My empire is expanding

I have begun my campaigns to the North. The Pelitar are reeling from my devastating and constant attacks on their empire and ships. I have obliterated at least 10 of their worlds, taken four of those planets for my own and destroyed at least two dozen of their ships. Now with these outposts in the heart of their empire I have free access to begin the genocide. I have been preventing them from expanding in the bordering systems while mounting these attacks and apparently they have an enemy to their north doing the same (on the opposite end of their empire). It is only a matter of time before they are removed from the game. Their enemy to the north was my former enemy, but has allied with me to take care of this minor nuisance. In fact I recently took the Pelitar home world for myself and am building it up currently to begin taking advantage of the vast resources it contains. The sad part of the ordeal is that I tried neutrality with the Pelitar so many times in the past and they always refused. Now they will be exiting post haste. I guess they should have learned to play well with others.

I finally pushed the Wexlen out of my home systems and took some of the better planets for myself. This caused a short war between us, but we returned to neutrality once I had taken them out of the compromising positions they held. The strength of my empire and stranglehold on a few key systems necessitates neutrality for the Wexlen. They have not faired to well as of late. One of my other allies is at war with them and has been able to mount a long distance attack using my systems to refuel. It is actually payback for earlier in the game when the reverse situation existed. Being allied with the Pelitar probably has something to do with it as well, since they are both at war with some of the larger empires (individually and collectively).

My attacks against the Pelitar have also caused a couple of former allies to become neutral – in fear. Most notably, the Ferxen, have gone from allies to neutral. This places me in a peculiar situation because they have taken some of the worlds in my home systems. That puts them squarely in the place the Wexlen formerly held. I can not allow a neutral, and possibly war-minded, race to occupy planets in my home systems. That would leave me terribly vulnerable to them. So, I will begin purging them from my home systems as soon as I gain my new fleet and finish establishing my newly acquire Pelitar home world. The good news is that these Ferxen outposts do not have heavy defenses – only one even poses a slight threat in that arena. My new fleet should have no problem eradicating the vermin. Once removed, I can begin to populate those planets myself and cut-off any further possible infiltrations.

I have three new allies and have now made contact with all the races in the universe. All of my new allies are former enemies that have decided it is better to be for me than against me. Part of the issue at hand is my stranglehold on several key systems in the universe’s mid-section. These systems (some of which I control completely) are the arteries from one side of the universe to the other. By allying with me these races have access to worlds they wouldn’t normally and can mount attacks on their enemies they wouldn’t be able to otherwise. This has proven quite helpful to me, as I can start colonizing worlds they are fighting over and unable to maintain. Slowly I will begin to push them out and take a complete hold on those home systems. During that time I will stop expanding the empire and work on solidifying my key systems – waiting for the right moment to begin the offensive again.

What is wrong with people?

Why do people tailgate? Most of my experience with tailgaters is that they are in a hurry and want you to go faster as a result. So they tailgate you to try to get you to go faster. Or, they hope you’ll get so frustrated you move out of their way (hard to do on two lane roads).

This methodology doesn't work, especially with someone like me. I usually drive at or just above the speed limit (within 5 mph). For some reason certain drivers think it's my duty to go faster (or get out of the way) when they want to go faster. I'm sorry, that is not my problem and I’m not going to enable reckless driving. No matter how many times you beat on your dash, shake your finger or make obscene gestures, I’m not going to accommodate you – I’m not threatened by your wild antics.

Riding my tailgate only makes me want to go slower and randomly tap my brakes. If someone is discourteous enough to put my welfare in danger by tailgating me, then I have no problem pissing them off even more. I never have a problem with people going slower than me, unless they are driving GROSSLY UNDER the speed limit, which I never do. However, when someone is driving at, or above, the speed limit they are not obligated to do anything for someone who desires to go faster.

I had someone tailgating me somewhat this morning on the way to work. It got me thinking….what can I do about it? Ultimately, I don’t think there is anything I can do about it. I could call the police and report the incident, but by the time they show up the person is long gone. I could try stopping my car in the middle of the road and impeding their travel until the police arrive, but then I’m likely to get the ticket for impeding traffic. How do you combat tailgating legally? How do you combat illegal behavior with legal behavior? Since I have no authority, I can’t – plain and simple. That really sucks when you think about it. I have no recourse.

I find myself wishing a squirrel would jump out in the road so I can slam on my brakes legitimately and make them rear-end me. I find myself hoping they end up in a ditch somewhere – not hurt, just their vehicle damaged and stuck. I find myself wishing I worked from home so I wouldn’t have to deal with these people as much. Why are people in such a hurry? Even when I’m in a hurry, I’m never in THAT MUCH of a hurry. Can’t people consider the safety and welfare of others? Inconsiderate!

Games

I love playing games. I've been looking for new games to play and replaying old ones. I'm very interested in playing Go. I've been reading about it and looking at examples online the last week or two. It is very fascinating -- simple, yet complex in nature. I might purchase a game board and pieces to play with, so I can learn the basics. I'm yearning for something because I have not found any one to play Mahjong with locally (not that I've been actively looking).

Speaking of games....I spent a good portion of yesterday playing Pax Imperia on the laptop. I really love this game. It's a fairly basic space strategy game, but so much fun. I'm doing well in my latest round against the maximum number of computer opponents and in the maximum size universe.

I am in the middle of the pack in most aspects with three allies, three enemies and three neutral counterparts. At this point in the game I am achieving some of the most consistent, sustainable expansion and am close to connecting my two battle fronts for a stronger, more unified existence.

Unfortunately, two of my allies are at war with each other and I know I will have to choose sides soon. This isn't so bad, since one of them is also allied with one of my greatest enemies -- the most actively aggressive of my enemies. The other ally is in a more compromising position for me strategically and so I would like to remain allies with him until I have no choice. I am currently protecting him somewhat from invasion because I occupy the systems just outside his borders (and he is in a dead-end branch of the universe). Several other races are at war with him, so I think the mutual need will foster a continued relationship.

I'm now trying to choose the correct timing to seal my North Western front and begin attacks against the one current ally and my largest enemy. Doing so will squeeze my soon-to-be-former ally into non-existence (as has happened to two races already) but I have no choice. His alliance with my enemy is allowing free access to some of my worlds and defending so many worlds is costly. I need to create a unified front to the North West. Building a strong enough defense behind this front will ensure my stronghold on the sectors I already control and give me a DMZ-type area as a buffer.

My Eastern front is already fairly well established and my other two allies are helping to sustain that front well. Once I establish my North Western front, I will turn my attention here in order to expand. The East is battle torn and ripe for invasion, especially since I have an already established ally in the area.

My Southern front is the only other concern, but as long as the player to my South remains neutral, I should have no problems. To my advantage is the fact that I control enough sectors that he needs my assistance with refueling to wage war on the players to the North West (or even the East). He will remain neutral in order to have any possibility of expansion at this point. Man, I love this game.

I think I'll play some more this week -- maybe at lunch. :)

I'm a slacker, I know

So I've been slacking off on my blog updates. I've been really busy! The second semester of Calculus is underway, and kicking my butt. We have been traveling almost every weekend. Work has picked up a little. I'm trying to burn the brush piles on the property, move new furniture, move old furniture, work on the basement, plan a vacation, plan some training, figure out the next classes I need to take and when, oh, and eat and sleep too.

Overall things are going well though. I'm burnt out with school, but that's the way it is for me. I haven't enjoyed school since about 2nd grade. I make good grades, but I hate putting all that work into a piece of paper. I don't mind learning meaningful skills/information, but how to derive a third order differential is not something I'm going to use in everyday life, in my job, possibly ever again. I'm trying to stay motivated though.

Maybe I'll be more motivated and start keeping up with my blog again soon.