The Altera Centauri collection has been brought up to date by Darsnan. It comprises every decent scenario he's been able to find anywhere on the web, going back over 20 years.
25 themes/skins/styles are now available to members. Check the select drop-down at the bottom-left of each page.
Call To Power 2 Cradle 3+ mod in progress: https://apolyton.net/forum/other-games/call-to-power-2/ctp2-creation/9437883-making-cradle-3-fully-compatible-with-the-apolyton-edition
It's more about not calling people 'Scotch', due to historical connotations. Most Scots (or Brits and Irish more generally) will just call the drink 'whisky' or 'whiskey' if Irish / American derivative. 'Scotch' only really used in marketing to accommodate certain foreign markets.
Of course it's not the only slur word not used as a slur in the original post I was commenting on.
One day Canada will rule the world, and then we'll all be sorry.
Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.
"Hating America is something best left to Mobius. He is an expert Yank hater.
He also hates Texans and Australians, he does diversify." ~ Braindead
Meet the World's Unluckiest — Not to Mention Entitled — Porch Pirate
This teenager swiped a booby-trapped package that showered him with glitter, and then he tripped over a sprinkler in his haste to flee and injured his wrist. If you're wondering why no lawyer will agree to represent him, we can explain …
"I got hurt on the job — in my first few minutes, actually — and can't find a lawyer anywhere to take my case." That was how my conversation began with 17-year-old "Beau," who was calling from Charleston, S.C.
"Well, Beau, what kind of job do you have, and how were you injured?"
"Mr. Beaver, you will figure it out sooner or later, so I might as well be upfront. This was to be a weekend job as a porch pirate, working for a guy who runs a crew. A box I picked up exploded, spraying pink glitter everywhere — like what would happen in a gender reveal — and then a loud alarm sounded.
"In my hurry to get away, I tripped over a sprinkler head on the front lawn, fell and fractured my right wrist.
"I want to file a workers' compensation claim and also sue the homeowner who rigged this booby-trapped package, but when I try to speak with an attorney, everyone laughs at me."
I thought, "Yeah, I would, too!" But why would a porch pirate, also known as a thief, from the South be calling me? Morally satisfying, entertaining videos
We've all seen — on the news and other websites — videos of a porch pirate swiping a package and walking away with a look of great satisfaction on their face, and then BOOM! The package explodes, covering the thief in brightly colored powdered dye or glitter. Next, we hear the creep swearing loudly.
There are hundreds of these videos that are morally satisfying, especially to anyone who has been the victim of a porch pirate.
Unfortunately, many are AI-generated, but everyone I've spoken to enjoys watching the instant karma that's delivered.
Now, going into business as a porch pirate requires only two things: a vehicle and being morally bankrupt. But what if you don't have reliable transportation that enables a quick getaway and still have dreams of financial independence through theft?
You go to work for someone who has both.
As Beau explained, "I met a guy who hires people to steal packages. The process was very smooth, very professional." This is how Beau described it:
The "employer" had one vehicle follow actual delivery drivers and report the addresses where parcels were delivered.
Wearing high-visibility safety vests, Beau and his cohorts were driven to those addresses, where they placed a business card for a tree trimming company on the porch near the recently delivered package, took a photo of it to make the process appear legit, then they would grab the package and leave. (The boss wanted a photo to keep all the Beaus from ripping him off.)
Not only did Beau share a photo of this event, he had an actual video — from walking up to the porch to when he fell.
"This was my first house," he said. "I was nervous, and instead of selecting the photo option on my phone, I accidentally pushed the button for video." (He also mistakenly picked up a package that had already been sitting on the porch, not the one that had just been delivered.)
He played it for me. I almost fell out of my chair, laughing. Why was this South Carolina teen reaching out to a lawyer in California?
Beau explained that he did not tell his father what "the job" was, only that he fell and needed to speak with an attorney.
"My dad reads your Kiplinger column, and you interviewed a lawyer there some time ago, so we thought you might be able to put us in touch with someone."
Even if I could, I would not. Could a homeowner actually be held liable in this case?
The Brineys owned an unoccupied farmhouse that had been repeatedly vandalized and burglarized. They set up a loaded shotgun trap in a bedroom, set to fire when the door was opened, aimed to hit an intruder in the legs. No warning signs were posted.
Katko broke into the house to steal antique bottles and jars and was severely injured when he triggered the trap.
After pleading guilty, he sued the Brineys for actual and punitive damages and was awarded $30,000. The Brineys had to sell much of their farm to satisfy the judgment.
I remember to this day the outrage of students in Professor Ogren's torts class at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. How could any lawyer help to reward this thief? How could a state Supreme Court validate the judgment?
This case is still precedent for the proposition that courts do not approve of potentially deadly booby traps, placing human safety over the value of property.
The law generally permits the use of deadly force only when a person is present and faces an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm. Booby traps, by definition, operate when the owner is likely not present, removing the possibility of a human judgment call on the necessity of force.
Clearly, our genius Beau tripped over a sprinkler head — which was not part of the booby trap — and the glitter did not cause injury. Juries and judges would think, "The kid got what he deserved" — and that is why no lawyer playing with a full deck would take his case.
Has any homeowner been prosecuted or sued for an exploding "bait" package of glitter or dye? I could find no cases, anywhere, over the past several years.
That said, it isn't recommended that you booby-trap your packages. My advice to Beau
I thanked Beau for his call, telling him that he was far luckier than he realized.
"You were about to embark on a path that could lead to state prison. Think of the fractured wrist as the luckiest break of your life. Get an education, or a trade, steer clear of creeps who dangle quick-money schemes before your eyes. Also, tell your family the truth and about our conversation."
This teenager swiped a booby-trapped package that showered him with glitter, and then he tripped over a sprinkler in his haste to flee and injured his wrist. If you're wondering why no lawyer will agree to represent him, we can explain …
I am not delusional! Now if you'll excuse me, i'm gonna go dance with the purple wombat who's playing show-tunes in my coffee cup!
Rules are like Egg's. They're fun when thrown out the window!
Difference is irrelevant when dosage is higher than recommended!
The Eurogroup played a central role in Greece’s debt crisis in the 2010s, leading to bailout loans, spending cuts and economic reforms that reshaped the Greek economy
From booze to black belts: Virginia's drunk raccoon suspected in karate shop break-in
A raccoon that broke into a Virginia store and joyfully drank its way through the liquor aisle is now suspected of a wider crime spree, officials say.
A Hanover animal control officer suspects the stripe-tailed mammal also broke into a nearby karate studio and then raided the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) for snacks.
"Supposedly, this is the third break-in he's had," said Officer Samantha Martin.
The raccoon, now nicknamed the "trashed panda", was first discovered passed out in the bathroom of the Ashland liquor store two days after Thanksgiving. After sobering up, the unlikely outlaw was released back into the wild.
A new study found the masked mammals known for rummaging rubbish bins for easy food, are evolving and getting comfortable around humans.
Ms Martin says it's only a matter of time before the masked bandit strikes the shopping centre again.
"This is not the first time he's been in one of the buildings," she told the county government's official podcast, Hear in Hanover, on Thursday.
"He was in the karate studio. I think he got into the DMV [and] ate some of their snacks one time," she said.
She later added that there is a chance the earlier break-ins could have been perpetrated by a different raccoon - but officials have identified him as their prime suspect.
Raccoons are known for breaking into peoples garbage cans, leading to the nickname "trash panda".
The county has been selling shirts with the logo "trashed panda" and has raised a whopping $207,000 (£155,000) as of Friday. The money will be used to renovate the shelter, and add to its capacity, Ms Martin said.
Officials say the little Kung Fu trash panda was living his best life when he was detained in the liquor store and kept his spirits up even after being placed in the county kennel.
"I just set him in there, [and] let him kinda relax for a few hours. The sun was beating on him so he was feeling good," Ms Martin said, adding that he was released about one mile away from the shopping complex. "He didn't do anything wrong. He was just having a good time."
The story has gone viral, which Ms Martin says is because it is so "relatable".
"Everybody's been there," she says. "Everybody's had a few extra and passed out by the toilet, and hopes somebody can come get you the next morning."
"I hope he learned his lesson," she said, before adding that there's a good chance he might be found committing another heist soon.
"He'll be back. He's not a dummy."
I am not delusional! Now if you'll excuse me, i'm gonna go dance with the purple wombat who's playing show-tunes in my coffee cup!
Rules are like Egg's. They're fun when thrown out the window!
Difference is irrelevant when dosage is higher than recommended!
Rockalina the turtle meets member of her own species for the 1st time in 48 years
The rescued turtle spent decades on a kitchen floor in New Jersey, subsisting mainly on cat food
Rockalina the turtle has had a transformative year.
When wildlife rescuers first laid eyes on her back in February, they weren’t sure she’d last the night.
After nearly 50 years living on a kitchen floor in New Jersey, the eastern box turtle had developed ingrown nails, several deformities and dry, sloughing skin. She was too weak to even keep her eyes open.
But 11 months later, she’s thriving at a wildlife sanctuary, soaking up the sun and feasting on worms and berries.
And now, for the first time since she was plucked from the wild in 1977, she has a companion of her own species — a wee baby turtle named Pebble.
“They're doing good,” Chris Leone, Rockalina’s caretaker, told As It Happens host Nil Kӧksal. “They’re a lot of fun to watch.”
‘It looked like a mummy’
Leone is the founder of Garden State Tortoise, a New Jersey reptile breeding and rescue facility. He first met Rockalina nearly a year ago, when a woman reached out for help.
Her husband’s aunt and uncle had recently died, she said, and she was unsure what to do about the turtle who lived in their home.
The creature, she said, had the run of the house, but resided primarily in the kitchen, where she believes it ate a diet of mostly cat food.
She told Leone the couple’s son had found the turtle outside in 1977 when he was a boy and took her home. He had disabilities that prevented him from caring for his new pet, so the responsibility fell to his parents.
“Now, there was really nobody to take care of the turtle,” Leone said.
But eastern box turtles, he says, aren’t meant to live in a house. They are natural forest dwellers, who like tree cover, lots of humidity and ponds to soak in.
“A linoleum kitchen floor couldn't be any further from what this animal needs,” Leone said. “The animal looked like it was deceased. It looked like a mummy.”
The hard kitchen floors, he said, caused the bones in Rockalina’s fingers to grow “upwards and backwards,” he said.
“That caused the nails to grow in the complete opposite direction and curl over completely to the point where they were actually starting to grow back into her feet,” he said.
Her beak was misshapen, her skin was pale and flaking off, and cat hair had become entangled around one of her legs, cutting off circulation.
“We thought the foot was going to have to be removed,” Leone said. “Once we got her into good shape, we learned that although the leg will always be disfigured, it doesn't have to be amputated and she can actually use it to pivot on.”
Because she’s doing so well, staff decided it was time to give her a friend. Eastern box turtles, Leone says, live in colonies and it’s important they socialize with their own kind.
Enter Pebble, a brand new turtle hatched at the facility, just for Rockalina. The duo, Leone says, seem to be hitting it off.
In their supervised interactions so far, they seem curious about each other — sniffing each other and craning their necks to get a good stare.
“Curiosity is a good trigger to know that they're feeling good,” Leone said.
Leone urges people not to remove turtles from their natural habitats. But he says it’s too late for Rockalina to go back to the forest where she’d be unable to defend herself from predators.
So the staff are doing their best to make her as happy as she can be for her remaining days, of which there could be many.
“She could go another 50 years, believe it or not.”
After nearly 50 years living on a kitchen floor in New Jersey and eating a diet of mainly cat food, Rockalina the turtle was in rough shape. But after 11 months of rehabilitation, she's thriving — and she even has an itty-bitty new friend.
I am not delusional! Now if you'll excuse me, i'm gonna go dance with the purple wombat who's playing show-tunes in my coffee cup!
Rules are like Egg's. They're fun when thrown out the window!
Difference is irrelevant when dosage is higher than recommended!
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