News Stories

[Narona]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Escapist fantasy rarely has anything to do with reality.
Apparently more than a few women like to indulge in 'rape fantasy' bondage according to sex studies, so escapist fantasy comes in various packages. People who buy these little software packs (and most of them are terrible from many aspects; quality, development, technology, etc) are seriously unlikely to ever do more than fantasize.
Yeah, I find such things unpleasant as well but I'm also sensitive to the notion of the even more dangerous creep of society engaging in "thoughtcrime" prosecution/persecution.

I was just saying that I didn't know that "rape simulator games" actually exist.

I heard about those studies. I searched for another study I read in a french newspaper that says there are not "that many women" who fantasize of being raped, but I don't find it (it was in french), and that the people should stop (because some French people claim that) to say that so many women have that fantasy.

But anyway, I never said that only some of the men have thoughts and behaviors that i dislike, there are also a few women, and I am aware of that.

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

What's so extraordinary about 10? Try 5.

What a sad record.

[Nikusu]

I don't find it odd that people have rape fantasies, male or female, but there's still nothing attractive about being beaten and possibly killed to me. If you think about rape psychologically, it's just that one person is in control, one person has no control. People in cults usually don't like having control and I'm not saying all of them want to be raped, but I can understand why people have such fantasies. On to a more relevant point, I'm torn between what should happen. I don't think a rape game is appropriate to be sold (personal opinion of course), but at the same time I argue that just because you love blowing off steam on GTAIV, it doesn't mean you'll go out and commit mass murder. The main argument for pulling this game is that it puts the player in control of the rape versus just watching a movie where rape takes place. I hate the idea that somewhere a guy is playing this game, but I can't say, "He's going through a rape scenario and that's not right," because I've read the papers and the links between manga/anime/video games and violence and every time I'm offended. I prefer to think that the [already] violent people are attracted to such things rather than it making people violent. The best thing I can hope for is instead of the train of thought that, "It's creating more perverts," I hope it's more, "It's letting people live out their fantasies on 2D characters where no one will get hurt but the pixels."

Did that make any sense because I had an orange Wired and 4 Bawls last night so I'm really tired from bouncing off the walls.

[TinyRedLeaf]

The news is a slightly old, but I'm slightly surprised that no one here picked it up.

Britain celebrates 200th Darwin anniversary

Bromley, Kent (Feb 12): Britain commemorated the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin on Thursday with a series of events paying tribute to the father of evolution.

Darwin's home town of Shrewsbury scheduled a party complete with a giant birthday cake, while the biologist's great-great-granddaughter watched a statue of him being unveiled and Down House near Bromley, where he lived and wrote his seminal work, was set to re-open its doors to the public.

At Cambridge University, where Darwin studied, Ms Sarah Darwin watched as Prince Philip unveiled a bronze statue of her ancestor portrayed as a student, sitting on a bench with a book in his hand.

"Like everyone else I tend to think of Darwin as an old man with a beard because that is the popular image," the 44-year-old botanist said. "To see a statue showing him as he would have looked when he was a student is fantastic."

Elsewhere, Shrewsbury was to hold a party in his honour while in London, Reverend Nicholas Sagovsky, the Canon of Westminster, was to lay a wreath on his grave in Westminster Abbey.

Culture Secretary Andy Burnham described Darwin as "one of the most influential Britons of all time".

"His theory that all species of life have evolved over time from one or a few common ancestors through the process of natural selection has framed and shaped current scientific thinking and dramatically influenced the society we live in today," Burnham wrote in a statement to parliament.

"At a time of unprecedented environmental change it continues to inform our understanding of the future challenges for humans and the natural world."

- AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Incidentally, the famous naturalist was featured in this month's issue of the National Geographic magazine. It's worth reading too.

[Vexx]

A great deal of this week's Nature (science journal) is devoted to Darwin and modern evolutionary theory. The Anglican Church is celebrating (and officially apologized for being a jerk when he first published his observations). There's a lot of articles floating about trying to explain how his original ideas have evolved to the present day as data is analyzed and we understand so much more at the molecular levels of biology.

[0utf0xZer0]

Originally Posted by lv23

The best thing I can hope for is instead of the train of thought that, "It's creating more perverts," I hope it's more, "It's letting people live out their fantasies on 2D characters where no one will get hurt but the pixels."

Personally, I think it's impossible to prove whether porn/video games/anime/etc. give more people a release valve or set more people off.

Originally Posted by lv23

On to a more relevant point, I'm torn between what should happen. I don't think a rape game is appropriate to be sold (personal opinion of course), but at the same time I argue that just because you love blowing off steam on GTAIV, it doesn't mean you'll go out and commit mass murder. The main argument for pulling this game is that it puts the player in control of the rape versus just watching a movie where rape takes place. I hate the idea that somewhere a guy is playing this game, but I can't say, "He's going through a rape scenario and that's not right," because I've read the papers and the links between manga/anime/video games and violence and every time I'm offended.

Would I be correct in assuming your problem with the game is that it squicks you out?

The problem I have with this kind of reasoning is that while I personally find the descriptions I've heard of Rapelay more sickening than hot, I'm also aware that plenty of stuff I like offends a lot of people. And there's quite a few cases in the past where I've quite enjoyed something that I thought was going to disgust me. At the end of the day, I respect people's rights to make and consume the media they want because I want them to show the same respect to me.

(And to be perfectly honest... I'm not actually sure that the descriptions of Rapelay sicken me more than some of the descriptions I've had related to me of some fairly well known horror movie scenes, for example.)

[SaintessHeart]

I think regarding the idea of games and such, I think people need to really understand what entertainment is all about. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, but all play and no work makes him lazy. So before blaming ID Software for "having a hand in running the Columbine" or Halo 3 "for making the boy next door shoot his parents", why not examine the time you had spent with your child?

Rapelay isn't as disgusting as the things people do in Renaissance days. Trust me on that.

Originally Posted by Vexx

A great deal of this week's Nature (science journal) is devoted to Darwin and modern evolutionary theory. The Anglican Church is celebrating (and officially apologized for being a jerk when he first published his observations). There's a lot of articles floating about trying to explain how his original ideas have evolved to the present day as data is analyzed and we understand so much more at the molecular levels of biology.

Gogogo! Then we can all have a Coordinator-Natural war in the future! It is about time the Human Genome Project gets some more funding, stronger support, and less sanctions by politicians and so-called religious leaders who advocate for the "purity of the human race".

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

I think regarding the idea of games and such, I think people need to really understand what entertainment is all about. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, but all play and no work makes him lazy. So before blaming ID Software for "having a hand in running the Columbine" or Halo 3 "for making the boy next door shoot his parents", why not examine the time you had spent with your child?

Enforced, mandatory age-ratings for games, anyone?

Gogogo! Then we can all have a Coordinator-Natural war in the future! It is about time the Human Genome Project gets some more funding, stronger support, and less sanctions by politicians and so-called religious leaders who advocate for the "purity of the human race".

Hell, GEASS NO.

[Fnights]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Rapelay isn't as disgusting as the things people do in Renaissance days. Trust me on that.

I have played this game about 3 years ago, but as i remember i find it a regular hentai game, so i'm a bit surprised of recent news. I think amazon has simply do a mistake putting it in his catalog (illusion for what i know, doesn't allow the sale of its games out fo Japan) but that was enough for a hypocrit politician (and media) who has used this case to blame videogames once again. Pretty sad.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Fnights

I have played this game about 3 years ago, but as i remember i find it a regular hentai game, so i'm a bit surprised of recent news. I think amazon has simply do a mistake putting it in his catalog (illusion for what i know, doesn't allow the sale of its games out fo Japan) but that was enough for a hypocrit politician (and media) who has used this case to blame videogames once again. Pretty sad.

That is what most politicians do anyway. They take the taxpayers' money and claim to work for the betterment of society. I don't mind if they deliver what they have said and it really makes society better, but apparently some of them are just NATO (No Action Talk Only).

Hypocrisy is barely a merit for them. Hypochondriac is a better word.

[Arabesque]

The ''Holy grail'' of bulbs

The Cambridge University Centre for Gallium Nitride, with funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), has developed a new way of making GaN which could produce LEDs for a tenth of current prices.

The new technique grows GaN on silicon wafers, which achieves a 50% improvement in cost and efficiency on previous approaches to grow GaN in labs on expensive sapphire wafers, used since the 1990s.

Based on current results, GaN LED lights in every home and office could cut the proportion of UK electricity used for lights from 20% to 5%. A reduction equivalent to the output of eight power stations.

A GaN LED can burn for 100,000 hours and therefore, on average, only needs replacing after 60 years. And, unlike currently available energy-saving bulbs, GaN LEDs do not contain mercury eliminating the environmental problems posed by their disposal. GaN LEDs also have the advantage of turning on instantly and being dimmable.

Professor Colin Humphreys, lead scientist on the project said: "This could well be the holy grail in terms of providing our lighting needs for the future. We are very close to achieving highly efficient, low cost white LEDs that can take the place of both traditional and currently available low-energy light bulbs. That won't just be good news for the environment, it will also benefit consumers by cutting their electricity bills."

Other source

[Vinak]

LED's are the lights of the future? that is rather interesting. are they going to be making LED arrays or do they plan on making one big LED for a typical light fixture?

Spoiler for LED array:

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Gogogo! Then we can all have a Coordinator-Natural war in the future! It is about time the Human Genome Project gets some more funding, stronger support, and less sanctions by politicians and so-called religious leaders who advocate for the "purity of the human race".

yea...the "patenting" of individual Genes is rather ridiculous too.

Sorry science guy, you don't own my genes regardless of what that piece of paper says.

Thankfully the law is sensible enough to only allow the patent for the method of finding said genes. which still hinders research, since many companies don't know which genes are "owned" or whether or not whatever research they are doing will force them to pay royalties to some other company or get them sued.

If only we could get over these hurdles. the sooner we'll be able to see some real results and hopefully bring an end to many diseases the human race suffers from.

[aohige]

Reduction in LED costs, if it happens, would be a very welcomed step in development.
It just so happens that energy crisis is one of the biggest concerns of the entire world today, and LED takes incredibly less energy to produce high luminescence than other conventional lightings.

[Vexx]

You can buy LED lights right now, they work nicely (small cluster inside some cute light reflector array) and put out nice light. My christmas lights (tree and house) are all LED lights. They will last a LOT longer than the old ones and cost a LOT less to run -- their initial cost was about 3 or 4 times as much as old-style 7Watt lights.

As adequate house lighting at the moment, though, they would cost a fortune ($100-$200 per 60-100Watt bulb replacement). See a typical vendor.

[Arabesque]

Originally Posted by Vinak

LED's are the lights of the future? that is rather interesting. are they going to be making LED arrays or do they plan on making one big LED for a typical light fixture?

Spoiler for LED array:

.

I think they are going with the array option, though they might devlope other types later on.

Originally Posted by aohige

Reduction in LED costs, if it happens, would be a very welcomed step in development.
It just so happens that energy crisis is one of the biggest concerns of the entire world today, and LED takes incredibly less energy to produce high luminescence than other conventional lightings.

They actually managed to do so. At first, the production of one bulb cost around £20, but they managed to figure out a way to reduce it to £2.

Gallium Nitride (GaN), is a man-made semiconductor used to make LEDs (light emitting diodes). It is routinely used in bike lights, mobile phones and camera flashes.

But until now the production costs have been expensive - a single bulb would have cost £20.

Scientists at the university-based Centre for Gallium Nitride have cracked how to grow GaN on silicon wafers instead of costly sapphire wafers.

Originally Posted by Vexx

You can buy LED lights right now, they work nicely (small cluster inside some cute light reflector array) and put out nice light. My christmas lights (tree and house) are all LED lights. They will last a LOT longer than the old ones and cost a LOT less to run -- their initial cost was about 3 or 4 times as much as old-style 7Watt lights.

As adequate house lighting at the moment, though, they would cost a fortune ($100-$200 per 60-100Watt bulb replacement). See a typical vendor.

Sort of the same answer, they had the technology to make them, but now they figured out a way to make it less expensive.

[mg1942]

This is the most controversial article I've read today.

I guess UC leaders think too many Asians attending the flagship UC system is an issue...
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_11707387?IADID

[monir]

Hilarious! I would say the article almost qualifies to be in the silly news stories thread.

[ainaraku]

o.o that lady who carved all of that is freaking crazy. why would someone ever do that..I'll never understand some people....

[LeoXiao]

Originally Posted by mg1942

This is the most controversial article I've read today.

I guess UC leaders think too many Asians attending the flagship UC system is an issue...
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_11707387?IADID

Idiots. If they think that getting rid of subject tests alone is going to stop Asians from enrolling, they're soooo wrong. They may as well say "no Asians" if they really want their actions to have effect.

[Shadow Kira01]

Japan financial minister denies drunk at G7, faces call to go

Nakagawa Shoichi is definitely an embarassment. Holding an important cabinet minister seat, he should act more appropriately especially when representing a nation at a G-7 meeting and press conference. *facepalm*

The finance minister should resign immediately. Whether he took too much cold medicine or drank alcohol, it is not important. The important thing is that he did it while representing a country at an international meeting. Why is this allowed? On the contrary, this explains why the Aso Cabinet currently has an approval rate of 9.7% on NTV. First, the defense minister over-reacted on a mere essay followed by a dozen of verbal gaffes from the prime minister himself and now a drunken financial minister at the G-7. *facepalm*

[mg1942]

Originally Posted by LeoXiao

Idiots. If they think that getting rid of subject tests alone is going to stop Asians from enrolling, they're soooo wrong. They may as well say "no Asians" if they really want their actions to have effect.

I don't get it. Why are they fucking with UC. This kind of stuff (providing opportunity to everyone) is what the CSU campuses are for. The whole idea of UC is that it's the FLAGSHIP. Dumbing it down is not the way to go. Why try to take this masterpiece and turn it into something that CSU already does a great job providing?