Why do I doubt my writing so much?
Like any good artist, I never really consider my work complete. I have yet to write a story that I am satisfied with 100%, which is why much of my work gets edits, revisions, and re-releases from time to time. I find it hard to accept that a story I write in 2007 will be up to my standards in 2010.
Suffice to say, I do have to draw a line somewhere. Such is the case with many of my "instant" shorts - stories I write for classes or experimental work that I write; I simply write them, revise once, and call it good.
Then there are my big, personal works. "Almost Home," the last major short story that I completed (three years ago...) feels dated and unreadable to me. I simply won't let it into the wild without first posting a "get what you take" disclaimer.
In workshop today, my still-unfinished "Almost Home 2" was put through the paces. As a story that was begun/last touched years ago, I was expecting a bashing. Instead everyone came away with the expected reservations of "it's clunky here, but..." all the while still yearning for the second half. The desire to keep reading, to find out what happens next: that's the heart of good fiction, and that's what I strive for in my stories. If nothing else, today really encouraged me to finish "Almost Home 2," wrap up some loose ends, and then redraft it with my up-to-date writing standards that I always strive for. Question is, will I have time to do it? Probably not.
Oh well, here's to hoping. Out.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Wii Have A Problem
I rarely talk about the Wii on Critically Correct. The reason for this is quite simple: there isn't anything to say. Yes, I own a Wii and love it, but I'm not quite sure why. It's nice to have a device with such an interesting control scheme, and I've seen it implemented very well in many cases (and really bad in others). I only own three games, all of which work flawlessly. Truth be told, the Wii software library right now is not something that excites me. I use my Wii as a GameCube more than not, and I also have a nice collection of Virtual Console titles that I play through regularly.
If nothing else, the Wii handles VC titles very well. About half of my VC games are ones that I've never played before, and some of these (such as Super Metroid) are insanely fun, and suck up a lot of my time.
So what do I have to look forward to in the coming months?
Super Mario Galaxy is, according to major gaming press, looking to be the best Mario title since Super Mario 64 -- definitely not something that I take lightly, so I expect to check that out as soon as I can.
But the big one, of course, is Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Never before has a game captured my imagination so much, or put so much on the line. I was slow to grow into the original Smash Bros. on the Nintendo 64, and even slower to pick up Super Smash Bros. Melee on the GameCube. But with all that has been announced about Brawl thus far, I can't help but think that it will be the game to define the Wii, even if it doesn't take advantage of any unique features.
Among its many features, here are some that sound out to me: four control schemes, spanning all possible input options that the Wii has to offer; a huge multi-game and multi-company character roster, including Sonic the Hedgehog and Solid Snake, among dozens of classic, modern, and retro Nintendo characters; a level editor (!?); online competitive and co-op play; more collectibles and accomplishments than Melee could have ever dreamed about.
I am of the opinion that Brawl could bring so many features to the table, provide such an expansive and diversified way to play, and feature a longevity index so off the charts that it could be nothing less than "the next great Nintendo epic" -- yes, that one I said was dead.
Even if it is half of what I expect, I think Super Smash Bros. Brawl could be the game of the year (err, next year).
If nothing else, the Wii handles VC titles very well. About half of my VC games are ones that I've never played before, and some of these (such as Super Metroid) are insanely fun, and suck up a lot of my time.
So what do I have to look forward to in the coming months?
Super Mario Galaxy is, according to major gaming press, looking to be the best Mario title since Super Mario 64 -- definitely not something that I take lightly, so I expect to check that out as soon as I can.
But the big one, of course, is Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Never before has a game captured my imagination so much, or put so much on the line. I was slow to grow into the original Smash Bros. on the Nintendo 64, and even slower to pick up Super Smash Bros. Melee on the GameCube. But with all that has been announced about Brawl thus far, I can't help but think that it will be the game to define the Wii, even if it doesn't take advantage of any unique features.
Among its many features, here are some that sound out to me: four control schemes, spanning all possible input options that the Wii has to offer; a huge multi-game and multi-company character roster, including Sonic the Hedgehog and Solid Snake, among dozens of classic, modern, and retro Nintendo characters; a level editor (!?); online competitive and co-op play; more collectibles and accomplishments than Melee could have ever dreamed about.
I am of the opinion that Brawl could bring so many features to the table, provide such an expansive and diversified way to play, and feature a longevity index so off the charts that it could be nothing less than "the next great Nintendo epic" -- yes, that one I said was dead.
Even if it is half of what I expect, I think Super Smash Bros. Brawl could be the game of the year (err, next year).
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Waste of a Day
My Sunday:
- Work
- Food
- Writing
- Food
- Writing
- Blog
- Bed
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Oh, The Horror!
What a day.
I slept in until 8:00am, which was GREAT for a change. Unfortunately, due to a rather large intake of Mountain Dew yesterday evening, I had to pee like mad right as I opened my eyes... and guess what -- my family was hogging the hell out of the bathroom. I went back to bed until 8:45am, when I was finally able to pee.
Anywho, since then, today has been weird. It's almost 5:00pm, and I've spent my entire day in my PJs, doing very little. Don't get me wrong; I love lazying around. I haven't had a completely "off" day in a while (although two Thursdays ago came awfully close). Suffice to say, I still had things to do for school, so I spent most of my day working on fiction, in between of which I reunited with The Legend of Zelda, Twilight Princess. I haven't yet completed the game, but today I made huge progress towards that end and I'm in love with the game once again. I just realized that I never did a formal review of the game, so I'll be posting my opinion of it once I complete it.
I've spent much of my day thinking as well. Among some personal struggles and considerations (oh, my sore chest!), I've decided to formally announce my interest in spending my last spring break in the Smoky Mountains. Facebook Event Page here. I'm not sure what I intend to do for spring break yet, but if I decide to do this, I'll have to be final about it by January, as I'll have much to prepare for (physically and financially). Interestingly, hiking in the mountains can be surprisingly cheap (under $300), depending on what equipment is already owned (I'm halfway there!), but unfortunately, I'm not physically able to go yet. Last time I went, I got my ass kicked like you wouldn't believe, and going again would mean that I'd have to spend a solid six hours a week working out through all of January and February. But man, I would sure as hell love to experience the sights, sounds, and bitter-cold air again. I would love it even more if I could get some cool peeps to go with me. I'll be sending invites out in December.
And with that, my mini-vacation is over. I'm back to work tomorrow at 4:00am, with homework and whatnot directly afterwards (maybe lunch first!?).
B3 out.
I slept in until 8:00am, which was GREAT for a change. Unfortunately, due to a rather large intake of Mountain Dew yesterday evening, I had to pee like mad right as I opened my eyes... and guess what -- my family was hogging the hell out of the bathroom. I went back to bed until 8:45am, when I was finally able to pee.
Anywho, since then, today has been weird. It's almost 5:00pm, and I've spent my entire day in my PJs, doing very little. Don't get me wrong; I love lazying around. I haven't had a completely "off" day in a while (although two Thursdays ago came awfully close). Suffice to say, I still had things to do for school, so I spent most of my day working on fiction, in between of which I reunited with The Legend of Zelda, Twilight Princess. I haven't yet completed the game, but today I made huge progress towards that end and I'm in love with the game once again. I just realized that I never did a formal review of the game, so I'll be posting my opinion of it once I complete it.
I've spent much of my day thinking as well. Among some personal struggles and considerations (oh, my sore chest!), I've decided to formally announce my interest in spending my last spring break in the Smoky Mountains. Facebook Event Page here. I'm not sure what I intend to do for spring break yet, but if I decide to do this, I'll have to be final about it by January, as I'll have much to prepare for (physically and financially). Interestingly, hiking in the mountains can be surprisingly cheap (under $300), depending on what equipment is already owned (I'm halfway there!), but unfortunately, I'm not physically able to go yet. Last time I went, I got my ass kicked like you wouldn't believe, and going again would mean that I'd have to spend a solid six hours a week working out through all of January and February. But man, I would sure as hell love to experience the sights, sounds, and bitter-cold air again. I would love it even more if I could get some cool peeps to go with me. I'll be sending invites out in December.
And with that, my mini-vacation is over. I'm back to work tomorrow at 4:00am, with homework and whatnot directly afterwards (maybe lunch first!?).
B3 out.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Should I?
I've been really digging into teaching myself things like PHP, CSS, XHTML, and web services as of late. Now that I'm tinkering with (and loving) VNCing the hell out of my computers (Vista, XP and Ubuntu included), I'm beginning to get a better grasp on my networking abilities (and further limitations).
Sometime soon I'm going to begin running an Apache web server via Ubuntu and will post access information for peeps to help me test my upstream capabilities (128 kilobits ain't a whole lot). I don't need much bandwidth upstream to serve web pages, but I would love to point my BrandonBruno.com domain name to my own server and serve out web pages/media/etc from there, while still providing links to Critically Correct (BlogSpot works just fine, thanks).
Hmm... perhaps I can start a New Year's challenge to build a small Ubuntu box to use as a server? I just might... I would love to run my own server; hell, maybe even loan space out to friends and such. What do you think?
Sometime soon I'm going to begin running an Apache web server via Ubuntu and will post access information for peeps to help me test my upstream capabilities (128 kilobits ain't a whole lot). I don't need much bandwidth upstream to serve web pages, but I would love to point my BrandonBruno.com domain name to my own server and serve out web pages/media/etc from there, while still providing links to Critically Correct (BlogSpot works just fine, thanks).
Hmm... perhaps I can start a New Year's challenge to build a small Ubuntu box to use as a server? I just might... I would love to run my own server; hell, maybe even loan space out to friends and such. What do you think?
Thursday, October 25, 2007
My Day, The Nutshell Version
I suppose a had a fairly productive day today, and it looked something like this:
Who the hell knows, eh!? I love randomness...
B3 out.
- Woke up late, and rushed to get to school.
- While driving to campus, I realized that I left without putting on deodorant. This was a mistake.
- Sat through class (CS 464) and actually paid attention the whole 75 minutes. Made great progress with our group. I'm looking forward to the rest of the project this semester.
- After class, I drove home to get deodorant, and ended up blogging, losing my mind for a few minutes, and eventually (and nervously) trudging back to school for my English class that I haven't been to in ages.
- But... I had an awesome English class. Turns out that I sit near some awesome people that are incredibly fun to laugh with and even made a new Facebook friend :-) Bee barf all the way!
- Came home, cleaned a bit, planned my weekend, and tried to write. Instead I played video games (woot!!!) and watched some of Arrested Development.
- Left for BG, got Qdoba for dinner, stressed over a friend, and ended up at Grounds, where I'm currently writing this.
Who the hell knows, eh!? I love randomness...
B3 out.
Time For What?
Many mistakes that I've made in my life stemmed from temporary reactions to situations.
That is, I've made too many important decisions based on anger or fear - both temporary emotions that pass with time. I see many people do similar things: words are said, people are hurt; all based on temporary emotions.
One of my biggest faults, however, is my tendency to swing from emotional highs and lows within a matter of minutes, and then assuming that my life is changing based on those ups and downs. This may sound similar to bi-polar disorder; I'm certainly not classified as bi-polar, but you can make your own assumptions I suppose. Point in case: I have a bad tendency to speak my mind when my mind is in the worst-of-states, and I think the key to me getting over many of my own trust issues is to not makes decisions on a whim... but instead to think out all of my actions and consider that in ten minutes' time, I might be a whole different person.
That is, I've made too many important decisions based on anger or fear - both temporary emotions that pass with time. I see many people do similar things: words are said, people are hurt; all based on temporary emotions.
One of my biggest faults, however, is my tendency to swing from emotional highs and lows within a matter of minutes, and then assuming that my life is changing based on those ups and downs. This may sound similar to bi-polar disorder; I'm certainly not classified as bi-polar, but you can make your own assumptions I suppose. Point in case: I have a bad tendency to speak my mind when my mind is in the worst-of-states, and I think the key to me getting over many of my own trust issues is to not makes decisions on a whim... but instead to think out all of my actions and consider that in ten minutes' time, I might be a whole different person.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Ubuntu 7.10 Thoughts
A third post in one day!? I'm going crazy, I think.
Anyway, I wanted to drop a few comments on the new Ubuntu 7.10 release. As with every major Ubuntu release, the rest of the web does a good job of summarizing what's new, so I'm going to keep my comments relevent to my own personal experience.
I choose the upgrade path to 7.10 rather than the installation path. I did download a 7.10 Desktop image, so anyone interested in trying Ubuntu can still get a copy from me as usual. My Inspiron 5150 laptop dual-boots XP/Ubuntu, and I was running 7.04. I ran the Synaptic Upgrade utility and let all the upgrade files download overnight. The next day, I clicked through a few dialog boxes and within another half hour, I was back at the exact same desktop that I left.
Suffice to say, my first reactionto 7.10 was the sluggish feel to it. Granted, I'm sure a clean install of the OS would provide a speed bump, but that's not why I upgrade: I don't want to have to format and reinstall every 6 months (although Linux by its nature makes this task easier than Windows ever will). Graphically, Gnome seemed a bit slow. I was impressed that no compatibilities were broken among my programs. Compiz Fusion desktop effects did not work for me until I forum hopped and found that I needed the "xserver-xgl" packages installed to get things moving. Compiz is neat (and neater than Vista) without being intrusive, but it's just as much a system hog as Vista's Aero is. I can see using it to show off Ubuntu to friends and family, but I'll work with my old-school 2D Gnome desktop, thank you very much.
Driver management is cake, and my wireless card is now supported out of the box, so to speak, which used to be my biggest complaint about Ubuntu (I always needed to compile ndiswrapper, find my drivers, and poke around a terminal before I could surf... blasphemy!).
I attribute the speed slowdown to a poorly-configured X setup and outdating drivers (I dinked around with them back when I was running 6.06, and haven't touched them since). I'll be working in a geek-like zen over the next few days to tweak Ubuntu back up to speed.
All in all, however, I'm finding Ubuntu being used more and more in my daily work. I'm down to just a few scant Windows applications keeping me from switching entirely, but otherwise I am still a fan of the penguin.
Out.
Anyway, I wanted to drop a few comments on the new Ubuntu 7.10 release. As with every major Ubuntu release, the rest of the web does a good job of summarizing what's new, so I'm going to keep my comments relevent to my own personal experience.
I choose the upgrade path to 7.10 rather than the installation path. I did download a 7.10 Desktop image, so anyone interested in trying Ubuntu can still get a copy from me as usual. My Inspiron 5150 laptop dual-boots XP/Ubuntu, and I was running 7.04. I ran the Synaptic Upgrade utility and let all the upgrade files download overnight. The next day, I clicked through a few dialog boxes and within another half hour, I was back at the exact same desktop that I left.
Suffice to say, my first reactionto 7.10 was the sluggish feel to it. Granted, I'm sure a clean install of the OS would provide a speed bump, but that's not why I upgrade: I don't want to have to format and reinstall every 6 months (although Linux by its nature makes this task easier than Windows ever will). Graphically, Gnome seemed a bit slow. I was impressed that no compatibilities were broken among my programs. Compiz Fusion desktop effects did not work for me until I forum hopped and found that I needed the "xserver-xgl" packages installed to get things moving. Compiz is neat (and neater than Vista) without being intrusive, but it's just as much a system hog as Vista's Aero is. I can see using it to show off Ubuntu to friends and family, but I'll work with my old-school 2D Gnome desktop, thank you very much.
Driver management is cake, and my wireless card is now supported out of the box, so to speak, which used to be my biggest complaint about Ubuntu (I always needed to compile ndiswrapper, find my drivers, and poke around a terminal before I could surf... blasphemy!).
I attribute the speed slowdown to a poorly-configured X setup and outdating drivers (I dinked around with them back when I was running 6.06, and haven't touched them since). I'll be working in a geek-like zen over the next few days to tweak Ubuntu back up to speed.
All in all, however, I'm finding Ubuntu being used more and more in my daily work. I'm down to just a few scant Windows applications keeping me from switching entirely, but otherwise I am still a fan of the penguin.
Out.
Grinding Down the Grounds
Two posts in one day!? How can this be!? Oh wait, I'm still scatterbrained, that's why.
Anyway, I've decided to revisit on old friend: the winter-friendly Grounds for Thought in downtown BG. I opted to come alone because A) people are busy tonight and B) I need to get work done anyway. What have I been missing all summer-long?
The world's best damn hot chocolate. Sweetened with a little vanilla. Yummy.
Anywho, tomorrow should be an interesting: boring classes all day long. I'm not looking forward to them at all, and I can now classify Tuesdays and Thursdays as "the worst days of the week." On a bright note, I'm planning to throw a last-minute mini-shindig tomorrow, that includes B-Dubs and a fire in my backyard. I haven't asked anyone to come yet, but then again, doing anything tomorrow night entirely depends on how much homework I get done prior to that.
*sigh*
I'm so tired of school. Ah well... time to finish my hot chocolate, brave the cold, and head home.
Anyway, I've decided to revisit on old friend: the winter-friendly Grounds for Thought in downtown BG. I opted to come alone because A) people are busy tonight and B) I need to get work done anyway. What have I been missing all summer-long?
The world's best damn hot chocolate. Sweetened with a little vanilla. Yummy.
Anywho, tomorrow should be an interesting: boring classes all day long. I'm not looking forward to them at all, and I can now classify Tuesdays and Thursdays as "the worst days of the week." On a bright note, I'm planning to throw a last-minute mini-shindig tomorrow, that includes B-Dubs and a fire in my backyard. I haven't asked anyone to come yet, but then again, doing anything tomorrow night entirely depends on how much homework I get done prior to that.
*sigh*
I'm so tired of school. Ah well... time to finish my hot chocolate, brave the cold, and head home.
Random Bits, Of Course
It's Wednesday, which means no work and very little school - which also means I'm scatterbrained and unable to focus on homework. Figures. Time for a hit list.
- Crunch Time Part II begins this coming Sunday. November 15th represents the last stressful day of this semester. Between this Sunday and November 15th, my days will be filled with balancing my software development group project, plowing through novels for my literature class, finishing my (still very buggy) compiler project, and scheduling what will hopefully be my last semester at BGSU (although realistically, probably not). Oh, and I have to read three short stories a week for my workshop class and plow through composition papers ("unity papers") for my other English class. November 15th is when my compiler is due: easily the most-worrisome of my projects. I'll consider my semester on easy-street after that.
- I've found it hard to separate my personal life from school lately. This has resulted in me slacking off one in favor of the other (I'll let you figure out which is which). By personal life, I'm not talking hanging out with friends or anything (I haven't seen many of my friends anyway), but instead I'm referring to me. I'm at a creative stalemate with my writing, I crave nothing more than video games, and I'm losing much of my interests in things such as sex and desire (intimacy is another story, however). How can I separate my longing to do well in school from my personal freedoms and passions?
- I'm loving the weather. As great as summer was, the colorful foliage, bare branches, leaves about the ground, and gusty, biting winds make me feel insanely alive. I can't explain it, but I'm looking forward to winter. Perhaps it's the natural order of the universe to be cold, but I simply love the challenge of trying to keep body and the immediate space around it warm. Whether it's in the comfort of my home, laying under my favorite blanket, curling next to a fire, or sipping hot chocolate at Grounds for Thought, my favorite part of winter is challenging the natural order of things by staying warm. Am I weird? Most definitely yes.
- I have a few days off work this week: Friday and Saturday. I have a short story due Sunday afternoon, so I'm spending both days close to my laptop. I don't really have a story ready, and even with five days to go until it's due, I'm still debating if I should rework older fiction or continue with a new story. Something tells me I'm going to have a busy Friday and Saturday.
Monday, October 22, 2007
On The Line
"You can't feel love until you have a broken heart,
and you can't have a broken heart until you feel love."
and you can't have a broken heart until you feel love."
How painful can it be to have your heart broken? How painful can it feel to cause a broken heart?
I've caused one this past week, and I've felt the pain of the other this past week.
If I define my life by major events and friends, then I just turned a critical juncture: I've lost the trust of a close friend, and there's no going back.
It's interesting that I made the decisions I did: As where I might have kept my actions close to myself and kept quiet in the past, I chose to be open and honest this time in advance of any further issues. Point in case: at this point in my life, for the first time ever, I am totally, one-hundred percent, revealed, honest, and open with a close friend of mine.
Even in my Lacey days I was always tucking something small away, even little white lies or simply thoughts that bugged me. For the first time in my life, there is now one person in the world who knows me inside and out, with nothing to hide, and I only had to break a heart to become that honest and open.
If I came into this semester with a good idea of where I was heading with my academics and friendships, then last week threw the academics out the window, and this past weekend put my greatest friendships to the test.
Time for class. B3 out.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Changing the Seasons
For me, today, fall is officially here.
Yes, it's seventy-nine degrees outside. Yes, the sun is beating down like it's July fourth. Yes, I'm wearing shorts and shades. But the leaves in my yard couldn't be any more yellow, orange, and red (well, maybe they could be...). Point in case: today feels like fall to me. Other than the temperature, I'm beginning to see the raw branches of the trees and bushes in my yard, leaves piling on the ground, and a certain crispness to the air that sends chills down my spine.
As sad as I am to see summer go, it has been a long one... easily the longest summer of my life thus far. I attribute this to staying plenty busy, hanging out with a variety of people, and having a ton of sun in the process. Although I don't feel that I accomplished much this past summer, I certainly will remember it for some time to come. It featured a lot of firsts, lasts, and some stuff in between, but that part is a bit fuzzy to me. I guess I like it like that.
Anywho, something has been up with me lately, a funny kind of worry and dread hanging over my head. I'll try to post on it later today or tomorrow.
Yes, it's seventy-nine degrees outside. Yes, the sun is beating down like it's July fourth. Yes, I'm wearing shorts and shades. But the leaves in my yard couldn't be any more yellow, orange, and red (well, maybe they could be...). Point in case: today feels like fall to me. Other than the temperature, I'm beginning to see the raw branches of the trees and bushes in my yard, leaves piling on the ground, and a certain crispness to the air that sends chills down my spine.
As sad as I am to see summer go, it has been a long one... easily the longest summer of my life thus far. I attribute this to staying plenty busy, hanging out with a variety of people, and having a ton of sun in the process. Although I don't feel that I accomplished much this past summer, I certainly will remember it for some time to come. It featured a lot of firsts, lasts, and some stuff in between, but that part is a bit fuzzy to me. I guess I like it like that.
Anywho, something has been up with me lately, a funny kind of worry and dread hanging over my head. I'll try to post on it later today or tomorrow.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Mulligans and Hickies
If I was playing a round of golf, I'd be about 90 over par right now. I think it's time for a mulligan. After the complete lack of progress that I've made today, I feel like I've been bitten by the lazy bug - which is a close cousin of the hickey bug, in case anyone was interested in knowing.
Besides sleeping in WAY PAST my normal wake-up time, I started the day bad by continuing to lay in bed for several more hours, essentially starting my day around one o'clock. Ah well, there's always next time.
Anywho, I turned in my CS project (Phase One, anyway), and now I'm on easy street for a while. My next major project is a short story: I have to finish my current work, entitled "State Route Thirty Five" by next Sunday, which will be a task. I'm plugging away on it starting tomorrow.
Anywho, because I'm so scatterbrained at the moment, I'll summarize the next few days.
Tonight: Prout Chapel (yawn) and bed. I slept incredibly well last night, and I'm looking forward to doing the same tonight.
Friday: Work, class (woot!), and shopping/movie. Afterwards I'll be playing around with the latest Ubunutu release, 7.10, which brings a lot of new features to the OS. I'll try to blog about it after I get to evaluate all the new stuff. I also have an hour or so dedicated to my fiction sometime.
Saturday: What free time? Work, writing, and bed by 6pm. Gay.
Sunday: Work early, and my usual afternoon randomness in BG, with plenty of writing in the evening, most likely in BG.
Out.
Besides sleeping in WAY PAST my normal wake-up time, I started the day bad by continuing to lay in bed for several more hours, essentially starting my day around one o'clock. Ah well, there's always next time.
Anywho, I turned in my CS project (Phase One, anyway), and now I'm on easy street for a while. My next major project is a short story: I have to finish my current work, entitled "State Route Thirty Five" by next Sunday, which will be a task. I'm plugging away on it starting tomorrow.
Anywho, because I'm so scatterbrained at the moment, I'll summarize the next few days.
Tonight: Prout Chapel (yawn) and bed. I slept incredibly well last night, and I'm looking forward to doing the same tonight.
Friday: Work, class (woot!), and shopping/movie. Afterwards I'll be playing around with the latest Ubunutu release, 7.10, which brings a lot of new features to the OS. I'll try to blog about it after I get to evaluate all the new stuff. I also have an hour or so dedicated to my fiction sometime.
Saturday: What free time? Work, writing, and bed by 6pm. Gay.
Sunday: Work early, and my usual afternoon randomness in BG, with plenty of writing in the evening, most likely in BG.
Out.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Stuff All Around
I'm in the mood for a hit list.
Out.
- The new "The Price is Right" was something of a caution tale for me. On one hand, I was sad to see Bob Barker leave the show (much like everyone was, I assume). On the other hand, I enjoy Drew Carey as a comedian. My reaction to his hosting the new show? So far, so good. Drew does a commendable job of not being overarching or stage-stealing. He handles the games well and keeps the pace of the show on its toes just as well as Bob ever did. On the downside, he speaks considerably faster and a bit excessively, which I feel will probably turn off much of the older crowd set, and the simply lack of Bob will thin out the college-aged contestants. However, Drew does make it his own show, and I'm looking forward to staying a fan.
- Last night I had a randomly-blogged post at around 9pm. In all honesty, it was a bit misplaced at the time and even more awkward now. I've simply done away with it. I guess I was having mixed emotions about why I do the things I do. I guess I have misplaced intentions sometimes.
- Last but not least, my compiler project, that bastardly thing that's been keeping me tied up for the past week, is almost ready for turn-in tomorrow. It'll be nice to be finished, and I'm spending Friday night probably at the movies with friends and/or family - I'm not sure yet. Sunday afternoon will be a complete relaxation day for me. I can't wait. Unfortunately, next week brings more work, and the second-half of the compiler project is due in mid-November, so crunch time is really only taking a couple days' break - I'll be back to the grind for two English classes and two CS classes before I know it.
Out.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Frowny Faces
Have you ever gotten that feeling where you really want to do something and enjoy it, but a little nagging voice in the back of your head won't let you have fun?
Yeah, somethings wrong with me...
Updates all about it tomorrow... stay tuned.
Yeah, somethings wrong with me...
Updates all about it tomorrow... stay tuned.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Springing Ahead Too Early?
I had a short conversation with a friend today about spring break: that magical time in March when BGSU lets out for a week and I forget who I am for even longer. I've said before that I'm undecided on my spring break plans (it's FAR too early to think about that, hell - it isn't even the right semester). But in all honesty, I can't help but think ahead in terms of what's practical.
Given that I want enjoy a cheap spring break, I could simply stay here and save money. That's out of the question, however. It'll be my last spring break: I must travel. I've been proposed a couple of ideas: Florida or California. My last vacation was to Florida, so I'm inclined to vote for Cali. Of course, this is a $700 trip, minimum. I'm looking to travel cheaper (not to mention, I wouldn't be able to have the limitless sex that I did on my last trip there... just kidding!).
Anywho, my plan thus far? The Smoky Mountains: Hiking. Camping. Sweat. Tears. Wildlife. Vistas. Roadtrips. I could go on, but the experience is one worth repeating. At this point, I'm intending to return to the mountains, and I have to decide my plans by December. Should I decide for sure to do the mountains, I'll need all of January and February to condition for the trip. Total cost of this venture? About $200, maybe $300 if I'm feeling extravagant.
And yes, like all my events, I plan to invite plenty of people.
B3 out.
Given that I want enjoy a cheap spring break, I could simply stay here and save money. That's out of the question, however. It'll be my last spring break: I must travel. I've been proposed a couple of ideas: Florida or California. My last vacation was to Florida, so I'm inclined to vote for Cali. Of course, this is a $700 trip, minimum. I'm looking to travel cheaper (not to mention, I wouldn't be able to have the limitless sex that I did on my last trip there... just kidding!).
Anywho, my plan thus far? The Smoky Mountains: Hiking. Camping. Sweat. Tears. Wildlife. Vistas. Roadtrips. I could go on, but the experience is one worth repeating. At this point, I'm intending to return to the mountains, and I have to decide my plans by December. Should I decide for sure to do the mountains, I'll need all of January and February to condition for the trip. Total cost of this venture? About $200, maybe $300 if I'm feeling extravagant.
And yes, like all my events, I plan to invite plenty of people.
B3 out.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Changing Intentions?
I'm not one to feel bad about who I am at my core: stuff that simply defines who I am. But lately, with new experiences (only for me, apparently) taking place, I'm learning that I'm insanely uncomfortable with my little nuisances.
What is a person to do?
Anywho, after hearing the Zelda overworld theme (circa "A Link to the Past") hummed incessantly today, I decided to dig out my Zelda music collection and take a stroll down memory lane. As my single-favorite video game, Ocarina of Time tends to have the collection of my favorite Zelda music, although the SNES edition had its fair share as well. Just for giggles, here's the albums I have:
Hyrule Sumphony
Ocarina of Time music performed beautifully on string instruments.
Ocarina of Time: Original Soundtrack (Japanese import)
The original source MIDI files compressed to MP3 from the N64 classic.
Zelda Rearranged
Trippy Ocarina of Time remixes. Drink first before listening. Very dance-able music, however.
Zelda: Sound and Drama
Zelda 1 and A Link to the Past offical sound track in one, with several bonus tracks of composed music. Although more fifteen years old, this is one of the better soundtracks.
Ocarina of Time: Volume II (European import)
OST music from Ocarina of Time, with bonus tracks not seen in other territories.
The Wind Waker: Official Soundtrack
Self explanatory. Straight from the GameCube game, no surprises.
Easily some of my favorite music. Koji Kondo is a god.
Time for sleep and another LOOOOOOOONG day.
Out.
What is a person to do?
Anywho, after hearing the Zelda overworld theme (circa "A Link to the Past") hummed incessantly today, I decided to dig out my Zelda music collection and take a stroll down memory lane. As my single-favorite video game, Ocarina of Time tends to have the collection of my favorite Zelda music, although the SNES edition had its fair share as well. Just for giggles, here's the albums I have:
Hyrule Sumphony
Ocarina of Time music performed beautifully on string instruments.
Ocarina of Time: Original Soundtrack (Japanese import)
The original source MIDI files compressed to MP3 from the N64 classic.
Zelda Rearranged
Trippy Ocarina of Time remixes. Drink first before listening. Very dance-able music, however.
Zelda: Sound and Drama
Zelda 1 and A Link to the Past offical sound track in one, with several bonus tracks of composed music. Although more fifteen years old, this is one of the better soundtracks.
Ocarina of Time: Volume II (European import)
OST music from Ocarina of Time, with bonus tracks not seen in other territories.
The Wind Waker: Official Soundtrack
Self explanatory. Straight from the GameCube game, no surprises.
Easily some of my favorite music. Koji Kondo is a god.
Time for sleep and another LOOOOOOOONG day.
Out.
Short Updates
My CS project is going well. I'm not as stressed as I originally thought I would be by now, and I'm hoping to have a solid footing with it by Wednesday.
I created a LiveJournal account today - "partheon2000" - although I do not intend to move away from Blogger anytime soon. I did this mainly to be able to easily comment on friends' journals.
Anywho, I have a busy day ahead of me, so I'm off to finish some reading and then get some sleep.
Hopefully I have less than four of those tonight... :-
Out.
I created a LiveJournal account today - "partheon2000" - although I do not intend to move away from Blogger anytime soon. I did this mainly to be able to easily comment on friends' journals.
Anywho, I have a busy day ahead of me, so I'm off to finish some reading and then get some sleep.
Hopefully I have less than four of those tonight... :-
Out.
Friday, October 12, 2007
The Belly Button Game
Tripping Over Our Future
Brandon Bruno
I don't know where we're going
but I understand where we've been
so if we stay on this path for now
one of us just might trip and win.
Brandon Bruno
I don't know where we're going
but I understand where we've been
so if we stay on this path for now
one of us just might trip and win.
So here I am, amid a stupid-busy weekend of work. With my CS 409 compiler partly due this coming Thursday, I've charted every day from now until Thursday minute-by-minute. I had the micro managing. I just want to have fun. Won't get that for a while.
But the end of this week has been interesting so far. My parents have been in Middletown, Ohio to visit my sister for the last couple of days, and they won't be back until tomorrow night. Having the house to myself is an altogether creepy, yet rewarding, experience. If nothing else, this house is too big for just one person to live in. I could never take care of all the stuff in it. I'm a simple man with simple needs, and I like that. I hope I never become as bloated as my parents have with possessions. As a side note, given that I'm not physically disturbed in my bed, I sleep insanely well while being home alone.
At the risk of sounding horribly generic and vague, I'm learning quite a bit out about myself and my ultimate short-term desires. Although my long-term goals (about a year out) are still vague, I'm discovering that I'm perfectly content with what I have thus far in my life, both relationship-wise and academically. May I desire more in the near future? Oh boy, I could only peer ahead a couple of months...
Time to get back to work :-( I'm so pooped on this project already.
Out.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Chances, Winamp, and Insanity
Sometimes I become insanely reflective. Such is the case today.
Have you ever conceded the fact that someone in your life might be there purely by chance? Who the hell knows - I have a story of chance so full of dramatic twists and turns that it might just be a piece of historical fiction one day. In all honesty, I'm not sure where I would be today, or who my friends would be, if it were not for my roaming, curious eyeballs and a chance encounter unexpectedly set up by an old friend of mine, Aryn. Point in case: I feel damn lucky that I had a chance encounter that helped me meet one of my current best friends, and the past couple of years have been rocky no doubt, but as of late, it's been an altogether-awesome time.
Am I too sentimental? Probably...
Anywho, random news. AOL released Winamp 5.5 today. As one of the oldest MP3 jukebox applications available, Winamp holds a special place in my heart. I fell in love with it back in 1999, when it was one of the few free applications to play MP3 files (a necessity during the days of Napster). Winamp 2.x was incredible, Winamp 3.0 might as well have been a turd on my hard drive, but Winamp 5 took the cake: a slim yet fully-featured jukebox application that was stable as hell and highly extensible. It's been the backbone of my music collection management software for three years now.
Because big corporations like to muck up what works, AOL eventually pissed all over Winamp by bloating it up with their own content and bundles, and I found later Winamp 5.x releases to be burdening. I have stuck with the first Winamp 5 release over the past three years. Today, Winamp celebrates its tenth birthday with the release of Winamp 5.5, and it gets a quasi-face lift and some functionality changes. Point in case: I've downloaded it, out of sheer curiosity, and thus far I'm finding it to be a half-decent evolution of my favorite jukebox. I will present a more detailed analysis later on, but I enjoy its blend of early Winamp 5 functionality with a new iTunes-style layout and all-in-one user interface design. Of course, UI fall-backs to the old skins exists, but so far I'm finding 5.5 to be a worthy point to upgrade to. My biggest reason for this so far? It supports tight control and integration with my Zen Vision MP3 player, software much better built for managing my device than what Creative supplies. I'll report more later.
However, it is worth noting that updates in the next six or seven days will be sparse. I have two major projects underway for my CS classes, and a short story to finish by October 28th, so I'm at the point of the semester where I must begin to cut parts of my life out to accommodate school. Already out the door are video games: my DS, Wii, and PS2 are all out of my daily sight. Next, I'm narrowing my social life into a very small time frame per day/week. It all sucks, but I need to get very serious about my CS career very quickly.
Well, without further ado, I have a very hard day ahead of me. Tests, tests, English class, and tons of programming in the evening, with a small side of New King Buffet in the afternoon. I can't wait.
Out.
Have you ever conceded the fact that someone in your life might be there purely by chance? Who the hell knows - I have a story of chance so full of dramatic twists and turns that it might just be a piece of historical fiction one day. In all honesty, I'm not sure where I would be today, or who my friends would be, if it were not for my roaming, curious eyeballs and a chance encounter unexpectedly set up by an old friend of mine, Aryn. Point in case: I feel damn lucky that I had a chance encounter that helped me meet one of my current best friends, and the past couple of years have been rocky no doubt, but as of late, it's been an altogether-awesome time.
Am I too sentimental? Probably...
Anywho, random news. AOL released Winamp 5.5 today. As one of the oldest MP3 jukebox applications available, Winamp holds a special place in my heart. I fell in love with it back in 1999, when it was one of the few free applications to play MP3 files (a necessity during the days of Napster). Winamp 2.x was incredible, Winamp 3.0 might as well have been a turd on my hard drive, but Winamp 5 took the cake: a slim yet fully-featured jukebox application that was stable as hell and highly extensible. It's been the backbone of my music collection management software for three years now.
Because big corporations like to muck up what works, AOL eventually pissed all over Winamp by bloating it up with their own content and bundles, and I found later Winamp 5.x releases to be burdening. I have stuck with the first Winamp 5 release over the past three years. Today, Winamp celebrates its tenth birthday with the release of Winamp 5.5, and it gets a quasi-face lift and some functionality changes. Point in case: I've downloaded it, out of sheer curiosity, and thus far I'm finding it to be a half-decent evolution of my favorite jukebox. I will present a more detailed analysis later on, but I enjoy its blend of early Winamp 5 functionality with a new iTunes-style layout and all-in-one user interface design. Of course, UI fall-backs to the old skins exists, but so far I'm finding 5.5 to be a worthy point to upgrade to. My biggest reason for this so far? It supports tight control and integration with my Zen Vision MP3 player, software much better built for managing my device than what Creative supplies. I'll report more later.
However, it is worth noting that updates in the next six or seven days will be sparse. I have two major projects underway for my CS classes, and a short story to finish by October 28th, so I'm at the point of the semester where I must begin to cut parts of my life out to accommodate school. Already out the door are video games: my DS, Wii, and PS2 are all out of my daily sight. Next, I'm narrowing my social life into a very small time frame per day/week. It all sucks, but I need to get very serious about my CS career very quickly.
Well, without further ado, I have a very hard day ahead of me. Tests, tests, English class, and tons of programming in the evening, with a small side of New King Buffet in the afternoon. I can't wait.
Out.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Writing For What?
It was not until recently that I learned that reading a story can be an insanely personal experience. For me, writing has been where the personal experience begins. For all the story ideas that I generate each month, only one of them usually come to any fruition, and even then, most of those stories don't make it past a couple of pages' worth of a draft on my computer.
I can only write what interests me. As great as some ideas are to me, my attention span to them usually fades before I can make enough progress to consider them for completion. The stories that fascinate me the most, the stories that I wish I could tell everyday, are the ones that I experience: my daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly life. Unfortunately, I find myself unable to tell these stories simply because I don't believe they are fascinating to anyone but me (obviously, in memoir form, they might be more worthwhile).
Still, given how things have been going for me lately, I'm starting to wonder if I can formulate short stories out of a few happenings in my life. I. Just. Don't. Know.
Out.
I can only write what interests me. As great as some ideas are to me, my attention span to them usually fades before I can make enough progress to consider them for completion. The stories that fascinate me the most, the stories that I wish I could tell everyday, are the ones that I experience: my daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly life. Unfortunately, I find myself unable to tell these stories simply because I don't believe they are fascinating to anyone but me (obviously, in memoir form, they might be more worthwhile).
Still, given how things have been going for me lately, I'm starting to wonder if I can formulate short stories out of a few happenings in my life. I. Just. Don't. Know.
Out.
Upgrade Much?
I'm trying to get school work done today, but I got sidetracked a bit ago while working with my CS project and a thought occurred to me: I currently run three different operating systems in my life, and I deal with more than double that if you count CE devices.
An article that I recently read can be summed up like this: Windows Vista is one of the most moot operating systems in existence. It has no real purpose in the marketplace other than to provide Microsoft with a revenue stream for a few more years. Windows XP works just fine for more than 90% of the computing world. I wish I had the link to the original article. It presented a lot of interesting points. Now it's time for my two cents.
Note: I have been using Windows Vista for about six months now. I run this alongside XP and and Ubuntu. I consider myself experienced with all three operating systems.
Throughout the entire history of computing, the very concept of computing can be broken down into three categories. HARDWARE is the physical computer, input/output devices, etc. SOFTWARE interacts with this hardware, utilizing it to do some work. The USER is a person who had some goal in mind. The software relies on the hardware to do work. The user relies on the software to help them accomplish a goal. Because users always demand more strenuous tasks to be completed, hardware can always improve. Software, however fragmented it can be known to be, does sometimes reach a point that it "just works" enough for to satisfy the current needs of the user. In other words, there is no need for an upgrade. The software industry is broken in that upgrades, no matter how unnecessary, are pushed onto users that don't need them.
So why do I need Windows Vista? Microsoft says that Vista provides great advances in usability, user control, and security. For one, the Aero user interface is designed to sell hardware, not provide any advances in usability: it simply isn't radically different from what XP uses.
With most every person I know completely familiar with Windows XP, and with Service Pack 2 providing rock-solid security, why does anyone need to move to Vista? Granted, hardware changes, such as multi-core processors and RAM sizes greater than four gigabytes, require higher-level processing, there's nothing from stopping Microsoft from working these upgrades into Windows XP, and perhaps charging a minimal amount for the users that would actually need the upgrade.
As it stands, Vista is being pushed onto a market that's perfectly content with what's available. I think more than anything, the curve to re-learn the usability of Vista is the most pressing issue that may harm Vista's adoption. Hardware compatibility is a close second. Above all, however, is simply the question that if XP works just fine, why upgrade?
Note to detractors: yes, I'm aware that Apple does a similar sort of market-push with OS X (10.3, 10.4, 10.5!?), but since I don't experience OS X in my daily life, I can't provide any personal insight. Ubuntu is a whole different beast, as the regular six-month upgrade schedule may seem to be too frequent for the average user to care about, but it does provide a quick-turn-around time for bugs, etc. and of course market value is not put into question, as it is always free of charge.
B3 out.
An article that I recently read can be summed up like this: Windows Vista is one of the most moot operating systems in existence. It has no real purpose in the marketplace other than to provide Microsoft with a revenue stream for a few more years. Windows XP works just fine for more than 90% of the computing world. I wish I had the link to the original article. It presented a lot of interesting points. Now it's time for my two cents.
Note: I have been using Windows Vista for about six months now. I run this alongside XP and and Ubuntu. I consider myself experienced with all three operating systems.
Throughout the entire history of computing, the very concept of computing can be broken down into three categories. HARDWARE is the physical computer, input/output devices, etc. SOFTWARE interacts with this hardware, utilizing it to do some work. The USER is a person who had some goal in mind. The software relies on the hardware to do work. The user relies on the software to help them accomplish a goal. Because users always demand more strenuous tasks to be completed, hardware can always improve. Software, however fragmented it can be known to be, does sometimes reach a point that it "just works" enough for to satisfy the current needs of the user. In other words, there is no need for an upgrade. The software industry is broken in that upgrades, no matter how unnecessary, are pushed onto users that don't need them.
So why do I need Windows Vista? Microsoft says that Vista provides great advances in usability, user control, and security. For one, the Aero user interface is designed to sell hardware, not provide any advances in usability: it simply isn't radically different from what XP uses.
With most every person I know completely familiar with Windows XP, and with Service Pack 2 providing rock-solid security, why does anyone need to move to Vista? Granted, hardware changes, such as multi-core processors and RAM sizes greater than four gigabytes, require higher-level processing, there's nothing from stopping Microsoft from working these upgrades into Windows XP, and perhaps charging a minimal amount for the users that would actually need the upgrade.
As it stands, Vista is being pushed onto a market that's perfectly content with what's available. I think more than anything, the curve to re-learn the usability of Vista is the most pressing issue that may harm Vista's adoption. Hardware compatibility is a close second. Above all, however, is simply the question that if XP works just fine, why upgrade?
Note to detractors: yes, I'm aware that Apple does a similar sort of market-push with OS X (10.3, 10.4, 10.5!?), but since I don't experience OS X in my daily life, I can't provide any personal insight. Ubuntu is a whole different beast, as the regular six-month upgrade schedule may seem to be too frequent for the average user to care about, but it does provide a quick-turn-around time for bugs, etc. and of course market value is not put into question, as it is always free of charge.
B3 out.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
The Night I Shaved My Belly
My mind is all over the map tonight, so I don't have any coherent thought to put in words, so I'll jump around as ideas pop into my head. Which of course means it is time for... a hit list!
Out.
- Fall Break is coming to a close, which while sucky for most of BGSU, is a mixed blessing for me. I have until Friday to enjoy time off work, which means I'll still feel quite lazy throughout this week while my friends are all stressing over school. Of course, I should be stressing over school. I'm just not yet...
- In all of my time spent between friends and general social stress, I can heartily agree that I am at a point where relationships and relationship-type stuff (discussing, bickering, "what-ifs," etc.) simply does not interest me in the slightest. For every person in my life that makes it their life to find love, I have just as many friends who could care less about love. I've always straddled the middle fine-line, but I've been leaning more towards the "who the hell cares about relationships?" as of late. Maybe it's just a temporary feeling, but right now, that's my mindset.
- If you can completely agree with a friend to fulfill each of your secondary needs while dismissing your primary needs as irrelevant, would you dive in?
- I'm working on my next piece of fiction. If you read my short story, "I'd Rather Buy a Gallon of Gas" (currently being revised, by the way), then you will handily recognize my next short story. Now tentatively titled "State Route Thirty Five," it takes place in much of the same universe as the former piece. In an America (and ultimately, world) plagued by massive and expensive water shortages, I place my new story a year into a full-scale societal breakdown, and set it in a part of America rampant with sex, drugs, and desperate attempts to secure clean water. I don't expect to go too deep with it, but I am attempting to explore the objectification of women in such a societal situation. I can't wait to finish the first draft.
Out.
Friday, October 05, 2007
New Stuff Yet Again!
My birthday might have been a bust overall, but MiniBash is tomorrow - it should be the real highlight of the weekend.
Also, thanks to everyone who threw up props on my Facebook wall for my birthday. It means a lot to me!
I bought a few birthday presents for myself tonight too. Whatever could they be? New songs, of course!
Random thought of the night: Was I wrong about my feelings?
B3 out.
Also, thanks to everyone who threw up props on my Facebook wall for my birthday. It means a lot to me!
I bought a few birthday presents for myself tonight too. Whatever could they be? New songs, of course!
- Muse - Super Massive Black Hole
- O.A.R. - Hey Girl
- We Are the Fury - Now You Know
Random thought of the night: Was I wrong about my feelings?
B3 out.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Twenty-Three Years Of What?
Happy Birthday... to me, I suppose.
Much as been the case with my birthday in past years, I find my twenty-third birthday to be somewhat of a moot point in my current life. I've been busy as hell with school and work, stressed about deadlines, and worried sick over my social life. And then my birthday comes: the first full day since mid-August that I've had to completely veg-out. Of course, just like past birthdays, I prefer to spend the entire day alone, which I'm facilitating by heading to Farnsworth Park for a while, then getting dinner out at some point.
Aside from one major-pisser of an incident in BG last night involving a tow truck and my losing $40, I'm looking forward to spending all of today forgetting who I am in favor of simply relaxing. All in all, it's a quiet, peaceful, stress-free day thus far.
Much as been the case with my birthday in past years, I find my twenty-third birthday to be somewhat of a moot point in my current life. I've been busy as hell with school and work, stressed about deadlines, and worried sick over my social life. And then my birthday comes: the first full day since mid-August that I've had to completely veg-out. Of course, just like past birthdays, I prefer to spend the entire day alone, which I'm facilitating by heading to Farnsworth Park for a while, then getting dinner out at some point.
Aside from one major-pisser of an incident in BG last night involving a tow truck and my losing $40, I'm looking forward to spending all of today forgetting who I am in favor of simply relaxing. All in all, it's a quiet, peaceful, stress-free day thus far.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Breaking My Fall
And...............
Fall Break is here. You may exhale.
Today begins a crazy-awesome four-day break for me. In years' past, I usually reserve one day of my break to be focused on homework and studying. This time, I am spending two hours a day, over the four days, to get all my necessary studying completed. It'll be an interesting experiment.
Anywho, I'm planning to spend my birthday the same way I always spend it: insanely alone and reflective. I have a full suite of games lined up that I can't wait to play, from some old favorites (GoldenEye) to new addictions (Rune Factory). I'll most likely be getting dinner with my family sometime this weekend as well, most likely Saturday, which excites the hell out of me.
But until then, I'm going to crank up some music, work on some fiction, and spend the rest of my night relaxing.
B3 out.
Fall Break is here. You may exhale.
Today begins a crazy-awesome four-day break for me. In years' past, I usually reserve one day of my break to be focused on homework and studying. This time, I am spending two hours a day, over the four days, to get all my necessary studying completed. It'll be an interesting experiment.
Anywho, I'm planning to spend my birthday the same way I always spend it: insanely alone and reflective. I have a full suite of games lined up that I can't wait to play, from some old favorites (GoldenEye) to new addictions (Rune Factory). I'll most likely be getting dinner with my family sometime this weekend as well, most likely Saturday, which excites the hell out of me.
But until then, I'm going to crank up some music, work on some fiction, and spend the rest of my night relaxing.
B3 out.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Five-Double-Zero
"Why celebrate five-hundred blog posts?"
A friend asked me that question a while back. Actually, it was more of the form "why celebrate at all? It's just a blog, not a birthday."
My response: because persistence pays off, and I like to show it off.
Much as I declared at Post 300, blogging is all about being consistent. I've seen countless people begin the practice, only to drop it a few weeks (or days) later. I usually fall into this "temp category." What makes Critically Correct so important to me is that it's one of the few constants in my daily life. Besides waking up, paying bills, and Facebook, my blog is a sure-fire constant that I visit on a daily basis and I think it will be with me for many, many years to come.
Not only does this consistency have a personal meaning, but it extends professionally as well. Given that I spend so much of my time writing creatively, I find it helpful to write daily, and again, Critically Correct is the ideal way to do that. Of course, I tend to sway between creative posts, informative posts, editorial posts, and outright rants, but I would hope that this variety keeps people coming back for more.
Prior to Post 500 I took a full day to run through every post in my blog, right from the beginning in July of 2005. A lot has happened in those two years, but blogging as always been with me. In just two years, I have recorded a fairly reliable journal of my life. Never before have I done this, and the experience of reflecting on my own words years after an event has taken place is something special.
So yes, I will celebrate five-hundred posts, a thousand posts, and many more milestones after that.
I expect to be blogging well past my one-thousandth post, so without further ado, let's get this celebration over with and get back to what I love doing the most.
The Music of My Life
I promised a few posts back that I would share a playlist that I've been clinging onto tightly. Called "Redemption," it is a collection of songs that strongly reflects the general feeling that I get from life right now: busy, tired, stressed, and a bit lonely.
Have you ever become so naturally close to a person that you look to them as if they were family - someone that you can trust and care about in rare ways? Have you then been completely lost and unable to understand yourself after this person begins to potentially leave your life? This is my soundtrack for that feeling. Some songs are simply among my favorite, and others are all-around great songs.
1. Greenwheel - Breathe
2. The Killers - Mr. Brightside
3. Candlebox - Far Behind
4. The Cardigans - My Favorite Game
5. Stone Temple Pilots - Plush
6. Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
7. Temple of the Dog - Hunger Strike
8. Pearl Jam - Black
9. 3 Doors Down - Away From the Sun
10. Lifehouse - Sick Cycle Carousel
11. Blessid Union of Souls - Stone Glass Window
12. Seether - Fine Again
13. Stone Sour - Zzyzx Rd.
Anyone get the general idea of where I'm going with this collection? Feel free to suggest any additions...
Rune Factory Review
I've been saving my review of "Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon" for Post 500. As I hold the Harvest Moon series close to my heart, "Rune Factory" is somewhat of a special game, given that it is the first Harvest Moon since the 1997 original to really hammer-home a great gaming experience. The review is as follows.
It took ten long years of worry, desire, and so-so sequels, but Harvest Moon is back.
In 1997 Natsume developed and published a Super Nintendo title simply called "Harvest Moon," a quasi-farming role-playing game that saw the player turning a run-down farm into a successful business, while at the same time seeking a wife. The game was left largely open-ended in nature, and since 1997, I have been a tremedously huge Harvest Moon fan. Unfortunately, since 1997, things have not been so peachy for me. The original Harvest Moon focused strongly on farming, raising livestock, and aquiring a wife. In expanding gameplay elements through later sequels, much of the "hardcore" farming was dumbed down. I met many of these games with lukewarm reception. "Harvest Moon" for the Game Boy was too limited in scope to hold my attention. "Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life" for the GameCube was too scatterbrained for me to focus. "Friends of Mineral Town" on the GBA was the latest Harvest Moon to hold my attention for any length of time, yet still quickly became boring in time.
And then, "Rune Factory" comes along. Designed for the Nintendo DS, it is the Harvest Moon that I have been waiting for. In many ways, "Rune Factory" is not much different than "A Wonderful Life," in that there are many, many, many non-farming tasks to distract the player throughout the course of a game day. But for the first time since 1997, farming is back in full force. In many ways, farming in "Rune Factory" is similar to the Nintendo 64 and Playstation iterations: the field is strictly defined and crop pattern options can seem limiting at first. But all similarities end there.
Quite simply, "Rune Factory" is Harvest Moon anew. The central character in the game, the player, awakens to find that he has no memory of his past (perhaps a nod to the reborn nature of the game), and is immediately tasked to turning around a run-down farm.
Farming has been refined to high-hell, and this is the best in the series by this regard. Gameplay changes that may seem like blasphemy to fans - the ability to walk over crops, for example - while dramatically altering familiar aspects of the series, these changes also serve to make the game far more accesible and streamlined. For the first time in the series, planting your initial crops or managing a full field of 6561 (81 x 81!) crops always feels managable.
One of the most dramatic changes to the Harvest Moon formula comes with the addition of dungeons. Although simplistic in overall scope and design, the dungeons add an interesting wrinkle to the farming gameplay. By successfully farming, the player can buy better equipment for crawling deepers into the dungeons, and buy advancing into the dungeons, the player can become more powerful, which in turn makes farming easier. It's an addictive cycle that I have not enjoyed since 1997.
Character interaction has expanded and improved, with all ten (10!) potential wives having tastes and personality quirks that make each unique and alter how the player must plan his game day. Side activities, like fishing, digging for minerals, cooking, raising animals (captured monsters in this case, a whole other story...), and finding rare items all remain from previous games, but in a much more polished form than before. Every item in the game can be leveled up, just as the player can, and even traded via Wi-Fi, creating the potential for a very interesting "Rune Factory" trade market.
As a game day lasts a maximum of 24 real-world minutes, and with so much to do per day (water crops, harvest crops, explore caves/dungeons, meet girl interest, trade items, feed animals, recharge and repeat), "Rune Factory" plays out much more in length to a traditional RPG than a traditional Harvest Moon title This makes the game feel more epic in scope and depth, especially when one looks back at how far their farm has come in just one game year.
I admit that I miss traditional livestock, but the addition of being able to capture and raise specialized monsters in place of traditional animals adds yet more depth to an already-deep game. The game integrates touch screen elements only in ways that enhance the game if the player chooses, but they do not necessarily need to be utilized. In the area of beauty, "Rune Factory" loses a tile-based world in favor of a well-drawn, organic world populated with polygonal characters. The graphical look is new to the series, and works well.
"Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon" is quite simply, Harvest Moon completely reborn, and almost every change is for the better. I consider this game a must own, and hopefully, something to look forward to for the next ten years.
The Up and Coming
If you've been following my blog for the last couple of years, then you've seen it all: plenty of drama, humor, anger, etc. Begun in the Lacey-era of my life in 2005, I really did not expect to be writing for so long, especially post-Lacey. Of course, my life does not evolve around my past relationships, but what I am today is indeed the culmination of those past experiences and what I've learned since. I write because someone reads.
So to you, my reader, I thank you for sticking around with me. I hope to still be thanking you at one-thousand.
See you at 501.
A friend asked me that question a while back. Actually, it was more of the form "why celebrate at all? It's just a blog, not a birthday."
My response: because persistence pays off, and I like to show it off.
Much as I declared at Post 300, blogging is all about being consistent. I've seen countless people begin the practice, only to drop it a few weeks (or days) later. I usually fall into this "temp category." What makes Critically Correct so important to me is that it's one of the few constants in my daily life. Besides waking up, paying bills, and Facebook, my blog is a sure-fire constant that I visit on a daily basis and I think it will be with me for many, many years to come.
Not only does this consistency have a personal meaning, but it extends professionally as well. Given that I spend so much of my time writing creatively, I find it helpful to write daily, and again, Critically Correct is the ideal way to do that. Of course, I tend to sway between creative posts, informative posts, editorial posts, and outright rants, but I would hope that this variety keeps people coming back for more.
Prior to Post 500 I took a full day to run through every post in my blog, right from the beginning in July of 2005. A lot has happened in those two years, but blogging as always been with me. In just two years, I have recorded a fairly reliable journal of my life. Never before have I done this, and the experience of reflecting on my own words years after an event has taken place is something special.
So yes, I will celebrate five-hundred posts, a thousand posts, and many more milestones after that.
I expect to be blogging well past my one-thousandth post, so without further ado, let's get this celebration over with and get back to what I love doing the most.
The Music of My Life
I promised a few posts back that I would share a playlist that I've been clinging onto tightly. Called "Redemption," it is a collection of songs that strongly reflects the general feeling that I get from life right now: busy, tired, stressed, and a bit lonely.
Have you ever become so naturally close to a person that you look to them as if they were family - someone that you can trust and care about in rare ways? Have you then been completely lost and unable to understand yourself after this person begins to potentially leave your life? This is my soundtrack for that feeling. Some songs are simply among my favorite, and others are all-around great songs.
1. Greenwheel - Breathe
2. The Killers - Mr. Brightside
3. Candlebox - Far Behind
4. The Cardigans - My Favorite Game
5. Stone Temple Pilots - Plush
6. Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
7. Temple of the Dog - Hunger Strike
8. Pearl Jam - Black
9. 3 Doors Down - Away From the Sun
10. Lifehouse - Sick Cycle Carousel
11. Blessid Union of Souls - Stone Glass Window
12. Seether - Fine Again
13. Stone Sour - Zzyzx Rd.
Anyone get the general idea of where I'm going with this collection? Feel free to suggest any additions...
Rune Factory Review
I've been saving my review of "Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon" for Post 500. As I hold the Harvest Moon series close to my heart, "Rune Factory" is somewhat of a special game, given that it is the first Harvest Moon since the 1997 original to really hammer-home a great gaming experience. The review is as follows.
It took ten long years of worry, desire, and so-so sequels, but Harvest Moon is back.
In 1997 Natsume developed and published a Super Nintendo title simply called "Harvest Moon," a quasi-farming role-playing game that saw the player turning a run-down farm into a successful business, while at the same time seeking a wife. The game was left largely open-ended in nature, and since 1997, I have been a tremedously huge Harvest Moon fan. Unfortunately, since 1997, things have not been so peachy for me. The original Harvest Moon focused strongly on farming, raising livestock, and aquiring a wife. In expanding gameplay elements through later sequels, much of the "hardcore" farming was dumbed down. I met many of these games with lukewarm reception. "Harvest Moon" for the Game Boy was too limited in scope to hold my attention. "Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life" for the GameCube was too scatterbrained for me to focus. "Friends of Mineral Town" on the GBA was the latest Harvest Moon to hold my attention for any length of time, yet still quickly became boring in time.
And then, "Rune Factory" comes along. Designed for the Nintendo DS, it is the Harvest Moon that I have been waiting for. In many ways, "Rune Factory" is not much different than "A Wonderful Life," in that there are many, many, many non-farming tasks to distract the player throughout the course of a game day. But for the first time since 1997, farming is back in full force. In many ways, farming in "Rune Factory" is similar to the Nintendo 64 and Playstation iterations: the field is strictly defined and crop pattern options can seem limiting at first. But all similarities end there.
Quite simply, "Rune Factory" is Harvest Moon anew. The central character in the game, the player, awakens to find that he has no memory of his past (perhaps a nod to the reborn nature of the game), and is immediately tasked to turning around a run-down farm.
Farming has been refined to high-hell, and this is the best in the series by this regard. Gameplay changes that may seem like blasphemy to fans - the ability to walk over crops, for example - while dramatically altering familiar aspects of the series, these changes also serve to make the game far more accesible and streamlined. For the first time in the series, planting your initial crops or managing a full field of 6561 (81 x 81!) crops always feels managable.
One of the most dramatic changes to the Harvest Moon formula comes with the addition of dungeons. Although simplistic in overall scope and design, the dungeons add an interesting wrinkle to the farming gameplay. By successfully farming, the player can buy better equipment for crawling deepers into the dungeons, and buy advancing into the dungeons, the player can become more powerful, which in turn makes farming easier. It's an addictive cycle that I have not enjoyed since 1997.
Character interaction has expanded and improved, with all ten (10!) potential wives having tastes and personality quirks that make each unique and alter how the player must plan his game day. Side activities, like fishing, digging for minerals, cooking, raising animals (captured monsters in this case, a whole other story...), and finding rare items all remain from previous games, but in a much more polished form than before. Every item in the game can be leveled up, just as the player can, and even traded via Wi-Fi, creating the potential for a very interesting "Rune Factory" trade market.
As a game day lasts a maximum of 24 real-world minutes, and with so much to do per day (water crops, harvest crops, explore caves/dungeons, meet girl interest, trade items, feed animals, recharge and repeat), "Rune Factory" plays out much more in length to a traditional RPG than a traditional Harvest Moon title This makes the game feel more epic in scope and depth, especially when one looks back at how far their farm has come in just one game year.
I admit that I miss traditional livestock, but the addition of being able to capture and raise specialized monsters in place of traditional animals adds yet more depth to an already-deep game. The game integrates touch screen elements only in ways that enhance the game if the player chooses, but they do not necessarily need to be utilized. In the area of beauty, "Rune Factory" loses a tile-based world in favor of a well-drawn, organic world populated with polygonal characters. The graphical look is new to the series, and works well.
"Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon" is quite simply, Harvest Moon completely reborn, and almost every change is for the better. I consider this game a must own, and hopefully, something to look forward to for the next ten years.
The Up and Coming
- MiniBash is this Friday. It will be an awesome experience, I think, since I'm focusing on what I love best: food, friends, and gaming. I expect lots of 4-player Wii and 2-player Guitar Hero to be popular, along with a corn maze as the night moves on.
- I'm only one day into my vacation from Meijer, but that place feels like it's thousands of miles away, and I really am considering life after Meijer, especially before I graduate. The freedom that comes without work stress is amazing. I'm finding lots of time to write, for example.
- I will be redesigning Critically Correct sometime in the near future, but given how busy the next two weeks will be with exams and all, I might take my time with the redesign.
If you've been following my blog for the last couple of years, then you've seen it all: plenty of drama, humor, anger, etc. Begun in the Lacey-era of my life in 2005, I really did not expect to be writing for so long, especially post-Lacey. Of course, my life does not evolve around my past relationships, but what I am today is indeed the culmination of those past experiences and what I've learned since. I write because someone reads.
So to you, my reader, I thank you for sticking around with me. I hope to still be thanking you at one-thousand.
See you at 501.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Four-Ninety-Nine
"I wish that you were mine
So why'd you come home to this angel's town
Its a lifetime decision
Recovering the satellites
Everybody really knows for sure
That youre gonna come down."
(Counting Crows)
So why'd you come home to this angel's town
Its a lifetime decision
Recovering the satellites
Everybody really knows for sure
That youre gonna come down."
(Counting Crows)
Ah, sweet, sweet success.
If nothing else, it's nice to be able to write again - the essence of Critically Correct. I had quite a busy weekend. Time for the recap.
Friday was uneventful, if not straight forward: work, class, and home for video-gaming goodness. Work Saturday. Talk about a stressful day: dumb customers and stressed managers do not make for a good day at work.
Sunday was fairly par-for-the-course as well, minus work of course, which was always awesome. I got to spend lots of time with some friends of mine (Kristin and Colleen, I'm looking at you...), but I did not get much video game time in.
If my weekend was ho-hum, then today changes that altogether. With a scant three-day school week, then Fall Break, and absolutely no Meijer for a week-and-a-half, I'm on easy-street. My potential week:
Tuesday: Classes all day, followed by lots of writing time (my new short story) and a movie - although I'm not sure which one yet.
Wednesday: Relax, clean, and prepare a workshop discussion. One class to go to, then back home to kick Fall Break into high gear.
Thursday: Relaxing at home with Twilight Princess all day - I have yet to beat it, and this will be the day to wrap it up.
Friday: Randomness in Toledo (possibly), checking out the Shops at Fallen Timbers, then preparing for MiniBash. Oh yes, then MiniBash at 4:00pm. It'll be a blast.
Saturday: See Thursday.
All in all, I'm looking forward to the remainder of this week.
Shifting gears...
A couple of days ago I had a dream - one of those perfect, relentless dreams - that left a nasty "what did I do!?" aftertaste in the morning. I wish that some of my most memorable dreams were not always the ones that made me feel the most awkward about some of my friends. Then again, maybe I don't have anything to worry about...
Ack, it's time for Post 500! But first, my final Top Five list. Of course it's video game related. What were you expecting?
My Top Five Favorite Video Games
1) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
2) Guitar Hero 2
3) Half-Life
4) GoldenEye
5) Harvest Moon
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