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  Today's xkcd - Poetry's getting more and more violent...
Posted by: robkelk - 09-03-2010, 01:53 PM - Forum: General Chatter - Replies (3)

http://xkcd.com/788/]Linky

Oh, and if you value your sanity, don't read the strip's ALT text. You'll never get that meme out of your head.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

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  TFs for blueside immigrants
Posted by: Sweno - 09-03-2010, 04:57 AM - Forum: The Legendary - Replies (5)

so it looks like we are going through one or 2 TFs a night recently.

Posi last night

Sister Psi tonight

I expect over the weekend to take care of synapse, citadel, and moonfire.

I'll be bringing sapper-y goodness Smile
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy

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  [Infinities] The End of Their Era
Posted by: Black Aeronaut - 09-02-2010, 08:51 PM - Forum: Fenspace - Replies (10)

Okay, so the Navy Exchange had the entirety of Scott Pilgrim in stock.  Of course, I bought all six volumes and marathoned the sucker.  And now the muse is a-knocking.


He had built it a few years ago.  It had been played with and tested and tinkered with.  And yet nobody could ever seem to figure out what was the last of Benjamin Rhodes's Blue Hair Moments.  (And, without a doubt, the most epic one ever.)  No less a personage than the Norse Goddess of Technology herself had analyzed the thing with the assistance of Washu Hakubi.
THE Washu Hakubi.
Accept no substitutes.
And for all their knowledge, all they could do was scratch there heads, shrugg, and say, "Well, it goes somewhere."
With that said and done, Benjamin locked it away deep inside 36 Atalante, where hopefully no one would get at it.
Times passes.  It still worries at Benjamin, like a sliver wedged between his conscious thought processes and his subconscious.  There was a reason that he built it.  He knew it somehow.
Gina found him in the Memorial Sector, looking at the names of friends and loved ones - lost in combat or to natural causes.  It never mattered to them - everyone deserved to be remembered.  Ever-so-keen to his persona after centuries of being at his side, she gently slipped an arm around him.  Even so long after he converted himself into a software AI and moved into a bio-android body, he still loved the physical sensations of intimacy.
And at long last, he spoke.  "It doesn't matter how well my body functions.  I feel old.  Almost ancient, even.  Like I have accumulated the sands of time I have lived in satchels and had them laid upon my shoulders.  Gina, my beloved.  It is time for us to move on."
"Another walk-about?" she pondered aloud.  "You know that the TSAB doesn't like it when we cause trouble in other Universes, no matter how much good we do or what great friends we were of Nanoha's."  She left out everyone else, but when associating with The White Devil it went without saying - they were all one big family over there.
"No, love, something else entirely.  I think we should begin again by going where truly no one has ever gone before."
From there, it was a simple matter of settling their affairs.  The estate was left for the family, and the family business had been running smoothly without their interference for almost two centuries.  Benjamin didn't really worry about being forgotten or, worse, being deified.  But he made sure that everyone in the family understood this.  He was a builder, a leader, a fighter, and most of all, a lover.  For he left his indelible mark on the universe not so he could be remembered (though it has a nice side-effect) but so that others could live a better, if not perfect, life.

Deep in the bowels of 36 Atalante was The 13th Floor.  There, they kept things that, while not dangerously unstable, were the sort of items you did not want in other people's hands.  Like the Mask of Loki (and wasn't that a fun story), the Ark of Covenant (they weren't sure how it got there, just that it had a note taped to it asking them to make sure nobody screwed with it again), and a device that produces a localized nano-verse where you can divide by zero (don't ask).
Many artifacts seemed innocuous enough.  One such item was a door.  It was a simple affair.  It was made of wood paneling, with a wood frame, and a simple, round metal door knob that protruded from a rectangular metal plate.  The door was painted red and had a single, simple, yellow, five-pointed star to adorn it.  It stood freely without support of any wall or bracing, and if you walked around to the other side the door would seem to cease to exist.  In fact, if one were feeling particularly brave and put an appendage through the space the door occupies, it would simply go through the door unharmed.  Of course, this had the disconcerting effect of making it seem like someone was 'ghosting' through the front-side of the door.
Mayonaka stood with her parents.  She had grown up as Benjamin had suspected: shortish, but with a lean and athletic beauty and with movements that spoke of feline grace and a fighter's prowess (you do not want to be on the receiving end of her Verschlag).
"I'm going to miss you two so much," she whispered through her tears as she held both parents together in a hug.
"You could come with us," said Gina.
Mayonaka smiled a sad smile.  "Not yet, Mother.  Maybe in another century or two.  I just want to make sure that the people we're leaving behind can really manage a bad situation without us."
"We'll watch for you then, my Little Raven," said Benjamin.  He had no tears, but if a cyborg listened closely they could hear the strain in his voice.
"I'll hold you to it, Daddy."
Benjamin and Gina stepped back towards to open door.  There is nothing but darkness inside it.
"Don't forget, Mayonaka," said Benjamin as the reach the threshold.  "We'll never give up on you... and you are never truly alone."
"I love you."
"We know," said Gina.  She then turned to her husband.  "Are you ready?"
He nods resolutely.  "Let's begin again."
They step through together, looking back and waving to their daughter.  And as they disappear into the darkness the door closes with a creak and softly clicks shut.

Darkness slowly turns to a radiant light as they fall together.  They knew they were going somewhere, but they weren't certain where, except that chances were pretty good they'd never go back.  That was the ultimate thrill, made even better because they were going there together.

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  Booster RAAAAAAAAAGE
Posted by: OpMegs - 09-02-2010, 02:58 PM - Forum: The Legendary - Replies (12)

So, the official forums are currently 40+ pages deep in "spirited discussion" of this announcement, specifically the new Party Pack. The current announcement lists it as retailing at $7.99. Currently confirmed from the trailer are about 8 emotes, though no official word seems to have confirmed this as the pack's entire contents. No temp powers or costume pieces have been displayed.
The current mood on the official forums appears to be "meh" leaning towards "WTF?! Are you joking?" At least one user has outright said that this is the straw that broke the camel's back in regards to microtransactions and that she's canceling her subscription, goodbye, if I hear from you, it's too soon.
A significant group are rather annoyed with this because they feel that this is somehow content that should have been included in either i18 or Going Rogue, and think that the "nickle and dime" approach is going to slowly wear down what's actually given to the players in issues for free, with boosters and such taking over all the new content so they can charge separately.
Me, I'm gonna pass on it, but I imagine just given the overwhelmingly negative feedback the announcement has gotten, this is unlikely to become a regular thing. And I've overall been pleased with the Boosters, even if I think a few things aren't as flexible(gender locked Magic pack pieces) as they could be. NCSoft has given me the opportunity to buy something I don't want to buy and don't have to buy. Clearly, they should be burned at the stake.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."

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  Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works Movie!
Posted by: SCM Writer of 2814 - 09-02-2010, 04:29 AM - Forum: General Chatter - Replies (11)

They apparently released a Fate/Stay Night movie based on the Unlimited Blade Works scenario, but so far, the only movies I've been finding have been the trailer dubbed in every western language EXCEPT English. And German, since that's the only other language I have a chance of understanding. Have you guys seen it?
--------------------------------------
I am the LORD OF THE CRACK!
Check out said crack:
Takamachi Nanoha of 2814- Green Lantern Nanoha. To START! Now with a TvTropes page!
FATE/Holy Grail War of 2814- The Fifth Holy Grail War with Magical Girl Prisma Illya, in the DCAU, from the above story.
Magical Girl Magistra Erebea Molly- the world's first Dresden Files/TvTropes Crossover.
VENGEANCE! The Musical! The Story of Uchiha Sasuke

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  The Stig's Identity Revealed
Posted by: HoagieOfDoom - 09-02-2010, 02:05 AM - Forum: General Chatter - Replies (6)

And it's a racing driver named Ben Collins. Apparently, he wanted to publish an autobiography that would (by necessity) reveal himself as the Stig and BBC tried to use legal action to stop him. The court ruled in favor of HarperCollins (the publisher) and now the cat's out of the bag. More info here.

After what happened to Black!Stig, I imagine they'll find some suitably impressive way to off him in the show next season.

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  Euthanasia
Posted by: DHBirr - 09-01-2010, 11:43 PM - Forum: The Game Everyone Loves To Play - Replies (7)

Drift Away by Uncle Kracker.

Day after day I'm more confused

But I look for the light through the pourin' rain

You know, that's a game, that I hate to loose

I'm feelin' the strain, ain't it a shame --

[CHORUS:] Give me the beat, boys, and free my soul;

I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away.

Give me the beat, boys, and free my soul;

I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away.

Won't you take me away... .

Beginnin' to think, that I'm wastin' time,

And I don't understand the things I do;

The world outside looks so unkind.

I'm countin' on you, you can carry me through --

CHORUS

And when my mind is free,

You know your melody can move me;

And when I'm feelin' blue,

The guitars come through to soothe me.

Thanks for the joy you've given me.
I want you to know I believe in your song,

And rhythm, and rhyme, and harmony;

You helped me along, you're makin' me strong --

CHORUS (Twice)

If there's ever a time that healing just isn't a viable option; a person has to die, and Doug wants him/her to "go gentle into that good night," this song is for that time.  It produces, effectively, astral projection, but the soul never returns to the body, it just drifts off pleasantly.
Naturally, this is a song he's unlikely ever to be willing to use, as he'd far prefer healing anyone that he doesn't hate.  Also, he must use I'll Play for You first, or Doug will be gently discarnated.
-----
Big Brother is watching you.  And damn, you are so bloody BORING.

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  Some Thunderbird help?
Posted by: Jorlem - 09-01-2010, 04:39 PM - Forum: General Chatter - Replies (5)

Could someone with more experience working with Mozilla Thunderbird give me a hand?  I can't send messages out through my Gmail account using Thunderbird.  Stuff gets downloaded into my inbox just fine, but when I try to send something I get this error message:

Quote:Send Message Error

Sending of message failed.
An Error occured sending mail: Unable to connect to SMTP server smtp.gmail.com via STARTTLS since it doesn't offer STARTTLS in EHLO response. Please verify that your Mail/News account settings are correct and try again.
Its been like this for a few weeks now, but I've gotten fed up with poking at it and trying to fix it myself.  I hadn't changed any of the settings from when it worked before, it just didn't work one day when I tried to send an email.  As far as I can tell, all of the settings are configured properly, as according to the online help thing for setting up Thunderbird 2 with Gmail.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

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  Polyamory and Childrearing
Posted by: Valles - 09-01-2010, 05:23 AM - Forum: Politics and Other Fun - Replies (4)

Necratoid Wrote:Okay...
I'm going to try to respond to that without starting a flame war with a
heavy post blindness sauce that spirals off into gibbering infinity. 
First I can't believe you invoked it takes a village.  That is
equivalent of invoking the Godwin's law of Parenting... you
automatically lose the debate the second it's invoked as a positive.  I
told you not to do that for a reason. Seriously, you invoked it takes a village.
First,
I counter your personal anecdotes with one dead four year old cousin of
mine.  Which is the direct result of the only actually communal
breeding harem (CBH) I've had personal experience with.  So call me
jaded.  The other kid got most of his parenting from doing what most
kids I've seen do when that ugly bit of their parents getting divorced
do... seek it else where.   In otherwords your invoking a 'He said, She
said' style arguement.  No one's mind really changes from those.
Second,
I'm swapping out your Glooblflargs namely, 'good parenting' and 'bad
parenting' as it would take far, far to long to flesh those out.to
meaningful terms and replacing it with just 'parenting'.  To expand, a
Gloobleflarg is a key, central point in a debate, arguement, or politcal
campaign that no one ever actually got around to defining.  Its an
empty term that the listener or debater is left to secretly define
themselves.  Basically, it can be replaced by a random sound effect,
thus being honest about being more Madlib then meaningful speech.
Third,
you do realize your arguement boils down to basically: As the number of
participants in the CBH approaches infinity then percent chance of one
of them having time to do parenting approach 100%.  To which I''d
counter with: The percent chance of any offspring being unparented by
the CBH at any given time interval approachs 100% as the number of
offspring approaches infinity.  Baiscally, the 'infinite number of
monkies' arguement... on a less cosmic scale.  Which means the most
important word in your arguement goes to someone.  Which is
more likely to be a non participant in the CBH than a participant, if we
go by numbers... unless the entire community is involved and then your
in a hippy commune and you can off replace parented by some one at
random with given LSD by someone at random.
Which is the largest
part of why, to me at least, your arguemnt utterly fails to counter what
you were responding to.  It basically turns parenting into a games of
statistics.  As statistics are crazy easy to make say what you want them
to say.  Its the literal truth that papers coming to completely
opposite conclusions use the exact same statistics to prove their
points.  Again I'm not trying to pick a fight and it would take far, far
to much effort and research into your personal life to pick your
personal anicedotes appart... possiblely a 20 year or so megastudy.
So
instead I'll explain why you lost via the parenting equivalent of
invoking Godwin's law.  The 2 men and 2 women (minimum) formatt is only
possible in two formatts.  Foursome or wifeswap.  For wifeswap Your
looking for Marmalade Girl fanfiction or something.  For Foursome of the
described type (rather than a loose association) it takes a village makes a rather a lot of sense and works with my point rather well.
The reason why it takes a village
to explain parenting practices that are a good idea fails, is where
that saying comes from.  Seriously.  That phrase is straight from
Africa.  Specifically villages of Kleenex people.  As in those who are
disposable, interchangable, and expected to die randomly like minorities
in a slasher film with an insanely racist director.  Once husband/wife
is as good as any other huband/wife as life is short and pointless and
someone has to take out the trash/cook.  Where dating is composed of the
men (as a group) going to another village (thus limiting inbreeding
chances) and prettiing themselves up... then the available women wander
out in a herd and pick a mate entirely by how pretty he looks.  Its from
those sections of Africa were you are forbidden to name and infant
until two years of age... because its so likely to die that your not
allow to get attacted until that point as its probably going to live
long enough to get to puberty at that point.  If you name the infant its
a lot harder to forget about it.  It takes a village because the parents are often not going to live long enough to raise the kid.
In
a non third world context, it means your free to ignore the kids as
eventually someone will get around to doing it for you.  Quick use the
Ultimate Babysitter! (a.k.a. a TV set, or LSD in Hippy communes)  Buy
them a toy line so they have stuff to amuse themselves with while we
ignore them.  This is why they have friends and grandparents!  These are
hallmarks of negligent parents.  Which has is not restricted to CBH at
all.  These are signs of failing at parenting.  As I aid the equivalent
of Godwin's law being invoked.
Now to take a foursome into being
you find another trait of these societies comes into play.  Segregation
of children by sex, during which time your homosexual by law.  Then when
you come of age your now straight by law and go to the men market. 
Yes, by law.  All it would take is a female couple by chance picking a
male couple and a little bit of ignoring said law.
Flamecheck Status: Toasty!
1. It takes a village/Godwin's Law - I have never heard a formal formulation of this concept, and have encountered the phrase in the past only as a fanfic title. If my own thoughts and ramblings overlap with it, so be it; I don't think that that counts as a deliberate invocation. More, my intent is not so say, 'this is how it should work because that's the theory'; I am saying, 'this is my attempt to explain what I have observed'.
2. Personal experience - First, if I seemed to be taking your position lightly, I apologize; polyamory, in families or otherwise, isn't terribly common, so my default, irritated, assumption was that I was responding to an argument made in ignorance. That said, this admittedly tragic case is the first directly witnessed or anecdotal account I have encountered - out of an overall pool of five households inclusive - where any sort of negative repercussion devolved onto the child. Anecdotal evidence being acknowledged at an impasse, we're still left with too small a sample size for an attempt at a scientific analysis.
3. High Death Rate Societies and Human Interchangeability - Leaving aside the obvious problems with an argument that seems, to me, to boil down to, 'Those brown animals, they're all the same, they don't even treat each other like people', I doubt that the less desirable features of any given society can be so easily mapped to any given particular custom in this manner. I doubt it most sincerely.
All of the above being the case, I don't think we're going to get any closer to agreement going around it again.
Good day, sir.
===========

===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."

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  Hong Kong Phooey -- revised
Posted by: itsune9tl - 08-31-2010, 11:38 PM - Forum: The Game Everyone Loves To Play - Replies (1)

>:{
Hong Kong Phooey -- previously suggested as an Empowerment song spec-ed towards Martial Arts.  Received a Rasp-berry I believe.
Suggestion: 
the Song is actually a Depowerment (?!)  stripping powers, bonuses, and physical stats to baseline human, leaving targeted character with Delusions of Martial Competence.

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