Vidi

Cordoba has a very interesting history behind it. While it is true that it was conquered by the Moors in 711 CE, it became a very multicultural city. It should be noted that at this time, most of Christian Europe was in disarray, with much of the technology having been lost after the fall of the Roman Empire. Only the Byzantine empire and the North African and Middle Eastern parts of the old Empire managed to keep the technology. This meant that the Muslim world was suddenly at the forefront of technological change, with most of Europe warring between themselves. Cordoba became a very rich city. Since it was at the very forefront of education, economic progress and culture. However, it wasn't just available for Muslims. A large Jewish population set up shop in the city, and became, as one of my sources puts it, "[T]he seat of Jewish learning, scholarship and culture, gradually eclipsing the Babylonian academies of Sura and Pumbeditha.". Alongside the Jewish and Muslim population, a large Christian population also existed in the city. Generally these groups managed to get on rather well with each other, which was what lead Cordoba becoming such a rich city. Of course, it wasn't all peace and harmony. Some restrictions where put upon the non-Muslim population, making them more like second class citizens, however, as pointed out in the BBC article: "Although these rules would now be considered completely unacceptable, they were not much of a burden by the standards of the time, and in many ways the non-Muslims of Islamic Spain (at least before 1050) were treated better than conquered peoples might have expected during that period of history.". Also, a number of historians have denied this view, and put forth that the non-Muslim populations were repressed. Feisal Abdul Rauf, one of the funders of Park51 has said that they chose the name Cordoba House to refer to this cultural golden age, as they want Park51 to help bridge the gaps between these religions to show how they can all along, a rather noble goal. Of course, the backlash from the name forced them to rename, which personally I think is a shame. Sources: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/spain_1.shtml - A very good article on Cordoba's history http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Cordoba.html - A Jewish centric view http://www.whatcordoba.com/history-cordoba.html - A nice short overview http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%B3rdoba,_Spain - Everyone uses Wikipedia

There's a distinct lack of Dwarf Fortress on this list. It's one of the hardest, most detailed and fun games to play around, even if it does just look like ascii soup. Just remember: Losing is Fun! There's a number of excellent let's plays about Dwarf Fortress too, one of most popular is Boatmurdered, which is fairly old now since it used the old 2d version of the game, but it still manages to show how ridiculous the game can get. :)

There's a second trailer on their YouTube page if anyone has missed it. I can't wait for this movie now :) Their first movie, Star Wreck, was pretty brilliant too. If you haven't seen that, try and get it. It helps if you know Babylon 5 and Star Trek, though.

US and Russia announce new deal to cut nuclear weapons BBC News | CNN | Fox News Seems like another step in the right direction.

Since some are talking sandwiches, you can't go wrong with a good Marmite and Butter sandwich. Delicious and cheap :)

Instant Noodles. Oh woe is the life of a poor student.

Hmm, I guess calling them "crackpots" was a little harsh, I apologise.

This is an Argument from authority, nothing more. Science doesn't care who does science, even the crackpots who believe in ID are allowed to submit scientific research, it doesn't matter who they are. But if their claims are not backed up by evidence and are not reproducible, they will be discarded. Just because Newton or Einstein believed in a god does not mean that the Theory of Evolution is discredited. If however, they had submitted scientific papers with evidence that was observable, reproducible and explained previous observations, then the existence of a god, or ID, whatever you where driving at in this post, would have been accepted years ago. Of course, science done by those with Ph.D.s and such are usually more credible since they know the science behind what they're talking about. ID by itself is not anti-science. It is an idea that with work, could be made into a valid hypothesis, and if any evidence can be found for it, into a proper scentific theory. However, the numerous issues with ID, such as the origins of a intelligent designer must be cleared up before it is accepted. It is the people who try to "teach the controversy" in schools or teach ID as solid fact while it is still just a hypothesis who are anti-science, as they are promoting something with no current scientific merit as actual science. It is dogmatic faith that masquerades as a valid scientific idea.

Continuing on the Freespace2 engine games: The Babylon Project, set in the Babylon 5 universe, and completely standalone. Then there's UFO:Alien Invasion, an X-COM like game made, so turn-based and with a small squad, in 3d. A for people who like transport management simulators, there's Open Transport Tycoon Deluxe, based on the old Transport Tycoon games by Chris Sawyer. However, if you want the original graphics, you do need the original files, or else you can use the OpenGFX graphics for free.

Hello everyone, been a while since I came here. For the internet section, SRWare Iron: http://www.srware.net/en/software_srware_iron.php. It's based on the Google chromium engine, but removes a lot of Google's data collection code, so you can browse the internet without Google looking at what you're doing. Also comes with an adblocker, but it's not as user-friendly or as elegant as Adblock Plus. Unfortunately, it also removes the update feature, so you'll have to check manually for any updates to it.

Actually, if ya get MSN plus, you can grab some add-ons that add dice rolling features, or you could roll a dice yourself and just write the output out yourself. The campaign looks like quite fun, good luck with it :)

This looks like quite a good game, if only I could read German, or if it was in English. Hell, even Engrish would satisfy me :P

(this comment for The House of Shadow by GriMFandagO) Wow, what can I say? apart from: that was brilliant! I know nothing of Magic: The Gathering, but found that to be a most enjoyable read :) I can't think of any criticisms, so I'll just have to say, keep on writing. - Vidi

:-[ Whoops, but my post still holds some truth, you can get Pirate games from those sites, even if they are really, really old.

I prefer Angband to Nethack, I have no idea why, I just do. One good thing about Angband is that you can make your own variant, so there are many different ways you can play Angband, i.e. ZAngband, or TOME, have different mechanics than Angband and each other. I like ADOM as well, but I found that a bit to hard, (I can't even pick things up and pay for them :P) - Vidi