PacBilly

@logrus.uk

Remind me to ask which things these are during a sane hour so I can pass the info along.

After March 3rd, people other than me will be posting regular Return to Dark Castle content. Does this mean that I'll have to step up my game beyond the annual Halloween and Christmas videos? We shall see.

Regardless, I hope it'll bring over my saved games.

YouTube video by TheBeachBoysVEVO The Beach Boys - Surf's Up (A Cappella / Audio)

In 1967 Leonard Bernstein said this was the best song popular music had yet produced. I'm inclined to think the same in 2026. The outro can still elicit tears from me, at any rate.

Vocals only, cued up to the outro. youtu.be/GZHVYnz5SgQ?...

I have that problem too. I don't take any regular meds, but if I have to take this or that because my knee is hurting, I can never remember. The best advice I can say is to just keep a pen and pad by your bottle. Make a checklist, and don't check off a time until the pill is in your mouth.

Or you can do a reminder on your phone with the time. If it's an iPhone, "Hey Siri, remind me I took an anti-inflammatory at 8:01 p.m." Or whatever the Android equivalent is.

YouTube video by The School of Life Wild Advice for Those Who Have Lost Their Minds Over an Ex

Alain De Botton wrote my favourite book, How Proust Can Change Your Life. But his School of Life YT channel has loads of shorter, more digestible videos on heartbreak if you're keen to hear more of his unconventional wisdom. youtu.be/D3BxKUCQuzA

You needed torches even back in Bard's Tale, until you were able to cast light spells. Are torches plentiful?

I like the overhead-for-overworld, 3D-for-dungeons POV switching.

Ambermoon.net by Pyrdacor Remake of the Amiga RPG classic Ambermoon

Always heard good things about this one. May be time to give it a go. pyrdacor.itch.io/ambermoon

If I could dress any way I wanted and it was socially acceptable, I'd go round dressed like Cruise for a Corpse Boy. Minus the mustache.

Why Compatibility is Overrated: Alain de Botton’s Guide to Relationships That Last | Alain De Botton

What he says about breakups in this interview is fairly compassionate and insightful. youtu.be/eTbA81qNYt4

Don't these colds realize you're on holiday?

Man, the front end of this reminds me of my dream car, the Pontiac Solstice.

A nice warm shower won't do anything to hasten your recovery from a cold, but it sure does take the edge off.

It looks like the gun works just like a robot disabler, except only for one robot at a time.

YouTube video by Trevicon64 IMPOSSIBLE MISSION C64 by ICON64

@golgo13.bsky.social youtu.be/tD5VlmL2BB8

@golgo13.bsky.social This is the page as it shows it to me.

I actually thought it was a mint julep at first, but on closer inspection I abandoned that theory.

Yellow snow margarita?

You don't get the double fire? Are you able to get a perfect score on the first bonus level without it?

*MUNCH quarters.

Dammit, Bluesky. Just let us edit our posts.

As it happens, the two most recent additions to my Switch wishlist are both Exerion games, solely off the strength of your recommendation. For wishlisted items, I usually pick them up when they go on sale.

You may have to click the image to see what it is. The preview for me is just a grey line.

I'm not so sure I DO prefer Gyruss. Both have their merits. I love Galaga's music. I love the colors, the fact that you're fighting these space insects. But making your only power-up cost a life is a design gimmick designed to much quarters.

If only they would let you turn that stuff off, make it optional. There's a threshold past which the more seriously the game takes itself, the more it ratchets up the stakes, you feel it has a personality that's frankly just no fun.

I didn't mind 3's robots as much as I minded that crossing guard.

Okay, I just watched. I like that there's music in the spirit of the original. And I like that you don't have to go through the hassle of letting a ship get captured, then shooting down the alien that captured it. Just move under the cone and voila! you have twin ships.

The screenshot looks nice. I have to look this up now because I want to hear how it sounded.

Where I think Gyruss beats Galaga is that it doesn't make you pay for double fire. In Galaga you have to let a ship be captured, losing an extra man, and then risk one of your remaining lives to get it back. In Gyruss you just shoot a satellite that's right in front of you, and boom. Double fire.

I haven't seen anything about Spaceballs 2, but if it means Mel Brooks is still able to perform, even as he approaches 100, I'm all for it.

As for Mortal Kombat, MK II was my fave. It added that eerie outworld aesthetic but didn't bog the game down with that Killer Instinct-style combo system yet.

The new Speedball lacks all the whimsy and charm of the originals. Like the recent Mortal Kombats, it makes the mistake of leaning into the brutality, making it a big deal, rather than just letting it happen as a matter of course. They do this crap every time they try to resurrect this series. Boo.

Galaga or Gyruss?