Mathew Steel

I love music. I always have and always will. I tend to listen to mellow or "sad" songs, Billy Joel, James Blunt, Tom Odell, that sort of things. I'm curious to know, if any of you play an instrument and if so, what? If you'd like to share a video of yourself playing that'd be great and if not, absolutely fine of course :) I myself play piano and have done for about a year.

Just checking, isn't it Katherine of Aragon and not Catherine? I honestly am not 100% sure. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Huge news. US lawmakers will finally vote on gun reform. I can't believe it. The vote will be to implement two new laws: - Banning people on the terror watch list from getting firearms - Expanding background checks for gun shows and internet sales I still believe more could be done. But without a doubt, this is a step in the right direction.

I understand your points now. In no way do I think that we should allow all the people that want to come into the country, to come into the country. It's too risky and without a doubt would cause some issues. I'm glad you elaborated on your points. I suppose you and I are on the same page. I sympathise with genuine refugees, who genuinely just want help and safety. But there are too many things happening right now to allow all the people to get their own way.

I feel like you've misunderstood my intentions when I said that, Chris. My aim was to point out that people generalise. They'll see one, for example, Muslim, commit a crime, then say it's true for all Muslims. Sure, this isn't everyone, but there are a lot who do this. Like I said, I'm not ignorant. I'll happily admit I was incorrect if proven wrong. I wasn't actually aware it was such a large percentage, so I can easily see why people think like that. But if there is something that winds me up, it's people who won't go work, simply because they're lazy or know that they can live off the money of others, and then they put the blame on immigrants coming into our country. From a personal perspective, when a member of my family needed an operation, her surgery was performed by an Indian doctor, a friend of my mother (who also works in the hospital) who came to the country to escape the crappy situation in his own at the time. And also, I wasn't suggesting at all that these people fleeing the country and illegally entering ours is good. Not at all. What I am saying is that people aren't sympathetic. It's morally wrong to assume people do this just to cause trouble, some, not all, are doing so because they are scared and desperate.? What I am saying however, is that we need to do more. Again, I'm not stupid or naive. Given the current world situation, we can't just give everyone the benefit of the doubt. What I do think, is that the views we have to these people are pathetic, ignorant and wrong. No, we can't change our security and risk damage to ourselves, but what we can do is change our views, so at least we know what is happening is tragic and we wish we could do more, so that we don't come across as robots with no emotion or sympathy. Hopefully I cleared things up, without becoming too confusing. Although, I feel like the purpose of this thread has gone off topic somewhat, I still appreciate the mature discussion. EDIT: I'd also like to point out that I probably haven't gotten my points across as clearly as I would've liked during this thread. Hopefully they make sense and I haven't offended anyone :/

Ah I see your point. Well I agree, if people move to our country they should work. Granted, they should have a few weeks to get that job but it should be obtained early on. Here in the UK though, there are many British people that will say "people are stealing our jobs" yet won't even get up and look. They'll happily sit there accepting benefits without a care in the world for looking for a job. I don't believe that's exactly true however. I believe it is popular opinion when it comes to the gun laws. Yet, I believe this is due to misunderstanding. The biggest argument I see is that they don't want to lose their guns, that isn't what the gun law is supposed to do. It's supposed to give the government more control over what people can do with their guns and who is allowed to purchase the guns and earn a license i.e. not people with mental illnesses.? Another one, I've heard from the US is "we have a big mental illness problem." Well, with all respect, so does every other country, 6-10% of the UK suffer from mental illness. We don't have this many issues. Clearly the guns are the issue and the way their given out.

I did ?just try to post some views that I saw in some comments from Facebook posted by Americans, on a status relating to the Orlando incident. Some of the comments really gave me hope about the situation. A lot actually. But others not so much.? As for Donald Trump, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. He's an idiot in my eyes. He's sexist, backwards and indiscriminate. From a perspective of someone who isn't living in the US, Obama has been the best thing that's happened to the country in ages. It's a shame he's coming to the end of his presidency. The refugee situation is something for another time really. It's easy to talk about illegal immigrants and say that it's wrong, but you also have to keep in mind that some of these people are genuinely fleeing from war, and if they can't get away, then surely you can understand why they would "sneak" into the country without permission. Yet again, I am fully aware that some of these people are also bad people blending in with genuine refugees. I'm not ignorant, I see why people react the way they do. It's just a shame that the outcome of this is scapegoating and moral panic. I completely agree. Human nature has become selfish. Sure, people who have already experienced socialisation are probably going to remain the way they were nurtured. For example, I won't become selfish due to popular behaviour, I was taught to look out for others and I will remain that way. This is true for so many people. But I feel, unless we raise our next generation properly, the situation will only become worse.

Do you honestly believe that? With all the terrorism that has been going on recently. I don't mean that in an arrogant way. To me, there hasn't been real peace in Europe in a long time. Don't get me wrong, we're not at war, we can live our normal lives, but we are far from peace. Of course you should. What I don't want to do is forget about others. I'd say a majority would disagree with me here. However, we should be helping the people that need our help. I feel that we have gotten to the point where we have stopped caring about each other. Sure, we have charities, and individuals doing wonderful things to help people, but as a whole, we've become a selfish world. And I understand it, I do, it's hard to trust anyone these days. But resorting to "building a wall" to block out an ethnicity and religion, that isn't being cautious, that's discrimination. As for the gun debate. I feel that I've said all I've wanted to say. There isn't anything I can do on the matter except say my part and hope to influence people to make a change. I hope sometime in the near future the gun problem gets better, but personally, I can't see it happening. EDIT: I did a bit more research into the gun debate a few minutes ago. Does it shock you that congress will not allow the centre for disease control, study gun violence. Says a lot. Also, people who are known ISIS sympathisers are allowed to be put on the "no-fly" list, but because of the NRA, they aren't allowed to be stopped from buying a gun. Meaning that person can walk into a gun store and buy as many guns as he wants, without him being legally stopped.

I understand your points. Again, I'd like to emphasise I'm not generalising here. I know that not all Americans agree with the guns, but it's clearly a majority that do, as otherwise, there would be laws in place. The USA is a democratic country. Laws change depending on a majority vote, hence the reason Obama cannot simply go off his own ideas and put the laws in place.? Yet, each time there is an incident, I feel like I'm fighting a lost battle. No disrespect to anyone but the impression I get from the majority of America is that they are very set in their own ways. Which is fine, that's not necessarily a bad thing. However, it does irk me.? In a country that is so well established, and civilised, there shouldn't be things like this happening so often. It would be stupid to think banning guns will completely stop all gun crimes, it won't. But to say it doesn't work towards improving the situation, is pure ignorance. It's worked in the UK, it's worked in Australia, it's worked in Canada, the only reason it won't work in America is because of the values and norms of that society. Again, no disrespect, but the US like their guns, their freedom, to expect them to put it all behind them in a day, is unrealistic.? You have a good amount of the population supporting Donald Trump for crying out loud! I hate speaking bad of countries as a whole, and again, I don't mean every individual, but it's getting to a point where pride, is becoming more important than protecting human beings. Then, perhaps my own values are causing me to be slightly ignorant and bias, I can see how that may happen. To me, nationalism is pathetic, the scapegoating to Muslims is appalling. I consider myself a morally stable person. I am always thinking of what's right, no matter what needs to be done to reach that level of morality, it should be done.? I do hope that one day, America proves me wrong. That sometime in foreseeable future, the gun laws are in place, and they change their ways. Again, another possibility would be the gun laws go into place and it turns out I was wrong, and if that day comes, I'll accept and admit I was wrong. But until then, my view on this will remain. There needs to be a change. It shouldn't take any more killings for this change to happen. I understand it will take time, but as the saying goes, "Rome wasn't built in a day." EDIT: I really hope this discussion doesn't ruin anyone's opinion of me. I respect all the members of this community but I can get very heated when it comes to this topic. However, I do try to look at both sides and respect different opinions as much as I can. So, if I do offend someone, from the bottom of my heart it is not intentional.

Exactly. Also, not to be disrespectful, but 372 mass shootings would suggest that the idea of self defence with these weapons is pretty much useless, would you agree?

Ahh I see! Understandable but as I said, for this topic, I see them as a trusted source :)

I'm sorry Chris I can't 100% agree. Whilst with subjects such as the EU I can understand where there would be bias information, however with topics like this, I see no reason for it, and they wouldn't have made up the facts. After all, they certainly beat the Daily Mail.

Don't worry about it. I appreciate that you'll go back to read over it later!?

Eagle, I made a lot of arguments about that, hence why I asked you to read it all. Hopefully you can do so at somepoint and possibly reply with an updated response? :)

To any Americans who want a change, but aren't sure how to do so. Go here -

Firstly, I'd like to emphasize that what I'm about to discuss is extremely controversial but I feel that after the happenings that were reported yesterday, I have to speak about this, and at least try and make a change. Secondly, I'm from the UK, it's easy to assume bias because of this and that's why I plead for you to read all of what I say before replying. Finally, any figures or facts in this post have come from the BBC, a highly trusted source for accurate information as they are considered an academic source. Yesterday, on the 11th of June, 2016, there were two reported incidents of gun violence. 51 people (in total) reported to have been killed yesterday by guns. Of course, I'm sure you're all aware this isn't the only incident of reported gun crime in America over the last few years. In 2015, there were 372 reported mass shootings in America, killing 475 and wounding 1,870 people. There were also 64 incidents of school shootings in 2015 (however this does include incidents where nobody was hurt). A report in 2012 shows that 60% of homicides in America were done by guns, compared to 31% in Canada and 10% in the UK. I'd like to point out that Canada has stricter laws on gun ownership than America, and there is a decrease in percentage just from that. Let's discuss some viewpoints. The most common and irritating one is "if it wasn't a gun, it would be a knife." This statement implies that if someone wanted to kill another person, they would do so no matter what. However, this is terribly untrue. If there were 100 people in a room, completely unaware of any violent situation to come, and all of a sudden one man with a gun started firing bullets at these people, do you really believe an equal amount of people would be killed if this was done with a knife? It's nonsense. Guns make killing people easier. Ever wondered why we don't use swords in wars anymore? Guns are better at killing, without being stopped. I think there is a big misunderstanding to what people mean when they say, "gun laws need to change." We aren't saying guns need to be banned, we are saying to own a gun, there needs to be far more thorough background checks. Right now in the US, there are 10 factors that come into acquiring your firearm license. Not one of these factors include, not having any mental disability. Whilst discrimination is illegal and wrong, in my eyes, stopping someone who is mentally unstable from owning a weapon, shouldn't be wrong. We talk of security and how important it is, this simple step would reinforce safety by a mile. Even then, once you have a license and a gun, you can legally sell that weapon to a friend (who also has a license). Little things like this cause issues when it comes to safety. I'm sure someone is about to throw the argument "well we can defend ourselves." Whilst that is true, nobody should need a gun to feel safe. Here in the UK you are allowed to defend yourself using "any means necessary." This means, in the event of an attack, you may use any reasonable force to save your life. If you so happen to kill the attacker in the process, 9 times out of 10, the justice system will be in your favour. Nobody expects you to sit idle and accept violence if it's thrown at you. But the idea that a weapon should be carried around 24/7 to feel safe in your own country, says a lot. And I'm sure at some point someone will argue that it's the people behind the guns, well it's funny to me how those people seem to be living in America. Please, people of the USA. I am not stereotyping or generalising. I'm fully aware that there are a number of American citizens who want to change the law on guns. However, it's sad to see that these people are a minority. You live in a democratic society. The people, are the ones that make the change. By having stricter laws on guns, you will not only be making history in the present day, you will be allowing more people to have a future.? I understand that many people are very set in their own ways and are unwilling to change. Whether you would call that ignorance or not is up to you. As someone who considers himself somewhat of a sociologist, I won't make that judgement. Before anyone says to me I have no right to decide what happens in a different country, you're not completely right. Sure, I don't have the official right to make that decision. But I do have the right to voice my opinion. Freedom of speech, something Americans are very proud of, yet a lot seem to forget about it when they hear something they don't like. People are scared of change. Yet, isn't the idea that one day, as horrible as it is, a child may die to something that could have been prevented upon a simple majority vote? If I'm to leave you with one sentence. It would be this. As horrible and as dark as it may seem: "If you aren't willing to change to prevent death, you may as well be the one pulling the trigger."

I suppose the reason behind the rule isn't so much a moral thing. To me it seems to be more a - we can't prove your life was at risk because you shot first. Maybe I'm just cynical, but in my eyes, it seems like the military don't want the hassle of proving innocence and so that rule is in place. Not to belittle the military in any way, I understand why they would want to do that, and if it's possible to double as a moral standpoint rule, then why shouldn't they do so.

Thank you very much for the response Crusader. Honestly, I was expecting a thorough reply for you and you lived up to that expectation! :D As for: 1. Understood 2. Understood 3. So what you're saying is, there are definitely small squads of 4-5 out there, but the ones that would carry out dangerous missions would be the highly trained soldiers i.e. the SAS and the Navy Seals? 4. I always thought the "don't fire unless fired at" rule was a misunderstanding. I didn't realise it was the actual rule, it seems far too risky and as you said, I can't imagine it being followed often. 5. Not each one, you post a lot and it's hard to keep up sometimes :(?(not that you posting a lot is a bad thing at all). So, if I was part of a certain Squad within Charlie Company first platoon, I would refer to myself as C1-4-1, and that last digit would change depending on what soldier number I am?

First off, I have no intention in joining the military, however I have a huge interest in the way they operate. As someone who writes a lot and plays a lot of military themed video games, it's useful to know what certain things mean and why they exist. I've devised a list of questions to ask, and I'm hoping eventually I'll have an answer to each one. 1. What does the term "Actual" signify? From my understanding, it refers to a squad or team leader, is this correct? 2. I can't think of the term. However, I see in a lot of games and films a situation where an unidentified soldier will prove their friendly by using an activation code of sort. For example in the Modern Warfare 2 campaign, there is a mission where you come across a stranded soldier and your leader asks him for the activation code, to which he replies with a random string from the phonetic alphabet, for example "Tango-Victor-Charlie-Delta-Romeo." What is this and why is it used? 3. In a lot of films, we see small squads of about 4-5 carrying out huge missions. Such as them alone taking over an airbase. Does this actually happen? To me it seems very far fetched, but maybe I'm wrong. Are there very small squads that operate alone on large missions? 4. What are some simple Rules of Engagement? I tried searching this before but it gave no definitive answer. 5. How does squad identification work? For example, 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4. Would the first digit be the squad, and the second digit be the member of the squad? If I think of any more to ask, I'll be sure to ask in a reply. Any help is appreciated, thank you! :)

Wow! That is really impressive. Do you draw for a hobby?

Honestly, I don't really want to change it, I was curious to why the distortion was present. I guess it makes sense really.? Eagle, I know that a lot of proper sound editing programs will change pitch and tempo in sync, whereas a lot of video editing programs, allow the changes to be manual. I tested this using Sony Vegas and the distortion was present. Although, I'm sure there is a way to get it to change the pitch and tempo together. Thank you for the replies though everyone! :)

Today, I've been thinking about something and decided to test it when I came home. I changed the pitch of a song without changing the frequency. The song sounded distorted. But then when I adjusted the tempo too, it sounded a bit less distorted. Why? From my lack of basic knowledge of physics, I know that by increasing the tempo of a song, the length of wavelengths decreases, but the data can't just disappear. So in order to make sure the data isn't lost, something else must change in size. Which I believe would be the amplitude, it would increase in height and so changing the pitch. If these aren't changed in proportion to one another, would they cause the music to sound distorted? I'm sorry if this didn't make total sense, it would be far easier to draw what I am trying to explain but if this is enough to make sense, then any more information would be appreciated. Thank you!

Welcome back! Hope you're well :)

Your Views on Feminism Quite a controversial topic. Many people believe feminism has lost its original idea. That the people that consider themselves feminists don't follow what they preach. Simply, you can argue feminism has become more about being more powerful than men, instead of equal. Some have even decided to call themselves "Equalists" as feminism has lost its integrity in today's society. On the other hand, many still argue that feminism is still what it originally was and the people that don't follow the beliefs aren't feminists, regardless of if they refer to themselves as one. Personally, I'm all for equal rights. However, I do agree that feminism has become about being higher up than men, due to a large amount of "feminists" behaving in such ways. I'm not saying all feminists, but a lot. What do you think?

Whilst this clearly isn't a huge castle, it's still pretty awesome. As castle lovers, I'm sure we all envy this! :D