Soulless
History: This used to be a fansite for a game I had anticipated, (which was, ironically, made by fans) but they gave up on the project showing just how pathetic and useless they really were. So, I'm just going to do whatever with this site. I'm making a game, so that will be on here when its finished, and I will figure out other things interesting to put up here as well. If your curious to know what this site used to be click here: Populous: Tribal Conquest
Showdown At Sunset: This is a game my cousin created initially, so most, if not all, credit goes to him. At first it was nothing more than a one level, two player game. Now, I have made a singleplayer campaign for it. But since I've torn up the original file so much, there is no longer a multiplayer version. But fear not! Upon completing the SP portion of the game I will remake the MP mode bigger and better. And my next project after that will be the sequel.
Gameplay: It's a fairly simple game. To jump press the 'Up' arrow key. To shoot press the down key. To move right or left press the appropriate arrow keys that match. There are four different penguins you can be: Blue, Red, Green and Black. Each has their own unique distinguishing characteristics: Blue (shoots slightly higher), Red (jumps higher/cliff hang ability), Green (shoots slightly slower), and Black (shoots slightly higher/destroys mines) They each also have their own "Special" attack which can accessed by pressing the 'Space' key. In order to change inbetween different penguins is to collect orbs of that color, the orbs may be needed in order to advance. If you would like to restart a certain level, press the 'Enter' button.
Story: The winter has been cold and brutal to your penguin tribe, and worse the Power Cube that keeps your tribe safe and warm has been stolen! The perpetrator is the malevolent White Penguin! He is an insane penguin that murdered all of his own tribe! Now he is going from tribe to tribe stealing the Power Cubes to gain power and become immortal, leaving the tribes to die a slow and icy death. You must go after him and get the Power Cube back before night falls and your fellow penguins freeze to death. But be warned, reaching the White Penguin's castle will not be an easy task, his accomplice Shadow and his ghost army will try to stop you every step of the way. Use the power of fallen tribes that the White Penguin has left in his wake, and good luck!
Game-in-progress: Showdown at Sunset-Version 1
Gambling and Addiction
Nick Mosteller
January 28, 2010
English 12 Block 1
C. Jackson
You see two men betting at the poker table in a casino, one in a fairly nice outfit and the other in yesterday’s clothes, tattered and grimy. They both lose out on a large hand. The more civilized-looking man calls it quits and exits the casino. The other man bets the last of his money in the next hand and loses again. Frustrated, he storms away from the table. As he passes you get a whiff of his musk, the stench of a man who cannot bathe because he had not the money to pay his water bill. What is the difference between the two men? The first man is an ordinary citizen and the second man is a compulsive gambler. About 2.5 million American adults share this man’s lifestyle (Gambling Addiction – Gambling Addiction Statistics). Why do these people live the way they do and when does an ordinary person cross the line?
To gamble is to depend on the probability of a certain outcome, whether entirely chance, or partly on chance and partly on skill. When used as a transitive verb, “gamble” is defined as “to take a risk, hoping for a good outcome.” As an intransitive verb, “gamble” is defined as “to lose something of value by betting or risking away.” Compulsive gamblers will bet their life on the first definition. It substantiates their convictions, as goes for non-gamblers and the second definition (Gabling Online – Sports Gambling – Internet Gambling).
“Last year people won more than one billion dollars playing poker. And casinos made twenty-seven billion just by being around those people.” – Samantha Bee (Funny Gambling Quotes).
Gambling, legalized in some form, is available in 48 states (with the exceptions of Hawaii and Utah) plus the District of Columbia (FAQs – Problem Gamblers). The average minimum age in most states is eighteen, while thirteen states are currently in the process of raising the minimum age to twenty-one. While you can play the lottery at the age of eighteen in most states, many of the same states you cannot play the slot machines in a casino till the age of twenty-one (Minimum Age to Gamble in United States of America).
Sports gambling continues to grow more and more popular. Apart from providing entertainment, the odds of losing in sports gambling are considerably less than most other forms of gambling. For this reason sports gambling is considered a much safer form of gambling (Gambling Online – Sports Gambling – Internet Gambling). Gambling has met with technology in the area of sports in the form of a convenient, hand-held device known as a PocketCasino. It is about the size of a cell phone and allows gamblers to bet against each other on outcomes even as they are transpiring (Villano).
Online gambling is also increasingly popular, although it is illegal in most parts of the world. 89% of online gamblers play for free. Those that do play for money mostly risk less than ten dollars per visit because the majority of people believe online gambling sites are “fixed” (Gambling Online – Sports Gambling – Internet Gambling).
“The urge to gamble is so universal and its practice so pleasurable that I assume it must be evil.” – Heywood Hale Brown (Funny Gambling Quotes).
In the state’s war on internet gambling the first victim was a website in which no actual gambling had been taking place. The site wrote reviews on internet casinos and compiled a list of “rogue casinos” that cheated gamblers out of their money. The site was removed for “aiding and abetting,” as referred to by the Feds or using the internet to transmit “gambling information” (Westneat).
The law in Washington DC is beginning to get its hands on internet gambling sites and is hiring investigators to enforce these laws. The Seattle Times was also under siege because they print a poker how-to column that encourages people to hone their skills at online casinos. Washington has gone from trying to control gambling to abridging the rights to free speech and free press by trying to control people talking about it (Westneat).
“There is a very easy way to return from a casino with a small fortune: go there with a large one.” – Jack Yelton (Quotations about Gambling).
There are six different types of gamblers: There are the professionals who gamble as their primary source of income. There are the serious and casual social gamblers who gamble for the joy of it. There are the relief-and-escape gamblers whose gambling is a major part of their life without their integrity being seriously impaired. Then there are the compulsive gamblers and the antisocial personalities who ignore family and friends and often turn to crime to support their excessive gambling (Gambling Facts and Statistics).
How does gambling, which is not a substance, be addictive for people? Compulsive gamblers get the same effect from gambling as someone else might get from drinking. The gambling alters the person’s mood and they keep repeating that behavior to get the effect. But, like with drugs and alcohol, the gambler builds up a tolerance and must gamble more often to get the same effect as before (FAQs – Problem Gamblers).
Compulsive gambling is a type of impulse-control disorder. Compulsive gamblers cannot control the urge to gamble, even if they know it is hurting themselves or their loved ones. It is all they think about and all they ever want to do. Even when they cannot afford to lose, and they know the odds are against them, they cannot “stay off the bet” (Gambling Addiction and Problem Gambling).
Any gambling behavior that disrupts life psychologically, physically, socially, or vocationally is known as problem gambling. People who have a problem may feel the need to be secretive about their gambling habit, lying about how much they gamble or how much they lose. They might feel that others do not understand or that they will surprise them with a big win. Addicts feel a sense of restlessness or irritability when attempting to stop (Gambling Addiction and Problem Gambling).
People with gambling problems have trouble controlling themselves when they gamble, unable to walk away. Desperate to recoup their losses they will gamble until they have spent their last dollar. Then they move on to money they do not have – money for bills, credit cards, or things for their children. They feel pushed to borrow, sell, or even steal for money to fuel their obsession (Gambling Addiction and Problem Gambling).
As the problem persists friends and family grow more and more worried as signs of the problem become more evident. There may be a lack of money despite the same income and expenses, unexplained loans or cash advances, savings and assets dwindling, jewelry or other easily pawnable items mysteriously disappearing, or an increase in the cost of credit card bills. The problem gambler might become increasingly defensive about his or her gambling, or even blame loved ones for the need to gamble, telling them it is all for them and that they need to trust in the “big win someday” (Gambling Addiction and Problem Gambling).
“Gambling: The sure way of getting nothing from something.” – Wilson Mizner (Quotations about Gambling).
Problem gamblers sincerely believe that putting in more money is the only way for them to regain money lost, digging themselves into a deeper hole. Denial only continues to feed the problem. But problem gamblers can find help in Cognitive-behavior therapy. It teaches addicts to fight gambling urges, to deal with their emotions rather than escape through gambling. It helps them solve the financial, work, and relationship problems caused by their addiction (Gambling Addiction and Problem Gambling).
Some know they should quit, but love it too much. Others believe that their gambling is not where the problem lies, but with their lack of money. They believe quitting is impossible and cannot imagine life without it. The biggest step problem gamblers can take is realizing they have a problem. It can take tremendous strength and courage to own up to the fact, especially having lost a lot of money and strained or broken relationships along the way (Gambling Addiction and Problem Gambling).
Works Cited
“Gambling Addiction and Problem Gambling.” 2009. Help Guide. 21 January 2010. http://www.helpguide.org/mental/gambling_addiction.htm.
“Gambling Facts and Statistics.” 2010. Overcoming Gambling. 21 January 2010. http://www.overcominggambling.com/facts.html.
Westneat, Danny. “This Column may be Illegal.” 2006. The Seattle Times. 21 January 2010. http://www.Seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003062386_danny15.html.
“Minimum Age to Gamble in United States of America.” 2006. World Casino Directory. 21 January 2010. http://www.worldcasinodirectory.com/gambling_age_chart.htm.
“Gambling Addiction – Gambling Addiction Statistics.” 2010. Clearlead Inc. 21 January 2010. http://www.clearleadinc.com/site/gambling-addiction.html.
“Gambling Online – Sports Gambling – Internet Gambling.” 2010. Clearlead Inc. 21 January 2010. http://www.clearleadinc.com/site/gambling-addiction.html.
“FAQs – Problem Gamblers.” 2010. National Council on Problem Gambling. 21 January 2010. http://www.ncpgambling.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=3314.
Villano, Matt. “In Las Vegas, Sports Books in a Pocket.” 2009. The New York Times. 21 January 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/technology/internet28gamble.html?_r=1.
“Funny Gambling Quotes.” 2010. Grinning Planet. 21 January 2010. http://www.grinningplanet.com/funny-quote/gambling_quotes_funny.htm.
“Quotations about Gambling.” 2010. Quote Garden. 21 January 2010. http://www.quotegarden.com/gambling.html
Werewolf Syndrome Nick Mosteller Tidewater Community College Biology 101 November 15, 2010 The integumentary system is the largest
organ system in the human body, comprising of the skin and it’s appendages
(such as hair and nails.) The system plays a number of important roles; it may
serve as a filter, a barrier between the outside and the inner organs it
protects, it regulates temperature, excretes wastes, and also serves as the
attachment site for sensory receptors that detect pain, sensation, pressure,
and temperature. The system also
distinguishes, separates, protects and informs the organism in regard to its
surroundings, stores water, fat, glucose, and generates and stores vitamin D
through exposure to ultraviolet light.
The integumentary system is home to many common diseases such as herpes,
skin cancer, and Albinism. One rare disease of the system includes
Hypertrichosis. Hypertrichosis is a rare inherited disorder
which causes excessive hair growth. The disorder features abnormal hair density
or length compared to normal hair growth in an individual for their age, ethnicity,
and sex. The hair growth can be concentrated in small isolated patches or all
over the body, with the only exceptions being the person’s palms and soles.
Hypertrichosis can be congenital, present from birth, or acquired later in
life. There are a few different types of the
disease. Congenital hypertrichosis
lanuginosa is