Raithe

Ackbarition (noun): The unshakeable feeling that somehow, some way, what you are just about to walk into is a trap.

From the cheap seats that I have over here in the UK, I'm aware that there are a whole slew of various restrictions on the types of firearms that can be picked up in the US and also carry laws. Although certain specifics can vary wildly between states. In some states its legal to get "concealed carry" licenses, in others if you're carrying a gun its legal as long as its in view, but if you hide it under your jacket you have legal problems if found. I seem to recall a few things about certain hunters agitating for access to fully automatic weapons, which suggests that they aren't casually available. Of course, at the same time if you know what you're doing, it's not that hard to convert certain types of semi-automatic weapons to fully automatic. Then again, if you know what you're doing, it's not that hard to turn bleach and certain household chemicals into forms of explosive... Not to say gun control isn't a needed thing, but if memory serves, in a fair few of those school shootings not all of the guns have been legally bought. So gun control laws wouldn't necessarily have prevented them, since they had gotten the weapons illegally from the get go.. Stricter gun controls can be a good thing, but the trouble is it's not going to answer all the problems behind these events.

To take a further step away from the Movie times... And the new year brings close to me : I think a night out at the theatre is called for in the New Year...

Hm, I don't suppose there's any point in talking to the HR people about "hostile working environment" then? Because that's certainly what it sounds like...

No, lawyer in anything is never a good combination...

How is this a problem? What industry is this? If I understand correctly : Female Lawyers. That is never a good combination...

Correllia Run last until about two months ago when they had the final server consolidation. With the Group Finder it's not so much a hassle if you want to look for groups to do heroics, flashpoints and from what I hear, operations. Especially with regular populations on most planets of 100+ and generally fleet having multiple instances due to population.

Heh, and you know they released that picture of Star Trek with Cumberbatch in the brig and the name "John Harrison"? John Harrison is the nom de plume given to Star Trek actor Ron Veto, who played many an unnamed extra in the show’s first season. Literally, he’s a redshirt — although you can also catch him in blue and gold — and the name wasn’t particularly associated with the actor. Who’s that nurse holding Sulu down? John Harrison. Who’s that technician on the bridge? Oh, that’s John Harrison. Who’s that security officer? Why, that’s Lieutenant John Harrison. When the script or show needed to name a random crewman walking down the hall? John Harrison. While there was definitely a “role” to play, there was no character there. Hi. I’m John Harrison. Today, anyway.

I'm trying to decide if I'm tempted by Populous 2 for a couple of dollars...

I just ran my Consular through Taris, and apart from a short play of pvp just before I hit 20, and having hm, the first 3 ranks of "improved story xp" from my legacy (so only class specific mission, not general xp) boost, but I ran through all the world and class stuff and without doing any of the heroics or the bonus series, I'm currently halfway through 23...

Now this appeared in the newspaper a little bit ago, taken from the last decade of assorted quiz shows on tv and radio - a collection of various questions and their answers... Or at least, the answers contestants gave. It makes you wonder about education in general.... -------------- Quiz Show Presenter : In which European country is Mount Etna? Contestant: Japan Quiz Show Presenter : I did say which Euopean country, so in case you didn't hear that, I can let you try again. Contestant: Er.. Mexico? Quiz Show Presenter : What religion was Guy Fawkes? Contestant: Jewish Quiz Show Presenter : Well, thats close enough. Quiz Show Presenter : Who wrote Lord of the Rings? Contestant: Enid Blyton Quiz Show Presenter : In which European city was the first opera house opened in 1637? Contestant : Sydney Quiz Show Presenter : How many kings of England have been called Henry? Contestant : Er, well, I know there was a Henry the Eighth... so um.. er...er.. three? Quiz Show Presenter : Where did the D-Day landings take place? Contestant : Pearl Harbor? Quiz Show Presenter : What is another name for "Cherrypickers" and "Cheesemongers"? Contestant : Homosexuals Quiz Show Presenter : No. They're regiments in the British Army who will be very upset with you. Quiz Show Presenter : Name the funny men who once entertained kings and queens at court. Contestant : Lepers Quiz Show Presenter : Where do you think Cambridge University is? Contestant : Geography really isn't my strong point. Quiz Show Presenter : There's a clue in the title... Contestant : Oh.. Liecester Quiz Show Presenter : Name the long-running tv comedy show about pensioners : "Last of the ...."? Contestant : Mohicans! Quiz Show Presenter : Which French Mediterranean town hosts a famous film festival each year? Contestant : I don't know. I need a clue. Quiz Show Presenter : Ok, What do beans come in? Contestant : Cartons? Quiz Show Presenter : What was Gandhi's first name? Contestant : Goosey, goosey? DJ Quiz Show Presenter : For £10 what is the nationality of the Pope? Caller: I think I know that one.. is it .. um.. Jewish? Quiz Show Presenter : Who was Mary Arden's famous son? Contestant : Can I have a clue? Quiz Show Presenter : Yes.. He was famous around the Globe. Contestant : Bill Gates. Quiz Show Presenter : Name a book written by Jane Austen Contestant : Charlotte Bronte Radio Presenter : In which country would you spend Shekels? Contestant : Holland Radio Presenter : Try the next letter in the alphabet Contestant: Iceland? Ireland? Radio Presenter (helpfully) : It's a bad line, did you say Israel? Contestant: No. Quiz Show Presenter : What happened in Dallas on November 22, 1963? Contestant : I don't know, I wasn't watching it then. Quiz Show Presenter : In traffic, what "J" is where two roads meet? Contestant : Jool carriageway? Quiz Show Presenter : In what year was President Kennedy assassinated? Contestant : Erm.... Quiz Show Presenter : Well, let's put it this way - he didn't see 1964 Contestant : 1965? Quiz Show Presenter : Johnny Weismuller died on this day. Which jungle-swinging character clad only in a loin cloth did he play/ Contestant : Jesus Quiz Show Presenter : In which country is Mount Everest? Contestant : (long pause) Er, it's not in Scotland, is it? Quiz Show Presenter : There are three states of matter : solid, liquid and what? Contestant : Jelly. Quiz Show Presenter : How long did the Six-Day war between Egypt and Israel last? Contestant : (long pause) Fourteen Days. Quiz Show Presenter : Skegness is a seaside resort on the coast of which sea: a> Irish Sea b> English Channel, c>North Sea Contestant: Oh, I know that, you can start writing out the cheque now. It's on the east coast, so it must be the Irish Sea. Quiz Show Presenter : What is the name of the French-speaking Canadian State? Contestant : um.. America? Portugal? Canada? Mexico? Italy? Spain?? Quiz Show Presenter : I'm looking for an island in the Atlantic whose name included the letter "e". Contestant : Ghana Quiz Show Presenter : No, listen. It's an island in the Atlantic Ocean. Contestant: Oh. New Zealand. Quiz Show Presenter : What is the world's largest continent? Contestant : The Pacific Quiz Show Presenter : Name a film starring Bob Hoskins that is also the name of a famous painting be Leonardo Da Vinci. Contestant : Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Quiz Show Presenter : Which "S" is a kind of whale that can grow up to 80 tonnes? Contestant : Ummm... Quiz Show Presenter : It begins with "S" and ryhmes with "perm" Contestant : Shark!

I think it's a combination of effects. Subscribers now level just a touch faster. Or at least, I've noticed I now get 8 xp where I used to get 7xp, or 64 xp where I used to get 50xp... And from what I understand the non-subs get slightly less. Hm, Okay Nep, I have to wonder at that, I mean, I pretty much solo through everything, I don't do that many heroics, I only occasionally have short pvp splurges, and I only do bonus series about half the time..maybe a little more, but I'm usually slightly above the level curve for a planet... Although I'll admit, for some reason that seems easier to do with later toon's rather then my first couple..

I have to admit, it does kind of throw me the couple of times I've seen someone running around at 35+ level of a character with no advanced class. Kind of makes me wonder if they're just going for some form of basic challenge or what.

Yes, I caught that on youtube but edited apart from the advert side of it and it got me all "What, there's a sequel???" before I found out it was a superbowl advert and then I was all sad-faced.

Sixth Sense and Unbreakable had good storylines and a reason for the twists that tied back into everything in the movie. The rest seem to have just been.. slightly surreal and with a twist or two put in just because it's a Shymalan movie and they have to have twists to "surprise" the audience.

Well the temperature is certainly dropping here in Merry Olde England. That cold front the meteorologists are calling "The Beast" certainly seems to have hit us. The garden grass is white with frost even now in the early stages of the afternoon, and the garbage bin lids are sticking together with aforementioned frost. My cubby hole of a computer cupboard that I use my pc in happens to be next to the upstairs toilet, which is proving interesting today since every 15-30 minutes I have family running past to throw up... Luckily whatever bug or cause of it seems to have past me by. Although it is a bit distracting from attempts at work thought. Have to brave the wind chill in a bit to take some christmas cards up to the post office to send airmail , and pick up assorted necessities from the shops in the village... Although I'm also expecting the Kindle Paperwhite that I've getting my mother for christmas to arrive in the post today. Hm, whether to hold on in case it turns up soon, or try darting out to deal with the other stuff and be out of the house if it does arrive sooner rather then later... Decisions decisions..

Hm, I have to say, once you actually learn the icons that represent some of those conditions, it's not that hard/awkward to recognise them pop up when they occur. The main problem I had was that when you initially get those abilities, you don't have anything telling you what those icons mean until they're occuring and you take time from the combat to hover the cursor over them and read what it says... and then it's like "oh, right, that means that then". Of course, while that's happening you might be in the middle of a mob and facing a couple of strong/elite enemies as well. Which makes it just a tad awkward... The ability to move around/alter and change the UI was a good thing, it lets you minimise or reduce the size on certain parts that you didn't need occupying huge chunks of the screen, while increasing the size of other areas to make more noticable. I haven't really charged into the endgame content to a huge extent. I've been playing the game since it was released, we're hitting the first anniversary and I still haven't done any operations. I tend to hit 50 with a class, then switch to a new one to see how it handles. WIth occasions of jumping back to my old toons for moments of crafting and running some of the dailies now and then. I know folks who spend days grinding the dailies repeatedly, but I just can't do that. I don't consistently spend time in pvp, I'll tend to do batches of it now and then, but not in any regular manner. I guess in a lot of ways I do treat it more like a rather extended single-player game with a certain social aspect of some chat with friends and guild mates while they're solo'ing other content and providing the occasional helping hand or passing crafted goods/materials back and forth. Every now and again grouping up if we're on the same world to hit some heroics, or run a flashpoint as a guild... But again, I've found with the pacing I'm half as likely to forget about a flashpoint until I'm over-level for it and then end up finding a half-hour here or there to solo flashpoints when I'm about 9+ levels beyond....

For the Wheel of Time fans out there, this might be of some interest: http://youtu.be/XrfUoR4Z9Ig

The first few months after the game came out, there was about half a dozen of us on the same server.. but I think we pretty much were all online at totally different times anyhow.

...and I have to say, trying to find somewhere that will deliver Dry Fly Vodka in California and accepts a billing address in the UK is bloody hard if you happen to be using the internet. It might just be reaching a point of being more awkward then the humour value is worth....

And the 1.6 update hit today with a few bug fixes, an extra pvp warzone, and some other minor tweaks. Now every character that hits 50th level gets an email when they hit fleet which basically gives them 99 Tionese commendations do pick up advanced gear.. I guess they wanted to make it easier for people to jump into hardmode flashpoints. Also, they've dropped all the Battlemaster pvp stuff, and now you can pick up the War Hero pvp stuff for normal warzone commendations, and a new Elite War Hero for ranked warzone commendations. There's bound to be a bunch of other small stuff tweaked around there as well...

For those not burnt out yet on superhero movies.. The latest trailer on Zack Snyder's Superman http://youtu.be/KVu3gS7iJu4

Wasn't much of a fan of DK2. I own it, but the game is about offense where DK1 was about defense. Or aggressive defense. Or offensive defense... As long as its not about passive aggression..

I would be disappointed if it turns out to be so. Pick someone different, that hasn't been done in any film version yet. I'm really not that keen on the movie itself....the reboot was an ok sci-fi action film but to me this new series will never be real Star Trek. Still...I want to know who Cumberbatch is playing, darnit. Someone recognizable, or someone completely new? Ah well, we'll know eventually. Well apparently Abrahms has confirmed that the blonde bobcut girl is in fact a young Carol Marcus... Which means I doubt Cumberbatch will be Kahn. Slipping in one character from Wrath of Khan is a thing, especially as if you think about the timelines that would actually be roughly around the time Kirk met her and ended up siring the kid in the "original timeline". Although to be fair, we all know Kirk had to leave a whoole lot of bastards running around the universe...