Dave Worth

I’m a huge fan of this series. It’s something about how they can have a serious main story (even though it’s a soap opera turned to 11) and balance it with crazy side stuff and heartfelt moments. I’ve played every main game plus the judgement series multiple times each.

To me, Kiryu is a cross between Superman and Batman. His morals are strong and absolute and he cares deeply about justice. But he’ll put you in a coma if he needs to and doesn’t canonically kill anyone directly. Sometimes I’ll start a New Game+ and set it on easy and burn through the story. I tell my wife it’s my feel good place. There are so many stupid things in this series that I would normally hate but can tolerate, and often enjoy.

I highly recommend Kiwami 3. I’m maybe halfway through and it’s a massive improvement over the last version. I get the gripes about story changes but I don’t care. It’s a great change from the first couple of games where you really feel what Kiryu is truly like.

Anybody that hasn’t tried this series should give it a shot. Start with Yakuza 0 and go in numerical order. 4 is now the “oldest” game and will be the most clunky. 5 is an improvement and everything after that is a new or remastered game in new engines. 7 and 8 represent a huge change in gameplay I ended up enjoying.

I liked it a lot. Fun, interesting take on the afterlife. Especially at the beginning I kept pausing so I could read all the signs for the different eternities.

I thought it was a decent ending. Like a lot of these movies, it’s fun for the first half when everything is crazy. Reminds me of the show Upload on Prime. Once it starts getting more serious it drops down a level or two but still good.

Here’s one I do that I haven’t seen yet. I’m at a red light and first in line…happens a lot since I drive too fast. As the traffic is crossing in front of me I flex my quad on my right leg between the gaps in the cars. When there’s a space I hold it until the next car enters the void. The more lanes the more variety. Don’t know why, assume it’s to prevent boredom.

Also do it while driving down the interstate in time with traffic going the other way, but not as frequently as at a stop. Never told anyone about this or knew what to call it.

I do some of the other things mentioned, too. 4 pats when leaving…wallet, keys, phone, sunglasses. Money facing the same way. Air typing out words frequently. When I was a child my parents had a bad divorce and I developed tics that I was largely unaware of. Things like snapping a finger a lot, or doing a quick head shake/flip. Saw a therapist and it went away. All of this before 10 or 11 years old. Guess I still have some of that nervous energy?

Watched it when it first came out on streaming. Liked it a lot and recommend anyone give it a shot.

A lot of interesting thoughts in this thread. I’ve been pro trades for awhile and find some of the arguments against it interesting and has made me at least look again. It doesn’t really matter to me because I’m close to retirement and have no kids so it’s just a thought to pass the time.

One thing I’ll push back on…and I’m truly interested in the rebuttal. It concerns the debate about going into the trades and getting rich running your own company. Some have brought up how hard or rare that is. My initial thought is that if you’re not smart or motivated enough to find a lucrative path through the trades, you’re probably not going to set the business world on fire either after graduating from college.

I also don’t think the trades discussion is all strictly about plumbers and electricians. Most like me mean “something other than a four year degree.” There are a lot of options in the medical field from nurses to xray techs that have a wide range of education requirements to choose from. And don’t come with the debt of many “real” colleges.

I work in an office crunching numbers. If I lose my job tomorrow there is no telling when I would find something comparable. Someone with a clean record and not an obvious junkie with a learned trade (plumber or one of my medical examples) will have a much easier time finding jobs in any city they want. That’s a huge deal to me.

Turned 50 a couple months ago. Most of my adult life I’ve been non emotional. I thought it was interesting that in real life I rarely cried, even at most funerals, but will cry/tear up easily during movies and tv shows.

Three years ago we lost a family pet that wrecked me. Lost pets before but this was different. Then my dad passed away suddenly exactly a week later. That was the start of my emotions changing. More empathetic to those around me. Also way more angry in general.

Then a few months later my wife got breast cancer. Dealt with that well and she beat it. Then a few months ago she develiped a very rare cancer caused by her chemo. And her version is a very rare type of that very rare cancer with a gene arrangement that occurs in less than 1% of the rare versions of the rare cancer. She has a 50/50 shot of being alive in two years. She’s currently 49 years old and the cancer makes it difficult for her to walk and gives her bone pain most nights (and some days on the worst times). So she needs help just taking a shower or making dinner many days along with a dozen smaller tasks we all take for granted. Just started chemo again this week while we wait for a bone marrow transplant.

My mom has the same rare cancer, but a milder version that she’s lived with for 8 years. Hasn’t progressed to the bad stage yet but it’s coming at some point.

I’m pretty emotional all the time now. I get angry (seeing red angry) at almost anything. I have to focus on letting things go because I know I’m just looking for an excuse to let the anger out any way I can. When I’m alone (car, before bed, anything) my thoughts always go dark. I play out every scenario of the rest of my life dozens of time each day and usually focus on the bad ones. Can’t help it. The best way to ignore it is by playing video games because it keeps my hands and mind active and focused on something else. Second best is just watching tv with her because it feels normal, but also reminds me of what I may miss.

It’s not all dark. I laugh at work, enjoy tv, movies and video games. Love spending time with my wife. But it’s rare I go a full day without some sort of crying or tearing up when I used to go months or years and that’s the mood of that day. I even teared up writing this, probably because it’s the first time I’ve written it out. I still have hope she’ll beat this and we get another 10, 20 or even more years together.

TLDR: to the OP, yeah…I am more emotional at this age, too. :violin:

I started paying a few months ago. Well worth it. I use it even more now that I don’t have to worry about ads anymore. And I click on so many new topics knowing I don’t have to sit through a 30 second ad just to see if it’s worth a shot.

Fun fact: you don’t need a parachute to go skydiving. You do need a parachute to go skydiving twice.

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I would much prefer a higher concentration and the ability to just take a shot of it. Only way I could see myself trying it again

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You can buy edibles from a company (I use Enjoy Hemp…website should be easy to find) and ship them to you. I get 12mg gummies (25 to a bottle) for about $40. There’s your concentrated shot. Take as many as you need.

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Mad Men


Oh good I’m not alone.

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A few weeks ago I saw the complete series on sale for $35 on Apple. Always wanted to watch it and the only place is through AMC streaming or buying it.

I'm 4 episodes in and don't get the appeal so far. I'm hoping it gets better as you get to know the characters. At this point it seems almost like an SNL skit about how men acted in this time period, but amplified.

I'm not asking if I should keep going...I wouldn't bail on an such an acclaimed show after just a couple of episodes. But I am wondering if it does get better. Advertising might be like medical dramas to me...I just don't care too much about the genre.