Hello, and thank you for clicking on this post link today, or whenever.

If you are a parent, you know that there’s never a dull moment with these little humans we watch over. Today, after a very fun day at the Nature Center, a post will come up about it soon. We ended up at the ER. How did we manage that? Well, grab a drink and let me tell you.

As I have said, after a fun morning at the Boise Nature Center, the kiddos, the nephies, and the grandparents all headed back to the grandparents’ house. The little humans still wanted to play among themselves and have a great time, as they do. And so my lady and I sought this opportunity to have a short and well deserved day date and visit a new local brewery. In about 5 minutes on our way to said brewery, we got a call from Grandma. “Marley has fallen from the scooter, and her arm is hurting pretty badly.”

Needless to say, we turn around, get to the grandparents’ house, and check on  Marley. Cousins were worried and scared for her. Marley was, understandably, in pain and scared. We rushed to the ER, as any parent would. At this point, she’s dealing with the pain and the unknown. For us, it was running through all the possibilities in our head and yet being calm and doing anything to ensure she’ll be okay, no matter what. And she knows the Hospital is a safe place and where she’ll get the help she needs, so all she’s thinking is, how much longer?

We get to the hospital and get her checked in. We go through all the procedures of getting her checked in, and we get a room. A few minutes later, a doctor walks in. However, before the doctor walked in, and in order to get Marley laughing and worry-free, we told her to tell the doctor that she was fighting a squirrel, and then ten more squirrels banded together and pushed her off the scooter. She laughed, but didn’t go with it.

After getting some medicine for the pain, an X-ray lady walks in, takes some gamma-ray pictures, and walks off. The doctor walks back in. She’s got a buckle fracture.

An incomplete, stable pediatric fracture where one side of the bone bends or "buckles" without breaking all the way through  

Which, we learned, is a very common type of injury in children under 10 years old. Guess what Marley’s age is? 10.

Marley got a splint, a lolly pop, a sticker stamp, a plush, and the best care.

And she’s doing great!

That is the official story, but I am still gonna tell it like this:

Verily, she did pursue the squirrels upon her scooter; and lo, as many as ten more did gather and beset her, casting her from the same. And she, with grace, did alight upon her arm—whence came a buckle fracture.  

When it comes to buying new vidya games and such, for the past few years, I have been visiting my local game store, VIP Games. Mainly because they give me good money for my trades, and back when I was looking to get a  PS5, they went above and beyond to get me one. Ever since then, they have had my business.

They don’t just sell games; they also sell toys, collectibles, old consoles, rare and obscure things, all pop culture related. For the past few visits, every time we got, Marlay, my oldest, goes straight to this Nezuko action figure, being the Demon Slayer fan that she is, and her love for the character, well, not much to say there. The problem was the price tag, 75 USD. It is not just your typical action figure; this one comes with multiple face expressions, body parts, and more.

Today, we visited the store. The plan was this: I already had 31 USD in credit, and was going to trade in a game or two in hopes of having enough to buy Pokémon™ Pokopia. Like on every visit, Marley went to the Nezuko figure, and being the very last, she got anxious. At that moment, my idea was to ask if layaway was still a thing to do, a thing I used to do a lot back in my youth, lol. The lady said, not regularly, but for this situation, they’ll do it. They take my games, they price me out, and I had made, including the credit I already had, 70 USD.

And this is when, rather than ask for the game I wanted, I decided to just use the credit to get Marley’s Nezuko. I know what it is to want something, not being able to get it, and maybe, just maybe, a miracle may happen. I didn’t even ask if they had the game; I just gave them the box with the figure. I was 80 cents short, which I was okay to cover, right, and yet, the guys at the store said, “I’ll just put an extra 80 cents on your account, nobody is gonna get mad about 80 cents.

Because of things like this, this is why I keep coming back to this store. It smells weird, but it is so worth it.

Video games Backlog, we all — gamers — have one. Is like an unwritten rule, or a universal phenomenon. Is a thing that probably did not exist when most of us were kids, as gaming choices and availability were less than what it is now days. And with the surge of retro emulation handhelds, well is much, much worse. I remembered when I first got my first retro thing, I said, “My backlog just got bigger.”  Hundreds of games, in your pocket.

I have myself been trying to limit the choices I have in my own retro device by keeping the minimum amount of games per system, in the hopes that I eventually may play at least half of them in the near future. Many of those games are games that most people would argue are the ones that every gamer should play at least once. Some of those I have started, many times, and some Pokémon rom hack comes along, and there goes that game. I think it is fair to say that my retro gaming device is mostly a Pokémon gaming device.

This is my list of must-play games. I have started many times but never finished.

CHRONO TRIGGER

I think I have this game in many versions. I have a physical cartridge for the Nintendo DS, well, for my 3DS XL, rather. I think I owned it on iOS, and of course, I have the SNES version. And yet, every time I start it, I can’t seem to stick to it. I am not sure which version is best; it seems like the consensus is the DS version.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

I have started this one at least 4 times by now, and again, I can’t seem to stick to it and finish.

Fire Emblem (GBA)

I think my first Fire Emblem ever played and finished was Fire Emblem: Fates - Birthright, and I am yet to play any other, well, I did try Three Houses but never finished it either, and it’s one I mean to get back to at some point. But apparently, the GBA one is highly regarded. However, I am set on playing the Fire Emblem Legacy Rom Hack by TheSmithPlays, the same creator who got us the Pokémon Legacy games. Apparently its got some quality of life enhancements that make the playthrough somewhat better. 

Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver

My first Pokémon game ever played was Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, specifically Pearl. I did not know at the time that this was probably the worst game to play this generation, so HeartGold and SoulSilver had always been under my radar to play. Some may argue that Pokémon Platinum is probably the best, but I am set on either of the other two. But, as you probably guess, I have started them many times, even Platinum, and never got past the second gym.

Metroid Fusion

This one has been on my must-want-to-play list forever, and part of me is scared of it; I am not sure why. Perhaps because Metroid games are kind of difficult. But maybe with some skill-adjacent shortcuts, AKA cheats, I might dare to try and finish it for good, or just Git gud!

Golden Sun

I have been wanting to play this game, way before I was aware of Retro emulation and such. I have heard nothing but great things about this game, and this is also one of those must-play games out there. The thing is that I technically have no excuse. I can play it on my retor device or even on the Nintendo Switch, and yet, I can’t seem to be able to stick with it every time I start it.

Mother (video game series)

Another series of games that I feel like I must play, it is on my device, but, ugh, I don’t know what it is I can get myself to start.

Last but not least,

Advance Wars (GBA)

You have no idea how many times I have started this one, and yup, you’ve guessed it, I have never finished it.

I am not sure if it’s my attention span or the fact that these are games that require me to sit and follow along, whereas Pokémon games, especially any variation of Pokémon Crystal or Gen2 in general, are like comfort food to me, and they are easy for me to just sit and just play. 

I may have to challenge myself and play these games and not just “play” them, but finish them.

Oh, and another one, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, not sure why. I did play and finish Emerald, but not the other two. I have tried many ROM hacks based on those, but never finished them. The release of them on the Switch kind of gave me the motivation to play it. I am still working my way through it. I am currently in some Team Rocket building, and I am dragging, but I promise I’ll see it through. My pinky promises.

So, I am curious, are you in the same boat as me with either of these games listed, or what are the must-want-to-play games that you haven’t finished?

So, a few weeks ago, I got Marley a Nezuko figure. Then, we got into a photoshoot around the house. She would create the poses, I’d take the pictures.

Forty-three, you know this number. We all know this number.  But just in case, let me tell you about some facts I found about it.

43 is a prime number — it can only be divided by 1 and itself. 

43 is the atomic number of Technetium (Tc) — a radioactive element. It was the first artificially produced element, not found naturally in stable form on Earth, and it is used in medical imaging, especially in nuclear medicine scans. 

Messier 43 (M43) is a nebula located near the famous Orion Nebula. It’s sometimes called De Mairan’s Nebula, discovered in the 1700s.

The 43rd President of the US was George W. Bush (sorry about that).

In numerology, 43 is sometimes associated with creativity + stability (4 = structure, 3 = creativity). Some mathematicians like 43 because it shows up in quirky number patterns and puzzles.

Alright, alright! Enough of that!

None of that matters; what matters is that on March 31st of the year of our lord, 2026, I have turned 43 years old, and it was a very unusual one. First, it landed on a Tuesday! Well, okay, you could make the case is taco Tuesday, so more reason to celebrate or whatever. Second, I had to travel for work that day. Which kind of sucked because that meant I couldn’t spend it with the family, but it is what it is. Where was I traveling, you ask? Well, to Ames, fkn’, Iowa! 😁

And why, you ask? Well, the company that I work for has one of our labs there, and I have been wanting to visit it for years! And finally, the opportunity came. Although probably not under the best circumstances, as all operations for that lab are being moved elsewhere, and all but 3 people are losing their jobs by the end of the year or Q1 of next year. That sucks, very much! IT broke my heart when I heard. I have been working with these people for years, even if it was just via email or Zoom calls. Most of what I do is because of their work. 

This trip to me wasn’t just about learning more about the lab and all the work they do behind the scenes to produce the data I will later be working with; it was to see these people face to face and tell them thank you! To let them know how much I appreciate working with them, for all their help, and their teachings. It was nice to get to spend time with them in the lab and outside of the lab. I got to visit a few of the local breweries and an amazing local Pizza. 

All things considered, it was a good trip. Until it was time to come back. The weather  and the travel lords weren’t as kind to me. First, the driving from Ames to Des Moines was fun, as they say, lots of heavy rain the entire way, but I can handle that. The problem was that the plane inbound that was supposed to go to Minneapolis got delayed by 1 hour, which in turn made me lose my connecting flight from Minneapolis to Boise. Instead, I got rebokked and went from Miniepolist to Salt Lake, from Salt Lake to Boise. Rather than a 10 PM arrival time, it was 1 AM.

So, thank you for reading!

Bye-bye!

Dorohedoro

Back in 2020, yes, 6 years ago, the most deranged, awesome, most stylistic anime show appeared on Netflix; Dorohedoro. From the very first episode, I was hooked! And 6 years later, we finally got season 2, and I am back on this train, I am obsessed, and I am loving every episode. Episodes of season 2 are dropping weekly; there are 4 so far. And because it’s been 6 years since I saw season 1, I am starting my journey again, remembering why I was obsessed 6 years ago.

Dorohedoro is basically what happens if you throw dark magic, weird humor, and straight-up chaos into a blender. It follows this dude with a lizard head named Caiman, who’s trying to figure out who cursed him, all while living in this grimy, messed-up city called Hole. The vibe is super gritty but also oddly funny, with wild characters, brutal fights, and a story that somehow stays confusing in a good way. It’s weird, violent, and charming at the same time—definitely not your typical anime, and the reason why I love it!

“doro” (泥) = mud or sludge, “hedoro” (ヘドロ) = toxic sludge, filth, or industrial muck. So together, “Dorohedoro” basically gives off a vibe like:  “mud and sludge,”  “filthy chaos,” or “grimy mess.”  Or at least that’s what the internet tells me. There’s this dude in the youtubes there that has a more in-depth analysis of what this shows represents. It was released 4 years ago, so just about the first season, then it goes into spoilers based on the manga, since the manga was actually finished years ago, before it was even brought up as a TV show; it’s good shit. 

And I believe and hope that season 2 will be the culmination of this story. I don’t want to have to wait another 6 years for season 3. Honestly, if you like weird, violent, almost grotesque, and humorous anime, you should definitely check it out.

Gabz’s out!