James

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Manic [/i] [B]James lives across the Pacific ocean and over the equator, yet he knows about California's recall election. What's this saying about the kind of publicity this state is getting? [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#707875]Eh, the coverage isn't terribly big over here. Australia has her own issues to worry about. Hehe The only reason I know about any of this, on any level, is because I'm interested in politics. In particular, I have a great interest in American politics. So, reading a lot...and watching American news channels helps. ~_^ [/color]

[color=#707875]You're correct, Sara. We were originally going to have a basic memberlist, which simply listed members alphabetically or something. But I recommended that we allow as many listing options as possible (ie: rank, alphabetical, date listed, date updated) etc etc. I think that'll make it easier for people to find other myOtaku members. As for bolding...well, that's an option. So people can bold "best friends" if they choose to. It's up to the individual user. And the update thing will be pretty subtle. When you visit your backroom, and it shows your list of friends...a small tag of text will appear next to each friend's name. That tag will tell you when they last updated. But it will not be visible when you view your own site, so it won't actually be cluttered or anything.[/color]

[color=#707875]You're right about Gray Davis there, Harry. Thanks for adding more to my description -- no wonder this guy is getting recalled. It's also true that Arnold isn't a radical left wing Democrat. To Michael Savage, [i]everyone[/i] fits into this mould. lol[/color]

[color=#707875]Even though people may see the recall itself as a kind of circus (and for good reason), I also think that the recall is a physical demonstration of democracy. If people don't like the Governor's performance, they can kick his butt out of the chair and replace him. In terms of what I know about Gray Davis...I know that he's being recalled due to his poor financial management and his inability to solve California's energy problems. I also know that Gray Davis is infamous for being extremely savvy, when it comes to politics. And I know that Gray Davis is well known for his ability to take down political opponents, often in somewhat slanderous ways. As for the ACLU...I think they're missing a few points. For one thing, they say that the punch-card ballots are too difficult to use and that their error rate is too high. But apparently, from the figures I saw yesterday on the news, the digital touch-screen systems have an error rate that is higher by a couple of percentage points. And various other forms of casting your vote have higher error rates again. I'm not sure what the ACLU is about these days. They seem to be some kind of weird political advocacy group, rather than a group that really tries to protect civil liberties. *shrug* In this case, it just seems that the weight of statistics/information isn't on their side. In terms of who will win...I think that Arnold has a very good chance. Plus, he's famous. Surely that'll bring some voters his way. ~_^ I do know that Tom McClintock is giving him a run for his money. If McClintock moves out of the race, Arnold is almost assured to win. The problem is that McClintock actually dissipates Arnold's potential voter base, because a lot of far-right Republicans see him as being too liberal on certain social issues. If McClintock gets out of the race and supports Arnold, Arnold will win. I have no doubt about that. If he doesn't...who knows. Maybe Davis will pull through. It's certainly impossible.[/color]

[color=#707875]Yep. Mario Kart has come a long way. But even back at E3...I remember a couple of fellow N-S staffers saying that the game was a great deal of fun. The new battle modes look [i]awesome[/i]. Battle Mode was one of the most fun parts of the older games, and MK:DD really puts a bigger focus on that aspect. Couple it with LAN play, and you've got yourself probably the best party game to ever hit the face of the Earth. ~_^ [/pr mode][/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by The Original [/i] [B]The same could have been said for Gore. Funny how that turned out, isn't it? [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#707875]Not really; Al Gore isn't a Republican. I'm comparing a Republican to a Republican. Colin Powell would be quite electable were he to run, because a) he's a Republican and b) he's not as conservative or hawkish as President Bush. Powell is surprisingly well-liked by a lot of Democrats, despite being a Republican. So he cannot be compared to Al Gore.[/color]

[color=#707875]You might be surprised. Mr. Powell is very popular in the polls. He overtakes President Bush in some polls (in Republican areas, too).[/color]

[color=#707875]I also get asthma when I get colds. My last cold (which I had a week ago) is [i]still[/i] with me, at least as far as the asthma goes. I'm feeling better, but I've had breathing problems for a week. Not to mention that I had a mild asthma attack two days ago. In any case, it doesn't happen to me very much (asthma attacks -- I've only had a handful or so that I can remember), and most of the asthma I get is reasonably manageable. These days I pretty much only get it when I have a cold anyway. And I still had to go to school and I still had to work. So dayday, think yourself lucky. ~_^ And Kanjono...your constant poetry-speak is getting very annoying. [/color]

[color=#707875]Well, as far as I know, evolution itself doesn't refer to the process of life's first creation. Generally, evolution relates to the development of life over any given period. I think that people often make a mistake when they think that evolution contradicts God or religion. Really, it doesn't. In some ways it does debunk religious texts (in terms of the world's age and so forth), but generally speaking, I think you can comply with the facts of science and still be a person of great faith. You'll find that there are quite a few scientists who study evolution, who are also highly religious people. In terms of life's origin, I don't know. I don't even know where to start. There are, of course, various theories about the Universe as a whole and there are some indications as to the Earth's formation. But I'm not very learned on them, myself. Although, I do wonder what will happen if we one day discover life (or evidence of prehistoric life) on other planets. That would certainly turn a few long-held ideas on their head.[/color]

[color=#707875]I agree with Tony. First and foremost, Sony and Microsoft were bleeding money when it came to hardware. Sony has only recently begun to recoup hardware manufacturing costs with hardware sales. Microsoft is still projected to lose around $5 billion on Xbox, regardless of any software profits. In terms of Nintendo, they've been making profit on each GameCube unit sold, since the machine launched. Moreover, Nintendo has three consoles on the market right now -- GCN, GBA and GBA SP. Let's bear in mind that GBA SP is outselling PlayStation 2 in Japan. And moreover, GBA SP has been the highest selling video game console since its launch. Even the GBA itself is still selling strongly. And Nintendo is profitable with both of those machines, not including software revenues. So this doesn't signal "dumping" or anything like that. These analysts rarely know anything about the video game industry. Nintendo can afford to push GameCube out at this price. It has the software to support that price at this stage. And with games like Mario Kart coming up at the end of the year...Nintendo's putting itself in a strong position, especially if you include the GBA SP.[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Transtic Nerve [/i] [B]Because like I said.... evolution doesn't happen to everything. Sharks and Crocodiles have been around for 65 million years+, yet they haven't evolved to a far extent. [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#707875]But also, think about the variety of shark species. There were obviously less species 65+ million years ago. So, evolution works in that way as well.[/color]

[color=#707875]Because Chimpanzees probably weren't around. Chimpanzees and every other primate are a bi-product of shared ancestors. When people say that monkeys evolved into man, they are actually making it sound like a monkey turned into a man overnight. Actually, it's simply a matter of modern primates sharing common ancestors to humans. If you put a "monkey" at one end of the scale and a human at the other, you would have thousands or hundreds of thousands of species in between. That's why fossils of various prehistoric humans have been discovered and that's also why these fossils have been put into an evolutionary order.[/color]

[color=#707875]Well, once again, we know that evolution exists. Or, "Micro-Evolution", as you might want to call it. We know that, for example, a species changes from generation to generation. It's a gradual change. This is one reason why mankind has sexual reproduction -- genes are passed on to the next generation, who are an improvement on their predecessors in various ways. And so it continues. You'll notice, for example, that if you look at some of the older European cities...the streets and doorways were much smaller than what you'd see in the world today. This is also evidence of human evolution, albeit on a smaller scale. In terms of the creation of the Earth...science can prove the age of the Earth and the evolutionary path of life on the planet. We do know that the number of species has grown over millions of years, as a result of genetic divergence (for lack of a better term). That's why, when you look at DNA, you see massive correlations between human beings and other primates. And that's why human beings are themselves a type of primate. In terms of how Earth was created in the very beginning...I don't know. Nobody really knows. Nobody was there. lol I guess that's the trite/pointless answer though. In reality, most societies have had an explanation of the Earth's creation in some form or another. Most of these come about as a result of religion. And you'll find that there are literally thousands of different religions around the world (and thus, thousands of different explanations of Earth's original creation). Frankly, I find all of these ideas implausible for various reasons. For one thing, many of them simply contradict known scientific facts. For another, most are extremely simple explanations, which seem to be an obvious creation of mankind, at a time when he knew little about the world around him. Remember; most religious explanations for Earth's creation were written thousands of years ago. And it has only been within the last 100-200 years that man has really begun to learn a great deal about the planet in general. So, that's my viewpoint. I don't know how the Earth was created, but I don't think anybody does. Science certainly has theories, but that's all. The reason I value science, though, is because it can always change based on new evidence and information -- religion can't. Rather than conform facts and history into a pre-determined point of view, I would rather sit there with a blank slate and attain knowledge as a result of exploration and research. But everyone's different in terms of how they approach the situation.[/color]

[color=#707875]Hillary seems to be an incredibly savvy woman in so many ways. I think it's probably quite true that she was responsible for a lot of her husband's policies when he was President. In any case, I say, best of luck to her. I don't know her personally, nor have I investigated her finances myself. In politics, a lot of mud gets thrown around -- and even though I'm sure she's done a lot of questionable things, I myself am really not in a position to say much about it. They say she will probably run for President in 2008, assuming that Bush remains for a second term. And unless things take a big tumble in Iraq, I think he probably will remain for a second term. None of the current Democrat contenders are capable of beating him in a general election, in my opinion. So you never know. Maybe we will see another President Clinton in the future. ~_^ Personally, I would love to see Colin Powell as President. Him or Condoleeza Rice. They're both conservative in various ways, but they're not [i]too[/i] conservative. Powell especially seems to be a bit less to the right than Bush, but still conservative. So, yeah. That has little to do with Hillary I guess. If it were Hillary versus Condoleeza, I'd choose Condoleeza without any doubt.[/color]

[color=#707875]I go to the Australian Academy of Design. It's awesome...expensive (far too expensive...my wallet hurts so much X_X), but wonderful. It's a small place, with only about 150 students. So it's all very personal and fun, which is great. And next year, the academy is moving to a new building, which sits right on the bay. It's going to be wonderful. ^_^[/color]

[color=#707875]And come on...the whole "shooting a circle at your feet to fall through the floor" is an [i]old[/i], [i]old[/i] thing. lol It's been done a billion times before. Trigun only copied it from someone else.[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Drix D'Zanth [/i] [B]I agree with everything you said, except this juicy morsel. Actually, two white men have more similar DNA than a white man and black woman. Granted , a white man and black man may have more similar DNA... The only problem with your statement is that DNA varies all the time for each person with it's traits, etc. A black woman is different through the 23rd chromosome in total! All men are similar to eachother because of the XY, the gender. So I'll have to say your point meant well, but wasn't entirely accurate. [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#707875]The guy who led the Human Genome Project said in his statement that the genetic difference between a white male and a black female is the same (quantitatively) as the difference between two white males. I'm sure he's figured the chromosome and individual trait thing out. But that's what he said. *shrug* I know that the difference between men and women is far more minor than most people think. Men are actually based on women anyway (genetically speaking). Males just require an extra chromosome at the right developmental stage to move from being female to male. So, males are a byproduct of females, not the other way around. Ahh, you gotta love my tangents. o_O[/color]

[color=#707875]Interesting stuff. I always try to be friendly/accommodating to the staff at any store that I visit. What Tony just pointed out (about the staff not knowing [i]everything[/i]) is a good point. I don't expect them to. And I realize that everyone has limitations. So, when I hear these stories about how people treat staff and so on...it's very frustrating and annoying. I don't know how anyone can be so rude and ignorant. [/color]

[color=#707875]Very nice. Having done 3D work myself, I know how difficult it can be. So I appreciate the effort you've put into this piece. If I had to fault it, I'd say that some of your shadows (particularly on the lower cords) cut off too sharply. There isn't a real sense of flow at that point. But the other cords generally look fine. The light/dark contrast is generally well done and the cords have a very "weighty" look to them -- which is great. It only adds to their sense of realism. The sphere itself is funky. Very cool. And I like the way you've actually "connected" the cords to the sphere. It looks good and it works effectively. So, it's a good piece. You should continue to practice your 3D work and show us some more. Also...please do not double post. It's against the rules. Even if you're adding an attachment, there's no excuse. You should host the image yourself if you feel that a double post is required (so that you can edit your original message with a URL or IMG tag).[/color]

[color=#707875]Yeah, but...if you asked some of those questions in cultures other than your own, you might get different responses. In truth, normality is only what you yourself perceive as normal. You might follow a routine in your day that might not seem "normal" or "comfortable" to someone else. So, normality is mostly a question of one's own perception. I think the reason normality is kind of a cornerstone of society is simply because the majority of people share certain basic behaviors/ideas/etc. That's why you do see significant differences in various cultures. I mean, obviously it goes deeper than that...but normality is a very subjective thing.[/color]

[color=#707875]The first was marginally okay, the second was downright horrible and the third...I don't know. It might fall somewhere in the middle. There was never any "A" material in this series, in my opinion. But having said that, I'll probably still watch the third. Hopefully I'll like it, if only because my expectations are so low after the second movie.[/color]

[color=#707875]As far as I know, I've explained why various sub-forums have been taken down, ad nauseum. However, what I will say at this point is that I understand your viewpoint. It's also worth noting that everything I do now is with v7 in mind. So, I won't be making [i]any[/i] forum changes in our Otaku Anime category until v7 rolls around. The reason? v7 itself will bring in a host of major changes to that category. Also...I simply don't think that we need to create forums for every series or something. I don't know why people lack the maturity to post about a variety of series in one larger/broader forum (ie: Anime Lounge). It's true that we do have franchise-specific forums at the moment. And I'm still deciding how to approach them for v7. Forums like Yu Yu Hakusho will probably cease to exist when the next version of the boards launches (though the discussions inside that forum will not be deleted). If anything, OBv7 will favor a smaller number of broader forums. I do not plan to increase the overall number of forums on OtakuBoards.[/color]

[color=#707875]Basically, we made a conscious decision not to allow any kind of spam on OtakuBoards. Whether it's in Otaku Lounge, or in a Spam Forum of some kind, we don't want to allow it at all. I've always felt that if people have a desire to spam, there are plenty of places on the Internet where it can be done without a problem. There are various boards out there who offer a "Spam Forum" type arrangement. I'm sure that members of OtakuBoards can and do visit such places if they want to mess around or something. I have no problem with that. But obviously, OtakuBoards itself is a place that I want to keep free of spam as much as possible. [/color]

[color=#707875]There is another racism thread (on the second page now, I think). I don't care if you discuss racism here, as long as you don't get into some kind of argument over it. A civil debate/discussion is always good. ~_^ [/color]

[color=#707875]I really recommend that you read our rules/Posting FAQ. Copying and pasting stuff and uploading erroneous images are strictly against the rules. They're also simply discourteous and don't show any effort. Also, I think we actually have had a jokes thread here recently. There's no need to repeat the thread so soon.[/color]