STG's

I recently got Just Cause 4. Reviews are not so bad anymore, and the discount was very nice. Just some notes: - seems nice overall. In particular, I like the new modes for the grappler. - car handling is as bad as they say in the reviews. - the new system seems weird, and a lot of stuff you could do in Just Cause 3 is just gone. - the UI for keyboard and mouse is spectacularly stupid, and seems to assume that you have the enter key within easy reach whenever you are using the mouse (i.e. you can't confirm a lot of stuff with the mouse). You also need to use backspace a lot, which no sane game ever does because why would you, when you can just use ESC??? Update (17/Dec/2020): I've played some more, and the missions are very repetitive and not fun at all. And as usual, enemies teleport all over the place, sometimes a few meters from you, which I personally find very,very annoying. So I wouldn't recommend it, even on sale.

 Just watched some interesting considerations about Kindle (the recent physical devices, although most apply to the app, too) in the SuperLearner MasterClass, as it relates to speed reading: - you can change margins. I always max it out, which is what is recommended for speed reading (max absorption per saccade). - you can change font size with a pincer movement (that one was new to me). It is good to remember that speed reading can be more tiring for your eyes, so increasing the font size may be a good idea. - there is a button on the bottom of the screen for a preview mode (you have probably seen it, and they made sure to present it when it was added). But that is a great help for pre-reading (going ahead very quickly stablishing what you will read, for interest and pre-markers), as well as reviewing markers at the end of the chapter, because you will quickly go back to your page when you close the preview. - X-Ray is also useful for pre-reading - you get lists of people, notable...

 Attack Surface is a new techno-thriller from Cory Doctorow, and a sequel to Big Brother and Homeland. The story takes place in a very plausible near future, where governments use surveillance all the time to hack your phones and track you (Yes, I realize that for just that description, that is just called "the present" ). The book is about Masha, a coder in a private company helping governments track everyone, but mainly activists. But she is guilty about what she is doing, and also helps them on the side... As usual from Cory Doctorow, what happens and the tracking techniques are very, very realistic. One of the intended purposes of the books is to serve as a wake up call, so that we can try to stop the 1984+ trends that are happening right now. This was the first book I backed on Kickstarter, and I am very happy I did. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and hope it will serve as a alert for mankind (but doubt it)...

 Comprei uma Câmera Intelbras IC4. É boazinha - 720p, 360 graus de rotação (quase), auto-tracking, visão noturna (muito boa). Pode adicionar microSD. Estava com um ótimo desconto no Prime Day. Tem app para Android, funciona bem. Mas claro que se você está no PC, usar um emulador de android é irritante, sem falar em deixar o celular ligado só para ver alguma câmera. Felizmente, no fórum da Intelbras tinha uma dica (incompleta) de como usar na sua rede: Abra o VLC Player (baixe e instale, se precisar, óbvio). Vá no menu Mídia, Abrir Fluxo de Rede coloque rtsp://admin:CHAVEDEACESSO@IPDACAMERA Chave de Acesso vem impressa embaixo da câmera. Se você trocou no aplicativo, vai ter que usar esse. IP você provavelmente deveria fixar com o seu router via MAC da câmera (veja as instruções do router). Se não souber, uma forma de descobrir e usar o aplicativo Fing no android ou iPhone e scannear seu wi-fi. Você também pode acessar seu router e ver a lista de dispositivos conectados e ir por ten...

 This is an Early Access game. I just got Age of Defense, a tower defense (TD) game. It was very, very cheap (about US$1.5 after the sale and exchange rates), and I like another game from the same publisher, another TD, Warstone TD. A super annoying thing is that they decided to use just little ideograms, instead of text, in the interface. You can figure out what most things say, but I really, really hate it. I guess this is one way to save on localization. Art is OK, and the gameplay has the same problem as Warstone - it feels very, very slow. Also, the upgrade UI has terrible contrast when disabled. There is a lot of user intervation - you have to use little traps to get extra enemies, as well as fireballs. Of course, there are towers, with different characteristics, as all TD games. Not many so far. Overall, I don't really like it, but I'm hopeful that it will get better. Can't complain about the price, though.

Some time ago, I got Sid Meier's Civilization Beyond Earth on a sale.  It was a logical choice, even if reviews weren't so great, as I really liked all Civilization games. My first impression of this one is of annoyance at all the small things (also, the tiny UI on quad-HD). I will try longer, but I am not impressed so far. No idea if it is the game, or if as I get older I have less patience for complicated games...

 Carrion is an interesting title. It is a platformer, but in it you are a tentacle filled mass which escaped from a lab, and goes around trying to escape and killing people.  Graphics are retro, and pretty well done. Movement looks great, as well as manipulation of the place - such as opening doors, pulling objects, etc. Apparently you can acquire powers - such as throwing webs that allow to trap people temporarily, or moving objects you can't reach. The only problem I have with the game is that sometimes things you can enter or manipulate aren't obvious. And the maps can be a little like mazes at time. Overall, very clever, and strongly recommended.

 Nosso Lar is a spiritualist novel, supposedly psychographed. There was a movie made from it, which I liked, and so when I realized this was on Amazon Unlimited I thought I'd check it out. It is quite interesting, but feels a little flat. It is also a rare case of a movie I like more than the book - the long explanations are a little boring, and while it has been a while, the movie did better in that regard.

 Warhammer 40,000 Inquisitor - Martyr is a isometric action RPG, like Diablo, but obviously in the  Warhammer 40,000 universe. It takes place in a (apparently abandoned) spaceship an inquisitor goes to check a distress signal on (now that is an overused trope). I played a little so far, and the story is OK. So are the graphics, sound, and the UI (mostly). What really, really bothers me is how bad the camera is. I'm constantly unable to view enemies that I can actually shoot. So far, really can't recommend it.

 For whatever reasons, I hadn't canceled my Apple Music membership, even though I've been using Google Play/YouTube Music for a while. So I've decided to check out Planet of the Apps, their app Shark Tank. I actually quite enjoyed it. No idea if you need to be an app developer to like it, though, as it flopped quite badly and was cancelled after a season. I'd would have thought it would work well for all involved. The developers get visibility and/or money plus mentorship, Apple gets advertising and better apps, and the advisors get - I don't really know what is in for most of them, except extra exposure (probably not a big factor for any of them). Too bad it was so short. Great name, too.