Halloween officially started in Sweden at 4:00 PM in my timezone yesterday. The Minecraft Halloween update was on time. That means I can finally start my new world and begin my mega-project I've been planning.
I'm still keeping my old save, but I wanted to start a new world to take advantage of the new biomes feature. Deserts and forests and tundra, oh my!
I generated a few worlds and explored a little to get the feel of Biomes. I finally settled on this world to start my mega-project in. This world has not generated any snowy biomes yet. If you look close you can see parts of a large circle towards the center of the map. It's the outline of my mega-project.
On October 16th 2010 I got an email from Shawn Dake asking for permission to use some of my photos, specifically of the Spirit of Columbia. I gladly gave him permission to use my photos in his article. He also used my photo of the Spirit of Endeavour. It's a good read if you are at all interested in the history and eventual failure of Cruise West, or just the history of Alaskan cruising in general.
With how many name and ownership changes some of those ships went through, I don't know how Shawn Dake kept track of it all in his research.
I have no problem with anyone using my photos, as long as I'm given credit like how Shawn Dake did: Photo by Cody Durkin (http://www.mastermarf.com). I do like the website listed as the source. As per the Creative Commons license I use, anyone is free to use my work even without my express written permission; so long as they give proper credit. However, it is nice to get an email. I like seeing how other people can put it to better use.
So go check out the article. It's even the front page featured article on Maritime Matters at the time I'm writing this.
I've always thought about that last point. What else are people doing right now in this very city? You always see people working, or you pass them on the street. You might even say a friendly rhetorical greeting to them in passing.
But each and every one of them have a life of their own. No less important than your own life. Kinda mind blowing when you really think about it.
Friggin' creepers, man. They are the terrorists of Minecraft. They'll sneak up on you and blow up, taking you and half of whatever you were building with them, leaving nothing but a crater in their wake.
Here's the full song by Bobby Yarsulik: *OFFICIAL* MineCraft: The Song by Bobby Yarsulik
That's right. You never know what to expect from this blog. One day you have a silly meaningless picture if a guy holding limes, and the next day you have a serious article about atheism and homosexuality.
If you don't want to listen to him ramble on, at least skip to time index 5:50 in the video and watch until time index 8:00. I've felt this fear, too. I still do in some situations.
I've been an atheist since I gained a vague understanding of the concept of God. I think I believed in Santa Claus longer because there was more evidence for him. I even saw Santa Claus in the mall, and there were presents from him under the Christmas tree. It wasn't until I noticed Santa's handwriting was the same as my mom's that I really questioned it. However, why would a child ever tell his parents that they've figured out the Santa thing? It could mean less presents1!
Just like my non-belief in Santa Claus, I was afraid to reveal my Atheism. This God thing seemed even more important than Santa Claus, so what could the consequences of admitting non-belief of Him be?
I don't think I had a true "coming out" with my parents, at least not that I remember. They just sort-of figured it out on their own2 and they are okay with it. I did have a lengthy discussion with my grandfather about it though... 2 discussions in fact. While my grandparents have accepted it, they're not happy about it.
Even to this day I don't announce my atheism to everybody, even when it would be appropriate. Before I moved from Ketchikan my mom got a new neighbor in the apartment below her. A man from West Africa. Usually I'm a hermit and avoid new neighbors, but I felt some need to show him my avoidance is not because he was black3. So I introduced myself, and made a very good first impression.
From then on he couldn't stop telling my mom about how much of a gentleman I am, and how kind I am. I found out he worked at a church, a preacher or pastor or something of the like. I didn't want to shatter his view of me. Even though it would have been an excellent time to make the point that atheists are good people, too.
As I was packing up to leave town, he said we should get together and pray before I leave. I told him "maybe" and went on my way. Now I feel a bit guilty that I mislead him.
I've read places where people that were both homosexual and atheist wrote it was tougher to admit their atheism than their homosexuality. While this is not true for everybody, atheism and homosexuality are from my point-of-view on the same level as each other as social stigmas.
Maybe that's why I'm such a proponent of gay rights. I might be way off in saying this, but I feel like I know what it's like to be gay. To be a member of society who is disowned because of one aspect of themselves, regardless of any other traits they may have. It is one reason I support gay rights, there are other reasons as well.
1: I should note the consequences of not believing in the Tooth Fairy or Easter Bunny were not as severe, so I admitted my disbelief earlier for them. 2: I have confirmed it many times since with my parents, and my dad reads my blog. Sometimes my grandfather does as well. 3: That in itself could be a form of racism I suppose.
So... Where did all the extra mass come from as the Earth expanded? Where did the water of the oceans come from? If there's no subduction, why are there earthquakes? What would be causing it?
Why has it been measured by satellites that the Earth is actually shrinking slowly? (Due to thermal contraction as the Earth's core slowly cools.) According to expanding Earth, the expansion is increasing exponentially.
So I've been trying to get a handle on my Minecraft playing. I've had limited success on that front. While I have not been playing it much, I've been lurking the Minecraft forums and watching YouTube videos of other people playing it. So it's about like playing it, without actually accomplishing anything at all.
I think I'll start a new world once the big Halloween update is out. The introduction of varied boimes is going to require a new world I think. I have big plans for a mega-construction project when I start a new world. Until then I'm just... Waiting.
Also waiting for the Borderlands (totally different game) update to finally have enemies scale to your level correctly throughout the game. Not sure when that will be, but it was said to be "sometime in October." So I'm kinda holding off playing the new Claptrap Revolution DLC until that patch. I've been playing a little with a side-save, but not my main save until the patch. Until then I'm just... Waiting.
So here's a trailer for Portal 2's (yet another completely different game) Co-Op mode. It's not out yet... It's due sometime in 2011. Until then I'm just... Oh, you know.
I was playing with my AR.Drone yesterday. It was the first day I spent any real time flying it.
AR.Drone with the indoor hull.
Click image to view full.
The first time I flew it was the day I got it, and I lost connection with it and couldn't regain connection. So it sat there 3 feet off the ground in autopilot until the battery level went critical and it landed itself. I figured out it was interference from my wifi that caused me to lose connection. So now I disable my wifi before I fly it and haven't had any issues since.
A bunch of the neighbors have wifi networks too, but none of them are as powerful as mine... I have aftermarket antennas on my router.
I was a bit afraid to try again until yesterday. I flew it inside with the indoor hull on it (pictured above) to protect the rotors. I got a feel of the controls and even managed to fly it through a doorway. It's nice that you can let go of the controls and it stabilizes itself. The battery life is painfully short, however.
Then I got daring and put the outdoor hull on it and took it outside. I was a bit reluctant to do this, because I've read stories of AR.Drones losing control and flying away... Never to be found again. Thankfully this didn't happen. It sure responds better without that bulky indoor hull.
AR.Drone with the outdoor hull.
Click image to view full.
I flew it around the building I live in a couple of times, and ended up drawing out every kind in the neighborhood it seemed. I had a crowd of fascinated kids watching me by the end. They were especially fascinated that the drone had a camera and I could see on my iPhone what the drone saw. I got the low battery alert, landed it and said "Well, that's it. The battery is dead, show's over."
Ok this has been going for a while now, and I've more-or-less ignored it. The war between Justin Bieber haters and Justin Bieber fans. I was just going to let it pass without saying anything, but the issue seems to be escalating.
I'm pretty neutral on Justin Bieber. He's just another teen pop-star for all the young girls to get a heartthrob over. His music is meh, but then, I'm not the target audience. He will fade in time.
I don't hate Justin Bieber, but I do hate his fans. Or rather, the vocal minority of his fans that get all butthurt when someone says Justin Bieber sucks. Whiny 14 year-olds that can't handle anyone with a difference in opinion piss me off. It's because of these people that there's even an issue in the first place. If the haters got no reaction, they'd move on to something else.
What's your take on this whole Justin Bieber issue?
EDIT: Here's the video that prompted this post. I wasn't sure if the video would stay up for long, so I didn't link to it the first time around.
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