Hurlshort

I would say it took me about 10 hours to get to High Cliff. It's not a race. Anyways, I was amazed at the detail in the Bandit Hideout. It really felt like they had been gathering loot for years before I came along. Rooms were just overflowing with all sorts of odds and ends. Good stuff. I'm playing a Bard, and I've found that the AI is more effective at controlling my character than I am. It hurts my pride a bit, but I think my skills are only good enough to control a fighter. I also chose an overly annoying voice for my main character...I wish I could change that.

The real difference between GW and most pay MMO's is the fact that all the gameplay takes part in instances. That relieves a ton of strain on the servers, making maintainence and customer support much more affordable. GW is almost closer to Diablo or Battlenet on the technical side of things, because you are really just meeting folks in a graphical chat room, grouping, and then entering your own little world. That's the real reason for the lack of a monthly fee.

Actually I thought the Rangers, namely Kevin Weekes, played extremely well. Heck, they upset the Ducks the night before. San Jose didn't get many bounces, but Weekes made made a couple huge saves. The Rangers also got an absolute killer goal with .7 seconds left in the first. The Sharks never really recovered from that, and the Ranger PK unit played very well. Shanny is a frickin' legend.

Until we actually experience the ME dialogue in action, I think it's a bit early to condemn it.

Great read through Volo, strangely logical. I agree with everything so far as well. The camera has calmed down for me at this point, but I agree that two of the angles are useless.

Much like Silent Storm, the camera controls take some getting used to. Still, once they are mastered, they are way more effective than the original NWN camera.

Got a good 4 hours of NWN2 in, and so far it's been great.

I just picked mine up as well...somehow managed to weasel out of work about 2 hours early

I doubt they'd rescue Eko from the Polar Bear just to kill him a week later.

If it was shipped early and held off the shelves, then folks will likely have it in the next couple hours. Otherwise, probably by mid-day. Personally, I hope to pick mine up after work.

Unfortunately that would completely cripple the parity that the current NHL has. Bad teams would get worse and good teams would get all the top notch talent.

I question Minnesota's forward depth. I know they can play solid defense, but do they have more than one line that can score? I haven't followed them much this season though.

That's a Logitech controller, you want the official Microsoft Xbox360 controller for the PC.

Heh, that's the best explanation I've heard for the wierd NPC's in ES games.

I'm kinda curious here, how so? Because, on the surface, it's not evolution if it is "guided" by god (tho I'm prolly getting your meaning wrong). <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm somewhat confused as well. I read it as a non-interventionist viewpoint. God is the creator, but he doesn't have any direct influence on the way things happen. He wound it up and let it go. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> That was my impression of Krookie's post as well. Evolution does not disprove that there was a Creator. Even Darwin claimed to be more of an agnostic than an atheist.

The Huns, and the Mongols later on, placed little importance on religion. Both of these groups had advanced military techniques, and were able to conquer other civilizations. But they were also both absorbed by those very civilizations that they conquered. The argument can be made that strength of religion was a major reason that these civilizations, such as China and India, were able to hold out against an invading culture. Basically, can anything win out against religious fervor?

Primitivity? Are there other beings on earth with a more complex thought process than us? Animals have feelings, emotions, and instincts, but they don't build temples or have elaborate burial ceremonies for their dead.

We can't prove the Trojan War happened. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> You are right, I looked it up. But honestly, we've gotten a bit off track. What is it about humans that makes faith so important? Why has religion and spirituality been a major part of every civilization that we know of?

Perceived social value is entirely correct. It seems like we can both agree that the facts of their lives are less important than the message these stories bear.

Hercules and Odysseus were likely famous Greek warriors that, through oral traditions, became legendary figures. We have plenty of more recent figures that have become legends. Davy Crockett is an example. Sure, there is a chance that Odysseus is a completely fabricated character, but fiction usually reflects the truth. We can prove the Trojan wars happened, so it's not outrageous to think that famous generals arose.

Can anyone tell me why Hebrews would make up the story of the Exodus? What is the point of that? It is one thing to doubt that the exodus took place exactly like the story says, but it is another to doubt that there was some type of exodus. I am completely willing to admit that biblical stories are probably exaggerated. But it seems fairly close-minded to discount them altogether.

Historically, there is no reason to doubt their existence. Even if the stories of their lives are exaggerated, there is enough archeological evidence to support the time and places as accurate. It makes little sense to completely fabricate an individual and spread the stories across the world and over the centuries. The odds are much greater that these individuals existed. Of course, over time you need to account for events being exaggerated or altered. Much of what we know about these figures was passed down through oral traditions. With Muhammad, the Qu'ran was completed 15 years after his death, so we have a much more accurate account of his life. Abraham and Moses (and I'm not a theological scholar so I could be wrong) is going to be less accurate because the written records available are written much later than their lifetime.

Right here you are only looking at the negative effects of religion and faith. Religion and humanity are tied together. You can look at almost every major event in history, whether it's good or bad, and find the influence of religion. Religion has done great harm, but the argument can be made that it has done even greater good. Religion is the first set of laws. It's the original code of conduct. Can a civilization grow and succeed without religion? On the subject of odds, I don't doubt evolution. I don't even doubt that the big bang theory has some validity. I just have faith in something greater. It is almost impossible to explain, hence the plethora of different religions in our world. I believe the human spirit is far too complex to dismiss as an act of science. Do I believe that God spoke to Abraham, Moses, and Muhammad? I believe that the human spirit can achieve amazing things. Whether the stories are true or not, no one can dismiss the impact these humans had on the history of man.

Speaking of odds, the actual odds of the universe just being a random action aren't too great either.

I would say, based on my low IQ observation of the world, there are a lot more agnostics than atheists among the educated folks on our planet. Also, most of the people I know who are adamant about their being no God are blinded by that belief, just like religious folks. Being open to anything seems brighter than putting all your eggs in one methodological basket.