FRIVOLTY PARTAY

What this? Minecraft? Fff, as though Dwarf Fortress weren't enough for me to waste time with, Terra Firma Craft for Minecraft now has its own launcher. Meaning that a berk like me who isn't currently on a PC can run it without pulling out my lungs in frustration and rending my throat in anger. (BTW, that's not an effective way to deal with stress.)

Terra Firma Craft (henceforth TFC) is the counterpart to Industrial Craft. Rather than progressing to great mechanical wonders and efficiency, you instead marvel at each day a mob doesn't kill you while you throw stone tools at it as though it were a sabre-toothed tiger aiming for your little gristley caveman throat and you really don't know how to not die. 'Cause you're practically a caveman here, using "Stone Age" tools and foraging for food. While trying not to die.

It's very easy to die, yo.

I already died 4 times before understanding how to not die so efficiently. The trick is, get javalins to stab the bastards, then head for the ocean. Mobs swim slower than you until there are aggressive water monsters to eat yah diddly bits AAAARRGH. 

There are several ways to die not efficiently it seems. I'll try straving off starvation. Fortunately, hunting is very lucrative and gives loooots of meat product per animal killed. Currently you don't have to butcher the carcasses. I wouldn't be surprised if later versions require butchery. 

WELCOME BACK TO NORMALKATTHIR! This time from the !FUN! machine: necromancers, insanity, babbies.

Ms. Sumbich, what did I miss while not creepin' ovah yah shoulder? Well, I make bomb sticky rice and drank coffee from two cups. One for black coffee and one for milk. A two-step process made more delectable by using cream.

First off, no migrants this season or the next. SRSLY, I actually need a military. Stone-fall traps only do so much good.

Secondly, meet the glassblower Sholidfeb, stuck by a fey mood.

Dick went and hada fey mood and started screamin and cryin for raw green glass before I had a cloth industry made... or enough pig tails for thread. So he had to die politely of dehydration. Probably found by one of those children.

Then his wife is struck by a fey mood.

This one goes better. BEHOLD!

And then she gave birth to the dead crazy's son. So, yeah. I gave her a fancy room and hope she drinks herself into happiness or another couple anklebiters. 

MEANWHILE, no fort near a necromancers' Tower can exist without a siege. Happened right after The Feral Defense was constructed. I managed to kill most of the walking corpses by enlisting the whole fort to bludgeon the monsters. Wouldn't have had too much issue IF THE FRICKIN DRAWBRIDGE HAD BEEN FINISHED GOOD GRIEF GUYS PRIORITIES

AND NOW LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE. 4 DWARVES AND ALL THE WAR DOGS DEAD, AND THE HEAD MASON IS UNCONSCIOUS (he's a total bitch). 

Everything is OK now though. Drawbridge is reconstructed, the puppy apocalypse has allowed me to restock the wardogs, and the dead have been buried in plain view as usual. Head Mason will have to be culled it seems. That can be done by drowning. No prob, just an extension off of the hospital.

In addition, I've set up a temp quarry within the safer zone, which struck dacite at z-level ~10. Not really different from the andesite layers, but the igneous extrusive layers gives me hope of finding some ores (copper? iron? bituminous coal? plz?) before the goblins, necromancers, or angry trading civs come a-killin. The Legendary Miner ought to be busy.

Also, my traders seem bugged. The dwarves have sat for two season after finishing the talks. Did shit during the siege, too. IDK. Probably have to deconstruct the Trade Depo.

Alrighty! It's challenge time!

I can't continue a game of Dwarf Fortress beyond a few sieges, but boy I'll make new worlds. It's a compulsion, finding the best weirdest most fucked-up world in the world generation. I have two worlds now, one where 3 empires are controlled by vampires, the other where at least two (goblin and human, I think) are headed were headed? by demons. I'm workin' on the demon one.

Welcome to Nomalkatthir, kiddos! It'll be the tastiest experience! Really. It's run by a bunch of gardeners and led by the Old Man.

  Overworld view. My fort might get zombies from the nearish necromancer's tower. I wonder why a dwarven-human trade route runs straight through the zombie hoards...

There's only one dwarven civilization so this is an... exploratory mission to extend the boarder. Conquer new lands. Tame strange beasts. Eat delicious roasted plump helmets!

It'd be frickin' awesome to have a bridge spanning the two hills.

Here's the first tru stone in ~4 soil layers. Since our Leader is Old Man, weak and about ready to die by sneeze, I figured the entryway ought to prepare the dwarves for death and made it a tomb. 

Zo what is the challenge? Well. I expect the Old Man to die by !fun! so I figured each mayor will have a z-level or hallway to hisherself. The military likewise will plunge into satisfying rockiness with a level for each weapontype/squad. The goal is to bedazzle the fuck out of each one so that an egomaniac would enjoy the experience.

This is why I made him a skilled/competent appraiser, judge of intent, with points in counseling and whatever other skill mayors need. 

Old Man Leader likes chromite, copper, aquamarine, giant raven leather, reindeer hoof, sloth bear tooth, flounder bone, crossbows, helms, cages. Stay awhile and listen! 

Aaaall the dwarves like nondwarfy stuffs like freshwater fish. NO ONE LIKES QUARRY BUSHES OR PLUMP HEMETS BITCHES

Anyhow.

I've dug a moat around the base to keep out most kobolds and sunk the sunlit farm to prevent crossbow accidents. Might wall the enclosure. Definitely need to build a drawbridge.

ROSE CITY COFFEE COMPANY

Best coffee I've intentionally bought in a while. Made as espresso, there's no bitterness or unpleasant aftertaste.

Linkage!

Found in Oregon's NE corner. A Conservancy project has bought 27,000km of it and is performing ongoing 

Nature.org has an offshoot webpage from the Zumwalt Prairie page devoted to art inspired by nature. Impressionists abound, but since "art" encompasses more than painting there's also links to literature and even architecture! The short article mentions a 7-story glass building named Mediatheque that survived the 2011 earthquake and that its design was inspired by seaweed.

All considering, Nature.org has a multitude of interesting links. There's even an extended article by Science Jon on biomimicry. 

I saw one of his works online a while ago. Dead seal-lookin' thing with plants growing out of it. Turns out it is a part of the "New Urban Species Exhibition". Watch!