In my experience, it always seemed like more people preferred MOO2 to the original, but I like the original better. I definitely preferred the sliders over build queues, even if there were some drawbacks (like how new planets had to fully build planetary shields before they could build any missile launchers.)
I've been playing Stardew Valley lately. When I first saw it on Steam the day it was released, I thought it was some RPG Maker game and had little interest. But for some reason I watched the trailer anyway, thought it looked interesting, and have been hooked ever since. Apparently it's similar to the Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing lines of games, but I haven't played any of those. It has a surprising amount of polish and depth for someone made by a single person. The save scheme is nefarious. It saves at the end of the day when you go to sleep and it's very easy to fall in the "just one more day" trap.
Last year Trump everyone "knew" Trump would fade before the primaries, but he was great for ratings. They didn't try to nuke the monster, they put it on display and now it's out of control.
I think Stewart going after the press for being uncritical of Trump could have had a significant impact. I also think non-Trump supporting Republicans would have amenable to watching and sharing The Daily Show clips that humiliated Trump so long as they didn't cast too much negative light on their own positions.
That image of him sitting stone-faced at the Correspondents Dinner while Obama was mocking him and everyone else laughed didn't lead me to believe he doesn't care what others think.
I wonder if Jon Stewart would have retired had he known that Trump would be leading the pack at this point or if Trump would be doing as well if Stewart was laying into him night after night.
I bought the Ubisoft Humble Bundle earlier in the month and finally played through my first Assassin's Creed game.
Assassin's Creed Rogue was entertaining, but I definitely had the sense I was entering the story mid-stream. I used google to fill in some gaps, but I'm guessing people who played through the whole series cared more about the recurring characters. Overall, I enjoyed it, but the collecting and conquering aspect of it seemed pointless after a while and I simply stopped and focused on the plot. Speaking of the plot, it's one of those maddening situations where if the characters had simply had a long conversation they may have been able to avoid the entire mess to begin with. The naval battles made me nostalgic for Sid Meier's Pirates! I only got frustrated with the controls a few times, such as trying to climb up to the flag on a ship. And for some reason the first person view gives me motion sickness when turning. The first and only time I can recall experiencing that with a game.
I wouldn't mind playing another in the series, but I'll probably wait until something goes on sale.
Next up for me will be Far Cry 3, which was also part of the bundle. I played most of the original but didn't finish and never played Far Cry 2 at all.
I don't know if it's said explicitly, but it's hinted that the Institute is the source of the Commonweath's mutie problem. It makes no sense for them to release mutants to the surface, but none of the Institute's motivations make any sense to me.
I'm rusty and/or this game is harder than the last one. Might be the time element and the general lack of ability to be patient and methodical.
I had to disable the action cam. Too many reaction shots and camera angles. I wish there was some sort of quick move option for disabling or abbreviating the various animations so we could get through turns quicker.
Jaybird:
a person with a clearance who talks about Area 51 or the Lizard People is spouting Top Secret on a theoretically unclassified system even if they’re just repeating what they read in the paper.
Which is why I view the private email server as a red herring. If she intentionally sent classified emails on an unclassified network, it should make little difference if she used her unclassified government email address or her (unclassified) private email address. I haven't seen anyone point to an applicable law that makes a distinction.
I've been following the VR developments off and on for a while. If the Rift had been close to $350, I might have been tempted, but a $600 price tag easily moves it into a "wait-and-see" category. HTC Vive has gotten a bit of hype lately, especially with the blowback towards Oculus. Theirs comes with 3d controllers (which will be a separate purchase for Oculus, sometime near the end of the year) and a forward facing camera, which can display a wireframe outline of the room. And HTC is partnered with Valve. If Half-life 3 is a Vive exclusive, that's a total game changer. There would be mass cancellations of Oculus pre-orders.
I manage to put together a deck that seems to work for me. I almost never lose.
I'm going to finish with a bunch of the question marks still on the map. They started to feel tedious after a bit. If I ever replay on Death March, I imagine all the places of power I've skipped would prove useful.
While true, I think there is a growing dissatisfaction with the lack of action by Democrats. The prosecutors who failed to indict police officers in the Michael Brown and Tamir Rice cases were both Democrats, along with the governor of one of those states -- the one with the heavy-handed police response to protesters that catapulted BLM to national attention, as well as mayors like Rahm Emanuel.
If black voter turn-out tanks because they're tired of only getting lip service (and often, like in the SOTU, not even that), it will be disastrous for the Democrats.
Cal Worthington (and his dog spot) have already been mentioned, but others I remember from my time in Southern California are Jack Stephanovich (It's Stephan, Jaaack Stephan) and "I'm Larry Parker..."
I'm generally in favor of the concept of insurance for weapons, but in the case of a child killing themselves with a parent's gun, who is the insurance paying out to? The negligent parent?
High intelligence has the added benefit of making hacking easier by reducing the number of words.
You can actually get 11 INT at the beginning of the game using the You're SPECIAL book. It normally prevents you from going over 10, but if you drink alcohol, which has a temporary -1 INT effect, you take your INT to 9 and the book will allow you to add a point. Once the alcohol wears off, it's a natural 11. With the bobblehead, you can take it to 12. Plus with certain clothing and sharp armor, as well as Night Person and chems, you can boost it higher for even more xp, especially when it's time to turn in quests.
You don't need to manually break down junk items. If they're stored in the workshop, they will be used automatically.
Oil can be produced from the chemistry station. Cutting fluid breaks down to 3 oil.
Adhesives can also be in short supply if you do a lot of modding of your equipment. They can be produced by cooking vegetable starch. It's made with purified water, mutfruit, corn, and tatos. all of which are renewable. I generally only have my settlers growing those 3 crops, and have plenty of purifiers to produce excess water.
Sorry, poor wording on my part. I didn't mean that cops are necessarily against gun control, just that they would be nervous at the prospect of armed protesters, especially when they are the target of the protest itself.
I wonder how much arming the "right" people would work for getting guns rights advocates to support gun control. Supposedly it happened in 1967 in California.
I imagine armed, black youths across the country, shutting down roadways and protesting cops would makes some people nervous (not least of which are the cops).
Likewise, with all the anti-Muslim rhetoric lately as well as the reported increase in violence, a national campaign to make sure all American Muslims are exercising their 2nd Amendment rights isn't likely to sit well with some folks. In addition, you could counter the gun stores and ranges declaring themselves "Muslim-free zones" by opening some with some nice, large Arabic writing clearly visible on the outside.
Tactics such as these, however, would likely carry a great risk of escalating violence as well as using unsavory means (bigotry) to achieve your ends.
On “Saturday!”
In my experience, it always seemed like more people preferred MOO2 to the original, but I like the original better. I definitely preferred the sliders over build queues, even if there were some drawbacks (like how new planets had to fully build planetary shields before they could build any missile launchers.)
I've been playing Stardew Valley lately. When I first saw it on Steam the day it was released, I thought it was some RPG Maker game and had little interest. But for some reason I watched the trailer anyway, thought it looked interesting, and have been hooked ever since. Apparently it's similar to the Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing lines of games, but I haven't played any of those. It has a surprising amount of polish and depth for someone made by a single person. The save scheme is nefarious. It saves at the end of the day when you go to sleep and it's very easy to fall in the "just one more day" trap.
On “Robert Kagan: To Republicans afraid to take a stand against Donald Trump: Grow up – The Washington Post”
#NeverTrump*
(*Some restrictions may apply. Void where prohibited. Offer not valid in all 50 states. See store for details.)
On “Donald Trump, Class Warrior – Bloomberg View”
Last year Trump everyone "knew" Trump would fade before the primaries, but he was great for ratings. They didn't try to nuke the monster, they put it on display and now it's out of control.
"
I think Stewart going after the press for being uncritical of Trump could have had a significant impact. I also think non-Trump supporting Republicans would have amenable to watching and sharing The Daily Show clips that humiliated Trump so long as they didn't cast too much negative light on their own positions.
"
That image of him sitting stone-faced at the Correspondents Dinner while Obama was mocking him and everyone else laughed didn't lead me to believe he doesn't care what others think.
I wonder if Jon Stewart would have retired had he known that Trump would be leading the pack at this point or if Trump would be doing as well if Stewart was laying into him night after night.
On “Seas Are Rising at Fastest Rate in Last 28 Centuries – New York Times”
I suggest we have a sing-song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJh6EQ5gv7g
On “Robby Soave: Did Twitter’s Orwellian ‘Trust and Safety’ Council Get Robert Stacy McCain Banned? – Reason.com”
According to IJR Baldwin deleted his entire history himself.
On “Saturday!”
I bought the Ubisoft Humble Bundle earlier in the month and finally played through my first Assassin's Creed game.
Assassin's Creed Rogue was entertaining, but I definitely had the sense I was entering the story mid-stream. I used google to fill in some gaps, but I'm guessing people who played through the whole series cared more about the recurring characters. Overall, I enjoyed it, but the collecting and conquering aspect of it seemed pointless after a while and I simply stopped and focused on the plot. Speaking of the plot, it's one of those maddening situations where if the characters had simply had a long conversation they may have been able to avoid the entire mess to begin with. The naval battles made me nostalgic for Sid Meier's Pirates! I only got frustrated with the controls a few times, such as trying to climb up to the flag on a ship. And for some reason the first person view gives me motion sickness when turning. The first and only time I can recall experiencing that with a game.
I wouldn't mind playing another in the series, but I'll probably wait until something goes on sale.
Next up for me will be Far Cry 3, which was also part of the bundle. I played most of the original but didn't finish and never played Far Cry 2 at all.
On “Saturday!”
I don't know if it's said explicitly, but it's hinted that the Institute is the source of the Commonweath's mutie problem. It makes no sense for them to release mutants to the surface, but none of the Institute's motivations make any sense to me.
"
I'm rusty and/or this game is harder than the last one. Might be the time element and the general lack of ability to be patient and methodical.
I had to disable the action cam. Too many reaction shots and camera angles. I wish there was some sort of quick move option for disabling or abbreviating the various animations so we could get through turns quicker.
On “John Schindler: Why Hillary’s EmailGate Matters | Observer”
Which is why I view the private email server as a red herring. If she intentionally sent classified emails on an unclassified network, it should make little difference if she used her unclassified government email address or her (unclassified) private email address. I haven't seen anyone point to an applicable law that makes a distinction.
On “Saturday!”
I've been following the VR developments off and on for a while. If the Rift had been close to $350, I might have been tempted, but a $600 price tag easily moves it into a "wait-and-see" category. HTC Vive has gotten a bit of hype lately, especially with the blowback towards Oculus. Theirs comes with 3d controllers (which will be a separate purchase for Oculus, sometime near the end of the year) and a forward facing camera, which can display a wireframe outline of the room. And HTC is partnered with Valve. If Half-life 3 is a Vive exclusive, that's a total game changer. There would be mass cancellations of Oculus pre-orders.
"
I manage to put together a deck that seems to work for me. I almost never lose.
I'm going to finish with a bunch of the question marks still on the map. They started to feel tedious after a bit. If I ever replay on Death March, I imagine all the places of power I've skipped would prove useful.
"
I'm closing in on the end of the game. Finally found the last gwent card I was missing. I fully expect to finish before the end of the long weekend.
On “Name That Team!”
LA Temps
They had and couldn't keep the two previous football teams. They won't keep this one, either.
On “The State of the Union”
While true, I think there is a growing dissatisfaction with the lack of action by Democrats. The prosecutors who failed to indict police officers in the Michael Brown and Tamir Rice cases were both Democrats, along with the governor of one of those states -- the one with the heavy-handed police response to protesters that catapulted BLM to national attention, as well as mayors like Rahm Emanuel.
If black voter turn-out tanks because they're tired of only getting lip service (and often, like in the SOTU, not even that), it will be disastrous for the Democrats.
On “Stupid Tuesday Questions: End of an Era Edition”
Saiontz, Kirk and sometimes Miles.
"
"I wouldn't have got a lemon?!"
"
Cal Worthington (and his dog spot) have already been mentioned, but others I remember from my time in Southern California are Jack Stephanovich (It's Stephan, Jaaack Stephan) and "I'm Larry Parker..."
On “What If…?”
Publicly supporting armed criminals probably wouldn't look good to a parole board.
On “Reflections on Gun Control”
I'm generally in favor of the concept of insurance for weapons, but in the case of a child killing themselves with a parent's gun, who is the insurance paying out to? The negligent parent?
On “Saturday!”
High intelligence has the added benefit of making hacking easier by reducing the number of words.
You can actually get 11 INT at the beginning of the game using the You're SPECIAL book. It normally prevents you from going over 10, but if you drink alcohol, which has a temporary -1 INT effect, you take your INT to 9 and the book will allow you to add a point. Once the alcohol wears off, it's a natural 11. With the bobblehead, you can take it to 12. Plus with certain clothing and sharp armor, as well as Night Person and chems, you can boost it higher for even more xp, especially when it's time to turn in quests.
You don't need to manually break down junk items. If they're stored in the workshop, they will be used automatically.
Oil can be produced from the chemistry station. Cutting fluid breaks down to 3 oil.
Adhesives can also be in short supply if you do a lot of modding of your equipment. They can be produced by cooking vegetable starch. It's made with purified water, mutfruit, corn, and tatos. all of which are renewable. I generally only have my settlers growing those 3 crops, and have plenty of purifiers to produce excess water.
On “Reflections on Gun Control”
Sorry, poor wording on my part. I didn't mean that cops are necessarily against gun control, just that they would be nervous at the prospect of armed protesters, especially when they are the target of the protest itself.
"
I wonder how much arming the "right" people would work for getting guns rights advocates to support gun control. Supposedly it happened in 1967 in California.
I imagine armed, black youths across the country, shutting down roadways and protesting cops would makes some people nervous (not least of which are the cops).
Likewise, with all the anti-Muslim rhetoric lately as well as the reported increase in violence, a national campaign to make sure all American Muslims are exercising their 2nd Amendment rights isn't likely to sit well with some folks. In addition, you could counter the gun stores and ranges declaring themselves "Muslim-free zones" by opening some with some nice, large Arabic writing clearly visible on the outside.
Tactics such as these, however, would likely carry a great risk of escalating violence as well as using unsavory means (bigotry) to achieve your ends.
On “Saturday!”
There's a small pool in the middle of the lot. It's not huge, but you can definitely fit some water purifiers in there.
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.