JFSOCC

procrastinages: delaying aging effects by being generally awesome.

Thanks, you're a great help. I still wonder if there is some database site, if only so I can see what there is to choose from.

hence why I asked if you know a site which at least compares all the objective data, so one could make his own pre-selection.

Well, from my completely amateur perspective, I imagine that I would want a lightweight, quiet, highly accurate (after all, accuracy can be trained, and a bullet in the head is all the stopping power you need) gun with a very light (hair) trigger. I've been browsing the web, and so far the coolest gun seems to be the HK mk 23 SOCOM. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler_%26_Koch_MK23 (laser sights, match grade barrel, subsonic bullets and suppressor, low recoil, highly wear resistant, and .45 has much more stopping power (apparently) what's not to love. (IE why compromise) but then, this gun is frickin 17 years old. I have no ****ing clue how hyped it is, or of there are betters out there. I'm not really looking to own, (doubtful anyway, laws in this country, plus military grade weapon, etc) but I still have my boyish infatuation with guns, and this gun just seems wicked cool. Also aside from sidearms, the Auto Assault 12 looks amazing (lightweight automatic shotgun with effective range of 200 yards, 10k shots before cleaning, can fire upside down, can get wet or dirty and still fire, low recoil, and can fire grenade rounds, yeehaw!) as does the HK 416 (the long barrel one) Which is also gas operated, also works when dirty or wet, also wear resistant, also lightweight, extremely moddable(!) seems a solid gun. But I must confess my ignorance, most of my knowledge comes from changing the channel and staying on the future weapons show on discovery. I own one gun, it's made in the 1800's in Either Belgium or the Netherlands (Luik or Maastricht) and is a civilian gun. Also the barrel is slightly bent.

it's not the cigarette but static electricity generated by her sweater.

I was wondering, there's a lot of opinions (and I mean a LOT of opinions) on which guns are the best. Does anyone know of a place where there is a large database of guns, objectively tested, set to the same standards, described by a large range of objectively quantifiable statistics? (range, accuracy over range, reliability/failure rates, recoil, weight, stopping power, magazine size, cost trigger pull, safety, ambidextrous controls or not, less common features (special de****er, hair triggers, fires underwater) available modifications, etc.)

This applies to you as well.

Ostavier's Prosthetics After being on the losing side of the battle of Defiance bay and losing of three of his limbs, bright minded Ostavier Reshae didn't sit down and sulk, mostly because sitting caused him too much pain. He fled back to great Vailia on the last transport out of the bay, carried by his army buddies. Instead the master craftsman took his veterans pension and contracted the advice of the best local healers and scientists. He consulted with them behind closed doors, and after a while produced some crude prototypes of what was later to be his signature business. Ostavier was dead set against being useless, but more than that, he felt less of a man. It was his desire to create prosthetics which were every bit as good as the real thing. It didn't work of course, but during his time working on improving his designs, his prosthetics gained features normal limbs do not offer. Eventually he died before the satisfaction of walking again. It was then that his daughter as his only heir was forced to take up the work. Every tool in the shop had been reforged or reworked specifically for Ostavier's mad hope. Despairing, she sought advice and help from Ostavier's old army buddies. What she found was clients. Way too many clients. Even crude prosthetics were welcome, and Danquio Reshae found that she had a steady supply of work. It took about five years of work before she was admitted into the blacksmith's guild, usually taking no women, and some string pulling of some of her satisfied customers, but when recognition came, she was allowed to take apprentices and spend time on her own designs. Danquio was much better than her father, she quickly found out. He had been looking in the wrong places, and been doing the wrong research. As time progressed, the prosthetics became much better. But her personal project was not revealed until the business was well established. It took 15 years, and she cut off her own limbs to prove how well they worked, all of them, all of them replaced. Not only where the prosthetics every bit as agile, they were stronger, didn't break as easily, and each of them had some... upgrades. It didn't take long before the rich visited her shop, only to learn that she would not, under any circumstance, be giving anyone the superior product. Unbeknownst to the world, Danquio found out that in order for her best prosthetics to work, she needed to infuse them with strong souls. It had taken the souls of several animals and one unlucky bum dying behind her shop to create even one effective limb, for the others she had contracted assassins to kill her fathers commanding officers. Those she believed to be responsible for her fathers loss of limb. With their souls, she forged her prosthetics. Eventually, as these things go, her secret got out, she was sentenced to hang for murder. Her excellent crafted limbs allowed for a daring escape, and she fled to where she was sure no-one would pursue her: Defiance bay. It was there where she set up shop, became successful again. The secret made its way back to defiance bay, and eventually others joined her business, some shadier bastards had no qualms about providing rich lords with the new soul-infused prosthetics, but their work was shoddy, decades behind on Danquio Reshae's knowledge. Danquio realised that she had no choice to teach her apprentices if she wanted to stay competitive, but required 'great moral fibre' from her apprentices. Danquio was eventually found murdered, limbs removed. Eventually the soul-infused prosthetics made by her competitors failed, or backfired, and they fell out of fashion. But her business thrived, quality non-infused limbs are, unfortunately, always in demand. Her lead apprentice kept the name of the business and the honour code. But as her first apprentice had also learned the secret of soul-infused limbs. - Encountering the faction: It is possible, but rare to find prosthetics as loot, more likely the player will find out about the prosthetic crafter when he or she is in dire shape. But so is the business. It has fallen on hard times and standards of Danquio haven't been met for a long long time. The current owner will contract the player if he is persuaded to produce top quality product. If the player has a sufficient crafting ability, and follows through on the research and... soul acquisition They will be invited to join. Joining/Running the faction Joining the faction offers free low-grade prosthetics for the party, as well as open up several quest-lines for researching new and different prosthetics, including high(er)tech non-infused limbs, sense enhancements, and if the player so chooses, the soul-infused prosthetics. Soldiers in your stronghold will sometimes sport these artificial limbs if you've worked your way up to owning the store. Running the business, the player may secure contracts with large (para)military groups, such as the city watch, the fleet of Hezeng or the Knights of the Open Road. Not all of these will be favourable. (one faction may simply take your stock and not reimburse you, for instance) Based on your business practices, both your party and your enemies may find themselves with improved gear. The store also offers a modest income, and a quest which can ingratiate your party with some of the rich and powerful. (I wonder how) Should choices in the game lead to greater conflict in the Aedyran empire, expect bigger income and lower stock. Your apprentices may not have time for more advanced projects. Thanks to everyone in the "permanent injuries" thread: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/64407-permanent-injuries/

ctrl+z works, it undoes the backspace. next time you don't have to redo an entire post Edit: you may have inspired a faction idea.

lead the way

I'm glad you went Azdeus, having your pupils dilate asymmetrically sounds somewhat disturbing.

Luckily there's a difference between thought and action. And at least it warns you about your state of mind, so you can act on it. So you have something of a support network in case depression takes over?

I'm digging this whole debate, btw, good posts all around. I too have a retirement plan, although basic. secured by the government by paying taxes. Should I find work, the government mandates my employer to pay into a retirement plan, every employer has to do this. Some employers exceed state regulations, as they are free to. If any mod wants to move this into its own thread we can go over there. It's a fair cop. I agree that being in the right place at the right time is beneficial but to discount individual effort falls flat imo. Ill use myself as an example. I grew up with nothing. NOTHING. My father died when I was 7 and my mother, who had only been a housewife up to this point, took the only job she knew how to do, she became a waitress at local diners. I never even had new clothes until high school. All of my clothes came from resale shops like Goodwill and Salvation Army. We were poor as hell. She died when I was 17 and I was on my own from that time. Apparently defying the odds, I managed to not turn to crime, hard drugs or homelessness. Am I some kind of unique case? Of course not. People do that every day. It would be an interesting counterpoint if being coddled by the state actually perpetuates the problem. Im not so sure JSFOCC would still be chillin at home at 27 if the mechanism wasn't in place to support that lifestyle. He would have been forced into action long before now. Possibly. Unique, no, but uncommon. I'm not saying you would never be able to succeed without institutional help, but it does vastly increases your chances. The argument that I would be moved to action I've heard before. It's the argument our political right uses to encourage action in the poor. I'm sure that for some, you would be right. I also believe that for some, whatever action they could come up with, would not be enough to deal with the situation. It's true that it's fairly "cushy" to know that I have food tomorrow, and clothes, and healthcare. And I'll admit it, I might have found work.(at least before the economy tanked) I do think that I would end up better if I get a chance to develop myself (go to university, like I want to) It wouldn't have been rewarding work, maybe washing dishes somewhere, but that's not an argument I care to use. The other end of the spectrum is that I might not have found work at all (and believe me I've looked) In which case it would have been homelessness, depression and suicide. (I'm very vulnerable to depression, long story) Mostly I think the important thing is about providing opportunities, and making sure that someone will be capable of taking them. It's then up to them to take that responsibility. A recent study into fraud with benefits in the Netherlands showed that about 2% of all money spent on unemployment benefits was fraudulent. I assure, most people want to work. unemployment gets real boring real fast. Agreed. I was just trying to illustrate that a person with no beginning advantages and a pretty huge disadvantage can carve out a decent middle class life through effort (and some good luck). But it is the exception, not the rule. I think a lot of people do "choose" to be homeless. Notwithstanding the hard luck cases where someone lost their job/died/whatever, I believe most homeless are in that condition due to their own actions, most commonly substance abuse of some kind. We already have programs to help people but at some point personal accountability has to rear its ugly head, imo. There is this book, called "van millionair tot krantenjongen" or "from millionaire to paperboy" Many of those who end up on the street are those who were unprepared and vulnerable, had little to no support network (either family or friends) But, a not insignificant amount of those who ended up on the street were just unlucky. Their poverty was sudden and unexpected. I know that's a scary thought, but there you have it. And I agree that people should be held accountable, but responsibility is taught, not inherent, and there is no point punishing those who made mistakes, rather it pays to reach out to them, and help them become responsible, productive members of society. Judging is pointless when you can help. And even the biggest retard/irresponsible junkie can be helped if provided the right aid. I don't think a persons mistakes should cripple him for life. Now lets the the 7 new replies since I started this post.

I get your argument, let me counter with mine: Cutting social programs drives up costs, because those who will fall through the cracks now will eventually cost more to help. It's a case of it's cheaper to prevent than to solve. A man who cannot afford his living wages is more likely to resort to crime, gambling, drugs, violence, etc. A person who gets sick cannot work, a person who is dead cannot pay taxes. (well, once) A recent study reported that people who are poor are often psychologically in less shape to deal with problems, making it a vicious cycle unless help is given. I believe that we can run up our budget deficit, I think in times of economic crisis, you need investment more than ever. Typically you don't save your grain *in* the lean years, but rather, *for* the lean years. Our social programs have been (fairly) successful and (fairly) affordable for decades. They are effective and shouldn't be cut. And yes I do believe higher taxes on those who make more than say, 250.000 Euro a year would help a great deal. The strongest shoulders bear the heaviest burden and all that. I also believe that you can live a perfectly happy life (AND STILL BE RICH) when everything you make over 250.000 gets taxed heavily. We tax income in scales here. Meaning the first 20k we make gets taxed 37% everything from 20k to 56k gets taxed 42% and currently everything above gets taxed 52%. In some countries it goes even higher. Point is, the first 20k you make will never be taxed higher. You don't actually lose money for being rich. It is society which in large part is responsible for giving you the opportunities for success, and it's a civic duty to repay society when you get to succeed in it. Yes, there is a strong moral imperative. I think it's dishonest, both intellectually and ethically, not to want to contribute to society, especially when it is in dire need, and when it benefits everyone, yourself included. You make use of the roads, the bridges, the education system (unless you're wealthy enough to go to private schools), you make use of the fire department, the police department, the sewage treatment plant, the water filtration plant, etc etc. And that needs to be paid for. So a wealthy person pays a little more, that's not going to have a significant impact on his wealth or lifestyle. (Because nations tax money income, not money ownership) Let me ask you this, in +/-40 years of "trickle down" economics, have you seen the wealth trickle down? Someone who can has his own private island, three cars, do you think they will quickly spend that extra money they have? Above a certain point, the numbers become meaningless as you earn faster than you can spend. And yes, there's charity, but it's no substitute for taxes. Taxation works. Taxation based on carrying capacity works better. It's not that I want nice things for free, it's that I want essential things. Even if somehow you don't make use of everything your money goes to, doesn't mean you never will. That's the notion of a welfare state. It's not to coddle the lazy, or to give handouts to social parasites; It's to provide opportunities and chances to improve their life, help them through a bad time, and acknowledge that poverty or disease is NOT A PERSONAL FAILING. And when I get to do better, and I will because of the social safety net that we have, I will be proud to pay more taxes. I would consider myself a social parasite if I didn't pay taxes when I could. Because *that* is what "serving your country" means. It means acknowledging that you are not alone in your society, and that success is dependent on our social abilities: cooperation, trust, tolerance for failure. Because most people fail many times before they succeed. If any of those failures cripples a person permanently, you're denying them the opportunity to find success later.

The Netherlands. The Netherlands has been pushing for the European Union to enforce stricter budget laws. Thanks to the Dutch government, it is now European rules that a nations budget cannot have more than 3% deficit. Which is great, I absolutely agree with this. I just don't think it's wise to do that during an economic crisis. Of course, the Netherlands used to be one of the strongest economies in the EU, but crisis hit, and now our own government has asked to delay that 3% and try to do 4% budget deficit for this fiscal year instead. Instead of really fixing the problems by increasing revenue, we have a centrist right wing government (which would still be considered liberal by American standards, I'd wager) set on A. getting that budget deficit down, no matter who suffers B. doing so by spending cuts, rather than taxation. continues on a political rant...

maybe it's worth noting that the US spends more on its military than the next 11 nations combined, 9 of which are allies. And no, I do not think that's needed. I think having a large army makes it easier to select a military 'solution' where a diplomatic solution would have been more effective, and more cost effective. (in lives, money, and political fallout) anyway, it wasn't my intention to derail this thread into politics.

I could, and it is my ultimate goal. I got to correct this though, university is not free. You get a low interest loan, if you complete your studies within given time, you don't have to pay it back. (entirely) If you fail to pass in the time given, you have to pay back every penny. This loan is only available if you can prove that you need it, which admittedly includes most students. Currently our government is trying to get rid of this system, but then, I voted for the opposition.

Finally got to play Journey this weekend, I would almost classify it as a religious experience.

it is, I'm saving up for government exams, which cost about 1100 euro, I will also have to study about 700 euro worth of books, and I'll have to join adult education programs, also costing money.Currently I'm saving about 250 bucks per month, but some months I can't keep that up. **** that is a lot of money. Best of luck on all counts(having had a weight problem myself, I definitely sympathize), I hope you don't get sick and have to use that money for medical bills. No, we Dutch have real healthcare.

it is, I'm saving up for government exams, which cost about 1100 euro, I will also have to study about 700 euro worth of books, and I'll have to join adult education programs, also costing money. Currently I'm saving about 250 bucks per month, but some months I can't keep that up.

Something the fairer sex understands much better. thank you for listening.

No, I was disqualified at my highschool exams for not turning in a paper. At that time my ADHD was undiagnosed, so no-one could ever figure out why things weren't working. it's a very long story. Anyway, I want to thank everyone for their advice, some of it makes perfect sense, some of it is stating the obvious, and some of it doesn't quite apply. You guys are all great, thanks for caring.

1. No ****, working on it 2. no ****, working on it, I used to live on my own but then my apartment got flattened for a bigger parking space. 3. With a ruined economy and no formal education, not likely. This country is rather unforgiving if you miss that piece of paper. 4. I may not have an education worth mentioning, but I am wicked smart (no, really), and interested in a ****-ton of things, that's part of my problem. There is this book about ADHD which I think is called "I could be good at anything I wanted, but I refuse to choose" That title alone hit close to home. saying no to interesting things is a something I'm slowly getting better at. 4b. Absolutely, I have no problems there.

thanks, mostly I was just venting, but you're welcome to say what you wish. also, did you break a 9 year membership lurking streak just to post that?

Every time I check this thread I'm like 5 pages behind. You'll forgive me for not reading every reply since I last checked. Anyway, so here's the thing. I'm a little upset with myself. I keep falling in love with people who are utterly unavailable. Either they're out of my league, (most of the time) Lesbian, (you'd be surprised how often that's happened) happy with someone else, (curses!) living abroad, age difference, or I'm stuck in a friendzone. Worst yet is my current crush. I don't want to say I'm love, but damnit, every week I see her, (she's a professional who helps me with my administrative problems, finding a house, structure, and just stuff in general) I get this **** eating grin on my face. I simply can't look at her and not smile. I feel so stupid for it. Here I am, fat, 27 living with his mother, no job, no education, no prospects, and there she is, beautiful, strong, funny, intelligent (yes!) quirky. We're not exactly similar (how can I fall for a vegetarian, damnit!) but I greatly enjoy talking with her. I can have a normal conversation with her. But it's practically a perfect storm of unavailability. Happily in a relationship, out of my league (did I mention that?), and I guess I'm kinda/sorta her patient. (though officially I'm a client) and friendzoned. So every week, I convince myself it's just a crush. Look elsewhere. And every week, I look forward to my appointment, I talk to her, I look at her eyes, and see them look back, and I smile while talking about stuff. Gah.