I'm gonna guess that a Brit brought over the brutal cold that has savaged most of the country, including the fucking Queen.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4082830/How-beat-cough-plaguing-QUEEN-COUNTRY-Avoid-cold-dry-air-moving-around.html
(It doesn't feel good posting a Daily Mail link, but it's the first thing that came up on Google)

Very attractive

I hope Kaidus will do some casting in addition to analyst desk

Cheers - will do.

Hopefully if MM grows in popularity this might become a thing (or the ranking system will work better). No friends who play TF2, unfortunately, but don't want to be a solo-queuer!

Yttrium - I take your point. It's not like the 6s I enjoy watching, but it's a lot closer than pubs. And it's the ease of play that appeals over external 6s systems, as I never know when I can play or for how long.

I was wondering whether there are any places on the web where people can join a party (or ask for a party) to play matchmaking with?

I wanted to play 6s for ages but found TF2 center a bit too intimidating (because of what is expected of you), and also a bit of a hassle (I play TF2 to relax in the eves, so pubs were my go to). However, MM has given me a way into playing 6s, and I'm now rarely playing pubs. MM is hit-and-miss for sure, but there are a lot of games I enjoy for all the ones I don't. I know MM was disappointing for a lot of people already into competitive, but it's been the way in I needed.

Having got a basic feel for 6s, I now want to play with the same group of people more regularly (or at least occasionally). I'm not interested in committing to a team (I can't -commit- any time to TF2, although I usually play it a few times a week in the eves). I want to practise using a mic and following calls (or suggesting calls, whatever). I don't even care about it being an entire team of 6 people; just a few people of similar mindset would be good.

If anyone knows of somewhere I might find a few people to play mm with, please let me know. I had a quick look around but didn't find anything, and the parts of the tftv forum concerning finding a team didn't seem like the right place. While I'd be more than happy to play with people who have experience of playing competitive tf2, I'm also interested in people who are still learning the ropes through MM. Basically, people who are queuing up solo anyway.

p.s. I don't know how to rate my ability. I'm not shit but also not excellent - I seem to get stomped by anyone with genuine dm ability. I have quite a few more wins than losses on MM, I think, and I play a good medic (although I enjoy playing soldier)

I saw it last night. Fantastic film. Don't read any reviews that might spoil it and don't even bother with the trailer (or at least skip the last half - all trailers do their best to spoil the film). Some familiar features from major scifi films & books, but doesn't feel derivative. My wife doesn't love scifi and she just sat in awe afterwards while the credits ran.

Scifi & linguistics - what more could you want!!

NE - oh yea - Amy Adams is excellent in it. Not sure why anyone would hate her, but she displayed proper acting chops in this film.

To any brits (or possibly Euros) planning to go. Check out Norwegian Air. They do very well priced flights to the West coast from London. They also don't force you to buy a return (i.e. individual flights cost the same, so you can fly in and out of a different airport). Presumably they fly from other countries, considering the name.

The airline only flies on certain days of the week, but booked in advance and it's really cheap. I flew out of LAX for about £410 last month, booked about 6 weeks in advance (and it would have been cheaper if I'd booked it further in advance). It's also a new Dreamliner so it's not even like it's a budget experience.

Without reading through the thread first, so someone may also have suggested it - go to the Dell factory outlet site (google search) and buy a business laptop. They are either refurbished or returned laptops (they give details as to why they are being sold again - sometimes they are scratched or something, which I would avoid. Most laptops are 'new', in the sense that they have been returned because a component has not worked, which is then replaced, then they are resold).

Lots of people I know buy laptops through this site, usually the Latitude laptops. When I bought my laptop I checked the site for a few weeks until one I wanted popped up (Latitude E5540 with big solid state hard drive, extra RAM, and a different graphics card). Because they are business laptops, they are often customised to suit the original customer's needs, so different laptops appear all the time). You can save a lot of money buying a laptop through the Outlet and business laptops, according to someone I know who runs an IT company, are more reliable and the components are better quality than personal laptops (and also have considerably less shitware). There isn't always lots of choice, so check a few times for when new laptops pop up.

p.s. Iirc you have to give a business address when you buy the laptop (just give your personal address). I think this is to do with tax things for an actual business, and makes no difference to a single, personal purchase (no one i know has had a problem).

I thought your casting was great. Good hype and solid commentary.

Qs to both

How do you feel about Reckoner?

How do you think the different game structure (compared to US) will affect your play style (as a team)?

Do you have any tactics to stay fresh & focused during the long days?

Edit: also - good luck. Looking forward to watching your matches.

I disagree with your opinions on casting spy (and to a lesser extent, sniper) plays. Normally these are happening during a stalemate and I'd prefer to watch a spy invisible amongst enemies for a few mins than spam. Also, I imagine it's very hard to predict the exact moment when the spy will un cloak, so I'd rather watch a well-positioned spy for a bit longer than necessary than miss a play.

Essentially the same applies to sniper duels, but I think sniper plays are just, on the whole, less exciting than a successful, or even unsuccessful, spy play. Still, the sniper is there to make an opening, so I'd rather be watching that than spam.

I'm constantly impressed by the quality of casts. I watched some i55 on a whim last year and it was the casting that got me hooked on competitive tf2. Looking forward to more of the same at i58!

New Stateman has some fairly balanced articles/comment pieces on Corbyn, and you'll find quite a few supportive ones. Unlike The Guardian, they have not taken it upon themselves to turn public opinion against Corbyn.

Yeh I've had a quick look and Bham doesn't offer quite as much as I expected, but a quick search did turn up a few seemingly good options:

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/14288211?checkin=26-08-2016&checkout=29-08-2016&guests=4&s=a3H1v_nJ

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/13862502?checkin=26-08-2016&checkout=29-08-2016&guests=4&s=a3H1v_nJ

Both cheaper and, I would guess, more comfortable than Premier Inn or similar. Airbnb takes a bit of research, and I didn't look at the two examples above carefully so they may be unsuitable, but it's certainly an alternative. That said, I assume Insomnia is a holiday of sorts for many going and staying in a hotel may be part of the attraction, which is understandable.

Why are people booking hotels?? Not only is Airbnb cheaper, but it's not hard to find a place that has lots of spare beds/sofa beds. I find it v hard to justify booking a hotel these days when I can have an entire flat (w/ kitchen) for half the price.

I feel like I've watched these two teams play each other so many times over the last 6 months. It's probably no more than other teams, but it feels so familiar. Still looking forward to watching the cast this eve.