venomai

Those look great. Unfortunately I can't use them because of the wheels/trucks. I might message him to see if he would be willing to let me use the originals, though. Thanks!

Update: Unwrapped wheels and added a simple skin. I also added some more to the game framework (I will update the flash tomorrow). It loads three models (one truck, one wheel and one deck) and then clones and positions them appropriately. Each one can be modified via mouse interaction. In the game you will be able to have a different skin for each wheel and each truck, upload your own skins, give the board a "test" drive, etc.

Ah thanks. I've fixed the UV for the deck. More tests... Not my design on the base. EDIT: Added slight wear & tear to the top as well.

Added more details to the wheels. At 718 tris now.

Hm... where is the UV stretching? And what do you mean by smoother? Softer shadows? Fixed up the model some more. Refined the edges of the deck to make it less pointy, touched up the wheels, and trimmed the polycount on the trucks. The full board is now 526 tris. Going to fool around with the wheels to see if I can clean them up some more.

Thanks for the crits. :) Here you can see a simple test case using Flash and Alternativa 3D: (probably best to open in a new window) http://mdes-tools.googlecode.com/svn/tr ... delImport/ I'll definitely add more detail to the texture. I'm also thinking of fixing up the wheel models. Since the game is to design a skateboard, the board will be the "main" and only character on the screen. The only other objects will be small environment props, which will use smaller textures.

Just a recent practice with 3ds max and game development. The model may end up as part of a 3D Flash game for one of my design courses. The app will be something like a "skateboard builder," with the skateboard as the primary object in the scene (hence the high polycount). This model is about 264 polys / 550 tris. I'm sure it can be trimmed down further. Clay + wires: I've roughly unwrapped and textured the deck. The UV space is poorly managed. Ideally I would have liked to pack everything into a single texture, but I've split it up for use in the game (i.e. changing only part of the model). I'll try to pack it tighter tomorrow. Here is the diffuse (50%): Beauty shot, higher poly render: Tomorrow I'll upload the flash file so you can view the model in-game. Crits welcome.

Ideally, I would like to see 'religion' (in the strict and organized sense that we generally understand it) put to an end, and replaced by the looser and more individual 'spiritualism': philosophies of a sort driven not by blind faith but human curiosity.

"Hardcore premeditated murderers with no morality" are already being removed from society, often through life in prison or a psychiatric institution. Upon returning to society, if they ever do, they generally pose a minimal threat to society (far less than that of the younger generation). While there may be exceptional crimes that warrant permanent removal, such as cases in which rehabilitation is not possible, the vast majority of convicted murderers, rapists, kidnappers, drug smugglers, etc. do not fall within this category. Capital punishment, if it must be used at all, should be used extremely scarcely: only when rehabilitation is not an option, and only when life in prison is unreasonable (i.e. cost). i.e. Capital punishment (and death row) should almost never be used.

I am not equating the two crimes. I am suggesting that the death penalty is a poor solution to the problem of recidivism. With that said, I would argue that a murderer isn't that much of a threat to society after having been rehabilitated. This is something that can be gathered from their very low recidivism rates. As society advances, so too will our ability to reduce recidivism rates (through improved psychology, education, etc). Enacting the death penalty would effectively be throwing this progress out the window.

Acknowledging one's own ignorance is a great thing (agnosticism). However, particularly in religions where "the word of God" is likened to an absolute truth, this is rarely the case. I am generalizing, of course. There are many religious practices (e.g. Buddhism, certain Christian sects, etc) that encourage you to challenge your faith rather than believe in it blindly and absolutely. But the vast majority, at least the vast majority of those in question in this debate, do not encourage such doubt.

Which is inevitable. Our actions are influenced by our beliefs. Widespread ignorance, while not a good thing, is something that often cannot be avoided. On the other hand, widespread delusion (which is often a direct result of blind faith) is something that can be avoided. It's not whether I fully comprehend all the proofs supporting gravity, but whether the proof actually exists.

This isn't a case of my word against yours. Enjoy your ignorance. :thumbup:

With or without the possibility of parole? Life without parole is often an unnecessary and expensive punishment. And how "bad" are we talking about? There are other options, such as life with the possibility of parole (i.e. rehabilitation), or labour camps. I'm not saying this.

Since this stress is something which existed prior to the person's alcohol use, it would not be considered a withdrawal symptom if it were to appear after discontinuation of the habit. And binge-drinking does not need daily in order to be harmful.

As you admit yourself, mere video games, as well as things like chocolate, sports, etc. all have the potential to be "addicting." However, as virtually any recreational activity can be addicting, there is no reason to condemn one particular activity (such as video games) on the grounds that some people will get psychologically addicted. Wikipedia has a good article discussing physical dependence and how it differs from psychological dependence. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_d ... _addiction Alcohol, cocaine and other hard drugs are examples of substances which are physically addicting. Marijuana, LSD and other soft drugs are examples of substances which are not physically addicting, or which are extremely low in physical addiction potential. All drugs, as well as almost all recreational activities, have the potential to be psychologically addicting. If your evidence is scientific, and if it does not follow the correlation/causation fallacy, then I would be more than happy to see it. Personal experience based on friends and family will only tell you so much about a certain behaviour. A quick search reveals that "approx 1 in 18 or 5.55% or 15.1 million people in USA" suffer from alcoholism, which is defined as serious abuse and/or physical dependence,[1] and an estimated 75,000 to 100,000 alcohol-related deaths occur every year in the United States. "Alcohol kills 6½ times more youth than all other illicit drugs combined."[2][3]

Obviously, this is not what I am suggesting. The alternative, according to Zierro, is to let criminals "go free," presumably after they had served their time. In other words, Zierro implied that, instead of allowing a criminal to be released after serving time (which creates the possibility that they will re-offend), we ought to kill them to ensure that they can not re-offend. And where exactly did I suggest that these convicts are worthy of death? As you were apparently talking about life in prison with the possibility of parole (hence the question of recidivism after release from jail), it is reasonable to assume that many of the criminals we are talking about are in fact mere thieves, drug runners, etc.

I haven't heard of people going homeless over marijuana use. Marijuana use (along with eating chocolate, pizza, or playing games) can be habit-forming. However, it is very low in physical addiction potential. Many individuals have let video games, gambling, food and other habit-forming activities destroy their lives. Soft drugs are no different. There isn't much more than mere correlation to support the gateway theory of marijuana. I certainly would argue with you on that. Hard drugs such as nicotine and alcohol, both having a very high physical addiction potential, much more frequently lead to dependence than do soft drugs (which have low physical addiction potentials). I suggest you read up a little on the topic of marijuana as well as alcohol. Alcohol, although it does have its benefits, can be an extremely dangerous drug, and it has led to hundreds of thousands of addictions, overdoses, direct and indirect deaths and many other problems. Marijuana is virtually harmless when compared to alcohol.

However, there is risk involved. The risk is delusion, or more specifically, widespread delusion. Although the human mind can be easily shaped from birth, it is also susceptible to change even in later years (I was not always an atheist). I agree with "have it your way," and I feel that individuality is key. However, when an individual's unsupported logic or belief begins to negatively interfere with society as a whole, it becomes a problem. Take, for example, widespread belief in creationism as an alternative to evolution, or, to use a more extreme example, the belief that killing infidels will ensure oneself entrance to paradise.

um_bong0: I just stumbled on your earlier post, and it seems that we are mostly in agreement. "My argument is that, as it stands, neither of the two options (life in prison/death) are any good." This notion has been heavily criticized in recent years. http://www.law.northwestern.edu/wrongfu ... ginnocent/

Life in prison is "lesser" in the sense that it does not result in an irreversible human death. I agree that, in ideal situations, the death penalty is sometimes a better alternative to life without parole. However, I strongly disagree with life without parole to begin with, and so I do not support either punishment. In fact, I'm beginning to see life without parole as yet another way of brushing the problem under the carpet. I strongly support rehabilitation rather than permanent removal. Obviously, there are exceptional cases where, say, an psychotic child rapist may never be rehabilitated, and in such a situation, 'permanent removal' may be a viable option. However, it is idealistic and ignorant to assume that all those serving such severe punishments were convicted of equally as heinous crimes. An interesting report by the New York Times: [hide=]... A survey by The New York Times found that about 132,000 of the nation's prisoners, or almost 1 in 10, are serving life sentences ... In 1993, the Times survey found, about 20 percent of all lifers had no chance of parole. Last year, the number rose to 28 percent. ... some critics of life sentences say they are overused, pointing to people like Jerald Sanders, who is serving a life sentence in Alabama. He was a small-time burglar and had never been convicted of a violent crime. Under the state's habitual offender law, he was sent away after stealing a $60 bicycle. Fewer than two-thirds of the 70,000 people sentenced to life from 1988 to 2001 are in for murder, the Times analysis found. Other lifers - more than 25,000 of them - were convicted of crimes like rape, kidnapping, armed robbery, assault, extortion, burglary and arson. People convicted of drug trafficking account for 16 percent of all lifers. ... Marc Mauer, executive director of the Sentencing Project, a research and advocacy group that issued a report on life sentences last year, said that about a fifth of released lifers were arrested again, compared with two-thirds of all released prisoners. "Many lifers," Mr. Mauer said, "are kept in prison long after they represent a public safety threat."[/hide] Source: To More Inmates, Life Term Means Dying Behind Bars Another interesting report on lifers in general, this one well worth a read: [hide=]... Research suggests that the vast majority of lifers opt to avoid trouble and to make the most of the opportunities for work, education and rehabilitative programs in prison (see Johnson, 2002). Recent ethnographic books by lifers reinforce this body of work (see Paluch, 2004; Santos, 2004; Carceral, 2004). ... The ability to make choices, even choices that offer only the illusion of control, is a fundamental human need that counters institutional dependency and fosters autonomous thinking (Toch, 1998). Research suggests that inmates with a sense of control over their lives adjust better to prison and to life on the outside (Johnson, 2002). Though the evidence is limited, it would appear that such inmates are reincarcerated at lower levels than other inmates (Zambie, 1990). ... Inmates with mature coping skills address problems "without resorting to deception or violence, except when necessary for self-defense" (Johnson, 2002). ... Lifers have very low rates of infractions and are generally very well-behaved inmates (Flanagan, 1981 ; Sorenson and Wrinkle, 1998). ... Lifers stay out of trouble because trouble, and especially trouble featuring violence, jeopardizes the narrow but nominally rewarding lives they have built for themselves, often with great effort. ... Lifers age and, hence, mature in prison, often developing better self-control in the process. They see other inmates, and especially short-term inmates, as impulsive, disruptive and even dangerous, as rowdy "tourists" who make prison life hard for the long-term residents who care about the conditions and quality of daily prison life (Flanagan, 1981; DeRosia, 1998). As one lifer observed in his book about prison adjustment, touching on a theme developed in the study's interviews: "Lifers are the stabilizing force for prison management and for creating a more livable atmosphere ... [W]e are the ones who want to make certain that the conditions of our confinement are less stressful and more pleasant for inmates and staff alike" (Paluch, 2004). ... Indeed, most people appear to survive prison with little or no lasting psychological damage (Bonta and Gendreau, 1990), and many are likely to experience an increase in pro-social attitudes as well as improved psychological profiles (Wormith, 1984; Zambie and Porporino, 1984; Zambie, 1992). ... Some lifers are eventually released from prison, these days after serving about 30 years behind bars (Mauer, King and Young, 2004). Recidivism rates for these offenders are quite low (Sorenson and Marquait, 2003).6 ... [6] Mauer et al. (2004) report that: "Four out of every five (79.4 percent) lifers released in 1994 had no arrests for a new crime in the three years after their release. This compares to an arrest-free rate of just one-third (32.5 percent) for all offenders released from prison."[/hide] Source: Mature Coping Among Life-Sentenced Inmates: An Exploratory Study of Adjustment Dynamics

Allowing your beliefs to influence your actions is inevitable. You are doing it now. Do you believe a belief in gravity influences actions? I do, just wondering if you did. I'm sure you don't believe that old double standard. Sure. I'm not sure what you're trying to suggest, though. Belief in gravity is backed by credible findings, whereas belief in god is backed by no credible findings at all (i.e. blind faith). Well, rather than asking God to fix my problems, I try to sort them out on my own.

If you are suggesting that the death penalty is an unnecessary measure, then I agree. If neither the threat of life in prison nor the death penalty is enough to deter these people, then using the irreversible punishment of death as punishment exceeds what is necessary.

Try different things. Even if it means your hobby is "trying new hobbies." ;) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hobbies

Allowing your beliefs to influence your actions is inevitable. You are doing it now.