brucoe

Maybe it's just me, but I haven't seen anything for the second season of Picard. I just wanted to say that with only one episode out so far, I am really liking the approach they are taking with the show (as I wasn't really a great fan of the first season with how negative it seemed to depict the state of Star Trek. For one thing, EVERYONE is in a Starfleet uniform, and I never really realized how important that was until I went through a whole season of semi-Star Trek.

Also, I love the direction this new season seems to be taking us (from the very end of the first episode). We'll have to see if it keeps carrying on this way.

18 minutes ago, CitizenVectron said:

More info on the purported "NATO" laptop the Russians "found" in "Ukraine."

 

 

Soon to be Just In From Tucker Carlson: Hunter Biden's laptop has been located!!!!

On 2/27/2022 at 5:33 PM, HardAct said:

   If you like Diablo type games, I'm loving Grim Dawn. I went in not reading any builds guides or stuff like that and it's a tough learning curve in the late game and you can reach the later parts of it and find your build just simply does not work. I didn't mind that. I started over 2x already. Once at around 10 hours and once around 25 hours. I love learning how and what the mechanics works and it's quite fantastic I think. 

   I own Path of Exile {LOL It's free} too and that game is simply overwhelming for me. I'm a 80% PC and 20% Console gamer. Bought Elden Ring on Series X, Grim Dawn and Diablo 2 Resurrected on PC. Also Pillars and Tyranny both PC and Borderlands 3 too. It's going to be awhile before I get to D2R or Elden Ring. I also Started my first games in GD "normal" but Veteran mode. when you start normal story you have the option to check the veteran box for a slight difficulty curve but better loot and faster leveling. I own the 2 expansions to but am holding off starting the Forgotten one until I clear the entire quest log Even at lvl 63 I have over 20 right now, 8 are bounties that are optional. If you turn one in, you can immediately start another and I always do. Seeing's how how there are at least 5-6 different places to get bounties my list never seems to go anywhere...lol

 

 

   Enjoy GD man!

Just kind of revisiting this, as I've been playing Grim Dawn since we last talked about it. I'm actually enjoying it. I don't have as much time to play it as I'd like (was going through my yearly evaluation at work last week, so my time was consumed mostly with taking care of that), but over the weekend, I've been playing more and more. It's got a kind of Stardew Valley feel to it in how you unlock different parts of the game, based on little accomplishments (no other connection to that game, but just that feeling you get when you open up new areas in Stardew). I started off with a soldier in the beginning, and I really didn't like it. Then I went with an arcanist, and let's just say that I'm enjoying the game so much better. It's amazing how such a little change makes a big difference, especially as the rest of the mechanics are essentially still the same (still bashing things with a weapon and clearing areas).

The funny thing is that I rarely impulse buy like this, but the description you gave sold me on it, and I thought, well, it's not like I'm investing in long term stocks and bonds; it's just a game. Well worth the purchase.

Just now, Jason said:

Apparently Little Marco was trying to get Zelenskyy killed.

 

‘Reckless ignorance’: Senators criticised for sharing photos of Zelensky during call after being asked not to

WWW.YAHOO.COM

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Democratic Rep Dean Phillips slammed Republican Senators Steve Daines and Marco Rubio for their ‘appalling and reckless ignorance’

 

Which basically points out how NOT serious politicians in our country are taking the real world ramifications of the war in Ukraine. If Ukraine survives this disaster somehow, I believe the one thing they are going to take from this whole conflict is how useless the United States is as an ally unless they're battling some place like Greenland.

14 minutes ago, Jason said:

 

Leave it to Trump to throw in an idea that is basically a direct violation of the Geneva Convention (wearing the colors or uniform of another country) and then  call himself smart.

3 minutes ago, SuperSpreader said:

To me that big line seems like a distraction. Similar how wooden airplanes were used in WW2 to confuse enemies. 

And won't you be surprised when Russia invades Kyiv with wooden airplanes?

2 minutes ago, Ricofoley said:

I mean, I'm not a scientist, but I watched the show too, and straight away there's a lot of important differences, like Chernobyl had the Positive Void Coefficient and I don't think any reactors like that exist anymore.

Okay, point taken. However, the dialogue still sounds quite familiar, even if the resolution hopefully is not going to go the same direction.

1 minute ago, Ricofoley said:

 

Doesn't this sound almost like the dialogue of the tv series Chernobyl, where they kept saying: "It can't happen"? And then it happened.

I miss the days when all we had to worry about was figuring out time travel so we could steal two humpback whales before a monstrous alien probe destroyed all of Earth.

19 hours ago, thewhyteboar said:

I wish Stanley Kubrick was still alive so Netflix could throw him millions for his Napoleon biopic.

Or even better, Stanley Kubrick's version of "Poptarts".

3 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

 

That's what I've read as well.

 

There's a reason why you never salute a superior when in the field under combat conditions 

 

Unless you really, really don't like them.

Something I find interesting but not discussed that much is the volunteer force that is starting to respond to the conflict. I'm on a couple of lists that consist of people I have served with in the Army, and more and more of these lists seem to have individuals that are volunteering to fight on the side of the Ukrainians. What's interesting about these lists is that these are some pretty highly skilled combat veterans who are joining. A couple of them are already reporting from within Ukraine.

What concerns me is the realization that this could be pretty dangerous if the Russians start to make the argument that we're sending specialized soldiers over to Ukraine, even if they are volunteers and not representing the US military and government.

The funny thing is I know a lot about foreign policy and such things, but I've gotten so frustrated with the state of the world (and my country) these days that I don't comment 1/10th of the amount I used to just because I realize that my contributions do nothing and quite often commenting on anything is akin to trying to get meaningful dialogue out of a Twitter feed.

2 minutes ago, CitizenVectron said:

 

What's the reason for seizing a yacht? I mean, I think it's great. Fuck the rich Russian billionaires, but what's the rationale behind the seizing?

2 minutes ago, Derek said:

Do you think Putin is well beyond reason at this point?

He's a little man with a Napoleonic complex, which means he needs a way out of this fiasco while saving face. The problem is that as more time goes on, and as the situation escalates and gets worse, the options for saving face get worse and worse each day, until the he's in a "burn every bridge until he's dead" scenario as the only option.

5 minutes ago, mclumber1 said:

The Ukrainians taking all of this stuff tax free is interesting and funny, but it did remind me of something. 

 

Back during WW2, it was common for US troops to bring home souvenirs from the war, like a captured pistol or a NAZI flag.  I'm not sure what the actual rules were back then, but now that type of stuff is super forbidden/illegal for US military personnel.  I think I remember getting training on that while I was in the Navy (although I was in no capacity or location to get this type of stuff from Iraq or Afghanistan).

It all depends on how the command structure treats the item. I had a captured .45 from a Cuban officer in Granada that I carried with me throughout the rest of my career. I actually donated it to the West Point museum after I left the service, but my understanding is that it was mine, if I wanted it. Most of the other stuff that soldiers tended to have were things that command just didn't know about (so a weapon or flag that wasn't reported), which is how a lot of soldiers continued to keep stuff they weren't really supposed to have.

11 hours ago, mclumber1 said:

lol, I noticed that slip up.  The closed captions still called it Ukrainian though.

I heard it on the radio live and thought I heard Iranian but then thought I must have heard wrong. Turns out, he did say that, which leaves me wondering if it was part of the stutter, a symptom of senility, or he has been in service so long that he naturally refers to people as Iranians. But in context, it didn't really matter.

I'm just shocked that Paxton is still so popular when everyone knows how corrupt he is. Well, maybe I shouldn't be shocked. Texas has turned into Bizarro state.

I honestly don't see anything changing in Texas for a primary.

1 minute ago, CitizenVectron said:

Who is the D1P designated survivor?

Certainly not me. I doubt I'll make it to the end with my health.

28 minutes ago, SuperSpreader said:

 

Honestly this is showing me how war seems to generally just be a sloppy and stupid mess. The amount of Zero Dark Thirty elite holy shitness is very limited. 

Unfortunately, you're seeing a symptom of something that's always been around. After the invasion of Granada, when our Ranger detachment was completing combat maneuvers from the invasion, I came across a group of US combat engineers that were wrapping det cord around a cow with intentions of blowing it up. Not a single one of their officers were anywhere in sight.

This is kind of what you get used to with the regular military, as people do some really stupid crap when armed with lots of weaponry and explosives and very little direction.

7 minutes ago, LazyPiranha said:

 

I have zero knowledge on the topic, what do those things have on them to prevent some schmuck from just hopping in and using it, I'm assuming there has to be some sort of safety system or interlock or something, no?

They each have a breathalyzer built into them to make sure that it's being handled by a Russian. If there's no stench of vodka, then the weapon won't fire.

5 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

It's unsurprising that many -- if not, most -- people are feeling what is effectively a collective PTSD due to two years of a global pandemic with a devastating conflict at the tail-end of it.  It also doesn't help that this is occurring during winter when the relative lack of sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere also acts as a mood suppressant. 

I personally believe a real part of the problem is that we live in a more global environment these days, YET these sorts of things happen around us, and we have no ability to hep make things better. It constantly reminds us that we're all just helpless and stuck at living in the whim of lots of bad actors.

4 hours ago, HardAct said:

   After doing very well compared to my usual spending freely on any and all games without any kind of control on the amount, I started this last 18 months or so to really only buy very select games for the most part. The last week though I really fell off the wagon . . . lol! 

   I've been playing Grim Dawn and really enjoying it. After finding that I owned it already! I've put over 40 hours into it in two week by far the most hours in a game the last 2 years in that time frame.

   I'm still playing GD but I caved and bought Diablo 2: Resurrected, Borderlands 3 {11.99 on steam sale}, Elden Ring, Pillars of Eternity, Satisfactory, Tranny, Disco Elysium and Mario Kart 8 {replacing the copy I lost in the fire}. That's far to many games to add to a HUGE backlog already. I really need show some restraint...lol

   This when I'm really wanting Dying Light II, and a few others on Switch. So...To answer the Op's question. I'm playing Grim Dawn 

I'm starting to think we might be similar in gaming tastes, so I just bought Grim Dawn, and we'll see if it scratches that itch of a game for me. I tried Elden Ring but as I'm mostly a PC user (without a game pad), it just didn't work for me.

Just now, Bacon said:

Keyboard has always been total ass for these games. There are some really good players who use keyboard, but it does have a learning curve. If you aren't a stranger to a gamepad I suggest you use one. 

Yeah, I was trying to use one, but my logitech F710 kept cutting out while I was trying to play. Finally, it just wasn't worth it any longer.