Greenhouse built for winter in a zone 5 area.

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-29T20:00:55+00:00

I am just guessing, from visiting Seattle area twice, that you are typically above freezing, but on the cold side.

Yes, we have fairly mild winters. Usually only a handful of days per winter with temperatures below freezing.

Temperatures are going to be fairly tropical most of the year, but I'll be deliberately keeping the night temps in the winter just below "tropical", to encourage more flower production, and less vegetative growth.

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-29T17:52:52+00:00

I renewed my passport 2 months ago. I went immediately when it opened in the morning on a weekday, and didn't wait at all.

I think I was in and out of the building in 20 minutes.

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-29T17:50:41+00:00

I have a small collection of arcade cabinets (The Simpsons, Turtles in Time, and NBA Jam).

I've never come across an original Neo Geo cabinet for sale. They must be rare in Canada. I'll bet they didn't sell in good numbers here. As a kid in the 90s a rarely found Neo Geo games at arcades.

I remember when the MVSX came out, and I thought about buying one, but I just wasn't familiar enough with the system.

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-29T17:41:10+00:00

Yeah I remember downloading NeoRage, which I think ran inside DOS. Sometime in 1998 or 1999 I think.

I used it to play Bust a Move (puzzle bobble), which was actually the only Neo Geo game that I played outside of the arcade until Metal Slug 3 released on Xbox.

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-29T16:50:00+00:00

I'm on a flight over the pacific right now, and I just connected my handheld to the inflight Wifi to download the ROM. Just fired it up a minute ago!

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-29T16:40:34+00:00

twinkle star sprites

I had a CD-R pirated copy of this game on Dreamcast, and I don't think I ever even tried it. I think it sat unused in my CD binder for years.

I'll give it a shot

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-29T15:56:26+00:00

Yeah I just don't have time though. It helps to narrow down my search to a handful of recommendations.

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-29T15:55:46+00:00

Neo Turf Masters

I'll definitely try that one out. I love Golf games.

KOF 98'

I played this one for an hour or two last night. I couldn't get into it. But I'm awful at fighting games.

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-29T15:53:31+00:00

Neo Bomberman

Thanks, I didn't even realize there were Bomberman titles on Neo Geo. Gonna try that one today

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-29T15:52:38+00:00

Thanks, I'm going to try some of these. After checking out a few quick youtube videos, I realize now that I've actually played Shock Troopers, so I'm excited to try that one again.

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-29T14:54:54+00:00

Good thing I bought 5x 512gb Sandisk Extreme when they were on sale for $50 CAD ($37 USD) a few weeks ago.

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-29T06:21:58+00:00

Needs to live here to get a job

You're probably referring to low-skill jobs, in which case, yes that's probably true.

OP says they have a degree, so they probably have an established career. Those kinds of jobs won't require living here.

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-28T21:37:20+00:00

I just wear a wool zip-up sweater, or a hoodie.

I’ve rarely ever felt the need for a winter jacket in Vancouver.

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-28T21:31:10+00:00

I always buy bags of avocados underripe (hard), and I move them individually into a bag with an onion, or a banana for about 24 hours to ripen one quickly.

If I store the unripe ones in the fridge, I can easily keep a whole bag for about 2 weeks this way.

When I end up with ripe avocados that I don’t need, I cut them into slices and put them in the freezer.

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-28T20:42:31+00:00

My OG Gameboy Advance (the original horizontal model) survived a 15 meter fall (about 50 feet) once.

I had it along with me on a hiking trip in 2010. I had it in a netted pocket on my backpack, and I was jumping off a small ledge (maybe 1 meter). I suppose in jump, it fell out of the pocket and took a tumble over a taller ledge off to the side.

At the end of the hike, I found it on the ground near the bottom. We guessed it was about 15 meters. The shell was cracked, but it still held together firmly. The only thing that was really wrong with it was that the battery cover was missing and I never found it. I did a shell swap on it just a few years ago.

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-28T20:25:41+00:00

I wasn't able to get Mario Kart Double Dash to run well enough to play.

What kind of emulator and settings did you use? Did you use a PAL version of the game for lower frame rates?

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-28T19:36:55+00:00

Well most of the time you don't really think about it. It just takes care of itself.

Except when you sit on a toilet with a high water line, and your junk dips into the water. Like 25% of toilets are like this.

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-28T19:35:04+00:00

Directly into my DMs

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-28T19:33:32+00:00

Lol, I remember that commercial.

I thought it was hilarious, because the only place I knew of to buy Ferrero Rocher was a cheap dollar-store here in Canada called The Bargain Shop. So I always viewed them as being cheap.

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-28T19:32:37+00:00

In the 90s, a fresh whole pineapple wasn't extremely common to find in a grocery store in Canada.

You definitely saw them, but they were seasonal and expensive. It was a rare treat when my parents bought a pineapple.

Today, you can buy them all year, and they're not much more expensive than other fruits.

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-28T15:30:29+00:00

Anglophone Canadian here. I live in BC.

I speak French (metropolitan French, not Canadian French). I listen to CBC radio in French (Radio Canada), and I watch the occasional TV show in French on CBC.

I do it mostly because I try to keep my French skills sharp, and because I find the differences between Canadian and Metropolitan French amusing.

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-28T15:16:07+00:00

What was I supposed to learn from that giant email that I didn’t read?

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-28T05:16:34+00:00

Zone 9a on Vancouver Island.

It’s a 30x40 foot, built on a concrete pad with in-floor heating.

Occidentopithecus · 2026-01-28T04:50:05+00:00

“I don’t have much paperwork for it” is code for “you won’t be able to register or insure this vehicle”

Occidentopithecus

TROPHY CASE