kbutler

Experimental _art_ / crafting material.

Eight of us. Seemed reasonable...

We actually volunteered to gate check them, not realizing we would have two really tight connections because of delays.

But we all agreed we would rather be in Italy without our bags than our bags in Italy without us.

Had to overcome some crashing issues, but then gameplay was fun (keyboard user), much as I remembered. It was engaging and easy to become absorbed like it was 20 years ago. Music is enjoyable, though limited playlist. Graphics are obviously dated, and my family laughed at the progressively more buxom daughters being described as increasingly beautiful.

Definitely a series of mini-games in a trenchcoat, wrapped in a story. It can get repetitive, but I enjoyed playing through it again on a couple of difficulties, and then went looking for additional piratey things.

Played the original, and the 2004 remake, and recently re-played the remake. It's available on Steam and GOG - if I remember correctly, the offline installer from GOG makes it easier to add some quality-of-life mods to help it run better on modern computers.

This, Civilization, the Wizardry remake, and a few old Ultimas brought back some great memories.

I'll have to go play through the Scott Adams Adventures again, too. Wonder if I can get my family engaged in those?

This is delightful (from that wikipedia page):

The first appearance of Meier's name on the retail box of a game was as the credited creator of Formula 1 Racing in 1982. In 1984 Stealey began marketing Meier himself, hoping to attract other developers by promoting him as an auteur; by 1986 MicroProse was using Meier's name and face in advertisements for its games. In 1987, the company released Sid Meier's Pirates!, the first game with Meier's name in the title. He later explained that the inclusion of his name was because Pirates! is very different from the company's earlier titles. Stealey decided that Meier's name would make those who purchased the flight simulators more likely to play the game. Stealey recalled: "We were at dinner at a Software Publishers Association meeting, and Robin Williams was there. And he kept us in stitches for two hours. And he turns to me and says 'Bill, you should put Sid's name on a couple of these boxes, and promote him as the star.' And that's how Sid's name got on Pirates, and Civilization."

Yeah, did they ever go on to do anything else?

:-D

We recently traveled to Italy, and after purposefully packing light ("just a carryon"), of our 8 gate-checked carry-on bags, we received 2 on day 7 and the rest on day 8.

It was revealing to see how much our agonizing "should I take this or not" decisions just did not matter, because we didn't have them anyway. Receiving our bags after the week was somewhat overwhelming - look at all this stuff!

In the future, we will bring less (but maybe not quite "travel with a passport and a credit card"), but we will make sure that our bags-that-stay-with-us contain at least needed medications and next-day necessities.

And if given a choice, we'd all much rather we make it to the destination without our bags than the other way around!

The real message is that, even if you don't get rich and can't buy that clothing item that is 10x your nest worth, your work can provide for your needs and your family - rent, groceries, helping extended family...

(Worked at a couple of startups, didn't get rich, but had good experiences, paid for family needs, and put aside investments for the future.)

Sounds like what they call "bla ra" in Thailand (Northeastern Thailand has a lot of Laotian influence). Thick/chunky, unlike the more refined "fish sauce" - "nam bla".

Lived in a house for a while with neighbors making it - slow fermenting pots of fish. Not a pleasant olfactory experience.