Game is paused

This, dear reader, is my old blog - tips and tricks regarding real estates. Because of the requests for this article to see the light of day once again (it was deleted on original website), I'll use it now as a tool to share my latest thoughts regarding online game Dota 2. Below is a copy / paste of my latest article regarding its professional scene and its implication on Valve as public company.

I've edited this article to meet Pegi standards. Happy reading.

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Once, one user told me that he donated, as a fan, few keys in random Dota 2 items after which the pro player removed him from his friend list almost instantly. It was weird and I did not believe it because I did the same to the same player ([A]S4) but he never removed me from friend list, we kept talking as friends.

Until now.

After more then 30 days of ignoring me completely, [A]S4 removed me from his friend list - no matter that I've wasted my time and energy while offering random advice (which were accepted!) before some of the most important Alliance's games in the past (Fnatic / Na'vi in the most crucial moment - when these teams utterly dominated Dota 2 scene and had significant winning streaks). Alliance won both of these games and I'll quote [A]S4: "It's not that it won the game but it did help a lot."

Of course that I am not important and I could not care less about random person with a pair of wings but this made me wonder... whose fault is this? What did trigger this kind of behavior?

Today's article will be mostly about Valve's mistake - silently approving and, on the other hand, not punishing negative behavior of the, so called, pro players in tournament games because there is nothing "pro" in their behavior.

Way to fail like a pro

While watching one tournament game yesterday, some of the users were talking about how XY team is humble while other team is not...

Well, let me tell you this. There is not one team which, at some point, actually showed humbleness at any point in the last 60 days.

In general, most people grow wings at the moment when they should, in fact, do the opposite - stay humble and in touch with person(s) which, in the end, gave them support from the very beginning and by doing that, contributed to their success.

If you think that your "success" is based on you alone, in any field in your life - you're wrong. Not one person in this life can do something of value alone. You think you grabbed God's balls just because some people think you have decent skill in Dota?

Your problem.

I'll tell this to all "pro" players:

You very well know that in Dota 2, your skill is quite average if we consider pro scene in general. If, by any chance, you did won a few tournaments, know that you've just got lucky to have a team mates that know very well, same as you, that team play is everything.

You are nothing special and nothing on this world gives you the right to harass, insult and show your lack of manners (and intelligence) towards your fans, teammates, players you play against and / or spectators world wide (like "tactical" pause in the middle of the fight, for example). That especially goes to Live Tournaments where your words & actions can be viewed by more than 5.000 people - I'm taking into account various websites where Dota 2 Live games can be viewed.

Non professionals everywhere

Let us together look at these examples from the last few days. I'll deliberately post some of the names regarding Dota 2 scene which utterly fail to show any lack of intelligence and good taste in humor in a hope that they will, in the future, shut their cancer mouth with which they spread their poison attitude around:

Trixi (Fnatic) - cursing on random (more than one) non English language while 5.000 people wait for the game to unpause.

Well, you've just offended lots of people with your inability to think of a funny joke.

Congratulations to Trixi from Fnatic! If not for the following example, you would be the biggest douche of the month for sure.

Dendi to xiao: "Happy ending with your girlfriend, now she is mine" while knowing that he just broke up with his girl. Later on, he went saying how he did not know the meaning but let me tell you this, "Had My Moments Before And Now Living On The Past Glory" Dendi boy - lack of knowledge is NOT an excuse. For example, when you break the law, you will end up in jail because in the court, the judge will reply: "Doing XY and not knowing that it is illegal is not an excuse."

You're disgrace to this community.

Random "pro" team with proven lack of manners in the past (list is too long) - instead of leaving the game after calling "gg", they keep fighting at fountain, using spells and random similar stuff which is interesting only to them and by doing that, stirring negative emotions in: other team, caster(s), +5k spectators.
...and the list just goes on and on...

If you're unable to show your respect and love toward others, do not spread negative emotions in public which is in this case - tournament games.
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Regarding everything written in this article so far, my questions is:

"Should pro players get any support from us, average users, while they act like they are acting now?".

Keep in mind that they do win real cash money by winning tournaments and, lately, various exclusive in game items. Not to even mention sponsors...

Am I alone in this?

Feedback, which I got from my friends so far before publishing this article, pushed me forward in my questions / research regarding this. For a start, I'll quote user "fatboYYY" which wrote this 17 days ago on known Dota 2 forum:
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Hey guys,
I'm pretty new here and have recently taken a look at this thread about EternalEnvy (writer's note: word EternalEnvy is linked to another thread started by user "lerobotsexy" which started a thread named: "EternalEnvy has been smurfing, stomping and fake reporting new players for having been muted on his main account. Why is this behavior even accepted?").

I don't know any Dota2 professional but want to get into it.

In this thread I saw how bad actually some members, even pros, of this forum and therefore of the in game community are. I'm coming from League of Legends, where several people, even pros, got banned from the game for lifetime. But here "it's not that big of a deal"? (writer's notes: "it's not that big of a deal" is again linked to the "lerobotsexy" thread where random user posted comment how this, and everything related to this article I am now writing, in fact - is not of a big deal.)

That's just disturbing. I think Valve should take more critical steps against behavior like this, especially for pro players.

Thanks
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User "ICore" started a thread where he begs for help - asking for an advice on how to avoid negative energy in games which are becoming more and more unbearable. I'll quote some of his random thoughts (name of his thread is "This saddens me greatly, what should I do?"):
"Well I'm thinking about stop playing Dota 2, it's not because I hate the game, far from it..."
"But I'm not having fun..."
"...when someone better than me gives me a tip I'm almost writing that sh*t down so I can play better, but no they sit on their god damn sh*tty thrones because they are better than everyone..."
"I need some help I don't want to stop playing Dota 2 ): I had some great moments and met some nice people while playing, but it's really hard to keep going this way."
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Two days ago, user ESPORTSREP started a thread called: "I have lost a lot of respect for Na'Vi Dendi today..." and he starts his thread with the following words:
"After hearing about Dendi's disgraceful actions with regards to Xiao8 and his girlfriend..."

Conclusion

Disrespect in tournament games between pro players, allowing them to behave like 5 year old kids (prolonging games which are officially over, pausing in the middle of important fights) which is not sanctioned by Valve itself means that Valve silently approves of this. If they do approve, and it's quite clear that they do, then it is quite normal and it is of not any surprise that:

- pro players have no, what's so ever, respect toward their fans (example from the beginning) nor to any one else, for that matter
- trolling, harassing, ruining the game on purpose is considered as "normal" in regular, public games

So, instead of Valve making extra profit by taking away part of the money prize for the entire team if they show any lack of manners in the tournament (if they win) thus improving this community and the game itself, Valve decision is to silently approve this kind of behavior. On the other hand, they "mute" certain players if they do what Valve encourage in the first place - showing disrespect in any possible way towards every participant, active or passive, in every Dota 2 game.

What will Valve do regarding this troublesome behavior that we witness in almost every tournament game is yet to be seen. If Valve decides not to react, we will all assume that they are no better then some of these "pro" players which disgracefully poison this community and mock all of us which are watching and fully supporting pro tournament games.

But, for how long?

Thank you for reading.

Mr.Ham

How to flip a house using loan

"Flipping" a house consists of buying a run-down property below market price, increasing its value somehow, and rapidly re-selling it for a quick profit. This is different from development investing, in which the buyer purchases a property under development, then sells or rents the unit when it's ready for occupancy. If you play your cards right, you can make 5.000 - 20.000 € per flip, and do it in under 90 days.

1) Familiarize yourself with how to buy a home or condo. If you've already done that, then you already know the process and it's second nature. If you have not ever purchased a home, then consult with a Realtor. There are a few steps involved when purchasing a home so you need understand that process, such as: placing an offer, getting a mortgage, removing conditions and taking possession.

2) Educate yourself about the real estate market in which you're investing. Read magazines that often have articles about real estate. The housing market is like the stock market. It has both "bull" and "bear" cycles. The difference is that the housing market can take years and years to switch from one cycle to another. All that simply means is real estate might either be in "high demand" or "low demand". After talking to at least 3 realtors and doing some investigation, if you find that the market is in low demand and everyone and their dog seems to be trying to liquidate their homes, these kinds of market conditions would make it more challenging to flip a home. Wait to buy until there's a fairly bearish real estate market.

3) Obtain a loan for at least several thousand dollars more than the price of the property you wish to flip. You'll need this money for repairs and improvements. Negotiate a purchase of the property, and buy. In the offer be sure to have multiple ways out of the contract. Have multiple ways out of the contract. The most common is simply "subject to financing by x date". If you can't make the financing by then ask for an extension on the condition date.

• A home with room for improvement might have a run-down yard, old carpet, a good spot for a carport, or other things that can be fixed with a little money and some hard labor. These types of fixes often provide an excellent ROI when flipping a home.
• Some people look for distressed properties. Those are ones that the seller is "desperate to sell" for reasons such as: divorce, bankruptcy, death, poor condition of the property, late on payments or other.

4) Work on the house to quickly and cheaply improve it. Repaint, tear out old carpet, touch up old fixtures. The key is to make improvements, often merely cosmetic ones, that make the house look much better but won't cost you too much.

• Typically cleaning, paint and plants are the cheapest way to boost the value of a home. A deck also raises the value more than the price of the deck. Remodeling kitchens and baths typically do not raise the value of the home enough because owners tend to pay too much for the remodel. Replacing electrical and plumbing fixtures and fixing anything broken is also a cheap way to get a good boost in home value.
• Seek out the cheapest labor you can find (college kids, or even yourself) and have the property immaculately cleaned up and repaired.

5) Sell a home for a higher price than the one at which you purchased the property. Any annoyances or expenses with the property are now the buyer's problem, not yours. Pay off the loan, deposit your profit, and take a vacation.

Real estate tips part I

Yes the waters are rocky, the mortgages may be harder to come by, but particularly if you're interested in buying rental properties with an eye toward becoming a bit of a mogul yourself, now is as good a time as any.

Get your credit in shape
True, you can probably purchase a property with a middle of the road credit score. But do you want to? A low credit score means a high interest rate on your mortgage, and that increased expense is going to cut into your overhead pretty dramatically.

So, take the next 12 months to improve your credit score before diving in. Pay your bills on time, turn down offers of new credit and reduce your outstanding balances. Based on prediction, you'll still have time to get in while the getting is good.

Study up
Jumping in without knowing the basics is the wrong move. Before you sign on any dotted lines, take the time to read a few solid (and up-to-date) books on real-estate investing. Once you feel you have a pretty good — albeit broad — handle on the subject, you can start scoping out the market where you plan to buy.

"You need to go out and see the area for yourself. Look at a lot of properties, get a handle on what they are renting for, and how much insurance and property taxes will be so you don't have any surprises," advises Thomas Lucier, an investor in Florida and author of "The No-Nonsense Real Estate Investor's Kit," (Wiley, 2006). Do it in person, but also check out the classified sections of your local newspapers to get a feel for the rents.

Real estates and properties

Welcome, my friend, to the world of real estate investing. When done the right way, investing in real estate can create for you an inflation-proof cash flow that will take care of you and your family forever.

Before I begin, I want to make one thing abundantly clear — this is going to take work. If you think you can just get started with your investing and wake up tomorrow morning a multimillionaire, you need to think again.

The general wisdom that real estate is all about location, location, location is flat out wrong. In the real world of investing, real estate is first and foremost about the motivation of the seller; secondly, it’s about the price and terms with which you can acquire a property; and then and only then about the location of the property.

The begining

Loans and mortgages are great!

Why? Because they make you rich.

How is that?

I hope that, reading this blog, you will learn:

a) what is the difference between poor, mid and high class
b) why is essential to buy real estates
c) how to manage properly your real estates and how to get the right people into your real estates so you get steady income every month
d) how to "read" properly balance sheets and cash flow
e) why is so important to become investor
f) why it is so important to get financial education
g) how loans actually help you get rich
h) why is so important to keep the right mind set to become rich.

Be rich

BOTH POVERTY AND RICHES ARE THE OFFSPRING OF THOUGHT.

The very nature of real estate owned for income and pyramiding is that:

AS EACH DAY PASSES, YOU MAKE MONEY.

You do not have to DO anything to create the income. It just happens by itself. Not that I am implying for a moment that it is entirely work-free. It isn't, of course. But it goes on making money for you, day in, day out, month by month, year by year, by itself.

When we are offered a bargain in real estate we must never forget that we are not buying something we are going to consume, we are buying WHAT we are going to be offering to the public.

If we are to avoid the unenviable position of owning a thing for sale and being unable to find a customer for it, we must devote our best judgment to the points about the property that will most influence the acceptability of our product (shelter) when we offer it for sale. And the most important single feature of ALL property is LOCATION!

What to buy?

For adults, keep your expenses low, reduce your liabilities and diligently build a base of solid assets. For young people who have not yet left home, it is important for parents to teach them the difference between an asset and a liability. Get them to start building a solid asset column before they leave home, get married, buy a house, have kids and get stuck in a risky financial position, clinging to a job and buying everything on credit. I see so many young couples who get married and trap themselves into a lifestyle that will not let them get out of debt for most of their working years.

For most people, just as the last child leaves home, the parents realize they have not adequately prepared for retirement and they begin to scramble to put some money away. Then, their own parents become ill and they find themselves with new responsibilities.

So what kind of assets am I suggesting that you or your children acquire? In my world, real assets fall into several different categories:

1. Businesses that do not require my presence. I own them, but they are managed or run by other people. If I have to work there, it's not a business. It becomes my job.
2. Stocks.
3. Bonds.
4. Mutual funds.
5. Income-generating real estate.
6. Notes (lOUs).
7. Royalties from intellectual property such as music, scripts, patents.
8. And anything else that has value, produces income or appreciates and has a ready market.