Posts by Thrik

  • Crysis demo out

    I can run it on 'Very High' across the board at a more common resolution such as 1280x1024, but if I try to do it in my native 1920x1920 I get smacked down to about 15 fps which is just that bit too sluggish for me to enjoy.

    So I run it with everything on 'Very High' except post processing, shadows, and textures (I think), which I put down to 'High'. That gets me a pretty consistent 25+ fps on 1920x1200, but doesn't seem to make much of a visual difference at all.

    This monitor is such a double-edged sword. While I love the extra I get for non-gaming stuff, it consistently bums me in the gob with cutting-edge games.

    Bring on the next NVIDIA card. Better not be another year away.

    Spoiler:

    I put more about it on my blog.

  • Crysis demo out

    The gameplay seems really fun.

    I especially like that you can turn it into Metal Gear Solid FPS by using your stealth camo, sneaking up, throttling people, etc. The action also in general seems enjoyable and shows a lot of promise of some superb firefights and stuff. It looks like a game that'll let you approach many bits how you want to, like Far Cry I guess, rather than railroading you into the way the developers want it to play like a game such as Half-Life 2 does.

    The concept of killing people by throwing turtles at them is obviously also a huge win.

  • Lets talk about circumcision shall we?

    I'm not (intentionally) belittling anyone.

    I've stated my opinion, stated why I don't think your arguments for circumcision have any credit, and stated that you're free to continue advocating circumcision within your own community all you like.

    What I'm avoiding is getting into a big argument about the medical side to it, where we both spend hours throwing (biased) articles backing up our own opinions at each other and ultimately end up precisely where we started. I don't have the time or the desire.

    I'm sorry if I came across as belittling.

  • Lets talk about circumcision shall we?

    I've already conceded and agreed that there're no particular cons to the practice, just that there're no particular benefits either.

    I'm fully aware of what you're saying about HIV, but I still don't see it as a valid argument for advocating circumcision in a developed country. In Africa perhaps it would help, but that's what I'd define as an extreme solution; a route taken because they can't afford the alternative that is the norm in Europe.

    The page also gives three examples of how being uncircumcised could cause infections: not washing, over-washing, and pulling the foreskin back too hard. Erm, common sense perhaps? Again, more nonsense reasons.

    And of course there's the big area above all that which goes into circumcision surgery complications generally being catastrophic. Might be okay in the US where it's a mature practice, but I sure as hell wouldn't like to imagine how often it could go wrong in an undeveloped country, which is what the whole HIV thing would seem to advocate.

    I continue to stand by my position and I assume you're going to stand by yours. I don't agree with its practice, I wouldn't ever consider making the choice for my own children, and I'm glad this is what the majority of my country is doing. You most probably see it as fine, so as I said earlier, I'm OK with that.

    Are you going to make me repeat this again?

  • Lets talk about circumcision shall we?

    I just want to clarify that I wasn't personally comparing the two forms of circumcision; I was just pointing out why it's very easy for people to draw parallels. While they are on different levels, they are still fundamentally the same thing no matter how many clinical studies and justifications are used. They aren't the same thing when you look at the whole picture though, obviously.

    I've seen the HIV thing brought up before, and I have to say that it sounds like a very poor argument.

    Okay, sure, perhaps having no foreskin does somehow lessen the HIV transmission. But considering the risk level of being sexually active with a HIV-positive person is 'massive' and the risk level of using protection like the vast majority of people do nowadays is 'tiny', what is the point of the argument?

    It's like saying having no fingers reduces the chances of your arm being ripped off because you're sticking your hand out the train window. It's a big risk you shouldn't be taking in the first place, so using variables in an argument that adjust the level of that risk but still leave the risk very much there is a bit crazy. The simple answer to that one is 'don't fuck a HIV-positive person', not 'chop off their foreskin'.

    I agree with you though, there may be no particular cons to taking off the end of childrens' penises. But if the only pro for it is to fit in amongst your peers, does it make removing that part of the body right? I guess I'll never change your mind on that one. I'm just personally glad nobody in my family will have that choice made for them. And if you're glad those in your family will have the choice made for them, I'm OK with that.

    ... Although I could just throw in another analogy such as a country that traditionally chops the tops of their childrens' ears off because it prevents wax building up in the outer parts which they believe is good for hygiene (Wrong!), and the parts they chop off aren't really useful anyway.

  • Lets talk about circumcision shall we?

    Quote from DUFFY

    Wikipedia:Circumcision is most prevalent in Muslim countries, Israel, the United States, the Philippines and South Korea and is commonly practised in the Jewish and Muslim faiths.

    ?

    and RD...not feel pleasure? I dunno when I have sex it's fantastic

    I was loosely talking about western countries, but more specifically comparing Europe and America. I'm fully aware countries that have an almost 100% Jewish population and various others practice circumcision. ¬¬

    But moving on, regarding the comparison to vagina cutting:

    1. Cutting off part of a female's genitals

    2. Cutting off part of a male's genitals

    Yes, it's really hard to see how people are drawing up correlations between the two.

    As for the vagina circumcision being so much worse due to its pleasure-discouraging intent, it might interest you to know that in the 19th century doctors were widely known to propose circumcision as a way of discouraging masturbation, as well as the now-disproved hygiene benefits.

    I don't think any of us uncircumcised people really care if you have a circumcised dick or if you have good sex. I, for one, am simply saying that the practice of circumcision is grounded in a completely outdated mindset, and that cutting off part of someone's cock should be a decision the person who has the cock makes.

    But as I also said earlier, if you guys in the US want to do that then fine. I'll rest happy knowing that nobody in my family (or indeed the other 96% of the country) will be circumcised. If nothing else, I just pity the children of the US; it's very nice having an extremely soft and sensitive penis head, and a culture that supports it.

  • Lets talk about circumcision shall we?

    Heh, a procedure for putting it back on? Oh man, you guys think so crazily. How about you just let someone make the choice themselves in the first place?

    As for the health/hygiene aspect, it might not be malicious but it's still uninformed ignorance that results in permanent removal of a part of the body; there is quite simply no comparison to having vaccinations, which do have genuine health benefits.

    You know, they once put drills into people's heads -- including children -- based on the belief that it relieved headaches, released demons, etc. Their parents may have thought they were doing the right thing, but you know what? They weren't.

    Circumcision is an archaic practice that survives simply due to misconceptions and tradition. There is no logical reason to do it beyond fitting in. Fortunately this 'fitting in' only applies to the US; you guys can chop off a part of your kids' dicks all you like.

    BTW, regarding the evolution thing I'm guessing it came to be to protect the ultra-sensitive/soft head of the penis, which I'm guessing is something circumcised people can't really imagine. Would have sucked to get a branch or something cutting open the end of your dick as a caveman.

  • WIP in WIP, post your level screenshots!

    Good stuff on the TF2 map.

    That wooden texture going around the upper walls inside the building needs changing, though. It's got the same hole in it time after time, and it looks really obvious that it's tiling. If you're going to be covering a huge area like that with the same texture it needs to be one with no particularly outstanding areas.