Parabellum
-
Posts
3,376 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
1
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Events
Posts posted by Parabellum
-
-
Metallica - For Whom the Bell Tolls
-
Lucky fellow, indeed!
-
It's really a pity that RDR isn't available for the PC. The game looks SO good!
-
With the right people I can inspire and empower (not like Caesar, more like Jay-Z). But with the wrong people, or presented improperly, I can come off as assuming superiority and thinking "what's wrong with you."
Honestly, this could sum up most of the interpersonal problems that I've had for the entirety of my adult life, and perhaps going back into my teens. Granted, sometimes I do look at people and think "What's wrong with you?" but then I also look in the mirror sometimes and think "What's wrong with YOU?! How many times are you going to blow opportunities because you weren't disciplined enough or didn't have the foresight to prepare yourself for this?" My parents didn't prepare me for life, looking back. There's a saying that goes something like "Good decisions are the product of experience, which is often the product of bad decisions." That could pretty well sum up my adult life.
Until I was in my late-twenties, I didn't really have much of a self-awareness. It was pretty easy to be empathetic and think "Why does so-and-so do what he does?" but it was hard to stop and ask myself why I did what I did. That's as important (if not more so) than empathizing with others. So, now I'm 33, and trying to lose that last bit of weight so that I can REP-63 and finally do what I've wanted to do my whole life. Why didn't I do this when I was 20 and single? I didn't do it at 20, because I was a stupid college kid who was unprepared for the world. That's partly my parents' fault, but mostly my own for not seeking answers when I wasn't sure what to do in life beyond party and go to work.
Now, all that's important because it contrasts with your own experience; we're all different, and the more that we know about others and how we related to them, the more we can truly ask ourselves "Why?" because we've gotten a broader sample in which to look for our answers. We probably find that people share certain commonalities, including the aforementioned lack of sense in the teens and early 20's. By taking an honest inventory of yourself, you can then look at others around you, and see how you measure up. If you find that you're falling short in some areas, then you can use what you've learned to improve. If you find that you feel like you're ahead of the pack, then so much the better.
I know that I'm getting lengthy here, so I'll keep this brief, but felt that I needed to add one more thing. I'm 33 now, almost 34. The older I get, the more I feel like there's so much more to know. It could be accurately said that, at least in my case, the older I get, the less adequate I feel. As a younger man, I often felt like I knew it all, and could conquer the world. Now? Not so much. Maybe this is a normal part of maturing, but so often it seems like the best thing to do is just be quiet and keep one's head down. Now, that may be something that I should have learned earlier in life, or that may be something that just comes normally about this age. It used to be that I felt 30-35 was old. Now, I feel like, if I'm a typical man, then the typical man probably don't actually have a clue until our 30's. All we know now is that we know nothing, really, but that we've developed the ability to be quiet, and learn. It seems to me that you're already learning how to do that, and that's something that, without life experience, most people probably won't gain for another ten years or so at your age.
-
My answer will be part acerbic humor, and partly scientific/academic. First, the acerbic humor part: I think that part of the difference that you're seeing is, to put it bluntly, you aren't on the tit like the majority of your classmates. After having worked in a non-sworn position at university (basically, a glorified security guard, with a gun) for two years right after I got out of the police academy, I came to the conclusion that most college students were, in fact, complete and utter wastes of oxygen, space, and financial backing. Most college kids, at least in my experience at dealing with them, are selfish, spoiled, vapid,idiotic little curmudgeons who have absolutely no sense of responsibility. It's "Yay, I'm an adult now! I can drink and party and stay up late and screw my girlfriend/boyfriend silly and no one can stop me!" Only later, does Idiot Student realize that there is a purpose to college beyond the three B's (breasts, booze, and bongs).
(Now for the serious stuff)
In your case, that there are several things which, to use your terms, make college easier. Having known you for what .... eight... nine years now, here's my view of it:
-You've had to think for yourself and look out for yourself for longer than most of your classmates. You've been 'the man of the house' for quite a few years. Having had more responsibility than most of the people with whom you go to school certainly factors into how you perform in college.
-You've dealt with hardship early in your life which has given you, at least as far as I can tell, a deeper appreciation not only for life, but for the fact that life is short, and that you've got to do something with it. Living in a war-torn area as a young man, then losing your father, and then joining the military and going into combat, those are all things that the majority of us (including myself) have not experienced to such an intense degree, and certainly not so early in life. In short, life has thrown a lot of experiences your way, which have prepared you for the rest of your life, much earlier, and much more fully than most college students. Most of us will probably have our fathers until our 50's or later, and very few of us will have spent time in Lebanon as a kid or gone into combat.
-You're also (probably) older than most of your classmates. As you can probably attest personally, a lot changes between 18-19, and 23. For one thing, your brain is more fully-developed. The human brain, specifically the frontal lobe, isn't fully developed until the mid-20's. This is the part of the brain that deals with cognitive reasoning, understanding consequences for actions, etc. One could therefore make the argument that younger college kids typically haven't got the brains to know what's good for them and work hard.
-You've also learned (again, probably in large part due to your military career) that actions have consequences. The kids in college today, most of them have grown up in a narcissistic, entitled atmosphere where everything is someone the fault of someone else; if they didn't do well in school, then it was the teacher's fault. If they didn't get quite enough money for college, then it's because they're not the right race. We could certainly find many more shortcomings for which young people today blame others. The public school system, especially, is becoming a factory for little narcissists; we inadvertently train kids to think that they are inherently special, and inherently worthy of special treatment. I doubt very much that you've had much of that kind of stupidity ingrained into your head during your lifetime.
At any rate, I think that it boils down to life experience, and partly to age. And the fact that you aren't an illiterate, narcissistic little troglodyte, unlike 90% of the people with whom you go to school.
-
Hey Lightspeed, did you try the GRAW webkit? There are some fonts in it. Maybe one of them is what you're looking for.
-
Those videos are nothing that all of us haven't seen a dozen times. They don't show a Predator drone hitting the Pentagon, and consequently, your statement that "it's not an idea" is pretty well rubbish. Your remarks were incendiary at best, especially given the manner of the quoted reply. Just more nutter rubbish.
-
I've got to wonder if bulky hard drives are going to meet the same fate; the memory card in my phone has more capacity than my first computer did, and if you could read and write to large USB devices at speeds equal to or greater than those of hard disks, then why not just use USB devices?
-
Very interesting read, indeed. Speaking of interesting reads and software, I read an article recently which stated that the SASR had used 'virtual reality' software to prepare themselves prior to going to Afghanistan and taking part in Operation Anaconda. The article didn't mention the software by name, but I'm 110% sure that it was VBS1.
-
Hi there, and welcome back! Rocky and co. really do run the best fan site on the internet.
-
The new artillery system is great, but you need to be grouped with or manning the artillery yourself to use it. If you're playing an infantry team, and calling artillery fire from a non-grouped artillery position, then you still need to do some scripting. Hopefully, that will be updated in future content.
-
Blargh... can't watch it in the US, even on YouTube lol.
What's blocking you?. Did Googe searching part 1 bravos deadly mission come up with anything viewable in your region?.
LiveLeak.com - Part 1 of 5 Bravos Deadly Mission Marjah February 2010.
Part 1 of 5 Bravos Deadly Mission Marjah February 2010. Video - WittySparks
Youtube says that it's been blocked in my country due to copyright issues. I'll check out Liveleak though. Thanks, I hadn't thought of Liveleaks!
-
Good luck with getting it sorted out!
-
Just a guess here (it's been awhile since I played GR) but perhaps the issue is related to video playback. IIRC, videos play at various points in the campaigns, and perhaps end-campaign videos are crashing your game.
-
I've been a pretty avid airsoft player for a few years now; I play with a group of guys who are mostly current or ex-military, LEO, or other public service, called Florida Mislim. We use a lot of real small-unit tactics, and have a lot of fun. Today, however, I went alone and played with just random folks at a nice, big field in Orlando. I had some of the hardest laughs that I've had in a long, long time. The games were relatively simple, but watching people running around alone and getting shot to pieces just ... well, I was tickled, to say the least. Myself and a few other guys with RL training put together a couple of squads, and we were (un)fortunate enough to have a few children with us.
I have to tell you gents, that the funniest thing I've seen in a long time, was hearing 12 and 13 year-old kids shouting "This is just like Modern Warfare Two!" and then - no joking - curling up into a ball and started crying when the other team started shooting at them. This one boy was screaming "They're shooting at me!" Another source of laughter was when my team was assaulting a pretty well-fortified position. As per usual airsoft standards, everyone did their own thing, and it sucked. So, I pulled together a few guys, put them in a line formation, and then led them on an assault. We put a hellacious amount of fire on that position, and above the racket of our rifles, I could hear the defenders (again, mostly kids) screaming as we mowed them down.
Life was good. Until a jerk of a college kid got angry, saying that we weren't calling our hits. He came charging out of the brush on us, but he skidded to an abrupt halt, when he saw how much bigger myself and the other guys with me were than him, lol.Anyone else play?
-
Blargh... can't watch it in the US, even on YouTube lol. Just out of curiosity and somewhat off-topic, but are American shows often blocked from being viewed online in Britain and other nations as well?
-
Of course, the good stuff isn't available in the US, lol. Maybe it'll be on BBCA some time.
-
Haha Your signature say's it all
-- Clint Eastwood"America is becoming more juvenile as a nation. The guys who won World War II and that whole generation have disappeared, and now we have a bunch of teenage twits."Indeed. It'll be a sad day for the earth when Clint passes.
-
The acceptable use of text speak and poorly constructed emails will degrade languages I'm sure.
It already is. The problem is spreading too, txt spk is no longer restricted to text messages, it's popping up on forums and social networking sites everywhere now. The thing I find funny is the omission of vowels in txt spk, like, when some-one writes 'cnt' is the omitted vowel supposed to be an 'a' or a 'u'?
It's not just poorly constructed emails, it's poorly constructed grammar as a whole. There, their and they're; two, too and to; your and you're - all frequently confused in this day and age, which it shouldn't be, it's quite easy to tell which one to use when. I rest my case. Are schools not teaching kids correct grammar/spelling/punctuation anymore or are people becoming lazy?
I agree 100%. Schools do teach kids proper grammar, but kids don't care. When the parents are lazy, stupid, useless human beings, it's folly to expect the children to be anything else.
-
That's a pretty informative post. Like Rocky said, hopefully the linked report puts this wacky conspiracy to bed. Sadly though, I don't think that it will. Some people will believe what they want to believe, regardless of reality.
-
This is pretty good. I've added a few additional notes based on my classroom experience as a teacher, and based on those of my wife, who is also a teacher.
Sign of the times me thinks.
Scenario:
Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.
1970 - Crowd gathers. Johnny wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up best mates for life.
2010 - Police called, arrests Johnny and Mark.. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Mark started it. Both children go to anger management programs for 3 months. School board hold meeting to implement bullying prevention programs.
Due to the stigma supposedly created by sending students to the office, teachers are forbidden from sending students to the office for fighting, unless blood is drawn or serious injury occurs. Teachers are expected to resolve the issue themselves, but aren't allowed to give out detention or other punitive measures to discourage future events. Johnny's father is arrested for child neglect after it's revealed that he's broken up fights between his son and other boys. A student who filmed the fight on his iPhone and published it to youtube is also arrested. Pundits and talking heads discuss the incident on a cable news channel for two weeks.
Scenario:
Robbie won't Keep still in class, disrupts other students.
1970 - Robbie sent to office and given 6 of the best by the Headmaster. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
2010 - Robbie given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD. Robbie's parents get fortnightly disability payments and School gets extra funding from state because Robbie has a disability.
Robbie's teacher is blamed for his repeated disruption. Believing that anything that happens in the classroom is the teacher's fault, The principal at Robbie's school puts teachers through additional training, to include sensitivity training, enabling them to better deal with exceptional students like Robbie.
Scenario :
Billy breaks a window in his neighbour's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.
1970 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.
20010 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. Government psychologist tells Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison.
All of Billy's teachers are also investigated for child abuse, and one resigns after Billy says that he told her about being abused , and she didn't report it. Despite there actually being no abuse to report.
Scenario :
Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.
1970 - Mark gets glass of water from Teacher to take aspirin with.
2010 - Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons.
The staff and teachers are Mark's school are given additional training on how to identify drugs, and what to do if a student is suspected of having drugs.
Scenario :
Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from Guy Fawkes, puts them in a model airfix paint bottle, blows up an ant’s nest.
1970 - Ants die.
2010- Police, Armed Forces, & Anti-terrorism Squad called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, MI5 investigate parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated. Johnny's Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.
Scenario :
Johnny falls while running during break and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary . Mary hugs him to comfort him.
1970 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.
2010 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.
Mary's husband also loses his job, due to the social stigma of being married to a convicted child molester. Their own children are taken from them, Mary's family disowns her, and eventually her husband divorces her. Parents pull students out of the school at which Mary used to teach, because they're afraid that more teachers there may be child molesters.
-
I'm so jealous, Rocky! We've got 768k DSL here at the house. Oh, to be able to afford (or even get) 50mb broadband! Enjoy it, my friend.
-
Greater love hath no man...
-
This is very sad. Condolences to the families. If the driver who caused the crash was indeed under the influence of drugs, then she needs to be hammered into the floor. I've no sympathy for fools who drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, having lost three family members to drunk and high drivers.
Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
in Console Corner
Posted
See, this is why my wife and I need to have kids. That way, when I buy video games, they're not just for me. They're for us. Perhaps we should adopt. That way, I don't have to wait ten years for the kid to be coordinated enough to play with his old man.