Walsingham

Backflips. Learn to do backflips, and make great cookies.

I like Siamese Cat's idea for the playing for time Force comeback option. I'm not sure if I'd enjoy playing it but it would definitely be more awesome in retrospect.

You don't understand the liberal mindset, to the left Christianity is evil and mutliculturalism is good, they see all issues through that lens. As far as genocide in Kosovo, I don't believe there was one, although there were atrocities on both sides. The West really had other options to improve the situation besides going to war, but US basically stumbled into war through the incompetence and arrogance of the Clinton administration, the war never had popular support here, in fact a lot of prominent people were outraged. Other options? Surely if we've learned anything from the '90s - and let's look at Rwanda since we can't agree on the Balkans - it is that other options are just a euphemism for talking while people die.

Well, there is that. Except imagine that you were a lung surgeon and the diseased lungs had a plan to take over your country and make you worship sputum.

Raithe, you obviously know your Doc Smith. On hearing his defence put so ably by several people, I may have misjudged him, but I believe with fair cause.

Well, while we obviously don't agree on the factual circumstances, at least we are agreed on the logical process continuing from them. You make an interesting point about Jifascist extremism. If you read their propaganda you will find that while they claim their actions now are because the West invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, before 9/11 they actually used the lack of action by the West in the Balkans as proof of our evil intentions. They twist and turn and use any possible excuse.

Actually, Gorgon, I think it makes sense to raise this point, because people spend far too much time talking about our own failings than talking about the enemy's. This provokes a general mindset characterised by wa total want of confidence and want of energy. I fear greatly that these characteristics will lead us to lose our struggle with that enemy, and the results will be appalling. To follow your smoking analogy how would you feel as a lung surgeon if you only heard people talking about how not smoking wasn't really so great, and rarely heard people in normal conversation talking about the terrible price of smoking? Juyst because something is bloody obvious doesn't mean people are paying attention.

I've always favoured those cheap USB plug and play ones. Because I tend to use them most when exercising, and it would suck to have the rain get into something expensive.

I have to say I support the possession hypothesis. I recommend taking it to your local church and throwing it into the font while it's plugged in. If I'm right you will find the demon is forcibly expelled with a fantastic shower of sparks etc.

You may recall I asked a while back about hard drives, because mine is full. After consdieration I've decided to work by buying a 1 tb external drive which can hold all my media content and work etc. Only the internal will continue to be used for the OS and some processor intensive games. The thing is there are a bajillion drives out there. I don't want a duffer. If you can recommend a candidate, great. Otherwise what key features shoudl I look for?

*hearty belly laugh* Sometimes I'm glad I spent time working in customer service. It's a fine education.

No problem, man. I'm equally bad when I hear people going on and on about corporations and oil and I'm like "Yes, But hello, the opposition are ****ing drugging up children so they can send those children to blow up schools." In this imperfect bad the fact is sometimes you have to prioritise your enemies.

Who's making excuses? They're all the same to me, one one hand is a permanent enemy (Islamic world) on the other an upstart empire. I'm not rallying for anyone's cause, I just despise the high moral opinion the US has of itself. In Iran they want to destroy a rival. Then say so, don't cover it with bullsh!t democratic rethoric. -They're authoritarian so they can't have nukes? Pfft. China is equally authoritarian and I don't see anyone complaining. Same goes for Pakistan and to a certain extent Russia. -They're religious fanatics and unpredictable? I don't see the US as any more predictable. They bombed my country, and I can tell you no one saw that coming considering the traditional good relations we shared. Iran delenda est. But for the right reasons. I know we have covered this before, but you have to accept that the general angle over here was that genocide was happening in your country. That was the version we believed. Bombing was a half-assed way to go about things, but military action made good sense to a lot of people. I mean, just consider it from that perspective. If genocide had been happening I mean.

Cronicler, I have NEVER once attacked Islam at large. These wankers are no more muslim than my sock drawer. I accept that not all coalition soldiers are angels, I know too many to think that. But you surely are not suggesting that the system as a whole is as sick, as oriented on wholesale slaughter and bigotry as the Taliban?

I approve of your generosity, but can't agree. We're talking a fellah who was writing after the terrestrial adventure stories of the Boys Own era, and long after whatsisname who wrote about time machines and Martian invaders. The concepts can be naive, but the writing is just awful, and there's NO excuse for being semi-literate.

I actually read one of those. They are truly awesomely bad. I loved the bit where they get taken into a huge death star thing and this evil genius greets them from his invisible throne and the hero demands to know who he is. the villain glints a fingernail or two, cackles and says in a snide tone something like "I am the alpha and omega of your downfall. I am the controller of this fleet and destroyer of stars. (etc)" Then, and I remember this clearly he says "You may call me... Roger"

I don't condone piracy at all, but I do think that if we are being adult about the problem we have to accept that content must be more accessible*, quicker, easier to find, and ultimately cheaper. I don't think that's going to stifle content, because content providers often only see a thin percentage of total income. All that has to happen is for the industry to accept a slightly lower return. Of course, the big firms won't because no-one in a big firm of any kind has any balls, and will therefore never put the option on the table. * A good example of this is the BBC. I have several favourite shows which they have failed to release any DVDs for. I have quite literally no way to pay for the content, even though I want to.

I merely recognise a good friend when I see one. The US isn't a perfect friend... you might have turned up a good deal sooner in both World Wars, but they do eventually turn up. And they come through in spades. It's as if no-one gives a flying monkey how much sweat and toil - in the form of aid and military materiel- the US has flung around since the second world war. It's not monopoly money. People worked long and hard to make it, then gave it away! Never mind the blood expended. As I say, I'm not saying the US is perfect, but it's disgraceful to accuse them of being the Great Satan, and in the same post to make excuses for people like the ayatollahs.

Exactly. I mean we could add aluminium to fuel* but that would be far too expensive, and we still make crap out of it. *Presumably. I know it multiplies the blast power of TNT.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8499578.stm But don't worry we're still definitely the bad guys. George Bush etc etc.

he is awesome. It's like the 40k universe is actually real when he writes about it. Little details just tumble out, from snacks to popular songs. Personally I'm hoping for a 40k religion like scientology, but with boltguns and ten times awesome. Something to push religious fervour to reach the stars so we can punch aliens in the knackers.

Oil's not going to completely dry up. As the price rises you'll find other things taking its place. I doubt that manufactured goods will be a problem. For example, as I say, hardened cellulose composites, wood, and even ceramics. The real point here is that if gusion happens properly then by god it will mark a step change in human endeavour. Cheap ready energy. Space exploration, mass transit, pollution reduction, huge frikking _lasers_. No doubt some bastard will come along and arse it all sideways but for now leave me my optimism.

I wouldn't call Abnett a founding father as much as I like him. But then I've been reading White Dwarf since issue 68. When they still had other games in it.

Apropos nothing but I was think it would be cool to make mock medieaval scale armour by stitching together loads of brightly coloured sim cards.