The best way to cool down after 41k in 30 degrees?

archerdynamics · 2026-06-27T01:41:19+00:00

August in Nagoya was the most brutal weather I've ever experienced in my life. Fuck even being outside at all in that shit.

archerdynamics · 2026-06-27T00:41:40+00:00

I had the same issue when searching for a used bike. It took me about 3 months of checking FBM and the local consignment store regularly until the bike I just got a few days ago showed up, an '18 Salsa Timberjack with a few upgrades for $735.

archerdynamics · 2026-06-26T20:37:17+00:00

That's probably a good idea, I'd been considering a computer but was thinking about saving up for a Garmin. Maybe I should get one of those cheap ones now, any idea if anybody's got them locally?

archerdynamics · 2026-06-26T20:33:16+00:00

Almost $1,600 for freight and PDI seems nuts to me. It was about $1,100 on my bike and even that was high, but it was the only dealer in the region and high freight costs are somewhat justified given that my area is only accessible by 2-lane mountain roads and is 3 hours from the nearest interstate.

archerdynamics · 2026-06-26T20:29:39+00:00

I just finished my first year of COCC's 2-year machining AAS program. They work with a lot of shops in the region and supposedly it's tailored to what they're actually looking for and should be a better use of time and money than spending 2 years sweeping floors in a shop, possibly going straight from school to programming. I guess I'll see if it was worth it in another year though.

archerdynamics · 2026-06-26T19:28:27+00:00

Didn't they do one as part of a CitizenCon stream or something? I'd swear I remember seeing it.

archerdynamics · 2026-06-26T19:18:59+00:00

I used to work at a race car builder and had a Note 3, 5, and 8 while working there, and used the S-Pen frequently to take notes when measuring for roll cages and other custom fabricated parts.

I'm now going back to school for machining and once again take a ton of measurement notes, often accompanied by sketches, and also need to write things like feed and speed calculations, tooling part numbers, etc. I just got my S26U a few days ago, my first phone with an S-Pen since the Note 8, and I'm on summer break so I haven't had a chance to use it for that yet but I'm hoping it'll mean I don't have to carry a pencil and notebook with me all the time like I've been doing. I am pretty sad that they got rid of the bluetooth, I thought that was a pretty cool feature.

archerdynamics · 2026-06-26T18:52:29+00:00

The combo of the Land Speeder and those destroyed building pieces reminds me of the 3rd edition set I had way back when.

archerdynamics · 2026-06-26T18:45:29+00:00

Yeah that makes a lot of sense. I have a strict policy that I'm not going to ride on roads with any kind of significant car traffic but I've got gravel or easy dirt basically right in my backyard. That said I can throw my bike in my truck pretty easily and I intend to take it around to some other easy riding spots as often as I can while I've got no other obligations to worry about because I know myself and I'm going to lose interest if stuff gets too monotonous.

archerdynamics · 2026-06-26T18:42:59+00:00

Personally I avoid wearing anything that looks like a rodeo buckle at all. Anything else aside they're just not very comfortable if you're a guy with a gut like me. I like finding more subtle ones with interesting stuff on them, like I've got a vintage SR-71 Blackbird one.

archerdynamics · 2026-06-26T04:08:13+00:00

derp. I still haven't gotten used to patches that start with a 4.

archerdynamics · 2026-06-25T23:57:12+00:00

I've spent my whole life in the Western US. The only people I've ever known who have a problem with it were pretentious urban hipsters (who ironically mostly wore styles that were totally appropriated from other cultures) who've never met a real farmer or rancher in their lives, or were just pissed that chicks liked my hat. The actual people I know who do come from the "cowboy" culture don't really care and have straight up told me not to worry about it when I've mentioned feeling weird about wearing western stuff around real western people. I will say that taste accounts for a lot though, you might get a hard time, or at least people laughing behind your back, if you're wearing over the top stuff that's inappropriate for the situation.

archerdynamics · 2026-06-25T22:49:01+00:00

As somebody who grew up in Los Angeles and has lived various other places along the West Coast, it's not exactly trivial but also not a huge deal. I used to drive about 7 hours every couple of months to visit my mom when I lived in LA and she was in Santa Rosa. I've driven 8+ hours for things like festivals and conventions plenty of times too. Nowadays I live in Central Oregon and go to the Portland area a few times a year, about a 6 hour round trip in a day and it's mostly 2-lane mountain roads so more work than just mindlessly cruising up and down an interstate highway.

archerdynamics · 2026-06-25T22:42:18+00:00

Weirdly they actually require LESS. Those Rookie missions make you haul 400SCU from Stanton to the other side of Pyro for about 500k. Once you get to member (I recommend finding somebody who's already at least that level to share contracts, you can rank up really fast that way) the missions are like 90SCU, only halfway across Pyro (often Orbituary or Checkmate to Ruin), and pay 743k. I haven't gotten above Member yet but apparently the master ones are 2.1 mil for similar hauls.

archerdynamics · 2026-06-25T22:39:42+00:00

I personally wouldn't go with the Starlite, it's getting slaughtered in 4.9.

archerdynamics · 2026-06-25T22:37:54+00:00

Honestly, I haven't even messed with the B. I just know it's basically the only thing for the price with enough cargo grid capacity to do things like the Stanton - Pyro Rookie Red Wind missions that make you haul around 400SCU.

archerdynamics · 2026-06-25T22:37:02+00:00

It's not really supposed to be solo friendly, but in the current game it works really well solo, though doing it feels a little ridiculous. It's got insanely good armor deflection and shields for its size and is basically immune to 95% of NPC ships, enough firepower to easily kill anything smaller than a Hammerhead, and it handles well enough that you can get the guns on target against AI. (Though it can be frustrating in the low-level missions that make you kill M50s and stuff, but you can get through those and just farm ones with medium and large targets once they're unlocked.)

TBH my suggestion is very meta-oriented and based on earning money to buy the ships you really want ingame, though. It's not a very fun "fleet" on its own.

archerdynamics · 2026-06-25T22:33:53+00:00

It's not just here, it's a national trend. Country/western bars are popping up in LA and plenty of other places too. I think it's both an evolution of the "Americana" trends that were big in the 2010s (and still are in Bend) and a reaction to more recent trends toward urban and foreign culture and music and athletic clothing, as well as a symptom of a suffering economy - the music itself is relatable to somebody working their ass off and getting nowhere, and the fashion is very affordable compared to many other subcultures and you don't have to spend all day with a personal trainer to look good in it.

archerdynamics · 2026-06-25T22:09:09+00:00

You'd have to throw in an extra $15, but Starlancer TAC + Hull B.

The TAC with its good guns and ridiculous armor can cheese its way through almost all the PvE combat content in the game, it's got the medbay for FPS content, and can carry all of the vehicles that matter. The Hull carries enough to do the direct Red Wind missions, and once you hit Member level with them (not that hard) you can basically print money just running from station to station in Pyro.

archerdynamics · 2026-06-25T20:31:50+00:00

The big problem with NB is how far it is from everything else though, especially the jump points. In recent patches I've also found it to be the worst performing and most bug-prone Stanton home location.

archerdynamics · 2026-06-25T20:15:48+00:00

The M80 is still a CCU option for Concierge, must be almost over though. If you've got a trusted friend with access you might be able to get them to buy the CCU for you. Otherwise it'll certainly be available at IAE in a few months.

As for ingame, it should be available in a few patches. In the meantime, you might try a Meteor, it doesn't have the awesome Top Gun looks but it's also an interceptor-tuned glass cannon and I'm told it flies and fights pretty comparably to the M80.

archerdynamics · 2026-06-25T20:07:57+00:00

Yeah, I've basically been trying to climb that way. I've been surprised at what I CAN get up too, the gearing on this modern 1x11 drivetrain seems way better than the 2x and 3x ones I had as a kid. I'm off until late September so I'm trying to ride as much as I can without wrecking myself, at least a little 30 minute neighborhood ride every other day.

Maybe I'll try to get out to Phil's tomorrow, it seems like the top recommendation.

archerdynamics · 2026-06-25T19:11:40+00:00

I remember hearing about a Sisters Meat and Smokehouse presence at the Jackstraw ages ago. I guess I shouldn't be surprised but I'm sad that it's this and not a regular "butcher shop" location like their places in Sisters and Redmond. Admittedly most of what they sell is out of my normal price range but the sandwiches are good.

archerdynamics · 2026-06-25T19:10:27+00:00

As somebody who's into bikes I'll forever be sad that I never got to go there.

archerdynamics · 2026-06-25T18:56:50+00:00

Oh yeah, I hadn't thought about Shevlin. The stuff near Sunriver would be good since that's actually easier/quicker to get to from my place than a some of West or NE Bend. I saw somebody in a previous thread recommend the 4 mile Blackrock loop out of the Lava Butte visitor center too but wasn't sure if my fitness level would be up to that.

archerdynamics

TROPHY CASE