Enforced law isn't pretty to watch.  It never is.  It's ugly, it can be violent, and it's not the type of thing that goes over well in polite society.  But it is, unfortunately: at times necessary.

One aspect about the nature of police officers, security people, etc., etc. that you have to keep in mind -- their job entails dealing with the absolute dregs of humanity on a regular basis.  People who would as soon kill you for the $5 in your pocket as to look at you -- and who would do it without so much as batting an eye, or feeling anything remotely resembling remorse.  After enough exposure to such individuals, the police -- or security guards -- (who are human, too) tend to become jaded about situations that members of the public who are rarely exposed to the violence involved can find to be quite upsetting.  In fact, the "jaded" quality is necessary to maintaining personal sanity.  If the necessity of using force to put down a perp is personally upsetting to a law enforcement officer -- a "law enforcement officer" of any type -- then that individual needs to look for a new line of work.  They are in the wrong job.

In this particular instance, I wasn't there: so I can't make any judgments about the incident in question, good or bad.  But I'd consider the possibility that the gawking bystanders had somehow already been made aware of the fact that the man involved in the altercation was store security -- and thus the bystanders did not challenge his actions for that reason.  But that's just a guess on my part.  It's also possible that they just did not care.  Which happens, too.

BTW - speaking of nurses -- one of my co-worker's sons works security detail for a major university hospital.  He regularly has to run to various points throughout the complex in order to forcibly subdue violent people.......in the type of environment where you wouldn't expect violent people to be.........but they are.  Constantly.  IMO, it's a sign of our times.

BTW - maybe we can get our hands on some of that bail-out money......and use it to buy a Cray.

Now lookie here -- geoegress and I agreeing on something!  And cross-posting it, no less.  Stop the presses!

I dunno.......a Cray? 

OK -- now I get it -- you're a member of the Knights Templar, aren't you?

Sorry about that -- but of course: you'll appreciate the fact that those of us who understand these things must keep our secrets.  We can't have the Illuminati finding out that we are on to their little schemes.  Plus there's the fact that providing that link in a public forum like this might tip off the NSA, too.  And if that were to happen, then who knows what the reaction of the Federal Reserve would be?  So.......listing that link openly would simply comprise too much of a risk.  I'd consider forwarding the link to you via IM, but how do I know that you don't work for the CIA?

sigh  Stuff like this has been so uncertain ever since Atlantis sank into the sea off the coast of Brazil.  You just can't tell who you can trust anymore.

Quote - 1. humans don't have the ability to create super-massive objects

Oh, yeah?  Well, what about government bureaucracy and regulations?  Not to mention taxes -- which if you think about it: function in precisely the same manner that a black hole does.

Quote - 2. no extra-terrestrial interstellar vehicle has visited this planet

Aliens built the pyramids......including the pyramids in South America.

Quote - 3. time travel from the future is impossible

Now that sets up a paradox: if we can extrapolate that time travel into the future is possible.

Given that time travel from the future is impossible: then how would a time traveler coming up from the past return back to the temporal plane of his own origin......so that he could have the children that history indicated that he'd produced in his lifetime?

If a time traveler came from the past: then would all of his descendants instantly disappear, because of the fact that their great-great grandfather traveled into the future: and then found that he couldn't return back to the past again?  These are deep matters to contemplate.......

Quote - anybody who's concerned about these things should always wear his aluminium hat. :lol:

I understand that aluminum-hat wearing is all the fashion rage among the avid fans of grocery store tabloids.  But such a complete lack of fashion sense just goes to show you how dumb they all are.  People who are smart and in-the-know are logically-minded enough to realize that wearing aluminum hats won't do them any good at all.  The correct material to use is gold-anodized pot metal.  Anything else stems from nothing but foolish paranoia.

No, no, no, you've all gotten it completely wrong.  The atmosphere isn't going to catch fire, and there won't be any black holes.  Everybody knows that.

What's actually happened is that the official government types have succeeded in tearing open a hole into another dimension: and numerous hellish creatures of various descriptions -- but all of them with a taste for human flesh -- have come pouring out of that hole and have completely infested the facility.  But not to worry: a tough, lone Marine PFC who was on temporary leave has gone in......and now there are reports of loud gunfire, explosions, and hideous roars heard echoing back from within the facility.  So, no doubt, that heroic lone Marine will take care of this minor issue for us.  We can all relax.

Oh, yeah -- I forgot to mention that the researchers who were responsible for building that facility did everybody a huge favor by leaving a gazillion caches of ammunition, advanced military-grade weapons, grenades of every description, body armor, and instant-healing potions scattered all over the facility.  Thus: it shouldn't be any big deal.  Mr. Lone Marine can handle the monsters for us......our only duty should be to begin polishing up that Congressional Medal of Honor for him, whenever he comes back out.

I just hope that he doesn't have too much trouble with the Boss on Level 3..........

I see that the dragon likes to carry his lunch around with him on his back........

Better watch out messing around in Second Life -- you might end up with a crazy woman breaking into your apartment, tying up her dog with duct tape in your bathroom, and then waiting around to kidnap you at gunpoint.......but hey: it's all in a day's work in the realm of Second Life.......where off-center folks might come around lookin' for love.  Stealing stuff......?  Yeah, that's a mere hobby in such an immersive virtual world.  Where fake fantasy replaces the nastiness of having to deal with reality (and with real relationships) -- for some.

http://cbs3.com/local/kimberly.jernigan.second.2.801089.html

I have a desktop HP Core 2 Duo (4G RAM) that's about 2 years old now -- with an add-on ATI Radeon card + 512MB video RAM.  XP Pro 64 bit.  No problems whatsoever running Poser Pro.....which seems to contradict some of the things that I've heard about problems with Poser and ATI cards.

I also have a newer (approx. 4 months old) HP laptop with 64 bit Vista -- likewise 4G RAM.  If anything, Poser Pro seems to run more smoothly under Vista 64 than it does under XP Pro 64.....which also contradicts some of what I've heard.  IMO, Microsoft finally got their act together with Vista this last Spring.  Too bad that it took so long to do.

You pays your money and you takes your choice.

Painters don't always use the same size brush -- and sculptors don't always use the same size chisel.  In fact, sometimes painters don't use brushes at all, and sometimes sculptors don't use chisels at all.  They use whatever tool comes to hand that will do the job that they want it to do.

I've never understood this obsessive drive to "purify" Poser renders.  If that's what floats your boat -- then great.  Make all of the raw renders that you like.  Astound us with your talent & skill.  I'll still continue to stick with what works for me.  And others will continue to stick with what works for them.

In my view, "purism", when it comes to 3D (or 2D CGI), is little more than a self-imposed limitation for no valid reason.  If you like to operate under such self-imposed limitations -- then that's all well and good.  I won't criticize you for doing it.  Have fun.  Where the problem comes in is when people begin to imply that "pure" (read: raw) renders are somehow representative of "valid" artwork -- while "impure" (read: postworked) renders are "invalid" artwork.  IMO, the avid postworker is actually displaying greater skill and flexibility than his purist bretheren.  Greater skill because he's shown that he knows how to work in more than one software package.  And greater flexibility because he's not permitted himself to be bound by any sets of "rules" in regards to the "proper" way to do things.  Particularly not when others attempt to impose those rules on him.

Queue exit music..........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhNM2K8cmU8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXGGuqXB8h4

Perhaps we should bury a stack of Poser renders, printed out, in a time capsule.......so that our brilliance will extend across the eons............V4 being admired in the year 2525......if Man is still alive........if Woman can survive.........

I doubt that anyone will be examining current 3D renders 3000 years from now.  But there's a decent chance that they'll still be able to admire (by then) 6000 year old ancient Greek sculptures.

Personally, I choose to postwork.  Others can do whatever they want to do.  It doesn't matter to me in the least.

This thread's demise.. are we working towards ...?...