Wednesday, December 28, 2016

The Daily Stormer


The ugly troll behind the Daily Stormer, a Trump cheerleader, imagines he has a monopoly on ultra-violence, hate and psychological warfare. The truth is, everyone keeps the full enchilada in reserve. The only thing keeping the masses from indulging their base instincts is a noble aspiration for a higher state of existence. We do not wish to live as base animals. It is commendable aspiration and was difficult to achieve. He argues we should revert to insects. To see the world in terms of skin color is stupid. He thinks his words are impressive because they are extreme. The reality is, the majority of mankind could say and do all the horrid things he thinks he has the sole rights to. The majority could do far worse than him. Want to be like ISIL, worse than dogs? Want to be worse than ISIL? If he were on the receiving end of what he advocates, he would change his tune in a few seconds, reverting back to the Noam Chomsky-reading liberal he said he used to be. All his hatemongering blather is just a smokescreen for his insecurities. Not impressed.

Back in the day, there were similar creatures in Europe. Some committed suicide, while others were shot or hung, after the war. There is meticulous documentation about their activities. He is parroting them. The forces he draws upon are not congenial for human beings. It is in their nature to betray the summoner.

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Stocks are the Only Investment Vehicle with Wheels


I just don't see any future in bonds right now. I doubt whether they will even outpace inflation. Not with Trump. Stocks, maybe, and money market or, just maybe, an ultra-short term bond fund. There are going to be gyrations in the stock market with Trump. He drops clunkers all the time. Just doesn't sit down and think about things long or deeply. I'm not really sure he will keep us out of war, either. He seems pretty gung-ho about racking up another ten to twenty trillion in national debt. Basically that's what our overseas adventures are, another way to transfer wealth from the U.S. to China. We should have gotten free oil for a century from Iraq, but instead all we get is gimme more, gimme more, gimme more, and blame, derision and disrespect all around. War sucks as foreign policy. I hope somebody on Trump's team secretly understands that, because from the way they talk, seems like they hit a lot of trees in the Stupid Forest.

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Dungeon Crawl Script, Two Years Later


I haven't touched the Dungeon Crawl script in two years, until now. It still works like a charm. I am quite pleased with it. Perhaps others are as well. It remains one of the most popular pages on my blog. I play in Linux now. The game works great in Linux. And if you aren't using Linux, my question to you is, why not? It's free. It does not require an anti-virus or much of anything else. It will run fine on a Pentium 4 with a gigabyte of RAM--or less. Again, why not? Download Linux Mint today and see what you think.

As for the new Stone Soup team, well, I like what they've done. Gozag is my "go-to" God for Mummies. The devs have made some rather controversial changes. I do wish that they would do something besides adding a new God every other release. Polytheism is cool, but you know, new content is best, in particular for the higher levels. Let us expand the divine astral realms and allow the player to contend with the gods themselves. Also, there are more Hells to conquer, more demons and devils. What about Lovecraft's mythos? Nyarlhotep, oh my, and Cthulu! These would be interesting challenges to place before the high-level player. Do note that Lovecraft is long since dead, and copyright issues should be null, but of course, I am not a lawyer, and publishers are greedy. In my opinion, there are enough gods as it is, and some gods, such as Sif Muna, cry out to the gods for an overhaul. I can't think of any reason anyone would want to worship Sif Muna when Vehumut offers so much more to the spellcasting faithful.

My Dungeon Crawl Cheat page is laden with dust. Frequent references to Windows XP betray its antiquity. I could edit and add guidance for Windows 10, but why? I like the patina. I will never use Windows XP in this life. I tossed my last Windows XP install DVD. XP is best buried. It was good in its day, but its day is past. There are too many limitations and vulnerabilities. I remember frequent problems with Windows XP and more particularly, Windows 2000, which kept having Registry problems. I read all about the "hive," but still did not understand it. In the end, we must heed Microsoft when they say upgrade. It is their product, after all.

Will Dungeon Crawl survive? Probably not. At some point, the Devs will age to a point when they cannot be bothered anymore. It is the same with Wesnoth and other old games. The younger generation has very high expectations in terms of graphics and whatnot. I hope the Devs continue as long as they possibly can, because I think the game is awesome, but there are many who grow accustomed to modern gaming with high-resolution graphics. I prefer slow, turn-based gaming over realtime, with its emphasis on hand-eye coordination, and I believe there will always be a market for that, so perhaps there is a slender hope for Dungeon Crawl into the future.

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Bonds Suck So Bad


I just can't get over how bad bonds suck right now. Unless interest rates increase by 2 to 3%, bonds are all, every one of them, a bad deal, and high-yield most of all, with its pathetic 5% yield. Look, inflation is on the rise, okay? The Fed's quarter-point touch up doesn't do the trick. Prices are creeping higher, and the usual Christmas bargains just aren't to be found.

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Merkel Embraces Thanatos


The Christmas market bombing in Berlin brings to mind the foolishness of Europe's stance on immigration. Germany's Merkel invites death and destruction upon the Germans. I think she should be impeached through whatever parliamentary process is available to the Germans.

There is no acceptable level of terrorism. Stop the so-called refugees at the door and tell them to go fix the problems in their own land before bringing their problems to our door. Why are these folk not fighting for their own land? All they want is a free ride in a rich nation. They shirk their duty and then want the West to fix all their problems for them. Europe does not need a bunch of fanatic know-nothings who do not even speak the language of their host country. They care nothing about the culture of Germany. They will ruin Europe and turn it into the same hell-hole they came from. They want sharia law, the rape of women, beheadings and public floggings. That is all they know for a hundred generations.

If the refugees belong anywhere besides their own land, then it would be in neighboring countries, not in Western Europe. The people of Europe are awakening to this truth, and it will not be long before the foolish politicians are cast out in elections.

Monday, December 19, 2016

Merciful Trump?


I was puzzled by Trump's seeming change of heart regarding the prosecution of Hillary Clinton for emails. He said he didn't want to hurt Hillary anymore, that she had suffered enough. He struck a kind, fatherly, merciful figure, and that set my head a-spinning.

I figured things out today. The new king hesitates to establish a precedent of prosecuting another king.

For the day may come when Trump, too, fears prosecution. He is likely to do all the things Hillary did or is alleged to have done and far more.

* - I italicized the word "precedent" because our president-elect proved to the world that he did not know how to spell the word. He called the Chinese seizure of our underwater drone "unpresidented" when he meant "unprecedented." The Republicans have a terrible time with grammar, history, and science. Why is that? I will tell you, a lot of people, and not just Democrats, arrive at the obvious conclusion.
techlorebyigor is my personal journal for ideas & opinions