thegreenteagamer |
2 people marked this as a favorite. |
The example was not given to illustrate that Vegas was a place to strike it rich, but rather how abyssal the chances of winning the lottery are, and how incredibly foolish it is to flush your money down the toilet playing it.
Also, something like 99% of people who win the lottery wind up completely and utterly broke in under five years, having no idea how to properly manage that kind of money. Pretty much, if you can't handle 20K, you'll never be able to handle 20 mil.
Mmm, naked and talking about money. *Scrooge McDuck dive into the pile*
Going to need a long shower after. Money is filthy.
Sharoth |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I would want between 20 to 30 million for myself and my wife. I would pay off all my debts, buy a new house, and invest the rest. The only reason why I would want that much is because inflation and taxes would take such a big chunk out of it. And since I plan on living a long time, that becomes an issue. ~grins~ Honestly, 1.5 milling would pay off all my debts, buy a new house, and put $600,000 aside for retirement. I would still have to work, but at that point I get to have vacations too!
Raven Moon |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
According to our intelligence they were in possession of weapons of mass destruction.
On a serious note I was boots on the ground in Iraq during the 2003 invasion. I saw with my own eyes WMDs. Not nuclear weapons but weapons of mass destruction.
Now back to our regularly scheduled shenanigans.
Imperial Advisor Arem Heshvaun |
2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I am sharing this here as well as the Rogue One thread.
Exclusive excerpt from Chapter 5 of Star Wars: Rogue One: Catalyst.
The tall gates swung open and suddenly Galen Erso was standing alongside the carriage, bracketed by two prison guards, looking much thinner than Lyra allowed herself to admit. The guards, however, made no effort to restrain him when he shuffled to her, embracing her and Jyn for a long moment.
“You look lovelier than ever,” he said, stepping back to take them in. His eyes went to Jyn. “Let me hold her.”
Lyra passed Jyn to him. Carefully he peeled away the swaddling that masked her face and smiled more broadly than Lyra had ever seen him smile. Jyn stirred in his arms, and Lyra said: “She remembers you, Galen.”
“She’s beautiful,” he said, inspecting her face. “Her eyes have changed color.”
Lyra nodded. “They’re sort of flecked.”
“Stardust,” Galen said. “That’s what’s in her eyes.”
“Galen, what’s happening?” Lyra risked asking. “Why have we been brought here. They’re not going to—”
“I haven’t been told anything. They took me out of my cell before dawn.”
“The same with us. I’m worried.”
“Don’t be.” He showed her his grimy hands. “See? No restraints. And no one has brandished a weapon at me all morning.”
Lyra didn’t find much relief in it. “Could they be sending us somewhere else? Is there a worse prison?”
Before he could reply, one of the guards ordered Galen up into the carriage.
He did as instructed, and the drivers snapped their whips over the heads of the lead taqwa, who set off at a brisk pace. The carriage’s wooden wheels bounded over bumps and ruts, and Lyra inadvertently bit down on her tongue. When Tambolor had disappeared from view, Galen raised himself up on the bench seat to take a look around.
“We’re heading for the spaceport.”
Lyra’s eyes widened. “You don’t think—”
“I don’t want to jinx anything by thinking.”
As if on cue, a starship appeared high overhead and began a very controlled descent toward the landing zone.
Galen squinted at the emblem emblazoned on the light-freighter’s underbelly. “Zerpen!”
Lyra put the edge of her hand to her brow and followed his gaze. “Since when does Zerpen Industries fly anything that ragged?”
Galen ignored the question. “I knew they wouldn’t forget us.”
Lyra gave her head a shake, as if to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. She hugged Jyn closer as the Zerpen vessel settled on its trio of landing gear, blasting everyone with grit. The boarding ramp lowered and a sole figure in a white environment suit similarly emblazoned with the company logo descended to the pad. Lyra felt her jaw drop, and when she turned to Galen she saw that he too was agape.
“Orson Krennic?” she whispered.
He nodded, seemingly incapable of speaking or looking away
“But—”
“We need to play this by ear,” Galen managed.
Their captors met Krennic halfway, and the three of them stood regarding one another for a long moment.
Krennic looked around with purpose before speaking. “Which of you is in charge?”
Chieftain Gruppe answered him in Basic. “The Dergue has granted me authority to settle this matter.”
Krennic opened his jacket and pulled out a datapad, calling Gruppe’s attention to something on the display screen, “Satisfied?”
Gruppe nodded and Krennic handed the datapad to the chieftain. “Yours to keep.”
Gruppe dropped the datapad into one of her coat pockets and motioned to where Galen and Lyra were standing. “I don’t suppose there’s any need to introduce you.”
Krennic grinned and sauntered over to them. Reaching for Galen’s hand, he said: “Dr. Erso, I’m so relieved to find you in good health.” He turned to Lyra while he was still pumping Galen’s hand. “And Mrs. Erso, and—oh, my, is this the child?”
Lyra had her mouth open to respond but nothing emerged.
“May I have a peek?”
She moved Jyn forward and removed the wrappings that covered her face.
“Precious! She looks just like you!”
Business-like once more, Krennic returned to the boarding ramp. “Dr. Erso, if you and your wife would be so kind as to hurry aboard.”
“I hope that your journeys are fruitful,” Chieftain Gruppe called out as Galen and Lyra were climbing into the ship.
Once inside, Krennic whirled Galen into an embrace. “How wonderful to see you after all this time!”
“Orson, I don’t under—”
“Not now,” Krennic interrupted, stepping back but continuing to grip Galen’s arms. “I’ll explain everything in due course, but right now there are more important matters to attend to.”
Everyone moved into the main cabin, where three other humans with close-cropped hair were seated at various duty stations. All eyes were on them as Galen and Lyra strapped into one of the acceleration couches. Lyra cradled Jyn close.
“Contact Commander Prakas as soon as we lift off,” Krennic told the comm tech as he was strapping in. “Tell him to give us just enough time to get up the well.”
The freighter lifted off and rocketed into Vallt’s pale sky. Galen turned his attention to the cabin’s starboard-side viewport as stars began to reveal themselves.
“Brace yourselves for evasive action,” Krennic warned.
Galen twisted slightly in the direction of the viewport. A sudden shift in the starfield was followed by a brief glimpse of a Separatist warship bristling with weapons; then the darkening sky came alive with crisscrossing hyphens of laser fire.
“Ha! So much for honoring the terms of the exchange!” Krennic shouted.
Lyra pressed Jyn more tightly to her chest as the freighter was jolted by fire. A flash of nova-bright light filled the viewport and the freighter rolled over on its port side, its belly peppered with debris.
“Lieutenant-Commander, we’re in position.”
Krennic swiveled toward the console. “Right on schedule, Prakas! There were droids and a Settie-class dropship on the surface, though it might be in the air by now. When you’re done with them, target the city.”
“Orson, no!” Lyra said in an anguished voice. “It’s done. It’s over with!”
“Not quite,” Krennic said without looking at her. His gaze favored Galen. “A strike will give the pro-Republic legions an opportunity to reclaim power. What’s more, we promised Zerpen that they’d get their ignition facility back.”
“They’re harmless, Orson,” Galen said, “Separatists or no.”
Krennic’s look was patronizing. “Perhaps. But we’re at war, and they’re on the wrong side.”
Tacticslion |
I spent the preponderance of this morning fixing my internet. After a couple hours with a tech, we... reset the modem. I'd already done that, of course, but this time it worked because aid spent so much time on the phone. Daggummit.
So a little bit ago, I went to make a post here about how badly this had messed me up in a way I hadn't yet realized. Then I couldn't access the Internet. Again. DAGGUMMIT. >:|
TriOmegaZero |
3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Darth Yesterday wrote:According to our intelligence they were in possession of weapons of mass destruction.On a serious note I was boots on the ground in Iraq during the 2003 invasion. I saw with my own eyes WMDs. Not nuclear weapons but weapons of mass destruction.
So was I. Ammunition Supply, even. In charge of captured enemy munitions.
Hmm |
2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I wanted to post something about values, and how even an abandoned faith could inform them, and then realized that I would be breaking the rules, and I would then have to blame Cosmo.
So I won't.
Instead, I'll leave you all to go draw maps.
Hmm
NobodysHome |
3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Aaaaaand, we're off to Disneyland... AGAIN!!!
Greatly looking forward to seeing the Halloween decorations again this year (it's been a few years since we could afford the October trip), but I do regret not sneaking in around Christmas.
Not only because I haven't seen their Christmas stuff, but because my office has a mandatory vacation that week, so I've got the days off anyway.
(Yep. The sign of a failing corporation is, "You have to take these days off, and you have to take your own vacation days to do it."
Does WONDERS for employee morale...)
Limeylongears |
3 people marked this as a favorite. |
I did that last night. Tonight I have an art class with the wife. Neither of us have had any sleep and we are both very angry, sad and weighted down. I should be hearing new information any moment about the situation but Its been a very rough 24 hours.
Best wishes from us all - hope it gets sorted out :)
Tacticslion |
2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Raven Moon wrote:I did that last night. Tonight I have an art class with the wife. Neither of us have had any sleep and we are both very angry, sad and weighted down. I should be hearing new information any moment about the situation but Its been a very rough 24 hours.Best wishes from us all - hope it gets sorted out :)
Definitely. Praying for you guys.
baron arem heshvaun |
Tacticslion |
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRINCESS!
The story, like most of Carry Fischer's, is awful.
Happy Birthday to her, nonetheless~!
Kajehase |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Can't find my good shorts, and I wore my not as good shorts yesterday, which means I'm forced to wear my jeans.
Man, do I hate pants!
Thankfully, next week I go clearance shorts shopping, gotta make sure I'm stocked up for winter.
Last winter I slipped on a piece of ice while wearing some nice costume trousers and ripped the knee. They made surprisingly stylish shorts.
captain yesterday |
2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Thanks everyone for the support. Its going to be a long road but I may be able to save a child in the process of all of this. She needs it. I just dont want her to end up without anyone and spend the rest of her childhood in the system as she has had it rough enough.
Good for you! Decisions like that are never easy. Be strong and have patience. If you need anything let us know, my dad is a retired social worker and special ed teacher. :-)
captain yesterday |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
captain yesterday wrote:Last winter I slipped on a piece of ice while wearing some nice costume trousers and ripped the knee. They made surprisingly stylish shorts.Can't find my good shorts, and I wore my not as good shorts yesterday, which means I'm forced to wear my jeans.
Man, do I hate pants!
Thankfully, next week I go clearance shorts shopping, gotta make sure I'm stocked up for winter.
I really need to get more trousers, right now I'm down to one pair for work, and a pair of jeans for shoveling snow or when it gets below -20 or so.
Tacticslion |
Raven Moon wrote:Thanks everyone for the support. Its going to be a long road but I may be able to save a child in the process of all of this. She needs it. I just dont want her to end up without anyone and spend the rest of her childhood in the system as she has had it rough enough.Good for you! Decisions like that are never easy. Be strong and have patience. If you need anything let us know, my dad is a retired social worker and special ed teacher. :-)
My sister's been through it. I know the adoption process well. It sucks. Be patient and remain at peace - it's extremely easy to say and extremely hard to do, I know. Peace - and even joy - during this frustrating, emotional time.
Celestial Healer |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Celestial Healer wrote:very much so. My boss has been breathing down my neck about it. It is getting to the point that it would be faster to walk.Freehold DM wrote:Has it been taking longer than usual lately?Over an hour commute to work today.
This is getting out of hand.
Any paritcular reason? Is there construction or something?
captain yesterday |
3 people marked this as a favorite. |
The General is working OT this morning, and because parking is free on the weekends and she started at 6 am she drove.
So, naturally twice this morning I've said to the kids "hold on I need to get something from the car" only to walk outside to no car.
The kids of course find it hilarious and sit in the bay window to watch my reaction.