Gorth

Nationalism... this appeal to the lower brain functions seems to be a universal thing. Maybe it appeals to some inner, tribal instinct in humans? World War I + II says hello. Why work to improve your lot in life when you can go out in a blaze of glory, sacrificing life and limb for the privilege of inflicting atrocities on your fellow man, because something as abstract as a country demands it of you? (that was a trick question, the people that runs the country wants YOU to die for them, but it's an easier sell to the gullible masses who are all flag toting and anthem singing, switching off higher brain functions at the same time).

"That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die" No, haven't changed my mind since my original contribution to this thread 😄 edit:

I'll probably end up ruining @Gromnir's fun, but from memory, the people in front of us were an elderly Indian couple (guessing on my part, I couldn't honestly tell if they were from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, whatever, but "South Asian"). Sort of adorable in their affection for each other, hugging, obviously caring for each other and sharing a plastic bowl of what looked like home made curry. With one spoon, taking turns. Anyway, the couple were sort of the "short and round" type, guessing mid 50's to mid 60's of age, wearing, if not traditional, something that looked inspired by traditional clothes, the woman wearing a head scarf. Covering her hair and shoulders, but not her face. The guy didn't really need anything to cover his head as he was mostly bald 😛 Edit: My Serbian friends and I got lucky with the weather at The Open, not too hot and not too cold, just perfect for hanging around with a few handful beers throughout the evenings...

From Gorth's "shaky cam" mobile phone... Edit: Yeah, apologies for the terrible audio. You just can't capture stuff like that decently on a phone.

Sorry Gromnir... I just checked the other pictures from the night, unfortunately none of them shows the mystery object from a better angle

I went back to the Australian Open yesterday evening, not to watch tennis, but to watch Billy Idol who were the evenings entertainment on the AO Live Stage. He still got it. In fact, I found him great and deserving of a much better audience than a bunch of tennis goers just expecting to be entertained. Bunch of lobotomized wet noodles all of them (me included). I caught a few songs on my phone, which I'll see if I can't get uploaded to youtube a bit later.

Somebody needs to arrange an "accident" for whoever currently has the license to make WH40K video games so another studio, like Obsidian, can have a go at it. What's not to love about role playing a Slaanesh cultist??? 😇

Why would anyone run around with 500K worth of jewelry in their backpack???

I'm just too worried, that if I ever slow down, age will catch up with me. I have to keep running! 😁 As mentioned somewhere above, got to spend the day at the games. A slightly one sided affair unfortunately, where are the marathon 5 sets when you finally get a chance to watch it??? Djokovic won, outcome wasn't really much in doubt after the first two sets. Still, it was great to try a new experience. Taken with my phone... edit: Those serves... sheesh. display at the far corner says 224 km/h

And the IG Nobel prize goes to..:

Sorry, I accidentally messed up the thread title.... I hope it's recognizable

I'm just not a fan of big cities. Too many people, too many queues, too cramped, just generally too crowded everywhere (and the weather sucks) I need green stuff and wilderness within close range to feel comfortable. But, while I'm still here, a Serbian friend of mine asked me if I didn't want to join her for the Australian Open quarter finals tonight, since her country man Djokovich is playing. Not having been to a tennis match before, it's going to be fun to experience (I hope)

Besides the regular Guild Wars 2 gaming and the occasional Killing Floor 2 games, I've picked up Shadow of The Tomb Raider on a Steam sale. There *seemed* to be some consensus that it was trying to be a bit more about, well, tomb raiding. I hope that means more exploration and the odd puzzle solving rather than a crappy corridor shooter like the previous Crystal Dynamics offerings in the franchise. I only just started, so still too early for me to have an opinion on it.

Blender has a bit of a learning curve, but once mastered, it offers a Swiss Army knife of a tool box with more features than you can shake a stick at. It gives the commercial products (like Maya, 3D Studio Max, Cinema 4D etc.) a run for their money, offering some very competitive features for zero dollars. (edit: assuming you're a "hobbyist" and don't need the more powerful "pro features" of the commercial products) (edit2: Blender is not an image editing package, but a 3D modelling and rendering package) You do need to invest the time in learning it though. For image editing: Gimp was already mentioned. I remember using another one once upon a time called Paint.net. Nice features, doesn't scare the living daylights out of your wallet (it's free) and might be worth just to give a try at least.

There is never a wrong time to call out misogynists and rapists. Why do you suddenly feel so protective of a celebrity?

I wonder if your gallery includes O.J. Simpson? Speaking of which, wasn't it his lawyer that now defends Trump?

Not really sure if it should go here or the funny thread...

I guess I've been living more than a year in Melbourne now... too long. Time to cross borders again. Although only interstate. International relocation is even more expensive than interstate relocation, besides I'm busy getting through the citizenship application process. Would hate to see that wasted 😛

Nothing new really, even the Roman emperors struggled to finance and pay their legions. (as there also had to be money on the budget to buy senate votes) Edit: The ever growing Roman army, which at some point was 80% of the government budget https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economics_of_the_Roman_army

Waiting for the Russians to introduce their own space corps

I'm surprised that the copyright/trademark lawyers aren't all over the US government. The similarity seems rather obvious 🤔 Edit: In hindsight, equally surprised that the military would go for something that is a symbol of a utopian socialist society.

I really miss the 80's sometimes. Everything was better. The music, the cold war, the imminent end of the world, the weird hair cuts and the clothes...

Rest in peace Terry... and now the world has one less Python 😢

Three is the perfect number indeed.... "And the Lord spake, saying, "First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it. "

It's really the only outcome of a two party system. Only thing worse than a two party system is a one party system.