Gavin

[SIZE="1"]That has to be the most roundabout way of finding out your wife has had an affair, seriously. Also "Breach of Contract" lol.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Regardless of technological progression in other areas humanity still relies on gunpowder based firearms for infantry combat. Alien enemies however will brandish significantly more futuristic style weaponry. - Halo and Mass Effect.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]I've been giving [B]Drowning Pool[/B]'s [I]Sinner[/I] album a listen to recently after a recommendation from Al, and so far it's pretty good. I'd heard a couple of songs before from various movies but I might consider checking out the rest of their library if the style is the same.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]I'm truly lost for words over the lunacy of this, to murder someone in cold blood over operating one of these cameras is truly mind-boggling. I mean we've had these things on major roads in Ireland for years now and people have just accepted they're there to help save lives because there aren't enough police to cover the same areas night and day. I really don't understand any objection to these cameras, if you keep within the speed-limit then you've got nothing to worry about. Lord knows I just feel pity for the family of the deceased, to have died over something so utterly pointless is just tragic.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]That was great Rach, Lord knows I wonder what's going to top this incident's speed for a firing.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Adam']Mental note: Drink moar alcohol and eat nachos.[/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]Ah the college student diet, along with copious amounts of takeaway and carbonated refreshment. On a more serious note I have to agree with Sabrina's sentiment, there's no point in ordinary people getting too worked up over this because aside from basic precautions there's very little they can do.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Euthanasia has always been one of those concepts I've found hard to form a concrete opinion on because one can so readily see both pros and cons. Having lost several family members of cancer I can certainly understand a person's desire to keep their dignity intact in the face of such a horribly wasting and painful disease especially in regard to the final days/weeks. When there is no hope at all of recovery I would have no moral problems with a person being offered euthanasia. Unfortunately for those who are not suffering from terminal illnesses or various mental illnesses that there is some hope of recovery from then it becomes a slippery slope indeed. Obviously if a person is suffering from a mental illness the logical response is that they should pursue treatment, but as James pointed out these people do not think in logical means and even if they can get treatment for their condition there is sadly no guarantee that it will be effective. I'm not saying these people should be given the offer of euthanasia but their situations are certainly not as clear-cut as some would like to portray. In the end I have to agree with James, while there are times when I would whole-heartedly support a person's right to choose to end their own life, legalisation and judicial and medical oversight would probably prove too difficult to ever implement. In regard to this group specifically I can't agree with their methodology, I don't know if there are some kind of legal issues involved that explain the attempt to make the deaths look natural but just the whole set-up doesn't seem right, I mean suffocation from helium with a plastic bag ? I'm afraid I can't see any approving such a method.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]25 minimum characters for a post, it was bumped up from ten a few months back to get people to put more effort in their posts. Strange though I thought the Youtube link was already exempt from the requirement.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Yeah Omaeda is annoying but I have a sneaking suspicion I'd be a little saddened if the fat yuts actually was killed...only a little though. Regarding the Vizard versus the Espada I think it would certainly be an interesting fight depending on who was involved. I mean just taking the former captains into account we're talking about four of Soul Society's top warriors who've had their powers further augmented through Hollowification and they've had a hundred years to master that new power. Shinji beat the stuffing out of Grimmjow using just his mask and regular sword. Ichigo might have more raw power than the other Vizard because he's the shounen protagonist but experience seems to count for a hell of a lot in the series. Here's hoping we do get to see them in action soon.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Sangome'][SIZE="1"]Why *sneeze* can't I *sneeze* ever sneeze *sneeze* JUST ONCE?! Seriously, whenever I sneeze, it can't be just once. No, it has to be 498272389427983474289237 times in a row. Guh.[/SIZE][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"] Same problem, one giant sneeze followed by at least one or two smaller ones...that's not even taking a cold or hayfever into account when it routinely reaches five/seven sneezes in a row.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Actually PunditKitchen is a subsidiary of Icanhazcheeseburger. Besides it doesn't involve lolcats so it's fine, besides having finished up a chemistry tutoring session a little while ago it was just something I thought suited the mood. :p[/SIZE]

[quote name='Magus']Oh yeah, there's been quite a few people at other forums talking about Halibel releasing entirely too early. (because of the whole, they release they die thing.) I think that's a breath of fresh air. Too see people cut to the chase and get things over with instead of seeing people drag things out with all the sandbagging. (She's become my new favorite because of that.) I know, I just complained about Ulquiorra releasing his 2nd form, but that was only because I didn't like the look of it. But I did like the trouncing he gave Ichigo :).[/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]I don't know, releasing too early ? Sort of sounds like the complaints made against Komamura for using his bankai against Pow, even if it similarly ended the battle in a single strike. But yeah I just reread the Pillar fights and they just seem a lot better paced by comparison to Ichigo's 10 chapters against Ulquiorra (also I'd forgotten how badass Kira was in his fight).[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Oh fine, and everyone knows Josh added that disclaimer because he hates cats. [CENTER][IMG]http://punditkitchen.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/political-pictures-moon-landing-rocket-science.jpg[/IMG][/SIZE][/CENTER]

[SIZE="1"]This thread needs moar lolcats. [CENTER] [IMG]http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/funny-pictures-corporate-fat-cat-is-keeping-the-bonus.jpg[/IMG][/SIZE][/CENTER]

[SIZE="1"]Several people have pointed out that Hachigen is on his way with the other Vizards and he'll probably take over the healing duty from Kira. Dealing with Barrigan's fight against Soifon and Omaeda I wouldn't even consider the idea of that axe being a disadvantage given his rank among the Espada. Nnoitra wielded a similarly sized weapon as though it were a feather so to paraphrase Isshin size is no measure of a weapon's capability. I doubt as well Soifon's speed will give her a distinct advantage (if Zommari is to be believed that he was the fastest Espada), and we'll certainly see a bankai release from her. While I'm fairly ambivalent about Soifon overall her being killed in this fight would certainly be a nice change of pace. Honestly if Kubo actually had the guts to kill off Hitsugaya, Hinamori, Matsumoto, Omaeda and Soifon for the sake of breaking the idea that the Gotei are going to come out of this unscathed (relatively speaking) I'd be very impressed. The Espada were supposed to be the mirror of the Vizard but right now they're looking far too weak as a group.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]But on the other hand, I simply can't imaging the sheer magnitude of hopelessness that would drive a man?with a family, no less?to take his own life.[/FONT][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]That's probably the saddest aspect of that whole level of depression really, even a supporting family isn't enough to save a person from their own sense of worthlessness as a person to the point they see no value in their continued existence. I suppose the guilt over what he had a hand in creating may simply have been too much for him in the end, whatever his crimes if we can call them that I doubt anyone wanted his life in reparation. The fact that his five year old daughter will miss out on her father's influence the rest of his life over this is probably the most tragic aspect of everything.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Because a picture is worth a thousand loud cheers. I am also going to quote a trope title (though I may end up regretting it) in that he could not possibly have survived that. [CENTER][IMG]http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/5603/355.png[/IMG][/CENTER] Hali is, if anything, looking even better in her released form than normal (at least around the upper-chest, shoulders and face from what I can see) which makes a change of form for Kubo with his released (fanservice perhaps ?). Also I'm thinking "tomahawk" is not quite accurate to describe that monster of an axe Barrigan just withdrew. Seems that's where Nnoitra got his ideas from.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Ace'][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]I'll hold my applause, but I do have a question. Bum bells?[/FONT][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]Apparently the term [b]dumb[/b]bells were making weight-lifters feel insecure about their intelligence so they banded together to come up with a better one...whether they actually succeeded is still the subject of debate.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Meh I suppose I'd have to agree to a degree with my fellow oldies on how OB has changed over the last few years since you were all active, maybe it's just that I've been here continuously all that time that I've not noticed it as a huge change as much as incremental changes that I've just become used to or didn't notice at all. I think every version of OB has had a certain feel to it and it's only natural that that feel would change over time with different members. I wouldn't say any one version is distinctly better than another, we all have tinted glasses on when thinking of our own favourite time on OB that make it seem better than any other. Sure it has to be said the quality of the site has improved drastically over the eight years I've been here but that is not in and of itself enough to make it better now necessarily than before. Each era had its own quirks and great moments and if (probably) I'm here in eight years time again we'll have had another dozen of these discussions. Sara does have a point though, I would be fairly certain our member population has dropped fairly substantially over the last few years, or rather we're just not getting enough new members to replace those who're (heh heh Al) no longer around. Perhaps it's the way TheO has become much more member oriented with the World and chat function instead of just an anime information site that's been cutting down on new sign-ups but certainly I'd like to see a flood of new blood into the forums to liven things up a little. [/SIZE]

[quote name='Indi'][COLOR="Indigo"][FONT="Arial"]Most awkward call . . . EVER. lol [CENTER][IMG]http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/fail-owned-swimmer-trapped-fail.jpg?w=500&h=337[/IMG][/CENTER][/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]The term "steady hands" takes on a whole new meaning for the staff member who actually had to cut that deck-chair in half.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Ikillion'][SIZE="1"][FONT="Trebuchet MS"] Death in Bleach? You lost me. [/FONT][/SIZE][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]Heh I guess that's a fair point, it's still pretty vague over what happens when a Shinigami is killed as it seems to flip between the idea of them being reborn as normal humans or just ceasing to exist altogether. Either way it would still mean [spoiler]we might finally be rid of Hitsugaya[/spoiler].[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Apparently Halibel has a [spoiler]shark-like released form and may have just killed Hitsugaya[/spoiler]. Just on my behalf I must say, there was much rejoicing.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]...so apparently Pain's "pain" comes about because [spoiler]his dumbass parents attacked two Konoha shinobi who were just looking for food and his dog "Chibi" was killed by a stray kunai during because they wandered too close to the battle involving the Sannin and possible Hanzou. Apparently Yahiko spouted something about becoming a God to prevent war and Nagato took it to heart...[/spoiler] I have to say I've all but lost faith in Kishi's ability to create credible and interesting backstories for his villains and then translate that into a decent motivation. Every major villain he's had so far with the exception of Orochimaru has had some angst-driven background that's just been plain dull. Pain was by far the most interesting villain in Naruto, the secrecy surrounding his origins and identity coupled with what we knew beforehand were God-like powers, he fought and killed Jiraiya...and then we learn he's just another Sasuke in disguise, how very disappointing.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Based on further translation fan speculation seems to be that Yammy's transformation in the 0 Espada can't be done at will but only after he's gathered enough energy to do so. Based on his actions in the real world where he was the only Arrancar to bother to train soul energy from others that does make sense I suppose. Still don't like the idea overall and yes seeing a fight between two characters who haven't received massive power-ups (Ukitake and Halibel) that would certainly be welcome. Let Histugaya fight Stark's instead fraccion if he wants, kids should play together after all.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]I know I'm supposed to be on an LoA but seriously I really need to say how utterly stupid [spoiler]Yammi being the so-called 0 Espada truly is. Wonderweiss sure that would have been something interesting because it's been hinted long enough he's of the Espada power-level already. But seriously "I'm the only Espada whose number changes when I release" reeks of a lame attempt at a twist (though I'm sure if M. Night is a fan he'll love this) and makes Yammi even more of a joke that he goes from most powerful Espada to least powerful and can't even release inside Las Nochas.[/spoiler] So yeah I'll be watching this develop with an utterly cynical eye as to me this has to be one of the lamest moves in Bleach so far.[/SIZE]