mayor of the manor

Wow that's fantastic! Fireworks sure are fun... I was almost blown up last night I swear! Happy New Year to ya! PS. yeah 'gawgus' means gorgeous only spelt as if spoken in Estuary English... I swear I don't speak like that for real (or at least not seriously)

Nice fictitious towns here! This project is making me want to do some recreations... trying to BAT some interesting buildings in Brighton (however I am a novice) and I hope that one day they may be useful for you *nudge nudge* *cough* BRIGHTON! *cough* hehe good luck with sorting out your plugins Callbat!

If we didn't help avoid these extinctions, we might well become endangered too. The ecosystems of the world would suffer a tremendous blow and become way too unstable for major changes not to occur. quote> Couldn't agree more As such, saving other species from extinction is far from "human compassion". It's a selfish act to save our own species...quote> I can't agree that every act of 'saving' a species is a selfish act to protect humanity. There is compassion in decisions made by people trying to achieve this. It doesn't cross my mind that I'm doing my bit towards ensuring the future of humanity when I put out food for the birds in my garden because the action of feeding birds (some of which are very rare now in the UK) and the result of the survival of humanity are so far apart. For the purposes of an example, it would be hard for an environmentalist to not have compassion for the few animals or plants that they work with because without that feeling would be borne out of the effort to try and 'save' it. I'm not saying that it's not a selfish act but more that the two values discussed are interdependant in my opinion. You procreate to procreate? Seems insufficient for the meaning of life. My belief is that there is no answer to "the purpose of life" other than to assist and catalyze the natural process of turning all energy into entropy. I honestly don't think life NEEDS a purpose. quote> An interesting point. The way I look at this is that the ability is inbuilt into the minds (where applicable) and bodies of organisms and therefore something naturally practiced within an organisms lifetime. I love the idea of life's purpose being to turn energy into entropy brutally scientific but so so true IMO! My sole purpose stems from a desire to live. If I did not want to live I would die. Even though survival of the fittest is one of the tenets of modern biology, I do not think that gives us the right to free destruction and roam of the Earth for a multitude of reasons. One being that even though I might not be Christian, I believe that we should act in an ethical manner. quote> Can't say fairer than that. But what governs what you believe to be ethical, Confused04? That is why deer overpopulate (because we removed the wolf)... quote> A prime example is the slow destruction of the UK's oldest forest, the Caledonian Forest. Few saplings grow because the deer strip the ground of them. Nature is a web of relations and we cannot go willy nilly remove things. Its like dissecting a watch, you take what you think might be an inconsequential part away and now the watch doesn't work. Life is too complex for humans to go around and kill at our discretion. quote> That is true to some extent but where do you draw the line? Homo Sapiens have been (controversially) attributed with the extinction of most megafauna in North America within the last 15,000 years. They presumably killed them off (much like we have in recent times with some animals) because they provided food, competion for other food and to protect themselves. I personally think the issue is the capacity to which humans can alter their surroundings and this can upset the balance.

I feel for those who believe there is no purpose to life. To live a whole life and achieve whatever one can, to see and do all that one can and believe that there is no purpose, no rhyme or reason, is a psychological and intellectual poverty all its own IMHO. quote> I do not believe there are any specific purposes in life. However I am content with my life becuase I believe that it is up to the individual to set there own goals and challenges. I'm not atheist however I am not Christian or a follower of any major religion nor do I believe in a god. With regards to the thread the theory of evolution has shaped my religious beliefs. I believe the purpse of evolution is for organisms to constantly strive to survive. Therefore the purpose of my life is to survive or as Jan Ype put it, 'to live'. We, as a species, filled a gap in the ecosystem and we have to try and survive and we seem to be doing a good job about it. And if there is truly 'survival of the fittest', than let's do away with all those endangered species laws. If the spotted owl or polar bear cannot adapt to a world changed by humanity, then screw 'em. The god of natural selection has ruled against them. quote> I partly agree if that statement. I believe that becuase of how the human mind works, we think everything should be static and unchanging. It could be that some of these animals we are trying to save were dying out anyway but then again we as humans are part of the natural world and therefore are our actions not natural too? I think yes, to avoid using rhetoric, and because I think yes I also believe it is human nature to try and save them. It says something about our compassion for other creatures we pity. Of course people in the World will have varying levels of compassion but compassion none the less for other humans, organisms and sometimes even inanimate objects. It is interesting to observe other animals with regards to this. All the great apes and a lot of primate species have been known to show compassion to other members of their clans and gorillas have been witnessed looking after sick animals such as birds. They also show the sometimes human-like behaviour of a lack compassion. Just like in human societies there are varying degrees of this emotion where murder, outcasting orphans and even canibalism occur. It is not just restricted to primates either. Other examples include dog species, cat species, whale and dolphin species and probably others. So back to the topic, it is not just a human trait. It is probably an inherent trait that has expanded out to many species during the process of evolution.

gawgus work again! love it!

Really nice job on the crescent! and that hotel looks to be a good'n! can't wait to see it complete heh

Wonderful update! Fills me with festive spirit hehe

Fantastic update! I want to know where you got those stairs that Koekie mentions, th one's in the last pic? I could do with them

Wonderful twilight shot! a lot of nice buildings too

Wow that is so unbelievably realistic! Great talent you have hehe well done and keep it up!

nice use of tramlines and rail. Looks like a well planned city! I imagine with Carribean sand on the beaches that tourism is high heh nice update there

ooooooooh this looks exciting! I'll keep my eyes on the skies and TV for the coverage hehe... And about Marvin the Martian... well I'm sure he'll be able to cope

Great start and I can't wait to see some more!

Looks fantastic! you put so much effort into the small details and that is truely commendable! Inspiring stuff... gameplay meets art.

another beautiful mix of building heights! This is quickly becoming one of my new favourite CJs! Well done hehe