Jump to content

Aderia

Premier Outstanding BZP Citizens
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,316

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    8

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by Aderia

  1. Aderia
    I am not, and never will be ashamed of the cake puns in this blog entry title.

    Anyways, it's been fun to look at milestones from the past 5-6 years of my baked goods journey. Please enjoy (vicariously) snapshots of gloopy sadness and glutenous glow-ups. 
     
    My ego insists that I tell you about my natural dis-inclination toward exact measurements and the science-y part of baking (which is why I historically have had more success with cooking). But sharing sweet food with friends and family over the years has been a good motivator to improve, and there's nothing like a sporadic BZP blog post to share the progress
     
    2018, for a sibling's birthday. This was back when I didn't know (or care) about pan sizes or icing consistency. My mindset was "It's sugar, flour, and more sugar. How bad can it be?" To be fair, it (probably) tasted good. I'm pretty sure we ate all of it, eventually. 😅

     
    2019, for the same sibling's birthday. I had the vision, obviously not the execution. To be fair, it was a very hot summer that year, and I think this was my first attempt at homemade icing? But, yeah. ooof. 

    To be fair! It was eaten and did not go to waste! 

     
     
    2020, this sibling is very spoiled, and finally had a cake from big sister that stood up on its own!! Progress never tasted so good! (probably, I don't actually remember at this point what flavor this was)

     
    2021, Valentine's brownie/cake. This is when I decided to care about form factor and presentation more. Boxed brownie mix and store-bought icing all around - two modern marvels that I will never cease to love. 

     
     
    2022! This is the year I stepped it up because suddenly there were in-laws to impress! Lemon raspberry cake, got my whole baking pan situation sorted and took homemade icing seriously. I've found the YouTube channels Binging with Babish and Preppy Kitchen to be the most helpful (educational, practical, and instructional), and you can probably tell! 
    But also, I found that I had more free time on the weekends with a job change. Moving from a physical warehouse job to a sedentary office job during this year was interesting - when I had a physical job, my hobbies outside of work were much more internal and sedentary. I got a lot of reading and writing done in these time period. When I changed to an office/teaching job, my hobbies almost immediately changed back to tactile and physical (knitting, cooking, baking, hiking). Funny how balance just kind of happens sometimes. 
    Pies, scones, muffins, cupcakes, and a few other desserts were also explored in this year. In a slightly broader scope, we also tried some fun international dishes at home, like pupusas, baozi, and spring rolls! 


     
    2023 cakes, and many other baking ventures happened this past year. Here are some of the highlights. It also helps that I changed jobs and had an office to share these baked goods with (as opposed to the old warehouse gig).
    Apple Butter Maple cakes, from Preppy Kitchen. I actually broke a crock pot trying to make apple butter from scratch for the filling 😱

    The small cake on the right is gluten and dairy free, and underneath the passable icing, was a DISASTER. Still learning the intricacies of the GF/DF world for the sister-in-law. Thankfully there are many box mix options now!!
     
     
    Pink brownie cakes for niece's birthday. Had some fun with icing piping bags and nozzles, but have yet to actually get into decorating (may not actually happen. There's still that primal battle between "make it look nice" vs "it's all going to the same place", so there's a limit to my dithering. 
     
     
    Christmas Babkas! Technically not cakes, but after many attempts at sourdough that were meh at best, babka sounded like sufficient, sweet, and swirly compromise for a dough-based challenge.

     
     
     
     
    2024 has yet to see large-scale baking productions - just some congratulatory oreo cupcakes to welcome a new nephew, and a batch of Hong Kong egg tarts that were a funky texture 😝.
     
     
    Anyways, that's a slice of my life recently (wink!) and I'm always excited to hear suggestions, tips, or other tales!
     
     
  2. Aderia

    LoMN Pun (I think?)

    By Aderia,

    Re-reading old Bionicle Adventure books, only just noticed this (screenshot of text courtesy of the Biological Chronicle project, thanks and awesome project).
        I definitely chuckled when I realized it was (probably?) a pun, but also kinda got stuck on it. This is a pun, right? Does it break a fourth wall of sorts? am I dense for only just noticing it after more than a decade since reading/watching this dialogue multiple times? It's also just funnier the more I think about it. Anyways, I think it's great that there's always something new to find even in old stories. 
  4. Aderia
    The first of a small series of flash fiction to augment my current epic, setting some groundwork for how the Matoran Civil War is going to be portrayed. Not meant to be chronological. Also, a bit of a bother, as these don't merit a short story, don't fit into the review topic, which I'm using as a reference section, and I don't want them interrupting flow in the story topic. So blog it up, right?   Fun and totally legit fact: the newspaper in Po-Metru is called The 'Po-'st.      Mutant Snipes Take Northern Sculpture Fields by Reporter Kodan   First spotted by the northern assemblers two months ago, the swarm of giant Sand Snipes has proven impossible to dislodge from the northern sculpture fields. The sculptures that remain have been assessed by the Committee of Master Carvers and deemed irreparable.   “It was horrible. If you thought Sand Snipes were bad before, imagine them fifty times bigger - the size of a Dikapi! And dozens of them! The biggest sculpture - they leveled it in less than an hour!” says carver apprentice Hafu, an eyewitness from the northern assembler’s village. Hafu is lucky to have escaped the fields unharmed, after the swarm moved in from the southwest in the middle of the carvers’ workday. Not every carver working that day can say the same. “In the end, it was either the assemblers or their sculptures,” Hafu tells our reporter sadly. Evacuation of the entire northern assembler's village is currently underway, with hopes of completing the evacuation before the mutant Snipe swarm can turn on it.    The unnatural Snipe swarm is suspected to have powers related to fragmentation or disintegration, but they unfortunately leave too little behind to say for sure. The few Archivists who will still cooperate with our reporters have identified Kraata remains among the wreckage, as well.    It’s not been an easy two months, but the Carver Committee is working with other assemblers villages to accommodate the displaced northern village and their workload. If you or any Po-Matoran you know has space or resources to accommodate our brothers in need, please contact the Committee or the Garrison immediately. Stipends can be negotiated.    Effective immediately, the northern fields are now a completely restricted zone. Once the assembler’s village is evacuated preventatively, it will also become restricted.    The Po-Metru Garrison also asks you to report any of the following immediately: suspicious and/or unknown Rahi activity; suspected Ta-Matoran tampering in any establishment, including private residences; shipments with unauthorized receiving and tracking codes, even and especially internal shipments.    The Garrison Matoran also continue to ask you to keep a lookout for any of the Matoran listed below, or report any news on their possible whereabouts.    Mata Nui be with us all.        image courtesy of BS01  
  5. Aderia
    After a season of change, I've emerged with a new set of musings gleaned from a new hobby - board games. 

    A new set of friends who became family (because the season of change definitely included but was not limited to marriage), have introduced me to a slew of various card/board games. Unfortunately I married into a very strategically savvy family, but fortunately they still know how to make the experience fun. 

    To clarify, "favorite" here equates to the combined most enjoyability and re-playability. The optimal board game for me is something just the two of us can bust out after dinner when we don't want to do dishes right away, enjoy, and move along with our evening. 

    In ranked order my favorites are: 
    Splendor Firefly Codenames Coup Boss Monster Azul Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion Red Dragon Inn Hive Onitama
    Games that didn't quite make the list:
    Ticket to Ride Carcassonne Villainous 7 Wonders A bit about the "not quite" list - something they all have in common was that when I learned them the first time, they were poorly explained.  The new games I ended up liking the most either were explained systematically with clear win-conditions from the start, or they were completely new to everyone so we figured it out together. I'm sure there will come a day when most, if not all of these games make it into the actual ranking list. 
     
    Honorable mentions that don't count because they are not new to me, but would still recommend:
    Settlers of Catan (shameless plug for my Bioniclized Catan)
    Scattergories Bananagrams Catch Phrase "What did you knock over this time?!?", a game with the Little Peeps (below), which I must admit is not my favorite but for some reason we keep playing it. Every day. Multiple times. But look at that face. 

    Moving on to the reasoning behind my top choices from the actual games list. I promise this is not just a post about the cat. I hope you don't expect too much explanation or a tutorial on how to play, as this is not a game review blog. I will simply state what I found enjoyable, challenging, and frustrating - like a very subjective pros and cons list. 


    Common deciding factors are: 

    Commitment - Some games are highly enjoyable, but are also highly complex and require a larger number of players. Large time and/or social commitment detract from re-playability. 

    Complexity - Closely tied to commitment, but not the same. Basically, how difficult it was for me to learn. An example of a game that I would consider higher in complexity but lower commitment would be Red Dragon Inn, listed below. 

    Versatility in # of Players- A game that is easily playable and enjoyable both in a group or just the two of us is ideal. Yes, I'm aware there are many "two player variants" for some of the games lower on my list, but learning a new variant would up the complexity and mental commitment and thus lower the overall enjoyability for me. 
    Cut-Throatedness - This is where the "sore loser" aspect of this post comes in, and this is probably the most subjective measure on this list. I have learned that I am much more of a sore loser than I originally had thought. Now, this factor is somewhat related to number of players. It is also the reason why Hive and Onitama are at the bottom of my list. They are both exclusively two player games, and you must take something away from the other person to beat them, if that makes sense. I can lose in Splendor all day and feel fine, because it's more of a resource race with optional/minimal "mess with the other person in their face" mechanics. But losing so directly in Hive, losing each turn and knowing it, gets old really quickly. 

    1. Splendor (image source)


    I'm just going to throw an x/10 rating for some of the pertinent factors, and then my 2 cents. And just keep in mind that a 10/10 in a given category may not be a good thing in my book. 

    Commitment: 3/10 - low time commitment is a plus for me, can definitely play this while a pot of rice simmers or something. 
    Complexity: 5/10 - not entirely sure how to have an accurate/consistent complexity scale. It was easy enough to learn and play, but the pattern of thinking needed to make progress is so different from my usual that it never feels boring. 
    Versatility: 8/10 - This is the game we play most often, just the two of us, and one we recommend most to play with friends and/or bring to family gatherings (probably tied with Codenames). The only thing I would improve is to have condensed travel-version, because playing at cafes and informal restaurants (like a pizzeria) is a favorite thing for us to do. 
    Cut-Throat: 4/10 - There are definitely ways for you to mess with other people in this game, or try to, but there are enough other ways for them to keep progressing or mess with you in return that it doesn't get discouraging (again, very subjective factor). 

    Pros: Fun, relatively simple to learn, pretty art, very tactile tokens (those things are solid), and a potentially cool Marvel version that I have yet to play. 
    Cons: I still haven't won a two-player game, the pieces are small enough that the kitten can easily mess up the entire board (most games have this con, now that I think about it). 

     
    2. Firefly: The Game (image source)


    This game is so so great, we absolutely love it, and actually re-arranged an entire room in our house so we can more easily play this game kitten-free. That is, she gets to roam the whole house while we spread the game and various decks across multiple tables in a small room 😂. It definitely helps to have seen the TV show, which was actually recommended to me for the first time by old BZP friends back when I was in high school :) the only reason this game is #2 and not #1 is because of the effort it takes (combination of time commitment, complexity, and the low points of versatility). 
    Commitment: 9/10 - We have routinely set aside 3-4 hours for this game, as per instructions, but each time it has taken 4.5+ hours. The exception was playing through a fan-made scenario recently crafted specifically for a two player cooperative game. 
    Complexity: 7/10 - Not gonna lie, it was a lot to learn at first. So many moving parts to the game and mechanics. That said, once you learn it, it was easy to keep going and pick back up. Still complicated, but not difficult. 
    Versatility: 7/10 - This is great in versatility because 1 player scenarios are possible and fun, 2 player scenarios are possible and fun, etc. etc., but additionally, there are great fan-made scenarios that are playable and fun. The negatives on versatility are that once you set it up, you're stuck there for a while. There's no sane reason why you would want to take this to a coffee shop for an afternoon unless you want to lose half the tokens and pieces and cards. 
    Cut-Throat: 2/10 - The way the scenarios are set up, and the variety of ways you can achieve the series of goals to meet the win conditions make the game competitive in the "racing" sense, rather than the cut-throat way. Actually to the point that even I wish there were more direct ways to mess with other players. However, this is not a negative factor for me, because if there were other ways to mess with other players, I would probably be getting the short end of the straw. Both Splendor and Firefly are solid favorites because they are highly replayable with a variety of numbers of players. 

    Pros: Goes so well with the show! Adds a whole new layer of fun. You get to follow a story line, which is always fun. It's fast-paced enough to keep you engaged and not complex enough that you have to pay attention to every single move every single person makes, so you can relax, grab a snack or chat throughout. Also has cool expansions, or so I'm told. 

    Cons: Complex set up for comparatively simple gameplay, need lots of time and considerable amount of space. Also kind of expensive, but totally worth it. 
     
     
    3. Codenames (image source)

    Don't let the low numbers in the ratings fool you, this game is one of the most enjoyable ones we have on our shelf. 
    Commitment: 3/10 - This one is nice because you can easily play multiple rounds without getting tired of it, or at least we can when the family gets together. And if someone gets tired or needs a break, they can step out for a round with little to no impact (depending on number of players). 
    Complexity: 3/10 - Very easy to pick up the gist by just watching a few rounds, although some explaining would probably be necessary before fully playing as both a team member and taking a turn as the codemaster. 
    Versatility: 3/10 - This is the one major drawback, we've found it best with 6+ players, 4 at the very least, as it's a team game. We haven't tried the 2-player variant yet, but it's enjoyable enough that we have plans to in the near future. It also would not be ideal for a travel game because of the 5x5 grid of small cards that are easily lost. 
    Cut-Throat: 5/10 - So this 5/10 is more for general competition aspect and perceived pressure during gameplay, not necessarily because of any cut-throat mechanics. Guessing and being the hint-giver/codemaster both feel relatively high pressure to me, but that's part of what makes it so enjoyable.

    Pros: great combination of social deduction, word association, strategy and teamwork. 
    Cons: higher player number needed, so we don't play it as often as we like. 

     
     
    4. Coup (image source)


    Coup is probably the game we've had the most laughs with, just the dynamic of how well different people bluff or don't. 
    Commitment: 2/10 - Pretty simple set up, don't need much table space if any, and a round can probably be as short as 5 minutes, although that somewhat depends on number of players. We probably average 10-15 minutes per round in a game with 5 players. 
    Complexity: 4/10 - A bit difficult to learn and keep certain rules straight, but also straightforward with refreshingly black-and-white rules compared to all the lying and bluffing the game is based around (my husband describes it as a streamlined version of poker). 
    Versatility: 6/10 - I would travel with this game! One of the main downsides is that it requires at least 3 players to really make it worth it, although, again, we are researching more into the 2-player variant. 
    Cut-Throat: 8/10 - This is the exception on the list, the game is by nature cut-throat, with the goal to be the last man standing. I think part of what helps is that the rounds go so quickly, and you tend to go out quickly when you do, so it's not a slow, inevitable defeat you have to watch unfold before you. And everyone else killing each other off after you're out is many times more entertaining and educational anyways.

    Pros: Very strategic and simple once you learn it, and has a significant social aspect, which is always a fun variable to throw in. 
    Cons: If you're very against lying, morally, this is not a game for you. 
     
     
    5. Boss Monster (image source)

    Commitment: 3/10 - This is another game that's easy to play in under half an hour. The setup is comparatively simple, and it's easy enough to play a second or third round if you want to. 
    Complexity: 4/10 - Pretty straightforward, but the variety of monster/trap rooms and combinations lend variability that keeps everything interesting. 
    Versatility: 7/10 - Great to play two player, because there is some element of randomness/luck involved that tables can turn quickly (something I like and annoys my husband). Also good with groups, and theoretically could be played while out and about, but probably not outside. 
    Cut-Throat: 4/10 - This one really depends on number of players. Even if it's just the two of you, it's possible to win without messing with the other player, which can get tiring if you're always the target. However, it's obviously not as fun if you don't play the "gotcha" cards on the other player, thus it's better as a more-than-two player game, but can be played pretty sustainably as such. 

    Pros: Great pixel art! I have the biggest nostalgic soft spot for pixel art. Also what I think is a creative, unique dungeon/deck-building theme that I think is just charming. 
    Cons: Not initially as much variety in the decks as I'd thought, we were interested in expansion packs pretty early on. 

    6. Azul (image source)

    Commitment: 4/10 - Although we haven't played it in a while, it's pretty simple to set up, put away, etc. It can be played in under an hour, although sometimes it's extended past that. The players have the ability to trigger the last round pretty early on, so the play time can vary greatly. 
    Complexity: 3/10 - Pretty easy to learn and then teach. The only somewhat tricky part is learning the scoring. And a lot of the scoring turns into honors system, which is fine for adults, but if we teach the nieces I have a feeling we'll have to keep a closer eye on their score counters. 
    Versatility: 7/10 - Great for 2 players, great for more than that, with the only difference in set up being the number of tiles available each round. Also tactile enough to take different places without fear of it blowing away (that is, no cards), although it can take up a decent amount of space. And I'd highly caution against losing even a single tile. 
    Cut-Throat: 2/10 - Nice and chill, and honestly gameplay went better when we focused on our own scores. When we tried to get to the resources (tiles, in this case) that we thought everyone else wanted, instead of the ones we knew we needed, it was a much longer game with much slower progress overall. That is, a more cut-throat style of gameplay is possible, but nets an overall negative result based on our experience (of course, maybe we were doing it wrong? I'm sure it's possible to play that way and do it well. Shrug). 

    Pros: So pretty! Very tactile, and I would love to teach this game to our niece. And my mother. I think the fact that it doesn't look like a scary strategy game (which it's not, really), appeals to a wider player base. Also it's tactile-centric, which is always fun. Very solid tiles, and again, just beautiful, fun designs. 
    Cons: Honestly, the only con in this game for me is that I'm constantly stuck playing with highly strategic people who do the equivalent of counting cards, so they're just always ahead and in power the entire game. Some level of unpredictability/luck would be useful. 

     
    7. Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion (image source)

    Commitment: 9/10 - We needed to schedule an extra 45 minutes for setup alone, essentially, although this included small talk and such. Imagine a somewhat streamlined version of  D&D that's just dungeon crawling and fighting. So far it has a fun story (bonus is that you don't need a DM, the guide books/monster decks are basically the DM for you). But we needed upwards of 5 hours per scenario, every flat surface we owned, and needed to schedule the sessions with our other two players, which always becomes a logistics battle sooner or later. 
    Complexity: 10/10 - I'm not sure where to begin describing this complexity, so just trust me. Like, I'm sure there are much more complex games out there, in fact, I know there are. But out of the games mentioned here, this is far and away the most complicated. 
    Versatility: 1/10 - Not much flexibility in setup, like even if one of the various decks a player has set out gets nudged over an inch, everything feels off. 
    Cut-Throat: 2/10 - It's a cooperative campaign game, so that's cool. Very limited movesets for your characters, at least the level we're at. But the scenarios themselves felt pretty challenging. More than once we spent 3+ hours working our way through a room, only to fail and have to start over (usually we just called it an evening and rescheduled). 

    Pros: It is fun once you get going. It really is. It just takes a lot to get there. It also has an intriguing story and a cool world. It's expensive, but you get so much bang for your buck. I'm constantly amazed how much fit into the game box (and continues to fit back in).
    Cons: It's just a huge effort any time we want to play. Sometimes I miss playing (it's been a few months), but the other two players in our party are busy now with holiday stuff, so it's unlikely we'll play again anytime soon. 
     
    8. Red Dragon Inn (image source)

    Okay so as a bit of a disclaimer, I think I've only actually played this one once? I really enjoyed it when I did, so that should say something. But the disclaimer is to note that I have no idea how to really rate it. 
    Commitment: 5/10 - It felt like it took a long time, but we had a large amount of players. 
    Complexity: 4/10 - It was simple once I got the hang of what a turn looked like. It's a fun balancing act and "gotcha" tricks you play on other players, or tavern-goers. There's a gambling mini-game built in that I remember really hating/being confused by though. 
    Versatility: 5/10 - It seemed easy to play with many people (we had 7 at one point), but I imagine playing with two players would be much less fun.  
    Cut-Throat: 5/10 - Most of the game seemed based on playing your cards' effects on other players to their detriment, but with enough players, the effects felt spread out enough that it didn't feel cut-throat. 

    Pros: Great art, fun concept, you can choose a character to play as and get really into it if you want. 
    Cons: Unsure, but it was fun (except gambling, no idea why that gets to be a thing). 
    9. Hive (image source)

    Commitment: 3/10 - Very easy to play even while you wait for your pizza to come out, fits on a pretty small area usually, but the hive has no boundaries and can grow in weird directions if you're not careful. 
    Complexity: 3/10 - I say it's like streamlined chess without a board. My husband who plays chess for fun (shudder) disagrees. 
    Versatility: 9/10 - This is very fun because you can really take it anywhere. We've played it outside on a mountain top, in the aforementioned pizza place, in our backyard, etc. Fun shape, fun concept, easy to teach others. Only detriment in versatility is that you don't have the option to expand past a two-player game.
    Cut-Throat: 9/10 - I believe this fits the "zero sum game" category. If you progress, it's to the detriment of your opponent. Thus, the reason why I can only lose so many times in a row - you feel every inch that's taken from you. Also, it really depends on pacing. If you fall behind by one step, it's only a matter of time before you lose, and you know it within one or two turns. It is possible to draw, though. 

    Pros: Versatile, fun and well-designed tiles, I think it's a pretty unique concept (surround you opponent's queen bee using your other bug tiles with their specific movement abilities), easy enough to play with kids. I definitely did this and lost to a six year old not on purpose. 
    Cons: You can lose to a six year old. 


    10. Onitama (image source)

    Commitment: 4/10 - This one varies in time commitment, although the surface area required is probably one of the smallest on the list, along with Hive and Coup. Games can be quick, under 10 minutes, or run over 45 minutes. It really depends on the cards you have to work with and how stubborn/careless both of you are. 
    Complexity: 4/10 - Simple enough concept, and interesting. It's kind of like checkers but you have a rotating set of move patterns (Tiger, Cobra etc. that you see in the picture), and the strategy involved in how the cards rotate between you and your opponent really stretched my brain. I liked it. 
    Versatility: 7/10 - Pretty good travel game, it comes with a roll-up mat that's like a mouse pad, and pretty solid figurines. Cards have potential to blow away though. Also can only play 2 players. 
    Cut-Throat: 9/10 - Again, since it's like chess/checkers, you win based on the other person losing. Sometimes it's possible to have a stalemate, but that's rare from what we've found. This is another one I can only lose so many times in a row.

    Pros: Really pretty cards! I like the mythos worked in, like you see the tiger lunging forward, the cobra I think is supposed to be dancing back and forth trying to hypnotize. I find it more tolerable than chess or checkers because of the rotating moveset mechanic. 
    Cons: Really can drag on if you let it. Also if your game has 5 bad cards, you're kind of stuck with them for the game.




    Phew. I didn't think this post would take the entire afternoon when I sat down with the idea, but here I am, one afternoon later 😅. If you stuck with me this long, thanks, and I hope it was worth your while one way or another - maybe an idea for a holiday gift or something. 

    I am always open to new suggestions, and of course any hints for improving this or that!


     
     
     
  6. Aderia

    Amazonian

    By Aderia,


    IRL
    So I figured I'd do a blog post about my actual life. I'm pretty sure I can post this and not break any company confidentiality stuff because all pictures are from google searches. 

    Maybe some of you have had similar experiences, and I'd love to connect (commiserate. jk)

    For the past 13 months, I've been a warehouse grunt at a local Amazon warehouse. Yes, they do call them 'fulfillment centers', and we are 'Amazon Associates', not 'laborers'. Anytime I bring this up - that I work at Amazon, I get a lot of questions, like "I hear it's terrible! How can anyone like it there!", or sometimes, "Oh! I saw a news/youtube video! are you a picker?" But a common denominator is that people always want to know more about it. 
    As a disclaimer: I'm not recommending you go out and sign up to work at your local Amazon Fulfillment Center, I'm not trying to recruit or promote them. I've personally had a good experience there, and people are always curious what I do. Since shopping season is coming up, and I have a feeling many more people will be ordering online this year, I figured it would be cool to have a little bit of 'behind the scenes'. 

    Positives - I know this isn't representative of all fulfillment centers. In fact, I'm assuming it's not. I've heard from multiple people at my warehouse who have tried out the other warehouses in the area (Amazon and otherwise), that my building is one of the best in the area. Not entirely sure what they mean by that, but I do honestly like it there. Definitely not a career, but still. 
    Diversity - Grew up in a homogenous area, which is fine, but it's nice to work at a place that's majority minority. Contrast to my graduating high school class of 250, where I was one of five of my racial minority student. Just from people I've talked to at work, we have representation from Nepal, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Peru, Brazil, Morocco, India, Pakistan, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Kenya, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico, and probably a lot more I don't know about.  People - The other side of the 'people-at-work' coin is the people who have never left the state their entire life. But, contrary to what I expected at a warehouse, people are really nice and willing to help you out. Like, 98% of them, at least. And the bad apples, it's a big enough warehouse that you don't really have to deal with them much.  Active - I get to be on my feet all day, which took about 2 weeks to physically adjust to, but I sleep really well at night.  3 day weekend - Yes, we work four 10-hour days a week, normally. Three day weekends are great. But yes, during peak season - that is, holiday season, it's normal to work six 10-hour days and basically only sleep on your day off.  Stable job in a pandemic - I thought I'd only be working there for a gap year to save up for grad school, but, surprise! pandemic. I almost took a cushy secretary job, and then applied to a few TESOL positions in schools when I moved back home to start working/saving up, but I wanted something that would let me walk out easily (without feeling bad). Honestly, the wages there, and the overtime they offer, I make more than I would at a 'cushy' job. And especially with all the layoffs during the early pandemic, I definitely would have been cut from a school, and possibly an office. But with the hazard pay and extra time offered during lockdown (extra time was offered because the company offered unlimited unpaid time off to quarantine and stay safe - some people wanted it to be paid time off. You get paid quarantine time with proof of a positive test, or proof a family member has tested positive. Also, free COVID testing at work, and they're super stringent with masks and distancing and sanitizing.)  Fun stuff - The company does things like catering lunches during peak season and prime week, raffles, dress up (in ways that don't violate safety codes) for halloween or as superheroes etc (no capes!). I won a camping set last year, and $200 bonus just last week, actually.  Negatives - Forewarning, I do that thing where if I overthink a negative too long, it becomes a positive, or at the very least, a learning experience. 
    People - The aforementioned 'bad apples' - they definitely threw me for a loop my first months there. Lots more cussing than I was used to, but not less than I expected. Lots of honking when driving powered industrial trucks (PITs, from here on out, and more on those later), lots of complaining and malicious gossip. But again, easy enough to avoid. People also sometimes think they're above rules and safety measures (granted, there are a TON, esp. with COVID. yes, we're aware Amazon takes drastic measures to avoid any type of lawsuit even though it could easily handle them), and while it would take a lot for me to narc on someone, it's kind of stressful to witness.  Apathy - Sometimes driving the aisles of product feels like I'm literally running the rat race to feed rampant consumerism. I try not to let it get to me. Working for a huge company bothered me a bit, but I try not to overthink it and camp in a moralistic spot on the issue. It pays bills and one person deciding they doesn't like monopolies (I prefer Catan XD) won't stop them from making billions.  Physically demanding - Some days are worse than others, it depends on my job that day. I developed mild tendonitis in my writing hand/arm from the controls on one of the PITs, so that's not fun. It's getting better, but my arm falls asleep doing totally normal things, like reading or typing, which is annoying.  Yeah, I want to get out and go to grad school (I'm supposed to be in Vancouver! I'd MUCH rather be there, pursuing my dream, than moving boxes all day), but it's not a bad place to be stuck while I wait. I did try to take online classes in the summer for school. Absolutely hated it. The way I put it to people at work who asked how it went - "Yeah, I was alone in my parent's basement, sitting and staring at a screen, losing money, when I could have been on my feet, with people, at work making money." Also, I'm self conscious how much I've mentioned money in this post. But tuition doesn't pay itself. 
    My Job
    I mentioned this before, but we normally work four 10-hour days. I work from Wednesday to Saturday, starting at 7:30 AM until 6:00 PM. We have two half-hour breaks - an unpaid break at 11, and a paid break at 2:30. Usually your job changes slightly between periods (like, I'd be picking in the morning, then after first break, be on the ship dock, for example. More on that below). The break room has multiple fridges, microwaves, and what looks like the grab-n-go section at a gas station for people who want to buy their lunch on site. There are lots of TVs, and enough space to sit alone, which I like. As for the actual job: 

    The warehouse I work at has 4 departments. 
    Inbound - responsible for bringing product in (receiving), palletizing or organizing it in order to shelve it (stowing). Their peak season is October-November, basically leading up to holidays.  Outbound - responsible for shipping out orders. Pickers go out and get the items in the shelves, packers ... pack? I don't know how to put it more succinctly. Ship dock makes sure the items get into the right trailers to be sent off. Peak season is Thanksgiving-Christmas, basically.  ICQA - quality control, goes around counting items in specific shelf locations (called bins, which can be whole pallets of items, a jumble of smaller items in a drawer or box/space on a shelf, or sometimes pallets in rows on an open floor, it depends on the warehouse). because sometimes there's a discrepancy between how many items a picker picks verses what a stower stows, and it messes up the numbers in the computer, which is bad.  TV-grading - I think my building is the only one in the area with this department. They're also called vendor returns, but most people return TVs, apparently. Their peak season is after Christmas when customer expectations were disappointed, and after the Super Bowl.  I've been trained in three of the jobs mentioned above. Stowing, picking, and ship dock. Now, I don't stow very often, I'm primarily an outbound worker. My first job was picking, my favorite job is ship dock. 
     
    Picking
    Depending on the warehouse, picking is either mechanical, or done on foot. My warehouse, it's all done with machine. The main type of machine used to pick is (surprise!) called an order picker, and it looks like this.
     
    You can kind of see the controls (circle is steering, acceleration is hidden behind the guard rail, but it's above that orange bar). They can elevate up to 40(ish) feet, and have a maximum speed of 5mph, and are battery powered. There are a TON of rules, like no driving when elevated, don't elevate within a certain distance of another picker or person, don't drive straight at a person, honk at every intersection, and so on. 
    So pickers drive around the shelves with carts (both pictured below) that they fill up with orders that are filtered through the algorithms, and show up on each picker's scanner gun (also pictured). 

    Shelving units, pretty standard. 
     

    Carts that go on the back of the order pickers (also used by other machines, but we're only concerned really with the OP (order picker) here). The open side goes toward the OP machine, you can see the rectangular metal slots below the bed of the cart - that's where the machine's forks go. So, I technically drive a fork lift! There's a locking mechanism to keep the cart attched to the machine at all times. 

    These are the scanner guns that almost everyone uses, and they're basically little computers. You scan in your ID badge and you have certain process paths assigned, from what I understand. A basic process path would be something like picking orders that are in aisles 105-125. 

    So the picker fills up the cart and then drops it off at the packing lines. I haven't learned packing, and really don't have a desire to. They're called pack cells for a reason. Cells. 

    Ship Dock
    I love working here! One, there's no rate, two, you're walking around instead of standing on your little picker machine alone all day, and you can talk with people! (I'm an extrovert, "extrovert with introverted hobbies like reading and being alone', is what I say.) On the ship dock, we have about 20-some of the 18wheeler trailers, and we sort the boxes coming down the conveyor/chutes into the right trailers. 
    Here are pictures (again, from google) of similar conveyor setups. The packers push the boxes onto the automated belts, which then make their way to the shipping dock.
     
    This is one of the favorite jobs on the ship dock - it's called diverting. You're up on a catwalk with boxes being conveyed (is that the right verb?) past you. You're standing in front of 2-3 chutes that lead down straight into trailers. You have to look at the shipping labels as they go by you, and push the right boxes down the right slides. It's like a video game but in real life. Also, in diverting, you have to keep an eye on the conveyor line and when stuff gets stuck, unjam the line, which is always stressful. 

     
    Here's a diagram of what a conveyor going into a truck looks like.
     
    Loading trucks is probably the most physically demanding, especially when the boxes are coming down the chute faster than you can stack them safely, and sometimes you get boxes bigger than you, or carpets twice your height. But that's what friends are for. 
    Here's an example of a nicely stacked truck. 


    The boxes that don't go straight to trailers get palletized or sorted into carts, and shipped off in other trucks. I'm not sure entirely how that all works, what gets sent where, why, etc, but I think it would be cool to learn someday. I'm not good at building pallets, you have to have this certain spatial awareness and sense of how to balance things so it doesn't fall. I'm learning, but I'm always a bottleneck on the pallet building team, unfortunately. Here are examples of built and wrapped pallets. 
     





    So, that's the long and short of my job. I hope it was informative, and I'm totally open to questions - I'll answer what I can! 

     
  7. Aderia

    Put the 'Tin' in Tinsel!

    By Aderia,

    So I saw this post elsewhere on the internet about a dude who bought so-so paintings from thrift shops and added Star Wars elements to them. My best friend (who sent me this mug from previous blog entry) came to surprise me right before COVID hit, and we went thrift shopping, and I got a painting (pictured above, but without the star wars stuff). Said friend was an art major in college, and now I have an awesome star wars painting hanging up!! Definitely going to treasure it forever. I love that the droid is picking the flower
     

    Update on the Ko-Koro Express - gift went over well, my folks loved it, but the pup, Dakota (sometimes goes by Dog-kota) felt insecure. But fear not, he was promptly and repeatedly assured that he is still a good boy, just sometimes a noisy boy. 
  8. Aderia
    So this has been an ongoing side project for a friend at work, as aforementioned. It was pretty time consuming to transfer the information to blog format, so for those interested, I have a dropbox link to where I've uploaded lessons II through VI, for your convenience. Also I attached the combined PDF to the blog entry, but I'm not sure what that actually does? Hopefully, I'll be able to keep making these, as I've rather enjoyed it! 
     
    Overview of the lessons (again, I must reiterate the disclaimer that this is not by any means pedagogically sound, just meant to be informative and hopefully interesting)

    Lesson 1 - (also found here, previous blog entry) basic syllable structure, introduction to tonal system and what Pinyin is. Lays out different types of Chinese characters and how to begin making sense of them.
    Lesson 1.5 - Explanation of Radicals, collected from around the internet and various textbooks, and includes a list of the most common radicals and their forms as they show up in different characters. Can help one feel more comfortable looking at characters, hopefully being able to recognize different parts of otherwise unfamiliar symbols.
    Bonus: small section on Chinese words in Avatar: the Last Airbender, from off the top of my head. Favorite is the Dai Li agents, which I actually didn't realize was a play on words at first. 带dài means to wear, as in, an article of clothing, and 笠lì is one of those pointed bamboo hats. Alternatively, 代理dàilǐ means 'to act on behalf of, serve as agent or proxy'. 

    Lesson 2 - Goes over character stroke order basics (there is a proper stroke order, and while it's impossible to enforce one follow it, Chinese people will definitely judge you if you have bad stroke order XD source: was judged). Basic dialogue introduction and vocabulary to go with. Introductions, nationalities. Basic verb introduction and classifier introduction. Also introduction to numbers and saying when your birthday is, as numbers open up basically the entire calendar to you. This is the longest lesson. 

    Lesson 3 - prepositions, more basic dialogues (greetings) that would be useful for small talk, like "good morning", "How is work" , "I'm tired" etc. Simple question formation. 

    Lesson 4 - family words, and there are a TON, and not all covered in the lesson. Family based dialogues and sentences, like "this is my mom/dad, this is my younger/older brother/sister." Also some holiday vocabulary. 

    Lesson 5 - More verb stuff. There's a review of how verbs in English work, and a comparison to how they work in Chinese. Kind of a more detailed repeat of the verb section from Lesson 2. Also affirmation/negation basics. (because there's not really one way to say 'yes' or 'no', it depends on the verb used)
    Lesson 6 - a big list of the common verbs and question words, and example sentences and their translations to look over. The largest influx of new vocabulary is here, without huge explanations about that vocabulary (probably will expand on this in later lessons), but for the diligent, I hoped to provide some new words to pour over on their own initiative. 
     
    As a bonus here, this is the most complicated Chinese character - their version of 'antidisestablishmentarianism', so to speak - not used in everyday life and more of a fun language factoid than anything else. 
     (source: Helpful wikipedia) 
    This is biáng, and it's a type of noodle. 'biángbiáng' noodle, is what I'm pretty sure they're called. So you'd have to write this baby twice XD From various internet sources (also Chinese teacher blogs) , it's that broad flat type of noodle, and the character is an onomatopoeia for the sound made by stretching/smacking the noodles, but also a visual pun because it's so tangled. The simplified version of the character has 42 strokes, the traditional version has 58. I have no desire to learn how to write this character. But, if you want to learn it, the good news is that you'll master a good chunk of other characters that biáng contains while you're at it. 

     
    How To Impress Your Sister with Chinese Parts 1-6.pdf
  9. Aderia
    ...I know it's a bit early for holiday stuff (I promise, I'm not one of those people but then again, I'm not known for acute self-awareness, so I can't say for sure...), but I figured I'd get my gift buying done early (I wrapped this the day after Halloween), since I've been through one holiday rush at the Amazon warehouse, and don't want to contribute to a second 

    In addition to finding a little Matoro on Etsy for myself, I did some early holiday gift wrapping, but the fun way! I've seen some really cool disguised gifts on the internet in the past, and I finally decided to give it a shot. Nothing fancy, but I had a good time. 

    For those who want to guess what it really is: have at it!
        Hint 1: It was less $20 USD
        Hint 2: It's not a train. 

    For those who don't want to guess what it really is: 
     
  10. Aderia
    I absolutely love the rich history of the language and the culture, and it's personally significant as part of my heritage. It's not my first language, but it was my major in university. However, being out of school for almost 3 years now, I've been out of practice. There's no one in my area who speaks the language, sadly but understandably. So when a coworker recently asked me to help him learn a bit of Chinese because his older sister spent time working as a linguist out of Taiwan, I was pretty stoked. Here are some of the worksheets/lessons I whipped up for him, and I figured they'd be cool to share, in case any of you guys wanted an informal introduction to the language. 

        The worksheets were made in microsoft word and I did my best to informally cite the screenshots on the same page. I'll also try and explain in typing what I explained to my coworker during breaks during our 'lesson time', although some of the typed explanation may be redundant redundant to the worksheets. 
     
    Page 1, worksheet 1
    Characters:   你好
    Pinyin:            Nǐ hǎo!
    English:          Hello!
        Pinyin system was actually developed to raise literacy rates among the Chinese people, not for foreigners to learn Chinese easier, although it definitely helps with that. It uses the latin alphabet and tone marks to represent the pronunciation of their corresponding characters. 

        As you can probably tell, there's not a huge combination of syllables available with the above listed consonants and vowels (initials and finals). Even if you add in tonal variations, there's still a very limited number of syllable combinations available, which is why the richness of etymology is found in the characters themselves, not necessarily their phonological counterparts (the pronunciation). But more on that later. 
        Tones. Four tones in Mandarin, more in Cantonese, although people tell my different answers when I ask exactly how many are in Cantonese. But both (all) Chinese dialects use the same writing system of characters. (however, some places use traditional characters, and other places use simplified characters, but that's another topic). Tones were and still are one of the most challenging aspects of the Chinese language for me to really 'get'. It's not something a lot of native English speakers have a trained ear for, and, quite frankly, many don't see the importance of getting the tones right (myself included, on my grumpy days). Luckily, with the aforementioned low combination of syllables in the language, Chinese is a highly contextual language, and so the odds are, if you mess up your tones, people will have a general idea what you're talking about. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to speak correctly. 
        Example: A fellow Chinese major, a few years ahead of me, told us a story from his own time studying abroad in China. Their assignment for the weekend was to go do something, and tell the class about it the following Monday using new vocabulary or whatever. Pretty standard assignment. My classmate said, "I went to go see the pandas!" But he pronounced it wrong. 
        熊猫  xióngmāo， panda, literally the characters for 'bear' and 'cat'. 
        What he said was: 
       胸 毛 xiōng máo, which means 'chest hair'. 
       Consider yourselves tonally warned 
     
        Notes on the pronunciation of consonants, as not all of them are the same in English as they are in Mandarin/Chinese. (If I mention 'Chinese', I'm talking about Mandarin Chinese, and all characters are simplified, as opposed to traditional). 
        q - this is like a blend between 'ts' and 'ch'. 
        x- this consonant is pronounced almost like an 's', but your tongue is constricting the airflow against the back of your upper teeth, as opposed to that little ridge where the roof of your mouth and your upper teeth meet (called the alveolar ridge). Kind of like a snake hissing, but shorter and a bit more forceful. 
        r- the tip of the tongue is curled back and up toward the roof of the moth - more retroflexed - than an (American) English 'r'. If listeners and/or enunciators aren't careful, it can sound like 'l'. 
        c - the most common way I hear this sound explained to native English speakers.  Say the word "cats". Then say "-ats". Then just say "- - ts", and that's the sound. 

        For the vowels, also called finals, since they form the final part of a syllable, throw out English rules about combining vowel sounds. If you grew up with 'when two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking', that doesn't apply to Pinyin. Vowels are annoying in pretty much every language, as far as I know, so if you have more questions about them here, I'm not the person to ask XD 
     
     Page 2, worksheet 1
     
        我 - wǒ - this is the character for the first person singular. I, me, my, so on. A language professor from my semester abroad in Shanghai explained that the pronoun's roots mean essentially 'the part of we that is not king'. I'm not sure how figurative that is, but it really highlights the deep roots of collectivism in the culture. More literally, the character is comprised of two radicals (the components of a character that can be broken down, similar but not the same as how we have morphemes, small units of meaning in our language. example: cats is two morphemes. "cat", the feline, and "-s" suffix, the plural indicator). The radicals in 我 are 手 shǒu, which is a hand, and 戈 gē, which is dagger or axe or tool.  A hand holding a tool, or a laborer. And the emperor had his own formal pronoun that only he was allowed to use, back in the day, and he also doesn't have to work the fields or anything, so everyone else who did had to develop their own way to refer to themselves, as well. 

        Under the pictographs section, you can probably see the connections between the characters and their meanings, which is essentially the meaning of the term 'pictograph'. If you wanna see really cool stuff, you can look into the ancient oracle bone script. 

        Simple ideographs are fun and I also find them humorous. 
        凹 āo by itself means concave. 
        凸 tū by itself means convex. Isn't it great?? 
        Now, compound these simple ideographs and you get 凹凸 āotū, which means 'bumpy'.

        Chinese is full of these compounds, some pretty close to literal, like above, and some requiring a bit more abstraction. Probably more on those later. 
        Lastly, a note on the semantic-phonetic compounds. 
        Semantics, for those wondering, is kind of like the meaning(s) behind the words (semantics is the difference between your big sister and your large sister), and phonetics is the actual sounds made by the vocal tract. 
        So take a look at the characters listed under the semantic-phonetic section. 
        叫，吃，味，唱
        You see what they have in common? The radical they have in common? It's that little box on the left of each character, which is the 口 kǒu radical. If you remember from the pictograph section, 口 kǒu is 'mouth'. You can see the semantic meaning the 'mouth' radical adds to the words for 'to be named/called', 'to eat', 'to taste', and 'to sing'. 

       Anyways, that's it for part 1. I'll try and post/adapt more of these as I develop them and find the time! Also a disclaimer, the lessons don't really follow any pedagogy or methodology for developing Chinese fluency, but more like what I thought were relevant factoids and stuff I find fascinating at every level of learning the language that I think I can explain to a person who knows little or nothing about it without overwhelming them. 
     
  12. Aderia
    Not the bookends I was imagining originally, but I think I'll keep them!



    Conveniently works as banner for my library as well as blog decor! A low-expectations doodle that ended up pleasantly surprising me, but didn't merit a topic by a long shot, but still wanted to share, so here's the full version! 
  13. Aderia

    Puffpin!!

    By Aderia,

    Was getting paranoid about copyright for the little puffin I've been using as my profile picture, so I bought it on Etsy  Hahli approves. 

  14. Aderia

    A Halloween Pepper!

    By Aderia,

    Alternative blog post title: A Plantastic Day Part 2!

    My pepper plants' peppers finally ripened! So I didn't actually get pictures of them all because I gave two of them away to friends before they fruited (Midgy who ended up being pretty sizeable), and Shelly, who outgrew his pot-mates, and killed them (mwahaha). They grew up so fast   

     
    I was inspired by @Bambi's Halloween Pineapple. It's really great and I want plant-o-lanterns to be a thing so bad. 

     I now have a halloween pepper, originally intended to be a ^ _ ^ face, but obviously that didn't work. I fancy it to be more like a D: face, now. And yes, I did stick pins in his scalp after I scalped it off him to put the candle in, because it kept smothering the candle. I like to think it adds to the halloween aesthetic. 

  15. Aderia

    A Plantastic Day!

    By Aderia,

    Although I'm not really a gardener, I did save bell pepper seeds a few weeks ago, and they finally got big enough to move out of their original seedling containers, (their namesakes), and I repotted them today into a more permanent home.

    This is, Midgy. Midgy is small but he likes big pots and he cannot lie. If I wore it on my head, it would be like a sub-par umbrella. 


     
    Shelly was originally planted in an eggshell.
    Icy was originally planted in an old icing container.
    Max was originally planted in an empty Maxwell Coffee container.
    Cuppy is the one whose nametag you cannot see. And I don't think anyone would ever be able to guess what his original planter was. 

    I am very proud of their names. 


    I have a spider plant, a larger pepper plant that's about a foot high and just began flowering, and a succulent of some type, and a lot of cat grass because I wanted the neighborhood stray to like me (didn't work). I also have a Lucky Bamboo who I've had for almost 3 years now, named Fenton. 
  16. Aderia
    (Aurebesh, the alphabet used in the Star Wars universe, or at least one of them)

    After a few months of futile resistance and a 'Oh, I'll just go for the free trial' which was a blatant lie to myself, I did break down and get Disney+. It was mostly because I was peer pressured into wanting to see the Mandalorian. Then, you know how it goes, before I realize, I'd made my way through the Star Wars prequels, then all of The Clone Wars. Yes, I'm the Disney+ equivalent of all the people jumping on the Avatar: the Last Airbender bandwagon because it's finally on a streaming site. No regrets. Two great shows technically aimed at kids but that also make grown adults weep. Great watch, one of those that captivates your imagination indefinitely after you shut your laptop. Granted, the Star Wars universe is one of the more impressive fictional universes out there, so ease of imaginative immersion isn't a shocker. 
    Anyways, I ended up practicing Aurebesh toady during lecture (also started grad school a few weeks ago!! ...online learning is a whole 'nother blog post, I'll say that.) 
    I really like how angular the lettering is, which is like the opposite of the Matoran alphabet in the circles. A couple mechanics I added for expediting the writing process: combining characters for common letter pairs (-er, -ed, so far) that aren't already accounted for in the system (-ch-, -ng, -sh-, -th-); adding an underline to a letter that is doubled in English (letter --> leter). 

    I do intend to learn an actual shorthand system of writing someday, which would probably be more useful than fictional transliterations systems. But if I made choices based only on what's useful or not, I think I'd have a much more monochromatic life. (yes, in the grand scheme of things I know I have an average life, which is a privilege, but it's a beauty in the eye of the beholder thing, ya know?) 

    Here's a sample of the fruits of my labors. Since I'm not sure how many of you read Aurebesh, here's the only super-relevant part I feel should be transcribed is toward the end, the bit with the Matoran word - "The only other fandom I liked enough to learn the alphabet for is (obviously) Bionicle."   Also, May the Force Be With You, below. The rest is essentially what I said above, but in less words XD 

     
  17. Aderia
    That I have a Bionicle hobby isn't common knowledge in my social spheres, but I let slip to my old college roommate that it Bionicle was kind of one of those formative childhood things for me (mostly the books), and she thought it was great, and sent me this mug a few weeks ago! It was one of those things where I didn't want to mess it up by using it, so I kept pens in it just in case. Except that backfired one of the pens got a leak, which I thankfully was able to clean up. So, beverages from now on. All 6 Mata are there  I finally drank tea out of it today for the first time, which was an occasion worth sharing. 

  18. Aderia
    Last one!   Part of this story   A student's copy of a term syllabus for class at the Ga-Metru School of Arts and Society.    Nokama is one of those professors who doesn't understand that students have other classes to manage besides hers. But on the plus side, she's very faithful to her posted office hours.      COMM/SOC 0275: Communication and Conflict Nokama Ds.N Ga-Metru School of Philosophy and Society   TEXTS:   Ihu, K S. Essential Foundations of Metru Nui: Society and Culture. 4th ed., II, Scholars Nui Society .   Nokama, Ds N. Basics of Matoran Communication: A Comprehensive Text. 6th ed., vol. 2, Ga-Metru       Scholar's Conglomerate.   Taipu, A M. The Great City - Early Centuries. Vol. 2, Archivist Foundation.   COURSE PURPOSE, GOAS, AND OBJECTIVES:   From this course, students will gain the ability to observe, analyze, describe styles and variations of communication around them, and synthesize their findings into methodical, accurate, and academic language. Students will also develop conflict-resolution skills through studies in interpersonal communication, communication breakdown and decline, and study of peace and negotiation tactics. This course combines theory with practice, encouraging students to see hypothetical or concrete conflicts through to the end, and equips students to document and provide academic commentary on the entire process.   At the end of the term, students will understand the following principles of communication and conflict: Basic communication styles Common principles of conflict sources Elementary theory of Negotiation Conflict de-escalation Practical debate formation Compromise principles and documentation Conflict analysis and documentation   COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING:   Attendance & Participation (10%): While not meant to make or break the student’s grade, attendance and full participation, both in class and in assignments is essential for the course. The professor reserves the right to deduct 2% of the final course grade for each unexcused absence.   Case studies (20%): Three to four tablet length requirement, fine-tip chisel only. Students will submit six (6) write-ups in the conflict documentation format of their choice on case studies found in the corresponding section of the selected texts. Outside case studies, which can be found in both the Archives and the Knowledge Towers, are available through the inter-metru academic loan system, but must be pre-approved by the professor.   Written exams (45%): The term will have three (3) exams, with dates to be announced. Exams will be culminating, and include 1) multiple choice, 2) extended analogy 3) essay sections. Exam format is subject to change at the professor’s discretion, but she will notify the class no later than three class periods in advance.   Practical exams (45%): In the middle and at the end of the term, each student will attend an individual hypothetical conflict scenario provided in conjunction with the theater coalition of the Ga-Metru School of Arts and Society. Students must demonstrate understanding of negotiation and de-escalation principles during this time, and provide a complete write-up analysis of that scenario no later than one (1) week later.   Note: Extra credit is for underachievers, and will not be offered under any circumstance.   See posted course schedule, which is also subject to change, outside Nokama’s office located at 451 Wisdom Plaza, Suite #221.    Note from the Dean:  Due to troubling current events in the city, the administration urges professors to show leniency in their attendance policies, provided students can provide sufficient evidence legitimizing their absence. In the event conditions in the city escalate to the point where class must be cancelled, professors are not to penalize students or assign work outside of class, as that would put students in danger. In the unlikely event that conditions cause the schools to shut down, students will be able to re-enroll in any and all of their interrupted classes without charge, and without loss of credit.        image courtesy of BS01
     
       
  19. Aderia

    Small Currency Collection

    By Aderia,

    So, over the past few years (about 3?), I've had the privilege of being able to travel to a few different countries. Mostly for academics. I started collecting the different bills, because, as a United States resident with a mostly monochromatic currency scheme, the other colors and sizes of foreign currency is one of my favorite things ever. Also, sorry, the coins photographed really terribly, but I realized too late. 
    这是中国元。 我在大学的时候， 专业是中国文化， 所以我需要学习一个学期在中国。我三年以前是留学生在上海。
    Translation: This is Chinese currency. (if you didn't guess). When in college, I studied Chinese, and needed to study in China for a semester. Three years ago, I studied abroad in Shanghai. 



    The two small bills, which are the equivalent of a few Chinese cents, were pretty hard to come by, I think I only encountered two or three of each my entire semester there. 
     
     
     
    Entonces, tengo dinero Guatemalan tambien. (lo siento, mi español es muy muy poco, jaja). Viajé a Guatemala uno año pasada. Creo los dinero Guatemalan esta mucho bonitos. 
    Translation: I've also collected Guatemalan money. (sorry, my Spanish is abysmal). I traveled to Guatemala about a year ago, and I think their money is gorgeous. 



    A fun fact, the exchange rate for Chinese Yuan and Guatemalan Quetzales is almost the same. (or at least, it was when I was in each country, respectively). 
    While I don't think I can say I've been to Colombia, I do have Colombian bill (the little blue one beneath the Guatemalan coins). It was acquired during a layover in the Bogota airport. My personal requirement for being able to say I've been to a country is 1) leaving airport/customs/border crossing property and 2) buying something in the country in the native language. The Colombian bill was more of a gift, and was kept because it's really pretty and makes a good bookmark . 

    Now, what I really need are some widgets.  
  20. Aderia

    Dear Sanso

    By Aderia,

    Popular Le-Matoran advice columnist, Sanso, replies to a concerned citizen.     Dear Sanso       Dear Sanso,     Even though I’m an quick-running Ussal messenger with a High-Flyer level commute badge, I’ve heard whisper-talk that soon the Smelters will close all borders to their affiliated metrus, bar-none. What’s the point of having earned a High-Flyer badge if I can’t get into Ga-Metru to see the beautiful [name redacted] again? Any advice-help?     Sincerely,      Pining from the Ussal Pens       Dear Pining,     Never-worry. Even if the whisper-talk is true, it will be tough-hard for the firespitters to orchestrate a complete border-bar. With our sneak-smart control over the communication waves and transmissions of our entire city-home, they won’t be able to enforce a moratorium on transmetru travel. We have so many option-plans to mess them up - from imposing radio silence to sending fake message-casts. You and your golden Ga-Matoran have nothing to doubt-fear. And besides, even if something happens, what’s a little travel ban to a high-flyer like you? Be ever-daring!      Great Spirit’s Blessings!     Sanso    part of this epic Image courtesy of BS01
  21. Aderia
    A subjective glimpse into happenings in the Silent Metru as the Civil War escalates. (see more here) Image courtesy of BS01.                   Kopeke sighed and placed the stone tablet with young Ehrye’s untidy scrawl onto the ‘reject’ stack on his desk. The excitable Ko-Matoran wrote almost as well as a Le-Matoran airship assembly worker who worked too long with the lighter-than-air gas that filled zeppelin buoyancy chambers. But Mata Nui bless Ehrye’s persistent heart. This was the fifth article he’d submitted this month. Normally, Kopeke’s editors wouldn’t have passed on a submission this unprofessional and speculative on to his desk, but he suspected that they pitied poor Ehrye. Kopeke pushed aside worry that his editors were going soft on him, and began scanning the next tablet. Still Kopeke's mind was half-stuck on a semblance of a good point Ehrye had made. Perhaps he'd pass the submission on to the tabloids.           
  22. Aderia

    Ta-Matoran 'In Memoriam'

    By Aderia,

    In Remembrance - an Obituary by Aft    Great Furnace maintenance worker, Buon, was welcomed through the Gates of Artakha on the fourth of this month. If there was any Ta-Matoran who earned a rest in paradise, it was Buon.    He was known throughout the district for his unsinkable spirit and dependable work ethic. Many a Matoran, from any district, were privileged to call him a close friend and brother. Buon also was working on a degree from the Ga-Metru School of Synthetic Sciences, studying Protodermis Engineering and Processes in Protodermis Refinery.    Outside the classroom and workplace, Buon also boasted a large collection of model airships, some of his own design, which is a little-known fact about this late, beloved brother.    A shrine for Buon will be constructed in the Ta-Metru entryway to the Coliseum at the end of this week. Investigators hope to find more information regarding the mysterious and tragic circumstances surrounding Buon’s death available for friends and co-workers by that time. At this time, authorities assert that there is no reason to suspect Sculptor activity or agenda, and ask for self-restraint when speculating.    In these trying, uncertain times, Buon would have been the first to encourage his brothers and sisters to stand strong and stand together, looking to the Great Spirit for guidance. Let us remember him honorably.      part of this image courtesy of BS01
×
×
  • Create New...