Tali'Thread vas Clan Zorah nar BSN 6.0

[Vol]

Finally remembered to pay my taxes. Doubled last years income, which is still less than half what it should be, and yet, my tax bill is half of what it was. So that's nice. My income/expenses were about 0, including overspending on a new GPU because I was very correct in that shortages would persist. If this year isn't better though, going to need to consider the bulk rice and bean diet, at least for some days.

It's also much easier on the heart letting Triss go than Yennefer, given that the game pretty much has hers and Geralt's romantic relationship over when the game begins, while Yen and Geralt are pretty much in a relationship. The only one who really objects is Dijkstra and... you know. Dijkstra.

Right, but my experience was playing TW1 (I may have gone with the red-headed medic, but ended up with Triss, I think), then years later TW2, again with Triss, then come TW3, I'm now introduced to Yennefer and Ciri, two extremely important people to Geralt that I've known nothing about until then and expected to have these deep emotional connections by fiat, and to recast what's happened in the first two games in new light of it.

Though it might also be my ancient weeaboo arguments against tsundere girls (_Fucking_ Love Hina and Narusegawa) bubbling up.

Upon reading the books, it's just very hard to pick anybody but Yennefer because Geralt just wouldn't pick anybody but Yennefer.

They have a fraught, on-off again relationship in which they both periodically cheat and one or the other gets in a big fight with the interloper and drives them off. It's ambiguous if this is purely because of the djinn or if the djinn is just an excuse for something they'd do anyway. I think it's that Geralt is horny as fuck and sucks at monogamy and Yennefer can't/won't stop using sex as power games.

Also Ciri thinks of Yennefer as her mother which becomes part of the calculus as well.

I've heard that a lot. I appreciate how they handled the djinn because of that, all very murky (Wasn't the wish a dramatic gesture during a fight or something to that effect?) but with the option to end it there. Though in terms of relationships, they seem like terrible people anyway.

[Sinekein]

The books are basically Geralt and Yennefer with the emotional maturity of young adults. In The Witcher 3, they are much closer to stable adults. They both improve over time.

Also yeah, romancing Triss only makes sense if you did not read the books. And even then, I would almost say Geralt had a stronger bond with Shani than with her. Triss was firmly in Geralt's friendzone, she is even iirc on the very short list of Sorceresses Geralt did not sleep with before the games started. Although I don't remember whether he slept with Keira in the books or not. The only two I am certain he did not bed are Philippa and Francesca.

If memory serves, Geralt made the wish because the djinn was out of control and was probably going to murder Yennefer during an experiment of hers (I think it was about becoming fertile again?), so he did it to save her life. He says.

[Vol]

Shani's much more of a character too. Dynamic with the old lady, being a medic, amateur autopsy, the party, helping with Salamandra. Triss was more of a plot device, though there was some decision branch where she'd be actively unhelpful to a potentially fatal degree if you didn't give her something.

I played Geralt very neutrally, though I don't think I ended up on the proper neutral path in TW1. Didn't kill any Witchers, monsters, or people if I could avoid it, didn't play politics insomuch as it was possible. Aimed for the romantic mercenary with a heart of gold. Didn't work out that way, but hey.

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoiwcdqMlCA

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0CwKsd9eE0

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAmueMsFR1o

"Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet will launch for Nintendo Switch in late 2022 worldwide. First details: The Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet games, the newest chapters in the Pokémon series, are coming to Nintendo Switch later this year. With these new titles, the Pokemon series takes a new evolutionary step, allowing you to explore freely in a richly expressed open world. Various towns blend seamlessly into the wilderness with no borders. You’ll be able to see the Pokemon of this region in the skies, in the seas, in the forests, on the streets—all over! You’ll be able to experience the true joy of the Pokemon series—battling against wild Pokemon in order to catch them—now in an open-world game that players of any age can enjoy.​ After their release, Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet will be able to link with Pokemon HOME, a service that allows Trainers to keep their entire Pokemon collection in one place. By linking these games with Pokemon HOME, Trainers will be able to have Pokemon from other regions adventure alongside them in Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet. The three Pokemon from which you’ll be able to choose your first partner are Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly. How will you meet these three, and what sorts of Pokemon are they? Sprigatito, The capricious, attention-seeking Grass Cat Pokemon. Fuecoco, The laid-back Fire Croc Pokemon that does things at its own pace. Quaxly, The earnest and tidy Duckling Pokemon."

[Dragaros]

[magnuskn]

Been playing some more Total War: Warhammer 3 with my friends in multiplayer. Zhao Ming is even easier than his sister Miao Ying. You start out with ogres to the south, which you can easily turn friendly with his skills (he gets a +40 to diplomatic relations with them at about level 10 with one skill point). Then you just confederate the rest of Cathay as fast as possible (I had it done before turn 50), kill a few minor skaven and greenskins and sit on your ass waiting for chaos rifts to open or Miao Ying to fail defending the gates, so you can take over. Do not venture outside of Cathay, unless it is on a well armed expedition to wipe out the nearby settlements of Kairos Fateweaver, and you are golden. The units of Cathay are also really strong.

Kislev is hellish compared to that. Zhao Ming probably should be the starter campaign for everybody, since it is so damn easy.

[Vol]

That new Pokemon game looks really neat. How much longer is the Switch's expected lifespan?

@magnus: I was hearing the exact same thing in fact. Should've been the starter faction, not Kislev or Prince. Only faction I haven't touched yet too. Tried Nurgle for the first time, briefly, this afternoon. On turn 4, lost to a third-stack of Norsca + a small garrison, because I couldn't beat Marauders in the melee grind with the tier 2 melee guys. Think the plague toads lost to them too.

[magnuskn]

@magnus: I was hearing the exact same thing in fact. Should've been the starter faction, not Kislev or Prince. Only faction I haven't touched yet too. Tried Nurgle for the first time, briefly, this afternoon. On turn 4, lost to a third-stack of Norsca + a small garrison, because I couldn't beat Marauders in the melee grind with the tier 2 melee guys. Think the plague toads lost to them too.

I got a friend here who almost exclusively plays Nurgle and it seems to work out for him. Not my style of play, grindingly slow units and so on, but apparently with the right plagues you can do it well enough.

[Sinekein]

Water starter looks adorable, but I can already picture being stuck with a 4x weakness to electric types once he's fully evolved. Thanks but no thanks.

I usually go with the Grass starter (even though I picked Squirtle, Mudkip and Fennekin too), so it's probably going to be the case once again. Especially since I got Fire/Ground vibes from the little dino and unless you're Mega-Groudon, that's another no-no type (even moreso than Water/Flying).

And we rarely get mammals as grass types - even though recent generations have been more generous - and those mammals are never predatory ones. The closest thing we've had from predatory mammal grass-types are the various monkeys (Grookey, Pansage, Zarude).

[Ragabul]

I played Geralt very neutrally, though I don't think I ended up on the proper neutral path in TW1

Same, but I did actually follow the neutral path so that all fanatics hated my guts at the end. It's hands down the most interesting or enjoyable thing about TW1 which I otherwise thought was deeply forgettable. One of my biggest complaints in TW2 is that it forces you to pick and no longer allows this neutral third option.

Ended up with maximum story dramas too

► Show Spoiler

I sided with Roche only to end up getting Roche killed by siding with Dijkstra. Damn you game; you wanted me to play politics so I'm gonna play hardass "do what I think is best and damn individuals" politics.

@ mammal predatory grass types

Leafeon

[SciFlyBoy]

Finally remembered to pay my taxes. Doubled last years income, which is still less than half what it should be, and yet, my tax bill is half of what it was. So that's nice. My income/expenses were about 0, including overspending on a new GPU because I was very correct in that shortages would persist. If this year isn't better though, going to need to consider the bulk rice and bean diet, at least for some days.

Did mine too and took my time this year. Doing it over the course of a few weeks really takes the stress out of it. I made...ehh... pennies more than I did last year for the grocery work but way less music money came in. Ends up the gov gives the most deductions based on miles driven for me since driving is so much of what I do. But I owed the Feds and owed nothing to the state.

Rice and beans are a cheep staple, the expensive stuff are herbs, so grow your own if you're able. I'm making more breads and pizza doughs than buying them and have used some of my extra beans to start growing my own.

What's one thing you want to be more self sufficient in this year?

[Sinekein]

@ mammal predatory grass types

Leafeon

I voluntarily excluded the Eevees because it's pretty hard to pinpoint which mammals they're actually based on - a quick research mentioned cats, dogs, foxes and rabbits. So 3/4 carnivores, 1/4 that isn't.

Leafeon, Glaceon and Sylveon also have color palettes that make it look like they sport hooves (especially Leafeon due to the brown color), which are linked to various herbivorous mammals.

[Ragabul]

I always took them to be various kinds of foxes.

[Dragaros]

That new Pokemon game looks really neat. How much longer is the Switch's expected lifespan?

Nintendo said back in November that they considered the Switch to be at the half-way point, so 4 more years.

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMUNczGAYfo

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czIEzO0GJa0

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0339SUMLZg

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oATJThBJl8

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GDZye4798o

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-zHrtVVzsM

[Dragaros]

Ogre culture is best culture!

► Show Spoiler

Kinky.

► Show Spoiler

Sometimes Kairos wishes it wasn't just as planned.

► Show Spoiler

[Vol]

I got a friend here who almost exclusively plays Nurgle and it seems to work out for him. Not my style of play, grindingly slow units and so on, but apparently with the right plagues you can do it well enough.

For the non-traditional TW factions (Empire/dwarves/Cathay/etc.), it's always a challenge to figure out how the game wants me to play it. Tomb Kings took me a while with that. Vampire Counts (for the Mortal Empires Legendary run I finally did, what a slog). So in this one, it's like mashing a square peg in a round hole until the round hole gives way to my superior square peg.

Same, but I did actually follow the neutral path so that all fanatics hated my guts at the end. It's hands down the most interesting or enjoyable thing about TW1 which I otherwise thought was deeply forgettable. One of my biggest complaints in TW2 is that it forces you to pick and no longer allows this neutral third option.

Ended up with maximum story dramas too

Trying to recall where I became a partisan. Might've been the Act 4 finale, because I know I didn't side with the Order and the short haired chick with an attitude, but I also thought the Scoiatel were scumbags. However, the elf lady card might've forced my hand. Though the first game's final boss hit me way harder than the other two, because despite being railroaded, in a sense, in to why it comes to be, it's not like I would've chosen to do different if I had the power as a player.

What's one thing you want to be more self sufficient in this year?

Clearly you need a wealthy patron to bring you on staff as a dedicated musician, to play the electric lute while they lounge in their exotic gardens.

That's a good question. Not sure. My set goals are all kinds of self-improvement, but none specifically to accomplish that. I suppose "some sort of gardening" would be an easy start, an herb bed at the least.

Nintendo said back in November that they considered the Switch to be at the half-way point, so 4 more years.

Only they can get away with these underpowered systems lasting that long. Largely because they maintain a consistently high quality of games, almost as if that's a secret to success.

[Dragaros]

"Controversial paper suggests there are three Tyrannosaurus species"

"A controversial new study has claimed that fossils of Tyrannosaurus rex represent not one, but three separate species. With new names meaning king, queen and emperor, the carnivorous dinosaurs would have ruled North America over 66 million years ago. Other palaeontologists, however, are not so certain. Palaeontologists have reacted with scepticism over suggestions that one of the world's most famous dinosaurs is actually three separate species. A study published in the journal Evolutionary Biology has proposed splitting Tyrannosaurus rex into three different species - a redefined T. rex, T. regina and T. imperator - based on differences in their leg bones and teeth. Its authors suggest that T. rex and T. regina evolved out of T. imperator, with the two former species potentially living side by side in the Late Cretaceous. If the theory were to gain widespread acceptance, it would require specimens around the world to be reinvestigated. The study is led by Gregory S. Paul, a paleoartist and independent scientist. He says, 'We found that the changes in Tyrannosaurus femurs are likely not related to the sex or age of the specimen. 'We propose that the changes in the femur may have evolved over time from a common ancestor who displayed more robust femurs to become more gracile in later species. The differences in femur robustness across layers of sediment may be considered distinct enough that the specimens could potentially be considered separate species.' However, Museum dinosaur expert Prof Paul Barrett, who was not involved in the study, has poured cold water on the paper's claims. 'I'm very sceptical of these results, and would be very surprised if the experts who work on these dinosaurs would support them,' says Paul. 'I don't think the authors of this study have enough evidence to say definitively these are three species, and I suspect the different animals they have described would all have been able to mate with each other; the proposed differences between them being subtle and potentially due to other reasons.'

Taxonomy, or the study of relationships between organisms, is an area of science that is always changing. New information, new species and new hypotheses mean that family trees are constantly being updated to reflect the most recent ideas on how organisms are linked. However, what constitutes a species can sometimes be difficult to determine, especially for fossil remains. 'When assigning a dinosaur to a species, scientists want that species to be well defined so the animals can be clearly distinguished,' Paul explains. 'This definition should be easy for other people to come along and recognise the features you have described. There also needs to be enough material for others to assess those features in future, and you need fossils that are not too deformed or broken as to be unrecognisable. 'For extinct animals, as with living ones, there are always issues with variation. For instance, male and female dinosaurs may differ from each other in subtle and not so subtle ways, while there is also ontogenetic variation, which is the variation an organism goes through as it grows. A human baby looks very different from a 90-year-old, for example. There is also individual variation, which is the variation in any population that sees individuals differ from each other but still allows them to breed. People, for example, are different heights but are all still human. 'In most cases, we can't tell the sex, age or natural variability of a dinosaur species,' says Paul. 'As a result, we're always striving for clear definitions. In the past, the rules were much laxer, and that's part of the problem we face today.' Tyrannosaurus has previously seen changes to its taxonomy. In the same paper in which T. rex was first described, Henry Fairfield Osborn described another skeleton as Dynamosaurus imperiosus. However, just a year later he realised that the specimen was actually another T. rex. Since then, T. rex has remained the only species in its genus. The new paper seeks to change that.

The study looked at 38 specimens of T. rex in collections around the world, including the specimen housed at the Museum. The researchers sought to explain the variation observed within fossils assigned to the species, focusing on features such as the 'stoutness' of the femur bone and the presence of incisiform teeth, which are substantially smaller than others in the jaw. The measurements taken from different parts of the skeleton were compared to those of close relatives, such as Albertosaurus. Comparisons of the femur dimensions suggested that Tyrannosaurus was distinct from these relatives, but that there was more variation than expected within its own genus. The researchers claim that the best way to explain this variation is to split the genus into three new species. Using knowledge of the rock layers some of the specimens were found in, they suggest that the thicker femur bones buried deeper gradually give way to a more diverse set of femurs, some of which are significantly thinner. In their suggested transition, this means T. imperator gave rise to T. rex and T. regina. During the process of evolution, both daughter species lose an incisiform tooth, but while T. rex maintains robust femurs, T. regina's got more slender. The authors admit that their results are not an 'ideal proof' of multiple Tyrannosaurus species, but claim that their hypothesis is borne out more by the evidence given by other suggestions, such as natural variation.

Many other palaeontologists, however, disagree. 'I don't think these differences will be enough to convince T. rex experts that these dinosaurs are anything other than one species,' Paul says. 'The differences in tooth anatomy are relatively minor, and while the differences in proportions are less subtle, they have been known for some time among those who work closely on T. rex. Moreover, we have no idea how much variation to expect, especially in a species which was evolving over two million years. It may be that this is one species which is evolving through time, or it could be that this is an animal which has slightly different variations when living in different areas, but not enough to make it a new species. This is a phenomenon known as ecotypic variation and is quite common in living animals.' One of those T. rex experts is Dr David Hone, a researcher at Queen Mary, University of London who specialises in carnivorous dinosaurs. He says, 'When describing a dinosaur species, you work with the characteristics that you have. 'For T. rex, we have multiple complete skeletons in good condition with about as much anatomical information as you could reasonably ask for as a taxonomist, so to base these new species on just a couple of traits, both of which have already been suggested to vary within populations, is probably not a strong basis for naming new species.' If the new species were ever accepted, it could require displays, books and exhibitions around the world to be updated. This wouldn't be the case at the Museum, however, as the revised species descriptions found the specimen held in the collections is still a T. rex. For now, many researchers are likely to continue to call all specimens T. rex until more evidence suggests otherwise."

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9pGtlafRvY

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GworcMZFYbY

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1npXGhRQPl8

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLstvZ37qNE

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvokyBOYe8Y

[magnuskn]

Restarted as Katarin, because I had borked up a lot of my ice ladies builds in the first try. This time it's going way better, with me going down to Castle Drakenhof early to give Manfred my regards (and some Empire dudes who thought it'd be an hilarious idea to take the last settlement of the province before I could... it didn't go well for them. And their buddies next door).

Even with the better start, Kislev is noticeably harder than Cathay. Worse economy, worse starting position, worse lords by far. However their units measure up, in a "we are better at our speciality" kind of way, while Cathay are all around good. Bear cavalry is awesome, can't cut it any other way. By the way, even after you unlock Boris, he doesn't appear as his own faction on the map after a restart. You need to start as him and I can tell you, he won't confederate Katarin or Kostaltyn after they've gobbled up the other Kislev mayor faction. However, you can carve out your own empire in the badlands in the east.

I might do a Khorne run, not that keen on the other chaos lords, to be frank. Ogres (my lord) are not that appealing, either, so I might take a break after another week. Although I will play multiplayer with friends when the opportunity comes up.

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVPu229oKSE

My ultimate, utterly absurd, completely unrealistic hope: A Primal Rage reboot with Monsterverse King Kong and Godzilla as guest characters. ( Hey, a man can dream! )

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0jgHaGWmKI

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM9ci1QdLlY

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6etj0DCE0U

[Vol]

I am fairly sure the PVP matchmaking in Pokemon Go is rigged against if you use their special pass for extra rewards. You get free ones now and again, but otherwise they're in the shop. Every time I use a free one, I seem to get hard countered every single match, 0/5, over and over. But then, in the free matchmaking, 55% win rate.

[Sinekein]

[i]"A controversial new study has claimed that fossils of Tyrannosaurus rex represent not one, but three separate species. With new names meaning king, queen and emperor, the carnivorous dinosaurs would have ruled North America over 66 million years ago. Other palaeontologists, however, are not so certain...

The race for new species has become really dumb nowadays.

There was a shitstorm already when some claimed there were two species of African elephants, but at least we are talking about living species, and it can have conservation consequences.

Debating how many Tyrannosaurus species there are is just intellectual onanism of the highest order. Not only are those species dead, buried and un-resurrectable due to lack of DNA, but Tyrannosaurus was alive when the dinos went extinct, meaning it won't even have any possible influence on understanding how later dinosaur species might have diversified.

[Alienmorph]

Funny how it's always the popular dinosaur species that get this kind of shenanigans, too. There's been more clickbaity papers about the Hell Creek dinosaurs (the formation where T-rex and Triceratops are from) than I care to count. Also there's a supposed big raptor species from the same area, that is likely a misinterpreted ostrich-like omnivore species (like Oviraptor or Gallimimus), but the paleontologist who "discovered" it refuse access to the speciment the claim is based of.

I love paleontology, but some of the shit going on in behind the scenes is truly ridiculous.

[Dragaros]

Funny how it's always the popular dinosaur species that get this kind of shenanigans, too. There's been more clickbaity papers about the Hell Creek dinosaurs (the formation where T-rex and Triceratops are from) than I care to count. Also there's a supposed big raptor species from the same area, that is likely a misinterpreted ostrich-like omnivore species (like Oviraptor or Gallimimus), but the paleontologist who "discovered" it refuse access to the speciment the claim is based of.

I love paleontology, but some of the shit going on in behind the scenes is truly ridiculous.

Yeah, the more well-known and popular the dino, the bigger the target on their back from those who seek their 5 minutes of fame or increase their book sales or put forth their weird unsubstantiated theories that would never get traction on their own because of the severe lack of compelling evidence.

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvQ-r8P5kQ0

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkTzd3ixcUo

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87R71--hoyA

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M149hJer9pM

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNWLqAcMPJ0

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6g6HOjEcaU

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqshHDPqQMA

[Dragaros]

https://secretlair.wizards.com/us/produ ... et-fighter

[Dragaros]

"Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent x NieR Automata collaboration character artwork."

[Dragaros]

[Vol]

Walked 179 km since January 16th, comes out to 111.2 miles. Not bad, for a lazy piece of shit. Legs hurt bad at first, around the 1 mile mark, now it's more knee pain once I finally sit down, so I wear my knee sleeves. I'm not overweight, but even a healthy 215 lbs is still a lot for joint to bear. On the plus side, legs look a lot better. Looking forward to spring, for the first time in a long time.