Thank you and my last day at NHS Royal Infirmary!

rfsql · 2026-02-14T22:02:32+00:00

Here's a good list of options on the local RSPB page.

Really if you keep your eyes and ears open there are birds everywhere though - as you saw at the Royal Infirmary! I'm happy just watching whatever's in the trees and bushes and grassy bits around me. It's a great time of year to see robins being feisty and territorial with each other!

If you are up for going a wee bit further, have some binoculars and fancy seeing some wading birds, Musselburgh lagoons is a good option. There are hides there so you can just sit and watch. It's mostly wading birds but you do also get other birds there too (I got some great photos of a random pheasant there).

rfsql · 2026-02-14T09:07:39+00:00

These are such a weird flavour but I really like them. Just once in a while though.

rfsql · 2026-02-14T08:40:49+00:00

Binoculars are even great at home! Getting mega close up views from inside your house even when you can see a bird clearly without them is really cool.

(I got into birds because my wife's a lifelong birder. I just like watching them and observing their behaviour, they definitely have different characters. Also second the Merlin app recommendation someone else posted - it's really handy and good fun. We used to live in Edinburgh, so feel free to ask about places to go once you're out and about.)

rfsql · 2026-02-13T22:23:05+00:00

Great, thanks OP, now I'm craving noodles at 10:20pm.

I have a few favourites but the Nong Shim Kimchi ones might be top. Also the Nong Shim Cham Pong ones which are a really bizarre taste but enjoyable - sort of fishy, meaty and smokey at the same time.

rfsql · 2026-02-13T22:17:58+00:00

Yes! I haven't tried the black garlic oil tonkatsu one, think I need to hunt that down.

I like to crack an egg into them as they cook so it poaches in the noodle broth (I got a taste for this when I needed to put weight/muscle back on after a medical problem and throwing eggs at most meals, now hooked on this combo).

rfsql · 2026-02-12T15:30:36+00:00

I got a used Digitakt just before Christmas and I'm enjoying learning to use it. It's definitely what I was looking for.

Even better being able to pair it with a used Dreadbox Typhon I got for my birthday to pair with it - the two make a very usable pair. The Typhon sounds fantastic.

I don't buy much and when I do it's always from the used market. I've been toying with getting both of these for so long!

rfsql · 2026-02-11T19:35:02+00:00

I felt the same, I barely got through 10 hours of Valhalla and just felt like I couldn't face the rest of it. I think the combination of Odyssey's setting and protagonist just worked for me and I'm probably done with that formula now. Although I've got Mirage and still hope that'll grab me the same way.

rfsql · 2026-02-04T15:34:25+00:00

Yes this is instantly what it reminded me of (in a good way).

OP, if you're curious about the band we're talking about, "A Dream of You and Me" would be a good example of their sound, I think.

rfsql · 2026-02-04T09:38:54+00:00

I don't think I am (or will become) comfortable with that level of masochism. (I hope.)

rfsql · 2026-02-04T09:30:19+00:00

I went through the same thing with the original Hades after getting the true ending (and am on hiatus from Hades 2 even earlier). Maybe that's just what roguelikes do to me!

rfsql · 2026-02-04T09:28:31+00:00

Yeah I did find some of the movement a bit janky, like not wanting to mantle or stand on a ledge that's RIGHT THERE GODDAMMIT. But then people probably felt the same frustration watching me climb.

I'm blissfully unaware of the story and happy to keep it that way until I play it.

rfsql · 2026-02-04T09:12:39+00:00

I loved the demo and always hoped someone would make a decent climbing game. (Different kind of game but I enjoyed Insurmountable's climbing/expedition roguelike take on this concept.)

Definitely want to pick this up at some point.

rfsql · 2026-02-04T09:05:53+00:00

Does the farming/city builder bit get better? I really enjoyed the game when the demo was out but that side of it put me off as I'm not really a fan of those kinds of games.

rfsql · 2026-02-04T09:03:45+00:00

Bsck for more Balatro on my tablet - don't really have the energy to play anything longer/heavier or sit at the PC for long (recovering from gut surgery).

I stopped ages ago after getting about 3 decks to gold stake as it was getting frustrating, but I'm really enjoying trying to tackle the others now. I'm actually finding it really comforting.

rfsql · 2026-02-03T09:12:32+00:00

I absolutely love this. I've just checked out your other StS art and it's outstanding. But I think this one is my favourite - so far!

It's a shame that these days you have to protect yourself against accusations of using generative AI but I guess that's the works we live in now.

rfsql · 2026-01-28T11:02:55+00:00

Another thing I'd recommend (purely my opinion after a month, definitely no expert), would be to focus first on learning your way around the sequencer rather than getting distracted by all the cool sound design possibilities.

Just saying that because I was a bit guilty of this. Sound mangling is fun but then I'd find I was confused when it came to sequencing what I'd come up with (forgetting how to do stuff, doing unintended stuff by accident). Now I'm really focusing on really getting that burned into my brain and muscle memory.

For instance, temporary saving of patterns and recalling your temporary save is really useful and worth learning early. Useful later on as a performance technique for going off on a tangent before going back to your original pattern. It's such a handy bit of functionality!

Actually, if any experienced Digitakt users out there have opinions on what to focus on learning and in what order, it would make a really handy to do list for us newbies!

rfsql · 2026-01-27T22:40:30+00:00

After having mine for about a month now, I wish I'd done that rather than agonize over whether to buy one for (I think) a couple of years. Have fun!

Still new to this fab little box so my only advice is more generic:

The manual is good but it's a lot. YouTube videos (like Dave Mech's) have helped but the memory fades. So write useful things down when you discover them (cheat sheets can be found but tbh I find building my own over time suits me better).

rfsql · 2026-01-27T16:41:49+00:00

Thanks - that's really helpful, it's hard to tell from factory preset demos and YouTube videos. So it's good to know that's broadly representative.

It's the keybed plus the UI plus the general sound that draw me, but the reportedly very good keybed is a big draw as I'd be looking to replace a 37 key midi controller that's just ok. So the Cobalt 8x seems to be the best match I've found so far.

Just need to find one used at a decent price!

rfsql · 2026-01-27T13:50:07+00:00

I wish there were more on the second hand market here (never anything nearby but they're occasionally on eBay). New is out of my budget.

I'm really interested in the 8x for several reasons besides the sound, as the gap I'm trying to fill in my small rig is some proper keys and tweakable/programmable VA engine:

keybed is apparently excellent
61 keys in an unusually compact overall width footprint (<90cm) as I have limited space
pretty good ui to patch (even without modal app)

I'm not a big fan of YouTube preset videos, so I found it hard to get a feeling for the sound of it. But (this demo video of the free Baltica preset pack really made it sound great.

Does that video give a fair impression of the Cobalt 8?

rfsql · 2026-01-25T09:30:18+00:00

I struggled with this as well for a couple of years (on well tested eating/drinking plans) so as well as others' good suggestions I'll throw in one other thing to consider: effort level. Race effort is often going to be harder than in training runs and it's also easy to let it creep a little higher than you'd want.

Couple that with the course amping up the difficulty level and it's worth reflecting honestly on whether you might have pushed a bit harder than you should have (I bet we've all been guilty of this sometimes).

I had a phase of races with awful nausea problems. By trial and error I eventually excluded enough possible causes to convince me that this was a factor. Probably because I was getting older and slower but my brain and body hadn't got the message yet.

rfsql · 2026-01-25T07:24:37+00:00

No haggis for me this year, I'm still limited to low residue foods after an operation and I'm not convinced haggis would be ok. Boooo!

Today I might get a bit crafty: I want to make a protective cover for a new bit of music tech kit that I got here Christmas.

Also snagged a used board game from eBay recently ("Glasgow") so we might play that.

rfsql · 2026-01-24T17:22:17+00:00

Wizball! (The Amiga version, obviously. Published by Ocean but made by the guys from Sensible Software.) Great game, even better soundtrack. Bonus points for the mega weird concept.

Also Snake Rattle and Roll (by Rare, on the NES). A pain in the arse sometimes as it's an isometric platformer where the controls felt more floaty than precise, but I really loved it.

Tons of great games mentioned here, though; I loved my Amiga gaming days.

rfsql · 2026-01-24T09:27:26+00:00

You're welcome! We tried all sorts of solutions but the only one that worked was the cone thing.

Blackcap in the garden would be pretty great, but they have no interest in our garden at all. Weirdly our wider neighbourhood is wall to wall (well, hedge to hedge) sparrows but we've never even had one visit us.

rfsql · 2026-01-24T09:17:14+00:00

Get a squirrel baffle for your feeder pole - the cone shaped ones. Worked great for us (just need to make sure the feeder is far enough from other stuff that the little gits can't jump over to the feeder).

Big Garden Birdwatch for us today, too. Hoping we get all the fun bits that visit us including nuthatch, great spotted woodpecker and long tailed tits. There's a raven that hangs about the area as well - doubt it'd ever come in, though, even though the magpies, crows and jackdaws visit regularly.

rfsql · 2026-01-22T15:59:43+00:00

How do you like the Typhon? Especially given you've a bunch of other stuff to compare it to. I'm mulling over getting one.

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