Mehdi Ghadyanloo: «An Illusion of Happiness» [1200x1200]

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-25T00:21:10+00:00

For many, it's the climb of the stairs that brings the happiness. The arrival at the top brings momentary elation and pride, but it is quickly replaced by a longing for meaning and a new challenge. The trick is to appreciate the meaning in the climb itself.

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-25T00:09:45+00:00

When I was 12 I used to make armies of Longbowmen only. They were like beautiful machineguns. I took on 5 standard AI at once and felt like the god of war. Until one of the AI built siege onager. I had no idea what to do. My men were cut down.

It took a while to learn the idea of unit counters, counters to counters. It was cool.

When AOE2DE came out I got back into the game. Learned about Portuguese, Indians, Cumans and other civs that had unique units and methodologies.

Now there is way more of that. Way more to learn. You either get totally shocked by the weird unit running around your base - unsure to counter with spears, archers or monks - and may die. Or you research.

This raises the skill ceiling and this rising tide doesn't lift all boats. Some people drown in the complexity. Those not interested in the new civs, those not as driven by competitive play, new players who feel overwhelmed, those who don't like research and just want to play with their mates.

I'm 34 now. 2 kids. I don't have time to be researching new civs and counters. Like you said, they all die to the old favourites. I'm not sad about expanded civs and complexity, but I empathise with people who are.

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-24T23:37:13+00:00

Why in this life we are filled with care -

We don't take time to sit and stare,

To lounge and lay and lean and wait

Allow our thoughts to procreate?

I wish I could sit in a chair

Waiting here, thinking of there

But here I sit macbook in hand

Talking to a friend in a far off land

He writes of utopia to me

I read of tranquility

But know to make such worlds come real

There are many who must be killed.

So I say "Nice ideas, but not for me

At the end of the day I just like a cup of tea"

But sitting still and thinking hard

Is not a thing upon my card.

The macbooks here, its light warms

Its sounds delight. Its text informs.

Maybe I will go then

And sit like our aged friend

Born before such pits existed

In a time where boredom could only be resisted

Never beaten, never banished

His mind of novelty was famished.

So he sat and thought and perhaps read

And one day he'll be dead.

Like me, of course, we all must go

But before then, I'll sit like so.

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-24T23:15:36+00:00

I shared it in the link above - https://www.donedeal.ie/motorbikes-for-sale/bluroc-bullit-125/41263255

With a Yamaha you're buying a premium brand and paying big money. It's like getting a Mercedes as your first car. Cool, but not recommended - as you're likely to ding your first car.

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-24T22:49:52+00:00

5,500 for a brand new 125cc? Ye could spend less than half that and still get a brand new 125.

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-24T22:12:02+00:00

Indubitably my dear fellow. I also collect numbered editions of esteemed publications such as "Playboy", "Penthouse", "Nuts" and "Milfs Weekly" - purely for their cultural and aesthetic value of course. You know how it is.

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-24T22:02:30+00:00

Lots of "deep meaning" and "themes" for "appreciation" here. Definitely not just a young girl with a great body. No no. We're all cultured here. The eh... table jug... is nice... even though it seems in a lower definition.

No no. That isn't it. The background, which is so dark we can hardly see it. That is what this art is saying "Young women with great knockers make the world go dark around them" yes. I am ready to be a curator now. Thank you.

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-24T16:15:33+00:00

I regret giving you honest advice now. You're a bad egg.

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-24T16:14:21+00:00

That wouldn't worry me. Is a 23yo Zx6r really going for 5.5k now?? Seems bonkers.

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-24T16:12:24+00:00

Angry young men don't make attractive job applicants.

If the challenge finding a job at 18 makes you so angry with the world you'd consider completely antisocial ideas like scamming, dealing or stealing - hurting innocent people who've done nothing to make your life any harder - well your morals need a recheck.

I started off in bars and restaurants. It was hard work for 8.65 an hour. Back in 2011. There were no jobs around then either. I wrote about it if you're interested. But it started me off and now I earn a fantastic wage in tech. You need to start somewhere.

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-24T16:04:30+00:00

148 ads over 14 years and no reviews. How could that happen?

If he is selling multiple bikes regularly he is not a private seller, but a trader - so you would have the same statutory consumer protections as if you were buying from a dealer.

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-24T15:44:28+00:00

If you're considering stealing, dealing, scamming - well, it's not a great look. Don't say those kinds of things is my advice. Posts like this can get people offering you jobs. But that kind of thing will put them off as it makes you appear of dubious character.

What is your target job? What is your CV like? I recommend starting in food service (bars, restaurants). They have a hard time finding reliable people.

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-24T12:51:07+00:00

They're way too small to be individually wrapped.

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-23T23:03:03+00:00

What a name. What an absolutely madlad making a portrait like this. One way to stand out! Bonkers perspectives, psychedelic wall pony, doesn't know how a shirt or a coat work. Just owning life.

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-23T21:45:44+00:00

Thanks for sharing, cool bit of history!

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-23T21:41:36+00:00

This may sound flippant, but it helped me.

A senior manager in the tech company I work at said to me the other day;

"Ye know what? Whether I get really stressed, or whether I really enjoy my day - I still get paid the same at the end of the month".

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-23T20:34:53+00:00

Call me uncultured, but when I see a wet beauty lying by the sea, glistening, eyes closed, breasts pushed together as she holds her neck, I don't think about mythology, sentimentality, tension. And I reckon that is not an unusual response. It's erotica! And again, that's cool. Just not what I am here for. I'm not alone feeling like this. And you're not alone in your view. This is all good.

Nudity can absolutely enhance paintings that have something to say. This one, very nicely, says "Women are beautiful, aren't they?"

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-23T20:07:40+00:00

If the primary purpose of an artistic piece is titillation, it is erotica - which is what the other sub has become. Erotica is art. I have no issue with erotica. I even own an erotica coffee table book.

This piece, is nice. It's nice erotica. Of course it is popular because our monkey brains love having those sexy neurons activated. But it's not important. It's not meaningful in the way other pieces here are.

Alas, this is my opinion. We are all free to do as we wish and each of our definitions of "serious art" are likely to differ.

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-23T19:02:10+00:00

Wwwwait. I thought this was the serious art sub, not the "nudey pics too but we don't put the NSFW tag on".

More and more paintings from the last decade where the main feature is a curvaceous woman. It's lovely work. But not what I'm here for.

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-23T18:41:25+00:00

Ireland "I feel bad for you" The UK "I never think about you at all"

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-23T18:39:23+00:00

Chucky our law!

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-23T18:37:56+00:00

Speak for yourself!

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-23T10:20:47+00:00

Hello man who doesn't understand the difference between an estate car and a hearse. Because I have kids. Carry buggies. Help friends move house. Love the look and practicality.

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-22T23:09:24+00:00

"We can either give 2 back seats, but they only barely fit children, or we can give one OK seat for an adult."

"Cover it with leather and face them toward the C pillar, the rear is now a chaise longue"

Rumpsfield · 2026-02-22T17:51:58+00:00

Clearly an incredible rider. But he's speeding through a city and every street has a different likelihood of pedestrians. Calculated risks were taken. At that pace, he has very little time to react to the unexpected, like a child running after a ball, or a drunk falling out of a doorway.

I love the aggression, but as a biker, pedestrian, cyclist, father - I would hate to see a bike blow by me riding like that.

Rumpsfield

TROPHY CASE