Guest posts by smuglapse

1033

Religion / Re: Responses to a few common arguments

« on: August 04, 2010, 09:12:21 pm »

How do you define real? If real is what you can feel, smell, taste and see, then 'real' is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain

That is my perception of reality, yes.  I could be living in the Matrix, or dreaming all of reality, but regardless there are rules by which this reality is governed and I don't expect the Earth to stop spinning or for giant mutant ants to start reaking havoc.  If you allow for a god to be causing footsteps next to you, why do you not allow for gremlins to be hacking the electrical grid or fairies causing deer to run in front of your car?  Or do you also believe in those things, as well?  I sincerely do not see a difference between the two.

because if I begin discounting my own perceptions of the world, then I have no basis whatsoever left by which to make decisions. Heck, I can't even tell if I am making decisions at that point.

Of course you can discount your perceptions and continue to function, make decisions, and live your life.  You just have to put it in perspective.

You see a pencil in a glass full of water and the pencil appears broken, you pull it out and it appears straight and whole.  You don't think "my eyes have deceived me and I can no longer trust them for gathering data."  Your understanding of physics allows you to comprehend what is happening and adjust your conception accordingly.

It's the same if I lose my keys in my apartment, I don't think "some mysterious force has entered my abode and stolen or hidden my keys."  I realize my memory is fallible and then I use a logical approach to finding my keys.

You all may have already seen this video or something similar, but I find it very thought-provoking:

1034

In-game Troubleshooting / Image Play down?

« on: August 04, 2010, 08:30:33 pm »

Did Image Play die or is it just my connection to them?

I used them for hosting since it's built into the forum and now all my pictures are gone.   

EDIT: Working now. 

1035

Time / Re: Dune Scorpion | Dune Scorpion

« on: August 04, 2010, 12:07:35 pm »

What is weird about it, is that it just requires the one application.  You get your Dunie out with buff, it hits, and then your opponent immediately kills it.  Well, no problem it's already done the deed, now it's up to your Eternity, Rewinds, and possibly Nightmares to build up the damage.  It fits in perfectly with Time.

Is there a deck in the trainer that uses it, so we can see what it's like getting hit with this thing?

1036

Time / Re: Dune Scorpion | Dune Scorpion

« on: August 04, 2010, 10:55:17 am »

This deck's a bit bloated but I beat Ferox, Miracle, and Neptune.  Lost to Decay, Rainbow, Graviton, and Scorpio.  Would have figured Neptune had Purify, but nope.   

Code: [Select]

6rn 6rn 6rn 6rn 744 74a 74a 74a 74a 7n2 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q3 7q3 7q4 7q4 7q4 7q4 7q4 7q4 7q5 7q5 7q5 7q5 7q8 7q8 7qc 7qc 7qd 7qd 7qd 7qd
It's basically just Osiris with Dunes added in.  If you can get them locked with Turtle Shield and Eternity, Nuerotoxin can get pretty high, even if it's your only real damage due to FG CC.

UPDATE:  Lost to Gemini, Divine Glory, and Eternal Phoenix
(http://imageplay.net/) (http://imageplay.net/)
...Lost to Divine Glory, Seism, Miracle twice, Graviton, and Dream Catcher
It would be nice if Turtle Shield affected weapons.

...Lost to Hermes, Ferox, Octane, Chaos Lord, Neptune... modified deck beat Dream Catcher this time.

1037

Religion / Re: Responses to a few common arguments

« on: August 04, 2010, 06:15:12 am »

Firstly, most paths declare themselves right over other paths through the paradox of competing views. For example, the statement “There is a God”, held by theists, and “There is no god,” held by atheists, cannot both be true. One must be true, the other not. So it is inherent that a belief in a particular path must, by its nature, also believe that another path is only partially correct, or else entirely wrong.

Thus, a Christian believes that a Muslim is incorrect (partially or fully depends on the view of the individual Christian), and it should be noted, vice versa.

This is correct.  But one is not born a Christian, Muslim, or atheist, one must determine which is correct.  In order to choose you have to view the other options and determine they are incorrect or just blindly pick one.  So, my question was specific--what in the Islamic faith is wrong?

Your second question relates to an individual’s faith. Some people hold their beliefs because it is what they grew up with, and have never had it challenged, or challenged it themselves. For those who have tested their belief, or had it tested, and retain it, it is usually a combination of a) the examples set by other followers, as you suggested b) the thoughts of other followers, either spoken aloud or written down

You seem to have the idea that choosing a religion because of the examples or words of it followers is a valid reason.  I say it is not.  It is similar to following a religion because of reward/punishment.  Imagine a person thinking "This religion doesn't make sense to me, but since all my friends are in it, I think I'll join the bandwagon."

c) their own personal spiritual experiences; moments of hearing the voice of God, feeling a spiritual presence, miraculous occurrences, etc.

In regards to these experiences, how do you know it is a divine presence and not just your mind playing tricks on you?

In regard to your third question, I would suggest that if one adheres to a faith out of desire for reward, or out of fear from punishment, then they may have the wrong end of the stick, as it were. The promise of heaven and the fear of hell* have been much abused by many religious leaders and teachers, and have been mis-prioritised. If one adheres to a faith, one should do it because they wholeheartedly believe it is true. Did you vote Democrat because you were promised a cash bonus if you did, and a prison sentence if you didn’t? Or did you vote Democrat because you believed they were the “most right?” Bear in mind, you don’t have to believe they were “all right”, just the closest to “right” of all available options. This is much like a religion. In whatever belief you may hold, there will be elements of the system which you do not like, and may believe are just plain wrong. That doesn’t mean the core principle of the belief is rotten. It usually means that some fallible humans are involved in there somewhere.

I think some people may feel trapped and don't explore other options because of this risk.


Jack: Are you crazy... Is that your problem?

1038

Issue Archive / Re: Vampire Stiletto is not a ranged weapon.

« on: August 04, 2010, 03:25:20 am »

I'm not ENTIRELY sure about this, but I THINK the weapon in your weapon slot hits regardless.

No.  Unless it's Owl's/Eagle's or Short/Longbow it shouldn't hit through wings.

BTW, I think this is fixed now, since I can't reproduce it.  Or its part of the Titan bug.

1039

Other / Re: Short Bow | Longbow

« on: August 04, 2010, 12:21:27 am »

It's just Hammer/Gavel for Air.  It's adding to the card pool, which is nice.

1040

Light / Re: Hope / Hope

« on: August 03, 2010, 11:16:41 pm »

But What Exactly Is A Light Emiting Creature? I play 3 Golden Dragons With A hope Card and The Damage Still Comes in Form A Creature With 3 Attack power?

1041

General Discussion / Re: Quick Question

« on: August 03, 2010, 10:32:07 pm »

If you mean an avatar like I have with this Chinese fellow shooting green sorcery, then read the Forum FAQ (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,6459.0.html).
<-----

1042

Game Suggestions and Feedback / Re: don´t lose attempts to get cards/nymphs in oracle when you don´t login some days

« on: August 03, 2010, 09:52:18 pm »

And for every day you miss you also have to watch another ad.   

1043

General Discussion / Re: Things I've learned while playing Elements...

« on: August 03, 2010, 09:46:03 pm »

*- Dusk Shield: 80% of the time, you're hoping that the 50% only triggers 25%, but in reality the 50% seems like it triggers 90% of the time.

Dusk Shield?  More like Musk Shield. (

)

1044

Buff This Card! / Re: Fate Egg | Elite Fate Egg

« on: August 03, 2010, 09:25:50 pm »

I'm not adding mutations to the poll, but I don't know how to add more than the defualt amount of options. Brought to you by the B&N Nook

(http://imageplay.net/)