Silent nights smalling up myself

Being risk-averse doesn’t shield you from life flipping into an absolute nightmare in hours. Yes, it reduces the attack surface and allows you to create a little safety bubble but how safe is it really?

It is not publicly acceptable to “go dark” because tough to digitally trace. It also isolates your actual close friends and family as they rely on core apps like WhatsApp.

Digital minimalism is my goal but what is the path?

Starting my Christmas list in October….

Perfectly out-of-sync

I had a situation yesterday that forced me to re-evaluate my coping skill levels. it’s been a while since I practised and, like many skills, you can lose the talent. Meanwhile, the first batch of PS5 pre-orders were snapped up in a matter of minutes and Amazon sold out.

The 2020 Games

Putting certain goals on your New Year’s Resolution is a sure-fire way of failing them.  The social pressure to announce an annual goal is as prominent as ever and many of us just blurt out random expected goals like losing weight, give up smoking, etc. with no real commitment or expectation to achieve the goal.  You are fooling nobody but yourself.

My goal for 2020 is to have less than 15-hours a week PS4 game time.  This will help me to focus on quality gaming rather than casually picking up the latest title but will hurt my PVE Raiding.

….but wait

Does watching game streams actual gaming? The second hard experience of watching streamers pace through your favorite titles may be considered involvement and therefore gaming by some.  The fact that you interact with the gamer, shape their direction and share their failures and achievements is relevant.  It also takes dedicated time but smart lurkers often have multiple screens for this.

Let the 2020 Games begin

The Art of being carried

I once read that you should aim to be the dumbest one in the room if you want to get ahead. For me, this has always been an issue as folk look to me as THE subject matter expert.

Raiding on The Division 2 spawns some interesting group dynamics which you have an organic hierarchy of Leader, lieutenants, grunts and carries. A carry is a player that shouldn’t even be in the Raid as they either don’t have the skills or know what to do.

A Carry is like the child you take for their first karate lesson. Interesting enough I’ve enjoyed running as a Carry with no responsibilities or ego for the past few months. Still no Eagle Bearer but I haven’t really earned it.

Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 – Waiting for a Carry

Last of the Summer Whine

Well, play time is nearly over with the meteorological Autumn well in season.  Time to consider winter coats and long sleeve shirts.  Apparently, it will be easier to get loot and gear in Division 2 after the next update. This will be perfect for me to immerse myself outside real life.

The real-life grind ahead of me for the next few months will be at “challenging level” and I’ll need to pull on the talents of those around me.

More gear please