rjshae

Well the finale of Skeleton Crew almost made it a decent series, but it sounds like the ratings were so poor it may not have a second season. Hopefully we get the second season of Andor soon.

Perhaps I'm being too pessimistic, but I'm wondering whether it is too soon to apply the label 'wretched hive of scum and villainy' to this Presidential cabinet yet? Man, some of these picks are rather questionable. I suppose if they are bad enough they will take some attention away from DJT's own misdeeds?

Well the man lacks a moral compass and none of his cabinet selections are likely to provide one. He has shown despotic tendencies and now they are unlikely to be properly checked at the door. I'm expecting him to push the envelope of Presidential power as far as it will go. He's already threatened to deploy military troops on US soil, and he can call on the National Emergencies Act and push it to its limit. Republicans have control of Congress and they appear willing to support his actions. The big question is whether the Judicial branch can serve as a balance.

Well the cut scene graphics certainly seem impressive, at least to my eyes. Clearly the characters aren't real, but they lack the uncanny valley effect you see from older games. Many of them are quite visually appealing, and the facial animations seem mostly okay. The biggest flaw I can find is just a lack of flaws; all of the faces are symmetrical. In real life I'd expect to see bent noses, moles, asymmetrical faces and so forth. But it's getting much closer to a realistic world with believable characters. At first I wasn't sure I'd like the game, since it was too much like the D:OS series. But it's grown on me. My only regret now is that the characters are level limited, so at 10th level I know I'm getting near the end. Hopefully some day a different company will make a good quality BG 4 and give us more adventures in this setting.

In truth, that's a fact. One could argue that we never get the choices we deserve because of our pluralistic voting system. But in essence, DJT is the embodiment of American hubris, albeit in its most inane form. We're getting what we deserve.

So? In a population of 335 million people, you can pretty much find an example of anything.

It's a bit unusual because the normal state wildfire season (May to October) is over. There's just a combination of dry conditions and strong winds.

New Glenn launch: Blue Origin's reusable rocket set for maiden flight (New Scientist)

It's intended to be a Goonies-like series, and I suppose it is at that. There's at least some character development and kind of a plot, but it mostly feels random. The whole credits rationale is just dumb, but then it's targeting kids.

An oldie but goodie with a long slow build. Seems like it gets played a lot in sports venues.

14 episodes is almost a massive season these days. It can be fun to go back to pre-2020 and binge on the 22 episode seasons, at least for the good shows. Too many series are now under 10 episodes, although the shorter seasons do seem to equate to better quality.

When you combine that with prior comments about Canada and Greenland, it seems DJT has his eyes on a "unified" North America. Or at least to the north of Mexican border. I expect that will keep his mouth busy.

I think trans people are an easy target for the exclusivity party to target. It's not like trans people weild a significant economic or voter clout, so they're not much of a threat for a backlash. Yes it's strange to politically obsess so much over what's effectively a tiny minority with little influence. It may be an indirect rallying cry; like the opposite of virtue signalling.

Ed.: duplicate posting deleted.

Just started playing BG 3; I'm up to 5th level and heading into the Underdark. Playstyle-wise it's awfully similar to D:OS 1 & 2, with a D&D ruleset pasted on top. At least the characters have realistic-looking stats, unlike in D:OS. The amount of cut scene cinematics is impressive, and the facial/gesture animation work is top notch. But levelling up is definitely a slog, and too many battles are time-wasting do-overs. I had more fun with the Solasta tactical combat system; at least they felt winnable, up until they weren't. I definitely miss the Dodge action in BG 3.

Did you know that a gram of Uranium has 20 billion calories? Yet another reason not to consume Uranium.

Yes it's fairly porous, but crossing the border is fairly easy with the right ID, so I'd imagine most people just do so on the roads.

I like the idea of them being peaceful and friendly neighbors, so I dislike anything that may disrupt the relationship. The concept of a merger may very well disrupt that, and not for the better.

The US has a long history of states talking about seceding from the nation. I think talk of Canada joining the US is no different. It's just talk. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secession_in_the_United_States#20th_century_efforts_and_beyond https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_active_separatist_movements_in_North_America#United_States

I used to paint miniatures and got decent at it. It usually took an evening to paint a figure to good effect. I tried painting the plastic Warhammer ones but they felt so lightweight it seemed like wasted effort. These days I enjoy 3D modelling; I just finished an altar and a mantlet.

I've just resigned myself to the fact that he's going to say a lot of stupid things, and stopped trying to filter for common sense. His close supporters just tend to make up random stuff to fit the sputum, so it's difficult to take serious.

Finished my first play through, which included the first DLC. It was fun, but I didn't much care for the inventory system and having to keep perusing it for better equipment. There has to be a better approach. I also didn't feel like it has high replayability, so I'll wait until more DLC comes out before returning. Finally, choosing talents is awkward because a number of them expect you to know your character build but won't let you examine it. By the end of the game I almost didn't care what talents I chose, so I just picked the next available.

This drug is the 'breakthrough of the year' — and it could mean the end of the HIV epidemic The good news: an amazing drug find that can potentially stop the HIV epidemic in Africa The bad news: almost nobody with HIV can afford the drug