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BarretWallace

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  1. Haha
    BarretWallace reacted to Ternaugh in A.I is here and it will make the world worse.   
    You're absolutely right.
     

  2. Like
    BarretWallace reacted to Lord Liaden in Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)   
    Iowans seen voting on pieces of paper collected in ziplock bags for tallies: https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/watch/iowans-seen-voting-on-pieces-of-paper-collected-in-a-paper-bag-for-tallies/vi-AA1n2TiL?ocid=hpmsn
     
    Another video shows them using a paper grocery bag, but it's part of a longer video I didn't want to paste here. But you can view it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPSgxXLaHW8
     
    I read that a popcorn tub was also used, but I haven't seen that myself.
     
    At least they won't have to worry about cyber-security.
  3. Sad
    BarretWallace reacted to csyphrett in The Reformed not likely to be used continuing NaNoWriMo thread   
    It looks like the nanowrimo boards are going to be shut down for good. People are breaking off to form their own groups and things. I have a been a member for a long time, and it is one of the few places that I hang out online. It feels like losing your dog to a passing car.
    CES 
  4. Like
    BarretWallace reacted to Dr.Device in The Reformed not likely to be used continuing NaNoWriMo thread   
    I didn't do nano this year, but I started writing some non-novel stuff in late November. Over the weekend, I wrote over 10000 words on it. This is the most fun I've ever had writing.
  5. Like
    BarretWallace got a reaction from Christopher R Taylor in Marvel Cinematic Universe, Phase Three and BEYOOOOONND   
    For my part, my experience of the MCU came to a satisfying close with Endgame.  Essentially, I'm an outsider with respect to the post-Endgame stuff.  Now, there may be perfectly good offerings available, but I feel like Marvel has barfed out a prodigious volume of content, and just to catch up would take more time than I'd care to spend at present.  Maybe some day I'll dive back in, especially if they ever slow down a little.

    Maybe it's an age thing too.  To use an eating metaphor, these days I'd rather savor each bite vs. wolf down every plate as fast as I can.
  6. Haha
    BarretWallace reacted to Lord Liaden in Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)   
    Trump's brain is like a glass of carbonated water. Bubbles of gas randomly rise to the surface.
  7. Sad
    BarretWallace reacted to Cygnia in Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)   
    Ugh...
    Adobe is selling fake AI images of the war in Israel-Gaza
  8. Like
    BarretWallace reacted to Doc Democracy in Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)   
    As someone who works in a democratic institute, I appreciate the humour, but have concerns that this is entirely the kind of thing that anti-democratic folk build upon.  If you get convinced that you can trust no-one, that there is no value in voting and that those who seek public office should be barred from it, then you open the door to populists like Trump, who tell folk that he is the ONLY one you can trust and we can all see where that gets you.

    It is an insidious tendency and undermines both our democracy and our democratic institutions.  Once it is mainstream that you can believe nothing then there is a chance that you will believe anything.
     
    I work with politicians every day and I can tell you that they are human beings like the rest of us, the vast majority of those that I meet have honest intentions to make things better, even if their version of better does not match with mine.  I do see their public presentation be skewed by party political stress and the fact the media constantly looks to highlight those that speak differently from their party and forcing the tendency not to deviate from the party line in public discourse.  Intheir work I see nuance and humanity, I wish everyone could have the same insight and engagement.

    Doc
  9. Like
    BarretWallace reacted to tkdguy in Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)   
    Since we often post the negative stuff in this thread, here's something positive for a change:
     
    President Biden Announces Historic Railroad Modernization
     
    Speaking as someone who relies on the trains, I heartily approve!
  10. Like
    BarretWallace got a reaction from Hermit in The Reformed not likely to be used continuing NaNoWriMo thread   
    Best of luck with everything, @Cancer.  If I come up with any better words I'll send them.  Sometimes we wrap up some life issues only to take on more, and I wish you (and your wife!) well.
     
    My wife and I are fortunate enough to still have our parents, and our own health is decent.  As my mother in law is fond of saying, though, "You're day's coming!"  For now I'll just enjoy each time with our parents as it comes.
     
    Somewhat more on topic, the projects currently in my hopper are:
    Star Wars fan fiction.  This was originally inspired by characters I played in the old--err, classic--West End d6 roleplaying game.  The characters and story have evolved tremendously since these stories began in high school.  I have a fairly clear idea of the beginning and ending of the series, plus quite a bit in the middle.  It takes place during the classic setting of the roleplaying game, i.e. between Star Wars (yes, I still call it that) and The Empire Strikes Back.  This is the era I know best, and focusing here helps me avoid the headaches of choosing a head canon from the Expanded Universe (EU), EU 2.0 (post-sequel trilogy), and so on.  It follows the story of a small band of Rebels doing their part in the struggle against the Empire.  I might have some of the movie characters make small appearances--for example, Admiral Ackbar plays a peripheral role in a couple of stories--but that's about it.  The core of the story is the crew of a little freighter. Jurassic Park fan fiction.  Several fan fiction bits have started and fizzled.  Most were blatant self-insertions.  One was the story of a team of mercs sent to recover the shaving cream can dropped by Dennis Nedry.  Another explored what might have happened if things didn't go south until after the park opened.  As that became the plot of the Jurassic World movies, I will probably never revisit it.  What I've got in mind now is a retrospective told by Tim Murphy.  It begins at Alan Grant's funeral, where Tim decides to finally write down the events of that terrible weekend at Isla Nublar.  The idea grew during a recent family trip to Hawaii, plus 2023 being the 30th anniversary of the movie.  Maybe this one will die as the others did, but first I want to run with it a while. Scouting memoirs.  I've been involved in the same Scout troop since age 11.  I've got lots of stories to tell, and I'd like to write them down before they fade beyond recall.  I have no idea how I'd organize all this, so I'm just going to write and see where it leads. Recon compilation.  In college, we played a "Recon" campaign with US Special Forces soldiers using the Hero System 4E rules.  We had such a blast that our main GM continued writing these characters for over 40 stories.  I want to compile these into one whole, make one last round of edits, and then compile it into a final whole.  Most likely it would be just an e-book, but if I can find a suitable printing service, a physical copy would be fun too. All of these projects took on more life when I discovered Scrivener software and started playing around with it.  The way my brain works, Scrivener makes it a lot easier to keep disparate works organized into some kind of cohesive whole.  Much better than managing dozens of Word files.  It also allows great flexibility in organizing and compiling everything.
     
    Who knows how far any of this will go, but I look forward to the journey.
  11. Like
    BarretWallace reacted to Cancer in The Reformed not likely to be used continuing NaNoWriMo thread   
    Know that feeling. The thing I'm bashing on for this project is Book 3 of a tetrology I first started writing back around 1990.  Book 1 was completed but now only exists in a single printed version (disk failures, sigh).  A number of handwritten fragments exist for Book 2, a few more of Book 4.  Then my kids were born.  Then I got full-time teaching duties, and added some administrative ones, and so nothing more got done for 20+ years.  Kids are now out of school and I am retired.  (Wife has a serious illness now, so there's still significant distractions.) So away we go....
     
    Got a doctor's appointment in an hour, though.
  12. Like
    BarretWallace reacted to unclevlad in Coronavirus   
    The FDA has now approved a new COVID vaccine.  CDC meets tomorrow to discuss deployment.  Vaccines should be available later this week, according to NYT.
  13. Like
  14. Sad
    BarretWallace reacted to Hermit in The Reformed not likely to be used continuing NaNoWriMo thread   
    Today, we let our dog pass out of pain and out of this world. So I've not gotten any real writing done and not sure I will today.
  15. Like
    BarretWallace reacted to Cygnia in A gaming conundrum   
    So...
     
    Hubby's (high school/college aged) niece & nephew want to get into D&D.  Not RPGs in general, D&D.  So, 5e.
     
    ...and they're coercing their respective SOs into playing...
     
    ...and their two cousins (who live next door, but are currently vacationing in Europe right now, but are also drop in-drop out sort of players)...
     
    ...and Hubby wants to play...
     
    ...so, guess who's GMing?
     
    The 1st Session Zero was last week, because I want to make sure they know my table will be a safe place -- and that I don't like murderhobing/PVP.  That actions will have consequences and please, don't cross the line with Problematic Stuff.
     
    Nephew's GF (who really isn't as enthused as Nephew):  Can I play EVIL?
     
    Me (fighting down the throbbing vein that's just popped up on my temple) *stresses I prefer heroes and, since y'all are 1st lvl newbies anyways, ya gotta earn your spot into becoming a BBEG*
     
    Talk about various classes et al begins (I'm only sticking with the PHB because I don't want to deal with excess bookkeeping).  Remember, there are still two players I'm waiting on...
     
    Party so far... Hubby: Halfling Light cleric Niece: Wood Elf Rogue (eager for Arcane Trickster) Niece's BF: Mountain Dwarf Bard Nephew: Human Ranger Nephew's GF: I WANNA BE A PRINCESS~! (human sorceress) Vein continues to throb, but I can potentially make it work.  Initially, she also wanted to be DaenerysplayaDragonborn, but Dragonborn aren't "pretty".  Thank Arneson for small miracles there.  Going with the "runaway princess doesn't wanna a forced marriage" trope here.  Still missing the two cousins, so tonight I just wanna focus on combat and mechanics, look over what's been made and answer any que--
     
    Hubby, last night:  Oh, btw, ANOTHER cousin will be joining the group -- THEY ARE SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS~!
     
    Me, sighing: ...how much did you oversell me...?
     
  16. Like
    BarretWallace reacted to Lord Liaden in A gaming conundrum   
    Oh, I didn't forget that. There were dark forces aplenty in the original series, and much tragedy and loss. Treachery was the reason they were in that situation. But the core characters were bonded by loyalty, trust, compassion, love, the willingness to fight and sacrifice for their people, and their hopeful quest for "a shining planet known as Earth." Those bonds gave them strength to win through their challenges, and demonstrated why they deserved to survive and prevail.
     
    In the reboot series, no one trusted anyone. Betrayal could come from anywhere. The leaders deceived and manipulated their own people. Their desperate situation was of their own reprehensible making. It was so hard to root for them, or even care what happened to them. Every episode was bleak and angst-ridden, there was rarely any joy or humor. Trying to watch it, I felt like I was being worn down, until I finally had to stop.
  17. Like
    BarretWallace reacted to Lord Liaden in Marvel Cinematic Universe, Phase Three and BEYOOOOONND   
    It may be a coincidence, but it did seem like the recent fan-disappointing trends started production about the time Stan Lee was in his final decline. We've all tended to give a lot of credit to Marvel's success to Kevin Feige, but I wonder now if Stan's creative input was more critical than we realized.
  18. Like
    BarretWallace reacted to Lord Liaden in Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)   
    But there's also another side to social media, those who use it to deceive in order to shape public opinion. Like a new BBC video report circulating that cited another trusted investigative source that weapons provided to Ukraine were sent to Hamas and used in the attack on Israel. Except that it was a slick fake, both the BBC and the other source denied they had anything to do with that report. Or another recent video purporting to show Hamas paratroopers landing in Israel and attacking civilians, but which was actually a training exercise for Egyptian paratroopers in Cairo.
     
    Disinformation is getting very convincing. Nowadays we have to corroborate what we see and hear on social media carefully. Look to see if any other trusted source is carrying the story. Check the website of a source quoted or cited to see if it's also there.
     
     
  19. Like
    BarretWallace reacted to Christopher R Taylor in Marvel Cinematic Universe, Phase Three and BEYOOOOONND   
    All they had to do in the previous movies was have even one line mentioning her being interested in science or how pym particles worked.  They didn't because they were relying on previous knowledge from comic books or just assuming it happens because that's how they did it in the comics.  Its bad writing when you don't set up a major shift like that.  Having her be the bestest evar better than Hank Pym himself and smarter than them all leaves a bad taste in people's mouths.
     
    And having three girls suddenly show up out of nowhere as super genius uber scientists better than everybody else feels like a pretty forced pattern, as well.  Yes, the comics do it too, and its lame there, as well.
  20. Like
    BarretWallace reacted to Iuz the Evil in Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)   
    Trump is unambiguously the worst candidate imaginable, utterly contemptible and deserving of public scorn. He is the closest thing imaginable to my worst nightmare, making me actually yearn for the incompetent leadership of George W Bush by comparison (who once made me say or out loud through his actions “please never again let there be a President dumber than I am”).
     
    Biden is not a good candidate. He is a good man, there is a big difference. He looks ancient, confused, and has not become more articulate as the term progressed. That isn’t to say that I do not wildly prefer his policies. The biggest failing of the Democratic Party in recent years is they have utterly failed to develop a deep bench. What are we facing right now? Kamala Harris? Gavin Newsom? 
     
    Save us from that. What happened to the Barack Obama speech in the 2004 DNC? 
     
     
    I accept that we are in a post moderate world, so my preferences are largely marginalized and irrelevant for either party. I just want people I can believe in.
     
     Like Clinton did in 2012 (admittedly after his Presidency)…
     
     
     If it comes to Gavin Newsom versus Donald Trump, I honestly don’t know what I’d do. I cannot cast a vote for either man, and as someone in public service I cannot begin to express what a huge statement that is for me. I’d prefer Harris, she’s at least a progressive version of GWB in my estimation. 
     
    We need to do better, and that begins at the local level. Give me someone who wants to serve. Came up through public office, but isn’t a raging narcissist in the pocket of corporate interests (thank you Citizens United). Someone who can compromise, and who sees all Americans as their constituents. Not just those who voted for them.
     
     It is a difficult time for me. I accept that others may feel differently, but I can’t stand this. Ugh. 
     
    I hope for a better tomorrow.
     
  21. Haha
    BarretWallace reacted to Cygnia in Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)   
  22. Like
    BarretWallace reacted to Lord Liaden in Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)   
    Putin needs Trump back in the White House. That's his only practical chance to end US military support for Ukraine.
  23. Like
    BarretWallace reacted to Lord Liaden in Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)   
    Hugh, I used to live in Sudbury, Ontario. If you don't know what that means, look it up.
     
    But on the related political front, when I was a kid, air and water pollution were huge worries. Many people, including serious experts, feared that we were making our environment toxic and unlivable. If circumstances didn't change, it would have become so. But they changed. We changed them. Same sort of fears for overpopulation, and for global nuclear annihilation. We changed. The changes weren't smooth, and not all were deliberate, and they often came at a high cost. But they came. We're still here.
     
    That's why I don't despair whenever the fear of the day is raised. In my lifetime I've seen the human race beat the odds again and again. There are very serious issues, and they carry high risk, and it's frustrating to see many people stick their heads in the sand over them. But we've been there before. It's the one irrefutable argument for hope: We're still here.
  24. Haha
    BarretWallace reacted to Christopher R Taylor in DC Movies- if at first you don't succeed...   
    SPOOON!!!!
     

  25. Sad
    BarretWallace reacted to Hermit in Coronavirus   
    Two of our Household got it a week ago, now a third. This with shots and one of them wearing masks to this day despite the weird looks she gets.
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