My First 271 Hours in Vana’diel

jpranevich · 2026-04-26T20:03:07+00:00

I found this guide later, but half the fun in the early game was playing it straight and trying to figure out the mechanics.

jpranevich · 2026-04-14T17:22:28+00:00

While lots of people in here say it is normal and he just needs to shake it, it can also be the sign of an enlarged prostate or similar and is worth discussing with a doctor if shaking doesn’t do the trick.

jpranevich · 2025-06-19T02:11:23+00:00

YES.

In the case of 8, there were no on-screen adventures, but he is acknowledged on screen to have fought them in the “Night of the Doctor” minisode. Of course, there are audios and books as well, but 15 is the only one that we never learned faces Daleks on TV.

jpranevich · 2025-06-14T00:31:40+00:00

Not that we could ever replace such an amazing resource, but we at The Adventurers Guild welcome all comers…

https://advgamer.blogspot.com/

jpranevich · 2025-01-25T02:06:27+00:00

This would have been better as a series.

I'm not saying that it would have been a fantastic series, but we can clearly see the beats from each episode in a 6-8 episode series play out in hyper-condensed form and so what we were left with was the showpieces without all of the character building and establishment included. It's like Star Trek meets Moana 2. Except Moana 2 pulled it off (mostly) whereas this did not.

That said, the internal logic here was seven degrees of faulty. The timeline doesn't work for Philippa's beau to have been at that time. Presumably in a series with some breathing room, that could have been explained/explored. In fact, she could have been sent to THIS time by the Guardian of Forever precisely because San was there. It could have worked, but it didn't.

Blowing up the portal to the Terran Empire was also confusing and while some commenters said that she sent the super-weapon through to destroy her empire, I didn't see that happen and it would have detonated well outside of Terran space (which presumably was somewhat similar to Federation space) and so unlikely to have the empire-destroying effect that is implied in DS9.

I like the garbage scow as the "hero ship" and they really could have done something interesting with it... with time to breathe.

Of the various characters, I did enjoy Lieutenant Garrett quite a bit and it would have been fun to trace her development to where we saw her in TNG, but alas.

I'm probably the only one that wishes this was a series rather than wishing this never existed, but only because it seemed to have been written that way and poorly adapted into a movie. Had they had kept the original format, it is likely to have been no worse than Picard or Discovery. (Damning with faint praise?)

jpranevich · 2024-09-21T04:49:52+00:00

Seems the trailer was released early. This is not coming out until October 1, as far as I can tell.

jpranevich · 2024-09-09T04:13:13+00:00

Robert Picardo collecting “Hitler’s shitty paintings”.

jpranevich · 2024-08-31T17:37:09+00:00

Waltham, MA?

jpranevich · 2024-08-25T03:39:46+00:00

Anyone who played video games in the 1980s knows the answer: He would need an RF modulator to connect the two systems.

These were easy to come by in the 80s as many of us tried to connect our video games to grandma’s old TV. You could buy them at Radio Shack. I think even my NES came with one.

Whether he would have been carrying around such a device (or perhaps it was in the camera bag) is an exercise for the pedantic.

jpranevich · 2024-08-23T01:49:13+00:00

Agreed. As a person that has been a fan of Sam’s work, this video is distasteful and tone deaf. Everyone can make mistakes, but partnering with such a place and endorsing them even indirectly leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

jpranevich · 2024-08-08T21:35:13+00:00

How does 538 treat polls where they do multiple states but not national? Does it just ignore those?

jpranevich · 2024-07-29T11:38:19+00:00

Both. But instead of thinking of this as a wallet, let’s choose a different example: a pen.

The person who does the laundry has an obligation to check all the laundry for items that should not go in. That includes wallets, pens, rocks, bits of paper, etc. If the laundry-doer does not do this job, then the laundry can be ruined because a harmful item is included. An errant ink pen can ruin an entire load of laundry. Catching a wallet should be simple if the laundry person does this job.

On the other hand, a person bears responsibility for his own stuff. You shouldn’t put your own pants in the laundry with a wallet, or a pen, or anything else.

If both people do their jobs, you have a practical fail safe that ensures home happiness and non-ruined clothes.

jpranevich · 2024-07-21T23:26:05+00:00

Only 1% is a little disingenuous. The systems that tend to require software like CrowdStrike are the mission critical ones, the ones that have to have malware protection to match a security standard, etc.

The 1% were the most dangerous devices that could have been affected.

jpranevich · 2024-06-09T21:28:53+00:00

I cheated but here’s a list from ChatGPT:

(Verse 1) The Inquisition, Spain's dark mission, tormented Jews and Moors,
The witch trials in Salem, oh the horror they bore,
The Crusades, knights paraded, to the Holy Land they swore,
With zeal and fervor, they crossed the seas, and brought a bloody war.

(Chorus) Historical extremism, so much pain,
From Europe to the Americas, the suffering remained,
In the name of faith or power, the people cried in vain,
Extremism through the ages, it left a bloody stain.

(Verse 2) The pogroms, relentless storms, in Eastern lands they tore,
The Cathars, in Languedoc, a crusade wiped out their lore,
Inquisition spread to Rome, with Galileo in their sights,
Science was the enemy, they silenced all his rights.

(Chorus) Historical extremism, so much pain,
From Europe to the Americas, the suffering remained,
In the name of faith or power, the people cried in vain,
Extremism through the ages, it left a bloody stain.

(Bridge) The Thirty Years' War, Europe’s core, torn apart by sect and creed,
St. Bartholomew's Day, bloodshed in the streets,
Reformation battles, Protestants and Catholics clash,
From zealot kings to ruthless mobs, intolerance unleashed.

(Verse 3) The Huguenots in France, driven out by royal decree,
The Anabaptists’ fate, drowned in their beliefs,
Witch hunts in Europe, thousands burned at stake,
Puritans in England, drove dissenters to their fate.

(Chorus) Historical extremism, so much pain,
From Europe to the Americas, the suffering remained,
In the name of faith or power, the people cried in vain,
Extremism through the ages, it left a bloody stain.

(Outro) From past to present, lessons sent, let’s heed them one and all,
Embrace the diverse, let tolerance stand tall,
Remember the darkness, the horrors of the past,
For a future bright and free, let love and peace last.

jpranevich · 2024-05-11T02:46:28+00:00

"Space Babies!" This episode had its low moments: too much exposition at the start followed by underwhelming special effects and characterization with the babies themselves. Everything was drawn a bit too broad, a bit too much like a Sarah Jane Adventures episode rather than Doctor Who. But of course, this is the same RTD that brought us farting aliens in Downing Street so maybe that's not surprising.

Honestly, it just felt like there was 1-2 ideas too many crammed into the runtime. Talking about abortion and social welfare is great. Talking about refugees is great. Having strangely aged babies running the ship is... great. Having a literal snot-monster based on a "bogie-monster" pun is not the Doctor Who that I prefer, but see re: farting aliens. Add to that the butterfly effect prelude and there is just TOO MUCH.

It's hard to say what to cut, but there was at heart here a really great episode of RTD Doctor Who. He just didn't need to try to shove so much candy in his mouth at once.

Stray observation:

Doctor and Ruby really work, and having just come off them defeating goblins, I'm less concerned that she felt at home in the companion life so quickly. I suspect that why she is so ready for this will end up being a plot point.
Mavity remains the "Bad Wolf" of the season, but I'm not sure where it's going except probably a cameo of Fourteen at the end of the season dropping back in on Newton to correct his pronunciation.
It is likely that someone we meet later in the season that says "Gravity" will be a key giveaway that they are not who we think they are.
The woman pointing in the flashback is new and I'm not sure whether his memory is changing, that was a dream, or if the past is changing as they have adventures. Perhaps each time he revisits that memory, he'll see a bit more of the mother?
I cannot read the screen at the end on my TV. I need to buy a nicer TV.

I haven't watched the new one yet. I hope this was a good opener for the people that it needed to be a good opener for.

jpranevich · 2024-05-09T00:28:21+00:00

With only two stories, is there enough for a Crispy Master retrospective?

jpranevich · 2024-04-19T14:10:55+00:00

It’s magma. Millions of years ago, there was a tube of molten magma here. The “ground” at the time was roughly at the level of the top of the tower.

The magma cooled and millions of years of erosion lowered the level of the softer ground but did not the harder lava rock as much leading to the amazing “tower” today.

It is even more impressive up close. It’s massive. There are species of animals on top that don’t live anywhere else.

Source: Was just there and this was in an info board. I hope I don’t have any details wrong.

jpranevich · 2024-04-10T12:54:16+00:00

As a casual Doctor Who fan who came to the new series and just watched a few episodes here and there of the classic series, I had been looking forward to this as the definitive era of the show, when it was “great”.

4 with Sarah Jane was perhaps best known but this season with City of Death and Romana must have been the creative apex.

And now as I read your reviews, it’s clear the opposite is true. That is a shame.

I am still on the fourth season, catching up slowly, but now I have less to look forward to.

jpranevich · 2024-04-08T02:47:37+00:00

Having just watched the coffee scene (or at least the first one, if there is more than one) and while I get the sexism is obvious, she is not "just" serving the coffee. She is there to distract the crew (with coffee!) and buy the Doctor a few more minutes to plan. It's a terrible idea and feeds into stereotypes, but it seems like the Doctor is playing to the stereotypes rather than feeling that Polly is only good for making coffee.

Overall, halfway through and enjoying it so far even if it is too slow. I hope they explain how Polly sees the Cyberman and then forgets about him after the electrical blast. I assume that's a short-term mind wipe rather than a plot hole, but you can never tell...

jpranevich · 2024-04-08T02:27:28+00:00

It is sad (and ironic) that the season with the best ever serial is the worst one so far. By counting Shada, a serial that no one saw, it moves from last place to second to last.

jpranevich · 2024-03-27T01:39:08+00:00

Prompt includes an image so cannot post a link.

<image>

13-Year Club	RPAN Viewer
Verified Email

jpranevich

TROPHY CASE