Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Setekh on October 19, 2003, 07:22:58 am
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Alrrrighty then. Tomorrow is the first day of my 25-day exam period. 7 exams, 16 hours worth - it's called the HSC (Higher School Certificate), I understand it's roughly equivalent to the GCSEs in Britain... or something. :) They're the last exams of my high school career (assuming I pass), and they're the only thing standing in the way of me being back at HLP full-time. (I count full-time as being able to update the Array... I'm about two french fries short of a Happy Meal right now, I've been doing all the other admin stuff except for my own rendering.) So, this is my blog. :D
It's 10:22PM, and pretty warm (25ºC)... tomorrow should be good for my 9AM start (my first English paper, of which I have three). Prayers and well-wishes welcome. :)
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Jesus, why do you english speaking people love abbreviations. The estonian equivalent of your HSC (GCSE) is called State Exams. Nice and simple.
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We have at least half a dozen sets of exams that could be called State Exams. We like to be unambiguous when we describe our exams. :blah: Either that, or we're just suckers for good acronyms. :p
*heads to bed*
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Good Luck Pal.:yes:
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pffft the exams were easyer than an ordinary test.. i didnt even learn for them just slept the 3 preparatory days went there aced my english exam and got 4 in math and estonian :p i suck at both :)
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Originally posted by Setekh
Prayers and well-wishes welcome. :)
frenchs say that saying "good luck" spells bad luck, so we say "****" to the people who have to pass an exam or something equivalent ( yup, it's true ).
So, **** to you, Steak :)
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Setekh...this is defiantely one of those lovely things they put you through to see if you're crazy enough to go on from high school and smart enough to be crazy.
Its not about knowledge, or essay writing skills, or mathematical formula...its about stress and character testing. Work hard, I'm sure you'll succeed.
Then you'll have lovely things like college or university ahead of you...more of the same :)
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Sounds like the IBs I'll be taking in May, best of luck to you Steak ;)
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well, good luck on this, and don't get nervous, it'll kill you.
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gl man
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Originally posted by Ashrak
pffft the exams were easyer than an ordinary test.. i didnt even learn for them just slept the 3 preparatory days went there aced my english exam and got 4 in math and estonian :p i suck at both :)
Wow. I thought the Estonian exam was the most horrid ass of a test only a very sadistic teacher could come up with. Of course, who knows what year you took them :p
Then again, I got a 5 (that's an A for you english folks) in it, so whatever.
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The Good thing about TEEs (What we call them over here) is that you don't need to get a relly high scorer to get a decent TER, which is what determines wheat courses you can do. Assuming you don;t want to do anything heavy like Vet Science or Law, you can cruise through - I averaged 60-70 percent, and, with scaling and **** for hard subjects (Physics and Lit mainly) I managed to get a Rank of 90.05. So don;t stress - they over state the importance of these things :)
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good luck Setekh:yes:
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Good luck, you'll be fine, I've no doubt :)
Flipside :D
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16 hours of exams in 25 days? Bah, in January I'll have 16 and a half hours in five days. And that's just to mention the exams for one of the universities I'll try to get in.
Good luck to you.
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Originally posted by Levyathan
16 hours of exams in 25 days? Bah, in January I'll have 16 and a half hours in five days. And that's just to mention the exams for one of the universities I'll try to get in.
Good luck to you.
lol, you're right, I didn't even notice. that's some sissy exams, Steak :D
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Originally posted by Setekh
Alrrrighty then. Tomorrow is the first day of my 25-day exam period. 7 exams, 16 hours worth - it's called the HSC (Higher School Certificate), I understand it's roughly equivalent to the GCSEs in Britain... or something. :) They're the last exams of my high school career (assuming I pass), and they're the only thing standing in the way of me being back at HLP full-time. (I count full-time as being able to update the Array... I'm about two french fries short of a Happy Meal right now, I've been doing all the other admin stuff except for my own rendering.) So, this is my blog. :D
It's 10:22PM, and pretty warm (25ºC)... tomorrow should be good for my 9AM start (my first English paper, of which I have three). Prayers and well-wishes welcome. :)
Actually Steak, if I'm reading this right you're not giving yourself enough credit. These exams are the equivelant of Highers (Scotland) A-Levels (Eng.) I suspect.
Good luck. :D
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Vyper is right - they should be A-Level standard (the lot I just finished this summer). Best of luck mate!
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Originally posted by Venom
frenchs say that saying "good luck" spells bad luck, so we say "****" to the people who have to pass an exam or something equivalent ( yup, it's true ).
So, **** to you, Steak :)
LMAO
**** to you Steaky! :p
Or if you prefer me not copy Venom, Then all the luck there is to ya...
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Ummm... thanks for the ****, guys. :lol: The reason the exams are so spaced out is because there are hundreds of different subjects, and none of them are meant to be scheduled at the same time as others. You're right, I do get a pretty easy run.
Ice, if you're right (and as far as my own thinking goes, character is more important than any amount empirical knowledge), then I think I'm headed in the right direction. :) Just finished the first exam a few hours ago. There was a whole series of comprehension/analysis questions, then this:
You have been invited to speak at the book launch of a new collection entitled Representations of Change. In yoru speech, explain and assess the ways in which change is represented in the texts included in this collection.
Fun. ;) I have a nicely-sized callous on my right hand where my pen rests. One down, six to go. :)
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Good luck man...
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Good luck Setekh! :nod:yes:
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oh well i got lucky. never had any sort of HS exit exam of any sort. there was one to get into high school, but it was like basic math and stuff.
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Venom, do you know why, in France, you aren't supposed to say "Good luck" but **** instead? That's a bit weird, and I never understood the reason.
Anyway, good luck for your six remaining exams Setekh!
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no reason, superstition, I suppose.
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Well with that out of the way, good luck on your exams :D
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man i wish we had more High school exams in the states...
id really help tone downt the stupidity here...
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drew :wtf:
good luck with those 6 setekh:) :yes: :yes: :yes:
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Originally posted by Drew
id really help tone downt the stupidity here...
i hope you did that on purpose, drew.
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:lol: ROFLMAO :lol:
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Originally posted by Drew
man i wish we had more High school exams in the states...
id really help tone downt the stupidity here...
That is sweet irony if it's not intentional. :D
Anyway, finished #2, 5 to go. I now have a nice 5-day break in which I plan to practise 6 hours a day on maths exams and modern history essays... :blah:
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only 5 left you can do it :) :) :yes: :yes: :yes:
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Originally posted by Setekh
That is sweet irony if it's not intentional. :D
Anyway, finished #2, 5 to go. I now have a nice 5-day break in which I plan to practise 6 hours a day on maths exams and modern history essays... :blah:
ah the days, I remember practicing about 10 minutes for my bachalauréat :p ( then laughing at the people who failed it after practicing non-stop for weeks :D )
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Originally posted by Venom
ah the days, I remember practicing about 10 minutes for my bachalauréat :p ( then laughing at the people who failed it after practicing non-stop for weeks :D )
Bachalauréat? *raised eyebrow* What type of exam's that?
Heh, believe it or not, there are people who study a lot more than what I'm doing right now. Most of them have gotten sick, in fact (over-stressed, is my guess).
Oh, by the time I got home from my exam, my right hand callouses had returned to normal (they're very red after writing a lot in the exam), but I did get a shot of my left hand fingertip callouses after palying guitar for a while (my chosen method of relaxation). ;)
They actually look pretty reasonable in this photo, you should feel them. :D
(http://www.3dap.com/hlp/staff/setekh/fingertip_callouses.jpg)
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the Bac? it's difficult to explain since we don't even have the same signification for terms like school or uni. let's just say it's an exam everybody passes at age 18 ( if you have been a good student of course, unlike me :p ), that is pretty useless if you have it, but will stop you from going farther if you don't have it. A major pain, I did very well in some things ( french, literature, stuff like that ), very bad in others ( spanish, physics ), and very dispointing in english ( I expected a 15 out of 20, only got a 12, which cost me the mention :( ). Ah well, all in all, it wasn't too difficult, so I made it out with an average score.
edit: nice fingers, that's why I don't play with my warlock much, the handle is bent, so it's a real pain for the fingers.
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What's the format of the exam like? I'm pretty disappointed in Australia that a great deal of the assessment relies solely on essays that you write in the exam hall within the time given. I mean, people have been doing this for years so obviously there's many positive things about it, but in my experience, people who don't really have much of a grasp on the subject can excel in these sorts of exams, where the real test is how fast you can write. :doubt: But it's infinitely better than no education, I'll say that. ;)
Heh, it started out painful when I began, but my fingers hardened eventually. They're kinda like solid now, I could sand a whole mil or two off the top of these fingers and there would still be more callous to go through. :nervous: Man, I wonder how many people around here play instruments...
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Pity me, I have 4 AP exams and 2 IB exams in May :ick . Looks like in spring, I will have to get used to the company of textbooks and massive mounds of papers to be able to get a decent score for all of em (except maybe AP Comp Sci, since it's easy as heck).
Gay organizations will be making a hefty profit off me too. On average, the IB exams will be around $90 each (including registration and processing fees) and the AP exams will probably cost more because I live outside the US (as if the dang College Board wasn't leeching enough money from my family from SAT's).
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Jeez, you need to adjust the action on your axe, mate! That can't be fun. Although I s'pose that could be tricky cos it's an accoustic (you posted that piccy of it in the "what do you look like?" thread, I think).
Oh, and we might be getting a baccalaureate (this is how I've seen it spelt :D) here in Wales - there was a big noise over the A-levels a year or two back (cos the examiners cocked up the Highers results for loads of people in Scotland), and it was suggested - I think there's some sort of study going on to see if it's a good idea or another huge waste of cash (like the Assembly building in Cardiff Bay).
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Okay, just sat my first maths paper (an easy one - the harder one is on Wednesday). For a bit of a laugh (well, I thought so), here's the last question (meant to be the most difficult) of the 3-hour paper:
I finished the 10 questions in half the time they gave us. W00t, 3 down/4 to go. ;)
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mmm... Math, haven't seen those kind of questions since 1998 :p
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At least you've seen them, I wouldn't know where to start!
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Heh, actually, this is one of the basic ones. :D It's the 2-unit paper (that's how they arrange the subjects - 3-unit and 4-unit are the more challenging levels of the same subject)... I should get some samples of the tougher questions on the other papers, let you guys sink your teeth into them. :D
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O-O; Ye gods..please don't tell me I'll be seeing that kind of hellish stuff on my SATs..
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Originally posted by delta_7890
O-O; Ye gods..please don't tell me I'll be seeing that kind of hellish stuff on my SATs..
Naw, I just had my PSATs. The math on those are easy as hell. It only goes up to Algebra class, so if you've taken that you should be fine.
Sucks for me though, next year when I take my SATs, there's going to be essays on them. F@%@. I don't know how they can do that. Grading those are so subjective! What if the woman grading yours is PMSing and flunks you? jeez.
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Hellish? Dude... wait till I bring out the real guns... :)
Incidentally, since this is my blog and I am free from the netiquitte of OT-ness (I'm probably going to regret saying that later), I thought I'd raise this. My friends love RPS (Rock-Paper-Scissors, the 'official' name), how they're able to play for such long periods of time escapes me. Anyway, they pointed this out to me.
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_832208.html?menu=news.quirkies
Ummm... go Canada! :D
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Good luck. So many exams though........
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Couple of days ago I finished my modern history - 3 hours of straight writing, I emptied out half my ink cartridge. :ha: Anyway, here were the essay questions I had to answer:
National Study - Russia and the Soviet Union
- Account for the success of the Communist Part of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in consolidating the Bolshevik Revolution in the period 1917-1928.
- Assess the role of the cult of personality in the creation and maintenance of a totalitarian society in the USSR in the period 1928-1945.
Personality Study - Leon Trotsky
- Identify the major features of the life of Leon Trotsky in the period 1917-1940.
- 'Leon Trotsky was a more logical and likely successor to Lenin than Stalin.' In the light of this statement, why was Trotsky unable to prevent the triumph of Stalin as leader of the USSR?
International Studies In Peace & Conflict - The Pacific Conflict, World War 2
- Assess the significance of Japan's defeat in the Battle of Midway for the outcome of the Pacific War.
- Discuss the impact of Allied occupation on Japan in the period 1945-1951.
It was fun. :D
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Wow! I could write a 25-page essay on just the first question. Me being an estonian, and all (not to mention having a obsession with Russian history). The math page sure ****ed me though.
ATM, I think I'll be taking English, History and Math as my State Exams in 2006. Though looking at your math test, this just might change.
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25 pages! I could only write 8 in the time provided. ;) It was a fun paper though, I've really enjoyed studying history this pass couple of years.
Only 2 exams left, spread over 2 weeks. Sweet. :)
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[color=66ff00]Go good sir go! :)
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good luck:) :yes: :yes: :yes:
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In Croatia we have exams several times a year.
Real exams - 2 periods in the 1st half and 4 periods in the 2nd.
We allso have some sort of mini-exams all the time....they are used to get partially rid of the big ones (if succesfull)
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Just finished #6. Celebrated by watching Revolutions... last one should be a piece of cake. :nod:
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Good luck! :yes: Oh the exam years... I remember when I did my IB exams... those were crazy. Like two-three exams everyday for 2 weeks. It was crazy. And most of them was writing bloody 1000-2000 word essays bloody hell. I mean we were jumping with joy when we got short answer questions! :D
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To be honest, I kinda feel like I'm already done. :) Garr, after this, I'll have my formal (think high school prom, graduation ball) - I'll make sure to get photos of that. ;)
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(Warning: this rant is qualified DEFCON 1, and may offend some people. The management apologises in advance for any offence caused, but still refuses to edit this post and instead points out that people who worry about 'political correctness' are a bunch of whingey dickheads.)
In Great(?) Britain, we have a lot of exams. Doesn't seem to make people smarter though. Probably something to do with the fact that THE ****ING EXAMS ARE A WASTE OF TIME! O'course, that's just my take on it. But still I must ask myself why, even though the education system is geared towards teaching people only how to pass exams (as opposed to something USEFUL) there are still a surprising number of grades lower than C. Now, in my opinion, anything lower than C is a FAIL. Not a D or an E (or even an F or a G at GCSE-level) but an outright FAIL!
A short time ago, there was a newspaper article about the renaming of exam grades from Pass and Fail to 'Satisfactory' and 'Not Satisfactory'. WTFH? Are these stupid BASTARDS in the government afraid of offending people with the word FAIL? THIS IS POLITICAL CORRECTNESS GONE CRITICAL! IT'S BLOODY MADNESS! HEY, TONY BLAIR, GET YOUR ****ING BRAIN IN GEAR!
My GCSE results:
I got 3 A*, 5 A, and 3 B grades. One of those A*s was Maths, and I took it two years early. Two of the As were IT and Statistics, and I took them 1 year early. The Bs were things like D&T Graphics, Art, and English Literature, eg. subjects with NO technical content and hence a very open mark scheme. At least with Maths an answer is either right or wrong...
My A-Level results:
Most people take 3 of these plus one AS-Level (which is like half an A-Level). However, it's now necessary to do a piece of **** called 'General Studies', and another called 'Key Skills' (which basically covers all the stuff that we SHOULD'VE learned before our GCSEs...)
I managed to avoid either piece of **** by doing five A-Levels: Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Electronics and Computing. Results: 4xA, 1xB. The B-grade was in Computing, eg. the only subject I did any work for.
Easy exams, you might think, since I got all the above results WITHOUT DOING A SINGLE BIT OF REVISION! However, there are a large number of people who are happy with D grades, not because they lack the ability to score higher, but because the level of teaching in Britain is about as low as it can go. Although I'm sure that Labour government can bring it further down if they find another MONEY SINK like the ****ING MILLENIUM DOME instead of something IMPORTANT like EDUCATION or the HEALTH SERVICE.
Why did I do well? Because instead of listening to a teacher drone on about something we don't need to know, I got out a book and learned something. The fact that Key Skills is a necessary component of the A-Level course just shows how poor this country's education service is. How is it possible to pass a GCSE if you don't know basic arithmetic, or how to spell? I had a better grasp of the English language when I entered Secondary school than one of the English teachers!
Would anyone like to hazard a guess at the most ridiculous aspect of English Literature we have to know about? Advertising. And camera angles. We had to analyse a TV advert, do a storyboard, and then explain the impact of the different camera angles. WHAT A PIECE OF ****! SOMEONE GET ME A PLANE TICKET TO AMERICA OR ANYWHERE ELSE, SO I CAN EMIGRATE BEFORE MY BRAIN MELTS!
Fortunately, University education here is still of a (reasonably) high standard. Because most people here think as I do.
Rant over. Good luck with your exams, Setekh.
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Thoroughly interesting post - I agree and empathise with most of it. I would take this point, though, as the one which I paid most attention to:
Originally posted by Descenterace
the education system is geared towards teaching people only how to pass exams (as opposed to something USEFUL)
I can only voice a similar concern for the education system here in Australia. I desperately wish the conclusion of high school education, for instance, relied on how well you understand what you learnt rather than how fast you can write (as is the case with virtually all my essay-based exams). The skills-based exams (such as maths) are much more my idea of what things ought to be like, but you can't have a skills test for everything. IIRC when I was thinking about this a lot a few months ago, I reached the conclusion that it would be most accurate if basically you sat down with an interviewer in a relaxed state with no time limit, and you show your understanding of something like history (in which a skills-based test on the same vein as maths would be impossible), and show your understanding of the syllabus through discussion. Of course, the problem with that is that it requires far too much time and effort on the part of the interviewers. Not enough money in the education system. But them, there's not enough money anywhere, is there?
Originally posted by Descenterace
Rant over. Good luck with your exams, Setekh.
Thanks. ;) I just bought my suit for the formal (see above), so I thought I'd give you guys a peek. That's my backyard behind me, btw. :D
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Hey look, its Seraph :lol: :lol:
I apologize. *bows*
Probably a bit late to wish you good luck (or to wish you ****), but good luck...
I am thankfully done my exams for a bit. I finished my last highschool exams last June, and Im not going into College until about next September. My highschool exams were a mixed bag. Some were very easy, some were extremely hard. I do absolutely terrible on all math and physics exams (think 50-60%), while at the same time I do well on my English and History stuff. Probably because a) non-empirical subjects are much more interesting to me and b)if you don't know the answer, you can kind of hide it using fancy language and some guessing. When I go into College, I'm taking Design and graphics courses (along with some history and political stuff, just for fun,) so I'm not too worried about test being very hard.
Here's a story from my 2nd semeser exams, last June: So, its History class (Renaissance - WW1) and its a Friday. As far as I know, the exam is Moday, so I'm planning on studying a bit over the weekend. History is a subject that realy interests me, so I'm pretty sure that I am among the most knowledgable in the class. History is the kind of stuff that I just listen and remember, without having the study or write alot of notes. So anyways, I walk into class (ten minutes late no less) and I see that all the desks are seperated and everyone is very busy. I have about 5 seconds of confusion/panic, until I look at the board and see "Good luck on your Exams" written on it. :D :D . Well anyways, I sat down and wrote the test, kinda thinking "cest la vie" (actually, I just wasn't paying attention to the exams date) and I got like an 80% on it. Not too shabby.
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Yeah... I almost did that with my German GCSE. I remembered one exam a mere 2 hours before it started. I nearly missed it because my parents were out and couldn't give me a lift into school.
Still got an A though. Amazing, really. I'm no good at languages (except English).
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Originally posted by Setekh
*snip*
Dude, you shinemapped your backyard! :eek2: :yes:
;)
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Rictor: you think he looks like Seraph?
i don't ;)
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Originally posted by Goober5000
Dude, you shinemapped your backyard! :eek2: :yes:
;)
I'm running the latest build of Real Life Open, unfortunately I forgot to activate the long engine flares on that screenshot. But yeah, that's shinemapping. :D
Heh, I've been said to look like many a Matrix character... not Morpheus, though. :p
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Originally posted by Setekh
Heh, I've been said to look like many a Matrix character... not Morpheus, though. :p
and trinity:p
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Originally posted by Rictor
Hey look, its Seraph :lol: :lol:
no, saraph is hot (from a girls perspective)
;P sry steak
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Originally posted by Turnsky
and trinity:p
I didn't need to say that... :p
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Originally posted by Setekh
I didn't need to say that... :p
i did. :lol:
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YAAAAAAARRRRR!!! I'm finally done! :eek2: :)
Okay, as promised: The Array, updated at last! (http://dynamic4.gamespy.com/~freespace/hosted/array/array.php?image=248&page=0)
It's nothing special. But it's just my way of saying - I'm back, guys, and I'm here to stay. :nod:
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YYAAAAAAAAAAYY!!
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awesome :) :yes:
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Woot!
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Originally posted by Setekh
It's nothing special. But it's just my way of saying - I'm back, guys, and I'm here to stay. :nod:
(http://tema_al_diablo.tripod.com/wb.txt)
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yay! :D
Pssst.... do the calendar...
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w00f!
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Sweeet. :D
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Nice render. Well maybe youshould have made that in high res like: 1280*1024 ;)
That sun or whatever light source it is, looks good.
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Originally posted by Black Wolf
(http://tema_al_diablo.tripod.com/wb.txt)
Hahah, thanks BW. Glad y'all liked it. :)