I have been really into Half-Life 1 and just recently finished the first 2 expansions.

Opposing force was awesome. I loved all the new weapons. The expanded lore into the kinds of research that Black Mesa was doing was nice. And the HECU squad mates were so much more helpful than the scientists and Barneys.

Blue Shift on the other hand was much shorter and didn’t have any new weapons but it did have a bigger focus on the lore of black mesa and had references to Half-Life, Opposing Force, and even Decay. Dr. Rosenberg did a lot of exposition to explain the lore further as well. Overall it was a good experience with very little downtime compared to Half-Life.

I’ve even started playing Decay now with my 8 year old and we are having a lot of fun with that. Its mission structure compared to the unbroken chapter structure of the rest of the games is quite the difference but it works with the co-op gameplay. We are only about 4 missions in but I look forward to experiencing more of it. Dr Rosenberg is back too so I love that it’s another perspective of the events that happened in the other expansions and base game.

I just wanted share my thoughts and maybe here more of the community thoughts as I just love Half-Life despite never really experiencing it until last year

On behalf of all the dads, sons, or daughters; if you are a mom, thank you!

Moms are a miracle. My kids remind of that. I just spent an hour wrestling with the kids at the dinner table because they wouldn’t eat the Mother’s Day lunch I prepared them. Thank you to all the moms who put up with us as kids because we are getting it back now. And thank you to the wives’ who this is their daily reality.

Specs-
MOBO: Intel D875PBZ board
CPU: Pentium 4 3.0GHz
RAM: 512MB DDR
GPU: Nvidia 6800 GT
Sound: Sound Blaster Audigy SB0090

Keyboard: IBM KB8923 Mechanical Mouse: Microsoft Intellimouse Optical

Display: Compaq S710 CRT 1024x768 @ 85Hz

I have the whole thing connected to the Belkin SoHo KVM with my Windows 11 PC (behind the cabinet on the left) and my NUC that I use as a home lab server (on top of the Blu-ray drive on the right)

A blog post on the build will be forthcoming but feel free to suggest games and software I should load onto or AMA about the system.

It was a really fun project

I’m looking for a mouse and keyboard that will work for my retro 98SE build while also being acceptable for playing on my windows 11 pc that’s connected via KVM at the same desk.

Requirement is for it to use PS/2 so I don’t have to connect another input device because the USB driver decided not to load on 98.

I’ve been trying to google for information but not getting a lot of good answers. Thanks in advance for your advice folks

My latest blog post is my review of the first Half-Life game. I decided to break the review up into acts as I feel each act of the game has its own focus on different aspects of game design.

Act 1 being setting, characters, and story. Act 2 being sound, gunplay, and combat. And Act 3 being gameplay.


Act 1 (Story)- 4 ☢️s out 5


Act 2 (Combat)- 5 ☢️s out of 5


Act 3 (Gameplay)- 3 ☢️s out 5


Overall-4 ☢️s out of 5

Do I take the job? This weird guy keeps asking me to choose!

This may be somewhat obvious advice but it makes a huge difference. If your iPhone says the battery is degraded (under 80% battery health) then take it to a repair center and replace the battery. Even if your phone says it’s at “Peak Performance” despite the battery health.

For context, my iPhone 13 mini (purchased at launch in 2021) was at 74% battery health and the battery menu said it was degraded and to seek service despite also saying “Peak Performance Capability”. I could tell because my phone would become hotter than the surface of the sun if I used it for more than 10 minutes. It would also become so slow if trying to use the internet as it struggled to load all the JavaScript and ads and such when loading websites.

I decided to get the battery replaced at the Apple Store (and they decided to replace the screen as well for no additional charge) for a total of $89 before tax. It runs like it is brand new and I could totally see me getting another 3 years out of it.

If anyone is considering buying a new device or just repairing their existing device, I can’t recommend replacing the battery enough. It really made an impact in my experience

A really good explanation that I felt deserved to be highlighted.