Gromnir

am not a huge spaghetti western fan, but we like a few o' the sergio leone offerings... and we can't help but think the wild bunch is less likely to be made and released without a few early sergio leone movies being successful. HA! Good Fun!

people like simple. people like brevity. in 2023, too many people get their news and info single-serving sized and then think they is educated on issues. we like honest government ad, but it is single-serving fare and relying on it is gonna lead to misunderstandings in a few cases. extrapolating to apply to other situations and nations is even more dangerous. example: in the land o' the free and the home o' the brave, we fixed (HA!) honest ad "sum up" problems two and three way back in 2009. heck, the US mostly addressed honest ad spending concerns back in 1976 with another case, buckley v. valeo. while citizens united deserved gets much attention, buckley is where our campaign finance issues exploded. yeah, 'cause there weren't much money involved in being an elected official pre 1976, only wealthy old guys ran for political office and they all too frequent turned to graft to make dough while in office. opening up the political spending spigot didn't reduce corruption and we still got an old man issue... but those is tangential issues, right? *chuckle* regardless, does it look as if more money flowing into the electoral process resulted in more equitable voting outcomes for the US? take as a warning: (paraphrase) those the gods choose to destroy, to them they grant wishes. in other words, is so not the same situation for the US even if at first glance it might look and feel same. honest ad is funny and we enjoy, but they tend to oversimplify and they frequent promote questionable conclusions based on suspect evidence, which is ok 'cause they is doing for laughs and hopeful trying to get people to further educate selves. unfortunate, all too often am suspecting honest ad, daily show, fox news and other comedy news sources is ends rather than starting points for those wishing to be educated on the important issues o' the day. and yeah, we get the irony o' trying to explain the honest ad extrapolation problem with a single-serving video, but trying to combat endemic ignorance o' the electorate via a game message board is sisyphean. HA! Good Fun!

the reason am reluctant to full recommend the great jones gear is 'cause our chef friend, who we mentioned earlier, is most definite enamored with the aesthetics o' the cookware. am not 100% certain she is being objective 'bout the performance o' the cast iron, stoneware and sheet pans given how much she enjoys their appearance. if the stuff were complete garbage, she would tell us, but am thinking our friend might overlook minor quibbles. maybe. aside, our favorite value chef knife, the mercer genesis 8" short bolster, is on sale at amazon for $40. is a smidge heavy for an 8" chef knife, but we like a bit o' heft. for cheap you get top quality steel in a knife designed for real kitchen use and the short bolster makes sharpening easy. easier. you can get a better knife, but am not certain you can score a better knife for less money. in fact, it might be tough to find better chef knife for less than ~$180 even with all the current sales. our mac damascus knives is show ponies, but the real work we do in the kitchen is accomplished with two mercers (genesis 8" chef & millennia bread,) a victorinox paring and a masutani nakiri. our kitchen shears also get loads o' use and they is on sale at amazon for ~$18--henckels 10.25". am s'posing we also get a fair amount o' value from our flexible boning knife, which is a mercer 6" millennia we bought for ~$12. the victorinox paring cost us ~$8 and came with a lifetime guarantee. suckers. and am on number 3 for the victorinox 'cause we use hard. that said, is not as if we spent a whole lotta money on the knives we use on a daily basis. including the shears, the above six "knives" cost us about ~$160, and the $60 we spent on the nakiri were kinda an indulgence, but we do get considerable use from it, so... HA! Good Fun!

am kinda ambivalent 'bout italian filmmakers. bicycle thieves and umberto d is two vittorio de sica films which has both, at one time or another, graced our list o' top fifteen films all-time. am having a bias against films about film, but am gonna be honest and admit we teared up the first time we saw cinema paradiso. am not a huge fan o' fellini, but am able to see how his influenced many filmmakers we do like. etc. on the other hand, korean film is a tough slog for us. we don't like b-horror but am admitting koreans has done such well. we finally saw parasite after all the hoopla died down-- meh. the premise required insurmountable suspension o' disbelief. in fact, is a few lauded korean films which require excessive voluntary density. example: viewing snowpiercer has us shedding neurons by the minute. is a bunch o' ok korean martial arts films which coverup flaws with more than a little "ultra-violence." just not a fan thus far. different strokes. HA! Good Fun!

am having no personal experience with great jones cookware. however, we got a friend (a legit pro chef) who swears by the sheet pans, cast iron cookware (specific the 6.75 oval dutch oven), and the 9"x13" casserole dish. she is less enthused with the non-stick pots and pans from great jones. gets a mention 'cause o' the black friday pricing on the aforementioned items... but again, am not able to vouch for the gear. even so, am admitting the great jones cookware is... cute? am not averse to cute. we would buy a "the dutchess" in spite o' the fact we ordinarily hate puns. probable choose mustard for color. the big handles on the dutch oven and casserole dish should be industry norms but ain't. 'course we already own way too many dutch ovens. we also got an armory worth o' chef knives. is an illness. regardless, we might buy the casserole dish after we read a few reviews from sources we trust. HA! Good Fun!

today, being reasonable works against republican aspirants to the presidential nomination. also, this moment... is what convinced christie that trump were unfit. ... if you didn't see a trump problem until november 4, 2020, then am questioning your reasonableness, but am s'posing a whole lotta republicans decided it were better to be complicit than to put clinton in office or to make a biden win possible. 'cause at least with trump in office, conservatives were getting textualist Justices for SCOTUS as well as aileen canon and matthew j. kacsmaryk for the fed bench. even so, keep in mind that nov 4 were after trump asked christie to lie about his covid scare. anybody who ever unironic complained 'bout libs and the media indulging in trump derangement syndrome needs to reassess life choices. tangential relevant: peter meijer HA! Good Fun!

observation unrelated to previous post: the post dlc limit o' a single draconic bloodline means most of our blaster-caster builds has been nerfed. chain lightning is capped at 20d. expanded arsenal now works as described, so no stacking multi school bonuses. numerous mythic extra attack abilities no longer stack with haste. archmage armour needs be cast-- potions or items won't trigger. chant no longer extends protective luck. still works with fortune. while we never personal exploited, the nature's whisper and scaled fist ac bonuses no longer stack. back to the drawing board for blasters. HA! Good Fun! ps(edit): ill omen looks to be a busted effective level one witch spell. the dual-cursed oracle archetype also gains access to the ill omen spell.

HA! Good Fun!

the silver lining o' global warming? am glad to see @Gorthis an optimist. personal, am getting fatigued by climate change. https://weatherspark.com/y/1157/Average-Weather-in-Sacramento-California-United-States-Year-Round says average summer highs is 34C. not the last few years. even when temps ain't terrible, chances are you gotta deal with legit deadly levels o' wildfire smoke. technical Gromnir is foothills just east o' sacramento, but that means we get half a degree less hot but more wildfire smoke. converse, https://weatherspark.com/y/310/Average-Weather-in-Arcata-California-United-States-Year-Round am personal needing only concern our self with the next three decades o' climate change, so... https://www.zillow.com/homes/95521_rb/ the lot for $800k is giving us the bali ha'i treatment. edit: Eric Swalwell Fact-Checks 3 Republicans Over Bridge Crash Misinformation and whether it's a "terrorist attack" at the rainbow bridge, hospital airstrikes in gaza or police shootings in sheboygan, it behooves you to wait for reliable info before proselytizing. HA! Good Fun!

honest, we would say animal companions make the biggest difference for casters, especial early. casters being relative weak at low levels is one o' the awful legacies o' d&d which people just kinda accept. an animal companion for a sylvan sorcerer provides not only a meat shield, but a potential trip-bot while the sorcerer herself is limited to pew-pew and a couple casts o' grease 'tween rests. the recent released dlc and its predecessor (i.e. through the ashes) is particular useful in illustrating our point about the impact o' animal companions at low level. our default through-the-ashes party config is three characters with animal companions and a skald... and if we could figure a good way to add an animal companion to a skald we would do so. doesn't so much matter what is the classes o' the three, but am wanting leopards and horses in part 'cause leopards make the best early game tanks and both leopards and horses get their upgrade at level four. early is better. through the ashes is challenging in large part 'cause it is low level d&d/pathfinder, which most crpg rush you through with a tutorial or purposeful ez content. a goblin with a pointy stick can kill you on a crit at low levels. a goblin with a pointy stick will kill you. rng makes such an outcome a near certainty after a handful o' encounters. sucks to be you at low levels in d&d or pathfinder. as an aside, aivu has been nerfed considerable. in her original release form, she were a world beater at high levels. original she had a fear aura similar to the vavakia vanguards and her dispel magic were an effective auto success in every encounter including demon lords 'cause her caster level were her dragon level. is startling to recognize how few people used her dispel supremacy, and a few boardies mentioned they never even realized she were a spell caster, but her fear aura at high levels (which admitted could be annoying) as well as the dispel-win made high level aivu utter broken. regardless, animal companions, depending how utilized, may be effective during any portion o' the game, but am personal seeing 'em as most dispositive at low levels. in fact, since you mentioned unfair difficulty, there is a couple low level unfair encounters for which our strategy relies on 1) animal companions or 2) luck and a whole lotta reloads. examples: the shield maze water elemental and the ambush at martyr zacharius's cemetery. is possible to successful overcome the cemetery and water elemental sans animal companion support, but is not something we would wanna try again... evar. am actual waiting to play the new dlc as am certain a few patches will be required to get it fully cooked rather than half-baked as is most owlcat releases. won't hurt us to wait a week or so. HA! Good Fun!

thousand yard stare always reminds us o' dorothea lange subjects, or red badge of courage soldiers and refugees. what we saw in the pic were a guy who when his agent called and said he had been picked to be the face o' a national advert campaign for an industry leading brand, he told everyone-- friends, family, enemies, etc. the picture captures the realization he will never escape the photo. HA! Good Fun!

Daryl Hall obtains restraining order against John Oates amid confidential lawsuit The suit by Hall against Oates as an individual and Oates’s trust is listed as a “contract/debt” dispute, but the details of the case are sealed, court records show. HA! Good Fun!

beware the internet... especial wikipedia. "Louisiana-style remoulades fall generally into one of two categories—those with a mayonnaise base and those with an oil base, but sometimes both mayonnaise and oil are used." am s'posing this is true. kinda. am recalling a nytimes recipe for remoulade (sorry, "rémoulade") we saw five or so years past. the recipe opined that traditional remoulade calls for mayo, but their offering were oil-- directions called for creating an emulsion with egg yolk, vinegar, a neutral oil, mustard, paprika, garlic, parsley horseradish and a few other minor additions. dude. an emulsion o' oil, egg yolk and vinegar is pretty much the definition o' mayonnaise. even the food pros at nyt says silly stuff at times and wikipedia has a tendency o' magnifying silly and wrong. am admitted mild curious 'bout the denmark version... and am dubious 'bout wiki. given color described, and fact it is a remoulade (eye roll,) am doubting olive oil (save for maybe a very light olive oil) is gonna be a major contributing ingredient for danish, but we could be wrong. olive oil is not an ideal choice for most mayo, particular for a home chef. in fact, sounds as if danish and lousiana versions is close cousins 'cause in spite o' wikipedia pronunciations, am personal using capers and lemon juice in our louisianaish remoulade... as well as parsley and horseradish. no lousiana spice blend or paprika for danish version, relying on tumeric and/or curry powder staples instead? danish version adds a bit o' cabbage, onion and carrot? regardless, if the danish version is in fact a mayo remoulade, then it should be kinda ez for @Gorthto replicate 'cause all you need do is chop and measure a few herbs/veggies and then add a handful o' spices as well as an acid and a mustard to a bowl with a fair amount o' mayonnaise and then mix. maybe add a bit o' sugar, salt and pepper, although perhaps the carrot in the danish version works to counter the acids a bit, so am not sure 'bout sugar. but again, am not trusting wiki. HA! Good Fun! ps the food am usual making remoulade to compliment is our catfish po boy. so thanks to @Gorth, we now have a hankering for catfish... which as luck would have it is present in our freezer.

has been mentioned more than once in this thread that a merged spellbook angel effective moves the difficulty slider one or even two places to the left. 'course you don't need play angel as merged spellbook and the game were released september o' 2021, so am thinking any sorta professed surprise regarding the powha o' merged spell book angel is gonna be met with at least some suspicion if not outright disbelief. additional wotr revelations which will come as a shock to nobody: merged spellbook lich is strongk animal companions is potent particular in the early portions of the game camellia has... issues HA! Good Fun!

y'know, now that am thinking 'bout it, mcdonald's big mac special sauce is kinda a knock-off remoulade. is no ketchup in special sauce but there is paprika and pickles in mayo along with what we assume is garlic powder. mcdonald's most iconic condiment eschews parsley and a bunch o' other remoulade ingredients-- special sauce is not a genuine remoulade. however, from a certain pov, and recognizing mcdonald's global reach, remoulade might be one o' the more omnipresent and well-known sauces on the planet. HA! Good Fun!

... maybe scandinavian remoulade is different than the remoulade we know 'bout, (probably includes ketchup) but if @Gorthever visits lousiana, he will find local eateries include copious amounts o' the sauce as the defacto accompaniment for seafood, fried foods (particular deep fried seafood), chicken, roasted veggies, potatoes, eggs, burgers and a host o' other dishes. we would not be shocked to see new orleans natives adding remoulade to their ice cream. is a whole lotta ingredients, but is sooper simple to make remoulade 'cause you throw everything together and then hit it with an immersion blender for less than a minute; is no ricing, cooking, steaming or tricky emulsifying. @ShadySands mentioned making chili recent. am bringing up 'cause we recent made a bean and ground beef not-chili. bowl of red is slow cooked/stewed chilies, meat, and spices resulting in a thick and rich (not soupy) sauce. chili. on the other hand, the ground beef and bean dish we made were more akin to what is served at wendys. our not-chili is a bit easier to prepare than chili. so, we didn't make chili, but we did make that stuff which outside o' texas is often referred to as chili. HA! Good Fun!

had family here for a few days and they left (finally) this morning. to send them on their way with a heartyish meal, we made breakfast sandwiches. ordinarily we make breakfast 'wiches with sausage, but we had excellent ham in the fridge which we cut not too thin and then seared a bit in a pan. in another pan we cooked eggs via 3" stainless steel egg rings in a fair amount o' butter--2/3 o' the way through egg cooking, remove from rings, flip, top with a generous portion o' shredded cheddar, and then lid the pan and remove from heat to steam a bit and melt the cheese/finish the eggs. we toast and then liberal butter trader joes english muffins. stack the ingredients and serve... although we do have an optional sauce which am admitting is weird and divisive. the sauce is mostly mayo with a bit o' barbecue sauce, a bit less siracha sauce, and an even smaller % o' yellow mustard-- sounds ghastly, no? the sauce is a little hot, tangy and sweet and am thinking it works better when paired with sausage. aside: am finding trader joes muffins work better for sandwiches than something such as thomas' 'cause the tj offering is less 'bout the nooks and crannies. our preferred english muffin choice is stone and skillet , but am finding 'em to be too freaking big unless we were to use ostrich eggs or the like. am not a fan o' baking so we ordinary buy breads from a bakery or store. stone and skillet muffins are available at whole foods stores btw and am highly recommending. our family were oddly underwhelmed by the meal. sure, they all enjoyed the sandwiches, but one o' our cousins mentioned our sandwiches were "pretty much just egg mcmuffins," which were kinda the point but am thinking our guests were expecting something fancy or gourmet and instead they got drive-thru fodder. everybody is a critic. HA! Good Fun!

since burton got a few recent mentions, am sharing one o' our favorites also, am not expecting @Bartimaeus opinion about frankenweenie to change, but ff to 5:56 to see the original short film which resulted in burton being fired by disney. HA! Good Fun!

you missed a william f. buckley opportunity. hic sunt dracones. 'course is impossible to post with an accent which evokes william f. buckley (george sanders and ralph richardson would also be ideal,) so perhaps is not worth the effort? HA! Good Fun!

ok, now keep in mind am not dumping on falco, but the linked video made us recall the following: HA! Good Fun!

in case anybody is interested, made-in has a couple o' pre black friday deals including discounts on a few o' their most popular cookware selections. also, while have mentioned we believe lodge has a fantastic selection o' enameled dutch ovens and there is no good reason to spend huge money for incremental improvement, there is a staub dutch oven deal worth considering. garage and estate sales is gonna be your best bet for finding a bargain on a piece o' true legacy cookware, but internet shopping is a smidge more convenient. almost everything breville is on sale at amazon. so you can have your kitchen look more like @Gorth's by christmas? HA! Good Fun!

shady' son synth pop and kool moe dee appreciation made us a bit nostalgic for the 80s, so am offering two more. am admitting we first heard this is the day via the empire records soundtrack which were released 95, so kinda a cheat. and what we like to imagine is a @ShadySands biographical, after leaving the marines, our protagonist did intelligence gathering for nsa/cia in eastern europe? am admitting some envy o' the red suit and bow/string tie wardrobe selection o' the singer in the 'bove vid, although unless we sudden start working for the devil contracting for souls am not sure when or where we might have occasion to wear such. am aware o' the falco original release, but we prefer song and video from after the fire, although the falco video is worth watching at least once. ... ok, am realizing is a 70s tune, but had to post if for no other reason than leland sklar (bass). HA! Good Fun!

wotr rangers is already coded to benefit from favored terrain. one assumes the geomancer will utilize already existing terrain designations 'cause doing so is a resource saving approach and particular for dlc, anything which saves resources is a win for developers. HA! Good Fun!

am having appreciation for you son's kool moe dee trend. more than once on this board am having linked a kool moe dee tune. however... am sensing possible danger if he memorizes lyrics and then shares with mom, step-mom, or practically any woman with a pulse. 'course it's been almost five days since you posted, so is likely he has already found something new. perhaps a slow transition to funk? HA! Good Fun!

have mentioned previous that the lion in winter is our favorite christmas movie. the film's intimate depiction o' sometimes strangers and loved ones exploring those ineffable familial bonds during the holidays is so similar to our childhood christmas memories that we cannot help but feel a shiver o' pure nostalgia when we rewatch. good times. good times. the soundtrack is also one o' john barry's best efforts, so festive, yes? have also mentioned previous am surprised that as we age, we increasing like barry's on her majesty's secret service. keeps going up our list o' favorite bond themes. HA! Good Fun!