Pattern Ghost

I know I'm at least two picks behind, so a couple of easy ones: Fauna: Servants of Thrum , and any who can tame them, need a valiant steed. A statuesque, glorious, refined mount! The Axebeak: The Axebeak is plentiful, tastes like chicken, and is both a very tractable and fierce mount. There are populations throughout the world, of many subspecies and locality populations ranging in size from the very small to those suited for Giant Dwarves. They're even tolerant of feline passengers! Gift to the Sentient Races: To Thrum , the only freedom more important than the freedom to rock is that of mind 🧠. Thus, he gives to the Sentient races the Gift of Philosophy.

I'll catch up this weekend. Was catching up on classes and work, and want to take time to read everyone's entries thoroughly to make good picks. I think we should do it quarterly! This is one of my favorite draft formats.

That's $10 billion well-spent on making me some spiffy wallpaper!

I think a certain Canadian author kind of laid that out for us, LL. Bad prose habits aside, shockingly prescient.

And on this day, a Universal Truth was uttered.

You, sir, have the honor of being the first to snipe me this draft! Huzzah!

Interference: Giant Mongooses (Mongeese?) They really love the taste of Koutpa, and frequently gather in large swarms to hunt them. They are often kept as patrol animals for the city and royal guards of the more civilized, less tyrannical peoples. Thrum keeps a pair of exceptionally large giant mongooses close by him at all times. Giant Mongeese have a multi-layer coat, with a wiry undercoat (made of actual wire) that is capable of deflecting most weapons, and iron teeth capable of rending most armor. Giant Mongooses run with their tails erect, and the exposed wiry hairs rub against their neighbors, creating a resonating metal riff when they swarm.

Sorry, Cancer.

I think I need two to catch up, one for Friday and one for today: Sentient Race: Giant Dwarfs! Made of metal, masters of metal, they simply rock you with their axes! (imagine I Photoshopped these two together) For Mythic Monster: The Ferrous Colossus! Legend has it, when the Ferrous Colossus finds its guitar pick, it will strum the Chord of Doom!

Or it might not be. Also -- and not to be pedantic, sorry -- the proper spelling is Thrum.

Pretty different, tonally. Gotham leaned more camp near the end (or middle?), IMO. ----------------------/anti-post merge line/---------------------- I didn't like that, either. They make a movie showing his detective skills (somewhat), then they have him fail to solve the case. The only thing I can come up with to explain it is if they were going to lean into a No Man's Land type story line in the sequel.

Thrum 's final domain is WAR! Whether it's a battle of the bands or the War of the Ages, it'll be waged to the sweet sounds of metal.

Live entertainment event: Wicked, in Seattle. Great show. The girl playing Glinda was amazingly talented and funny. Concert: Bruce Springsteen in Berlin. I don't even like his music that much, but the guy played encores a couple of hours past the event end time, in the rain. The Stones (different event, Steel Wheels tour, East Berlin) wouldn't start until an hour late due to a very light mist. Springsteen seems to really appreciate his fans, and I liked that.

Thrum governs the secondary domain of freedom. Whether the freedom of mind brought by some sweet tunes, or earned on the edge of a blade.

Sorry to hear, Cancer. Condolences to you and yours.

I figured I was never going to get the raise I've been promised since last August, so gave my notice yesterday. Having your direct reports making more than you isn't sound retirement planning. Nor is it fair compensation for being on call 24/7 and having to cover shifts of all kinds when you have no people. If all goes well, I'll start a coding boot camp in August and get a nice coding job like the wifey eventually.

Oh, it started! Thrum must catch up. I give you THRUM, GOD OF METAL! Secondary Domain: Mercy, whether it comes at the edge of the executioner's blade or in the sweet chords of a power ballad...

I don't think breaching Russia's border would be necessary. Destroy what they bring, push them back, then sanction them. Of course, there's the issue of avoiding the level of sanctioning post-WW I that helped lead to WW II.

"Put down" means to remove their ability to wage war. The bear in the analogy is the Russian war machine, not the country or its people per se. They've nearly done it to themselves already. If they roll on a NATO country, they'll face even tighter sanctions (and they're already behind the curve financially on maintaining their equipment and other necessities for warfare, including quality troops), and even greater loss of equipment as no fly zones and direct engagement by NATO forces on the ground become things. They're not going to be dumb enough to roll on a NATO country. (I'm not sure how that possibility came up in the first place, because they can barely handle what they've gotten themselves into in Ukraine.) As for nukes: Only mildly concerned. There are reports of Putin's failing health. He could potentially spite nuke if he's dying anyway, but his own people would probably ignore the orders after the damage he's done to his own rep, if not actively try to take him out. Barring that, our nuclear deterrence capabilities are probably a couple of decades ahead of what anyone thinks they are.

However, the great Russian bear has been shown to have rotting teeth. If it tries to sink its gums into a NATO country, it will get put down. As LL has said, their deep corruption and incompetence has been exposed. They may have more people to throw into the grinder than Ukraine, and that might result in some level of "victory" for them, but they've lost so much more than a war in this invasion.

It was a Daily Show video about China colonizing Africa through economic shenanigans / loansharking. Here's a couple text articles: https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2019/10/03/what-china-is-really-up-to-in-africa/?sh=7c65d8df5930 https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/jul/31/china-in-africa-win-win-development-or-a-new-colonialism

Probably concerned about something like this:

I'm just going to say that you aren't considering the totality of the situation. That's a bit simplistic. I'm going to bow out before I get moderated out. That said, I know you aren't speaking from ill intent, and just ask you consider the whole situation. "Teach them well" hardly ever garnishes the intended results, for so, so many reasons that are beyond the control of the person attempting to do said teaching.

Did he look like this, by any chance? Because that idea seemed quite . . . Machiavellian.

Don't be tricked! Greenland's the one with the ice and rocks, Iceland's the one with the grass . . . and ice. 😀