Gorth

Yeah, my post was mostly me with a raised eyebrow at the media coverage China got in this situation compared to the real impact of their contribution. Not that it isn't a lot of money, but it is still a small amount (compared to other donors, including pre-Trump USA) relative to the amount of noise generated. I suspect the quoted part is the real reason behind the sense of China throwing around their weight a bit. Sometimes you (WHO) just nod, smile and get on with your work somewhere, while quietly rolling your eyes.

To be fair, I only knew Sasha Grey because I actually googled her (note for self, do not do that during work hours), after the name came up in a Nanowar of Steel song (Valhalleluja) where she got compared unfavourably to Knisa Light Grey. The whole thing was so bizarre I had to look up both names I did remember Jennifer Hale and David Warner from Baldurs Gate 2 though as the more memorable voices (probably the only two VA names I remember without prodding). I'm not counting Ron Perlman for his intro to Fallout, as he didn't voice a character.

Isn't there a subtle difference between being a state that is a "sponsor of terrorism" (e.g. Saudi Arabia funding Al Qaeda) and a state that is a "terrorist state" in itself (like Russia, putting the smack down on its neighbours because they smell funny)? Edit: I suppose you could lump Saudi Arabia in both categories, as they seem to gleefully carpet bomb civilians in Yemen. Estimated casualties in Ukraine 7000, Yemen 350000. Of course the latter has neither natural gas nor wheat crops, so it's not "important" enough to worry about.

I remember when he was around at Obsidian way back (that would've been NWN2?)

I did one play through as female Shepard, but for me the name is always synonymous with Mazzy Fentan.

Toss up between completely random and politics... but I guess WHO is unfortunately going to be a politically charged subject. An interesting graphic showing who the top donors to this particular branch of the UN is (no, it's not China, despite what many seems to think). At least all those money you spent on Windows ME went somewhere useful https://www.who.int/about/funding/contributors

These guys are coming to Brisbane next year... seriously considering getting tickets for their show

Are you sure it's Austria and not Australia? Luckily we got rid of our right wing government not that long ago (making the world just a little bit of a better place)

Maybe she's looking to get a a rise out of it too?

Look up Lockheed F-104 Starfighter to see how important safety is in the design of military aircraft Edit: Its nickname Widowmaker was well earned and not for its combat prowess

Sounds good. I won't have much time to play before the weekend anyway (work has a knack of getting in the way sometimes), so crossing fingers and hoping the remaining islands will be in a state where you can complete them.

Highlights from this years Paris-Dakar Rally

If you're already in chapter v, you'll have noticed you can pick up the treasure island quest again from there (same place as you could start it in chapter iii, murky grotto) Edit: More small missions, exploring the (?) (the little circles with question marks in them) and another companion mission completed (Seelah's). She started doing a very un-paladin-like thing afterwards and indulged in thinking.

Checking in on my friends living further south. Australia is feeling the effects of an unprecedented third La Nina season in a row. It probably also affects the weather in the rest of the world, but here it's noticeable by lots of downpour. Luckily my friends are Ok so far, even if some of them have to fend off water at their front doors (literally) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-63238065 Australia floods: Three states issue evacuation orders after heavy rain Parts of the country have received up to four times their average October rainfall in just 24 hours. At least 500 homes have been flooded, one person has died and another is missing as the disaster unfolds. Widespread flooding across Australia - driven by a La Niña weather pattern - has killed more than 20 people this year. Flood waters are about to reach 12 meters in some places, threatening another 7000 homes...

I'm trying to find some time to watch some anime again. Between work and Pathfinder WoTR I'm struggling with the 24 hours a day limit I'll probably pick up season 2 of Tensura Nikki (That Time I got Incarnated as a Slime) because I really enjoyed the first season and the side stories taking place in parallel with the main show.

It somehow reminds me of a certain sword. It might have been BG1. You fight your butt off against overwhelming opposition, overcome it and get the gadget/weapon. At which point you no longer need it, because the hardest opposition in game is now behind you (the sword I'm thinking of is a sword of spider slaying, +5 against spiders or some such, being the reward for killing off the last spider boss in the game)

@Gromnir I might remember it wrong, but I'm sure you once had something to that effect in your signature (something along the lines of it takes unreasonable people to change the world). Edit: Maybe I remember it wrong and I'm attributing the wrong signature to the wrong person, in which case apologies to both people

I wanted to take some combat screen shots from Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. Sadly, the newly patched in photo mode doesn't work in combat. For being an isometric, party based rpg, the small scale of figures etc. the graphics are actually pretty nice. No doubt that Ember (the elven witch in my party) is wielding a fire themed staff and Sosiel the cleric riding a boar is wielding a weapon with some side effects besides physical damage Only way later did I remember that I can switch between turn based and real time combat at any time. Maybe the photo mode works in real time Maybe Hell isn't such a bad place to go... I mean, it does seem to have its perks Edit: Using the new photo mode, you can move the camera around, hide the game UI, zoom in a lot closer and if feeling like it, add effects like frames, making it look like vintage photos or a painted canvas etc. I still need to play around with those

Maybe they were protesting against both sunflowers and Van Gogh for their reliance on oils?

I think I upgraded towers as much as I could. Some got upgraded to the next level and one a level further than that (bastion?). The weekly recruitment is... I had 3 useful generals (and one I parted because I can't dismiss him). Currently commanding one and a half army. Consolidating the best of the leftovers with new shield bearers, marksmen and various mercenary troops. Beaten a few sizeable demon armies and approaching my next tower to conquer on the western border. Just doing small stuff party wise, doing the companion missions. Got Regill's sorted out too...

I found out you need at least one stat to be 25 (any stat) before choosing between Legend or your current Mythic path. Had to reload and move a bit of stat boosting gear around (sorry mount, I need that STR more than you do!). The downside to having my stats split between STR, DEX and CON I suppose. It was funny observing the difference though. When I failed the test (and stayed Trickster), Drezen was one big drunken party. When succeeding and changing to Legend, they were all sober and serious On the crusade management screen, it looks like my generals are currently unavailable for the next 3 days. Also, the old harpy Galfrey left only a weird mix of left over troops to defend Drezen and surroundings. Recruitment is definitely back on the agenda. Did next part of Arueshalaes personal quest (which was kind of adorable) and said my goodbyes to the woefully inept council (a Trickster thing). I'll use some sticky tape on the Codex and put it on bookshelf somewhere to be forgotten by now

Continued from old thread:

More war discussion this way...

In that case, congratulations, you're officially supporting Putin. Got something to say to the press?

The only place I know of is the way back machine https://web.archive.org/web/20220000000000*/https://grounded.obsidian.net/ Example of an old feature list from a while back https://web.archive.org/web/20220120055514/https://grounded.obsidian.net/feature-board