The problem I see with people like Devil-Itachi is that they are what I like to call "aggressively atheist". Not only do they not believe in G*d, they aggressively pursue their atheism in a way that resembles religious zealots. Zealots of any stripe are usually free from all logic anyway, so it's difficult to talk to them. The way I see it, however, it's very difficult to believe in G*d mainly because He never seems to show His face.

For myself; I don't believe in any higher power because I've never seen any evidence for it. Never seen any evidence against it either, but frankly that's not enough to convince me either. I won't say I DON'T believe in Him, just that I'm not sure. The same way I can't ever truly be sure if the universe is infinite or not. So long as there is no conclusive proof either way, it's sheer idiocy to make any kind of judgement call. I deplore scientists that just "believe" that the universe is infinite. They're making a cardinal sin of taking something on faith when there is not enough evidence to justify it. All of science is based on that.

As for free will, does nobody else think it's overrated? Apparently, we've been given such a wonderful gift as the ability to make our own decisions. What do we do with it? We murder each other over the pettiest things, we destroy hundreds of lives over tiny patches of land, we rape and steal and maim ... really, what good is this free will? Without it, we may be robots without any control over our actions, true, but we'd live in a utopia where there would be no poverty, no crime, no hate, no malice. Wouldn't that be worth the sacrifice of something that hasn't done us a whit of good anyway? And you might say, "there are good people in this world." Certainly there are. But not everyone is good. Not everyone CHOOSES to be good. And therein lies the problem. Why give them the choice to be bad in the first place? Why not take the choice from them, and FORCE them to be good?

Anyway, as for the Big Bang: there is evidence to support that, and evidence against. And not all evidence against is neccessarily aimed at disproving G*d either. One of the more popular ones is the fact that there seems to be not enough mass in the universe to justify the theory, thus the theory about "dark matter" that we can't detect. Oh right, dark matter. Is this like G*d then? Something we need to take on faith? I'm sorry, but if I can't detect it, I can't believe in it. It may very well be there, but until there's evidence for it I can't just "take it on faith".

In the end, most people like me, in answer to the question, "why DON'T you believe in G*d? There's no evidence saying he's NOT there ..." the answer would be, "why should I?" There just isn't any reason we have to believe in something we can't see evidence for. I suppose it only applies to people with a very strong scientific background like myself, who spent a lifetime making conclusions only based on sound evidence.

The fact is, science is as unlike faith as can possibly be. For a religious person, there never was evidence and never will be, but that's OK. For a scientist, EVERYTHING is based on evidence. For a religious person, "evidence" doesn't faze their beliefs, because they have faith. For a scientist, every theory is only true as long as new evidence doesn't come along to disprove it. Even our so-called "laws" can be bent or broken if empirical evidence provides a counterexample. For the longest time, Newton's "Laws" were thought to be absolute. Until Einstein came along.

As for Bible interpretation, what can I say. I've never read it, so I don't have any knowledge of it. All I CAN really say about the Bible is that I hate people who quote passages from it to put down others, as though every single thing you do is a sin against G*d and that you'd go to Hell forever and ever and a day. If that's the way Christians convert then no thank you, I get enough people screaming at me at work, I don't need any more thank you very much. I don't need nor desire some person constantly yelling, "You're going to Hell, young man! Do you not fear the fire and the brimstone?! You cannot be saved, you're a damned soul, may G*d have pity on you ..." And here I thought only the Calvanists were that depressing.

Gears of War is definately not the best game, graphically, anymore. The best game in terms of graphics is undisputedly Crysis, if you run it on Very High with full Anti-Aliasing. Then again you'd need a super-computer to do that, but whatever ...

That said, graphics doesn't make the game. It's a big part of it sure, but there's also gameplay, and multiplayer, and the community, all of which are great in Gears of War. So I still think it's an awesome, awesome game, despite the fact that the graphics are a bit dated. And come on; the graphics should be dated! It'll be a sad, sad day in gaming history when graphics don't improve a bunch over the course of a whole year.

Hey guys, I'm thinking of buying Crysis. Why? Well, any PC gamer already knows why ;). So, the question is, how far can I push the graphics on my rig? Here it is:

Intel Media Motherboard (a generic one, I don't remember what kind it is exactly)
Thermaltake 750W PSU
nVIDIA GeForce 8800GT Superclocked
Pentium Core2 Quad
A-Data DDR2 800GHz 4GB RAM
WD 500GB SATA HD
Seagate 500GB SATA HD
Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit

Now I don't neccessarily want everything on very high plus max AA, because you would need special Russian black-ops tech for that. But what I would like to know is: what's the max settings I could get away with using this rig? Maybe I could max out with High? Medium? Do I need to switch out my mobo for an nForce and SLI another 8800GT? (by the way I can't afford that right now, but I'm considering doing it next year perhaps).

Only one game in history even comes close to a book. It's not quite there, but it's damn close.

Planescape: Torment.

The only game that ever had me sitting in shock when the game was over, still mulling it over in my head long after the credits started rolling. The only other medium that ever did that to me was a novel.

I also suggest heavily that you wait until after Christmas. The "Cyber Monday" sales have already passed; that was a good time to stock up on cheap gear. I saw an excellent WD 500GB going for only $50. I got 4GB DDR2 800GHz A-Data memory for only $70 (after mail-in rebate). So times like Cyber Monday, when there are tons of sales going on, is a good time to stock up because you'll get unbeatable deals. But they only last a few days. The downside is that not everything is on sale so you may end up building your computer over the course of several months. The best times, imo, to buy are:

Cyber Monday (Monday after Thanksgiving): Amazon/Ebay/Newegg have incredible deals. $120 4GB RAM sell for only $70. You can shave incredible amounts off of expensive parts on Cyber Monday.

Day after New Years Day: Same as Cyber Monday. The Christmas/New Years sales push are over. Now the stores are stocked withs stuff they couldn't sell over the holidays. What do they do? Sale, sale, sale! Take advantage of it and buy cheap stuff.

Early Spring/Fall: Gamers like to buy during the Summer (kids mostly, they wanna play games during their free-time), and winter (can't go outside). Early spring and fall are slow seasons and you might be able to get better deals than when the stores are really pushing their gear.

Also, nVidia is always coming out with the newest stuff. They can't stagnate so they can't possibly throw up their hands and say, "oh dear, 8800GTX is the last high end we're making". So if you're waiting for the "ultimate" GeForce you'll be waiting for the rest of your life. At some point you're gonna have to buy. So, in that vein, I'd really suggest getting at least an 8800GT right now. It really is one of the best cards for the money that has ever been built. Or possibly ever will be.

Just be super-careful with those connectors! If, like me, you're a clumsy person, it's VERY easy to bend/break connectors (those little metal prongs that stick out) and once damaged, they're nearly impossible to repair. So watch out for that. This might seem like obvious advice, but don't sit/step on any of your stuff (this is harder than it sounds if you have computer parts spread all over the floor). And don't let any children under the age of 10 anywhere near where you're building your computer ;).

I once turned a $100 WD hard drive into a brick by sitting on it :(. So yeah, it's very important not to do that.

The others here have given great advice. One last piece: get Windows XP if at all possible :). Vista sucks, it really does, it chews up memory and doesn't give a darn thing in return. Worst investment I EVER made. Oh yeah and, if in doubt, don't install. Ask for advice, or have someone experienced do it for you. Unless you count yourself as a skilled computer builder, it's not usually a very good idea to muck about in your computer's innards if you have any doubts about what it is you're doing.

One final piece of advice: most parts snap into place like lego bricks. RAM cards only go in the RAM slots ... they don't fit anywhere else. Same with graphics cards. So, if it doesn't fit, don't force it!

Ok, guys, I have a dillemma. I've got $200 left for my PC-building fund this month. This means I only have room left for really one other item. I can't decide which would bring a bigger benefit.

Possibility 1: Creative Sound Card
Pro: Right now I'm working off of the Motherboard for my sound. I hear any half-decent soundcard with a memory and processor will improve my FPS, because the mobo and the CPU don't have to process sound anymore.
Con: I don't really care about sound. Should I spend $200 on a card that only improves FPS by 15%? Besides, I don't even have a 5.1 rig for my computer (5.1 was expensive enough for my HDTV).

Possibility 2: New LCD Monitor
Pro: My current monitor is a piece of junk that came with my computer. It's an HP vs17e, a standard 17 inch LCD that probably isn't even HD. Considering that I just bought an 8800GT, I thought maybe I should get a monitor worthy of such a good GPU.
Con: This doesn't really help me in any way. Crysis will still run on my computer with the vs17e, just won't look as nice. On the other hand, the sound card would actually improve FPS...

Possiblity 3: Cheap Sound Card + Speakers
Pro: Way better sound than stock speakers from my monitor + stock sound from Motherboard.
Con: Won't help in any way, and a cheap sound card may not improve my FPS the way I am almost 100% sure a Creative sound card would.

So please help me out guys! Where should my $200 go? Would I be better off with sound or monitor? And if you suggest a monitor, what's a good monitor that can take advantage of the power of the 8800GT that is $200 or less? And preferably bigger than 17 inches?