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338 files changed, 2160 insertions(+), 5009 deletions(-)
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More DB crud fixed, omega will be pushed out when all DB functions are ready for php7

I came across this study today:

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jun/08/new-study-claims-to-find-genetic-link-between-creativity-and-mental-illness

Now, I'm teaching myself art, but I don't think being an artist means that I'm more creative than the average person. Perhaps there are more creative artists/writers/etc. than creative people in other professions, but that still begs the following questions:

What is creativity?
How can you tell if you're more creative than average?

Personally I have some idea about the first question--but absolutely no idea about the second. For me, creativity means thinking in a way that's not the average way of thinking. What about you?

Hello, musicians and wanna-be stars!
We have a contest with guaranteed wins (if you're not terrible, that is).
Play a rl instrument and the TKs are going to make sure you get your instrument as an in-game item! Just post you vids here - or the link to where you posted it - and make sure we can see your playername and MD in the video.
If you also combine it with an MD themed text, you could get a WP (if you're not terrible, that is).
So get your harmonica, trumpet, guitar, cello, ukulele, drum, harp or WHATEVER and play it so we can all see...I mean, hear...Deadline : end of this month
Good luck!

Ok,  since no one else has yet presented itself, I will cast my luck ...
I would first like to say that I never stitched before; the embroidery usually follows a detailed model; and this work was not done by my wife; after the first centerlines everything else was done as my imagination was drawing (something difficult for me and it took four whole hours to finish) would like to point out also that it would be much easier after the starting point simply pull the line straight, but I decided to do it this way to show that it was laborious. Regarding the use of different colors, it was a simple decision based to break the monotony of look that would be formed to embroider with a single color.
 

I don't know if I'd agree with going about things in such away, but what's done is done. I invited you and likely said yes to your offer of leadership because I trusted you then. When I joined the Fusioneers, it felt like I was joining a close knit group. I trusted the members of that group, so when you came asking about helping with leadership, I accepted, because you were one of those members.
However, when Rophs started with the conspiracy theories, portraying Fang as ill-intentioned, and with members being kicked for no stated reason, it was hard to not agree with Rophs, and believe someone wanted to destroy the Fusioneers, not rebuild them.
I had a fun time with the Fusioneers, despite being one of the more awkward members of the group. We danced, ran, had fun. @lashtal or others, do you remember what my status was at the time of this post? 
I forget if I was a member then, or that was after I had been kicked out. As for the tool and Rophs, I honestly can't remember what he wanted to do with it then, sorry.

@Mallos I honestly don't remember much from that time. If I remember correctly, Rophs was shouting 'conspiracy!' at the time of the takeover to me, and given the lack of information that I had, it was hard to know who to trust or who to believe. I forget when I gave the tool to you. Was it before or after the takeover?
As for you asking to come help lead the alliance, I don't remember my response, but I'm guessing I accepted and was relieved. But yes, if that meant you wanted to completely wipe the slate clean, invite new members and kick old ones, then you should have honestly told me what was going on. People were telling me conflicting stories then, so I considered any unexpected drastic changes to be negative by default. What else was I supposed to think?

From what I remember, yes I wasn't much of a leader at that time. I thought I tried to still make some heatstones with the other members and give or sell them away, but maybe I'm remembering wrong.
So I understand the wish for different leadership, but if someone wanted different leadership, they could have at least asked me. I would have discussed with the other Fusioneers and maybe we could have arranged something. I've never been the leader type (I learned that when I became Mp6, bought a leash, etc), I simply got the leadership because I was trusted and active at the time of Kiley leaving.
When everything got chaotic, I got the sense that I wasn't wanted and took the opportunity to leave when I was kicked out. If not for the takeover, I would have stayed in the Fusioneers as long as was wanted. Yes, perhaps this was selfish of me for abandoning ship so quickly, but it is what it is. I joined the Fusioneers because of the alliance, not the land, and so when I didn't have the Fusioneers anymore, I turned towards trying to join a land which I felt more connected to--Necrovion.

I don't know if I'd agree with going about things in such away, but what's done is done. I invited you and likely said yes to your offer of leadership because I trusted you then. When I joined the Fusioneers, it felt like I was joining a close knit group. I trusted the members of that group, so when you came asking about helping with leadership, I accepted, because you were one of those members.
However, when Rophs started with the conspiracy theories, portraying Fang as ill-intentioned, and with members being kicked for no stated reason, it was hard to not agree with Rophs, and believe someone wanted to destroy the Fusioneers, not rebuild them.
I had a fun time with the Fusioneers, despite being one of the more awkward members of the group. We danced, ran, had fun. @lashtal or others, do you remember what my status was at the time of this post? 
I forget if I was a member then, or that was after I had been kicked out. As for the tool and Rophs, I honestly can't remember what he wanted to do with it then, sorry.

Ok, judging time is over, time to draw the conclusions!
Despite the low number of entries (3) I was very happy with the submissions I received, because they all matched perfectly what I was looking for.
For this reason I'm going to share them publicly (see attached pdf); I hope you will enjoy this small, yet new bestiary as much as I did.
Submission n°0 is mine, it was not an entry to rate but an example for the judges of what I had in mind.
The judges (3) were unaware of the authors and were asked to rate the submissions considering:
the choice and originality of materials/ingredients (0 to 3 pts) the accuracy of the procedure/recipe (0 to 3 points) the quality of the artwork (0 to 4 points) Here are the judges verdicts:
Sub n° Author Judge 1 - Zleiphneir Judge 2 - Junior Judge 3 - Neno Veliki TOTAL 0 lashtal x x x   1 Aeoshattr 7 4 9 20 2 dst 7 8 7 22 3 Eara Meraia 5 4 8 17 And here are the rewards!
1st place: dst - headless skeleton + tormented soul
2nd place: Aeoshattr - tormented soul
3rd place: Eara Meraia - tormented soul
 
Congratulations to all!
 
note: partial scores can be provided upon request.
countless faces for a headless skeleton.pdf

Today Pictures, the potato plants are dying back and I will cut them to the ground this weekend. Then will let them set. 

I pulled the rest of my radishes since it is too hot for them. I left my carrots there but will probably not get anything from them. 
 
In place of the radishes I have planted the basil that I had in small pots. They were looking sad and drying out too quickly in the heat while in the small pots.
 

Some of my tomato plants are on the right and they are going crazy. Since I did not have time to do much with them... they have gotten out of hand.

 
Below a lot of Zinnias are blooming and my roses are as well. There are a few patio tomato plants that have tomato fruit and you might spot the mint and sad basil.

 
Below is a new rose plant that my friend bought me for my birthday. It is not blooming yet and is just a tiny little thing.

Neno Veliki ID:133549 for 1_3x0_2 Deathmarrow, Necrovion. I'm active, fair and rigteous and able to give a sensible approach to a delicate matter as Necrovion and its tools are.

3 TST

It was quite the surprise. I can't say I love the new forum, but if it was a necessary upgrade...it's fine. 
What kills me actually is: " This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 200 posts to view. " Is it time for me to spam the forum just to get to read posts like that?

Happy birthday. :)

Happy birthday! :)

It has been awhile since I posted an update... Things have taken off. You have been warned there are a lot of pictures under the tabs.
 
[log=Transplanting ... about a month ago]






[/log]
[log=More transplanting and seedlings]






[/log]
 
[log=New Rose Plants and Thai Mint plant... bought]

[/log]
 
[log=Garden Starting to grow]




[/log]
 
[log=Rose Plants in Bloom... First blossoms don't count as mine :P]


[/log]
Last storm destroyed those blossoms.
 
[log=Garden Now with newer seeds germinating and everything]





 
[/log]
 
[log=Continued]
 





Though the bok choy is looking sad now.... I hope it will return.
[/log]
 
I had started up some chives, oregano, and bok choy. >.> With the mention of chives... it made me want to grow some. It would go great with tofu... so I blame you all for tempting me with plants I didn't plant. :P
 
Some of my pics are missing... My tomatoes... well the I have several tomatoes... My patio tomatoes that I started from seed and three different tomato plants that I got from a friend. My basil seedlings are getting bigger in their pots, cabbage is getting bigger, radishes are next to the potatoes and their doing really well, and carrots have started germinating. I may go back and add these later but I think that I have a lot of pictures here already. 

Some people just do not have the time or drive to make quests. So if you have a quest idea and want it to be run, then I will do the work for it. For example making the storyline, entering it in clickies, coding it (if it is beyond my level of coding then I will find a coder), and etc. Pm me privately. You will get credit for coming up with the idea unless you wish to remain anonymous. This goes for the MD birthday and through out the year. This is not a limited time offer

Here's my take on things, because hopefully I calmed down enough to be able to talk about this. This is one of my infamous text walls (and quite a heartfelt one too), you have been warned, but I will try and summarise it in a TL;DR at the end. 
 
1. Necrovion.
I agree with Azull, to a great extent. This is both because I felt more integrated in Necrovion than in any other land I have been before. I like to believe that it transcended just the nature of an alliance, as I have been a citizen of Necrovion for more than a year before joining the Tainted Warriors; I'll be honest, I was very, very happy as a citizen. To me, the badge was more of a symbol of recognition when it was received; I didn't see it as a necessity, but it being given to me actually made me happy (which to those who know me, know is a big deal. I'm really never happy). I don't believe that Necrovion, as it stands today, is defined by any alliance it has or has had.
 
2. Reactions and comments.
Yes, people are bitter and defensive. Thorny and hardened. I think it's just a reality of MD... So unfortunately, accusations and acidic words do start flying, but it's only natural that they do so, taking into account how people are. Is it okay? No. Is it a reality? Yeah. My opinion? Can't make an omelet without breaking the eggs, take it or leave it. I actually had to try really hard to not say anything, other than the outburst I had in the in-game chat in the first few minutes after it happened.
 
3. View on alliances.
I think Assira pointed at a few things very accurately, so I'll reiterate those with my own perspective. 
I think alliances might have lost some of the "wow factor" they used to have. I think this is more probably 50% because most of those in MD are veterans. Alliances don't phase us that much anymore. We know what they're about. So to us, it looks like they devalued, like they lost their meaning. However, they also did lose part of their meaning (it's not just in our heads). If you look at alliances from a distance, maybe 1 or 2 stand out as unique. The rest are really the same thing, but with different artwork and in different lands (keep in mind, I might be a bit extreme here, but my point remains: compare GG to GotR, to SoE or KoB and then compare DoB with GotR or any of the previously mentioned, and you should see what I mean). But this is because people are not as involved as they used to be, IMO, rather than because of an intrinsic flaw in the alliances. Also, no offence meant to any ally mentioned.
The rest of the harm, IMO, is done by repeated takeovers. I really want to believe that they are done in an attempt to make MD progress, rather than as some sort of selfish, coercive method to obtain personal gain. Please let me have that delusion, if I'm wrong. But I think the huge, huge thing that this method misses is the fact that alliances are, in fact, made of people. Hit them once, they might fight back. Hit them twice, maybe. But when everybody is getting hit again and again all around you, you start to think more about how to keep what you have rather than what to actually do with it - I think this would be a main point. It becomes a dead long-term 'savings' account rather than an investment. Look at the reaction the vast population had to the economic crisis in the 2000s. It was all about 'saving what you have' rather than 'correcting and making plans to improve in the future'. The way I see it, things will just get progressively worse, and I think that in the most recent 2 (excluding TW) takeovers, you can see that active people, alliance leaders that actually had a plan and vision left (or are significantly less active/visible now). 
Finally? Very superficial, perhaps, but the fewer alliances there are, the more barren the game looks. Yes, I really like the badges, their art. I think they had a big, big "wow factor" to them, especially for new players. But now, I think a massive number of alliances are dead, with all the "wow" they brought gone. Some badges had a lot of symbolism to them, a lot about the alliance or its land could be learned just by looking at the badge. And now that's  gone. Sure, you might still see it in some capitols, but it's no longer in the game. It's no longer flowing, it's no longer present in the public eye. And it saddens me that most likely, that is permanent and will not improve in the future.
 
TL;DR
NC is more than its alliances, through the people who inhabit and rule it. Can't throw a tomato at a fan and expect to not get a mess. All alliances have lost some of their 'oomph' because of lack of involvement, repeated takeovers, reduced population, and a natural tendency to focus on protecting rather than being out-going when threatened. I think a coordinated effort is necessary to change this, if my delusional view that "change and improvement of MD" is the ultimate goal is correct.

Why does a land have to have an alliance?

When I joined Necrovion there were two alliances in this land. The Necrovian Sentinels and The Tainted Warriors. The Sentinels were disbanded by a player during Jester's reign for much the same reasons TW are disbanded now. I never asked for the Sentinels to be returned. This alliance was the result of a covenant between humans and shades. It's destruction and subsequent lack of reactions from the shades was a symbol this covenant no longer exists. The only thing that remains is that humans are allowed to live in Necrovion. I feel the Sentinels should remain dead until such time a new covenant is made. (which seems unlikely to happen anytime soon) Of course there is a practical reason too. An alliance with that many seats is impossible to protect. And since alliance taking has become such a popular and in many cases easy to do hobby, why bother.   In August 2011 after Jester left Necrovion and joined SoS in the east, Tainted Warriors were  disbanded by a player who acted as Mur's cats-paw. A few days later the land was closed and we were left with nothing. But it didn't mean the end of Necrovian society. Quite the contrary in fact. Some time later the alliance was given back to us because of a wish rewarded in an unexpected way (ann. 2034). Over the past years it was taken from us twice more because of misplaced trust and treason. Twice we got it back by use of illusions. With Peace gone this is not an option now. But is that such a bad thing? We don't think so.    The Necrovian social and political structure we built is not defined by its alliance. In reality an alliance is a tool with a few useful features and a badge (of pride). Nothing more. I challenge anyone to prove me otherwise. Four years ago we made the foundation for this Necrovion without an alliance. Having none now doesn't affect us beyond the loss of a few gadgets. Necrovian society, or whatever colorful name one might prefer for us, still exists. Having no alliance doesn't change that.  

Alright. It has begun. Muwhahah. *coughs*
 
 
 
[log=In the beginning]
 
December when I moved in, the following pics are of the small backyard. I took the pic before realizing this quest. But in later pics there are MD symbols where you can tell it is the same backyard and patio.
 

 

 
[/log]
 
[log= Mountain of Soil]
 

 
[/log]
 
[log= The Beds Rise]
 

 

 

 
[/log]
 
[Log= Making Seed Trays]

[/log]
 
[log= Too Many Seeds]

[/log]
 
[log= Narrowed down to a ... few]

[/log]
 
[log= Making labels]




 
Fast-forward
 

 
 
[/log]
 
[log= Seeds on the Vermiculite]
 
Echinacea, Rosemary & Sage, Thyme, and Sweet Basil

 
(Rosemary and Sage were mixed together, a friend have me the seeds as a gift. So it will be a surprise as to what I get :D )
 
Spinach, 3 kinds of Lavender, and Zinnias

 
Parsley, Dill, Jalapeno, and Carrot

 
(It maybe fennel instead of dill... I did not label it and the year I harvested those seeds I had both growing)
 
Cabbage, Kohl Rabi, Basil Lettuce Leaf, and Patio Tomatoes.

(That Basil plant is suppose to have larger leaves to the point that you can use it as a wrap. It will be the first time for trying this. The Patio Tomatoes are smaller tomato plants and are suppose to do really well in containers)
 
[/log]
 
[log= Planting Others]
 
Potatoes

 

 
 
Peas
 

 
[/log]
 
Now I get to wait. I have even more plans for the garden... but I will have to see what germinates and get a few more things before I begin the next stages. It has been about two years since I gardened... and I am able to do so now since I just moved into this place in December. I have been really excited about gardening this spring.

Replenish the Herbs

MD is running out of herbs and we need your help. We need you to go and steal some herbs from another realm to replenish the ones in MD.

The task is simple, go out and plant some herbs (or vegetables, or fruits, anything that grows really) and document their progress. Take a picture every couple of weeks showing their growth.

Once they have reached maturity harvest them and place them in a basket. To get them to MD you need to perform a little ritual and say some words over them. Sadly this ritual has been lost to time (So you will have to improvise!)

To complete this quest we would like to see pictures at each stage (planting, some through growing and your ritual) and how you perform your ritual (bonus points for interesting location/theme). Images should have somethin showing they were taken for this quest and by you (player and and id are good for this)

This quest can be completed by anyone once. The reward will be 1 WP and a number of herbs (Which I promise will have a use quite soon now).

This is a permanent quest.

Credits go to Akasha who originally designed a similar quest, dst for digging it up and Eara for being an awesome TK.

Thank you, everyone. :)

Thank you, everyone. :)

happy birthday, little painter!