That whenever I am on GS I have tons of ideas for blogs, but once I actually get around to writing one, I forget everything! The only thing I remember is that I am going to put my FE11 idea on pause for a while. The idea takes a lot of development, which is something I do not have time for. Since I have nothing else to write about, here is the quick & dirty about all of the unions I am on, so you can see if any sound interesting to you (in alphabetical order; BTW, the links are for new pages for the union's board, so you can click on them without loosing this list):

Christian Political Party Union: This was actually my third union. I have almost no interest in politics, but we get some good discussions going every once in a while. Also, there is an ocassional tidbit of news that knocks me over (like women legally allowed to go topless in Vancouver). The leader, Jemdude, is a good leader, which raises my ranking of it to 7.5/10.

GameSpot Union Recruitment Forum: Wait a moment, this is not a union! Ah well, I treat it as one. I might well be the most active poster there, and it shows for the thread for The Game Development Union has almost 100 posts and is one of only two threads that is hot (and has been hot for a couple of weeks, unlike the other that only recently became hot). If you post about a union I might be interested in there, chances are I will post on it. Likewise, if I see one of my many unions having threads up, I will generally post on them. It is a great way to find good unions, much better than random searching (as these unions are guarenteed to at least have one active member ;)). Overall: 8/10!

Nightopia: (The NiGHTS Union): Led by my first good friend here on GS, Spikey, this union was booming for a while, but recently Spikey has been hard to find and the union is suffering. I am trying to come up with threads and ideas, but the union is running a bit dry. It's a shame, too... overall: 7/10.

Sonic Squad: (The Ultimate Sonic Union): This was a little trojan horse. Basically dead when I joined, SonicZero managed to bring it back to life. It is still struggling a lot, but at least we get posts. Now if only those posts were actually about Sonic... :P. Overall, I would give it a 7/10.

The All Things Sega Union: I joined this union due to an affiliation. There are many Sega series I like, but I actually don't spend that much time on this union. Many there seem to view other Sega games as the best (ones I have never heard of). If I put more energy into to it, I may be able to get more out of it, but I am not sure about doing that. For now, I am content with just posting on current threads. Overall: 6/10.

The DS Playas Union: Considering that the DS is my favorite console and that I knew the leader, I figured I would join. It's not a half bad union, but it could use a bit of work. I have come up with several threads, some of which are popular, so that is a good thing, but this is not the ultimate DS union. Overall: 7/10.

The Family Friendly Gaming Union: This is one of the five, so it is one of my favorites. The problem is that Wyldcard (the leader) and myself sometimes seem to be the only ones posting there. We used to have good discussions with a good number of people... I miss those days... now it stands at only 8/10.

The G1 Horse Racing Union: The leader finally came up with some good ideas for the union. For the longest time, there were hardly any posts. However, a new game (HORSE) has changed that some. It's a cool game; I recommend you checking it out if you like horses or like to play new games (well, new for GS, it is a very old game)... but then again I am probably biased towards it as I am the leader. Overall: 8.5/10.

The Game Designers Universe: Within a week, the leadership changed twice, from Hendrix to Kay-est to me. Now, I am coming in to the union as a leader with all three (including Waco, the original leader) previous leaders still posting and active, not to mention a strong officer (Shinida). Some areas, such as the competitions,don't get that many posts,but my team on the union is very active (we split the active members into two teams to compete to see who has the best ideas, both individually and as a team; it is a great idea! :D). Unfortunately, the lack of activity from team 1 is stopping the competitions... Ah well, it is still one of the best unions I am on, earning a 9/10.

The Game Development Union: Ah, my union! This is the most challenging union I am on, beating all of the others combined for challenging-ness. Leading a mish-mash group of gamers and programmers is not easy, especially when most of us have never seen one another. Fortunately, I have an excellent team backing me up, lead by GabuEx, the vice-Leader of the union. I am still hoping that we reach our goal to have the individual programming done by August 1st. I don't know what this union will be like in a year from now, but I hope we will blossom into an excellent team that is tight, but not too tight to stop new recruits from joining. No matter what, it is excellent "practice" for me as I hope to go into game development as my career. Overall: 9.5/10!

The Game Makers Union: Welcome to the opposite of the Game Designers Universe. WhileGDUU is well-structured but doesn't fully like competitions, this union is new, but likes competitions. Now if only the two could combine into one very active union... oh well, I guess it makes it more fun to have two unions ;). Overall: 7.5/10.

The Hedgehog Union: This is my first game-related union. I have been with this union for a while now, so I have seen the rather drastic officership changes. It is not the same union that I joined. And, one is not really better than the other; each had/has their own strengths and weaknesses. One thing I am enjoying is the recently-started Hedgehog Wars. I lead Team Sonic with only PSORngr on my team while Team Shadow has 4 members thus far. Let the competitions begin! :D In fact, if this union (and the leader, aal) pushed a bit harder, this union might make the top unions list as number 6 (it is number 6, but not on the list). Overall: 8/10.

The Informational Gaming Union: What is this union about? I am still trying to answer that question. Oh well, I only joined two days ago, so I suppose it is not a big deal; still, a bit more structuring wouldn't hurt. At least we have a decent leader, Shinida. Overall: 7/10.

The Sonic Team Union: Why does this union exist? It is about as dead as a union can get with me on it. Actually, the leader has offered me the leadership position. If I had more time I might take it, but I think it is time for him to officially close the union... overall: 2/10.

Union Leadership Council: The last of the five, and the only union I am strongly on (besides IGU, which I just joined) which I am not an officer on. This could be the most active union of all of them as the leaders who post there are decent posters. It is an incredible place for leaders to go. I recommend it for any and all union leaders. Even someone like me who has learned the ropes (leading 3 unions), can still learn something from the union. Every leader has their own specialty. Mine are posts and the GS Union Recruitment Forum, but many have other specialties; I have learned a lot from this union. :) Overall: 9.5/10!

So there you have it: my thoughts on all of the unions I am on. I am also tracking an additional two new unions (WoW Union and Icons United join the ranks of Club Whatever and several others...).

What do you think? Do you agree/disagree with my ratings? Did you find any union that interested you?

BTW, thanks to those who helped bring the comments up to 27 on the last post. Can we do better this time around?

Take that GameSpot! I finally reached level 21! :D:D:D Man, did that ever take a long time! But now it is time to celebrate!

So, what are you going to bring? I have all of the ice water you could ever want! (My favorite drink ;))

BTW, feel free to chat with one another in the comments section. I want this one to break 50 comments! I will try to check in a lot, but today is rather busy... however, if you are on about 7 hours or so after the time of this blog post, you can probably expect me to be checking in every few minutes to keep the party going! :)

BTW, feel free to ask me any questions you have about me. I will answer them all!

Let's get the party started! :D

This past week has been very stressful for me, and although I try not to let it show here on Gamespot, I am pretty sure that sometimes it shows up anyways. Thus, I just want to apologize if I have offended anyone due to this (or for any other reason).

That's all (BTW, the next blog post will probably be a celebration, so be sure to come back later!).

Okay everyone, I just realized just how busy my life truly is. Thus, my time on GS has to be drastically decreased. Thus, I have a new strategy for my time here on GS:

1. Go through quickly and post on my active unions when there is something interesting to me.

2. Post new threads on unions. This is more impactful and takes up less time.

3. Continue to have fun!

4. Blogs, etc. fall behind, so I may not be posting often on your blogs, especially longer ones from those I don't know as well.

Hopefully this will cut my time here in half: from 3-4 hours to 1 1/2-2 hours per day. This will free up a decent amount of time for catching up on life. I just hope it will be enough.

BTW, with this new scheme, you may or may not see the decrease in activity. It may even seem that I am posting more due to my more focused effort to spend less time on random threads and more time creating topics.

Anyways, just wanted to share that. BTW, if you are a leader of a union I am on and do not want me to start making threads, please let me know quickly.

Here is the start of yet another story. Let's see how long this one will last;).

Man is this ever a steep climb... where is the top already? I have been climbing this mountain for hours... aaahh... hard to keep my eyes open... I guess I should rest... *lays down* zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

(Camera has been moving like a person's viewpoint while climbing up the mountain).

Now comes that menu that asks for your name, gender, etc. Choose carefully, for YOU are the main character in the game!

Huh? *you wake up* WOAH! Wow! What an animal! (There is a Pegasus standing just a few yards away from you.) Hey there. Where did you come from? ...oh wait, of course, you live here! This is why I came in the first place.

(Pegasus snorts and continues to eat)

Hm... I should probably give him something as a sign of friendliness... an apple or one of my meals I packed?

(Pick the apple: Pegasus looks up, takes a bite, and goes back to the grass.)
(Pick the meal: Pegasus looks up, takes a bite, and flies away.)

Well that worked well... Should I still try to befriend him? Or should I just let him be?

(Either way, 6 months go by, the difference being that the befriend route hurts your level-up percentages (i.e. if you had a 45% chance of levelling up a stat, it is now just 40%) and the let him be leaves the percentages as the same.)

"6 Months Later"

Woah there. Remember, this is the first time I am trying to ride you, okay? *sits down on Pegasus*. You know, I really should give you a name... (enter name; I will be using Vern)... hi there Vern. So, what do you say to us going out for a flight? (You two go out flying)

Hey Vern, what's going on down there? (flies down) ...wait, are those two bandits picking on that little girl? Come on! Let's show them what we're made of... (!) wait, I don't even have a weapon... What should I use to improvise? (what you pick decides what your main weapon will be in the game.)

Hiyaah! (swoops down to fight)

(After the battle: )

You: Are you okay?

Girl: I... I think so...

You: (Where are your parents?) OR (What are you doing here in the middle of nowhere?)

Girl (1): My mom... she needs to bring in money... where is she?
Girl (2): I was trying to find some money...

You: Come on there. Don't be sad. Tell you what, I'll help you find your way back, okay?

Girl: I'm not supposed to talk to strangers...

You: Don't worry. I just want to help you.

Girl: ...okay, I guess...(End Prologue)

Can you tell where I am headed yet? I guarentee you that you have no clue ;). This will certainly be an interesting one. I have an idea in mind; I am not sure if I will use it or not... BTW, in case it was not obvious, you are a character in the game, complete with stats, abilities, etc.

BTW, there is no math problem today as the last two remain unanswered...

For me, gamespot is my relaxation time. That is not possible on some days, such as today. It seems no matter where I look, there is a problem:
GS Union Recruitment: TGDU topic has not been posted on by someone other than me in ages.
GS Union Recruitment: It seems no one else is interested in good, decent graphics...
G1 Horse Racing Union:Lack of ideas for horse-related topics.
Game Development Union: Lack of communication during most crucial phase (programming).
Game Designers Universe: Personality conflict.
Hedgehog Union: Good competition idea, but little organization and no leader activity.

There are also two general problems:
Basically all unions I am on are suffering from lack of activity.
Glitchspot continues to act up, deleting posts, blogs (including the first version of this one :x), etc. I even saw on a board after I posted on a topic, the topic read 3 (-1) (I had added two posts, raising it up to 5 posts; and, how does one get a negative post? Deletion?).

Oh well, I go from one exhausting day to the next... at least the weather has cooled down...

(I don't really care about weather, so mentioning it means that today has been very long...)

Math Problem (Linear Programming):

Maximize x - 2y
Subject to 7x + 2y >= 12, -4x + 3y >= 2, x + y = 0

(BTW, please mention how you solved it as there are many possible techniques)

The demand for my stories have been on the rise. I created two sets a little while back (The Dreamer and Worldwind) and recently mentioned my FE ideas, stated several Sonic stories, and wrote a complete NiGHTS idea. Each one recieved some positive comments back.

The issue is that stories take a long time to write. So, if I start (or continue) to write them again, I will be wanting many comments (even simple "hi"s) to let me know they are being read because I don't want to waste my time or blog space.

Also, for those who thought the proof of SR2 is irrational, try this on for size: prove that the SRn is irrational if n is not a perfect square. That one took me hours to prove (just finished an hour ago).

How often do you check the home page of unions you are on? I ask because I rarely check them myself, but if others like to view them, I will have to give them more attention.

Math question of the day: Prove that the square root of 2 is irrational.

EDIT: I just started up an IM account (just4yoshi@aol.com). Can anyone IM me to see if it is working?

If anyone has been paying close attention, within the last week, several changes occured: on one side, I had to stop doing the programming of the layout for the Game Development Union. On the other hand, I joined and became an officer of yet another union and became the leader of a union! That makes for 9 Officerships and 3 Leaderships!!!! In addition, I hope (and have a good feeling) that I will soon gain officership in a 10th union!

So why did I have to stop programming, but why could I manage a few more unions? The reasons are actually rather simple: I am learning C++ from scratch (and having problems just getting the program on my computer), which takes a very long time, let alone to create the layout for a game. Yet, adding another small union is not a big deal of time (about 5 minutes per day). In addition, I am already spending so much time at the Game Developers Universe that being leader only increases my time there by about 5 minutes per day. Finally, loosing the programming for the layout will allow me to spend much more time recruiting, advertising, etc. for the union.

Yet, when all is said and done, I still wish I had the time for doing the programming... :cry:. ...thanks to those in TGDU who are picking up my portion for me :).

Anyways, probably no one even noticed, but nonetheless I wanted to explain it, if for no one else than for myself (it is similar to the chapter endings of Hotel Dusk, if you ever played it).

BTW, for the math problem, here is one I previously solved (disclaimer due to the fact that this is froma graded homework assignment):
Prove or disprove: If n and k are positive integers with n > k + 1, then n^2 - k^2 is not prime.

Does anyone else feel like they live two lifes? My two are reality and gamespot. Those can be subdivided into more categories.

Similarities (first five, too many to list all):
Both are driving me insane.
Both I take on leadership positions.
Both I do what needs to get done (most of the time anyways).
Both I say hi to many people, especially new ones.
Both I spend a lot of time on (which is never enough for either).

Differences (again only the first five):
IRL I am much more shy.
IRL I have only one friend.
IRL lots of things are falling apart.
IRL I have two cats (like I said, this is the order things pop into my head, not in importance ;))
IRL I work from the shadows most of the time.

Am I the only one with a dual-life? BTW, it is difficult to call them dual, when one occurs for 150 hours/week and the other for only 18 hours, but still... ;)