Social Media explodes as the news release from Apple hits the wire. No one can believe it’s true. Someone who has made such an impact in the world was taken way too soon. Imagine all the things we will never have access to because he won’t ever invent them, think them up, inspire them.

He leaves a legacy of amazing and wonderful tools for us though. The world has suffered a great loss. RIP Steve Jobs.

Okay, I know Sims 3 is out and yes, I own it… but I still love Sims 2 a lot… but I don’t always have time to play for hours  -so sometimes cheats help me skip ahead  on actions.. here is the entire list of cheat codes, but at the top is a short list of my FAVORITE ones!

Cheat mode:
Press [Ctrl] + [Shift] + C during game play to display the console window. Enter one of the following codes to activate the corresponding cheat function. Note: Some codes may be case-sensitive.
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TONS OF MONEY! = type in blue bar – motherlode (you can give your sims loads of dough, just keep doing this cheat till they have enough for whatever you want then to build, own, do)

INSTANT LOVE AND POPULARITY = type into blue bar – boolprop testingcheatsenabled true (then right click your sim and choose SPAWN and then choose L&D Tombstone, then click on the Tombstone and choose “make me friendly to everyone here” – this is a cheat I use to skip the boring actions of talking, entertaining and jollying up a sim to get them to be friends… after all, in real life people go out and get toasted together and they are instantly friendly, so this cheat isn’t totally unrealistic.. think of it as saucing up the other sims and then giving them a hug.. they are all suddenly like “I love you, Man!” I love doing this to a flirty sim and setting them loose at a party…  drama!!!!

Some other cool choices from Spawn are to speed up a pregnancy or force twins.. to get skinny or fat instantly… and to age or max skills using the “sim modder” baby…

CREATE SOME HAVOC!

Postprocessing cheats:
Use the following case-sensitive codes after enabling the Postprocessing cheats with the boolProp enablePostProcessing true code. Note: Do not enable or use the Postprocessing cheats unless your video card supports pixel shaders.

Testing cheats mode:
Press [Ctrl] + [Shift] + C during game play to display the console window. Enter boolProp testingCheatsEnabled true to activate testing cheats mode. This is a very powerful cheat that enables many new things. In Create A Sim, after enabling this code, go into debugmode by pressing [Shift] + N before making a Sim. You now have the following new things in Create A Sim: skin tones, clothing, and some other options such as viewing the skinfilenames. In the game itself, after enabling this code, hold [Shift] and left click on a Sim to have lots of options, such as changing clothes, make your Sim fat or thin, set their aspiration level, etc. This code also can spawn some interesting items, such as the tombstone of L(ife) and D(eath), and family members.

Enable the boolProp testingCheatsEnabled true code then go onto a different family. A strange code will appear at the top right hand corner. If you go onto the Sims’ needs, you can click on each one and drag it up or down, whichever desired. You can also increase the skill points of your Sims in the same way. This is useful if you want a promotion, if your Sim is depressed, if you are teaching a toddler to walk, etc. You can also hold [Shift] and click on a Sim. Click on “More”, then “Spawn” and create the Tombstone of L and D. You can click on this, then “More” then “Make everyone here friends with me”, which helps if you need friends to get promoted, or to complete an aspiration task.

Cheat mode (command line):
Start the game with one of the following command line parameters to activate the corresponding cheat function.

Hint: Buying expensive houses:
Use the following trick if you want your average Sim to buy a house that is above his or her means. First start a family or load one, and find an empty lot. Move the Sim on that lot. Enable the motherlode code a few times, just to the point where you can buy the expensive house. Exit the lot, but save the game. Then, evict (move out) the family. Notice that your family is displayed at the “Choose Family” window. You can now buy any house desired.

Hint: Never pay bills:
Never delete your mailbox. If you do, the Repo Man will appear after three days. Just simply direct your Sim to get the mail. Then, cancel it as soon as they get it. Let them put it on the ground or another surface. Then, use the boolProp testingCheatsEnabled true code to simply delete the bills.

Enter build or buy mode with the moveObjects on code enabled. Place the bills in front of the fire with more bills or an object next to fireplace. Make sure to completely surround the fireplace. Have a Sim light a fire. Get the Sims out of the room and sell the door. This trick is not the easiest nor the safest, but it usually works.

Enter build or buy mode with the moveObjects on code enabled. Then, simply delete the bills. Unfortunately this does not work with homework.

Hint: Never work:
If you do not want to have the hassle of going to work every day, you must have a Sim with the Fortune aspiration. Get your Creativity skill high enough and they will then constantly get satisfaction from selling masterpieces, which will be easy if you have full Creativity. To start out, just buy the bare minimum until you get your Creativity to maximum. You can make as much as 1,500 Simoleons per day by painting. The best part is that you can work on your own schedule.

Hint: No job:
When you first move into your new house (especially if you have any kids or plan to, or if you have the Popularity, Knowledge, Family, or Romance Aspiration), do not get a job. If your Sim has a Family Aspiration, then keep it at home to potty train, teach to work, or talk your toddler. If you have Romance, you must keep up with them woohoos. Knowledge may require you to get a job, but it probably will not be a power want. Popularity aspirations will keep you home making friends (unless they work); stay at home and take care of your Sim, their family, and their aspirations.

Hint: Free groceries:
Order for groceries and wait for the man to deliver the goods. When he arrives, do not greet him. He will ring the bell two or three times and wait for you. When you do not answer, he will place the goods there and not take your money.

Hint: Quick money:
Get a friendship with a rich Sim (girl recommended). Ask them to to move in. The Sim will bring at least 20,000 Simoleons with them. The money will be added in your account. Then, you can make him or her move out.

Hint: Maximum skills:
To fill your skills to the maximum level instantly, enable the boolProp testingCheatsEnabled true code. Then, pause game play without going into build or buy, and select your skills icon. When you are in the tab with the skill meter click and drag the pointer over the desired skill bar to raise it.

Hint: Select a baby:
Go into buy mode. Enable the moveObjects on code and click on the baby you wish to select. Without deselecting the baby, use the moveObjects off code. Still without deselecting baby, press [F1] to enter live mode. You will now be able to view the babies needs. The baby can only perform one interaction. Click on it, and for a moment a menu will appear that says “Grow Up”.

If you want an alien child or any child that looks like your family when you adopt them, go to the certain family, and delete the entire the family except for the baby by using the moveObjects on code . The social worker will arrive and take the baby. Go back to your other family and adopt a baby. You will get the same child that got taken away.

Hint: Babies:
For a better chance of getting a baby, have them try when in an excellent mood. Also listen for a noise after they try for baby (not the fireworks).

Hint: Custom paintwork:
Use the following trick to decorate your house with custom art. Your Sim must have a Creativity level of 5 and be able to paint a still life. Have your Sim paint, and a frame will appear. Center it on what you want to paint. You can also “paint” something that is not in the game by pressing C to pause game play, then press [Alt] + [Tab] to switch outside the game. Start a graphics program, such as Windows Paint, then load the original captured in-game picture at “c:\mydocuments\eagames\thesims2\storytelling\snapshot.bmp”. Then, open the picture or image that you want to replace it with, and put in your game. You must resize your custom picture to match the same resolution as the “snapshot.bmp” file. Copy your custom picture on to the “snapshot.bmp” file, then save it. Press [Alt] + [Tab] to switch back to the game. Your Sim will begin painting your custom picture.

Hint: Custom radio music:
Copy your own MP3 files to the “c:\mydocuments\eagames\thesims2\music\<radio station>\” folder. Start the game, go to the options menu, select the music settings, then the radio station option. You can now choose which songs you want to hear.

Hint: Listen to game’s audio:
You can play a lot of the game’s music and sound effects as MP3 files on your system. Enter the “\tsdata\res\sound” folder. Then, copy any .PACKAGE file to some other location. Rename the copy so that it has a .MP3 extension. The resulting file will be playable as a normal MP3 file. If you want to get a specific track from within one of the larger files (such as the stereo music) you will need a program capable of editing MP3 files.

Hint: Custom television show:
Copy your own AVI files to the “c:\mydocuments\eagames\thesims2\music\<television station>\” folder. Note: The AVI file must have a 128×128 resolution and a frame rate less than or equal to 15 fps.

Hint: Build toddler skill four times as fast:
Wear a Thinking Cap and feed Smart Milk to your toddler.

Hint: Microwaves:
Never buy a microwave unless you are under the following conditions:

Your Sims eat a lot of TV dinners.
You have extra money.
You have a cheap stove.
You have extra cabinet space.
Optional: One or more of our Sims wants to “buy a microwave”.

Microwaves only cook TV dinners. They only satisfy hunger at two points. They use up valuable cabinet space.

Hint: Gain skill without losing money:
Use the following trick if you do not have a lot of money and want to buy goods or an object to gain more skill to get a promotion. Buy the particular goods that will help you for a promotion (for example, an exercise machine, or book shelf) and study the knowledge (for example, cleaning). When you get a skill point, delete the item that you bought (sell it before 24 hours have elapsed). You will a get full refund back from that object. If you sell after 24 hours, you will get less money. By doing this, you will gain your skill without losing your money.

Hint: Get to top of career:
Enable the boolprop testingcheatsenabled true code, then get a job. Hold [Shift] while you click on the newspaper, then click “Career Rewards” to get whatever desired, or click on “Set job level to…”. Note: “10″ is the top job.

Hint: Create a family in tutorial mode:
Note: Make sure to buy and/or build whatever desired when you first start the tutorial. They may block you out of build and buy modes. Buy a phone. Call the maid. This will be your Sim’s s future wife. Make sure that you do not hire a male maid. Next, call the adoption service. You will now have a child, baby, and/or toddler. Make sure to build tutorial Joe’s relation with the maid. Also, there are no neighborhood Sims because there is no neighborhood. There are only service Sims. This may take a few attempts, but it does work.

Hint: Save a Sim from death:
Enter build or buy mode. Enable the moveObjects on code. Delete the dead Sim. Or, if the Sim has disappeared (for example, when they burn to death), delete the Grim Reaper. Deleting the Grim Reaper works sometimes, but not always.

Hint: Death and ghost types:

Old Age: When a Sim reaches the end of his life. Results in a white ghost.

Drowning: Energy Need hits -100 (all red) while swimming. Results in a blue ghost that leaves puddles around the house when it appears.

Electrocution: Three or more Needs hit -90 (red) while a Sim repairs an electrical object with a low Mechanical Skill. Results in a yellow ghost.

Burning: Fire spreads into the square where the Sim is standing. Results in a red ghost.

Starvation: Hunger reaches -100. Kids and younger cannot starve. Results in a transparent ghost that will take food out of the refrigerator.

Satellite: When a satellite falls on a Sim while Stargazing (without a telescope) or Watch Cloud. Results in an orange ghost. Note: You can sell the Satellite in buy mode.

Flies: In a very messy room, when a Sim steps over a plate all flies may form a deadly killer swarm. Results in a purple ghost.

Scared: When three needs drop below -90 because of a ghost scare. Results in a pink ghost.

Disease: If a fatal disease is not treated for ten days the Sim will die. Results in a green ghost.

Note: Babies and toddlers are fire-proof and cannot die by any cause; the Social Worker will instead take them away. Children can die of fire, drowning or disease. Rather than starving to death, children in hunger failure will be taken away by the Social Worker.

Glitch: Invisible Sim:
Enable the StretchSkeleton code and use the following value: 100000000000000000000000000000000000.0. Note: This will affect how tall the Sims will be. 1.0 is normal. Your Sim will be so tall that they cannot be seen. Exiting out of the game will deactivate the code.

Glitch: Social worker does not leave:
When you adopt a child, if you greet the social worker before she rings the doorbell, the social worker will not leave your house. If this happens, you cannot buy items, build, or save the game.

Glitch: Floating house:
Place a lot of columns around the ground and build your house on top of it. When you are done, delete all the columns. Note: Make sure you have a way to get to the house, or no one can get in. Also, you can build a house up to ten stories high up. Make sure you put floor tiling on the top of the column so you can put another column on top of it.

Glitch: Maid’s van stuck:
Have a maid come over and ask her to move in. If she says “Yes”, her van will not leave, and you cannot use it.

Glitch: Marry the social worker:
Create a single male Sim. Give him one child. Starve the child to the point that the social worker arrives to pick him or her up. Make sure that the father is home and not busy. The social worker should lecture the father. This will cause a relationship with her. Have the man call her. Once you get their relationship high enough that you can invite her over, do so. Note that you are not able to enter build and buy mode. If you get them married, she will have the first name “Social” and a last name of the male Sim. A new social worker will replace the old one, usually with a change of hair color being the only difference.

Glitch: Sleep-proof lots:
If you send a family to a community lot and their energy gets low, they will not pass out. If you place a couch in a community lot, they can nap on it.

Please select the first letter of the game’s title below. If the word “The” appears at the start of a title, ignore it and search for the second word in the title:

There is no perfect formula for events like these, but when they happen.. it’s like binary magic!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMtZfW2z9dw (the song)

or download it on itunes! http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/bed-intruder-song/id386478006

How about a t-shirt: http://www.zazzle.com/hide_yo_kids_dark_husband_tshirt-235886155965211391

FYI: Video is some dude I don’t know who put together some highlights from last year.

Much of the advertising we see on a daily basis does nothing to enrich our lives and provides us with little more than a temporary distraction 80% of the time. Marketers rely heavily on your need to purchase a product or service and simply work to point you in the direction of their offering, but every now and then, you get a glimpse of something more…  and that is what I went on the hunt for today… here are some of the delightful ideas I found that illustrate how Marketing can cross over into creativity and entertainment…

HOVER OVER  IMAGES FOR MY COMMENTS, CLICK IMAGES FOR A LARGER PREVIEW OR TO DO A SLIDE SHOW:

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Most of them seem to hold the belief that the media was mainly meant to convey the kind of daily prattle you might text to a small group of buddies now and then. “Going to be at Townie Bar tonight, who wants to come by and meet me?” , “Hoodies are on sale at the Old Navy on Main Street..” – that sort of thing. To be honest, I am rather exclusive when it comes to letting people know where I am and inviting people to join me out or keep tabs on me and though I play with the GPS apps on my iphone alot, I am pretty sure that I don’t want to be the story that will be on the news soon about the chick who tweeted all her where abouts and was stalked and killed by a follower… That having been said, I do play Foursquare, a game where you check in everywhere you go and earn badges or become the Mayor of said places.. but I always check in after I have already left the location, as a stalker prevention method. So back to these Twitter Snobs.. I wonder… Are there sets of people using twitter completely differently.. and is there a right way and a wrong way, as they propose? I, of course, like everyone else am annoyed by the spammers who DM you about getting more followers or buying some herbal drink from Trump Enterprises.. LOL.. but I doubt those tweeple are real people anyway…

A friend recently commented that my making a facebook fan page for myself made him feel like facebook was turning into MySpace.. of course this friend is a kid just out of college and we all know that they remember the days when facebook was simply a “we went or are going to the same school” dating service… (come on, you know its true). The founder has been very smart in realizing the tool allows for business connections to be made in a non-invasive manner and the powerful matrix allows content to rise quickly from obscurity to super fame in under a day through “sharing”.Think about Susan Boyles.. right now some sort of Metal Rooster is trending on popular videos.. it really is a marketing tool, whether you like it or not.. anytime over a billion consumers GIVE someone their data willingly, the founder would be a fool not to use that information to his best advantage. So sorry facebook snobs, but the media is too big NOT to be a marketing machine at this point.. it just wouldn’t make sense..

On the side of keeping in exclusive, I created my fan page because my friends page is shared mainly with people I have met in person and at 197 of those, I am still rather careful. I know there are others who have thousands of “friends” on their facebooks and you know that they simply add anyone and everyone… but you won’t find me snobbing on them.. they are using it to their purpose and not mine.

As for MySpace.. I think it’s main failing was in the lack of ease of use. Alot of people criticized it for a lot of other reasons, but it simply was not easy to use, add to and it was hardly mashable, even now, if you have a wordpress or other blog system, you are hard pressed to get your myspace to integrate.. where as twitter and facebook to a degree are mashable in a hundred ways with ease..

I am rambling here… but let me know what you think. How do you use “Social Media” and what are your pet peeves about how others use it?