Duff

Reminds me of how fun it is to ask someone to rate something on that scale, when the question can't be answered that way. It always surprises someone when you ask, "On a scale of 1-10, are you going to be here for lunch?" I agree, though. That scale should stick to things like Runescape Achievements. ;)

I tan naturally. I don't think I'd be comfortable tanning artificially. I probably should use some sort of sun screen, but I never made that a habit since I rarely burn. But this risk of skin disease may change that. I've always known about it, but I guess better safe than sorry. I'd say I like the way I look when a bit tanned. It's better than a farmer's tan. So that explains why I tan: to get rid of this farmer's tan. I was actually thinking the other day, since it's almost gone cause I've been longboarding shirtless for a bit now, when I start running after work is finished in a few weeks, I'd start running in the early mornings in long sleeve shirts. Won't get too hot, but will also avoid those darned sleeve tans. :P On girls, I'm more attracted to light skin. I'd say white skin with a bit of a tan is what I'm into. Not albino, but not brown. An inbetween, if you will. So many white girls at my school tan to the point of becoming brown, and I just don't find that all too attractive, especially since half of them are orange anyway.

Also, the opposite. Maybe when you're at a small venue with maybe 20 or so people watching a band, and the lead singer wants everyone to clap. Just not the same effect, buddy. Especially when people aren't really into your music. o.O I didn't even see that. I agree with Obfuscator, though. Catholic doctrine is some of the most rational thinking I've studied. It has basis. It's not that stupid 'flying spaghetti monster' crap. And for the sake of keeping the peace, I'd say both theists (at least those who know Catholic doctrine) and atheists partake in very rational thinking. Great minds have been on both sides. It's the stupid accusing of the other side of being irrational that gets to me. :\

I think the stigma that's been seen in this thread is not the generalization that all heroin addicts/users are homeless junkies who have destroyed their lives (Off-Topic is too smart to do that :)). I think it's more because we're worried that those who use heroin will damage themselves psychologically and physically, because so many people have done so in the past. At least in my case, the only reason why I'd assume that someone using heroin might be in harm's way is because it does, in fact, harm so many people. Even if they were using it in a controlled way, I'd still be worried. That isn't a bad stigma, I'd say. It's one based on concern. There's plenty of safety hazards for riding a motor cycle, but there's a perfectly safe way to do it. Yet, that doesn't stop me from worrying about my dad, mom, and little brother whenever they go out on a ride. It might just be me, but I don't judge heroin users to be homeless addicts or whatever. I'm concerned for them. Being perfectly honest, I'll only jump to that conclusion if I see a user whose life is actually down in the dumps and who can't seem to control his/her urges. But I'll still be compassionate for them.

Oh, was definitely a joke. :P

It's okay to admit you have a tanning bed in your room. >:3 @Omar: Oddly enough, my younger sister just yesterday suggested I make my own ice-cream for fun. Sounds like a marvelous plan, tbh. EDIT w/OT: I think I post too much on these boards(with my 13.6 ppd). Heh, must be mildly annoying to some people.

He called them yellow bastards at the end. o.O @Dizzle: Hah. No sense in getting all riled up for nothing, right. Respect.

Haha, I spent a whole semester learning about why donating to food banks and hosting soup kitchens isn't doing squat for the food security of our world. I always wanted to just have a go at my professor and say, "They may not solve the problem, but they sure as hell prevent a lot of people from dying, so really, what's the harm... Many people are too lazy or aren't willing to press for legislation that improves food security. It's better that they give food than do nothing at all." (I'd say, as a college student, I'm much to 'busy' to try and do something big like impact my government at this point. :P) I know it sounds dumb, but the low quality of local commercials is what sets me off: good ol' Russ Dean Ford yelling at the shaking camera; you can't hear a word he's saying because it's so windy and he isn't even microphoned or anything; and then there's the poor picture quality. Oh, and don't forget those commercials that have the cheesy saleman yelling at you while big yellow letters flash in and out of the screen "Liquidation World, we have this and that and this and that for this price, come now! GO GO GO!" ...Yup, all commercials suck. I'm glad my family doesn't spend money on cable or anything like that.

I disagree with the bolded part, but overall I like this post. Better to just be friends! One side can "win" the argument, though neither will ever admit defeat. In this day and age, when empirical proof is everything, neither side can provide it. There's over 2000 pages of thread that shows just this. :P I don't want to get into an argument, though. I'm glad that thread is beneath 20 or so pages of Off-Topic discussion. :) EDIT: No, I didn't just want the last word in this 'almost on the verge of' debate. Let's just all be friends, hah.

You said it way better than I did. I'm not big on evangelizing. Basically the only instances when I'll actually speak up about Catholicism/theism is when some [wagon] is accusing 'us' of being, like you said, "illogical, blind-follower morons," or, when a theist/Catholic starts making claims that aren't actual Church teaching. When it comes to atheists, I usually try to avoid all talk of religion with them, mostly because neither side can win such an argument, and I'd rather just talk about other things and be friends than go off on each other about who is right or wrong. I have numerous atheist friends, and I basically can't tell the difference, because I don't walk up to my group of friends and say, "Hey, instead of talking about our upcoming summer bro-trip, let's argue about religion!" :grin: I guess I could say the same about any other sect of Christianity besides Catholicism...

I'm no lawyer or drug expert, but in a sense that does serve as a deterrent for companies not to pull out drugs that haven't been tested enough, as these compensations are likely due to the fact that the drug has some type of unexpected adverse effect. No? Mhmm. And I do feel for people who are harmed by drugs that haven't been tested. But I find it hard to believe that many of the said law firms are actually doing such research for the benefit of these people/others who might take the drug. Eh, ierno. The commercials themselves are just annoying. Actually, most local commercials are. :P

Good point. And I think the reason why many people see heroin/drugs in general as being the problem is because so few people know how to have a safe/controlled relationship with it, or like you said, exercise precautions and responsibilities. Again, I'm assuming that the majority of drug users have abusive relationships with drugs, as opposed to controlled. Don't shoot me, Venomai. D:

People who don't know Christian Catholic doctrine and as a result make those who do look stupid. I dunno how many threads I've read where some person starts laughing at/pointing out/ judging Christians based on stupid statements made by a Christian somewhere (who doesn't even know what they're talking about). Not all Christians are that dim-witted. :c

Good! :thumbup: Post them here. I don't think I'll remember to check the Pet Pictures Sticky otherwise.

I've been noticing that. :\ Annoyance: When people you are debating with dislike you because of your differing opinions (or are just rude to you). I just want to be like, "Geez, cool your jets. I'm just stimulating my intellect, not making enemies."

You're right. And I agree. I guess I just looked to much into this statement. I just think it isn't good to compare video gaming/sports with drug use. There's that sense of social acceptance that you alluded to (the stigma). Heck, driving a car is extremely dangerous. But we still do it, fully aware of how dangerous it is. Yet there's that distinct difference between driving and drug use (that I find to be common sense).

Watching a heroin user take his drug probably doesn't have the entertainment value that boxing does... Anyway, I don't think the side effects (brain damage) of boxing are as drastic and likely as those of heroin. I don't know what the likeliness of a boxer developing brain damage (of the same magnitude as brain damage resulting from heroin) is, but I don't think it'd be too high. And there's also the chance of getting addicted. The chance of getting addicted to boxing (addiction meaning unable to physically stop) is 0. Compare that to ~1/4 of heroin users being dependent on the drug, I'd say that's quite a huge difference. I'm just trying to think of reasons why people aren't making a huge issue of boxing like they do of heroin. There's gotta be more. :P @Omar: Point taken. EDIT: But common sense tells me that even saying 75% of all non-junkies are heroin users is stupid. I'd even go as low as 50%.

From "Today..." thread.

Those are so rad. Haha :thumbsup:

I think I'm new enough to change my name without much impact. Plus, I like Duff better than Feldegast. It's short n' sweet. And probably because this avatar is so stinkin awesome. :3

-sigh- I'm obviously am unaware of a microwave's average life. The fact is, she lied. If she felt that a microwave should last more than 6 years, she wouldn't have bothered lying about how old it was.

Addiction to sports and addiction to a drug isn't the same... I mean, from what I know, if one decides that they're done with getting hit in the head, no matter how enjoyable it once was, they can stop. I doubt their body would scream at them, "Nooo, I want broken limbs, I want brain damage. If you won't give me that, I'm going to quit working for you." Sorry for the childish example, but seriously, comparing 'addiction' to a sport and addiction to a drug is quite a stretch. @Venomai: I don't think anyone is saying that using heroine guarantees a [cabbage]ty life. I think what's being said is that heroin is 'almost always' unsafe. Yes, you can use it in a controlled fashion and minimize the unwanted affects. But that's an exception. I doubt there'd be much discussion along the lines we're on if everyone were talking about controlled drug and alcohol use to the point where there is no harm done to the person. And you assume that this vast number of people do the research you do and know how to use heroine in a controlled fashion? It was said eariler that many drugs are done out of curiosity. Curiosity implies not knowing much about whatever is being done. How many people do you think actually research "controlled heroine use" before they try it? Sure, they're physically and psychologically capable of doing said research and using heroine in a controlled manner. Doesn't mean they will. I hate to be pessimistic, but I doubt the larger population of drug users have health effects on their mind when doing the actual drug. Sure, I don't have evidence to support my idea that the majority of drug users don't use their drugs in a controlled fashion. But honestly, numbers like 127 non-dependent opiate/heroin users, or 126 long-term heroin users don't mean much to me in light of who is the minority and majority. The research you did concluded that controlled heroin use was possible. Not that controlled heroin users were not the minority. So yours is just as much an assumption as ours. But, personally, common sense seems to back the generalization that there are more heroin abusers that controlled heroin users. It's not like that generalization is coming out of nowhere. You can't just dismiss it. And, to be honest, controlled heroin users may be hard to find (possibly because they're rare). Doing research comparing the number of controlled use and abuse might be hard to find. As a note, while writing this, many times I was thinking of throwing this post in the trash (haven't really re-read it, either). But I'm posting it anyway... and I'll probably get torn apart by Venomai EDIT: If anything, I'll just say, I didn't know heroin could be used in a safe manner. Now that I do (thank you, Venomai), I'll make sure to note that whenever I talk about people being heroin users, I do not mean those using it in a controlled manner. I felt that those drug users in discussion (we were talking about being worried/caring for those using the drugs) were using them in a way that was harmful. I wouldn't be worried at all if someone were using drugs in a safe, controlled manner. And I think many of the people here are excluding those who use drugs in a controlled fashion because if they are, why are they of any concern?

It's around 2.4 miles via road. I guess I could, but I wouldn't have whatever I buy to myself. Any kind of fruit I'd buy I'd have to keep in the fridge, which will probably get eaten by the five other people in the house. I guess I just don't want to spend money on food when I'm home for the summer with my family. Kinda seems like a waste of money.

Hooray, I have meetings to go to! So I'll have something to do today. Consecutive meetings from 1-4. I'm happy.

Ambassador of Cinema - Maserati