Wednesday 5 May 2010

Rant 537 / Emir Hybrido

The ant infestation in my home has spread to my room. I've just noticed 2 trails of ants here, one in my bathroom and one next to my door. It's not so bad when I have my air conditioner turned on but when it's not, the lines get pretty visible.

I noticed ants in my bathroom long ago. I suspected diabetes in myself at first but the ants didn't seem to gather in any specific spots, not even on my toilet bowl. Usually they're at the sink, which doesn't make sense to me. There's nothing there, only a few bottles of medical stuff, mouthwash and the standard toothbrush and toothpaste and tumbler. The medical shampoo contains steroids (prescription only), but I don't think ants are attracted to anything like that.

It was only a few days ago that I saw a trail of ants on where the ceiling meets the wall, crawling from one hole to another. Apparently they dug through concrete and paint to expand their territories. I sprayed some insecticide and they're gone for now, but the holes are still there.

The one next to my door I found later. It came from the floor and ended in a wire trunking. I'm pretty sure they're using all the holes inside to travel around my home. Why are they interested in my room anyway? Sure I eat here but I don't leave food lying around unsealed. I have tried leaving dirty plates on my desk after breakfast until the evening but I never saw any signs of ants. Therefore they aren't here because of the food I bring into my room.

What are they attracted to??? Is it the wooden floor? Then why my bathroom too? What's there to draw them in? They need some of my moisturising Dove soap for a smooth and supple exoskeleton? Or do they want to use my mouthwash to prevent plaque and bad breath? What? I just don't get it.

I haven't seen anything in my room and bathroom that attracts ants. They're just entering my room without my permission for reasons I just can't figure out.

THIS IS A GROSS INVASION OF PRIVACY, OKAY??!!



Jokes aside, I know the best way to solve this is to actually keep my home clean regularly. We have this habit of leaving food and used food containers on the "dining table" (we don't actually dine there; its purpose is more similar to that of a granary's) that is cleared only every morning, so that's most likely why we have this many ants.

I'm just too lazy.












Mount and Blade: Warband is a very nice game for people who like games with no set objectives. This game puts the player in a fictional medieval land where there are a number of kingdoms that bear similarities with those in medieval Europe.

You are given no main plot and have no purpose. A short quest at the beginning tries to set you on a certain path but it is completely fine to ignore it. You can hire mercenaries, acquire companions, trade or even work your way up to become a king yourself. No restrictions is given.

Personally I've spent an entire day creating a solid financial foundation for myself. In other words, I traded and formed a 60-man personal army to guard my caravan. When bandits get see me, they run.

It didn't happen quickly. At first I had to spend some money to hire a few green recruits from villages. Then I did some errands for the nobility and fought off some looters and bandits, all the while keeping an eye on the prices in different areas.

I didn't record the prices down because it wasn't necessary. The player is allowed to spend a day in a city just to "assess the local prices", which automatically makes him spend some money on accommodation for the night and at the end, gives him three tips on which goods could be sold in which city profitably.

I followed these tips initially and learnt that they weren't always dependable. Apparently prices fluctuate in this game, so these tips may become obsolete by the time you reach your destination. However, after some time I got a feel of the general prices in the parts of the map I frequent and began to explore other regions.

That's when I found some insanely cheap goods that could be sold in cities I frequently visit for relatively large profits. For example, I was used to buying Salt from Shariz at around 150 denars each and selling them at around 300 denars at Yalen. Later I found Salt being sold at around 90 denars each in Tulga. At the same time, I found Wine priced at 60 denars being sold at Suno which was usually above 300 denars at Shariz.

Eventually I found that I could circle the map dealing in Iron, Salt, Dried Fish, Wine, Ale, Date Fruit and some other stuff. Now I have 16k denars and a caravan full of goods. I think I'll start working for some Lord and get involved in their wars. That will probably mean I will be making enemies and disrupt part of my trade route.

On the other hand, I can get land eventually if I do that, which probably means I get earn taxes.

I wonder if I'll grow old in this game. I've tried Googling but I couldn't find any definitive answer to this question. It's likely nobody has played this long enough to find out. It took me hours just to go through a few months of ingame time. It would be really interesting to become a 600-year-old medieval Khan.










Just when you thought a 3D realistic girlfriend simulator was the absolute worst that Japanese men can go, they give the world a wife simulator. In this game, the player can do most of what a man would fantasize about doing with his wife short of touching her and making babies.

That there are so many men in Japan who are making enough money to buy a PS3 and its expensive games, yet have to resort to playing these games, just makes me sad.












I'm actually very curious about why the Greeks don't accept the austerity bill. Oh btw,

aus·ter·i·ty Show Spelled[aw-ster-i-tee]


I thought it was pretty obvious why they absolutely need it. Like their PM said, it's either this or bankruptcy. To see what happens when a country goes bankrupt, see National Bankruptcy. Its logic is rather complicated for me but the effects are simple.

Their banks get screwed and investors stop investing in their economy. Their own citizens will also panic and withdraw all their savings and stop spending. Finally, their government won't be able to magically pull out some "stimulus packages" to save anyone.

The alternative, which is the new austerity measures, are:

  • Hiking the VAT from 19 percent to 21 percent (worth 1.3 billion euros)
  • One-off corporate tax (1 billion)
  • Cutting "holiday bonuses" by 30 percent (740 million)
  • 2 percent supplemental gas tax (450 million)
  • Freeze on state pensions (450 million)
  • Reducing bonuses and pay by 7 percent for public sector employees (360 million)
  • 2 percent supplemental cigarette tax (300 million)
  • Supplemental electricity tax (250 million)
  • One-off tax on vacation homes and oversized properties (200 million)
  • Cuts to pension subsidies (150 million)
  • Supplemental tax on luxury goods, e.g. yachts and cars worth more than 35,000 euros (100 million)
Other measures include: an additional 1 percent tax on income over 100,000 euros, reducing government overtime hours by 30 percent, cutting public-sector benefits 10 percent, and taxing the commercial activities of churches.

(source: http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/03/04/greek_austerity_measures)

(VAT = GST)

You can feel the desperation of the government just by reading the list. Personally I think it's a good time to invest to invest in cheap beer/alcohol in Greece. Lots of people will be drinking and most of them will be penny-pinching.

Changing the government isn't going to remove the debts but it may replace the people who have already been proven to be not capable enough. Yes shit happens, but you don't see many other countries this close bankruptcy everywhere.

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