For those of you into maritime history or who have an interest in classic ocean liners, I found something pretty awesome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WTKccAMDA0

It's a virtual tour of the first class public rooms of the RMS Empress of Ireland. It's cool because this is a ship that has been almost forgotten by history. You don't see a lot of stuff pertaining to this ship.
While not as fancy or luxurious as the Titanic or the Olympic, the Empress of Ireland still seems to have a cozy and elegant charm to her. I especially love the two-deck dining saloon with the vaulted domed ceiling. Sad to think it all ended up at the bottom of the St. Lawrence River.

Sadly, like the Titanic, the Empress of Ireland met a tragic end. On the night of May 29, 1914 she was rammed in thick fog by the Norwegian coal freighter, Storstad. The Empress capsized and sank in only fourteen minutes, claiming the lives of more than 1000 passengers and crew, and remains Canada's greatest maritime disaster. The wreck occurred just before the outbreak of World War 1 and was quickly forgotten. This year will mark the 100 year anniversary of the sinking.

Hey, thanks for posting that video. The music was beautiful, first of all.

My favorite room was the two level main room about half way through. (I guess that's the dining saloon you mentioned) The ship certainly had an air of understated elegance to it. The Old World charm, if you will; whereas the Titanic was just posh city.

Bet their cafeteria food was pretty good

Even worse, out of 138 children on board, only four survived.

If you google pictures of the interior rooms on the RMS Lusitania, they were actually very similar to the ones on the Empress of Ireland, except bigger. In fact, the Lusitania also had a 2-deck dining saloon with a domed ceiling. Both ships were built around the same time and had many design similarities. In fact, they also had a similar watertight compartment system which failed miserably on both ships and contributed to their rapid sinking.

Whereas the Olympic class liners simply had 16 watertight compartments, the Empress of Ireland and Lusitania both had longitudinal watertight compartments as well. It was believed that this system would help isolate damage and reduce flooding. Unfortunately, all it did was cause one side of the ship to flood faster than the other, causing both ships to list heavily, and in the Empress's case, it caused her to capsize. The sinking of the Empress of Ireland actually led to that system being outlawed.

I've always had a fascination with classic ocean liners. Modern cruise ships are so ugly and unattractive compared to the older ships.

Speaking of old ships, check out this picture.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/ ... gallery#/4

This is from the wreck of the Titanic, showing the ship's Turkish steam bath. It was decorated to look like a sultan's palace and was the most extravagant room on the ship. Even after all this time, the ceramic tiles and teak wood paneling is still intact.

Here are pictures of the two-deck dining saloon on the Lusitania that I mentioned before. Notice how it has a balcony similar to the one on the Empress of Ireland, except much larger and with a more elegant dome overhead.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dinin ... itania.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Drawi ... XVI%29.jpg

Ships like the Lusitania and Titanic were built like floating palaces. They were mainly meant to cater to millionaires and the fabulously wealthy. However, the Lusitania was revolutionary because she provided personal accommodations to 3rd class passengers as well, something that no previous ship had done.

The Empress of Ireland, on the other hand, was mainly meant to appeal to middle and lower class passengers. Where as the Olympic class ships and the Lusitania carried rich people and immigrants from Southampton to New York, the Empress of Ireland would have traveled the Liverpool-to-Quebec City route. She was operated by the Canadian Pacific Railroad rather than one of the big shipping lines like the White Star or Cunard lines. She wasn't meant to attract millionaires. First class on the Empress of Ireland would have been equivalent to second class on a ship like the Titanic or Lusitania.


Oh and just for the heck of it, here is the Lusitania's first class lounge.
http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/di ... es/et3.jpg

I find the interior rooms on the Lusitania to be more appealing than the ones on the Titanic. While the Lusitania had nothing to compare to the grandeur of the Titanic's grand staircase, the other rooms on the Titanic featured low ceilings, dark colors, dim lighting, few windows, and lots of furniture which made them look too cluttered for my liking.

The interior rooms on the Lusitania featured high ceilings, skylights, lighter colors and less furniture, giving them a more open and spacious look.

With that being said, the Titanic did have a better looking exterior profile.

Pictured here is the Lusitania.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... York_2.jpg

You'll notice that the ship's smokestacks are clustered close together and the fourth one is located about midway down the ship's length, leaving a big empty space between the ship's center line and the stern. This gives the ship an awkward, unbalanced appearance. The upper deck is also cluttered with skylights and ugly vents.

Pictured here is the Titanic.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... r-1912.JPG

The smokestacks are spaced further apart, giving the ship a more balanced look. The ugly vents that were on the Lusitania are not present on the Titanic, having been replaced with electric fans. There are only two skylights on the Titanic (one above the forward grand staircase and one above the aft grand staircase), and they are positioned so that they are barely visible from the outside. Overall the Olympic class ships had a better exterior profile.

Fun fact: The forth smokestack on the Titanic was fake. The ship only needed three smokestacks but the designers felt it would look awkward with only three funnels. Frankly, they're right. If you cover up the fourth smokestack, the ship looks awkward and it seems to be missing something.

Also, the Lusitania was top-heavy and was known to rock and pitch real bad in heavy seas whereas the Olympic class liners were more stable.

Well, I'm getting ready to go to bed but I'm worried about he weather. There is a storm that has been producing tornadoes and it's heading in this direction.

Not sure when I last logged into this place, but theres stuff from 2012 that hasnt been opened yet. Neato gang.

Whats up, folks?

All this thread has turned into is a "crap i've been away for so long thread" So sad :(

Crap, I've been away for so long.
#sarcasm

Yep, seems like it.

So lets change that up then.

I graduated college this past spring, now making ~$40k/year right out of a 2 year college, and my rent is only $300/month. Gonna ask my girlfriend to marry me soon (good thing I'm getting paid decent) and kaboom, that is my story.


How's the weather where you are? Hot? Cold? Moderate?

Great work on the job.
Hope she says yes.
Freezing in the morning and hot for the rest of the day.

I wish I was done with college. Too. Much. Work.

Really crappy weather going on outside right now. Heavy rain, thunder and lightning and I'm under a tornado watch. Just in time for bed. Lovely.

Congrads Fronzz.

Pretty mild here at the moment.

Yeah I'm currently stuck on getting enough money to buy the ring ha. Also have to decide how much I want to spend... Hard to say.

Does Canada suck, eh?

Yeah I saw that happening while I was cruising Reddit.

But yeah, 2-3 months paycheck would be like $4000-6000 and that is a heck of a lot more than I want to spend. I wish I could get one just the way she wants with it being cheap... but at this point I may just get a Moissanite (fake diamond, but its shinier, and has more clarity. Although not as fine a cut) ring so I can spend quite a bit, while the gem itself is just a bit cheaper in price. Should be interesting, I'll let you know how that progresses

Congratulation Fronzz

I wish I would be able to take that step, but i'm probably still a few years away. You go man!

This is like the secret place to talk about these things now. No one will know. Who uses forums these days anymore xD

They truly are a dying breed. In the world of reddit and 4chan, specialized forums like this are going by the wayside. What a time it was back when this was like the greatest thing ever.

Forums still have a place.... they will raise again xD

I was wondering what everyone's been up to. I've been working on a series of fanfics that establish a more expanded Inheritance world that includes lands beyond Alagaesia, gryphons in the Inheritance universe, and also includes several of my RP characters, as well as several new OCs. The events of the series are also drastically different from the book. Unfortunately I've had such horrible writer's block that all my stories have ground to a halt. :(

Fronzz had asked a few questions about engagements a few months back here if I recall. We are all at different stages in our lives

As for Markiplier, my boyfriend Ben certainly loves is videos. I don't play that many games, but would prefer to play the game then watching someone else play it even if is commentary is really entertaining. Ben would make me laugh by imitating the poof that markiplier does xD

Before I even consider that I wish to finish my master degree. Studies make life so unstable at times. Better wait a little more the rush into something

*rolls back in* I'm still alive! Oh, it's been such a long time, I wasn't expecting to even remember my password, but it all came rushing back at the log-in screen!

Maybe I've grown up a little during time away? Maybe gotten a bit less weird? Eyh, probably not, but anyway! *Bows* My lieges. If any of you are also still here.

I'm still around. There's just not much to do with nobody else around.

Wow, people are alive!!! How has the world been treating y'all?

My condolences on the loss of your grandmother Keever. I hope her passing was a painless one for her and your family.

I'm a huge fan of rooster teeth, watched most of their stuff, still waiting on season 3 of rwby.

Dang red, who's face did you break your fist on? Lol, congrats on the internship.

I get on about once a month and read through old posts. Then I shake my head at my p or writing style and how it didn't improve.

For whatever reason I decided to check in on here. I whole heartedly understand if you don't remember who I am (formerly jaythe_wise) but I remember most of you guys. I kinda hope some of you don't remember because looking back at my old posts I was an annoying little kid haha.

So quick update/intro: I'm about to enter my senior year of high school. This summer I enlisted in the army as a linguist (really excited about it) so I'm just trying to enjoy myself between now and when I ship for basic. Nothing big like engagements but that's my life.

It's kinda crazy to look on here and see people that were basically my best and only friends growing up still post every once in a while. It'll be a while before I log back in but the dose of nostalgia was nice. See ya later

Hey guys. I'm still around. I've been busy with school stuff so I haven't been on in a while. I've been dying to work on my fanfics though.

What's everyone's facebook names? It would be nice to be able to keep in touch.