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6 Key Advantages of Running a Small Business

Running a small business offers certain advantages that are not gained in large businesses or established corporations.

The professional patterns of people in this technological era, 2025, are changing a lot. In olden days, most people worked for daily wages, some people did business, and some others went for a traditional 9-to-5 job. In the past few years, most people chose 9-to-5 jobs, and some others chose to do business and daily work. But in today’s digitalized world, a major income source for most people has become a small business.

Not everyone starts a business with the motive of developing a business empire. But everyone aims at developing their business and remaining competitive in the business market. Starting a small business has become a mandatory factor for most people. It is a good point to hear. Being a small business owner has its own advantages as well as disadvantages. Let’s explore it in this blog.

What is a Small Business?

A small business is a work process that is owned by a single person and operates with fewer employees. The income generated here will be low when compared with that of the large-scale businesses. Small businesses usually focus on selling their products and services in local areas rather than doing so internationally.

In a small business, separate employees will not be allocated to do each activity. For example, the small business owner themselves may do the marketing work, invoicing process, accounting process, employee management, and sometimes even the production process.

Key Advantages of Small Business

1. Small Business Offers Customized Solutions

Consider an example. You are going to a large clothing shop to purchase a kurta set. You choose a dress, but you like to make small alterations in its design. But the customization facility is not offered at that shop. At the same time, you approach a small boutique and ask for the same alteration to the kurta set. Immediate alterations are made there as per the request. So, customized solutions can be offered by small businesses.

2. Appreciations for the Work Completed

The number of clients approaching the small business may be fewer, but the feedback shared by each of them gives more strength and energy to continue the business. But large businesses have a huge number of clients, and the appreciations given to them may not have as much effect.

3. Flexibility in Invoicing

Some large businesses' invoicing process will be like travelling through a rocky mountain. They can’t customize their invoices and steadily follow a single rule for the invoicing process. But small businesses can customize their invoices, set their own terms and conditions, etc., using the online invoicing software for small businesses.

4. Focused Precisions

Large businesses usually deal with multiple income streams. So, their focus would be on every field because their aim would be to expand the business even further. But small businesses will have one- or two-income streams, majorly one. So, their focus will be on a single path. So that excellent outcomes can be generated from them.

5. Client Relationship

The factor that takes place mostly in small businesses and rarely in large businesses is the relationship between the clients and the business. As the client’s expectations are clearly communicated and they are fulfilled by the small business, and engaging communication is maintained, a strong relationship will be maintained between the business and the clients.

6. Solo Decision-Making

If you’re running a small business, you’re the boss here, and you can make all the decisions regarding your business. Unlike large businesses, you don’t need to get approval from higher-level authorities for any changes, you don’t need to conduct multiple meetings to decide, etc. You, as a solo person, can make all the decisions.

Running a small business has numerous advantages, but if it does not operate well, it creates a chance to face failure also. Proper management is crucial here to succeed. If you wish to generate revenue, start a small business and become an independent person.

A second volume swiftly followed the first, with our young Khajiit also having a namesake created as a player character in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Tales of a Quite Peculiar Cat – Volume 2

By Rubyn Frey

In many ways Ji'sari was a typical Khajiit, they have a tendency towards very sweet things and also to develop various abilities that may cause them to cross paths with the authorities. Often as a very young kit, Ji'sari wished to test herself but also had a yearning for something sweet.

~——————————~

On one such occasion it was a yearning for some sweet Dune gnocchi, Ji'sari slipped out of her room and across the rooftops, sometimes leaping from roof to roof, or if the jump was too far, dropping down and passing unseen across roads or alleyways and finding a way back up to the rooftops to continue making her way to the market which was close to the warehouse district, but not so close that she would could cause any concern to her father or his employer. Reaching the inn nearby Ji'sari quietly dropped from the roof onto some conveniently stacked crates.

Pausing and observing the various merchants and their customers for a time, she then slipped under a table and waited, ensuring that she could see, but be unseen. The various stalls of sweet treats and meats were busy as local Khajiit picked up their supplies, occasional stalls of household goods and fine fabrics were less busy but visited by nobles or, servants sent on errands by their masters.

Waiting for the opportune moment Ji'sari, slipped behind a large group making their way around the market, to the next stall, where again she waited. Ji'sari repeated the process until she reached the sweet traders stall, the strong smell of cinnamon and other treats filling her senses. The traders robes of red and tan were long and flowing, the under robes in silk, the over robes in a heavy cotton to keep out the dust which would blow around the city when the winds came in from the deserts. A purse to his right heavy with coin, and a deep fold to the left giving an indication to Ji'sari that a pocket lay within.

Cautiously our kit slipped some coins into the pocket, taking care not to disturb the fabric more than a gentle breeze disturbs a tree, and then, reached slowly from under the stall to pick up the tempting gnocchi, still warm to the touch. A large hand covered hers, enclosing the hand and the gnocchi which lay within, and dragged Ji'sari from her hiding place, the Raht guard hauling her to her feet.

“That one!” The sweet trader growled, “again!”

“This one did not do anything,” claimed the kit.

“You cannot deny, you have been caught red handed,” rumbled the guard.

Ji’sari wriggled until her tunic came loose from the firm grip, and made off with a start, giggling. “Oh yes, ha, check Khajiit pocket!”

Running off towards the back of the inn, quickly finding a a safe place to hide her prize in her leather pouch, Ji'sari climbed back up to the rooftops. Finding a spot to again observe the goings on of the market, she settled back to enjoy her sweet Dune gnocchi with some blackberry flavoured milk from a small earthenware flask tied onto her belt.

Yes, Ji’sari, while a typical mischievous kit, was also honourable, the thrill was in taking, not being caught and being in places no one would suspect, but never in stealing.

~——————————~

#Fiction #ElderScrolls

Hey folks, it's time for yeat another weekly post that no one asked for. Which is a first step in trying to get some consistency and get a healthy habit for me. Plus, my alter ego (The Innkeeper) just updated Writefreely to the new version so...

I like to get my posts a title that isn't really connected to the main topic of the post itself and try to work into the post by creating a visual concept (or a metaphor), and this time won't be any different.

Let's start by thinking what a step is. No seriously, take a few minutes and imagine what's a step and what does it mean for you.

Is it just a mechanical way to get your body moving from point A to point B? Is it a oh-so-used metaphor with a profound meaning (like every change/travel/trail begins with a single step)? All of the above? Non of the above?

I don't hold the truth (pfft, imagine if I were, what an effed world we'd be living in...) but a step for me is just a single inseparable fragment of space and time combined together. You can't take the same step again in a different moment, you can't have two different steps at the same time (well, unless you'd be jumping but bear with me and count that as a single step for the sake of this post). And every step carries your weight, may it be heavy because you're carrying a lot over your shoulders, may it be light because you're not, thus taking us in having three different concepts melded into one: space, time, happiness.

Effin' cool, isn't it? It's a neat concept holding together the past (all the steps you took – aka the footprints –, how were you feeling), the present (the direction you're going, how are you) and the future (all the steps you'll take, how you will be).

If my calculations are correct, you're just looking at this phrase thinking > “Jeez Alex, just start writing about hiking and how is good for you, me, everyone”. No, I won't, but hey, baby steps, we'll get there eventually. Today will be about something completely different, today I want to share something that I've talked about with only a few (not even my family).

A step forward

If you had the chance to read Waves, tossing you up and down – and if you hadn't, no worries, you know that I'm currently dealing with depression (aka the not-so-big-D). I didn't use the “battling” because honestly, it's not that bad.

Two pair of heavy footprints in the sand

One of the main reason that caused this condition lies in something happened a few years ago, when me and my wife lost a chance to be parents by a spontaneous abortion. There's no one to blame, it just happened. Back at the time we were just out from a complicated period, during which we simply couldn't have kids, first we were too young, we were too broke, then we were in the middle of moving, then my mother in law had cancer. And when we finally could, we tried and tried to no avail.

Needless to say, it felt like a warming ray of sun before it quickly disappeared behind the cloud, forever.

It was hard at first, very hard. But then it got harder with the years passing by, mostly due to the social stigma; sometimes – most of the time to be honest – people judges you by the fact that you're a parent and not how a good of a parent you are and being without a child is synonym of something going on in the couple (cheating, fighting) plus being treated as an inferior being from couples with child.

It's scar tissue that you don't want anyone seeing, but it's there, and it reminds you that you won't be whole again, never again.

Another step forward

After an year of trying and bleeding our hearts out, we decided to give medically assisted procreation (MAP for short) a chance; fortunately is almost paid in fully in the country where we live by public sanity.

Two pairs of heavy footprints in the mud

I'm not gonna lie, it was an horrible experience, due to the nurses and doctors working in that department, treating us like cows to the slaughter, mostly because they get their annual budget over the number of babies conceived instead of people treated. If you have to work with couples not able to conceive, you should get your soft gloves on and be tactful is what I'm thinking, but apparently it's a wrong concept in that department.

Nevertheless, we tried and seemed like everything was working out, but after a few weeks, it just happened again and we felt back like when we were in the sand, but this time with even heavier footprints, like we were walking in the mud.

A step forward, again

Half an year passed from that moment, bearing less grievance than the first time, but definitely not helping us with a lighter heart. Then we finally decided to give MAP a go again, which involved a lot of medical exams, lots of tests, a lot of paperwork and once again, dealing with the tactless company of the MAP department of our city. But even if it was hard, we knew we would have cherished the result, like nothing else before.

Two pairs of heavy footprints in fresh concrete and a tire

I don't believe in fate as in “it's everything already decided”, it's pure bullshit. I believe in coincidences, I believe in being the change I want to see in the world and I don't believe in anyone upon my head maneuvering me like a puppet.

But, the day my wife was ran over by a runaway car, in a supermarket parking lot, I almost started believing in fate. I'm keeping this short and maybe I'll write about this in a future post, but long story short, she got away with only a broken foot (whew), but due to the medication and the physical rehabilitation, we had to suspend the MAP treatment, again.

Where we rested for a while, before taking a step

I think I'm going to take a brief pause here, because remembering all of what happened during the last few years is taking quite a toll on my mental health and well being. Exactly what we did when my wife finally got through her physical rehabilitation, we took a break doing treatments and thinking about another pair of baby footprints nearby ours.

Like I wrote before, it's scar tissue. And sometimes, most of the times to be honest, it itches, it hurts, and your mind has always a thought fixed on that itch, on that permanent pain, where the skin once were whole and now there's a scar. And the stigma, oh the social stigma, won't allow us to talk about this with anyone, may be family, may be friends, only a selected few. Not so long ago, a member of my family subtly suggested me to find another woman and start a life anew. This is the exact level of the stigma I was writing about.

I didn't answer to that provocation, mostly because I know that those words were born from ignorance. They don't know that we didn't grow sour over the years and the failures, we're not afraid of talking about the specific topic or meeting with other couples with child or just looking at parents playing with their kids. We're not envious, we're just hurting. We share a pain that deep that made our marriage even stronger, a pain that many of us, fortunately, don't know, but often can't/won't understand.

And if you continue scratching a scar, that will surely start bleeding again. And here we are, with lots of scars, so much – metaphoric, although sometimes not so much – blood spilled. I (and I'm using the first person because I don't want to share too much about my wife's personal stuff) decided to see a therapist to help me catch some breath and deal with the burden I was carrying on my shoulder, making my steps heavier and heavier, and I must admit, that helped me a lot. A lot.

Where the steps will lead, a mountainous trail

I don't know what the future will hold, neither I have the presumption of knowing it, but I'm quite sure of the path we decided to walk again: the MAP, but this time, with a twist, meaning we decided to contact a private center outside our city and an affiliated private center, outside our country, due to our country' strict laws about fecundation outside the mother's body with an egg donor.

Again, I will probably post about this in the future, but for now let's wrap this up and if you had the courage to read the whole post, have a musical treat. Because even if your steps get heavier, you can't afford to not move forward.

#MedicallyAssistedProcreation #Child

The Goo Goo Dolls have just released their latest EP, “Summer Anthem.” I'll be 100% honest the first song released as part of their “Summer Anthem” tour, “Nothing Lasts Forever” had me worried, had John Rzeznik finally run out of lyrics? This is a reflection of my first 24 hrs. with the album.

Whilst the album has a different feel to recent albums, it gives me “Something for the Rest of Us” vibes in that this may not have been the full album they wanted to put out due to being pushed out on tour following the renewed interest in “Iris”, but it is music they wanted to write and release, it strikes me as very personal for where they are now in their lives. Also, whoever came up with the artwork, needs to be given the exact items in the image and try to make them work!

I can't find a bad track, it's trademark Goo, happy, hopeful but look under the surface and you can see what brought them here, they're still holding onto the ground for dear life even after nearly 40 years of the band.

“Ocean” is a total rock out, it’s serious steering wheel drums, keyboard and head nodding in the car with this one! It's quite an intense track for more recent Goo Goo Dolls albums, it's not quite “Gutterflower” level, but getting there.

One day I will sit down and analyse “Nothing Lasts Forever”, there are a lot of shared lyrics from “Money, Fame and Fortune”, but if you listen closely there are other tracks as well. In a recent NPR interview John said in question to whether it was his retirement song, “I wish it was, but it was just more about the transient nature of our relationships and life.”

“Slightly Broken” is feels very modern, but “so” John since “Let Love In”, the man still sounds like he's completely in love and grateful for the family he now has.

“Misery” gives me Don Henley “Boys of Summer” vibes, it's not quite the right description, but I think it's the right era, it's mellow summer all over!

The obligatory Robby Takac track “Such A Mystery”, is the happiest sounding track on the album, would love to see this played live, it's very “Prayer in my Pocket” mixed with “Strange Love.”

“Run All Night” was released initially in 2023, fantastic track and something to live by, make the most of the time you have, very poignant for me as this was the year my brother passed away at 47.

“Not Goodbye (Close my Eyes)” had me in tears the first time I heard it, I can't tell if it's releasing memories, the loss of someone, hope or if I'm reading between the lines too much, which is easy to do with John's lyrics as he tends to be quite biographical.

Sitting here hopeful for a UK/Europe tour soon as I found the Goo Goo Dolls just as they finished their last UK tour in 2023, but was lucky enough to see them in New Zealand with Matchbox Twenty in 2024, but still feel like I've known them for decades.

[Disclaimer: No affiliation to the Goo Goo Dolls or Warner Music, just a bean counter in the UK who loves music]

#NowPlaying #NewMusic

I'm a gamer. I also live in Canada. It gets cold here, and there are some times where getting the kids out of the house is just not an option.

So, I've turned them into gamers.

And, honestly – it's been great! Not only has gaming been a terrific way to connect with my kids, but it's also a platform to help them learn skills like teamwork, leadership, resilience, and grit while having a ton of fun.

One challenge I've encountered since becoming a dad, though, is finding the right games to play with my kids. I don't want to just sit them in front of any old gacha brainrot – I want something they connect with, that's easy to pick up and fun to play, and where we always know we're going to have a great time. It also has to meet us where we are at: sometimes we're in the mood for competing, sometimes working together, or sometimes just exploring and building.

So, I've put together this guide to help other parents as you explore gaming with your children. Read through it, bookmark it, then come back to it later as you need. The goal shouldn't be to get every game all at once, but, as you play through one game and want to explore others, come back to this page and see what piques your interest. Read, bookmark, boost (if you like!), and enjoy!

Cream of the Crop

Whenever someone asks “What are great games for playing with kids?”, these are always the first I recommend. Easy to pick up, great gameplay, and minimal content any parent would ever need to worry about.

Unrailed

The concept is simple – you're building a rail line through an untouched wilderness, clearing land and gathering two resources to build rail to the next train station. The twist? The train is already rolling down the track!

The game features a great difficulty ramp as the train gets slightly faster with each station, and multiple biomes that each offer unique challenges. Will you make it to the end? Probably not. But the fun of the game is the collaboration – who is getting what resources? Did you grab those rails? What path should we follow? It's a great way to develop collaboration and critical thinking skills with kids, and have a blast doing it.

Concerning content? Not a bit. Cross-platform play? Buttery smooth across all major platforms.

Wobbly Life

Ever have your kid complain about something (never happens, I know) and you tell them to “get a job”? Now they can!

Wobbly Life is like a kid-friendly open-world game (think Grand Theft Auto, but, like, legal), where kids complete jobs across a city, a secret island, caves, aircraft carrier, aliens, and much, much more. Drive all kinds of vehicles, adopt a pet, buy a house – it's a ton of fun exploring the range of activities available in this world. It's in early access now, but full release has been announced in September 2025 (with a space update!).

Concerning content? Non-graphic death when you enter water (you just go floppy), then respawn back on land. Cross-platform play? Available on most major platforms (Steam, Nintendo, etc.), but I haven't tried cross-play yet.

Open World Games

Full disclosure – I love generative open world games. I love the starting fresh, finding something new, and the endless possibilities each world offers. This has been a great fit for gaming with my kids, as it gives them room to explore without getting tied down by what they've done before. Here are some of the best.

Minecraft

Have you heard of this one? Might be a little under the radar. A voxel-based open world game with a range of biomes, amazing creatures, and a unique physics system that lets you build whatever you can imagine. But watch out for the monsters that come out at night!

It's super-easy to pick up, but hard to master. You likely won't be playing through the story on this one, but rather spend your time spelunking the caves and building wondrous structures across it's range of biomes. There is also a deep modding store and community for the game, so the possibilities are endless.

Concerning content? There are some elements of fear and cartoon violence here – your kid will scream as they're chased by zombies and giant spiders, then breathe a sigh of relief after cutting them down with their sword. However, it's nothing worse than they'd find in a Minions movie.

Cross-platform play? Look, this game runs great on basically every platform in existence.

No Man's Sky

One of the best sci-fi games ever made, No Man's Sky lets you explore an endless universe planet by planet, system by system. While this is technically a game for grown-ups, it's also a blast with kids, if only to explore all of the different planets, check out the bizarre creatures, and use creative mode to build your own cities in unbelievably gorgeous locales.

Concerning content? You can play the game entirely as a pacifist, or there can be minor violence and fear if you get chased by the robot sentinels or have to shoot down a wandering predator.

Cross-platform play? Terrific across every major system (pun intended).

Starbound

Think of Starbound as a block based, 2D pixelated version of No Man's Sky, complete with expansive exploration, mining, farming, and combat. It may be a little harder to pick up than some of the other games, but once you understand the logic behind the controls and inventory, it offers a universe of possibilities.

It's unfortunately not controller friendly, and really best played on PC with keyboard and mouse for now. However, it's great for some drop-in co-op play on multiple computers.

Concerning content? There is a bit of violence, as combat is common mechanic in the game. That said, you can easily play as a pacifist on peaceful planets after the initial sequence if you'd just prefer just to mine, farm, and build.

Cross-platform play? Simple and works great.

Don't Starve Together

A somewhat macabre entry in the open-world survival genre, Don't Starve Together is still a great time for older kids looking for something different. Along with common mechanics like hunger, crafting, hunting, and farming, there is also an interesting “sanity” mechanic where, the longer you go without sleep, the less sanity you have and the more monsters come out at night. Sleep is important!

Concerning content? There is mild violence (hunting, fighting monsters) as well as creepy fear from the monsters. However, it's not excessive – somewhere between Desmond Cole and Goosebumps.

Cross-platform play? Available on all systems, and I can verify that multiplayer works great on Steam.

Collaborative Games

These games focus on teamwork and collective problem solving to beat the game. Since all of the puzzles or worlds are pre-baked, there tends to be less replay value with the games – but they're great to play through, put down for a while, then come back to a few months or years later.

Pico Park

Looking for simple, colorful, collaborative puzzle game to play with kids of all ages? This is a perfect one to start with. The controls are straightforward, the puzzles are easy to grasp and can only be solved by working effectively together. An absolute blast – highly recommended.

Concerning content? Not a bit.

Cross-platform play? Looks like it's only available on Steam and Nintendo Switch, but works great in both remote- and local-co-op on Steam.

Pikuniku

A close cousin to Pico Park, pretty much all of the same observations apply. Pikuniku's puzzles are a bit more complex, involving switches, doors, some moving objects, but it's easy to see how they all fit together. Overall, though, simply a blast for couch co-op.

Concerning content? Nada.

Cross-platform play? Again, looks like it's only available on Steam and Nintendo Switch, but works great in both remote- and local-co-op on Steam.

Fling to the Finish

You know those three-legged races, where your leg is tied to your partner's leg, and you have to work together to be able to run effectively? Yeah, that's this game, except you are both balls connected by a string, and you can arbitrarily stick to things. So basically the same deal.

Across a range of clever and challenging courses, you and your partner will need to work together to climb up walls, cross pitfalls, and avoid getting would around obstacles. It's a great adventure in problem solving and team work.

Concerning content? Nope.

Cross-platform play? Steam-only for now, but terrific for both remote and couch co-op play.

Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime

This is a great, multi-player spaceship-management sim in the vein of Void Crew, Pulsar, and Jump Ship, but targeted for the junior set. You and your kids can fly very own customizable spaceship through a 2D universe full of colorful asteroids, space monsters, and other creatures! You will need to take turns managing navigation, shields, and more to accomplish your mission. (And the soundtrack is great!)

A warning: I've had some minor controller assignment issues with a larger number of players – controller would randomly switch in the middle of a game, or control two avatars at a time. However, it works great for a mix of control modes (M+K along with wired and wireless controllers), and is a blast to play.

Concerning content? This game does feature cartoon weapons and destroying cartoon bad guys, and there is some mild stress and fear as you work your way through some more challenging levels.

Cross-platform play? Available on all major platforms, although I've only played it via Steam couch co-op.

Ship of Fools

This is another ship management game for 1-2 players. In a briny cartoon world, you'll navigate your ship past a range of different challenging enemies to stop the Aquapocalypse! The main game cycle focuses on loading/aiming/firing the cannons on board your ship at the various enemies, then using power-ups and upgrades to get progressively further on the map over time. It's a tough game, but lots of fun, especially when your team gets in the swing of things. Great for older kids!

Concerning content? This game features cartoon weapons against cartoon enemies, with mild fear and stress as the battles grow in intensity.

Cross-platform play? Available on all major platforms, although I've only played it via Steam couch and remote co-op (which worked great!)

Competitive Games

While working together is great, sometimes challenging each other is great, too. The games below offer a variety of different family-friendly competition for all skill levels. Be aware, though – all of these games have winners and losers, and so make sure your kids are ready to be either!

Ultimate Chicken Horse

Ultimate Chicken Horse is a 2D platformer with a terrific game loop. First, you add items to the course. Then, you play the course with your friends – first to the end wins. Then, add more stuff, and play again. Success is determined by building a course that you can beat but your opponents can't. Filled with creative traps and challenges, it can go a ton of different directions based on who you're playing with. You and your kids will have a lot of fun exploring the creative possibilities of this game.

Concerning content? While this a cartoon game focused on co-op, there are some mild thematic elements – laser beams, saws, and other environmental weapons will kill characters, with a little splash of blood whenever that happens.

Cross-platform play? Available on all major platforms, although I've only played it via Steam couch and remote co-op (which worked great!)

Boomerang Fu

A super fun, stylized arena fighter, you and your food-themed team battle other food-themed opponents with boomerangs and other weapons on a range of creative courses. Controls are easy to pick-up, battles are fast and chaotic – it's always a blast!

Concerning content? Cartoon violence with silly weapons against, like, anthropomorphic pizza.

Cross-platform play? Available on every major platform, and cross-play works great!

Bopl Battle

Bopl Battle is a fast-paced 2D platform battler in the vein of Smash Bros. However, instead of the focus being on an assortment of pre-built characters, every player gets to customize essentially the same character with a huge array of offensive and defensive weapons, mapped to the controller exactly as you like. The environments can also be manipulated with certain weapons, making every experience unique.

Battles are very fast – you can knock someone out in a few seconds with a well-aimed shot, and it's unusual for a battle to last over a minute. Every round is a blast, though – every time we play this game, my kids and I spend the whole time laughing.

Concerning content? There's a huge variety of cartoon weapons, and you (playing as a slime) get splattered when you're killed. No blood or gore, though.

Cross-platform play? Unfortunately only on Steam for Windows. However, this game was built for couch co-op and controllers.

Racing Games

There are a ton of great, kid-friendly racing games out there, but these two are standouts for me.

Mario Kart

Look – Mario Kart never misses. It's a perfect racing game for all ages and skill levels. Just pick any random Mario Kart game, and it is the best family-friendly racing game of it's era.

The only downside is that it is a Nintendo-exclusive – unless...🏴‍☠️

Concerning content? A variety of cartoon weapons, but more annoyance than violence when you get hit. If you blow-up or fall off, you just get reset to your last position.

Cross-platform play? Nintendo only, but great for couch co-op.

Beach Buggy Racing 2

This game is like a low-budget Mario Kart – a variety of characters and vehicles that are more...realistic(?) than it's Mario-universe peers, as well as a clever variety of power-ups and courses. And it's available on platforms outside of Nintendo!

The one other thing to recommend this game is it's very deep story mode that ramps difficulty well and challenges players to develop their skills at racing, driving, and combat.

But if you just want couch co-op with a light-hearted combat racer? It's a great choice.

Concerning content? There are a variety of cartoon weapons, including rockets. However, they are more annoying than violent. If you get hit or off course, you just get reset to the course, no muss or fuss.

Cross-platform play? Works great on a variety of platforms (including Android!), and couch co-op is great with controllers.

Farming Sims

There's a multitude of family-friend farming sims available now at a range of price points – these are the two that I've played and recommend.

Stardew Valley

The game that launched a thousand farming-sim clones, this a great experience for kids of all ages. After inheriting a farm from your grandfather, you leave your depressing city job for the rural life. Meet a cast of colorful characters, gather resources, build your farm, enjoy festivals, and maybe meet the love of your life? All in delightful pixel graphics and easy-to-use controls. This game can be as simple or as deep as you would like, and there is always more to explore.

Concerning content? A key mechanic is fighting cartoon enemies in mines with basic weapons. Killing an enemy simply means they disappear and drop some loot, though, so nothing graphic. You can also get killed, but then you just wake up in your house. There are also minor thematic elements in that you can romance other characters and have babies – although, as in life, this is optional.

Cross-platform play? Yep, and it's available on every major platform.

Farming Simulator 22

If you/your kid are into more realistic farming experiences, this one is a great option. Create your own farm in your choice of beautiful locales, plant, harvest, sell, build, all to your heart's content with a range of real world farm vehicles and buildings.

Concerning content? Not at all.

Cross-platform play? Yep, also works great across every major platform.

---

What did I miss? What would you recommend? I'd love your thoughts – ping me on Mastodon here. Thanks for reading!

Here follows my first response to a writing challenge issued by the Tamriel Vault, the challenge was to write in-game books as found in Skyrim. This was written prior to the Elsweyr chapter of Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) being released, and a number of years before I finally gave in and started playing ESO A this time other than some mods there were no images of the province, only in game descriptions of a land of sand.

Tales of a Quite Peculiar Cat – Volume 1

By Rubyn Frey

Our tale begins in Elsweyer, with a kit who was a little too curious, finding herself amongst the feet of the elders in the markets or climbing onto the low sloping roofs and finding hiding spots to overhear the more noble Khajiit or visiting Justicas.

Our kit, Ji'sari, had a way of quite deliberately being in the wrong place at the wrong time, being marched back to her parents after learning the very thing she was seeking, very often smiling to herself.

~——————————~

On one such occasion, Ji’sari, her green eyes glinting in the sunlight, had been intent on reaching the warehouse where her father worked to hear his fate after an accident had led to his position being placed in jeopardy. Ji’sari had been forbidden from visiting the warehouse at any time, and knew that if she were seen then she would be in more trouble than a fish in the desert sands. Climbing from an upper floor window, Ji’sari made her way across the lower rooftop, and leapt to the next, the warehouse was in a lower district near the city walls so she had to drop to the ground and carefully climb the next building without being seen.

It took most of the afternoon for Ji’sari to reach the warehouse, local people and merchants milling around the streets, the occasional pickpocket unseen by most, but quietly observed from her various hiding places upon the rooftops.

Waiting outside of the warehouse were a small number of heavily armed Cathay-raht, the largest of the two-legged Khajiit, wearing the mark of the Justicars, not the ruling classes. Ji’sari was perched in a small nook on the rooftop opposite, still observing the movements below, wondering how to reach the building where her father was due to learn his fate.

Noticing an increasing number of people coming through the street, Ji’sari quietly dropped from the roof and mingled amongst the legs of crowd until they passed close by the warehouse, noting that some old broken crates were stacked haphazardly against the wall where she could hide amongst them.

Once the crowd cleared the kit looked for a way up, knowing that small though she was, the crates could not be trusted to support her. A shuttered window gave her a way up, Ji’sari was glad that she was still allowed to run barefoot, her claws being quite helpful for climbing.

The roof space was clear, only guarded at night when opportunist thieves prowled the district. Creeping across the roof, she tried to identify where her father and his employer were meeting, her keen ears picking up on a heated conversation on the far side.

Moving very slowly she approached the voices, just able to make out her father's amongst the others, more than three people were in the room below it seemed. Settling down atop the roof to listen in, Ji’sari failed to notice the creaking below her, ears straining to hear the words spoken below. As one of the voices grew louder, and accusations were being made toward her father by a rather haughty mer, the roof below her gave way, Ji’sari landing in a cloud of dust upon a desk.

A rather plump Khajiit, clad in silks sat down heavily upon a chair behind him, raising a bejewelled hand to his brow. A Justicar stepped forward and dragged the kit to her feet upon the desk. Her father, a weathered old thing, shuffled his feet as a second Justicar surveyed the hole above them.

“So, what do we have here? A thief, a spy?” Mused the first Justicar, “hmm, I wonder...”

“No,” interrupted her father, “this one is mine.”

“She's a rather cute little thing, for a cat,” the second Justicar rubbed one of Ji’sari's ears while the kit bit her tongue.

A large sigh came from the larger Khajiit as he stood and placed his palms together, “this one senses that it is time to bring matters to a close before the moons are high and hot sands are pleasant underfoot.”

“Very well, we are not tyrants, however the goods cannot easily be replaced, therefore some recompense is expected.”

“Khajiit is a hard worker, the value of this cannot be underestimated,” the Khajiit bowed his head, “you will have your recompense, but Khajiit keeps his position.”

The Justicars nodded in return, and turned to leave, pausing, the first Justicar turned to Ji’sari, “I have my eye on you cat.”

The door closed and the three Khajiit breathed deeply.

~——————————~

#Fiction #ElderScrolls

I promised myself that starting this September, I would write more on my blog, because it's therapeutic, because it's good, because I need those likes, gimme those likes, I mean it!

Of course I'm just kidding, as far as I know there are no notifications in Writefreely, so it's just shouting in the wind. But even shouting in the wind could be therapeutic, and given I'm often sitting upon a mountain's peak, I know it very well.

But I digress, it's still August, so maybe let's start with a catch up first.

Keeping this in theme with summer, just like the waves of the sea, the last period throw me up, and then down, just to pick me up and throw me down again and so forth.

Well, I can breath again

After TWO years since the last visit and after uh...some more (twenty seven if anyone is counting) since a mix of rugby, martial arts and a bike accident left me with a crooked nose, I finally went under surgery in May to fix my deviate septum. Aside from the two months following surgery (that I call repectively “the ouch month” and “the ew month”, I honestly couldn't remember the last time I was to able to breathe like this. The only downside is that I couldn't workout during these months. But I can breathe, that's something.

It's just a winter coat

Not being able to workout during the last months was hard, I'm not going to lie. Working out is a powerful source of mental health that we often underestimate. I may or may not have typed “no working out and no hiking makes Alex a dull boy” several times. To add insult to the injury, my treadmill (I hate running on the street of the city I'm living in with the burning hate of a thousand suns) broke down a few weeks ago. And so while I was waiting for it to be repaired I bought a rower.

This thing is essentially a medieval torture device, I'm quite sure of it, but it's making me aching happily in every part of my body, making me feel better (and well, worse, muscularly speaking).

As far as my other passion, hiking, I went back at it as soon as I could, but we had a long period full of thunderstorms and most of the time I had to cancel my plans. I have no issues at all with extreme wind, snow, rain and other stuff, but I don't want to be near the peak of a mountain when thunders come down.

Have a very low-effort meme as a treat for reading 'til this point.

The not so big D

I'm still taking antidepressants. Long story short, things happened during the last years between work and private life and my therapist suggested me using antidepressant in February, 19th.

The first few weeks were...ugh, I honestly can't say how to describe them. They were just bad, but fortunately nothing too extreme. As time went by, my body got accustomed and I'm still on these. They took quite the edge off from all the bad things that happened, but they took also the joy from the good things that happened. While I understand they were (and probably still are) needed, I'm counting down the days to when I won't be needing them.

It's a marathon, not a race, but the concept it's the same. Step after step, forward. And forward I go.

I'll probably talk about the reasons that led me to the not so big D in a future post, or I'll never complete this one this week.

#Depression #Workout #Health

Some in the Fediverse may know me as Meli, others as Tea by Name Tea by Nature, those whom I have met in real life may be able to identify me by the latter. I do like to keep my online and offline lives separate, especially when it comes to my writing.

I hoping that this little corner of the Fediverse will allow me to share more lengthy posts or thoughts that are not suited to the shorter Mastodon format, and that when I share some of my gaming based fiction or poetry it may even bring a smile. In time I hope to be able to devote more time to original fiction, but I have a bad habit, best described by my Argonian alter-ego name of Starts-Many-Projects.

There are some who may have encountered my gaming-based fiction or even art, possibly in the corners of the internet known as The Skyrim Blog, Tamriel Vault or The Sky Forge. Although I have written on and off over many years, the Elder Scrolls series gave me something to get my teeth into and develop my writing skills. Random thoughts such as why are there tomatoes in a land of apparently perpetual snow in the north while there was a civil war going on, led to me creating an auditor sent to do a census in Skyrim and developing my own tax system, and how he would react to coming face to face with a dragon.

A part of me would also love to get more involved with table top role-playing games, creating maps and scenarios and items to to go with them, such as tavern menu’s can keep me occupied for hours.

I have a long running love of music, inspired in part by growing up with my parents vinyl collection, this has evolved and become more eclectic, and a wish that maybe I could play keyboard semi-proficiently, but also a desire to re-start my vinyl collection and attend more live gigs, whether they be small or large venue.

I also love generally researching and getting my teeth into a subject, once I did toy with the idea of becoming a technical author, however my love has tech also has a very sustainable and non-AI angle to it, so this is currently on pause.

I look forward to reading other content in the tavern, and hope to see you around in the Fediverse.

#introduction #Meli

For transparency, here’s The Gamer’s Tavern’s monthly report for July 2025.

Costs

Monthly

Service Provider	Service	Cost (€)
OVH Cloud	Eco baremetal server SYS-2-SAT-32 “Ben”	30,49 €
Hetzner	VPS CX22 “Gerry”	4,62 €
Hetzner	VPS CX32 “Nayeli”	8,30 €
Hetzner	VPS CX22 “Cindy”	4,62 €
Hetzner	Object Storage	6,09 €

Total: 54,12€ Notes:

• OVH Cloud: Writefreely, Matrix, Owncast and Peertube, IRC, Mobilizon
• Hetzner: Pixelfed Glitch, Mastodon Glitch, Status page, Object Storage, Bridging services

Applied exchange rate 1 USD ≈ 0,95 EUR

Annual

Service Provider	Service	Cost (€)
OVH Cloud	Domain registration	39,02 €

Total: 39,02€ Notes: Domain registration will be paid in August

---

Donations

One time

Source	Gross amount (€)	Net amount (€)
Ko-Fi	0,00 €	0,00 €
LiberaPay	0,00 €	0,00 €

Total: 0,00 € Notes: -

Recurring

Source	Gross amount (€)	Net amount (€)
Ko-Fi	50,00 €	50,00 €
LiberaPay	0,00 €	0,00 €

Total: 50,00 € Notes: -

---

Balance

Costs (€)	Donations (€)	Total (€)
54,12 €	50,00 €	-4,12 €

#2025 #July #MonthlyReport

It’s been a minute since I logged into WoW, and though the game has moved on a long way in the real world, in my head it remains as it was during WoTLK. With the launch of the WoW Classic Anniversary realms, I thought I’d go back and see if I can recapture some of the wonder I felt during those early years, and to replay a version of my very first character.

Meet Mortenth the Gnome Warlock. I’m planning on playing and blogging what he gets up to, to try to see the world through the eyes of someone playing for the first time. I don’t know how long I’ll manage to keep updating, but I’ll do it for as long as I am having fun.

Without further ado; here he is! Sadly I only get chance to play of an evening when the lighting is awful 'outside' in Azeroth. I quickly realised I can’t do this without any addons, it would drive me mad. They aren’t the point of this, but I have chosen a short list of what I think of as mandatory ones.

• ElvUI
• AdiBags
• AutoCompare
• BetterVendorPrice
• Immersion
• Postal
• Auctionator
• Memento

ElvUI took a chunk of my available time to configure. I’m playing on my laptop so my screen is smaller than usual, so I had to tweak things quite a lot before I was happy. My action bars took the longest. And as a result, here is what my interface will look like while I am playing. First quest from Sten. Don’t think I’d realised he had such a weird name. He wants me to go kill some wolves, because of course he does! Looking at my action bar, I never understood why they load up newbie casters with a melee attack on button 1. Then my 3rd spell is only Demon Skin, so I foresee a lot of spamming shadow bolt in my future. My first kill! Shadowbolt is a good spell, as far as they go. But I wish I had a few more to play with. With my first few kills, comes my first bit of upgrade loot, a grey item. Still, it’ll keep my feet warmer than my existing Acolyte’s Shoes. And after all that, I shall call it a night. Most of my play time was eaten by configuring ElvUI. Thank goodness I still remembered how to do most of it, I’d have seriously run out of patience if I’d not had the benefit of previous years worth of experience.

A few thoughts as I log off. When I first started playing back in 2005 I had no idea what the game was, what the classes were, how anything worked. I chose my class purely based on the fact Warlocks had pet demons and it sounded really cool. She lasted me until about level 23, at which point I started a priest and never looked back, it’s rare I have played a non-healer character ever since. So this feels like going back to my roots, but also getting back out of my comfort zone. One thing I am really looking forward to getting my first pet, and finding out its name!

We decided to host a new free service (surprise surprise!) and this time is Mobilizon

We decided to give all you gamers, streamers, content creators, etc. a brand new federated place where you'll be able to put your event/calendar, may it be about live streaming, publishing videos/podcast/audiobooks/books/whatever on your channel or just looking for some players for a cozy night. It's a calendar, it's a LFG tool, it's a plane – no wait, scratch this one – and it's yours and as always it's free of charge :)

You'll find the new service here

Seeing how much we expanded our self hosted catalog, we feel it's about time to publish a FAQ page on our blog and we will in the next few weeks. In the meantime, feel free to reach our staff and ask directly on Mastodon/Discord/Matrix/IRC/Lemmy

For transparency, here’s The Gamer’s Tavern’s monthly report for June 2025.

Costs

Monthly

Service Provider	Service	Cost (€)
OVH Cloud	Eco baremetal server SYS-2-SAT-32 “Ben”	30,49 €
Hetzner	VPS CX22 “Gerry”	4,62 €
Hetzner	VPS CX32 “Nayeli”	8,30 €
Hetzner	VPS CX22 “Cindy”	4,62 €
Hetzner	Object Storage	6,09 €

Total: 54,12€ Notes:

• OVH Cloud: Writefreely, Matrix, Owncast and Peertube, IRC, Mobilizon
• Hetzner: Pixelfed Glitch, Mastodon Glitch, Status page, Object Storage, Bridging services

Applied exchange rate 1 USD ≈ 0,95 EUR

Annual

Service Provider	Service	Cost (€)
OVH Cloud	Domain registration	39,02 €

Total: 39,02€ Notes: Domain registration will be paid in August

---

Donations

One time

Source	Gross amount (€)	Net amount (€)
Ko-Fi	1,00 €	1,00 €
LiberaPay	0,00 €	0,00 €

Total: 1,00 € Notes: -

Recurring

Source	Gross amount (€)	Net amount (€)
Ko-Fi	58,00 €	58,00 €
LiberaPay	0,00 €	0,00 €

Total: 58,00 € Notes: -

---

Balance

Costs (€)	Donations (€)	Total (€)
53,29 €	59,00 €	+5,71 €

#2025 #June #MonthlyReport

1. Introduction: The Power of VkCapture & The Flatpak Convenience

Hello Fedora enthusiasts and Linux gamers! If you're like me, you love the power and flexibility of Linux for gaming and content creation. OBS Studio is an incredible tool for streaming and recording, and running it as a Flatpak on Fedora offers a super convenient way to keep it updated and manage it's dependencies.

But what if i told you there's a way to get even better performance when capturing your vulkan-based games?

This isn't your standard window or screen grab. vkcapture is a specialized method for hooking directly into Vulkan games.

Why should you care about vkcapture?

Performance Boost: We're talking potentially significant reductions in overhead compared to other capture methods. This means smoother gameplay for you, and smoother video for you audience.

Direct Capture: It taps right into the game's rendering pipeline. Many users might miss out on this because it's not always the default or most obvious option. That's why i consider it an “underrated gem”, especially for us Linux users.

2. The Scenario: Flatpak OBS Meets Native Linux Games

So, here's the setup we're tackling:

You've got OBS Studio installed as a Flatpak from Flathub (directly or via your package manager) on your awesome Fedora system.

You're playing Vulkan-based games that are installed natively on Fedora (i.e., native Steam client, Lutris, Heroic Game Launcher etc.). This is a common and great setup! But when you try to use vkcapture in this scenario, you might hit a snag.

3. The “Catch”: Why Vkcapture Might Not Just Work Out-Of-The-Box

You open your Flatpak OBS, see the “Game Capture” source option, and get excited. But when you try to capture your native Vulkan game.. nothing. Or, it simply doesn't work as expected. What gives?

Here's the crucial bit:

For vkcapture to do its magic, your Vulkan game needs to load a special component called a Vulkan layer. Think of it as a small piece of software that sits between your game and your graphics driver, allowing vkcapture to access the game's rendered frames.

The Problem:

Your natively installed game lives outside the OBS Flatpak's isolated world (its “sandbox”). It typically can't “see” or use any Vulkan layers that might be bundled inside the Flatpak. So, even if Flatpak OBS has the vkcapture plugin ready to receive data, your native game doesn't know how to send it because it can't load the necessary layer.

This is the “missing piece” we're going to put in the place!

4. The Solution: Building the Vkcapture Vulkan Layer Natively on Fedora

To bridge this gap, we need to build and install the vkcapture Vulkan layer directly onto our Fedora system, making it accessible to our native games. Don't worry, it sounds more intimidating that it is! Let's break it down.

A. Getting the source code for obs-vkcapture

First, we need the source code for the obs-vkcapture layer.

git clone https://github.com/nowrep/obs-vkcapture.git
cd obs-vkcapture

B. Installing Build Dependencies on Fedora

Next, we'll gear up our Fedora system with the tools and libraries needed to compile the layer.

Open your terminal and run:

sudo dnf install gcc gcc-c++ make \
    obs-studio-devel \
    vulkan-headers \
    vulkan-loader-devel \
    mesa-libGL-devel \
    mesa-libEGL-devel \
    libX11-devel \
    libxcb-devel \
    wayland-devel \
    wayland-protocols-devel

C. Building the plugin

Inside the obs-vkcapture folder, create a build directory and enter it:

mkdir build
cd build

Compile the plugin

cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr
make

D. Installing the Layer Natively

Once compiled, we need to install the Vulkan layer files to the correct system directories so your games and the Vulkan loader can find them. This usually involves two main files: the shared object (.so) library and a JSON manifest file.

The good news is that this whole procedure will automatically be completed by executing the following command:

#Inside the build directory
sudo make install

E. Reboot Your Machine

5. Configuring and Using Vkcapture with Flatpak OBS

Alright, the native vkcapture layer is built and installed! Now, let's get it working with your Flatpak OBS.

This is where you tell your native Vulkan game to use the layer we just installed.

The most common way is by setting an environment variable when launching the game.

1. Steam

How to access Launch Options:

1. In your Steam Library, right-click on the game you want to capture.
2. Select “Properties...”.
3. In the “General” tab, you'll find a text box labeled “LAUNCH OPTIONS”.

What to enter:

obs-gamecapture %command%

Note: the %command% part is crucial for Steam; it tells Steam to substitute in the actual game executable and its arguments at that point.

2. Lutris

How to access settings:

a. In Lutris, right-click on the game. b. Select “Configure”. c. Go to the “System options” tab.

In the “System options” tab, find the field labeled “Command prefix”. Enter the following into this field:

obs-gamecapture

d. Click “Save”

3. Heroic Games Launcher

How to access settings:

a. Open Heroic Games Launcher and select the game you want to configure. b. Click on the “Settings” icon for that specific game. c. You'll see sections as shown in your image: “Wrapper command” and “Environment Variables”. d. Locate the “Wrapper command” section. 3. In the field labeled “Wrapper”, enter:

obs-gamecapture

The field next to it labeled “Arguments” (or “Wrapper Arguments”) should generally be left blank when using obs-gamecapture this way. The obs-gamecapture script is designed to precede the main game command that Heroic will launch. 4. Save the settings if there's a save button, or Heroic might auto-save.

5. Adding the Source in OBS Studio

With your game running (and the layer loaded), it's time to add it in OBS:

• Open OBS Studio.
• In the “Sources” dock, click the + button.
• Select “Game Capture”
• A properties dialog will appear and press ok

6. Conclusion

And there you have it! By building the vkcapture Vulkan layer natively on your Fedora system, you've bridged the gap to your Flatpak OBS installation, unlocking potentially much smoother and more performant captures of your native Vulkan games.

It might seem like a few extra steps, but the payoff in quality and performance can be well worth it for serious streamers and content creators. Plus, you've learned a bit more about how Vulkan layers and Flatpak sandboxing interact!

Happy gaming and capturing! Let me know in the comments how this worked for you or if you have any other tips!

Every nurse has a constant piece of equipment that accompanies them throughout their nursing career for as long as it physically performs. For some, it’s a particular pen. For others it is a particular fob watch. Others, myself included, it is a pair of scissors. A pair of trusty scissors that you would guard with your life, this is no exaggeration. If you don’t have a pair of scissors that you swear fealty to, then you are the person that borrows said scissors from other nurses- and are vaguely threatened with something if they aren’t returned within 15 minutes of their use. They are only loaned out on the condition that we know where you are, we know where you sleep and that we will get our scissors back or else the remainder of your days in the ED be a living hell.

For a couple of years, I had a pair of plastic handled NHS supplied trauma scissors that were jagged edged, blunt ended and a little flimsy- but ultimately they got the job done, most of the time. However they sometimes fell short and required more rough and inefficient effort in certain situations where you really needed them and left you wishing you could simply carry a pair of garden secateurs around with you, were it permitted. Enter, the Leatherman Raptor scissors. Cleverly (perhaps unnecessarily) named like an ultimate dream toy that every child begs their parents for their birthday or christmas present, they were unbeatable in performance. They folded neatly and satisfyingly into a plastic holster that could be worn wherever was most suitable for you. I first spotted them in action on a paramedic when I did a day on the ambulances and watched on dreamily -like I was watching someone ridiculously attractive walking out of the sea like a James Bond shot- as these scissors effortlessly cut through the things that were thrown at it. As well as having a solidly built construction with a reliably sharp blade, they were equipped with a foldable sharp hook implement for cutting through seatbelts or varying cases of clothing/strap removal without harming flesh underneath. They also have a tiny non-sharp point of metal on the end of them for shattering tempered glass safely without sending big chucks of it flying ie, getting into a crashed car. We don’t need this in ED obviously, but it’s a cool little extra to have for bragging points. Finally, they also have a small section to the blade closest to the handles which is used for cutting wire or thick pieces of metal. Overall, a very multi purpose instrument for a variety of purposes out in the field. Perhaps a little overkill for an emergency department- but I always swore in my ED practice that it is better to have it and not need it than it is to need it and not have it.

After being unable to justify the cost of them, my dad (ever a man for a shiny toy) bought them for me as a present. I was ecstatic, and was soon wearing mine on a holster on my trousers, quietly feeling like I had a hidden superpower- my super scissors ready to whip out at a moments notice to seemingly uncuttable things. They actually come with a little bit of stigma amongst other nurses. They’re seen as a bit of a ‘boy’s toy’ and unnecessary. Semi jokingly, comments will be thrown around about them being used to ‘compensate’ for a lack of something else- however, these same people fall tellingly silent when they cry out for another pair of scissors when their NHS ones fail and are instead handed a pair like mine. They hand them back as casually as they can, struggling to contain how much they approve of them. Come on guys, admit it- you like the shiny scissors. You do, don’t you!

Several years have passed since I got these scissors, and they still they sit in front of me, ready to go. I look at them sat on my desk in their holster with silent pride as I realise that they have been one constant at my side on the frontline throughout my nursing career. They’ve endured all the traumatic situations I’ve faced, as well as the light hearted, every day encounters.

Bandages. Thousands, upon thousands of thankless tangled and bloodstained dressings.

Clothes. Denim, khaki, leather belts, pants, clean or soiled.

Bra’s. Sadly not a reflection of my sexual escapades. As you may well know, bra’s usually have a metal wire in them- and this same metal wire is the arch enemy of the NHS scissors but no match for the inestimable leathermans and their wielder. I should note, we aren’t going round briskly cutting off people’s bra’s without a moments notice. In a cardiac arrest or a rapidly deteriorating patient where there is no time to dilly dally as we need quick access to their chest, everything must come off. You do not have time to piss about trying to sit them up removing clothes over their head and fiddling with that bastard stubborn metal bra clip at the back.

A Budweiser bottle. Nestled inside the inner chest pocket of a stabbed patient who had been thrown out the back of a car at our doors. I recoiled in terror as for a split second I was petrified that I was somehow impossibly cutting through the ribs of the patient- also not an entirely impossible sensation, as you’ll discover later in this book.

A rolled up bundle of twenty pound notes. Again, pockets of a trauma patient. I didn’t count how much was there, but it went clean through the bundle. The patient was a drug dealer. I chalk that down as one of my small parts in the war on drugs. Me and the leatherman scissors: saving the public from crappy bandages by day, ridding the streets of dirty money by night.

Countless plaster casts. Plaster of Paris, that is. Often we’ll put on temporary plaster casts for a patient with a severe fracture- usually when the fracture has been displaced or dislocated, meaning we have to manipulate it back into a normal position and then plaster cast it to keep it in place. We then do a follow up X-ray to check it is in the right place. If it isn’t, you cut it off and reapply accordingly.

Metal wire, ie barbed wire or fencing wire. The big brother of bra wire. The scissors have a wire cutting section on them that has you feeling like you’re doing a bomb defusal, deftly and effortlessly snipping away at the wire liberating the entangled patient. Usually farmers or cyclists.

A makeshift noose made of bandages. As I knocked on the door of a toilet where a patient of mine had gone in, I heard a gargling/choking noise from within and peered through the crack of the door- to be met by the sight of a dangling, kicking patient flinging around. Wrenching the handle down as I barged the stiff and ill fitting door open with my shoulder while shouting for help, in one swift swipe I snipped the bandages and lowered the patient to the floor as safely as I could (trying to catch a rag dolling human being is not an elegant process, it’s a “just do what you can” situation). I almost felt like there was smoke coming off the end of the scissors as I slowly holstered them again, like a Wild West movie.

Cutouts of children’s card masks, sections of colouring books. As I sat cross legged on the floor of a cubicle with a feverish, grouchy and crying toddler, I snipped out the outline of a Spiderman mask remarking at how overkill these scissors must look- but hey, the children are laughing while I pose with my ridiculous tellytubby/spiderman/paw patrol paper mask and make the accompanying stupid noises. The pure belly giggles of the child providing welcome relief to all from the previous pained screeching of pain and discomfort from whatever illness or injury they had.

Sternums. Several sternums. Yes, the bit of bone in the centre of your chest. During a thoracotomy, part of the procedure involves cutting across the chest in order to access your heart to provide cardiac massage and address any internal wounds- a barrier to which is the sternum which is usually sawed through using a piece of serrated wire that you hold either end of in your hand, pulling alternatingly back and forth to cut through it. Or, if you have a good, strong and sharp pair of scissors, you can just snip through.

Many wedding rings. When your finger/hand are swelling for whatever the reason is at the time, you simply MUST remove the wedding ring else you run the risk of cutting the circulation off to the finger entirely, which would eventually lead to the finger going necrotic/needing to be amputated. You can start with simple wriggling, soap, water, whatever method you can of non destructive removal- but if all else has failed with trying to remove the ring, they need to be cut off. The wire cutting section of the leathermans serves this purpose perfectly, depending on the size and thickness of the ring.

My trusty scissors, that never let me down. They are an inanimate object and are not sentient, I know this- but with them I share some of the most traumatic and meaningful memories and events of my nursing career. They are a relic of it, if you will. If ever there were to be a trophy of my time in the ED, it would be these. Their now battle worn bladed edge blunted slightly by the countless sternums, wires and metal clothes fasteners be it poppers or zips. Their stains of bleaching from whenever they were washed of whatever bodily fluids they cut through, now rusting slightly. I sometimes think about framing them, knowing that no one else would ever get it- they’re just a pair of overly fancy, overly complicated and unnecessary scissors. But they were my fancy, overcomplicated and unnecessary scissors.

A linear summary of Hawker RPG gameplay

Make a merchant – 6 points split into charm, force and wit, minimum one each – start with 6 coins and 2 cargo – starting cargo: draw 3 pairs of 2 cards, then pick a pair – 0 renown – optional background and goal

Starting settlement – roll for position on board – roll for size of settlement – optional roll for features and situation

Three choice of actions per day in settlement, spend one extra gold for extra stays (first night one gold, second night 2 gold etc) – trade cargo – draw cargo cards based on settlement size – joker = unique with 3d6 value – ace = high demand, 10+1d6 – jack queen king 11 12 13 – haggling: throw dice equal to charm, roll for each individual good – take contract – draw card for delivery, escort, courier or procurement. Roll dice for location if needed – roll 2d6 for coin reward – spend money – build road to negate challenges – buy companion – extend road

Moving on – roll for wilderness or settlement – if settlement, repeat from starting location, plus rolling for situation – if wilderness, roll for traverse difficulty, optionally roll for terrain feature – if low difficulty, no penalty, keep moving – if high difficulty, roll for challenge type, deal with it before moving on

Overcoming challenge – pick an appropriate stat to deal with the challenge. Stat minus one = number of rolls with advantage – roll until number of success or failure reached, whichever comes first – if fully dealt with challenge, gain one renown – if failed, lose either coin, cargo or renown

Game over if bankrupt Game won if self appointed goal reached

Example of goals: – max renown (default 9) – connect all settlements with roads – cure cancer

For transparency, here’s The Gamer’s Tavern’s monthly report for May 2025.

Costs

Monthly

Service Provider	Service	Cost (€)
OVH Cloud	Eco baremetal server SYS-2-SAT-32 “Ben”	30,49 €
Hetzner	VPS CX22 “Gerry”	4,62 €
Hetzner	VPS CX32 “Nayeli”	8,30 €
Hetzner	VPS CX22 “Cindy”	4,62 €
Hetzner	Object Storage	6,09 €

Total: 54,12€ Notes:

• OVH Cloud: Writefreely, Matrix, Owncast and Peertube
• Hetzner: Pixelfed Glitch, Mastodon Glitch, Status page, Object Storage

Applied exchange rate 1 USD ≈ 0,95 EUR

Annual

Service Provider	Service	Cost (€)
OVH Cloud	Domain registration	39,02 €

Total: 39,02€ Notes: Domain registration will be paid in August

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Donations

One time

Source	Gross amount (€)	Net amount (€)
Ko-Fi	0,00 €	0,00 €
LiberaPay	0,00 €	0,00 €

Total: 0,00 € Notes: -

Recurring

Source	Gross amount (€)	Net amount (€)
Ko-Fi	59,00 €	59,00 €
LiberaPay	0,00 €	0,00 €

Total: 59,00 € Notes: -

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Balance

Costs (€)	Donations (€)	Total (€)
54,12€	59,00 €	+4,88 €

#2025 #May #MonthlyReport