Falcon2001

Alright, I'm prefacing this with the knowledge that I will listen to almost anything, so be warned. Falcon's Top 5 Albums of 2005! #1 - Motion City Soundtrack - Commit This to Memory Some folks may deem this to be "Emo" or "Bad Music", but what do they know? I'm the one posting. This band is an excellent example of almost stereotypical alternative rock, but they do their job very well. Everything is Alright, the single from the CD, is a delicious and upbeat song that has quickly risen to be my #2 favorite song of all time. Don't come to this CD expecting anything completely new, but you won't be disappointed by some really fun songs. #2 - Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil Coming out strong with Bat Country, this metal group rings up the hefty rock with guitar riffs oddly reminiscent of the sweet solos from the Guilty Gear series and lyrics worth listening to. A couple notable parts are the acoustic guitar part of Sidewinder, starting about 5 minutes into it; also the aforementioned Bat Country hides one of the best solos I've heard in a while smack dab in the middle. #3 - Fall Out Boy - From Under the Cork Tree Another group that's rocketed to fame and fortune just about the time I started listening to them (Giving me absolutely no time to claim indie cred), Fall Out Boy have made my day more than once with their interesting lyrics and solid music. Sugar, We're Going Down contains one of my favorite lyrics to date: I'm just a notch in your bedpost / but you're just a line in a song. Don't let the fact that everyone else enjoys them turn you away from these guys. #4 - Nickelback - All the Right Reasons Jeez, I listen to some hated music. Alright, this is actually one of my favorite CDs from this year, but is narrowly edged out by the others. Songs like Animals, Someone That You're With and Photograph all define this country-tinged metal band from the great white north. I highly recommend these guys just for the listenability of the entire CD. #5 - Bah I'm tired.

Heya, Stick. Get in touch with me sometime, as I have a very large chunk of space available to me that I pay for - may be able to help you out.

Addendum to earlier letter Dear World. I was too rash in my apology letter, as I see that you were merely holding off to hit me that much harder. That being said, please ignore the contents of teh second letter and consider the first one to stand.

Dear World Thank you for reviewing my case. It appears that I must have hit a nerve, as many of my complaints were reviewed and many were amended. Firstly, the complaint about the girls and the 'friend' thing. Apparently you decided that I had suffered enough on this, and introduced me via the wonders of random pairings online to someone that lives nearby and shares many of my interests, and is also looking for someone. I meet here tonight and - barring any tricks on your part, world - things should go well. Secondly, I noticed that I have been appreciated more at both jobs. At FedEx, my boss has told me I'm one of the best people there, and improvement is not needed at this point. In fact, the only point he made when I asked him what I needed to improve on was that he'd like to see me spend more time on the other side helping out my friend Shane, the other cornerman. This is really "awesome". Also, at my job at school, they finally offered me the job including the raise, so I will be making an extra $100 or so a month as well as having more responsibility. This raise allows me to actually quit FedEx, so I could concievably do things such as sleep for 8 hours a night. However, the fact that I am now actually in shape makes me feel incredibly good, including the fact that nobody else in my facility can do my spot, which is pretty darn cool. Seeing as how these two points have been addressed, I am witholding any further complaints until I see how these play out. Thank you for your prompt attention to my request. Sincerely, -Falcon PS. The pamphlet is no longer required.

The irony is that what works on one person does work on another, and it's pissing me off. I can deal with being told that I'm not sexually attractive, but the friend thing? Cuts me deep. Looks I can get over, being lied to I have troubles with. I, incidentally, created two corollaries to the golden rule today. Addendum One: "Do unto others whatever the hell you want, because they sure as hell aren't going to treat you differently for it or change how they behave." Addendum Two: "Do unto others as you want them to expect you to do all the time without fail, pouncing on the slightest falls. Nevermind the fact that they couldn't manage doing what you're doing, but they're definately going to jump all over your case for messing up once."

Dear World It has been brought to my attention by various parties that I am a person with desireable traits. I am not wholly ugly, I have a large amount of self-confidence and creativity, and am no slouch when it comes to intelligence. Mediocrity is not my strong suit, but neither is perfectionism. I prefer the upper 75-90% range. However, it has been brought to my attention that I am quite 'awesome' at what I do. I have two or three extremely attractive women that will flirt with me for days and then tell me they I wasn't such a good friend, because then they would sleep with me. I find this alarming, because I was raised to believe that producing desirable traits would lead to desirable outcomes, but alas, I was wrong. I am doomed to watch friends date other friends of mine and complain to me, while I lie asleep alone. At this very moment, my friend who told me she 'doesn't have sex with roommates' is currently in the bath with another very good friend of mine, who happens to be a roommate. I am flabbergasted. These incidents could be attributed to chance, wholly, except for various other places it comes up. I work two jobs, as you well know (being the World), and both of my bosses have told me that I am 'the best worker they have'. At FedEx my boss informed me that I am such a good worker that he was placing me on 'cleanup detail', working wherever the facility was in dire need of help due to others slacking off. This results in me spending more time and energy each day working. At my second job, I was informed that given the excellent recommendation I had recieved, my resume, and my personal achievements, I would have been hired in a second had my current boss's employee review of me not stated that 'losing Will would be a great loss to the labs...manages all aspects of job...excellent worker.' The job I was denied due to my excellence paid more and did less work, while the job I am in currently pays a flat wage with no chance of promotion or raise, and I dare not quit to transfer for fear of sowing seeds of enmity. So, you might ask, where do you come in? Simple. Please enclose a pamphlet stating exactly how to become worse at what I do so that I can have enjoyable guiltless sex and get promoted so I don't spend 15 hours each day at work and school so I can save up to buy a car that will doubtlessly break within twenty minutes of hitting the freeway. I'm sure you have pamphlets, as I see an increasingly large number of people displaying such winning behavior as: Dispensing misinformation to students Cheating on loved ones and then lying about it Refusing to accept basic standards of decency and manners Slacking off at the job Doing as little work as possible so that others will pick up the slack And so much more! Given that these people lead happy, successful lives and I collapse each night into a pile of blankets and pain emanating from the cold dark hole where my heart used to be, I feel as though I have been wronged. Please include either a pamphlet so that I may change my ways for the worse, or a listing of the reasons why I, more than almost anyone else I know, continue to lead a life of pain and emptiness. Thank you -Falcon

After careful thought, I decided on Halcyon Design. I think this gives me a nice direction to move in with the Kingfisher theme as well as the peaceful and tranquil / prosperous thing.

1. Are you more of a shy person or more of a social butterfly? Definitely a social butterfly, but that's a very odd definition, as butterfly's are flighty and easily scared by nature. 2. Do you feel like being shy makes the dating world harder/easier? Harder, of course. If you're shy you end up attracting only women who will put forth the effort to seek you out, as well as making moving into the 'friend zone' very very easy. 3. Do you feel like being a social butterfly makes the dating world harder/easier? Well, I suppose it does, but at the same time I'm not really successful at dating, so I'd have to say 'yes from my perspective not from my experience' 4. Finally, how do you view the aspect of shyness/social butterfly-ness in a perspective companion? I'd prefer someone that is comfortable in social situations, but maybe not someone as outgoing as myself. Someone that is completely scared in such situations wouldn't make a good partner for me.

Hey, I'm thinking of quitting my second job, which I can do and still survive easily enough, but I really want to do web design for small businesses on the side. Most small businesses need a static page with little updating needed, with a simple and professional design; a web presence more than anything else, really, with contact information and maybe some product information. I can do that, and even better, I can easily interact with most small business owners, having come from a rather entrepreneurial family. Anyway, I'm trying to come up with a name for my company - something friendly and possibly seattle-ish, as most of my clients will probably be local. The name has to be friendly and hopefully lack any negative drug or social connotations (I'd use Silvertrip, but possible drug connotations), and should sound at least semi-professional. If at all possible, www.NAME.com should be available as well. Right now I've narrowed it to the following: Highwind Design Sunspot " Rootwater " But I need help choosing others - I figure you're the most creative people I've met, so maybe one of you wants to submit an idea.

I take a unique (at least to myself) view of the big L word; I discovered this after I told someone that I loved them and they completely freaked out. I believe that love can be many different things, but in the end it's simply a strong bond between two things. You love your parents and are bonded to them; you love your dog and you can love your job. The problem is that we - as a culture - have attached a huge taboo to the word 'Love', because of how our media portrays it. In the movies, men fall in love with girls and suddenly their entire world is changed. They stay up at night staring at the wall, they fly across the world looking for the girl. In short, it's frickin' scary. I love a couple people, and I've come to grips with that. They don't love me like I love them, but that's how life works. An unequal relationship such as that just invites heartache and regret, and will eventually just lead to a huge gap. Of course, that's the logical side of my brain talking. My emotional side remembers nights spent lying awake, wondering when I would be able to live without feeling like I had a black hole inside my chest. It remembers looking at someone and knowing that they would never feel the way you did about them, and realizing that the inequality there would forever leave a mark on your heart that would re-open every time you see that person.

Brought on by my initial reaction to the 'Your Identity' thread, this thread begs the question: Who are you? I challenge you to pick ten words or less that describe yourself, and then if you want explain why you chose those words. Describe what you want to be and what you define as the epitome of yourself, not what you currently are. What is your essence? Passionate Prideful Creative Intelligence I believe that in all things, I am a violent person. Not in the traditional sense of physical violence but in the sense of a great thing. I love the feeling of getting rushed at work and slipping into high gear, the pure animal energy that flows through me as I pick up the pace, and I'm a huge fan of combat and competitions. I believe this to be the epitome of my spiritual life - "The kingdom of heaven suffers violent men, and violent men take it by force." Pride is a part of myself that I have learned to accept. I am proud of what I do well, and confident in my abilities much more so than I used to be. I have grown into myself, I believe, and my overarching confident reflects this. I try not to be completely arrogant to the degree where it becomes boosting my self-image through deteriorating others, because I believe that my self-esteem comes from within, not without. Creativity is my second life-goal, next to making money, and thus is something I am glad that I have a natural aptitude for. I enjoy music and writing, both of which traditionally are my ways of relaxing. Without creativity I get dull and boring extremely quickly as my brain starts to shut down. I am an intelligent person, even if I'm not the most intelligent, nor am I the most suited to any task. I delight in how my brain works - I find ways to things that others don't, and others can help support my non-traditional ways of thinking, making teamwork for me extremely important. I am a natural leader and manager, which will serve me well in the future and I get along with people extremely well. So, what defines you?

Heya everyone, I've been doing some coding work lately and figured I would start a thread where we could all talk about what we've done. I currently am familiar with CSS and HTML, and try to make standards compliant webpages. For fun, I've been making a todo list and then making a bunch of different css stylesheets for it. I'll link to those later on after I move. I use Textpad for coding, and I started off with frontpage and moved up. I'm also familiar with Photoshop (currently using CS2) and do all my own graphic design for my webpages. I'm not very good yet, but I'm getting a much better hand on design than I used to have. Hopefully over time I'll continue to get good enough to do this on the side as a side job. As a few examples, here are some sites I have worked on in the past. Rainbow RV Resort on Tanwax Lake - did this one for a friend of mine, my second paid job. Was rather happy with the improvement over the old site, which I still have around here somewhere. Surefire - Messing with iFrames - This was the result of me finding out about iframes and figuring out how to mess with them. Graphics heavy and slow loading, but over all not too bad. his was done...two or three years ago, I believe. Looks best in IE. Poetry on there is godawful. Silvertrip - Redefine God this is a horrible site. Some DHTML code modified (stolen) from someone else for the ultra version and some cheesy graphics. However, it's not that bad, all told. Fun times to make, and still has my poetry all archived on there, as well as A Game of Chess, which I need to fix. I went through and edited the thanks page a little to keep old memories where they belong, but other than that, untouched by the years. Give it about an hour from this posting time to actually be online. My current designs are a lot more...functional than my older ones, and I've moved away from table-based layout. So, anyone else around here dabble in design?

In the end, I decided to stay at DeVry, ignoring my gut feeling. I suppose I'm extremely cautious, and if I still feel this way in 1.8 years I'll continue my education at western, getting my bachelor in sociology or music then after I can get a job with this one. Death of a dream, I suppose, but that's what growing up is about.

Devry is three semesters a year, and I have just finished my third semester. I'd have to move to go to western, but hopefully I'll have taken at least enough general education classes that will transfer to make it to my sophomore year.

Alright, ladies and gentlemen. I'm having what appears to be a midlife crisis, but then again, I'm only 19, so hopefully I'll live longer than 38. Right now, I'm debating with myself if I'm really in the right field. I'm currently studying network communications and management at DeVry University, which (according to my uncle, who used to hire from the california campus) has a reputation for putting out students with solid technical knowledge, although the stigma of 'technical university' still lingers over the campus. A little information about my current school - it's got about 3000 students including the weekend and night students, and runs three semesters a term. Tuition is going to run me around $56,000 or so by the end of my bachelors, which is Network Communications Management. However, many of those students are either online students affiliated with our campus, night students, or weekend students. The word that describes it best is 'professional'. I can be quite professional. However, I'm not happy, and I'm actually downright depressed. I work two jobs, about 11 hours a day, 13 if you include lunch break and travel time, and it's my break between semesters right now. If I'm going to transfer I'm going to have to do it soon, so I'm having to think about it quickly. I grew up with two great goals in mind. Goal one was to earn money, and goal two was to be creative, and unfortunately as many of you here already know, those two don't always work together. I'm also a cautious man by nature, and that throws even more of a hex into the grid, so I'm pretty wary. I wanted to study sociology or music, and I have 7 years of band under my belt as well as a strong urge to write. I love writing, I just don't have any time anymore. DeVry has taught me how to stay organized, but it has also taught me that I need a social life, and this university is not about social lives, it's about professionalism and expecations. On top of that, and complicating the whole thing, is an issue of love. A friend of mine that I love dearly goes to Western, and I'm wondering whether a large part of my urge to leave stems from some misplaced chemical imbalance instead of from a real need for happiness. Western, incidentally, is known for being a university with excellent degrees in liberal arts, as well as a fairly good sociology program. What are your thoughts on the matter? There's more to this story, but I'm on shift in five minutes, so I've gotta get ready for work.

A while ago, I wrote down some simple instructions for living and meant to give them to a friend I was probably never going to see again. Somehow, I never did it and they got shuffled around my computer until I found them again today. Looking back, they're some darn good instructions, and thus, I am sharing them with you, minus the introduction and conclusion. The most important thing you can do is to adapt. No matter what happens to you over the course of your life, learn and adapt. Refuse to be molded by others. Realize how important you are in the grand scheme of things. You’re only one person, but so is everyone else. Adjust to this point of view, and live accordingly. Take time out every once in a while, and dream. Take the dream, and turn it into a reality. If you succeed, you’re a legend. If you don’t, you’re still better than when you started. Don’t ever forget how to laugh at yourself. Don’t ever forget how to laugh at others. In short, don’t forget how to laugh. When life hands you lemons, return them for store credit and pick yourself up some ice cream. Generally you’ll want the comfort food by then anyway. Find yourself a copy of “All I Needed to Know in Life I Learned in Kindergarten” and read it as often as you feel the need to. If you like it, grab a copy of “It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It.” Listen to sad songs and cry. Listen to happy songs and laugh. Listen to music, and live musically. Write poetry, even if nobody will ever see it. Get out of the house as often as possible. Never let your life fall into a routine of work and sleep. Never let your entire life revolve around any one person. Not only will you be completely miserable, but they will too. Search for something to believe in. If you’re happier for it, then you’ve found the right one. No matter how much life seems to suck, realize that eventually it will equalize out and blow too. Always refuse to let go of your friends. Always remember that one day you’ll have to. When you’re older and reminiscing, always remember exactly how much high school sucked. Never hate yourself. If you find yourself hating yourself, find out why and fix it. Then go out for ice cream or something. Always forgive people, no matter what. Even if it takes several months to do the forgiving. Always trust people, and always lock your doors. Faith in humanity is commendable, but stupidity is not. Take a day each month and just go out driving until you decide to do something. If this grates on your gas bill, take a walk instead. Never be afraid to love. Love your family, love your friends, and love whoever you decide to spend your life with. Love fiercely. If you’re not going to love something with all of you, then don’t even bother starting. Always help others, even at your own temporary expense. Never allow other people to run your life. It’s your life, they have their own. When in doubt, keep your eyes open and your mouth closed. It always turns out better this way. Remain ever compassionate. Remember that everything is good in moderation. Looking back, I can't find anything I want to change. I was a lot wiser than I thought then, and now I have a credo and a guide to live by, written by me in an earlier age. If anyone else has any other little suggestions, feel free to post them as well.

I am not nearly that nice of a person. I would have probably started yelling. *sigh* ooold and jaded.

So next thursday I turn nineteen years old. I didn't realize this until today, when I received an early birthday card from my grandmother. My, how things have changed. When I was younger, my birthday was a thing to look forward to, the new responsibilities and possibilities an endless list. Now, it sneaks around like a rogue in the shadows, waiting to backstab me with cake and candles. I work two jobs, and go to school full time, to explain a bit of this. I currently have the following schedule: 3:15-3:45 AM - Wake up, shake sleep from eyes, get dressed blearily and try not to turn on any lights. Consume any quick food that will provide energy without taking too long to digest. 4:00-4:30 AM - Show up to FedEx, and ascertain whether it'll be a good or bad day. For those of you who have never worked in the shipping industry, there are a lot more of the latter than the former. Move boxes for 3-3.5 hours. 7:00-7:30 AM - Leave FedEx dead tired and prepared for sleep. Get dropped off at school and stumble into the labs, set up laptop and check out the to-do list for today. Check out equipment, help students, and work for four hours. Noon - Leave labs, head to cafeteria. Stare at shiny moving images on laptop for an hour. 1:00 PM-5:00PM - Stare blankly at teachers intent on keeping the secrets of networking, english, and math from us by confusion and convoluted rules. Take notes when I can bring my brain into alignment. 6:00 PM - Fall asleep. The plus side is that I'm a college student spending about 450 bucks a month on bills and rent, and I make over twice that a month, leaving me plenty of money to save up for a car or eat real food, though I may die before I enjoy much of either of those. Also, weeks go by really quickly. I kind of miss the fact that nobody is going to celebrate my birthday. I owe my parents money, and I received my birthday present from them early in the form of a loan that I'll have to pay them back for, which at least managed to keep me going until I started getting paid. My friends really aren't that close compared to my older friends, and all my old friends are far, far away now. I'll probably take the day off of school (ha, no I won't), bake myself a cake and forget to stick candles in it, then pass out in preparation for work the next day. It's not really depressing though, because that would require effort and I don't have near enough energy for that anymore. I'm just kind of zoned out all the time, but at least I can enjoy the material things in life, even if I spend all my free time sleeping or sitting staring at my computer. However, I think Peredhil still puts in more hours out of the house than me.

Ja, most of us here aren't graphic artists. Find us a picture and we'll see what we can do.

In other news, I apparently missed cryptomancer's game. Feel free to play anyway, or let this die out of natural causes.

I propose a game, wherein these rules are used - One: the first player (me) shall name a word. Two: The second player (whoever posts next) shall make a poem from that one word. Three: Upon writing a poem, the player chooses a word to continue on down the line from the poem he just wrote. Words cannot be reused.. And so on and so forth. Words should be short and open to interpretation - Psimon's poem Torn is an excellent example. I will start this off with a word suggested by #thepen: tea i stare down at the cup hoping to divine a meaning of some sort possibly a reference to a greater purpose is this future clear enough to see in a muddied cup of water and leaf filled with broken stems and torn leaves i wonder if possibly the allegory present is the whole message God saying look at this look at your life reflected in a mere cup of tea but in the end it is a chilling message delivered in a warm package Alright, next poem starts with the word... Present.

Character is done at link Also, character is at This Link, so feel free to check it over.

Reply Raven: A large bird of the raven family with beady black eyes and a vicious beak. Will attack those who do not reply with little to no provocation. Belongs to Cioden.

Name: Meroiba Tigage (pronounced Muh-roy-bah Tee-Gah-Jay), Titles: The Heartless, The Grayman Height: 6'8" Weight: 240 lbs Eyes: Gray Hair: Black Meroiba is an odd aspect of humanity. Raised in the frozen wastelands, he grew up with a family as a fairly normal boy. Always considered to be lean and wiry, he quickly proved that there was muscle in there, one of the strongest men in his tribe. In addition, he was blessed with a quick mind and a face that drew happy sighs from the village girls. He was a role model to the others, and it was common knowledge that he was in line to be the next chief, until disaster struck. In the midst of a blizzard, a slew of bandits struck the village, raiding it under the cover of snow. Meroiba took a sword slash across the face, giving him a livid scar across his nose. He managed to kill quite a few of them, but then the blizzard reached fever pitch and swept in like a vengeful spirit, scattering them all to the winds. The bandits were defeated, but Meroiba and the village were also destroyed, the survivors of the fight dying to the frigid temperatures. Cold and silence overtook Meroiba, and he drifted into a coma. Inside his mind, he felt the touch of another, someone with unimaginable power. Looking up in his mind's eye, he saw a man with eyes that shone like the sun. I raise thee among my chosen, go forth, and seek your place in the world. It is not your lot to die here. The man said, and touched Meroiba. He awoke screaming, screaming with more fury and hatred then he had ever known existed in him. He was surrounded by snow and ice, which proved to be little protection from an angry Exalt. Burrowing his way up through the snow, he came to the top to find nothing but a snowdrift where his village had once been. Gazing at the destruction, he shed a single tear, which ran down his deadened skin without feeling. During his time in the snow, his senses had all died, leaving him completely numb. His former lifestyle completely torn from him, he wandered across the wastelands until he came to Nexus, where he has spent the last few years as a killer for hire. Slowly, he is dying inside, to match the numbness on the outside. He is marked by his height and gauntness, which he does nothing to conceal. Remarkably strong especially since his exaltation, he remains a fighter, though his mind has remained as sharp as ever. A man of few words, he prefers action to talk. He wears loose grey clothing and always has his extremeties swathed in white bandaging. Traditionally seen in the corner of a bar, drinking his wages from the last night away to a mildly terrified audience. Alright, that's the basic concept, needs some work (need to find a place to find ice in the exalted world) and I'll update once I get it set up.

Ugh, I had to get up early today, go into school so I can find out whether or not I get this job because of some random technicality, then take a business test I was unaware of until last night, then find some way to make it to the DeVry Game Day thing so I might win a car playing a game on crappy computers that I've never played. Fun. Oh friday, when and why did you turn into monday