Unless you've been living under a rock lately, you are sure to know that the world has been taken over by Pokémon Go.
This phone app makes no attempt to hide that it is trying to get people off the couch and send them outside (whilst simultaneously making bazillions of dollars for Nintendo).
One of the features is that players must "incubate" Pokémon eggs in order for them to hatch. There are different incubation periods for various kinds of eggs, but all require the user to walk/hike between 2km and 10km. The GPS in your phone tracks the distance traveled. Driving the distance in a car is cheating and doesn't work. Some have reported that bicycling works, but it's speed-based so you can't ride too fast!
Side Note: US-based Google searches for the miles equivalent to 2km, 5km, and 10km are up tenfold since the app was released. :roll:
I think they should add AEG for quicker incubation. It'll make that trip to the Pokéstop on Camelback much more rewarding.
FWIW, Route Scout operates normally while running Pokémon Go.
Edit: Full disclosure. I'm an adult (according to the calendar) and therefore I have never played this game, nor do I have it on my phone. But I hear all about it from the delinquent children with whom I regularly interact. So there's that.
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I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.
I had no idea what was going on not being into Pokemon the first go around. So Monday I spent time on line and read all about it and I still have no idea what is going on. That being said today in downtown Scottsdale I saw two pair of lads walking with their phones held high. Judging by their appearance I would say it has been quit some time since they have seen the light of day, so it seems to be working.
I guess it's a way to get kids off the couch and outside, so that's a good thing. Too bad that in all this time they are spending outside running around, they're looking at the "world" through their phone screen and not actually seeing reality. Hopefully the novelty wears off when they all start going back to school in a few weeks. Unless it's mostly jobless twenty-somethings playing this game, in which case, we're all doomed.
lindaagm wrote:I guess it's a way to get kids off the couch and outside, so that's a good thing. Too bad that in all this time they are spending outside running around, they're looking at the "world" through their phone screen and not actually seeing reality. Hopefully the novelty wears off when they all start going back to school in a few weeks. Unless it's mostly jobless twenty-somethings playing this game, in which case, we're all doomed.
Not everyone SHOULD be outside...... it would likely be safer for them and cheaper for US if they stuck to FB and video games safe on their (parent's) sofa. I'm telling ya..... you could never make UP this sort of stuff.
"By Associated Press | July 13, 2016 @ 12:17 pm
DUNMORE, Pa. (AP) — Three “Pokemon Go” players got locked inside a cemetery...
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Reason:copyright text removed
"The censorship method ... is that of handing the job over to some frail and erring mortal man, and making him omnipotent on the assumption that his official status will make him infallible and omniscient."
George Bernard Shaw
According to the electronic signs above the expressway today, you should not play the game and drive. I think you get nailed or get hammered... or somethin' like that.
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry
Expressway - a highway designed for fast traffic, with controlled entrance and exit, a dividing strip between the traffic in opposite directions, and typically two or more lanes in each direction.
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry
rcorfman wrote:Why limit yourself when you can do both at the same time!
Somehow I doubt it will lead you along your favorite trail... more likely lead you through Manzanita thickets or off a cliff.
But I'm sure it will be fun.
:SB:
As an admitted old fart who simply can't find any sane reason to join in on a stupid fad like this, can someone tell me how Nintendo is raking in the $$ they claim to? Just how much do these in app purchases cost anyway?
Can it be long before we'll hear of people losing their homes because they went broke playing Pokemon? :-({|=
Oh yeah, I can't say I haven't seen anyone playing this game, because I have... all too much!
... in a car sitting at a green light (X6 and I don't drive much. And yes, I saw their screen, they weren't just texting)
... in the car sitting in front of me at a green light X2
... in the cars weaving lane-to-lane
... almost walking into a pole on the sidewalk
... in the grocery store (Maybe Nintendo will sign up sponsors & the game can lead people to buy a certain product?)
And we wonder about the Presidential candidates we have to choose from... sadly there isn't anyone even CLOSE to a lesser of two evils!
Please feel free to copy the last phrase into the political forum. :STP:
Wow, it really sucks for some of you that there are people out there enjoying this.
I was curious what the hype was about, so I downloaded it to find out firsthand. It's cute; you walk around and things pop out at you and you capture them. I play it sometimes when I walk the dog. (And sometimes when I'm having a beer at Boulders. )
If this is what gets some people off the couch, then so be it. If they are going to be stupid and walk into light poles or buildings, that's on them. If they are trying to use it in the car (which again, it doesn't work above a certain speed), then they're just the type of idiot who would probably get their phone out anyway to text, or check Farmville, or what have you. That's not on the game. You don't actually have to stare at your screen while walking around finding Pokemon. The phone buzzes to alert you if something is nearby, so anyone doing that just isn't thinking.
If you want to be away from people doing this, then leave the city and go to a rural area. Apparently Pokemon don't go where the people don't go. Your favorite wilderness trails (and off-trails) are safe. Enjoy.
I think Pokemon Go offers something for everyone to enjoy. Its giving bored millennials with nothing better to do an excuse to get off the couch and go outside. Its also giving bored older people with nothing better to do another shallow and trite reason to look down on millennials. Its a win for everyone!
Route Editor
Route Scout
](./images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
