Thursday, July 15, 2021

Today's Notes 7/15/21: I'm Good... But Not Good Enough To Hang With Diamond Ranked

Good morning everybody,

Last night's stream lead off with Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid, and we started off hot, winning several matches in a row and pushing my rank up to being 678th in the World while being at Platinum League IV. That may not seem impressive, but consider my approach to fighting games is pretty basic and my timing for defense is terrible and I have no hope of escaping juggles... being in the top 1000 is impressive. Granted the team that has gotten me this far is the trio of Ryu, Chun-Li & Lauren (Red Samurai Ranger), as I focus trying to start fast and use the assists as frequently as possible to cause mix-ups... which does leave me open to be slaughtered when things go wrong.

That said, when things did go wrong it was more due to who I was matched up against players who are in the Diamond and Elite Leagues. For those that don't know there are 7 leagues in Battle for the Grid (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Elite, Master) and each league has 5 levels going from V to IV to III to II to I. So at Platinum IV, I'm pretty much right as an average player, I can go head to head pretty evenly with most people in the same tier group... but match me up against those in the three higher tiers, I'm dead in the water. Now normally you wouldn't see those types of match ups happen... but Power Rangers Battle for the Grid doesn't really hide the fact that it does match ups based on who's playing and not their skill or ranked level. This can be very frustrating when I see that I'm matched up against the same dudes (or dudettes) over and over again. Most I could do is make them earn their pretty obvious wins.

Anyway we got some clips from that portion of the stream.

Twitch Clip: Earning a win

Twitch Clip: Opponent Left The Match... WTF Dude!

Twitch Clip: I Just Had My Butt Handed To Me

Twitch Clip: Team Work

Twitch Clip: We Almost Pulled That Off!

At the half way point, action switched over to Tom Clancy's The Division, where it turns out there was a Global Event happening, where we could shock the enemies. It was a pretty cool way to kill some time before Iceman was able to join in and we proceeds to start work on the 'play every mission on hard', but since I set the game at World Tier 1, we were basically tearing through the first half of the map since our in-game characters have some great gear! 

We did knock out one achievement last night:

  1. Networking: Complete 20 Missions as part of a group.

Here are some clips from the Division half of the stream! 

Twitch Clip: We Ran So Far Away...

Twitch Clip: He Blew Up... In My Face!

Twitch Clip: He was going to go down eventually!

Twitch Clip: They are having a Tough time!

Yesterday we added Champions of Norrath for the PlayStation 2 to the collection, which was a spin off of the EverQuest MMORPG and had some pretty favorable reviews when it was released. What caught my attention was how often it was listed as a game 'trapped on the PS2', as many people have wanted to see a sequel or remake of it.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily work out lasted 28 minutes with an estimated calorie burn of 415 kcal, and needless to say I did feel I needed to do some extra because that seemed pretty lack luster, so my total session went 40 minutes with an estimated calorie burn of 589 kcal. We are now up to 69 (nice) out of 100 for the Evan's Best Friend achievement. If we manage to average 3 points a day for it, we should have that knocked out in 11 days.

UPDATE: Minutes after this blog was posted, my mail arrived, and today we added Capcom vs SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium for the PlayStation 2 to the collection. This game is still available digitally on the PS3 version of the PlayStation Network Store... but a physical copy of does make it a fine addition to the collection.

For tonight's stream, Star Trek Online will lead off as we'll do some things based around the endeavor quests and then we'll switch things over to do some stuff on the PlayStation 2. So similar to last Thursday just with slightly less-older games.

And on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!


Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Today's Notes 7/14/21: A Party On The Horizon

 Good morning everybody,

Last night's stream was of course focused on Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, and kicked off with Horizon... and imagine my surprise when Miranda Lawson survived it! I clearly did not remember telling her about Kai Leng but it appears I did and so, having Miranda survive it meant we had every possible character available for the Party on the Citadel, and got to hang out with the entire Normandy crew. Which meant there was a hell of a lot going on. Of course the standard moment of the entire stream was Grunt's birthday, there is something great about Grunt explaining why he was being arrested at a noodle house.

Now I did try to shake things up in terms of what I encouraged at the party, but some things I just like so much that I don't want to see the alternative take (such as Shepard siding with Vega in the debate of physical fitness versus biotics, making sure Joker dances with EDI). The one exception is wither to push conflict or friendship between Jack and Miranda because thanks to Kasumi, no matter the option it just comes across as sexual tension. 

Of course with the Citadel party being done, that means the next time we stream Mass Effect: Legendary Edition (which will be on Monday), we'll be wrapping the game up with the two remaining missions, but they are both long missions. The attack on the Cerberus base and then the attack on Earth. Since I'll be taking my time, and so forth we'll stretch everything out as much as possible.

Anyway, we got one achievement last night, and it was tied to completing the Horizon mission.

  1. Well Connected: ME3: Send a warning across the galaxy

And of course we got Twitch Clips, the links will be posted next

Twitch Clip: Shoot it in the Asari!

Twitch Clip: Shepard Calls Her Mom

Twitch Clip: Grunt Leaves The Hospital

Twitch Clip: Explaining "The Island of Doctor Me..." 

Twitch Clip: Grunt Does Not Connect With Wrex!

We added several games to the collection yesterday, first for the PlayStation we added Road Rash 3D, Sammy Sosa High Heat Baseball 2001 & The Incredible Hulk: The Pantheon Saga. Next for the PlayStation 2: George of the Jungle: A Search For The Secret, Cartoon Network Racing, 007 Quantum of Solace, The Spider Wick Chronicles & Dark Angel: Vampire Apocalypse. Yes some of these were really terrible games, but I figure some might be things we can feature on stream.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout lasted 28 minutes with an estimated calorie burn of 452 kcal. Like yesterday it was a combination of 1 11+ minute exercise and 2 8+ minutes sets. Didn't do anything extra  this morning. We're now up to 65 out of 100 for the Evan's Best Friend achievement.

For tonight's stream we'll lead off with Power Rangers; Battle For The Grid doing ranked matches, and then we'll team up with Iceman for more nonsense in Tom Clancy's The Division. Now what more can we get out of that game? Well mostly doing missions on hard to chase a couple of achievements

And on that note we'll see you later tongiht over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!


Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Today's Notes 7/13/21: From The Deep To The Fall

Good morning everybody,

Last night's stream of Mass Effect 3: Legendary Edition started with the big focus on what was originally DLC, the three-part Leviathan mission. Easily a mission that gives a lot of a back story to the Reapers and how they came to be while also justifying the Synthesis ending as being the best ending, Leviathan can be over looked in how much ground it covers if one is not paying attention. It's also a mission that gives more direct one-on-one conversation time between EDI and Shepard as they piece together clues that lead to the first two major action set pieces. 

Once Leviathan was done, things progressed to Thessia, the Asari home world, and the second encounter with Kai Leng... and me realizing I may have screwed up and that Miranda Lawson will be killed off during tomorrow's stream which will lead off with the Horizon mission. See after Priority: Citadel and the first encounter with Kai Leng the player needs to talk to Anderson about Kai Leng, read his dossier and then tell Miranda about him during a meeting... and I don't think I did that. So Miranda will not be at the Citadel Party. Anyway, the Thessia mission is pretty cool and the Legendary Edition gives it a nice face-lift in how everything looks. Of course I made sure to take Javik along just so he can bust Liara's proverbial balls about how everything she knows is wrong.

With these missions done, that means achievements were unlocked. 

  1. Under Pressure: ME3: Uncover an ancient secret
  2. Last Witness: ME3: Extract ancient technology

And of course there are clips from last night as well, which I'll post the links to next.

Twitch Clip: Hello Commander... Nothing Unusual Here...

Twitch Clip: The Harvester Has Been Dealt With

Twitch Clip: Woah... another one!

Twitch Clip: He Just Had A Bad Day

Twitch Clip: Javik, Liara... You're Useless!

Let me talk about Overwatch for a moment, because I've been noticing an usual amount of 'new accounts' popping up on the PC (no indication of cross-play), with folks using some really well defined tactics. Example, a trio of players with account levels below 20 on the first bronze time tier consisting of Zarya, Wrecking Ball and Lucio were able to devastate the team I was on, and push so far head they were practically spawn camping. I called them out on it, and they basically admitted they were cheating using the exploit that Jeff Kaplan allowed. It's no wonder he was suddenly removed.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout lasted 28 minutes with an estimated calorie burn of 457. Not often we see the daily drop below 30 minutes, but the combination of exercises was two 8+ minute workouts plus one 11+ minute work out, and normally that split is the other way around. We did do a little extra (because I was interrupted by a phone call from work), so the total workout length was 35 minutes with an estimated calorie burn of 560 kcal. We're now up to 63 out of 100 for the Evan's Best Friend achievement.

For tonight's stream as implied earlier, we're continuing Mass Effect 3: Legendary Edition as we'll knock out the Horizon mission first, then we're back to the Citadel to hang out with everyone still alive, so it'll be a light stream. Depending on how long it takes to cover everything, we might save the actual party for Monday's stream, since all that would be left would be the assault on the Cerberus base and the war on Earth.

And on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!


Monday, July 12, 2021

Today's Notes 7/12/21 - Getting Better With Tracer

Good morning everybody

 Last night's stream of Overwatch started with a handful of Mayhem matches before shifting into quick play matches, mostly playing either tank or support by queuing up in the 'flex' option before dedicating myself to playing damage only.... and I had some really good matches with Tracer, getting 20+ eliminations while keeping my own deaths at 6 or below. Hell the last match of the night say me holding a defensive point with 25% health and hoping my teammates could get back in time so we could win! Granted I got killed, by the team got there and the Mercy revived me so we could close things out in a big way! Big thanks as always to PandaSweet for being apart of the Overwatch madness! 

On a side note, I've  decided to keep track of matches, because hey it pads out the daily blog, so here is the list of all matches played last night, who I used and the result!

  1. Mayhem: D.va - Loss
  2. Mayhem: D.va - Loss
  3. ayhem: D.va / Rein - Loss
  4. Mayhem: D.va  - Win
  5. Mayhem: D.va - Loss
  6. Mayhem: D.va / Anna Loss
  7. Quick Play: Moira - Win
  8. Quick Play: D.Va - Win
  9. Quick Play: D.va - Win
  10. Quick Play: D.va - Loss
  11. Quick Play: Moira - Win
  12. Quick Play: D.va - Win
  13. Quick Play: D.va - Loss 
  14. Quick Play:  D.va - Win
  15. Quick Play: Moira - Win
  16. Quick Play: Moira  Loss
  17. Quick Play- D.va / Rein - Loss
  18. Quick Play- Moira - Loss
  19. Quick Play- Torb / Ashe - Loss
  20. Quick Play- Tracer - Win
  21. Quick Play- Torb - Win
  22. Quick Play- Torb - Win
  23. Quick Play- Tracer - Loss
  24. Quick Play- Tracer Win

So 12 of those matches were wins, resulting in a 50/50 split between wins and losses! I also had two plays of the game, one as D.va and the other as Torb, I should've made note for which matches those happened in! Not a bad night! And of course we have a few clips which I'll post the links to right now.

Twitch Clip: BISCUITS!

Twitch Clip: Pushing In!

Twitch Clip: MOLTEN CORE!

Twitch Clip: Get Wrecked!

Twitch Clip: That Mercy Revive!

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout lasted 31 minutes with an estimated calorie burn of 546 kcal. I held back and didn't do anything extra today since today's session was actually more involved than normal... goes to show the combination of exercises can be rough. We're now up to 60 out of 100 for the Evan's Best Friend achievement.

Tonight we're back to Mass Effect 3: Legendary Edition, and we're going right after the Leviathan story arc, which is three missions that gives a lot of back story and ore into what the Reapers are. Should be pretty fun! 

And on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!


  

Sunday, July 11, 2021

APBA Baseball 1909 Season: Tigers Recap

26 PlayersTmLgAVGGABRH2B3BHRTBRBISOBBASBSBCSSBPGDP
LELIVELT, B.DETL1.500106230003110000-0
JONES, E.DETL1.50092010001000000-0
COBB, T.DETL1.382149566110216396528288116963392461.98
JONES, D.DETL1.3483811228391004065202012860.03
BECKENDORF, H.DETL1.3481923181009441101.01
JENNINGS, H.DETL1.33399030003030000-0
LAFITTE, E.DETL1.333133010001000000-0
CRAWFORD, S.DETL1.313154582881823326829112026612519676.07
JONES, T.DETL1.284131479571361911160415430137653.87
STANAGE, O.DETL1.2635116015426205230212110100.02
BUSH, D.DETL1.260148593102154131016942457047301763.87
MORIARTY, G.DETL1.24611948354119222315444172222121054.56
DELAHANTY, J.DETL1.2461294476211025501455743511713476.57
McINTYRE, M.DETL1.23013548749112248215867444998188.99
WILLETT, E.DETL1.22132771017350307157000-1
SCHMIDT, B.DETL1.2051194392890111210932811275271.49
GAINER, D.DETL1.19545123624100257273101.01
O'LEARY, C.DETL1.18163221164010005020455220100.05
KILLIAN, E.DETL1.1762868612000122174202.04
MULLIN, G.DETL1.16332925153001813204000-0
DONOVAN, W.DETL1.1522546470007352000-1
SUMMERS, E.DETL1.1443097614100156371000-2
SPEER, K.DETL1.1182017221003260000-0
CASEY, J.DETL1.0712028020002072000-0
WORKS, R.DETL1.0531919010001090000-0
SUGGS, G.DETL1.000168000000041000-0
DETROIT Tigers

.260156351876511350213572117405925474162301488264.380


















26 PlayersTmLgAVGOBPSLGOPSISOSECATARCONRCRC/GPAIBBHBPSHSF
LELIVELT, B.DETL1.500.500.5001.000.000.0001.000.61.513.560000
JONES, E.DETL1.500.500.5001.000.000.0001.000.2.513.520000
COBB, T.DETL1.382.445.498.943.117.2651.02453.6126.28.864418107
JONES, D.DETL1.348.444.357.801.009.223.8575.418.86.01330001
BECKENDORF, H.DETL1.348.375.391.766.043.043.588.02.74.3240000
JENNINGS, H.DETL1.333.333.333.667.000.000.500-.11.04.590000
LAFITTE, E.DETL1.333.333.333.667.000.000.500-.0.34.530000
CRAWFORD, S.DETL1.313.373.500.873.187.314.89839.3111.87.265217009
JONES, T.DETL1.284.342.334.676.050.115.593-2.256.14.252601403
STANAGE, O.DETL1.263.271.325.596.063.081.467-5.714.23.11660103
BUSH, D.DETL1.260.336.285.621.025.165.581-12.061.43.66660003
MORIARTY, G.DETL1.246.277.319.596.072.122.495-20.041.32.95090004
DELAHANTY, J.DETL1.246.345.324.669.078.213.6552.355.94.352201905
McINTYRE, M.DETL1.230.303.324.628.094.209.571-8.151.13.55470506
WILLETT, E.DETL1.221.286.390.675.169.260.607-1.18.93.7880040
SCHMIDT, B.DETL1.205.226.248.474.043.077.350-35.423.31.74530020
GAINER, D.DETL1.195.211.203.414.008.024.277-13.05.21.41291002
O'LEARY, C.DETL1.181.198.226.424.045.077.306-21.29.31.32281011
KILLIAN, E.DETL1.176.222.176.399.000.029.258-8.42.0.8760040
MULLIN, G.DETL1.163.198.196.394.033.076.286-10.04.11.31020060
DONOVAN, W.DETL1.152.250.152.402.000.043.325-4.52.31.4560440
SUMMERS, E.DETL1.144.150.155.305.010.021.188-13.62.3.71030032
SPEER, K.DETL1.118.118.176.294.059.059.200-2.5.4.7180010
CASEY, J.DETL1.071.133.071.205.000.071.154-4.9.3.3300000
WORKS, R.DETL1.053.053.053.105.000.000.056-4.0.1.1220030
SUGGS, G.DETL1.000.111.000.111.000.125.125-1.7.1.2100010
DETROIT Tigers

.260.318.335.653.075.168.587-67.2566.23.8572437442946


11 PitchersTmLgWLPCTSVERAGGSCGSHOQSIPHRERHRSOBB
JONES, E.DETL121.66701.769100015.11843094
MULLIN, G.DETL1246.80001.80323123424269.21596354313670
KILLIAN, E.DETL1138.61911.87282516420207.0148554307549
LAFITTE, E.DETL100-01.9013000023.2291050174
SUMMERS, E.DETL1219.70002.01303021922260.1179655818357
WILLETT, E.DETL11710.63002.32322920720244.0186706317577
SUGGS, G.DETL122.50022.5916410448.24417140339
DONOVAN, W.DETL188.50003.2125217113159.2158675718565
WORKS, R.DETL164.60033.2619740577.170292814521
SPEER, K.DETL153.62533.9220421264.166312842320
LELIVELT, B.DETL132.60018.4410200026.25727250101
DETROIT Tigers

10153.656102.4423415494261101396.2111443837811591377




















11 PitchersTmLgSUP/9R/9ERABF/9BR/9H/9BB/9SO/9HR/9ERPTOBABFBRIBBHBWPBK
JONES, E.DETL1.02.351.7639.912.910.62.35.3.001.9.29068220000
MULLIN, G.DETL14.32.101.8033.97.85.32.34.5.1032.7.17410172350610
KILLIAN, E.DETL13.92.391.8734.98.86.42.13.3.0023.5.2058032020520
LAFITTE, E.DETL1.03.801.9039.513.711.01.56.5.002.6.305104360300
SUMMERS, E.DETL14.42.252.0134.68.56.22.02.9.0325.7.19710022450911
WILLETT, E.DETL13.92.582.3236.09.96.92.82.8.0415.4.2169772680560
SUGGS, G.DETL1.73.142.5937.410.48.11.76.1.001.6.242202560320
DONOVAN, W.DETL14.33.783.2139.212.98.93.74.8.06-5.7.2636952290610
WORKS, R.DETL12.73.383.2637.410.88.12.45.2.12-3.1.243321930220
SPEER, K.DETL12.74.343.9238.112.29.22.83.2.56-7.3.267272870130
LELIVELT, B.DETL11.79.118.4445.619.919.2.33.4.00-16.4.438135590100
DETROIT Tigers

3.72.822.4436.19.97.22.43.8.0770.9.22255961532041181


10 RelieversTmLgWLERASVBSHLDGGFIPHRERHRSOBBSO/BB
JONES, E.DETL120.000008511.111000824.0
KILLIAN, E.DETL100.00100313.00000212.0
MULLIN, G.DETL100.00000111.0100000-
LAFITTE, E.DETL1001.9000013923.22910501744.3
DONOVAN, W.DETL1002.700004410.013330422.0
SPEER, K.DETL1313.38310161434.238141331591.7
SUGGS, G.DETL1123.38200121018.22210701243.0
WORKS, R.DETL1314.2631012919.01810901462.3
LELIVELT, B.DETL1305.171108515.222990717.0
WILLETT, E.DETL1005.40000325.0633001.0
DETROIT Tigers

1243.1110308060142.01605949379302.6


















10 RelieversTmLgR/9ERABF/9BR/9H/9BB/9SO/9HR/9ERPTOBASOPSOPPIRIRSIRSP
JONES, E.DETL1.00.0038.110.38.71.66.4.003.6.2390-30.0
KILLIAN, E.DETL1.00.0030.03.0.03.06.0.001.0.0001100.000-
MULLIN, G.DETL1.00.0036.09.09.0.0.0.00.3.2500-00-
LAFITTE, E.DETL13.801.9039.513.711.01.56.5.002.6.3050-70.0
DONOVAN, W.DETL12.702.7039.613.511.71.83.6.00.2.3170-00-
SPEER, K.DETL13.633.3837.412.29.92.33.9.78-1.9.281475.04125.0
SUGGS, G.DETL14.823.3840.014.010.61.95.8.00-1.0.3102100.010.0
WORKS, R.DETL14.744.2637.411.88.52.86.6.00-2.9.261475.033100.0
LELIVELT, B.DETL15.175.1739.613.812.6.64.0.00-4.0.328250.011100.0
WILLETT, E.DETL15.405.4039.612.610.81.8.0.00-1.4.3000-00-
DETROIT Tigers

3.743.1138.512.510.11.95.0.19-3.4.2871376.919526.3


4 CatchersTmLgGINNTCSCPOAEDPFLDTC/9
CASEY, J.DETL1534.02525232001.0006.62
SCHMIDT, B.DETL11131008.05865855117417.9985.23
STANAGE, O.DETL140337.22112041822271.9675.62
BECKENDORF, H.DETL1417.01199020.8185.82
Catchers Total

1621396.283382372598108.9885.37













4 CatchersTmLgGINNOSBOCSOSBPOSBAPB
CASEY, J.DETL1534.02250.0.5290
SCHMIDT, B.DETL11131008.0594159.0.5274
STANAGE, O.DETL140337.2131448.1.3462
BECKENDORF, H.DETL1417.030100.01.5880
Catchers Total

1621396.2775757.5.4966










3 First BasemenTmLgGINNTCSCPOAEDPFLDTC/9
JONES, T.DETL11201067.011701168107098275.9989.87
CRAWFORD, S.DETL1849.0636255711.98411.57
GAINER, D.DETL133280.231330727532625.98110.04
First Basemen Total

1611396.21546153714001379101.9949.96













2 Second BasemenTmLgGINNTCSCPOAEDPFLDTC/9RNG
DELAHANTY, J.DETL11271142.26346232753481158.9834.994.91
O'LEARY, C.DETL130254.01551507575511.9685.495.31
Second Basemen Total

1571396.27897733504231669.9805.084.98














3 Third BasemenTmLgGINNTCSCPOAEDPFLDTC/9RNG
MORIARTY, G.DETL11191078.14194081083001118.9743.503.41
JONES, T.DETL11291.0302842420.9332.972.77
O'LEARY, C.DETL126227.18175185762.9263.212.97
Third Basemen Total

1571396.25305111303811920.9643.423.29














2 ShortstopsTmLgGINNTCSCPOAEDPFLDTC/9RNG
O'LEARY, C.DETL1653.02626719061.0004.424.42
BUSH, D.DETL11481343.28047753024732974.9645.395.19
Shortstops Total

1541396.28308013094922980.9655.355.16














5 Left FieldersTmLgGINNTCSCPOAEDPFLDTC/9RNG
SCHMIDT, B.DETL1640.08880001.0001.801.80
O'LEARY, C.DETL116.03312001.0004.504.50
CRAWFORD, S.DETL111.01110001.0009.009.00
McINTYRE, M.DETL11311175.03113062901654.9842.382.34
JONES, D.DETL122174.2484747010.9792.472.42
Left Fielders Total

1611396.23713653471864.9842.392.35














2 Center FieldersTmLgGINNTCSCPOAEDPFLDTC/9RNG
JONES, D.DETL1651.01919190001.0003.353.35
COBB, T.DETL11491345.24894814641785.9843.273.22
Center Fielders Total

1551396.25085004831785.9843.273.22














4 Right FieldersTmLgGINNTCSCPOAEDPFLDTC/9RNG
McINTYRE, M.DETL1428.03330001.000.96.96
JONES, D.DETL1320.05550001.0002.252.25
SCHMIDT, B.DETL128.03330001.0003.383.38
CRAWFORD, S.DETL11511340.23873813513064.9842.602.56
Right Fielders Total

1601396.23983923623064.9852.562.53














11 PitchersTmLgGINNTCSCPOAEDPFLDTC/9
WORKS, R.DETL11977.11919514001.0002.21
SUGGS, G.DETL11648.2111138001.0002.03
LAFITTE, E.DETL11323.25505001.0001.90
JONES, E.DETL1915.12202001.0001.17
SUMMERS, E.DETL130260.15857243311.9832.01
WILLETT, E.DETL132244.05857134414.9832.14
SPEER, K.DETL12064.1181761112.9442.52
KILLIAN, E.DETL128207.05955124341.9322.57
LELIVELT, B.DETL11026.2131211110.9234.39
DONOVAN, W.DETL125159.2383582731.9212.14
MULLIN, G.DETL132269.26055124351.9172.00
Pitchers Total

2341396.2341325842411610.9532.20













36 PlayersTmLgGINNTCSCPOAEDPFLD
DETROIT Tigers

150112570.06146602741901837119301.981



DS9 Reactions: Dax