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Lanah Tyra's avatar
Lanah Tyra

Hmmm what long-forgotten Final Fantasy stories should I bring to you this time?

Philip's avatar
Philip

I'm going to teach something about spelling.

When we think of spelling most people tend to think that letters have a sound. A is 'ah', B is 'buh', etc.

But with the English language being weird and everything, single letters don't always have a single sound. For example the letter C can sound like an S in cent and race. And the letter G can sound like a J in germs and stage.

Additionally there are sounds that no single letters represents, such as 'ch', 'sh' and 'th'.

When teaching kids to spell these days, the current science or pedagogy of teaching spelling is to no longer teach kids the alphabet in the traditional way. Teaching the ABCs is just going to confuse kids when the English language breaks the rules all the time.

Instead we teach kids that there are 24 consonant sounds and 19 vowel sounds and that each of these sounds has multiple spelling options that can achieve these sounds.

For example the sound 'or' can be achieved with heaps of different spelling options.

E.g. For, Pour, Core, Soar, Door, Straw, War, Water, Ball, Haul, Caught, Bought and Dinosaur.

These sound options can be categorized as single letters sounds (graphs e.g. 'a'), two letters sounds (digraphs - e.g. 'or'), three letter sounds (trigraphs - e.g. 'ore') and four letter sounds (quadgraphs - e.g. 'ough').

Philip's avatar
Philip
Philip

One more I just thought of 'awe'.

Lanah Tyra's avatar
Lanah Tyra
Philip

We simply implemented this into the Hungarian alphabet, ours is an extended one, so to represent all the different spellings we have some "double" consonants which are variations of for example 's' and 'z'. If you see 'sz' that will be a variation of 's'. 's' we pronounce as 'sh' would be in English and 'sz' is how 's' sounds.

We also have vowels with accents to adjust them. There is 'o' same as in English, but to represent the long 'o' like you would pronounce it in 'door' we use 'ó' there is also 'ö' which sounds kind of like 'a' does in 'about'.

Philip's avatar
Philip
Lanah Tyra

I like that 'sz' sound. It helps make sense of words like 'is' in English.

Lanah Tyra's avatar
Lanah Tyra
Philip

I understand now why I struggle with pronunciation in certain English words. We were taught the alphabet in school on English classes and then all the confusion why 'e' or 'i' is not pronounced the same way in every word. It just didn't make sense for me when in the Hungarian alphabet it's very clear how you have to pronounce things. I think the method you mentioned above would help an awful lot when foreigners are trying to learn the language.

I'm fine with the words I learnt after moving here or I heard often enough to adjust, but words I learnt back home come from a non-native teacher pronouncing them badly, or from books where I never heard them pronounced so I just read them as I would read a Hungarian word / it would make sense to me based on the English alphabet pronunciation.

If you ever watched the 1931 Dracula with Bela Lugosi, he has a very strong Hungarian accent, and in many ways mine is similar 😅

Philip's avatar
Philip
Lanah Tyra

I can just imagine the struggles you face. My wife grew up in Kenya and though I have grown used to the way she pronounces a lot of words, sometimes I'll hear a word and have to try and figure out from context what she was trying to say.

Philip's avatar
Philip
Philip

Lanah Tyra's avatar
Lanah Tyra
Philip

This makes so much more sense than the alphabet ❤️

Shovel's avatar
Shovel

Hey everyone, well I’m going to talk about which is very close to my heart. Is good work life balance.

So I think anyone who works a full-time job it’s really difficult to set certain boundaries and there was a really good book that I read which I actually got fruit through my work which is called 52 weeks of well-being a non-nonsense guide to fulfilling work live by Ryan Hopkins And honestly the book is so interesting. It’s a fascinating and inspiring read essentially what this book does as it gives you it gives you everything you need to know so too often a busy and stressful life. It can distract us from focusing on our well-being. So with this book you can discover 52 practical insights that will help you lead a healthy, productive and vibrant life so there’s unique concepts , such as the power of digital detoxing, but it’s a really good book to help begin your journey towards and more fulfilling life

Ryan Hopkins is a leading well-being expert who specialises in helping individuals and organisation. He is a global clean speaker a LinkedIn top and a chief impact officer at a mental health platform Jaaq which stands for just ask a question

so within the book there is so many pieces of content and I could go on for days but a lot of it would be just about your start time and end time for your shift if you’re due to work at 9 to 5 shift that’s what you’re supposed to be working and you’re supposed to be taking your break and you’re supposed to be taking your lunches without feeling guilty about it and it’s okay to say no no can be a full sentence and a lot of people feel like they need to go above and beyond and I understand that but I think this is why we have a generation of people who are quietly quit in roles who are doing the bare minimum because they’re not getting rewarded anything so a lot of the times a lot of jobs can be really toxic and it’s all about implementing changes to make sure that you’re looking after yourself

Taking time out for your well-being making sure you’re standing up and walking away from your desk whenever you get a chance not completely burning yourself out where you have 9 to 5 meetings after meetings after meetings and there’s absolutely no time in there whatsoever for you to just catch your breath, it’s really important that we all just take initiative of our own lives And take control over this work is such a massive part of everyone’s lives. It takes up eight hours of our day. Most of our life is spent in an office doing a job so it’s good to find a way to try and make that a bit more tolerable and the only way to do that I think is by starting with this book and you’ll see the changes

I promise, I’m not on commission. I just really recommend it.

L
Laser-Bicep

I want to talk about Judo, and there will be many lessons i can relate that comes from this.

I started late in in life at 33 and there have been so many benefits not just for myself but what i observe with other people.

Firstly lets talk about respect and anger management. There is no place for anger on the mat. Ive visited multiple clubs where every session randoori or fighting takes place each time. Ive been to competitions where its more intense and i have only seen one person lose their cool but that is because they became injured. When you learn you start see that anger doesn't really help you keeping a cool head does. Now imagine the benefits of instilling that into a child from a young age.

Speaking of young children its a lifeline for those who may have troubles at home, they get parental figures from their coaches over the years that help them with emotion

It becomes a community for many of the players and families.

It keeps you fit active and strong, plus you get toughened up by taking regular controlled falls.

It teaches you self defence if its ever needed and works as a good defence from being attacked as you can literally punch someone with the earth.

For myself personally aswell it has helped with not great habits such as drinking beer in the evenings. When i know I'm going to a class things like that are not even on the cards

And finally there is no place for leaving anyone out, you are taught to work with all sorts of people and abilities.

so go give it a go at your local club.

Makster's avatar
Makster
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8hNdeVvBiL

First you must master the fireball before you can move onto the next stage of your training

Gaypengwing's avatar
Gaypengwing

I would love for more people to play the game Until Dawn which came out on the PS4, it means so much to me as I’ve played it on my own, with my partner, cosplayed it with my partner and friends (as Ashley and Chris) and it brought me through a very lonely time in my life.

It was the first game to properly explore the butterfly effect and characters relationships with eachother reflecting on the story, with a diverse set of characters and it created such a conversation amongst the gaming community. Where people would be comparing their endings and completing all of the different outcomes.

I can’t explain how excited I am for fresh content from this game in the ps5 version coming up and the movie that’s in the works. Until then, if you haven’t played it, I can’t recommend that you do enough! It’s both nostalgic and never gets old to me 🥰

Sinclair's avatar
Sinclair

hi and here I want to talk about something that is quite close to my heart but took me a long time to realize.

The entertainment world is full of traps and deceit, starting from the circle of friends who I think are full of two-faced people, then people who use me as a stepping stone and throw me away after they succeed (they fail again anyway), and also business partners who are very good and mutually beneficial to each other.

why did it take me so long to realize something like this when if we think about it together it's pretty "easy"? because you could say that I'm too naive and like to help people selflessly, which makes me very behind with others. but I have realized that whatever I'm going to do, I have to prioritize myself first before others. sounds like a person with a big ego, but this is the best path that I have to go through since I learned the folklore about Stoicism from pewdiepie.

And yes I never regret learning about the philosophy, it actually makes me more "directed" in living life, because this philosophy is closely related to balanced life, and how to be a wiser person in responding to others.

I'm using DeepL translation tool for this. Thank You.

Lanah Tyra's avatar
Lanah Tyra

Final Fantasy XIV - The old tank stance system

FFXIV constantly changes to keep up with the modern gaming style. Currently if you are playing as a tank, you have an ability which you need to use to generate enough enmity so the mobs are hitting you and not the rest of the party. This is just an on-off type of ability, so if you are the only tank, you switch it on at the beginning of the fight and then leave it alone. If there are 2 tanks, only the main tank has it on, and the other tank will use it if there is an additional mob which needs to be tanked separately or if the main tank dies.

But this was not always the case. Back in the old days, tanks had a defensive and a damaging stance, and DPS who had a high damage output had the ability to transfer some of the enmity they generated onto the tank, to prevent pulling the mob off them. But tanks also love to do damage, so often it was a very dangerous dance of the stances, where they stayed in their damaging stance as long as possible, and only switched on the defensive stance when they absolutely needed it.

I can see why this system got reworked, as it required a certain level of skill to manage your stances effectively, not die but also do enough damage (raids usually have an enrage timer, so certain amount of damage output is needed to complete the fight in time, and for this tanks and healers are also required to do enough damage).

Damage-hungry players pushed this system to its limit in one encounter, but to be able to explain this, I also have to tell you briefly about how the Summoner job worked back then. The summons had their own HP and you had a toolkit of heals and shields to keep them alive. One such summon, Titan, which was a tank-type summon was so strong, that in a specific encounter a Summoner was tanking the boss, so both tanks could stay in their damaging stance... or just do the fight without a tank and bring more DPS.

Here is a video from Mr Happy explaining how this strategy worked, but it's very heavy with FFXIV technical terms, so might only say something to those who are familiar with the game:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/DjPiQ2Q_bCQ?feature=oembed

I wish I started to play the game sooner and could experience this era, as I think it gave a lot of variety to the game and enough entertainment for high-end players. Though as Mr Happy mentions in his video, it was also leading towards unacceptable behaviour in party finder, where people would exclude tank players from their groups and insist on bringing more DPS. Also by making the game more simple and streamlined helps a lot to bring in new players who are not hard-core raiders, but at the end of the day an MMO can only function until there are enough people playing it.

There is still one content where you can do such shenanigans, in Bozja, the big open-world field operation content you get special abilities, including one for DPS where they can get bigger HP and mitigations as well as a skill to provoke mobs off someone. The other is the new Variant dungeons, where you have similar abilities as well and you can even solo it on a DPS.

Hopefully the new field operations content we are getting in Dawntrail will have similar things again, it's letting people have fun and experiment with things while keeping the main game newbie friendly.

Hope you enjoyed today's Final Fantasy history lesson, will see how many of these I can come up with for this bounty :D

Sturmer's avatar
Sturmer

Photography: Rediscovering the World Through a Viewfinder

In today's world, everyone carries a smartphone in their pocket, capturing moments with a tap on the screen. However, I believe this convenience hasn't diminished photography as an art form. Photography isn't about megapixels or filters; it's about preserving moments, telling stories, and seeing the world differently.

I've noticed a significant transformation when people pick up a real camera and look through a viewfinder rather than staring at a screen and making hip-shots. The viewfinder isolates you, offering a unique opportunity to see subjects or scenery from an entirely new perspective. A simple rusty gate element can become art, or worn-out planks on a deck can reveal a unique pattern.

This is where the magic happens. Even the cheapest digital camera with a dedicated lens will produce a more professional result than any smartphone with artificial simulation. Physics doesn't lie; a sensor 35 times larger in area and up to 1kg of glass capturing photons will always yield more precise data.

Some think photography is an expensive hobby, but that's not true. You can start for as little as $200 and still take amazing pictures. I recommend grabbing a used full-frame camera like the EOS 5D or EOS 5D Mark II and a 50mm f/1.8 prime lens. The 50mm lens on a full-frame camera closely mimics the human eye, and a prime lens means fewer controls to learn. The f/1.8 aperture provides stunning bokeh, allowing you to isolate any subject from the background. Plus, this combo is fairly compact and light to carry around.

To learn, watch a few videos on shutter speed, aperture, and ISO controls, then take a walk with your camera. You'll be shocked at how many interesting things you missed right near your home. You don't need to travel to Africa or the North Pole to take great pictures; even a neighbor's old car, with the right lighting and angle, can become a desktop background!

In summary, holding a camera can unleash your artistic vision. Simple everyday things can be captured as art. You don't need a big budget to start, and photography gives you a great reason to explore and discover the world around you.

EveOnlineTutorials's avatar
EveOnlineTutorials

Content Creation

Whilst YouTube is swamped with creators, it is often obvious that people don't put a lot of effort into their creations, this is often sad to see, especially when you see very skilled gamers doing this.

Content creation is very special to me, because it enables me, to create content that reflects my views and my emotions into what I project to others. So let's take for example Eve Online.

In my opinion, Eve Online is a game that everyone should try once, but it is very difficult to get into and as time went on, four of us came together to make content for this game, we wanted to create videos that made the game easy to understand, to create as many videos as we could on every subject a new player might want information on.

How to do missions, explaining such things as loyalty points, standings, fittings, and how to fit ships so that activities became super easy and in-game money flows very easily. So as the channel grew, it became more and more important to me.

YouTube has become such an important thing to me, it is a big part of my life. it's something that is close to me and my heart and I think it will continue to be as the channel grows.

JB
Josh B

Men's mental health is a growing concern in the UK but thankfully is becoming a more recognised epidemic within our communities. Suicide rates have soared in recent years and this has been in part due to the stigma around talking about our mental health.

Being someone has personally struggles with this aspect of daily life, it's something I am very passionate about sharing and helping to make people aware it's OK to talk about and seek help for.

There are a growing number of charities in the UK aiming to help spread the word on the importance of identifying men's mental health concerns and challenges, and providing a platform for men to feel comfortable talking about their mental and psychological challenges.

On such charity is Andys Man Club, but honestly there are an importantly frowning number that can offer support and advice for people, with online and face to face groups in local communities to help.

It's important to talk!

https://andysmanclub.co.uk/raising-awareness/

TheGreatestBanana12's avatar
TheGreatestBanana12

Two of my things that have always been close to my heart are gaming and helping people. Gaming has always been a huge part of my life ever since I was young and it has made a huge difference to me and I have always had the belief of even the smallest gesture can make a huge difference to someone and that you should take every opportunity to make that positive difference for someone as you never know when they could need it , This is why I donate £6 every month to the Special Effect Gamers charity, it is charity that helps hundreds of people every year who are physically disabled who are not able to use conventional gaming equipment and make specially adapted equipment for each individuals needs and provide it freely to allow them to be able to have the joy that is gaming and have experiences that will have a positive impact on them and make them feel included. The Charity starts by assessing someones needs once they receive a request for help and then they go on to build a custom gaming set up on each individual persons needs to try help improve their quality life and increase inclusiveness

https://www.youtube.com/embed/hKLNrCivOzw?feature=oembed

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