The Usual Before I Address Something Serious

Good morning everyone,

Bit of a disclaimer, in this blog I will address the issue of Gun Control (or lack there of) in the United States, that will be discussed towards the end.

Last night's stream was mostly dedicated to Final Fantasy XIV, as we did a raid and trial as a Bard, some fishing, gaining a level on Botany and then dedicated quite a bit of time to leveling Lancer while going into the Palace of the Dead. Actually made three trips through it to get to level 31. I figure we'll do two more trips to try and break through level 50 so that we can use levels 51-60 for boosting up alternate job roles.

Of course not all of the stream was focused on Final Fantasy XIV, nope, we did load up Star Trek Online and ran through a few Task Force Operations over the span of 30-40 minutes, STO is really weird to stream because to have OBS broadcast it at a consistent frame rate I have to cap Star Trek Online's frames at 30, otherwise the stream frame rate bounces from 40-59 frames per second. Not sure if we'll regularly pair of STO with FF14, but the option is always there.

Twitch Clips.

• I'm not swift of foot
• Well this is a thing 
• What Is A Popular Sitcom In Eorzea
• Rude! Rude! Rude! 
  

For last night's raid, we dropped in on Hawleigh who was playing The Last of Us Part II over at twitch.tv/hawleigh! 

LvStrkr had a great idea for a new feature for the stream, which is a live score update overly and chat bot, which can be found over at sportscoresbot.com. The on-stream version will have the constant scores updates, while the chatbot will focus on local Philadelphia area teams (Phillies, Eagles, Flyers, 76ers and Union).  

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Difficult Challenge Combo #2, Difficulty Challenge Combo #3 and Hip Shape Focus Combo. We unlocked the Laura's Contender EX Achievement this morning, meaning our focus will now switch to Sophie's Contender

Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm & Exercise EX Achievements

• Laura's Contender: Train with Laura for over 30 Hours
• In Progress: Sophie's Contender:Trained with Sophie for over 30 Hours (50% Completed)
• In Progress: King EX Fighter: Acquire All EX Achievements (93% Completed)
  

Work was alright, but something did occur to me with the assignment I was on... the fact that the County Executives, which are elected positions, are not exactly well know in their communities, and thus are typical voted by their party alignment. 

If you're looking for tools to help with streaming or communicating from home with work, check out what Xsplit offers over at Xsplit.com, use the promo code CASDEN to save 10% on your order! If you're looking for just general stuff, of course you can swing over to Amazon using my affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3L8N1Yj.   

Now... how about I go after Gun Rights Activists.. because I saw something really interesting in the differences between purchasing a firearm in Canada and the United States. In Canada one must do the following

1. Obtain a firearm license (Mandatory 28-Day Waiting Period)
2. Submit Photo and Signature of Photo Guarantor
3. Complete Multi-Day Gun Safety Course and Pass Written and Practical Tests 
4. Complete Background Check Which Considers Criminal Record, Mental Health History, Domestic Violence History and Whether Applicant Poses Risk of Harm to Anyone
5. Provide Two References
6. Provide Signature of Conjugal Partners Within The Last Two Years
   

That's a pretty damn though and well regulated process, and one has to admire Canada for it. Meanwhile here in the United States... the process is not so well thought out.

1. Pass an Instant Background Check If Buying From An Authorized Seller
2. No Restrictions if Buying at a Gun Show Or in Some States, From a Private Seller

Yeah, you read that right folks, in Canada there are 6 steps one must go through to purchase a firearm... in the United States, there's only 1 and that's if the person is buying from an Authorized Seller! We got a fucking problem in this country with guns, and making it harder for people to obtain them. And guess what fuck nuts, let's take a look at the Second Amendment: Bearing and Keeping Arms which states the following

'A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.'

Which means in plain simple American English,a well regulated militia means the military and police force, for they have rules and training necessary for the purpose of the security of the their respective jurisdictions and the nation... and with that purpose in mind, the right of the people to keep and bear arms (aka to own a gun) shall not infringed. So if you're not apart of your local, county or state Police force, or if you're not enlisted in the United States Army, Arm Reserves, Army National Guard, the United States Marine Corp, the United States Navy, The United States Naval Reserve, The United States Air Force or even the fucking Coast Guard... you are not entitled to have a gun, let alone something that is similar to what is used in a real battle field.

And let's get into these so called militia that are filled with mostly white, racists, beta, conservatives... they are not well regulated, they are not trained for active defense of their community let alone the states and nation that is the United States of America. They are a clear and present danger to the vast majority of people in this country, because they push to make it easier for guns to be acquired by those who should not have them. If we had tighter more restrictive gun laws, a vast majority of these mass murders would be prevented. 

And if you disagree with me, if you're a gun rights activist, a card carrying member of the NRA and so forth, then fuck you, you are nothing but a piece of shit who would pray to an imagery being in the clouds while being completely fine with letting kids be slaughter. There have been over 1,700 mass shootings in the United States since January 1, 2019. For every one hundred people living in the United States there are 120 guns... how is that even fucking possible?! Oh right, you people have spent over $120 Million since 2012 to make sure your can compensate for your lack of balls. Fuck you.

For tonight's stream, well it's Friday which means we're returning to Persona 5 Royal, and the countdown to the showdown with Shadow Sae and the betrayal of the Phantom Thieves by Akechi. Should be a pretty fun night.

So we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!

It's A Thursday

Good morning everyone,

Last night's stream opened with me going off for 30 minutes on every single politician who has sided with the gun lobbyists that has lead to more and more massacres over the years.  Something I noticed is that less than 24 hours after the incident on Monday there was one attempted yesterday in Dallas that thankfully was prevented.

After a break, things switched over to Fallout 76 for the remainder of the stream, as we were joined by Iceman as we continued our focus on Mistress of Mysteries story arc, while getting a few different things done along the way. I need to make sure I have a lot of Stimpacks because I'm basically constantly getting into trouble to the point I end up having no ways to heal myself.. And for the first time since I started gaming using Xbox consoles, I've had an incident with some asshole harassing me. Said person has been blocked and footage of it was forwarded to Bethesda. Good news is, since Iceman was part of the fun last night, he witnessed it as well.

Twitch Clips

• Wasn't there something glowy around here?
• The Aggressive Mothman 
• Medic!
  

For the raid last night we dropped in on YrGamerBunni who was playing Halo: Infinite over at twitch.tv/yrgamerbunni! 

The 2006 game, Sonic the Hedgehog, has been relisted on the Xbox Game Store for digital purchase. It's not on the list of backwards compatible games, but the fact it's been made available must mean Sega might actually go about fixing it. I highly doubt it because Sega has never really been a company that attempt to fix prior releases... which is funny considering Sonic '06 sold  really well and despite some of its premise and stylistic choices has some very unique things going for it. Hell one of the best stages in Sonic Generations is based on Sonic '06. 

Had a full shift of work yesterday which was nice, all things considered as it was for the annual survey of hospitals in a mid-western state. This would be different from the one I mentioned for Monday, as this one I know exactly how temperamental (Key part of that being MENTAL) some of the respondents can be.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Sway Back Combo, Block Combo and Straight Combo #2. There is a good chance we'll complete the requirements for Laura's Contender with tomorrow's session.

There has been a sharp increase in the call for the Phillies to fire Joe Giradi as manager... but how can one justify that when he has had a shitty pitching staff handed to him every single year?

If you're looking for tools to help with streaming or communicating from home with work, check out what Xsplit offers over at Xsplit.com, use the promo code CASDEN to save 10% on your order! If you're looking for just general stuff, of course you can swing over to Amazon using my affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3L8N1Yj.    

For tonight's stream we shall be playing Final Fantasy XIV, all the usual nonsense of raids, fishing, botany and leveling.

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

More Lego Batman Fun; Thoughts on Bill & Ted: Face The Music

Good morning everyone,

Last night's stream of Lego Batman: The Video Game saw a big focus on the second episodes for Hero and Villain, obviously starting with Batman first then the villain side of things. There are a few notable things taken from Batman returns, in that Catwoman and Penguin are teamed up, you get a rooftop battle against Catwoman and you end up an a snow covered zoo. Granted Penguin looks more in line with how he looks in the Batman '66 television series, which is an interesting contrast when Catwoman has a moderately more modern look. Speaking of an odd look, but Batgirl's grey, blue and yellow attire certainly reminds me of the late silver and early bronze age of comics.

Of course, when will the next time we dedicate time to Lego Batman: The Video Game, that will be on Monday, Memorial Day, I'm planning to start that stream maybe and hour or two early because the goal will be to do Chapters 3 for both the Hero and Villain side of the story, as well as play the two bonus missions.

LEGO Batman Achievements

• Nice Outfit!: Collect all suits.
• Shot to the goon.: Defeat 8 goons in 8 seconds.
• Super Hero.: Complete the second episode - Hero.
• Dressed to Impress.: Get all suit upgrades.
• The Richest Man in Gotham.:Max out the stud counter.
• Make it snappy.: Build the Croc ride on.
• Super-villain.: Complete the second episode - Villain.

Twitch Clips

• Things that make Batman go... Hmmm...
• I shall call him Stampy 
• Hungry Hungry Gators... We're Here To Eat You! 
  

For the raid last night we dropped in on Joliet4 as they were doing a music stream over at twitch.tv/joliet4! You can check out their music over at Spotify!

Now we did end the stream early last night, because I learned earlier in the day that Bill & Ted: Face the Music is available through my Amazon Prime membership, so I ended up watching it. It is a really quick paced film that serves as a great continuation of what was seen in the first two films (and Television series, both Live Action & Animated... not quite sure how the continuity works with the Bill & Ted Franchise). I felt Alex Winter certainly captured alot of his younger self in his performance, but Keanu Reeves kind of felt a bit off the mark. Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine certainly stole the show as Bill & Ted's daughters, as they really came across as if they studied the first two films to get the mannerisms and speak inflection Winters and Reeves used in the first two films.In fact, I would go as far to say I wouldn't mind seeing a continuation of the franchise with the focus being on Lundy-Paine and Weaving's characters going forward, as in many regards, the ending of Bill & Ted Face the Music could be seen as a passing of the torch.

And since yesterday was a work day where there was actual work, the assignment was a bit average, trying to get feed back regarding major medical facilities. It's amazing how people cannot understand a question of 'If you had to go to a hospital for a specific reason where would you go?'. Anyway I was told that today I would have an assignment as well, so hopefully that doesn't change at the last minutes.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Intermediate Combo #2, Hook Combo #1 and Beginner Combo #2. We also did a little extra to make sure the workout was over 30 minutes.

I was asked how does one go about writing a fan fic, and my process is simple, I have a basic outline of how I want something to go and I stick to it. If I'm being paid a commission I'll try and take into account the client's input.  

The tragedy in Texas yesterday, where 18 children were killed, will serve as another reminder at just how callous and uncaring the Republican party is when it comes to gun control. Of course, we're not shocked by this, remember back in 2012 with the Sandy Hook incident that Republican law makers sided with the Gun Lobbyists in order to line their own pockets than do the right thing.

If you're looking for tools to help with streaming or communicating from home with work, check out what Xsplit offers over at Xsplit.com, use the promo code CASDEN to save 10% on your order! If you're looking for just general stuff, of course you can swing over to Amazon using my affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3L8N1Yj.    

For tonight's stream, we're jumping back into Fallout 76, with more fun in the ruins of West Virginia. Maybe I'll figure out how to make a house... who knows.

So on that note we'll you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden.

 

 

We Were Batman... In Lego Form

Good morning everyone,

Last night's stream featured Lego Batman, and since we're playing the Xbox 360 version, that means we're getting achievements which is rather nice. Now because of how much music is taken from Batman '89 and Batman Returns, I'm playing the game with the music turned off to avoid any DMCA claims... granted, the music does not get muted for cut scenes, which means all of Danny Elfman's score has to be muted via YouTube's tools. This does have an extra benefit in that I can hear when collectable items are near, which isn't too possible with the in-game music on.

Of course, all the charm of the Lego video games are in full effect with the cute comedy that one can't help but smile at. Since I've played the Steam version before and only did the Batman portion before, remember what to do was an experience. I don't believe I even touched the villain side on the Steam play through. Looking forward to more Batman shenanigans tonight. Now this being a Lego video game, that means going after collectables for completion would be and is a pain in the ass of epic proportions. Thankfully, many of this game's unlockable codes were discovered years ago, so simply imputing them meant I was able to jump to 40% completion right off the bat. Also I did jump into Free Play mode off-stream to unlock a few achievements.

LEGO Batman Achievements

• Super Builder.: Build 50 LEGO build-its.
• Hero.: Complete the first episode - Hero.
• Justice League.: Unlock all the Hero characters.
• Unbreakable.: Finish a level without dying (Character) with no extras.
• 0000001 00000011.: Build the giant LEGO Robot.
• Villain.: Complete the first episode - Villain.
• Is it a bird? Is it a plane?: Glide for 9 seconds.
• Eat floor... High fiber.: Slam 20 goons into the floor with Batman.
• There and back.: Destroy 10 objects in one Batarang throw. 
• Boy Wonder.: Perform 20 backflips in a row with Robin.
  

Twitch Clips

• Nooooo!
• We're going out of our way to improve the park! 
• What the hell are we making now?
  

For the raid we dropped in on Kalenal who was playing Tunic over at twitch.tv/kalenal!  Tunic looks like a very cute version of a Souls-Born game with an isometric view. Also, I rarely do clips of other people's streams, but this was a great moment for Kalenal.

Kalenal Twitch Clip

• Hello Freeze On Demand!
  

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Waist Shape Focus Combo, Uppercut Combo #1, Advanced Combo #1 and Straight Combo #1

Was told today I would have an assignment from my Day Job, so I got that to look forward to this afternoon. Wonder exactly what is being researched this time. If its interesting I'll try to remember some details for tomorrow's blog.

Here's what Republicans seem to fail to understand, social media sights are not 'the media', sites like Twitter, Facebook and so forth have terms and conditions that must be followed, and if you violate there TOS, then those sites have the right to throw you off them.

Apparently there's a 20+ year debate over a line said by Ralph Wiggum on an episode of The Simpsons, ("Oh Boy sleep! There's where I'm a Viking"). Some people take it literally, some take if figuratively, I take it as... it's Ralph, if he says he's a Viking where he sleeps, then he's a Viking.

If you're looking for tools to help with streaming or communicating from home with work, check out what Xsplit offers over at Xsplit.com, use the promo code CASDEN to save 10% on your order! If you're looking for just general stuff, of course you can swing over to Amazon using my affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3L8N1Yj.    

For tonight's stream we're continuing Lego Batman: The Video Game, seeing if we can through episode 2 for both Hero and Villain. So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!

A Strong Start To The Week

Good afternoon everyone,

Last night's stream of Overwatch was the usual mix of fun with friends in matches that end up either being really good or really wonky. Big shoutouts to PandaSweet, BangBangBang and BloodyClown for being apart of the team-ups. Now while we mostly stuck with Quick Play matches, we did get in a few trips to Junkenstein's Revenge, as it appears that will be on Sundays for Volume Two of the Remix event. Characters I used were Mercy, Moira, D.va, Reinhard, Tracer, Torbjourn, Ashe and Widowmaker. Plays of the Game were picked up when I was Tracer, Torb, Moira, D.va and Reinhardt. One of the more hilarious moments of the night was me sneaking behind the defending team to push the payload.

Twitch Clips

•  Well someone has to deal with the Widowmaker and the Mercy
•  Run Zenyatta!
•  The back push
  

For the raid last night we dropped in on Dr_JB_Jovi who was playing Evil Dead: The Game over at twitch.tv/dr_jb_jovi!

Played some more Smite last night, and I've focused on playing as Isis, who I remember using a lot back when I was playing the Steam version of the game. Finally got her 2nd character achievement which was pretty cool.

SMITE Achievements

• Stay In the Circle: "Unlock the Smite Award "Stay In the Circle"!

In a bit of cool news, Kalenal (twitch.tv/kalenal) was live over on twitch.tv/thecharitybraves channel, raising money for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital while playing Final Fantasy XIV, and they raised well over $5,500! Also of note, it was rather funny to watch Kal flail about when they had to play the Role of a Black Mage. 

Finished the Commission Request for a Star Wars fic yesterday afternoon, and I think it turned out alright considering my lack of familiarity with the Clone Wars and Rebels TV series.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Weaving Combo #2, Weaving Combo #1 and Advanced Combo #2

If you're looking for tools to help with streaming or communicating from home with work, check out what Xsplit offers over at Xsplit.com, use the promo code CASDEN to save 10% on your order! If you're looking for just general stuff, of course you can swing over to Amazon using my affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3L8N1Yj.    

For tonight's stream we're going to start up the Xbox 360 version of Lego Batman: The Video Game, mostly because I want to be have some chill streams, and things don't get more chill than the Lego video games. Plus we get achievements to unlock too. Also, the music will be off because of DMCA issues.

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

Mavel vs Capcom, Black and the Rage of Paladins

Good afternoon everyone,

Last night's stream lead off with Marvel vs Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes EX Edition on the original PlayStation. Part of the reason why because of Maxamillion_Dood (twitch.tv/maximilian_dood) posting a video claiming how it was a version of MvC that no one played... which is not true because I intetionally went out of my way to track it down to put together a collection of Japanese exclusive Capcom fighting games on the PlayStation. We went through the Arcade mode twice as Morrigan and Gambit, messed around with the Cross Over mode which actually saw Shadow Lady being used because the A.I. selected them. We also figure out a few things involving use of the 'Special Characters', who can act as counters and compensating for some of the main roster's limits. This game will be counted on this years tour as well.

We also played Black on the PlayStation 2, and it is still a good looking game from 2006, thankfully it has multiple difficulty settings... but I found it a bit odd with some of the control layouts, no sprinting (that I could figure out), and no reason sense of direction. Action sequences can be pretty epic from what I saw. Maybe we'll give it a dedicated attempt of finishing it at some point. Black does have one of the dumber starts up to a game I have ever seen with a start screen followed by a near 5 minute movie style intro of a black screen with text displaying who was involved with the music and live action sequences before the main menu is displayed.

Then we jumped to the Xbox One to play some Paladins, and we were joined by PandaSweet.... we did not exactly run into the smartest group of randoms, who were either disconnecting from matches, intentionally making selections of characters that did fit the need of the team. You don't see me get angry often, but Paladins was a bad way to end things last night.

Twitch Clips

• That was cool!
• Good use of a Grenade 
• Viva La This!
  

For last night's raid we dropped in on TracyDoll who was playing Friday the 13th: The Game and Evil Dead: The Game over on twitch.tv/tracydoll!

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Left-Right-Step Combo, Triple Combo #1, Double Combo #2 and Body Straight Combo.

With how badly Paladins went during the stream, I felt motivated to play some Smite. mostly Arena matches. More losses than wins, but at least it nothing was sabotaged by stupidity.

SMITE Achievements

• Combo Breaker: Shut down 10 killing sprees in qualifying matches.

It's the start of a new week, which means we shall recap what we did last week which included Overwatch, Chrono Cross; The Radical Dreamers Edition, Fallout 76, Final Fantasy XIV, Persona 5 Royal, Black, Marvel vs Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes EX Edition and Paladins!

For some reason the Mariners are taking a chance on Justin Upton in a desperate attempt to add some life to their line up. What is it with teams trying to squeeze anything out of guys who are clearly at the end of their careers these days in Baseball? 

Finished another commission story request yesterday afternoon and I get another one this morning, this time to be set in the Star Wars universe. This is going to involve some very loose interpretations of the lore.

Happy Birthday to the late Doreen Mulman, who ran the Ghostbusters Fan Forum 20 years ago. They were the first site to ever host artwork and fiction that I wrote, obviously related to Ghostbusters.

If you're looking for tools to help with streaming or communicating from home with work, check out what Xsplit offers over at Xsplit.com, use the promo code CASDEN to save 10% on your order! If you're looking for just general stuff, of course you can swing over to Amazon using my affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3L8N1Yj.  

For tonight's stream we shall be playing Overwatch! So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!

The Casino Palace Was Confusing

Good afternoon everyone,

Last night's stream of Persona 5 Royal started off with Sae's Palace and boy was it pretty nutty with how it was spread over two in-game days, and I think it was to make sure for Sae in the normal world saw who the Phantom Thieves were. That said, I found the Casino Palace to be confusing in terms of some of the gimmicks involved, not to mention the enemy match up types really were not favorable at times. I'm also not to keen on having to wait to do the Calling Card, but knowing its to set up Akechi's betrayal that was seen at the start of the game it just means I can try and catch up on so many other things, like Confidant progress and covering Mementos. Also at this point, I've covered 71% of the trophies, so we have an outside chance of getting full completion... I need to get Kasumi's to rank 5... luckily we were able to get Rank 4 tonight. Also, I did get Akechi and Maruki to both Rank 8 and 9. So that pressure is off as well..  On a side note I did love Haru and Makoto's tag team wrestling Showtime, I thought that was a bit clever.

Persona 5 Royal Trophies

• Intensive Training: Used Incense on a Persona in Lockdown.
• The Search for Power: Completely changed the cognition of Mementos.

Twitch Clips

• We'll put him to use
• Makoto & Haru's Showtime! 
• Good... we don't like you either 
  

We had two raids during the stream, the first was from Oldish22 who was playing Path of Exile over at twitch.tv/oldish22!

The second raid was from YrGamerBunni who was playing Crusader Kings III over at twitch.tv/yrgamerbunni!

For our end of stream raid, we dropped in on Sheepfuzz who was doing some community gaming with the Jackbox Party Packs over at twitch.tv/sheepfuzz!

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout involved Front-Back Step Combo, Beginner Combo #1, Body Uppercut Combo and Body Hook Combo.

Fitness Boxing 2 Stats For May 15 to 21, 2022

• Punches Thrown:11, 233
  
• Estimated Calorie Burn: 4,427.24 kcal
  
• 26 Hours Trained Out of 30 For Laura's Contender Achievement (86%)
  

I got a good start on the latest commission request, even if the plot is paper thin at best, so having to rely more on 'action' than anything else. Hopefully I can knock it out before tonight's stream, or maybe right after. Some asked me why I don't post the commissioned fics here on blogger, well it's mostly because these requests fall under the NSFW category. 

I can say with confidents this has been a losing week for my Fantasy Baseball team, mostly due to Bryce Harper not being in the Phillies lineup at all. For the week, my team is .267 (44/165), with 20 runs scored, 4 home runs, 20 RBI and 2 stolen bases... and on the pitching side in 30 innings, 4 wins, 2 saves, 25 strike outs with an ERA of 3.60 and a WHIP of 1.13. Yes the Fantasy League I'm in doesn't tally up stats until after Sunday's games, but I know a losing week when I see it.

If you're looking for tools to help with streaming or communicating from home with work, check out what Xsplit offers over at Xsplit.com, use the promo code CASDEN to save 10% on your order! If you're looking for just general stuff, of course you can swing over to Amazon using my affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3L8N1Yj.  

For tonight's stream, we may check out something random, maybe hook up the PlayStation to mess around with some of my Japanese imports of Capcom fighting games like Marvel vs Capcom, X-Men vs Street Fighter, etc. Or we'll just play Paladins and Riff Trax again... or maybe do all of that. We'll see what I figure out.

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