Would you like to see more video tutorials, more articles, more content in general at YouTube and here at Hi-Tech Headache? Well then, I will need your support. You will notice in the menu at the right of your screen are two new links; one to my Patreon Page and one to start your own Patreon Page. If you wish to support me directly you can use the link to my Patreon page. If you would like to start your own Patreon Page, you can click the link to create your own Patreon Page.
Now starting out at Patreon is hard, if you don't have anyone to make that initial pledge. So for a limited time only I will commit to pledging up to $10.00 to the first dozen or so people who become my Patrons at Patreon and subscribe to any tier, or who start their own Patreon campaign using my referral link. You will help me get my Patreon campaign started, and in return, I will do the same for you.
Not only that I will help you, as much as I can, learn how to build and promote your Patreon Page! I have noticed a number of Patreon members whose pages are missing a variety of things which are required for a successful Patreon campaign. I will help you navigate those initial setup waters, in addition to helping you get your campaign started by pledging to you.
If you would like to take me up on this, please click this link:
https://www.patreon.com/DreamBliss
If you want to start your own Patreon campaign, please click this link:
https://patreon.com/invite/rjpozj
I appreciate your help and support! I have my Patreon page all set up correctly, but I need those initial pledges to get the ball rolling. By becoming my Patrons you help me to do this, and in return I will help you succeed right out of the gate. It's a win-win for everyone!
Thank you!
Sunday, September 2, 2018
Friday, February 2, 2018
To All Game Developers!
We're gonna go over something important that probably few in the game industry think about. We will use an illustration of parents raising a child, to correlate the process of those involved in who create and develop a game. We will use two games for our examples: Unreal Tournament and the Unreal series of games by Epic Games, and Creativerse by Playful Corp. I should also note that I understand Creativerse is a sort of clone of Minecraft, but I was never able to get past how Minecraft looked, while, for some reason, it doesn't bother me in Creativerse.
The process of making a game could, in a way, be thought of as similar to the process of giving birth to a child. There is all the same or similar mental, emotional and physical (to some extent) strain. Of course making a game does not have the same intensity or level of any of these, or the amounts of extreme physical pain. But most game development teams look upon their new creation with much of the same love a mother looks on her newborn child. Also most game development teams are very protective of their children, as are most mothers. But unlike most healthy people who have children, game development teams retain an obsessive sense of ownership of their child.
Just as a baby is completely dependant on its parents for survival, so a video game initially depends on those who made it for its survival. But just as a baby will eventually learn how to walk, and will grow up into a (hopefully) free-thinking human being, at some point a game will have matured enough that its creators no longer need to "support" it. The game will stand on its own. But there is something I think game developers forget here, some vital piece they miss.
You see just a child will mature and eventually become an adult, ultimately depending on society and the world to define who they are and to support themselves, so a video game matures and becomes dependant on its community. A video game community is comprised of the players who buy, play and create things for that game. In the same sense that parents must learn to let their grown child grow and release them out into the world, so game developers have to let go of their game and let it stand on its own.
What do I mean by this? Let's bring in my examples... Many years ago a game was released that really did change the game industry. Its name was Unreal, and it was quickly followed by Unreal Tournament. The last time I checked in on this game, a new version had been released for free to the community. Unreal was different in that it was a first person shooter, but there were elements of adventure and even a story. I still remember the fondness many players had for the Nali. When Unreal Tournament came out it became more about its first person shooter aspect, but players could, and did, design their own adventures. That is because Unreal and Unreal Tournament, and it's latest iteration, have a very good level editor.
I am not over exaggerating when I say I have a gigabytes of maps and things from the Unreal Tournament community. It may not seem like a lot now, but we're talking gigabytes from a time when a 40 gigabyte hard drive was about the same amount of space a 4 terabyte drive is to us today. The developers did things right, and Unreal Tournament reigned for many years. There may still be people playing it today. The last time I checked in on its newest iteration the developers were still doing things right. In the past they even went as far as to hire many of the most active and creative members of the Unreal Tournament community. Some of those same people are part of the game development team today.
Here is a picture from one of my Unreal Tournament 2003 - 2004 levels, when I was known as DeathBliss:
You can still some of my work at MapRaider (surprisingly):
http://www.mapraider.com/profiles/Deathbliss
Now let's look at Creativerse. Both Playful Corp's Creativerse and Epic Game's Unreal Tournament have, in a way, an editor. In Unreal Tournament the editor has always been an external program. You built your level and then played it. Here is a tutorial video showing Unreal Tournament's new editor:
In Creativerse the game and game world itself is the editor. Here is a video showing a bit of that:
You build things from within the world, much like the old FPS games Cube and Cube 2. But the developers behind Creativerse have made a mistake, and I am not going to call their attention to it.
In any sort of environment when you are making something, you need certain tools. We will use the Rotate tool as an example. Let's say a game developer releases their game and includes a functionality in some form of the ability to rotate objects. Once the game is released to the community, the members of that community will use that rotate functionality. They will come to depend on it.
Let's say that players learn they can rotate things in 45 degree increments and the game development team, for whatever reason, does not want that. But before the game development team has done anything about it, the community has built hundreds or thousands of structures using this "bug." In this case if the developers removed it the impact would be low unless everything that had been rotated was rotated back to a default position. But removing the tool or fixing the bug also removes the functionality, and this is the wrong thing to do.
In Creativerse, a year ago I guess, the community discovered that they could use something called Block Phasers to automate farming. The default farming process is to use your tool on the ground then go around and plant your seeds. Then when the plants have grown you go around and pick up your plants. But then you have to plant your seeds again if you want more plants. With the Bock Phasers players could make the seeds phase in and out. So they planted their seeds once, waited for the plants to grow after setting up everything with a switch, then flipped the switch to turn the block phasers on before they harvested the plants. When they would flick the switch again, the seeds would reappear, and the garden would be replanted.
Now think about this for a second... Hundreds, if not thousands, of Creativerse players, members of the Creativerse community, have designed entire houses, forts, camps, bases, etc. all around the idea of automated Block Phaser farms. So when the developers removed that functionality by "fixing" this bug (it did not need to be fixed) it messed up all of these things that the Creativerse community had made. That is the mistake Playful Corp made.
If they had bothered to go to YouTube or pay any attention to what the Creativerse community was doing, they would have seen how their proposed fix would have affected things. I don't think they did that. I don't think they care. They do have a forums through Steam, but as far as I know there is no way to directly contact the game development team. In my opinion they are, in short, doing this incorrectly.
Yes, according to the law a game is the property of whoever made it. Yes, according to the law they can do whatever the hell they want to their game. Just as some parents feel they can do whatever the hell they want to their children. The end result is bad in both cases. While a game development team may have legal ownership rights, once a game has been released it belongs to its community, in the same way that Einstein belonged to the human race, as any of us belong to the human race.
Imagine if all our geniuses had been shut away and not allowed to share their discoveries with us? Think of all we missed out from Nikola Tesla, all the information the American government has hidden away or destroyed. Just as what the American government did to Tesla wronged all of of the human race, when a game developer does whatever the hell they want with one of their games it wrongs all of the members of its community. Just because it is right in the eyes of the law, that doesn't make it ethically, morally or in any other way the right thing to do.
In other words, having the right to do something doesn't make what you do right. We should no more tolerate game developers doing whatever they want with their games then we should tolerate parents doing whatever they want with their children, end of story.
If you are a game developer, or a game development team, and you are reading these words, heed their message well! Once you release your game you ONLY legally own it. In order for you to be successful, your game must be successful, and for your game to be successful it has to stand on its own in its community. Be very careful when you are fixing bugs that remove functionality that you IMMEDIATELY replace that functionality, no matter what!
Understand that players will come to depend on some of the things you think of as bugs. Understand that some bugs provide functionality that improve your game and the experience of those who play it. Do not make Playful Corp's mistake and fix a bug that not only did not need to be fixed, but also drastically affected all the members of the Creativese community.
The process of making a game could, in a way, be thought of as similar to the process of giving birth to a child. There is all the same or similar mental, emotional and physical (to some extent) strain. Of course making a game does not have the same intensity or level of any of these, or the amounts of extreme physical pain. But most game development teams look upon their new creation with much of the same love a mother looks on her newborn child. Also most game development teams are very protective of their children, as are most mothers. But unlike most healthy people who have children, game development teams retain an obsessive sense of ownership of their child.
Just as a baby is completely dependant on its parents for survival, so a video game initially depends on those who made it for its survival. But just as a baby will eventually learn how to walk, and will grow up into a (hopefully) free-thinking human being, at some point a game will have matured enough that its creators no longer need to "support" it. The game will stand on its own. But there is something I think game developers forget here, some vital piece they miss.
You see just a child will mature and eventually become an adult, ultimately depending on society and the world to define who they are and to support themselves, so a video game matures and becomes dependant on its community. A video game community is comprised of the players who buy, play and create things for that game. In the same sense that parents must learn to let their grown child grow and release them out into the world, so game developers have to let go of their game and let it stand on its own.
What do I mean by this? Let's bring in my examples... Many years ago a game was released that really did change the game industry. Its name was Unreal, and it was quickly followed by Unreal Tournament. The last time I checked in on this game, a new version had been released for free to the community. Unreal was different in that it was a first person shooter, but there were elements of adventure and even a story. I still remember the fondness many players had for the Nali. When Unreal Tournament came out it became more about its first person shooter aspect, but players could, and did, design their own adventures. That is because Unreal and Unreal Tournament, and it's latest iteration, have a very good level editor.
I am not over exaggerating when I say I have a gigabytes of maps and things from the Unreal Tournament community. It may not seem like a lot now, but we're talking gigabytes from a time when a 40 gigabyte hard drive was about the same amount of space a 4 terabyte drive is to us today. The developers did things right, and Unreal Tournament reigned for many years. There may still be people playing it today. The last time I checked in on its newest iteration the developers were still doing things right. In the past they even went as far as to hire many of the most active and creative members of the Unreal Tournament community. Some of those same people are part of the game development team today.
Here is a picture from one of my Unreal Tournament 2003 - 2004 levels, when I was known as DeathBliss:
You can still some of my work at MapRaider (surprisingly):
http://www.mapraider.com/profiles/Deathbliss
Now let's look at Creativerse. Both Playful Corp's Creativerse and Epic Game's Unreal Tournament have, in a way, an editor. In Unreal Tournament the editor has always been an external program. You built your level and then played it. Here is a tutorial video showing Unreal Tournament's new editor:
In Creativerse the game and game world itself is the editor. Here is a video showing a bit of that:
You build things from within the world, much like the old FPS games Cube and Cube 2. But the developers behind Creativerse have made a mistake, and I am not going to call their attention to it.
In any sort of environment when you are making something, you need certain tools. We will use the Rotate tool as an example. Let's say a game developer releases their game and includes a functionality in some form of the ability to rotate objects. Once the game is released to the community, the members of that community will use that rotate functionality. They will come to depend on it.
Let's say that players learn they can rotate things in 45 degree increments and the game development team, for whatever reason, does not want that. But before the game development team has done anything about it, the community has built hundreds or thousands of structures using this "bug." In this case if the developers removed it the impact would be low unless everything that had been rotated was rotated back to a default position. But removing the tool or fixing the bug also removes the functionality, and this is the wrong thing to do.
In Creativerse, a year ago I guess, the community discovered that they could use something called Block Phasers to automate farming. The default farming process is to use your tool on the ground then go around and plant your seeds. Then when the plants have grown you go around and pick up your plants. But then you have to plant your seeds again if you want more plants. With the Bock Phasers players could make the seeds phase in and out. So they planted their seeds once, waited for the plants to grow after setting up everything with a switch, then flipped the switch to turn the block phasers on before they harvested the plants. When they would flick the switch again, the seeds would reappear, and the garden would be replanted.
Now think about this for a second... Hundreds, if not thousands, of Creativerse players, members of the Creativerse community, have designed entire houses, forts, camps, bases, etc. all around the idea of automated Block Phaser farms. So when the developers removed that functionality by "fixing" this bug (it did not need to be fixed) it messed up all of these things that the Creativerse community had made. That is the mistake Playful Corp made.
If they had bothered to go to YouTube or pay any attention to what the Creativerse community was doing, they would have seen how their proposed fix would have affected things. I don't think they did that. I don't think they care. They do have a forums through Steam, but as far as I know there is no way to directly contact the game development team. In my opinion they are, in short, doing this incorrectly.
Yes, according to the law a game is the property of whoever made it. Yes, according to the law they can do whatever the hell they want to their game. Just as some parents feel they can do whatever the hell they want to their children. The end result is bad in both cases. While a game development team may have legal ownership rights, once a game has been released it belongs to its community, in the same way that Einstein belonged to the human race, as any of us belong to the human race.
Imagine if all our geniuses had been shut away and not allowed to share their discoveries with us? Think of all we missed out from Nikola Tesla, all the information the American government has hidden away or destroyed. Just as what the American government did to Tesla wronged all of of the human race, when a game developer does whatever the hell they want with one of their games it wrongs all of the members of its community. Just because it is right in the eyes of the law, that doesn't make it ethically, morally or in any other way the right thing to do.
In other words, having the right to do something doesn't make what you do right. We should no more tolerate game developers doing whatever they want with their games then we should tolerate parents doing whatever they want with their children, end of story.
If you are a game developer, or a game development team, and you are reading these words, heed their message well! Once you release your game you ONLY legally own it. In order for you to be successful, your game must be successful, and for your game to be successful it has to stand on its own in its community. Be very careful when you are fixing bugs that remove functionality that you IMMEDIATELY replace that functionality, no matter what!
Understand that players will come to depend on some of the things you think of as bugs. Understand that some bugs provide functionality that improve your game and the experience of those who play it. Do not make Playful Corp's mistake and fix a bug that not only did not need to be fixed, but also drastically affected all the members of the Creativese community.
Sunday, August 7, 2016
Being Yourself, marijuana, and a few other things...
There is this ridiculous ad on the radio right now, I think I overheard it was put out by the sheriff's department. In essence, under the guise of providing helpful information, it talks about marijuana, which is legal now here in Washington. It tells how a teen's brain is developing, and essentially says marijuana and other drugs (recreational drugs implied) have a negative effect on that.
I had to laugh at the sheer stupidity of this. First of all I have yet to see even one, credible, independent, not funded by the prescription drug companies report proving that marijuana has even the slightest impact on any brain, from a baby's to an old man (which I am sure it does), and that any effect it does have on this is somehow negative, implying it is permanent and damaging the brain in some way.
I remember back in grade school how DARE came in and told us that marijuana was addictive. I think I remember that correctly. Of course I know from personal experience that this is not true. In fact, it is no more addictive than alcohol. Yet you have people who drink a lot, and do drugs a lot. They aren't addicted to the substances they are consuming. They are addicted to the feeling they get from them. It is more a habit than an addiction. I used to eat a lot of Doritos potato chips. Bags a night. Was I addicted to them? No. My brain was affected by the MSG they contain, sending signals that the chips tasted good, making me eat more. Then eating chips became a habit because I was becoming a pain eater (someone who eats their pain.) But MSG is no more an addictive substance than marijuana.
The biggest issue with this stupid commercial is that long before teens even try marijuana, or cigarettes (which does have shit in it that has a negative effect on the physical body - at any age), parents have taken them to doctors where they have been prescribed more drugs than my 90 year old grandmother! Prescription drugs for ADD, depression and insomnia to name a few! That will have FAR, FAR more of a detrimental impact than marijuana. And teens have been on these since they were children. So you want to talk about negative impact on a developing brain (and body) let's start there, shall we? By the time teens get to the hard recreational stuff their brains and bodies have already suffered a lot of damage, probably more substantial than anything they would get from most of the hard stuff. Certainly far more than anything they would get taking shrooms, smoking weed or dropping acid (to name a few.)
The police do not know what they are talking about. They are not doctors or medical professionals. They are enforces of the law, which states that most of not all -non-prescription drugs are illegal on a Federal level, and that pretty much everything else other than marijuana, at least here in Washington, is illegal on a local/state level.
The cops don't give a flying fuck about your health. If they did they would attach prescription drugs with the same vigor they beat up street vendors selling harmless weed. They main priority is the law, and they only regurgitate the same false beliefs their superiors shoved down their throats since they first signed up. That drugs are bad, if someone doesn't have a prescription for them.
You can get brain damage from breathing the smog in New York, or living near high voltage power lines. MSG in your food probably does more brain damage. Prescription drugs certainly does more. So why the focus on marijuana, where any brain damage that may occur, which has not been scientifically proven, is minor at best and likely not permanent. I mean a developing brain still has the power to heal and rewire itself, right?
Oh and let's not forget about brain plasticity. The implication of this ad is that the brains somehow hardens or stops growing and developing once you reach some indeterminate age. But it's a scientific fact that the brain is always making new connections, always growing and developing on that way, based on a person's activities, meditation being one of them. The brains of 30 year-olds who have mediated a year or more are far different than of those in the same age/race group who have not.
They want you to believe you will somehow become lazy or stupid if you smoke weed. You can only become lazy or stupid if you get addicted to how you feel on weed and start smoking all the time. Weed relaxes you, you will not feel like doing anything else. It affects your concentration and focus, you can not work while on it. Neither of these are necessarily bad things, unless you live in a society that wants everyone to be productive little wage slaves, like ours. There is nothing inherently wrong with sitting around smoking pot all day. But you won't be paying rent or getting out to do much if you do. You become unproductive, and our materialistic society has no tolerance for anyone who is not some cog in the machine.
You have to find a balance here. Put in your hard day of work without using any mind-altering substances of any kind, then come home and smoke weed all you like. Best way to relax and far more effective pain relief than anything in the store. You just have to be responsible about how you use these things. If you are a teen don't give into peer pressure, to smoke or ingest anything. Make sure that it is your own uninfluenced choice when you join in and drink a beer, or smoke a cig or a joint. Same for sex - don't have sex just because all your friends got laid and you are afraid of being left behind. That is the stupidest reason in the history of stupid reasoning to have sex. Have sex when you are ready for it and you want it, and of course when you partner is ready for it and wants it.
It all comes down to taking what the adults and those in authority say with a grain of salt. Do not be influenced by the beliefs and opinions of others. Use your own mind, make your own decisions, decide what you want to believe, and always, always question everything, especially your beliefs. Be Yourself! What does that mean? It means to think for yourself, choose your own beliefs, and make your own choices, regardless of what others order, say or tell you to do, and that includes the law! You are the best authority on your life, whatever your age (which is merely the number of times you have been around the sun) happens to be.
I had to laugh at the sheer stupidity of this. First of all I have yet to see even one, credible, independent, not funded by the prescription drug companies report proving that marijuana has even the slightest impact on any brain, from a baby's to an old man (which I am sure it does), and that any effect it does have on this is somehow negative, implying it is permanent and damaging the brain in some way.
I remember back in grade school how DARE came in and told us that marijuana was addictive. I think I remember that correctly. Of course I know from personal experience that this is not true. In fact, it is no more addictive than alcohol. Yet you have people who drink a lot, and do drugs a lot. They aren't addicted to the substances they are consuming. They are addicted to the feeling they get from them. It is more a habit than an addiction. I used to eat a lot of Doritos potato chips. Bags a night. Was I addicted to them? No. My brain was affected by the MSG they contain, sending signals that the chips tasted good, making me eat more. Then eating chips became a habit because I was becoming a pain eater (someone who eats their pain.) But MSG is no more an addictive substance than marijuana.
The biggest issue with this stupid commercial is that long before teens even try marijuana, or cigarettes (which does have shit in it that has a negative effect on the physical body - at any age), parents have taken them to doctors where they have been prescribed more drugs than my 90 year old grandmother! Prescription drugs for ADD, depression and insomnia to name a few! That will have FAR, FAR more of a detrimental impact than marijuana. And teens have been on these since they were children. So you want to talk about negative impact on a developing brain (and body) let's start there, shall we? By the time teens get to the hard recreational stuff their brains and bodies have already suffered a lot of damage, probably more substantial than anything they would get from most of the hard stuff. Certainly far more than anything they would get taking shrooms, smoking weed or dropping acid (to name a few.)
The police do not know what they are talking about. They are not doctors or medical professionals. They are enforces of the law, which states that most of not all -non-prescription drugs are illegal on a Federal level, and that pretty much everything else other than marijuana, at least here in Washington, is illegal on a local/state level.
The cops don't give a flying fuck about your health. If they did they would attach prescription drugs with the same vigor they beat up street vendors selling harmless weed. They main priority is the law, and they only regurgitate the same false beliefs their superiors shoved down their throats since they first signed up. That drugs are bad, if someone doesn't have a prescription for them.
You can get brain damage from breathing the smog in New York, or living near high voltage power lines. MSG in your food probably does more brain damage. Prescription drugs certainly does more. So why the focus on marijuana, where any brain damage that may occur, which has not been scientifically proven, is minor at best and likely not permanent. I mean a developing brain still has the power to heal and rewire itself, right?
Oh and let's not forget about brain plasticity. The implication of this ad is that the brains somehow hardens or stops growing and developing once you reach some indeterminate age. But it's a scientific fact that the brain is always making new connections, always growing and developing on that way, based on a person's activities, meditation being one of them. The brains of 30 year-olds who have mediated a year or more are far different than of those in the same age/race group who have not.
They want you to believe you will somehow become lazy or stupid if you smoke weed. You can only become lazy or stupid if you get addicted to how you feel on weed and start smoking all the time. Weed relaxes you, you will not feel like doing anything else. It affects your concentration and focus, you can not work while on it. Neither of these are necessarily bad things, unless you live in a society that wants everyone to be productive little wage slaves, like ours. There is nothing inherently wrong with sitting around smoking pot all day. But you won't be paying rent or getting out to do much if you do. You become unproductive, and our materialistic society has no tolerance for anyone who is not some cog in the machine.
You have to find a balance here. Put in your hard day of work without using any mind-altering substances of any kind, then come home and smoke weed all you like. Best way to relax and far more effective pain relief than anything in the store. You just have to be responsible about how you use these things. If you are a teen don't give into peer pressure, to smoke or ingest anything. Make sure that it is your own uninfluenced choice when you join in and drink a beer, or smoke a cig or a joint. Same for sex - don't have sex just because all your friends got laid and you are afraid of being left behind. That is the stupidest reason in the history of stupid reasoning to have sex. Have sex when you are ready for it and you want it, and of course when you partner is ready for it and wants it.
It all comes down to taking what the adults and those in authority say with a grain of salt. Do not be influenced by the beliefs and opinions of others. Use your own mind, make your own decisions, decide what you want to believe, and always, always question everything, especially your beliefs. Be Yourself! What does that mean? It means to think for yourself, choose your own beliefs, and make your own choices, regardless of what others order, say or tell you to do, and that includes the law! You are the best authority on your life, whatever your age (which is merely the number of times you have been around the sun) happens to be.
Monday, May 16, 2016
Please show your support! Donate or Share!
I have removed the old Amazon Payments image and added a widget to my GoFundMe campaign, "Pedaling to Passion." I would appreciate your support, whether you donate to the campaign or simply share it.
At the end of the month I will be, by society's definition, homeless. Technically I can continue to live with my parents when they move to Battlground, WA. But they are moving to a small single-wide trailer. It doesn't take the gift of prophecy to see that to live there would mean continuing to live as I have, sitting here, staring at a computer or TV screen. I have been doing that for most of my life, and I am done with it.
My parents have never done anything like this. I don't think they even could. My dad talks about hiking the PCT someday. I hope he does, I want him to follow his heart, his passion. But I don't think he ever will. He started in a single-wide trailer, and now he's just repeating that same old cycle. Nothing of significance has changed for him or my mom since he retired from Safeway 30 years ago. My parents are, as I said somewhere else, at anchor on the sea of life. To join them in Battleground would be to live the same same way. But I want to go exploring!
It seems to me we sell our ambition, our dreams, our passion, in exchange for what society says we should have. Comfort, safety, security. Or we go the other extreme, throw out everything to live with nothing a a monk of some religion or other. How many of us have ever found the balance, where we follow our ambition, our heart, our passion, and through that find a way to provide comfort, safety and security for ourselves, if that is what we want?
I either have no passion or I have forgotten what it was. I want more from life than a room in a single-wide trailer, and I do not believe for one second that I have to kill myself off, working for someone else, at a job I hate, in order to get it. Nor do I think for one second that I have to take it to have it. I don't believe in earning anymore, and working hard should always be a choice, not something forced down anyone's throat. Do you know that hard labor used to be a prison sentence? So why do we value hard work so much, when it is really nothing more than a punishment?
It has nothing to do with responsibility. We are responsible for only one thing, our choices. Whether conscious or not, somewhere we make a choice and we live its consequences. Our life is a direct reflection of our choices. It is the mirror on the wall that shoes us very clearly how we see ourselves and the world we live in.
I am going to seek and hopefully either find or rediscover my passion. I am going to explore the world. My parents never went to Disnyeland, the Grand Canyon or to any of the Eight Wonders. They haven't even been overseas, as far as I know. The most adventurous thing that have ever done is attend an ACN conference in Chicago I think it was.
I don't want to live like that anymore, and with your help I will be able to. I am doing this, with or without your help. As far as I am concerned. grandma selling the house is a clear a sign as anyone would need that it is time for me to go, to change my life. I don't think anyone will find the life of their dreams while they sit on their couch, or their recliner. There is no reason things can't come to all of us on silver platters, but collectively humans believe that this doesn't happen, and is somehow bad or wrong to expect. So that is our experience. We created a life of struggle for ourselves. Someday we will learn to stop fighting and struggling and simply be. in oneness and receptivity.
Updates may be even fewer and further between these next few months or even years. I am hitting the road and I have no idea if or when I will return. I appreciate every reader of this blog, and everyone who supports my campaign. It's been a good run, I have enjoyed this experience, and learned a lot these last few years. But now graduation day is coming, as of June 1st it will be time for direct experience. Wish me well!
At the end of the month I will be, by society's definition, homeless. Technically I can continue to live with my parents when they move to Battlground, WA. But they are moving to a small single-wide trailer. It doesn't take the gift of prophecy to see that to live there would mean continuing to live as I have, sitting here, staring at a computer or TV screen. I have been doing that for most of my life, and I am done with it.
My parents have never done anything like this. I don't think they even could. My dad talks about hiking the PCT someday. I hope he does, I want him to follow his heart, his passion. But I don't think he ever will. He started in a single-wide trailer, and now he's just repeating that same old cycle. Nothing of significance has changed for him or my mom since he retired from Safeway 30 years ago. My parents are, as I said somewhere else, at anchor on the sea of life. To join them in Battleground would be to live the same same way. But I want to go exploring!
It seems to me we sell our ambition, our dreams, our passion, in exchange for what society says we should have. Comfort, safety, security. Or we go the other extreme, throw out everything to live with nothing a a monk of some religion or other. How many of us have ever found the balance, where we follow our ambition, our heart, our passion, and through that find a way to provide comfort, safety and security for ourselves, if that is what we want?
I either have no passion or I have forgotten what it was. I want more from life than a room in a single-wide trailer, and I do not believe for one second that I have to kill myself off, working for someone else, at a job I hate, in order to get it. Nor do I think for one second that I have to take it to have it. I don't believe in earning anymore, and working hard should always be a choice, not something forced down anyone's throat. Do you know that hard labor used to be a prison sentence? So why do we value hard work so much, when it is really nothing more than a punishment?
It has nothing to do with responsibility. We are responsible for only one thing, our choices. Whether conscious or not, somewhere we make a choice and we live its consequences. Our life is a direct reflection of our choices. It is the mirror on the wall that shoes us very clearly how we see ourselves and the world we live in.
I am going to seek and hopefully either find or rediscover my passion. I am going to explore the world. My parents never went to Disnyeland, the Grand Canyon or to any of the Eight Wonders. They haven't even been overseas, as far as I know. The most adventurous thing that have ever done is attend an ACN conference in Chicago I think it was.
I don't want to live like that anymore, and with your help I will be able to. I am doing this, with or without your help. As far as I am concerned. grandma selling the house is a clear a sign as anyone would need that it is time for me to go, to change my life. I don't think anyone will find the life of their dreams while they sit on their couch, or their recliner. There is no reason things can't come to all of us on silver platters, but collectively humans believe that this doesn't happen, and is somehow bad or wrong to expect. So that is our experience. We created a life of struggle for ourselves. Someday we will learn to stop fighting and struggling and simply be. in oneness and receptivity.
Updates may be even fewer and further between these next few months or even years. I am hitting the road and I have no idea if or when I will return. I appreciate every reader of this blog, and everyone who supports my campaign. It's been a good run, I have enjoyed this experience, and learned a lot these last few years. But now graduation day is coming, as of June 1st it will be time for direct experience. Wish me well!
Monday, January 18, 2016
Tor Browser is forcing a prompt and a tiny screen resolution
Apparently the folks over at Tor feel that we have to have some sort of prompt if we maximize the Tor Browser window. Also, if we change the homepage to anything other than the default, we will no longer be able to maximize the Tor Browser window, and we will endure a prompt. The assholes that engineered this discuss it here:
https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/7255
I just fought with this for the last 2 hours. I would never have figured out what was going on if I hadn't found this link. I may demonstrate in a video tutorial later, maybe the community can figure out a way to patch this.
They tell is that we can be tracked by our screen resolution. So what? Why in the hell is that their business? It is my right to change my homepage, increase my screen resolution, and turn off this prompt. I will spend time later figuring out just how to do that. If I find anything I will post it here.
Just be aware that the folks working on Tor have gone off the reservation, gotten delirious with power or something. So you may need to find another way to access the hidden parts of the internet.
https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/7255
I just fought with this for the last 2 hours. I would never have figured out what was going on if I hadn't found this link. I may demonstrate in a video tutorial later, maybe the community can figure out a way to patch this.
They tell is that we can be tracked by our screen resolution. So what? Why in the hell is that their business? It is my right to change my homepage, increase my screen resolution, and turn off this prompt. I will spend time later figuring out just how to do that. If I find anything I will post it here.
Just be aware that the folks working on Tor have gone off the reservation, gotten delirious with power or something. So you may need to find another way to access the hidden parts of the internet.
Thursday, December 3, 2015
NewEgg sucks!
Just a quick blog entry to tell you about my recent purchase at NewEgg. I have been a customer for many, many years, over a decade as a matter of fact. The computer I am using to write this article was built with components purchased at NewEgg. They have always been my go-to place for computer hardware.
But just as Hard Forums stopped being a good place to go to get computer related advice, NewEgg is no longer a good place to purchase computer related electronics. The only advantage they have over Amazon is that it is far easier to search through items, while at Amazon you have to wade through literally dozens of pages of crap, because Amazon is not keeping a good eye on its sellers. You will see the same mouse, listed from $19.95 to $24.95, often several of the same mice, usually a minimum of a dozen pages you have to scroll through. NewEgg is slightly infected in the same way, but you can select NewEgg products and still have a wide selection of higher quality stuff to go through. If you select Amazon as the seller all of a sudden you loose about 80% of your results.
What I can not forgive is NewEgg's return policy. I just purchased a refurbished keyboard/mouse setup from them. I only had to take it out of the box, identify the slant of the keys was not enough of me, and that the keys had stickers for the letters, to know that I wanted to return it for a refund. Guess how much that is going to cost me, as there is nothing wrong, as far as I know, with the product? A $5.00 restocking fee and $14.00 for a shipping label, which is supposed to be prepaid if I am returning within the time limit, which I am. I don't think the keyboard mouse set is worth the price of its return, and as it is a $50.00 retail item at least, I am just disgusted with the whole thing. For those who want to know its a Logitech Wave keyboard and mouse set. I think the price was about $30.00 for refurbished OEM.
If I had purchased this from Amazon I would have been able to return it with no restocking fee, and a good chance of free UPS pickup! I guess that is one more advantage that NewEgg has, you can find refurbished stuff. I have never seen anything like that at Amazon. The only other place is Tiger Direct, where I got a MadCatz RAT 5 for $19.99 and the TV I am currently using.
The worst thing about this whole thing is that I was price watching all through Black Friday. NewEgg had an EVGA and MSI mouse, among others, listed at $19.99. I had already ordered the RAT 5 so I waited. There was nothing, and I mean nothing, saying these prices were for a limited time. I watch for that green text next to the items listed at NewEgg like a hawk! Well now these mice have had their prices increased $10.00 - $20.00! I can only assume it is to price gouge shoppers for Christmas. It's just sad, and Amazon is doing the same fucking thing!
I have had enough I have to say. From the consistently higher prices at Amazon, the endless pages of repetitive junk listings, the $20.00 shipping costs for items that don't weigh more than a few ounces and aren't fragile or anything. To NewEgg's policy of profiting from its shoppers in its return and restocking fees. I think I am done with NewEgg for now, and I am about ready to quit Amazon. But at least at Amazon I can try something and return it almost effortlessly, and for very little cost.
Let this be a warning to you about NewEgg. The prices are $10.00 - $20.00 over what they were just a week ago, because they are trying to make money off of you for Christmas. If you buy something from them, and want to return it simply because you are not happy with the item. you will pay a huge restocking fee and shipping label fee, unless you opt to ship it yourself, and I can't guarantee you will save any money that way either.
But just as Hard Forums stopped being a good place to go to get computer related advice, NewEgg is no longer a good place to purchase computer related electronics. The only advantage they have over Amazon is that it is far easier to search through items, while at Amazon you have to wade through literally dozens of pages of crap, because Amazon is not keeping a good eye on its sellers. You will see the same mouse, listed from $19.95 to $24.95, often several of the same mice, usually a minimum of a dozen pages you have to scroll through. NewEgg is slightly infected in the same way, but you can select NewEgg products and still have a wide selection of higher quality stuff to go through. If you select Amazon as the seller all of a sudden you loose about 80% of your results.
What I can not forgive is NewEgg's return policy. I just purchased a refurbished keyboard/mouse setup from them. I only had to take it out of the box, identify the slant of the keys was not enough of me, and that the keys had stickers for the letters, to know that I wanted to return it for a refund. Guess how much that is going to cost me, as there is nothing wrong, as far as I know, with the product? A $5.00 restocking fee and $14.00 for a shipping label, which is supposed to be prepaid if I am returning within the time limit, which I am. I don't think the keyboard mouse set is worth the price of its return, and as it is a $50.00 retail item at least, I am just disgusted with the whole thing. For those who want to know its a Logitech Wave keyboard and mouse set. I think the price was about $30.00 for refurbished OEM.
If I had purchased this from Amazon I would have been able to return it with no restocking fee, and a good chance of free UPS pickup! I guess that is one more advantage that NewEgg has, you can find refurbished stuff. I have never seen anything like that at Amazon. The only other place is Tiger Direct, where I got a MadCatz RAT 5 for $19.99 and the TV I am currently using.
The worst thing about this whole thing is that I was price watching all through Black Friday. NewEgg had an EVGA and MSI mouse, among others, listed at $19.99. I had already ordered the RAT 5 so I waited. There was nothing, and I mean nothing, saying these prices were for a limited time. I watch for that green text next to the items listed at NewEgg like a hawk! Well now these mice have had their prices increased $10.00 - $20.00! I can only assume it is to price gouge shoppers for Christmas. It's just sad, and Amazon is doing the same fucking thing!
I have had enough I have to say. From the consistently higher prices at Amazon, the endless pages of repetitive junk listings, the $20.00 shipping costs for items that don't weigh more than a few ounces and aren't fragile or anything. To NewEgg's policy of profiting from its shoppers in its return and restocking fees. I think I am done with NewEgg for now, and I am about ready to quit Amazon. But at least at Amazon I can try something and return it almost effortlessly, and for very little cost.
Let this be a warning to you about NewEgg. The prices are $10.00 - $20.00 over what they were just a week ago, because they are trying to make money off of you for Christmas. If you buy something from them, and want to return it simply because you are not happy with the item. you will pay a huge restocking fee and shipping label fee, unless you opt to ship it yourself, and I can't guarantee you will save any money that way either.
Sunday, November 8, 2015
The Mystery of the Missing Magnesium
I was reading this article:
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/natural-health/awesome-sources-of-plant-based-magnesium-to-give-you-energy-and-more/
After searching for vegetarian sources of magnesium. Since yesterday evening I had been suffering from what I can only describe as, "Dwarves mining for gold in my skull." A real migraine in other words. I mentioned this to my mother today, after taking my 3rd Excederin, and she said I needed magnesium. I went out to their RV and nabbed some, taking one 250mg pill. Immediately I felt better. Not conclusive proof I know. But I did a little investigating in my kitchen and turned up some interesting results.
Cocoa was listed as one of the sources of magnesium. I looked at the gluten free brownie mix box, having had a few brownies today, and discovered that it had no magnesium. Same for my Swiss Miss simple dark chocolate cocoa mix. I looked at my frozen vegetarian meals, my coconut milk, Amy's French Veggie soup, mac 'n cheese, my stir-fry veggie mix, a can of kidney beans, my Bragg's Yeast Flakes even some almond butter. Almonds are also supposed to be high in magnesium. I checked a container of Quaker oats and a bottle of molasses.
Out of all of this guess what items actually had magnesium? My coconut milk, the oats, and the molasses. Not one other item had magnesium in it. At least it was not listed. I find this to be very suspicious. Sure, they could have just not listed it. But if this was something food companies did not list, why is it on these three products? Also the yeast flakes are a vegetarian supplement, why isn't magnesium in there? Why is it missing from the Hain's almond butter?
Either food companies aren't listing it, or they are making an effort to remove it from our food. If they are making an effort to remove it from our food, why? Magnesium helps you concentrate, it is very good for you. I would never go so far as to say you need it, like the meat companies say you need protein. I quote Thoreau on this, "One farmer says to me, 'You can not live on vegetable food solely, for it furnishes nothing to make bones with;' and so he religiously devotes part of his day to supplying his system with the raw material of bones; walking all the while he talks behind his oxen, which, with vegetable-made bones, jerk him and his lumbering plow along in spite of every obstacle."
I think this is something worth investigating, even the organic food companies like Amy's are either failing to list the magnesium in their products, or simply excluding it. In the meantime I advise you start taking a magnesium supplement, at least once a week, especially if you are having headaches that won't go away or a difficult time thinking clearly or concentrating. These may be linked back to a lack of this item in your food. If you are a vegetarian you are supposed to be getting this a lot in the food you eat. But as I discovered it is lacking in mine. Even the huge bag of basamati rice I bought at CostCo!
I am about to search for a vegetarian version of this supplement at Amazon. If I find one I will link to it below:
http://www.amazon.com/Magnesium-Malate-200-Elemental-Caps/dp/B00CFHHA4U/
http://www.amazon.com/Magnesium-Malate-1000Mg-180-tabs/dp/B0001SRBO4/
I chose this version of Magnesium because it appears to help with fatigue, something else I am dealing with, leading me to think that there is something else here I am not getting enough of. For relaxation and sleep it seems as if this kind of magnesium is best:
http://www.amazon.com/Solaray-Magnesium-Glycinate-Supplement-Count/dp/B000Z1GLJI/
http://www.amazon.com/Albion-Chelated-Magnesium-133-Caps/dp/B00068S9KY/
This mixes magnesium with lion's mane and bacopa. Very good option as a nootropic to take when you start your day:
http://www.amazon.com/ALOHA-Aloha--foundation--brilliant-60-capsules/dp/B00YDEML24/
This does as well, but with the valerian root it is probably best as something to take before bed, maybe to help with lucid dreaming:
http://www.amazon.com/Source-Naturals-Calm-Thoughts-Tablets/dp/B000637IOW/
Looks like someone else noticed this too:
http://www.ancient-minerals.com/magnesium-sources/dietary/
More reading:
http://forum.bulletproofexec.com/index.php?/topic/2078-bulletproof-magnesium-thread/
http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/types-of-magnesium/
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/natural-health/awesome-sources-of-plant-based-magnesium-to-give-you-energy-and-more/
After searching for vegetarian sources of magnesium. Since yesterday evening I had been suffering from what I can only describe as, "Dwarves mining for gold in my skull." A real migraine in other words. I mentioned this to my mother today, after taking my 3rd Excederin, and she said I needed magnesium. I went out to their RV and nabbed some, taking one 250mg pill. Immediately I felt better. Not conclusive proof I know. But I did a little investigating in my kitchen and turned up some interesting results.
Cocoa was listed as one of the sources of magnesium. I looked at the gluten free brownie mix box, having had a few brownies today, and discovered that it had no magnesium. Same for my Swiss Miss simple dark chocolate cocoa mix. I looked at my frozen vegetarian meals, my coconut milk, Amy's French Veggie soup, mac 'n cheese, my stir-fry veggie mix, a can of kidney beans, my Bragg's Yeast Flakes even some almond butter. Almonds are also supposed to be high in magnesium. I checked a container of Quaker oats and a bottle of molasses.
Out of all of this guess what items actually had magnesium? My coconut milk, the oats, and the molasses. Not one other item had magnesium in it. At least it was not listed. I find this to be very suspicious. Sure, they could have just not listed it. But if this was something food companies did not list, why is it on these three products? Also the yeast flakes are a vegetarian supplement, why isn't magnesium in there? Why is it missing from the Hain's almond butter?
Either food companies aren't listing it, or they are making an effort to remove it from our food. If they are making an effort to remove it from our food, why? Magnesium helps you concentrate, it is very good for you. I would never go so far as to say you need it, like the meat companies say you need protein. I quote Thoreau on this, "One farmer says to me, 'You can not live on vegetable food solely, for it furnishes nothing to make bones with;' and so he religiously devotes part of his day to supplying his system with the raw material of bones; walking all the while he talks behind his oxen, which, with vegetable-made bones, jerk him and his lumbering plow along in spite of every obstacle."
I think this is something worth investigating, even the organic food companies like Amy's are either failing to list the magnesium in their products, or simply excluding it. In the meantime I advise you start taking a magnesium supplement, at least once a week, especially if you are having headaches that won't go away or a difficult time thinking clearly or concentrating. These may be linked back to a lack of this item in your food. If you are a vegetarian you are supposed to be getting this a lot in the food you eat. But as I discovered it is lacking in mine. Even the huge bag of basamati rice I bought at CostCo!
I am about to search for a vegetarian version of this supplement at Amazon. If I find one I will link to it below:
http://www.amazon.com/Magnesium-Malate-200-Elemental-Caps/dp/B00CFHHA4U/
http://www.amazon.com/Magnesium-Malate-1000Mg-180-tabs/dp/B0001SRBO4/
I chose this version of Magnesium because it appears to help with fatigue, something else I am dealing with, leading me to think that there is something else here I am not getting enough of. For relaxation and sleep it seems as if this kind of magnesium is best:
http://www.amazon.com/Solaray-Magnesium-Glycinate-Supplement-Count/dp/B000Z1GLJI/
http://www.amazon.com/Albion-Chelated-Magnesium-133-Caps/dp/B00068S9KY/
This mixes magnesium with lion's mane and bacopa. Very good option as a nootropic to take when you start your day:
http://www.amazon.com/ALOHA-Aloha--foundation--brilliant-60-capsules/dp/B00YDEML24/
This does as well, but with the valerian root it is probably best as something to take before bed, maybe to help with lucid dreaming:
http://www.amazon.com/Source-Naturals-Calm-Thoughts-Tablets/dp/B000637IOW/
Looks like someone else noticed this too:
http://www.ancient-minerals.com/magnesium-sources/dietary/
More reading:
http://forum.bulletproofexec.com/index.php?/topic/2078-bulletproof-magnesium-thread/
http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/types-of-magnesium/
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