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I spent entirely too much on a pocket knife but it's to support a local maker from where I used to live that might not make it through the pandemic - plus it's a really unique design.

I have to admit, I'm juggling between marking this as Covid news, and the funny things thread...

Captain Crozier was fired for going to the media. In the military that kind of thing just is not done. If your immediate superior is not acting in the best interests of the country, the men in your command, etc. there is a process to go around him. And around the next level also. It's called Request Mast and it works. I saw it done twice in my service and it worked. But you DO NOT go to the news media and announce to the world (China, Russia, NK, Iran, etc) that 1/7 of our Naval Force Projection and deterrent is in any way compromised. Relieving him of command was not just the right move, it was the ONLY move. I'd bet $1k he knew this too. He knew the outcome and did it anyway. Caps off to him for accepting the consequences and doing what he thought was right. I would not have done the same. I would have used the chain of command. There are a number of vets on this board. Manifested, Shady, Gfted, 213374U, Nep, myself, and others. This is true not just of the US military but ANY military. The rules of normal society do not apply. There are rules that MUST be followed that would never be tolerated in the "real world". And by joining you are agreeing to follow them.

The most important thing to understand about the military is that it is a machine and you are a cog in it. When objections and protests fall on deaf ears you have two choices. You say "aye aye sir" and keep your mouth shut or you follow your conscience if it is in conflict. But do the latter knowing there will be consequences for more than just you. No one person in any chain of command knows the reasons why orders are given. That is why it is so important that they be followed. A conscious decision not to follow them will always be one made in ignorance to one degree or another. Look, the truth is my opinion of the US Military has changed on the long years since I turned my rifle in. Not about the services themselves. I still find them all admirable and honorable. But about they way they are used by political leadership. I started to see it while i was in but was very fortunate never to be victimized by it. Our motto was "Semper Fidelis" Always Faithful. I see now that fidelity only runs one way most of the time. Maybe it's not my opinion of the military that has changed so much as the nation it serves. In my younger years I was the quintessential "red blooded American" stereotype. USA all the way and all that. The Marines are the perfect place for a man like that. Despite everything I got out of the experience I still think joining the military is about the most unselfish decision a person can make. Because I believed in "big" things like Country, Religion, Liberty, and Freedom. Now, I don't. Fighting for ideals, for "big" things like that might seem important but it's actually futile. It's like an ant pushing a mountain. They will take eveything you have to give them, even your very life. They will never give anything back. Even the gravest of sacrifices are honored only for a moment if they are acknowledged at all. Maybe only small things are worth taking up arms for. I'd fight to defend my family such as it is. Two sickly dogs and a pen full of chickens. But they are mine, They depend on me and even love me after a fashion. Your country does not, can not, and never will. Abstractions are not things worth fighting for. Maybe if I thought that way then I would not have joined the Corps. I don't know. That would have been a shame because i did get a lot out if it. Anyway, if you actually read through all that thanks for the indulgence. I get philosophical somewhere between my 2nd & 4th glass.

This Brooklyn Landlord Just Canceled Rent for Hundreds of Tenants

That's one reason we've authorized people to take home their equipment, so they have as seamless of a transition as possible since we're going to be working remote for at least two more month and, realistically, it might be through the end of the year.

Thinking of using this one for my next play through. Figured I'd share it. Credit goes to original artist: Nikita Volobuev. I just edited it.

Transformers, more than meets the eye. Alternatively, play Emerson Lake and Palmer while viewing the above gif.

Never thought I'll be posting Half-Life screenshots again! Half-Life Alyx in 2D 8K (thanks to console commands) part 1

Ferret and his human friend have summited Colorado's 11 highest peaks together All you need to know is the ferret has his own tent!

Source In Māori mythology, Tāwhirimātea (or Tāwhiri) is the god of weather, including thunder and lightning, wind, clouds and storms. He is a son of Papatūānuku (earth mother) and Ranginui (sky father). In his anger at his brothers for separating their parents, Tāwhirimātea destroyed the forests of Tāne (god of forests), drove Tangaroa (god of the sea) and his progeny into the sea, pursued Rongo and Haumia-tiketike till they had to take refuge in the bosom of their mother Papa, and only found in Tūmatauenga a worthy opponent and eternal enemy. - Wikipedia =================================== Tāwhirimātea, the God of Storms =================================== Difficulty: PotD v2.0.0.0030 -------------------------------------------------------------- Class: Theurge (Watershaper + Stormspeaker) -------------------------------------------------------------- Race: Marine Godlike -------------------------------------------------------------- Background: Deadfire Archipelago (Artist) -------------------------------------------------------------- Stats (char creation, no Berath's Blessings): MIG: 12 CON: 13 DEX: 11 PER: 14 INT: 13 RES: 15 -------------------------------------------------------------- Important Skills: none -------------------------------------------------------------- Abilities (a=auto, r=recommended, !=important) PL1 Druid Ondra's Whip (a) Tanglefoot (a) Nature's Mark Chanter The Skies Opened And Vengeance Rained Down (a) Blessed was Wengridh, Quickest of His Tribe (a) Not Felled by the Axe, Nor Broken by the Storm (a) The Thunder Rolled Like Waves on Black Seas PL2 Druid Blizzard (a) The Moon's Light (!) Woodskin Chanter The Cave Provided Shelter Through the Storm (a) At the Sound of his Voice, the Killers Froze Stiff ® Common Two Handed Style ® PL3 Druid Chill Fog (a) (!) Returning Storm (!) Chanter Great Amira Let Her Wrath Be Shown (a) (!) The Fox from the Farmer Did Run and Leap Ancient Memory (!) Rejoice, my Comrades! Two Fingers of Daylight (!) PL4 Druid Boiling Spray (a) Moonwell (!) Secrets of Rime (!) Heart of the Storm (!) Chanter Ngati's Power Struck the Shore Again (a) Rise Again, Rise Again, Scions of Adon! (!) PL5 Druid Ocean Burst (a) Relentless Storm (!) Practiced Healer (!) Chanter A Cool Wind Washed Over The Tribe (a) ...And Evil Turned Away from the Sun (!) Seven Nights She Waited While The White Winds Wept (!) PL6 Druid Watery Double (a) Garden of Life Chanter Not One Foe Was Spared Amira's Wrath (a) (!) ...And Face Your Foes ® They Shielded Their Eyes 'Gainst the Fampyr's Gaze ® So Singt Biting Winds o'Eld Nary (!) PL7 Druid Blast of Frost (a) Nature's Bounty Chanter Within Ngati's Embrace None Could Touch Her (a) Mercy and Kindness Followed Where'er She Walked (!) Her Tears Fell Like Rain (!) --------------------------------------------------------------- Items (*=additional enchantments; !=important, r=recommended): Weapon set 1: Lord Darryn's Voulge (!) Weapon set 2: Watershaper's Focus (Ondra's Wrath*!) (!) Chest: Deltro's Cage (Conductive Storm*!) (!) Helmet: n/a Amulet: Necklace of the Harvest Moon ® Trinket: Kaihoa Cloak: Mantle of the Seven Bolts (!) Gloves: Woedica's Strangling Grasp ® Ring: Kuaru's Prize ® Ring: Ring of Boundless Stars ® Belt: Ngati's Girdle Boots: Boots of the White ----------------------------------------------------------------- Tekēhu is very clearly the apple of the Obsidian developers' eyes, for much effort must have been put into making him capable of many things his fellow Companions (or even any custom hirelings, for that matter) cannot match. As a Watershaper, Tekēhu gains access to Foe-only AoE Frost spells; as a Stormspeaker, he gets automatically-learned Invocations unique to his subclass, of which two are powerful Shock-based spells. Taking a fair bit of inspiration from my Fate Testarossa Ascetic build, I took the staple of that build - Lord Darryn's Voulge, Deltro's Cage and Mantle of the Seven Bolts - and complemented it with the Watershaper's Focus to capitalize fully on the synergies he enjoys as a Theurge like no other in the Deadfire. The end result: Tekēhu, with the Tāwhirimātea build, is capable of handling the entire party's spellcasting requirements single-handedly. Offensive Spellcasting Tāwhirimātea then sent forth a variety of clouds, including Aonui (dense clouds), Aopōuri (dark clouds), Aowhētuma (fiery clouds), Aowhēkere (clouds which precede hurricanes), Aokanapanapa (clouds reflecting glowing red light), Aopakakina (clouds wildly drifting from all quarters and wildly bursting), Aopakarea (clouds of thunderstorms), and Aotakawe (clouds hurriedly flying). - Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand Much like the Fate Testarossa, Tekehu can make use of the +5 Shock PL from Lord Darryn's Voulge and Deltro's Cage to power his Shock spells like Returning Storm and Relentless Storm, along with the Ball Lightning spell he gets from the fully-upgraded Voulge. That said, since he isn't really able to reach the 35 Might cap, Tekehu can't quite put out the same damage numbers that Fate is capable of. Still useful to be sure, but the gap can be noticeable. That said, Tekehu has a couple of advantages over the Fate build; Firstly, the true extent of the Shock synergy between Tekehu's two subclasses comes in the unique Invocations Great Amira Let Her Wrath be Shown and Not One Foe Was Spared Amira's Wrath; these behave like the Wizard spells Crackling Bolt and Chain Lightning respectively. Not only do both Invocations also benefit from the Shock PL bonus, and not only are both ideal choices for opening fights - especially in the latter case - as Invocations, they can be casted again late in the fight, once Tekehu has built up enough Phrases. So while Tekehu can't bring down the thunder to quite the same extent that Fate can, he makes up for it by being able to do so practically indefinitely. Secondly, should Tekehu face something that's immune to Shock, he still has Freeze synergy to fall back on; As a Watershaper, Tekehu automatically learns Foe-only AoE Frost spells such as Chill Fog, Blizzard and Blast of Frost. He can even complement that with the Invocation So Singt Biting Winds o'Eld Nary, which behaves much like a Frost version of Chain Lightning. And this is where the Watershaper's Focus comes in; the Ondra's Wrath enchantment makes it offer +2 PL to all Frost spells, including his Chanter Invocations, for which the aforementioned Eld Nary isn't the only Frost Invocation that Tekehu has by far. But we'll get into that later. To be sure, the +2 Frost PL offered by Watershaper's Focus isn't quite as much as the +5 Shock PL possible with the Voulge + Cage combo. But it's still better than anything else currently available in the game, even with the new items introduced by the Beast of Winter DLC. Healing Sometimes Tāwhirimātea is content to listen to advice from his parents and forgive his siblings. On those days the weather is fine, clear and calm. - New Zealand Ministry of Education Ondra's Wrath on the Watershaper's Focus also offers +2 Water PL, which is most useful on the Water-keyworded healing spells The Moon's Light and Moonwell. Thus, Tekehu can also double as the party's primary healer, even while he's dishing out the arcane hurt at the same time. To bolster his healing credentials, Tekehu can take the Ancient Memory Chant for additional passive healing, and become an even more powerful healer in the late game with Mercy and Kindness Followed Where'er She Walked. He also make use of Rejoice, my Comrades! Two Fingers of Daylight!, using Phrases for a spot of much-needed burst healing. With the ...And Evil Turned Away From The Sun upgrade, he can even deal Burn damage to Vessels much like Priests do with Holy Radiance. To top it off, Tekehu can even take a rezz option with Rise Again, Rise Again, Scions of Adon!, letting him get fallen party members back on their feet. Nuking To take revenge on his brothers, Tāwhirimātea first attacked Tāne Mahuta – the god of the forest, who had separated Rangi and Papa. The mighty trees of Tāne’s domain were snapped in the middle and fell to the ground. Then Tāwhirimātea attacked Tangaroa, the god of the sea, causing the waves to grow as tall as mountains. After this he turned on Rongomātāne, whose domain was cultivated food and the kūmara (sweet potato), and Haumia-tikitiki, god of fern root and uncultivated food. To escape, they hid within their mother Papatūānuku - Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand Last but not least, Tekehu can indeed pull out all the stops and nuke his enemies with Storm of Seven Bolts - although, once again, it's not quite to the same level as Fate can manage. To be fair, it can still add up to a fair bit of damage, but since he cannot summon the same level of raw power that Fate can, there can be occasions where the Shock nuke fizzles out as a bit of a squib; That said, this is where Tekehu's edge in flexibility pays off once again; he has an alternative Frost-based nuke, in the form of Seven Nights She Waited While the White Winds Wept; With the Watershaper's Focus backing him up, Tekehu can land some huge Frost damage numbers on enemies who would otherwise shrug off his Shock attacks. Even in his most powerful attacks, Tekehu can make up in flexibility wherever he might lack in raw power, with all of the tools at his disposal. Final Thoughts Pros: Takes advantage of +5 Shock PL with both Storm spells, Storm of Seven Bolts, Ball Lightning, and Stormspeaker-exclusive Shock Invocations Takes advantage of +2 Frost PL with Watershaper-exclusive Foe-only AoE Frost spells and Frost Invocations Takes advantage of +2 Water PL with The Moon's Light and Moonwell, and complements it with Chanter's healing Phrases and Invocations A well-rounded spellcaster, able to dole out damage to enemies and heal allies. As the only playable Watershaper, and the only playable Stormspeaker in the entire game, the edge that Tekehu enjoys with the Tāwhirimātea build cannot be matched by any Companions, hirelings, or even the Watcher him/herself. Cons: With only 12 Might, Tekehu can't quite put as much raw power to either blasting or healing as a Might-maxed Watcher or hireling can. Because it uses most of the same equipment, Tāwhirimātea cannot be used in the same party as a Fate Testarossa, for better or worse. High Recovery time due to the use of heavy armor, with no real means of mitigating the effect. For some reason, Tekehu has a dad bod when in heavy armor. I guess that's what comes of easy living as a Mataru of the Kahanga.

I'm actually with Gromnir on this one because what do you do when the chain of command isn't working. My opinion would be different if he tried to avoid the consequences of his actions but it sounds like he's taking full responsibility. Does Canadia require people to carry ID?

"Seems like pretty basic stuff. Was Ontario police not able to demand ID, arrest or fine people before? Or am I missing something? " Demanding ID from random people on the street was deemed unconstitutional. Getting fines and jail time for walking down the street has never been legally allowed. Espicially, since they are literally letting prisoners go 'due to the virus' yet here they are planning to throw bunch of people in jail for walking donw the street not having ID with them. EVIL. As for the army thing, this is why I would never willingly join the army though I would fight to defend my family, friends, and country. The army is defacto a Nazi organization who does not give a **** about its members. It is about power, slavery, and control. They are more worried about the 'chain of command' then what is actually right. So, because of this, they lost clearly someone respected by his soldiers AND they hurt morale. BRILLIANT. The fact the army is often above the law (which they laughably are designed to defend) is a joke. (this is not an attack on individual soldiers). People try to praise the army for 'defending freedom' yet the army (any army) by its very existence is anti freedom.

Canadian man attempting solo circumnavigation of the globe is the safest man on Earth: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/lone-canadian-sailing-the-globe-may-be-literally-the-safest-human-on-earth/

I agree but I can understand he was in a tough position. He wanted to protect his crew. But the military absolutely cannot have a breakdown of command, especially on a platform that all by itself is stronger than many countries entire military. What if next time he decides he didnt want launch an offensive because it would put his crew in danger? Pat him on the back, then launch his ass into the ocean from the number 1 catapult.

Guns replaced with selfie sticks Simply entitled Guns Replaced with Selfie Sticks, this new tumblr is having fun replacing weapons and guns from famous movies by selfie sticks. Simple and efficient!

https://imgur.com/gallery/3TOJrbH Caution, language. I suppose, can't actually tell what she's saying.

Ontario police can now demand ID without cause, can arrest (which can lead to murder/violence), and heavy fines (which will likely be suffered by the poor (you know the people who the gov't supposedly targeted with their cheques). Think of this. The gov't is in the process of releasing 'non violent criminals' because of the disease yet ar enow planning to arrest non violent people and storing them where/ In prisons. The logic makes no sense. Heavy handed Nazism. And, people like lambs will cheer the gov't on. PATHETIC.

After playing Cabaret Club Czar as Majima for what feels like 3 whole days, I unlocked the secret legendary fighting style ...of Kiryu. I'm kinda missing a few substories on both guys but I really don't feel like bothering with them and Club Moon still needs to have it's butt kicked.

I have 55 hours in Cold Steel 3 (PC) and I'm still just short of finishing chapter 2. I'm glad that CS3 embarrasses once again the sweep gameplay loop that was set aside in part during CS2. I'd say "I like it," but that's an understatement given that I'm probably going to turn right back around after finishing it to NG+ if only to see all the bonding scenes I won't get to in this playthrough.

Kinda rushed and very late but here ya go.

Another one cause I have a huge amount of trouble settling on a character to play.

Before Boy wonder's speech After Boy wonder's speech It is nice how you can avoid responsibility with change couple lines text in web page

No elephants poached for a whole year in African park: https://www.fauna-flora.org/news/zero-no-elephants-poached-whole-year-african-park

Mystery Mom Has Been Leaving Out Free Bagged Lunches ‘Made With Love’ for Anyone Who May Need Them

With Education getting all crazy, I've been pushing this: https://medium.com/@stem4real/did-we-take-attendance-during-the-bubonic-plague-9e838b0bf40e

I may be getting carried away. In anticipation of playing X4 when I get home, I ordered a new flightstick. My Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS X is pretty beat up (I've had it for many many years), the stick... errm.. sticks when twisting the z-axis, the deadzone feels too big no matter how I adjust it, and a couple of the buttons work only when they feel like it. With that in mind, I ordered a Thrustmaster T.1600M HOTAS. I was torn between that and a X52. Were the X52s still made by Saitek, I may have been more invlined to get one, but they got bought out by Mad Catz a few years back and I live by the mantra "Mad Catz = Garbage". These days I believe Logitech makes the X52s, so maybe the quality has bounced back, but I decided to go with the T.1600M since it uses the same stick components as the top of the line (and ludicrously expensive) Warthog (albeit without the awesome metal casing) so it has the same surgical precision. Also, way more buttons than my T-Flight and a buttload of 4-way hats. All in all, it should be a significant upgrade. I'm pretty excited to start building my galactic empire.

Don't mess with spy chicks BONUS - FIND CIRI RETURNS

This is great. I spent the better part of a day trying to decide to take Xoti as a contemplative or priest. Doing 4th run of POTD now.

Everything I've heard about Half-Life: Alyx is overwhelmingly positive. I'm still not dishing out a cool grand for a Valve Index, but this seems to be the closest thing VR has to a system seller.

Ever notice how the majority of my good news stories have critters in them? Here is another one: Delivery dog offers curbside wine pickup during the coronavirus lockdown

Mystery man leaves doctors, nurses in tears as he holds sign up to hospital window

Hi there. POE2 is infamous for being poorly optimized. You will get stutter in certain places. Especially Neketaka. Although extra overlays make things worse. Are you using steam overlay? Or are you using Unity Console? What kind of specs do you run?

Moved to the appropriate forum.

Digging the new update for Ghost Recon, let's you make Splinter Cell Agents

It's good to play Pathfinder Kingmaker video game:

But as the developers pointed out how many times did the person have to play through to figure out how to optimize that route to be able to get to the point where he could do that? I think this game can be short or you can easily sink 50 hours into a play through. I did respect the developers reaction to watching that speed run.

Female orlan. I don't know, I just didn't like the original hairstyle, so I did this