Guard Dog

It just occured to me. The words sex, abstinence, education, or birth control do not appear in the US Constitution. Why is one dime of my hard earned money going to pay for this?

Total War games (all of them) make up the majority of my gaming now. But I do want to give Age of Empires and EU a look. RTSs have bucked the RPG trend and have been getting better. The TW series has taken a few setbacks in terms of the AI (too many zots used on graphics) but I follow the TW board pretty regularly and CA gets it. Empires will have a much improved AI. Or so they say. Plus I think Monte Carlo had another good point of the IE games feeling more like games and less like a bad cartoon. And I'm with Crashgirl, a double shot of "something else" for me too. I think Dragon Age is going to have what we are all looking for though. Just reading what little they let dribble out on their boards the three writers (Gaider, Kirby and Lee) have put a lot of effort into fleshing out the games characters. Or at least I hope I'm getting that vibe.

Stay with me here Di, I'm going to reply to points you made over your last three posts. First of all, take Michigan out of you mind. Only Hillary's name was on the ballot. Florida is legitimate however and should count. That alone would not put her ahead in either the popular vote or delegate count since Obama won 40% of the vote and 1/3 of the delegates in FL. The point I was bringing up is this: She knows what the probable outcome would be if the super delegates reverse the outcome of the election (assuming Obama wins more delegates and votes). There is a good chance it will fracture the party for all time. And she is still asking them to do it because she would be a stronger general election candidate (and she probably would be). I am reminded of Wendell Wilkie who ran against FDR during WW2. At the time the war was not going well but Wilkie refused to make it an issue by criticizing FDR on it. When asked about it he replied "I'd rather lose the election than see America lose the war". I guess Hillary finds that whole greater good concept outdated. Don't get me wrong, I don't think she should drop out now with six primaries still to go and her trailing so closely but if she comes up short (as is a near mathematical certainty) she will fight for every super delegate to overturn the election. That kind of naked ambition is a little disturbing no matter who has it. As for Iraq, getting involved in the first place was folly. Ending it now would guarantee another war in 10 years or less. When we were packing up to leave in 1991 we all knew we would have to come back. Our CO even said as much. If the job is left unfinished now there will be a third war probably following another 9-11. No matter who wins in November Iraq will continue until the situation stabilizes. Obama and Clinton are not dumb. They know this but are telling their voters what they want to hear. McCain is at least being honest (a bit too enthusiastically IMO). When I comes to the SCOTUS believe me you do not want Hillary picking judges. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was her choice. I would echo Gromnirs points about ability and judicial restraint being the most desirable qualities. The recent Dem court picks are based solely on personal policy preferences. I am pulling for Hillary. I really do hope the super delegates do hand her the nomination in defiance of the voters because I am curious what the outcome would be. And it is of small import to me who wins the Dem nomination because I'm voting for McCain no matter what. Not because I like McCain but because the alternatives are so much worse.

You make some good points Krookie. I don't use consoles. I have no prejudice against them, and I was actually going to give Xbox360 a look until I heard Mass Effect was coming to PC. As for online gaming I did a fair bit of that with NWN and it was fun but GW really turned me off to it. Plus I work pretty long hours these days so it's hard to lined up time with friends. My beef with Oblivion was it's lack of variety. Each fort, ruin, cave, etc was exactly the same as every other. They could have done better with fewer dungeons and more variety. Less is often more especially when more is repetative. Plus the dialogue and plot were, to say the least, unispired. But it was a beautiful game to look at though. I must admit though, mods do give it some replayabilty but not in the way NWN 1 & 2 did. As for FPS it would be more interesting in co-op play but it's still shoot this guy....shoot that guy.....shoot those guys over there...got them all....next building. What I'd love to see are more RPGs with some depth and characters that are not so... 2 dimensional. KOTOR2 came close but could not rise above it's flaws. NWN2 MOTB came close. Oblivion, Gothic, EQ and others did not even try. I have pretty high hopes for Dragon Age. Atmosphere is also lacking in RPGs and without that there is no immersion factor. Case in point. In BG2 they would play the cut scenes of Irenicus torturing Imoen. So while you out doing your thing, bad things are going on elsewhere. It added a sense of urgency to the main quest plot. Little things like that can have a big payoff in the feel of the game. Plus the whole save the world theme is tired. What made MOTB, PST, BG2 good was the personal nature of the main plot. You were not saving the world you were saving yourself/friends. It builds empathy and makes you identify with your PC. If I could give a dev advice it would be this: we know you guys can make them pretty, now make them good. Use a real writer to craft your plot and dialog and don't box them in with formulaic and politically correct guidelines.

You guys are probably right maybe it is just simple nostalgia (although I am not usually given to such things). The only game that gins up any emotional attachment in me would be BG 1 & 2 but when I discovered those two I was going through a divorce while working full time days, going to school full time nights, dead broke and skirting the edges of a real drinking problem the rest of the time. Every BG session was like a vacation from all that crap! Well my 90's retro computer may not impress the techo geeks but I think is pretty cool. Plus I get to free up some space on my real PC now.

Ok, here is the deal. I have about six computers in varying degrees of damage/wear and tear in the garage. I took them all apart and built one with the best parts of each. So I ended up with a 2.0 GHz P4 with 512M, a 60G HD and a GeForce 6600 GT. Not the best in the world, but capable. So I grabbed my XP cd and got ready to load when I got this sudden impulse. I rooted around some more and found a copy of Windows ME and loaded that instead. Then I found all of my IE games (Icewind Dale, BG 1 & 2, PS:T, ID2) and loaded them. Then went on ebay and bought FO 1 & 2 (never played either) and topped all of it off with HOMM 3 and MOO 2. This machine is a 90's throwback in everyway. What the heck is wrong here? I have new games I never play more than a few hours. NWN2 barely held my interest (although MOTB was great). I can't even look at Oblivion any more. I hated Guild Wars and have no desire to try the Witcher or WoW. FPSs bore me. What is it about todays games that drives us back to the old titles that are technically inferior in every way? Look at this very forum. The top topics are about games that are almost 10 years old! What is missing in the new stuff? I just can't put my finger on it.

36 and gearing up for that midlife crisis.

Here is an intersting web site. it has the Truth-O-Meter on it. basicly it goes through all the things that the candidates, campaigns and PACs are saying and determines if it is true or not. Worth a look. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/

Here is something we were discussing on another forum i'd like you guys to comment on. Assume for the moment that what I posted before was true and that the democratic party would be permanently damaged if the superdelegates overturn the election results and name Hillary as the nominee. She has described herself as a "loyal' "comitted' "lifelong" democrat. And she is no fool, she knows what the potential outcome would be but she is building a case to ask the superdelegates to do exactly that so she can be President. She is willing to see the party destroyed to satisfy her ambitions. Narcissim barely begins to describe it.

which is part of the reason the marines treat the navy guys like dirt. their boot camp is ridiculously hard (also the longest at 13 weeks and requiring another 4 weeks of advanced infantry training after boot camp but before MOS school). my brother went through hell (and did well, btw). taks edit: i should add, my brother ended up stationed in okinawa for his mandatory year of overseas duty, but his official station was camp legeune in one of the carolinas. Marine Boot Camp is a mental game. And as long as you remember that is IS a game you will do fine. As for the physical fitness, so long as you are reasonably fit when you get there you will get through all right. The only thing is do not fall out of formation runs. No matter how sick ot hurt you feel, continuing to run (even if you barf) is always preferable to falling behind because the drill instructors are running behind the platoon. By the end of boot camp plus four weeks of infantry school (mandatory for all male Marines) you will be so physically fit you will be able to run 6 miles with pack, flak jacket, and rifle with no trouble. The one thing Marine boot camp is good about is weeding out those who simply cannot do it. I went through Parris Island in 1989 we started with 72 in our platoon. Thirteen weeks later 45 graduated. I understand that rate of attrition is still the norm.

Reagan won by huge majorities in 1980 and 1984. Large numbers of democrats voted for him over Carter or Mondale.

Oh yes, it would make 1968 look like a kidde tea party. It may even fracture the democrat party forever. You know my politcal persuasion so I can say i have no love for democrats but it would be a bad thing if the party were permanently damaged. However, it may just exorcise the socialist left who are really the ones driving Obama at this point. That would be a good thing because it would bring the Reagan/JFK democrats back in control and the party would no longer be the punchline of a bad joke. Or it may not. I sort of want to see it happen just to see what the outcome would be. I agree with you on that much. A comitted democrat is not going to vote for Mccain just because the primary candidate they supported lost. However, if they have no strong feeling for the one in the general they may stay home too. we have seen that a few hundred votes can turn an election. 512 votes decided Florida in 2000. I was just pointing out the states where Obama was not the "first choice" of the majority of active democrats may become must win for him. That certainly does not mean he can't win them. A democrat will vote for a democrat every time so long as the candidate is not objectionable in some way. None of these three are objectionable to anyone for any reason other than politics and policy. But you must admit, if I end up being right there will be discussion fodder on this for years to come. Plus, i don't want to see Pop take Tarnas $100. Edit: Sorry Gorgon, I edited out that 9-11 bit. Sarcasm and tounge-in-cheek humor often don't work in a forum like this.

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/america...e/18034744.html I've read a lot of analysis after yesterdays pimary and this is one of the better ones. They are all looking at the same thing though: So far Hillary has won the biggest margins in the november swing states (that is states that may go either way come the general election) The important swing states are Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, Missouri, Colorado and Indiana. Hillary has won them all except Colorado and Iowa. Indiana hasn't voted yet. Obama has won biggest in states that the democrats simply will not win in november. That means he will be vunerable in the swing to McCain who is a liberal by republican standards. Remember, McCain is going to get 260 electoral votes just by winning the solid red states. He would only need to win any two of the swing states to defeat the democratic candidate. That means Obama would need to win 6 of 7 states he did not win the primary in if he is the candidate. Believe me, the superdelegates are aware of this. I still think they will snatch the brass ring away from him at the last minuite. I will not be fair but I think it's coming.

I'd like to echo Gfteds advice. Like anything else in life the more you put into the military the more you will get out of it. There are tremendous opportunities like 75% free college tution while on duty and GI Bill/NCF after you get out. Plus you will get full elective credit for all of your military training (at least I did). There will be a lot of BS to put up with but you just do it and laugh about it afterwards. Like anything else in life, being happy or miserable is a choice you make no matter where you are. As for the BS, there is a reason why the Navy (or any other branch) does what it does. It's not always a good reason but there is a reason. The big thing is, once you get out, having military service on your resume will get you a interview you might not otherwise have gotten. it's all good. So my advice is: A Chief Petty Officer actually ranks just below God. They can do whatever they want and no one really messes with them. So stay on their good side. There is about zero difference between a basic Seaman and a PO6. Don't let any of them pull rank on you. If you are on a ship with a Marine Det, don't laugh at them when they are doing PT, especially in bad weather. It makes us mad! If you go to Korea don't drink Soju that isn't clear. If you go the the phillpines don't drink Bullfrogs no matter what they tell you Powedered eggs taste better with tobasco sauce Never volunteer for anything, especially if the OOD smiles when he asks for volunteers. Never go drinking in dress whites.

Completely.

Actually Krezack most Americans have no clue how little power the executive (President) branch has. Especially if Congress were to become hostile (as is likley if the candidate who wins goes extreme left or right). It really is about personality not qualifications or ability. Personally I think the 2008 election is sounding more and more like an Alien vs Predator tag line. No matter who wins, we lose.

With 99% reporting Clinton - 55%, Obama - 45%. No surprise she won and it was by a big enough margin to keep her going. So with Hillary likely to win Indiana, Montana, and Guam and Obama likely to win Oregon, North Carolina, and PR there is an excellent chance they will go into the convention in a virtual tie. I am loving this! Plus the polling trends are going against Obama. The more he talks, the less people like him. http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/04/22/de...aws-to-a-close/

Congrats Calax! What MOS did you join up for?

You have got one heck of an eye for detail! I'd have never noticed that.

Dunno. I've been using RTR for a long time now. I've downloaded EB 1.1 the other night and I've been toying with a reinstall to give it a look. I LOVE the music they used though. All period instruments.

I know how everyone feels about modders having to fix the broken games developers throw over the fence. But I would point out in both Rome and MTW2 there are a number of mods that tweak the worst of the battle AI (like cavalry not charging in to phalanxes, which is really annoying when it is your AI reinforcements) and Campaign AI (like not building legions of ranged units). RTR, Europa Barborum, and MTW Retrofit come to mind as the most popular. You guys should check these out.

You gotta check out the screenshots. Awesome! I'm taking a week vaction when this one comes out! http://pc.ign.com/articles/866/866990p1.html

It just went off here in the US east coast. Tonights episode was "The Ties That Bind". All I can say is Holy Frak. Mark this one down as must see.