bonesiii

kyuubi, not totally sure what you mean by "property" -- but to give an object a fill, right click on it, click "Format" (Usually "Format Autoshape"), and then under the tab "Colors and Lines", near the top under the word "Fill", click the drop-down menu with the word "Color:" to the left of it. You see colors there that can fill the object. Make sense? Note that this is with the version of Powerpoint on XP; it might be different on Vista (or a Mac version).

I understand that there can be a figure of speech, but when you look at those topics, you see almost every reply along the lines of "Who said everybody hated it? I like it, I haven't seen that" etc. Obviously the figure of speech isn't very effective. Also, you never can be sure they don't actually think it's most people; Hasty Generalization is a commonly listed fallacy because it is a common mistake, after all. I know at least several people elaborate enough to make it clear they actually think it's the majority (when it isn't). Which is a point I should have made in the blog entry, yes. I knew I was forgetting something. Lol, I'm definately considering it, just budget issues and all. I exaggerate plenty of times, but I'm also talking about when people actually are incorrectly thinking "most" (or even almost all) are disliking the set in question. I know it's been true at least a few times. When they are exaggerating, my advice is to say so somewhere so people know for sure what you meant, or just avoid the figure of speech as it really doesn't work on its own. Really, about the gray? I guess I'll need to check the pics again -- I was under the impression there was more silver and such in Lewa and gunmetal and white in Kopaka than orange in Pohatu... Or maybe you were including that in your statement... Hm..

Okay, I'm getting really sick of this. Almost every week, I can go into the Sets forum, and find a topic like "Why does everybody hate Tahu?" or a statement inside a topic along the lines of "We all know everybody hates the Piraka." Someone sees one post, maybe five, maybe even fifty posts, of complaints about that set, and then they commit the logical fallacy known as Hasty Generalization, assuming that "everybody" feels that way. And that's just the ones that actually post about it in Sets or elsewhere -- there's probably tons of other people who make this mistake without telling anyone so it can be corrected. Well, it's false. In almost every case, it's actually a popular, well-selling set that "everybody" supposedly "hates." BZPower is a big place, and usually actual polls here show the set in question to be popular. And BZP is a tiny minority of the fanbase itself anyways, that is often very, very different from the real majority. Regardless, there will always be some who dislike a set. It's wrong to lump everybody into a nonsensical, made-up-by-you group, just because you happened to meet the people who naturally dislike it. And another thing -- someone posting a complaint about a set doesn't necessarily mean they "hate" it. That's a very extreme word, and sometimes I'm sure it's accurate (though nobody should ever hate a toy; IMO that is simply immaturity). Disliking something is perfectly fine, because we all have our own preferences. That says more about each person's own tastes than about the LEGO set. To all those topics asking "Why do you dislike this set?" -- it's because that person's tastes make them prefer something different. Not that you can't ask what the details of that are, but that's the general answer and the most important to understand. In reality, nothing pleases everybody, or vice versa. Nothing. Except maybe breathing. But that's not a LEGO set. So stop pretending otherwise. Mkay? Thanks. ------------------------- In other news, I own Pohatu. And he roxorz. I would prefer more orange, but that might just be me, and the heavy use of stone-gray definately makes a lot of sense. Really, orange is more like his secondary color, at least in terms of percentage. The Kakama is awesome, and BTW, for everybody complaining that it looks too much like the Vahi -- actually, since the Visor is easily removable, I thought it was cool that you could take that away and pretend it was a coolified Vahi. And then I finally got something from 2007 now that I have some actual cash -- Gadunka. And to everybody who asks "Why does everyone hate Gadunka?" -- This guy is thrilled with him. Most innovative titan body design, coolest head design, the color scheme works perfectly when you see him in person, the head is awesome, really no complaints other than the instructions tell you to leave some construction pins extending in ugly ways, easily fixed by moving them slightly so they line up to look like screws or nails in a biomech. being. Oh, and to those complaining about the tongue, it's definately meant to be a tongue, because it has its own joint so it can be raised and lowered like one. So that's why it's red, lol. 3-way forked tongue = cool.

The winners of the Pet Peeve Contest have been chosen, and the award images are drawn! Pet Peeve Contest Winners Congrats to the winners, and enjoy!

All winners are chosen and over half the creatures are drawn. And Vamprah and Antroz are drawn too, just not put into avs/etc. With any luck, I'll have the peeve winners ready for Christmas Day.

Yeah, it's more of a mix between a Kanohi and an owl. :-P But bugs come in dark colors.

It is very cool. You've gotten quite good at this.

I felt like doing this as a warmup for making the Pet Peeve Contest winning creatures -- I'm coolifying the Makuta Phantoka for avs, banners, and wallpaper in Powerpoint. I started with Chirox because he's my fave. Here's the Artwork topic. I'm planning on doing the rest of the Makuta Phantoka and also the Shadow Matoran, if possible.

That is always the reaction with truly great sets.

No more confusing than an iron grey and yellow Toa being Hewkii, or a four-legged, spiky, bat-winged set being a Matoran, the Rahaga formerly having been Toa, or the tubes on the Toa Mahri being gills instead of the diving equipment one would expect them to be... If you want to break from tradition, or the expected, you have to confuse some people. Of course, said confusion could be made less if color schemes more Avo-Matoran-like were used... Anyway, again, there's nothing canonically wrong with any of these, it's just so much potential unused. I would be curious to see people's initial reactions thereto.[/color] You got me curious too; wanna make a poll? And I don't at all buy the logic that varying color schemes in one element would be anywhere near as confusing as changing the "blue Matoran = female, others = male" rule, because varying color schemes in one element has also been established since 2001. There's no fundamental change there by making Pohatu orange or the Av-Matoran a little different too. And the male/female thing would be more confusing to anybody, regardless of age, because with that there's always the "pronoun question". When you, for example, are visiting somebody's house and they have a pet you don't know, you often have to ask the gender. With Matoran it would be the same way. As it is, the problem doesn't exist. Things like the Shadow Matoran being Matoran or the Rahaga being former Toa are more story geek facts than basics. The old "Oh, the blue guy is a she?" thing is a lot more basic. Heh, exactly. And Roodaka is visually obviously female -- with Matoran there is nothing else. It would be purely a storyline factoid only. Kids would call her "him" even more than they already do with blue sets. Now, I'm not saying it would necessarily mean "Don't ever do it", but to say that it wouldn't confuse people more than other things is, I think, incorrect. So that is a reason to at least be cautious with the idea. I think you're forgetting that most in the target audience don't know all the little obscure factoids us story geeks know. The color coding gender thing is a basic and clear system that's been in place from the beginning. Why throw a wrench in that system? Apples and oranges, IMO. Lightning is a totally different element, and also one we have yet to see in set form. Av-Matoran aren't naturally these colors anyways, it is just being done so as not to completely risk the tradition. Don't forget that that is already a level of confusion that will probably be out there -- "What? These guys aren't really stone, ice, air, etc.?!" Hopefully the idea that they're light-Matoran will make that less confusing, because light has to do with colors as kids do know. To add a second level of confusion at the same time? Yes, but since that hasn't been done... Let's not forget that the whole Av-have-both-genders thing is a nod towards us older fans in the first place. Be careful not to treat that nod as something to be ungrateful for and overly demanding of. This is something I think is better left to fanfics -- to make up your own male and female Av-Matoran with whichever colors you feel like. I don't think that's the issue we've been debating, though, whether it's "original". Originality can, after all, only go so far. Keeping Kanohi around is "unoriginal," and keeping Toa around is "unoriginal." There's plenty of us who wouldn't mind these going bye-bye at all to be replaced by something new. But they're kept because the sense is that they help hold Bionicle together and keep a consistent framework behind it. There was a market driving force behind Hewkii's color change. The change you're suggesting lacks that driving force. The only motivation would be to please older fans and "not bother much" the target audience. Big difference there. In essence, LEGO had little choice with the yellow/orange move. Yeah, but everybody including little kids that I've heard have always reacted "Cool!" to the Rahaga having been Toa. They like funny little mutants. Changing color/gender isn't that kinda thing. Gender at that age seems a lot different from how it seems to us old fogies. Maybe I'm losing track here, but wasn't the next thing on your list the Mahri tubes? How are those "entirely different"? Both are underwater breathing apparatus. The only reason we in real life don't have a machine that does the same is that we just plain aren't advanced enough yet (at least for it to be affordable). To us, tubes mean air tubes to a tank. But the Bionicle world isn't limited in that way. I fail to see how gills are that much different from air tubes. Especially in biomechanical beings... That's still a "Ooh, cool!" thing. And how else could it work, really? If they were air tanks getting air would have to become a major part of the storyline for the Toa too, but it was already being done with the Matoran. Methinks it would get a little old. Gills are more economical. Besides, that's a very obscure factoid. I know what you're trying to say, but none of this changes the fact that the gender change you're suggesting would be a much more radical, fundamental change with much less reason to do it coming from the target audience. Why? Mutants are nothing new to Bionicle, as you stated with the Rahaga. Sorry, but this is still a non-sequitar argument. That conclusion doesn't follow at all from the things you're pointing out. Remember it's not whether they "can deal" with it, but whether it's worth doing it compared to how much it will confuse them. After all you said, these facts still remain: 1) No evidence the target audience wants that change. 2) Gender is very different from whatever other story whatevers you think up. 3) All fundamental 2001 "rules" have remained consistent, including varying colors in one element, "blue" being female, and the six standard elements "appearing" each year (in this case, appearing only literally speaking; not actually being fire, etc.). Your suggestion would change one of those rules as far as the marketing "appearance" is concerned. 4) The Av = both genders thing is a treat already given to us older fans. Why demand "more more more"? To be super clear, I would also love what you're suggesting. Anyone who's follow my fanfics knows I completely abolished the gender rule within them (though I have a fundamental story reason for it, too, that is still a mystery to readers). However, having done so, I've actually realized that things are waaaaay more confusing that way, and almost wished at times I hadn't done it. For example, in my RPG, there's quite simply no way to tell the gender of a lot of the extras, unless it happens to be mentioned in passing. I always have to adjust the storyline to be sure to use the word "she" for every Ta-female and "he" for every Ga-male. In official storyline, I really do think it's best to stick with the blue=female rule. BTW, though, if it's worth anything, remember there was some blue in MNOG Le-Matoran, and in Ko-Matoran. And Takua, obviously. So some exceptions already have existed (but in each case, it was only a secondary color). Perhaps a compromise along those lines would have been okay. Do you have quotes to confirm this, or is this simply your personal theory? I don't think you can just brush aside all those reasons when in fact, if they were called "On-Matoran", it would have the mentioned problems. You don't think LEGO thought of that? LEGO changed tons of things in terms of how they were using the Maori language -- question is, even if that's true, why did LEGO choose not to change that part? That doesn't come close to ruling out what we've been bringing up. Yet again, even if that's true, it's an argument against your suggestion, because Maori is something LEGO is now trying to actively avoid. Why frightening? Especially to speakers of English, which already has a wide range of styles? (Though not really of sounds, compared to things like German.) I think you're making the mistake of "grounding" your sense of Bionicle linguistics in Maori, when in fact it is now grounded in English, and also for good reasons; most fans speak English.

Just make different letters different colors. Typing in the color RGB code manually. Tabs. And messing up on basic javascript stuff. Just upgraded to IE7, grudgingly, as nothing else was working to fix 6. I still hate the tabs, but at least they can be turned off.... As long as I don't have to get Vista, I'm good... I hate that even more. I just hope this "virus" or w/e won't mess more things up, 'cuz not even Norton is finding the problem so might just be IE6 went nuts cuz it got old or whonot.

Today the Bones Blog brings you a quick blogging tip; some simple code to put near the top of your blog sidebars that can help you "hook" readers better. Why Should I Care? Well, if you don't have a blog, you might not, but if you're a blogger on BZP, you definately should care. Every blog should have tracking options in a sidebar content block. If I've just entered a blog I've never read before, and I like it, I should be able to click a button that lets me keep track of the blog in the future. Having your blog tracked is a big goal for bloggers. If a reader just reads your blog once, and even comments, that is no guarantee they are following your blog regularly. But a reader who has tracked your blog is probably going to keep coming back, keep reading, keep commenting. When I find a good blog that doesn't have any tracking option easily available, it annoys me and makes me less likely to want to come back. I'd have to go through extra steps to track it, and I'm a busy guy. I don't always have time for extra steps. So here's some simple code for bloggers to use or modify as needed, that lets you provide this service to your readers. There IS a standard content block you can use that has these options, but this code lets you put it in a more convenient place. Fave/Bookmark =/= Track NOTE: "Tracking" a blog is not the same as "Bookmarking"/"Favoriting". Fave -- Called "Bookmark" in the standard block. This is the best way; it pins your blog at the top of the blog list as viewed by the reader that faved you. It's also done by clicking the little heart symbol next to a blog's name in the Community Blog List. Make this easily visble; it's the biggy. (I'm calling it "Fave" to distinguish between browser bookmarking, which this is not.) Track -- This lets the reader get email updates when you post a new entry. It doesn't pin the blog. There's also RSS (Really Simple Syndication) which I still don't fully understand. But it's probably wise to include it for those who do know how it works (I challenge the notion that it's somehow "really simple" lol). Know The Code This code includes the "Archive" link too, which displays a list of links to all your blog entries for the reader. [url="http://www.bzpower.com/forum/index.php?automodule=blog&req=addfavblog&blogid=#___"][b]Fave This Blog[/b][/url] | [url="http://www.bzpower.com/forum/index.php?automodule=blog&blogid=___&req=dotrackblog"]Track[/url] | [url="http://www.bzpower.com/forum/index.php?automodule=blog&blogid=___&req=syndicate"]RSS[/url] | [url="http://www.bzpower.com/forum/index.php?automodule=blog&blogid=___&req=showarchive"]Archive[/url] IMPORTANT: Replace the "___" with the ID number of your blog. Example: Fave This Blog | Track | RSS | Archive If you want, you could make them image buttons too instead of text links. I'm not gonna for the Bones Blog cuz I have plenty of pics already. In Other News: I am done with college! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! We got a new cat, since a family we know can't have him anymore, named Buddy. He's still adjusting, and our other cat, Hunter (female, despite the name), hisses at him most times when she sees him, unfortunately. But he's the sweetest cat ever, so no problem with him. Dog Ezni has mostly been okay with the cat; she's already been tamed by Queen Hunter, heh. Virus or something, not sure if related to the issues BZP apparently had, is messing up IE for me almost totally. Only Google and a handful of other sites load. Thankfully the download site for Firefox worked and I'm running that temporarily and trying to get the problem fixed. Shouldn't interfere with my online time as long as Firefox works. Please note: I hate Firefox anyways. First on my to-do list is to get to the suggestions/errors posted for the BRC. Second is to choose winners for the Peeve Contest and get drawing them. I'll probably alternate between this and #1 over the next week. Third is the physics official topic. No, I haven't forgotten, Adventurer. In reference news: the newbie RKs are settling in with some assignments, and we have plans for a couple more reference topics for the Bionicle Reference Center. Blog news: I removed some cluttery sidebars, might remove some more, not sure, and I'd like to draw your collective attention to the new and improved "Skeletal Industries Teleportal", the second content block, which lists the most important entries.

They're not either/or. I'm not passing judgement on them one way or another in such simple terms. As I said, they can help Bionicle, and even if the opinion is 'wrong', they are learning opportunities. And it sorta depends on who you ask; a lot of people can't stand them at all, but those who enjoy debating don't mind them As I recall, I posted in that particular topic agreeing with the complaint. It would, but it would be too much work to keep it updated. Edit.

Well, don't forget that the original Kakama resembled the Vahi already. As far as the visor goes, it's pretty clearly part of the Kanohi, conceptually, is it not? Sure, it might be made with two pieces, but it's no different than the Kaukau's visor as far as whether it's part of the mask or not. That visor could easily have been done with two pieces too. Just as a Toa Metru leg is still just as much a leg as a Toa Mata leg is even though the Mata one is one piece and the Metru is more than one. What is part of a "Kanohi mask" is the concept of it, not the technicalities like whether it is all one piece or not. I thought you meant that I was somehow misrepresenting what you had said. Am I correct to interpret this as saying, no, you simply were talking about the point I was making? If so, then isn't it obvious that a counter-argument will be in some ways reverse to an argument lol? But anyways, I think there's been plenty said on that already. Hopefully we can at least agree that the Kakama Newva is similar to the Vahi, but has differences also, if we can't agree on whether that's too much/not enough, etc, along these lines: Similarities: Lower-half is only opaque part. Orange. Similar in shape to Kakama Mata. Differences: Different details of design of lower half. Visor upper half. Whole mask closer to Kakama than Vahi. To me those don't really seem debatable, although whether it's too much is still debatable. And the way I'm looking at it, the third similarity argues against it being "too similar" to the Vahi, BTW. Since it is supposed to be a Kakama. Can we agree on those things? What did you think of my orange opaque frame suggestion for around the visor?

Love or hate it, complaining is an important aspect of Bionicle discussion. It's always possible that real problems could exist, and constructive criticism might bring it to LEGO's attention and help Bionicle's health. The Bionicle fanbase has a unique relationship with the franchise it follows because the LEGO company is very interested in fan input and correcting such errors. In the past we have helped with such things as clone sets thanks to this. As such, the ability to complain is a privelege to be protected and even celebrated. Of course, many complaints aren't realistic, informed, constructive, etc. or are , however the replies in many are sources of great insight into how Bionicle works, why choices have been made, and of course, into why the suggestions might not work. In addition, they are great opportunities to hone debating skills and can be for some (like me) quite enjoyable as long as they remain respectful and hopefully friendly. Therefore, the Bones Blog is now hosting a list of BZPower complaint topics. Please help by posting URLs of more! 2006: Gear Functions Disappearing Violence Policy What The...? I Don't Get It -- Matoran story roles, good always winning, etc If You Could Rename... -- Kongu's sense of humor, personality 2007: The Downfall of Bionicle -- gears, knockoff masks, etc LEGO, What Are You Doing? -- biomechanical set design, snap-together builds, etc Eye Colors Bring Back the Gears, Masks that [Fall Off] Too Much Articulation? A New Color Scheme -- black sets selling poorly, new color suggestions 2008: No New Creative Lego Designs? -- Canister set torso similarities between teams "If I Were A Set Designer" -- Newva body design, collectibles, and more. Back in the Olden Days -- 2001 Nostalgia Time To Vent -- Mechnical functions, collectibles, proportion, complexity, and more Why Fans Like the Mata Nui Saga This was previously a sidebar, but I've decided it would work better as a blog entry.

Too small. Those sets look decent but I can't tell cuz pic too small! GR!

Blog Question: Sidebar Content Block length. What do you guys think? Is it best if I cut out a lot of that content so that there are barely any sidebars at all and it's kept really short? Or do you guys like having lotsa stuff on the sidebars to read? I'm torn between cutting out all the quotes and the complaint topic archive, putting them in blog entries and keeping the images only except for the lists of award winners stuff -- or between cutting out just a few things to tidy up. Dreaded Real Life: One class down, two to go! I had to pull my first ever true all-nighter to finish that History Methods essay Sunday night. Wasn't as great of quality as I used to be able to produce sans a job, and I'm basically resigned to the fact that I'll only barely pass that class and my GPA will go down to a 3.6 something as opposed to the current 3.7. But whatever. I don't care anymore. I just want college to be over. Note: I did that totally without any performance enhancing drugs. That is, coffee. Once one of you suggested drinking coffee. I never got around to posting my rant. Coffee is a performance-enhancing drug and should be illegal. In sports, everybody whines when someone takes steriods to get an edge over the competition. Yet in our workplaces, we allow the equivalent to run rampant. This is wrong. Coffee is a drug that manipulates your body and can cause addiction. I say no. I refuse to use any drugs to "get an edge." Other than cheese. But it's not really a drug. And it doesn't count as an addiction because, ya know, it's cheese. Anyways, I refuse to accept the premise that if I cannot stay awake to complete an overloaded to-do-list, I should use drugs to overcome my exhaustion. NO! Guess what would happen if everybody drank coffee? Professors would assign ridiculously more amounts of homework because "you can handle it now." EVIL! It's already happening, and you know it's been happening for years in the workplace. Imagine if all coffee suddenly was recalled for e-coli or whatever. Our economy would come to a crashing halt. You know it. Break free! JUST. SAY. NO. Wean yourself from the addiction! Seek help! Be free to be you, not a Coffeeholic! *ahem* As I was saying. Two more days, and then the entire planet is going to hear echoes from my shout of joy. I am going to be free of the shackles of evil homework FOREVER! MUAHAHAHAHA!

Good, I think I can agree with that. Couple nitpicks -- "sound" isn't quite the right term for things like the Japanese r and l, though I know what you mean. Can't remember if the fancy schmancy term is "phone" or "phoneme", but perhaps "phonetic element" would be a fair approximate. And I personally don't have the slightest trouble combining v and m, but I'll assume I'm a very rare exception given that I invent alien language (basics) all the time and I usually don't have trouble with new sounds where others do. (For example, I mastered the German ch and r right away while my brother still can't do the r even though I've explained over and over how it's done.) No, I can't think of any vm words in English either. Also, as said before, Onu really isn't relevant to this, since as mentioned before there were other bigger reasons not to call them "On-Koronan". On, and Encore, being the reasons... And my guess is the reason you haven't seen anyone else objecting to the combination "Av-Matoran" on the grounds you brought up is that most of us have grown familiar with the sound "Av" for whatever reason as working as an elemental prefix already. Because we can't ignore that this term has been around for a long time, and pretty much everyone has been using without any stated qualms. Well, yes and no. Yes, I know what you mean by that, but when you say "English" doesn't have rules like that, I'm not sure what you mean by rules. One of the things linguists study is the subconscious "rules" that do govern a particular dialect's pronunciations, and those do exist as "rules". It simply usually takes a linguist to figure out what they are, as most people don't consciously realize why it happens. In the African American dialect, there actually is a rule that is causing that phenomenon. But it's not the kind of rule you can look up in a grammar handbook. Yep. That one actually gives me trouble too. Not that it looks unusual though. I want Bionicle words to look unusual. I think someone raised a reason not -- so as not to confuse people.

So is this one of those moments? Cuz yeah. It's been "emoticon" forever man.