TOW-19

Tool_Minion ]

Shapewriter, eh? Ima have to look that up!

 

I use the physical keyboard on my Samsung, but it's mainly because the Instincts screen keyboard left something to be desired, so I felt 'burned' on the touch key....I'll have to give this app a try.

Shapewriter will change everything you know about the mechanics of texting.

Tool_Minion ]

I ponder this:

 

Is it the GAMES that have changed, or is it us? Lets not forget, marketing is based around an age group, and that doesn't change....but we grow older, and the younger generation had their OWN expectations that seem to have been met by titles like Call of Duty.

 

Or is it that our expectations are not dissimilar to an addicts expectations?

 

We want that original high, but was that high from the game and it's particular setup, or from the sudden opening of the door called 'online game play'? We based our expectations of all future gaming on what we originally fell in love with...the first 'hit' as it were. Like any reformed drug addict can attest though, that first high is never again achieved, no matter HOW much you do it, or how much the landscape of their particular drug changes...so is it a matter of US expecting too much? Or are we addicted to the idea of what an online game is SUPPOSED to be?

 

Just food for thought I suppose.

There is merit to this.

Also the fact that people are creatures of habit.

We like things to have a constant to them. Though we appreciate change, we appreciate change that retains its roots so that we can still feel that original familiarity.

We, as people (as gamers) do not make change an easy task.

LOL everyone complaining in this thread about the style that is "sagging" reminds me of an old man sitting on his porch telling kids to get of his lawn. I mean honestly anyone post in this thread under the age of 30 ? This is the new style and how people like to dress and since it's not hurting anyone I don't see a problem with it. Sure some times when I head out I like to sag but that's because A. it's comfortable and B. it looks good to the ladies out there.

Yeah, I'm over 30.

Yeah, I know it's a style.

Yeah, it's not "hurting" anyone out there.

Except for the person sagging and their chances to be viewed with respect and not disdain and pity.

Except for the parent out there walking around with their children who get to see some idiot's ass.

Except the people on public transportation who are now sitting on the ass sweat saggers leave so much easier now.

Except for the people who raised that sagger to be a better person than they were, only to find the sagger dresses like a retard.

Except for a race/sex/generation/whatever that needs to pick itself up and is content with playing the role of the downtrodden.

As for your A: If it's comfy, it's comfy. I wouldn't know. But you're fucking up your spine. Sorry, but you are.

As for you B: It doesn't look good to the ladies. It looks good to the dumb bitches. It doesn't look good to the ladies.

I have been a big fan of the Droid I picked up back in December of '09.

I really like it and I have yet to experience a let down with it.

Admittedly, I came from a QWERTY phone and chose a Droid for the "safety" of the physical keyboard.

However, 6 months of using this phone on a daily (if not hourly) basis, and I have yet to type a single word on the physical keyboard.

Especially now more than ever since I downloaded the ShapeWriter App. Free. The whole drag-texting you saw on that other phone commercial during the Superbowl (I really can't remember what phone it was, maybe Samsung), you can now do that on the Droid or any other Android phone (I think).

Believe it or not, because of this app, I seriously believe my double-thumb accuracy for texting has suffered because I now text using only one finger as it drags itself all over the screen....and FAST.

I love the Android capabilities and I love how it's open source and not under the watchful eye of Apple.

I do not discount the iPhone's capabilities. It's a nice phone. Anyone who says otherwise really doesn't know what they're talking about. Both the Droid and iPhone are comparable, with equal differences that make them both great phones. My decision in choosing a Droid was purely based on the open OS as well as choosing Verizon over ATT...and seeing ATT's new announcement about doing away with unlimited data plans, it looks like I may have made the right judgment.

Android is pretty badass.

I have to ask you guys something. When your hanging around friends maybe drinking or just shooting some pool or bull riding, you know manly stuff. Don't we normally talk like this once we feel comfortably in real life ? I mean has no one here told a dirty joke or just said some shit just for the shake of saying it ? I mean it might not be the right thing to do but we do it. So whats the difference between being comfortably in real life or comfortably online, nothing really.

Da_xavier ]

Yea i will admit i do sometimes go a lil far with the shit talking but i only do it when done to.

I don't know you guys personally, but I'm going to say that you're probably not falling into the category that's being discussed in this article. There is a grand difference between shit-talking amongst friends at the dart board and the shit that happens online.

Unless your dart board is in the mess hall of the KKK or at a train station with a gas chamber as its final destination....I think you're both quite ok.

A few days ago, I had the wonderful experience of riding home from work on a cramped train on the ever-so-famous Red Line. (for those not in the know, this is the elevated/subterranean train system here in Chicago)

Typically, I enjoy my rides home.

The time allows me to catch up on thoughts...plan out the rest of the night or the week...or finally listen to that album I've been meaning to get around to.

But last week, I had the best. experience. ever.

Because I was able to sit there with my knees facing out to the aisle...and a stranger's ass sitting right there atop my knee.

Now mind you...this wasn't someone's actual ass physically sitting on my knee.

It was some punk's ass-part of the jeans resting there on my knee...but his actual ass was still about a full foot or so above it. That's because he was one of the mindless numb that walk around like they're doped up on medication and don't realize what their clothing is doing, or not doing, on their own bodies. The only thing he was missing, really, was looking off blankly into space and drooling a bit from the corner of his mouth. Would have totally looked the part of the drugged up patient....or zombie...anything other than a person who's completely awake and walking around town.

I'm writing, of course, about the stupidest "fashion" trend that's ever hit our society since the leotard-out-in-public trend...and that's the pants not actually residing on the waistline of our fine youth out there...but hanging well below the ass crack. "Sagging," as they so fondly refer to it.

I sat there, not quite knowing what to be more upset about.

That some guy's pant-ass was resting on my knee...or that he, like so many others today, think that this is some kind of good idea.

His back pockets were, literally, halfway down his thighs.

What...the...hell...is...keeping...them...UP?

I cannot see walking in a way to keep these up above the knees doesn't have ANY type of negative effect on the knees and spine. It's not the way we were built to walk!

I looked at this guy and wonder why the hell he was being such an underachiever.

I mean...if you wanna be a playa, aren't you supposed to go all's out so people know you're the pimpest of the pimp?

The way I imagine it...to completely go with the flow, he should not be stopping at just the jeans.

Wear them damn jeans off your ass...but don't forget to:

- Pull your arms through the sleeves of your shirt, but don't you dare throw the rest of the shirt over your head. I mean...why the hell would you do that?

- Put your toes into your socks, but don't you dare pull your socks over your heels. I mean...why the hell would you do that?

- Put your half-worn sock feet into your shoes, but don't you dare put your heels inside your shoes. I mean...why the hell would you do that?

- Make sure you throw a belt around your waist, but don't actually buckle it up in front. I mean...why the hell would you do that?

This is NOT the way your momma dressed you when you were an impressionable young man.

She actually dressed you right. She bought pants that coincided with the waistline you were growing up with.

So what happened to you? What happened today that tells men to wear their pants in a way that forces us to see the cheap $5 boxer shorts you decided to buy from Target?

Is this fashion?

Really?

You're walking with your lady and someone runs by and snatches her purse...you going to give chase? Or are you going to give the thief a 15 second head-start while you pull up and cinch your pants in preparation for a run OR you just take the damned things off before running after him? Either way, really, makes you look like an idiot regardless.

I can only imagine that someone who sags their pants like this will, oh, from time to time, say something pretty stupid so someone else on the street or in the club...or in the nursery's playground where they really belong...and that someone is going to punch you square in the face. What are you going to do first? Try swinging back at him with one arm while your other is busy making sure your pants don't fall down to your ankles? Or perhaps just work on getting your pants up to your waist while you're lying with your back flat on the ground?

Some will say this looks cool.

Some will say that this is the fashion.

But the majority of the population, I believe, calls it right.

"Ten billion Chinamen can't be wrong..." didn't become a cliche for no reason at all.

While you're shaking your ass in your dirty underwear for everyone to see, most people are shaking their heads at you, wondering just what the hell you were thinking when you looked in the mirror before walking out of the door this morning.

Wondering what female is looking at you and thinking to herself "this is the guy that looks responsible enough for anything life's going to throw at us."

Wondering, good sir, if you are just flat-out-fucking-retarded.

Because the trend....this stupid, idiotic, moronic new way to wear your pants out in public...makes me want to turn that guy who had his ass sitting on my knee around and slap the momma-sense he forgot about back to the forefront of his head.

What the heck could he do if I did?

Chase me...?

Have fun falling down to the sidewalk when you decide to give chase.

My unfounded opinion is that she was fired and they are just presenting a story that doesn't tarnish anyone in the process.

Otherwise, there have been way too many articles and snippets of Fox panning the whole franchise that, really, put her on the map. That can't go over too well with the director, but more yet, the producers of this series. Whenever I saw those articles with her quotes, she just appeared more and more ungrateful to those who gave her a start. True, it was a trade-off....the fame the movie could give her in exchange for her sexuality mixed into the franchise (because really, it isn't her acting)....but there needs to be a mutual respect in it. They never portrayed her as an idiot, they portrayed her as a strong, dependable woman. The least she could have done was portray Transformers as a worthwhile endeavor for her to take instead of the schlok that she was quoting it as.

Yeah...those are the easy targets.

Sadly, though, I think a great portion of them are just regular lookin' folks like you and me.

That's kind of the disappointing reality of it.

i don't see how people can seriously get so upset over what someone is saying that they don't even know. All it really is is smack talk taken to another level and that because your not face to face with the person. if you don't like it then mute people or don't play with a headset. as long as little kids are playing games online you will never be able to play any game and not hear it so it's pointless for people to constantly complain about the speech in online gaming. it's never gonna change so if you can't learn to mute and ignore the immature people with mics then don't play online at all.

I don't think my attention was caught on this article because I was viewing it in a me-me-me/ how-can-the-world-make-MY-life-better perspective.

Rather, I was reading this article (and I believe it was in the vein in which it was written) that it's appalling to see what the anonymity of online gaming licenses "normal" everyday people to become once they are not in front of someone.

I have met people in life that just seemed like normal people.

Out in a group, out for a beer, the topic of games comes up and what do you know...1 or 2 of them play Socom or Modern Warfare or something. The entire night they seemed normal. Acted normal. Spoke normally.

But then I met them online in a room, mid-round, and you hear how they speak when they don't think someone they know is listening....and that's when you hear them dropping the "faggots" and the "niggers" and the "fucking Jews" and the "fuck your mother silly, bitch" comments.

And you think to yourself...."that's NOT the dude I was talking to the other week."

I have no evidence of this, but I am of the mind that over half of the players who speak like this on the mic do not speak like this in their regular lives.

They don't speak this way at school.

They don't speak this way at work.

They don't speak this way with their girlfriends/wives/kids.

But when they feel that their environment is anonymous enough where their given name will not be judged, then they become the person they evidently WANT to be...but can't. Because of whatever social environments they depend on to upkeep their existence.

That, really, is the heart of this matter.

It's not what you HEAR.

It's what's being SAID.

My interpretation.

War of Words

Gamers Split on How to Take Aim at Digital Hate Speech

Article from Chicago RedEye 04.19.10

Spokane, WA

It's not just cyberbullets that are exchanged during firefights on the Xbox Live version of "Call of Duty."

Many gamers also exchange hate speech over their headsets as they stalk each other across the virtual battlefields. Players trade racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic insults so frequently that game makers are taking steps to tone down the rhetoric.

One gamer told an opponent he presumed to be Jewish that he wished Hitler had succeeded in his mission. Many exchanges involve the talk of rape or exult over the atomic bombing of Japan. There are frequent slurs on homosexuals, Asians, Hispanics and women.

Such comments can be heard on all online video gaming systems, including Playstation Network, Blizzard Entertainment (World of Warcraft) and others.

"Personally, I don't do a lot of online gaming for that reason," said Flynn DeMarco, founder of the Web site gaygamer.net, which has worked with Microsoft and other companies on steps to clean up online gaming. "I don't play with anybody I don't already know."

DeMarco said hate speech has been a problem for years. Game makers, despite some serious efforts, can only seek to limit the amount.

"A lot of the problem lies within the players themselves," DeMarco said.

The widespread use of the slurs is partly fueled by the same anonymity that provides cover for abuse throughout cyberspace. Players can compete with people thousands of miles away and know them only by fictional "gamer tags"they use to identify themselves.

After years of tolerating abusive players, gamers have become more diligent about noting the gamer tags of abusive players and reporting them to game companies. Abusive players can be punished or even banned, but the process is slow. "It's a baby steps kind of thing, DeMarco said.

Microsoft, maker of the Xbox 360, has taken numerous steps to clean up the language on its Live service, which is by far the biggest online gaming service with some 23 million members.

Stephen Toulouse, director of policy and enforcement for Microsoft's Xbox Live service, heads a team charged with providing a safe and enjoyable experience for customers. "There is always a subset of humanity that goes toward miscreant behavior," Toulouse said. With 1 million to 2 million players online at any one time, most of the policing falls on other users who report hate speech to the company, he said.

He had a very large influence over the comic and fantasy art industry.

Guy was a pioneer.

R.I.P. and he'll be sorely missed.

It was hard for me to listen to the rest of the video when I was in amazement at the thumb-talon that woman held up when swearing to tell the truth.

She could gut a coyote for her starving 3-yr old with that thing... ???

IRISH BULL ]

If your in the area, stop by my work at 500 West Madison in Chicago. I always have time.

Bull and I work very close to one another in the city.

We can meet up for lunch and a beer during the day...or closer to whistle time, perhaps we could meet after work for food and LOTS of beer.

NICE find on this.

Love it. Works great on my droid.

Ohhhhh, Viper, I think he's referring to the rap track that was associated with that tourney.

It was a track offered up by Time from SHO, as stated above.

The site I've used for quite a few years is http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/

I rarely use any other as I've had the most success with this one.

Hope it helps.

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/search.php?value=Jason+Mraz&search_type=title

- TOW

xPUDDYTATx ]

Pathogen- ]

I can't wait to teach my kids about pat the beaver

 

dude, can you be a bigger douchebag?

 

 

 

TOW - thank you. been lookin for bday gifts for my best freinds twins. these were perfect!!!

Glad I could hook you up, Puddy.

And don't sweat it on Pathogen's post. Really, it IS a funny story...and he had it right, it's completely the author's subtle intent! LOL. You see, one of her main hangups during the writing of this book was that she had this great side character in this beaver to help out the rabbit...but she was coming up to wall after wall in trying to determine what the character's name should be. So she asked me.

I gave it a few hours in my day to think about it and then determined that "Pat" would be appropriate and something the kids could relate to...because that's what beaver tails DO. They pat down whatever materials they've used to create their dams across rivers. So I said "Kris, you should just name the beaver 'Pat.' It's an ambiguous name, neither really male nor female, so any child could relate...and that's what the tail does anyway! 'Pat, pat, pat, pat!' So just name the beaver 'Pat!"

She thought it was pretty cute, as really did I. I was really hoping she would use it.

What she ALSO thought was that I was INTENTIONALLY inserting the subtle, under the radar, sexual connotation to it, but that it would be subtle enough where NO child would get it, and some adults would get an inner chuckle about it. She loved it...and she used it.

This book was written months ago...but just hitting publication now. When she told me about it two weeks ago, that's when she revealed to me that she thought all along I came up with "Pat" for the sexual connotation...knowing me. I let her know that I was so sincere in the innocent version of the name...but that I was ALSO a little embarrassed that the sexual connotation didn't even OCCUR to me when I came up with it! For shame on me!! LOL

So that's the back story on "Pat" and, thus, Pathogen's comment really is fine and appropriate.

And Strick...yes, this is the same author from "Bruce, the Little Blue Spruce" that I told you about, as well as "Tiffany's Epiphany" which also depicted the woodland animals and a skunk's bad habits in trying to be everyone's friend.

All these books are beautifully illustrated by Jim Valentino himself, one of the founding creators of Image Comics and creator of Shadowhawk. And each one is a FUN way for kids to be entertained, to learn and to inherit a few good moral tales.

I will always recommend this series.

And "Name Here," there are NO religious connotations inherent in this story whatsoever.

Even in the "Bruce, the Little Blue Spruce" story about a blue spruce wanting to be a family's Christmas tree...the only infusion of religion for that story was the "event" of Christmas, but the overall theme of the story was that it was OK to be different from everyone else around you, and that it's the special people around you that see how that difference really makes you that much more unique and loved as a person (or tree )

iDnTyX ]

Its sex education, This is what they teach in Canada

Or at the Fairview Clinic for the Mentally Deranged.

Well, don't know if you picked one yet or not.......(and why does it seem like you pop up every few months with a new identity issue?) LOL....

Anyway....

[-^-] = I know it's kinda reaching, but it could look like a flatline...with a faint heart beat....playing off the "dead" in your name.

[D/C] = Pretty straight forward, but the "/" puts a little more action into the letters...?

[DeD] = Kinda playing off the logic I came up with for "Ravenfall," and RVN....three letters dealing with just a portion of your clan name. I'll hear players say "Hey, Raven's here" when we pop into a room. Same could be said for you and "Hey, the Dead are here."

[-O-] = I know there's no C or D in there, but it's just a letter representing a "cell." There was a time when I ran "A Perfect Circle" that instead of [APC], I thought of having the clan tag just be [O]...as in, literally, a perfect circle. You can work with the letter to create images and shapes...and not just take them as the letters they are. Typically, the higher you get, the more creative you can get.

All I got.

Good luck in the tag-hunting, though!

- TOW

X_-GHOST-_X ]

wow this is a score .... im aslo gonna pass this to my daughters school .... nice to see you by the way ..

Hi!

This guy..................is a moron.

Grade. A. Moron.

Awesome!

Thanks, Covert. I'm sure that she, and the kids, will be satisfied.

Just bought mine, its a bit more with the shipping, but still less than Amazon, PLUS you can select up to 5 Free Comic Day books that they send to you completely free with your order, so that's a nice bonus too, I found a few that will also be for the kid.

Sure, Covert.

The book's called "Jack's Knack."

It's about a jackrabbit who sees everyone in the forest who has a "specialty" or just something that they're good at. Something that everyone else sees value in, but when Jack looks at himself, he doesn't see that he does anything of worth or that anyone else appreciates.

It's really just in his own head, and it takes his friend the beaver to come along and open Jack's eyes to his own self-worth as well as his worth to the community around him.

It's to help children who feel "outside" certain social circles or what not to feel more comfortable and to know that somewhere, somehow, they are always accepted and "needed."

Her first book, "Bruce, the little Blue Spruce (of which I advertised here a long time ago)," dealt with the same type of lesson. A blue spruce tree who never got picked to be a family's Christmas tree was sad about the way he was so different. But it took a little girl from a family to see his worth...that she wanted a tree that WAS different and special. "Bruce" is being read to younger grades in schools across the country, with the author being there for a few of them in an actual classroom reading.

The author is a former Girl Scout and infuses a lot of these helpful, social values into her writing.

Being published primarily through the comic book industry first, and then having it trickle into stores like Borders, Barnes and Amazon, the books aim to become a "gateway" of sorts into introducing kids to comics as well. I have ALWAYS been an advocate of comic book reading for children and think this is a great idea. In fact, it's funny that I hated reading when I was a kid, but LOVED comic books and couldn't put them down. I credit comics with my ability to speak well, read/write well and engage my imagination well (which I eventually put forth into a few series of D&D comic writing as well as all the tournaments that I wrote and co-wrote here at UF during my tenure).

Hopefully this helps you understand the books and their intent a little better.

I would not promote them, especially to young children, if I didn't believe in the books, their message and their potential benefit to kids.