I’m in the US, also says page not found for me.

In Polish it means kneecaps

Every time Cloud went to hang his sword aside and lay down in bed in FF7

FF7 Rebirth. I’m sort of struggling to push through. I just got to chapter 10, figure if I’m this far to just mainline the story to completion. I fully completed the first two open world areas but have been ignoring most of the others after that. The open world traversal seems bolted on to the hallway simulator that Remake was. That and the quests in the open world don’t feel substantial or consequential. Find this Spring, fight this legendary enemy, rinse and repeat. The campiness of the story is also getting to me.

For full disclosure, I didn’t play the original on PSX but was always intrigued by the art style and aesthetic back when it released. Alas, I only had a N64 at the time and never played it in the later years through emulation. I’m not sure if the original has the same level of camp, but would like to hear if that’s only in these games or in the series overall. The feeling I got from various advertisements was the game was more mature in tone than I’ve experienced so far.

I did finish Remake earlier this year, after initially trying it when it launched in 2020. The campiness of it turned me off a few years back but I really wanted to understand the hype.

I guess the only thing I’m getting out of it at the moment are the visuals. It’s gorgeous, but I don’t think I’m appreciating the story/lore like all the fans are.

Yes I am registered, because I ride motorcycles and I won’t need my organs if I’m dead.

I bought a waterproofed iPod shuffle and water ear buds off eBay that works really great! Ear buds might get uncomfortable after an hour session, but it sounds better than the bone conducting stuff out there. There are other bud options that came with it that I should try out to see if they’re any more comfortable.

Photography.

I started to really get into it back in 2015 with a Sony A6000 and a kit lens. Then you buy more, higher quality lenses. Then you buy better camera bodies with full frame sensor, then lenses that are full frame compatible. Then the various odds and end accessories. Then trips around the world to take pictures of things.

I have taken a break from photography recently, on account that having a kid doesn’t allow me a lot of opportunity to edit my photos anymore. They say the best camera you have is the one that is on you. That has proven to be true while I try to be as present as possible around my daughter. I can quickly take out my phone, capture the moment and it will take care of most of the post processing edits that I can share with family later.

I bought a new PC in 2021 (because building was hard due to supply shortages) and it came with GamePass Ultimate. When I combined my existing Xbox Gold subscription, it gave me something like 1.5 years worth of GamePass Ultimate, which was really great! Once that subscription expired, I had saved up for a year worth of another subscription up front, but noticed they only offered month-to-month at that point. I realized I wasn’t playing GamePass games enough to warrant the subscription (might have been different if I could install on my Steam Deck, not through a Windows install or streaming).

Once that GamePass subscription came up, and then Netflix started cracking down on password sharing that I was sharing with my sister in the next city over, it made me question a lot of recurring subscription. For streaming TV shows/movies, I think going forward we’ll have one service subscribed to but bouncing around to catch up on shows that my wife and I may want to watch. For GamePass, I’ll probably resubscribe once Starfield comes out.

Kidney stones for me too! Mine are calcium oxalate based, so I take a supplement of magnesium citrate to help me break them down, but also drinking more water regularly. I should also lay off the salt, but that’s a hard one because it’s everywhere.

Sorry, didn’t realize you were referring to promos that Spotify runs for their content. Yeah I guess they don’t have a way to turn that off, but it’s a simple button to get past.

Also, fast forwarding really is not a big deal. While I’m out walking my dog and kiddo I just tap my ear buds twice and it fast forwards 15 seconds past the baked in ads in the podcast.

If the ads are baked in, just hit the 15s jump button a couple of times until you get back into the podcast. The ones I listen to usually play music during the ads, so when I hear the music is over I know I’m back in the podcast.

I need to change my sports up periodically but yes I do enjoy working out in the moment. It gives me a lot of time to myself to think through things going on in my life. Last year I was mainly cycling, this year I’ve been swimming on a Masters team, competing in Nationals and exploring open water swim competitions. I get really cranky when I don’t have a physical activity to keep me preoccupied. I’m very aware of my body image so it helps to ensure I’m feeling good about myself. That and I get to eat all the unhealthy things with less consequences of gaining the weight (although salt is a weakness for me and my blood pressure).

I have cut off Reddit since June 12th. It’s been a nice detox. While not everything is here it’s okay with me. I have a 1 year old to chase around that’s been primarily keeping my attention anyways.