General Questions Thread

[Larthak]

Originally Posted by Cub-Sama

This is a serious questions, I keep hearing people say bad things about browsing 4chan but when I go on there myself to check what people are talking about I dont see anything bad I mean I dont get it what is so bad about 4chan?

When people talk about 4chan that way, they don't mean the whole channel, just its /b/ section. A horrible place indeed.

[-KarumA-]

Originally Posted by Cub-Sama

This is a serious questions, I keep hearing people say bad things about browsing 4chan but when I go on there myself to check what people are talking about I dont see anything bad I mean I dont get it what is so bad about 4chan?

go to random, then you'll know why it is called the internet hate machine
beware of porn and disturbing images

don't believe me? then I have indeed warned you XD

Spoiler for expect this and worse:

I have a question also, does this exist:
potato chips covered with chocolate, I think it tastes wonderful if you eat salted potato chips and then eat chocolate, it is like heaven slaughtering little angels in my mouth but many times have I come across potato chips chocolate only to find out that it is chocolate shaped as pringles chips and not with an actual potato chip insides, so does it exist D: ??

[ZippyDSM]

Originally Posted by -KarumA-

go to random, then you'll know why it is called the internet hate machine
beware of porn and disturbing images

don't believe me? then I have indeed warned you XD

I have a question also, does this exist:
potato chips covered with chocolate, I think it tastes wonderful if you eat salted potato chips and then eat chocolate, it is like heaven slaughtering little angels in my mouth but many times have I come across potato chips chocolate only to find out that it is chocolate shaped as pringles chips and not with an actual potato chip insides, so does it exist D: ??

I quite enjoy chips/fries dipped in chocolate milkshakes 0-o

googled it
http://www.nutsonline.com/chocolates...FdBB5godCyic-g

http://www.google.com/search?client=...=Google+Search

If anything it might be internet/mail order only.

[-KarumA-]

Originally Posted by ZippyDSM

I quite enjoy chips/fries dipped in chocolate milkshakes 0-o

googled it
http://www.nutsonline.com/chocolates...FdBB5godCyic-g

http://www.google.com/search?client=...=Google+Search

If anything it might be internet/mail order only.

THANK YOU DEAR SIR!

[ZippyDSM]

Originally Posted by -KarumA-

THANK YOU DEAR SIR!

Enjoy your sweet and salty goodness! ^^

[risingstar3110]

New "silly" question...... =D

I knows in war, commander is promoted through success in carrying out missions and militaristic achieve. How about in peace, how each commander get promoted, especially with nations that have quite a long lasting peace ?

In another words, assume that your country didn't go to any sort of conflict for the last (let's say....) 60 years. Then how can you be sure that the supreme commander in your army had any actual "war commanding" and "militaristic decision making" experience to entrust nation's army to him?

[yezhanquan]

In Singapore's case, I guess it's more of people management. Scholar officers do get a very nice leg-up (During my brother's stint, he had a superior who's a scholarship holder. Now, he's a BG at a rather young age, and organising this year's National Day Parade.).

Also, it's not really true on promotions during wartime. I remember Eisenhower. Before he was supreme commander in Europe, General Marshall (he of the Marshall Plan later) asked him for his views on US strategic goals in the Pacific. Marshall was impressed by what Ike had to say, and from there, his career went from strength to strength.

The lower officer ranks (new Lt. to about Colonel, maybe?) are the ones who carry out missions designed by the High Command. Once you get into the ranks of the generals, it's your strategic view which will make or break your career.

[Saleh]

Originally Posted by izmosmolnar

That's not really a silly question, but I'm wondering how is it possible to embed youtube videos directly in HQ here on the AS forum? (Ergo without the need that the viewer has to click on the HQ icon.) What sort of command one has to write to achieve that?

I tried these already and all of them were unsuccessful (the spaces between the brackets are deliberate): [youtubehq]youtubevalue[/youtubehq]; [hqyoutube]value[/hqyoutube]; [youtubehq2]value[/youtubehq2]; [youtube ]value&hl=en&fs=1&ap=%2526fmt%3D18[/youtube]; [youtube ]value&ap=%2526fmt%3D18[/youtube]; [flash=http://www.youtube.com/v/value&ap=%2526fmt%3D18]width=425 height=350[/flash]; Copypasting directly the link obviously failed, and several others I can't remember.
Or is the command to do that blocked?

It seems that Animesuki has not implemented the bb code for youtube hd and most of the bb codes you posted have to be implemented before they can be accessed by the users.

Originally Posted by risingstar3110

New "silly" question...... =D

I knows in war, commander is promoted through success in carrying out missions and militaristic achieve. How about in peace, how each commander get promoted, especially with nations that have quite a long lasting peace ?

In another words, assume that your country didn't go to any sort of conflict for the last (let's say....) 60 years. Then how can you be sure that the supreme commander in your army had any actual "war commanding" and "militaristic decision making" experience to entrust nation's army to him?

You will find this article interesting.

[FateAnomaly]

This may seems a strange thing to ask but do you guys actually feel good after being sad. Lately i have been listening and watching some sadness inducing songs/dramas. It made me sad with tears welling but after it is over i actually felt good and happier. It made me want to keep doing it (addicted lol).

So i was wondering if it is a body reaction (chemical release) to make the person forget about the sad part to relieve the stress or something. Or is it "luckily it is not happening to me" thing?

[ZippyDSM]

Originally Posted by FateAnomaly

This may seems a strange thing to ask but do you guys actually feel good after being sad. Lately i have been listening and watching some sadness inducing songs/dramas. It made me sad with tears welling but after it is over i actually felt good and happier. It made me want to keep doing it (addicted lol).

So i was wondering if it is a body reaction (chemical release) to make the person forget about the sad part to relieve the stress or something. Or is it "luckily it is not happening to me" thing?

The act of feeling can have a cleansing effect if you get stuck in an emotional rut.
I think its one part emotional and one part body but depending on the person you might still be stuck in an emotional rut.

I am a mental lush so I am in and out of "ruts" all the time 0-o

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by yezhanquan

In Singapore's case, I guess it's more of people management. Scholar officers do get a very nice leg-up (During my brother's stint, he had a superior who's a scholarship holder. Now, he's a BG at a rather young age, and organising this year's National Day Parade.).

I'm of the impression that they get promoted to generals for playing golf very well. It's silly if you think about it. Why do we have so many generals coming out of a peace-time civilian army? On what basis are they getting their stars? The rapid promotions up the scale is an especially sore point for many people in the rank and file and scholars, I feel, are rightfully criticised for often being more book-smart than street-smart. I don't doubt their ability to plan very well on paper, but in actual operations? Hmmph. The proof is in the pudding, I'd say.

Originally Posted by FateAnomaly

This may seems a strange thing to ask but do you guys actually feel good after being sad. Lately i have been listening and watching some sadness inducing songs/dramas. It made me sad with tears welling but after it is over i actually felt good and happier. It made me want to keep doing it (addicted lol).

So i was wondering if it is a body reaction (chemical release) to make the person forget about the sad part to relieve the stress or something. Or is it "luckily it is not happening to me" thing?

Specifically, what you're feeling is called catharsis, the "process of releasing strong emotions through a particular activity or experience, such as writing or theatre, which helps you to understand those emotions".

There are probably a number of hormones involved but since I'm not a doctor, I can't explain how it works. As a human being and a writer, however, I find melancholy to be a very useful emotion for getting to grips with what's real. It reminds me that I'm human; I can feel pain as do other people. It reminds me of the value of empathy and allows me to sympathise with the kinds of hardships that other people go through.

That way, I realise that I'm not alone in my suffering. That alone makes me feel a lot better and motivates me to look out for other people, too. Because it's always nice to have someone understand, someone to provide company, even without saying a word. Often, that's all the comfort someone needs.

[risingstar3110]

Apologise to those who found my recent presence here annoying, but here is a rather not so silly question/request for opinion D:

A friend (he's in Victoria -Australia) just call me and asked about some guys (wearing worker clothes and some name tag) came to his house and say that the government will shut down all certain wave length or something by some time this year. So the only way if he want to keeps continue to watch television is either buy a new televsion , or buy a box (that he sell of course) to install it into his current (old) television....
Sound fishy of course..... then the fact that:
- he mentioned about some letters that the government sent and everyone in the neighbor received except him
- the guy says the box will allow you to watch more channel....
- the box is twice as expensive in the market than what he provide
- my friend have to decide it as soon as possible or the deal is off....
- the guy said only four of those boxes left so my friend should be hurry or it will run out.....
....make it even more fishy.....

I admit the only thing i watched is SBS news, but i haven't heard about these things before (i don't have a television btw xD). However if it's a scam, then it's kind of risky (since he even left name and mobile number in case my friend decide). Anyone ever heard about something like that and knows for sure if it's true or not?


What i told my friend so far is: he should not accept it. If it's true, he can convert to anime for interests and go watch news online if he afraid he will be isolated from the world without TV xD

[FateAnomaly]

I am not sure about the situation in Australia but it should be the same. But over here if the government plans any large scale project, it will surely be reported months ahead in the news. So just google about related news or the ministry website. Worst to worst, call the ministry hotline to confirm.
My gut feeling is that it is a scam though.

[Irenicus]

It's probably a scam.

[-KarumA-]

a government man telling you to buy a box?
if he added any specific brand and knew the price and even mentioned he only had 4 left then it is most likely a scam
government people would rather send you a letter than come to your house and the government doesn't sell those boxes, its the channel company that does
he was probably trying to scam your friend into buying one of their boxes so that he becomes a client of their company

next time ask for an ID to proof that he is from the government, ask him who he represents together with a phonenumber of the apartment he works for so you can always check with them whether it is true or not

I would be careful with these kinds of things, in our country people dress up as nurses/cleaners/cable company folk to try and get in your house and rob the place

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by FateAnomaly

This may seems a strange thing to ask but do you guys actually feel good after being sad. Lately i have been listening and watching some sadness inducing songs/dramas. It made me sad with tears welling but after it is over i actually felt good and happier. It made me want to keep doing it (addicted lol).

So i was wondering if it is a body reaction (chemical release) to make the person forget about the sad part to relieve the stress or something. Or is it "luckily it is not happening to me" thing?

It seems like there's a different reason for various people. My fiancee loves dramas and anime that make her cry her eyes out. In fact, her rating scale partially works based on how much a show made her cry. But she cries for a lot of reasons (including happiness), so I think it's more an indicator of how emotionally touched she was...

As for me, I also occasionally seek out depressing scenarios. I'll isolate myself, listen to depressing music, and so on. Like you, I tend to feel better than before it afterward. Similarly, reaching the end of an anime series that I really enjoyed (especially a long one) I'll feel a bittersweet sensation - sadness that it's over and will be out of my life, but a sort of happiness at seeing the conclusion.

What's the reason for feeling better? I'd surmise that it's because everything is relative. You can't feel supreme happiness without feeling utter despair. One can't be happy all the time, or else the sensation of happiness will become normalcy. Becoming sad (especially in a controlled scenario) makes you realize how good things were before, and you can be happy in merely realizing that. At least, I came to that conclusion when I realized that I find myself enjoying stressful scenarios - it isn't that I like the stress, but that I recognize that it's transient, and that my normal life seems so much better than living with this stress that'll be gone soon enough.

[risingstar3110]

First, thank for all the suggestion. I told him to beware and it seems that guy never return, so i guess it really was a scam....


About the feeling of happy right after being sad.... i hate to admit but i'm really sensitive so i rarely watch something sad (even avoid them in some cases). But when i do, it scar me for a while even after it's over..... so no, i do not feel happy when a sad movie over (even when it have a pretty happy ending) D:



Anyway, new silly question
I has always been wondering: what will happen if a respectable (....let's say....) Malaysian minister come to visit (...hmmmm....) German for a global meeting. But due to a mistake within the security planning by high ranking officers, the Malaysian minister was assassinated by a German terrorist group.
Then will the German government be responsible for such acts? And if so.... how could German repay Malaysia for their loss in man power; to ensure that Malaysian government's stability after losing such important figure and soften Malaysian citizen's rage that their beloved leader was killed?
If things can be settled easily. Then does it means: it's possible for the German (.... sorry Germany people...just an example... xD) to assassinate a weaker country (sorry ... Malaysian people too..... xD)'s minister so they can ensure those who hold power in Malaysia is in their favour?

[Hs Vi Germania]

The German government would not indeedly have to take the full responsibility, it's would be up to them what to do. They would probably apologise publicly and pay an big amount of money as a redemption. I cannot think of another way. Of course the trouble would be huge.

But it is unprobably that something like this would happen in Germany. You should have seen the amount of police forces during the G8 meeting or the visiting by Obama. ^^"
Are there German terrorist groups in German? Could not tell one.

Your second question: Hm, at first the German (we) should have someone there in Malaysia that is doing German favours (why would someone there do this?) and it's not clear that the Malyasian government would exchange the now free post with the the guy under German influence. The government would definitely since if the ex-minister was killed by Germans and now there is a new one under German influence, that would be an umimaginable debacle.
The great countries like USA, England, French... would go against this because they could think Germany is planning something big as the same reason you mentioned Germany as the place where that happens. ( crappy WWII image )

[risingstar3110]

Sorry there, i actually chose it quite randomly xD (a strong and a much weaker country; if i put US and a Middle East country for example, then it will sound too serious ^^)

I actually was thinking about the APEC incidence when that question sparked in my mind. I means there are always human errors now and then, and in an age where weapons are so devastating that a small event can spark WW3, there should be some ways to settle such and such problems where all sides can be happy about...

[oompa loompa]

I don't think there's a blanket policy as such that would work in that type of situation. It would really depend on the circumstances, and most importantly the country's foreign/defense policies. In fact, this type of thing has happened before, a good example would be Rajiv Gandhi, who was in fact the Prime Minister of India at the time, and was assasinated by a suicide bomber who was known to be from the LTTE - and ( which is really kind of sad ) not very much was done about it at all. Really, the subcontinent is a good place to start if you want to see how these things can ( its always handled rather poorly in the area in my opinion, for example, in this case, there should have been some very direct action taken) play out these days.

As to your second question, I would imagine so. If ( for whatever hypothetical reason) a tiny country lost a leader directly because any of the countries on say, the permanent security council, I highly doubt anything much would come of it.