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Tiptup

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Join date
4-May-2006
Last activity
26-Apr-2012
Posts
1,696

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Post
#310670
Topic
LOST
Time
I find it interesting that the guy on the boat's name is Minkowski. That is the name of a mathematician who thought up a description of space based on Einstein's theory of relativity with the central idea being something called a light cone. If you are in a frame of reference that is moving very close to the speed of light (in comparison to another frame of reference) the "light cone" describes how the same light can move differently through different frames so long as you consider the time of one spatial frame as sitting differently over another spatial frame. It also helps better visualize the relative nature of simultaneity in the universe. That's why I was curious about the clocks used in Daniel's rocket, "payload" test. I didn't look to closely at the clocks and had to look them up on the internet later.

Essentially, the gal on the boat was getting a reading which told her that the rocket landed at its destination before her conversation with Daniel had even ended. He didn't see the rocket land until a long time afterwards, however, and its clock was faster than his by about a half hour. I'm not sure what this means for the show precisely, special relativity is a complicated subject and the show hasn't revealed much about how the island works yet, but it's obvious that time dilation is being strongly hinted at here. (The fact that people have to travel on and off the Island at a precise angle might also be a the result of some relativistic distortion.) How extreme time dilation and other effects could apply to an island that can be reached by air and sea from our earth seems rather silly to me, but perhaps the writers are smarter than I give them credit. I'm guessing it will be the typical, sci-fi-fudged version of physics. Perhaps in the end we'll find out that the Island intersects some sort of extremely weird gravitational phenomenon.
Post
#310305
Topic
LOST
Time
I like the pacing of the show just fine when it catches your interest and plays around with you (like tonight's episode did), I just wish I didn't have to wait so long to see more when I feel like not much has happened. The show's episodes could be two hours a piece and I'd be happy (assuming I had time to section off two hours of my life every Thursday evening).

Tonights episode started out very interesting and then immediately slowed quite a lot, but then ended with another highly interesting moment. I liked it.
Post
#310304
Topic
Indiana Jones IV
Time
I didn't know what the term "MacGuffin" meant before this point, but hasn't George Lucas devoted the most recent portion of his life to destroying good MacGuffins with bad MacGuffins? There should be a MacGuffin restraining order against him forbidding the creation and alteration of MacGuffins.


. . . MacGuffins.
Post
#310067
Topic
Official: 'THE CLONE WARS' movie in Theaters 8/15/08
Time
Originally posted by: sunday256
Dude, if you're so sick of Star Wars why the heck are you here pissing all over it now? Throw your DVDs/VHS in the trash and give it a rest and get on with your life. All you haters are amazing. You complain day in and day out about the prequels and over the OOT. Get over it and move on. The movie is coming out irregardless of your negative attitudes.

If you're going to hang around here and bitch and moan you might as well give this movie a chance since you still seem to be so infatuated with the movies and the idea that maybe one day George will get a clue and release the OOT as it should be in it's restored natural glory.

Some of you are amazingly hyprocritical.


"Dude," if you're so sick of your fellow Star Wars fans why the heck do you interact with them to the degree where you'll start pissing on them for no good reason? Flaming someone because you have simply acquired a wild interpretation of one of their statements is an indication of someone who needs to lighten up and move on. You speak of hypocrisy and yet here you are "bitching and moaning" to the heavens over a much smaller expression of displeasure.
Post
#310065
Topic
Indiana Jones IV
Time
Originally posted by: HotRod
http://www.aintitcool.com/images2007/IndyComic.jpg


Woah! They're bringing . . . ::looks up name on imdb:: Karen Allen's character back? (Sorry, I haven't read this thread yet.) That is one really neat move. She's still a very pretty woman too. That is at least one thing that makes me excited for this film. (Otherwise I don't have my hopes up too high.)
Post
#310006
Topic
The Secret History of Star Wars
Time
Originally posted by: Kurgan
It's completely inaccurate. The term has NOTHING TO DO WITH SEX, and everything to do with ORIGINAL SIN.


I don't mean to nitpick, but you're kind of nitpicking Zombie here, particularly in light of the fact that he's already changed his text, so I'll go for it:

The term immaculate, while not containing the word sex in its definition, actually has nothing to its meaning which absolutely forbids its application to sex if people really want it to. I personally think it's stupid to use the term "immaculate conception" to describe a virgin birth, since it muddles the origin and meaning of that technical phrase within Roman Catholic thought, but it's not exactly as if the terms "immaculate" and "conception" cannot possibly be combined to have a different meaning involving a "sexless" impregnation, since sex can be a messy, spot-producing thing I suppose. In fact, that is probably how the Roman Catholic phrase was originally misunderstood; it's too vague.
Post
#309995
Topic
Official: 'THE CLONE WARS' movie in Theaters 8/15/08
Time
Originally posted by: see you auntie
But what would they be about? Vader and in my mind the Empire are destroyed. One of the few things I agree with Lucas on is that the story has been told.


The next three will be about Anakin's force ghost as he tries to come to terms with the fact that he's dead and yet still alive somehow. He'll try to guide future generations of Jedi to avoid the same mistakes that he made, and yet, in the end, he will have gradually learned that being part of the force means being content with what is and that he should not worry about the mistakes of his force-powered descendants.

Oh and Anakin will finally, somehow "bring balance to the force" since he never did that anywhere else.
Post
#309824
Topic
Video Games - a general discussion thread
Time
Hmm, that sounds like it might be a bad memory card. Did you try formatting the card in an actual PSX/PS1? (I don't even remember if formatting those old cards was necessary.)

Otherwise, the fact that Sony doesn't sell PSX memory cards anymore is very strange to me. You'd think there would be a demand of some kind. I can't even find third-party products from any large-scale businesses. I have found generic products from businesses like this though:

http://www.handhelditems.com/playstation-memory-card-p-7736.html

http://www.tulipstuff.com/1mb-memory-card-playstaion-ps1-new-yellow-see-through-color-p-9844.html?currency=USD

The trick is finding out if these websites are reliable/safe places to purchase from.
Post
#309820
Topic
How much longer will the format war last?
Time
Originally posted by: Johnboy3434
Err... Is that supposed to be a war joke or something? If it's an insult, then it would be more insulting if I could understand it.


Hehe, neither, actually. As C3PX explained, I simply read the thread's title in my mind with a very weary, extremely-dramatic voice. The subsequent reply was simply for anyone else who may have accidentally read it that way as well.
Post
#309818
Topic
Political compass: interesting test
Time
Originally posted by: C3PX
Did anybody bother reading the analysis ro the FAQ? It freely admits to not being perfect, and it explains the reason for using ambiguous questions. Again, it is based on European politics, so it is quite a bit off when it comes to US politics. That is why they placed Hilary deep within the conservative section, because to them she is a conservative. I bet if she took this thing on her own, she would be much more on the left side.

Well, that's weird. If their only purpose is to measure "feelings and prejudices" and whether we "lean towards extremism or moderation" on their compass, those are extremely subjective ideas. Therefore, someone like me, who likes to moderate and double-think every decision I make, despite being extreme with my political principles, can come out dead center and left of Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, which is absurd. This is more a test of moderation than anything else.

Oh and the whole FAQ sounds like it was written by a snippy, know-it-all asshole. Every question has a quick, inconsiderate reply like this one which replies to concerns that the test might influence test-takers to be more politically correct than they otherwise would be:

"Not really, because we've assured them that not only are their identities unknown, but their responses totally unrecorded. So the only actual pressure will come from themselves. We've found that a lot of people aren't comfortable with the first result, so they go through the propositions again, changing some of their earlier responses. It's a bit like an overweight person stepping back on the scales after removing their shoes."

And, whoever wrote the FAQ up is heavily biased:

"Interestingly, many economic libertarians express to us their support for or indifference towards capital punishment; yet the execution of certain citizens is a far stronger assertion of state power than taxation."

Is he (or she) serious?! Executing a human being that kills another human being (a MURDERER) as a way to protect every other human being's right to have their own life is a "far stronger assertion" of state power? I can practically call it self defense! This person can't claim to know how to classify people on a scale of political rhetoric and then turn right around and defend the test with more rhetoric.

Essentially, the FAQ tells me that this person believes that they are scientifically gauging something (relating to their "compass") and I would disagree. This is for more than just fun as far as they are concerned and I find that odd.


Originally posted by: C3PX
Hmm, I missed the part where the site claimed to be able to tell you who you should vote for.


I'm not sure if that was this site actually. But I was pretty sure that I remembered, in the past, this site offering to tell me which political candidates I was best aligned with.
Post
#309766
Topic
Political compass: interesting test
Time
Originally posted by: sean wookie

Sounds like someone didn't get a result he wanted. Seriously the test is just for fun.


True, I was expecting to be more libertarian and on the right side, but I got dead center and that's boring.

But, as Chaltab pointed out, the questions are too heavily based upon ambiguous, political rhetoric. That is a secondary reason I get upset is because this site declares the pretense of being able to tell people what they are (politically) and who they would want to vote for. Nowhere do I see an analysis of real principles of right and wrong:

"Do you care about children being healthy and happy while growing up? Why, that means you're a communist since they care more about children being happy and healthy! You'd most support Hillary Clinton in the general election!"

After all of that, yes, I do find tests like this to be fun. I just wish they would properly qualify their test to people as one that merely ranks us according to popular stereotypes (and how the results are not accurate beyond that).
Post
#308804
Topic
LOST
Time
I'm not going to read or comment on any spoilers but last night's episode was a good one. There were a lot of people around where I was watching it and I had some trouble getting into what was happening, but it still moved me pretty well. I'm also happy about the whisperings again. Can't wait to see what happens next.
Post
#308554
Topic
Peter Jackson evidently IS returning for The Hobbit...sort of...
Time
Originally posted by: JediSage
Looks like it might be Del Toro:

Link


Good Lord, let it be so.

If Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth are any indication, he would do a fantastic job! He would be capable of capturing both the Hobbit's lighthearted nature and its dark themes perfectly. Heck, his great use of special effects alone should get him this job.
Post
#308435
Topic
Is George Lucas a fan of Star Wars?
Time
Originally posted by: C3PX
Imagine if Spielberg had made E.T. and then a sequel to E.T., then another sequel, then a trilogy of E.T. prequels that deal with E.T.'s dad and the birth of E.T. and how E.T. ended up coimg to visit earth and so on, then imagine Spielberg complaining about all these other movies he had wanted to make, yet was forced to do nothing but E.T. all his life. Nope, I can't imagine it either.


You forgot the part about how, in the prequels, E.T. never left "home" but ended up on earth precisely because he was searching for a new home. And how Spielberg subsequently made a second special edition on top of an earlier special edition (which he doesn't call a "special edition" anymore) that underwent an edit of E.T.'s voice to no longer say "home" but to instead say "mothership."