Guard Dog

You know why I love Skyrim? This is like my 4th time through it and it's been a different experience every time. I played it almost all day today.

Which is still a lot more to look forward to than Bucs fans have! We have a new coach (a decent one finally not a gimmick) and an all new offense and defense so this season figures to be a slow motion train wreck. But it might still prove more entertaining than watching the Rays lately.

Heh, usually you guys don't like what I read.

Finished book one. It's a great read so far, lot's of seeds planted for future books. On to book 2, I will definitely keep an eye on this series. Thanks, I downloaded it to the kindle. I'll giver 'er a go myself.

OH MAN 1) I'm assuming you're Russian. With all due respect, I know dozens of russians both as friends and through work (teaching english) and yet I know NOTHING of your politics. Why? Because I've yet to find a russian active in politics who actually pays attention. I'm highly curious when it comes to cultures and always ask these types of questions, but every Russian responds to questions about politics with "I don't pay attention cause it's all rigged and doesn't matter," "Putin's ok I guess" or "Putin is hot" from the younger women. Please, by no means is the west perfect or innocent of lying itself, but I have a very hard time hearing such a bold claim from a russian when - in my experience - it seems glaringly obvious the fox is guarding the hen house over there and half the population is none the wiser. I would love to hear some political explanations for why Russia's current system and manner of doing things allegedly works whereas democracy doesn't. And no not "I have an article by a fringe opinion supporting that idea!" I mean actual logical step-by-step arguments. 2) It would be exceedingly easy to take a photo of any run-down house in Russia and apply bleak-looking filters on it and say "look Russia is collapsing." Likewise you can find anti-ANYTHING arguments in any country. Your very own Ayn Rand is an example of a counter-culture to communism, and yes the USA for example does house counter-cultures to democracy and capitalism. Their existence doesn't signify utter doom impending, it's natural for counter-cultures to exist whenever the culture fails someone, which is inevitable. 3) You realize that not only do you have to consider admittedly corrupted democracies such as that in the USA, but peaceful ones functioning perfectly in countries such as Sweden, Denmark and Canada? It's very naive to claim liberal democracies are on the brink of self-destruction when the most peaceful and happy countries in the world just so happen to be liberal democracies. I'm all for critical discussion and constructive debate, but your statements wreak of blind patriotism that's too loyal to see the world around you for what it is. Trust me, I know DAMNED well there's flaws to the USA and other western democracies, but I'm realistic about their flaws. I don't go screaming about how they're about to implode when the reality is they need to shape up a bit, but it seems hysterical reports constantly leave the mouths of the russians. FFS, I remember about 4 years ago some Russian guy posted some claim that the United States was "ON THE BRINK OF ANOTHER CIVIL WAR AND DISSOLVING FULLY" and even had little sections divided up and a long BS theory about how it'd split and why, and how the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, West Coast etc would all break down and form smaller countries. Of course it all turned out to be horse **** and sensationalist hooey that's on par with a guy who spends all day writing Spiderman Fanfiction (no offense intended to Spiderman fanfic writers, I merely mean your work is by no means srs bsns, nor is that guy's "work"). Please, for the love of God, learn to recognize flaws and strengths objectively. I actually like when Russia and the USA criticize each other because both usually offer very valid criticisms of each other, but this? This isn't one such case. This is problems in democracy being at about a 4 being treated as though they were at a 10. Ok, I'm going to assume you don't know Oby and just throw this out there. The time you spent writing this would have been better spent killing fire ants one by one with a pair of tweezers. He won't listen to anything you say and any response you get will only be intended to provoke you. Don't get me wrong we all love Oby here but he's sort of like the crazy uncle at the family reunion. Sometimes it's best just laugh at what he says and otherwise leave him alone. Just sayin'.

This has all happened before and it will all happen again

Lol, oh wow no. You had a right-wing government in 2002 and a slightly less right-wing government in 2008. Of course Right and Left are terms relative to where the country being discussed is generally. There is no argument that what is considered left wing in the US would be a little right in other places. I think even the most ardent supporters of real left wing socialism realize it will only come to the US in it's full form at the end of an actual civil war. US voters might flirt with it but I seriously doubt they will ever marry it. If they ever do then we'll fight.

Sure if you feel like scouting the terrain I'd love to hear about it.

The best analogy I've ever heard regarding the shift between left and right government is that it is like a pendulum. It's natural momentum carries it towards on extreme until that momentum is exhausted which sends it to the other. Right here in the US we observed one extreme in 2002 and the other in 2008. Tyranny, secession, civil war etc. occur when one side or the other try to seize the pendulum.

That was certainly the case during the gold buying craze about six years ago. However, those of us who already owned a fair amount of gold surely thank the ones who listened to Chicken Little and drove the price up to double it's real world value.

Anybody here ever read The Seven Forges by James Moore? Is it any good? Most fantasy is just a dreadful regurgitation of the work of better writers but I've hears this one is ok. Anyone know before I buy it?

Back from a road trip to North Carolina. The project we started as an independent small company three years ago, then sold along with the business, is finally and completely finished. Since I'm fresh out of work now I figured I'd spend this weekend working on my side business and watching baseball/football/playing Skyrim. On a side note I've been following a thread on the TW forums about what the next Total War title should be. Surprisingly everyone seems to want a redo of a previous title. I'd love to see them to something different next time.

"You may let your pet gnaw on bones occasionally as a snack, not as a major part of the diet" Dr. Pitcairns Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs. It was sitting right on my desk next to the laptop.

Lady GD is working a 12 hour shift today. I have a lot to do but I'm highly unmotivated. the Rays/Blue Jays game comes on at 12. I think I'll play Skyrim until then. For the first time I've created a dragonborn I actually like.

I caught the Rays/Tigers game on the radio yesterday. It was nothing less than epic. David Price returns to Tampa. His performance was masterful allowing only 1 hit and 0 earned runs and the Rays still won the game on a triple and a fielding error. It's everything I could have hoped for. The Rays win and DP still looks like the ace he is.

That's ok AGX. I wouldn't trust a man whose never tied one on and gotten in a brawl at least once.

It's Obama's fault. Racism was over until he was elected by racist negroes and white race-traitors who betrayed their own race to vote for an illegal Kenyan Taliban. Police never shot young black males in the US before Obama. Or, at least, it wasn't a problem in the media before a ****** was president thanks to international espionage. It's all part of the ongoing Stalinist conspiracy to destroy democracy and freedom thereby oppressing the most oppressed and disenfranchised of all classes, white American males. Racism was over when Ronald Reagan descended from heaven as the Second Coming to relieve the world of all ills. It's the liberals' fault that things like racism and poverty still exist. If science's "gravity" (a liberal fabrication) didn't exist, everyone could pull themselves up by the bootstraps and everyone would be rich and privy to free energy and unlimited resources for trade in a flawless free market devoid of inequality. And to think, I once said you had no sense of humor!

Law enforcement is a profession I have lost a lot of respect for over the years. The common belief is that 90% of cops are decent contentious people just trying to do a good job and 10% are that badge heavy abusive jack boot thug dirt bags. I think the reverse would be closer to reality than that. The biggest problem in law enforcement is the belief that so many of them have that that little plastic badge on their shirt makes them a better human being than everyone else.

I get my proteins from the graveyard. Not really fresh but I guess you can't beat the price

Absolutely no proof of that, at all. If there's a Satan, or some such entity, they are laughing with glee at you and all those who think similar. Anyone on this planet long enough that doesn't regularly go hunting for sandworms head first and that truly thinks, knows that stable families are the bedrock of a stable civilization. It's a 101 concept in pretty much all of the humanities and life. The evidence of this is everywhere. And it's something that many do still realize, both those who want the stable society and those who want to bring it down. The latter seem to sadly be winning, and they are laughing with glee as well. IF there is a satan, and there is no more proof he exists than any other form of divine being, with a totally different style of morality than what we have.So, I'll take that chance. I might've spoken to soon though, for claritys sake, what do you define as a stable family? White Christians who live in compounds in remote areas to avoid the creeping influence of the Lizard Jews. Waitjustabloodyminutehere..... Those are Lizard Jews???? I thought they were Argonians! I though I was playing Skyrim so much it was starting to become real to me!

It is kind of interesting how our policy in WW1/WW2 worked super well for us, and then we never did it again. Oh well. That has more to do with the shift in philosophy brought on by FDR than any change in attitude in the US. The moment the US government became a partner in businesses is the moment it had a stake in the future success of a business. With a few exceptions all of our post WW2 foreign entanglements have been more about money than the stated goals.

Wow, that was ugly. And is it just me or is Peyton Manning playing with a fire in his heart? I was reading on SB Nation that they think this might be it for him, especially if they win the SB. God, I hope not. Mostly because I hope Saints win this year, and the fact that I am almost certain that all the time spent talking about Manning would be replaced with Manziel, and Manning doesn't irritate me... at all, really. Ha! Manziel has flameout written all over him. Prediction by 2017 he will be out of the NFL. He flipped off the Redskins bench last night he was so frustrated by his poor play. Inaccurate passers don't survive in the NFL and running quarterbacks tend to have short careers anyway.

You think the US is popular in the world now? You must be watching different news sources than I am. I'm getting the distinct impression most other nations think us weak and indecisive. So we went from being overbearing and a bully to weak and indecisive. The former is really bad and the latter is not an improvement. Personally I think North and South America should draw a line down the Atlantic east of Brazil and west of Guam and tell the rest of the world this is our side, that is yours. But since I'm not in charge of anything I'd settle to a Pre-WW2 stance of non-interventionism.

Wow, that was ugly. And is it just me or is Peyton Manning playing with a fire in his heart? I was reading on SB Nation that they think this might be it for him, especially if they win the SB.

You know I bet you're the only poster on this board who's ever climbed Mt. Motherfu--er. And you probably ran up it with a pack and rifle I'm guessing. No sir, not the only one. I was also at Pendleton in 1991. January through to April for training and SOI. I live now within a few miles of the base. Once in a while I can hear (more like feel) ordnance. No kidding? I did not know that. Or I forgot if I did. I stand corrected then my Brother!