Recent posts

#11

General Discussion / Re: WANT!

Last post by Womb4t - Today at 12:17:42 PM

A new thread of things we want...

A new camera to capture life's precious moments with clarity and creativity.

#12

General Discussion / Re: The Boring Thread

Last post by Womb4t - Today at 12:14:58 PM

Last night I cleaned the dryer filter by scraping away the lint build up.  Sometimes I just leave the piles of lint on top of the dryer.  Only after the pile gets too big do I force myself to throw them out into a nearby trash bin. 

Anybody got any good boring stories to share?  I mean, boring stories should be told as much as the exciting ones, no?

Today, I went to the grocery store and spent what felt like an eternity trying to decide between two brands of pasta sauce. I stood there in the aisle, meticulously comparing ingredients and nutritional information, only to realize that they were practically identical. In the end, I randomly picked one and moved on to the next item on my list. It wasn't the most thrilling experience, but hey, it's a small slice of everyday life!

#13

Current Events / Re: Russia's War Against Ukrai...

Last post by Uberhaus - Today at 11:38:40 AM

Kazakhstan has sold Soviet aircraft to the U.S., likely to go to Ukraine for decoys and spares. https://ca.news.yahoo.com/us-buys-81-soviet-era-145127753.html

Not a great success for their old Russian masters, who see Nazism at work. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the central Asian country in March 2023, where he said that the US "strongly supports Kazakhstan's sovereignty, its independence, its territorial integrity," according to news agency AFP.

Some of Russia's outspoken propagandists have suggested that Russia should look to Kazakhstan next following its invasion of Ukraine.

One notable Russian TV commentator, Vladimir Solovyov, said that his country "must pay attention to the fact that Kazakhstan is the next problem because the same Nazi processes can start there as in Ukraine."

#14

Current Events / Re: Russia's War Against Ukrai...

Last post by Uberhaus - Today at 11:08:16 AM

That should work and is a pretty low cost solution that allows them to keep AD on the front lines
Id say both sides have an innate sense of ingenuity around this war that NATO and others should take note of
Con

It looks like it could defeat smaller drones, however, a heavier drone in a vertical dive wouldn't be stopped by the 2-3" steel pipe.  Hopefully, the Russians will be wasting a tremendous amount of resources on this that could otherwise be directed to the direct fighting.  Maybe they could top the structure off with a solid disk of 6" thick steel to protect against kamikaze dives!
I'm not sure if the towers are new with ECM capability; there are three of them (two with antennas) but maybe someone in the know can say they are just for diverting lightning.

As to curbing innovation, the US criticized China during its high level meetings.  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-68905475

Mr Blinken told the BBC that one of the key routes for "better relations" between China and both the US and Europe would be for Beijing "or some of its enterprises" to stop providing "critical components" that help Russia make more munitions. The components include items such as "machine tools, micro-electronics, and optics".

"It's helping Russia perpetuate its aggression against Ukraine, but it's also creating a growing threat to Europe because of Russia's aggression," he explained, adding it was "helping to fuel the biggest threat to [Europe's] insecurity since the end of the Cold War".

"We've taken action already against Chinese entities that are engaged in this," he said. "And what I make clear today is that if China won't act, we will."

Mr Blinken - who hinted at sanctions as a possible route - was keen to stress that China was not directly supplying Russia with weapons.

Even Canada could have helped the Ukrainian cause greatly by providing an alternative to Russian oil and gas, wrecking the Russian economy.  However, the PM would not.  https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/touting-clean-energy-pm-trudeau-questions-business-case-for-exporting-liquefied-natural-gas-to-europe-1.6037556  Even after being approached by German, Japanese and US leadership, the Canadian PM would not go back on his anti-petroleum campaign.  This was short sighted because he would have had considerable leverage to forge a new international agreement to develop technology to reduce and eliminate carbon release, rather than clinging to the broken Kyoto Protocols that only he follows.  This is pie in the sky, but imagine a summit led by US, German, Japanese and even Canadian leadership to tackle Russian aggression and carbon emission.

No, I am not smoking what he decriminalized.

#15

Computer Gaming / Re: For FRIDAY

Last post by Tripoli - Today at 11:06:45 AM

Shadow Empire.  If I can assimilate two nearby large minors (90k pop each) I may be able to put up a fight against the giant major that is currently friendly with me but is theocratic.  Who knows when their god will demand my head.

Blasted theocratic major just popped up and attacked me on the only peaceful front I had. Metal! Metal! I need Metal!

And OIL! I have NO OIL! My tanks and trucks are running on peanut butter!

You have to do an AAR on this play through.   

#16

Computer Gaming / Re: Hegemony III: Clash of the...

Last post by mbar - Today at 10:14:28 AM

Darn. I thought this might be Isle of Giants news. 

#17

Computer Gaming / Re: For FRIDAY

Last post by solops - Today at 10:10:44 AM

Shadow Empire.  If I can assimilate two nearby large minors (90k pop each) I may be able to put up a fight against the giant major that is currently friendly with me but is theocratic.  Who knows when their god will demand my head.

Blasted theocratic major just popped up and attacked me on the only peaceful front I had. Metal! Metal! I need Metal!

And OIL! I have NO OIL! My tanks and trucks are running on peanut butter!

#18

Computer Gaming / Re: For FRIDAY

Last post by Destraex - Today at 07:26:10 AM

Board gaming - finishing off an excellent game of Colonial Twilight then the difficult choice of whether to establish Great Britain as a republic with Cruel Necessity or just blow shit up with Panzer Command. Decisions, decisions...

Are these all solo games or are you attending a home to play with a group of friends?

All solo (though Cruel Necessity is the only designed as a solo game) - there is a game group fairly nearby but they tend to play mainly Euros. I enjoy playing games solo as much to explore the history as anything else - they all play well solo (CT has an AI Bot, though I tend not to use it, and Panzer Command is chit pull which always works well) - I'm lucky in that I have a dedicated game room so can leave a game set up & go back to it as & when I get the opportunity - I think my Colonial Twilight game has been spread over about 4 weeks.

Nice.

#19

Computer Gaming / Re: For FRIDAY

Last post by Phantom - Today at 06:11:35 AM

Board gaming - finishing off an excellent game of Colonial Twilight then the difficult choice of whether to establish Great Britain as a republic with Cruel Necessity or just blow shit up with Panzer Command. Decisions, decisions...

Are these all solo games or are you attending a home to play with a group of friends?

All solo (though Cruel Necessity is the only designed as a solo game) - there is a game group fairly nearby but they tend to play mainly Euros. I enjoy playing games solo as much to explore the history as anything else - they all play well solo (CT has an AI Bot, though I tend not to use it, and Panzer Command is chit pull which always works well) - I'm lucky in that I have a dedicated game room so can leave a game set up & go back to it as & when I get the opportunity - I think my Colonial Twilight game has been spread over about 4 weeks.

#20

Computer Gaming / Re: Hegemony III: Clash of the...

Last post by Grim.Reaper - Today at 05:24:54 AM

For those that never picked up, base game only $2.49.

https://www.wingamestore.com/product/9184/Hegemony-III-Clash-of-the-Ancients/