From Alissa…sorry guys word press had technical difficulties this morning. Some of you might have been alerted of this post twice..or had broken links to get here. Sorry about that…fortunately the issue is resolved now. I just can’t resend you correct links to your email. Sorry guys and thanks for your patience. 😀
Hey howdy hello Friendereenos!
In the dimension of time and space on a fertile rock hurtling millions of miles through space out of control around a giant nuclear ball of gas, I sit here in my comfy blue recliner with a laptop on a pad which keeps me from singeing my furry tender parts with the ability to reach thousands of people across said rock on an intangible information highway with my run-on sentences. It’s both a humbling and exhaustive enterprise to the extreme. It’s also a labor of love hence why I keep on keeping on with this “job” which went from something fun to try to a three-year enterprise that’s paid in dividends that would make most people quit after a month of writing. Heck, just a taste of this gig has made a lot of people I can think of run for the hills. It’s exhausting, it’s a grind, and for reasons sometimes beyond even me, I love it.
What a toilet has to do with the above… no clue. I’m just going to use whatever media file makes me happy. We’ve accumulated quite a collection over three years of blogging. Wait… three years!?! Wowza! I look up my posts and comments in the admin feature and my head spins at it all. My family and friends think I’m crazy. Do people even still play that game? The Simpsons? Why haven’t you used it to pursue other things in entertainment? What’s a blog? How many hits do you get daily? Surely you’re exaggerating? Well inquisitive person who thinks I need to grow up… yes, heck yes, I don’t know maybe because I want to be a teacher someday, a digital diary of sorts, a lot, and nope. That diary answer reminded me I haven’t done one in a while so here we are with me rambling like I used to do much more frequently.
Oh the good old days of TSTO Blogging. It felt like the Wild West and there were no expectations. There was so much that could be added into the game (still is if you ask me but that’s why I do WAWW posts). This site was a young upstart trying to be a positive force in TSTO among a bunch of competition sites. It was us against the world and somewhere/somehow we did okay for ourselves. We grew a community and a site that is as comprehensive as possible given a certain amount of minutes in a day plus other people (like kids needing attention or something or significant others wanting smooches… jeesh). I like this place. It’s a fun break from the world which sometimes is not my favorite. Oh the stories we could tell.
Soooooo… this week has been an interesting one. TSTO Addicts welcomed back “persona non grata” Pat aka Cranky Old Guy (COG). Honestly, I’m thrilled to have his pragmatic personality and writing talent back on the site and if you read between the lines of previous words like labor/work/grind you might get a hint of one of the reasons it is a nice addition. Once upon a time he wrote here and like the prodigal grampa… he’s back. When he was young people tied onions to their belts.
And he’s back for a reason. Let me be crystal clear, decisions like this are never done hastily but hatchets were buried in molten lava, water went under bridges, and legal agreements by savvy “Amazing” people were accomplished. You may not realize it but although this doesn’t make any sort of money that could support a family of four, it is a business as far as legal mumbo jumbo stuff is concerned. It’s a LLC with a clever name that tells you the amount of effort involved in running a popular site on the interwebs. Up All Night… nuff said.
COG is a welcome addition as far as I’m concerned and for anyone with different concerns than me or Alissa or Bunny, just trust us. We love this place. There’s room for pragmatism on this blog. I think it’s pretty clear we’ve always enjoyed opinions from different folks provided it isn’t mean, hurtful, or divisive. Pat brings an older perspective. Trust me when I say that if my mother (who’s Pat’s age lol j/k…he’s younger) wrote her thoughts about this game, there’d be an element of cane shaking to her vitriol about events and premium items. I just deal with those concerns at home. Like COG, she’s still playing, actually once felt she had beef against COG, and trusts her son and Alissa in the decision of reconciliation. Egads… she might actually enjoy his sense of humor too while being overprotective of a 36-year-old.
No surprise,Pat has similarities to crankywookieemama and any individual of the older and crankier type warns of a certain amount of curmudgeon-ish behavior. Suffice to say, all of us have had times we wanted to say a certain thing a specific way and just chose a more blissful approach. When I see grumping done right though, I’m usually quietly applauding. Jebus knows if I said my first response to some gameplay elements or comments, y’all might hate me. I’m a bit more sarcastic than some may realize yet I’m also an eternal optimistic realist. Happiness comes naturally to me but never forget that Wookiees have been known to rip the arms out of their opponents. But I’m rambling and oh it feels so good. I’m well ware that this blog isn’t a game of Dejarik Holochess against a droid, this is me just winding ireegular down a verbal pathway. Welcome to the blog (read madness), Pat. I look forward to your style of humor and hope the majority enjoy your contributions (both seen and unseen) as much as I will.
Before I move on, I have to dish about a comment that was made about a fear about COG turning this site into a drive for his charity. First off, this is Alissa’s baby and nothing will ever be done on the site that is not endorsed by her. All of Addicts happens by the will of the creator. I blame her for the dinosaurs frankly. There is not any intention to change the content you’ve come to know and love. Anything COG adds will just be extra seasoning. It’s like when you order your favorite meal and they offer dessert for free. You don’t have to say yes but you might enjoy the fritter. Up to you. As far as charities go, COG’s work with Buyijja in Africa is commendable and while I never posted about it here, I have donated to the worthwhile endeavor. Helping other people is never wrong. On a much smaller and less cosmically significant scale, this entire blog was created with the intention of helping people navigate a silly, little mobile game. While this won’t become the Addicts of Buyijja… I’ll never tell someone working on the site they can’t plug something that is helping others. The world is too sad a place to not help out. If you don’t like his charity, find another. I’d vote for veterans organizations, impoverished Americans, and many others. “You must be the change you wish to see in the world” to quote Ghandi. In the end, being buried with lots of money that could have helped others is sort of sad. Up to you though. This site will always give you the choice, just don’t click the link and the problem is solved.
Helping is good but I don’t want to preach about it. Heck, we’ve had awesome people help out here and while I am immensely grateful to contributors to this site like Kim, Safi, Totbox, DaPimp and Robobot (apologies to anyone I forgot), having an experienced writer who knows the ins and outs of TSTO blogging is a big help. Pretty soon I will be back to school and am content knowing someone will be around to help in the comments besides Bunny. This can’t just be the Alissa show without wearing her down to a frazzled nub. She’s not paid what she’s worth. Now we can maybe let Alissa take more vacations with the beautiful family she has. The REAL truth is you probably won’t see any big changes. Addicts has been an enduring presence for three years and unless Alissa pulls the plug (no danger there btw), we will continue to be until TSTO dies a fiery death.
Even then, we now have a Volunteer Fire Department in the game so no worries about any sparks or blazes occasionally in the comment section. But enough about all that. You ever hear the joke about the tapper, the iPad, and the perfectly working game?
Me neither. For a bit of levity, I guess I could talk about the mini-Olympics event. I know there are a lot of people who feel sort of meh about this one but I have to disagree. Any time EA brings something that everyone can easily complete with new items, I’m a happy fuzzball. Even better, it doesn’t have to last to the point of endless whining comments about the length of the event. Honestly, mini-events are perfection. There’s not tons of stuff you can’t figure out where to place and if you finish early, there’s down time to do the true reason I continue to love this game… town design. Bring on the mini-events EA. Thank you for the cool Go-Karts. Bonus points for the return of the monorail. The narcissistic part of me feels the need to point out it’s all based on my favorite episode ever. Maybe EA likes me? This event has definitely not been a pain or super-work-intensive to blog about and works nicely IMHO. Any extra time that I have to write posts like this or just enjoy playing the game on my own and forgetting for a moment that I blog about it is a good time.
Somehow I still enjoy this silly game after four years. Maybe it’s because I’m a huge Simpsons fan? Maybe it’s that the game is actually good? Maybe it’s the money and time invested? Maybe I take the time to design my town to maintain sanity and enjoyment? Truth is that it is most likely this blog and some of the above. Thank YOU for being a reason to keep at something. What else to mention? Oh yeah. Keep an eye out in the future for news about other media from yours truly. I’m in the middle of figuring out a podcast about all things geek. I’ve got my equipment and a vision for the concept and hope to have announcements soon if listening to my voice talk about Star Wars, Simpsons, comics, etc. sounds interesting to you. Should be fun.
I’ll definitely be rambling in that medium so I guess I;m done here (for now). Glad I could get some of this off my chest. I am so thankful for this community and the chance to get my thoughts out into the world. It’s been cathartic, it’s been real, it’s been entertaining/hilarious, and it’s been frustrating and rewarding simultaneously. Three years goes by more quickly than you can imagine. Here’s to however many more we get. As far as I’m concerned, free funny is always good.
TTFN… Wookiee out.
I’m glad for this site, I’m happy that you’re happy, Wookie, and I am even happy that I read through the whole thing. 🙂
I haven’t been around nearly as long as most, but I do appreciate the work that you all put in, and I look forward to more. I am also digging COG’s posts, too. I missed all that drama, but it’s awfully nice to have a place on the interwebs where people can work out their differences. Sometimes finding a friendly place to forget about troubles is what gets me through the day.
(Sorry. Sometimes I ramble, too.)
I really hope I don’t see any guilt trips for charity here, I’m personally not a fan of that approach. I’ve been worried about this since the reunion post you might call it which seemed to foreshadow a return. I’ve liked the way the site has been operating and the tone of the posts.
You may see a link to something but no trips to guilt city. Pat is here to add some extra funny to the site and more funny is never a bad thing.
BTW Wookie, I can’t wait for this Podcast! Sounds amazing 😊
Love all things geek: star wars, comics and of course Simpsons! Please include a lot of Simpsons stuff.
Any ideas for the Podcast name?
Here are some of my suggestions:
~ Furry FM
~ Wookie’s World
~ Wookie the Geek
~ Geek, Furry and Proud
~ Tales from the Wookster
~ the Global Geek
It’s already named with artwork, etc. First episode is already recorded/edited. Keep your eyes on the blog as I’ll post when it’s available.
Thanks Wookie! Really looking forward to it
Love your rambles and agree with what you say! A really fub post and loved reading it. Don’t bottle your rambles up just “let it go” ~ is Riley into Frozen yet Alissa?
I want a giant toilet … NOW! No … Seriously! I need to go 😊 LOL
Stay furry good friend ~ can I call you that?
She’s only 9 months Sam…she doesn’t really remember what she likes or dislikes yet lol
Remember? So she used to like or dislike something but now doesn’t? LOL 😊 Just being picky! 🎊 Happy 9th Month birthday Riley 🎊
Can you believe that in 3 months she will have her first birthday? Awwww … Such a cute thought!
Just don’t call me late for dinner.
Wookiee hungry.
What does a Wookiee eat? (Besides Chee-tos 😆)
And although I feel it was undeserved, thanks for that shout out in the post. ✌️
He just likes being able to use Pimp in a post without me yelling 😉
Hahah 😂
My favorite was when he mentioned the Pimp Cletus outfit. Still hoping to get that in the game some day..
https://tstoaddicts.com/2014/02/24/move-over-fellas-its-my-time-to-shine/
Lol… that was a fun post to write.
Lol – that’s a slightly different version of an expression my grandpa used to say all the time, “Call me anything you want, except late to supper!”
There’s a few things I say that I learned from my grandfather and this is one of them. My personal favorite is “Don’t confuse me with facts, I’ve made up my mind.”
Singe of my grandpa’s sayings were a bit more inscrutable, like, “The longest way ’round is the shortest way home” (which I kind of get) to “He who shall, so shall he who” (which I’m not entirely sure even he got, lol!). Another favorite of his (and very “scrutable”) was, “Better to owe it to you than to cheat you out of it!” 😀
I’m starting to think that Wookiee was Born a Rambling Man :p
Well Tot, pretty sure I was born as an infant but yes, I’ve always been a bit of a rambler… maybe I can blame my mom raising me on music like the Allman Brothers.
Your furry tender parts have the ability to reach thousands of people across the globe? 😉
Nice article, Wook, although I do take exception to the fact that, when it comes to responding to comments (the kind from people who need help with the game and suchlike (wow – Swype actually recognized “suchlike”!), you forgot to mention all of the comments here, especially the cadre of “regulars” who frequently pitch in, and really stepped up that help when Alissa needed it the most, back around the time when Riley was first born, for example. True, we couldn’t help with pushing comments through moderation (because none of us were granted that godlike power (oooh, Swype – “godlike,” too? You’re on a roll….). That said, CoG seems to have learned how to behave himself in the comments section now and has, since his early stumble out of the gate, become a fine contributor. (This is why I don’t believe in building grudges for very long…when it comes to individual people, I’m somewhat of an optimist and generally believe in second chances.)
At any rate, thanks for all of your contributions to this site over the past three years, and for all the ones you’ll continue to make until the game ends (gasp! no!) or until you just don’t wanna do it anymore (the site stuff…. I’m guessing you’ll be playing the game for as long as it continues to exist).
Okay – off to collect my 6(!) donuts for the one-hour Birch Barlow show daily task I go today….sweet!
Jealous – I get 1 donut for 8 hours of praying!
Yesterday(?), I had to send 5 criminals on an 8-hour task for one donut! (But, it’s still better than three Springfield Heights currency task I had x’d out of to get that.)
Shoot! My daily task was to craft latte’s. I ditched that one for a $1000 cash reward. Lame.
If I get a Springfield Heights task the first time and dismiss it, it pretty much always turns into a cash task. But, if I get a Springfield Heights task as a replacement for another task, then, if I dismiss it, I usually get a donut task.
I don’t know if this pattern is real or illusory though, since my n is too small compared to the distribution.
Which is where the “apologies for anyone I forgot” comes in. I love how helpful all the regulars are and it definitely is great. For the foreseeable future, I’ll be around so no worries there.
This makes me wonder… When are they finally gonna release the world’s largest toilet in our games? It have been sitting in the game files for over three years if I’m not mistaken hosh diddly darn it!
Uh I know…I think Wookiee used that image just to torture me…
In a small way, I hope just by using the image to remind EA to finally release it. Maybe I should use it more often.
With all the new stuff and a lack of time to properly place it, my Sprimgfield looks like the worlds biggest toilet just now….
They should definitely release it. We need knew aspirations. Put this one at 50 million. That’s what I’d call “flushing your money down the toilet.” Hahaha! Aren’t I hilarious? 🙂
By the way, I just won 2.5 million at the racers twice in a row. Now I can finally buy the Fortress of Choclitude.
To be 100% honest I can see why a few people were worried. Especially if they have been here since the beginning. But as others have said Alissa is only one person and I seriously doubt COG is secretly plotting somewhere the ultimate demise to bringing down this site. i mean he “could” be sitting in a corner somewhere tapping his fingers together in the classic Mr. Burns fashion but a part of me highly doubts it. For me, I enjoy this site way to much to give up on just because there is a chance things can go down hill. Plus, I hoesntly think COGs intentions are good and if it takes some pressure off Alissa so she doesn’t get burnt out even better. So, I’m going to embrace it and hope for the best and hopefully others out there will too.😁
lol yes, his ultimate revenge…I think having met me and seeing that “garbage” truck follow him around while he was in Jersey…he wouldn’t try anything silly like that 😉
Oh my gosh….I wrote this too early! There are sooOoo many errors. Please forgive my sleep deprived state. I was up until 3:30 am trying to get my 4 year old to sleep in her own bed. 😪
lol no worries 🙂
Sometimes a good ramble is needed to get out everything that has been building inside. This was a good one.
Also, I too enjoy the mini events. Easy to complete, without tons of leftover crafting material I don’t want to waste so my town gets filled with barrels or rocks or buildings.