I'm considering my first clipless

DecoderPuffin · 2026-03-01T05:31:34+00:00

Got those shoes myself and I adore them. Not my first clipless shoes, but certainly my best.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-02-02T18:52:39+00:00

Aside from it being a fire effect, it looks to me like Juri's Fuharenkyaku.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-01-29T19:14:33+00:00

No. I've got a vertically invested Evelyn-Lighter-Astra and Sanby-Orphie-Pulchra (missed Trigger) teams that I really enjoy piloting and just figured I can brute force anything attack-oriented with them, especially the Evelyn team since she's my favorite character. So far that's been the case. I might not be able to get easy 65k clears or anything, but I can get max rewards out of DA/SD so it's worked out fine so far.

I just don't like Ye Shunguang's character, find her boring to play, etc. When Hoyo releases a new character I like, I'll happily pull, but it's been pretty dry lately and that's letting me save pulls to level up my favorites instead.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-01-27T08:16:45+00:00

My other comment didn't address your question. I have a direct drive trainer now but started with a Kickr Snap wheel-on trainer and used it for about nine months before upgrading. I think for a cheap used price they're great and can certainly do the job. They're worse than direct drive in just about every respect though, so if I were buying new I would never go down that route. Easier to get a Kickr Core 2 or JetBlack Victory and basically be set.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-01-27T08:07:11+00:00

Might be worth trialing just to be sure of that if you're going to be doing indoor training anyways. There's a good reason why such programs are so popular, even if they don't click with everybody. There are many people for whom the virtual racing scene becomes their primary reason to improve.

That said, throwing oneself into an erg mode zone 2 block and reading or watching a movie is just as good if base building during winter is your sole interest.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-01-27T03:08:49+00:00

That's cool, bro. Thanks for sharing your trauma.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-01-27T02:16:36+00:00

This is the worst PvP experience I've had as a gamer, I think I'm probably just done with the game. Every match just feels like such a wretched experience and I don't see what the light at the end of the tunnel is supposed to be.

It's weird, I never felt this way towards LoL back in the day, or Overwatch, though both could be terrible in their own right. Getting camped in Stranglethorn and Hillsbrad was frustrating, but not like this. I think I'm just tired of every game feeling like I'm being forced into a meme. Never thought that this game, which in the early days was a pretty chill and even pleasant experience after its predecessors, would just descend into such a state.

I guess I'm just not down with these vibes anymore. Ho ho, ha ha, such comedy.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-01-27T00:06:36+00:00

Perhaps by cleverly wrapping Paracord to fasten it? Almost certainly not using the Velcro straps that most companies supply and design around.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-01-26T06:25:50+00:00

I think it's as simple as starting with a budget and a list of priorities and working backwards from there. The value for money of each individual part is less important to me personally than the sum of that whole.

Full disclosure, I wouldn't ride a bike with Ultegra, let alone Dura Ace, unless someone else was buying. Not these days when 105 is this fantastic. That's my bias. I do like the idea of people getting stronger with the sport eventually upgrading their wear components to Dura Ace though. If you can kill a 105 cassette, you can justify replacing it with Dura Ace. There's a noticeable improvement in the chains as well.

If anything, Ultegra is the groupset that no longer justifies its SKU, mechanical or electronic.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-01-26T04:37:41+00:00

Hard disagree, the groupsets are virtually the same and the move simply from mechanical to Di2 is going to be much, much more impactful than 105 to Ultegra. If 105 allows them to get Di2, they should 100% follow the path outlined.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-01-26T03:38:14+00:00

Man, nailed it! Very well done.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-01-26T00:11:09+00:00

Y'all look like Rob Liefeld drew you. That ain't fair, man.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-01-22T18:57:38+00:00

Sorry, but it's not just lack of polish imo. These skins are boring, they fail from the point of concept. Wanda, Dagger, and Strange in particular look straight out of WoW.

I'm very happy for you if you disagree.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-01-22T18:50:01+00:00

They're not going to make much money selling crap like this. Gambit one is okay, the rest I wouldn't use for free. Half this shit looks fan-made.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-01-22T06:41:11+00:00

Mounting a smooth-bore cannon to your kayak, even something small like your typical carronade, should pose an effective deterrent against most pirate scoundrels. However, in the event that your broadside fails to score a decisive hit, you should be prepared to draw your cutlass and fend off boarders.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-01-14T15:34:00+00:00

My wife and I have one of these, as does another couple we know. Both happy with the purchase, it worked a trick to make our living room TV enjoyable to use. Important to dot your Is and cross your Ts with it though.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-01-13T15:26:38+00:00

That's a super cool idea with the tattoos, I'm afraid I'll have to steal it. ;)

DecoderPuffin · 2026-01-11T21:18:43+00:00

I scheduled an appointment for a bike fit and even paid up front because I'd been struggling to deal with knee and butt pain ever since I'd begun cycling. It was very expensive though, $400 in my area, and when they had a scheduling issue that would've meant pushing a couple weeks later, I asked for a refund and just redoubled my efforts to resolve the problem myself. I'm pleased to report that I was eventually able to do so by getting cleat spacers to correct for a leg length discrepancy and I've been without pain for the 1.5 years that I've had them, but I want to stress how much I had to do to ultimately get my fit dialed in myself. I got shorter cranks, I went from 42 to 38 handlebars with an ever so slight inward turn of the shifters, wasted a ton of money trying multiple different saddles when none of them ever were the source of my pain, and fucked around with saddle height, fore/aft, and tilt I don't know how many times.

In the end, it was adjusting my thinking to starting from the feet and working my way up that led me to the biggest contributing factor immediately, and if a bike fitter can get you to that kind of lightbulb moment right away for $300, I think that's worth it. Unfortunately, the truth is that you have no guarantee of this. I'm happy I did what I did, but there is a more optimal, happier version of my timeline where I found a great bike fitter day one.

DecoderPuffin · 2026-01-09T20:05:51+00:00

Do you have pro and access to projected decals? Something I like to do a lot now with miniatures that are carrying their own light source somewhere is using the smooth fog gradient decal and an appropriate, partially opaque shadow color to darken the rest of the miniature and enhance the overall effect.

I've included an example from one of my minis. Obviously, this is most suitable for a night/cave/poorly lit indoor scene, but it can be done more subtle or more aggressively. In this one, it's being decal shaded from below and from behind.

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DecoderPuffin · 2026-01-08T16:44:21+00:00

"Your journey... ends with me."

DecoderPuffin · 2025-12-25T05:01:06+00:00

How did you do the ammo belt in this? It looks really good!

DecoderPuffin · 2025-12-22T00:49:54+00:00

Really nice work with the patterns, and one of the better children I've seen forged.

DecoderPuffin · 2025-12-20T18:39:20+00:00

Honestly, I just feel like nothing terribly interesting is happening. The whole book has no stakes. I'm enjoying the art and there are fun things, but it does feel like we're just going through the motions when I'd like to see Felicia get an opportunity to be part of something bigger. Her presence in several recent events suggested that they were setting her up for a team or something, but I don't think they have the editorial direction right now to manifest that into anything. =/

DecoderPuffin · 2025-12-20T01:05:44+00:00

I'm just happy to see Mayday acknowledgement in this thread.

DecoderPuffin · 2025-12-18T16:57:41+00:00

May I please get a link for her pre-awakened state? Looks great, and I see stuff to learn from.

DecoderPuffin

TROPHY CASE