@Pardinus
#caturday... a day too late! :) This cute guy was the resident cat at the house where I stayed last weekend. He lost both the eartips due to tumors, but is healthy now, and still loves to sunbathe!
@Pardinus
@Pardinus in May 2022
@Pardinus
@Pardinus
This was something that I was definitely not expecting. Crypto.com decided to do major cuts in their cards cashback AND remove staking rewards from all card tiers. More important than growing a user base, is keeping it; and the way things are being done, I believe a ton of users will leave for good. Especially since the major cuts will be on the lower card tiers, which are probably the biggest user base. Shame, Crypto.com!
@Pardinus
My wildlife photograhy: the crested lark, Galerida cristata. How cool is this bird's crest? I normally see them at or very near the beach, they probably like coastal areas. This one was giving a concert as I was arriving at one of my favourite beachs, in SW Portugal.
@Pardinus
Why should you always do Splinterlands daily mission? Because you never know what can drop! Today, 2 epics and one gold card. AND you have fun playing too, apart from getting valuable nfts! Definitely the best blockchain game out there. Hoping to see how will the new reward system go, we're supposed to hear more news in the coming days.
@Pardinus
My wildlife photography: the iberian grey shrike, Lanius meridionalis. Found this one during an early morning birdwatching session, and spotted him easily not only by his perching position, but also because he was calling loudly! Either that, or he was swearing in"shriekish", for not wanting to have his photo taken. :) This particular species can only be seen in Portugal and Spain.
@Pardinus
After a ton of backlash from the community, Crypto.com has been reviewing some of the decisions taken regarding the cuts on staking rewards and card cashbacks. A couple days earlier it was announced some staking rewards would stay in place, and today card cashback rates have been reviewed. Although it shows they listen to the community, I can't say my confidence has been restored; I won't stop using my card, but it's very unlikely I'll try and upgrade it, given how these…
@Pardinus
My wildlife photography: the european robin, Erithacus rubecula. I normally hear robins callings, and can identify them pretty easily. But last weekend I was hearing some unknown singing, and had my camera on hand. When I finally took a photo of the singer... a robin it was! Have to brush up on my listening skills!
@Pardinus
Finally, another free weekend. I'm sure I won't have the same views as last free weekend, when I enjoyed some nature trails in the middle of Portugal, but the memories remain. Being able to walk in nature trails like these is priceless. Hope to be back some day!
@Pardinus
Every once in a while, a card pack drops on Splinterlands daily quest, and these I don't resist opening. And I can't complain at all of my luck in these openings: sure, no legendaries, but 3 rares in one pack, being two of them the two summoners I want to max first? More of these, please!!
@Pardinus
My wildlife photography: the yellow legged gull, Larus michahellis. These one were relaxing at the low tide, watching the little waves go by; who knows, I might even have caught three generations here: grandfather, father and son! :) The juvenile is easy to recognise, given the spotted plummage; as for the other two, just wishful thinking!
@Pardinus
Another red Monday. BTC chart looks ugly, and most alts are with double digit losses. In times like this, just remember the market is made of cycles; and try to think of these prices as great points to star dollar cost averaging into your favourite projects!
@Pardinus
It's warm and sunny here in Portugal, it almost feel like summer! The bad part? Being stuck at work and not enjoying the outdoors. Good thing I can remember some great places I've visited recently where diving now would be awesome, like this fluvial beach.
@Pardinus
My wildlife photography: the ruddy turnstone, Arenaria interpres. These little birds are very common at coastal areas, and it's normal to see them roaming the beaches, while searching for food, usually in small groups. The colour pattern is pretty characteristic, and males and females look alike. In the second photo, there's a little egret keeping them company.
@Pardinus
Remember those words that were something like "be fearful when the market is greedy, and be greedy when the market is fearful?"? Well... this is probably the time to start being greedy. BCH just reached support levels. DYOR, don't use the money you can't afford to loose... but the buying opportunities are coming!
@Pardinus
My wildlife photography: the black redstart, Phoenicurus ochruros. This is now one of the most common passerines in the urban are awhere I live, they're all over the place. These two thow, were photographed near the beach. And I wonder why are they called redstarts... given the red is at the tail, they should be called redends! :P
@Pardinus
About last night, where I visited Lisboa downtown again, and realized the city is blooming with life again! So great to finally see people on the streets, behaving as we should all do now: enjoying life the best we can! My poison? Great dinner, good drink, and better company. And what's yours? 😉
@Pardinus
My wildlife photography: the indian peacock, Pavo cristatus. From all the birds where there's sexual dimorphism, meaning males and females have different colour patterns, peacocks are perhaps the most striking example of it. Here, a male in full display decided to block our passage during a safari in Udawallawe, Sri Lanka. It was so great to see them in their natural habitat!
@Pardinus
Hooooooollly crap!! I don't think I ever pulled this one, or if I did, was in Splinterlands early days. But today, a few hours before season ending... CHAMPION II!!! Bragging rights and a ton of chests to open at the end of season! True, it happened with a surrender, but won't complain; I think I had one of my highest win ratios this season. Good luck on those season rewards!
@Pardinus
My wildlife photography: the great bustard, Otis tarda. During the mating season, birds can have a ton of strategies to try and mate: some use their singing, others construct amazing nests, and other do absolutely amazing courtship displays. The great bustard falls in the latter category. This is a male during a courtship display; the ellaborate dance they do with their plummage is for me one of the most incredible things I've seen in the animal kingdom!
@Pardinus
My wildlife photography: the asian koel, Eudinamys scolopaceus. Koels belong to the cuckoos family, and shares the same tipical behaviour: instead of building a nest, it lays the eggs on other bird's nest, that will have the trouble of hatching the egg! This is a male, the female has a spotted pattern.
@Pardinus
Splinterlands has just released the new reward system, and the changes seem absolutely AWESOME! At least in theory, it will benefit a ton new players that put the effort, and also a gret bonus in rewards for top players; all that while penalising bots that run 24/7. Overall, seems brilliant. If you haven't checked the post, do give it a look: https://peakd.com/splinterlands/@splinterlands/splinterlands-ranked-rewards-update
@Pardinus
After another forced stop, feels great to be back doing some workout! Riding the bike to work is the perfect way to restart: no impact on the (still) injured ankle... and saving in gas! 😁
@Pardinus
My wildlife photography: the asian koel, Eudynamys scolopaceus. I've showed how the male was like in on of my last posts; this is the female. Contrary to most birds, the female is the most coloured here, with brown color and white spots and bars in the body and tail.
@Pardinus
As a maverick, I have the opportunity to test the new reward system that will be going live in Splinterland's next season. The visual changes look pretty cool, and some of the new reward cards are game changers! There will probably still be some tweaking before they're released, some of them seem way overpowered to me, but we'll now soon enough! Meanwhile, here's a sneak peak of the next tier advancement windows! ;)
@Pardinus
My wildlife photography: the indian peahen, Pavo cristatus. Female peacocks are called peahens, and although males are more colourful photo subjects, peahens don't lack beauty. Found these ones in an urban park in the south of Portugal, and with baby peacocks too!
@Pardinus
It's been a while since I had a prize like this on the daily rewards. Sure, no great cards... but 4400 DEC are enough to buy quite a few of them! Just a few more days to the new reward system; and for the cherry on top, 12 new reward cards! I'm really curious how everything will play out. Meanwhile, battling is the way! ;)
@Pardinus
My wildlife photography: the house sparrow, Passer domesticus. The males are more photogenic, but decided to give the females some of the spotlight as well! Here, one was looking at me from a very near tree, still with some food in her beak.
@Pardinus
Revisiting some of the wonders of central Portugal; I took advantage of a long weekend to visit some recently built walkways, and to do some nature trails. And I wasn't disappointed for sure! Even the weather, that was supposed to be rainy, helped.
@Pardinus
My wildlife photography: the red squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris. These cute furry devils can be found all over Europe. The hard thing with squirrels is getting them to stand still! It's amazing how fast they are. Luckily, this one wasn't in such a hurry; spotted him in an urban park, in Budapest.
@Pardinus
A few more from my last weekend getaway. This was one of the coolest nature trails I've done: green all around, and always side by side with a small stream. It was about 6,5km long, and unfortunately I didn't had time to do the full trail. No sounds apart from the running water, birds singing, and footsteps!
@Pardinus
My wildlife photography: the hooded crow, Corvus cornix. These crows are close relatives to the carrion crow, Corvus corone; but they are far more beautiful, with their grey and black pattern, that makes them resemble to have a black hood. They are very common in urban areas, and get used to human presence, allowing close aproximation: the last photo was taken with a smartphone, no zoom!
@Pardinus
One of the nice things in doing nature trails is being able to see our natural fauna and flora up close. Apart from the cute slug, I even found a natural aromatic herb! The third photo is lavender, a very well known herb that releases an awesome scent.
@Pardinus
My wildlife photography: the white stork, Ciconia ciconia. Although they can be also seen frequently in urban areas, this was the first time I saw a nest in the center of a town! In Tavira, Portugal, this stork chose a big antenna as her home. She surely doesn't go unnoticed, since it's a pretty central location!