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In today's incredibly moving installment of Speak Up on Kotaku, commenter NathanJEvrard explains how he bonded with his nephew over Marvel Super Hero Squad Online, becoming a hero himself in the process.
"Uncle Nate, come here and watch me fly!" That was my nephew Noah, who is 6 years old, excitedly introducing me into the world of Marvel's Super Hero Squad Online. He was playing as Falcon though he really had no idea as to his character's name, nor did he really care. After showing me how he could fly he then proceeded to beat up little flying space ships for which he received tickets. When I asked him if he ever beat up people he told me that he had promised not to hurt anyone.
As days went by he would randomly show me other things about the game when I visited. One day he showed me his other characters which included Thing, Ms. Marvel, and Cyclops and told me that it was his goal to unlock Spiderman who costs 600 gold. Another day he showed me all the different areas you can visit in game which includes Asgard, The Daily Bugle, The Baxter Building, and Villainville which he thinks is an awful place.
It was all somewhat interesting to me in a passing way but it really was just another game that kids play. That all changed one day when he logged into the game to find out that some of his hard earned gold had disappeared. He immediately broke down and began to cry because all of his hard work had been lost. He was genuinely upset and almost inconsolable. Anyone who has played an MMO knows the frustration of losing hours of progress because of a server reset (I'm looking at you Rift). My sister had tried to help him figure out what had happened by she had no clue nor did I.
It became apparent to me that there was only one way to tackle the problem. I would have to create an account and play the game myself to figure out how to help Noah get his Spider Man. After a couple of minutes of set up Molten Opaque Raider was born and ready to roll. In the interest of safety the game doesn't allow players to create their own names but rather lets one choose from randomly generated names.
As my instincts told me the game was relatively straight forward and simply involved walking around clicking on stuff to collect silver, tickets, and XP. Jaded MMO players would call this game a grind, and it kind of is. It turns out however that there more than meets the eye and Noah had only been playing most basic parts of the game all along.
The game offers instanced missions that are fought against bad guys and provide boss battles at the end. There are even daily missions that allow teams of four to conquer the bad guys together. When Noah first saw me playing through one of these he was amazed as he had no idea these things existed. He quickly figured out how they work and now spends much of his time replaying the same missions over and over.
Another very interesting part of the game is a built in turn based card game that features all of the Marvel heroes and villains. This game is surprisingly in depth and booster packs can either be won or purchased which allow for the building of custom decks. The first time Noah played the daily card battle against the AI he had won quite handedly. The same did not hold true for me as after four games my record was 0-4.
It turns out there are only a couple of ways to earn gold directly in game. You can of course buy it in the cash shop if you wish. However those wanting to take the free route have to collect tickets which can be used to spin a large game wheel. You also get rewards for logging in on consecutive days which eventually gives you a 5 gold a day bonus. Without paying for the game it will easily take over a month to collect the required gold to purchase Spider-Man. A little searching has revealed that there is one character that can be bought with a large amount of silver which can only be collected in game. "The silver guy with the board" as Noah refers to him.
Amazingly, this game is simple enough to be enjoyed by a 6 year old and it provides enough depth to keep the older kids engaged also. Now, it's not an uncommon sight to see him and me sitting side by side defeating the villains that threaten to destroy the world. "I'm in the middle of a mission!" He will yell, when his parents call him for dinner. And pretty soon the Silver Surfer and Spider-Man will be there too.
About Speak Up on Kotaku: Our readers have a lot to say, and sometimes what they have to say has nothing to do with the stories we run. That's why we have a forum on Kotaku called Speak Up. That's the place to post anecdotes, photos, game tips and hints, and anything you want to share with Kotaku at large. Every weekday we'll pull one of the best Speak Up posts we can find and highlight it here. At least that's how it's supposed to work.


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Monect Portable
Monect is a free app that allows you to control the PC over wi-fi or bluetooth. Here are features: • RaceMode - Play PC driving game by your phone over wi-fi or bluetooth using G-Sensor! • TouchPad - Simulate touch pad on your phone with many gestures supporting, just like Apple's trackpad! • My Computer - Exploring PC files on your...read more

subset: commoncrawl


text: When your music gets old… December 10, 2012 by Patti Niehoff Ephemera I put on a Grateful Dead song and my 5 year old said, "That sounds like video game music." He's in time-out forever. — Rex Huppke (@RexHuppke) December 10, 2012 Related The AuthorPatti Niehoff I read and I write and I think. I survive.


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ALL BALL NERVE CENTER — Denver C JaVale McGee has become a favorite around these parts for all the laughs he has generated, both intentionally and unintentionally. (For confirmation, have fun digging around in here.)
So we shouldn't be surprised to find out a random bit of information, such as that JaVale McGee has a car horn that sounds like a very loud train. If you were walking down the street in Denver and you suddenly thought a very loud train was bearing down on you, you would probably jump. Just like all the people in this video JaVale made, where he drives around scaring people with his car horn.
That video is from a few weeks back. But just in case anyone forgot, yesterday JaVale showed his teammate Anthony Randolph that when JaVale's around, you better keep your head on a swivel.


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I have noticed several fellow geneabloggers are contributing to the Amanuensis Monday blog theme that was started by John Newmark on his blog Transylvanian Dutch, in which he is transcribing letters, newspaper articles, audio tapes, and a war diary etc., concerning his family.
John explains Amanuensis as "a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another".
I think the idea of Amanuensis Monday is wonderful and is going to be so good for me to actually get down to transcribing all the Wills I have collected and been meaning to transcribe for ages (for years in fact)!! So I am going to have a go and join in and try to add a transcribed Will each Monday!
My first transcription is for the Will of Ann Cozens. She is a cousin of my 6 x great grandfather Cozens Read and lived for a number of years with his sister Rachael in Tiddington, Oxfordshire. Both Ann Cozens and Rachael Read's Wills are a delight as the two ladies mention so many members of the family.
I am a little stuck with Ann Cozens, not yet knowing who her parents are, but as you will see from the Will, there is a clue and I will comment on this in the Notes at the end of the transcription.
Here is a copy of Ann Cozens' Will that I received from the National Archives and please don't tell me off for the pink highlighter all over it!! I did that with several Wills as they were so difficult to read and so I could easily pick out names etc., but I did this a long time ago and realise now that I should have maybe done the highlighting on a different copy!
Ann Cozens' Will
and here is Page 2 – the Transcription follows the second page
and here is my Transcription of this Will for Amanuensis Monday
Transcript of the Will of Ann Cozens
In the Name of God Amen I Ann Cozens of Great Hazely in the County of Oxford Spinster being in health of body and of sound mind memory and understanding praised be God for the same do make this my last will and testament in manner and form following First I will and desire that I may be decently buried in the parish Churchyard of Great Hazely aforesaid near as maybe to Mrs. Rachel Read And I give and bequeath unto Edward Read of Brimstone house in the parish of Albury in the County of Oxford the sum of three pounds for his trouble and care of me during my natural life Also I give and bequeath unto John Cozens of Berwick in the County of Oxford laborour son of the late Moses Cozens my nephew the sum of forty pounds Also I give and bequeath unto Mary Cozens sister to the said John Cozens of Berwick Spinster the sum of ten pounds Also I give and bequeath unto Elizabeth Read of Great Hazely Spinster the sum of five pounds Also I give and bequeath unto William Read the elder batchelor the sum of two guineas Also I give and bequeath unto my three God children Thomas Read Ann Read John Lovegrove now living in Hazely aforesaid Thomas Read the elder (additional wording the elder crossed through) the sum of one guinea each Also to Ann Read the daughter of the said Thomas Read the sum of one guinea And also to John Lovegrove the sum one guinea all now living in Hazely aforesaid Also I give and bequeath unto Rachel Clifford widow the sum of one guinea Also I give and bequeath unto Elizabeth Read daughter of Stephen Read and Elizabeth his wife of Cuddington in the County of Bucks the sum one guinea Also I give and bequeath unto Thomas Read the son of the aforesaid Stephen and Elizabeth Read the sum of one guinea Also I give and bequeath unto Stephen Read the son of the aforesaid Stephen and Elizabeth Read the sum of one guinea Also I give and bequeath unto Elizabeth Burges wife of William Burges of Hazely the sum of two guineas And if the effects at the time of my decease should not arise to the amount or sum of (additional wording of crossed through ) the above legacies herein above bequeath'd it is my request that all the legacies shall take in proportion to what the effects may amount to in the pound after all depts and demands are discharged by the named executor herein mentioned of this my last will and testament Also I direct and appoint Edward Read my Executor to pay all my just depts and all the expences and funeral charges within one month after my interment All the rest and residue of my, of money goods chattles estate and effects of what nature or kind soever I give and bequeath unto Mr. Edward Read of Brimstone house in the said parish of Albury in the said County of Oxford And I do nominate constitute and appoint the said Edward Read of Brimstone house aforesaid sole Executor of this my last will and testament hereby revoking and making void all and every other will and wills at any time (sweartofore?) by me made and declare this to be my last will and testament In Witness whereof I have, I the said Ann Cozens Spister(sic) have hereunto set my hand and seal this twenty ninth day of April one thousand eight hundred and five. Mark Ann Cozens X Sign'd sealed declared and published by the said testator Ann Cozens as and for her last will and testament in the presence of us who at her request in her presence and in the presence of each other have subscribed our names as witnesses thereto Elizabeth Billing Sarah Scriven
This Will was proved at Oxford on the twenty eighth day of March 1809 before the Rev'd William Brown clerk M. A. Surrogate of the Rev'd George Turner clerk M. A. Official Principal of the Rev'd Archdeacon of Oxford lawfully constituted by the Oath of Edward Reade the sole executor therein named to whom admon was granted being first sworn duly to administer.
Notes: Ann mentions that she is bequeathing to John Cozens of Berwick the son of the late Moses Cozens "my nephew" … and this has caused me a bit of concern with regard to who Ann Cozens actually belongs to! I have taken this part of the Will to mean that John Cozens is her nephew, therefore the late Moses Cozens is her brother. I have the Wills for Moses Cozens and his brother John Cozens and their father John Cozens, but not one mentions Ann. I don't know when Ann Cozens was born, so it could be the Will of John Senior was made before Ann was born and maybe the two brothers John and Moses were more concerned with leaving their legacies to their children.
On the other hand, is Ann Cozens referring to the late Moses Cozens as her nephew (hence his son would be her great nephew)? If so, that would make John Senior her brother and as mentioned before Ann is not mentioned in his Will whether as sister or daughter! I would be interested to hear your views about who you think she is referring to as "my nephew".
Brimstone house in Albury is where Rachael Read lived with her cousin Ann Cozens until she died. Living with them both was Edward Read and it appears that he continued living there after Rachael died and until Ann Cozens died. I have tried to find this place. For Rachael it appears to be in Tiddington but for Ann it is in Albury. Tiddington was/is in the parish of Albury and I believe the two villages are very close together. I have also discovered that this particular property is now a government experimental farm and when we were in Oxfordshire in 2000 we could not find anything that could have been Brimstone house or even an experimental farm! I have tried to find the house on old maps and have seen in other documents that it is referred to as Brimstone Farm also. I have also seen in other documents mention of Brimpton House in Albury or Tiddington and think that this is one and the same as Brimstone House. I'm sure I will find it one day!!