Bryce (idk)

Okay hello everyone, Bryce here (CFO of the blog). This is my special appearance that will occur roughly every 20 days. Today I will be writing about my drone video I created.

 

               I found a song a couple months ago and for some reason thought it would be great for a drone video of the gulf. Ideally this would have been a video revolving fly fishing and during the day, however, I cannot fly fish and operate the drone simultaneously, so I opted to fly my drone around at sunset and try to make a video on that instead. I had no plan as I had never made a video so I began to fly the drone around haphazardly recording things I thought were cool or interesting around one of my favorite wading spots.

 

               The video you are about to watch is by in no means great, but it is a learning process, and I have since found many songs I would like to make videos with. Hopefully with time they get better and I can soon make my ideal video over the summer.

 

               Little sidebar, I have interestingly found it “scary” to share something showing your personal creativity, I don’t know why that is. I chose this as my blog topic to share it with more people than just Quentin to hopefully “get over it”. Anyways, here’s the video and I hope my next blog post will have another so we can see improvement.

 

               Another sidebar, the quality of the videos on the drone and the app are much better, they decreased in quality when I transferred them to my computer. I don’t know why. If someone knows how to keep the quality for next time, please let me know.

Edit: i can't figure out how to post a video, so i put it on our youtube channel (only visible via link so i don't get us a copywrite)

https://youtu.be/qmxGCcqJOBc?si=WexCo0BqJ-A-FH4K

Bryce 3 - NFL Trade Ratings

 NFL Free Agency Transactions and Signings: Rated (from a active ball learner, an interesting perspective)

(In no particular order)

1. Justin Fields to Jets

  There's not much to say about the jets. In every aspect, on and off the field, they suck. I don't believe that even the Jets know themselves what they need to have a winning season. With their last decent run being in 2010, when they lost the AFC title to the Steelers, they are stuck in a cycle of blowing their salary caps on a gamble. The last being Aaron Rodgers and now Justin Fields. Justin Fields, by looking at his stats, does seem to be a decent quarterback but I'm not sure if he can help the jets or if the Jets will even help him.

Rating: C

2. Sam Darnold to Seahawks

  The Seahawks, finished 10-7 last season with Geno Smith. in the 24-25 season Smith sent a season franchise record for completion percentage, completions, and yards. Sam Darnold had a season with identical yards, 15 more touchdowns, and 3 less interceptions. I think this will be great for the Seahawks, however, they already had a very capable quarterback (he's not incredible, but he's good enough). For a franchise record of a season, I think it shows that maybe the Seahawks are lacking in areas other than their quarterback. Darnold is a playoff quarterback with a lot of time left ahead of him, I just hope the Seahawks will pick up some other positions as well.

Rating: A-

3. DK Metcalf to Steelers

  Okay, what? Did they just need to lower their expenditure to pay Darnold $110m? The Seahawks, purely from stats, do have "better targets". Metcalf last season having 992 yards and 5 touchdowns isn't exactly what I expect of him, but I do believe Geno is to blame for that with less and less targets each season with the pair together. I don't really get this?

Rating (for Steelers): S

4. Davante Adams to Rams

Adams was another Jets gamble, a great player they somehow ruin. Even being with them, he managed 7 touchdowns in 61 receptions. This has to be another Metcalf situation, the Jets needed money for their next last gasp and tossed him away. Exciting, but he's a 32 year old wide receiver in a big offseason.

Rating: B+

5. Bills retain Josh Allen

  I think everyone knew this would happen. He is the city of Buffalo's savior and hope of an AFC championship, last being in 1965. The Buffalonians themselves would've probably payed increased property taxes to keep the guy so $330m for 6 years is expected. Would have been fun to see him have a chance to play somewhere else.

Rating: S+

6. Geno Smith to Raiders

  Not very enjoyable for me as a Raiders hater. As I talked about above, he's a decent quarterback which the raiders did not have. I think this could actually have a notable impact on their performance. The Raiders themselves seem a little unsure shown by their 1 year contract. With Smith agreeing to the one year at $31m, I think its a great deal to test the waters and see what's coming out of the next draft. A little concerning for the AFC West.

Rating: A

EDIT: as i posted just now, kareem hunt stays with chiefs. very good for him and them.

Rating: S

Okay, these were my ratings for the March 10th-11th big NFL trades and retentions. Hopefully these are able to provide some useful insight to my view of the NFL.

Fun Fact: Shedeur Sanders is Deion Sanders son!!! what?!?!?

Bryce: 2 - Rust Electricity Basics (sorry)

     Hello everyone, today I will be addressing a common misunderstanding among certain friends which is basic Rust electricity. I fear if something were to ever happen to me, they would be left with cold and dark bases lacking any personality. Therefore, I will leave a guide for even the simplest player to understand.

    Firstly, you will require a power source. There are currently 3 in the game: solar panels, windmills, and generators. Generators output the smallest amount and require fuel (low-grade) to run, next highest power source is solar panels, with the most efficient and expensive option being the windmill. For this explanation, we will stick with the more complicated of the three which will leave you with an understanding of the other two as well. The solar panel. For optimal placement, the solar panel(s) must all face north. If you are playing a monthly wipe, 2 weeks in these must be adjusted for the sun cycle to NE or NW. The solar panels can be hooked directly to your intended usage, such as lights, but once the sun sets, you will lose power. To counteract this, we will need a battery. The medium battery is what I have found to be best unless you are setting up auto turrets, then you will need large. 

    The medium battery holds 9,000 rWm (Rust Watt Minutes) and outputs a maximum of 50 rWm (Large 24,000 rWm with an output of 100 rWm, small 400 rWm with an output of 15 rWm). What does this mean? Well simply, it means the medium battery outputs 50 electricity and each item requires a certain amount of electricity. For example, the ceiling light requires 1 electricity to run, so this battery can output enough power for 50 ceiling lights. The medium battery has a 80% efficiency on charging, meaning all incoming power is 80% of the source, keep this in mind if balancing charging vs output.

    Now that you understand power sources and batteries, how do we connect it all. For this we will use solar panels and a medium battery as explained. You will require 4 North facing solar panels on an open roof with no shadows casting over them. Next, acquire 3 root combiners and place them on your roof near the panels. Take your wiring tool and connect 2 solar panels to the 2 inputs on one combiner, then the other 2 solar panels connected to another combiner. Next, connect the outputs of both of these combiners to the 3rd combiner. Now all 4 solar panels are ran into a single wire. Run this cable NEATLY into the battery input. The battery should be placed near the core to protect from raiders.

    Your battery is now charging. For our last step, we need to connect it to our utilities and decorations. Almost every item requiring electricity has an "input" and a "passthrough". If you take the wire directly from the output of the battery to your items, you will quickly drain your battery or encounter other various roadblocks. So before we get ahead of ourselves, lets get some root branches. These allow you to branch off only the necessary amount of power you need. Lets place 5 lights in the base for this. We are going to go to our battery room and place a branch, then interact with it and type "5" to branch off five power. Now from the output labeled 5, run the wire to the first light then click the passthrough ad run it to the second, third, etc. You can optionally place a switch between the branch and first light to have control of when they are on and mitigate battery drainage.

    With this knowledge, you can continue on to power anything your heart desires. Just make sure you look at how much power the item requires (examples: auto turret: 10, neon sign: 15, water pump: 5) and branch off accordingly. If you have any questions or are interested in more advanced electricity, including but not limited to: automatic doors, turrets, farms, HBHF sensors, smart alarms, fog machines, dance floors, music/speakers, etc. please feel free to reach out, id love to help!

    

Bryce: 1 - Inshore fly fishing (speckled trout)

 Today I'll talk about what will be one of my main themes, inshore saltwater fly fishing. I try to go fly fishing when I can, which has recently been less due to a sickness I have been struggling with called Acquired RUST Syndrome. I'm hoping to go this coming weekend for a little bit given the game fish currently in season that I'll talk about today. In our area, we have a large variety of "game fish" (fish that are chased for their fight, difficulty to find/lure, size, and generally limited time in the area among many other reasons). Those inshore fish are primarily: Redfish, Snook, Tarpon, Bonefish, and Trout. The Speckled Trout being a game fish is frowned upon by a lot of people, they classify it with yearly fish like Sheepshead. However, in the winter months, the other game fish become lethargic and seek safe and warmer places to live leaving the Speckled Trout to have reign over the inshore waters. Speckled Trout thrive in places that allow them to "pounce" on their prey. Similar to how sharks sit right at a drop off, or on the other side of a sandbar. Both animals seek to be in positions where they are hidden but close, you can't see them but they can see you, and they can strike if they want. The shark obviously being better at this allows for the trout to be found and caught easily. A week ago, I went to Crystal Beach and waded for Trout. It's really the only fish the spot is good for even though I tell myself differently in the Spring/Summer to avoid long drives. The water was at 63 degrees which warranted wearing my wetsuit at my waist, I also brought my sling pack loaded with Clouser minnows, EP mullets, and tarpon roaches (all being names of common saltwater flies), my TFO Axiom II-X 9ft 9wt rod, and my Orvis Hydros IV reel with a 9.5wt/wf line. To decipher this, I brought a 9-foot rod with an "extra fast action" meaning it casts with a much faster movement, the 9wt translating to 9 weight is the weight of the rod, in what I have no idea, but you feel a huge difference in all weights, think of them as sturdiness. For example, a 12wt is very sturdy and is used for offshore fly fishing while a 4wt is used for streams in the rocky mountains. A 9wt is a very middle-ground inshore rod that can be used for all fish, for trout it would have been a much more fun fight to have an 8 or even 7 weight, but rods are expensive. The reel name doesn't mean much, it's just the brand and name of the reel. For the line, it's interesting. Notice how the rod is a 9wt but the line is a 9.5wt. Generally, the line weight should always match the rod weight, but by going up .5, it allows for further and more accurate casting. The line is also classified as WF meaning weight forward. This means the line is tapered and the end of it is heavier/thicker than the rest of the line. This also helps with further/faster/more accurate casting. The fun part about this is fly line is around $100 for one spool (you use an entire spool for one reel), and since it's tapered and specifically weighed, if you cut it, it's ruined. To counteract the guaranteed $100 loss every time you go fishing, we use what's called leader. This is a 6-8ft piece of normal fishing line (monofilament) tied to the end. This makes the line much less visible to the fish (fly line is thick and colored) and allows you to cut the line to change flies or break off fish. For the fly names, they just imitate different fish, bugs, or crustaceans that your target fish will eat, don't worry about that. Once I arrived at Crystal Beach, I put on my wading boots (with stingray guarding), tied on a tarpon roach (a fly meant for tarpon but weirdly works for trout), and headed into the water about an hour before sunset. The water was cold and it was very foggy with a dimly lit orange horizon. I made my way to a knee-deep depth (never go deeper when wading) and began looking for a trout habitat, that being where sand changes into a patch of turtle grass (they hide in the grass and "pounce" out into the sand). I began blindly casting my fly along the border of the grass while stripping in my fly in a slow pattern allowing a lethargic fish plenty of time to react and strike. For about 20 minutes i continued casting while keeping a look out for any signs of fish such as headwake or bait fish panicking, there was nothing. I decided to put in an airpod and just use this time to practice my casting and accuracy. As soon as I diverted my attention from what I was doing to my music and the foggy sunset, I had a hit. I quicly gave my line one big strip and knew the fish was on. Keep in mind, I shave the barbs off all my hooks as it significantly decreases fish mortality rates on catch and release to have them unbarbded (the removal of a barbed hook often leaves fish with huge trauma and often injured/dislocated jaws). Because of this, the fish can come off very easily, requiring me to keep constant tension on the line and read where the fish wants to go. After a quick 2 minute fight, I had a Speckled Trout hanging out next to me with a Tarpon Roach hanging out the corner of its mouth. I quickly got a picture of my first trout of the season and let him go. I had about 30 minutes left before sunset and was excited to continue. Now I remind you Crystal Beach is a popular sunset destination for locals. Behind me I hear splashing and look to what i can only assume to be a shark charging me or a dolphin given the loudest splashing ever, just to realize what I can only describe as a blob of a man who is approaching me with a Shakespeare rod in one hand (the cheapest possible rod that people on vacation flock to for its $35 "saltwater" set), while wearing those shoes with toes and a bathing suit. This immediate shakedown along with no wetsuit leads us to assume he's from up north and cold tolerable. He asked me what i caught and what i was using, i didn't attempt to explain that I'm using flies because i fear the explanation needed wouldve had to have been longer than what i wrote here. He then went on to cast next to me in what I can only imagine to be as an attempt to somehow catch the same fish i had just released. While realizing after this entire loud interaction there likely was no longer a fish within 5 nautical miles of us, I sadly called it the end of my sunset fishing trip. I of course wished him good luck and genuinley hope he got himself that trout. This felt very sporatic but hopefully you get a good idea of what fly fishing for trout means, but i need to go play Rust now. Talk again in 10 days. - Bryce