Christ Centered Gamer

The mysterious muscles in the body which don't exist until they start hurting?

The very worst. Ugh.

overseas/borders missions trips. Your thoughts?

Did that a couple times. It's alright, but I feel like short-term missions trips don't do much good. You only get such a small amount of time to do anything, and for that matter I have to wonder how helpful in the long term most missions projects are. I think it's far more helpful to either donate to charities, or support long term missions.

Poop jokes are always funny? XD

Ehhh, if I'm being honest, I'm not really a fan of bodily function jokes.

Summer camps. Yea or nay?

Deepfreeze32 wrote: Ehhh, if I'm being honest, I'm not really a fan of bodily function jokes.

I want you to know that the amount of poop-based one liner replies in my head is making it buzz. But I'ma not use any of them.

Any new books you've read and fallen in love with recently?

RedPlums wrote: Tue Jan 23, 2018 7:39 pm Summer camps. Yea or nay?

I have nothing against the concept, but I also have nothing but horrible memories of summer camps in Texas. Because Texas. And I hate Texas. XD

Chozon1 wrote:

Deepfreeze32 wrote: Ehhh, if I'm being honest, I'm not really a fan of bodily function jokes.

I want you to know that the amount of poop-based one liner replies in my head is making it buzz. But I'ma not use any of them.

Any new books you've read and fallen in love with recently?

I appreciate your restraint.

Sadly, not really. I just don't have time to read these days. I hate it. I did read a chunk of of Blood, Sweat, and Pixels by Jason Schreier which was a really cool insight into the game development industry.

What an intense answer...

Please expound on your reasons for such strong animosity towards the Lone Star State?

[/quote]
Any new books you've read and fallen in love with recently?
[/quote]
Oh yeah, Ik Im responding randomly but I literally searched Books because I love them so much and THATS my favorite question of all time xD
I have recently Read "Sisters Grimm" (Awesome fairy-tale remix, don't read it if your scared of creepy magic+monsters) and "Keeper Of The Lost Cities" (This book is really good, however the new book that just came out was forced because the author was on a deadline and I thought It was pretty terrible, BUUUUT its worth reading! book 1 sucks u in and u never come out until the end. this is a 'sit down chocolate' book, where all u do is eat snacks and read for about 2 hours) I L O V E new book suggestions so if Anyone has any TELL ME!!!!!

What is the airspeed of an unladen swallow?

And why is that so funny? I watched that movie like a decade ago and was bored out of my mind. XD

Bannanableu! wrote: Oh yeah, Ik Im responding randomly but I literally searched Books because I love them so much and THATS my favorite question of all time xD
I have recently Read "Sisters Grimm" (Awesome fairy-tale remix, don't read it if your scared of creepy magic+monsters) and "Keeper Of The Lost Cities" (This book is really good, however the new book that just came out was forced because the author was on a deadline and I thought It was pretty terrible, BUUUUT its worth reading! book 1 sucks u in and u never come out until the end. this is a 'sit down chocolate' book, where all u do is eat snacks and read for about 2 hours) I L O V E new book suggestions so if Anyone has any TELL ME!!!!!

Have you seen the book forum, and the recommend a book thread? It doesn't get much activity, but it is there. ^_^

That looks like a really interesting book though.

RedPlums wrote: Wed Jan 24, 2018 9:02 pm What an intense answer...

Please expound on your reasons for such strong animosity towards the Lone Star State?

Ok, so, this will get a tad political at points so bear with me here. I'm not really looking to debate, I'm just sharing my experiences. Also, this is super long, so...

First, let's talk about the weather. Texas has a range of climates, it's true, but all of them suck. Want to live in the middle of the desert where it's blisteringly hot? West and South Texas is for you! Louisiana and its horrible humidity? East Texas calls to you! Want a more grasslands-type area where the temperatures regularly top triple digits (in Fahrenheit) and the winters are prone to horrendous ice storms that freeze the roads solid AND tornadoes? North Texas! Want an unholy combination of heat, terrible ice storms, and high winds? Central Texas! Oh, you think you can escape on the Texas coast? Enjoy a nice dose of hurricanes, ludicrous traffic, ultra high humidity, AND triple digit weather in the Gulf Coast.

Traffic in every major Texas city is awful. Houston is a black hole of swirling death and despair that also has insane amounts of running red lights. San Antonio has orbital roadways that rival the M25 in terms of suck, not to mention NO ONE KNOWS HOW TO MERGE ONTO A FREEWAY. Austin is a city so densely populated that the major interstate is TWO LEVELS and it's STILL not enough. Dallas/Fort Worth, my home city, has an urban sprawl the size of the state of Connecticut (I'm not exaggerating, look it up) and an insane amount of roads all over the place, yet the entire metro comes to a screeching halt at rush hour.

Public transportation? HAH! Texas thinks that idea is quaint. Dallas and Austin are the only cities with public transportation of note (And before anyone from San Antonio pops in, don't make me laugh, your bus system is rubbish and you know it), and even then they have problems. Austin is almost completely bus, which is fine...except during rush hour when the city becomes a giant parking lot. Buses do a fat lot of good in gridlock. Dallas has light rail which is a fine alternative, except the entire system was designed in a spoke-hub pattern, so if you want to get across suburbs you have to go through downtown. This is not efficient. Dallas hands down has the best public transportation system in Texas, but it still pales compared to the Pacific Northwest or any city in the Northeast.

Compounding the traffic is the politics of the major cities. San Antonio is just ineffectual in every way, so little is done there. Houston, I'll be honest, I don't know much about because I think humans were not meant to live there. Austin, being a more liberal city, opposes urban development in such a way that building new roads is a difficult task. Dallas/Fort Worth is in an even worse spot, being that the city center is left-of-center but the surrounding suburbs are very hard right. Both sides agree roads are needed, but because the right-of-center people can outvote the city, they end up going for the "fiscally conservative" option of toll roads.

Let me talk about Texas conservatism for a moment here. Ignoring the social conservatism which is an entirely separate issue I will discuss later, fiscal conservatism rules Texas (outside of Austin). While I have nothing against people who are fiscally conservative, I have to wonder why the Texas variant is so short-sighted. Texas conservatives hate taxes. I'll posit that no one "likes" taxes, but they're a necessity to fund public infrastructure. How accepting you are of that necessity is how you vote on tax plans. And Texas conservatives take anti-tax positions to a level I find distressing. They often frame it as not wanting to spend extra money, which I'll agree with, but I don't think is a good thing.

So let's say we want to build a road because congestion is terrible. Normally you would either have revenue from existing taxes put aside to do that, or you would levy a new tax (presumably property tax) to pay for the road. Well, Texas being short-sighted as it is obviously had no budget for new roads from existing tax plans. So Dallas proposes a property tax on the suburbs. The suburbs, being anti-tax, vote it down. Well there still needs to be a road, so the suburbs instead propose that a private company is contracted to build a toll road. And so a toll road is built. And the company needs to charge a pretty high toll to make their money back. But because Texans don't like spending money, almost no one uses it and congestion remains just as bad, but now we have a toll road taking up space. Great job guys!

Next up on the things I don't like about Texas list is the approach to voting and politics in general. In Texas, if you are left-of-center, your voice does not matter at all. You will always be represented by a Republican, one and done. When Alabama had that special election for senator, I recall reading "I don't think Jesus himself could win as a Democrat in Alabama" and I think that is equally true for Texas. For that matter, if you don't agree with a representative regardless of alignment, they will never listen to you. Ted Cruz is probably the worst senator in congress, and frankly, I think Trump was a better candidate for president (and if I'm being honest, a better president than Ted would ever be). Yes, I said it. Ted can go rot. Net neutrality? Super opposed to it. And if you call his office to try and explain your position, regardless of your alignment? He tells you you're wrong and you just don't realize it. He's a condescending schmuck, he's a hypocrite of unimaginable scale (When the government shut down, he said he was "always opposed to shutdowns" despite that fact that HE FREAKING ORCHESTRATED THE 2013 SHUTDOWN YOU <censored stream of invective>), and frankly I am embarrassed to say I came from a state he represents. I see plenty of conservatives in New York and California complaining about how they aren't fairly represented, and I feel for them, because I was subject to the opposite problem.

Now you combine all of this with "southern hospitality" and boy howdy do you have a cocktail for resentment. "Southern hospitality" is probably the biggest lie of the south. Never have I ever met people who will outwardly be kind to you, and behind closed doors be some of the most judgemental and condescending people you've ever heard of. "Bless your heart" is an insult. It means "You're a dumb <some swear here> aren't you?" But it's not using confrontational language, so it doesn't technically sound mean, so they get to go to church guilt free.

Basically, there's a lot of reasons I hate the lone star state, and I would rather jump in front of a train than move back.

/rant

Bannanableu! wrote:

Any new books you've read and fallen in love with recently?

Oh yeah, Ik Im responding randomly but I literally searched Books because I love them so much and THATS my favorite question of all time xD
I have recently Read "Sisters Grimm" (Awesome fairy-tale remix, don't read it if your scared of creepy magic+monsters) and "Keeper Of The Lost Cities" (This book is really good, however the new book that just came out was forced because the author was on a deadline and I thought It was pretty terrible, BUUUUT its worth reading! book 1 sucks u in and u never come out until the end. this is a 'sit down chocolate' book, where all u do is eat snacks and read for about 2 hours) I L O V E new book suggestions so if Anyone has any TELL ME!!!!!

That actually sounds like an interesting book, I might have to check it out. But yeah, listen to Chozon, check out the Recommend a book thread if you want some suggestions. I'm sure you could also ask for recommendations in that sub-forum.

Chozon1 wrote: What is the airspeed of an unladen swallow?

And why is that so funny? I watched that movie like a decade ago and was bored out of my mind. XD

African or European?

I think British humor has this ability to be timelessly funny, so long as it isn't directly poking fun at person who was alive when the humor was made. For example, while I still find Thatcher jokes funny, I dunno if we'll still be laughing at them fifty years down the line.

Educational. Thank you.

I will agree that southern hospitality is stupid and in my opinion it is non-existent. I lived in TN for four years and I was only ever invited over to someones house once, and it was in the first two months of living there. After that, I had to do the inviting or I had to go without. Same thing my parents experienced. (Also, i really hate the phrase "Bless her/his heart" it's so patronizing)

Do you like HGTV?

RedPlums wrote: Thu Jan 25, 2018 9:26 pm Educational. Thank you.

I will agree that southern hospitality is stupid and in my opinion it is non-existent. I lived in TN for four years and I was only ever invited over to someones house once, and it was in the first two months of living there. After that, I had to do the inviting or I had to go without. Same thing my parents experienced. (Also, i really hate the phrase "Bless her/his heart" it's so patronizing)

I'm glad I'm not the only one who saw this, because most of my Texan friends seem to think I'm crazy. Now I will say, having met a few people from Wisconsin, they seem to be much more genuine in their kindness. Although I'm very much not from the midwest, so maybe I'm just interpreting the same thing differently. While people in New York and California are "rude" they are at least genuine. I appreciate honesty and being genuine (even if it's being a jerk) over feigned courtesy that makes me doubt your sincerity.

Do you like HGTV?

I had to look that up because I'm not familiar with stuff on TV these days. I guess it's alright. I don't have a TV hookup, all my media comes via the internet. XD