Alright, folks! Who’s up for a game of “Catch Me If You Can”? 🕵️♂️
Soon, WhatsApp will make your messages disappear faster than your dog when you vacuum. 🐶💨
Now you can say all those embarrassing things you’ve been holding back, and *poof! They’re gone before anyone screenshots them. 📱🙈
WhatsApp is also launching a feature that helps you create the perfect profile picture with artificial intelligence. Goodbye, blurry selfies, hello, social media superstardom! 😎
Friends, let’s embrace the ephemeral life. Feel free to share your wildest ideas, and let’s see who keeps up! 🤫
Disappearing messages are invaluable to good practices of maintaining your privacy.
You can send disappearing messages using Meta’sWhatsApp messaging service.
Now a new feature is available. You can create a WhatsApp profile photo with an AI imagery setting inside WhatsApp.
It has been Meta’s policy to make AI as utilitarian as possible, including open-source components, and to be the best in the industry.
At the same time, the meteor storm of AI images flooding social media feeds is gigantic.
In introducing the idea of showing an AI image as a profile photo in WhatsApp, who will benefit and who will be more interested in WhatsApp as a result?
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg spent vast resources trying to bid the Internet onto the Metaverse for Web 3.0.
It was a completely mistaken effort. That said, Meta remains the biggest player in the field of social media, and will likely only continue to become more and more dominant.
It would be pretty cool to spend a billion US dollars. I bet I could build a thriving business in any industry anywhere in the world. I suppose I would put myself at the helm and draw any number of talented people to run different functions.
I started thinking about publishing when I tried to be honest with myself about what kind of firm I would build. I am not sure, however, if that would be the only fun. The future of traditional publishing in January 2023 appears uncertain to me.
Tech flitted across my consciousness. A line of desktop computers for gaming and a few game titles would be something I’d like to do, something tech-oriented and retro-feeling. There would be a first-person shooter set in a Martian-like alien world, and there would be a space battle game about building a colony in outer space and battling other colonies for control.
There seems to be a difference between blogging and becoming a publisher to me. It might be fun to create a simulation game where you can play as a publishing magnate right from home. Through this, I will be able to compete with rival media companies for control of the information flow in the first world.
A couple more games, it would be fun to do an action game which would probably be another first-person shooter where an Intelligence operative runs about in a Cold War era Planet Earth to protect the free world, and fifth, a game that helps players find their way into a metaverse, but a metaverse where the NPCs and the environments to run about within are pleasantly surreal homes for both AI-generated imagery and player uploads of their own detailed NPCs and art to increase the value of by searching for both historical relics and also rare ingredients that provide quirky special touches to art that players create on the fly for the game.
This would be a pretty rewarding way to impact the lives of many people.
This has been a different kind of month for me in the blogosphere. Obviously, the province which is my home is on lockdown, but as you may know, Ben Huberman helped devise the WordPress Discover challenges again for April, which were lacking for some time as, I suppose, the nature of the beast changed. Don’t take it from me.
I finally began to rest where most previous days of the month I published something in response to the challenges, and it isn’t because of them, it is just a lot of work to keep those up again and again. That’s why it’s a challenge, though.
I looked today, and the test was distributed the previous evening. I weighed my options and decided to read what the challenge had to say.
The WordPress Discover day by day challenges has been important for developing as a blogger. It is pleasant that this was available last night, and I looked at what the challenge is, and I noted that Ben actually went so far as to say in the post that the decision to put it up early was deliberate and that he hoped participants are making good use of the time.
I made a mental review and weighed how effectively I actually did spend last night, against what would have been best. The list challenge had what I perceive was the intended effect, of jumpstarting interest in the winding down Discover challenges.
The word last night for today is List, so I took a dice game score sheet that I was keeping on hand for an occasion like this, and made a random list of the some of the more effective pursuits I made in the time between last night and this morning, that was, perhaps, shaped by the continuing interest in being part of the blogosphere, and of being motivated by the Discover challenges. I could hypothesize whether I am attempting exercises because of the endgame of searching better for being in the blogosphere, yet I don’t think so. The activities I was, you might put it, afoul of, were only what I might pursue with an interest in amusing myself.
I wasn’t deliberately mindful that the test had just begun. Ben included the line “we hope you make the most of the extra time!” regarding the decision to present today’s challenge early. Indeed, even without the cognizant exertion of setting up a post, I thought about whether I could make the contention that I was getting ready for the post by attempting typical kinds of exercises I embrace if I was effectively mindful.
The challenge is good, too, and even though I stated previously that I expect the reason for the early availability is to galvanize participants into writing, I also think Ben felt he had a strong idea on his hands and he wanted to give a solid opportunity to address it, by making bloggers interested in it more eager and more thoroughly than they may have if it only became ready this morning. I can’t say for certain, but I know at least that he is aware that we’ve been looking at these Discover challenges all month and now we are beginning to wrap up, and he felt we all merit a strong finish.
I would prefer not to state an excessive amount, however, I might rehash my appreciation for having gotten the open door for WordPress prompts every single day of April. I haven’t written this in a while, but you are welcome to follow and/or to comment.
To help out bloggers, Ben Huberman at WordPress has reopened the Discover challenges. Each day, for April 2020, a Discover challenge is going up first thing in the morning. Today’s challenge is the subject “dish.”
Funny, I think of “dishing it,” giving dirt.
What Huberman means is food. In high school, I took Tuesday noon hours at my grandparents’ house, that is, the house of my mother’s parents. Each Tuesday I went for a grilled cheese sandwich, a glass of chocolate milk, and a candy bar.
My grandmother and I would sit at her kitchen table, with the company of the dog, a black Schnauzer named Ebony, and my grandfather emerging from the rec room in the basement to grab his lunch and take it back down, to where he could watch TV. A charmed life.
It’s a powerful memory because a meal like that, though simple, got me out of the high school mindset, and into a family role. Other days of the week, I’d sit in the cafeteria to eat, and then make my way into the school library, perhaps, or to one of the classrooms.
My grandmother enjoyed seeing me. She felt I was brilliant. My grandparents were getting on in years, so evenings for them meant watching television themselves.
I think we sometimes talked about the kind of thing we were watching. I didn’t mind. I liked the dog.
It was energetic and friendly and enjoyed the scraps. Maybe more time inside the high school would have been better, and maybe less time, too.
The time went fast, as time often seems to. I personally think I was terrible, nurturing the wrong interests and similarly foolish pursuits.
If I could relive those years, I’d do things differently. Hindsight is 20/20.
I visited my grandmother every week, for years to come. Even in her senior years, she was a lively old lady about who people cared.
I am glad I didn’t do worse in life, denigrating the family line. She bid me not to worry.
When asked to address a “dish,” my grandma’s grilled cheese plate is what I remember. I was glad for it every week.
Ten years ago the gaming company Paizo introduced the first season of the tabletop RPG Pathfinder to the public. In the nine years since each year there’s been an additional season until now we are Season 10. Each season brought with it new ideas for players of the role-playing game.
In 2016 the Humble Bundle website again made Pathfinder available in exchange for its usual “pay-what-you-like” model. Humble Bundle accepts funds for charity in exchange for what are usually digital materials for gaming. It was season six when I saw the opportunity on Humble Bundle to make a charitable donation in exchange for a lovely gaming bundle of digital materials for Pathfinder.
My twitter handle is @findingenvirons and my blog is found at https://findingenvirons1.blog …so that’s why I wanted to learn some of the rules of Pathfinder. Pathfinder is a fantasy environment to explore and combat. Characters representing players of the game are customized to keep many choices open when players put together a class, ancestry, and background.
Looking from Louth United Church in St. Catharines for a glimpse of Maple Lawn Cemetery
Looking into what’s happening with Pathfinder, I went to Pathfinder publisher Paizo’s blog. I saw that Wednesday, February 13, 2019 Paizo announced that they are preparing version two of Pathfinder to improve upon the existing game. Playtest is over, so what’s the plan? https://paizo.com/community/blog
At this time Humble Bundle has brought back its offer of accepting funds for charity in exchange for more digital materials of the game, now in Season 10.
For $8 (about CA$10.58) Pathfinder game supplements Shattered Star 1 and 2 of 6 are included, along with several digital gamebooks for Pathfinder. For $15 (about CA$19.84) Shattered Star 3 and 4 of 6 become available along with many others. For $18 (about CA$23.80), all of Shattered Star unlocks, along with many, many others.
Version Two will be streamlined, but consistent, with the original design of Pathfinder. Tactical play will remain similar. Likewise, magical items will be similar to how they were in the first version.
On August 2nd Paizo started playtesting to ensure that Pathfinder version two will be as fun and as effective to play as the original version. Paizo made the reveal at Gen Con 2018.
Although I’ve never, strictly speaking, been part of playing Pathfinder, being familiar with how of the game works is of interest to me. It reminds me of playing Dungeons & Dragons, which is where the game Pathfinder began (creators of Pathfinder at first intended it to be a refinement of D&D’s “3.5”). I may pursue Season 10 for my own reasons, to get additional insight into Pathfinder, so that I better relate to players of the tabletop RPG.
It is exciting to think that this new edition is becoming available after ten years of popularity already.
To get a more accurate picture of what’s happening with Pathfinder, I turned to Quora for information. Although perhaps odd, I put my question to Quora this way: How would you recommend I proceed in anticipating the Pathfinder RPG version two?
Monday I received four answers.
Todd Gardiner, from Hieroglyph Photography, said this:
“If you anticipate an upcoming product, I would recommend you buy it.
“Not really sure what other advice you are seeking here. ‘How do I anticipate something?’ isn’t really a question most people ask.”
Given his constructive criticism, I see the value of his advice.
Ryan Marshall, the author of Gishes & Goblins, answered this way:
“Try not to worry about it, until it’s actually published. The beta test of the rules was a wide departure from the first edition, but it was also poorly received, so there’s no way to anticipate the scope of the changes they might implement.”
This was a problematic answer because Marshall is saying that the beta test possibly won’t stand the test of a comparison to the first version of Pathfinder. This is a very different point of view than the other three answers I received.
Steffen Häuser, playing Pen&Paper Games for 30 years, had this to say:
“Just play them. Me and my friends who before played 5e got ourselves some copies of the printed beta rules (available on amazon) and just started playing. Imho 2nd edition pf is hugely better than both dnd 5e and Pathfinder 1st editiob” (sp).
In contrast to Marshall’s answer, Steffen here is offering the point of view that the new version is superior to the first. A complete opposite of Marshall’s opinion!
Nelson Cunnington, a player since the 70s, said this:
“You need a plan to anticipate something? I can only suggest the usual eager looking-forward, interspersed with impatience that it isn’t coming quicker and depression that it hasn’t happened yet.”
I think Cunnington is looking at the situation with humor.
I did get one more answer a few days later. This is what one “Richard Bachman” had to say:
“I would avoid major purchases of Pathfinder 1 books until you see how things shake out in your area. If I enjoyed Pathfinder 1 (which I do), I would personally feel no need to change editions unless all my friends insisted on doing so and I could no longer find Pathfinder 1 games.”
Another fine response.
I hope the publisher Paizo continues to be successful, and also earns many charitable donations. Humble Bundle facilitates charitable giving in exchange for the enormous value of digital materials for play.
If you enjoyed this post, you’re welcome to “like,” follow me and/or comment. If you play Pathfinder, I am particularly interested!
Paizo Announces Pathfinder Second Edition for Summer 2018
In December my brother and his wife and kids gave me an unusual gift, a puzzle celebrating The Beatles’ music on The White Album.
The Beatles
The puzzle is unusual mainly for the fact that the cover of The White Album is entirely the color white, which makes the puzzle an exercise in assembling puzzle pieces all the color white. It is as if the wrong end of a game of chess game came down on you.
I have ten reasons I’m suggesting that success like what The Beatles enjoyed is actually a weak link in terms of what it means for individual success and how it is misleading. Four are presented here.
Photographer:
Suzy Hazelwood MONOPOLY FOR MILLENNIALS MAKES NPCs CRY The YouTube channel Geeks + Gamers fascinates me. When Jeremy announced that he had fallen prey to a phishing spoof six weeks ago, I wanted to describe the problem in this post. Jeremy was distracted at the moment and made a rookie error, surrendering control of Geeks + Gamers for seventeen minutes until he could get it back in order. A second oversight occurred, when Jeremy neglected to secure his Google AdSense funding for the channel after the spoof. When he realized that an entire month’s worth of monies designated for Geeks + Gamers was stolen, he finally revealed what happened: My YouTube Channel Was Hacked, Money Lost – Learn From My Mistakes I’d been paying attention to Geeks + Gamers because I feel it protests and dissects conventional scholar on media. The Geeks + Gamers team typically tackle major film projects like the DC universe on film, or more often the Disney Star Wars trilogy, as though the success, usually financial, of studio film output speaks to the conclusion that if a film is not fun, that if it doesn’t “work” in terms of being appealing to an audience, the film is not so much a radical success as it is a weak link.
It didn’t matter to Jeremy that The Last Jedi is another splendid blockbuster in terms of the money it made for Disney; it was to him a complete letdown and something that was a disservice to the favorite films that remind him of his childhood, the Star Wars films. Disney Has Concerns About Star Wars After The Last Jedi It is interesting that while ostensibly the financial success of a film doesn’t mean the film is magical for Jeremy, when it comes to his YouTube channels, Geeks + Gamers and others, it is certainly a problem when a month’s loot is stolen, by cyber-crime means. I wish Jeremy and the other members of Geeks + Gamers hadn’t had to go through that.Halloween with Geeks + Gamers was interesting for the fact that Jeremy argued that very bold criticism of what he does with Geeks + Gamers had been declared, criticism that included the idea that “code words” were being communicated to Geeks + Gamers subscribers that subscribers should launch literal hate and violence at targets which Geeks + Gamers usually defame, a video you can watch here: NPC Star Wars Writer Continues To Lie and Spread False Information Jeremy responded firmly that Geeks + Gamers is in no way is supportive of violent attitudes in any situation, and further that Geeks + Gamers made no attempt to “boycott” the recent Star Wars film Solo, a position I’d heard Jeremy take before in a discussion how Solo ws lacklustre in terms of box office returns.
All this keeps me quite rapt about what this YouTube channel is saying about the Star Wars films–Geeks+ Gamers plays a role in backlash concerning the Rian Johnson Star Wars film The Last Jedi.
For Geeks + Gamers to become a successful YouTube channel, it meant starting from basics and building a subscriber basis and becoming a success, with people watching the videos and comment and so on. If Geeks + Gamers were reviewing music, instead of films, and it was fifty years ago, perhaps they would have spoken about The White Album. Instead, they are speaking out, frequently, about The Last Jedi, in a way which makes it completely clear that they regard Episode VIII of Star Wars as rubbish.When I watched The Last Jedi when it arrived on Netflix, I enjoyed it and even felt moved. The mods of Geeks + Gamers had no such experience. Instead, they despise the film and regale in making that clear rather than taking a positive spin on something that’s an extension to something they loved in childhood.I would guess that Geeks + Gamers take such a broad interest in film criticism that they feel they can succeed with a successful YouTube channel. The idea of success they have is different from the idea of success that’s reflected in something like the fiftieth-anniversary of The White Album, or in the success of the blockbuster The Last Jedi.
The mods of Geeks + Gamers don’t seem to see The Last Jedi as a success at all because they despise it so much. Their YouTube channel extrapolates messages like that Star Wars has been mostly reduced to rubbish, or that the DC comics universe could similarly face a death grip in the cinema. I believe I had misunderstood Geeks + Gamers with my belief that Geeks + Gamers doesn’t desire or see any value in success at the level of the “blockbuster”; instead they expound on problems in entertainment which is compromised by identity politics in the entertainment that they criticize. Now that I understand some more about Jeremy’s point of view, it has me feeling a touch more informed about how identity politics show up in entertainment.
To them, The Last Jedi is a weak link. They wouldn’t aim for that kind of success in their own lives, for example. It is notable, having learned of their misfortune with a phishing spoof, that their success has been compromised by their own position as a good-sized YouTube channel.
Photographer: Rawpixel.com In addition, an example of underhandedly reacting to what’s been said on Geeks + Gamers is the shout-out they gave Mike Zeroh after film director Rian Johnson mean-spiritedly called out Zeroh who is devoted specifically to exploring what’s going on in Star Wars. The Mike Zeroh channel is Zeroh’s speculation about “behind the scenes” in Star Wars. In the initial days of shooting Episode IX of Star Wars, Johnson, reflecting on Twitter about what he was accomplishing with his Star Wars film, referred to YouTube’s Mike Zeroh as being a zero, although Johnson later apologized.
It is the same kind of weak link that exists when Geeks + Gamers tackles Star Wars because for all the enthusiasm Mike Zeroh puts into anticipating Star Wars, Mike Zeroh has personally explained that he feels The Last Jedi is a poor effort. Mike Zeroh Vs Rian Johnson… Thank you Rian Again!!!
I was amused by The White Album puzzle game I got from my brother and his family. I am also grateful for the opportunity to share these opportunities. I am glad if you have read this. You’re welcome to “like,” to “follow,” and/or to comment.
Photographer:
The Myth of the Independent Blogger and How I Learned to Love It 