Walsingham

Why do I have the urge to work homicide, like a real detective?

Slightly curveball thought: In military history you have the concept of tactical, operational, and strategic. Back in the day you just had tactical and strategic. You get your men, get some sharp sticks, and beat the enemy in a battle. However, as the size of societies increased it became impossible to beat all the enemy in one day, or even several days. World War 1 was the point where this was proven. What came out of WW1 was a consciousness of operational art. Stitching the battles together to achieve step changes along the way to beating the enemy. Now the relevance is that many social justice issues are treated like those big moustache generals treated war. "Get angry, lads. Fight everywhere like crazy, and we'll win." I put forward the idea that this is just as bollocks in terms of public culture as it was in military terms. You can't 'win' or 'lose' the contest of ideas due to a single issue unless the argument is so completely foolish as to be emblematic. And even then it is still only one in a series of arguments. I'm thinking in military terms of Stalingrad, and in cultural terms of the WMD justification for the invasion of Iraq. In this instance all the sound and fury is as pointless as the first battle of Ypres. Millions of man-hours wasted at keyboards to no purpose. Not sure where to go with this next.

I don't think there is anything on the side there. Although Aggi has trumped our debate with his point. I do have to object to the notion that it's impossible to tell. I may not be a tankspotter, but if you know any old soldiers surely you've witnessed them telling vehicles apart due to the fifth idler wheel on the offhand track assembly, or what have you? Generalising about how "all these countries have the same old soviet tanks" is surely the one thing has been established beyond reasonable doubt by this discussion. Thus oby's reply is disingenuous at best.

I can say from experience that working from home is fine, but it basically hinges on good management. Objectives need to be clear, communications need to be good, and everyone has to share high standards and cross-check. Needless to say that in the UK - where people are promoted to middle management usually without training, charisma or any support from their seniors - the results are almost always crap. I've got good people generally at the moment. Up and down.

See above The poems themselves here

His first post is most relevant, since it shows the Ukrainians have a sight that matches (well, as much as can be told from a low res still) the one on the tank in question. Open question: aren't you being a wee bit selective? That variant has some sort of macguffin on the near side that looks to like some active emitter that would be presumably paired with the sight. The original doesn't have that so far as I can see.

Yes I get sick pay. Also, like most British people I get >20 days holiday. I don't know why on Earth US firms seem to think they're making crafty savings by denying sick time. As I say, if you deny people sick days then they just come in while sick and fail to perform ...or die, I guess. Neither situation strikes me as optimal man management.

Are you a smoker Wals? I'm not a smoker. Very occasionally I will smoke a cigar on special occasions, or, you know, if there's good brandy. Or the right ale. Or, I suppose, if I needed to light a trail of gasoline. This is a lung infection. Several colleagues down with the same thing. Because one of the juniors insisted on coming in to work with a cold. ****.

You know peanut M&Ms? I spent most of this a.m. coughing up vivid green chunks (that size) of phlegm from my lungs, mixed with blood. The process seems to have stopped. I am extremely tired.

Improvisation, or at least the confidence to try, is the soul of great cooking. As well as the wellspring of some bloody awful meals.

I haven't tried any yet, but I just came across this article in the NY Times on American recipes. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/11/18/dining/thanksgiving-recipes-across-the-united-states.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=mini-moth&region=top-stories-below&WT.nav=top-stories-below&_r=0 Recommend, even if just for the visuals.

I approve entirely of the discussion, but what exactly do a half dozen random images actually prove, 'oby'? Also, to bring in the other half of the point, what about the mysterious rise in dead paratroopers? I'm genuinely amused to find the usual useful idiots (see other thread) accusing the BBC of being corrupt koolaid for the masses, and the Nu Kremlin owned media as being more trustworthy. To me this smacks of the adolescent who thinks their parents are the worst people in the world. The cure in both cases is to get out into the world and see the alternatives.

You mean like that phantom invasion force of tanks? More memetic jamming from Russia. The BBC has multiple confirmatory stories supporting the presence of Russian forces in Ukraine. As does Stratfor.com. I trust those two sources a significant degree more than an article by someone calling themselves "Tyler Durden" on your one random website. Zerohedge is the premiere website on the planet for economic news, and news that matters in general. You would do well to read it. You'll find the word is very different fro what you are spoon fed. If not, enjoy your BBC Koolaide instead. Who even cares if Russia is supporting anyone in Ukraine? NATO is all over Ukraine installing puppets and giving money and weapons to self-declared Neo-nazis. Do you think the USA would sit idly by if Russia were instigating revolutions in Mexico and implanting figureheads hostile to the USA? Get a grip. Outstanding. If you think accusing the BBC of being koolaide <sic> is a rejoinder then I believe you've made my point for me. Key indicator on a website that is a premier source of financial news: it doesn't have flash ads for bitcoin sites on it. Nor does it have contributors named after film characters.

Also: beta BETA

I think you're right. I know about the damn beverage, but I'd rather drink warm nuka. Only gaming tie-ins and pop culture references keep in in mind.

Man, now I want ice-cream. And by ice-cream I mean anything other than doritos.

No leftovers posted to me = it didn't happen.

Oh yeah, like that one you linked to a few months ago about a picture of a tank that was never used by anyone except Russia and was never exported. Except it was exported- under a T80 designation- and was more importantly manufactured prior to the break up of the SU- its manufacture date is carefully hidden by those sneaky Russians from those pesky IISS people as, er, part of its NATO designation- so Ukraine had plenty of them. Confirmatory stories: roflcopters. From 'experts' who don't even know the tank designations of the tank they're talking about and circle jerk repetition of each others' stories. And people will still insist it's only the Russians doing propaganda. Interesting, but please confirm where you're getting the idea it's a different designation machine. I'm only an amateur tank-spotter.

Weird. If he died, how come he didn't just turn back to the page he made the choice on?

Reading between the lines I deduce that the last three months have involved you being lead into the trackless depths of the Peruvian rainforest by your cat, which is a reincarnated princess with a foot fetish. Patchy satellite coverage, and attacks by sweat-stained banditos meant you had little time for gaming. Returning with a fabulous treasure trove of emeralds and vintage National Geographic, you are now looking to settle on a tropical island with a small strangulated sounding dwarf. The island will only be accessible by plane.

What if you gave it the radar signature of an old man in a house?

I had a really fun dream last night with a lot of Matrix style gunplay. The guns were awesome.

I think the business with the shirt is bizarre at best, and denigrates the serious issue of sexism by being misplaced. If you saw a member of the ground crew eating a deli sandwich with swiss, mayo, and corned beef, is it the right opportunity to address unhealthy eating? No it ****ing well isn't. From now on, any time I shall feel obliged to answer any question about sexism with the rejoinder "Ah well, sexism is meaningless, because eventually the whole human race will be wiped off the planet. Unless we can successfully master space travel. So shut up." And I will be just as much of wanker as these fools are here.

You mean like that phantom invasion force of tanks? More memetic jamming from Russia. The BBC has multiple confirmatory stories supporting the presence of Russian forces in Ukraine. As does Stratfor.com. I trust those two sources a significant degree more than an article by someone calling themselves "Tyler Durden" on your one random website.