I Use Beard Oil Now

Towards the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I decided to quit shaving my beard.  Similar to the playoff beard concept, I decided I was going to let it go until the pandemic ended.  At this point it is noticeably bushier.  I have done very mild trimming here and there, but for the most part have let it grow.  Along with the bushiness, comes roughness and stray hairs and everything else that comes with a growing beard.  A friend recommended I start using beard oil.  He said it would soften the beard and help eliminate stray hairs so I decided to give it a try.  It works pretty well, making the beard at least a bit softer and reducing most of the stray hairs.  The best part though is the smell. The type Sarah picked up for me smells like a pine forest, which really hits home the attempted lumberjack look.  This especially hits home for me when I have to wear a mask at work, which traps the aroma close to my face all day long.  I hope the stuff isn't toxic.  It's probably not, right? I would recommend some oil if your beard is a bit longer.

The Rise Of Skywalker

I watched Episode IX The Rise Of Skywalker last weekend.  Meh is my opinion of the movie.  I like that the emperor was featured heavily in the plot.  I find any scene featuring Palpatine to be intriguing.  However, a lot of the cameos from Star Wars characters from the past felt forced and unnecessary.  Also, for whatever reason I cannot get into Adam Driver's Kylo Ren character.  He just seems like a frustrated teen.  The way his character went out in this movie was weak too.  The movie was just OK.  I didn't feel like it added much to the Skywalker saga.

Project Cars 2

All of the E-racing during COVID-19 got me interested in Project Cars 2 again.  I bought the game when it was released in 2017 but never played it much.  I thought the cars handled like dump trucks which frustrated me to the point of abandoning the game.  After renewed interest surfaced, I am glad I gave the game a second chance.  It really is quite remarkable. 

The cars do handle a bit like dump trucks.  I don't think the game does a great job of portraying the sensation of speed, making it feel like you are not going as fast as you actually are.  Additionally, most of the cars lean towards understeer, so making turns can be a bit difficult.  This is what originally turned me off about the game.  But with a bit of practice and getting used to the physics model, I got better and the game became playable.  I actually think the physics model they use is likely more realistic than games that are a bit easier to pick up and play, like Gran Turismo.

The career mode is quite exceptional and where the game shines.  It offers several career paths, from open wheel leading to IndyCar, to LMP and endurance races, to GT races.  It's both fun and rewarding to start in a lower league, such as Porsche Cayman Cup or Super Trofeo, and advance to GT3 Championship and Pirelli World Challenge.  You can also do manufacturer challenges which is a nice touch.  I'm currently an Audi factory driver after I successfully completed the 3 Audi challenges.

PC 2 is probably the best racing game of its kind on consoles.  It does take a bit of time to get used to the handling of the cars, but once you do the game is really quite enjoyable.  I'm glad I gave it a second chance.

Playstation 5 Announcement vs. An Old Sim City Game

Sony announced the Playstation 5 this week, showing off a variety of games coming for the new console as well as some stats around the power of the gaming unit.  Unfortunately they did not list the launch date or price, which is rumored to be around $500.  While I will likely pick up the console at some point, nothing I saw made me overly excited.  I have reserved optimism for Gran Turismo 7.  The series was amazing when it first came out for PS1 in the 1990s, but I feel like while it dominated through the PS1 & 2 eras, it has really fallen behind the competition for about the past 10 years.  I didn't even bother getting Gran Turismo Sport for the PS4.  For console racing, I have really become a fan of Project Cars 2 (more to come on that in the future) as well as the F1 games from Codemasters.  I had mixed emotions last week when I found out Project Cars 3 was planning on being released later this summer.  While I'm excited for a new version of the game, I was kind of hoping it would come out on the next generation hardware.  

Which brings me to the purpose of this post.  Despite all of the great news announced for the Playstation 5, my favorite gaming moment of the week had to be the discovery that Sim City 4 had been upgraded to 64-bit, meaning I can play it again on MacOS!  Despite the fact that the game came out in 2003 and is pushing 20 years old, it is one of my all time favorite games.  If I had to guess, I would say I have put more time into that game than any other video game.  It still has a thriving online presence as well, with people continuing to create maps, buildings, and mods for the game.  While I believe the game was upgraded a few months ago, it was news to me last week and I am excited to have the game back available to play.