Profile for Ceylon

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Gender and RPGs in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #23
First, I usually play predominately female characters. Especially, Sliths and kitty, and any archer, thief, or healer type character.

Second, statistical bonuses or penalties for adventurers do not make a lot of sense to me, since the average adventurer is not going to be the average townsperson. Adventurers by their very nature are exceptional.

As for gender roles, that is a more complicated subject. I will just say that ultimately, men and women are different, so I am not sure gender roles will ever completely disappear.

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Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
The Hobbit in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #9
I love these movies (LOTR, Hobbit). They are better than the books.

Don't get me wrong the books are good, but the action is seriously lacking. The LOTR included exceptional action scenes, something I hope for in the Hobbit. Moreover, the construction of the scenes was exceptional in terms of the set.

History is fun, however, the books leave too much of the action to the imagination.

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Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
An intellectual tidbit in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #8
It is funny, when I first read the article; I almost entirely ignored the communist agenda. Instead, I focused on the facts.

I guess I have become accustomed to the pundits paradigm that modern media revolves around.

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Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
Soylent Green - It's made out of people. in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #0
RIP Charlton Heston

He was truly a man who exhibited humanity and realized what it takes to be a man. At least in the movies.

You maniacs, you blew it up.

His were some of the best movies ever.

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Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
Global Warming is real and I can proove it! in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #3
When I was in college, we had a huge snow storm on April Fools (18+ inches) one year. My university was notorious for never canceling classes, so because of the date we were pretty suspicious. But the proof was in the snow and the huge snowball fight involving literally 100+ college students. It was amazing.

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Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
Interested in spiderweb games, where to start? in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #9
You have to start with Exile: Escape From the Pit

The original where you could only move one space per turn.

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Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
The 2008 Elections in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #62
I found this post on Slate interesting:

Slate

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Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
The 2008 Elections in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #36
quote:
But to be frank, while Obama may be 'inexperienced' (and associated with a 'black powah!' church), I find Hillary repugnant. From her voice to her crocodile tears, to her constantly mentioning her gender to win votes. Paraphrased: "We owe it to ourselves to elect a female president in 2008!" ie. Don't elect me because of my policies or competency... elect me because of my gender!
I wanted to pound the hag's face in when I heard that.
A couple of points:

1. I mostly agree with the above post. I can't stand Hillary. I feel like she doesn't have an ounce of honesty and will do whatever it takes to win.
2. That being said, imagine Bill in the Whitehouse again with none of the responsibilities. Imagine the parties. Say goodbye to presidential china and hello to official Whitehouse El Presidente Cigars (hopefully untainted).
3. Unfortunately, I don't see how Obama could possibly make a good president.
A. Lacks Experience
B. Lacks Connections
C. A much overlooked important part of being president is knowing the "right" people to put in the various executive positions (cabinet, heads of various administrative agencies, etc.). I don't feel like Obama has any of these connections. By comparison, W. Bush is a dunce and largely doesn't know what he is doing, but he had good connections through his father that made him a somewhat effective (albeit sometimes for evil (my moral judgment)) president. Delegation is really important, since you really simply don't have the time to address every issue. (On the flip-side it might be nice to break away from the old boys network.)
4. However, at least Obama speaks well, looks presidential, has gravitas, and perhaps could provide some racial healing.
5. Sadly, I wonder whether America would elect him. Even if only 1% of people don't vote for him because he is black, that could easily turn the election.
6. I fear McCain since he is a "maverick." It is nice to have predictability in a president. At least Bush was predictable.
7. I predict McCain will win, whether he faces Obama or Hillary.

Ultimately, I may vote for Obama, since he provides the most hope, which is appealing, however, ultimately I question whether it is practical.

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Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
Behold II in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #92
Note to the Emperor:

You can hide your association to your online identity until it becomes useful for someone to know to what real person your avatar belongs. So make sure you don't offend any giants of industry online.

see:
Troll Tracker

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Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
Studies in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #53
Patent Attorney

What drew you into this field? - A number of factors:

1) Law runs in the family - my father and sister are legal professionals
2) Chance
3) I had an engineering degree and was going to law school so patent law was an obvious choice.
4) I liked the idea of working in an area of the law that most lawyers don't understand or want anything to do with. It gives you cult status.
5) I liked the idea of working with innovative inventions and being on the cutting edge of technology in some sense.

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Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
Simulated Reality in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #24
Do we exist in simulated reality?

First, you would have to define what "We" or "I" is.

I think by "we", you probably mean your conscious mind. In that case I would say yes, we live in a simulated reality. Your conscious mind is processing inputs received from your sensory organs and creating your perception of reality.

Are you asking whether the inputs representations of real things? No way to know.

... if so, does it matter? What does it mean for something to matter? That is a value judgment. In my mind, it matters as far as it helps me understand my present reality. Since the answer to the next question is no, the answer to this question is that it is not of prime importance.
... can we ever find out? No.
... what kind is it? Either actual physical phenomena are generating energy detected by sensor organs and transmitting electrical signals to our organic, physical brains, or something else is transmitting signals to our organic physical brains, our everything, including our brains is a simulation.
... can we ever produce our own? Yes, to an ever increasing degree of complexity. That complexity can never exceed (or approach) the complexity of the present world we perceive.

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Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
Left or Right? in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #14
It may be a slightly fixed test in my mind. Since it is an attractive woman turning, it would naturally seem to "feeling" "risk taking" etc. I am guessing sexual attraction/love is more of a right brained function.

Furthermore, the image is more of an art related thing. Dancing is right brained I believe.

I originally saw her turning clockwise. Suggesting I am right brained. This is funny considering my career is very left brain oriented as is the majority of my education.

By focusing on her foot I could get her to turn the other way. I was "analyzing" what I saw her foot do.

Pretty cool test anyway.

Ultimately, I believe I am a little more right brained than left, since I pride myself on being intuitive. But I definitely need strong left brain abilities to get by in my career.

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Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
I am the Belichick, Prince of Darkness.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
Protesting (In General) in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #17
Protesting is largely ineffective and a waste of time unless the number of people organized is very significant.

In the case of a school, for a protest to be effective, I would say at least half of the school has to be part of the protest.

The protest ultimately has to be backed by some reasonable argument.

Generally I am against protests, since the protestors typically have not exhausted many of the remedies available to them. Protestors are typically reactionary and lack imagination. E.g. “We don’t like that rule… lets protest.” Protest doesn’t need to be a last resort; however it should be a later resort.

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Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
I am the Belichick, Prince of Darkness.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
Sputnik in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #16
Are we better off? What a difficult question to answer.

First, who do you mean by we? Is we Americans or the world?

Second, what is the base line?

Third, what are conditions now?

Forth, how do you compare them in a meaningful way?

I guess I don't have an answer.

I do echo what -S- said. We need a new myth. The old myths have failed us.

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Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
I am the Belichick, Prince of Darkness.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
A Public Opinion Survey in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #27
1. Pirate wins hands down. He sends his parrot to confuse the Ninja and sips some rum to get his killing mojo on. Then bring out the cannon. BuBye Ninja. Luck favors those with peg legs.

2. Draw. The Viking chops off the Spartan's head with his axe while being impaled on the Spartan's spear.

3. An intellegently controlled character could kill the Shaper easily. Shapers are only powerful because in Geneforge the AI goes after creations. The Exile charcter would not.

4. Knight

5. I have no idea what weaponry these people would have. The pirate could kill both of them with one eye behind a patch.

[ Tuesday, September 18, 2007 10:42: Message edited by: Ceylon ]

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Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
I am the Belichick, Prince of Darkness.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
The Body Snatchers in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #4
I don't think I got them confused. Any such program aimed at teaching the young that authority is absolute, as seems to be the case in the program I listened to, can have its dangers. However, anarchy is as much of as a danger as fascism...

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You are asleep.
Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
So it goes.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
The Body Snatchers in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #2
One part of me thinks: Nice to see someone is training today's Hitler Youth. We need someone to train today's youth to respect authority. Respect my authority.

On the other hand: Part of the story seems to suggest that it is teaching children to respect society's rules. In many situations, I think it is beneficial for children to be trained to respect society's rules. However, they should also be taught how to initiate changes in those rules in non-violent ways (preferably by working within the established system, if possible).

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You are asleep.
Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
So it goes.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
Man or God in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #1
I had difficulty deciding between option 2 and 3. Ultimately, I went for #3.

The reason why I considered 2, is because the writers of the Bible may have been enlightened in some since of the word. They also may have had a spritual experience. The not wholly God's message part bugged me, because it implies that it is in part "God's" message.

The answer I could be most certian about, is that the Bible is entirely man-made. The people who made it were most likely enlighted, but not such that God was controlling them.

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You are asleep.
Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
So it goes.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
BioShock in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #0
Anyone play BioShock yet?

It is one of the best gaming experiences I have had. It may be appropriate for SpiderWebers who like the moral decisions that Jeff's games bring but are looking for a little more shoot-um-up action. Plus, I am a big fan of the Brave New Randesque game world.

Check out the Wired Review.

By the way, I am kind of sick of seeing the post count posts and other meaningless polls. For once I will give credit to Iffy: that poll was hilarious, although perhaps inappropriate.

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You are asleep.
Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
So it goes.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
Do not seek to hide your jealosy behind ridiculous questions! in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #17
The obvious question is: How does the creation of this topic not resulting in banning?

Celebrating 1000 posts certainly seems like spam.

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You are asleep.
Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
So it goes.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
Do not seek to hide your jealosy behind ridiculous questions! in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #14
What does it mean to be "Canned"?

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You are asleep.
Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
So it goes.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
Post-apoc game? in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #1
Turn-based rpg shooters? Isn't the point of a shooting game to test your reflexes? I could be wrong as I don't play many shooter games.

I always thought RPGs and Shooting games were diametrically opposed.

That being said, I can see Jeff doing a "post- apocalyptic " game. In a way the Exile/Avernum series is post-apocalyptic. In this case the apocalypse is when you get cast into the pit.

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You are asleep.
Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
So it goes.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
What was the last book that made you go "Wow"? in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #36
"The Simplest Path" - I think some will find it to be a Wow.

"The Truth About Muhammad" - Who doesn't like to debunk major world religions.

And for something on the lighter side - "The Wind Up Bird Chronicles" - A vivid self-absorbed trip.

By the way, I noticed Iffy is "Canned." Does it mean what I think? I'll let you guess what I think.

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You are asleep.
Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
So it goes.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
Wishing Well in Avernum 4
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #0
I read in the walkthrough that you could get 1 point of parry by throwing 50 coins into the wishing well near the castle. I tried this however, I did not recieve the 1 parry point. Is there a trick I am missing?

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You are asleep.
Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
So it goes.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00
Fat Attack? in General
Warrior
Member # 4638
Profile #10
quote:
The study's findings tell exactly the opposite story: Obesity spreads culturally, individual decisions are crucial, and responsibility and stigma are part of the solution.

Slate on Obesity

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You are asleep.
Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.
So it goes.
Posts: 93 | Registered: Tuesday, June 29 2004 07:00

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