Gromnir

"Soon the US and UK will be bancrupt, and nobody will shed a tear. Good riddance." "Well, we shall find out sooner than later." am not gonna retread and explore the stoopidity o' such a statements... on multiple levels, but if "sooner" is 20+ years... *shrug* look, we understand that as an austrian you is particular sensitive 'bout being "bullied" by more powerful nations, but the envy/wishful thinking is making you seem more than a little irrational. am understanding your desire to see an imagined Big Bad becomes marginalized, but you shouldn't hold your breath waiting. you have, at the very least, Decades o' US supremacy to endure 'fore you get your wish. and if such a collapse were to occur, it would be felt with cries o' despair even in euro backwaters. oh, and the +40 million food stamp recipients is not the result o' more impoverished Americans, but rather the result o' the repeal o' welfare reform. is extreme cases o' millionares with no monthly income is collecting food stamps. HA! Good Fun! ps the "snot-nosed euros" is not ever gonna be the ones the US gotta endure as that were directed at you personal rather than euros in general.

O'RLY? http://theintelhub.com/2011/06/23/the-ugly...ato-war-crimes/ you use lindauer as a source? "former cia asset" lindauer? *groan* why can't people let that poor woman alone? she is extreme earnest, but her story is just... sad. is not fun, not fun at all.

am far from downplaying. we suggested that there is enormous negative implications to the debt cycle spending, and in the past we has noted that the situation is dire... critical even. in the long run it would be better if there were a small US financial collapse now, 'cause in 15 or 20 years the cataclysm will be many times worse... and not just worse for the US, but for the world. so no, we ain't downplaying. we thinks the problem is fast approaching a point-of-no-return and the long-term implications is staggering. 'course that don't change that morgoth is talking out his arse. 'cept in morgoth wet dreams there is no imminent collapse, and you is sadly stuck with US military and financial superpower status for a considerable number o' years. what this thread does reveal is that some folks has created such a boogie man out o' the US that you suffer from the same kinda endemic and self-conflicted stoopidity that the soviet embraced during +50 years following ww2: you see US EVIL everywhere, while at the same time you long/dream/anticipate an immediate US collapse. the US is taking a backseat in libya, but still morgoth sees the Evil Empire pulling the strings. *snort* and btw, let us try not to forget that Gromnir loathes many aspects o' the US, and actual has valid reasons for our hate. unlike some snot-nosed euro who reads 'bout American evils while enduring your delusional envy, Gromnir grew up at Pine Ridge. we learned to hunt before we could ride a bike 'cause we rare had enough to eat as a child. there were one month during the winter of 77 when the only thing our family had to eat were jiffy pop (recovered from a crate that had literal fallen off a truck) and ketchup... had ketchup soup more days than we can recall during that winter. lack o' needed heat during winters. intermittent running water during summers. insufficient medical care 'til we were in our teens. Pine Ridge, while not as bad today as it were in the 70's, has child mortality rates that is worse than many 3rd world countries, and you is unlikely to find worse numbers for alcoholism and suicide outside o' active war zones. so, you think we go out of our way to defend the US? bah. nevertheless, in spite o' our... problems with the US, we does not ignore its relative global power. also, having taught and traveled in europe, we has the advantage o' perspective. we has seen what is the alternatives. preachy little... HA! Good Fun!

you is complete ignoring the relative amounts being invested if you compare say hungary with US. china admits to purchasing good will in europe... relative cheap. is not anywhere near proportional to the mind-boggling billion US investment. even so, if we accept morgoth's ridiculous proposition regarding imminent US collapse as a given, then the chinese is throwing away billions of future dollars to be getting... what? am thinking you overestimate the impact of 10-year bond monies on US business and consumer purchases o' chinese product. some suggest that the chinese act criminal, but nobody suggests that they is as criminally stoopid as moroth would have us believe. "Either way, the US is in a lots of debt, and debtor nations don't have a lot to say, it's the creditor nations that will eventually make policy." rrrrrriiiiiightt. is now safe to ignore morgoth on all things monetary as well as political. yeah, there is enormous negative implications for nations such as US and Japan concerning debt. such debt should be viewed as critical, but you is being willful ignorant if you wanna marginalize the impact o' such nations. HA! Good Fun!

No, a war usually never makes sense. what a bunch o' piffle. wars Always make sense. to get large numbers of folks fight each other in deadly combat requires a reason. only the barest fraction o' empathy is required to make sense o' any war. now maybe morgoth's middle-class, socialist pretensions is giving him the kinda clarity whereby he can makes a judgement that wars is typical unnecessary, but that is a complete different issue. fight over religion or land or resources or 'cause o' fear is reasons that may seem unnecessary to somebody like morgoth, but even he should be able to recognize that there is always a reason for many persons to collectively and willingly engage in life and death struggles. HA! Good Fun! ps we see that morgoth still gots some weird notions 'bout the stability o' the US. *sigh* am gonna keep simple and suggest that morgoth looks to china investment in 10-year US treasury bonds. china is not investing heavily in eu or japan, and for good reason(s). on the other hand, china invests huge in US bonds. is no wacky conspiracy... is no chinese plot. china is literal banking on a decade o' US stability.

kotor 2 even recognizing just how clumsy the climax and denouement o' kotor 2 were handled, obsidian's first game is still our favorite... by no small margin. HA! Good Fun!

you don't get it, do you? it Must be the fault o' the US. the US is Evil, so if evil happens in the world, there is a good chance that the US is responsible. HA! morgoth is just being true to form. a US led war that were presented as some kinda quick stroll in the park? heck, he can simply go back to some o' the libya posts on this board to see links to Reputable sources that were predicting that the libya conflict would be long and bloody. some euros may see as ironic that it were the absence o' US command experience and resources that exacerbated the situation in libya, but truth-to-tell, the failure to have political goals match commitment o' resources were identified from the start as problematic. others, such as morgoth, simply find some way to convince self that the US is the Big Bad yet again. HA! Good Fun! ps am gonna once again reiterate that we will happily watch libya burn while other european nations take a majority o' the heat for the conflagration. the rebels and the loyalists hate the US already, so no matter who wins, the situation for the US will not change appreciably. is not as if the complete instability in libya will result in more terrorist activities directed at the US, 'least nopt for the next few years. let the tribal factions slaughter each other for a change, and when the dust finally settles, they can go back to hating the US... but by then they is gonna hate the french and uk with almost equal venom.

Ulysses is the reader moved? is the reader a better person for having read the work? great literature reveals to us truths 'bout the human condition we may not have recognized. 'course not all lit is meant to enlighten. some lit is mere meant to entertain. the books we likes best is both profound AND entertaining. our reading o' Ulysses were neither profound nor entertaining. were a tedious (as 'posed to challenging) read that made us long for it to end. ack. sure, joyce is is a fantastic writer. can even argue that he is the bestest writer o' english novels and short fiction with only a handful o' others making up a list o' viable challengers. am even willing to concede that Ulysses is well-written. 'course we still hate it. joyce intended to write a book so profound and dense that it would require scholars to be spending their entire careers to fully plumb its depths. *groan* am calling it self-indulgent piffle. we hate Ulysses, and we not mind admitting. HA! Good Fun!

well, you can feels justified in dismissing pidesco comments... if that makes you feel better. "I can enjoy the characters I empathized with in the show, and I can appreciate the sense of amoral political intrigue the plot creates, but it's still clumsy, mechanical and poorly suited for prose, really." this coming from somebody who lauds tolkien? while tolkien typically takes a beating in academia (outside o' a notable university in england,) his stories IS well-loved. but even amongst the scholars who adore tolkien (snort) you will see an admission that tolkien's prose is, at best, "clumsy" and "mechanical." nobody has outdone tolkien in building a complete and coherent english mythology. nevertheless, is general accepted that tolkien were only an adequate wordsmith. so, feel free to dismiss pidesco opine... 'cause am seeing an irredeemable conflict that effective undercuts pidesco judgement regarding fantasy lit. HA! Good Fun!

It's not really a good example if you haven't actually played it, ffs. sure it is. our point were not that arrival were bad dlc. the point were that in spite o' our reservations regarding arrival, we almost purchased solely 'cause it were presented as advancing core story aspects. HA! Good Fun!

High as a giant gorilla atop the Empire State. It's just something that has always interested me. A lot of people dislike it because they don't understand it, but then I notice they either had horrible maths teachers or never bothered to even try at it. But hey, what do I know, I only tutored kids in it for 2 years and study it as my second science major. None of which disproves my 'high as an exploded suicide bomber' theory. You have obviously just been high quite a long time. I am confused. I think once people start describing maths majors as permanently high, the word starts to lose its negative connotations. Which is fine by me. Rock on, I'm high! a math major cannot be permanently high? our time in berkeley would suggest otherwise. actually, Gromnir's 3rd year roommate, a math major, were preternaturally and perpetually high. our roomie were from the netherlands, and we were actual kinda envious that a guy who spent 90% of his waking hours fried could maintain his gpa. *chuckle* we were the first guy to tell him that he should use deodorant as he had a noticeable funk. we thought he were gonna be angry when we informed him o' his bo problem, but he thanked us. he were mortified that he had been stinky for two years without anybody informing him that his presence were noisome. in any event, nothing 'bout being a math major precludes being wasted outta your gourd. am suspecting that fully 1/4 o' the math majors at ucb were high more often than our roomie. oh, and ain't krez a former math major? am recalling that you were gonna drop-out. belated congrats if you has returned to your studies. am always surprised and relieved when an ex-student returns to finish off his/her studies, since it happens so rare. HA! Good Fun! ps the guy we roomed with kicked our arse in chess 'bout 90% o' the time we played.... and he were high 'bout 50% o' the times we played. *grumble*

unless you is a fan o' the books, we suspect that the show's lack o' focus on a specific storyline and handful o' characters coulda' been disturbing. also, while we understand that it is sacrilege 'mongst sci-fi/fantasy nerdlings to criticize sean bean, boromir's performance were little better than the mouth-breather they got to play jon snow. well, at least eddard is dead, so we not have to endure sean phoning it in for a second season. we enjoyed 'cause we like the books... but am not sure if we would go so far as to call a "triumph." however, am gonna agree that is probable the best swords and sorcery kinda fantasy show we can recollect. HA! Good Fun!

no. your point being... in any event, enoch is being kinda selective 'bout his response to Gromnir's post. am wondering if is intentional. meh. is not simple the time and effort, but the inspiration. while we has zippo desire to be a moderator of an internet message board (particularly the low-cost advertising space that is developer/publisher message boards,) we can understand the desire o' some folks to support the community. feel like they is contributing to community? maybe even feel like they facilitate useful feedback that results in better obsidian games? etc. such motivations is not alien. being a moderator is time consuming and thankless, but the choice to accept an invitation to moderate does not strike us as bizarre or even odd. is not the way Gromnir would spend his "time and effort," but we understand why some folks does take up the burden. heck, some folks even want to be moderators. go figure. enoch ignored the motivation aspect o' our observation. funroc's motivation to post info-bytes, on the other hand, strike us as... odd. rather, is odd if funroc is not an obsinatie. HA! Good Fun! ps for those we predict will miss the forest for the trees, am not saying it is weird to post developer info on a developer board. however, the number o' posts, and the obscurity o' the references from funroc is peculiar... is unusual enough to inspire this thread.

disturbing or disturbed? is a subtle but important distinction, no? in any event, am not actually wanting an answer related to funroc identity. the info he/she provides is sometimes interesting, nevertheless, as much as we suspect that he/she is an obsinatie, it would be kinda disappointing to know that an obsinatie were responsible for plethora o' the Look-At-Obsidian posts on the general board. am thinking that the question o' funroc identity would most intrigue an obsinatie, and as Gromnir is not... *shrug* HA! Good Fun!

Have you read the book of the new sun? I concur that The Book of the New Sun is the most interestingly written fantasy-ish fiction I've read. is our opinion that the short sun books is revealing the high point o' wolfe craftsmanship, but am understanding why they is a difficult slog for many readers. on the other hand, the wizard knight books is surprisingly accessible... and probable equal well-written as new sun. am gonna concede that we has never read the soldier series, so our knowledge o' the wolfe catalog is incomplete. am having an author friend who insists that the soldier books is actually the betest mr. wolfe has written, but we refuse to read-- gives our friend something to berate us for each time we meet. HA! Good Fun!

If funcroc is as good as I am giving him credit for, he should be able to detect that there is a thread going on about him on this forum. ... am not seeing as "good" per se. once funroc started monopolizing the obsidian general portion o' the fora, we assumed that funroc were an obsidian alt. no offense, but am finding it hard to believe that anybody would genuinely care enough to hunt down the info-bytes he/she (seems masculine, but you can never be certain) finds unless he/she were somehow connected to obsidian... past or present. "good" only applies if funroc is not having a connection with obsidian. after all, is not so hard to Find info if you know such info exists, and you already know where to look. however, if funroc is an ordinary (albeit somewhat snarky and dismissive... not that we is complaining) poster who has an inordinate interest in the comings-and-goings o' obsinaties, then we concede that his efforts is impressive... if a little disturbing. HA! Good Fun!

That's fairly usual, isn't it? I guess. I just think they could have expanded on the actual conflict in the game a bit more ... maybe an additional "major" quest for one of the factions in a DLC, rather than kind of "okay, let's take a minute away from this conflict to go on a side journey" type deal. *shrugs* am actually preferring a tangential focus for these dlc offerings. mass effect 2's "arrival" dlc is a good example o' why we want to keeps such stuff insular and discreet from the main story arc. am understanding that arrival answers some big mass effect story questions, but from what we hear 'bout the shooter gameplay focus of the final dlc, we has zero interest in playing. makes us feel conflicted. based on hints dropped in me and me2, we thinks we gots a pretty good handle on the direction bio is going with the story o' me. nevertheless, we admits that although "arrival" sounded 'bout as appealing as gargling with battery acid, we almost purchased... just to see some reaper questions answered. bioware game content dlc has been very much hit-and-miss. dlc is frequently shallow and short... obviously rushed developments focused on making ea money without much cost to developer or publisher. shadowbroker were fun, but most other such stuff we has played were hardly worth the purchase. thankfully, the dlc has been tangential, and we has not felt that bioware held the story hostage with their dlc... by skipping dlc, we were not missing out on integral story development aspects. keep tangential... or improve enormous. HA! Good Fun!

is not "fence-sitting" for Gromnir. we is using the primary definition o' ambivalent: we has conflicting opinions 'bout da2. is some things that da2 did well. is some things 'bout da2 that is irredeemable. is not that we cannot decide or choose, but rather that we is surprised by the degree that da2 is good And bad. HA! Good Fun!

qucik note: didn't the biowarians spend money on a language expert for da:o? thought it were a waste... until we played da2 and we were called 'sirrah' 'bout 1000 times. now we get that it weren't actually "sirrah," but am suspecting that some clown at bio were playing a joke on all the fans. HA! Good Fun!

am almost having finished a first play-thru o' da2. gonna write up a review once we has completed the game and taken a day or two to reflect. nevertheless, we will observe that da2 has moments o' good fun. is not a terrible game. nevertheless, some o' the design choices is... puzzling. ... am not recalling a game that has left us so ambivalent. is perplexing. HA! Good Fun!

pathfinder is popular 'mongst the pnp rpg crowd, but am betting that it is unknown to a vast number o' crpg gamers... folks like enoch. additional problem is that it utilizes the wotc OGL. pathfinder is a nifty setting and rules d&d rules variant, but am not seeing any way for it to be getting the obsidian treatment anytime soon. as for a new ip from obsidian, is too bad that ap were underwhelming. coulda' resulted in money And freedom... which is what every developer desires, right? HA! Good Fun!

1) am thinking that license issues preclude likelihood. 2) am wondering how much ap hurt obsidian. will be interesting to see what is next obsidian move. HA! Good Fun!

What was he originally reacting to, BTW? approx quote: "if a venomous snake bit your mother in the chest, would you suck the poison out if it would mean that you would win another championship?" or something close to that. after a bad loss during the 2005 or 2006 (?) nba finals, some local radio personality asks shaq a wacky question. shaq responded with the all-purpose "your momma" bit... "i would if it was your mother." am not 100% certain as it were a while ago... and Gromnir is no fan o' shaq. am only a middling basketball fan when the Bulls are absent, and the Bulls were not in that final. HA! Good Fun!

Quick as you are to suggest wishful thinking from others, this really stands out - especially in light of Qaddafi's history with terrorism. If you bomb someone's country -twice- and make every possible commitment -except for the one that matters- to make sure he's ousted, expecting him to just sit on his hands rebuilding infrastructure for the next decades is... not terribly realistic. Not that this is necessarily the scenario you were predicting. funny stuff. sorry we didn't see sooner. # ignores that this is, for the most part, an internal libyan conflict. is not gonna resolve itself over night, and whomever wrests control is gonna be dealing with Internal conflict for some time. add to the libyan's problems with libya, nato (not the US for a change) will have destroyed a good portion o' the northern african nation's infrastructure by the time somebody finally takes political control o' the nation. sssssoooooo, how exactly is the situation gonna be worse for the US? let the libyans rage 'gainst libyans. let libyans rage 'gainst nato partners. war is not funny. people being killed is not funny. even so, listen to clinton berate qaddafi for attacking civilians is... funny. as for your observations 'bout the us economy... eh? am not certain o' the relevance. morgoth made some patently stoopid and general comments 'bout the pansy nations sitting this fracas out, as if those nations as a whole is experiencing some kinda economic renaissance. somebody wanna check the number o' euro nations who has needed economic bailout in recent years? am not recalling where Gromnir boasted o' the grand power and stability o' US economic power, but the notion o' some kinda imminent cataclysmic US economic collapse is not only based wishful thinking, it is myopic in the extreme. the only folks in europe who is looking forward to US economic collapse is undereducated, middle-class socialist brats with no awareness o' the repercussions o' such an eventuality. bah. argue that China is quickly becoming a threat to US economic supremacy is a far different thing that suggesting that the US economy is 'bout to collapse and that euros will laugh when it happens. oh, and as China's economy is a few decades behind the curve, focused on manufacture and natural resources, it ain't as worrisome a threat as it has been portrayed in the media.... but that is a complete different topic. HA! Good Fun!

Isn't GoldBox original D&D rules though? My first D&D set was the red boxed set (and red books), but that would have been 83-84' or so, not before (I think). Though I remember playing D&D in the 70's (not the color of the books though ) gold box refers to the ssi crpg stuff. the red (basic) blue (expert) came along some number o' years after the original d&d rules were released in 1974. for some obscure reason we never could figure out, the original d&d rules is often misidentified as white-box d&d, 'cause in 1976 the rules were released in a white box. the actual original rules were released a couple years earlier and had hobbits 'stead o' halflings. HA! Good Fun!