confused04

Originally posted by: MrFingers yeah we've been over this before, sea ice melting will not change the sea level. Simple physics - buoyancy principle. The world's glaciers have been gradually retreating on average since the little ice age ended in the 19th century, but there are plenty of places where they are growing, and many of the changes with glaciers have nothing to do with global warming. Fact is, 90% of the world's LAND ice is in Antarctica, and that ice mass has actually grown the last 30 years, against a 6000 year trend of melting before that.quote> Can you cite the study or studies that can confirm this growing ice mass. I've read many that have said that not only have tens of thousands of sq. km. have been lost and the melting has accelerated. I just want to read to see where the gains are as I haven't heard anything of these "gains".

I generally prefer Bitters such as John Smiths. A good Guiness every now and then is great. Other things such as Windsor and Coke, Bicardi Limon and Sprite, Jagermeister, Sambuka are also good. I prefer White wine over red, although a good rose is sometimes in order. Sangria is also fantastic. Kamakazes are also nice...

To be honest, I find this bickering quite childish. As much as this game might mean to some of us, its time to grow up. Didn't everyone learn as a kid or teen that people are idiots and can say cruel things. Come on... this is supposed to be a source of entertainment. If insults, criticisms and such really force you to move your creations, then perhaps you are putting too much emphasis on the game and have already lost the fun. As Dirk has stated, the staff here works to enforce the current policies irregardless of who issues them. I myself try to do this but there are times when we make mistakes. Running and crying makes no sense and you are giving up on a wonderful community for petty drama. Getting to the point... grow up everyone. I understand a lot of you are going through your teenage years which include ridiculous overreactions to tiny things, rebellion against authority and so forth and so on, but come on... this site is supposed to be free of real life arguments. None of us get our way here, but that doesn't mean much saying thats how life goes. I respect your decision if you, or anyone, feel the need to leave. You all have been valuable members of Simtropolis and I DO feel you are making rash decisions. Good luck with where your ventures may take you. Confused04

There is a freedom of religion aspect to drinking as some people do want their kids to drink proper wine at communion and such. According to the NIAAA, approximately 1 in 18 (15 million) people are considered alcohol dependent in the US Alcohol Concern, a charity in England pegs their numbers at 1 in 13 (around 4.5 million). There is obvious some cultural and law enforcement differences between the two countries that account for the differences in the prevalence of alcoholism. Being part of the sciences, I realize that I cannot establish causality with these numbers, but the difference is important. I cannot tell if the numbers are a result of different drinking ages, or as a result of differing views of alcohol or both. As numbers are very hard to come by, I do find the logic of raising teens on alcohol before driving to reduce drunk driving quite flawed. Just because you can drink at a younger age, that doesn't mean you are more likely to grow up with it responsibly (is that reflected in the numbers, i don't know). And, if you drive at a younger age, you will be more responsible with driving and perhaps will not be tempted to drive drunk. I think the only way to improve alcoholism is to change views as a society which takes a while. EDIT: According to the National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England, 8.2 million people drink above the 21 units per week that they deem "alcoholic" costing over 40 million dollars in social/economic/health losses per year. This would translate into approximately 1 in 7.3 people.

Unfortunately, raising the driving age to 18 will reduce the workforce significantly, a hit the US would love to avoid. The US has one of the highest percentages for teenage employment (although it is slipping). It was not uncommon for myself to work 40 hours a week on top of the 35 hours of class and hours of homework during highschool. I knew several people with two or three jobs during highschool. To limit mobility would certainly damage the ability for teens to gain work and employers to find cheap labor... its not going to happen. Education of alcohol and drugs is probably stricter than most nations, again, as its set up from a puritan vantage point. I never met a British person who didn't drink (drink being used very loosely meaning they didn't mind consuming a point now and then). About 1 out of 6 do not drink alcohol in ANY form ever in the US. Seems to be working. Besides, comparing traffic statistics between nations doesn't work as you can't control all variables such as mass transit ridership, distances needed to reach home, speeds, layout and such.

There are far weirder things about all countries. Countries that have lower drinking ages have a greater social emphasis on alcohol, where the US does not. Its a simple cultural difference and highlighting it as an "injustice" through tainted British goggles makes little to no sense. Most of the world drives on the right, but I don't consider the UK system a blasphemous institution against right handed people. Sati, the old hindu tradition of a women throwing herself on a funeral pyre of her husband was deemed horrific by western standards as the British colonized India, but again thats using their own point of view and forcing it on others is in itself wrong. Granted, I do believe the drinking age should be 18. But then again, I see why people DON'T want it to be 18. The US was founded completely differently from other countries but to blast us for our puritan past and its vestigial laws seems rather... arrogant. I'm sure every country has its absurd laws. I mean, TV licenses are quite backwards in our point of view, but thats OUR point of view. Whats right and wrong are obviously going to be different from country to country, state to state, city to city and person to person. And technically you can't die in the US army until your 18, you can sign up before that though I'm not sure about militias.

Originally posted by: Joesocwork Yeah, but the point for the U.S. healthcare is that the expenses are not paid for by the individual; they are paid for by the insurance companies/HMO's/PPO's. Granted it's a vicious cycle b/c most individuals can't afford it w/out the above parties and that also means by definition that they can't hold vendors directly responsible either. The vendors and insurance companies/HMO's/PPO's have their own weird systems of cost/demand assessments that hold each accountable in ways that inflate prices and require or deny tests and treaments that individuals would protest if they were paying directly out of their pocket. The only way that the personal consumer is allowed a modicum of accountability, other than direct feedback to the doctor and preventative lifestyle measures, is the ability to sue for malpractice. But unfortunately that leads vendors to often mandate medical testing that often is unnecessary as a way to cover themselves for fear of lawsuits, upping costs further. And yet for all of that, contrary to many of the myths, hospitals in the U.S. don't turn away poor and indigent. When I was a college student living on bare bones I had my share of medical emergencies and I was never turned away. My care wasn't always state of the art, but I received enought to keep my life fr being in danger. I also work with lower income people and I don't know anyone yet who has been turned away fr emergency medical care. Granted it might not be top of the line; the bureaucratic line is "why give someone a Mercedes when a Chevy will get a person fr Point A to Point B". The hospitals and vendors do receive certain funds & tax breaks for fr the government for doing this and anything else is chalked up to doing business; which I wouldn't be surprised adds into the calculus of what is charged to insurance companies/HMO's/PPO's.quote> Yes, the US system does not put the burden on the individual IF you have insurance... otherwise, you will be charged the full price of your treatment, which you will receive. Also, they will only treat you for non-elective surgeries. Sounds reasonable except that you will be surprised what counts as elective surgeries/treatments. Basically, if it doesn't kill you now and you cannot afford it, you will not be treated. This includes cancer treatment, angioplasty, transplants so forth and so on.

For all the faults of the free health care system in the UK, there is one advantage... everyone is entitled to treatment. In the US where it is privatized, the services provided are superior... if you can afford it. There are huge, double-digit percentages of our population that lack the ability to pay for health care. So for them, the fact that the US health care system is good is meaningless. What the UK does, along with other socialist countries, is pool risk as a country (just like any insurance company). Individually, without this insurance, you risk paying a lot out of pocket for treatment. But, if you operate as a large unit, the risk individually is decreased and instead of paying a huge bill at the end of an operation, you pay through premiums and as long as society as a whole remains healthy, there will hopefully be more healthy people paying premiums then sick people receiving payouts for their illnesses. As a country, this is what the UK does which gives everyone some basic coverage. The US relies on private companies that do not include everyone in the country leaving some to bear the risk of illness on their own. I can see why Hillary Clinton champions universal health care coverage, cause as you know, our unemployment rate is below 5% yet we have more than that uncovered by health insurance. This translates into a large chunk of our WORKFORCE who is not sitting on their butts and trying to make a contribution to society only for them to fend for themselves as their bosses collect billions in back-dated stock options. So, in summation, you either have good, but expensive health care (or other services) to be paid by the individual or crappy services paid by the government that everyone receives. So, take your pick.

If you look at the VERY first images of SC3K, you'll notice a massive change from the later images and ultimately the game itself. SC3K was the first SC game to try going full 3D before they realized they couldn't pull it off and revamped the entire game.

But at the same time, if we take this "wait and see approach" we either don't show the developers what we REALLY want or we set ourselves for a much bigger fall if it really is that bad. I liken SCS to... raising a child. You will always have pretty high standards for your kids, whether you actually tell them or not. You won't wait til things go down the tube before you express disappointment. SCS is in away our child just as much as its Tilted Mill. Perhaps its more like a sibling, but whatever... This is something we find particularly important. But if we keep saying "oh, it'll be allright" or "I should give them more chances" we are really not going to send a message that we disapprove of the game that we've been told. Besides, just from what I'm told, I am very displeased. The elements they have shown or revealed are VERY heart breaking. There is no way they could make up for it.

I must say that I've been trying desperately to keep an open mind, but I just can't anymore. You might say "we want to uncomplicate things and appeal to a larger audience." Thats fine! The example of tweaking the Sims to the Sims 2 to simplify the game works because they didn't change the premise of the game. You still run a family the same way in the Sims and the Sims 2. Changing it from a city simulator to a social simulator with a city twist is ruining the formula. I hope what they read here is a clear and resounding "No." I've never thought I'd say this, but I'd prefer this game to be canceled. Why is SC4 being treated as if its hard... it isn't. What has REALLY changed since the original Simcity that everyone loved? You still need power, you still need zones, you still need police, fire, hospitals and airports. The hasn't changed in almost two decades...Did they not make money? People aren't stupid. There have been far more challenging and complicated games such that have done just fine without tweaking anything. These six social wealths or whatever are supposed to give you a certain "feel" to your city which I don't doubt that do... but if that just results in new props coming up, just like what SC4 did, then there's no improvement. I'm trying my best to say "Its months/years away, they can improve it." But nothing short of an overhaul or restart will EVER convince me to buy SCS. If I did, I would have bought CityLife. On top of that, I don't appreciate being told basically "Sorry, but we don't want your business." They "respect" our decision, but "too bad" is what I'm getting out of it. Too bad, my 50 bucks are going to somewhere else. If this game comes out as is... SC4 will likely be the last true Simcity game. As I've said, everyone has the freedom to do as they please... I just have the freedom to hate it, trash it, or not buy it. I'm going to exercise that freedom. Isn't plopping buildings the very micromanaging they are trying to avoid. You don't want us to micromanage but here we are... micromanaging which building gets placed where. I imagine that we'd have to micromanage where those buildings go and how much to place just so we can open up a good chunk of the 85% of the buildings. THATS the micromanaging I can't stand. Yes, SC4 had some tedious micromanaging elements. Like school zones. In real life, school zoning is not circular. One way to tweak that would be to "auto-zone" school districts. That way you just need to have enough schools instead of adjusting the slider for all 50 schools on a map. Thats the kinda thing they need to do for a true SC5 sequel. Buildings becoming redundant, insert a code that has a negative feedback input so we don't get 500 Wren insurances. I'd wait another 4 years for the Spore code to be used in SC5. Even if the gameplay for CityLife is ultimately different... plopping the same 500 buildings (or less) over and over and over again gets old and I'm not reserving 15 GB of hard drive space for even MORE plopable buildings. I've been supportive of keeping an open mind, but as each tid bit of information has come out, I can't... I'm done. If I was even remotely excited about SCS, I'd go out and buy CityLife RIGHT now. I still haven't. I might go send my money over to Microsoft and buy their games. What would I need to change my mind... I want more evidence that this isn't merely a clone. Understandably, not everything can be spilled. But there is a PR war being waged, fairly or not, and unfortunately, hardcore fans are leading the charge. We need reassurances that SC isn't being thrown onto a game just so that we as "suckers" buy it. Just as you don't want us to throw label's onto SCS and judge it unfairly, I don't want you to take our money for granted because it has Simcity in the title.

Unfortunately, I disagree with calling evolution a "belief". I liken it to someone finding a puddle of water on the floor. After searching for the cause of the leak, fiddling with pipes, following a trail of water, testing sinks and so forth and so on, evidence will lead to a conclusion as to why there is a puddle. Lets say for the sake of arguing, that the puddle was caused by a clogged sink. Whoever is doing the search did not BELIEVE in a clogged sink and set out to prove that the clogged sink was the cause of the puddle. He or she followed a trail of evidence that lead to that conclusion. I myself didn't believe in evolution from birth, nor was I instilled in an evolution based household, in fact my parents did not discuss this at all and I did go to church and school. But, I still found the evidence for evolution far more compelling. I didn't "believe" evolution to set out and prove it. I saw a series of facts that lead to that conclusion. To me, a belief doesn't need evidence to support it. Someone against capital punishment doesn't need to base their belief on facts, there are morals behind it.

In reality, you are right CrazyFinger, evolution was only meant to explain diversification of life on Planet Earth. Darwin purposely avoided the question of biogenesis. He knew he could never attempt to start proving biogenesis and religous ramifications were probably enough to sway him from even formulating a hypothesis on this aspect. That is what urks me about the whole creationism versus evolution. In no way does evolution discredit the existence of God (or his equivalent). Evolutions specifically deals with "the rise of one species from another." Granted, evolution does fit nicely with current biogenesis theories out there but that is irrelevent. It is unfair to compare creationism to evolution since they do not deal directly with the same thing. You can theoretically be a creationist and an evolutionist at the same time, most of these people would be deists. There are MANY books that deal with evolution. Currently, I'm reading the "The Plausibility of Life" which discusses the notion of novelty in evolution, which admittingly is the weakest point in the theory of evolution. How does an eye "evolve" from no eye. Evolution explains where an prototype eye evolves into a more sophisticated eye, but what leads a species to bother creating a phototype eye. But, with all things said, the theory of evolution has so much imperical evidence, that its denial is at this point is a nuisance. There will always be a search for the "missing" link between "Lucy" and Homo sapiens sapiens. There will never be a close enough evolutionary ancestor to convince creationists (or what should really be called "intelligent designists") that perhaps we actually did evolve from another ancestral primate. We could have a 99.9999999999999999999999999999999999999999 % match and creationists will ask for the next species with a 99.99999999999999999999999999999999999999991% match. Irregardless of the evidence, creationists will remain creationists. I haven't yet seen a bonefied creationist become an evolutionist. The only instance of "switching sides" occurs in children who grow up with possibly different beliefs than their parents. Barbossa, as I'm a biology student interested in evolution and genetics, I've read plenty of evolution papers, and I am even partaking in a small "microevolution" project, although it has more practical applications than real input into the theory of evolution. I will have to dive into the discussion at a later point (I haven't read much of pages 2 and 3), but I have to go searching for resting eggs in a pile of sediment... WOOOOOO

You are always welcome to join in chat as well. There's a very close community of chat regulars that you can always come talk to. Nothing like "live" communication. Its nice you wish to be more involved.

My final days in England were spent partying and doing my hair! Nice pics everyone!

Well, a few reasons contributed to why I went to Whitby instead of the touristy places... A) My friend (the guy on the left) is from Middlesbrough and he's my best bud here and he suggested Whitby and he could drive us from Middlesbrough after we arrived there by train. B) I have been to London C) I currently reside in York so I technically am doing the whole "going to a tourist trap" thing, but I'm excused saying that I see York almost daily. Wish I could visit you in Great Yarmouth, but I leave on Saturday. Thanks though.

Just a few pics from my trip to Whitby, England. My stay is drawing to a close and its depressing.... I'm gonna miss England. The only thing keeping me sane is the fact one of my close British friends is coming to visit me in Minneapolis in September! I hate goodbyes Jacqulina: Don't go , I like knowing that someone looks at these pictures and comments, I for one could comment far more often. Stay!!!

Just a few random pics of me

I've been SO inspired by other peoples wonderful stories which include, but certainly are not limited to Crystal City and The Presence of Being (plus a few others that were unfortunately discontinued). So, without further delays... A Shrouded Legacy A CJ by Confused04 An early spring heat wave wasn’t particularly something Ynnek enjoyed while dead heading his father’s rose garden. The job wouldn’t have been nearly as bad had Ynnek actually found these roses beautiful. But the cold calculation of this small plantation had robbed any aesthetic value. Simple clean rows with evenly spaced bushes gave the field of roses an inorganic look. These were mere commodities soon to be found in bouquets around the country of Rumeria, particularly in its majestic capital of Rellim City. Each rose had its destiny, most likely a mother’s day gift at this time of year. These roses did fetch a good price, but the farm just doesn’t seem right with this patch of roses. Most of his father’s acreage was still wheat, corn or soy depending on the rotation. But these roses fetched them an extra profit. Ynnek wasn’t terribly keen on being a farmhand, never the less his father’s only. Working several hundred acres was tiring, even with machinery. At the age of eighteen, Ynnek should have been wooing young ladies at the University of Rellim. Instead he was taking care of roses for some other guy to woo the girl he never had a chance with. Best not to think of that Ynnek regularly repeated. He longed to see the polished stone of the Capital, the glass facades of the Fountain District, and the nightlife of Micklegate Row. But his father couldn’t bear to pay the price of college tuition. Even with loans, Ynnek and his father just couldn’t pay two separate living expenses. For now, Ynnek was stuck in the small town of Heslington. (The Farmhouse) His father, Brandon, overshadowed Ynnek as he continued to delicately remove unsightly leaves and dead flowers. I’ve been watching you from the porch. Go any slower and I can possibly train the dog to do the job for you” He chuckles “At least it’s not me doing the job. Why don’t you work in this heat?” “You know I’m getting too old for this, I can’t keep bending over and kneeling, it hurts my back” “The same way dishes hurt your back” “No, I just hate doing dishes. Look, I know this isn’t what you really want to be doing, but I don’t have much of a choice.” “Sure you do, don’t plant roses.” “Crop prices just aren’t hot lately, it takes four acres of wheat to make the same amount of money one acre did just five years ago. Bill’s offered to give me a free consultation in turning this place around” Bill was a friend of Brandon, an agriculture consultant. He managed to make his millions consulting major corporations in the county. Ironically, Brandon was in desperate need of help because these corporations used Bill’s advice to drive prices down even lower. But Brandon was willing to look past this, he just wanted to farm. “I honestly, Dad, don’t care. I don’t want to be farming. Why can’t we just sell the land, make a pretty profit and move to the outskirts of Rellim?” “Unless you can fetch enough money for a house and the property fees that the city and county steal, the answer is no. This land in Heslington isn’t worth that much anyway, at best we can get a studio apartment overlooking the treatment plants and rent will screw us over anyway. I’ve already thought about this and there’s not much ya can do about it.” “Just let me go to college and I’ll perhaps be able to get a job and afford a place and if we…” “How naïve can you be!?! You think you’ll just walk out with a diploma to be greeted by six figure checks? No, definitely not in four years. You’ll be lucky to break the 40,000 simolean barrier. Your mother went that route and it wasn’t worth it for her.” “You’re calling me naïve, who’s planting a bunch of roses for a living? Who has a house that’s falling apart? Who is unwilling to accept that family owned farms are done with in this country?!?” Ynnek’s voice rang true with his father, but farming was Brandon’s life. He wouldn’t be happy in Rellim, ever. His outburst was soon met with an immediate apology. “Sorry, Dad, I… I’m just ready to go for it on my own. I understand that this is what you like, but its not for me. “ Brandon tried to reply diplomatically. “Its okay, but no matter how much I wish that you could go to college, I just can’t afford to have no help on the farm. Next year if Bill’s advice w…” His composure melted yet again “Next year, I’ve seen this cycle before. There will always be a next year and it’ll never become this year. Look, I’m going to Harry’s, I’ll be back with that jug of milk you need, I can’t stand this heat anymore.” Ynnek threw down what he was doing and jumped into his pickup. He was irate and couldn’t be bothered to say goodbye to his father. He knew that anymore talk about delaying his start at college would not end well. He wanted to cool off, both figuratively and literally. As his son drove away, Brandon was able to scream one last thing… “Since when did we need milk!?!” Main Street Harry's Diner Ynnek sat down for dinner with a greasy burger and a watery milkshake at hand. Harry’s Diner acted as several stops for the town. They provided a good cheap meal, that often consisted of the greasiest food around. The diner also acted as a corner store, selling odds and ends. The final component of the store was a small hardware section where farmers could pick up that particular sized nut and bolt. Hard times had hit everyone in town, well at least those who bothered to stay even at the first signs of trouble. After scarfing down a quick bite to eat, Ynnek proceeded to pay for a jug of milk at the cashier. Behind him someone spoke. His voice hoarse with years of tobacco use and his breath certainly confirmed it. “Do you know Dr. Wallace?” Ynnek promptly answered no. He still had this feeling that whoever asked the question was still staring at him. He turned to look, but the gentleman was already out the door as the welcome bell rang…

As many of you have already heard, a massive, half-mile wide tornado slammed into the small community of Greensburg, Kansas, destroying approximately 95% of the town. Photos of the damage are horrific and humbling. As of yesterday, the tornado was officially rated on the new Enhanced Fujita scale and was given the highest intensity rating of EF-5. Only the grain elevator escaped severe damage while the rest of the town was decimated. This will mark the first F5 since Moore, OK (even if the scales are not completely congruent). So far this year, 68 people have died in tornadoes including those from Greensburg, Sweetwater, OK and Enterprise, AL. This year has seen a significantly higher death toll from tornadoes as the total from 2006 was less than our current tally. Condolences go out to those who have suffered this disaster first hand and their families.

Shrouded Legacy Update 2 Ynnek returned from the store, still focused on the odd encounter at Harry’s. The sun’s brutal rays gave way for the oncoming night as the sun set. The familiar sputter of the old pick up had awoken Rohen, his faithful companion. There she was, wagging her tail and begging for a few minutes of attention as he came out of the driver’s seat. A few strokes through her thick mane brought her joy. Ynnek had other things to do and continued towards the kitchen. “I’m back” “I figured it wouldn’t be long, I heard your pick up when it was leaving Main Street.” “While I was at Harry’s, someone asked me if they knew a Dr. Wallace. Is he one of your doctors? “ “No, not at all, never heard the name.” He said immediately. “Do you think he’s the owner of the clinic in New Westinshire?” “I wouldn’t know. It’s probably someone looking for family.” “There’s only fifty people in this town, and perhaps two hundred in New Westinshire, we know everyone. I’ve never heard of Dr. Wallace“ “I don’t really have time to think about someone looking for Dr. Wallace. It’s some out of towner looking in the wrong town, simple.” Ynnek couldn’t really disagree with his reasoning. Despite his father’s logic, he still couldn’t let it go. Something about the man at Harry’s seemed out of place. If there indeed was a new doctor in town, it would have caused an exciting stir. But, not even a whisper of this had occurred. Before he could dive into his late night dinner, Ynnek had a few chores to finish in the barn, none of which were too difficult. It beat working in the field all day beneath the sun’s rays. At this point, his stomach cried out for a meal. He returned to smell a familiar aroma as he closed the door behind him. Brandon had just finished cooking Ynnek’s favorite meal. A perfectly roasted leg of lamb, complete with roast potatoes and green bean casserole. Instantly, Ynnek recognized it as the “I’m sorry for how everything has turned out” meal. “Here you go, enjoy.” He said in a clear yet simple tone, gently resting the plate in front of Ynnek. In a way, Ynnek felt bad for having this meal. It wasn’t his father’s fault for everything, it was just the luck of the draw and his sudden departure from the rose plantation certainly wasn’t the most mature of actions. But, the fact that there was lamb in front of him didn’t really make him think terribly long. The meal was mostly silent, but it was punctuated by brief bouts of chit chat which covered mostly sports, but the occasional joke was tossed about. “Thanks Dad” “I’ve got a big surprise for you…” Ynnek was baffled. He thought to himself ‘Wasn’t the meal the surprise?’ A few anxious seconds passed as his father walked over to the computer and shuffled a few papers around. He palmed what looked like a small piece of paper, obstructing Ynnek’s view. Smiling, his father presented Ynnek with an online rail reservation. Without hesitation, Ynnek grabbed the paper and read the destination… Rellim City – Northern Moors Station. “Dad, I’m… I’m a bit confused. You won’t let me go to the University of Rellim but you’ll send me up there for no reason?” “’No reason’ wouldn’t exactly be true. I was talking to an old friend and he says he has a job that will both pay you and in exchange for your labor, he’ll send me some back. I’d figure that this is the best I can do. You might not be at the college, but it’s a start. “Why is he giving you money for sending me?” “He’s paying you below the living wage, but you don’t have to pay for housing as he’ll give you a spare room at his place. It’ll give you plenty to eat and enjoy yourself. The money he’ll send back would just be money that isn’t being used for housing. He’s doing both of us a huge favor.” “You need me for the summer, though. I know you’re doing me a favor, but I also know you can’t work this place without me. Rohen might be smart, but she still lacks an opposable thumb.” “Well, I can figure a way around your absence; the local kids always want a few extra bucks and I can always pull that from the grocery bill,” referring to Ynnek’s ferocious appetite. “I guess you got things worked out. What will I be doing?” “He said something about painting and renovation work. He says demand for fixing up abandon houses in some of the areas that got bombed during the Third Bermian War.” “Haven’t those places been abandoned for almost two decades?” “Eighteen years to be more precise… the war ended shortly after you were born. The housing market had been in a decline as many people no longer trusted living in the cities. Now that the tide has turned and more people want to leave the countryside for city-livin’, demand for these places is absurdly high.” “Job doesn’t sound too bad and as long as I’m in the City, I’ll be fine. Thanks Dad.” “Don’t thank me, thank Wes Vaun. He’ll be the one looking after you.” Brandon lectured Ynnek as he packed to catch the train. Mostly about respecting Wes and minding his manners. With little success, Brandon tried recalling areas of Rellim that Ynnek might find interesting, but his son had tuned him out long ago during his manners bit. > > 18 Years Ago- The Height of the Third Bermian War Rellim Biowarefare Agency - Grand Mountains The hum of the laboratory wasn’t audible to Dr. Wallace anymore. A slow work week would have been another man’s full time. Beside him was one of his eager assistants, just out of college, ready to test four years of education. Periodically the building shook as errant shells pummeled the mountains. Nothing would concern them as they were deep below ground in a secret government complex designed for the Rellim BioWarfare Agency. Only about a hundred miles separated them and the front lines, not far saying the original border was over nine hundred miles away. The installation was hidden deep within the Grand Mountains, south of the Capitol. Rellim City had fallen under siege from three sides and was constantly bombarded by the Bermians. It was unlikely the city would have fallen, but there was a sense of urgency. The First and Second Bermian Wars didn’t see Bermians past the borders of the contested Meriva Province. Now they had come knocking on the doors of Congress demanding Rumerian unconditional surrender. Dr. Wallace could hear the bomb sirens wail again, but only faintly deep within the complex. He returned to the computers which were nearly finishing analyzing the results of a recent test. “At the rate they’re going, we might have to evacuate this place soon. It’s only a matter of time before Bermian soldiers ransack this place,” he said nonchalantly. He wasn’t terribly scared since the government had placed them under strong protection from several elite units. “The last reports I’ve heard said the front lines are being held. We should start pushing them back soon, it just took us far too long to mobilize our army and conduct the draft. With their standing army being as large as it was, they were ready to mow through the countryside quite quickly. We won’t be losing any more ground.” “Good, Bermian worms should go back to their country. We weren’t the ones making absurd claims for Meriva.” “To be fair, we did agree to cede cities predominately inhabited by Bermians, which we’ve still yet to do. That was a condition of the treaty ending the Second Bermian War.” “Terrorizing ethnic Rumerians out so as to make these cities mostly Bermian doesn’t count. They for sure were involved in those bombings that ripped through Rumerian churches and neighborhoods. Don’t make them sound like the innocent ones Dr. Wallace." One of the Meriva bombings that terrorized ethnic Rumerian cities. “You’re right, both countries are at fault. It’s just not as simple as it seems. I still contend that we were the aggressors. We built the Cedric Dam to control the Cedric River. We gave them nothing more than a trickle before it reached their half of the Cedricdale. Four million people depended on that water, now less than a million remain. “Bermia has plenty of water to use. If they don’t want to use their money for building their infrastructure, that’s their problem. The Cedric supplied the water for the western half of our country where most of our food is produced. Once the Westfold Aquifer dried up, we had no choice.” “So you really can’t blame them for anything, we took their water and they wanted some of their land, which again, some of it was legitimate complaints.” “The Bermians could live without the Cedric, they could live without their settlements… we can’t live without water for food, and we can’t live when we’re being bombed! Clearly we are in the right.” “You speak of living, we did things to live and now we are dying for those things. Not much of an improvement.” “Never really thought of it that way. I still hate Bermians…” The Cedric and the Cedricdale before the construction of the dual dams. The new Cedric Reservoir and the Cedric Dual Dam Complex What remained for the Bermians. A window popped up on the computer screen. The analysis had been finished. “Success!!” he yelled. Months of work had finally finished. Thrilled that he had finally created a gene for the protein to combat the deadly Shearer’s Virus IV, he sat down in his lab chair in satisfaction. It wasn’t long before that smug feeling faded and he realized the implications. He knew that once this protein was sent to the Genetics lab, they would work on a gene for the production of the SV IV vaccine gene. The concept was simple; a plasmid would be created but tagged with a marker that human cells would recognize as an important macromolecule necessary for cell maintenance. This would bring vital genes that could be transcribed by polymerases in the host human cells creating proteins necessary for the destruction of viral protein coats that will be used later as a substrate for another enzyme coded in the same plasmid. These protein coats are necessary for the proliferation of the virus into other cells. Without it, the viral DNA is stuck within this cell. However, to dispose of the viral genome, the infected cell must be destroyed. This is accomplished by using the products of the now defunct viral protein coats as a substrate for an intercellular membrane protein. This will induce a conformational change in the protein changing the surface of the membrane to make the cell appear foreign. At this point, the immune system will recognize the cell as foreign and destroy it, allowing none of the viral genome to replicate and destroy more cells. Dr. Wallace had just finished creating the transmembrane protein and the analysis had shown success in creating the conformational change as well as complete destruction by components of the human immune system.>> >>What had disturbed Dr. Wallace was that this vaccine wasn’t in the interest of stopping the spread of SV IV; it was to release SV IV. Without this vaccine, the release of SV IV by the Rumerian government, a particularly fast replicator, would come back and kill millions back in Rumeria. The intent was to use SV IV against Bermia and end this war quickly, but without having to fear the virus crossing the border into Rumerian territory. With this breakthrough, even if the virus came into Rumeria, it would do no harm. Dr. Wallace was interested in his work as it was indeed interesting and could have implications in stopping other viruses. But he knew that his superiors could care less about the “grand scheme of things”. Many claim science is cold and immoral, and today Dr. Wallace felt the same. What he deemed a success was a failure for humans in general. The death of millions of Bermians would negate any pride he had. “How would you feel if I said that we needed to destroy this ?” “Dr. Wallace, is this theoretical or do you really mean it?” The look on Dr. Wallace’s stern face answered it for him. He was a bit puzzled. “You mean you are going to sacrifice this country!?! You aren’t making much sense here. I thought you were the bright one.” “I’m not going to ‘save’ my country by killing millions of Bermians and who knows how far outside the border it might spread after that. You realize that we would be dooming hundreds of millions of people. I can’t have this on my shoulders and despite how much you hate Bermians, I know you can’t either.” “But,… what about Rumeria, you’re dooming her and her citizens.” “As I’ve said before, we should be pushing them back next week. I’d rather sacrifice several hundred thousand soldiers of my own country then to kill hundreds of millions elsewhere.” The assistant sat for a few minutes. Dr. Wallace knew if he couldn’t convince his assistant, then he would be turned in, tried for high treason, and summarily executed. The assistant leaned forward placing his elbows on the terminal as he cupped his hands and placed them against his forehead. Tense moments passed, but Dr. Wallace’s arguments prevailed as his assistant agreed. “I agree. I’ll help you under one condition… We don’t destroy the SV IV vaccine gene.” “What do you mean? That’s not helping at all!” “We merely hide it. Look, we don’t have control of the virus and as long as this virus exists, this vaccine will be needed. SV IV was manufactured, but only by simply changing SV III. The virus is only a mutation away from killing us all anyway. We will need this vaccine genuinely. You know what happened in the flu outbreak sixty years ago, it’s the same way. They knew about the virus, but they didn’t know that it could mutate into a supervirus. Now we have a chance to prevent this, but without using the virus as a weapon.” “Hiding it does seem good, but we can’t leave this facility with it. We’re gonna be searched before we walk out of this complex.” “Dr. Wallace, have you heard of cell fate determination?” “Yes… but I don’t see how that’s relevant.” “Don’t worry, I have a plan.” FINALLY! Sorry for the delay, but Update 2 is up! Enjoy!

Originally posted by: Normandy Hrm. From what I can see, from both mass-media and this forum thread, I think people are too one-sided. There are the people who think the "world is ending", and really try to do anything to stop global warming, whatever the cost. Then you have the people who say "global warming isn't real", and counter-act everything the people who do think global warming is occurring do. And the only people who have any sense left are the neutral ones, but as said in many comedy news shows, you can't be "very neutral". In my opinion, we shouldn't really be taking this to either side. We should take this step by step, not bound by bound. Now I'm not one to deny global warming is coming, and/or coming fast. Nor am I one to say Global Warming is all our fault. However, it is in my opinion that Carbon Dioxide, above all, is bad for us, global warming or no global warming. However, we don't need to take it at a breakneck pace, which is exactly why a lot of global warming legislation fails. It's too radical. Lets take an example: Person A has 500 simoleans. He gets 10 simoleans a week (income - living expenses). He/she has an average family: married with 2.5 kids. All of a sudden somebody in his local townhouse proposes that every house has to have solar panels. Lets say solar panels cost 750 simoleans. Now person A, being a sensible person, says that's too much. Even though the costs will eventually be offset, it doesn't matter. He'll/She'll need to take out a 750 simolean loan, which will take him/her 25 weeks to pay off, not including interest. To regain his/her original 500 simoleans, he'll\she'll have to work another 50 weeks. This isn't including any expense hikes he/she may face. So he says this idea is totally unacceptable. It fact, it is. However, take it the way nature has: Humans took millions of years to develop, so why not our policy on global warming? A much more feasible solution: Another person has proposed a new bill saying that all major buildings have to have solar panels (post offices, fire houses, hospitals, etc...). Also, every person must pay a 1 simolean a month fee to help fund the solar panels. Though it isn't exactly going to completely eliminate pollution, it is much more economically viable.quote> The problem with taking the slow and steady route is that action must be taken immediately. Indeed humans took millions of years to evolve, but that is irrelevent in terms of solving global warming as anthropogenic global warming doesn't take millions of years. It is accepted that 2 degrees celsius of additional warming will occur EVEN if we stopped all CO2 prodcution immediately. Doesn't sound too bad, but if no action is taken, then warming could reach 3 degrees. Thats where disaster will occur as positive feedback loops will send Earth into an upward temperature spiral that we at that point CAN'T do anything about. So, if we can't avoid 2 degrees, and three degrees is realistically our "tipping point", then immediate, revolutionary action HAS to be taken. In terms of the economics, your example does work if and only if the government decides to issue a mandate with no financial assistence. What most anthropogen global warming supporters such is for a broader governmental action, not just individual. Its a societal problem, not just Jim's or mine alone. Therefore it is reasonable to expect financial assistance in reducing CO2 outputs. With the US having a multi-trillion dollar budget, it is ACCEPTABLE to have tax money used for combating global warming.

Having studied abroad in England for the past 5 months, I am well aware of the differences between American and British English. I stand out quite easily from the crowd the instant I open my mouth around here, gets me noticed. I have heard all the differences all ready and I've been so absorbed in the culture, its hard to even remember all the differences as its beginning to blur. Words that are pronounced differently... leisure (long e sound in AE, short in BE) fillet (AE pronounced same as french, BE phonetical pronunciation) Idiomatic phrases that just don't match. I pulled her in the club last night. AE Meaning. You physically took her by the hand and pulled her a measurable distance. BE Meaning. Hooked up with her (not sure if the word Hooked up is used here) Are you all right? British tend to use this as another way to say "How's it going." where Americans would normally give you funny look and say... "Ya,... I'm... fine..." Ta.... Thank you in British (generally more Yorkshire and Northern). I'll add when I think of more, but I'm having a tough time remembering.

Originally posted by: IDS2 My favorites are all in Minneapolis, look at my username, big surprise...favorite IDS Tower, second Wells Fargo Tower, third First Bank Place. Overview But the IDS Tower is my favorite...quote> The third building is no longer First Bank Place unexcitingly named 225 South Sixth. Also, the overview image is photoshopped. Being a huge Minneapolis fan (and living in St.Paul), I've seen this image thousands of time and the IDS is way taller in this pic than it is in real life. Just being nit picky. I was gonna say 225 South Sixth and Wells Fargo are my favorite. I do like First Liberty in Philadelphia (and I think the Comcast Center is going to be beautiful) http://refmin.iteams.org/teams/msp/images/minneapolis.jpg

I support you schm0, I'm just too busy to type out a response. I suggest reading the "Six Degrees of Global Warming". Its a real good read and disturbing. By 6 Degrees of global (just above the upper limit of IPCC's prediction so the guy just rounded it to 6) we might be living in a world resembling the Permian extinction. I will someday join this dicussion if it stays civil. As I was the scapegoat for all the natural global warming camp in the other threads, I'm wary of joining.