For Khairin: a history question

Was the breakdown of wartime alliance inevitable?

Consider this:
The question invites you to take some kind of stance, yes? To be blunt about it, you say, "Yes, it would have happened, no matter what" or "No, it could have been avoided." The fun bit is in justifying the stance you take.

What assumptions does the question itself contain? Off the top of my head:

1. They were working together
2. The alliance didn't last; it broke down
3. There is room to argue that the breakdown could have been avoided. Alternatively, there is also room to argue that it would have happened in any case.

Why look at the assumptions? Because it tells you what kind of facts you'd want to reference in your answer.

---

One way of breaking the question down would look something like this:
What is the topic? Wartime alliance
What happened? The alliance fell apart
Who was involved? List your Allies
Why were they working together in the first place?
Why did it fall apart? List the contributing factors
Now think about which of these factors would have happened, no matter what the circumstances, or what anyone did. Which could have been avoided?

What forces contributed to pulling the allies apart? Your analysis will be incomplete if you don't also look at what pulled them together. Was it a marriage of convenience? Once you've looked at both why the Allies were working together, and what differences and disagreements they might have had, you'll be in a better position to think about if it was possible to avoid the falling out.

If you believe that the breakdown was inevitable, you'll need to say why. If you think it was avoidable, you'll need to say why. How do you construct a reasoned argument? If all factors are equal, then it'll be hard to make any kind of an argument. If, on the other hand, some factors are more important than others, you'll be able to say exactly why the final outcome was avoidable or not.

Punctuation – A Guide to Commas

Over the years, I've seen lots of user submissions. Articles, reviews, competition entries… Reading these submissions has always made me wonder: do they even teach punctuation in school anymore?

I know that in a world of text speak (or would that be txtspk?) it's no longer fashionable to spell correctly and to use punctuation. But English literature major that I am, I refuse to accept that it's okay to present someone with 200 hundred words with no punctuation whatsoever.

When you write something to someone, presumably you want them to understand what you're saying to them. You're trying to communicate. Decent spelling and punctuation are tools in your toolbox to help you communicate. Style, clarity of expression and organisation, among other things, can come later.

All this blather, by the way, is only a lead-up to an excellent article I read today. Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to share with you The DumbLittleMan Guide to Comma Use. Enjoy. :)

Bunny lullaby

Rockabye bunny in the burrow
When the wind blows the hayfields will sway
When the gate breaks the bunnies will roam
And down will come carrots, green tops and all.


(placeholder image till I can get one of my boys uploaded!)

'Whereby' is not the same thing as 'where'. People using the word 'whereby' to sound intelligent only sound silly when they use it wrongly. Often, people also use 'whereby' when they mean 'wherein'. (This all drives me bats, by the way.)

In the effort to sound more impressive, many people use big words they don't quite understand, but words have nuances, and similar-sounding words don't always mean the same thing. 'Angry' is not the same thing as 'annoyed' or 'furious', for example — there are shades of meaning there.

There's nothing wrong with using simple language and clear speech, as long as it gets your point across. Think about it: cheap clothes made of poor quality material are often dressed up with fancy decorations and trimmings; a plain, well-cut shirt made of excellent fabric needs no disguise with ric-rac and beading and sequins. You can see the quality of the well-made item right away. Tons of cheap trimming, on the other hand, doesn't disguise poor material and cut at all. ;)

Also, while you're at it, think about pacing in your writing. Vary the length of your sentences and paragraphs. Reading a piece that's all long, involved run-on sentences isn't fun, and more often than not, complex sentence structure obscures your meaning. Also, when you write long sentences, grammar tends to suffer, unless you're really good about proof-reading and know your grammar instinctively.

Exclusively using short sentences, on the other hand, makes your writing choppy. This again makes it hard to follow your train of thought.

Writing is really about communicating, so communicate! :)

What's it all MEAN?

You know, one of the neat things about Google is that it's kinda got a built-in dictionary. Or at least it makes it easy for you to check on the meaning of words. All you do is type in "define:" and voila, you turn up a list of search results for the word you're looking for. It's pretty neat.

Plus, Google search has kinda a built-in calculator thing going. Try typing "square root(4225) - 33" into the search box and see what you get.

One of the reasons I like Firefox is the search bar. By default, Firefox uses Google as its web search engine, so it means you can use the same searches you would use on the Google homepage, and it works exactly the same way.

Season's Greetings

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. :) See you in the New Year!

No, I'm not actually dead

So... I read something today that made me laugh: someone saying, "I have to go change my hamster's diaper."

Hamsters have diapers!? The mind boggles.

Favourite alt evarrrr

Judacris from Habbolitez made the cutest alt! The newest imaginary furni to hit Habbo's shores - see it for yourself.

Cyberspace, meatspace and reality

I've been thinking a lot lately about the online/offline dichotomy... it seems to me that many people believe you cannot have a real relationship online, and that anyone with an extensive online persona and life cannot have a real life.

The trigger for this was several people commenting to me that they couldn't get online because they were busy with, I quote, 'real life stuff'. I'm guilty of saying that too. At least one other person told me that a mutual acquaintance no longer plays Habbo because he's 'got a life now'.

The thing is that in this world, our 21st-century, developed nation, Internetworked world, is it fair to say that the meatspace* is the 'real' world? Many people have active online lives now, and it seems to me to be vaguely wrong to say that all this time and interaction with online communities and people somehow isn't real, or is less than what happens face-to-face.

I'm much more comfortable with the term 'face-to-face', come to think of it. :)

I've been on the Internet for years, since before I entered university. I have friends of many years' standing that I've never met face to face. I've met at least one, whom I was introduced over the Internet through an old school friend. (Safety caveat: I was an adult by the time I met him, and I trust him at least partly because he's one of my best friends' ex-boyfriend, plus I'd literally known him for years by the time I met him.)

In any case, many of my friendships must necessarily be maintained over instant messenger, email and the phone, because a large percentage of the people I love and care about most don't live where I live. Even if we live in the same country, often we're so busy our schedules don't let us meet. I'm not entirely happy with that - I'd love to see my friends more - but with everyone's work schedules and different interests, I'm not sure there's an alternative.

Our relationships feel genuine. The emotions are the same as in the physical world. We all have reasonably active 'real life' social lives and interests. Even if we didn't, who's to judge and say that what happens online isn't as real as what happens offline? The term 'real world' implies a value judgement I don't think I like. It's as if what happens online isn't concrete enough to be real, and it's thinking like this that allows us to hurt people online and disregard the impact of what we say and do. I can't comprehend thinking that since it's online, it's not real and therefore has no consequences.

Read more about the meatspace concept here:
Wikipedia: Meatspace
Wordspy.com - meatspace.asp
The Jargon File on meatspace
Wikipedia: Real life

and about cyberpunk here:
Wikipedia: Cyberpunk
Comprehensive article from the University of Glasgow's Humanities Advanced Technology and Information Institute


And if you haven't read William Gibson before, why not check out some of the work of the godfather of cyberpunk today? I know the libraries in Singapore will have some copies of his novels and stories.

William Gibson blows my mind. Many concepts that originated in his work, like the matrix and ICE, are massively influential on modern science fiction. Most of all, Gibson was responsible for the term 'cyberspace' too; it first appeared in his 1984 story Burning Chrome. (Although admittedly people argue about the 'real' meaning of cyberspace all the time...)

More on this to come, when I've had more time to think on it.

How to waste time and work your brain

So! It's been a long time since I last posted anything of real substance. :) I've been too long away though, and it's nice to be back and feeling creative again.

Nonetheless, things conspire to suck away your creativity and time. One of the time-wasters I've been having fun with lately is this puzzle site: http://www.eyezmaze.com/. It's a site with a bunch of cool Flash games, with a mix of puzzles and arcade-style games. My current favourites are 2 of the Grow games, Grow Cube and Grow Ornament. (Love the little dudes!) I'm still working on Grow RPG...

Basically, what you want to do is to drop the elements around the play screen on the cube/tree/world. They'll then evolve and interact with each other. If you get the sequence right, neat stuff happens. :D

Have a look! They're great fun, and you'll rely more on brain than fast twitch reflexes (thank god). If you get too desperate for an answer, you can always Google for the walkthrough, but there's nothing like solving it yourself, eh?

The Bunny Hour is delayed this week

Heya,

Just a general note to all that the Bunny Hour's moving to Thursday just for this week, as I'm not feeling too well and won't be able to make it.

Love,
Appledoe

Success is as success does? ;)

This article from this week's .com newsie cracked me up. ;)

Something special this way comes

We're having a busy, busy month on Habbo Hotel Singapore. Each week something new and fun's been happening, and the hotel is growing. Now we're consistently hitting 1000+ users during peak periods, and that's really cool.

This week sees something neat planned for Habbo Hotel Singapore... Only 1 1/2 days more to the newsie and that something neat! :) I, personally, cannot wait for this something special.

We're having a game event to celebrate this special thing - Orbit. It's a Habbo game I learned from the US Hotel. Apparently it was created by a US Habbo named jeremycoo, and it's a whole lotta fun. It's the kind of game you play giggling uncontrollably because your Habbo looks so funny while at it. Come by my [Orbit] rooms 1830 SGT this Thursday June 9th and see for yourself. :)

Scary Kisses

I wrote this almost a year ago to the day; somehow I found it again, and I wanted to share:

There's a song called Scary Kisses by Voice of the Beehive. It's a great expression of the way I feel about love, and life in general.

I've been feeling really punchy and jazzed-up the whole of this week. I get all these ideas and flashes; it's like all my synapses are firing all the time, a cogitative epilepsy. I have so much energy it's creeping me out slightly. This afternoon, getting ready to leave the house, I was jumping up and down in my room. I've been dancing around my room, and my iTunes has not stopped for several days. I play happy poppy music, music with a groove and swing and beat, jazz, musical soundtracks, big uplifting classical pieces — a whole range of stuff.

It's half cool and half creepy, but I'm really enjoying the energy and the accomplishment that comes from getting all these tasks done and out of the way. I'm enjoying how organized and high and happy I am. I smile a lot. I hug people. I'm nice to people. Even when I get mad with people, I don't stay mad. It's great!

Anyway, back to Scary Kisses. I want a life that has everything life has to offer. I want my life spiced and smoky and rich with flavour. I don't want a life that is bogged down with safety and fear. While I want and need some safety, a touchstone, I want the big scary things too, because if you don't jump, you can never land on great things. You'll just stand on your safe little ledge forever. When you die, it will be as if you never lived. So when I was listening to the song earlier today, it reminded me again of the reason I make the choices I do.

Lyrics to Scary Kisses

There's not much of a trick to playing safely baby
People do it every day
You can see them living sensibly with lots of care
Lonely in a cautious way

You be alone for me — I'll be alone for you
One and one people alone make two
Let's stir things up a bit, throw the pieces up to the sky

Baby I want scary kisses
I want hits and I want misses
I want hell and I want bliss
And that stuff between it
And if you give me safety, in a short time I'll be driven crazy
I would rather run and fall, than take no chance at all
(Than take no chance at all)

I would rather sit here by myself than settle down
With someone safe and sound
I kind of like a little trouble every now and then
Someone with the nerve to break ground

You take a look for me — I'll take a look for you
We'll find it's not so bad it's just new
Let's stir things up a bit
Throw the pieces up to the sky

Baby I want scary kisses
I want hits and I want misses
I want hell and I want bliss
And that stuff between it
And if you give me safety, in a short time I'll be driven crazy
I would rather run and fall, than take no chance at all

And if we break or if we bruise, it won't be the worst of news
We will just get up again — start over on the count of ten
And if we scar or if we break, it will be our own mistake
Put it down to what we know, then have another go
And take it on the chin and just begin again
Run your fingers through the flame and i will do the same
Together we will fall, together we will rise
Together we will do everything but compromise

Baby I want scary kisses
I want hits and I want misses
I want hell and I want bliss
And that stuff between it
And if you give me safety, in a short time I'll be driven crazy
I would rather run and fall, than take no chance at all

And if we break or if we bruise, it won't be the worst of news
We will just get up again — start over on the count of ten
And if we scar or if we break, it will be our own mistake
Put it down to what we know, then have another go

Baby I want scary kisses
I want hits and I want misses
I want hell and I want bliss
And that stuff between it
And if you give me safety, in a short time I'll be driven crazy
I would rather run and fall, than take no chance at all

If you're 100% safe 100% of the time, you might as well be dead.

You know, I still find this relevant to my life today. :S

New AHHH room

I've just added a room to the AHHH complex. It's called the Honeycomb, and will be our message centre. If you need to leave AHHH staff (including me) a message. Want us to drop in on your room or event? Leave it at the Honeycomb. Got a burning question and AHHH's closed? Leave it at the Honeycomb. :)

P.S. All AHHH rooms are best found by searching '[AHHH]'.

Staffing change

This announcement is a little late; but better late than never, eh?
Q, and weix2 have been made fully-fledged AHHH staff for their commitment and consistency. Welcome again to the team and congratulations!

The Briar Patch Story

Not Habbo-related, but definitely something that matters to me: the Briar Patch Story. The first time I read this, I cried.
If you're gonna take on the responsibility for someone, take it all the way. You don't get to give up on animals or people halfway; that's just not on. I'm not the best person in the world when it comes to committing to things, but at least I'm always there for the ones I love.

Amazing Grace

As always, I am amazed and humbled by the grace that has been given to me so freely. I don't consider that I've done anything so special that I deserve the honour and love I have received; I believe I just do what is due to my roles as moderator and friend. (Yes, I am aware they are separate things. :) And I keep them separate.)

You know who you are.

I'm grateful.

Some notes on AHHH

MOD-Appledoe / Appledoe - Owner
Twofold - Team Leader
Callum - Events Organiser

Staff, in alphabetical order:
K,
Nv
Maikel
Stpippen
T

New members undergoing trials:
Calicor
CongCong
Orifel
Pig
Pinkerita
Q,
vampireboy
weix2

TwoFold and Callum are jointly in charge of the first round of public applications.
Stpippen and T are currently organizing our party to celebrate hitting our 100th registered forum user. (Friday 15th April 2005, 2000h SG time!)

Some thoughts on AHHH's staffing and structure:
AHHH has a relatively flat organizational structure by design. Unlike most helpdesks, we don't generally have a complex hierarchy because
1) I don't believe Habbo Hotel SG has so many Habbos and therefore helpers that we need it;
2) we want to encourage AHHH staff to think of themselves and fellow members as equally valuable;
3) I personally believe lots of ranks encourage politicking, and I would like to minimize that! :)

All AHHH staff are perfectly welcome to make suggestions to TwoFold, Callum, myself, or even by post to the forum. Ideas for parties (I love parties!), ways to better AHHH or the forums, anything! For that matter, if you have an event or idea for us, please feel free to inform any AHHH staff member!

At the moment, we also intend to keep AHHH small. This allows us to spend more time helping Habbos and chilling with them, rather than doing administration. I would like to believe that this also allows us to exercise tight quality control. I'd rather have a small handful I can trust than to accept a larger group and have to kick people out of the team!

[text mostly from a post I made to AHHH Forums]

Some lovely Shakespearean quotations

A little clichéd, but nevertheless good. Afterall, clichés always have a grain of truth, no?

Good night, good night! Parting's such sweet sorrow,
That I shall say good night till it be morrow

And, a little out of context, but nice in isolation:

Goodnight sweet prince
And flights of angels speed thee to thy rest

It's hard to log out of Habbo at the end of the day, isn't it? :)