Hot and humid, still, again, and always. Really unpleasant here in Houston. Much nicer 2 hours north.
Got a bunch of stuff done before leaving the lake for Houston. Got home in time to see D2 swim two races.
These are the good old days.
Today I’ve got to do some stuff involving auction items and a forklift. A forklift that hasn’t moved in 2 years. It will move today, one way or the other.
There isn’t enough time in the day/week/month/year to do everything, and some stuff slipped. Now it has to unslip, and in a great big hurry. Bugger me.
So probably short shrift today. Amuse yourselves as western civilization crumbles around us… might as well.
And stack something needful. In case, you know, you need it.
n
Sounds fishy to me.
WRT LED Bulbs: I are electrical injuneer, not mechanical or thermal so I will probably muck this up. LED bulbs do not emit much IR compared to incandescent. Most, nearly all, of their heat is conducted through the base. Not all bulb bases, or bulbs for that matter, are created equal so thermal resistance can be higher with some bulbs and bases. The easiest way to improve the thermal resistance is to add metal. The easiest way to increase cost is to add metal. It is the age old engineering battle.
We may see bases designed for better heat dissipation, but the drive to push prices lower will resist that. And I don’t know how you could codify that performance easily that customers can compare products easily.
We are planning to be in the vicinity in two weeks.
It takes roughly 45 minutes to drive to the launch site from the two tall buildings you see in the background, located near the bridge from South Padre Island to Port Isabel
87F and 73%RH this morning, outdoors.
80F in my bedroom. Because the stupid smart thermostat WILL NOT stay on “hold”. I want 74F all freaking year. How hard is it to not nanny me to death by constantly defaulting to “program” and 85F HEAT? What part of “Permanent Hold” does the manf. think isn’t permanent?
I thought we (meaning my wife) changed the “program” to 74F all day, every day. But something changed when she set it higher for the weekend. GAH. Gimme a dang mercury switch.
n
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-10912725/Justin-Bieber-wait-MONTHS-facial-paralysis-heal-doctors-say.html
– so young and fit couple, one has an emergency brain issue, which she’s since recovered from, and the other has some rare facial paralysis, possibly triggered by a virus. What are the odds?
n
and aren’t strokes and blood clots, and facial paralysis side effects listed for something??
“Coincidence”, “no foreseeable cause”, and “absolutely positively not because of the vaccine” are on their way up as leading causes of death and injury.
This is caused by lack of Gravatars.
This is caused by lack of Gravatars.
This is caused by lack of Gravatars.
Where’s Fauci to explain “the science”?
At least the stories are being reported even if the explanation is nearly impossible.
Go back a year, and the prevailing attitude, even among some of the regulars here, was: “Shut yer yap, Skippy and takes yer medicine. Even if the jabs don’t really work, we all want to get back to ‘normal’.”
Bieber is the poster child for “Skippy”, at least his public “smarta**” persona of the last decade.
And I’m still part of the control.
– so young and fit couple, one has an emergency brain issue, which she’s since recovered from, and the other has some rare facial paralysis, possibly triggered by a virus. What are the odds?
>> BTW2, if you have two electric vehicles, you are going to need a 400 amp breaker box.
We have two LEAFs that we slow charge one at a time from a dedicated 20 amp circuit on our existing 200 amp service. 24 hours to go from zero to 100 percent charge. Rarely do they go below 50% as we mostly drive locally. Top off at 85%. Works for us at the moment.
Yup, they are good light usage vehicles. One of my employees just bought one with the 45 ??? kwh battery, he was told June 6, it has yet to show up. He wanted the 65 ??? kwh battery for $3,000 more but the wait was until August something and he blew the engine in his 1998 Nisan Stanza so he took the regular battery.
But if a family has an electric SUV and an electric truck, both using 1.5X or 2X the amount of power in your Leafs, would your system still work ?
BTW, are you using natural gas in your house for a stove, cooktop, water heater, outside kitchen, or a house heater ? If so, all that is going away and will be converted to electric to make the dogooders feel real good.
“Sydney Grid Fail: Australia’s Greenest Voters Plunged into Darkness”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/06/14/sydney-grid-fail-deep-green-voters-plunged-into-darkness/
Welcome to the new normal. I wonder if their electric cars are charging when the grid is off ?
One more for the “how long does the USB port on the truck’s radio stay powered” question.
About 2 minutes and 15 seconds. From shutting the door with the ignition off or from turning the ignition off.
2019 Nissan Frontier with the fancy Rockgate/Fosworth radio system. It does GPS for maps, XM, and the backup camera.
Now I know.
I saw an article online where GM was recommending installation of 40 A service for each vehicle in order to be able to charge their Jesus Truck overnight. Of course, right now, their truck is vaporware.
You won’t hear the truth about charging requirements of Ford’s Jesus Truck in the real world for a while. The early deliveries are to the Blue Oval faithful who quaff deeply from the Kool Aid vat in Dearborn.
All the people that live in blue hives, and park on the street, aren’t going to be putting in chargers… or buying the EVs. They don’t even WANT new cars because they’ll just get thrashed on the street anyway.
n
WRT LED Bulbs: I are electrical injuneer, not mechanical or thermal so I will probably muck this up. LED bulbs do not emit much IR compared to incandescent. Most, nearly all, of their heat is conducted through the base. Not all bulb bases, or bulbs for that matter, are created equal so thermal resistance can be higher with some bulbs and bases. The easiest way to improve the thermal resistance is to add metal. The easiest way to increase cost is to add metal. It is the age old engineering battle.
We may see bases designed for better heat dissipation, but the drive to push prices lower will resist that. And I don’t know how you could codify that performance easily that customers can compare products easily.
GE used to make an 100 watt equivalent LED light bulb with plastic arms coming out of the base around the bulb to help dissipate heat. I still have 20 or 30 or these installed around the place. Only one has failed to date. They were $15.50 each in 2015.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NOSDYE4?tag=ttgnet-20/
Pearls Before Swine: Stock Broker
https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2022/06/14
Yup, I am broker now too. Pig is my mirror.
BTW, are you using natural gas in your house for a stove, cooktop, water heater, outside kitchen, or a house heater ? If so, all that is going away and will be converted to electric to make the dogooders feel real good.
Lets just call this “The War on Fire”. After all, we have umpteen million federal wars going on in everything else: the War on Drugs, the War on Terror, the War on Obesity, etc.
BC: Peter’s New Homes
https://www.gocomics.com/bc/2022/06/14
So they had a housing shortage in BC too. To be followed by a housing bubble explosion.
“Sydney Grid Fail: Australia’s Greenest Voters Plunged into Darkness”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/06/14/sydney-grid-fail-deep-green-voters-plunged-into-darkness/
Welcome to the new normal. I wonder if their electric cars are charging when the grid is off ?
Sigh, I meant discharging, not charging.
Welcome to the new normal. I wonder if their electric cars are discharging when the grid is off ?
87F and 73%RH this morning, outdoors.
80F in my bedroom. Because the stupid smart thermostat WILL NOT stay on “hold”. I want 74F all freaking year. How hard is it to not nanny me to death by constantly defaulting to “program” and 85F HEAT? What part of “Permanent Hold” does the manf. think isn’t permanent?
I thought we (meaning my wife) changed the “program” to 74F all day, every day. But something changed when she set it higher for the weekend. GAH. Gimme a dang mercury switch.
You and me bro.
“IRS boosting mileage deduction as gas prices soar”
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/3523171-irs-boosting-mileage-deduction-as-gas-prices-soar/
“In a statement last week, the IRS said that starting on July 1, the standard mileage rate will increase by four cents to 62.5 cents per mile. ”
It is about time !
Hat tip to:
https://www.drudgereport.com/
Don’t plan on going to Yellowstone National Park in the near future – or maybe longer. Every road in the park has damage due to flooding and road washouts.
Some areas (Gardiner, on the north entrance) are fully isolated because of road washouts and landslides. And more rain expected.
Video from the area should extensive damage to many sections of roads.
https://www.9news.com/article/weather/weather-colorado/yellowstone-flooding/73-59a783c6-cf93-4ad3-84a2-f270fdd1b62a
Wow !
I have two of the Philips “flat” bulbs from the same era, which also take a unique approach to heat dissipation and were similarly priced. Both still work like new.
One is installed outside. It outlasted the $20 fixture I bought for that location.
Most people were not going to pay $15 for a lightbulb, however so the Philips bulbs are no longer available.
I’ve also had decent luck with curly fry bulbs from Costco, but those are gone from store shelves too. The last few I own are still working in closet fixtures.
“Taiwan Official Warns Supersonic Cruise Missile Can Strike Beijing”
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/taiwan-official-warns-supersonic-cruise-missile-can-strike-beijing
“As China’s hostility intensifies, a top Taiwanese official warns that the Yun Feng supersonic cruise missile can reach out and touch Beijing.”
Well, that is one way to pound the war drum.
>> We may see bases designed for better heat dissipation, but the drive to push prices lower will resist that. And I don’t know how you could codify that performance easily that customers can compare products easily.
I would think that for the average consumer (not this group) LED bulbs are now a commodity item and they’ll pick up whatever is cheapest at the dollar store or Wally Mart. For the latter the buyers in Bentonville in effect decide the quality/life of the bulbs they sell. As long as that’s somewhat longer than their incandescent or CFL bulbs lasted they’re happy.
I finally emptied the last of the junk from Mom’s house that’s been in the back of the van for a couple of months. There’s some lazy and some of where do I put this crap going on.
The real estate dude is doing something. I don’t know what. Just put a sign in the yard already.
I wonder what the pawn shop will give for a nice looking circular saw? I already have two that I hate to use. I know, man up boy but they scare me. Saber or jig saws are not a problem. I’m cool with my chainsaws.
Then there are several “bronze” statues of critters. A couple of cows (ok, bulls), a couple of deer-like critters, and one actually nice looking solid brass eagle that’s heavy enough to crack a skull. Pretty much just late night TV clutter that needs to be dusted.
The van proved again Ford is crap. The interior tailgate handle broke. Just popped off in my hand. Huh? Sure, it’s a 2004 but allowing that it has all of 52,000 miles, it’s not like it should be worn out.
I looked at eBay. $26 is too much…. not that the color matters. But it’s the same age.
Ok, I can Southern Engineer this. I’m being polite. Maybe some rope. Maybe some of what Southwestern Bell called “mule tape”. The stuff is flat and about a half inch wide and slick and was used to pull cable.
I know! Get longer bolts and washers. Beat the washer into shape, file off the rough edges and sure, the bolt will show instead of hiding under a cover. A rope will probably get jammed in the jamb or be too short to be easy to use.
I know some folks love their Fords. Maybe 2004 was an off year for the Freestar. Van runs great but stuff like the power locks and windows working when they feel like it are annoying. I’m not a fan of having the pit behind the back seat full of groceries and the locks deciding to not un-lock for a week or so. I know there is a little pop off access panel and you can stick a finger in there to un-lock the tailgate. While laying over the seat back. But having a key lock? Nope.
“US Shuts Down ‘SSNDOB Marketplace’ for Selling Social Security Numbers”
https://www.pcmag.com/news/us-shuts-down-ssndob-marketplace-for-selling-social-security-numbers
“The marketplace trafficked in the personal information of about 24 million individuals based in the US, according to investigators.”
“According to investigators, the SSNDOB Marketplace raked in over $19 million in revenue by selling the stolen personal information, which also included names and dates of births. In addition, the administrators behind SSNDOB advertised the marketplace on underground forums on the dark web, where hackers buy and sell goods.”
I am in the wrong business.
>> We may see bases designed for better heat dissipation, but the drive to push prices lower will resist that. And I don’t know how you could codify that performance easily that customers can compare products easily.
I would think that for the average consumer (not this group) LED bulbs are now a commodity item and they’ll pick up whatever is cheapest at the dollar store or Wally Mart. For the latter the buyers in Bentonville in effect decide the quality/life of the bulbs they sell. As long as that’s somewhat longer than their incandescent or CFL bulbs lasted they’re happy.
Yup, at a dollar each for LED bulbs, the reliability ship has sailed. The rule that you can only have two out of good, cheap, and fast gets reduced to one here.
At 5 years times 70 hours per week times 52 weeks / years, I am getting 18,000 hours out of the LED bulbs. Not bad.
The van proved again Ford is crap. The interior tailgate handle broke. Just popped off in my hand. Huh? Sure, it’s a 2004 but allowing that it has all of 52,000 miles, it’s not like it should be worn out.
I know some folks love their Fords. Maybe 2004 was an off year for the Freestar. Van runs great but stuff like the power locks and windows working when they feel like it are annoying. I’m not a fan of having the pit behind the back seat full of groceries and the locks deciding to not un-lock for a week or so. I know there is a little pop off access panel and you can stick a finger in there to un-lock the tailgate. While laying over the seat back. But having a key lock? Nope.
I always regarded the Freestar as a wannabe Ford. Everything is cheap plastic in it. At least the F-150 used more of the cheap plastic as they expect people to beat the crap out of F-150s.
I did have that tailgate handle break off my 2005 Expedition at 150,000 miles. I ordered a new one off Amazon for $20, installed, and life was good.
“Proposed gas furnace efficiency rule expected to move 9% of customers toward electric heat: DOE”
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/doe-proposed-gas-furnace-efficiency-rule-electric-heating/625426/
“The U.S. Department of Energy on Monday proposed new energy efficiency standards for residential gas furnaces. If finalized on DOE’s proposed schedule, the new rule would go into effect in 2029 and require gas furnaces to be 95% fuel efficient.”
What, you thought I was kidding about converting our homes to total electric ?
Just wait until they start mixing green hydrogen into our natural gas pipelines next January. You want that stuff in your house ?
Taiwan may well be easy to invade, but keeping it, with the TSMC fabs intact, will be tough. Plus there is the nuke question mark.
TSMC has a facility here in WA State. Not a great facility, but a presence none the less. I imagine it has seen some investment in the eight years since we left Vantucky.
What happened to the blue and red hydrogen? Or is green hydrogen just a mixture of yellow and blue hydrogen?
Hydrogen wants to be free. It is difficult to contain and will migrate through many materials. Are the gas lines and connections up to having hydrogen in the mixture? Will hydrogen leak, and accumulate, without any of that nasty smell to indicate a leak?
As Stu has stated, solar panel programs are mostly frauds.
https://www.wate.com/investigations/madisonville-couple-scorched-by-solar-panel-loan/
So not only will they be paying probably half the original electric bill. about $1,100 (optimistically), they will now be paying an additional $4,500 a year to a loan company. Their normal yearly electric bill will be $5,600 (loan + half normal electric) with solar panels for the next seven years.
Even if optimistically, they save $1,100 a year on their electric bill the payback is over 50 years because of the loan.
PT Barnum was right.
What happened to the blue and red hydrogen? Or is green hydrogen just a mixture of yellow and blue hydrogen?
Hydrogen wants to be free. It is difficult to contain and will migrate through many materials. Are the gas lines and connections up to having hydrogen in the mixture? Will hydrogen leak, and accumulate, without any of that nasty smell to indicate a leak?
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/06/what-is-green-hydrogen-vs-blue-hydrogen-and-why-it-matters.html
Green hydrogen is when the energy used to power electrolysis comes from renewable sources like wind, water or solar.
Blue hydrogen is hydrogen produced from natural gas with a process of steam methane reforming, where natural gas is mixed with very hot steam and a catalyst. A chemical reaction occurs creating hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Water is added to that mixture, turning the carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide and more hydrogen. If the carbon dioxide emissions are then captured and stored underground, the process is considered carbon-neutral, and the resulting hydrogen is called “blue hydrogen.”
Grey hydrogen is made from natural gas reforming like blue hydrogen, but without any efforts to capture carbon dioxide byproducts.
Pink hydrogen is hydrogen made with electrolysis powered by nuclear energy, which does not produce any carbon dioxide emissions. (Although nuclear energy creates radioactive waste which must be stored safely for thousands of years.)
Yellow hydrogen is hydrogen made with electrolysis from the energy grid. The carbon emissions vary greatly depending on the sources powering the grid.
Turquoise hydrogen is hydrogen produced from methane pyrolysis, or splitting methane into hydrogen and solid carbon with heat in reactors or blast furnaces. Turquoise hydrogen is still in its nascent stages of being commercialized, and its climate-conscious value depends on powering the pyrolysis with clean energy and storing the physical carbon.
This message is approved by plugsy McSpongeBrain.
I thought I was being silly. Now I have been schooled by Mr. Lynn.
“Governor (1) (Ascent to Empire)” by David Weber and Richard Fox
https://www.amazon.com/Governor-Ascent-Empire-David-Weber/dp/1982126116?tag=ttgnet-20/
Book number two of a two book military science fiction series. I read the well printed and well bound MMPB published by Baen in 2022. I am not sure if this precedes Weber’s “In Fury Born” or is a sequel to it. And this book is obviously planned to be a trilogy, I wonder if it will make it.
The Federation and the League have been at war for over fifty years. Over six billion lives lost. Each union has thousands of human worlds. And then there are the three meter tall Rish lizards and Quarn avian alien races to complicate things with their own agendas.
On the fringes outside the Heart worlds of the Federation, the Fringe worlds are constantly raided by League pirates for materials and slaves. But this time the League force destroyed the entire infrastructure of the Fringe planet, just before winter arrived at the 150,000 person colony. So it is a race for the colonists to freeze or starve.
The authors have websites at:
http://www.davidweber.net/
and
https://www.amazon.com/Richard-Fox/e/B00HVM4QBY?tag=ttgnet-20
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,765 reviews)
You asked !
True, but I place a lot of blame on the public schools. They spend an awful lot of time having students memorize the capitals of all of the states, force-feeding the innumerable contributions of people-other-than-white-men to scientific advancement, and dragging kids to weekly pep rallies. They don’t ever seem to find the time to teach kids about “only 59 dollars per month” “deals” or how to recognize propaganda manipulation tactics. Yah, some blame for the parents and for the students after they’ve grown up, but the schools are wasting the most educationally productive years.
(Yes, of course it’s deliberate.)
Solar is a variation of the Pizza Box dream – hang a box on the side of the house, pay $40/month for service, and fire the incumbent utility.
The dream dies hard.
Charlie Crist is not gay.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/elections/2022/06/14/charlie-crist-has-a-new-fiance-as-he-seeks-a-new-office/
“‘We already feel like we’re married,’ he said.”
Food sales tax removed in TN for the month of August. I have never been a fan of tax on food, a necessity. No necessities should ever be taxed. It is like forced
payment totheft by the government. TN is also dropping vehicle registration for an entire year starting August 1, 2022 and runs through July 31, 2023. Local county taxes and wheel taxes will still apply. Trailer registration is not affected. I will only have to pay about $6.50 to register one vehicle, the Highlander. The F-150 never incurs a registration fee and the tags never expire because of the DV tags.I have also never received a bill from Texas for taking that toll road from I-10 east of San Antonio to north of Georgetown (Hwy 130). Perhaps 1 of three 3 reasons. 1) They could not read the tag or determine the state. 2) Disabled plates do not have to pay the toll. 3) Disabled veterans do not have to pay the toll. Three months and I would have thought I would have received a bill if I was going to receive a bill.
I think it is actually number 3 as qualifying plates have not had to pay tolls on many roads in Texas since 2012. The web indicated it must be TX plates. However, it may apply to all DV plates. The free passage does not apply to all the toll roads in TX.
@Lynn
Brown Hydrogen
That’s when you know enough that being around it makes you mess your pants.
Generally only found in liquid form.
Brown methane is produced by bio-reactors.
The Spaniards. Number 1) is most likely.
Does TN have toll roads?
No toll roads means the plate readers aren’t trained on the state’s license plates, and the paint on the plates may not fluoresce under infrared to enhance the OCR probablility.
The Spaniards have no idea how to make that road profitable. At one point, they proposed swapping I35 for the toll road right of way, but that isn’t going to happen under a Republican Governor.
Maybe if Robert Francis wins.
I don’t know about other locations but here (Toronto) I can buy 100w incandescent bulbs. The catch is that these are “rough service” bulbs that are rated for 130v service. Running on 120v they are the equivalent of 80w bulbs. When incandescent bulbs were banned, an exception was made for “specialty” bulbs and these bulbs are “special”.
Very good memory Ray.
@Lynn:
With a BS in Chem Eng’g, I agree with your descriptions of the hydrogen colored variations.
Then they (those who have no knowledge of either chemistry or thermodynamics) talk about using the electical energy from solar panels to produce H2 from electrolysis to then put in cars to produce electricity from its fuel cell for the electric drive motor. How is not an imperfect circle? Or, as Confusious say, “what goes up must come down”.
I’ve been able to buy ‘rough service’ bulbs at Habitat for Humanity’s reStore, and they are 130v, but they are getting a bit rarer…
Spent $4.44 a gallon for gas at the HEB grocery, usually the best non-Costco price around. On the other hand, I spent only $11 each to fill three BBQ propane tanks at my favorite local guy. That’s in line with prices for the last couple of years.
Got the forklift started and moved. Had to jury rig a fuel line. Worked.
Going to shower now, soaked to the skin in the 100F and higher temps.
n
None of which I am aware.
H/T to our very own Greg, who has been pointing out that when interest rates rise, home prices fall…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10916461/Property-prices-fallen-10-nation-faces-Bidenflation.html
n
Hmmm. For my own house here just west of San Antonio, Zillow says that the value of my house is $150 less than last month. Of course, for my old house in Cacafornia, the 30-day change is down by $24,000.
Not that it matters; my next move is to the cemetery, hopefully not soon.
A shortage still exists in places, including Austin. There will be a limit on how far prices fall here until tech employers start cutting jobs.
I thought 6% on 30 year fixed would be Game Over, but we will probably hit that this week.
North Carolina had big plans for tolls on I77 but delayed construction when the pandemic hit.
They will have to consider TN plates out there at some point as Charlotte continues to spread out.
DIS closed at 94.22 today, P/E still at 65, and an emergency board meeting is rumored for Thursday.
“Lightyear” must be bad.
Lightyear got very “meh” reviews.
n
My bad, Digging around, it looks like the Spaniards have been out of SH 130 for a while.
The road still loses money.
Current LEAFs are either 40 kWh (149 mile range) or 62 kWh (226 mile range). These days you need closer to a 300 mile range to compete with the top-tier EVs. The upcoming 2023 Nissan Ariya (a cross-over SUV vs. the LEAF which is classified as a hatchback) has a 91 kWh battery and 300 mile range in the Front WD version.
Depends on how many miles you drive every day. Charging at 120 volts/13 amps gives you about 6 miles per hour of charge. At 240 volts/40 amps you get about 19 miles per hour and at 440 volts (DC) around 120 miles per hour.
House is all electric. Heating/cooling is via heat pump/AC. There’s a natural gas line that runs in the alley behind our house but we’re not connected.
>> Does TN have toll roads?
No toll roads means the plate readers aren’t trained on the state’s license plates, and the paint on the plates may not fluoresce under infrared to enhance the OCR probablility.
TN introduced a new ‘base plate’ this year and there have already been concerns raised about its OCR readability.
https://www.newschannel5.com/news/state-evaluating-newly-approved-tennessee-license-plates
>> “IRS boosting mileage deduction as gas prices soar”
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/3523171-irs-boosting-mileage-deduction-as-gas-prices-soar/
“In a statement last week, the IRS said that starting on July 1, the standard mileage rate will increase by four cents to 62.5 cents per mile. ”
It is about time !
A gooberment agency acting this fast with something that benefits taxpayers?
Something sounds fishy!
DIS closed at 94.22 today, P/E still at 65, and an emergency board meeting is rumored for Thursday.
“Lightyear” must be bad.
Lightyear has a same sex couple in it. That killed it for half the countries on the planet.
Disney’s homosexual agenda for young children is costing them.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/14/united-arab-emirates-bans-new-buzz-lightyear-movie-from-theaters-.html
My dog does not like black eyed peas. I gave her some of my Hoppin-John supper. She picks the black eyed peas up, sucks off the gravy, and spits the pea out. She must not be a true southerner. But she does love the ham chunks.
spits the pea out
– funny how dexterous they are when eating ‘around’ something they don’t like.
n
I watch movies so you don’t have to.
Newest Jurassic Park
Meh.
They overdid the running away from peril and narrow escapes. I was rooting for the dinosaurs by the end. Overdid the nods to the previous movies. Nothing fresh of new, and too much “in a video game” feel.