lilshadowdweller

I definitely agree that Blue Ray and DVDS are set to vanish, as are physical video games cartridges (much to my dismay). I like being control of what I own, and this new world brings this flaw: no longer will I be in control.
 
And please understand that I don't not embrace the digital world! It's not like I want to desperately hold onto something dying. It's merely a preference.
 
But books dying? Highly unlikely.
 
Think about this: Right now, you live in a privileged world. You can afford an E-Reader or a Kindle.
 
But there are millions upon millions of people who can't, and possibly never will. There's millions of people without internet, without computers, heck, without anything we have and consider essential. They don't even have electricity! And their numbers are much greater than our own.
 
The only tool they could turn to is books. And it'll be that way for many, many years. Also, people are still going to maintain/want to physical copies of things. It'll always be the "just in case" sort of thinking.
 
So, no. Books aren't in any danger of dying.

I want to point something out here that I don't think everyone here is aware of: When you "buy" a book from Kindle, an E-Reader, or anything else, you do not OWN the book. Your own the license to the book, so that YOU can read it, but you don't permanently own it like you would a physical book. They can revoke that license at anytime, and delete the contents of your account. In one circumstance, there was a woman who had a Kindle account which she had used for years. She had tons of things highlighted, tons of notes stored, but because Amazon assumed her Amazon account had been comprimised - they DELETED every book she had, and legally they could. Years upon years of books she had purchased, now erased.
 
Here's the story; I recommend all Kindle users read it!
 
http://www.guardian....deletes-account
 
 
With a physical copy, they can't do that! But who knows when they'll decide to just take your books away from you? They could use any excuse!
 
Not to mention, physical copies don't require battery power so you conserve electricity. They don't have to be plugged in. They can be brought virtually anywhere, and in some cases, even survive water. People who don't have a lot of money can rent/buy books if they don't have access to electronic readers. Books will probably last longer, too.
 
I like the physical aspect of the book. HOWEVER, I do purchase online licenses for books. I got a good deal for the "Hunger Games" trilogy; so I purchased it. I'm not against E-books, but I'd like to have both options!
 
I do note the benefits of computer reading. You can access books from anywhere at the touch of a button. No paper = less trees killed. The book can "light" up so you don't have to adjust your reading. It's easier and simpler.

I'm so sorry to hear it. Everything you are feeling is normal. In humans, bad things are always more paramount than the good. It's natural. Obviously it's great to hear that one issue is resolved with your Aunt. But awful to hear about your Grandma. You have my deepest sympathies.

I discard any item worth less than 300 unless it's a book or none-gross food item. Those can be used for good despite how obtainable they are. It's just so worthless to keep these worthless items in existence, especially when you're throwing the items at mostly new users hoping for some nice things. I know Neo isn't real and all that, but seriously, would you throw only your junk items for the poor? It just seems cheap. :guiltysmiley:
 
I don't get why people just don't discard them anyway. They go to the vast oblivion of nothingness. If I donate, it's to be useful. Because I enjoyed the Giving Tree when I was a new users due to the good things some people put in.

That is more or less what I mean. I have an aquaintance with a number of tattoos that I personally think were silly choices for her to make. I think that in time she will come to regret them, and that she got them for the cool factor rather than anything else. I would never say that to her though. I don't know what's going on in her head, and what she tells me is the reason behind them may not be what they actually mean to her. So I respect her right to get them, and I don't say anything about them. I say the art is nice, or the artist did a good job on the lettering, or whatever. But I don't feel like it is my place to comment on what I think the reason behind the tattoos are, etc.
People don't have to like other peoples' tattoos- not at all. You can think they're ugly, or silly, or pointless, in a stupid place, or anything. But I guess I think that the person that has the tattoos should be given respect in respect to the tattoos. I dislike when people tell tattooed people that their bodies are ruined, or that they will regret a tattoo, or any of that. Not only is just plain rude, but it completely ignores what may be really serious stuff that is going on in their heads in regards to the tattoo, and why they chose it.
A friend of mine came with me to get my tattoo, and even though she was my best friend, I never told her the real reason why I was getting my tattoo, or why I chose the placement I did. I have only ever told my girlfriend, in real life at least. So no matter how close you are to someone, they may not be telling the whole truth about it. Tattooes can be really personal things.
 
Does that make sense?
 
 
I'm not the OP of that statement but...
When I went to get my tattoo, I said "Okay, so I want this image as a tattoo." That's it. I didn't explain why I wanted it, what it meant, or anything. Most tattooes are symbols, in one way or another. I find that people rarely explain to the tattoo artist what something is supposed to represent when they're making the preliminary plans for them. My artist asked my while she was tattooing it what the meaning behind it was, and I gave her a short and dirty answer, but the important meaning behind it, why it was so important to me, didn't have to be said. It wasn't for other people. It expresses something about me, but only to me. It is a daily reminder of something that I don't want to forget, of something I want to remember but work through every day.
I know of a lot of tattooes like that. A lot of people that previously had addiction problems, or were self-harmers, get tattooes as a way of celebrating living through those dark times, of getting through. I will use my brother as an example again- he was a meth addict for a number of years. He finally did get clean, and he is currently planing on getting "The shadow of the valley of death" pslam as a tattoo; a reminder of the hard times he has been through, the hardest, really. A reminder of how close he came to the very bottom, but still surviving, still getting through. It will mean all these things, and more to him. But when he gets it, he doesn't have to say that. It'll just be a pslam. A beautiful piece of religious poetry. No one seeing it will ask what it really means, and frankly, it doesn't matter to them. It is for him, and him alone. I don't know how well he would be able to really express why he got that, and I don't know if he would want to.

I have a now-good friend at my work who doesn't believe smoking or seconde hand smoke is anything bad. She's a homeopath (ironic, eh?) which means she doesn't take or do any modern medications, but SOMEHOW considers cigarettes an exception. She's from Bulgaria and claims that "everyone" smokes there and tthat nobody dies from cancer or the smoke. I find there might be other things to consider (like a harsher life and shorter life spans.)
 
My Grandmother is a long-term smoker but we aren't close. She almost had a cancer scare which turned out to be pneumonia. Now she's right back to smoking and risking it again.
 
My parents hadn't smoked during my time living with them (20 years) , but they smoke now. I'm not happy about it but I don't say anything to them about it. My sisters are very cruel and sarcastic regarding it. I don't like their methods of shaming despite agreeing with their opinions. None of us smoke. I smoke NOTHING. I don't think putting any crap in your lungs is a good thing, regardless of what people try and convince me!
 
Ontario is now placing EVEN harsher laws on people. Just a few days ago, a law was passed that said that if you're on an outside deck at a bar and standing many feet away from employees and other people, if you hold a drink, you could be fined for having a cigarette in hand. I'm fine with it, even if people are crying about it! I hope smoking becomes extinct in the near future.
 
It's expensive. It's not good for you. And there's social pressure to smoke, too. Like at work where smokers get breaks where no smokers do not unless requesting to use the washroom!
 
You paint a fine message today about the realities of smoking and how it hurts everyone!

I have a now-good friend at my work who doesn't believe smoking or seconde hand smoke is anything bad. She's a homeopath (ironic, eh?) which means she doesn't take or do any modern medications, but SOMEHOW considers cigarettes an exception. She's from Bulgaria and claims that "everyone" smokes there and tthat nobody dies from cancer or the smoke. I find there might be other things to consider (like a harsher life and shorter life spans.)
 
My Grandmother is a long-term smoker but we aren't close. She almost had a cancer scare which turned out to be pneumonia. Now she's right back to smoking and risking it again.
 
My parents hadn't smoked during my time living with them (20 years) , but they smoke now. I'm not happy about it but I don't say anything to them about it. My sisters are very cruel and sarcastic regarding it. I don't like their methods of shaming despite agreeing with their opinions. None of us smoke. I smoke NOTHING. I don't think putting any crap in your lungs is a good thing, regardless of what people try and convince me!
 
Ontario is now placing EVEN harsher laws on people. Just a few days ago, a law was passed that said that if you're on an outside deck at a bar and standing many feet away from employees and other people, if you hold a drink, you could be fined for having a cigarette in hand. I'm fine with it, even if people are crying about it! I hope smoking becomes extinct in the near future.
 
It's expensive. It's not good for you. And there's social pressure to smoke, too. Like at work where smokers get breaks where no smokers do not unless requesting to use the washroom!
 
You paint a fine message today about the realities of smoking and how it hurts everyone!

Actually, it's not. Technically, no one HAS to respect the reason behind one gets a tattoo. I didn't respect the meaning of why my friend obtained her tattoo. I don't say anything, mind you; but some meanings I fail to comprehend. And many people have no good reason - some people simply thing tattoos are cool. *shrugs* In short, I may not respect your reasoning, but I won't fight you regarding it or make a deal out of it, not if it works for you. Perhaps that's what you meant when you said "respect".
 
 
 
Yes, but many people consider theirs to be works of art, so people here just used it as a generalized example.
 
 
Can you please elaborate on this statement? Because, I find, often people have to explain their tattoos. I'm not saying art isn't beautiful and that you can't express yourself, but unless you personally drew out the tattoo yourself, technically you had to have discussed it to the artist doing it for you, which means you could have expressed yourself by other means. I find it to be a symbol of something important to yourself; but that often needs to be explained otherwise it's unknown. Again, it's a symbol to yourself, but I can't comprehend this statement as if it's impossible to not express something about yourself without the use of a tattoo.

I need to say something:
 
Your patience is commendable.
 
You have displayed a perspective upon which we should all obtain. Ie; your ability to see that she means well, even if she's forcing her religious views on you. You're setting an example for her. And yes, she's entitled to her beliefs, and her beliefs states that she can "save" people by converting them. But deep down, I doubt she really thinks you're going to Hell. Even when I was religious, I fought with that belief.
 
For her, it's difficult. She's surrounded by a religious community which will restrict her mind significantly. While the homosexual marriage issue isn't actually that big of an issue, I guarantee that her Church makes it so.
 
You won't be able to change her just as much as she won't be able to change you. In fact, the more hostile to become with her the more she'll respond in kind. To some religious people, a world without God simply cannot exist and isn't plausible. It's her lifestyle and it'll be difficult if not impossible for her to change.
 
But understand that you don't need to set aside your views, either.
 
You love her as a friend. That's what's important.
 
Going to Church wouldn't be so bad though, however, she may think it'll convert you and be surprised if it doesn't. Also, make sure she doesn't get others involved!
 
Anyway, yes, you're definitely a very opened minded person!!! Not conceited in the least and very patient.

I think this is a big part of it. Nowadays a lot of people are seriously considering open relationships, polyamory outside of certain religious groups, being 'monogamish' etc...I'm not sure of the implications this has for society but I honestly think this is the way we're going and in a couple decades cheating won't necessarily be a thing because people would be more willing to ask about opening up the relationship than to outright cheat and sneak around about it.

A few years ago, shortly after I had moved out of my parent's home, it became apparent that my Father, the one man I adored and looked highly of, was cheating.
 
The way he went about it was dumb, too. He'd leave for hours at a time on his days off, and return telling us that he had went shopping - despite having not purchased anything. He'd leave a sleeping bag in his car. When big fights happened between him and my Mom, he'd leave again for hours, claiming to be at a friend's house.
 
One time, I was dropped off at my parent's house and my Dad didn't know I was home. He was arguing with the other lady. I heard bits and pieces, like; "For heaven's sake, I'm married, and you're doing this to me?" He eventually seen me and offered to get me McDonald's, perhaps unknown of how much of his conversation I had heard.
 
During this whole time, my youngest sister defended him to the death, until he openly said it in front of her. This situation was the worst. It was offensive to us that he thought his poor excuses would cover it up, as if we were dumb. It was hurtful to my Mom. But they are still together. She forgave him because she can't forget the man he was when they had married over 24 years ago. She's not alone. My Dad's older brother also cheated on his wife, and they are still together, too.
 
Cheating to me is forgivable, however, I feel it's the skeeziest way out of any relationship. Get the guts to break it up. You are being selfish if you're not being honest and leaving your signficant other in unbearable pain.
 
In my Dad's case, I was empathetic. I know that my Mother has some issues; I love her, but darn, she has them. Still, he should have separated. I know he wanted the comforts of having his family and a wife, but he can't have both. If the other person is OK with it, sure, yes. How you manage your relationships is up to you in my opinion. But if that's not the case, it's ttoally wrong and gross.

The Baby Pteri
 
I have no idea how I had forgotten about this one! Now, the Baby Pteri posed a problem to me: It fit into both "most random colour ever", and this thread. However, I chose it to be the cheapest. Why? Because it's a shiny oval with an orange spot. Also, it's not actually a baby. See, if they MAYBE had a cute Pteri sticking out of the shell or something *you know, wearing it's shell, with legs and everything* then that would be a baby. But this Pteri isn't hatched. Technically, it's not even born yet. It's not a baby it's a fetus or pre-birth pet. I didn't know we have fetus coloured pets. It's just never made sense to me that it's an egg. It's a unique concept, but I have honestly no interesti n hosting a shiny Oval as my pet.

So is this a plot, or just a mini one? Right now, it's looking to be a mini. These puzzles remind me of the Halloween one. I can't wait until we can get past all of this stuff! Also, the coherent message is really cool, thanks for laying it out. =D I haven't done anything with my prizes yet, waiting to see if we have to do something with them. Although, I do doubt that. It's good they're helping us build a bond with JumpStart using this little plot. Really brings up my interest and mood!

One. In my 12 years on Neopets, just one. Oh, and it only came after using Faerie Fortune Cookies for 4 complete weeks. It was also an unbuyable item. A rich user who had been browsing the boards noticed my plight and gifted me the rare unbuyable. I used it to paint Zamaery the Zafara into Water. She looks brilliant.

Her account needs to be frozen before more damage is done. Hopefully TNT will freeze it and help her get it back. Good on you for noticing. Otherwise, she can try and take the account back by herself, maybe use her email address and send it, but it probably won't work.

Hey guys, just warning those of you who don't know...Tinypics is apparently have image hosting issues. People are claiming that they (the image hosting sites) were hacked (I don't think that's the case, the images are so random). They are replacing pictures of Shields, banners, gifs, ect. They are big and are usually just random selfies (so TNT may think you're posting pictures of yourself), screen shots from other gamers (World of Warcraft), pictures of people and their familys and ect). I'm not sure if they had just used old links and now for some reason the original uploaded images have made a return, but certain pet pages are affected. I know a petpage called "KShields" is currently affected, so don't direct link images from there.
 
I hear people are getting silenced or warned, although I'm not sure if that's because they're pointing to the petpages with the graphics or other issues. Just check your look-up, your friend's, your guilds/petpages, ect. TNT should fix it soon (by removing the afflicated images). I'm sure they'll be fair. I do not know if any other image hosting sites have been affected. Doesn't seem like it.

Hey guys, just warning those of you who don't know...Tinypics is apparently have image hosting issues. People are claiming that they (the image hosting sites) were hacked (I don't think that's the case, the images are so random). They are replacing pictures of Shields, banners, gifs, ect. They are big and are usually just random selfies (so TNT may think you're posting pictures of yourself), screen shots from other gamers (World of Warcraft), pictures of people and their familys and ect). I'm not sure if they had just used old links and now for some reason the original uploaded images have made a return, but certain pet pages are affected. I know a petpage called "KShields" is currently affected, so don't direct link images from there.
 
I hear people are getting silenced or warned, although I'm not sure if that's because they're pointing to the petpages with the graphics or other issues. Just check your look-up, your friend's, your guilds/petpages, ect. TNT should fix it soon (by removing the afflicated images). I'm sure they'll be fair. I do not know if any other image hosting sites have been affected. Doesn't seem like it.

One polite neomail is allowed- don't contact her again about the pet, NO MATTER how polite you are. It will be considered harassment, and is not cool. You did give her the pet, and it's hers to do with as she pleases, no matter if that is leaving it alone, painting it another colour, or adopting it out. Which sucks, but yeah.
 
 
This is from editorial 546:

I hate that quote. In a conversation, must we fall back on quoted word sayings like 'to each, their own'? Why not contribute to a conversation instead of using worn out phrases? This is a discussion forum, is it not? Use evidence. I see people on here who comment on every-new-Neopet released - but the bottom line is, some pets are dull. Maybe taht works out for others. We can throw in perspective all we want, but that doesn't dilute the fact that there is definitely pets which lack quality. It also doesn't stop the fact that most people still don't want their pets say, painted Disco, or Cloud. There are popular and unpopular colours, and if quality improved on some, some people may desire them more.

I hate that quote. In a conversation, must we fall back on quoted word sayings like 'to each, their own'? Why not contribute to a conversation instead of using worn out phrases? This is a discussion forum, is it not? Use evidence. I see people on here who comment on every-new-Neopet released - but the bottom line is, some pets are dull. Maybe taht works out for others. We can throw in perspective all we want, but that doesn't dilute the fact that there is definitely pets which lack quality. It also doesn't stop the fact that most people still don't want their pets say, painted Disco, or Cloud. There are popular and unpopular colours, and if quality improved on some, some people may desire them more.

I feel, that with all of the pets having the same pose, it should be easy for the artists to add cool details to make their pets unique. So, while MAYBE people still love their Faerie pets, you can STILL observe some obvious personality in other Faerie colours. It's not a "to each, his own" kind of thing - it's obvious that there are differences. I think it IS up to the artists who create these pets.
 
- The design is beautiful, not simple nor one colour.
<-Again, even thouhg it's in the same pose, a lot of effort was brought on to ensure that it had "personality". Although, sometimes, it CAN clash.
<-LOOK how cute he is!!!

 
And look at these bad, boring ghosts:
 

 
But then there are ones who look evil, sad, or just stare...
 

 

It's quite awkward to see :P. I was looking at the faerie painted pets and I feel like TNT were so lazy on making these they just slapped them with wings and called it a day LOL.
 
http://pets.neopets.com/cp/24jh3dfh/1/2.png
 
http://pets.neopets.com/cp/m7q6xfct/1/2.png look at this chia, like you can hardly see the wings LOL!
 
http://pets.neopets.com/cp/ok3bdfb6/1/2.png
 
http://pets.neopets.com/cp/rcv3k3lq/1/2.png
 
http://pets.neopets.com/cp/2wsqgt78/1/2.png for something that is a unicorn o_O I wished Tnt put something more pretty with this :<
 
http://pets.neopets.com/cp/szdd5hkf/1/2.png
I'll add some more later from other paint brushes but some of these pets I would never not in a million years spend a crapload of neopoints on :P

Actually, the post you're talking about was a direct address to someone who claimed that Christianity gives you a moral code and stops you from doing bad things. It claimed that's why religion was good. It was not defining Christians as criminals--on the contrary, it was opposing the definition someone else had given that atheists are criminals.

I picked the Order. A good friend is on their team so I figure her judgment to be spot on. Plus it's magic. The Sway is too ... snobby for me, and the theives bore me. Shame my team didn't make it. :( The Awakened were so awesoem for me!

I picked the Order. A good friend is on their team so I figure her judgment to be spot on. Plus it's magic. The Sway is too ... snobby for me, and the theives bore me. Shame my team didn't make it. :( The Awakened were so awesoem for me!