Saitochan

Hey man, does her mother have problems with you too or is she just making that up? (wouldn't be too surprised if she did). I agree with everyone else qhen they say she's trying to shift the blame from herself, and I also agree when they say you can't keep ignoring all the shit she's putting you through. A little piece of advice? Try pouring all those feelings into something productive (like writing, or drawing, or whatever). A lot of people I know have written their best works while depressed over something. Even I did once. Try it, it might be a way to get it off your head, even if it is for a little while. And if you want to try something else for the relationship, I suggest you act with indifference towards her (Just try it. Never hurts to try, right?) My guess is that, if she's not trying to get somebody else, she's trying to keep you at her mercy, and by the looks of it, she's done a great job at it. Don't let her manipulate your feelings like that. I wish you the best of luck

Hey there Greenwizard! I didn't really get what's your opinion on nano-tech, since you say'it's ok as long as it's not taken too far' but you think it's too far to get nano-machines inside your body. If you can't get nano-thingies to heal you from the inside, then what's the point of the whole nano-technology business? Concerning the cloned meat... yeah, I think it might be more expensive than breeding, but I also think there's a reason to it. Time-saving. I'm not sure how long it takes for a pig (or chicken, or cow or whatever) to be grown up enough so that it's meat is edible and tastes good, but if you can make like a dozen artificial full-grown pigs in say... six months inside a lab, well, then I guess you're exceeding the average production of a regular pig farm. That means more food for everyone, right? ehh... unless they can't afford it, which takes us to the poverty problem, and how scientists (or rather economists) should be doing something about it. Hehe... the multiplication and division thing... every person I've asked "Hey, why use your calculator? it's a simple division" have answered me in pretty much the same way. "Because I'm a lazy bastard, but I could do it without a calculator if I had to". I know they could, but will that ever be proven? *shrugs* But for the case of the plane... I'd say chances are slim at best, but good pilots could actually manage to do crash landings or even actual landings if they could see the landing runway (you know, it has lights along both sides, so it can be seen in the dark... but in case of a blackout, say your prayers). I don't think pilots need computers just to fly. They need computers and navigational systems so that they know where they are and so they can fly without crashing into another airplane. And finally, about that movie Irobot... I haven't seen it, but it seems to me that the machines taking over the world is a rather recurring theme these days. Take the Terminator trilogy, for instance. Or the Matrix trilogy. Maybe there's some truth behind all that sci-fi. Yeah... I'm going to go live in the forest from now on...

Hey there. Call me whatever you want, but I've seen I tend to get more hits and reviews when I update or publish a story on Fridays or Saturdays, between 3 and 8 PM. You think that makes sense? Am I just imagining things?

Just like PorkChop, I'm all for nano-tech. Specially since without nano-medicine, space travelling becomes impossible for prolonged periods of time. It turns out that the lack of gravity messes with your bones, circulation and internal organs, and space travels longer than a year or so proved to be lethal for astronauts. And so, missions to Mars are (as of yet) all but impossible. But if you throw nano-machines into the equation, the nasty effects of no gravity could be lessened, if not downright corrected, and life in other planets is not such a sci-fi possibility. That would be good for mankind, right? Except if you see mankind as some sort of virus, like agent Smith said in 'The Matrix'.

Man, I totally get what you're saying. Last time I was in love, the girl I wanted kept avoiding me, but I just couldn't figure out why. So in the end, I gave her what she wanted and just walked away. Been alone ever since. But... what the hell do you mean by 'last time'? Has she done such a cold and cowardly thing to you before? I sure hope you're talking about your previous girlfriend, because if you're not, then your actual girlfriend is a bigger bitch than I originally thought.

Sorry . Didn't mean for it to come that way. I hope you didn't feel like I was treating you like you were inferior. Though the IQ thing might be overrated, I feel you're obviously smarter than me. I doubt education can make up for that, but you can't deny schooling and knowledge is a great tool nowadays. But hey, don't mind Porkchop... you two only have very different views on this subject, so it's only natural for you to debate, but please don't spoil this debate thread for everyone else by beggining a war. Show us just how mature you are and let the insults slip right of you. Same thing goes for you, PorkChopExpress86.

Damn, the same thing happened to me (I kind of saw myself reflected in L, because we both lived on sweets and cofee), so I just couldn't deal with that tiny, white-haired toy-loving boy-genius. And One piece, that pink haired bastard IS pretty annoying, I'll give you that, but don't give up on the series! After his first appearances, he goes off-screen for like 80 episodes . And you're right, Nami, that redhead navigator is so HOT!

TenTen from Naruto. She's the character with least screen time or character development, but I'm still crazy about her. Awww yeah... Well... she wasn't THAT hot in the animated series, but in the comics... *shudder* that's the sweet stuff!!! Oh yeah, and also Rei Ayanami from Evangelion... does that make me weird?

Once again, I support the fact of women having an option, wether it's about their babies being born or not, or about how they want their children to be. And Foeofthelance is right, if you can prevent your baby having some chronical and/or handicapping disease, why not do it? And about the anti-bacterials producing 'super-bugs', it's not like the mere use of antibiotics make microorganisms stronger. It's the irresponsible and indiscriminate use of certain antibiotics that cause that (for instance, the use of penicilin for every little infection has indeed led to the appearance of penicilin-resistant strains of virus and bacteria). An example of this is the treatment of malaria in some third-world countries, where the United Nations send only one kind of antibiotic for the treatment of all of the malaria cases. I'm not saying that this is the UN's fault, but antibiotics are not something to be used lightly for each one and every case of bacterial or viral infecctions. There is a right way of using them.

Well, I have to disagree on this one. First of all, it's not that I'm pro-abortion or not, it's just that I agree with women having an option concerning wether or not they want to to have a baby, in case pre-conceptive methods don't work (or if they forgot to use a condom). Other case is when the fetus has some sort of handicapping syndrome or a disease incompatible with life (even if it's just potential), or when its birth threatens the life of the mother. Why not approve abortion in those cases? Second of all, for what I've heard, the 'gay gene' actually exists (though it's more like a complex interaction between many genes and factors), but, contrary to popular belief, the mere fact of having such 'gene' does not necessarily mean an organism is gay. It's just that animals that have it TEND to be gay. That way, it can indeed be passed down to the next generation. But I doubt there's still anything certain about this (as far as I'm concerned, the so called 'gay gene' has only been studied in flies). But yes, for people who think homosexuality is an exclusively human behavior, they're totally wrong. Homosexual behaviors are a normal part of many animal's sexuality: it has been observed in more than a thousand species, including various mammals, monkeys and some marine birds. Third, since you believe in God, am I right to assume you believe God has a plan for everything? If so, how are we, mere humans unable to comprehend God's divine logic, supposed to know scientists are NOT a part of such plan? If God has a plan for mankind, isn't it obvious mankind has to actually form a part of it?

Damn, it's a widespread disease. I wonder if it is related to the writer's block?

Oh, my god, that's so true! Just in the Naruto fandom of AFF, there's like 4 male/male fics for every het fic, and a lot of the het fics in there are anal too. It's quite hard finding something interesting to read for an old fashioned guy like me, but I seem to manage. As for writing, while I do thinks it's kind of annoying getting every little detail right, I don't think writing fanfiction is that hard (after all, I'm doing it). Obviously, you need a lot more creativity to write original fiction than you need to take somebody else's characters and have them do what you want. But you're right, original fiction must be less stressful, besides being a better form of catharsis.

Well, the funny thing is that I too used to carry the mini notebook, but I kinda... forgot it.

A similar thing happened to me once... but it wasn't with a story. I was just walking down the street when (I swear) I had a moment of divine illumination. It was brief, but I swear I discovered one Big truth about the universe. Sad thing was, I forgot what it was before I had taken three full steps. Is god just messing with my head?

Well... if that's how things are going, then let me suggest you something else. Tell her that you don't like how your relationship is going and just try to be friends with her. Maybe then she'll actually start treating you as a FRIEND instead of as... uhh, well, as whatever the hell she's treating you like now. If you have such a good time with her, but don't like her being so distant, try following my advice, and maybe find somebody else for a romantic relationship. Maybe then she'll stop making you jealous as well. But believe me, I know how tough it can be to be "just friends" with a girl you like, especially if you've been together for a while. It's happened to me before (twice), and its not like I'm trying to depress you or anything, but it's been like taking a journey to hell (twice). But who knows? Maybe It'll work out better for you.

Hey there! I just thought about sharing my views on Original Characters with you people. Go ahead, answer the poll and post a comment while you're at it! Concerning OCs, I strongly prefer them to play minor or supporting roles in the story, and I just dont like the idea of an OC being the main character of a fic (unless of course, the story isn't really fanfiction, but original fiction, which would make both the characters and everything in the story pretty much... well, original). I am currently working on a Naruto fic centering around Shikamaru, and I included an OC in the story... First of all, I'm not too sure I did a good job with it (I dedicated a whole chapter to developing the character, telling his story, his motivation and details about his life, but I got a few concrits telling me I was "lingering too long on things that don't matter too greatly to the plot". They may have had a point, so I trashed that chapter and I'm re-writing it), and second of all, eehhh... I forgot what I was going to say. Damn attention disorder! Ok, I'll post again if I manage to remember what I wanted to say.

I agree with canterro. Try acting a little like you don't care, to see what she does. If she dumps you and goes with some other guy, then I doubt she's worth a damn (sorry, I'm not trying to piss you off or anything, but that's the way I see it). Or, if you want to try a more direct approach, ask her to tell you exactly what she feels towards you. If she avoids the question, gives you one of those damned "I don't know" or even hesitates while giving you an answer, I'd seriously consider dumping her right away (OK, maybe I'm just a bit intolerant... never mind about the hesitation thing). It's just not worth it to give everything you got to a relationship that might be going nowhere. You say she's only shy around you? Does she behave differently with her friends than she does around you? Mabye she IS just shy, or maybe she just can't get herself to trust you. Try talking with her best friend to see if he/she can help you out. Maybe she's just looking for attention (probably), or using you for some end (I surely hope not, I hate it when that happens). I doubt she'd do all that if she really loved you, but human beings are really complicated, so I've got no way to be sure. There's not much more I can say... anyway, I hope it helped you out.

Oh, boy. I'm not really sure what the hell am I thinking by posting something concerning such a polemical issue, and it's not like I've studied the subject through (so feel free to correct me at any point), but here goes... First, and answering the original issue of this thread: I don't see religion per se as something neither good nor bad, BUT (there's always a but) since it is deals with something so abstract and concerns so many people, it has the potential to be incredibly good, or terribly bad. And yet... remembering things like the crusades, the spanish inquisition and the witch-hunting, it's rather hard not to see all the goodness religion may bring eclipsed by the darkness and evil it has also spawned (hmm... that sounds like a quote from an epic anime or something). But regardless of what evils religion may bring, people will always need something to believe in, call it Jesus, Allah or Cthulu (Hey, there's some pretty twisted people out there), and I'm fine with that, so long as they accept a NO for an answer when trying to convert me. Because, while religion is necesary for people, proselytism is not, and besides being the most annoying thing on minor scale, it's the kind of thing that leads to holy wars and the sort on a large scale. So, "no thanks, dear Jehova Witnesess, I most certainly don't want to waste neither your nor my own time, simply because, though I respect your beliefs, I'm just not interested in them". Does that sound hostile or offensive to you? Well, I do believe that religion has something to do with human rights, basically since the definition of right and wrong is established by each religion's moral, which obviously varies greatly from one religion to another. But, seeing the world is becoming more and more open, and the lines that separate the countries (in cultural, religious, and/or social aspects) are becoming blurred by the globalization, it's only natural for one religion's moral to rise above the rest. But my question is: Is that really a good thing? Would you like to throw away the beliefs of your ancestors just because another religion with a more appealing language or a friendlier god comes along? Do we really want to lose ourselves in a crowd where we can't be ourselves nor think on our own? (not to offend anyone, but blindly following a preacher's words as part of a herd isn't my cup of tea) Well, I can't decide if I agree with this or not. Hmmm... maybe I should begin by saying that I do believe in god, but not as a being, sentient or otherwise, but as the "first cause", the creating force of reality, the Big Bang if you will. So, yes. In a manner of speaking, I believe God used to exist, but it's gone now. Who can tell me otherwise? By the way, this talk about God being the supreme example of kindness, goodness and perfection just doesn't fit with what I've thought (correct me if I'm wrong). You see, if God created the universe along with everything in it (including evil) does that mean that there's evil in God too? If that's the case, then God couldn't possibly be the supreme example of goodness, since there's evil in him. But (and it's a big BUT) such a case could indeed make him perfect, since he balances his inner evil with his inner goodness. Isn't that what all mankind should strive for? I believe that the only reason we know less (or seem to know less) about the world than we did in the XIII century is just because our world has grown inconmesurably since then. I once heard that in ancient times, one person could actually get to know everything there was to know about the world, and I felt terribly envious. Because, no matter how hard you try, or how much you study, today's knolwedge is just too great and varied, and each discovery produces a million more questions. When you look at it that way, mankind's search for knowledge is a never-ending quest. Never-ending, but not fruitless. As for the part about disproving scientific facts and the dark ages... That just doesn't happen. The scientific method of research states that if one hypothesis works out, but has flaws, it stays ONLY until a new and better hypothesis is reached. That way, over a really long time, scientists (and pseudo-scientists too) have been complementing each other's work, making it run smoother, both based on logic reasoning and observation. If you really wanted to disprove scientifical 'fact', you'd have to, one: point out a mayor mistake in scientifical observation, for instance, by demonstrating empirically that something like gravity or the laws of physics don't apply where they're supposed to (good luck with that), or two: Demonstrate theoretically that basic scientifical precepts are wrong (In this case you'd have to study. *shivers* no, thanks), and if you succeeded in proving your point, another theory would pop up to fill in the gap you created. So, if you wanted to go back to the middle ages to swing a sword to anyone who gave you the evil eye, forget it (Though I would like that too, LOL) Sigh... proselytism again. Even though most of the times it's just plain annoying, when people use violence, lies (like that example with the Wiccans) or fear of God to convert people, it's more than just bothersome. It's downright unacceptable (at least for me it is. It should be for everyone, no?) But, on a different note, say Greenwizard, what was it you did to have God scream at you? A friend of mine once dreamed that god kicked my teeth out. What did I do wrong? (LOL) Well, if by abiogenesis you mean life generating espontaneously out of nothing, then I'm afraid that it truly IS impossible without divine (or at least external) intervention. However, as far as I'm concerned, while the earth was still cooling down after being created (according to the Big Bang theory... no, not the TV show) a lot of simple molecules and inorganic compounds were floating around in what then came to be the oceans. By chance or by design, those molecules and compounds stuck toghether to form bigger and more complex molecules, eventually forming organic molecules, such as nucleic acids, lipids, proteins, and membranes to hold all of that toghether inside, surely after a long time and a lot of failed attempts. So, if that's what you understand by abiogenesiss, then it does work toghether with evolution. As for the cillia and flagella thing...of course they could have evolved! Evolution not only works at macrocellular levels you know. The genetical information a cell holds also dictates structural characteristics, like the prescence of cillia and flagella, so if they're a genetical trait, they can be passed on to the next generation, and participate in the evolution of a species. If you take two protozoon (or protozoans, I don't really know how it's written), one that can only move by pseudopods (a rather slow and rudimentary form of cell movement) and one that by beneficial mutations has acquired a rudimentary flagellum, the one with the flagellum will be able to move around more, gather food and stay alive more easily that the other cell, therefore, passing its genes onto the next generation thanks to the advantage its flagellum is. Same thing goes for the cillia, except that these organelles don't serve for movement as much as for gathering nearby molecules. Finally, concerning: "The Scientific Study of Prayer Under Controlled Conditions" and the study of Near-Death experiences, I consider that, while it's a fine start to prove the NDE's and the effects of prayer on health and wounds, such experiments are not statistically relevant, due to the low number of patients studied, and need to have a stricter control over the variables that may affect the result (the medical treatment the patients are undergoing, the age group they belong to, their medical history, the doctor-patient relationship, etc. you never know) Phew... that sure took some time. Such a long post... Yawn... it's time to sleep. P.D. About this "Brain in a Jar" theory... am I too crazy if I consider everyone a product of my imagination, just because there's no way to prove their existence?

Oh man, we're so on the same boat here. But the thing is, since I began writing fanfiction, I haven't gotten as much concrits as I'd like (just two, and from the same reader), but then again, I doubt any of us gets as much reviews as he/she would like, am I right? As of lately, my stories seem to get less and less attention (to the point of getting as much as 5 hits in a whole week). So, this lack of constructive feedback (or feedback altogether) has got me wondering... why? Is it because I suck at writing? The titles on my stories are not appealing? Or is it the details? I tried changing the details of my main story a few times, but with no result. I agree with the people who say that people who don't write, don't review, and maybe I'm just naive for expecting solid concrits in the Naruto AFF fandom, but there are a lot of writers in there, right? (Even if most of them only write yaoi... TT_TT). Anyway... I forgot what I wanted to say... but COME ON READERS! I know it's hard to get off your (our) lazy asses to review someone else's work, but authors post their work here for a reason, to share it with everyone. It's only fair to give a little something back, don't you think?

Doh... I think I'm guilty of number 3... no matter how much time it takes me to update a story, my chapters are almost always 5 pages long. I guess it IS kind of dissapointing to wait around too long to get just that. And as for number 7... I don't actually proofread my stories, but as I've always been much of a perfectionist, I tend to correct most of my mistakes as I write. But then again, maybe I should ask someone to beta my fics, just to be sure.

For the last two weeks or so, I've been having a nervous twich in my left eye (the usual anime eye-twich, so its 's funny to look in the mirror when it happens), but it's annoying as hell not being able to control my own face. It also makes me look like I'm about to strangle someone, regardless of what mood I'm in. I bet its from stress. You having problems lately? Stressful situations? Try taking some time each day to chill out. Listening to classical music while laying back and doing nothing has helped me out a bit.

Writers block? The closest thing I can use to describe it is when you want to sneeze, but you simply can't. Now imagine that lasting months and months. not too appealing, right?

Well, I liked the first season of Digimon, the characters were cool and the concept was rather new, but I just didn't pay much attention to the following seasons.

Well, as far as I'm concerned (those two years in med-school weren't an absolute waste) it depends on the kind of alcoholic drink. While Vodka and other white drinks are vaso-constrictors (which, theoretically, would keep guys harder for longer periods of time), whiskey, rum and other dark drinks are vaso-dilators (some of them increase the flow of oxigen and neurotransmitters in the blood, so, I believe drinks like rum would give you better orgasms... but I'm not really sure. I have to try it sometime).

Man, I hate whenever I find myself unable to write. It's happened quite some times before, and most of the time, it's due to lack of feedback. Even if I begin writing an amazing story I'm totally in love with, if I get little or no reviews (which is the case for all my fics on AFF), sooner or later I lose interest and stop writing. As for writers block, I wouldn't know what medications do to you, since I don't take any, but every time I need inspiration to write, I force myself to write at least one or two pages a day. "Let inspiration find you working" they say, but that's not always a good thing. Recently, I went over the first chapters in my main story (Naruto het fic, check my AFF page if you want to read it, and hopefully, review it), and I noticed they were so filled with emotion, and the writing was good (to my opinion anyway), but after I stopped recieving feedback, every chapter I managed to get done is just plain, dull and mind-numbing. And after that, it's kind of a cycle. The fewer reviews I get, the crappier my story gets, and so, I get no reviews. Crap, I really want to finish my fic.