Um.... as an Irishman I can honestly relate to anyone who'se showed up late (Mondays, worst day ever), went for a long long lunch and came back at 3.50pm with Guinness dribbling down their face.

I use my SCAR rifle as a hammer all the time. The barrel's also great for clearing drains and if I fire off a short burst, I can use it signal to the pizza delivery guys when they're looking for my house at night.

You've been reading 'Brave New World', haven't you? :)

I'll have to think about this for a while.

I thought it was going to be Octa- uh, I mean "the colour that comes after the 7 + 1th" colour.

I laughed. And then I remembered a game where some guy's miniature figure of his character wouldn't fit under a cardboard dungeon floorplan doorway, so the GM declared he couldn't pass through.

That Crested Dragonewt is tearing her shield apart. You can do that in Runequest. Damage armour and weapons in combat.

I used to be in a college game club that had two rooms at the top of a four storey building. No lifts, of course.

I'm still fond of D&D but for me it was like my first clunker car.

Found it!

As an Irishman and someone who's read Ulysses, I'd like to help you in your endeavours to burn things better than you. Let's start by shoving your iPad up your arse and setting it on fire.

Yup :) Not so benevolent with the human sacrifice and all, however...

Also, smart slave owning societies introduced social contracts which allowed slaves to work towards the rights they had already had. Think of how the Romans 'rewarded' gladiators with citizenship if they lasted 25 years (or whatever it was).

Maybe, maybe not. I think your point is good but simplistic. It's worth remembering that any cultural model has its flaws and strengths. Mostly, European culture followed the path of invention simply because Europeans had a stable climate and a relatively benign ecology - AND they were forever trying new ways to kill…

Sad to say this; but it's an old story, Jezebel.

This is the 21st Century! Also, the age of the internet. Yes it's disillusioning to realise that no science fiction writer before 1981 predicted the internet (several modern day American politicians still struggle with the concept) but I'm fairly sure most of them predicted easy, cheap and convenient trans-flobal…

I suppose this'd be a good time to argue the cultural value of science-fiction classics, much like the oft-banned works of William Butler Yeats or William S. Burroughs :)

Haha very clever you.

I really like 'Rollerball' but I remember watching it years ago with some people and noticing how none of them reacted when one of the characters in the film (I forget who) torched a tree with his death ray pistol.

Each to their own, I suppose :)