Q&A

Questions and Answers...

Though most of these aren't normally questions people have, they are questions that go on in my mind. More or less, they are conversation starters, and the answers I have put up here are my own opinions.

If we are imperfect, does that make us perfect?
In my opinion, yes. Though this will take a while to explain, in general, we are perfect in our purpose.

(another "perfect" question) When you look at human made things, such as our computers and our furniture, you see staright and perfect lines and perfect curves. When you look at nature, however, it's not perfect. There's odd angles and almost never a straight line. Is man's perspective of perfect distorted by what his disires are, or is nature imperfect?
I will honestly say that I think man's view is distorted. Nature runs perfectly, and even with man here it runs perfectly. Individual parts or communities, no. But as a whole, yes. Man wants absolute perfection, with no chaos, in a world that is supposed to help us learn. If there is no chaos, there is no way to learn anything, and therefor it is not perfect. Man's view is distorted.


I'll post more questions later.

Beatrice

How many times will you cry?
How many deaths will you die?
How long does it take to say goodbye?
Stall a while, Beatrice.

Just a poem I thought of, thought it was nice. =) Maybe I'll come up with some others sooner or later.

Misunderstandings?

My best friend, Maggie, has been having a lot of doubts and tentativness thrown at her, it seems. Maybe it spans from herself and maybe not, but some things are to be told now.

As her parents and siblings so know, I hang out with Maggie a lot. This past week I have, at least. They're wondering, "Why is he doing this? Is it because he likes her?" I don't know if they think that I do, hope I do, or wish I don't. All I can say is, my feelings are my own. Not for sharing (at least not now... too many problems arise from my divulging into details).

The problem is, they believe that if I like her, we're going to end up messing up. Firstly, even if she does like me, it wouldn't matter. Neither of us would let anything happen, simply because we both KNOW from experience what the after affects are. Secondly, I don't plan on luring Maggie, or any girl for that matter, into something against their values, consciencly or not.

To be honest, I don't think I could be any happier with where I'm at in life. (except maybe bring ALL my friends into the same neighborhood and me living in a house, that'd be nice) And boy, I am so glad that I'm happy! It's a rare occurance, me being gloomy, but when it happens it sucks. You would think I want to kill everyone. But, I can say, there is no mask. I am happy, and as long as I still have my awsome friends at my side, I will likely stay that way.



Oh, and by the way, eventually I'll post something OTHER than my life, haha.
Chris

WEEK

So, what's new, you ask?

An awsome week!

This past Saturday was the first day in a week of craziness... Waking up at about 8, I got showered and ready for a real life RPG party at one of my best friends', Gretchen, house. Maggie came over at 10 and we played Scattergories for about half an hour until we had to leave. The game... was intense. Up to half a foot of mud in areas, pipe swords wrapped in duck tape, trees, 15 of us... Heh, that was a blast. Then Maggie and I left to go to a dance, a Valentine's dance. That was fun, even though it was pretty much just her and I. Rachel had come (if you don't know her, you don't need to know the story), and things were a little... akward... but I tried to keep everyone happy. Maggie and I went off to play the piano for a while (she's good!!), and I learned how to play some of Breaking Benjamin's Diary of Jane. Then we danced a few slow ones (we were sore, very sore), and I asked her to be my Valentine. She said yes! (expected, yeah, but still) And I'm the reason why she was having I great night, she says. I can't stop smiling every time I think back on that.

Sunday Maggie and I went to church together, as usual, then choir practice and BYC (Bishop's Youth Commitee or whatever). That was loads of fun.

Monday was the concert! It was the Take Action tour, with the bands There for Tomorrow, A Rocket to the Moon, Mayday Parade, and We The Kings. This amazing night started off with me going over to Maggie's house, and us being wierd, as usual. Wierd including stuff like becoming really tiny and getting sucked into a couch, and waving "hi" to passing cars once on the road. Then the concert was simply... awsome. Nothing more to say about that, besides the fact that I had to hold Maggie (and wanted to, but that's beside the point) to keep her from getting stolen off. (and.... again, because I just wanted to). Though sometimes a mosh pit started up and I had to hold all three of the girls (Brittny, Gretchen, and Maggie) to keep them from getting sucked in. On the ride home we were all rather tired, and hyper, which added up to make ultimate randomness and, in Maggie's case, not a single complete sentence. She ended up just laying her head on my shoulder, though not quite asleep. She seemed to wake right up once she got in the front seat, though.

Mutual on Tuesday night, which was fun as always. Full of ninjaness and other whacko stuff that goes on with Maggie (she's like a leach! Or is it the other way around... hmm... doesn't matter to me).

Now all I'm waiting for is the last day, and hopefully the most awsome, this Saturday. The Military Ball. Maggie's going to be my date (guest, date, escortee, friend, whatever), and I can not WAIT to see her in the dress she got!!

Troubles

Well, anyone who knows me personally knows that I am the guy that ends up chasing down to the ends of the universe a solution to someone else's problem, and give them a ton of help, regardless of if they want it.

I know what you're saying right now, and yes, it is not the best quality in me.

Actually it's a pretty bad trait, but regardless...

I had tried to "help" one of my friends who has just gotten through a really rough time in his life. He didn't need help at the time, but then he was asking questions about what he should "be doing" with his life. So, I was giving him the best advice I could. What I thought was helping... was actually totally screwing up everything. He reverted immedeatly back to a depression, and all of that hard work he and his parents had done to make him happy was lost. Because of me.

All because of me, no one else is to blame at all besides me.

I will not go into detail of what happened, but, know this.

Do NOT go diving yourself into someone else's life unless it's your spouse or immedeat family. Don't, never, for all your eternal lives, don't do it. I regret with ALL of my being doing that, and I wish I could just snap my fingers and make it so none of what I had told him had been spoken.

Life is hard, living it is harder, living it well is the hardest thing any man can do. Live YOUR life, and no one else's.
-Chris

Pass It On!

Three excerpts, one from a book, one from a song, and the last from a conversation you've had with someone... (any mistakes made are my own, and not the authors)

1 (Book):
The pommel of Rudi's sword clubbed down on his upper arm, and the limb went strengthless despite the tough leather armor. The smaller man staggered back and went to one knee, freezing as the point of the Western longsword flashed to rest just below his chin. The world grew brighter as Rudi used his free hand to push up his visor, but the sword stayed percisely where it was, delicate as a surgeon's scalpel, a tiny trickle of blood sliding down from where it dimpled the weathered, stubbled skin of the other man's throat. The rank-smelling sweat of agony beaded the Cutter's face.
"What's your name?" Rudi said.
The other man showed a little experssion; surprise, and then an iron pride.
"Major Peter Graber, third battalion, Sword of the Prohpet of the Church Universal and Triumphant, tasked with your destruction."
"Well, it seems to be working out the other way round, I'm thinking," Rudi said dryly. "Despite your sticking to my arse like an importunate tick this last long while."
"Kill me, then," he said. "My lifestream will join the Ascended Masters, and yours will be dispersed in the Outer Dark."
Rudi's wrist moved, and the blade flicked off the man's helmet.
"It's easy to kill," he said. "as easy as smashing glass. Any fool can do either. And dying is even simpler. Living well... now that, my friend, is a more difficult matter. Think on that when you wake up."
"Kill me!" the man said, lunging up against the point, before the sheer agony of his broken arm stopped him.
Rudi smiled. "No," he said, and flicked the flat of his sword sideways.
Bonk.
The stroke was percisely judged, though you could never tell exaclty what a head injury would do; at the least, Major Graber would have a set of bad headaches. The man slumped down bonelessly. Rudi sheathed his blade, whistled, caught Epona's bridle as she was about to step on the man's face accidentally-on-purpose--that would rather spoin the lesson--and swung into the saddle.

-The Scourge of God, by S.M. Stirling. Pages 351-352.


2 (Song):
You said you read me like a book, but the pages all are torn and frayed
I'm okay
I'm okay!
I'm okay, now
(I'm okay, now)
But you really need to listen to me
Because I'm telling you the truth
I mean this, I'm okay!
(Trust Me)
I'm not okay
I'm not okay
Well, I'm not okay
I'm not o-freaking-kay
I'm not okay
I'm not okay
(Okay)

-I'm Not Okay (I promise), by My Chemical Romance.


3 (Conversation):

haha! yeah, maybe you should. =)

I don't know... I'm not sure if I'd be safe around you... >.>

......what? you don't trust me? O=)

Should I trust you...? -.^

.......I don't know. Should you? =)

*pokes* Don't get cute on me!

>.<

=P But yes, I guess I should. So I guess I do. BUT! Should I trust that you trust that I trust you enough to trust you?

yes. you should

Alright then! Lol. =P

RuneScape

To those who do not know, yes I am a RuneScape fan. I won't go into detail why here, but I will if someone asks me to divulge.

This post will be going into detail some aspects of the game that have taken me years to find (though others might not have that much trouble), so if you wish, you can "leap ahead" in experience to know how to play the game well. In here, you will find...
Basics
Over-view of Skills
Power Training (What It Is and How To Use It)
Money Making
Combat


BASICS
Essentially, the game of RuneaScape is an RPG (Role Playing Game) set in medival times, in which humans, dwarfs, elves, dragons, and a range of other creatures roam the land. You can do anything from making potions and building houses, to squashing spiders and devouring mountains of pizza. If you want a guide on how to "move around" and other rudimentary skills like that, please, reffer to the tutorial on RuneScape. The current (and permenant) currency in RuneScape is the gold piece, a.k.a. "GP". 10,000 GP would be 10k, 10,000,000 GP would be 10m, and 10,000,000,000 (for those who cannot read numbers, 10 billion) GP would be 10b.

The only thing that you will need to know is the Grand Exchange (a.k.a. the GE, for short). This is a market in which you give an item to the Cashier that you wish to sell, and someone else on RuneScape gives a Cashier money for that same item. You can leave offers inside the GE for as long as you wish, but be weary; the market for items will rise and fall often, so you may want to change how much you wish to buy or sell an item for. For an explanation on how this all works, refer to the Grand Exchange guide under the "Game" tab, on the RuneScape home page.


Over-view of Skills
In RuneScape, there are 24 skills. I will list each and give a brief explanation of said skill. Skill levels range from 1-99, 99 being the highest and considered "mastery" of a skill. You increase your level in a skill by performing some act of that skill (or with the exception of Prayer, by burying bones).

Attack: Directly affects what type of melee weapon you can wield (the higher Attack level, the better the melee weapon) and how likely you are to damage a monster (which basically means that, the higher your Attack level is, the more likely you are to actually hit something, and the more likely you are to hit the max amount you can). [melee only]

Strength: Directly affects how high you can hit.

Defence: Directly affects what type of armor you can wear, and reduces the likelihood of an enemy hitting you.

Hitpoints: The higher your hit points, the more you can be hit before dying.

Ranged: Directly affects what kind of ranged weapon and armor you can wield, and acts like Strength and Attack, but affects ranged based attacks instead of melee. [ranged only]

Prayer: The higher your prayer level, the better prayers/curses you can use. I.E. if you wanted to use the prayer "Protect from Melee", you would need level 53 Prayer. Prayers help your character in battle, curses inhibit your opponent.

Magic: Directly affects what kind of magic weapons and armor you can wield, and acts like Strength and Attack, but affects magic based attacks instead of melee. Also can be used for miscelanious things, such as enchanting jewlry to teleport you somewhere, or to turn an item into gold pieces. [magic only]

Cooking: Cooking is, well, the art of cooking foods! Not much to be said here, besides the higher your Cooking level is, the better food you can cook and the less likely you are to burn foods.

Woodcutting: The higher your Woodcutting level, the higher leveled hatchets you can use, and the better trees you can cut down. You can sell the logs for money or use them in other skills.

Fletching: Use to make bows, crossbows, arrows, and other Ranging weapons and ammo.

Fishing: The higher your Fishing level, the better fish you can catch and the more likely you are to catch them.

Firemaking: The art of lighting fires!!! The better your level, the higher level the log you can burn. Mostly used for Cooking.

Crafting: Use to make Range armor, battlestaves for Magic, jewlry, pottery, and a whole range of other miscilaneous things.

Smithing: Use to make Melee armor, weapons, nails for construction, arrowheads for Fletching, and a few other items. (take ores in the correct amounts [listed in the skill's menu in-game] to furnaces to make bars, then hammer on anvils to make items)

Mining: Use to mine ores for Smithing, bait for Fishing, and stardust (minigame). The higher your Mining level, the better the ore you can mine.

Herblore: Use to make potions to help in other skills, and temporarily bring up certain skill levels from drinking the potions you have made.

Agility: Use to access shortcuts and secret areas. Also assists in other skills to get better experience, and makes your Run last longer.

Theiving: Use to... well, steal. The higher your Theiving level, the better loot you can steal.

Slayer: Get assigned tasks to kill a certain monster a certain amount of times. You get experience for each kill (half for getting the most damage on it, and the other half for getting the finishing blow). With a higher Slayer level, you can kill monsters that you normally wouldn't be able to kill, giving access to unique, and quite often expensive, drops.

Farming: Use to grow foods, herbs, and flowers. The higher your Farming level, the better crops you can farm.

Runecrafting: Use to turn Rune Essence (mined) into Runes (used for all magic spells). The higher your Runecrafting level, the better runes you can make, and the more you can make at with a single Rune Essence.

Hunter: Use to trap certain creatures, to be used in skill such as Cooking, Crafting, Smithing, and various others.

Construction: Use to make repairs on various things in RuneScape, and to build your very own house! The higher your Construction level, the more rooms and the better rooms you can build, along with items that are placed inside them.

Summoning: Use to summon up creatures to do your bidding, such as help you in Fishing or in killing.


POWER TRAINING
The art of Power Training is one that I strongly suggest everyone learn. It is, essentaily, only getting experience for a skill, very fast, without keeping any items that you make/find from that skill. This, in turn, gets you to higher levels quicker than normal, so letting you gather more money at those levels.

How do I Power Train? As it is difficult to explain this concept, I will give an example. Let's say you wanted to Power Train Mining. Grab a pick and find some ores. Then, mine them until you have a full inventory (28 slots), and drop all that ore. This is, in most circumstances, faster than banking. So, you get experience faster.
For manufacturing skill such as Cooking, you buy a lot of an item to manufacture. Lets say you wanted to cook raw lobsters into lobsters. You would buy a lot of raw lobsters, then cook them all and sell, drop or use.

I will not, unfortunately, be posting elaborated guides on Power Training each skill, and what the peaks of effeciency are for those methods and skill, as that would take away all challange in the game. Sorry cheaters, you won't get more out of me. =P

MONEY MAKING
Ah, what everyone wants! Money. As this is a vastly diverse and long subject, I will sumerize.

There are four basic methods for gathering money: Combat, Non-Combat Skills, merchanting, and scavenging.

Combat: Kill monsters, collect the drops, sell them or make them into other items then sell. Easy.

Non-Combat Skills: Gather resources from skills such as Theiving, Mining, and Woodcutting, then sell or make them into other items using skills such as Crafting, Smithing, and Magic then sell.

Merchanting: There are three "official" methods of merchanting. 1: Buy items low, wait for a peak, sell them higher than you bought them for. 2. Buy a lot of items and thus create a demand, which makes prices increase, at which point you sell and make money. 3. Buy items from NPC's (Non-Player Computers), then sell to other NPC's or real life players for more than you bought.
NOTE: It is safest to use method 3, and riskiest to use method 2, but with more risk comes better rewards.

Scavenging: This isn't the most popular (or well-known) method, but it is a sure way to make decent cash in a quick amount of time. Basically, you pick up items that spawn on the ground, or that come from other players kills that they don't want (which don't appear to players that didn't kill the monster until a certain amount of time passes, based on the value of that item). For example, beginners to the game may want to hang out around the goblin house Northwest of Lumbridge and collect bones to sell. Everyone needs bones for Prayer!


Combat
In RuneScape, the general theme of the game is to kill things. Every skill or action leads to or helps, in some way, combat.

Combat Triangle: This simple, but absolutley essential, concept is the basis for all killing. This triangle tells us what is good against what. The three types of combat: Melee, Ranged, and Magic, are the three points on the triangle.
For the most part, this is how it works...

Melee -> Ranged
Ranged -> Magic
Magic -> Melee

Of course, there are exceptions, as you will find in the game. For example, if a melee person is fighting a magic person, and the magic person has melee armor on (which reduces GREATLY the likelihood of you being able to hit your target with magic), and the melee person has ranged armor on (which reduces the likelihood of magic based attacks hitting you), the melee person will likely win.


And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, concludes this guide!