The Metal Maniac

Not really a gambler. I've gone to the casino a few times with people, but not even with the intent to win; I'll drop $20 in a slot, play it for a bit, then get my change and use it to wander around playing machines at random. When I lose it all, whatever, it was only $20, I'll leave. Don't go anymore, really. I think I did manage to come out ahead once or twice though. Won't touch the card games there. I'll play poker with friends once in a blue moon, but I'm awful at it. Still like playing, but I know I'm gonna lose.

I'm aware, but the more important part of what I was trying to say is that Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi are known to be legends in Japan, so for your average US fan looking to see what Japanese wrestling is like, those people/matches are what they're likely to see first, and those are the backdrop, back up matches. So they see the "best" wrestlers wrestling that style first, and thus it forms their opinion on Japanese wrestling. I'm not saying it's a correct view or anything, but you wondered why people thought like that, so I tried to explain why I think they do. Also, I gotta say, on simmimg - I don't sim, but to say that even with the logic they just do random moves is unfair. A good Dean Malenko edit wouldn't pose or go for pins all the time, he'd try for submission holds a lot. Conversely, a good Hulk Hogan edit would pose a lot. Granted, it's based on percentages and how likely they are to do things, so it's still random to a degree, and it's not like the computer will use heavy psychology, but I think that to call it totally random isn't fair.

That's....a tricky one. It's probably either my youngest sister or my cousin. I mean, I don't really hate either of them, but my sister has this incredibly annoying method of "debating", whereby she ignores everything you say and just starts talking louder and louder until she's shouting over you, repeating the same points you've already refuted, but she hasn't noticed because she's stopped listening to you. I've seen her get to the point that she'll cut me off when I try to say something, but not even with a word, with like a sound. She has nothing else to add, she just doesn't want me to add anything because she also seems to believe that whoever gets the last sound in is the winner. It's incredibly frustrating. This method of hers has led to a 20-minute argument over the car radio, because I leave the volume set too loud, and she could not even give me one single solitary reason why she couldn't just turn it down herself. I basically just asked her that a bunch of times and she got madder and madder. It was kinda funny. Also, one of my cousins. He has a really annoying method of talking - He used to say "You wannna know something?" before saying like, anything. It got to the point that I'd just say "No". He was also one of those people who told the exact same boring-ass stories to everyone, so if you were unfortunate enough to be around him long enough, you'd hear about his new skillet about 15 million times. I dunno if he's still like that though, I haven't seen him in years. But yeah, outside of that, I don't really hate anyone in my family - hell, I don't even hate them, they just annoy me more then anyone else.

I think people get that impression when they first go looking for Japanese wrestling, and they've heard so much about how Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi are so great, so they go watch one of those matches, and they see someone get dropped on their head 15 times in a row, get straight back up after every move, and then go down for the count via an elbow smash. I mean, even as a fan of Japanese wrestling, you have to admit that the psychology used over there (at least sometimes) is way different then what goes on here. Thus, I can see how people would wonder where the psychology is, cuz it's not where they normally look for it.

Deadpool received Wovlerine's healing factor via the Weapon X program, didn't he? Maybe the two characters are closely related within the story, hence the confusion?

Wait, someone explain something to me. K, medical marijuana clubs that operate within the laws won't be prosecuted. Okay. I'm assuming that such a club is a place where someone who has a medical marijuana card can go, buy some weed, and smoke it. Okay. So, how does not prosecuting these places (if they follow all laws) mean weed is essentially legal? Is it just easy enough to get medical marijuana certification that anyone who wants to, will? Like, if I didn't have a card, I couldn't go in and buy weed, could I? Wouldn't that still be illegal? Or could I just go and GET a card, thus making it perfectly legal? But yeah, I'm for it, I'm just confused.

The other day, while I was working at Wal-Mart, a customer came up to me. He was foreign, but I wasn't sure exactly from where. Anyway, he asks me where he might be able to find the CAVIAR. Totally serious. This guy came to WAL-MART looking for CAVIAR. He somehow interpreted the look of utter confusion on my face to mean "I don't know what caviar is", and not, what I intended it to mean, "Why the fucking hell do you think you could find CAVIAR in WAL-MART???" I couldn't really be mad though, it was just too goddamned funny. I went through the whole "well, if we have it, it's over here routine, but look, it's not here, SURPRISE" because I probably woulda gotten in trouble if I told him that he was an idiot for looking for caviar at a FUCKING WAL-MART. I'm really curious where he was from now; they must not have Wal-Marts or something.

Would all 5 moons still reflect sunlight like the current moon does? That'd make for some amazingly bright nights when all 5 moons were full. Be an excellent time to party. Plus you'd have to imagine such an occurrence would be rare, for all 5 to be full at once.

That'd be cool. I always thought it was lame that other planets had a bunch of moons with cool names (Fuck, even Mars has two moons) and we only get that one moon - And it doesn't even have a cool name, it's just "the moon". Lame. If 5 moons were suddenly in the sky, I think I'd break my neck trying to get to a phone to call an observatory and call dibs on naming one of them. Assuming it didn't cause some sorta crazy mass chaos. I read a short story like that once, where it was never ever night on this one planet, and then they had a solar eclipse, so everyone on the planet lost their minds. I can imagine 4 extra moons showing up might be seen as a portent of destruction.

I'm not allergic to anything, so far as I know. I think I could potentially be allergic to bees, I guess; My sister was allergic, and I've only been stung once (I seem to recall being told you need to be stung by bees twice before you'll have an allergic reaction) so I dunno. But no, no known allergies.

Just saw it this weekend. Good, but I'm annoyed at the changed ending. I still think it's absurd to try and make the most faithful recreation possible and then change the ending. I hated the ending for all the same reasons I was angry when I first heard about it. Sure, that probably means I was biased going in, but I personally didn't feel that needed to be changed. Also, I was quite disappointed when I realized that Rorsch's time in prison was over, with only that brief chat with the doctor. Yes, I understand that things needed to be cut for time, but why was I watching fights that never happened instead of seeing Rorsch actually explain his fucking character? Like, that pissed me off, especially since they stopped just shy of Rorsch giving the whole truth. They had the blood splashing up his face, even the "Walter Kovacs died" bit, but how could they have left out his speech about how there is no God, there is no anything, there is only us and nothing has any real meaning except for what we impose? And the whole talk of his mask? Again, I understand things needed to be cut for time, but for me, cutting that part out of Rorch's backstory is like cutting Krypton out of Superman's. It's the heart of the story! Perhaps more will be in the Director's cut. I liked the movie other then that.

I understood from your first post that this was what you wanted. Stamp someone's hand if they're legal age, let them in otherwise. But, how does that actually stop minors from drinking? Let's say I was underage, and I got to the bar with my buddy, who's not underage. I don't get a stamp, he does. He goes to the bar and buys 2 rum and cokes. Now we're both drinking. I suppose you could go the "only one drink per customer" and refuse to serve a drink to someone who already has one/is buying one, but then what prevents him from buying a rum and coke, bringing it to me, and then going to a different bartender and getting another rum and coke? Again, now we both have rum and cokes, and I'm underage. I don't have a stamp on my hand, sure, but unless there's bartenders/bouncers wandering around the bar and checking the drinks of people without stamps on their hands all night, how do they really know the underage people aren't drinking? Like, I'm not trying to be a dick, I just really don't get what you're saying here. I don't see how those things would prevent anyone from getting booze underage, and I don't see why bars should bother inviting that kind of trouble. Well, okay, they should invite that trouble so that kids don't stay home and cause trouble in their homes - that doesn't strike me as a good business model. Also, things that anger me: The smell of ammonia. Holy balls, I was on work term today, and we had to pump out an ammonia-filled compressor....Jesus Lord.

Um, so you don't think they'd be getting drunk without getting drinks from the bar? They'd just have their friends who are of age get mixed drinks. Unless every single glass was marked as either a booze glass or otherwise (and assuming that they didn't figure this out and get one non-alcoholic drink, then pour their alcohol drinks into that), how would you be able to tell if someone with a stamped hand was drinking booze or something else? Besides having your bouncers spend the whole night pestering people with stamps on their hands to make SURE they're not drinking booze, and that just sorta seems like a waste of time to me. And yes, I am aware that they'll just get drunk at home, but that's way better from the bar's perspective. They don't need minors causing shit and getting the whole bar in trouble for illegally serving them liquor, even if they didn't intend to. Hell, I can't really even imagine why you'd want to go to a club where you can't drink. I can barely stand to go to them when I can. Edit: Beaten to the punch. Damn you.

Well, it's not like they could walk here. Also, you should consider that an alien who was from another planet would have a radically different view then people on pretty much everything. Maybe they don't talk to people because we're literally not smart enough to comprehend their viewpoints. Maybe they think of us the way we think of animals. Could be any number of reasons why aliens do that sorta thing. And no, this isn't a "don't be a skeptic" argument. I think there's plenty of reasons to disbelieve in this kinda stuff, but I just don't think that one is fair.

Yeah, that was pretty fucking stellar, I gotta admit. "If I could only get that kiss" made me just about die laughing.

I've only been to two countries, The USA and Canada (which is my home). Inside of Canada, I've been everywhere except Newfoundland/Labrador, and the territories (Nunavut, Yukon, and the Northwest). I'm honestly not really sure how many states I've been to. I know we spent a lot of time in Maine and New Hampshire when I was younger, and I've been to DC as well. Also, we drove to Disneyworld (Yes, my family drove from Nova Scotia to Florida) when I was very little, so I've probably been to states that I have no recollection of. I do recall Disneyworld though, because we flew there years later. I might have even been to Disneyland too - I'm pretty sure my parents/older siblings went, but I'm not sure if I had been born yet. More recently (but still years ago), I was in San Fransisco (via air), and we drove to Alberta to visit my brother, then detoured through some states on the way home - I know we were in Montana, and I think we were in North Dakota as well. Hard to pick a least favorite place. Probably Quebec because I have bad memories of it - hitting a deer at 3 in the morning? Not cool. I don't find I tend to hate the places I've visited, though they do make me appreciate my hometown more - after spending one month out west, I simply could not WAIT to get back home.

Can't speak for everyone of course, but for me, my inability to whistle comes from, I think, my lack of ability to properly control the air flowing out my mouth. I've tried to whistle a lot, because I'd love to be able to whistle, but I've never managed to produce that high, shrill sound. I can make a sound like a deflating tire, that's about it. Why can't I do that? I dunno. I doubt it's physical; I probably just don't have the proper understanding of it in my mind, maybe?

I find it funny that you say that, cuz I've read that Card had intended to finish at the third book, but as he was writing it the story kept getting bigger so he broke it apart. I'm curious Jingus, do you consider Xenocide and Children of the Mind to be of the same caliber? I don't care much for the latter, but I enjoy Xenocide quite a bit. I'd rank it below the first two books, but above pretty much everything else. And have you read any of the short stories? Like, the one about Ender's father? Man, you wanna talk about pissing me off with retconning...

I love how, after all the battles that guy fought and won, most people only know of one battle Napoleon was involved in - the one he lost. And here's a quote I've always liked, from Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers, which, despite what the movie would lead you to believe, is actually a pretty decent book. "Cast me into a dungeon, burn me at the stake, crown me King of Kings - I can 'pursue happiness' as long as my brain lives, but neither Gods nor saints, wise men nor subtle drugs, can ensure that I will catch it." That me be slightly paraphrased as I don't have my copy handy.

I always found that fascinating about Stalin, that he trusted Hitler so much that he refused to believe Hitler would attack him. I mean, he trusted that ADOLF HITLER wouldn't stab him in the back, yet later apparently didn't trust a single person in Russia. Also, while you are correct that, really, Russia should've already been a superpower, I still think the amount of time in which he industrialized Russia should count for something. Edit: Damn people posting while I was typing. Responding to At Home.

While he was pretty cool (dude conquered like, the entire known world), I wouldn't consider him a dictator, because he was a King. He ruled because he had the "Divine Right" to do so, not just cuz the army listened to him, unless I'm mistaken. And yeah, when you were a King back then you could just dictate shit anyway, but I don't think it's the same thing. My vote goes to Stalin. Grabbed Russia by the balls, slapped it around, and made it into a world superpower. I think that was a pretty big accomplishment, dragging a country the size of Russia into the (then) modern world and turning it into a nation that stared down the US for the next 30 years or so. Plus, he was still in charge of Russia when they got the bomb, wasn't he? Buddy had some serious power.

If you enjoyed Ender's Game, I *strongly* suggest you read the first sequel, Speaker for the Dead. Ender's Game is pretty much my favorite book ever, and Speaker is right up there. There's much less action then the first one, and the setting is very different, but it's just an excellent book. The following sequels, Xenocide and Children of the Mind both get a lot more talky and into more weird meta-physics stuff, but I really enjoy Xenocide, though I don't recall being thrilled with CotM. I've only read that one a handful of times, compared to the countless times I've read the others. The Shadow series isn't bad either, but it's pretty different. If you don't know, it follows Bean instead of Ender, the first book being Ender's Shadow. It follows basically the same timeline as Ender's Game, except Bean is the main character. From there, there's Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, and Shadow of the Giant. In my eyes, these books go downhill with each one; the general story is fairly different, as it deals with what happens in the immediate aftermath of the original novel, and is a lot more political maneuvering, warfare-type stuff. Still good books, worth reading, but I can't give them as strong a recommendation as I can the other books. I think there's another book in this series coming. Oh, I'm also currently reading Ender in Exile, which is what happens to Ender so immediately after the original book that thus far it's just been things mentioned in the final chapter of Ender's Game. It's alright so far, but (and this goes for the Shadow series too) I find Card has an odd tendency to, if not out-right retcon, then to just change what we knew about the previous books, but in ways that aggravate me. Hard to explain without giving examples, you know? But yeah, all that said, Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead are excellent, excellent books, which everyone who enjoys science fiction should read. Xenocide, in my opinion, is pretty awesome as well, but it seriously took me like, 3 reads to fully appreciate it, so I can understand why people wouldn't like it. Still, I'd say read the first two at least, then decide if you're interested enough to go further. Oh, and where does one download ebooks?

I've actually held that record in my hands. Still upset I didn't have the money to afford it, just for the laughs.

Couple of topics I wanted to comment on. On the subject of how Faraday's warning was remembered by Desmond despite the time discrepancies: I think it's important to note that the wheel was turned after Desmond got away from the island, and before Faraday made his warning. That could've affected things, I think. On the subject of Rousseau not remembering Jin: I think it's important to remember here that Danielle had just been shipwrecked, found a bizarre radio signal, encountered a monster, saw her friend get pulled into a hole (without his arm), and then later found that her friends were all "sick" and was forced to shoot them all, even the father of her child. Yes, a Korean man showing up out of the blue then vanishing was pretty damned weird too, but when you add all that stuff together, then consider that she was alone on that island for 16 years and she's more then a little bit crazy, I can see why she wouldn't remember/recognize Jin. On the statue: Someone was asking about it, and I don't think anyone gave him an answer...I dunno if this is the "accepted" theory, but I think that the statue was built by the original inhabitants of the island (I believe Richard himself is a descendant of these people), who also built things like the wheel and anything that we've seen that's stone and has hieroglyphs on it. I think that we'll find out that these people only had 4 toes, and personally, I also think that this island will be revealed to essentially be Atlantis: A land of high technology that somehow vanished. Like, I think they'll explain that ancient stories of the island were blown up into the myth of the continent of Atlantis. Also, I was thinking...Ben mentioned that Whidmore changed the rules when he had Alex killed...I wonder if those rules are the same "rules" of time that Desmond is able to break? And if, by saying this, Ben was essentially saying that Whidmore had changed the timestream? I mean, just because Desmond is the only person we currently know of who can break the rules, I don't think that means he's the only person on earth who can. In fact, since he seemed to gain this ability from a massive energy discharge on the island, I wonder if anyone else will gain this ability so that they can alter the past/future? I think it might happen with some of the people still on the island, what with Locke turning the wheel and such.

Can I ask a silly question? I was on earlier today, when this seemed to start...I saw that the mods were all titled as banned, but Leena's title was like, Whiny Bitches, I think. Then I checked the moderating staff link, and the normal mod staff was listed. So, yeah. What's up with that? Did I just happen to be looking at those links during a weird shuffling period or something? I wasn't online to see anyone else get banned or anything.