Project Highrise.

The sky is the limit in SomaSim Game’s Project Highrise.

If you’ve been around for a while, you might be familiar with the 1994 simulation title SimTower. The Japanese game, which was published by the once great Maxis outside of Japan, allowed the player to construct and manage a modern, multi-use skyscraper. Even though I never really got the hang of it1, I loved SimTower. When Chicago based developer SomaSim released Project Highrise back in 2016, I got properly excited. The game behaved like SimTower’s older brother, but with an even more detailed simulation than its spiritual predecessor offered.

I didn’t put on my hardhat, and entered the construction business immediately when Project Highrise was released, though. I had too much else on my plate, and the game’s art style put me off a little, to be honest. But when Project Highrise, and all its DLC appeared on sale last week, I couldn’t resist the temptation anymore. It was time to see if this was a skyscraper construction and management sim I could actually master.

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Deadpool 2.

From the studio that killed Wolverine.

For movie night a year or so ago, Anniken and I watched Deadpool. It’s a fast-paced action comedy starring my man-crush, and all-round funny face Ryan Reynolds. I never got around to write a review, but Deadpool was an absolute hoot. In about a month the sequel, Deadlpool 2, premiers, and it looks like it’s been cooked using exactly the same recipe.

I lolled.

Stellaris 2.0 With Apocalypse.

Your favorite grand strategy game in space, Stellaris, recently received both a massive overhaul, and a new expansion. But was it for better or for worse?

It’s been about a year since my first Stellaris review, in which I gave the game a rock solid 94 out of 100 score. When our heroes at Paradox released Stellaris 2.0, and the accompanying Apocalypse expansion, I’d put a massive 83 hours into the game. That put it on par with Tropico 4 in terms of gameplay hours. Other players have racked thousands of hours in Stellaris, so a measly 83 might not sound like much compared to that. But for me, that number of hours put in a game show just how entertaining it really is. That the 83 hours only covers three games, 2 won, 1 forfeited, also says a lot about Stellaris’ longevity.

Paradox is well know for keeping their games alive by frequently releasing free patches, and new DLC. Crusader Kings 2 is a good example. The game was released in 2013, but it’s still updated by Paradox. It looks like Stellaris is no exception to that rule. Two years after its release, the game has received multiple patches, two major expansions, and several story packs. Even without buying the DLC, you get a lot from just patching the game. Me, I’m throwing all my money at Paradox, one of the very few companies I buy games and DLC from on release day.

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How to install Nextcloud on NETGEAR ReadyNAS.

Once there was ownCloud. Now there is Nextcloud. It’s time to install Nextcloud on NETGEAR ReadyNAS.

If you’ve followed my 5-year-old guide How to install Owncloud on a NETGEAR ReadyNAS, you might have noticed that the ownCloud desktop client has complained about an unsupported server version for some time. ownCloud on your ReadyNAS server has been stuck on version 6, while the rest of the world has moved on to version 10. Unfortunately, the ownCloud version in the NETGEAR package repository has not been maintained, and upgrading using ownCloud’s own mechanisms has not been possible. ownCloud itself has also been through some rough times. In 2016, its founder, Frank Karlitschek, left the company, citing “moral questions”. Karlitschek went on to found Nextcloud, which is a ownCloud fork, and the file hosting software we will install now.

My particular ReadyNAS model is the 102, which uses an ARM CPU. There is no Nextcloud package in the NETGEAR package repository. This means that getting Nextcloud up and running on my ReadyNAS 102 would involve a lot of compiling, troubleshooting, and general hair pulling. Not ideal for a guy like me with a receding hairline, and I’d probably use a lot of my precious spare time that I’d prefer to prioritize differently. That’s why I’ll take the path of least resistance this time, and turn to someone who’ve gone through all those hoops already: Say hello to RNXtras.com.

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The Big Four Oh.

Yes, yesterday was the day. I’m now in my forties.

When I turned 30, I also wrote a post, appropriately titled “The Big Three Oh“. It contains a few bullet points summarizing my universe at the time:

  • I’m still enjoying playing video and computer games.
  • Getting kids is still a very distant idea.
  • I don’t want to buy a motorcycle yet. But maybe that’s what men do when they get to 40, not 30.
  • Marriage is right up there with the whole kids thing.
  • Politicians still confuse me.

10 years later, a lot of things have definitely changed, while other things haven’t changed a bit. The revised lists goes like this:

  • I still enjoy playing video and computer games, although it’s been ages since I turned on my PS3 for gaming. It’s mostly being used for movies now, and notice that I never made the jump to PS4. These days, it’s PC gaming all the way. I play much less than I did 10 years ago, though.
  • I’ve got two kids now!
  • I don’t want to buy a motorcycle yet. Maybe that’s what men do when they get to 50, not 40.
  • I’m actually married! Who would’ve thunk it? Not this guy.
  • I’ve pretty much given up on politics. Lately, it’s been an unbelievable mess, both at home and abroad.

So there you have it. Quite a lot has happened during the last 10 years. As I’m now entering the half-way point in life1, I’m in reasonably good health both physically and mentally, have no real worries, exercise semi-regularly, sleep well at night, and have a loving family.

What more can a scrawny guy with a rapidly receding hairline ask for? Nothing.

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