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Economy of Rights not Ownership in General
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #13
I practice faith-based politico-economics.

Levy a 70% flat tax on income and a tax progressive to 100% to $100,000 on inheritance, provide everything you could concievably need free of charge or invasive oversight, subsidize luxury items, publicize real estate and socialize industry.

Invest trillions in research; kill the diseases of today and tomorrow so our children don't have to. Then build up the infrastructure and the education system; we can't keep throwing money at the problems of the past, after all.

Install voting and news machines in every household, and establish direct democracy. Turn the President into a foreign minister and Congress into an American House of Lords.

Then go abroad under the Stars and Stripes, lather, rinse, repeat.

Yes, you can tell me that the economy will do better under a 25% flat tax, or that government intervention is the devil, or that Rugged Individualism is worth more than Godless Communism. Really, so far as I'm concerned, any system in which all men are their own masters and none else's is OK by me, 1.4% lower rate of GDP growth or no.

I can understand rendering unto Caesar, but I really can't say I get rendering unto Crassus.

[ Wednesday, November 10, 2004 16:25: Message edited by: Fear Uncertainty and Custer ]

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Ome Henk? in General
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #5
It's obviously Dutch. No other language looks so much like English and sounds so much like other English.

It's not my fault that Gendo had a gun for you.

[ Wednesday, November 10, 2004 15:27: Message edited by: Fear Uncertainty and Custer ]

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Ome Henk? in General
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #1
IMAGE(http://oregonstate.edu/~feyc/rbgendo0.jpg)

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
The Community Is Criminally Ignorant: A Study in Blades of Avernum
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #65
Oldbies are allowed to bend and break the rules because they know why there are there and when not to break them.

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Arafat dead? in General
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #27
A coma is where someone is basically in an extended state of unconsciousness. 'Braindead' is where all brain activity has ceased; the central nervous system can be kept alive through life support, but the brain will never 'wake up'.

One way this is apparently tested is by squirting icy water into the ear; a brain-alive but comatose patient will show a distinct and visible reaction, an unconscious patient will probably wake up in considerable distress, and a brain-dead patient won't do anything at all.

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Halloween Costumes in General
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #35
Because I didn't dress up on Halloween and I figure cross-posting this isn't too sinful, here is me all fancy.

IMAGE(http://alec.desperance.net/showcase/presidente9-800x.JPG)

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Arafat dead? in General
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #23
IMAGE(http://alec.desperance.net/showcase/iraqi.jpg)

[ Friday, November 05, 2004 14:20: Message edited by: Fear Uncertainty and Custer ]

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Evolution in General
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #22
Fair enough, but it doesn't make him any less wrong.

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Evolution in General
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #20
quote:
Originally written by RavagedSoul:

quote:
Originally written by Fear Uncertainty and Custer:

The physical difference between the three races is so miniscule that it takes several years of med school to run into them in a textbook. It's also true that none of the three races have been substantially influenced by interbreeding to this point. Sorry to burst your bubble on that one.

A major catastrophe is never going to hurt humans on a racial basis, because we have a little thing called environmental adaptation. Europeans won't be the only ones to survive a cold snap because, surprise surprise, 90% of humanity lives in houses and all of it has the secret of fire.

In addition, it's only through interbreeding that the best traits will be expressed. Incest might be an extreme example, but it's taking your argument to its logical ends: developing several million distinct races through inbreeding.
A wide gene pool is never a bad thing.

Also, the Africans had rather little choice about staying in Africa, but hey, let's not detract from your racist babbling.

Are you an idiot? Or can you just not interpret the funny looking symbols on your screen? I never said that there were huge differences between each race. In fact I said there were miniscule ones. So, theres one of the things that "I" said that you pulled out of your ass.

You claimed the differences were due to interbreeding, numbnuts.

Did I ever say that we are currently being affected by interbreeding? No, I said that it would affect our evolutinary path in th future. So theres # 2 of you're attempt to belittle me shot down.



While currently there is very little actual distinction between each "ethnicity" or "race" whatever you want to call it, of human there is a reason for that. The longer races of the same species are seperated, the more their evolutionary paths will differ.

Clearly, 150,000 years isn't long enough for you?

A major catastrophe will never affect us? Global warming. We stay inside, where it's nice and cool. The Earth turns into a desert. Eventually our wonderfull air conditioning will fail. Or how about this, the people of the world never met one another, Japan runs out of room, so starts digging. A meteor hits the earth, and everyone dies, except the japanese. # 3, "Sorry to burst your bubble on that one."

On the minus side, we have global warming. On the plus side, people's life expectancies are generally above 30. I suppose you always have a bit of a give and take when it comes to progress, though.
PS: You're mistaking 'race' for 'nationality', which puts you straight down Hitler Lane. 'Norway' is not a race, nor is 'Japan' or 'The Japanese'. The Norwegians are Euro-Caucasian and the Japanese are Mongoloid; they're genetically identical in every significant way to Italians and Thais, respectively.

# 4. The best traits are expressed? I don't think that you even deserve a reply for that.

Care to back that up with, I dunno, something besides normative garbage?

# 5 I'm a racist? Please, before you EVER think I'm a racist again, remember, just because I talk about "races" in a way that you don't like, doesn't mean you're right. It doesn't mean that I am, but when did I say anything derogitory towards any ethnic group. Please find it, and shove it, because I'm not a racist, and I find it not only insulting, but idiotic of you to think so. Have a nice day.

The belief that the races should and must be separated is one of the tenets of modern racism, and frankly your entire viewpoint seems to be a dramatic and vigorously pseudoscientific apologia for anger that one typically can't vent in public over interracial marriage.

Thanks for missing half of my post, retard. Do your superior white race a favor and get a goddamn vasectomy.

You picked the wrong fight, child. I've been doing this for years. We can be civil and gentlemanly or I can tear your head off; it is, at this point, a binary. Don't delude yourself on this one.

[ Wednesday, November 03, 2004 16:44: Message edited by: Fear Uncertainty and Custer ]

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Evolution in General
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #16
The physical difference between the three races is so miniscule that it takes several years of med school to run into them in a textbook. It's also true that none of the three races have been substantially influenced by interbreeding to this point. Sorry to burst your bubble on that one.

A major catastrophe is never going to hurt humans on a racial basis, because we have a little thing called environmental adaptation. Europeans won't be the only ones to survive a cold snap because, surprise surprise, 90% of humanity lives in houses and all of it has the secret of fire.

In addition, it's only through interbreeding that the best traits will be expressed. Incest might be an extreme example, but it's taking your argument to its logical ends: developing several million distinct races through inbreeding.
A wide gene pool is never a bad thing.

Also, the Africans had rather little choice about staying in Africa, but hey, let's not detract from your racist babbling.

[ Wednesday, November 03, 2004 16:21: Message edited by: Fear Uncertainty and Custer ]

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Evolution in General
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #13
When I look to Utopia I see khaki stretching off as far as the eye can see.

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Evolution in General
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #8
Evolution does not always lead to a better product, merely a more evolutionarily fit product. And in this case, 'evolutionarily fit' describes the organism that can propagate itself best.

So evolution, so far as humans concerned, is heading towards the stupid; they're the ones that tend to have 11-12 kids.

PS. I don't believe in Genesis taken literally any more than I believe that pi is exactly three.

[ Wednesday, November 03, 2004 15:15: Message edited by: Fear Uncertainty and Custer ]

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
The Community Is Criminally Ignorant: A Study in Blades of Avernum
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #23
quote:
Originally written by RavagedSoul:

Do you mean me? I am not taking anything too seriously. Merely stating that I think Fear and Uncertainty is taking our "ignorant level" from a game too seriously.
Up yours, son.

Being as how apparently I was wrong on one (whoops!), I'll update the statistics.

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Merry Christmas in General
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #14
Funny that the one unique American holiday there is is the only one that seems immune to getting commercialized, isn't it? I've always thought so.

Man, I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving now -- having a rather gourmandish Irish family means you'll be stuffed until Saturday on Thursday's dinner. Dammit, AM, why'd you have to go and make me hungry? :(

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Burma shave in The Exile Trilogy
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #18
quote:
Originally written by Fear Uncertainty and Custer:

Know when to be quiet?
I don't think you do
'Cause it's long past time
To STFU
Burma Shave



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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Burma shave in The Exile Trilogy
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #15
Know when to be quiet?
I don't think you do
'Cause it's long past time
To STFU
Burma Shave

[ Sunday, October 31, 2004 20:40: Message edited by: Fear Uncertainty and Custer ]

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Merry Christmas in General
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #2
quote:
Originally written by RavagedSoul:

Well in light of the day. Merry Christmas. That having been said that was just to confuse and disorientate you. What is everyone's favorite holiday? I'm going with my birthday. Simply because I get all the money, and don't have to spend anything on other people. That is why I am a selfish prick. How about you guys?
Kill Haole Day.

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
The Community Is Criminally Ignorant: A Study in Blades of Avernum
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #0
On a recent thread, I started a poll with fact-based questions, for which there was one correct answer for each.

There were 20 questions, 33 respondents, and a lot of discouraging data.

1: How many games has Spiderweb Software made?
6 -- 0% (0)

9 -- 12% (4)

11 -- 73% (24)

16 -- 15% (5)

The community passes this question with 73%, or a C-. 4 respondents seemed to believe that Spidweb has made far fewer games than they have, while 5 seem to be crediting the 5 titles (Ocean Bound, Lost Souls, Homeland, SubTerra, and Galactic Core) that SW sells but did not author to SW.

2: Of these, which is the least recent?
Blades of Exile -- 70% (23)

Avernum (1) -- 12% (4)

Geneforge (1) -- 18% (6)

The community passes this question with 70%, or a bare C-. Most disturbing is the fact that more respondents considered Geneforge 1 the least recent of the three than Avernum 1.

3: Of these, which is the most recent?

Blades of Exile -- 3% (1)

Avernum -- 12% (4)

Geneforge -- 85% (28)

The community passes this question with a more comfortable 85%, or a B. The respondant claiming that Blades of Exile is more recent than Avernum and Geneforge is a little frightening.

4: Is there a significant plot difference between the Exile and Avernum series?
Yes 3% (1)

No 97% (32)

The community passes this with a 97%, or an A+. At this point one begins to suspect that at least one person was taking the survey while very, very high.

5: How many ways are there to win Exile I and II?

1 -- 36% (12)

3 -- 42% (14)

Both are open-ended -- 21% (7)


The community fails this question with 42%, or a rather low F. To wit: in Exile 1, you can escape the Pit, kill Grah-Hoth, or assassinate Hawthorne; in Exile 2, you can kill Garzahd, destroy the Portal, or reclaim the stolen Crystal Souls. The statement 'there is one way to win each' is incorrect, and 'both are open-ended' is undebatably correct.

6: The following are playable factions in Nethergate:
Romans, Fae -- 0% (0)

Romans, Celts -- 97% (32)

Celts, Fae -- 0% (0)

Fae only -- 0% (0)

Romans only -- 0% (0)

Celts only -- 0% (0)

Romans, Celts, Fae 3% (1)

Community passes with 97% A+. The hypothesis advanced after Question 4 is growing increasingly accurate.

7: The following titles are in order of production:

Exile 2, Geneforge, Avernum -- 3% (1)

Avernum 2, Avernum 3, Blades of Exile -- 6% (2)

Blades of Exile, Nethergate, Avernum -- 82% (27)

eneforge [sic], Geneforge 2, Avernum 3 -- 9% (3)

The community passes with 82%, or a B-.

8: How many scenarios are there for Blades of Exile?
Less than 3 -- 0% (0)

3 -- 6% (2)

More than 3, less than 20 -- 0% (0)

More than 20, less than 100 -- 6% (2)

100 or more -- 88% (29)


The community passes with 88%, or a B+. Alarming is the two respondents who seemed to believe there to be only 3 scenarios for Blades of Exile, where a visit to any peripheral site would confirm the reverse.

9: How many scenarios are there for Blades of Avernum, excluding the tutorial?

Less than 4 -- 0% (0)

4 -- 6% (2)

More than 4, less than 10 -- 73% (24)

More than 10, less than 50 -- 21% (7)

50 or more -- 0% (0)


The community passes with a 73%, or another C-. Again, two respondants seem to believe that there are only 4 scenarios for Blades.

10: Choose the most sensical analogy:

Nodes:Exile::Scripts:Nethergate -- 6% (2)

Nodes:Nethergate::Scripts:Exile -- 6% (2)

Geneforge:Nethergate::Avernum:Exile -- 0% (0)

Nodes:Exile::Scripts:Avernum -- 85% (28)

vernum[sic]:Scripts::Geneforge:Spells -- 3% (1)

The community passes with an 85% B; the person who believes scripts are the same as spells really ought to be shot.

11: How many employees does Spiderweb Software have?

1 -- 0% (0)

2 -- 21% (7)

3 -- 64% (21)

4 -- 12% (4)

More than 4 -- 3% (1)

The community skates by with a 64%, or a D-. The apparent belief that Spidweb consists of Mr. Vogel and his wife is common, and so, apparently, is the belief that they have hired someone else.

12: Who is Phil Foglio?

A programmer -- 6% (2)

A writer -- 0% (0)

An artist -- 85% (28)

A gaming critic -- 3% (1)

Jeff Vogel's father-in-law -- 6% (2)

The community passes with another 85% B. Where people got the idea that Vogel was married to a Foglio, I have no idea.

13: Which of Spiderweb's early titles has the most active fanbase?

Exile -- 0% (0)

Exile 3 -- 3% (1)

Nethergate -- 0% (0)

Blades of Exile -- 97% (32)

The community passes with an encouraging 97% A+.

14: Which of Spiderweb's recent titles has the most active fanbase?

Avernum -- 0% (0)

Geneforge -- 0% (0)

Avernum 3 -- 9% (3)

Geneforge 2 -- 3% (1)

Blades of Avernum -- 88% (29)

Another pass; 88%, or B+.

15: True or false: Exile 3 introduced a damage cap.
True -- 30% (10)

False -- 70% (23)


A bare 70% / C- pass here. That 10 people seem to believe that just because Av3 did it, Ex3 did as well, is somewhat alarming.

16: True or false: Blades of Exile's graphics are hugely different from Exile 1.0's.
[i]
True -- 42% (14)


False -- 58% (19)[/i]
The community fails with 42%.

17: True or false: The Vahnatai were alluded to in Exile 1.
[i]
True -- 61% (20)


False -- 39% (13)[/i]
A bare 61% pass.

18: True or false: Lost Bahssikava was completely new to Avernum 1.
[i]
True -- 64% (21)


False -- 36% (12)[/i]

Another bare skate at 64%. Yet another Exile-Avernum Conflation Syndrome victim.

True or false: Jeff Vogel does not and has never planned to author 'Exile 4'.
[i]
True -- 88% (29)


False -- 12% (4)[/i]
88%, or B+.

True or false: Jeff Vogel generally has a good rapport with the community.

True 15% (5)

False -- 85% (28)


85%, or B, on what I considered the most crucial question.

Final score: 506/660, or 76.6%.

I don't know about you, but I find it a little disheartening the community supposed to be representing the biggest fans of SW's work can only pass a factual survey on it with a C.

EDIT: As I was wrong on the Vahnatai question, the community gains +1.6%.

[ Tuesday, November 02, 2004 19:22: Message edited by: Fear Uncertainty and Custer ]

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Statistical Survey in Blades of Avernum
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #10
And those are BoEized -- the originals didn't even have attack poses.

Consider this poll closed; 33 respondents is enough. Thanks!

[ Sunday, October 31, 2004 10:14: Message edited by: Fear Uncertainty and Custer ]

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
How do you say it? in Nethergate
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #4
quote:



1. Annwn

Awn (like awning) + un (like gun)

2. Aethdoc

Et (like bet) + dock (like the moor)

3. Goagh-Nar

Gawg (like 'god' and 'dog' together) + nair (like the hair remover)


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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Halloween Costumes in General
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #17
quote:
Originally written by Imban:

I would be a UNICORN so I could PRANCE AROUND and LOOK PRETTY


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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Statistical Survey in Blades of Avernum
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #0
This is cross-game, but since BoA is the most active, I was supposing I'd put it here.

How much do people know about Spidweb's titles? It's time to find out. These are all intended to be factual questions unless stated otherwise, so answer to the best of your ability without looking anything up. Thanks!

Poll Information
This poll contains 20 question(s). 52 user(s) have voted.
You may not view the results of this poll without voting.

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Whats ur favorte Scenario? in Blades of Avernum
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #7
quote:
Originally written by Quest of the Avatar:

I would actually venture to guess that a sizable percentage of BoE/A players never realize that there are third-party scenarios available. Furthermore, some of those who do seem to believe (I've heard this before) that third-party scenarios will necessarily be poor substitutes for his Holiness Jeff Vogel's stellar work.

It'd be interesting but probably impossible to see what percentage of BoX players play through the included scenarios, go "Hooray", and leave it at that.

Given the number of references I've heard to 'beating' BoX, probably quite a bit more than we're comfortable with.

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Halloween Costumes in General
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #1
I'd be an Aixoan infantryman if I could find a decent sword, trenchcoat, and gas mask.

And if anyone would get it, which they wouldn't.

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Undead Topics Need Loving Too (aka "Give Me Your First-Born") in General
Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
Profile Homepage #386
Roger as Fick is a Britticism, and actually a rather obscure one.

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The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest.
Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00

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