Hurlshort

It sounds like you favor an enlightened despot. While having a great leader for many years may seem like the best path, it creates a dependance upon a single strong individual. Many of the great civilizations have crumbled because the strong leaders could not be adequately replaced. George Washington probably would have been a great king for the US, but he set a precedent where no president, no matter how great, is to be a permanent fixture in the government. It's worked well, we've thrived under good presidents and survived under the lackluster ones. It also keeps the public from becoming too enamored with one president. The fruits of a president's labors are rarely harvested until they are already out of office. This is great for the country but lousy for the individual, which is an excellent way to run a government. Ex. - Lyndon B. Johnson passed more civil rights legislation than any other president. Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter both benefitted from his fight for equal rights. But LBJ was politically castrated by a war that Eisenhower and JFK got him into. It's a sad situation, because many people of his generation look at him negatively, but I think history will remember him as a president who pushed civil rights within our nation forward.

I respect all of the US presidents. It's a very difficult job. I don't always agree with their positions or decisions, but that doesn't stop me from being respectful. But I'm also a very neutral when it comes to politics. I love the political system we have in the US. It's remarkably balanced. It is incapable of stagnation due to the constant leadership changes. Even if another Republican comes into office in 2008, you will still see a policy change. Eventually the people will tire of the War on Terrorism, just like the Cold War. Then you will see conservatives lose their hold. The cycle is very clear.

I think Buffalo will be the tougher match up for Edmonton. Carolina has two very good lines, but Buffalo seems to have 4.

I've pretty much given up on EB games (and Gamestop) for PC titles. It's a slap in the face how easily they dismiss them. They carry a thousand copies of Console Crap II but get 2 copies of HoMM 5, which disappears the first day despite not getting shelf space. I've started to go to Best Buy for PC games. They have a pretty solid section, and they don't play favorites.

I think you give George Bush too much credit. He is not an all-knowing entity. The cover-up is very likely much lower down the chain of command. This isn't a new thing either, the My Lai massacre in Vietnam was much worse and has still not received the investigation it likely deserves.

I've had plenty of PC components freak out over the years. There are plenty of reasons to buy PC's over consoles, but unreliable hardware ain't one of them.

I was so bored by the demo that I didn't even buy HL2. I've been pretty hooked on EQ2, as is evidenced by my X-fire hours. I don't know how it happened, but after 2 weeks I suddenly found myself with a level 24 wizard. I actually used some credit I had at EB to buy both expansions. I'm paying an extra dollar a month to see my guy on the internet in all his splendor. It's a disease, seriously. But I am enjoying it. So far it hasn't been a grind, but I'm a bit worried when it does. Grinding tends to completely turn me off in these games. I go from loving it to not wanting to log in. I also tried to pick up Oblivion again, but I think I need to start a new character. I'm not connected to him anymore. I think the Vampire quest line burnt me out.

I watched a few movies this weekend too. Land of the Dead: I was pretty disappointed. Day of the Dead was really entertaining to me, but I felt horrible about the ending. Land of the Dead went the other way with the ending, but I actually thought that was more lame. I liked the concepts more than the execution in this film. 30 Days did it better. Aeon Flux: Better than I expected. Charlize Theron is a bit hard to watch as an action star, but I thought it was a decent action flick. I swallowed most of my complaints because I know they were trying to stay true to the anime. Munich: It was a very great movie, but I do feel about an hour could have been cut out and still maintained it's message. We KNOW Eric Bana is having mental battles about killing people. You don't need special scenes to illustrate his angst. I guess I just can't handle these epics anymore, my attention span just isn't there. I still loved the story. I think I'll read the book.

Did you pay extra for the store warranty? You know Microsoft will replace it for free, right?

I'll download it and store it next to my Duke Nukem Forever and S.T.A.L.K.E.R movies.

I just played the demo on my 360. It was very nice, and I imagine I'll be picking it up sometime soon. The graphics are unbelievable.

This happens at our school every month or so. There are plenty of industrial strength solvents that will not damage the locks. The landlord should take care of it.

Just a question, where are the flashing Oiler girls? The Flames girls were pretty good, Edmonton needs to step it up. Pronger is such a different player than the guy who played in St. Louis. He really is the best defenseman in the league at this point.

Raffi Torres for playoff MVP.

Rokor, since you seem serious about this, I'm going to edit your posts. I recommend you get a dictionary as well and keep it near your computer. Any word that seems wrong, go ahead and look it up.

If this is true, I don't see how it's a big deal. We've been really lucky that NWN was supported for as many years as it was. Also, the mod community will continue turning out unofficial stuff, so if you want new content, you are still covered. It makes sense to shift fully to the new product. It's not like it's a MMO where they still get subscription money for NWN 1.

Thank you! I knew I had seen him somewhere else. I completely forgot that he was the guy that captured Sayid.

It's a tough comparison because I haven't got up in the high levels of EQ2, but so far the game is much more complex. In many ways that's fun, because there are real differences in the way different races develop, and there is just a ton of non-combat stuff to do, like player housing, trophy collections, and so on. The trade skill system is a game in itself, although I'm not a huge fan of it. The combat is a bit more intricate due to all the available skills, but the PvE areas are nowhere near as cool as WoW. They are decent, but WoW had a ton of places to explore in the first 20 levels, and EQ2 feels a bit cramped in comparison. Again, I'm hoping the world opens up more now that I'm past 20. I played EQ2 about a year ago and it was a struggle, but they really changed the 1-20 experience and made it better. Quests are not as rewarding, but there are just a ton of them. So far I've enjoyed many of them, and I really like buying books and then following the book questlines, and then placing my completed book in my house. Many of the quests are tough to do without a group, though, and I haven't found the best companions yet. Many people seem caught up in min/maxing, but I guess that's any mmorpg. I haven't tried the PVP, but it's definitely there and supposedly it's decent. I'm a little worried that it will be a grind after 20, but so far it's been good. The expansions also seemn to be well thought out and add interesting locales to visit in the later levels.

I've been hooked on Everquest 2. I just levelled a wizard up to 20 in about 8 days. I had never made it into the 20's on previous EQ2 runs, but I'm really enjoying it for some reason. I'm even thinking of plunking down money for an expansion or an adventure pack. It's a sickness, really.

So Volourn, are you saying having perma-death is more important than having a good story? I can honestly say that the most important thing in any game I play is the storyline. But that's me, I know some people prefer more action and less story. Sure, I read books too. I like both. I just don't think a game should be handicapped by it's death penalty. If a realistic death system works within the story, hurrah, but I would rather see death get the cut than a good story.

That was the most innane comment you have ever made. That's pretty amazing, considering some of your other posts. I don't think death should ever interfere with telling a good story.

Actually, Gas Powered games and Chris Taylor are most famous because of Total Annihilation, which many consider to be the best RTS ever created. This is a return to those roots, and hence a pretty solid buzz about it. I hate RTS's, but I'm glad they are returning to their roots.

How is a 0-10 unconscious rule different than a 0 to negative 10? There is still the chance that you will be hit for so much damage in D&D that you will die instantly. In real life, people tend to go unconscious or enter shock. Particularly with medieval weaponry, most people got injured and then bled to death.

Seriously, AIM is a tool of the devil.

That does seem a bit much for Richards. He's a great player, but he'd barely crack my top 20 in the NHL. I thought the same thing when Bill Guerin pulled in that massive contract.