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The main issue is the crime. Medellin was the world capital, more or less, in the 80s. It's gone down a lot since the druglords got organized and the really bad ones got assassinated, though.
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Everyone does, and compromises must be made for happiness.
I will vote for any supervillain who runs for governor of Florida if he offers to put up a Burns-inspired dish blocking the sun in the summer, or to cap, dome, and air condition the state.
The main issue is the crime. Medellin was the world capital, more or less, in the 80s. It's gone down a lot since the druglords got organized and the really bad ones got assassinated, though.
This must be very exciting for you!
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If you come north, the Zika virus can't get to you.
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After SARS, bird flu, swine flu, ebola, and countless other pandemics, I don't let the media dictate my fear.
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I had swine flu.
I'd rather not describe how terrible it was, let's just say, a fever consistently in the 102-104 degree range for over a week was the least uncomfortable part of it.
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Although after reading up on it more, I'm dubious it is the cause for microcephely (sp?) they make it out to be, I also suspect media hysteria.
Edit: just trying to use it to my advantage is all. It is proven tho, that people living in northern climates are healthier and suffer less infections such as those. :-)
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CH liked it, so Imma give you mooooore!
Working on the idea for my drow game.
** spoiler omitted **...
Beyond that, there is a rich cultural tradition of tattoos, all of which are white, to clearly differentiate between drow-made and spiderkissed (not that people could reliably imitate spiderkissed markings anyway).
The one place where males can earn near-equal standing is the Hellgate: the primary entrance-area to and from the Hellscape above and from whence seemingly endless invasions of Hellscape natives pass through. If they have a talent for the arcane (a power too valuable and rare to waste in Hellgate) and they are willing to put it to the service of the drow )and they are: servility, remember?) then they are basically treated like any other free citizen, much to the pearl-clutching horror of... pretty much everything else. Moral repugnance aside, this has created some problems in Hellgate (such as the rise of the worship of the alien god Mystery among the religious arcane there), though it has caused far, far fewer deaths, in-total, than they would have suffered without such permissions.
It's worth noting: most males don't want equality anyway. They are content with the worship of Worthlessness (their patron) and their state of servility. Those who do become full citizens in Hellgate often do so out of a sense of responsibility and duty, rather than ambition. Though those few with ambition can cause great problems...
Omnisexuality is the norm: there is no particular mandate for any sexual behavior other than "at some point produce babies, 'cause we need those, Daggummit" which generally suits most of the populous just fine.
Politics is a thing. There is lots of honor and loyalty everywhere all up in everything. This strong devotion causes problems, however, when it runs counter to other strong devotions. About the only thing you can safely say reliably is that those in the Jade Empire revere the Empress and the goddess Beauty, those in Hellgate revere their sacred duty to the world and Lady of Rings and Masks, those in the gray waste revere their freedom and/or local queen (though these can be misleading), and those from the Great Ice revere it. And, of course, there are always exceptions.
Another thing that keeps happening is the Fiendblooded... but I suppose I'll get to that another time.
Enjoy!
Every Christmas I get a 25 dollar ITunes card, every year I wait until I get absolutely fed up with winter before I splurge on ways to escape.
This year, due to El Nino winter, I made it the longest I ever have, one of things I got was the first three episodes of season two of Fargo.
Holy s@#* is it f$#*ing spectacular! Takes the crime noir genre to whole new levels. It's heads above the first season, truly one of the best shows on television, ever.
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That sucks, if it helps, I've heard great things about Boise, and when we traveled west, was one of nicer mountain state cities we traveled thru.
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At least it's not Detroit.
Or Illinois (any city, they all suck).
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Yeah but Detroit is a city with so much crime and so few cops that the police themselves have warned people to stay out of entire sections and rich people hire private security forces for nice neighborhoods. Stands out as a lot worse than, say, Chicago.
Have you ever been to Chicago.
Detroit is worse off granted, but Chicago is a filthy cesspool of villainy, corruption and trash everywhere, and I mean everywhere.
Nothing good ever comes when I go to Chicago, nothing.
I really hate Chicago. :-)
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It's too bad I'm the only one residing in the tundra. :-)
Yeah...
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Move to Medellin, Colombia, city of eternal spring. It's where I want to retire. It's on the equator, but in the mountains, so it never gets hotter than 80 or colder than 60 year round.
Sounds like hell.
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I could have done without all the snow this morning, Freehold.
I am way too busy at work, so I had to drag my butt in through the snow anyway.
Hey man, I'm out in sunny California, where it has been quite chilly in Laguna, so it's not me this time.
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I had swine flu.
I'd rather not describe how terrible it was, let's just say, a fever consistently in the 102-104 degree range for over a week was the least uncomfortable part of it.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW
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CH liked it, so Imma give you mooooore!
** spoiler omitted **...Working on the idea for my drow game.
** spoiler omitted **...
Wow. This is nice. And this is coming from someone who hates drow due to Forgotten Realms influence.
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I've been to the one in Hudds, but not Leeds - mind you, boozers tend to come and go at a dizzying rate there. Where's the Leeds one?Have you been to the 'Head of Steam' in Leeds, better than the Tapped for price & a good selection of beers (& music).
Just near the train station, sort of to the left. Then again there's so many pubs in Leeds :D
(Hence why we end up doing a York or Otley pub crawl.)
Ta - I'll check it out :)
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Have you ever been to Chicago.
Detroit is worse off granted, but Chicago is a filthy cesspool of villainy, corruption and trash everywhere, and I mean everywhere.
Nothing good ever comes when I go to Chicago, nothing.
I really hate Chicago. :-)
I like Chicago. I occasionally take day trips there to shop and eat. It seems wonderful.
Detroit on the other hand doesn't really draw me there... Though I did shop at the IKEA near Farmington once.
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Move to Medellin, Colombia, city of eternal spring. It's where I want to retire. It's on the equator, but in the mountains, so it never gets hotter than 80 or colder than 60 year round.Sounds like hell.
Why? Do you like extreme temperatures? If so, why are you in California? I'm sure rent is cheaper in Alaska, Arizona, Louisiana, North Dakota, or any other number of extremely hot or extremely cold areas.
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He likes cold. He's visiting Cali. :)
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He's from New York City.
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As far as cities go.
I'm a big, big fan of Seattle, but i can't recommend Tacoma, it's actually probably one of the worst cities i've ever been to, except Chicago (admittedly my bias against Chicago is entirely personal, in that personally i've never, ever had a good time there, it's literally like "Homer Simpson vs. New York City").
And it's also not a bias against big cities, there is nothing i love more then navigating a new city (my dream job is to be a cab driver in London, on account of navigating the London street system every day increases how much of your brain you use).
Sorry i'm all over the place today, it's one of those days.
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I've been saying "literally" entirely too much today.
Literally.
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In my experience with big cities, Atlanta is a hellhole that smells like ass and is constantly hotter than Florida somehow, Miami is nice if you know where to be but pretty bad otherwise, and DC is a glorious place I would move to if I could afford it.
The other major cities I've been in aren't really major, just major for Florida, like Tallahassee, Orlando, and Tampa.
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In my experience with big cities, Atlanta is literally a hellhole that smells like ass and is literally constantly hotter than Florida somehow, Miami is nice if you literally know where to be but pretty bad otherwise, and DC is a glorious place I would move to if I could literally afford it.
The other major cities I've been in aren't really major, just major for Florida, like Tallahassee, Orlando, and Tampa.
Ftfy :-)
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In my experience with big cities, Atlanta is literally a hellhole that smells like ass.Ftfy :-)
You know, considering the residents drive like f***ing demons and the smell and feel of the place, I am willing to believe that is the correct use of the word "Literally".
Atlanta: America's Worldwound.
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Sigh, another Mardi Gras weekend,... then Mardi Gras.
Going to a parade can be fun, but after so many years of living through Mardi Gras in Louisiana, I am just to the point of;
"WHY am I standing in the <insert cruddy weather here> trying to catch cheap-@$$ plastic beads in the middle of a crowd of ravenous and RUDE bead-starved maniac @$$-hats who will happily knock you over to catch the throws that if we do catch we are only going to throw away or store in the garage until it overflows?!?!"
Or, it might just be me today. Because,...
<a-Hem>
HAppy Birthday to Meeeeee!
HAppy Birthday to MEeeeeeee!
Happy Birthday old wizaaaaaaard!
You can no longer pretend your twenty-Threeeeee!
Yes. It is the 25th anniversary of my 25th birthday. I AM the dreaded FIVE-OH.
I still maintain that it isn't the years, it's the mileage. :)
Eh, either way, I'm doomed :/
Happy Mardi Gras weekend to all!
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Happy birthday Ragadolf!
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And a happy half-centenary to you, Ragadolf.
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And argument could be made for Detroit, but I see that as the eighth layer of hell that Mephistopheles runs...you know, the cold one.
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Happy birthday, Grandpa! Just remember that there is dirt younger than you.
Note - I just turned 46 so I am not that far behind you. ~checks my weapons~ So watch your back, old man! I am gunning for you!
~grins~
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I actually LIKE Atlanta, but I also know that it has it's issues.
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Ninjad by half a dozen happy birthdays, of which I now add my own. HB.
Happy Birthday! That's awesome!
This is pretty scary if you really think about it.
Cute video. But ultimately wrong. No economy can survive humans being unemployable.
Although we will see the biggest test of this within 5 years when cab drivers are replaced by robots dropping massive numbers into unemployment.
That's the thing, though. There will always be "an economy" and there will humans who are employed... the only question is employed doing what and what the rocky, bumpy road will be met on the way there.
And I think that's more his point. There will come a point at which many are unemployable, but not all, and certainly not at the same time, which is the real issue here. (I based this on the fact that, although it's potentially very frightening, he takes pains to point out that his video is neither an intrinsically scary one, nor that it's a bad trend.) At some point, automation will, in fact, slowly creep into various other tasks, but, as someone in a video I watched very recently pointed out... we're approaching a real, solid physical limit to the size of information (and thus processing) we can accomplish.
The whole automation revolution Grey presupposes there is very much so analogous to the Technological Singularity in my mind: evidenced by a distinct trend that isn't guaranteed to continue, but, if it does, will definitively alter things to the point that they're not really too recognizable from the current way of looking at things.
I wouldn't go so far as to say anyone is wrong... merely that, because we've not seen it happen yet, we can only guess. Time, as they say, will tell.
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You know, maybe it's the "born and raised a granola-eating environmentalist backpacker" in me, but sometimes I find products that just have me wondering, "Why?!?!"
I can understand self-cleaning litterboxes for people who are too "clean" to do it themselves, or the little baggies people wear on their hands to scoop up their dog poop.
But my radioactive cat is coming home today, and I had to put litter box liners on all the litterboxes because her excretia will be radioactive.
(Best line so far: "Everyone knows that you don't bring a radioactive cat to a parent-teacher conference!")
And litter box liners. Hoo, boy! Who ever thought of THIS product? "I'm going to take a garbage bag and stick it in the litter box... 'cause... ???"
The cats are going to hate them. They like scratching the plastic walls of the litter boxes. I hate them already because they are just more plastic to throw away. They're not any cleaner than not having them; I mean, it's still cat litter.
I just don't understand the product.
If I hadn't opened them and used a couple already, I'd return the package and just get a couple of disposable litterboxes for the next couple of weeks. I think in the long run it would be less effort, less plastic, and fewer weird crinkling noises in the night.
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Happy BDay wizard!
Drow game.
Wow. This is nice. And this is coming from someone who hates drow due to Forgotten Realms influence.
I like drow, and your take is really interesting.
Glad you both like it!
One of the ways I can get away with sidestepping the usual issues with magic and fixing everything is actually the Cortex system I'm cribbing from the Firefly game (sorry, Freehold!), which means the codified spells of D&D and PF need not directly apply (although liberal interpretation from them certainly can and should).
Humorously (for me), the main source of inspiration other than "I want to make a drow game" was to google "drow" and start looking at the images and downloading those that were inspirational in some way for future reference.
I found a map from a videogame who's colors inspired the tone of the four worlds, and massively cribbed from every drow source I could, then took one or two steps away from that (or, at least, from my vague memory, thereof).
Anyway, I'm planning on collecting these posts and doing somethign with them now that I've got at least two people who like them, but for now...
entry three...
- Beauty: a goddess of allure, beauty, caring, pleasure, and absolute totalitarian authority
- the Great Ice: an underground magical glacier worshiped as an anthropomorphized god(dess?)
and the source of great mystical power
- The Lady of Rings and Masks: a goddess of noted for her eight “rings” (pairs of associations):
assassins and hunting, battle prowess and swordwork, bloodlust and vengeance, chaos
and rebels, dances and songs, lights and surfaces, outcasts and slaves, and thieves and
undeath; each of these represent a facet of drow society and culture, though different
rings mean different things – different societies are “for” or “against” the things in
different rings, each taking scripture to prove their own interpretation.
- Mystery: a (relatively) ‘divine’ concept of magical essence; theorized by some to be a literal
illusion granted effective divinity by worship and funneled magical power that it doles
out to its followers; it is an alien god from somewhere beyond the World
- Worthlessness: a god of change, deception, drow males, immoral action, “icky” things (jellies, oozes,
slimes, etc.), obedience, and subservience; kept chained and tamed by Yoth, as is proper, to prevent
his bestial idiocy from destroying everyone; it is the most often ignored or replaced
deity of the ‘core’ pantheon of the drow religions
- Yoth: a goddess of arachnids and aberrant arachnid-kin creatures, crafts, demons, and fate
Terms
- Priestess: any religious devotee who gains power from her goddess
- Spiderkissed: an especially blessed, (at least slightly) insane, and exceptionally potent female;
always visually marked in some way, though sometimes it is “hidden” in strange places;
they are believed to be favored by Yoth; males are “Scorpionstung” but are
exceptionally rare.
- Mockery (Vulkoor): betrayal and bloodshed; combat, dishonor, murder, terror, and treachery;
this is a non-divine but personified concept of service to the Lady of Rings and Masks.
Personified as a scorpion.
- Mul: a naturally-born male; these bestial idiot-savants are the ‘natural’ males of drow kind;
however they are rarely used for any breeding reasons, and are instead treated as a kind
of highly muscled (ugly) slave. There are fewer born every year, and those who do, are
more and more often fiendblooded.
- Fiendblooded: a creature born with fiendish characteristics; often considered a great honor to
the family that has them, though the creatures themselves are often not personally
honored as more than exceptionally rare and valuable slaves. Some similar creatures
born to certain groups are termed Virtueblooded instead and are considered not only
sacred, but benevolent; an occurrence most common among the Great Ice followers.
- Jyfanii: a sacred fluid that is fed to pregnant drow chosen (often by lot) by lot to ensure their
children become males at puberty; it is crafted from various jellies, oozes, slimes, and
poisons carefully balanced with fungi and moss spores with priestess’ powers to become
a transformative elixir
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Stupid headache, I blame winter.
Also dehydration.
Yes, I'm drinking water, now. :-)
Also should probably stop pushing myself trying to keep up with the winter clutter that inevitably pushes the walls in.
I hate February, the worst part of winter.
Except, of course for Valentine's day, my favorite holiday. :-)