Tag Archives: TSTO Patric

Friday Filler – Ambiguity and Golf in TSTO and The Simpsons

Posted on March 5, 2021 by | 21 comments

Thank Grog It’s Firday!

So…at some point a fella’s gotta say, “enough is enough!”
I have reached that point.

This may come as a complete shock to many, but the fact is, I toil over these Filler posts, to try to stay entertaining, interesting, and somewhat topical. But, lately, it seems that there is a new kind of hypocritical “cancel Patric culture” happening.  Holding me to a  different standard to which the same harbingers of criticism ignore, in the very game/series in which they are participating.

The words ambiguous, contradictory, and hypocritical spring to mind, along with golf. 

I know…I know…it seems like a weird mix of ideas. But, let me explain…
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Friday Filler – When to Lower The Bar on Valentines

Posted on February 5, 2021 by | 9 comments


Thank Grog It’s Firday!

I am going to say right out of the blocks, that I am not a fan of this event. Anyone who knows me, and my preferences for something even remotely resembling a “real, livable, Springfield,” knows I am not a fan of multiple characters of the same character, wandering around our towns. And maybe the fact that we seem to getting a plethora of skins, as opposed to doppleganger versions of the same characters, may be my fault for complaining so much. 

But, if we look at the entire offering of prizes, you are pretty much left with the feeling that EA has “lowered the bar” on their Valentines Gift Giving. And, that’s actually OK with me.

Much as Alissa dislikes Halloween, I am not a fan of Valentine’s Day.

And I have a very good reason for that…
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Friday Filler – Managing Clutter and Chaos

Posted on January 29, 2021 by | 29 comments


Thank Grog It’s Firday!

I started writing this, as I was was finishing Phase I of dealing with my Mom’s estate. These things are complicated, especially with a “collector” like my Mom. I wish I could tell you how many phases this is going to entail. But, after a week of constant sorting, trashing, and organizing, We are several phases away from being complete. 

But, while I was knee deep in sorting piles, I started thinking of things in terms of TSTO, and how we have all become “virtual hoarders,” and that in everyday life,  everything is turning into not much more than bits and bytes in a cloud that may or may not simply “evaporate” one day. Will we miss what we have stored and lost? Or will it just be like the huge collection of “salt cellars” that my Mom collected over decades…and nobody wants?

It is a dilemma, that is not easily solved…and perhaps needs a “greater power” to make the hard decisions.

Let’s take a look at how TSTO and Real Life Storage Issues compare.
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Friday Filler- I Loved This Event, Until…

Posted on January 15, 2021 by | 26 comments


Thank Grog It’s Firday!

I’m writing this a bit early as we have my Mom’s service Saturday, and have a lot to do to prepare. So, I started doing notes on this, as the Clash of Creeds event was winding down.

I loved this event. I thought it was one of the best of the year, until…

This is where I wish I could cue the “Dun, Dun, Dunnnn” music that always plays when they reveal the villain in a cartoon. Three notes…that almost always signify dread. And for me, the weird, almost lost dialogue at the end of this event came far to close to real life events that have blown up over the last 10 days.

I am going to find it. Because I really need to use it to make my points. I mean, wouldn’t it be great if we had a warning when we are doing something stupid in life, that we either didn’t see coming, or we ignored the warning signs?

In so many cases, everything seems OK, until…
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Friday Filler – Servers, Clouds, and the BSOD in TSTO

Posted on December 4, 2020 by | 22 comments

Thank Grog It’s Firday!

I am particularly happy it is “Firday” today, because that means tomorrow is “Smatterday” which for me will end up as SkeeDaddle Day. Which means my hospice shift is over, and my stay in crazy-town will be relieved by my sister, taking over the arduous task of “loving my mom to/til death.” But, I digress…

What made my duty here all the more challenging, was that TSTO, one of my diversions from the day-to-day insanity, decided to break. I know that is a very simplistic version of the truth…but, that’s literally how it felt.

For almost three days, EA was refusing to recognize me.  First I got booted, and had to log back in. Then I started getting a handful of error messages.  And of course, being in a situation where I am watching my Mom’s life “disconnect,” it was hard not to take it personally…and wonder if we have become slaves to the digital slaves, and who is serving who, when it comes to an interconnected life.

The Bart Screen of Death (BSOD) takes on a new meaning when you suddenly realize that about 75% of life as we know it, can be “turned off,” on purpose, by mistake, or by error.  Servers, slaves, and the BSOD…where do we all fit in?
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Friday Filler- When Parades Collide

Posted on November 13, 2020 by | 9 comments

Thank Grog It’s Firday!

Wow…so much has happened since last Friday! And…yet…so little has changed.

Today is Friday the 13th!!!  Eeeek! But, I’m not superstitious. I mean…what else could possibly go wrong this year? Wait…don’t answer that. 

A New Act started in our games. There was a ton of election news that made some people happy, then sad, then mad, then sad…and it didn’t really matter which “team” you were on.

I think they actually played a “World Series” somewhere in the middle of this mess, and Pac-12 football, FINALLY started…kinda mostly. The Ducks beat the Cardinal…for anyone watching who actually cares about college team sports right now.  The Vegas odds on which games will get cancelled, are almost as high as who will win.  But, I digress…

Can we all just agree on one thing?  These are some damn strange times we are living in…and almost nothing is satisfying.  But, is the Universe trying to tell us something? Are the SIMPSONS trying to tell us something?  Are we supposed to be divining our contentment and happiness in settling for “Less Than?” as we hand our futures over to “the leaders?”

This all came to a head for me, as I watched two parades collide in my game…and realized that it was a metaphor for the way life is playing out in real time.
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Friday Filler – We’ve Never Needed Music More…

Posted on September 25, 2020 by | 23 comments

Thank Grog It’s Firday!

The world continues to sputter along with a cough, a sneeze and a wheeze, depending on where you are.  Oregon continues to deal with containing wildfires, the residual smoke, and an uptick in Covid cases…so we kind of have the “misery trifecta,” as the kids are going back to school…without actually going to school.  My wife, as a school counselor, who actually had to deal with a couple of their staff members getting Covid, is playing more roles than Peter Sellers in “Dr. Strangelove.”  (look it up…great movie for the current state of the world). Not a happy camper…mostly because she’d rather be camping!

But, hey…WE GOT AN UPDATE!

EA hasn’t forgotten about us. And while I am just a few clicks into it (OK…so yes…I rushed it a bit…), I can tell you that with the world doing its best to come apart at the seams, we could all use a little more traditional jazz!

I know. I know.  Jazz isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But, hear me out. There are almost as many kinds of jazz as there are musical tastes. And as Lisa and her “saxamaophone” are a standard in every show opening, it’s nice to see the music get a bit more sophisticated beyond “Band Practice” with Dewey Largo,  in every opening montage.

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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 – 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 – When is Enough of This…Really, Really, Enough?

Posted on May 29, 2020 by | 13 comments


Thank Grog It’s Firday!!

I know. It’s been nuts. I don’t care where you fall in the spectrum of being a good citizen, to the full opposite, by becoming a scofflaw (look up last week’s Filler).  But, I know you are feeling it.  How long are we going to have to keep this up? When is enough, really, really enough?

Well…for me it was seeing Homer dressed up, after I “won” his “Pride Homer” skin. Yay?

Enough. Really.
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