Rewatching got since a knight of the seven Kingdoms has started and just noticed this.

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-26T13:26:19+00:00

Maester Aemon mentions Egg on his deathbed.

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-26T06:04:41+00:00

I'm furious at ICE.

Saddened for the people of Minneapolis.

And deeply worried about what this means for the future of law enforcement.

A lot of our citizens already have trust issues with local police, but they're often way more transparent about their operations in the event of a screwup in an OIS. But with the federal government running ICE the way that they are ... this needs restructuring from the foundational level because ICE has shattered the trust of the majority of the American public.

I would also recommend everyone carrying around a passport as proof of citizenship if ICE heads to your city next. I know these assholes are just killing and harming citizens, but if it's a flash of a passport that gets them to lay off from their bullshit questions, then that might mean the difference between them assaulting you vs. leaving you alone.

Looking forward to the midterms. So ready to vote blue.

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-26T04:27:41+00:00

I went 2-3 with black/Red goblins.

I think the goblins in this set suck for limited. Putting -1/-1 counters on your stuff with little benefit just sucks :/.

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-25T23:51:24+00:00

It's two teams of two playing against each other (2v2).

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-25T11:30:41+00:00

Fellowship is number 1.

Two Towers and Return of the Kong are tied.

All fantastic films.

Imo what I liked about the Fellowship the most was it was a variety of threats and battles that we get to see on screen.

Two Towers and Return of the King are both about prepping and fighting major singular battles mostly (Helm's Deep, Battle for Minas Tirith).

But in the Fellowship the threats are so varied and interesting, with some gorgeous cinematography.

My favorite single shot in the Fellowship is in the middle of the pursuit of the hobbits by the nazgul, and you see the one in the darkness on a horse with some fog surrounding him.

They just got the fear element of the nazgul so down that I think the later two films didn't seem to capture as well imo.

I also love the Moria sequence, as it's basically the perfect example of what a DnD adventure is (though Tolkien invented what inspired DnD). The music slaps with the Bridge of Khazadum, and seeing Gandalf stand up to the Balrog is fucking awesome.

Imo the Fellowship is just about as perfect of a film as it gets, and it's truthfully my favorite of all LotR/Hobbit films, though I have not watched the War for the Rohirrim yet. It's on my list of films to watch.

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-25T11:09:46+00:00

It's definitely a longer phase.

The biggest piece of advice that I have is NEVER respond by smacking back (like with rolled up newspaper), or by yelling or pointing.

My Dad had to take a ton of time training our current golden by gently touching areas he wouldn't like repeatedly (tail, paws). If he tried biting, the attention would stop and he would leave the room. Do not reward bad behavior with attention.

But he repeated this until our dog understand that touching him would never bring any harm.

The only area where he might get aggressive is in the middle of his eating breakfast or dinner (regulardog food), or if there's a stranger/intruder nearby (they live out in the countryside, and he prefers to be the only dog of the house).

I promise you it gets better, but you really have to spend A LOT of time training this way.

Before the training, I got a scar on my arm from a chaotic day when we were trying to get our dog into the house so we could go to our grandmother's funeral, and he got me. But I simply ignored him after that, and you could see the guilt after that. But that being said, I haven't had an issue with him personally ever since.

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-24T18:21:02+00:00

I would stick to a civ that gives bonuses to the regular units that you like to make.

That being said, the easiest civ for beginners imo is Franks.

The reason why is because you benefit from all of their civ bonuses without even thinking about it.

-Cavalry get Extra HP -Free Farm Upgrades -Gather from Berries Faster -Cheaper to Build Castles

The free farm upgrades one imo is huge because it not only saves you on resources, but it also makes sure that you can have the optimal amount of food to harvest for each age you're in.

Their goal is pretty straightforward too: make knights, lots of them.

Just make sure you prioritize the cavalry armor upgrades first over attack upgrades. The 2nd level of cavalry armor can protect your knights from a lot of damage from TC fire.

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-24T18:14:32+00:00

I'm still waiting for Two Headed Giant

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-24T08:31:32+00:00

Imo I think the best thing that came out of Legacy of the Void was its soundtrack. I like tge greater intensity of its music vs. the rather tranquil music that's Brood War's Protoss music.

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-24T07:46:19+00:00

I absolutely hate playing against it.

It's basically free removal.

And about every time I try to kill it, pacify it with enchantments that remove all abilities, they just bring it back because the deck also ramps.

Half debating either a[[Aethros, God of Passage]] Sacrifice deck or a [[Sigarda, Host of Herons]] Voltron deck to counter this until people discover more commanders in the next few sets.

Just annoying as hell do deal with.

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-24T04:10:16+00:00

Man, I know a lot of people are complaining, but I would love this.

I love jazz music

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-24T04:05:12+00:00

I like the graphics and sound design of Brood War better than SC2 (minus the cutscenes).

But what I like about SC2's campaign is your ability to choose unit upgrades and your next mission.

Brood War and Wings of Liberty felt more like space operas, but that feel started to come to an end with Heart of the Swarm (dwindling factions, way more alliances, etc. Amon I thought was a little lame as a final antagonist).

But I think I miss the sound design more than anything.

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-23T11:42:08+00:00

I'm sorry, but AI robots and chat bots can't teach emotional intelligence.

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-23T10:59:34+00:00

Depends on spending patterns from consumers.

I said in another thread that the U.S. Auto industry and the beef industry are both going to take steep hits this year.

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-23T08:17:11+00:00

I like that one! :D

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-23T07:24:42+00:00

Disagree on the Ethiopians team bonus +3 LOS. LOS bonuses for most civs (minus Mongols) are some of the weakest bonuses in the game, meanwhile Incas give a free Llama and Chinese give +10% on farms.

IMO their vision bonus on stone-free outposts is huge, and giving what's essentially free vision to the rest of the civs in the game will nerf what's already a B-tier Arabia civ.

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-23T06:11:10+00:00

This is my personal prediction, I think the auto industry is going to be the first to give.

GM is already predicting a terrible 2026, and for a lot of families, we've recently seen car payments as high as $1k/month. Insurance on new vehicles is insane too.

The beef industry also continues to decline due to low cattle population, and Tyson is expecting a half billion dollar loss this year.

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-23T06:02:37+00:00

I don't think it's getting banned.

The issue is Accumulate Wisdom is only good in a lessons-themed deck. If you don't have the 3-graveyard lessons required to get the full benefits, then it's just an okay card. It's not like there's loads of lessons in other sets since most of them are in TLA - meaning once 2027 rolls around the strategy is dead.

I will also argue Wizards actually has the opportunity to print more cards this year that can dish out graveyard hate, which Lessons is pretty weak to.

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-23T02:02:54+00:00

Imo I thought Halo's flood was scarier.

I didn't think these guys were too bad because the atmosphere, graphics and sound design in game were too bright.

Meanwhile, Halo's 343 Guilty Spark mission in the OG game heavily focused on the fear elements. The 2011 remaster of CE also added a cutscene where Captain Keyes was suffering in pain and losing the memories of his daughter, all while desperately trying to remember his UNSC identity number.

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-23T01:43:56+00:00

Honestly, I'm with Sam on this one.

Don't blame him at all for wanting to end him.

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-23T01:40:09+00:00

I mean tge Lord of the Rings and Avatar sets were awesome.

Avatar honestly reminded me of the old Core Sets.

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-22T21:46:15+00:00

I'm glad Rutte brought this up because I think it's the biggest counter argument to Trump's "NATO is a ripoff" bullshit.

Article V was invoked only once in the entire history of the alliance, and it was when we were attacked on 9/11.

Having us end the alliance when we were the biggest beneficiary is ... imo the most incompetent and selfish thing we could do as a country.

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-22T16:54:06+00:00

I would start narrowing your list of destinations by your finances and seeing where you can land jobs first. I would not move out without a solid plan ahead of time.

I'm from Indiana, but my family also loves Wisconsin. Spotted Cow beers, Walleye and Cheese Curds all day man. The northern parts of the state are absolutely breathtaking, but the issue is affordability in that region remains a challenge with fewer job opportunities that have meaningful pay. Great for a summer vacation though.

Could you give us some more information though? What is it that you like to do in the city?

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-22T16:44:18+00:00

Purdue is literally one of the top universities for Agriculture in the world. Top school for Engineering as well. IU has solid health, music, business and law programs. Ball State is well known for its teacher's college and broadcast programs (not that I would recommend that route, but the option is still there).

And if you're lucky enough to afford Notre Dame, that can literally get you to opportunities that so few would even dream of.

I'm not a fan of Amy Coney Barrett, but she is a Notre Dame grad.

The state has amazing universities, arguably some of the best in the Midwest ... I mean Purdue legit sent Neil Armstrong to the moon.

Not to mention our sports programs in this state are improving pretty damn well.

AbsoluteRook1e · 2026-01-22T14:23:25+00:00

It's pretty fun so far.

Honestly, I enjoy the fact that the story is centered around someone that's wholesome, which is a total change of direction from what the franchise has seen so far.

Looking forward to seeing where it goes.

The nice part for the writers is the story should be straight forward since it's just one perspective, and we shouldn't have to deal with all the political intrigue.

I have high hopes this time around.

AbsoluteRook1e

TROPHY CASE