Rocks (Patreon)

Vani, our friend Tom, and I went to the Del Mar fairgrounds last Saturday to check out a gem faire (their spelling, not mine). It’s not exactly something that fits in with our interests, but we had free tickets and figured we could make it a good time. Vani and Tom had peeked into a prior one when they were at the fairgrounds in January for a different expo and said it looked neat.

The rows of booths were filled with strands of beads, cut gems, fittings, tools, and just about everything needed for the jewelry trade. Additionally, there were all of the crystal wands and stone cages associated with hippy-dippy crystal therapy. One guy had his booth laid out with examples of at least two dozen rocks. Each one had a little card detailing its supposed benefits. I believe in precisely 0% of any of that, but the booth was very nice to look at and well put together. The stones are cool without any magic. My favorite was a garnet the size of a grapefruit. I did end up leaving with a few strands of beads. I’m attracted to anything shiny and colorful, I’m a simple dude. I used them to make Vani and my friend each a bracelet and, honestly, stringing the beads is relaxing. I don’t think I’ve discovered a new hobby, but I’d revisit it the next time one of these “faires” comes around.

Monster Hunter: Wilds is out and, while my laptop can run it fine on Medium, the little fella is starting to show its age. I’m a BIG BIG fan of the series and what I’ve played so far seems good, but I was busy most of the weekend and haven’t done much more than five or six introductory side quests. I’m hoping to check it out further today. The game certainly seems the most streamlined and feels like the series’ biggest attempt yet to shed the reputation that it’s difficult for newcomers. I think it remains to be seen if some of these changes are for the better, but I think it’ll be fine. It makes me think of the classic roguelikes that are still in development. Some of these have removed long-standing conventions like hunger. Some changed how experience points are earned from per enemy to per floor. Sometimes peeling back a layer of complexity or realism doesn’t make the game less fun, but allows for the players and developers to focus on the more enjoyable aspects. I think Monster Hunter as a franchise is trying to figure this out.

If you’d like to try hunting together sometime, get a hold of me at @ianferguson.social.bsky and maybe we can exchange codes! 

-Ian