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Fallout – The Burns Residence – I

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Unfortunately, Fallout February has gotten off to a whimpering start for me. This week I found myself in the unenviable position of having daily headaches for the second straight week, and then developing a chill or numb feeling in my side, and stomach/intestinal pain. After a few days of these issues and a looming snow storm, I decided I had better get some medical help. So that meant I went to the ER from about 11:00 PM – 6:00 AM and saw two different doctors afterwards as well. While I’m not completely better, I got some medication to get rid of the headaches (which I think was a lingering sinus infection) and the chill/numbness is mostly solved too. If I can manage to get my digestive issues worked out then I think I’ll should be just about back to normal.

You may recall I had digestive issues about a year ago and I learned something this past week that I wish I had known sooner. If you’re male, and every single one of you who comments on this blog regularly is, as far as I know, you need to get 35 grams of fiber a day. That is a lot and its not easy to achieve if you’re eating a lot of meat and potatoes. I’m a vegetarian and I fail to get anywhere close to that which is becoming a problem for me in my late 30’s. If I can help anyone prevent the issues I’ve experienced and the medical costs, then I’m glad to have shared that info.

With the dietary issues I had a year ago, I gained about ten pounds, which I was not at all happy about and so I started meeting with a nutritionist and ramping up on exercising over the last six months. I had lost about 5-6 pounds of that with a high protein diet and I think somewhere along the way, I diminished my fiber intake which is why I haven’t felt great for the last 4-5 days. My hope is that I can find a better balance in my diet and get myself back into “fighting shape” here relatively quickly. We’ll see if that proves to be the case or if something else is wrong which would mean more doctor’s appointments in the future.

All this is to say, my hobby time hasn’t been great this week. I’ve been about as unproductive as I can remember for quite some time. It is a shame because I’m as excited to work on Fallout stuff as I’ve been in quite a while but thankfully, I think my enthusiasm won’t dissipate with this minor health blip. I have mostly been working on a piece of terrain called The Burns Residence by Black Site Studio. I have showed bits and pieces of it previously and lately, I’ve enjoyed working on something that requires less concentration with Grunthal being done.

This week I finally assembled the outer walls and have been patching gaps and holes in the MDF so that it looks as realistic as possible. I learned about this trick from Dynamic Dave Stone a few years ago now and I truthfully haven’t used it much since my first piece of building terrain pictured below. I felt as though that with more patience and practice, I might be able to fill gaps even better in the future and so far I think its working. You have to be really patient and methodical with sanding down the wood filler until you get a nice and smooth surface but you can’t see any of the gaps in the picture above so I reckon I’m doing something right.

There’s plenty more to go on this house including a foundation, doors, windows, and probably even some more weathering. Can I get it done before the month’s end? Health permitting, its possible but its going to be close. It would be rather embarrassing to not finish anything of my own in Fallout February so I’ll be on the clock over the next few weeks.

To keep me motivated on creating my own post-apocalypse world, I’ll most likely be found playing Metro Exodus: Enhanced Edition on Steam. I know the game originally was released in 2019 and then Enhanced Edition two years later but the game has been a revelation for me so far. I’ve only played the first game in the series Metro 2033 and it is somewhat primitive compared to what Exodus has evolved into. In Metro 2033, nuclear war breaks out and humanity retreats into the Russian train tunnels to survive the radiation and mutated beasts on the surface. This made Metro 2033 pretty linear and you were in a lot of tunnel settings throughout the game.

Metro Exodus not only lets you leave the subway system but has large and beautiful (in the post-apocalyptic sense!) open-world areas to explore across Russia. The game is stunning and runs well on my PC setup and so I’m finding it hard to put down. It has the right balance of looting, crafting, intense firefights, and storytelling to make you feel as though you’re in a post-apocalypse Russia. I know there’s a few video gamers amongst you who visit this site regularly and if you are one of them, I’d highly recommend this game as it was one of the best and most-immersive games I’ve played in a while. Longtime friend of the site, Bret, consider this your invitation to get a new PC or a PS4!

25 thoughts on “Fallout – The Burns Residence – I”

    1. Every time I see the name of this terrain kit, I think the same. It has to be a Simpsons reference! I’m taking it one day at a time and hopefully I’ll have more to show for my effort next week 🙂 Just don’t expect Bart or Homer to be living there!

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  2. Sorry to hear about the health issues especially the headaches, that’s no joke when it’s there every day. With the fibre intake, look for a high fibre ceral, this can give you almost the full lot of your daily quota in one hit.

    Great progress on the building, and glad the tip has helped with the gap filing, and the gaming sounds like it’s giving you plenty of inspiration for your gaming area.

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    1. In many ways, the headaches were the worst part. There was nothing I could do other than take pain meds to shake them. I didn’t realize there was cereal with that much fiber in them. I’ll have to look for that in the grocery next trip.

      While the gap filling really does take patience, I think the results speak for themselves. Metro Exodus has got me ready to do some major chipping because nearly everything in the game that’s metal is rusting and/or chipping.

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  3. The game does seem intriguing, maybe I can convince my brother-in-law to buy a ps5 so I can buy his ps4 😀

    You have two Fallout Fridays before Fallout February is over, get cracking!

    Seriously though, take care of your health first.

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    1. I thought it might intrigue you! Its an interesting snapshot into what the post-apocalypse might look like in Russia. While I don’t want to talk you out of your clever plan, you’ll need a newish PC or the current generation of video game systems (PS5) to play Metro Exodus with its full graphics capabilities. That lets you appreciate the large open world sections.

      I’ll see what I can do on the Fallout stuff. I am feeling better and better so I’m optimistic I can get the house done or very close to being done on time.

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  4. I sincerely hope that you continue to mend. I hope the root cause will be identified. I had stomach problems for years before I went gluten free.

    good luck getting some Fallout stuff done before Feb is out.

    Whaddya mean everyone who comments on blogs are dudes? lol.

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    1. Thanks, Stew. I’ve been doing better since this weekend stomach-wise so that is makes me feel optimistic anyway. It can’t hurt my odds of getting something done for Fallout before the end of the month either.

      I think the gender breakdown at Adepticon is roughly 90%/10% male to female and I’m sure its similar at other conventions too. So you know exactly what I mean, Stewart Michael Blain! 😀

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  5. Sorry to hear about the stomach issues mate. Sounds like it’s been a rough time. I feel your pain. I struggled for many years with my stomach. Tried all sorts of diets and remedies and doctors were a bit stifled. Then I started my own business back in 2017 and I very destroy get the issues now. I can only put it down to stress and, more to the point, a feeling of not being settled. Diet is very important of course but, for me at least, it was more about taking control of my life a bit more and doing what mates me happy. However if I overdo it with food I’ll still have a rough time haha. Terrain is looking good. Don’t worry about getting it done in Feb brother, just get it done. Hehe

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    1. I’m really glad you got it sorted and that your life is better since making a “career” change. I have been contemplating some of the things that cause me stress and thinking about how in the long run I might reduce those as well. Its a good thing to think about without a doubt and I believe it can make a huge difference if you can ultimately lower your stress.

      Thanks for the kind words on the terrain too. Its not as epic as what you work on but hopefully it looks good in the end!

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  7. I hope that you’re feeling way better already. The older we all get, the more effort we have to put into looking after our health.

    The run-down house already looks great and I can’t wait to see it show up in one of your games.

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    1. This week has been pretty good health-wise. I feel nearly back to 100%, in fact so that is a relief. You’re absolutely right. You kind of have to relearn how to live as you go along or that’s what I’m finding anyway.

      Thanks for the kind words as well!

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  8. Sad to hear about your gastro issues – I’m no doctor but have they looked into diverticulitis as a possibility? On the dietary stuff – there’s a lot of variation between individual humans and our needs.

    Something you could do to increase your fibre intake could be adding a spoon of psyllium husk and or fibre into some of your food – particularly if you eat something like muesli.

    These are obviously AU links, but I’m sure you can find these products easily enough (differnet brand) in US supermarkets.

    https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/334797/macro-cereal-gentle-fibre

    https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/479953/macro-organic-psyllium-husk

    When I have musli, I typically put a spoon of each into it – though I also avoid extra sugars whenever possible, so nuts are all good, but without fruit.

    https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/146325/carman-s-muesli-toasted-original-fruit-free

    Something else that may or may not have an effect may be the vegetarian diet. I have a friend who was having all sorts of medical issues, and many of them went away when she started eating meat again. It might be worth trying, especially if the balance is your health vs eating meet a few meals per week. I’m not trying to “sell” you on anything – just remember that doctors and dieticians all have their own biases based on their own experiences, cultures (attitudes to something like rice, etc) and what they learned at the time – which can be outdated/superceded/debunked – if you look at the food pyramid or the “harmful” issues with creatine. GP doctors may be particularly out of date when compared to specialists.

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    1. Thanks for the recommendations, mate! I have heard of psyllium husk though I haven’t tried it yet. I’ll have to see if I can find some this weekend at the grocery. I’ve been trying to add some chia seeds into my diet which has definitely helped. The Macro Gentle Fiber is interesting and I can’t say I’ve seen that in American grocery stores before. I would assume that something like it exists, maybe under a different name, so I’ll keep my eyes peeled. I like that its more natural than the popular American ones (Benefiber and Metamucil).

      I know what you mean both on the vegetarian diet causing some people problems and on doctors having strong personal opinions/biases. The primary care doctor I saw had some really specific things he wanted me to do and some of them, I didn’t agree with/think are realistic. I left out some of the wackier suggestions, mostly to be nice but let’s just say I’m supposed to really connect with nature according to him.

      I’m glad that I’ve found out about the fiber issue though as I think that was my primary problem. The more of an old fart I become, the more I need it in my diet as I’ve learned the hard way!

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  9. He matey, sorry to hear about the illness, all that advice from the lads sound good but what ever you do work up to the amount of fibre you are aiming for slowly over a few weeks.
    I knew a guy and all he eat was meat and potatoes 😃with the occasional boiled vegetable every few weeks 🫢, you what he wondered why he had so many stomach issues😉.
    Love the house and hopefully I’m back into catching up with you guys magic work👍🏻.

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    1. That is very good advice and one that I didn’t think of before I upped my fiber intake. Fortunately, the effects didn’t last long and I’m doing quite a bit better this week.

      Your friend is the perfect example of how a meat and potato diet could present some problems one day. I’m getting closer and closer to officially being middle aged and I can’t eat anything like I used to be able to, that’s for sure.

      Thanks for the kind words on the house. There’s more to go but I’ll get it done soonish, hopefully.

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      1. 😂😂! Middle aged, I think they have upped that a bit Jeff, I’m just about to turn 70 and still feel like a kid😉, just a slowed down version.

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      3. Hey matey ! Still being messed around by the new computer 😡, just heard you have had some nasty tornadoes in your neck of the woods, I hope you are ok👍🏻, thinking of you and your folks, I’m just glad we don’t have them over here.

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      6. It has been very dry here (although we got some snow today so I guess that counts for something). Only the US Midwest can you go from tornados to snow… Glad the garden is perking up too! 🙂

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