Fallout Season 2 – The House Kind Of Wins
Season two of “Fallout” has had fans clamoring for months since its initial announcement, largely because it unfolds in the same city as the critically acclaimed entry of the game series, “Fallout: New Vegas.” Thankfully, Prime Video’s adaptation of the RPG franchise is another hit. However, while season two is full of high stakes, it doesn’t completely go all in.
The series resumes where it last left off. Lucy’s father has escaped to New Vegas, prompting her to team up with the Ghoul and head after him. Meanwhile, Maximus finds himself back in the Brotherhood of Steel, where his morals clash with his leaders’ prejudices.
Fans will be delighted to learn that this season follows the ending of “Fallout: New Vegas” in which greedy RobCo CEO Robert House emerges victorious in his hostile takeover of the city. Although, you can barely tell from first glance due to how broken the city has become.
This excellently removes predictability for people who have played the game, and it was interesting to see how other aspects of New Vegas were changed. For example, the Kings are now a pack of snarling ghouls that still manage to imitate Elvis through their zombie-like behavior.
Unfortunately, this season’s pacing falters sometimes, especially in its first few episodes. Some crucial moments don’t hit as hard as they should, no matter which of the three protagonists you are watching.
Lucy’s strong ethical compass gets her in even more trouble in this unforgiving setting. It was fun seeing her dynamic with the Ghoul, given their conflicting personalities.
Walton Goggins’ performance as the Ghoul is still spot-on, but his performance as his pre-war self is stronger this season. Here, he’s on the search for his family, but flashbacks to his past explore his connection to Mr. House. If anything, his moral ambiguity cements him as an anti-hero.
Maximus finds himself in a situation reminiscent of his previous one in the first season, resulting in him abandoning ship once again. That’s great, because his early moments back in the Brotherhood weren’t all that entertaining compared to his departure.
More importantly, season two satisfyingly revisits side characters. Thaddeus comically deals with his irradiated state; Chet realizes his relationship with Steph wasn’t the love story he dreamt of; and you even see where the snake oil salesman ended up.
That blood-soaked “okie-dokie” attitude that “Fallout” carries is still present this season and will still make you smile. Any time a Deathclaw showed up, I was on the edge of my seat. I also won’t forget how the Ghoul slaughtered the Great Khans, or when vault dwellers broke out into dance to the tune of Elton Britt’s “Uranium Fever.”
While season two successfully adapts the post-war retro-futuristic world of “Fallout” through and through, it didn’t ooze “New Vegas” as much as I wanted it to. No, unfortunately, you won’t see any Cazadors, Powder Gangers, or drifters squabbling over Sunset Sarsaparilla star bottle caps. Some easter eggs require a closer look or you’ll miss them, but there are multiple great cameos, including Macaulay Culkin of “Home Alone” and Jon Gries of “Napoleon Dynamite.”
Like the story of “Fallout: New Vegas,” season two centers on power. Factions are in civil wars, and Hank MacLean and Mr. House are two villains bent on control. However, nothing too serious transpires before the season ends. Everything felt like it was just getting started by the end.
RATING:
Maybe this trip to New Vegas was slightly underwhelming, but “Fallout” season two is still a great watch despite its shortcomings. It’s a great setup for what’s to come, and hopefully, season three will deliver on all this potential and be a blast.
Wildlife Society Hosts 12th Annual Beast Feast
ABAC’s Wildlife Society hosted its 12th annual Beast Feast on Feb. 21, with this year’s event drawing in a larger crowd and giving attendees a chance to taste meats they don’t usually eat.. This year’s event had a more nostalgic feel, reflecting on good times with both new and familiar faces.
After entering, attendees anticipated the unpredictability of what they were about to eat. This is the core of Beast Feast: expanding your palette by experiencing foods you might normally consider as “forbidden fruit,” especially for those who do not hunt or who rarely have access to these meats. If there was one thing everybody in the room knew, it was that sometimes, forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest.
Tables were decorated with naturally crafted centerpieces. Some sported decorations like pinecones, animal skulls and empty buckshot shells — which may have had something to do with how the skulls were acquired. The decorations reflected part of the Wildlife Society’s mission: encouraging appreciation for nature.
Appetizers traveled around to tease the people in attendance, including lemon-peppered gallinule and smoked goose crackers. Then, of course, guests got to chow down on meals that were out of this world.
Attendees were given a choice of water, lemonade, or specially made sweet tea. For the food, attendees formed four lines on both sides of the buffet to begin filling their plates. Upon getting seconds, I realized the two sides of the buffet were not identical. Some dishes appeared only on one side, and different foods were being swapped in throughout the feast. For everyone that didn’t fill up, that meant more dishes to try.
Dominating the feast were dishes crafted from venison and beaver. Sure, you could have venison or beaver backstrap, or, you could chomp on something with style, like deer and cheese wontons, or “almost angry” beaver bites.
Other parts of the buffet featured other denizens of nature’s great outdoors in their tastiest of forms, like armadillo stew or raccoon mixed with bacon and the sweet taste of pineapple and apple. Similarly, there were a notable number of mixed dishes of this caliber, like the returning cowboy casserole, but also ones without meat, like pasta salad or macaroni and cheese.
With the combination of simple and mixed dishes, they developed a traditional southern “homecooked meal” vibe. This goes especially since every part of the buffet was not only provided but also *made* by the students and their individual recipes with the given meats.
“The armadillo stew was by far the best thing there,” said Carson Barnes, a student at ABAC.
Another student, Mekhi Isom, stated, “I liked the venison biryani, because it reminded me of curry.”
Later on, one of the Wildlife Society’s advisors, Dr. Jason Scott, expressed that not only do the ticket sales help the Wildlife Society’s events become possible, but the students themselves are highly engaged with their content. Everybody took a moment to also acknowledge ABAC graduates in the room, but an even bigger round of applause went to the past Wildlife Society officers that were present, too.
Everybody was eligible for a door prize based on their ticket number. For anyone feeling lucky, raffle tickets were being sold for prizes like fertilizer, knives, and even some guns.
“I feel great!” Kevin Lee said after winning a 12 gauge shotgun, “I don’t usually win anything! I’ll add it to the arsenal.”
Dr. Scott also auctioned off big things like a day of mulching from Legacy Land Services, a thermal hog hunt, and yet again, a 6 man troop of wildlife students ready to work for 6 hours, raking in hundreds of dollars.
All in all, the 12th annual Beast Feast was a huge success. With many in attendance, everybody had fun eating, talking about good old times, and even got to take home leftovers.
Artificial Intelligence Is Here.
The announcement of a new artificial intelligence data center by Meta Platforms near Cordele in South Georgia has been welcomed by some local officials as a sign of economic progress. But behind the promises of investment and technological growth, serious environmental concerns are beginning to emerge. For a rural community built around agriculture and natural resources, the project could place a significant strain on local land, water, and ecosystems – particularly around Lake Blackshear and surrounding areas.
Large AI data centers require enormous amounts of infrastructure to operate. One of the most pressing concerns is the water consumption rate. Modern data centers rely on extensive cooling systems to prevent thousands of servers from overheating. These systems often require massive quantities of water each day. However, in rural areas like Crisp County, where farms depend on groundwater wells and irrigation systems, increased industrial demand could place severe additional pressure on the local water supplies. Meaning that the farmers who rely on having consistent groundwater access will find themselves competing with a large industrial facility for the very same limited resource.
This concern extends far beyond farmlands though. Lake Blackshear, which happens to be the area’s most important recreational and ecological resource – could also be affected. The lake, which sits along the Flint River, supports fishing, tourism, and wildlife habitats that are vital to the local economy. The construction of a massive data center complex could increase stormwater runoff, sediment, and pollutants entering the nearby waterways. Large, paved surfaces, parking lots, and buildings reduce the amount of land that naturally absorbs rainfall, meaning more water, and more contaminants, can flow directly into streams that feed the lake.
The project could also permanently transform agricultural land. Crisp County is part of a region where farming remains a cornerstone of the local economy. Turning large tracts of farmland into industrial facilities removes productive soil from agricultural use, often permanently. Once land is cleared, graded, and covered with infrastructure, it rarely reaches its previous state. For communities built around farming traditions and rural land working, this kind of transformation can alter the character of the landscapes for generations.
Energy consumption is another environmental factor worth considering. Artificial Intelligence data centers are among the most energy-intensive facilities in the modern economy. Powering thousands of servers around the clock requires enormous amounts of electricity, which can place additional strain on regional power grids. If new electricity demand is met through fossil fuel generation, the environmental footprint of the project could extend far beyond Crisp County.
Supporters of the project argue that facilities like the one proposed by Meta Platforms bring economic development and tax revenue to rural communities. However, critics note that data centers typically create far fewer permanent jobs than traditional manufacturing plants. This raises an important question for residents and policymakers, whether the long-term environmental risks to farmland, water resources, and ecosystems are worth the relatively limited employment benefits.
As development plans move forward near Cordele, local leaders and residents will face difficult decisions. The promise of technological progress must be weighed carefully against the need to protect the natural resources that sustain the community—especially those connected to Lake Blackshear and the surrounding agricultural landscape.
Seahawks Kicker Wins MVP
Well, another year of football has passed, and with that, we got to experience another Super Bowl. This year’s Super Bowl initially sparked interest with the appearances of two teams people would not have expected, the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots.
The Seahawks were known this year for their stellar defense, while the Patriots were known for their MVP runner-up quarterback, Drake Maye. These two teams were unexpected contenders with amazing talent. So surely you would expect this matchup to have exciting moments from both teams, featuring their offenses and defenses.
Unfortunately, that’s not exactly what happened. While an offense can put points on the board and a defense can win championships, this Super Bowl showed how the Special Teams can be a difference-maker. Seattle Seahawks kicker Jason Myers surely expected to score a few points for his team, while perhaps the offense or even the defense scored the rest. Instead, Jason Myers would go on to score 17 points for the Seahawks, more than half of the Seahawks’ total score in the Super Bowl, 29.
Jason Myers went 5-for-5 on field goals, with his longest kick at 41 yards. He also nailed two extra points after a passing touchdown by Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold and an interception by Seahawks linebacker Uchenna Nwosu, who ran it all the way back for a pick-six. The Seahawks won the Super Bowl against the Patriots 29-13, with the Seahawks’ defense showing out and the Patriots’ offense failing to move the ball down the field.
After the Seahawks won the Lombardi Trophy, there was concern about who would receive the Super Bowl MVP Award. Surely, the award would go to the difference-maker in the game. So, obviously, the award would go to…Kenneth Walker III? That’s right, the Super Bowl MVP was awarded to Seahawks’ runningback Kenneth Walker III, instead of Jason Myers.
Now, I’m not saying that Kenneth didn’t have a good game; he, in fact, had a great game. Kenneth had 27 carries for 135 yards, with an average of five yards per carry, and his longest run was for 30 yards. He also had one reception for 7 yards, logging 142 total yards from Kenneth alone. That said, Kenneth never made it into the end zone once, never put up any points on the board.
In contrast, Jason Myers tallied up 17 total points for the Seahawks, while also setting a new record for the most field goals made in a Super Bowl with five total. Now, you could argue that Jason wouldn’t have made any of those field goals without the help of Kenneth getting him into field goal position; however, this would imply that the real Super Bowl MVP should be Sam Darnold, who not only threw for more total yards than Kenneth but also scored a touchdown.
While winning the Super Bowl is a team effort, the Super Bowl MVP is the player who contributes the most to the winning team. While Kenneth Walker III provided immensely for the Seahawks, another player contributed more to the team and played a larger role in securing the win. That man is the Seahawks’ kicker, number 5, Jason Myers.