SunfallE

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]My plans this summer include doing a lot of picture restoration and scrap booking. I have pictures from over 10 years worth of trips to Yellowstone National Park with my family. I?ve been meaning to get them done and I?m only just now getting to it. I?m currently finishing up one of trips to all the national parks in Utah, once that is done I?ll start on the other. And since I?m not longer on the road I?m planning on doing a bunch of hikes this summer as well. There are a number of great spots to hike to that I haven?t been to in years. My family use to go on vacation during the summer but now we either go just before the big rush or just after. And this year we will be going to Yellowstone National Park near the end of September. As big as that place is, there are still hikes (ones that are less than a day that is) that we have yet to go on. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]There are a couple of problems that I see with this thread. The first one being that OtakuBoards is not the place to advertise a get together, at least not as a subject of serious discussion. A good place for that [B]Prick Wizard [/B]would be your signature. You could easily put a line in there stating that you want to meet fellow OtakuBoards members and that if they are interested to pm you for the details. The second problem is that the responses are simply a matter of expanding on why a member is either not interested or simple statements of why they couldn?t attend. Since a few members have also taken the time to respond to the idea of meeting fellow members I?m redirecting this thread to ?[B]If you could meet other OtakuBoards members, would you?[/B]? I don?t know if I would actually go to a meeting where other OtakuBoards members were. But Adam mentioned on his site that it would be a neat idea to attend an anime convention where the members from myOtaku and OtakuBoards all wore matching T-Shirts with something like OtakuBoards on it. Now I could see attending something like that. Not only would you get to meet fellow members but enjoying the convention together would be lots of fun. Not to mention the stir we would create by wearing the t-shirts. [/COLOR] :p

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]First of all [B]Helmet_Hunter[/B] and [B]Pixie_rich[/B] I?ve removed your posts where you were yelling at other members. I do not want to see this thread degenerate into a pointless back and forth bickering contest. If you really feel that another member is out of line, use the report bad post button in the top right hand corner of the post in question. [B]On Topic:[/B]The problem with getting upset over being diagnosed with HIV is that the issues surrounding it have changed dramatically over the past couple of decades. So it?s not a simple cut and dried incident of HIV means death within a very short time. This quote by Laurence Peiperl, MD on HIV InSite will explain it much better than I can: [INDENT][COLOR=Navy]What is the life expectancy of someone with HIV? We don't know exactly, but we know it depends on many factors. In poor countries where people don't have access to HIV treatments, AIDS has cut the life expectancy of entire populations almost by half. Rich countries have begun to mobilize money and efforts to start treating people in those areas, but we have a long way to go. In the early days of the epidemic in the United States, the answer to your question would have been simple and hard to take: before we had good HIV treatments, people with HIV could expect to become ill with AIDS within about 10 years after becoming infected, and then lived only 1-2 years on average after being diagnosed with AIDS. Now that good HIV treatments are available (at least to those who can afford them, or qualify for insurance, or live in places where government-sponsored treatment programs haven't been cut) those who take the medicines as prescribed tend to do very well. We also have better blood tests to help decide who should start treatment, to monitor how well treatment is working against the virus, and to help choose a new treatment if an old one stops working. So the good news is that we can't tell exactly what the life expectancy is for a person with HIV, because the medications and tests have only been around for 10 years or less, and people are living longer than that. What we are starting to see is that deaths among people with HIV are now caused more and more by things like injuries and heart attacks, rather than by AIDS. Heart disease may be related to HIV or its treatments, but it seems that if people have their cholesterol monitored and take medication to lower it as needed, stop smoking, and take care of other risk factors like high blood pressure, the risk of heart attack should be greatly reduced. Liver disease seems to be particularly a problem in people who have both hepatitis C and HIV, and those people should receive specialized medical care and possibly treatment for hepatitis C. But overall in the United States and Canada, it looks as though people with HIV are living long enough to die from causes other than AIDS. Unfortunately, some people use this good news to justify not protecting themselves or their partners from HIV infection. So we should keep in mind some other possibilities: that, as the years go by, we will start to see long-term effects of HIV infection that we don't yet know about, or HIV treatments may lose their effectiveness, or the treatments themselves will have long-term side effects. It's also important to remember that some people can't take the medications because of side effects or other health problems, and untreated HIV infection remains a deadly disease. We need to remain watchful and keep supporting public health, treatment, and research programs to keep HIV under control, and deal with whatever comes up in the long term. But with proper medical care, life expectancy with HIV is much, much longer than it was 10 years ago.[/COLOR][/INDENT] Another thing to keep in mind is that individuals infected with HIV would live for an average of nine years before contracting AIDS. But the average length of time between an HIV diagnosis and contracting AIDS has now increased to 11 years by 2000. The average person use to live for only 18 months after being diagnosed with full-blown AIDS. Now individuals living with AIDS can expect to live for an average of more than six years if they adhere to their drug treatment. The whole point I am making is that continued research could extend your lifespan even more. So though it may seem bleak and depressing there is still the possibility that a cure will be found before the disease runs it?s course. I suggest that you do some research on your disease and find out what resources and support groups are available to you. Best of luck to you. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]Lets try to put a little more effort into this thread. Quite a few posts are very spammy. I suggest that people start using more than a few words to say something nice about the person who posted before you. For example: Tical?s Tales of Symphonia banner is nicely made and the quote about showing support for a fellow member shows that they are kind and caring. ^_~ [/COLOR]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue][B]Zombie_Nosh [/B]and [B]Hanabishi Recca [/B]I?ve removed your off topic posts. If you wish to discuss one of the things mentioned here that?s what the pm system is for. Or if you really want to discuss the series Salad Fingers then by all means start a thread to discuss the aspects of that show. Please stay on topic. [B]On Topic:[/B] Though I?ve seen weirder the bonsai kitty is the weirdest thing I?ve ever seen. Primarily since it was one of the first bizarre things I saw online even though it is a hoax. There?s also another site that lists strange bids on e-bay. I don?t remember the site, but it had some pretty funky stuff displayed. I don?t know if the bids were real or not, but it was fun to see what was listed. I think the lucky panty set was the weirdest. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]Oh the dilemma! Horns, pitchfork and the flames of damnation or a halo harp and clouds of grace! Hehe! I hate to say it but I?m going to have to choose being an angel. After all being able to use the flames of damnation is only something I would want to inflict on the evildoer. ^_~ Though I?m not really sure I believe in either one though. Still I could handle being an angel in the final battle against evil like Retribution mentioned. If such a battle were to occur that is. [/COLOR] :p

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]Well I don?t know about a title, but I think it?s pretty obvious as to what it?s about. ^_~ [spoiler] Abortion right? [/spoiler] Not that it needs tags, but maybe others might want to guess themselves. Anyway, my first impression was that it was a song as well. It has me wondering what type of music it would be set to. The part I like the best is the ?Don't let them tell you what to do? It seems to imply that someone is making the mother?s decisions for her. Then it goes on to say: ?I can't believe you're doing this to me? It changes the direction of the song from make your own decision to why won?t you keep them from doing it. There?s only one line that seems to be a little off and that is ?As away from you, I burn?? It just doesn?t seem to fit? Though that might be because I?m reading it instead of hearing it sung. ^_~ Anyway, nicely written. ;) [/COLOR]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]The one thing I know about illegal immigration is that it?s a serious problem that needs to be stopped. Whether it?s by making them legal or by deporting them back to the country they came from. Honestly, I think it needs a combination of the two. There are plenty of hard working immigrants who primarily come just to get a better life and to escape poverty, but there are also those who come for more sinister reasons such as crime, drugs and making money by smuggling families into America. The main problem I have with just making all of them legal is it is ignoring the reality that there are illegal immigrants who by virtue of various crimes do not deserve to be given citizenship just because they happen to be an illegal immigrant. The biggest problem I have with allowing it in the first place is that illegal immigration has done quite a bit of harm to the regular citizen. It?s not a simple case of they are just here to escape poverty. It doesn?t change the fact that to stay in America they have taken to breaking the law to do so. For example, millions of illegal workers need a Social Security number and they usually just borrow one. Most people don?t even know that they are sharing their identity with an immigrant since there usually isn?t a way to find out. Social Security won?t tell you if someone else is using your SSN. It?s not revealed in personal credit reports either. If somebody uses your number to get a credit card or car loan, the nation?s credit bureaus create a new credit file instead of alerting you to the misuse. The way people find out is when something goes wrong, like unpaid taxes or unpaid bills. At that point debt collectors often track down the original SSN holder. There are other problems as well, if you end up unemployed, you will find that when you try to get unemployment you will be denied since records will show that you have a job in another state. And it?s not easy to prove. And then there is the problem with medial costs to American citizens and Educational and the Welfare costs. The list goes on. I am in favor of immigration reform, but most definitely not in favor of just making everyone already here legal. Sure there are those that do deserve citizenship, but why should those who have been hurt by them coming here just suck it up so to speak? We don?t reward citizens who steal others identity or lie to get welfare so why should it be any different just because they aren?t a citizen? [/COLOR]

[quote name='Darky Dee']When will Desbreko upload the new batches of avatars?[/quote] [quote name='Desbreko][color=#4B0082']Also, I add avatars kind of sporadically -- basically, "when I feel like it" -- since it's not exactly a high priority thing. I try not to let too many pile up before doing an update, but sometimes it'll be a while before some submissions get added, so don't think something was rejected just because it hasn't been added yet. Most of the time I'll make a post in here whenever I add new submissions (such as my post before this), to keep people up to date on which have been given the yea and which the nay, and anything after that post will be left until the next update/post.[/color][/quote][COLOR=RoyalBlue]I trust that answers your question? ^_~ Just look through the thread and you will see that the time between updates varies quite a bit. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]Welcome to OtakuBoards [B]Vegetruks[/B], You are correct in that this thread will be locked. A quick look at the rules that all members are required to read will explain why. These [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/rules.php?"][U][COLOR=RoyalBlue][B]Rules[/B][/COLOR][/U][/URL] and [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/faq.php?][U][COLOR=RoyalBlue][B]FAQ[/B][/COLOR][/U][/URL] can be found on the left navigation menu and the [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=52331][u][COLOR=RoyalBlue][B]Otaku Lounge Rules[/B][/COLOR][/u][/url] are pinned at the top of the forum. You can also use the underlined links I have just provided. The biggest problem with introduction threads is that they leave little room for an intelligent discussion. Rather than every new member creating an introduction thread to come out and introduce themselves, it?s preferred if new members introduce themselves within their first post. So for that reason I will be closing this thread. If you really want to get to know other members of the board and introduce yourself while you are at it, then I suggest you check out this thread: [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=50807&page=11&pp=15][U][B][COLOR=RoyalBlue]Who Are You?[/COLOR][/B][/U][/URL] If you have any questions feel free to pm myself or another member of the staff. ~*SunfallE [B]Thread Closed[/B][/COLOR]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]I never wear designer clothing. For one thing I don?t want to spend the money and the other is that I got too use to wearing very inexpensive casual clothing. When I was working as a truck driver it was pointless to have nicer clothing that would just get ruined while I was working. Between driving, checking out the truck and trailer several times a day, you get pretty dirty. And the grease on the 5th wheel plate is very unforgiving and doesn?t wash out. At least not very good. You could take nicer stuff while you were on the road, but even if you were careful eventually you?d get something on it. Now even though I could wear designer clothing without worrying about ruining them I find I just can?t bring myself to send so much money on a single item of clothing. Especially when the extra money could be spent on something a lot more fun like DVD?s, games or more anime stuff. ^_~ [/COLOR]

[QUOTE=Retribution][size=1]Everyone knows that throwing money at the problem won't help things. It never will, and it never does. People have tried for decades to give money to schools in the hopes they'd improve. In the end, the people are the same, and no one really wants to change anyway. Yes, buying new and better stuff would help, but I went to a school that was 10 years behind technologically, and it was the best middle school in the county -- far behind those rich kids as far as our stuff went. The wound in our public education system can and never will be fixed through money alone. And no one's really acknowledged the fact that all minorities are more economically crippled than Whites -- everyone plays that fact down as if it doesn't matter, and they expect minorities to perform as if we all have an equal playing field.[/size][/QUOTE][COLOR=RoyalBlue][B]Retribution[/B] is right pouring more money into schools did nothing but benefit those who were currently attending the school. Affirmative Action would have never been necessary if people didn?t discriminate against people based on their race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Without it companies and schools could go back to refusing to even allow people in the building or a part of it. I have no problem with reducing or getting rid of Affirmative Action so long as the government makes sure the laws allow leeway to protect anyone from being discriminated against in the future. And not just those who fit the Affirmative Action guideline. They should include everyone. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]Although I don?t follow it to the letter per se the quote I?ve always lived by is this: [B]One should forgive one?s enemies, but not before they are hanged.[/B] I don?t actively attempt to get anyone hanged, but when I was growing up I disagreed with the concept that you had to forgive your enemies, which to me were people who did horrible things to you. I had a lot of very negative things happen when I was growing up and I refused to forgive the people responsible. Primarily because they were only acting like they were sorry to have another chance to hurt you again. Something my parents and other adults didn?t see. I also grew up in a very religious area where my parents and neighbors would just pretend certain things didn?t happen since they wanted to believe they lived in an area where such things didn?t happen. Like drugs, rape and bullying. They were fooling themselves. Anyway, I do forgive people, I just see no need to outright forgive those who would do you serious harm. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]That explains so much. ^_^ Currently I was doing what the book had explained, which was this: - Select ? choose all from the drop down menu. - Select ? choose modify border from the drop down menu and set it for 1 pixel - Layer ? choose new fill layer from the drop down menu ? then solid color from the next tier ? then after choosing the color click okay. I got curious and started looking in my book to see if it listed how you explained it Retribution. I found it on page 306. Once I finally finish the book I?ll probably go through it again since it covers so many things. ^_^[/COLOR]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]This series has been so enjoyable that I ended up getting up to volume 12. Meh.. now I have to wait for the next volume to be released unless I find another legitimate source of the manga. Now I?m wondering how they intend to resolve the fight between [spoiler]Chad and Captain Shunsui Kyoraku and Ichigo and Captain Kenpachi Zaraki.[/spoiler] It will be interesting to see how they mange to survive such an uneven fight. I?m also wondering just what the [spoiler]Soul Society is hiding since it seems to be hinting that they are hiding a dark secret. [/spoiler] Meh! I wish that the 13th manga was available! [/COLOR]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]If you read the [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=52331][COLOR=RoyalBlue][B]Otaku Lounge Rules[/B][/COLOR][/URL] then you would know that it says this:[quote=Otaku Lounge Rules][SIZE=2][CENTER] [b]Reporting bad posts (Playing mod)[/b][/CENTER][/SIZE] This one doesn?t seem to be too much of an issue, but it does happen on occasion. Please, if you find a thread or member that requires being dealt with by a moderator, and no moderator is currently available, do not take the liberty of dealing with the problem yourself. If you happen to come across this scenario the please use the ?Report bad post? button at the top right hand corner of a post, or you PM a moderator and alert them of the problem, and when a moderator is available, they will take care of it. Thanks for looking out for us, though![/quote]However [B]The Boss[/B] makes a good point since the rules also say this: [quote=Otaku Lounge Rules][b]Expected post quality.[/b] Not only does post quality involve the concept of having clear, easy to read posts, along with correct use of spelling, grammar and punctuation, but it involves just how much a poster?s reply contributes, and expands to any given discussion. This is something that is greatly valued here at OtakuBoards, and we encourage members to exceed with their writing skills.[/quote]Several of the posts have been on the spammy side. So please put a little more effort into your posts. For example the post by [B]Up4anime[/B], you could have expanded on your initial post of ?I like wind best.It's so powerful and amazing.? by explaining why you think the wind is so powerful by giving examples of the winds power. [B] On Topic: [/B]I actually do not have a favorite element, it just seems pointless to try and pick just one. [b]The Boss[/b] makes a good point in that the elements are meant to coincide with one another. How could I possibly pick just one when there are aspects that I like about each one? I love the how rain cools the air and leaves everything looking so clean and fresh, I love the feel of the wind on my face and the soft rustling sounds it makes when moving through the leaves on trees. I love the warm feeling from sitting next to a fire and I find the crackling sounds it makes soothing as well. I love closing my eyes to total darkness when I sleep as it seems to help me have pleasant dreams. And when the night is over I love waking up to the sunlight shining in my window. So I guess you could say I like all of the elements. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]If you read the [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=52331][COLOR=RoyalBlue][B]Otaku Lounge Rules[/B][/COLOR][/URL] then you would know that it says this:[quote=Otaku Lounge Rules][SIZE=2][CENTER] [b]Reporting bad posts (Playing mod)[/b][/CENTER][/SIZE] This one doesn?t seem to be too much of an issue, but it does happen on occasion. Please, if you find a thread or member that requires being dealt with by a moderator, and no moderator is currently available, do not take the liberty of dealing with the problem yourself. If you happen to come across this scenario the please use the ?Report bad post? button at the top right hand corner of a post, or you PM a moderator and alert them of the problem, and when a moderator is available, they will take care of it. Thanks for looking out for us, though![/quote]However [B]AC!D!C[/B] makes a good point since the rules also say this: [quote=Otaku Lounge Rules][b]Expected post quality.[/b] Not only does post quality involve the concept of having clear, easy to read posts, along with correct use of spelling, grammar and punctuation, but it involves just how much a poster?s reply contributes, and expands to any given discussion. This is something that is greatly valued here at OtakuBoards, and we encourage members to exceed with their writing skills.[/quote]Several of the posts have been on the spammy side. So please put a little more effort into your posts as the lack of quality is putting this thread in danger of being closed. For example the post by [B]macewindu0099[/B], you could have expanded on your initial post of ?3 is my favorite number because its odd like me? by explaining why you think that you are odd. [B] On Topic: [/B]I actually do not have a favorite number, like [B]AC!D!C[/B] I just don?t see the point. It just doesn?t make sense to have a favorite number. I could choose the number one, but it would only be because I was born on the first day of October. And even then it?s only my favorite number for one day. ^_~[/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]If you take a look at my earlier submissions that were accepted Retribution you will see that the border is exactly the same. ^_~ It's a one pixel border though perhaps not as crisp as the others since I probably use a different technique for applying the border. If you know how to make it crisper using photo shop elements 4 I'd love to hear it since I'm still learning how to do stuff with my program. For example I have yet to figure out how to do the one pixel black with the one pixel white on the inside. My current method doesn't due that very well. I?m only on page 220 of a 430-page book on how to use my program. ^_~[/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]I noticed we don't have a category for X ^_~ So here's my attempt. [IMG]http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/1306/fuuma4vv.jpg[/IMG] [B]Category:[/B] X [B]Name: [/B]Fuuma [IMG]http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/7702/kamui9jh.jpg[/IMG] [B]Category:[/B] X [B]Name:[/B] Kamui [IMG]http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/8793/karen5bu.jpg[/IMG] [B]Category:[/B] X [B]Name: [/B]Karen [IMG]http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/7372/kotori7hs.jpg[/IMG] [B]Category:[/B] X [B]Name:[/B] Kotori [IMG]http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/8207/nataku4du.jpg[/IMG] [B]Category:[/B] X [B]Name:[/B] Nataku [IMG]http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/1191/seiichirou8hp.jpg[/IMG] [B]Category:[/B] X [B]Name:[/B] Seiichiro [IMG]http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/994/sorata3xx.jpg[/IMG] [B]Category:[/B] X [B]Name:[/B] Sorata [IMG]http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/610/yuzuriha4rz.jpg[/IMG] [B]Category:[/B] X [B]Name:[/B] Yuzuriha[/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Welcome to OtakuBoards [B]wanderer87[/B], Please be aware that we have a rules page that all members are required to read before posting. These [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/rules.php?"][U]Rules[/U][/URL] and [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/faq.php?][U]FAQ[/U][/URL] can be found on the left navigation menu and the [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=52331][u]Otaku Lounge Rules[/u][/url] are pinned at the top of the forum. You can also use the underlined links I have just provided. Introduction threads leave little room for an intelligent discussion. Rather than every new member creating an introduction thread to come out and introduce themselves, it?s preferred if new members introduce themselves within their first post. So for that reason I will be closing this thread. If you really want to get to know other members of the board and introduce yourself while you are at it, then I suggest you check out this thread: [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=50807&page=11&pp=15][U]Who Are You?[/U][/URL] If you have any questions feel free to pm myself or another member of the staff. ~*SunfallE [B]Thread Closed[/B][/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]I am so far behind all of you. I only just started reading Bleach and just finished chapter 70 where Ichigo, Orihime, Chad & Uryu are entering the [spoiler]gate to the Soul Society in order to rescue Rukia. [/spoiler] I wasn?t sure what to expect when I started reading it but so far I?ve been enjoying it quite a bit. My only regret was to realize that it?s not available on DVD here in America yet. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]I?ve been following this from the very beginning and I?ve really enjoyed it. So my question to the finalists is this: [B]Out of all the participants, who do you think was the most creative with their posts, or rather who was the most memorable or outstanding in your mind? [/B] Now to make my choice, since both finalists are outstanding, that?s not easy to do! Good luck to both of you. ^_~ *finally decides and places her vote*[/COLOR]

[QUOTE=Ziggy Stardust][COLOR=Sienna]The Boondocks. Never seen the show, but I recognize the name Riley. ascai msoiva Hint: The most influentail sci-fi author of all time. Invented the ground rules on which all sci-fi robots are based, including the imfamous 3-laws.[/COLOR][/QUOTE][COLOR=DarkOliveGreen][B]Isaac Asimov[/B] Even if the latest movie I robot didn?t really follow the book. rseispcn oenmokon Hint: Anime movie where the fate of the world rests on the courage of one warrior.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Are you looking to remove the current wallpaper and then submit a new one with the improvements? If you want to remove the current one, when you are looking at your wallpaper underneath it there is a link that says report wallpaper/edit wallpaper. If you choose edit wallpaper it will pull up another window where you can request that the category or name be changed and you can also request that the piece be deleted. One of the moderators for theOtaku.com will process that request and remove the wallpaper for you. Unless you have Senior Artist status, in that case it will be removed immediately. Once you?ve done that you can then submit the replacement for approval.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]The last four entries are pretty spammy by simply listing the emotion without explaining why that emotion is your strongest one. This thread has done pretty good so far and I?d hate to have to close it. Please put more effort into your posts by explaining why the emotion you list is your strongest. The same goes to anyone else who posts in this thread. [I][B]On topic:[/B][/I] For myself I actually don?t have a strongest emotion. I?ve found that if the situation is right any emotion can be very powerful. For example, when my older brother died, I?ll never forget the feeling of sadness and grief that I felt. It was months before I could think about him without wanting to cry. If I were to gauge my strong emotions by how long they last then sadness would win as I?ve never had an emotion last as long as being sad over my brother?s death did. I?ve had times when something has made me furious, or happy and those emotions were just as strong as the sadness was, but none of them lasted for months. At least not at the same level of intensity. [/COLOR]