Gromnir

HA! Good Fun!

keep in mind, w/o the need to respec, seelah makes an excellent skald, court poet or even oracle. sohei and gendarme is also decent melee focus alternatives. following all the changes from patches and the enhanced edition, skald remains one o' the best possible buffers o' a melee based party and a court poet archetype skald is gonna be an excellent choice for a party which has intelligence and charisma based casters as well as paladins. seelah is not difficult to build as a skald or court poet and with such choices she makes for a viable tank on difficulties up to and including hard. go almost complete oracle after a couple levels o' paladin is a worthy if overlooked consideration for seelah, as long as you focus on healing and buffing spells. seelah won't have the dcs necessary to make use o' most offensive spells, but is plenty of other companions who may fulfill such a role. choose nature mystery will result in you acquiring one o' the best mounts in the game, a charisma based ac bonus and a save buff for animal companions. sohei/gendarme/demonslayer, individual or combined, is also not-fighter options for seelah which make sense and do not require any futzing with mods which may break anytime there is a large patch. at least 11 levels o' sohei gets you flurry with a reach weapon, a horse and mounted feats w/o needing meet prerequisites. order of the ****atrice is a good option for a gendarme build and results in fighter kinda feat progression. a large % o' builds is gonna benefit from a single level o' demonslayer. aside, am knowing virtual every guide for skalds recommends the lethal/deadly route, but enhanced edition changed the seeming unrelated guarded hearth to a competence bonus meaning when you have sosiel initiate a guarded hearth (pretty much every boss battle) you lose the attack bonus benefits from a skald's lethal stance. converse, reckless and inspired ferocity is untyped and functional double resulting in a massive +10 attack bonus at level 16. the beast totem line provides natural ac bonuses which cancel out the penalties from the reckless stance. yeah, the increased crit aspect o' lethal/deadly is a massive benefit and should not be ignored, but that bonus comes late in the game and the added crit range don't mean much if you cannot hit an enemy. untyped attack bonus boosts is not common in wotr and the skald's inspired/reckless provides a particular large untyped advantage. even w/o respec, seelah is highly customizable and potential fulfills many roles. HA! Good Fun!

hopeful not a super-spreader event, eh? our two +80 something aunts is spending christmas together but isolated from the rest o' the family as they both have covid. situation is made worse 'cause the older sister is blaming the younger one for ruining christmas 'cause she brought covid with her when she traveled from CA. on the positive side, at least they have the rest o' the family bringing food and looking after them while they recover. the meds they is taking has 'em doing reasonably well but they both say their nights are terrible even if they sound fine during the day. even so, the older woman is 87, so... regardless, merry christmas and happy holidays to all. HA! Good Fun!

also gonna make the obvious observation that the cost for a human to increase charisma from 19 to 20 is 4 points. math suggests is best for a human to start at 19 charisma as 'posed to 20 but such a choice is most certainly not make or break. one o' the things poe developers addressed were the asinine even v. odd number aspect o' attribute benefits. even v. odd attributes is a silly concern one needs make in wotr. have mentioned previous how greatswords is... fine. is not anywhere near the best or worst weapon choice. am assuming a paladin is taking leader background in part for the greatsword bonus, 'cause two-handed weapons is typical better unless you dual-wield and a 10 dex paladin is most obvious not gonna be dual wielding. regardless, greatswords is hardly a best choice but is more than good enough for core or lower difficulties. however, is worth noting there is only a couple decent greatsword choices in the game, and particular since finnean has been nerfed/fixed, it means that in a game spanning many tens of hours o' gameplay, you is only gonna have a couple greatsword drops which is noteworthy. the paucity o' great greatswords won't make game unplayable or too difficult, but w/o meta is ez to miss the one decent act 3 greatsword. miss the holy greatsword and is gonna feel like you are underperforming based on nothing save fact you made a "bad" level 1 choice. aside, pickpocket is kinda the obvious win background for most builds particular if you play turn-based or higher difficulties. initiative is all too often underappreciated. warrior of the holy light loses spell casting. maybe doesn't sound like a big deal, but paladins get some very powerful buffs. is a serious penalty which may not be obvious at first glance. on core, a heavy armour tank is viable. our first run had a sword & board seelah as a tank and we managed just fine. the holy avenger is a nice weapon and it is gonna be useful the entire game. is also a couple o' shields which is providing extreme useful benefits beyond their ac increase functionality; chances are you are gonna want somebody in your party capable o' wielding at least heavy shields. seelah is the obvious companion for the role. if your main is a paladin and you don't bring seelah along, then is worth considering going sword and board + heavy armour, 'cause none o' the companions is an obvious sword and board choice. some o' the most challenging content is early, so is worth considering taking a level o' sohei, gendarme, oracle or whatever to acquire your mount as early as possible. with one level o' sohei, you may choose the spirited charge mounted feat which will double your weapon damage on a charge and you will maintain max bab... but that will mean your mark of justice comes one level later. regardless, the easiest way to flatten the difficulty curve sans moving the difficulty slider is with animal companions. HA! Good Fun!

aside, am not a fan o' the tuna melt sandwich, but we do recommend the hatch chile tuna melt from chula seafood grayhawk in scottsdale, az. am recalling there is more than one chula seafood location, but am personal having only been to the scottsdale establishment. HA! Good Fun!

as shady observed, tuna is a shelf stable and relative cheap protein, so we saw it often enough as a sprout. canned tuna and cheese were not uncommon grandma meals, and our personal arsenal o' recipes benefit from their inclusion. am also having a cod au gratin dish which is a win. got a couple outliers o' parmesan + fish and greek feta + fish, but canned tuna and cheese is hardly unknowns at our table. HA! Good Fun!

we got moral opposition to veal given the lack o' regulation o' the industry, but am posting 'cause we suspect more than a few kids with a birthday so close to christmas identified with young frank cross, albeit to a lesser degree. regardless, nitha-anpetu waste, and may you survive yet another winter. HA! Good Fun!

given the pervasive but understandable ignorance regarding the history and attributes o' fascism, there is a tendency to misuse the term. being a racist redneck don't necessarily make a person a fascist. likewise, so-called libertarians and far right conservatives screaming, "fascist," whenever oppressive laws such as mask-mandates-during-a-pandemic is enacted fails for being similar misguided. here in the US, all too often people believe fascism were initially a uniquely european problem which contributed to ww2 and then took hold amongst white nationalists in the US in the 50s. is disturbing rare to encounter people with more than the most cursory grasp o' fascism beyond a certainty that nazis deserve the fascism appellation. HA! Good Fun!

HA! Good Fun!

tanks and stuff "Three key issues explain Russia’s tank losses: lack of warning and preparation, poor strategy that exacerbated logistics issues, and insufficient infantry to protect them. Tanks are among the most logistics-intensive pieces of equipment. They require routine maintenance, spare parts, and substantial fuel to keep them operational. Because of these requirements, logistics planning is more important for tank battalions and regiments than nearly any other type of military unit, but Russia’s disorganized invasion exacerbated these logistical challenges." ... "The wars in Ukraine and Nagorno-Karabakh both show that mobile armored platforms with firepower are still important. They also demonstrate that tanks need to be employed with adequate combined-arms support. Otherwise, tanks, like any armament, will be vulnerable. Russian tank units lacked sufficient infantry, which left them vulnerable to anti-tank teams, and Armenia’s aging air defenses failed to protect its tanks from Azerbaijan’s TB2s, which led to their high losses. Indeed, the war in Ukraine has disproven the arguments that drones rendered tanks obsolete in Nagorno-Karabakh. TB2s have been effective in Ukraine, but they have not seriously threatened Russia’s tank fleet. Furthermore, tank units require significant logistical support to operate effectively. These are well-known lessons that were understood by tank commanders as far back as World War II." is only one opinion from one guy, but is a whole lotta big brains who see the announcement o' the main battle tank's demise as premature. then again, is a whole lotta folks who see the announcement o' the main battle tank's demise as overdue. as with the fighter jets, is not something we claim expertise. regardless, we found the article worthy o' a read. aside, this guy also agrees the mbt obituary has been written premature. you gonna argue with the guy who has a picard as napoleon portrait on his wall? HA! Good Fun!

hmmm. am thinking there is only a handful o' excuses for wearing the cape: 1) you are an opera villain 2) you are, in fact, liberace, elvis, or evel knievel 3) you just suffered a concussion HA! Good Fun!

we got one odd suit and it were gifted to us as a joke. a few o' our colleagues got tired o' our simple country lawyer schtick, so they bought us a seersucker suit. ... gotta admit, the seersucker is extreme comfortable. HA! Good Fun!

our vote for worst traffic chaos, based on personal experience only, is mumbai. those three-wheel black and yellow cabs ignore even the idea o' lanes and scooters dart in and out from behind busses on streets which narrow inexplicably or lead to "intersections" which we has no vocabulary to accurate describe. india represented our worstest traffic nightmares, with mumbai being the worst o' the worst. HA! Good Fun!

@Hurlshort needs to do a better job with you kids. the embrace o' fascism decreased in the US post ww2 'cause it were inextricably linked with nazi germany, death camps and hitler. find ten people you know who can define fascism w/o using an internet search engine. 'cause fascism is admitted so difficult to nail down, we tend to use real world nazi germany and mussolini's italy as exemplars w/o having a clear notion at to what is fascism. eugenics, a cornerstone o' the nazi brand o' fascism, were an american export to europe and the 1924 immigration act, designed to keep out undesirables such as italians and eastern european jews, were an inspiration for euro fascists. https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/walter-winchell-nazi-rally-cbn5kx/15892/ not shocking, ww2 resulted in a bit o' bad press for would be fascists in the US and any kinda authoritarianism were, for a time, rightful vilified by the majority o' americans. yeah, american fascists existed before there were a word for fascism, and ww2 didn't end the existence o' such, but the defeat o' authoritarian regimes reflexive identified as fascist sure resulted in a chilling effect on fascist recruitment here in the states... for a time. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/08/viktor-orban-american-conservatism-admiration/671205/ see, the thing is, just as kp's history is wonky, most americans don't know what is fascism, or communism or even socialism. is a fail o' education which is gonna require decades to fix. fascism is bad, every american knows that. so if Bob is an avid fox viewer and tucker carlson is telling him 'bout the benefits o' testicle tanning, the righteousness o' a war on wokeism and how fantasmagorical is orban's hungary, then maybe Bob is less able to recognize the warning signs o' fascism, yes? as is so often the case, the solution starts with education. 'course the hard right conservatives is the folks fighting tooth and nail in local school boards across the country to change how kids is being taught. unlike most western nations, local level politics is far more relevant when it comes to education, which is why southerner history textbooks will baffle a minnesota or illinois reader. HA! Good Fun!

film not a lotta down sides to Cal, but am sad to share that berkeley is not all that safe so am highly recommending on-campus housing. murder is low in berkeley, but violent crime in general is disturbing high and over the decades female students in particular has been disproportionate targeted w/o real efforts by UC or local police to fix the problems. am suspecting a considerable number o' assaults o' female students has gone unreported. am not trying to scare you unnecessarily, but am admitting we would personal be concerned to send a daughter to berkeley. while it should be obvious, avoid being alone at night is probable the best advice we may offer. on the positive side, even back in the 80s/90s, the Cal student body were extreme open-minded 'bout lgbt. HA! Good Fun!

we got an understandable bias in favor o' Cal, but if we had a crumb snatcher who were thinking o' attending a nor cal school, and they couldn't manage stanford, we would likely do what we could to subtle encourage consideration o' uc santa cruz. might still be a bridge too far, but acceptance is not quite as challenging as is berkeley. HA! Good Fun! ps am not poor, but am nevertheless shocked whenever we look at housing and tuition costs for US college students. UC is extreme cheap compared to similar quality alternatives, but is nevertheless distressing expensive and even back in the mid-late 80s we wouldn't have been able to pay as an out-o-state student w/o the benefit o' scholarships. two years o' jc could result in a major cost savings? after two years o' lower division nonsense, you are also far more likely to know what your major is gonna be.

it's disappointing how those kinda costs tend to come in painful groupings. our intent were to sell one our remaining properties in early may, but our tenant refused to leave and by late august it no longer made sense to sell. we became resolved to the probability that it is now a minimum 2-3 years before is again a right time to sell. so all those major items we has been holding off on replacing/repairing 'cause we were planning on the 2022 sale is almost certain gonna need being addressed before we do sell. why paint the house or replace hvac if you are selling, eh? we did dodge a bullet with ducts. had multiple contractors tell us +$5000 would be our cost to address a major duct issue... and then when we had our reliable guy finally take a look, he patched one section o' ductwork and our total cost were less than $100... though we gave the tech $100 'cause he effective saved us thousands. one o' our two remaining tenants is a licensed plumber who also does hvac, so that is nice as he is doing upgrades at-cost. the other tenants is a couple o' kids who had credit issues, but we wanted to give 'em a chance to repair their finances, but we discovered after they moved in that they is lacking any kinda common-sense and they believe the best way to deal with problems is avoidance. HA! Good Fun!

y'know, an easily overlooked aspect regarding the murder and devouring o' mr. kevin bacon in 2019 is that we have no recollection o' the headline from that time. is not as if we go looking for such stories, but is weird we didn't hear anything when the events was a bit more contemporaneous with what we would imagine were initial reporting. HA! Good Fun!

personal, am baffled by the point o' metacritic for pro reviewers o' media. the only value am having ever derived from critics is discovering one or two such individuals who appear to be simpatico with Gromnir's notions o' good and/or entertaining. warning: sweary once we discover personal useful critics, we read their reviews if am ambivalent 'bout a show or movie we has yet to see. otherwise... useless. meta? am not getting the value. HA! Good Fun!

‘A Pig Like You Can Never Have Remorse’: Michigan Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murdering Grindr Date and Eating His Testicles on Christmas Eve Shiawassee County Circuit Judge Matthew J. Stewart on Thursday ordered Mark David Latunski to serve a sentence of life in prison without the possibility for parole for the slaying and dismemberment of Kevin Bacon, who was killed just before Christmas in 2019, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show. grisly and unnecessary details, but 'tis the season, so... ... bench trial took two days.

Senators draft bipartisan framework to legalize DACA recipients and extend Trump-era border policy (dec. 5) fast-forward to dec. 14 were predictable as the gop didn't wanna give democrats any kinda win on immigration. even so, is too bad even common sense immigration legislation is doomed 'cause o' politics. HA! Good Fun! ps a few democrats were also opposed to the legislation 'cause it would maintain, for at least a year, a few o' the less humane enforcement provisions adopted during the trump administration when dealing with those who cross the border between designated ports o' entry. 'course this were a year-end and last-ditch effort at compromise and seeing as how with the gop taking the house gavel in january, is tough to imagine a better deal anytime soon. regardless, were another shot at amnesty for dreamers wasted 'cause o' stoopid politics.

*sigh* again, even your own source says season 2 were less popular. freaking groundhog day. HA! Good Fun!

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_witcher/s02 hardly a definitive source, but a better starting point than personal recollections and feels. personal we weren't a fan o' the source material or the show. am embarrassed to admit the source material is something we woulda' enjoyed... when we were fifteen. kinda cringey. the show (at least early episodes o' season one) were an emo version o' kevin sorbo's hercules tv show from the 90's. even the production values for witcher remined us o' 90s hercules. we were not hoping for more witcher. as to cavill's superman, we had issues with the DC movies, but we thought cavill's performance were not a problem. HA! Good Fun!

am gonna suggest an alternative. in battleship you were typical competing with another player w/o being able to see their moves, which were as often as not the common lan dynamic. is also far more likely, given our guestimates o' shady approximate age that he at least once played battleship. additional, you could play battleship w/o pizza. lan and pnp role-play almost always involved pizza. original table-top wargaming actual discouraged pizza as it involved extreme valuable maps and/or models as well as precise ruler measurements which didn't necessarily mesh well with greasy fingered nerdlings. HA! Good Fun!

... to show how far down the nerd hole we has fallen, the first thing which came to mind when we saw "extracorporeal shockwave therapy" were the following: link and based on your description o' the recovery from therapy, am thinking our imagined expectations did not have us too far removed from the reality. your "good practitioner"? HA! Good Fun!