30 August 2021

Science Behind The Game: The Psychology of Players in Online Casinos


Gamblers are a certain category of people who live by their own rules, have their own interests and idols to follow. The real world of players is very closely intertwined with the gambling world. That is why they often risk everything they have in life.

Players who gamble and win real money at online Casino are considered to be gambling people. They come to such establishments to get their dose of adrenaline. Why don't they choose rock climbing and mountaineering? Or diving? After all, these sports also give the opportunity to feel adrenaline but do not cause negative attitudes of those around them.

The Reason for This Behavior

Psychologists believe that the desire to take risks is embedded in us at an early age. When a child begins to learn about the world, he is constantly taking risks, testing his guesses and assumptions (for example, by touching a hot frying pan and making sure that it hurts).

The gameplay process is somewhat similar to a child's familiarization process. Participants are constantly learning new games, trying them out, taking risks, and sometimes "getting burned.

Trying a new strategy in the game, a person does not know its result. And if he wins, he realizes that he did everything right and continues to use it.

Many people dream of becoming rich without making any effort to do so. So they buy lottery tickets or go to casinos. Gambling and the desire to win a large sum of money pushes them to this step. For some players, gambling is a way to distract from everyday life and forget about their problems for a while.

The Rationality of Gamblers’ Behavior

But in addition to excitement, gamblers are driven by a desire to learn new things. Some of them want to test their luck. And many even have their own superstitions for each game.

Is this behavior rational? No. It is impossible to understand why one person, when playing roulette puts only red and the number of his birthday, why an adult and a respectable man whispers some words on the chips?

Starting to play slot machines for free, a person is fully immersed in this world and has ceased to control his emotions. And the interface of the institution, as well as additional chips in the design only contribute to this. But is it only the casino that makes a person make crazy bets and live in an unreal world?

The Psychology of Winning

The psychology of the game is built on the intermittency of winning. If a person wins or loses often, he may soon get bored with it. After all, the emotions a person gets from the game should be varied.

If a player wins a lot and then doesn't for a long time, he will still keep playing, waiting for a better time.

In most gambling establishments, the chances of winning are 40% to 50% and the player is rewarded for a certain amount of action.

Coming to the casino, a person seeks to have fun and enjoy the player. Experience the feeling of adrenaline and distract from everyday life. But whether he becomes a gambler or not - it's only his choice.

The Main Reasons Why Most People Prefer to Play Online

  • First, it is the convenience of access. You can play almost anywhere and anytime, you only need to have access to the Internet with a good speed.
  • Secondly, a large variety of online games. Everyone can choose for themselves the most suitable option - the most modern version or the old classics, pick up the slot that seems to him the most advantageous.
  • Thirdly, online games are preferred for the fact that they can actually make good money.
  • And fourthly, they are loved for their anonymity. Not all want to reveal their personal data and show up in front of other players. Even playing with a live dealer, you introduce yourself to him as you like, come up with a beautiful name or username, and plunge into the world of anonymity. Along with this survey was conducted and another, quite the opposite.

29 August 2021

The Blind Photographer


The Blind Photographer is an intriguing short movie. It focuses on a photographer who goes to unusual lengths to capture unprompted pictures of homeless people. To use his own words he wants his pictures to be “not gloomy staged or posed but spontaneous and full of joy”.

Yet perhaps this photographer’s eye is not quite what it should be as we follow him to a viewing of his work at a swanky art gallery. My immediate thoughts were well, that's biting the hand that feeds you. Watch the short through to the very end to see what I mean – it is a thought provoking yet not entirely downbeat ending. Cynicism and decadence are, perhaps, trumped by youthful hope – morally at least.

The Blind Photographer was made by Christian Denslow, who sums himself up thus - filming things makes me happy – which is cool. It start the very photogenic (can one say filmogenic?) Thiru Naidoo (pictured) as the eponymous artist whose last scene (and I am sure he didn’t mind) was completely stolen by Ino (another one name only child actor in the vein of Sabu, perhaps?) who gives this short film its heart.

The Manhattan Project – Time Lapse


Hold on to your hats for a whistle stop tour of Manhattan.  Cameron Michael lugged 120-130 pounds of gear around all of Manhattan in order to bring you this astonishing footage.  Not all of it, strictly speaking, was legally done but I am sure you will turn a blind eye once you have sat through this amazing piece of work!

What I particularly like about this stop motion piece is the camera work, strictly speaking the way that the camera pans while the stop motion is actually happening.  This is a fairly new technique and has not been attempted successfully (let alone brilliantly!) by many people.  Here it is seamless. Just awesome work!

The Astronomer’s Sun


The Astronomer’s Sun is a multi-award winning stop motion animation directed by Simon Cartwright and Jessica Cope.  A young man enters an observatory which was created by his father many years ago – to confront the events of those times and to follow, ultimately, in his father’s path.  He is accompanied by the mechanical teddy bear which has been his companion since the traumatic events of his childhood.

This really is quite a magical piece of film, mysterious and haunting – and which stays with you long after the final credits have rolled.  Little wonder then that The Astronomer’s Sun has won 16 awards.  If you are in or near West Yorkshire in the UK and want to see the sets and characters for yourself then pay a visit to the Animation Gallery at the National Media Museum in Bradford.

The Cast Courts


The Cast Courts of the V&A museum in London are simply exhilarating although many people puzzle why what are effectively copies should entrance visitors to such an extent.  You get the answer in this video which takes a close look at some of the gallery’s most famous pieces.  The two which stand out, of course, are the plaster cast of Trajan’s column and the 5.5 metre high cast of Michelangelo's David which we see getting to see really close up here. Fascinating.

Covert Cashew: The Secret Life of a Nut

It’s difficult to know quite where to start when it comes to the cashew nut.  To many people it is nothing more than an occasional (if moreish) snack. So, let’s begin with a picture of one on the tree – there it is, above.  Not quite what you expected?  It’s a nut with a number of secrets hidden in plain view, not least the way it grows. And before we go any further, let’s get another thing straight: it isn’t a nut either.

The way it grows will only be a surprise to you, of course, if you live outside the regions where it is farmed – and there is one good reason for that too.  Originating in Brazil the cashew was introduced elsewhere in the 1500s and is now grown in countries such as India, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Vietnam. In fact anywhere between the latitudes of 25°N and 25°S, where the tropical evergreen can flourish, it is farmed.  It takes shape like this...

28 August 2021

Quizzes for GCSE English


Are you looking for some good quizzes for GCSE English? Over on our sibling site, Pass GCSE English, you can find many a good reason why giving learners quizzes in the classroom is a good idea – even if the terminal exam doesn’t have any! A quiz can do a lot more than just ask for answers – it can be the trigger for a whole lot more.

So, whether it’s structure, language, writers’ perspective or synthesis, there are quizzes that can be made – and this site is the gateway to a VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) that allows learners working towards GCSE English to do loads of quizzes. Loads and loads and loads!

Here’s the first two paragraphs from the article: When a student walks into that big scary hall to take their GCSE English exam, they won’t have to do a single quiz – unless you count the “true or false” element of Paper 2 which is worth a measly four marks out of the 160 up for grabs across both exams. So, why on earth use quizzes as a teaching and learning tool in preparation for this incredibly important exam?

That’s a good question – and a simple one too. My very simple answer would be “because they’re fun” and generally that’s where I would like the questioning to end. I’ve never seen anything engage students more than a good quiz, especially on a platform like Kahoot.

Want to read more – then go to passgcseenglish.com

25 August 2021

10 Things to do With Nettles When You’re Bored

Normally, nettles are associated with that nasty sting that they give you should you be foolhardy enough to examine them with bare hands or unfortunate enough to have a brother or sister willful enough to want to push you in to them.  However, they have many more uses than a tool in the escalation in to nastiness of sibling rivalry.  So, what exactly can you do with nettles when you are bored?

Push Someone in to Them
We may as well get this one over with now. There are any number of people who have contemplated throwing (sometime) loved ones in to a forest of nettles. We wouldn’t advise this course of action. Unless you know you can get away with it. Nevertheless, when dealing with annoying family members it must be noted that a cliff is a more effective – not to mention permanent solution.

Me or the Dog


Tom believes that his dog, Dudley, is talking to him.  Not only that, the dog sets out to prove that Tom’s girlfriend is cheating on him.  Me or the Dog is a both a bittersweet comedy drama and a thought provoking short film.  It was funded by the Wellcome Trust with the aim of a positive portrayal of schizophrenia and to raise public awareness of the condition.  Starring Edward Hogg, and Kemi-bo Millar it features Caddy as Dudley and Martin Clunes as his voice. 

Goodbye Mister De Vries


Mr De Vries is old – terribly old and he sits alone in his house awaiting his inevitable departure from this world. Yet one morning a mysterious package arrives and he realises that there is one more thing he must do before he leaves.  This very touching animated short was directed by Mascha Halberstad and won the international short and animation film award at the Schlingel Film Festival in Germany.

Brand New Slot Games Released In This Quarter Of 2021


You may be a big fan of online slot games just like anyone else. The year has been wonderful if you love to try newer titles and go on more adventures as you spin the reels. Top game developers like Microgaming, NetEnt, Playtech, Yggdrasil, and others have been working to create some fantastic titles.

There’s a lot on offer to gamers looking for crazy ideas and themes since May 2021. There have been several new releases every month here to bet and see the reels spin. Let’s discuss a few titles across progressive and non-progressive in detail.

May Releases
  • WildFire 7s: The game is designed by RTG to take you back to the Classical Vegas-styled days. The BARs, fruits, and 7s are all well-paying. However, the real fun is in the Bonus features like 7 free games and 5x multipliers. If that is not enough, there is a progressive jackpot to win here. The game has an RTP of 95.1% to offer.
  • El Paso Gunfight xNudge: The game represents the real-life legendary gunfight between the Deputy Sheriff and outlaws in the Wild West. In the free spins feature, the game offers jumping Wilds and Stoudenmire xNudge Wilds between x1 and x3. The game promises a lot of fun right when you choose the reel set up from a highly volatile style of 23334 or one from 43332. June Releases
  • Divine Diamonds: This is a classic-theme game from the gaming giant Microgaming studio. You can achieve massive jackpots of around 2250x of the bets and avail of Free spins. Spin the Free Spins Wheel to get up to 30 free spins and multipliers of x2 to x3 and even avail respins. Look for achieving more than one multiplier in the reels.
  • HarleCoin: Red Tiger is the developer behind the creation of HarleCoin. There are ways to earn 25 Boost spins and an ability to make multipliers even on matching symbols. There is a chance to earn up to 500x the bets just in this way. There are coins in all sizes and values that you can find in the game.
July Releases
  • Thunderstruck Wild Lightning: Top gaming studio Microgaming has joined hands with Stormcraft Studios to create more magic in the league of the very popular Thunderstruck. The Wild can give you multipliers of up to x5 and come as stacked wilds. There are free spins features to unlock and multipliers of up to 200x. There are also options to earn one of the four jackpots of up to 15000x.
  • Neptune’s Harem: GONG Gaming Technologies has developed a massive jackpot game of Neptune’s Harem. There is a chance to earn up to 10,000x of the bets. There are chances to earn from 5 to 12 free spins that you can also reactivate and around 10x multipliers.
August Releases
  • Deep Descent: Relax Gaming has been innovating a lot, and this August, we saw the release of Deep Descent. There are fishes from where you can earn re-spins and more wins. Dive deep into the ocean to win up to a progressive jackpot of 3125 ways.
  • Game of Thrones Power Stacks: Microgaming is famous for its range of epic game titles. There is a chance to win up to 25000x bets as you play the Power Stacks feature and more options. So far, the casinos like Novibet casino are doing their best to offer in the slot category. The games are all great options for the medium to high rollers to have their quota of fun and ingenuity in features.

22 August 2021

Danza de los Muertos


On Dia de los Muertos, a young boy named Tomás visits his grandmother’s grave. But this enchanted day of celebration brings his grandmother back from the afterlife where she attempts to share a dance with her grandson. 

This is Cassie Urban’s Senior film which she made at Savannah College of Art and Design 2013.

Kismet Diner


If there is one thing in life of which we should all be certain is that we don’t get much of a choice about who we end up loving.  It happens and it may make us scratch our heads but why question something which is obviously out of our hands.

Written and Directed by Mark Nunneley, Kismet Diner follows Laura (beautifully played by Ilinca Roe), waitress and aspiring singer who often takes a turn at the mic at work (now there’s an understanding boss). 

The problem is that the object of her affection, who she doesn’t know from Adam, the guy she has fallen for, simply doesn’t listen to her.  How she gets around this is the story of this rather charming short film which won the Manhattan Short Festival in 2013.  A word of warning – you may need a hanky!

Land of the Rising Sun


Land of the rising sun is a time-lapse short created by Todor Vankov made in Japan in the summer of 2013. It takes in Tokyo, Funabashi, Kyoto, Hagata, Fukuoka, Aso, Miyazaki, Kagoshima and Sakurajima.  You will see the breath-taking Japanese countryside as well as the hustle and bustle of the towns and cities. It really gives a great flavour of the country and its people.

10 Positively Peculiar Plants

The Buddha's Hand
The Buddha’s Hand fruit looks, to all intents and purposes, as if it could have been grown in a certain town called Springfield.  As well as a three eyed fish, it would come as no surprise to see the Simpson siblings discover this peculiar fruit, grown as a result of contamination from Mr Burns’ nuclear power plant.  However, this fruit is for real.

For more information, CLICK HERE

The Rainbow Rose
These are not artificial roses! The Rainbow Rose is now available in the UK for the first time and although you may think that these weird and wonderful blooms are painted or artificial they are one hundred percent natural. Almost. Well, ninety nine percent. Well, OK, they have been messed with, but not, as you may expect, on a genetic level.

For more information, CLICK HERE

13 August 2021

Preguntas Hermosas - Beautiful Questions


This is quite extraordinary. If you are doing something else at the same time as reading this, then focus, please, for two minutes on this wonderful animation. Preguntas Hermosas is a story about a time that was shared between two people. It is told through a combination of Poema X by Pablo Neruda and Under the Harvest Moon by Carl Sandburg.  It unfolds in three parts; a fond remembrance, loss, and then finally acceptance.

The imagery is amazing, a woman silently explodes in to a mass of butterflies, a train makes its way underneath a carriage clock – just astonishingly beautiful animation by Süperfad, a collective of designers, directors, animators, and artists..  Plus, the poems are very well translated in to English if you do not understand Spanish.

I would like to add another language to the mix too – Welsh.  I think the closest word we have in the language to the effect that this sublime combination of words, images and music has is hiraeth.  It has no direct English translation.  It is a feeling tinged with grief or sadness over the lost or departed. It is a mix of longing, yearning, nostalgia and wistfulness. Preguntas Hermosas made me full of hiraeth.

E.T.A.


Do you have a boring job? I will guarantee (almost) that it is not as boring as Marvin’s.  He is on a long haul cargo flight and is bored, bored, bored.  His estimated time of arrival is over two years but all is not as it seems!

This is a very cool animation by production house Junkworks – plus if you are a fan of a certain science fiction franchise there is a real belly laugh for you by the end!

ETA was originally premiered at BreakPoint 2008 in Bingen, Germany where it won the 1st prize in the animation competition – not surprisingly.

Would You Stand on The Kjeragbolten?


The name means the Kjerag Bolt – a massive 5 m³ boulder wedged in to a crevasse on the edge of the Kjerag mountain in Lysefjorden, Norway. Without the help of any mountaineering equipment, brave visitors can walk on to the bolt – it is said to bring good luck.

Yet there are consequences for those unsteady of foot: the nearest ledge is 241 meters below. Once you bounce off that there is a drop of a further 735 meters. So, the question is, would you – like these mad fools brave souls – stand on the Kjeragbolten? There is absolutely no Photoshop used here, so if you don’t like heights, look away now!