Profile for Or else o'erleap.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | Or else o'erleap. |
| Member number | 335 |
| Title | Law Bringer |
| Postcount | 14579 |
| Homepage | http://www.polarisboard.net |
| Registered | Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
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| Author | Recent posts |
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| How much dosh? in The Avernum Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Tuesday, October 12 2004 11:30
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For example, whenever you have more than 10,000 gold, use the editor to reduce your wealth by 10,000 and put a mark on a handy sticky note, notepad file, or other memo, physical or electronic. When you're strapped for cash again, use the editor to give yourself that money and cross off the mark. You're not cheating, you're just avoiding the need to save loot in large piles for when you need money. —Alorael, who also likes to see how much total wealth he can amass. It's quite satisfying to see row upon row of tallies representing large amounts of money. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Stem Cell Research in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Tuesday, October 12 2004 11:25
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That simply isn't the way medical trials are conducted. In vitro tests are always the first, and they are conducted on all kinds of cell cultures. Human, animal, anything. However, once a drug or therapy has been approved in those tests, the next step has to be into a full organism. It would be better from a research perspective to go straight into a human model, but the risks are not considered acceptable. Instead, tests are carried out in the animal model that most closely matches humans in the particular organs in question. As for systemic effects, we can only hope the results correlate as it goes into human trials. Yes, the only necessary phase is the human clinical trials, but going straight to human test subjects is a flagrant violation of human rights. And you wouldn't get any willing patients, either. Not all animal tests are lethal, and none are excessively cruel. Yes, animals may be deliberately infected with diseases or otherwise turned into appropriate models, but there is no undue and unnecessary suffering involved. Believe me, there are plenty of watchdog organizations overseeing that. Stem cell research isn't research on the effects of other things on embryos. It's the study of the uses of stem cells on other things. —Alorael, who apologizes for jumping onto another topic. To return to stem cells briefly, loss of government funding is effectively a moratorium on research. It's very difficult to conduct research without some kind of research grant, and most of those grants come from federal money. But hey, science isn't about research anymore. Welcome to the world of politicized medicine! Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| List of Members in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Monday, October 11 2004 18:13
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I can spell skribbane, sir. And drink it in staggering quantities, but that's another running gag. —Alorael, who had one puppet account that became his by accident (he suspects SMoE of plotting but has no hard evidence). It almost became a joint moderatorial account, then vanished into the ether due to human error. Such is life. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| How much dosh? in The Avernum Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Monday, October 11 2004 07:35
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I'm sure I'm not the only one to use an editor bank, but I'm the loudest proponent of it. I'd say the biggest expense I ran into was spells. Buying all mage and priest spells for two characters, and sometimes two levels of them, gets very, very expensive. A party with fewer casters is cheaper, since you can find equipment better than you can buy almost from the very beginning. The fewer characters you have, the less you have to spend on them. —Alorael, who doesn't think there are many expenses that are absolutely essential to anything, or even necessary to opening up more areas. But if you're a compulsive spender and buy lots and lots of Blademaster from the drake, for example, you'd better be rolling in cash. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Spam Land? in Richard White Games | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Sunday, October 10 2004 13:37
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Drakey don't do that thang no more. —Alorael, who adds another tally and sacrifices another post on the evil altar. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Ethics? in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Sunday, October 10 2004 08:35
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Natural selection is certainly less selective. If I had been born two hundred years ago, I would probably not have survived long enough to speak. A hundred years ago I would have had good odds of never reaching adulthood. Now, I am not only speaking, I am looking forward to living to a ripe old age. I'm even holding out hope of getting replacement limbs if the government ever stops suppressing medical research. However, with the loss of selection for hardiness, strength, or intelligence (never a huge selector anyway), what we have now is memes. I found some interesting papers on the subject, none of which I can now locate, but the ideas were convincing. We are now a species that selects for arbitrarily selected traits that may change at the literal drop of a hat. —Alorael, who isn't sure this is natural selection. On the other hand, it isn't an artificial breeding program, either. Just remember that evolution isn't directed in any particular way. In the absence of environmental pressure, random trait fluctuation is as good as anything else. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Different enough to buy? in The Exile Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, October 9 2004 18:06
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The Exile games have a huge selection of spells. Some are the workhorses like Fireball, Long Light, Unlock, and the other assorted standard healing, buffing, and damaging spells. But there were also things like Conflagration, which can be better than Flame (the Bolt of Fire equivalent, only pathetic), field spells (including null field), spells to create magic barriers, and the always fun Quickfire. No, not all of the spells are useful, but some niche spells have their moments of glory, and there are a surprising number of overlooked but really great spells. Just having fields and areas of effect (along with a few multiple target spells) gives the Exile spell system more spice. —Alorael, who can't argue that the Avernum spells compare with Exile's. Exile wins hands-down. More variety, more fun, and 100% more gratuitous destruction by Quickfire. You have to love the Ermarian equivalent of the small nuclear weapon. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Music?? in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, October 9 2004 18:01
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Writing music as a tribute to God's glory is not the same as writing music as an effective medium for proselytizing. Bach did the former (and his musicians hated him for it). People more often do the latter nowadays. —Alorael, who also has to give a nod to the Capital Steps. God Bless My SUV is a song that everyone should be required to listen to prior to purchasing a large vehicle for non-commercial purposes. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Nethergate gets no love! in Nethergate | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, October 9 2004 11:52
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No one in Vanarium responded to "Pearlblossom, "earrings," or "Aethdoc" (in an interesting way). Well, nobody responded to the first four letters of those keywords... —Alorael, who even tried threatening Manius with crystal wands. No more information, though zapping him was viscerally satisfying. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Music?? in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, October 9 2004 05:25
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I enjoy Telemann, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Vivaldi, and sundry others. All of them are dead and have been for some time. —Alorael, who is an elitist snob. Or couldn't you tell? Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Nephilim=reptiles? wtf in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Friday, October 8 2004 16:45
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Ezrah's myth is a common one. I've seen it in several places before, but I've never seen it backed up reasonably by Bible text. As far as I know, the nephilim appear once, and the context makes the word completely ambiguous. —Alorael, who still thinks it makes a neat myth. All kinds of writers have exploited it with varying degrees of success. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| A3 - Legendary Item Quest in The Avernum Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Friday, October 8 2004 16:24
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Talk to Winterhouse, just west of the southern gate into or out of Lorelei. He'll send you on to another person, who will send you to another person, who will send you off to look for Foxfire. She can be found in the towns near Lorelei, and for a small fee she'll give you what you need to get into the Monastery of Madness. —Alorael, who believes the last step is heading to Storm Port and taking the ferry to Gebra. From there it's a simple island hop to the Monastery. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Ethics? in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Friday, October 8 2004 10:44
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"Morality" hinges on the desire to be a "good" person, or at least to be so perceived. It is basically an exercise in selfishness, as Thuryl pointed out: do the morally right thing (or don't do the morally wrong thing) and you'll get accolades, a pat on the back, or maybe just a release of chemicals in your brain that feel pretty neat. With enough conditioning, I am sure you convince anyone that anything is moral. So where do the origins of our various codes come from? I would say that they're all from the same set of rules that govern herd life for less intelligent species. We do what we do because we want to mate and pass on our genes, and certain codified behavior makes one more socially acceptable and thus more likely to succeed in procreation. Most of these behaviors are either good for the individual, good for a group (herd behavior) or neutral. In short, morality is something imposed by natural selection. Those with a predisposition toward doing things that make the group more likely to survive are, well, more likely to survive and pass on that predilection. The fact that morality has gotten caught up in absurdities because we are thinking and thus stupid creatures doesn't change the basic core of ethics. —Alorael, who realizes this is a rather unpleasant view of morals. However, since everyone is so well-programmed, it's unlikely to change anyone's behavior now. Besides, there are all kinds of safeguards in place to ensure that psychotic mass-murders and/or raging boors are dealt with appropriately. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| THE ABOMINABLE GENITAL PHOTO THREAD in Richard White Games | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Thursday, October 7 2004 10:12
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Ahem. —Alorael, who gives this topic hot death and vows painful sorrows upon the perpetrators. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| KNOK KNOK in Richard White Games | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Wednesday, October 6 2004 18:09
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Next person to spam will suffer. —Alorael, who will deliver. Don't push. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Politics in Exile? in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Wednesday, October 6 2004 11:52
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The Avernites have an official council of city mayors, while the Empire is ostensibly a pure dictatorship. However, as a trip through Valorim or Avernum reveals, local rulers have a great deal of autonomy anywhere. —Alorael, who recalls a mention of elections somewhere in Avernum. Are mayors selected by a vote? Who's eligible? Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Nethergate gets no love! in Nethergate | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Wednesday, October 6 2004 11:50
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Pearlblossom's story is vaguely reminiscent of a fairy tale (or faerie tale) I may or may not have heard once. Pearlblossom wasn't the name in the story, though, so I can't easily google it and figure it out. —Alorael, who is convinced that the Puzzle Box is some humor tossed in at the player's expense. It would be funnier if it weren't in a weird, easy to miss place. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Nethergate gets no love! in Nethergate | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Tuesday, October 5 2004 17:30
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Nethergate is the overlooked, underrated, and wonderful gem of Spiderweb Software. I suppose it's not popular among septuagenarian eskimoes. —Alorael, who has found fewer stupid and brain-boggling puzzles in Nethergate. There are very few "pure" puzzles. The riddles in the Vale of the Sould and a certain Puzzle Box are the ones that come to mind. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Politics in Exile? in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Tuesday, October 5 2004 17:22
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Knock it off, both of you. I may be lost in the proverbial slums of senility, but I can still snipe you. —Alorael, who agrees that Avernum expresses libertarian sentiments better than Exile. He doesn't think that Jeff's ideas changed, though. Avernum's new and partially rewritten dialogue just let him put it in more clearly. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Books! What're you reading? in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Tuesday, October 5 2004 12:03
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The first three Earthsea books were my favorites. Tehanu just confused and bored me. Tales from Earthsea was a mixed bag, and The Other Wind was almost back to the level of the first three. —Alorael, who has just picked up The Erasers. In English, not French. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Rentar - Crystal Soul? in The Avernum Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Tuesday, October 5 2004 11:49
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Since almost her entire clan followed her into war with the Empire, including Crystal Souls, it seems obvious that she's considered acceptable. All the other Crystal Souls we see are Boks, not Ihrnos, but I could see Rentar making the transition. This wouldn't happen very soon, though. She's not an old hag yet. Plenty of centuries left before she goes blue and stony. —Alorael, who doesn't think there's any way to become a Crystal Soul if one dies of violence. Spurting blood and/or ichor makes it difficult to perform important rituals. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| idea for scenario in Blades of Exile | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Monday, October 4 2004 15:08
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Off it goes! —Alorael, who bids this topic farewell and hello. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| idea for scenario in The Exile Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Monday, October 4 2004 15:08
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Off it goes! —Alorael, who bids this topic farewell and hello. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Politics in Exile? in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Monday, October 4 2004 14:53
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I don't think Parliament ever did it, but a number of companies paid people in various ways to come to the New World and settle. I don't think Puritans were ever particularly sought-after (though they were known as industrious people), but they were often quite willing to get away from the detestable, corrupt, and hostile conditions of England in order to build their new cities on hills. —Alorael, who doesn't think Exile parallels anything in the real world at all. Among other things, nobody has ever recreated civilization in caves with the aid of magic (or technology). Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| A3 - Legendary Item Quest in The Avernum Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Monday, October 4 2004 14:49
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The Tower of Zkal is the hardest by far. None of the others come close. This is in large part due to my steadfast refusal to bring any type of energy potion into the Tower. I'm a glutton for punishment. —Alorael, who also found the Monastery of Madness mildly challenging and vastly amusing in a rather stupid way. Yes, he too has experienced the joys of kung fu movies on too little sleep and too much caffeine. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |