Runiecan Lore

And you thought SOPA and PIPA were bad...

2012-01-22T11:44:00.002-07:00

Read all about it here. If you want it stopped, go to "Home" and sign. I have.

Ugh. I'm TIRED of legislation trying to stop piracy by violating privacy. Seriously, a friend of mine gave me an interesting insight on how stop pirates--Companies need to out-perform them.

An example, you buy a TV show on DvD. One of the episodes is broken and unwatchable. You got to piratebay and get an illegal copy, and then that copy works perfectly with no flaws.

See the issue? People would probably not pirate if the companies would legitimately out-perform the pirates. Either that, or take the Steam path. Or whatever. Companies are too greedy.

Edit: Also, I know a bunch of signatures may not work and we'll need another Blackout, but you never know.

Great video!

2012-01-14T16:17:00.003-07:00

I know I posted this elsewhere, but...

This is a great video about how we view different societies, people, etc as a "single story," meaning we only see one side of things. It opened my eyes to how stereotypes are made, and how we can avoid them. An interesting note this person says in her lecture is: "Stereotypes aren't necessarily wrong, but they are incomplete" (paraphrased).

This woman is very wise and seems to know a lot about cultural differences and feelings. I recommend you watch the movie, it's long, but it's a very good video. It is very enlightening and eye-opening.

My parents have left.

2012-01-11T14:28:00.000-07:00

*sigh* I'm kinda sad they are gone now. :( I'm going to miss them, despite how stressful my Mom can be sometimes.

Regardless, I love them.

Make sure you tell your parents you love them, too. That's important.

Welcome to 2012

2012-01-02T16:31:00.001-07:00

Hopefully, it's not the end of the world, but I highly doubt that it is because people predicted it and Christ said "I shall come as thief in the night." We don't know when he's coming.

Anyway, I had a good New Year's. How was yours?

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T08:51:00.001-07:00

Hope you got what you wanted for Christmas! :D

But, always remember the true meaning of Christmas--the birth of Christ.

My parents are here; and other things.

2011-12-22T14:14:00.002-07:00

They arrived Tuesday night around 9pm. I won't go into too many personal details, but we are behind on Christmas shopping; hopefully, we'll get to that soon.

In the meantime, I've been helping them, writing, playing games, and reading. They don't seem to mind the games, which is good--I was very worried my mother would be very stern about them. However, she seems to be accepting my choices as an adult, so that's good.

The only thing is my parents either seem too tired or stressed out. I'm really hoping they'll have a good Christmas and New Years, and I keep praying for them.

Otherwise, it's nice to have them here. Mom was making Ste.w yesterday and had me help to help me learn how to cook. She wants me to help with all the meals so I get a feel for cooking.

In other news, I finished Alma the Younger by H.B. Moore. I really recommend her books to my friends, they are fun Book of Mormon Historical Fiction books, and well, they make the characters--the prophets--look more human. And I really like that. So, I recommend her books to all of you.

Mind you, she does do a bit of Telling at the beginning of her books. Alma the Younger especially had a lot of Telling at the beginning. However, afterward, there's more Showing than Telling. (If you don't understand what I mean by Show vs. Tell, ask Cav, or a writer. :P)

I also picked up some books on 15th-16th Century Venice as research for my own historical fiction/fantasy novel--Crimra's story--because there's a character that comes from Venice to Crimra's castle. He actually had no reasoning, but Assassin's Creed II had a database entry about Venice in which it talked about the Turks invading and occupying Venice at the end of the 15th Century. I dunno if that extended to 1514 A. D. (when my book takes place), but I'm going to find out so that this Venetian noble has a reason to visit Crimra.

Anyway, that's all that's happening that I want to share. :) Happy Holidays!

Three things!

2011-12-12T12:45:00.005-07:00

I've told a few people that I had two projects due today simultaneously. Well, I was wrong--my Classroom Management handbook is not due until Friday at midnight, so I'm going to work on it a little every day until it's done! That took a lot off my shoulders, and I'm grateful for it.

I also have my Revit Structure Project almost done. At least, my side of it because it's a team project, and we're doing a hotel. I'm making floors 2 and 3. I just need to make the floor itself (as in, what you walk on. The structure itself and the rooms are made) for both of the levels. In any case, I'll have that done by today, and I'll be able to relax for the most part.

That said, I wanted to show you a review I made for Skyward Sword on GameFAQs. There are no big story spoilers in it. There's only a tiny one which will not matter much. Here's the review.

The reason I'm posting this on my blog is that I want some criticisms on its writing. What else could I add? What can I do to make it more thoughtfully written? Etc. Please comment. I really hope to get a star next to it.

P.S. Yes, the title does say "Slightly Biased," because I wanted to be honest (though, if it doesn't seem as biased as I think it is, tell me).

A picture of my table.

2011-12-09T15:09:00.004-07:00

So, I did it. I wanted to show off my table, and here it is (with me in the picture!).

I wore my "Choose your Weapon" T-Shirt as an analogy (I think?) to Woods. Like in DnD, in Wood's Class, we choose our "weapon" (read: tool) to make our projects. :)

What do you think?

I did it!

2011-12-08T10:16:00.000-07:00

I have completed my Woods' project! It's a coffee table made of white oak. I finished it this morning with oil finish. I'm SO happy because this means I will pass my Woods class! YAY!

I need help.

2011-12-04T16:49:00.001-07:00

I need to know what was going on in Venice in 1514. I've been looking through Wikipedia, and I can't find anything. AC2 suggests that Venice gets occupied by the Turks at the end of the 15th Century (which is the 1400's), but I'm not sure if Venice drove them out or what. I need to know because it'll be a major plot point in my Vampire story.

Interesting fact about Revelations.

2011-12-03T09:07:00.001-07:00

The PS3 version has massively different reviews from the Xbox 360 version.

PS3 Reviews: Here

Xbox 360 Reviews: Here

Notice the scores differences. I dunno if the Xbox 360 version has something that the PS3 version doesn't, but most likely, this probably has to do with the different players for the different consoles. Maybe. I'm not sure.

Any comments without spoiling Revelations for me?

Thanksgiving and Wireless Gamepad.

2011-11-25T09:31:00.004-07:00

Thanksgiving was wonderful! I got to see my cousins, played some games, watched some shows, etc. (Oh yeah, and I ate food.) Even though I wouldn't consider it the highlight of my Thanksgiving, I watched the episode "Blink" from Doctor Who. That was a scary episode. At first, it's kinda put me off from Doctor Who, but maybe I'll watch another episode. I'm just not interested in a marathon like my brother wants to do with me.

Blink was scary as heck. I didn't have any nightmares about it, but I will confess, in the dark that night in my room, I kept thinking I saw Weeping Angels in the corner of my eye and around me. Creepy! They did a good job of scaring you in that episode.

Also, in October, I got a wireless gamepad because I was tired of my old one with all the cords. Though, if anyone wants a cheap, fantastic-working PS1 gamepad for their PC, I'll happily sell it or give it to you (depending on the situation). It works pretty good and has served me well.

Anyway, the new gamepad is pretty awesome. It's laid out like an Xbox 360 controller and even has a button in the middle--like the Xbox one--as if you could use it to turn something off or on (maybe it's compatible with the Xbox 360? I dunno). It's a Logitech F710 Wireless Gamepad. Normally costs $50, but I got it for $30 on eBay, and it works great.

When playing on BSNES, though, I have to (well, I don't "have to") use where the "B" button was for the "A" button because the Xbox 360 layout is reversed from the SNES one. I could change the button scheme in the emulator to match up the buttons correctly, but I've gotten used to using the location of the "B" button for "A" now, so changing it would just confuse me.

It's a good gamepad, and I like it.

Anyway, happy Thanksgiving! I hope yours was great! :)

Skyward Sword is MINE.

2011-11-21T11:17:00.001-07:00

Okay, I know I don't have a Wii, but it's my birthday, and I wanted to buy myself a gift.

I got the Zelda: Skyward Sword Bundle, which comes with the game, the Music CD, and a special Wiimote plus. The reason I bought the bundle is for when I can play it on friends' Wiis and then you'll know it's mine. ^_^

Hopefully, I'll get my own Wii soon so I won't have to impose on people.

Yay, today is a good day!

Assassin's Creed Revelations Soundtrack

2011-11-17T09:37:00.002-07:00

I just bought it off Amazon MP3. If you thought the Brotherhood soundtrack was beautiful, you will be blown away by Revelations' soundtrack. It's THREE discs of awesome music. I highly recommend getting it.

However, if you do not want spoilers, I don't recommend getting it until you have the game.

Just sayin'. :P

I miss writing...

2011-11-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

It's been like a week since I wrote in Crimra's story. School has been taking up my time, but I've also been playing games instead of writing. What can motivate me to write? I miss coming up with ideas everyday, and writing them down in the notes so I can proceed.

What are the best motivations to write, my friends?

Hope for Woods class

2011-11-14T17:34:00.003-07:00

I have basically completed my project on AutoCAD. I just need to do the details, and I'm done. Oh, yeah, and the Cost Estimation Sheet. I hope to have it approved by tomorrow, and then I hope I can finish it by attending EVERY LAB from this point on until the end of the semester.

I'm also happy to say that my teacher told me that I could remove the drawer from the table (the project I'm making this semester), which was causing me the most problems and would most likely take the longest of all the project. Now, it's gone. It was removed on the condition that between the table and my blanket chest I would meet all the requirements for the final project.

Between the two... they do meet the requirements. So, no drawer! Woo!

I DO wish I had done all of this earlier, but I didn't really know. Someone who was an expert with Woods helped me build the AutoCAD picture of the project, and I didn't know about his skills until yesterday. And I didn't think to remove the drawer until last week. Had I removed the drawer earlier, and found this person earlier, I probably would have had my project plans done and approved, at the latest, in mid-October. *sigh* But I didn't know, so now I will do my best and rely on the tender mercies of the Lord, and the possible mercy of my teacher, to pass Woods.

But there is hope!

Weirdest dreams last night

2011-11-09T06:54:00.002-07:00

I'll probably not get any comments for this post, but I had some weird dreams last night.

One was that I was late for AutoCAD class (which was 7 am), but I couldn't stop thinking about things.

I also had a dream about riding in a bus at night. Weird. That must have come from the beginning pages of "Dracula."

The most prominent dream was about intelligent zombies killing off innocents in an area. For some odd reason, I was Ezio Auditore, and I assassinated the zombies trying to pick off the innocent people. Then, an intelligent, fat zombie challenged me and introduced me by name. I said--for the most BIZZARE reason--"I'm Locke Cole, and I'm a Treasure Hunt--" and then my alarm went off.

Weird. o.o; How Locke is an Assassin makes no sense.

I think I'm going to fail Woods...

2011-11-02T16:03:00.002-06:00

I'm... trying my hardest, yet my project plans seemingly keep collapsing on me. The Top view is accurate, but it clashes with this Detail, but if I try to fix that Detail, the Top becomes inaccurate, and so forth. Every time I make a change in my plans, I run into a wall, a corner, a trap, which has no end.

I'm in a lot of pain. If I fail Woods, I might get suspended (which I'm not sure what that means), but I've been working on these plans for almost two months. I've been reading the scriptures, looking up the phrases "Mercy," "Comfort," and "Hope."

I sought mercy because my teacher for Woods is merciful when we work hard. But when we neglect our work, he leaves us to be smashed by our grades. For mercy, I read many scriptures, but this one stood out to me: "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy" (Proverbs 28:13).

I'm not sure why this one stood out to me, but maybe it's because I seek mercy from my teacher and from Heavenly Father. I cannot fail my class, and I've worked so hard this second half of the semester. I sinned by not working hard in the first half, but now I'm repenting and forsaking. Yet, I'm frustrated, with all the hard work I do, I keep, as I said before, running into solid walls that I cannot break. But does this mean I'm still trying to repent.

The second is Comfort. I've been falling into tears recently, and I sought comfort. I found this scripture: "And again, blessed are all they that mourn, for they shall be comforted" (3 Nephi 12:4; also see Matt. 5:4). I have been mourning, I suppose, and because of that, I hope for comfort, peace, and... hope that I can pass.

Hope is the last word I looked up. This scripture struck me: "Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope" (Moroni 7:42).

I have been afraid, afraid of the future, afraid of my grades, and afraid for my position in school. I really don't want to be suspended, but I keep running into these walls, no matter how hard I try. Yet, if I replace my fear with faith, maybe I'll obtain hope?

I'll keep praying, and I hope I will receive mercy, comfort, and real hope; with a chance to pass the class.

P.S. No, I do not think my games have been really holding me back as I'm determined to do well now. At least, I think that's true.

"Libertà! Libertà!"

2011-10-24T13:36:00.005-06:00

... sorta.

I was bemoaning my fate last week because of how many classes I had an how behind I was on the two classes I failed last Winter semester. My grades in those classes are passing, but not great because... well, I'm behind.

However, I have a chance to catch up now because I have no homework for AutoCAD class this week--save that which I need to catch up on--and I have time to finish my plans for Woods. I finished them this morning.

How did I suddenly get so much time? Well, I told my teacher for my Multicultural Education class about my situation. Why? I just had an impression to tell her. She told me that the class would be hard and would take a lot of time away from my other work. My adviser said the same thing, and then I asked the Lord. He said the same thing my adviser and my teacher did: "You may want to drop the class." (It's a second block class, so I could drop it, avoiding withdrawing from it. Meaning it won't count against my grade because I dropped it.)

So I did. And now, suddenly, I have a lot of free time on my hands. Not only because I dropped that class, but also because my Adolescent Development class is also done, so I don't have a second class Mondays and Wednesdays. This gives me time to catch up, and also write my story about Crimra.

So, I'm free, but I have to use this time wisely still. Otherwise, I'll just stay behind. Time to get to work!

"Ow!" "Oh, what are you, a tiny child?"

2011-10-13T10:21:00.004-06:00

So, I had a blood test today. It hurt. I really hate needles, and every time they said it won't hurt much. Well, it hurt quite a bit, I won't go in the details of it, but it was painful.

On an unrelated note, I had a dream last night which helped me develop an Original Character named Crimra. She's a vampiress (not a Twilight version; think cross between normal vampire and Castlevania Vampire), who is short and slender. She's about 15 years old, but doesn't look like it; not just because she is a vampiress, but also because she's only 3'11". The dream made her out to be very short.

She owns her own castle in Italy, south of Rome, and has two werewolf thugs named "Apollo," and "Scarmouth" (in reality, they had different names in the dream--similar to what I've written here--but I forgot them).

She seems to like katanas as her favored weapon, as the dream showed me, and she is, of course, evil. She titles herself "Queen of the Vampires," and says that "Dracula has nothing on me!"

Anyway, there's much more about her. I had to get up at 1:30am after I awoke from the dream in order to write her down.

Maybe I can write a book about her.

"It's not exactly in working condition..."

2011-10-07T15:55:00.003-06:00

Except it is. I got my AutoCAD homework in on time today at 2:20ish pm. It's great news, and I have a huge burden lifted off my back!

But that's not the best news. The best news is my new laptop is working perfectly (or near perfect), without any berserk rages from it like three weeks ago. Also, I can now print from the Pharos printers from school.

The Pharos printers are basically what you use to print with at BYU. You normally need lab computers to print to Pharos, but the IT department made some drivers so that students could print from their own laptops. Recently, I was not able to print from the pharos printers, despite having the latest drivers. After three weeks of waiting, the problem was sorted out and I can print from Pharos again.

Finally, AutoCAD itself was having some problems. About every other time I tried to click on a button to do something, AutoCAD would crash momentarily, and then recover saying that the "Intel graphics drivers have recovered successfully." Fortunately, they recovered every time, but the problem was, the crashes were so frequent that it was hard to get any work done.

So, I tried making so the NVIDA Card (my laptop has two graphics cards) was used when AutoCAD loaded. No dice. I tried updating my drivers. No dice. I tried everything, and then finally, I downloaded an optional Windows update I had been ignoring since I got the laptop: it was a "Display - Intel Family"--something or other--update. I realized this could be a solution because my Intel graphics card was an "Intel Family" brand.

So, I downloaded it, tested it on AutoCAD with multiple tools, functions, and the stretch button (that one had been giving me the most problems), and I had no crashes. Today, I just spent over two hours working with AutoCAD and I had not a single problem.

Technology-wise, things are very much so in working condition.

"I hear you're quite the speedster yourself..."

2011-09-30T14:50:00.002-06:00

Man, I'm tired of homework. But I'm behind on work, and I need to finish it up. Granted, I need balance in my life--if I don't take a break once in awhile, I'll go insane... or something like that.

I still have AutoCAD, Manual Drafting, a paper, and reading a chapter to do. Most of that is due on Monday.

Oh joy.

"Let's just how talented you are!"

2011-09-23T07:30:00.001-06:00

... apparently not very.

I have a new laptop, and it went berserk on Wednesday. Fortunately, Urik helped me fix it, and it's working great again. I have a system image and a Windows 7 Repair Disc, so I can go back if I need to.

Unfortunately, AutoCAD has said that I've used too many of the same licenses, and I can't run it. This is bad as I'm currently in my AutoCAD class, and I can't focus very well or understand very well without AutoCAD running on my computer. The request for a new license is going to take 2 business days, and... well... AutoCAD homework is due today. :S

I may have to get special permission to turn it in later for these bad circumstances.

However, I'm very grateful to my brother for helping me fix my new laptop. Thank you so much. Urik! I really appreciate all that you've done.

"A minute is all I need. Wait... That came out wrong."

2011-09-12T12:44:00.002-06:00

So, this semester may be a good one this time.

Let me explain. First, on Thursday, I got a 100% on my quiz in Woods. Last Winter semester, I NEVER got a single 100% on any quiz. Period. I was thrilled.

Now, I got my first paper back from Adolescent Development, and I got a 100% on it. Woo! This semester is looking good; very good, indeed! I thought I would get at most a low 90 on that paper, but I was wrong! I'm so grateful that I was wrong, even. I am very grateful to the Lord for His kind and tender mercies, and His love he has for me, and each one of us.

Hurray for doing well in school! As long as I keep up the effort, I may get a 4.00 GPA (or around there) yet!

P.S. I lost my MP3 player on Saturday, but Acius found it, and Balgram, his sister, returned it to me, today. Thanks! Today is a good day!

Edit: Thanks to Whistler, who was the one who actually found the MP3 player.

"Your momma can't save you this time!"

2011-09-07T07:54:00.002-06:00

So, I was in my AutoCAD class this morning. Let me tell you about AutoCAD. It's basically a drafting program for making schematics for objects. Furniture or models of planes can made in AutoCAD, for example. Now, AutoCAD requires A LOT of memory and space. Sorta like Maya, though, not as much.

This morning in my class, I had an interesting experience. There's no easy place to plug in, so I rely on my battery power. Fortunately, even under a power setting that decreases my battery's lifespan, it can last about 1 hour and a half, even with AutoCAD on. The strangest thing happened though. We were playing with one of the tools, and I turned the tool off by accident. Suddenly, my crosshairs vanished, and I didn't know how to get them back.

Finally, I executed the line command and they came back. However, at that moment, my battery dropped from 48% to 7% in the blink of an eye. I know you probably don't know much about AutoCAD, but how could this be?

My computer has been acting up recently. Sometimes when I turn it on, the screen is black and shows nothing, but the laptop is still booting. My brother, Urik, tells me that's because the screen is starting to fail.

Now, as for my battery, I'm beginning to wonder if it's starting to fail, or maybe I just did too much in AutoCAD. If it happens again, I'll keep you posted, but I do want my brother's opinion.

"Come now, you bore me!"

2011-08-27T14:42:00.002-06:00

I have a bicycle now. It didn't come in as good as condition as I thought, but it was $25, so hey. I haven't learned to ride it yet, but I will soon, and hopefully, I will be a bike expert before the end of September.

The bike is blue with some light purple frames on the front and back. I'm wondering how much it would cost to get that repainted to the same blue as the bike's middle frame? Probably a lot. Also, it's fairly rusted one parts. CavDawg's dad helped me fix up and polish some of the parts, like straightening the kickstand, etc. He also gave me a bike pump as a present so I could fill the tires when needed. I'm grateful for it. He recommended I get a small bike repair kit, some things to put around the bottoms of my jeans to keep them from getting caught in the chain (I forgot what they were called).

Right now, I'm going to be practicing just riding the bike with my feet out, getting a feel for balance before I start trying the pedals. If anyone is willing to help me learn, that would be great.

I also bought Final Fantasy 6 Advance for the Game Boy Advance to play on my DS lite. I was not impressed. 1) The music has been butchered and sounds... not as good as the original. 2) There is some slowness in battle like in FF4 Advance, but it's better optimized. Still, it bugs me. 3) Terra blurs a bright crimson red when the camera moves, slightly blinding me. 4) Worse of all, the overworld is blindingly bright. I had a hard time riding a Chocobo from Figaro to the South Figaro Cave. I can't imagine what the airship is going to be like. x.x;

For those reasons, I'm thinking of returning it. It's just not as fun as the original SNES, IMO.

Anyway, that's what's happening in my life right now.

Well... it's been awhile.

2011-08-14T11:29:00.003-06:00

I know I said I might not blog again, but something happened today that I thought I'd blog about. I ran into an old roommate from 2005. He was in Heritage Halls with me, and I didn't recognize him at all today. He introduced himself, and I still couldn't remember. I blame WoW for my bad memory these days because I remember having a better one before I played WoW. (I really, really wished I had just stopped after the beta of WoW. I was in the closed and open beta of it.)

Anyway, he was a nice guy. He asked me what I had been doing for 6 years, and I showed him my website that I'm working on (which I haven't linked to here yet). He also mentioned that I had been doing an art class at the time (I remember that not going well), but I showed him my signature banners I've made over the years. He was impressed and thought the things I was doing were "cool." I didn't mention my writing, though. I guess I should have. Regardless, we talked for about 20 minutes or so. It was fun. It was nice to see an old friend again.

But again, this makes me wonder... how memorable am I? I didn't even recognize him, and even now, I cannot recall interacting with him in Heritage Halls at all. Granted, I can't remember ANY of my roommates from that time except the guy who loved FF8 and played an Xbox Lord of the Rings RPG, which actually looked kinda fun.

I'm not sure what else to say now.

Does my blog have a purpose?

2011-07-27T17:27:00.002-06:00

You know, after thinking it over, I'm wondering if I should just dump this blog. Why? Apparently, I have nothing interesting to say. If I did, I would have more comments, I'd bet. It's a selfish reason, yes, but my contributions to the internet seem to be lacking.

I feel often that I'm just posting random stuff in order to keep up with everyone else's blog, or trying to get attention. Sometimes I post something meaningful (like the post below), but that's a rare occasion.

So, it's as if this blog has no purpose, no meaning. I don't know. Sometimes I'm afraid to post something because it might make me look stupid or bad or what have you when maybe it was a possibly good post.

Super Congress - We could be in trouble.

2011-07-25T15:44:00.003-06:00

I'm not one for politics, but this is ridiculous: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/23/super-congress-debt-ceiling_n_907887.html

Yup, they're making another legislative body to handle the debt problem. Nice job spitting on the Constitution, government. -_-

Here's a conformable quote to read from that post:

"Legislation approved by the Super Congress -- which some on Capitol Hill are calling the "super committee" -- would then be fast-tracked through both chambers, where it couldn't be amended by simple, regular lawmakers, who'd have the ability only to cast an up or down vote. With the weight of both leaderships behind it, a product originated by the Super Congress would have a strong chance of moving through the little Congress and quickly becoming law. A Super Congress would be less accountable than the system that exists today, and would find it easier to strip the public of popular benefits. Negotiators are currently considering cutting the mortgage deduction and tax credits for retirement savings, for instance, extremely popular policies that would be difficult to slice up using the traditional legislative process."

Oh joy. Can we vote on this, first?

Japan Party...

2011-07-17T09:11:00.003-06:00

... was fun stuff last night. Good job to Acius and Whistler for being great hosts.

I'm also very glad that people enjoyed the Sasami picture that I got commissioned. It felt good because that was pretty much my only contribution to the party. ^_^;

The Japanese commercials were funny, socializing was fun, and the games looked fun. Good times, good times, all.

Sasami figurine almost done! (Paint job's done!)

2011-07-05T11:21:00.005-06:00

I still need to seal her, but I thought I'd show her off.

Remember the Sasami figure I got in January? Well, I've repainted her hair to cover up some of the errors, and some other parts of her skin. Also, one of her pigtails broke off (cleanly, it was just a bad glue job), and I've glued it back in with proper glue. Granted, from about this time, I still need to wait about 12 more hours before the bond is completely strong.

Here are some pictures I took from my phone (I still need a new camera)!

Here's the front of her, obviously. She looks better now, doesn't she?

Here's her backside. I had to repaint some of it because I accidentally got some "hair"-colored paint on her sleeve.

There are some flaws with the paint job (besides the obvious back of left ear looks like part of the hair--can't fix that, It would mess up her hair), but I'll let you find them on your own as I'm not pointing them out! :P

Anyway, she's so adorable. It was expensive to fix her up, maybe more expensive than I needed to, but the figurine feels more personal because I did the painting and the fixing. :)

Dream of Martial Arts (Tae Kwan Do?)

2011-06-29T05:08:00.003-06:00

Anyway, I had this pretty fascinating dream last night. I was in a Tae Kwan Do class, just starting. It was the first day (well, night, really) of class. Everyone was given an animal-named stance and had to perform according to what they either had 1) studied before class, or 2) what motions seemed to fit the end position of the stance.

How did they know what position to be in at the end? There was a picture of a character on their sheet of paper which showed the position they were supposed to be in.

Sad thing, there was this really cute girl there (of who I swear I've seen in real life) who performed and I had the very strong desire to ask her out. When I woke up and realized it had only been a dream, I was pretty disappointed.

One last thing about the stances: Every stance, for some odd reason, showed a picture of a Naruto character in ending position of the stance. I got the "Tiger" Stance, which showed a picture of Naruto himself in the final pose (which is fitting because in the Naruto fighting games, I always picked Naruto as my character) of the stance.

The dream ended before I could perform my stance.

Now, some weird things about the dream:
1) Someone via UPS was delivering a huge order of Golden Carrell (Ew) to an office building for dinner or something.
2) A girl named Andrea from my TEE major (whom I've already asked out in real life, she said no.) was there making comments on all the events, including the Golden Carrell delivery.
3) There was Mexican music playing in the background.

So, that's my dream. Anyone wish to comment?

Maya - Shadow the Hedgehog Animation!

2011-06-17T11:07:00.001-06:00

Click here to view it.

I know it doesn't look awesome, but I think it's awesome because I worked hard on it.

I would appreciate comments, too! :D

Review of Brotherhood Multiplayer

2011-06-16T15:45:00.002-06:00

I tried out Brotherhood Mulitplayer, it's not as awesome as the box makes it out to be. It's hardly an "award-winning multiplayer experience" in my opinion, and I'll tell you why.

Today, I went through and played the introductory session of the multiplayer. It's basically a tutorial. Except, it doesn't teach you about Stun, Templar Vision (which I still haven't figured out how to use), and levels. I'll give you 3 primarily problems with Multiplayer.

Problem 1 with Multiplayer: Toss everything you know about Assassin's Creed out the window. The only thing you keep is the controls and a hidden blade. Unfortunately, Brotherhood's multiplayer punishes you heavily for behaving like an Assassin. Running, climbing, and other things you'd normally do to stalk your target is a bad idea. Because that makes you vulnerable to any other pursuers you have. Yes, it makes sense, but it takes away from the fun of Assassin's Creed which is how you get around.

Problem 2 with Multiplayer: Levels. You have levels in the game, and as you level up, you get more abilities, and gear. It's possible I didn't have Templar Vision because I was Level 1. All you can do at Level 1 is stun and kill. You can still do the basics such as sprinting, and climbing, but as I said with problem 1, you might as well just rely on fast walk to move around for the most part. Levels really divide the playing field. It makes it hard to fight people who have all the best gear and gadgets when you have nothing but stun and kill. Also, one pet peeve of levels for me, is the fact that you can't customize your character with different colors until you level. And not until at least level 12.

Finally, Leveling seems to take awhile. Granted, I played one match, but I only got 2 kills, and managed to get 500 points. That put me half-way to level 2. Really, in my opinion, if you get at least 1 kill at level 1, you should level. If leveling takes this long, I don't see how I could reach level 30 within a week unless I play 24/7, which I won't.

Problem 3 with Multiplayer: You cannot choose your favorite avatar all the time. I wanted to be the Prowler, but for some odd reason, he was not selectable. I'm guessing it could be for that match that too many people chose that avatar, but still. This is more of a nitpick, but even so, you should be allowed to customize and keep your avatar. It is representing you after all.

Overall, it was not an enjoyable experience. I only played one match, but... I don't recommend it at all. It just does not feel like Assassin's Creed. It feels like a broken clone of it, even though it is attached to an Assassin's Creed game.

Maya - Shadow the Hedgehog design

2011-06-14T10:36:00.007-06:00

Don't laugh. This is my first character model with Maya.

Anyway, my teacher asked us to make a cartoon character out of pure polygons with Maya. And then the final project was to animate that character. I choose Shadow the Hedgehog since he was the simplest character I had on my computer (in terms of the pictures I had of him).

Anyway, it started out like this: I made the head first, and then the spines. Here's a screenshot of the first WIP:

This is what I had a week ago. Notice the side-spines. They came out perfectly and to be honest, I didn't know how I did it. I just moved the points (vertexes) on the cone and then gave it what are called "subdivisions," and it curved naturally in the direction I wanted. Too bad that later on, I realized the spines actually go in the back of his head and not on the side. I tried to rotate them and move them behind, but it didn't come out well.

Subdivisions, by the way, are basically cuts in the surface of the polygon. The more subdivisions, the more faces you have on that polygon.

Anyway, then I worked on his body. Here's a screenshot of that:
This is what I had at the end of last week. You may notice the chest hair, and the arms, and one of his shoes. Also, you can see the power rings are already started. The legs aren't connected, but that will happen later.

Finally, this week, I finished the model as shown here:
Not bad, eh? Yeah, he is a bit blocky, but I'm REALLY proud of the shoes and how they came out--almost perfect. This is what I finished yesterday.

Currently, I'm working on the animations/skeleton for him so I can make my 10 second animation. It'll be hard, but I have an idea of what I'm going to do. I'll show you the final video later. :)

What do you think?

Violent illness and Brotherhood

2011-06-08T13:49:00.002-06:00

So, I was violently ill Monday night. I don't want to go into details of it, but I felt extremely weak on Tuesday morning. So weak and ill that I had to miss class. It made me a little upset since we're in the middle of Maya (3D modeling), and this stuff is harder for me to grasp.

Anyway, after getting some Pepto-Bismol and Ibuprofen from the Creamery, I took those and I felt a little better and was able to eat. The night before I had woken up every hour during the night to find myself dehydrated and ill, and every hour I drunk a cup of water.

Anyway, as I said, the next day, after taking some over-the-counter medicine, I felt better. Granted, I still feel a little ill today, but not nearly as bad as on Monday night (if this continues, I may go see a doctor).

I also have Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. I got it yesterday, and started playing the Story Mode today. I will say little about it because CavDawg would kill me if I said too much.

The game is basically a clone of AC2, except that the UI is much more refined. The health meter takes less space than before, text listed next to the buttons for commands have been clarified a bit, among other things. The map is MUCH smoother, and loads more quickly than in AC2. In fact, it's as smooth as AC1's map.

Also, looting guards (their bodies) is actually useful in Brotherhood, as opposed to AC2. They'll give you extra equipment you're missing, and about 10-30 florins per loot. That's very nice. In AC2, looting a dead guard's body would get you about 3-5 florins, and sometimes a throwing knife or medicine (but only on the Brutes) if you were down by any.

It's a fun game. I look forward to the multi-player. However, right now, I still have some Maya homework to do, so I can play later.

BTW: The word "Imbecile" when said in Italian means "Jerk."

My grandparents are leaving today...

2011-06-06T07:41:00.002-06:00

It was fortunate that Thursday was the only real day that I was annoyed at my Grandfather, because the rest of the week was just fine, and he was nice to me. Plus, they stayed until today, not Saturday, because Grandfather had to fix the Swamp Cooler.

He said, on Friday, that I been a great help to him because I had helped him with the Swamp Cooler problems. That made me feel good inside.

So, I probably shouldn't have ranted on Thursday, but then again, I really needed to vent.

In other news, I'm getting AC: Brotherhood at last... but not from Goozex. I found a copy on Amazon for $26. It was from the Amazon Warehouse Deals, and so, I didn't want to miss out. I've requested Portal 2 (Xbox 360 version) and Kingdom Hearts 2 from Goozex instead now (I do need to use up those points!).

Anyway, should be good times ahead.

I want my Grandfather to LEAVE ME ALONE.

2011-06-02T15:05:00.003-06:00

If I had the money, I'd move out of the house I'm in.

I. am. tired. of. my. Grandfather.

I know our religion teaches us not to hate, but I'm soooo annoyed with him at the moment.

I mean, I should stand up to him, but how without getting him so offended that he'll try to throw me out of the house!? (He can't actually do it without Grandmother's permission, thank Heaven.)

Ugh. He's been a real bother ever since I moved downstairs. I cannot do what I want to do. I have to hide at school as long as possible to avoid him. He questions my every move, everything that I own, and tries to force his own lifestyle on me!

My uncle, who is living in the same house right now, told me I need to be my own person and that won't be able to happen while I'm under Grandfather's thumb. And chances are, they (my grandparents) may move into the house in about 3-5 years, give or take due to illness or something as they are old.

My grandmother can diffuse him a little, and so can my uncle, but still, living down there makes it MUCH harder to stand being around him.

I can't move though, I'm freaking poor. My internship is giving me little work to do, and... ugh, ugh, ugh.

I know you probably don't like to hear my complain, but I need to rant. I need to get this out of my system, and I need comfort. :(

I mades a Flash Game!

2011-05-28T16:57:00.002-06:00

This will reveal my last name, but it's too cool to ignore.

Click here to play Alpha Wing.

It took me three days to make it with the help of a TA. I figured out how to do the "shoot the alphabet in the correct order or lose points" on my own, and sorta the invincibility timer for when you get hit. Also, shooting the letters in alphabetical order is there because the game is for a class and it had to be educational.

So, what do you think? :)

Edit: I shrunk the size of the stars. Give it a try.

Ask a Mormon thread at GU.

2011-05-28T09:13:00.002-06:00

Ask a Mormon.

I started this thread at the Gaming Universe after getting permission from the owner. I just wanted to point this out to you if you want to join and help me in answering questions about our Church.

Or if you're not a member, you can always join and ask questions about the LDS Church. :)

What do you suppose this scripture means?

2011-05-25T13:00:00.002-06:00

Matthew 23: 16

I saw this scripture, I'm just curious as to what it might mean concerning the Temple. The first phrase talks about "blindness," which most likely refers to Spiritual Blindness, and those that are blind making the statements about the Temple.

The problem is... I'm confused as to what the speaker means by the last part (starting at "but"). What does it mean to "swear by the gold of the temple"? Is it talking about loving the gold, or ornaments of the Temple more than the Temple itself? Or... something else?

I want to hear your thoughts.

Apparently, you can't play StarCraft II...

2011-05-20T09:27:00.003-06:00

... at 9 in the morning. I waited for like over a minute, and I didn't get a matching opponent when doing a quick match on the ladder. :(

Gosh darn it, I want that Baneling portrait.

In other news, my grandparents arrived last night. Grandfather seems rather mellow, and gentle this time around. He has already scolded me, but not too harshly. He was very pleased with the bud vase that I made in my Woods Class last semester (the one that I wanted to post to this blog, and then my camera died).

Anyway, things seem calm right now. I hope they stay that way throughout the weekend. I also hope it stops raining.

And Then There Were None...

2011-05-10T16:13:00.004-06:00

... is what I'm currently reading. I read this book back in 2005 I believe, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. A recent event triggered my memory about this book, and I decided to order it off Amazon. It arrived today and I'm reading it now.

It's a mystery murder novel by Agatha Christie, published around 1940, so its writing style is fairly old and dated. For one thing, in a single chapter/section, you'll have multiple points of view at once, something that's considered a "no-no" these days. There's also the "He said:" and then what that character said is on the next paragraph, which I've never seen in modern books. It has a "stream of consciousness" narrative, which is sometimes used in modern novels. Where you get the characters's thoughts within the descriptive text.

It's definitely not like Mistborn in terms of writing style. :P

Anyway, besides that, it is very well written, and has a decent plot. The pacing is very fast, so once you get into the book, it's easy to cruise through the entire thing within several hours (granted, if you read for hours on end). Also, it has a very good hook to it, so it grabs you pretty well.

The premise of the book is that ten people head to a place called "Indian Island" for a vacation. They were invited by a person with the surname of "Owen." All of the characters have committed murder in one fashion or the other, and becomes a game of finding out who is murdering the other characters one by one.

It's a good book. I won't reveal any more about it. I do recommend reading it, though.

Sometimes my university can be annoying, but in this case...

2011-05-03T16:28:00.004-06:00

... they are awesome. I have to sign a waiver form every year for my residence because it isn't on my university's campus. Regardless to say, it's annoying to go and fill out the paperwork each year.

They added something new, though. You can now renew your waiver via an internet form, and it keeps all the information you added in the past waiver. Awesome. I was able to just send it immediately, and now it's pending review. W00t.

In other news, I'm building my website portfolio, and basically my web site for about everything I do. Click here to see it. Its name is subject to change, but I think I may stick with it, but you never know. The idea behind this website is to show my work in Graphical Design, Web Design, and Writing (the writing section hasn't been made yet). There's also going to be a Gaming section for gamers, but it's not the focus of the website.

Things I want to add: Sidebars, a Search function, and databases so my CHUM 345 sites will work again, and maybe for future use. Not to mention some Javascript for drop-down menus, a blog, and an internal blog on the front page (they'll be the same blog, just you'll see the most recent update in the internal blog). I got the idea for the internal blog from another person's portfolio.

The design and layout on the website is also subject to change. Especially if I want to stick to web trends and the like. Currently, it's not up to standards in terms of web trends, but it's the best site I've made so far.

Also, the CSS there is a modified template. I know that makes me look less impressive, but I don't want to take credit for something I didn't make. However, I have modified the original template a bit, so it is different. The colors are a little brighter (the blues are, anyway), and the current layout doesn't match the template I used.

It's quite possible that in the end the site will end up looking entirely different, that's what I'm currently working on in my web design class. And yes, it was my web design class that made me focus on this site more, since we're focusing on making an online portfolio of our work.

That's all for now!

I'm getting Assassin's Creed Brotherhood... from a cool website!

2011-04-28T07:54:00.005-06:00

www.goozex.com

This place allows you to trade Video games or Movies for points and trade them in for movies or games that you want instead! I'm trading in Phantom Hourglass (350 points), and Final Fantasy 12: Revenant Wings (300 points - sorry, Urik) and Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes (350 points) for a total of 1000 points, which is what AC: Brotherhood costs.

Now, you may be asking, "but Twin Snakes is an awesome game! Why are you trading it in?" because I never really played it. It was collecting dust on my shelf. So was Revenant Wings, and I didn't really enjoy Phantom Hourglass that much (even though it IS a Zelda game). So... this was an opportunity for me to get a game I wanted to play in trade for games I didn't play anymore.

So, I recommend this site to you guys. especially to Balgram, who is looking to get rid of some of her movies.

Edit: Just a note, it will be awhile before I get Brotherhood. Why? I'm number 301 in the line for trading the game, and I'll only get the points after positive (and I think or neutral) feedback from the people who requested the games from me.

The first two days of Spring Term 2011

2011-04-27T13:53:00.003-06:00

This has been a fun past two days. We're doing web design, and even though it's only one-third of the class (the other two-thirds is Maya and Flash), so far I have straight A's. It's really fun and easy, too, not to gloat. The thing that makes it more fulfilling is that I'm called upon to help people, too. Not by the teacher, but by my fellow classmates when the TA isn't around.

I guess that technically makes me an unofficial TA for this third of the class. It makes me think that maybe I should try TAing for this class next Spring. Regardless, it's good and fulfilling to give service to others (and sometimes frustrating, knowing if you just do it for them, they will not learn the material).

In other news: I got an internship. It starts in early May, and it's full-time. I'm working with a company called SharePlanner Inc. They help people with the stock market basically, and make things easier for them. The internship is done via the internet, so I don't need to move. I had the interview on the 11th of April, and I didn't want to blog about it until I got the internship. So, YAY! I have something to do this summer!

Portfolio of everything I've done this semester

2011-04-22T13:40:00.003-06:00

All the design work I've done this semester, in case you're interested, can be seen here.

Check it out. I've done quite a few things. Only the last part have I not done by myself (the FastFill Systems redesign), I only did the Letterhead for that part. Everything else was done by my group, but I was told to put it in my Portfolio anyway.

Any comments? Please, give me feedback on my pieces if you will. I'd like to hear your opinions (especially Balgram since she knows how to draw. :P).

New Laptop Case

2011-04-20T09:48:00.003-06:00

My old Case-Logic Laptop bag, as shown below, broke on Friday. So, I had to get a new one. I ordered it on Monday. It cost me nothing because I had a $40 Amazon gift card, and the new case was $30.

How did the old laptop case break? Let me show you.

First, in the upper pocket, the silk divider broke open. I am NOT supposed to be able to push my fingers back there because it's an extra pocket. But, it broke anyway after like 3-4 months of using this laptop case.

You may not be able to see it well in this picture (click on it for a larger view), but the handle then ripped off from one side of the bag. You can see the handle hanging there, and the broken part is on the right side. This was clincher that made me decide to buy a new laptop bag because who knows when this Case-Logic bag will break further?

This is the new laptop case (you'll get to see it up close when I come to parties and gaming sessions). It's a Targus "CityLite Top-Loading Case." It's 16'' long, which was what my old laptop case was, and it cost me, as I stated before, $30. I got a Targus one because my brother got me a Targus backpack years ago, and it's still going after 3 or so years.

This laptop bag is slightly bigger, and has more space. It has four main pockets, one small one, one medium one, and two large ones. On of the large ones holds the laptop, and I also put my power cords and mouse in there. It works great so far.

The medium pocket holds all my "work" stuff. Three pen/pencil holders, a place for a business card, and two small interior pockets. I have one reserved for my MP3 player and its headphones, and the other holds my calculator.

The small pocket, on the outside, holds my flash drives, my micro-fiber cloth, some mechanical pencil refills of lead and erasers, and some other things.

Finally, the other large pocket looks like a place to put a small amount of papers. For now, I'm keeping my mousepad in there.

Overall, it seems to be a good laptop case. I hope this Targus one just lasts me at least a year, if not two. I'm really grateful to have it, though.

Anyway, what do you think?

Am I a Memorable Person?

2011-04-15T10:44:00.004-06:00

So, I was selling back my textbooks this morning, and I ran into a guy who was in one of my English classes. I think it was my first 251 class (I took it again because I failed the first time), which was interpretation and analysis of texts (no, it was not a fun class).

Anyway, I think the guy's name was Matthew. I did not recognize him at all, but he recognized me, and I took that 251 class in Fall of 2007! That's almost 4 years ago! How did he recognize me?

It makes me wonder if I leave a deep impression on people. I always consider myself a socially impaired person. I'm not great at being social, or at least not comfortably social (I'm working at becoming better at that, though). Sometimes, I'm afraid to talk because everyone else is talking so much. I also fear I will get made fun of (which happens a lot whenever I open my mouth).

However, there's a banner on 9th east near the stop lights I pass by everyday. It's very simple, a clean pink with a readable, handwritten message that says: "You are better than you think you are."

I'm not saying I don't need to improve, everyone does. But maybe I'm better at being social than I thought, and that's why I leave impressions on people.

What do you think? Have I left a deep impression on you?

Assassin's Creed II - Beaten

2011-04-07T12:33:00.002-06:00

I beat it on Tuesday night, and no, I was not neglecting my studies. It was around 10 pm when I finished it. I have one thing to say about the ending:

Mind = blown.

I can't say much more than that, otherwise, I'll spoil it. If you haven't beaten it yet, find the time to do so, it's worth it, and it answers a lot of questions about the Assassin's Creed world while leaving you some to tangle with.

I still play my save occasionally to find feathers and do side quests. It's still a fun game to play even though I almost have everything. I just wish I could get the DLC, but I don't have internet at home, so no Xbox Live for me.

Requiescant in pace.

Job Hunting... again

2011-04-04T13:54:00.001-06:00

Does anyone have any suggestions for me for a job? I really don't want to do grunt work (custodial, etc.) for this Spring/Summer term. I really need help. I've been looking, but now finals have sneaked up on me like a thief in the night, and I'm very busy with final projects. I dunno what to do. Help!

Assassin's Creed II - First Taste

2011-03-29T12:03:00.002-06:00

So, I beat Assassin's Creed I last night at about 8pm. It was quite satisfying to say the least. I wanted to know what would happen right after, so I loaded up Assassin's Creed II and started playing. I'm having a lot of fun with Assassin's Creed II. It has much smoother controls, and new gimmicks and stuff. But the new mechanics only threw me for a little bit. Throwing is different, so is grabbing.

I also like the fact that you can counter at the start of the game, rather than lose it after the first memory block (like in AC1)... and that you can counter with FISTS. That's cool.

There are a few things I hated about the tutorial though. Being notorious was not fun without a way to lower it, especially since you have no natural blend technique anymore. Instead, you have "fast walk." It makes more sense since that button is your legs button, but still, in AC1, I could walk by a bunch of guards with the red marker while holding down the blend button and not get caught for the most part. In AC2, you have moving, uncontrollable blending spots (IE groups of citizens). It makes it harder to blend consistently.

The guards are a lot smarter, too. They will stab hay or rooftop gardens in search for you. Even if you were in the "yellow." It's a bit annoying, but it also adds a little more danger to the game. In AC1, I did fear mountains of guards (that is, until the end of the game), but I'm much more afraid of guards in AC2. They are more of a threat than before.

One last thing. Eagle Points feel like they have a little less of a purpose in getting. I feel less motivated because unlike in AC1, they do not help you increase your health meter. However, on the other hand, Eagle Points do give vital information. Currently, I left Florence for the first time and I'm regretting not getting all the Eagle Points early on; it's going to be harder.

Also, once you can lower your notoriety, it got better, so overall, the notoriety system is better than the social status system, in my opinion. Why? Because you can walk past guards and they'll ignore you for the most part. That makes up for the lack of a blend button by far!

Combat also seems a lot more exciting with more techniques to use, and Eagle Vision... at first, I didn't like it, but now I do. Instead of First Person view like in AC1, you must hold down the Eagle Vision button and then it'll activate in a Third Person View, in which you can walk, run, etc. in while Eagle Vision is on. In AC1, you couldn't move while using Eagle Vision, plus you had to have full health to use it.

Anyway, there are pros and cons to AC2's changes, but overall it's a much more fun game to play.

Refund at last, and other things.

2011-03-28T17:59:00.004-06:00

Today, I got my refund for the broken Xbox 360 I bought earlier in the month. At last, it came, and I have the money back. I'm very happy. I've also almost completed Assassin's Creed 1. I won't say much more than that because I don't want to spoil anything for those who have not beaten it.

School life is good. But it's crunchtime, and I will have to spend most of my time doing school work. So, I'm going to be unavailable Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights (from 6-9) unless I specify otherwise. I'm not sure what else to say about school there.

Right now, I'm looking for a job as well. The reason I'm looking now is because I was told by someone I went to go get an interview with in January, that I should come at the end of March instead, that's when most people hire for Spring/Summer (at least, I hope that's true for all campus jobs). This morning, I sent a newly modified resume and application to a web design job.

Another thing I've been working on is making my own site on the side. I just barely started so I won't link it, but I plan to put my stories (mostly my Fan Fictions) up on it, links to web sites I've made, and some information on me. I'll add more as time goes by.

A last thing I wanted to add to this post was a Spiritual Thought. I want to read one scripture from the Book of Mormon that is my favorite.

The context surrounding this scripture is the following: the people of Ammonihah have cast out the men of the city that believed the words of Alma and Amulek. The wives and children of these men were burned by the unbelievers, along with their holy scriptures. Alma and Amulek were imprisoned, freed by the power of God, and make their way to Sidom (See Alma 14). There, Zeezrom, a lawyer converted to the truth, has a great fever, and lays ill in a house. He's feeling extremely guilty because he believed that Alma and Amulek were dead because of him.

However, when he hears that they are alive, Zeezrom sends for them to heal him. Alma and Amulek come, "and it came to pass that Alma said unto him [Zeezrom], taking him by the hand: Believest thou in the power of Christ unto salvation?" (Alma 15:6)

This is my favorite scripture, and what follows as well. Because Zeezrom believes, he is healed, repents, and is baptized into the Church.

But verse 6 is particularly a favorite because of what Alma says, "believest thou in the power of Christ unto salvation?" The power of Christ is, in my opinion, the Atonement. With the Atonement, all men can gain salvation if they repent, and believe in Christ. It's a comforting scripture, and shows the great mercy that our Heavenly Father wants to bestow upon us through his Only Begotten Son.

I would ask everyone to remember this scripture whenever they are down, or feel that they have been forgotten, or feel there is no hope for them. Please remember Alma's question to Zeezrom, and it will help you. I promise.

StarCraft II Patch 1.3 is out. Go get it! And writing stuff...

2011-03-23T09:32:00.003-06:00

Woo! Big improvements on the way! Now, Marauders will fear Infestors! >:D

*ahem*

On a side note: I've finished chapters 21 and 22 for my Zelda story: A Storm of Wind and Time. I'm linking the site to my Journal links if you'd like to read it and give me critiques on what I could do better. (Cav...) I would really appreciate it! The first 11 chapters are kinda... bad, but the rest is pretty good IMO. It always could be better, but I'm going to finish this story ASAP.

"Excellent work, Altaïr. You have earned the right to weild a blade once more."

2011-03-19T07:58:00.004-06:00

"You dare steal in my presence!? That will cost you your life!"

"What is that man doing?"

"I've never seen anyone do that before."

"That man is going hurt himself, and when he does, I won't help him!"

Yes, I got my Xbox 360 slim yesterday. It was AWESOME. Even more awesome is the fact that I can now play Assassin's Creed. Of the quotes listed, the last one is the only one I haven't heard on this playthrough yet, but I remember that it's one of the best quotes.

Anyway, I've been having a lot of fun doing objectives, sneaking around, climbing, running, jumping across rooftops, saving citizens, and, of course, flying assassinating guards! :D I'm very happy. This morning I spent about 25 minutes playing just so I could get my sync bar up by one bar (AKA health). It was good fun. I think I've spent almost four hours playing the game and I'm still in Damascus.

Oh well.

Anyway, I'll tell more fun stories to you in person. All I want to say is that I'm very grateful my Xbox 360 works, and I can play Assassin's Creed; I really had forgotten how awesome Altaïr was.

My camera is officially dead.

2011-03-18T12:27:00.001-06:00

I got my new USB cable for my camera today.

Same problem. The USB ports are being temporarily disabled by the camera, and is not accessing the camera itself.

I think my camera is dead according to things of the hardware, save that it can still take pictures, just not give them. So, I called my brother, and well, he suggested I plug it into a computer at school. I just did. The computers are macs, and it actually gave me more info about my camera.

Apparently, the reason the USB ports are dying is because the Camera is drawing too much power from the USB port, so it disables that port to prevent damage. I think... my camera is dead. I might google this problem as a last ditch effort to save it, but... it might be time to bury my camera.

The truth is written in blood... and red rings.

2011-03-17T14:17:00.007-06:00

I made this signature banner yesterday. I think it's beautiful. Yes, I am excited to play Assassin's Creed, but... I don't have an Xbox. Here's why: a little update on my Xbox situation here...

Some of you know that I got a defective Xbox 360 on Monday. It has a Red Ring of Death (RRD). Which, if you don't want to read the wikipedia article there, means that the Xbox was completely dead. I contacted the seller about it. They responded yesterday and said I could return it and if I wanted a refund, I should just simply stick a note inside stating so. I did so. They also gave me a prepaid UPS shipping label to return it. I've already returned the box with the console.

Therefore, this does not look like fraud company since they allowed me to return it and prepaid the shipping for it. I think if they were trying to rip me off, they wouldn't have paid the shipping. Anyway, when I get my money back, I assume when the package arrives back at their company.

Now, since I own AC1 and AC2 (which sound like defensive measurements in DnD :P) for the Xbox 360, and I opened AC1, I decided that I needed an Xbox, but I don't trust eBay anymore for them. About 75% of the Xboxes sold on eBay have RRD, I noticed, and the fact that I bought one that wasn't listed as defective, and yet turned out to be. So, I figured that if even I got a working old model of the Xbox 360, it would most likely die in a few months, that's not worth $120.

So, I went and ordered a 4GB Xbox 360 slim (new model) off Amazon (don't worry, I had the money for it). It was more expensive, but... I think in the long run, since I want an Xbox 360 so badly, this would be the wisest choice. It'll last me a long time, longer than an older model, and will pay for itself over time.

Anyway, I've learned a lesson here about eBay and electronic stuff, specifically consoles. Just don't trust it (unless you know the person). I hope no one is angry with my current choice to buy a new Xbox despite its expense.

... also, enjoy the banner.

More info on my camera.

2011-03-12T15:08:00.003-07:00

Remember this?

Yeah... my Camera is a Sanyo S750 Digital Camera. I've tried googling "Sanyo S750 Camera USB failure" but I've had no success in finding an answer.

Please help!

Edit: Some people on GU suggested that I need a new cable, and that my current one has a short in it. I think I might try buying a new one... Monday, obviously.

Assassin's Creed 1 and 2 are mine!

2011-03-11T10:39:00.004-07:00

As of the 9th of March, I own Assassin's Creed 1 and 2 for the Xbox 360. Yes, there is an Xbox 360 on the way--I got it for $119.49 off eBay. It's a white, 20 GB Xbox 360 that comes with all the essentials. Anyway, I got it for a great price. There was a black, 4GB that I had big on, but it went for almost $200 including shipping! And it was an older model! I'm so glad I didn't fight for that, and got my $119 one instead.

Anyway, the Xbox 360 is planned to arrive on Monday, so I look forward to playing Assassin's Creed 1 and then 2 soon.

Though, I think I've bought enough stuff for now. No more--not until I get a job.

My Camera kills my USB ports

2011-03-07T12:58:00.005-07:00

So, I was going to make a post with pictures from my digital camera today, but I found out I have a problem. I took the USB cable for my camera and plugged it into my front USB slots. In my front USB, I have my wireless mouse plugged in. As soon as I plugged in the USB cable with the camera, my mouse suddenly died. A note: the camera is also not connecting to the computer, so, I can't even access it with my touchpad, and it's not appearing on computer drives as a USB drive.

Anyway, I tried plugging the USB cable into the back USB slot. Suddenly, the lights in my USB hub go out.

I removed the USB cable and all my ports were still dead. So, I restarted the computer, and did not plug in the USB cable. When the computer restarted--all my USB ports were working again, including my mouse and hub.

So... I do not think it's the mouse; it seems like the USB cable kills whatever pair of ports it's plugged into. Something happened to my camera's cable, and I don't know what.

I can't type up more details now, but... can someone help me?

Conflict between Homework on Sundays and Not.

2011-03-01T12:32:00.002-07:00

So, I was just at a Devotional at BYU. It was a finance professor who had Spiritual Thoughts halfway through his class. His Spiritual thoughts were more than just thoughts, they actually (literally) changed people's lives. I won't give examples because it feels inappropriate, but his stuff was good.

However, one of his thoughts conflicts with something I learned from my Grandfather. The Professor said: "Do not do homework on Sunday. Plan your schedule accordingly and you'll be blessed." He gave an example of a young lady who became Relief Society President, and because she had planned accordingly, she was in the habit of getting homework done before Sundays. She was seemingly blessed.

However, my Grandfather told me that a General Authority (I think...) in a Devotional long ago said that being at BYU was not only a learning experience, but a calling. Therefore, there was nothing wrong with doing homework/studying on Sunday because I would be fulfilling my calling.

Who is right here? The professor or the General Authority (I think...) my Grandfather heard speak?

Cecil and Tidus stand as brothers in arms.

2011-02-26T08:41:00.005-07:00

Yes, you can call me 'excessive' or 'obsessive' if you want (though, I did try to stop it), but I now own a Dissida figure of Cecil from FF4. I bought him off eBay at the same time as Tidus, but only got Cecil yesterday. Why? 1) He was in Hong Kong, 2) The person didn't ship until the 11th of February. So, it was a little frustrating.

Anyway, I'm glad to have him. It was a little difficult at first because I had to actually assemble Cecil. That's right, the Japanese versions of these figures require you to assemble them. No need for glue, you just need to tightly put the pieces together. This is very unlike Tidus, who came assembled.

So, now I have my two favorite heroes from Final Fantasy standing side by side in my office. I really don't know where else to place them, but I'll find a way. :)

Cecil, to my disappointment, is wielding a staff and not a sword (though, he has a saber on him). The reason why it's disappointing is because a Paladin's weapon by nature is the sword. You know the crossguard? The thing that separates the blade from the hilt of a sword? That's in the shape of Christ's Cross. Thus, medieval swords were considered to be holy weapons. That's why it's only natural for a Paladin to wield them. A saber just doesn't make the cut.

Anyway, I think the reason Cecil doesn't have a sword, because to my knowledge, almost everyone else in Dissida wields a sword (though, I heard he fights with one in Dissida anyway).

Overall, I'm happy to have this figure. But I'm not adding anymore to my collection. Two Final Fantasy figures is enough. :P

Smithsonian Video Game Art Exhibition

2011-02-20T09:01:00.003-07:00

So, I stumbled upon this site while reading the FFX GameFAQs forums. Apparently, the Smithsonian is going to have a Video Games Art Show. Here's a quote from the site:

The Art of Video Games exhibition will explore the 40-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on striking visual effects, the creative use of new technologies, and the most influential artists and designers. We want you to help us select the eighty video games that will be represented in the exhibition. Remember, this is an art exhibition, so be sure to vote for games that you think are visually spectacular or boast innovative design!

Link here:

http://www.artofvideogames.org/

You need to register to vote, but... there are no forms to fill out at all.

Anyway, you can choose from any Era from 1 to 5. You can vote for multiple games on different systems. However, when you select a system, they give you about 4 pages and 3 games to vote from. On that page, you can only vote for one of the three shown. However, you can still vote for any game on the next page, and so forth.

Some of the games I voted for:
Final Fantasy X
Wind Waker
Sonic Adventure
Final Fantasy
StarCraft 1
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
Metal Gear Solid
Ocarina of Time (I meant to vote for Majora's Mask, but... oh well).

I think you can vote for 75 games max (though some of their choices are a little... weird).

Anyway, I thought this would be cool to point out. We're all gamers here, and it is awesome to see video games actually getting respect instead of being bashed.

I posted this at the Gaming Universe, but the members there seemed to look at it the wrong way. They saw the errors in how the games were going to be presented, and seemed to not think about the fact this isn't a con, it's well-known Art Museum that's going to show these games off.

What I find strange about dreams...

2011-02-18T09:40:00.003-07:00

No, this isn't a specific dream post, but more like a speculation/philosophic post.

I noticed for the past two nights that even after I wake up, I'm believing whatever happened/is taught to me in the dream. It takes me about 2-5 minutes to realize that it wasn't real at all.

Why I find that strange... no, interesting, is because I wonder what causes you to believe something that was clearly a fake. Granted, some dreams are given from the Lord as spiritual inspiration. However, most dreams are just makings of our subconscious.

What do you think? What causes you to believe in a dream 2-5 minutes after you wake up.

New Hair Style

2011-02-14T16:57:00.003-07:00

Click on the image for a larger view.

Anyway, I got a new hair style today. I've been meaning to get one for awhile now, I just kept forgetting to go to the Barbershop. I looked through book of Hair Styles (obviously, only the men's section), and I liked this one. Short and messy. I'm keeping a picture so I might be able to repeat it with my styling gel. Either that, or I'll look slightly different every day. That's okay, too.

Anyway, what do you think? I want to hear your opinions!

I got a call today...

2011-02-11T12:36:00.005-07:00

... from an elderly couple from the Church. They saw my profile on ldsjobs.org and noted I wanted to be a novelist/author. The man told me about a place called "BookWise Publishing" on the internet. He told me it would be a good way to get my books published. It would be pricey, but the site's intent is to help people become authors.

So, I'm checking it out now. Apparently they also teach authors about writing and refining their books, so perhaps I can get more tips. It was a good phone call. I thanked the elderly couple for telling me about it.

The point of this blog post is to tell you that, well, there are nice people out there. Thoughtful people. I don't know why this elderly couple told me about Book Wise, but perhaps they cared. Maybe the Lord led them. I don't know. I am very thankful they called though because I'm going to use this resource.

Point being, we should all reach out like Christ did, and is, and always will, like this couple reached out to me.

Tidus stands tall as the Hero of Ages

2011-02-06T10:31:00.003-07:00

Okay, so I used a Brandon Sanderson title. Oh well. Some people haven't seen my new Tidus figure that I ordered on Monday, and received three days ago (on the third). I bought him, unfortunately, on impulse, however, I had extra money in my PayPal account that I didn't need to take any out of my bank account. Yay!

Anyway, this is a very cool model. You might be able to tell that he looks a little different from Tidus in FFX. Why? This is the Dissida model. I got this one because 1) It was cheaper, and 2) It was more detailed.

Not everyone has seen this model. I showed it off to Balgram, CavDawg, Rei, Crello, and a few others. But people like Acius, Whistler, and Urik haven't seen Tidus yet. Hence why I'm making the blog post.

Anyway, you can click on the picture for a larger image of what he looks like. He's very cool.

One problem with it is the Brotherhood Sword goes lower than the stand, meaning it hits the surface before Tidus's stand does. That causes the sword to bend a little. I had him balancing on the edge of his stand for awhile, but one of CavDawg's friends, who paints and puts together models for a living told me that it would be all right and the plastic looked like it was meant to bend.

Fun stuff.

Anyway, what do you all think?

Plastic Molding Update 4

2011-02-02T14:24:00.004-07:00

Here it is. The Foam base for the Dice Organizer. It came out pretty great! Here's some more pictures. The NERF (foam) is actually a little dangerous to use. Once it's on your skin, it'll be there for days. And it burns. Thankfully, I used gloves and it didn't foam up to my hands while we were forming the base.

Here's a picture of what the dice organizer looks like with the foam below it:

Awesome, right? Well, it so happens that the foam didn't form level. So, it's at an angle. My professors said it would be okay for this assignment. Doing the foam and the thermoforming counts for two of my four projects. I've already done the Silicon die, so that's three. I just need one more to go: the Fiberglass.

Wish me luck! I'll try to show this off on DnD night next week or sometime soon!

Plastic Molding Update 3

2011-01-31T15:52:00.003-07:00

So, this is the picture of the Thermoformed plastic over the mold I showed you last week.

It turned out great, except one problem:

The mold got stuck in the thermoformed plastic.

I had to cute HALF of my formed plastic off before I could get the mold out. The plastic is still in good condition, and I'm going to use NERF (read: Foam) to make a base for the thermoformed dice organizer shown here.

I am VERY frustrated right now. It took me about an hour to get the darn mold out of the thermoformed product, and I damaged the product. Hopefully, the foam base will work, and I'll have a working dice organizer.

I has a Sasami Figure... how do I clean it?

2011-01-31T10:33:00.003-07:00

So, I got this Sasami figurine today. Someone gave it to me saying, "I saw this character on your desktop background, so I thought you'd want it." I accepted it with glee.

The thing is, the figurine is somewhat dirty. It has some paint spots on it, and it isn't clean on the back. I know it's plastic, and I want to know... how do you clean something like this without peeling off the colors or anything? I'd like it to look new, if possible.

Plastic Molding Update 2 with pictures!

2011-01-26T16:06:00.008-07:00

Remember I said I was working with molding plastics in class? Here's the results so far, and pictures!

So, here's the die, the 1d30. You can't see it very well here because it's a picture from my phone. Go figure. Anyway, that's the custom-made d30 from a Silicon Mold. I'll show a picture of the first and then second molds in a bit.

This die's "top" did not come out well. You might be able to make it out (the die is lying on the "top") in the picture, and see a bit of a broken piece at the bottom. Yup. That's what I meant by 80-90% effective die. Oh well.

Here's a picture of the first mold with the die on top of it. The first mold here has a top that was carved (more like ripped) out of the mold in order for me to get the original 30-sided die out. There's a tongue-depressor (henceforth called a "stirrer" for this post's saake) in the side used to stir the the mold together. It got stuck in the Silicon. :P

This next picture is of the second mold with the original d30 in it. Yes, I managed to get it out. Anyway, this mold failed because the die floated upwards, and the stirrer there was placed to make sure it wouldn't float.

That didn't work, and thus, I couldn't make another mold to make a more effective die. I was planning on making a mold that would be cut in half, and then I'd put in the solution to make the new die. Well, since this mold didn't work out, I don't have a "half and half" mold.

Here is the mold-in-progress of the "Dice Organizer" that (I think) I mentioned earlier. The dice organizer is a container where you can organize your dice by color set or type.

This mold is made of wood. As you can see from the picture, I drilled a hole for a place for the dice to go. Unfortunately, it only holds a d4 and d6 or only a d30, d12, d20, d10, or d8. It doesn't hold the seven dice set. So, in the picture, you can see the d30 sitting snugly in the mold.

I'm going to drill larger holes until I can fit all seven of a set, but I imagine there will be fewer compartments than shown above. I'm beginning to see why this idea has not been implemented in Gamer's Shops yet. Mainly because Dice Bags are so much more efficient, even if you have to spend a minute or two searching for that d8 you need to roll for damage.

The idea behind the dice organizer was to eliminate that problem of searching for the right die. You just grab it from one of the sets in your compartments, and roll!

Well, I'll still pitch the idea and see if my prototype can be modified to fit what is required.

Plastic Molding Update

2011-01-24T16:59:00.004-07:00

Okay, it's Silicon Casting that I'm using, FYI. Anyway, Today, I made my first d30. It came out good, except the "top" area, so it's a 80-90% effective d30. I forgot to take pictures of it. It's very clear, and the mold got the details of the d30 perfectly.

The problem was I had to rip the top part of the mold off to remove the die, and then when making my new one, I had to pour the solution in, pour some on the top piece and put them together without messing around with it. It was hard because the top piece I ripped off was flimsy and the solution solidifies in about 10-15 minutes, so I need to be fast. So, the first die was not great.

One of my professors suggested that I remake the mold and this time, cut it in half. When I visualized that, I realized that's probably the way they make dice in the industry, except not using Silicon Molds.

Plastic Molding

2011-01-21T14:41:00.005-07:00

I'm currently making a d30 mold for my plastics class using Casting and my d30. I'm pretty sure it won't ruin my die, I just wanted to make another one. :) As for other projects in my plastics class, I'm planning to make a dice organizer. It's similar to a figurine organizer, only you organize your dice in it, according to color or side. I'm thinking of doing something round though, and then it was recommended to me to use thermoforming (a way of making a plastic object which uses a device that's like a pizza-oven) to make the interior of the dice organizer. I'll get pictures sometime and post them.

If this works, I might try to sell the product to gaming stores.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T13:16:00.006-07:00

I'm copying CavDawg here to show you a picture of our Christmas Tree here in New Jersey!

And you should see the Nativity Scene that my parents set up.

Merry Christmas everyone! :) I hope you remember the true meaning of Christmas: The Birth of Christ.

New Blog look.

2010-12-24T12:32:00.002-07:00

I decided to get a new blog look. Tell me what you think.

Sleeping Troubles

2010-12-13T09:22:00.003-07:00

The last few nights, I've had the worst time trying to sleep. About 3 am, I'd wake up and then fall asleep again... for about 5-15 minutes, and then wake up. This repeats until 4 am, then I sleep until about 6 am, and then I wake up every 5-15 minutes again. It's irritating, and I'm extremely tired. I have no idea what's wrong with me.

It's official... the birthday present from my parents is...

2010-11-23T11:48:00.007-07:00

Duh-duh-daaah! A Marx Brothers collection! This one is a huge DVD set with the following movies: The Cocoanuts, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers and Duck Soup.

I love the Marx Brothers ever since my Dad introduced them to me via Duck Soup. I'm very happy to have this! :D Now, I plan to watch them during the bad weather today that BYU warned me about in my email today.

Thank you, Mom and Dad!

Comments?

Flash Game I made for class!

2010-11-16T15:42:00.002-07:00

It's a dice roller!

It has d4s, d6s, d8s, d10s, d12s, and d20s! You can only roll one die at a time, but it works! :)

Tell me your thoughts!

If only...

2010-10-29T16:35:00.003-06:00

If only I could make a Cecil costume for Halloween, that would make me happy. But I lack the resources to do so. :(

You see, it would be fun to go to (Mormon) Halloween parties this weekend, and have fun. It'd be a great relief from school, but I don't have ANY costume materials whatsoever. *sigh* I hate being poor.

Freaking out over an assignment

2010-10-27T18:59:00.002-06:00

I have to Teach Something, again. This time, the subject was picked for me: "Communication systems are made up of source, encoder, transmitter, receiver, decoder, storage, retrieval, and destination."

Well, I got the idea to use a LAN as the main example, and teach what a LAN is to the class. But... I don't know how a LAN encodes and decodes information, and how would I explain that in a way that a 6th-8th grader could understand?

My group didn't work together much, so I'm very lost and very scared that I'm going to flunk this teaching like I did with the past 2 teaching assignments. ARGH!

The Happy Ultralisk

2010-10-03T17:32:00.000-06:00

A StarCraft Comic.

Read it. It's funny. :)

The weekend without homework.

2010-10-01T16:36:00.002-06:00

I'm so happy, I have no homework this weekend. :)

I think it's time to party hard, watch General Conference, party some more, and then when Monday comes around, get ready for more school.

Ahhh... I feel so great! Last week was a NIGHTMARE. I had so little free time. Now, I have a lot of free time... at least for three days. I want to use it well.

Instant Gratification and Technology.

2010-09-25T15:22:00.003-06:00

I was thinking about this after talking with my therapist about instant gratification. It seems like more and more, Technology is offering us faster and faster methods of getting what we want now. For example, phones are becoming more and more a 'do-everything' device. You can surf the web, listen to music, play games, etc., etc.

The problem lies within the fact that everything becomes accessible to us with such ease that, since we can get it now, that everything else should come now, instead of later. We lose true freedom this way as we get addicted to everything that we want, now. Real freedom is controlling what we want, and when we want it. Not just an impulse of 'now.'

Just think of certain things that are not good for people that could be easily accessed without blocks or tracking via instant technology--there are quite a few.

However, virtues and morals teach us something important: patience, and putting off instant gratification. Instead of getting it now, you wait. The reward and the feeling of getting something that you've patiently waited for is much more invigorating and satisfying than getting it immediately.

Good things come to those who wait, those who take the time to work at it, not to those who will give up if they can't get it now, or get angry when they can't get it now. Imagine all the authors in world, and what if they had focused on instant gratification instead of being patient in writing their books. If so, we wouldn't have very good books.

We're growing in a society that constantly teaching us that "now" is better than "later." Sometimes, this is the case. However, is this always the case? Is it necessary? I say 'no.' Especially since instant gratification has taken a bit of a toll on my own life. I think it also has probably taken other lives as well.

Perhaps the world needs a wake-up call before it's too late.

You know what's embarrasing?

2010-09-18T17:06:00.003-06:00

Going back to your old journal entries, reading them, and realizing the stupid things you've done.

Sometimes, it makes me wonder how keeping a journal will bless our posterity. Maybe I'm just doing it wrong.

P.S. Note, I said 'journal' entries. Not blog entries.

Apparently, Twitter is not a social network...

2010-09-16T14:27:00.002-06:00

Click here for more (Be warned, there are curse words).

I was kind of surprised when I read this. Apparently, it is supposed to be for news, and revolutionizing news. That's odd. It seems pretty hard to spout out news in a sentence or two, save a headline. And a lot of people know, that headlines can be misleading or misrepresented. Ever heard of the headline, "Tornado Rips Through Graveyard, Hundreds Dead"? Yeah, you're laughing, because it's funny and misworded.

Because of that problem behind headlines, I just don't see Twitter as a news aggregator.

My attitude needs to change

2010-09-09T08:19:00.001-06:00

Ya know how I said that I thought my teaching of StarCraft II was a disaster? Well, it seems like most people thought I did well, despite the rushed teaching. So, maybe I shouldn't jump to conclusions so fast. Next time, I'll do better.

How Teaching Went

2010-09-07T11:15:00.002-06:00

Well, I taught StarCraft II today in class. However, I don't think anyone learned anything really. I made a short 2 minute and 12 second video of a game. Yes, I cut out several parts (long boring ones). I wanted to show the following:

1. Building buildings and units (just showed a barracks and a marine).
2. Scouting (used a Reaper).
3. Defending a base (being attacked by the Computer and defending against it).
4. Counter Attack (used two Vikings to attack the enemy's mineral line).
5. Counters (showed some Collosi destroying some marines).

I got to show the whole video, but I wasn't able to pause to talk about what was going on. Instead, I had to talk real fast. I should have been able to do this in five minutes.

What happened? I spent too long trying to figure out how to connect the sound to my laptop. And when I did, it was too quiet, even on highest volume. I should have used my YouTube version (which I have taken down because I don't need it anymore. If you want to see it, tell me in the comments) because I would have had better sound that way.

Overall, I think it was a disaster. The only thing I think I did right was dressing up. ... at least they liked the video. I wish I could go back and do it over again. :(

I'm very sad.

Teaching StarCraft II

2010-09-01T17:42:00.004-06:00

I have an assignment that's due on Tuesday for my TEE 276R class: "Select and prepare something to teach the class in which you are an expert (this is rather open ended; you can teach about yourself, a hobby you have, something religious, anything. However, you will have to ensure it is taught well – and that your classmates understand and can teach back what you have taught.) Post a summary of what you taught, and how you think it went to moodle."

That's the assignment. The first thing that came to mind was StarCraft II (I know, I'm a geek :P), and I think it would be fun to teach about it. The problem is that it's such a vast game with so many mechanics, that it's hard to focus on. Also, I have a short window of time to teach it because all the other students will be teaching that day their topics, too.

Any suggestions would be nice.

Edit: I have 5 minutes to teach it.

TEE 125 and a 'new' laptop.

2010-08-30T11:24:00.002-06:00

So, my new major looks like fun, at least, one of the classes that is. TEE 225 was a little boring, but TEE 125 looks like it'll be fun. TEE 125 is almost like CHUM 200; you learn a little bit of everything. TEE 125 has graphical design, film, Flash, Web Design, and more. It looks like a fun class and I think I'll do well in it. I'm really excited. And hey, Urik, my brother, guess what? They will be teaching us how to take apart a computer, and put it back together, so I might learn some of the techie stuff you know about computers. :)

Also, I have received a better laptop from my brother. He fixed the fan, and gave me a 'new' laptop (new to me) on Saturday. I'm very happy with it. It has Windows 7 Ultimate, and runs StarCraft II on lowest settings nicely. Also, I've transferred all my stuff to this 'new' laptop already. :) Thank you, Urik! I'm really happy with this computer and promise to take care of it!

That's all from my life right now.

Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls

2010-08-26T11:06:00.003-06:00

This is a fun little game for the GBA (Game Boy Advance) I've playing recently, it has a 2D remake of FF1 and FF2 (the original from Japan, not FF4), and it's quite fun. I beat FF1 on Friday of last week and I enjoyed the game immensely.

I think ANY Final Fantasy fan would love this 'game.' At least FF1, I'm not sure about FF2, but if you were ever curious about the original FF2 that was never released in the US, I'd say you ought to give it a try.

I know there are some people who thought the original FF1 was boring when they first played it. I was bored, too. However, the GBA remake is a lot more fun. I say you guys ought to try it before knocking it.

Sadly, IMO, the Bonus Dungeons for FF1 are just not worth it. The equipment you get from the normal parts of the game is enough to beat the Final Boss. The Bonus Dungeons are just a pain. Though if you want to see Cameo battles of the Phantom Train from FF6 or Rubicante from FF4, go play them; those bosses are in there.

Granted, you can get some awesome stuff from the bosses in the Bonus Dungeons, but the normal treasures themselves... well, it's randomized, so you don't know what floor and/or treasure you're going to get. It's really insulting to get a potion in those Dungeons.

Also, I wish they would, in remakes, scale the Final Boss to match your level, so that the Final Boss was always a challenge. It makes me sad how fast you can kill Zeromous in FF4Advance, for example, after getting all the epic loot from the bonus dungeon. :(

As for FF2, I'm still at the beginning of the game, and it's a hard game, too. NEVER USE THE SPELL 'SWAP' ON AN ENEMY. I warn you now of that ahead of time.

So far, I like FF1 better, but we'll see if FF2 becomes any better.

So, our tree got cut down yesterday

2010-08-24T11:25:00.002-06:00

Before you get angry, the tree was dying, and it had to go before it died and would fall on the house. Very dangerous. Even so, I'm sad to see it go. The front yard looks VERY bare without it.

Oh well.

Gee, thanks, Blizzard.

2010-08-08T11:35:00.001-06:00

Apparently, I have a Facebook account that I didn't know about. I went and changed the password so no one could hack it. I believe Blizzard is the force behind this with their Facebook Intergration thing on Battle Net 2.o because I NEVER MADE A FACEBOOK ACCOUNT IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Ugh. This is the LAST thing I need. I never wanted a facebook account, and I have no idea how to delete it. >:(

STARCRAFT II is mine!

2010-07-28T11:31:00.001-06:00

I got it at 9:11 am yesterday. :D I'm so happy. There are SO many new units, it's awesome. I love the campaign, the map editor, etc.! It's so awesome! :D

Get a copy of StarCraft II if you haven't yet.

I'm on a cart!

2010-07-16T20:16:00.001-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ArIj236UHs

Makes fun of that "Old Spice" commercial we once watched. Hilarious, no?

I was mowin' the lawn, mowin' the good 'ol lawn...

2010-07-15T10:52:00.003-06:00

[To the music of Weird Al's "I'm Drivin' a Truck"]

I was mowin' the lawn,
Mowin' the good 'ol lawn.
Then that mower jus' went up and died.

Yeah, so I was mowing the last part of my lawn when the lawn mower died. I tried to turn it on about 30 times and it wouldn't run! That's frustrating! Not good. I need to call my grandfather and let him know the bad news. :(

I think after repairing this mower a few times, I think it's time to get a new one, eh?

Fission Mailed

2010-07-10T11:46:00.004-06:00

... I failed to get my custodial job back. There's still a slight possibility, but I can't rely on it. I'll have to apply elsewhere. :(

Good news: I now own CastleVania: Symphony of the Night for my PS2. It arrived in my mailbox yesterday--2 days after it shipped! It's a great game, and worth the $20 I paid on eBay for it.

Pray for me to get a job.

Stacraft 1 Campaign update - Mission 5 complete!

2010-07-03T15:04:00.001-06:00

http://kheldrun.blogspot.com/2010/07/mission-05-completed-sorta.html

I might have a job!!!!

2010-06-25T12:26:00.003-06:00

EXCITEMENT! :D

I think I might have a job. I called my old supervisor from my early morning Custodial job, and she said that she might have a position for me after the 30th of June. w00t! Finally! I'm still going on an application rush today, but if I get my old job back, I'll HAVE A JOB.

Though, for CavDawg, this could be bad; he might have to move DnD to Friday nights or something because I can't participate on Thursday nights if I get this job back.

Still, I might have a JOB. :D

Epic Starcraft Dream...

2010-06-20T08:40:00.000-06:00

I had a dream last night that was plain epic.

I was in school... at my university, and guess what attacked? The Zerg (as usual). There was a scene with the Zerg inside one of our main buildings that we call the WILK. It was a bunch of Hydralisks, and they were trying to kill fleeing students. One of my friends (who was nameless in the dream) made a hologram of himself (from his science project) and somehow made it physical and gave it mutations like claws and stuff to fight the Hydralisks. It was pretty effective until the Hydralisks clawed hologram to death.

The next thing I remember from the dream is meeting a person who lived out in the middle of nowhere in a icey cold desert. He told me about the Zerg and their threat. Next scene I was in, there were Mutalisks patrolling my school. One of them was circling me. For some odd reason, I was able to contact the guy from the icey place and asked him what the Mutalisk was doing. "Mutalisks tend to circle their prey. It would be best if you went indoors," he said. So, I went into a normal building, using the emergency doors to get in before the Mutalisk could get to me. It was a building with no windows, so I felt like I was safe from it since it couldn't see me.

Then, I finally got outside to see the Terran (Dominion? or Raynor's Raiders? I'm not sure which) arrive with some Battlecruisers and a couple of Vikings. The Vikings landed and turned into their mech mode. I dunno why, but hey, it was a dream, so they shot down some of the Mutalisks from the ground with their machine guns. Then, the battlecruisers yamatoed the crap out of the Mutalisks and one of the Vikings exploded for no reason (and Liberti Fatali from FF8 was playing in the background). It was really epic, the last thing I remember hearing was my own thoughts: "War had come to our world."

And then my alarm went off, and I woke up.

Dang it, that was an awesome dream, I wish I could have seen the end of it. :P I didn't even play SC2 very much, yet I had this dream... very interesting.

Starcraft I Campaign update

2010-06-04T13:10:00.001-06:00

And you thought I had stopped blogging. HA!

Anyway, I updated my SC1 campaign - here.