Leaderboard

Those areas on the map marked in green...

Australia used to be a nice place... let's commemorate the country that once was:

If you are interviewing a candidate or employee for a position and you care about where they went to school (one college or university being superior to another in your mind) then please do me a favor. Put down your phone, close your laptop, proceed to the nearest train track, site down between the rails and await further instructions. It does not make a goddamned bit of difference if you earned an engineering from MIT or Northwestern Polytechnic (total enrollment 52), or wherever. If they are accredited, real universities they teach the same things. A degree from one is exactly the same as a degree from the other. They don't teach the "real math" at MIT or Cal Tech. A teacher from the Bennett College for Women is just as qualified as one from f-----g Vanderbilt. And probably a hell of a lot less in debt. Thinking otherwise makes for a first class snob and you should immediately follow my previous instructions. Had to get that off my chest.

First day back at work in three weeks. Also the day I meet my new boss.

Beeb's understating it, by a fair bit, though it's a lot clearer in the South Island today than yesterday when that pic was taken. Here in the northern North Island it's pretty much like a London afternoon, a bit hazy and very yellow light but not Mars sandstorm. Should probably be said that the phenomenon leading to the fires is 100% natural (Indian Ocean dipole, for those familiar more with Pacific patterns it's basically El Nino just for the Indian Ocean) but the severity has been made a lot worse by warming temperatures. Think my favourite ScoMo comment was saying that "now isn't the time to talk about climate change and anyone doing so was playing politics with tragedy". Not a dfirect quote, but certainly the gist of it.

Oh, it's very much a result of temperatures having been higher than average the last 20 years. The Morrison's government strategy is to subsidize the coal mining industry, especially companies like Adani (Indian company), because global warming is not real, just a figment of our imagination (regardless of the mercury saying something completely different, who cares about facts in electiony ears, which 2019 was). Oh yeah, getting rid of things like carbon tax and whatever else might get in the way of increasing average temperatures. Generally, his response is, shut up, it's all good, can I leave the country and go on holiday now? I love this one 'We cannot control the natural disaster but what we can do is control our response' Edit to add: I'm perfectly well aware, that a country like Australia can't change the climate situation in the short term, much less doing it alone, other countries are contributing a LOT more the the warming, but his attitude is what pisses people off. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-02/scott-morrison-urges-patience-and-calm-to-deal-with-bushfires/11837358

well, in all fairness, bernie is proposing a 45% tax on estates valued 'tween $3.5 and $10 mil. am expecting if bernie is not in such a range, he is gonna be close... and getting closer every day as book royalties continue to build and investments increase. 'course all the wealth taxes from democrats is nutty from a practical standpoint, and highly inefficient. is good reasons why US has adopted a capital gains scheme for taxing the wealthy. we sound like a broken record on this issue, so will refrain from repeating. thats said, while am not a socialist by any stretch, we does advocate a significant increase in capital gains targeted at wealthy (exclude primary residence n' similar to avoid hurting middle-class) in spite o' fact such would affect us personal. as an aside, even after donating ~50% to charity, we are worth more than bernie. 'course am only 50 and retired so our money needs take us a bit further than does bernie's. even so, don't much feel like scrooge mcduck with piles o' treasure. keep the house at 62 F during winter to save on heat bill and still take navy showers. we don't clip coupons, but am frugal. extreme conservative and rough 4% rule has us living with income o' $120k per year, and a portion o' such going to charitable (but not necessarily tax exempt) causes. am seeing if we can pull off functional $80k per year. as such, we could not retire in hurl's neck o' the woods unless he allows us to pitch a tent in his yard. living in shady's neighborhood might also require comical degree o' belt tightening. 'bout half o' our wealth is in income generating real estate, but current is not so much generating income as it is building equity and is thus excluded from the 4% estimates. millions sounds like a whole bunch until you gotta actual consider realities o' retirement. am genuine feeling a bit o' sympathy for millenials. to get back to bernie, he mentioned in a recent debate that something along the lines that three Americans have more wealth than the economic bottom 50% o' people in this country. the thing is, Gromnir has more wealth than the bottom 50% combined, 'cause the bottom 50%, as a whole, has more debt than wealth. so yeah, bernie has a point regardless o' perceptions o' hypocrisy. income disparity is becoming untenable and arguable dangerous. there will be a breaking point... as is the case with US debt. HA! Good Fun!

That's pretty much it. Beat the game not long ago, expected much more. Still a great game but I can't help feeling dissatisfied and disappointed. I imagine there will be more to come of course. But that didn't feel like a full game.

No, not aggressive or in bad faith at all, don't worry about that.

Making misery pay: Libya militias take EU funds for migrants Ah well.

Another annoying thing is if someone has a 20 year body of work in their field where they attended school should be little more that a brief conversation point.

You already can. Self education is totally a real thing. The only thing you "need" from the university you are paying so much to attend is to affirm you passed their tests and fulfilled the requirements set by that state to receive that degree. Just as an example it took me seven years to complete my degree going part time. I attended less than half my classes and logged the barest minimum of lab hours because I had a full time job. Most of what I know I leaned on my own. Sure, better instructors, better facilities, I get that. But the coefficient of static friction is still higher than kinetic friction in Boca Raton just as it is in Cambridge.

Peter works, the hat did not Wait, never mind. Had to equip the hat, then it worked. Who woulda thunk?

Maybe Acina's Tricorn works? It works with Driving Roar and Mind Lance etc. Just a wild guess though. Also the pets that deal bonus ranged damage (Peter I guess is one of them iirc). They used to be a bit bugged and work with spells and stuff. Firethrower's Gloves do +1 Arcana.

Fortunately there's FTL, so we don't need to have a discussion about what's the best video game. Not only for me, my sweet little innocent naif, but for everone - always and forever. I mean Planescape Torment... pfff. First of all the name is all wrong. If it's about torment its name has to be Painscape Torment obviously.

I think Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is going to be the most interesting president that the US will have had in a century... once she gets old enough to run for it Local (Australian) news... New South Wales (NSW) declares State of Emergency @Zoraptor I haven't been to New Zealand recently, but according to the BBC, Australia is now burning so badly, the fire and smoke is visible as an orange thingy on the horizon of the South Island, 2000 km (1200 miles) away. 18 people confirmed dead and 17 missing... https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50969088 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-02/nsw-rural-fire-service-declares-tourist-leave-zone-south-coast/11836730 After WA (Western Australia) and VIC (Victoria) got their share fires, SA (South Australia) is feeling the heat too now, with temperatures around 45C (113F). https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-02/bushfires-could-break-containment-lines-amid-heat-cfs-warns/11837524 Edit: 100000 residents urged to flee the outer suburbs of Melbourne https://www.france24.com/en/20191230-thousands-flee-as-heatwave-fuelled-bushfires-reach-melbourne

I still remember seeing him live in Melbourne last year. A fantastic experience.(warning -profanity in the video lyrics)

I just hope Obsidian doesn't give up on making RTwP cRPGs like POE... I mean, I know that we have evidence that they are making another one (despite Sawyer's denial), but during such a reemergence of this type of game, the thought of them giving up is downright frightening for me. I didn't play isometric RPGs in the 90s because I was just a little kid - I played Fallout Tactics when I was like 11 and then played Fallout 1 and 2 but didn't even know of Icewind Dale or anything. It was POE 1 that really got me into the genre in 2017. I absolutely love the style and writing and combat and armor+weapons and abilities in POE 1 and 2 and POE 2 immediately became one of my top three all time favorite games. Maybe we'll see some announcement soon after POE 2 is released on consoles, like at the upcoming Microsoft/Xbox conference or E3, still though the thought of them giving up is genuinely disheartening. I'm definitely glad though that the isometric RPG genre in general seems to be making a notable comeback.

In all seriousness I do get a kick out of comrade Bernie. He is a multi-millionaire who owns three houses, one of which is that ultimate wealthy elite trophy: the luxury vacation home. Not bad for a man how has never worked a day in his life outside of political office. A millionaire who give speeches about how immoral it is to be a millionaire! And people eat it up. Of course like all good socialists he is exempting himself from any upcoming purges he might have in mind.

Hi! Our event was held on November 9th-10th this year where we were able to raise over $10,000 for the Children's Hospital of Orange County between our internal charity auction and from donations given during the stream from viewers. It was a very good year, and we'll absolutely be doing it again next year. You can watch this year's stream as a VOD on our Twitch channel.

I keep wondering how many people have actually beat megabosses on TB mode for precisely the length reason. I mean I know someone beat the Ultimate but I don't think they shared their videos anywhere. Dorudugan sounds like an absolute chore in TB mode. The original IE games did have multiplayer RTwP. I think it works reasonably well for casual players on a lower difficulty setting (I tried it a few times with a few friends), but anything more than that and everyone is constantly stepping on each other's toes trying to pause/unpause the game. Definitely not feasible for like BG2 dragon/lich battles. Though it was like a real authentic, low-level AD&D experience in BG because we'd keep getting each other killed by wandering off and getting crit by gibberlings and there's no real way to reload so we'd have to keep importing new characters in the multiplayer arbitration menu.

Same ****, different year.

He would probably also call me "jackass" if I didn't. With this said, I take the opportunity of wishing you (and everyone else here) a Happy New Year!

Okay so we decided what our NY plans are going to be today, For lunch today I have found this very interesting restaurant that specializes in off cuts of meat, the restaurant is called Bosveld. Its basically a traditional Afrikaans\Dutch eatery but they have some very unusual items on there menu like tripe, kidneys and even sheeps head. For example I am going to order for starters the Lamb Tripe and Trotters ...check the menu out for those interested in unusual food http://www.bosvelder.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Untitled-1.pdf The funny part is none of my friends going with me eat off cuts of meat....but they can order steaks and ribs if they want Then we going to a Mexican theme restaurant\bar in the early evening for the main NY party and dinner. They going to arrange a DJ so the night will be combination of great music, Tequilas and general NY revelry

They are equal when it comes to ridiculous outfits though.

So Yakuza is turnstyle now? Anyway, I can have a dominatrix and a homeless man in my party. Sold.

Quest bugs are more important. I'm at a standstill or restart right now. I can't find a save back far enough that it doesn't have the bug I'm experiencing.

Let's hope they don't pull a Square Enix and leave people without their games when they swap over to Steam, then say "No, we won't give you a copy of the game on the new platform, but here is a limited time discount voucher to buy it 20% off". Say what you want about all the evil companies in gaming, but squeenix is the proven thief.

Donald Trump will win the 2020 re-election. If you recall: back in 2016, all the election polls and pundits predicted that Hillary had “90-plus percentage” chance of defeating Trump in a landslide. All of them EXCEPT TWO: Professor Helmut Norpoth and Professor Alan Lichtman. Norpoth used his “Primary Model”. Lichtman used his 13-point predictive method. Here is the peculiarity shared by both Norpoth’s model and Lichtman’s 13 method: The main focus of the model and method was not even based on the candidates themselves. The models mostly looked at the performances of the SITTING PRESIDENT, who was Obama at the time. So, in essence, they looked at the 2016 election as a referendum on Obama’s second term. It was NOT Hillary who lost the 2016 election. It was OBAMA who lost the 2016 election — because outside the Black communities and the neoliberal circles, Obama’s policies had harmed and were disliked by the average Americans. The Primary Model even predicted that: even if Bernie had defeated Hillary in the 2016 primary, Bernie would have also lost to Trump — by an even bigger margin. Hillary or Bernie had very little to do with the outcome. The 2016 election outcome had already been pre-determined by the second-term performance of then-sitting president, Obama. Which brings us to the 2020 election. On December 5 in the New York Emma Clark Memorial Library, Norpoth offered his very first tentative forecast for the 2020 result based on his Primary Model. A month before that, Lichtman also went on the MSNBC to make an early 2020 prediction based on his 13-points. BOTH professors predicted Trump will win the 2020 election, regardless who will be the Democratic candidate. It is simply because Trump’s PERFORMANCES — outside his insensitive/offensive/sexist/racist comments and his un-presidential behaviors — especially his performances on economy, have actually been objectively good. AND, he has kept most of his campaign promises (even though I disagree with almost all of his policies/promises; I have to admit: he has kept most of his promises to his supporters.) Mind you: Lichtman is a Democrat who hated Trump, and Norpoth seems to be a progressive. But that was their early prediction for 2020. I encourage you to google those professors and their forecast methods/models. So, unless the economy crashes before the 2020 election, Trump will have his second term. So Happy New Year!

- 1995: Disney buys ABC - 2006: Disney buys Pixar - 2009: Disney enters 30 film deal with Dreamworks - 2009: Disney buys Marvel - 2012: Disney buys Lucasfilms... - 2015: Disney buys National Geographic - 2017: Disney buys 21st Century Fox - 2018: Disney buys Hulu - 2019: Disney releases Disney Plus - 2022: Disney buys Universal Studios - 2025: Disney buys Dreamworks - 2026: Disney buys Sony. Playstation rebranded as Disney Infinity. Playstation Network rebranded as Disney Universe. - 2028: Disney attempts to buy Warner Bros, Warner Bros says no. - 2028: Disney, tries to buy WB through shell corporations. WB finds out and gets hostile. - 2030: Buys Apple. Apple Watch rebranded as the Mickey Watch. - 2030: The Church Of Baby Yoda is the largest growing religion in the world. - 2030: Disney acquires a private military and starts corporate espionage on a large scale. - 2032: Disney storms headquarters of Warner Bros. Few die because of the electronic surveillance provided by the "Apple" products most employees of WB use. - 2033: Disney buys DC comics. Mickey Mouse is now more powerful than Superman. - 2034: Disney owns the majority of the copyrighted material. Buys off US, EU, and other major powers to honor unlimited copyright for corporate ownership. - 2035: Disney buys Microsoft. Disney Universe is now expanded further. Master Chief is now a Disney Princess. - 2038: In the midst of negotiations, for takeover, Google launches escape craft. Departs solar system. Destination unknown. - 2040: Counter Disney efforts take place. The War on the Black Market starts. - 2041: Disney claims that Black Market efforts are headed up by small studios. Starts forced corporate takeovers. - 2042: "Terrorist" attacks on Disney starts. - 2045: Nuclear explosion destroys Orlando Florida. Black Market Terrorists blamed. - 2046: Hollywood turns into a war zone. All releases for the next 10 years are CGI due to die off of actors. Disney "Farms" start to raise next generation of actors. - 2050: Disney buys the United States of America - 2051: The Disney States of America is born. - 2052: Disney nukes Hollywood - 2055: Disney States of America annex's Canada. South Park, an underground resistance to the DSN, releases an episode on the black market deriding the move. It's #1 most viewed South Park Episode of all time. - 2056: Creators of South Park are declared Terrorists. Manhunt starts. - 2057: Mexico resists annexation due to the cartels banding together. - 2058 - 60: War in Mexico results in eventual annexation. South America becomes hot bed of resistance. - 2061: EU integrates into the DSA. Disney State of the World is born. - 2062: The UK joins the DSW. BBC is acquired. Doctor Who becomes a Disney Princess. - 2065: DSW colonizes the Moon. - 2067: The Moon has its own government under the DSW. The Disney States of the Universe is born. - 2069: Mars colonization efforts start. Political prisoners used for the initial efforts. - 2074: The First Mars Civil War starts. Is put down quickly due to orbital strikes. - 2080: Mars colonization finalized. Disney Land Mars is opened. - 2083: First mission to Titan is sent out. - 2086: Proposal for interstellar mission submitted. - 2088: Second Mars Civil War starts. - 2090: The Creators of South Park are discovered to be behind the rebellion on Mars. Pluto Team 6 is sent out and they are dispatched. - 2091: Final resistance is quashed. Construction on Deathstar starts. - 2092: Total annexation of all remaining world governments is successful except for Switzerland. - 2094: First faster than light travel occurs. Exploration of close star systems starts. - 2097: Budding civilizations are found. Monoliths are used to "re-educate" the populations. Those planets are Annexed into the DSU. - 2100: Disney announces new X-Men movie. Marvel fans are excited.

I have been working pretty hard the last two years on training, but today I ate a cookie and I ruined all of my conditioning in a few bites.