After my year layoff, I’ve been playing Fallout 76 regularly lately and thanks to events like the Test Your Metal events, Radiation Rumble, and Scorched Earth (I finally killed the Scorched Queen, yeah!), I’ve reached Level 235 this past weekend. Yay!
I’ve also have plunged into the Gold economy; basically, gold is used to buy superior armor, weapons, and other items. Also, in the “Gold Economy” you can’t trade or give away items purchased with gold; previously, most of the economy was based on Caps currency. Gold started a while back, but I finally plunged in full bore.
The differences between traditional armor and weapons is not huge, but is significant. For most of my FO76 gaming I’ve been using the always sexy-looking BOS Combat Armor as my body armor, the not-so-sexy X-01 Power Armor for big battles, and the ever deadly 50 Cal Machine Gun has always been my Go-To weapon since Level 25.
That’s me in my full set of BOS Combat Armor. It’s carried me most of the way through the game.
That’s me on top of Seneca Rock in my X-01 Blackbird Power Armor watching a nuclear blast.
However, in recent months I’ve added the Secret Service body armor (I’ll drop a photo in my next post), and this past weekend I’ve gone to full bore into the T-65 Blackbird Elite Power Armor. WHOA! Let me say this about my new power armor: Okay, it isn’t very ladylike but it gives you better chances of surviving a battle with the Scorchbeast Queen.
BTW, I also have the Hellfire Power Armor but haven’t put the necessary mods in yet. I also have full sets of Excavator, T-45, T-51, T-60, Ultracite (with Calibrated Shocks!) power armor. More on that next post.
That me in fully “pimped out” T-65 power armor with the new Blackbird Elite paint job. I finally got all the gold needed for essential mods, especially the Calibrated Shocks. It’s a funny notion, but Power Armor is like a military tank that you can wear and walk around in.
I’m thrilled with my latest acquisitions but it takes a lot more work to go with gold economy equipment. I haven’t moved on to the gold weapons because I’m still studying them. It’s going to take a lot to dislodge me from my trusty 50 Cals (I own 8 of them).
Below is a photo from my early days in the game, it features a downed Scorchbeast Queen and me in a puny set of Excavator power armor. I think the reason for power armor is understandable when facing a monster like the Queen.
This pic was taken a couple years ago when I first started playing Fallout 76. THAT monster is the Scorchbeast Queen and the battle to stop her tyranny is the penultimate and most exciting event of the entire game. I was wearing Excavator armor and my 50 Cal was puny by comparison to the 50s I have now. BTW, this is probably the biggest beast in the game and when it is standing it is MUCH bigger and it’s bat-like wingspan is VAST. Period! Well, oh, and it flies in the air and blasts horrendous scorched poisons and blinding soundwaves at you. So, there’s that also.
A decade ago, I felt that all online multi-player gaming was infested with griefers and psychopaths, but Bethesda (now owned by Microsoft) game designers have done a good job of providing countermeasures for controlling that kind of player. In fact, if you’ve never played an online game, I think you can learn as you go with Fallout 76.
I’m way over the age of what most people would consider to be a Gamer, but I’ve become a Gamer. I really enjoy as an entertainment. If you are interested in learning more about how to get involved, let me know (Twitter, Reddit, email or here). However, gaming can be addictive.
Being Yordie Sands 
Sha’Carri Richardson
She’s America’s top female sprinter.
Below is the video of her qualifying for the #1 spot on the USA 100 meter team. The thing about her is, she has an amazing ability to unleash her top end speed. Check the video of Sha’Carri’s qualification run, and I think you’ll be thrilled as her top-end is released. It is particularly amazing when you consider that she is only 5’1″ tall. In sprints, physical height, especially long legs, has proven to be decisive for many top sprinters in the late stage of a race. For example: the top sprinter of all time was Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt (6’5″ tall). And among women Olympians, Florence “Flo-Jo” Joiner was 5’7″. And top female sprinters do not “run like girls”, just saying. Simply said: Her ability is awesome to watch.
I’m deeply saddened that this magnificent young athlete made an impulsive mistake. She has been suspended 30 days and that will cost her a chance to compete in the USA Olympic Team’s 100 meter dash. I doubt that the US Olympic Committee can make an allowance for her, because of the precedent it would set, but her suspension expires before the 4×100 sprint relays and I’m praying for to be part of that team.
Sha’Carri is a great talent and has a lovely spirit, and she would represent our country proudly.
I ran sprints in high school, but never had Sha’Carri’s talent. Nonetheless, I did come to understand that 100 sprints have at least two stages: the start (first 30 to 50), where you run as fast with all your strength; the later stage (50-100), where the best sprinters transition up to their top end speed. Many sprinters that are good in the start get overrun by other sprinters in the second stage because they can’t make this subtle transition. And the best sprinters do something that very few sprinters understand, they relax and let their bodies loose; it is an almost transcendental experience. And very few coaches know enough about this to really coach it.
In the above video, you’ll hear the commentator refer to Sha’Carri’s ability to relax, and how it is unusual for a 21 year old. But the relaxation is a real thing and I’ve rarely heard track coaches mention it (but my experience was a long time ago); although once, I heard one coach refer to a male sprinter, saying: Watch him coast. That’s was the coaches observation, and it was a poor description of what happens. I discovered the power of relaxation by watching a world champion sprinter at a track meet at the University of Miami. My mind translated what I saw in the context of my Zen studies, and a old saying about horseback riding: “Give the horse its head.” I came away with a theory that I must transition from my fast start and release my body’s strength naturally. The very next day I tried the technique and my 100 speed showed an immediate improvement: 0.3 better than my personal best (0.3 in the 100 is a lot).
It’s easy to identify people who don’t understand relaxation, regardless of their speed: They seem tightly wound up through the entire race. But the people who can relax are equally easy to recognize; remember how easily Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt cruised to his victories? The guy was egotistical to an obnoxious degree, and in the China Olympics his behavior offended the Chinese people. But he clearly was a master of relaxation. Being short is a big disadvantage for Sha’Carri but her incredible top end speed is a gift from God.
Praying for you, Sha’Carri.
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