Two successful kiteboarding sessions over the weekend! Had a fair bit of stopping and starting but eventually found the groove and wow, the feeling of being pulled over the water at high speed by the wind is like flying.
Starting is tricky - I lie on my back with my board downwind and the kite directly above me, then swoop it downwind to provide enough power to pull me up on top of the board. This is the easy part though. Now the kite needs to be put in the right position to pull me along at the right speed, the board needs to be in the right place to go where I’m headed, and I need to lean back the right amount to counter- balance the whole thing. I can’t figure out what the combination of all three things are, but sometimes I hit upon it by accident and then I’m off.
It is very wind-sensitive however (obviously I suppose). 15-20 knots is the sweet spot (for me at least) and I’ve become very sensitive to the inaccuracies of the weather report.
- I said it last week but Apex Legends is still very good. I have a few more wins under my belt now but losing doesn’t make me feel that discouraged. I think there is a balance to be struck between making player deaths important and not causing frustration.
- I was reminded of the one-hand-one-bounce rule in kids cricket (usually a rule adopted in casual games where a tennis ball is used - the usual rule is that catching someone without a bounce gets them out, but this rule allows a single bounce if you catch it with a single hand). I think this was the first time I thought about game mechanics and balancing, and it’s still a great example of it.
- We bought a car. Figured we would need one eventually so may as well get it now than keep spending the odd money on taxis or rentals.
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