Cav's Place

As you probably know, the world’s human population has just reached seven billion… Or more or less seven billion, considering the missing data and the guesswork required to make such an estimate. Not that the exact date is too important anyway.
Then again, not even hitting this milestone has too much importance in itself, for the most part only making calculations simpler. We know, or at least we should know, that the sheer weight of our increasing numbers makes life on this little rocky sphere we call home worse and worse with every day that passes, for ourselves as well as for the other species we share this planet with. As such, from this point of view, today is worse than yesterday, but better than tomorrow, regardless of the exact numbers involved. Not that the term “better” could be appropriate in this situation, seeing as our numbers have exceeded any potential carrying capacity decades ago.

What more can I say about it? Not much, or at least nothing I haven’t already said. My opinion regarding the issue is very clear: There have been too many humans for at least half a century, and possibly far more than that, and human overpopulation is by far the worst problem this world is facing and the first one we must solve if we are to have any chance of solving the other important ones as well. Without drastically reducing the population, other efforts, especially when it comes to environmental issues, mainly mean lost time and resources, seeing as the sheer size of the population negates a significant portion of the positive effects such efforts could otherwise have.
Of course, as I keep saying, the population shouldn’t be reduced by killing people or allowing them to die due to lacking access to food, clean water, medical services or other necessities. Instead, the reduction should happen naturally, thanks to a very low number of births. That is the goal that needs to be achieved by any means necessary, which almost certainly means draconian population control regulations and equally harsh punishments for anyone trying to have children without approval, regardless of what human rights activists may have to say about it. After all, having a child is the most public and, with perhaps the exception of a few truly extraordinary individuals, who can be proven to possess outstanding natural abilities, also the single worst thing a person can do under the current circumstances, so it’s no more a matter of personal freedom than, say, becoming a serial killer is!

Now there will be people saying that women are already having fewer children and that raising the standard of living and offering education and access to safe and effective birth control will solve the problem, so there’s no need for such drastic measures. In fact, now that it’s being managed by the Population Institute, even the Global Population Speak Out movement is going strictly with that line, appearing to lose even what few radical elements it originally had. Which, of course, only means that they don’t really want to solve the human overpopulation problem, but at best tackle a few humanitarian issues and add the overpopulation element to the discussions simply as a way to feel better about themselves, if even that.
The point is that, as I said, there have been too many humans for a very long time already, so measures that would just slow or even stop the growth are far too little, far too late. They could, possibly, have been enough to prevent this problem from ever appearing if they’d have been applied in full and worldwide no later than the 1950s, but now… Raising the standard of living and offering access to education and birth control are things that must be done simply because they’re right, but they could never have a strong enough effect to be considered solutions to the problem. If we are to avoid the truly terrifying scenarios, the number of births needs to be reduced far, far more than the tremendous majority of humans could ever be willing to accept without a fight, so anyone who truly wants to solve this problem needs to be willing to do what must be done.

To back my words up with some numbers, I’ll go back to that rough estimate that says that the wealthiest 2% of people use half of the world’s resources and the poorest 80% use only a fifth, which leaves 18% to use 30%. To that, I’ll add the most recent estimate, which says that last year we used 150% of what the planet could regenerate in that same amount of time. As such, if we’d take everyone to the average standard of living of the 18%, we’d end up using 250% of what the planet could regenerate! And when you think that the people who make up the 18%, probably including you and me and nearly everyone either of us knows, also tend to be at least somewhat unhappy with what they have and desire more at least in some areas, the problem becomes all too obvious. Or at least it should…
According to these rough estimates, if we are to have a hope of offering a decent standard of living to every single person without using more than the planet can offer, the population would need to drop by a minimum of 60%, so to less than three billion. And that fits, since three billion tends to be the upper limit revealed by the serious studies regarding the planet’s carrying capacity, taking the environment and the other species into account as well. However, keep in mind that this would do nothing to repair the damage already caused, as that would require using significantly less than can be regenerated and therefore also a population significantly below three billion.

In the end, my target remains the same. I’m aiming for two and a half billion by the end of the century, but hope for no more than two billion and would be willing to accept up to a maximum of three billion. And I wish us to reach these numbers without killing people or allowing them to die unnecessarily, but only by very drastically limiting births, perhaps even to the bare minimum necessary to avoid a genetic bottleneck. To that end, no measure, no matter how unpopular, drastic or even truly horrifying, is off the table.

The world’s human population is supposed to hit seven billion tomorrow. But that’s what I will write about in the next post, this one being only a brief personal rant about my last week before we reach such a terrible milestone… And the first full week after actually being put on ignore.
In truth, I’m slightly suprised that I can still write anything at all, but the things that took place this week certainly have nearly all the merit for that. Unfortunately, they’re also one more reason why it’ll become even harder to write here. Under these circumstances, I’m dreading to even think of tomorrow.

First I found myself talking to Susana again, which was nice. Or, all right, it also was very frustrating, but still nice. Granted that it didn’t start this week, but it continued during it and at least, unlike everyone else, she doesn’t and quite clearly won’t tell me to get over it, though there keep seeming to be misunderstandings of all sorts. But that was to be expected, seeing as we have similar issues and seem to have taken similar amounts of shit from people so far.
Then, as of a few days ago, I also found myself talking to some other girl which I had bumped into on OkCupid at least several months ago, possibly a whole year. We just exchanged a couple of messages then and left it at that, but she has way more questions answered than me and I kept checking out her answers to answer more myself, so at some point I sent her a message about going past a certain number of questions and found that she only now replied, likely a couple of months or so after my original message. And also found that, as it was already quite clear from her profile, we do agree on lots of things and could have plenty to talk about, so at first I actually spent several hours per day exchanging messages with her.

The thing is that during such talks I tend to just think that I need Andra, want to cuddle and other such things perhaps even more than usual and tend to either just talk about that or start babbling about whatever else could possibly be on my mind at the time, sometimes just to avoid spelling out all that all over again. Now that may not happen if the other person would be pouring her heart out as well in such a way that I couldn’t stop her even if I wanted to, which is often the kind of discussion I want to have anyway, but it hardly ever happens like that. Which leaves me sort of alternating between curling in a ball, hugging myself and writing such messages around the replies given to the ones received from them until, if they don’t go away first, I either really need to curl up in a ball and therefore can’t keep on writing or I become even more interested in whatever it was that I was babbling about and excuse myself to go do something about it.
And that’s what I’ll be doing after I finish writing this as well, because what caught my attention this time was Tropico 3, which I installed after I finished and reviewed Risen. Been struggling with it for the past couple of days, so I’ll try to make the most of it before adding up the failures and concluding that I’m even more worthless than I thought… Or, who knows, it may just become the second proper game I’ll play and finish this year, though at this point that seems highly unlikely.

I started playing Risen without going through Gothic 3, but after first playing and finishing the first Gothic several years ago and then starting and giving up on Gothic II, both with and without the expansion, multiple times since. As such, I was probably more surprised by some features of Risen and less surprised by others compared to anyone who either played all of Piranha Bytes‘ Gothic games or none of them… But I guess that could at most affect what I liked about the game, the reasons for annoyance probably being more or less the same either way.
However, I want to start by pointing out that the retail version of the game uses TAGES and, unlike Gothic 3, it has no official patch to remove it. I didn’t check this before buying it, so I’ve been feeling pretty bad about it ever since and strongly advise everyone against legally purchasing it unless or until they’ll remove this. It didn’t cause me any problems other than saying that I didn’t have the right disk in the drive once every five or six times I tried to start the game, which was fixed by simply starting it again, but I’m firmly against any such methods and don’t want to support anyone who uses them.

To move on to the actual game, the way Risen starts is exactly how the fans suggested that Gothic 3 should start, while also seeming to be somewhat similar to the start of the first Gothic, which I found to be a rather pleasant nod towards the fans of the series. I don’t know whether that was intentional or not, but it was the impression I got… Despite some elements being rather unrealistic, but that’s nothing compared to what’ll come in the latter stages of the game.
Still, what becomes obvious almost immediately after the start is that, much unlike the first two Gothic games, combat in Risen is actually manageable. That’s largely thanks to shields, which I see had first been introduced in Gothic 3, and the fact that you only use one button to attack and one to block, without having to struggle with combinations and leaving yourself exposed if you pressed the wrong key or even simply because of the character’s low skill level. Soon enough you’ll see that, given patience and a defensive and tactical approach, even characters who plan to become mages can make their way through the first chapter reasonably enough, so the previous rule that said that if you wanted to be a mage in a Gothic game you should be prepared to spend more time during the first chapter dying and reloading than actually playing no longer applies. Ashbeasts and ogres are out of your league at that point and ghouls will probably get you nine times out of ten, but anything else is manageable, though you may find yourself spending a good five minutes in a fight with a war cricket, for example.
On the other hand, this determination to only use two buttons to control your combat actions does make for some strange situations later, if you train your weapon skills and gain new abilities. If you’ll learn to charge your strikes, regular attacks will then require just a tap on the attack button, as if you hold it pressed for just a fraction of a second you’ll start charging your strike, so at first you’ll find yourself charging when you don’t mean to. And if you learn to counter-parry, you’ll also see that it requires just tapping the block button, as holding it pressed for just a fraction of a second will result in a regular block, therefore making an already difficult action even worse. And if you add the little fact that neither the text tips nor the game’s manual mention anything about dodging, you’ll see that they could have done far more for the combat after all. (In case you didn’t know, you dodge by either quickly tapping a movement key twice or by pressing and holding a movement key and then tapping the jump key. It only works if you’re not blocking at the time and if you choose the latter option you must make sure that you press the movement key first, because if you press the jump key first you’ll just hop around and give your opponent a free hit.)

The world itself seems really nice at first, and I’m not just talking about graphics here. The way it’s designed more or less makes sense, actually seeming reasonably realistic at first, and I actually really liked the break from fighting offered by the long time spent doing quests in Harbor Town during the first chapter. The factions are also presented quite reasonably (though nobody’ll accuse you of anything if you’ll be wondering for a moment if they weren’t just copied from Gothic II, for example, and only given new names), and most fights are actually quite enjoyable… Unless they’re against ghouls or, if you’re relying on melee, against brontocs, but that’s another matter.
What also must be noted is that, in good Gothic fashion, the world is very open, only a few areas not being accessible from the beginning. Thankfully, a lot of effort seems to have been put into making sure that taking advantage of this open world and completing quests before getting them or doing them completely out of order will not break the game, in some cases the dialogue actually flowing quite nicely even after such an event, showing that the scenario was fully covered, not just prevented from causing a crash.
Also in good Gothic fashion, there are no loading screens unless you teleport, which I assume means that the various areas are otherwise loaded in the background as you approach them, making for a seamless experience. However, this seamless experience from a technical point of view will become irrelevant when all the care and the realism that the game seemed to be based on at first will suddenly decide to go away at a later point. In fact, the realism takes a serious hit after you’ll do something in chapter two, which will have some rather dubious effects. That can still be waved away if you have otherwise enjoyed the ride until then, but the chapter’s end is nothing short of frustrating and most of chapter three pretty much requires suspension of disbelief while also including several frustrating moments of its own. In case you’re wondering, when I’m talking about frustrating moments I’m referring to the fights during which you’re not grouped with your allies, which can be up to twelve at one point, and you therefore stand to lose thousands of experience points unless you somehow manage to land the killing blows on everything, which will only add to the experience the game will always trick you out of when you level up, unless you’re extremely careful.
Perhaps strangely, I found that the game partially recovered in chapter four, providing some elements that at least made some sort of sense once again and a decent number of nice challenges, some of them quite unlike anything the game had thrown at me until then. The experience issue is also fixed, as you’ll actually be grouped with the ones who’ll fight alongside you in chapter four. There’s still a feeling of the game being rushed here and there, doing quests out of order or completing them before getting them will, as in chapter three, result in rather broken dialogue and even some confusion, and there’s at least one place where you will get stuck and need to return to an earlier save if you don’t do what the developers wanted you to, but overall it’s still a significant improvement.
Unfortunately, the very end is something of an anti-climax, appearing both rushed and out of place. One dialogue before it may or may not even take place and the final fight would seem more at home in a JRPG, not to mention that it’s awkward and I needed to check a guide to see what I actually had to do to win it. I was somewhat reminded of the end of Escape from Monkey Island, as I recall trying to win that fight the wrong way for well over an hour before giving in and checking a guide. Here the hour included several deaths, but the general idea of a fight that can only be won in a specific and counter-intuitive way is the same.

Otherwise, since I always play mages, I found it rather unpleasant that they’re not worth much in Risen. You can start from the fact that crystal magic doesn’t home in on the target and some projectiles can be rather slow, so hitting moving targets is close to impossible, but the main issue is that crystal magic can be used by warriors of the order as well and scrolls can be used by anyone, so all mages get are runes. However, using a rune requires its corresponding seal, which means a certain minimum wisdom and also five learning points spent for each, so 20 total, while using a scroll doesn’t have such requirements and only costs half the mana, but the effects are the same! So using runes means basically trading mana for money… And mana isn’t easy to raise either. I finished the game at level 30, with just 194 mana, and that was after playing as a mage!
At least wisdom isn’t trained in any of the usual ways, instead being raised by reading books and stone tablets, allowing you to save learning points and permanent effect potions for the combat skills and attributes you’ll need to get through chapters three and four, but it’s quite annoying that you need to do that. Then again, it’s probably the price to pay for the manageable chapter one. If in previous Gothic games mages had to get used to being killed by anything and everything at the start but knew that they’ll more or less just cruise through the end, now the difficulty is spread out more evenly… At least until you’ll give in, dump a bunch of learning points in a weapon skill, I’ll say most preferably sword, and make and drink as many strength potions as needed to pick up the best weapon you can find and just cleave your way through anything that dares to stand in your way, with your magic only there to back you up in the few moments when it may still be needed… By which point you’ll be wondering why didn’t you just do that from the beginning.

In the end, in most ways Risen is Gothic by another name. From what I know so far, in some ways it can even be said to be more like the first two Gothics than Gothic 3, and certainly far, far more of a Gothic game than Gothic 4. And that’s a rather good thing, especially since some of the issues that had previously plagued the series seem to have finally been resolved in this game, though character development is still tied to the faction you choose.
Unfortunately, game designers either ran out of ideas about halfway through or just got bored of it, and the entire team seems to have been too rushed to release the game to polish the last two chapters. So it starts as a good game, then drops everything, becomes frustrating and rather dubious before somewhat successfully trying to recover… Only to fall more or less flat at the very end.
Despite all that, I still enjoyed it and, while certainly not planning to buy it if they stick to TAGES or any other such methods, I am looking forward to playing Risen 2… But perhaps a part of the reason is also the nice voice-over you’ll hear at the very end of the credits, if you don’t skip them and pay attention. Let’s hope they’ll work it into the next game in the series somehow, though what little I heard so far would unfortunately seem to indicate otherwise.

This post has been sitting in my drafts for the past four and a half years, at first being meant to be based on three studies regarding the sexual behavior of people of various ages who are in long-term relationships. That never got written, so I meant to give it another shot some two years ago, trying to base it on four articles about the general benefits of sex and the reasons why people, whether or not in a committed relationship, report having it. That didn’t work either, so here I am now, trying once again, this time basing it solely on my own opinions and perceptions. As such, don’t expect too much from it, especially considering my state of mind.

Most people are drawn towards sex on all levels, whether we’re talking about the purely physical, the mental or the emotional. Some people may also be drawn towards sex for spiritual reasons, making for a total of four levels. One of these may be emphasized over the others, or one may be given far less importance than the others, but they’re all usually present to some extent. More exactly, each of these motivations is usually seen in a person to an extent roughly similar to the development of the corresponding levels or aspects of said person’s personality. For example, a person with a highly developed mental aspect and a poorly developed emotional one is likely to rationalize and justify their desire for sex while at the same time not caring much about their relationship with their sexual partner.
That said, it’s true that sexual desire originated as a very basic instinct, but the fact that humans are capable of developing these other aspects to such an extent provides a huge range of motivations, benefits and methods, many of them at least justifiable and sometimes even recommended in various scenarios. Yet this post isn’t about sex in general or about what can be determined about a person from their sexual desires and practices, but specifically about the role of sex in a relationship.
Admittedly, what sex means to a person who’s in a relationship largely depends on the reason why said person is in that relationship in the first place. For example, there are unfortunately still many people who enter relationships mainly in order to have and raise children, which makes it quite easy to determine the primary role sex has for them. At the same time, there are people who prize other aspects of their lives far more than relationships, which means that the role sex has for them has more to do with how it can help them outside the relationship, including by reducing stress, improving health or even obtaining certain more direct benefits. Yet the most complex and most important, not to mention most desirable, scenario is that in which people are in a relationship for each other and for the relationship itself. It’s probably also the only scenario that truly fits the purpose of this post, so this is what I’ll focus on.

In a relationship based on feelings and on the bonds between the people involved, sex is a way to give a physical form to those feelings and bonds, to act on them in a way that’s easier for our bodies and even our minds to understand. That’s the simplest way to explain the role of sex in most true relationships: A physical representation of the thoughts and feelings the people involved have about each other.
Unless certain health issues make sexual activity very difficult or even impossible, it’s very easy to notice this reflection. People who feel very close to each other emotionally will tend to prefer sexual activities and positions that favor close and prolonged physical contact, people who feel that their feelings are not enough and that they need to somehow make themselves interesting in order to stay together will also tend to keep trying to add new elements to their sex lives, and so on. However, one must keep in mind that this is a reflection of a person’s real thoughts and feelings, not necessarily of their general behavior, because there are far fewer things that can get in the way and influence the outcome. As such, a very important role of sex in a relationship is that of a communication and diagnostic tool.

Obviously, the above implies that sex is also a means of bringing the people involved closer together. One only needs to notice that many couples who otherwise still love each other tend to have sex shortly after an argument, whether or not they actually realize what this accomplishes. And even if it doesn’t follow an argument or any other outbursts, we’re talking about a way to relieve tension, express even negative thoughts and emotions in a way that the other person may at the very least not find entirely unpleasant, ensure each other of your continued commitment to the relationship and pave the way towards a more calm and constructive discussion afterwards, in case one is still needed. It’s really not hard to see the benefits of making full use of something like this.
However, while it’s hard to think that any relationship could remain completely devoid of stress, tension and negative emotions, sex certainly doesn’t require the presence of such elements in order to strengthen the bond between the people involved. Yes, it can eliminate negativity, but it can also enhance the positive thoughts and feelings that those involved have for each other, as long as it’s allowed to do so. All it takes is for people to let themselves go, allow themselves to trust each other, please and be pleased. As long as the feelings are there, it’s really as simple as that.

As I said in the beginning, you shouldn’t expect much from this post. There should probably be others on this topic in the future, because this only covered a few of the most important roles in the most general sense, but there you have it. On top of the benefits that sex can have on its own, its primary roles in a committed relationship are to give a physical form to thoughts and feelings, enhance communication, strengthen the bond between the people involved, help diagnose potential problems and release negativity in a way that may at least not be perceived as entirely unpleasant by the other person. It obviously can’t replace simply speaking to each other in all but the first of these scenarios, but it greatly aids any effort in that direction and is therefore not hard to see why it is, or at least why it should be, of paramount importance to anyone who is in such a relationship, regardless of its duration or of the age of the people involved.

I was quite determined to write a post today that’s been sitting in my drafts for years. Not that it’d be the first time I meant to do that, but this time I actually felt that I had a good shot at it. But after I woke up today I found that she had put me on ignore, which ruled out any chance of me doing anything productive in any way, instead turning to some pretty desperate measures… Which are likely to only make things worse, but I really didn’t know what else to do. Still don’t, in fact, so this is all you’re going to get right now.