From the Desk of Bitter's Office #2
Weather Small Talk
Fall appears to have finally arrived with what remains of Hurricane Helene here in NE Ohio. The rain is needed as much of the state is in or close to a drought. The cooler temps are much appreciated as well.
I feel the weight of a long busy summer falling from my shoulders. The end of the year (Oct. - Dec.) tends to be my favorite part of the year. I'm looking forward to wearing a sweater, staying inside and drinking pumpkin flavored beers.
Helene Hates Ren Faires
The Ren Faire I was going to attend Saturday was unable to open due to a power outage. Found out halfway through the 3 hour drive. No Ren Faire, no camping, no hotel stay (they also had no power lmao.) We were fairly annoyed by the sudden turn of events, but we made the best of it and did a few things in the area we were in. Took some time to go to a Japanese market in Columbus, popped into the nearby IKEA and a plant nursery. Buying a few odds and ends we didn't need helped to make up for the fact we weren't gonna be able to get to go to the Ren Faire. Nothing like a bit of consumerism to make ourselves feel better.
UFO 50
I've been slowly poking through UFO 50. Currently only played 10/50 games and already this would have been well worth the asking price. My favorite so far as been Devilition followed by Mortol. Devilition is a satisfying puzzle of chaining together alchemic explosions so you can save a village from a demon invasion. Watching the chain go off is such a great feeling when it clears the stage. Mortol is one that I find very clever with it's use of lives. Each life is a separate person that serves a specific function to get the next guy further into the stage. It a refreshing take on having lives in platformers, and gives the whole things a much darker tone.
Each game is interesting in it's own right and some could be standalone games I'd actually pay $5-10 for. The thread tying it all together being that these were all made by a fictitious game company in the 80s is charming and clever. I expect to see this in lots of people's Top 10s for 2024. If you are on the fence, it's worth the price for the quality and novelty alone. Incredible amount of thought and effort clearly went into this set of games.
baseball
Fingers crossed that the Guardians can make some sort of postseason run this year. Would love to win the ALDS at the least. Desperately hoping Jose Ramirez can get his 40/40 season and the credit he deserves. Hard to stand out in this era of baseball where Ohtani and Judge exist.
Pondering Orb
Bought a $12 Selenite orb for pondering purposes. Makes for a good fidget/desk toy. Could also double as a heavy flying object. Here's hoping I don't drop it on my foot and break my toe at some point. 2B action figure for scale!
