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Todrael

I voted yes, because the last time I played for about 2 years straight, I never once got to zone as Todrael. Even on Evil Tuesdays, they always seemed to need a cleric or enchanter (Belathar and Tanir are neutral humans) more than a second Lich (plenty of liches out there). I haven't zoned as Todrae...

Todrael

http://www.vhemt.org/

Todrael

Define "right"?

Todrael

Most of the plot and the characters were cliche to the point of seeming like it might be satire. In general, I thought it a juvenile work, but certainly moving zombie fiction in the right direction: toward a consistent world. I truly enjoy consistency when it comes to fiction. I didn't read the Zomb...

Todrael

I was using the study as a generality to bolster my point. We are wasting money on malpractice insurance. Insurance rates have continued to climb steadily in the past few years as the actual number and severity of cases brought against doctors has been steadily falling. Again, insurance companies a...

Todrael

It didn't seem to have any information in it other than "Kiryan likes the phrase 'small government'" and "Kiryan thinks we should reduce the cost of medical care by accepting more patient risk". Is that all you wanted me to know?

Todrael

I have no idea what you just said, Kiryan, but I'm sure it makes sense in your own mind.

Todrael

From my cursory search on the costs of MRIs , it could have been as low as $400 (average closer to $2000), and you seem to admit you have no idea how much it actually cost. If you have any facts regarding defensive medicine (a single, imprecise anecdote doesn't provide enough data for me to update a...

Todrael

What was the reason given by the employees when asking for these additional benefits? How is it "clear" that a right to health care doesn't exist? How many people are on waiting lists or were entirely denied coverage in the U.S. over the same time frame? How is a government bureaucrat diff...

Todrael

And this is why I don't argue with people on the internet anymore. [....] Congratulations for missing the point. At least we're actually talking about facts now, however accurate they might be. Not nearly as much fun as hyperbolic ranting, I agree, but it provides a much better map of reality. Are ...

Todrael

Your article doesn't even include the cost of litigation, it merely focuses on actual payout dollars. You're absolutely right, Tasan, and I realized it shortly after posting, but decided not to put it in, since you had already provided that data. It adds, according to the study you cited, 54% of th...

Todrael

No, because it's a bunch of statistics that basically says 'if you get sued, you'll be spending a lot of money on lawyers and experts.' No duh. It doesn't say anything about the health care industry as a whole, or how medical malpractice affects it. This study says that malpractice suits account for...

Todrael

What's the goal? A happy life? Material wealth? Progress? I haven't seen many goals stated here other than 'get my way'. So much arguing, and yet I bet if people started sitting down and talking about what their true goal was, both sides would start agreeing on some points. Should people be happier ...

Todrael

For those of you who were wondering and didn't want to download the PDF, this is a discussion of slow zombies. So it's obviously flawed from the start for not considering fast zombies such as those recently popularized by 28 Days Later . It further simplifies the discussion by preventing the infecti...

Todrael

Good unions = better working conditions and higher quality of life. Bad unions = more extreme measures taken by employers and more negative outcomes. Can we get rid of the bad unions and keep the good unions? Can we remove the corrupt politicians and keep the good ones? Does 'good' <insert political...

Todrael

Politics is the mindkiller.

Todrael

And now, a picture of a dog whose face is sliding off.

: dog_pic.jpg (68.35 KiB) Viewed 1900 times

Todrael

: GB_0BC.jpg (50.56 KiB) Viewed 6126 times

Todrael

When Israel and its allies attack the Iranian nuclear program with bombing or other physical force, we will be perilously close to World War III. I sincerely hope that your warmongering fails to motivate enough people to allow this to happen, and I oppose your desire to preemptively crush other nati...

Todrael

Sarvis, you'll find that one of primary differences between a liberal and a conservative revolves around the word "deserve". Liberals tend to believe that humans deserve things simply for being human and existing, whereas conservatives believe that people must earn things to deserve them. ...

Todrael

http://xkcd.com/418/

Todrael

Dugmaren wrote:what would work exactly? I'd love to help

Can you give life intrinsic purpose?

Todrael

Thanks, Dug. Your words are truly inspiring. I've suddenly decided to ensure that I eat healthily and exercise properly rather than allow myself to remain slothful and gluttonous. Certainly my weight couldn't be a function produced by a complex set of life experiences, genetic predispositions, curre...

Todrael

I really hate the telecommunications industry. This means cell phones, home phones, ISPs, and cable providers. It's a necessary component of living in a modern society, but we've allowed giant monopolies to run the show, and have only continued to provide them more power. I can't even buy what I rea...

Todrael

That which doesn't kill you only delays the inevitable.

Todrael

You can't make an omelet without killing a few people.

Todrael

We're too risk averse right now. I've always thought we should have rampant human testing of all sorts, on consenting, live humans. It would advance our medicine dramatically in a short period of time. The aged, infirm, mentally handicapped, incarcerated, and terminally ill would be sure to sign up ...

Todrael

The only thing I claimed is that Obama is on course to generate 4x more debt than the Bush administration, because the Bush administration only increased the national debt by 4 trillion in 8 years. So far, Obama's administration has run up a total of 1 trillion in new debt in only six months. http:...

Todrael

Remember I'm new at this. Roughly 15 years behind where I should be on the experience curve. You don't gain experience by reading message boards and asking for advice. Only real life action and results can give you the experience required to be good at any of this. Honestly, you shouldn't even be l...

Todrael

I'm racist against jocks.

Todrael

Humans are complex. There's no such thing as a 'do this and win' strategy that works for every person. There are only statistics, averages, and probabilities.

The point of these strategies is not to win every time, but to increase the probability of winning.

Todrael

Ok, first of all... NSFW? How? Could have read that hours ago without the unnecessary warning. I'm not sure where you work, but my workplace frowns on significant amounts of swearing and depictions of sexual acts and fetishes. Second, last I checked chicks dug outcasts. Heroes, yes. How many of our...

Todrael

How to Not Fail at Life (NSFW), from 4chan (also NSFW). I just thought it was funny/interesting, and on topic for the thread.

Todrael

Corth wrote:I also think if the republicans can find a half decent candidate for 2012,

You mean a truly conservative non-politician?

Todrael

Write down all of the metrics and measures you would use to feel that the following sentence is true: "The Obama presidency was successful." At the end of Obama's term(s) in office, compare the actual reality to the metrics you wrote down. Then decide. Then remember that reality is not def...

Todrael

Maybe it's harder than you think, and the right answers aren't quite so obvious.

I know I would never want to try and run a superpower with over 300,000,000 people living in it.

Todrael

Here's at least one previous IT thread: viewtopic.php?f=22&t=19998

Todrael

Diso: I'd have to disagree about 'programming', since most of that is being sent to short-term contractors or overseas, unless you're really good. The business/IT mixed program you're referring to is often called Computer Information Systems (CIS) or something like that, and is run out of the busine...

Todrael

One thing I will take issue with is your last sentence. There are indeed several countries right now with a better quality of life in the aggregate than the US. Then you don't need to take issue with it, since I meant it seriously as an exercise people should take. Personally, I'm no better at pred...

Todrael

I call Kiryan's theory of law the "Vengeance" strategy: Pain to the evildoers.

Alas, it does not leave much room for thoughtful consideration.

Todrael

Is our prosperity and or our dependence on government leading to an America that can't hold a conviction long enough or intensely enough to result in change? The government is not a faceless, mindless "thing". It's composed of people, and its policies are set by people. Its culture is gra...

Todrael · Re: Rambling about July 1, 2008 +1 year

+1 year

Todrael

Title of the thread should be, "Sexual reproductive systems and sexual deviancy. Correlated?"

Todrael

I need the legal ability to commit suicide at a time and place of my choosing so that I can undergo a life-saving procedure . Religious objections, the inability to understand basic science, and general squeamishness about death make this legally impossible in every state of the US. Instead, it's mo...

Todrael

I'm not a liberal and I'm not a conservative. I'm not religious and I'm not anti-religion. I donate 10 percent of my gross income every month to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. I don't do it out of the kindness of my heart but out of the calculating, rational predictions I've made about the pote...

Todrael

X11 isn't well supported on 10.4, though you should be able to install it from your OSX Installation media. The more up to date XQuartz releases require 10.5. That said, TinTin++ is probably your best option on the Mac. It's the only one I actually liked, and its syntax is very similar to ZMUD's. Yo...

Todrael

I agree with your concerns about TIPS, but it still seems like it could be a better prospect than commodities or real estate. Owning funds in the latter seems less like a hedge when you realize you're trying to hold onto something 'real' with yet another abstraction. Owning IRL property (land I can ...

Todrael

I had planned to reduce the equity exposure over time to a minimum of around 35 or 40 percent in 35 years or so. For inflation risk, I was thinking more along the lines of TIPS once my current portfolio is larger. How volatile are commodities? I thought they were built on even more speculation than ...

Todrael

I use broad based index funds held for the long term invested through Vanguard and the Federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) per pay period. I'm investing the IRS maximum per year, currently $15,500 for the TSP (same as the limits on 401k) and the Vanguard account is a Roth IRA also investing the IRS ma...

Todrael

Database updated again thanks to Kegor, and I added Spell Focus attribute searching.

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