Recent posts

#1

Off the Record / Re: US - Greenland Crisis Thre...

Last post by Crazy_Ivan80 - Today at 09:01:19 AM

Trump sure is a threat from Russian and China

#2

Off the Record / Re: US - Greenland Crisis Thre...

Last post by Legbiter - Today at 08:55:57 AM

Denmark is reinforcing Greenland with more troops. Problem is a lot of their manpower is deployed in Latvia. The Nordics and Canada should chip in as well. To guard against any threats from China and russia of course...

#3

Off the Record / Re: Go Persians, go!

Last post by garbon - Today at 08:24:24 AM

Ah the old when you can be a dick, go full dick.

#4

Gaming HQ / Re: The Miscellaneous PC & vid...

Last post by crazy canuck - Today at 07:52:44 AM

Oh, good reminder. I was meaning to try that.

#5

Off the Record / Re: Go Persians, go!

Last post by crazy canuck - Today at 07:48:29 AM

You are wrong about your last paragraph. It was not at all like Afghanistan. It had a large middle class and was thoroughly modern on the cities.  And the countryside was not fuedal. Rather villages operated more like communes.

I think you misread my point on Afghanistan.

On feudalism - it literally was feudal until the 1960s/70s (and in my head there's nothing about a communal village life that contradicts feudalism - seems to me they often go together). I think the Shah's attempt at land reform was one of his big pitches as a reforming "progressive" monarch. But my understanding - and I could be wrong - is that even after land reform the traditional landowners still earned huge wealth from and were very powerful in their old estates. From what I understand a bit like the situation in Pakistan (strikingly, another US ally against communism but not frontline states like Taiwan and South Korea?).

Again from what I understand, I think a lot of the change from land reform has now accrued to the state, elites around politics and groups like the IRGC.

No, I understand your point about the comparison ito Afghanistan, and you continue to be wrong in your characterization of Iran as being feudal. To the extent it looked that way to a casual observer, the American and UK regime change that brought the Shaw to power are largely to blame. 

And come to think of it, the views you are expressing here are a good illustration of the kind of propaganda used by the Brits to justify their actions, so I suppose it is understandable that it has been internalized as a kind of accepted wisdom.

#6

Off the Record / Re: US - Greenland Crisis Thre...

Last post by crazy canuck - Today at 07:39:59 AM

Yes, I already made that point, we already have troops on the ground in the Baltic states.

#7

Off the Record / Re: The AI dooooooom thread

Last post by Crazy_Ivan80 - Today at 06:51:36 AM

Lol - my wife used the inhouse AI assistant at her work and asked it to polish an email it had drafted. It translated it to Polish 

Glorious.

-----

We've been using antropics Claude intensively the last few months. Even having it write entire features and doing quite well.
Supervision required of course but the results are quite good.

But what a bunch of yes-men those llms are.

#8

Gaming HQ / Re: The Miscellaneous PC & vid...

Last post by Crazy_Ivan80 - Today at 05:19:48 AM

I don't think there have been made many railroad games, and the genre has taken more off into diverse territory with airlines, factories and whatnot.

Speaking of trains, I am pondering whether to sink some time into Last Train Home about those Czech soldiers stuck in the Bolshevik territory during the Russian Civil War. The reviews are very good. Anyone with experience of the game?

Didn't play it enough to really say much, but what I played was interesting enough. Need to pick that one up again.

#9

Gaming HQ / Re: The Miscellaneous PC & vid...

Last post by Norgy - Today at 05:16:17 AM

I don't think there have been made many railroad games, and the genre has taken more off into diverse territory with airlines, factories and whatnot.

Speaking of trains, I am pondering whether to sink some time into Last Train Home about those Czech soldiers stuck in the Bolshevik territory during the Russian Civil War. The reviews are very good. Anyone with experience of the game?

#10

Gaming HQ / Re: The Miscellaneous PC & vid...

Last post by celedhring - Today at 05:07:32 AM

Yeah, I've been looking for a modern Railroad Tycoon experience for ages but nothing seems to quite scratch that itch. I haven't tried Railway Empire 2, but I had similar issues as you with the original.