The real issue is not global warming. The real issue is population. No matter what you do to control "global warming," it's pointless without measures to control population, and if history is any indication, if we don't control it ourselves, mother nature will gladly step in to take a hand.
"I really don't know the answer to how much of climate change is man-made. I tend to think that it's possible we have had some impact, but I can't say to what degree. "
That's it in a nutshell. Nobody can deny that global warming does occur and may be occurring now. The question really should be asked, "How much of current global warming is man-made and how much is natural." No scientist in the world today can answer that.
That being said, yes, we should take care of this planet. Unfortunately, all the care in the world is not going to save us unless we get population growth under control. So.... how many of you are be willing to take the very hard steps to limit population growth?
1. The healthcare bill will likely be the bill that brings the country to financial ruin. We can't afford to maintain what we have now, let alone pay for a huge, new program. Even if you think this is otherwise a good program, is it fair to destroy your children's future over it?
2. Historically, the government has a bad track record running public services. Since there is no competition, there is no incentive to excel. While some on the low income side who couldn't afford it will receive healthcare, the overall quality of healthcare will drop. There will also be little incentive for major medical and pharmaceutical companies to innovate.
3. On the other side of things, just saying "no" to this bill is not enough. America needs healthcare reform, just not as presented in this bill. It's shameful for those opposing the bill not to provide alternatives.
1. any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.
2. a system of society or group living in which there is no private property or a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state.
3. a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done.
I think your assumption is that the US is still doing capitalism. The US has way too much government interference to allow capitalism to work effectively.
The game closest to the UO experience I've found was Shadowbane. The game was pvp only, so you knew what you were getting into when you joined. There were no "sheep." Unfortunately it had two problems. The game was horribly bugged and once a group/faction/alliance got the upper hand on a given server, there was little to balance it.
1. They advertise it on TV (with misleading ads... why is Bing a "decision engine"?). 2. It's installed with some apps that used to install the Google toolbar. 3. Some websites that used to imbed direct links are now imbedding Bing searches instead.
Exactly. More gore or a little T&A just doesn't do it for me as an adult gamer. On the other hand, give me a story I can sink my teeth into, realistic social situations, smart dialog, and something more than a little hack 'n' slash action and I'm there.
Oh, I forgot. They can't just hire chimps to create that kind of game. Nevermind.
It's funny that the media tried to make Ron Paul out to be some sort of radical fringe loon, but now that that the election is over, the media seems to love him.
It would be like comparing DDO with D&D. It has a little of the original's flavor, but can't compare with the pencil and paper game played with a bunch of your friends. I know. I gm'd a big game of Champions through my college years and beyond. Nothing beats that experience.
It reminds me of smoking. I was a 3 pack a day smoker until I quit cold turkey. While in the process of quitting, I would fidgit and wonder what to do with my hands. What did I do before I started smoking? I don't know or at least I couldn't remember.
It's the same way with mmo's. Most players play long past the point of being entertained. At some point it becomes merely a habit, and when you try to quit, it's hard to remember what you did with all that spare time before you started playing.
I loved Planetside. Unfortunately, they weren't able to respond to community complaints quickly enough which resulted in populations too low to sustain interesting battles. Their core combat add-on just further fragmented the already low population. Here's hoping for a Planetside 2.
It does get really good when you get into the forced PvP part, none of that casual carebear blueshield / pveonly server bullshit in this game. I was impressed, kept my Aion preorder and cancelled my WOW subscription. Different strokes for different folks.
I always thought that's what fps games were for. MMORPG pvp tends to be of the "I-can't-beat-you-fairly-so-I'll-outgear-you-or-out-level-you-or-get-12-of-my-friends-to-kill-you" variety. It's seldom challenging.
One of the interesting aspects of this movie is that it only took $30 million to make and made $37 million the first weekend. It doesn't look like a low budget film.
There are likely legal requirements for companies to retain records of their transactions for several years (Sarbanes-Oxley?). This would make it legally sticky to have your ssn removed from a business database even after you no longer do business with them. Likely your ssn is the only unique identifier in the system that verifies who you are.
As an interesting aside, my last company was bought by another company, but a shell company was formed from the original strictly for the purpose of maintaining the old company records. That shell had to exist for three years before they could close it down and destroy the records.
But we aren't talking about products here. We are talking about standards. Everyone should be able to implement a standard without having to pay someone.
In most games, what he was doing would be considered an exploit (an unintended use of a game mechanic to gain an advantage over other players) and usually not allowed by the game's terms of service. I'm surprised he was allow to get away with doing it.
The population balance on most servers swings for one faction or the other. It's seldom balanced. Being able to swap factions just means that those imbalances will get more severe, since those on the weaker side are tired of losing at world pvp. Nobody wants to be on the "losing" side.
One of the cheapest costs of living, especially if you don't mind commuting from the burbs.
You're kidding, right? I've lived a few years in Tampa now, but moved from Oklahoma and I actually know what a low cost of living is really like. Let's just say the cost of living in central Florida is not incredibly high but nowhere near the cheapest.
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The real issue is not global warming. The real issue is population. No matter what you do to control "global warming," it's pointless without measures to control population, and if history is any indication, if we don't control it ourselves, mother nature will gladly step in to take a hand.
"I really don't know the answer to how much of climate change is man-made. I tend to think that it's possible we have had some impact, but I can't say to what degree. "
That's it in a nutshell. Nobody can deny that global warming does occur and may be occurring now. The question really should be asked, "How much of current global warming is man-made and how much is natural." No scientist in the world today can answer that.
That being said, yes, we should take care of this planet. Unfortunately, all the care in the world is not going to save us unless we get population growth under control. So.... how many of you are be willing to take the very hard steps to limit population growth?
Three points:
1. The healthcare bill will likely be the bill that brings the country to financial ruin. We can't afford to maintain what we have now, let alone pay for a huge, new program. Even if you think this is otherwise a good program, is it fair to destroy your children's future over it?
2. Historically, the government has a bad track record running public services. Since there is no competition, there is no incentive to excel. While some on the low income side who couldn't afford it will receive healthcare, the overall quality of healthcare will drop. There will also be little incentive for major medical and pharmaceutical companies to innovate.
3. On the other side of things, just saying "no" to this bill is not enough. America needs healthcare reform, just not as presented in this bill. It's shameful for those opposing the bill not to provide alternatives.
So you mean we're not talking about:
1. any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.
2. a system of society or group living in which there is no private property or a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state.
3. a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done.
Thanks and a hat tip to Merriam-Webster :)
I think your assumption is that the US is still doing capitalism. The US has way too much government interference to allow capitalism to work effectively.
The game closest to the UO experience I've found was Shadowbane. The game was pvp only, so you knew what you were getting into when you joined. There were no "sheep." Unfortunately it had two problems. The game was horribly bugged and once a group/faction/alliance got the upper hand on a given server, there was little to balance it.
It's not surprising considering three things:
1. They advertise it on TV (with misleading ads... why is Bing a "decision engine"?).
2. It's installed with some apps that used to install the Google toolbar.
3. Some websites that used to imbed direct links are now imbedding Bing searches instead.
Exactly. More gore or a little T&A just doesn't do it for me as an adult gamer. On the other hand, give me a story I can sink my teeth into, realistic social situations, smart dialog, and something more than a little hack 'n' slash action and I'm there.
Oh, I forgot. They can't just hire chimps to create that kind of game. Nevermind.
There's more than one of us.
It's funny that the media tried to make Ron Paul out to be some sort of radical fringe loon, but now that that the election is over, the media seems to love him.
It would be like comparing DDO with D&D. It has a little of the original's flavor, but can't compare with the pencil and paper game played with a bunch of your friends. I know. I gm'd a big game of Champions through my college years and beyond. Nothing beats that experience.
You can actually test and work with a power and get to know it and understand it before you commit it to your character.
Kinda.... you can't test all powers unless you get someone else's help. The only powers you can really test on your own are basic damage powers.
It reminds me of smoking. I was a 3 pack a day smoker until I quit cold turkey. While in the process of quitting, I would fidgit and wonder what to do with my hands. What did I do before I started smoking? I don't know or at least I couldn't remember.
It's the same way with mmo's. Most players play long past the point of being entertained. At some point it becomes merely a habit, and when you try to quit, it's hard to remember what you did with all that spare time before you started playing.
I loved Planetside. Unfortunately, they weren't able to respond to community complaints quickly enough which resulted in populations too low to sustain interesting battles. Their core combat add-on just further fragmented the already low population. Here's hoping for a Planetside 2.
It does get really good when you get into the forced PvP part, none of that casual carebear blueshield / pveonly server bullshit in this game. I was impressed, kept my Aion preorder and cancelled my WOW subscription. Different strokes for different folks.
I always thought that's what fps games were for. MMORPG pvp tends to be of the "I-can't-beat-you-fairly-so-I'll-outgear-you-or-out-level-you-or-get-12-of-my-friends-to-kill-you" variety. It's seldom challenging.
You don't believe they could think that way? Why do you think they want to re-implement the Fairness Doctrine?
One of the interesting aspects of this movie is that it only took $30 million to make and made $37 million the first weekend. It doesn't look like a low budget film.
There are likely legal requirements for companies to retain records of their transactions for several years (Sarbanes-Oxley?). This would make it legally sticky to have your ssn removed from a business database even after you no longer do business with them. Likely your ssn is the only unique identifier in the system that verifies who you are.
As an interesting aside, my last company was bought by another company, but a shell company was formed from the original strictly for the purpose of maintaining the old company records. That shell had to exist for three years before they could close it down and destroy the records.
But we aren't talking about products here. We are talking about standards. Everyone should be able to implement a standard without having to pay someone.
Naw, Bruce Campbell has to be one of those annoying bubble-hearthing paladins. His big chin is perfect for the part.
In most games, what he was doing would be considered an exploit (an unintended use of a game mechanic to gain an advantage over other players) and usually not allowed by the game's terms of service. I'm surprised he was allow to get away with doing it.
People lament that you can't actually role play in a computer RPG, but here's a guy doing that, and he's an outcast.
And that's the classic excuse players use in a game to be complete jerks. "I'm roleplaying a complete jerk."
Just because you "can" do it doesn't mean you "should" do it.
Nope, the bulk of population will continue to be either human or nightelf.
The population balance on most servers swings for one faction or the other. It's seldom balanced. Being able to swap factions just means that those imbalances will get more severe, since those on the weaker side are tired of losing at world pvp. Nobody wants to be on the "losing" side.
I'm wondering which bright boy will get the idea to start a new religion based on "Orbo?" This free energy must be coming from the gods, right? ;)
One of the cheapest costs of living, especially if you don't mind commuting from the burbs.
You're kidding, right? I've lived a few years in Tampa now, but moved from Oklahoma and I actually know what a low cost of living is really like. Let's just say the cost of living in central Florida is not incredibly high but nowhere near the cheapest.