Topics

61

Off Topic / Water came before land (AKA Narkro's adventures in science again)

« on: October 31, 2012, 06:48:20 PM »

So if some of you remember my topic on whale love mechanics, you can guess I'm having a scientific discussion with someone over internet messaging. Remember that A student? He's back, and with some quite convincing arguments. It's pretty interesting, really. But today I received a comeback, which really challenged some of my opinions. I'll post the best parts for you to read. My posts are generally much longer, so I'll just summarize them.

Lizard Experiment.

Those are small changes. Changes in size and strength and length of body parts is not proof of your theory. As for the new digestive structures I would need more proof then some article saying it happened to believe that. In just 36 years a lizard is supposed to suddenly have a complete new part of their digestive system? Yeah right.

Water did not come before land.

Water coming before ground is not silly. If I believe in a God that made everything, do you really think I'm not going to believe he's able to replace some water with ground? Think, seriously.

Sunlight could not have come after plants. Plants require sunlight to live.

Yes plants are made before the sun, I think that's to make it incompatible with the idea that days are longer then 24 hour periods. I'm pretty sure plants can go one day without the sun. Especially if God wanted them to.

Many creatures have similar DNA, which links them to similar ancestors.

DNA similarity is still not a good proof. When you look at similar bone structures in the hand, paw, and fin of different animals, those structures aren't even always on the same leg of the x/y chromosome. Just because they seem similar does not mean they are. And even if they were, similarities prove nothing.

Unlike you who probably listens to anything scientists tell them that supports your theory, I did do some study and investigation of my own.

I read online debates and lookup arguments.

-short list of proofs of common ancestry-

I am not going to individually look up every one of those things, especially since I have already told you that this is a useless debate.

-Scientific tree of life and backup in genetic science-

I saw one clip talking about some archeologists in Asia who reported that their findings seemed to turn Darwin's tree of life upside down. Instead of branching out and gradually growing, it gradually shrank as animals went extinct. This fits with my truth, not your theory.

So, yeah. Pretty long argument thus far, but I'm enjoying it. What do you think?

62

Off Topic / Me mouse be brokes...

« on: October 30, 2012, 10:27:36 PM »

I have a compact, cord mouse by Targus. The model is AMU75US, but there is no driver for it. The issue is, when I plug it in, I get spammed with "USB Device Not Recognized" messages. The solutions I've found online include "disconnecting the power supply" (I have a laptop) and reinstalling every last driver (Didn't work).

Any ideas?

63

Off Topic / The controversy of whale love mechanics (SFW)

« on: October 30, 2012, 08:40:09 PM »

My opining on various scientific articles and videos (or those with a lack thereof that are just pretending to be scientific) have gotten me into various personal arguments before, but this one is particularly interesting.



Now, for those of you who have studied biology, you may have come into contact with some interesting facts. For examples, that whales have remnants of legs in their bodies. Pretty cool huh? Whales have bones inside their bodies that resemble legs their evolutionary ancestors most likely had. They are near where legs used to be, and have similar shapes, which point to them being evolutionary "left-overs" similar to our now less-vital organ the Appendix.

However, this may have changed. I have run into someone who has challenged this. This person says they were an A student, fifth in their class. Practically a genius. When I mentioned "whale legs":

You can believe that they used to be hind legs, but there is no denying that they are used for reproduction

Prove it.

Oh come on, how do you think Whales manage it? Do they just flap their fins and try desperately to stay in place? They can't use their tails to stay in place because they're already using those for other things. They need another way of staying still.

Now, I don't have too much on this subject. My current science class is Physics, and I'm doing well in it, but Marine Biology would probably get me a better understanding of this, so I'm not sure whether I'm up-to-date on the science now. Anyone here know the truth behind this? I'm honestly curious now whether or not those bones are still in use. Detailed videos of whales having love would be informative, but this forum has rules and I'd rather keep away from that corner of the internet.

64

Off Topic / GMAN 2012

« on: October 18, 2012, 10:11:49 PM »

The next presidential election is soon, and I often think about the consequences of voting at all.

If I vote for Obama, I support a socialist who wants to destroy our healthcare system and tamper with statistics. I support a secret atheist who is systematically destroying religion in America by allowing gays to marry, and also to start a class war. If I vote for Romney, I support a warmonger who only cares for the rich and hates rights of people who "just ain't right". I support also cutting benefits for those in need and religious propaganda in our schools.

That's why I'm voting GMAN 2012. At least he's honest. He doesn't lie, and doesn't shove advertising down your throat. He's above religion, and he doesn't neglect just the wealthy or needy. No buzzwords and no pandering. Just straight up honesty.

So unless you can convince me otherwise, I'm voting GMAN for the 2012 presidential election.


A future of lesser evil for all of America.

65

Off Topic / Good marathon movie series?

« on: September 30, 2012, 11:20:19 PM »

Things like the James Bond series, Jurrasic Park, Harry Potter, etc. Good movie series that would be good for a party. Action movies are preferred.

66

Off Topic / What will 90's kids be like when retired?

« on: September 28, 2012, 11:48:40 AM »

When this generation gets old, what will we talk about? Things like:

"Back in MY day, 1080p was high quality!"

Any more ideas?

67

Off Topic / Level 17 reached

« on: September 21, 2012, 12:04:34 AM »

I got Guild Wars 2. Yay

My parents aren't even in the same state as me until Sunday afternoon, so no real party or presents from them. Oh well, it can always wait.

68

Off Topic / I think Apple may be getting a little abusive with its patent system

« on: August 27, 2012, 09:17:18 PM »

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/53b9c086-f064-11e1-b7b2-00144feabdc0.html#axzz24nmjhloR

Although I like my iPod, I must side with Samsung on this. From what I've seen throughout Apple's plethora of patent lawsuits, it's being used simply to take out competing devices. Are companies supposed to gain edge in the market by making better products, or destroying competing sales by default with barrages of legal attacks?

What do you think?

69

Games / Valve is coming to Linux

« on: July 20, 2012, 01:11:04 PM »

A basic version of Steam and Left4Dead 2 are soon to be available on Linux.

I think I may ditch Windows altogether...

70

Off Topic / Does this page redirect for you too?

« on: July 15, 2012, 01:42:36 AM »

Today I was browsing reviews on Metacritic, when I saw an interesting review from "netjak.com". I wanted to read the full article, so I clicked on the link visiting to its page. However, it then redirects to some obscure IP address, and then to a webpage purely advertising an adblock software. I tried the original site and it does the exact same thing.

This seems fishy, especially with all the DNS Changer buzz lately. I checked my computer before the sites went down, and it was okay, but after this happened to me the site that checks no longer works. Could this be malware?

71

Off Topic / Breaking Norton Safety Minder

« on: June 15, 2012, 01:01:45 PM »

Norton Safety Minder is a program that keeps kids safe from having fun (parental controls). I don't like this idea, and would like to have it removed from my computer. Things I have tried:
End Proccess: Says access is denied, despite being admin
End Service: Same as above
I cannot fully uninstall it, for then it would be obvious I did something. However, NSM is fairly glitchy and disabling it would be dismissed as a glitch.

Please help me rebel from this oppresive menace.

Edit: Let me clarify. NSM is a program separate from Norton Security. I want the former disabled and the latter kept on.

72

Off Topic / Cleverbot and Glados, sitting in a tree...

« on: June 13, 2012, 02:50:28 AM »

After asking Cleverbot stupid questions, I decided to try and influence the AI's memory with different phrases about Glados. This is a snip I really wanted to save:

User: What do you think about Glados?

Cleverbot: I like GlaDOS.

User: Aww, how sweet!

Cleverbot: Aww, thank you!

User: What would you say to her?

Cleverbot: Share the rest of your life with me. This is a proposal.

Discuss Cleverbot and how romantic he is.

73

Off Topic / Noah's Ark... I WON!!

« on: June 11, 2012, 10:17:19 PM »

***Please keep religious beliefs out of this. I'd just like some help on a debate, not to argue about unrelated matters.***

I got another interesting message the other day. It begins:

Ship enthusiasts claim that there is ample evidence for ancient timber vessels comparable in size and construction to the Ark

I recognized this person from a silly Noah's Ark video I watched earlier (I posted about the structure impossibility of the ship detailed in the Genesis story). He was adamantly defending the existence of Noah's Ark and the global flood that killed everything on Earth, despite the fact that Noah's Ark is a tale about renewal and rebirth, not a literal compilation of an actual event.

According to experts, 60% of the Ark would have been filled allowing plenty of room for Noah,his family, and all the provisions needed for their voyage. And having the whole 24 hours to feed and care foor the animals was ALL they did. But they were of course of the strongest , and used to a hard days work, after all they also constructed the ark. Men were giants back then , and it was easy

He spends a lot of his message talking about the architecture of the Ark. How it could stand against a worldwide flood and carry millions of animal species without sinking like a brick.

Gopher wood was a laminate process, and only had to last one year not 100 years as some wooden ships did. Likely the logs used were also of higher grade due to oxygen content and non depleted oxygen rich soils then, and teak , the strongest wood, free then of course, when soaked or buried for awhile would have been exceptionally strong and seaworthy.

This blew my mind. How could someone take this story literally? Nevertheless, I decided it was another chance for a fun debate. So far, these are the rebuttals I've come up with:

1. The longest wooden ships in modern seas are about 300 feet, and these require reinforcing with iron straps and leak so badly they must be constantly pumped. Noah's ark is 450 feet long and had no metal.

2. Even if the ship was able to float, it would not be able to successfully carry millions of animal species, yet alone their food. I did the calculations for food for 1 pair of elephants (they eat about 650 pounds of food a day according to my sources):
650 pounds * 377 days = 245050 pounds * 2 elephants = 490100 pounds / 2000 = 245 tons of elephant food
And that's food. Now, fresh water. 40 gallons * 377 days = 15080 gallons * 2 elephants = 30160 gallons for the elephant pair. 1 gallon of fresh water weighs about 8.3 pounds. 30160 * 8.3 = 250328 pounds of water / 2000 = 125 tons of fresh water. 125 + 254 = 379 tons of nutrition.
And that is for one elephant species. Imagine what the rest of the species would be like.

3. Men could not have been like giants. It is impossible due to the laws of physics, geometry, and biology. In order to be bigger human legs would have to increase in size tremendously, as to the point that they could not walk. Even people with gland problems that make them bigger then normal usually die. It is also notable to understand that people were actually smaller earlier on, seeing as though doorways and roofs were much shorter.

4. Noah is tribal. Noah sent a crow to look for land.  The crow came back, didn't find any land.  So he sent a dove instead, it came back and it didn't find land.  But Noah gave the dove a second chance, and when it came back it had indeed found land.  Crows are black and doves are white.  Noah dislikes blacks.  Racism.

That's it thus far. If anyone has something to add, something to correct, some more details, or just questions, post about it. I'd like to make this much longer and more detailed to avoid common Creationist tricks that lengthen debates. I also didn't directly address all of his claims, which may prove troublesome. If someone can give a intelligent rebuttal to his claims as well it might shorten this debate further, for he might repeat himself.

Fitting epic music[/s]

I sent him 1-3 a while ago. I got another message:

vvvvv

I have better things to do then talk to a total brick. I am in fact at this point refusing any more comments from you. Besides im busy on other projects.

^^^^


Awwwww yeah!

74

Off Topic / I need a good, inexpensive laptop cooling pad

« on: June 09, 2012, 06:50:26 PM »

Preferably USB powered. Recommendations gogogo.

75

Off Topic / I need a certain program

« on: June 09, 2012, 01:12:47 PM »

Is there such a program as something that runs in the background and shuts down a certain program every time it tries to open?