Guard Dog

Tried playing as Athens in IM:RO. That s--t is NOT easy. You start the game in thrall to Phrygia. And they are a superpower when the game starts. If you deny any request they integrate you: game over. If you accept their requests they cripple you. So you are surrounded by Greek states also in bed with Phrygia so you can't expand. Meaning playing any Hellenistic state other than the big powers is freaking tough. Your only shot is to hope Phrygia gets into a two front war with Egypt, Macedon, or the Selucids and get's their asses kicked. The good news is they are likely to do that very thing. The bad news is if it IS Macedon guess where the battles get fought? That right... in the Greek States. Right on top of you.

Unsound deployment of mobile cavalry. Improper management of air support assets. Knowingly and willfully splitting your smaller force then attacking with one of those two TWO WHOLE WEEKS before the other is in position? It's not just reckless, it's folly. Moving into enemy controlled territory at all with no intelligence of the deployment and disposition of the hostile forces just compounds that folly. Plus you have some legit unconventional/black ops assets at your disposal. Do that before even considering an attack! You know the one that can change their face and is handy with a knife? Jon & Dany would have been better served staying in Winterfell for a few weeks and learned a few things about battle tactics. Maybe read a few books while they were at it. This would have been a good start:

Let's all dive in!

The Reds have released Matt Kemp. Rumor has it Don Mattingly wants him in Miami. 34 years old, overpriced, often injured, AND a .200 BA and sub .500 OPS? Sounds like a Marlin already! From what I'm reading he is overly optimistic about his options. It's sad when the good ones are the last to know they are not that good anymore.

Yasil Puig is pretty cool: https://www.mlb.com/cut4/yasiel-puig-met-a-fan-before-surgery In other news how about them Rays?!

Playing Imperator Rome. There is definitely a learning curve but not too bad if you have played Paradox games. If you are familiar with Stellaris or EU you'll pick it up. Lots and lots of detail that you can micromanage as much or as little as you like. It's pretty, bug free, and fun. It isn't perfect. I leans on some crutches you don't want in a RTS and if you are a TW fan you will miss tactical battles. But over all it's a very pleasant time waster. Being a Paradox title you already can guess the game we are playing today will look nothing like this a year from now..

RIP

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/441237-sanders-suggests-disney-should-use-avengers-profits-to-pay-all-of-its-workers Dear Bernie, Look we love you but that s--t ain't happening! We became a multi billion dollar company by charging top dollar for stuff made on the cheap. for You need to go after the "evil" corporations that don't donate millions to Democrats. Yours Truly, Bob Iger LOL, you have to hand it to Bernie. The guy has no clue about economics but at least he is buying his own screed.

Maybe because they can't believe you do what you do for what they are paying you!

I'm working from home this week to keep an eye on Bela. This morning I was sitting on the back porch enjoying the cool morning and hot coffee and got to see Bela & Sunny playing a little bit. They were chasing each other through the tall grass (that I REALLY need to mow) by the treeline. I must of had something in my eyes watching that. She seemed happy. Sunny, well, she is always happy.

You know what would have made this better? If they (the good guys) lost the battle and a handful of survivors were forced into a retreat down the neck with the dead in pursuit. As a last act before retreating Jon & Rhegal burn Winterfell and as many of the corpses as possible. It makes tactical sense to do that but also symbolic. By burning his past he closes the arc of Jon Snow and becomes Aegon Targaryen, sixth of his name. He leads the survivors down to the Trident and rally the remaining people of the south to the Ruby Ford and makes the "last stand" there. They win the battle where his father lost and the story and plot failing action proceeds from there. That would have made the iron throne irrelevant and the Night King a much bigger threat and paid off every loose end in the whole story. Oh well.

I get a chuckle from the mental image of GRRM staring at a blank screen with the heading "Winds of Winter Chapter One" for eight years saying "Oh my God, oh my God" over and over again... 8 year writers block!

Well put

Watched Ep 3 again tonight. It does not get better the second time around. In fact i found more things about it that irritated me. This is why I spend more time with my Kindle than my TV.

I haven't seen it yet. It's on my DVR & my "to do list". I am familiar with two of the books Gates & McGee drew from in making it. "West from Appomattox: The Reconstruction of America after the Civil War" by Heather Richardson and "Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution" by Eric Foner. The former is a pretty recent publication so it definitely takes a different political slant than Foner's much older book. Richardson also focuses more on westward migration from the South following the war. IMO Foner's book is probably THE source on Reconstruction.

Making them fight in the dark did add to the tension. But I'm a little underwhelmed at the story choices. As TN said, no spoilers, but how do build up a confrontation between a protagonist and an antagonist over eight years, including some memorable stare down scenes, and then not pay it off one way or the other? That is kind of a big middle finger isn't it?

Thanks everyone but it was the least I could do. Someday, hopefully long from now I will leave this life and quite probably leave a dog or two behind. I've made the best arrangements I can for them but it would be of tremendous comfort knowing someone stepped up. John was a good man. He served as a Marine in Vietnam. But more than that he was a friend and so is Bela. What wouldn't we do for our friends?

Meet Isabella, or just Bela for short. She came to live with me today. She belonged to one of the guys in the VFW. Sadly he passed away last week. His only family is a daughter in St. Louis who can't take her. Her options were few... they were going to put her in a shelter. I couldn't let that happen. I know Bela and she knows Sunny and me so I offered to let he live out her days with us. She is 12 years old. John had her from 8 weeks, literally her whole life. I'm trying to keep her engaged and trying to make her feel comfortable. She is stressed at the transition and I think sad because she doesn't know where John is. He adored her. So right now she is getting lot of love and attention and hopefully she will adapt smoothly.

Well look who decided to class up the joint! We don't see you here much these days DN. How have you been?

Last night I watched the Bruce Willis version of Death Wish. It sucked. The 70's version with Charles Bronson was better... a little at least. But of course they ruined that with sequels.

And let's start out the day with a quote from the late and definitely great George Carlin: Planning on voting for a D or R? Repeat after me: Baaaaa

Sooooo.... Trump is going to go to the Supreme Court to stop the House of Representatives from trying to impeach him? Which they have already said they are not trying to do (right now)? You know, it's like he has no experience at all in how the US Government is set up. Oh wait... he does have no experience. Part of me wishes he would go to the SCOTUS to stop one of the branches of government from executing one of it's enumerated powers. Their reply to such a petition might be very comedic.

"Guard Dog has unfriended Mexico" https://www.univision.com/univision-news/lawmakers-to-ban-cold-beer-in-mexico-video