Walsingham

I don't see how drooling would be safe with all the machines.

If only I was still drinking. Well done for sticking to your guns, you disciplined idiot.

I had a dream about a naval battle. I can't be certain, but there were probably dead Frenchmen. Joyeux noel, tout mes amis!

That's because they don't drink properly in the mid-West. 1120hrs here, and onto first beer. Ironically a Goose Island IPA. About to ring round the family. I never know what to say. But I guess it has to be done. Jerk pork belly, and mash on the way food wise. I'll be cooking the pheasant later in the belly fat.

But not a good thing if you happen to be anyone the fodder are directed at. The point is that you ...ah nuts to it. It's christmas.

I was about to post an update: "I'm going to have my own Christmas. With blackjack. And hookers." And then I thought "Shame, man. I can't make hookers work at Christmas."

Video being better than words:

Great. Now I'm imagining whole villages of Austrian troll people. At least that explains his guns.

I am 100% behind Brother Pain's suggestion. Use design smarts, not processor smarts.

I agree with Abel. Guns have a twofold impact: game mechanics, and style. In terms of game mechanics they would tie into a character type with technical skills, rather than say magic or agility. They let the nerd have power. I expect them to also be slower firing, but more devastating. They thus fill a tactical niche. In terms of style they add an element of breakaway social strength for the nerd characters. You get new types of social power, new military powers, new economics. In my own tabletop games I am introducing firelocks to my next campaign as a way of letting a noble house vie for power. They don't have estates to produce archers, and they don't have the reputation to attarct swordsmen. But they have money, and a penchant for hairshirt discipline. That means they can hire men off the street, and drill them into a formidable fighting force.

Lol and where would I do that? On their support forums? No-one from Google but their appointed (and unpaid) moderators show up there. Alright. You plan it and cost and I'll pitch it. For a 20% agents' fee.

Why are you calling young children idiots? Seems a little extreme, even for you. Aren't you a teacher ? Kids are pretty stupid. I propose a Hunger Games style contest, pitting Malc against eight of Hurlie's kids.

I'd call someone who gunned down a person for sassing him a monster.

Well, you make some interesting suggestions. But I put it to you that your attempts to fine tune a response will be instantly scuppered by one factor: Vlad Putin. Cutting US support to the right in Israel would gift wrap them for Putin's _existing_ foreign policy platform of backing 'conservative'/right wing groups anywhere within spitting distance. A Russian-aligned Israel next to a Russian aligned Syria (as looks likely) would be a nightmare for us, and for the Palestinians. The morality of what you're trying to change would be moot. Because it wouldn't change. If anything I imagine the Israeli right wing would go completely bananas.

So he's a joke AND a monster?

Well, they can, but the guns just won't work. You have to _train_ someone to use firearms. If you have to train them then you have to house them, and then you want to keep them. So you pay them a bit to stop them wandering off. And the guns cost real money so you want to keep them from being stolen. So you build barracks, and separate the troops from the people. You get me?

That is interesting. I mean I know I have good hearing, because I've had it formally tested. And I have a good ear for music. Whereas you have some sort of ant colony living in your right ear and can't even feel it.

I think I've only had pheasant once. And it was a rather large bird that technically.. had it's neck broken by the car in front of us right before we picked it up.... The joys of the New Forest.. ; Although plucking the pheasant was not a pleasant plucking. Well, the menu tomorrow would be an assortment of meats. Obviously not just pheasant. Slow roasted pork belly with molasses and chilli. Sausages. Two carefully chosen wines. Chocolate. Fruit. Cheese. Biscuits. Liquers. Just my average Wednesday, actually.

I just hope she has a MG42 with a thousand rounds and spare barrels mounted on her scooter to carve a path to the cash register. Otherwise its going to take her a looong time to get home if the stores there are as crowded as here. Indeed. The past few years it's been leaving it until a day or two before Christmas and hitting the big 24 hour Tesco at around 1-2am to get the food shopping done.. The midday shopping rush seems to be .. choosing poorly. In my case leaving my food shopping until the last minute has paid of in spades. Sort of. All three christmas day guests are ill or have scratched in favour of the in-laws. Bit rude, but I can't really hold this sort of thing against people. I want to, but I simply forget. Belaying christmas until boxing day. Went to the butchers anyway and they felt sorry for me, so gave me the world's tiniest pheasant to cook for myself. It's like something out of a Dickens christmas carol. Feeling christmassily affirmed I gave most of the money I'd been going to spend to two Big Issue sellers. Will be gaming online, and noisily contemplating philosophy of Christmas tomorrow, entirely to myself. Unless Raithe decides to throw a spaner in his family's christmas by coming up to stay at mine. Up to him, of course, brandy, cigars and meat, or scabby cat face.

Looks like I'll be up for the gaming. To put a flag in teh ground, suggest Tuesday or Wednesday evening, 1930-2200hrs GMT.

I would argue there's a big difference between a kid stumbling on some pics from Playboy of a pleasingly well proportioned woman smiling at the camera in the nudd, and the kind of hyper-aggressive rape fantasy stuff that seems increasingly prevalent. EDIT: Actually, running with this point, I'd argue that softer porn should be exempted to provide a normalising signal.

Mor illustrated a point that I was about to make. If nationalism is all wrong, what cost surrendering your nation to someone else? I mean the whole thing is childish after all. Just a flag and few daft local customs. Far easier and less bloody to simply surrender. Ein reich of brotherhood and loveliness. Why not blame the Palestinians for wanting a state that doesn't currently exist? Surely that makes even less sense than supporting one that currently does? You're quite correct about me believing in objective evil, though. Why don't I assess the objective evil of Israel/Palestine and schwack the transgressors? For the same reason I don't advocate collective punishment of the people of Rochdale for 'permitting' a massive child sex ring to operate. If you said "i want to set up a unit to investigate and prosecute - even if in absentia - indiidual persons who have committed crimes against humanity during the Israel/Palestine conflict" then I'd think you were sane. But you seem to be saying roughly the same thing, and proposing deportation of one 'side' or the other afterwards.

There's a general problem I find with big organisations and appeals against policy of any kind. Private corporations seem to feel your ability to go elsewhere _IS_ the court of final appeal. "Like it or leave" It creates wholly unnecessary anger and bad press. However, try to think about from their perspective. On the one hand they have an unquantified measure of wrong and angry. On the other they have a fairly predictable cost of setting up and running a trained and well-resourced appeal process, that still won't make everyone happy. For something the size of Youtube I'd be amazed if you could run a proper appeal checking system for less than a medium sized company, involving a few thousand employees. I just don't think it'd be worth it for them. EDIT: If you think you can compose and deliver an effective way to review copyright infringement, that addresses these points, then I strongly and sincerely recommend you write it into a bid and pitch it to Google. You might have an effective business!

Dr Who. I've decided that whole recent business was him concocting a fantasy world only he 'knows' about where he didn't slaughter his whole species.

I don't see how an unskilled conscript army excuses anything. People deserve better than being used as cannon fodder.