Docwagon

It's complicated in ways that should be irrelevant and simplistic in other ways. The city planning is just an annoyance. Want to build a factory? Well, you've got to build an industrial zone first. Then build a workshop, which only increases production for the one city. Then build a factory, which will increase production in every city within 6 hexes of the district *if* they aren't already under the umbrella of an existing factory. Same for "amenities", which replaces happiness and is much more opaque. So now you can't just settle cities based on resources, you have to plan for a network of interwoven districts. The AI is still retarded, especially in war. Let me use my knight to charge your tank, killing my unit and doing 1 damage to you. Resource management is simplified. Each strategic resource is basically unlimited. If you have 2 iron mines, you can crank out as many units as you want that require 2 iron or less. Luxury resources grant you 4 copies that are automatically parceled out amongst your cities. So "happiness" is now more city by city, but still with a global influence. Playing tall is death. You *have* to expand regardless of what victory type you are going for, although I hear the expansions modify that a bit. There's a religious victory now, which is kind of stupid. It counts the majority cities you own, not just your settled cities. I lost to Russia by conquering their empire, tilting my empire to their religion after wiping out most of the other civs (playing as Macedonia). Zero of my home cities were following Russia's religion. There's a ton of new units, none of which you will build because production is so limited, even with the correct policy cards, etc. Gold is much less useful. The exchange rate to production is horrendous, and you can't bribe city-states. The only thing gold is for is maintaining your stuff until very late game when you can finally afford a few units. The new spy system is annoying. Spies take a lot of production to build and it's impossible to build enough to protect your empire. Cultural victory? Watch spies steal your great works. Science victory? Watch them sabotage your spaceports and steal your tech. Of course you can do the same to them, but if you make enough spies something else is going to be lacking. In short, there's too many moving parts and not enough production to play with them all. Your empire is bound to have some massive flaw, as is every other empire. You will steam roll anyone who goes for an early religion because you used your production for two archers and a swordsman, which will now easily take a town. Cities can't fight back until you've build walls, which take a lot of production and have to be upgraded each era. I've done three play throughs. Cultural victory as Brazil, Science as Arabia, and Domination as Greece (after reloading and not conquering Russia so quickly). I found all of them rather boring.

I had a lot of fun with CIv 5 but started getting bored with it. I picked up the "Gold" edition of Civ 6, which doesn't have "Rise and Fall" or "Gathering Storm" but most of the DLC civs. Production lags behind tech and culture so badly. It takes forever to build much. I don't care for the city planner aspect of it, and there's so many moving parts it rapidly bogs down and becomes a slog about mid-game. Anyone try any mods that improve the experience and make it more like a better version of 5, or is it just what it is?

As most of the old hands know, I'm a cop in the States. I made sergeant last July and left major felony investigations for a street supervisor position. I am basically a front line supervisor to uniformed beat officers. One of the things I do is decide if we're going to force entry into a residence, or if the officer decided to without me if they are justified in doing so. The main reason we force doors without a warrant is because we have probable cause to believe someone is dead or dying inside. Which leads us to this story. The set up is elderly mother reports her son hasn't contacted her for four days, and that he normally comes to her house to shower and do laundry because his sewer hookup isn't working (code for: didn't pay water bill and water is turned off). The last time she spoke with him he was having an asthma attack and told her he didn't have his medicine. I went out and met two officers there, one brand new rookie and one with a couple years on. The neighbors said he normally sat on his porch and harassed them by shooting their houses with BB guns but hadn't seen him for a few days. The mail had stacked up in the mailbox. Repeated knocking and announcing our presence got no response. That's all hallmarks of a dead guy in the house, so I told the rookie to kick the door in. He got the door forced, gagged and backed out. No biggie, I figured his first exposure to a severely decayed body and it gets a lot of rookies. The more experienced officer starts to go in, comes out dry heaving, and doesn't get in the house either. Bodies don't phase me, regardless of level of decomp, unless they are children. I can babysit your decayed corpse then go eat lunch with no issue. I've seen uncounted corpses at this point. What I've NOT seen is rabbit shit about a foot deep in the house. The guy was dead, but hadn't started to decay much yet. However there was LITERALLY 8-12" of rabbit shit on the floor. That's what had gagged the younger guys, they hadn't even got to the body yet. There were 30 rabbits in the house and he apparently never cleaned up after them. Every room in the house but two had a floor completely coated in rabbit shit, and those two had piles but hadn't covered the floor yet. The guy was dead in the hallway with a painter's dust mask on. I don't get a lot of "firsts" on the job any longer, but that was a first for me.

Amazon sale, $210 for black/silver: https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-vívoactive-Smartwatch-Contactless-Payments/dp/B074KBWL9J

Doing some light reading at the moment with "The Iron Druid" series. They aren't as good as Neil Gaiman's stuff, but they are a fun little romp through mythology set in modern times.

On mine you can adjust the brightness and the watch face itself. I have a "pip boy" display on mine. It brightens automatically if I tilt my wrist so that I'm looking at it so you can have it fairly bright without drastically changing battery life.

I used runkeeper on my phone until I got the watch. I bought mine used but LNIB from a local forum classified. I don't know how much of a secondary market you have there, but perhaps ebay?

It works. On the topic of the 5k training program I'm doing, I did 37m 50s today, and that was with a 5 minute warm-up "slow jog". Obviously not great, but not bad where I'm at. I'm dropping the weight I put on after my last injury, which will of course help. I was at 242 when I had to stop running, am at 254 now. For reference, I was 215 when I could do 2 miles in 13 minutes. I'm shooting for 210 or under before I start picking up much strength training again. My knee is going to do a lot better if I can get my weight back down and I'm not as into picking up heavy things as I used to be.

This one: https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/571520/pn/010-01769-11# I primarily wanted the heart rate monitor and the GPS. The smart watch features are more handy then I would have thought. Especially for work, where I can read a text and send from a list of pre-programmed (and custom) responses without having to pull my phone out. I can also leave my phone on silent and the watch vibration is much better at getting my attention then my phone's vibrate. Since I wear armor at work, it's tough to notice the phone vibrating, and I don't like to have it set to ring. https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3445375189 is an example of the feedback you get. There's also free training programs you can download. I'm doing a 5k training program at the moment.

Nobody?

My son and I watched the Lego Movie 2, The Second Part. If you liked the first one, you'll like this one. It's at least as well done. It's still a family dynamic movie wrapped up in goofy plastic brick filled extravaganza, but with a bit less singing then the first.

Perhaps a different meaning on your side, but it's well established in the states that left/right also applies to social issues and perceived norms. "The Religious Right" or "Christian Right" being one of the most used versions of the term in US politics. It describes the, largely Evangelical, socially conservative platform. If there's a right, there's a left and a center. It's nothing to do with economics or profit motive. That would be capitalist, socialist, etc. (Although, frankly, "socialist" is another word that's been stretched beyond any real meaning in US political theater...boiling down to most anything Republicans don't like at the moment.) So for something like gay marriage, the "Right" argument was against and being lead by the Christian Right, by default the argument for becomes the left argument. One can argue it's "tribalism" or "marketing" or what-have you, but it's certainly not a new concept stateside and has been a theme in politics and social issues as long as I've been around to notice such things.

I think there are a lot of very "modern day" issues that are in conflict with the collective societal experience until very recently. Can an individual determine their own gender when historically it's bestowed upon you by your society. With a few exceptions, like the Castrati singers of Italy (eunuchs castrated before puberty to create singers with a man's frame and lungs and a boy's voicebox) gender and gender roles have been pretty much locked in by your sex. Sexual orientation was a separate concept, whereas the plethora of genders some want society to accept are a hybrid of the two. My personal guess is it's the societal equivalent of a fad and won't last for long before until it's pared back again. It reminds me of the feminist fad of hyphenated last names for children that was briefly popular. It's a way to show how progressive you are, but it's so cumbersome it collapses under it's own weight pretty quickly.

I suppose it depends on who's definition of gender you use. Many use it, incorrectly, as a synonym for sex. I think this largely started in the early 2000s when "harassment" was being pronounced hair-ess-mint because "sex" became a dirty word. Gender was softer and more PC, despite not being the same thing. Gender is a social and/or grammatical construct. Words in many language have a gender, they don't have a sex. Sex is biological and exists with or without a culture. Gender only exists with a culture. That said, I understand this is such a political hot button now that pretty much nobody cares what words actually mean, or even acknowledge that words have meaning. The ability to redefine words at will is a powerful propaganda advantage.

Anyone using Garmin Connect with a Garmin smartwatch? Just curious. It'd be fun to do step challenges, etc. with known people vs 9 randoms.

I'm good for the moment, but thanks. I want to play through Never Winter Nights again at some point, and once the weather warms up a bit I won't have as much time for games again.

Turns out I can't play that Resident Evil. The way the screen jitters and moves, particularly the quick turn, makes me ill. I've tried 3 times with various screen settings and get "car sick" feelings and have to put it away after 15 minutes or less. The only other game that's done that to me was Rage. Metal Gear has been a lot of fun, though I'm completely lost in the story. I played the original on NES back in the day, and the one where Snake is old now on PS3. I'm not familiar at all with the lore of the game that's been built up or WTF is going on here. Game play is fun, though. I mean, who doesn't love a game about using horse poo to cause cars to spin out and using light bondage to improve employee morale?

No, not really. Definitely minimal to no overlap with actual detective work. I finished it up. Not sure I'd pay more than a couple bucks for the game for anyone who's considering it.

I finished up Witcher 3 and did the first two cases in Darkside Detective. Obviously a campy little game, but so far it's been a nice little diversion.

Sure, if they are still available. Nothing crazy on the laptop, it's this one: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/acer-nitro-5-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1050-1tb-hard-drive-shale-black/6212601.p?skuId=6212601

Hello all. I just picked up Witcher 2 for $2.99 and Witcher 3 for $19.99 on GOG. I know Jason was a big fan of 3. I've not been gaming very much at all lately but got myself a decent gaming laptop for Christmas this year and figured I'd give them a go. If anyone is on Steam and is playing Tower Keepers (free to play strategy game) I've been playing that on mobile for quite a bit. Same user name as here. Feel free to hit me up on Discord.

I appreciate the sentiments. I didn't really track how long I worked on it. I think three drafts before the final version. It didn't take real long as I already had all of the info in other formats. The longest one to write so far has been the snub nose sight comparison for Lucky Gunner, which took me about a month. I wanted to shoot each set "cold" so as to not bias the testing, so I waited a week between each shoot. As far as be hanging around here, I honestly don't know. This felt like unfinished business, so I came back to wrap it up. So, here's the deal. I want to make it clear that this isn't about individuals, personalities, etc. I want to make this clear I don't blame anyone or have any ill feelings toward anyone. Just a bit prior to the forum drama of another split, I was in a gunfight with a robbery suspect. The details aren't for the Internet or relevant to the discussion, but the take away was I was uninjured and he was dead and I got over a month of admin leave. It was a good shoot, not controversial, no protests or lawsuits, about as clean cut as a shooting can be. After a gunfight, which is incredibly vivid and intense, it takes awhile to adjust to "normal" again. Everything seems boring and dull. Issues that used to seem important seem petty and uninteresting. It takes a bit to transition back to regular life, and you try to gain some sense of normalcy and routine to help that process. So, that's where I was when the forum split. I suddenly had a lot of free time on my hands, wanted to "hang out" with people who didn't know (because when you hang out with people who do know, they inevitably want to ask about it), and be free of drama. When the forum split, I viewed it as the pettiest of bullshit and was angry because a bit of my normalcy was under assault due to the pettiest of bullshit. Now, I understand that if the guy next to you is missing his arm it doesn't make your toothache hurt any less, but I wasn't in that mind set then. Again, I want to be clear I don't blame anyone or think less of anyone. The end result, though, is I don't view this forum the same. Not exactly negative association, but not pleasant either. I do not feel like I belong in the post-schism group. Combine with I haven't touched the PS4 in months, I'm not sure this is a place for me to contribute. Now, this probably sounds more dramatic than it is, I just wanted to explain my thought process. I'm not sad, regretful, depressed, any of that. I just think I've changed and the forum has changed and we may not be a good fit any longer.

Book was released earlier this summer: https://www.amazon.com/Straight-Talk-Armed-Defense-Experts/dp/1440247544 I know I've not posted here in awhile, but thought some folks might be interested. I don't make any additional royalties based on number of books sold or the like, I've already been paid what I'm going to get out of the project. I say that just so you know I've got no financial interest in recommending it. I do think it's a worth the read. Combine it with Massad's "In the Gravest Extreme", Gavin di Becker's "The Gift of Fear", and Rory Miller's "Conflict Communication" and "Facing Violence" and you've got a pretty decent foundation to start being serious about self defense. You'll get a good primer on avoidance, deescalation, unarmed and armed self defense, and dealing with the aftermath. Oh, and I've also got an ongoing writing gig with Lucky Gunner: http://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/author/spencerblue/ and am still running a few training classes a year through Bright Firearms Training. We've got students from as far away as Washington DC for the fall class coming up next month.

So....still a lot of running around trying to find the battles?

I have consolidated non-rimfire rifles to those I can reload for, and during some trading picked up a new Sig. The Sig P227 Carry SAS, which is a few firsts for me. It's my first "E2" Sig, it's my first "Carry" sig, and it's my first double stack .45 ever. I don't fully understand Sig's idea with the "carry" length. A slightly shorter slide but a full sized grip seems backward to me, with a full sized slide and shorter grip being easier to conceal...but ok. Let's give it a try. http://www.sigsauer.com/CatalogProductDetails/p227-sas-gen-2.aspx So, here's mine: The E2 has a one piece grip, which is not the traditional Sig way of doing things. I generally fear new things, but was reassured because it's apparently easy to swap on the old style two piece grips so if I didn't like them I could change them easily. Verdict: I liked them. They give a good amount of grip without feeling uncomfortable. I've not put it on a timer yet, but on the indoor range at a steady cadence it worked fine. The sights are standard Siglite night sights, white dots with tritium inserts. They are apparently set up for a 6 o'clock hold with the bullet impacting just above the top edge of the front sight. I'll probably try the sharpie on the rear dots to make the front easier to acquire, but they are perfectly serviceable. The first thing I did as a getting-to-know-you exercise was some vertical transitions. One body, one head, one body, one head, decock and repeat. I threw a few as I sped up but overall was happy with the results and the pace: 7 yards: Then, also at 7 yards, I did some accuracy work. The bottom target was first, with a point of aim at the 1" square. 11 rounds clustered nicely just above the POA. I then shot the top dots horizontally with the first circle DA, then the next two SA. I shoved the gun with a few called fliers on #2 and #3 circles. The low/left on #4 was uncalled, but was certainly user error and not the gun. What I found interesting is it fits in my P245 holsters. This gives me a "midsize" option between the P245 and the P220...and with greater capacity than either single stack. I'm going to break out the calipers and see how much thickness difference in the grip there actually is. The long taper on the magazines looks like it'll be ideal for reloads as well, especially with the bit of mag funnel the E2 grips provide. The trigger is what I consider classic Sig. It's predictable and smooth. I was a bit concerned prior to feeling it in person, because my only other SAS (A P229) had the grittiest trigger I've ever felt in a Sig when I first got it. Not this one, no grit at all. So, all in all, this is unlikely to become my daily carry gun (sticking with the full sized P226 for that), it's a perfectly serviceable option and may become my "out of town" carry gun when magazine size restrictions could be an issue. I'm going to experiment a bit with it and the Milt Sparks Executive Companion holster to see how well it conceals vs the P245 and P220.