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Messages - Renal Shutdown

#481
Critics' Lounge / Re: Some ideas- Helly Shop
Sat 16/10/2004 20:25:35
Quote from: BorisZ on Sat 16/10/2004 18:41:30
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Isn't Nosferatu and Dracula the same thing?
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Yes,Ã,  it is.

..Um. Actually, it's not.

Dracula was the gelled back black hair and poncy count costume. Ã, EG: Bela Lugosi in "Dracula".
Nosferatu was bad, with a large head. Ã, All his teeth were pointy. Ã, His fingers were more like claws. Ã, He wore all black. Ã, EG: Max Schreck in "Nosferatu".

Nosferatu is far scarier.
#482
Beers I'll drink (in no particular order).
Budweiser. Ã, It's usually panned, but for some reason I can drink it in large quantities. Ã, Probly because a local off license does 20 bottles for £10. Ã, I think I've bought 80% of their stock.
Lowenbrau. Ã, "Lion-Brew". Ã, Some Bavarian beer that gets me wrecked within three cans.
XXXX. Ã, Usually the cheapest beer in an establishment I frequent.
Carlsberg/Carlsberg Export. Ã, Usually my first choice, as it's a pretty stable choice. Ã, It's not fantastic, but it's rarely crap. Ã, By crap, I mean where it's nearing the bottom of the barrel, and you end up drinking bilge.
San Miguel. Ã, A nice, refreshing beer. Ã, Good if the sun's out.
Cobra/Tiger. Ã, One is middle-eastern, one is Indian. Ã, Both are nice, warm flavours. Ã, Good for drinking in restaurants with late licenses.
Guinness/Caffreys. Ã, Good if I don't want to get drunk.

Beers I avoid.
Carling. Ã, An english lager, tastes flat after a few moments. Ã, Usually tastes watered down.
Fosters Amber. Ã, Looks and tastes like someone's pleasured themself into a pint. Ã, It flopped.
Ales and Bitters. Ã, They taste ok, but not in vast quantities. Ã, I often find them to be sickly.

Borderline.
Stella Artois. Ã, The beer of wife-beaters. Ã, Tastes dodgy, but will eff you up.
Fosters. Ã, I don't like the taste, but it's usually cheap.
Heineken. Ã, Too weak to do much, but refreshing.

Other Drinks.

Cider.
Sometimes. Ã, It's usually really cheap, volume-wise.
White Wine.
I often avoid it, as most are too sweet. Ã, "Labrini" is a cheap option, if you want to get trashed over a long period.
Red Wine.
Only if I want to get really drunk, usually after getting merry on something else.
Vodka.
Always with a mixer, usually combined with a night of other drinks.
Tequila.
With salt and lemon.. Ã, or by personal fave: salt, tequila and lemonade in a glass, napkin on top, bang glass on table twice then knock.
"Flatliner".
Sembuca and Vodka in a shot glass, then add tabasco. Ã, Due to the weights of the liquids, you get a red line across the middle of the drink, with the rest clear. Ã, I always add far too much tabasco for others to handle it, tho.
"White Russian".
Milk, vodka, Kahlua. Ã, (Not Tia Maria). Ã, Tastes like sweeties.
Scotch/Whiskey.
Never. Ã, It's too smooth, it makes me want to gag. Ã, Even with a mixer. Ã, I always choose:
Kentucky Bourbon.
A la Jim Beam. Ã, Neat. Ã, Napalm in a glass.

Here endeth the lesson.
#483
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2. Hmm... I dunno... Nothing "angry", but not too happy either

You're kinda gonna have to be a bit more specific than that.Ã,  Not angry or too happy leaves so many options open.Ã,  For example the Funeral March, Queens of the Stone Age and Egyptian Jazz all fit in that category.

Maybe some in game screenies might help.Ã,  Or a description of the "company's" ethos might help.

(Also, I'm not a 100% "ethos" was the correct word, but hey.Ã,  It sounds clever).

EDIT:
(Also, also.  What sort of equipment?  Just a piano? A full orchestra? A string quartet? A flute and tubular bell combo? A punk band? Some fat guy with a synthesiser and too much time on his hands? Etc).
#484
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..and why I have to whole heartedly disagree with Iqu's Darwinistic views on this matter.

Looking over my post, it does seem too Darwinistic.  I didn't mean for it to be "survival of the fittest".  It was meant as more of a dislike of what seems unnatural.  Unnatural to my personal system of beliefs, at any rate. 

Your point about living on the farm, with organic food is a better example, no man-made chemicals and such, being better than the "pretty" foods they sell now, with all apples having to look large and shiny.  It's the usually the smaller, somewhat disfigured fruit that both tastes better and is a healthier option.

Over the years I've been leaning more and more to a Mother Nature inspired way of thinking.  There'll probly come a time when I renounce technology completely, and start living in a cave.
#485
Critics' Lounge / Re: Future Noir
Sun 10/10/2004 16:22:29
Firstly, as I said in #ags, poetry is a very difficult thing to criticise.  We can't point out technical issues like bad perpective or double pixels or the fact that red and orange don't look good together.  Poetry is a very vague art form.  It doesn't even have to rhyme for heavens sake.  So I think a lot of folks won't post because they can't really suggest anything to improve it.

Personally, I suck at poetry.  I've never really payed attention in my English classes, since I found the story writing section far more interesting.  Usually, for me to like a poem, it has to make me laugh.  However, I said I'd give you an honest opinion of it, and here goes.

Steve's right.  It is a clichéd subject.  Not necessarily a bad thing, but I'm sure it's something to think about.  The last two lines do seem tacked on just to make up the numbers.  However, there's one thing that sticks out to me more than this, and that's the flow.

It's not something I can explain well, but I'll do my best.  It seems too staccato for my tastes, it's short line, short line, short line, etc.  It doesn't seem to have much of a melody to it.  The current flow of it makes me feel uneasy, and for some reason I start to tense up when reading it.  This is probly a good thing, considering the subject matter but I, myself, am not keen on it.
#486
A few questions.

1. How long?
2. What mood?
3. Could you post the splash screen for inspiration?
4. Is MIDI ok?
#487
Okie Dokie.  This might not be too liked, but it's my opinion on the whole medicine/drugs thing, and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to flip flop somewhere down the line, as I've had plenty of time to think it thru.

Natural Medicines.
I'm fine with the whole "take this to improve this" way of doing things in so much as diets.  If it'll make you healthier before a disease comes, your body's likely to stand a better chance of fighting it.  I'm not so keen on vitamins and stuff, because, with a healthy diet, you shouldn't need to take them.  For example, quinine tablets are available to help stop things like cramp.  However, rather than go out and buy pills, my Grandad just drinks a glass of indian tonic water every few days.  It has the same effect, but it's just a drink he likes the taste of and not a set of pills.  He has oranges for breakfast instead of taking Vitamin C tablets.  He has wholegrain bread instead of taking a magnesium supplement.  He's in fine health (except he somehow broke a rib vacuuming), he's in his 80's, and he still works as a part time accountant.

Drugs.
My nan, on the other, has had a diet of junk food and sweets for years.  She'd never even eaten a carrot until my mum had cooked one for her.  She's either overweight or really thin depending on how ill she is, straying from one to another without settling.  She has mild diabetes.  She has trouble walking up stairs.  She needs a walking stick when out, but is far to stubborn to use one.  She takes a whole bunch of pills to deal with blood pressure, the diabetes, and a few over things.  Then she has to take other pills to deal with the side effects of those.

Looking at the ways of doing things, I'd much rather choose my Grandad's way.  The whole "prevention is the best cure" way.

However, here's where my opinions go a little radical.  Supposing I had a chest infection.  Common in my Nan's side of the family, and I've always had weak lungs.  The doctor would probly prescribed a course of anti-biotics.  Now, if you start taking them, it's imperitive that you finish the set course.  Penicillin is becoming less and less effective at fighting disease because of this.  For example, Person A contracts Disease B.  He takes a two week course of anti-biotics, but after the first week, he feels fine.  So, he stops taking the drugs.  However, the disease is still there, and what's left of it fights back against the poorly reinforced anti-biotics.  After a while, Shazam, disease B mutates into C, and disease C is immune to those anti-biotics.  Person A then passes C to person D.  Person D takes the same anti-biotics, but is ill for the full two weeks.  The A-B's haven't worked, his body has had to fight the disease on it's own.  All because person A couldn't follow simple instructions.

This could all happen, assuming I went to the doctor in the first place.  Which I wouldn't.  I'd let my body fight the chest infection on it's own.  Sure, I'll be ill for a week longer, but in the long run my body will be stronger.  If I turn to taking drugs everytime I'm ill, my immune system will get gradually weaker in each occurance, like my Nan's.  If she has a common cold, she'll see the doctor.

Now. To my own personal story.  For several years, I collapsed at random.  Unconcious.  Sure, the idea of walking along one minute and then the next thing you know you're climbing out of a hedge in someone's front garden might seem like fun, but it gets really boring after a while.  At one point, I was collapsing three times a day.
The doctors sent me for tests, found nothing and then passed me to a colleague to have a go.  This lasted for a good four years.  They also tried giving me various diet changes and various drugs to try.  Usually it was epilepsy drugs.  Oddly enough, epilepsy was one of the first things they ruled out.
Their last brainwave was either Parkinsons disease (I'm apparently to young to be tested for it), Brain Damage of the Subcortal Matter (this was from some random chinese tester), and finally the most plausible, Transient Ischemic Attacks (which has no way of being tested unless I spend a week hooked up to a monitor).  I've been waiting for about three years for the monitoring thingy, but they kept saying "Oh, sorry.  We have got any beds available at the moment, you'll have to make another appointment".  Wizz Bang, six month waiting list for the test, and I'm sent to the back of the queue everytime.
Transient Ischemic Attacks (TIA), is basically a stroke.  Same stuff, just not permanent.  It means I'll probly get a full stroke in later life.
Anyhow, with the six month waiting list, the incompetent doctors, and the fact that the most likely problem doesn't actually have a cure, I thought to myself; "F*ck it.  I'll just get on with my life".

And so, to my point.  In a roundabout kinda way.  Now, if I get ill, I'll let my body deal with it.  I'm not going to use medicine or doctors again.  I've had a headache for the last seven years, 24/7.  It's worse every day and no painkiller they've given me has had any kinda effect on it.  So, I thought "why should I bother taking them?".  Couldn't think of a reason other than for recreational use.  Same as cough mixture.  If I have a cough, I won't drink it, but I will drink it at other times for fun.  That's the only point in medicine.  Fun.  I'll let my body do the work against illness, since it will be tougher after.

There are however exceptions to this rule.
The most relevent to me, is of a friend of mine.  He's been diagnosed as schizophrenic.  I'm all for his medicine, as without it he is likely to hurt either himself or others.  Situations like this I feel are ok for drugs to be used medicinally.
I'm also all for the recreational use of drugs.

It's the fight disease way I believe to be wrong, as it makes a person weaker.  I'd rather let nature run it's course and see if the body is strong enough to fight it on it's own.  You see, since I got ill, I started to think about things.  To me, man isn't at the top of the food chain.  Disease is.  Nature does use technology to kill, so why should we?  It's kinda my views on animal rights gone a little too far, but I stand by it.

As for things like surgery, I don't mean to offend you BT, but I personally would not have accepted an organ.  If something has to be removed, like an appendix, or a lung or a leg, then fine.  I'm opposed to the replacing of things, as to me, it seems unnatural.
My final point, altho a little off topic, is one of resussitation.  There's been a court case in the UK recently where parents were trying to fight to keep their daughter alive, even tho she was born severely premature, and in very poor health.  The case got me to thinking about ressusitation in general, something I've never really thought about much in the past.
After considering my stance on medicine in general, and my views on life itself, I came to a conclusion.  Personally, I'm against any form of resussition, at any age in life.  The idea seems unnatural to me.  It's not in a religious way either, as I have my own beliefs not involving a deity.  It's just seems wrong that when animal in a desert dies, it dies.  But when a human dies, he or she should get a second chance.  Again, this has an exception tho.  That being when someone dies as a result of another human's intentional actions, ie: murder.  If it was accidental, then I'm against it.  I know this was off-topic, but I'd like to get other's opinions on it, and it seemed more appropiate to add it here than to make an entire thread on it.

I'm truely sorry if my opinions have offended anyone, but I can't help the way I feel.
#488
General Discussion / Re: Who is your hero???
Sun 10/10/2004 04:10:37
My Grandad who, when I knew him, sat in a chair all day smoking and drinking, working when he could be bothered.  He died when I was about 4.  He used to call me Tarzan.

Either him, or Agent 99 from Get Smart!
#489
Shbaz, this one's just for you.

In England, there once was a football (soccer) player named Gordon Ramsey.  Most people say he's the greatest goal keeper we ever had.  He trained hard, and devoted his life to football.  Then, one day, he got old and retired from the game.

Sure, he made money, but, not as much as today's players.  So what did he do? Scrimp and save ever penny that he could so he could never work again?  No.  He packed his bags, went to France and learnt how to cook.  It took him a few years, but now?  Now he's a "celebrity chef", who owns restaurants, and quite regularly appears on tv.

Then, there's an olympic runner called Steve Ovett.  He won a gold medal in the eighties, I think.  But no one saw him for years after that.  Did he retire and live off what money he had from sponsorships and stuff? No.  This year, the BBC were interviewing people in Athens, and low and behold who should turn up?  Yep, good ol' Steve.  "Where have you been?" they asked him.  "I've been around all the time, just not on the BBC," he replied.  Truth is, he'd been commentating for some small, obscure tv or radio station for years.  He'd made enough money from this to live his life quite happily.

My point is, the folks earning fortunes from sport don't get to the end of their sporting career and have to think "Crap. Now what do I do?".  They're celebrities for starters, so they have jobs available in the media as a first option.  If that fails, they usually retire earlier enough in their lives to go on to a different career.  They even have enough money to buy property and live off of the rent.

Hell, there's one guy who used to be a singer, and now he sells burgers from a van at a seaside.  Another singer bought a pig farm.  The 80's pop sensation, Kim Wilde, is now presents a gardening program.

Life doesn't just stop when you finish one job or career.  It finishes when you've had enough of working.  If they just want to quit work altogether after a few years, then they seem pretty lazy people, which is surprising for an athelete.
#490
I might as well throw my two pence into this.
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-wants to ban the pledge of allegiance in schools Ã, because it has "god" in it
I'm in complete agreement with this. Ã, I think that it is morally wrong to force religious beliefs on to another person.

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-Isnt going to allow us to drill for oil in alaska, even though the amount of oil there is ridiculous, because he cares about polar bears
What right does a human have to endanger an animal? None. Ã, Just because we have opposable thumbs, doesn't make us the greatest species in the world. Ã, In fact, it's only because of man that the world is in such a poor state at the moment. Ã, The way you use this as a Kerry down point, makes me think of you as one of the neglected children who torture small animals for fun.

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-Is going to weaken america because we need a strong cowboy right now, not some hippy dippy senator
In Britain, a "cowboy" is usually a plumber or electrician etc, that comes in and does the work badly for an extortionate amount of money. Ã, The way Bush has shown himself in the past, it's an accurate description. Ã, Iraq, for example. Ã, He rushed in, bodged it and ended costing far more than it should have.

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-Is going to cut military funding and leave america in shambles
America is not just a military force, it is a country. Ã, I'm sure the money taken from weapons would go to improving other sections of the nation.

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-Wants to end all of the nuke-building in america. I feel safe in america knowing we are the only country with hundreds of nukes to back us up. I couldnt sleep easy without them.
Firstly, America already has enough. Ã, Ending building and Disarming are two different things. Ã, Secondly, they're weapons of mass distruction. Ã, What makes it ok for America to own them, but not other countries? Ã, Thirdly, your attitude towards this reminds me of the fact that America has the highest gun crime problem in the world.

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Kerry is nobody. Liberals just vote fpr him because he isnt bush.
Four years ago, Bush was just the son of a former president, who had killed over a hundred Texan convicts. Ã, It's not like it's Arnie, or Reagan.

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Example: Canada! Canada has free healthcare and college, yet their country has not grown very much. They are 1/10 of the american population and 1/50 of our army, and 1/100 of our value.
I don't understand your point here? The people are happy and safe. Ã, Is that in someway bad?

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The future of the world is republicans. Some call us mean capitalistic scumbags, I call us the leaders of tomorrow. When something needs to get done Ã, we do it. We dont save polar bears like pansies.
I'm not against Capitalism. Ã, I'd rather have Communism, but it only works in theory. Ã, I'm against the way Capitalism has become "let's all sh*t on the little guy, because we can". Ã, Republicans? Ã, Bush got to power thanks to people who considered themselves "Neo Con". Ã, I'm fine with Republicans, as long as they don't go to far Right Wing. Ã, Nazism and Fascism are just a short step from the Neo Con.

Personally, I'd vote for Kerry, because Bush's track record does make me either trust or like him. Ã, Not to mention the fact that he's not the sharpest tool in the shed.
#491
General Discussion / Re: Regarding radio
Sun 26/09/2004 15:24:41
Flip, when I start ragging on your musical tastes, I try to explain why I dislike the band/artist/song. Ã, At the same time, you've poked fun at my taste in things before, I've just haven't taken it as badly.
"I try to steer clear of degrading other people's opinions in such matters, because it's not my place to do so".
You got a laugh out of it most times, so I'm sure this isn't the case.

"Don't tell people your opinion as if it was fact".
This whole thing stemmed from someone saying, "Ugh. Scissor Sisters". Ã, I think you're reading far too much into things, taking a generalisation as being a personal attack on you.

"..it's horrible to be told, quite offhand, that your music is inferior".
How do you think Vel feels? Even you wind him up.
#492
The vids..  the site's got a 5 gig traffic limit per month.  It should be enough for everyone to watch them.  If it's not, someone poke me on #ags and I'll up it to 25 gig.
#493
Makers? You mean me, then.

It's on hold, as since all the stuff is on a HD that won't spin at the moment.
That and the facts that:
1. I'm unreliable.
2. I'm slow.
3. I'm lazy.
4. I'm busy.
5. I have nipples.
6. I'm useless.
7. I've run out of reasons, there's probly many more, tho.

As for the MIDI, they can use it if you want. Ã, The project isn't going to be done anytime soon. Ã, I'm aiming, albeit unlikely, for a release pre-2005. Ã, However..

8. I suck with deadlines.

As for hero's suggestion, it'd be rather pointless posting on the RON forum, since I never go there.

Thanks to veryweirdguy for alerting me to the existence of this post. Ã, Also, how's AGS-Fighter going?
#494
Haddas was begging for entries on #ags.

I'm not impressed, but, well..  meh.
#495
Who would look at and approve on these?

..My suggestion would be this damn fine, one hour notice jury you have hidden away.

Also, luckily or not for us, our team's problems were actual, physical, real life problems and not just a lack of enthusiasm.  Not that I'm trying to excuse our inabilty to succeed, just bitter about the amount of holidays and computer crashes inflicted upon our teams by parents and/or Bill Gates.
#496
Damn you, Vel.. you've already won.
Don't rub the rest of the team's noses in their down falls.

..and in other news:
We may have missed the deadline, but the Big Eye team still plan to finish.  If only to satisfy our own needs.

Also, Andail.
Is that a diplomatic move? or did you just forget to assemble a panel of judges?

And..
For the "What can be changed?"..
At the start of the competition, there were suggestions of an application form type thing, where people would be judged if they were competent enough to enter.  Thankfully, this wasn't a problem our team faced, but I knew some people were worried that their teams were too inexperienced (or talentless) in their chosen fields to give their teams a fighting chance.
For instance, LGM as a writer?  I mean, come on.. we've all read Vincent's Night..
(..and me as a Musician?  All those poor people who bought my band's CD..).
#497
I had a stab at it.  It started ok, but the more I added the less like a spy theme it sounded.
http://www.lumpcity.co.uk/ags/stuff/015a.mid
I still kinda like it, tho, even if the bridge does seem to contradict the rest of the song.
#498
We have to wait two years? Couldn't you have kept this secret for a while longer?
Like, until you have something to show us?
#499
General Discussion / Re: Are YOU in a band?
Wed 04/08/2004 10:21:48
Yada yada yada..
My band.
..yada yada yada.

I've pimped it before, but, what the hell? I didn't start the thread.
#500
General Discussion / Re: AVP the movie...
Tue 03/08/2004 10:46:46

Also, Kudos on the Tick.
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