For me, DS9 was the best: great character arcs, especially for Dukat, Kira, Sisko, and Odo. Lots of Fighting In Space with the Defiant. The Bajorans were an intriguing culture to find out about, but the show never came down on the side of supernatural explanations for their gods and spiritual beliefs (Battlestar Galactica take note). And there was a huge, epic story with the Dominion War that stretched and developed through the whole series, whereas we were lucky if TNG had a story spread across two episodes. Not to mention the terrific production design and rich interplay between the characters. The characters never seemed to connect in TNG: everyone was too nice to each other and hardly ever argued unless they were under the influence of an Alien Arguing Virus or something. Plus TNG's sets were revolting and there was a frigging PSYCHIC PSYCHOTHERAPIST on the BRIDGE, for crying out loud. How unrealistic, how eighties, is that?

Voyager was little more than "The Seven Of Nine Show". Too many episodes focussed on this boring waste of narrative space. Being Borg, Seven should have been an interesting and unique character, but she was basically a Vulcan with a bit of plastic stuck around her eye. And they already had a Vulcan on board! Oh, and don't get me started on Neelix. More annoying than a tribble, the character of Neelix alone should have been enough to get the show cancelled after its first season. The appalling time-travel-paradox finale was baloney, and Janeway's voice was super-annoying.

Enterprise was another wasted opportunity, though I did like Scott Bakula. And as for TOS, I suppose I'm just the wrong generation to really enjoy it. I appreciate it for the groundwork, but it's not really the same standard as the later series.

Oh, and DS9 only had one episode with bloody Q in it, which is a good thing.

Aaaand relax.

I'll be honest. There's no way I would read a message board post this long under any circumstances. But I'm upvoting it because I think its important that people thing persistence pays off.

In reply to this comment by legacy0100:
Guys, as much as this all sound nice and happy, 'hugging' and 'persuading' just wouldn't work in certain areas. I'll come right out and say you guys are being delusional here.

Just with that video kronospeidon posted, that biker probably ignored the cop's orders to stop and attempts to weave through. So cop had to use necessary force to stop him.

You might say 'you can be nice while enforcing the rule'. Oh yeah? You think these guys would give their own time, purposely stop for you and wait for you to order you around? Not in NYC at least.

You think nice words would've made him stop instead? He would've past right through without a glance. If he had listened to the first warning and stopped, sure, give him a hug, a kiss, a reach-around and what have you. But when you fail to obey, you gotta crack the whips in order to make them listen.


Do I think all that force was necessary just to enforce someone to wear a helmet? No, I do think it was excessive. But that's not the issue here. The main point I'm discussing here is that 'nice words would NOT have stopped this man'.

If the biker had listened to the cop in the first place, this never would've happened. But he purposely ignored the cop giving orders to stop.




I currently work in a Gym in New York City, and I've got a bunch of meatheads from the city coming in to the gym and do whatever they wanna do. They're all pumped up from the energy drinks and dumbells. They're hyper, loud and full of testosterone.

I was nice to them back when I first started working here. But then they how far they can push the line, and they test you over and over and over. You have to put your foot down otherwise you're the only one getting hurt. They don't see you as a person, but merely as a 'worker they can take advantage of'

You give someone a break, and the next day they ask for the same thing, and then something else. And if you allow this to continue, they'll keep pushing until they get everything.

They don't limit themselves, and then the rules go haywire. They ask to get a break. But then what happens to other members who adhere to those rules? They ask for the same favor now, and the rules are no longer valid.




You wanna know how my day goes? Let's say someone is not wearing proper gym attire. Trying to work out while they're still in their Jeans. I call out their name to tell them it's not allowed in here. And guess what, they just walk right past you.

But they DID hear you, but they CHOOSE to ignore it. They know that once they're past the front desk and into the main floor, they think it's a done deal. Because nobody wants to chase after a person, either because they're lazy or because it's not worth it.

But I personally get out of my station and chase them down. They call me a hard-ass for doing that. But I only do it because ONLY THEN they listen to you. Otherwise all they do is get past the front gate as fast as possible, not make eye contact, pretending to listen to their IPOD. And then do whatever the hell they want once they're inside the gym. Ignoring all the guidelines and rules.




This one time the guy knew I was following him downstairs to give him a warning, so he decides to go into the spinning bike room and locks the door. You can see right through the plastic windows. I know he can see me, but he CHOOSES to ignore me, pretending to ride the bike with his head down.

I knock on the door, mouthing 'come out'. You know what he does? He pretends he can't hear me over the loud music playing on the overhead sound system... LOL Is he in middle school? you might ask. Nope, the guy was 32 years old.




Guess what, this happened perhaps at least 3 times a week when I first started working at the gym. Back when I was being the 'nice cop'. Nowdays I don't give a damn about their feelings or whatever lame excuse they gotta give. I don't do them favors nor do I care what they have to say. And guess what, only after I act like an asshole was when they started listening to me.

Even still, there's still one or two people (sometimes girls, especially the ones in their late 20s to mid 30s) trying the same shit on me per week. I admit I'm still not used to dealing with these types. I feel uneasy when I have to 'act' tough and be an asshole. But you gotta do what you gotta do in order to enforce rules, otherwise nobody will listen to it.

Nowadays they know I don't do them any favors and know I'll do something about it when they ignore me, either by talking real loud about their bad behaviors and embarrassing them in front of everyone or putting a hold on their membership.



It's like being in a iron cage with a bunch of wolves. If you appear too nice, these fuckers will perceive you as 'weak'. And they take advantage of you until you do something about it. They try to assert themselves whenever they see an opening, it's like a fucking prison cell. Of course, not all of them are like that, but it only takes a few of them to push the line, and rest would mimic the same behavior because they now know it's possible.

And once they know how far they can push it, even the nice ones who never behaved such ways would start to do it. They learn from what others have been doing, so they learn to mimic the techniques and tries to pull off the same shit on you.

Environment you live in, and the culture that dominates is a scary thing. It really is.


That is why niceness is such a dangerous tool to use. It's a double edged sword.

Guys, as much as this all sound nice and happy, 'hugging' and 'persuading' just wouldn't work in certain areas. I'll come right out and say you guys are being delusional here.

Just with that video kronospeidon posted, that biker probably ignored the cop's orders to stop and attempts to weave through. So cop had to use necessary force to stop him.

You might say 'you can be nice while enforcing the rule'. Oh yeah? You think these guys would give their own time, purposely stop for you and wait for you to order you around? Not in NYC at least.

You think nice words would've made him stop instead? He would've past right through without a glance. If he had listened to the first warning and stopped, sure, give him a hug, a kiss, a reach-around and what have you. But when you fail to obey, you gotta crack the whips in order to make them listen.


Do I think all that force was necessary just to enforce someone to wear a helmet? No, I do think it was excessive. But that's not the issue here. The main point I'm discussing here is that 'nice words would NOT have stopped this man'.

If the biker had listened to the cop in the first place, this never would've happened. But he purposely ignored the cop giving orders to stop.




I currently work in a Gym in New York City, and I've got a bunch of meatheads from the city coming in to the gym and do whatever they wanna do. They're all pumped up from the energy drinks and dumbells. They're hyper, loud and full of testosterone.

I was nice to them back when I first started working here. But then they how far they can push the line, and they test you over and over and over. You have to put your foot down otherwise you're the only one getting hurt. They don't see you as a person, but merely as a 'worker they can take advantage of'

You give someone a break, and the next day they ask for the same thing, and then something else. And if you allow this to continue, they'll keep pushing until they get everything.

They don't limit themselves, and then the rules go haywire. They ask to get a break. But then what happens to other members who adhere to those rules? They ask for the same favor now, and the rules are no longer valid.




You wanna know how my day goes? Let's say someone is not wearing proper gym attire. Trying to work out while they're still in their Jeans. I call out their name to tell them it's not allowed in here. And guess what, they just walk right past you.

But they DID hear you, but they CHOOSE to ignore it. They know that once they're past the front desk and into the main floor, they think it's a done deal. Because nobody wants to chase after a person, either because they're lazy or because it's not worth it.

But I personally get out of my station and chase them down. They call me a hard-ass for doing that. But I only do it because ONLY THEN they listen to you. Otherwise all they do is get past the front gate as fast as possible, not make eye contact, pretending to listen to their IPOD. And then do whatever the hell they want once they're inside the gym. Ignoring all the guidelines and rules.




This one time the guy knew I was following him downstairs to give him a warning, so he decides to go into the spinning bike room and locks the door. You can see right through the plastic windows. I know he can see me, but he CHOOSES to ignore me, pretending to ride the bike with his head down.

I knock on the door, mouthing 'come out'. You know what he does? He pretends he can't hear me over the loud music playing on the overhead sound system... LOL Is he in middle school? you might ask. Nope, the guy was 32 years old.




Guess what, this happened perhaps at least 3 times a week when I first started working at the gym. Back when I was being the 'nice cop'. Nowdays I don't give a damn about their feelings or whatever lame excuse they gotta give. I don't do them favors nor do I care what they have to say. And guess what, only after I act like an asshole was when they started listening to me.

Even still, there's still one or two people (sometimes girls, especially the ones in their late 20s to mid 30s) trying the same shit on me per week. I admit I'm still not used to dealing with these types. I feel uneasy when I have to 'act' tough and be an asshole. But you gotta do what you gotta do in order to enforce rules, otherwise nobody will listen to it.

Nowadays they know I don't do them any favors and know I'll do something about it when they ignore me, either by talking real loud about their bad behaviors and embarrassing them in front of everyone or putting a hold on their membership.



It's like being in a iron cage with a bunch of wolves. If you appear too nice, these fuckers will perceive you as 'weak'. And they take advantage of you until you do something about it. They try to assert themselves whenever they see an opening, it's like a fucking prison cell. Of course, not all of them are like that, but it only takes a few of them to push the line, and rest would mimic the same behavior because they now know it's possible.

And once they know how far they can push it, even the nice ones who never behaved such ways would start to do it. They learn from what others have been doing, so they learn to mimic the techniques and tries to pull off the same shit on you.

Environment you live in, and the culture that dominates is a scary thing. It really is.


That is why niceness is such a dangerous tool to use. It's a double edged sword.

http://www.videosift.com/video/The-Bug-Skeng
You should sift the sonic warfare video too!
Nice grooves in da London Zoo!:)

Hey, man, I've been teaching in Taiwan to Taiwanese runts for about six months now. Let me tell you, from what I've heard about the set-up in South Korea, you'll be paid like a rock star but treated like a mule. Brace yourself. I've been working pretty hard myself, but the culture is very different from what I'm used to. My boss just actually got fired because she was, and this is truly a direct quote, "too nice to the teachers." But, it's a good choice. I've been to Hong Kong, Macau, Okinawa, Cambodia, just got back from Sydney and I'm leaving my house after I write this to get my visa to go to Vietnam. The money and experiences are well worth whatever they throw at you. Enjoy!

i guess you're all too *nice, *gay or *married to fall for this. *kill. so it goes

Oh awesome. Rated the build up too. Nice find.

McCain, you're too nice to the leftists destroying this country with their social engineering.

Six trillion wasted on a failed "War on poverty."

I went to a high school with 2 female wrestlers. They were pretty too, nice slim physique, not total behemoths. Once you see it, you realize there's really nothing astonishing by it. Since most of wrestling is technique in take downs, counters, counter counters, counter counter counters, etc...the person with the better understanding and both physical and mental speed will often times prevail. I suppose before you've seen it, it could be surprising, though.

Good one too. Nice.

In reply to this comment by Abducted:
Yay, my first top 15!

You're such an asshole.

Dealing with the socialist left, I only regret being too nice.

Salta Gamisu.

>> ^swampgirl:
^No David you're not getting it. What I mean is the media (not Gibson..he was too nice really) should press the issues to her, but they've got to stop w/ the hockey mom/gun totin redneck crap. That's all. It only makes them act 'elite' and puts down the average jane and joe. They are who you want to make happy for their vote right?


I'm probably getting more angry than is healthy or useful, but it's not that I don't get it, it's that I don't agree. The media is protected by first amendment rights; they can say whatever they want, which includes unrealistic caricatures and exagerrations of the candidates (see various comedy shows for examples). Running for high public office makes you a magnet for ridicule, not immune to it, and getting sniped on petty and unimportant things is part of the process for all of the candidates.

Most of the media is doing what it has always done, and Palin is playing the politics of victimization, but the McCain/Palin ticket is busy stirring up controversy with one hand while trying to suppress it with the other and blaming others in the process. I haven't heard the "redneck" slight on any but the most outrageous posts on Internet chat sites. The "gun totin'" image is a smokescreen that distracts from the discussion of environmental issues, just as the campaign throws the "sexist" jab at anyone criticizing Palin for any reason. Who is spreading the "hockey mom" image more than anyone else? Sarah Palin herself.

Bottom line -- You are being lied to. The media is trying to do their job. You can argue that they have not been doing their job well (and I would), but this idea that the news media has been taking cheap shots is primarily a smear tactic by the McCain/Palin ticket to drum up controversy and drive the Rovian politics of divisiveness and fear. That's why I get angry; it's a citizens duty to stand up and say "this is a bunch of crap and I'm sick of it." Instead of criticizing the message (which can't be stopped), look deeper at what's being said, who's saying it, and encourage others to do the same.

^No David you're not getting it. What I mean is the media (not Gibson..he was too nice really) should press the issues to her, but they've got to stop w/ the hockey mom/gun totin redneck crap. That's all. It only makes them act 'elite' and puts down the average jane and joe. They are who you want to make happy for their vote right?

Ultimately elections is game playing right? Damn, strategy? The media does play its part. Don't get caught up in your outrage and try and drag her down. You can let her do it herself by well debate.

Gibson should have done better. That interview looked almost like a stalemate to me. But that's another thread.....

i like how the kids kept shouting "you're fighting kids half your age! Thats lame!" but none of the "nerds" had the wits (or maybe they were just too nice) to shout back "You're making fun of people twice your age! Thats lame!"

Heretic and Hexen sources were rereleased too! Nice timing! http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/06/0029241