Cantousent

Damned staight. I figure I can use you as a decoy and maybe get some of your leftovers, you and your wretched good looks.

Good Lord, Pixies. You're just plain crazy. Don't we have enough of these threads already? Hey, I'd better answer before it gets locked. hahaha 1. 36 2. Midnight blue 3. Gaming, classic literature, writing, history, the Obsidian message board 4. I enjoy virtually every genre. I am not particularly fond of gangsta rap, although I am willing to listen to it if other so desire. My favorite genre is probably a mix of 80s rock, modern country, and some Gilber and Sullivan. 80s rock is misleading, though, since it inlcudes rock, pop, alternative, and essentially a grab bag. 5. I like the whole spectrum. I enjoy a good action movie, movies with a message, and, with the right company, a romantic comedy or two. I like most films. 6. I mostly prefer strategy, first person shooters, or RPGs. 7. Loyalty. Steadfastness. Continence. 8. I despise back stabbers with a passion. 9. Overall, I am positive. That doesn't always mean cheerful, but I am virtually always positive when faced with problems.

Hey, Philosophy definitely belongs in the classroom! The only question is: which classroom?

Excellent idea. I know one of the designers at Bioware had to create a NWN module as part of his hiring process. It's probably standard practice to do things like that. Of course, being at the university, it occurs to me that you know more about that than I do. :D

I'm Catholic, Plano. I don't just believe in an overarching nameless intelligence designing the world. I believe in Jesus Christ, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, and the life of the world everlasting. :D I'm just saying that it's a matter of faith, not science. I agree with Mosse in that I'd rather have philosophy remain philosophy and science remain science. Where the two can meet, have a discussion, but be very careful how you mix the two and in what measures.

I can't ever keep them straight. I especially like the bait-and-switch. It just sounds cool. Anyhow, we simply can't prove intelligent design. On the other hand, I can find it if I look for it. You can always find things if you look hard enough.

No, saving the kingdom is about the Kingdom. Saving the farm is about you. There is far more opportunity to explore a character when you save the farm than when you save the world. Unless you save it very, very slowly I suppose. ...Or maybe stick your finger in a dike and then have several hours to reflect on your life while the kingdom flees the flood. Then you die. I have not, as yet, heard about the black pearl. You should start a new thread and then I will find out about it. Or you could just pm me.

"Isnt the bible factually incorrect on so many levels." Now, don't start using the fallacies you see in the bible allow you to repeat them in the name of atheism. It occurs to me that I'm going to end up getting beat up by atheists and Christians alike in this thread. Well, just so long as no one cries fowl, I'll take my chances.

I don't get you, Plano, but I'll throw out red herrings, eat one, maybe even throw one on a pizza if the desire strikes me. I hope you don't choke on a red herring, but I'm probably going to throw out a few anyhow.

ERRRRNNNN Wrong answer. "That's just the way it is!" is a sound scientific principal? Wrong. Putting aside all the mumbo jumbo, you can refute a need for a supernatural cause while still conceding that this issue is still very much at the heart of scientific efforts. In the eagerness to attack religious folks, "scientists" forget that one of the most controversial areas of science right now is the beginings of the universe. The origins of matter and the universe is still very much a matter for concern. Throwing up your hands and saying, "it just is!" doesn't seem any different than some religious fellow's statement that "the bible tells me so."

...And that is going to be the bell for the first round of a long fight. I'll just sit in the sidelines until it gets ugly and then pull out a flamethrower! hahaha No, seriously, I have to respond to this on a couple of levels. In the first instance this is entirely true. The first cause idea has been around since before Christianity. This is another argument from antiquity. It's a solid argument. Science does not have an answer right now, but I can accept the retort that science is looking for an answer and that to create a god to satisfy the need for a first cause is fallacy. Fair enough. What I cannot accept is the retort, and I've read it on these boards, that science doesn't care. Science very much cares. ...Or, should I say, scientists care. They want to know the origin as much as anyone else. So, first cause arguments don't carry the day for religion, but they also remain unanswered by the scientific community, let alone what passes for one in our little corner of the world.

Let me enter Ramza mode. *Shrug* You really can't stop me anyhow. I really tire of the way developers treat the stories. There were two ideas in the Black Hound that I found particularly noteworthy. One was a truly sliding scale of reputation that the design team translated into an extensive library of epithets. The second was that the story wasn't all about saving the world. It was about the main character. Under that guideline, the team had the opporunity to fashion an appealing story for more player types. I guess the fact is, either the players don't want anything new or the publishers don't want to take a chance that the players don't want anything new. In either case, we're denied a setting that transcends the age old formula of a single character (or party) saving the kingdom (or the world or the Universe). I plan on purchasing NWN2. It's shaping up quite nicely. ...But I really can't help but think that the developers have played the "savior" card too often. It's not that saving the universe is bad. It's that it requires so much saving. How about I save myself? How about I take over the city for my own evil ends? How about I decide it's time to clean up my own little area of the world? We don't need a character who starts as a farmer and saves the kingdom. We need a character who starts as a farmer and needs to fight like hell to save his farm. Sure, provide an opportunity for a little fame and celebrity. Give the players who need to be the golden haired savior in every game their due. ...But have a thought for those of us who might be willing to shell out some cash just to save our wife. Maybe something for those folks who just want to run a crime syndicate in one of the cities of the realm. The sky is the limit when we can rise above the need to save the whole enchilada. Maybe we don't need saving at all. Maybe someone else needs saving from us. I agree that there should be a cogent story, but that story need not be the same story told over and over again. Meanwhile, it was the novel approach that the Black Hound promised more than anything else that appealed to me. We'll never see that game. That ship has sailed, been caught in a storm, and sunk already. Nevertheless, one ship does not make the whole fleet. We can still look for something more from our games. Saving the world is a great idea. Sometimes I want to turn on my computer and save the world. It might be nice, however, to expect a little more variety from our computer games.

It's a red herring. You can't prove intelligent design. Even in antiquity, there was a lot of argument for and against some sort of overarching intelligence guiding creation. Plato was pretty much set against intelligent design, although he did believe in divinity. There's more to intelligent design than the current religion v science debates allow.

Because we have a life of freedom and luxury, it only makes sense that we have turned our backs on the men who died to provide it for us. It is fashionable to say that all wars are bad and, because the sentiment is unchecked, it leads us to believe that there must have been something wrong with the men who fought in them. Not all wars are bad. Britain could have made peace with Germany during World War Two. They did not. War, with all its terrors, was better than peace under nazi power. My grandfather fought against the Japanese at Guadal Canal. He did not die then, but it certainly wasn't for the Japanese trying. Event he Germans and Japanese who fought, we cannot comdemn them en mass. They had a home for which they were fighting, and love ones whom they defended. Remembrance doesn't mean condemning the enemy soldiers, no matter how right your cause. It means honoring your dead.

Pixies is probably right. That seems to be the custom of the day.

Yeah, Kasoroth is a smart cookie. What he nails on the head, and I've seen this elsewhere, is that my computer is not confined to gaming. For example, I work on my laptop and virtually never game on it. I both work and game on my desktop, but there will be long stretches where I don't game on it at all. I have an xbox, but even that spends far more time pulling duty as my stereo. So, the console that wins me will probably not prevail because of the games. It will prevail because of the hardware and the quality of sound and picture. That way I can use it to play the occassional game and I won't be forced to buy a stereo. Even if you have enough money to buy all three, and we do, we're not going to take up the space in our house to buy three consoles. It's just not in the cards.

I might dust off some old titles and replay them. Of course, there's a good chance I won't buy any next gen console for some time after it is released.

DAR that! :D Anyhow, I think we can combine a lot of these elements and still maintain the delicate quality for which we strive.

comedy, meta, total comedy. hehehe Okay, my take is that Han should have shot first, even if he didn't. My second take is that Greedo should have shot him from accross the bar. What I take from all this is that Princess Leia in the bikini is still the hottest star wars chic.

What you describe isn't true Communism, though. I'm not attacking you for claiming Communism. I'm simply stating that you aren't what Marx envisioned at his hallmark Communist. Even in his model, there had to be someone making sure that there was no accumulation of wealth that didn't fall into private hands. I don't give up hope on Communism. Rather, I hope Communism remains hopeless. Even a more or benevolent rise to power, as you suggest, chills the blood. We have a system that is imperfect, but it is a system that also strives for the greatest good. There will always be some people who fall through the cracks. ...But the benefits we reap in creativity and industry far outweigh the detriments. If Communism could provide the utopia it promises, then it would be a different matter. You know, TEETH, I actually respect your humanism approach. I say that without rancor or irony. I'm not being sarcastic. I know we spar a lot online, but I don't have any animosity for you. I honestly don't believe that you would try to force me to give up my religion or that you suggest a violent overthrow of democracy. My arguments are based on what I understand of Communism. I realize, however, that meanings change over time, so what I see as Communism is not exactly what you intend. I'll continue to disagree, but please understand that my harsh words are meant for Communism, not for other members of this board. I have it on the best authority from a couple of online friends that my persona seems angry these days. If I must be angry, I'd rather be angry with the argument rather than the arguer. Frankly, I'm not mad in this thread at all. Just wanted to set it straight about the whole Communism, communist, and Russian idea.

No, I'm not saying you're inept, Diamond. I'm saying that the issue of whether Russia was inept is irrelevant to the discussion. No one has had a true Communist government because such a government can only exist in fantasies. Personally, I think the Russians gave it as good a shot as anyone could, and the Soviet oligarchy was a ruthless band of thugs.

Perhaps it's the poll that's flawed...

Your Type is ENFJ Extroverted Intuitive Feeling Judging Strength of the preferences % 33 75 25 33 ENFJ type description by D.Keirsey ENFJ type description by J. Butt Qualitative analysis of your type formula You are: moderately expressed extrovert distinctively expressed intuitive personality moderately expressed feeling personality moderately expressed judging personality I guess I can live with it. I am rather an extrovert in real life, so that part is true.

You don't understand, Communism doesn't allow for someone going to any lengths to achieve better than the guy next door, even incidently. Even if he just wants something nice for himself and his family, without regard to whether the guy next door has something better or not. Communism cannot work as envisioned by Marx. We can keep trying it, but it won't work. Now, it is a noble goal for folks who have more to contribute to those who have less. I contribute to charities... considerably more than my liberal friends who have a lot to say about the poor. Of course, unlike most of my liberal friends, I have lived below the poverty level. That's the poverty level as it was calculated at the time and as it is calculated now. Now, if it's not enough to give to charity and to support those policies that provide for less fortunate citizens of our great country... if it is necessary to redistribute wealth... then I say, by all means, start by donating your computer to less fortunate individuals. If we are truly a global community, then I suggest donating your computer to some less fortunate person who lives in, say, Africa or South America. The folks who talk about how great it would be under communism don't seem to get it. Russian Communism didn't fail because the Russians are inept. Whether the Russians are inept is a different discussion. Rather, it failed because true communism cannot work. Look at the only example of viable communism in the world today: China. It is not the Communism that Marx proposed. Indeed, it's more of a Soviet style oligarchy running a capitalist system in communist clothing.

Why is this such a big issue, anyhow? I keep seeing this Greedo non-sense. Can someone explain it or PM me or something?