Strengths and Weaknesses In The End Times

[Battle_Korbi]

Eh, people usually overblow situations. Immediate cutdown of water and/or electricity won't neccesarily result in a death metal video, guys. Sure, people hooked on machines might wanna start saying goodbyes, but there isn't anything inherently bad with losing power or water. I like it whenever something like that happens people immediately think it would result in a Mad Max-esque post-apocalyptic wasteland where anyone who isn't a buff dude is going to get eaten alive. Power letdown will only result in confusion. Water? We are smart, we know how to convert water. It never evaporates or leaves Earth as well, think about it.

 

Wadda u kno Korbi ur just a spoiled lazy azz

 

Well, I live in that part of the world where electricity sometimes just isn't there. Water occasionally freezes over in winter as well. It isn't that bad, as long as people don't just starve to death waiting till it arrives again (either water or electricity). I think only people who watch too many movies and shows think that the world will devolve into a dog-eats-dog hardcore super-grimdark rape-around-every-corner setting because of a nuisance spread over the entire world.

 

Same with the internet. I don't frankly care if it stops running one day and doesn't ever get back (until its reinvented), unlike people who claim internet access is as important as drinking water. 

 

That being said, if the world as we know today ends, we are just going to start over like it was the 7th century, only with extra resources and knowledge because we downloaded the Starter Pack before the whole game started.

[42PercentHealth]

4 minutes ago, Battle_Kirby said:

Immediate cutdown of water and/or electricity won't neccesarily result in a death metal video, guys.

LOL! Well put...

 

I knew I shoulda bought a spot in the vault! Oh well, time to find a pistol and start hunting for radroach meat.

 

10 minutes ago, Battle_Kirby said:

Water occasionally freezes over in winter as well.

You should visit Wisconsin. We don't see liquid water from mid-October until mid-April.

 

11 minutes ago, Battle_Kirby said:

...people who claim internet access is as important as drinking water.

Seems I've heard people say the same kinda things about weed and football and pop music.

[Mikami41]

I love fixing computer and software issues, also like programming a lot, knowing that someone is better than me but that's okay, even tho technologic it's fascinating stuff.

 

Weakness is umm.... yeah, i get anxiety quick but i'm trying to fix it.

[ShoDemo]

Strengths: I am fast while running, which means I could act as a scout for a small group of nomads, informing them about a new area, before they would move there. And I like to keep my hands occupied, so I could be useful in crafting/fixing things on my own, or under the guidance of others. Plus, I can use computers and maybe fix them in case they stop working. Finally, I have some knowledge in different subjects, so I could maybe help my group in decision making, based on the environment around us each time.

 

Weaknesses: I am useless in farming, since I grew up in a town and I am not that strong. Also, I will probably not be able to survive with very little food and I am irrelevant with cooking (just basic stuff). And sometimes, if the situation is too intense or life-threatening, I might get filled with fear and have clouded judgement.

[mrthejoshmon]

Come to think of it, vehicular repair skills would be a useless and useful skill at the same time.

 

It's all fine and dandy that I can keep em running but what happens when fuel starts running out (which to be honest, is probably how society falls anyway)? Unless we move to electric vehicles we got a problem with gas, if we move to electric well bad news there isn't electricity anymore...

 

Not to mention the condition the roads would fall under, I imagine lumps of missing asphalt and rekt vehicles everywhere are going to be nightmare fuel for conventional civilian vehicles (the best bet for fuel economy), you could bypass this with offroad vehicles (RIP fuel) or motorcycles (RIP driver) but then again that all depends on location.

 

Not to mention every vehicle has specific manufacture specifications for important shit (like oil viscosity + level, transmission fluid type, bolt torque, engine cylinder head tightening order, engine timing which includes valve adjustments, camshaft lobes, piston TDC positions, spark ignition timing... just to name a few) which will be horror story to figure out...

 

It looks very bleak, just sayin.

[Battle_Korbi]

1 minute ago, mrthejoshmon said:

Come to think of it, vehicular repair skills would be a useless and useful skill at the same time.

 

It's all fine and dandy that I can keep em running but what happens when fuel starts running out (which to be honest, is probably how society falls anyway)? Unless we move to electric vehicles we got a problem with gas, if we move to electric well bad news there isn't electricity anymore...

 

Not to mention the condition the roads would fall under, I imagine lumps of missing asphalt and rekt vehicles everywhere are going to be nightmare fuel for conventional civilian vehicles (the best bet for fuel economy), you could bypass this with offroad vehicles (RIP fuel) or motorcycles (RIP driver) but then again that all depends on location.

 

Not to mention every vehicle has specific manufacture specifications for important shit (like oil viscosity + level, transmission fluid type, bolt torque, engine timing, engine timing which includes valve adjustments, camshaft lobes, piston TDC positions, spark ignition timing... just to name a few) which will be horror story to figure out...

 

It looks very bleak, just sayin.

Like I had said. Medieval times again. What could we use in this example?

 

Horses and carriages.

 

Im telling yall winged hussars and tatar raiders would make a great comeback.

[Megalyth]

1 hour ago, Battle_Kirby said:

Eh, people usually overblow situations. Immediate cutdown of water and/or electricity won't neccesarily result in a death metal video, guys. Sure, people hooked on machines might wanna start saying goodbyes, but there isn't anything inherently bad with losing power or water. I like it whenever something like that happens people immediately think it would result in a Mad Max-esque post-apocalyptic wasteland where anyone who isn't a buff dude is going to get eaten alive. Power letdown will only result in confusion. Water? We are smart, we know how to convert water. It never evaporates or leaves Earth as well, think about it.

 

Wadda u kno Korbi ur just a spoiled lazy azz

 

Well, I live in that part of the world where electricity sometimes just isn't there. Water occasionally freezes over in winter as well. It isn't that bad, as long as people don't just starve to death waiting till it arrives again (either water or electricity). I think only people who watch too many movies and shows think that the world will devolve into a dog-eats-dog hardcore super-grimdark rape-around-every-corner setting because of a nuisance spread over the entire world.

 

Same with the internet. I don't frankly care if it stops running one day and doesn't ever get back (until its reinvented), unlike people who claim internet access is as important as drinking water. 

 

That being said, if the world as we know today ends, we are just going to start over like it was the 7th century, only with extra resources and knowledge because we downloaded the Starter Pack before the whole game started.

It seems like you don't understand infrastructure and what it takes to feed and shelter roughly 7 billion people world-wide, and how quickly it could turn to shit.

[mrthejoshmon]

9 minutes ago, Battle_Kirby said:

Like I had said. Medieval times again. What could we use in this example?

 

Horses and carriages.

 

Im telling yall winged hussars and tatar raiders would make a great comeback.

It's like the Tong ending of Deus Ex then?

[Battle_Korbi]

Just now, Megalyth said:

It seems like you don't understand infrastructure and what it takes to feed and shelter roughly 7 billion people world-wide, and how quickly it could turn to shit.

It seems like you don't understand that half if even more people in the world would pretty much live normally and some might not even notice it, and how panic is actually the worst enemy and the primary reason why some people think the world would become ruined beyond recognition.

[Megalyth]

7 minutes ago, Battle_Kirby said:

It seems like you don't understand that half if even more people in the world would pretty much live normally and some might not even notice it, and how panic is actually the worst enemy and the primary reason why some people think the world would become ruined beyond recognition.

You're over-estimating human ability to co-exist in a catastrophic situation.

 

I can speak for myself, being a farm boy and a woodsman, and I suppose you can too, but the vast majority of people have very little real survival skills. When the food in the super-markets goes bad after a few days, what do you think your estimate of about 50% of people will do? They will become desperate. You can imagine what would happen next.

 

I don't even like thinking about it, but I would go to extreme lengths to not only keep myself alive, but my family as well. Unfortunately for me, so would everyone else.

[Battle_Korbi]

1 minute ago, Megalyth said:

You're over-estimating human ability to co-exist in a catastrophic situation.

 

I can speak for myself, being a farm boy and a woodsman, and I suppose you can too, but the vast majority of people have very little real survival skills. When the food in the super-markets goes bad after a few days, what do you think your estimate of about 50% of people will do? They will become desperate. You can imagine what would happen next.

 

I don't even like thinking about it, but I would go to extreme lengths to not only keep myself alive, but my family as well. Unfortunately for me, so would everyone else.

Well you could have toned down your number and said 3.5 billion or something. 7 billion makes it sound like everyone on Earth is a bloody idiot.

 

Besides, I am not denying the fact that there would be a initial year of panic and desperation, but that doesn't mean by the 1st year AC (After Catastrophe) we would all die out of incompetence and non-coordination. We would pretty much have to go through medieval ages again, securing footholds and cities and nations before reinventing fuel and electricity and generally rebuild the world. Only something amazingly stupid like zombies or a killer virus could bring even more catastrophe, but human race stronk, remove enemy of mankind. We would recouperate.

 

Who gets to live to see humanity rebuild itself is a entirely different thing, though.

[Megalyth]

I didn't say that humanity would die off. I said it would be violent and terrible, much like the Medieval times (another media-glorified era).

 

It's worth noting that my wife and probably my son would have died during child-birth if not for modern medicine and the comforts of electricity and technology. Much like Medieval times.

[Doomkid]

Interesting thread but holy fucktits, an_mutt, you need to dial the vitriol back a bit. No need to be an outright slice of cunt just over some harmless hypothetical, no matter how absurd some people's vision of themselves in such a scenario may be.

Edited August 23, 2017 by Doomkid

[Megalyth]

18 minutes ago, Doomkid said:

Interesting thread but holy fucktits, a couple of you need to dial the fucking vitriol back a bit. No need to be an outright slice of cunt just over some harmless hypothetical, no matter how absurd some people's vision of themselves in such a scenario may be.

I don't know if I came across that way, so I'll reiterate that I don't even like to think about doing horrible things in the name of survival. I'm not some tough guy or anything, and there's a good chance I would die in these hypothetical situations as well.

 

The first time I killed a chicken, it gave me such bad death anxiety that I nearly vomited. I sincerely prefer a life without extreme violence.

[40oz]

yo fuck tracer for no reason whatsoever.

[dew]

1 minute ago, 40oz said:

yo fuck tracer for no reason whatsoever.

Right on. I'd wait for 40oz to backstab Trace, then challenge him to a duel (because he sucks at those) and become the god-emperor of the tribe.

[fraggle]

I'm confident my strong programming skills will prove very useful on the day of the apocalypse comes

[Benjogami]

Kinda feel like writing a big 40oz-style derailment essay. Let's see how it goes.

 

Like an_mutt, I have observed Tracer's posting habits over time and immediately thought this thread was pretty transparent in its purpose: "I'll pose a question for everyone else because I really just want to talk about myself and my own interests." It's just like that time he asked everyone what they thought about his friends, and that time he presented a questionnaire that was meant to help us reveal ourselves, but the naive questions he chose told me more about him than any of the answers that he proudly stapled to the corkboard of our comfy Doom cafe. Those are the first examples that come to mind, but I feel like there is this same nugget of motivation in most of his posts, and I can't unsee it. Because of the obvious ulterior motive (obvious to me, but perhaps not obvious even to Tracer himself, and perhaps I'm even imagining it), these kinds of threads are vaguely irritating. They're probably also vaguely irritating because in the past I've been REALLY FUCKING IRRITATED by things that he's said in threads where we, as a community, talked more openly about our essential values. Whenever I see a new Tracer post, I can't help but devour it, because that vague irritation is adjacent to bemusement that is sometimes stimulating and fun to me, and there's always a chance to observe a truly magnificent trainwreck.

 

Because of this detached attention that I've payed to Tracer's threads, I've also noticed some posting habits by dew, and I must say that the vague irritation caused by Tracer's posts is starting to be outshone by dew's constant baiting and sarcasm. It probably wouldn't irritate me at all if he wasn't a moderator, but he is. I can say with confidence that I share more essential values with dew and an_mutt than I do with Tracer, but as I browse the forums I find myself siding emotionally with him more and more. Sure, Tracer's posts might be self-serving, but I doubt that he even knows it, and aren't everyone's posts self-serving to some extent? Why should I be irritated by Tracer's self-serving habits and not dew's? Or by an_mutt's over-the-top takedown? It was witty and astute, but I can't help but be turned off by the meanness and self-indulgence. I forgive him because I also snap like that sometimes, when presented with irresistible bait, or when over-encumbered by one too many vague irritations. I can also be very self-indulgent. I mean, just look at this belabored, overlong post, where I sniff my own farts and look up at least 2 words to make sure they're right.

 

On some level we're all here to serve ourselves. Let's try to be more self-aware and more forgiving about it, eh?

 

And speaking of serving ourselves, I would probably eat any one of you if I was hungry enough. If the power goes out for a long time, watch out.

[Doomkid]

Ooh, a long response that actually had thought put into it and stayed reasonably civilized the whole way through! Firstly I want to preface my whole response with a big, overarching "I see where you're coming from". I just wanted to expand on it a little though:

 

Quote

Those are the first examples that come to mind, but I feel like there is this same nugget of motivation in most of his posts, and I can't unsee it. Because of the obvious ulterior motive (obvious to me, but perhaps not obvious even to Tracer himself, and perhaps I'm even imagining it), these kinds of threads are vaguely irritating.

You pretty much address this in the second half of your post, but to some degree, everyone posts self-serving stuff on the forums. Personally I've found that every time I reply to one of Trace's threads or just generally question his logic or whatever, he always responds reasonably kindly and always addresses whatever it is I brought up. For example, the other day he posted something about stoner culture, I refuted his point, he responded, and despite not 100% agreeing on the matter, the whole exchange was generally pleasant or at the very least harmless. I can't help but feel this is because I'm not an asshole to the guy out of the blue because he happens to take different stances that I do on a variety of issues. Another example: I'm pro choice but I don't think someone deserves endless ridicule because they're pro life. I think their stance is limited, I think it's at least partially the result of ignorance, I think it's a shame because they're advocating for more parentless children without even realizing it, etc etc reasons reasons - but nowhere in there do I see a reason not to treat that person with basic human dignity. Nowhere in there do I see the need to lower myself to a sub-human standard of interaction.

 

Seeing someone post something that strikes you as stupid, immoral, etc. is not an excuse to be a total douche bag, especially when it's weeks/months/however long after they shared their opinion on whatever the matter was. It kind of annoys me that mostly-civil, mostly-rational people can just turn into dribbling dipshit assholes when someone dares to commit the heinous crime of thinking/feeling differently about some things. Sure, you can be disgusted by what someone says, you can find it immoral or horrible or whatever, but the instant you see that as justification to indulge in some circle-jerking with a side of being a snide asshole, you've lowered yourself to the level of "ape pounding on their chest because they can't handle different worldviews".

 

It's not a good look.

 

Quote

I can also be very self-indulgent. I mean, just look at this belabored, overlong post, where I sniff my own farts and look up at least 2 words to make sure they're right.

The big differentiator: There's nothing wrong with being a little bit self-indulgent and sharing your thoughts as long as you aren't a total jackoff about it.

 

Quote

And speaking of serving ourselves, I would probably eat any one of you if I was hungry enough. If the power goes out for a long time, watch out.

HA! Good fucking luck!

Edited August 23, 2017 by Doomkid

[Chezza]

Mate I would be screwed.

 

Hobbies: gaming or being creative with games

 

Job: Selling Marketing

 

Physic: short and skinny

 

I'm a liability. I have no skills, training or natural strengths to support anyone nor myself. If anything my size allows me to sprint or hide better. I'm not a big eater if I'm focused at a task.

 

I have a tendency to sneak up and frighten people with no intention to.  So... I can slit someone's neck while they sleep and eat his food?

[rehelekretep]

great post Benjogami!

[Battle_Korbi]

I agree with @Doomkiddo all the way.

 

People having diffrent viewpoints than you does not automatically mean they are stupid/evil/unexperienced/a target to harass without mercy. Even when a opinion is regarded in general as absolutely dumbfuckingly stupid (and not in this case, nor most of Tracer's content (haven't seen all of it so I dunno)), that doesn't give anyone else a right to channel their inner superhuman who has every right to deduct such person without repercussions. Not to prevent anyone doing so, but one has to think, as if they care about how they look in the eyes of others, how should they react, or would they react at all.

 

Besides stupid senseless trashtalk we just witnessed, summoned by nothing else but a ancient grudge best left buried, "educating" someone with a different opinion, without their consent or will, is generally insulting, no matter how altruistic or good-willing it would look. "Educating" someone does not work over the internet. It might work in real life, but "just dropping some legit facts" sounds like a indirect and subtle way to underestimate someone's opinion. This had been bothering me in a while, when people retort to "educating" their opposition in a discussion, without their opposition's consent. Also stating that you don't have a opinion but that you know facts is not a automatic win, but just makes you look like a know-it-all dick, but no one wants to say that because they know what shitstorm it might cause.

 

tl; dr, don't be a dick by yelling at someone and subtly insulting them just because they have a diffrent opinion that yours. Even if it sounds stupid, try looking at it from their perspective. Everyone was "ignorant" once. Ignoring and forgetting is one of the ways to deal with it, and it is always a option.

 

---

 

On topic:

 

I could also be useful when given a shepherd's cane or a spear. I know how to herd animals and have will to do it (these sessions can last for a whole day). I also know how to "deal" with them. For battle, give me a obedient horse and a long enough lance and lemme rip and tear on a open field. Even without a horse I will handle it, altought with a shorter spear. I haven't shot any gun but a old SKS so I won't be a gunslinger (at least that quick).

[Mr. Freeze]

I just await the rapture while all of you sinners have fun in your wasteland B)

[TootsyBowl]

First to die.

[june gloom]

I'll fight you for it.