metadigital

Technically, it's called eugenics, but the theory has lost a lot of favour in the popular press since it's height in the interregnum (even Churchill was a big fan). Of course it's not really a problem; society needs stupid people more than smart ones: someone has to work the machineries of civilization, and the smarter people seem to have delusions of grandeur and tend not to want to do the boring but necessary tasks of empire ...

Nothing like one presupposition to serve another. You've just foisted the homosexiphobic bigotry/nazi tag (albiet with the "wary" caveat, indicating your openmindedness) onto those who believe that there is choice involved, because you believe they have similarly foisted an "evil" or "perverse" tag on the gay population. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Call me any name you want, I am making sure we are all discussing the same thing, here, and some aren't engaged in a closeted (:D) argument about the "validity" of homosexuality. And the Nazis are just the most obvious image I can use for this type of "behaviour modification"; the Chinese lined up all the Opium addicts after the revolution and shot them (after the Opium wars with the British, which resulted in Hong Kong being "leased" to them for 99 years). It is a bee's d!ck from "it's a choice" to "it's a perversion that should be stopped". Don't like the accusation? Then be very clear about your motivations, and state them. I have.

1. 2. Actually, the infection rates for homosexuals has stabilised. It is the hetrosexuals whose rate of HIV infection is accelerating ... ... AIDS: The number of AIDS cases dropped 30 % and AIDS death rates dropped more than half between 1996 and 1998. Approximately 320,000 persons were living with AIDS in the year 2000. A convergence occurring between U.S. AIDS rates for males and females is due to increases in rates of HIV transmission through heterosexual sex and through injection drug use. An estimated 12,000 women became newly infected with HIV each year. ... World Health Organisation pubished data for the US

Actually, current research suggests that there is more than one "gay" gene. The current theory is that these genes give various advantages to the bearers, such as better empathy, for example, and that only the agglomeration of many of these "gay" genes makes a person "gay". There is also reason to believe that it is down to the endocrimal amniotic mixture whilst the embryo is interuterine, and specifically the testosterone concentrations at various critical (and not yet determined) stages of early development. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I would really like to see a reference for this. The National Association for Resarch and Therapy of Homosexuality pretty much says otherwise There was a study that showed a slightly less than 50% correlation between twins both being homosexual, but two other geneticists analyzed the data and claimed it was more support for environment than inheritance. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> This book was published in the last few weeks; I saw an interview with the author (and some homosexual celebrities who all volunteered anecdotes to back up the findings) of the non-fiction book. The author has completed extensive studies with twins and siblings; he was adament that there were several (half-a-dozen) genes that can be shown to influence gender orientation which, when acted on with as yet unknown concentrations of testosterone on the interuterine embryo at critical early developmental stages, caused a predisposition towards homosexuality. This would seem to me to be quite reasonable, as it would help explain the spectrum of genders; I certainly think there is more to human gender than two poles: hetrosexual male and female. 1. I am not arguing that homosexuality is completely genetically determined. 2. I am certainly no expert in the field. 3. Try to remember that this is a very complex subject, not least because there are sexual preferences that are definitely (solely) environmentally influenced, such as sado-masochism (high court judges trying to balance their consciences with their life-and-death power over other human beings) and fetishes (people who were exposed to, say, rubber or urine when "learning" about their sexuality). Now, just to include some of the references you quote: "Gay gene" researcher Dean Hamer was asked by Scientific American if homosexuality was rooted solely in biology. He replied: "Absolutely not. From twin studies, we already know that half or more of the variability in sexual orientation is not inherited. Our studies try to pinpoint the genetic factors...not negate the psychosocial factors." [New Evidence of a 'Gay Gene', by Anastasia Toufexis, Time, November 13, 1995, vol. 146, Issue 20, p. 95] ...the question of the appropriate significance level to apply to a nonMendelian trait such as sexual orientation is problematic. [Hamer, D. H., et al. Response to Risch, N., et al., Male Sexual Orientation and Genetic Evidence, Science 262 (1993), pp. 2063-65] From "Gay Brain" Researcher Simon LeVay "At this point, the most widely held opinion [on causation of homosexuality] is that multiple factors play a role." [LeVay, Simon (1996). Queer Science, MIT Press.] From Dennis McFadden, University of Texas neuroscientist: "Any human behavior is going to be the result of complex intermingling of genetics and environment. It would be astonishing if it were not true for homosexuality." [Scientists Challenge Notion that Homosexuality's a Matter of Choice, The Charlotte Observer, August 9, 1998] As I said, I am by no means an expert on the subject, but I am very wary of those people who inist that homosexuality is a choice, because their unstated implication is that the choice is wrong and these people are "evil" or "perverted". Where on;y one step away from 1943 Germany, and the "re-education camps" for these poor erstwhile souls ...

Only my girlfriend :ph34r: <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Oh really? How long does she last? "

There is a lively debate in engineering periodicals about the "Software Crisis". It runs along these entrenched lines: Q. If the FAA can quantify the useable lifespan of a spot weld or a screw in an aircraft frame to the sixth decimal place, why can't the same be done for software? A. Because software is complex, and adding one piece of code to "fix" a problem in a particular area does not preclude the same new piece of code perverting a totally other piece of code in a different area. As always, better standards will limit errors; there are those (primarily in the former camp) who insist that, in order for Computer Science to not be a misnomer, these standards need to be enforced with reliable regularity and efficacy. I sit closer to the former than the latter, although it is by no means a modular state (pun not intended). :D

Ha! I didn't play the first one, so I came to the series new at Two. It was a little silly that Max kept miraculously reviving when seemingly so full of holes, but how is that any more far-fetched than "eating" a health pack (or whatever the character does to them ...) in any of your brand-leading shooters, like Doom and Half-Life? Sure, I would have liked it to be a little longer, but nothing's perfect ...

Cheers. *subscribes*

Two words: Max Payne ... err three words! Three words: Max Payne 2 ... good story can make a game into a classic ... and bullet time ... damn! Two things can make a classic game, ...

There is. Read the book I linked to, earlier. It is the latest and most thorough research and involves a lot more evidence than anyone has posted here.

Actually, current research suggests that there is more than one "gay" gene. The current theory is that these genes give various advantages to the bearers, such as better empathy, for example, and that only the agglomeration of many of these "gay" genes makes a person "gay". There is also reason to believe that it is down to the endocrimal amniotic mixture whilst the embryo is interuterine, and specifically the testosterone concentrations at various critical (and not yet determined) stages of early development.

I think we have a new analogy. To do a Leroy n., pl. To do Leroys; Careful, he ~s without warning all the time. To purposefully screw up a plan by running headlong into a precarious and overwelmingly dangerous situation. Also, Leroy, one who acts in such a way.

Exactly. now where did I read the latest buzz? I thought it was in the New Scientist I bought the other day, with the latest on the Big Bang, but I couldn't find anything in my quick skim. I read recently that they were very close (five years) to a production model, using normal materials (i.e. not super-conductors at liquid nitrogen temperatures). I think I even quoted it here ...

So Splinter Cell is good, then? I still have a copy of it bundled with the Mission Pack, which I haven't installed as yet ... hmmm ...

Unappreciated and misjudged again.

Ha ha, I couldn't agree more. Fortunately for the species, women tend to not share this opinion. (At least not at the moment; once they perfect the encattlement of men, then I foresee a different future for the human race.) latest research

The Transport Police have taken steps to control the escalating trend of British people to dodge fares ... Seriously, though, has anyone heard from Nur? When I heard the news story, I wondered if he might have been visiting Stockwell ...

ROFLMAO

I'm on Kaftan's team. :D

Why not? Age-related attributes might well be affected, if not actual imminent death! Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, even arguably Intelligence all decrease with age. Wisdom might increase, Charisma perhaps and maybe not. Certainly Constitution and HP should start to decrease, the older a character becomes, with a random senility risk, too.

Immitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

I concur. The game was a new install, and did not run on the existing installation of KotOR. Case closed.

Back in AD&D 2 there were consequences to high level spells, like ageing. Cast enough level Nine spells, and your already-wizened mage would be borderline Lich. Cast a couple of Wish spells, and the arcane one will need one to keep playing ... as a Lich. It's amazing how a player will limit the use of a spell if, in taking advantage of its incredible benefits, the penalties are equally steep.

I still think there is a market for the "AI chip", alongside the graphics processor. Maybe hardware developers are awaiting the perfection of the non-linear quantum computer ...