Thursday, August 20, 2009


The seven swords of 00.

And I'm definitely not getting the 00 Seven Swords. I got seven already.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009


Its finally here! After 3 weeks! That bloody GN Sword III is delivered!

And I finished it in 10 minutes.

In case anyone was wondering, or some dude was like me 3 weeks ago, I bought that GN sword from HLJ via parts purchase. The sword along with the beam attachment costed 900 yen, while the shipping was 880 yen. =/ Bandai conveniently left out the GN Sword III so that suckers will buy the entire 00 Raiser again.
...

3 weeks of anxiety over in 10 minutes.

Life is such a bitch.

Monday, August 17, 2009

I did it. I fell to temptation.

Now I bought the Avalanche Exia and now 64 dollars poorer. Sure it had great articulation of joints, and it had big ass rocket thrusters (THRUST!) but it doesn't help that I'm in need of money now.

Exia...

Friday, August 14, 2009

Still waiting.

Waiting for that fucking GN Sword.

Why didn't I just buy the designer's edit set?

....

As you can see, I'm not a patient person.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Got an shipping confirmation from HLJ that they shipped my GN Sword III.

6 days ago.

This is really why I hate online shopping. The waiting really sucks. Did I mention I waited for their shipping notice for 2 weeks?

And in my carelessness, I forgot to order another LED attachment as well for the 00's head.

I'm so going to learn how to solder LEDs.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Had a few shots of the 00 raiser, but needs some photoshopping to make it look REALLY awesome. will get down to that soon.

NINJA NOW. Dragonica is now officially mundane until they decide to take their dicks out of the money bin and start releasing more content. Still, I'm now an OFFICIAL NEEEEEEENNNNNNNNJAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. Feel the stylish, people!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Birthday's over, and I bought myself a Gundam 00 Raiser to fix up. Just that I should have bought the Designer Edit, rather than the one that came with a stand, cos now I have to find the GN sword III which ONLY comes with the designer edit, and I'll be DAMMED if I have to buy another 00 Raiser just for the sword. Stands are available separately, and frankly I rarely pose it all over the place too.

Dammit dammit dammit.

No matter, anyway. The 00 Raiser still looks good without the bigass GN Sword III. Screw you Bandai, and your successful marketting ploys. Sell the GN Sword III separately already!

I have to get hold of Ian's DSLR to take nicer shots of the 00 Raiser.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Been stuck on Dragonica lately. Its like Maple, only with instances, and so levelling becomes easier, if you consider having a personal space as easy. The grinding is still there, sadly, but at least there's PvP, which was what really drew me in.

I have no idea where to post my thoughts about the Assassin, so imma gonna rant here..


My thoughts on Assassin:

A super sneaky character. He's the biggest headache to ever to deal in PvP, but with him on your side, bosses fall rather quickly.

Now for my skill build.

Thief skills


Air Combo Launch - launches an enemy into the air.

Ah... Bread and Butter skill. Either use this to start an Aerial Rave, or just whack away nuisances who are in your way. I pumped this to level 2 for 3 targets being launched. You can add more, but 3 is optimal for me. Don't forget the Ninja morph uses this move so keep this skill.

Aerial Frenzy - Spin attack in air to hit airborne enemies.

Follow up to Air Combo Launch. You remain suspended in mid air spinning while enemies in your wake get repeatedly cut. This skill racks up combo hits very quickly, and its quite essential to have high combos in Mission Maps, so get at least 1 point. Mine's level 2, because Air Combo launches 3, so Aerial Frenzy should hit 3 as well for optimal efficiency. Also, this is used during the Ninja stage so put at least 1 level for it.

Somersault kick - Kicks enemies down, At level 3, launches them.

Sounds like Air Combo Launch doesn't it? But you need level 3 for it to have the same effect. Skip it. Point waster here.

Cut-Down - Stabs downwards into the fray. Usable only in air. Launches at level 3

One skill that i spent a precious reset skill card for. It does a beautiful job as a combo follow up after your targets drop away from your Aerial Frenzy. Level 3 launches them back up, just for you to Aerial Frenzy too. In PvP, it works well as a surprise attack too. Ninja mode uses this skill so at least have level 1 to utilize it. I highly recommend level 3 for the launching. Note that enemies lying on the floor can be relaunched too.

Rocket punch - Shoot a fist at enemies. Inflict stun.

Too slow to use in PvP, but it works very well in PvE. Try to get this to level 5 asap. At level 5, it inflicts 70% stun, which is helpful against enemies that resist knockback.

Nosel Tunnelling - Enhances Rocket Punch to deal more damage.

Sounds good, but points are too precious to be wasted this way. I skipped it, for the sake of assassin skills.

Re-launch - launches downed enemies back into the air

It SOUNDED good, until you realise you have Cutdown level 3. Staying on the ground means enemies can have a go at you. Plus, you need to press an extra key to use it, as compared to Cutdown's 1 button reliance. Skip it.

Double Attack - percentage change to hit twice on the second and fourth hit

Not as imba as Ragnarok's double attack, but who can argue with a free hit? Keep it at level 1 though. The bonus damage and chance per level doesn't justify the points spent. Plus, assassin skills are better. Or skip it if you don't like normal attacks.

Venom - poisons enemies, reducing their HP every second

A bad poisoning skill. First, it deals no damage, just inflicts poison. Second, the casting time is LONG, long enough for you to get swatted for 50% HP. Third, the poison deals minute damage over a few seconds (level 1 was 10 HP for 12 seconds). Skip it altogether,

Vitality- (Buff) +VIT to party (+2 per level of skill)

Woo buffs, sounds great, doesn't it? First of all, food can give better buffs. Second, you don't have enough points to go round. Third, items can give literally the same amount of stats the buff can. More is always good, but not when your second job skills need points as well. I skipped it.

Dexterity- (Buff) +AGI to party (+2 per level of skill)

Same reasoning as Vitality. I skipped it.

Assassin Skills

At this point you should have a taste of how irritating Farrel is, as well as have a skill reset card. You also have a HP/MP boost so you won't die THAT easily now. Keep the card in case you decide to change your build later on. Don't worry, Ninja promotion will give another, so decide what will your skill build be before using it.

Poison Crasher - Poisons your weapon, giving a very small % chance to poison an enemy.

It's not WoW, 1% poisoning means nothing here. But it DOES happen, and when it does, it tends to deal bonus damage, followed by poisoning similar to venom. Think of it like Double Attack: just a bonus damage. Skip it altogether if you wish. I left it at 1 for wishful poisoning.

April Fool - Damages enemies and reduce their ATK/MATK to 1

Yaaayyy... sounds cool right? Wrong. First, attacks are still attacks, and Mission Maps still count them as damage. Second, reducing their attack doesn't remove the attack's ability to knockdown or stun. The attacks still retain their negative qualities and so doesn't nerf your targets at all. So you can have your targets dealing 1 damage and STILL knock you down and interrupting all your skills. Skip it altogether.

Ambush - Knocks your enemies into the air

At lvl 1, it knocks 4 enemies into the air. Kinda like Air Combo Launcher, isn't it?
Leave it at level 1 for pre-requisite purposes.

Violent Blow - 5 hit combo on enemies. Retargets after every hit. Hit damages more enemies per skill level

I find this an overrated skill. Enemies aren't affected too negatively after being hit. They can attack you immediately after Violent Blow ends. Don't get me wrong, the damage is impressive, but its best to use this skill after the target is stunned or there's an opening. You can max this, or you can leave it at at least lvl 3 for the targetting fallen enemy bonus.

Claw Blocking - (Passive) blocks attacks at a low % success rate.

I haven't maxed this, but even at 7% success rate, I'm seeing the BLOCK word pop up many times instead of a damage number. It helps to have cunningly blocked a fatal attack. Max this if you're a firm believer of luck. Otherwise, save your points for Ninja.

Throwing Dagger - Throws a dagger an an enemy and knocks him down. Hits fallen enemies at level 4.

Sounds as useless as Ragnarok's Venom Dagger? Nope, this is an assassin's MAIN killing move, when coupled with Dagger mastery. The damage is similar to an Air Combo Launcher hit. It knocks down too, great for interrupting spells in PvP or just to get closer. Get this to level 4 for its ability to hit fallen targets. Or 5 if you want more damage.

Dagger Mastery - Increases damage of Throwing dagger, as well as number of daggers thrown

THE reason why Throwing Dagger shines. Damage is increased, at smack from level 1, you throw 3 daggers. Lvl 3 throws 5, Lvl 5 throws 7. Needless to say, max this. Try to use Throwing Dagger at point blank range to make your target eat ALL the daggers, since the daggers are thrown in an outward arc.

Burrow - Dig a hole Kakashi style and hide from enemies. Saps 30 MP per 3 second regardless of skill level

1 level will do for this skill. You can't move while in hiding, but this is one of the best skills for a Thief. You literally disappear from view, removing all aggro on you, and gives you time to let those regen potions take effect. Its instant cast too, so you can hide from boss attacks instantly. Careful of the mana drain though.

Gimlet - Thorns rise to attack while Burrowing.

If you've seen Ragnarok's Grimtooth, its the same idea. While in Burrow, you can attack enemies. It saps a lot of mana, but can grant you a good rank in dungeons since you cannot be hit. However, you can only attack in a straight line, and only in the direction you are facing. Since you cannot change directions while Burrowed, you have to take extra note while using Gimlet.
Leave it at level 1 for pre-requisite.

Shadow Walk - Hide from view, speed is reduced but you can still dash.

The skill that defines an assassin. Your speed is slightly reduced (about 18%) while hiding, and casting time is about 2 seconds. But while in this, you are impervious to damage. Great for assassinating Acolytes before they find you. Its a great skill in PvP, but not much use in PvE though. Keep it at lvl 2 for pre-requisite purposes.

Swift Attack - Attack multiple enemies in a blink of an eye.

No shit there. Once you get this skill, you will know it is a must max skill. Hits 2/4/6/8/10 targets at level 1/2/3/4/5 instantly and knocks them down. Its an ideal skill to catch people/monsters by surprise. Max it if you can.

That about covers my rant about the Assassin. Till next time.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

It feels kind of a pussyfication to be ranting my head off on my blog, and technically speaking, i should be shooting my head off in front of that bitch to be an upright person, but I might just commit murder and destroy everything I hold dear should I face that bitch face to face so I'll just rant here.

Yesterday I went down to Acra with my Princess to deal with her late father's company, God bless his soul. Her Sister, who will henceforth be known as Fucking Bitch, came down too. It's no secret that I've always hated her, because 8 years ago she left home, leaving my Princess to support her family all by herself. Her dad was a down-and-out, so no prize for guessing: my Princess is the sole breadwinner.

So Fucking Bitch came down to settle matters. And there was no lack to the amount of spite in her words, either, commenting my business venture as "useless" and my lack of salary as "a futile effort". Well, Stupid Fucking Bitch, all startups begin with zero cashflow. If you have no brains, stop emphasizing it all around. It's so irritating it bleeds the brain through the nose and all over your pants like its some disgusting menses so STOP IT.

Once that was over and done with, she suggested talking about settling the flat, which was actually over and done with and discussed over and over. For confidential reasons I can't go into detail over that, but this much I can say: Fucking Bitch wishes to harp over the little little details which are redundant and we are really tired of it.

Now well seated, we discussed over the rough situation, which is a totally wrong description: Fucking Bitch wants to speak, and we were to listen as though God was speaking to us through her, and to interrupt were to be committing a Sin. She wants the flat sold, in which I asked why. Its a bad market, and selling now will definitely result in a very bad situation. And She apparently lacks a lot of common sense too. Fucking Bitch kept questioning me: Are you paying for the flat? Which was a domb question because if I had the choice I'll buy over the fucking flat already. What are you, Fucking Bitch, STOOPID? If so, there's an institution for you called Society for the Washed Out and Eat Shit. Graduate from there and Fuck out of my Life.

So I asked her if she can state the cons of selling the flat. It was obviously a rhetorical question because I FUCKING KNOW ALL THE ANSWERS. I DON'T NEED A FUCKING BITCH TO BARK ALL THE ANSWERS AND MAKE THE SITUATION SEEM MORE PESSIMISTIC THAN IT SHOULD. She flared up and said I question her decision. Well, FUCKING BITCH, YOU KNOW THE SITUATION LESS THAN I DO. I'M FAMILY TO PRINCESS MORE THAN YOU'RE HER SISTER, BITCH. And so it erupted into the argument. It went more or less like this:

Me: "Well, at this time of the year, to sell a flat will mean losses incurred. I can't deny that we cannot ignore the losses incurred but at the worst case, we may have to pay more than we should, instead of the original objective of paying off the remainder of the loan."

Fucking Bitch: "Stop pointing your finger at me!" (I was pointing at the ceiling in fact.)

Me: "Don't switch the conversation. The thing is, you keep insisting on the flat sold because (privacy issues, but I made 6 logical points in total. I can recite it to you if you PM me, but not here.) and so I wish to see from your perspective what are you seeing the reasoning about."

Fucking Bitch: "I just want them to ride debt free!" (Which is a funny reason because HDB never evicts anyone. Only banks do that.)

Me: "I only want..."

Fucking Bitch: "You shouldn't speak because this is our family matter! You are just an outsider!" (Half true, if not for the fact she FUCKING RAN AWAY FROM HOME 8 YEARS AGO, AND I WAS PRINCESS'S MORAL SUPPORT AND ADVISOR FOR THIS PAST 8 YEARS.)

Me: "But asking them to move house, its going to be a lot of stress and paperwork for them. their lives will be haywire for the next 6 months, will you be suffering that mental stress with them?"

FUCKING BITCH: "You don't think I'm not suffering from mental stress? My father died, hello? You think I'm not stressed?" (One extra note: SHE'S FUCKING MARRIED, AND NEVER STAYED IN THE SAME ROOF AS THEM. STRESS? PRINCESS SUFFERED FOR 8 FUCKING YEARS IN YOUR ABSENCE. YOU DON'T EVEN CONTRIBUTE TO THE HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE BITCH. STRESS? FROM YOUR HUSBAND FUCKING OTHER WOMEN, NO DOUBT.)

Me: "So are you handling all the matters for them when they move?"

Fucking Bitch: "Don't you point at me again, or I'll splash this tea all over you!"

Me: "Go ahead, if you think it will solve matters."

AND THE FUCKING BITCH ALMOST DID. OH HOW I WISHED SHE DID. 1000 WAYS TO PLAY WITH HER LIFE IF SHE DID, STARTING FOR 20K MEDICAL COMPENSATION!

And that point, obviously Princess was starting to be a little embarassed, so I left while FUCKING BITCH started barking at me. I just left with a "Fuck you, make a scene, I don't care."

Later on, I learnt Princess defended me to the utmost (Another reason to marry her for life.) and told her to fuck off. With obvious reasons, she doesn't like her sister much.

That's my mega rant of the season. Stay tuned to see if I murder the FUCKING BITCH.

P.S. Princess was laughing when we were arguing, so no, she wasn't in a tight spot. 8 years of training and support let her see life in a beautiful picture. I'm so proud of her.

Monday, May 25, 2009

I just have to rant about this. I know this will sound utterly mundane, but if I bottle it up too much it might just come bursting out of my skull and drag my brains through the gutter and make me even more retarded than I was before.

GTO. IS. AWESOME.

Breathed through all 200 chapters of the manga in 2 nights, and I really ask myself: What took me so long to pick it up? Stylish is all I can describe the perverted Onizuka.

Gawd, I was actually kinda stirred to be a Teacher after that.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

I've been very angry lately. Not the kind of explosive anger about some old lady in the street or those fucking moronic drivers who have no idea what the fuck is a beam for, other than blinding other people, but really, the lamenting kind of anger in which people are showing false concern or what the government is trying to do to its people. Sure we can't do anything, but within legal boundaries I am still entitled to have my say.

Creativity. If you haven't watched the talk by Sir Ken Robinson, go watch it.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

And then there's the government with their Arts Fest, held every year to "celebrate" the existence of Art, or really, to show that they do give a shit. And then there's the local academia, big on technical stuff, wanting research or procuring some new fangled tech so that they can seem bigger in this pompous circle. Sure, without them we will still be living in caves, but at least I can still fucking draw without stigmatization.

And what I'm really angry about? MDA. And their "initiative" called SITF, an R&D group. What does this reek of? ACADEMIA. Why? They won't fund just any start-up company, but only those that have an Idea that is TECHNICAL. They want people to make new tech. However, I'm a content person. I prefer content creation, and I have faith in that. What does the -gahment- thing of it? The request for funding didn't get through, if you were guessing.

I dabble in art, as you might have noticed with Neko and Inu, and also a portfolio blog I neglected for a while. My stand is: The sword is worthless if the wielder is of no substance. Time that the -gahment- pay attention to potential content creators and give THEM a chance. Food doesn't magic onto the table: Money does. Artists starve because their work is a subjective sector. And STOP PUTTING SCHOLARS INTO THE MANAGEMENT OF MDA. Art requires people who can see the world in more than Black and White. Next time you people up there wish to speak of Art, please, SHUT THE FUCK UP.

Monday, March 09, 2009

Disclaimer: This post is not a traitorous post, nor is it written with intent to sow discord or to cause global disharmony. This is just a thought.

I was wondering about a question. It started with an assignment on Persuasive computing. Naturally this search led to the Guru who started the topic: Dr. B.J. Fogg. Then on his blog, I saw that he got noted on Fortune as one of the modern Gurus you must know. That I agree, not that he's suave in person or I actually know him, but his stuff is indeed what we need to adapt to.

Then I drifted to thinking about what I would do if I was featured on Fortune. Print a T-shirt, even. And I thought "It's something money can't buy. Right Bill Gates?"
And Bill will probably respond "Sure is, I had to pay Fortune to stop printing my face, now shut up or I'll buy your town over."

Then my left brain, who is so bloody fond of arguing with my right brain and my sub-conscious, asked: "How much does Singapore cost?"

I tried googling, with one of the more disturbing searches "how much does it cost to buy a vietnamese wife? - www.hardwarezone ..." popping up, but no one has actually evaluated how much is Singapore worth.

And will the final price tag include buying over Temasek Holdings?

Kind of interesting to see which tycoon will say the phrase "...or I'll buy your country over." One best example is Asterix and the Laural Wreaths. If you haven't read it, slap yourself for killing your childhood and read it in the Library.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

I got to blog on my recent trip to Batam, but I'm really swarmed so I'll summerize, and add on later on..

Almost got pickpocketted. Fucking old man was too stupid to be a Bond.

Locals hate me, they look at me with disdain. And I dislike their shit-under-noses look too.

The resort was... dull... Breakfast had chili, lunch has chili, dinner has chili. Almost shat fire that day.

Nothing special in their resort, even the pool was dirty. Only good thing is that the room felt like home. What we have, anyway.

More when I think of it.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009




You Are Fearless



You have great dreams and unrelenting ambition. You go for what you want, and it's hard to deter you.

You are incredibly competent and intelligent. You've had a very high success rate in your life.



You tend to dominate people. You have a very strong personality, and others tend to heed to your demands.

You're confident enough to be considered arrogant. You tend to think of other people in terms of what they can do for you.



NOW you may bend over in awe.
Idiocracy just got high. This was on a forum of one of my modules.

Lecturer:
How many of you have tried buying a cookbook for someone, browsed for hours and haven't found the exactly right one?

Check this one out: http://www.tastebook.com/

this is a great example of remediating the cookbook buying experience! It's the same, but it's better. THIS is a great valentine's day gift :)

(being the smart ass, I threw some wit in)
Me: The cooking part or the book part?

(Some smart Dick called Raynor decided to reply in a condescending manner)
Raynor: It's the process of browsing for recipes and then compiling it into a personalized cookbook that augmented the entire experience.

It's akin to choosing music from several albums but only to discover that you only like a particular track or two from an album, repackaging it and personalizing the purchases make the product closer to the consumer.

(Well, thank you Mr. Raynor. I didn't know that link can be visited, and I had no intelligence to click on the link to see what was it for myself before I posted a quip about Valentine's. Thank you for enlightening my day, douchebag.)

Me: Was it a reply to my post? I'm sorry if the humour part didn't surface.

(And to add insult to injury...)

Edit of second post: The cooking part or the book part?

edit: For the valentine's part of the post, of course.

(In which the argument was sealed by...)

Lecturer: :)

WIT ALWAYS TRIUMPHS!!

Saturday, February 14, 2009



Its just plain freaky!

Wednesday, February 04, 2009




You Should Learn Japanese



You're cutting edge, and you are ready to delve into wacky Japanese culture.

From Engrish to eating contests, you're born to be a crazy gaijin. Saiko!



However did they know?

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Last friday was the day my group for Game Development had a meeting with Allen Simonson. I must say, someone who is an industrial expert really is very different from a lecturer in university.

I just mentioned that I have no research topics, and Allen can offer so many topics just based on the game idea we have. Golam can NEVER do that. That's the lecturer for a game based module and Golam is to Games as men are to Bras. They can take one off, but they can never design one and let a girl feel good wearing one. He's that alien from games and he's lecturing about them.

So maybe im too harsh on the man. Fine. It's been 4 fucking years. You'd think he'd be faster than me in learning, seeing as he is a fucking DOCTORATE and much senior than me in studying. Every time we feedback him on how shitty he is, he comes back on the next semester as slipshot as we had described him. C'mon, even people who interviewed his students were disappointed at what they did in his class. If its not enough a wake up call, he even said that he "almost gave up teaching, and could have went out into the industry to work." Oh wow, just GO, FUCKING GO. And then i'll see how YOU die. He is also the embodiment as to why studying alone gets you nowhere. For fuck's sake play some games people!

To rub the irony, I and some others have conspired to give Golam a positive feedback for once: Thank you for letting Allen co-lecture your module so as to wipe up your act, and it was Alex Mitchell who approached him, not you.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

I salute thee, first few commentors on the PH1101E blog.

I had to post 3 comments for a philosophy module. So I went ahead to check it out. Wow, 10 comments. Okay, sounds few enough, seeing my past experiences with blog comments never exceeded 4 lines, 5 tops. So I decided to read and then persuade it, since the module is about reasoning and persuading. So, you know, I have to do my thing.

Reply One was as such:

I've never been faced with a situation in which I've had to turn my mother/father in to the authorities, but I would think that there would never be a situation in which I could bring myself to turn either one of them in.

Even if the crime is as serious as that of *gasp* murder, there are a few pressing reasons that prevent me from turning them in. 1) The sacrificies they have made to raise me throughout my 23 years, and 2) the "good" reason they must have had to have committed said evil deed (which shows me that they didn't do it out of pure malice), and 3) the subsequent guilt that would haunt me for putting the person who raised me behind bars, and therefore breaking up the family.

However, that's not to say that I wouldn't "prosecute" them in my own way. I think that the best thing that can be done is to bring the issue up to the entire family such that everyone has a say in what should be done. Should we turn our dad / mom in? Or should we enforce our own punishment upon him / her?

I guess perhaps due to our Asian collectivistic culture, I would feel that such a large issue cannot be decided by just one person (me). Afterall, such a decision would affect the entire family and not just me alone.


In case that turned you on and you want to know what was it all about, here's the link.

Okay, a tad long. No problems, I'm a fast reader. I chew Deathly Hallows in 6 hours. It's cool.

Reply #2:

First things first, when faced with situations like this I think I'm a fairly illogical person (more emotionally based). That is just a pre-warning to the rest of my post. :)

In the first place, I think that it is rather difficult to prosecute anyone, not to mention someone that I'm close to. Prosecuting a person would make it appear that I have some sort of right or I'm above the very person that committed the crime, regardless of the severity. After all, being a human just like the crime committer, who am I to determine what is right or wrong? In justifying my actions, I would be exactly like Euthypro, trying to keep to the moral high ground whilst appearing a fool in the process.

Moving on, like sylvia has mentioned earlier, I feel like I owe my life to my parents. Without them, I would have never existed. There are various reasons in which I would be inflicted with guilt in prosecuting my flesh and blood. However on the other hand, I would feel guilty if I do not do so due to vague ideas of right and wrong that we've been brought up with. It is a no-win situation.

Thus if placed in Euthyphro's position, one needs to consider the consequences of the actions taken. There is the need to choose between the devil and the deep blue sea. When it comes down to it, there is no perfect solution. Now, when I'm all comfortable with no future premonitions of family committing a serious crime, I would take the moral high ground and say 'yes, I would prosecute them as necessary and blah blah right and wrong blah blah'.

However, I think when it comes down to it, I don't think I ever could. After all, there's no happiness gained from being alone with only your beliefs to warm you.

As for seeing a person in Euthyphro's position, with a tattered arguement. I think it is pride that makes a person stick to his convictions. Especially a person who is so used to being 'right'. Thus when being forced to consider that he is being 'wrong', he would become irrational and not accept any other ways of thinking.

He would probably scoff to think that a 'bumbling fool' like Socrates would dare question him in his higher position and dismiss a 'lower' beings idiot ramblings. Enough excuses to save his perfect world from crumbling. After all, I feel that it is the belief system that gives a person his or her confidence. So to admit that his belief system is nothing but hot air, Socrates would have to diminish Euthyphro to nothing before he would accept such an idea. Especially one that is of such importance to him, as he considers himself an authority on 'holiness'.


Okay, brain sprain. A slight sprain, but no biggie.

Reply #3:

Both Sylvia and Caryl raise what I feel is a rather interesting point, about the debt we owe our parents for bringing us into this world and raising us. That this debt exists is without question; whether or not it justifies our shielding them from prosecution, however, is much less clear.

I believe the answer (if there is one, that is) lies far beyond a simple consideration of the number of sacrifices which have been made for us, or the benefits we have received from the person in question. We decry bribery, and I'm sure not one of us will protect a friend (much less a stranger) who has committed a severe crime against our families, no matter the sacrifices this friend may have made for us before. There are clearly other factors for the 'closeness' we feel to our parents, and the guilt both Sylvia and Caryl mention a consequence of our prosecuting them. What makes us such loyal debtors to our parents? Caryl implies that prosecuting our parents leaves us alone and without happiness. Might our reasons for protecting them be completely selfish then, born of a concern for no more than our own welfare? Do we protect members of our family hoping that they too will protect us if/when we need protection? Perhaps, but if this were true, would we not feel more vulnerable and afraid (instead of guilty) if we were to prosecute our parents?

Sylvia also asserts the motivation for the crime, the ‘good reason’ for it, a significant reason for not turning one’s parents in. One might note that this presupposes the existence of such a motivation. Less cynical a person might wonder if _any_ good reason could justify _any_ crime (surely not?), or exactly how good a reason has to be to justify a crime of a given severity. We might be able to sympathize with the poor (i.e. not rich) man who steals food to keep his family alive, but are we equally understanding about the poor man who goes to claim a debt owed him by someone, and tortures the guy into revealing the details of his bank account? Does his pressing need to provide for his family justify his actions?

Sylvia then goes on to suggest the possibility of the family prosecuting the offender in its own way, of enforcing its own punishment. But does not the need to prosecute and punish within the family acknowledge the criminal nature of the act in question? If the act has been acknowledged wrong and culpable, should we not then let the law of the land fulfil its raison d'ĂȘtre and dispense justice? What could possibly justify us taking in our own hands the law we are sworn as citizens to uphold? Assuming we follow through with this ‘internal’ prosecution and punishment, what do we then do if someone else comes pressing charges against the offender? Exercise our right to remain silent, sure. What if we are issued a subpoena? Do we then testify against our parents and suffer the crushing guilt of seeing them punished _twice_ for the same offence, or do we become criminals ourselves and lie in court?

Caryl says something interesting – that we are asserting moral superiority over someone if we prosecute him or her, and that we have no right to determine what is right or wrong. Regardless of the severity of the crime. If we see someone we recognize shoplifting, do we keep quiet and let it go, telling ourselves we’re all human, that we have no right to prosecute? How about if we see someone plant a bomb which kills hundreds, and catch a glimpse of the guy some time later? Do we look away, or do we chase him down and hand him in to the authorities? From another point of view: is it possible for us to prosecute someone simply on the basis of whether or not he or she has disobeyed the law, without judging if the person’s actions were right or wrong? If we could, this quite nicely puts the whole issue of moral superiority out of the picture. On the other hand, however, we would then have to consider what kind of obligation we have to upholding the law, and whether or not it is so perfect in its implementation that we can accept it and its treatment of criminals so unquestioningly.

Caryl also later asserts that agreeing to prosecute one’s parents as necessary would be taking the moral high ground. Does this mean that not prosecuting them would be an immoral act?

Lastly, Caryl puts forward one’s pride as the reason for sticking to one’s beliefs in the face of arguments against them. I would like to also suggest fear another possible factor, especially when dealing with religious beliefs. Using scientology as a rather humorous example: its teachings assert that alien spirits and whatnot are stuck to our bodies and cause illnesses and the like. Science tells us this is absolutely ridiculous, but for some the concept of bacteria and viruses may seem as hard to believe as the teachings of scientology, and they might stick fervently to their belief in the latter in the fear that they’d be losing out or otherwise negatively affected if it turned out science was wrong all along and the scientologists were right. Euthyphro quite possibly stuck to his guns because his convictions must have made the world a very comfortable, understandable place for him on the surface, and accepting that his beliefs were nothing more than hot air would not only have hurt his pride as an authority on holiness, but also set him awash on a very scary sea of doubt.

Still, pride and fear together do not even come close to being a complete answer. People speak of life-changing supernatural encounters, for example, and assert their truth despite possible arguments to the contrary. And we can’t, after all, conclusively prove that they didn’t experience what they say they did, and on their part few people would be willing to easily discount their own experiences. If one were to base one’s beliefs about right or wrong on such an encounter, might it not be conceivably difficult to change one’s mind?


Seriously, I didn't even feel like reading that one. I'm still nursing a brain fracture as we speak. And my screen reeked of bull now. Shit, that is.

Fuck it, Imma just going to sit it out.

Thursday, January 08, 2009

I was bored.




You Are Silver



You are a flexible person. Being open to opportunities in life has served you well.

You are very polished and sophisticated. You're probably in a higher class than you were born into.



You are naturally popular and quite influential. You are a bit of a trend starter among people you know.

And while you are well liked, you don't let it go to your head. You remain contemplative and wise.

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Seat belts on buses for kids.

That word sounds just as great as Long John Silvers serving overcharged meals for shrivelled up chicken.

Has anyone ever stopped to wonder.... WHY?!

We are trying to keep kids safe by... STRAPPING THEIR BODIES INTO THEIR SEATS! Whatever happened to "don't abuse our children"?!

I don't need a seat belt to feel safe in a car. I need my DRIVER TO HAVE A CERTAIN LEVEL OF SKILL. Did anyone question the quality of the bus driver? No. I want to strap my kids in so in times of danger I know my kid is still stuck in his seat.

I'm waiting for the day the news reports that they are removing seat belts because "a bus of 17 burns alive because the kids are too panicky to unbuckle."

If you're going to complain, think if your kid can maintain a level head while the whole bus IS FUCKING BURNING AND HE IS SUFFOCATING.

Friday, January 02, 2009

Give up your seat for the needy, not the elderly.

It makes me sound like a dick, but I have my justifications.

1. The elderly have more fighting spirit than me. All I want to do is survive my bus trip in one piece. Elderly fight for EVERYTHING in the bus. Seats, standing areas, bus tickets, getting on, getting OFF, etc. If it involves conflict, they are fucking FIRST on the action.

2. The elderly aren't setting a good example. When I see my elders set a good example (e.g. giving up a seat for a pregnant lady) I follow suit. Its only right. When I see a 50 year old labourer (he is obviously fitter than a pregnant lady) snatch a seat from a pregnant lady, I have the compulsion to trample his nuts, kill his entire family, and ensure the branches of his family tree are all reduced to dust at the bottom of the fucking ocean.

3. The elderly aren't needy. Don't confuse the terms. The elderly are far more fucking rich than any of us. There are the exceptions, but even them are exhibiting far more wealth than any of us. Wealth, in terms of fucking warfare experience. Let them up and you will wonder where did your kidney go.

4. The elderly are seriously out for war. Ever see the auntie warriors board the train? They don't give a shit who is staring, they don't give a shit who is in their face, they charge shoulders first and heels as follow ups. They aim for your soft spots so you will buckle out of your seat and they can settle their vulture asses into your warmed seat. And they have the Spartan stare. We have been taught since young to display aggression against terrorism. Now is seriously a good time.

5. The elderly are seriously great actors. They all deserve Emmies, Oscars and Star awards. Every single one of them. Those that cut the queue in bus queues, they get best actor of the fucking world. They pretend to have backaches, but walk straight once they get on the bus. One auntie cut in front of me, and then asked is this bus coded white or green. She spoke in decent english. Fully punctuated, grammar marinated, solid vocabulary English. The bus had a fucking large W stamped on it. She asked if its green of white. Talk about a fucking good story. And she just acted like nothing happened and continued to stand in front of me. Again, the urge of genocide rose. Had it been war, her daughters will be dragged out into the open and impaled on steel rods on a stormy Sunday afternoon, with the rest of the fucking family bound in barbed wire linked to them. Fucking rotten strain needs removal. Fast.

I am a dick, yes, but only against the fucked up elderly. Wonder why our nation is becoming a fucked up society? Wonder no more, kill a fucker today.