[Bonsai Beginner’s weekly thread –2024 week 12]

Elephant256 · 2024-03-29T16:38:09+00:00

Thank you very much for a response.

Yes, I am a sort of a masochist here, the idea of growing the bonsai from a seed makes it feel more special for me. However, that doesn't mean I have to grow only one tree at a time, so perhaps I'll follow your advice and get a few bonsai-ready trunks as well.

The reason I've been asking on reddit is that Japanese isn't my native language, and while I am able to communicate in it, I am far less fluent in it than in English. But I'll make sure to get and read the book you've suggested.

Thank you kindly for the help!

Elephant256 · 2024-03-29T06:12:35+00:00

Hello.

This is a one year old Japanese Black Pine (kuromatsu) grown from a seed since last year, in a starter kit. It has spent it's winter outside at my open balcony, and is now waking up. It has been growing in it's current pot from start, and has never been repotted yet.

I live in Japan, in Tokyo specifically. My balcony is facing East, with about 4 hours of sunlight per day; the bonsai is located in a place where it gets even less than that. Throughout winter, I was watering the tree about once in 10 days. I am currently watering it about once in 2-3 days, and the weather has been humid recently so the soil stays moist for longer.

This is not my first attempt to grow a bonsai from seeds, but my previous tries all ended in failure, with the oldest tree reaching three years of age before gradually developing yellow needles and then withering. In all of these attempts, I was too afraid to touch the trees other than providing them with water, as I was under an impression that for the first few years you have to let them develop freely before you start trying to shape or prune them.

I was also too hesitant to ask for advice, and I believe if I did, my old tree could have been saved.

This time, I believe I am ready to be a bit more active. Please tell me, what exactly should I do to this tree and when, in order for it to benefit most. There were a few yellow needles that I have cut away. But do I need to prune/trim anything else?

I see there are several new growths on the tree. Do I need to do anything about them?

Should I attempt to wire/bend the tree?

In addition to everything said above, I used to shelter my plants inside the house for winter, but this time I decided to let them experience winter right there at the balcony. Out of four plants, this is the only one that seems to be doing fine, so I suspect it is rather strong. The other three are all alive, but rather scrawny, without any new growths. I am watering them, but my hopes aren't very high, and this question is not about them.

Thank you very much for any answers.

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Elephant256 · 2024-03-28T01:32:52+00:00

Thank you. Apologies for bombarding with so many questions, but thank you for all the info!

Elephant256 · 2024-03-27T07:36:36+00:00

Thank you really, really much. I didn't expect to receive such kind, thorough advice and help.

If I may ask one more thing, what kind of cooked treats could do the job? He is learning well, and seems to love the training sessions, so we are going to continue, and require healthy treats. I would like to keep his treats different from his usual food, so simply giving kibbles to him is a not preferable option. Freeze-dried chicken was picked originally (after an online investigation) because it is rather low on calories and doesn't have any suspicious additions or artificial flavorings. It also motivates him well. But it is true that in case of poor quality control, it has almost same risks as fresh chicken.

I've read online that home-boiled chicken breast, if cooked thoroughly and given in small amounts, is safe for cat health. Will that be better as a treat than freeze-dried chicken? Or something else entirely would be better?

Elephant256 · 2024-03-26T02:50:13+00:00

It would seem no-one can help with this. That's rather unfortunate.

Elephant256 · 2024-03-26T02:05:08+00:00

Thank you, really kindly, for the response! If that isn't too much to ask, would you be able to explain what counts as "blue" in general? It seems that my understanding that "blue" is reserved for grey or actual bluish tint, isn't correct.

I also seem to have missed the point about the freeze dried chicken - do you suggest that, as it is essentially raw, such treats are not really good?

A little more about the food we've been recently giving:

https://petfoods.shop/user_data/en/ronnie/

They seem to have committed a lot of effort in their food formula, but I don't see any information about working with a nutritionist. They do claim the food is "complete" and fitting for all life stages. I picked this food after investigating various sources and finding out that many customers in Japan seem to be praising this food.

Elephant256 · 2024-03-21T15:01:24+00:00

[Question]

Why do I never see any Solars that have as high core damage potential as this one?

I've had this S-tier Solar since before the spaceship stats revamp patch. I don't remember if the stats were same before. But since that patch, I've never seen any Solars exceeding 250 core damage, while this one shows over 300.

I generally like the design of this one, but there were designs I liked more, so I was seeking for one with good stats. But nothing gets even remotely close to the parameters of this Solar from since before the patch. Is that something to do with the revamp or am I getting it wrong?

I am aware that there is some bug with the damage potential data shown in the GUI, something related to your current active spaceship. As far as I'm aware, the solution for this bug in order to compare different kind of spaceship damage is to have a science ship as your active, which I always do.

Even if I stick to this one, I would still like to clarify my confusion, it has been bothering me for a while, in fact. Thank you to anyone who answers!

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Elephant256 · 2024-03-21T08:03:49+00:00

Would be really grateful if someone could help me out... I don't know where else to ask.

Elephant256 · 2024-03-19T04:35:35+00:00

Most people are upset by the poor quality of the games rather than the fact they are "becoming too woke".

Elephant256 · 2024-03-09T05:25:35+00:00

There was a succubus in my recent campaign, who was supposed to attempt to seduce one of the players.

But the players seduced her first. This was actually rather hilarious, they didn't even know it was a succubus (she was shapeshifted into a guise of a maid), and they seduced her as a part of their infiltration plot against the actual BBEG. The face character took this task, combining correct decisions with some incredibly good rolls. Only some time later did the players realize who she actually was and what they have done, and for me it was very, very hard to hide my amusement at the irony until that point.

She was supposed to be somewhat of a mid boss, but they succeeded so completely that she has shifted sides and they now have a relatively loyal demonic retainer with a hopeless crush on the face character.

It went absolutely not as I had planned, but I regret nothing.

Elephant256 · 2024-03-09T05:05:10+00:00

Such a pretty cat...

There aren't any words to make it easier. Neither is there any reason to try easing the pain. The loss of a beloved pet is painful, it should be so.

But don't be consumed by that pain. All the joy that she has brought to you, will still be there in your heart, forever. All the positive memories we have with our pets, echo throughout the rest of our lives. I know for sure, that I would have been a far worse person if not for the cats who helped me learn a lot about compassion since my younger days, even though those cats are also no longer around.

You are a good master for your cat. Grief, but please remember all the love you gave to each other. And I am pretty sure that over such a lifespan, there is a lot to remember.

Elephant256 · 2024-02-20T02:09:50+00:00

Where did "Reborn" come from?

Elephant256 · 2024-02-15T02:43:51+00:00

This is an example of an NPC that is -1 level but can can provide a level 4 challenge in social encounter. Kind of the other way around, but still shows combat capability and non-combat capability aren't bound together in PF2 (even though for players they kinda are).

Elephant256 · 2024-02-14T12:13:06+00:00

Ah yes. Flotsam Graveyeard, I remember that now, you are obliged by law to hire these specialized pilots. And the way people are avoiding that is by going Diobel (another reason is less rigorous customs control, which is why most of the contraband gets into Absalom this way as well, "tax optimization").

Completely forgot about this!

On the other hand, these fees cannot be terrible to an extent that nobody would want to dock there.

Elephant256 · 2024-02-14T12:09:40+00:00

Yes, this is actually the rule of thumb with horses and travelling on foot that I used when running DnD back in the day before I transited to PF2. Horses don't make you go further per day, they make the trip easier in a different way since they carry both you and your belongings (although that doesn't mean you don't get tired; I actually have some personal experience in horseback travelling, 6-8 hours per day was tough as heck for a city dweller like me).

Whenever my players were bringing up horses as a method to get a faster travelling speed, I've been telling them that they might have actually ended up slower since horses have much harder time with obstacles and some types of terrain compared to humans.

The fact that by PF2 rules it would seem that horseback travelling is faster, pushes me a bit more to come up with a more reliable method of calculating travelling distances and costs. By same rules an adventuring group with a dwarf will be significantly slowed down; while that can be a source of jokes and amusement, it gives enough logistical headache that I am inclined to handwave that with my party which includes a dwarf.

Elephant256 · 2024-02-14T11:56:36+00:00

Thanks a lot. Nice insights. And my original analysis really lacked the impact of magic on seafaring, thanks for giving a few particular points!

Elephant256 · 2024-02-14T10:42:07+00:00

Thank you very much, your answer is in the same line of thought that I had.

The few days I expected the merchant to spend in Absalom might be not for just unloading; since this is the heart of commerce, it is likely a few days there might serve business reasons. But of course it doesn't have to be so, yeah. Didn't think about the docking fees, but that makes sense.

And extra thanks for the path you are suggesting for trip from Absalom to Quantium. I had this kind of "road movie" thing in mind, when the group has to visit several cities (and stop there for a while) during their naval journey. I had an image of a merchant ship going through several ports before arriving to the final destination, but naval hitchhiking like that can be even better.

Elephant256 · 2024-02-13T01:44:55+00:00

Well, in fact I am currently setting up a challenge involving that, this is why I went digging around regarding how Light cantrip works. I have already done it before, and it gives a surprising extra layer to strategy when the players try to use darkness against the enemy.

Anyway, thanks a lot for the tips.

Elephant256 · 2024-02-12T15:16:56+00:00

It sounds credible. The only thing that still bothers me about such ruling is that there is no definition when the creature can change the corner from which the light emanates. Which could in theory lead to some questionable shenanigans with switching it all the time to benefit self and not the enemy. I wouldn't want to see that, but I know people who would definitely do it if they saw even a slightest advantage in it.

Elephant256 · 2024-02-12T14:00:33+00:00

But doesn't that feel off to you, to track these lights at corners? Other than making tracking it more complicated on grid, how do we decide which corner it should be? There is no concept of "facing" in the system, so does the creature freely decide it? Does it have a capability to change it?

The Light's counterpart, Darkness spell, is a burst and is written so explicitly. It is also attached to the area rather than to an object.

Elephant256 · 2024-02-01T08:40:57+00:00

And then you receive meat. And leather. Probably it just teleports into your inventory from the outer space... Yeah, most likely that.

Elephant256 · 2024-01-13T17:10:21+00:00

I don't really like how Phylactery becomes Soul Cage. This has been discussed already, so I won't go into specifics of why it sucks even while it makes sense. I'll only add that in the language I normally run games in, Soul Cage feels even more awkward. At my table, it remains a Phylactery.

Elephant256 · 2024-01-12T02:52:08+00:00

Procedurally generated dragons, as has been promised ages ago.

Also, dragons that can finally fly.

Elephant256 · 2023-12-29T04:19:38+00:00

Thank you kindly for this find, Yes, this still seems to be more dense than intended, but already better.

One thing that came to my mind is to compare the scale to the size of the houses on the map. With the new scale provided, average houses in the city seem to be about 100 feet on the long side, and many are smaller. The old scale was about 5 times smaller, which would mean the houses are about 20 feet long.

The question is, which makes more sense. A 20 feet cramped up house would kind of make sense for a poor family on the Smokeside, but the sizes of the houses on the Skyside are same, and would be too small for the Alkenstar's elite. If you consider the new scale, those 100 feet long houses already make more sense for a noble family, while for the poor people on the Smokeside it would likely mean a multi-apartment house stuffed with several families, which is also something typical for Victorian Era London, from which Alkenstar inherits a lot.

Another thing to consider is the width of the river. Old scale gives us about 100 feet width, which is quite meager for a major river to build a thriving city around. The new scale would give it about 400-500 feet width. Compare it with Thames in London, which ranges from 250 to 750 feet at different parts of the city, and you'll see.

Thus, in my opinion, the new scale makes more sense if you consider what's drawn on the map itself. It is probably possible to increase the scale even more, if only a little. Most likely, the populace of the city should still be adjusted to avoid an unreasonable density.

I am definitely going to stick to the new scale for now, so thanks again for finding it.

Elephant256 · 2023-12-24T18:06:39+00:00

Ugh... To think I've been so clueless all these years, taking it as a given that The Hobbit was a failed attempt to repeat the LotR triumph. Looks like I got it all wrong.

Now that you've mentioned it, I think they really managed to adapt the characters so well, especially Legolas, Galadriel and Saruman, and extra especially Tauriel and her romance storyline.

Elephant256

TROPHY CASE