I got a little inspired by the solar powered EDC post and it made me think about my computing setup. I use a modern smartphone and a higher-end desktop that is almost always on. I also have an e-reader and some ear buds. I often charge the smaller devices with a power bank. It would be interesting to see if I could move my computing from my desktop to a (preferably second hand) laptop and find a means of charging all of these devices without using the electricity from the utility company.

I already have a small 250W solar array on top of my garage with three golf cart batteries. It runs some lights and occasionally charges devices via USB on the controller. The issue is that it is a bit of a hassle to use due to the garage not being well sealed or climate controlled. It's dusty and there's grease and other things from my mechanical projects and it's always very hot or cold depending on the time of year.

The perplexing part of this for me is charging laptops. Inverters are wildly inefficient but I'm not sure of a way to sufficiently charge (or power) a laptop without one. What are some solutions here?

Additionally, what are some solutions for a potentially portable (or luggable, I guess) setup for these devices? Build a battery box myself and keep it charged on the garage array? Pick up one of those larger "solar generator" pre-made battery boxes that are so popular on the big eCommerce sites now? What about small panels I could put in a window or take outside?

I know the energy used by these devices is far less than things like my fridge/HVAC/laundry machines but it's an interesting rabbit hole for me. Sorry if this has been posted already but I scrolled through a couple of pages and didn't see a similar question.

Thanks!

I won't turn this into a dumping ground for my progress on the game but I thought I'd try recording it tonight. It's very rough because I've never really done any screen recording like this (or posting, for that matter). Really pleased that I managed to beat the third boss now for the second time and I made it all the way to the fourth boss. Died because I was a bit panicked due to not knowing its patterns.

Very pleased with my nearly 16mil score. It's way better than last night's run. On "easy" mode, it's so hard to drop your chain so scores are all over the place. I'm not terribly focused on anything but survival right now but a couple of times the dim lightbulb in my brain turned on and I managed to hyper when I wanted to or graze consistently into chains.

It ain't much and my score is hot garbage but after about a week and some change, I finally beat the third boss on Danmaku Unlimited 3. Now I just need to make it consistent. Two more stages after this one and I might be able to get my first 1cc on a shmup.

I got some good tips from the #STG Rev. 2020 Discord server. I'm using the Hori Fighting Commander PS4-044U and it's coming together. Easy mode is actually quite difficult because I keep dropping chains. There just aren't enough bullets to graze, it seems.

I also haven't unlocked the good focus shot yet. It says you need to graze 100,000 bullets and I have no idea how many I've done. I did get the achievement for grazing 1,000 bullets in one chain, though.

Anyway, not real shmup news; I was just stoked and wanted to share the progress.

I currently use a Pixel 7 Pro with GrapheneOS and I really enjoy the experience. I have a Surface Pro 7+ with Linux on it that I use from the couch. It's a bit bulky and I've found myself gravitating more to the Android UI anyhow. I'm looking into either getting the Pixel Fold or the Pixel Tablet, both of which are supported by GrapheneOS.

The bulk of my usage would be mobile games (including emulation through Lemuroid), books and magazines through Libby/Librera, and the occasional video content. I'd like to bring it with me on the go.

I was initially going to get a tablet and dock but the fold looked interesting. My reservations about the fold are the internal screen life and how apps behave on the internal screens. Surely being a moving part is going to decrease its lifespan, plus screen protectors and cases seem like they would be difficult. Are there cases for those phones? I always put a screen protector and case on my devices. How do apps behave in full screen on the fold? Do they have black bars if it's not big enough or does it get stuck to one side?

Thanks!

Is anyone aware of a list of the Shikhondo games? I was familiar with Soul Eater but today I found this trailer for Red Purgatory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_sb_PpI-eE

I also found a Steam release from this April for Youkai Rampage, which I didn't know existed: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2712480/Shikhondo_Youkai_Rampage/

Has DeerFarm produced more in the series? It's such a unique take on the genre.

Gradius and Life Force are included in this collection and the included "book" is good. It's neat seeing minor differences between the Japanese and International versions as well. This plays very well with the console streaming feature and one of those controllers that clamp onto the phone. Solid ports.

SNK has several neo geo games for sale in the Play store. At about $4 USD, they're pretty expensive but they seem to work OK. Pulstar and Blazing Star are available. I purchased Pulstar and the controller support is great. Its a pretty good experience if you don't normally use something like Lemuroid.

I have posted regularly on the hurtdesk but this user still tries to impersonate me. I am hobbsc not handyc. You can c my trouble, clearly. handyc must go.