Gorth

I know, BBC is BBC and not necessarily correct etc., but at least I thought it worth raising an eyebrow when they claim Russia's economy is doing better than Western economies atm... 3.2% annual growth as of June 2024 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4nn7pej9jyo I can remember Western officials and commentators describing the sanctions as “crippling”, “debilitating” and “unprecedented”. With adjectives like these filling the airwaves, the situation seemed clear. There was surely no way that Russia’s economy would withstand the pressures. Faced with the prospect of economic collapse, the Kremlin would be forced to back down and withdraw its troops. Wouldn’t it? Twenty-seven months on, the war rages on. Far from being crippled, Russia’s economy is growing. The International Monetary Fund predicts that Russia will record economic growth of 3.2% this year. Caveats aside, that’s still more than in any of the world’s advanced economies. It runs counter to most things I hear online 🤔

I might just reinstall FO3 again... if nothing else, to try out the "Fat Man" in that cave 😁 Thanks for the heads up 👍

I would argue the first one sort of skirted the line of dark fantasy. They dropped that like a hot potato in DA2 though. Together with most things that made the first game good. Varric and Isabela feels like they’re “wasted” on DA2 😔

The day someone releases a mod, that allows you to nuke the brats at Little Lamplight (was that the name?) I might give Fo3 a second try 😖

@Azdeus remember my joke above about the two female Primarchs?... turns out I wasn't the first 😂 “You brothers-such a nest of rivalries. I warned him to make you sisters, that it would make things more civilized. He thought I was joking, I wasn't." - Malcador (from one of the HH novels, 'Scars', by Chris Wraight)

They do show off third person views too, so I guess it's like the Bethesda games? I.e. can zoom in and out, switching between first and third person view

Not playing Guild Wars 2 so much these days, but I think I might have taken some screenshots from when the previous expansion came out (the "Cantha" continent). Being no expert in Asian aesthetics, I suspect it's very much Korean inspired (the parent company of ArenaNet being South Korean)... it's not competing with state of the art FPS single player games, but I think for an MMO, the visuals are actually pretty decent

Just a few pics from my current project. Will make an effort to take some photos of my paint jobs from up to almost 40 years ago and upload later 😝 My "work place"... the blue guys are Alpha Legion tactical marines after getting the metallic blue colour (using an airbrush for first metal, then a few thin layers of transparent blue on top). Currently getting an "oil wash", which the black stuff in the little tub. Black oil paint thinned with mineral spirit. The capillary reaction of the resulting liquid automatically flows into recesses and provides a bit of shading on the blue areas. The guys behind them are my "Death Korps of Krieg" Kill Team, getting a few colours. Only just started on them at that point. Behind them some 30 year old Dark Elves from Warhammer Fantasy, barely done more than undercoating in black at that point More Alpha Legion... the rear 5 have had gravel added to their bases and the painting part is mostly done. The bases will get a layer of base coat and then dusted with layers of pigment powder Alpha Legion, Lernaean Terminators. Specialty is infiltration and holding remote objectives. Power Axes and Volkite weapons, except the big gun, which is a Conversion Beamer Will try to make some decent pictures of my old undead, dark elf and Epic Ork armies

😂 It's almost a reflex... LOAD"$",8 SEARCHING FOR $ LOADING READY. LIST

Went to a birthday party yesterday. Nice and cozy, in an old brewery. We were (I think) about 11 people. Listening to the two Estonian girls talk to each other was a bit "weird", because even if the language is different, it reminded me a lot of the half day spent in the airport of Helsinki, while doing a stopover there (on my way from Australia to Copenhagen, 8 years ago). She "melody" and the sound of the language was just so similar to the local, Finnish conversations I listened to in the airport. edit: not understanding a word in either case, but the sound of the language was very similar

@melkathi sadly I never got to play BloodBowl when it was new, a few decades ago. But, afaik it's still a "current" game. Awesome gobbos! 😁

Little seems to have changed since 1939. I wonder if they still have NKVD officers and commissars?

Disclaimer, not trying to start a religious war nor done any fact checking on his claims. I just listened to it the other day as background while painting miniatures. But his history of theology in this case was intriguing enough that it made me want to dig a bit deeper into the origin of the Abrahamic religions at a later date I.e. from a warrior god in a larger pantheon to a god in small Caanite pantheon to a single god for the tribes of Israel....

Meh, enough with the Marvel stuff already 😖 (isn't that all they do these days?)

@BruceVC are we still waiting for your contribution?...

I think a lot of “democratically” elected governments gets toppled by either military coups or uprisings because of rampant corruption… i.e. being “democratic regimes” in name only, not functionally. No easy fixes for deep rooted cultural problems

Politics... politics never change More politics here

Split off from old thread.... JuiceMedia's analysis of the state of Democracy around the world (warning, depressing news)

Georgia is in the process of introducing an almost carbon copy of that law, leading to unrest in the country. Spitefully referred to as "the Russian Law" 🙄

I enjoyed a video where she mocked people for even suggesting Ukraine was somehow Russian and had some fun conversations with a Ukrainian friend to show linguistic and cultural differences. Ie both former Soviet states but different countries .That was 3 years ago and the video is still there in

This. I don’t think she’s lying but I suspect her choice of location and subject gets “vetted” by people you don’t want to antagonise

So... Heiliung is going to tour Australia, with special guest Eivor. I would go see either without as a main event (both together just means I must have been a good boy), but... I am torn between getting tickets for their Brisbane concert or their Melbourne concert. The former is closer and more convenient, but the latter is probably a bigger event with better facilities 🤔

IIrc her name was Natasha or something close. Last video I saw (a year ago) was posted from some other country. I *think* she was staying in Georgia https://www.youtube.com/@NatashasAdventures/videos

Sad thing is, it's entirely possible... although I think that is giving FSB too much credit.

Isn't that what you get as a politician if you put all your eggs in one basket... and the basket turns out to be a basket case? 😁 Personally, I see that as karma for being followers rather than a leaders, despite marketing yourself as society's leaders. Sometimes the path of least resistance is a dead end... Edit: That last one actually sounded quite nice, have to remember that, if I think I need to sound profound some day 😂