Hurlshort

The last list we commiserated over had Xcom at the top spot, which I think is more fitting than Dues Ex.

Catch a Fire - Great movie, but not easy to watch. It paints a pretty ugly picture of the Boers.

Speaking of British history, I just watched "Catch a Fire". Man, that was a rough movie.

That was my thought. Maybe he's some guy who turned invisible somehow, and eventually he'll lose it and have to return to LA.

I voted for IV. Mostly because Han Solo murdered Greedo. That was awesome.

Wow. I don't think Nashville deserves such a solid team, so that sounds good. Seriously, it's bad news when you can't sell out playoff games.

Things haven't changed much. There is still a huge lack of qualified teachers, particularly in the sciences and math. Classroom size in California is mandated for grades k-3 as being no larger than 20 students, but after 3rd grade it bloats up to over 30 per classroom. It depends on the area as well. My wife is a PE teacher and she sees class sizes around 45 on average. My maximum in a Social Science class is 36, although I have one class with 37. The extra student has to sit at my desk I teach because I love it. I could go do something else and make more money, but I wouldn't enjoy my job. I would say 85% of my fellow teachers are in the same boat. We are all colege graduates with a healthy chunk of graduate work, so I wouldn't say we are an ignorant bunch. But people tend to remember bad teachers, and again, there is easily 15% of those in the school system. But seriously, is there any industry that doesn't have a 15% incompetency rate?

Yeah, small guilds equal less drama.

Most of the folks I've played with over the years have been met through in game means. Lineage 2 was actually where I met my closest friends. I was looking for a casual guild, and they recruited me. It turned out to be a good fit. I've played the entire gamut of games with this bunch, from BF1942 to almost every MMO. It's a nice little online family. But the key is just to keep an eye out for folks who you get along with. There are a ton of asshats out there, but there's also a good chunk of regular folks too.

Yep, there's also a rather bizarre payment set-up. There is a regular game that you play for free, and then an elite version that costs monthly fee. I haven't researched it enough to say for certain, but I guess you don't get access to cool stuff without the monthly fee.

My wife is no gamer, but I managed to get her into WoW. It's such an easy game to learn on. She doesn't play more than a couple times a month, but it's fun to have it in common. Of course, I pay for the account Relationships require personal space and an understanding of each other's different hobbies. My wife has always supported me in my gaming and hockey, and I've always supported her in dancing and I let her watch bad TV shows. It's very healthy, we don't need to be side by side just because we are at home together. We function as individuals and as a couple. But I get the MMO addiction thing. The main concept to keep in mind is that it's the journey, not the end result, that really matters in an MMO. Don't let anyone tell you different. Reaching the highest level is a short term joy, and if it's all you focus on, you will feel burned out at the end. However, exploring new areas and completing difficult encounters are memories that tend to stick with me much longer. There is also the social aspect. Much like these boards, there are people I play MMO's with that I consider friends, even if I've never met them personally.

You'd be surprised how many 'bad teachers' I've run across. But it's not just a matter of how good or bad the teacher - no matter what their answer, it's likely to sound like "It just does" to me. My brain is very visual and I just can't visualize abstract formulas & explanations. It takes an exceptional teacher to make me do that. Most don't have the time, even if they have the know-how. Luckily, higher math isn't a requirement for social survival. I wouldn't be surprised. Teachers are, more often than not, incompetent. What annoys me is the amount of people that blame mathematics for the teacher's failings. Thanks Pid, I got all warm and fuzzy over that. Teacher are, more often than not, facing some pretty stiff obstacles when trying to educate the youth. The fact is, the resources are available for LadyCrimson to go out and find why that equation exists. Go to the library, open up a book, and educate yourself. Or did a teacher never show you how to do that? I'm not harping on LadyCrimson for not doing so, in fact I admire her honesty about the way she learns and that she has taken some of it on herself. It's a decision she made. Personally I know I'm a mess with math. I can figure stuff out, but I don't have the know-how to teach it. I have 180 students come through my class every day. I'm supposed to teach them about 1200 years of history all over the globe. It's not easy. Time is a serious impediment, and if a student doesn't pursue extra help, it's unlikely they will get it. Blaming the teacher is a total cop out. People don't fail in life because they have lousy teachers, they fail in life because they aren't taking responsibility for their own education. It's hard to admit this as a teacher, but we are really just tools in the development of a persons life. We are only as effective as the student's who use us. Sure, I can push the beautiful cycle that is human history, but I know the majority of my students will only remember about 3% of what I taught them in 5 years. Anyways, I'm getting off track. It's the end of the year, and I'm tired and cranky.

I happened to be in Saudi Arabia in 1991 while in the military. One of the Saudi air traffic controllers (British educated as it happens) once told me that if a Sunni and Shi'a were to meet on a road and Allah told each that the other was the last of his kind, they would fight to the death. How does one begin to make peace between them? I'm pretty sure you could have told that same story a few hundred years ago with a protestant and a catholic. The first step is identifying with the problem and realizing that Christianity is really not all that different. If we look back at the past, we might be able to find some keys to unlocking a more peaceful future.

isn't that the draw to WoW too? Yep, and I enjoyed WoW for a long time. LotR Online is the first game that's really on the same level in terms of ease for casual gaming, playability, and graphics. But I'm sure someone will come around and tell me how wrong my opinion is and that all MMO's suck. I've also stopped taking people seriously who trash WoW, and yet they have played the game up to level 60. Why did ou put in hundreds of hours if you hate the game? But I digress

Bigotry would be saying you want Ottawa to win because you hate the US (or California, or LA in Kelverin's case.) Will is demonstrating nationalism. Why are you a loyal NYR fan? How is it different to be a fan of Canadien teams?

Hmm, maybe if everyone worked towards a peaceful resolution of the Sunni/Shi'ite schism, we might see some progress. The US needs to create an image as a nation willing to help Islam grow and be stable, rather than that of interfering Christians. But hey, that's just my two cents on the whole war thing.

I reached level 23 in LotR Online. It's a pretty fast levelling curve. I've barely noticed my xp bar on the way up, and quests give quite a bit of experience. I like the fact I can play for 30 minutes and finish a couple quests.

I'm rooting for Ottawa as well. It's cool that we'll have a Stanley Cup winner that has never won before. I'd root for Anaheim if I thought that would improve hockey in California, but I don't think they have the fan base in SoCal to really make an impact.

I once had a Fallout Vibe. The doctor gave me a cream to spread on it, and it went away in a few days. Now I just avoid NMA, and I haven't had another breakout since.

You really think it's a hack and slash? I think I only killed about 50 things in the entire game. I really thought it was combat light compared to most games.

I played Deus Ex, beat it, and enjoyed the multiple endings. I have no desire to play it again. I've never beaten Morrowind, but I've started new games a dozen times. I think Crashgirl is pointing out the difference between quality and playability.

I enjoyed Fable, and I agree the parody of a Heroes quest was good. It was reminiscent of Quest for Glory in that aspect, although it definitely fell short in other areas. Still, it was a brief but fun adventure with some interesting attempts at a unique gameplay. I'll pick up the sequel. I'm not quite sure why people hated it so much. Was it because of too high expectations? Or was it because it was too easy and too short? Neither really kept me from enjoying the game.

Well, it's a best PC games list, so I'm guessing nada on a PS2 exclusive game listing.

Just to catch you up, Volourn says r00fles in order to win arguments, Hades has 17 different accounts but the personality is always the same, and there are a few folks who hate MMO's and will state as such in EVERY SINGLE MMO THREAD. It's one big happy family

The funny thing is, the guy who played Scarecrow in Batman Begins has a way wicked smile, and he would have fit the Joker perfectly.