Mine is a few years old now (so not the absolute latest and greatest, not that it was to start with lol) but when I built it, my spouse also built his at the same time. We have very similar builds with some minor differences. But the two biggest differences are the GPU (mine's an AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT and his is a Nvidia with almost the same stats) and the mobos. My experience has been completely problem free. Everything has just worked. His GPU has been giving him problems up until more recently. Even then when something goes flaky he has to work out if it's because it's a Nvidia. He regrets not getting an AMD. His mobo is also a bit weird with Linux but only around the rgb lighting. It's a Gigabyte whereas mine is an ASUS. So if you get a Gigabyte mobo, I would just double check compatibility if you care about RGB lighting.
Makes sense yes :) I'm not looking to minmax damage or anything - more that I don't like having a bajillion multitools and am wanting to keep them to a minimum (e.g. one for combat, one for mining... etc.) so figuring out what I care more about if the stats are effectively the same. I like the look of the Voltaic and it's customisability over the Sceptre but I also like the Sceptre because it's a 'unique' and I already have it. Hopefully I'm making sense, very tired today - TL;DR if there's little difference between them, it gives me more ability to just have what I like aesthetically and minimise the number of multitools I have whilst still reasonably maximising scanning/mining/damage.
What are the stats for the Atlas Sceptre?
I can't find anything definitive and the usual information/stat sources don't really list anything at all about it :/ It's existence on the interwebs feels positively forgotten in lieu of Voltaics. All I've really found is one comment that they are the same stats as Voltaics but with the added bonus of the Runic Lens but nothing about what that supposed bonus is. And that seems to contradict other information I am reading about Voltaics and Atlantids.
Anyways, I'm just wondering if there is any benefit to using the Atlas Sceptre over a Voltaic or Atlantid (neither of which I have yet as I'm currently going through They Who Returned).
Also concur with feeding raw. Our cats never have problems, never need to get their teeth done, have the most luscious and soft coats, their poop doesn't stink, they're not at risk of kidney disease, etc., etc. We're lucky that we have a business nearby that specialises in raw feeding and makes premixes of whole wild and domestic animals meats, including organs (e.g. possum, wallaby, hare, rabbit, chicken, turkey, salmon, etc.) and small bones for cats. Even if you don't have that, you can make up your own. Just avoid large animals such as venison, pork, and especially beef. Beef is highly allergenic to cats (and dogs). Mimic a small wild cats natural diet as closely as possible - small animals, fish and birds with organs and bones. Feed a variety of meats over the course of a week so there aren't any nutritional deficiencies. Get hold of some green tripe if possible (not all cats will eat it but it's worth giving if they do).
We don't have hush puppies here (or at least here, they're shoes, not food lol). What pictures I have seen of food hush puppies show them as being more yellow inside than pink?
I did wonder if it could be a very plain lettuce like iceberg with a white coloured dressing. When Brad eats some, it looks thin and round which doesn't track with coleslaw but does make more sense if it's pieces of lettuce.
Fish croquettes?
EDIT: Maybe not, not sure. I found another angle that shows the inside of the meat things is pink coloured and the texture is not what I would think of as fish.
What is the food eaten in Close Encounters during the infamous mashed potato scene?
My kids haven't seen Close Encounters of the Third Kind yet and I thought it would be a fun surprise to recreate the meal eaten in the mashed potato scene and watch the movie with the movie dinner. (I can't wait to see if they put two and two together when that scene comes up lol.)
Obviously there's mashed potato. And I can see sweet corn. Kids are drinking milk. But I can't tell what the little meat things are. I assumed they were crumbed rissoles but having not been raised or lived in the US, I'm unsure if I'm missing a common protein that was eaten at dinner around the late 1970s. Meatloaf has also been suggested but in my country we never have mini meatloaves that I've seen so I'm unsure how accurate that is.
EDIT: Middle bottom, you can see a partially eaten meat thing which looks pink inside: !https://imgur.com/ejrvG3b
I also can't tell what is in the bowls beside Roy and his sons - to the top left of Roy's plate, right hand side of Toby and top right of Brad's plate. Maybe Ronnie and Silvia have one of these bowls too but I can't tell. You can see Brad eat out of his bowl at one point and it looks like something pale (I wondered coleslaw or macaroni).
EDIT: Screenshot of side !https://imgur.com/1I1X3cI
Anyway, anyone know or have an idea of what the little meat things are and what are in the side bowls?
"TV Guide" is still a phrase in our household. Mostly because I used to have a cat with.... personality - he loved to push the limits of what was acceptable kitty behaviour. So my go to became 'threatening' to throw the TV Guide in his direction (not actually at him!) and saying firmly, "TV GUIDE!" He would always immediately stop what he was doing when he heard "TV GUIDE!" LOL. Fun times and fond memories!
I'm the genealogist of my family. There are things about what life was like when my grandmother was young that now only I know (since she's passed on). As I research through more and more of my family history, going back further and further, the less and less I know about what life was like when my ancestors were around, especially the minutiae of every day life. But I WANT to know what life was like. It's fascinating and, more importantly, we don't always know now what will be important in the future so how can we learn from the mistakes of the past if we don't even know they existed? My kids will never know directly what living life in the 90s as a teen was like. But I do. I remember. But I won't be here forever and if they ever want to have even a tiny inkling of what it was like, I need to ensure that the stories, the accounts, the events, the nuance, the opinions..... are recorded and passed on, as my grandmother did with me.
The saying, "History is written by the victor" is absolutely true. But if we had the little tiny details from the perspectives of lots of different people, the victor cannot rewrite history for their benefit and in their image. History, no matter how big or small, matters.
If you don't care. Cool for you bro. Ignore it. But for the rest of us who want to learn, recording and archiving matters. I feel nothing but honour in my obligation to ensure events and history is passed on for future generations.
It's taken me a while to want to play again. The current grind to find the right planet doesn't do much for my continued motivation however. :/
You may be less picky than I am about requirements (one of mine is bioluminescent grass which is not easy to find) then let me know and I can give you my tried and true method for maximising the chance of finding paradise planets :)
I have seen other people say that you can also use a save game editor to move your base to another planet, although I haven't personally tried so I can't confirm this but could also be something you could look into so you don't have to completely start again.
That was what I understood about planet gen too. But, by the gods, I'm tired of looking through a bajillion stars in the galaxy map (proverbial needle in a hay stack) and being disappointed at every jump I make) so just desperately hoping there's a way to cut out the grind and actually move on to enjoying the game. And yes, I realise I could be less perfectionisty but considering the hundreds of hours (well over a thousand in total) I've put into this game, it would be nice for once just to be blessed with something that ticks all the boxes instead of just some.
Editing save game raw json to alter planetary biome, weather, etc.?
Is this possible? Context: My 'home planet' got screwed over in the 5.0 gen updates so my spouse and I decided to do what someone suggested on that thread - RP a planetary disaster and the need to move to another habitable system.
Instead of relying solely on the RNG Gods we decided to be selective and seek out a paradise planet that ticked a bunch of boxes for us (namely nice weather, lack of sentinels, bioluminescent grass, peaceful..... you get the picture).
It has been So. Many. Hours. searching :( We're a busy family and don't have time to continue searching hundreds of systems (after sorting through thousands of stars). So I wondered if it would be possible to stop on an almost perfect planet and then <clears throat and mumbles> 'terraform' it the rest of the way by using a save game editor to change the planets settings?
I couldn't find any info directly on doing this. But Brave 'AI' seems to think it is possible by editing the raw json (since none of the save game editors have this function directly).
So I download the Goatfungus NMSSaveEditor and took a look at the raw json data. Hoo boy, it's been a while since I needed to edit a save game (many years ago to fix broken storyline progress) and there is a LOT more to that file then there used to be.
If changing planet data is possible, does anyone know where in the json I would go to do this? Searching comes up with many irrelevant matches :/ I'm still on the planet in question as well as having it saved to my wonders (it's the only one there).
TIA!
I enjoy reading other folks experiences, especially what goes on in other countries lol. New Zealand is a comparatively small country so we miss out on a lot of exciting stuff. It's like the "dozens of us" meme but that's our default existence 😅
I'm a pretty socially awkward person so it was really nice to just be able to chill and be around welcoming fountain pen nerds. I felt very lucky that we had one at all! Maybe you could organise one yourself or find some folks to put one on with? I don't know that Pelikan has any minimum number requirements for it but clearly they're fine with only a dozen people lol. ;)
Yeah, I really like my M2 and keep it in my bag as a general carry around pen. I was originally going to get a Kaweco Sport but I was reading too many people having issues with them and decided to look into alternatives. Glad I did because it's been nothing but reliable and enjoyable to write with.
It's a 1960s Sailor Mini pocket pen. 
Image from Bruno Taut's blog (because it still hasn't arrived yet).
I haven't finished researching all there is to know about it yet, but in case folks are curious, you can read more about them here:
Pelikan Hub '24 (Auckland, New Zealand)
A couple of days ago I attended my first ever Pelikan Hub. I'm pretty new to the fountain pen community (although I was given a couple as a kid) and thought I would add my experience as a newbie (albeit one that reads and researches the living daylights out of all my hobbies lol).
I don't remotely have a large or even what I guess most people would consider a middling size collection (TBF, I'm not collecting them and all my pens are in circulation and used). It was with some amount of trepidation that I took most of my pens (all of which are 'starter' pens) into a really neat little book store (a sadly dying breed in this country).
I was the last to arrive and displayed before me were large pen cases holding 20-40 pens each and immediately felt like I was going to be the odd one out with my little cheapies. However the host was welcoming as were the dozen or so other people sitting in a circle passing pens around.
It was with a sigh of relief that other people were showing their 'cheapies' too so into the fray went my TWSBI Eco (the most expensive pen I owned at $60 at the time, yes owned past tense because there's a $70 vintage Sailor coming in the post that didn't arrive in time for the Hub lol), Hongdian M2, Pilot Kakuno, 1960s vintage Platinum 'President' and the one and only Pelikan I (currently) own - a silver Twist.
I honestly thought I would be embarrassed showing around that the only Pelikan I own is a Twist. But no one else there had seen one and it generated a fair amount of chatter about it. Much to my cringing shy-person relief lol. TBF, while I don't like the triangular grip (I have a 'non-conformist' grip lol), the nib is so damn nice I use it anyway and it's one of my go-to jotter pens.
Also interesting to the group was the M2 ("better than a Kaweco" 🤫😅), the Kakuno because it was loaded up with Herbin Violette (violet scented) which I bought the Kakuno specially for (purple cap of course) and keep bagged owing to it's nuclear scent - my spouse likes to call it "Herbin Violence" lol because it smells so strong! I also passed around the chocolate version (Encre Brun Parfum Cacao).
I also had some 1990s 'vintage' (seriously, the 90s is "vintage" now?!) Pelikan Royal Blue ink for show and tell.
I lost count of all the pens that I got to try. Some that disappointed me:
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Gravtias in Rainbow Skittle with a flex nib - Awesome colour but it was freaking heavy and, for a 'flex' nib, is really REALLY hard! I was too scared to flex it.
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Narwhal/Nahvalur - I had planned to buy one of these but the pens I tried were heavier than I expected, the caps took a lot to unscrew and I didn't like the feedback (which I normally like some of, this just didn't feel that pleasant). Not massively bad or anything but just more meh for me.
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Pelikan 400 or 800 (I'm not sure which it was sorry). The weight was nice but I just expected more I guess? Hopefully it was just the ink but it skipped a LOT.
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Sailor Manyo ink smells so bad! (Shhh... don't tell Robert Oster lol)
Some unexpected enjoyable surprises:
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A vintage Kaweco that looked like a pencil. It was suprisingly heavy for such a thin pen and was weird but fun to write with, feeling like a heavy pencil in my hand but being a fountain pen.
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Pelikan Level - weird looking but interesting and a nice nib.
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Shimmer inks. Figured I would probably despise them because I really dislike glitter gel pens. Needless to say, I hadn't bought any up until now. My mind is changed. Diamine Party Time was a stand out - nice colour and sparkles!
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Benu pens. I looked at them online but I will admit that I was put off by the eye candy. I like sparkles but didn't see the need (or want) for sparkles in my pens. I am 100% wrong lol. They are so much nicer in person and so so pretty! I thought the barrels (both Benu Euphorias) would be too big and that the resin would be meh. But the weight was great, the resin looked gorgeous and the nibs.... oh the nibs. I was suprised by how nice and smooth they were. A Benu is now on my wishlist lol! (Yes, I realise one of my critisms of the Nahvalur is how much the cap takes to unscrew and the Benus also took a lot, but for me the visuals and nib made up for it.)
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A vintage Pelikan 400MN. I was planning on getting a vintage Pelikan, and this exceeded my expectations. It was so smooth with just the right amount of feedback, a nice size and good weight (for my hands I prefer thinner, lighter pens).
My hopes for going along was trying out some pens that I otherwise wouldn't be able to afford (just to see what the fuss was about), to try pens that I was considering buying (some are now off my list and some that I wasn't planning on buying are now on it!) and to maybe swap a few ink samples. Well, I got that and much more - what an awesome group of people to share a hobby with. I really enjoyed my time with folks, passing around pens, gawping at the new Pelikan pens coming out (hello Pelikan Raden!🤤), swapping inks, eating chocolate (shout out to Foundry Chocolate 😋) and, well, the (unexpected) freebies lol. I was considering buying some Edelstein Golden Lapis (yes, a shimmer ink, but I had to find out what the fuss was about eventually!) and was disappointed to see it sold out in all the places I buy ink from. Problem solved. Seriously, thank you Pelikan! I'm really glad I went and I look forward to Pelikan Hub 2025! ✒️🪽💙