Shadow Dweller

I have to get it out, so why not on Doomworld? I wish there were real-world grammar Nazis to exterminate all the inferior spellers and those who can't use punctuation or distinguish between too and to. The fact that I have to compete (and sometimes lose) in essays and other writing pieces with others of such a low writing caliber pisses me off. It's the fact that a teacher/professor might give me a lower grade on a paper than one that's riddled with errors. When reading stuff online (guhhh) I get so distracted staring at mistakes like the ones below.

Examples of things that make me want to find people and punch them:

• haft to
  
• might of
  
• to vs too
  
• there/their/they're (big one)
  
• loosing vs losing
  
• i
  
• its vs it's (big one)
  
• wasnt
  
• cant
  
• your vs you're (big one)
  
• adding an apostrophe before the "s" in a plural noun (like pancake's or house's)
  
• doubtless I'll add more
  

Just post what you're listening to:
Biosphere - Bose-Einstein condensation

is the amount of two uncashed checks from a job I held in 2004. Gonna go to the bank and see what they have to say....

Nevermind, false alarm. They were direct deposited and the checks are just for my records. Damn it!

The other day I was assisting a friend from Croatia by proofreading something she'd written. Her English is almost flawless but for some minor grammatical errors, and she asked me to help.

But we got into an argument after I put two spaces after every period she used, something I've done all my life since I was taught to do it that way when I learned to write at school. After I looked it up, it turns out that she was doing it right and double spacing between sentences isn't necessary any more. But it's a difficult habit to get out of after doing it for 25+ years.

Do you use one space or two?

So, tonight, I dug all the way to the back of the pantry, and here's what I found:


* Some weird box labelled "Taco Bell Soft and Hard Shell Meal", which despite the cardboard flaps still being sealed, had clear packing tape perpendicularly taped over the cardboard flaps on the top. As I opened it, I found soft and hard taco shells, a bag of preserved meats and vegetables, and one Kool-Aid packet. I'll probably save this for later when I'm hungry.

* An old, unopened (before I found it a few minutes ago) bag of Jack Link's beef jerky, not expired yet (according to the date, anyway), but it sure tastes like it. I think I might throw this one out.

* A VERY old bag of pepperoni slices that were way in the back that had become moldy. I threw it out.

* Two bottles of Grey Poupon mustard, my favorite kind! One of them is almost empty and the remaining mustard is stuck to the bottom, I threw this one away. The other has never been opened before. They both expired three years ago.

*A broken-off piece of a graham-cracker. I threw it out, of course.

dancing with each other... wanting hot guys to dance up on them. that's good times. but ... I choked... cause ... i was sober.. gay as shit.

better pluck next time.

fucking ridiculous.

hot girls, tho. so at least there's that.

I actually didn't completely choke. I went to dance up on the blonde one (some niceness right there) and she went to the floor and I was like ... fuck that.. and so I just kind of spotted her... or something.
this is a photo from the interwebs, not from tonight.

I know Doomworld knows a good bit about cooking stuff so I figured I'd ask.

Whenever I go to the grocery store and pick up condiments and sauces to add to my meals, I usually always end up with a ton of leftover sauces and dips and they end up stinking up my refrigerator for weeks. Well it doesn't stink that bad, but it's very annoying to open up the refrigerator after I haven't gone grocery shopping in a while, and find all I have left are bottles of ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce, french union nacho dip, salsa, sour cream, maple syrup, horseradish sauce, relish, buffalo sauce, and nacho spinach dip, and nothing else edible.

I'll get one bottle of this stuff and it will last FOREVER. Sometimes I just wanna throw it away but a lot of it I've only used once and the bottles are almost totally full. Are there any good meals I can cook or prepare that will make good use of this stuff? Preferably not millions of hot dogs and hamburgers and giant bowls of nachos please.

Just post what you're listening to:
Biosphere - Bose-Einstein condensation

I really don't know how to explain this, but look at the top right panel. Notice the random spider web-ish lines :





Is that normal for the wireframe to do that? It occurred as I was using subtractive Boolean objects to create the missile rack bores.

I went into a lumber store to buy a plunger. They had one model. I tested it out on the sturdy floor. It was way to stiff, wouldn't flex. I ask the lady if she could demonstrate how to use the plunger. She looks at me like I'm an idiot for making such an absurd request. "You don't know how to use a plunger!?" I then demonstrate to her that it doesn't flex. She says it needs to push water in order to flex, indicating that against a hard surface it can't do that. Feeling stupider by the second, I decide to buy the plunger.

I try it on the clogged sink. Same thing--it doesn't flex. I try it in the clean, functioning toilet. Same thing, no flex, poor performance. Pretty peeved at this point I ride my bike back to the lumber store and ask for a refund, citing the plunger's poor performance. The lady again gives me attitude, saying you have to actually use muscle to get it to flex. She tells me she can't accept returns on used plungers. I tell her I will sanitize it and return with it. There is no wiggle room, I stand there like an idiot, realizing I have no other course of action. Without uttering anything else to the unfriendly and rude lady behind the desk, I walk out of the store, plunger with yellow handle in hand.

I ride to another hardware store and they have a larger selection. One is nearly identical to the one in my hand. The only difference is the name. I try it out. It has flex! I try to remove it from the floor, but it's stuck. A fleeting moment of panic is replaced by the realization that... hey, the plunger actually works! I yank it off the floor and go up to the front desk to see if they'll swap it with the one I came in with, since it's a similar model. They cannot. I then make a video of me using the plunger I just tested to show the lady at the lumber store that this one works and the one she sold me is defective.

I ride back to the lumber store.

The lady is not happy to see me again. I explain to her that I tried a very similar model, explaining to her that it flexes and sucks on a hard, flat surface. She again assures me in biting tone that she cannot refund me the plunger. I retort with: "if you can't refund it on account of it being unsanitary, maybe you can refund it for being defective?" "It's a cheap plunger" she says. Yet she tells me they use the model in the store and it works fine.

Again I ask her if she can demonstrate to me how to use the plunger. She fires back with: "I can't believe you want me to show you how to use a friggin' plunger". At this point I'm feeling pretty uncomfortable. In as even and respectful tone as I can muster, I say "you are not exercising very good customer service." She also fails to get the plunger to flex and suck on the floor. I then start playing the video of me successfully using the other plunger. The video isn't quick enough to the point, tho, and she is very short with me at this point. Regardless if it works, she cannot refund the plunger.

At this point, given her poor customer service from the outset, I stop suppressing my aggravation and suddenly something surprising happens. She suddenly asks for my receipt. In bitter moves she opens the register and unpoliletely gets my money, cruelly clanging quarters on the counter. "Thanks!" I tell her and walk out. I ride back to the other lumber store, buy the working plunger and try it out on my clogged sink and it works famously.

In AD 2012, Cat Show was beginning.

Photos taken at the Saintly City Cat Show, which is part of the St Paul Winter Carnival.

<a href=http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/2945/p1330476.jpg><img src=http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/2945/p1330476.th.jpg></a>
Red tabby, just after the judge had demonstrated the "stroke its lower back and it raises its butt" reflex.

<a href=http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/567/p1330477.jpg><img src=http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/567/p1330477.th.jpg></a>
A Norwegian Forest Cat.

<a href=http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/9049/p1330481.jpg><img src=http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/9049/p1330481.th.jpg></a>
A Maine Coon.

<a href=http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/1931/p1330485.jpg><img src=http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/1931/p1330485.th.jpg></a>
A cute normal-looking cat.

<a href=http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/6648/p1330488.jpg><img src=http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/6648/p1330488.th.jpg></a>
A smoosh-face, with eyes lit up in freaky fashion.

<a href=http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/5922/p1330496.jpg><img src=http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/5922/p1330496.th.jpg></a>
Judging in progress!

<a href=http://img864.imageshack.us/img864/3382/p1330500.jpg><img src=http://img864.imageshack.us/img864/3382/p1330500.th.jpg></a>
A teddy-bear smoosh-face (no, that's not the technical name of the breed) being prepared to be shown off. It reminded me of Bagpuss.

<a href=http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/8066/p1330518.jpg><img src=http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/8066/p1330518.th.jpg></a>
This judge's top pick together with its owner. Yes, there is a cat somewhere in that bundle of fur.

<a href=http://img848.imageshack.us/img848/4023/p1330525.jpg><img src=http://img848.imageshack.us/img848/4023/p1330525.th.jpg></a>
More judging.

<a href=http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/2261/p1330544q.jpg><img src=http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/2261/p1330544q.th.jpg></a>
Where has its face gone?

<a href=http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/4771/p1330552d.jpg><img src=http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/4771/p1330552d.th.jpg></a>
Another bag of fur.

<a href=http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/1018/p1330557.jpg><img src=http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/1018/p1330557.th.jpg></a>
This little cutey didn't win an award. The little girl who was looking after it gave the judge quite a dirty look.

omg slideshow wtf

In AD 2012, Cat Show was beginning.

Photos taken at the Saintly City Cat Show, which is part of the St Paul Winter Carnival.

<a href=http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/2945/p1330476.jpg><img src=http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/2945/p1330476.th.jpg></a>
Red tabby, just after the judge had demonstrated the "stroke its lower back and it raises its butt" reflex.

<a href=http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/567/p1330477.jpg><img src=http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/567/p1330477.th.jpg></a>
A Norwegian Forest Cat.

<a href=http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/9049/p1330481.jpg><img src=http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/9049/p1330481.th.jpg></a>
A Maine Coon.

<a href=http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/1931/p1330485.jpg><img src=http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/1931/p1330485.th.jpg></a>
A cute normal-looking cat.

<a href=http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/6648/p1330488.jpg><img src=http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/6648/p1330488.th.jpg></a>
A smoosh-face, with eyes lit up in freaky fashion.

<a href=http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/5922/p1330496.jpg><img src=http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/5922/p1330496.th.jpg></a>
Judging in progress!

<a href=http://img864.imageshack.us/img864/3382/p1330500.jpg><img src=http://img864.imageshack.us/img864/3382/p1330500.th.jpg></a>
A teddy-bear smoosh-face (no, that's not the technical name of the breed) being prepared to be shown off. It reminded me of Bagpuss.

<a href=http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/8066/p1330518.jpg><img src=http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/8066/p1330518.th.jpg></a>
This judge's top pick together with its owner. Yes, there is a cat somewhere in that bundle of fur.

<a href=http://img848.imageshack.us/img848/4023/p1330525.jpg><img src=http://img848.imageshack.us/img848/4023/p1330525.th.jpg></a>
More judging.

<a href=http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/2261/p1330544q.jpg><img src=http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/2261/p1330544q.th.jpg></a>
Where has its face gone?

<a href=http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/4771/p1330552d.jpg><img src=http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/4771/p1330552d.th.jpg></a>
Another bag of fur.

<a href=http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/1018/p1330557.jpg><img src=http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/1018/p1330557.th.jpg></a>
This little cutey didn't win an award. The little girl who was looking after it gave the judge quite a dirty look.

omg slideshow wtf

In AD 2012, Cat Show was beginning.

Photos taken at the Saintly City Cat Show, which is part of the St Paul Winter Carnival.

<a href=http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/2945/p1330476.jpg><img src=http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/2945/p1330476.th.jpg></a>
Red tabby, just after the judge had demonstrated the "stroke its lower back and it raises its butt" reflex.

<a href=http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/567/p1330477.jpg><img src=http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/567/p1330477.th.jpg></a>
A Norwegian Forest Cat.

<a href=http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/9049/p1330481.jpg><img src=http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/9049/p1330481.th.jpg></a>
A Maine Coon.

<a href=http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/1931/p1330485.jpg><img src=http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/1931/p1330485.th.jpg></a>
A cute normal-looking cat.

<a href=http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/6648/p1330488.jpg><img src=http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/6648/p1330488.th.jpg></a>
A smoosh-face, with eyes lit up in freaky fashion.

<a href=http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/5922/p1330496.jpg><img src=http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/5922/p1330496.th.jpg></a>
Judging in progress!

<a href=http://img864.imageshack.us/img864/3382/p1330500.jpg><img src=http://img864.imageshack.us/img864/3382/p1330500.th.jpg></a>
A teddy-bear smoosh-face (no, that's not the technical name of the breed) being prepared to be shown off. It reminded me of Bagpuss.

<a href=http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/8066/p1330518.jpg><img src=http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/8066/p1330518.th.jpg></a>
This judge's top pick together with its owner. Yes, there is a cat somewhere in that bundle of fur.

<a href=http://img848.imageshack.us/img848/4023/p1330525.jpg><img src=http://img848.imageshack.us/img848/4023/p1330525.th.jpg></a>
More judging.

<a href=http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/2261/p1330544q.jpg><img src=http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/2261/p1330544q.th.jpg></a>
Where has its face gone?

<a href=http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/4771/p1330552d.jpg><img src=http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/4771/p1330552d.th.jpg></a>
Another bag of fur.

<a href=http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/1018/p1330557.jpg><img src=http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/1018/p1330557.th.jpg></a>
This little cutey didn't win an award. The little girl who was looking after it gave the judge quite a dirty look.

omg slideshow wtf

So here's a compilation of weird dreams that I've been having recently.

1.

There was a team of scientists that took big and hairy rats, and genetically engineered them to be bigger and slightly less hairy (it looked more disgusting that way, having a bunch of thick isolated hairs everywhere), made them able to swim (kinda like how there are underwater mammals), called them "sea-rats", and then took them on a boat and dumped them off into the ocean.

Then nuclear war occurred, and almost all of land life was dead. Then the sea-rats crawled out of the ocean several thousand years later onto land and evolved over several million years to become the rat-people. They started forming tribes and stuff, and everything basically mirrored human society (went through all the same stages).

Eventually, they made atomic bombs, and genetic engineering. Then some rat-scientists started genetically engineering cats and did the same thing, dumped them in the ocean, and then nuclear war occurred.


2.

I had a dream that I was assimilated into a culture of cyborg Anglo-Saxons, in some sort of steam-punk/seventh century vaguely Earth-like, but alien and psychedelic world. I was in a medium sized tribe, and we had to fight off strange alien creatures to survive, and find strange alien fruit to eat.

The more aliens we killed, the more points we got.


3.

I also had a dream that I was continually falling through a network of fleshy tubes with a bunch of acid-trip-looking cartoon characters. Time kept shifting back and forth constantly as if it were a YouTube poop. The freakish characters kept talking to me, and even though it was in English, none of it made any sense.

My mom owns houses. A few of them. One particular house has had tenants for a decade and I've personally slept there several times. Well there is a tenant who has been there for 4 months now. Suddenly she's wondering if its haunted and saying experiences.

My mother is very adamant that ghosts never exist and never will and yada yada.

Anyway, my mom tells her that there's no way the house is haunted. Nothing has ever happened there for it to be haunted. It wasn't built on a graveyard.

So then the woman says oh it must be me. Ghosts follow me from house to house since I was a kid. That made me think wtf? First you question if its haunted when you know that you're the problem.

Its like saying... uh I think you gave me herpes but I've had it years before I met you.

Ding bat. Coincidentally I just saw Insidious last night.

A thread for any guitarists on here to talk about guitars and the playing of them. Electric, acoustic, whatever styles you're into, share your stories, tips and tricks, tell us about your gear, favourite tunings etc. Bassists are welcome, too.


I'm a hobbyist. I've been playing guitar for about four years, on and off. I guess a lack of perseverance and and a lack of money to be able to afford any tutoring means that I can't play certain stuff that I really ought to be able to after the length of time I've been practicing, but I have fun with what I can do. It's not like I'm in competition with anyone, and I'm too old to consider/fantasize about becoming a professional musician so I just enjoy pissing around with stuff.

My equipment leaves much to be desired. A Squier Strat' (currently C#, lowest it will go without modifying it to accommodate super heavy gauge strings), some 15-watt Marshall practice amp and a Digitech distortion pedal. I swear better gear would inspire me to become a player; I'd love to be able to at least afford a really nice amplifier but I have to make do with what I've got. C'est la vie.

So, yeah. Let's go.

Just post what you're listening to:
Biosphere - Bose-Einstein condensation

What's up with that?

I've always wondered the psychology behind that. What compels people to want to gain experience and become the highest rank in RPG games or get the highest score in the arcade or best kill to death ratio in online shooters? I know video games are there to be some sort of escapism from the ordeals of real life, but are you really escaping from reality, or are you just playing the game of reality very poorly? People like to play video games where the main character is heroic and strong and agile and overcomes any obstacle. Being the most fearsome fighter, sharpest shooter, stealthy stalker may make you feel awesome in a parallel universe, but whats preventing you from being the best at things in real life?

In my observations, I feel as though video games are a more attractive unit than real life because video games force one to focus on a few simple objectives instead of focusing on some objectives that every individual has to create for themselves in the complete open-endedness of reality. In video games, you acquire the identity of a protagonist. One with a predefined goal, agility, a respected title, no responsibilities, no consequences for their actions, and no ability to feel pain or suffering other than what the video game simulates, usually a flashing screen or a pain animation. Progress is presented to you in the form of rewarding music or exploding text, while life's rewards lie in how you perceive your own abilities.

In videos I see of young adults playing video games, let's say Half Life 2 for example, players start the game and jump around on all the tables like a bobcat with its tail on fire. Every person the player comes in contact with behaves as if not worthy to see the "real Gordan Freeman" as the player proceeds to pick up Chinese take-out boxes off the floor and throw it at their face. The player then jumps on top of trash cans and leaps on top of the heads of authority figures and runs away as they attempt to beat him to a pulp. Every lethal blow to the side of the players head with a police baton is followed by nothing more than a shake of the camera and a flash of red. The same players playing in this fashion would never behave in such a way in public but instead not resist portraying themselves with the audacity of a wild stallion in a video game setting that mildly resembles their own.

Video games tend to make obvious the rewards for doing things correctly to such a lucid extent, that people begin to see less and less the rewards of being good at things in real life. Unless the words "GREAT JOB" appear in front of their face every time they become slightly more experienced in a different field, there's no incentive to do anything.

What I think is missing here is that the keyboard and mouse that controls your hero in whatever game your playing is not the only thing you have control over. Your brain controls you. Question whether video games are your sole source of any motivation to be good at something. If you take a moment, considering yourself a character being watched by a third party, would you make a good video game hero? Do you have any skills or abilities that the average everyman doesn't have? Do you have any speed, agility, coordination, or intelligence that makes your life a video game worth playing? Maybe you should open your eyes once in a while and look at what you're capable of. Do a few pushups once in a while. Learn to play a sport. Eat healthy. Set some goals. Work towards those goals. Video games are not the only things you should be playing.

And I am still posting on Doomworld. WTF is wrong with me.

(Me desperately attempting to kill everyone reading the thread via telekinesis.)

For shits and giggles I grew a beard and dyed it green (the actual result being a dark turquoise tone). My official excuse to do it is to celebrate the upcoming Walpurgis Night (aka Vappu), which is a huge carnival-style celebration day in Finland and in some other European countries, during which people go totally crazy, drink like sponges and do all sorts of weird things.

I kinda like this beard, and it felt especially heart-warming when a girl (whom I totally have a secret crush on) working at the local grocery store called my colored stubble "handsome".

That's pretty much about it so far. But I'll post it here in case something extra memorable happens during this Vappu.

So do any of you guys celebrate Walpurgis Night, and if so, what kind of festivities do you have in mind? Or do you have any interesting memories to share from previous Walpurgis experiences?

After snapping and losing it during a game of Dawn of War and subsequently uninstalling the game and its expansions in a rage, I've been feeling pissed off for wasting my evening. I need some game suggestions. Preferably something relaxing and grindy. I've played Diablo 2 and its clones to death recently so not those, thanks. Just shoot, list some you like, my head's empty right now.

I just found out that an old bank account my parents set up for me when I was 5 or something has $1600 in it.

wat do

And I'm ronery as always

.