BruceVC

ISIS stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and is basically the Al-Qaeda linked groups that are currently perpetuating terrorism and destabilizing Iraq and they control most of the strongest groups opposed to Assad in Syria http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_State_of_Iraq This concerns me as we are seeing them grow very powerful in both Iraq and Syria where they can operate with impunity. They have been responsible for some of the most violent insurgencies in both countries. The USA has already said they won't be sending anymore troops to Iraq and we all know the situation in Syria where a lack of response from UN security council, due to the Russian and Chinese veto, has lead to a protracted and destructive civil war So yet again this is the result of allowing the civil war in Syria to continue. You get a group like ISIS able to train and gather recruits to implement its own interpretation of radical Islam, I watched a documentary on ISIS on CNN and it was scary to say the least, it reminded me of Afghanistan under the Taliban and the anachronistic laws they implemented. ISIS seems to threaten the security and stabilization of the whole region

I'm tempted to say that if you want horror then try playing Oblivion. I find it amazingly horrifying that so many people liked that game. " try playing Oblivion" funny comment I have also heard a few bad views around the latest Amnesia but I suppose I need to see for myself

The poster offers mixed advice, some of it is fine (be polite, respectful, and avoid antagonizing the police), which is useful in life in general, and some of it gives the impression of being designed to be obnoxious to the police officer. It may be an artefact of U.S. popular culture, though, with its anti-governmental vibe. I can only report positive encounters with police officers, though they were generally limited in scope, since I play my life safe (especially when I drive). I have had many encounters with police and almost all time I am respectful and calm when dealing with them. I live in a country of relatively high levels of violent crime and the police are under immense pressure. The last thing you want to do is antagonize them or get cheeky, as mentioned before most of the time they are just trying to do a difficult job.

I haven't played Stanley yet but I intend to so I wouldn't spend time on this thread in case someone let something slip around the story

Nice one for rubbing it in that you can play the ONLY game that I ever really wanted to play on PC that isn't going to get released on PC I just finished Dead Space 3 and I enjoyed it, it followed the same formulae as the previous ones but they improved it through some changes like crafting and the optional side quests. I'm not sure why it did so badly from a sales perspective, I give it a solid and entertaining 65/100 I'm going to play Amnesia : A Machine for Pigs now, I feel like a bit of horror and then I'll move onto Skyrim

That's a good list. I like the forthcoming RPG

Tonight I'm heading to a friends place for Lamb on a Spit to see the NY in. I have bought a good bottle of vodka but I'm getting huge pressure on me to go to various NY parties which I need to resist as I actually want to wake up this NY and not get home in the afternoon But more importantly HAPPY NY EVERYONE

Well done for setting some positive and realistic goals

You must search all the rooms carefully, furniture is not what it appears to be Scan every pixel with your cursor, no "hold tab to highlight all interactive objects" here. Probably not a good idea to play at a resolution greater than 640x480. Playing at 1366x768 here These mods make the game look prettier than any Triple A Game I've played. As for the quests...I think I need to pay the curiosity shop a visit. Yeah I used the exact same mods, there was one bug in the art gallery where the game keeps crashing but there is a fix for it in the GOG forums

You made meat pampushkii? I had to look up what that is*, but yes, essentially. It was surprisingly good too, it was just a moment of "hrm, I have a bunch of leftover cheddar and nothing to do with it..." Gonna try the potato variant sometime. Thanks. *To be fair, I have to look up what most things in this thread are because one thing that still has a language barrier for me is the names of foods and ways to cook them. I had to look up what a freaking bell pepper was because we just call them the same as the spice you make out of them - "I've got a bunch of paprikas!" That's one of the advantages of a forum like this, we learn things regularly. I often look up certain phrases and words that people use, its a real global community

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