Darth Fluffy

Yeah, not rotating coils on a motor.  My bad.

So, I am going to grumble about logistics for a bit.
For large armies logistics are everything. Without supplies they cannot fight. It is entirely possible that they cannot even reach wherever they are supposed to go. This rule is even more important for modern armies but even for medieval or fantasy armies this holds true.
Now Tolkien was completely aware of this and did it right. He had both the strategic and operational scale covered. Strategically in that while Mordor was a terrible place for growing food, Sauron also controlled more distant and presumably more fertile nations who paid tithes in the form of food and valuable materials. Presumably this allowed him to keep large stockpiles of food in Mordor so he could keep his armies supplied. What is more, when he did move his armies he split them up and used different routes before they converged on their target (as seen in the battle for Minas Tirith). This made them much more manageable supply-wise; moving all his troops in a single column would have been unmanageably difficult. (David Weber also did this well in his Safehold series where he not only describes the logistics very realistically but also has them be the deciding factor in at least three or four of the campaigns described.)
Unfortunately -- and this is where my ranting begins -- not all authors are very concerned with this. Especially the Tolkien ripoffs have a tendency to have huge armies but not spend even a moment of thought on where they get their food from. A particularly egregious example would be Robert Jordan's massive The Dragon Procrastinating series in which Totally Not Morgoth™ has a massive army of Absolutely Not Orcs™ and I Can't Believe It's Not Nazgul™. This army somehow emerges fully equipped from a country described as being as about as welcoming as a WH40K hellworld and where you take your life in your hands if you try to travel as much as half a kilometer. There is certainly no possibility of growing food there for even a small settlement, let alone for a massive army on the march. Apparently Totally Not Morgoth™ pulled this huge army straight out of his arse.
There are of course numerous lesser offenders. They typically create a Mordor ripoff which can at least credibly serve as an industrial base for their not-Orcs but where the only vegetation consists of maybe two thorn bushes and a cactus. It is blindingly obvious that this country cannot sustain an army let alone the population needed to recruit it from. It is so frustrating to me and often destroys my immersion, changing my read from enjoyable relaxation into sneering at the writer's ineptness. (I can get fun from the latter, too, but it annoys me when the writer does not even try.)
In short: Armies need food. This isn't hard. Sigh.

Armatures discuss tactics.  Professional discuss logistics.
 

Given that he sees his opponent as a cow, this would seem to be a high steak environment.

That is the entire Religious Right in the US. Entirely missing the point.
 
To be fair, "When is Easter?' is not trivial. Not exceedingly difficult, but requires some calculation.
Sorry to say, #5 is true, and the number is not small.
 

I fell of the stoop yesterday (had issues with getting the bike out and closing the door) so I have a bruise on my right hip and left shin.  My left arm still hurts. It's raining so I have knee issues. Going to go back to bed in a few.

Politicians make excellent subjects for beginners’ anatomy classes: they have no brains, no spines, no hearts, no guts, and no balls.

I feel very tired.
Trans visibility day always falls on March 31. Easter happened to fall on March 31. Certain Republican douchevolcanoes decided to pretend to be angered by this and demanded an apology from trans people in a blatant attempt to stir up outrage among their voters.
This is offensive in so many ways. Just to mention a few:
1) They are demanding that trans people apologize for existing. They know perfectly well we won't and plan to use our refusal to further outrage their befuddled and frightened voters.
2) Their pretense that it is somehow the responsibility of trans people that a holiday that falls on a different day EVERY YEAR happens to coincide with an unrelated holiday this year.
3) Their use of a holiday meant to honour a man who preached tolerance and acceptance as a tool to further promote hatred and intolerance.
4) Their assumption that their voters are so blisteringly dim-witted so as not to know how calendars work.
5) The possibility that a number of them actually are that dim offends me personally.
Sigh.

RIP Louis Gossett Jr. 27th May 1936 - 28th Mar 2024.

"Feeling frisky.  Gonna attack The Human's feet!" - Explorer the Cat
 

"Plotting out my day.  I might just go back to bed, The Human is up earlier than normal" - Explorer the Cat.
 

"Doing some running before I jump up on the desk." - Explorer the Cat.
 

"Meep!" - Explorer the Cat
 

"The Human is moving slow today.  Think I'll help him for a while then do some running around.  Already had my morning nap" - Explorer the Cat.
 

"The Human is moving slow today.  I'll get up and help him in the living room now that he's up" - Explorer the Cat.
 

"Why is The Human making weird noises?  What is oak pollen any way?  I don't think he likes it." - Explorer the Cat.
 

"Time to start morning run!" - Explorer the Cat
 

"I'm not in the way.  Make your tea, eat your Lucky Charms and don't flash me!"

 

 
https://www.egscomics.com/comic/hope-040 
 
In the 1983 remake of "To Be Or Not To Be", Frederick Bronski (as played by Mel Brooks) was said to be "World Famous, in Poland". 
Has Susan achieved that level of fame in the comic shops of Moperville? 
 

Given what we know, the majority of the tournament players are probably viewers of Susan and Elliot’s review show, so it’s like seeing a favorite television actress show up. Tensaided has also been praising her to this crowd, as seen in https://www.egscomics.com/comic/2014-09-05

NASA has made a TTRPG adventure
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/multimedia/online-activities/the-lost-universe/

I am thinking that an Immortal who marks a person leaves some detectable trace behind, so they effectively have Pandora’s “fingerprints” on them.

 
https://www.egscomics.com/comic/hope-035 
 
I am seriously wondering how much of a mess Pandora left her memory, expecting Hope to sort it all out later.
Pandora left the keys to her brain under the mat and Hope walked in without getting the realtor or landlord to sign off on preexisting damage. 
 
 

"Gonna start running!  Then get on the desk to help The Human!" - Explorer the Cat.
 

"Cool your jets.  I'll get off the desk in time for your tea" - Explorer the Cat.