Posts made by ZimZaxZeo

@cystic:

anyone read “brave new world”?
that’s next on my “to read after school stuff” book list.
please share your opinions.

Aldous Huxley has conjured a dystopia where love is wrong, sex is oh too cheap, function is pre-ordained, identity is just about worthless. And then there’s Soma, the free ubiquitous dope that massages all anxieties, glueing together a society that has no apparent goal beyond efficient expansion of the hive. Woe – such a world, where there is no room for such a Savage as me!

Did I forget to mention it was 60 years ahead of its time in exploring the meaning of genetic engineering? Let’s read up and push forward the arguments - - as there is no technology that has not been expanded and exploited once discovered, we will have to live in humancloningland … our kids’ kids certainly will! So we may as well get deep into reflection upon the ramifications nowadays. Bogus though the Raelian infants may yet prove, this episode is a front-page harbinger of Things To Come – and they are soon in coming, me brothers, soon.

(HAPPY BRAVE NEW YEAR AWREDDY!!)

[[[“Brave New World” is a provocative counterpoint to “1984” – the Orwell novel is concerned with direct oppression of the independent mind, via monstermedia, monsterbureaucracy, (and John Ashcroft’s wet dream police state), while in the Huxley world there are like no independent minds left to worry about controlling – each cute little brainstem & embryo has already been programmed before “birth” and relentlessly hammered into a robotic, permanent childhood.]]]

{but don’t take my word for it!}

Oh, I locked into Samus’ boots for an hour or so. Fun. Got a mean gamer’s cramp in the wrist. Guess I’m more tuned up for typing!

Hey Yanny,

No time now to read the whole screed, but I did read your introductory remarks. Stern stuff indeed. Well, as to your sum-up, comparing people living in fear of Hitler to people living in fear of God.

Hmm. Perhaps the great challenge is to live apart from fear.

Whyfore we need a solitary figurehead to embody all evil and danger?
Why deliver power to such an actual living figure by going along with his system?
In the good ol USofA, we have our figureheads, our strongmen, etc. – but we live in arguably the most revolutionary society – and we have the much-struggled-for freedom of speech, where we can undercut the presumed authority of such supermen. We can openly satirize, criticize, counterhypothesize: in short, we can comport ourselves as adults. The increasingly widespread ability and capacity for people to do this is something new in human affairs, it seems to me.

to probably misquote Mark Twain: “No dictator can withstand the assault of laughter”

I got to see my kid destroy Metroid Prime on gamecube in about 30 hrs of play. Pretty good grafx & audio immersion. Next he’s gonna spend a chunk of Christmas geld on the latest greatest Mortal Kombat.

No new games for me, but I’m savin & schemin to acquire AAP & AA (only AAE is currently in my collection)

Also, I stumbled across a book that “sets the record straight” about how the Waffen SS was full of patriots and not vicious murderers like the Algemainer SS. I suppose there may be some grains of truth in that, but if anyone feels a need to discuss it, probably a different forum would be appropriate…. (could be dubbed “Bonzo Goes to Bitburg”)

A quick scan shows this must be one of the funniest threads ever – we got adultery & idolatry, we got malise (does that rhyme with valise, Yanny?) or do we mean malice – and we got afterlife. But I ain’t got time to read it right now, so I’ll just fire off this:

afterlife, shmafterlife. THIS is life. Make rules for the here and now, and the generations to come, with respect and astonishment for the generations who came before. Do we really have any say on what happens in the afterdeath?

while we’re chillin here on Planet Oit we may as well take comfort & awe in the mystical miracle of consiousness… take inspiration from this mother nature here, and take instruction from her wondrous, vast and intricate balancing

Oh, and while we’re at it - - create! Respect yer mother, be nice to your girlfren, and act with honor (honor is its own reward) – let me just aim at that first couple of points Yanny - - the Bible in 2 sentences “Be good. If you do, your afterlife will be great.” What a load of lard. It should read “Be good. If you do, your life and the lives of those around you will be better.” But no – there had to be a sales job about some always unprovable Great Reward. THIS is the reward: the sunrise, the sunset, the little boids singin their freakin little lungs out, and shitting all over my Honda. More power to em. I should loin where to park bettah.
…

And furthermore, Falwell is a lying sack of **** – who needs this creep?
OK now I’ve taken the time to read yer account of the Donahue show. (you sucked me into it!) Interesting. Donahue is in an all-out quest to save this show, for which the ratings were subzero. Bully for him to decide, judging from the exchange you relate, to just go for it and really say what’s on his mind to one of his least favorite persons.

You know what they say about agnostics – well a dyslexic agnostic insomniac is someone who lies awake all night doubting the existence of Dog.

Cheers

I got ecstasy. But maybe it’s just the mood I’m in… happy happy happy all the time … or the electro-shock treatment I got last week!!

… so thirsty …

HAPPY NEW YEAR Y’ALL!
PEACE (Gawd Help Us) in the New Year to all y’all & all yer frenz too!

… really thirsty now…

Hey, it’s not really off-topic.
Mr. cystic was just about to tell us how the Canadian Air Force is instrumental in getting Santa Claus around the world right on his schedule, which was set in stone by the revered Aramatheaic Brothers of the Sandflea Orthopraxy way back in 6 B.C.
Halleluyah, you all, and pass the cranberries!

@Anonymous:

Now I won’t tell at least yet all my beginning moves which work for the germans. But most effective I have found is making with the early 12ipc transport to danish strait. 1 turn destroy the british and american fleets and after that negate their convoys to delay them as long as possible. Why the transport? Because you will make fleet to danish strait to have straight transport route to leningrad + you will get support fire if the soviets defend it from your destroyers…after the fall of leningrad the soviet situation doesn’t look good, because the german fleet reinforces it fast.

Destroyers? What destroyers? Wow! Even if you do beef up your northern navy with destroyers, I find it mind-numbing that the Allies wouldn’t go all-out to sink everything and deny Axis the use of naval power & transport in the Baltic. If German shipping can form a fast shuttle to the front in Leningrad, then this doubles the trouble Sov is in.

Anyway, your points are all interesting and well-considered. Countermoves are the Allies’ stock in trade – and the game hinges on how soon and how decisively the Allies can take the initiative, wheras in the beginning they are largely restricted to reacting. Axis power & position starts out at the apex.

@Anonymous:

Now I won’t tell at least yet all my beginning moves which work for the germans. But most effective I have found is making with the early 12ipc transport to danish strait. 1 turn destroy the british and american fleets and after that negate their convoys to delay them as long as possible. Why the transport? Because you will make fleet to danish strait to have straight transport route to leningrad + you will get support fire if the soviets defend it from your destroyers…after the fall of leningrad the soviet situation doesn’t look good, because the german fleet reinforces it fast.

Destroyers? What destroyers? Wow! Even if you do beef up your northern navy with destroyers, I find it mind-numbing that the Allies wouldn’t go all-out to sink everything and deny Axis the use of naval power & transport in the Baltic. If German shipping can form a fast shuttle to the front in Leningrad, then this doubles the trouble Sov is in.

Anyway, your points are all interesting and well-considered. Countermoves are the Allies’ stock in trade – and the game hinges on how soon and how decisively the Allies can take the initiative, wheras in the beginning they are largely restricted to reacting. Axis power & position starts out at the apex.

@Bobby:

I’ve read quite a few strategies for German victory on this website, and I am grateful to all the posters. I have one burning question: what should Germany buy on the first turn? Some say, “Nothing but tanks!” Some say “Infantry and artillery!” What’s the best way to initiate this march on Moscow?

Certainly you need to keep bringing in fresh infantry, mindful that it takes two full moves after placement to get them across the Russian frontier.

I feel strongly about Axis air power. Nothing helps eat up Sov ground forces – and Sov’s got plenty – like Axis Ftrs & Bmrs, wielded in concert with your usual land-based arsenal. Also Ftrs & Bmrs help Axis stay flexible & effective in defensive maneuvers. Of course, you’ve only got enough IPCs to buy one or two per turn, esp. when you consider how much infantry & armor you’ll need to take – and hold – Sov territories & ultimately Moscow.

Like that fellow, DARKSTAR, says, “combined mixed forces” are key. You need the armor, you need the inf & rtl, you need air. Reflect on where – and when – you will need concentrations of infantry to shield advances and hold off counterattacks. You need plenty, and they move slower than any other units.

Here is an item labeled “Important” from the Combat Movement rules in the Axis & Allies Europe manual. (page 8)

“All combat movement must be completed before combat situations are resolved.”

Logically, it follows from this rule that once you have begun to “roll the dice” as your friend says, then you are finished with your Combat Movement phase. You are now Resolving Combat. And since Combat occurs If and Only If you move your units into enemy territories, you have no choice once those you make those movements. As the rules say on page 7, moving your units into territories that are “occupied and/or owned by the enemy” … “creates a combat situation.”
Once you begin resolving combat, you are no longer allowed to make moves that would create new combat situations, nor are you allowed to move back out of territories where your moves have created combat situations. Why? Because the former type of move is allowed only during the Combat Movement phase – and the latter type of move is technically a “retreat,” which is only allowed for units that have rolled the dice for at least one round of battle.

This logic is not quite as explicit in the A&A rules, which were crafted earlier. However it is strongly implied. First, it is clear that the Combat Movement, Combat (resolution) and Non-Combat Movement are three distinct sequences. Second, what is allowed during each is alluded to, first under “Combat Movement” on page 4, where the rule notes: “you can move into as many combat situations, land and sea battles, as you wish… all in this same phase.” Then, on the same page, the rules declare: “Action 3: Combat – This is the Combat sequence in which all battles must be fought and all conflicts resolved.”
Finally, under Non-Combat (page 5), the A&A rules state: “This is the non-combat phase… You cannot move into any combat situations in this move!”

The logic of intent is clear. Although the rules don’t say a combat must be “declared,” the reality is that combat is manifested upon moving your unit(s) into enemy territory. The physical move is the declaration.
And the logic sequence should be clear. In all forms of A&A gameplay, a player progresses from one phase or “action sequence” to the next – actions in the next sequence are permitted only after all activities in the previous sequence are finished.

Phew! Hope that helps… (and say Hi to Genghis Khan for me)

Here’s my beef about SBR in pure tactical terms:

In an SBR you expose your 15-ipc bomber to AA fire. The maximum damage you inflict is 6 ips, and the average is 3.5 ipcs. (And you risk 15ipcs.)

In a regular land battle, shielded by inf etc., your 15-ipc Bmr is not exposed to any fire. And you get multiple waves to attack. If you get three waves (and two hits), you match the maximum damage of an SBR (2inf removed = 6ipcs). If you get only two waves (and likely one hit = 3ipcs), you still are just under the average SBR damage. If you have an attack with but a single chance to roll the dice, odds are still in your favor to gain that hit.

So, the reward of using the Bmr in regular combat vs. SBR is roughly equivalent or much richer, while the risk can be kept to zero. Also, a Bmr used in a mixed land force attack can help remove enemy inf to get at the higher-ipc targets. This increases the reward for using the Bmr in this mode.

Grabbing oil ipcs becomes most effective in a game longer than six turns. Up until then, I’m not sold on the value. The drain likely will be on American production; as Allied player I am going to keep Soviet ipcs as high as possible, and let cash-rich USA foot the bill.

OK on L if you get L that are truly L.

Having had some dealings in the apparel industry, I will confirm that the practice and policy of size labeling is all over the highway, and note that cotton Ts always shrink. With XL one at least knows the thing will not be stretch-tight. Anyway, if you get to look at them and L seems like L, then include me in for an L.

On quality, a stock shirt like Hanes Heavyweight or some such is priced higher but holds up much better.

Are you thinking white, black, red, grey? I dig any but white.

Mr. CC, regarding your statement about “crimes of opportuniity, not of religion,” I pretty much agree this is not about the faith of Christianity. But it is about the structure of the Catholic institution, which sequesters volunteer celibates, both nuns and priests, with young and naive members of the same sex. And of course the crimes extend beyond same-sex predation.

I have always thought that Protestant ministers at least have the opportunity to lead by example, in terms of marrying and raising a traditional family. Priests in the Catholic zone, however, accept a more or less extreme “family” structure… and then proceed to dispense wisdom on matters of relationships the type of which they themselves are banned from experiencing first-hand. I have encountered priests who are absolutely first rate in doing so, and in all other repects are true leaders and spiritual guides, but it seems to me they have risen above the built-in flaws of the structure.

Not that I am a student of the Church, but the gist I have picked up is that many members of the church would agree that the current crisis stems in some large part from that structure, and there are organized calls for a new approach to the rules of the priesthood.

Still, it is conceivable that mangiai is some kind of phonetic representation of an aboriginal word.

Why not ask Avalon Hill?

Simply put: no.

The reason is also simple: when Eastern Europeans conquer the Ukraine, they always head straight to Odessa, on the Black Sea, where they stretch out on the beach until the next turn.

Seriously, an attack, whether successful or not, takes place during the Combat Movement (and combat resolution) portion of your turn. A unit can make only one attack per turn. Any units (except air) that executed an attack during the combat movement phase are finished doing anything for the remainder of your turn. (If you choose to retreat any of the units, that retreat occurs during the combat movement-resolution phase, and ends that attack.)

Immediately following the combat movement phase, and the resolution of all of your attacks, is the next portion of your turn: Non-Combat Movement. In this phase, you can move ONLY those units that did NOT participate in the combat movement phase. (The only exception is air units; those which were in combat must now land.) Remember, you make ALL your combat movements first. THEN you resolve all combat. THEN you go into non-combat movement.

There is no case in which a unit can attack into more than one territory during your turn. Well, there is “blitzing,” in which your armor zooms into an EMPTY enemy territory during combat movement, then zooms into an adjacent enemy territory to make a second attack on the same turn. It is perfectly OK to attack empty enemy territory – this is one form of attack during combat. (However, you cannot enter an enemy territory during your non-combat phase, even if it is empty.)

So, if Ukraine was EMPTY and you rolled in unopposed with armor, then your armor could continue right on through to Caucasus. But this is the ONLY case.

What constitutes a turn?

As it says in the manual, your turn consists of these sequences:
1. Dvlp special weapons/purchase units
2. Combat movement
3. Combat (resolution)
4. Non-Combat movement
5. Place purchased units
6. Collect income.

I copy dat – but they speak English in Australia, and “mangiai” ain’t English.

It is a word in Italian, though, and Italians have been turning out pretty good maps ever since Amerigo Vespucci. (God Bless Vespucciland!)

OK, color me mystified… if we assume that Congress will pass a law forcing insurance cos to deliver the services and permitting them to raise their rates in order to increase the proportion of coverage to 85% - - - then what is left to argue??

If you are going to say that the point left to argue is that it is unfair for the 196 million Americans with medical insurance to have to pay $65 more per year, I don’t see where these citizens are going to have much choice! When Congress passes a law, they generally create an appropriations (that is, spending) bill to go with the law – some tax dollars may be directed toward reimbursing part of the service cost, and some pressure applied upon the insurance cos. through the usual channels to make them come up with another part of the cost, and finally the govt will approve some rate increases to make up the rest. That’s the way it will go, it seems to me.

What assumptions are left for making a negative argument?

Actually, tis an ancient Etruscan battle-cry!

You know, the sons of Nippon cry out the sacred “Banzai” when they charge into battle.

For crusty old Italians, the call of the warrior is “Mangiai” or “I ate!”

(“Did you?”)

I think for old blue-skinned Scottish Highlanders the equivalent is “Maltai” or (“Let’s drink!”)

– but I wouldn’t bet my last haggis on that