Toa Nidhiki05

I figure I'll jump on the bandwagon here and announce my Christmas day loot. Ho ho ho! I got what I wanted this year - an Xbox 360 and Madden 13. I've had just a plain old Xbox since 2004 and have lived off of Madden 07 for the Gamecube and ESPN NFL 2k5 on the Xbox since then, in part due to my disdain for how EA has handled Madden post-exclusivity deal. I'm a capitalist so I respect their right to buy those exclusive rights, but I used my right to not buy their games because they started to suck after Madden 2005 (which was fantastic). However, due to their concerted effort to improve Madden this year and the warmer reception from the sim gamer community in regards to the physics engine, I decided to cave and buy it. Boy, is it fun and worth buying - I'm in a Connected Career as Ron Rivera (despite the array of legendary coaches like John Madden) and have led the Panthers to a 6-4 record thus far. Oddly enough, the league has had two ties this year (although in real life I think they will be more common due to the new overtime rules). I also got a nice new guitar strap for my new 5-string bass guitar, and it is pretty awesome. Additionally, I got a good wall mount so I can have my two guitars both out at once instead of having one in a case at all times. Finally, I got a new Christmas ornament (a guitar ornament), a Best Buy coupon, 2013 season pass to Carowinds, and candy. Outside the family I got a small gumball machine, a Tim Tebow book, and more candy. I purchased Xbox Live as a gift for myself, and I also plan on buying a pedal for my iRig Amplitube app so I can use some of the effects (like grunge distortion) in live performances. Whenever I can get my membership to work (stupid Microsoft server) I'd be more than happy to accept challenges from sim or non-cheeser gamers - my gamertag is ToaNidhiki05. Overall, I enjoyed this Christmas. Merry Christmas to all of you and a Happy New Year as well! -TN05

Well done. Can you dissect "Frosty the Snowman" next?

So, I watched Christmas Vacation and Elf tonight. If you haven't seen Elf, you really have to - there are just way too many funny bits right from the start. Both movies are holiday favorites of mine and an annual tradition at my house, and they never really get old because the material is just so great. Now all I need to do is watch Home Alone and The Santa Clause. -TN05

Of course, I was just playing off the end-of-the-world hype. Couldn't resist a 'Y u no' pic.

-TN05

If you aren't watching it, the "A Football Life" on NFL Network is showing a great documentary on the Immaculate Reception. It will come back on at 1 AM EST, so set it to record if you can. It is really fantastic and pretty cool. I think it's pretty undeniable at this point that the ball hit Tatum first. The video proves it, as do the laws of physics. Whether Franco caught it without trapping it on the ground is not provable, and some fouls might have happened on the play. But overall, the refs called it pretty accurately - which is pretty dang impressive. -TN05

DiGiorno's "Pizza & Cookies" may just be the best thing ever created. 1 full pizza + 12 chocolate chip cookies, and they are ALL MINE! -TN05

If you really want the Gold Ignika, find someone who is selling/trading one. I have one and it is indeed pretty cool, much better than the grey one.

I have to say, Philippines was one of the best seasons of Survivor I have seen. While I would have rather seen Lisa or Skupin win, I loved that the final four were all likeable and played solid games instead of coathangers who win because they were not as evil as the other finalists (I'm talking to you, Sandra). The game was truly unpredictable and the alliance of Malcolm and Denise lasting so long was unexpected. I also enjoyed this three-tribe lineup as compared to the two-tribe one - alliances were smaller and more important, as opposed to the typical five-player alliance in a two tribe season. About the only negative was the lack of a true strategic villain or anti-hero - sure, Abi was pretty horrible but she really didn't play a strategic game like Russell Hantz or Boston Rob. But overall, I really enjoyed this season and I hope future Survivor seasons can be as good as it was. -TN05

Alright, who is going to be voted out? With Skupin safe, I'm hoping Malcolm goes, although I like all the remaining contestants. -TN05

Maybe, but they've played some of the worst football I have ever seen this year. How the Cardinals fell from 4-0 to 5-9 is really evidence that they have no QB and won't play well until they do. And yeah, that game was fantastic. Not a fan of either team (I hate the Cowboys and don't like Big Ben), but it was a great finish.

So glad to see my Panthers annihilate a team for two weeks in a row. Too bad we couldn't play like this earlier in the year, but finishing on a strong note is great. On another more, how on earth did the Lions lose to the Cardinals? They lost 58-0 last week. I thought the Lions were better than this, honestly -TN05

Same here; I am very proud of it and am rather irritated at people who would label us all as killers. We aren't. When I say 'autistic', I generally mean low-or-mid spectrum individuals, and some can communicate (I saw a great story about an autistic girl who communicates with a computer). I feel the worst about how they are treated - they don't deserve this kind of treatment at all, they have never done anything to warrant this.

Wow.

Eh, they'd have to add two games to keep an even hone-away schedule. I'd prefer things stay the same, given the current system where all teams have played against each other within a five-year period or so.

Stop slandering everyone with autism, something you clearly know nothing about. If you had even the slightest grasp of what autism is you would realize that most people with autism aren't mentally capable enough to speak, let alone shoot people. And if you had the slightest grasp is Asperger Syndrome, you would realize we aren't "missing something in the brain", we aren't depressed, and we do have empathy, perhaps even more than you do; rather, many of us find it hard to recognize nonverbal speech. If you'd perform your 'journalistic duty' and study your topics before running your mouth, you'd stop slandering millions of people. Instead, I urge you to retract your false claims and clear up the misinformation that you irresponsibly spread. -TN05

So yeah, Commissioner Goodell wants to expand the playoffs. Not a good idea; aside from weakening the playoffs substantially, the math just doesn't work. With 14 teams (7 from each conference), there would have to be only one team with a bye because: *With 2 byes, you get five teams in the first round *With 3 byes, you get five teams in the second round With 16 teams (8 from each conference), there would have to be four teams with byes because: *With 1 bye, you would have seven teams in the first round *With 2 byes, you would have five teams in the second round *With three byes, you would have five teams in the first round As you can see, expanding the playoffs would mean reducing or increasing the number of byes (which isn't a good idea IMO) to prevent unbalanced playoff rounds. If the NFL used a three-division format (a possibility if expansion teams are added), the format might work better but would increase the number of wild card teams as a side-effect. My opinion? Keep things as-is. -TN05

Yoda is great but he didn't say the exact thing I was looking for in a quote; I wanted to quote Jesus (namely, Matthew 5:43-48) but that would rather obviously go against BZP policy on religion and I don't want to test policy. I decided MLK Jr. would be a good alternative.

---Quote End--- You know, it seems kinda unfair to brand Turaga as "slow" despite their appearance. After all, Vakama (as a Turaga) had once beaten the Rahi Nui single-handedly Good point, but he had a bit of trouble fighting a Turahk. -TN05

“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.” -Martin Luther King Jr.

Turaga Nui would beat Matoran Nui out. In addition to having elemental powers that are slightly stronger than Av-Matoran (as well as the elemental immunities of their elemental type) and the abilities of six Noble Masks, it is probable that it would be physically stronger than a Matoran Nui because Turaga are stronger than Matoran. Matoran Nui might have a mobility edge, but Turaga Nui could easily stop it from a distance with the elemental and Kanohi powers. -TN05

I haven't seen the film yet but I will note the series is planned to feature more than just the base Hobbit book; it will apparently link it to LOTR and incorporate other Tolkien stories to do so.

Good god, mirror mode is ridiculous that way. At that point you are winning based off of luck... And it makes it extremely difficult to get the 2 or 3-star ranks on those circuits even if you do win. >_<

/QUOTE First off, this is my last post on this topic. My wish is for this argument to die because it is distracting from an actual issue. However, I feel I must respond to some of the things you have said. First off, you opening is a prime example of circular reasoning. It is like saying "x is an orange because it is an orange' rather than proving why 'x' is an orange (namely, being a round, orange fruit). The entire point of the label is to hurt someone - you don't call somebody you like a 'sexist', you call people you disagree with 'sexist'. And you completely ignore the definition of 'insult', which does not have a 'if you are right you aren't insulting your opponent' clause. By calling someone a bigot/sexist, you are insulting them by treating them with contempt. You and other people in the other blog post's attitude is nothing short of contemptous towards the one or two people who didn't agree 100% with you. So the fact that 'sexist' and 'bigot' are insults is not an arguable point because they are proven fact according to the dictionary. You can argue if the label is right, but it is still an insult. Second, you have no idea what I mean by 'respect' because you obviously didn't understand it. My motive here is to show that insults are poor debate form and are not respectful, and apparently that goes in the face of many people who like to call names or insult and think that is good debate form. In the recent debate, many people insulted and demeaned their opponents to harm them and their viewpoint. They this by yelling 'sexist' instead of debating or debunking the core issues at hand. This not only reflects poorly on them, it reflects poorly on their position and people who share it, and it certainly doesn't make people want to change their opinions. The gist is, if you have the better side, prove it. Don't use insults on someone when you can use logic. Finally, thanks for the insult at the end - I really appreciate being labeled as someone who wants to 'demean entire swaths of humanity for [my] own benefit'. That sort of label is really nice and it really makes me want to join you in supporting your view.... Not. Really, insults bring nothing other than an incensed reaction from the opponent and they spark a lot of vitriolic anger on both sides, and I'm surprised that people think it could possibly ever go the other way. For the record, I am pretty much in agreement that men and women are mostly equal and that women can serve in the military, but you assumed I wasn't because I was arguing insulting labels are wrong.

I can't picture Paul McCartney singing loud enough to be heard over the instruments.