Patrick

http://laughingsquid.com/watermelon-death-star/ Via Digg.

I went ahead and gave this it's own thread. Welcome. Patrick

Cool.

Welcome aboard, ~Reaper~. Patrick

http://www.stevenhumour.com/2010/06/18/super-mario-bros-stop-motion-animation/ Pretty cool. Via Alexander Schek via Lance Ulanoff.

My pleasure, Brian. Patrick

Heh.

Nice review, bigpopparob2000. Thanks for sharing. Patrick

The reason that the links are breaking is because of the "#!" in them, for whatever reason. Just shorten it like this and it works fine: grav3h3art's profile: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=548415905 BDPulver's profile: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000878725388 Here's a direct link to Heidi's school, as well: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=60555828085 Thanks, Patrick

Thanks for all of the replies. Good to hear some perspectives on the film. I'm pretty sure I'll cry. I cry pretty badly during movies. It's a weakness. Regarding release dates, this appears to be a good list: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0435761/releaseinfo July 23 for the United Kingdom. No date for South Korea. I'm not sure how accurate it is or how good the source is, but this report says it could premiere there on August 5: http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningnews.co.kr%2Fread.php3%3Fno%3D24037%26read_temp%3D20100619%26section%3D32&sl=ko&tl=en

Who is planning to see it? If you have already, please let us know what you think. I'm hearing tons of good things.

Hey Gold. Glad to have you! Patrick

Welcome aboard. Thanks for sharing that. Patrick

Belated Happy Father's Day to all of the fathers here. Patrick

Yeah, that's a good observation. My brother said the same thing. Patrick

Thanks Brian and Danielle.

Yeah, no reason to do it if you don't feel you're ready. Nerves are natural, though. Patrick

Welcome aboard, Matthias. Patrick

Congrats to the Lakers, Bob and the rest of their fans.

Congrats!

http://e3.gamespot.com/video/6266158/ Looks pretty cool.

My pleasure. Patrick

Thanks Brian. I think that, generally speaking, adults fall victim to the same trappings that a child or a minor might. I mean, what are the reasons you would withhold a black belt from someone, just because of their age? I've heard things like... 1. They aren't emotionally ready. 2. They aren't physically ready (strong enough). They can't fight. 3. It'll give them a big ego (might be the same as emotionally ready, but let me give it it's own place! ). The problem with these reasons is that all of these things are true for adults, as well. So, if that is the case, age becomes an arbitrary limitation that almost plays a stereotype. Yeah, most minors shouldn't reach black belt. But, most adults shouldn't, either, right? You should only reach it if you pass the necessary tests and gradings and have the appropriate knowledge. As an aside, the reason people hold back minors isn't always pure, either. For some people, it's a matter of insecurity. If a 13-17 year old can attain their rank, it somehow cheapens their rank or makes them feel like they are in some way inadequate. For some others, it could be a way to make more money, forcing them to test twice and earn the same belt twice. Just my thoughts. Thanks, Patrick

Chitsu, The legal question is a separate one to answer, I would say, and a good point to raise. I was speaking more to legitimacy and ability, than legal liability. That sort of choice must be investigated and weighed, certainly. I don't see it as a difficult correlation. People aren't born with some random ability to teach technology, any more than they are born with some random ability to teach martial arts. And the martial arts don't necessarily have to take any longer to reach a teachable level in. Understanding technology is a result of personal traits, time invested, attention to detail, practice and retention. Understanding the martial arts is a result of personal traits, time invested, attention to detail, practice and retention. (As an aside, what I was talking about wasn't really IT, though I suppose it may be IT related in some stretch, in that you sometimes use computers to achieve it. But, that's not a big deal. Online community and social media are more to do with people, than technology, as compared to general IT and the IT space). 19 is no longer a minor, so that's not really what I was speaking towards, but that doesn't really disprove what I said, anymore than it proves it. A small percentage of the population is able to teach. That includes both minors and adults. Those that do, have a desire to teach. When you were 19, did you have a serious desire to teach other people anything? Desire to teach is a very important component of this. You don't have two black belts, or whatever rank you want to start people teaching at, one who is 30 and one who is 19 and say "well, you're 30, so you teach." That's a recipe for disaster. It should be judged on merit and being on this earth for 11 years more does not give you inherent qualification as a better teacher - a better person to share knowledge with those who want to receive it. And even if you did have a desire to teach, you as a 19 year old does not reflect on anyone else as a 19 year old. Not that you were suggesting that - you weren't. There are 40 year olds who think they are indestructible. Thanks, Patrick

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/cliffs-of-moher-couple/ Cool picture. Via Digg.