Hurlshort

I loaded up Stoneshard today. The game is still in beta, but I haven't played it in awhile, and it has come along nicely. I think this will eventually become one of my favorite RPG's to tool around in. If you haven't checked it out, it is super deep and a bit unforgiving. Ok, super unforgiving.

Army of the Dead had a fantastic first 15 minutes. I haven't finished the whole thing, because it is super long, but that first bit was perfect. So far though, these folks don't do a great job of watching each other's backs.

They better bring back Adrian Paul. I guess Lambert too, but that's not a dealbreaker. Apparently Paul teaches swordfighting in Colorado Springs. @ShadySands, it sounds like you have a new assignment. https://gazette.com/arts-entertainment/highlander-adrian-paul-to-teach-sword-fighting-in-colorado-springs/article_8cddea20-a91c-11eb-afe4-ef60cb926d3a.html

I know Comrade is heading off to college, but I am going to recommend not pursuing a degree in history.

This Warriors-Memphis game is streeeeeeeeesfull.

Empire of Sin was on sale on Steam, so I picked it up for some gangster escapades.

I just got into it with a guy not wearing a mask at Petsmart. An employee asked him to please put on a mask. He said the CDC doesn't require it. I jumped in and said it is clearly store policy, it is the policy of the county, and it is still the state policy. He told me to mind my own business. I asked him if he was too entitled to respect the teenagers who work here. He wandered off. Ugh. Honestly I just don't get it. I don't actually wear a mask because of some rule. I wear it to respect the people I am going to be around that are not part of my social circle. I go into a store and they don't know I've been vaccinated. I teach in a class of students and they all have to wear a mask, so I do too. It's such a weird thing that a fairly simple act of caution and respect to those around us is seen as some sort of terrible tyranny. This guy was a full grown adult, not some dumb kid. Bleh.

Battle of Florida will have hijinks, for sure. I'm rooting for Toronto and old man winter to win the cup.

Is this the most recent NBA thread? Huh. The play-in format got a gift with the Lakers and Warriors matching up. The rest are pretty much dud, but this one is going to be fun. Curry has just been red hot for months. This is the defense he faces every night, and he still won the scoring title:

So Colorado declared a public health initiative, and the Oklahoma Governor turned it into a pissing match? That IS funny. Looks like a healthy guy.

I don't disagree that this is a concern. It should always be a concern to battle censorship and allow freedom of expression. But I argue with the idea things are getting worse, or that we are headed in a negative direction. That is built on the premise that we haven't had censorship, book burnings, and bad humor in the previous centuries. Things are way better than they were 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 years ago on the whole. We are hearing from way more voices, from more diverse backgrounds, than ever before.

Today I made a big sandwich for lunch. I ate about 3 quarters of it and had to take a nap. I woke up and finished it. So I've accomplished something today.

It's not. Not even close. There are a lot of red flags in this story. The university claims it was not the reason. But ok, let's ignore that part of this. This teacher said the n-word multiple times over zoom. That is categorically dumb. There wasn't a better way to teach the book? That didn't seem like a bad idea at the time? How much time do college professors spend reading from text? They aren't banning books. They aren't censoring Mark Twain (despite a good century of attempts.) They fired a teacher who seemed to lack common sense. I'm exhausted teaching over zoom because I am constantly thinking about the stakes. It is no longer me with a small group of kids that I've built a community with over the year. It is an open mike to the world and I have very little idea how it is affecting those who are tuned in. It is a very uncontrolled environment, and so I know I have to be even more carefully than I am in a typical year. Thank you for attending my TED talk.

Pujols still has some power though. He can pinch hit favorably, I would think. He isn't going to be fielding much. He loves the games and can still hit, so at 41 I am happy he still could find a club.

I watched Those Who Wish Me Dead. I think it should have been titled Littlefinger and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

How dare they steal my picture for their game. Also, Roger Maddox is clearly Lionel Richie.

Huh, didn't realize Robert DeNiro was in the game as well. I am not sure what the trademark rules are here. As someone with no artistic ability, it doesnt really bother me.

Huh. I feel like I'm just going to spend the whole time stressing about finding my kid and not be able to enjoy the gameplay.

Who is getting more than they pay?

Everything you both are saying is correct. But we also pay a bunch of money in taxes every year. How many people are getting more in stimulus money than they have to pay the IRS every year? I doubt anybody is actually pulling in a profit here. If taxation is theft, then an IRS payment is at least a partial return of stolen money.

I don't understand the people who think stimulus checks are just printed money. It isn't, it is money that we already were forced to give to the government. They are giving 'some' of it back. Do you think consumer prices are increasing because people have too much cash? That seems to be your theory based on the link you posted.

I don't think a lot of your favorite shows are targeted as young as you might think. Ice Age is very much in toddler territory. My kids enjoyed it the most in that 2-5 age range. A movie like Ponyo, on the other hand, didn't really work for them until they were a bit older.

There was a joke about Bismarck in the funny things thread, but it made me recall the books that convinced me to become a history teacher. These were the formative titles for me in college:

You guys aren't really anywhere near the target age range of Ice Age, so maybe cut it a bit of slack. My kids found it delightful.

A Pirate's Tale sounds fantastic. We lost Heath Ledger too early.