Idle Lumber Empire – Thoughts

Idle Lumber Empire – Thoughts

Byrichard

Many weeks ago I was encouraged to download Idle Lumber, but for weeks I didn’t bother to play the game. I don’t like new games, because I’m old, and I liked games where we bought the game, and then we could play for hours, with no instructions, unless we read the fabulous manual. With modern games they force you to RTFM rather than play and experiment.

Luckily this game isn’t awful, in this respect, so I have played it for two or three days and upgraded to new factories several times. I think the game play is good. It has just the right amount of actions to render it addictive. Until you take an overnight break and find that you need to tell the lumber trucks to go and pick up lumber every few minutes, and then you see that it’s a pay to win game.

You have a set number of actions you can do, and then you need to do boring, repetitive tasks, over and over, for hours. That’s why the game feels unhealthy, and addictive, rather than an actual game. I want games that allow you to do new things, to progress, and not to need to pay a few francs here, and a few more there. I want games where you play, without having to pay to progress.

Pay and It Plays for 10 Hours

There is an option where you can pay 10 CHF and it will play for ten hours, so you’re not stuck staring at a screen for hours in a row. In theory the game autoplays for two hours. If you log in every two hours the game requires less of your attention to be played.

The Premise of the Game

The concept of the game is simple. You cut down trees, and plant new ones. You debark the trees you cut down and then you buy machines to cut them into rough logs, then bigger blocks, before turning them into planks and sanding them. As you progress you upgrade each machine but at some point you need specific “staff members” to be able to upgrade that machine, and that’s where another aspect of the pay to win game comes in. Clash of Clans makers SuperCell made millions taking advantage of business men with money to blow on such games.

Defeating Themselves

We have all given in to the desire to pay, to win, and then found that by paying, we saved a few minutes or a few hours. Within seconds of game play we hit another wall. It’s that wall that makes it easy to resist paying for pay to win games. Get burned once, and you’ll never be careless loading the oven of pay to win games. (I might be comparing pay to win games to oven cooked food).

And Finally

If you have watched Big Timber, or are going to watch Big Timber then I recommend playing both at the same time. One easily complements the other. It’s a fun game, despite becoming repetitive after being played for too many hours in a row. In effect that’s a feature, because it makes it easy to stop playing for countless hours in a row, too often.

A Forgotten Apple Event

A Forgotten Apple Event

Byrichard

On the Twelfth of September Apple held an event to promote their new iPhone devices and I completely forgot to watch and spoof what they were selling. For years now I have had little to no interest in new Apple devices and watches for a very simple reason. They’re extremely expensive, compared to alternatives.

Years ago I bought a new iphone every year, from the 4 to the 4S to the SE but after that I stopped until I bought an 8+ for drone flying as it had a bigger screen before reverting back to the Iphone SE(second generation). I heard on a podcast that the original SE was the best low budget iPhone so that’s why I took it. I took the second Gen SE because it had the smallest screen.

Too Big To Hold and Use One Handed

The problem with almost all iPhones is that they are large, fragile, and hard to use one handed. This means that you need big pockets, big hands, and a protective case to keep them safe. Small and elegant phones are more interesting. They’re easier to hold, carry, and keep safe. A phone that you can use one handed with ease, is more useful.

Incremental Progress

When the first iPhones came out every new device was priced at an interesting point and the tech was innovative. Now you spend 1000 USD for an incrementally better phone. According to GSM Arena it’s not worth buying the iphone. I don’t want to spend so much money on a device, that if, dropped once, needs to have the screens replaced. The front and back glass can shatter after a single drop.

The Ultra 2

Some people will see the Ultra 2 and desire it. I don’t. Apple watches are fragile. I broke one indoor climbing. I wore Suunto watches rock climbing in the mountains and barely have scratches to show for scraping the watch on real rocks, every weekend. Another issue is the price point. You’re paying 800 CHF for a watch that lasts 36hrs in GPS mode. For 150 CHF or so you can get the Garmin Etrex SE and track for a week, and within a few seconds you can swap the AA batteries that you can buy almost anywhere.

Planned Obscolecence

The other drawback to buying expensive Apple Watches is that if you buy one, you will want to buy the next generation, and the generation after that. It will cost 800 CHF to keep up to date. Do you want to fall down that rabbit hole?

A good App-mosphere

Of course when you’re buying an Apple Watch you’re not just paying for the watch. You’re also paying for the app-mosphere. You’re paying to have access to all of the apps that play nicely, for a fee, with the Apple watch. it’s great to have access to so many apps, but most cost 30 CHF per year, per app. That’s easily hundreds of francs.

With Garmin, Suunto, Google and Xiaomi this is included in the price of the device you wear on your wrist. I would have written Fitbit instead of Google but we know that Fitbit is on borrowed time.

Daily Charging

With the Suunto Peak 5 you charge once every few days. With the Garmin Instinct Solar you can go for weeks without charging, in summer. With the Garmin Suunto 45s you charge every two or three days. Do you want to spend 800 CHF on a watch that needs one and and half hours to charge every single day, for normal use? No other high end watch forces you to recharge so often. Batteries degrade with charge cycles, so you’re going through one charge cycle, per day.

With the Suunto D4 diving watch and Suunto D9 you would charge once every two or three years, by swapping batteries.

And Finally

Not being interested in the latest apple watches and iPhones works to my advantage. I save on time, money and desire. When innovation is not ground breaking it is easier to remain indifferent. I would be more interested in swapping the battery in the current second generation SE than in getting a new phone.

Barefoot Shoes and Socks

Barefoot Shoes and Socks

Byrichard

Today I am going to write about something a little different. A few days ago I saw a child with a huge hole in at least one sock and I commented “for once you’re the one with holes in your socks, rather than me. Usually I do have holes in my socks, and when the child noticed he pointed this out in public once.

After this incident I started to throw socks away as soon as they got holes, to avoid such a comment. For some reason it bothered me to have holes in my socks in a context where I had to take off my shoes. That’s not actually what this blog post is about.

Barefoot Shoes are Kinder to Feet

I noticed that all the signs of wear and tear that I had on my feet, as a result of wearing normal shoes are gone from my feet. My feet have recovered from having the toes, heels and other parts of the foot rubbing against parts of the shoes. The result is more elegant feet, thanks to soft barefoot shoes.

Intact Socks

I have been using the same socks for weeks, or even months at this point and they are barely worn. At one point, with normal shoes, I was wearing through socks within weeks. It got so bad that I was starting to worry about how expensive it would be to buy new socks every few weeks. With barefoot shoes that problem seems to be gone.

Five million steps

Over the last twelve months I have still taken over 4.9 million steps, so it’s not that I am walking less. I am cycling more, but I’m still in the five million steps per twelve month period range. My walking habit is consistent.

Softer Steps

When you walk with normal shoes the shoes do the work of amortising every step, so every step comes down with force, especially around the heel, where holes would begin to appear with some socks. With barefoot shoes you’re not crushing that part of the sock so the sock has a longer life expectancy

More Space for Toes

Plenty of people who write about barefoot shoes speak about the bigger “toe box”. With normal shoes you instantly feel that the foot has less space. This difference in room for the toes could contribute to the tips of socks wearing against the shoes, forming toe holes on socks.

Barefoot Barefoot Shoes

Since some people wear barefoot shoes, barefoot, without socks, it would make sense for the shoes to be designed to be barefoot friendly, to avoid friction points and more. It would make sense for shoes to be made to be comfortable.

And Finally

This observation is based on wearing a single pair of barefoot shoes for over 500 kilometres. If I wear another pair of barefoot shoes I might notice that the wear and tear of socks is different. usually new socks cost about 20 CHF for a week’s worth of socks. If I need to replace them twice, in the lifespan of a pair of shoes then I could buy a pair of shoes that is 20-40CHF more expensive, and the price of new socks would be offset, by not needing to buy socks as regularly.

I wrote that last part as a joke, rather than a serious consideration. I am happy to have stopped wearing through socks so quickly, at last.

Cycling from L’Isle to RomainMotier

Cycling from L’Isle to RomainMotier

Byrichard

Although the ride from L’Isle to Romainmôtier feels easy because I’m cycling slower than my maximum it is still tiring, as is illustrated by two points. The first is that the trip burns 800 kilocalories according to the Apple Watch, which is significant, but also because by the end of the ride I feel tired.

Pace Setting

When I cycle by myself I ride to my maximum, and eventually by the end of the ride I hit the wall, and then I make an effort to make it home. When riding with people on electric bikes, the theoretical limit is 25 kilometres per hour but the practical speed, at the moment is 14 kilometres per hour, including the stop for coffee and more.

Gradual Progress

As people on electric bikes get fitter, so they can pedal with more force and reach a higher speed on their electric bikes, which results in someone on a normal bike having to make more effort. You go from a gentle ride with an effort to keep an eye on the people behind, and allowing them to keep up without straining too much. As they get fitter, the speed increases, and the effort on the normal bike increases.

Racing E-Bikes

Although I am not racing the e-bikes, I am pacing myself according to their capabilities, rather than my own. When I was riding up a hill yesterday I noticed that I was breathing quite heavily and that my heart rate got up to 130 to 150. That is not my maximum, but it is an effort. As those on e-bikes get faster, so the effort I will put out will increase. Eventually I might need an e-bike to keep up.

And Finally

Using Saturday as a rest day made sense. It allowed me to recover for a day, before making a large effort once again. With 400 meters of climbing this is not an easy route and should be treated with respect.

The Skipped Walk Due to Air Pollution
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The Skipped Walk Due to Air Pollution

Byrichard

Today is an unusual day. Originally I had planed to walk over one thousand meters up the Jura, before realising that I had too little sleep, so I decided to sleep a little more, do laundry, write a blog post and then eat lunch.

Lazy

After lunch I didn’t feel like going for a walk, still. That’s highly unusual for me. I don’t know whether it’s because I am tired from a mediocre night of sleep or whether it’s because of the heat that hasn’t left yet. It’s the 9th of September and it’s still 29 to 30°c. I feel slightly under the weather so I’m skipping the walk.

Air Pollution

[caption id="attachment_10685" align="alignnone" width="250"]Signicative air pollution according to the Geneva Air Quality App Signicative air pollution according to the Geneva Air Quality App[/caption]

Part of my reason for skipping the daily walk is that I noticed that the air has been polluted for several days in a row. According to the air2G2 app the air is highly polluted at the moment. It’s especially Ozone. This is due to the heat, the lack of wind, and people’s overreliance on polluting cars.

Heat

To have 30°c at this time of year is rare. If it was cooler I wouldn’t hesitate so much to go for a walk, but there is the nuisance of dog walkers that is back. Every time I go for a walk I need to adjust my route to avoid the dog walkers. Dog walkers like to walk with their dogs off leash, and dogs like to approach and theaten. Overnight I counted that I have had at least 4-6 dog attacks in the last few years, so if my fear of dogs is getting worse, it’s because I am being harrassed by dogs more regularly.

Riding with Electric Bikes

Another reason for saving my energy today could be for an entirely different reason. Tomorrow I will probably be riding with electric bikes, and although I can comfortably keep up, I do burn a lot of energy. If I save my energy today I should have some, spare, for tomorrow.

And Finally

If I was walking by myself, and then cycling by myself, and then walking by myself, and living according to my own rythmn then I’d be fine, but since I can knacker myself, and then be pushed beyond my limits the next day, it makes sense to take rest days. The Swiss Weather forecast wrote a blog post about the current anticyclone and air pollution. I seem to be thinking like the weather people at the moment.

Playing With the Switzerland Mobility App

Playing With the Switzerland Mobility App

Byrichard

Yesterday I was planning to walk from Nyon to La Barillette but rather than take the usual route that takes me via a set of cabins where there is sometimes a dog I wanted to try an alternate route. In the end I used the Switzerland Mobility app and website because I can trust that the paths they suggest actually exist.

Garmin Explore

At first I was experimenting with the Garmin Explore App and although it does provide us with the opportunity to draw routes it creates a track but we don’t have information about whether it’s on a road, or other surfaces, and we’re not sure that the data is correct.

Komoot and Alltracks

I then tried to draw the same route with Komoot, and possibly Alltrack, and it created a route, and gave me information about what to expect, but once again I didn’t know whether I could trust that the route existed or not. That’s when I looked for the official Swiss eco-friendly mobility app.

Sqitzerland Mobility

Switzerland Mobility is an official app that provides you with all hiking, cycling, canoeing, snowshoeing, canoeing and other routes. Look around the map and you can see local hikes, bike routes and more. You can also see places to sleep, whether hotels, hostels or campings. This simplifies adventure planning in Switzerland.

Skating and Canoeing

It amuses me that they have skating and canoeing routes available for people to enjoy. Those are two sports I wouldn’t have considered looking for. With skating they also include slow ups. Slow ups are good because roads are closed to cars, for cyclists, walkers and skaters to enjoy the surface, without the danger of cars.

The Phone App

The phone app is well designed. It is easy to look for routes, and to jump between route stages. If you’re looking at the Via Jacobi you can go back and forth between stages, as well get info about the distance of that stage, climbing and descending, as well as the hiking time. Finally it will provide you with access to the Swiss transport network, to get to and from the starting and end points.

Drawing Routes

If you pay 35 CHF per year you gain access to draw routes. The reason for doing this is that you gain access to the Swiss database of walking paths that other websites and services may not have. You can zoom in to a scale of 100m to whatever your screen is set to, so you can see a very detailed map, with contours and more. It also provides you with information about path closures and alternative routes. This is practical for local exploration of a region that you may be familiar with.

And Finally

I expected to try the walk I drew yesterday afternoon but due to going to sleep later than anticipated, and then not having something to do once at the top, I cancelled that plan. That’s why I am speaking hypothetically, rather than documenting an experience.

500 Kilometres with the Trail Glove 7

500 Kilometres with the Trail Glove 7

Byrichard

I really like the Trail Glove 7. I have walked and run in them for over 500 kilometres and so far they are still relatively fine. the soles wore out where my feet apply the most pressure to the ground but other than that they’re fine. The top is without holes, without bleaching from the summer sun and without fraying on the sides of the shoes where different fabrics join each other.

Fast Drying

If you get these shoes wet they will dry quickly. You don’t have to worry about the shoes getting wet. With other shoes they’re waterproof, which is great, if the outside is dry, but time consuming to dry if the inside gets wet. Shoes that dry fast don’t need to be waterproof.

Better with Socks

I tried wearing them without socks, and although some people dislike the feel of socks, I did like the feel of the inside of the shoes without socks, so I almost always wore socks with them.By wearing socks the shoes still smell fine, despite two hour walks in the middle of the day during heatwave days. They’re breathable.

Walking Sensation

For the most part these shoes feel fine when walking. If you step on stones you sometimes feel them through the soles, but that’s normal of most shoes. I found that at the right temperature these shoes feel smooth, almost soft, when you’re walking in the right conditions, like warm tires on a bike in the right conditions. They are comfortable.

Traction

When walking on dry surfaces they feel good. I never felt that I had too little traction. If I remember correctly I tried walking up a 45° cement surface without slipping, and other steep gradients without losing gradients, including dust covered stones and cement.

I did feel a loss of traction on a wet surface on a rainy day once or twice but that’s because the tread is completely gone. As these shoes get older and the tread wears away it makes sense to wear newer shoes on rainy days, and older shoes on dry days.

Overall comfort These have become my everday shoes. I wear them everyday, I even wear them for cycling when I am not riding alone, as I don’t need the support offered by carbon fibre soled shoes.

The Cost

You can get other shoes for 40-60 CHF but in my recent experience with such shoes I found that they rub the top of my toes, and the moss at the back of the heel gets worn away exposing the plastic that then causes blisters. With these shoes, except for the wear pattern on the soles of the feet, they’re fine. With other shoes I felt that my feet needed to get used to them, and within 200 kilometres the rear sponge would be worn through. With these they’re fine, so you get at least twice the distance.

And Finally

These are comfortable, durable shoes that I can wear whether I am walking with others or alone. I can wear them whether I am hiking in the mountains, or walking across fields. They even feel comfortable for running despite offering so little support. Instead of going for 300 franc shoes I went for shoes a third that price,and now I can run five kilometres without my knees refusing to continue. I find them to be very comfortable shoes. They work well for my walking style.

Charging A Garmin Instinct With an External Solar Panel

Charging A Garmin Instinct With an External Solar Panel

Byrichard

Yesterday, out of curiousity I experimented. I charged both the Garmin Instinct Solar and the Garmin 45s with a solar panel. The first thing I noticed is that they were using 0.1 amps to charge, rather than 1, 2 or more amps of power. Until this experiment I had never considered how small batteries for gps watches are.

200 mah

According to a Google search the battery capacity of GPS watches is around 200mah. That’s tiny compared to the amount of power mobile phones and other devices have. This means that it’s easy to recharge the batteries on wathes like the Instinct, as long as you have a larger external panel or even a relatively low power external battery.

As I read somehwere gps trackers are designed to be efficient, low power devices, which is why they last for days, or even weeks, depending on the mode.

Easy to Charge

200 mah is easy to charge. External batteries can have over 10,000 mah and solar panels can generate 2amps or more of power, so even an overcast day you should be able to recharge a fitness tracker with relative ease.

And Finally

Some watches can last for up to a decade in between battery swaps. These can last for a week or month. The garmin instinct can cope for months, if it gets enough sunshine every day. This makes sense, when you consider how little energy these watches use.

Films I Watched

Films I Watched

Byrichard

For years I didn’t watch many films but recently the habit has returned.

Blood and Gold

I am used to watching English or French films about the First and Second World War but recently I watched Blood and Gold, in German, with English subtitles. It’s interesting to watch a German film rather than a European one, for a different perspective of the war.

The film is set right at the end of the War, days before the Allies liberate Germany. Apparently some gold was left behind and promised to a guard but other people hid it.

The story is well told and I enjoyed it.

All Quiet On the Western Front

This is another, recent German film, set on the First World War, rather than the second. It follows a soldier from conscription until he is on the front line fighting. Some of the scenes and imagery of this film are interesting and unique. I think it’s another film worth watching. I like the cellar scene. I also find other scenes quite interesting.

Fury

Fury is an American film showing the war from a tank crew’s perspective. A typist/clerk is signed up to be part of a tank crew and objects to this, as he doesn’t want to be involved in killing people. Eventually he changes his attitude.

If you watch just one scene of this film watch the scene in the apartment after a town has been liberated. It shows a glimpse into what life could have been like, during the Second World War.

If I was to be absurd about this film I would say it reminded me of Black Hawk Down, but with a tank rather than a Blackhawk helicopter.

And Finally

Twenty years ago I watched plenty of film genres but found that war films are my favourite genre and this holds true today. Every war film is a different story, and with war films you’re not envious of their lives. You feel empathy for their situation, and you feel compassion for moments like the one in the apartment, but at the same time, you don’t feel bad about your own life. That’s what I like about War Films. You don’t feel Fear Of Missing out, FOMO. For the most part you want people to get out alive, and without being traumatised, whenever possible.

In contrast, with normal films, and especially during lockdown, you’re jealous and envious of their lives, and miserable about what your own life is. During the depths of Lockdowns people living alone were completely isolated. We still are, but now it’s a moral and ethical choice, rather than no choice at all.

That I can watch films, even if they are just war films, shows that I have recovered from Pandemic solitude. I am getting the ability to watch television series, and even films again. That’s encouraging.

Parents and Solitary People

During the worst of lockdown, and even after it was decided that vaccines alone were good enough, and people decided to deny that Long COVID was a risk, we could see a massive difference between parents and people without children.

Although parents speak of the hardship of being trapped in apartments with their children unable to play outside, they had normal lives within the home. Feed, cook, play, work remotely, feed cook, play, work remotely. They were isolated, but within a family, within a social group.

Compare that to the complete solitude of people living alone, without children, without a lover, with nothing.

That solitude still hasn’t ended, and never will, for as long as the friends of COVID continue spreading COVID, and running the risk of Long COVID.

On Twitter, and to some degree the Fediverse, we see that some people still take the pandemic seriously, but they are few and far between. That’s why absurd people like me mask. I’m absurd because pretending the pandemic is over, like everyone else does, would be easy. It would take a mental switch and I would be normal. By normal I mean absurd.

When Camus wrote about the man is absurd for not feeling grief, he was speaking about the absurd individual. I think that today it is society that has become absurd, and the individual that has become rational. The rational wearer of a mask. The rational person who does not want to see the pandemic as over, only to get Long COVID, and regret it for the rest of his life.

I saw two articles in the last day or two, about how Long COVID is incurable for 75 percent of those who fall sick with it.

Conclusion

When I return to having a normal life, of flirting, doing things socially, and more, I will be able to watch normal things again. For now the war film genre fills a need I need, to feel empathy for others, without feeling sadness for myself.

In Need of a Rest Day

In Need of a Rest Day

Byrichard

Today I went for a 12km walk over two hours in 26°c heat. According to the Suunto 5 Peak I have depleted my resources. I am at just three percent now. I need a proper night of sleep and some rest to recover.

Productive Training

According to the Suunto app I am in productive training and my fitness is increasing, but in the process my form is declining. I am, at least theoretically overtraining. This is not unusual for me. I walk, cycle or run every single day. It has been my routine for years.

Waking Earlier

What is not routine is getting up at 6 or 7, to do sports in the morning. Usually I do it in the afternoon, after a productive morning. I prefer to study and blog, before I go for my daily walk, bike ride or run. I prefer to be fresh, when I need to think, and procrastinate once my focus is gone.

Looking at Steps With the Apple Fitness App

Earlier I noticed that I could change which metric I was looking at, so I chose to look at steps rather than calories burned. I am currently losing patience with the Apple Watch and Apple Fitness App. The phone knows how many steps I have taken, and yet it insists on showing the data from the Apple Watch.

Cruel Weather

There was a time when we would be desperate for good weather so that we could do things. Now I want the opposite. I’m tired of the never-ending sunshine and never having an excuse to take a rest day. If the weather was bad then I could think “tomorrow I’m staying in.

The weather forecasst for the rest of the forseeable future is sunny and warm, and I’m tired of it always being sunny. I never exptected that I would want rain.

The landscape desperately needs rain. It rains, but so little that the ground doesn’t soften enough to absorb the rain, so we’re back to walking on dirt, rather than mud. In the last two or three months, maybe even longer, I have had to clean my shoes of mud twice.

I miss the rain. I miss the excuse to stay in and study. When the weather never changes, rain becomes a treat. I never expected that I would want rain

And Finally

I wrote this post a day early because tomorrow morning I’ll be procrastinating rather than studying.