On 9/1/2025 at 4:04 PM, Sabamonster said:

We didn't do this.   If anything, it's pretty clear that the people on this board were faithful.   Also, there are rumblings...    PoE 1 is getting a tune-up with a turn-based mode, they made Avowed and while it may be absolutely nothing;  I hold out hope and if we are ever going to get it...  now would be the time. 

Ten years later, Pillars of Eternity is getting a turn-based combat mode

"Testing starts later this year." So... maybe by Winter?

I'm watching Mrs. Davis on Peac*ck. In some ways it reminds me of The Preacher, in that it's both religious in theme and weirdly funny and irreverent.

3 hours ago, Malcador said:

Amazing this clown got confirmed 

The Senate is trying to speed up the process now so that entire clown cars can be confirmed at once.

Republicans consider changing Senate rules to speed confirmation of Trump nominees

It's like a Shiners parade.

For the Sounders, after being all Messi'd up...

 

Apparently it's okay for the US to shoot up non-military ships in international waters now. What are we, Somalia? I suppose it's easier to maintain a constant state of emergency that way.

9 hours ago, Malcador said:

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/international-trade/bessent-warns-of-us-embarrassment-if-tariffs-ruled-illegal

Not the greatest argument when discussing legality of something, that to reverse course if it's illegal would be embarrassing.

As if these mother****ers are capable of shame or embarrassment 

Speaking of illegal, a judge has ruled that deployment of the National Guard to LA was a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act. They have no shame.

 

Some German sausage Prez just keeps on...

 

Now for something completely random...

 

The first time I saw AI try to draw conclusions from something I'd written, it was so blatantly wrong that I was flabbergasted. Granted the conclusions it drew were based on some subtle inferences from the technical wording, but a normal person just wouldn't reach those conclusions. Sure, you can blame me as the author; I did rewrite the text slightly to make sure the AI would interpret it correctly. Nonetheless, AI hallucinations are a real problem, especially when they occur in STEM fields, as well as the legal professions.

5 hours ago, Malcador said:

We need an AI that is constantly pessimistic and negative.

Let's call him Marvin

Music for 1950s aliens to invade a planet.

Can't stop watching a TV show? That may be a good thing

Quote

If you often find yourself watching episode after episode, it may be harder for a story to leave your head, the researchers said. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. The study found people who marathon movies, shows or books are more likely to remember stories and keep engaging with them through daydreams and fantasies.

I just knew it had to be doing some good. 😉

17 hours ago, BruceVC said:

Its a pity in  many  countries like the US the flag is taken for granted and burning it has  just  become a form of outrage protest

Among other things, the flag stands for the freedom to burn the flag. So there's that. Most people here would never burn the flag.

 

I'm retired so I normally don't need an alarm, except on rare occasions. But I wouldn't trust that I remembered to recharge the phone properly, so I'll stick with the radio alarm clock.

On 8/11/2025 at 11:41 AM, rjshae said:

I signed up for Peac*ck via Roku because it's near the start of the Premier League season and I wanted more access. Okay, I got charged for a month and the app showed up, but when I opened it I had to sign in. Unfortunately, it didn't recognize my Roku account and wouldn't let me create my own sign-in. I tried every online help page I could find, but they mostly said to reset Roku, check for updates, delete the app and re-create it. Okay fine: after a reset and an update check, I go to delete the app... and there's no delete option. Grr. Well I've cancelled my subscription renewal and I'm out a few $$$. Buh-bye Peac*ck.

I finally managed to get in, although I had to do it via a back door method. They started sending me occasional spam e-mails, and one of them let me do a sign in. Good grief.

8 hours ago, BruceVC said:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/08/prosecuting-burning-of-the-american-flag/

Trump wants to pass a law where burning the US flag  can get you prosecuted 

I support this and I have never understood how this type of behaviour was normalized and fine 

You can get angry with your government and protest legally but burning your flag goes too far 

Can I ask why you think it goes too far? At worse it can be mildly insulting, but I don't consider it a priority. There are western states that prohibit flag desecration (France and Germany) and those that don't (Canada and Britain). In either case, it doesn't appear to impact them in any significant way. I suspect this is more of a priority for flag-hugging Republicans, and I suspect that prohibiting it in apparent violation of the First Amendment is a slippery slope.

2 hours ago, uuuhhii said:

usa freeze visa for truck driver in the middle of trade war

while canada concede to usa and lower tariff

U.S. has tariff exemptions for goods under the 2020 free trade deal with Canada and Mexico. Apparently, Canada is matching those.

Canada will match US tariff exemptions under USMCA trade pact, Prime Minister Carney says

Quote

Carney said the commitment of the U.S. to the core of USMCA means that over 85% of Canada-U.S. trade continues to be free of tariffs. He said the U.S. average tariff rate on Canadian goods is 5.6% and remains the lowest among all its trading partners.

So, not as bad as it seemed?

 

8 hours ago, Zoraptor said:

Ukraine doesn't use/ build them because it would alienate everyone except the staunchest NAFOids. Indeed, 90% of the discourse about them has been about them being used as false flags by Russia or Ukraine for that very reason.

Right, it would be a method of last resort, when Putin's forces are potentially closing in on Kiev, for example. The question is whether to demonstrate the capability in advance.

3 hours ago, kanisatha said:

Any Ukrainian move towards acquiring nukes would immediately trigger a full-on Russian assault to overthrow its government and take over the country--at whatever cost including using tac nukes if necessary. Any government in Washington would do the same if Mexico were to ever pursue nukes (or an alliance with Russia/China).

Hence why would (obviously) need to be done in secret. It wouldn't surprise me to learn it has already been planned. The time frame for Ukraine to build dirty bombs is months.

Zelensky's doomsday nuke option

2 hours ago, uuuhhii said:

ukraine can no longer be nato proxy if they have nuke

they will not allow it

Who will not allow it? Britain and France?

We've seen this sort of thing (protection guarantees) before, and it rarely works out well for the protectee. I certainly wouldn't believe any such guarantee coming from DJT, and it's even a bit iffy coming from other European states. Who knows what their motives will be down the road? There's a slightly better chance of success if European troops are actually stationed in Ukraine; even if just anti-air units. There's a much stronger chance of success if Ukraine were to rearm with nukes and delivery systems -- there'd be no chance that Putin would risk an invasion with Moscow less than 2,000 km away.

On 8/19/2025 at 12:47 AM, BruceVC said:

I have often mentioned that Trump likes to joke and troll the media and yet many people dont seem to know when  he is joking

Yesterday he made me laugh when he realized how Ukraine  cant have an election Constitutionally  under martial law 

https://people.com/trump-jokes-no-more-elections-if-united-states-at-war-11792856

"  During one part of their press conference, the U.S. president latched onto a statement by Zelenskyy about pausing elections during wartime, and spun it to hint at the possibility of him outlasting his two-term limit in 2028.

"So you're saying during the war you can't have elections," he said, interrupting the Ukrainian president's remarks. "So, let me just say, three and a half years from now... if we happen to be in a war with somebody, no more elections. Oh, that's good."

You don't blame the audience for not getting the joke of a comedian. But in this case it's not particularly funny. The "humor" here more closely resembles schadenfreude (presumably accompanied by malicious laughter by the audience). It's German humor, perhaps, but humor doesn't translate well.

20 hours ago, Malcador said:

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/three-republican-led-states-deploy-national-guard-troops-us-capital-2025-08-16/

DC must be like Bakhmut.

I can't imagine it's very efficient as a police force. Just a big waste of taxpayer money while putting on a show. I.e. it's a parade.