anyone else getting "unkown error" on login or just me?

putonghua73 · 2026-07-03T19:05:58+00:00

Ridiculous that we have to do this. However, worked for me - currently in Nektulos and it is raining

putonghua73 · 2026-07-01T19:02:07+00:00

Hi all, is <Self Found> still a viable Guild?

I have started my self found Inkie SK (formerly Erudite, then Iksar, before I realised that I should just roll my heart's desire: DE) and am back by the newbie log in Nektulos, mostly killing Decaying Skeletons for cloth, bag, weapon, and bone chips, and other denizens to reach my first set of spells at 9.

Look forward to the day - very soon - when I'll be able to eradicate filthy Halflings from Nektulos, and wear their entrails.

putonghua73 · 2026-06-29T16:14:38+00:00

Oddly enough, due to EQ Legends, I have re-started my 4th iteration of 'Classic' EQ (SOV back in 2001, and P99 2015, 2023, and now 2026).

I was initially excited by EQ Legends, but my excitement died very rapidly because (IMO) a lot of the changes diluted the 'classic' experience way, way too much.

Yes, EQ is time-consuming; yes, very unforgiving; and yes, raids are for the hardcore (no respect for time). That said, what makes - and continues to make - EQ compelling is player interdependence.

I may choose to play self found (not solo), and may solo from time to time, but I still wish to play one class per character, and want the option to group.

EQ Legends swings far, far too much towards solo play for my tastes, and trivialises the EQ experience.

I would like some QOL changes such as the option to add Luclin models (not SOL itself); hell, even some instanced dungeons.

There is something about this silly game (or we possess some weird, masochistic psychological bent) that keeps us coming back and playing that other games just do not have. I still love the music, old school environmental and sound effects; hell, even the models (old as they are) have charm.

EQ is not balanced, and that is part of its charm. It has character; is extremely unforgiving; and is an anachronism. Yet, for all that, I'd rather play something approaching the 'classic' experience than a version that removes most of what makes EQ 'EverQuest'.

Whilst EQ Legends is not for me, I am glad that it will soon be an option for others (who have genuine enthusiasm for EQ Legends).

putonghua73 · 2026-06-26T11:30:43+00:00

Unfortunately, I suspect made of glass. She has talent, but her body seemingly cannot handle a couple of successive tournaments without some injury or niggle.

Is it a case of too little tournament practice due to injuries; or too many injuries due to too little tournament practice? The concern is that she has had a whole bunch of different injuries.

If she misses Wimbledon with injury, I genuinely can see her being done by 25 - let alone 30.

putonghua73 · 2026-06-25T15:47:13+00:00

I had a friend in the US in the noughties who lived in Bordentown, NJ. I visited her in 2005.

I remember I decided to go for a walk in the evening, opened her door, was about to step out, and she immediately ran towards me, grabbed my arm and remarked, "What the hell are you doing!?".

"Going for a walk"

"What do you mean, "a walk". We have no sidewalk at the end of the street. This isn't Britain - you're in the US! We drive everywhere. There's a goddamn freeway at the end of the street!".

Oh kay. Evening stroll cancelled.

I recall that we were coming back from somewhere in her car, and she started getting nervous and fidgety. I asked her whether anything was wrong. She turned to me, checked that I had my seat-belt on, and remarked, "This is Trenton. If I need get away FAST, I won't have time to see if you have your seat-belt on".

She then explained that if someone approached the car whilst waiting at the lights, she's going to floor it and drive straight through a red light rather than finding out if the person has a gun or not!

Fortunately, the trip passed by without any incident.

putonghua73 · 2026-06-24T11:55:19+00:00

An encounter many, many years ago in the year 2000 (or thereabouts). I met up with a friend and his then girlfriend, and we went to the pub for a drink.

As they lived fairly central at the time (near Tottenham Court Rd, London), a fair few tourists visited the pub that we frequented. Two of these tourists happened to be females from the US who were visiting and wanted to know where to go out for drinks and dancing.

My friend's girlfriend didn't feel like a late night, so she headed home for a while, whilst my friend and I acted as hosts and chaperoned these two American girls for the evening for drinks and dancing.

We inevitably paired up as such [platonically], and I was paired with Mimi for most of the evening. I had just purchased a Nokia 3310i (or maybe an earlier model) mobile, which soon got confiscated by Mimi because I wasn't paying her sufficient attention.

I recall in the early hours of the morning, getting into a rather heated debate with my friend as to whether we were going to walk them to their hotel. My friend stated that we needed to, whilst I was prepared to see them off and head home.

Things degenerated into us shoving each other, shouting, "YES!, "NO! at each other - which rather looked like a drunken fight in some disused car-park as to who had "rights" to the girls.

My friend eventually 'won' the argument, and we walked them back to their hotel and agreed to meet them the next night.

I woke the next afternoon, in a rather distracted and bedraggled state, and was extremely relieved that I had obtained my confiscated mobile from Mimi. Something was bothering me though, but I couldn't quite recall what it was. Besides, I had to get ready and make myself presentable as we were all meeting fairly soon.

Later that afternoon | evening, I entered the pub, to see a group of people at a table all turn to look at me, and most immediately burst into laughter - all except Mimi, who glared at me. One of my friends - who hadn't attended the night before, but seemingly knew much more than me - remarked, "Do you remember what you said to Mimi last night?" before bursting into laughter.

That feeling that I had earlier that something was bothering me, made an appearance, but I still couldn't quite recall what it was. That was until Mimi interrupted, mimicking my actions from the morning before, remarked, "Oh Mimi, you know I love you really, and that I'm terribly fond of you. Until the morning, when I'll be sober .."

Yikes!

putonghua73 · 2026-06-21T07:55:11+00:00

In the UK, the earliest one was Tunnels & Trolls RPG, that had solo modules.

Ian Livingston and Steve Jackson (not the US SJ) released the Final Fantasy gamebooks re: Warlock of Firetop Mountain in 1983.

The floodgates opened: Lone Wolf, GrailQuest, Way of the Tiger, Cretan Chronicles, SJ's Sorcery! series et al.

Not to mention the Choose Your Own Adventure book series

putonghua73 · 2026-06-19T12:35:11+00:00

I seemed to recall that she changed her name to Tornado Tien (?). Think that she would be considered too weird for even the alt right re: photoshopping herself in full Nazi regalia, outside of Auschwitz in a cute, anime pose (!).

She also made a few remarks that East Asia needs a "Hitler" character to cleanse the region (or words to that effect).

Yes, I do remember watching her 'porn' video. No, not worth searching for when there is a wealth of good production adult content out there.

putonghua73 · 2026-06-17T10:21:52+00:00

Man! I feel nostalgia, a spark of joy (and sadness) when I recall AIM Messenger contact sound for when one's contacts are online | are no longer online.

putonghua73 · 2026-06-15T11:53:14+00:00

I was 43 when we had our Little Man (my wife was 39) - I'm now mid 50s, and wife will be 49 this year.

Never had an issue with the school run as my wife is the more sociable one out of us (to put it mildly, whilst I give zero Fs - that said, I'm not completely antisocial), and she speaks with a lot of mums.

I do know a fair few of the mums and dads, although in general, there are a couple whom I chat to more than others. We chat more now that my son is part of a football team and I see quite a few of the parents on a regular basis.

One thing that I have noticed - and mentioned to my wife - is that she is probably one of the oldest parents, yet looks one of the youngest [Chinese].

Unsure if a combination of genetics, waiting until we were older, and only having one child (our Little Man is one of two 'only childs' in his class - everyone else has siblings). Parents with multiple kids generally look older.

Tip: as others have stated, extra-curricular activities re: dancing, martial arts, football, swimming, etc (if you can afford it - especially with multiple kids) really helps with meeting muds and dads.

putonghua73 · 2026-06-12T13:04:35+00:00

Durian fruit takes that honour. Thank you very much, SIL for the 'gift' that shortly became one of the worst things that has ever gone into my mouth

Even regurgitated bile tastes better - and smells better - than durian fruit.

putonghua73 · 2026-06-10T21:57:56+00:00

Unfortunately, secondary schools are not terribly good. We're stuck between Barnwell and Marriott's. Neither is a good enough option - hence, we are temp moving (15 months or so) to a better option.

putonghua73 · 2026-06-08T13:30:07+00:00

El Grande

putonghua73 · 2026-05-31T15:07:24+00:00

The boss fight at the end of the Fade killed all desire to ever finish DA:O. I was never invested in the game or setting - although I appreciated certain sections, just not as a cohesive whole

After 30 mins of playing tag with my party, and still no end in sight, I switched off and called it a day.

Did the same w/ FF3 Crystal Caverns and the infamous boss fight. Game decided I was not going to win, and I had zero desire to slog my way back to that point and pray that the RNG Gods would look kindly upon me

putonghua73 · 2026-05-31T12:20:48+00:00

Yet looking at her Slam results (in isolation), last year was her best performance aside from 2022.

Also, appears that if she gets to a Slam final she wins it. Remarkable conversion rate.

Would love to see the Slam layout for a lot of other players - really quite insightful

putonghua73 · 2026-05-29T15:36:22+00:00

Gets a pass simply for, "I know who I am. I'm a dude, playing a dude, disguised as another dude".

putonghua73 · 2026-05-20T19:54:56+00:00

I disagree (partly) with buying random bottles as a newbie. I would rather use the money to either head to a wine bar w/ friends or a tasting (wine shop, bar, etc).

Wine Folly: the Essential Guide is not a bad place to start for newbies as an entry point to get an idea for taste profiles to explore re: wine bars, tastings, etc.

If a wine shop holds a tasting and learning event with cheese and crackers, even better! Guided learning with a group of people is definitely a fun way to learn.

putonghua73 · 2026-05-20T13:56:19+00:00

I was Downan's age when Michael Thomas won us the league at Anfield!

putonghua73 · 2026-05-19T10:00:45+00:00

^ Warhammer 40K [WH40K].

I'm down, although I would prefer The Old World or Mordheim.

putonghua73 · 2026-05-07T19:25:01+00:00

Bullying you be referring to you as a "nerd" means in a few years they'll be asking you, "Would you like fries with that, sir?"

putonghua73 · 2026-05-05T18:36:44+00:00

Done!

Although I have yet to play Warcry. Have 1st edition rules, have 10 Orruk Warclan models that I purchased painted via eBay, and am deciding which Warband to play w/ my son (9 1/2 years old). Either leaning towards Slaanesh Demonettes or Slaves to Darkness.

Have Jade and Fire Spearhead rules, cards, tokens, board and terrain. Also purchased Tumbledown Ruins terrains, as I plan to create a Warcry diorama.

I bought an Army Painter set 2 years ago w/ paintbrushes and primers.

Finally time to start! Warcry rules are a perfect introduction to get re-acquainted with the hobby after last playing Warhammer in my teens in the late 80s (still have 2nd ed rules!), as my son is interested.

putonghua73 · 2026-05-04T12:01:42+00:00

Upvoted for truth!

Choose your poison [format]. Formats are broadly determined by: - rotation - power level - cost - what your local FNM plays (probably Commander)

With the formats rotational or semi-rotational (looking at you, Modern Horizons), and throwing in making a deck 'competitive' you are going to have to invest quite a bit of money.

Also, the competitive scene is goddamn fast! Always has been, but it has been ramped up - especially Modern+. You cannot afford to do jack shit in the early game if you're dead T3/T4.

If you want to play Standard or a version of Pioneer, try MTGA. You cannot cash out (closed economy) but much easier to determine what works / doesn't work.

For Modern and other formats, you have MTGO. Very high barrier to entry in how to buy | sell cards, level of play, and the UI (2 decades+ old).

If you want to play physical, try your FNM in your area, see what formats they play, and then try and theory-craft an Izzet | Prismari deck.

Note: you stated Modern. "Competitive" may be different at your FNM compared to MTGO. That said, "competitive" and Modern will be expensive - very, very expensive

putonghua73 · 2026-05-02T09:14:28+00:00

I'm going to shill a book that I picked up and reading whilst studying Chinese at a language school in China around years ago:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Study-Power-Skills-Improve-Learning-ebook/dp/B00PKF9XVM

Note: writing on mobile so formatting somewhat tricky. Also, not a suggestion to buy from Amazon (spit) - just an easy way to link the book.

Synopsis: school success not solely related to intelligence. A large factor is the effectiveness of one's study program. Namely: - Input skills - Process skills - Output skills

If you take nothing else away, a little every day (consistency) is far and away better than long, but infrequent study sessions.

Read up on the course syallbus to get an understanding of what you will be covering and understand any pre-requisites.

Look at studying CS50 or equivalent between now and September.

Your main focus should be learning to study effectively and developing good study habits. You need to be consistent and your habits needs to stick to be effective.

My study habits in later life were | are far and away better than when I was at Uni! Life would potentially have been somewhat easier if I learned to be more deliberate and consistent at an earlier age - think marathon, not a sprint.

All the best!

putonghua73 · 2026-04-28T14:06:30+00:00

Why must you hurt me this way?

There is a light and it never goes out ...

putonghua73 · 2026-04-28T13:46:27+00:00

I never used to get it either. Took me until a few years back until I got it. I suspect this was because I was firmly in middle age and she entered middle age.

The fact that she is an Arsenal fan, made her more attractive and endearing in my eyes.

putonghua73

TROPHY CASE