DrummerKidJack

There are actually many asexual people out there in happy non-sexual marital relationships out there. It's kind of a weird topic, but at the end of the day sex is ultimately about propagation, not pleasure. Not that that's stopping me from enjoying it, but I think there isn't any obligation for sex at all. Obligation to help your partner or make them happy? Yes? But obligation for sex? Of argue no.

Of course you should never force anyone into any sort of sexual activity. (Or any other activity for that matter) But it is much more complicated than just saying "No responsibility."
 
But being in a committed relationship does bring certain responsibilities and obligations that you've chosen to accept by engaging in that relationship. If you don't want to be in a sexual relationship with someone, then don't be in one! It's as simple as that. A relationship is much more than just sexual. But to deny that sex is a part of it is just denying the point of such a relationship. (Biologically, sociologically, psychologically speaking) It's a really basic human need, you can't ignore it and expect things to just be all right.
 
Sticking with someone in a relationship for whatever reason but declining the sex is putting your partner in a very difficult position. At that point you need professional help, someone needs to make the tough choice and bail, or if you do want to continue your paths together you need to have a sit down and find some kind of agreement that will truly satisfy both partners.

There is a distinct lack of a dedicated creativity thread on these forums. I'm sure the Zomboid community has a huge plethora of artistic types out there, so here's a nice, snug, warm thread for y'all to flex your creative muscles in. Here are some suggestions for posting:
Put it in spoilers! Whether it's art or literature or anything else, stick some spoiler tags around it (like so ) so that we don't get massively clogged up.
Be lovely! Constructive criticism is always welcome, but don't risk the mighty banhammer by being a nasty git (Enigma always has an itchy banning finger. Always). Be prepared to share! Commenting on other's work is great, and you are fantastic for doing it, but be sure to share any work, big or small, no matter the genre or style. We  Everything is art! It doesn't matter what you do, whether it's painting or animation or videos or blogging or short stories, we want to see it! Quote or put @whoever in the first line of any commentary! That way we know who you are critiquing and it makes it easier for anyone else to respond. So get sharing guys!
 
N.B. If any of our lovely mods think this would be better elsewhere, I apologize for goofing. I didn't know whether to stick this in General Discussion or Community and Creativity (cos that was specifically PZ stuff).

There's a very fine line to walk here. Anything that takes control out of a players' hands in a skill based survival game is bad.
So for example, I would support a chance to fall over if you run dead out into a fence.
I don't support a chance to trip while running in general.
I support a chance to catch your house on fire if you leave the soup in the oven because your wife is nagging you.
I don't support burning yourself cooking 'just cuz.'
A player should ALWAYS have a quantifiable knowledge of the repercussions of their actions in skill based games like PZ. Always.

Papers, Please

I'm just getting into Dwarf Fortress. Can't believe it took me this long- it's pretty awesome.

It doesn't matter, past a point, whether they have the possibility to be Hitler or Jesus reincarnated. It doesn't make them a thinking person the moment a sperm and ovum meet.

That's exactly why I didn't vote no. At first I had voted that it should just because of the issues, but that made me feel hypocritical. I removed my vote completely when I added my opinion on all drugs, saying only alcohol and caffeine should be used for recreation in moderation.
 
On the cancer point, I find most studies of what things actually cause cancer to be quite failed. Every person is genetically different enough that no person will get cancer in the same time, or way, another person would. Some people will take decades upon decades to develop cancer, and others will get it in just a few years. We cannot assume that rats getting cancer will always mean a human will get cancer, either.
 
Most of the reason we know many of the chemicals in tobacco smoke can cause cancer is because we have evaluated the health of smokers and non-smokers for decades. We see some of the same carcinogenic chemicals created from burning some other plants, including marijuana, so our best guess is to assume that these chemicals will behave the same. We cannot prove or disprove this until we know if a majority of marijuana smokers develop cancer from the carcinogens.
 
If some people do insist on abusing possibly dangerous substances, I wish they would at least avoid smoking it. Many plants will produce carcinogenic chemicals when smoked, and smoke will always damage your lungs no matter what you are smoking is made of. Its also the shotgun of ingestion methods. You never know who will breathe the smoke.

The amount of carcinogens in marijuana depends on which part of the plant you use. There are parts of the plant with 70-100% more carcinogenic chemicals in it than tobacco, and contain very low amounts of THC. (THC is likely to inhibit carcinogens). There are also parts with equal or lesser quantities of carcinogens compared to tobacco, and moderate amounts of THC. What also should be noted, is that all toxins are toxic based on exposure and potency. Most carcinogens in both tobacco and marijuana are not too potent, but there are a few in both that are very potent. Most carcinogens also take decades between when they start to effect a person, and when cancer shows up.
 
Drinking alcohol affects the body differently than smoking marijuana and tobacco. 
 
Alcohol damages the body mainly because you drink more than your liver can process. The liver is very important to body function, but very resilient, and can stand up to even severe damage from alcoholics for years, and when a person drinks an amount their liver can handle, almost no damage is accrued.
 
Marijuana and tobacco are normally taken orally through inhalation, and will go directly to the lungs, and will enter the blood very quickly. The lungs can and normally will be damaged when any abnormal substance enters them, as they aren't meant to deal with large particles. The carcinogens in either substance are likely to affect the body while in the lungs. This is where the two products act differently. Nicotine in tobacco changes how the heart, muscles, and brain behave (All potentially deadly). The THC and CBD in marijuana do most of their work in the brain. None of the direct affects are lethal, but THC and CBD by themselves are both deadly in relatively small doses when they enter the blood.
 
Most medicinal marijuana growers and producers of THC pills make the mistake of thinking THC is fine to isolate since it is the cannabiniod that helps more, but CBD has been proven to counteract the deadly affects of THC, and it has been proven that THC counteracts the deadly affects of CBD. Neither one helps deal with the carcinogens, and other cannabinoids, but the fact that growers isolate THC makes THC poisoning more likely. This isn't saying that the two cannabinoids shouldn't be used medicinally, just that they shouldn't be used by themselves, or with the other chemicals present in marijuana. There is no way a grower can get just these two chemicals in precise amounts. Just burning the leaves of most plants will produce enough carcinogens to be deadly, so smoking anything at all is just not wise, and I am in no way ever going to support the smoking of any plant.
 
That said, there is no way you can moderate marijuana or tobacco to keep yourself healthy. The carcinogens and other chemicals will damage your body, no matter what, every time you use them, raising your risk for infections. You could potentially get cancer from one use of either substance, too. 
 
I didn't want to sound mean or rude in any way, and I spent two hours writing this to try to avoid offending you. If I did, please inform me. My goal is never to offend, but it is always to learn, teach, and discuss.
 
 
Most drugs, medical and recreational, were derived from plants or bacteria, and synthetics were made to make them safer. Smoking, ingesting, or injecting almost any plant or bacteria that can alter the body is dangerous, and burning it only creates carcinogens.
 
I do think most plants are beautiful, though, and the uniformity of cannabis is amazing to me. If I lived somewhere it grows naturally, I would most certainly not remove it, risking damage to the ecosystem, and damage to the aesthetics of the area.

But that's not to do with the actual drug itself. It's the environment and the people that are created by the illegality of the drug. Were pot to be legal, and you didn't need to go to a dealer to get it, then you wouldn't be offered those harder drugs because you'd be going to a dispensary instead, where you wouldn't be able to get a hold of harder stuff.
 
The very illegality of cannabis causes it to become a "gateway drug". Its label as a gateway drug is then used to keep it illegal. It's circular. People have to go to a dealer in order to get their pot, so they are exposed to an environment in which the harder drugs are more available. It's nothing to do with marijuana itself. If you had to buy alcohol from a dealer as well, it would result in exactly the same thing. 
 
EDIT: To clarify; the act of smoking cannabis does not cause you to start taking harder drugs. The act of having to buy it from a shady bloke who then offers you harder stuff does.

But that's not to do with the actual drug itself. It's the environment and the people that are created by the illegality of the drug. Were pot to be legal, and you didn't need to go to a dealer to get it, then you wouldn't be offered those harder drugs because you'd be going to a dispensary instead, where you wouldn't be able to get a hold of harder stuff.
 
The very illegality of cannabis causes it to become a "gateway drug". Its label as a gateway drug is then used to keep it illegal. It's circular. People have to go to a dealer in order to get their pot, so they are exposed to an environment in which the harder drugs are more available. It's nothing to do with marijuana itself. If you had to buy alcohol from a dealer as well, it would result in exactly the same thing. 
 
EDIT: To clarify; the act of smoking cannabis does not cause you to start taking harder drugs. The act of having to buy it from a shady bloke who then offers you harder stuff does.

Rape will probably always exist, but I think we can come (and actually have come) a long way, and of course the impossibility of reaching an ideal doesn't imply we should we shouldn't try to get as close as possible. Not all that long ago rape was more or less considered as (serious) property crime and no crime at all if the "right" person (usually the husband) was doing the raping. Women who went out without a chaperon where asking for "it" etc. etc. Nowadays on many public beaches in the Western world (and maybe some other places I don't know of), women can indeed go topless, and most men understand that they're still not asking for it. Yes, there are rapists but the last thing we should do is pretend there's mitigating circumstances for rape.
 
Rape cultures do exist. Cultures in which a woman can walk around in a portable tent all she likes, but may find herself under a pile of gang rape for the slightest transgression anyway. If she's lucky she's "just" raped, and if not she's consequently sentenced to be beaten to a bloody pulp because of being a slut. I would like to stay away from that as far as I possibly can.

I'm not sure where I stand on a lot of things, but I really hate assertions of "if you don't want to be sexually assaulted, don't go around dressing provocatively". That's fucked. People, men or women, shouldn't live in fear of being assaulted because of what they're wearing, and then being blamed because their skirt was too short or their shirt was too tight.
 
Someone could be walking around butt naked and that still doesn't give you the right or make it understandable that you attack them. It also continues this disgusting trend I keep seeing on the internet that people keep saying about rape victims: "Oh, she was asking for it with that outfit". That's fucked.

I voted yes. I think the law enforcement agencies should focus their resources on hard drugs. As long as marijuana is illegal the cops are forced to deal with that too.

I'll give that to Mash actually.
 
Bob Smith made a whiff.
 
Mash's was better.

Last post before I go to Miami for a week. Another older drawing I did. 
 

 
Really hope to see this thread SOMEWHERE on the front page when I get back. You guys are great at what you do!

Ah what the hell. Here's a story (all about how, my life got flip turned upside down) that I wrote for a short story competition at a local uni:
 

Here for the Duration.
:salute:

I'm gonna sleep now it's like 4:14AM here. The first few lines of that looked good though DJK (I like this abbreviation and it's sticking) so I'll read it tomorrow.

Ya it never really got edited after I wrote it =P I just dredged it up from the deepest mires of my HD. I'm trying to get back into short stories since I tend to get about 3/4 of the way through novels then decide I hate them.

Top stuff. Does this have a page on the PZ wiki? Also just noticed you're in Tauranga. Kia ora hoa!

*UPDATE* Hey all! I've updated my manual a bit, to reflect some of the recent changes in the Steam Early Access release, including combat changes and additions, Challenge modes etc. Although a manual may be a bit redundant with Spiffo's "Zomboid Survival Manual" now in the game, and the inevitable tutorials that will eventually be added, I thought it may still come in handy for some. Here's the new link:
 
Project Zomboid Survival Guide- Steam Version.pdf 2.8 MB
https://mega.nz/#!lopSQKQZ!aJo0Bj9CkpQjQL6gP9BHSiyyIutS-7xXfxjbXxut78s
 
 
PS: Apologies for any typos or errors, it's a work in progress!
 
 
Original Post:
 
Thought I'd re-post this here in the new forums!
 
Hey all,

I've created an "UNOFFICIAL" manual for Project Zomboid, mainly to assist those new to the game, and might help in the interim before the Kate and Baldspot story/tutorial are back in.

NOTE: The details in the manual are fairly up-to-date, but as PZ is still in active development, anything in the guide is subject to change etc. Apologies for any errors, I'll try and update it as necessary. (*EDIT* This was made before the "Last Stand" mode and some other additions were added. Will update the manual at some stage and re-upload)

Example Screenshot:
 

Download:

Mega.co.nz link:
Project Zomboid Survival Guide.pdf (2.4 MB)
https://mega.co.nz/#!QoZBmTZJ!GfAzBj0_g5x7FKMs31aXbzPLYKsIZEhdF52aepWL9yU


Mediafire Link:
Project Zomboid Survival Guide.pdf (2.4 MB)
http://www.mediafire.com/?5dbssdqiv0kfbq2



*UPDATE*: Anyone wanting to assist translating the manual into other languages, p.m. me or post an interest in this thread...Thanks!
 
*UPDATE* French Translation of the manual! Link:
Project Zomboid Survival Guide Rev 1 trad fr (1.0).pdf (2.5 MB)
https://mega.nz/#!k15UTJpL!eAdw6igZw5lfEyh1tWGY1lOkxSEJ3bnFCG4EWJjgJU4

 
*NOTE* For a manual/guide that goes into deeper detail on certain aspects of the game, such as Character customisation, Farming, Building, tactics and strategies etc, I can HIGHLY recommend you check out TinnedEpic's "Epic Survival Guide" here:
http://theindiestone.com/forums/index.php/topic/1248-tinnedepics-survival-guide-contains-traces-of-spoilers/

All fake kitchen posts (other than mine) shall henceforth be locked.