grokTheSystem

Blame America First crowd has new friends after Mumbai shooting. in International JoeUser Forums

I've been reading a lot of commentary from people inside, but mostly outside of India on how it is the Indian government's fault for their "stubborn" grip on Kashmir that led to the attacks. One can't help recall the people on 9/11 who snidely talked about the US getting "what it deserved" while most of us were trying to contact family members and friends who work or live in NYC. My friend lives in Mumbai along with his wife & two little kids and thankfully they were not hurt.

Reply to Are you a human? Are you SURE? in Elemental Dev Journals Elemental Forums

It's funny, people have been talking about doing stuff like this for so long and finally a company is taking AI seriously. Count me in for not playing against humans - It will also be nice to play against an AI that isn't a human playing 24/7 but claiming to be a newbie.

Reply to Israel's Muslim Friends in War on Terror Stardock Forums

This is a much needed undertaking. Good luck.

Reply to Can a woman refuse sex in Islam? in Religion Stardock Forums

Thanks, but I still don't get whether a woman can refuse to have sex with her husband.

Reply to Throwing acid in a woman's face in Politics Stardock Forums

Damn, can't fix the link AGAIN. Here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/opinion/30kristof.html?_r=1

Throwing acid in a woman's face in Politics JoeUser Forums

The more personal terrorism against women in islamic societies: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/opinion/30kristof.html?ex=1385787600&en=90f21da7451bdf81&ei=5124&partner=facebook&exprod=facebook

Can a woman refuse sex in Islam? in Religion JoeUser Forums

Your wives are a tilth for you, so go into your tilth when you like" (Sura 2:223; Shakir translation) Is that a clear indication that a man can demand sex whenever he wants it? Or is that a misinterpretation. I've trying to find a definitve answer but no one seems to have a certain answer to this. thanks to anyone with a final answer, grok

I love materialism in Entertainment JoeUser Forums

So my girlfriend and I have this friend - the kind you're glad has moved to California. And she is SO impressed by this guy who is against materialism, apparently he's so against it he doesn't buy posters or put up photos of friends and family. Then this girl - who uses her parent's credit card to go to France - is giving us a sermon against material wealth. We nod politely and then when we leave my girlfriend wonders how this idiot doesn't understand jetfuel is a material good.

Reply to Should we help the Japanese take over the auto companies? in Automotive Stardock Forums

Yeah, they've opened plants in America in areas not dominated by the UAW - or at least so I've read.

Should we help the Japanese take over the auto companies? in Automotive JoeUser Forums

My sister and I were discussing the ridiculous sham of the American autocompanies, and since people are worried about the workers she said why not let Toyota or another company still standing on its own merits buy up American auto? That way the workers will still have jobs but it won't cost us nearly as much. Never going to happen, and we didn't fully explore the consequences, but it was an interesting post-turkey idea...

Reply to Post Election Polls in Politics Stardock Forums

"The poll was conducted from 11/13/08-11/15/08 with a sampling size of 512 (229 male and 283 female) with a margin of error of +/- 4.4%. " That seems like a really small sample size on which to base this poll on. Not to mention the poll, at first glance, didn't seem to poll Republicans.

Reply to Bush Hatred Reaches New Heights in Politics Stardock Forums

There are far too many loons - I get liberals and conservatives but not the ones who start foaming at the mouth. I think many Americans have become so wrapped up in the liberal vs. conservative labels that they don't realize that at best these politicians are decent custodians of public will. Remember when Democracts and Republicans were laughing at Bush looking for weapons of mass destruction under the couch? These guys play up the red state vs. blue state thing to get people t

Putting Robots on the Battlefield in Pure Technology JoeUser Forums

Interesting article investigating both the placement of robot soldiers and the ability of robots to behave "ethically": http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/25/america/robot.php

Reply to New Elemental Medallions! in Elemental Dev Journals Elemental Forums

could we see the drake? i know the whiners will complain about the graphics if they're not done, but those people have been bitching already not realizng they're the reason game companies don't like to show early previews...

Reply to Language as Idolatry in Religion Stardock Forums

amazing discussions...so rare to find thoughtful minds in the Spheres of Blogo....

Video Science Lectures! in Pure Technology JoeUser Forums

This guy's done a pretty good job with annotating MIT's Algorithm video lectures, themselves a great resource for autodidacts: http://www.catonmat.net/blog/category/introduction-to-algorithms/page/2/ In general, here are some free science lectures on a range of topics (seemed a bit biology heavy last I checked): <a href="http://www.freesciencelectures.co

Reply to I am NOT Religious, I just Love G-D in Religion Stardock Forums

Yes I am. [e digicons]:grin:[/e]

New Link in Evolution: Grape sized single cell organism! in Pure Technology JoeUser Forums

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/11/20/gromia-cambrian.html

Best Epic Fantasy? in Everything Else Elemental Forums

I'd say Simarillion, some of Moorcock's novels (especially Skraeling Tree and War of Angels trilogy)...do the Dragonlance Chronicles count as epic?

Reply to Elementalgame.info community fan site in War of Magic Elemental Forums

Looks great!

Reply to I am NOT Religious, I just Love G-D in Religion JoeUser Forums

I like this quote from R.Scott Bakker's Thousandfold Thought: They excuse themselves and heap blame upon others. They glorify their peoples over other peoples, their nation over other nations. They focus their fears on the innocent. And when they hear words such as these, they recognize them -- but as defects belonging to others. They are children who have learned to disguise their tantrums from their wives and their fellows,

Reply to The Unprotected HATE CRIME in Current Events JoeUser Forums

I agree with Dr. Guy. The concept of hate crime is silly. There are crimes, plain and simple. But yes, anyone actively assaulting another person should be charged with a crime. But there seems to be an attempt to take an isolated incident(s?) and use them as a condemnation of an entire group.

Reply to Elemental Civilizations: 12 of them in Elemental Dev Journals JoeUser Forums

Curious about the idea of worshipping death and what that means for a civilization. Loved the GalCiv Races (though barely have had time to play the game) so I am really looking forward to more info on these factions.

Reply to Morning links: November 2008 in Politics Stardock Forums

"a czar or board to oversee the companies"—call it Gosplan—which will supervise "a restructuring of the auto industry." That's exactly what Detroit needs to recover: the benefit of government central planning. I've been thinking about this - while long term central planning has historically been a recipe for disaster, how do you deal with a situation where badly managed companies need(?) to be bailed out partly (if not largely) due to bad manageme

Reply to Elemental's persistent world in Elemental Dev Journals Elemental Forums

I'm glad a game studio has clued in (or rather, has continuously been clued in) to the single player market. Also love the serious work you and the rest of your team put into AI as a result. I'm curious - would you be able to use the computer's AI to create a hint system for newbie players? I love 4x games but frankly suck at them. It would cool to see the AI offer hints as to what you should do on your turn and some small explanation. looking very forward to 2010, Gro