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You can help The Sims Wiki by adding it.
Traps are a feature introduced in The Sims 3 World Adventures and The Sims 4: Jungle Adventure.
The Sims 3: World AdventuresEdit
Traps are the defense mechanisms in tombs and, if Sims are not not careful, can result into an interference with a tomb mummy and result in the death of whoever gets caught by one. There are several kinds of traps; however, only one of them is a death trap. Sims can disarm most traps by tinkering with them or a hole in the wall, or pushing statues upon floor switches or, if the trap is on the floor, onto the trap itself. Sims can even use traps to evade others.
Fire Trap Edit
Fire traps are mechanisms built in the floor or wall of tombs. When activated, the Sim will catch fire and will result in a "Torched" moodlet and unconsciousness in one hour (3 for Sims with daredevil trait). The moodlet can be eliminated by soaking in one of the water pools said to be inside the tombs (or using Shower in a Can). Fire traps can be deactivated and there are two ways to cross this trap safely. The first one is by entering a pool or dive well before crossing the trap, as it will render the moodlet "Soaked" and make the Sim a fire proof being. The other is by having the Fire-Proof trait.
Electricity TrapEdit
Electricity traps are generally the same as fire traps, but with electricity. The "Soaked" moodlet cannot prevent damage on a Sim. When failing to cross the electricity trap, the Sim will get shocked by the trap and get the "Singed" moodlet. If the Sim tries again with the moodlet but fails again, the Sim would pass out. A Simbot will have his/her Charge refilled when failing to cross this trap. An Electricity trap can also light fire and kill sims in that manner.
Dart Trap Edit
Dart traps fire tranquilizing darts, causing the Sim to have a knocked out moodlet, and then fall asleep, unable to be awoken again for about 30 minutes.
Mummy Trap Edit
A Mummy Trap will activate when the Sim comes near enough. It may render the Sim Cursed if he loses a fight with the creature set free by the trap. The Curse is lethal if the Sim does not make an attempt to lift it. Mummies can be defeated with a high enough athletic skill.
Steam TrapEdit
Steam gives Sims the 'soaked' moodlet which makes them immune to fire. A really good puzzler tool - give a Sim a soaking with a steam trap to get past the fire trap. However, if the Sim is wearing a swimsuit they won't be affected by the steam and will not get the 'soaked' moodlet. Soaked moodlet initially gives your Sim a reduced mood.
- As Simbots are immune to Fire and Electricity traps, the player would have the Simbot set off the Fire/Electricity traps and then have the Human or Vampire Sims explore the tomb without any danger to the Human or Vampire.
- If the Trap is placed in a house using Buydebug and the trap is set to Fire Trap. If the Sim is caught in the trap and the player tries to enter Buy/Build Mode, the game will not let you. This is because the game assumes that there is a fire on your lot (Unless the Alwaysallowbuildbuy cheat is enabled).
- If Electricity traps are set in this manner, there is a chance of a fire starting on the lot when triggered.
The Sims 4: Jungle AdventureEdit
- This section is in need of additional information. You can help The Sims Wiki by expanding this section.


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Creating a Pet Rat Play Area
Rats Need Free Range Time
All rats should have a free range area. Even if your rats have a large cage it is important for them to have time outside the cage to run around and socialize with you. This page provides some ideas of what to put in your play area, where to set up your play area, and tips on how to rat-proof your play area. There is virtually an unlimited number of ways to create your rats' space so be creative and have fun, but remember to always keep your rats' safety in mind!
What to Put in a Free Range Area
Garbage Basket
Fill a garbage bin or basket with safe "garbage." Some things you could put in are crumpled paper, toilet paper rolls, bits of cardboard and wood, popsicle sticks, scraps of fabric, plastic and metal lids, bottle caps, bits of rope, empty spools of thread, etc...anything that your rats would find interesting to dig through. Make it even more fun by wrapping up treats in the paper.
Cardboard Tunnels
Lay cardboard tunnels on the ground or use them as ladders up to a piece of furniture. You can also cut more holes in them to make them fun to play in.
Where to get them: large, long cardboard tubes come from such things as rolls of carpet or roofing material, so you could ask at a store if they have any. If they do they will likely give it to you as it would just be recycled anyway.
Fabric Tunnels and Mazes
Cut off pant legs and shirt sleeves to make fabric tunnels. Insert large toilet paper rolls in the ends to keep them open. You can also try making a tunnel maze by pining or sewing a bunch of tunnels together.
Spool Treat Toy
Take an empty spool of thread and put few small treats in it (like cheerios or rice krispies). Then give it to the rats. They will have to roll it around and dig in it to get the treats to come out.
Cardboard Box Fort
Plain cardboard boxes are great for rats, but what's even more fun is a box fort. Just collect any clean boxes you have and assemble them together, cutting holes from one box to another. Add tunnels, walkways, ladders, windows, and curtains. You can use tape to hold everything together, because you will be with your rats so you can make sure they don't eat it. Once you've got all the boxes taped together you can scrunch up strips of paper and put it inside, wrapping treats in some of them.
If you don't have a collection of several small boxes you can just use one or two large boxes and cut them up. That is how I made this house. I find that this way takes a little more work, but it is still fun to make.
This little tent is made from coat hanger wire and fleece material. It is definitely a ratty favorite and has been used for years.
Fishing Pond
Rats love to fish for frozen peas. If your rats aren't used to water just use a really shallow dish with some pebbles in it. You can make the water deeper as your rats become more accustomed to it. I like to use a paint tray as a swimming pool because it naturally has a shallow end and deep end. Some rats like to swim in deep water or dive to retrieve things from the bottom of their pool. You can make your pond more interesting by putting larger rocks and pebbles and driftwood in a bin and then adding water and peas. This way ratties that don't want to get wet can fish standing on the rocks.
Digging Box
To make a digging box fill a bin with some clean soil and plant wheat or vegetable seeds or other edible things. Water it and let it grow for a while (takes about a week). Then add rats! They have a lot of fun digging in the dirt and eating the sprouts.
Here are my rats, Lily, Rue, and Piper enjoying their digging box.
Laundry Basket
Ratties love burrowing in a basket of laundry. Because they sometimes chew through things, you should fill a basket with clothing and material that you don't care about (try the free or cheap bins at second hand stores).
Pillow Fort
A pillow fort is something very quick and easy to set up, and is great if you are just having your rats out on your bed or couch. Try adding stuffed animals and cardboard tubes, and throwing a blanket or towel over top. The bigger and more complex the better!
Paper Mache Treat Ball
I made this toy by paper macheing a small balloon, letting it dry, popping the balloon, and then putting little treats inside it. The rats have to roll the ball around or chew through it to get the treats out. See my other lens for more precise directions: http://www.squidoo.com/simple-and-easy-ways-to-acc... or just click on the picture to go there.
Ice Cream Bucket
Ice cream buckets (or other plastic bins) make great hiding places. Just wash them and cut an entrance.
My rats like dark hideouts so I made cloth coverings to put over the ice cream buckets. I think it looks nicer too.
Wooden Houses
If you have access to some scrap wood and have some basic tools (or know someone who does) you can make all kinds of wooden houses, hideouts, staircases, etc.
This one functions as both a house and a staircase.
Adding cloth tunnels to a wooden house makes a fun maze for rats.
Litter Box
It is a good idea to have a litter box in your free range area, especially when you have your rats out for long periods of time. I prefer to always have a litter box available even if my rats aren't out very long, because I wouldn't want them to feel forced to go on the floor. I just think it helps with litter training to always allow your rats a place to go. It is fine to just use a cardboard box for the litter; you will just have to replace it once in a while.
Probably the most fun thing for a rat to play with is other friends. This means other rats and you.
Other Ideas
There is pretty much an unlimited number of things you can put in a free range area. Here are a few other ideas:
-furniture (table, chair, shelf; be careful with couches as rats can get stuck inside)
-wine rack
-curtain, housecoat, or something else for rats to climb
-box of shredded paper
-box of fabric
-container of interesting little things (rocks, shells, buttons)
-ping pong ball
-baby and kids toys
-doll house
-any other safe household things (eg. lampshade, milk jug, flower pot, cookie tin)
Where to Set Up a Free Range Area
A separate room for your rats makes the best free range area, because it's easy to keep rat-proofed and you don't have to set up and clean up every time you take the rats out. Don't worry if you don't have a spare room (I never have), because you can still make a great free range area.
The most important factor when choosing a space in your house for a free range area is your rats' safety. Choose an enclosed room or make an enclosed area. You can make an enclosed area by building a rat playpen (see the featured lens below for excellent instructions), or by blocking off open doorways using cardboard, or wood, or something else. Although bigger is generally better, you don't want the space to be so big that you can't always keep an eye on all your rats. Don't forget to rat-proof the area (see tips below).
You may also want to consider the type of flooring. If your rats tend to pee when they are out then you probably don't want to choose a room with carpet. If you want to protect the flooring you can lay down a blanket first.
*Note: You don't have to choose just one place. Try changing it up to keep the rats (and you) interested.
My Pick: I usually find that bathrooms work really well because there aren't dangerous appliances, wires, or carpets. Also, they are enclosed with doors so I never have to set up cardboard walls. And it's not gross if you keep your bathroom clean.
Tent Play Pen
My favorite place for free ranging my rats is my tent! And it's their favorite place too. I set the tent up in my living room, lay down my "rat blanket," and then fill it with toys. I like to hang up tunnels and hammocks too. This set up works great when you have lots of young rats to watch.
Rat Proofing
1. Make sure that there are no heaters, vents, or gaps that your rats could disappear into. You can use wood or cardboard to block off any gaps, but make sure you always watch your rats because if left unsupervised they may chew through.
2. Baby rats can often squeeze under doors so you may want to jam a towel under the door.
3. Make sure there is nothing unsafe for them to chew, like wires.
4. Put plastic outlet caps in any sockets.
5. Be wary of couches! If you choose a room with a couch, make sure your rats can't get into them (I once had to cut a hole in the back of my couch to get a stubborn rat out).
6. Sweep the floor before letting your ratties play in the area; you don't want them inhaling dust or eating whatever got dropped on the floor.
This is a picture of the bottom of my fridge and stove. Because my rat runs around the whole house, my boyfriend and I wedged pieces of wood under the fridge and stove, and put a large piece of wood over the front of the microwave stand. This keeps her from getting into anything dangerous in the kitchen.
My Free Range Set-upClick thumbnail to view full-size
Here's a short video tour of my rat's free range area.
Koko in Her Play AreaClick thumbnail to view full-size
Here's Koko exploring her play area.
Rats in an Awesome Free Range Area
One day I hope to have a whole room for my rats, like in this video.
This article is accurate and true to the best of the author's knowledge. It is not meant to substitute for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription, or formal and individualized advice from a veterinary medical professional. Animals exhibiting signs and symptoms of distress should be seen by a veterinarian immediately.
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A-Grade Audio Club House Official For Ni MASSiVE
Soft / Samples, Presets, Banks Of Sounds 24-11-2015
Get ahead of an evolving dance music scene with professional quality sounds from A-Grade Audio. Taking inspiration from the latest club and festival house tracks, Club/House Official features 64 Original Presets for Native Instruments Massive, masterfully designed and ready to drop into your productions.
Forget tired old patches that give you nothing but writers block, instead, refresh your library with original sounds that can take your productions in a radical new direction!
From smooth undertones to future wobbles, dirty squares to electro dynamite this pack is an official guide to the Club/House scene. Experience A Grade quality and supreme attention to detail in each and every NI Massive patch. Club/House Official is your backstage pass to the sounds of the next big thing, the start of YOUR breakthrough moment.
The designers behind A-Grade have more than 10 years working experience crafting sounds and samples for some of the most recognisable names in the business including Native Instruments, Fabfilter, Cakewalk, Camel Audio and more. Now their expertise is yours to own via A-Grade Audio sounds and samples.
....:::: Technical Specs ::::....
• 64 Original Presets for NI Massive
• All Macros Assigned for maximum flexibility
• .NMSV and .KSD format
• 100% Royalty-Free
• Suitable for multiple genres including House, Electro House, Future House, EDM and more.
• Additional FREE Bonus Content including the FL Studio Project and quality WAV samples featured in the demo.
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Related articles
SamplingLabo All About Pad And Pluck For Ni MASSiVE
Soft / Samples, Presets, Banks Of Sounds 25-11-2015
Presenting the second set of presets in the All About Series following our popular "All About Pad & Pluck" presets. The new series, "All About Pad & Pluck" is dedicated to pad and pluck sound. "All About Pad & Pluck" covers the complete range from vintage sounds to the newest sounds-something for every genre from pop music to dance music.
The series contains a total of 60 presets (30 pad + 30 pluck sounds) including Midi file recordings of music samples. The drum sounds recorded in the demo songs are not recorded in either Audio files or Midi Files.
About MIDI Files: After opening a MIDI file, you can replay a demo song without the drum or effects data by opening and replaying the preset file with the same name as the Midi file in Massive. Please use the latest version of Massive. We've confirmed that this preset pack can be used with Version 1.4.2.
These presets will add power to your Massive and strong support for your music production. Some of the presets are offered free of charge, so don't miss the chance to experience these unique sounds.
...::: Product Description :::...
• 60 NI Massive Presets!
• 30 x Pad
• 30 x Pluck
• Requires: NI Massive Version 1.4.2.
Inspiring Audios Big Room HQ Massive For Ni MASSiVE
Soft / Samples, Presets, Banks Of Sounds 10-11-2015
'Bigroom: HQ Massive' is a fresh and stunning compilation that contains 75 top notch patches for one of the best sounding VSTi synths. Improve your productions with this comprehensive pack which includes 75 Massive Presets that make your future hits stand out.
Included are dirty Massive leads created for producers who want to make a real club banger. This collection of sounds is incredibly useful for other styles such as Electro, Trap, Progressive, Bounce and Big Room.
...::: Pack Details :::...
• 75 Massive Presets
• 40 x Leads
• 06 x Basses
• 02 x Kicks
• 01 x Key
• 05 x Lazer FX
• 05 x Noise FX
• 02 x Pads
• 07 x Plucks
• 05 x SYN Presets
• 100% Royalty-Free
• NI Massive Version 1.4
Samplephonics Massive 303 Revolution Ni Massive NMSV
Soft / Samples, Presets, Banks Of Sounds 6-11-2015
Massive 303 Revolution is a collection of 303 style acid sounds and sequences for Native Instruments Massive Synth. Painstakingly sculpted and designed to mimick the sound of the original TB-303 from Roland, using step sequencers and performance curves to mimick the 303's classic sequencer and finely tuned filter settings, subtle parabolic shaping, phase manipulation and optional overdrive functions to give the classic sound that gave birth to the Acid House scene.
All presets have carefully designed macro controls that subtly control multiple parameters to ensure that however they have been set, it's going to sound sh** hot!They have also been tagged for easy browsing and intelligently labelled so you can grab exactly the preset you are looking for.
There are a total of 138 presets and all require Massive version 1.3 or higher. This patch library is also 100% royalty free and ready for tweaking!
Echo Sound Works Tropic Thunder Vol 2 WAV MiDi Ni MASSiVE KONTAKT
Soft / Samples, Presets, Banks Of Sounds 18-08-2017
Tropical House has quickly become one of the most popular EDM genres in the world of music today. Tropic Thunder V.2 picks up right where Volume 1 left off by delivering another 85 unique and high quality presets for NI Massive. Although some of these presets were inspired by the biggest names in Tropical House, a lot of them are unique and will help your productions stand out from other artists.
If you are looking for sounds that artists like Kygo, Faul and Wad Ad, Klingande and Matoma use look no further. Tropic Thunder V.2 has sounds inspired by these artists and more. These presets will also work with genres like House, Chill Out and even Pop! All pianos that are heard in the demo are included in the pack as Kontakt instruments.
Tropic Thunder V.2 comes with a bunch of inspiring bonus items like drum samples, loops and MIDI files taken from the demo. These can be used in your own productions royalty free or used as a learning tool. In total, this set has over 1 GB of content.
Here's everything that's included in the pack at a glance:
• 85 Massive Presets (All 8 macros assigned on every preset)
• 15 x BASS
• 03 x KEY
• 38 x LEAD
• 05 x PAD
• 14 x PLUCK
• 11 x SYNTH
• 100 Drum Samples/Loops in WAV Format
• 25 MIDI Files (Key and Preset Labeled)
• 10 Kontakt Instruments (Pianos and Bells)
Sunsine Audio Dubstep Exciter for NI Massive-KRock
Soft / Samples, Presets, Banks Of Sounds 30-08-2015
Dubstep Exciter - 64 Massive Bass Presets
Dubstep Exciter from Sunsine Audio features 64 bass presets for Native Instruments Massive. Each one of these new presets has been sculpted and crafted with a fine attention to detail and presence, including mapping of dynamic modulators like velocity to ensure a moving, expressive sound. In addition, all 8 Macro knobs are programmed with important routings on every single preset!
With a set of tools like this, it's not hard to sculpt and perfect your own sound. If you like it dirty and want to make it shake this pack is for you! While being perfect for Dubstep this pack will find favor in any modern or urban style, from exploratory Hip Hop, Electro, and Glitch to D&B, House, IDM, Pop and many others. Any producer seeking a massive injection of sub-bass should be pleasantly surprised, and their neighbors will be absolutely pissed! Most presets can play double duty as leads or pads as well. Get nasty, and knock the block down now.
• Requires Native Instruments Massive 1.1 or later*
• 64 Native Instruments Presets in .ksd format
• 100% Original and Royalty Free
• 512 Assigned Macros
• All Presets tagged with Attributes
• Includes installation instructions.
• Drums in Demo not included
SM101 Big Bass Patches 2 MiDi FXB NMSV-AUDIOSTRiKE
Soft / Samples, Presets, Banks Of Sounds 25-08-2015
After the runaway success of the original, SM101 returns with a fresh selection of club-conquering bass sounds for Massive and Sylenth. Expertly tweaked to offer cutting-edge bass energy, these detailed patches are inspired by the cream of the current dance music crop across all genres.
From deep house to techno, garage house through to future house and beyond, we've looked to recreate the biggest and hottest bass sounds around from the likes of Oliver Heldens, Tchami, Patrick Topping, Justin Martin and more.
Loaded with throbbing pulses, deep subs, processed plucks, dark wobbles and futuristic tweak-outs, each patch has been painstakingly crafted to deliver killer big-room bass without any additional tweaking.
But for those that like to put their own spin on things, all the Massive patches come pre-assigned with up to 8 macros, making it easy to tweak and automate key parameters for a truly custom dynamic sound.
As well as the 61 Massive and 40 Sylenth patches, there's also over 50 key- and patch-labeled MIDI basslines from the audio demo bundled in the pack to kick-start your next bass-heavy bomb.
Please note: the audio contains drum sounds which are NOT included in the pack. This pack contains Sylenth and Massive synth presets and MIDI files only.
What's Inside
Sylenth patches > 40 analogue-inspired bass sounds for Lennar Digital's Sylenth. Also includes MIDI files for instant inspiration.
Massive Patches > 61 up-front bass sounds spanning the dark and dirty to futuristic and freaky. Comes bundled with MIDI files to kick-start your bass explorations.
Download contains:
61 x Massive patches
40 x Sylenth patches
55 x MIDI files


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The NetaMap. Leave your mark.
Every dot on this map is a location from where Netalyzr has been run. Many thanks to our users! To contribute, run Netalyzr now: click on the link below to get started.
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This is what I'm currently working on it's a special order album for one of my very loyal customers. This is one of eight I've been working on for her. ♡♡♡♡
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Mini Paperbag Scrapbook Albums
Working on a couple mini Paperbag Scrapbook Albums today. This shows the before and after of a page coverage, now I'm ready to embellish. My favorite part! ♡♡♡
Sunday, August 14, 2016
Special Orders
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Just seems like there hasn't been enough hours in the day lately. But finally , today I had a few minutes to finish this Summer themed Chipboard Scrapbook Album.
Sunday, June 12, 2016
Recipe Scrapbook
Finished this little Recipe Book a few days ago. It was a special request. Love doing these little Chipboard Albums.
Saturday, May 21, 2016
Monday, May 2, 2016
Chipboard Minis
Friday, April 22, 2016
Corrugated Scrapbook Albums
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Finally Finished
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The 1960s, the heyday of the civil rights movement, saw a polarized, volatile American public. At the symbolic center of the vitriolic rhetoric stood the figure of Martin Luther King Jr., hailed by some as a messianic hero and demonized by others as an un-American antagonist with evil intent.
Today Dr. King is more symbol than human. And despite the exposed human faults of the actual man, his human virtues are worthy of the symbol. For his endurance in the face of opposition, for his subjection to a campaign of lies, for his refusal to retaliate, for his submission to physical violence, for his suffering unjust incarceration, for his brandishing powerful nonviolent rhetoric, and for his proclamation of clear, if not universally accepted moral truth, Martin Luther King Jr. remains one of our nation's most revered figures.
The persecution Dr. King endured was not feigned. It was no perceived attack with roots in legitimate criticism. His life, the lives of his compatriots, and the lives of their families were continually threatened, and the threats were punctuated with a series of actual incidents of horrible physical violence. He had little recourse in local government, who threatened and imposed further violence and incarceration. And the federal intervention was obviously too little too late.
Still when it came time for MLK to mount a rhetorical defense, he always chose to defend the cause of the needy, the oppressed, the poor, and the outcast. He never defended himself. He stood up for justice and truth, not himself.
Where did that moral stance come from? How could he endure what he endured and remain focused on truth and justice rather than on charges of persecution, which were real and not imagined? What kept him from crying "Persecution!" even when the threats became everyday realities of actual violence?
Perhaps the difference between Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and those who claim persecution today is born of King's prayer life. Vanderbilt University's Dr. Lewis Baldwin hints at as much in one of two new Baldwin release on Dr. King, Never to Leave Us Alone, published by Fortress Press (the other release is The Voice of Conscience: The Church in the Mind of Martin Luther King, Jr., published by Oxford University Press).
In Never to Leave Us Alone, Baldwin traces King's prayer life. He begins by capturing the wellsprings of the African American prayer tradition that fed the young King. He follows with Kings' experiences and writings as a young man at Morehouse College, Crozer Theological Seminary, and Boston University.
In three more chapters Baldwin opens up the period of Dr. King's civil rights career leading to his violent death. Each of these three chapters captures a different aspect of the same period. First Baldwin looks at prayer and preaching, then at the power of pastoral prayers, and then at prayer as the heart of movement of the civil rights movement. In a final chapter, http://www.smileyandwest.com/transcripts-pdf/101810_smileyandwest-transcripts.pdf reminds us of what we can learn from King and why he remains a respected figure around the world.
Discussing the book, radio and television host Tavis Smiley asked Baldwin, "What was Martin praying for? It's one thing to talk about his prayer life, but obviously it's important to pray for the right things and to pray in the right way. Tell me more about what he was praying for and what his prayer process was. How did he call out to God?
Generalizing from his years of research, Baldwin answered, "He prayed for strength, his own personal strength, for guidance and direction in the movement. He also prayed for world peace. He prayed for guidance in the struggle for economic justice, in the struggle to overcome racial barriers, segregation in the society. He prayed for discipline and courageous leadership in the movement. He prayed for what he called "the least of these," those who were in poverty, who had no jobs, who were devoid of medical care, who were ill-housed. His prayer, of course, had this social dimension. He majored in intercessory prayer—that is praying for others. His prayers were always relational."
Baldwin documents Dr. King's practice of renting a hotel room for a prayer-centered day, a "day of silence." During those day-long retreats, King "poured his heart out to God," he developed his own inner spiritual life, and he gained wisdom and the "attitudinal posture" required to keep moving forward in his God-ordained mission.
Central to Dr. King's prayer life, according to Dr. Baldwin was the belief that prayers are to be lived as well as uttered. "Living prayer daily was, in King's case, a cardinal principle, and this persists as part of his legacy for a nation and a world in which hypocrisy is perhaps more glaringly evident than ever before."
Who can doubt that that living prayer sensibility is sorely needed in an age of commercially-driven bombast disguised as political rhetoric, when legitimate criticism is dismissed as illegitimate persecution. Dr. Baldwin reminds us that for Dr. King the method and the message can conspire to communicate truth. Prayer can keep the message and the method true. But even a true message can be dangerous.


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Starting a blog is a whirlwind, a hurricane of various tasks, options, and possibilities. Those first moments are pure chaos, you feel like you're being pulled in every direction at once. You think about blogging during the day, and you dream about it at night.
First thing's first:
Stop. Take a deep breath.
You can't do everything at once, you need to set goals to hit as you move forward. I'm not talking about daily or weekly ones either.
Think bigger, more long-term. In fact, let's look at your first year of blogging. That's 365.242 days (give or take based on the rotation of the Earth) to hit your blogging benchmark goals.
Here's what we'll cover today:
- 8 Benchmarks to hit in your first year of blogging
- How to structure your goals
8 Benchmarks For The First Year of Blogging
A year may seem like a long time, but it goes by really fast when you're a blogger. As you move into your first year, remember that you're going to make some rookie blogger mistakes, and that's normal. You'll stumble a bit, but you'll learn to walk and run before you know it when you consider the best practices.
The first thing you should do is look at other blogs. Build a list of must-read blogs that you check consistently.
See how they are set up, look at the way everything is structured. Check back on them as you work on your own blog to find more inspiration that will help you grow and improve your content strategies.
Everybody wants to know what to shoot for, and after reading common blogging benchmarks that are widely known, I realized that everyone could use a set of clear-cut goals to run with in their first year. So, let's find out what you should be shooting for.
1. Build a list of 500-1000 email subscribers
Plenty of other bloggers will agree that having a strong email list is incredibly important. More than that, as Zac Johnson put it in his post on dramatically increasing your email list, "The money is in the list." If you want to make money blogging and become successful in that regard, you'll need to build an email list.
How does a list of 500 to 1,000 in the first year sound?
Relax, it's not as hard as you would think. It's about providing opportunities for them sign up.
Little things like a "subscribe to email" option next to the comments, and a single opt-in page will go a long way. People like it to be simple, so don't ask for anything more than a name and email.
People like it to be simple, so don't ask for anything more than a name and email.
The bottom line is this:
- Keep opt-in simple
- Provide incentive to give emails
- Always give a clear call-to-action encouraging them to sign-up
2. Consistent and growing traffic numbers
Traffic is one of those things that bloggers always want, but there's not clear-cut way to get it. There are plenty of things that work like promoting your content, but it takes a lot of elbow grease to get results here.
While it may seem like this is a bad thing, it really isn't. It just means that you have a lot of opportunities to find success on this front.
It always boils down to writing high quality, useful content. No matter which method you choose to increase traffic, that's going to be the base step. If you've read a few of my articles, you'll know that I'm also a big fan of Brian Dean's Skyscraper Technique which involves promoting your content to people who influenced you to write it and asking for backlinks to your blog.
Here are some tips to help you reach this milestone:
- Post consistently and always strive for useful, high quality content that is targeted to your readers.
- Promote anything you write on all of your social media pages to spread the word.
- Reach out to anyone you mentioned or talked about in your post and tell them how they influenced you.
3. Several published guest posts on authoritative blogs
Finding guest post opportunities isn't difficult, but you'll need to know where to look, and once you find one, you'll need to bring your A-game to the table if you want it to be accepted. In terms of finding a top-level blog in your niche, I recommend an amazing tool called AHREFS.
Not only does AHREFS allow you to see an analysis or your site or anyone else's, but it also allows you to see your top 10 competitors. The exact people you want to submit a guest post to.
When it comes time to create one, be sure to brush up on your SEO and content creation tactics for best results. I recommend reading Rand Fishkin's post on content creation and SEO over at Kissmetrics.
Let's review:
- Find top-notch competitors in your niche and start pitching guest post ideas.
- Have at least 3 guest posts on major sites within your first year.
4. A base of long-form content posts
As Neil Patel puts it in his post on the ideal length of blog posts: people obsess over how long their blog posts should be. It's true, I find myself wondering how long any given post should be.
Ultimately the answer comes down to you and your audience, but a good rule of thumb is to always let it flow and make sure you put down only what's important.
Fluff is useless. When we're talking about long-form content posts, we're talking 3,000-10,000 words or more of cold, hard, information.
Say for example you wanted to do a post listing 151 blog post ideas (sorry, already did it), you wouldn't spend the 8,000+ word post just talking about getting to the ideas. You would dive right in.
And thus we reach the goal of long-form content:
- Write several big posts in the first year that are packed full of valuable information.
- Keep these coming every so often, and remember to trim all the fluff.
5. A strong presence on social media platforms
When we use the term "social media" we're referring to things like Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat. Promoting your blog and its posts is done almost exclusively through social media platforms like these. It's absolutely imperative that you have a presence on these three sites, and any others in your niche.
There are a lot of specific niche-based social media sites out there, but you'll want to have a presence on the big three mentioned above. That means creating profiles for each, and using them to promote your content and interact with your readers.
That being said, I recommend you keep yourself in check and don't become a victim of social media as Adrienne Smith puts it in her blog. She hits the nail on the head when discussing it. Social Media is about being "social," plain and simple. It is a place where you can meet and interact with your readers and find out what they need so you can provide it through your blog.
You would also do well to remember that your readers should always be able to share your posts. You can easily give them this option using one of the many incredible WordPress plugins available.
To Review:
- Social media is a tool for expanding and understanding your readers, so use it.
- Employ share buttons on your blog to allow readers to spread your content.
6. At least two income streams
When I say "income streams" I'm referring to the ways your blog makes money. Now, it could very well take more than a year to make money from your blog, but it can also happen a lot sooner. In either case, you'll want to have several different methods for doing so.
In this case, putting all of your eggs in one basket can end badly. The experts all agree that you should always have money coming from multiple sources. For example, you can sign up with Google AdSense and start making money there, while also joining an affiliate program to make money promoting a product or service that you know and trust.
It's not enough to just say "I want to make money blogging" though. There are other questions you have to ask yourself, questions that Adam Connell wasn't afraid to ask in his eye-opening post on how to make money from your blog.
- Always have more than one source of income in case something goes wrong.
- Be patient, it takes time to make money from a blog.
7. Create and sell a product or service
Most bloggers who really make the big bucks are selling something. It can be an e-book, or consulting services, or anything really.
Once you get settled into your niche, you'll find that your knowledge and your talents are suddenly in high demand. People will pay you for that book you wrote, or for your advice on their issues, be they blogging related or otherwise.
8. Set Goals For Year Two
Now that year one is coming to a close for you, it's time to look to the future. You learned how to start a blog, you set blogging benchmarks, and you reached them.
Your journey isn't over though, not by a long shot. Don't stop here though, keep your plan moving forward into year two and never go into something blind.
In short, always have a plan. Speaking of plans, let's talk about that, shall we?
The Plan: Your Blogging Roadmap
The best way to tame the chaos of a newly formed blog is to wrangle up all of those daunting tasks and goals and place them into a neatly organized roadmap. After all, let's remember what the Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu once said:
"A Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
The journey of a blogger is a lot more than a thousand miles, but like any good journey, it begins by taking that first step and knowing where you're going. You already know how to create a blog, but once you have it up and running, you're faced with a tidal wave of ideas and goals to reach.
I've always been one to set goals myself, but I didn't consider the concept of a blogging roadmap until recently. In his guest post at Problogger, John Davenport shares the frustration of being swamped with ideas and goals, but now knowing how to tackle them.
The concept of a roadmap like this one consists of three key characteristics:
- An organized structure (a spreadsheet or calendar)
- Clear goals and deadlines
- Personal accountability
Some may say that the last point is optional, but I think it's important to hold yourself accountable for reaching your goals. If you don't, then you'll find reasons to push them back or thing to blame setbacks on.
It's just human nature, but instead of letting other things become crutches, turn the focus inward and hold yourself accountable for reaching these goals. When setting up your roadmap, there are a number of ways you can do it. It can be calendar with each of the months, a spreadsheet of deadlines, or anything else in between.
What matters is that you give yourself a schedule that is both realistic and detailed. You can also increase the accountability factor by publishing the roadmap for your readers so they know exactly what you're planning. If they see these deadlines, then you'll have more of a motivation to meet them.
Doing this also lets you plan ahead. Let's say you want to write an e-book and have it go on sale in October of a given year. Knowing this goal, you can set a point to begin working on it and set aside time each day to do so.
That's just one potential example, but breaking everything down into simple bite-sized goals is the best way to handle the overwhelming elements of working from home.
Wrapping it Up
Starting a blog is just the beginning. From there you have to grow it, the same way you water a plant. Just like a plant, you don't stop watering it after a year, and the same is true of your blog. The first year is all about growth, and that growth should never stop or slow down.
Use your roadmap and continue setting blogging benchmarks as you go to keep yourself moving forward and accountable for your work. Thanks for reading my fellow bloggers and make sure you tell me about your benchmarks in the comments below!


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An Open Challenge – Drink 1 Cup Of This Daily For 7 Days And Check Your Weight On 7th Day
In this article, we are going to present you step-by-step instructions on how to prepare a simple yet incredibly powerful homemade natural remedy which will help boost your metabolism and help you lose the extra fat. The efficiency of the drink has been proven by many people and it works in just 7 days.
The best thing about this natural remedy is that it consist of all-natural ingredients, meaning that it won't break the bank and it won't cause any unpleasant side-effects which might further endanger your overall health.
Ingredients you will need:
- 1 cup of Water
- 1 tbsp. of Cumin seeds
All you have to do is put a tablespoon of cumin seeds in the cup of water and let them sit overnight. In the morning, boil the mixture and let it cool down, before straining it and drinking the liquid on an empty stomach, 45 minutes before breakfast.
The process should be repeated for 7 days straight, and the results will leave you speechless!
Source: superhealthypage.com


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Three different granules of embossing powders - Barbara's video at Joggles, explains how-to use Tim Holtz Distress ink pads and the Big and Bossy pad with three different types of embossing powders ... the three different effects!
See all of Joggles embossing powders HERE, embossing links and other supplies HERE, and if you haven't one, you'll need the HEAT IT tool!
Pages, The Creative Guide For Art Journaling and bookmaking! How to make an accordion spine (adapted from Nikki Smith's technique in Cloth Paper Scissors PAGES 2012)
Note: These directions are for a 13-page book. If your book has a different number of pages, you will need to adjust the length of the paper and the number of folds accordingly.
1. Cut the cardstock spine. The height should be the same as the length of the pages and should be 11" – 12" long.
2. Fold the cardstock in half so that the 2 short sides meet. Make a good crease with a bone folder and unfold the paper.3. Measure to the left and right of the center fold in ½" (about 1 cm) increments, and mark with a pencil on the top and bottom. Make 12 evenly spaced marks on either side of the fold. You should have flaps (extra paper) remaining at both ends, approximately 1¼" wide.
4. Line up the ruler against the first set of top and bottom marks. With the point of the bone folder, score a line down the paper. Repeat for the other marks.
5. Fold the paper accordion style and crease the folds with a bone folder. You will now be able to glue your pages in the valleys of the accordion spine.
For information on how to assemble this Keepsake Accordion book and get other creative ideas for handmade books and art journaling, get your copy of PAGES 2012 now.
Artist's books have become a wonderfully varied source of creative expression. The styles artists and craftspeople dream up to create in the form of a book seem limitless. In truth, however, every artist's book falls essentially into one of three classic forms or categories. Once you learn these basic forms, each can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Join Dea Fischer and learn how to construct each of the three basic forms to enable you to start creating. The only limit is your imagination.
The spray does 2 things:
makes the paper somewhat
translucent and gives it strength.
Click Here for the Freebie
Cupcake Color Printable PDF
DIGI HAVEN is a Challenge Blog for those who love Free Digital Images (also known as "freebies") and is dedicated to thanking all the Wonderful Artists out there who Generously Share their Talents with you! And to help you compete, I'll be listing "freebies" that you'll enjoy using to acquire your "Winners Button" to proudly display on your site! Credit me, please, if you post online - and drop me a link ... thanks!
I'm always on the lookout for "pop-up" designs, whether as cards or book ideas. Splitcoaststampers, Kim Score, shows you the process of how she created this unique 8-1/2" x 5-1/2" pop-up card. You'll find her step-by-step photo tutorial, including an alternative format suitable for printing, HERE.
Congratulations Lara and Cole! DUCK announces their 2012 "Stuck At Prom" Top Ten Winners, plus Honorable Mention participants, in their Duck Prom Scholarship Contest! These must of been a lot of fun to create and definitely some great designer outfits! Simply "Inspiring". They've each received $5,000 scholarships and $5,000 for their school.
I RECIPE THEE! ... Like, I "cahllenge thee to..." Using 5 mini canvas frames, hook and eyes, paint and inks, word art pieces, charms, silk flowers, and embellishments you couldn't live without, AND ... Something old or neglected from her stash is what it took to create this stunning hung together decor wall plaque by Ink On My Fingers, Heis Sheridan. For a detailed look go check-it-out up close HERE!
|Available HERE at Craft Den!
Here I go again, with another dress form project! This one is by Trace of Inky Pinky Craft and she let's you know her list of products used HERE. Trace doesn't stipulate which dress form that she used other than 2 were cut using Tim Holtz Grunge papers. Sooo, here is some dress forms to work with that you can purchase or easily cut-out the shape by hand (I prefer using my Exacto knife and #11 blade) to get you started on your own dress form designing ... Mama Sews Best, Polka Doodles Dress Forms - Basically Bare, Chic Dress Forms Exclusives downloadables, Scrapbook Clear Acrylic Shapes-Dress Forms, BUT! The Sum of It All Crafts has all you'll need to Build Your Own Steampunk Character Form - download dress form, wings, and other great images!
|Click on image to enlarge
and save to your digi folder!
July 2012 Challenge: Graphic 45 Ten Minute Card
You can upload your Ten Minute Cards to the Graphic 45 Facebook page HERE!
Interactive themed cards - there are so many of them: pull tabs, lift flaps, spinner dials, shaker cards, scratch off's, pop-up's to recall a few. Joscie is in the to 5 Gallery Idol and considered a pop-up card for her project. Her love of polaroids had her creating a polaroid camera card where she could pull pictures out as the greeting, even trigger a flash (or something?). View her how to; measurements and supplies HERE.
Stay IN TOUCH ... and keep cool whether you're in air-conditioning or at the pool, be safe, and have fun crafting!


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Hi, I'd really appreciate some advice. I am 59, female, my husband is 58. We are both healthy and active, but not especially fit. Our record of consistent workouts is patchy, and we've left it rather late to start any serious training for our trip to Sabah in mid July.
Just how hard a climb is Mount Kinabalu? My shoestring guide says people "of all ages and fitness levels" can climb it, but stuff I've been reading on the net suggest it's pretty strenuous, even to the mid-mountain night-stop (6 hours walk). We can handle fairly brisk walks (like 1 to 2 hours non-stop). We've climbed the Great Wall, the pyramids at Chechen Itza, trekked through Bako National Park, climbed 1000 steps to a shrine in Japan, and generally when on holiday we walk our feet off. But we've never walked uphill for 6 hours straight. Is it 6 hours non-stop, or does the 6 hours allow for rests?
Would we be foolish to attempt the climb? It makes a difference to plan now, as I don't want to lug gloves and raincoats etc. all the way to Sabah if we're not going to make the climb.
Any advice, especially from other oldies who've attempted the climb would be much appreciated.


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Nearly half of prepaid calling cards have hidden fees, mid-advertise the number of minutes or work poorly or not at all, according to the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN).
ACCAN conducted a mystery shopping test of 100 cards used for international calls and said it found major problems with 40 per cent of them. However, it's difficult to tell which ones are good without testing them, it said.
"There's no real way at present to know if the phone card you're buying is good value or not, or, in some cases, if it will even work," said ACCAN spokeswoman Elise Davidson.
"There are a huge amount of these products to choose from and next-to-no information available in store about rates, fees and charges."
ACCAN said the "best and fairest" cards it tested were:
- The Genuine Aussie Phonecard
- China Gold
- Hong Bao
The consumer group said to avoid:
- Call Mama
- Talk Tomato
- Hot
"The best pre-paid calling cards we found have no hidden fees, one-minute call charging and offer up to 500 minutes of value," Davidson said. "The worst examples charge for calls in 15-minute blocks and have complex, hidden fees and charges, including in one case, a random $2 surcharge after four minutes of call time."
ACCAN said 48 per cent of the calling cards applied a daily service charge once activated, and 23 per cent provided fewer minutes than advertised. In addition, 7 per cent of the cards couldn't be activated and 9 per cent had poor call quality.
"Our research shows that there are definitely issues with the way these products are advertised," said Davidson. "We aim to cut through some of the confusion for consumers by revealing the best and the worst cards out there, and publishing advice for consumers about how to avoid getting ripped off."
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) took action in 2009 against calling card providers tel.pacific, Cardcall and Boost. The Federal Court found that the providers engaged in false, misleading or deceptive behaviour.
ACCAN said it would be informing the ACCC about what may be repeat offenders. The group is not yet calling for regulation, Davidson told Computerworld Australia.
An industry guideline exists for prepaid calling cards, however it's not registered by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and therefore isn't enforceable, Davidson said.
"We're talking with the ACCC on advertising under the Australian Consumer Law," she said. "It made a number of rulings a few years ago and we think some of the dodgy cards [we've] picked up may be from the same companies."
Follow Adam Bender on Twitter: @WatchAdam
Follow Computerworld Australia on Twitter: @ComputerworldAU, or take part in the Computerworld conversation on LinkedIn: Computerworld Australia


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Welcome to Wonderopolis
Months of research determined parents were eager for resources that reflected learning in the context of daily life and real-world knowledge, created by National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL), that's how Wonderopolis came to life. Wonderopolis is a place where parents seek and nurture a brighter world for their children through the power of discovery, creativity, learning and imagination. Each day, the site focuses on a clever topic, designed to immediately be put it to use by parent and child with the suggested activities, vocabulary words and enjoyable videos. With a mission of making learning an everyday, fun family activity, Wonderopolis bottles the learning that happens all around us into the Wonder of the Day.
Perfect to keep the learning momentum going as school lets out, The Wonders of the Day help find learning moments in everyday life, ones that fit in with dinner preparations or carpool responsibilities or a stolen moment between breakfast and the bus. A few examples include:
- Wonder #233 from May 24: Why was Morse Code invented?
- Wonder #195 from April 16: Why are earth worms good for gardens?
- Wonder #170 from March 22: How much water do you need to survive?
- Wonder #138 from February 18: What was the underground railroad?
- Wonder #135 from February 15: How much blood is in your body?
- Wonder #77 from December 19: Why do people say "a dime a dozen"?
- Wonder #11 from October 14: What causes a shooting star?
- Wonder #1 from October 4: Why are flamingos pink?
NCFL just launched Camp What A Wonder, a FREE virtual camp to engage families in wonder-filled learning while school's not in session. I've been struggling to find activities to keep my kids busy this summer. The first camp of it's kind, Camp What a Wonder will provide exploration, adventure and discovery, without having to leave home or pay thousands of dollars in camp registration — music to my ears! Virtual sessions will "convene" each Thursday from June 23 through August 11, when the Wonderopolis.org background will change and reveal a new weekly theme. Parents can also join in on Wonderopolis' weekly Campfire Sessions — a one-hour opportunity for parents to gather and discuss related topics with a facilitator. The topics will focus on the same weekly themes at camp and will take place on Twitter on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET. Participants completing the wonder-filled camping experience will be eligible to win fun participation prizes that will uphold the Wonderopolis principle of learning through wonder.
I'm so excited! Guess what today's wonder is? #267 How Can You Talk Without Speaking? With the infant using sign language to communicate this is a perfect wonder for my kids to understand his way of communicating! I just signed up to receive their daily email and can't wait to visit Camp What a Wonder this summer with my kids! Added to my Bookmarks!
To find out more about Wonderopolis, please visit their website, sign up for their email list and get a Wonder of the Day. You can also like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.


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2014 ShamRock and Roll 5K
The annual ShamRock and Roll 5K was held Sunday, March 2 under snow flurries in downtown New Haven. Hundreds of runners dressed in festive St. Patrick's Day costumes came to the event organized each year by the 99.1 WPLR radio station. A post-race celebration was held at Toad's Place, complete with live music by Run For Cover, food and beverages.
Alex Syphers | CTNow.com
Copyright © 2018, CT Now


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In addition to income through sales of exhibition stands and the major contribution of
our main sponsor, Clay Paky, Showlight 2017 needs additional sponsorship . . .
Sponsorship Opportunities . . .
Showlight offers a range of sponsorship opportunities. If you would like to get involved, we would love to hear from you. Please don't hesitate to get in touch. Meet our 2017 sponsors so far by clicking here.
Sponsors can contribute towards a particular item, such as speaker expenses, and can be designated as having done so, or they can choose to donate a sum of money which will be used as the organising committee decides.
Previous Sponsors . . .
"We are very happy and privileged to have been part of Showlight 2013.
It is a real forum for discussion and ideas in our industry, and we were so happy
to be able to represent our country in this way."
– Josef Valchář, CEO, Robe (Main Sponsor, 2013)
Further Information . . .
If you would like further information on the sponsorship opportunities available for Showlight 2017, then we would love to hear from you.
Please email Showlight chairman John Allen for details.


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1. What do Tony Abrams and Patrick O'Brien discuss at their first meeting?
At their first meeting, what began as a casual discussion of Abrams' background became an interview for an operation that is planned to take place at the Russian embassy's mansion in Glen Cove, Long Island.
2. What do O'Brien's actions, in the first part of the story, say about his character?
O'Brien's actions in the first part of the story show that his character is more than a partner in a law firm. He is a former spy who continues to keep his hand in the trade through various missions and collection of intelligence.
3. What is an "armchair spy"?
An armchair spy is a former professional who still follows the game of espionage while no longer working formally in espionage.
4. What do the interactions of the guests reveal about Katherine Kimberly and Marc Pembroke?
The interactions of the guests reveal that Katherine Kimberly and Marc Pembroke share similar observational qualities. While at the party, both characters note each glance and word of every guest.
(read all 60 Short Essay Questions and Answers)
This section contains 2,532 words
(approx. 9 pages at 300 words per page)


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- Headsets › Corded › Cellular Headsets
Cellular Headsets
Wireless Bluetooth™ headsets that work with your cell phone
Wireless Bluetooth™ headsets are the perfect match for your Bluetooth™ enabled cellular phone and let you take advantage of advanced features like remote answer/end, last number redial and voice dialing.*
Corded headsets that work with your cell phone
The best accessory you can get for your cellular phone is a headset. It will allow you to hear your caller better and your voice will sound clearer. Using a cell phone headset while driving lets you keep both hands on the wheel.*


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During the week of E3 we, the gamers, are inundated with an abundance of Video Game news. The primary source of which is the panels, which we tend to review, dissect, criticize, and "improve" as though we were those snobby bitches on the E! Channel talking about award-show attire.
Not to say that I'm immune to it though.
Leading up to each E3 the most popular question I get is "who is going to 'win' E3?" and the most popular question after day one (when the majority of the conferences have taken place is "who do you think 'won'?"
Ian and I have always had a great working relationship where we collectively we represent the two big players in the industry. Obviously Ian is a big fan of all things Sony and was watching the Playstation 4 conference with a vested interest (you can check his wrap-up here). I, on the other hand, tend to gravitate towards Microsoft and the Xbox for my primary gaming console.
Traditionally this is because of the different gamers we are. Ian is a big fan of indie development and unique titles, while I'm, admittedly, a bit more of a "bro-gamer" type who loves him a shooter and is always out for the next big action title.
It's provided our site balance for a number of years, and honestly Ian and I have the most interesting conversations in our private moments about our pseudo-rivalry via Skype and FB chat (both of us have a high level of respect for the other's opinion, even though it's generally a different one). Which, by the way, is something we're hoping to promote a little more publicly moving forwards as the site transitions its goals and voice.
If it seems like I'm a little off-topic, I apologize. However, I've always felt that context is important, and I want the readers to know why we've split the difference on this year's conferences (if this is your first year joining us for E3 re-capping at Shogun Gamer) and to insure full-disclosure when I start talking about Microsoft's 2013 E3 conference and the details surrounding the Xbox One's November launch.
I'm going to break this down into four key components that everyone is talking about and give my personal thoughts on each of the "hot topics."
The Next Generation DRM and Used Games Discussion
I started writing about this in the midst of my conversation about the Microsoft panel, and it wound up being a full-length discussion about how the world of gaming is changing and sooner or later we're all going to have to accept it. So, if you want the full break down of my opinion you can read that here. If you're not interested in a long drawn-out conversation about why things are changing and how Microsoft is simply reacting to the world we're moving into (primarily thanks to digital distribution and rampant piracy) then let me simply say this: Microsoft is not the demon that the vocal community of "hardcore gamers" is making them out to be. They are simply addressing the concerns of their publishers who have legitimate reason for the safety of their product as we move into a brave, new, digital world.
The core marketplace (the people actually funneling record-breaking amounts of money into these publishers) will not care about 24-hour check-ins and not being able to play their game in 20 years' time. They are the Call of Duty players with the high-speed connections and inherent "always on" mentalities. They are the people that will buy a new version of the game ever year, and it is those consumers that are the primary focus for these publishers; which means they are also the primary focus of the next generation of hardware.
Quality of the Conference
Overall the Microsoft conference was not bad. If you were watching the press conferences real-time on Monday (or even better, taking place in the online discussions) you'd have seen that no one was saying it was a bad conference. There was no point where Microsoft shot themselves in the foot; though they did have a couple of technical difficulties.
They did what they had to: Address the issues that the gamers were interested in hearing about and revealed their game line up for their next generation console. If we were giving out ratings for the conventions in the vein of our video game reviews I would have provided it a solid 7 out of 10. They dropped some bombs (like the return of Killer Instinct, and their partnership with Twitch), showed us a bunch of exclusive content, and revealed some new games that we've all been looking forward to hearing from (like Forza and Dead Rising 3) along with some surprises (like Crimson Dragon, and Sunset Overdrive). Not to mention a complete overhaul of their online services (cribbing from Sony) to give their players more bang for their buck with free games to the Xbox Live Gold Members starting in July.
It was a solid performance and I think the majority of people who tuned in to it walked away feeling pretty good (though there was some lingering discussion about the $499 price point). I think the reason people have been talking about Microsoft's "failing" since is because Sony absolutely killed it.
There hasn't been a showing as strong as the one Sony put on for probably the last decade (maybe even longer than that). They absolutely knocked it out of the park (as they needed to after the previous generation). But you can read more about that in Ian's article; let's get back to Xbox One.
Some Games of Note
I'm not going to go through the full list of games here, but there are a couple of highlights that I wanted to talk about a little. Games that got me excited about the next generation of gaming on the Xbox platform and hold the most interest of myself and those of similar mentalities. If I don't happen to hit up the game that most intrigued you, I apologize, but also feel free to let us know what you're hyped for (or even displeased about) in the comments below!
·"Battlefield 4"
I've always been a fan of this franchise. The 64-player concept is something new and exciting for Xbox One players. Not to mention the fact that we have dynamic maps now (the building taking a fall mid-multiplayer match gave me all manner of nerd-wood). On Xbox One look forward to not having to wait in lobbies for matches thanks to Xbox One's ability to run two instances/games at once.
·"Crimson Dragon"
As the site's resident Sega fanboy, I can't tell you how excited I was to see that the Panzer Dragoon saga is continuing on the Xbox One. Surprisingly our boy Ian is also quite hype for this title as well. He actually made note (we were chatting during the broadcast) that he was probably the only one excited for it (little did he know!).
I might be including this just to entice Ian (and his ilk) a little. Personally I have very little information about this game, I haven't been following along with its development, but it's clearly something that the indie fanboys will be getting rather excited about. After seeing the teaser-trailer on stage at the Microsoft press conference it is actually something I'm going to keep an eye on as well.
·"Dead Rising 3"
Not even going to lie or pull punches here: I'm a big fan of this franchise, but I've been feeling a little fatigue with it for a while now… The changes that they are making are intelligent for the series, and I cannot wait to go hands on with this title. What most impressed me with the footage that they showed us at the Microsoft conference is the scope of the game. Everything is so much bigger, and the amount of zombies the game can have in the world now is nothing short of epic. The team at Capcom has always made a big deal about telling us how many zombies can be on screen previous, and at the conference they kind of just showed us the ludacris amount of AI that can be milling about as you move from section of the city to section of the city (with zero loading time). On the Xbox One look forward to integrated features like SmartGlass support call-ins.
·"Forza Motorsport 5"
This was an obvious choice. We knew there'd be a new entry from Microsoft/Turn 10 in Forza for the new platform, but I have to say that seeing it in action was quite impressive. I'll admit the introduction of the new McLaren was a little strange… but it worked as a comparison with the game-version of the car on the big screen behind it. Honestly I was tempted to believe that they were just showing off the car inside of a show-room. If they hadn't been on stage for the Xbox One presentation, I would not have called it. It's only on closer inspection that you can notice subtle differences in the textures of the car in real life vs. the game. Wildly impressive, and I cannot wait for some new-era racing on the Xbox.
·"Halo Xbox One"
A title which Microsoft has made clear is "not final." Where this is to be the official 5th chapter of the franchise or something of a more… subtitle nature, the new Halo is looking slick and the introduction of the chief in the middle of a vast desert preparing for a skirmish against a large Prothean angel-looking creature has me somewhat intrigued. Of course, it's what they do for the next generation of online gaming that will be of the most interest to the core Halo fans and with the Xbox One's improved match-making features and vested interest in getting you into the game with as little down-time as possible it's sure to be a fantastic example of all the features the Xbox One has to offer.
·"Killer Instinct"
I don't care for this franchise. As a fan of the fighting genre, this was one of the dark moments in our history from my personal perspective. I hated the floaty physics of the game and the juggling nature… but I'm pretty sure I'd get lynched (either by the rabid fan base, or by Microsoft themselves) if I didn't acknowledge the fact that, for a lot of people, this was a major announcement.
·"Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain"
Hot. Damn. This game is looking solid, and while I don't personally agree with the choice to drop the series name-sake (and what I'll pretend is a personal friend, he is on my voice mail) David Hayter, the game is looking like pure sex. The concept of moving Metal Gear into an open world and giving you the ability to plan your approach, making the game more open-ended, is an exciting one (even if the concept isn't necessarily new). The FOX Engine as well is looking just ridiculous good on the next gen consoles. What I'm hoping to hear more about on the Xbox One specific end of the spectrum is something about integration with either the Kinect 2 or SmartGlass. Concepts like Metal Gear 3: Snake Eater's menu/camo/survival system being moved to either a second screen or navigated via the Kinect 2 sensor is an exciting idea for the Xbox fans.
·"Project Spark"
I had completely written off this game about 2 seconds into its presentation due to the people who were presenting it. However, when they started showing the gameplay (namely surfing a hill as it was being created by a second player on a tablet-interface) I started to get excited. It's basically a game that takes the concepts of creation that games like Little Big Planet for the PS3 to the next level. Now you can create entire 3D worlds with a simple manipulation of the 'paint brush' style terrain options and Kinect 2 activated voice commands and quickly build your own world, game, and story.
·"Quantum Break"
Easily THE reason I pre-ordered my console immediately following the end of the conference (and the Microsoft site went life with the option to order). Remedy is a company that I am a huge fan of, they are unparalleled in their ability to tell a compelling story, and the concept of them taking a stab at the TV show/video game cross-over (like Defiance before them) is something that has me at full-mast. I will be getting this one day one and I will be setting my PVR (perhaps through Xbox One?) for the TV series premier. If you haven't taken a look at this one, I highly encourage you to at least watch the trailer (which is running in-game!).
·"Ryse: Son of Rome"
I've nothing to say about this title, but it's apparently a big deal for Microsoft... so it's in the article. Congratulations.
·"Sunset Overdrive"
Insomniac is jumping ships. There were plenty of "traitor" moments during this convention so far. People that were well established on one platform making announcements at the other (Bungie at Sony, for example) but this one was probably my favorite. Sunset Overdrive looks like something new and fresh, like Mirror's Edge creating a world of bright white and red before it, Sunset Overdrive is turning the table on what a shooter looks like by having (what looks to be) a massive online shooter take place in a bright colorful world populated with unique looking characters and interesting/unique weaponry. This is one that I'll be watching the development for with a vested interest.
What's in the Box!?
So we now know the release window (November), we know the price ($499 in NA), and we have an idea of some of the first and third-party titles that will be releasing for the console… but what exactly is included in that November launch console for the hefty sum of $499 US/CAN?
Along with the console, which includes a 500GB HDD, you'll be getting a Blu-ray player, single controller, built in Wi-Fi, Kinect 2, a headset, and a trial membership for the new Xbox Live Gold. So out of the box you'll, once again, be prepared to head online and interact in all the new social features that Xbox One is bringing to the table.
Personally I've always felt like having the headset included is a bit of a mistake (not everyone should be given a voice) but it's a rather moot point at this point (considering the Kinect also has a mic).
Love it or hate it the next generation is en route and from the perspective of the media it's shaping up to be an interesting one. Sony has fired some direct shots at Microsoft; its old-school rivalry in the vein of the Sega/Nintendo wars of the 1990s. I cannot wait to pull up a chair and bowl of popcorn and watch it all go down. These are the moments that the true gamers among us live for. Rivalries, debates, conflict, and getting new tech, better features, additional benefits, and awesome video games as a result!


text:
Probably the most prominant new feature on the blog this year have been the Game Threads that we've been posting, and judging by the hundreds of comments each one receives, they've been pretty popular. We're happy to provide a place for everyone to discuss the game as its going on, something of a virtual sportsbar, and we intend to continue posting game threads for the forseeable future.
However, as you've probably noticed, the last two days, we have felt the need to close down the threads after some of the commentary got out of hand. The tone of the threads has gotten progressively worse as the team has hit its slide, and multiple posts have had to be removed. Unfortunately, as the game threads have degenerated, it's meant significantly more work for us in trying to keep an eye on all the comments and eliminating those that fall outside the lines of the comment guidelines.
So, consider this a preemptive strike and a call to raise the level of commentary in the game threads. This blog is not, for better or worse, a message board where you are free to say what you will. There are a ton of places you can go if you really feel the need to attack people and act like a 5 year old, but the USSM comments aren't one of them. The point of the comments, even in the more laid back game threads, is the exchange of ideas and commentary about the subject of the post.
So, in the spirit of making the threads both more enjoyable to read and easier for us to monitor, here are some things we're going to ask of you guys that we will enforce to the best of our abilities:
1. Punctuation and some semblance of grammar aren't optional. Writing four sentences without a period is just painful to read. Don't use all capital letters. Don't omit capital letters when necessary, either. This is pretty basic grammer, and while it may seem pedantric, it's a basic fundamental of communication. You are posting for thousands of other people to read. Make it easy on them. Punctuation isn't exactly time consuming to add to your comments.
2. Personal attacks will get your posts deleted. It doesn't matter who they are aimed at. Whether it be someone in comments who said something you don't like, one of us, someone on the team, you don't have the right to impugn anyone else's character. You can disagree with their point, but when it crosses the line to discussing their qualities as a person, your posts will be removed.
3. This is more of a suggestion, but when responding to a comment from a previous post, it is often a good idea to quote a portion of the thought you're responding to. I prefer the italics method personally, but your mileage may vary. If you'd like to make it easier to people to see what you're responding to, use the html tag of emphasis, which is "em" followed by "/em" offset by <> on each line. So, it'd look like < .em>quoted material here< ./em> (without the ., which I used just to get the actual tags to show on the site). This isn't required, but I figure some of you guys may find it helpful.
Basically, what we're asking is that you make our job easier and improve the quality of the comments in the threads. Don't inflame others, don't attack people, and make your comments easy for other people to read.
Edited to add a primer on a few html tags that work in wordpress, as requested in comments
All of these have the same < ...>text< ./...> format.
Bold: strong-/strong
Italics: em-/em
Block quote: blockquote-/blockquote
To link to another webpage, use the following: < .a href="http://www.pagehere.com">description of page< ./a>. As before, omit the periods.
75 Responses to "Commenting"
km on
May 12th, 2005 1:55 pm
Derek's comments in 441 from yesterday should not be appropriate to this site. In 440, World Series asked several valid questions. To which Derek replied "I see your mind is closed and you're being a jerk."
It's too bad Derek closed the thread because we could have had a good discussion about PBP metrics.
And I suspect, he, like me sometimes, let his emotions get the best of him. THe larger point is that this communication medium is not the best one for discussion (for various reasons).
DoesntCompute on
May 12th, 2005 1:57 pm
Dave – #25
For example…
Race could be on topic when discussing the role race plays in the game today.
Religion could be on topic when discussing Shawn Green and his not playing games because of religious beliefs.
Sexual orientation could be on topic when discussing how modern athletes would react to someone coming out of the closet.
Politics could be on topic… Well there is a theoretical possibility that politics could be on topic.
My point for bringing these items up was so that you could discuss what is and is not allowed for 'controversial' topics so that people are not surprised when their posts are deleted or threads are shut down. Token Chick seemed genuinely surprised that the discussion of broadcaster's use of words and race was closed.
I have been around this blog for a long time and have a good idea what is allowed and what is not. I am not trying to stir the pot or be difficult. I was just hoping for some comment guidelines regarding this subject so that others can be made aware.
B. David on
May 12th, 2005 3:19 pm
I just hope that I'm not missing game summaries from DMZ, Dave and others because I choose not to wait through 400 some comments.
Laurie on
May 12th, 2005 3:38 pm
Ditto what other people have said about how much at least some of us appreciate the standards on this blog. I was recently accused of being a "Seattle spelling snob" because I complained about how my brain just doesn't process "u" as "you" and "ur" as either "your" or "you're" and apostrophes in general seem to have disappeared from use.
And when I took offense at being called a snob, the response I got back was: "im olny kiding"
That's when I decided I'm only reading USSMariner from now on.
msb on
May 12th, 2005 3:41 pm
#25–Dave said: "You can talk about steroids"
you mean like reporting that "The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball today announced that the following 11 Minor League players have been suspended for 15 games, effective today, for violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program."
and none of them were from the Mariner organization!
David J Corcoran on
May 12th, 2005 4:05 pm
Way to keep it on topic, 54.
DMZ on
May 12th, 2005 4:22 pm
That was skillful.
w/r/t guidelines: the comment guidelines should be helpful in this respect, but to some extent innocent comments that lead to huge, nasty fights skirt a border. I'll all for controversy and freedom of expression, and am generally inclined to allow (say) discussion of whether Rick Rizzs making fun of Japanese is offensive, or the "sneaky Korean" thing.
But this isn't our job, and we can't spend the kind of time or energy required to gently nurse along discussions and always watch tone. So sometimes I'm overly (and unfairly) aggressive about shutting down something that's getting out of hand, and that denies people a full and complete discussion. I know that sucks, but that's where it is.
supermariner on
May 12th, 2005 4:33 pm
Finally you recognize that sometimes you are unfair. That is a sure sign of growth.
Now if only Dave could recognize it when he is unfair, USSM would be that much better.
Nevertheless, you have a hard job balancing fruitfull, enjoyable dialogue without stifling the dialogue by shutting down people like Backlasher.
Brian Rust on
May 12th, 2005 4:36 pm
Thanks, USSM crew, for keeping things orderly. Somebody's gotta be the umpire, and when he calls you out, yer out.
So let's see if I got this right. It's an interesting (and certainly non-statistical) theory on the M's woes at the
Oregonian's site.
DoesntCompute on
May 12th, 2005 4:59 pm
Thanks guys. You do a great job with this site. I have never seen you delete posts, stop threads, etc and disagreed with you doing it. It makes me sad and amuses me at the same time when someone accuses you guys of deleting posts that disagree with you (#3). You guys call a fair game. You state what the rules are and enforce them consistantly.
Keep up the good work.
Evan on
May 12th, 2005 5:47 pm
DMZ – Your house. Your rules. You shouldn't have to apologise for them.
I remember some years ago (1998 or so) on a message board run by Interplay, some of the posters got it in their head that board moderation amounted to some sort of infringement of their rights, so they banded together to form the Anti-Oppression Federation (AOF) and did nothing but flame those of us who didn't run afoul of the mods. The mods tried to ban the AOF guys, but they were mostly AOL users with dynamic IP addresses.
So Interplay banned all AOL users from their message boards. It was a great day, and it proved Interplay's point. Their house. Their rules.
DMZ on
May 12th, 2005 6:27 pm
Derek's comments in 441 from yesterday should not be appropriate to this site. In 440, World Series asked several valid questions. To which Derek replied "I see your mind is closed and you're being a jerk.â€Â
I'm not going to rehash that thread, but I'll say this — having re-read that thread (yes) I still think s/he was being a jerk. I could quote those comments here to support that, but I'll let that be.
In particular, the last one that caused me to snap reads almost like Homer Simpson trying to taunt someone ("Oooooh, there must be some magical stat you've invented out in Candyland where you measure the radius of gumdrops against candy canes….")
At some point, having to take on moderation duties means that we have to make those kind of judgements. In that way, we can either offer no information, making value judgements about tone in silence, or we can offer some information about what the issue was. As you can see elsewhere in this thread (and many other places) the push has generally been for more information.
It's going to be a flawed and unfair system. I recognize this, and do my best to try and be as least unfair as I can, given the restraints we run under.
That's what it's going to be.
Jonathan on
May 12th, 2005 6:50 pm
Right on, DMZ. You folks have always been clear and (impressively) consistent about telling us why something is being shut down. You also allow things to get mighty lively before invoking that tactic. Folks who don't dig it don't get to call the shots. When my dad taught me to drive, he pointed at the rearview mirror and said, "Don't let a**holes do your driving for you." You're in control, and from where I sit, doing a damn fine job.
TypicalIdiotFan on
May 12th, 2005 7:02 pm
The only complaint I have about the thread being closed yesterday at 441 comments is that I was making comment 442 when it was closed. Ah well.
As for the comment rules; if they're in place, follow them. Simple as that. Someone mentioned that this was Derek/Dave/et al's house, so their rules. That's very much true, and they could yoink the commentaries down at any time if they want.
Oh, and thanks for the HTML tag info. I wasn't sure what format these commentaries used, so I was avoiding using any code. Now that I know, it'll be easier to make effective replies.
Ty on
May 12th, 2005 7:21 pm
"why? This is such a northwesterly attitude. Why have comment guidelines? Why not just give me four check boxes:
[] you're absolutely right, Dave
[] that's a good point, Dave
[] I think I see what you're saying, Dave
[] right on, Dave, only I would have chosen a different adjective
Loosen up. Make it a party, not a politess zone.
You know you're going to delete this."
(I know this was a post a while back, but oh well.)
I don't know about your parties, but in really good parties, you can have people having fun, and paying respect for eachother at the same time. I haven't really been around the comments enough to really know if Dave does do the things that you say he does, but from what I've seen, it doesn't look like it. Plus, the guidelines look pretty fair to me…
roger tang on
May 12th, 2005 7:33 pm
As for the comment rules; if they're in place, follow them. Simple as that. Someone mentioned that this was Derek/Dave/et al's house, so their rules. That's very much true
Well, I suppose that this is so basic, that it'd take an idiot not to realize that.
Then again, lots of idiots in the world…
David J Corcoran on
May 12th, 2005 7:47 pm
I am a proud idiot, and even I am willing to acknowledge the presence of comment guidelines and that DMZ/Dave/JMB/Jeff/Peter have the right to ban us at any time without complaint (although I do complain).
TypicalIdiotFan on
May 12th, 2005 9:25 pm
Well, I suppose that this is so basic, that it'd take an idiot not to realize that.
I am a proud idiot, and even I am willing to acknowledge the presence of comment guidelines and that DMZ/Dave/JMB/Jeff/Peter have the right to ban us at any time without complaint (although I do complain).
I just want to point out that the community is just as important to the success of this blog as anything else. Dave has mentioned before that he doesn't just do this for his own benefit. So it isn't as if they would try to alienate the readership on purpose. People are people.
The Unknown Comic II on
May 12th, 2005 9:48 pm
Is it alright to say that Rick Rizz looks like Neil Diamond? I didn't come up with that one, can't remember who did but I got to admit it was funny.
ray on
May 13th, 2005 8:22 am
Sorry to be picky, but when you say personal attacks against players doesn't that include:
"Sele sucks"
"Nelson is a prick"
Patrick Meighan on
May 13th, 2005 2:41 pm
Like everyone else, I'm a big fan of USSM, and the folks who're running it. This blog was my first experience with reasoned, rational sports discussion (i.e., minus much of the machisimo bullcrap) on the internet, and I'll always be grateful for it.
Roger on
May 13th, 2005 3:09 pm
Patrick, you suck. (I kid, I kid!) I agree, that "oh yeah, my team is better than yours, let's meet under the viaduct to fight about this, wimp!" stuff is amazingly lame.
Another thing I'm extremely grateful for here is the lack of politics and religion. We all have views, no one is going to change anyone else's mind, and yet people still get into it with a passion that is scary. Even a hint of a viewpoint brings out the smug (there was a thread the other day where someone wanted patting on the back for sharing the philosophy of one of the site's authors), and from there it's a short journey to Godwin's Rule.
Re, #70, I would think the first example could accurately describe his on-field performance, while the second is clearly just a comment on his character. First one certainly doesn't add any insight to the conversation, though…hard not to utter it sometimes in the game threads.
Todd in Phoenix on
June 2nd, 2005 7:21 am
[deleted, annoying test post]
Sojourner on
July 23rd, 2005 11:28 pm
Grammar. Forbidden. Bad grammar is forbidden here.
tede on
October 5th, 2005 9:36 pm
Test Post of an USSM archive link. Please Delete


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