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Coleman KT196 Go-Kart

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We own a go kart, and let me just tell you from experience: small engine repair is a nightmare. This go kart was a Christmas present to my kids a few years back. It seemed like the time. They were quickly outgrowing the 12V electric vehicles we got them earlier, and something gas-powered was the obvious next choice. We considered something like a 4-wheeler (because it’s not an “ATV” in the south), but that seemed a little too dangerous for them. They’re top heavy and easy to flip, and my kids aren’t exactly experts with caution. Instead, we decided that a go kart had the benefit of speed but safety in the form of a lower center of gravity and a roll cage. At worst, they probably wouldn’t be able to flip it and get stuck underneath it. When Amazon had a deal on the go kart we were interested in, I pulled the trigger. Freighting it to the house was annoying. Normal Amazon deliveries are great, and very transparent with where a particular delivery is and when it should arrive. Third party
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Book Report - "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable" by Patrick Lencioni

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Every now and then, I try to sprinkle in some self-help and business savvy reading. My new Director of Software Engineering recommended “The Advantage” by Patrick Lencioni, but the local library didn’t have that in audiobook format. Instead, I decided to listen to another work by the same author. I checked out “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.” The premise of the book is a sort of two-phase approach to explaining team dysfunctions: Lencioni gives a short fictional story with plenty of staged dialog and then finishes with a more concrete explanation about these dysfunctions and what we can do about them. The entire book is only about four hours in length, so it’s a super short time investment. More importantly, the content is valuable food for thought, even if the fable itself is a bit predictable. Characters in the fable are clearly manufactured for the sake of example, but man if they don’t fit descriptions of people I know in real life. It just goes to show that things tend to be the
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Platinum Trophy on Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

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I posted a review for “Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age” last month, but I didn’t mention how I got the platinum trophy, one that was an absurdly long time coming. My first exposure to Final Fantasy XII was actually the original release back on PS2. My roommate at the time had a copy and he really enjoyed the game, so he let me borrow it. I played for a while and got maybe a quarter through the main story. I liked the game, but I moved out before I managed to finish so I returned it to said roommate. Rest in peace to that save file that maybe still exists on some PS2 memory card somewhere; I haven’t played it since circa 2010. A console gap and almost a decade later in March 2019, I picked up Zodiac Age from my local library to play on PS4. Unfortunately, I did have to start over since saves from the original release aren’t compatible with Zodiac age, but it was a small price to pay for the improvements and availability on a current platform. I played for a while and got further than
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Thirsty Thursday Eve - Kirkland Signature Bottled-In-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

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I am a firm believer in having a bottle of “the good stuff” for special occasions. Be it a wedding, a new job, a funeral, or any other noteworthy moment, I like to have a particular spirit to commemorate the circumstance. Normally, this demands a premium price. Somehow, this Costco branded bourbon manages to bring the “good stuff” quality at what I would call a steal of a price. Name: Kirkland Signature Bottled-In-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Source: Barton 1792 Distillery Style: Bourbon ABV: 50% Price: $24.99 Volume: 1 Liter Price per oz: $0.74 This one almost slipped by me. I was looking for what to write about for the next Thirsty Thursday Eve, and I couldn’t find anything interesting. I almost skipped over this bottle because I thought I had already written about it. Fortunately, I checked and noticed the glaring omission. You all really need to hear about this one. As bourbons go, this is one of the better ones that I’ve had. I can’t definitively say that it’s the best,
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Pokemon Legends: Z-A and Mega Evolution

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The Pokémon Presents  from last month gave fans a lot of cool stuff to talk about, but what seems to be making the biggest buzz is the announcement of Pokemon Legends: Z-A and the return of mega evolutions. Source:  https://youtu.be/6Qi4COrQ7aA?si=AwXviGCovUZWuhLg Pokemon has been somewhat polarizing with the last few generations, as most generations have introduced some sort of mechanic that occasionally feels a little gimmicky and gets abandoned after a little while. Mega evolutions were first introduced in gen 6, and quickly disappeared besides its presence in Pokemon GO. Similar analogues such as Dynamax/Gigantamax and Terastallization came in subsequent generations, but they were similarly short-lived. The teaser trailer for Pokemon Legends: Z-A ends with an image of the mega evolution logo, which seems to undeniably confirm that they will be making a comeback in some form. For a lot of fans, this is excellent news. Personally, I’m not so positive. Mega evolution in its original f
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Book Report - "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

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A guest on the Carolina Code Cast  recently recommended “Sapiens” while I was coincidentally looking for something about or auxiliary to anthropology. As such, it seemed like a pretty good idea to check out. Two birds, one stone, so to speak. Listening through the audiobook of “Sapiens,” my opinion flipped between positive and negative multiple times. I couldn’t particularly identify why at first. Some chapters and segments were compelling and interesting, others were pretentious and annoying. The entire book was written by the same person, so surely it wasn’t some inconsistency on part of the author. What, then, would cause me to have such a varied opinion on the book, page to page? Eventually, I deduced the trend that was directly correlating with whether I liked or disliked a given segment. Harari does a really good job of explaining historical events and anthropological terms in a clear and concise fashion. Those bits are very good. However, when he begins offering his own suggesti
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Review - Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

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“Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age” is a JRPG released on the PS4 in 2017. As a remake of the twelfth entry in a series, “Zodiac Age” (as I’ll call it) has quite a few comparisons and a storied history of developments and release. Story - 8/10 As is par for the course with Final Fantasy games, Zodiac Age is very political in nature. There are some inter-kingdom disputes that have resulted in a war, which has impacted people from all walks of life. The main party consists of several of these people, each of which has some particular relationship with this conflict between regions. The entire cast has a complex background that affects their interactions in very reasonably human ways. They are relatable, they are understandable, and they often encounter conflicts that seem so lifelike. The characters show personal growth, they come together as an effective team, and work together to conquer evil. It’s fairly cliche as JRPGs come, but it isn’t hackneyed or boring. A familiar story done wel
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Thirsty Thursday Eve - Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey

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Peanut butter whiskey is delicious, but it serves as a case study on too much of a good thing when you buy a whole handle of it. I picked up a bottle of Skrewball one day when I hit Costco Liquor for the standard options that I always keep on hand. Of course, I had to grab my spiced rum and American vodka , but I also make a quick pass around the store to see if anything else catches my eye. On this particular visit, I noticed an unfamiliar bottle and my curiosity was piqued. Peanut butter is delicious. It’s good on crackers, it’s good on apple slices, I’ll mix it into my overnight oats occasionally. George Washington Carver was my hero, to the degree that I actually won a prize in primary school for knowing that he was credited with the invention of peanut butter. So peanut butter whiskey was an OBVIOUS try. I wasn’t worried about Costco only selling handles, I’d be back for more soon enough anyway. As soon as I got the bottle home, I had to give it a sip. The first thing you’ll noti
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Talking Tech - A New Topic

In order to keep myself current on trends in the technology space, I want to start regularly blogging about various things going on in the field. Call it “Talking Tech.” This isn’t going to be a regular monthly segment. Book Report and Thirsty Thursday Eve chew up enough of the month as is. And maybe most months end up having a Talking Tech post in them anyway, but I don’t want to be beholden to it. I don’t know quite yet what this is going to look like, so it’s partially experimental. There are a few ideas floating around that I want to discuss and would fit well with the Talking Tech moniker. First post is most likely going to be an article spin on the no-code solution talk I suggested for the Carolina Code Conference and briefly discussed on the Carolina Code Cast. I’ve already created a short video presentation on it, but it makes sense to have that tied in with Words on Wednesday as well. Beyond that, the Raspberry Pi 5 came out, so that’s a pretty cool piece of hardware. If I’m a
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Book Report - "A Line to Kill" by Anthony Horowitz

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I was big on murder mystery novels a couple years back, and I have a hard time leaving a series unfinished unless I just truly hate one of the books. Hence, I decided to revisit the Hawthorne series for the third book that had since been released after I read the first two. The one thing I can tell you is that I would be an awful detective. Up until the very end, I don’t have a clue who committed the crime. Sure, I’ll throw out theories while I’m reading. Occasionally, one of those theories does coincide with the final resolution, but nothing makes it any more special than the dozen or so theories I floated around. When the big reveal comes, I am consistently surprised. Great for the satisfaction of reading, but don’t expect me to solve any crimes for you. Given that disclaimer, I can’t tell you how easily this mystery would have been solved by someone with a more keen eye for detail. The clues make sense when they’re finally laid out clearly and directly at the end, but I wouldn’t hav
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