ember3579

Alright, here's the situation as I understand it. In the past, the constant cycle of life has kept a concurrent cycle of climate ages, depending on the activity of life, which is reflected by the released greenhouse gas (methane and CO2, primarily). Ice ages are nothing new, and are, by our standards, few and far between. However, in recent years (late 1700s and up, roughly), human progression in technology has dramatically increased the activity of life, and also opened up some new means of producing greenhouse gas (coal, oil, etc.). This has been speeding up the process of the climate cycle, which we are seeing a small part of right now. Before I go further, I'd like to clear something up. "Global Warming" isn't a really great term to describe this. What happens is the extra GHG (greenhouse gas) bumps up the overall planet temperature SLIGHTLY, which starts a chain reaction. The raised temperature causes the land-based ice to melt at a faster rate, which adds more extra water into the system, subsequently adding more energy. For a preview of what to expect if we don't keep this from happening, stretch the events of "Day After Tomorrow" over a reasonable time table. Another thing to clear up is the difference between water-based ice and land-based ice. I'll demonstrate this with a little science experiment for you. Get a random cooki e pan or something similar, 2 cups, a couple ice cubes, and something similar to a popsicle stick. Take one of the cups, and fill it up with water. Place an ice cube or 2 in the water. This represents water-based ice. When the ice cubes melt, the water level will remain the same as when you placed the cubes into the cup. Take the other cup, fill it, then place your popsicle stick on the top of it, flat end down. Place an ice cube on the stick. This represents land-based ice. Notice how the ice cube isn't in the water? This is because the "land" is holding it out of the water. When the ice cube melts, the water level in the cup will rise proportionally. If you were to supersize the experiment, the second cup would instead be an increased rate of extreme weather, as well as a rise in the ocean's level. As for solutions, well, I think that enough has been said on conservation for right NOW, but a good point's been raised. What are we going to do about power, if oil and other resources of a similar nature are removed from the equation? As I've said in a previous thread about a related subject, I know of 2 VERY good ideas. One involves solar. What the man who thought this up is wanting to do is to find a large area in some of the most miserable sections of the planet (such as deserts), and build a sort of plant. What this plant does, rather than using solar panels (might be integrated, depending on the type of money willing to be spent), it uses basic mirrors to redirect heat towards a pipe of water, heating it into steam, which turns a turbine for electricity. The larger the plant, the more electricity per square inch of space taken is made. It is estimated that if you could find a ~91 square mile area in a random section of the desert, and can build strong enough transmission lines (biggest problem with this), ONE plant can produce enough electricity to power the entire United States. My source is Newsweek, in the edition showcasing 1968 on the cover. Another involves a form of recycling. This particular dude (who looks like the dude from MAD magazine, by the way ;) ) Figured out a way to convert practically anything you can produce short of nuclear waste into power and a substance which is somewhat similar to a glassy asphalt. The machine is roughly the size of a 2 car garage, and requires a little power to kickstart, but once it does, it produces WAY more energy than it takes. If the power grid this thing is hooked up to goes out, this will keep on trucking as long as you keep chucking in random crap. That's one of the things that I like about this. As long as you don't try dumping stuff from places like 3 Mile Island into it, this WILL eat it and crap out power. I'd imagine that you would work it in a similar fashion to a super-sized wood chipper. I'm a big fan of this, for one big reason. If we have this equipped on any space exploration craft, we don't need any fancy material to power the ship. All we'd need to do is to play janitor in a nearby asteroid field or a planetary ring. I'm having difficulty remembering which magazine I read this from, but I think it's a Scientific American issue. It would have this on the cover.

And to make it all that much more interesting, what if the person controlling who gets shocked decides one day to be a jerk, or is working for a terrorist organization themselves? They can fry everyone in range that has these on, and chances are there isn't ANYTHING that anyone outside of that room can do about it. That's the first reason why this should NEVER be an option. It CREATES vulnerabilities, rather than protects them.

With America, the President can't just attack any random country he wants. He either has to be able to convince the Congress to let him, or the opponent has to make a clear attack against this country. Also, I think that thanks to Iraq, the President can't just dupe the country like they done with it. For other countries, not as sure. With dictatorships, it's basically whatever the head says goes.

Christ that's [bleep] stupid. What kind of reason would McD's have to not serve water (which they need to, by law) to children but instead only adults? Read the second sentence, and tell me who sounds stupid. :roll:

Ryder basically ended all logical discussion. He wins. If any more convincing needs to be made to prove it to you, then you are most likely too sensitive to be allowed to enter most cities. Thank you, and good-bye.

In order to properly demonstrate what it would feel like, you'd have to be deprived of even that small group of friends. Trust me, being LITERALLY alone like that is Hell. I can vouch for that, as well as how much help even ONE person besides immediate family to help you out improves the situation. Luckily, I've been able to avoid this situation in recent years. I actually just now remembered a book I've read a little while ago. It was for one of my classes in Sophomore year, I think. It detailed this perfectly, though not in a situation that is 100% applicable to everyone. It's a real life story by a famous(ish) female writer about her school years. I can't remember the name, but if you look, it shouldn't be too hard to find. And skatedog's tactics and reasoning are overall correct, although strength in numbers doesn't always work. They can always either outnumber you or find a way to split you up.

Riku, TRUST me, you have no idea what you're talking about. While YOU might be alright with the whole "You vs. the World" routine, the majority of humanity isn't too keen on the idea. Oh, and for the record, the whole "sticks and stones" line is the single biggest pile of sh** that has EVER been said to anybody. Period.

Honestly, your reaction should depend on the situation. If the person's not trying to be mean, then talking to them should help. If the person's just verbally harassing you, act as if it were a game of "Yo Momma" or just ignore it. If it turns physical, you can either tell the proper authorities, tell your friends, or keep in mind that self defense is legal. It is VERY rare that telling a random school person would actually help, and it usually just aggravates the situation or makes a new one, like Solidus' example. Really, the only way that you can get someone whose persistent like most are is to either give them some of their own medicine, scare the Hell out of them (there's various ways to do that, some of which aren't exactly legal), or to just utterly beat the piss out of them and their friends on your own. There isn't very much that can be done by other people. I know from personal experience.

Alright, first off, there are MANY truly Epic lulz to be had in this thread. :lol: =D> \ :thumbsup: Second, yeah, it might be a decent idea for you to relocate to give the baby some food, but if you wish to demean someone for all the world to see for your precious comfort, then you can go eat lava. -.- TRUST me, it's not that bad. Oh, and to the people saying that they should relocate to the bathroom, 1) it's especially demeaning to the person to ask them to do that while people are taking a dump nearby. 2) It's highly unsanitary, and considering the especially vulnerable situation that breastfeeding puts people in, that's NOT a good idea. 3) It's not like it's gonna smell nasty in the surrounding area if you do it in public, and nobody has to clean up afterward (the kid already does that, unless if he's a sloppy eater :anxious: ), so don't compare that to taking a dump. Thank you.

Let me redefine it for you. Let's say that for example, you live in a random neighborhood in a city, fairly nice, no crime. All of a sudden, some random people move in, and start screwing with the place. After watching them basically turn the place into a dump, with NO action being taken by the proper authorities, what would you do? That's basically the situation as viewed by most of the Arab countries, as well as a sizable portion of the rest of the planet towards the US. As long as we stay there, they will not settle, and will keep trying to kick us out by ANY means possible. Al Quaeda might not be in the best of shape right now, but whose to say they're the only ones? [/obvious] :wall: :wall: :roll:

Edit by Admin--refers to a removed comment ~Turtlefemm -.- *slaps* Anyway, yeah, unless if you're female or homosexual, I don't get why you're disgusted by that. True, it's not suitable for most public areas, but meh. It's not like it's anything overly weird. :roll:

To put it as basically as possible, I'd want the ability to use magic, with special preference towards things using the elements Fire and Darkness. If I were to have all the many little things that I'd want at the level that I want, unless if you abuse the snot out of my weaknesses (ice and light being the major ones), I'm basically unstoppable by anyone of a normal power level. If you want, I can go into depth of what I'd want to be able to do. It'd be a long post, though. :anxious: :uhh:

Pepsi tastes somewhat similar to flat Coke to me. I prefer Vanilla Coke to basically any other pop, EXEPT maybe A&W from the tap (there's an A&W's restaurant nearby which has it \ ). I'd imagine that the only reason why Pepsi still exists is thanks to the way that human taste buds vary from person to person. Some just deal better with that sort of thing.

Alright, just for clarification. My family tree is predisposed for being fat, among other things. I'm currently around 210 pounds (don't really look like it, though :thumbsup: ). If at some point I grow to the point where I take up 2 seats, I will VOLUNTEER to pay for 2, whether the company has that policy or not. Also, while my area isn't exactly the best for exercise, I can still keep a decent size. It's NOT THAT HARD. As has been said previously, chances are that if you're big enough to take up 2 seats, you're too damn lazy to get up off your lardass, walk around the block for a couple minutes every morning, and trade the Cheeto's for an apple. If you can't be bothered to do that, then you shouldn't be catered to as if you're royalty. That is all. :wall: And IgoddessI, that was a good post, no matter what anyone else says. =D> I think you're gonna be a damn good mother. We NEED more people with as much balls and common sense as you have.

Please keep in mind that some species' tails are at LEAST at long as they are tall.Personally, I don't know how it'd work to have an artificial tail, but meh. Hoffman, think you can post some pics of that? I'm interested. Of me and my collar or my friend and her tail? I don't have any pictuers of her with her tail on. Her tail isent that long, but even if it was as tall as her, it wouldn't be very long :lol: Your friend w/ a tail. If necessary, I can do with a pic of her and a description of the tail.

Please keep in mind that some species' tails are at LEAST at long as they are tall.Personally, I don't know how it'd work to have an artificial tail, but meh. Hoffman, think you can post some pics of that? I'm interested.

Impressive. It actually took me a couple of seconds to catch that. :lol: You wouldn't happen to have an old Winchester, would you? ;) Unless if it's in the pub, of course.

Zombies: Meh, probably not right now, but all it takes is one scientist to screw up a biological test for this crap to start. I have a decent contingency plan in case this happens. :thumbsup: Ghosts: Probably, but they would have for the most part no ability to affect corporeal things. (Read: most of this stuff about sightings and the TV shows is bull.) I'd imagine that you'd turn into a ghost when you die and just hang out until a reaper or something similar comes by. Somewhat similar to Bleach, actually. Aliens: Mathematically, the probability that they DON'T exist is about as close to 0% as it gets. As far as there being space-travel capable species within range of us, not so certain. I'd imagine that there probably are other species much more advanced than us out there, probably even in our own galaxy. Remember that the sun and this planet is relatively young compared to the rest of the universe. Hell, with as many times that the "Reset Button" for this particular planet has been pressed (at least 5 times, according to some), there might even be species originally from THIS planet floating about. We'll find out if there are any in the vicinity in a couple more decades, considering the rate at which we're getting better with the applicable tech. However, as I've stated in previous threads, until we get to a certain tech level, the odds are good that any aliens within range to get to us will probably decide against making contact for the time being. The reasoning is as follows: 1) We're still at the low end of the technological ladder, and they might want to let us develop on our own. 2) With the way that our political scene is right now, there is a good chance that someone would freak out and do something overly stupid, such as attacking the visitors or just rioting. Neither of which are good first impressions. The only ways that these would be over-ridden logically are 1) they just stumble across us and are as fresh to new species as we are/unlucky, 2) they need all the help they can get (not necessarily military aid, mind you), and 3) they're invading a la Independence Day.

Gun laws... Whoo, boy... This particular section of the legal books has been giving people migraines for CENTURIES. The side FOR gun sanctions is worried about the ease of which someone could go buy a random gun from a store and blow someone's brains out, or an accident involving children or "emotionally or mentally challenged". The side AGAINST gun sanctions is worried about the ease of which someone who has a now-illegal gun could do bad things to someone who followed the law by turning in their firearm(s), as well as the hindrances to things like some sports and hunting. I'd prefer to have gun laws forbid only the overly destructive weapons (rocket launchers, flame throwers, machine guns, etc.), let people have the lowest ranked weapons (.22 cal weapons, some small arms, most rifles/shotguns) unsanctioned (not very dangerous, and you can't exactly hide a bolt action down your pants-leg ;) ), and the middle-of-the-road artillery (handguns of medium strength and up, strongest rifles/shotguns, automatic equipment, revolvers) requires a license. A training course is available for free for the non-sanctioned weaponry, and the licensed weapons are fairly cheap (USD 50$ sounds good to me) to get certified. However, if you have done any violent crimes, you need to be licensed for ALL firearms to be able to keep them, and some are banned for your use for an amount of time based on your crime. If you commit an appropriate type or number of crimes while you're sanctioned, you are FORBIDDEN from owning another firearm.

Weapon: The complete control over the elements Fire and Darkness (can explain if asked) Song: Indestructible - Disturbed Ally: Either Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke/Mandara, Kurosaki Ichigo, Zaraki Kenpachi, Soi Fong, Inuyasha, Himura Kenshin, Cliff Fittir, Fayt Leingod, the list could go on forever, so I'm gonna stop there. \

(Not sure if you were being sarcastic hard to tell over the net) Well kinda. Hitler was a Nazis and he got that from a broken cross in Austria(I think) I believe it was first a Hindu design of worship, then Greek something or other. A great deal of cultures use a form of it. It's part of a Buddhist symbol meaning "caged bird" Naruto ftw as well as being a sign of peace in some Native American tribes. It's just that the Nazis are the most prominent users of it, and they sorta took over the symbol. It would be fun to mess with some of their heads by using the obscure meanings of it, but you might wanna bring along your stab-proof jammies, just in case they really are as stupid as they look. :roll:

-.- *slaps Lent* Anyway, this seems like it could be very promising. The only 2 big problems would be that 1) that might be a hard thing to implement over large distances with current tech, and 2) privacy might take a hit with the way that I think that this works. Other than that, I want this NOW! :pray: \ : :thumbsup:

You, miss, have just made my millennium. :lol: =D> :thumbsup: :mrgreen: That would have been the single funniest thing I have EVER seen if I were to have seen that. :twisted:

The reason for this is simple. McCain is almost 100% assuredly going to operate as if the current president were to get a 3rd term, hence the name "McBush". However, the only prominent person we know of to associate the name "Hussein" with is Saddam. I think that you see the difference. [/obvious]

Caterpillar.... Cheeseburger... Caterburger!!! :twisted: *watches as the caterburger jumps out of the box and eats the chef on the left's face off* OH SH** RUN!!!!! :shock: :o In all seriousness though, who, or more appropriately, WHAT would want to eat that, or even be ABLE to? I love my cheeseburgers, but that is overdoing it on a colossal level. A sad, sad waste of good burger making materials. :cry: -.-