bookwyrm
-
Posts
4,484 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Gallery
Posts posted by bookwyrm
-
-
Ivan shakily draws in a breath of air, and explodes into a coughing fit. He can feel the anger draining away now, replaced by the hurts he's accumulated in the last couple of minutes. With limbs weighed down with fatigue he kicks the windscreen out and falls out of the front of the van. Cool, fresh air revives him and he bursts out luaghing. Standing up and wiping the blood and tears from his eyes, he looks around him to see where he is.
OOC: Anyone seeing him can see a huge, bald man drenched in blood from head to toe, looking like a slightly dazed heathen god of battle (or possibly stupidity)
-
That actually seemed like a fairly innocent question - you certainly answered it as such. Hanns and 'phipps refering to us as victims was a little...uncalled for.
-
Don't know about Rifts or Crazies, but the Mindstar stuff is taken from a series of books by Peter F Hamilton - Mindstar Rising, A Quantum Murder and The Nano Flower.
-
You mean Leon? Personally, I liked the nod to Battle Royale.
-
Quote (markc @ Dec. 18 2003,00:30) Quote His exact words were "serious fire", as in "I can't deal with this by myself and might kill myself trying" therefore I will get the fuzz out of there. "Serious fire" is not necessarily synonymous with "I can't deal with this by myself". It does, however, suggest something that needs to be controlled promptly. Clearly, evaluation is in order: if, in your opinion, a fire extinguisher is sufficient for the task, wouldn't you feel bad later knowing that you could have prevented your house from burning down but didn't because you lacked the necessary tool? I consider defending myself, with whatever tool is best suited (knife, firearm, sneakers), to be a similar situation-base decision.
For me they are synonymous. Fires, like armed confrontations, can very quickly escalate out of your ability to control. Also, the wrong fire extinguisher can be more dangerous than not having one at all. After all, you wouldn't use a water extinguisher on a fat fire unless you had a deathwish.
Quote Quote You seem to be saying that you shouldn't call 911 ever because that would make you a victim. ..and you seem to misunderstand me. I'm saying that, unless you life at the hospital, police station, or fire hall, trying to resolve the emergency yourself (or at least trying to start doing so) may be the only way to save your life/property in time.
On the other hand, there is always more than one way of resolving anything, and choosing not to carry a gun does not make you a victim.
Out of interest, what do you do if they already have a gun pointed at you?
-
Quote (markc @ Dec. 18 2003,16:47) Quote If you can give me a link to any offical body in the US which does not advocate quietly co-operating and then dialing 911 when they've left I'd quite like to see it. If by "official body", you mean a law enforcement or other government agency, I can't. However, you should bare in mind that even the most benificent government agencies have a vested interest in a disarmed population. As for other links, go here:
Of course, pro-gun organisations have a vested interest in an armed population.
-
Quote (Dog Soldier @ Dec. 17 2003,13:31) /rant
Okay, this is something that gets under my skin. Wilphe asks a specific question about a piece of equipment and the peanut gallery has to start a gun control argument. Exactly what is your problem anyway, does not possessing firearms make some of you feel in some way inadequate? Do my personal skills in some way threaten you? Exactly what is your point? When you started getting down to what humans actually 'need' you'd be shocked. Are you going to go into the Outback and live like an aboriginie? You really don't need most of the things that surround you.
/rant offI just checked, it was the gun nuts that started it this time.
-
Thumper, I always thought that it was your god-given right as an Auditor to make them squirm in fear - go for it!
-
If you haven't already, play Deus Ex right now! As for movies, Deathline, Split Second and Wedlock are all good.
-
I see what you mean now, and it's an interesting concept. However, I've never seen anyone steal that sort of information in any game I've been in.
-
Who were you clubbing, and did you kill them?
-
Ivan hasn't felt this bad since the last time he crashed. Blood drips from a gash in his forehead. "Oh, f*ck..." he moans to himself in a clear American accent. Despite the concussion his fighter's instincts keep him groping for anything flesh and blood as he tries to climb into the front.
-
I wouldn't bother to hide the players stats - too much work. but I've never given out NPC stats (then again, most of the time I only have a vague idea of what they are as well). A good description goes a lot further than mere numbers.
-
Quote (wilphe @ Dec. 17 2003,00:02) The ideology of gun ownership has been often and eloqently expressed here, I am trying to express the popular UK conception as to why gun ownership is often illegal and usually stigmatized. I hope I am expressing those sentiments correctly Besides, it means that if some idiot is waving a gun around over here he only has himself to blame if the police shoot him dead.
I'll see if I can find out under what conditions our police are allowed to shoot.
-
Quote (markc @ Dec. 16 2003,21:06) Quote If I experienced a serious fire I wouldn't bother trying to extinguish it, I'd get the f*ck out and call the fire brigade. It's what they're there for, after all. So, instead of trying to put out the fire yourself and minimize the damage, you wait for professionals to arrive and suppress it, even though half the building is in flames by then? In the U.S., that's what is referred to as a "victim mentality". People want someone else to take care of them instead of taking responsibility for themselves.
You specifically refered to something larger than a grease fire (I'm assuming you mean a chip pan fire), so it's not being a victim - it's being realistic. Fires spread very quickly and you can rapidly be overcome by smoke inhalation. I can't be replaced, but property can, that's why we have insurance.
Quote Quote Similarly (and I know this from experience), if a gun is pulled on me fighting is the last thing on my mind. You give them what they want and call the police when they're gone. It's what they're there for, after all. There's that 'ol "victim mentality".
Actually, it was surprise.
Quote Sometimes it works, unless you're a woman and your attacker is a rapist. Or the mugger decides to shoot you because he didn't find enough money in your wallet/purse. Or the attacker is someone you know, has a grudge, and isn't after just your money. Or the attacker is a nutcase that likes to injure/kill just for kicks. Or... well... the list is long and unpleasant. It's hard for the police to help you AFTER you are crippled or dead. even if they catch/kill the perp, you'll be just as f*cked up. I certainly can't speak for others, but I'd much rather have my fate in my own hands. If I'm carrying a firearm, and elect NOT to use it, at least the option was available. It beats being helpless by a long, long ways (IMHO). Well, I'm not a woman, and if it's a nutter there's really not much I could do even with a gun (he'd have shot me long before I realised there was something wrong).
Besides, the person robbing you could be wearing body armour, or be a sniper shooting from a grassy knoll, or could just shoot you and loot the corpse. But, like the random nutter above, chances are it won't be.
Quote Quote Just out of interest, do you 'carry' when you're drinking? Sometimes, but then I NEVER have more than one drink, no matter where I go. There are many places in the U.S. where it's illegal to carry an otherwise legally concealed weapon (post offices, courthouses, federal office buildings, etc.) In many states, it's illegal to carry concealed in a bar. When I am going into one of those places, I lock my handgun(s) in my vehicle.
Thanks for clarifying that for me. But is it illegal to be drunk and have a gun (in the same way that it would be illegal to be drunk and drive a car)?
-
Quote (psychophipps @ Dec. 16 2003,18:52) The other two stories, while certainly tragic, were commited with illegal firearms in the first place from what I can see in the stories. I can't say offhand about Ryan (although Wilphe said that a small part of his collection was illegal), but Hamilton's guns were all legally owned.
-
I'll duck out Mosca, my original character for Q-Punk isn't really transferable and I can't think of anything else. Thanks for the offer, though.
-
Despite the best efforts of the driver Ivan keeps up his pounding. Pull back, swing forward, smash; pull back, swing forward, smash; Ivan unconsciously falls into the rhythm he used breaking prison rocks, the smooth effectiveness of his muscles driving steel, all he needed at that moment would be a sledgehammer to put him back under the hot Texas sun. Pull back, swing forward, smash; pull back, swing forward, smash...
-
-
Quote (markc @ Dec. 15 2003,23:01) Really well stated, Mark! I also like to use the "fire extinguisher" analogy myself. Most of people (myself included) have never experienced a serious fire in the home or auto (and I'm not referring to those occasional little grease fires on the kitchen range), but you are still considered a bit reckless if you don't own at least ONE fire extinguisher in your home and/or car. I carry a handgun for the same reason. I don't ever expect to need to use it in self defense, but if I do, it'll be there and I'll be trained to use it properly. If I experienced a serious fire I wouldn't bother trying to extinguish it, I'd get the f*ck out and call the fire brigade. It's what they're there for, after all. Similarly (and I know this from experience), if a gun is pulled on me fighting is the last thing on my mind. You give them what they want and call the police when they're gone. It's what they're there for, after all.
Quote
That raises a relevant point that visitors from the British Isles and/or Down Under should keep in mind. The sort of behavior that Phipps describes (above) should be entered into with the utmost caution while visiting the U.S. Since state and Federal courts would constitute this sort of act as an "assault with a deadly weapon",Wise words where ever you happen to be in the world.
Quote the attacker could easily earn his very own cold, steel tray in the local morgue, if the intended victim turns out to be carrying and elects to exercise his right to self-defense. The Tueller Drill has been used repeatedly to demonstrate that the attacker doesn't need to be using a firearm before the defender is allowed to respond with one. A knife, broken bottle, baseball bat, or bar stool will do just fine. Just out of interest, do you 'carry' when you're drinking?
-
Quote (Dog Soldier @ Dec. 15 2003,17:17) Rather than blame Finland I think we should blame Canada, THEY didn't actually join with the US in throwing off the shackles of Anglo oppression, Uhh, wait just a minute... I think I'm having a fit of silliness. I'll be back later No, blame the French - that's what they're there for!
-
What's the address? The only one I can find comes up 'could not locate remote server'.
-
Don't you feel safer knowing we don't carry guns?
-
Quote (212 @ Dec. 14 2003,18:00) history shows, that every nation is capable to organize it's life in the way it want to. and nobody under any circumstances should not be allowed to use terms such as "freedom", "democrasy" or "human rights" as concealment for their imeprialistic purposes.
that's my opinion on iraq war.We helped put him in power; we helped keep him in power; seems only right that we should help remove him from power as well.
But it is a great day for Iraq, the people can finally stop waiting for Saddam to take power again ahd start building their country back up again. The heads gone, lets hope the body wither soon.
Lord of The rings
in Network 54
Posted
I saw it today and it was awesome! The theatre was half-full with youg kids and they were quiet for the entire time - that's how good it was!