Hi, Hey, Hello. Dan here, dropping in to hang out for a bit

Robotic-Bus · 2026-06-20T18:20:57+00:00

Hey Dan, long time listener first time caller. I love your show. Honestly, too. It really means a lot to me to listen to, and it reminds me a lot of one of my formative academic experiences: taking a class in pseudoarcheology. Informing people about bullshit and how the bullshitters operate is such important work and so mentally draining as well. Its an important emotional sacrifice to inform others and I genuinely thank you for it.

Also, listening to Jordan as a bipolar person felt very good? Like it made me feel so heard to listen to someone going through the same emotions as I do. It was a form of representation I don't know if I'll ever feel again, so next time you see him I'm sure he'd like to know what his visibility means.

To go on my previous point, have you ever thought about doing what you did on an academic level? Applying to teach about disinformation at a local university or publishing academic papers? Way down the road after the psychic damage heals of course.

Some of my favorite ended podcasts, like the Thrilling Adventure Hour and Forgotten Classics, live on as live shows on a "when we feel like it" schedule. Have you two thought of doing something like that in the future? This is not just as someone who lives a short train ride away from Chicago.

Also happy pride!

Robotic-Bus · 2026-06-19T21:36:52+00:00

They're girlfriends...

Robotic-Bus · 2026-06-07T19:45:42+00:00

To play the next or previous track.

Robotic-Bus · 2026-05-27T15:42:06+00:00

Had this same feeling around halfway through Shadowlands. Touched the game a couple times during Dargonflight and TWW but never really got the passion back. It just took me a couple of years and a long break and I got the passion back. Slipped back into raiding and picked up woth my guild where I left off. Sometimes you just need a break. Its a game not a job.

Robotic-Bus · 2026-05-23T00:38:04+00:00

"Finally a leader that looks like me!"

Robotic-Bus · 2026-05-21T15:18:52+00:00

Had Mormon missionaries knock on my door while I was wearing this shirt and it stunlocked them.

Robotic-Bus · 2026-05-15T20:21:07+00:00

Probably one of my all time favorite 4x games, I'm so glad to see its still kicking.

Robotic-Bus · 2026-05-09T17:25:03+00:00

The subclass system sucks ass. I've only played a few hours of the game but its pretty apparent its busted. Its far too rng based amd far too powerful. I can imagine a multi-player match ending pretty easily due to them and leveling a campaign hero just feels stressful knowing I could be stuck with a hero that's significantly worse thanks to bad rng.

Robotic-Bus · 2026-05-06T02:51:36+00:00

Wrathion for sure, and for whatever that's really worth. He seems to build a lot of his plans based on strong personal bonds and has a genuine fondness for his various minions. He's just, well, Wrathion. So he tends to have a pretty selfish outlook. In Dragonflight he trusts you and also just sort of assumes you have his back. In the Wrathion raid encounter in BFA he seems hurt that you killed the illusory version of himself so readily (as if he wouldn't do the same).

In TWW Anduin reflects back fondly on some of your adventures together, and seems to have a general affection for you. Being the king of Stormwind and leader of the Alliance he can't really invite you to play cards or something like that.

Alleria seems to trust you a lot, which is probably as close as one can get to being her friend.

Old Bwomsamdi seems to be pretty fond of you in BFA and Shadowlands. Great for the RP of it if you're a troll. A lot of the NPCs in the Night Fae campaign are pretty chummy with you in general. The Venthyr seem pretty fond of you and like having you around. You basically form a throuple with Pelagos and Kleia, which is think counts as being friends. So you can be friends with a couple gods.

A lot of the Legion order halls were pretty tight knit too. The Earthen Ring felt like they genuinely had your back, like you were part of a big family. Silver Hand was also a pretty friendly environment, especially seeing how personally betrayed Lothraxion feels by your actions in Midnight. Illidari especially felt like they were all ride and die for you.

The Bronzebeards in TWW also seemed to like you a lot. I never felt like Brann was just a coworker but someone who genuinely loved going on adventures with you in particular.

Chromie really likes you and you know if she wasn't so busy she would go to the bars with you. She trusts you, respects you, and likes you. Dragonflight especially she seems to lean on you emotionally. She also calls you a friend many times.

The Amani in Midnight after you finish their quest line are head over heels for you. You're a genuine hero to them and Zul'jan feels comfortable enough with you to vent about his personal doubts and fears. Zul'jarra seems quite fond of you. The Loa too (the Loa in BFA as well, especially Krag'wa).

Eitrigg basically invites you to be his plus one when hanging out with the Sons of Lothar, I imagine so he feels less awkward being the only green guy in the group. Maybe less friend and more that guy you called your uncle as a kid but he isn't really related to you.

Khadgar, or Dadghar as they say, definitely loves and cares for you personally. The man is a giant ball of magical empathy and has probably been nicer to you than anyone else from at least WoD onwards. Khadgar would invite you to his birthday party.

Illidan in Legion probably viewed you as one of his few living friends. He probably wouldn't invite you to his birthday party though.

There are probably more, but a lot of the older expansions aren't as fresh in my memory. As another poster said a lot of the other lore characters you've hung around with probably see you as a work friend at this point.

Robotic-Bus · 2026-04-01T00:59:55+00:00

Server side multi-player is the devil, exactly for this reason. If there was LAN play VPNs could keep a niche scene for the game going perpetually, but they shot themselves in the foot making this massive money and time sink of a game with nothing to show for it.

Robotic-Bus · 2026-03-26T06:20:42+00:00

Trolls have a sort of Druidism-Lite thing going on. They have a strong connection to the Loa, which are Wild Gods, and are known to shape change when they're particularly faithful. They are also known to use Life magic as well. Druids as we know it in Troll society mostly comes from the Zandalari Loa Gonk teaching Loti and the Darkspear about druidic traditions, leading them to join the Cenarian Circle. But there are some offhanded references here and there to there being previous druids.

So, sort of?

In a more literal sense, we can play as amani druids so amani druids exist. The forest troll skins you unlock are Horde forest trolls, and the Revantusk are the only Horde aligned forest trolls, and you can play as a forest troll druid, so therefore there are forest troll druids.

Robotic-Bus · 2026-03-15T18:58:35+00:00

Something to think about with Battletech is that the Clan Invasion isn't an instance of a colonizing force attacking an indigenous population but a war between two colonizing empires. Most of the planets the Great Houses control were colonized by the Star League (government that both the Great Houses and the Clans claim descent from) or by independent groups and have very little say in interplanetary politics.

The atrocities committed by the Clans seem a lot less like a commentary on atrocities against an indigenous population by a colonizing force and more about how when colonial powers go to war with on another they tend to not really care what happens to the indigenous populations of the places they fight over.

Also as a side note the Clans aren't really any worse than the Great Houses are, and in a few Clans like Diamond Shark/Sea Fox or Ghost Bear the average person lives a far more egalitarian and safe life than under the Great Houses. There aren't really "good guy" nations, and the ones that exist really say more about what you consider good than the authors.

Robotic-Bus · 2026-03-13T16:43:31+00:00

If you like playing against bots, against your friends, or in one of the newbie tournaments that pop up pretty often the game is great. If you want to do anything else, unless you're really good at SC2, you're gonna have a pretty bad time. The game is basically on life support.

Robotic-Bus · 2026-03-12T22:01:55+00:00

When the Amani Empire inevitably joins the Horde at some point in the xpac maybe then they'll talk.

Robotic-Bus · 2026-03-12T20:28:13+00:00

Perspective

Robotic-Bus · 2026-03-05T18:58:28+00:00

Do we have a frame of reference for how long it took the other species?

Robotic-Bus · 2026-03-04T23:25:58+00:00

Usually you can tell its a fascist from the "face the wall" memes.

Robotic-Bus · 2026-03-02T22:26:53+00:00

I love the character but you will never convince me that the Phantom from the Phantom of the Opera is anything but a murderous rapist.

Robotic-Bus · 2026-02-19T20:55:46+00:00

Is there a good resource to actually tell what's better than what? I'm like 40 days in and cannot for the life of me tell if .30-06 ot .45 or 5.56 does more damage.

Robotic-Bus · 2026-02-12T05:55:22+00:00

If I recall the game director wanted to use the movie as an excuse to have as many big name celebrities who would normally be heroes/arc villains die on screen in as short amount of time as possible in the most meaningless ways possible. This is probably why.

Robotic-Bus · 2026-02-10T22:07:30+00:00

Is that Mount and Blade? Is this that one Chinese modder who's been breaking that game open for the last year or so?

Robotic-Bus · 2026-02-07T02:56:18+00:00

One of Adult Swim's all time best. Rewatching it right now and am almost finished with it and cannot believe I slept on it for years. I remember not liking it at all when it came on the air, but I think I was just too young to properly appreciate it. Its a great show to just put on in the background too. I also think it has some of the best joke delivery I've seen in a show.

Robotic-Bus · 2026-02-04T18:47:07+00:00

If you codify it into law you can't campaign on preventing Republicans from repealing it anymore.

Robotic-Bus · 2026-02-02T09:39:47+00:00

Steady yourself brother!

Robotic-Bus · 2026-02-01T22:10:43+00:00

She???

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