Featured Region

We have a new feature to add to the game, thanks to the combined efforts of SalusaSecondus and Pythagosaurus, our ebullient administrators.

So, what exactly is this feature? Well, go to the World page and you'll see it. It's been a fair while since that page has had any changes to it. I think the last one was adding a region search engine. Anyway, at the top of the page you'll see that a region has been selected and is on display to everyone who cares to look, along with its world factbook entry.

The honour of being the first featured region belongs to The Land of the Sewers. Taking a look at this dark and smelly place you'll probably wonder why it was chosen at all. Well, I'll tell you.

How the featured region is chosen.

The region is selected at random once a day, just like the UN rankings, from regions that fit a few criteria:

1. The region must have five nations or more.
2. The region must have no password.
3. The region must not be a class region.

That's it! I hope you all enjoy this exciting new feature. And I can promise you that we'll have quite a number of new features ready for unveiling very soon.

The Sword In The Troll

Modshort #9

This time starring the lovely Reploid Productions. Watch out, she's sharp.

Works best on 'fast'.

Of Universities And Vindaloo

I've been busy with universities again. This time visiting Glasgow University, where they have two (TWO!) organs the size of houses. All the time they led me through the various chthonic depths of the music department where twittery students would flit from side to side in the darkness like excited shadows I would cry because there were so many keyboards, pianos, organs, and harpsichords and I wasn't going to get to play any of them! The windows had bars on them which makes me wonder just how stringent rehearsal schedules are. Hmm.

Anyway, today I'm goin' on a trip to Edinburgh to give an audition and explain just why the site of an actual grand piano makes my eyes glaze and dribble to slowly slide down my chin - and it's generally because of the crappitude (it's not a real word but I reckon it should be) of the one I own right now. It goes out of tune should you so much as breathe on it, some keys stop working if you press them twice, some don't work at all with the sustaining pedal depressed, the lower register is as clear as mud, and, to top it all off, it just sounds horrible. Absolutely dreadful.

I'm afraid I don't have any interesting NationStates news today, though I have worked out how to put a link to my e-mail address in the sidebar, so if you want any help writing an issue, or coming up with ideas, or to tell me an idea, or if you just have any questions you'd like to ask me, then drop me a line.

In compensation for my lack of exciting news, I'll tell you a moderately amusing story instead:

Last Friday I went to an Bangladeshi/Indian restaurant in St Andrews with my parents to celebrate my return from Aberdeen. I announced that I would take a brief sojourn to the commode and would return shortly. I said I'd like a vegetable madras. But, unbeknownst to me, my father had sneakily ordered me a vindaloo. And I got the surprise of my life when I discovered how hot it was (it wasn't so hot that it stopped me from eating - I've built up a large tolerance over the years). I enjoyed it a lot, and I would have had another one had the events of the following day not transpired.

The next morning I was at work running a bookshop (which is my part-time job), happily cleaning books, and shelving others, when suddenly I... FELT something odd in my belly. Now, things might have not gone so badly had the bookshop's toilet been any good, but it wasn't. That toilet is one of the most shoddily constructed loos I have ever seen, and damn near the dirtiest. So, at utmost speed, I ran out of the shop, locked it behind me, and legged it to the public toilets which were thankfully just across the road. I think I was in there for about ten minutes, but it seemed more like ten ice ages had passed when I felt I was ready to vacate the cubicle. The cubicles (which looked more like cells) had no locks, and the paper was so thin as to be non-existent. What's more, everytime there was a breeze outside the door would fling itself open leaving me desperately clawing the air to pull it back somehow (there were, of course, no handles).

I arrived back at the shop and for a while I thought I was fine but then I got that certain feeling again...

Being canny, I decided to invade the hairdresser's salon-type thing next door. I explained my situation and gratefully got led to the toilet - which was right next to the salon. I think the fates kind of conspired against me that day, because there can have been NO WAY that the attractive, and curvaceous hairdressers, not to mention their customers, could have not heard the loud and unnatural noises that emanated from the door behind which I was holding my head in my hands and wishing it would all just stop. Those noises definitely did not happen when I was enjoying the relative privacy of the almost-but-not-quite-abandoned public toilets.

What a day. I had to close the shop early and leg it homewards so I could be positive I wouldn't find myself stuck without a place to go (literally).

The moral? I think it's obvious. Only ever have a vindaloo when you are sure there will be plenty of lavatories in close proximity the next day.

Oh, and it may be hot going in, but it's even worse going out.

Flightless Hippo Sightings

Yes, here's a round-up of all those flightless hippos that have cropped up all over the internet. It really is very mysterious. I thought having a purple hippo with wings was totally original but it seems that many others have had similar bursts of inspiration.

But before you report anything you must be sure - is what I saw a flightless hippo? Well, here's the three rules of thumb that you can use to identify its authenticity.

1. Is it a hippo?
2. Is it purple? Remember that colours that might be purple don't really count.
3. Does it have wings? Remember that they have to be 'feathery' wings. Aeroplane ones don't count.

If you have answered yes to all the above questions, then it is pretty likely that what you have spotted is indeed a flightless hippo. My advice is to now run before it sees you and tries to eat you.

You can also look at my flag to see the original.

Anyway. Flightless hippo sightings:

A flightless hippo with big blue eyes and spikes.

www.flyingpurplehippo.com - this one is pretty mysterious. I'm not that sure what the site's about.

A very cheery looking flightless hippo

Also, it appears there are flightless hippos on a computer game called 'Age of Mythology'. Quite why is beyond me.

The Lancre Herald

This probably won't be of interest to most of you, but some of they guys in my region have decided to start up a little blog about what's a-happenin' in our corner of the NS world. Should be a real hoot!

You can read it here at http://lancrenews.blogspot.com/

Aberdeen

I had a great time in Aberdeen checking out the university there. It's a beautiful place and I'm sure I would fit right in. They've been teaching there for over five hundred years so I imagine they know what attracts students.

I applied for an 'English Language and Literature with Music' four-year course and now that I've properly seen what it consists of I'm desperate to just get all A's on the subjects I'm currently taking.

I will have to choose a third course for my first year at university and I'm a little stuck as to what to choose. I noted the Language and Linguistics course and challenged the stall keeper to guess where I was from by judging my accent. I'm from Fife, but she guessed South England. It's 'cos my dad's English I suppose.

I asked the Philosophy stall keepers why I should take their course - philosophically speaking - and I was told that it would open my mind to an incredible range of thought provocation of which I would never previously have been able to conceive. All very well and good, but I've never been much of a thinker.

I was asked by a lady if I was interested in Gender Studies to which I replied that it was 'for girls'. She didn't think it was funny.

I trotted over to the Natural Philosophy stall and, never having heard of it, asked what it was. The keeper didn't actually seem to really be sure, and as far as I could make out it was a mixture of physics and philosophy for those who like to think big without having to be inconvenienced by such trivialities as mathematics or practical application. I was beginning to get a little suspicious by the time I'd read the rather ambiguous leaflets and asked precisely what it was that Natural Philosophy had that neither the Physics nor the Philosophy courses did. All I got was ums and aahs so I swiftly moved on.

The music stall was by far my favourite because there was a harpsichord next to it and for someone like me who has never even seen one before it was an amazing thrill to actually get to play it. It made such a beautiful sound so I wish I had one now.

I mentioned NationStates to the keeper of the Politics and International Politics stall. he seemed interested in a polite sort of way.

There were lots of other stalls as well but I didn't find them very interesting apart from the Celtic studies one. I've always wanted to learn Gaelic so maybe this is my chance! For the sake of foreign readers, I'll enlighten you to the fact that Gaelic is primarily only spoken in the more northern regions of Scotland and the Hebrides, which are over a hundred miles from where I live (central Scotland).

One of the interesting things about Aberdeen was that it was so damn snowy. It rarely snows down south where I am so I was fairly in awe of the way the entire scenery was blanketed in brilliant white. It was very beautiful. The only problem was that the pavements were as slippy as Hell, and my shoes don't have any grip anymore. I was sliding and skidding my way across the city for hours and I was very proud of not having fallen over once. That was right up until the end of the day when just as I was going up to the path of the Bed and Breakfast I was staying at (all hotels having filled up since the mis-booking mentioned in the previous article) and slipped, falling with a mighty crump right into six-inch snow.

I guess it only goes to show.

NationStates-wise, some of you may already know that we have taken on two new forum mods, Erastide and Tactical Grace. Tactical Grace resigned as game mod a long time ago due to time-keeping problems, but he's back now and with a vengeance! Look out, NationStates! As for, Erastide, well... we'll see won't we? I have every confidence that she'll be a sterling moderator.

On The Road To Aberdeen

I'm off to Aberdeen for a day to inspect a university. If I'm lucky there won't be so much snow that the whole building's collapsed. Try not to break any rules while I'm away!

I'd have been away for a few days but, alas, there was a misbooking and I have effectively wasted £60. Damn it.

I know fine that some interesting things will happen while I'm away and I'll bring you all the great updates when I'm back.

Ciao!

NSTracker

Another very cool website devoted to the various statistics thrown up by NationStates. Created by Fostonia.

Check it out!

Screwy Updates

A few of you will have noticed that things are a bit odd around NationStates right now. Populations aren't growing, issues aren't legislating, and citizens all over the world are perplexed as to why their taps aren't working. Well, I can tell you now that you needn't panic, it's just that the updates have gone a little haywire and will be fixed very soon.

In other news, there's been some major steps towards codifying invasions into the game. I can't say anything now, but I might be able to later.

Ciao!

Forums Down

Ach, it's such a shame. Brings back sad memories of long ago. Nevermind, here's a NationStates Quiz I discovered. Have fun!

Where In The World...

You may have noticed that there's a map in my blog's sidebar. It's a kind of counter that shows where the regular visitors of my blog hail from in the world. It's pretty cool to see just how widespread my readership is. I noticed it in a blog called Binnsy's Hovel and, since I'm a bit of a magpie when it concerns odd gimmicky things like these, I got myself one.

You can get one for your blog/website too at www.clustrmaps.com

Colourful Ideas

I'm happy to say that our admins have finished some new features for NationStates, and I have been given permission to share some of them with you. Others, as Pythagosaurus said, "are things the players shouldn't be told about". I can't say when these new additions will be coded into the game, because it hasn't been decided yet. If it has, then only SalusaSecondus knows when.

The features:

Colourful Words

This code will allow players to use colours and text decoration in RMB posts and telegrams.

Special Password Release

This code prevent regions with no founder or delegate from having a password.

New UN Rankings

I've already mentioned these in a previous post.

Very exciting for everyone I'm sure. There's also some news regarding the codifying of the invasion rules which is proceeding at a good pace, but boy is it complicated. There's more brackets and numbers than I've ever cared to see in one place at one time. I even saw a square root in there somewhere. Cheers to Sal and Pyth for giving this their best efforts though! This is a very important project of ours, if not the most important.

NationStates Census

I've been rather ill this last week or so, so I've not been able to blog much. Anyway. News round-up:

I got the new batch of issues, stretching from the 31st of May right up to the 13th of February 2006. One of those naughty admins installed the new issues batch without telling me (I'm certain it was Sal). It'll take a while to plough through them, but I'm a patient man. Oh, yes.

By the look of Max Barry's latest blog, he's gone to Heaven early. The fact that he's still alive can only be considered a boon. Coincidentally there has been much discussion over NationStates' future if Max Barry did suddenly expire. How incredibly morbid.

Note that intriguing part of the blog where Max says that some progress is underway in regards to the much-awaited NationStates 2...

There's proposals for a new 'feature region' feature which has garnered quite a bit of interest from our admins. We may even use it!

SalusaSecondus has generated some interesting NationStates statistics (such as the total world population) that you may like to look at:

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=470125

Here's some other interesting stats of his about regions:

A few useful stats about regions (as of early this month):

Total Regions: 14375
Average Size: 8.2

Min: 1
First Quartile: 1
Median Size: 2.5
Third Quartile: 5.5
Max: 7300

Or, more specifically:
Size: Count
1: 5656
2: 2495
3: 1480
4: 953
5: 701
6: 529
7: 366
8: 294
9: 234
10-19: 975
20+: 625

My region, Lancre, has about 40 nations. I feel quite privileged to have their support when so many regions fail to get more than one member!

Issue #195 Is In The Game

Yep. And this is a special one: written by SalusaSecondus himself! But don't get too excited - it's not an Easter Egg. Just a regular one. Just five more issues 'til the big 200. Fantasticus.

Tanks A Lot!

Modshort #8

This time starring our very own GMC Military Arms.

In other news, I'd like to highlight an interesting NS-related website which lists the ten most populous regions in NationStates, among other things. Fascinatin' read, and well done to Safalra for creating it.

www.safalra.com/special/nationstates/regions

Of Thousands And Snazz

The number of Getting Help page requests passed fifty thousand on the 1st of February this year. That's fifty thousand since we got our first task on the 8th of May, 2003. Pretty snazzy.

Oh, and my blog's visitor-count has topped 3000. That's also pretty snazzy.

The new UN proposal categories have been changed a bit to make them even better, which is also of a most snazzy nature.

Oh, and I just put a new issue into the game. Snazziness reigns on high!

I've Got Company

Yep, I've got the book, which is pretty snazzy 'cos it's not out in Britain yet. How did this happen? Well, let me take you on a little adventure...

... To my sitting room. Where it all begins. Oh, yes. I discover, much to my surprise, that there is a package for me. I am further surprised when I find that it's addressed to 'Sirocco'. Who could know my secret crime-fighting alter-ego? Then realisation dawns, as I recall the boss mentioning this around Christmas time. I open the package (bearing not only its Australian stamps which only add to the experience, but the scrawl of a Mrs Jennifer Barry in the sender's signature box. Maybe I can sell it on eBay. But then maybe that'd be a wee bit irresponsible 'cos it has my address on it, and Max's address on the back too. Ach well.) and out plops my own copy of Company! Fantasticus! My dad's a second-hand book seller, so it's in my blood to be really pleased about having a signed first edition. The inscription reads thus: 'For the tireless Sirocco - Thanks for keeping NationStates ticking over. You do an awesome job! Max Barry'. I can now partially understand why people get his name wrong so often. His signature really does look like 'Max Berry'.

Anyway, I shall enjoy reading it, and I'm not going to give away anything on this 'ere blog. If you wanna know what happens, buy the book!

Six Billions

Recently, Sirocco passed the much-respected (-feared?) figure of 6000000000 citizens. They're breeding like rabbits, it's crazy. But anyway, some catch-up on the local gossip:

First of all, I'm glad to say that we (the mods) have all been contributing towards ideas for new UN proposal categories so that you can all change the world in new and wonderful ways. I've edited them down to the necessities, and so far everyone seems pretty happy with them. I just need a nod from one of the admins, and enough of their spare time for them to put 'em in. Unless we come up with more ideas or someone raises an objection. We're very democratic, and as a result we quarrel a lot, but I guess it can't be helped.

I've also had enough spare time to begin editing a new issue. Once I've edited it and the one after it we can finally go onto a new batch.

More Cartography

Another bunch of computer programs to aid you in your search for the perfect map for your nation, courtesy of Tsaraine:

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=466970

The previous article on map-making can be found here.

Bastard Mod From Hell 3

Yes! Reploid Productions' saga has returned to enlighten us of those dastardly alter egos that seek to make your virtual existence a virtual hell. I may add my own little contribution later. For now, you can read what's already been written here.