Profile for PoD person
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | PoD person |
| Member number | 4445 |
| Title | Shock Trooper |
| Postcount | 293 |
| Homepage | |
| Registered | Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
Recent posts
Pages
| Author | Recent posts |
|---|---|
| Affirmative Action in General | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Monday, May 2 2005 08:51
Profile
I am of Hispanic descent. However, the particular Hispanics from which I am descended happen to be Mexican aristocracy and Cuban bourgeoisie who got out before their respective revolutions got ugly. To top it all off, my mother is white. Thus, I am essentially a middle class, suburban white kid, and yet every other day I'm getting mail or hearing from the guidance department about some scholarship for Hispanic-Americans for which I am eligible. For now, affirmative action is excellent (What can I say? Gotta look out for numero uno). Once my college is paid for, however, it seems to me that the government should actually make an effort to identify and give aid to disadvantaged people, instead of relying on stereotypes - "Oh, black/hispanic people are poor; let's hand stuff out to them." Replace "black/hispanic" with "poor" and you've got yourself a much better policy. EDIT: Yeah, anti-discrimination laws. Those are actually necessary. [ Monday, May 02, 2005 08:54: Message edited by: PoD person ] Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| Undead Valley Testers- I need your help... in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Monday, May 2 2005 08:28
Profile
I'm not a tester, but, in the room where there is a Rentar-Ihrno shade with a pet dragon, you forget to turn off set_total_visibility() after the cutscene, so you can see everything and nothing is added to the automap. [ Monday, May 02, 2005 08:29: Message edited by: PoD person ] Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| Undead Valley Testers- I need your help... in Blades of Avernum | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Monday, May 2 2005 08:28
Profile
I'm not a tester, but, in the room where there is a Rentar-Ihrno shade with a pet dragon, you forget to turn off set_total_visibility() after the cutscene, so you can see everything and nothing is added to the automap. [ Monday, May 02, 2005 08:29: Message edited by: PoD person ] Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| Combat in Canopy Poll in Blades of Avernum | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Monday, May 2 2005 08:23
Profile
I liked it and played at the appropriate level, but I always bring in parties towards the top of the range given for any TM scenario. I also had recourse to the artifacts hall before entering, so I could see how the HLPM might not adequately prepare a party for this scenario. [ Monday, May 02, 2005 08:24: Message edited by: PoD person ] Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| A quest for information in General | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Sunday, May 1 2005 06:53
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Alo, I'd say the actual problem lies in those groups' definitions of righteousness and God's hands-off management style. Plenty of perfectly reasonable people believe that God is righteousness, they just don't confuse His Word with that of people with some sort of extremist political agenda. Thuryl, the further you go back into literature, the more hard-pressed you are to find ordinary people doing anything, let alone saving the world. [ Sunday, May 01, 2005 06:56: Message edited by: PoD person ] Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| THE GREAT DEBATE in General | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Saturday, April 30 2005 18:01
Profile
Research on dreaming (or, rather, REM sleep) has shown that REM-sleep deprivation (as opposed to total sleep deprivation; the test subjects were awakened upon entering the REM phase, but allowed to enter the other two phases) has extremely detrimental effects on the ability to retain information and especially logical processes learned in the preceding day. Also, psychosis is a well-known symptom of sleep deprivation. From these data, it seems to me that dreaming is a necessary sort of "house-cleaning," in which the brain corrects internal inconsistencies and "makes sense of" the day's input. Also, as an interesting fact, some dolphins, because of the need to surface for air, sleep with only half of their brain at a time. [ Saturday, April 30, 2005 18:02: Message edited by: PoD person ] Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| Ouch in General | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Saturday, April 30 2005 06:17
Profile
quote:It was during practice, and I put it back in myself. Apparently, I could have done bad things to the ligaments by doing so, but I got lucky. [ Saturday, April 30, 2005 08:23: Message edited by: PoD person ] Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| Ouch in General | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Friday, April 29 2005 18:54
Profile
Fractured or no, if it isn't excruciating, it'll heal fine. I dislocated a knuckle, tearing the ligaments, and fractured my finger, and I didn't even need a splint. In fact, I played the remainder of the football season in which I broke it, and the only difference now is that the knuckle is slightly bigger. Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| THE GREAT DEBATE in General | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Friday, April 29 2005 11:57
Profile
I think that vegetarians could start, although this would by no means cover all plants used as food, by saying that many of the vegetables and all of the fruits that we eat are, in fact, grown by the plant for the express purpose of being eaten and digested so that the seeds can emerge intact and fertilized from the consumer of the fruit. Animals, however, do not have a part whose sole function is to be eaten and excreted in order to disperse their young. Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| my grang-grandfather died in General | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Thursday, April 28 2005 19:32
Profile
Hmm. From what I find on this Rahner, I like him. Have you, perhaps, read any Tillich? I've read a few summaries and criticisms, but none of his actual works; anyways, I also like what appears to be his gist. Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| my grang-grandfather died in General | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Thursday, April 28 2005 15:56
Profile
I like purgatory because it implies the possibility of post-mortem repentance and, thusly, that eternal damnation is a choice, not a sentence. In that light, God seems much more benevolent and just. Hence, my preference for Catholicism, although, I admit that I would probably be Calvinist, Mormon, or Shinto if my immediate family were such. quote:I rather imagine that process to be instantaneous. [ Thursday, April 28, 2005 15:59: Message edited by: PoD person ] Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| my grang-grandfather died in General | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Wednesday, April 27 2005 16:31
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I'm Catholic, and everyone I know believes in Purgatory. Ben, you know that people in purgatory do eventually end up in heaven, right? It's not limbo, for goodness' sake. Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| THE GREAT DEBATE in General | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Wednesday, April 27 2005 13:33
Profile
Thuryl, the slaves in question do not have marketable skills to begin with, but then again, neither do children. Humans can obtain marketable skills, cows have none but what those with which they were born. Silver, I agree with you, but animal rights activists are even more outraged by extinctions than they are over farm conditions. Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| my grang-grandfather died in General | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Wednesday, April 27 2005 10:57
Profile
They could, alternatively, sell sympathy cards assuring the mourner that their loved one is not damned, but merely will still be in purgatory when the sun becomes a red giant and consumes the Earth. The market would be smaller, however, because only Catholics (and perhaps Episcopalians) believe in purgatory. [ Wednesday, April 27, 2005 10:57: Message edited by: PoD person ] Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| Model Creature Script in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Wednesday, April 27 2005 08:01
Profile
No, the memory cell holds the item class. The user would have to write his own state in the creature script. If there were two extra memory cells, maybe one could serve the purpose you describe, but I think the state belongs in the creature script, anyway. [ Wednesday, April 27, 2005 08:03: Message edited by: PoD person ] Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| Model Creature Script in Blades of Avernum | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Wednesday, April 27 2005 08:01
Profile
No, the memory cell holds the item class. The user would have to write his own state in the creature script. If there were two extra memory cells, maybe one could serve the purpose you describe, but I think the state belongs in the creature script, anyway. [ Wednesday, April 27, 2005 08:03: Message edited by: PoD person ] Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| Model Creature Script in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Wednesday, April 27 2005 06:57
Profile
Use it for an "item vulnerability." Use who_hit_me(), then use char_has_item_of_class_equip(). If the character who last damaged the creature has a scenario-specific item equipped, call a state. like so: EDIT: This code goes in the START_STATE... [ Wednesday, April 27, 2005 08:04: Message edited by: PoD person ] Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| Model Creature Script in Blades of Avernum | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Wednesday, April 27 2005 06:57
Profile
Use it for an "item vulnerability." Use who_hit_me(), then use char_has_item_of_class_equip(). If the character who last damaged the creature has a scenario-specific item equipped, call a state. like so: EDIT: This code goes in the START_STATE... [ Wednesday, April 27, 2005 08:04: Message edited by: PoD person ] Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| Scenarios in Development in Blades of Avernum | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Tuesday, April 26 2005 15:30
Profile
I tried out At the Gallows, but I got bored and stopped after no one could tell me where to go next, and upon discovering that BoE has no quest list (see what I mean about my attention span aching?). Which scenarios would you recommend for a slightly less aimless feel? Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| Scenarios in Development in Blades of Avernum | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Tuesday, April 26 2005 12:12
Profile
It's not the graphics, for me, so much as the interface. BoA is so much quicker, more intuitive and, yes, easier. BoE gives me an attention span-ache. Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| Biomass Future-- Will It Replace Oil in General | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Tuesday, April 26 2005 11:55
Profile
Yeah, but where does the energy at that plant come from? Producing any fuel seems utterly non-viable to me, unless some form of environmentally friendly and efficient, but non-portable, form of energy is used to produce it. Something would have to power the hydrogen (or biodiesel) plants, and if that something is petroleum or coal, then you're better off putting it straight into the car. On the other hand, hydrogen could prove a way of storing the energy produced at nuclear plants and using it to drive cars. What it won't do, however, is solve all of our energy problems. The amount of energy needed to run an economy isn't magically going to lessen because hydrogen is suddenly used as a fuel. Energy is all about exploiting what you've got; you can't make any highly energetic chemical without first adding energy. So, hydrogen is useless until large-scale energy generation is accomplished with hydroelectric, wind, nuclear power, and any other such relatively non-polluting processes. EDIT: tpyos [ Tuesday, April 26, 2005 11:56: Message edited by: PoD person ] Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| Biomass Future-- Will It Replace Oil in General | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Tuesday, April 26 2005 11:28
Profile
Hydrogen isn't actually as viable as some people would have you believe. As a fuel, it is essentially workable, but a hydrogen economy is a much more difficult proposition. Petroleum and coal occur in nature, are stable, and have high bond energy, which can be transferred into heat energy, which can then be transferred into mechanical energy. Hydrogen, on the other hand, has high bond energy, but does not occur in nature, so energy, probably in the form of electricity and maybe in the form of heat, will need to be put into water, or some metal hydride, or something else of the like to yield hydrogen gas. Of course, electricity needs to be generated somehow, and, at present, the bulk of it will be produced by burning coal or petroleum. Since hydrogen isn't just going to spring from nowhere, it may actually be more efficient to use the electricity to charge batteries for electric motors and "cut out the middle man," so to speak. Either way, a huge shift needs to occur in the production of electricity, and, as has been said, fission is definitely a viable solution, all paranoia aside. The big automotive companies seem mostly, to me, to be researching hydrogen mainly so that they can claim environmental consciousness, despite selling SUVs, a trend which has to increase American petroleum consumption by a staggering amount. Basically, any fuel that has to be produced, as opposed to harvested, is going to meet with the same difficulty, namely, the laws of thermodynamics. On the topic of biomass, something I've thought about, which may be possible in the distant future, is artificial photosynthetic systems and the use of glucose as a fuel (or production of octane, if at all possible). [ Tuesday, April 26, 2005 11:43: Message edited by: PoD person ] Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| Artsy peoples! in General | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Tuesday, April 26 2005 11:15
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Student of Trinity: A short description Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| THE GREAT DEBATE in General | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Saturday, April 23 2005 05:17
Profile
I vote for a three-way debate. TM vs. Kelandon on the relative merits of socialism and capitalism/liberal democracy, with occasional interjections by Alec as the voice of reason. I think such a discussion would be, for better or worse, interesting, and could be very enlightening. Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |
| BUGS! in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4445
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written Thursday, April 21 2005 14:14
Profile
Well, if one were to recoil in terror from the cutscenes in Undead Valley and move on to another scenario... [ Thursday, April 21, 2005 14:14: Message edited by: PoD person ] Posts: 293 | Registered: Saturday, May 29 2004 07:00 |