Make Your Mind a Think Tank - Is Your Mind Polluted, Why Not Read a Book? by Lance Winslow

As the coordinator for the Online Think Tank, well I am often asked what type of information that one should study to become a Think Tank member? My comment to this question is that I believe you should vary your reading and be sure to add lots of non-fiction, sure I know those are not as fun, but very much needed for those who aspire to turn their minds into think tank material.

So, do I practice what I preach? Indeed, I do, as in the last two days; I have read and discussed the following books and magazine and periodical articles. Be sure to vary not only the type of subject but the type of reading too. Some from the Internet, Books, Articles, Research Papers and the like, okay let's begin this discussion.

"The Age of Turbulence" by Alan Greenspan is a must read and he certainly ought to know, as during his tenure at the Federal Reserve we saw quite a bit of wing-tip vortex flows. After he left we have also seen some turbulent corrections in the stock market, housing, trade deficits and consumer confidence wild swings. So what comes next?

Well, it appears we have a cooling off of sorts and the beginning of the end of this long-running business cycle, often propped up and modified to keep the game running, with both great results and a careful eye on the state of the economy. Indeed, our government needs to stop spending, and well it needs a diet, like most Americans.

Speaking of diets and nutritional advice, it seems rather abundant, so much so that it is truly confusing people sometimes. Folks are trying to look better and eat right for themselves, they want to lose weight and eat healthy - who can you trust? An article in Scientific American September 2007 "Eating Made Simple" page 60 by Marion Nestle says it all.

She discusses flawed food pyramids supported by the USDA and some of the politics, lobbyists and industries behind them. Can we really trust the Bakery Industry lobbyists and their work to stay in the food pyramid or are we worried? We know we cannot trust Chinese food additives, but how deep does the real problem really go and does the FDA really know? Or do they leave it up to a committee filled with those with special interests?

This brings me to another work I took in this week speaking to group genius VS. individual visionary genius. "Group Genius - The Creative Power of Collaboration" by Keith Sawyer [same author as "Explaining Creativity]. 2007. He starts out by explaining the collaborative team, collaborative mind and the collaborative organization; discussing the power for improving on the innovation flow and turning group into a genius group. How diversity, attitude, listening, control and other innate human characteristic behavioral needs must be moderated.

Does this mean that some day the group will replace the individual, here comes the Borg? Well no, as a matter of fact we will always need the creative genius entrepreneur, but how do they do it? May I be so bold as to recommend another book for you?

"The Art of the Start: Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened for Anyone Starting Anything" by Guy Kawasaki. 2004. From Business Plans to Raising Capital and from Branding to Graceful and lucrative exiting, it's all there from the garage to the boardroom, Guy Kawasaki brings it all.

What will be the new high-tech industries of the future, what will they make and what will they deliver to all of us. Well, 3D video games are hear with user wearing specialized head gear, Dynamic Digital Depth makes it all too real and yet the big break thru will occur when these 3D video games are sync'ed with Spectral Imagery and Holographic Projection.

http://www.worldthinktank.net/pdfs/holographictechnologies.pdf

In fact a recent newspaper article was rather blunt in outlining the success and potential market of such technologies and with plenty of user fact demographics to back the article up. Indeed, the number of industry sub-sectors seems to be rather impressive too with simulators, Virtual Reality and even xBox entertainment living rooms of the future. Of course, as great as the future looks in first world nations, it is not always so pretty in other nations or continents. Take Africa for instance.

In the "BBC - Focus on Africa" Magazine; July - September 2007 issue, it became apparent that the problems and humanitarian crisis are getting worse in many places, even while there are moderate successes in some places. Yes, our Online Think Tank agrees and produced this work for the world which was sent to the Nairobi Leadership, Davos Convention attendees and those who went to Kenya to discuss these issues on the home turf.

http://www.worldthinktank.net/pdfs/Nairobi.pdf

Perhaps with micro-loans, small businesses and commerce, jobs and a better way of life is in the future for Africans. Many people in all places in the World wish to start their own businesses, not much different than in the US, only on a different scale. An interesting series of How To Books are now on the shelves of America's largest bookstores, I picked up this one to read thru to see if the advice was legitimate having been in the car wash industry myself.

Entrepreneur Magazine's - Startup Series - Start Your Own Car Wash and More" by Rich Mintzer. 2007.

Not to bad, it had decent advice and hit all the most important topics and was written by someone who is obviously in the industry and knows what they are talking about. I enjoyed it, although it was much of a review and a lot of head nodding while reading thru it at the book store.

Please follow my lead, as I lead by example, do not turn off your mind, constantly study and observe and practice what you preach by doing. Consider all this to increase your mind's abilities to its upper levels. I am not telling you what to do, but rather explaining what works for me, if you are interested in taking yourself to the next step.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is an online writer in retirement.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow

Online Games For Girls Only by Mai Roberts

In the world of countless games online for girls, arguably the most popular dress up characters are in Sue games, Bratz games and Barbie games. Let's check them out!

Sue Games
Avatar Star Sue games, or just plain "Sue Games," have the character Sue for both dress up and other games types. Here the player can give Sue an entirely original style in terms of her clothing and make-up. You may also want to just pick a new hairstyle that complements your own current mood or the one which you think would be fabulous on Sue.

When you have completed a new Sue game, you usually get to choose whether you want to save and keep your finished creation as an avatar or picture image on your desktop. You can also use your personal artwork for your profiles on forums or for MySpace or Facebook.

Bratz Games
Bratz are 10-inch dolls wearing flashy clothing. Going by the nicknames of Cloe (Angel), Yasmin (Pretty Princess), Sasha (Bunny Boo) and Jade (Kool Kat), the Bratz are the craze among youngsters and teens the world over. Whatever the reason for its success, Bratz is indeed a global sensation and is giving Barbie the real competition it needs!

On the web, accessories and fashion clothing are easier to match to Bratz dolls and girls by the hundreds are logging on to the different Bratz game sites to pore over the wardrobe choices and hairstyles available.

More often that not when you finish Bratz games you can't help but begin a new round rather than treasuring a single fabulous outfit forever. Aside from dress up games, there are also the makeover challenges. One version even calls for the makeover of the Bratz doll's room and her hairdo.

Other Bratz games are similar to video games that have mission objectives to them. An example is the timed search for your puppy which was lost in a huge virtual mall and the Fish Tank game, where you need to earn points to get more fish and to beautify your fish tank with new decorations.

Barbie Games

Last but not the least is perhaps what started everything we know about girl dolls: Barbie dolls, that is. There were Barbie games already too. The Barbie brand itself is close to fifty years old, with no signs of slowing down. Barbies still make good sales in toy stores because nobody loses in buying a classic. Barbies can also be found and bought just as easily on many pages of the internet. Barbie games will continue to be among the most sought-after dress up games for younger girls for years to come.

Like the sites that it competes with, Barbie games have a variety of fashion choices, and of course the player has to be a good manager in order not to overwhelm the player's dashboard. Dressing Barbie in the most up to date wear is a no-nonsense actvity online and when you find an outfit you like, you can choose to print out your completed online Barbie doll. Why not a collection of completed Barbie paper dolls in picture perfect outfits alongside your team of true Barbie dolls?

Mai Roberts is a doll lover and a die hard fan of Bratz.She is obsessed to any kind of Bratz Games. She is also a part of the http://www.bratzgames.biz, the game wherein you can make your own Bratz.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mai_Roberts

Cool Ideas on Free Online Dress Up Games by Mai Roberts

Playing free Bratz games online is a growing wave among youngsters lately. Bratz dolls are, of course, the 10-inch dolls that youngsters and teeners all over the world are playing with since they have 'a passion for fashion'. Naturally, even the nicknames of some of the dolls are packaged to appeal to children too: Cloe (Angel), Yasmin (Pretty Princess), Sasha (Bunny Boo) and Jade (Kool Kat). Bratz dolls have become such a success that people cannot help but draw parallels between them and Barbie.

Now, are you on the look-out for an affordable way to get some kids around you to play dress-up with Bratz dolls? Have you tried getting them to play at Bratz games? Try it, and you will see that these free dress up games from hundreds of websites to choose from can help children brainstorm about how fashion can be fun and worthwhile at the same time. And because these are computer games that require plenty of visualizing, clicking, choosing and deciding, Bratz games help a child hone their hand-eye coordination skills.

Free dress up games are definitely a welcome idea into your budget plans since there is no need to worry about buying an inexpensive new game, or getting a new Bratz doll which wioll get worn and old anyway overtime. Kids also like to play games that their parents won't worry about.

Now lets take a look at a few popular games available on some sites.

Aside from dress up games, another popular Bratz game is helping a Bratz doll decide what to wear to a themed party. Our kid player gets to help the main character go through the activity, sorting for the clothing mix and accessories that the Bratz doll needs. The goal is to find the best possible clothing and accessories before the timer signals the end of the given time.

How about makeover games? One version not only as the standard make over for a Bratz doll, but also includes the Bratz doll's room and her hairdo. Other makeover games lets you give the dolls a facial.

Still more types of Bratz games are challenge games which are like video games that have mission objectives to them. The Mall Crawl game will send you all over a virtual mall in the timed search for your lost puppy. In the Fish Tank game, you not only have to keep your fish alive, but you also need to earn points to get more fish and to beautify your fish tank with new decorations.

Then there are the new spins on traditional playground games for girls. The Bratz Mash game is like the basic game of mash, but with a spin to it and played with the Bratz dolls. Don't forget to drop by also at the love meter games and fortune teller games for the little girl (beside you, or for the kid in you) who likes to dream for a while about what's in store in the future.

Bratz games may indeed be packaged for younger girls, but who says these games are not for adults to enjoy too?

Mai Roberts is a doll lover and a die hard fan of Bratz.She is obsessed to any kind of Bratz Games. She is also a part of the http://www.bratzgames.biz, the game wherein you can make your own Bratz.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mai_Roberts

Role Playing Games - Builder's Guide 3 by Dustin Schwerman

The Challenge: At its base, a role playing game is an interactive story. A group of people get together to collectively create an entertaining tale. There are rules, of course, and it is a game, which means there has to be some element of challenge. However, the intrinsic definition remains the same.

That said, if the players simply wanted to watch a story unfold before them, they would read a book or watch a movie. Role playing games are fun because the players have a degree of control over how the story flows and what it entails. The players control the protagonists, in many ways the most important elements of a good story. Their actions will shape the way the story develops, even though the majority of the story lies in the referee’s hands.

Ergo, all players should have a chance to impact the story. This ability is lost if the game designer has failed to overcome the third challenge of RPG design: the challenge of character value.

Even if it plays a rogue in a combat oriented game or a warrior in a politically oriented game, a player should be able the affect the story. The challenge that comes to game designers, then, is that the game must make sure that whatever sort of character a player chooses, that player will be able to use its character and have fun. However, the designer has to do so without faltering in the first challenge, making sure different types of characters are, in fact, different.

Character value is based on the character being unique, and having powers that are useful, but don’t overshadow other characters. The most common way of doing this is using a benefit-restriction style of design. For each benefit a character has, it suffers a corresponding restriction (even if that restriction is “you don’t have other benefits.”)

Creating a role playing game following a benefit-restriction style is practically a requirement, depending on how much you distill the concept. The point of having different types of characters and abilities is that certain characters are best in certain situations. They are strong in one area only at the expense of being weak in another. However, the designer still has to decide how strong the character can be in its given field, and how much it must give up to obtain that level of power.

The Risk: Carelessness here can potentially do more to harm a role playing game than in any other challenge. A designer must examine the powers it awards, the restrictions therein, and the abilities a player must give up as a result, to determine balance. There are no equations for this process, and sometimes playtesting is the only way to truly decide if a certain power is balanced.

But balanced the characters must be. If one type of character is much stronger than any other type in a majority of situations, there is no real point in playing other types. Players who do so will feel almost punished for wanting to use the less-optimal characters. This flaw is most common in combat-oriented characters, who gain their superior combat stats at the expense of utility powers. These characters need backup—healers, troubleshooters, diplomats, and so on—but these other character types suffer a severe limitation in battle.

And combat, as a rule of thumb, is the most common sort of challenge in role playing games. Simulated battles are exciting, straightforward ways to use the game rules, and promote keen thinking and logic. However, if only certain types of characters excel in combat, but other characters are necessary to succeeding in other areas, players of the less combatively powerful characters find themselves suffering in most encounters. Meanwhile, on those occasions where they do have the chance to shine, it is generally only one character in his or her best area. Other players—combat and non-combat alike—have to sit on the sidelines while one character handles the entire encounter.

Beyond the combat/non-combat gap, there is also the risk of combat characters whose abilities come at a cost. Most role playing games have some pretty common templates of characters, the most traditional archetypes being the tank, the blaster, the healer, and the sneak. The tank is the best fighter, able to deal respectable damage time after time and take the hits. The blaster can deal greater damage than the tank and attack multiple foes easily, but has limits to how often it can use its powers, and also has low survivability, poor defenses, and pathetic basic skills. The healer’s power is all-important in a combat-heavy game, but comes at the expense of real fighting talent. The sneak can usually surprise foes and even deal heavy damage (often more than a blaster, but to single opponents) when fighting on its terms, but loses out big time in a stand up fight.

These archetypes seem balanced enough, but really create a powerful divide between character types. The tank feels overshadowed by the blaster’s ability to devastate entire enemy groups and the sneak’s power to deal tremendous harm in the right conditions. The blaster envies the tank’s ability to keep fighting at full strength battle after battle and the healer’s survivability. The healer yearns for the power to actually have effect in battle when its allies are not injured. The sneak would give much to be able to have something to fall back on if it can’t surprise its foes.

The balance is there, and each player is more than happy for its choice when fighting in the right circumstance, but when the fight is not on their terms, they lose interest. This also pits the referee in the position where the best (or even only) way to make a battle difficult is to specifically prey on each character’s weak points, which can lead to a string of cliché fights. This is especially common at higher levels of play, where characters are otherwise so powerful that trying to take them on at full strength is an example of futility.

The Solution: In QoTR, the first thing I did was made sure that each character choice has value in combat. Sure, attackers deal the most damage and defenders are the best at avoiding attacks, but everyone has some offensive and defensive capability (although the latter is sometimes “the ability to take them down before they get a chance to attack you.”)

I do limit abilities, but these are practical limits and costs that allow them to be used regularly, just not overused. A blaster in QoTR can hurl its high-damage, large-area attacks battle after battle, but has to charge up to get the really big ones, taking valuable time or effort. A healer can also enhance its (or its allies’) fighting powers, even doing so in the same move as it heals with a certain ability, but this also takes time and energy. Sneaks can use their skills in the midst of combat and for both offense and defense, and although if they don’t bother to do so, their basic skills might not be as good, they are rarely actually prevented from doing so. Tanks can play with their damage, stamina, and chance to hit, developing a number of tactics. And so on.

Also, since the opponents have the same options as the players, there is no need to seek out weak points in character abilities. Foes can use all the same tricks, allowing challenging battles without the cliché of the high-level wizard’s foes all strangely being immune to magic (tip for inexperienced game masters: this isn’t an intriguing mystery, it is an annoying cliché).

All abilities are useful, and the upper-level ones are quite powerful. I see the best way to balance a game to be that every character can handle various situations in its own way—and with style. A purely defensive character might not win a fight as quickly as an offensive character, but it can win the fight, and has a better chance of surviving for long enough to do so to boot.

Character value is among the most important factors in designing and balancing a role playing game. By allowing every player the chance to hold its own—especially in the important field of combat—your game will remain fun and interesting to more players in more situations. Limitations may look balanced on paper, but the hindrances outweigh the benefits when put into practice.

Copyright © 2006 Dustin Schwerman.

Dustin Schwerman has been playing RPGs for over a decade, using an analytical approach to critically evaluate the game systems (and so to create the most powerful characters he could get away with). He used the extensive experience gained doing so to create his own game, Quests of the Realm. QoTR focuses on unlimited character customization, relying on its author's understanding to detect and counter game-breaking power plays. Though balanced, QoTR still allows players to create highly effective characters and run them through heroic story lines. To contact Dustin, read more of his writings, or learn more about Quests of the Realm, visit his web site, Quellian-dyrae [http://www.quelliandyrae.com].

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dustin_Schwerman