Five Minute Management Course

Lesson 3 (of Six)

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp.

They rub it and a Genie comes out.

The Genie says, ‘I’ll give each of you just one wish.’

‘Me first! Me first!’ says the admin clerk. ‘I want to be in the Bahamas , driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.’

Puff! She’s gone..

‘Me next! Me next!’ says the sales rep. ‘I want to be in Hawaii , relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life.’

Puff! He’s gone.

‘OK, you’re up,’ the Genie says to the manager.

The manager says, ‘I want those two back in the office right after lunch.’

Moral of the story:

Always let your boss have the first say!

–Posted by (but not written by) Paloma Pentarian

Part II:  On Being Well-Informed

Part I:  Timely Communication Skills

How much would you pay to read Charlie Brooker? AA Gill? Jan Moir?

Answers on a postcard. All right then. A tweet. According to a PCUK/Harris Poll, it’s slightly less than a Kit Kat, slightly more than a Freddo. But only very slightly.

25p a day. Or, more frighteningly, a tenner a year. Ten English pounds. Not for any old news site. No, for your favourite news site, the one to which you turn in a crisis, when Twitter seems to have gone mad over a single word or when your brain is frozen from temping and only columns can save you.

Tell that to a room full of journalism students and you’d think you would be lucky to get out alive. But Rob Andrews, UK Editor of paidcontent.org, escaped remarkably unscathed. Because, despite the heart-sinking figures, there’s a glimmer of hope on the horizon, light just glinting through the Rupert Murdoch-emblazoned bricks of the ever looming pay wall.

Yesterday Rob’s own site provided one, in the form of an advert for a new UK reporter, proving the near-extinct species, jobbus journalismus, may yet survive.

And there’s hope amidst those grim statistics, too. 48% of online users would be happy to pay for a subscription to a paper, as long as it came with the print edition. Which makes sense, really. To quote Rob, now we have let the genie out of the bottle, he’s going to be pretty hard to squeeze back in. Not only has online news always been free, it feels free. It’s a flibbertigibbet, transient and temporary. The message is clear – two pounds for a huge wodge of glossed-up tree is ok. Two pounds for some pixelated pictures and disappearing text isn’t.

But if print can be used to give its online cousin some financial wings, then there’s hope in both.

It is by no means the only answer though. There’s still another 50% who wouldn’t. And it doesn’t get to the bottom of the fundamental issue – how to turn the internet into wages.

Rob escaped stoning-through-shorthand-pads in another way, too – the sheer number of solutions on offer. Paid models are working in some areas because readers will pay for unique content – the Financial Times is a case in point. They’ll pay for extras too, like Times Culture+. And advertising could yet be resurrected – the internet makes it much more efficient, so ABCs and bulks are replaced by detailed statistics which allow for targeted ads.

The other theory is that of the docile lemming. If newspapers make us pay then, well, we will. It’s happened already with music – illegal downloading is beginning to wane, replaced by Spotify, iTunes and a myriad of ways to make us pay, albeit subtly.

But the BBC isn’t a pirated copy downloaded from Napster. As long as quality free sites remain, newspapers are going to face a tough job convincing people they are worth paying for.

They haven’t lost the battle yet though. As Rob said, we need to stop looking for short term ways of making money and look at long term, innovative solutions. The technology that is threatening newspapers could very well save the brand, if not the paper itself.

Ten years ago, not even the most technologically-minded Mystic Meg could have predicted this new media landscape. Paidcontent.org’s 2010 conference, announced yesterday, will attempt to make sense of the web’s murky tea leaves. Journalism isn’t dead. It just needs a bit of a facelift.

UPDATE: Mein Verständnis von Selbstverantwortung:

Bevor ich zu studieren began, habe mir überlegt welchen Beruf ich in Zukunft ausüben will. Ich habe mir mein Potenzial mit Hilfe von Tests und Gesprächen bewusst gemacht. Dies funktioniert für technischen und wirtschaftlichen Studiengängen sicher besser als für die anderen.

Potenziale von Menschen entfalten sich, und vor dem Studium ist nicht jedes Potenzial absehbar. Das Risiko Berufene, Highpotentials oder sogar Genies zu übersehen ist gegeben.

"Alone we can do little; together we can do so much." -Helen Keller

Somit soll jeder die Chance bekommen sein Potenzial finden zu dürfen, um das richtige Studium zu wählen.

Decken die vorhandenen Potenziale die Bedürfnisse des zukunftigen Wirtschaftssystem?

Wer finanziert wieviel?

The mission of the Ahlbin Rehabilitation Centers, a non-profit organization, is to provide care to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. The Auxiliary supports the Ahlbin Centers to succeed in their mission by helping them to maintain a position of excellence in the field of rehabilitation medicine through various fundraisers held throughout the year.

Our next fundraiser, The Enchanted Castle is going to be held at The Burr Mansion from October 22 through October 31, 2009. Parents and their children can tour six fantasy theme rooms: Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, The Wizard of Oz, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and new this year—The Pirate Room. This event is designed for children 2-10 years of age and will amaze every person who visits, no matter what age!

The event will be chaired by auxiliary members Kay Smith, Debbie Charles and Shaun Amberg, all from Fairfield.

The Castle Hours:

Monday, October 26^th through Friday, October 30^th: 4 – 7 PM

Saturday, October 31^st: 10 – 4 PM

Admission is $5 per person

School groups and Play groups are welcome to make a reservation to come on Tuesday, October 27^th and Wednesday, October 28^th from 9 am until noon. To make your reservation, please contact: info@enchantedcastle.org.

Source: www.enchantedcastle.org

Check out my friend’s lovely experience.

As kids, we use Halloween as an excuse to get our hands on mounds and mounds of chocolates and candies. It is also a special time for us to show off our costumes. As adults, however, priorities change and, instead of mounds and mounds of candies, we use Halloween as an excuse to wear something that can heat up the might.

One of the most common adult Halloween costume is that of the beer girls and bar maids. Many women prefer this because of the its subtle sexiness. Great for those adult parties that require a little modesty. This costume is usually made up of a knee-high or thigh-high hosiery, short, frilly skirt, and an off-shoulder top.

If you want one that is sexier, then you can go for the French Maid look. These costumes are also quite modest but shows off more skin than the bar maid. Costume is made up of thigh-high stockings, apron skirt and feather duster. Top could range from underwire bra with puffy sleeves to peasant tops. Oftentimes, matching panties are also included.

Another popular costume theme is Angels and Demons. These costumes usually come with halo and wings or horns and tails. Pitch forks are oftentimes included.

Some other costumes that you might also want to try include genies and belly dancers, goddesses, mobsters, nuns, and peasant girls.

So what will it be?

Till next time…Flaunt On!

Nothing is planned by the sea and the sand.

Jen’s shoes clack-clacked on the cracked sidewalk, her slight frame slipping in and out of the dimly buzzing shadows of the streetlights.  She looked around hesitantly and almost tripped.  “What the hell am I thinking,” she muttered to herself.  Most nights at this time, she would be in bed with a book, or at her favorite cafe nursing her usual and people-watching.  Tonight she had nothing to distract her from herself.  It was a whim to head down to the beach, and the more she thought about it, it was probably a pretty dangerous adventure.  This time of year, the beach was deserted at night.  It was too cold, too windy, and too far away from the warmth of the city.  And yet, here she was, the result of another ill-thought-out decision based on a whiff of something reminiscent of sea salt and the thought of the full moon reflected on the waves.

Each block she walked had been another decision, whether to turn back or continue forward.  The possibility of making a mistake weighed on her almost tangibly.  Someone could come out of that dark alley and kill her, or worse.  If only she had turned back one block earlier, she would have been safe.  Maybe she’ll make it to the beach, only to find herself shivering and miserable, wishing she was anywhere else.  An eternity of consequences stretched out before her on the dimly lit sidewalk.  Consequences she would have to live with.  She thought of the endless life after being viciously beaten by a drunk mugger, crippled, disfigured, and unwanted.  She thought of the endless life after seeing the moonlight flit perfectly over the waves, trying in vain to find a scene as memorable.  She thought of the endless life on the sidewalk after deciding never to stop walking.  But lastly she thought of the endless life in her apartment, alone, afraid to leave or even get out of bed, unwilling to shoulder the burden of choice.  And she kept walking towards the slow hissing of the waves.  “Finally,” Jen blinked, kicking her heels off and stepping onto the dunes.  The moon was flitting prettily over the waves, and as she walked slowly towards the ocean she whispered it again: “Finally.”  She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and suddenly decided to make her stand right there, in the sea and the sand, and she wriggled her toes into the cold wetness and let the wind whip her hair in every direction.

When she opened her eyes, the djinn was standing in front of her.  He seemed ethereal, as though he might be blown away by the next gust of wind, and his clothes rustled so that she was unsure whether there was anything inside them.  His hair floated in defiance of gravity, but his face was human, and his gaze solid.  His eyes were the color of the sand and the sea, and she lost herself in them, in their timeless familiarity.  A long time passed.  When he spoke, it was as quiet and inevitable as the backyard brook destined after many miles to become a mighty waterfall.

“I have come to grant your wish.”

She exhaled.

The djinn said, “I have come to set you free.”

She blinked.

The djinn said, “I have come to take away your fear.”

She whispered, “How do you know I’m afraid?”

“Everyone is afraid,” he said with certainty.  “They do not know the future, nor do they usually know the past.  They do not know others, and they know themselves least of all.  Doubt is, perhaps, the foundation of all fear.”

“And you -”

“Grant their wishes, yes.”  He smiled knowingly as if reliving a thousand jokes.  “You see,” he chuckled, “they actually believe they know what they want!”  He laughed like faraway thunder.  “Some live to learn from their mistake, and others, well, aren’t so unlucky.”

Her feet were gripping the sand so hard it hurt.  She briefly entertained notions of crying, or falling dramatically to her knees, or laughing, or running, or kissing him.

“But I can see that you are not like most,” he continued.  “You are well aware of your fear, and it is not of me.  You are only afraid of choosing wrongly.  You are here, so you must understand the mortal gravity of that choice, and every other.  But perhaps you also understand its inevitability.”  He held up a hand.  “Near-inevitability.  For the one true gift I may give is the one I once received, escape from the prison of doubt and reprieve from the weight of uncertainty.”  He motioned at the waves crashing on the shore.  “This is the clarity of purpose I can provide.  You are adrift, but I can give you direction and a steady wind.  You will forever unerringly find your shore.”

She stared at the waves crashing, ebbing, and crashing again onto the beach.  She saw them rise to majestic heights, lose their balance, and yet land time after time in the same familiar sand, in the caress of an age-old lover.  It was very relaxing.

He said with sympathy, “You will no longer have to seek out this feeling, it will be inside you.”

And Jen looked in the djinn’s eyes and knew it to be true.  But then she bit her lip and looked back at the ocean.  “The waves must crash forever,” she said.  “If there are rocks, and a ship, the waves must crush it.”

“Yes, of course.  In the captain’s case, that is just one example of the fatal consequences of decision.”

“But what if the wave should want to carry the ship to safety?  What if one grain of sand should want to fly against the wind?”

“Why would it?  If grains of sand were not governed by wind we would not have the beauty of the sand dune.  There would be pointless chaos.”

“Not every grain, and not all the time.  Just enough to be different.  Just enough to make a difference.”

He stared at her and said nothing.

“If enough grains had that power,” she mused, “they could build their own sand castles.”

“Or they could destroy others’ sand castles.  Without a common purpose they would be doomed to an existence without greater meaning.  Even with a common purpose they will find themselves at the mercy of uncaring waves, and in the end, subject to the mortality of time itself.  No matter which road is taken, no matter which method is used, the sand castle will fall.  And nothing will remain but wasted effort.”

“And a memory.”

“Is a memory worth more than reality?”

“A memory is forever, reality is only one moment.”  She paused, and continued, “the eternity of consequences is not a curse, it’s a gift.  It’s what we remember that has meaning, not the moment itself.  Our fleeting effect on the world, for good or ill, is all that can define us.  Unlike some, we are blessed with the awareness of this and the ability to change.  How could I give that up?  That precious gift, that unique responsibility?  My own eternal life.”

The djinn smoldered.  He swayed back and forth.  “You will be unable to see out of your own special darkness.  You will make dire mistakes, and be haunted by them, long after you are dead.  He spread his hands to encompass the beach, the sea, the city, the universe.  There will be no safe or easy road for you to follow.”

And as the tear ran down her cheek she said with more confidence than she felt,  “I know.  I will make mistakes, and I will pay the price.  But this will not be one of them.”

The djinn’s sonorous tone had a tinge of desperation as he asked, “Where will you go?  What path will you take from here?  Who will you become?  How will you choose?”

Jen looked around her slowly, at the moon shimmering on the restless ocean, at the brightly lit city beyond the cracked sidewalk, at the blurry darkness on the horizon.  She wiped the tears from her face and smiled.  She took the djinn’s hand and said, “I don’t know, I’ve never done it before.”  And as she led him step by step into the sky, their eyes shining with more than moonlight, grains of wet sand clung to their feet only to drop and twist in the air, forming parapets and little towers on their long journey back to the earth.

From a portrait of Erasmus by Hans Holbein the Younger

From a fictionalization of a trip to Seoul a few weeks ago (first draft finished yesterday)—

No one knows the size of the city of Seoul. And it’s even said among some people that a man familiar with the Hangul alphabet once found a live electrical wire on the far side of the planet with the word Seoul (‘서울’) printed on its gray rubber. So this is proof that the roots of the city grip the whole surface of the Earth, and that if you want to go there, all you have to do is reach into the soil, dig around with your hand, find the inevitable wire, and tear it out—if you have the strength, you can whip it up all the way to the horizon, and follow the root until you get there.

From an autobiography of a Djinn (first draft unfinished (was interrupted by the trip to Seoul and the subsequent inspiration))—

You’ve raised me up, so I’ll speak to you.

I remember my birth and I remember waking from eternity, the feel of fingers weaving me from threads of fire. It’s the same as waking from any sleep. Something pieces you together. In the bright pit under the world I was an empty memory and a flesh of wind, though the blood in my veins was a seething flame, and my legs and arms and hands (all five of them, all ten thousand of them) flashed me back and forth as fast as thought. I was thought, I was fire with neither light nor smoke nor heat, more a force—a push, a shove in the market from nowhere—than a living being, a quiet inhabitant of the inferno.

The last few days I’ve written about parenting–engaging young kids and encouraging “make-believe”–and sonnets.  So today, I thought I’d combine all subjects.  (I don’t mean the “make-believe” comment to refer to the religious aspects of the poem, but the bedtime story.)   The sonnet is Shakespearean in rhyme scheme (and attempted meter.)

My Father

My father knelt beside my bed; his round head
reflecting the bedside lamp with the look
of lighting within.  “And the genie,” he said,
“came out of a big blue jar.”  Not from a book
were the stories he told me at night.
Always of genies who were big-blue-jarred
and did fairly little, only the slight
magic of minor wishes, often ill-starred.
Though the stories were just a warm up to
the bedtime prayer.  “Our Father,” that would start,
then straight out head for “hallowed”, “trespass” too,
unknown words, to me a spell he knew by heart,
invoking, croakingly, a wished-for will
that the blue genied jar could never fulfill.

(All rights reserved.  Karin Gustafson)

With the Genie system, players can use a Genie to compliment their chosen class and round out their gameplay. The genies are non-corporeal entities that can assist in battle by casting buffs, debuffs and using new and unique abilities.

There are four different Genies, one of each season: Longevity (Spring), Discipline (Winter), Zeal (Autumn), Infliction (Summer). Each genie has a unique nascent skill when you first receive them, however, all other skills must be obtained through upgrading.

STR: Determine damage out put of skills
DEX: Determine effect of skills -duration
VIT: MP pool
INT: MP Recovery and the skills learnable (each 50 INT = +1 MP recovery)

All genie skills cost stamina, which requires Chi stones to replace, so all genie skills effectively cost money. From that perspective:

STR: More bang for your buck on damaging (and possibly healing) skills
DEX: More bang for your buck on durational skills
VIT: Allows you to use more expensive (and powerful) skills, as well as chaining them together
INT: Allows you to use skills more frequently, and with more variety

Lucky points simply adds extra attribute points to the genie. Genies receive 1 point per level and every 10 levels receive a bonus of up to 10 lucky points. Thus a lucky genie can double its points.

The more Lucky Points your genie gets, the more rare it is. If I had a level 80 genie and its points where 80/80 that’s super rare.

common———————super rare
green–blue–purple–gold–orange

The higher the random stats determine not only the look of your genie but the combat ability as well as rareness. It can be classified as follow:

Color code: Orange
This color indicates this genie gained 10 random stats per every 10 level. It is the queen of all genies (very rare)

Color code: Gold
This color indicates this genie gained random stats between 61 – 99 points.

Color code: Purple
This color indicates this genie gained random stats between 51- 60 points.

Color code: Blue
This color indicates this genie gained random stats between 41- 50 points.

Color code: Green
This color indicates this genie gained random stats between 10 – 40 points.

The amount of lucky points your genie has, determines its appearance and the overall stats it gets
Evolution of Genies Based on Lucky Points

It doesn’t really matter which genie you choose, the differences is:
The attributes, one starts with 15mag, another with 15 dex etc..
Then the looks and their first skill, which isn’t very good and you will drop it.

Genies can level up along with their masters. In addition to increasing their base stats, players can upgrade a Genie’s elemental affinity, with any of the five elements: Metal, Wood, Earth, Water and Fire. The elemental affinity will become important because different affinities will be the key to unlocking certain skills. Genies can have a maximum of 26 affinity points. If need be, a player can reset the Genie’s affinity points at the new NPC “Elemental Ambassador” in any of the five main cities.

One interesting aspect of Genie skills is that some are location specific. Some Earth skills can be used only while on the ground, many water skills can only be used in Water and some Metal skills can only be used while in flight. Additionally, some skills are race specific— Hollow Fist is reserved for Venomancers only, or the skill Rainbow Blessing is restricted to the Winged Elf race.

Every Genie skill has 10 levels. The majority of the level one skills will have a requisite one point of a certain element (this is the same concept as many of our classes builds, you cannot open some skills without have a chain of others opened, even if they are only at level one).

What are STR, DEX, VIT and MAG stats on my genie mean?

STR: Determine damage out put of skills
DEX: Determine effect of skills -duration
VIT/WIL: MP pool
MAG/INT: MP Recovery and the skills learnable (each 50 INT = +1 MP recovery).

STR: 1 point of str adds about 1% damage to a genies skills
DEX: 1 point of dex increases the range, duration and success rate of status effects
VIT/WIL: 1 point of vit increases the max energy of your genie by 1
MAG/INT: 40 points of magic gives your genie 1 more skill slot to learn a skill
50 points of magic increases the energy recovery rate by 1/sec

Starting Stats on Genies
Genies – STR DEX WIL INT

Pink 15 5 3 5 (Summer – Infliction) Strength affinity
White 3 5 15 5 (Winter – Discipline) Vitality affinity
Orange 5 3 5 15 (Fall – Zeal) Magic affinity
Blue 5 15 5 3 (Spring – Longevity) Dexterity affinity

What kind of stats allocated to my genie when it level up?
-Genies begin with L1 and random stats of 1-10
-Genies begin with VIT 100, MP recovery 1 point/sec
-Gain 1 stat point every level. Player can allocate this point freely. Maximum free point allocation for single stats is 40. Any above need 2 stats point to gain 1 point (mean you need 2 levels for 2 point to invest 1 point to make it to 41).
-After (base stat +40) it costs 2 points to raise a stat instead of just 1.
So if your base stat is 15, it will cost 2 points starting at 55; if it’s 5, 45; and if it’s 3, raising it over 43 will cost more. (thx Hametsu)
-Genies gain titles every 10 level. Each title gain between 1-10 stats points (Random).
-Total of random stats gained determines the display model of the genies. Higher random stats will gain a better look and combat ability for genies.

These stats can be reset with respect scroll (genie)

Where can I get genie quest and what is the quest reward?
Visit the new NPC- Watcher of Earth in 5 major cities for genie quest starting from L1 to L80.

The quest rewards are
L1 – Collect your genie.
L19 (completed L1 quest) – L19 Cube of Enlightenment-EXP Stone
L49 (completed L1 quest) – L49 Refined Cube of Enlightenment-EXP Stone
L70 (completed L1 quest) – 20 Order of Origination – stats respect scroll
L79 (completed L49 quest) – L79 Elite Cube of Enlightenment-EXP Stone
L80 (completed L1 quest) – Stone of Refreshment – element point respect scroll

Elemental stats:
-Genies begin with 1 elemental point.
-Gain 1 elemental point each 5 level.
-Gain 1 elemental point every level above 100
-Maximum allocation point for each elemental stat is 8
-Total elemental point gain is 26
-Elemental stats can be reset to 0 with respect scroll (genie).

How many skills do genies come with?
By default, it has 3 skills. You can learn additional skill at each 40 INT point. For example, when your genis INT reaches 40, you can learn one skill. INT at 80 can learn second skill etc.

Skill Tree

If I do not like the genie I have, what can I do?
You can talk to new NPC and select appropriate option to dismiss your genie. You gain EXP stone in proportion to genie level. To dismiss genie that is L40 and above, you genie must be in tradable mode to do so.

The tradeable mode option is one in which allows for other players to trade or sell there genies. However, one must keep in mind that “Genies can be traded amongst players after they have been converted into TRADE READY state. Click the Trade State button in the Genie interface menu in order to access this feature. It will take 7 days to convert your Genie into to TRADE READY state. By default, a Genie is set to NO-Trade state. In this state, the Genie cannot be traded, sold, or discarded.” From Trade to NO-Trade is instant, but it will take another 7 days if you do decide to trade it again.

Please note that Genies in TRADE READY state, the Genie can be traded, sold, and dropped and EXP infusion is restricted to EXP Cubes only. To infuse EXP or Spirit into the Genie, please switch the Genie back to NO-TRADE state. (See Patch Notes from May 26th)

Do I have to feed my genie?
You have to give it chi stones from decomposing player equipment to fill its stamina bar, which is used up whenever you use one of the genies skills. Other than that genies do not require any kind of food.

If you do not “feed” your genie, the stamina bar will eventually run low and you will not be able to utilize the skills.

Genie Stamina Replenishment Chart – Chi Stones:
Yiyuan stone: +40 stamina
Liangyi stone: (3 Yiyuan): +80 stamina
Santsai stone: (9 Yiyuan): +160 stamina
Ssuhsiang stone: (27 Yiyuan): +240 stamina
Wuhsing stone: (81 Yiyuan): +320 stamina
Liuho stone: (243 Yiyuan): +400 stamina
Chihsing stone: (729 Yiyuan): +480 stamina
Pakua stone: (2,178 Yiyuan): +560 stamina
Chiukung stone: (6,534 Yiyuan): +640 stamina
Perfect stone: (19,602 Yiyuan): +720 stamina

How can I level my genie?
There are 3 types of leveling methods:

-Using EXP stone.
-Using Character EXP
-Using Character SP, 1SP = 5 EXP points.

To level your genie skills, please see new NPC and select appropriate option.

Why my genies receive less EXP when I try to import?
-Player can only level up genies that are same level or lower level than the player level.
-No EXP penalty for transfer of genies to the same level player but to player that is higher levels than genies itself (penalty amount not known).
-When use genies EXP stone, the penalty is calculated base on EXP stone and genies level. EXP stone will disappeared once it EXP is used (example- stone has 10K EXP but you use 5K this time, the next time you use another 5K. It EXP is consumed and will disappear).
-There is no EXP penalty when genies reach L100 or higher.

Genie Level Calculations
Example 1: You are a player at level 20, and you have a genie at level 13.
So you put “20″ in the yellow box. Let’s say you want to know how much you need to infuse get a genie from level 13 to 14. Look for Genie level 13 (down on column “C”) and go across to columns “E” and “F”: it say, you need 6,120 player experience to infuse, or 1,224 spirit to infuse to level your genie from level 13 to level 14.

Example 2: You are a player at level 20, and you are getting a brand new genie. (And you want to level this genie all the way from 1 to 14.)
So again, put “20″ in the yellow box. How much TOTAL experience or spirit do you need to get the genie to level 14? Look for Genie level 13 (your desired level minus 1), and go across to Columns “I” and “J”: it says, you need a TOTAL of 41,460 player experience to infuse, or 8,292 spirit to infuse.

Additional info for who need:
1) When you learn skill for a genie, it will cost SP and Money. Maximum number of skills that genie can learn is 8. You can delete the skill you don’t want at the new NPC with free charge, but your SP and Money gone forever.
2) There are 4 types of equipments your genie can buy. For now, only 2 items for each type. 1 item cost 1M to buy, another cost 3M. All of these item +1 or 2 point more to your genie’s stats.
3) Depends on how you spend the element stat of the genie, it can learn and cast certain skill.
4) You genie’s color changes, depend on how you build its stat, and when it reach lvl 100, it color will change one more time, depends on how many random stat points your genie gets every 10 lvl, over the total possible random points. RANDOM POINTS YOU CAN GET DEPENDS ON YOUR GENIE’S… LOYALTY POINT
The color just like you weapon: dark orange is best, gold is good, purple is ok, green is… trade your genie.
5)Over all, if there are 1000 genie, there could be 1000 ways to build. The genie is kinda new, so there isn’t any perfect way to build it yet. It depends on what skill you want to learn, on your class, on your favorite color (eg. girls like pink a lot), on your pocket…

Equipping your Genie:
Yes, you can equip your genie! “Players can buy equipment for their Genies from the Watcher of the Earth. Genie Equipment includes Jades, Mirrors, Orbs, and Charms. Once equipped, Genie equipment can no longer be de-equipped; it can only be destroyed or replaced. Destroying and replacing Genie equipment is also done through the Watcher of the Earth.” HOWEVER, before everyone gets all excited…these items cost 1 million coins. Therefore, and unfortunately, these items will be out of reach of many.

Affinity Points:
Somewhat different then attribute points, Affinity Points give you the option of placing elemental affinities: Earth, Water, Fire, Wood, Water and Metal. Where you place these points will determine what skills your genie may acquire. The higher the affinity points needed for a skill, the stronger that skill is going to be (even at level one).

Affinity: Metal
Affinity: Fire
Affinity: Wood
Affinity: Water
Affinity: Earth

“Genies start with 1 Affinity Point, and will gain an additional Affinity Point every 5 levels. When a Genie reaches Level 100, it will gain 1 Affinity Point every level. Genies can attain a maximum of 26 Affinity Points.”
“There are 5 types of Affinities: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. The number of points required to master an Affinity is 8.”

Skills:
Important to note – ALL genies can get the SAME skills. There is no restriction on this; the only restriction is that some of the CLASSES cannot open certain skills on there genies.
“By default, a Genie can learn a maximum of 3 skills. You can increase the maximum number of skills your Genie can learn by increasing the INT (Intellect) attribute. Genie abilities will consume your Genie’s Energy and Stamina. Genie’s can forget skills via the Watcher of the Earth at no cost.”

Starter Skills
(each Genie comes with a starter skill, this is something that you can “unlearn” from your genie if you wish to replace it, but for those who may not have the exp/spirit to level and gain new skills, these are a good starting point to learn your genie)

*Discipline (White Genie) Wind Force – Increases Flight Speed by 50%

*Zeal (Gold Genie) Earthflame – Reduces Target attack and defense 4%

*Longevity (Blue Genie) Eruption Fist – Reduces Elemental resistance 30%

*Infliction (Red/Pink Genie) Venom Stinger – Decreases Targets speed & increases yours by 22%

See Skills

—————————————————————————————————————–
UPDATE ON “BUGGED” SKILLS: Patch Notes from May 26th:

Genie Skills:
Many changes to Genie description skills have been updated to reflect the actual function of the skill:

Chi Siphon: Drains X Chi from an enemy into yourself. The target will then regenerate 30 Chi every 3 seconds for 30 seconds.

Earthquake: Deals Earth damage to targets around you. Has a chance to cause a knock back against monsters.

Frenzy: Lowers your Defense and Spell Resistance by X and increases your attack level by X.

Life Drain: Drains health from all targets within 15 meters. Causes X water damage and heals you for 5% of your max HP.

Mantle Ripple of Death: Creates a magical ripple in the ground. Causes X physical and earth damage to all targets within 15 meters of you. X chance for the targets to be poisoned and lose 100 Chi over 60 seconds.

Qi Manipulation: Reduces target’s Mana over time.

Reflective Aura: Chance to reflect magic attacks. Only available in Duels, Territory Wars, and against NPC Monsters.

Searing Heat: Fire Affinity Requisite lowered to 2.

Tree of Protection: Increases max HP by X for 5 seconds. Restores 25% of your max HP every 3 seconds for 6 seconds.

Virulent Poison: Injects the target with a virulent poison that deals damage over 3 seconds. Target is immune to other status effects for base duration of 1 second.

Whirlwind: Deal small amount of damage to nearby targets. Briefly immobilizes and then stuns them.

UPDATE ON “BUGGED” SKILLS: Patch Notes from May 20th:

Genie Skills
Cauterize (Previously called Healing)
Has a X% chance to remove Bleed effects from yourself.

Blood Clot
Makes you immune to Bleed Effects for x seconds. Does not remove existing Bleed effects.

Air Strand
Immobilizes the target for 5 seconds. Has a 20% chance to also silence the target for 3 seconds. X% chance to also immobilize yourself for 4 seconds.

Faith
Chance to gain immunity to all status effects for a short period of time.

Rainbow Blessing
Now correctly states the requisite class (Cleric).

*(Review for Genie Skill Bugs Currently Known Prior to May 20th Patch)*

**New And Improved Bug Report Thread as of May 21st: For any in game bugs/issues**

—————————————————————————————————————–

UPDATE ON GENIE SKILLS: July 30, 2009 – Patch 166

Genie Skill Changes

Balance – New Blademaster only Genie skill. Creates a shield around you that absorbs damage and makes you immune to stuns for 12 seconds. If your physical defense is higher than your average elemental resistance, the shield absorbs magic damage. If your elemental resistance is higher than your physical defense, the shield absorbs physical damage. The amount it absorbs is based on the difference between your physical defense and elemental resistance.

Electro Dance – Now has a chance to stun enemies.

Explosion – Now only hits a single target. It also now drains all of your Genie’s energy, but has no minimum cost.

Gale - Now also slows the flying speed of its targets.

Poisonous Swarm – Now slows the target and randomly reduces their HP, MP, or Chi.

Rainbow Blessing - The Critstrike Rate buff is now applied 100% of the time; the rest will still be randomly applied alongside it.

Smoldering Burst – This skill no longer has a secondary damage burst, and the damage is affected by the target’s Fire and Water resistances (higher fire resist lowers the damage, and higher water resist raises the damage.)

Spark – Cooldown raised to 40 seconds. Range reduced to 20 meters.

True Emptiness – This skill now consumes all of the genie’s energy and deals damage based on the amount of energy consumed.

Virulent Poison – This skill now drains the target’s Chi and deals damage based on the amount drained. It no longer causes status immunity.

Wind Prison – Now available to all classes.

Genie Gears
The gear list for genies has greatly expanded. Speak to any Watcher of the Earth and select Genie Summon and Gear to check out the new equipment. You can also obtain Wraith Badges to turn in to the Commander-in-chief for reputation points. *

*Note: Items obtained from the Warsong City event are needed for trade in. Warsong City Dungeon is currently unavailable but will be open soon!

Actually some genie skills are bugged with the last patch 188

0-41 Lucky Points

41-50 Lucky Points

51-60 Lucky Points

61+ Lucky Points

0-41 Lucky Points

41-50 Lucky Points

51-60 Lucky Points

+61 Lucky Points

0-40 Lucky Points

41-50 Lucky Points

51-60 lucky points

+61 Lucky Points

0-40 Lucky Points

41-50 Lucky Points

51-60 Lucky Points

+61 Lucky Points

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him. The waitress asks them for their orders.

The man says, ‘A hamburger, fries and a coke,’ and turns to the ostrich, ‘What’s yours?’

—‘I’ll have the same,’ says the ostrich.‘

A short time  later the waitress returns with the order ‘That will be $9.40 please,’ and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for payment.

The next  day, the man and the ostrich come again and the man says, ‘A hamburger, fries and a coke.’

The ostrich says, ‘I’ll have the same.’

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change.

This becomes routine until the two enter again. ‘The usual?’ asks the waitress.

—‘No, this is Friday night, so I will have a steak, baked potato and a salad,’ says the man.

—‘Same,’ says the ostrich.

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says, ‘That will be $32.62.’ Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the table.

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer. ‘Excuse me, sir. How do you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every time?’

—‘Well,’ says the man, ’several years ago I was cleaning the attic and found an old lamp.  When I rubbed it, a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes. My first wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything, I would just put my hand in my pocket and the right amount of money would always be there.’

—‘That’s brilliant!’ says the waitress. ‘Most people would ask for a million dollars or something, but you’ll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live!’

—‘That’s right. Whether it’s a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce, the exact money is always there,’ says the man.

The waitress asks, ‘What’s with the ostrich?’

The man sighs, pauses and answers, ‘My second wish was for a tall chick with a big butt and long legs who agrees with everything I say.’

Good Day!

Violet Wings
By Victoria Hanley
Egmont USA
August 2009
368 pages

Zaria Tourmaline is not a typical teen. For one thing she’s an orphan whose parents and brother disappeared years ago. She lives with – of all people – her cranky teacher, Beryl Danburite. And she’s not exactly human. She is a lavender fairy with violet wings. On her 14th birthday, along with receiving the customary watch and wand, Zaria discovers that she possesses enormous magical powers. This shocking revelation immediately turns her world upside down. Her world is Tirfeyne, which is not typical either. Tirfeyne is located in Feyland, another dimension where fairies, genies, gnomes, leprechauns, trolls, and quite possibly a few trogs live. 

Zaria is not content to learn about her new abilities from her mentor, Lily Morganite whom she despises. She studies her mother’s spellbook which provides her with a comforting connection to her long lost family and an overwhelming desire to find out what happened to them. She and her friends sneak through an unauthorized portal to visit Earth where they experiment with casting spells on unsuspecting humans and wind up in more trouble than they could have ever imagined.

But fairies are charged with using their magic to do good in the world. Amid all the turmoil and mischief that surrounds her – not to mention the part she plays in it – Zaria unravels a mystery that involves her missing family. When everything seems lost, it is up to Zaria to make something good come from all of it.

Violet Wings is part fantasy, part mystery, part coming of age. All together Hanley takes readers on a fascinating journey into another realm with enough friends, family, scoundrels, rascals, plus those pesky rules and laws to stay engrossed without being overwhelmed. Genie historian Orville Gold’s narratives at the beginning of each chapter dispense Feyland fun facts and even some clues for the careful reader. Zaria and her friends are enchanting creatures who are just beginning to understand their own powers. Feyland is a mystical world that readers will long to return to again and again.

Copyright (c) 2009 by Peggy Tibbetts

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I know, the title is a bit cumbersome, but it IS my first official second contract: I’ve accepted an offer for three more books from my publisher, Sourcebooks/Casablanca.

No, it’s not a continuation of the Mer series (yet), but a new one. Think I Dream of Jeannie meets Indiana Jones.  (And, yes, I’ve already bought the charms you see on these pages for my celebration!)

Here are the working* titles and blurbs for the series:

 I Dream of Genies

     When Eden, a genie sentenced to her bottle for killing her previous master, suddenly finds herself freed 1400 years early, she knows it’s only a matter of time before Faruq, vizier to the High Master, tracks her down. Being magical, that shouldn’t be a problem, however, she A) lost her bottle and whoever controls that control her, B) wears the gold bracelets that act like homing devices, letting Faruq easily know exactly where she is and C) has lost her ability to perform magic so now things start happening and appearing when they shouldn’t.

     Matt Ewing, rescuer extraordinaire of lost cats and damsels in distress, offers to help her out—until she ruins his business, steals his cat, and puts him at the mercy of spurned-suitor Faruq.

     Throw in a cat with an agenda, and a chase through the magical city in the Sahara, and Eden and Matt must outwit Faruq to escape with their freedom, their  lives, and their love.

Genie Knows Best

      Kal, the only genie ever to remove the gold bracelets that bind genies into Service, has been on the run for over a thousand years, but when Samantha Blaine finds his lamp in a Moroccan bazaar, he’s got to get it back: whoever owns the lamp, owns him.

     Samantha Blaine was planning to come to Casablanca on her honeymoon, but when she caught her fiancé cheating on her, she decided to make it a honeymoon trip for one—and maybe finally take a good long look at her doormat tendencies, so no way is she giving up the treasure she found to some guy no matter how charming he is.

     But when a shady antiques dealer breaks into her hotel room, Sam has to take Kal up on his offer of help, but she’s adamant about it being on her terms.

     The thing is, those terms just might include Kal and the words happily-ever-after.

Leave It To Genie

     Zane Harrison opens an old trunk in the attic of his family’s ancestral home to find Vana. The genie. A famously inept genie as it turns out—which explains so much about why his great-great-grandfather was rumored to have been crazy.

     Vana never quite finished her genie training and, never really took to the idea of being in The Service, but she does get that she did a number on the Harrison repuration. Now that she’s out and about, it’s time to fix that.

     If only she could figure out how.

     And if only a new vizier hadn’t shown up to put that genie back where she belonged.

     Except, to Vana, where she belongs isn’t in a bottle or the magical city of the Sahara, or maybe even The Service at all. No, Vana’s convinced that the one place she does belong is in Zane’s arms.

Look for I Dream of Genies in Fall, 2010!

*titles subject to change

Imbroglio -

Pronunciation: \im-ˈbrōl-(ˌ)yō\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural im·bro·glios

Etymology: Italian, from imbrogliare to entangle, from Middle French embrouiller

Date: 1750

1 : a confused mass

2 a : an intricate or complicated situation (as in a drama or novel) b : an acutely painful or embarrassing misunderstanding c : a violently confused or bitterly complicated altercation.

Imbroglio –

Pronunciation: \im-ˈbrōl-(ˌ)yō\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural im·bro·glios

Etymology: Italian, from imbrogliare to entangle, from Middle French embrouiller

Date: 1750

1 : a confused mass

2 a : an intricate or complicated situation (as in a drama or novel) b : an acutely painful or embarrassing misunderstanding c : a violently confused or bitterly complicated altercation.

It’s no secret that I’m a bit of a “wordie” – I have spent days and weeks just discovering words that I enjoy saying, how I say them, how they taste and sound in my mouth, rolling them around like a fine wine. Occasionally, I like to share these words with others, and often wait for just the right context to drop them in. For me as a writer, it’s a little dialogue trick I employ in my real life.

Sometimes though, opportunities don’t arise as often as I’d like. My friends look at me askance when I drop “extemporaneous” in casual conversation and invariably remark that, “No one talks like that,” and it’s likely they’re correct. Which is possibly why I turn to my writing – at least there, I have control over the dialogue and what’s considered normal or not. Occasionally, I want to share a particular sound with my friends – and the best way to express that for me is to write about it. So here we have a Word Of The Day – and just a short little piece of crazyness about it.

“Come in!” the voice behind the wavy glass paned door was feminine but low, like a purr. The door read, “Imbroglio, Inc.” in fine block letters.

I turned the knob and stepped inside, and was immediately transported back in time to the 1930’s. A ceiling fan turned listlessly above my head, and both of the old wood framed sash windows were open, their curtains still in the sticky August heat. Gray metal cabinets lined the west wall, and I imagined their contents were row upon row of neatly titled manila folders. A major portion of the room was dominated by a wide oak desk and the personality exuding from the woman sitting behind it.

Her hair was the color of fire, and framed her face in waves. Her eyes, which I expected to be green were in fact the color of honey, or amber. She smelled vaguely spicy, like cinnamon or ginger. She had a body to match her surroundings, only this time her perfect hourglass figure was seated, and I was the one seeking help. The name placard on the edge of the desk identified her Veronica Na’amah, proprietor of Imbroglio, Inc.

“What can I do for you?” she began, turning the full force of her gaze on me. I found myself inventing many responses to her question, none of which were the least appropriate. “You are aware of where you are, Mr…?” her lips slid outwards in a carmine-painted smile as she baited me.

“Jones. Just, Jones. Bob Jones, from Nowhere,” I choked out at some length, betraying the image I was going for completely. Her smile never wavered. It was as if she expected my answer to be evasive. Suddenly, those hundreds of identical manila folders I imagined hidden in her filing cabinets were all marked simply, “Jones.”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Bob Jones from Nowhere,” she said. “How can my little company be of service to you?”

I wetted my lips with my tongue and shifted my weight from one foot to the other.  ”Very powerful people come from Nowhere, as I’m sure you are aware, Ms. Na’amah. I happen to work for one of them. They have authorized me to finance you and your, ah, company to assist us in our goals,” here I paused. In previous interviews, this moment had been the deal-breaker. With all the others we came to, this was when they had asked about those goals – a question my Employer didn’t want this kind of help asking about. In my anticipation, I realized I was holding my breath.

The moment passed. She had not pressed me for details. “Go on,” she prompted, almost languidly, as though I was doing nothing more than telling her a bedtime story. I felt light-headed, and dizzy.

“My Employer seeks to have another man destroyed,” I said in grave tones, giving the statement a somber weight. The ethereal beauty only nodded. “We have been informed that your company is the most discrete and efficient. We need it to happen before the end of the summer, September at the latest,” here I paused. “We need it to be messy. Public. Children should be sent out of the room when the news outlets run their pieces that go on for weeks,” my cheeks flushed in the humid stagnant air of the office. My stomach knotted with anxiety as I stopped speaking, afraid I would go too far and too detailed. “Discretion,” I reminded myself, as my body involuntarily responded to her, her scent reaching my nostrils even without a breeze.

She stood up, revealing her deliciously proportionate body, and moved around the corner of the desk towards me. As she approached, she reached out her crimson manicured hands and stroked my cheek familiarly. She moved her hips too close to mine, and stared into my eyes for a moment that felt like a year. I tried to swallow and failed, my mouth feeling like the Gobi dessert I had crossed with my troop long ago. By comparison, her mouth looked lush and moist, like a rainforest jungle, full of unexplored mysteries.

“I am certain that we can provide an arrangement that is amenable to all parties involved,” her throaty growl lending a previously unconsidered subtext to the normally dry business terms.

“I’m sure you can,” I agreed, my brain fogging over. I felt a primal heat building within, surprising myself with its speed and intensity.

Then all at once, it was as though a hypnotist snapped his fingers, and Veronica Na’amah was back seated behind her desk as though she’d never moved. I was standing in the same position I had been when I entered the room, albeit red-faced and slightly disheveled. I was unclear on what had just happened, but after the myriad of charms I had been witness to in other interviews recently, I had a fair suspicion that not only had I passed a test, but had just been given a small sample to report back with.

With a smile that made me wonder if she could read minds, the CEO of Imbroglio, Inc. told me that she would have a carefully-worded contract sent over via courier to my office, far from my Employer’s address.

Then it was over – the moment passed. I put my hat back on my head, turned slowly and exited the room by the same door I had entered only moments ago. As the door shut behind me with a serpentine “snick” I felt the temperature drop about 15 degrees. I checked my watch and was not-quite amazed to find that more than 3 hours had passed since I exited my car and began my ride up the elevator.

I turned to open the door to the office and let some of the cool hallway air into the stuffy room and found myself entering the public men’s toilet through a swinging door. I went in and looked at myself in the mirror – my hair was a mess under my smushed hat, and I was sweating profusely. It looked as though I had either just been training for a marathon in my suit, or like I had been jumped – in any sense of the term. I splashed some cool tap water on my face and patted myself dry with a cheap brown paper towel. I exited the restroom and walked back down the hallway to the elevator. I didn’t see any other door in that hallway that looked like the one I had entered, but then, I didn’t really expect to.

I did, however, fully expect to have that courier and contract at my office downtown by tomorrow.

Hope you enjoyed!

This is not a joke, see story below:

Saudi ‘genie’ sued for harassment

Guess old boy got tired of his itty-bitty living space and wanted to explore a whole new world.

Apparently, there is a family in Saudi Arabia attempting to sue a genie (aka Jinn) for harassment.

This low-down, evil-doing spirit has allegedly been making a raucous, stealing, and throwing stones to make the family’s lives living hell. Unfortunately for the family, these rascals are completely invisible or assume the form of humans or animals. Thus, there is just no way to apprehend this criminal and lock him up behind bars where he belongs.

The most amusing part? The local courts are investigating the situation to verify the accuracy of the claims.

I’m sure any western-world Christian will be scoffing at this amusing bit of news. All the while they will be completely accepting things such as ridiculous miracles, speaking in tongues, and Jesus/The Virgin Mary appearing in their grilled cheese.

I suppose the family should try asking the genie to go away as one of their wishes.

Part 33: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5ge6hsaEdI

Part 37: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIwzsPH8YOM

Il y a de ses artistes qui savent bien manipuler les appareils et la retouche numérique. Mais quand en plus de manier le contenant ils manient le contenu, c’est là où je me dis qu’il y a du génie. Erik Johansson en est un. Ce photographe d’origine suèdoise de 23 ans publie ses tableaux depuis 2007 sur son site que vous pouvez trouver ici. Il est à noter que dans une entrevue donnée sur abduzeedo.com, par Alexis Papageorgiou, il mentionne que chaque photo lui prend entre 10 et 20 heures. Pour un étudiant en génie informatique, c’est tout un passe-temps!

Cependant, on peut regarder ce qui se fait ici au Québec dans le genre. Je pense à Cédric Houin aka Varial qui, selon moi, est bourré de talent que ça fait envier tous les créateurs de la terre. Ce faiseur d’images expérimente constamment et sait comment innover au niveau du concept. Je reprendrais un compliment que j’ai lu sur facebook d’une amie qu’on a en commun qui lui demande comment est-ce qu’une personne peut avoir autant de talent concentré en elle-même…Je suis assez d’accord.

Noté que la photo style «clown» (moi je préfère dire style «KISS») n’est pas du maquillage, mais de la retouche photo.