JoeTrumpet

Checked out Fallout, but I think I want a not-so-grim title for the holidays, so KotOR it is. Thanks a ton, guys!

Hey everyone, I'm currently stuck alone due to a delayed flight till evening of Dec. 23rd and have 3 days to kill. I'm in the mood for an RPG, especially since I'm using a laptop with no mouse, and it needs to be downloadable and preferably cheap, so I'm leaning toward Mass Effect or Knights of the Old Republic. Open to suggestions, though. Knights of the Old Republic is half the price of Mass Effect, but I've never watched Star Wars, and so was wondering everyone's suggestion given this fact. Dragon Age is tempting, but really expensive at 2.5 times ME's price. Thanks!

Oh, YouTube comments are the worst. I'll check it out right now. ... My favorite: "Just another ignorant American."

I heard he was banned from participating in any World Taekwondo Federation competitions and that even his coach was too. Poor coach (unless he did something too; didn't notice if he did). "The World Taekwondo Federation said after the match that Matos, along with his coach, Leodis González, would be banned from all its future sanctioned events and his records at the Beijing Games would be erased. " (From New York Times.) As a Cuban-American I have to say that was pretty lame. Not going to help people view Cuba in a better light.

Reading about the UK university system's way of handling finances makes me appreciate the US system even more... Not to rub it in or anything : peace:

Great post, Fierce_Link. In response to those who say those who are dumber are often happier, I've always heard that the closer you are to mean intelligence (IQ ~85-115), the happier you usually are. Too much variance in either direction may alienate you from people, though it's by no means a rule. As for me, I would choose intelligence over looks. I may only be saying this because I've never actually experienced the feeling of truly being ugly, but I have experienced intelligence (to whatever extent) and I know it's something I don't want to leave behind

Thanks for the good read. I'd like to see where the scholars take this next.

Very interesting to see the differences. I have to say, I did very much enjoy knowing the admissions decision by April (if I'd been waitlisted it would've been pretty much early on in May, but a waitlist is usually a "don't count on it: get used to the idea of going somewhere else"). Scotland as Charlie presented it sounds like a nicer version of that system. Waiting till mid-August? How nerve-wrecking. When do universities typically start? Hopefully at least a few weeks after that. I'm also curious about how financing your education works over there. Is there a large discrepancy between government and private schools in both quality and cost? Private schools have a considerably higher sticker price over here, but they tend to offer substantial scholarships to ensure only a fraction of the student body pays full price. There's not much of a difference between the two here either, at least in terms of employment prospects or graduate school admissions. Class sizes tend to be larger in public schools, though. Thanks for answering my questions I have an unreasonably high level of interest in education.

Wait, so in the UK you don't even know yet if you will be able to go to your university? Someone mentioned something about results coming in August. When do you find out and when do you have to decide where you're going? Or is there some sort of hierarchy you've already chosen for universities? In the US the latest schools notify students of their acceptances (accepted, waitlisted, or denied) online on around April 1st (application deadline at the end of December) and the national deadline to decide is May 1st, so I'm interested in how different this system seems.

I'm deciding between two universities right now, and it's a little tough for me to choose. I know what I'm leaning toward, but my second choice nags the heck out of me in the back of my mind. Everyone that has been very involved in the whole college process says, at least about schools here in the US, that you should do everything you can to visit all the schools. You're going to be living at this place for a few years, and sometimes just visiting the schools for a day can immediately change the first-choice of prospective students that were 99% sure. I've yet to visit my schools, though I'm seeing my as-of-now second choice this Thursday-Saturday and my first choice next Thursday and Friday. It's a very personal choice, and even hours and hours of talking to other current and prospective students and viewing the forums (guilty) can't let you know as much about the school as visiting.

Because I am picky, I must point out that it's actually Disney World in Florida. Disneyland is in California. Disney World is better than Disneyland, too Other than the theme parks of Orlando (and there are a LOT), Florida is pretty much Miami for the culture and beaches, St. Augustine for some history, the Keys for some more water, and the Everglades if you like swamps. It's nice. Going by canoe through the mangroves and walking through the natural parks are a couple natural activities I've enjoyed here. Not sure if it'd be my first pick in the US, but my family's never had the money or time to leave the state since they came from Cuba, so I can't suggest anything else. A cliche vacation spot for American families is the Grand Canyon. Looks pretty in photos, if you like natural beauty.

I'm not sure what some people expected when they bought the Wii. I remember the GameCube days quite well, and I don't know how anyone that lived through that thinks the Wii is in any sort of bad shape. I was going to quit gaming after the last generation (PS2, Xbox, and GameCube were all disappointing to me), but the Wii rejuvenated my interest in gaming. I know what I expect when I buy a Nintendo console: extraordinary games by my favorite developer. Do I care about anything else? Not really: I've experienced enough gaming at this point that the typical 360 and PS3 material can't grab my interest, but Nintendo still does it. I wouldn't trade Super Mario Galaxy for all the "top tier" games on any other console. I suppose few share my point of view, but I can't help but think that is what Nintendo's consoles have delivered before and I wouldn't have expected anything different.

Sounds like a rather streamlined process. What's part of the application? Over here applications range from extracurriculars and community service, grades, scores, and a short writing sample to ec+community, grades, scores, three letters of recommendation, and three writing samples (ranging from 300 minimum to 500 minimum words)--the latter would be my first choice school's application. More selective schools offer interviews, but none that I've seen require it.

It's fun reading about the UK system of applying to college. I don't really understand most of what you guys are talking about . So, all of these schools have requirements for admission? Does anyone that meets the requirements get admitted? And when do the schools tell you whether you are admitted? It seems like many have already notified you. Do they base the decision depending on your major? Are you bound to the major you select on your application? I'm just really curious about how it works over there. Over here, I applied to the University of Chicago, among others, and I won't hear back from any of my top tier choices until early April, and then I must make a decision before May 1st. Most schools ask my top 3 intended majors, but I am not at all bound to them. I could change my major until the end of my second year at the school. No schools have any requirements, and it's not at all uncommon to see people with worse test scores and exam grades receive admission over someone with perfect scores and grades. I can't wait to go.

People seem to do that a lot. You can complain about the man telling the jokes, or you can complain about the thousands of people that rally him on. I'd say it's more the fault of the people that support it fiscally than the comedian. Though the comedian tells the jokes, the hundreds of thousands of viewers support it whole-heartedly. Not that it really bothers me: plenty of comedians don't resort to that, so I never need to come across it. Anyway, more on topic, I am not a racist in the least. I acknowledge, quite bluntly in most cases, the differences between cultures, but I regard none as less than my own (I am a Cuban of Spanish and Greek descent). I have, however, experienced it: in an apartment complex we once lived in full of older white residents, the residents would complain about us being too loud and other nonsense. I had my bike stolen from a bike rack filled with other bikes (though I suppose this might not have been racism), and someone vandalized the bulletin board with "Viva Fidel!" and blamed us for it. Obviously, my parents wouldn't support Castro since they left that country, but people were happy to blame us. Even so, I'm very happy with the progress of society. As the older generation is replaced with the younger progressives, these old prejudices are quickly dying out, and I look forward to the day when racism is virtually a nonfactor. Pointing to American politics, Barack Obama's victory in South Carolina, a historically less progressive state than some others, received 50% of white voters under 30. That's fantastic. Sure, he received only 16% of votes from people 60+, but the youth is where the future is. The world has made great strides, and I see it all getting better.