now.md

@@ -2,104 +2,102 @@
   layout: corrupt_now
   tabtitle: Now
   author: Bill Niblock
-  pub: 2024-09-24
+  pub: 2024-12-26
 ---
 
 # Life In Progress, as of {{ page.pub }}
 
-- New hardware: laptop, phone, and NAS
-- **TWO** game jams!
-- Finishing up Morrowind
-- SEAP/Self-Employment Progress
+- Started a business!
+- _Morrowind_, _Deus Ex_, and Pathfinder
+- Another game jam!
 
-## New Hardware
+Overall, while it has been a few months, changes seem to have slowed a bit.
+Looking back on the past several months, there are significant changes, but also
+fewer of them.
 
-### Framework Laptop
+## My Own Business
 
-This new [Framework](https://frame.work) is great! I've only had it for a few
-weeks, but it is wonderful. I've been slowly sync'ing and migrating workflows
-from my various existing options to it.  Being able to work for multiple hours
-without worrying about battery life is nice.
+I have officially started my own business, [Niblock Technology
+Solutions](https://www.niblock.tech). I even have a few clients! Exploring this
+new world has been exciting. There are a lot of new challenges, and certain a
+demand of time, attention, and dedication. As someone who loves working with
+others to solve problems, this seems to be a great development. I've been
+enjoying looking for my own technology solutions to some of my own wants, in
+addition to helping my clients solve theirs.
 
-Previously, the Chromebook I have was my go-to remote personal macine.
-Considering its age, and the inherent limitations of a Chromebook, it served me
-better than I ever could have hoped. However, I knew it's time was drawing
-near, and the Dell I got as part of my work severance was not going to cut it.
-Considering I'm starting a business doing technology, I needed a reliable,
-"all-day" machine with Linux. The ARM-based Macs are incredibly tempting, but
-I am not a fan of Mac. I've been eyeing Framework for a bit now, and their
-newest 13-inch model with AMD components checked enough of the boxen for me to
-dive in.
+I'm also beginning work on another business idea I have. The area I live in
+could benefit from a game shop. I want a community space that people can come
+in, play games, enjoy company, and otherwise relax. That's a significant
+departure from my experience! I have some baby steps towards that business that
+I think will make significant impacts on the success!
 
-### Phone
+## Gaming Updates
 
-For a while I've been eyeing Mint Mobile. In the US, they have a plan offering
-unlimited text and talk, plus 5 GB of data, for $15 per month. I generally use
-less than 1 GB of streaming data, so this seemed like a clearly better option
-than the $30+ I was paying for Google Fi. When I decided to switch, they had an
-incredible deal offering a Google Pixel 9 plus a year's service for a great
-price, so I not only switched carrier, I also snagged a new phone! I had a
-Samsung S21, which was more than sufficient for my needs, so switching isn't
-quite as significant as with the laptop, but it's still a nice new experience.
-The OS and environment on the Pixel is much nicer than Samsung phones, so
-that's quite the plus!
+Recently our Pathfinder game had a fun and rewarding side-quest, for which I
+made a summoner. What a powerful class! Mine is a Tengu, but from an
+Egyptian-themed region, and thus more ibis inspired than crow. Summoners get an
+eidolon, so naturally mine is themed after a crocodile. This side-quest had us
+achieving mythic power, and so I've had an opportunity to explore not only a new
+class, but a whole gamut of new powers. Very fun, very exciting!
 
-### NAS
+The character really inspired a lot of creativity. Part of this character's
+mythic powers are tied to the Proteans, denizens of the maelstrom, Pathfinder's
+plane of chaos. They're a really interesting bunch, seemingly conflicted in
+their own right (they are of the primordial chaos, and yet adhere to a strict
+hierarchy of power). In exploring the lore about them, I imagined a visual novel
+of sorts, playing as my summoner acting as a scholar and historian traveling the
+maelstrom, interacting with these beings. They are described as civilized enough
+that I don't think it's a stretch for them to be welcoming and cordial of
+guests. Could make for a fun game!
 
-I bought a 2-bay Synology NAS from a friend a few months ago, and with the
-myriad other changes, decided to set it up proper. I setup
-[Navidrome](https://www.navidrome.org/) for audio, and [Jellyfin](
-https://jellyfin.org/) for video. I had previously used Navidrome, then
-switched to Jellyfin for both audio and video, but with the new phone comes a
-return to form. I like [Ultrasonic](https://gitlab.com/ultrasonic/ultrasonic),
-and Navidrome plays nicely with it.
+I properly finished up _Morrowind_. As I mentioned previously, a fantastic game.
+There is so much exciting modding happening in that community that I am very
+interested in diving back in soon! However, I decided to tackle another old game
+I've wanted to play but never have: _Deus Ex_. I'm probably 80% through the
+game, and I have been enjoying it a lot. I've bounced off playing it a number of
+times, and I think a big part of that was this unnecessary expectation to play
+as a silent, non-violent type. Instead, I've been loud when I want, running
+around with a kick-ass nano-blade. I haven't been taking the play-through too
+seriously, but I have been relatively thorough. Again: there's some compelling
+mods which are already making me excited to give it another play-through, and
+some game-play and story choices which I'll look forward to doing differently
+next time! However, there are several games I'm looking forward to in the
+interim. I've seen several streams of _Heroes of Might and Magic II_, and it
+made me consider if I'd ever played through the campaigns of _Heroes of Might
+and Magic III_. I know I haven't for _II_, since I've never played it! I picked
+it up, and I want to give each a campaign play-through. I may do that along side
+another game. _Oblivion_ is definitely calling me, and I'll probably setup a
+"vanilla-plus" mod-pack for it to play through with. Despite my love of
+_Oblivion_, I've never actually played through the main story, nor many of the
+DLC's!
 
-The other big additions with the NAS is more backup scripts, and also pulling
-down some YouTube series I like for local copies. More details in a full post.
+## Autumn LISP Game Jam
 
-## Game Making
+Capping off the year in game development is the second of the bi-annual LISP
+game jams, the [Autumn LISP Game Jam
+2024](https://itch.io/jam/autumn-lisp-game-jam-2024). I implemented some of the
+ray-casting code I've been working on in my submission, [Escape the
+Crash](https://vagabondazulien.itch.io/escape-the-crash). I had a lot of fun
+learning and developing with this one. Ray-casting still fascinates me, and I
+look forward to understanding it better; at least well enough to get some floors
+and ceilings into the game! I also believe that I can use the ray-casting
+algorithm to draw a sky-box of sorts. Essentially: note the first wall
+interaction, and use that to draw the walls as per usual, but extend to ray
+until a "stopping" signal, at which point draw the sky-box. I also want to
+implement some sprites! I've also never played around with sounds, and I want to
+explore that more in Love2D. The game was received surprisingly well, given it
+was incomplete and also suffering from some performance issues. That's very
+inspiring! I'm looking forward to playing with it some more.
 
-Two game jams! One for the entire month of September, [Clone
-Jam](https://itch.io/jam/clone-jam-game-a-month), and a
-[Mini-Jam](https://itch.io/jam/mini-jam-167-cyber). For the Clone Jam, I was
-working on building a ray-casting-based dungeon scavenger, similar to "Legend
-of Grimrock", but with less combat. However, while I have made great progress
-understanding how ray-casting works, and how to implement it, I won't have time
-to finish such a game. That knowledge won't go to waste, though! There's a
-game-jam at the end of October where I intend to make use of it. Instead, I'll
-be touching-up and submitting a clone of Minesweeper I made:
-[TICsweeper](https://vagabondazulien.itch.io/ticsweeper).
+## Signing Off
 
-For the Mini-Jam, I decided to make a "runner" type game: you maneuver your
-sprite to collect and/or avoid certain projectiles. I also made this game in
-the [TIC-80](https://tic80.com). While I didn't pull any all-nighters, focusing
-on a single project for 72-hours with as little down-time as possible is still
-quite exhausting! My submission was called
-[RUNR](https://vagabondazulien.itch.io/runr). It ranked 48th out of 66
-submissions, which is honestly disappointing, but not enough to demotivate me
-from continuing my game-making journey!
+I let slip a few months of updates, which will be a focus of mine for the new
+year. A monthly cadence will be nice. Though, I'm also now considering
+re-adjusting my approach. This page can be a summary of a post containing the
+full content (as it currently shows). I'm not holding myself to a goal, but
+writing two posts a month would be a nice flow. One of them could just be this
+monthly update, with a second being a game review or technology review or
+something.
 
-## Game Playing
-
-I finally finished my play-through of Morrowind, and one of its two expansions,
-Tribunal. (Note: before "DLC", new game content for existing games was
-distributed like the game itself, on a piece of data-storing media, such as a
-CD. These were called "expansion packs.") I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in
-The Elder Scrolls III, and I definitely understand why many claim it as their
-favorite. I will talk more about my experience in a full post, just like I did
-for my recent Fallout 3 replay (I mean, just like I _will_. I _WILL!_)
-
-## Business Time
-
-Alas, while game making and playing are great uses of my time, they do not get
-me the resources I need to pay my bills. I continue to work on starting my own
-business. I've met with two mentors, one business and one technology, to help
-get me started and provide guidance. In fact, this week marks what I would
-consider the proper beginning of my business. With some dedication, I'll have
-more exciting news to share about this next time!
-
-## That's All For Now!
-
-I think the original intention of a "Now" page is to be less verbose, but I
-find the monthly cadence of a somewhat comprehensive update to be more
-appealing! Until next month!
+Regardless, this marks the end of both this update, and this year! 2024 was a
+doozie! Here's hoping 2025 isn't too bad...