Guard Dog

Newsworthy? In the scale of important things in the world, not even. Cringeworthy? Oh yeah.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/cambridge-university-trigger-warnings-shakespeare-plays-titus-andronicus-mary-beard-academics-a8008456.html

I ordered a new whole new set of dishes, cups, etc today. Although I'm much more of a eat-from-the-pan-you-cooked-in kind of guy. But the old ones were pretty chipped and missing a few pieces. That's my only noteworthy accomplishment today.

We have the three tier plan at work. The coverage is about the same (they are all a PPO plan so you can use just about any doctor you like). The difference is cost, deductible and out of pocket maximum. The nice thing is we have HSA's (health savings accounts, like a 401k but only for health care expenses). If you contribute at least $2k and $3k per year and take the lowest tier plan (with the high deductible and high OOPM) my employer will match dollar for dollar. To me that's a no-brainer. That's a free $3k per year as long as I pitch in $3k per year and I get to keep it in the account whether I use it or not. IMO HSA's thould be THE model for dealing with healthcare costs. Too bad I can't use them at the Vet's office. Believe me, I tried.

The Grizz torched the Pelicans last week in pre-season. Tonight they get to do it for real. Hoping for a big Game from Dillon Brooks to get him some momentum to start the season. He's got an opportunity to be a star on this team.and might be a bigger deal than Ivan Rabb.

Larry Flynt is offering $10M for information that could lead to Donald Trump's impeachment. I'd rat him out for $10M! https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/10/17/larry-flynt-president-trump-political-bounty/770939001/

You might find these interesting https://www.amazon.com/Zeitoun-Dave-Eggers-ebook/dp/B004TRQAMC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1508255512&sr=1-1&keywords=Zeitoun https://www.amazon.com/Blackwater-Rise-Worlds-Powerful-Mercenary-ebook/dp/B00505SX36/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1508255644&sr=1-3&keywords=blackwater+book I've read Zeitoun! It's a great story. The other does look interesting.

The Cruelest Miles was outstanding. I highly recommend. Now reading this: It's a collection of stories about the relief and clean up efforts in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Also reading this: I'm half way through. I've already read two things I'm almost positive are not true. So I'm not too sure about this one. It's a good read, don't get me wrong. But I was actually in the Naval Service during the Cold War and some things I remember differently. Granted I was in a different branch, never even saw a submarine, and my experience with naval vessels was as cargo rather than operations.

That was actually a thing that started in Australia a few years ago. Someone put a balloon on some kangaroos killed crossing the road. Someone took a picture, a few other someones had a snit and a new "thing" was born. I don't know why but it just struck me as funny. I guess that says something about me, I'm not sure what exactly but something.

Wow, Paul Krugman lamenting someone telling lies.

Apparently the penalty in East Orange NJ for not going home after school is a beating and a gun to the face. http://newjersey.news12.com/story/36588998/officer-relieved-of-duty-following-altercation-outside-orange-hs Always remember, there is is no law too small or trivial that your government would not happily kill you to enforce.

Ended up being my favorite TW game, purely because of those Ship of the line battles.. Mmm If the battlefield AI had only been better this would have been the perfect computer strategy game. But having AI infantry stand there in formation and let artillery pound the heck out of them because they won't charge a numerically superior force is a real buzz kill. And having AI infantry placed behind a stone wall refusing to move even when being attacked from the rear? Come on. The AI also makes suicidal attacks on fortress wall breaches without artillery support. AI cavalry charges squares with no artillery support. It was just too easy to win a battle.

Well, adding holidays isn't a terrible thing. Taking away holidays or other types of celebration is. The whole "Muslim Petition to Ban Oktoberfest" was a hoax but there have been a number of local examples of push back in communities with lots of Muslims in Europe, Germany in particular, where local festivals have been the subject of protest and harassment because of alcohol consumption. Plus in Minnesota there was a "Sharia Law" community enforcement a few years back that was so onerous even the local Muslims wanted it shut down. There are a number of States here where the schools are being demanded to educate in Spanish. The very first thing you do when moving to a new country is learn the damned language! I worked in Mexico for six months. I did my best to learn and use Spanish before I ever went down there. I was in Japan for 13 months in the military and tried to learn as much Japanese as I could. It's not an unreasonable thing to ask.

That is no joke. If you get caught entering Mexico illegally from the US you are looking at jail time. Their border with Guatemala is closed. If you come in that way you are likely to be shot. And yet they still look sideways at us for the little bit we do. Imagine that.

From what I've been reading of Sebastian Kurz he hardly sounds like the racist hate monster the media (here at least) is painting him to be albeit with a soft brush. Politically speaking he is left of center by US standards. And it looks like he may have a coalition with the Social Democrats when the government forms. I have a fairly liberal view when it comes to immigration. But I really don't see why everyone gets in a snit when it's suggested that a nations borders should be secured. The first duty of a sovereign state is to it's own security.after all. Most people are not anti-immigrant I believe. Most people in the US surely are not. But immigration seems to be changing. It's one thing to move to a new country and try to build a life there, learn the language, customs, etc. I'm not saying leave your old culture behind but it's healthy for the immigrant and the new nation to blend the two. But it seems immigration these days, particularly from the middle east, is coupled with a steadfast refusal to assimilate in even the smallest ways. Moreover the immigrants in many (certainly not all) cases are demanding the host nations adapt to them. And even worse the leaders of some nations are encouraging this. That is absolutely guaranteed to put up the backs of ordinary citizens, especially the ones who have to deal with new neighbors who are suddenly hostile to the life everyone around them has been living. Plus by keeping themselves apart from the countries they live in and forming insular communities, a nation within a nation, these folks are going to raise children who will be strangers in their own country. The seeds of future conflicts are being sown. One thing the Obama admin did right when it came to accepting refugees was they were spread out. The did not place large numbers in a single community. That, hopefully, will encourage the refugees to blend in to their new communities and make those communities more accepting of them.

I've had many, many dogs over the years. My first wife was on the board of a dog rescue and we were fostering quite a few when the rescue dissolved. They had nowhere to go so we kept them. I only had one picture with all of them in it: When we split up I kept the house and all of the dogs but one that lived with her. All of them have passed away in the years since. They were all great friends. But this one, this one was special: This was Tommy. I lost him a few months ago.

The key to survival in Stellaris is location, location. and location. If the first civilization you meet is more advanced AND is an as---le you're done. Plus, don't develop every type of weapon. Pick two that are different damage types and max those two out. I have been wasting time researching everything. That means when it matters I'm not really good at anything. True, but the tactis kinda changes with each patch, buff and nerf. You couldn't build tall before, that seems to be an option now at least. That's no joke. That game is literally brand new almost every time they patch it. that last DLC didn't bring much more to table except new hive mind policies no? No that was the last one. The newest on introduces a new species type, new tech, rule changes, new storylines, and a few other things. It's worth the asking price IMO.

Apparently Trump is starting to lose even Rush Limbaugh's support: http://www.realclearlife.com/politics/rush-limbaugh-says-trump-making-nervous-acting-like-dictator/ Personally I think there is a hell of a lot of hypocrisy going on. The ones who had no beef when Barack Obama was threatening to exclude and shut down Fox News are screaming about Trump threatening NBC. And vice versa. People need to realize it's dangerous, even evil when both happen. Even if NBC were running stories that were outright fabrications Trump needs to STFU. If he has been wronged and that resulted in harm there are laws that deal with that. If a news network literally makes up stories they can be discredited. Does anyone take Infowars or Rolling Stone seriously? Of course not. But their protection from reprisals by the government is not contingent on them telling the truth. Aside from inciting violence or other criminal activity or committing fraud the speech protections of the "media" (broad use of the term) are pretty close to absolute. We really need to get back to electing Presidents, not would-be dictators.

I have to agree with you on this. There are 206 sovereign nations on this planet. Around 190 of which can be relatively safely visited and most would be happy to have you. Why in the world do people want to go to Afghanistan, North Korea, Syria, etc for a vacation? There is an old saying: "If you don't want to be snake bit, don't pet snakes."

The key to survival in Stellaris is location, location. and location. If the first civilization you meet is more advanced AND is an as---le you're done. Plus, don't develop every type of weapon. Pick two that are different damage types and max those two out. I have been wasting time researching everything. That means when it matters I'm not really good at anything. True, but the tactis kinda changes with each patch, buff and nerf. You couldn't build tall before, that seems to be an option now at least. That's no joke. That game is literally brand new almost every time they patch it.

The key to survival in Stellaris is location, location. and location. If the first civilization you meet is more advanced AND is an as---le you're done. Plus, don't develop every type of weapon. Pick two that are different damage types and max those two out. I have been wasting time researching everything. That means when it matters I'm not really good at anything.

After the game went off last night I decided to play Stellaris to try out the new content. I played on max difficulty and had the misfortune to run into a Driven Assimilator as the first alien civilization I met. Three hours later... it was over. Resistance really was futile.

Ouch: