OT 20: rotisserie roller coaster

[coogles]

Video games are not something I can make time for at this point. I do occasionally think about how having an xBox would be fun

I find very few games to be any fun these days, but I really enjoyed the Uncharted series and a good racing sim now and again. I have zero time for it but there's always giving up sleep as an option.

[RLWake]

5/7 would recommend xbox series x. I got lucky and found one at walmart.com. Only way to do it was their weird monthly payments plan thing that includes the console and gamepass but I'm not complaining .

I agree that a lot of new games don't interest me, . The only thing super new I play often these days is Apex Legends because that game is just crack. I also tried flight sim but I realized that I'm not patient enough for it. Definitely looking forward to Halo Infinite because I'm a giant Halo nerd.

[razr390]

What serveR? If you want a great one I play warmane from time to time. Crazy uptime/reliability and population.

ChromieCraft, it is a newer progression server that is all open source with no pay-to-win stuff. Seems pretty good so far but I haven't played much. I can't deal with PvP players, real life is already competitive enough.

Most of the servers here on warmane are PVE (especially icecrown)

[troyguitar]

ChromieCraft, it is a newer progression server that is all open source with no pay-to-win stuff. Seems pretty good so far but I haven't played much. I can't deal with PvP players, real life is already competitive enough.

Most of the servers here on warmane are PVE (especially icecrown)

Ahh nice, I didn't realize that they had PvE options. Chromie is more my speed (level cap just went up last week from 49 to 59, though I am only at 38) but 12k players is

[razr390]

Most of the servers here on warmane are PVE (especially icecrown)

Ahh nice, I didn't realize that they had PvE options. Chromie is more my speed (level cap just went up last week from 49 to 59, though I am only at 38) but 12k players is

I’d argue that it’s a balance. They have true PVP servers but a LOT of people just guild up and raid.

[troyguitar]

Ahh nice, I didn't realize that they had PvE options. Chromie is more my speed (level cap just went up last week from 49 to 59, though I am only at 38) but 12k players is

I’d argue that it’s a balance. They have true PVP servers but a LOT of people just guild up and raid.

That's what I'm down for, just running dungeons and casual raids. The progressive level cap means that there will be people running the lower level stuff vs everyone being at lvl 80. I've never played any of the WoW expansions, only the original game.

[SAWCE]

The produce at Costco is good quality at a decent price too. Local supermarkets here are charging anywhere from $1.50-$2 per bell pepper depending on the color. I get a bag of 6 at Costco for $6.50. I buy frozen veggies in bulk there. The dog food is top notch (according to several vets out here) and cheaper than most name brands. Bison meat is also a screaming deal there.. 2.5lbs for $20. at $8/lb that's close to half the price that any local markets are asking for it, and it's a nice 90% lean mix too. Organic chicken breasts are also a solid deal there if you care about buying organic vs non-organic.. IIRC I pay $4.50/lb for organic where Whole Foods or something similar is charging close to $10/lb for organic ones.. non-organic can always be found for $3/lb, and sometimes goes on sale where you get $5 off the package. If you have room for it in your pantry, a 25lb bag of rice will run you $12.99 I believe. I run through one of those every other month.

Last week our local grocery store had a sale on what they call "traffic light (or maybe stop light) peppers, which is a red, yellow, and green pepper packaged together for $.75 total for all 3. Granted, that was an unusually good , but they can often be had on sale for $.99/lb for one color or another virtually every week. I buy bananas for $.44/lb, cucumber for $.50-$.75 each.

Oh wow that's super cheap. My Von's has that stoplight pack, but it's $4-5 from what I remember. There are a few Mexican markets that have really cheap bell peppers in the $0.75 range each, but the quality is poor and they're generally over-ripe.

[SAWCE]

I've thought about grabbing a Nintendo Switch to play Super Smash Bros. and a few other games with friends.. May still do that one of these days. Don't think I'll ever get into console gaming. The only other thing I ever enjoyed and played a lot was League of Legends.. I kick the idea of picking that back up occasionally too.

[Desertbreh]

You can't compare Costco to Aldi. Aldi is the Harbor Freight of supermarkets. There are definitely things that are a screaming deal at Costco, and things that are not. If I could encapsulate it in concept, it is that PREMIUM THINGS costs much less as Costco. Prime Beef, Ahi Tuna, WINE AND HARD ALCOHOL. But pasta and toilet paper? Not always, and yes, if something is way more than you need, it is not longer a value. Some things you get at Costco, some things you don't.

The thing with this is, almost every product at Aldi is very high quality. Are the brans weird? Yes. But the product, meats, dairy, etc. are all just as good as anything you can get here at Publix or Harris Teeter (the grocery stores in this region). Aldi is pretty meh on the booze thing, they have some decent wines, the beers are not fantastic. No hard liquor here other than at state run stores so that doesn't factor in. As mentioned, Aldi coffee is also just OK and the Kirkland Signature is a lot better. IMO.

That is all good to know, I guess we will carry on with buying select things at Costco, fortunately it is quite close to the house. It's just very crowded and very large.

My favorite thing about Aldi isn't price but the fact that it's extremely efficient - it's small and quick to get in and out of there. I will just stick with that and have get stuff at Costco. I'm definitely in to try some of these wines y'all are talking about. How is their beer?

Voluminous. I don't drink enough beer to care about cost or quantity, I like what I like, I almost never buy beer there. They have 24 packs of inoffensive beer and lots of those 4 kinds of X from the same manufacturer. Sam Adams and probably lots of other east coast stuff I've never heard of.

Going to Costco on the weekends is a fool's errand, IMHO. They close at 8 p.m. on weekdays here, I make my entrance at 7, the store is pretty vacant, in and out. I looked up that Winking Owl stuff. That appears to literally be the new 2 buck chuck, which is no longer 2 bucks. It seems like it would be best to serve that COLD to minimize its taste as much as possible. I would be interested to hear what kinds of reds they have at the NC Costco, e.g. how far do my Paso Robles daily drivers travel in the Costco chain.

[D Griff]

The thing with this is, almost every product at Aldi is very high quality. Are the brans weird? Yes. But the product, meats, dairy, etc. are all just as good as anything you can get here at Publix or Harris Teeter (the grocery stores in this region). Aldi is pretty meh on the booze thing, they have some decent wines, the beers are not fantastic. No hard liquor here other than at state run stores so that doesn't factor in. As mentioned, Aldi coffee is also just OK and the Kirkland Signature is a lot better. IMO.

That is all good to know, I guess we will carry on with buying select things at Costco, fortunately it is quite close to the house. It's just very crowded and very large.

My favorite thing about Aldi isn't price but the fact that it's extremely efficient - it's small and quick to get in and out of there. I will just stick with that and have get stuff at Costco. I'm definitely in to try some of these wines y'all are talking about. How is their beer?

Voluminous. I don't drink enough beer to care about cost or quantity, I like what I like, I almost never buy beer there. They have 24 packs of inoffensive beer and lots of those 4 kinds of X from the same manufacturer. Sam Adams and probably lots of other east coast stuff I've never heard of.

Going to Costco on the weekends is a fool's errand, IMHO. They close at 8 p.m. on weekdays here, I make my entrance at 7, the store is pretty vacant, in and out. I looked up that Winking Owl stuff. That appears to literally be the new 2 buck chuck, which is no longer 2 bucks. It seems like it would be best to serve that COLD to minimize its taste as much as possible. I would be interested to hear what kinds of reds they have at the NC Costco, e.g. how far do my Paso Robles daily drivers travel in the Costco chain.

Several people on top of you and Chris have recommended the wine so I’m sure we’ll try it at some point.

Fortunately it’s close enough that I could pop in during work, I’m hoping it is dead at 2PM on a Tuesday or something.

[SAWCE]

I get lucky showing up to Costco right when they open on the weekends.. supposed to open at 9 or 1, doors always get opened up and they let people start coming in about 10 minutes early. I’m usually walking back out with my weekly hail before they’ve officially opened.

Agreed that going later on the weekends is no bueno though.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

I've thought about grabbing a Nintendo Switch to play Super Smash Bros. and a few other games with friends.. May still do that one of these days. Don't think I'll ever get into console gaming. The only other thing I ever enjoyed and played a lot was League of Legends.. I kick the idea of picking that back up occasionally too.

Switch is 5/7. We play ours constantly. Easy time waster type games.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

Voluminous. I don't drink enough beer to care about cost or quantity, I like what I like, I almost never buy beer there. They have 24 packs of inoffensive beer and lots of those 4 kinds of X from the same manufacturer. Sam Adams and probably lots of other east coast stuff I've never heard of.

Going to Costco on the weekends is a fool's errand, IMHO. They close at 8 p.m. on weekdays here, I make my entrance at 7, the store is pretty vacant, in and out. I looked up that Winking Owl stuff. That appears to literally be the new 2 buck chuck, which is no longer 2 bucks. It seems like it would be best to serve that COLD to minimize its taste as much as possible. I would be interested to hear what kinds of reds they have at the NC Costco, e.g. how far do my Paso Robles daily drivers travel in the Costco chain.

Several people on top of you and Chris have recommended the wine so I’m sure we’ll try it at some point.

Fortunately it’s close enough that I could pop in during work, I’m hoping it is dead at 2PM on a Tuesday or something.

Off times are key for Costco. If you can swing like 3pm on a weekday or 10am, that's ideal. Lunch actually gets busy as people eat lunch at the foodcourt...which is another great perk. Food court is cheap AF and great quality/quantity for lunch or dinner.

I don't buy beer at Costco. The deals are the same as any other grocery or liquor store and the quantities are high, which I don't need. There's a few kirkland branded beers, but they tend to cater to the quantity crowd I.E. light beers and basic 30 packs.

I will say that Kirkland Hard Seltzer was a staple for the summer in our house. Really tasty, refreshing, low cal, decent octane. Was perfect for the boat.

[troyguitar]

Aldi here actually has a decent IPA that's $6 or $7 for a 6-pack. I don't remember the name but it's the regular strength, not the "session" watered-down one.

[MrH42]

I've thought about grabbing a Nintendo Switch to play Super Smash Bros. and a few other games with friends.. May still do that one of these days. Don't think I'll ever get into console gaming. The only other thing I ever enjoyed and played a lot was League of Legends.. I kick the idea of picking that back up occasionally too.

Switch gets way more playtime than the PS4 ever did. It's great if you like older games too. There's a lot of very nostalgic feeling indie games. Great platform for that.

The console blockbusters take waaaaay too much time to get into IMO.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

Aldi here actually has a decent IPA that's $6 or $7 for a 6-pack. I don't remember the name but it's the regular strength, not the "session" watered-down one.

My wife got me a 6 pack of IPA she got from Aldi. It was some brand I've never heard of, but she said it was cheap and indeed it was rather

Takes me a few weeks to go through a 6 pack, so I usually just since I drink so little anyway.

[D Griff]

Aldi here actually has a decent IPA that's $6 or $7 for a 6-pack. I don't remember the name but it's the regular strength, not the "session" watered-down one.

Yep, I've bought that one as well. It is pretty good, tastes like any other basic IPA, IMO. That was one of the few beers I've had there that I thought was good though, their hard seltzers suck compared to the 'real' brands, their pumpkin beer is pretty bad/way too sweet, they have some basic lagers that are probably fine but at that point I'm happy with Miller Highlife or PBR for less money.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

I've thought about grabbing a Nintendo Switch to play Super Smash Bros. and a few other games with friends.. May still do that one of these days. Don't think I'll ever get into console gaming. The only other thing I ever enjoyed and played a lot was League of Legends.. I kick the idea of picking that back up occasionally too.

Switch gets way more playtime than the PS4 ever did. It's great if you like older games too. There's a lot of very nostalgic feeling indie games. Great platform for that.

The console blockbusters take waaaaay too much time to get into IMO.

I've got an xBone that I rarely play because it's such a time commitment to play a game. There's few things you can just sit down for 30 minutes to play, it's really involved.

The switch, we fire up and play a Mario Kart GP or two for ~30ish minutes, or play a few levels in Mario or whatever. It's way more approachable and fun.

[D Griff]

I always thought it would be to get into Forza, but I imagine it has gotten so advanced that I wouldn't want to make the time to become proficient. Perhaps Mario Kart is a better answer

I haven't gamed since PS3/xBox360...

[Desertbreh]

Voluminous. I don't drink enough beer to care about cost or quantity, I like what I like, I almost never buy beer there. They have 24 packs of inoffensive beer and lots of those 4 kinds of X from the same manufacturer. Sam Adams and probably lots of other east coast stuff I've never heard of.

Going to Costco on the weekends is a fool's errand, IMHO. They close at 8 p.m. on weekdays here, I make my entrance at 7, the store is pretty vacant, in and out. I looked up that Winking Owl stuff. That appears to literally be the new 2 buck chuck, which is no longer 2 bucks. It seems like it would be best to serve that COLD to minimize its taste as much as possible. I would be interested to hear what kinds of reds they have at the NC Costco, e.g. how far do my Paso Robles daily drivers travel in the Costco chain.

Several people on top of you and Chris have recommended the wine so I’m sure we’ll try it at some point.

Fortunately it’s close enough that I could pop in during work, I’m hoping it is dead at 2PM on a Tuesday or something.

You shouldn't just send your woman to Costco. They have a LOT of man toys at deeply discounted prices, which are not always in stock year round. For instance, they had QuickJack 5000s for $999, that's almost 1/3 of list. Bulk Microfiber for pretty much free. Some pretty outstanding tool deals. And as Chris has mentioned, always solid on A/V pricing. Pretty sweet outdoor/patio/BBQ section.

[Desertbreh]

Switch gets way more playtime than the PS4 ever did. It's great if you like older games too. There's a lot of very nostalgic feeling indie games. Great platform for that.

The console blockbusters take waaaaay too much time to get into IMO.

I've got an xBone that I rarely play because it's such a time commitment to play a game. There's few things you can just sit down for 30 minutes to play, it's really involved.

The switch, we fire up and play a Mario Kart GP or two for ~30ish minutes, or play a few levels in Mario or whatever. It's way more approachable and fun.

I'm saving video games for when I have back surgery or some other form of major disability.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

I always thought it would be to get into Forza, but I imagine it has gotten so advanced that I wouldn't want to make the time to become proficient. Perhaps Mario Kart is a better answer

I haven't gamed since PS3/xBox360...

I was terrible at Forza on the xBone for at least a month. I got better, but again it takes regular effort. Mario Kart, not so much.

[troyguitar]

Racing sims are terrible if you ever look at the lap times of other people. I enjoyed the rally game as long as I never checked the internet leaderboards. The only way to be fast in those things is to dedicate your entire life to it. Fuuuck that, games are supposed to be fun.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

Several people on top of you and Chris have recommended the wine so I’m sure we’ll try it at some point.

Fortunately it’s close enough that I could pop in during work, I’m hoping it is dead at 2PM on a Tuesday or something.

You shouldn't just send your woman to Costco. They have a LOT of man toys at deeply discounted prices, which are not always in stock year round. For instance, they had QuickJack 5000s for $999, that's almost 1/3 of list. Bulk Microfiber for pretty much free. Some pretty outstanding tool deals. And as Chris has mentioned, always solid on A/V pricing. Pretty sweet outdoor/patio/BBQ section.

Excellent points.

I got a patio umbrella with sunbrella fabric for $100 last spring, and it held up all year looking like new when I took it down last week.

I bought my kamado grill from Costco 5ish years ago now for $400 and it's been outstanding still with only normal wear and tear items being replaced (gaskets, thermometer, etc).

The pack of microfiber cloths I bought a few years ago for $10 is just about gone now.

They do discounts on Mobil 1 oil ever few months that makes it cheaper than anywhere else.

There are indeed good man toy options.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

Racing sims are terrible if you ever look at the lap times of other people. I enjoyed the rally game as long as I never checked the internet leaderboards. The only way to be fast in those things is to dedicate your entire life to it. Fuuuck that, games are supposed to be fun.

Yea, the most fun is to ignore lap times from others IRL and just have fun wheel to wheel.

Forza Horizon was fun, and actually decently easy to just pick up. I should start playing that again.