Profile for Drew
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | Drew |
| Member number | 4233 |
| Title | By Committee |
| Postcount | 2242 |
| Homepage | |
| Registered | Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
Recent posts
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| Author | Recent posts |
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| My theory on stupid people. in General | |
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By Committee
Member # 4233
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written Tuesday, October 12 2004 09:19
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Ah, but knowing you know nothing and being willing to admit as much indicates humility and an open mind willing to question anything and everything, both of which I reckon are characteristic of wise people. Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| A happier BoE for OSX? in Blades of Exile | |
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Member # 4233
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written Tuesday, October 12 2004 06:38
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I downloaded BoE to give it a go, and it ran a bit strangely in the OS9.whatever console within OSX on my iBook. Is there any way to get it to run native in OSX, or any danger of Jeff upgrading it to do so? How hard would that be? Just curious. Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| My theory on stupid people. in General | |
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By Committee
Member # 4233
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written Tuesday, October 12 2004 06:23
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I will choose to emulate the wisest person in the world, who knows that he knows nothing. :) [ Tuesday, October 12, 2004 06:23: Message edited by: Andrew Miller ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Stem Cell Research in General | |
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Member # 4233
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written Tuesday, October 12 2004 06:21
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My impression was that they largely came from embryos, like those used in fertility clinics, not necessarily from aborted fetuses. EDIT: Actually, a very informative website on the topic at the University of Wisconsin-Madison can be found here. According to this site, the cells are taken from fertilized embryos less than a week old. EDIT 2: Just noticed I've made it to "Adept" status too. Huzzah! [ Tuesday, October 12, 2004 06:40: Message edited by: Andrew Miller ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Stem Cell Research in General | |
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By Committee
Member # 4233
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written Tuesday, October 12 2004 04:48
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All I know is that there is a serious double standard at play on the issue. Ronnie Reagan (Pres. Reagan's liberal son) pointed out in a speech that while there's a lot of hubbub about "destroying life" in order to further stem cell research, no one is willing to broach the topic that at fertility clinics, (I believe) dozens of embryos are wasted in the effort to get one child. Attacking the legitimacy of fertility clinics, however, is a political landmine, which no one, conservative or otherwise, is willing to touch. Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Music?? in General | |
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Member # 4233
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written Monday, October 11 2004 12:27
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I know of Ani DiFranco, I just choose not to listen to her. To her credit, she's not as bad as contemporary Christian bands, but performers pushing feminism rate only a little higher with me, not so much because their music is wretched, but because of the memories I have of the people who listen to them ALL THE TIME. If I had a nickel for every girl with serious self-image problems devoted to Alanis, Ani, and Tori I ran across in college... EDIT: The only Rammstein song I'm familiar with is (pardon any mispelling) "Du hast." I thought it was okay, though a little heavier than what I usually like to listen to. Haven't really listened to too much German music otherwise, though there was a techno group called Dune that I thought was pretty cool that I thought was German... :) [ Monday, October 11, 2004 12:35: Message edited by: Andrew Miller ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Music?? in General | |
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By Committee
Member # 4233
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written Monday, October 11 2004 04:49
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ben, Thank You for officially confirming what I suspected about your life. How easy it must be to shut out the world and miss it - I'm certain you are very happy. Contemporary Christian rock just seems so trite and derivative to me. Right now I'm trying to decide if I like the new Interpol album. Radiohead or even Coldplay it ain't, but maybe it'll grow on me. It seems as though the melody of every phrase ends with a minor 3rd down, which reminds me of Depeche Mode cadences a little, only Interpol's not as good. I dunno. Otherwise, The Shins, Radiohead, Coldplay, The Cure, Nickel Creek, earlier Smashing Pumpkins, the Boss, sundry '80s hits, Bach ("Well-Tempered Clavier", mostly for the fugues, and his organ pieces), Mozart (especially "La Nozze di Figaro" and "Requiem"), Brahms, Vaughan Williams, Scott Joplin, barbershop, The Roots, The Cure, The Cardigans, Blur, U2, Manu Chao, Buena Vista Social Club, Haydn, G. Love and Special Sauce, Eminem, Tribe Called Quest, et cetera. [ Monday, October 11, 2004 05:32: Message edited by: Andrew Miller ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Ethics? in General | |
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Member # 4233
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written Friday, October 8 2004 07:25
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Are we distinguishing morals from laws? Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Ethics? in General | |
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Member # 4233
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written Friday, October 8 2004 05:53
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I yet again posit that everyone should read Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes. He suggests (quite rightly, I think) that morals are created by society on the basis of a social contract. This assertion is pretty adequately proven by fairly substantial discrepancies regarding what is considered "right" and "wrong" by different cultures today. [ Friday, October 08, 2004 06:15: Message edited by: Andrew Miller ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Politics in Exile? in General | |
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Member # 4233
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written Wednesday, October 6 2004 12:16
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I agree that the original concept of Exile would be most similar to England "transporting" undesirables to Australia, presumably never to return. Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| How to raise money? in General | |
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Member # 4233
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written Tuesday, October 5 2004 11:26
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Out of curiosity, in the British eye are colleges at Cambridge and Oxford not quite what they used to be? I know that England many other universities (Bristol, Kent, East Anglia, UCL, etc.) and was wondering how these stack up. If you don't make it into a college at Oxford or Cambridge, or a reputable program like LSE, are you pretty much a second class citizen in the academic world there? Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| How to raise money? in General | |
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Member # 4233
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written Tuesday, October 5 2004 05:09
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Hey, I like the Australian uni system, especially the repayment plan, though I understand they may jack up the prices quite a bit for students, owing to budgetary problems. Still, having your repayment rate based on your income is pretty cool. EDIT: Isn't it the case though that most Australians will stick to the unis in their state? I had heard that most folks in WA stick to Murdoch and UWA, for example, while around Adelaide it's Uni Adelaide, Flinders and USA. [ Tuesday, October 05, 2004 05:13: Message edited by: Andrew Miller ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| How to raise money? in General | |
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By Committee
Member # 4233
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written Tuesday, October 5 2004 04:38
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Hey man, just expressing my opinion on the matter. I'm fine with being a dunderhead, as long as I'm invincible. :) Though the system is far from perfect, colleges do look at what's on a transcript, and to a degree, what high school an applicant is coming from when making their determinations. Colleges also have another tool to help them separate the wheat from the chafe - standardized tests! Although not perfect indicators by themselves either, test scores can shore up the story told by a transcript. High scores and high grades equal little cause for concern. Low scores might call for some scrutiny of a high-GPA transcript. High scores and okay grades pretty ably reveal the brilliant slackers, the category into which I reckon the lion's share of folks here probably fall, including me. :) [ Tuesday, October 05, 2004 04:48: Message edited by: Andrew Miller ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Books! What're you reading? in General | |
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Member # 4233
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written Monday, October 4 2004 12:35
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If you're interested in ancient Rome, Michael Rostovtzeff's "Rome", though a little dated in its language, is one of the best relatively brief historical survey texts, and available in paperback. Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Avernum 4 in General | |
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Member # 4233
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written Monday, October 4 2004 10:05
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Although combat in NWN is in realtime, I think it does do a pretty good job of implementing the d20 system. My big complaint about it is that in single-player mode, your party is tiny. KOTOR, which I believe was built on the same engine, handled this much better, but of course, it wasn't built with an editor in mind. Anyway, NWN does have a fairly easy-to-use editor. (I didn't know it wasn't out for Mac - my bad! :( ) There are tons of scenarios for it at this point, some of which are very good. One of my favorites was a complete redux of the old Pool of Radiance Gold Box game. :) [ Monday, October 04, 2004 10:06: Message edited by: Andrew Miller ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| How to raise money? in General | |
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By Committee
Member # 4233
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written Monday, October 4 2004 08:30
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quote:Sorry - when I say "unweigh" I mean "use a four-point scale." In my experience as a study abroad coordinator/admissions person, I dealt quite a bit with other admissions-y folks. While there would be some discrepancy in the value of a plus or minus, almost all colleges would re-weigh or unweigh a five-point scale GPA to its four-point equivalent, or the "old system." From what I understand, the lion's share of high schools out there still use the four-point system exclusively, so in the interest of fairness to all of a college's applicants as well as efficiency, the re-weighing of the five-point GPAs makes sense. Personally, I think an across-the-board four-point system is best in high school anyway. AP kids already benefit from the curriculum and potential college credit, which transfers into dollars saved. Furthermore, is an AP "D" really worth a regular or "advanced" regular curriculum "C"? It's officially sanctioned grade inflation. [ Monday, October 04, 2004 11:11: Message edited by: Andrew Miller ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Books! What're you reading? in General | |
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By Committee
Member # 4233
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written Monday, October 4 2004 04:59
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Having just finished a two month hiatus in order to study for the LSAT, I'm now back on the Book Reading Wagon, starting up the second half of the Patrick O'Brian Aubrey-Maturin series with "The Reverse of the Medal." I heartily endorse the portion of the series that I've read so far(ten out of twenty books...), though strongly advise that one start it at the beginning with "Master and Commander." EDIT: Oh, and I've never quite made it through "Crime and Punishment" myself, though I've been trying to for years. However, I did make it through "The Brothers Karamazov." Favorite book ever? "Les Miserables." [ Monday, October 04, 2004 05:48: Message edited by: Andrew Miller ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| How to raise money? in General | |
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By Committee
Member # 4233
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written Monday, October 4 2004 04:55
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U.S. colleges will generally unweigh grades anyway, so I don't know that a weighted GPA does much for you. I've had solid B+/A- marks throughout my academic career (maximum return for minimum effort), though a bit more on the A-side of things in my grad program. Now I'm trying to get into law school - the real world's just not for me, or at least not yet. EDIT: My unasked-for advice to everyone still in school is to get all A's, if possible. Doing so will a.) open more doors in the future in general, b.) make college much, much cheaper, and c.) open more career doors, making it easier to find a job doing something you enjoy and more money while you're at it. If I could go back in time and change anything about myself, it would be that. [ Monday, October 04, 2004 06:05: Message edited by: Andrew Miller ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Non-SW game recommendations in General | |
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Member # 4233
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written Monday, October 4 2004 04:47
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Thanks guys! I couldn't find a copy of Fallout 2 anywhere (which is strange - up until recently I'd seen tons in the bargain section at Target, Best Buy, and the like) So I ended up going with Age of Empires + the expansion for $9.99. Word. Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Killing of Innocent Topics... in General | |
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Member # 4233
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written Friday, October 1 2004 12:19
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It was trolling. If you care to find out what this community thinks, dredge through any of the archived topics - there's enough to keep you occupied for at least a couple hours. Both somewhat constructive and inflamatory debate can be found there. You'll find that both sides of the topic are represented, though not evenly. As far as I'm concerned, this topic has been pretty thoroughly exhausted, and you're only setting yourself up to take a fall. Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Avernum 4 in General | |
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By Committee
Member # 4233
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written Friday, October 1 2004 12:02
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How about NWN? Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| How to raise money? in General | |
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By Committee
Member # 4233
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written Thursday, September 30 2004 12:44
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Probably because he's lying. Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Avernum 4 in General | |
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By Committee
Member # 4233
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written Thursday, September 30 2004 12:34
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Hopefully, Jeff will turn out a relatively bug-free product. That being said, any designer has an incentive to fix bugs because it increases his market's satisfaction with the product. This in turn leads to an increased satisfaction with his company/brand, and presumably, any further titles he comes out with down the road, leading to greater revenue. Unless he's planning on pulling a fast one on us and getting out of the business, it's in Jeff's interest to take care of the bugs and turn out a quality product. I find it ironic that people who rely on Jeff to have enough funds to host this forum so that they can post here dump on the product that will likely provide said funds. Way to support the continued existence of this community! :) Instead of spending so much time biting the hand that feeds you, why don't you find a new hand? There are many scenario builders out there with as much capability and much more glitz. Maybe you've just forgotten how much you actually like his products after all - otherwise, why keep creating scenarios using his software? ------------ My examples aside, my point is that stories are as long and in as many volumes as they need to be; whether they're good is a separate matter. It doesn't follow that a series or storyline is better because it takes place in three volumes. [ Thursday, September 30, 2004 12:43: Message edited by: Andrew Miller ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Avernum 4 in General | |
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By Committee
Member # 4233
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written Thursday, September 30 2004 10:55
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I understand what you are implying - that the entire Jurassic Park story had been told. Consider though that we're not just dealing with a story surrounding a particular set of characters or events, but an entire fantasy world with large thematic involvement of relations between cultures above and below the ground. Still lots of room for possibilities! Maybe making an Avernum 4 is like making a Warcraft 2 or a Baldur's Gate 2. There seems to be a lack of faith in Jeff's creative abilities, as he's been rehashing Exile into Avernum for quite a while. Let's not forget he also created Nethergate and Geneforge, as well as two scenario builders. All in all, I think it's quite an accomplishment for one person, as you could probably attest to from your own experience as well, Djur. :) [ Thursday, September 30, 2004 10:59: Message edited by: Andrew Miller ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Avernum 4 in General | |
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By Committee
Member # 4233
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written Thursday, September 30 2004 10:28
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I think the dumbest thing in the world is to complain and pass judgment on something before you've even seen/used/tasted it. What does this ever get you? Smug satisfaction of knowing you were right? Way to go. Also, I don't think it's worth getting worked up over plot details. Ultimately, the particulars of the story and concept of Avernum are proprietarily Jeff's to do with as he pleases, much like the way Lucas reserves the right to determine the Star Wars story. Fan fiction, however well done, is still fan fiction. As far as Avernum 4 goes, if the story seems to be compelling enough, then buy it. If not, let it go. As for new plot possibilities in a fictional world, there are many options. For example, just have the story take place 500 years after the end of Avernum 3. By then, everything could be different. Chronicle the invasion of Avernum by the race of ocean dwellers no one had encountered before. Uncover the secret evil that the vahnatai have been keeping in check, until now. There are tons of possibilities. And as for whether there should even be an Avernum 4, why not? Avernum is Jeff's brand, and if using his brand recognition guarantees him more sales, he may as well use it - it makes financial sense. Seaweed - claiming that all the best works come in trilogies is largely unfounded. How about Harry Potter? The Chronicles of Narnia? the Baldur's Gate series? Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series (20 books)? And for whoever says there should be an Exile 4 before an Avernum 4, take ten seconds and actually think about that statement, would you? I for one am excited about the possibilities of a new engine. Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |