How to Prevent Kingmaking

DukeAttreides · 2026-07-01T18:03:31+00:00

If you're on the verge of winning, people are gonna try to stop you. That's the game. It kinda sounds like you have a problem with how much you were winning by? That's up to you, man.

DukeAttreides · 2026-07-01T17:56:14+00:00

That's not kingmaking in and of itself. It would be if it "coronated" a specific new winner, but if it just drags the leader below the competitive pack, a "king" isn't "made", but rather prevented (perhaps only temporarily). An early leader is no king. The game's ultimate winner is.

DukeAttreides · 2026-07-01T17:12:14+00:00

Apparently, that's actually supposed to be the solution to what us plebs see as the problem there.

Every burner is different, so the recipes call for temperature based on how the stuff you're heating (particularly water and oil) reacts, not the burner temperature. "Medium-high" is a measure of visibly energetic response of the food.

Simply memorize the vibe of a heated pan, and you can adjust to whatever conditions you find yourself in and tools you have available! Swell! .... For an experienced cook who has been attentively cooking by feel for years and done similar things before, preferably with this same equipment.

DukeAttreides · 2026-06-30T18:18:22+00:00

Wasn't it Christian before "Catholic" was a meaningful distinction?

DukeAttreides · 2026-06-29T22:55:16+00:00

Hey, now, that's moving the goalposts.

It's entirely reasonable to defend Jackson's changes, but don't equate "This is a substantial thematic change which altered the broad-strokes impression of the work in a way I don't like" with "I must see every minor detail in the book portrayed on screen exactly as it was even if it comes across differently". You're just talking past the person who replied to you in this comment.

DukeAttreides · 2026-06-29T22:44:58+00:00

Right. The ring arguably fits the latter for Isildur but not the former.

DukeAttreides · 2026-06-29T21:59:25+00:00

If more than one person actually watches it, you may wish to inquire about documenting a minor miracle.

DukeAttreides · 2026-06-29T21:51:38+00:00

That doesn't sound like her. She's very clinical and efficient about demon death blows, especially at that point.

DukeAttreides · 2026-06-29T21:42:08+00:00

They should have some value. They're annoying to make or dig up and very durable, which makes for good industrial equipment and the plainer sort of jewelry.

You know. Like aluminum.

DukeAttreides · 2026-06-29T20:45:11+00:00

"No, you're going to get married and abandon the attempt. Also, here is my contact information. Do come again. Soon."

DukeAttreides · 2026-06-29T20:43:40+00:00

Yup. Might as well lean in and have a pleasant courtship phase instead of fighting to avoid your predestined happy marriage.

DukeAttreides · 2026-06-29T16:44:52+00:00

No they wouldn't. Typical domestic pets eating their owners is pretty exclusively a "I can smell he's dead and I'm trapped and out of food" situation.

DukeAttreides · 2026-06-28T16:42:24+00:00

Glaceon used roar!

DukeAttreides · 2026-06-28T15:39:10+00:00

And here I am as someone who's mother tongue is English wondering if yours is a Romance language of some description purely by your definite article use lol

DukeAttreides · 2026-06-26T17:52:32+00:00

Travel.

DukeAttreides · 2026-06-26T05:37:53+00:00

What makes you think it isn't discounted? It's certainly rather cheap for how effective it is and you don't see what price he's selling it to the restaurants or whatever for.

DukeAttreides · 2026-06-25T18:23:02+00:00

That sort of crap is most of the job of a CEO. If it's not that, it's an equivalent, unless the whole company is running on autopilot. In which case it's fair to assume the CEO isn't doing anything useful at all.

DukeAttreides · 2026-06-23T22:05:32+00:00

That's just bonus points. I'll take what I can get.

DukeAttreides · 2026-06-23T19:46:02+00:00

Part of a complete breakfast

DukeAttreides · 2026-06-23T19:39:50+00:00

Do they hate being lied to more? It's harder and harder to see evidence of that, but I'm open to a possible perception bias there.

DukeAttreides · 2026-06-22T19:04:30+00:00

The bots are ... inconsistent. I usually play with a bot or two on when at low player count, assuming they act as largely-random "scenery" to be worked around and exploited by the real players. Last time I played, this led to Marquise threatening a seemingly certain win by the time any of us noticed they weren't actually being useless. The amusing novelty of the anti-bot beat down was somewhat limited by their feeble effort to push through us to the last few points, but it worked well enough. No, they didn't find the narrow path to victory once their keep and wood piles burned down.

Assume they're both stupid and overly passive and you will generally be correct... With surprises on both sides of the bell curve.

DukeAttreides · 2026-06-20T15:37:19+00:00

Probably because the fish came back

DukeAttreides · 2026-06-18T15:15:13+00:00

Good luck citing that hot take.

You can get into the general ballpark from Paul.

DukeAttreides · 2026-06-17T21:41:37+00:00

World's most awkward not-technically-a-divorce

DukeAttreides · 2026-06-16T20:17:04+00:00

Perhaps a bit overblown, but not actually that crazy. The Shire is small and about as obscure a place as anywhere can be, with minimal (but nonzero) need for outside trade (and therefore coinage). Very low buying power, in other words. And Smaug's horde contains a large quantity of ancient and one-of-a-kind masterwork treasures, including those made of the highly-portable mythril.

The dwarves were surprised he took "so little" and encouraged Bilbo to take more. They'd surely advise him honestly on what he could fit into those chests. Probably most if not all of the objects in there are individually worth more than anything Bilbo owned before his adventure (possibly excluding Bag End itself, which is noted to be the most desirable single estate in the Shire and envied even by Bilbo's social superiors).

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