"I don't mean to defend that woman parking in a handicapped spot, but dogmatism along with rude behavior in daily life is something that annoys me a lot. Certain people take pleasure in playing the Sheriff."
Well, that really depends upon why he was doing it. If he thought "hey, she's doing something illegal, so I'm going to play sheriff", then I'm unimpressed. But, if he thought "hey, she's being an asshole, so I'm going to make her stop", I agree w/ him. After all, parking in a handicap space when you don't need it is a pretty jerky thing to do. Kinda like if you saw someone w/ a seeing-eye dog, so you bump into them and tell them to watch where they're going. If you saw the woman do that, wouldn't you feel alright calling her a bitch, even in front of her kid?
"According to the rest of the tale, the woman moved. Objective achieved, or so it would seem . . . but which is the better lesson (or 'fine example') for the child?
"1. Do not park in handicapped spots.
"2. If you yell and curse at people, you will be feared and will get what you want."
I'd say the better lesson is the one you didn't mention: If you park in handicap spaces when you're not supposed to, people will be hateful toward you.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I cannot explain why, but this thread still fascinates me.
Or, perhaps I can explain it after all: You people are so deeply immersed in this stuff that that reading most of this thread is like stealing a scan of a chronic obsessive's private diary.
Wait: Before you get ticked, thinking I just threw an insult: That's not an meant as an insult to any of you. Or a compliment, either. It's simply how it is. The very fact that you guys are essentially debating/analyzing to a savage degree the pros and cons of various websites presentation of debates/analysis of a fictional universe is fucking out there.
Again: That's not meant as an insult. Don't take it as such. Rather, I am in a state of awe. I, myself go far afield in the Geekworld, and thus, I can appreciate the state of mind you must enjoy to write things like this...
I believe that there is a sort of Geek-Force that hums in the back of our minds. It is subtle in most of us, coming out only in times of need. But for some, it is strong. Very Strong.
There are Geek Masters on this board, that is all I mean to say.
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted
Guardian 2000: "It's also hella-good psychological observation . . . I get to see behaviors and attitudes which people usually hide under the surface."
"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look long into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you."
-Frederick Wilhelm Nietzche
Here's another timeless nugget.
When you wrestle with a pig, three things happen. First, you get completely worn out. Second, you get really dirty. And third, the pig has a blast.
You obviously haven't had any trouble adapting to their ways and antics over at SD, so mind the gap.
Registered: Aug 1999
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quote:Originally posted by Nimpim: Guardian 2000: "It's also hella-good psychological observation . . . I get to see behaviors and attitudes which people usually hide under the surface."
"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look long into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you."
-Frederick Wilhelm Nietzche
I prefer the shorter edition of the same thought: "What you resist, you become."
Trust me, that's been kept well in mind.
My only worry is: "Never argue with an idiot. Some people won't be able to tell the difference."
And yes, I adopted some of their habits . . .
SPOCK Your use of language has altered since our arrival. It is currently laced with -- shall I say -- more colorful metaphors: "Double dumb-ass on you" -- and so forth...
KIRK You mean profanity. That's simply the way they talk here. Nobody pays any attention to you unless you swear every other word.
. . . but I'm reasonably certain that my reasoning faculties have not been dulled due to contact with some who simply don't use them.
-------------------- . . . ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.
quote:There are a few people who engage in it or simply read it with the same mind-set that I do. I'm not trying to be the Wong for Trek. That would be disgusting, and I would have to shower frequently to get the mentally-dirty feeling to go away.
Of course, you have a general problem being the critic of the detractor. That takes the dispute to a meta level (while, as already mentioned, any discussion about fictional concepts is already on a meta level).
-------------------- Bernd Schneider
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Guardian, you're made of far stronger than stuff than I'll ever be, taking on Wong and his Warsie hoards like that. For this act, I salute you, and wish you the best. I read some of the stuff those Warsies said about you on SD.net, and was truly sickened by their arrogance. Most of them would probably believe the Earth was flat, if Wong told them so.
Now can someone explain to me in simple terms why a planet with shield would generate a halo when being incinerated? I'd imagine that if there were to be a visible shield interaction at all, it'd originate at the point of contact between Death Star's beam and the planetary shield, and spread out from there towards the other end of the planet, with the point of contact as the center.
-------------------- "God's in his heaven. All's right with the world."
Registered: Apr 2001
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quote:Originally posted by David Templar: Guardian, you're made of far stronger than stuff than I'll ever be, taking on Wong and his Warsie hoards like that. For this act, I salute you, and wish you the best.
Just a thought....and someone earlier might have said the same thing, but I'm a bit too tired to read through the whole thing.
Fighting with fanatics for no perceptable gain aside from the sheer interest of it seems rather futile at best, self-defeating at worst. Have you considered that that they'd have absolutely nothing to do if the occasional "Trekkie" didn't wander in to provide entertainment? I mean mean what would conversations be like?
Fan 1: "Hah, those fools they believe that weapon xyz is more powerful than weapon abc." Fan 2: "Yeah you said it brother, they be fools" Fan 1: "Yeah" Fan 2: "Yeah" Fan 1: "Now what?" Fan 2: "I dunno, lets go out and get a life."
Note that I didn't bother labelling them as SW or ST fans because the problem can be seen on both sides of the spectrum. Or we can simply think of this as a loss-gain exercise: What you have to gain by arguing: Nothing What you have to lose: Time, energy, and the fact that you're providing more fuel for the fire.
Whats the point? Unless you're so hopelessly deluded that you think that by inserting a clever turn of phrase or logical point into their forums, that they'll all suddenly see some non-existent light and become Trekkies...there doesn't seem to be anything to gain.
Registered: Mar 1999
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quote:Originally posted by David Templar: Guardian, you're made of far stronger than stuff than I'll ever be, taking on Wong and his Warsie hoards like that.
Well, thank you for the compliment, but I don't think it's strength so much as old past experience. I won't delve into my life story here, but just imagine the response in the Deep South Bible Belt to an agnostic guy living in their midst.
(I wasn't vocal about it like I am with STvSW . . . it leaked out through a friend. After that, the often-heard and always-wrong quote was "Ah'ma goan-a beat Gawd intuh you, bo-oy".)
quote:For this act, I salute you, and wish you the best.
I'm honored!
quote:Now can someone explain to me in simple terms why a planet with shield would generate a halo when being incinerated?
I'm still waiting for Wong to explain it in any terms. As far as I can tell, he saw the Generations phaser hit against the BoP and is translating that effect to Star Wars shields, even though no similar effect has ever been seen in the SW canon.
-------------------- . . . ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.
quote:Originally posted by Mucus: Whats the point? Unless you're so hopelessly deluded that you think that by inserting a clever turn of phrase or logical point into their forums, that they'll all suddenly see some non-existent light and become Trekkies...there doesn't seem to be anything to gain.
I confess that when I first started participating in the online debates a couple of years ago, I was under the foolish impression that I could change the minds of pro-Wars debaters.
As it stands, I've long since given up that hope. I like to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that part of it is my fault . . . I'm not great at persuasion . . . but there's still no denying the fact that many of them are diametrically opposed to anything besides an opinion akin to "sTAr tReK sUXorZ!!"
Still, the debates are useful for the creation and refining of material for my site. It's a nice way to wickedly trick them into making a positive contribution.
-------------------- . . . ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.
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