Guard Dog

I'd say you're not burned out if you're still playing Skyrim. How many times can you dive the same* dungeon for random loot without feeling burned out? It's not like the combat system is actually "fun," so what's the appeal? I shouldn't say this on a game developer's gaming board in a "what are you playing" thread, but why not read a book, or learn some fringe hobby like sailing (admittedly, if you went to Yale or live on 5th avenue in Manhattan you probably have a few Yachts already,) or survival training (not like hoarding guns, but learning to be like Les Stroud,) or practice archery in real life (if that appeals to you,) maybe even put in some overtime if employed? Sure it's "less fun" than Skyrim, but if you're really burnt out you might as well do something else that will reset the metaphorical cooldown on gaming burnout. *Yes, the geometric layout is different, but in the end, aren't they all the same, even taking into account the 4 different "tilesets"? Holy Cow. You want us to go outside? To live life? We can't do that! Our CRPG characters are so much better looking than we are! They are getting more action. They do more interesting stuff. There are no rules out there... we don't get to hack up people with swords or axes if we don't like them. Heck you can't even CARRY a sword out there, people freak out when they see it. Noooooo, close the curtains we're staying in here! Ok I'm channeling a rant Taks posted a long time ago. And doing it poorly, it WAS funny. Was it Taks? Maybe it was Pop... I forget. But it was funny.

Discriminating taste is bought with experience. Mine is limited. I'm used to Jack Daniels. I bought Jameson. I can't tell you the difference. The concept of it having bite, let alone the bite having some sort of ancillary descriptor, is completely lost on me. To tell the truth I'm not a big fan of JD. I find it harsh, sort like a medicinal taste. And you did say Tennessee Whisky and Knob Creek is bourbon. They are different things. Sort of like how pilsner is different from ale. Just curious, are you imbibing to break a writers block or is this character research?

They don't taste ANYTHING alike. Unless you bout the cheap stuff. Try a shot of Jameson then a shot of Knob Creek. You will notive the difference. Jameson is dry with a crisp bite. Knob Creek is smoky & smooth with a sweet after taste. As for writing, stick to non-fiction. Just easier that way!

Actually I'd say it a pretty effective theme. Here we all are taliking about it but if it were not "over-the-top" in nature none of us would have ever even heard of that place.

No, I don't think I'd call him statist, although he does have tendencies in that direction. I think you could make an argument for him being a corporatist but that does not entirely fit either. What he is though is an enemy of federalisim and he is at best disdainful of and at worst hostile to individual liberty. That makes me 110% against him. All I want is to live my life and be left alone. All I want from the federal government is to perform the duties the constitution requires of it and NOT ONE THING MORE. FDR was the one who really began usurping power from the rest of the US and consolidating it in Washington. It has had periods of ebb and flow since but Obama has been one of the worst Presidents we have had in that respect. My home is in Tennessee. The government that has the most influence over my home should be in Nashville, not Washington DC. Hopefully his replacement will be someone to reverse the trend. If not I really worry about what the future holds for us.

No he's not retarded at all. He is crass, arrogant, condescending, and ill-informed but he is not retarded. On the upside he does have an uncanny ability to run his mouth without his brain being in gear. From a comedic standpoint he is the gift the keeps giving. But he is a fool and a buffoon and more than anything he makes you hope Obama survives the next three years with no trouble because you don't want to ever have to say President Biden. Obama is a lot of things, but he is not a fool.

GB you are a genius, I also haven't played Skyrim yet so waiting for the GOTY edition make sense. Any idea when it will come out? Thay have not even announced one yet but I imagine it will come once the last DLC sales start to fall off. I saw the price of the game has dropped from $49.99US to $34.99. That's a good sign.

I started shopping for a new computer today.

Shotguns are good for what they are good for. If you like skeet shooting (clay pigeons) or bird hunting they are the weapon of choice. The are effective for home defense because they are deadly at short range, there is little chance of penetrating multiple walls for misses and they do not require a great deal of skill to use. Some people prefer them for small game hunting but I find that is overkill. A .22 or .17 workes much better and is cleaner. As for your second question Tsuga is, of course, correct.

Dungeon Hack the old DOS version.

Most western countries already have legal devices the allow gays to have a "married" relationship. If we've come that far we are 98% of the way there. All we are arguing about now is the word marriage. Nobody owns a word. Just legalize it. Heck it's almost there already. Really I don't understand the objection. If you don't like gay marriage don't marry a gay person. See how easy that is? If two consenting adults who have nothing at all to do with you (not pointing at anyone, just in general) want to get married, why do you care? How does it make your life less if they are enjoying theirs? I keep saying it but it's true. Imagine how great a world this would be if we all just left each other alone. Of course if any church refuses to sanction a gay marriage or allow one to be held on it's premesis then that is ok too. Freedom shoud apply to everyone. There should be no law preventing gay marriage but there should also be none compelling the unwilling to participate in any way. Greylord does bring up some good points. When the freedom of religious institutions to not participate is threatened that is every bit as wrong as discriminationg against the gays to begin with.

Right now I'm playing nothing. But I'm wating anxiously for word of a GOTY edition for Skyrim so I can buy the whole thing at once. Have no played it yet. Plus OOTP 14 comes out in April. I'm excited about that. I would imagine I'm the only one here to say that! Oh yes, Rome TW II, that is Must-Have!

North Korea is cooler than the UK- I've seen both MASH and Casualty and they never huddle around burning drums for warmth in Casualty. DPRK 1 UK 0 To be fair, genital herpes is cooler than the UK. Uh-huh, so THATS what's kept you away these past few months.

Did you guys run LoF off Ros? As trolls go he was more amusing than most.

Volo you just summed up everything that is wrong with the world today. If we all just left each other alone what a wonderful world this would be.

I think a shotgun is a fine home defense weapon. I have four. Well, three really. One is a derringer pistol thst will chamber a .45LC or a .410ga. That is not technically a shotgun but it will fire a shotshell. But I don't like the idea of an instrusive semi-tyrannical nanny government telling free people what they should or should not use for self defense. Heck the that idiot running the DHS put out a bullitin telling people to use scissors for self defense. My other problem is is this fool minded theory that the AR-15 should be banned because it looks scary. Ooooo. A Marlin .223 deer rifle fires the same ammo at the same rate and comes with the same size stock magazine as the Bushmaster and no one is talking about banning it. The only difference is one looks like an assault rifle, the other looks like a hunting rifle. The difference is purely cosmetic. It's asinine. Here's a thought. The one thing we can all agree on is universal background checks for purchases. Let's do that and leave everyone's private property alone. We have a great system for checking credit scores that is not run by the damned government. We can do something similar for firearm purchases so long as that is not run by the damned government. I say that because I do not believe they will be an honest partner in this. Also it makes me uneasy to ask permission to enjoy a guaranteed right from the very people who are actively seeking to supress it. Oh and BTW Bruce, that AH at Sandy Hook DID NOT use an AR-15. He had one but did not bring it in. What he did he did with a Glock & Sig 9mm pistol that are also not on any proposed banned list.

Because they think that Rugby should be played with 40 lbs of protective gear, and time outs every 5 minutes. So they call it American football. "Rugby, how to explain it to an American? Hm. Well, it's kind of like american football, but it's played by real men, without padding." Not quite. Rugby has few head on tackles. In American football you have two huge guys colliding with each other at full speed from opposite directions. Most rugby tackles are from behind or at an angle and seldom at full out speed.

There was a great book from the 80's called Red Army by Ralph Peters. It was a novel that looked into how the Soviet Army and Warsaw pact forces would behave in land combat against NATO in Germany. Although it was about the Soviets from a persepctive of the Red Army soldiers and leaders they were able to win a quick but not quite decisive victory because they were unified in purpose while the NATO forces were stronger, the alliance as a whole was less than the sum of it's parts because all the powers had different agendas. It was an interesting take. Oby would like it becaue he would think the "good guys" won. The rest of you might like it because it was a good read.

I wonder why Rugby is not more popular in the US?

And then there is this: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/19/us-nkorea-threat-idUSBRE91I0J520130219

Actually the way for a small group to defeat a large modern military would be to avoid direct confrontation, concentrate on small group actions against soft targets. That way they drive up the cost of the war effort by damaging logistics and by avoiding direct confrontation they deny thier opponent any large vicotries to show for the added costs. Then just wait for the political will to continue the fight to collapse. Basicly you make yourself more trouble than you're worth. That's how I'd do it.

Is this the part where I start posting about the virtues of a modern day Monroe Doctrine? Nah... what's the use.

The State of the Union speech is just a little bit of necessary political theater. Very little of what is discussed can be afforded or ever impleminted. I don't remember when it stopped being a real important thing... sometime during Clinton's second term I guess. I don't even watch it anyomre. Once upon a time it was must-see for anyone who follows politics in the US. Just to show how absurd the whole thing has become CNN has been gleefully (yes really) speculating the Marco Rubio's carteer might be over because he took a sip of water. I'd rather watch Discovery Channel.

Have fun. That is one of the best cities in the world!

I hate to tell you this Bruce but I was cheering for the All Blacks. It wasn't a close game though. Your boys dominated.