venomai

I don't accept that statement to be true. I wouldn't even if I lived in the United States. (I'm Canadian) Sounds like a paradise. You'd have to be pretty ignorant to think that everyone is born free and equal. Most parents realize that, and therefore don't focus much on the declaration of rights when deciding where to raise their child. Tell this to the U.S. soldiers in Iraq who kill thousands, or the lives lost in capital punishment, or the "suspected terrorists" treated horribly (even tortured) in various American-run camps. Frankly, the declaration of rights is BS. Humans are only born free and equal in fantastical worlds. That's stereotyping, if you ask me. But, then again, I'm not the atheist I used to be... :P And, likewise, here is proof that the Flying Spaghetti Monster exists: Read The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. :-w

I can't find any notable sources on time being finite. Care to elaborate?

The cyclic model suggests that such things as time and matter did not "come from" anywhere. Instead, these things have always co-existed infinitely with the universe itself. You claim that all measurable concepts require a point of origin. Can you elaborate on this? The way I understand the cyclic model, time is much like the sine function -- it has no true point of origin, no true beginning or end. Sorry if I'm missing something huge here, I'm not much of a science guy. :)

I noticed a lot of people questioning the Big Bang theory in the religious debate topics, so I decided to start a discussion about an alternate theory. The Cyclic Model The cyclic model suggests that the universe has always existed -- that there is no start or end point. It exists in a constant cycle of "death" (think big crunch) and "rebirth" (think big bang). The cyclic model has been around for a while now, even Einstein hypothesized an endless universe, but it wasn't until the early 21st century (with the discovery of dark energy) that it became a true possibility. Here are some brief summaries on the theory... Steinhardt-Turok model - One of the first notable papers on the theory, released in 2001. Frampton-Baum model - A variation of the model, released in 2007, dealing with phantom energy. Here's an interesting quote from the first article: To illustrate, imagine the graph of a sin function. A sin function has no beginning or end. It exists infinitely, much like the cyclic universe. Your thoughts? Discuss.

Ok... I accept the atheistic axiom that God does not exist, and that God did not influence the Bible. I have now "disproved" your earlier statement by showing it to be untrue. :-k I don't see why religious axioms should be any basis for concrete truth. :-s You agree with me, then. God can't be proven, and therefore God can't be disproven. What's the point in arguing about it? :?:

Let's try to stick to the basics. Prove that God exists, then we can go on to prove that he influenced the Bible. ;) The model says that "past" and "future" -- two terms which are based on our human-made measuring system -- are things that have always existed, along with time itself. The more I wrap my head around the cyclic model, the more complex it seems to be. If time has no beginning and no end, which direction does it travel in? What if time doesn't go "forward" or "backward" at all? Here's the traditional view of time, with a beginning and a clear direction (as shown by the arrow head). According to this, time is always progressing forward, the measurable values of time are ever-increasing from the point of origin. Here's an alternate view of time. As you can see here, time always exists and has no clear direction. Mind boggling, eh? :P

This is just one view of time. The article discusses alternative views on time. More interesting quotes from the same article... Before which point? There is no point of origin in the cyclic model -- as I understand it, the universe has infinitely existed, and therefore so has time. What is the start point of a sin function?

A new theory reasons that the universe has always existed -- it was never "created" by a higher force. See my last post for details... http://forum.tip.it/viewtopic.php?p=5452578#5452578 I feel like a broken record. :lol:

I've always had a problem with the "creator" idea. If a force or being created the universe, what would have created that force or being? If we assume that the force/being has "always existed" -- then why can't we apply that same logic to our universe? Personally, I don't believe the Big Bang created the universe. Instead, I believe that the universe has always existed. It exists in a constant cycle of death (think big crunch) and rebirth (think big bang). The cyclic universe model is still a relatively new concept, but it has gained quite a lot of attention in the scientific community. Steinhardt model (2001 theory) Frampton model (2007 theory) The idea that "universe = God" isn't very far fetched when you compare it to some of the current belief systems. ;)

Cremated and scattered across the world. :)

Haha, thanks for the laugh. :lol: Seriously though, just return it to him. If you have his number, you might want to call him up. If you can't find him, I'm sure your principal would help you out. The guy will probably freak out and change all his passwords, but otherwise I'm sure it will be fine. :)

No, it's not hard at all. That's the point. I've seen 3D modeling classes for 10 year olds that do more impressive work than what JaGex is pulling out. Not only is polycount unbelievably low, but there seems to be a huge lack of skinning/texturing. Since they are so "easy" to create, you end up making a lot of them. Every day. All day. Thousands of simple, basic, no-skill-needed models. :wall: I beg to differ. :) Check out Slick or JMonkeyEngine (both free libraries). http://youtube.com/watch?v=xlh_S7uUziU&feature=related

Oh god, working on Runescape's 3D art would be hell. No artist should be put through that kind of torture. :cry:

After university I'll probably go to a college (or a specialized school) for game development & computer programming. Then I hope to work in the game industry as a full-time developer. :) In the meantime I'll get a job as a bartender.

If you can't spell your own religion (it's Buddhist) then you probably aren't taking it very seriously. :-k Or english isn't his native language? :-k I hope that's the case. :-#

Like I said in my last post, using the term Buddha is a bit ambiguous. It can either refer to Gautama Buddha, like you have pointed out, or, in the general sense, a Buddha can refer to an individual who has become fully "enlightened" or "awakened". With proper efforts and techniques (mostly dealing with Buddhism), any individual can become a Buddha. If you can't spell your own religion (it's Buddhist) then you probably aren't taking it very seriously. :-k Sounds like Shinto :P . Meh... :lol: I don't worship rocks/flowers/etc as gods. I simply note their natural beauty and move on.

1. In your opinion, what is truth? Truth is something many humans perceive as real and scientifically provable. Personally, I believe that truth isn't bound by science or reality, and may not even exist outside of the human ego. 2a. Do you believe in God or Allah or Buddha or any other deity? I do not believe in a deity. Buddha, in the general sense, refers to anyone who has been "enlightened" or "awakened". Buddha is not a deity -- many sects of Buddhism are actually atheistic. I believe and follow many Buddhist philosophies, but I am in no way inclined to worship a diety or be fearful a superior being. Note that some people might interpret "the Buddha" differently as many would refer to Gautama Buddha (the founder of Buddhism). 2b. Do you believe in a higher force, power, or being? For me, a "divine power" can be anything from a beautiful flower on Earth to the expansive universe that we live in. But this is not a "force" as it has no direct power over our lives. It's just there. :| 3. Can you give any reasons for why you believe/disbelieve in the above? I don't believe that any deity/force has direct control/power over the lives of humans. I've never felt the need to believe in God or another deity. 4. How would you describe this being etc(the answer to number 2)? (If "yes to 3") N/A. In my opinion, understanding deities or a divine force is beyond the mental capabilities of humans. Any beliefs we have are mere speculations. Something as specific as a description of the being/deity will end up as a complete guess in the dark. Sorry if my answers are all a little vague. :) It was a pretty open-ended survey.

Not quite a fan of the colours, and it seems a bit blurred/softened in areas. Great work on the face, though. :) Really neat.

I wouldn't call that modeling, it's more like drawing. :lol: It reminds me a lot of ZBrush. Sketchup seems to have improved a lot since I last tried it. The wireframe looks really clean. I wonder how it holds up in terms of polycount... :)

Nice! :D The new version looks great. Nice store name, too. :lol: I think at this point all you need is some photoshop editing to give it those final touches. :)

Great progress so far. Did you model/skin each object, or are some of them premade? It's little dark right now, I'm sure you'll fix that up though. :)

I agree. :) Great work, especially for a first. I like it a lot. Great attention to how the books/papers fold and bend. The line inconsistency is nice, but thick lines usually look ugly with harsh pixeling. You can fix this with some slight anti-aliasing around the lines. :) A few things you need to work on: - Be consistent in your style. You use nice irregular and cartoony lines to outline the paper and a couple books, but other objects (like some of the books) are very straight and boring in places. In real life, no book would appear that perfectly straight! Hell, not even rulers can be realistically outlined with a single straight line. ;) - You need more neutrals, especially on the desk, papers and cup. Right now the shadows just "end" and you leave solid colours, making it look plain and empty. - You need to lighten it up a bit. ;) It looks like it should be a fun and cheerful picture, but it turned out very dark and depressing. Saturate those blues/greens and brighten the desk and shadows a bit. Cheers. Keep it up. :)

#1 sounds like subjective tinnitus, which is caused by a whole bunch of reasons. It's usually pretty normal. I get it a lot, too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus #2 sounds like a minor case of floaters. I've never had them, but I've heard about them. It's pretty common. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floater #3 sounds like it could be a very minor case of depersonalization. I've had this feeling many times, but mostly while high on drugs or in deep meditation. The first few times were downright scary, but I've learned to ignore the fear and simply enjoy the feeling of being temporarily detached from reality. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depersonalization All in all, nothing to worry about. Most of these things (on the level you are describing them) sound completely normal. If the problems get more noticeable and/or frequent then you should talk to a doctor about it. I agree with IGoddessI, you sound like a creative type. :)

If you ask me, the best choice is a small size WACOM tablet. I've tried an older Graphire and now I'm using an Intuos3 (both WACOM). Intuos is a lot smoother and I really love using it. The Bamboo Fun looks good, I haven't tried it. It's a lot less expensive than the Intuos and it's aimed at a much more casual crowd. If you are a professional graphic artist you might want to go for some higher-end equipment, but if you're just a hobbyist the Bamboo Fun sounds like a great choice. http://www.wacom.com/index2.cfm You can usually find good-quality tablets for low prices if you look around a bit. Don't expect to get much of a deal at Best Buy or at WACOM's website. They usually sell them at low prices in small computer/tech stores, though. Call around, you can usually find some great deals.

I'd love to hear it as well. :)