Off Topic - Main

[titi]

the games I like:

- Nexuiz ( www.nexuiz.com ) this one is free!

- World of Goo , this one is really cool! ( http://www.worldofgoo.com/ )

- Unreal tournament 2004 , An old but great game with a huge modding scene changing this game into nearly everything
For example car racing or medieval dragon fights , or a  sonic game .

- Flatout2/ Flatoutjoint best car racing game ever! ( some screenshots: http://www.mobygames.com/game/flatout-2/screenshots
 and here is the modding scene: http://flatoutjoint.com/ )
 !!!One Hint!!! Flatout 2 uses Starforce copy protection! You should always install it with a noCd crack, its better for your windows and if you are using linux you can then play it with wine !

All these games run perfect in linux( maybe better  ) only Flatout2 is a Windows game and needs wine to work ( but without Multiplayer yet  :'( :'( :'( )

[assassin]

Unreal tournament looks very good.

My favourite console game is ratchet and clank:

[ElimiNator]

Ya world of goo is cool
and you can buy n download (2D though)

[-Archmage-]

hey guys i just got a full sized sword: The Master Sword 

i'm not joking i'll post some pics some

[MadElf]

hey guys i just got a full sized sword: The Master Sword 

i'm not joking i'll post some pics some

A real sword? My dream is to get one of those High Elven swords like this:

http://www.cbswords.com/product_info.php/cPath/21/products_id/214

 
They are gorgeous!

[-Archmage-]

here: 

sorry about the rotation of the pics

me holding the sword(sword is 42 inches in length overall)


me about to swing this heavy thing


you know...it only weighs 3 pounds, but it's pretty heavy and it's hard to swing repeatedly

[MadElf]

Just wondering, is not a real sword is it?

[gameboy]

yeah, it looks like yellow plastic. ???

[Hectate]

yeah, it looks like yellow plastic. ???

Notice it's color is different in the first picture? The late sun (long striped shadows - it's sunset time!) is applying a heavy orange/yellow glow to everything in the picture, even more so in the second image. I lived in a house for a while where the sun would shine right on our sun-room right until it went over the horizon and everything would be a bright golden color. I called it the Midas time.
But it might still be plastic I suppose.

[silnarm]

Also, looking at the second pic, if you observe where the sun is shining from, where the sword is relative to archmage, and the colour of his t-shirt... well, it all kinda makes sense doesn't it... swords are shiny after all, and shiny things reflect light, colours and all

[gameboy]

oh, i didn't see the first pic, it didn't load the first time.

[modman]

Do we really need photo analysis?!  I believe him.  If he was lying he wouldn't have made such a big deal about it.

[Hectate]

Sorry, geekness takes over in situations like this Photo analysis is exactly what you should expect!

I saw a dash-cam video of a car getting hit while a trooper was talking to the driver (luckily from the passenger side, he had only minor injuries). The lady showing me the video was convinced it was a mini-van that hit the other vehicle (hard to tell) but I thought it was an SUV. I eventually won when I pointed out the location of the door handles didn't correspond with a sliding door common on a mini-van.

So forensic photographic analysis is just hobby-work for us, lol!

[MadElf]

Do we really need photo analysis?!  I believe him.  If he was lying he wouldn't have made such a big deal about it.

Believe him? I dont get it, what do you mean?
We are just discussing, we are not saying he is lying or anything, it is just because when he said sword I had in mind a real meatal sword, anyways, metal or not, no one said he was lying. 

[Trappin]

Film producers call late day sunshine "the golden hour" and a good example of this effect on film is the movie Stargate - the German director talks about it on the commentary track of the extended cut DVD version.

Color 'bounces" off of walls, clothing, house drapes, carpets and hardwood flooring and/or anything found in nature. In fact, many people will go to a paint store and pick out a color that looks good on a sample chip -  lit by sodium or fluorescent lights in the store - and then paint the new color on a wall at home and be shocked by how different the color appears to be.

Incandescent (golden yellow), CFL( blue/green), LED( pure white) and halogen (white) lighting also affect color bounce on white or contrasting colors painted on walls.

The sword is silver(mirror effect) and is reflecting light and colors back at the camera.

[-Archmage-]

Ok people, to inform you it is a metal sword

it does weigh 3 pounds(but trust me you would think it was at least 10)
and the weigh is mostly in the blade and handle is wooden, the sword has a full tang

@Madelf: That elven sword is a replica made only for putting on show, if i were you i'd look for something you can use

My point is, i know what a sword looks like, and i don't wanna keep looking at it, so that's one of the reasons i bought this sword, i like to wield weapons not look at them, cause you can do that anywhere on the internet

it is a pretty nifty sword though

[MadElf]

Ya, but well, I think if you want to fight with swords you should do that sport that I forgot the name, the one with thin sowrds and white clothing.
This:
http://www.teleantioquia.com.co/Programas/CajadeSorpresas/Imgs/DibujosYLetras/Esgrima1.jpg

I practice archery because I like to do it in games, so I thought, why not in real life too? I started doing it and liked a lot.

[hailstone]

Ya, but well, I think if you want to fight with swords you should do that sport that I forgot the name, the one with thin sowrds and white clothing.
This:
http://www.teleantioquia.com.co/Programas/CajadeSorpresas/Imgs/DibujosYLetras/Esgrima1.jpg

fencing

[John.d.h]

My mom's husband has a katana that his dad got in World War 2 from a Japanese officer he killed.  It's pretty cool, but a lot heavier than it looks.  It's still in good condition and I'm sure it could do some serious damage.

[-Archmage-]

wow
i've only seen a katana

[Trappin]

dad got in World War 2 from a Japanese officer he killed.

Those weapons always have the Japanese family name inscribed on the sword or a script/note tucked into a pocket inside the handle. The Japanese were/are very serious about these family heirlooms and it's very possible the family survived the war and would appreciate knowing what happened to the sword.

[modman]

I held a katana once in history class and it was a lot lighter than I expected.  Its (wooden) sheath is heavier than the sword!

Oh and yes it was during class and nobody died.

[Omega]

I've only seen katanas (in Final Fantasy). I've actually seen real ones before in a museum once, along with a samari suit, but never got to feel one...


BTW: I have a sort of question to ask everyone (to get some more discussion going): What is your favorite web browser, why, and what version do you have?

Mine is by far firefox, of which I have the version 3.x something (the newest as of last month, can't remember the exact version...). My second favorite is safari, which I use when speed is a factor. I use v4.

* As a web designer, I hate having multiple browsers out there, as well as older browsers. My Glest Guide shuns IE, but works on everything else (I can't understand how, I've literally tried everything my amazingly young, yet sharp brain can rack up). There's also those nice features that are only available for some browsers, as well as javascript code that is browser specific. To be truthful, I would support someone putting all the browser specific good parts and browser features (think of it as ultra firefox, with all those ie only things [marqees, etc;]) all compiled into one! Of course, it won't happen, and I don't even expect it, because even if it did happen, other web browsers still exist... We need serious standardization. My browser (firefox) just failed the acid3 test (a test for browser compatibility) try yours here at:

http://acid3.acidtests.org/

My browser only got 70... Yet safari got 100, which is why I started using it more. It is very good too. Check out the 150 features that apple boasts:

http://www.apple.com/safari/features.html

What about you guys?

[hailstone]

Firefox 3.5 prerelease is out. It's meant to be 2x faster than the previous one.

Firefox is the browser I use the most but Opera is also a very good one. I try to avoid IE as much as possible.

I've never used Safari or Chrome so I can't give any opinion on them. I'd be interested in how they compare with the new Firefox when it's released.

PS: My acid 3 test for Firefox 3.0.10 got 71

[silnarm]

General use: Firefox
Also installed: Opera, Safari.

I consider using IE akin to Russian Roulette, and so try to uninstall it as best I can on my 'working machine' (on a windoze box, it seems you can never get rid of it completely...) Unfortunately I frequently need to make sure things display properly in it...

I've never used Safari or Chrome so I can't give any opinion on them. I'd be interested in how they compare with the new Firefox when it's released.

My girlfriend uses Chrome, it's quiet fast, but still crashes occasionally.
Safari is Konqueror in disguise, hence it's also very fast.

Looking forward to a faster Firefox... I couldn't live without my Adblock Plus!