Guard Dog

I'm making only one and I'm keeping it come hell or high water. This year I'm getting out of South Florida. I want to see Miami/Ft. Lauderdale/West Palm Beach in my rear-view mirror for good.

Krookie, have you been reading again?

No but we do have a Wiki going to keep track of who is doing what. Niah is also working on a base module for team use with common scripts for custom items, death, respawining, etc. But it is up to the builder to use it or not. I am using it. The builders are doing their own project, we are just working together to make some of the projects tie together. For example my mod is The Company of the Wolf. It is for new level 1 characters and will take you to level 5-6 depending on how you play it. Phoenixus mod begins at level 6. To keep it flowing my mod will include some events that lead up to his.

Post you favorite quotes. It can be from anywhere or anyone. Even someone here on this board. Three of my favorites are: "Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has no heart; and any man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains." - Sir Winston Churchill "At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it? Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step the Ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia, and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth...could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years... If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide." - Abraham Lincoln "Who would fear the wrath of a coward?" -Thomas Paine

I think a lot of the pre-3E Forgotten Realms materials (FR Adventures hardcover, the various Volo's guides, etc.) are all available on the WotC website for free download. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> WotC has a lot for free. Also check the link below. They have ALL of the old books for a couple bucks per download. Some are as little as $0.99 US. Most are between $2-$4 US. But check WOTC first. rpgnow.com

Phoenixus made the enduring favorite A Tragedy in Tragidor, Niah made The Sunken Cemetary among others. Sethai made the excellent Neverwinter Snowflake series. I made Tallanvors Pride and I was the builder and scripter for the Red Tower PW. There are others who have been hanging around including HOF builderr Abaddon and Styraxian. Look for some good stuff coming from us as soon as these mods near completion.

One of the rumors that everyone seems to believe on the Total War forums is the next title will be 1914 Total War. It would be an interesting game if they can modify the engine enough to allow for air combat and support.

For those interested in playing user made NWN2 mods check out our new project The Forgotten Realms Weave. It is a group of builders (including some big names from NWN1 like Phoenixus, Lord Niah, Lariam, and others) who are making modules with complementary timelines, events and lore to create entire campaigns of consistent gameplay. Check out our fourms below. Feedback and ideas are welcome as well as any builders who want to join in. The only requirement is at all mods must occur in the Forgotten Realms and stay true to it's theme and accept the events in other builders mods. Projects will be posted on the NWN Vault when completed and a few are in beta testing already. Forgotten Realms Weave

I can't believe no one has mentioned Space Empires V. It is not MOO2 but it is a heck of a lot closer than anything else. Unlike GalCiv2 is has tactical combat in both space and planet surface. The AI is weak and unagressive but there are mods that spice it up considerably. It is by far the most customizable 4X space game by far (more than MOO2). You guys should give it a look.

Finished playing NWN2, now building for NWN2. Check out our project page below! Forgotten Realms Weave

That's it. But Carter is getting up there in years now. Is anyone suprised how much he has bad mouthed his own country since leaving office? And not just recently but ever since 1982. Not that he is not free to do so but it is a little odd coming from an ex-president.

He never wanted to be President. He was happy as House Minority Leader. As cutthroat as US politics has become it's nice to remember a man who did what he did because he had to, not because ambition drove him to. God Bless him and his family.

You know I have spent most of my 33 years wondering just who or what God is. The only conclusion I have ever come up with is that God is the supreme being and as such God is beyond my comprehension. I do not know who gets into heaven, or who goes to hell. How am I qualified to judge that? I'm not. No one is. The most absurd thing I've ever heard was a human telling another human "you are going to hell." It is beyond my ability to look into another persons mind or soul and judge it's worth. And by what calculus is it to be judged? I think it is up to the Creator to judge His creation. So that begs the question, what does God want from us? Is it to follow a religion? If so which one? Are the Catholics right? The Jews. The Muslims? All of their primary religious texts are written by men and if God is beyond the understanding of men maybe none of them are right. But I think inside each of us is an innate understanding of love and compassion and I believe that in that understanding God imparted a piece of himself to us. I think what makes us good people is the extent to which we let that love and compassion influence our daily lives. I'm not as wise or as loving and compassionate as I should be, perhaps none of us are. But I think the first step to wisdom is to recognize a shortcoming and try to rectify it. In the end I do not think it matters what God you believe in or even if you believe in Him at all. If you are a "Good" person as I've defined it here I think God will believe in you. And that is really all that matters. So, Merry Christmas boardies. And for whatever it means to you, God bless you all.

On that we all agree! As I pointed out, this whole mess was artificially created to raise a stir during what should have been a political quiet period. It achieved it's end.

You couldn't smooth a silk sheet if you had a hot date... ah... I lost my train of thought.

Two words: Term Limits! Until we get that, the legislature will remain for sale.

I will let the quran speak for itself: Anotated Qu'ran

I've always thought that Christianity was rooted in the New Testament more than the old. Considering that 90% of the New Testament writings contradicts 95% of the Old Testament. That however is my own opinion and it may be uninformed. The only thing I wanted to point out before was that although three of the major names among the founders were Christian in name only, most were, true believers. Or at least claimed to be. We've wandered off track a little. As I stated before. If Mr Ellison wishes to swear on the quran he is free and welcome to do so. Ir's right there in the 1st amendment.

You were right, I was wrong to say that. Apologies offered to anyone offended. I'm sticking to this one. No other religion instructs it's followers to kill non believers. The principle tenent of Christianity is to love one another. Those who practice violence in it's name are in violation of it's tenents. Those who practice violence in the name of Islam are following it's tenants. I spent quite a bit of time in Saudi Arabia in 1991-1992 and saw that first hand. I was not debating your point, just pointing out a few things that you said were a little wrong.

To answer Alanschu's question. The First Amendment states Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. This has become what people refer to as the "Establishment Clause" and has been used (wrongfully) to argue that the US government must be totally deviod of religion. It does not say that at all. It does not violate the first amendment to place a Christian symbol (such as the Mt. Soledad Cross) on public property. Nor is it wrong for Ellison to swear on a Quran however little I may like it. The thing about freedom is, you must take the good with the bad. Personally I find Mr. Ellisons religion incomprehensable but he has every right to practice it as he pleases where he pleases. If that means he swears his oath on a quran good for him and I will defend his right to do so. The first amendment is often used by anti-religious groups such as the ACLU to attack religious practices everywhere. The are quick to point out the first part of the establishment clause but totally ignore the second part.

See my preivous post for an explanation. But those who see this and worry are not extremists. They are average people. America learned all it needs to know about Islam on 9-11-01. Straw Man Franklin, Jefferson, and Madison could be described as Deists. The rest I would not call them anything but Christian.

Allow me to pass on a little "inside info" since I have been involved in politics. Substance accounts for very little in Washington D.C. Style is everything. This whole mess was engineered to grab headlines and get a little rise out of everyone. It sets an agenda and makes talking points during a time when there is really nothing going on. It also gives the pols a chance to strut and preen, liberals for it, conservatives against it. So it is a big deal but only in that context. That is just for the US. I do not know how they act in Europe or Canada, or elsewhere. Di, if you actually knew how little the congress critters knew about the constitution I don't know if you would laugh or cry. I know two congressmen personally. One is a well meaning idiot with a smart chief of staff that keeps him in office. The other is an arrogant @$$ who honestly believes the law is what Congress says it is. I got into a conversation with the latter last year about Imminent Domain being a 10th Amendment issue (I argured Kelo v New London was a disgraceful decision). About 5 min into the conversation I realized he had no idea what the 10th amendment actually said. In November he was reelcted for the 5th time. I would not vote for him and I consider him a friend. Both are democrats for those who are wondering. Having a philisophical slant does not make you smart.

Like Mortis, I've said all I have to say on this debate. One more observation though. I've always found it odd the same people who oppose the death penalty support abortion. So, there is no right to kill a person who has murdered other people, but there there is every right to kill a baby who has harmed no one. I guess if you oppose the death penalty AND abortion you are at least logical and consistent.

I guess you can always make a new baby. You can't make a new Xbox. We should be ashamed of ouselves for this one!

The more horrifying prison is, the fewer people we will have in it. Recitivisim will drop if we make or prisons more like the isolation cells at Devil's Island during the turn of the 20th Century. That the repeat offender rate is so high now when we do so much to rehabilitate tells me that rehabilitation is a fools errand anyway. So you make it so terrible and so dehumanizing (which means so much worse than it is now) that no one will repeat for fear of going back.