Goodbye, 2005

Ah, what a year. It's been a busy one for NationStates Mods, that's for sure. We've shifted through about ten and a half thousand tasks, received three new mods (Tsar, Fris, and Euro), lost three mods (Ineptia, Myrth, and Unfree People), and acquired a whole new administrator (Pythagosaurus) and a smattering of promotions here and there. It would take an ice age to relate all the hundreds of thousands of stories and things that have happened, but you've got this blog to look through all the way back to April should the fancy take you so we'll leave it at that.

Christmas is over. I got heartily sick on chocolates, brussel sprouts (for which I admit having an inordinate fondness), christmas pudding (just LOOKING at it made me feel ill. My sweet tooth is rather deformed - I can't stand most sweet things.), roast potatoes, odd little quiche-like things, and, of course, walnuts (which I also enjoy a lot). I received many CDs, books, chocolates, much sheet music, a portable CD player, and, for some reason, a '3D Doodle Kit' which simply consisted of two pencils, red and blue, and a pair of 3D glasses. Weird.

Hogmanay's coming up, a time that we Scots traditionally enjoy a lot. Great fun, first footing and all that. Lots of shortbread. Lots of dancing. Lots of alcohol. Lots of Robbie Burns. Lots of Auld Lang Syne. Who'd want to miss it, eh?

Then, just four short days afterwards, it'll be my birthday. It's a shame really. I've got Christmas, Hogmanay, and my birthday all within the space of ten days and then suddenly it's the long, long barren valley of other people's birthdays to traverse before anyone spends anything on me again. I wouldn't mind so much if people didn't keep giving me their gift and saying 'now this is for your Christmas and your birthday'. I appreciate the present, I really do, but you wouldn't have said that to someone who'd been born in June would you? You can't say anything of course. Just grin, smile, and nod. Ach, well, it's not important, I'm feeling in a good mood.

I'll maybe even say how old I am when the 4th of January comes 'round!

See you all next year! Happy Hogmanay!

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas everyone! Or happy holidays! Whatever you prefer, I don't mind! I hope you all enjoy yourselves.

Lancre Cup XIII: The Final

Well, I wasn't in this one (in fact I got thrashed in the first round. Ah well.), but it was a smasher all the same. Dregruk vs Tonca, both very active and upstanding members of Lancre. I must add that Yesnono who has been busy organising and working out the worrying calculations required to make the system a just and fair one and has done a great job. No, a fantastic job is the best way to put it I think. The whole ideology of the Lancre Cup is that it's all about letting your hair down and having a really good time. There's no skill needed so who gives a toss about rules? Some of the games had three teams playing each other on the same pitch which I thought was brilliant. Yesnono embraced the humour of the whole enterprise with great enthusiasm and has given it a zest I found difficult to dispense constantly. So cheers, Yesnono! Yeh've been great!

Anyone wanting to read the progress of the Lancre Cup may do so here.

Lancre Cup XIV should begin some time in January next year. If you want to participate you're going to have to join Lancre!

The Mod That DEATed Christmas

Modshort #6!

'Tis the season to be jolly, so just for the hell of it I've given the Modshort a festive theme.

Enjoy!

Prehistoric Mathematics

We have chosen our new admin, as some people will already know (we haven't gone out of our way to keep it secret). For those who don't, he is... drum roll please...

Pythagosaurus

Yes, I know almost none of you will have heard of this guy, and yes, his name is really awkward for choosing a nickname. We'll just have to stagger onwards anyway. Even if 'Pyth' is just stupid and 'Pythag' just sounds wrong. But that's not important. What is important is that he's sacrificing a lot of his spare time to help out the game, and I'm very appreciative of that. He'll be a valuable part of the team. Unless we decide not to have him. Which could happen. You never know.

Anyway, Pythagosaurus will be working on the game, adding new features wherever appropriate, taking some of the load off [violet] and Sal's perspiring shoulders, and being subservient to my every demand should I ever wish there to be changes to issues, mwahahaha. Indeed, he's started on something already, and this is exclusive knowledge, so pay attention: he's updating the nation-search system to make it easier for people trying to find a nation that they can't quite remember the name of. Fascinatin' stuff.

One of the gameplay ideas that sprung from our sessions caught on and it might just be put into the game. I can't tell you what it is, but I can say that it involves regional politics in a fairly major way.

Congratulations, Pythagosaurus (Pythy?), I hope you have as great a time as we mods do (ironic grins all round) making NationStates a better game for all the users. Stick at it and keep up the good work!

In other news, I'm not going to do any issue editing until I've finished my Christmas shopping. Distraction is the enemy here, and there's not that much time left... I can almost hear Santa's sleigh bells ringing now...

Holidays, Holidays

Regular readers (I must trust in my heart that you exist) may be wondering where I've been these last few days. The answer is, of course, that I have been Christmas shopping. I am NOT going to be caught out this year! I've nearly got all the pressies I need, and I do pride myself on always getting the perfect present for the perfect occasion, and I shall share with you some of the do's and don'ts of Christmas gifts.

DO:

• Give gifts that you made yourself. A sure hit. Why not write your intended recipient a song? A poem? Something to show you truly care.
• Give them a really good book.
• Give them a really good film. Nothing deep and philosophical. Just something you can relax, watch and enjoy without having to think too hard. Like Jurassic Park. If you want to sympathise with the plight of modern scientific ethics then read the book. If you want to see dinosaurs eating people then Spielberg's your man.
• Give them chocolate oranges. 'Nuff said.
  
• Give her necklaces, bracelets, earrings, whatever. As long as it glitters, she'll love it.
• Give him plain black T-shirts. It's bliss to have a few of those in supply.
• Give the parents scarves. Parents LOVE scarves. I don't know why.
  
• Show that you truly care. Awwwwwww...

DON'T:

• Give them fruit of any kind. I know how it sounds, but believe me: the stomach will automatically rebel at the sight of those squashy satsumas and waxy Macintosh apples. With the prospect of chocolates, brussel sprouts, and all those other delights your taste for fruit will be incredibly diminished. It's just not worth the effort.
• Give them 'joke' presents.
• Give them scented candles, incense, or any other olfactory-orientated device. Why? Because EVERYONE DOES IT. By the end of June their house will smell like an exploded shampoo factory and they won't thank you for it.
  
• Give them what you gave them last year.
• Give them what you gave their friend last year.
• Give them what you got from their friend last year.
• Give them a pet without express permission.
• Introduce them to NationStates. They'll always connote Christmas with the first day they got sucked into NS addiction. They probably won't even send you a card next year.

So, yeah, there you go. I hope this proves useful to any of you who are stuck for ideas.

In NationStates-related news, I've started work on a new issue. Should be with you soon.

On A Roll

Woohoo! That's three issues put into the game just over the last few days. There's only about ten or so issues remaining in this batch. Once I've gone through them I'll have lots of lovely new issues to consider. Ah, bliss.

In other news, we've been chatting to the few hopeful applicants who made it past the quiz at a top secret location. We blindfolded them and dragged them from their homes just to be sure that no... indiscretions would be made. We've already had to... 'remove' one... mwahahaha...

In short, everything's looking fine and dandy. You'll find out who our new admin will be soon.