Avohkah Tamer

Not bad, not bad at all.

GASP

This past year has had its ups and downs, good times and bad, as any year would; but overall, it's been one of my most awesome, memorable, and accomplished years of my life. Not only because of things that happened and cool events I attended, but especially in personal growth. I'm going to admit, I've always been a lurker online. That is to say, I've been content to join forums and websites, browse them almost daily, but rarely (if ever) actually post or contribute anything. I'm especially guilty of this on BZP, but also countless other websites and communities I've been a part of. I've always been too nervous and worried I wouldn't fit in, even on a website dedicated to a common interest (such as BZP). Really, it's a miracle I managed to get such an awesome close circle of BZP best friends, considering my infrequent (read: virtually nonexistent) activity here. This year, I actually started working to change that. You may not have noticed, but this blog has had more entries this year alone than from all entries in 2008-2011 combined. Why the sudden change? Well, as ridiculous as it sounds, I owe it to the brony community. Although I was initially a lurker there too, the supportive atmosphere slowly convinced me to get more involved this year; to participate in discussions, and eventually even a few collaborative projects. I gained friendships, experience, and most importantly, confidence in my ability to contribute my humor, insight, and skills in any online community (not just among my closest friends). In 2012, I went from almost no online activity to the point where I'm confident enough to record songs and even voice act for collaborative projects (more on that when it's completed). Prior to this year, my actual social life also suffered. I had next to no real-life friends, and I was too introverted and shy to attempt to meet people. Thanks to a good friend convincing me, I got over that and started attending my local brony meetups (which are not as much about pony as they are about hanging out, playing video games, doing general fun stuff together) and got to meet people my age, with similar interests to my own. I'm still far from being a socialite, and I still get pretty nervous and uncomfortable in social situations, but I now have real-life friends who like me for who I am, and I'm not quite so terrified of meeting new people anymore. It sounds sort of pathetic, but I feel it's a huge step forward for me and I couldn't be happier. In 2012, I went from almost no real-life friends, to about two dozen friends I hang out with on a fairly regular basis. How does BZP tie into all this? Well, if it weren't for my newfound confidence in myself both online and in real life, I probably would never have attended BrickFair VA and finally met some of my longtime best friends (and all you other awesome bros). Seriously, if Brickfair took place just six months earlier, I probably wouldn't have had the guts to go at all. Also, it would have been February and cold and miserable, so there's that too. All in all, 2012 was a great year of growth, self-improvement, and friendships. I hope 2013 is even better! Here's a recap of some cool 2012 things! POBZPC at last! My one-year brony anniversary My first brony meetup Brickworld BrickFair (Yeah I'm going next year) Meeting John De Lancie Midwestria (Followup) I VOTED

Perhaps it's possible if you properly utilized SCIENCE.

I'm calling shenanigans on that. It's improbable you have enough ceiling space for a 527.5 gigapixel screen with an 11:3024675245 aspect ratio.

But is it dual-monitor? :]

2x 1920x1080 @ 60Hz ~ (A VTOAHMKEARH)

True, but you didn't write him a song or give him pony, you slacker. ~ (A VTOAHMKEARH)

When you should be wishing the Evil Blog Master a happy birthday over in GD instead? GET TO IT ~ (A VTOAHMKEARH)

Today marks the day that our own Evil Blog Master, podcast frequenter, BZPowerCraft server operator, and all-around awesome guy Takuma Nuva turns 23! Even though I'm posting this a little late in the day, let's all wish him a happy birthday before the day's over! Bonus points if your post contains pony, and bonus bonus points if you can help write birthday lyrics for a new Evil Blog Master song. I'll even sing it! ~ (A VTOAHMKEARH)

As you wish.

PHOTOS SENT Well, when this instant messenger file transfer finishes, anyways. Also, my pics aren't that great, so anyone reading this DON'T REFRAIN FROM SENDING HIM YOUR PICTURES ALSO.

OH UM LET ME SEE HERE... IS IT BIGGER THAN A BREADBOX

As much as I miss the old cartoon voices, they would sound downright awful coming from those live actors. Just imagine Jeremy sounding like that. ~ (A VTOAHMKEARH)

Ergh, I hope the full dub of the show won't seem as stilted as that trailer did. I'll give the English dub a try, but I'll stick with the subbed version unless it's difficult to find or the translation group isn't as fast as the dub release. I don't mind the French voices at all. ~ (A VTOAHMKEARH)

BRICKWORLD, COME TO BRICKWORLD BECAUSE I'LL BE THERE Anyways, yeah. I'll be attending Brickworld Chicago as always (due to how close it is); and after the epic shenanigans of this past summer, there's no chance in Karzahni I'll pass up on Brickfair VA 2013. If you end up attending Brickworld, will you just be a regular attendee, or do you plan on getting a table for BZP MOCs?

After giving it some thought, I voted for a "Like" system with visible names, but only if members' total Likes count is not visible.Initially I would have voted for none of the above, for the same concerns everyone expressed. However, while a Like system has the potential to reduce the overall number of posts made on the forum, I don't believe it would necessarily discourage quality discussion. As Lyichir and others put it, a Like button wouldn't actually prevent someone from contributing to the discussion if they have something to add.As for the "popularity contest" concern; if it's possible to implement a Like system without any sort of visible total "Like" count on members' profiles, that would essentially eliminate that possibility. There really shouldn't be any way to clearly tell which members receive the most Likes.(On a side note, that's also why the Reputation system would be a bad idea for BZP. +Rep count is good for larger forums that need to know which members are trustworthy, but that wouldn't serve any purpose here other than member popularity.)With visible names on Liked posts, it also adds an accountability aspect. By visibly Liking a post, you're making a statement that you personally agree with/approve of the post. It would help to discourage members from using Likes frivolously or on rule-breaking content. While anonymity is a good thing on much of the internet, it would probably only be detrimental here on BZP.All of that said, adding a system like this would only be a minor benefit, and I wouldn't be heartbroken if it's not implemented. As Black Six said, what we really need more is a suggestion for a system or incentive to help increase forum activity and quality discussion.~ (A VTOAHMKEARH)

<obligatory joke about 20% cooler in ten seconds flat>

I really like the idea of this bugtracker and I hope it sees a lot of use by both members and staff!Aside from the bugs that will (hopefully) be fixed as a result of this, this system has a couple nice side effects.BZP members can now get a little peek behind the scenes to see what's being worked on, and see that the staff aren't lazy bums after all!Likewise, it also gives staff a "to-do" checklist hub of unresolved issues that need to be looked into, so that issues can't be inadvertently forgotten about in a PM box or email.~ (A VTOAHMKEARH)

I somehow just noticed that my name has a typo on here. Mind fixing it? Avokah -> Avohkah (Both BZP and Minecraft name) It's a pretty common typo, so I don't blame ya.

I don't think I've ever been on your Minecraft server before.

I remember that. That was amazing.

Oh, the episode itself was superultraextremeawesomazing. During the live airing, there were a lot of ads for this slime toy by Nickelodeon called Gak. As in, 3-4 Gak ads in a row in a single commercial break. It's become a bit of a meme.

CHOLS IT WILL BE AT 10AM YOUR TIME WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING IN BED AT 10AM