s an golden ale, a style that I like very much.
Delirium, in comparison, has the same ABV, 8.5%, but is a pale ale. Pale ales should be generally more bitter than golden ales.
But here’s a catch: Delirium is considered sweet for pale ale, while La Guillotine is considered bitter for golden ales, so all in all, Delirium is sweeter than La Guillotine. Go figure.
In any case, I would pick Delirium over La Guillotine.

Tags beer

3DS Nintendo

Link between Worlds

Completed Link between Worlds.
One trope I always forget in Zelda games is that if you sprint into an obstacle, you may knock off whatever is on top of it. This works for upgrade snails that sit on top of trees, for example. Not sure if this mechanic was implemented anywhere besides Minish Cap and this game. But at least here it’s not required to complete the main plot.
Lorule Castle makes you repeat four bosses. But it’s not a rush, the bosses are in different sections of the castle, and you can save in between.
Then you have to fight Yuga, the huge swine. In the first phase you just hit him in the face. In the second you have to play pinball, reflecting the projectile multiple times. Then he turns into a mural, and you get a bow that can shoot murals. Overall, it’s a nice fight, although I must confess I bruteforced it by stocking on healing potions.
Rovio, the rabbit guy that was selling you stuff, turns out to be Link from the other world. He convinces Hilda to stop trying to steal the Triforce, and instead, Zelda and Link use their wish to grant Lorule their own Triforce.
Interesting final bit, as far as Zelda stories go, that is, is that Link returns the Master sword into the stone. Presumably for the next Link to get it out again. The vicious cycle continues, so to say.
Speaking of the sword, I never found the last piece of ore for the final upgrade. Didn’t remember which dungeon I had to repeat to get it.

Tags Legend of Zelda, Link between Worlds

*.BAK

Achel Tripel

I love Belgian beers and love Trappist ales, so I grabbed this Achel Tripel to try. Tastewise, it didn’t impress me much. I was drinking it alongside Grimbergen, and the later has more flavour with less ABV. It does provide tons of sleepiness, though. I was still feeling it’s effect after 3 hours.
Maybe I’d enjoy it more if I’d cool it properly. This one I had room temperature, because it was a last minute decision. But I probably wouldn’t bother buying it again, honestly.

Tags beer

*.AVI

Outlaw King

Some good actors (Florence Pugh, the guy from Dungeons&Dragons, Stannis Baratheon) and surprising attention to historic accuracy (William Wallace wasn’t a pict, and they weren’t wearing only browns in Medieval times). But I can’t help but feel that it should have been a miniseries, due to the density of events. Robert’s loses most of his army, his wife is taken hostage and two of his brothers killed in span of 20 minutes. And those two brothers are half the way across Scotland!
The most ridiculous scene, when Robert stabs his competitor in the church is historically accurate.

Honestly surprised they managed to pull the final battle. Very impressed.

PC Gaming

Far Cry 6

Not sure what’s worse: a “helicopter boss” or not having a boss at all.

Usually, the most devastating LMG in Far Cry is MG42. Not this time, this time we get a minigun, if handicrafted. And a sniper rifle that shoots explosive darts. I didn’t say there are no cool weapons in this game.

Second region is big on LGBT agenda. How do you know Paolo is trans? Don’t worry, “he” will tell you. As will “his” doctor, that is very proud of top surgery he performed. And there’s also two lesbians to save. You need to save them not because they are opposing the regime, but because they are lesbians. That’s what I call “subtle writing”.

Tags Far Cry

*.BAK

Ardnamurchan Madeira Cask

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date April 14, 2025
No Comments on Ardnamurchan Madeira Cask

This is my first Madeira cask whiskey. It has surpring level of peatiness to it, which I didn’t expect. At 52%, it is sweet, but not as sweet as some sherried whiskies, and it leaves a nice warmth in your throat.

Tags Ardnamurchan, whiskey

PC Gaming

Far Cry 6

There are a few design choices I find plainly strange. Right after the tutorial island you are given what is basically a personal helicopter. Nobody tells you that you have it, but it’s there on the top of the bunker if you know about it. But you can’t fly it anywhere, because of anti-air turrets. So you spend hours destroying those. It would have been easier just not to give you early access to helicopters. After all, it’s not like in Cuba helicopters are just sitting in every backyard. But I guess they just wanted to prolong the game, and towers weren’t an option anymore.

The second issue is the crossbow, or hand balista that I already mentioned, I think. Again, you are given this weapon at the very start. At just look at its stats:

This is basically a railgun. It reloads slowly, but it can take any enemy, even minibosses, with a single headshot. Yes, you get limited ammunition for it. But you have almost zero motivation to discover other weapons when you have this in your arsenal. Oh, and did I mention it’s almost silent as well?

Speaking of progress, I’ve barely completed one region out of 3, and I’m already level 8 out of 10. Not sure if there’s much to look forward to.

Tags Far Cry

*.BAK

Aeropress Go Plus

Aeropress Go Plus is almost everything I wanted from Aeropress Go. It is slightly bigger. The plastic is clear and feels more robust. Actually, the entire thing is more robust. The cup is metal and thermal, and has a storage compartment at the bottom for extra paper filters. And it all fits very nicely.
The only downside for me is that you can’t fit the lid with the pressurized filter cap on. Aeropress Go had a rubber lid, so you could still stretch it, but Go Plus has a plastic lid. Still, I prefer this version much more, and I didn’t plan to use the lid anyway.

Tags aeropress, coffee

*.BAK

Burning Sky Blessed State beer

Post author By TheAleosha
Post date April 12, 2025
No Comments on Burning Sky Blessed State beer

I purchased a can of this beer simply for the gorgeous art.

First thing that comes to mind it is how smooth that beer is. Guinness level of smoothness, but at 7% ABV. They use both coffee beans and cacao nibs, and both are blended very well.
And believe it or not, it does put you in that lightly-sleepy state for a very long time, I was still feeling it after 3-4 hours, which is uncommon for such a low ABV.

Tags beer, Burning Sky

PC Gaming

Far Cry 6

Like many other sandboxes, Far Cry 6 can’t decide what it wants to be. Either you can singlehandedly hijack a Soviet tank, jump from 50m only to open a parachute and a wingsuit, and if you venture into a zone too early, enemies there would withstand multiple headshots from a sniper rifle. Also, you have a backpack that shoots homing rockets that are able to blow both tanks and helicopters.
But then the story is this family feuds and serious sacrifices. At least they still have the ability to kill off characters.
Also, there is counter narrative, it wouldn’t be Far Cry without it. Castillo mentions that 80% of his soldiers come from farmer families, not a fact for cartoonish tyrant. And Alejandro tells her sister that she is a guerilla just because she thinks it’s all a game.

Tags Far Cry