Losing Herself To Society

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An online friend decided to stop using Facebook, except for the chat, so that she could concentrate entirely on her University degree. While I encourage her to do what feels more important and beneficial to her, I find it in poor taste that she would sacrifice her social life for a professional life.

We all want to be successful. Right?

We all have hobbies and interests. Humans, since the dawn of age, have spent a meaningful sum of their time, in pursuing their interests, beyond basic daily survival. However, unlike the professional yet enslaved members of modern society, they would not sacrifice their family, friendships, and other interests, in the pursuit of a single goal.

The difference between them and us is clear. Modern society is designed to turn humans into working ants, with each human professionalising in one specific job. That way, the gains are maximised, and each human is used to its' utmost extent.

The problem, however, is that people are not designed to live like ants. Humans are designed to live in leisure, and be social, more than anything else. We are designed to enjoy our family and friends, while spending that little precious time, on the side, so to speak, making things that benefit our lives; being creatively productive.

This means that the modern human is slowly, but surely, turning into a new sort of animal. A useful breed that has many social, psychological, emotional, and personal problems. Never the less, it produces vast amounts of benefit, for their society, in the form of technology.

And this is not moral behavior! To sacrifice any one person for the benefit of others, is to sacrifice the morality of that society. No person should ever sacrifice their needs and wants, for the wants of others; especially, out of fear of being attacked by their society. Negotiation is the only way to find balance between the wants of members in a society. Only negotiation creates a win-win scenario.

Huck must ultimately decide whether he should return Jim back to his master.

Huck must choose between obeying the laws of his society, and support slavery,

or being loyal to his friend, Jim, and help him escape into freedom.

- Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development

It is wrong, but it is happening all around us. Let us say 'No', and aim for freedom, instead of acceptance. In the meanwhile, we can figure out innovative solutions to making money, without sacrificing our natural lifestyle.

Do you have ideas and examples of making money, without sacrificing your social and leisure life? Please, share with us, and comment below!

Achievements Through Patience

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The problem of patience is that there are always different, and changing, reasons to act, or otherwise. This means that, unless we do not want to explode with anxiety, then we must learn to evaluate situations quickly.

One way is to meditate. By sitting quietly, comfortably, and without disturbances, any person is able to reflect on their thoughts. By using concentration and effort, we can achieve clear conclusions, about the choices we want to make, and the risks we want to take.

People use different methods, to handle their own impatience and anxiety. It could be beer or weed, and online chat, on websites or through games.

Click for a simple ganja-chai recipe.

Sadly, it seems that external methods have serious drawbacks. Weed interferes with the concentration required to reflect. Beer disorients the mind, so that decisions are only impulsive. Chats  encourage an impractical, detached from reality perspective.

Without patience, all we have left is irritations, and how we respond to them. We do not develop strategy and wisdom.

However, if we wait for understanding to broil, then we win the ability to achieve our mind's goals, and the manifestation of our dreams; or rather, a life of reaching towards.

Don't Hate The Troll, Hate The Trolling

"They see me trollin'
   They hatin'
   Patrollin' they trying to catch me writing dirty...
   Trying to catch me writin' dirty...
   Trying to catch me writin' dirty...
      Trying to catch me writin' dirty..."

So, I shall ask again, why have such annoying and rude people as Trolls in a virtual world?

The simple version of the answer is that Trolls are people, too, and whether anyone likes it or not, they compose of a big part of our online population. I will expand about Elves later on, but for now I would like to outline Trolls.

Love boxxy!

You got your annoying and uneducated junior Trolls. All those kiddos out there that do not know better, and intuitively feel that some things virtual are just not as real as reality. They are the most annoying, but least interesting kind of Trolls.

Then, there are the YA Trolls. While having more language abilities and sophistication over the juniors, they are still a menace to most people online. They put the Likes for Troll content and live the Troll way of life without shame. They are the young recruits in the holy war of Internet trolling.

And finally, we have the adult Trolls. Those with language mastery, philosophic education, and even capabilities in the different arts (images, videos.) These are the creators of Troll culture and the engine that holds the flag and then rotates it too fast for anyone to not feel sick about it. Adult Trolls are the actual community. Those who realize the power of collaboration. They are well feared and hated by the haters.

Represent! Trolls.

It is exactly this depth, organization and the hate people hold toward Trolls, that makes it sensible to have a virtual world in which Trolls are the enemy. It is to the benefit of everyone. Why have an NPC with a lack of AI as your enemy, when you could join your allies against the true virtual enemy? Right?

Artology

What happens when an idea without boundaries is made into a framework?

It's Gantz. It's not supposed to make sense.

I am always surprised to find out there are yet more animes and mangas that I adore and have no heard of, before. A horror anime about life and death, as told in the story of Another. An amusing science fiction mecha futuristic alien bash down, as told in Gantz. And I still have more to check out!

Comment below, if you want series recommendations, or if you can share some lesser known animes and mangas. ;-)

Port à Folio!

So, I finally found FolioHD, a nice little website that does free and professional artist portfolio hosting. They let you add Youtube videos, and it all runs smoothly and looks good, too. I added some of my better looking renders/models and can finally attach it to e-mails, whenever I seek occupation in 3D art.

Portfolio.AssafKoss.com

Latest portfolio upload... Still honing those 3D skills.

My Gameplay Mechanics @ Wiki.AssafKoss.com

Officially, all my latest revisions for an Online Multiplayer Fantasy Action gameplay mechanics are publicly available on my wiki, at:

Wiki.AssafKoss.com

My kind of lady. - The Final Fantasy Wikia

I am trying to sort out the Do's from the Do Not's, in a manner that reflects on how such games should be, instead of what is already, obviously, wrong with them. Titles that fit into this genre description include, but are not limited, to MMORPG's, MMOTBG's, MMOFPS's & many of the modern day MMO(G)'s.

Be warned, that while this wiki is publicly visible, it is not public for editing, at all. I am glad to incorporate YOU, if you feel this is relevant to you. Simply contact me in any way, if you want in on the editing work.

Stop Copying WoW!

 It sickens me, the way developers copy WoW.

I like scripted effects.
I just don't like how they're being used.

The golden text in titles. The cartoonish looking characters that feel as if somebody just copy-pasted the same colors into their own models from WoW. To aim for the same style of items in-game with similar sets of gear. Making a game world without much sense of history or originality. Looking like WoW and giving off the same feel it has (or had, as WoW is already pretty aged, now.)

Seriously, people. Having another game as a reference, and even as a muse, is a great thing. But, simply copying what you like from another game is crap! And the results are crap, too!

I find this amusing... Image from IHateMMORPGs.com

Without a unique and well-thought of world and an original style of art, a game can not call itself a production. Without those, it would merely be a sort of practice in game making, or a bad mod, at most.

MMORPG #4 Moods

Eventually, I arrived at the idea of sorting out gameplay by the player's mood. Moods can change and shift, and so there is not doubt that any gameplay system that cares for the players' moods, will take care to make available different styles of playing without much bother. Especially, without the need to change your character entirely or make a new one!

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Obviously, this line of thought is very limited. Never the less, I feel it is something to remember and take notice about. A game that expects you to behave in a very specific way the entire time is a game that lacks depth. While people can obviously tolerate that, it seems that such tolerance is only temporary!

MMORPG #3 Life Cycles

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For a fantasy themed game, it seems quite sensible to use Death as a living realm in itself. It does sound contradictory, though. In a more sensible game, Death could be ignored and the logic may be sorted with life cycles, instead. That is, that Life cycles and recycles, and while the soul (player) remains the same, the body (character) changes. It may be reborn, shape shift or even die and restore as a new individual completely.

I feel that most games would rather ignore this topic and issue. Simply, make the character restore back to life with a penalty, or even die completely only to remake an all too similar character once more.

I do find the idea of never dying and only losing consciousness, to be reawakened, a comfortable and kind method of practice. It's better to remove Death from the equation if it's going to be treated like a bother instead of an opportunity! :-D

MMORPG #2

Naturally, I was inclined to continue exploring these ideas, further.

An attempt at moving a step forward...
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As you may or may not see, attacking this issue from different angles is required. Natural games, such as sports or board games, have a natural flow to them - due to their instancy, while online computer games require a timing mechanism.

The timing depends on the feeling aimed at by the developers. A game can be fast-paced low-latency action, or it can be a slow-paced latency-tolerant turn-based adventure. It can be a bunch of other things, as well. :-)

I decided to conclude these ideas in a single quick and short diagram:

Just think about it. Then, do it!
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MMORPG #1

Recently, I've been giving shape to some ideas that I had regarding computer games. This is specifically about the hot-topic genre of online role-playing, or in another word, MMORPGs.

I often use Paint to quickly draw my ideas. I feel that text is generally inadequate to really show someone else what I am thinking about. Colorful boxes and lines on the other hand, with titles, sure do seem more fun! When I tried to collaborate on an idea with a friend, and even though she did not join up eventually, a website caught my attention.

Creately.com

Here is my first flowchart. It starts rather big. Then, I move onto smaller and more precise flowcharts. I should really call it a Block Diagram.

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Hiatus & Changes

I have decided to stop writing stories. I will keep them online for now, but I will not do anything en-towards it.

It is, indeed, a lovely thing how time does not really apply in the world of the Internet. I have had quite a hiatus from blogging, due to the emotional crash of deciding to drop my literature workings, and expected to drop the blogging, as well. Surprisingly, I found myself time and again thinking about the blog in a more personal manner - disregarding the value of it as a tool to advance books.

My muse has been faltering.
Now, it has returned!

I shall remove the "Daily" part of the blog, but still use it often. Many ideas must be discussed, and many an experience should be told! :-)

Here's a little shiny I've made after recently joining a hobby team of MMORPG developers.

Imagine someone using my sword to kill!

 

A Real Gunslinger

As I'm passing time, you know, quiet days, I noticed an interesting show.

Click on me for a link to stream the show online for free.

It reminds me of watching Bonanza as a young boy. I was never a fan of violence and shooting, but I've had my small share of both, and when words come to action - it's better to do the right thing, than it is to get wronged.

The quiet small town south western atmosphere. The cool guitar playing in the background. And someone who takes care of trouble. There's always some trouble, at least.

Now, I know that in reality things are different. Like I said, I'm not a fighting fan myself so much. But, it can't be ignored that more often than not we all need a hero in our lives. Someone who can stand tall when the rubble is rolling. I enjoy this series quite a bunch. I hope you do too.

Plants Can Talk

People can listen.

Syrian Rue

 

+

Harding Grass

=

Party

How To Relieve Fatigue

Go to bed. Doesn't matter if you don't sleep. Doesn't matter if you sleep through other things. Just go to bed.

Makes You Want To Cuddle In There!

Life

Wake up.
Wash up.
Eat.
Sleep.

The Study of Anthropology

My anthropology lecturer, when I gave University a try for a couple of semesters, used to have us read and talk about the most interesting tribes.

A merry dance!~

I remember a lecture that talked about how some such tropical tribes would have big celebrations as a means to create bonds between tribe members. Instead of taking chances with rivalry and disputes, the leaders would organize for merriment and gift-exchange between the tribes, and thus reducing if not eliminating the chances for hostilities.

It amazes me how often I hear people speak harsh generalizations and common untruths about the nature of humans and tribal peoples. Somehow, assuming the negative seems the default, and any really positive lesson to take from the tribes is ridiculous. I dare any person go out and visit tribes that are not suffering from the mistreatment of industrialism. Authentic, prosperous and happy tribes. It is mind boggling how content and joyful humans can be, without being specifically stupid or clever.

Rock On Demotivational Posters

Yuji Kaido from Blue Gender (anime)

Somehow, it's just so much fun making these. :P

My Cat...

...only likes it when I pat her on the head. Dogs are more fun for patting, but cats seem more interactive while on the laptop.

Mitzi chillin' in one of her fav' spots.

Towns Without Animals

I never enjoy coming to a place crowded by farm animals. A dense mass of cows, or any other animal for that matter, makes the smell fowl and the noise distracting.

On the other hand, it is no secret that people and different animals get along quite well, and benefit from each others' company and cooperation. While we have the ability to protect and guide the animals, whether it be from natural disasters or predators, they share their produce and great strength with us. Also, all animals enjoy another's company. This is evident to pet owners.

Why should people and animals not live together? Without forcing them into small spaces, but rather sharing our lands with them. Like a flock of wild deer, so should our other animal companions be allowed to roam free and under our aid. Are birds between branches not superior to birds in small cages?

I am pained to see the treatment animals receive from people. Equally, it is a distorted view of life, when a community or town, and even a city is depicted without any life but people; to the inclusion of a random local bird.