Captain Corcoran

Comparing Rape per capita (or I think per 10,000?) US has 27 times the rate. I'm betting the **** per person is probably remarkably close. I agree that having more guns makes gun violence more likely. On its face, that's true. After all, if you own neither a car nor a garage, the chances of killing yourself by running your auto in your garage is astronomically low. I don't mind gun control arguments. I just hate that they're so dishonest. People refer to "automatic weapons" when they mean semi-automatic. The term "assault rifle" confuses the hell out of the issue. The murder rates for 'long guns' compared to hand guns is conflated, confused, and confounded. Statistics themselves are cherry picked, kind of like Raithe's and mine in these two posts. I can have a good faith debate on gun ownership rights in the United States, but I get the feeling most people don't want that.

Yep, in character strife can be funny. A looooong time ago, I was playing with a buddy, my two sisters, my... wife or soon to be wife, and someone. Anyway, My jackass buddy and my eldest sister came up with some goofy ass plan to try to bluff someone by pimping her to some half-orc NPCs. I had to give them the chance to do it and I was 'fairly' generous with their chances. I've always been willing to allow characters to think outside the box. So, they passed a pretty low threshold. Then there's player strife. Back biting, back stabbing, and plain ol' vendetta feuds. This is not entirely uncommon. My favorite was a very successful 2nd edition group I was running when one of the players wanted to run 'just a module.' In fact, he's the one running the current campaign I'm playing, but that's *mostly* his old friends. *My* group revolted at the way he was running his module. Too much Monty Hall, not enough consequences, and too little story. I took the characters from 1 to 8 the *hard* way in a low magic campaign and the arguments that ensued ended it forever. Hell, I haven't even talked to two of the people in the group for over ten years. Then again, that's not entirely the DnD thing. RPGs aren't the only rake on which I step with regularity. Anyhow, so I don't derail the thread further with an entirely enjoyable discussion of tabletop RPGing, the wife and I went to have a little get together for Labor Day. Nothing fancy. Brats and burgers is all, but it was good food. My niece was there and I've always had such a close relationship with her. I keep expecting her to outgrow her goofy ol' Unlce D, but she keeps on loving me anyway. To keep things in line with the RPG talk, she showed me yet *another* set of dice she's bought. These are... season dice? Seasonal? Something like that. Anyhow, they're translucent opaque on one side and then morphing into a kind of a golden color on the other.

Ah, South Africa! I had the chance to go there recently for residency, but the wife couldn't go and I didn't want to be gone that long without her. That's some new age fare on that menu, I tell you what! ...But I'm down with veggie burgers. However, the crowd for Labor Day wants meat, and so that's where we're going with our menu tonight.

Yes, nothing ever changes. Thank God for endowing us with the Mushroom Shaped Cloud. I guess we endowed ourselves. That makes it so much better. Uncanny how much of the song rings true exactly today. As an aside, my wife hadn't heard it all these years until she heard me posting this and exclaims, "That's terrible!" bwahahaha

The first part of the day, we only had 7 players. That was clunky, but we did get stuff done. After 1630, the 8th arrived. He's the 'talk politics instead of gaming and hold forth on issues with factually incorrect statements' member of our group. We also have a 'hold the non-game chit-chat to minimum, which means none' member. There's a lot of tension that builds up. After our 8th showed, in the hours we played from that point, we had *one* encounter. Even my wife complains about the slow pace. I run a bastardized 5th edition/3.x hybrid game. The wife likes that one better, but that's her, my brother-in-law, and my two nieces. Tabletop DnD more about schedules and personalities rather than numbers. That said, I agree with you that it's hard to make a good game with too many people because it's not only confusing but there's also too much opportunity for inter-party strife.

Played Pathfinder with my wife and friends. GM and 8 players. We broke open a bottle of a two year old bottle of home brewed blueberry mead. Two years = smoooooth. High ABV. Still, with all these people, always it's just me in a room with a lot of others. :faint grin with one raised eyebrow: I'm one of the most self-centered people I know. It's both sad and pathetic while being quite focused at the same time. Mead was good. Soooo, now I need to make a big batch for my Pathfinder friends. Cinnamon citrus? Raspberry? heh. Something. BTW: the wife looked up a rule for the group and read it to them. She's come to love the game. I guess the transition to gamer geek chick is complete! lol :polishing my halo:

Good God, man! Did you break a mirror? Be careful out there. EDIT: punctuation.

Yeah, my father in law died about a year and a half ago. All death is inevitable and tragic, but your experience was far worse in the suddenness and queerness of it. I know some people are offended by prayer, but I ask the Lord of wholeness and healing to look down on you and family with mercy. I ask that your father find repose in His arms. If my prayers give offense, I beg pardon and ask only that you receive them as genuine good will. God bless you, teknoman2. I've been there, brother, and it is awful.

If it were feasible, they probably should. It would have a detrimental impact on China, to be sure. I've made too many walls of text and the dynamics of immigration are truly complex. Even a long winded rant would do little more than confuse the issue, but I would suggest that the people who most yearn for greater freedom in Hong Kong are a great asset to China. As for you, BruceVC, good to see this person to whom I've been compared. The jig is up, though, brother. We both know that we are, in fact, the same person, born from the same Russian bot.

They're making Wasteland 3? Hot damn! I will have to *make* time for that one. I liked Wasteland 2 better than the original. Kind of hard to compare, really, but Wasteland 2 is a great game.

Sorry about your dad, teknoman 2. I drove blood down to Kaiser Riverside and was surprised to see a huge farmer's market. I didn't feel like I could take the time to shop for anything, although I did take a few minutes to stop by the honey. I need it in quantity, so I'm always looking for good honey at fair prices. Then, to top it off, the blood bank told me how good time I made, which tells me I could have taken a bit of time to shop for fresh fruit and veggies. Then again, where the hell would I put the goods? No food allowed in the PMD. Maybe I'll start taking some cash and at least get a couple of pieces of fruit to eat right there.

Kind of makes you wonder about the whole Oliver North trying to ouster LaPierre rumor. It really is dismaying. I couldn't tell exactly what to believe when I read that story, but it's beginning to look like Oliver North was a hero in the whole thing. Or at least he was trying to do something that needed to be done.

I'm officially playing the forum game at the moment. I'd like to get into DOS 2 more, and I *do* enjoy the game, but I'm back to having no time and I can frequent the forum without investing the same amount of time... and I can do it on my phone. I've lurked on and off for some time and I find that I get good game buy ideas here, but even if I find something useful in this thread, I imagine I won't buy it until I have more time. So, I'm playing Captain Corcoran in the operetta called OBSIDIAN.

Other thoughts: I laughed out loud when I saw GD's paragraphs statement. I took it to heart. I'm Russian bot... and quite likely Bruce as well. Listen, I can say with utmost honesty that I post under no other name on this board, but let's say I am an alt. So, where does that leave us? Here are some rules I think people should follow: 1. Change your name, but not your convictions. In a world of ideas, my name doesn't really matter much. This is an electronic forum. My words matter inasmuch as they detail my thoughts. My name shouldn't be an issue. 2. Don't use the account to attack users, especially as some sort of vendetta. If you get the chance to *try* to reinvent yourself, give everyone else to get the chance to be rediscovered by your newly adopted persona. If you think I'm Bruce, you can hold it against me. I don't know what he might have done. I'm betting, if he is a troll, he's a sweet ol' troll who was just livin' the troll life. I get the feeling I'd be fond of this Bruce. However, rest assured, if he did not evince the same political opinions or convictions, I am not he. Why address this at all? Because I enjoy a little political discussion every now and then. I want to hear what folks have to say. ...And while I've been welcomed with a little more warmth before, I have a certain place in my heart for Obsidian that I've held since I used to go every now and then to this board hosted by a different game developer years ago. I'm interested in what people have to say. I would think, if I'm in an under-represented minority of thought regarding the president, people who want to understand the 'other side' might actually find my input useful. Just so I don't turn into a real troll. Just PM me and we can troll talk there. In fact, I'll even tell you my real life name, but I sincerely hope it doesn't come to that. I've already proved my troll powers even to be discussing this.

EDIT: I told about something that happened a couple of weeks ago, but the thread is what happened *today.* Today, I volunteer drove for LifeStream and then went to my first Advanced Pathophysiology class. The past is over.

EDIT: I edited people to trolls in Hurlshot's post. I was just being silly, but I don't want anyone to think I did it trying to pretend he actually said troll. Hell, I don't know that he thinks I *am* one. Still, I've seen people get pretty angry on boards like this and so I don't *really* want to end up trawling folks. I'm getting subtext that I'm a new breed of troll? :rueful grin: I say with all honesty, I have been entirely honest about my views in this discussion. ...But I *do* have two characteristics of trolls: 1. I have a thick skin, which is the only way trolls can survive without going crazy. On the other hand, they often pretend to be angry or hurt, but it becomes clear they're not. 2. I'm trying to elicit a response. To be fair, if that makes me a troll, that makes anyone who tries to strike up a conversation a troll. 3. Something else? I don't know. Summation: I'm probably a troll, but a very patient and friendly one! I'll even buy everyone a round of brew just to prove no hard feelings!

EDIT: tl;dr I'm a great guy and you should vote for me! When I first saw one of your posts, I was confused by the syntax, but the ideas seemed cogent. I guess that doesn't really matter, but it made me reluctant to enter a discussion. I guess I got over that. Anyhow, I want to take a bite at this statement. Not with angry fingers, mind you. I don't dispute that Donald Trump loyalists would forgive just about everything at this point. I am just one such loyalist, but perhaps in a way that people don't typically mean. Some see loyalists as people who will defend everything the president does. These can range from, "He did it on purpose because he's a genius tactician and it's all part of a grand plan;" to "He did it on purpose because he's the most morally fit president we've ever had;" to "He didn't actually do that [thing which he's on tape doing]." There are other loyalists, a group in which I must be a member. At first, when the 2016 primaries were underway, I had my own choice. He completely imploded. My next choice likewise strapped on the suicide vest and went after our ginger haired friend. I had serious doubts about Trump. I remain unsure of his methods, motives, and mental status. Sometimes I honestly do feel like he's a kind of evil genius. Other times, I'm convinced that he's nothing more than a capricious blowhard. The reality is, whatever he is, we've hitched our wagon to him. ...And there's more at stake than the name of the president for the next four years. It's not even about policy, although the Democratic policy positions are absolutely bone-chillingly awful. It's about the idea of whether or not the woke left can destroy all opponents using nothing more than hate. Here's the short answer: they can't. The movement will eventually butt up against growing resistance. People who make claims about changing demographics and the inevitability of where things will go based on the previous 200 years haven't been paying attention to the past few thousand. So, if I believe that, why would I continue to support someone so disturbing as Trump? In my mind, Trump is about the most odious candidate we can put forward. He's got a history of unsavory things which no rational person can honestly defend. Absent his own statements, his presidency has not been bad, but that doesn't matter. He's a toad. The left is throwing everything at Trump they can. Ironically, their hate is far more profound and enduring than his. Trump is like Pan. He's random and whimsical, wild and mad-eyed. The left is determined and desperate with a hate that burns both hot and cold. If Trump should prevail, we'll have four more years of his evil genius/random capriciousness (take your pick). If the left prevails, it will embolden the woke left. Hey, I'm a conservative. If my side ends up losing, I'll just go into the woodwork while living my life. If the leftists win, they will turn on each other with a vengeance. Useful leftists out there should keep in mind what's going to happen when they've outlived their usefulness. Then after they've completely mucked things up, we'll eventually have a return to sanity. Not Trump's sanity, but a moderation. Whatever another four years of the current administration would mean to me personally, it would be the best thing for a longer-term rational leftist agenda. I, of course, mean no malice. I appreciate your thoughts, Hurlshot, but I actually get along with political opponents pretty well. Partly because I'm not a politician. Partly because I try my best to be generous and charitable. Partly because I genuinely believe that being wrong doesn't equate to being evil. That said, I'd rather discuss the Democratic primary than Trump or the Republicans. That's where things are more interesting at the moment. ...But what the hell do I know? I'm still trying to figure out which candidate is a spellcasting hedgehog. :wry grin: To be candid, I thought this place would be busier with the upcoming release of the Outer Worlds, but it seems kind of slow here.

Control? I'm almost at the end of free time, so I hope Divinity 2 can last, but I'm already flagging on it. I've spent a lot of time playing it, so I can't complain, but I find myself doing other things instead.

*shrug* Dems, inasmuch as they notice her departure, should enjoy a hearty good riddance to Gillibrand. I'd say they're lucky that she didn't win, but the bulk of the Democratic electorate was never going to be stupid enough to make her their nominee. Plus, if she promises to behave, there's still the outside chance one of the other candidates might be foolish enough to make her his or her running mate. Frankly, being a white woman, she might have some appeal to that block in the general, and that particular block is probably vital to the general election. I have my doubts she would pull in white women and she certainly wouldn't help any of the candidates in the primary. Call me a purist, but the nomination should be secured before the candidate announces a running mate. Sorry about spamming the politics folder. I'm always willing to discuss politics in real life, but most folks don't want to talk much about it. It's actually upsetting to a lot of people these days. Out there, I'm a boor for pushing political discussions. Here, I'm just another anonymous message board cowboy shooting up the place with bullets that neither wound nor kill.

I never finished this game. I got all the way up to where I took over some bard's kingdom and then stopped playing. It really was great, but after a while I got really tired of taking care of the kingdom. I know I could put it on autopilot, but I set the game aside assuming I'd come back to it but never did. I agree with you, Vaeliorin, about the kingdom management eating up time I could have spent questing. I might get back to it, but time will be a premium in the coming months and I'm already in the middle of Divinity Original Sin 2. I haven't actually finished a straight up RPG in years. Halted on... Tyranny? Whatever the game that Obsidian put out a while back. I never got past the first five minutes of Deadfire. I can't blame all that on the game, though. I was basically unable to invest much time in gaming over the past couple of years until recently. I *am* intrigued by Pathfinder and my wife and I are embroiled in a high level Pathfinder tabletop game with a bunch of folks. I'm sure I'll eventually clear out all these games, assuming I live long enough.

There's no real reason for Queen Elizabeth to deny the request. If it weren't for the timing, there would be no controversy. Yes, it's a nakedly jaded maneuver, but it's the sort of play that politicians make all the time. It's not extraconstitutional. It's not even remarkable but for the issue of Brexit. By approving the suspension, the Queen has chosen a less dangerous path. Sure, if things completely collapse, history will probably at the very least note her approval and judge her for it. However, if she denied it and things went down the crapper, she'd be similarly judged. My guess is that the outrage will be fleeting. I personally find it astounding that the politicians in Britain (since we can't properly call them statesmen) are attempting to thwart the will of the people. It was all good when the assumption was that Brexit was going to fail grandly. Then the bitter tears and screaming at the sky began. At this point, it's better if the Brits leave the EU. It's simply less calamitous than if they follow the plebiscite lest they give lie to the very idea of self-rule. EDIT: Hey, I can post without approval! That whole waiting for the post to post was weird, but I hold no grudge over it.

That's fair enough, but polls aren't meant to limit or confine people. They're meant to give an idea of the state of being at any particular point in [measure of change]. Where you will end isn't as important as where you are right now. That said, I do respect the idea that things are too fluid for you to make a definitive statement. Not that it matters to me. I'm a Republican. Trump might be an obnoxious bastard, but I don't see any alternative from my perspective at the moment, so my views on the Democratic primary are more or less academic. My one and only caveat is that Trump could win this upcoming election. If the Democrats bring nothing more than Trump-hate, they are far less likely to win. I made the very same prediction last presidential cycle.

Geez, I looked up Cat Quest. That might have been a better purchase to interest my wee beloved kitten.

Oh my Lord! Sorry about that! I'm sad about the October release! I won't have time to play it, but I'll buy it and then play a few months after.

Has anyone done one of those message board polls to find out where this community stands on the candidates? I find the democratic primary truly interesting this year. I find the dynamic is yielding a lot of spice, even more than the previous cycle on the Republican side. Biden is probably the best bet against Trump, but I believe any one of them *could* win, although Sanders and Warren appear less likely to win. I don't buy for a moment that anything but the most minute fringe will not mobilize against Trump in the general no matter how angry they are at the establishment for putting Biden on the ballot. In truth, it's not the establishment. The Democratic electorate isn't nearly as far left as the field would suggest. Biden is probably the best bet to put up against Trump, but he's a terrible campaigner. Warren has a lot of baggage, but she'd undoubtedly be the best on the campaign trail.