Agiel

I'd be the first to claim to being a defence budget hawk, but a boost to the defence budget is more than a little hard to justify in the minds of some given that Trump has shown little interest (some might even say contempt) in maintaining an international order based upon good order at sea. 355 ship navy? Great for making the Russians think twice about invading the Baltics and running roughshod over the Norwegians, making sure Iran's threats of closing the Strait of Hormuz are empty ones, and keeping things civil in the South China Sea, Strait of Malacca and the Gulf of Aden. Not so much against some loser 20-somethings from Belgium, Austria et al. riding around in Toyotas with DShks mounted on them in the desert of what is ostensibly a land-locked country (or the loser 20-somethings who shoot up night clubs and churches or blow up federal buildings in Trump's own country).

It took me until I reached the Bloom that I finally learned I could use the Bronze Sphere that was sitting in my Quest Items inventory, and when I realised its purpose... well... let's just say I almost made a great impersonation of a Shaolin monk when my head hit the desk.

On Trump's and Boeing's inevitable clash:

I can confirm from the beta that in the Sagus Cliffs portion of the game the number of combat encounters an average player might run into on a first playthrough could be counted using one hand. Make of it what you will.

Prediction: The contents of the new immigration ban Executive Order to supersede the one judged as unconstitutional by courts have already been leaked to lawyers so that when it is signed, it will immediately get slapped with lawsuits.

Can you actually play past where the beta version ends?

Twister? Come onnnnn, people. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h5iKf65xWhk

"Any landing you can walk away from..."

Hey Lexx. Did you read the PM I sent you? Thought perhaps your PM box might be full that you might not have seen it.

Studio-wide email got sent out today that rather than the first Friday of every month being Bagel Friday it was now going to be every Friday. This followed an email about a week ago where HQ announced a stock buyback. Hopefully a sign that our impending earnings call is extremely favourable.

Re: The CSIS talk I think this stands in pretty sharp contrast to Trump's predilection for big, flashy symbols rather than long-term achievement (but hey, perhaps this is one of the few areas he has common ground with the overwhelming proportion of political operators). Transactional "deals" rather than long-term partnerships with allies. A big wall that is unlikely to stem illegal immigration without a substantially bigger Border Patrol force (military tactics 101: An unsupervised obstacle may as well not even be there, Or as Patton put it: "Static fortifications are a monument to the stupidity of man"). And a travel ban that will do zilch to prevent the next big massacre that is more likely to originate from within (Timothy McVeigh and Dylan Root may have different stated objectives from Omar Mateen and Rizwan Farook, but they all draw from the same well of grievances against civil society). Flim-flam, razzle-dazzle I suppose.

New National Security Adviser: No Friend to Russia? Seems like a fine pick, in spite of Trump's standards at this point for the NSA choice being anyone with a pulse and isn't in a position to say "no." Whether or not he could be a sufficiently audible voice of reason over Bannon, who fancies himself an "economic nationalist" and Leninist but seems to have more in common with Radovan Karadžić, remains to be seen.

Came around to seeing <<Blue is the Warmest Colour.>> Had to turn the volume down so as not to give the neighbours the impression I was watching hardcore lesbian porn. Incidentally, this scene showed up in my Youtube suggested videos (probably as a result of looking up Taxi Driver clips), and I was close to shouting "Are you two going to do it or what?!"

And in light of the the Senate Intelligence committee asking agencies to preserve files related to investigations on Flynn and the recent Felix Sater revelations:

Warp Spiders, Striking Scorpions, and Imperial Guard _models_* are in. Oh my. *Would seem to imply that Imperial Gu- *ahem* Astra Militarum will be implemented in some form eventually, be it DLC or a full expansion pack.

Trump yells at CIA director over reports intel officials are keeping info from him Seems to fall in line with a theory I developed that Trump's inexperience with national security and intelligence matters could lead to severe missteps in these fields. Another example was when Reagan played the tape of that Su-15 pilot's communications with his GCI's when he shot down KAL 007, to which the NSA expressed some consternation with the president since it revealed to the Soviet PVO the extent their communications were compromised.

The Longest Journey has a bunch that are particularly egregious. The big one in my mind was the one in which you had to get into the alleyway of a movie theater, but the proprietor of the theater was outside sweeping the sidewalk and would catch April if she tried to steal into there. The solution was to dip some mints into a random puddle of toxic goo, then give it to an undercover cop loitering nearby who would then gag and inadvertently spit it onto the owner of the cinema. He would then be angered by this act and chase away the undercover cop, clearing the way into the alley. Were there any that were worse? Could be. I only managed to get through half-way through the game before I said "**** this" and uninstalled it. My brother had to standby with his computer reading off the solutions to the puzzles he got off of a FAQ, and even he was doubly baffled by the solutions in written form.

I believe Petraeus was on his way to the White House this week for... something. Idle thought, but it'd be something if through the rest of Trump's cabinet being embroiled in scandals that lead to further "resignations" Mattis gets Gerald Forded into Oval Office.

Being actually my second favourite Infinity Engine game, I'd be a fairly happy camper if an Enhanced Edition for Icewind Dale II came out. The base game didn't even get a proper widescreen mod for crying out loud.

Then again Cadegund did get cut out of PoE to ostensibly be replaced by Durance, a character I get the impression quite a few people didn't take a liking to. And we had to wait a year before Zahua made it into the game.