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Re: Recycled LTCs?... A Swap?
Board: LTC: Trades and Trackers
Reply to: #486597 by Butterfly Suzy
Jan 31, 2010 8:33pm
Thread Board
This sounds really fun! There was a series of sorta similar LTC swaps that Batty Girl did a year or two ago, all about Found objects. It was quite inspiring to see what people could come up with. If you go ahead with this, sign us up!

Team Bear-Cat
Re: Need Help Identifying stamps
Board: State: Maine
Reply to: #486599 by Jiffy
Jan 31, 2010 8:47pm
Thread Board
I think the Koko in a dress one is by the Wildcats or the Buxtons. And if not, I bet they know what the stamp is called. :D And the set of three is by littlmoon, it's her Invader Zim stamps. Check with her on the name. :)

-gollygee
Dry skin near eyes question
Board: Kid Shenanigans
Jan 31, 2010 9:07pm
Thread Board
My DD has dry skin around her eyes & eye lids. I don’t want to use normal lotions, balms because it is so close to her eyes. She is allergic to lanolin. I thought about Burt’s bees, but it often has things that would sting if it got rubbed in her eyes.

There is a real wealth of knowledge in this community. Any ideas?
My January Update
Board: FarmVille Board
Jan 31, 2010 9:08pm
Thread Board
I feel like I did pretty good for my first month of FarmVille. I'm currently at level 47 and have 1.4 million coins at my disposal. =) Nowadays I've been focusing on building up my XP. I kind of feel once I reach level 70, I'll have "won" and can finally quit. ;o)

Ribbons.... I can pick up a few more along the way, but they aren't a big factor in what I do anymore. I have most of the ribbons already and the few that are left would require a dizzying amount of work to acquire and for what? A silly little ribbon? Just doesn't seem worth it at this point. I'm still harvesting trees and animals and can pick up ribbons from doing so, but I'm not going out of my way to nab them either.

As for XP, I'd say at least half of the XP I've been "earning" is from nothing more than converting coins into XP. At first I was plowing, planting, and deleting soybeans over and over again. With 15 coins to plow and another 15 for planting, the cycle costs 30 coins. With 1 XP for plowing and 2 XP for planting, the cycle nets me 3 XP. So basically, I can convert 10 coins into 1 XP. With the number of coins I have now, I could buy 140,000 XP. (Which is 14 levels!)

The reason I haven't done that is because it's just so darned labor intensive. I earn money faster than I can spend it, so I've recently switched to a slightly more time efficient conversion process, albeit with a worse "exchange rate." Hay bales! =)

A yellow hay bale costs 100 coins and generates 5 XP, or an exchange ratio of 20 coins into 1 XP. That's twice as bad as the soybean conversion, but time-wise, it goes a heck of a lot faster. Soybeans require 4 mouse clicks per cycle (generating 3 XP). One to plow, one to plant, one to delete, and one to confirm the delete. Not to mention any additional clicks necessary to switch from the plow to the seeder to the shovel. (I'd work on a 6x6 grid, so I'd have to make the switch every 36 plots.) Hay bales require 3 mouse clicks per cycle (generating 5 XP). One to place the hay bale, one to delete the hay bale, and one to confirm the delete.

It is possible to sell the hay bale rather than delete it, but the 5 coins it generates isn't worth it in my opinion. First, it generates one extra mouse click per cycle. (One to place the hay bale, once to open the context menu for the hale bale, once to sell the hay bale, then one more time to confirm the sale.) Additionally, the click to sell the hay bale is particularly problematic because the mouse has to be aimed at a very small "target area" which slows me down. The confirmation for deleting or selling the hay bale is annoying, but at least it's a relatively large button that is easy to hit with the mouse cursor and doesn't require such careful aim. So not only does the selling require one extra click, but it's a particularly difficult click. (Relatively speaking, of course.) And for what? An extra 5 coins? No thanks, I'll just delete it instead.

Not only that, but the crop conversion has a relatively difficult click as well--the plowing, which must be aligned just right for me to make maximum use of the area I was working on. I was using the tractor to help reduce this issue (get 4 plots with one click), but that click was particularly slow since it required precision aiming. Hay bales, since it takes up just one tiny little square, it doesn't matter if I "miss" what I was aiming for. The hay bale still gets placed, and I can click again which I'd have to do anyhow. So aiming isn't important when placing hay bales.

Using hay bales instead of crops also requires less clicking to "switch modes." For the crop conversions, I'd have to switch from plowing, planting, and deleting ever 36 squares since I'd work on a 6x6 grid. With hay bales, I work on a grid that would only fit 4 crops--but fits 64 hay bales! The extra 32 plots that frees up is allowed to grow crops to generate more coins. And I now only need to switch "modes" after every 64 hay bales instead of the every 36 crops I was doing before. Less switching!

And the final reason I like the hay bales better.... Because they all fit in such a small area, I find myself having to move my mouse around a lot less when it comes time to deleting them. "Delete, confirm delete, delete, confirm delete...." I make sure my screen is positioned so the hay bales lay immediately under where the confirmation window pops up, and often times I don't even have to move the mouse at all to confirm the delete. It's very quick--much more so than the scrolling to the edge of the monitor to delete a crop, then moving the mouse back to the middle of the page to confirm the delete.

So while hay bales aren't the most economic method of converting coins into XP, it's considerably faster. And since I wasn't able to convert all of my coins into XP using crops anyhow, those extra coins really weren't doing anything for me anyhow. Now they are! =) I still have 1.4 million coins too. Even using hay bales, I can't seem to get that number down very much. It does seem to have stabilized, though. Some days it's up a little, other days it's down a little, depending on what I've been growing.

I've been able to reliably level up about 1 level per day at this point. Days I spend a particularly large amount of time on FarmVille I might level up twice, and other days when I spend almost no time on it I might not level up at all. But I seem to be averaging one level per day at this point, which means I should hit level 70 around February 23rd, give or take. =)

-- Ryan
Carving Letters
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Jan 31, 2010 9:38pm
Thread Board
Okay - Help! I carved what I thought was one of my better stamps tonight until I had to add letters.

How do you guys do it? Some of you have just excellent letters and I would really like to hear some tips, please.

Thanks,
Sunshine of We 5 Weeks
Re: Easter Island
Board: Postals
Reply to: #486341 by Team BearCat
Jan 31, 2010 9:41pm
Thread Board
Wow! This tracker for our Easter Island stamp filled up in a hurry, and we have added several spaces! It is now FULL! Thank you for your interest!

(Space is still available in the National Arbor Day-Trees and It Might Be Spring trackers! Come on in!)

TBC
Re: ARGH!!!!
Board: Venting Board
Reply to: #486546 by Green Tortuga
Jan 31, 2010 9:46pm
Thread Board
Man, I'm really out of it...when did we get a 'Venting Board'?? Sheesh!

My initial thought is "heck yeah, I want the Venting Board as a favorite!", but then it occurs to me that it may be a little bit of a downer after a bit...

Nevermind, favorite it is.

:-)
Re: Teacher of the Year
Board: Faculty Room
Reply to: #486345 by Idhunna
Jan 31, 2010 10:07pm
Thread Board
Congratulations!
Re: First Logbook Complete
Board: Logbook Logistics
Reply to: #486371 by Dawns Glory
Jan 31, 2010 10:10pm
Thread Board
Here's to more adventures!
Re: Dry skin near eyes question
Board: Kid Shenanigans
Reply to: #486631 by how and kris
Jan 31, 2010 10:17pm
Thread Board
You could try a thin layer of vaseline and see if that works.
Re: My January Update
Board: FarmVille Board
Reply to: #486632 by Green Tortuga
Jan 31, 2010 10:18pm
Thread Board
Ok, I have to ask - why is level 70 the magic number?

TG
Re: Recycled LTCs?... A Swap?
Board: LTC: Trades and Trackers
Reply to: #486597 by Butterfly Suzy
Jan 31, 2010 10:25pm
Thread Board
I would be interested if this swap happens.
Re: My January Update
Board: FarmVille Board
Reply to: #486639 by Trekkie Gal
Jan 31, 2010 10:26pm
Thread Board
Ok, I have to ask - why is level 70 the magic number?

It's the highest level you can reach. After that.... nothing. My quest will be over. =)

-- Ryan
Re: ARGH!!!!
Board: Venting Board
Reply to: #486635 by SHH
Jan 31, 2010 10:29pm
Thread Board
Man, I'm really out of it...when did we get a 'Venting Board'?? Sheesh!

*laughing* I can't say I had anything to do with it. Bobguyman created it last November. So far, I rather like it. Sometimes, it just feels good to vent, and there's actually a place to do it!

Pity parties can be fun. *nodding*

-- Ryan
N.I.M.B.Y. LTC swap still has a few openings...
Board: LTC: Trades and Trackers
Jan 31, 2010 10:30pm
Thread Board
This swap is set to launch March 15 so there is plenty of time to identify an image and sign up if interested:

http://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.html?gTrackerId=4000

FORAYCH
Re: My January Update
Board: FarmVille Board
Reply to: #486641 by Green Tortuga
Jan 31, 2010 10:30pm
Thread Board
Oh, I didn't realize there was actually a limit to the number of levels.

TG
Re: Carving Letters
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #486633 by We 5 Weeks
Jan 31, 2010 10:31pm
Thread Board
letters are hard!! :-) there are some good tutorials on them. But, maybe what I thought was a good idea for me anyway, was to start practicing letters or a word on scrap pieces of rubber in between working on stamps. I just had to start one over because of an "o", darn it!!-storm rider-
Re: ARGH!!!!
Board: Venting Board
Reply to: #486642 by Green Tortuga
Jan 31, 2010 10:33pm
Thread Board
To this point, I think the Venting Board has been somewhat tame. When I really need to vent, I think I will protect the innocent and not subject even the venting board to my tirades :) FORAYCH *who does in fact swear, stomp his feet, and yell really loud at inanimate objects when having a hissy fit*
I'm a PC, and Atlas Quest was my idea.....
Board: Atlas Quest Announcements
Jan 31, 2010 10:46pm
Thread Board
I feel like rambling a bit, so bear with me for a moment.... =)

Have you all seen those Windows 7 commercials where the person is using their computer, excited about some feature in it that was "their idea." Goes something like, "I told Microsoft that I wanted my operating system to be easier to use, and look, Windows 7 is easier to use! Windows 7 was my idea!"

As if Microsoft really solicited ideas from us mere mortals. If I requested an operating system that was "harder to use, slower to load, and less secure," would they build it? Well, they might build it by accident, but it wouldn't be because that was their intended goal. =) Stupid commercials....

But it makes me think about all of the suggestions y'all have made over the years. Admittedly, I probably shoot 90% of them down for one reason or another, but I've probably implemented hundreds of your suggestions over the years. There's not a feature or page on Atlas Quest that hasn't been improved by your suggestions. Even that "Welcome, Trailname," message in the top-right corner of the page after you log in was a suggestion--one of the earliest ever suggested to me by someone who wanted a reminder of what "persona" he was logged in with. =)

Now I'm kind of wishing I kept a list of all of the suggestions I have implemented and who first suggested it. How fascinating that would be to look at. Maybe I should start keeping such a list. Some days or weeks when I shoot down a particularly large number of ideas, I feel kind of bad like I'm discouraging people, but perhaps a list of suggestions that I have implemented could be a source of inspiration? Or perhaps not, I don't know. =)

But I would like to thank everyone who has suggested improvements, even those I've shot down. This website is a better place because of people like you, and while I can't thank everyone individually, you should know that I do appreciate the efforts.

Okay, I'll get off the sappy soapbox now. But if you have suggested in idea that has been used, feel free to remind everyone of your contribution! What parts of Atlas Quest were your idea?

-- Ryan
Re: My January Update
Board: FarmVille Board
Reply to: #486644 by Trekkie Gal
Jan 31, 2010 10:49pm
Thread Board
I didn't realize there was actually a limit to the number of levels.

I heard that early on, there were originally only 50 levels, but they've since increased that to 70. Someday, I suspect they'll increase it again. There's a list of all of the levels (and what you get for each of them) at http://www.farmviller.com/index.php?title=Experience_Levels. If you're curious, it takes 437,000 XP to get to level 70. =)

Sadly, you get absolutely nothing new to plant or buy after level 40. I kind of miss waiting to see what new things I have access to. Now leveling up seems kind of anti-climatic. *shrug*

-- Ryan
Re: ARGH!!!!
Board: Venting Board
Reply to: #486646 by FORAYCH
Jan 31, 2010 11:05pm
Thread Board
FORAYCH *who does in fact swear, stomp his feet, and yell really loud at inanimate objects when having a hissy fit*

I do that, mostly with the dot-matrix printer at work. I mean, seriously, who in their right mind uses a dot-matrix printer anymore??? Cheap companies like mine, I guess, who don't want to spend the dough to upgrade to laser even though I know they have the money (I AM an accountant, after all). :)

TG
Re: ARGH!!!!
Board: Venting Board
Reply to: #486649 by Trekkie Gal
Jan 31, 2010 11:07pm
Thread Board
TG:

I threaten my computer that I am going to shotput it into a pond - through the window - when it is particularly frustrating me. I hear your pain and wish you more support at work!!
Re: ARGH!!!!
Board: Venting Board
Reply to: #486649 by Trekkie Gal
Jan 31, 2010 11:08pm
Thread Board
I do that, mostly with the dot-matrix printer at work.

Wow--I didn't even know those still existed anymore! I bet you could get a bundle for something like that selling it on eBay as an "antique."

I know they have the money (I AM an accountant, after all)

*snort*

-- Ryan
Re: Carving Letters
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #486645 by storm rider
Jan 31, 2010 11:20pm
Thread Board
Cursive or script is much easier than block. The thing that really challenges me with block text is the letters with curves in them. It's not that I can't carve them, I can -- the problem is getting them to look like they match the rest of the letters! For some reason, I can get the whole job done and do a trial stamping, and an O or a C in the middle of all those letters somehow looks thinner than the rest of the letters, like the rest were all done in a bold font while that one letter was in a regular font. Aaaaaargh!

I just recently had to carve a whole mess of block letters -- some white on black and some black on white, all on the same stamp. Fortunately, this stamp actually came out great, all the letters look like the same font. I was lucky, only a small percentage of the letters had curves.
Re: Dry skin near eyes question
Board: Kid Shenanigans
Reply to: #486631 by how and kris
Jan 31, 2010 11:21pm
Thread Board
I made a great lotion for my dd by mixing olive oil and vaseline. her skin gets very dry and develops a bumpy rash. this healed it right up and left the skin soft. she said it didn't sting on the rash, or when it got into what she (still) calls an "owie" but most people would call a sore or open wound. don't know if it would sting on eyes. it certainly can't hurt to try.

to make it, I put heaping tablespoon of vaseline in a dish, drizzled some olive oil in and mixed it with the back of the spoon. kept adding oil until it was a lotion consistency. it tends to look a little like yellow runny-nose stuff. I bought an empty lotion squeeze bottle in walmart's travel aisle and poured the lotion into it for dispensing.

romana
Re: I'm a PC, and Atlas Quest was my idea.....
Board: Atlas Quest Announcements
Reply to: #486647 by Green Tortuga
Jan 31, 2010 11:24pm
Thread Board
Have you all seen those Windows 7 commercials where the person is using their computer, excited about some feature in it that was "their idea."

I really get a kick out of the fact that, in the person's vision of how he came up with the idea, he's a real hunk or a fabulous babe rather than the nerds that they actually are. That's a really funny feature of those ads.
Re: Carving Letters
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #486633 by We 5 Weeks
Jan 31, 2010 11:27pm
Thread Board
carve cursive letters. carve them with the stamp upside down. don't think of them as letters, they're just another shape. practice, practice, practice.

romana
Re: I'm a PC, and Atlas Quest was my idea.....
Board: Atlas Quest Announcements
Reply to: #486654 by Kirbert
Jan 31, 2010 11:42pm
Thread Board
You just burst my bubble, Kirbert!! I sure thought that guy was the same one in the shower. Bwahahaha. Here all this time I have been just waiting for another look. Dang, party pooper. ;-(

OD;-)
Re: Carving Letters
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #486655 by Romana
Jan 31, 2010 11:56pm
Thread Board
Thanks, Romana that sounds like the best idea yet!! I was wondering why l can carve eyeballs and fingernails for goodness sake and freak out over a letter!! :-) -storm rider-
Bad letterbox
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Jan 31, 2010 11:56pm
Thread Board
Why is my letterbox missing A -G -A - I - N?!?!

My Letterbox clue:
Go to the tiny tot park and head to the playground which is full of dozens of people on most every day. Look under every picnic table and chair and baby stroller and toy animal and swing until you find the one with the magnetic tin that has the number of paces to take.
Standing at the rock where the ground squirrel is standing, go that number of paces in the way that the ground squirrel is facing.
Come to a bush with 5 red flowers on it. Turn left, walk 6 blocks, arriving at the homeless encampment. While there, search under every piece of cardboard used for a bed until you find the number of paces for the last part. Be careful of the heroin needles scattered throughout the grass.
Take that number of paces, in a slightly rightwardly but meandering leftward circular and then elliptical then squarish direction.
Find the letterbox under a bush that the gardener trims every Tuesday. It is hidden inside an old Cheetos bag for camo.