Category Archives: Friday Filler

Friday Filler – When is Enough, Really Enough, and When Is It Just Hoarding?

Posted on August 28, 2020 by | 31 comments

Thank Grog It’s Firday!

Well…as you may or may not remember,  a year ago I started a massive remodel of our house, with almost top to bottom remaking of the kitchen, two bathrooms, and flooring throughout the entire first floor main living area (family room, kitchen, bathroom, dining room, living room, stairs).

I have done all of the work myself…and with everything that has gone on during that year, find myself a bit awe-struck that I am not actually done yet (I still have an entire back deck tear apart and rebuild). But, then again, as I have also found out, once you start remodeling, and your wife is the primary “contractor” and you are “the worker,” you are never really done. All of the new, makes any of the old look shabby by comparison. And, even worse, that damn HGTV channel is still on the air, giving “the contractor” more ideas.

But, absolutely the worst part…is the massive land fill that now must be hauled off in a dumpster, along with decisions on what to do with the rest.  Clutter…thy name is Patric.  I admit it. I hate to throw away anything.

AND, to the point of this post…WE FACE THE SAME DECISIONS IN TSTO.  “Keep…store…or sell.” 
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Friday Filler – A New Look at Old Stuff to Recapture My Zazz

Posted on August 21, 2020 by | 17 comments

Thank Grog It’s Firday!

Like many of you, between the Covid-Craziness, more politics than any human should have to endure, civil unrest and a clear letdown in our favorite diversion from all of it (TSTO), I found myself trying to find new ways to make the old ways feel new again.

This is common with the modern version of humankind.  We seem driven to be discontented with “the status quo” and are in a seemingly constant state of “the next best thing.”  Unfortunately, this constant game of “wanting more, but enjoying it less,” has brought us to a point in our existence where more really is less.  Less fulfilling, less gratifying, and far less hopeful.  And yes…I am talking about the game this time.

But, as I talked about in my last Filler, I have decided to “go back a few clicks” to a more simple time, when I wasn’t obsessed with Bonus %, and could actually slow down enough to design my town, in spite of the Item Limits.

Here are my first baby steps to reclaiming my “Zazz.”
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Friday Filler – Why Do You Still Play the Game?

Posted on August 14, 2020 by | 37 comments

Thank Grog It’s Friday!

I have to admit, I was happy, and a little heart-broken when Alissa sent me a text message late Tuesday night. It read, “An update was released. You’ll have to let me know if they upped item limits.”

Oh ye of bliss-ninny faith…

I affectionately call Alissa a “Bliss Ninny” as she always wants to believe that EA is going to listen to us, and TSTO is going  to return to its former glory. I love her for that. We need bliss-ninnies in the world right now. It’s no wonder that Disneyland (either coast) is her favorite place to be.  I can see her teaching Riley and Sammy that if they “clap loud enough” they can save Tinkerbell and the rest of the fairies.

But, unfortunately, I had to be the bearer of bad news, with a simple reply of “Nope.”

It’s been almost a year and a half since the last time EA upped the Item Limits by even a handful.  And yes…it sucks.  And yes…it greatly impedes my “joy of designing.”

SO…WHY DO I STILL PLAY? (as  more than a few of you have asked, when I hold EA and “Bob’s” feet to the fire).

The answer is pretty simple.
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Friday Filler – EA Confidential – From a Corporate Perspective

Posted on July 31, 2020 by | 75 comments

Thank Grog It’s Firday!

Well…I’m back home. It’s been three weeks of full Jake immersion…three glorious weeks of living the life of a 2-year-old with endless energy and endless appetites for “new.”  It feels like 3 months. We were actually that busy from morning til night.  We did the things that you can still do safely in public…which isn’t much…but, every day was filled with smiles, giggles, “wrasslin’,” more viewings of “Dinosaur Train,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” and about a gazillion different audio and video versions of “Baby Shark.”  Every minute a treasure.

But more on that later…

Time to dive back into getting more answers about TSTO…this time continuing in “Bob’s Own Words,” but also using some of the EA’s own “Corporate Input,” regarding the nature of their decisions.  It’s dicey stuff, folks…but we do get closer to the truth.  Closer…
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Friday Filler- EA Confidential – In Bob’s Own Words

Posted on July 24, 2020 by | 42 comments

Thank Grog It’s Firday!

I admit readily that I have not been remotely “normal” over the past couple of weeks.  We are in “Full Jake Immersion” mode, and there is nothing as wonderfully distracting than hanging out with your two-year-old-never-sits-still, grandson. Deb joined me after a week of dealing with her Dad’s hospice, and is the first to admit there is no better way to deal with the end of a life, than immersing oneself in the beginning stages of another.

And I also admit that my storytelling is easily taken off of the rails when writing during patches between laying rails, and running trains, and taking walks, and playing ball, and swimming (feet in a kiddie pool or backyard water slide), or endless snacks….well…you get it.

It occurred to me that most of the obfuscation in my tale, was simply me trying to tell you what “Bob” said, through my own filter.  And the the most efficient, and honest way to tell the rest of the story, is simply to use his own words (to the best of my recollection, through a haze of Lemon Drops consumed over hours of conversation).

So, that is what I am going to do.  Just let “Bob” take it from here...with a tad bit of my questions inserted to keep things on track…which reminds me…I need to find the other switch track so we can build that side spur on Jake’s layout…
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Friday Filler – EA Confidential – Finding Bob Part II

Posted on July 10, 2020 by | 28 comments

Thank Grog It’s Firday,

So…let’s start by getting some of your concerns out of the way.

First- me flying back to NJ had nothing to do with a “family gathering for the holidays.”  I flew after the holidays…in a half-filled plane…with more layers of PPE than the average operating room staff wears in the critical care unit at a hospital. We have two nurses in our family. One is an ER nurse in the Covid unit at a VA hospital…and they made sure I was safe as I could be. And, I was.

Second- because I am being careful (very careful) not to expose or harm “Bob,” in this revelatory story, you don’t have to worry. EA won’t suddenly pull some shennanigans in regards to his employment, or altering the game.  It’s too late for that. The damage has been done. But, as you will see, the damage has also been corrected about as much as could possibly be done.  So, Chillax.

But, I had to know…and as it turns out…I’m glad to know, what I know now.

And, when I am done with telling the story, you’ll feel the same way. Or not.
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Friday Filler – EA Confidential – I Find Bob

Posted on July 3, 2020 by | 14 comments


Thank Grog It’s Firday…

This has been a week to remember. In between dealing with getting my wife’s Dad hospice care, shuffling flight tickets for our trip back East, forgetting my computer, which forced me to do the Filler on my phone, and finding Bob, it has been one of those weeks I’ll likely remember for some time.

The “forgetting my computer” explains why I had to recycle an old graphic from one of my old posts about another mystery…Chester Dupree.  But like I said, it has been one of those weeks. You make due…with what you have…and roll with the punches. Mysteries solved, often require adaptation.

As I prepare for another week of total unknowns, I know that adapting and altering plans is simply going to be the “new normal.” Right now, nothing is normal. In these times you just have to roll with the punches. Like Bob. He rolls with the punches. But, of course, I didn’t know that…until I found him.  Which I did.

As it turns out, things with Bob are the kind of “weird” that makes a word like “weird” seem normal.  And, what’s with that word anyway?? It’s supposed to be “I before E, except after C” in the English language.  Except, apparently, when it isn’t…like with weird.   Which is weird. But, I digress…

On to Bob.
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Friday Filler – Sometimes You Hafta Do the Hard Stuff- Even If It’s Easy

Posted on June 26, 2020 by | 79 comments


Thank Grog It’s Firday!

Holyfreakinshirt!  What day is it anyway?  I know I’ve complained about this before, during this “interesting new version of normal.”  But dammit…nothing is normal right now…except for TSTO.  It is sooooooo normal, that it is making me insane.

There is little doubt that we are stuck in a rut…and the people who are “coming back to the game,” after layoffs of  year, or even two (especially those who have been gone less than two years) have GOT to notice.  If you are paying attention, you will notice that almost nothing has changed in format in months, and months and months.  This isn’t a new observation…but, it really is like seeing an “Under Construction” sign on a new building…leaving for a year or two, and coming back to see that only the sign has been repainted.

And I’ve had enough. I’m going to get answers.  I’m going to call “EA Bob” and find out what the hell is going on, (besides very little.)

Here’s my list of things I’m going to ask, when I grab him between pizza runs on his side hustle, from his clearly part-time job at EA.
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Friday Filler – If You’re Still Reading This…

Posted on June 19, 2020 by | 24 comments

Thank Grog It’s Firday…

“If you’re still reading this, the world didn’t end…”

I have to crack up at the Mayans.  Really. I think the fact that they apparently were wrong, TWICE is hilarious. But then again, was it the Mayans who were wrong, or was it us?

Back in 2012, when the world was supposed to end (after it didn’t for Y2k or about twenty other times prognosticators of doom got it wrong), there was more than a passing obsession with the “End of the Mayan Calendar” which then proffered with great certainty, that when the Mayan Calendar ended…so would the world.  Of course, this logic is tainted with the reality of what actually happened to the Mayans, which had nothing to do with their calendar, and everything to do with hubris and overconfidence.

And weirdly, while it seems that we have lived through yet another expanded version of the REAL end of the world, via the altered prophesies of the Mayan Calendar, we might learn a thing or two from the authors.

Are we destined to repeat history? Was Homer right?  Should we be more afraid of the SIMPSONS PROPHESIES?????
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Friday Filler- Wait…So This Is Still A Game??

Posted on June 12, 2020 by | 53 comments

Thank Grog It’s Firday! 

I had to laugh at the opening screenshots of this new “event.”  The whole bit with the mysterious “TGM” (The Game Master) revealing that their reality was a simulation.

With the response being a very appropriate “Duh!”

But, of course, as I have discussed in many other posts over the years, I absolutely loved the possibility that there may not only be different versions of our reality, but that all of what we know is but a simulation…like a video game.

Until recent events.

If this is all just a simulation, then the “player” (our own version of Sky Finger) is a total jerk.

But, let’s be honest…this event also proves once again, that “those who make our reality” in TSTO, are also a bunch of lazy jerks.  Yes. I’m talking to YOU BOB!!
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