I have personal reasons for that signature, and have no desire to tinker with it. Besides, I also post in other forums, like GARM and Hangout. If you guys don't like it, then just ignore it. It's ignored a lot already, so that shouldn't be difficult. Keep D&D Civil.
Damn, all this time I thought that was already in the sig. I have a new found respect forsomeone with that much patience to type it out every time.
That's cool. I was just curious. I apologize if I came off as confrontational in that post - it was not my intention.
as much as I TRY to stay out of personal wars here, not always successfuly, I do like how this thread has sort of evolved into a confrontation hut. Texx, batman, sir jackie chiles, macbeth, trader jorge, deckard's sig... sort of nice how a farewell to texx has become a festivus type thing, where everyone airs their grievances. i really do enjoy reading it today, i have to be honest. And as much as i do bristle at personal attacks, and think they are a cancer on the discourse, on some level i feel batman's frustration and think someone ought to stick up for himhere. burzmali said something earlier, about chilling out and accepting social darwinism for what it is, that if i had the time or energy to be made insane by something, would have me insane. my guess is, and i dont want to put words in his mouth, but batman probably gets pissed because much of that 'inevitable social darwinism' stuff that is tempting to surrender to is, in actuality, not inevitable. it is our choice, and burzmali, if in fact you are nomar and if recall correctly went to SJS for high school (as did I...), that is really frustrating to hear. we are all massively fortunate - moreso than 99.999999% of folks who have ever walked this planet - and to dismiss so many of those whose standard of living is so inferior to ours as somehow deserving of disease, poverty, misery, prejudice - is a really bleak and white-flag outlook on humankind. i am not going to call anyone an ******* about it, but i totally get batman's frustation - accepting sufferring as inevitable, and putting more effort into justifying inequaliy than into rectifying what is rectifyable - is really tough to stomach. i dont believe people who espouse 'survival of the fittest' dont care, but i think that view is really NOT evidence based. there is a tremendous amount of sufferring that can and should be repaired, using medical science, social science, logic and research and honestly, in my opinion - and to have rational evidence-based positions rudely dismissed as "lib," and then to be called a terrorist sympathizer or anti-american for wanting to understand fully and act reasonably - is frustrating beyond belief. So yes, batman breaks my rule of not getting personal with fellow posters. but if you actually read his issue-related posts, and he puts one hell of alot of thought, care, and genuine hope for humankind into them. there is surely some venom in the attacks too, but he pretty much gets a flyer from me because it is balanced with tremendous compassion and empathy and reason in his other posts. Alot of folks are venomous here, but alot back it up with either more venom or just snarky talking-points hackery. i dont agree with some of his positions, and maybe the attacks distract from his best stuff, but i cannot see how anyone would dream of putting him in a category with the bottomfeeders in here, whose exclusive contributions are snark, party-line rationalizations and personal attacks. Best of luck BigTexx in your more-important endeavors, I hope all is well with you. I wonder if you are enjoying your farewell party in this thread. ps. when i leave, i would like my farewell to be a list of underappreciated contributors to this planet, a la Chucky brown.
CBFC: Good post. My two ponts: BJ has become notorious for calling people names he doesn't agree with. It makes his posts negligible. He may make some good points, but they are simply lost by his venom spewing. As for giving to the poor? Please. We live in a Country that allows illegals to find a job. The Gov't should teach a man to fish. Not just keep giving them to him. I've never understood why people want to give more. A buttload already take advantage of the system. I even recall a Stossel report showing that most people on welfare had cable! How indigent is that?
Thanks fatty. There is a difference between GIVING to the poor and CARING for the poor. I would argue that the latter is complicated, but is inexorably tied to essential to the health of the nation. It is also good business. (Even if you dont care about poor human beings, poverty itself costs all of us - there is no way around it). There are ways to improve poverty, believe me, i have been part of programs that have (and some that have not). It is not a pipe dream. Fixing everyone's problems is a pipe dream. Making major improvements in resources for the poor is not a pipe dream. But it is complicated. We can always find a welfare queen or crackhead to use a poster child for all of those who are less fortunate, and therefore turn our heads and pathologize sufferring as some sort of condition awarded on merit. But the truth is, poverty is incredibly complicated, and some wonderful people get lost. I think it is wrong and we can do better than we are doing, and i think in the end we will be judged on it. Or at least we should judge ourselves on it.
i agree with you, but batman is only getting bashed by the obvious few. i don't think he needs us to get his back, but i've got it if he needs it. my guess is that he would call them assholes right to their face, or worse, if they said some of this **** in person. he, unlike i suspect many on this board, is not hiding behind his keyboard. he's throwing his heart out here on this site and he should be commended. none of us here is perfect, some just think the world could be a better place and aren't just gonna sit by idly and watch it all go to hell. i would love to never lose my cool and have everything be hunky dory, but it just ain't like that.
Actually, I've been out with Bats a couple of times. He's a very genuine person, as I hope I portray when I see any of y'all out. But he comes across a lot more abrasively on here than he does in person. And he's still got an open invite to come out with me for a beer and debate the next time he's in Houston.
A truly fabulous going away thread. Thanks, guys. Nothing like watching a bunch of internet geeks piss their pants and insult others since they have differing political opinions that an internet personality. Truly good entertainment. Yes, friends, I have big things in store. New opportunities, fresh plans, and a new chapter. For my 6,666th post, which would you prefer: A) A one or two sentence opinion by bigtexxx on different posters (please name all the ones you'd like to have reviewed) B) A summary of what bigtexxx has learned from the BBS C) A summary of what you can learn from bigtexxx Those are your choices. No mixing them. Please tell me which you'd prefer.
Nothing to it, cabbage. I got into the habit of typing that in D&D when it looked like the forum was going to get the axe, so I figured it would be my little contribution to keeping D&D around. I'd like to think it's helped at least a little bit, although I admit to frustration with those who think I'm hypocritical about it. I've said on several occasions that it's not meant to imply that I'm any sort of "civil guy," but simply a reminder to us all, myself included, to make an effort to keep things from spinning out of control so much that we lose this great little adjunct to ClutchFans, where Rockets fans like us can also fling poo with abandon, and where I can get my "fix" of talking politics. And I type every one of those Civil things. Ouch! My signature is a quote from The Caine Mutiny, no doubt stolen somewhere by Wouk, that my best friend had taped to the mirror of his bedroom. Dead since 1978, killed in a car crash at age 29, but I still miss the guy, thus the signature. He went through a period I found fascinating at the time, when he became convinced that the world was a "sound stage," controlled by some other beings, and when he left Houston, they tore down the set, and built something else, wherever it was he was doing next. Trippy! He had an IQ of 150, so who was I to argue? Glad you like our efforts, texxx. I'd like to see "B," since "A" would no doubt be something we'd want to reply to you about and, presumably, that would not be an option. (and I'm sure that it'll be A, now, since I said that, lol!) Careful... keep them sponge worthy! Keep D&D Civil.
