BruceVC

This is my first post on this thread, I'm a little nervous so please don't me too critical One of Xmas presents was a 10 year bottle of Cognac that I plan to relish later. Now in South Africa we drink Brandy and Coke-cola, Brandy is basically a cheaper version of Cognac and is often abused by South African drinkers and that brings me to a story. We use to go skiing every year in Austria and the one night my dad said to me " lets go for a drink in the hotel pub". My dad loves his beers so I joined him. To be honest I'm more of a binge drinker and drink for effect rather than taste but anyway I digress from my story. So we went to this quaint bar and I asked the waiter for a "Brandy and coke". The hotel bar didn't stock Brandy and after some explanation the waiter thought I meant Cognac so he brought me this expensive Cognac in a goblet with a coke-cola separate. As any experienced drinker knows you slip Cognac and you don't mix it. I took the 2 drinks from the waiter and promptly poured the coke into the Cognac to the waiters utter dismay and horror..."how could I destroy this fine Cognac". I didn't realize what I was doing as I assumed it was Brandy. But my dad was watching the waiters face the whole time and never told me. That night I ordered 4 Cognac\Brandys and mixed coke-cola with them all My dad only told me what I did much later Yes I'm clearly not a very mature drinker

well 5 minutes is still something to be proud of

That does sound tasty

Pfft, it's going to be 2014. Shouldn't you be going at least 1440p? Don't quit smoking, that's dumb, smoke slowly instead. that's funny

You must search all the rooms carefully, furniture is not what it appears to be

I had Coq au Vin last night which is basically a chicken stew simmered in red wine. I am a big fan of these types of stews, you throw all the ingredients in a pot and let it all cook for a few hours. Nothing could be simpler and it tastes great as the various ingredients infuse all there flavors together

I see you following the more healthier NY resolutions

Yes I can see the reasoning behind the point " a person should just make a change anytime during the year" but the reality is for many people they don't make those changes so NY becomes the undeniable start of a cycle and in most cases it puts real pressure on them to at least attempt to make changes. For me NY is really about the beginning of something, its real and substantive as opposed to any other day of the year.

Soooo....the end of the year beckons and its time for NY resolutions. Some people say "There is no point making NY resolutions as I always break them" but for me that's not really the point. Its more about attempting to stick to them and holding yourself accountable. If you don't stick to them that's fine but at least you tried. So what are your NY resolutions? They can be small or grand, ambitious or trivial. I did well this year and probably achieved about 60 %. So far mine for 2014 are Every 3rd week I want to cook a proper recipe book meal for a g-friend, friend or family member. I want to put real effort into the meal. I have slacked off from cooking complicated meals this year I want to do something outdoors, like a hike, every 3 rd weekend. I live in a city with beautiful outdoor scenery and we never seem to use it I want to eat out at a different restaurant at least every second week. We tend to eat at the same restaurants despite the fact we are spoilt for choice for excellent restaurants in Johannesburg I am only going to have these huge parties after every second weekend. Lately I have people coming to my house and or I end up going out which ends up being a whole weekend party. Its a waste of the weekend, despite what Oscar Wilde said " the path of excess leads to the palace of wisdom" I think I have gained enough insight around these matters to last me a lifetime I want to put more effort into sustaining relationships with the various ladies I date. They never seem to lead anywhere and I'm sure the problem lies with me. Anyway what are yours?

Seasons greetings all I had an amazing Xmas, I was at the coast at our families beach cottage. Its 10 meters from the beach and very picturesque. Our cousins have a beach cottage next to ours so its always very festive. I started snorkeling which was great fun, because its a private beach there is always loads of aquatic sea life to see and the water is very warm. I also went for several beach hikes so despite the fact we gorged on delicious Xmas grub I did exercise. We also went on a hike through a lovely bird sanctuary which despite the fact we got lost in a ravine it was well worth the effort For Xmas lunch there is friendly rivalry between our families around who makes the best roast potatoes. This year we used duck fat and our potatoes came out the winners after a closely contested vote. Anyway I'm still on leave till the 20 January and I'm feeling really revitalized after my trip to the coast.

I imagine we are going to see some delicious meals we have all eaten over the next few days. I'll post in more detail once the Xmas grub is done

I once worked for a company where the bonus was a butterball turkey. Yes the would literally give you a frozen, uncooked turkey. I was single at the time so I used to just give it away but that was our Christmas bonus. okay that's the first time I've heard of a turkey been given as a bonus We normally get bonuses, in fact we get them twice a year but they are dependent on us achieving our number. Since some deals slipped this period we are getting nothing over Xmas. It really sux but its understandable

Hello all So that time of celebration and hopefully good times beckons. What are your plans for Xmas? Are you going away and what do you normally eat for the traditional Xmas lunch/supper? I'm flying to the coast tomorrow to see my family, we will be having Xmas at our beach cottage with our cousins. As usual it will be a time of loads of good food, laughs and lots of alcohol We normally eat turkey, lamb and gammon. So what you doing?

I think the best solution to the Israeli and Palestinian conflict is for an organization like the UN to take ownership of all areas considered to be religiously significant and to allow both side rights to visit and pray at these areas Its clear that neither side has the vision or political will to want to really compromise so remove responsibility for them having to resolve the issue, yes I know this won't happen but it would solve the debate around who is the legitimate owners of certain parts of land that is considered holy to there specific religion

"flop on there bellies" And cats have such soft bellies that would be great

Labeling today's white South Africans as "colonists" makes you come across as a racist. Just say'n. Thanks for that but I think this was a misuse of the word due to translation and the fact that English isn't Oby's first language

Tonight its one of my good friends wives b-day so we going for dinner at really good Italian restaurant called Carraffa in Pretoria They specialize in a 1 kg t-bone steak that they do in a Pizza oven. Its absolutely delicious

Neither do I, thx for the tip Majek

That is clever. What is the most interesting thing about this is it shows how much your kids must like and respect you if they are prepared to spend personal time researching you. Its credit to you and the positive influence you have on there lives and something to be proud of, so nice one Either that or you have a stalker (though, likely not a S.T.A.L.K.E.R.) on your hands. That is clever. What is the most interesting thing about this is it shows how much your kids must like and respect you if they are prepared to spend personal time researching you. Its credit to you and the positive influence you have on there lives and something to be proud of, so nice one I dunno, if I ever researched a teacher it was to try and find something I could use against them. I suppose you boys could be right but knowing Hurlshot I have to assume the attention from his student will be positive

But how have you been sleeping, not well I assume?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fzRSE_p1Ys Looks like him. Him being schizophrenic is probably a host of BS to cover his ass and try to get some sympathy. Also as for him attacking people.. http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/mandela-fake-interpreter-thamsanqa-jantjie-i-was-hallucinating-1.2460912 I tend to agree, I don't think he suffered a schizophrenic attack at all. His story has dramatically changed as the day has gone on and he is getting more and more attention and criticism. If I had to guess someone advised him to say " tell everyone you had a schizophrenic attack, that will at least get you some sympathy around this calamitous situation" The best way to settle this is to do an assessment in the next few days to see if he can sign at all. If he can't he is a charlatan and should be prosecuted. If he can sign then the question of his medication and his treatment needs to be addressed. This is not the first time he has signed incorrectly, but this is the first time its been done in such a public arena I have just heard on the radio that the police arrived at his house to escort him to a psychiatric hospital for a medical review. Lets see what transpires

I have one, I just loathe electronic or any other kind of paperwork. I didn't like the idea that I was forced to use PayPal, so I never pledged. Also, they take up too much screen real estate. Maybe squeeze them in side by side or something. Mmmm...you boys are sounding guilty about not pledging and seem to be justifying why you didn't pledge But I don't think anyone should really care why a person did or didn't pledge. Its a personal choice and it doesn't mean your contribution on the forums isn't as relevant or interesting compared to someone who did pledge. I'm confidant you will purchase the game when its released and that's equally as important from a revenue generating perspective for Obsidian To be honest I didn't want a specific backers site or these special forums badges. I think it can be a little divisive, I can guarantee you we will get a situation later on during some heated debate around some gameplay component in PoE that someone will say something like " you didn't even back this project so your opinion means nothing" I prefer a website where everyone is seen as equal and they are all fans of RPGs and Obsidian

Fixed that for you. I like it

I don't get this lawyer talk Nep What is it called if a decision by a supreme court gets nullified by the sitting government?

Alan don't you think you are egregiously underestimating the influence these forums have on the direction that development companies take with there games. I am sure at Bioware the first thing they consider when it comes to any new game is " what do the people at the Obsidian forum think of this idea and if they don't like it we don't include it !!!! " Come on, you know I'm right ?