That's a much deeper answer than I was expecting when I checked a thread like this. Much more thoughtful than I was expecting, and I think I can agree with your sentiments.

I'm not sure how well I can follow up on that, but...If you had to describe yourself in one paragraph, how would you do so? It's hard to boil a person down to one paragraph, but you've clearly got a lot of experience with writing and thinking through this kind of thing.

If a man carrying a bunch of differently colored balloons approached you, and you had to pop one of them. What color balloon would you pop and why?

I would say that I am opinionated, stubborn, and principled to a fault. If I believe in something, I will stick to it, even if it goes against my best interest. I struggle with social anxiety, and I tend to be quiet around people that I don't know well, but I am also a great leader, and I tend to take charge when working in a group. People sometimes misinterpret things that I say, which frustrates me, as I am usually careful with my words. People sometimes do not understand the nuance in the way that I convey ideas, and I don't know if that's due to my failure to communicate effectively, or the other person's failure to comprehend correctly. On the inside, I am a caring person, but I don't usually come across that way, as I make decisions logically, rather than emotionally.
NovemberJoy :

Furret : Uhhh red, because it's the first color that came to mind when I pictured a balloon.

Do you think the world is somehow real, or are we in a simulation by greater beings?

As far as the "greater beings" part, I believe that there is (or was) some kind of higher being (you can call it God or not, whatever you prefer) that created the universe. I don't deny the evidence of the Big Bang theory, but it is scientific law that matter cannot be created or destroyed. It is not possible for there to be nothing, and then for that nothing to explode and create everything. The Big Bang theory even states this, as it posits that the matter was highly condensed before exploding and expanding. So what created that matter in the first place? If matter cannot be created or destroyed, how did it get there?

So I do believe some kind of higher power or force that created the matter than we call the universe, but I am unsure if that force was a one-and-done sort of deal, or if it continues to monitor (or even control) our lives.

But back to your question—what does "real" mean, anyway? Is something real because we experience it? If so, are dreams real? Or is something only real if we can observe it using our five senses? If so, what about emotions? Are they real? I think reality is subjective. Whether or not something is "real" depends on the perspective of the person.

Therefore, I think it's possible for both of your options to be true. If the higher power that created the universe is some kind of higher being (or beings), then for the higher being, perhaps we are just entertainment, or some kind of experiment. But as parts of the experiment, to us it appears as reality. It could be our reality even if it isn't their reality.
Furret :

What are your thoughts on the recently revealed LEGO Pokémon sets? https://www.lego.com/en-us/themes/pokemon

I'm especially curious to hear your thoughts on the Eevee.

For me, the Venusaur, Charizard and Blastoise set makes for an impressive display piece, but it's incredibly expensive and takes up a lot of space. I find Pikachu very underwhelming and honestly think the Mega Bloks version looks much better for a fraction of the price. Eevee, on the other hand, looks really solid and hits the sweetspot in terms of overall design and price (in my opinion, anyway). It's the only one I ended up pre-ordering, lol.

I've never really been a huge fan of LEGO. To me, building a LEGO set is like putting together IKEA furniture lol. While I think the Pokemon sets are cool, they are absurdly expensive. This is true of LEGO in general, of course, not just the Pokemon sets. I don't plan on buying any of them. Not really my thing, and definitely not interested for that price point.
SacredShadow :

What are your thoughts on 4 tdvs a year since that seems to be the way things are staying? Do you think it brings more or less activity? I kind of think things seem more dead in the none tdv months now that we've had so many as of late but I don't really have any good ideas on how to make that not be the case.

I'm not sure. TdV is fun and drives activity, so why not? But it also makes the TdV less "special" when it happens four times per year, I suppose.

I think ultimately I would say that I like it overall, because it keeps people interested and involved throughout the year. I think anything that does that is probably a net positive.
SonicOlmstead :

Do you think I'll win this TdV? Also, will you compete at all in this TdV?

Now that you've been admin a while how have you enjoyed it and do you view it any differently compared to local or global?

Will you do another spree day?

I'm not sure if you'll win. I see that you have a pretty decent lead right now, but I'm not sure what the compeition looks like, as I was out of the country for the beginning of the month. Good luck, though!
Dauntez :

SonicOlmstead : I have enjoyed it. I don't view it too differently than local or global, as I still get input from others before making any decisions, but I like that I am able to help users more directly, such as creating accounts for users that don't receive the registration email.

Dauntez : Perhaps. No immediate plans to do so, but I think it would be fun.

How long does you plan to stay Admin for?

I'm not sure. I don't really have any "plans," I'll just kinda see how it goes. If/when I feel like I won't be active on the site anymore, I'll step down. But as long as I'm active, I'll probably try to keep the position.
Dauntez :

What is the most point you've gotten in a TdV?

The most points I've gotten in a single Tour de Vizzed was 513 points in Winter 2019. It was a record for most points at the time, though it is no longer even in the top 10.

In my other TdV victory, Spring 2025, I scored 507 total points.
Dauntez :

Tgags. Why are you my favorite admin? Way better than Pokemon y or whatever that other admin is

How was your most recent trip? Bring anything cool back with you?

What would be your final meal if you were on death row?