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N_E_Wunn

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Posts posted by N_E_Wunn

  1. I was not a Trump supporter, but it annoys the heck out of me that people won't let a legitimately-elected public official try to do their job. Presidents are generally given a "Cinderella" period when they start, but there were groups out to disrupt his presidency from Day One. The only benefit to that is to weaken the United States as a country.

    Media bias is rampant, news is reported in snippets that don't begin to fully explore any situation. Context no longer exists.

    For years I have felt that the people who went into politics did so because they couldn't do anything else. They had no real sense of how to run a business, much less a country. I welcome someone who comes into office with a totally fresh perspective, unencumbered by the sins of the past. 

    As for Trump's integrity, he built a vast empire and made his last name a household word. That does not happen by chance, you have to be shrewd, talented and smart. Sure, he's a showman, but I don't believe he has all the "personality defects" that certain factions claim. In fact, I think you can take just about any famous person and come up with a list of serious personality concerns if you want to. That includes every one of the other people who ran for President against him.

    The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon has seen its ratings slip as his competitors have used Trump-bashing humor on a daily basis. In a huge interview in The New York Times Fallon talked about how it is The Tonight Show, not the Jimmy Fallon Show and that the humor he uses is more timeless than his competitors whose schtick will eventually fade away. How many people today can relate to Chevy Chase's bumbling Gerald Ford on SNL? But they still giggle over jokes Johnny Carson did 40 years ago. 

    I like to listen to people who have a lot more smarts than me and who have no axes to grind opine about these subjects. Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld this week stated about President Trump that “In this case, what is a chief executive's most important task? It's to select good people. And I look at his Supreme Court nominee, his vice president, his secretary of state, his secretary of defense. I think his national security team is really first-rate.” Regarding the Russia investigation, he says he can’t figure out “if there’s any there there.” And really, this whole Russia thing, we try to interfere with them, they with us, and that pattern has gone on for a very long time. At least since Hubert Humphrey ran against Nixon. No news there, if you ask me. And really, they did not affect any voting. The only reason Hillary lost was that she was an immensely unlikable person; with all her credentials it should have been an easy win. Except she came across to a large section of the country as untrustworthy and representing everything that is wrong with the country. Russia had nothing to do with Benghazi, or not being able to manage her emails securely, or the fact that she and Kim Jong Un wear the same pants suits. Hillary-Pajamas-7.jpg

  2. I'm not into cheating, however when I was deep into Kingdoms of Camelot several years ago I was forced into using scripts just to keep the game running. Everyone was blatantly using them and Kabam finally gave scripts their blessing. Unfortunately, we had a big storm that knocked out power for a long enough time that I lost years worth of work and my alliance abandoned me. No way all the cheating in the world would restore me to a competitive level.

    Before that I remember being tempted to clone items on Millsberry (anyone remember THAT one?) but I'd much rather try to earn what I can on my own, which is probably why I'm a perpetual pauper in every game I play.

  3. I joined this site because I thought it might be more broad based. I occasionally visited VPL, I assume most of the people who were there have migrated here, given the questions about whether that site will ever return.  Looking at the numbers for the first two questions I have to chuckle. On one hand the results say this site should remain solidly VPS/Sim, but just as solidly it should not be rebranded to focus on VPS/Sim. Huh? 

    Purely a personal observation, but I think that pet games are fairly limited and that the audience for those games will cannibalize other games. When Marapets crashed recently, a number of players left and joined other sites, such as Neo, Subeta and Flight Rising. All of these have had "oops" moments causing players to abandon ship. It is my belief that players are less devoted to individual sites than the owners might hope. When I look at the sheer number of people playing those games I realize the audience is limited; I'm not sure interest is growing. 

    As a marketing professional, I understand it is very difficult to create a new brand and entice people to flock to it. That is why most companies use line extensions or borrowed interest to attract users, examples: Pokemon GO and Mario Run. Familiar names and characters require little effort to "educate" potential consumers (as opposed to creating an entirely new universe). Also, the two examples (albeit not pet games) are attempts to capitalize on the growing popularity of mobile devices. "New" is important to consumers, also. Look at how often new versions of familiar franchises are released to great fanfare - COD, GTA, Mario, Pokemon, The Sims ... When I look at pet sites I see a lot of fragmentation. Even Disney took the bold move to abandon Club Penguin and create Club Penguin Island so they could capitalize on mobile. (This when gaming computers are growing like mad, but typical Disney miscalculation. They will be crying when VR/AR becomes a thing.)

    I know people here think I'm negative. I apologise. But I see a lot of people who want to build their little pet game and invest so much in it. It makes me sad, because I've been among the alpha and beta testers on several sites, including Flight Rising. And I've seen more failures than wins.

    So what's my point? I think for this site to grow it needs to expand its focus beyond beyond something so narrow. Perhaps there are non-pet people who might find what TGL has to offer is interesting, engaging and something to build on if the door is opened wide enough to embrace other interests. Think outside the box and stay open to more ideas.

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  4. My first handheld game was Pokemon Silver, still one of the best from that series. For the DS, because I like puzzle and word games one of my favorite games was Touchmaster. (The follow-up Touchmaster 2 was awful, however). Unfortunately, my copy of Touchmaster got corrupted, and I was stuck playing Big Brain Academy and similar games that I could get into and out of quickly, as my time is limited and can't get into games that require more than a few minutes to play. But I lost interest. Finally found another copy of Touchmaster that works, but I don't use the DS much anymore. I have a couple of mobile games that I can play to help me unwind, so carrying fewer devices is a benefit.

  5. Although I have been paid for my writing and editing, I don't consider myself a professional.

    Cal's suggestions are spot on, and understanding your purpose is vital. Who is your audience? What tone do you want to convey? How much space do you need to fill? Ask yourself LOTS of questions about why you are writing.

    Sometimes I will just start off in a stream-of-consciousness manner, getting the basic thoughts down. Then I start to refine it, add details, subtract others. Move paragraphs around. Always keep the inverted pyramid in mind. Try to avoid repetition, whether it is words, sentence structure or length. Use active verbs and avoid passive voice. Always step back from it and return with fresh eyes. The best writer is also a good editor.

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  6. How fascinating. My father was legally blind, but you wouldn't know it if you met him. I'd bet you are very much the same. As a digital artist, you have certainly chosen to pursue something that challenges you completely; I'm sure the resulting creations are full of depth and intrigue.

    One of the most accomplished photographers in her field (for over 20 years) recently revealed that she is nearly blind; she always has been. She showed some pictures to demonstrate what she is able to see. It is beyond me to comprehend how she can capture what she does in portraits and action shots with her limited vision.  I applaud you for your perseverance and dedication to your vision. 

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  7. Intelligence is generally defined as the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. I'm not sure there is any test that can accurately measure all kinds of knowledge and skills. There are people who do extraordinarily well on tests, but I believe that talent does not equate to how smart a person is. I have known highly successful, educated and "intelligent" people who could not navigate from their office to the water cooler without a road map. 

    Creative thought, for me, is a far better gauge of high level thinking. The ability to "think outside the box" is not measurable through testing.

    I understand that there are people of varying "intelligences," and variety is what makes the world go 'round. Everyone has a purpose. And talent. Whether others view their purpose and talent as valuable is an issue with those who seek to judge. Rather, they should seek to embrace others' unique abilities.

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