Old Man

Re: Musings on Random Musings Yeah, but the lyrics you find with google are almost always wrong, ime. It's like some bozo posted the wrong lyrics online somewhere and they got copies all over the net.

Re: The cranky thread Yeah, I don't get up there much. I don't function well in near vacuum.

Re: Musings on Random Musings Is the original lyric "in which we live in" or "in which we're living"? Not that it's any less irritating. Especially since it's otherwise such an awesome song.

Re: The cranky thread What's "snow"?

Re: The cranky thread It's okay. I'm still employed, it's just that the fuse isn't as long as I thought.

Re: The cranky thread And now I have to find another job. Great. Just great.

Re: I hope we have cooler looking cars than this in the future. I agree with you, though I take issue with the example you picked. One thing that annoys me is the tendency of car designers to look backward. The new Mini, new Beetle, new Mustang, and others are new cars designed in such a way as to look old. I see these cars and think, really? They couldn't come up with something original? I understand that these are powerful brands and that this is the way to leverage a powerful brand, and obviously it works. It just doesn't float my boat. I'm more interested in the some of the more radical concepts that come out of the tradeshows, lookswise.

Re: The cranky thread

Re: I hope we have cooler looking cars than this in the future. Between engineering reality and safety regulations, I think there is a lot of pressure towards homogeneity. IIRC the two biggest factors driving sameness in cars are aerodynamics and crash safety. The former dictates that any car is going to be fairly rounded, while the latter pretty much imposes a two- or three-box design. I know for a fact that bumper regulations in particular really annoy industrial designers.

Re: Big Freakin' Lasers! That is exactly what the first operational laser systems are being planned for. Even free electron lasers still have issues with atmospheric dispersal, so they are best employed against targets at short range or soft targets like aircraft. For the Navy specifically, lasers also have the drawback that they are unable to strike below the horizon. But they'll have their place.

Re: Shadow World setting Now we just need for The Western Shores to become part of a larger setting. And for Ambrethel to become part of a larger setting...

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? Right now I'm listening to the guy two stalls over mutter "rock and roll" over and over. I hope he's not going to be there long.

Re: A Thread for Random Musings San Diego has a nice vibe to it. Weather is fantastic today.

Re: The cranky thread Airports.

Re: Shadow World setting Wow, that's neat. I'll have to keep an eye out for that one on eBay. I had no idea ICE had published settings besides Shadow World and MERP.

Re: Shadow World setting Yeah, I was gonna ask too. I'm kind of a setting freak.

Re: Game World Economy I believe you two have just demonstrated the difference between the casual and in-depth campaigns I alluded to above. If I were the GM, I'd probably bounce back and forth depending on whether it suited my purposes. Ordinarily there might be a "standard" 30:1 ratio, until the players had too much dough. Then they'd wind up in Imrryr where gold is used as toilet paper.

Re: The cranky thread I'm frickin' tired and will probably be that way until... mid february, looking at my schedule.

Re: Musings on Random Musings This style of journalism is difficult, expensive, and generates less readership than a fluff piece on the Kardashians. But it's not dead... yet.

Re: A Game Of Questions Enough to cover expenses for a sock?

Re: Musings on Random Musings Now that's just uncalled for.

Re: Musings on Random Musings The rumors are false! False, I tell you! The truth is much worse.

Re: The "Nice Happy" Thread I'm glad Bazza didn't notice.

Re: Musings on Random Musings The problem nowadays is that the Intertubes, combined with accumulated budget cuts, competition, and in some cases deliberate misinformation, have all contributed to an atmosphere where news is often repeated instantly without fact checking or even editing. Journalism of any kind is an endangered species, let alone "responsible" journalism.

Re: Musings on Random Musings IME the press is usually pretty good about this. The names of juveniles and rape victims typically are not published, and most news stories I read are careful to describe the charged individual as just that, not as a criminal. Admittedly there are exceptions for child molestation cases and the most sensational trials, but overall I think the status quo is all right.